Acts 12 Outline 1. Herod is persecuting the church, and he has James killed and Peter arrested (v. 1-4). 2. The Lord sends angels to rescue Peter from prison, and he shows up at a prayer meeting (v. 5-19). 3. God kills Herod for his pride (v. 20-24). 4. Luke gives an update on the travels and ministry of Barnabas and Paul (v.25). Overview Herod was persecuting the church, and he had James, the brother of John, killed and Peter imprisoned. The church was praying for Peter’s release but did not believe it when God answered their prayer. God killed Herod because of his pride and refusal to give glory God. By the way, the account of Herod’s death is also in the history written by the Jewish historian, Josephus, and is the same other than Josephus’ sharing more details. Takeaways 1. The Lord allowed James to be killed and caused Peter to be spared. They were both men of God. It shows us that there is a lot of mystery regarding God’s will that we do not understand. 2. The church should deal with problems through continual prayer (v.5). 3. God intervened on Peter’s behalf at the last minute (“when Herod was about to bring him out”) (v.6). The Lord works on His timetable, not ours. 4. Peter was asleep, which means that he was at peace. Sometimes sleeping well during trials is an indicator of trusting God (v.6). 5. The church was praying for Peter when he showed up at the house and they did not believe he was there (v.13-16). They apparently were praying fervently but not with a lot of faith. Yet, God still answered their prayers because the key is the object of faith more than the amount of faith. This should encourage us when we are struggling to trust God. Keep talking to Him even if you are having trouble trusting Him. 6. God hates pride and will not share His glory with anyone (v.20-24).
Posted on: Sat, 18 Jan 2014 23:40:41 +0000
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