Praying for the Persecutd Church, and Preparing to be the Persecuted Church

The following transcript was preached for the National Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on Novembeer 11, 2012

The early church had been growing like gang-busters. From the day of Pentecost on, it had been only up and up and up. The Spirit of God had swept across the landscape saving souls by the thousands. It looked like clear sailing all the way till Jesus returned. But alas, it was not to be. The tables would be turned quickly.

Because, here’s a little maxim you need to know: Whenever God works, Satan will be there to oppose it; and the more God is doing, the greater will be Satan’s effort to squash it.

As John MacArthur said, “Throughout the universe, war rages on every front. God, the holy angels, and elect men battle Satan, his demonic hosts, and fallen men. Although the outcome of the war has never been in doubt, the battles are no less real.” And might I add, the casualties are no less painful.

Satan had shown his true colors through the ages by opposing and killing the prophets. He thought he had finally won when he led the Jews to betray their Messiah and then the Romans to crucify Him. But alas, from Satan’s perspective, Jesus rose from the dead and founded a church - a church to function as the Body of Christ doing His work and spreading His message throughout the world.

And the church was growing and spreading. Satan must have been beside himself in frustration. What will he do? Oh, remember the maxim? Wherever God is at work, Satan is there to oppose, so the church’s growth won’t be unopposed. Satan will attack the newly formed church.

Oh, the disciples should have been prepared. Jesus had warned them even before the Cross. In John 15:18-20, Jesus taught:
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”

Well, the persecution is about to intensify. Persecution of the church will characterize the Roman Empire in the first three centuries of the church. Uncounted thousands would lose their lives as they were fed to the lions, turned into human torches, crucified, and whatever else evil human men could devise to viciously kill.

Yet, the Christians faced death with a calm serenity that unnerved their tormenter. And far from destroying the church, the church thrived. As Tertullion would say, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” And martyr’s blood flowed all through the history of the church. Wherever the Gospel went, the executioner followed.

Satan’s first recorded attack against the church came through the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. Then Saul went out creating havoc in the church by binding and leading Christians away in chains to be cast into dungeons. All is not rosy. It’s not a safe time to be a Christian here in these middle chapters of the book of Acts. But the church keeps pressing on.

And then, Herod joins in. Acts 12:1-4 says:
“Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews (The Jews were all happy about it, and Herod was a people pleaser), he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread (It was the Passover). 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him (4 squads of 4 is sixteen soldiers to guard one man - Herod wasn’t taking any chances of escape), intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

Oh, Herod’s intention is to behead the church by beheading the leaders. He’s trying to strip the church of their leadership so they flounder. And Peter is currently in the crosshairs. And what was Peter’s horrible crime? Preaching the Gospel of Christ. That was enough to give him a death sentence.

So, what will the church do? How will the church respond to this onslaught? After all, Peter is in prison, and he’s probably going to be executed as soon as the Passover is over

The answer is, the church will pray: Acts 12:5 says, “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” Amen! The church prayed – of course, they prayed. While Peter sat in prison, the church was on her knees pouring her heart out to God. They were holding an all night prayer vigil. They begged God to intervene on Peter’s behalf.

The New American Standard translates it this way: “So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

That word, fervently, comes from a Greek medical term, ektenos. It described the stretching of a muscle to the limit by maximum exertion. The church was literally praying until it hurt. This is kind of like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He sweat great drops of blood from the effort, falling on the ground and pouring His heart out to God. This was soul wrenching hard work. That’s what fervent prayer is. It’s praying with all you’ve got. Ever prayed like that?

And that kind of prayer is effective. James 5:16 says, “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” So, that’s what the church is doing here. They’re giving it all they’ve got to pray for Peter, and God miraculously answered.

Acts 12:6-8 says:
“And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”

Praise God, an answer to prayer - a wonderful, miraculous answer to prayer.

But, couldn’t God have kept Peter from being arrested? Of course God could have. The angel could have intervened at any time. But, God sovereignly chooses sometimes to let us suffer persecution for His sake. Sometimes He rescues, and sometimes He doesn’t. Peter was spared the sword, but James wasn’t.

After the angel left him, Peter went to find his friends. They were all meeting at the home of John Mark. Peter knew they would be. He knew they would be praying.
Acts 12:12 says, “So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. “

Peter pounds on the door, interrupting their prayer meeting. Rhoda, a servant girl comes to see who it is, and (“Oh, my!”) she is astonished - it is Peter. She is so astonished, she forgets to open the door and runs and tells the disciples, leaving him to stand outside where he continues to knock. But nobody can believe it – “You’re nuts,” they tell her. “You’re just seeing things. He must be dead, and you’re hearing his angel”

They prayed for God to spring Peter from prison, but they didn’t believe it could happen. How much that is like the way we pray. We kind of hope God will answer, but we really don’t expect it. After all, God didn’t answer their prayers for James. They are a little discouraged - a little disheartened - and it shows in their lack of faith. Well, that is Peter standing out there knocking, isn’t it? Where is their faith? Couldn’t they believe that God could do a miracle? Nonetheless, they prayed

Well, we in this church, we prayed too. We prayed for Iranian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani, a 32 year old husband and father of two sons. He had been confined in prison in Iran for crimes against Islam and had been sentenced to death. What horrid crimes had he been guilty of? Proselyting – preaching the Gospel. He was in prison for Christ, so we prayed. I, for one, had little hope he would ever be released, ever see his family again. I fully expected him to be executed by the Iranians. But God intervened. Pastor Nadarkhani was released from prison on September 8th, and the Christian world celebrated.

Quoting Mervyn Thomas of Christian Solidarity Worldwide: “I believe it is no coincidence that Pastor Nadarkhani was released as people around the world were praying for him. What a result. . . and such an unexpected one at that.”

So, can we stop praying? Mission accomplished? OH, NO! Less than 130 miles away, another pastor faces even worse conditions. Behnam Irani, 41, is serving six years in prison in Karaj for so called “actions against the state.” What were those actions? He pastors a church made up of Islamic converts, and he dared share his faith with Muslims. Those are his horrible crimes.

In August, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported that he is suffering from severe bleeding due to stomach ulcers and a colon disorder so that he was vomiting blood. In spite of all this, he was denied medical treatment. He suffers alone, sick and near death. Pastor Irani has also been beaten so severely by prison authorities that he struggles to walk. His internal organs are all shot. He is a physically broken man. It is believed that without medical care, he will die within months, alone, a martyr for Jesus.

But he is not alone. Ahmed Shaheed of the U.N. estimated that Iranian authorities arrested and detained more than 300 Christians since 2010. Iran is a dangerous place to profess Christ. According to Shaheed, “scores of Christians” languish in jail “for freely practicing their religion.”

Here’s what it is like there: Mansour Borji – an Iranian pastor who fled to London – reports that the house church movement is like: “a James Bond movie – how they are careful about their communication, how they switch meeting places, how they turn off their phones and how they take out their SIM cards.” To meet openly is to be arrested in Iran.

But, Iran is not alone. Open Doors USA publishes an annual list of the 50 countries with the worst record on persecution. Every Sunday in Nigeria, Christians meet in fear of the roving bands of Islamic zealots that viciously murder dozens at a time and burn churches. Last year in Egypt, there was the “Maspero Massacre” where 27 Coptic Christians were killed as the Egyptian Army opened fire and used tanks to run over and squash a protest against the burning of a church. The examples could go on and on of suffering.

What do these Christians need? They need our prayers. Iranian pastor Borji stated: “The first thing that people in this situation ask for isn’t activism or advocacy. It’s prayer.” So we need to pray.

Jerry Dykstra of Open Doors agrees: “They don’t necessarily pray for the persecution to go away. They pray for faith that is unwavering.” So what should we be doing? We should be praying. Some God will spare, like Pastor Nadarkhani, but others He will not spare. And we can only pray that their faith will not waver, that God will keep them strong.

As Pastor Nadarkhani said when released from prison: “The Lord has wonderfully provided through the trial. . . As the Scripture says, ‘He will not allow us to be tested beyond our strength.’” We must stand with these persecuted souls.

But are we exempt from this kind of persecution? Praise God, we have been for over 200 years. In the midst of a world filled with persecution, we have lived in a bubble of protection - protection enshrined in the first amendment to our constitution. Our country was primarily founded by people who fled Europe and the systematic persecution of Christians that was rampant there. They came here seeking religious freedom. And when they enacted our constitution, the first order of business was passing the Bill of Rights.

The first right to be protected was the Freedom of Religion. This is what that First Amendment says:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

As long as our country upholds our Constitution, we will be protected. Unfortunately, that right is being eroded year by year. Crosses and Ten Commandment plaques have been forbidden on public property. Football teams can’t pray before their games. Sharing faith at work is construed as hate speech.

Now, with the forward march of same-sex marriage, the right to refuse a same sex couple based on your religious convictions has been stripped. You can’t refuse to photograph their “mockery of a wedding” or refuse to rent them a bridal suite. Pastors have been arrested in Canada and Europe for preaching against homosexuality. It is considered hate speech there even when taken straight from the Bible. Soon, it may be outlawed here. And now, under Obamacare, Christian organizations are required to provide free birth control through their employee healthcare whether it violates their convictions or not. Bye, bye, freedom of conscience.

As Christians, we are in a decided minority. In a Pew Research Report on Religion and Public Life published in October, It’s reported that the percent of us that are Protestant in this country has dropped to 48%. For the first time, we are in the minority. This doesn’t mean we are converting to Catholicism or Mormonism. Oh no, 20% of us claim we have NO religious affiliation. And Maine is the most un-churched state in the union now.

In 2007, Pew showed 60% who seldom or never attend religious services still identified with some religion. Now, in 2012, only 50% do. I hope you realize the situation is even more stark than the numbers report because not all who claim affiliation as Protestant actually attend church which is one indicator of whether you take your faith seriously or not. And how many of the Protestant denominations have abandoned Protestant beliefs? The situation is indeed dark. It will only get harder to live openly as a Christian.

What are we to do as the persecution intensifies? The best answer is to follow the plan of the apostles. In Acts 4:24-30, the apostles were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, then released. And what took place? They gathered to pray - but not prayers of dejection, prayers of praise. Acts 4:24 says, “So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

That word, Lord, is a unique one coming from the Greek word, despotes - or despot. God rules! He is the absolute ruler. And that gives them confidence. All their suffering was part of God’s will. They could trust Him and His purpose. Live or die, God ultimately decides.

Why would God allow James to be beheaded and Peter set free? Nobody knows, but God. This is His universe, not ours. We simply must trust Him.

The Passage continues in Acts 4:25:
25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: (In Psalm 2)
‘Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the LORD and against His Christ.’

27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus
whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

And now here is their request - Acts 4:29:
29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

They didn’t ask to be spared the persecution. They asked to be effective in spite of it. “Let us accomplish what needs to be done, Lord” That’s the attitude we must have.

Acts 4:31 concludes the account:
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Amen! God answered that prayer. He didn’t spare them persecution, but He did make them effective in ministry.

Acts 5:27-32 is a report of the next encounter, and this is their answer to the court:
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, 28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. 31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

That’s the issue: We ought to obey God rather than man. And we ought to obey God even if it means we will suffer consequences for it - Yes, even if the consequences are persecution and death.