The Rescue Prayer - Acts 12

I have a simple message for you for this Sunday.

I intend to talk on the prayer of a church at Jerusalem narrated in Acts 12.

I call it ‘a prayer without a motivation’.

Why I call it like that? Because the church was praying though fervently without any expectation of a miraculous answer.

Still that was a great prayer that destroyed the might of the enemy.

We read the narration of this prayer and other related events in Acts 12.

Mosaic Covenant - An Introduction

What is Mosaic Covenant?

Covenants are a means that God graciously chose to relate Himself with man.

God could execute His plan at proper times in the history of man without any covenant.

He is powerful to manage all events in this world from genesis to the eschatological era according to His will and pleasure.

Still God decided to enter into a covenant with His elected people, Abraham and his descendents.

Thus Yahweh stands alone, different from other gentile gods.

Yahweh is the only God who has entered into a covenant with man.

Only the descendents of Abraham enjoy a covenantal relationship with God.

And He is faithful and powerful to fulfill the covenant.

It is a challenge to all false gods of this world.

Sacrifice of Isaac

Sacrifice of Isaac is a story of obedience.

In obedience Abraham stands foremost to any other character in the Bible except Jesus.

This story presents the sacrifice of his beloved son to prove his faith and obedience.

This is not the first time Abraham obeying God’s commands.

While he was living with his father and other family members in his home town, Ur, he was called by God to move out to another promised land.

He immediately obeyed.

Abraham was a worshipper of Yahweh.

This is very important in the ancient society.

Perhaps Abraham was the only worshipper of Yahweh during that time.

Abrahamic Covenant

Abrahamic Covenant is paramount to a proper understanding of the kingdom concept and is foundational to Old Testament theology.

It is the turning point of the redemption history of man.

Abrahamic covenant governs not only God's unique relationship with Israel but also His relationship with the nations of the world.

A proper understanding of the Abrahamic Covenant is the key to understand God's purpose for Israel and the Nations.

The covenant contains His way of dealing with humankind in general.

Abrahamic Covenant has multi dimensional facets.

It is the inaugural covenant of the Kingdom of God that extends to the eschatological era.

Abrahamic covenant is the basis for the development of other covenants. 

Sheep and Shepherd

Jesus was responding to the question, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" in Matthew 18.

His disciples raised this question.

Jesus answered them that even the little one on this earth is precious in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Let us start this message by reading His answer.

Matthew 18 : 12 - 14

12    "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?

 13   "And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

 14   "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.  (NKJV)