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Let's look in our Bibles in Acts
12, and I'm going to read verse by verse, down to verse 5, and
I'll read a verse Brother Nasson can translate. But I've entitled
this message, Persecution of God. persecution of God. I know that even saying that
sounds strange, because the world, religious world particularly,
thinks that when things are calm, that means God's working, and
if there's persecution, that's Satan working. But we're gonna
see today that there's nothing that happens but what comes from
God's hand. I'm going to be honest. Now God uses means, and that's
why we read here in verse one of Acts 12, Now about that time
Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the
church. The name Herod is a title. It was a family of rulers back
in the day. We know that in the days of Jesus'
birth, there was Herod the Great, he was called, and he's the one
that sent out throughout the land to kill every male child
two years old and younger. Well, we're talking about the
birth of Jesus Christ by the name of Agua. He died of a flu
in the name of Jeremiah. That story we find in Matthew
chapter two, verses one to 16. We're not gonna turn there, but
I'm just making reference so that we can understand who that
Herod was versus this Herod. But the reason I'm bringing that
up is for us to see that even in relationship to that Herod,
the great, when he killed those children
two years and younger throughout the land, attempting really to
kill the Lord Jesus Christ, that even that was ordained of God. I will have you look there in
Matthew chapter two, two verses that show us that even that persecution,
that killing of those children, was ordained of God. Look at Matthew chapter 2 and
verse 15. It says that the Lord Jesus,
as a young child, was taken into Egypt, in verse 14, and was there
until the death of Herod, that would be Herod the Great, and
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of of the Lord, by
the prophet saying, out of Egypt have I called my son. If God
hadn't ordained it, it couldn't be prophesied. So Herod the Great here did what
he did willingly, and yet it was already
prophesied that through this means God's own son would be
taken down into Egypt to hide there and then brought back out. You know, power now. So that was prophesied by the
prophet Hosea in Hosea 11-1. But here's the second proof that everything
that takes place, even by way of persecution and death is of the
Lord. It says there in verse 16, then
Herod, Herod the Great, when he saw that he was mocked by
the wise men, was exceeding wrath." See, he
told those wise men to come back by and tell him where was this
child, but they went another way being warned of God. And
so he was wrath. And notice, sent forth and slew
all the children that were in Bethlehem and all the coasts
thereof from two years old and under according to the time which
he had diligently inquired of the wise men. you. This is just a little side point,
but important, because we see in religious where often they have the wise
men coming to the manger and bowing down around the manger.
But the scriptures up in verse 11 say that when the wise men
came, they came into the house where Mary and Joseph were staying. And the fact that Herod went
out and slew all children two years old and younger According
to the time it says that he had diligently inquired of the wise
men, the Lord Jesus would have been already two years old. I know. Now, what I am going to do, I
am going to answer you. I am going to answer you. I am
going to answer you. Verse 11 refers to him as the
young child. It's not a babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes. It's a young child. Two years
had passed. Same word is used again in verse
13. You see when the angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him to take the young
child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be thou there
until I bring thee word for Herod will seek the young child to
destroy him. That's what it was all about. You want it to be. You want it
to be. Two years previous, the message
of the Savior being born was not made to Herod. It wasn't
made to the politicians of the day. God was preserving his son
alive. It was revealed to shepherds
out in the field. They came to the manger. They
came to the feeding trough and worshiped him. But now, two years later, Right under his nose, Herod would
learn from the wise men. These were men from outside of
Israel that the Lord brought to declare unto him the birth
of this child, the God child. And Herod was wroth. I don't know. But the point we're seeing here
is that the kings of this earth, the rulers, are not the ones
who control anything. It's the Lord that directs in
all things. He's the King of kings and the
Lord of lords. Again, someone may ask, well, How do we know that Herod killing
all those babies was of the Lord? Well, read verse 17 and 18. Then
was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet
saying in Ramah, was there a voice heard lamentation and weeping
and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and would not
be comforted because they are not. I know when the Lord took Job's
children that he bowed down and worshiped and sinned not against
God with his mouth. He charged not God with sin for
having taken his children. And I know human nature says,
well, these are babies. How could God do this? We know
that every child born in this world is born a sinner and that
we come forth from the womb speaking lies. You notice it doesn't say anywhere
here that innocent babies were killed. It says that the Lord
purposed that these children should be taken in this manner
and that there wasn't anybody that could stay his hand or say,
what doest thou? Even though it was through the
hand of Herod. We are. We are. There is a false teaching today
in places or circles that call themselves Christian that believe
that somehow a child when they're born into this world,
they're born innocent, up to a certain age of accountability,
and then after that, they're accountable for their sin. That's
nowhere taught in scripture. That is it. That is it. In Psalm 58 and verse 3, it says
there that those that are born come forth from the womb speaking
lies. In other words, you don't have
to teach a child to lie. Children lie because they're
born sinners. That's in Psalm 58 and verse
3. We don't. If you look in Psalm 51 and verse
5, here's the testimony of David when he said, behold, I was shapen
in iniquity. That's talking about the fetus
in the womb. While in the womb being formed
was already being formed a sinner. And in sin did my mother conceive
me. In other words, she came forth
as a sinner. So you can't say innocent children
died. Hmm. In fact, when you read the history
of Israel in the Old Testament, the Lord told Israel to go in
and to kill all the inhabitants, man women and children, along with
their beasts, to completely destroy them? I had a lady this week
that was shocked when she read that. She said, I was just reading
that in the Old Testament. How could God do that? And my answer
was simple, because he's just and holy. And we as creatures
are sinful and deserve nothing more or less than condemnation. Many times though, when a man
and woman being there fight, bro, You know, So you say, well, how do you
know this here was different than the one we're looking at
here in Acts 12? Well, verse 19 says, that when Herod was dead, behold,
an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
saying, arise and take the young child and his mother and go into
the land of Israel, for they are dead, which sought the young
child's life." See, God is sovereign to spare his own son alive to
this point, but to kill all these others. Even Herod that executed
this judgment now was dead by God's sovereign hand. Hello. Hello. I'm going to give you a little
bit of information. Now we know from the history
of the Herods that Herod Agrippa, the one that we're reading about
here in Acts 12, the first was actually the grandson of Herod
the Great. So here's his grandson now ruling
and reigning. I don't know. You say, but doesn't it typically
pass from father to son? And the answer is yes, there
was another Herod that took over from this Herod, who slew all
these children, and that would have been the son of Herod the
Great, and he's the one who was presiding over the trial of the
Lord Jesus. That Herod, was the one that we read about
in Luke chapter 23 and verses 7 through 12, when it says, as
soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction. That's talking about Pilate.
Pilate was a governor representing the Roman government. Herod was
a Jew who represented the Jewish people under Roman authority. You see, it was all political. You know, You know what? Now you can read there in Luke
23, eight that when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad for he
was desirous to see him for a long season because he had heard many
things of him and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by
him. If you want to survive, put it.
If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put
it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want
to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want
to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it.
If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive,
put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive,
put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you
want to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it.
If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want
to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it. If you want to survive, put it This
is an amazing thing when you consider from Christ's childhood
as a two-year-old child to this point where he would have been
30 years old or older, possibly 33, that Herod, who's the governor
in Israel, Israel's not that big a land, never set eyes on
the Lord Jesus, ever. The Lord God kept this encounter
until this time. Again, it's the Lord that is
sovereign. We're going to put it to the
top. I don't know. I don't. And to show that the Lord himself
remained sovereign, even in the face of this encounter, verse
9, it says that Herod, now he's the ruler, he questioned him
with many words, but notice, our Lord answered him nothing. We're gonna get more. And that's when Herod began to
mock him. You can see in verse 11, with
the chief priests in verse 10, that stood and vehemently accused
him, Herod with his men of war, set him at nought and mocked
him and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him again to Pilate. And verse 12 says, the same day
Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before they were
at enmity between themselves. We're going to do all day. Yes, we can. I do. I don't know. Now Pilate was a Roman, Herod
was a Jew. Normally they didn't get along.
And yet when it came to condemning the Lord Jesus Christ, they became
friends. I liken it to congregations today
that are separated, they don't get along, but put a gospel preacher
out there that begins to preach Christ and all his glory, and
all of a sudden you see these churches, these congregations
uniting together against that one because they hate the Christ
of Scripture. I'm not going to. Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ. or say, I'm going to get that. Now remember, the title of this
message is Persecution of God. It's by God. There's not one
thing that Herod or Pilate or these chief priests or Israel
did unto our Lord, but what God ordained it. The reason I say
that, again, is found in Scripture. If you look in Acts chapter 4,
we're getting back now to our text, but in Acts chapter 4, beginning with verse 25. Here,
the early church in their prayer is quoting from Psalm chapter
two and verse one, when it says, who by the mouth of thy servant
David has said, why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain
things? So again, it goes back to the
Psalms and prophesize what took place in their condemning the
Lord Jesus Christ, gathering together and imagining vain things
against him. They think by putting him to
death, they'll be rid of him. Little did they know. I mean, I mean, Now if you go back and read in
Psalm 2 it says, The kings of the earth stood
up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
against his Christ. That's what was being manifest
here, their hatred towards God and his Christ, that is the Lord
Jesus. Jesus Christ. Back there in Psalm 2, it actually
says against the Lord and his anointed one. Well, that's what
the word Christ means, one anointed of God to come for the salvation
of his people. But part of that was God ordaining
that these wicked hands, like Peter preached on the day of
Pentecost, God purposed it by them, they offer up to shed his blood for the salvation
of that people he came to save. That's the glory of God's sovereignty
and providence. Yes. See, if one verse explains the
other, because in verse 27, that's exactly what it says, 27, 28.
From a truth against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou hast
anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles, that
would be the Roman soldiers that put him to death, and the people
of Israel consenting to his death, were gathered together, but look
at verse 28, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined
before to be done. Would you rather put him in one
and go to another, verse 70, verse 80? Yo, yo. But now, when we come to Acts
chapter 12, this heret Agrippa would have been another herod
that would have succeeded the one that presided over Christ's
death. This shows you that men come
and go in politics, but the Lord ever reigns. He does not change. And we're gonna see in this chapter
12, before it's all said and done, that this Herod who was a descendant of Herod
the Great, exercising, again, his hatred toward these that
were preaching this Christ. You can understand, he's defending
his lineage. He's defending his heritage. These that put Christ to death,
and now his disciples are standing up preaching him everywhere.
He's thinking, we can't have this, and attempts to put a stop
to it. The truth is that I am not a
hero. I am just a human being. I don't know. And to make an example of these,
that's why we read in verse two, he killed James. There was no
hesitation. They went and took his head off
and killed him to be an example. And his intent, because it says
James the brother of John with a sword. So he executed him on
the spot. And then, When he saw, verse
3, that it pleased the Jews, remember this is the Jews' leader
under the Roman government, he procured, he proceeded further
to take Peter also. So his intent was to kill Peter. But guess what? God is sovereign.
Well, God purposed that James should be taken, not Peter. Uh, you know, that's the point.
You know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that's the point.
Uh, you know, that's the point. Uh, you know, that Let's remember this lesson. that men by their titles have
certain authority to do what they do, but they do not have
all power to do what they do. That power is with God. What I want you to do is go to
the wall and then I can see you. Then I'll go to the wall and
then I can see you. Go to the wall and then I can
see you. Go to the wall and then I can
see you. Our current president of the
United States is finding this out because he was elected to
have the authority to straighten anything out he wanted to. But
now he's finding out he doesn't actually have all power to do
that. And in that the Lord is determining
all things. It's not in man's hands. It's
the Lord that disposes all things. If you look in the book of Daniel, Chapter 2 and verse 21, you'll
find there that God is the one who raises up kings and sets
them down. It says in verse 20, when Daniel
was interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful
king. He had the authority to rule,
but he did not have all power to rule. That remained with God. And it says in verse 21 concerning
God, well, verse 20, Daniel answered and said, blessed be the name
of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his. That's that word power. and he
changeth the times and the seasons, he removeth kings and he setteth
up kings, he giveth wisdom unto the wise and knowledge to them
that know understanding, he revealeth the deep and secret things, he
knoweth what is in the darkness and the light dwelleth with him. So let's go to the book of Daniel,
which was written in 1920, which is a Muslim book. When the Lord was saying,
why did you tell me? I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim.
I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim.
I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim.
I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim.
I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim.
I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim.
I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim.
I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim.
I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim.
I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Muslim. I'm Now, when
you bring that back to Acts chapter 12, you say, well, why would
he have killed James the brother of John and
not gone ahead and killed Peter and gotten it over with. Well
it says there in verse 3 that then were the days of unleavened
bread. This was the time of the Passover. Now amazingly, Christ is the
Passover. He fulfilled the Passover. Those
that were his didn't celebrate the Passover anymore. They celebrated
Christ. But these being religious, because
it was a religious season, he decides to put on hold the execution
of Peter and plan to kill him later. Well, who put him on hold? It was the Lord. There was no
way that Peter was going to die at this time. Peter would die
later as a martyr at the end of his life after God had finished
with him, but at this time there was nobody going to lay a hand
on Peter. Good morning. Now, to put on a puna as it is
made, or to add a puna, a, pe, pe, tulo, mutawi, yamulu. So,
when you put a puna, a, pe, pe, tulo, mutawi, yamulu. Yes, when
you put a puna, a, pe, pe, tulo, mutawi, yamulu. Yes, when you
put a puna, a, pe, pe, tulo, mutawi, yamulu. Yes, when you
put a puna, a, pe, pe, tulo, mutawi, yamulu. Yes, when you put a puna,
a, pe, pe, tulo, mutawi, yamulu. Yes, when you put a puna, a,
pe, pe, tulo, mutawi, yamulu. Yes, when you put a puna, a,
pe, pe, tulo, mutawi, yamulu. Yes, when you put a puna, a,
pe, So here again, all the while these were doing their will and
exercising their will in opposition to these who are the Lords, yet
God himself was ruling and overruling. They could not do one thing more
or less than what he ordained. If James was killed, it's because
God purposed that he should be taken at that time in that way. If Peter was spared, it's because
God purposed that he should be spared at this time. Good morning. I'm I'm. That's why that one. Now remember, this is Herod's
grandson. So he would have been aware of
the story that when they had crucified our Lord Jesus Christ,
that they had sealed the tomb and Roman soldiers put there
to guard the tomb, and yet Christ was raised from the grave. They could not hold him. He would
have been conscious of this. You know, Jesus Christ. Now, you have to realize the
Pharisees had contrived a lie saying that the disciples had
come and stolen the body of the Lord. They didn't believe in
his resurrection. They would not. Such was their hardness. So this opposition against these
was actually opposition against Christ. They were determined
once and for all to quiet and to squelch any testimony of the
Lord Jesus. We'll say, why? Google zero regime. I don't. Now remember, our Lord was crucified
during this particular time, some 20 years previous. But it
was still fresh in his mind to the point where in verse four,
when he had apprehended Peter, He put him in prison and, notice,
delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him. That
means there were four at a time that were watching Peter to make
sure that nothing happened. I'm thinking right here. See, there was a heavy guard that
they put outside the tomb of the Lord Jesus, but that tomb
could not hold him in. And even here with Peter, they
had two watching the door. And if you look in verse six,
when Herod would have brought him forth the same night Peter
was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains. That's
how serious Herod was that this one was not going to get away. We are. But here we see an example again
of how persecution is from God's hand. He determines just how
far that these will go against his church and no further. God
determines it. I'm going to the corner. This very proud and arrogant,
hardened sinner by the name of Herod that determined to do what
he would do could not do one thing more than what God had
determined should be done. I don't know. Before we get done with chapter
12, we're going to see that this very one who had purposed to
kill Peter, along with James, ends up himself under the hand
of God being executed. You might ask, well why would
God purpose persecution against his church? Remember last week we saw the
blessings of affliction when God afflicts his own. What does
it do? It causes them to cry unto him. I don't know. everything is going well according
to God's purpose we have to admit that with this sinful heart we
get a little bit cocky, we get a little proud, we walk with
our shoulders back and head high a little more thinking somehow
we're somewhat and the Lord uses persecution to lay us low. I don't know. I don't know. And you can see that in verse five,
Peter therefore was kept in prison, but look it, prayer was made
without ceasing of the church unto God for him. The Lord was
causing his people to cry out. That's true prayer when the Lord
gives it. I'm going to give you an example.
I'm going to give you an example. But here's where we see also
the Lord making a difference between the popular message of
the world and religion and that which exalts the Lord Jesus Christ
revealed to these few. See, all the while they were
persecuting the church here, they were going on in their religion.
Now, verse 4 in the King James is a mistranslation when it says
there, intending after Easter. If you look in the original,
that word is actually Passover. But here again, the translators
put, imposed their tradition into the translation. When they
translated this back in King James Day, it's become known
as Easter, but Easter is a celebration of the goddess, Ascarte, has
nothing to do with the Passover or Christ's death. So that should
be better. I don't know how it's translated
in your Bible, but it should read Passover, intending after
the Passover. to bring him forth to the people. But all of our people, all of
them are going to win. I mean, I'm going to tell you,
I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell
you, I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell you, I'm going
to tell you, I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell you, I'm
going to tell you. First of all, I would like to
thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I would like
to thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I would like
to thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I would like
to thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I would like
to thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I would like
to thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I would like
to thank you for the opportunity to be here today. But the point we see here is
that men cover themselves with religion to act as if they are
truly worshiping God, but all the while in their heart, there's
this hatred for God and his son. They don't hate the popular Jesus
that's in men's hands, but they hate sovereign Christ who came to
save whom he will and has saved them and nothing can touch them
or take them from his hand or say unto him, what doest thou?
That's the Christ that religious people hate. You know, you know, Yes. Yes. Yes. I don't. that God ordains persecution,
that we may know that He is God, that our lives are not our own,
but also to know that even as Christ suffered, you know, when
the scriptures, Christ said that if they hated me, they'll hate
you. This is the way that God separates the wheat from the
chaff to demonstrate who are His. It's through this suffering
that he brings that these should never put confidence in the flesh
or any man, but look to Christ alone. So, I'm. Back when I was growing up, I
used to hear about persecution in other lands. And here I was, I made my profession
and I was climbing the ranks, becoming more and more important
in the organization I was in. And I would marvel at the fact
that I wasn't being persecuted. There wasn't any reason to be
persecuted. I was enjoying the freedom, but I will tell you
until It pleased God to reveal this Christ in me, turn me upside
down. And when I went forth from there
beginning to declare this Christ, all of a sudden I found out I
had a lot of enemies because this Christ has nothing to do
with religion of our day. You know, you know. I don't know. I don't know. I will tell you ever since the
Lord revealed Christ in this heart and I've declared him,
there are enemies of this gospel out there that would just as
soon see me dead as they would to have me continue to preach
this gospel. They've so much as told me that.
And yet here I am spared alive like Peter. until God purposes
to take me. And in that I rest. In that I
rest. And you too. Whatever opposition
we face, it does not change who is this Lord Christ that he has
revealed in us that we must preach. We don't see. You know, How are we to live in light of
all of this? One last scripture, Philippians
chapter one, from verse 27 down to verse 30. It tells us here,
let your conversation, regardless in good times or bad, let your
conduct, your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of
Christ. That is stand against all of
men's traditions. and that whether I come and see
you, Paul says, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that
ye stand fast in one spirit. See, that's what this persecution
did. It drew the church together. It didn't divide it. Drew them
together in one spirit with one mind striving together for the
faith that is Christ who is the faith of the gospel. Boko Loma is a very very good,
you know, I feel it because what you really know, it's not about the 7 Americans that fancy
it. It's not about the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about
the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about the 7 Americans
that fancy it. It's not about the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about
the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about the 7 Americans that fancy
it. It's not about the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about
the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about the 7 Americans that fancy
it. It's not about the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about
the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's
not about the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about the
7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about the 7 Americans
that fancy it. It's not about the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not about
the 7 Americans that fancy it. It's not And you notice in verse
28, you say, who gives this faith? It's God himself. And it says,
in nothing terrified by your adversaries. When our eyes are drawn to Christ,
back here in Acts 12, Peter was sleeping between the two guards. You talk about God giving his
servant rest. He was sleeping in the face of
what awaited him and yet none of that moved him by God's grace. I'm going to get. So here's what I've said. that through persecution, God
separates the wheat from the chaff. You remember, I mentioned
last week about the woman pounding the rice and winnowing it, and
the chaff blows away, she's pounding it. That's representative chasing
of, but it's getting rid of the chaff. And here in verse 28,
those that oppose it says, that's an evidence of their perdition. left to themselves, that's what
they do, but it says, verse 28, to you that are being opposed,
for Christ's sake, of salvation. And what? That of God. God's made the difference. Now
she'd be right in there with them. I mean, I'm a senior. I'm a senior.
I'm a senior. I mean, I mean, Now, here's the verse that the
Lord comforted me with years ago, as I saw many of my friends
turn and go away. Even down through the years,
up to recently, people will constantly, it seems they're with you, and
then suddenly they turn and go their way. But look at verse
29, Philippians 1, for unto you it is given in the behalf of
Christ, in other words, the fact that he is your redeemer and
substitute, not only to believe on him, but don't put a period
there, comma, but also to suffer for his sake. It's part of the
calling to Christ, not only to believe on him, but to suffer
for his sake, and both are of God, both. I'm going to have a way out. Christine. So there again, in persecution,
the Lord exposes those who are against Christ, they're His enemies,
but He reveals also those that are His by His grace. And through it, again, God purposing
it, it's for our good and His glory. I'm. When it says there in Acts 12
and verse five, that prayer was made without ceasing of the church
unto God for him, that was God working. In fact, that word prayer,
it's a medical term in the original. It means to stretch a muscle
just as far as it can stretch to its limits. That's what God's
doing. He's causing us to despair of
ourselves and to cry unto him and carry on. when he causes us to do that,
that's a mercy. I'm. But we're gonna leave it there
for this week. Next week, we'll come back and see this great
deliverance that God wrought on Peter's behalf and how it
is that he cares for his own. That's a good example. James
was blessed in that he was taken because he had no more suffering
and he was with his Lord. Peter was blessed in his keeping
and deliverance because the Lord purposed that he should be kept
in order to preach the gospel further. But I don't think that
number will go because we're going to be able to do another
thing. For many people, I don't believe
so. you
Masautso Ochokera Kwa Mulungu
Series Malawi International Worship
Is persecution of God or Satan? How does God use persecution to purge His church and glorify Himself? What does persecution teach us of God's sovereign hand in ALL things? Why was James killed and Peter spared? How did the persecution of the church at Herod's hand bring the church together rather than divide it?
| Sermon ID | 429171136165 |
| Duration | 1:21:38 |
| Date | |
| Category | Teaching |
| Bible Text | Acts 12:1-5 |
| Language | English |
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