The Church and Her Future
A Sermon on Acts 12:5
Scripture
5Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Acts 12:5 titled “The Church and Her Future,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones lays out a strategy for how the church can prevail during persecution. One of the most critical parts in this battle, he says, is to identify the character and power of the forces against the church. Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages Christians that nervousness is behind the appearance of confidence of those opposed to the gospel. This nervousness is driven by their rebellion against God and awareness that God opposes sin. This is seen today, and it is also seen in how Christians were treated in the New Testament. The second strategy Dr. Lloyd-Jones alerts the listener to is the utilization of prayer. The early church employed this tactic early and often, and God rewarded their diligence. However, it is not enough to just petition God for things. Dr. Lloyd-Jones asks a serious question—“do we really believe in God’s power to accomplish that of which He is capable?” If so, Christians truly have nothing to fear. Wherever they are currently in their walk with Christ, this sermon will give hope and encouragement to stand one’s ground and trust the Lord while living in the midst of a hostile culture.
Sermon Breakdown
- The early church faced persecution and opposition from the start. Christianity has always faced opposition.
- King Herod persecuted the early church and killed James. He then imprisoned Peter intending to kill him after Passover.
- The church prayed earnestly for Peter while he was imprisoned.
- Before the angel rescued Peter, God answered their prayers by giving Peter peace to sleep soundly the night before his execution. God gives us peace that transcends understanding.
- When God answers prayer, even the apostles are shocked and amazed. Peter thought he was seeing a vision when the angel rescued him.
- Herod took elaborate precautions to guard Peter because he feared him and the power of Christianity. The opposition fears the church.
- We must not fear the forces against us. They fear us because we have access to God's power.
- Prayer is the church's ultimate weapon and hope for revival. We must pray without ceasing.
- God answers prayer in unexpected ways. We pray for one outcome but God's answer transcends our expectations. His answer is always best.
- God answers prayer at the last moment to show his power and humiliate the enemy. He allowed Herod to boast then struck him down.
- We must have faith in God and believe in the impossible. Our faith will be tested through trials to strengthen it. Faith grows through difficulties, not ease.
- God acts unexpectedly in revival. When things seem hopeless, he raises up leaders and moves in power. We must pray for revival and trust in God.
- We must not rely on human strategies and ingenuity. Only God's power and Spirit can revive the church.
- God will vindicate his cause and gather his people. We must pray for faith and trust in God's timing and purposes.
Sermon Q&A
What Does Dr. Lloyd-Jones Teach About Prayer in Times of Persecution?
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the greatest weapon of the church during times of persecution?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, prayer is the ultimate weapon of the church during times of persecution. He says, "What are we to do? Well, let me put it like this to you... our ultimate hope lies in prayer. This is the ultimate weapon of the church, and until she returns to this, she will not succeed." He emphasizes that rather than resorting to entertainment, conferences, or various expedients to attract people, the early church turned to prayer when faced with persecution, as seen in Acts 12:5: "Peter, therefore, was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church and to God for him."
How did God answer the church's prayers for Peter in Acts 12?
God answered the church's prayers for Peter in two ways according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones: First, he gave Peter supernatural peace so that he could sleep soundly even on what he believed was his last night alive. Lloyd-Jones points out that "Peter was sleeping between two soldiers" despite knowing he would likely be executed the next day. Second, God miraculously delivered Peter by sending an angel who awakened him, removed his chains, and led him out of the prison past guards and through iron gates that opened by themselves—completely liberating him from Herod's grasp when it seemed impossible.
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe God sometimes delays answering prayers?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones offers several reasons why God sometimes delays answering prayers:
- To train and develop our faith: "God is concerned about training us and developing us and developing our faith."
- To test the genuineness of our faith: "Have you got the same faith when you're lying on your back in bed in a hospital?"
- To strengthen our trust in God through experience: "As you discover these things in experience, your faith grows and develops and increases."
- To maximize the defeat of God's enemies: "God sometimes delays the answer in order that the final defeat and exposure and discomfiture of the arrogant enemy may be exposed before the whole world." In Peter's case, God waited until the last moment to humiliate Herod when he was at the height of his arrogance.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say about modern approaches to church growth versus biblical methods?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones criticizes modern approaches to church growth, saying: "The tragedy is that many in the church are no longer [following the primitive apostolic pattern]. They are aware of the danger. They are fearful of the future. So they resort to desperate means and methods to try to maintain the work and to attract the world. They turn to entertainment, more and more singing and entertainment, some of them even dancing, introducing drama, all kinds of expedients designed to attract and to win people."
He contrasts this with the biblical method demonstrated in Acts 12—prayer—and states: "We mustn't use our own cleverness and ingenuity and think that by dancing before people or miming the gospel or having drama... the arm of flesh will fail you. However you use it, with your cleverness, your organization, your psychological understanding of the modern man, it'll all fail you. This is God's way. It's God's church, and he maintains it in his own power and in his own way."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the reaction of believers when God answers prayer?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that when God answers prayer, He often does it in ways that shock even His most faithful followers. Using the example from Acts 12, he notes that when Peter was freed and knocked at the door where believers were praying for him, they couldn't believe it was actually him. "When they are told that Peter is at the gate, they can't believe it. They say, 'You're mad, or you must have seen his angel.'" Lloyd-Jones explains, "This is how God answers prayer. He answers it in such a manner that his best praying people simply cannot believe it." He emphasizes that God's answers often exceed our expectations to such a degree that we're surprised by them, concluding: "In spite of our ignorance and our lack of faith and our frailty, God will vindicate his own cause."
Itinerant Preaching
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.