by Harry Foster

Part 9 - The Church's Prayer and Spiritual Increase

"And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea: which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." (Acts 11:27-30).

"Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church... Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." (Acts 12:1,5).

"But the Word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark." (Acts 12:24-25).

We may get great help from the incident recorded in Acts 12 if we realize the vast implications of it. When verse 24 speaks of the Word of God growing and multiplying it is dealing not merely with what happened at Jerusalem after the release of Peter, but with the spread of the Gospel into all the earth. Here was a notable turning-point in the affairs of the people of God - "But the word of God grew and multiplied." The explanation of it, however, is surely in the earlier statement which discloses the secret crisis which brought about this turning of the tide - "But prayer..." (Acts 12: 5).

Everybody knows, of course, that chapter 13 marks a new division of the Book of the Acts, and that it introduces a very important development in the life of the Church. From that point there was an amazing and altogether new sending forth into all the earth of the testimony of Jesus Christ; the Word of God was indeed multiplied. But the narrative runs straight on from chapter 12, and is closely connected with it. We must not imagine that this new development was unrelated to what had gone before, but rather take note of how closely related were the events at Jerusalem with what was initiated from Antioch.

Significance of the Time

(1) Spiritual Triumph at Antioch

"Now about that time..." What time? The time of great spiritual victory and blessing at Antioch. The Spirit of God was mightily at work in the city, and for a year Saul and Barnabas had been ministering there among the new converts who were notable for the great grace of God which could be seen in them. Then, in the midst of this happy time of fellowship and instruction, a practical matter arose. By means of a prophet who came down from Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit presented them all with a practical challenge. He always does this. And very much depends on how we react at such a time of challenge. The saints at Antioch were told of an impending famine in Judea, and thus, in a very practical way, they were tested as to how much they had really profited from what they had learned. It was a critical moment. By means of the Prophet Agabus they were being proved as to whether the grace of God was really working effectively in them. They stood the test. Their response was immediate and whole-hearted. They set aside any feelings which they might have had as to their remoteness from Jerusalem or their independence of it. Their brethren were in need. That was enough. Love triumphed, as they determined to send help, every man according to his ability.

"Now about THAT time, Herod the king put forth his hands." Is not that just like the devil? Just when there is a new movement of the Lord among His people and a fuller expression of the triumph of His grace in their hearts, Satan reacts with increased hatred and opposition. This is all so true in our own experience.

(2) The Beginning of an Apostolic Partnership

Another significant feature in the timing of this evil attack was that it also marked the beginning of a very important association of two men - Barnabas and Saul. They had known each other before, indeed it was Barnabas who first brought Saul to Antioch. Now, however, there was coming into being a most vital and significant movement of God, which demanded the joint ministry of the two men. In the providence of God they were found together at Jerusalem at this very time; it may be that they were present at the special time of prayer for Peter. We must not surmise too much about those movements of the apostles which are not recorded in the Word, but surely the Holy Spirit has a purpose in recording their presence in Jerusalem immediately before and after the story of Peter's deliverance from Herod. Chapter 11 ends with the arrival of Barnabas and Saul in Jerusalem. They had come with their gifts for the needy saints of that city. It is true that no further mention of them is made up to chapter 12:24, but when the narrative is resumed at verse 25 we are told of the fulfilment of their ministration and their return from Jerusalem. This seems to show clearly that the chronicler wishes us to understand that Barnabas and Saul were still in Jerusalem during the intervening period. A further confirmation seems to be found in that the prayer took place in the house of the mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12), who was the very same young man who accompanied Saul and Barnabas back to Antioch. This Jerusalem prayer meeting seems to be taking on an altogether new significance. It is related to issues much larger even than the ministry of Peter and of the local church. It first checks and then reverses the rising tide of spiritual opposition, opening the way for a mighty release of the Spirit's energy through the whole Church.

(3) The Time of the Passover

There is one more point which should be noted with regard to the time element, and this is that it was the time of the Passover. "Those were the days of unleavened bread." It seems that in some general way the saints still kept the Jewish feasts; indeed in Jerusalem it was impossible for them not to do so. Even if they did not strictly observe the Jewish festivals, at least they would keep the Passover. We cannot fail to take some note of them. There is no doubt that as the Passover was being celebrated they would be vividly reminded of that other Passover, not so many years before, when the Lamb of God was offered up for their redemption. But there is always a danger that our commemoration of spiritual things should become formal and lifeless, instead of expressing up-to-date and living values. The Lord has to take precautions to deliver us from this peril. He may have seen that at Jerusalem they were inclined to celebrate the victory of Calvary as a matter of past history, a deliverance that belonged to a former day, and so permitted Herod to stretch forth his hands in a new attack, in order that the people of God, being forced into fresh conflict, might prove anew in a personal way the present power of Christ's glorious victory. So this was not so much Satan's timing as the timing of God. There was no question as to the ferocity of the assault upon them. "But prayer...." And we may truly add, "But God...."

Do not let us be discouraged when the enemy renews his attacks, nor fall into the mistake of imagining that the Lord is against us, just because life is difficult and full of problems. There is a timeliness about what is happening. Great things are afoot. It was precisely when the church at Antioch was responding whole-heartedly to the Lord, when a new day was dawning for the world-wide testimony of Christ, and when God was about to give His people fresh proof of the completeness of Calvary's triumph. "Now about THAT time Herod the king put forth his hands to vex certain of the church."

This will help us to appreciate an important fact, namely that our personal difficulties and trials, our local, corporate experiences of spiritual conflict, have a vital relationship with far bigger activities of God than we can imagine. "But prayer was made earnestly of the church..."; "But the word of God grew and was multiplied." These two things are very closely connected.

God's Use of the Famine

It was the famine which occasioned the presence of Barnabas and Saul in Jerusalem. We know that there was such a famine, and that it was very extensive. Not only are there other authentic accounts of the great dearth in Jerusalem itself, but there are also records of famine conditions in Greece and Rome. It was one of those times when the whole world was in straitness and suffering. While it may be exaggeration to suggest that the world situation happened in order that God's purposes might be realized among His people in Jerusalem and Antioch, there is no question but that world-conditions are used both by the devil and by the Lord for specific activities and interests among God's people.

Now, suppose that the saints at Antioch, who apparently were not themselves affected by the famine, had been unconcerned and unmoved concerning the needs of their Jewish brethren. Barnabas and Saul would not then have gone to Jerusalem at this time; they might have missed some Divine purpose, and there might have been no missionary developments at Antioch, as described in chapter 13. A great deal may have come out of the sending of relief to Jerusalem. None of us knows how closely interrelated are spiritual issues.

An ordinary Christian, one of those who met for prayer at the house of John Mark's mother, might have thought that he had nothing to do with the great apostolic mission, and the triumphs of the Gospel through Barnabas and Saul. He himself might have thought that he had nothing to do with it. God alone knows what spiritual energy is released to the ends of the earth when even a simple group of saints meet for prayer, and not only meet for prayer, but win through in prayer. The conflict may seem to relate to some purely local situation or personal need, but if those who are so beset rise up in the Name of the Lord, claiming the fullness of His victory, the local and personal victory will become the occasion for the release of spiritual forces in a widespread way.

The Test of Persecution

We find that the famine was followed by persecution, by Peter's imprisonment, and by severe testing for all the believers. What was the devil's purpose in this persecution? Was it not to scatter the saints, to divide them, to make them lose heart, and perhaps to compromise, or even to give up altogether? We, too, are affected by world-conditions, as they were by the famine. It may be that some of us are not involved in actual persecution, but we also suffer from Satan's attempts to discourage and divide us. Peter, it is true, was the one actually in prison, but the whole church was on trial; they were all being tested as to whether they would stand firm in the evil day and win through to victory. It is so easy to enjoy meetings, to appreciate Bible teaching and to be loud in our praise to the Lord, and then, when the conflict comes, to go all to pieces. It would not have been difficult for them to lose heart. James had been taken violently from them; Peter was in prison and apparently finished; everything seemed to deny the reality of their faith. What would be the use of going to a prayer meeting?

And, of course, the human element usually cornes in. We may be quite sure that Peter was not a perfect man, and that under such a stress it would be very easy to remember his faults. It might possibly have been argued that if he had behaved differently he might have avoided arrest. Satan's effort was to break into the midst of that flock, to destroy their close fellowship, to get them doubting, questioning and arguing - anything but standing firmly together in faith. They might have felt that this imprisonment was Peter's business and not theirs. They might have let him find his own way out, perhaps putting up a little perfunctory prayer for him, but feeling in general that it was his own personal concern. And we, too, are exposed to these same perils and temptations. We do not have to wait for active persecution, for Satan is always seeking to make us divided in spirit, suspicious and critical of one another, or at best rather coldly independent. The devil focuses his attention on making the church lose faith, lose hope and weaken in love. We are not now treating of whether one should go to a prayer meeting - some of the most important elders could not be present at this one - but remarking on the spiritual principle of resisting every attempt at scattering.

The church in Jerusalem did not succumb to this temptation, but rallied together in earnest prayer and love, not for Peter only but for the will and glory of their Lord.

The Victory in Jerusalem

"But prayer..." Here is the spiritual answer to a spiritual challenge, and very much depended on the outcome. If the victory had not been won at Jerusalem, if the saints had been scattered, disheartened and defeated, what would have happened to the Word of God? The real battle was concerning the release of that Word. The supreme concern was not what should happen to the church in Jerusalem, nor even what should happen to Peter; what really mattered was what should happen to the Word of God. When the saints gathered for prayer at Mary's home, though they probably did not realize it, they were fighting out the battle of world-evangelization, of the growth and multiplication of the Word of Christ. There are two 'buts' in this chapter. The first of them was the responsibility of the church: they refused to be moved. Satan was attempting to overthrow, to scatter, to destroy love and to turn faith into despair, when he was suddenly checked by a mighty spiritual resistance - "But prayer..." It was a turning point. The whole course of events was arrested, and there followed a blessed sequence of Divine acts of deliverance. It was straightforward after this, for God had taken matters in hand, and was sweeping aside all opposition, that His people might be led out and onward to new triumphs. In verse 24 we have the great Divine 'but', "BUT the word of God grew and multiplied." This was the answer to their praying; the first responsibility lay with them, then God took things up in a mighty way, and said 'but' by releasing His Word far and wide.

Like the church at Jerusalem, we too, shall be confronted with attacks upon our faith, our patience and our love. If we do not resolutely face up to these personal and local conflicts, pressing through to victory in the Lord's Name, what hope is there of increase and multiplication? On the other hand, if we do take up the challenge as they did, by stemming the onrush of spiritual disaster with our "But prayer..." God will surely respond with His 'but', and clear the way for increase and new fullness.

The Far-reaching Effects

So it appears that there was a very large background or setting to the prayer battle in Mary's house. The Christians at Jerusalem thought that they were being assaulted on a purely local and personal issue. They felt, and rightly so, that by prayer they could win an immediate and local victory. Thank God they did. But what they did not know, what they could hardly have imagined, was that this was a turning point in Divine strategy, a victory which would produce a great release of the Lord's servants and of His Word. An ordinary rank and file believer in Jerusalem might have questioned whether it really mattered so much whether he was triumphant or defeated, whether after all very much depended on his loyalty and faith. It mattered far more than he could realize. It always does. It matters tremendously. There are far-reaching issues involved in the spiritual victories or reverses of the people of God.

And so when Peter was released, something else was released, the whole situation was released. For a time it seemed as though everything was shut up. The one man, Peter, seemed to be an embodiment of the whole state of affairs. He was shut up, he was in chains, and it seemed as if an end were coming to all the activities of the Spirit through the church. Everything then depended on whether the Lord's people would accept what appeared inevitable, whether they would give way to the opposition and be defeated by it. Had they done so, there is no guarantee as to what might have happened. But instead of giving way, they rose up in faith to assert that the Passover was no mere commemoration of a past victory, but the celebration of the ever-present power of Calvary's universal triumph. God responded by releasing Peter, but more than that, He gave new and mighty increase to the whole testimony of the church.

We now move on into Acts 13, to find that Barnabas and Saul are on the eve of being thrust out by the Holy Spirit into the uttermost parts of the earth. We must remember that they had just come down from Jerusalem in the spiritual good of a great victory, they had come down on a tide of glorious life and power, released in answer to believing prayer. From many points of view, Jerusalem and Antioch may have been different, but there can be no question as to their spiritual relatedness. The organic nature of the church means that we depend very much on one another. It is never the Lord's way to confine His working to limited and localized matters. He takes hold of our trials and conflicts, making them the occasion for the registration of important spiritual victories which will bring great and widespread increase. In actual experience the people of God are bound up together in vital association for the interests and glory of the Lord.

A Word of Warning

There remains just a word of warning concerning the young man who came down with Barnabas and Saul. Mark, of course, had every encouragement to be a missionary. He had been through all these thrilling events. With others he had been plunged into the darkness of battle, he had felt the sorrow of seeming defeat, he had heard the prayer and he had witnessed the wonderful answer. When Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch, full of the story of God's marvelous deliverance, Mark went down with them, thrilled with a sense of the overwhelming power of God. So enthused and inspired was he that he had no difficulty in offering himself to go to the ends of the earth for Christ. We are therefore informed that when Barnabas and Saul set out "they had also John as their attendant" (Acts 13:5). But it did not last long. "John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem" (Acts 13:13). It seems that he was not prepared to travel quietly on into dark and forbidding territory, steadfastly believing that the God Who answered prayer at Jerusalem was still with them. Just the outward experience of things does not carry us very far. Saul and Barnabas had something more than that; they had a deep inward knowledge of the triumph of Calvary, and of the ever-present reality of the conquering Lord.

This is a note of warning, lest we should be among those who take up the matter of prayer warfare in a superficial way. We cannot live on thrills and wonders. We shall not always get quick results. The increasing spiritual conflict will call for an ever deeper and inward knowledge of the Lord. Mark's enthusiasm did not carry him very far. Perhaps he did the best thing in returning to Jerusalem. It may be that for the time being it would have been far better for him never to have left it. After all it was there that he had learned something of the power of God. We do not know. But we do know that in a simple home in that city, a gathering of ordinary and unnamed Christians fought a mighty spiritual battle, and won through to a victory which had repercussions in the lands and nations far beyond. And this may be true of us all.

Harry Foster



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