"What do you worship?" Acts 12:20-25
By Pastor Bob Hunter
Suggested Video Clip: "What do you worship?" Available at www.willowvideo.com
Introduction: As we continue our series in Acts, I want to call your attention to rather peculiar death of King Herod the Agrippa. Now, I’m warning you up front, nothing that Herod does or involves himself in is good. He’s a man of great vanity. And has no affection whatsoever for the Church of Jesus Christ. The story appears in the closing verses of Ch.12. Let’s read it together beginning in Vs. 20 (read scripture)
(spoken exerts from the message)
Isn’t that gross? What a terrible and tragic way to die! Of worms, ehh... You’ve probably never heard a sermon from this passage of scripture have you? Only here at Springwater Church, where else? I have to admit, Herod Agrippa’s life is not one that I normally look to draw spiritual inspiration from. But nevertheless, it’s in the Bible. And it’s there for a reason. Much can be learned when we take a closer look at this unusual passage of scripture. Men like Herod teach us how not to live. A closer examination of this story brings to light valuable life lessons.
Let me just take a few moments and fill you in on Herod. The inside scoop is this: Herod Agrippa is grandson of Herod the Great who ruled at the time of Jesus birth. So he’s a different one than your probably familiar with, but with many of the same self serving goals. Not a day goes by that Herod doesn’t think of himself in terms of kingly greatness. Herod is one of the Kings in the Roman Empire, He answers to Claudius in Rome who was the Emperor of Roman rule. History teaches us, that Herod lived a lavish lifestyle, he used money to buy prestige, power and personal comfort. Herod’s spending habits got so out of hand that he landed himself in debt on more than one occasion he had to beg for money to keep favor with the powers that be in Rome. History also teaches us that from time to time, Herod’s vanity brought on spells of rage and depression. Could it be that Herod took out some of his frustrations on the leaders of the Church? He single handedly ordered the execution of James, brother of John, servant of Jesus Christ. James was abruptly put to death by sword. The apostle Peter was next in line, but thanks to an angel he was miraculously set free from prison. Herod’s favorite pastime is persecuting Christians. He feels threatened by it’s growing influence, and sought to bring an end to it.
So at the time of Herod’s death Christianity is spreading throughout the region of Palestine. And of course, Herod feels threatened. In addition to that, there was yet another firestorm brewing. Herod is having an internal battle with the people Tyre and Sidon. They have failed to comply with orders to run the major seaports properly. Herod therefore, threatens to starve them to death by cutting off their food supply. The threat of starving to death is powerfully persuasive and causes both groups of people to quickly reconsider their work habits. In order to secure harmony with Herod, they each round up a group of representatives and travel to Ceasarea to see Herod personally. They intend to renew their loyalty to the King in order to avert a crisis. They just so happen to arrive in the month of March madness. Which happened to be a time of kingly celebration. Each year on this occasion, Herod would put on his best behavior, his best robes and deliver a public address. Sort of like a state of union speech. Only better maybe even a little more elaborate.
So Herod goes before the people telling them how great he is, & how wonderful things are because he’s the king and he’s in charge. He also brags about taking swift action too persecute Christians who stir up dissent, which causes a round of applause to break out among the Jewish authorities. Herod’s speech had a little bit of everything for everybody, but Christians. It was eloquent and persuasive. Powerful and effective. He was born a politician, he knows how to talk. I guess you could say he has a silver tongue. People were so caught up in the moment & enamored with Herod’s greatness that they began proclaim him a god. "Surely the voice of God has spoken to us," they would say. Herod would nod with agreement acknowledging their praise.
And sadly, you know the rest of the story… Because of Herod’s failure to return the praise to God, the Lord, himself abruptly ended his life. The Bible says that Herod was eaten alive by worms and died!!! That’s the gross part, he was eaten by worms. I can’t think of a more humiliating way to die. Many scholars believe that it was unlikely he was eaten by worms on the spot. In all probability, Herod suffered from an intestinal tape worm condition brought on by God’s judgment. And over the course of perhaps a few days, he internally bled to death. Make no mistake, however, this event actually took place. According to many other sources outside the Bible, Herod died this way.
The Jewish historian, Josephus, records the same event, with a few more details. His version is as follows:
"After the completion of the third year of his reign over the whole of Judaea, Agrippa came to the city of Caesarea, where he celebrated spectacles in honour of Caesar. On the second day of the spectacles, clad in garment woven completely of silver so that it’s texture was indeed wondrous, he entered the theatre at daybreak. There the silver, illumined by the touch of the first rays of the sun, was wondrously radiant and by it’s glitter inspired fear and awe in those who gazed intently upon it. Straightway his flatters raised their voices from various directions-though it hardly for his good-addressing him as a god. "May you propitious to us," they added, "And if we have hitherto feared you as a man, yet henceforth we agree that you are more than mortal in your being." The King did not rebuke them more did he reject their flattery as impious. But shortly thereafter he looked up and saw an owl perched on a roper over his head. At once, recognizing this as a harbinger of woes just as it had once been of good tidings, he felt a stab in his heart, he was also gripped by his stomach by an ache that he felt everywhere at once…Even as he was speaking these words, he was overcome by more intense pain. They hastened, therefore to convey his to the palace; and the word flashed about to everyone that he was on the verge of death….Exhausted after five straight days by the pain in abdomen, he departed this life in the fifty fourth year of his life and the seventh year of his reign." (Antiquities XIX, 343-50 [viii.2]).
I’m only reading this to reinforce what the Bible already says. There are many other accounts of the same event that run parallel to the one recorded by Luke in Acts Chapter 12. Isn’t that amazing? The Bible is not just source of inspiration, it’s also a great source of information. It’s credibility and believability are unmatched. Indeed the Bible is a book like no other.
TRANSITION: What can we learn from this? How do the events leading up to Herod’s death and demise, apply to our lives as followers of Christ? I believe the writer of the book of Acts gave us this story for a reason. It is here for a purpose. There are some things that we can learn from it, that can inform our relationship with God.
1. The worship of anybody other than God leads to disappointment.
Can you imagine the disappointment felt among those who were present that day to celebrate Herod’s greatness, and then at the end of this great acclamation, Herod suddenly collapses in pain. How disappointing must that have been? You give this King the status of a god, and suddenly he falls to ground stricken with abdominal pain. A few days later he dies this awful humiliating death. How does that make one feel? Pretty stupid I imagine…
There is something within us, that desires to worship and elevate other human beings in god-like fashion. I don’t full comprehend why we do it, but we do. We have a bad habit of celebrating our own goodness? Without even thinking about it, we bow at the altar of human flesh. There is something tangible and gratifying about seeing and touching what we worship. We unintentionally allow other people to take the place of god in our lives because they tell us what we want to hear, and dare us to believe. And when they don’t say what we want or give us what we desire, we dethrone them. At times its unpredictable, but nevertheless, there is something within us that settles for the temporal and not the eternal. It is human nature to look for hope in other human beings. It gives us a very limited sense of hope and destiny.
In addition to that, the enemy of our souls, the Father of lies, the devil himself, knows how to exploit this weakness & tendency we have. From the beginning of time, Satan has tempted us to worship and exalt human flesh. Throughout the ages, there has been tremendous pressure applied to men and women alike to bow at the altar of human flesh. Scores of men and women have been taken away from God, their souls lost forever, because of another human being that dared to take the place of God.
ILLUSTRATION: Recently, I read the account of the Jonestown massacre in 1978. Anybody remember it? Cult figure, Jim Jones, led a large group of people to Africa, where they lived in a communal setting. Withdrawn and isolated; Jones preyed on his followers. He played a god-like role in their lives. Members of his, "People’s Temple" sold themselves out completely to the leadership of Jones. The people’s temple turned out to be anything but for the people. Do you remember what happened? Jones persuaded his followers to drink siniade laced kool aid during a mock communion service. Believing his words to be true, hundreds of people followed. In all, 913 people died a deceitful death, including Jones. The Jonestown massacre serves as a woeful reminder of the consequences that befall us when we trust human flesh in the place of God. In conversation, many still engage the phrase, "Kool Aid Drinker" referring to the members of Jonestown, in a more contemporary sense a ‘kook aid drinker,’ is a person who acts in blind faith. Surely, Jonestown will not soon be forgotten!
The Jonestown massacre was extreme reminder of what happens when we allow a mortal man to speak for God. Elevating a human being to the status of a God, not only leads to disappointment but death. Herod is just one of many examples, He robbed God of his glory and paid the ultimate price. But even worse, the disappointment and disillusionment that followed. Other human beings will always let you down.
Perhaps a more subtle expression of this is found in the world of pop psychology. One of the biggest Pop-psychology buzz words of the 90’s was, co-dependency. Anybody remember that? The 90’s were a decade of self-help and pop psychology. Co-dependency issues were talked about incessantly on talk shows, in books and magazines. According to many co-dependency experts, everybody is or has a co-dependent. A quick search of internet turned up several diverse definitions of the term. For every expert on the issue, there is a separate definition or a different twist given. I did, however, land on one definition that I think puts the question to rest: One psychologist defined it as a wrongful or unhealthy attachment to another human being. In other words, it’s allowing someone else take the place of God in your life. It’s giving another human being the attention and affection that only God himself deserves.
So we found out through this whole co-dependency era that we lived through, that husbands, wives, sons and daughters, single people, divorced people; we all have co-dependency issues! According to pop psychology, nearly the entire human race suffers from some form of co-dependence. And that is supposed to be a new revelation! Folks there is nothing new under the Sun! Call it what you wish. Wrongful human attachments have plagued the human race for centuries. Unhealthy relationships are part of the human dilemma. Psychological dysfunction’s are merely an expression of our sinful human disposition.
If you want to call it co-dependency, fine, just don’t call it normal. The bible has a word for it, and the word is: Idolatry. More specifically, human Idolatry. Human idolatry occurs when we allow somebody else to take the place of God in our life. It occurs when allow someone of human origin to dominate and manipulate their way into the control room of our life. And whenever we let that happen, we set ourselves up for a huge fall. Disappointment and disillusionment will surely follow. Other human beings will always disappoint you. Your best friends, your spouse, your favorite author, movie star, athletic hero. Other people without fail, including Christian leaders will eventually disappoint and disillusion you. You were not made to worship human flesh, you were made to worship God.
Self worship is an age old problem. The worship of me and my ways has been around since the beginning of time. The problem of self worship and human pride is as ancient the disease of sin in the Garden of Eden. Adam & Eve, the first couple, were also the first example, they were tempted trust in themselves, they exalted their ways over Gods. Instead of obeying and worshiping God, they made a deliberate choice follow the dictates of their own will. The Bible calls this activity sin. Consequently Adam and Eve felt guilty and ashamed. They exchanged the truth for a lie.
A similar sentiment was felt when news of Herod’s death broke. One can only imagine the embarrassment and shame felt among those who proclaimed Herod a god and lived to witness his shameful death. What a let down! They too, must have felt embarrassment and shame. So write this down. The worship of anybody other than God will lead to disappointment and grief. As human beings we were created to worship, not be worshipped.
2. The second lesson we learn is this…The worship of any thing other than God leads to emptiness.
I’m talking about stuff. Whether it be money, possessions, material wealth, cars, motorcycles, homes, televisions, computers, church facilities. You name it. Any such object that takes the place of God in our lives will eventually leave feeling as empty as the object itself.
King Herod the Agrippa goes down in secular history as a man who was given over to lavish spending owing many debtors. His heart was continually given over to vain things. The day he was proclaimed a god, Herod was arrayed in earthly splendor, adorning himself in silver and gold. He was a man who worshipped at the altar of material wealth so much so that he even got the attention of Caesars. Yet none of Herod’s wealth could save him in the end. He lived a very helpless and empty life.
ILLUST: I heard of a story recently about a man who had much in the way of material things. He was a rich lawyer type and very proud of his possessions. One day he parked his expensive BMW on the side of a busy street. And as he opened the door to get out, another car sped by, hit his door and tore it off completely. He surveyed the damage and cried out, "Oh, my beautiful car is now ruined!" A passerby on the street chimed in, "Sir, forget the car, look at your arm!" Sure enough his arm had been completely torn off in the accident. When he saw that it was gone, he cried out "Oh, no! My Rolex watch is gone too!" Now there’s an example of someone who had a little bit too much too lose. Talk about wrongful attachment! This is any everyday human problem. Too much attachment to too many things. The worship of stuff leads to emptiness and unfullfillment. And ultimately it displeases the Lord.
The first of the 10 commandments given is this: "You shall have no other gods before me, (Exodus 20)" And guess what commandment was first broken? "Have no other gods." The reference is Exodus Ch. 32. Moses goes up to the mountain to talk to God & receive additional instructions from the Lord. The Bible says he was up there for quit some time. Meanwhile the people of Israel grew impatient in his absence. They got spiritual ants in their pants! So they gathered together gold and jewelry and melted down to form a golden calf. They began to celebrate and offer sacrifices to it. Regarding it as sacred.
When Moses came down from the mountain, he was infuriated with Israel. They were breaking one of the commandments God gave him, so he destroyed the calf, reduced it to ashes, stirred it up in pot and made the people of Israel drink it. The significance of drinking it was later revealed in that the golden calf eventually became human waste. Thus Moses had made his point. In addition to that, Moses took a few other extreme measures to make sure that it wouldn’t happen again. The first of the ten commandments, was also the first to be broken. "you shall have no other gods before me." The worship of anything other than God leads to emptiness and unfullfillment.
So let me ask you a question: What do you worship? Or let me ask it another way, what is it your tempted to worship? Is it a person, a possession, maybe a power, a place. What are you tempted to worship? I can think of a few things in this world that are appealing enough to get my attention and tempt me to worship. But whatever those things are, I’m not going to give into it. Because when you give in and surrender to a person or an object you become like that thing, whatever it is, and there will be consequences.
3. And that’s the final lesson we learn here. You worship what you surrender too!
Nobody says it better than Rick Warren in his book, PDL, on page 82. Rick says,
"Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego. You were designed to worship God-and if you fail to worship him, you will create other things (idols) to give your life to. You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice." (Purpose Driven Life, Pg. 82, Zondervan 2002)
What are you surrendering your life too? Are you sure it’s God. Herod was a lavish spender and exalted himself, He surrendered to the wrong thing. And as a result, he died a very shameful death. The consequences of worshipping anything other than Almighty God are dreadful. Herod’s death is a painful and powerful reminder of what happens when people surrender to the wrong thing. His death is an example of the extreme consequences wrought from misalinged priorities & wrong affections. The worship of anything other than god leads to death.
But you know what the good news. In just a matter of days Herod was out of the picture. The king was dethroned. The chief persecutor of Christianity was gone. And guess what happened. The followers of Jesus who worshipped God and spread Christianity were having unprecedented success. Listen to this:
"But the word of God continued to increase and spread. When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark." Acts 12:24,25
Barnabas and Saul were able to finish their mission unhindered by Herod. The Message of the Gospel continued to spread changing hearts and lives. Isn’t that cool?
As the Christian Church surrendered itself to Jesus Christ, it’s message began to literally take the world by storm. You see, when we surrender ourselves completely to God, there is peace and prosperity. The Christian Church prospered in the face of persecution, because they refused to bow at altar of human flesh and earthly powers.
There’s a lesson in here for us….
There is only one God, and we better be about the business of worshipping Him, and Him alone.
There is only one Savior, & one Holy Spirit worthy of attention & deserving of devotion. And to the extent we worship God and God alone, we will see every longing in our heart eventually fulfilled. I love what the Psalmist says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, will give you the desire of your Heart!"
