Study in the Acts of the Apostles

Study in the Acts of the Apostles Presentation 12

The Praying Church Chapter 4:23-37 Presentation 12

Introduction How do we react in times of crisis? What should the behaviour of the people of God be when their freedoms and indeed their very existence is threatened? Should the church organise protest marches, or employ a public relations consultant to develop a national advertising campaign? What did the early church do when the apostles reported, ‘The authorities have forbidden us to preach in Jesus’ name’. Clearly, to have complied would have meant no church growth and no missionary expansion. Presentation 12

Introduction The reaction of the church is found in v24, ‘they raised their voices together in prayer to God’. Their prayer brought a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit that would equip them to make an even greater impact upon society. Surely, prayer should be the normal reaction of both the church and of individual Christians in times of crisis. This begs the question, “Is prayer our first or our last response?” Presentation 12

Our Concept Of God What is so special about the prayer in these verses? First, it was controlled by the church’s concept of God. The powerful machinery of the religious and civic authorities was set in motion against them but the church looked beyond that to a higher authority. God is addressed as ‘Sovereign Lord’. They recognised that they were approaching a God whose rule transcended all other. Only he is ‘King of Kings’ and ‘Lord of Lords’. Nothing sets limits to his control or ties his hands rendering him powerless! Presentation 12

Our Concept Of God Are we persuaded of God’s sovereign power or do we view it as a spent force, unable to make much impact upon our situation? Many view God like some aging relative, worthy of our respect but from whom little is expected? The word ‘impossible’ is creeping into church vocabulary and forms part of the thinking of many. When confronted with suffocating secularisation, advancing apathy, and a disintegrating morality do we shrug our shoulders and say, ‘The situation is impossible’? Then we need to learn from the early church that our God is all-powerful? Nothing is too hard for him. Presentation 12

Our Concept Of God Sovereignty, speaks not only of power but of God’s control of human history. So much so, that when they examined the events surrounding the life and death of Jesus, his enemies were not simply doing as they pleased but playing into Gods hands doing what he had planned and foretold! Whatever happens in human history, we need to look beyond human kings and dictators, who think they are in control, and ask, what has God decreed? Someone has said, ‘God’s ways are behind the scenes, but he moves all the scenes that he is behind’. This explains the poise of these early Christians. They saw beyond the immediate crisis to God’s control of every scene in their lives. Presentation 12

Our Concept Of God Either, God is in control or, he is controlled - there is no middle ground! Of course, appearances can be deceptive. It does not always look as if God is in control. Think of the initial reaction of the disciples to the cross. They thought it was an tragedy because they couldn’t see what God was doing! Only afterwards did they understand. Once we grasp that God cannot be out-maneuvered or taken by surprise, then crisis is no longer crisis! Instead, we exercise faith, believing that God is in control of our most severe trials! We are not the victims of chance, or at the mercy of powerful men but in the hands of a God who is in control of his world. Presentation 12

The Church’s Petition What did the church pray for? In crisis, they neither, asked God to relieve them of the pressures they were under, nor to remove those who were responsible for applying the pressure! We can waste a lot of time asking for the wrong things. Paul had a physical difficulty which he describes as ‘a thorn in the flesh’. Three times he asked God to remove it. Nothing happened! Why? He was praying for the wrong thing. His thorn was God’s thorn. Paul hadn’t realised this at first, and describes it as ‘a messenger from Satan sent to torment him’. cf2Cor.12.7 Presentation 12

The Church’s Petition Now God intended to use that thorn to serve a higher purpose. Its purpose was to prevent success going to the apostle’s head – to prevent him from becoming proud of his achievements! In times of crisis, we often pray for God to change our circumstances rather than ask for God’s help to cope with the crisis and to enable us to see how he intends to use it for our good and his glory. Presentation 12

The Church’s Petition The early church didn’t pray for the removal of the crisis but for the conversion of the crisis, into a situation that would promote God’s glory! They did not ask for freedom from adversity but for boldness in adversity. They did not ask to be removed from the front line of spiritual battle but to be equipped to stand their ground in the conflict. Did they fully realise what might be involved were God to answer the petition that they made? We need to give a great deal of thought to the significance of precisely what we ask of God. Presentation 12

The Church’s Petition Some of you will have read the biography of Joni EareksonTada, who when only eighteen years of age as a result of an accident became a quadriplegic. She was unable to brush her teeth, comb her hair far less stand on her feet. At first she cried to God to change her circumstances, to heal her, to remove the crisis from her Life. Later,she began to pray that God would be glorified in her personal crisis. The story of her life has made a significant impact on the lives of many Christians. Presentation 12

The Church’s Petition When the early church asked God for boldness v 29-30 that they might continue to be channels of Christ’s power through whom the lives of others might be transformed, their motivation was also that of God’s glory. Do you see the significance of this petition? Peter and John had been arrested because their ministry was changing people’s lives. To continue to witness to Christ would surely result in their re-arrest and the endangerment of their lives. Did they considered themselves to be expendable as long as God was glorified? Presentation 12

The Church’s Petition Are you familiar with the words of Jim Elliot, the missionary, who was martyred by the AucaIndians in South America. “He makes his ministers a flame, am I ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of other things, saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that, I may be a flame. But flame is transient, often short lived. Cans't thou bear this my soul, short life? In me dwells the Spirit of the great short lived whose zeal for God's house consumed him. Make me thy fuel flame of God”. Are you ignitable? Am I ignitable? God needs a church that is on fire Presentation 12

The Reply Of God Notice how God replied to the prayer of the early church? First they received a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit v31 equipping them to speak with greater boldness in a climate of intimidation. These disciples had already been filled by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is a fresh infilling! Each new humbling of self and honouring of Jesus as Saviour results in a fresh inflow of the Spirit’s grace and power. And in this way God assures his loyal people that every new demand made upon them will be met with fresh supplies from him. Presentation 12

The Reply Of God This fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit produced a new sense of oneness in the church. Look at their willingness to share material resources with one another v32-34. This increased sensitivity to the needs of other Christians wasn’t imposed from outside. No one forced them to extravagant generosity it was the fruit of a fresh infilling of the Spirit. The Rev Andrew Murray lived at the beginning of the C20th when there a remarkable outpouring of the Spirit on the church. Interestingly, he wrote: ‘The secret of true giving is joy in the Holy Ghost’ Presentation 12

The Reply Of God When men’s lives are invaded by the power of the world to come, then they hold lightly to this world’s goods. This fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit gave the church a new credibility. As they proclaimed the gospel v33 with power and grace, their hearers saw the effect that the gospel had upon them. They saw real love and care! The had gospel transformed the believers into attractive individuals; human magnates that began to draw to the Lord Jesus those for whom religion had been, up until that point, nothing more than routine. Presentation 12

Conclusion The early church prayed to a God in whom they had absolute confidence; a God of absolute power. They were passionate for the glory of God and the advance of his kingdom. They prayed not to escape crisis but for God to use the crisis. God delights to respond to that kind of prayer and equips his people to press forward the boundaries of his kingdom. Does that awaken a longing in our heart, or does crisis leave us self-preoccupied? Does crisis cause us to pray the wrong kind of prayer and focus our thinking in the wrong place? May God teach us to pray like the early church so that increasingly, we might see his kingdom come! Presentation 12

Study in the Acts of the Apostles