Sermon Notes: Acts 12

Introduction: The Value of Hard Work and Pleasing God

My son Nathan wants a shotgun for his August birthday. At $500, I told him, “You’ll have to work for it this summer.” Despite my efforts to guide him, his “genius and diabolical” plan was to call Grandma and other relatives for donations to avoid chores. We had to talk: You can’t outrun hard work. Comfort is a great reward, but a terrible pursuit.

This week, reflecting on unmet expectations, sorrow, and joy, I sense God has us exactly where we need to be in Acts 12. Themes like prayer, martyrdom, rescue, authority, and glory fill this chapter. Yet, the core truth is this isn’t just “Acts of the Apostles,” but the Acts of the Holy Spirit. It’s frighteningly easy to prioritize our own needs and comfort. I invite you to pause, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal something personal. This text will tempt us to point fingers, but if we honestly examine our own direction, habits, and motives, we’ll grasp the essence of Acts 12: Our lives should please God. It’s not just “What would Jesus do?” but “What will I do because of what Jesus has done for me?”

Verses 1-5: Pleasing God Through Earnest Prayer

At the end of Acts 11, Barnabas and Saul delivered funds to Jerusalem. Now, in Acts 12, we find King Herod violently persecuting the church. James, one of the original Twelve, is martyred—the first apostle to fall. This is an intense time for the church. Herod, seeing this pleased the Jews, arrests Peter.

Notice Herod’s motivation: he acts to please others. We are in a constant battle of who we please, what we worship, and why we do what we do. As leaders, the temptation to please everyone for comfort is strong, but our ultimate responsibility is to please our Heavenly Father. This unfolds during the Days of Unleavened Bread leading to Passover—a time when God historically provided and delivered His people. The tension asks: Will God provide and deliver again?

In this crisis, the church does what we are called to do: they make earnest prayers to God. Whatever your season, pray earnestly. Pleasing God always begins with seeking God.

Verses 6-10: Pleasing God Through Trust and Obedience

In verses 6-10, God answers those earnest prayers, even before they realize it! The night before Herod’s planned execution, Peter is sound asleep, handcuffed between two guards, with more at the door. His deep sleep signifies profound trust in God’s control. As Psalm 127:1-2 says, “He gives to his beloved sleep.” Peter is sleeping so deeply the angel has to hit him to wake him!

This is an angelic jailbreak: chains fall, light shines. But notice, Peter still has to “get dressed, get your shoes on, and follow.” We please God with our lives when we follow God. Even in miraculous moves, we must respond obediently. God initiates, we respond. God opens doors, we walk through them. God does the miraculous, we do the mundane. Following means obedience in motion, even when we don’t fully understand.

We also learn something unique about our God: this is His world, and we are living in it. An angel is sent, light shines, guards don’t wake, iron gates open – what we call miraculous, God calls a “Thursday evening.” It’s no big deal to Him. This reminds me why I want to please God: He’s God. I’m not. This is His world, it revolves because He tells it to. That’s why I follow, why I want to please Him. I belong to Him. And when I remember that, everything becomes clearer.

Verses 11-17: Pleasing God Through Fellowship and Faith

Peter, having miraculously walked out of prison, finally realizes, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod…” This wasn’t a dream; it was real. And what does he do? He goes to church—specifically, to Mary’s house where the church is gathered, praying. This is key: Peter chooses fellowship. Just as prayer connects us to God, fellowship connects us to the family of God. You cannot have one without the other and expect to live a life that truly pleases Him. It pleases God when we gather as His family.

Then, a scene straight out of a sitcom: Peter knocks, Rhoda answers, recognizes his voice, and in her excitement, leaves him knocking outside to tell everyone! Their response? “You’re out of your mind!” or “It must be his angel!” Meanwhile, Peter is still knocking. What’s wild is that this church had enough faith to pray, but not enough faith to believe God would actually answer. Yet, God still answered. This is encouraging for anyone who has ever prayed with a little faith and a lot of doubt.

Ephesians 3:20 reminds us that God is “able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think.” He doesn’t need perfect faith; He responds to earnest prayers and even mustard-seed faith. It pleases Him. So, church, keep asking, seeking, and knocking. The God who delights in your prayers is the same God who does more than you can imagine. As James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Our prayers and our fellowship please God. This is why we are here together on a Sunday.

Verses 18-23: Pleasing God by Glorifying Him

While the church rejoices in Peter’s rescue, Herod’s world unravels. He wakes, expecting an execution and public praise, but Peter is gone. Chaos erupts. The guards are executed, and Herod flees to Caesarea to save face.

There, people from Tyre and Sidon approach him for peace during the famine, dependent on him for food. Herod, in royal robes, delivers an oration. They flatter him, shouting, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” He loves it. But we all do this, don’t we? We’re prone to worship something, to desire glory that isn’t ours. When we don’t worship God or give Him glory, it’s sin. This is God’s final straw with Herod.

Isaiah 42:8 states, “I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other.” God will not share His glory. So, an angel strikes Herod down, and he is eaten by worms. This scene is devastating yet poetically beautiful. We are in a famine during Passover, remembering God provided and delivered. Peter was delivered; now, will God provide? Herod tries to claim glory for provision, setting himself up as God. God strikes him down, eaten by worms, to remind everyone: He is God, He shares His glory with no one, and He will provide. Herod cannot provide food for people, but he can provide food for worms.

What do we glean from this? If you want to please God, your life must glorify Him. Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” God isn’t against your good deeds, influence, achievement, or leadership. But He is absolutely against you keeping the credit or glory. The moment your life becomes more about your name than His, you’re on dangerous ground.

Our God deserves all glory and honor. If you live a life representing God, all you do becomes a platform for Him. You don’t sit on the throne; you kneel, for at Jesus’ name, every knee will bow. Our greatest privilege is to please God through all we do and allow His name to be glorified.

Verses 24-25: God Multiplies Faithfulness

There’s a direct correlation in this chapter: persecution, God receiving glory, and the Word of God increasing and multiplying. In redemptive history, God is pleased when evil is exposed, His people trust Him, and the gospel advances beyond human planning. Even through suffering, God multiplies His mission. What a powerful legacy: James martyred, Peter delivered, Herod struck down—and still, the Word of God increases. The church doesn’t quit. God entrusts John Mark to Barnabas and Saul because it pleases Him. They move forward through sorrow, joy, and chaos, living to please God.

I told you about Nathan’s plan to get what he wanted without hard work—the reward without the process. We often want glory without the grind, fruit without faithfulness, God’s power without the prayers of the saints, Peter’s rescue without the church’s perseverance. But Acts 12 doesn’t offer shortcut Christianity. It shows a church that pleases God through prayer, faith, obedience, fellowship, and surrender.

So, I ask you today: Are you living to please God? I’m trying to live by the advice I gave Nathan: you can’t live like effort doesn’t matter and expect your life to matter. You can’t seek comfort above all and expect to please the One who carried a cross. But if you want your life to count, to truly please God, then learn from Acts 12: pray like it matters. Trust when it’s hard. Follow when it’s unclear. Give Him the glory. And watch how our Great God does “exceedingly and abundantly more than we can think or ask” as He increases and multiplies His Word.