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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Acts chapter twelve. Acts chapter twelve, we're going 
to look at the persecution of the church and the power of God 
this evening. We'll return the Lord willing 
to Galatians chapter six to complete our study in Galatians toward 
the end of the summer. I just want to look at, as I 
said, Acts chapter twelve, make several observations concerning 
the text and then a few practical implications for our instruction. I'll just begin reading in chapter 
twelve, verse one in the book of Acts. Now, about that time, 
Herod, the king, stretched out his hand to harass some from 
the church. Then he killed James, the brother 
of John, with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased 
the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now, it 
was during the days of unleavened bread. So when he had arrested 
him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads 
of soldiers to keep him. intending to bring him before 
the people after Passover. Peter was therefore kept in prison, 
but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church, 
and when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was 
sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers, and the 
guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel 
of the Lord stood by him, and the light shone in the prison. 
And he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, Arise 
quickly. And his chains fell off his hands. 
Then the angel said to him, Gird yourself and tie on your sandals. 
And so he did. And he said to him, Put on your 
garment and follow me. So he went out and followed him 
and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but 
thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first 
and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads 
to the city, which opened to them of its own accord. And they 
went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed 
from him. And when Peter had come to himself, 
he said, Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel 
and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the 
expectation of the Jewish people. So when he had considered this, 
he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname 
was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter 
knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter's voice, 
because of her gladness, she did not open the gate, but ran 
in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. But they said 
to her, you are beside yourself. Yet she kept insisting that it 
was so. So they said it is his angel. Now, Peter continued knocking, 
and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. But motioning to them with his 
hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought 
him out of the prison. And he said, Go tell these things 
to James and to the brethren. And he departed and went to another 
place. Then, as soon as it was day, 
there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become 
of Peter. 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. Now, Herod had been very angry 
with the people of Tyre and Sidon. But they came to him with one 
accord, and having made Blastas the king's personal aide, their 
friend, they asked for peace. because their country was supplied 
with food by the king's country. So, on a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, 
sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people 
kept shouting, the voice of a god and not of a man. Then immediately 
an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory 
to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the Word of God 
grew and multiplied. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for this account in the book of Acts, and I pray 
that it would be an encouragement to us, and that it would strengthen 
us. And God, we pray for the persecuted church, and we pray 
for those who are in chains, and those who are in prison, 
and those who have suffered for the cause of Christ. May they 
realize, may they know the truth that our God is sovereign, that 
our God is over all things, and that our God sustains His people. We just pray now, Father, that 
You would fill each one of us with Your Spirit. We pray that 
You would cleanse us afresh in the blood of Jesus, and we ask 
this in His most blessed name. Amen. Well, that's 12, as I mentioned, 
demonstrates the persecution of the church and the power of 
God. You attend our prayer meetings here. We always try to give us 
space and a time to pray for the persecuted church. Just this 
morning, we read of various instances going on in the world, enough 
to turn one's stomach to see how God's people are are dealt 
with in other parts of the world. Not only Muslims persecute Christians, 
but also Hindus. They're not the peace-loving 
religious body that they make themselves out to be. In India, 
we read of a man that was assaulted and battered by these Hindus 
for the cause of Christ. We also read of Buddhists and 
other peoples that target the people of God. And in this particular 
instance here in Acts chapter 12, we see it as Herod the king. stretching out his hand to harass 
some from the church. Now, as we consider this, we 
need to remember this is narrative. It describes what happened in 
a given instance. We can pray accordingly. We can 
pray a permanent affirmatively But we ought not always to look 
for tyrants in our day to be eaten by worms right before their 
adoring audiences. You may see that sometime in 
your life, but more than likely you will not. This is a unique 
situation in the life of the church. Just by way of introduction 
to this chapter, one commentator said, the destructive power of 
Herod and the saving power of God are contrasted. Indeed, throughout 
church history, the pendulum has swung between expansion and 
opposition, growth and shrinkage, advance and retreat. Although 
with the assurance that even the powers of death and hell 
will never prevail against Christ's church, Since it is built securely 
on the rock, I think that's a great statement to just give a broad 
overview of what we find here in Acts chapter twelve. I want 
to break the chapter down into four smaller sections. We won't 
look at every detail. So first of all, we'll look at 
the persecution of the church in verses one to four. Secondly, 
Peter's escape from prison in verses five to nineteen. Thirdly, 
the death of Herod Agrippa. in verses 20 to 23, and then 
fourthly, this progress report that Luke the apostle, or Luke 
rather, gives at verse 24. These progress reports punctuate 
the book of Acts. You read there, but the word 
of God grew and multiplied. We're not just to run over those 
were to consider that and see that in very key places throughout 
the narrative, Luke is showing us that God's gospel is going 
forth, conquering and to conquer. Well, let's look at the persecution 
of the church versus one before. And there's three subsections 
here. First of all, notice the persecutor. Now, about that time, 
Herod, the king, stretched out his hand to harass some from 
the church. This was Herod Agrippa the first. from eighty thirty seven to forty 
four. He was the grandson of the Herod 
that we read of this morning in Luke twenty three. Remember, 
Pilate sent Jesus over to see Herod. That's the Herod that 
was the grandfather of this particular man, in this instance. He had 
a very spotty background, this particular individual. Indebtedness 
and imprisonment due to some disparaging marks against Tiberius, 
the Caesar. But through friendships with 
others, he acquired this position over Israel and Jordan. He was 
brought up as a Roman, but he had an Edomite background. That 
means he had some Jewish blood in him. He was from Edom. Remember 
Jacob and Esau? Esau was also called Edom. And 
so this particular Herod was an Edomite. His children will 
be seen later in the book of Acts. Drusilla fares in chapter 
24 verse 24 and then a grip of the second and his sister Bernice 
are found in Acts 25 verse 13 notice. Secondly, the martyrdom 
of James. The martyrdom of James. This 
is not the James that is indicated later in verse seventeen. If you look at verse seventeen, 
Peter's instruction is go tell these things to James and to 
the brethren that James of verse seventeen is the brother of the 
Lord. He is the author of the epistle called James. He was 
a leader in the Jewish and the church in Jerusalem. The James 
that is martyred here is the brother of Zebedee, the brother 
of John. You remember that instance in 
Matthew's gospel when the mother of these two sons come to Jesus 
and say, Lord grant that in your kingdom one may sit on your right 
and on your left. Remember that instance. Jesus 
says, you don't know the baptism that I have to undergo. He then 
assures them that they will understand something of that baptism. He's 
speaking there of suffering. He's speaking of going through 
a trial in order to the crown. And this is where it happens 
for James. His brother John ends up on the 
island of Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony 
of Jesus. So, here it is James, the brother 
of John, the sons of Zebedee, and in verse two it says, then 
He, Herod, killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. 
And then notice that it pleased the Jews. This is an unfortunate 
statement here. He saw that it pleased the Jews. 
He proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now, just to give 
you something of the time frame, this is about A.D. 44 that this 
is taking place. The martyrdom of Stephen took 
place about 10 years prior. Perhaps it's because of the amount 
of Gentiles that had been coming into the life of the church. 
Jewish opposition was rising against them, as was Roman opposition. And no doubt Herod was courting 
the favor of the Jews in this attempt to destroy Psalm from 
the church. And notice that he picks leaders. He picks men in high places, 
at least in terms of the church. He picks James, and he takes 
Peter. He has a good strategy, humanly 
speaking. Take out the leader, and you 
will frustrate the cause. And so what does he do? He wants 
to appeal to them. He wants to give in to them. 
And he was going to kill Peter, but because it was the Feast 
of Unleavened Bread, he had him arrested. He put him in prison. 
And notice in verse 4, he delivered him to four swaths of soldiers 
to keep him. intending to bring him before 
the people after Passover. It's a lot of troops, isn't it? 
Think about it for a moment. I realize it's a little warm. 
It's a narrative. I'm trying to paint the picture here. Why 
so many troops? Well, if you've been reading 
the book of Acts, you'll remember in Acts 5, Peter is put into jail, 
and he's miraculously delivered. No doubt Herod heard of this. 
Herod wants to make sure that he keeps Peter in his prison 
at this particular juncture. But I also think Luke wants us 
to appreciate something here. He wants us to appreciate the 
power of God, the supremacy of the Lord, the glory of God most 
high. You can put 15, 20, 50, 100 squads 
of soldiers. If God the Lord dispatches an 
angel to get his man out of jail, God will get his man. That's 
the thrust. Herod had heard about his previous 
jailbreak, and he wants to make sure it doesn't happen again. The mention of the soldiers and 
chains and prisons only highlight the glory of God in his escape, 
and this is precisely how Peter relates it. Later on in verse 
17, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the 
prison. This wasn't an orchestrated event 
on the part of Peter and on the part of his companions in the 
prison. It was the Lord. You know how you know that Peter 
held the Reformed theology in this passage? You know how you 
know that he was a Calvinist? What's he doing when he's in 
jail? He's sleeping. Right? Sovereignty makes a good pillow. 
Trusting in the God of heaven and earth enables one to sleep 
when everything else seems trouble around them. It's an amazing 
statement. He's sleeping, the church is 
praying, and God is sending an angel to bring him out of this 
particular scenario. MacArthur comments on the squads. He says, each squad contained 
four soldiers and rotated the watch on Peter. At all times, 
two guards were chained to him in his cell, while the other 
two guards stood outside the cell door. I mean, this is a 
big thing here. You can't miss this when you 
read the scriptures, read with an eye for detail. Why is it 
look like this? Why does Luke record all of this? Why in such large compass does 
he describe how it is that Peter has been placed in the bogey? 
Because he wants you to be amazed at the glory, majesty and power 
of God. The world may persecute, Herod 
may target, some may harass, but God the Lord is about deliverance. and blessing and freedom and 
caring for his people. That's what he wants us to see. That's the persecution. I notice 
the escape from prison versus five to nineteen verse five. Peter was therefore kept in prison, 
but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. We need to remember that constant 
prayer was offered to God by the church. Hebrews 13 tells 
us that we are to remember the prisoners. That doesn't just 
mean, well, somebody somewhere is suffering in this world. We 
remember them with a view to pray. We remember them with a 
view to care. We remember them with a view 
to write letters or do whatever we can lawfully on their behalf. We remember them and we pray 
for them, and that is precisely what's going on in this particular 
situation. Constant or earnest prayer was 
offered to God for him by the church. This was the first resort 
of the church. This was the first thing that 
they did. When they heard that Herod had 
beheaded James, and they heard that Peter was now placed in 
prison, what do they do? They don't go off with signs. 
They don't go with bullhorns. They get on their faces before 
God, and they offer up constant prayer. The Geneva Bible says 
the prayers of the godly overturned the counsel of tyrants, obtain 
angels of God, break the prison, unloose chains, and put Satan 
to flight, and preserve the church. Do we look at prayer that way? 
I suspect that if we did, our prayer meetings would be fuller. 
I suspect that if we believe that statement, we would be more 
earnest at the throat of grace. The prayers of the godly overturned 
the counsel of tyrants. Obtain angels of God, break the 
prison on loose chains and put Satan to flight and preserve 
the church. That's what the church is doing 
in this particular instance. Notice the activity of Peter 
and Peter that night. Peter was sleeping. That's beautiful. That's great. That's amazing. It's as if Luke is assuring us. 
that when all hell seeks to assail, when all trials come upon you, 
God is not enthroned, God still remains sovereign, God is still 
in control, the church is praying, the wheels are rolling, you can 
get suppressed. It's beautiful. He's sleeping. And he's sleeping pretty soundly, 
too, I might add. He's out. The angel has to smack 
him in the side. Interesting juxtaposition. The 
angel of God struck Peter, didn't he? Same language used with Herod, 
too. He was struck, but not just a 
nudge to wake him up so that he would flee out of the prison 
cell. Herod was struck in a far more severe and serious manner. The Lord is the active agent 
here. The church is praying. Peter 
is sleeping. And in verse 6, when Herod was 
about to bring him out that night, Peter was sleeping, bound with 
two chains between two soldiers and the guards before the door 
were keeping the prison. He sets that forth so that we'll 
see it's impossible, right? How do you get out of that? Peter's 
not Houdini. He's not got a handcuff key hidden 
in the back of his mouth. He's going to pop that out and 
get out and shimmy away while these two guys, chained to him, 
don't notice anything. And then Peter's just going to 
slide right by these two guard posts and then head out this 
iron gate and walk into safety and freedom. This is an impossibility, 
brethren! This is something that the odds 
are stacked against. It is God the Lord who is the 
active agent. Now behold, verse 7, an angel 
of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison. 
And he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, Arise 
quickly! And his chains fell off his hands. 
Then the angel said to him, gird yourself and tie on your sandals, 
and so he did. And he said to him, put on your 
garment and follow me. So he went out and followed him 
and did not know that what was done by the angel was real. He 
supposed it was a vision. These things don't normally happen. 
Right? I think Luke is masterful in 
the way that he's portraying this, so that we're hanging on 
the edge of our seats. You know, for some of us, we've 
read this and it's kind of become old hat. It's to thrill you, 
it's to excite you. You're supposed to appreciate 
the movement of God here. The Lord has intervened. The 
Lord is present with his people. The Lord is going to see this 
man out. And then in verse 10, when they 
were past the first and second guard posts, they came to the 
iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own 
accord. And they went out and went down one street and immediately 
the angel departed from him. God Almighty brings him out of 
the jail. Let's look at the report concerning 
the escape versus 12 to 17. So, when he had considered this, 
he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname 
was Mark. John Mark, the nephew of Barnabas. We've met him already in this 
book. If we've been reading through 
it, he'll fare again in other places. John Mark was the nephew 
of Barnabas. And here they gathered together 
and they were praying. Just read through the account 
and see what happens. Rhoda comes, he's knocking on the door, she 
goes back to report it, and they don't believe it. It can't be 
him, he's in prison. Isn't that the church's response 
more often than not? It can't be an answer to Brett. 
No, you must be mistaken, because our God doesn't work like that. 
Our God doesn't actually hear the prayers of the upright. The 
Geneva Bible was wrong. It really doesn't work like that. 
No, it does. God is gracious. God is merciful. According to his sovereign decree, 
when the church is praying, the Lord is working. The disciples 
are gathered at Mary's house. The disciples are initially unbelieving 
and ultimately astonished to see Peter. But then Peter highlights 
the deliverer, verse 17, motioning to them with his hand to keep 
silent. He declared to them how the Lord 
had brought him out of the prison. It was of God. It was Jehovah. It was the father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. He undertook. He heard your prayers. 
He has delivered me. James died under the sovereignty 
of God. Peter lives under the sovereignty 
of God. These are all a part of his decree. And in this instance, he's celebrating 
this reality. He tells them to go and tell 
these things to James and to the brethren. And he departed 
and went to another place. And then the escape is discovered 
by Herod. This is an unfortunate reality, 
an unfortunate side effect. Then, as soon as it was day, 
verse 18, there was no small stir among the soldiers about 
what had become of Peter. 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. Helps you understand Acts 16 
a little better, doesn't it? Remember when there's the jailbreak, 
when Paul and Silas are in jail at Philippi? There's an earthquake. Paul and Silas come, or Paul 
and Barnabas, is it Silas or Barnabas? It's Silas. They come 
to the jailer. What's he about to do? He's about 
to kill himself, isn't he? He says, I got a death wish. 
No, he understands that Herod is going to enact that punishment 
on him or whoever is subsequent to Herod is going to demand for 
dereliction of duty that they be executed. That is what Herod 
does. Well, let's move thirdly to consider 
the death of Herod Agrippa, verses 20 to 23. Notice in verse 19, 
he, this is Herod, went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed 
there. This was sort of his headquarters. 
Now, Tyre and Sidon were dependent upon this particular region for 
food. Herod's upset with them. We don't 
know why. The text does not specify. They 
probably bribed Blastus, an aide to Herod. Right? This is what the text says. And 
having made Blastus the king's personal aide, their friend, 
they probably bought his friendship. They needed an inn with the king 
so that he would authorize the transfer of food into their cupboards. But he had a problem with that, 
and Blastus smooths it over. Blastus greases the wheel, if 
you will, and then they received the food. They had peace. They 
had commerce once again. And that brings us to consider 
verse twenty one. So on a set day, Herod, arrayed 
in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to 
them. And the people kept shouting the voice of a God and not of 
a man. Then immediately an angel of 
the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God and 
he was eaten by worms and died. That's a powerful statement of 
God's judgment. That is a powerful statement 
of God's activity. This is not an independent account. You perhaps have heard of the 
Jewish historian Josephus. He records this event. The details 
differ in some of the specifics, but it does not contradict. This 
is not an independent record. It is history. It is what took 
place. We notice specifically the people 
kept shouting the voice of a God and not of a man. We read through 
that once and we don't get the thrust. It was religious fervor. It was religious adoration. You 
know, when a man feeds you, you tend to worship him in this particular 
instance. Sort of an imperial cult type 
thing. One man says, the mingling of 
political and economic motivations with religious veneration was 
typical of ancient ruler cults. So he is receiving this. He doesn't 
deflect it. He doesn't say, I'm not a god. 
He doesn't say that you guys are out of your mind. You need 
to go find a good church and worship Jesus. No, he receives 
this to himself. Now, we as the reader, if we 
aren't familiar with this, we're probably saying, Herod, I wouldn't 
do that if I were you. Herod, I don't think you've met 
Yahweh before. You have not met the God of heaven 
and earth. You are not familiar with this 
one who says, I am a jealous God. My glory I will not share 
with another. You're reading this and you see 
that Herod is receiving this. Herod is enjoying this. Herod 
is taking it in as it were. And the writer tells us that 
immediately an angel of the Lord struck him. Same language. Peter was struck, arousing him 
from sleep, to get him out of the prison. Here Herod, receiving 
the worship of men, is struck by this angel of the Lord. But 
as we continue to read, he gives the reason, because he did not 
give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. It's 
a pretty graphic image there, isn't it? It's not for the squeamish. 
You're reading here and you're saying, wow, this is really neat. 
Peter gets broken out of prison by this angel. What a positive 
God! What a happy God! What a good 
God! And now here Herod receives glory 
and honor and praise and worship, and God strikes him dead and 
eats him with worms, or has him eaten with worms, right before 
their eyes. Isaiah 1411 is probably in the 
backdrop, discussing the fall of the king of Babylon. It says, 
Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your 
stringed instruments, the maggot is spread under you, and worms 
cover you. Dennis Johnson says, Whereas 
Isaiah contrasted the Babylonian king's splendor and life with 
his worm-eaten corpse after death, in the case of Herod, God initiated 
the wormy decomposition even before the king had expired. Imagine that. What lesson would 
you take home that day? God does not share his glory. 
God does not look approvingly upon idolatry. God does not smile 
upon you when you give religious fervor and devotion and honor 
to another. When you look at the heritage 
of this world and you bow to that, or you look at something 
that may be lawful in its due course, but you give it unnecessary 
devotion, attention, time, energy, money. If you are an idolater, 
this text ought to scare you. If you are giving your energies 
to something which is not God, this text ought to scare you. Then, immediately, an angel of 
the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God, 
and he was eaten by worms and died. Paul the Apostle tells 
us a great ethic for the Christian life in 1 Corinthians 10. So 
then, whether you eat Or whether you drink or whatever you do, 
do all to the glory of God. And then finally, consider the 
progress report in verse 24. But the word of God grew and 
multiplied. Is that beautiful? Is that amazing? It's not the point. It's not 
what it's all about. The Word of God goes forth. Some 
of the servants of the Word lose their head. Some of the servants 
of the Word go to prison. Some of the servants of the Word 
suffer. Some of the servants of the Word have travail. Some 
of the servants of the Word have trial. Some of the servants of 
the Word are here for a time and then gone. But the Word of 
the Lord God continues on. It multiplies. It grows. John 
Stott says the chapter open. I think this is brilliant. Please 
listen to this. He says the chapter opens with 
James dead. Peter in prison and Herod triumphant. It closes with Herod dead, Peter 
free, and the word of God triumphant. Such is the power of God to overthrow 
hostile human plans and to establish his own in their place. Tyrants 
may be permitted for a time to boast and bluster, oppressing 
the church and hindering the spread of the gospel, but they 
will not last. In the end, their empire will 
be broken and their pride abased. Amen. It begins with James dead, 
Peter in prison, and Herod triumphing. It ends with Peter free, Herod 
dead, and the Word of God triumphing. Beautiful contrast. Persecution 
of the church, the power of God. As I said, these summary statements 
are scattered throughout the book of Acts. Acts chapter 6 
and verse 7. Then the Word of God spread. 
and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, 
and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. Acts 
chapter nine and verse thirty-one. 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. We've seen Acts 12, 24. There's 
another one in Acts 16 at verse 5. So the churches were strengthened 
in the faith and increased in number daily. Acts chapter 19 
in verse 20. Acts 19 at verse 20. So the word 
of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. And then Acts 28 and 
verse 31. It says, preaching the kingdom 
of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus 
Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him. So, as we 
look at this particular book, it is the acts of the Apostle. 
Better, it is the acts of Christ working through His Church, working 
by His Spirit, working by His Word to make churches, to make 
disciples, to stabilize the people of God. And when Herods rise 
up against Him, He strikes them down and covers them with worms 
right before the eyes of the onlookers. Well, several thoughts 
or a few thoughts And then we close the first. We must realize 
that persecution is a reality for the church. Jesus promises 
this in the Gospels and John 15. Do not marvel if the world 
hates you. The world hated me. It's going 
to hate you. Jesus pronounces a beatitude 
on those who suffer for his name's sake. And as well, the example 
in the book of Acts, Acts, chapter five. Let's go back there just 
real quick. Rehearse these particulars. Acts 
5, 40. And they agreed with them. And 
when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they 
commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and 
let them go. So they departed from the presence 
of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer 
shame for his name. And daily in the temple and in 
every house they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus 
as the Christ. We turn to Acts chapter 7. What 
do we find? The death of Stephen. We turn 
to chapter 8. What do we find? The people of 
God scattered. We turn to chapter 9. What do 
we see? One of the scatterers conquered by sovereign grace 
and sent out as a missionary, the Apostle Paul. What does his 
life involve as he is preaching the gospel? Does he get to go 
play golf and witness in that context? He's a preacher on the 
run. It's going to be lowered out 
of city walls. He's got he's getting beaten with rods. He's 
getting beaten with whips. He's getting stoned. He's getting 
all these things for the cause of Jesus Christ. You cannot miss 
the fact that reality or that persecution is a reality for 
the church. Secondly, we need to understand 
in this chapter, the sovereignty of God. You know, when Jesus 
says, truly, I tell you, you will know the baptism with which 
I am baptized. How can Jesus speak that of the 
two sons of Zebedee apart from God's sovereignty? It was decree, 
the eternal decree involved the execution of James in this particular 
manner and the freedom of the Apostle Peter. God is sovereign. He disposes of things according 
to the pleasure of his will. The Lord ordained the execution 
of James, the Lord ordained, or God delivered rather, his 
servant Peter from prison, and ultimately the Lord would ordain 
the exile of John in the book of Revelation. One is written, 
some through the waters, some through the flood, some through 
the fire, but all through the blood. Some through great sorrow, 
but God gives a song in the night season and all the day long. God's sovereignty at times is 
difficult, especially if you're James. God's sovereignty at times 
is difficult if you are on what you perceive to be the losing 
end. But God's sovereignty is always 
wrapped in that blessed statement of Romans 8 that we know that 
God causes all things to work together for good, to those who 
love God, to the called according to his purpose. However, or whatever, 
my God ordains is right. Thirdly, we see the church at 
prayer. The sovereignty of God does not 
eliminate the church's use of means, specifically prayer. I 
believe these all held to Reformed theology. They understood sovereignty. They understood these things 
better than we do. And yet it didn't keep them from 
prayer. It sent them to prayer. It's a proper understanding of 
who God is, a proper understanding of what men have called Reformed 
theology. causes, promotes, and produces 
earnest, constant prayer. A fourth observation in the passage, 
we've already touched on it briefly, the judgment of God. The judgment 
of God. So on a set day, Herod arrayed 
in royal apparel, sat on his throne, gave an oration, and 
received religious worship that was not due his name. God does 
not want rivals. God takes care of rivals. God destroys rivals. You remember that instance in 
the Old Testament? They brought the Ark of the Covenant 
into the room with Dagon, their idol. What happens? They go in to see it the next 
day and Dagon's fallen down. So they prop Dagon back up. Next 
day they go in, Dagon's fallen down and broke it. It's a pretty 
sad day when your God breaks, isn't it? What kind of a God 
is it that breaks? We break. That's why we need 
an unchangeable, unmovable, glorious, sovereign God. Idolatry is futility. Oftentimes in the Old Testament, 
the two words are synonymous. Vanity and idolatry are overlapping 
themes. The judgment of God. Fifth, we 
see the supremacy of Christ over what's called institutional polytheism, 
the multiplication of God's up to this point. Beginning of this 
point and following in the book of Acts, you see here, Christ 
is supreme over the imperial cult in Acts 12. In Acts 14, 
you'll learn that Christ is supreme over the pagan gods in Lystra. In Acts 17, Christ is supreme 
over the Epicurean and Stoic conception. They thought they 
could devise things to contain this God. Paul says, no, he is 
not worshiped or served by men's hands, as if he himself were 
dependent upon these things. God is sovereign and Christ is 
supreme over Diana of the Ephesians in the book of Acts in chapter 
19. You see, what begins here is to show us Christ's relationship 
to these false pretenders, or to these pretenders, to deity. 
He's sovereign, he triumphs, he beats them, and he puts them 
down. That is the glory of our Jesus. And then finally, we see the 
Word of God. Verse 24, But the word of God 
grew and multiplied. The Word of God was proclaimed. 
The Word of God was unfettered. The Word of God could not be 
stopped. You may cut off James's head. You may imprison Peter. 
Paul in 2 Timothy chapter 4, I'm sorry, 2 Timothy chapter 
2 says, I am in prison in these chains, but the Word of God is 
not changed. You can't stop it. Jesus has 
promised in Matthew 16, I will build my church and the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it. Instead of trying to stop 
it, instead of trying to avoid it, instead of trying to reject 
it, submit. Believe on the Lord Jesus, look 
to the Christ that is displayed throughout the Bible, and he 
will save you from your sins. That is good instruction from 
God's Word. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. Well, let us close in prayer. 
Father, we thank you for this glorious display of your power 
and your sovereignty and your majesty. God, we say these words 
a lot, and I pray that we would not empty them of their content, 
but we would reflect, that we would ponder, that we would consider 
just what the Scripture says concerning you. Father, we pray 
that you would help us not to be idolaters, help us not to 
give religious devotion to that which is not God, help us to 
be focused, help us to be single-minded, help us to be pure in heart, 
Lord God, and to bring all glory and praise and honor to you. 
We pray for the continual preaching of your word. We pray that that 
word would run swiftly and be glorified, that it would grow 
and that it would be multiplied, and that the nations of the earth 
would hear of our Lord Jesus, and great multitudes would turn 
unto you and be saved. We pray this for your glory, 
God, and we pray this for the stability of your churches. And 
we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.