|
DATE |
CHURCH |
SUBJECT |
PREACHER |
BIBLE
REF. |
|
29.06.08 |
All Saints' Church |
Onward Christian
Soldiers |
Rev. Tony Higton |
Acts 12:1-18 |
|
Welcome to the politically correct church.
We don’t use military metaphors here. So we sing:
Onward Christian pilgrims
Christ will be our light;
See the heavenly vision
Breaks upon our sight!
There is even another version:
Onward Christian pilgrims
Working hard for peace ...
Now I am
passionate about peace and reconciliation, especially in the
Holy Land where we used to live and minister. I abominate the
violence in the history of Christianity. But I shall sing the
traditional militant version with enthusiasm:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as
to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal master, leads against
the foes,
Forward into battle, see, his banners
go.
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as
to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
At the name of Jesus, Satan’s host doth
flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers, on to
victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout
of praise:
Brothers, lift your voices: loud your
anthems raise
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as
to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
The fact is that
we are in battle –a spiritual battle and we shouldn’t forget
it. Today’s reading shows how the very early church were in a
battle. King Herod had arrested churchmembers intending to
persecute them. Peter had been put in prison. It reminds us
that:
We are embattled
We are battling
against temptation. We also battle against problems, pain,
sickness, accidents. Sometimes we battle against the evil done
by other people.
But we are also
battling against a spiritual enemy (who may sometimes use human
enemies like King Herod). The devil is real and he has his evil
angels (if we believe in God and good angels, what is difficult
about believing in the devil and evil angels?). He is determined
to wipe out the church of God. We ignore the enemy at our peril.
We must always
remember that:
We are vulnerable
Just as in the
very early church, there are casualties as well as victories.
King Herod “had James, the brother of John, put to death with
the sword.” (verse 10).
God doesn’t
always intervene to save us in this life. There is an old
saying: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
So often in church history, the martyrdom of Christians has led
to real growth in the church. In 1956 five young American
missionaries made huge sacrifices reaching out with the love of
Christ to the fierce Auca Indians in Ecuador. Through their
ingenuity it appeared that friendly relations had been
established. So the five men landed their plane on a sandbar in
the jungle and waited to meet the Aucas face to face for the
first time. An Auca woman appeared and was friendly. Then
shortly afterwards Auca men appeared and speared the
missionaries to death. A tragedy – yes – and no. Shortly
afterwards the wife of one of the men and their daughter managed
to make contact and were accepted by the Aucas. They lived among
the tribe and led many of them to faith in Christ, forming a
strong Auca church. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
church.
We are vulnerable
and God doesn’t always save us in this life. But even then all
God’s sovereign purposes are served. Evil doesn’t ultimately
triumph.
Luke, the writer
of Acts, tells us that “When [Herod] saw [that the martyrdom of
James] met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize
Peter also. .... After arresting him, he put him in prison,
handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers
each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the
Passover.” (verses 3-4).
However, God did
choose to intervene this time. Luke describes what happened:
“Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains,
and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of
the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter
on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the
chains fell off Peter's wrists. Then the angel said to him, "Put
on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak
around you and follow me," the angel told him. Peter followed
him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel
was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a
vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the
iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and
they went through it. When they had walked the length of one
street, suddenly the angel left him.” (verses 6-10).
Peter was
miraculously freed and miracles of deliverance sometimes
happen. However Luke goes on to show that in the battle of
faith:
We are inadequate
The early church
were not supersaints. They were weak and failing, just like us.
The story is both sad and amusing: “So Peter was kept in
prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
...... he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also
called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda
came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter's voice, she
was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed,
"Peter is at the door!" "You're out of your mind," they told
her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must
be his angel." But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened
the door and saw him, they were astonished.” (verses 11-16).
There they were
praying earnestly for Peter’s release, and when he was released
they couldn’t believe it and kept him waiting, knocking on the
door! They were hardly praying in faith!
We all fail in
the battle of faith. But faith is strengthened through
exercising it! Sometimes, though, we might realise our faith is
weak and pray honestly: “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”
The spiritual
battle is real but prayer is a mighty spiritual weapon. As
Alfred, Lord Tennyson said: “More things are wrought by prayer
than this world dreams of.” This is true so why don’t we pray
more often and more fervently - alone and together? |
