Sermon Tone Analysis

! More Powerful than Prison Bars

Acts 12:1-17

 

/Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent!

I ask that when I am present I may not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

You are looking at things as they are outwardly.

If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we.

For even if I should boast somewhat further about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I shall not be put to shame, for I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters.

For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive, and his speech contemptible.”

Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present/ [*2 Corinthians 10:1-11 NASV*].

| W |

e each face impossibilities—some more so than others.

The impossibilities which I have in view are of such a nature that only God can intervene.

If we’re not careful, we can view those things strictly from the external perspective and try to handle them ourselves … and that often leads to failure.

*Second Corinthians Ten* gives us the account of Paul, the writer of the letter, as he defended himself against those who attacked him for his writings and ministry style, saying that his letters were weighty, but that his presence was weak.

If he were the man he claimed to be, they said, he would do this and say that.

So, writing in his defence, Paul put his finger on the problem itself: /You are looking only on the surface of things…/ [*verse seven*].

If there is one statement that describes how most of us live, how most of us view conflicts, and how most of us handle life, it is found in *verse seven*.

We view matters externally.

We see them as physical situations; we study them through the eyes of physical logic.

So, we come to physical or logical conclusions and deal with them accordingly … only to fail, drawing upon none of the power of God’s Holy Spirit in us.

In the preceding verses, the Apostle writes: /though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses/ [*2 Corinthians 10:3, 4*].

Underscore in your mind these particular words: /in the flesh/, /according to the flesh/, and /of the flesh/.

Think of the word /outwardly/ from *verse seven* as being virtually the same as the word /flesh/ in *verses three *and *four*.

As long as we are on this earth we have physical bodies, physical brains, and a physical basis for thinking.

Although we live our lifestyle according to the fleshly standpoint, our battles are really not in the realm of the flesh.

Our battles are often against invisible forces, deeper than just the physical, meaning that we need another sort of armoury from which to draw weapons—we need a weapon that will handle that kind of non-flesh battle.

Paul says in *verse four* that /the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh/.

Our weapons do not consist of human logic, human strength, human decisions.

Instead, the weapons of our warfare are /divinely powerful/.

*The Amplified Bible* says these weapons are *mighty before God*.

*The Living Bible* speaks of them as *God’s mighty weapons* and the *Berkeley Bible* states that they are *powerful with God’s help*.

The weapons of our warfare are powerful—with God’s help—for what?

Paul says, for the destruction of fortresses.

Are you chained inside an impossible situation at this time, unable to get out?

Are you imprisoned by big, iron bars and massive gates which shut you in?  Paul would say to us, “None of that is beyond the power of God.

God is able to break you loose and to pull off a remarkable deliverance.”

Underscore in your mind this singular truth: *Looking at life from the outward perspective breeds panic and unrest*

Keep that in mind as we look at *Acts twelve*, the account of a classic case in point.

The Christians of the first century jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

Things were tough eight years earlier when Stephen was stoned, but now they were almost impossible.

The Christians had experienced a long season of persecution, difficulty, misery, and misunderstanding.

Those of us who live in this generation, thank God, know nothing of being persecuted for the Faith—that is, *really* persecuted.

We will likely raise our families and see them raise their families (if the Lord tarries), and we will not lose them because of persecution arising from their relationship to Christ.

That was not the situation in the first century.

Don’t hurry so fast through the Bible that you miss the details God provides.

As Dr. Luke begins this portion of the book, he starts with a situation relating to persecution—/it was about this time…/ [*Acts 12:1*].

About what time?

We read these words and pass over them as though they’re just understood by everyone.

Yet most people reading them don’t know to what time he was referring.

This period was one of intense persecution for our spiritual forebears.

About the same time that the saints had gone into Antioch and had begun to experience a new work of God, there was a backwash of pain, conflict, murder, and death.

Also, something happened in Jerusalem that was tough to handle, and it related to a man mentioned in *verse one*: It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.

How many could answer the question, “Which Herod?”  That’s like saying, “The most difficult time in Canadian history was during the government of the Prime Minister.”

Which one?

We’ve had a number of them.

*Herod* was a surname; it was like *Caesar* for a title.

It was like the title *President* or *General* or *Commander*.

The world of first century Palestine was a Roman world.

Even though they had their own vassal government, Judea really was under the authority of Rome.

The Roman Empire was ruled by one man—*the Caesar*.

Think of the structure of this government as an umbrella having a metal point sticking out the top—that would be *the Caesar*.

One of the spines of the Roman umbrella was Palestine, which was governed over a period of time by rulers known as *Herods*.

The Caesar at the time, of which Luke is writing in *chapter twelve *of *Acts*, was Claudius.

Every person on earth (at least within that ancient civilised world) answered to him, one way or another.

When he declared taxation, taxes were collected from the people.

When he declared death, executions were carried out.

When he declared life, people were spared.

He was the sole authority.

He, being Roman, magnanimously allowed the Jews to have their own puppet government, ruled by the Herods.

Herod Agrippa I—that’s the Herod mentioned in *Acts 12:1, 2*.

What a ruler he was!

Both he and his predecessors were jealous, petty, cruel tyrants, men of conspiracy, many of them trying to ride the fence of the Roman world as well as that of the Jewish world.

They were viewed as half-breeds by most of the orthodox Jews.

Josephus says that Herod Agrippa I was a man who was vain and who scrupulously observed the Jewish rites.  A.

T. Roberson, the noted Baptist scholar, adds: “He was anxious to placate his Jewish subjects, while retaining the favour of the Romans.”

He was trying to scratch both backs.

He built theatres and held games for the Romans and the Greeks, and he killed the Christians to please the Jews.

He rode the fence.

Merrill Unger says that he was fond of popularity and possessed personal magnetism.

He was no dummy.

He was cruel and murderous, but he was smart.

He was conniving and cunning.

These other writers agree with Luke, who said he /arrested some /…/ to persecute them/.

When he saw that this action pleased the Jews, he put James to death.

Remember Peter, James and John, the three closest friends of Jesus?

That’s the James here—not the writer of the book, but the close disciple of the Lord Jesus.

Herod Agrippa I had murdered James and, when he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also [*verse three*].

He was a man-pleaser; he wanted very much to gain the favour of the Jews.

Remember the truth to which I just called your attention in *Second Corinthians*: *Looking at life from the outward perspective breeds panic and unrest*.

These Jewish Christians who were terrorised at the death of James and, of course, had witnessed the earlier death of Stephen, were now faced with a decision.

Their close friend, a recognised leader within their assembly, Peter, was imprisoned and facing death.

They had a decision to make.

If they looked at the matter from the outward perspective, they would see three events which conspired to threaten the future of the Faith.

First, Peter was imprisoned.

*Verse three* states that /he proceeded to seize Peter also/.

Jail was not a new experience for Peter.

“Why,” you say, “he’s been in jail before?”

As a matter of fact, this is his third imprisonment [*Acts four*, *five*, and *twelve*].