The Church Activated

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to church!

We continue our series in the book of Acts this morning. For those of you who might have missed a Sunday for travel, we’re picking up in Acts 4 today after Peter and John healed the paralytic man at the temple gate. They were taken into custody and questioned by the Sanhedrin council. After they gave the council of priests a dose of the gospel, they were warned against preaching in the name of Jesus Christ and sent away. We pick up the text today in Acts 4:23 and following...

Acts 4:23–31 CSB

23 After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David your servant: Why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot futile things? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers assemble together against the Lord and against his Messiah. 27 “For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28 to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

{pray}

I. Report and Response

Peter and John’s first step upon being released by the temple guards was not to go home and get some rest, maybe grab a shower and a hot meal… None of that. They immediately went to where the church was gathered together...

Acts 4:23 CSB

23 After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

The emphasis of the text here is on the prayer that the believers offered up to God when Peter and John were returned to them safe and sound. We can see that time and again as the early church encountered trouble, they were compelled to get on their knees and pray, asking for God’s help.

Verse 23 reports that Peter and John “went to their own people” which seems to be an unusual phrase. Some have tried to make this connect to the disciples or the apostles. I prefer the simplest understanding that they returned to the common group of believers in Christ. At this point the Christ followers were still gathering daily, reading scripture, singing songs of faith, and sharing their meals together. Peter and John knew where to find them and went to them straight away so they could pray to God.

II. Prayer and Prophecy

Acts 4:24 CSB

24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them.

This prayer was simple, yet powerful act of unity. The phrase “they raised their voices together” translates literally that they prayed aloud in unanimity (or of one mind).

Of One Accord

We see this idea of being united in heart and mind repeatedly throughout the New Testament. This is a way of saying that the group was single-minded in purpose—in harmony, in unity, without any dissent or division among them.

We’ll look next week at just how much unity described their gatherings—to the point that they shared their material possessions together.

We’ve looked at this passage in Ephesians before. Paul encouraged the believers to...

Ephesians 4:1–6 CSB

1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling—5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

And he told the Romans that being united is about the gift of God’s grace...

Romans 12:3–13 CSB

3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.

The truth is that we don’t often see unity at this level in the local church these days. We may see a shared meal or spending an hour or two together each week (at the most). However, true unity requires much more than this. Yet it is unity that empowers the church and empowers the Spirit to work through the church in the way God designed.

Principle: Division in the church hinders prayer and limits the power of the Spirit to be able to work through the church.

Getting back to our text for today, the prayer continues and they pray from Scripture quoting Psalm 2.

Acts 4:25–26 CSB

25 You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David your servant: Why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot futile things? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers assemble together against the Lord and against his Messiah.

It’s never a bad idea to pray scripture.

Principle: Prayer and scripture go hand in hand.

Jesus said...

John 15:7 CSB

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.

Now, I know that today it is easy for people to look for the word they want to hear and ignore the rest. So I’ll clarify this by saying that you cannot just pray the second part and leave out the rest: “Ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.” Jesus gave the qualifier that scripture must be in you and you must be in him before you can ask whatever you want and expect that it will be done for you. That is to say, that scripture will always prepare us for the prayer and the prayer will not be out of accord with the scripture or out of accord with God’s will.

God speaks to us and guides us through scripture. When we speak to God in prayer, we are submitting ourselves to his will and committing ourselves to the accomplishment of his will.

1 John 5:14–15 CSB

14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.

The believers based their prayer in the word of God. Specifically they prayed Psalm 2…

Psalm 2:1–2 CSB

1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and his Anointed One:

They did not ask God to change the circumstance or even to overthrow their enemy. Though they might have. Psalm 2:3 says...

Psalm 2:3 CSB

3 “Let’s tear off their chains and throw their ropes off of us.”

Even still, they did not ask for God to rescue them.

Psalm 2 is a song about the nations in revolution against the Lord.

The believers on this day identified the Anointed One of Psalm 2 as Jesus, their Messiah. They saw the work of Herod, through Pilate, as a denigration of their King. Even still they understood this to be part of God’s plan for their Messiah.

Peter had previously preached on the Day of Pentecost, saying...

Acts 2:22–24 CSB

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know. 23 Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. 24 God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death.

III. Warnings and Wonders

As the believers prayed, they had previously recognized and called the religious leaders and even the people of Israel into account for their part in the crucifixion of Jesus. They also named the Roman government officials for their part in his death.

Even though they were playing their part in fulfilling God’s plan, they had identified the real problem to be the nations rejecting and raging against God’s appointed Messiah usurping their place as king...

Acts 4:27–28 CSB

27 “For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28 to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place.

The believers went on to pray a surprising prayer. They did not ask God to protect them or remove them from a difficult situation. Instead they prayed for something quite different...

Acts 4:29–30 CSB

29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

This is such a beautiful prayer. This is not a CAN’T DO prayer but a CAN DO prayer.

Philips Brooks, American minister and hymn writer wrote “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men and women. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.”

These believers who had watched their teacher and savior die on a Roman cross and had just been rebuked by the same group of leaders that could punish them just as easily prayed for the boldness to continue standing against those threats.

The believers prayed for “signs and wonders” but they understood that miraculous signs were not to provide for themselves or to give them power over their enemies but to point any witnesses to Christ.

This was a prayer of yielding to God’s will and plan, while asking God to give them the power they needed to bring that plan to fruition.

Peter wrote about this idea of yielding in his first letter...

1 Peter 4:19 CSB

19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.

These believers did not ask for protection from the authorities, they ask for power to do what Christ had instructed them to do. They wanted boldness and the ability to speak out. They wanted to be submitted to God’s hand that they might be able to bring these signs and wonders to the world.

What’s the deal with signs and wonders(aka miracles)?

These miracles were a supernatural work of God that had the purpose of demonstrating His involvement with humanity. God uses miracles to reveal himself to us.

A miracle is an unexpected outpouring of God’s power in an event that defies ordinary explanation, which occurs for the purpose of advancing God’s kingdom.

[Providence and Miracles from Lexham Survey of Theology]

It was important to the early believers that any supernatural miracle be used as an opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

IV. The Power of Their Prayers

This was a prayer for power and the believers received a clear sign of power from the Spirit...

Acts 4:31 CSB

31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

God gave these believers a clear sign of power and filled them with the Spirit of God.

This passage shows us just what a Church Activated actually looks like. We’ll look at this more deeply next week as we explore how that church related internally and how they cared for each other.

Pastor Warren Wiersbe wrote this about the church today...

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: Persecution, Prayer, and Power (Acts 4:5–31)

The name of Jesus Christ has not lost its power, but many of God’s people have lost their power because they have stopped praying to the sovereign God.