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Nov 23, 2025

Don’t Fight God! | His Word, His Plan, His People

Don’t Fight God! | His Word, His Plan, His People

Follow Along with the Message

Don’t Fight God!

November 23, 2025

PRINCIPLE: We will never when we fight God.

Proverbs 21:30
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
Acts 12:1–2
1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Acts 12:3
When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
Acts 12:4
After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
Acts 12:5
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

PRINCIPLE: When or people attack, the church should automatically counter with prayer.

4 Prayer Thoughts

1. Pray when you are .

2. Pray like you are using a “ walkie-talkie.”

3. Prayer should be our response in conflict.

4. Prayer should be a response to conflict.

“Some fruit you just have to keep shaking to get down.”
— Charles Spurgeon

“Prayer turns ordinary mortals into men of power… It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God. There is no power like that of prevailing prayer.”
— Samuel Chadwick

Acts 12:6–8
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him.
1 Peter 5:6–7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Philippians 4:6–7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Acts 12:9–11
9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

PRINCIPLE: There is physical, emotional, or spiritual prison God can’t get you out of.

Acts 12:12–14
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
Acts 12:15–17
15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

PRINCIPLE: We can live in the confidence and trust that God hears and answers our prayers.

Acts 12:18–23
18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 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.

PRINCIPLE: Anytime we for our glory and not God’s glory, there will be consequences.

Acts 12:24
But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.
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