(21) And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
(22) And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
(23) And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
(24) But the word of God grew and multiplied.
GIVE GOD ALL THE GLORY!
Brethren, to God be all the glory, for great things he had done, doing and will do!; he is a great God the same yesterday, today and forever; he is a miraculous LORD of hosts and deserves our praises and adoration everyday; for we are his children and dwell in his presence at all times; he raises up servants into kingship positions and brings down kings into dust and ashes at his own discretion; he is not a respecter of man; therefore, if by his grace, we are given authorities to rule over others, let us be careful and rule with wisdom, humility and fear of the Lord; and be aware that his eyes are watching our movements and can hear our utterances at all times.
Case in point, King Herod the Agrippa, persecuted the disciples of Jesus Christ and killed James, when he saw that the people were pleased with what he did, he arrested Peter also to kill him, but days of unleavened bread was at hand so he put him in prison until after Easter to bring him forth to the people; but, while the disciples prayed without ceasing unto God on his behalf; the angel of Lord delivered him out of prison; when King Herod searched but could not find Peter anywhere, he commanded that the prison guards be put to death; now, (i) King Herod was unhappy that Peter was delivered from his hands because when he killed James, his approval ratings went up in his dominion, so he wanted to kill Peter also to gain more popularity in the eyes of his people but the Lord foiled his plans by setting Peter free from prison; King Herod was disgraced forever; (ii) on a set day, he arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and made oration unto his people; probably, he made his speech boasting about his achievements in persecuting believers and killing of James a disciple of Jesus Christ, and might have sworn to kill more disciples if they preach in his dominion and his people cheered for him; however, the LORD of hosts heard his arrogance and prideful statements and immediately the angel of the LORD smote him and was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost because he gave not God the glory.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT:
Points to ponder, when King Agrippa was done speaking to the people; what happens from that point? (a) And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man; what could the King have done? he should have given the glory to the LORD of hosts but he did not do so but may be allocated all glory unto himself in an arrogant way, we do not know exactly what he said but he was killed; (b) And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost; what a sad situation!; he was eaten of worms on his throne in front of his dominion; how is that? "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31)
Fruits of thought, amazingly, the LORD of hosts, took care of the mountain before the disciples so they could return back into his dominion to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior; But the word of God grew and multiplied: when King Herod, the stumbling block was taken out of the ways of the disciples, the gospel was preached freely and more souls believed in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior; "all mountains of difficulties on our ways shall be removed by the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Name." Amen
CONCLUSION:
Brethren, today, there may be mountains placed before our lives, to hinder us from receiving Jesus Christ into our hearts as Lord and Savior; let us take lessons from what happened in the above text, and to know for sure that all mountains shall be removed in the name of Jesus! therefore, let pray without ceasing; for prayer works! and regardless of how huge our mountains may be, they will be level down into ashes by the sacred blood of Jesus! forever and evermore. Amen and Amen!
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
(KJV.) Revelation 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
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