Gtcotr/ws090419
A
Little Perspective: The accounts recorded in the 12th chapter of
Acts occurred in the mid part of the year, AD 44, between the Feast of Passover
in about, March and the Feast of Tabernacles in September or October. At this
time the Apostle Paul was about 40 years old and had been a follower of Jesus
for about 14 years. (Galatians 2:1) The Apostle James, the brother of John, was
perhaps 45 years old and he was a strong leader in the Church in Jerusalem.
Claudius
Caesar was the Emperor of the Roman Empire. There is a big difference between
the Emperor of the Roman Empire and the little kings which were empowered and
appointed by the Emperor to rule over smaller portions and little kingdoms
within the empire.
No
king had lived and ruled in Jerusalem for decades until Herod Agrippa I,
grandson of Herod the Great, moved his throne to Jerusalem about 2 years
earlier, in about AD42. The Jewish religious leaders of the day flattered and
courted the favor of this King Herod and he loved it. However, times were hard
in Jerusalem and in all that part of the world, partly due to the famine which
was prophesied by Agabus in Acts 11.
Acts 11:28 Then one of
them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to
be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of
Claudius Caesar.
After
this prophecy, the disciples in the Church at Antioch decided to give money to
help the Believers in the Church at Jerusalem. The last verse of Acts 11 tells
us that they sent these special offerings to Jerusalem by the hand of Barnabas
and Paul. Paul took along with him a young Gentile disciple named Titus. They
evidently arrived in Jerusalem in mid-March of AD44, just before the
celebration of the Jewish Feast of Passover. Let’s begin tonight’s continuing
study of the book of Acts with:
Acts 12 NKJV
1 ¶ Now about that time Herod
the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.
2 Then he killed James the
brother of John with the sword.
24 But the word of God grew
and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul
returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they
also took with them John whose surname was Mark.
I
believe there are three important things we can glean from the 12th
chapter of Acts this evening.
1.
Life goes on …
2.
Ministry goes on …
3.
New people take their places every day … just
like you did.
Life
Goes On …
·
Despite
the trials, the triumphs, the tests, the good times and the tragedies … life
goes on.
·
The
sun is going to come up tomorrow and life goes on.
·
Not
everyone is having a good day when you’re having a good day and not everyone is
having a bad day when you’re having a bad day.
·
There
is a lot of life that went on during the 6 months between the first two verses
and the last two verses of Acts 12.
Acts 12
1
¶ Now about that time Herod the king
stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.
2 Then he killed James the brother of John with
the sword.
3 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.
4 So when he had arrested
him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of
soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
·
Some
days it looks like the bad guys are getting more popular … but life just keeps
going on.
·
Some
days good people are arrested for no good reason – but the sun still comes up
tomorrow.
·
Some
days you’re scheduled to work on holidays, like the four squads of Roman
soldiers assigned to guard the Apostle Peter. But – life goes on.
5 ¶ Peter was therefore kept
in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.
·
Some
days it seems like there is nothing you can do but pray.
·
But
never despair … prayer that comes from the heart of man reaches the heart of
God.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.”
9 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.
·
In
less than a heartbeat God can miraculously deliver you from your worst day, and
make all your dreams come true …
10 When they were past the first and the second
guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to
them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and
immediately the angel departed from him.
·
Sometimes
God will free us from the chains that bind us.
·
He
will close the eyes and ears of our enemies
·
He
will make doors which have been locked against you open seemingly of their own
accord …
11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said,
“Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me
from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish
people.”
12 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.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate,
a girl named Rhoda came to answer.
14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of
her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that
Peter stood before the gate.
15 But they said to her, “You are beside
yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his
angel.”
16 Now Peter continued
knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were
astonished.
·
Don’t
get disheartened and quit knocking too soon …
·
Sometimes
it will astonish people that God heard and answered their prayers
17 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 to the brethren.” And he departed
and went to another place.
·
This
is not the Apostle James who was killed by Herod but rather James, the half-brother
of Jesus who was the recognized Pastor and leader of the Church in Jerusalem.
·
The
Apostle James, the brother of John, was dead … but … life goes on.
18 Then, as soon as it was day, there was no
small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.
19 But when Herod had
searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they
should be put to death.
And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.
·
Not
everyone is having a good day when you’re having a good day.
20
¶ Now Herod had been very angry with the
people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made
Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because
their country was supplied with food by the king’s country.
21 So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal
apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them.
·
Jewish
tradition leads us to understand that this oration occurred yearly at the games
which were held in the theater at Caesarea which coincided with the Feast of
Tabernacles and the Jewish New Year.
·
Here
the King would read from the book of Deuteronomy.
22 And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a
god and not of a man!”
23 Then immediately an angel
of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten
by worms and died.
·
Not
everyone is having a bad day when you’re having a bad day.
·
It
was a bad day for Herod. Josephus details how Herod immediately gave in to
excruciating stomach pains, was taken to his bedchamber and died a horrible
death after 5 days.
·
But
… Life goes on …
24 But the word of God grew
and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul
returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they
also took with them John whose surname was Mark.
1.
Life goes on …
o
We must remember that we are called to play
the position God gives us for the season we call life …
o
The 12th chapter of Acts reminds
us that even without us, life goes on. The sun will come up tomorrow and life
will continue.
2.
Ministry goes on …
o
The Roman Empire did not end with the death
of King Herod …
o
As well, the ministry of the Gospel did not
end with the execution of the Apostle James … ministry goes on …
3.
New people take their places every day …
o Just like Titus
§ Who has a book of
the Bible named after him …
o Just like John Mark
§ Who wrote one of the
four Gospels …
o Just like you …
§ And whoever you are
willing to disciple and take along with you on the kingdom journeys you lead …
The
sun will come up tomorrow without respect as to whether this was a good day or
a bad day for you …
The
ministry will continue despite the hardships and the disappointments …
We
must raise up runners for the next lap and prepare people to take the field and
play their season for Jesus … because … life goes on!
