Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:12] I found myself in a. In a very. There was a very revealing moment that I had several years ago when a very close family member of mine was in the icu.
[00:00:25] So he was on a ventilator, and I was in the ICU room. Cindy and I were with many of my family members, most of whom were not Christians.
[00:00:35] Excuse me.
[00:00:37] And the doctor comes in and, you know, she gives us the bad news. She's like, hey, he's not going to make it, barring a miracle.
[00:00:45] And so we kept him on the ventilator. And then finally it got to the point where it was like, we got to. You got to make a decision to. To pull this. He. And so when the doctor comes in, all the family is gathered around in the ICU room.
[00:00:58] And, you know, the doctor says, okay, we're. We're going to do it now.
[00:01:02] And, you know, being the only pastor in my family is both an ex. An extraordinary blessing, and it's also challenging at times.
[00:01:12] And so one of my family members looks at me in this moment and she says, brad, pray for a miracle.
[00:01:18] And so they pull the ventilator, and I pray out loud.
[00:01:22] And the revealing moment that I had in this moment was, it's done.
[00:01:29] Like, I had resolved in my mind and resolved in my heart. And I don't fault myself for any of this. This is just the reality of what it is of, like, and it's done. I'm just going to pray for comfort. And that's what I did. I just prayed for comfort, for the Spirit to bring comfort, to bring salvation, to do what only he can do. But it did pose this question as I was thinking about our story today, which is an amazing story in Acts, chapter 12.
[00:01:55] As I was thinking about this story, I was just thinking about this question. This is what I want us to consider this morning. What is God doing amidst seemingly impossible situations?
[00:02:06] You've all been there, and if you haven't been there, you will be there.
[00:02:11] All of us will have these moments. Maybe they're not as big as the one that I just described to you. Maybe they're seemingly small or whatever the case is, but all of us are going to be in moments in our life where the situation feels and seems utterly impossible. And so it's imperative for us as Christians to wrestle with the question of what's God doing in that?
[00:02:33] What. What's God? Not just what is he doing in that, but I think, even more importantly, who is he in the midst of that?
[00:02:41] Because those are the moments when we begin to ask, really Serious, big questions.
[00:02:48] Is he good?
[00:02:50] Is he real?
[00:02:52] Are we alone?
[00:02:54] We begin to think all of those. And all of us think that it doesn't matter how long you've been in church, you think those things and I think those things. Right. This is part of our human nature. On this side of heaven, we continue to wrestle with doubt whether you're a Christian or you're not a Christian. Okay, so who is God and what's he doing in the midst of seemingly impossible situations? This story gives us an amazing glimpse into those questions.
[00:03:21] Okay, so let's look at it together. Acts, chapter 12.
[00:03:25] We're just going to read through the story together and I'm going to highlight a few things along the way in answer of that question. Who is God and what is he doing in the midst of seemingly impossible situations? When we pick up in Acts, chapter 12, verse 1, we find ourselves. We don't find ourselves because we're not there.
[00:03:43] The church of Jesus Christ in the first century finds itself in a very dire situation. So let me just kind of. I'm going to read the first four or five verses to build in some context and then we'll talk about those verses in regards to what's going on with the people of God in Acts chapter 12. So look at the text with me, if you would.
[00:04:01] Starting in verse one, says about that time Herod the king, laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.
[00:04:12] He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.
[00:04:18] And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
[00:04:24] This was during the days of unleavened bread.
[00:04:28] And when he had seized him, that seized Peter, he put him in prison, delivering him over to the four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.
[00:04:41] So Peter was kept in prison.
[00:04:44] So this is where we're going to stop. And then we'll pick up in the remaining verse in a moment. So let me just build in a little bit of context. In Acts chapter 11, we're told this amazing reality that the Gospel, the good news of Jesus, of the life, death, resurrection of Jesus, and salvation through faith in him for sinners, has been extended to the Gentiles. That's awesome, right? Because we're in the room today because of this.
[00:05:09] So the Gospel, this good news moves from Jerusalem and it moves 300 miles north to a place called Antioch. Metropolitan city filled with idol worship, dark city filled with unbelieving Gentiles. And the good news of the Gospel for sinners extends 300 miles through the people of God into this Gentile territory. So Luke is. He's drawing us into the story. He's bringing us along, showing us that. Acts Chapter one, verse eight, when Jesus says that you disciples will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth, is coming true. It's coming true. We say this all the time. I'll say it again because I love saying it. Jesus always keeps his promises.
[00:05:53] Everything Jesus promised is going to come true if it hasn't already. Because he's faithful.
[00:05:59] He always keeps his word. You don't have to trust yourself. You should trust Jesus.
[00:06:05] So this Acts chapter one, verse eight, promise is coming true. As the Gentiles hear the good news and by the grace of God, respond to the good news and are saved, are reconciled to God, are grafted into the family of God. Now, Jew and Gentile, this big family of God, this fulfillment of Genesis chapter 12, when God sends Abram out into the.
[00:06:25] To look at the sky and see the stars, and he's like, you can't number the stars. That's how many descendants you're gonna have. That's us through faith in Jesus. So all of this is coming true. And so Luke is telling us this story, but then in Acts chapter 12, he's gonna bring us back to Jerusalem.
[00:06:42] Okay? So he's talking about what's happening in Antioch. And in Acts chapter 12, he's gonna divert our attention back and he's gonna say, hey, I haven't forgotten about my people in Jerusalem either.
[00:06:52] And so here's what's happening to my people, these Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, in Acts chapter 12. And he begins by telling us about this guy named Herod, Herod the King. Who is Herod the King? Herod the King was a violent man with a violent past.
[00:07:10] Okay? So a very literal reading of the text would say that Herod the King laid violent hands on some who belonged to church. So to the church. So in other words, Herod the King laid hands on Christians, got people to lay hands on Christians in order to do them harm. That's what Herod was doing.
[00:07:32] Herod.
[00:07:33] Interesting church history stuff.
[00:07:36] Herod's father. I'm going to try to pronounce this.
[00:07:40] Aristobulus. Herod's father was murdered by his father, a man named Herod the Great. And if you're familiar with the Bible, you're going to remember Herod the Great from the early parts of the Gospels. Herod the Great was the one who slaughtered all of the innocent babies in search For Jesus.
[00:07:59] So this is Herod of Acts, chapter 12's grandfather murders Herod of Acts, chapter 12, murders his father, and then sends Herod the king from Acts 12 off to Rome to be educated. But while in Rome, he's imprisoned, apparently for sliding. Uh, the. The books that I read this week didn't say exactly what he did or what he said, but for sliding somebody who was in power. So they put him in prison. And while he was in prison, he ends up getting released by some people in power that he was friendly with, and eventually he becomes ruler over Palestine and then eventually Judea and Samaria. So Herod the Great, or I'm sorry, not Herod the Great. Herod of Acts 12. Herod number two. Herod number two becomes ruler over Judea and Samaria, and he's a classic politician.
[00:08:51] Okay, we're approaching election season, so I just get to begin my cascade of offending you every week.
[00:09:00] He was a politician. He was a people pleaser. He was going to do and say anything to anybody in power in order to keep his power.
[00:09:08] Classic politician. Politician who was Jewish by heritage, but not by conviction.
[00:09:14] He was Jewish by heritage and not by conviction.
[00:09:18] And so when he sees that it pleased the Jews that he puts James, the brother of John, to death, which I want us to really think about for a moment in just a minute. When he sees that it pleased the Jews, he's like, let's take Peter also.
[00:09:30] So what's Herod doing?
[00:09:32] He's thinking the same thoughts of Satan. If we can take out the leaders, we can take out the people.
[00:09:38] If we can kill the leaders, then the followers are going to be scattered because apparently this small little sect of Jewish Christians known as the Way, were some sort of perceived.
[00:09:51] And so he starts with James, takes James, the brother of John, the one that in Mark, chapter three, Jesus calls the sons of thunder.
[00:09:59] Remember, James and John, inseparable from one another.
[00:10:04] So again, we're going to humanize our brothers and sisters in the text a little bit. Try to put yourself in the position of John.
[00:10:12] James was John's best friend.
[00:10:14] They were inseparable.
[00:10:17] What might John have been feeling and experiencing in this moment?
[00:10:23] James, his brother, is taken captive and he's put to death by the sword for his faith, which, by the way, Jesus is always faithful. He always keeps his word. He tells James that this is going to be his fate. In the Gospels, you remember this.
[00:10:38] James and John, their mother comes to Jesus and says, can my son sit at your right hand in heaven? And Jesus is like, that's not mine to grant. And he says, can you drink the cup that I'm about to drink? And James and John are like, yeah, we can drink the cup that you're about to drink. And then Jesus says, you will drink the cup that I'm about to drink. He's not talking about the cup of his wrath. He's talking about the cup of suffering.
[00:10:58] So Jesus foretells that this is going to happen to James just as he does Peter, right? Most of at least church history would say the. The apostles experienced a violent death. Why'd they do that? It's because Jesus was alive and they knew it.
[00:11:14] So James is put to death by the sword.
[00:11:18] And then when Herod sees that it pleases the Jews, he proceeds to arrest Peter also. And so he takes Peter, he brings him captive and puts him in prison. It says he delivers him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him. So that's one soldier on each of Peter's sides, his right and his left. And two soldiers at the.
[00:11:42] At the exit of the prison. Four soldiers guarding Peter just to make sure Peter doesn't in some way get away.
[00:11:52] It says four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people in order to be executed is what's happening. So Peter was going to experience the same fate that James experienced.
[00:12:08] So Peter was kept in prison. But this is what it says. And this kind of brings us to our first point. In the following text, it says earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
[00:12:21] Okay, the church.
[00:12:23] The people of God could have done a lot of things.
[00:12:25] They could have gotten militant and gone back and rescued Peter by force, could have come up with a great plan. They could have done all of these things. But the people of God did something profoundly otherworldly, something that the world will look upon you and look upon me and say, that's ridiculous and it's a waste of time.
[00:12:43] Go out and do stuff, man.
[00:12:45] And I'm not saying you shouldn't do stuff.
[00:12:48] We should do stuff. We should do a lot of stuff, but never at the expense of what we see our brothers and sisters doing in this text.
[00:12:55] Earnest prayer.
[00:12:58] Earnest prayer was made for Peter. They were desperate. This was a dire situation that we find these Christians in, in Acts, chapter 12. So let's keep reading and see, see what happens.
[00:13:11] Verse 6.
[00:13:12] Now, when Herod was about to bring him out on that very night, Peter was. Was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains. And centuries before, the door were guarding the prison. So this Was highly locked up like Peter was. Peter wasn't going anywhere outside of a miracle happening.
[00:13:32] And behold, verse seven.
[00:13:34] An angel of the Lord stood next to him. What an amazing thing.
[00:13:40] Try to picture it in your mind's eye.
[00:13:43] An angel of the Lord stood next to him. And a light shone in the cell.
[00:13:51] He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, get up quickly.
[00:13:56] And the chains fell off his hands.
[00:13:59] And the angel said to him, dress yourself and put on your sandals. Peter was a mess.
[00:14:03] It's an absolute mess.
[00:14:05] Declothed. His hair was all ratty and messed up.
[00:14:10] And he did so. And he said to him, wrap your cloak around you and follow me. And he went out and followed him. He did not know what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. So we're like, oh, Peter, you would have done the same thing. And me too. Totally disoriented, not expecting this. No idea what's going on. A bright light shines inside of the cell, and an angel of the Lord stands next to Peter and pokes him in the side and says, get up. Put your clothes on. We're going to.
[00:14:36] And Peter's disoriented. It says, when the people had passed.
[00:14:39] I'm sorry. When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him.
[00:14:53] When Peter came to himself, he said, now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.
[00:15:05] So, friends, what is God doing in the midst of this seemingly impossible situation? That I believe is just a universal reality of all of our lives who belong to Jesus, reminding us of this, that you and I are never alone.
[00:15:21] You are never alone.
[00:15:24] There are few things more terrifying in life than believing that you're alone.
[00:15:31] And now we're alone. Why do you think the world's so obsessed with UAPs?
[00:15:34] Is it UAP? UFO? I probably got the acronym wrong. I don't know.
[00:15:38] Because humans are desperate to not be alone.
[00:15:44] And rather than turn to God by whom they were made and whom they were made for, we look to aliens or we look to whatever else. The thing is, and it sounds silly, but only by the grace of God, are you and I here saying what we're saying.
[00:15:59] Hey, the world's confused and lost, and they need the gospel, just like you and I needed the gospel. Still need the gospel, Peter.
[00:16:10] Is not alone.
[00:16:13] I mean, listen to the.
[00:16:14] Listen to the description in the passage. It's just. It's absolutely amazing.
[00:16:20] The Lord sends an angel to deliver Peter.
[00:16:24] This is not the angel of the Lord as mentioned in the Old Testament. This is an angel of the Lord.
[00:16:29] Sends an angel of the Lord. It says, a light shines in the cell, refers to the angel as he.
[00:16:35] If you do. If you study angels and demons in the Bible, I'm not going to go into it here, but oftentimes we're talking, sometimes writing about disembodied spirits. We're talking about cherubim and seraphim and all sorts of different creatures that the Lord has made.
[00:16:50] He strikes Peter's side. So there's a physicality with this angel. He strikes him in the side. Peter feels it.
[00:16:57] He sees him. The angel speaks. Peter's chains fall off. He says, gird yourself up and put on your sandals and follow me.
[00:17:05] I mean, it's just. It's an amazing scene. And it does remind you and I that we are never alone in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances. You and I are never alone. And we know this because Matthew 28 says this. Which is the most sad, significant reality of you and I knowing that we're not alone is that Jesus is with us always. Matthew 28. Jesus says I, myself. I, Jesus himself, will be with you always, even to the end of the age.
[00:17:31] So again, nobody can walk you and I from this life into eternity, into the next, but Jesus himself, and he will.
[00:17:41] If you're a Christian, even with your family around your bed, if. If you and I are so fortunate to die that way, to leave this life and go into the next that way, none of them can walk you hand in hand, into the next, but Jesus himself, and he's promised to do it. Isn't that wonderful?
[00:17:58] I will be with you always, even to the end of the age. But it's even more than that. God created these beings called angels. And listen to what he says, part of the reason, outside of worshiping him, he created them. For according to the Book of Hebrews, chapter one, are they not all ministering spirits sent to render service for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? If you're a Christian, you were created for glory, not damnation.
[00:18:29] First Thessalonians, your future, your inheritance, is glory.
[00:18:36] New heavens, new earth, new body.
[00:18:38] That's your destination, and you're gonna get there.
[00:18:42] Jesus is gonna make sure you get there.
[00:18:44] Okay? Remember, if you.
[00:18:46] You didn't earn it, so you can't lose It. And if you could lose it, if I could lose it, we would lose it. But by the grace of God, he's going to keep you. He's going to get you and I there. And it says that on this side of heaven, he sends these spirits, these angelic beings, to minister service to you.
[00:19:05] Isn't that amazing?
[00:19:08] Like if. If the spirit of God in a moment, opened our eyes right now to the reality of what's going on around us right now as you and I gather in this place, it'd be too much for us to handle.
[00:19:23] It's true.
[00:19:26] He sends ministering spirits. These. These angels aren't to be worshiped. That's what the author of Hebrews is arguing in chapter one. Only Jesus, the one true God, the triune God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, is to be worshiped. He Angels aren't to be worshiped. They're not to be prayed to. But we should thank God for them.
[00:19:44] Try to think back at moments in your life when something really terrible should have happened and it didn't.
[00:19:49] I'm not saying it was an angel, I don't know, but it could have been.
[00:19:53] This is what he part of the reason he created them to minister to those who, before the foundation of the earth he decreed, would inherit salvation.
[00:20:03] It's an amazing thought. I think it's an amazing thought. You ought to chew on it for a little bit.
[00:20:09] Try to be mindful as you go throughout your day today of the reality that he sends ministering spirits to help you, to help me, to keep us on the way as you and I follow Jesus together by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's an amazing thing. And we ought to thank God for them.
[00:20:29] So what's God doing amid seemingly impossible situations? What's he doing in the story? What's he doing in the life of every Christian today? He's reminding us on one hand that you and I are.
[00:20:41] We are never alone.
[00:20:43] You and I are never alone. Let's look at verses 11 through 17, verse 11. Now, when Peter came to himself, he said, now I'm sure that the Lord has sent me, sent his angel and has rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.
[00:21:02] Now, when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was Mark. So this is John. Mark. This is the author of the Gospel of Mark, says where many were gathered together and were praying.
[00:21:16] And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda, whose name also means Rose came to answer. Now, before we get into verse 14, I do just want to. Maybe we can just kind of lighten the mood a little bit and be reminded that God is a God of humor, too. There are lots of things in the Bible that, if we really, like, take the time to notice them, are pretty funny. So let's watch the interaction of what happens here. Okay, you have John Mark's house, which probably John Mark's mom's house. Pretty big house because it says that many were gathered there first century. That's a pretty big deal. Many Christians are gathered, and they're gathered there praying. What are they praying for? They're praying for Peter's deliverance.
[00:21:52] Okay. So they're earnestly praying for God to deliver Peter. John has already died. Lord, please deliver Peter.
[00:22:00] And as this is happening, all of a sudden, there's a knock at the gate.
[00:22:06] So they're in the house praying. There's a knock at the gate.
[00:22:09] And then it says, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer, recognizing Peter's voice in her joy, she did not open the gate, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. So think about again. Peter's such a funny guy. Like, he. He ends up in these really crazy, precarious situations. He's just gotten delivered from prison. His hair's all matty. He's got his clothes on, but he's still a little bit disoriented. An angel rescued him from heaven, and. And all of a sudden he, like, runs to where they're at and he knocks at the gate. And a servant girl runs out, and she sees him and she gets really excited. And then she just leaves him at the gate. She goes back into the house with all the Christians, and Peter's just kind of left there dumbfounded again.
[00:22:45] Am I dreaming? Is this a vision? No, this is real, right? God delivered me. He did all these things. It's amazing. All right.
[00:22:51] It says verse 15.
[00:22:55] The Christians inside who were earnestly praying for Peter's deliverance, this is how they respond.
[00:23:00] They said to her, you are out of your mind.
[00:23:05] But she kept insisting that it was so. And they kept saying, it is his angel.
[00:23:10] Some commentators think this is them saying, this is his guardian angel.
[00:23:14] Again, different sermon for a different day.
[00:23:17] Or it's his spirit. But regardless, what they're saying is, I don't believe you. We're going to continue to pray for it to happen, but I don't believe that it's happened.
[00:23:27] Says, but Peter continued knocking. So Peter doesn't just Stand there. He's like, come on.
[00:23:32] He continues to knock. And when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.
[00:23:38] But motioning them with his hand to be silent. I just got out of prison.
[00:23:43] Like, don't be too loud. Don't be too obvious about what's going on. Motioning for his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.
[00:23:52] And he said, tell these things to James. That's the other James, Jesus, brother James, half brother, and to the brothers.
[00:24:01] Then he departed and went to another place.
[00:24:07] So what else is God doing in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances here in our text and with us today? He's answering prayer.
[00:24:19] God answers prayer.
[00:24:21] This was so striking to me this week. And honestly, full confession, super convicting for my own life.
[00:24:29] The Christians were praying earnestly for something. Okay. And just to give you insight into the Word.
[00:24:35] Okay, the word earnest in this text just means that they were straining in their prayer.
[00:24:41] So they're together in this house and they're straining in their. They're praying really strained, stretching.
[00:24:50] Please, God. Prayers.
[00:24:53] And again, you. Maybe you've been in this situation, maybe you haven't, where you know, you're not praying to impress.
[00:25:00] You're not praying to check off a checklist. You're praying because you're desperate.
[00:25:06] God, I need you now.
[00:25:09] If you don't do this now, I'm not going to make it like real prayers.
[00:25:15] They're praying earnestly. But listen, they weren't praying expectantly.
[00:25:22] They were straining for Peter to be delivered. And as soon as God answered their prayer, they didn't believe it.
[00:25:30] Isn't that interesting?
[00:25:34] Do you pray expectantly now? I feel the need to give you a caveat for that.
[00:25:42] What I don't mean in praying earnestly and praying expectantly is you just get to pray and ask for whatever you want to ask for. And God is somehow indebted to you to give you the thing that you really don't need, that if you really had the thing, it would actually be to your detriment and not to your joy.
[00:26:01] But when we, as followers of Jesus, pray according to the will of God, we ought to not just strain in our prayer, though you ought to do that and I ought to do that. We ought to do that together, but we ought to pray expectantly.
[00:26:18] Some of us have this paradigm, okay? And this is from the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. For those of you who are familiar with the story. For those of you who aren't, they were followers of Yahweh. They refused to bow down to an idol, and they were thrown into a fire furnace for it.
[00:26:32] And as they're thrown into the fiery furnace, Jesus himself was with them in the fiery furnace, protected them from being destroyed by it. It's an amazing story. If you go back and you should read the book of Daniel, it's amazing.
[00:26:44] And in that, this is kind of their response.
[00:26:48] I believe, can't I. I believe God can deliver me. I believe God can deliver us. We're not going to bow down to the idol cultural idols of the day. We're not going to bow down to that. We're going to worship Yahweh alone.
[00:27:00] We're not going to bow down to that. And I believe that he can deliver us. He has the power to do it. Because like Colossians 1 says, Jesus upholds the whole universe by the word of his power.
[00:27:14] He can do anything. He can defy your logic and do whatever he wants to do.
[00:27:21] He can do it. That's one aspect. Many of us who are Christians in the room and totally agree with that statement.
[00:27:29] I believe he can, but you don't believe he will.
[00:27:34] Which really kind of feeds more into this idea that God is a just father, but he's not a kind father.
[00:27:44] He kind of wants to withhold good from you a little bit.
[00:27:48] Doesn't really want you to enjoy life a whole lot because the more miserable you are, the more holy you are.
[00:27:53] Kind of the way that we tend to think about these things sometimes.
[00:27:56] Paul, there is a whole book in the New Testament, by the way, called Colossians, where Paul, like, directly teaches against that.
[00:28:02] Hey, you abstaining from stuff doesn't make you more holy. Only the blood of Jesus does.
[00:28:10] So we believe he can, but we don't believe he will.
[00:28:13] And then some of us believe that he will, but we don't believe he can. And here's what I'm encouraging you toward, friends, and myself included, by the grace of God, that we would have the posture of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And this is what it is.
[00:28:25] I believe he can.
[00:28:27] I know he can. I believe he will.
[00:28:30] And even if he doesn't, we're going to worship him through the darkness.
[00:28:36] I believe he can.
[00:28:38] I believe he will because he's a good father and he delights to give good gifts to his children.
[00:28:44] And even if he doesn't, I will worship. I will resolve by the grace of God to worship his holy name through the darkness, knowing that he's going to be with me in it. That's, I think, in many ways, not to oversimplify, that is one of the keys to you and I enduring suffering. I'm going to worship God in the darkness. I'm worship through the darkness. That lament. It involves grief, it involves faith, it involves falling and getting back up, all of those things. But I'm going to continue to lift my hands and praise to him through whatever life comes because he's worth it, he's always good. And this life is temporary and it's fleeting like a mist.
[00:29:27] And so I'm going to keep my eyes fixed on eternity by the grace of God, knowing that he's coming soon. And I'm going to worship him through the darkness.
[00:29:35] But that doesn't negate the reality that I'm going to ask earnestly and expectantly so that we, unlike our brothers and sisters, which again, we would do the same thing probably in this scenario, wouldn't be caught off guard when he actually answers prayer.
[00:29:54] You guys understand what I'm saying?
[00:29:57] Earnestly, expectantly.
[00:30:00] God answers prayer. It's one of the things that he's doing in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances. There is a. Maybe some of you have heard this, but there's a man lived many years ago named Brother Andrew. And Brother Andrew is a well known missionary. He would, he would cross over into the Soviet Union and he would smuggle Bibles into the Soviet Union because he saw that there were lots of Christians there who didn't have Bibles and pastors who needed theological training and all. If you haven't read a story, you should read a story. It's really, it's wonderful to read. But he would pray this prayer as he was crossing over into the Soviet Union and the guards were checking his car and his bags for different things, different religious materials that he might be bringing across the border. This is the prayer he would pray. He would say, lord, in my luggage I have scripture I want to take to your children.
[00:30:58] When you were on earth, you made blind eyes see.
[00:31:01] Now make seeing eyes blind.
[00:31:05] Do not let the guards see what you do not want them to see. And you can go back and read a story. God did it.
[00:31:12] He would cross over into the Soviet Union and it was like God would blind the eyes of the guards where they couldn't see inside the man's bag. He had Bibles in his bag and they'd let him pass through.
[00:31:23] And God, that sounds fantastical, right? You do believe that this is true, right?
[00:31:30] God can do. He's real, he's not an idea. He's not a theory for us to study.
[00:31:37] And so we pray earnestly and we pray expectantly. And as we wait together as a church, we worship him in the darkness because he's worth it.
[00:31:49] Let's look at the final part of our passage.
[00:31:54] Verse 18.
[00:31:56] Now, when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. So they're freaking out, okay? Similar situation to the Resurrection. We guarded this thing with soldiers and a stinking like rock, immovable rock, and he's still gone. What? Okay, so they're freaking out. They don't know what's happening.
[00:32:18] Herod searched for him and did not find him.
[00:32:22] He examined the centuries in order that they should be put to death. This is what happened in the first century. You lose your prisoner, you die.
[00:32:30] So they're put to death again. Herod, violent man, violent past, bad, bad guy.
[00:32:37] Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. Verse 20.
[00:32:42] Now, Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord. And having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace because their country depended on the king's country for food.
[00:32:58] On an appointed day, Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration, a speech to them.
[00:33:10] And the people were shouting. And again, picture it in your mind's eye.
[00:33:15] The voice of a God and not of a man. The voice of a God and not of a man.
[00:33:22] The voice of a God and not of a man.
[00:33:27] Immediately, an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory.
[00:33:40] And he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
[00:33:48] But the Word of God increased and multiplied.
[00:33:52] Where there is persecution through the grace of God, through the faithfulness of the witness of the people of God, the Word of God continues.
[00:34:01] The prophets die. The Christians die. The Word of God continues. This will always happen, by the way. And where the Word of God increases and multiplies, churches increase and multiply.
[00:34:13] This is what happens.
[00:34:15] So the word of God increased and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name, whose other name was Mark.
[00:34:31] So in conclusion, I want to highlight just a couple of things from the passage, but here's the point that I want to.
[00:34:39] That I want to leave us with.
[00:34:40] As we think about what God's doing, so we're reminded that in the midst of seemingly impossible situations, those who are in Christ reminded that in the Midst of seemingly impossible situations, God is answering the prayers of his people. And finally we're reminded that in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances, God will judge evil.
[00:35:05] God will judge evil.
[00:35:10] We see it happen here with Herod.
[00:35:15] He puts on his royal robes, he assumes his place on his throne, he gives a speech.
[00:35:23] Josephus, by the way, if you want some, like, historical context around this, Josephus, first century Jewish scholar, writes about the death of Herod. It's really interesting. It's. I love when history and science coincide with what the Bible's been saying all along. Isn't that awesome?
[00:35:40] And so Josephus writes about the death of Herod. And the way Josephus articulates it or writes about it, he says that Herod was giving a speech and all of a sudden he was struck with a really severe stomach illness.
[00:35:54] So much so that it was visible to his men that he was dying.
[00:35:58] And so they take him down and they take him back to his house. And then five days later, he dies.
[00:36:03] And I think Luke writes this very graphic statement at the end that he was eaten by worms and he breathed his last to drive home this point. God is the judge and he will take vengeance on evil. Period.
[00:36:21] God will judge evil. He will judge evil. I want to leave you with, with this. And then an invitation.
[00:36:32] So much of this story points back to the Old Testament book of Exodus in chapter 12.
[00:36:40] So in Exodus, Exodus chapter 12, God has heard the cries of his people, their prayers as they were enslaved by the Egyptians. He heard the cries of his people, and he answers the cries of his people. He raises, he calls Moses. He raises up Moses, he. And he's gonna use moses to rescue 600,000 men, plus women and children.
[00:37:04] It's a massive event, the Exodus.
[00:37:07] And before he does that, he brings on a bunch of plagues on the nation of Egypt, on the people of Egypt and on the leaders of Egypt to show that they were not God, that their gods were not gods, that God alone was the one true God.
[00:37:23] God's always been a God of the nations. Everything he's doing through and for Israel was always for the purpose of his glory among the nations. It's never meant to terminate on the people of Israel.
[00:37:33] And so God is highlighting his glory, he's highlighting his greatness to the people of Israel by sending these plagues. In the final plague that he sends, he says, hey, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to send my angel and he's going to come through tonight and he's going to strike down every Firstborn of every family, unless you do one thing.
[00:37:52] I want you to take a lamb, a perfect spotless lamb, and I want you to take it in your house and I want you to. I want you to slaughter it.
[00:38:03] You're going to eat it, okay? But before you do that, you're going to take the blood of the lamb and you're going to go outside onto your doorpost and you're going to spread the blood over the doorpost of your home.
[00:38:17] And when I bring judgment tonight, every single family that has the blood spread over the doorpost of the home, the Destroyer, my angel, is going to pass over that home.
[00:38:31] The firstborn will live.
[00:38:34] Be no judgment brought upon that home.
[00:38:38] So the people of Israel, they do the Passover.
[00:38:42] And Jesus always keeps his word.
[00:38:45] And so he sends the angel the destroyer to come. And there's an outcry in the city.
[00:38:52] Screams, blood curdling screams of people who lost their firstborn.
[00:39:00] And relief and joy for those who took refuge under the blood.
[00:39:09] So here's my invitation to you, friends.
[00:39:13] There is coming a day soon, I hope and pray soon, that Jesus returns from heaven to earth.
[00:39:22] And the Book of Revelation says he's going to come on a white horse.
[00:39:27] I don't know if that's symbolic or literal. I don't care. It's going to be awesome.
[00:39:33] He's going to come on a white horse with a sword in his hand and he's going to judge evil once for all.
[00:39:43] Satan will be cast into the lake of fire that burns forever and ever and ever. Praise God. Satan's terrible, isn't he?
[00:39:53] He wants to destroy you and your family and your marriage and your kids and your friends. He hates you.
[00:39:59] He's a terrible. He's the worst enemy.
[00:40:03] And Jesus, it's not going to be a fight between Jesus and Satan.
[00:40:10] Satan is a creature. Jesus is the creator.
[00:40:13] He's going to cast Satan into a lake of fire that burns forever and ever and ever. And the invitation for you today, if you've never done it, is is this. You have to reckon with this question. What will you do with the blood?
[00:40:31] A better Passover lamb has come.
[00:40:35] The Passover was always meant to point us to something in someone greater.
[00:40:40] It's a true story of something that actually happened.
[00:40:43] And it foreshadows the one true Passover lamb, the true spotless lamb, the Son of God who took on human flesh. And he lived the most beautiful life imaginable.
[00:40:55] He loved like no one else has ever loved.
[00:40:58] He ministered to the sick like no one Else has. Has ministered to the sick. He rose the dead.
[00:41:05] He touched lepers and healed them. He ministered to women and children unlike any other people were willing to do at that day and time.
[00:41:15] He was without sin, blameless, spotless, holy. And he went to a Roman cross and he died.
[00:41:26] He who knew no sin became sin on your behalf and on mine.
[00:41:35] And then on the third day, by the power of God, he rose, he breathed.
[00:41:41] The synapses in his brain began to fire again.
[00:41:44] His heart began to beat, his blood began to flow. And he walked out of the grave.
[00:41:49] And he appeared to many.
[00:41:53] And his invitation for you is, I have shed my blood as the one final passover lamb.
[00:42:00] There is no salvation without me. Jesus says there is no reconciliation to the Father without me.
[00:42:08] There is no forgiveness of sins apart from me.
[00:42:12] There is no hope for heaven apart from me, but with me.
[00:42:18] If you'll turn from living for yourself and you will believe upon him. Receive him as your Savior and as your Lord. Allow his blood to cover you that when the day of judgment comes, you won't taste a second of it.
[00:42:38] That's great news.
[00:42:40] And every single one of you are invited to receive it today.
[00:42:44] If you've never received it today, you're invited to receive it today. And if you have received it by the grace of God man, rejoice, rejoice again. We say this a lot for you, Christian. This is the worst hell you will ever experience.
[00:43:03] It only gets better from here. You have so much to look forward to, so much to rejoice in, so much to lift your hands and worship to God. And because of the day that's coming for you, you will not be touched by the wrath of God. The wrath of God has already been poured out on your behalf.
[00:43:20] Now you're loved.
[00:43:22] You're accepted.
[00:43:24] You're the beloved of God. You're a son and daughter of God.
[00:43:28] You're pure and clean because you've been washed by the blood of Jesus. You've been filled with the Spirit of God. He sends his angels to help and minister to you in dire circumstances. He is for you. He is with you, and so you can worship him. Amen. Let's pray.
