Untitled Sermon (3)

Empowered

Devoted to Prayer

Acts 1:12-14

Introduction

Attention:

olympic athlete

Michael Phelps

28 Olympic medals (23 gold)

swim meets

not just finals but 3 heats

set 39 world records in career

training regimen

never skipped a day of training

even on Sundays and birthdays

swam 8 miles/day

3 days of weights

recovering with ice baths

needed 8K-10K calories

clear what Michael Phelps was devoted to

Need:

what are you devoted to?

what would people say you are devoted to?

what would God say you are devoted to?

growing business

making money

moving up in the company

improving golf game

climbing social ladder

kiddos little league

Jesus???

local church???

prayer???

what is FCC devoted to?

what would people say FCC is devoted to?

what would God say FCC is devoted to?

would prayer make the top 3? top 5? top 10?

would prayer even make the list?

we have a lot to learn from the early church

if we set out to be a Great Commission church,

where should we start???

empowered: devoted to prayer

Body

wait

Luke 24:49

And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

Acts 1:4-5

Jesus commanded the early church to wait for the HS,

then Jesus ascended to heaven

1:12-13

a Sabbath day’s journey

upper room

pic from Israel

any tie to last supper?

how long did they wait?

Passover

HS came at Pentecost (Feast of Weeks)

the answer = 7-10 days

long time for a popcorn society

what did they do for 7-10 days?

1:14

yet they prayed while they waited

Jesus commanded them to wait

and they prayed while they waited

I find that interesting

what would you do if you were commanded to wait?

teacher steps out of room for a minute

chaos ensues

The early church was devoted to prayer

7-10 days…7-10 days

what to pray after 7-10 minutes

takes devotion to pray 7-10 days

devoting themselves—ESV

continually devoting themselves—NASB

busying themselves (BDAG)

no time wasted with Solitaire or thumb-scrolling through FB

to prayer

hallmark of early church

no effective witness w/o HS

way to spiritual empowerment = wait in prayer

and unified through prayer

common goal

take Great Commission (MAKE DISCIPLES) seriously

All these

11 apostles (1:13)

women (including Mary, mother of Jesus)

his brothers

Jesus had 1/2 brothers

Joses, Judas, and Simon (Mark 6:3)

didn’t believe He was anything special (John 7:5)

UNTIL the resurrection

James—later leader of church in Jerusalem

author of James

Judas

author of Judas

120 disciples (1:15)

DIVERSITY

blue collar & white collar

men & women

respectable vs. sketchy

loyalists vs. traitors

this group had no business being together

except for JESUS

with one accord—ESV

with one mind—NASB

1 purpose (BDAG)

unanimous (LN)

getting any group (much less this group) to agree unanimously

closer we get to clear commands/doctrines in Scripture

greater unanimity should be

seems they ALL agreed

to pray AND what to pray about

1. pray expectantly for coming of the HS

2. pray for empowerment to make disciples (be witnesses)

Acts 1:8

FCC should MUST be devoted to prayer

takes devotion to pray 7-10 days

distractions take away from devotion to prayer

people can get distracted

technology has to be put in its place

churches can get distracted

good things get in the way of great things

get too busy doing ministry to pray

you don’t get any busier than Jesus

and He carved out time to pray

21st century > 1st century

strategizing

thinking

planning

praying??? seems inefficient

opportunity cost

every minute in prayer means you are relying more on God

temptation is to pray last

Martin Luther

“I've got so much work to do today, I'd better spend two hours in prayer instead of one.”

1st century > 21st century

early church prayed

exploded

modern church strategizes

trickles

“Where there is little prayer, there is little power. Conversely, where there is much prayer, there is much power. Unfortunately, many people are excellent organizers, good promoters, and brilliant strategists, but few are powerful prayer warriors. Thus in effect, we have totally reversed the practice and priority of the early church. We do everything else far more than we pray, while the New Testament church prayed far more than they did anything else! Consequently, the early church rapidly evangelized their world, while our baptism ratios have been in an alarming fifty year decline.” Gregory Frizzell

prayer is powerful, but prayer is costly

Oswald Chambers

“Prayer does not equip us for greater works —

prayer is the greater work.”

do you devote yourself to prayer?

is your Life Class or Life Group devoted to prayer?

elders, are you devoted to prayer?

deacons, are you devoted to prayer?

deaconesses, are you devoted to prayer?

teachers, are you devoted to prayer?

FCC member, are you devoted to prayer?

do you plead for the souls of men and women to be saved?

do you ask for opportunities to tell people about Jesus?

do you pray for HS to empower you to make disciples?

and unified through prayer

getting 120 to agree on direction

getting twice that many people to agree on direction???

lots of people = lots of agendas

seek the Lord = one agenda

prayer is how God gets us aligned with His agenda

headed in same direction

God aligned the hearts of the early church through prayer

I believe this is how God gets 200+ people pointed the same direction

arrows

but what is the target???

if we want to make disciples

if we fail to make disciples, we fail

success is defined in Great Commission

we don’t have to guess at what to pray for

pray the promises

prayer of dissonance

what we are experiencing is not what You promised

Acts 4:29-31

Spurgeon

engine room of the church

“What can we do without your prayers? They link us with the omnipotence of God. Like the lightning rod, they pierce the clouds and bring down the mighty and mysterious power from on high…The Lord give me a dozen importunate pleaders and lovers of souls, and by his grace we will shake all London from end-to-end.”

Conclusion

you must realize what you are called to

your focus

your purpose

make disciples

you must realize you are unable to do what you are called to

and this drives you to your knees

“The things you pray about are the things you trust God to handle. The things you neglect to pray about are the things you trust you can handle on your own.” HB Charles

I can’t, but He can

prayer is the primary way you become a personal evangelist

there is no effective witness without the HS

otherwise Jesus would not have told them to wait to be clothed by the HS

He would have just sent them on their mission

prayer is the primary way you make disciples

because you cannot do it

no matter how smart

no matter how much you know of the Bible

no matter how inadequate

we are needy people

and needy people pray to an all-powerful God

early church knew they were needy

modern church tends to think we are not

does FCC align more with the early church or modern church?

puddle of tears

when is the last time you had a prayer time like that?

Great Commission Prayer

Sunday, October 1, 5p