Thank you very much indeed, Sam. It's good to be back with you again this evening in the Gospel. We're turning tonight, please, to the Acts and Chapter 12, please. The Acts of the Apostles, or rather, more accurately, the Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. The Acts and Chapter 12, please. Can I just say what a tremendous month it has been to have enjoyed fellowship with you on such a regular basis, brethren and sisters, and I want to thank you once again for the fellowship, the warmth of the welcome, as always, and the fellowship in our Lord Jesus Christ, and of course, as always, to Sam and Ruth for their hospitality also. Acts chapter 12, and we're commencing to read at verse 21. Acts chapter 12 and verse 21. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a God and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord spoke to him, because he gave not God the glory. And he was eaten up of worms and gave up the ghost. And we'll end there at verse 23, just for that short reading. And we trust the Lord to bless the reading of his precious word this evening in the gospel. Would it not be an awful thing for a man or a woman to have written for their epitaph, he gave not God the glory. What a testimony to leave behind. What a departure to make from this world into the fires of hell itself that he or she gave not God the glory. What a tragic statement for any obituary refusing to give God the glory. And you know it causes me to think of the great world leaders and politicians and we could ask the question this evening, how many of them truly give God the glory? The world of local politics is constantly at the forefront of the news media. I wonder how many of them truly give God the glory. It seems to me that the commentators and the journalists and the politicians often like to hear the sound of their own voices. And it's a sad day when men and women desire to hear their own voices rather than the voice of God. There was a time when men and women understood something of the fear of God, but that time has long since passed. Rather than the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of knowledge as we read in the first part of Proverbs chapter one and verse seven, we are living in the days of the fulfillment of the second part of Proverbs one and verse seven. But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Men and women today exalt their own wisdom, their own intellect, their own opinions, their own policies, their own talents and their own achievements, while all the while despising the wisdom and the instruction of God. According to the word of God, they are foolish. Just like the man in Psalm 14 in verse one, the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God or no God for me. They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none that doeth good. And here is one such man, who loved the sound of his own voice, and it was effective as far as the people were concerned. Ah, but he loved the sound of his own voice to his own destruction. And our text brings before us this man, Herod, and the end that he met. Our text begins with remarkable words. And upon a set day, a set day, Little did Herod know that this was to be his last day. It began with pomp, but it ended in perdition. It was a day that opened with ceremony, but it ended in the cemetery. And I wonder, is there anyone listening to this message tonight? And friend, this could be your last day. When Herod arose that morning, I can imagine him looking forward with expectation and anticipation to what lay ahead. And you know, if this chapter, chapter 12 in the Acts, reveals anything about Herod, it tells us that he had gotten a real taste of power. You see first of all here we see Herod the persecutor. Herod the persecutor. Chapter 12 here begins with him stretching forth his hands to vex certain of the church in verse 1 of chapter 12. Now that speaks of his determination to cause harm to the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it shows that he had no fear of God. It shows also that he possessed the marks of an evil dictator. And then in verse 2, we find that he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. He was a murderer. Little did he know that he was merely fulfilling prophecy. Did not our Lord prophesy to the disciples in Matthew chapter 10, Matthew chapter 24, John chapters 15 and 16 that this very thing would happen, that they would be persecuted by their own, the Jews, and also the Gentiles? Why? for his sake. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 18 tells us, and these are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. Herod must have thought that he was a shrewd and successful leader. Here we find him working devious moves to his own advantage. But little did he know that the Lord Jesus Christ knew long before his time what his every move would be, and prophesied it to his disciples to warn and to prepare them to face persecution for his name's sake. Yes, the name of Jesus is hated today and we know that all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Just as it was back then, the name of Jesus Christ is trampled underfoot today and blasphemed. We were just talking earlier this morning about how we hear it in the workplace and how we as believers are challenged to take a stand and are often the object of suffering for the sake of taking a stand for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps not on the same scale that the believers in the Acts suffered, but nevertheless, we can see an increasing hostility and animosity against the name of Jesus Christ. It's remarkable that no other deity is blasphemed. We don't hear the name of Muhammad blasphemed, or Allah. or Buddha or any of these other so-called deities, but yet we hear the name of Jesus and Christ blasphemed almost on a daily basis. It's an abominable and it's an accursed thing. And the Lord will not hold him guiltless, which taketh his name in vain. And many world leaders today, just like Herod, are only interested in their own name, and not the name of Christ. I wonder, is there anyone who cares nothing for Christ? Listening to this message tonight, and you care nothing for the name of Christ, and you care only for yourself, rather than for the eternal destiny of your soul. Herod the persecutor, but then secondly we see Herod the politician. Now keep in mind that he had just killed James. And verse 3 tells us, and because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. We know what took place afterwards. how the angel of the Lord set Peter free from prison, and then he arrived at the house where many were praying for him. Meanwhile, Herod sought for him and found him not, in verse 19, and then he commanded the keepers to be put to death. And all this gives us an insight into the type of man Herod was. He was ruthless and merciless. He was the epitome of the Roman state at that particular time. Here he was, and Peter had escaped prison, and he was moved with rage. He had all the evil marks of a cruel dictator who liked to have everyone at his whim and will. It was most likely that he controlled his subjects through fear. And that is the setting as we come to verse 20, now we didn't read it, we read from, we took our reading from verse 21 at the beginning, but we see in verse 20, 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." He was highly displeased. That tells us that no matter where he went, it seemed as though he were impossible to please. Little did he know that he was soon to face the displeasure of God. In the meantime, here he was with the citizens of these two nations, Tyre and Sidon, using his influence of fear over them. And they come to pacify him, and they make friends with his chamberlain Blastus, getting him on their side to secure trade and to appease Herod. And Herod takes advantage of the situation. Here's an opportunity to have the people in the palm of his hand. And so the day is set. Once again, little did he know how that day would conclude. Look at how he begins in verse 21. He arrays himself in royal apparel. He sits upon his throne, he makes a great oration unto the people, and he must have felt that this day was his day of destiny. And as if that were not enough, notice what follows in verse 22. And the people gave a shout, saying, it is the voice of a God and not of a man. What a reaction the people gave. You know, it reminds me of some of that footage from World War II. and the great speeches that Adolf Hitler made, and he had the people in the palm of his hand, spellbound with his powers of oratory and so on. And I think also, when I think of Tyre and Sidon trying to make friends with the King's Chamberlain Blastus to get him on their side and to appease him, it reminds me of Neville Chamberlain, you know, the Prime Minister during the early part of the Second World War. trying to appease Hitler, and it was a road to nowhere. And the same scenario appears here in Acts chapter 12. This man has the people in the palm of his hand, but he didn't know how that day would finish. And so he makes this oration unto the people. And notice what follows, and yes, again, we've seen in verse 22, the people gave a shout, saying, it is the voice of a God and not of a man. And what a reaction the people gave here. It's like people at a pop concert, worshiping their favorite pop star. And Herod must have had great spellbinding powers of speech, so much so that they shouted. And not only that, but they said it was the voice of a God. What adulation and what adoration. and he was only a man. You see, that is not something that people say of an ordinary man. It's the voice of a God. I believe that there were demonic influences here behind his powers of oratory. He certainly was not speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe in preaching the Word of God with power and with authority and liberty, but that only comes from the Holy Spirit. It doesn't come from man. And it reminds us Those of us who are preachers that are preaching the gospel, that are preaching, it should be in the power and demonstration of the Spirit of God and not in any other power. Because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But this is no preacher of the gospel here. This is a preacher of self, of pride, and of the flesh. Such adulation and adoration from the people gives us an idea of what sort of man Herod was. and of the powerful sway and influence that he had over the people. And I can imagine him saying to himself, you know, I have reached the pinnacle of my success. It does not get much better than this. And certainly it was not going to get any better. It was only going to get worse. And then the most tragic and solemn word in this passage occurs. Immediately, immediately, verse 23, suddenly, instantaneously, without warning or mercy, The judgment of God was executed upon him. And it reminds me of the words of one of Job's friends, Elihu, in Job chapter 36 and verse 8. And we remember the words of Elihu on that occasion when he said, because there is wrath, beware, lest he take thee away with a stroke. then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. We know that Job's friends did not always speak the thing about God which was right, but on this occasion I believe Elihu was right. And that's why we can take this text and we can preach the gospel from it and warn people that they need to be delivered from the wrath to come and they need to be saved through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Herod expected, or rather he experienced three things. In verse 23, which are a solemn warning to any soul outside of Christ. You see, his fate came instantaneously. And three things came to Herod in a moment of time. Three things that will come to a hardened Christ-rejecting sinner in a moment of time if they remain steadfast in their refusal of the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, death comes in a moment of time. Death and immediately verse 23 the angel of the Lord smote him You know that would remind us of the Passover night in Exodus chapter 12 when the Lord smoked all of the firstborn in Egypt, and the children of Israel had to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to the lintels and to the side posts of the doors of their houses, no one would escape judgment unless they were covered by the blood. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, the Lord said in Exodus 12 and verse 13. And if only Herod had repented of his wickedness and had trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ and trusted in his blood. You remember that he stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church in verse 1. That tells us that he was familiar with the church of Jesus Christ. It tells us that he must have known something of what they were preaching. He must have known something about the gospel of Christ. And if only sinners today would trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and in his precious blood to take away their sin, they would be saved. And the judgment of God. would not pass over them. Or rather, the judgment of God would pass over them, and death would still come, but for the believer, it is absent from the body, and present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 8. And there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. But alas, Herod never escaped by his own willful wickedness, because he gave not God the glory. You see, God is long-suffering, but there is a limit to the long-suffering of God. Herod glorified himself to the extent that the people thought he was a god, and the anger of God was kindled, such that his wrath fell upon him in a moment of time, death. But then secondly, destruction comes in a moment of time, destruction. And, verse 23, he was eaten of worms, He was eaten of worms. His flesh was consumed. Proverbs 5 and verses 11 to 12 give a solemn warning, a solemn warning against a life of sin. And in that particular context, it was the particular sin of adultery and fornication that was in view. And it says these solemn words, and I mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed and say, how have I hated instruction and my heart despised reproof. That was Herod's testimony. At the end of a life of pomp and pleasure, he was eaten of worms as soon as the angel of the Lord smote him. All the pride and the splendour of his earthly glory was destroyed and consumed in a moment of time. Destruction. And I believe that God caused his angel to execute this judgment in such a way that others would see and fear and be warned. You see, his destruction came about in a very public fashion. One moment he was the object of praise and the center of attention, the next moment the worms were eating him, alive, just at the point of death. It was a horrible death. And Herod proved the truth of Proverbs 16 and verse 18. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a flaw. God is faithful to his word. Death comes in a moment of time. Destruction comes in a moment of time. Thirdly, damnation comes in a moment of time. Notice the end of verse 23. And gave up the ghost. He gave up the ghost. That was his soul. The very moment death and destruction came to his body, his soul was lost eternally. He gave up the ghost, and I understand the Greek word there to be psuche, which means soul. There was nothing he could do to hold on to the ghost. That is the soul. And we could imagine him trying to cling on to his soul as it was departing from his body, in desperation as it slipped out of his grasp. But it was futile. You see, when death came, his soul's consciousness would have known that it was too late, and his last parting memory would have been those worms. And very solemnly, we cast our minds back to Mark chapter nine, and the words of our Lord Jesus Christ himself, when he warned about the place called hell, and he spoke of the fire that never shall be quenched, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Three times our Lord mentioned it. What a tragedy for any soul. And yet, friend, it need not be because there is something else that comes in a moment of time. Not only do we see that death and destruction and damnation come in a moment of time, but praise God, deliverance. Deliverance can come and deliverance does come in a moment of time for the soul that trusts Christ. Now we did not read verse 24 at the beginning, but notice the words of verse 24. But the word of God grew and multiplied. What is it that the epistle to the Romans tells us? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. As the people heard the word of God, While it grew and multiplied, souls were being saved, and they were being added to the church. If only Herod had not chosen such a course of sin, and of wickedness and of folly. If only he had turned from his wicked way, he might have heard the word of God and believed. But alas, no. He'd already sealed his fate for the judgment of God when he stretched forth his hand against the church of Jesus Christ with no evidence of repentance. Yes, the apostle Paul persecuted the church of Jesus Christ, but he repented. He repented, we know, of his experience on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter nine. And the Lord said unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? You see, there was a willingness and there was a readiness on the part of the Apostle Paul to be saved. And praise God, he was. But not so with Herod. Herod never repented. There was no evidence of turning in Herod's life. He was only interested in serving. his own desires, the desires of the flesh, and himself. But not so with those who had heard the word of God and believed. They repented, and they turned to the Lord, trusting in Christ, and so can you. You can know the joy of sins forgiven, and peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And they were delivered from the wrath that is to come. And so, friend, can you be delivered? The moment you repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, Deliverance comes in a moment of time. They would never experience the awful fate of Herod. And friend, neither need you if you take the Lord Jesus Christ at his word and accept him as your savior. The word of God grew and multiplied. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation. That was what Herod experienced. The condemnation the awful condemnation of God because of his sin. But friend, it need not be so for you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Friend, you need to be delivered, delivered from wrath to come. And praise God, it comes in a moment of time when you take the Lord Jesus Christ at his word and accept him as your savior. And then finally, there's something further that comes in a moment of time. Not only do we see that deliverance comes in a moment of time, but decision comes in a moment of time. Decision. Your decision, friend, comes in a moment of time. It is very simple. It's a decision for destiny. It is a day for many today to decide either for heaven or hell. And how simple the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is, the word of God grew and multiplied here. And that tells us that those who heard either believed or did not believe. They either received the word or they refused it. And what does it John chapter one tells us? But as many as received him, To them gave he power, that is authority, to become the sons of God, who were born, not of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God. The word of God grew and multiplied. Herod chose his destiny. And what will yours be tonight, friend? You know we could give Herod a nickname, as it were. Hardened Herod. Hardened Herod. the man who hardened his neck and hardened his heart against God and against the gospel of Christ and against the church of Jesus Christ. I wonder how many hardened heralds there are in this province tonight, where the gospel has had free course for generation after generation of all the people on the earth. I believe the province of Ulster has the least excuse. As in Romans 1 verse 20, for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Friend, tonight you're without excuse. The Lord Jesus Christ has already paid the debt for your sin and for mine. And if you reject him, there is no other remedy for your soul and no redemption. Your decision leaves you without excuse. Will you trust Christ tonight? Will you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as the only and precious saviour of sinners and be delivered from the wrath that is to come? Ere it be forever. Tuliet. Friend, take him at his word tonight. Trust him as your saviour and be delivered from the wrath that is to come. May he bless his word to our hearts tonight for his name's sake. Shall we pray? Father in heaven, we thank thee again for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, which indeed is the power of God unto salvation, unto everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. That tells us, Father, it is for the whole world. It is for the whosoever will. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Someone once said, our Father, all men can be saved All men must be saved. And that is the imperative tonight of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, our Father, we pray that any soul listening to this message tonight outside of Christ would not die that awful death that Herod died. One moment, enjoying the adulation and the adoration of the people, but the next moment being eaten of worms and going into a lost sinner's hell for all of eternity. Father, we acknowledge those of us who are saved tonight that that is truly what each and every one of us deserve. Myself, perhaps more than any, but our Father, we thank thee that in due time when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and He was buried and He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. We praise Thee, Our Father, for the simplicity of this great message of salvation that has been committed to us to preach. Our Father, we pray that even faith might come by hearing even tonight As sinners outside of Christ, listen to the gospel wherever it is faithfully proclaimed. We thank thee, our Father, that thy word shall not return unto thee void, but will accomplish the purpose whitherto thou hast sent it. O Father, souls are on the brink of eternity, even tonight, and if they slip out of time and into eternity, it will be forever too late if they die without Christ as their Saviour. O grant our Father that there might be a turning to thyself in these days, that indeed there might be a turning back to God, that it might begin even with the Church of God. Because it is high time that judgment must begin at the house of God, and if it begin first With us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? Oh, our Father, we pray that Thy Spirit would move even tonight and speak long after the voice of man has fallen silent. Bless the work of this assembly here. We thank Thee for the brethren and sisters. We praise Thee for them. for their love in the spirit and the unity that they have and this wonderful opportunity to present the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by means of the internet. Bless this work, our Father. We acknowledge that the internet can be a great tool in the hands of the devil. It can be used for all manner of wickedness, but Father, we thank Thee that it can be used for good and it can be used for Thy glory. It can be used for the propagation and the proclamation of Thy word. And we thank Thee, Father, for it. And bless the ministry. And bless the oversight here, our brother Sam and David. And bless Bert as he takes up Thy Word on the Lord's Day. Be with our brother Harvey Shaw, Father, as he takes up this series of Bible study meetings. for the Wednesdays throughout this month. Thank Thee for our brother Geordie on the door. We thank Thee for the sisters and for their warmth and their welcome and their hospitality. Take of our thanks, Father, and bless our time together, for we ask it in our Savior's precious and worthy name. Amen.