[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to Expound, a
verse-by-verse study of God's word. Our goal is to expand your
knowledge of the truth of God by explaining the word of God
in a way that is interactive, enjoyable, and congregational. Father, we just now
calm our hearts. We just push everything
aside, making ourselves aware that, not only do
we have open Bibles, but that all things are
naked and open before the One with whom we have to do. As the writer of
Hebrews reminds us that, every thought and every action
is under Your clear purview. And so as we sit and
we open our Bibles, we also open our hearts. Because it would seem
that there is always a need, some kind of
a need that we have, whether we are aware of it on
the surface or not, it's there. A need to be readjusted,
realigned with your will, reminded of something,
encouraged with some thing or some one's example. But, Father, we are
leaving that all to you. And we know that, in as
much as you dispense truth through the Word of
God to encourage, to build up, to challenge,
at the same time, it depends on us. And it depends a
bit on our hearts, for we remember the Lord
Jesus said, "whoever has ears to hear, let him hear." So would you just make
us sensitive to be able to hear, in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, we've had some great times
so far in the Book of Acts. We've seen some
incredible individuals. In chapter 9, we saw a rabbi who
fought God, and was converted. His name was Saul of Tarsus. He fought against God's
plan for his life, was trying to fight
against the spread of the church from Jerusalem
northward into Syria, Damascus. So he fought God and
he was converted. In chapter 10, we read about
a soldier named Cornelius. A centurion who followed
God and he was converted. He had a belief in God. He went through some of
the Jewish rituals, had a basic system of
belief, and Peter came-- was dispatched to
his house, shared with them the truth. And he received it. So we have a rabbi who fought
God, and was converted. A soldier who followed
God and was converted. Now, in chapter 12,
we read about a King who fought God and was killed. Interesting, Saul fought
God and he was saved. Herod fights God
and he is slain. And why is that? Well, easy answer, he
really ticks God off. And you'll see why by
the end of this chapter. There is not a modicum of
repentance in his hardened heart. He exalts himself like Satan
did, like the Antichrist will, and he will end his
days on the earth by the end of this chapter. Now there is a
theme that we have noted throughout the
Bible, and in particular in the Book of Acts. And that is the theme that
we serve a sovereign God. He is large and in charge. He rules the world,
and he over-rules in the kingdom of men. And there was a King who even
came to that understanding himself while he was
ruling on the earth, named Nebuchadnezzar,
who paraded himself around the city of Babylon. And looked around and he said,
is this not the great Babylon that I have built? And God didn't take kindly
to that earthly King usurping authority over God's
power and sovereignty. And so he let Nebuchadnezzar
go insane for a period of time. And when he finally came to,
Nebuchadnezzar said, I now know that God rules
in the kingdom of men and gives it to
whoever he chooses. So a King, then,
an earthly ruler, is also a steward
in governmental work over a people, over a city,
over a nation, and one of them is on display in
chapter 12 named Herod. Now Jesus did say that He
would build His church, right? He said, "I will build my
church and the gates of hell will not prevail against." So we are watching
Jesus build his church, just like he said he would. He builds it in Jerusalem. It grows strong, even
under persecution. People try to put it
out, doesn't work. It grows. It grows northward
toward Damascus, as we have already seen. Saul try to put out that fire. Didn't work. Philip has taken the
gospel into Sumeria and shared with an Ethiopian
eunuch, who takes it down into Africa. We also saw that the gospel
is spread also into Syria toward Turkey in Antioch. Saul, we'll go back
to Tarsus, or has been in Tarsus before
Barnabas gets him, so it's spreading around. "I will build my church
and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." At the same time,
one of the things we wonder about or
struggle with is, in the sovereign plan
and purposes of God, what role does prayer play? Does it matter if I pray or not? I mean, if God is sovereign and
does whatever He wants, then, who cares if He
hears from me or not, or if I ask him for something? If we live in an evil
world, and even bad things happen to good people,
even God's people, what role does prayer play? Now, you're going to see
some of all of these things, kind of, converging as
we get into chapter 12. In verse one of chapter 12 it
says, "now about that time, Herod the King
stretched out his hand to harass some of the church." If you know your New
Testament at all, you have come into grips
with the name Herod on many occasions. And sometimes you
read about Herod and you'll scratch your head,
because you read about Herod somewhere else, and it's
like, well, he died, but then there he is again. And then he's dead,
but there he is again. And he shows up in
different places. So we get confused. Now let me just say, when
you see the word, Herod, it's a bit like seeing
the word Caesar. Because there's more than
one Herod, unfortunately. Because Herod-- the Herods,
the Herodian Dynasty was like a whole bunch
of really bad dudes. In fact, if I were to
categorize the Herod family, it's a messed up
family, it's the family who fought against God. And you will see one here
fighting against God. So when we read
about Herod, we're not reading about
the Herod that we saw at the beginning
of Jesus' life when he was a baby in Bethlehem. There was a Herod then. So let me just give you a little
thumbnail about how confusing the Herodian family is. Maybe I'll clarify it,
maybe I'll make it worse. But my point is-- my
hope is to clarify it. So let's begin with
Herod the Great. That's the one we read about
at the beginning of the New Testament. Herod the Great was an Idumean. That is, if you were to
look at a map of Israel and go east and
south on the area east of the Dead Sea and
south, that's the ancient area Nabataean area of the Idumeans. So the Idumeans came
from a guy named Esau. So remember Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob. Isaac had two sons,
Esau and Jacob. Esau was the father,
the progenitor, of the Idumean Kingdom. So he is related-- Herod, then is related
to the Jewish people. But he is not Jewish. But he is in that Semitic
family, from way back, from Esau. So his dad, Herod the Great's
dad was called Antipater. And Antipater was Idumean. He had a conversion to
Judaism, it is said. Then little Herod was
born, Herod the Great. He wasn't so great till
he called himself that. But he was the guy
who met with the Magi when they were looking
for the King of the Jews, asked the Magi to
find out who it was, because he wanted to
come and worship him. And it was that Herod,
Herod the Great, who killed all the
babies in Bethlehem. Now Herod the Great
was a great builder. He was not a great person,
but he was a great builder. If you go to Israel
today, you will see things that were
built by Herod the Great. Even the retaining walls
of the ancient temple have Herodian stones. There's things that
he built like Masada, and many fortresses around. He just was this
incredible builder. But he was a horrible
character, a horrible person. He married 10 times. So he had 10 wives. He killed several of them. He killed several of his
children, his own sons. In fact, back in Rome,
there was a saying that it's safer to be Herod's
pig than it is his son. Now one of the wives that
Herod the great married that he killed was a gal
by the name of Mariamne. She was Jewish. She was Hasmonean. Have you heard that
term, Hasmonean? She related to
the Maccabees that revolted against the Syrians. And it was that
Maccabean revolt that birthed the festival of Hanukkah
every year, the rekindling of the temple sacrifices. Well, he married her. Now, unfortunately, he was in
a bad mood and he killed her. And he felt really
bad about that. But, of course, he couldn't do
anything, because she was dead. But he was Herod,
so it didn't matter. He was kind of above the law. And one of her sons he also
killed, named Aristabulis. Am I confusing you yet? We're just on the first
one, Herod the Great. So, anyway, that's
how bad he was. He killed wives, killed sons. And, by the way, when
he was close to death, Herod the Great ordered all
of the most notable citizens of Jerusalem to be imprisoned,
and upon his death, to be executed. Because he knew that when he
died, there would be no tears shed for him, but he wanted to
make sure that when he died, there would be
mourning in Jerusalem. That's how whacked he was. One of Herod's sons was a guy
named Herod Phillip the First. Herod Philip the First
was the husband of a gal named Herodius. So it's bad that there's Herods,
but there are also Herodius. Herodius was the gal
responsible for the death of John the Baptist,
but not while she was married to Herod Philip. After Herod Phillip was another
son named Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas ruled up
north in the Galilee region. Jesus will stand briefly
in one of his trials before Herod Antipas. It was that Herod,
Antipas, that lured Herodius away from
Philip to marry him. That's why John the
Baptist denounced that Herod, Herod Antipas,
and her, Herodius. And it was while she was married
to Antipas that she made sure that John the
Baptist was killed. Now after that, there was a
guy named Herod Archelaus, who was the ruler of a few
territories like Judah, Samaria, Iturea, sort of in
the central-northern parts. He was a bad egg, evil
king, he got deposed. And in his place, yet another
Herod, named Herod Philip II. Now, he shows up in the
Gospel of Luke chapter three. And it was this Herod that
built a city way up north called Caesarea Phillippi. If you've ever been
to Israel, and you gone to Caesarea Phillippi, it
was built by Herod Philip II. He built out one. OK, now I mentioned
that Herod the Great-- let's go all the way back
to the really bad egg. Herod the Great killed
wives and killed sons. One of his sons was a
son named Aristobulus, the son of Mariamne,
his favored wife. So Herod the Great kills her
and kills him, Aristobulus. But, Aristobulus, before
his dad kills him, has his own son, whom
he names Agrippa. So now we have Herod Agrippa. And it's Herod
Agrippa the First, that is the Herod of chapter
12 of the Book of Acts. Makes sense? It's like, hardly, right? So little Herod
Agrippa is the son of Herod Aristobulus, who
died because his dad killed him, and killed mom, Mariamne. By the way, I said that
Herod felt really bad about killing his wife, He
was in a bad mood that day, and killed her. And, sort of, to make
retribution, he built a tower. And you can still see
remnants of the tower that Herod the Great built, the Tower
of Mariamne, by the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. The foundation stones
are still there. Guides will point it out to you. So that's part of the
fascinating history. So Herod Agrippa the
First is this guy now. We're not done. Because, to kind of complete
the whole Herodian set dynasty, there's going to be Herod
Agrippa the Second that shows up later on in
Paul the Apostle's life, when he stands trial in Caesarea
before Herod, Herod the King. And it says Herod Agrippa. But that's not Herod
Agrippa the First, that's Herod Agrippa the Second,
who is the new Herod in town by the time Paul the Apostle
gets imprisoned and will stand trial. But so sorry. Verse 1. See, this why it takes me so
long to get through a chapter. "Now, about that time,
Herod," Agrippa the First, "stretched out his hand to
harass some from the church. Then he killed James,
the brother of John." That's one of the
chief apostles, remember there's
Peter, James, and John. So this is the first
martyr among the apostles, and that is James. "He killed James, the
brother of John with a sword. And because he saw that
it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further
to seize Peter also. Now it was during the
days of unleavened bread, so when he had arrested him,
and put him in prison, delivered him to four squads of
soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before
the people after Passover." Herod Agrippa the First
had been educated in Rome, was familiar with
many of the leaders in Rome, the Roman
Senate, some of them. He was friends of the Emperor
Caligula, a really bad Caesar. And, at the same time, though
he was friends with him and has now taken over
all of the territories that his grandpa,
Herod the Great, and his uncle,
uncle Antipas, had. He sort of taken over all those. And that's under the
rule of the Caesar in Rome, the emperor in Rome. At the same time, he garnished
favor with the Jewish people. How and why? Because, he himself, had
an affinity toward Judaism. And it is said was
circumcised and observed many of the rituals and
Jewish observances that made the Jews like him. And he wanted to
curry favor with them. And one of the
ways he did it was to persecute the early church. Because the Jews in Jerusalem
saw the early Christians as a threat. So in hassling the Christians,
the Jews in Jerusalem loved it. So he killed one,
and they loved it. So he thought I'll
kill another one. I mean, if they
like it that much, and I want to garner
favor with them, then I'll kill another one. That's what this is all about. "So he saw that it
pleased the Jews. He proceeded further
to seize Peter also. Now it was during the
days of unleavened bread. So he arrested him,
put him in prison, delivered him to four
squads of soldiers." 16 soldiers. You might think, well,
that's a bit much. It's Peter it's unarmed Peter. Four squads, it wasn't
16 men at a time, it was four men at a
time, two of them that were chained to the prisoner,
two of them standing guard. And then every six hours
they would have a new shift. Those are the 16 ones
dispatched to him. Still it could be
looked at as a bit much. But, remember,
Herod probably knows Peter had been in prison in
Jerusalem once and escaped. Right? They were put in prison,
then all of a sudden they're out there in
the temple preaching. And it's, like, you know,
I'm going to make sure. I'm going to make sure
this doesn't happen again. So 16 soldiers are
given to him intending to bring him before the people,
that is for an execution, after the Passover. Now that's interesting. Why after the Passover? Well, because Herod
knows Jewish law. And Jewish law mandates
that you cannot kill-- you cannot have
capital punishment. First of all, the
capital punishment was taken away from the
Jews during this time. They had to go through Roman
channels to execute somebody. But it was against Jewish law to
do that during a high festival, during Passover. Now you're thinking,
wait a minute. Jesus was killed
during Passover. Exactly. And the trial of Jesus
has been shown and proven on a number of occasions
by books and research as being illegal on many fronts. However, it was necessary
that Jesus die on Passover to fulfill the Passover. The Passover Lamb. "Behold the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world." Even though it was never done,
and even though it was highly illegal, it fulfilled the type. It fulfilled typical prophecy. Through Jesus was killed
the Passover going against all of the laws intact. Herod wanted to make
sure that doesn't happen. So James is dead and
Peter's in prison. Now let me throw
something out at you. Peter is going to
escape out of prison. If you've read the Bible, you
know that's going to happen. James was as dedicated as Peter. I think he loved Jesus as
much as Peter loved Jesus. I think he was as godly
as Peter was godly. On some fronts maybe more. Why is it that one gets
killed, and the other doesn't? Both dedicated men of God. Now, I bring that up because
sometimes we're mystified. And I am too. When I see good and godly men
or women of God suffer and die. And I see so much
potential in them. And I think of great
years of service, and ministry, and
influence, they could have. And then it seems like they
die an untimely, foreshortened, death-- foreshortened life
and an untimely death. And I go, oh, man. I know you're
sovereign, Lord, but. And, honestly, just, I
have to deal with it. It's not easy to deal with. At the same time, God said,
my ways are not your ways. They're above your finding out. So I have to rest right there. I have to stop right there. You're sovereign,
you're God, I'm not. So you have one who gets killed. And one who does not. Do you remember though, when
James and John came to Jesus. They had a request. And actually, they
didn't have enough guts to ask it themselves,
they had their mom ask. Right she said, you
know, my two boys would really love it
if, in the kingdom, one could sit at
your right hand, the other could sit
at your left hand. That'd be really cool. So Jesus said to them,
the boys, James and John, "Are you able to drink
the cup that I drink? And to be baptized
with the baptism that I am baptized with?" Now they didn't know
what they were saying. They didn't exactly
know what Jesus meant. He meant his
suffering and death. And they said, "we are able." And you remember
what he said to them? "Indeed you will drink
the cup that I drink. And you will be baptized
with the baptism that I am baptized with." Now we're seeing
that come to pass. I believe this. I believe as a child
of God, you are invincible until
God's done with you. And then when God is
done with you, who wants to hang around anyway? It's over it's over. When God says, I'm done, OK. Then I'm done. Now the trouble is, I don't
always know when that time is. I'd like to think I do. I wonder at God's
timing sometimes. But the Bible says in Revelation
11, there were two witnesses-- or there will be two
witnesses on the Earth during the tribulation period. It says this, "When they had
finished their testimony, the beast rises out of the
abbusso," the bottomless pit, comes against them, overcomes
them, and kills them. Really? When? When they had finished their
testimony, that's when. So evidently, James has
finished his testimony and Peter has not. That's how God saw it. James is done. Now you go, oh, how so? That's so sad for James. Are you nuts? Are you kidding? He beat Peter to heaven. That's bragging
rights right there. You remember when Jesus
rose from the dead that Peter and John, James'
brother, ran to the tomb, and one outran the other,
one got there first. And in heaven, it is
James, the brother of John, that got there first. Peter's there now. So look at this, verse
five, "Peter was, therefore, kept in prison. But constant prayer was offered
to God for him by the church." How about taking that
verse and applying that to your situation? Here it says, Peter
was kept in prison, but constant prayer
was made by the church. Joe lost his job, but constant
prayer was made by the church. Glenda has cancer. But constant prayer
was made by the church. Whatever your problem is,
have the other part of it too, but, constant prayer was made. Because that will
change the outcome. Doesn't mean that it'll
change God's mind, but God somehow loves to
partner with his people to get his will done on earth. And does operate mysteriously-- I don't quite get it all
--according to our prayer. So Peter's in prison, but
prayer is made by the church. And it will change the outcome. OK, so and when Herod, verse
6, "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. How do you sleep
chained to a guard? How do you sleep
chained to two guards? Goodness, how do you sleep
chained to two guards when you're going
to die the next day? It's interesting,
you know, Peter never seems to have a
problem with insomnia. That was never his issue. That boy seems to be able to
sleep just about anywhere. Mount of Transfiguration,
says Peter's sleeping. You know, there's a
transfiguration taking place with Jesus, and Moses,
and Elijah, and Peter, it says, and it does
say, Peter fell asleep. And then the others did too. But he was like the
guy sawing logs first. So it's, like, really? You're sleeping now, Peter? Now, he does wake up, but
he's late to the party. Right? So that's the transfiguration. Then, in the Garden
of Gethsemane, Jesus is there praying, and he
says, watch with me one hour. And there's Peter. [SNORING SOUNDS] He's sleeping. And so this boy does not
have an insomnia issue. But this is not
just Peter snoozing. This is a rest of peace. This is a sleep of
confidence, and faith, and peace when it says
there were the guards that were watching him in prison. Now when I asked
the question, how do you sleep the night before
you're going to be executed? Here's the answer
to that question. Peter went to sleep
because he knew he wasn't going to be executed. You say, well, how
do you know that? Herod said he's
going to kill him. He killed James. He's going to kill
Peter the next day. Ah, because he remembered
Jesus gave him a promise. Let me let me read it to you. I'm reading now the last
chapter of the Gospel of John. Just not the whole chapter,
but one little section. After the Resurrection,
at the Sea of Galilee, John 21, Jesus says to Peter,
"most assuredly I say to you, Peter, when you were
younger you girded yourself, and you walked where you wished. But when you are old, you
will stretch out your hands and another will gird
you and carry you where you do not wish. This he spoke signifying by
what death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken this,
he said to him, follow me." Now Jesus used some
interesting language that Peter never forgot. It said, when you are old you
are going to die this way. Well that was just a few months
before Peter is now in prison. That Jesus spoke
those words to him. Just been a few months. So Peter goes, good night. If I snore, just
nudge me, soldier, but I'm going to sleep. Because I know I'm not going
to be killed in the morning. Because Jesus said, I'm not
going to die till I'm old. That was just a few months back. So Peter goes to
sleep, and he can rest because he believes in
a promise Jesus gave him. How about you? How about us? Can we rest in the promises
that Jesus spoke to us? Are we going to live lives that
lack confidence and certainty because we won't believe
the promises of the Word? When you believe them,
you can go, good night. It's going to be good. God's in charge. He's on the throne. I don't know how,
but I'll get out. And I'll have a long life. And I won't die till
I'm an old codger. So I love that, "when you
are old they will take you." One of my favorite
scriptures, and it's one that comes to my
mind, and that I throw around the walls
of my head a lot. In Isaiah 26, says,
"You will keep him in perfect peace whose
mind is stayed on you. Because he trusts in you." And it was J. Oswald Sanders
who said, "Peace is not the absence of trouble. It's the presence of God. And Peter's living in
the presence of God. It's happy hour for
Peter that night. Jesus is there with him. And he's going to spring him
out of jail the next day. He knows it. He's living by faith. Now the doors of
that prison are shut. And it would seem impossible
for any other outcome other than death to ensue. But though the doors
of the prison are shut, and though the doors of justice
have been closed by the King, there is one door
that remains open. And that's the door of prayer. So again, I take you
back to that verse. Peter was kept in prison,
but constant prayer was made by the church to God. It's their secret weapon. Now let me tell you,
because some of us, over time, we believers,
we know prayer, we hear that prayer
is important, but we don't engage much
in it with real faith, because we failed to believe
it really is our secret weapon. You know, when you
pray, you know, when you go through stuff, and
you struggle, and you work, and you talk to people,
and you get all flustered, and you try to work it out
yourself, the devil loves that. When you pray, it's
like bringing a gun to a knife fight. Now he is outgunned. Because you are calling
on the One who spoke him into existence, made him. And I love that old poem,
might have even been a song. Satan trembles when he sees the
weakest Saint upon his knees. So prayer is going to
change the whole outcome. It's unfortunate that it takes
prisons to bring prayers. Sometimes we don't pray
till somebody is in prison. We have to pray for Peter, man. And, suddenly, we're in
an extreme situation. We're up against the wall,
and there's just nowhere else to go. And all we have left is prayer. And too often we live that way. There was a sign in a
principal's office that said, you know-- the whole
issue of prayer in school --it said, in case
of nuclear attack, earthquake, or fire, the ban on prayer
is temporarily lifted. And too often people
live and think that way. It's only in an extreme
situation like that, that I'm going to really pray. So I'm glad the church is
praying, but my question is, were they praying all along? Or is it just, Peter's in
prison, we'd better pray. Nonetheless, they
were praying to God. Good thing, things will
change because of that. It says, verse 7, "Now
behold, an angel of the Lord stood by Peter." Now Peter didn't know
this yet because he is, [SNORING SOUND] sleeping. Yeah, he's like, there's
an angel standing by him. And a light shone in the prison. And now Peter's
sleeping really well, because the light
doesn't wake him up. If a light goes on in the
room, my wife will wake up. She's just very sensitive to
just a little bit of light. And angelic light
shows up in his cell, Peter doesn't wake up. So the angel has to resort
to, well, look what it says. "He struck Peter." That's our boy. That's Peter. That's the guy we know. Struck" Peter on the
side, and raised him up." So he's not just
sleeping, he's groggy. This angel has to
help this boy up. "Saying arise quickly. And his chains fell
off of his hand." What a way to wake up. Wake up to a miracle happening,
and an angel is an alarm clock. Not a bad night's sleep. "Then the angel said
to him, gird yourself and tie on your sandals. So he did." Now it sounds funny, but I
actually love that verse. Because the angel
is so practical. You know God works that way. God does the impossible. But he expects you
to do the possible. He does the extraordinary,
but he wants you to employ the ordinary. So, yeah, an angel could have
miraculously just clothed him but didn't. It's like, come on, get dressed. Do the ordinary. Let's cooperate on
this thing together. "And so he went out and
followed him, and did not know that what was
done by the angel was real, but thought
he was seeing a vision." You know, it's like, man,
this is an awesome dream. "But when they were past the
first and second guard post, they came to the iron gate that
leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord." Don't you love that? The first automatic gate. The angel didn't have
to push the button. It just opened up. "Which opened to them
of its own accord, and went out and
went down one street and immediately the
angel departed from him. And when Peter had
come to himself." So he's now fully conscious. "He said, now I know for
certain that the Lord has sent his angel." I'm not going to
comment on this. I'm not going to--
it's pretty obvious. He's like, oh really? Now, now you've
figured that out. OK. "Now I know the
Lord sent his angel and delivered me from
the hand of Herod and from all the expectation
of the Jewish people." So that prayer meeting worked. As Thomas Watson, the
great Puritan once wrote, I think he lived in the
1600s, maybe 1700s in England. He put it this way, "The angel
fetched Peter out of prison. But prayer fetched the angel." And there is that cooperation. Now you're seeing people
on earth praying to God. It was God's will
to deliver Peter, but God got them
cooperating with His will. And it was their prayer
that fetched the angel. Now, again, let's just
stop and ask this question. OK, so they prayed for
Peter and God released him. Does that mean they
failed to pray for James? I don't think so. I think they probably prayed
as fervently for James as they did for Peter. You'll say, well then, why
didn't God answer their prayer? He did. He said no. Last time I checked,
that's an answer. Dad, can I have the
keys to the car? No. You've got your answer. Now one day you may
ask him for it, Dad, can I have the keys to the car? Sure. So here's the point. God is still sovereign. He rules and overrules. So when you pray,
you can't demand, and I have enough
faith, and I claim it, and whatever I say out of my
mouth is what God has to do. Because God is a slave
to my faith formed words. That's nonsense. God has editing rights
over your prayer life. So it's like when you turn in
your term paper to the teacher, and the teacher
takes it looks at it, correct it, aligns it
with his or her will, changes it up, hands it
back for you to resubmit it. So the answer was no,
when it came to James, and it was, yes, when
it came to Peter. God's ways are not our ways. He has editing rights. OK, so, now-- now watch this. The angel was able to
get Peter out of prison. Peter is unable to get
into a prayer meeting. It's easier to get
Peter out of jail than it is to get him
into a prayer meeting. And you'll see why. "So when he had
considered this." It's like, man, I just got
sprung out of jail by an angel. I was touched by an angel. "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." Now he's going to the
prayer meeting itself. The house of John
Mark, it is believed, became the headquarters of
the early church in Jerusalem. And John Mark is probably the
author of the gospel of Mark. And it was Peter's
account that John Mark writes in the Gospel of Mark. This John Mark, we know
his mother's name Mary. She was prominent
in the early church. She probably had a large house. In fact, some believe
that when you go, today, to Mount Zion, that area that
they call the Upper Room, the Cenacle it is called. That the upper room, in the
Bible, was Mary's house. The house of John Mark's mother. Can't be certain, but
many feel that way. Maybe, maybe not. So he goes to the
prayer meeting. He's out of jail. They're praying. It says, "as Peter knocked
on the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda--" Her name
means rose, "--came to answer. So knock, knock, knock. Rose answers. "When she recognized Peter's
voice, because of her gladness, she did not open the gate." There's poor Peter
knocking, she goes oh! It's Peter. OK, next step, open the door. But she doesn't do that. It says, "she ran in
and announced that Peter stood before the gate." Hey, Peter's outside. "But they said to her,
you are beside yourself." Better translation in the NIV
and the New Living Translation, "you are out of your mind." "Yet she kept
insisting it was so. So they said, it's his angel." Now that cracks me up. I'm not going to go into
their belief system of angels, but just to say, why would
an angel need to knock? If it were an angel,
angels just show up. Angel didn't have to
knock on the prison door. It's just, hello. It's just they're there. But they came up with this
excuse, oh you're nuts. It can't be Peter. And when she kept
insisting, no that's Peter. He's out there. They said, it is his angel. Now let me say something
about their prayer meeting. I'm glad they're praying. And I admire a group-- a kinship group, a
home fellowship group, connect group, church that
gathers together for prayer. And they prayed continually. But, can I just say, it
seems like though they were praying continually, they
were not praying expectantly. Because, if they were praying
expectantly, and she said, it worked. Peter's outside. They would have gone, oh,
we were just figuring when. We knew that would happen. Of course God would
answer our prayer. But they go, you're
out of your mind. It can't be him. What kind of faith is that? Not much. And so they come up with the
excuse that it's his angel. The reason I make a
big deal out of this is because there
is a teaching, it has been popularized
for many years in a group of
churches that would be put under the banner of
the Faith-Movement Churches. And the theology of the
Faith-Movement Churches is that the reason you
aren't experiencing victory in your life, or
miracles in your life, or the supernatural is because
of you and your lack of faith. If you had faith enough,
and you spoke the word, and prayed in faith, and
claimed it in Jesus' name, it would happen. So if it doesn't happen,
it's not God's fault. It's your fault for not
having enough faith. OK, so did they
have enough faith? No. Did God answer
their prayer anyway? Uh-huh. Now, let me give you
a couple examples. Lazarus got sick. And he died. Was it because he lacked faith. You might say, well, maybe. OK. When he got raised from
the dead, was it his faith? Was at Martha's faith? Do you remember what Martha
said to Jesus, if you're to have been here, my
brother wouldn't have died. He said, I'm the
Resurrection and life-- yeah, I know he'll rise in
the last day, whatever. She did not expect
a resurrection. She had no faith for
the resurrection. Mary didn't. Martha didn't. Lazarus was dead, so he
couldn't have any faith. Despite all lack of faith,
Jesus rose him from the dead. So here's the balance. Here's the balance of
this whole faith thing. There was a man
who came to Jesus who had a son who was demon
possessed said, can you do something with my son. Jesus said, you know,
if you have faith, all things are possible
to him who believes. Now there's a
statement of faith. And the man said to
him, Lord, I believe. But help my unbelief. Now that's an honest man. Lord, I believe. There is a part of me that
is struggling with this. I have faith and unbelief
at the same time. I believe, but help my unbelief. And I would dare say,
when we pray to God, sometimes we have faith
that God can do anything. But we're just not
sure that God's going to do something now. And that's when you say, I
believe, but help my unbelief. And Jesus healed him. Even with a shaky faith. I love that about Jesus. He doesn't follow
faith teachers. He's God. He just does what he wants. So Peter, verse 16,
let's finish this out. "Now Peter continued knocking." So they're arguing the
theology of angels. And Peter's pounding
at the door. And that's our Peter. Pound, pound, pound. Just keep knocking, keep
knocking, and keep knocking. They are talking about angels. Knock, knock,
knock, knock, knock. They're having a theological
debate, keep knocking, keep pounding. "So when they opened the
door and they saw him, they were astonished--" these
great people of great faith. Their prayers were answered
and they were astonished. It worked! Who would have figured? "But motioning to them with
his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the
Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, go
tell these things to James and the brethren." The other James. This is now the half brother
of Jesus, that James, and to the brethren. And he departed and
went to another place. We don't know what place. "Then as soon as
it was day, there was no small stir among
the soldiers about what happened to Peter." Now I like this about Luke. Luke is a doctor. He's a physician. He writes with
medical terminology. But he also uses the diminutive
form in his description. He says, and there
was no small stir. Which is another
way of saying there, was a big hullabaloo going
on among those soldiers. And they were just
shaking in their boots. Because the death penalty
was on their plates. Soldiers that did not
dispatch their duties were killed, in those days. That's what they were
looking at, death penalty. So no small stir is
Luke's diminutive way of saying, uh-oh. There's a big thing. There's a lot of shouting
going on in that room. Now he does this again. When we get to Acts chapter
15, and there's a whole debate about who is saved
and who's not saved because the Judaizers say-- or, excuse me, not the
Judaizers that time. But the strong legalistic
Jews in Jerusalem said, unless a person is
circumcised and keeps a law of Moses, he can't be saved. And so they start arguing. And it says, and there was no
small dissension among them. Which means, it was like a
knock down, drag out fight. You know, knock out,
drag down fight. You know they were
just really frothing. But I love that he uses that. "So there was no small
stir among them--" Of what happened to Peter. "But when Herod searched
for him and not found him, he examined the guards
and commanded that they should be put to death. And they went down
from Judea to Caesarea. He went down from Judea to
Caesarea and he stayed there." So Peter's now in Caesarea. Now Herod had been very
angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. This is where the
chapter will end. This is the same Herod,
Herod Agrippa the First who killed James,
was about to kill Peter, didn't do it. So now he's in Caesarea. Herod had been very angry with
the people of Tyre and Sidon, that's up the coast on Lebanon. "But they came to
him with one accord, having made Blastus, the King's
personal aide their friend. And they asked for peace,
because their country was supplied with food
by the king's country." There was a supply of food
from the area of Galilee, which Herod Agrippa
also oversaw. And that went up to the
people of Tyre and Sidon. And so they wanted to
get on his good side. There had been a falling
out, he was angry with them. So on a set day, they're
just kind of setting you up, because they're going to
pour on all the praise because they want to
get on his good side. "So on a set day, Herod,
arrayed in royal apparel sat on his throne and
gave an oration to them. And the people kept
shouting, the voice of a god and not a man." They want to get on his
good side, can't you tell? This dude is not a man. This is a god. Then, immediately,
an angel of the Lord struck him because he did
not give glory to God. In the writings of Josephus,
the Jewish historian who worked for the Roman
government, in his reports, he mentions this. He writes about this. In fact, what he
says is that it was on the second day
of a feast taking place in the town of Caesarea,
a feast in honor of Claudius in Rome. That during that
day, Herod Agrippa the First put on robes
that were a silver foiled cloth, with
actually silver on it. And the silver
gleamed in the sun. So if you looked
at it, it was like this blazing, animated
character in the silver flowing bespeckled, bejeweled robe. That's how Josephus
describes it. So picture the scene. By the way, Josephus gives
another little thing, that you have gone to Israel or
will go will find interesting. Herod Agrippa the First goes
into the theater in Caesarea, which is the place we
always take our group on the first day of the tour. We sit them on the seats
in that Roman theater. So he enters that theater in
Caesarea, dressed like that. The sun is gleaming on him. And people say, it's the
voice of a man and not a god. Now it says, he was
struck, "because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by
worms, and he died." Now Josephus does say this,
his editorial comments are, because he did
not rebuke or reject their impious flattery he
was struck by worms and died. So this is corroborated
by Josephus' writings. Josephus also said he
was in terrible pain, and he died, not on the same
day, but five days later. He suffered in agony for
five days and then he died. Now you say, well, this
is an unusual way to go. Yeah, I wouldn't
want to go that way. But it is not uncommon. So some scholars
believe that this was the result of
a bursting cyst or cysts due to a tapeworm. And one authority,
Doctor Jean Sloat Morton wrote this in Moody
Monthly Magazine. And I quote, "Herod's
death was almost certainly due to the rupture of a
cyst formed by a tapeworm. There are several
kinds of tapeworms. But one of the most common
ones, found in sheep growing countries, is the dog tape. Echinococcus granulosus
is its scientific name. The heaviest infections
come from areas where sheep and
cattle are raised. Sheep and cattle serve
as intermediate hosts for the parasite. The dog eats the infected meat. The man gets the
eggs from the dog, usually by fecal
contamination of hair. The disease is characterized
by formation of cysts, generally on the right
lobe of the liver. These may extend down
to the abdominal cavity, the peritoneal cavity. The rupture of such a cyst
may release as many as two million scolices. Now a scolex is a
little protrusion that can hook or attach
itself to the host. So two million scolices. When the cyst
ruptures, the entrance of cellular debris,
along with the scolices may cause sudden death." So because he did not
give glory to God. That's the crime. So you see how that chapter
ends very differently than it begins. It begins with Herod Agrippa
flexing his powerful muscles. Peter's in prison. John is killed. But it ends with Peter freed
from jail and Herod dead. So the King, right? The King of Judea, and
the King of Galilee, is upstaged by
the King of Kings. Again, the sovereignty of
God ruling and overruling. Chapter ends very differently. So it's like, man, the devil
is getting the upper hand on this one. King Herod's killing people. Wait for it. Wait-- today he is
but wait for it, wait. And God put an end to it. So I'm sure reading that, that's
TMI, Too Much Information. You didn't want to know about
bursting cysts, scolices, and all that stuff. As we close, I want you
to consider though-- we're not done yet because we
have a couple of verses to go. But no matter who you are, or
no matter who you think you are, God is perfectly capable
of taking you on. You might have so
much, and you're so smart, and so advanced beyond
these measly little Christians who just believe in the Bible. And you might shake
your fist at God and be hard-hearted against God. But if not here, on this
earth, eventually your knee also will bow. Every knee will bow
and every tongue will confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And for those who reject God's
solution to their dilemma, as a fallen creature, a sinful
creature in need of redemption. For those who refused the offer. It's for the same
reasons as what happened with Herod the
Great or Herod Agrippa. He died because he
didn't give glory to God. Romans chapter 1 talks
about the judgment that is coming because
they did not glorify God. God was evident to
them in the creation. He put enough clues in the world
for anybody with a thinking mind to go, there has
to be a designer behind. There has to be a God somewhere. And if you reject
the obvious evidence, and you don't give
glory to God, not good. I encourage you to
make a better decision. Now I know, I want
to close this up, because I have a minute left. But I just want you
to compare something. I want you to
compare two verses. The language is
the same but you're going to very different results. Look at verse 7. "Now behold an angel of the
Lord stood by him, Peter, and a light shone in prison and
he struck Peter on the side." Verse 23, "immediately
an angel of the Lord struck him because he
didn't give glory to God. And he was eaten by
worms and he died." Maybe the same angel. Both got struck with
two different results. And the word in
Greek, "patasso," means to strike
gently or forcibly. And the meaning differs
according to the context. So do you want God
to nudge you gently? Or do you want him to strike
you, like the bad kind? The context of your heart
will determine the outcome of the patasso, the striking. It's amazing how the one thing
can have two different results. It's amazing how the
cloud in the wilderness could be light to the
Children of Israel, darkness to the Egyptians. How the Ark of
the Covenant could be powerful to the
Children of Israel, and devastating to
the Philistines. Same thing two
different results. Here's an angel strike
in one, it's good. Strike on another, not so much. He died. Let's finish this up. "But the Word of God
grew and multiplied, and Barnabas and Saul
returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled
their ministry. And they also took with him
John whose surname was Mark." The gates of hell will
not prevail against what Jesus said he would build. Father, we take comfort
in that tonight. We take comfort in the fact that
You rule in the kingdom of men, as Nebuchadnezzar
was forced to say. Because he himself was struck. And You give it to
whomever You wish. You raise up kings
and you depose them. You allowed Herod to have his
heyday, and You eliminated him. You took James to heaven,
You released Peter, until he could be old enough to
fulfill the promise Jesus made to him of his own death. Lord, it just gives
us the kind of cushion that we need to live our lives. The cushion that
you are in charge. That you rule. And that you overrule. Lord, we love the idea that you
could gently strike our lives, gently nudge us and push us, and
the outcome would be wonderful. And we are sober-minded when
we read that there could be a different kind of striking. And there will be for those who
reject, eventually, your Son. So, Father, I'm just
asking as we close, if anybody is here in our midst
tonight who doesn't know Jesus personally that there would
just be a simple childlike, yes, in response to that call. As our heads are bowed,
our eyes are closed, I'm asking if you've never
given your life to Christ, or if you need to
come back to Him. If you're wandering on your
own, and you find no solace, you find no rest,
you find no peace. You want to know that
you are forgiven, that you're receive
by Him, and that you want to be a child of God. If that's your desire, if
you've never done that. Or if you've walked away
and you need to come home, our heads are bowed. My eyes will be
open as you respond. If you want to receive
Christ, would you just raise your hand up right now? Quickly raise it up. And you're saying yes to Him. I'd like to know who
you are and pray for you as we close this service. Anybody at all. Just raise your hand up
and say, Skip, pray for me. I need to come to Christ. God bless you, sir. And in the back, God bless you. And you in the balcony. And right over to my
left, right over here. And right over here to my
right, and again to my right. God bless you guys. Father, thank you. And I pray You'd
enable all of those who have raised their
hands, and have said, yes, and indicating it by
raising their hand. Would follow through with
that commitment, Lord. Because you are so
committed to them. You are so willing to take them
as they are, just as they are. And make them different people. Bring life change. We pray You'd do
that in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's all stand, we're
going to do this quickly. But if you raised your hand,
even if you're in the balcony, we're going to give
you this opportunity. We'd like to do this,
because Jesus oftentimes called people publicly. He'd just walk up to
people and say, follow me, in a crowd of people,
and expect that person to respond right
there, and follow him. He called many people that way. So as we sing this final
song, if you raised your hand, if you're in the back, in
the front, in the middle, on the side, balcony, come
down and find the nearest aisle and stand right up here,
where I'm going to lead you-- in a moment as soon as
you're here, won't take long. I'm going to lead you in a
prayer to receive Christ. Let's do this. Let's do it now. Let's do it together. You come as we sing this song. It won't take long. But come now. Come definitely. If you raised your hand,
just come stand right here. I'm going to lead
you in a prayer. (SINGING) Him I freely give. Yes. But Awesome. God bless you. Come stand right here. Yeah, we're encouraging
you for this. God bless you guys. Awesome. It's a good thing. Good clean break. (SINGING) I surrender all. And all to thee my blessed
Savior, I surrender all. Don't even think
about putting it off. Don't even think
about hesitating, and waiting for another time. If your hand went up, they're
attached to your feet, bring your feet and your
hands right up here. (SINGING) Oh, to be my blessed
Savior, I surrender all. Real quickly, those of you
who are here, who have come, I'm going to lead
you in a prayer. And I'm going to ask
you to say this prayer. Say it out loud. Say it after me. Say these words from
your heart to God as you give him your life, OK. Let's pray. Say, Lord, I give you my life. Take all of me. I believe that Jesus died. That He shed His
blood for my sin. And that He rose
again from the dead. I know that I'm a sinner. And I ask your forgiveness. I'm sorry. I turn from my sin. I turn to Jesus as my Savior. I want to follow him as my Lord. It's in his name I pray. Amen. Amen. Awesome, you guys. For more resources from Calvary
Albuquerque and Skip Heitzig, visit Calvaryabq.org.
