Lesson by Pastor John Skaggs

Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

P. O. Box 1173

Claypool, Arizona 85532

520-425-8345

Date: 08-20-00

Sermon Number:

Text: Acts 11:27-12:25

Topics Addressed in this Lesson

(The effectiveness of Prayer / The power of God)

The term prophet as used here refers to the preachers of the New Testament (1 Cor. 14:32; Eph. 2:20). Unlike the prophets found in the Old Testament these only occasionally received supernatural information from God. This is one of those occasions. Agabus, a preacher of God’s truth, stood up and began to indicate by special revelation that there would be a great famine all over the world.

His prophecy came to pass during the reign of Claudius (a.d. 41–54). In fact there were a number of famines described by historians at the time. They were back-to-back disasters so closely associated they might be considered one great famine. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that many, many, people died for lack of food.

The response of the Antioch church to this prophecy was nothing short of phenomenal in my opinion. They immediately began collecting money for the relief of their brothers and sisters in Judea. This was a great act of faith in God and of love for the brethren. The predicted famine had not yet occurred. There was no proof that Agabus was telling the truth, yet they sent gifts to the "mother church" for the relief of the poor. Even more amazing is the fact that the Christians in Antioch were almost all Gentiles sending money to Christian Jews. Before Christ’s coming this would have been unheard of. This act of love proved that the blood of Christ had washed away all animosity from their hearts. The dividing wall had been torn down. Notice also that EVERYONE in the church sent a contribution. Each one gave in proportion to his means. This is the New Testament principal for giving to the Lord’s work and the support of the poor in the church. We are to give as the Lord has prospered us, willingly and generously but not to our own ruin. Everyone must give but, our giving is to be in proportion to our means. Consider the following texts.

Speaking of a monetary gift the church in Macedonia has sent to the Jerusalem church Paul wrote; (2 Corinthians 8:1-15 NASB) "Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, {2} that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. (It is only the grace of God that can cause one to rejoice and be generous to others when in the midst of a great ordeal of affliction themselves.) {3} For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability THEY GAVE OF THEIR OWN ACCORD, {4} BEGGING US WITH MUCH ENTREATY for the FAVOR OF PARTICIPATION IN THE SUPPORT OF THE SAINTS, (These were eager to help their poorer brothers and sisters who through no fault of their own did not have the necessities of life.) {5} and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. (Such an attitude of love and mercy comes only to one who has first given himself to the Lord, i.e., been saved by faith in Jesus.) {6} Consequently we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well. (Continue teaching these people the truth, it is having a marvelous effect!) {7} But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, SEE THAT YOU ABOUND IN THIS GRACIOUS WORK ALSO. {8} I am not speaking this as a command, but as PROVING THROUGH THE EARNESTNESS OF OTHERS THE SINCERITY OF YOUR LOVE ALSO. {9} For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, (That is, "You know how the grace of Jesus expressed itself.) that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. {10} And I give my opinion in this matter, (Paul speaks in the capacity of an inspired apostle.) for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. (Good works begin with the desire to do them.) {11} But now finish doing it also; that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. (Love is not proven or completed by feeling or desire alone, but by tangible expression of benefit toward the person loved.) {12} For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he does not have. (When God moves your heart to help spread the gospel or feed the poor do it now with what you have. There is no need to wait till you can do something great, what you have is acceptable.) {13} For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality (God’s instructions and encouragements to be merciful and generous to others was never meant to deprive us of things needful. Rather, His intent was that we share our blessings with those in need.) {14} at this present time your abundance being a supply for their want, that their abundance also may become a supply for your want, that there may be equality; {15} as it is written, "HE WHO gathered MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND HE WHO gathered LITTLE HAD NO LACK." In other words when we have an abundant supply of God’s material blessings we are to comfort those less fortunate than ourselves by helping them in a tangible way. One day the circumstances may be reversed and they can help us.

Adam Clark makes these searching comments on the subject of mercy toward the brethren. "An early fruit of Christianity was mercy to the poor; and especially to the poor followers of Christ. He has left the poor ever with us, as his representatives, to exercise our sense of compassion, and thus teach us to feel and practice mercy. To every Christian the religion of Jesus Christ says most authoritatively, "With every man who is pinched by poverty, share what the providence of God has not made absolutely necessary for thy own support." What God has given us more than we need is entrusted to us for the benefit of those that are in poverty and affliction. He who can, and does not, help the poor, is a disgrace to Christianity; and he who does not lend his hand for the support of the cause of God is a worthless member of the Church of Christ. He who shows no mercy shall have judgment without mercy. And he who spends in pampering the flesh what should be given to the poor shall have a fearful account to give in the day of the Lord." (End Quote)

Listen with me to some encouragements to mercy and generosity found in the scriptures.

Ecclesiastes 11:1 "Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days." (There will be some kind of return.) Ecclesiastes 11:2 "Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth." You never know when you will need help yourself.

Deuteronomy 15:10 "You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in ALL your work and in ALL your undertakings." Blessings from God follow one’s generosity and acts of love that relieve those in need. These blessings affect every area of our lives, both physical and spiritual.

Psalms 41:1 "How blessed is he who considers the helpless; (This person is blessed by God in the sense of having been given a good and generous heart, he is blessed in that he is happy, and he will be blessed or repaid by God for his kindness.) The LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. 2 The LORD will protect him, and keep him alive, And he shall be called blessed upon the earth; And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies".

Proverbs 19:17 "He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed." What an incredible promise! God will repay us for our good deeds. What form that repayment will take is not revealed only that we can count on it. Matthew 10:42 "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones (a child of God) even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward."

Luke 14:14 "and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." If there is no apparent repayment in this life for kindness shown to others we may be assured of repayment in the resurrection!

Galatians 6:9 "And let us not lose heart in doing good, (Acts of mercy are not always easy to perform but do not lose heart . . .) for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and ESPECIALLY to those who are of the household of the faith. (Needy brothers and sisters take precedence over unbelievers in need.) 10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering TO THE SAINTS." God will not forget our acts of love and sacrifice on behalf of our neighbor; He will reward us. May God cultivate in our hearts a spirit of love and generosity toward the support of His work and our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is generally the case that hardship follows a time of comfort and blessing. This was true of the early Christians just as it is today. (Acts 12 NASB) "Now about that time (in or around the time of the famine) Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, in order to mistreat them. {2} And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. (he was beheaded) {3} And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (Herod could have cared less whether these men were Christians or not. His motive in doing them harm was a political one. We might say his actions were driven by the polls, something we all know makes for a good politician. Herod thought His persecution of Christians would please the Jews and the murder of James proved he was right. So, he would make them all the more happy by killing the most prominent of these Christians, the apostle Peter.) Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. {4} And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers (sixteen men in all) to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. (for public execution) {5} So Peter was kept in the prison, BUT PRAYER FOR HIM WAS BEING MADE FERVENTLY BY THE CHURCH TO GOD".

If you are like me you should be ashamed at your neglect of this incredible means of grace called prayer. For we are commanded to pray, Jesus and the Apostles teach us how to pray, and we are promised that our prayers will accomplish much. Hear the word of the Lord found in James 5:16-18. "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. (of the awful effects of sin) THE EFFECTIVE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN CAN ACCOMPLISH MUCH. (Now James gives us an example of what God might do when one of His children makes use of prayer.) {17} Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. {18} And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit." "THE EFFECTIVE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN CAN ACCOMPLISH MUCH." Likewise the effective corporate prayer of the righteous can accomplish much as well.

({6} And on the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and guards (two more soldiers) in front of the door were watching over the prison. {7} And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and roused him, saying, "Get up quickly." And his chains fell off his hands. {8} And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." {9} And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

Peter thought he was dreaming of the rescue he had prayed for. {10} And when they had passed the first and second guard, (They were either asleep or the Angel blinded their eyes and stopped their ears.) they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; (Angels have the ability to alter the natural order of things.) and they went out and went along one street; and immediately the angel departed from him. (The angel disappeared.) {11} And when Peter came to himself, (When he was at last fully awake he knew this was no dream. God had answered his prayers and the prayers of the church.) he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and FROM ALL THAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE WERE EXPECTING." (The enemies of Christ will treat His followers just like they treated Him if they have opportunity.) {12} And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. {13} And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. {14} And when she recognized Peter's voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. {15} And they said to her, "You are out of your mind!" But she kept insisting that it was so. And they kept saying, "It is his angel." (Jewish tradition held that each person had his own angle that could take up the individuals form at will. This may be what they thought was taking place. Whatever the case, they did not initially believe that it was Peter.) {16} But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. (Naturally the gathered people of God were excited and got loud, dangerously loud.) {17} But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, "Report these things to James and the brethren."

Sadly the reaction of these people to answered prayer is typical. Some if not all of them "did not really expect God to do what they asked." Otherwise they would not have been so surprised to see Peter standing at the door. We must learn from this to pray expectantly, fervently, persistently, and to watch for answers to our prayers.

And he (Peter) departed and went to another place. {18} Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. {19} And when Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there. {20} Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king's chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king's country. {21} And on an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. {22} And the people kept crying out, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" {23} And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. (The judgment of God cannot be escaped. Those who oppose His people, oppose Him and that is not wise at all. Herod was judged in this life quite severely. But being eaten by worms is nothing to the eternal torment he now endures. It is appointed unto man once to die and then he must face the judgment which will bring with it eternal consequences for sin. This foolish King thought he could fight against God and win. This has never been the case.

John McArthur wrote: "History is strewn with the wreckage of the broken lives of those foolish enough to fight God. The nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche despised Christianity as the religion of weaklings. Fighting God eventually pushed him over the brink, and he spent the last several years of his life insane.

Novelist Sinclair Lewis, winner of the 1930 Nobel Prize for literature, also thought he could fight God. His novel Elmer Gantry mocked Christianity. Its leading character was an evangelist who was also an alcoholic and an unceasing fornicator. Lewis’s fight against God cost him his sobriety, and he died a hopeless alcoholic in a clinic near Rome.

Another Nobel-Prize-winning author, Ernest Hemingway, considered himself living proof that one could successfully fight God. He boasted of fighting in revolutions, tumbling women, and leading a life of sin without apparent consequences. His sins eventually found him out, however, and he put a shotgun to his head and killed himself. Fighting God cost him his life.

One of the first in the long line of rulers who fought God was the pharaoh who ruled Egypt at the time of the Exodus. Fighting God cost him and his people dearly as horrible plagues, culminating in the death of every firstborn Egyptian male, lashed their land. Still Pharaoh fought on, until his army drowned in the Red Sea. The Canaanite king of Arad’s part in the war against God resulted in the destruction of his people and their cities (Num. 21:1–3). Sihon of the Amorites (Num. 21:21–31) and Og of Bashan (Num. 21:33–35) suffered similar fates. Balak, king of Moab, was clever enough to avoid a direct frontal assault. Instead he used that prophet-for-hire Balaam in an attempt to curse Israel (Num. 22–24). Balak’s strategy backfired, however, as God intervened and had Balaam bless Israel instead. The king of Ai fought God and was hanged for his trouble (Josh. 8:29). The thirty-one Canaanite kings listed in Joshua 12:7–24 suffered similar defeats. Sennacherib, proud leader of the feared and powerful Assyrian army, saw that army decimated in battle against God (2 Kings 19:35). Soon afterward, he himself was dead, murdered by two of his own sons (Isa. 37:38).

Sadly, even many leaders of God’s own people fought Him. Every one of the kings of Israel, and many of those of Judah, opposed God. The result was the destruction of the northern kingdom by Assyria and the southern kingdom by Babylon. God does not tolerate rebellion even among the ranks of His own people. (End Quote)

Folks, only a fool would set himself against God, yet all who remain in unbelief are doing exactly that. Their efforts, however, are to no avail, for at last ever knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Consider a few reasons as to why it is futile to resist the Creator.

God’s Power Cannot Be Resisted

God’s Punishment Cannot Be Avoided

(Acts 17:30-31 NASB) "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, {31} because He has fixed a day in which HE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." The judgments of God cannot be escaped! Only those who hide their sin in the Son of God Jesus Christ will pass through the judgment into heaven. All who trust in Him for acceptance with God will hear those beautiful words, "Enter in thou good and faithful servant."

Finally it is futile to fight against God because "His Purposes Cannot Be Frustrated" for . . .

". . . all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What hast Thou done?'"(Daniel 4:35 NASB) This truth is also brought out by the last verse in our text for the day.

(Acts 12:24–25) "But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied. (In spite of the opposition of the Jews and King Herod God continued to prosper His church.) And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark."

Surely since our God’s power cannot be resisted, His judgments avoided, or His purposes frustrated, surely we ought to be a praying people like the church at Antioch. Surely given the testimony of Scripture we ought to pray without ceasing for the greatest things we can imagine. For our God is able to ". . . do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, {21} to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21 NASB)