Providential God

Introduction

Luke breaks away in Acts 12, almost like we are watching a movie

we left the scene of Saul and Barnabas are delivering the items collected to help in Judea due to the famine

now, without a while we were away we get back to the apostles in Jerusalem

Providential God

It is amazing at all the things that are happening at one time

I am blown away that God can know what is happening in my life, your life and the lives of everyone else around the world

yet at the same time… he is holding the world together and sustaining all things

Acts 12:1–24 (CSB)

1 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.

20 Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. Together they presented themselves before him. After winning over Blastus, who was in charge of the king’s bedroom, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king’s country.

21 On an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a speech to them.

22 The assembled people began to shout, “It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!”

23 At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.

24 But the word of God spread and multiplied.

PRAY!

We cannot look at the circumstances around us and judge if God is in control or not. God is providentially in control of all things.

Questioning in Chaos

The problem of human suffering, even for a limited time, has always perplexed faithful Christians. Suffering can be expected for the ungodly, but why should the godly suffer?

The Scriptures give a number of reasons.

Suffering may be (1) disciplinary (1 Cor. 11:30–32; Heb. 12:3–13),

(2) preventive (as Paul’s thorn in the flesh, 2 Cor. 12:7),

(3) the learning of obedience (as Christ’s suffering, Heb. 5:8; cf. Rom. 5:3–5), or

(4) the providing of a better testimony for Christ (as in Acts 9:16).

Luke writes this as a history of what happened, he does not give commentary

this can leave us questioning so much

but I appreciate how he does not speculate as to God’s reasons for things

Acts 12:1–5 (CSB)

1 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.

Retell the portion of story

Who is Herod

Herod the Great - killed all the babies in Bethlehem - grandpa

Herod Antipas; son of Herod the Great - beheaded John the baptist - uncle

Herod Agripa 1 - grew up in Rome - appointed to the position

desired to please the Romans and keep his power,

he desired to please the Jews and be worshipped or praised by them

Herod seeking to please the Jews, kills an apostle

when he sees how great this pleases them, he arrests Peter

meaning he had no real personal feelings about Peter

Peter was seen as the leader, maybe picked James to see how that went over

it went over great, so lets get Peter next

does not kill Peter right away because of the Passover festival

their Jewish laws say you cannot issue capital punishment during the festival

that is why Jesus needed to be killed by the Romans

Persecution can feel like God is not in control, or that he does not see

so can all times of grief and loss

we do not all face persecution, but we understand the pains of life

God has not forgotten you,

Exodus 3:7 (CSB)

7 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings,

perspective is important

during grief, we can feel like we are the center of the world

do not guilt

change perspective, like Abraham taken out to look at the stars…

all things are done for God’s glory, not ours

yet for some reason we elevate ourselves and demand an answer

Martyrdom is not something we should seek out

seeking martyrdom is pride and works

just seeking to be glorified for dying for God

but we should not fear it either

if God should allow us to be martyred in persecution know that He will be with us in that as well

being martyred does not mean that God has turned his back on us

He did this to Christ on the cross, he turned away as the wrath of God was poured out on the son

this is not what he did to James

I have no doubt, as Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God

James was welcomed into glory by Jesus himself

The churches role is prayer

Peter is arrested

the church did not sit in defeat

or think that it did not concern them, or even just leave

the church prayed fervently

fervently = Hot, glowing

When a man gets to despair he knows that all his thinking will never get him out. He will only get out by the sheer creative effort of God. Consequently he is in the right attitude to receive from God that which he cannot gain for himself. (Acts 12)

Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)

Expecting in Prayer

Did you know that during the building of the Great Wall of China, workers often sang humorous songs to lighten their burdens?

Historians say the songs included joking lyrics about their struggles and even poked fun at their leaders.

In many ways, this reflects our lives today—how gratitude and humor can help us overcome obstacles.

Just as those workers found solidarity and joy despite their hard work, we too can lean into laughter, knowing God walks with us in our daily struggles.

Acts 12:6–16 (CSB)

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.

Retell the story - do not miss or ignore the comedy in this section

Angel kicking Peter in his cell

Peter thought it was a vision - he had those before

makes his way to the upper room

John Mark’s family owned the home

where the last supper was held

where the church gathered while waiting for the Holy Spirit

They leave Peter outside

Rhoda recognized his voice and got very excited

the praying church did not believe it

the circumstances they had seen said that it was impossible

Does God love Peter more… He rescued him, allowed James to be killed

of course not

but this is where our minds can go

this is the type of lie Satan would like us to believe

we cannot look at the events of the world and assign meaning to them based on our worldly wisdom

the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God

that is what we do when we put ourselves in the center of life

our judgments are based in sin, and are not fair and just

we need discernment that only comes from the Holy Spirit

This is why we pray

not to change God’s mind or help him make up his mind as if we are talking him into something

it adjusts our thinking to his will

but we pray expectantly

the church was praying hotly! fervently! but not expectantly!

we pray hot, with expectation

not an expectation that God is going to do what we want

but with an expectation that God is going to do what brings him the most glory

that may be allowing somebody to be martyred

in this case, it was setting Peter free

that God will bring my will in align with his

His Glory Alone

Three reasons for not fighting God stand out in Acts 12: God’s power cannot be contested, His punishment cannot be avoided, and His purposes cannot be frustrated.

John F. MacArthur

Acts 12:17–24 (CSB)

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.

20 Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. Together they presented themselves before him. After winning over Blastus, who was in charge of the king’s bedroom, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king’s country.

21 On an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a speech to them.

22 The assembled people began to shout, “It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!”

23 At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.

24 But the word of God spread and multiplied.

Tell story of Herod being embarrassed

as a people pleaser, this is one of the worst things that can happen

he kills the soldiers that were to guard Peter

assuming that one of them betrayed and let Peter go, most likely tortured them all trying to figure it out

Herod goes north to Caesarea

like any good politician, he attempts to change the narrative

he had an issue with Tyre and Sidon

two places that receive aid from him

so he has a meeting with them, where they will beg him to keep the agreement going

Herod dresses in royal attire and delivers a speech

in attempt to flatter him, they cry out this is the voice of God

Herod of course accepts this worship which angers the true God

an angel comes and strikes him with an illness

Josephus tells us that pain in his side came quickly, and five days later he died there in Caesarea

We are more like Herod than we would like to admit

we like to please people so that we will be praised by people

we like to receive glory

we like to see our kingdom grown

God will not share the glory that is due only to him

nor should he

we live and die for his glory not our own

With Herod dead, the church once again grew

God is providentially in control

using the good and bad of this world for his glory

we do not have to work out the plans, and make sure that the plans work, he will take care of that

we simply need to glorify him in all things!

this frees us up to rest in him and glorify him in all things

him receiving glory is not reliant on us

the angels cry out holy holy holy

Psalm 46:10 (CSB)

10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”

What significant event occurs shortly after King Herod’s violent attack on the church?

How does the concept of God's providence manifest in the story of Peter's arrest and miraculous escape?

In what ways can prayer foster a sense of connection with God during our own times of suffering?

How can we apply the lessons from Peter's experience to our own situations when we feel distressed or imprisoned by life's circumstances?

What role does the church play in Peter's release from prison, and what does this reveal about the power of collective prayer?