Christ is Life Podcast

About 10 years ago or so, when I was at a different church, I got a I got a phone call from one of the members in our church, and it was one of those phone calls that I'll never forget.
I'll never forget it because the person who was calling me was telling me that her mom had been outside earlier in the day, she was working in her garden that day, but she had gotten stung by a bee. She went into anaphylactic shock,
and she had died.
She was no longer with us. I mean, one morning she wakes up, feels perfectly fine, walks outside in her front yard, works in her garden, something that she loves to do, and
now she was no longer here,
a good mom, full of life, relatively healthy, otherwise, someone who was a strong, mature believer, just out working in her garden,
and all of a sudden she was just no longer here.
Not long after that, I got another message from someone who had said they were in a pretty major car accident, and they had such a severe accident that they probably should have passed away from the way that most people looked at it and what it was that they saw, but they walked away without a scratch. Were completely fine.
Why do some people get in accidents and pass away,
and other people get in accidents, and they walk away and are just fine.
And why does it seem like whenever that kind of thing happens? A lot of times, those who pass away are good people, but yet those who are rescued really not such great people.
A lot of some people get cancer.
Other people don't,
why do good people sometimes have a really hard time finding love, and yet, other people don't,
why do evil people have no problems getting pregnant, and yet good
husbands and wives who are in Christ have infertility issues and can't have children of their own.
Why do good Christian people get persecuted and evil people sometimes seem to succeed and thrive in this world.
I mean, we can look around and sometimes it just seems like bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people, and a lot of us are confused by that. We have a hard time with that these things cause us hurt and they cause us pain, and they cause us struggle, and we're struggling, and people that we love are struggling in these issues. And then we look around and it seems like evil people
are living their lives just fine. They're comfortable succeeding,
not experiencing the same suffering in their lives that many of us are today. Now,
many of us struggle with this today. It's not anything that's new. This is a struggle that's been going on from generation to generation. We even see it in the in the early church, when they were living life in the Spirit.
We see a lot of good things happening when the Holy Spirit comes, in miraculous things, and people's lives being transformed and changed, and the church growing and big time, miraculous things that God is doing in and through them, and yet, even in their lives, we see bad things
happening to good people
and Good things it seems like we're happening to bad people. We're
going to see that today,
and it's not going to answer every single question that we have, but God's word will reveal many things to us around this kind of thing that we struggle with, and I'm sure that many of them were even struggling with in the early church today. And so I invited you to turn to Acts chapter 12 a moment ago. Let's dive in and with an open heart and an open mind and an open spirit, with what the Lord wants to say to us, see what Luke writes here under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The very first thing that he says is it was about this time. What time is he referring to there? Well, he's referring back to something that was in chapter 11. We're in chapter 12. If you were here last week, you know that Luke referenced this church that began in Antioch, and how the people in the church were first called Christians there. The gospel was spreading. It was moving from John.
Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, all the way into Antioch. And at the very end of this chapter, while we're told a lot of great things that were going on, we found out about this famine that was taking place or going to take place in Jerusalem, and how that prompted the church, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to give out of what the Lord's given to them to support them during their time of need. And Paul and Barnabas were going to take that gift with them. And so it was about that time that he was referring back to, well, what happened about that time, King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them, and so right here, I mean, in the in the very first verse of this chapter we're looking at today, we see what we were just referencing a second ago, good people, people that had put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ to become Christians, those who were following Christ, many of whom probably had to leave their family, who were Jewish in order to follow Jesus, had given up everything to follow Him, and were just trying to do what was right now were being arrested, and not just arrested, But persecuted good people
and yet, bad things were happening to them. If
that wasn't bad enough,
the Holy Spirit
is leading us through Luke to see that it got even worse. Acts, chapter 12, verse two, he referring back to King Herod had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. So now we're not just arresting people. Now we're not just persecuting them, but we're putting people to death. Who was this? James was described as the brother of John. Helps us to know which James this was. There's a James who wrote one of the New Testament books in the Bible. That's not this James. This was James, the brother of John. He was one of the 12 Disciples. It was one of two sons of Zebedee Jesus. Had even nicknamed them the Sons of Thunder because of their personality. And so this was not just a Christian, not just a believer who had put their faith and trust in Christ for salvation. This was one of the 12 Disciples. This was one of the 12 that spent three years walking with Jesus and preparing for the sending of the Holy Spirit on the other side of the cross and the launch of the early church. But not only was he one of the 12 disciples, he was also part of an inner circle
of three. You may remember, if you were read the gospels, that while there were 12 Disciples, and they were spending time with Jesus, and he was teaching them that there were three of them that were kind of in a little bit more of an inner circle, who got to spend more time with Jesus. James and John were two of those people. And Peter was the third one who was a part of this inner circle. And they got to participate in some of the things that the other disciples did not. They were the only ones who got to witness the transfiguration. They got to be there at the raising of Jairus daughter from the dead. You may even remember in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before Jesus was betrayed and going to the cross, that they were the three. They got to go further into the garden and spend time praying with him when the others did not there. And so James, again, is not just a Christian, not even just one of the disciples, but one of the inner circle of three with Jesus. He was a leader in the early church, a close friend of Jesus's, and now he's dead.
This is a big blow. This is a big blow to the early church to see someone who was in the inner circle of three with Jesus, one of the main leaders actually die. And so now Luke is telling us that the church was being arrested, that they were going to be persecuted, and now one of the inner three were actually dead at the hands of King Herod. But then Luke tells us that it got even worse from there, when you get into verse three, it says when he saw that this met with approval, When King Herod saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter. Also tells us that this happened during the festival of unleavened bread, and after arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each, and Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God.
God for him. Do you see how bad this is getting now?
I mean, we've got the early church being persecuted. He's already killed one of the inner circle of three, and now he's got a second member of the inner three that spent even more time with Jesus and was a leader, the leader in the early church. Not only was he arrested and when it says that he was bringing him out for public trial, that meant that he was going to die as well. They were going to the Jews found and this was what he was doing for them. This is what they wanted. They didn't want the early church to succeed. And so this is, this is coming. And he even gives us the details that, hey, there's no way that the disciples could break him out. I mean, he was clear to say that he was being guarded by four squads of four soldiers, each two who would be chained to him and two outside. And they would rotate every six hours or so. And so this is, this is bad. I mean, the church, again, is being persecuted by one of the most powerful men in the Roman Empire. He's killed one of the top leaders already. He's arrested another, and he's got soldiers from the most powerful army in the world guarding him to make sure that nothing happens before the Passover, so that he can kill him too.
But, I mean, at least the church was praying. I mean,
when you think about that, you go, okay, yeah, but I mean, we're talking authority, we're talking power, we're talking strength. They've got physical weapons,
but the church was praying.
I mean, when you read that, you go, Okay, well, good for them, but what's that going to do? Right? I mean, the odds of anything happening over I mean, evil's winning here, the good people who are just trying to do what's right, who said yes to Jesus, and yet he's still allowing all of this to happen in their lives.
Luke continues in verse six says, the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains and sentries stood guard at the entrance. He's about to tell us what happened, but I can't. I can't keep going without at least highlighting what's happening here, Peter is completely aware of what's been going on, right? I mean, he's completely aware that that King Herod had been arresting people, that they he was going to be persecuting Christians, that that James, his good friend, and part of the inner circle of three, had had died, that he was going to be on trial, that he was about to die as well, and how's he responding to all of this?
Just sleeping?
How, how in the world could Peter be sleeping in such a moment as this?
Yes, the only way is because he was in a spiritual union with the one who is the Prince of Peace.
When Peter said yes to Jesus, the Holy Spirit came to dwell in him, uniting him to Jesus, the one who is life, the one who is peace. And so regardless of the situation or circumstance that he was in,
Peter had peace and he was able to rest. We're reminded that peace isn't found in better situations or in better circumstances, but that peace is found in a person, and his name is Jesus, the Prince of Peace. And this even begins to speak a little bit to us before we go on today, that when you and I walk through really difficult situations and circumstances and things that we don't understand, and when, when bad things are happening to good people, if you are in Christ, we can trust
that He is good, that he is just, and that no matter what it is that happens to you or anyone under the situation that we're in, that we have peace in Christ and assurance in him, and we don't have to wait until our situations and circumstances are better in order to begin to experience that peace. And I think that's what we're seeing here. Peter is experiencing the peace that he has in Christ,
and so he's able to rest. I don't think the Lord had revealed to him what was coming, because the way we see him react with what happens next. But look what it is that we're told in Acts, chapter 12, verse seven, it says, suddenly, while Peter's sleeping, an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and and woke him up quick. Get up, he said. And the chains fell off. Peter's.
Wrist. Then the angel said to him, Put on your clothes and sandals, and Peter did, so, wrap your cloak around you and follow me. The angel told him, Peter followed him out of the prison. But he had no idea what the angel was doing was really happening. He just thought he was seeing a vision. He didn't know this was coming. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It just opened for them, supernaturally, opened for them by itself, and they went through it when they had walked the length of one street. Suddenly the angel left him, and then Peter came to himself and said, Now, now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen. I
mean, it's absolutely amazing what it is that we see happen here after things looked so bad. We've said it a number of times, but think just again, a quick reminder of where we were. The church was being arrested. James, part of the inner circle of three had been killed. Peter was now in jail, being guarded by the most powerful army in the world, about to be killed, most likely the next day, but God,
but God,
but God intervened and noticed that when he did, no army was sent,
no physical weapons were used, there was no fight. There was no struggle. No one ever even knew that Peter had left.
He sends an angel. Chains fall off. Supernaturally, a gate leading to the city just opens. I mean, this, this is just easy. It's just easy
for an omnipotent God, for a God who is all powerful and in control, he doesn't even sweat.
Guys we can face situations in our lives or in the church that seem dark, that seem bleak, that seem like sometimes there's no way out in our world, but we have an all powerful God who is capable of rescue and victory without even having to sweat, as we just said,
reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 1618 when he said, I will build my Church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Things were bad. I mean, the church was being arrested, the inner circle, one had died, the other one was about to die. I mean, this whole thing could stop Herod had him in his clutches, but
whatever power King Herod had, whatever power this army had, was no match for King Jesus, the omnipotent God of the universe, the King of kings, the Lord of Lords. He rescued Peter, as Luke said, from Herod's clutches, and it wasn't even hard for him to do.
Verse 12, when this had dawned on him, Peter, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people gathered and were praying. And so just to make sure we know, again, who it is that we're talking about here.
When we mentioned John here, we referenced earlier how James had a brother named John, the James who died had a brother named John, the sons of Zebedee, the sons of thunder. This is not the same John here. He didn't lose his brother. This is John who was also called Mark, sometimes known as John Mark. He was the cousin of Barnabas. We're going to read more about him. He's going to go on missionary journeys with Paul here, in Acts and with Barnabas. And he's also the one who wrote the Gospel of Mark, one of the four Gospel accounts that we have in our Bible. And so Luke tells us that when Peter, kind of had woken up after all of this happened that he went to to John's mother's house. It was Mary's house, and it must have been a pretty big house, because we're told that many people were gathered there. And so this must have been a really large house. And to live in a very large house meant that she had financial means to be able to have a nice house and have those in here. And it just even reminded me, as I was thinking about and reading about that, remember that that Luke is the author of Acts, and Luke is also the author of the Gospel of Luke. And if you go to the Gospel of Luke, and you read in chapter eight, Luke.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is very clear to mention to us that it was rich women who financed Jesus' ministry,
prompted by the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, given gifts and abilities to produce an income and have financial means in a world where women were devalued.
Testament, wouldn't even hold up in court.
And yet, Jesus was using women to fund his ministry and resource his ministry, and it was still at work in the early church, and the power of the Holy Spirit in and through many women, because we're all one in Christ
says they were gathered there and they were praying. Who were they praying for? They were praying for Peter. Right? They didn't know that he had been let out of jail, and so they're on their hands and knees and they are praying, but he's there now, and we see what happens next. Verse 13, Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door when she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed, she ran back without even opening it, and explained Peter is at the door.
It wasn't uncommon in a situation during this day and age with a large house, to have be kind of encircled by a wall for security and have an outer gate it. So it probably didn't mean that Peter was like, right there at the door, knocking on it. He was away from the house and and she didn't see him. She just heard the voice, I mean, he's out there and knocking, and people are in and they're praying and and she hears him over all the other voices, and doesn't go to answer the door to tell them and look at, look at how they replied, you're out of your mind. You're You're crazy, they told her, but when she kept insisting that it was so they're like, well, it must be an angel. There's no way it could be Peter. I mean, he's within the clutches of King Herod, the powerful king Herod, four squads of four soldiers guarding him. There's no way, you're just crazy. Peter couldn't be there
verse 16, but Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet. I'm sure they were loud and boisterous, and so he held up his hand to be quiet. I'll tell you. And he described, Luke. Tells us. He described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. And then his instructions were, tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this, he said. And then he left for another place. This James is the one who wrote the book of James in our old our New Testament, and the half brother of Jesus, and was a key leader at the church in Jerusalem, and so he is telling him, hey, go tell the leaders of the church what happened to me, because this is going to be very encouraging to them. They were probably very discouraged to see that people were being arrested and persecuted, and that James had had been, had been killed, and that I was arrested and that I was about to be killed, and it's going to lift up their spirits and remind them that Jesus, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, is still sitting on his throne, regardless of the evil that they are seeing happening around them. So go tell them, and be an encouragement to them. The Lord is still at work. Jesus is still building his church in the gates of Hades. Will not overcome it. Go tell them what he's still doing. He cannot be stopped. Verse 18
in the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter After Herod had a thorough search made for him, and did not find him. He cross examined the guards in the order. He ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. And so we're reminded again of the power, the authority that King Herod had, someone will pay for this. They didn't do their job. He escaped, and so they've got to die again. At this point, even though Peter's been rescued, we're reminded that he still has the power, he still has the authority. He can still kill people and execute them with the snap of his finger, and even if Peter escaped, King Herod, who is evil, is out there roaming around and succeeding and winning, and it's just a matter of time that he's going to get back to the church again, and all the good people are going to have to suffer once again,
until we see why Luke brought this up, and what he has to share with us next tells us that King Herod had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon they now joined together and sought an audience with him after six.
During the support of blastus, a trusted personnel servant, or personal servant of the king. They asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply, and so so they're seeking he's the one in control. He's got the food supply. He can cut it off again. This is an evil guy, and he's the authority we got to submit to Him, good people just trying to make a living, and then he's succeeding and controlling things and pushing and persuading. And we see it even here, maybe outside of the local church. But this is where it gets crazy. Verse 21 on the appointed day, Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, this is the voice of a God, not of a man
immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. It's
gross. It's
a pretty crazy story here. It's not only written about here the historian Josephus, who recorded many things around this day and age. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote about this event. You can go read about it in even more detail. It historically, of course, did happen, but this is one of those things that reminds us that God is a just God, evil does not and will not win. We were reminded over and over and over again throughout this passage, who was in control. It looked like he was winning, roaming free, succeeding. Bad things were happening to the good people, and good things were happening to the bad people. And the Holy Spirit inspires Luke to write this and preserve his word for even us today, and those who would read it to remind us that even when it looks like evil is winning out in our world and things are happening that we don't understand. God is at work. He is a just God, and he will continue to build his church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
That's why he includes what he does does in the last verse and says, But now a contrast, the word of God continued to spread and to flourish. It didn't look like that was going to be the case at the very beginning. I mean, the church was being persecuted. They were being arrested. One of the inner circle of three had had died. Peter was arrested and about to die. This whole thing was done. It was great while it lasted, but now it's over.
But the word of God continued to spread and flourish after the events that we see. I like the way that John Stott summed it up in his commentary on acts. He says at the beginning of the chapter, Herod is on the rampage, arresting and persecuting church leaders. At the end, he himself is struck down and dies. The chapter opens with James, dead Peter in prison and Herod triumphing. It closes with Herod dead Peter free and the word of God triumphing. Such is the power of God to overthrow hostile human plans and to establish his own in their place. Tyrants may be permitted for a time to boast and bluster, oppressing the church and hindering the spread of the gospel, but they will not last in the end, their empire will be broken and their pride abased. Jesus will build his Church the gates of Hades will not over comet.
So what do we learn today? What do we learn about life in the Spirit? That's what this series is about. We're studying the early church, how the coming of the Holy Spirit transformed and changed their lives, the outward expression, what it meant for them, and then the same Holy Spirit living in us as the church today, and how he works in and through our lives. So there's practical relevance for us. I've got one thing we're just going to talk about. One thing for us. It's this life in the Spirit means that God is sovereignly in control of our lives, his church and the things of this world.
God is at work. He is He is at work even through the choices that people make, the things that the enemy is trying to do, to steal and to kill and destroy. And he is at work in and through all of those things, moving things along in some way, shaping them for our good and for His glory.
And as the King of kings, the Lord of lords, there is absolutely, absolutely no one or no thing that can stop him from a.
Accomplishing his plans. And so when you and I look around, when you and I see the world today, when it looks bleak, when it seems like the world is winning, the the enemy is winning, evil is winning, when it seems like our worlds are falling apart, we remember Acts chapter 12, where Jesus, one of the or Jesus' inner circle of three, one of them had had died. The church was being arrested and persecuted, and Peter was in prison and about to die, putting the church in an almost powerless spot compared to the worldly power around them,
but God,
but God rescued Peter from the clutches of Herod, and the Word of God continued to spread and to flourish.
And so when we look around and see all of those things going on the world, the things that was going on in their world, and we're reminded what ended up happening in and through these events. What the Lord shows us today, it reminds us that we can truly rest even in the middle of these kind of things going on in our world and in our lives today, that we can trust in His sovereignty no matter what it is that is going on in our lives or around the world and guys, sometimes it's not going to make sense to us at all. I mean, we still have to wrestle with the fact face the fact that what we saw today was that Jesus allowed one of his absolutely closest earthly friends, James, to die,
and yet he allowed another one
to live.
I can't explain that to you.
I don't know why,
but I know that God is sovereign, and
I know that when we look at those kind of things, we remind ourselves about who God really is, who this God is that is sitting on his throne and that is sovereign. And number one, that means that He is omniscient, that He is Knowing, that he has all of the information about how things work and under various situations and circumstances and what would happen in every situation depending on what choice you made or she made or didn't make, in any number of possibilities, the endless number that could happen. He has all of that information as an omnipotent being. And you and I don't
we know that he is Omni sapient, which means he is all wise. He's the only one that can take all of the information that he has access to, which you and I don't have access to, and formulate a wise plan with that information. Scripture also communicates that he's good, that one of his attributes is goodness, and so therefore we trust that he's taken all of the knowledge that he possesses, he's used all of the wisdom that he has with that knowledge to make the best possible plans that he can make, even if you and I don't get to see it from his perspective and understand why one person he allowed to die
and another one he went dramatically through situations and circumstances to rescue and keep alive,
I don't know,
but if he's good
and he's all knowing
and he's all wise, then we have to trust that that was the best plan for continuing to move the Church forward,
and us still be talking about it today,
and at the end of the day, let's be honest, it wasn't bad for James.
You and I go, golly. Why does one have to die and the other one get to live? Do you think James was unhappy?
I think Peter was the one who was going, man, I was about to go get see Jesus the next day. Guess we'll keep going. I mean, I don't think he's disappointed. Of course, he wanted to be in at work through the Holy Spirit and what he was doing, but, but this is through our perspective in these kinds of things. And so listen, whatever, whatever it is that you are going through today, whatever's been happening in your own world, or or the people that you love and and the situations where you're seeing seeing bad things happen to good people and and good things happen to to bad people, and you don't really understand it, guys, through what we've seen today shows us that we can trust in the all mighty, sovereign God of the universe who rules and reigns over all things again, who will continue to build his church and not allow the gates of Hades to overcome it. We trust that somehow he is up to working good for you and me
and working for His glory. So this is the good news for those of us who are.
In Christ.
But for those of you who
are not in Christ,
you've never put your faith and trust in Jesus to have the Holy Spirit come dwell in you and be united to the one who is the Prince of Peace in the King of kings and the Lord of Lords and the resurrection and the life,
you're not able to experience the things that we're talking about today,
but you can,
because John 316 tells us that God so loved the world, so loved you, that He sent His one and only Son, sent his only ascended this world to die on the cross for your sins and my sins and for the sins of the entire world. And if you would believe in Him, you'd put your faith and trust in Him to be your Lord and Savior, He will forgive you. He'll come to dwell in you, and then you too will begin to experience that life and that peace him working for your good and his glory, even in the middle of the darkest situations that you walk through in this life. And so if that's you want to give the opportunity to take that step of faith this morning as we pray.