Sunday, February 26, 2012, "Acts of Prayer: Snapshots from the Prayer Life of the Early Church." Snapshot 4, "A Dangerous Church" Acts 4: 23-31

- Do you ever imagine what it's like to live life dangerously? Do you ever think about what it's like to live on the edge, to take big risks & experience the extremes, or to take a radical stand for what is right?

- I like to imagine what it would be like to be dangerous for the sake of a higher purpose.

- Most people do. That is why stories about master spies, superheroes, & brilliant detectives are so popular. We crave excitement, adventure, & risk.

- We even enjoy when flawed characters can rise to the occasion because they are most like us.

- One such example is a film I saw recently in which young man, Ryan, was dumped by his girlfriend. She accused him of being self-centered, childish, & lazy.

- He immediately decided to prove her wrong, somewhat out of spite, but also because he wanted to win her back, so he volunteered to help out with a cause that interested her.

- But while he was running errands for her, he received an emergency phone call from a perfect stranger who was calling from a smashed telephone that she'd managed to cobble back together.

- She had been kidnapped because she & her husband had witnessed the gang style murder of some drug dealers & videotaped the police officers who committed the crimes.

- At first, Ryan did not believe his caller. He assumed it was a prank call, but as he heard the kidnappers' treatment of the woman on the other end of the line, while hiding her lifeline to Ryan, he came to believe her.

- Throughout the film, Ryan undergoes a transformation from a self-centered, childish coward into a man willing to do whatever it takes, becoming dangerous to save the lives of others with little thought for himself.

- As we turn to our Bible text for today, I believe that it is this kind selfless devotion to Christ's higher cause that we see in Peter & John & the church. We see the church become dangerous in the face of danger to save the lives of others.

- Peter & John had been dragged before the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish ruling Council, only for healing a man in the name of Jesus & preaching the good news about the death, burial, & bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead.

- After being questioned, threatened, & commanded not to teach or speak in the name of Jesus again, the Sanhedrin let Peter & John go & we pick up the story from there.

- Acts 4:23-31: 23 When they were released, they went to their friends & reported what the chief priests & the elders had said to them.
24 & when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God & said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven & the earth & the sea & everything in them,
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage & the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves & the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord & against his Anointed’ —
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod & Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles & the peoples of Israel,
28  to do whatever your hand & your plan had predestined to take place.
29 & now, Lord, look upon their threats & grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, & signs & wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 & when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, & they were all filled with the Holy Spirit & continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:23-31 (ESV)

- Upon returning to their friends, Peter & John don't duck & cover. They don't turn tail & run. They don't find a place to hide till the heat blows over.

- The response of the church to the threats of the Sanhedrin is not to be cautious or keep their heads down.

- They respond to danger by turning toward God united in prayer.

- They call out to God, "Sovereign Lord" & the Greek word in the New Testament that's translated as sovereign refers to someone of unchallengeable power.

- In the face of danger the church calls out to her dangerous God.

- In prayer, the church remembered who their God is; One whose authority cannot be challenged; as maker of heaven & earth, One whose power is limitless; & One who keeps the promises spoken in his word.

- Although the nations plotted together & rejected God's anointed one, Jesus, it was all part of God's plan to fulfill his promises.

- From the point of view of the world, Jesus was killed because he was perceived as a threat. They thought he was a danger to their power & control. What they didn't realize is that Jesus would become even more dangerous to their authority following his resurrection.

- With his disciples carrying on the ministry of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, the powers-that-be continued to feel threatened by the good news about Jesus Christ.

- Once the church had refocused their minds upon God, his character & his word, then they were able to turn their minds to their requests as they prayed.

- They asked God for three things.

- First, they asked for God to consider the threats. They did not ask for God to crush their enemies, but they simply asked for God to keep it in mind that they're being threatened.

- This request was an appeal for justice & appeal that goes to the heart of God's character because he is a God of justice.

- Those that set themselves up as enemies of God's people make an enemy of God & are putting themselves in a very dangerous place.

- Second, they asked for God to continue enabling them to speak his word with all boldness.

- The word that the disciples of Jesus preach & teach the word they speak about is the good news about Jesus crucified, buried, & resurrected bodily.

- In the person of Jesus Christ, God came near, which made him available to all who turn to Jesus & away from their sin by faith.

- This is the dangerous message that God has called the church to bring to the world.

- It's dangerous because it's a threat to the world's authority.

- Since Jesus is risen, then Jesus is Lord. He is the final authority, & at his court justice will be done.

- It's dangerous because we tell others about it at great risk to our lives & our reputations. & it's dangerous because it's a message about changed lives & eternal life, which flies in the face of the constant lies of this world.

- There is a new religion that is King in Canada & it's the religion of secular humanism. Secular humanism teaches that all religions are the same and that human beings are basically good.

- Secular humanism (in other words, atheism) teaches that all religions are based on myth, but Christians believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead not as a myth but as a historical fact.

- The second request is also an appeal to the character of God because it is an appeal for truth. Jesus said, "I am the truth." & when he was brought to Pontius Pilate before being crucified he told Pilate that he came to testify to the truth.

- If Jesus is risen, then Jesus is Lord. If Jesus is Lord, then not just any religion will do because Jesus himself is the truth. Because of the claims of Jesus, the secular humanists & atheists of the world have set out to discredit & destroy biblical Christianity.

- If you have received Jesus Christ as Lord, then in this century more than ever before you need to expect prejudice & persecution against Christians.

- Because of your connection to Jesus, you may be made fun of, you may not be taken seriously, you may be bullied, you may be passed over for promotion, you may lose your job, you may lose your scholarships, &, outside of the developed & industrialized Western world, you could even lose your life.

- We need to pray for boldness because we need God to make us dangerous.

- Third, they asked God to stretch out his hand to heal & to perform signs & wonders in the name of Jesus. This third request is also an appeal to the character of God because it appeals to his mercy & grace.

- God's mercy & grace are central to the good news about Jesus. As the Scriptures say, "For all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God, & are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" Romans 3:23-24 (ESV).  

- "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8 (ESV).

- "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 6:23 (ESV).

- "For by grace you have been saved through faith. & this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" Eph 2:8 (ESV)

- It's all about God's mercy & grace. Being agents of mercy & grace is not for wussies or wimps. It takes real courage to extend God's mercy & grace to people who don't deserve it.

- & we know that because we too didn't deserve mercy, but we have received it.

- We ask God to display his power in people's lives as a show of his mercy & grace & as evidence in support of our witness about Jesus.

- So often today we turn to God asking for him to protect us & make us safe when what we need to do is turn to our dangerous God & ask him to make us dangerous in the face of danger.

- & the reason we need to appeal to our dangerous God to make us dangerous is not to destroy our enemies, but rather so we will not surrender or give up, but boldly persevere growing in our relationships with God & one another & as witnesses for Jesus.

- We need to be dangerous if we are to join God on his mission because it takes a courageous, dangerous church to storm the gates of hell.

- Now for our last question.

- What happened to the church in Jerusalem after they prayed?

- Verse 31 gives us the answer: "& when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, & they were all filled with the Holy Spirit & continued to speak the word of God with boldness."

- Through their prayer, God freed the church to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and become dangerous by taking the Gospel to the streets.

- That brings me to today's take-home truth. A praying church knows no surrender or retreat, but takes the gospel to the street.

- Our verse for meditation and memory this week is Acts 4:31, "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."

- A praying church knows no surrender or retreat, but takes the gospel to the street.

Sunday, February 19, 2012, "Acts of Prayer: Snapshots from the Prayer Life of the Early Church." Snapshot 3, "The Church Alive"

- So far in our journey we've examined Acts 1: 12-26 and 2:1-11. We have seen that, "If we would learn the forward way, then the answer is to pray," and, "Answered prayers are a matter of God's timing for his glory and kingdom."

- This week marks our third snapshot of the prayer life of the early church as we look at the closing versus of Acts chapter 2. These verses are among some of the most influential and widely known versus of the book of Acts and for good reason.

- They follow Peter's first sermon to the crowd that had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost in which Peter declared Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and his bodily resurrection; warning his hearers to save themselves through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Let's turn to Acts chapter 2:41-47 and read Luke's record.

41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:41-47 (ESV)

- As we begin to unpack these few verses we see that there was no small response to the good news of the risen Lord Jesus. 3000 lives were added to the first group of disciples on that day and they demonstrated that they truly had repented of their sins and received Peter's word through baptism which represents the forgiveness and cleansing of the new life found in Christ.

- Well-known pastor, preacher, and Bible commentator, John Stott describes the early church as a learning church, a loving church, a worshiping church, and an evangelistic church.

-These are four excellent observations about the church. We can be certain that the church alive is a learning church, a loving church, a worshiping church and an evangelistic church.

- But I want us to zero in on verse 42 for a few moments.

- 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

- It says, "they devoted themselves" and this phrase carries with it the idea of persistence or perseverance. These were things that they kept on doing, things that they saw as holy habits.

- Devotion to the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers was and is part of the fabric of the ongoing lifestyle of the church.

- And it is important that we see these things as top priorities and holy habits that help us to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.

- Let's also notice that these four devotional habits of the church were not something that was practiced in isolation or solitary confinement. These devotional habits of the church were community habits, exercises that the church participated in together.

- Since we are looking at snapshots of the prayer life of the early church I want us to focus in on that fourth habit; "they devoted themselves to…the prayers..."

- Luke emphasized here the Christian community at prayer. He saw prayer as one of the pillars of church community life.

- Luke reminded his readers that the people of God do not work by their feelings or their intuition, but through active dependence upon God in seeking his direction for the life of the church.

- In this snapshot of the early church what does Luke teach his readers about prayer?

- Luke taught his readers that continual prayer is the standard pattern of the life of the early church.

- Now, at this point it is relatively easy to be caught up in debates about just what exactly Luke meant by "the prayers" because our natural response is going to be what prayers, which ones, what does Luke mean by that?

- Did the church use set prayers which everyone knew by heart and often recited together?

- Well, I want to suggest that the obvious answer is, "yes, indeed they did."

- And I think that is the obvious answer because we do it too. We often turn to the Psalms, the Prophets, to the prayers of Moses, David, Solomon, Asaph, the apostle Paul, the Lord's Prayer, and all the prayers of God's people that are recorded in the Scriptures in order to bolster the prayer life of the church.

- Arguments aside, Luke stressed the church's devotion to prayer as a community of faith to highlight the fact that continual prayer is the standard pattern of the life of the early church.

- And since continual devotion to prayer is the standard pattern of the life of the early church, then continual devotion to prayer must become the standard pattern of life for the church today.

- Continual prayer is the standard pattern in the life of the church.

- In the book of Acts, prayer is something that is ongoing and continual in the life of the church even though, from this point on, we only get occasional glimpses of it.

- We saw devotion to prayer in Acts chapter 1 and we saw that continual devotion bear fruit in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the 120. And we see it again today in the response of the 3000 to Peter's sermon as well as in the fellowship of the church.

- Listen to this: 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:41-47 (ESV)

- Friends, if these lines do not describe the work of the Holy Spirit in answering the ongoing prayers of God's people, then I don't know what does.

-  As we look at these verses, what do we see?

- We see every life affected by a deep sense of awe. The Greek here says fear. The church has a strong handle on the truth that God is an awesome God who is holy and to be feared.

- We see the Holy Spirit working miracles through the apostles. The ministry of the Holy Spirit was re-creating the ministry of Jesus through the church.

- We see the walls of selfishness and individualism replaced with a joyful, generous, and sacrificial love for God's people.

- We see a church that meeting together in the Temple and in homes, in public worship and prayer as well as home-based, private, small prayer-and-share groups.

- We see a church that is passionate and inspired about worship because they know that worship is not about us, rather it's about the one who created us and freed us from the doom of sin and death.

- And we see God faithfully growing his kingdom.

- Doesn't that inspire you?

- The prayer filled life of the church comes out of a sense of mutual devotion to one another and to Christ which arises from transformed and renewed hearts.

- What we see in these verses with regard to prayer is simply this: as prayers in Christ thrive, the church comes alive. Publicly in large groups and privately in home-based small groups, the church comes alive as prayers in Christ thrive.

- There's a story told of the preacher who was a slave to his manuscript. He not only wrote his sermons, but he read them, word for word, from the pulpit. One Sunday night the lights went out in the church. The preacher thought someone was playing a practical joke on him. "Turn the lights on," he demanded in a stern voice. He was told that the lights were definitely off. What could he do? He could not speak unrehearsed and without notes, even in an emergency. He wisely concluded, "If the power is off, it is time to pray!"

- Friends, if we lack in power, then it is from a lack in prayer.

- As prayers in Christ thrive, the church comes alive.

Sunday, February 12, 2012 Acts of Prayer: Snapshots from the Prayer Life of the Early Church Snapshot 2, "It's a Matter of Timing."

- Have you ever stopped to consider how much of our lives have to do with timing?

- I mean, really? What in our lives isn't affected by timing? Everything has to do with timing, doesn't it?

- Education, marriage, childbirth, employment, growth & development, aging & many other big life influencing factors as well as small ones, like the commute to school or to work, finding a place to park at the mall or the grocery store, even waiting in line at the bank. Everything is affected by timing.

- Now you may be wondering what that has to do with this morning's Scripture passage, but we've already answered that question in part because we've already admitted that everything is affected by timing.

- If everything is affected by timing & if God is sovereign, then is anything left to chance or has God included every moment in his plans? Has he already made provision for every single decision every person will ever make?

- Certainly, if our God is the all-knowing, all-powerful & good God that I believe him to be, then surely he has timed everything according to his plans.

-The title of our message for this morning is, It's a Matter of Timing. Our God times everything according to his perfect plans. With God, everything is a matter of timing, which brings me to our lesson for today.

- Luke tells his readers that, "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place" (v. 1). I don't want us to lose the significance of verse one because this verse keeps us connected to the context. It reminds us of where the 120 disciples of Jesus are & what they are doing.

- You see, for 10 days the disciples had been praying, searching the Scriptures, & celebrating Jesus, Jesus who is the first fruits of the harvest to come.

- That's an interesting thought. You know, it was at Passover & the Feast of Unleavened Bread that a sheaf of grain was brought by every family to the Temple as a wave offering before the Lord as an offering of first fruits.

- Jesus is like that sheaf wave offering since he offered himself up on a cross at the beginning of the feast.

- The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, seven Sabbaths after Passover, is the harvest feast.

- Pentecost was one of the major feasts of the Jewish calendar & many pilgrims would've been in Jerusalem at that time as is portrayed in Acts chapter 2.

- God had been preparing his renewed people for this special Pentecost in which not only would his people celebrate the harvest, but would celebrate a spiritual harvest through the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the Church of God.

- God chose the timing of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to coincide with the feast of Pentecost specifically & deliberately for maximum impact & for his glory so that Pentecost would become a celebration of not only God's provision for his people of food, but also of God's provision for his people in making his very person, presence, & power available to all who call on his name.

- From the beginning of this message, I've had a question in mind that I wanted us to answer & I think it's time we got to that.

- According to Luke, why did the 120 remain gathered together in prayer for the 10 days leading up to Pentecost & why did God wait before sending his Spirit?

- The 120 remained together in prayer for the 10 days leading up to Pentecost & God waited before sending his Spirit because God's timing is designed for maximum kingdom impact & glory.

- That brings us to the main point of today's message. If you remember nothing else from the sermon, I want to challenge you & encourage you to remember that answered prayers are a matter of God's timing for his glory & kingdom.

- Answered prayers are a matter of God's timing for his glory & kingdom.

- That statement sums up the meaning & purpose of prayer. It also reminds us about the main role of the church.

-Christians are to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. As Jesus said on the Mount of Olives, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, & you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem & in all Judea & Samaria, & to the end of the earth” Acts 1:8 (ESV).

-Now, what does a witness do? In the courtroom, a witness testifies to the truth. A witness for Jesus Christ testifies to the death, burial, & bodily resurrection of Jesus from the grave.

- You see, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the message of the gospel.

- Jesus defeated sin in his sinless life & by offering up himself on a cross. Sin is the first enemy that we all face in our day-to-day lives, but Jesus defeated sin.

- The second & final enemy is death & the good news is that Jesus not only defeated sin, but he also defeated death so that death no longer has any power over those who trust in Jesus Christ.

- In a world that believes that the resurrection of Jesus is a myth & which embraces biological evolution as a fact, then death is merely a part of the natural process & cycle of life.

- However, since it can be established beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus Christ rose from the dead & since he lives, then there is something sincerely unnatural about or wrong with death. Sin & death are the bad news for us all.

- It is the role of the church, the whole church, every person who claims Christ as Saviour & Lord, to be witnesses for Jesus to the glory & kingdom of God. Because Jesus lives, sin & death are defeated.

- If what I say is true, & I believe it is, that, "Answered prayers are a matter of God's timing for his glory & kingdom," then it is very important that the church persevere in prayer that we persist & not give up, but keep on praying because we do not know the details of God's timing.

- We cannot be certain when he will do what he has promised or when he will answer the prayers of his people.

- None of us can say when the moment will come that a family member, neighbour, friend, or co-worker we've been praying for will surrender him/her-self to Jesus Christ, or receive healing or deliverance.

- None of us can know. God's timing is God's timing. That's his right, but two things we can do.

- We can pray & we can watch for the opportune moment to testify as witnesses of Jesus Christ.

- Think about your own life & remember the times when you heard about how people were praying for you, persisting & not giving up, praying that you would see the light, praying you would surrender to Jesus, & eventually God in his perfect timing opened your eyes by the Holy Spirit to his glory & for his kingdom.

- I'm sure we all have stories we can tell about the timing of God in answered prayer both in our own lives & the lives of those whom we love.

- For years my grandparents prayed for me because they had a sense that the Lord was calling me to be a pastor; they had a hint about the kind of mess that my life was in, but they didn't know the half of it. They prayed for me & they kept on praying because they knew that Answered prayers are a matter of God's timing for his glory & kingdom.

- Once I became a pastor, they kept on praying for me for the very same reason.

- Later, when I was struggling with burnout & depression, they still prayed for me.

- I believe from the bottom of my heart that I am before you today because answered prayers are a matter of God's timing for his glory & kingdom.

- That first group of 120 believers gathered together in the upper room & daily attended the Temple to persevere in prayer knowing that God's timing is for his glory & kingdom.

- After those 10 days, they experienced the person, presence, & power of the kingdom of God in ways they would not have before imagined.

- People of God, may you persevere in prayer because answered prayers are a matter of God's timing for his glory & kingdom.