Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Acts: Enlarging Our Vision

By Honoring God 01/25/09

Sermon Series: Acts: Enlarging our Vision

                Title: ‘By honoring God’    Text: Acts 12

Introduction: John Sobieski III, King of Poland is best remembered as the man who saved central Europe from invading armies of Turks in 1683. With the Turks at the walls of Vienna, Sobieski led a charge that broke the seige. His rescue of Vienna is considered one of the decisive battles in European history. In announcing his great victory the king paraphrased the famous words of Caesar by saying simply, “I came; I saw; God conquered.” (Today in the Word, MBI, August, 1991, p. 7.)

Quote: Thomas Carlyle once said ‘Show me the man you honor and I will know what kind of man you are.’ (10,000 Sermon Illustrations, electronic ed. (Dallas: Biblical Studies Press, 2000).

John Sobieski III, the King of Poland was a godly man who honored God above all else.

Transition: Open your Bibles to Acts 12:1 (pg. 841 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you.) For it’s there we’ll find we enlarge out vision of God by honoring God.

I. Acts 12:1-3          Example of not honoring God

Read: Acts 12:1-3

Luke contrasts how the Christians in Antioch in chapter 11 honored God by loving God’s people and helping to build God’s Church with how King Herod failed to honor God by attempting to kill God’s people and destroy God’s Church.

The Herod mentioned here is the grandson of Herod the Great. Like his grandfather, he was more interested in pleasing the people and getting honor for himself, than in pleasing God and giving Him honor.

Herod’s organized persecution of the Believers in Jerusalem shows that the Church was an identifiable group which had become hated by the Jews.

Why the change in sentiment? Why were the Christian now hated by the Jewish people? Because these ‘Christians’, as they were now called, had accepted into their group the conversion of the Samaritans, Jewish half-breeds, and Gentiles, whom the Jews hated.

This once ‘Jewish’ religious cult was rapidly becoming a melting pot of undesirables. The Jews in Jerusalem had had enough. And Herod, wanting to please them, began to attack God’s Church.

First was James, the brother of John whom Herod immediately had put to death by the sword. Then he arrested Peter and placed him in prison. He couldn’t immediately kill Peter because the Feast of Unleavened Bread had begun and the law stated no one could be executed during the feast. But we’ll see it was God’s timing that Peter was arrested when he was.

Transition: Herod, as King and a ‘religious’ person was supposed to be honoring God with his life and reign as king. He wasn’t. He was only concerned with receiving honor from those he ruled. And God will not share his honor with another.

II. Acts 12:4-5          Honoring God thru prayer

Read: Acts 12:4-5

Herod made sure that Peter’s imprisonment was secure by placing 4 squads of  4 soldiers to guard him…16 men who would take shifts so that Peter was always chained to 2 soldiers and always had 2 guards at his cell door.

Perhaps Herod had heard for the High Priest that Peter had escaped from prison on a couple occasions so he was making sure it wasn’t going to happen again.

Peter is in his cell, under double the guard of any other prisoner. BUT, God’s people were praying for Peter.

Read: Acts 12:5 ‘So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.’

Much is said in that one verse. Let’s break it down.

‘So, Peter was kept in prison.’

It was a fact….Herod had arrested Peter and placed him in prison…under double the usual guard. His situation could be viewed as hopeless.

‘But…’

·       Here’s the contrast between Herod and the Christians.

·       Here’s the difference between those who honor themselves and those who honor God.

But…even in the midst of hopelessness, God’s people believe, God’s people hope, God’s people act, God’s people…pray!

While Herod placed his hope in hemself, God’s people place their hope in God…they depend upon God…and that brings Him honor.

‘the church’

I don’t believe it was just the Christians in Mary’s house that were praying. The text says ‘the church’ so I believe it was all the Christians in Jerusalem who knew that James was killed and Peter was put in prison…every Christian was praying…as one.

You see, it was not just Peter who was in trouble…it was the whole Church, it was the work of God on earth that was in danger. I believe these early Christians understood the vast consequences of Herod’s actions and they, as one voice, passionately and earnestly prayed to God for deliverance.

‘was earnestly praying to God for him.’

These folks weren’t just remembering Peter in their bedtime prayers. The same Greek word used here for ‘earnestly’ is used by Luke in his Gospel to describe how Jesus prayed in the garden.

Read: Luke 22:44 ‘And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.’

These early Christians weren’t playing at prayer…they probably didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, didn’t run the kids to chariot lessons, they were praying…earnestly, passionately, intensely, fervently for Peter.

Can I ask? When was the last time you prayed like that?

Passion in prayer involves emotion as well as intellect. It’s tied to desire. Passionate prayers are prayers that well up deep from within the heart. When I think of people who were passionate about connecting with Jesus:

·       I think of the woman who pressed through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. There must have been many people who were ill in the area, but only she was healed because she passionately pursued Christ.

·       I think of the blind man who called out to Jesus until he was heard, even though people told him to be quiet.

·       I think of the woman who wanted her daughter delivered from an evil spirit and would not take no for an answer.

These people were driven by passion…our prayers and petitions to God should reflect that kind of passion.

Transition: We honor God when we are passionate in our prayer.

III. Acts 12:6-11 Honoring God thru obedience

Read: Acts 12:6-11

I love it when God displays his sense of humor in Scripture. Do you see it here? Peter, awaiting execution, is sound asleep. So much so, that the angel God sent to deliver Peter, has to strike him to wake Peter up. (Hit him…not exactly a gentle nudge)

Upon awakening, the text implies that Peter felt he was having a vision of how God was going to deliver him rather than participating in the actual deliverance. The Angel had to talk Peter through what needed to be done…and to his credit, Peter obeyed….He was delivered from prison and the angel left.

Peter wasn’t aware that God was busy behind the scenes answering the passionate and earnest prayers of God’s people on his behalf. He just obeyed God’s leading and God was honored.

Sidebar: If I could step back for a moment and look at the big picture. What we see here is a glimpse of what is taking place in eternity to ensure our safe arrival in heaven.

·       As I speak, I honestly believe angels are being directed and heaven and earth are being moved in unexpected ways to accomplish God’s will in our lives.

·       God and his heavenly host are working around the clock making certain that everything conforms to the purpose of his will, so that he may be honored, through his work in us.

Transition: Obedience to God’s leading being honor to God.

IV. Acts 12:12-17  Honor God thru testimony

Read: Acts 12:12-17

Again, we see God’s sense of humor. Peter is knocking at the door and Rhoda answers it. She recognizes Peter’s voice and is so excited that instead of letting him in, she runs to tell the others that Peter is at the door.

Well, they think she’s crazy. Peter’s in prison, there’s no way he is at our door. Put Peter is persistent and keeps knocking until someone actually opens up the door and lets him in.

Notice this. Rather than talk about how he felt, Peter tells them what God did.

God is always honored when his people tell of his acts on their behalf.

Read: Psalm 66:16 ‘Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.’

Read: Psalm 145:4 ‘One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.’

That’s why a Testimony time is an exciting and necessary part of corporate worship. Giving testimony of God’s work brings honor to God.

Transition: Luke also wants to remind us that there are consequences to not honoring God, as Herod finds out. 

V. Acts 12:18-23  Results of not honoring God

Read: Acts 12:18-23

·       16 innocent men were ruthlessly killed because Herod refused to believe God can and does directly intervene in the lives of His people.  

·       16 innocent men were ruthlessly killed because Herod refused to give honor to God.

Read: Romans 12: 19 ‘Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.’

Be assured…God will judge the wicked. God will condemn those who fail to bring him honor. Let me read it again.

Read: Acts 12:21-23

Herod wanted the ‘god-like’ power and honor that came with being a king. He was a ‘self-made-man’ and he believed he deserved all that he had.

Herod’s life was taken from him because he failed to honor God in with his life.

Transition: Well, that’s not the end to God’s story.

VI. Acts 12:24          Results of honoring God

Read: Acts 12:24

Here is that wonderful word again….BUT.

·       In spite of all that Herod had done, God’s purposes will not be thwarted.

·       In spite of opposition and persecution, God sovereignly prospers the work of His Church. Amen?

Conclusion

Read: Malachi 1:6a ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.’

It would seem God is serious about receiving honor from us.

Being a Christian can become more of a ritual than a relationship!

·       When our Christian journey becomes a ritual we experience a lack of genuine joy and our offerings to God become less of a sacrifice.

·       When our Christian journey is a relationship we experience true joy and take great joy in offering to God those things that matter, that are significant in our lives.

Later in Malachi, we are told that God wasn’t pleased with either the sacrifices or service from this people. They were giving sacrifices to the Lord, and they were attending worship services at the Temple … so what was wrong?

 

It was what they gave … sick diseased animals for sacrifices and how they attended worship…

without a genuine joy or thanksgiving in their heart toward God!
They had lost their focus on who God is. Instead of looking forward to getting to the temple for worship they were looking forward to getting out of temple to do something else! (sound familiar?)

They had lost their focus on God and got lost in self! They had taken pride in calling themselves ‘God’s sons’ yet they did not honor God as Father!

Instead of giving God their best they gave God their leftovers!

ILL: Paul Harvey told of the woman a few years ago that had a butterball turkey she had had in her freezer for 23 years. She called Butterball Company to ask them about whether the turkey would be all right to eat. The company said we think it would be all right if the freezer was okay but the turkey may have lost a lot of its flavor. She said, I thought that might be the case so I will just give it to the church for Thanksgiving. So many times we are just like the woman, we give God our leftovers. (Melvin Shelton)

God expects the best from us because He always gives His best to us.

We need to leave this place this morning with this thought on our minds…In what ways am I not giving God my best and because of that not honoring God?

I have been talking about passion this morning, passions are not developed accidentally, especially developing a passion for honoring God. Why? Because it goes against our nature to honor anybody or anything before ourselves.

Becoming a person who is passionate about honoring God in every area of our life is something that can only happen with continual, daily submission to him. It’s as if we need to begin each day saying,

‘God, no matter what happens today, you are the Lord. And more than that, you’re my Lord. Help me to honor you in everything I do today.’

We enlarge our vision of God, by honoring God.