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Do we as a church (collectively not individually) want to grow?
Are we as a church willing to do what it takes in order to grow?
How can we as a church (collectively) participate in church growth?
One way we all can participate in helping the church grow is by following the example of the early church in acts
One of the most dominant features of the New Testament church was that they prayed.
• Following the ascension of Jesus, the followers of Jesus were left in Jerusalem without Jesus’ physical presence, but spiritually they were still in contact with Him because they prayed.
• When the disciples were selecting the replacement for Judas they prayed.
The decision was too great to make by themselves.
• Following Peter’s sermon on Pentecost that resulted in many new believers, they were instructed in spiritual growth tools.
Among those tools was prayer.
• Prayer was such a way of life that they took time out each day, even in the afternoons, to spend time in prayer to God.
• Prayer was so important to the apostles that they set aside other servants to care for the physical needs of the widows, so they could spend extended periods of time in prayer.
Do you see the picture?
• Prayer is not some function tacked on at the end of a service.
• It is not an agenda item that if we get to it then we will pray.
Prayer is to be prominent, primary, and prestigious in the life of a church and its members.
Our prayers should move beyond the walls of the church and embrace the concerns of our communities with the power of God.
MY AIM THIS MORNING IS THREE FOLD
I want to persuade you in the importance of prayer in the early church
I want to persuade you to participate in prayer
I want to persuade you that prayer is vital to church growth
Study 1: The Indispensable and Distinguishing Feature ()
Prayer was one of the most distinguishing features of their lives.
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples were instructed to wait ().
While they waited they prayed ().
And in the midst of their first prayer meeting the Spirit of God visited them in such a dramatic way that they were not only changed but 3,000 additional souls where brought into God’s kingdom ().
It was their first victory.
The enemy suffered a major defeat.
Prayer became a major thrust of their lives and ministry.
The early disciples “devoted themselves . . . to prayer” ( NIV) and the church continued to take territory from the enemy.
“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” ( NIV).
The opposition “commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” ( NIV) but they couldn’t “help speaking about what they had seen and heard” ( NIV).
• What gave them the boldness to speak in the face of opposition?
• What gave them the power to continue preaching?
• What gave them the courage to assault a formidable foe with limited resources?
maybe the reason we can’t speak out for Christ or do not have the tools or desire to speak out for Christ is because we don’t pray for it.
that why i asked the question to begin with this morning, do you desire to grow.
What are you praying about?
What are you praying for?
Are you praying for the unsaved those outside of Christ.
are you praying for your friends and loves ones heart to be opened to coming to Christ?
Are you praying that you will be moved and have the tools to reach others.
Are you praying that God will empower you to get out and reach the lost or are you praying fro church growth that doesn’t involve you doing anything?
The answer is simply because they prayed.
“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 ( NIV).
And, the result: “So the word of God spread.
The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” ( NIV).
In answer to their united and earnest prayers, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and as Chrysostom commented, “that makes them the more unshaken.”
They spoke the word of God boldly resulting in more of the enemy’s territory taken as the church continued to expand beyond its walls.
Even the most hostile of opponents, the priests, were converted to Christ.
At the outset of their ministry, the apostles were fearful, but eventually they became men of faith.
They were impotent, but became stalwarts of power.
They were dumbfounded, but became creative geniuses.
They were cowards, but became profiles in courage.
What made the difference?
In a word: prayer.
When we work, we work; when we pray, God works.
Prayer is the means God has ordained by which he will work on earth and meet the needs of his people.
If you and I don’t pray, if prayer is not the indispensable and distinguishing feature of our lives, we will not see the hand or the movement of God.
prayer brings God to us, it shows that we need God
The Book of Acts records the mighty works of God for and through His church in its early years, and clearly connects them to unified, corporate prayer.
The 120 were gathered in an upper room praying in one accord when Pentecost comes (; ).
The disciples prayed for wisdom in knowing who Judas' replacement should be ().
When Peter and John reported the Sanhedrin's threats, those gathered cried out to God in one accord for boldness, and the place was shaken where they prayed (, ).
The church prayed over the seven men appointed to serve the widows ().
After James was martyred and Peter imprisoned by Herod, but the church was fervently praying, and God miraculously delivered Peter from his cell ().
they needed God and God came in a big way
While the prophets and teachers were praying and fasting, the Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas to go on their first missionary journey ().
Prayer changes us
Paul and Silas were praying when God sent an earthquake that resulted in the conversion of the jailer and their release ().
He took wimps (weak, ineffectual, and insipid persons) and transformed them into warriors (bold, courageous, and powerful people).
Nevertheless, the majority of God's recorded workings came when His people prayed together.
Real prayer is not only soul satisfying; it is life changing.
When you and I spend time with Jesus, he changes us.
Richard Foster wrote, “To pray is to change.
Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us.
If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.
The closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ.”
By being with Jesus, he changes us into his likeness.
We become joyful, strong, fearless, and courageous.
Like the apostles, as we grow more and more like him, we move from the rear guard to the front lines of the battle.
We move from weakness to power.
We move from fearfulness to boldness.
We move from the comfort of the sidelines to the action of the game.
Don’t pray unless you want to change.
Don’t pray unless you want to be propelled into action.
Don’t pray unless you want to move on the offensive.
Don’t pray unless you want to go to war.
Don’t pray unless you want to advance God’s kingdom.
Don’t pray if you don’t want to see people cross the line of faith.
Don’t pray if you don’t want to see the church to stagnate and die.
prayer unleashes the power of God
prayer prepares us to share our faith boldly
prayer is vital to church growth
where can we begin.
pray that God will help you grow in your desire to participate in church growth
pray for the growth of the church everyday
lets gather together for the specific purpose to pray for the lost and pray that God will use us to bring about that growth
make a list of no more than 7 people that you are going to pray for everyday that their hearts will be softened an open to being obedient to Christ based on his terms.
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