“People to meet in heaven: Rhoda”
Acts 12:6-19
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Not quite a hundred a fifty years ago, back in 1874, a small group of believers in Swan Quarter, North Carolina decided to build a church. And the building committee picked out a perfect site—right in the heart of town, at the highest point of the village. So after much thought and prayer, they approached the owner of the lot, (a man named Sam Sadler), and asked to buy his land.
But Sadler wouldn’t sell. He said he had his own plans for that land and wouldn’t sell it to anyone at any price. As you can imagine, the church members were terribly disappointed, and had no choice but to find another spot. So they found another spot, not half as nice, and built their church there instead.
But in September of 1876, when their building was nearly done, all of a sudden, a huge storm swept in off the coast, flooding Swan Quarter with a tidal wave of water from the sound. Rain fell, the wind blew, and the tide rose so high that the force of water moved that little church building off its foundation…and it began to float down the road.
It went straight down that road to a corner, where it bumped into the general store. Then it took a sharp right turn and floated for about two city blocks until it reached the corner of what is now Church Street. Then it took another turn to the left and crossed the Carawan Canal and finally settled…where?
You guessed it—right in the middle of Sam Sadler’s property.
When Sadler saw what happened, he was so convinced that it was God’s mighty hand at work, he agreed to sell his land to the church. And when it’s members dedicated it on that very spot (where it remains to this day), they called it, “Providence.”
The amazing power of prayer!
So it is in the words of Acts chapter 12.
Please follow along with me as I read the words of Acts chapter 12, found in your pew Bibles on page 1171. To give you a little context, I’ll start at verse 1: “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”
Verse 1: “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.”
Herod. Which Herod?
His name was Herod Agrippa, and he was the latest of several terrible Herods to rule the Jews. His grandfather, Herod the Great, killed the babies in Bethlehem and his uncle, Herod Antipas, killed John the Baptist. Now it was his turn to appease the Romans and impress the Jews.
And this Herod, like all the rest of them, was a politician who worked hard at cultivating the graces of his people. And at that time and place, there was no better way to do it than to persecute Christians. That’s why it says in verse 1: “[He] laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.” And verse 2: “He killed James the brother of John with the sword.”
But even though James was dead and gone, Herod wasn’t done. Not by a long shot. Verse 3: “And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also”--Peter, the first and foremost of all Jesus’ disciples—the one who walked on water, who preached at Pentecost, who proclaimed Jesus risen from the dead.
And he would have killed him right then and there, but look at verse 3, “It was during the days of Unleavened Bread.” And since he couldn’t try him or kill him during a feast, (there were rules, you know!), he threw him in prison instead.
As you can imagine, that poor, struggling church was suddenly very afraid. James was dead, and now Peter, the leader of the disciples, would soon be dead too. Would Herod come looking for them too?
What next? Look at verse 6: “Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.”
Let’s stop there for just a moment.
It is rather funny, if you think about it. Peter is literally chained to two soldiers, one on his right, the other on his left. And another set of soldiers is guarding the door.
And what’s Peter doing? Is he tossing and turning, worried sick, wringing his hands in fear and despair?
Not at all. The correct answer is…he’s sleeping!
Sleeping? How could Peter possibly sleep at a time like this? Doesn’t he know he’s about to die?
It reminds me of a time, just a few years before, when Jesus slept too.
Remember? The Bible says that when evening came on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” Then He left the crowd to cross the sea by boat.
When suddenly, out of nowhere, a great storm arose and waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Where was Jesus? He was in the back of the boat, sleeping.
And just as soon as they woke Him, crying, “Lord, don’t You care if we drown?!” And as He rebuked the wind and the saves, He turned to them and said, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Just like Jesus, Peter, in prison, slept in the calm, quiet confidence of God.
But while guards were guarding and Peter was sleeping, what was the church doing? Praying. Earnestly praying.
Look at verse 7: “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, ‘Dress yourself and put on your sandals.’ And he did so. And he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ And he went out and followed him.”
Then when Peter finally realized what was happening, that it wasn’t just a dream, he went to John Mark’s home, to the very place the church had gathered to pray.
Look at verse 13: “And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.”
And when the people heard the news, that Peter, the one for whom they were praying was standing at their door, what did they say? They should have said, “Quick, Rhoda! Let him in!” But that’s not what they said at all. Look at verse 15: “They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind.’” In other words, “Don’t be silly, Rhoda! Peter couldn’t possibly have escaped from prison! Besides, can’t you see we’re praying?!”
Meanwhile Peter, an escaped convict standing in enemy territory, kept knocking. Verse 16: “But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison.”
And when the church came to realize what God had done, that He had truly heard and answered their prayer, belief replaced doubt, excitement replaced fear, and tears of joy replaced tears of sadness.
So what should we learn from this text? Above all, we should know that—in His own time and in His own way--God will hear and answer our prayer.
Just like that early church, we too have more than our share of heartaches and heartbreaks, and grief and pain of all kinds.
Maybe you feel your marriage has reached a dead end. The intimacy is gone and the fights and tension never seem to end.
Maybe it’s your finances. Your bills are growing and your paycheck is shrinking. And you wonder how you’ll survive.
Or maybe it’s a relationship with a son or daughter. You used to be so close, but now they seem so far away.
When that happens, know that it’s time to pray. And know that God—in His own time and way--will hear and answer that prayer.
Jacob prayed and Esau turned from his twenty years of revenge. Elijah prayed, and fire fell from heaven. Elisha prayed, and a child rose from the dead. Hannah prayed, and had a boy named Samuel. Esther prayed, and the Jews were saved. Nehemiah prayed, then he built a city wall. And believers prayed, and Peter walked right out of jail.
In His own time and in His own way, God will hear and answer prayer.
One Sunday morning, a pastor in his Bible class asked a question. He said, “In your time of discouragement, what is your favorite Scripture?”
One person answered, “My favorite is, ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.’” A woman said, “God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.” Another woman said her favorite was, “In this world you shall have tribulations. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Finally, another man spoke up. He was eighty years old. His hair was white and his skin was dark. And with as much strength as he could muster, he said, “My favorite passage is the one that says, ‘And it came to pass.’”
The others laughed a little, thinking the old man’s forgetfulness had finally gotten the best of him.
Then he went on to explain. He said, “When I was thirty, I lost my job with a wife and six hungry mouths to feed. I didn’t know how I would make it. At forty, my eldest son was killed overseas in the war. At fifty, my house burned to the ground and I lost everything. At sixty, my wife of forty years got cancer. Every night, we cried together in prayer. At sixty-five, she died.
“The agony I went through in each of those situations was unbearable. I wondered where was God. But each time I looked in the Bible, I saw that phrase over and over again: ‘And it came to pass.’ And it reminded me that no matter what, no matter the pain or the circumstances, it would pass and God would see me through.”
Do you believe it? A girl name Rhoda did. The church in Jerusalem did. And I hope you do too.
We thank You, dear Father, for this miracle that once took place behind prison doors. Give us faith to believe and hope to confess the amazing power of prayer, for Jesus’ sake. Amen