Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Limits of God*

*Acts 12:1-25*

 

I.

Introduction

A.    Secular

1.      Charissa singing song, “My God is so big…”

2.      Us moving from these type of faith songs to questioning whether God can make a rock so big that even He can’t move it or not.

B.     Personal

1.      Have you ever assumed God has limits?

2.      Have you asked God to heal someone with cancer, reconcile a marriage or another relationship, give you a better job, have a school accept your application.

3.      Yet, in the back of your mind, or even in your heart, you don’t believe that God will answer in that way.

C.     Biblical

1.      Several characters in the Bible have put limits on God, even without saying as much.

2.      God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and told him to deliver Israel out of Egypt, and Moses said, “I don’t speak so well, can you send someone else?”  Moses put a limit on God.

3.      God also appeared to Gideon in Judges 6 and told him to deliver Israel from the oppressive hand of the Midianites, but Gideon said, “Are you sure you want me?  I’m in this pit hiding from them right now.”  Gideon put a limit on God.

4.      Peter had asked Jesus if he could come out and walk on water and then began to do so.

However, once he realized that he was walking on water, Peter, the Rock, began to sink like a stone.

5.      Does God have limits?

Are there things that He cannot do?

D.    Textual

1.      Background to text

a.       Luke has recorded for us in the previous chapters one marvelous conversion after another.

1.)

The 3000 on the day of Pentecost

2.)    The Samaritans

3.)    The Ethiopian eunuch

4.)    Saul of Tarsus

5.)    The Gentile centurion Cornelius

6.)

And the mixed crowd of Jews and Gentiles in Antioch, where the disciples were first called Christians.

b.

In concentric circles starting from Jerusalem, the Word of God has been spreading.

c.

In Chapter 13, Luke describes a great leap forward we call Paul’s first missionary journey, to begin to complete Jesus’ prophecy of the gospel reaching the ends of the earth.

d.

But before Chapter 13 comes Chapter 12, and in it we have a serious setback and threat to the church.

II.

Exposition

A.    The Threat (Acts 12:1-5)

1.      Let’s meet two of the people in this text.

a.

The first person mentioned is Herod (Acts 12:1)

1.)

This is Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great, who was the king when Jesus was born who slaughtered the innocent children of Bethlehem when he heard that a potential rival to his throne was born.

2.)    He was also the nephew of Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist and participated in the trial of Jesus.

3.)    This Herod was personal friend of the Emperor Caligula, and who received his position and territories because of their friendship.

b.

The second person mentioned in James, the brother of John.

1.)    He, along with his brother, were disciples of Christ, and lived and traveled with Him during Christ’s time on earth.

2.)    He witnessed Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter, he was Jesus transformed, along with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, and he saw Jesus sweat blood and be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.

2.      Luke tells us that while these wonderful things were happening to the Gentiles and in Antioch, there was something sinister going on in Jerusalem.

a.       Herod, as political ruler and pawn of the Roman Empire, was persecuting (“lying violent hands”) on the church.

1.)

When Saul persecuted the church in Chapter 9, it as because he was trying to preserve and protect his religion and traditions.

2.)    Herod is going after the church now, in order to eliminate the potential threat to the peace and stability of the region.

3.)    This threat to peace came not from the Christians in the city, but from the Jewish people who didn’t want this (in their eyes) evil sect to exist.

4.)    Herod, as most politicians are want to do, tries to please his boss, the Emperor, and the vocal majority, the Jews, and in this case he tries to do so by helping eliminate the powerless minority; the Christians.

b.

So Herod beheads one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem and one of the disciples closest to Jesus, James.

1.)

This action provoked a very strong and very favorable reaction from the populace.

2.)    Herod had a reputation of always ingratiating himself to Jews in order to curry favor with them, but this time he hit the jackpot.

The Jews were thrilled.

c.

When Herod saw that the Jews were pleased, he went after another leader of the church, Peter, and arrested him with the intent of executing him.

1.)

The Jews didn’t mind that this was happening during their Feast of Unleavened Bread – the seven day festival that followed the Passover – even though Jewish law did not permit either trials or sentencing.

2.)    After all, they saw Jesus undergo several illegal trials around this time roughly 15 years ago.

3.)    Besides, they had Peter, their undisputed leader locked safely away in a prison.

d.

The church’s only reaction, the only thing they could do was to pray.

1.)

They prayed continuously and fervently.

2.)    Luke 22:44 says it was his type of prayer that caused Jesus to sweat drops of blood.

B.     The Deliverance (Acts 12:6-19)

1.

The Prisoner’s Situation - Read Acts 12:6-11

a.       Luke makes sure we understand clearly the situation Peter was in.

1.)

He was guarded by four squads of highly trained Roman soldiers.

2.)    Each squad had four soldiers in it for a total of 16 soldiers watching this one man.

a.)    What they most likely did was work in 6-hour shifts with a guard manacled to each of his wrists and two more keeping watch outside the cell.

b.)

At the end of each shift, a fresh squad of soldiers would come in relieve the former squad to make sure everyone was fresh.

b.

What was Peter doing?

Sleeping!

1.)

The night before he was about to be brought out, put on mock trial and executed, he is sleeping!

How in the world could he sleep at a time like this?

a.)

For one, he had been in prison twice before, so he was not intimidated by it.

Certainly, there was never a sentence of death hanging over his head, yet Peter was still able to sleep.

b.)    Also, each time he was in prison, he was freed.

So we can see why Peter would feel confident at this time.

c.)

However, most importantly, he saw his Lord and Savior Jesus put to death but then rise again in defiance of death.

i.)      Ultimately, I think he was calm because he knew that even if he died, he would one day rise from the dead and live eternally, just as his Savior promised he would.

2.)    In fact, Peter was sleeping so soundly, that when the angel appeared to rescue him, he had to strike him on the side to wake him up.

a.)

This was no love tap.

b.)

This is the same word that describes how Peter struck the servant of the high priest with a sword and cut off his ear in Matt.

26:51.

3.)    We know that this was a supernatural being and not an ordinary human messenger as some translations have it.

a.)

One reason is the light that accompanies this being.

i.)

It fills the whole cell, yet the guards do not wake up.

ii.)

He is also able to talk without the guards hearing him.