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This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.
I hope you're having a great weekend so far. If this is your first time ever at Watermark, thanks for trusting us with your Sunday. I know this is a big place, but my hope is that it feels very small to you very quickly. You need to know we are so committed to the Word of God here. We believe God has gone to great lengths to speak to us. The worst thing I could do is get up here and just give a talk full of my opinions. If God has spoken, we want to hear from him. Right?
So, we open up this book every single Sunday, and we seek to discern what God has already said through it. One of the best ways for us to prepare our hearts to hear from God is to pray. So, I want to give you an opportunity to pray for yourself. Even right now, I want to invite you to pause and pray for yourself and say, "God, would you speak to me this morning?" So, would you pray for yourself really quickly? Then, I want to invite you to pray for the people around you as well. Ask God to speak to them as well. Then, would you pray for me and ask God to speak through me to you?
Lord, how amazing it would be for thousands of people to leave this campus having heard from you. I think about how different the rest of the day would be, how different our week would be if we left here with a sense that we have heard from you. So, I'm asking you to do it right now. Holy Spirit, would you lead and guide us into all truth? We want to see you clearly. We want to hear from you, God, and we're thankful we have your Word. Use this time for your glory, I pray. In Jesus' name, amen.
A few weeks ago, I was flying to San Antonio. Instead of driving, I figured I would take the short flight to go. I decided to buy the cheapest ticket possible, which meant I was going to be sitting in a middle seat, and I would be boarding in the last group. I didn't know what would come with that, but I found out pretty quickly.
I had a roller bag, and as I was getting into line when my group was about to be called, I saw a person who worked for the airline talking to a guy ahead of me, saying, "Sir, you're the first person who's going to have to have their bag checked." I was like, "I knew this was probably coming. No problem." So, I get into line, and this woman sees me and sees _my_ bag. She looks at the other guy that she had just said, "You're the first guy," and she says to him, "No, _this_ guy is the first guy whose bag needs to be checked."
I was like, "Wait a second. How does _that_ work? If you're checking bags because the bins are full, then it makes sense if you told this guy, 'Dude, we've got to check your bag because it's full.' But you just looked at him and said you _do_ need to check his bag. Now you've decided you _don't_ need to check his bag, and _I'm_ the first guy whose bag needs to be checked." I had already decided in my heart "I'm not fighting this." Like, "Whatever happens, I'm here for it." So, I told the woman, "No problem at all."
She goes to get me a bag tag, and as I'm walking up to the gate, I very kindly say to her, "Do you think it's worth trying just to see if there's any space on there?" She said, "Nope. It's full." I was like, "No problem." That's what I told her. "No problem at all." I get on the plane, and there's bin after bin after bin after bin of half emptiness. I was like, "It's okay." Then I sat there in my middle seat so thankful to be on this short flight to San Antonio for which I have now had to check a bag.
So, then I get to the San Antonio airport, I go down to the baggage claim area, and the lady on the speaker is like, "San Antonio, baggage claim 3." So, I go and stand at baggage claim 3 for a while. Then she gets on the intercom and says, "San Antonio, baggage claim 2." Okay. I go and stand at baggage claim 2 for a while. She comes on the speaker and says, "San Antonio, baggage claim 3." Okay. Back to baggage claim 3.
I've been standing there now for 20 to 30 minutes, waiting for my bag. As I'm waiting there, I see bags getting pulled off the belt, and my bag is not coming out. This is when I'm like, "You have got to be kidding me!" So much went through my mind as I'm standing at baggage claim 3 in San Antonio, Texas. Let me just tell you what all went through your lead pastor's mind.
First, I'm like, "This airline has changed. They're not the airline they once were. Things are different. I don't know if I want to fly with this airline anymore." Then I started thinking, "If I don't get my bag, what am I going to do? If my bag doesn't come… I could have driven potentially faster than everything _this_ is taking me to do." Then I was like, "Am I just going to pay extra to fly home so I don't even have to deal with this? And just wait till I tell Kat about everything that happened today."
Here's why I tell you that. I hate not being in control. I am totally a control freak. Anyone here a control freak? The people not raising their hands, that's because you're a control freak. You want to control your appearance right now. I hate not being in control. I love being in control. I hate being in situations where I have no control.
The reason I'm telling you this is because as we step into the book of Acts, we're looking at a story about control. It's funny. When you're standing at baggage claim 3 in San Antonio, Texas, you learn a lot about yourself. You learn a lot about yourself when you're in situations you can't control. Acts, chapter 12, is a story that is going to invite us to determine what we do when we are in circumstances we can't control.
You know, I started by talking about not getting your bags in a timely manner, but what about _real_ problems, when you feel you have no control and find yourself in situations that feel hopeless and helpless, whether it is serious financial trouble or your marriage feels irreparable or you have a prodigal child or you or a loved one is sick and the diagnosis is grim? How do you handle _those_ situations where you have no control and things feel hopeless and helpless?
In Acts, chapter 12, we're going to look at a story where Peter had no control, yet what this story is going to do is help us figure out how to navigate our way to peace, even in the midst of the greatest uncertainties. So, I just want you to think about what I'm saying right now. Identify for yourself what in your life feels out of control right now. In what ways do you feel helpless or hopeless? Is this message for you today?
If you're sitting there saying, "I don't think it is," well, just wait till the end, because if you feel like you have everything in control, there's a message for you as well. If you have a Bible, turn with me to Acts, chapter 12. Acts, chapter 12, is a message for the control freaks at Watermark Community Church today, and then re:gen, on a different note, is tomorrow night. Here we go. Acts, chapter 12, starting in verse 1. This sets the scene for us.
**"About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people."**
Let me make sure everyone is on the same page. The Herod in this story is Herod Agrippa. This is the grandson of Herod the Great. It's the nephew of Herod Antipas who had tried or had questioned Jesus. This Herod was someone who sought to keep peace with the Jews. One of the ways he did that was by persecuting Christians.
Now, what I want you to observe from the text we just read is Luke, the author of Acts, is trying to paint a picture where King Herod is in complete control. What do you see Herod doing? You see he killed James, he arrested Peter, he laid violent hands on Christians, he put Peter in prison, he put 16 guards in charge of Peter, and he makes plans to bring him out after Passover.
This is a situation where the king is in complete control. Because he's in complete control, Peter finds himself in a place where his circumstances are so far out of his control. If you remember, Jesus had twelve disciples, but three of them he pulled extra close. Those three were Peter, James, and John. James had just been put to death by Herod. So, one of the three is now down. He now arrests Peter.
When it says Herod was intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover, the implication is he was planning to bring Peter out to execute him just as he had done with James. Not only that. Herod has Peter so locked down. Four squads is 16 soldiers who would change guard every three to six hours to make sure everyone was alert. We find out later in the story that Peter is literally chained to a guard. Each arm is chained to a guard, and then there are two people at the door.
So, the picture here is very hopeless and helpless for Peter. This is it. This is the end of the line for Peter. There's no way out. He is about to die for Jesus Christ. That's the picture. It's an impossible situation. This might not be encouraging to you, but this is pretty par for the course for God's people. If you were to go and read the Bible, you would find this is par for the course. Joseph, back in Genesis, gets thrown into a pit and sold into slavery, never to be heard from again.
The nation of Israel is enslaved to Egypt, and even when they're rescued, they find themselves at a dead end at the Red Sea with the Egyptian army in hot pursuit. Daniel was thrown into a lions' den. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace. Zechariah and Elizabeth found themselves old and barren. This is par for the course. It is the norm for God's people to find themselves in situations so far out of their control that things seem helpless and hopeless. If that's true, I just want to ask you a question. I'm going to ask you several questions today.
1\. _What in your life feels hopeless or helpless?_ Just think about that. Identify it for you. What feels out of your control? What in your life can you not see a positive outcome for? What feels hopeless or helpless? Just identify it for you. It could be something with your job, finances, children, marriage, or singleness. What is out of your control?
What you need to understand, if something comes to mind, is moments like these in our lives have a way of revealing what we really believe to be true about God. One of the top reasons people deconstruct their faith is because they can't reconcile how a good and all-powerful God would let them suffer helpless and hopeless circumstances.
What ends up happening for many Christians is they confuse karma with Christianity. They believe more in karma than Christianity. So many Christians take the mindset that "If I do good, I will receive good from God. If I do bad, I will receive bad." But there are times where God's people experience bad things. Bad things happen to God's people.
So, you have to be careful, as a Christian, that you don't operate like God is some cosmic-sized vending machine, that if you get the right combination of good behavior and religious rituals, God will in some way be obligated to drop down what you want. If you go too far down that road…I'm just letting you know…at some point, the vending machine of heaven is going to get jammed, and when it does, it will be very disruptive to your faith.
It is the norm for God's people to find themselves in situations so far out of their control that things seem helpless and hopeless. I mean, I think about just a few weeks ago. Just picture this. Kat and I got word from some missionary friends who live in a part of the world where Christianity is persecuted. We received word from them asking for prayer because two of their Christian friends had been sentenced to die by hanging for their Christian faith. So, they were asking us to pray.
Just think about that. I mean, what do you do with that? You have people who are living for Jesus in a part of the world where it is illegal to be a Christian. Like, if anyone is doing it right, it's them. If karma is real…do good, get good…you would think God would be like, "I'm going to put a special protection around them. Nothing is going to happen to them." Yet, they find themselves in a situation, and their families are having to deal with a reality that they have been sentenced to die by hanging.
How sobering is that, that the same faith we have gets other people sentenced to death? But this is the norm, for Christians to find themselves in situations that are helpless and hopeless. Here's the reality: this story in Acts 12 starts with James, one of Jesus' closest guys, being beheaded. That just tells us there isn't always a happy ending for Christians this side of heaven.
If y'all are familiar with that _Saturday Night Live_ sketch Debbie Downer… You know, _Womp! Womp!_ Some of you have no clue what I'm talking about. Others of you know exactly what I'm talking about. This could totally feel like that, where it's like, "The norm for Christians is hopelessness and helplessness." _Womp! Womp!_ Go watch the sketch. You'll know what I'm talking about.
The reason I'm talking about this is because, as your pastor, one of my responsibilities is simply helping you run the race of the Christian life without giving up, deconstructing, and leaving the faith altogether. So just think. Ten years from now, do you think you'll still be walking with Jesus?
If you're still going to be walking with Jesus 10 years from now, then what has to happen is you need to be prepared for the helpless and hopeless moments in life, the times when circumstances are so far out of your control. Otherwise, these moments when you don't have control will shipwreck your faith. I was so encouraged by some Watermark members who received a tough diagnosis. What they said is they're so glad they aren't just now figuring out their faith, because they know the one they have believed.
2\. _Who is praying earnestly for you?_ Watch how the story continues. It starts with this picture of Herod being in complete control, but verse 5 says, **"So Peter was kept in prison…"** He's out of control. **"…but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church."** Whenever you see that word _but_ in the Bible, it is marking a contrast.
Here's the contrast. Luke is painting a picture of Herod in complete control, but the church is gathered together praying. Do you know what that does? It signals that Herod isn't the only authority in the story. The church is praying to God. It invites us to wonder if we will see God's power and control displayed. That's what it does.
The text says the church was praying _earnestly_. It's the Greek word _ektenos_, which means fervently or intensely. A different form of this word was used in reference to Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane. So just think. What's happening here is the church has gathered together solely for the purpose of praying for Peter, who is in prison, and they are praying like Jesus for God's intervention. They're praying fervently and intensely.
I tell you that to say sometimes circumstances can be so helpless and hopeless that literally the only thing you can do is pray. So, let me answer the question of why we should pray. Why should we pray in hopeless and helpless situations? The reason we should pray is because God, throughout history, has shown himself capable of doing the impossible.
Joseph _was_ sold into slavery, never to be heard from again, yet what did God do? He reached into his life, rescued him, and made him number two in all of Egypt, and he ended up saving his family. What did God do when Israel was stranded at the banks of the Red Sea? God split it in half. What did he do with Daniel in the lions' den? He sustained him. What did he do with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? He preserved them in the midst of the fire. What did he do with Zechariah and Elizabeth? He gave them John the Baptist as a kid. So we should pray.
Do you know one of the greatest differences between a Christian in a hopeless situation and a non-Christian in a hopeless situation? One of the greatest differences between a Christian and a non-Christian who are both in helpless situations is the Christian knows they are never alone. That's one of the greatest benefits of knowing Jesus Christ: You know you are never alone. God is in the fiery furnace with you. He's in the lions' den with you. You can talk to him and beg him. One of the greatest ways God shows his presence in our lives is through his people.
I know I'm just stating the obvious, but one of the greatest ways we can express care for one another is by praying for one another when life feels out of control. I know, for Kat and myself, when we first moved to Dallas… I've shared about that season of our lives before. There were so many different things that felt out of control. There was stuff with housing, stuff with our kids, stuff at work, and stuff with health. Multiple things felt so out of control.
Before we had even found a Community Group to join, some members from this church invited us to be a part of a prayer group. Like, it's a group of people who just get together to pray. That's the agenda. "What are we doing tonight at our prayer group? We're just praying. We're not talking about praying. We're not sharing _how_ you can pray. We're praying." That's a good prayer group…a prayer group that actually prays.
We would get together with these people, and they would physically come around us, put their hands on us, and beg God for us. I mean, fervently, intensely, earnestly beg God on our behalf. It anchored us. That's one of the beautiful benefits of belonging to the people of God. We can seek God for each other.
Just this past week, I gathered with a group of probably 20 to 30 people in a home for some people who had received a tough diagnosis. It was just people from this church gathering to beg God for his miraculous movement. It was such a beautiful picture. As I was preparing for this passage, I was like, "This is it. This is the Bible come to life. This is Acts, where the people of God gather and are like, 'Prayer is a worthy enough reason to get together.'"
If you get invited to a prayer group, and you're like, "I don't want to go. All they're going to be doing is praying," you should totally talk to God about that, because something is off in your soul. It's a problem. I think about the Night of Prayer and Worship we had a few weeks ago. I would say, in the four and a half years I've been at Watermark, it's top three for me in terms of moments I've gotten to experience in this church. It was so powerful.
If you've never been to a Night of Prayer and Worship, I want to strongly encourage you: you should totally come. I promise you you're missing out. You're missing out on the people of God gathering to pray. This floor was filled most of the night with people from this church just coming and asking for prayer. So, the elders and staff were able to gather around and pray for people who were facing something terminal. It was such a joy. It was such a privilege. It was so powerful to gather as the people of God to pray.
We have to remember that when Jesus died, the veil was torn. What was the significance of the veil being torn? The significance was we now have access…we ourselves. We don't have to rely on a high priest to enter the Holy of Holies. We get to enter the presence of God. We get to boldly approach the throne of grace, and we can beg God on behalf of one another. Prayer is our weapon in a spiritual battle.
3\. _Where is your peace found?_ Just think about that. When you feel out of control, when things feel helpless or hopeless, where is your peace found? Is it peace or is it some form of pacifying or numbing or distracting yourself? Where is your peace truly found? Watch how the story continues. Verse 6: **"Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night…"** The implication here is Peter is about to be brought out for execution.
**"Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping…"** Isn't that amazing? Just think about that. **"…between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, 'Get up quickly.'"**
This is one of those times… Anytime you're reading the Bible, you should work hard to put yourself in the story. The older I get, the more of a high-maintenance sleeper I've become. If I'm not in my own bed on my pillow, I just don't sleep as well. That's just reality. Some of y'all can sleep anywhere at any time. Not me. I want to be in my own bed. That's when I sleep best.
Peter is chained to two different guards, so when the guard moves, his arm moves. This dude is about to be executed, and what is he doing? He is sleeping. This is so great. You have to look at the details. He's sleeping so soundly that when an angelic light shines in the cell, does it wake him up? Nope. It doesn't.
I've shared this before, but when I was little, if I was scared at night, I would get up and creep into my parents' room, and I would just go stand by my dad. I wouldn't say a word. I wouldn't touch him. I'd just stand. For some of y'all, that's like a horror movie. In some ways, yeah. But just me standing there, my dad would wake up. Not Peter. An angel stands…out. Light shines…out. What does the angel have to do? He has to get struck by an angel. The angel has to strike him to wake him. That's incredible. That shows how soundly he's sleeping.
Now, I've made this connection before, but I want to make it again for anyone who doesn't remember it. Y'all remember everything I say. Right? But I want to remind you, and for anyone who hasn't heard it, I want to make the connection again. Okay? Years ago, I went to see a counselor when I was dealing with some anxiety.
During that time in that counseling session, the counselor had me look at two passages. Acts 12 was one of them. The other one was Mark, chapter 4. He had me look at Mark 4 before he had me look at Acts 12. I want to remind you of what Mark 4 says. Just listen to this story in Mark 4. Here's what it says.
**"On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, 'Let us go across to the other side.' And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.**
**And they woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?' And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, 'Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?' And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'"**
Let me just make a connection for you. In Mark 4, what do we find Jesus doing? He's sleeping. When is he sleeping? He is sleeping in the midst of a life-threatening storm. And what do the disciples say to Jesus when they wake him up? What's their question to him? "Do you not care that we are dying, that we are perishing?" Now, we don't know who said that. It sounds like something Peter would say, if you know Peter, but we don't know if it _was_ Peter. What we _do_ know is that question represented Peter's sentiment. It represented the sentiment of all of the disciples on the boat.
So, let me make a connection. When Peter first finds himself in the midst of a life-threatening storm, what's his response? Panic. Questioning God. "Do you not care that I'm perishing?" Years later, in Acts 12, Peter finds himself in another set of circumstances out of his control. It's a different type of life-threatening storm. He's on the verge of dying. _This_ time, what does he do? Instead of questioning Jesus, Peter becomes like Jesus, and Peter goes to sleep. He sleeps just as Jesus slept.
I wonder if when Jesus restored Peter in John, chapter 21, and Jesus once again said to him, "You follow me," Peter was like, "Okay. I guess what following you means is that in life-threatening storms, I go to sleep." This teaches us something about spiritual maturity. A mark of spiritual maturity is becoming more Christlike in the midst of the most helpless and hopeless situations. What does Christlikeness look like? It looks like peace in the midst of the storm.
So, I want you to think right now. Think about your Christian walk like a spiritual photo album. Just start flipping through the spiritual photos of your Christian life, however long your journey has been, whether it's years, months, or decades. Just start flipping, and focus on the spiritual photos of the times you've been in situations that are out of your control, when you felt helpless or hopeless. Focus on those pictures. What were your responses in the midst of those storms?
As you kind of turn through the pages of your spiritual photo album, here's what I want you to look for: Has there been growth in Christlikeness in the way you respond? If the answer is "No," if your response is still panic, years of panic, the answer isn't "Well, just have peace." No. Let me tell you where the answer is found. What you have to realize is for so many people, their peace is held hostage until God changes their circumstances, but spiritual maturity is learning that peace isn't contingent on what God does but on who he is.
Think about that. Why was Jesus able to sleep in the midst of the storm? Jesus was able to sleep because he wasn't threatened by the storm. He was already in control of the storm. He's God. He could just say the word and the storm would calm. Why was Peter able to sleep between two soldiers after James had just been beheaded? It's because Peter knew that death wasn't the end for James. Death was actually a monumental trade up for James. How? Because God controls eternity. In the end, God always wins, and his people always flourish for eternity.
So, spiritual maturity is beginning to believe Jesus more and more. It's beginning to believe what Jesus says, specifically in John 16:33. Listen to what he says. **"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace."** Not in your circumstances. Not in resolution to the uncertainty. "In me you may have peace." **"In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."** That's where peace is found. It's found in the fact that Jesus has overcome the world. The fact that he conquered sin and death is a demonstration he has overcome the world.
He's saying, "Look. In this world you will have trouble. You shouldn't be surprised." You shouldn't be surprised when your bag has to be checked. You shouldn't be surprised by that grim diagnosis. You shouldn't be surprised by those challenges at work. You shouldn't be surprised by it. In this world you _will_ have trouble.
Jesus is like, "Don't you get it? I'm not saying in this world everything is going to work out. No, it's actually the opposite. You're going to have trouble in this world. Take heart; I've overcome this world." A day is coming where he's going to take you home, and all of the pain in this world will be as nothing in comparison to the eternal weight of glory in his presence.
4\. _Do you believe God still does the impossible?_ Verse 7: **"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, 'Get up quickly.'"** I want you to see all the miraculous, supernatural activity. If it wasn't enough that an angel is there… He just shows up. Watch what happens. "The chains fell off." They just fall off his hands miraculously.
**"And the angel said to him, 'Dress yourself and put on your sandals.' And he did so. And he said to him, 'Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.' And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard…"**
Just think about that. These guards change shift every three to six hours to make sure they're awake, so these aren't just some guards who dozed off. This is miraculous. Peter is just walking right by them. They have no clue.
**"When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord…"** Has that ever happened to you, where the door just opens? **"…and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, 'Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.'"**
Who gets the credit? It's not the angel. It's definitely not Peter. Who gets the credit? Peter says, **"Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel…"** But it's the Lord who rescued him. The death of James at the beginning of the story shows that sometimes God's plans are for his people to suffer and then come home to heaven, yet sometimes God's plans are more in line with what happens to Peter. God's plans are to do the impossible, to miraculously change circumstances, to reverse the diagnosis, to provide in ridiculous and overwhelming ways, to heal and to restore. God still does the impossible.
I just want to ask a question, and I want you to respond by show of hands. Who here has seen God do the impossible in your life? I just want you to look around. Don't just put your hand up because you don't want to be someone with your hand down. Just look around at all of the hands up. God is still doing the impossible. If you haven't seen God do the impossible, it's not too late.
What's our next step? Well, look at verse 12. It says, **"When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gateway…"** Just put yourself in this story.
**"…a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 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!'"** Isn't that interesting? They're praying for God to do a miracle, and then when he does, they're like, "It can't be." That's us. The Bible gets us. The Bible doesn't sugarcoat anything. Even the best of them… They're like, "You're out of your mind, Rhoda."
**"But Peter continued knocking…"** Just put yourself at that door. Like, "Are you kidding me? Open the door!" **"…and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, 'Tell these things to James and to the brothers.' Then he departed and went to another place."**
Do you know what this shows us? If you haven't seen God do the impossible in your life, here's what you need to know. First, if you're a Christian, you _have_ seen him do the impossible, because you were dead and now you're alive. But prayer is the easiest path to amazement. Prayer upgrades you to front row seats. Prayer is what gets you courtside to God's activity.
I told you about those two men who had been sentenced to death by hanging. So, we started praying. They invited people in to pray, and then we got a text saying, "Thank you for all your prayers! The church was able to pull together money. The church actually gave their homes to those who had imprisoned these two men, and what it did was it bought their way off of death row and bailed them out of jail. Now, they're still under investigation, so you can keep praying." But the text ended with "This is miraculous progress."
We, as people just praying in Dallas, Texas, were like, "We get to be a part of that. We get front row seats seeing God work." We dealt with the news of them being sentenced, and then we got to live in the news of God's intervention. We can be a part of that as a church. So, if you're tuned out, I just want you to hear this.
Today, at 5:30 p.m. in this room, we're going to gather together as a church and pray. We're just going to pray. That's the only reason we're getting together: to pray. If you have kids, you should bring your kids. If you have something that feels helpless or hopeless, you should come and allow your church family to pray for you. Today, in this room, at 5:30, everyone is invited. I'm going to invite all three services to come, and let's pray as the people of God. Let's sit courtside to God's power.
5\. _Have you realized yet that you aren't in control?_ Look at how this story ends. Verse 20: **"Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food."** Do you see how Herod is still positioned as someone in control? Tyre and Sidon are dependent upon him for their food.
**"On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, 'The voice of a god, and not of a man!' Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last."**
Isn't that interesting? This feels like a separate incident. It isn't. Luke is continuing to highlight that Herod is in complete control…until he isn't. People praise him as god, and then the one who seemed to have all the control realized he had no control, because in the end, the only one who is sovereign and in control took him out.
The chapter ends in verses 24-25: **"But the word of God increased and multiplied."** What is that showing? God is the one. He's sovereign. He's the one in control. You don't have to be in control. He already is. **"And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark."**
So, here's how I want to finish today. I've been spending the whole time talking about Peter, inviting those in the room living in an uncontrollable, helpless, hopeless situation to identify, but I want to speak to the people in the room who are a little bit more like Herod. Everything in your life feels under control. You're crushing life right now. You're the authority in a bunch of different settings. People do what you tell them to do. You have enough money to meet not just your needs but also your wants.
Do you know what you're in danger of? You're in danger of not needing God because you think you _are_ god. You would never say that, but you operate like it's true. What Herod didn't realize was that all of humanity, including him, is spiritually just like Peter. All of us, because of sin, are helpless and hopeless. We are imprisoned to sin, and we are destined for death, eternal separation from God. Yet Jesus Christ has come to liberate us and set us free.
His death on the cross for our sin and his victory over sin and death through his resurrection are for our freedom and our peace. The only way to know that freedom is to realize you aren't in control; Jesus Christ is. So, my question to you is…_Have you submitted your life to the lordship and control of Jesus Christ?_ He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If you haven't, I invite you to do so now. Let's pray together.
If that's you, I want to invite you right now to surrender your life to Jesus Christ. If you want to be forgiven by God today, if you want Jesus Christ to become your Lord and Savior, then I invite you right now to pray and say, "Lord Jesus, would you come into my life today? Thank you that you died on the cross for me. Thank you that you rose from the dead for me. Would you come into my life? Would you forgive me of my sins? Would you lead me in a new life?"
If you already know Jesus, maybe you just come to him. You bring before him your helpless and hopeless situations, and you confess that your peace isn't found in your circumstances changing; your peace is found in who God is. Maybe you just tell him right now, "Jesus, I trust that I don't have to be in control because you already are."
Lord, you know everyone's story in this room. You know what they need. I pray that you'd meet us here. God, for those who feel helpless and hopeless, I pray for your rule and reign to be realized in their lives. We love you, God, amen.