“On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man.’ Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God continued to increase and spread.” (Acts 12:21-24 NIV84)
Roar with all its might, still the kingdom of this world has no victory over the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of this world may boast of its superiority and power, but it has nothing that the Lord has not granted it. He is King over all kings and Lord over all nations. In our text for today the Lord proves this most emphatically. King Herod had been growing in popularity and power. At the same time he was a relentless persecutor of the Christian Church. He must have been an eloquent and persuasive speaker because in our text he was praised to have the voice of a god. So, at the epiphany of his career, at the highest point of his reign, the Lord struck him dead for not giving Him glory. On this day no one needed to ask who was really in charge. The Lord made it very clear.
But what about our world today? We have presidents and politicians all vying for power. We have princes and kings flexing their authority and influence. In the end, we need not fear any of them because the Lord our God reigns supreme. Note in the last verse of our text that the Word of God continued to grow and spread. You see, this is what it is all about! The kingdoms of this world exist so that God’s kingdom might spread through them. Any person or country that stands in the way of the spread of His Word will be removed. History moves forward, not because presidents and princess will it to do so. No! History moves on for the sake of the Church (the kingdom of God). We need to remind ourselves daily that we are but strangers and aliens in this world. We need to be strong and courageous! We need to continue to spread the Word of God knowing that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.
God is for us! This means no one can stand against us!
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church
