SPEAKER_00: Hey, welcome to the New North Church podcast.
SPEAKER_00: It's great to have you listening in with us.
SPEAKER_00: Our vision at our church is to be an authentic community of Jesus followers who love and serve people.
SPEAKER_00: So if we can help you in any way at all, just reach out to us.
SPEAKER_00: The email address is hello at newnorth.church.
SPEAKER_00: With that, let's go right to this week's message.
SPEAKER_01: Good morning, New North Church.
SPEAKER_01: So great to be with you today.
SPEAKER_01: What a great testimony from Hubert.
SPEAKER_01: And we're going to uh hear a little bit more about that same theme this morning.
SPEAKER_01: But first, I just wanna say thank you to New North Church for your support of the Bay Area School of Ministry over the last five years.
SPEAKER_01: We actually have our five-year anniversary coming up in just about a month, and we're excited about that, and we're so excited to be able to hold classes here starting this fall, and just once again appreciate you all, appreciate the support that you've uh you've had for Bass.
SPEAKER_01: And we're having so much fun, and as was mentioned, God is expanding our ministry to different sites throughout the Bay Area, and our first new site is right here at New North Church.
SPEAKER_01: Well, this morning I uh want to talk to you about something called inflection points.
SPEAKER_01: Inflection points.
SPEAKER_01: So, like some of you like are probably into math, and so you know that an inflection point is a point on a graph where the line turns dramatically upward or dramatically downward.
SPEAKER_01: And uh I'm not talking about math this morning, of course.
SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about personal inflection points or points in time where a significant change takes place in your life that really alters the trajectory of your life, but not only your life, but the lives of future generations after you.
SPEAKER_01: So I think of Abraham and how he obeyed the call of God and left his home for the promised land.
SPEAKER_01: That was an inflection point in his life and generations to come.
SPEAKER_01: Or I think of Esther's for such a time as this moment when she interceded with the king on behalf of her people who were about to be exterminated.
SPEAKER_01: Or I think of Paul's encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road that changed his life and future generations after him.
SPEAKER_01: These are moments of crisis, moments of testing, or moments of calling that redirect our future.
SPEAKER_01: I think God does some of his most significant work in our lives in these inflection points.
SPEAKER_01: But today I want to I want to look at a different kind of inflection point, not one that deals with a single person of influence, but one that involves an entire group of people doing something that almost seems routine.
SPEAKER_01: It happens behind closed doors when a group of ordinary believers are meeting together.
SPEAKER_01: It's a story that takes place in Acts chapter 12.
SPEAKER_01: If you have a Bible, you can turn there.
SPEAKER_01: And it's a crucial inflection point in the life of the early church that actually begins in a home where the church has gathered together to pray.
SPEAKER_01: And even then, this key moment of inflection in the life of the church is not experienced primarily by a prominent person like Abraham or Esther or Paul, but by a servant girl.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna meet shortly.
SPEAKER_01: So while others are praying and not really expecting an answer, she's the first witness that something special has happened.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, this inflection point isn't just like the miracle out there, it's the movement of God among his people in here, in our prayers, in our persistence, in our meeting together, and even in the unexpected faith of someone no one would put at the center of this story.
SPEAKER_01: So, Acts chapter 12.
SPEAKER_01: In Acts chapter 12, the church is facing a massive crisis.
SPEAKER_01: So King Herod Agrippa is on the throne.
SPEAKER_01: He, by the way, was the nephew of Herod Antipas, the one who murdered John the Baptist.
SPEAKER_01: His grandfather was Herod the Great, who slaughtered the innocents around the time of Jesus' birth.
SPEAKER_01: But Agrippa, this Grippa, was very popular with the Jewish people.
SPEAKER_01: He was kind of like the consummate politician.
SPEAKER_01: And so he begins to strike out at followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So listen to what happened in Acts chapter 12, verses 1 through 4.
SPEAKER_01: It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
SPEAKER_01: He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
SPEAKER_01: When he saw this, met with the approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.
SPEAKER_01: This happened during the festival of unleavened bread.
SPEAKER_01: After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each.
SPEAKER_01: Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
SPEAKER_01: So notice the first thing that Herod does is he has James beheaded.
SPEAKER_01: Now, this was the James, not the Lord's half-brother, who we'll see a little bit later.
SPEAKER_01: This was the James who was one of the original twelve disciples.
SPEAKER_01: Remember, his brother was John.
SPEAKER_01: They were fishermen.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus predicted, by the way, that both James and John would eventually suffer martyrdom.
SPEAKER_01: And here we see that James is the first to go.
SPEAKER_01: Now, trust me, this was a massive blow for the church.
SPEAKER_01: You have to understand what an incredible sort of shock this would have been to the church.
SPEAKER_01: James is gone.
SPEAKER_01: James was one of the three who were part of that inner circle of Jesus with Peter and John as well.
SPEAKER_01: So this was a huge blow for the church.
SPEAKER_01: But Herod didn't stop there.
SPEAKER_01: He arrested Peter.
SPEAKER_01: And he would have had Peter killed right away, but it was the feast of unleavened bread.
SPEAKER_01: Public executions were not permitted on religious holidays.
SPEAKER_01: So Herod waited.
SPEAKER_01: He put Peter in prison and assigned four squads of soldiers to guard him, 16 men to guard him.
SPEAKER_01: A few of those men would have actually been chained to Peter while others guarded the door of the prison.
SPEAKER_01: So Herod's not taking any chances at all with Peter.
SPEAKER_01: Please understand what an incredible crisis this was for the early church.
SPEAKER_01: James is dead.
SPEAKER_01: Peter is in prison.
SPEAKER_01: He's next in line.
SPEAKER_01: And Herod is triumphing.
SPEAKER_01: This is how the chapter begins.
SPEAKER_01: This is what these believers faced.
SPEAKER_01: But consider this.
SPEAKER_01: At the end of the chapter, Herod is dead.
SPEAKER_01: Peter is free.
SPEAKER_01: And the word of God is triumphing.
SPEAKER_01: There is a complete inflection point between verse 4 and verse 24.
SPEAKER_01: And the question I want to ask to you this morning, for all of us this morning, is how did this happen?
SPEAKER_01: How did this inflection take place?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, did the church exert political pressure on Herod?
SPEAKER_01: Did they try to get one of their more wealthy, powerful members to run for office?
SPEAKER_01: What did they do?
SPEAKER_01: Well, the answer to that question comes in verse 5.
SPEAKER_01: It says this.
SPEAKER_01: So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
SPEAKER_01: I love those words.
SPEAKER_01: But the church, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
SPEAKER_01: The entire chapter hinges on those words.
SPEAKER_01: And I want you to see that here are two forces at war, each using their own weapons.
SPEAKER_01: First, there's Herod with the power of the sword.
SPEAKER_01: But then there's the church, stripped of all earthly power, doing the one thing they believed could make a difference.
SPEAKER_01: Pray.
SPEAKER_01: I think we can learn some things from how they prayed.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to notice they prayed specifically.
SPEAKER_01: It says they prayed for him.
SPEAKER_01: For who?
SPEAKER_01: Well, Peter, of course.
SPEAKER_01: They mobilized specifically to pray for Peter.
SPEAKER_01: We're not told what they prayed for, for Peter.
SPEAKER_01: I would imagine they would have the boldness to ask for his protection, for even his release.
SPEAKER_01: But I'm sure also in the back of their minds is James.
SPEAKER_01: Certainly they prayed for James as well.
SPEAKER_01: They prayed specifically.
SPEAKER_01: They also prayed continuously.
SPEAKER_01: Luke actually uses a verb tense indicating ongoing action.
SPEAKER_01: So as each day went by, bringing them closer to Peter's execution, they kept storming heaven for Peter.
SPEAKER_01: I believe they prayed day and night.
SPEAKER_01: There are times to keep on praying.
SPEAKER_01: Even when it seems like nothing is happening.
SPEAKER_01: Notice they also prayed earnestly.
SPEAKER_01: It says the church was praying earnestly for him.
SPEAKER_01: That word literally means to stretch out.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, there were times when the apostle Paul would use athletic language to describe prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Because prayer can be hard work.
SPEAKER_01: There are times you have to stretch out.
SPEAKER_01: In Colossians 4, Paul says Epaphras is always wrestling in prayer for the believers.
SPEAKER_01: You ever wrestled in prayer?
SPEAKER_01: That word means to agonize.
SPEAKER_01: It's the Greek word agonitsimi.
SPEAKER_01: We get our word agony from that.
SPEAKER_01: So they were agonizing in prayer for Peter.
SPEAKER_01: And then finally, very simply put, they prayed corporately.
SPEAKER_01: It says the church was doing this.
SPEAKER_01: Of course, it's important to pray individually at times, but it's also very important for the church to come together to pray.
SPEAKER_01: I think it's good for us to ask ourselves the question: do we still believe in the power of prayer?
SPEAKER_01: Do we?
SPEAKER_01: I heard a great story and just took place recently in October of 2025.
SPEAKER_01: Chinese authorities arrested a pastor named Ezra Jin Mingri from Beijing's Zion Church.
SPEAKER_01: Christians around the world mobilized to pray for his release.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you heard, but just about a month ago, after 266 days in detention, he was unexpectedly released and reunited with his family.
SPEAKER_01: He thanked those who prayed for him, and I love what he said.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Mine is a God of miracles, and he constantly surprises me.
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
SPEAKER_01: God answers prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes he surprises us in that.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, I want you to look and see what happened to Peter, starting in verse 6.
SPEAKER_01: The night before Herod was to bring him to trial.
SPEAKER_01: Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.
SPEAKER_01: Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell.
SPEAKER_01: He struck Peter on the side and woke him up.
SPEAKER_01: Quick, get up, he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.
SPEAKER_01: Then the angel said to him, Put on your clothes and sandals, and Peter did so.
SPEAKER_01: Wrap your cloak around you and follow me, the angel told him.
SPEAKER_01: Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea what the angel was doing was really happening.
SPEAKER_01: He thought he was seeing a vision.
SPEAKER_01: They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city.
SPEAKER_01: It opened for them by itself, and they went through it.
SPEAKER_01: When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
SPEAKER_01: Then Peter came to himself and said, Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.
SPEAKER_01: Notice that God waited till the very last minute to act.
SPEAKER_01: It's the night before Peter is to be executed.
SPEAKER_01: He knows what has happened to James.
SPEAKER_01: He knows it's his turn.
SPEAKER_01: But did you see what Peter's doing?
SPEAKER_01: Peter's sleeping like a baby.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you have to see a little bit of humor in that, right?
SPEAKER_01: Peter's chained up to a bunch of guards.
SPEAKER_01: He's lying on the cold, dirty floor of a prison cell.
SPEAKER_01: And he's sleeping like a baby.
SPEAKER_01: Can you believe that?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Paul and Silas, remember, they sang in prison, at least they stayed awake.
SPEAKER_01: But Peter is so content, he cannot even keep his eyes open.
SPEAKER_01: You know that God can do that for you?
SPEAKER_01: He can do that for you.
SPEAKER_01: He can give you peace in the darkest hour of your life.
SPEAKER_01: Perhaps the greatest answer to prayer is right there.
SPEAKER_01: Peter is sleeping in the prison cell the night before his execution.
SPEAKER_01: But suddenly an angel shows up, a glorious light spreads through the prison, and he strikes Peter on the side.
SPEAKER_01: And by the way, Luke, you know, who was a doctor, uses a very strong word here.
SPEAKER_01: This was more than just a friendly little nudge, right?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, he struck him.
SPEAKER_01: And so Peter wakes up, and the angel's like, hey Peter, man, let's roll, buddy.
SPEAKER_01: He tells him to get dressed and to follow him.
SPEAKER_01: Peter throws on his clothes.
SPEAKER_01: He thinks he's having a dream.
SPEAKER_01: He passes by the first and second guard.
SPEAKER_01: We don't know if they're awake or asleep.
SPEAKER_01: Either way, it's a miracle.
SPEAKER_01: They don't see him.
SPEAKER_01: They come to this huge iron gate leading out of the prison.
SPEAKER_01: How are they going to get through that?
SPEAKER_01: All of a sudden, it swings open like your automatic garage door opener, right?
SPEAKER_01: Finally, they're out on the street and the angel vanishes.
SPEAKER_01: Peter's like, well, thanks a lot.
SPEAKER_01: What do I do now?
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: But he collects himself.
SPEAKER_01: He puts two and two together and he says, I get it.
SPEAKER_01: God just sent that angel to rescue me.
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever done that?
SPEAKER_01: Something happens in your life, something like kind of crazy, kind of amazing happens, and it's not till it's all over that you stand back and you say, I think God was in that.
SPEAKER_01: I think I just, I think that was a God thing, right?
SPEAKER_01: I think that's exactly what happened with Peter.
SPEAKER_01: By the way, God still does stuff like this.
SPEAKER_01: Do you believe that?
SPEAKER_01: He still does stuff like that.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you and I have met angels in our lifetime.
SPEAKER_01: We just didn't know it.
SPEAKER_01: Peter didn't know it at first, right?
SPEAKER_01: God still does amazing, miraculous, crazy things, right?
SPEAKER_01: So Peter is left out on the street trying to figure out what to do next.
SPEAKER_01: He thinks of his friends.
SPEAKER_01: He knows they're probably concerned for him.
SPEAKER_01: He wants to tell them what God has done.
SPEAKER_01: But where are they?
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
SPEAKER_01: So as Luke tells us here, uh this Mary is the mother of John Mark, and he would soon accompany Paul on his first missionary journey.
SPEAKER_01: We know that Mary was a woman of means.
SPEAKER_01: She had at least one servant.
SPEAKER_01: Her house was large, so the church found this a good place to meet.
SPEAKER_01: I think we all know the early church didn't have buildings like this to meet in.
SPEAKER_01: They met in homes, they met in living rooms, and Peter instinctively knew where a group of Christians could be found, and that was Mary's house.
SPEAKER_01: No doubt there were several homes around the city that believers were meeting in and praying for Peter, but Peter went to Mary's home.
SPEAKER_01: He knew he would find his friends there.
SPEAKER_01: And then again, Luke reminds us here in verse 12 what they were doing.
SPEAKER_01: They were praying.
SPEAKER_01: It's easy for us to forget that this is one of the primary things the church does.
SPEAKER_01: It prays, right?
SPEAKER_01: We can get so caught up in the trappings of church, buildings, programs, budgets.
SPEAKER_01: We lose sight of the simplicity of what the fellowship of God's people is to be all about.
SPEAKER_01: It's about people, people learning to relate to God, to love one another, to be salt and light in the community and to pray.
SPEAKER_01: In the early church, the way they did that was through groups of believers meeting in homes to worship and pray and hear God's word and bear one another's burdens.
SPEAKER_01: And of course, that night they had gathered together to pray for Peter.
SPEAKER_01: I think one of the sad commentaries on the church today is that if this happened to Peter today, he might not have any place to go.
SPEAKER_01: Unless it was Sunday morning or Wednesday night.
SPEAKER_01: And if he if he went there, would he find people praying?
SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure Peter was prepared for what would happen when he actually got to Mary's house, though.
SPEAKER_01: So let's read this, starting in verse 13.
SPEAKER_01: Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.
SPEAKER_01: When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed, she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, Peter is at the door.
SPEAKER_01: You're out of your mind, they told her.
SPEAKER_01: When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, It must be his angel.
SPEAKER_01: But Peter kept on knocking.
SPEAKER_01: And when they appeared, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
SPEAKER_01: Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison.
SPEAKER_01: Tell James, that's the other James, James, the half-brother of Jesus, tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this, he said, and then he left for another place.
SPEAKER_01: So don't tell me that God does not have a sense of humor, right?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is almost like a sitcom.
SPEAKER_01: I hope you see how funny this is.
SPEAKER_01: Peter arrives at Mary's house.
SPEAKER_01: He starts knocking at the door.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, he's under a little bit of stress.
SPEAKER_01: He's been through a lot, right?
SPEAKER_01: This door didn't open for him like the other one did.
SPEAKER_01: The believers are inside, huddled together.
SPEAKER_01: A servant girl named Rhoda hears the knocking at the door and finally comes to the door.
SPEAKER_01: Back then, you didn't just open the door.
SPEAKER_01: No, you had the visitor at the door identify themselves before you open the door.
SPEAKER_01: So Peter says, Hey, Rhoda, it's me, Peter.
SPEAKER_01: Open the door.
SPEAKER_01: I can just hear Rita Rhoda shriek with joy.
SPEAKER_01: Peter! Peter says, Yeah, Rhoda, it's me, Peter.
SPEAKER_01: Now open the door.
SPEAKER_01: But she's so excited, instead of opening the door, she turns back, runs into the house to tell the others.
SPEAKER_01: Peter's left standing at the door.
SPEAKER_01: Rhoda, where'd you go?
SPEAKER_01: Meanwhile, Rhoda interrupts the prayer meeting and says, Guess who's outside?
SPEAKER_01: Peter.
SPEAKER_01: He's been set free by an angel.
SPEAKER_01: They think she's gone crazy.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, she's just a servant girl, after all.
SPEAKER_01: What does she know?
SPEAKER_01: They get into a big argument.
SPEAKER_01: In my imagination, I think they probably got into a big argument about the thought theology of angels.
SPEAKER_01: Meanwhile, Peter's outside, about ready to pound the door down.
SPEAKER_01: This is great because these people are just like you and me.
SPEAKER_01: Here they were praying for for days with all their heart for Peter.
SPEAKER_01: But when the answer to their prayers is knocking at the door, they refuse to believe it.
SPEAKER_01: I'm comforted by this.
SPEAKER_01: I hope you are.
SPEAKER_01: How often do I pray for something, but deep down I really don't expect God to answer?
SPEAKER_01: And when he does, I can hardly believe it.
SPEAKER_01: I remember years ago, I had this great experience.
SPEAKER_01: I was working at a young life camp in Colorado for the summer, and my mentor was a guy named Jay.
SPEAKER_01: And Jay had a little piece of property near the Young Life camp, and we had a day off, and he said, Come with me to the property, help me build this deck.
SPEAKER_01: So as we left, it was raining, and I'm thinking, man, this is not gonna go well.
SPEAKER_01: We can't really get any work done with it raining in Colorado.
SPEAKER_01: Rains a lot in the summer in Colorado, as you know.
SPEAKER_01: So we finally get to his property, and we got to his property, and it was really, really raining hard.
SPEAKER_01: And I thought, this is gonna be a wasted trip out here.
SPEAKER_01: We're not gonna get any work done.
SPEAKER_01: We had packed our lunches, and so we sat in the trunk, or in the truck, and decided to eat our lunches in the truck.
SPEAKER_01: And I'll never forget Jay, much older, more mature, wiser believer than me.
SPEAKER_01: He prayed.
SPEAKER_01: And he specifically prayed that the rain would stop.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not kidding.
SPEAKER_01: He said amen, and before I could take a bite of my ham sandwich, the rain completely stopped and the skies cleared.
SPEAKER_01: I was absolutely shocked.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, when he prayed that prayer, I thought, yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, what chance is there of that actually happening?
SPEAKER_01: But it happened.
SPEAKER_01: And he just looked at me as if to say, Well, what did you expect to happen, Mark?
SPEAKER_01: I've never forgotten that answer to prayer.
SPEAKER_01: I've never forgotten Jay's quiet confidence that God would respond to his very simple request.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't it true that sometimes we really don't expect God to answer our prayers?
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the answer to our prayers is actually knocking at the door, but we're not listening.
SPEAKER_01: We're not looking.
SPEAKER_01: We pray, but we don't listen.
SPEAKER_01: We don't open the door, and yet it comforts me to know God still took their little mustard seed of faith and he used it to accomplish great things.
SPEAKER_01: He'll do the same for us.
SPEAKER_01: I was thinking about it.
SPEAKER_01: I'll bet there were some spiritual heavyweights that night at Mary's house.
SPEAKER_01: But it was a servant girl named Rhoda, who had all the faith.
SPEAKER_01: Don't ever say about anyone.
SPEAKER_01: She could never minister to me.
SPEAKER_01: Why should I listen to her?
SPEAKER_01: As soon as you do, you will eat your words.
SPEAKER_01: By the way, did you notice the text talks about Rhoda's joy?
SPEAKER_01: Everyone else had questions.
SPEAKER_01: She had joy.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because she believed.
SPEAKER_01: That's why.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, in Romans 15, verse 13, Paul prays that the church, that's all of us, would be filled with all joy and peace in believing.
SPEAKER_01: See, joy and peace come from believing.
SPEAKER_01: And that's what Rhoda demonstrates for us.
SPEAKER_01: So finally they let Peter in.
SPEAKER_01: They're transfixed as he tells them the whole story.
SPEAKER_01: He reminds them to pass the news on to James, that would be the Lord's brother, half-brother, and the rest of the brethren.
SPEAKER_01: No doubt they were also meeting somewhere else, praying for Peter.
SPEAKER_01: And then he leaves.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe Peter felt the need just to kind of lay low for a while.
SPEAKER_01: And then the chapter ends with the death of Herod and a brief note about the progress of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: Listen to this, starting in verse 21.
SPEAKER_01: On the appointed day, Herod, wearing his royal robe, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people.
SPEAKER_01: They shouted, This is the voice of God, not a man.
SPEAKER_01: Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck, yes, same word, struck him down.
SPEAKER_01: Remember how he struck Peter?
SPEAKER_01: Here he strikes Herod.
SPEAKER_01: First time he woke Peter up, second time he kills Herod.
SPEAKER_01: Struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
SPEAKER_01: But the word of God continued to spread and to flourish.
SPEAKER_01: So the angel of the Lord who struck Peter on the side to wake him now strikes Herod down.
SPEAKER_01: I hope you see the inflection point in all of this for the early church.
SPEAKER_01: In spite of swords, kings, prisons, the word of God continues to grow.
SPEAKER_01: Remember at the start of the chapter, James is dead, Peter's in prison, and Herod is triumphing.
SPEAKER_01: Now, at the end of the chapter, Herod is dead, Peter is free, the Word of God is triumphing.
SPEAKER_01: This is an inflection point.
SPEAKER_01: The key to this inflection point was a praying church.
SPEAKER_01: And so I would just ask you: has anything changed?
SPEAKER_01: I want you to just step back for a moment, if you could, and uh and just take note of some things that will help us understand, I think, sort of how God works.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: I want you to notice, first of all, the mystery of God's sovereignty.
SPEAKER_01: The mystery of God's sovereignty.
SPEAKER_01: Herod has an earthly rule, but God rules over all.
SPEAKER_01: As our king, we affirm that God has the authority to do anything he pleases.
SPEAKER_01: And we delight in that because we know God rules with justice and love.
SPEAKER_01: He's not a petty tyrant, he's not a petty king like Herod.
SPEAKER_01: But notice the mystery of how he works.
SPEAKER_01: You can't read this story without being baffled by God's ways.
SPEAKER_01: Why did God permit James to be executed, but then deliver Peter?
SPEAKER_01: Why did he answer the prayers for Peter, but not for James?
SPEAKER_01: Some people have tried to explain it.
SPEAKER_01: Well, maybe Peter was more important than James.
SPEAKER_01: Or maybe the church didn't pray as hard for James as they did for Peter.
SPEAKER_01: I don't think either of those explanations are adequate.
SPEAKER_01: It's absolutely futile to try to figure out all that God does.
SPEAKER_01: Why does this person die of cancer and this person gets healed?
SPEAKER_01: Why does God remove this person so swiftly when we need him so?
SPEAKER_01: Let's be honest, Peter was eventually executed for his faith, as so many have been since.
SPEAKER_01: We can question God over all of this.
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like we want to take God and put him on trial, right?
SPEAKER_01: But we can't always explain God's ways.
SPEAKER_01: In our prayer life, we have to trust God knows best.
SPEAKER_01: I love what Tim Keller said.
SPEAKER_01: Listen to this beautiful quote.
SPEAKER_01: He said, in prayer, God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knew.
SPEAKER_01: Think about that one.
SPEAKER_01: He knows everything.
SPEAKER_01: You don't.
SPEAKER_01: At times, all we can do is submit to his infinite wisdom.
SPEAKER_01: But notice also here in this story, we see the certainty of God's triumph.
SPEAKER_01: The certainty of God's triumph.
SPEAKER_01: Though we may not be able to understand why he does what he does now, we do know in the end that his purpose will be fulfilled.
SPEAKER_01: It's like I don't know if you do this, but sometimes when I'm reading a novel, like, I'll cheat.
SPEAKER_01: You ever cheat?
SPEAKER_01: I'll read the last few pages to see how it ends.
SPEAKER_01: Well, God has allowed us to cheat.
SPEAKER_01: He's allowed us to read the last few pages of the story, hasn't he?
SPEAKER_01: We know how it all ends.
SPEAKER_01: But we don't understand all that God does now.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it makes no sense, but God has a purpose.
SPEAKER_01: God has a plan.
SPEAKER_01: Right now we're in the middle of the novel, so it's hard to see where it's all going.
SPEAKER_01: But in the end, God will accomplish his good purpose.
SPEAKER_01: He's not out of control, his hands are not tied, he's not powerless to save.
SPEAKER_01: Though James is dead, he can still deliver Peter.
SPEAKER_01: He can judge Herod, and he can cause the gospel to spread.
SPEAKER_01: Though life can never be understood in the here and now, in the process of living, we don't despair.
SPEAKER_01: Because we know the same power that delivered Peter from prison and judged Herod is at work in our lives today.
SPEAKER_01: One day he'll deliver all those who trust in him.
SPEAKER_01: That's the certainty of God's triumph.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the clincher.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the third thing.
SPEAKER_01: The mystery of God's sovereignty and the certainty of God's triumph mustn't keep the church from using its most powerful weapon.
SPEAKER_01: What is that?
SPEAKER_01: It's prayer.
SPEAKER_01: It's a temptation, you know.
SPEAKER_01: The doctrine of God's sovereignty can revolutionize your life.
SPEAKER_01: God is in perfect control, working out his purposes according to his plan.
SPEAKER_01: Nothing can prevent him from doing that.
SPEAKER_01: But the temptation is to think God's method of accomplishing his ends is to act apart from us.
SPEAKER_01: But we're not to be rendered passive by the sovereignty of God.
SPEAKER_01: We're to use God's chosen weapon, which is prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Tell you what, I don't understand the interplay between God's plan and our prayers.
SPEAKER_01: But somehow God allows us to participate in his plan through prayer.
SPEAKER_01: See, prayer is not about getting God to cooperate with our plans.
SPEAKER_01: That's dangerous prayer.
SPEAKER_01: No, it's vice versa.
SPEAKER_01: Think of it this way: if I throw out a rope with a hook from a boat and catch hold of the shore, and then I pull on the rope, am I pulling the shore to me or am I pulling myself to the shore?
SPEAKER_01: Prayer isn't pulling God to my will.
SPEAKER_01: Prayer is aligning my will with the will of God.
SPEAKER_01: And that's what happens when we gather to pray.
SPEAKER_01: We align ourselves with God.
SPEAKER_01: We express our need to Him.
SPEAKER_01: We wait on Him.
SPEAKER_01: The world relies on prisons and personalities and the sword.
SPEAKER_01: The church relies on God through prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Carl Bart once wrote this.
SPEAKER_01: He said, To clasp the hand in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that great?
SPEAKER_01: Whenever the church relies on anything else, it loses its power.
SPEAKER_01: When we rely on gifted personalities rather than prayer, we lose our power.
SPEAKER_01: When we rely on the ingenuity of our methods rather than prayer, we lose our power.
SPEAKER_01: When we rely on political clout rather than prayer, we lose our power.
SPEAKER_01: Samuel Chadwick wrote, Satan dreads nothing but prayer.
SPEAKER_01: His one concern is to keep the saints from praying.
SPEAKER_01: He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.
SPEAKER_01: When you step back and look at Acts 12, the real inflection point is not Peter walking out of that prison.
SPEAKER_01: It's a group of faithful believers gathered in a home praying.
SPEAKER_01: No titles, no platform, no political leverage, just ordinary people, anxious, unsure, struggling to believe, begging God to act.
SPEAKER_01: That's enough.
SPEAKER_01: That's the inflection point.
SPEAKER_01: The story does not ultimately turn on the angel appearing to Peter and Peter walking free.
SPEAKER_01: It turns in the house where the church is praying.
SPEAKER_01: And what's amazing about this story to me is that even doubting prayer, like the believers in Mary's house offered, is enough to overcome the power of the sword.
SPEAKER_01: The point isn't to pray better or even to pray more, but just pray.
SPEAKER_01: And God will somehow use our doubting, anxious, fumbling, bumbling prayers to accomplish great things.
SPEAKER_01: So, where might the next inflection point begin in your life, in your family, in this church?
SPEAKER_01: Not through gifted people, not through ingenious strategy, but in the living room with a few ordinary believers praying.
SPEAKER_01: Praying for a prodigal son or daughter, praying for that neighbor who doesn't know Christ, praying for a city that feels hard to live in?
SPEAKER_01: What if the thing that feels the smallest is actually the hinge on which everything turns?
SPEAKER_01: What if God, in his sovereignty, has chosen to make your prayers part of that turning point?
SPEAKER_01: Think about the people in your life who do not know Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We hear all kinds of strategies, you know, for reaching the lost, but how about just simply asking God, begging God to bring them to himself?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've heard of the great 19th-century evangelist D.L.
SPEAKER_01: Moody, right?
SPEAKER_01: Moody, I learned recently, Moody carried a list of a hundred believing friends, unbelieving friends, non-Christians, in his pocket every single day.
SPEAKER_01: He prayed for them by name every single day.
SPEAKER_01: Get this.
SPEAKER_01: When Moody died, 96 of that a hundred had come to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
SPEAKER_01: That's pretty good, right?
SPEAKER_01: Get this.
SPEAKER_01: The four who hadn't come to Christ went to his funeral and came to Christ there.
SPEAKER_01: Unbelievable.
SPEAKER_01: God's chosen weapon is prayer.
SPEAKER_01: The power of prayer, even doubting, halting prayer is mightier than all the Herods in our lives, mightier than hell itself.
SPEAKER_01: Satan laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_01: Father, we thank you for your word this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for this wonderful story.
SPEAKER_01: And our prayer is, Lord, that this would be come a part of our lives, our experience.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for this church that is devoting this entire year as a year of prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for the great miracles that they're seeing happen as a result of this devotion.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Father.
SPEAKER_01: We don't always understand your ways, God.
SPEAKER_01: I know there are people in this auditorium this morning that are struggling with things that are happening in their lives and begging you to act.
SPEAKER_01: And I pray that they would find rest in knowing that you are a perfect king.
SPEAKER_01: Not like Herod, not anything like Herod, but a good, faithful, powerful, loving King who knows exactly what he's doing.
SPEAKER_01: And so we just surrender and we give all of our stuff to you, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: All of our impossibilities in our life to you.
SPEAKER_01: We thank you.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for who you are.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for your faithfulness.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you that you answer prayer in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks for being with us, and we really pray that God spoke to you through his word today.
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SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for joining us.
SPEAKER_00: God bless you, and we'll see you right here next time.