Expectant Prayer (Acts 1:4–14)

Introduction

Before we begin, I want to address a pressing issue for our church, and I want to be pastoral. I know some of us are hurting this morning. I want to share my condolences with my fellow Padres fans. If you are a Dodgers fan this morning, we love you, and thank God that he breaks down the barriers and walls between us. However, if you are not a Dodgers fan, I’m sure you will join me in rooting for the New York Mets to beat LA. Moving on.

Attention

We are starting a new series this morning called, A Praying Church. It's called a praying church because, and this is not from me, but it's been said when it comes to prayer that there are two types of churches.

One type of church is a church that prays. A church that prays is a church that uses prayer in transition. The church does pray, but it prays to transition from one thing to the next.

It prays to transition from the worship songs to the announcements.

It prays to transition from the end of the sermon to the end of the service.

A church that uses prayer in this way disciples their people that prayer is used for transition. We see this all the time. How do you transition into eating? By prayer. How do you transition to close your small group? By prayer.

The other type of church is a praying church. This is the kind of church that when people think of this church, they say, “These people really believe in the power of prayer.” This is a church that takes intentional time with the singular purpose to gather together to depend on God in prayer.

Charles Spurgeon was a preacher in the 1800’s who is sometimes called the Prince of Preachers. As the story goes, someone wanted to know the source of his spiritual power. He took the person to room in the church where a group of people would be in prayer for him every week while he preached. He believed in the power of prayer. He is quoted as saying, “May God help me if you cease to pray for me. Let me know the day, and I must cease to preach.”(1)

Problem

Spurgeon lived with an expectancy around prayer. He believed that when the church prays. you can expect big things from God. What we want to find out today is how can we as a church grow as a praying church of Christians who have a genuine expectancy in prayer?

The book of Acts gives us multiple times when the church moved with expectancy in prayer. In this series, we’re going to take a look at times in the book of Acts where the church gets together to pray.

The first church prayer meeting that we're going to look at is in Acts 1, right in the beginning of the book of Acts. So open up your Bibles to Acts 1:4-14.

Scripture Reading

Acts 1:4–14 CSB

4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.” 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Pray

What is happening here in Acts 1? Let's walk through this.

The disciples are in the period immediately after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Acts 1:3 tells us that after Jesus had suffered, after he had gone to the cross, he then presented himself alive. And we know from the gospels that Jesus resurrected from the dead on the third day. It says in Acts 1:3 that Jesus “presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

So during this period of 40 days, Jesus makes numerous resurrection appearances to his followers. The Bible tell us that Jesus:

appeared resurrected to Mary Magdalene, (John 20:11-18, Mark 16:9-11)

to other women (Matthew 28:9-10)

to two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32, Mark 16:12-13)

to Peter (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5)

to the disciples without Thomas (John 20:19-23, Luke 24:36-43)

to the disciples with Thomas (John 20:24-29)

to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-14)

1 Corinthians 15:6 tells us that he appears to over 500 believers at one time

Jesus appears to his brother James (1 Corinthians 15:7)

to the disciples on the mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20)

And here on the 40th day, Jesus is making his final resurrection appearance to his disciples before before sending it to heaven.

Now, for the disciples this is a period of time that is transformational for their lives. They are in a period of transition.

They experienced Jesus physically present with them in his ministry for 3 years. Then the experience of watching him crucified, and then the resurrection! They have a period of 40 days of being with Jesus physically alive again resurrected from the dead.

You can't imagine how jarring, exciting, and exhilarating this whole period of 40 days of resurrection appearances must have been. They are in a period of transition, where they are going from the physical presence of Jesus, both before the cross and after the cross, to now a period of his ascension, where he is no longer physically present with them. They transition into a waiting period of the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Having experienced the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ created an incredible sense of expectancy within their hearts and souls of the move of God. When Christians live with a great sense of expectancy of the move of God, they are driven to be a people who pray.

When Jesus ascends, they head back to Jerusalem, in obedience to the Lord's command, and they head into a prayer meeting. They head into Jerusalem for an upper room prayer meeting. It says in Acts 1:14 that,

Acts 1:14 CSB

14 They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

When you expect God to do a great things, the spiritual response of the church is prayer. Expecting great things from God drives us to pray.

And I want to emphasize for us today the corporate nature of prayer in the church.

These followers of Jesus don't give each other a holy pep talk saying, “Hey, make sure that you all pray about this,” and then go into Jerusalem into all their different places and start praying on their own, individually.

No, they all go into a place together. And the language of their corporate worship together is the language of prayer.

As they all approach the upper room, they get into the room and pray together, there is this great sense of expectancy among them.

And as we talk today about expectant prayer, I want to outline for us four key areas of expectancy that drove their prayer meeting, and I believe can shape expectancy for our own prayer meetings as well.

The first key area of expectancy that drove their prayer meetings was an

Expectancy for God’s kingdom work

The disciples asked the Lord a question in Acts 1:6 where it says,

Acts 1:6 CSB

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”

Now this was a very natural question for these followers of Jesus, because the Kingdom of God had been a central theme in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Just from the Gospels alone, if you put the three years of Jesus ministry into a timeline, there are over 50 references that we know of that Jesus gives during his ministry about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven.

He proclaims the kingdom of God, such as in Mark 1:15 where he says “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” He teaches about the kingdom of God in his parables.

In the period of resurrection appearances over 40 days, Luke tells us in Acts 1:3 that a central theme of his message during this period was “speaking about the Kingdom of God.”

So there would be a natural sense of expectancy within the followers of Jesus Christ for God's kingdom work.

It's sort of like a child who has been promised a trip to Disneyland. For months, the parents have been talking about it, showing pictures, sharing stories of what it will be like, and building excitement about the adventure. The child has heard so much about it that it feels as though it’s just around the corner. When the day finally arrives, the child is brimming with anticipation, asking, 'Is it time yet? Are we going today?'

In the same way, the disciples had heard Jesus talk about the Kingdom of God so many times—they had seen glimpses of it through His miracles, His teachings, and even His resurrection. Naturally, they were filled with a sense of expectancy, wondering if now was the moment when everything they had hoped for would be fulfilled.

And as they approach the prayer meeting in Acts 1:14, there is an expectancy within their hearts for God's kingdom work.

And in fact, the Lord had told them to have an expectancy for God's kingdom work in their prayer time. The Lord says that when you pray, and the Lord’s prayer is a corporate prayer, it is, “Our Father,” a plurality, all of us, he says in Matthew 6:10 that the prayer of his people, the church, should be kingdom-focused. He says,

Matthew 6:10 CSB

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Now this portion of the prayer has within it the Kingdom of God, and directly connects the will of God with his kingdom. In essence, what he's saying is that the Kingdom of God has kingdom values. The will of God represents his kingdom values.

And then the Lord's prayer itself, there is a sense of expectancy that God's kingdom values will be our values. There is an anticipation that the values or the will of God will be more and more evident on Earth as it is in heaven.

That's the kind of expectancy that drives the disciples to ask the Lord in Acts 1:6 “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” Think about that. God’s kingdom work is restoration work. When the Kingdom of God comes to mankind, it is an act of restoration, it is restoring back to a connection with God.

We are expectant for God's kingdom work because people need to be restored to God through Jesus Christ.

One of the things I’ve found interesting is San Diego is the love for classic cars. I have a neighbor who has been working on a classic car in his driveway. He’s stripped off the paint, so that it is just a metal shell in the driveway. But I can see what he envisions with this old shell of metal. Whenever I see the classic cars drive on Reo Drive, I'm always amazed at the quality and care that they do in restoring these cars. And I think they might look better than they have ever been.

In the same way, God's kingdom work is restoring work on Earth, as he takes people who are hurting and broken, and restores us back to life through the power of his Spirit, to give us a life that we've never known before.

There is a visible need for restoration in our city. You can drive around and see all the tents of people experiencing homelessness and the addictions and the brokenness and hurting that that represents. What's visible in our homeless community is hidden behind so many of the houses in our community, with families in deep need of restoration. We know it's happening in families all around us because it's happening in our own families.

But, you know, if there was a move of God in our city, what an incredible effect would happen in reductions in homelessness, in families being restored, in lives being made new. But does the church have enough faith to believe that would happen?

I think if you asked the early church here in Acts, there is an expectation that they have of a restoration movement of God in their city. And as we come here to church on Sunday to worship and as we engage in the prayer meeting, there's an expectation that we can have of God's restoring kingdom work in our own families, and in our community, and in our city.

Let’s pray with expectancy of God’s kingdom work.

Transition: Second, as the disciples had an expectancy for God’s kingdom work, they also had an...

Expectancy for the Spirit’s empowerment

Here's the thing about God's kingdom work. Whenever Christians are doing the work of ministry, we understand that restoration work is a work of the Spirit of God. Restoration comes from God's power alone. It’s only God’s power alone that draws people to restoration.

The disciples understood this. Remember the question that they had in Acts 1:6. They didn't ask the Lord, “Are we going to restore the Kingdom to Israel now?” What did they say? They said, “Lord Jesus, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now.” Lord, we are not sufficient. You are the promise of God to Israel. Are you going to restore people to God through your power?

In Acts 1, the Lord Let's his disciples know that, as they move forward as a united body of believers, it will be his power working through them through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Take a look at Acts 1:4-5.

Acts 1:4–5 CSB

4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”

How's that for expectancy? How many of us wish that God would promise something and would give us a timeline saying that this is going to happen in a few days? If you knew that the Lord had promised something was going to happen in a few days, wouldn't there be an incredible sense of expectancy in your own heart?

The disciples here in Acts 1 are being promised that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days. There is going to be a holy spirit empowerment in their life. He repeats this promise in Acts 1:8 where he says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you.” They have an incredible sense of expectancy for Holy Spirit empowerment.

So as they approach the prayer meeting in Acts 1:14, not only do they carry with them an expectation for God's kingdom work, they have an incredible sense of expectation for Holy Spirit empowerment in their lives.

And this same sense of expectation is not limited to Acts 1. Holy Spirit empowerment is a promise to the church. Take a look at how Paul prays for the church in Ephesians 3:16,

Ephesians 3:16 CSB

16 I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit,

Holy Spirit empowerment is a strengthening within your inner being through faith in Christ to live a life holy and pleasing to God.

Holy Spirit empowerment gives you joy, peace, patience and all those fruits of the Spirit to face a world and a culture that is against Christ.

It is Holy Spirit empowerment that strengthens the church to share the good news of Jesus, so that God's restoring work happens in our families, in our city and in our world.

Paul realizes in his prayer that the church needs the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in order to do its mission. And he doesn't take the empowerment of the Spirit for granted. It is a focal point in his prayer. He prays, “God, please strengthen your people in their inner being by the power of your Holy Spirit.”

And this prayer is an expectant prayer of the empowerment of God's Spirit because it is according to the riches of his glory. God, according to your glory, empower your people.

When I was working in the Police Department as an officer, I couldn't just go out in a in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I had to put on a bulletproof vest. I had to put on the blue uniform and a gun belt with my gun on my side, my radio, and all of the right tools and resources that I needed. I also needed the empowerment of the state behind me to be able to take action when I needed to.

Being a Christian and going out into our culture as a Christian is a greater empowerment than being an officer, because we represent a greater kingdom.

And as you go out into the world, you need the empowerment of the Spirit of God to do so. We feel this. When we're not in Scripture as we as we should be, when we're not praying as we should be, when we're not in fellowship with as we should be, when we are in unrepentant sin, we go out into the world and try to live in our flesh. Our flesh is always weak. Trying to be a Christian that way doesn’t work.

But when we are dependent on Jesus in our lives, when we are listening to him through his Word, when we are talking to him in prayer, when we are in fellowship with the saints in church, when we are repentant of sin, when we are people united together in prayer, we can we put on our spiritual bulletproof vest and have all the tools and resources we need to tell a hurting and broken world that they need Jesus.

Expectancy for the Spirit’s empowerment should drive our prayers as we pray for boldness, as we pray for the Lord's guidance and wisdom, as we pray that the Spirit of God would strengthen us in our inner being to face the challenges that we see in our world.

And as we gather together as a church in prayer, let's move with expectancy and pray for the Spirit’s empowerment in our church to fulfill the mission God has given us, because God’s mission needs God’s power according to God’s promise for God’s people.

We pray with expectancy for God’s kingdom work, expectancy for God’s empowerment, and there is a third expectation in the early church. There was an…

Expectancy to be a witness for Jesus

We can start to see what is developing and structuring the prayers of their prayer meeting in Acts 1:14. They had a great expectation for God's kingdom work as they expected to see God’s restoration work move throughout their land. They had an expectation of Holy Spirit empowerment to do the work that God had called him to do.

And all of this would result in them being great witnesses for Jesus. The Lord had told them this in Acts 1:8,

Acts 1:8 CSB

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In essence, there is a commissioning work of Jesus to his people, saying “I am sending you out, I am commissioning you under the power of the Holy Spirit to be representatives of my kingdom to the world.” Every day you walk around with a commission to be a representative of the Kingdom of God to the world. You might be the closest thing to heaven that some one might ever see.

This is something that we see over and over in Scripture. The Lord says in Matthew 5:16,

Matthew 5:16 CSB

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

As you walk with Christ, there should be an expectancy in your life to be a great witness for Jesus to others. There is a light within you that needs to shine to your family. Shine to your workplace. Shine to your church. Shine to the world.

Paul and Barnabas, speaking to a synagogue in Antioch, quoted Isaiah 49:6 when they said this in Acts 13:47,

Acts 13:47 CSB

47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”

God chooses to use his people to shine the light of Christ to others. Therefore they should be an expectancy that as I walk with Jesus, people are going to see Jesus in my life. Obedience to the Spirit of Christ in you will cause you to shine his light to others. You can expect that.

And let's be honest, being a great witness for Jesus is a little overwhelming. And I can picture these early disciples in Acts 1 as the Lord is telling them that they will be his witnesses to the ends of the Earth, that this would drive them to say, “We need to get together and we need to pray.” Because if God is going to use us to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth, we need to be a praying church.

During the recent heat wave that we had some weeks ago, this whole neighborhood went dark because there was a blackout. As we were driving home during the blackout, there was no lights on in this neighborhood anywhere. None of the houses were lit up. It was just dark. Except in a couple houses, some were getting around their houses with flashlights, and you could see the light through the window. When we got home, we found our flashlights and put them on so we could see and get around the house.

See, when you are in the middle of darkness, light is valuable and it is precious. And as a Christian this morning, God has called you to shine the light of Christ in the middle of a deeply dark world. Because as a Christian, if the Spirit of God is in you, you will be a light for Jesus in a dark world. You can expect it. And the world needs that light.

And a praying church is a church that will shine the light of Christ in the darkness. A praying church is a church that depends on Jesus. And you don't depend on Jesus alone. We all need Jesus. And as we unite together in prayer, we encourage and strengthen each other and prepare each other as a church to be a witness for Jesus to the world.

A praying church approaches prayer with:

An expectancy for God’s kingdom work

An expectancy for the Spirit’s empowerment

An expectancy to be a witness for Jesus

Last, a praying church approaches prayer with an...

Expectancy of Christ’s return

These early disciples, as they receive the Great Commission from Jesus in Matthew 28, as they expect the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in just a few days as it says in Acts 1, as they are preparing to be a witness for Jesus to the ends of the Earth, all of this is structured within the promise of Acts 1:11, where as the Lord ascends into heaven, God’s angels tell the disciples,

Acts 1:11 CSB

11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”

In other words, as they are walking into the prayer meeting in Acts 1:14, there is a bold expectation within them that kingdom work of Jesus that they are moving into, that the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that they are about to experience, all of this is a temporary and transitional period that will finally result in the return of Christ.

In John 14:3 Jesus promises his disciples that he will return, when he says,

John 14:3 CSB

3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.

And it is the great hope of the return of Jesus Christ that ends the Bible in the Book of Revelation 22:20, where John says,

Revelation 22:20 CSB

20 He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

When Christians live with an expectation of the return of Christ, everything else in the middle is temporary, and each day is precious as we are called to be a witness for the one who is coming soon.

This line of work of being a pastor now has caused me to have to do some traveling. Many times my wife is not able to come because we live in San Diego, and like many people, both of us have to work. When I am away from her, I miss her and I'm texting and calling her. I’m on this trip, and it’s necessary, but I miss her and I’m expecting to see her soon.

I imagine as these early disciples are heading into the prayer meeting, they know they have this great commission from Jesus, and its necessary, but they miss his physical presence. They can't wait to see him soon.

That would cause them as a church to get together with expectancy of his return to say we are people united in prayer because we want to talk to him and say, “Lord, we can't wait to see you soon.”

And here's the thing about that transition period for the church. We are still in that transition period. Jesus is coming soon. He has gone to prepare a place for us, and he is returning soon so that, where he is, we may be also.

Praying with an expectancy for the return of Christ guides our prayers as a church saying,

Lord Jesus, since you are returning soon, let me live faithfully to your call.

Lord Jesus, since you are returning soon, let me be a light to the world.

Let me love my wife as Christ loved the church. Let me love my children well.

Let me tell my family, my neighbors, and my friends that God wants to restore them through faith in Jesus Christ.

We don't have time to sit around and play church. Since Jesus is coming soon, let us be the church to God has called us to be. And that begins by being a praying church.

Conclusion

Just like the early church, when we gather together to pray, we can,

Pray with expectancy for God’s kingdom work, that we will see God’s restoring work among us

Pray with expectancy for God’s Holy Spirit empowerment, that we would be a people strengthened by the Spirit of God in our inner being

Pray with expectancy to be a great witness for Jesus, knowing that he desires that we be a light to the world

Pray with expectancy for his return, knowing that no matter what we face, Jesus is coming soon, and we want to live every day to his glory.

Let us pray that we would be a praying church with an expectant heart to see God move among us.

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!

1. Alistair Begg, “Biography of Charles Haddon Spurgeon,” in The Spurgeon Study Bible: Notes (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), vi.