16th Sunday after Trinity 2024

Father in heaven, we thank you for the writing and preservation of the Acts of the Apostles,

how your church existed and lived and how you worked through it after your son ascended.

And Lord, we pray that we would be careful observers, Lord, that we would glean this truth

from your word and Lord, help us to understand it by considering how Jesus illuminates it and also

help us to understand Jesus in his fullness and in greater fullness as we read your word.

We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. We're looking at Acts chapter 12, the entire portion that Brad

Acts 12 · chapter mention

read up till actually verse 24, we'll hit 25 next week. But our text today begins with

and ends with a reference to Herod being the king. It's interesting, this is Herod Agrippa,

this is not the Herod that we read about that slaughtered the innocents in the early chapters

of the gospel. This is his grandson, Herod Agrippa I. At first glance, it seems like just an ordinary

narrative description of Herod. Herod's the king, we know that he's not an actual king, not the king

of kings, he's not the emperor, but he was a king of sorts. He was made the emperor by, or he was made

the king by the Roman emperor Gaius, and he had an expanding territory. He was the regional king,

puppet king, but regional king of all of Judea and Galilee and this region called Perea.

He's not a just king. He's an opportunist. He seeks to harass the church in order to consolidate power

and flex his political muscles. Luke here, he makes use of Herod's title. He could have just said

Herod Agrippa. He could have just said Herod, but he says Herod the king. And he does this in two

different portions of our scripture at the beginning and the end, like I mentioned. Biblical scholars,

and you guys as well, as you read the Bible, whenever you see a section that is bookmarked

at the beginning and the end with either a theme or a title, it's drawing our attention to what that

thing is that bookmarks that portion of scripture. And then the middle part of the scripture helps us

to understand what is happening. Biblical scholars call this an inclusio. I like to call it a hamburger.

It's a bit more

understandable. There's, it starts with king, king Herod. It ends with king Herod.

Why does Luke do this? Because Luke is going to juxtapose

king Herod, king of Israel, with the real king, the king of all kings, the true king of Israel,

who is Jesus Christ. Herod is not the one who directs history and commands true power.

He is about

self-promotion.

He is not the one who lays down his life

only to pick it up again, ascending to the ultimate throne. He

is on a throne that was given to him that was

never Gaius's truly to give.

He is not a kind king like Christ is.

He is a selfish king.

Interestingly, we're going to see how, how Jesus is the king, the, the most excellent king, the king par excellence.

And this is going to help us to, to understand what true power looks like

and how to properly respect,

but not to,

and to properly fear, but, but never to fear earthly powers as if they were gods.

This text is going to show us

that

Herod and

Gaius

and Trudeau and

Pollyev and

Harris and Trump

and Putin and Erdogan

and Schwab and Soros,

none of these people hold true,

eternal,

cosmic power,

but only Christ does.

The risen and ascended King of Kings,

Lord of all and lover of his bride,

the church who he bled and died for.

This is, this is what our text

unmistakably communicates to us this morning.

And that this King of Kings,

this Lord of Lords is gracious

and kind

and good

to his people.

His graciousness is extended

to the church by sustaining the church.

These are the, the points we'll touch on.

His graciousness is extended

in building up the faith of the church.

And finally, his graciousness

as King of Kings

and Lord of Lords

is extended

in defeating the enemies

of the church.

Before we get into the text,

an interesting point,

and I think it's,

it's something worth considering.

A bit of a rabbit trail,

but also it helps us situate

the text.

If you remember last week,

Acts 11,

Peter is before,

really good look at it,

Acts 10 and 11,

but Peter is before the church

in Jerusalem.

The Gentiles have just come to faith.

The church is like,

we're not sure about this.

We don't like it.

Peter explains very clearly

that this is the work of the Lord

and they say,

praise God,

who are we to oppose

the salvation coming to the Gentiles?

Verse, sorry,

chapter 14

will describe the beginning

of the first missionary journey

of Paul and Barnabas.

So it's,

it's a kind of an interesting

placement of Acts 13.

It would seem if you took out Acts 13,

just cut it out,

Acts 12 flows really nicely

into Acts 14.

The Gentiles come to faith,

faith en masse.

Paul and Barnabas

continue on

with this missionary journey

to the Gentiles,

but Acts 13 returns back

to Jerusalem.

So the question is why?

I mean,

was it a mistake?

You say,

no,

this is the Bible.

Why is it in there?

And I think for two reasons,

and I'm sure there are more,

but two important reasons

why Acts 13 is situated

where it is.

And the first,

and this is going to be critical

for us today,

is that God will ensure

that his church will endure

even the most aggressive

and demonic oppression.

And we see that with King Herod,

that the church will endure

and survive regardless

of the amount of oppression

upon it.

Often that oppression

is state-sponsored.

The second thing is that

as the church moves away

from its Jewish roots,

I think Luke here,

by the inspiration

of the Holy Spirit,

is going to encourage

the Jewish believers

that God has not moved on

from them

to the bigger and greater

Gentile world.

That he still has a heart

for his church.

He still has a heart

for the people of Jerusalem.

So as a bit of a backgrounder,

let's turn to our first point.

The graciousness of the Lord

in sustaining the church.

Apart from Stephen

getting martyred,

not a great thing,

and a couple arrests,

the church has been on

a series of wins.

I mean, they're on a hitting streak.

They are enjoying favor,

answered prayers,

miracles, love, joy.

Again, there's this martyrdom

of Stephen that is a problem,

but what does it result in?

It results in more of an expansion

of the church,

more love,

more joy,

more growth.

Acts 12 happens,

and all of a sudden,

James,

he is the son of Zebedee,

one of the sons of thunder,

James and John,

if you remember from the Gospels.

He's a pillar of the church,

and he is taken by Herod,

and he is put to the sword.

Herod sees,

as Brad read,

he sees that this is

going to curry favor.

So what does he do?

He takes Peter into custody,

and he's going to hold him

until after

a feast

of unleavened bread,

and then

put him on

a kangaroo,

give him a kangaroo court,

show trial,

and then cut off his head.

And all of a sudden,

all of this momentum

seems to be grinding

to a halt in the church.

Both pillars of the church

will surely die.

James is gone.

Peter is next.

Has the church

finally run its course?

They've come up

against Herod,

and really,

they've come up

against the emperor himself.

So what recourse

does the church have?

What miracle,

so to speak,

do they have

in their back pocket?

Look at verse 5 with me.

The church begins to pray.

It says,

So Peter was kept in prison,

but earnest prayer

for him was made

to God by the church.

I don't want to downplay prayer.

Don't,

hear me out here.

The people are praying well.

They're praying to God.

Always a good thing.

It would imply

that they're praying

in Jesus' name.

They're praying earnestly,

like Jesus.

The term in the Greek,

the fervent prayer,

is the same language

that is used

to describe Jesus

praying in the Garden

of Gethsemane.

They are praying well,

and prayer works,

and prayer is effective,

but in this chapter,

prayer,

the people who are praying,

they look helpless and weak.

Again,

prayer isn't nothing,

but in this text,

it communicates

the helplessness

of the people.

In fact,

all of the human characters

in this story

are seen to be very helpless.

Peter,

we'll go back to James.

James is taken.

There is nothing

he can really do.

His head is cut off.

Peter is chained

in prison.

It's like a maximum

security prison.

He has four sets

of four guards

guarding him

at all time.

He is chained to some.

He is behind

a giant iron gate.

There's,

he's helpless.

What can he do?

He's one man.

The church is afraid.

They're gathered together.

We'll see later on

that they are actually

quite helpless

and afraid.

The church has no power

to wield.

Again,

prayer is powerful.

In this case,

though,

they are truly helpless

against Herod.

Later on in the narrative,

we'll see that

even when Peter is released,

these prayerful people,

they don't believe

that their prayer

is answered.

Consider also

how the escape

from prison,

Peter's escape

from prison,

is not because

he memorized

the blueprint

of the jail

and snuck

a bone

to unlock

his shackles.

He plays

almost zero part

in his escape.

Read with me

verses 7 and onward.

7 to 11.

And behold,

an angel of the Lord

stood next to him.

Remember,

he is sleeping.

And a light

shone in the cell.

He struck Peter

on the side

and woke him,

saying,

Get up quickly.

And the chains

fell off his hands.

The angel said to him,

Dress yourself

and put on your sandals.

And he did so.

And he said to him,

Wrap your cloak

around you

and follow me.

It sounds like

morning time

at the Avatan home.

It's,

let's get back

to the text.

And he went out

and followed him.

He did not know

that what was being done

by the angel

was real,

but thought he was

seeing a vision.

When they had passed

the first and second guard,

they came to the iron gate.

An iron gate

leading into the city.

It opened for them

on its own accord.

And they went out

and went along the street,

one street,

and immediately

the angel left him.

Peter is stumbling about.

What is he doing

contributing to his escape?

Waking up three in the morning,

stumbling to get a glass of water.

That's basically

what Peter is doing.

Yeah, okay, cloak, sandals.

Okay, I'll follow you.

And then he's outside

and he kind of comes to.

He's like,

that wasn't a dream.

Peter,

completely helpless

in this scenario,

prompted all the way through,

makes his way out.

And what does he say

in verse 11?

When Peter came to himself,

he said,

now I am sure

that the Lord

has sent an angel

and rescued me

from the hand of Herod

and from all that

the Jewish people

were expecting.

This is a beautiful

and faith-building event.

God is sustaining

his church

in the face

of their demise

and they are helpless.

He is not mustering up

an army in this case.

He is doing

a divine miracle.

It is very clear

that this isn't,

this isn't a human escape

clothed in divine words.

It is,

Luke wants us to know

that it is a divine miracle

that he is getting out

and it is by the hand

of the Lord.

So it's a beautiful

and faith-building event.

I'm sure it was for Peter.

Yet,

how do we make sense

of Peter's rescue

and not James?

Why does,

why does James

see the sword

but not Peter?

God is sustaining

his church

but he allowed

one of its pillars

to die.

The Lord is gracious

to his church

in the power

and wisdom

of his providence.

And I think

that's the big thing

in all of this,

in his providence.

He saves Peter

and not James.

He's answering

some prayers

and not others

which is,

it doesn't say

that the church

is praying for James

but I,

from all the,

the commentaries

I've read

it seems to,

we can assume

that that's what's happening.

This is a group

of people

that are fervently

praying to the Lord

for the sake

of their leaders.

So God answers,

if that's the case,

then God answers

some prayers

and not others.

But here's the thing

with all of this.

Peter is saved

here in Acts 12

but some 20 years later

he's going to be martyred

by Nero in Rome.

In fact,

not just him,

11 of the 12 apostles

will die

according to church tradition

and scripture.

Only James' brother,

John,

will die

die

not by martyrdom

but he is exiled

to Patmos.

And I think this helps us

to understand something,

that the gospel

is far bigger

and more resilient

than any one person

in the church,

any apostle,

any,

even any group of,

even any church

or group of churches

in a region

or a country.

North Africa

used to be

a powerhouse

for the gospel

and the church

by and large

does not exist

there today.

But the church

exists.

God forbid

but if the church

goes into decline

in Canada

and Canada

looks more like

North Korea,

not North Korea,

North Africa,

God forbid

but the church

will always exist.

Nothing will destroy

the church.

Not because the church

is wonderful and great,

it's because the church

has been bought

by Christ

and ransomed

by his blood

and he is the king

of kings

and the lord of lords

who will sustain

his church.

The gospel

is far bigger

and more resilient

than anyone

or anything.

And this is interesting

because throughout history

we've seen the church's life

swing between

advance and retreat

but never annihilation.

That is a comforting

thing for us

and it's because

the all-knowing,

all-powerful

God of love

and justice

who is mighty

to save

has intervened

for all

by sending his son

to bleed

and die

on the cross

of Calvary

so that death

and every kingdom

and power

has been cut off

at the root.

It does not have

eternal power

but only temporal power.

So Herod cannot

destroy the church.

Secularism cannot

destroy the church.

Socially progressive

ideologies

that seek to undermine

this divine

vision

of the complementarity

between male

and female

will not destroy

the church.

There is no

alternative gospel

that rivals

the gospel of Christ.

Nothing will.

And therefore

when persecution

comes

and we feel

the pinch

and maybe

even more than that

we can trust

that God

will sustain

his church

because he is good

and gracious

and kind.

Friends,

the biggest honor

we have in this life

is to faithfully

trust

in the good news

that

can never be robbed

from us.

that the world,

the flesh,

and the devil

can throw

all of its fury

upon us

but the eternal power

of Christ

has conquered all.

He has won the victory.

He has defeated

all of our enemies.

Not continually

whenever a new enemy

comes up

but once and for all

on the cross.

You might not have

that boldness now

but when the time

comes as we seek

to follow the Lord

his graciousness

will sustain us

in our hour of need.

One of,

I think,

the cheekiest

bits of Christian history

is of St. Lawrence.

He's a third century deacon.

He was martyred

by a Roman prefect

and his martyrdom

was gruesome.

A bed of coals

was laid down

and a grid iron

was laid on top of it

and he was laid on

essentially a barbecue

and after

an enormous amount

of pain

and as time went on

he looked up

at the prefect

and said,

I'm done.

You better flip me over

as if to say,

what can you do to me?

What can you do

more than just harm

and kill my body?

Your power is neutered.

It's done.

It's forever destroyed.

Christ is my king.

Whether that actually

happened or not,

I'm going to believe

it happened

because it's wonderful.

It's like a big

own you moment.

I'm done on this side.

Turn me over.

That is a picture

of the graciousness

of God sustaining

his church

in its hour of need.

But who has this

kind of faith?

I'll be honest,

I'm not sure I do.

That's why I hope

that in the hour of need

I will be given it.

The next section

actually communicates

the Lord's patience

and grace to us

as we waver

and stumble in our faith

as we are trying

to seek him

and follow him

and obey him.

Look with me

at verses 12

and following.

When he realized this,

this is Peter,

he went to the house

of Mary,

the mother of John

whose other name

was Mark,

where many were

gathered together

and were praying.

And when he knocked

at the door

of the gateway,

a servant girl

named Rhoda

came to answer.

And recognizing

Peter's voice

in her joy,

she did not open

the gate,

but ran in

and reported

that Peter

was standing

at the gate.

They said to her,

you're out of your mind.

But she kept insisting

that it was so.

And they kept saying,

it is his angel.

It seems like the tradition

at the time

was that God

would send guardian angels

and that the angels

would take on

the appearance

of those

that they were

looking after.

It's not necessarily

a biblical bit.

It's a traditional

understanding.

But that's where

that whole bit

about the guardian angel

comes about.

Verse 16,

But Peter

continued knocking

and when they opened

they saw him

and were amazed.

But motioning them

with his hand

to be silent,

presumably because

he didn't want

a big brouhaha

and attention

being drawn to them

given that he

just escaped prison,

he described to them

how the Lord

had brought him

out of the prison

and he said to them,

this is the second time

Peter's going to say this,

tell these things

to James

and to the brothers,

or sorry,

but then he said to them,

described to them

how the Lord

had brought him

out of the prison.

The second time

he recognized

the Lord's hand

in all of this.

And he said,

tell these things

to James

and to the brothers.

Then he departed

and went to another place.

That is another James,

of course.

If you quickly read

this chapter,

it's easy to marvel

at the faith of the church.

They're up day and night

praying to the Lord

fervently.

They're seeking

the Lord's face

even when James dies.

They continue to pray

for Peter.

Whether or not

they were completely

overcome by grief,

we're not too sure.

Their devotion

is admirable.

It's incredible.

I don't want to downplay it,

but again,

I want to draw

our attention

to the helplessness

of these disciples.

For when Peter

knocks on the door

in the middle of the night,

even though they've been

praying for days

upon days,

they cannot believe

that their prayers

were answered.

I mean,

I'll cut them a bit of slack.

You get a knock on the door

at three or four

in the morning,

is it ever good news?

It's never good news.

Usually it's somebody

has got in an accident

or there's been

some sort of issue

or they're coming

to arrest you

or something like that.

It's never good news.

Nevertheless,

they've been praying

and their faith

doesn't seem to be

that great,

but kind of

on the small end.

You get this knock

on the door

and there's no chance

it could have been Peter.

These people,

they have faith,

but it isn't perfect.

It's shaky.

It's riddled with doubt.

But interestingly,

nowhere in the text

are they condemned for it.

Peter does not

scold them

for being subpar

in their faith.

He doesn't scold them

for not believing

Rhoda immediately.

And I think this is

indicative of

who God is,

for he is gracious

and kind,

knowing that we struggle

to believe

and to trust.

So we can pray

like the apostles

in Luke 17,

increase my faith.

Or we can pray

like the father

who has the unwell child,

I believe,

help my unbelief.

God knows that our faith

is susceptible

to fissures

and cracks,

that we do not have

perfect faith,

but God is still kind

and gracious

to meet us

where we are at

in taking the grain

of mustard seed

that is our faith

and answering our prayers.

In this case,

you know,

we see this

beautiful answer

to prayer

in light of such

small faith

and it helps us

to have great comfort

to know

a couple things.

The first thing,

that the destiny

of the church

doesn't rise and fall

on how pious we are.

I mean,

it certainly helps

to be pious

and to pray.

Again,

like I said,

I'm not trying

to downplay prayer.

Prayer is a mighty,

wonderful thing.

It sustains us.

It is a privilege

to go to God

and ask him

to do things

that only he can do

and trust that he,

if we're praying

according to his will,

that he can answer prayers,

that he will answer prayers.

But it is to say

that if we don't pray,

God's plans

don't somehow crumble.

He is not relying

upon us

to do our part

and if we can't,

then he is powerless

to do

what he desires to do.

God knows

our struggles

and thank God

that his power

and his will

is not contingent

upon what we do.

We see problems

from a very earthly perspective

with increasing degrees

of impossibility.

But God isn't phased

by problems.

I want to say this

to myself,

but I want to say this

to you.

He is not phased

by problems.

He created

the entire cosmos.

Everything that exists

is created

by him

from nothing.

Huge doctrine

in scripture.

From nothing.

It's not like

there was an existing

cosmic Home Depot

that he went to

and got the materials

and then fashioned everything.

From nothing.

There is nothing

that is

too big for him.

No problem

that is too grand.

No evil

that is too dark.

There is nothing

that will scare

the Lord

the way it scares us.

He will intervene

as he sees fit

and he will use us

as he sees fit

so that his purposes

and plans

are never upended

or redirected.

This is the God

we serve.

He does not live

with perpetual

contingency plans.

I was listening

to a conversation

between a man

named Ray Ortland

and Sam Albury

and it's

an interesting

series for

young pastors.

Sam I think

is like

a few years

older than me.

Ray is in his 70s

and he's been

pastoring

for 150 years

and there's

just an absolute

some gold

from that

from the

ongoing conversation.

Sam has

he's a single man

he is

an ordained minister

in the Church of England

although he's here

in North America

but he is

same sex attracted.

He recognizes it

he asks the Lord

for strength

it's one of the things

he talks about often

but he said

this to Ray

in light

of God's power

he says

do you know

how easy

it is

for God

to restore

a gay man?

That's what he said.

My immediate reaction

was

I have no idea.

I have no idea

my faith is

is like this

but then I thought

about that phrase

do you know

how easy

it is

for God

to restore

a marriage?

Do you know

how easy

it is

for God

to save

an unsaved

loved one?

Do you know

how easy

it is

for God

to bring

back

into the fold

a wayward

child?

Do you know

how easy

it is

for God

to see

the gospel

spread

across the world

and to see

tyrants fall

and to see

addictions

mended

and broken

relationships

mended?

Do you know

how easy

it is?

And I

respond

like the same

way

I don't

I have no idea

my faith

is this big

but this

text is

telling us

it is so

easy

for God

to just

upend

the plans

of the enemy

Herod

and turn it

on his head

and sustain

the church

and to

bring salvation

to all

that would

believe

and trust

in him

it is so

easy

it's not

like this

is tough

for God

it is not

tough for him

it's easy

for him

it's a cinch

God knows

our struggles

with faith

he sees

that

we say

it is not

easy

it is actually

very difficult

and yet

he invites us

to seek

his faith

his face

in trust

and dependence

especially

when the world

seeks to

convince us

otherwise

so if

God is

gracious

in how he

sustains the church

and he is

gracious

in how he

builds up

our faith

how does

he bolster

our faith

when our

enemies

rage

against us

this is

the last

part

verses

20

and following

verses

18

and 19

situate

the

narrative

but we're

just going

to jump

into verse

20

Herod is

in Caesarea

and this

is what it

says

verses 20

and following

now Herod

was angry

with the

people of

Tyre

and Sidon

and they

came to

him

with one

accord

and having

persuaded

Blastus

the king's

chamberlain

before I

continue

notice all

of the

the royal

and regal

language used

to describe

Herod

okay

they came

to him

with one

accord

having

persuaded

Blastus

the king's

chamberlain

that is

Herod's

chamberlain

they asked

for peace

because their

country depended

on the

king's

country

for food

and on

an appointed

day

Herod put

on his

royal robes

took his

seat upon

the throne

and delivered

an oration

to them

and the people

were shouting

the voice

of God

and not

of a man

and immediately

an angel

of the Lord

struck him

down because

he did not

give God

the glory

and he was

eaten by

worms

and breathed

his last

Herod the

all-powerful

king

who is

is the

king of

Jerusalem

and Judea

and all

of the

Galilee

and Perea

he fashions

himself as

a god

and he

is struck

down

like a

common

man

and what's

interesting here

again we're

juxtaposing

Herod the

false king

with Christ

the ultimate

king

notice how

as God

was rescuing

Peter

in the

dungeon

Peter

sleeping

and he

strikes him

and he

says get

up

and Herod

who is not

putting himself

at the mercy

of God

but is

claiming to

be God

himself

is struck

and falls

down

it is an

inverse of

what is

happening

and we're

seeing a

complete reversal

verses 1

to 3

the strength

and the

bravado

that the

chapter opens

with

this bit

about him

dying

and worms

eating him

and he

breathes

his last

Josephus

the historian

records

the death

of Herod

Agrippa

different

descriptors

but pretty

sure the

same event

which is to

say that

Josephus

he develops

some kind

of stomach

issue

and dies

and that's

but he was

struck

the same

thing

he comes

out in

these silver

robes

he claims

he's God

and then

he gets

sick

and dies

I think

Peter's

describing

the same

thing

I don't

think we

need to

think of

it as

on the

spot

he dies

and all

these worms

eat him

like a

horror movie

if you

remember

Psalm

16

speaks

of

Jesus

being the

holy one

who does

not see

decay

but people

that are

not

righteous

they are

eaten

by worms

it is

figurative

language

to describe

the utter

baseness

the

unrighteousness

the evil

of

a tyrant

and the

what will

happen to

such people

boils down

to this

anybody

who

opposes

the church

of Christ

the true

church of

Christ

opposes

Christ

himself

we are

his very

body

and as

he goes

we go

the head

of

the church

has

defeated

death

ascended

into

heaven

and is

sitting at

the right

hand of

the father

and we

too will

join him

in glory

all of his

enemies are

defeated

therefore all of

our enemies

are defeated

and when people

stand up

against us

they might

succeed for

a time

but never

eternally

God

in Christ

is the

one

who is

the eternal

victor

overall

his church

will endure

forever

that doesn't

necessarily mean

that any

person that

seeks to

put pressure

on us

that they're

going to

get smited

or that

they're going

to get dealt

with right

away

but we can

be sure

that we

will not

be left

to our

own

defense

that God

is in

our corner

in Christ

we feel

a bit of

pressure

these days

if we're

going to

hold fast

to the

word

and to

the historic

orthodox

faith

but we

don't

I don't

want to

downplay

it

but we

don't

feel

the

pressure

like

our

brothers

and

sisters

in

Pyongyang

or

in

Beijing

or

in

Kabul

or

in

Beirut

a text

like this

the death

of Herod

is a

great

comfort

for them

it means

that

the head

of

Hezbollah

Nazarela

he will

not endure

forever

he will

not be

ultimately

victorious

the Taliban

in

Afghanistan

they will

not have

the final

word

Kim

Jong

will not

have

the final

word

anybody

that

looks to

oppress

God's

people

will

not

have

the

final

word

it

also

means

that

the

culture

of

death

in

Canada

will

not

in

the

end

win

and endure

forever

the

graciousness

of the

Lord

will

prevail

as

he

lays

waste

to

his

enemies

and I'll

wrap up

with this

Herod is

eaten by

worms

but Christ

does not

see decay

Herod's throne

is no more

Jesus reigns

upon the

eternal throne

right this

minute

he is there

he can't be

supplanted

he can't be

pushed off

Herod

tried and

failed to

destroy the

church

brothers and

sisters here

we stand

here we

stand

today

not in

our own

power but

in the

power of

the

Lord

and with

all the

pressures

and the

persecutions

the text

ends with

verse 24

and this

is what

it says

but the

word of

God

increased

and

multiplied

this is

the third

of

I believe

five

they're called

summary

verses

or summary

statements

that

kind of

redirect

our gaze

and our

focus

in the

narrative

towards

what is

happening

with the

mission

of the

church

but in

this

case

verse 24

is also

a big

giant

you tried

but you

failed

Herod

you tried

but you

failed

Satan

but you

you tried

but you

failed

world

verse 24

but the

word of

God

increased

and

multiplied

the cross

tried to

smite

Jesus

but he

makes a

mockery

out of

it

he

transforms

this

ugly

disgusting

Roman

torture

apparatus

and he

makes it

the most

beautiful

picture of

victory

of all

time

so what

do we do

we trust

however

imperfectly

in our

Lord and

Savior who

is mighty

to save

and that

is gracious

to give

us the

strength we

need in

our time

of need

let's pray

Father in

heaven we

thank you

for Acts

13 we

thank you

that

well we

thank you

that we

aren't

facing a

Herod

Lord we

thank you

that even

our most

aggressively

anti-Christian

leader

leaders

here in

Canada

in Ottawa

in Ontario

wherever they

may be

whoever they

are they

don't hold

the candle

to Herod

or to

some of

the emperors

for that

matter

Lord we

thank you

for that

we thank

you for

the relative

peace that

we can

worship you

in here

in Canada

but Lord

give us

great courage

and faith

and hope

in you

when we

feel the

pinch and

we feel

the pressure

to recant

and to

downplay

and to

go soft

on our

faith

Lord remind

us that

you are the

one who

fights our

battles and

even if we

do pray

fervently

Lord we

are truly

hopeless and

helpless

without you

Lord give

us great

courage to

to teach

our children

well to

counsel each

other well

to love

each other

well and

and Lord we

pray that

that as

as verse

24 says

that the

word of the

Lord would

would increase

and multiply

here in our

city and in

our church

and in our

province and

country we

pray this in

Jesus's mighty

mighty name

the King of

Kings and the

Lord of Lords

Amen

Lord Amen

you

and

Lord of şeyler

come on

time to

hear

Son and

gentlemen

money

you

and

family

all

Feylo

and

let

lovely

mira

and

and

cha

my

Lord of

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