God’s will can not be stopped.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Scripture
Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can more like You, and more made into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all to often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possible can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.
12 About that time King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church, 2 and he executed James, John’s brother, with the sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him.
6 When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what the angel did was really happening, but he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and suddenly the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected.”
12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was called Mark, where many had assembled and were praying. 13 He knocked at the door of the outer gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice, and because of her joy, she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the outer gate. 15 “You’re out of your mind!” they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true, and they said, “It’s his angel.” 16 Peter, however, kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. 17 Motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Tell these things to James and the brothers,” he said, and he left and went to another place. 18 At daylight, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had searched and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
Context
This week we are moving even further in our walk through the Acts of the Apostles. In the previous weeks, we looked at what was happening as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that Jesus’s death paid for our sins, was spreading to the gentiles (non-Jewish people). The last two accounts of this, being Peter’s missionary journey to Cornelious’ (A Roman Centurian) house and in Barnabas and Saul/Paul missional endeavors in Antioch to build up the new believers in that area.
These new believers that came to faith through the testimony of the dispersed believers (believers that left Jerusalem because of the persecution on the early church). These dispersed believers and new believers would make up the church in Antioch, the first church to contain a mix of both Christians from Jewish Heritage and Christians from Gentile/Greek heritage. The church in Antioch would, though young and new in their faiths, would show great faith and trust in their Lord and Savior and would put that faith in trust in action as they gathered and gave a desperately needed offering to the church in Judea that would soon be suffering from a famine.
Around this time, we see and history has agreed that even though Jesus’ death had happened and Saul/Paul’s conversion (on of the chief harmers of Christians) great harm and persecution would come to the early church. Remember, The Lord Jesus told us this would happen, not just then, but through all of time when He said, “18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me.” Followers of Christ should expect life to be hard because of their faith. In today’s text, we see that happening to 2 of the 3 apostles and disciples that were closest to Jesus in His earthly ministry (Peter and the brothers James and John), one of them even dying and others being violently attacked. In that thought, we also have to remember God’s word through Moses that we are to , “6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” [1] So, those that a pursuers of God, meaning you are in Christ and thus are seeking His will for you, know that we have no reason to fear because God is with us and will not forsake us, a theme that David and Paul would write about as well. This brings us to our main idea that, The knowledge of what God’s will is in your life prepares you for whatever trail will come. So, let’s jump into the Word and let it inform us. So this week, From the text, I want you to see and then have these responses as you seek God’s will in your life, because God’s will cannot be stopped.
Message
The first behavior to see and have is to: Know that the world is against Christ. (1-5)
12 About that time King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church, 2 and he executed James, John’s brother, with the sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him.
Jumping in, we see this violent persecution happening to the church. This was a sort of political play by King Herod (the grandson of the king Herod who killed all the infants after Christ’s birth). Herod, being on the rocks at the time with both the Romans and the Jews, saw that it pleased the Jewish leaders to do so. This would lead to James (the brother of John, AKA one of the sons of Zebedee or as Jesus nicknamed them, one of the sons of thunder) to a death by a violent and brutal sword. Herod then, seeing how happy it made the Jews that James was gone, tried to do the same to Peter as well (another one of the inner 3 of Jesus) and arrested Peter with the intent of giving him a sham trial and then executing him. This was so important to Herod, that he placed a large guard (for one prisoner) to watch him while in prison. The Church, in response turned to God, asking Him to intervein in this horrible situation through prayer. We see clearly, as Jesus would tell us, the world and the systems of the world were against Christ and His followers alike.
Perhaps no illustration is better in knowing that the world is against him, than looking at the life of Jesus. Here was not only God, but someone who went around doing good, healing the sick and crippled, returning sight to the blind, brining the outcasts back in, doing no wrong, and feeding people’s souls through His Word. Despite this, and all the celebration and praise that was given to Him when He was doing what the people wanted Him to do (that is, where they could benefit) mankind turned their back on Him after He made it clear to that He wasn’t here to do what we wanted, but what The Father wanted. So, in anger and vengeance, after just days of offering Him a huge and public praise shouting “Hosanna, Hosanna, in the Highest, Glory and Honor to the one who comes in God’s Name,” less than a week later they would be shouting at Him, “Crucify Him, Kill Him.” Why because Jesus stood in stark opposition to what Satan, the ruler of this world of flesh wants, Jesus stood for Goodness and Righteousness, when what the world wanted was darkness and wicked rebellion.
Even despite what Satan thought would be God’s great loss, the murder of God the Son, instead it turned into God’s greatest victory as His sacrifice provided the means that all who turn to Him would be saved, would be washed clean. Believer, remember Jesus words to you, that we are not greater than Him, and if He received attack, so will you. In fact, expect it. Don’t ever let any lie from Satan lead you believe that your life in as a believer is going to be easy and care free. I mean look! Look at what happened to one of Christ’s closest companions, he was killed violently by the sword in an unfair and unjust political move. All throughout history, we have seen the same happen to Christ followers. Even today, no doubt very soon a brother and sister in Christ will lose their life because of their faith in Christ somewhere in the world. We then, cannot expect and should not expect that our lives will be easy. In fact, they should be harder than others! Because the people living in the world, those in sin will thrive in this sin covered world; but the one in Christ because they are made pure will experience extra difficulties because of Jesus name and Satan’s hatred of it. So believer, when the hard comes down on you because of your faith, when a job that you should have gotten is taken away or never offered, or appointments and events aren’t open to you because you know you are supposed to honor God then, or when you can’t go to that party or be around those people when they are doing whatever it is you know they shouldn’t be and you lose those friends, or you don’t do as well as the people next door and don’t have the nice farm equipment because you refuse to cheat on your taxes, what have you, any situation know that the world is against you because the world is against Christ.
Another behavior to see and do is to: Trust that God will move. (6-11)
6 When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what the angel did was really happening, but he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and suddenly the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected.”
Here we find ourselves the night before Peter’s sham trial, the night before everyone knew that he would be executed. With guards all around him and being chained up, we would think it natural that Peter would be in a nervous, anxious, and hysterical state. We would expect Him to be begging, bartering, and trying to scheme with the guards. We would expect him to be yanking on the chains nonstop. But we don’t see this, what do we see. We see him sleeping, with none of those worries…… Why would Peter be so calm in such a serious situation. Well, He remembered and He knew God’s plan and will in his life. He remembered especially that The Lord Jesus had told him and what was recorded in John 21, “18 “Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.”[2] He knew that he would live to be an old man and then he would meet his end, but right now he was still young, so, it was not yet his time and he knew it. Then, out of nowhere! An angel of the Lord came to him and lit up the dark cell! The angel roused him, told him to get up (then the chains fell off), and then told him to get dressed and put his sandals on. Then he told him, put on your cloak, and wrap it around you and follow me. Peter did so, and as he walked, he saw himself and the angel, walking past the guards, not realizing it was REALLY happening to him, thinking he was seeing a vision of what was to come. As they got to the final iron gate of the prison that led outside, it swung itself wide open for them, Peter and the angel walked outside, and after they made it past a street and to safety, the angel left.
God had clearly moved here in this situation. Often, it is easy for us to think of God a silent, still, and distant. Much like the stars or the moon and the sun in the distance, we know in our minds that they have an effect on everything in some way, but it really isn’t all that important (ehhh, maybe for farmers the moon and the sun have a huge effect, but the stars, Shure something, but not a lot). We like to think of God as that passive or inactive being and creator, haveing a hand in everything, but not a large hand, just sitting back and enjoying (or not enjoying) the view. God is not like this, He is not inactive, He is not passive, and He isn’t quite. He is always working loudly like a jackhammer nearby, He is always moving and working, He is always right next to you, and He is very much involved in your day to day, moment by moment affairs. The question is, have you drowned Him out? Do you have ear muffs on, or your eyes close? Have you cut off your senses and ability to perceive and know that He is working?
Brothers and sisters, this is the trouble that we get ourselves into. We do not trust or know that God will move, because we have blinded ourselves to Him or we do not trust Him with difficult situations, instead choosing to trust ourselves or others, which has a rich track record of success of 0%. That is, 100% of the time, it fails every time. Meanwhile, God with the full picture, God who defines right and wrong, God who’s might and ability knows no limits, God who created you, God who you were created for, has a 100% track record of success. So, do you trust him. Who would you rather trust? The person who fails every time, or the God who always comes out on top? The answer is easy on paper, but hard in practice, but believer I urge you to practice it all the same. Because God’s will cannot be stopped, Trust that God will move.
The next behavior to see and do is to: Share what has been done by God. (12-19)
12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was called Mark, where many had assembled and were praying. 13 He knocked at the door of the outer gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice, and because of her joy, she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the outer gate. 15 “You’re out of your mind!” they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true, and they said, “It’s his angel.” 16 Peter, however, kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. 17 Motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Tell these things to James and the brothers,” he said, and he left and went to another place. 18 At daylight, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had searched and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
Once Peter came to where he knew a lot of the church would be gathered, the house of Mary, John Mark’s Mother (the same Mark that wrote the gospel of Mark and would later be a missionary/traveling companion of Barnabas and Saul). He knocked on the door, and something happened that Luke (the author of this book), clearly wanted to show was a bit humorous. Rhoda was so excited that Peter was back, that she forgot to open the door for him and ran to tell the others! Their response to her, you must be crazy! He is not here. But she insisted, and their response, “well, he must be dead and this is his messenger to tell us so.” Peter, must have heard the commotion inside and kept knocking ,waiting to be let in until he was let in. And to their amazement! There he was! Peter then told everyone what had happened, and said that he was leaving and to tell James (James, the half brother of Jesus (not the brother of John who we read had passed away) who had become an important leader in the Jerusalem church). For his safety, Peter then left. The next morning, the guards woke up in a panic, their charge was missing. In those days, for a jailer to lose his prisoner, the same punishment would be done to them as would happen to the prisoner, so they were executed (showing that it was Herod’s intent to kill him).
Brothers and sisters, the bible is rich with many examples of why and that we should share our testimonies, share about what God has done in your life with others. This is an example of right here, Peter going and telling what God had just done to him. A few examples include 2 Tim 1:8, 1 John 5:10-11, and Gal 6:6. This is one of the reasons we share testimonies at the end of our service, to share with the others what God has done in and to you for the sake of encouraging one another and reminding ourselves what God does. To share a testimony, it means that you have to be thankful about something and it means that you have to know that something good has happened you. It means, you have to be watching for God’s provision in your life, and recognize it as so. It means you have to know the great gift that you have in salvation alone, that you see ever thing and every hardship as an opportunity to know and love God more, which means we treasure what should be our treasure more. This treasure, is not a treasure that is valuable, if you don’t share it. Not sharing it, cheapens it and turns what could be a wonderful and glorious showing of God, instead until a light kept under a basket. Instead of keeping that light hidden! Show it! Let it shine! It doesn’t matter what the situation is. Because our God is the God of both the mountains and valleys of life. So rejoice believer and Share what God has done.
Conclusion
Beloved brothers and sisters! Our God is greater than all your doubts and fears. God’s will cannot be stopped. Our God is in the business of defying all our logic and turning what we expect upside down on us. Why then do we try to stand in the way with our own fears and doubts, you cannot succeed in stopping the Roaring Lion and the thundering river. Instead, with all your might, seek God’s will in your life. Put all other ambitions aside, and enjoy watching God move as you put it all your wants and desires aside and instead make his yours and follow after Him. Indeed, something greater has come, Jesus Christ the Righteous!
With all of that being said, I would be remised if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.
With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each of heart here, continue as we leave go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better showers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2016, p. Dt 31:6.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. Holman Bible Publishers, 2020, p. Jn 21:18.