Sermon Tone Analysis

Godly Lessons from an Ungodly Leader

Acts 12:18-25

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - April 13, 2014

BACKGROUND:

*Tonight, we come to the surprising and gruesome end of a story that began with the murder of James the brother of John, and the arrest of the Apostle Peter.

Peter was being held in prison by King Herod with the intention of killing him too.

*The king was only waiting for the eight-day Passover Feast to end.

But as we saw in vs. 5-17, the church offered up constant prayer for Peter, and God sent an angel to rescue Peter in a miraculous way.

The chains fell off his hands, and the iron gate of the prison opened by itself!

*Todd Coget put this incident in context by reminding us that "persecution had broken out again.

There had already been a time of persecution in Acts 8-9.

That persecution had been led by Saul of Tarsus, but Saul got saved when he met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus!

*And Acts 9:31 says: 'Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified.

And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.'

*Now in Acts 12, the persecution was back, and it was being led by King Herod.

This Herod was Agrippa the First, the grandson of King Herod the Great who had ordered the beheading of John the Baptist.

This Herod was also the first person to rule over the same complete kingdom since his grandfather.

It was now 44 A.D. or eleven years after the crucifixion of Christ.

The persecution of the church surrounding the death of Stephen had taken place about seven years before."

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*With this background in mind, let's see what happened after God set Peter free.

Please stand in honor of God's Word as we read vs. 18-25.

INTRODUCTION:

*The world is full of ungodly leaders today, and sadly, this has always been so.

King Herod is our bad example in this Scripture.

And the Bible gives us some important lessons from his ungodly life.

1.

The first lesson is that evil will always rise when God is rejected.

*Evil will always increase when people reject the God of the Bible, when they reject God's ways, when they reject God's Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This sad fact is true on every level: in individuals, in families, in societies, and in governments.

*We see this kind of full-blown, unrestrained evil on display here in Acts 12.

It began in vs. 2-3, when Herod:

2. . .

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.

*After God miraculously set Peter free, we see more of Herod's heartless ways.

Starting in vs. 18:

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.

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 chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king's country.

*Herod probably gave the order to kill those guards with no more compassion than swatting a fly.

Herod also had cut-off much needed food from the people of Tyre and Sidon.

*Earthly kings can be cruel beyond measure, and they generally will be, if they are not living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Men who reject the God of the Bible will either set themselves up as god, or bow down before some other false god.

*Think how horrible it must be to live in North Korea with most of the people starving while their mad-man ruler lives in luxury.

Think of the heartless cruelty of radical Islamists around the world.

The massive corruption in our own country is more evidence that evil will thrive when God is rejected.

*One of many of examples came out of Lackland Air Force Base in September 2013.

There, evangelical Christian airmen were facing severe threats and retribution for their religious beliefs.

Steve Branson, the pastor of Village Parkway Baptist Church in San Antonio said: "There is an atmosphere of intimidation at Lackland Air Force Base.

"Gay commanders and officers are pushing their agenda on the airmen.

There is a culture of fear in the military and it's gone to a new level with the issue of homosexuality."

*Pastor Branson told Fox News reporter Todd Starnes that at least 80 airmen attended a private meeting at the church.

There they voiced their concerns about religious hostilities at the Air Force base.

It was a standing-room only crowd.

"The religious persecution is happening," the pastor said.

"It's getting bigger every day.

Gay and lesbian airmen can talk about their lifestyle.

But the rest have to stay completely quiet about what they believe."

*Among those at the church meeting was Senior Master Sgt.

Phillip Monk.

The 19-year veteran was punished after he refused to tell his lesbian commander his position on gay marriage.

Monk disagreed with his commander when she wanted to severely reprimand a new instructor who had expressed religious objections to homosexuality.

The senior master sergeant was relieved of his duties after he refused her order to disclose his personal opinion about gay marriage.

*Monk, who had a spotless record, filed a religious discrimination complaint against the Air Force.

When he showed up for a meeting about the complaint, he was accused of giving false statements to the reporter.

Sgt.

Monk was subsequently read his Miranda Rights, and faced a possible court martial.

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*This prejudice against Christians is just one of many examples we could list.

All kinds of evil are thriving in the world today.

But we must not blame God for it.

The Lord does allow evil to continue for a time, but 2 Peter 3 tells us it's because God is still seeking to save the lost.

And at the right time, God will bring all evil to an end.

Until that time, evil will always spring up when people reject the God of the Bible.

2. Evil will always rise when Christ is rejected.

-- But Christ is in control.

*That's the second lesson from this Scripture: God is in control!

Verses 18-19 remind us of this great truth, so please listen again:

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.

*Think about the 16 guards holding Peter in prison.

They probably thought they had the upper hand on Peter, and Herod was sure he had the upper hand.

But God is in control.

And no one ever got an upper hand on God, unless He allowed it.

*I think of that wonderful story of Jacob, as he wrestled with the pre-incarnate Christ.

Listen to it from Genesis 32:24-30:

24.

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man (capital "M" Man) wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

25.

Now when He (i.e.

God) saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.

26.

And He (God) said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks.''

But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!''

27.

So He said to him, "What is your name?''

And he said, "Jacob.''

28.

And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.''

29.

Then Jacob asked Him, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray.''

And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?''

And He blessed him there.

30.

And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.''

*As the Lord wrestled with Jacob that night, don't you know that God could have broken free at any time!

But the Lord allowed Jacob to get the upper hand, because God wanted Jacob to get to the point where he would not let go, no matter what!