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Part 1, Acts 12:1-25
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.
Part 2, Acts 13:1-12
Sermon Notes: Acts 13:1-12 – Updating Your Default Settings
Introduction: The Power of Default Settings
How often do you think about breathing? It’s an involuntary rhythm, like our morning routines or how we make coffee. Life is full of such “default settings”—patterns we follow without conscious thought, formed by our past, chosen habits, or even needing change. For me, it’s writing in Google Docs; I recently updated my default settings so every document starts exactly how I want it.
Why does this matter? Because you have default settings too—ways you live, think, and respond. In Acts 13, we meet a church whose default was worship. It wasn’t an add-on; it was their rhythm. And in that rhythm, God spoke.
What’s your default setting? If you feel stuck or spiritually dry, you might not need an overhaul, but a reset. By God’s grace, Jesus wants to update your default settings. He meets us in our everyday worship and ministry. The mission of God doesn’t always require a boat trip or disaster; it begins with worship, the Word, and a willingness to yield to the Holy Spirit.
Verses 1-3: Mission Begins in Worship and Yielding
Barnabas and Saul return to the diverse church in Antioch. Luke names five key leaders: Barnabas, Simeon (likely the one who carried Jesus’ cross), Lucius, Manaen (raised with Herod the Tetrarch), and Saul (the former persecutor).
Then, a pivotal moment: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said…” (Acts 13:2). This “worshiping” or “ministering to the Lord” wasn’t just a praise band; it implied their entire lives, public and private, were oriented toward serving God. This was their normal rhythm, their default setting.
God spoke in the midst of their ordinary, obedient worship, not their striving. This challenges us: What are my default settings? What comes out when life is on autopilot? If we’re not actively investing in our marriage, family, church, and relationship with Jesus—through the Word, adoration, prayer, and fasting—then what we truly desire might not be God Himself, but merely the byproducts of being close to Him. We want the kingdom, but without the King.
When our worship becomes transactional, simply to get something from God, we miss the heart of the relationship. God doesn’t need our worship or fasting; we need them! These rhythms reshape our hearts to walk in step with the Spirit. God has already made the first move, giving His Son, relating to us as a Father, not an employer.
If we break free from this transactional mindset, we realize worship, fasting, and prayer are postures that prepare our hearts to yield to His will. When your life’s default is communion with God, He speaks in the ordinary, He calls, He sends, He moves. The only thing required is a willingness to yield. This is where mission with God truly begins.
How do we do this? It starts with putting our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior—the first yielding that changes everything. Then, we become imitators of God, as Ephesians 5:1-2 says, “walk[ing] in love, as Christ loved us.” Just as my son David imitated my morning ice cream habit after seeing my routine, we imitate God by spending time with Him and learning His rhythms. God is preparing us as a church. Let’s commit together to cultivating these holy rhythms, desiring more of God’s fruit for our lives, this valley, and His kingdom.
Verses 4-7: God-Given Opportunities in Faithful Rhythms
After the church lays hands on them, the Holy Spirit sends Barnabas and Saul out. Mission follows worship and yielding. They travel to Seleucia, then sail to Cyprus (Barnabas’s home). In Salamis, they immediately preach in the synagogues—a spiritual rhythm for Saul, “first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Saul, a man of the Word, uses his gift with clarity and conviction. Many of you share this calling; don’t overlook your gift for sharing God’s Word.
They cross the island to Paphos, a Roman hub of power. There, God opens a door: they meet Sergius Paulus, an intelligent proconsul who “wants to hear the Word of God.” He is curious and searching.
Here’s the principle: When we walk in the ordinary rhythms God has given us—faithful in our giftings, calling, and worship—God provides opportunities for extraordinary Kingdom work. Extraordinary moments are built on ordinary faithfulness. The Spirit spoke to men already serving, not those waiting for a sign. A faithful understanding of God’s voice comes through healthy, holy rhythms. When these are in place, God offers opportunities to walk in.
God rarely builds something extraordinary on a shaky foundation. He moves through people whose default settings are worship, prayer, obedience, and a willingness to yield. The Antioch church didn’t manufacture revival; their fasting was part of their worship rhythm, from which the Spirit launched a global mission. Similarly, Paul isn’t forcing the moment; he’s walking in his gifts, working his rhythms, and following the Spirit. And suddenly, a Roman official is ready for the gospel.
If you’re longing for breakthrough or waiting for an open door, don’t just chase the moment. Tend to your rhythms. When worship is your default, God will bring you into moments you could never manufacture.
Verses 8-11: Opposition Reveals Our Rhythms
When you walk in your calling, follow the Spirit, and live in rhythm with worship and your gifts, opposition comes. In verse 8, we meet Elymas the magician, also known as Bar-Jesus (“son of Jesus”), who is clearly a fraud. He tries to block the gospel message from the proconsul, knowing his power and prestige are at stake.
This is when “Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,” confronts Elymas. This is the first time Luke uses Paul’s Roman name, signifying his full step into his role as apostle to the Gentiles. Paul delivers a powerful prophetic rebuke: “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?” (v. 10). This is spiritual warfare.
Then comes the judgment: “The hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind.” Notice the parallels: Paul, once blind and opposing the Way, now filled with the Spirit, mirrors Elymas’s blindness. Paul is living proof of transformation. His rebuke is a prophetic invitation: “Elymas, I was you. God met me, changed me, and filled me. You could have that too.” Paul acts not in anger, but in rhythm, secure in his identity, using his gifts, imitating Jesus.
When we walk in the Spirit, rooted in His Word and secure in our calling, we don’t panic in the face of resistance. We speak truth, stay faithful, and let God handle the outcome. Opposition is okay; it doesn’t mean God isn’t working. It’s a call to test and refine our rhythms, forging endurance and character. Opposition should not break our rhythms; it reveals our default settings. If you’re facing opposition, press into your rhythms, reminding yourself of your purpose.
As Ephesians 5:8-10 says, “at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light… and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” It’s a blessing to accept God’s work in your life. Imagine if Elymas had surrendered to God’s disciplining hand, like David in Psalm 63:8, “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” God disciplines those He loves. That hand, when surrendered to, would hold him up. This is what God does for us when we turn to Him, as He did for Proconsul Sergius Paulus.
Verse 12: Fruitfulness Through Faithful Rhythms
“Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.” (Acts 13:12). When Paul walked in God-given rhythms—Spirit-led confrontation and faithful teaching—everyone benefited. He didn’t separate worship from boldness, or truth from love. He didn’t run from opposition; he remained in rhythm. And the result was fruit.
The proconsul believed, not just because of the miracle, but because he was “astonished at the teaching of the Lord.” Here’s our takeaway: Opposition and fruitfulness are not enemies; they often go hand in hand. God sees your life holistically—your calling, battles, gifts, relationships—and wants to bear fruit through all of it. When we walk in the Spirit, stay rooted in worship, and remain faithful in our rhythms, people will see it, and some will believe.
(Invite the worship team up)
Conclusion: Updating Our Defaults for God’s Mission
We often want fruit without friction, breakthrough without battle. But God works holistically, using all of it—your calling, battles, seasons of silence and power, steady rhythms, and stretching moments—to form a life that points others to Jesus.
The invitation today is simple and strong:
- What are your default settings?
- Are you living in a rhythm that allows the Spirit to speak?
- Are you building your life on worship, the Word, and a willingness to yield?
As we’ve seen in Acts 13: The mission of God begins in the presence of God. It continues in the power of the Spirit. And it bears fruit through faithful rhythms.
Perhaps today, it’s time to hit the “update” button. To surrender your defaults. To let Jesus rewrite your rhythms. We become the kind of church where worship is our lifestyle, the Word is our language, and yielding to the Spirit is our joy.
I told you about Nathan’s plan to avoid hard work. He wanted the reward without the process. And the truth is, so do we. We want the glory without the grind, the fruit without the 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.
Are you living to please God? As I advised Nathan: you can’t live like effort doesn’t matter and expect your life to matter. You can’t seek comfort above all and still expect to please the One who carried a cross. But if you want your life to count, to truly please God, then let’s 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.
When we are faithful—with our sons and daughters, our wives, our churches, our community—God multiplies that faithfulness into legacy. From Abraham to Antioch. From Antioch to Belmont County. From your house to the next generation. So pick up your shovel. Don’t grow weary. Be strong in the Lord. Remain faithful with steadfast purpose. And let your life proclaim this truth to the world: “My God is faithful, and He has called me to faithfulness.”
