THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER IN TIMES OF TURMOIL
ACTS 12:1-19
INTRODUCTION: TIMES OF TURMOIL AND STRESS HAVE A WAY OF GETTING US TO FOCUS ON THE WRONG THINGS – IE: THE SITUATION. AS PRESSING AS THE SITUATION IS, IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT OR MORE IMPORTANT TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING “BEHIND THE SCENES” SO TO SPEAK. SINCE WHAT GOD DOES IS ALWAYS FOR OUR GOOD, BEST, AND RIGHT OF OUR LIVES; EVEN THE SITUATION OF STRESS AND TURMOIL HAS A WAY OF WORKING ITSELF OUT FOR OUR BETTERMENT – IF WE ALLOW IT TO!
BEFORE WE EVEN GET STARTED HERE IN THE TEXT, THERE IS AN INTERESTING FACT THAT I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF FAMILY.
IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING, HEROD IS MENTIONED. MORE SPECIFICALLY HEROD AGRIPPA I. IN FACT THE BIBLE RECORDS FOUR GENERATIONS OF THE FAMILY OF HEROD, AND THEIR ACTIVITIES:
HEROD THE GREAT – HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MURDER OF CHILDREN IN BETHLEHEM AND THE SURROUNDING AREA IN AN ATTEMPT TO SNUFF OUT THE LIFE OF JESUS.
HEROD ANTIPAS WHO HAD JOHN THE BAPTIST BEHEADED AND WAS INVOLVED IN THE TRIAL OF JESUS.
HEROD AGRIPPA I WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MURDER OF JAMES AS RECORDED IN OUR TEXT.
HEROD AGRIPPA II WHO WOULD PRESIDE AS ONE OF THE JUDGES AT THE TRIAL OF PAUL.
GOOD OR BAD – YOU HAVE AN INFLUENCE OVER YOUR FAMILY. WHAT YOU SAY AND DO WILL HAVE A LASTING EFFECT. WE WOULD DO WELL TO DETERMINE NOW WHAT WE WILL DO AS PARENTS THAT WILL HAVE THE MOST PROFOUND AND POSITIVE EFFECT OB FUTURE GENERATIONS.
UNDERSTANDING THE ACTIONS OF GOD IN TIMES OF TURMOIL AND STRESS
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE THOSE WHO INTEND TO DO US HARM.
IT IS A FACT OF LIFE THAT AS THIS WORLD GET WORSE AND WORSE, THERE WILL BE THOSE WHOP INTEND VARIOUS DEGREES OF DISCOMFORT TOWARDS US, FROM THE OBSCENE GESTURE ON THE ROAD TO THE THREAT OF PHYSICAL HARM.
JESUS FACED EVERYTHING FROM HECKLERS TO THE CROSS
HIS RESPONSE WAS CONSISTENT WITH HIS BELIEF – HE WAS SEEING AND ACTING IN ACCORD WITH THE WILL OF GOD.
THE BETTER YOU AND I UNDERSTAND THE PLACE OF THE WILL OF GOD IN OUR LIVES THE EASIER IT WILL BE TO SEE CIRCUMSTANCES IN THAT LIGHT!
THE WORK OF GOD IN OUR LIVES IS IN HIS HANDS
YOU WILL NOTICE THAT PETER WAS ARRESTED DURING THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD – PASSOVER.
PASSOVER WAS THE CONCLUSION OF A WEEK OF FEAST.
THE BEST TIME FOR PETER TO BE “RELEASED” SHOULD BE RIGHT AFTER HE WAS ARRESTED.
AFTER ALL PRISON BACK THEN WAS NOT THE BEST PLACE TO BE.
ADDITIONALLY, PETER WAS UNDER THE WATCH OF 16 SOLDIERS ROUND THE CLOCK, AND SOLDIERS BACK THEN WERE NOT KNOWN FOR BEING THE KINDEST OF FOLKS.
THE PERSON IN PRISON NEEDED TO BE ATTENDED TO BY FAMILY AND/OR FRIENDS IN ORDER TO SURVIVE AND EAT.
GOD DID NOT CHOOSE TO ACT ON BEHALF OF PETER UNTIL THE LAST NIGHT.
GOD HAS ACTED THIS WAY PREVIOUSLY
WALLS OF JERICHO
DEATH OF LAZARUS
THE PURPOSE AND PLAN OF GOD IS NOT BOUND BY OR LIMITED BY TIME. ONLY MAN SEEMS TO BE BOUND BY A CLOCK!
WE NEED TO BALANCE WHAT GOD CHOOSES TO DO IN EVERY AREA
GOD CHOSE TO SPARE PETER
GOD CHOSE NOT TO SPARE JAMES
WE CAN CHOOSE TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE WHY.
WAS PETER MORE IMPORTANT THAN JAMES? NO!
GOD DOES CHOOSE FOR EACH OF US TO HONOR AND GLORIFY HIM IN DIFFERENT WAYS
THE APOSTLE JOHN HONORED GOD IN EXILE THE ISLAND OF PATMOS AND GAVE US SEVERAL BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
JIM ELLIOT HONORED GOD AS A MARTYR AND OPENED THE GOSPEL UP TO THE SAME TRIBE THAT TOOK HIS LIFE.
OTHERS LIVED TO A FULL LIFE AND HONORED GOD BY THEIR FAITHFUL SERVICE.
WE CAN CHOOSE TO REST IN THE FACT OF GOD’S CONTROL AND LOVE FOR US TO THE POINT THAT EVEN WHAT WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND HAS A POSITIVE PURPOSE IN HIS PLAN.
WE NEED TO SEE THAT EVERY SITUATION DEMONSTRATES OUR NEED FOR GOD
PETER IN PRISON IS A PRIME EXAMPLE
THE CASE OF PETER IS HOPELESS FROM THE HUMAN PERSPECTIVE
IN PRISON
SURROUNDED BY GUARDS
PETER IS EVEN ASLEEP
ILLUSTRATION OF OUR CONDITION WITHOUT GOD
WE ARE IN PRISON
WE ARE SURROUNDED BY THOSE WHO SEEK TO HOLD US BACK
AND SOMETIMES WE ARE EVEN ASLEEP – SO INSENSITIVE TO WHAT IS AROUND US UNTIL IT IS BROUGHT TO LIGHT!
JOHN WESLEY PENNED THESE WORDS OF THE FOURTH VERSE OF “AND CAN IT BE”’
LONG MY IMPRISONED SPIRIT LAY
FAST BOUND IN SIN AND NATURE'S NIGHT;
THINE EYE DIFFUSED A QUICKENING RAY;
I WOKE, THE DUNGEON FLAMED WITH LIGHT;
MY CHAINS FELL OFF, MY HEART WAS FREE;
I ROSE, WENT FORTH, AND FOLLOWED THEE.
TODAY WE NEED TO EMBRACE THAT GOD IS AT WORK IN THE MIDST OF OUR TOIL AND STRUGGLE, THAT HE WORKS AS HE SEES FIT, AND FOR HIS GLORY EVEN THE STRUGGLES THAT WE HAVE REVEAL OUR CONTINUAL NEED FOR HIM.
UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF PRAYER IN TIMES OF TURMOIL AND STRESS
I GUESS THIS IS THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, DOES PRAYER REALLY MATTER? THE ANSWER IS YES, YET THE REASON WE EVEN QUESTION IS THAT WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE NATURE, PURPOSE AND ACTIVITY OF PRAYER.
I DO NOT HOPE TO FULLY DEVELOP THAT THOUGHT, NOR WOULD I EVEN TRY, BUT LET ME TOUCH ON A FEW SIGNIFICANT POINTS
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER
WE HAVE SPENT SOME TIME LOOKING AT THE FACT THAT GOD IS SOVEREIGN
ALTHOUGH GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND DOES THINGS IN HIS OWN SOVEREIGN WAY, HE NEVERTHELESS DOES WHAT HE DOES THROUGH MEANS, ONE OF WHICH IS PRAYER.
GOD ORDAINS HIS WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO, AND HOW HE IS GOING TO DO WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO
GOD ORDAINS AN ANSWER AND HE ALSO ORDAINS THE MEANS OF OBTAINING THE ANSWER – PRAYER.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT GOD IS NOT LIMITED IN HIS ABILITY TO ANSWER, HE USES PRAYER FOR THE CHANNEL OF THAT ANSWER.
THE DIRECTION OF PRAYER
WE CANNOT FORGET THAT PRAYER IS FIRST, FOREMOST, AND EXCLUSIVELY DIRECTED TOWARDS GOD.
THAT SAID, WE MUST GUARD OURSELVES THAT WE DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP OF PRAYING TO GOD, BUT ALLOWING OURSELVES TO FORMAT THE PRAYER SO AS TO ENHANCE OUR STATUS WITH THOSE AROUND US WHO ARE LISTENING. IN OTHER WORDS, WE MAY ASSUME “THE VOICE” OR “THE VERBIAGE” !
The day came when I realized what real prayer meant, realized that prayer was having an audience with God, actually coming into the presence of God and asking and getting things from him.... The realization of that fact transformed my prayer life. Before that prayer had been a mere duty, and sometimes a very irksome duty, but from that time on prayer has been not merely a duty but a privilege, one of the most highly esteemed privileges of life. Before that the thought that I had was, "How much time must I spend in prayer?" The thought that now possesses me is, "How much time may I spend in prayer without neglecting the other privileges and duties of life?”
RUBEN TERRY, “THE POWER OF PRAYER”
PRAYER INVOLVES COMING TOGETHER
SIMPLE YET PROFOUND!
THERE IS A UNITY OF MIND AND SPIRIT THAT CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED THROUGH CORPORATE PRAYER!
THERE IS A QUALITY OF PRAYER THAT CANNOT BE DUPLICATED WHEN THE CHURCH PRAYS TOGETHER. TODAY WE ARE CAUGHT UP IN QUANTITY, WHEN WE SHOULD BE CAUGHT UP IN QUALITY.
PRAYER INVOLVES “EARNEST”
PETER IS RELEASED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
THE PEOPLE ARE PRAYING – THEY WERE EARNEST IN PRAYER BECAUSE PRAYER WAS IMPORTANT.
SOMETHING LOST IN THE MODERN DAY CHURCH!
PRAYER IS SPECIFIC
AGAIN, A LOST ART IS PRAYING SPECIFICALLY
WE KNOW THIS IS WHAT WAS HAPPENING BY THE RESPONSE TO THE KNOCK AT THE DOOR. – SEE VERSE 5
James 4:3-5 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?
ASKING AMISS – ASKING IN A WAY NOT BEFITTING OR OUT OF PLACE
THE VERACITY OF OUR PRAYER IS SEEN IN THE SPECIFICITY OF OUR PRAYER!
THE SINGULAR QUALIFIER
THIS GROUP WAS DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT, BUT ONE THING – THEY REALLY DID NOT BELIEVE THAT GOD WOULD ANSWER THEIR PRAYER
AND AS SUCH WHEN THE ANSWER CAME THEY DISMISSED AND QUESTIONED IT RATHER THAN REJOICED IN IT!
SO THIS YEAR, AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES OF OUR LIVES, WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT SITUATIONS WILL COME UP THAT WILL CHALLENGE US. IT IS IN THOSE TIMES WE NEED TO REMIND OURSELVES OF THE ACTIVITY OF GOD AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER.
WITH THESE FIRMLY IN MIND, WE CAN AND WILL GO THROUGH ANY ISSUE VICTORIOUS!
