Traits of a Powerful Church
Acts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsThis is a “discussion style,” or small group study, home church message, inspired by Gordon Curley’s sermon “Praying and Sharing.” — Therefore, it is a mixture of my thoughts and his on the passage at hand.
Notes
Transcript
Quiz Time
Quiz Time
What is the collective name for a group of foxes? Charm
What is group of owls called? Parliament
What is a group of butterflies called? Kaleidoscope
What is a group of hedgehogs called? Prickle
What is a group of tortoises called? Creep
What is a group of sharks called? Shiver
What is a swarm of ladybugs called? Loveliness
What is a group of crows called? Murder
Ok…
What is a group of Christians called?
(Church, congregation, assembly, flock, fellowship, body, family,…)
We have a lot of words we use to describe it, right?
Look at Acts 4:23-37
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’
27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all
34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”),
37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
If all you had to use was this passage, how would you name a group of Christians?
(Believers, pray-ers, attenders, sharers)
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’
27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
— — So… Peter and John have had an amazing couple of days!!! They tried to go to prayer time (we would be safe to assume that some of these believers went with them, and witnessed what happened)… They’ve experienced God move in the healing of the lame man… They’ve witnessed to the common people in the Temple… They’ve been arrested, interrogated, shared the Gospel to the Sanhedrin, been ordered not to preach Jesus’s resurrection, and now… released…
What did they do first?
(went back to the other believers)
What did Peter and John tell the others?
(everything that had happened - including what the Sanhedrin ordered them not to do)
What was the people’s reaction? What did they do?
(prayed)
One thing we learn from the Book of Acts is that the early church was a Praying Church!
Look at verse 24.
Acts 4:24 (NIV)
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
How did they pray?
(in unity, together, corporately, and immediately)
They raised their voices together… and they did it right then; They didn’t wait for some later time to pray…
Look at that verse again… The early Church was serious about praying together!
— — This is why I think some of them might have gone to the Temple with John and Peter that day…
I want you to see something awesome about this, that I bet you haven’t caught in the past…
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—
23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Who was Jesus praying for?
— — all believers, then and now…
What did He pray for?
— — unity, that they would be unified…
This group of rag-tag believers was — unknowingly — fulfilling what Jesus prayed for them.
Why does it seem like the Church today does not seem to be able to see Jesus’s prayer fulfilled in their lives?
— — Pastor Otis McMillan says: “Our generation of church-goers seems preoccupied with prosperity, material possessions, and consumer mentality… Many attribute church ‘greatness’ to ‘how well it meets my personal expectations.’”
This is why we see so many “church hoppers” today… When personal desire enters our minds and methods, unity dies!
So… How do we become a unified church?
— — It starts with prayer.
Look at Acts 4:23-31
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’
27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
5 Things about Prayer:
Who is Praying?
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
Peter and John are released and meet up with who?
— — the other believers… Notice, Luke does not say they went to “the other apostles”… He says they went to “their friends” — “their own”
In other words, those they had been living and serving with… those they were in common with…
What’s the point?
Prayer is for Ordinary Christians!
— — Luke says that they went to “their own”… to their friends… and those “friends” got together immediately and prayed!
— — Prayer is do-able for EVERY Christian.
Look at 1 Cor 12:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:1–11 (NIV)
1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed…
… 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.
5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
What is missing?
— — There is no “spiritual gift” of prayer!!!
ALL Christians — whether you’ve been saved for 5 minutes, or 50 years — have the ability to pray!
When the opportunity to pray comes… Seize it!
If there is no opportunity… Create it!
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
2. When was this prayer prayed?
— — during a period of opposition, Peter and John had been threatened by the religious leaders… The Gospel had been threatened…
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
As soon as Peter and John were released, they told the other believers about the threats, and what was their reaction?
They Prayed!
What is the lesson for us?
— — When opposition and difficulties come, our first reaction shouldn’t be anger and self-pity… As Christians, we need to realize the importance of fighting these natural reactions of anger, and turn to God in Prayer!
— — We need to remind ourselves that God is in control… He can either remove the obstacle, or give us the strength to endure it.
Story — North-eastern Cod is a popular food in the US. Especially in the Northeast. But, years ago, the demand posed a problem for shippers… How do they get the Cod to the market without losing its flavor?
They tried several methods… First, they tried freezing it, but that resulted in losing a lot of the flavor…
So they tried shipping it in sea water, but… that was worse!!! And, the Cod got soft and mushy.
Finally, they found the solution… The Cod was shipped live in a tank with its natural enemy - Catfish.
The cat fish chased the Cod around the tank the entire trip… Guess what the result was — The Cod arrived fresh, and actually tasted better!
Look at James 1:2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Many of us have struggled with this passage… Why would it be “Joy” to face trials?
— — Because of what it does for us…
Each of us is in a tank of particular circumstances… It can be painful in the tank… God often puts “catfish” in the tank with us… Their job is to bring sufficient tension to keep us alive, alert, fresh and growing in the Spirit!
It is all part of God’s plan to shape our character into what He alone created us to be.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Look back at Acts 4:24-28
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’
27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
3. Who did they pray to?
What did they pray?
Notice that they take the first five verses to tell God who He is, and only two verses to present their request…
— — 5 verses to tell God who He is!!!
And only 2 to ask something of Him…
Is that how we pray?!?!
What is your focus normally when you pray? (honestly)
How do they identify God?
— — “the creator of all things”
Acts 4:24 (NIV)
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
Story: Sir Isaac Newton once made an elaborate clockwork model of the solar system. Someone remarked about how clever he was to construct such an intricate mechanism…
What do you think his response was?
“The good Lord must be cleverer, because He constructed the real thing!”
Like Newton, These Christians begin by reminding themselves of who God is!
They can trust Him because He is the God of creation… He produced the universe, therefore, everything in it is subject to Him…
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
What are they doing here?
— — They are praising God and declaring His glory!
— — They are reminding their hearts that He is the kind of God who can do ANYTHING.
— — INCLUDING answering their prayers…
If God created everything in earth, sea, and heaven, then He can do with them as He pleases.
— — That means that the religious leaders are His property, He can do with them as He wills!
25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’
27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
What are they doing?
— — Reminding God that His enemies and opponents are still subject to Him… Is that ok?
— — It’s ok to pray scripture… to remind God of the promises He has made… of the things He has said to us… BECAUSE… it reminds us of who He is…
— — All of creation, and everything in it, are subject to God… even when it seems like wicked people are winning…
27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
Who do they list here?
— — Pilate, Herod, the Gentiles, AND the people of Israel
Who are these people? Why this list?
— — they represent the entire world… They are confessing that it seems like the world is against them… BUT…
28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
— — They know that it was in His plan.
Why is that important?
— — because they can trust Him for their current situation… we can too!
“Men might seem to win the battle, but God will always win the war!”
God will ALWAYS win!!!
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
4. What did they ask for?
— — God to give them courage… God do miraculous things…
Through what? (this is important)
— — The Name of Jesus.
WHY? Why did they ask for those things?
— — So that the name of Jesus would be glorified!
— — Their prayer was that the enemies and opponents of Jesus would “see” the “signs and wonders” and discover the truth of who He is.
5. What happened when they prayed?
What was the result of their prayer?
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
— — the place where they were meeting was shaken
— — they were filled with the Holy Spirit
Does that happen in our prayer meetings today?
Why not? What is missing in our prayer meetings today?
What do we need to change?
— — expectation
— — Faith
— — we need to EXPECT God to act!
How many of you have seen the movie “End of the Spear”? It’s a movie about a group of missionaries in the 50’s…
Jim Elliot was one of the 5 missionaries killed while participating in “Operation Auca” — an attempt to evangelize and save the Waodani people in Ecuador.
Elliot and the other 4 men died on January 8, 1956.
In his journal, he wrote, “Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God.”
We have an extraordinary God!
We should expect Him to do extraordinary things!!!
Think back to Pentecost (chapter 2)…
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit resulted in what?
— — evangelism
I want you to hear this — “The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, is ALWAYS given in the context of evangelism!
Acts 4:31 (NIV)
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Are we praying prayers solely for our benefit? Solely for our needs?
Or, Are we praying for an infilling of the Spirit so that God will be glorified through our lives?
A powerful Church is a PRAYING church…