Untitled Sermon (12)

Pray Until The Promise Comes?

Acts 1:3–5 AV

To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Acts 1:12–14 AV

Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Acts 2:1–6 AV

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

They received directions from Jesus before his ascension. Those directions were to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise (baptism) of the Holy Ghost.

They followed Jesus’ instructions and the scripture declares that they returned to the upper room where they had been staying. The same room, that Jesus and his disciples had the last supper. The same room, where after Jesus’ resurrection that when they doubted the news of his resurrection, he appeared in the midst of them, even though the door had been locked and the room secured tightly. They came to this room and started having prayer meetings and prayed until God would send the promise! The apostles, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, and several other women, and even the brothers of Jesus were gathered together. This small group of disciples soon grew to 120 disciples.

What I find interesting though is the fact that there were only 120 disciples in the upper-room. Why is this interesting? It is interesting because Jesus showed himself alive by many unfalliable proofs and showed himself to about 500 disciples. Jesus not only told the 12 apostles, to go to Jerusalem but He must’ve told others in order for that number to swell to 120......120 was a good number but there should have been more! Evidently, 380 of the disciples had better things to do than to come and pray, 380 disciples had better things to do than to wait on the promise of the Holy Ghost, 380 thought that the infilling of the Holy Ghost was not an important thing! Please don’t take this as a rebuke that some didn’t make prayer service yesterday. Some were working, some were sick and not feeling well, some were out of town, and others either had better things to do, or they thought that sleep was more important than sacrificing time, errands, or sleep. I learned from this that everyone isn’t going to want to put in the effort it takes to be blessed by God. I was honestly shocked at the turnout yesterday for prayer, but at the same time I know that as a church there were some people that just choose to not come....period. But if you want to experience a true move of God.....you have to learn how to sacrifice! Sacrificing is not an easy thing.....it takes work.....it takes effort.....but if you put in the effort, if you make the sacrifice.....God will show up! This whole week, leading up to Pentecost has been all about making a sacrifice. We fasted this week and it was hard for most of us! But I’m believing God and taking Him at his word......that if we put forth an effort and sacrifice.....He’ll meet us! Even if you didn’t make prayer yesterday morning but you sacrificed all this week......I’m looking for God to show up on your behalf!

However, there was a hinderance that they needed to address. They couldn’t really seek the Lord like they should because their mind was on other things. They’d loss one of their own, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas betrayed the Lord and brought the enemy to Jesus so that they could arrest him and kill him. I can imagine that the disciples were hurt by what Judas did. But thank God Jesus got over it! Jesus rose again and He’d been telling all of his disciples that but Judas didn’t really believe because Satan had his heart. The bible tells us in verses 18-19 that Judas took the blood money he received when he betrayed Jesus and bought himself, but then when we read Matthew 27:1-10 we see that Judas felt guilt, shame, and remorse. He felt that what He did was so terrible he couldn’t be redeemed and He took his own life. He felt like there was no hope, no reason to live, he felt damnation, and He took his own life. He walked with Jesus all that time.....and still didn’t know who Jesus was. So now, the brethren was feeling some kind of way because one of their own betrayed Jesus and then committed suicide.

So Peter stand up in the midst of the 120 to address the heaviness that was in the room. Peter points out the fact, that the scriptures had to be fulfilled. But yet he points out something else that the scriptures says in verse 20 “Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick, let another take.” In essence the scriptures was telling them “it’s time to move on”. God can’t bless you if your trying to live in the past! God can’t bless you if your holding on to things that you need to let go of! God can’t bless you if you keep making excuses for the same old actions, justifying the same old lifestyle, the same old habits, the same prayers, the same praise, the same attitude, if you want God to bless you, you gotta learn to move on! You gotta learn how to look to Jesus and look for God to take you to deeper heights and deeper depths! Look at your neighbor and tell your neighbor “Neighbor....I can’t stay here.....I’ve got to move!” “I’ve got to turn the page!”

The reason why some of us aren’t bless is because we look for God to come the same way all the time......you need to know and understand that God is not restricted to one method, God is not restricted to doing things a certain way! We come in the prayer-line, leave out the prayer line, and figure that because we didn’t fall in the floor speaking in tongues that God wasn’t in it......but the problem is that you are restricting God with your unbelief. We think that because we don’t feel something that God doesn’t hear our prayers.....the devil is a liar! God is omniscient! I dare you to tell your neighbor God is omniscient! That means He knows all, he knows your thoughts afar off, He knows when your lay down and when you rise up, He knows the number of hairs on your head.....so why is it.....we restrict God and saying that God doesn’t hear us......NO THAT’S Satan trying to deceive you. But I dare to encourage your neighbor and tell your neighbor......”neighbor.....hey neighbor......guess what....God heard you!” When the devil tries to sow doubt in your mind, when He tries to make you doubt the omniscience of God you need to turn the page on him!

The disciples start to turn the page.....they knew that if we are going to receive from God this promise.....all hinderances has to be out of the way. If we want God to move, we have got to get this stuff out of our mind, out of our spirit in order for us to receive what we need from God. Your hinderance can be unforgiveness, your hinderance can be bitterness, your hinderance can be rebellion, your hinderance can be lust, your hinderance can be gossip, your hinderance can be lying, your hinderance can be alcohol, your hinderance can be slothfulness, the scriptures says:

Hebrews 12:1 NLT

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Let’s turn the page today!

8. So now after they looked at the criteria for Judas’ replacement (eyewitness of his miracles, ministry, and resurrection) they nominated two men, one called Barsabbas and the other named Matthias. Then they all prayed and after they prayed and asked God to reveal who He has chosen, the lot fell to Matthias.

9. So now after they prayed, after they got all of the distractions out of the way they prayed to God every day! I come to encourage you this morning, that when the promise doesn’t come, when your prayers aren’t answered, when you don’t feel nothing at all, you’ve got to learn to do like the disciples did......PRAY UNTIL THE PROMISE COME! Jesus told them “Don’t leave Jerusalem until you receive the promise”........God told me to tell you this morning......don’t you stop praying until you receive the promise!” If God doesn’t answer you, pray until something happens, if God doesn’t answer you the first time, you pray everyday.....you seek God everyday, you make a sacrifice everyday......until God moves! For 10 days straight.....they prayed all day, they prayed all night, they slept then prayed, they ate then prayed, they sung then prayed. Until finally, on the day of Pentecost, the same day that commemorated the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai, the same day they celebrated the birth of the Israelite nation, when Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind (not a quiet sound, not a gentle sound, but a mighty sound) and it filled all the house where they were sitting!

Then there was what appeared to look like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them, and everyone present was filled with the Holy Ghost and began speaking with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance! When the Holy Ghost begins to really move, when the Holy Ghost begins to stir in you, it’ll make you speak in tongues, when the Holy Ghost begins to move in you, it will make you move, when the Holy Ghost begin to stir in you, it will make you speak out, it will make you testify, it’ll make glorify God, the Holy Ghost is a fire that you can’t contain! It got so good in the upper-room that people all over Jerusalem heard these 120+ in the upper room and came running to see what was going on! LORD LET YOUR SPIRIT FILL THIS HOUSE......SO THAT IT WILL BRING OTHERS TO YOU! Come let’s pray this prayer.....we aren’t just talking about the physical edifice.....we are talking you....you are the church!

They begin to question and wonder “what’s going on in here”. They mocked and wondered how were these unlearned, uneducated Galileans able to speak in our own language Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judean, Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egyptian, Libya, Cyrene, and Roman tongues! All of them heard the Apostles, all of them heard the disciples, they heard them speaking in tongues, heard them glorifying God in their native language, heard them speaking about the wonderful things that God had done for them! Shout Hallelujah! God empowered them to give Him glory! God empowered them to testify to someone! God got in their praise, He got in their mouth, He got in the body, He got in their spirit, they received the blessed promise of the HOLY GHOST! Those spectators didn’t know what to think of it, others mocked them saying they are drunk and full of new wine. But Peter, stepped forward with the eleven......being full of the Holy Ghost…said “These are not drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only 9 o’clock in the morning! They were up early in the morning praying! Peter said naw we aren’t drunk......but this is THAT, that was spoken by the prophet Joel, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, i will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daugthers shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and sigs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved! And whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!

From that point, Peter begins to preach Jesus.....the one they rejected. Peter begins to preach Jesus the one that killed, Peter begins to preach Jesus the one that died and rose again. Peter begins to preach Jesus the one that the Jews rejected, the one that the gentiles put to death, but the one that God honored and when Peter preached, they realized they sinned, and when Peter preached Jesus, they realized they needed a savior, and when Peter preached Jesus they knew they needed a change, and when Peter preached they knew that judgement day was coming, and when Peter preached they looked at one another and said “what are we going to do now”. Peter told them:

Acts 2:38–41 AV

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Close:

Peter told them what they needed to do to be saved. Luke records here that Peter exhorts, he encourages them to “save yourselves from this untoward generation.” This world we live in is a crooked world, this society that we live in is a crooked world and in Peter’s sermon he told his hearers that the day of the Lord is coming, where God is going to judge the world, and in order for you to be saved you have to come out of this world. In order for you to be saved you have to repent and turn from your sins, in order for you to be saved you need to be baptized in Jesus’ name, in order for you to be saved you have to be born again of the water and of the Spirit! This message is a message the reverberates today, this message is a message that is still applicable today.......you need to save yourselves from this untoward, this crooked generation, and the only way you can save yourselves is by turning to Jesus!