The Church Prays Earnestly in Times of Crisis
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We will return to our series on Being the Bride of Christ next week. But, part of being the Bride of Christ is caring for one another, particularly in times of crisis in our lives.
There are numerous ways to show care for another believer, but the greatest way is prayer.
Truth-be-told, the only real weapons the church has at it’s disposal is God’s Word, the fellowship of the saints, and prayer. But, these are exceedingly powerful!
We will talk about why we are talking specifically about prayer in a little bit, but before we get there, let’s look at one of the greatest narratives about the power of the praying church in the Bible, from Acts 12:1-17.
Body: Acts 12:1-17
Body: Acts 12:1-17
Verses 1-5
Context...
Jerusalem church...
Stephen is martyred...
God sent Peter to Cornelius…(salvation for the Gentiles too)
Saul the persecutor has been converted and is now in Antioch...
Yet, all is not well...
Herod Agrippa I...
Grandson of Herod the Great…grew up and was educated in Rome…named king of Israel by Caligula in A.D. 37...
Unpopular with the Jewish people because of mixed heritage and Hellenism...
Tried to cover his Hellenism while in Jerusalem...
He’s attempting to gain popularity by persecuting the religious leader’s enemies, the young Christian church...
James the brother of John is martyred...
James is beheaded...
One of the original apostles and a leader of the Jerusalem church...
Only apostolic death recorded in the NT...
Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,
Peter is arrested during the Passover celebration...
The intention is to kill Peter too, but Herod wants to wait until after the Passover celebration in order to not upset the Jews...
Peter is heavily guarded...
4 squads of 4 soldiers watched him on a rotating basis…he was chained to two of them...
The religious leaders probably warned Herod of Peter’s escape recorded in chapter 5...
Key Verse: “…but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”
When a crisis comes into the life of the church, the church earnestly prays.
When a crisis comes into the life of the church, the church earnestly prays.
earnest = ἐκτενῶς
adverb...in a serious manner...
Other places:
And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
Casual and half-hearted prayer isn’t earnest prayer...
Throughout Acts, prayer is the early church’s response to everything...
It should be ours as well...
Verses 6-11
Peter sleeping between two soldiers...
Notice that Peter wasn’t expecting anything but death. We see no depression in Peter or complaining to God.
In fact, Peter slept soundly. I can’t fathom that! But, it reveals a man who has grown from the denier he once was. He’s confident that in life or in death, God’s purposes will be fulfilled in his life.
An angel of the Lord...
Peter doesn’t escape, he is delivered!
God can rescue His people when and how He chooses.
Here we see that Peter is drowsy and disoriented. He needs to be given step by step directions by the angel.
And, he didn’t even realize this was real until after the fact.
Key Verse: “…Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me...”
The Lord will rescue His people when He has more for them to accomplish.
The Lord will rescue His people when He has more for them to accomplish.
Unlike what some teachers will teach today, this isn’t a promise of God’s deliverance from persecution. God chooses to intervene at times, and doesn’t at other times. There is no magic formula…
The question should always be: why did God save Peter?
Because he still had work for him to do.
Why would God save us from suffering?
Because he has something for us to do…
Verses 12-17
The house of Mary, the mother of John Mark...
House church...
John Mark...
Where many were gathered together praying...
Peter left standing at the gate...
Unbelieving prayer...
“You are out of your mind.”
“It is his angel!”
Guardian angel? Who knows! The role of angels is to be ministering spirits who do what God wants done.
They saw him and were amazed.
Key Verse: “…he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.”
We should pray expecting that God will hear our prayers and respond according to His purposes.
We should pray expecting that God will hear our prayers and respond according to His purposes.
Ask yourself an honest question: Do I really pray with the confidence that God not only hears my prayers, but answers them?
I’ve struggled with this at times in my life...
I mentioned early that the church only has three weapons when it comes to spiritual warfare and personal crisis: the fellowship of the believers, God’s Word, and prayer.
All are powerful. But, prayer might be the most powerful, because anyone can do it...
In His graciousness, the God who created everything, sustains everything, and understands everything, not only welcomes our prayers, but He answers them.
His answers aren’t always expected, but they are always for our good and His glory.
Challenge
Challenge
This is one of the most practical and urgent challenges I’ve ever laid out...
Earnest prayer challenge for Diana Lerma...
Tuesday, May 28th will be a Day of Prayer for Diana Lerma. My challenge is for the members of our church to band together to pray earnestly for Diana for twelve hours.
At least two people every hour praying for a miracle...
You can do this by yourself, or with someone else. You can come to the church or do it somewhere else.
I will contact people to remind them of their time and others who will be praying at that time.