November 13, 2016
Scripture:
Read Luke 7:36 - 50. “Giving Glory to His name.” The woman who came to Jesus was not put on record for what she said, but for what she did. She was giving glory to the person who deserved it most. She did not have a heart that was full of self, but a heart that was full of worship and love. Here is an example of true love and not being afraid to show it. Her tears show a heart that had been broken; her kisses show a heart that had been won. “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” It was not what she did, but her faith that saved her. As we come this morning, may we remember that it is not what we have done for Him, but what He has done for us.
Hymn 346 - Jesus who lives above the sky
Prayer
Let’s look at a prison story today. Prisons are usually built for bad people, but in the Bible we read of some good people who went to jail: Joseph, Paul, Silas, Daniel, and more. So we’re going to look at a prison story, but what we’ll learn about is prayer.
Acts 2:42
This the start of the Church Period; when Christianity was just getting started. It was a wonderful time. The believers continued in four things:
The Church continued in these things. It’s easy to start something; but it’s hard to continue in it. Some here are just starting to learn, you’re in JK, or SK. It’s harder to continue learning all the way to 12th grade. Let’s take a look at Acts 9, though. We may think that it would have been wonderful and so easy to live at this time, with so many coming to the Lord and enjoying Him; however, Saul was persecuting the church. Once he was converted, though, verse 31 says the churches had rest, and they were still growing! They were still continuing. Now, this was only a year or so later, but still, they were growing and we should try to do likewise. They walked in the fear of the Lord, which is something He enjoys and we should also try to do.
Acts 12
This story shows the power of prayer. Peter was in prison, chained up, with sixteen soldiers to make sure that he stayed there. However, the next word is “BUT”, and that changes things. Peter thought that he was going to be beheaded the next day, just like James—but prayer. Prayer shows the power of God. Prisons show the power of men: they can lock people up, and make them do what they want; but prayer shows the power of God.
An angel came down because of these prayers; and angels may still come down because of our prayers, because the Lord answers our prayers in many different ways. Notice that twice in this chapter an angel smites someone. First, he smote Peter to wake him up. Peter’s chains fell off, but there were still the guards and doors to get by. The angel told Peter to get dressed and follow him. They were able to walk past the guards, and the doors opened by themselves. Peter didn’t think that it all was real, he thought that he was dreaming.
Let’s back up. Herod was going to kill Peter because it made the Jews happy that he had killed James. The Jews wanted to kill everyone who followed the Lord, so Herod thought that killing Peter would be a good way to become more popular. Peter was sleeping in the prison, though. He wasn’t worried about being beheaded the next day; he was at rest. Isaiah 26:3-5. Peter’s heart and mind were trusting in the Lord. He had peace with what the Lord was going to do with his life. He hadn’t been doing wrong things, and so could rest knowing that the Lord had a purpose for what was going on. We need that peace; we need to trust that God has a purpose and plan for our lives. If we trust Him, we can have peace with what He is doing. We need to be looking for His plan, and yielding to what He wants. That’s the secret.
Peter found himself in the streets and realized he wasn’t dreaming. So he went to Mary’s (John Mark’s mother’s) house. Many of the brethren had gathered there and were praying without ceasing. “Many were praying”—these brethren had unity in prayer. If we have prayed for something specific, and the Lord has answered that prayer, we can thank Him for it.
Peter knocked on the door, and Rhoda came to answer. She heard that it was Peter, though, and went and told the others. They thought that she was mad, or that maybe it was Peter’s angel. God’s answer went beyond their faith. Sometimes we doubt when we pray. We are supposed to have faith, but these believers were surprised at the answer they received.
Peter hushed everyone down—if people heard a commotion, it would be no good— and told what God had done. He then left. Herod had tried to kill him, and even today there are those that die for the faith. However, the Lord saved Peter this time. Herod killed the guards, though, because Peter escaped.
Later in this chapter, Herod got all dressed up and was making a speech to the people of Tyre and Sidon. The people listening said, “He’s a god, not a man!” An angel smote Herod, because he didn’t give the glory to God. This is the second time an angel smote someone in this chapter. He smote Peter to raise him up, but smote Herod to bring him down. Herod was eaten by worms—first, which is unusual—and then died. It was a slow death, and didn’t happen suddenly. The Lord gave him time to think, change his thoughts and attitude, and repent. Maybe he wasn’t so special after all!
Verse 24 says that the Word of God increased and increased. There were more and more people believing. They were continuing in the faith, too, just like in Acts 2:42. We saw that after Paul was saved, the churches had rest, and were still edified and multiplying. Then Herod was ruling and tried to kill Peter, but the Lord saved him and even still the church continued to multiply.
Psalm 34:4, 7-9, 21. When the wicked want to do their own will, the Lord often will interfere and turn things around. It’s good to see how the Lord answered the believers and helped Peter.
We’ve seen how it’s not always easy to have faith. Prayer brings the Lord into situations, and that changes everything. Prayer is how we increase our relationship with God. He has given us His word, but prayer is so vital. We can start by praying for little things, and seeing how the Lord answers those, but soon we’ll move on to bigger things. That deepens our relationship with Him, and that relationship is so precious.
Hymn 282 - What a friend we have in Jesus
Prayer