"Courage In Prayer"
Notes
Transcript
Intro: When I was told not to share faith at the nursing home I worked. (Ruby)
We pick up where we left off last week. Essentially Peter and John were asked to remain silent. They were asked to not talk about Jesus anymore.
They were threatened, and even went through a trial of some sorts, and in the end all the Sanhedrin could come up with was, "Do Not Speak!"
Their response was classic. "We cannot help but speak!" This is the first time the church has been asked to silence themselves and it responded with a very adamant, yet righteous, "No!"
From there Peter and John were released, after a few more threats, and then headed back to be with other believers. That is where we pick up today. Read Passage: Acts 4:23-31
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Today we continue with the theme of Christian courage, and we will see that it is wrapped up in prayer. It is not just a 10 second, praying over our meal, prayer.
It is a prayer that is grounded in the biblical sovereignty or authority of God. Those four biblical pieces are spelled out for us in this prayer today and the first piece is
1. Creation comes by God alone (vv. 23–24)
1. Creation comes by God alone (vv. 23–24)
Read: Acts 4:23-24
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
1. Creation comes by God alone (vv. 23–24)
1. Creation comes by God alone (vv. 23–24)
I can only speculate what must have been going through the minds of Peter and John as they were traveling back to their safe environment.
Yes, I believe that they knew that God could take them out of this situation, but they also knew that there was not a guarantee of it.
Think about that conversation. The two of them walking and sharing what they thought could happen and then comparing it to what did happen!
I don't know about you, but they had to think from their finite thinking. How God showed up was so much grander than they probably ever could have imagined. Illus: Jonah's adoption cost
This had to seem like a victory to all the believers. What an incredible rush this must have been. What do you do after God shows up like that?
Well, you do what they did. What followed was a dramatic outpouring to God and it began with creation. The use of the word, "sovereign" is important here. It literally means, lord of the house.
It is used in this way 10 times in the NT. By its use it is emphasizing the authority and power of God.
Now I want us to also notice that they prayed together. Luke emphasizes unity throughout the book of Acts.
This is something that we should be doing more and more together. This bond of prayer strengthens us brothers and sisters. Let us do this better!
So why start with creation? Does God really need to be reminded of what He has done? No, but we should approach prayer this way because it is the very foundation of our doctrine.
When we pray this way, we affirm that He is Lord of all. This leads us to the second biblical piece of prayer and that is...
2. God reveals Himself (vv. 25–26)
2. God reveals Himself (vv. 25–26)
Read: Acts 4:25-26
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
2. God reveals Himself (vv. 25–26)
2. God reveals Himself (vv. 25–26)
The second theme of this prayer is the revelation of God. In a day and age where I hear, "How do I know God is real?", we see hear that God has been revealing Himself for generations.
They were quoting Psalm 2:1-2 here. The creator God, whom they are referring to in verse 24, has been self-revealed.
Scientific methods demand repeated events to test the validity of creation. The events of creation are not repeatable events; therefore we must understand God through faith.
In Hebrews 11:3 it says Read: Hebrews 11:3
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Faith in the creator God requires us to see His involvement in the world. In the life and words of David we see how God is revealed and the believers are praying and repeating that here.
Most people don't take an issue of a creator per say. There are many who don't believe in Jesus, who believe in a creator. Where many get hung up is a creator interacting with His creation.
It is hard for them to accept. But let me be clear, it does not change His existence. We have no excuse for unbelief other than we choose to. Look at Romans 1:18-20 with me. Read: Romans 1:18-20
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
It is hard for people to think of a Creator revealing Himself through His creation, like He did through David, because then His creation becomes responsible for proclaiming Him.
This leads us to the third biblical piece of this dynamic prayer and that God revealed Himself and showed His sovereignty through the
3. Incarnation of Jesus (vv. 27–28)
3. Incarnation of Jesus (vv. 27–28)
Read: Acts 4:27-28
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
3. Incarnation of Jesus (vv. 27–28)
3. Incarnation of Jesus (vv. 27–28)
In this part of the prayer they are saying that God created the world, and that God can determine all things even when man thinks that he can control these things. He has authority!
Man tires themselves trying to thwart the plans of God, but God always shines. The incarnation (God living physically among us) of Jesus made God huggable.
Illus: Jonah when he was 4 and we had just prayed before bedtime. He hugged me big time and said, “I love you more than God daddy.” I was kind of in shock. How do I fix this?
No longer was God just being spoken of, He was approachable though a physical realm. No longer was He just being spoken about by Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or any of the prior prophets.
Now the person of God is revealed in Jesus. It is because of this that we find motivation as the final piece of this prayer and that is a...
4. Motivation for service (vv. 29–31)
4. Motivation for service (vv. 29–31)
Read: Acts 4:29-31
29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
4. Motivation for service (vv. 29–31)
4. Motivation for service (vv. 29–31)
Now they are taking the biblical perspective of what they have been praying and practically making a plan by asking for the Holy Spirit of God to use them to great and miraculous things!
This part of their prayer reveals that they are begging for, or reaching out for, even more courage.
"God, you created all things, You spoke through David, and You anointed Jesus, so we ask you to anoint us and enable us, Your servants, to do great things!"
This prayer was not a prayer of relief, no this was a prayer for more boldness and courage, and I believe this is the pattern that the church should see today as the way we should be praying.
The believers did not expect to do these things on their own and neither should we. We must be faithful and trust God will work it out in and through us.
They truly believed and it said that where they were meeting was shaking and that they were able to speak the word of God boldly!
That is important to see because God can see the true heart of our belief and will show up in mighty ways when we are faithful as these early believers!
This prayer is still very applicable for us as believers today.
Like these early believers we must trust these things that we pray for and know that God will give us the courage to carry them out not matter what ministry or situation that He places us in.
So, what do we do with this today? How are we to respond to such a message? When moved by the Word of God we move with the Word of God. God is calling us to be courageous in prayer!
For many of us here today, God has laced a calling on our lives that we have not acted on. Maybe it’s from a place of fear, and maybe it’s from a place of faith.
Today I want to challenge all to end our service with prayer. If you feel God moving in you today to act within His will, would you please lift this up to him right now?
But, even more so, we are going to pray together as a church for CPCC. God has a special calling on this place. For whatever reason we are slow to move. Will you join us in the prayer of revival?
Pray for revival in this church, this community, in our private lives, home lives, work lives, church lives, marriages, children, schools, and every place that we are a part of.
Pray for revival in this church, this community, in our private lives, home lives, work lives, church lives, marriages, children, schools, and every place that we are a part of.