Lord again and see you and to hear your prayer concerns and I'm rejoicing in heart and spirit to be able to be in your midst. It's been a while since we've been allowed to be together but I trust that the Lord will bless us in our study of his word one more time as we consider the 12th chapter of the book of Acts. Acts chapter 12 if you would open your Bibles with us there. We want to title our study this morning, The Powers That Be. Now that's a borrowed expression from what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter 13 verse 1, where he says that we are to be subject to the powers that be, for the powers that be are ordained of God. We know that the God that we serve and honor this morning is the God of power. He is sovereign over all. And as we consider our chapter study this morning, we want to consider it in the realm of power. When we say power, we're talking about dunamis. We're talking about the ability that God empowers His people with. Chapter 12 is an important part of our understanding of the whole book of Acts. It's a transitional chapter. It's a chapter that is between the focus of Luke's record on the ministry of Peter and he's about to shine the focus on the ministry of the apostle Paul. The central idea or the central activity of the early church in the first 12 chapters is going to be Jerusalem. But beginning at chapter 13, it's going to revolve around a Gentile church at Antioch, a place where they were first called Christians. So it's an important part of our understanding of the whole historical record that Luke is providing for us. We're going to see there's four divisions to this chapter. The first is going to deal with the power of the devil, the civil power that was opposing and oppressing Christianity for many, many years. The second part of our study this morning, we'll see the power of prayer, the praying fiat, the praying ability of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The third essence of power is going to be seen in that of judgment. Judgment against the wicked, against wicked Herod. And then I trust we'll see the beauty of the power of grace. The grace that was bestowed upon a persecuted body of believers that caused them to actually multiply, to actually grow, to actually prosper. in the midst of a great deal of opposition. So, with that in mind, let's go into Acts chapter 12, beginning with verse 1, reading through verse 4. Now, about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex a certain of the church, and he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unlaven bread. And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people." Here we see the demonic influence. that has ever been involved in the unregenerate governments of men. You know, we understand that the devil is a real entity, don't we? Paul would write in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 2 that that spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. In Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12 he reminds us that we war not with flesh and blood but with principalities and what? And powers. These are demonically motivated and controlled powers of civil government. It was no different than the days of Nimrod back in Genesis chapter 10 and 11. Remember, building that great ziggurat, that great tower of rebellion against God. It was demonic. It was a demonic influence, a demonic possession of Nimrod. And also we could think about men like Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar and Sennacherib, these ancient enemies of God's people. I'm persuaded that they were demonically energized. They were demonically led to oppress and persecute God's people. It's important for us to remember that. We need to remember that the devil is real. You'd be surprised how many people there are that you can meet in everyday common course that believe that the devil is actually a mythological character. He's a myth. He's someone that's not real and someone that was invented long ago by individuals trying to scare people into doing right things. But brothers and sisters, the devil is a real person. He's a real entity. He's a real power. I believe that he is the manifestation of the Old Testament figure Lucifer, the son of the morning that was cast down. We read about him in Luke chapter 10 verse 18 where Jesus said, I beheld Satan when he was cast down into the earth. And I believe that actually literally happened. And that's why there's the presence of evil in the garden of Eden. Because he was cast down, Lucifer actually became Satan, the accuser of the brethren, the persecutor of God's people. Because he hates God, he's going to hate God's people. So we know that he's real. He's a real character. We know that he was, in the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4 verse 4, he's blinded the minds. of men in the earth. He's blinded the minds of those that are not born of the Spirit and they foolishly are following His leadership and they don't even realize it. They are DELUDED by Satan himself. He is the afflictor and oppressor of God's people. If you ever read the account of Job, remember? Job, in that story, Job being a righteous, godly man, God is going to allow him to be afflicted to prove the essence and strength of his faith. He's the afflictor and oppressor of God's people. The Bible describes him as fierce and cruel. Fierce and cruel. In Luke's account, in chapters 8 and 9 of his gospel, we find satanic activity very real. Can you imagine having a child demonically oppressed, that when he sees a fire, he throws himself in the fire. When he sees water, he tries to drown himself in the water. See, that's the demonic influence in the mind and heart of that person. And Jesus, of course, had power or authority over those demonically uh possessed people and Luke records that. I remember also what Peter said in first Peter chapter 5 in verse 8 that he's a roaring lion that this is this is a cruel you know this is a very cruel animal a fearless animal fierce animal And Peter is likening Satan to a real lion, a roaring lion going about seeking whom he may what? Devour. That's what he's all about. That's the reality of the power of the devil. I'm mindful of how Jesus in Matthew chapter 20 verses 20 through 23 took James and John and promised them. The baptism of suffering. Do you remember that occasion when they came to him and asked Jesus, can we sit at your right hand and at your left? And Jesus said, it's not mine to give, but my father's. Remember that? He said to them on that occasion, he says, truly you will be baptized with the baptism I'm baptized with. Talking about his suffering. but to grant you to sit at my right or hand or my left is not mine to give." Jesus was preparing James and John for a particular ministry of suffering. It's interesting to my mind that James is the first apostle martyr and John is the last. Here's the bookends. on the apostolic dispensation, and it was a baptism of suffering. Revelation 1, verse 9, when he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, remember he was suffering there, being afflicted for the cause of the gospel. So here's James and John, the sons of Zebedee, the sons of thunder, and each one had a great influence in the ministry of the New Testament church. In verse 1, about that time a man named Herod. Herod was king. Now that's not the first Herod we've met, is it? This Herod is Herod Agrippa I. Later we'll meet Herod Agrippa II. But this is Herod Agrippa I. He's the grandson of Herod the Great. Do you remember what Herod the Great did during the time of Jesus Christ? In the Gospel of Matthew's account, remember what he did when he made a decree that the children of Bethlehem, two years old and under, would be slain? Do you remember that? Do you remember a man named Herod Antipas who was the son of Herod the Great, how that he was the one that was responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist. Do you remember that? Here we see his son. And what's he doing? He's oppressing and persecuting the followers of Jesus Christ. But what you might not have considered, and I hope that you will understand the background of this, the Herods were descendants of Esau. They were Edomites. They were Edomites. They were the great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandsons of a man named Esau. And what do you find in the story of Jacob and Esau? You find that classic battle. Because as the Lord told Jacob, there were two manner of nations in the womb of Rebecca. There were two different kinds of people. And they each represented the elect and the non-elect. They each represented the followers of God, the lovers of God, and the haters of God. And there's continual conflict between them all the way through the history of the scripture. And here they are again. In the New Testament scripture, Herod the king, the grandson of Herod the great, the son of Antipas, that wicked, vile, evil, Trajan said about Herod Antipas that even though he had the crown of a king, he had the heart of a slave. Very ungodly man and his son is going to reach out His hands to vex certain of the church the word vex here brothers and sisters is cacophile and it literally is a Greek word that means to afflict to torment to oppress and In fact, the same word is translated in Acts 18 verse 11 when the angel of the Lord came to Paul in Corinth and reassured him not to be afraid because he said, I have much people in this city and no man shall harm thee. That word harm is the same word translated here in chapter 12 as vex. He's talking about harming, hurting certain of the church. And by the way, let me hasten to say this. James was not the first one to be harmed by Herod. This is an indication that there was ongoing oppression and ongoing persecution of the members of the church of Jesus Christ. But now he's going to go after the leaders. of the church itself. And what did he do, verse 2? He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews. Now remember, he is a civil authoritarian. He is someone that is demonstrating civil authority, civil power over Judea and Edomaia, by the way. He's recognized by the Roman emperor. as the leader of this part of the Roman Empire in Judea. And he saw that it pleased the Jews. Now that was hard to do for the Romans. So when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further. to take Peter also. He's another leader in the church. And what's interesting to my mind, and this is just the way I think about the scriptures, and when I'm meditating upon these passages, I think about these things. You see a reference to James, the brother of John, and now Peter. Those three were the very inner circle of the Lord Jesus Christ, weren't they? It was Peter, James, and John that went up into the Mount of Transfiguration to see Jesus in Matthew 17, to see Jesus transfigured before them. It was Peter, James, and John that was brought into the upper chamber when Jesus raised the little girl from the dead. It was Peter, James, and John that went into the innermost part of the Garden of Gethsemane to be prayer warriors with the Lord Jesus. See, there's something special about Peter, James, and John, and here, They're still presented together, and they're presented together as those being persecuted, even as Jesus warned they would be persecuted for His name's sake. Here they are together. He saw that it pleased the Jews, so He took Peter. And then there's a parenthetical clause here that you might skip over, but it's important. Then were the days of unleavened bread. Now, the days of unleavened bread, are seven days that followed the Feast of Passover. Seven days that followed the Feast of Passover. Now, at that period of time, there were literally millions of Jews coming to Jerusalem and around Jerusalem, so Herod is going to incarcerate Peter until all of those multitudes have left. Then he's going to have a public trial and accuse Peter and, of course, seek to destroy him. And when He had apprehended him, He put him in prison. and delivered him to four quaternions." Now, the word quaternions is four groups of four. And when you study the history of this, you find out that there were four sections in the night. There were four sections in each day. They were divided by six-hour increments. So, four times six is 24 hours. Well, every six hours, they would change the guard. Now this would be four groups of four guards. Two guards would be chained to the prisoner on the inside of the jail, and two guards would sit on the outside or stand on the outside of the gate or the door of the prison. So you've got two inside and two outside. And the two inside are gonna be chained to the prisoner, which in this case is the Apostle Peter. So there's four groups. of those four guards that are going to guard Peter for seven days. Okay? They're going to make sure that he doesn't escape. Now, why do you think there's such care being bestowed upon Peter? We read earlier, didn't we? We read in the fifth chapter where the Sanhedrin guards arrested Peter, threw him into the inner prison, And thought he was there forever, right? But the Lord delivered him, didn't he? And they didn't want that to happen again. We're going to stop that from happening again. That's going to be an impossibility. We're going to make sure that he doesn't escape this time. That's the power of the devil. Now, watch what happened. We're going to see, secondly, the power of prayer. This is verses 5 through 19. Watch this. In verse 5, Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. The word unceasing there is an adverb form of the Greek word that is a medical term for extending a muscle to its limit. Extending a muscle to its limit. You know, you can ask these weightlifters in the church how important that is, because that's why on one day they'll work on their arms, and on the next day they'll work on their legs. They don't do it together because it takes time for that limb, that muscle tissue, to heal. And when it heals, it becomes stronger, right? That's the word that's being used here to describe prayer. Did you know that the more you use your prayer muscle, the more it will grow and the stronger it will become. That's the imagery that the Holy Spirit is using to describe the prayer muscle of the church. It is something that is without ceasing. It is a fervent issue. Describing the power that is associated with prayer. Let's think about that just a minute. Did you know that prayer is God's great gift to his people? That's our communication with the Lord. We remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, you know, in that the ending of the Sermon on the Mount. Remember, children, you know this. What happened to the man that built his house on the sand, children? Logan, you're good at this. What happened to that man that built his house on the sand? What happened to that house when the rain came and the floods came? It all fell down. That's right. See, because Jesus was teaching the significance of what we build our life on. And we could extend that. By way of extension, we could say, what are we building our church on? What principles are we building the spiritual house of the church upon? Brothers and sisters, that's why Jesus said, my Father's house is a house of prayer. And he warns us. that we need to build our house on the rock so that when the storm comes, when the rain falls and the floods beat upon this house, it'll stand. It'll stand in the midst of the stormy day. Jesus taught us that. Paul taught us that in Philippians chapter 4 verse 6, didn't he? He said, by prayer and supplication of the Spirit, let your request be made known unto God. It is something that is the driving force of the people of God. It's not just something we do at church on Sundays. It's a personal walk with the Lord, a prayer walk with the Lord. I think that's exactly what James meant in James 5, verse 17, when he said that the fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much. You see, it's a diligence, it's an intentionality. that brings to bear what really matters to you and me, what really matters in our life. How many times have you heard somebody say, Well, the doctors have done all they can. All we can do now is pray. Well, friend, that's what we always should have done. That's what we should have begun with, you see, but we think about it differently, don't we? In 1 Thessalonians 5 17 Paul says to the church to pray without ceasing. I was reading this this week in Romans chapter 12 again and in verse 12 there it was there was Paul said we need to be continually constantly instant in a prayer. You see it's part of the Christian ethic. It's part of the Christian discipline. Apart from prayer, we're severing ourselves from power. It's the source of our power, our strength, as it were. Somebody says, but Brother Jeff, I don't know how to pray. Well, Romans 8 verse 26 is for you. Because it says, even though we don't know at times what to ask for as we ought, yet the Holy Spirit helps our infirmities in prayer. He's able to take our feeble efforts to pray and translate it into an acceptable form to the God of heaven. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that wonderful? I'm talking to you about the power of prayer. Peter was incarcerated. Peter was bound in chains. But the church was free and it still is. The church is free to pray. They prayed without ceasing. Verse 6, And when Herod would have brought him forth, this is kind of, to me, a humorous aspect of the story. when Herod would have brought him forth. The same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and the keepers before the door kept the prison." Now that statement there by Luke in verse 6 finds its validity in the historical record because the Quaternion was described long ago by the Romans and the responsibilities of the guards inside and the guards outside were very detailed. So we know that this is absolutely true. There's two inside, two outside, just like the Romans did it for centuries. And behold, the angel of the Lord. came upon him, and a light shined in the prison. And he smote Peter on the side. You know, sometimes the Lord's people need a spanking. Sometimes they need woke up. It's not always comfortable. But here, the angel of the Lord came to Peter and smote him, as it were, on the side and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly! And his chains fell off from his hands. Notice this, and the angel said unto him, verse 8, gird thyself and bind on thy sandals and so he did. Now, the point I want to make out of this reading is that God will not do for you what he's commanded you to do. What you have the capability of doing, God is not going to do for you. God is not going to do your praying for you. God is not going to do your Bible reading for you. God is not going to do your witnessing for you. He told you to do that. You put on your girt about your robe and put on your sandals. But see, Peter couldn't unlock the chains. Peter couldn't unlock the prison door. God did that for Peter. But isn't it interesting? The angel says, Peter, you do for yourself what you can do. You can put your robe on, you can put your sandals on, and you need to do it. And the angel of the Lord said, Gird thyself behind thy sandals, and so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out and followed him, and wist not or knew not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision." Now this would not be unusual because God would give him visions. Remember in Acts chapter 10 when he was on the roof at Simon the Tanner's house, God gave him a vision of this sheet that came down from heaven. You remember that? It would not be unusual for him to see a vision. He thought he was kind of in a dream seeing himself delivered from Roman captivity. But maybe when he got outside that prison wall and kind of the fresh air of the city hit him, maybe it was cooler, you know? He realized, hey boys, this is not a dream. Verse 10, when they were past the first and second ward, they came into the iron gate. Now this is interesting to me. They came to this iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them of his own accord. See, it wasn't Peter that opened that gate. And it wasn't men that opened that gate, the gate opened of its own accord. Can I submit to you that what opened that gate was the prayers of God's people. The power of God demonstrated through this principle. And see brothers and sisters, this is mighty, this is magnificent to my mind. It opened of its own accord. And they went out, they the angel and Peter, went out and passed on through one street, and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, when he realized it wasn't a dream, this has actually happened. I'm a free man. He said, now I know of a surety that the Lord had sent his angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary. And this is an important verse for you to underscore in your Bible, because it's going to have a future relevance. He came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark. Who is that? Who is this that we're introduced to? John Mark. He's the writer of the gospel of Mark. And it's interesting for us to remember this. It's interesting for us to remember where the church was actually meeting in Jerusalem, because in the first chapter of the book of Acts, we see the church, 120 members strong, was meeting in an upper room. And that same upper room was where the Lord Jesus had communion with His saints, with His apostles before He went to the Garden of Gethsemane. So we're seeing a paper trail. of where the Church actually assembled, where Jesus had met with the apostles in the Last Supper. The early Church, after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, was still meeting in that same location. And now we come about 10 years later, about 10 years has passed, and we see the church is still meeting in this similar location. He came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. This is, I believe, the Upper Room in Acts 113 where the Lord assembled with His disciples according to Mark 14 verse 15. And John Mark is going to be identified as the nephew of Barnabas. He's going to be identified as a relative of Barnabas in Colossians chapter 4 verse 10. Now this is significant later on, but here's where we're introduced to them. And brothers and sisters, I believe that God raises up leadership in the church. We don't have to export. We don't have to look outside the church for those that lead us. God raises up people within the church body that are discipled, and that are trained and that are equipped to serve as leaders in His church. Just remember that. Remember that. It will come in handy in a little bit. In verse 13, And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, you know, he came to the house where the church was assembled praying, and he's knocking at the door, a damsel came to hearken to answer the door, named Rhoda. Now here's a young woman that hears the knocking at the door, and when she knew Peter's voice, maybe she looked through, I don't know this, but maybe she looked through a little window in the door. Maybe she heard Peter's voice through the door. She opened not the gate for gladness. Now that's a curious thing, isn't it? Isn't that curious? You know, here Peter's standing at the door. He's been delivered out of prison. The church is inside praying that God will deliver Peter. Peter comes to the door to open the door, and they don't open the door. Isn't that interesting? She opened not the gate for meanness? Huh? For unbelief? Uh-uh. No. For gladness. I believe in her little heart she was saying, oh, this is too good to be true. This is too good to be true. You know, here we've been praying all these days and all these nights for the Apostle Peter, and here he is at the door, and her heart was just exploding with joy. And she ran in, and she told those that were gathered there praying that Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, well, go and open that door and let that man in. No, you sit here, Rhoda, and we'll go to the door and let that man in. They said, this is why I think they're old Baptists. Nah, that can't be right. That just can't be right. They said to her, thou art mad. You're crazy. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, it must be his angel. Now here is an expression that defines the early belief in the guardian angels. Somebody says, do you believe in guardian angels? I sure do. I keep mine really busy. In fact, mine's probably pretty wore out at the end of each day. But there are guardian angels for the people of God. Well, you've seen His angel. And His angel must have taken His appearance. And you're just confused. You're tired. You know, you've been fasting and praying all this time. You're tired. Sit down and be quiet. But Peter continued to knock. Verse 16. And when they had opened the door and saw Him, they were astonished. They were... Have you ever had that happen? You know, people in the church have a special need and they begin to pray. And they get serious with God. They really do get serious with God. And God answers their prayer. And what is our response? Astonishment. I just can't believe what happened. How did this happen? Well, brothers and sisters, there's power in prayer. There's power in prayer. Now, Peter kept knocking. They opened the door. He was astonished, but he beckoning unto them with a hand to hold their peace, be quiet. Why would he say that? Because you're in danger. Don't draw attention to this place because the people that came after me will come after you. You know, there's a time to be very public and vocal, but there's also a time to be quiet. If you study the history of the Waldensian believers, they worshipped in caves. Did you know this? For centuries, they would not sing songs. They would read them. They would read the songs, but they wouldn't sing because of the noise level. They worshipped in quietness because of persecution. And that, to me, is what Peter is saying. Hold your peace. Don't cause too much reaction here because the people looking for me are looking for you too. And he declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. Now this is a key part of our study. This last expression, and he said, go show these things to James. Well somebody says, well I thought James was killed. Well James the brother of John was killed. But this is James, the half-brother of Jesus, who became the pastor of the church at Jerusalem. Now, this is intriguing to me. The first James is called James the Greater. The second James is called James the Lesser. And James the Lesser is the one that wrote the book of James. He's the writer of the book that we have in our Bible called James and it's interesting to me that James would rise to the pastoral leadership of the early church and there's a lot of reasons for that. Go show these things to James who's the pastor as it were of the church, he's the brother of our Lord. But now he's the leader of the church at Jerusalem and to the brethren and he departed and went into another place. I want you to underline that part right there. He went into another place. I told you this is a transitional chapter because from the next chapter on the focus is going to be on the apostle Paul's ministry to the churches, the Gentile churches. To me, that's a hidden, transitionary sentence. Peter went to another place. Now, of course, what was he doing? He was preaching. What was he doing? He was going especially among the Jews. And he was proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God. He's faithfully discharging his responsibilities as an apostle. But now, the historical record of the expansion of the church is going to focus on the ministry of Paul among the Gentiles. I want you to remember this. That's why I titled this study, The Power of the Bee. In Luke 24, verse 49, the resurrected Savior said to the disciples, All right. 50 days later, remember the day of Pentecost came, right? In Acts chapter 2. But remember Acts chapter 1 verse 8. Because he said, Jesus before his public ascension, he says, not many days hence, which was just 10 days by the way, not many days hence you will receive power from on high and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. Brothers and sisters, what chapter 12 is, is taking the gospel from Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and going to the uttermost parts of the earth, preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. That's significant in the economy of God and God's word. So he says he went into another place. Now, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers. You can imagine that. Okay. Oh, okay. Hey, Joe, bring out the prisoner. We got to go and put him before here. Joe comes out and says, Hey, John, something's wrong here. Peter's not there. Oh, you can't mean that. Oh yeah. He's not there. There was no small stir. I can imagine. There was no small stir among the soldiers. What was become of Peter? Where'd he go? And when Herod had sought for him and found him not, he examined the keepers. These are the four soldiers that were responsible for him in that shift and commanded that they should be put to death. Do you think he was serious about it? He put them to death and he went down from Judea to Caesarea and their abode. Now, this is important from the standpoint of the civil aspect of it. Caesarea was actually the headquarters of Herod, the headquarters of the Roman hierarchy in Caesarea. Caesarea is named Caesarea for Caesar, right? So here they've got these palaces. And by the way, it's really intriguing because archeologists have found a lot of these palaces and the marble floors are just amazing. The designs that the Romans used with marble. It's, it's, it's, uh, it's amazing in Caesarea, even to this day. Well, he goes down there where he's a little more comfortable because he's got more Roman guards around him in Caesarea. And verse 20 we're going to see the third point which is the power of God's judgment against Herod. Here he says, And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon. But they came with one accord to him, and having made Blastus the king's chamberlain, their friend, desired peace, because their country was nourished by the king's country. I don't want to spend a lot of time with this, but I'm going to tell you this. Tyre and Sidon were dependent upon the grain that came out of Canaan and the fruit. They were importers of food from Palestine, from Canaan. And in some historical records, they really made Herod angry in some way, whatever that way was. And Herod said, well, since you boys don't respect me, you're not going to get any more of our grain, our food from this region. So they're wanting to come and make things right. So they're coming depending on Herod for their livelihood. In verse 21, And upon a set day Herod arrayed in royal apparel, it's funny, it's sad, but it's kind of humorous to me. Here Herod is, and he's in Caesarea, and Josephus writes something very interesting about this account. Josephus is a Jewish historian that was alive at this time. He was actually here with Herod in his day. And he writes this about Herod Agrippa I. He said, He came into the palace adorned with a garment that was made of silver and gold thread. Brother Don, I'm sure you've got some shirts made out of silver and gold. And you don't want to wear that to church to make everybody feel bad. But here was a man that had a gown that was made out of thread of pure silver and pure gold. Josephus said that it was worth thousands of dollars, right? He's going to come with great pomp and great show. And Josephus says as soon as he stepped into the atrium of the palace, the sun shined on his gown that was made of silver and gold. And it was so bright. that it actually was hard to see him. It was hard to look upon him because of the brilliance that reflected off of that silver and gold thread in his gown. Brother Kevin, I know you could calculate this, but that must have been a heavy gown. I don't know, but the whole gown had to weigh 100 pounds. It had to. Can you imagine? In my own mind, I see him shuffling. But he's going to keep that gown on because that reflects his wealth, his pride, right? And his power. Okay? So he comes in with this royal apparel. That's what Josephus was talking about too. And he sat upon his throne and he made oration unto them, you see. And people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a God and not a man." Can you imagine people worshiping a man, a political leader? You know, people, I've talked to people till I'm blue in the face over the last few months about President Trump and why I was praying that God would allow him to be elected. I've been trying to give them reasons, but I want you to know, and I'm so thankful that God intervened in mercy in his election, but my brothers and sisters, President Trump is not God. I'm not looking at him as God. And I pray that none of our citizens are looking at him as the epitome of God, an object of worship. But oh Herod welcomed that. See, this is the demonic delusion. He welcomed their praise. Oh, they said, this is not a man, this is a God. He says, oh yeah, I'm glad you finally figured that out. Some of you husbands, you talk to your wife that way, yeah, I'm glad you figured that out, lady. Nobody's ever had it so good as you. All that is is humanistic pride, and God resisteth the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. But here's the epitome of egotism. This man welcomed their praise, and it displeased God. Now, I want you to see what happened. What we're talking about here is the power of judgment. This is God's judgment. And immediately, the angel of the Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of worms, and he gave up the ghost. documents this very well in his history. And what he says was that he actually survived, he fainted, he fell down on the ground and was in extreme pain. I forgot, he called it rigors, rigors. Extreme cramping, pain. And they carried him to his bed and he lived five days in severe pain. And I don't want to gross anybody out, But his bowels came out and they were rotten. I believe that was the divine judgment of a holy God against a sinful man that took the glory. He was accepting the glory that only belongs to God. And God's judgment is against Him and against all those that would assume that kind of a posture. That's why we read so many verses, so many verses. In 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 9, we read where God, in the second coming of Jesus Christ, He's going to destroy the wicked with the brightness of His coming. That's why. Because He's not going to share His glory with another. In Romans chapter 9 verse 22, the Apostle Paul said, what if God, willing to show forth His power, He has two kinds of vessels, vessels unto mercy and vessels unto judgment, right? And toward the vessels of judgment, He consigns them to an eternal banishment, an eternal destruction. And they were aforeprepared for that purpose. See, the powers that be are ordained of God. He is sovereign over His judgment. In judgment, brothers and sisters, He's going to judge the vile and judge the wicked. In the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 25 verse 41, when he's talking about the goats on his left hand, those that are not regenerate, those that are not his covenant people, he said he's going to say this to them, Depart from me ye that work iniquity, for I never knew you. See, that's a real aspect of the God that we serve. The God that we serve is a God of love and a God of grace and a God of mercy, but He's also a God of justice. And that justice was manifested when He judged His own Son upon the tree of the cross on behalf of those that He represented. He judged Him to be sin, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. You see, God is serious about sin. And God is a God that has appointed a day in which He will judge all men by the Lord Jesus Christ, according to Acts 17, verse 31. You see, God is a God of judgment. And Herod is a picture of that. Herod was judged immediately with a judgment that pictures a future judgment to come on all the wicked, all those that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Much more could be said on that, but I've got to get to my best point before I sit down. My fourth point is the power of grace. Listen to this. Herod was smitten. Oh, oh, and I was sharing this with Brother Nathan this morning. Underline the word SMOTE. All these years, Brother Bobby, I've studied this, studied this, read this, I don't know how many times, I never did notice this until this week. The word SMOTE. The word SMOTE in verse 23. is the same word translated smote when the angel smote Peter to wake him up in verse 7. Same Greek word. Same Greek word. But there's a great difference in what it accomplished, huh? There's a big difference between being smitten to wake up and being smitten to perish. Ones of grace, ones of mercy. Right? God smote Peter in mercy and he smote Herod in wrath and judgment. But, last point, the power of God's grace. Watch this. Verse 24. But the word of God grew and multiplied. The word of God grew and multiplied. The Apostle James was killed. Many of the church members were being imprisoned and persecuted. And that the Word of God had free course. You see, brothers and sisters, what this is teaching us is that the advancement of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is not dependent upon one person. It's not dependent upon one generation. It's not dependent upon you. That's why, brothers and sisters, I believe that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be in the world when Jesus Christ comes again. It's going to be here. I pray that it's in Faulkner. I pray that it's in Ripley. I pray that it's in Memphis. I pray that it's in the United States, all right? That even if it's not, it's going to be somewhere in this earth. because it's not dependent upon James. It's not dependent on Peter. It's not dependent on you. It's dependent upon the sovereign will of a sovereign God. And he's the one that said, through his son, Jesus Christ, that the gates of hell will not prevail against this church. It's not gonna prevail. The gospel is going to survive. No matter what our economy does. No matter what political party is ruling. The true gospel is going to survive. The Word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas, here's old Barnabas again. Here he is. We're going to see him several times in subsequent chapters. But here's Barnabas. And Saul, you remember, he went and found him over in Tarsus. He brought him back over to be useful in ministry. Here's Barnabas and Saul. They returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. What were they doing at Jerusalem? Do you remember? They were taking a love offering from the Gentile churches to the suffering saints of Jerusalem. Remember that? When they had concluded their ministry, they went on their way, but now they've got a young man from the church at Jerusalem whose name was John Mark, and we're going to read about him several times. Actually, in the next chapter, he's going to disappoint Paul. Remember, he's going to turn back. Somehow, the journey was too difficult for him. This young person, it was something that he wasn't counting on. He says, I'm going to go back to Mama's house. And Paul says, OK, you get back. You go on back. And when Paul and Barnabas came and made their report to the church at Antioch, after they had spent several days there recovering, Paul looks at Barnabas and says, hey Barney, Barney, let's go check out those churches again. Let's go see how they do. Barnaby says, oh yeah, I want to go with you, Paul, but let's take John Mark also. Paul says, not going to do it. He let me down. He disappointed me over here. He blew it. And once you blow it with me, Barney, it's forever. You can just kind of hear some of that going on. But Barnabas had the heart of Christ. He really did. He says, I'll tell you what. I remember Saul. I remember when a lot of people gave up on you. And I went over to Tarsus and I found you. And I brought you back into the circle of active ministry again. Do you remember that, Saul? Well, that's different. You know why it's different? Because it's me. It's me. Like one daddy was talking to another daddy. And he says, I'll tell you what, if that was my boy, I'd kick him out on his ear. He'd never be on my property again. And that daddy says, well, if it was your boy, I'd agree. But he's mine, and I can't do that. That was Barnabas. Barnabas says, Saul, you know what? I hope one of these days you remember the mercy that was given to you, but for now, You take Silas, and I'll take old John Mark, and I'll try to teach him to do better. I just love on him a little bit. I'll give him a good example. And you know what, Saul? I believe he's going to be profitable. Brother Don, we had to wait 20 more years. But old Saul was sitting in a Roman prison, and he wrote a little epistle named Timothy. And he says in 2 Timothy chapter four, Timothy, I need to see you. You see, I'm about to kick out of here. I'm about to go home. And I'm cold. I want you to bring my coat. And you bring my parchment. You bring those books. I need to read. I need to study. I'm not through yet. Growing and learning. Here's the age of the Apostle Paul. You bring those books to me. I need to read some more. I need more answers. But Timothy, when you do come, you bring John Mark. Bring the one that was thrown away. Why, Paul? Because I learned what Barnabas was saying back over yonder 20 years ago. I remember it now. And I want you to know that he was right because now John Mark is profitable to me in ministry. You know what that is? That's the power of grace. Can I close with this? You will never, ever, ever regret showing grace to those that have fallen, to those that have blown it, to those that everybody says it's no good. They've gone too far. Irretrievable. you'll never, ever regret the Council of Barnabas. And brothers and sisters, I don't know where you're at this morning. I don't know where you're gonna be in years to come. But will you please remember the powers that be. Oh yes, there's power of the devil there is. But there's also power of prayer. There's also the power that comes from the infusion of God's Holy Spirit in the church. That's called revival. When you're praying for revival, remember that's what it's talking about. It's talking about God showing up. and filling the life of His people and filling the hearts of His people in a way that maybe many of us have lost sight of. There's power in prayer. There's power of God's judgment. And we need to warn people. Brothers and sisters, we need to warn every man that there's a day coming when Jesus is coming again. Talked to a guy yesterday on the street with a sign, you know, and I'm telling him, what's wrong with you, Daniel? Your eyes are funny. You're jumping up and down. I've never seen you do that before. Oh, I'm just fine. I'm just fine. He was on drugs. He was crazy. He was slapping my truck and my window and all of this kind of stuff. Daniel, what happened to you, Daniel? Nothing, I'm fine, I'm fine. I said, Daniel, one day Jesus is coming again and he's gonna bring us into judgment, Daniel. You can't act this way. You can't be this way. You can't be dominated by drugs and alcohol. Daniel, you can't do this. Ah, but Mr. Jeff, I don't know any other way. I said, oh, let me tell you about the way. Jesus Christ is the way, Daniel. He's the truth, and he's the life, and he's coming again. And we're gonna stand before him, Daniel. We're gonna stand before him and give account of our life and our life choices. And Daniel, you don't want to face him in that day, drunk. You don't want to face him in drugs. You don't want to face him in morality. You don't want to face him that way, Daniel. You need to face him, trusting in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Don't face him in your sin, Daniel, because he's just, and he'll send you to hell. If we truly care about people, we gotta warn them. We gotta tell them the truth. And then we need to be thankful that this God of judgment is also a God of wonderful grace. Don't you dare forget the grace that God gave you, friend. Oh, I know you're sitting here and you're saying, oh, I know somebody like that in Daniel. I'll tell you what, and I'm so much better than he is. Oh, no, you're not. You're not, I'm not. You see, if it weren't for God's grace, every one of us would be in that captivity. Every one of us would be a Herod. Every one of us would be deserving of divine judgment. But ah, ah, what grace. First Corinthians 15 verse 10, he says, I am what I am by the grace of God. And his grace was not bestowed upon me in vain, but I labor more abundantly than they all get, not I, but the grace of God that was given to me. Do you remember that, friends? Oh, I want you to remember the powers that be, but the greatest power in our life is the power of that wonderful, free, sovereign grace that we have in Jesus Christ, our Savior. God bless you.