A Praying Church

6 · First main point: the early church prayed prayers of trust

Point number one is this. A people of trusting prayer. A people of trusting prayer. Notice what the people of God do after they hear about the threats from the priests and the elders. They don't freak out. They don't get amped up about all the injustice going on. They don't start organizing protests. They don't take to social media, of Instagram and Facebook. They pray. The people gather and they pray. And how do they pray? They pray prayers of trust. Look at what the prayer says. It says, it starts with this Sovereign Lord. They trust God's hand even in the arrest, even in the threats they've received. They trust Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. This prayer is starting with the understanding of God's sovereignty. If you're not sure how to pray, this is a good place to start. If you're struggling with what's going on in your life, threats or struggle, this is a good place to start. Sovereign Lord, you are in control. I am not. You made it all. I did not. You rule it all. I do not. You are overall sovereign and Creator God.

7 · Explains that the early church's prayer quotes Psalm 2, reflecting their devotion to Scripture and their practice of praying the Psalms

Verse 23. Who through? Through the mouth of our Father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. You see, this is an early church. This is a young church. And what we start seeing in the book of Acts is they start quoting the Old Testament a lot. They're devoted to the word and into prayer. And they often quote the Psalms. That's the songbook. That's like quoting lyrics. I don't know about you, I'm one of those weird people that always have a song in my head. So like this week at Rancho, the team was doing something. Two of us stayed back and we rewrote the words to Country Road, Take Me Home to the Place. And so we started just rewriting. Cause I always had some of you. You're gonna be singing that the rest of the day. I apologize, but I just always have a song in my head. The songs in that the early church constantly had in their head were the Psalms. They sung the Psalms. And you guys are in a series on the Psalms. Psalm chapter two is what's being quoted here. This early church quotes the Psalms.

8 · Personal anecdote about rewriting Country Roads lyrics to illustrate how songs get stuck in our heads, making the point that the Psalms functioned similarly for the early church—constantly present in their minds and shaping their prayers

I don't know about you, I'm one of those weird people that always have a song in my head. So like this week at Rancho, the team was doing something. Two of us stayed back and we rewrote the words to Country Road, Take Me Home to the Place. And so we started just rewriting. Cause I always had some of you. You're gonna be singing that the rest of the day. I apologize, but I just always have a song in my head.

9 · Exposition of Psalm 2 showing it depicts nations raging in rebellion against God—an unprecedented unified opposition against God the Father and His anointed king

And what does the Holy Spirit say through David in Psalm 2? Psalm 2 shows a picture of the nation's raging against God. It's a picture of rebellion against the Creator. It reminds me of one of those epic battle scenes. All the kings of the earth are ready for war. They're for once, they've never done this before, but they are unified together in opposition against God the Father, against the king Jesus. Psalm 2 speaks of the raging of the nations. And it's seen most clearly at the cross.

10 · Exposition of Acts 4:27-28 showing how the early church saw Psalm 2 fulfilled in Jesus' trial and execution

You see, the church sees Psalm chapter two happening with Jesus. Trial, his sentencing, his execution. Look at verse 27. For truly in this city, Jerusalem, there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate of along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. Now you've got to note this, this list does not normally go together. Herod, Pilate, Gentiles, Israel, they had almost nothing in common. And yet in this moment they are unified. They're unified in killing Jesus, killing the one who claimed to be king of the Jews. For Jews thought he was a heretic and Romans didn't want someone else to be king. False evil. Unity against Christ. Friends, not all unity is good unity. Look at verse 28. It again shows the church's understanding of this evil. It says that this opposition to Christ is part of God's plan. Verse 27 into 28. For truly in this city they were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel. 28. To do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. RC Sproul looks at that verse and says this. Our Lord Jesus would not have suffered a scratch through the conspiracy of human enemies against him were it not for the determinant counsel of the Father who ordained from all eternity that the Son should suffer at the hands of these wicked men for our sake. This is God's plan.

11 · Theological exposition establishing the tension between human responsibility and divine sovereignty in the crucifixion

The early church saw the raging of the nations against Jesus as the will of God. They saw God's sovereign hand and predestined power. You even see this earlier in Acts chapter two, the very first sermon. As the Holy Spirit comes and there's tongues of fire and what all is going on, Peter starts speaking. He says in Acts 2:22, he says, Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst. As you yourselves know verse 23 of that chapter. This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Peter's saying, it's your hands, you are guilty, it's your responsibility, and yet it's God's definite plan. See, this church trusts even in the midst of hardship, even in the midst of suffering, that God is in control and sovereign. That's the war going on. If you fast forward to Revelation 16, you see God's people in the war again and the nations are raging against the commander. And God's people are needing clarity and courage and confidence for the war. That's where the communication comes in.

12 · Exposition of Psalm 2:4-6 showing God's response to the raging nations: sovereign laughter and derision, followed by the declaration that He has set His king on Zion

If you read Psalm chapter two, you see what the Father thinks about this raging of the nation. Psalm 2, verses 4 through 6. Say this. He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, as for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. Jesus is the king and he battled the raging nations. He battled Satan through his substitutionary death on the cross. He rose victorious over sin and death.

13 · Direct pastoral address shifting from exposition to personal confrontation

And the nations were raging. And guess what? The nations are still raging against God in his sovereign plan, in him being king, and maybe even for some of us, even as we think about this and you hear my voice, the nation or the the raging is happening in your heart. When Isaiah is called by God to speak the Gospel, he goes, here I am. Send me. Which is really amazing. But right after that, In Isaiah chapter 6, it says, you're going to go speak and you're going to speak, and some are going to be softened and some are going to be hardened. That's what God's word does. Oh, Lord, would you soften some today in this room? And would you harden? Because that's what God does. That's what God's word does. Because some of us, oh, we are going to be pricked to the heart when God's word works. We're like, yes, Lord, let me walk that way in that path. And some of us are going to be hardened because this is a chance of repentance. And you're going to choose. No, I'm not going to follow Jesus. I'm going to choose to harden myself. And this may be the last time you ever have a chance to hear the gospel, friends. That's the seriousness of God's word.

14 · Recent personal story of sharing the gospel with Jose Mendoza at a local store

I was at the tienda right down the road at Rancho 3M this week. So you go out of the road and you walk like 100 yards. And I'm talking, coming out, and I don't speak very good Spanish. I come out, there's this Mexican dude here with his car. And he looks at me, he's like, where are you from? He said it that well. And I'm like, I'm only, like, used to Spanish at the moment. And. And I'm like, huh? Like South Carolina. And so we start talking. This guy is named Jose Mendoza. And we're able to share the gospel with Jose, a divine appointment with him. And you saw him so close to the kingdom, you saw the work of God as we're talking about God's word, like, he's just so close. And I said, jose, what's keeping you from trusting Jesus as your savior? And he said, myself. It's like, yeah, I think you're right. So I'm trying to connect him to Isaac, if you know him, who's over at Rancho. God is working, friends. Are we going to have hardened hearts or softened hearts?

15 · Transition from the first main point (trusting prayer grounded in God's sovereignty) to the second main point (courageous prayer in the face of opposition)

He's on his throne, but the nations, the nations rage against him. And you know what? When the nations rage against Jesus, Jesus church knows something else. The nations are going to rage against Jesus, people. And so they need courageous prayer. That's point number two.

16 · Second main point: the church prayed for courageous boldness

A people of courageous prayer. Look at verse 29. It says, and now, lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak the word with all boldness. This is astonishing. The threats are coming. The opposition is mounting. Satan is attacking. They Just told Peter and John Stone, stop talking about Jesus. And they say, let's pray for boldness to keep talking about Jesus.

17 · Emphasizes what the church did not pray for—safety, protection, relief—contrasted with what they did pray for: boldness

I love that they pray for boldness. They're not praying for safety. They're not praying for a hedge of protection. They're not even praying for the threats to be quenched. Those are all good prayers. But notice what they are praying for. 4. They're praying for boldness.

18 · Contrasts the disciples' pre-Pentecost cowardice (sleeping in Gethsemane, Peter's denial, hiding, scattering) with their post-Pentecost courage

And let's remember, just a few weeks prior to Acts chapter four, these disciples are falling asleep in the garden of Gethsemane. Peter's denying that he's ever even met Jesus. There's a little slave girl. Not exactly intimidation factor. Aren't you one with him? You're a Galilean too. No, no, no, no. That's not me. Locked away, hiding, disciples scattering, zero boldness. And now these same people are gathered and praying for boldness. What happened? The Holy Spirit happened. The Holy Spirit happened.

19 · The church sought ongoing fresh boldness, not resting on past Spirit-fillings

They pray for boldness because they are not content with the boldness of the past. Because the Holy Spirit happens in Acts 2. They get boldness in Acts 2, and yet they're here again and they're praying for more boldness. They're not content for Acts 2 boldness. They're not content with Peter and John's boldness in Acts chapter three and four. They're not content with yesterday's boldness. They need current boldness. They need the Holy Spirit's boldness in the face of persecution. They need boldness for witness. Church.

20 · Direct application turning exposition into personal challenge

Do you need boldness today? When was the last time you prayed for fresh boldness? Notice this prayer for boldness is linked to witness. It says, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak the Word with all boldness. The early church is 100% certain that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for the world. Without Jesus, people will die and perish and spend eternity in hell. So there is an urgency to the praying church. There's a desperation to the praying church. There's a desire for courage and boldness requested by the praying church. Oh Lord, help us to have boldness. And even today, let us flee distraction that makes that mindset foreign to us. Let us live with the resurrection power, the Spirit wrought power, the Christ exalting power to walk the faithful path of Jesus mission. Friends, let us be a praying people. In the 1960s and 70s, one of the most respected theologians and apologists was Francis Schaeffer. People were baffled by him because he was brilliant and he just simply loved Jesus and invited people into his life. He had this place in Switzerland that kind of had an open door policy and hippies would come from all over just to ask him questions and talk to him about Jesus. This place called l'. Abri. And they truly sought to live out being a prayerful people. Edith Schaeffer, Frances wife talks about prayer in the community and here's part of a quote she says about prayer. She says, to live without prayer being woven into every part of every day is stupid, foolish, senseless, or it is evidence that your belief in the existence of the Creator, who has said we are to call upon him, is an unsure belief. Don't you just love an older lady that pulls you aside and says you're being stupid? Like I need that. Sometimes I'm a little dense. She just pulls you aside and says, if you're living your life without communicating to your commander, you're being stupid. The Shaffers are very blunt. She continues, common sense Christian living takes place in an atmosphere where prayer is as natural as breathing, as necessary as oxygen, as real as talking to your favorite person with whom there's no strain, as sensible as reaching into the bag of flour for proper supplies, for making bread.

21 · Theological summary asserting that prayer is natural, vital, and expressive of desperate daily dependence on God who is truly Father, Shepherd, and lover of our souls

Prayer's natural. It's vital. It's oxygen. It's understanding our desperate need to daily walk with God and that he really is our Father. He really is the shepherd of our hearts. He really is the lover of our souls. And it is the default of the early church, and it should be our default as well. Cross of Grace we are called to be a people of prayer, of courageous prayer.

22 · Exposition of Acts 4:29-30 showing the church prayed not only for boldness to speak but for God to work miracles—healing, signs, and wonders through Jesus' name

Look as it continues in verse 29. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servant to continue to speak the word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal. And signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. They're praying and trusting that God is going to work. He's going to bring healing, he's going to show the fame of his glory, and then the people are going to speak boldly. And basically the summary of what they are praying is this, Lord, do it again. We saw you do this with Peter and John. We saw this in Jesus life and his ministry for three years, Lord, do it again, Lord, please. Please, Lord, do it again.

23 · Extended application modeling the 'Lord, do it again' prayer pattern for contemporary believers

Friends, that is a great prayer to adopt for us, Lord. You brought revival to this country years ago, Lord, do it again, Lord. You saved Saul of Tarsus who was opposed to you, and you turn rebels into radical missionaries for your gospel sake, Lord, do it again, Lord. You've taken Meager churches with meager gifting and meager budgets. And you've done powerful work, Lord. Do it again, Lord. Walking in the way of your truth. We wait eagerly for you. For your fame and your renown are the desire of our souls, Lord. Do it again. Do it with the next generation, Lord. Let our generation take the baton and pass it to the next generation, Lord, do it again. Let them go further than we ever could. Yes, the nations rage. Yes, Satan is shooting arrows. Yes, we are opposed by the world, the flesh and the devil. But you, O Lord, you are sovereign, you are good. Grant healings, grant boldness. Grant gospel mission. We pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out labor into his harvest. Lord, do it again.

24 · Transition from second main point (courageous prayer) to third main point (fresh filling with the Spirit)

Friends, that's a courageous church. They prayed for boldness. And here's the thing, friends. God answered their prayers, and he sends them a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. Point number three is this.

25 · Third main point: the church was filled with the Spirit

A people filled with his Spirit. Look at verse 31. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Friends, note these people already had the Holy Spirit. They had repented of their sin, been baptized, been filled with the Spirit at conversion, and yet they are not satisfied with that. They want more of the Holy Spirit. They want ongoing fillings of the Holy Spirit. We need you, Lord, again. We had you two chapters ago. We need you again now. They're not just focused on the second experience of the Holy Spirit. They want the 453rd experience of the Holy Spirit and 1226th experience of the Holy Spirit. They want ongoing work and ongoing power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, we need you.

26 · Brief quotation from D

One person asked D.L. moody why he always prayed for fresh fillings of the Holy Spirit. And he said, it's because I leak. I need more of the Spirit.

27 · Exposition on the need for ongoing Spirit-filling grounded in biblical warnings about grieving and quenching the Spirit

And we see in scripture. We can grieve the Holy Spirit. We can quench the Holy Spirit. You and I both know if you've walked with the Lord for any time, you can just forget the Holy Spirit's work and you can just do the work of the Spirit and the power of the flesh. That's one of my prayers regularly. Lord, help me to not do the work of the Spirit in the power of the flesh. But we can do that. Been a pastor for almost 25 years. I've done that. And it wears me out because that's not what God's asked me to do. We need to do the work of the Spirit. By the power of the Spirit. So we ask, lord, fill me with your Spirit. For the believers, we're always dwelt, indwelt with the Spirit at conversion, but we're not always controlled by the Spirit. So we must repent of any known sin. The Spirit kindly says, hey, that was sin there. So we repent of cowardliness or lust or gossip or pride or anger or anxiety. And we know that the cross, at the cross, Jesus paid for fully for our sins. If we've confessed Christ as our Lord, if he saved us, we've believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and been saved in him. We know Jesus took our cowardliness, so we can pray for boldness. We know Jesus took our lust so we can be pure. We know that he took our anger so we can be whole and gentle like we know he did all this. We don't have to live chained by sin. We can live in the glory of the. What Jesus called the abundant life in Christ. And that abundant life is one that's walking by the Spirit, that's filled with the Holy Spirit.

28 · Exposition concluding the third point: God answered the church's boldness prayer with a literal earthquake and fresh Spirit-filling, resulting in bold continued witness

And so we pray for boldness. This church prayed for boldness in the face of persecution and trial, boldness for witness. And we can pray for that boldness. Say, holy Spirit, give me words to say, Holy Spirit, give me wisdom on what not to say. Sometimes I feel like that's a bigger thing for me. Like, stop talking, Mike. Like, shut up. That's what. Like, I needed Edith Schaefer to just put her arms around me. Guard me, Lord, Holy Spirit, help me, Jesus, be glorified. This church faced opposition in this church. What do they do in Acts 4? They pray and the place is shaken. I believe it's a literal earthquake. The manifest presence of God and God basically saying, I will shake this ground so that you will not be shaken. God shakes the ground and stabilizes his church. And what happens next? Notice their prayer. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. They were told to stop speaking about God. They're like, nope, we're praying for boldness. And this text says, they got the boldness, the very thing they prayed for. God answered because God answers prayer. And here's a little hint. God loves to answer this prayer. God loves to answer his children coming to him and saying, lord, help me. Be bold for your glory and your witness. Help me. I mean, can you just imagine? I have nine kids. As I said, that's a lot. I've had a lot of little kids running around. I have a lot of little Kids that have come to me and like, dad, da, da, da, da. My kids call me Podge, like padre. I don't know why, but they just started. I think it's pudge a little bit, but Podge is what they call me. So they call me padre. And so like they're like, hey, Podge. And so they're like, come up. And if my little kids coming up to me like, dad, I need help, like, I'm not like, what is your problem? I mean, sometimes I probably am. If I'm having issues and not honoring the Lord, but God the father who's perfect and sinless. If we say, God help me, give me boldness, man. That's a prayer he loves. He loves his church. He loves his children coming to him and praying, fill me with your spirit, Lord. Lord, give me boldness. Give me power for witness. Friends, God loves to answer that prayer. So here's my question. Have you prayed that prayer lately? Have you prayed? God, give me boldness. Have you prayed? Lord, fill me with your spirit lately. Jonathan Edwards, who saw revival in Massachusetts years ago, the great awakening, he said this. It is God's will through his wonderful grace that the prayers of his saints should be one of the great principal means of carrying on the designs of Christ's kingdom in the world. When God has something very great to accomplish for his church, it is his will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of his people. And it is revealed that when God is about to accomplish great things for his church, he will begin by remarkably pouring out the spirit of grace and supplication. Let me summarize that God loves the praying people and he loves to answer that prayer. That's what Edwards is saying.

29 · Returns to the opening illustration of the two-way radio to bring the sermon full circle

Friends, we spoke earlier about that invention that changed warfare, the two way radio, the communication from those in the field to the commanding officer. Friends, that changes the battle. And here's the thing, we have that two way radio. We have a communication line to the sovereign God who's over the world.

30 · Final application narrowing the field: rather than praying vaguely for boldness in ten areas, identify one area where God-given boldness would create a ripple effect

Do you know what that commander says to you today through his word? I think he says the cross of grace church. Pray for boldness. Pray for boldness. Pray for boldness. And here's my encouragement to you today. You may. As you think about boldness in areas of your life, you may have a list of 10 different things. I'm asking you to do this, ask God to give you one. Like what's one area, one area of your life that if God were to give you boldness, there, there would be a ripple effect. Like you Throw the pebble in the pond and there's that ripple. But like, one area. What is one area of prayer today that you can say? Lord, give me boldness in this one area? For some of you might be boldness. God, give me boldness and being a witness to my family that are hardened toward you. It may be, God give me boldness in the spiritual gifts. I'm kind of nervous. I know the gifts are around, but, like, I am nervous. I'm a former Baptist boy. Like, I get it if that's you. Like, hey, are all these around? Like, I know they are biblically, but like, practically, like, so maybe it's boldness in that area. Maybe it's in leading your family. And you just need boldness. Guys, husbands and just taking steps of honoring Jesus by talking to your wife and kids about Jesus. I grew up in an unbelieving home. I remember avoiding God talk. We went to church every week. It was an unbelieving home. And I remember God talk not being a thing in my family. And my mom, who became a believer, would bring up God at the dinner table and we'd be like, hanging, nervous, laugh, will it go away? Okay, how the Braves doing? And like, you just change the subject into some sports conversation. And I remember getting married and being like, I do not want that in my home. I want to have God talk, be normal. We pray and we talk about God's work in our lives, and it's just normal because that's real life. And it is for the believing family. Maybe it's boldness in that area. Friends, let us pray.

31 · Closing prayer asking God to give each listener clarity on one specific area where they need boldness

Let's pray now for boldness in one area. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for Cross of Grace Church. I thank you for how your Holy Spirit works. And Lord, I pray right now by your spirit that you would give clarity of one area for each person in here. And, Lord, that you would work. Lord, we see in your word that they ask. They ask their father, they ask our generous God and they receive. And so, Lord, I pray that many would ask prayers, maybe things they used to pray, that they don't pray anymore because they're scared to pray. Lord, I pray that they would ask for boldness in that one area. And, Lord, we would hear testimonies of you working by the power of your spirit. Not because we can figure it out, but it relies on God, the active, present, sovereign God to work. Lord, do that in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.