↓Skip to main content

Bible Reading - Acts 12:1–25

·2 mins
Sermon Notes

Bible Reading #

Acts 12:1–25 #

Notes: #

The people of God are always called to put their trust in God #

Acts 1–12 Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria–Peter

Acts 13–28 “Ends of the Earth”–Paul

What does it look like to put your trust in God?

  • first instinct is prayer. 1 2If this is not our first instinct, it means we are trusting in something else. Prayer-less-ness is always due to ignorance or arrogance.
  • the juxtaposition of triumph and tragedy in this story does not allow a truncated “ask God and receive” theology of prayer. The fist two verses of this chapter show that God may, and does, say “no,” to His children’s requests. 3

We must trust not only the God that delivered Peter, but the God that took James #

  • We must also be willing to accept “no,” as an answer, without ever understanding “why?”.
  • innate trust in God comes not in extreme circumstances, but in a posture an attitude of trust in all things. Job’s words on the worst day of his life, we’re not formulated in a moment, but spring from a life-long posture. 4
  • We must let anxieties sharpen our instincts to pray

  1. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. (Acts 12:5, ESV) ↩︎

  2. And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1-8, ESV) ↩︎

  3. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, (Acts 12:2, ESV) ↩︎

  4. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21, ESV) ↩︎

↑