Two cows were standing in a field saw a milk truck pass by. The truck had painted in large letters on its side, “Prairie Farms Milk –– Homogenized –– Sanitized –– Vitamin Enriched” One cow spoke up and said, “Makes me feel kind of inferior!”
I’m sure that none of us have ever felt inferior feeling as though we just don’t measure up; everyone else is better than we are. I know you would never feel that way, but you can pray for me because I have had those inferior feelings. I’ve found myself at gatherings with other pastors and thought to myself, “who am I kidding; I’ll never be as good as they are? Their churches are bigger and better; our church would be growing too if I only had their staff–a youth pastor . . . a children’s pastor . . . a music minister.” I could go on and on. When I would start thinking like that, I became overwhelmed and convinced that I’m a failure.
I’m sure I must be the only one like that here this morning, so I guess the preacher will have to preach to himself today–wrong! How many of you have ever found yourself feeling like me? We have all found ourselves feeling like those cows, beaten down and not good enough.
We share a common problem with those Holsteins. We all have a limited perspective. Those dairy cows failed to see that the shiny milk truck that made them feel inferior had just left the milk house next to the barn where they were milked each day. The milk that they thought was so much better than theirs was in fact their milk! Likewise, our perspective needs adjusted. It’s not how great others are compared to how small we may feel. We need to learn to see what God is doing in and through His church. The same God who is working mightily through others desires to work mightily through us as well. It’s time for us to prayerfully encounter the living God!
Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there” (The Message). How many need to be together for Jesus to be present? It doesn’t require a big crowd; it’s not when thousands gather, but just two or three. This tells me something about Jesus’ heart; His desire is to be with His people. Jesus doesn’t make the requirements hard to fulfil. Jesus affirms the gathering of only two or three who acknowledge Him by showing up as well.
When we gather together as the church, the power and presence of God should be experienced; it is a reality taking place even at this moment! However, all too often we miss the presence of God when we are together. Our perspective is off. In those times we can be preoccupied with other things, people–family and friends; crises–problems and difficulties; calendars–plans and vacations. We miss an encounter with the living God, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
How can we experience God’s manifold presence with us? As we are gathered here today, how can we know beyond just a head knowledge that the living God is right here with us? When two or three of us get together in our homes, or if we meet with a friend for lunch, or if we only happen to meet by chance, how can we discern the reality of Jesus being with us?
Do you know what is meant by the “manifold presence of God?” Manifold means having many and various forms or features; it is multifaceted. It simply means that God’s presence can be experienced in many different and unique ways. Experiencing the presence of God is not boring or a rerun of the same thing over and over. We can discover God being with us in new, fresh and exciting ways.
An ordinary gathering can have extraordinary possibilities when we recognize that the presence of Jesus is with us. It is my prayer that we encounter the living God not just within the confines of a Sunday morning worship service, but that we discover God’s presence and power is with us even at work or play making the impossible possible– transforming the inferior to superior!
Turn with me to Acts 4:23-31. We find here a church facing difficulties; this is a church who had their pastors arrested! If ever there was a church that should have an inferiority complex this is it; the church has no religious or political power; they don’t have anything that we would think it takes to be successful. These folks were facing all kinds of problems, but they didn’t let external difficulties keep them from encountering the living God. They believed that God would in fact meet them right where they were.
✞ Acts 4:23-31 23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "’Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’ 27Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31After 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)
This is a church that encountered the living God! Notice how God responded to the prayers of the church; the place was shaken. I don’t know if there was an earthquake or if it was only a sensation, but God made His presence know in a physical way. But even more importantly, the church was again filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed the word of God boldly. God had answered their prayers! The church experienced the power and presence of God.
Why did these believers encounter the living God here in Acts 4, and what might we learn from their example that will bring us into a powerful experience of God’s presence? Before we look specifically at this passage, we have to learn two lessons from the context of the early church. If we overlook these two characteristics of believers in the first century, then we will miss God’s presence in our lives today.
1. Believers must have a Divine Expectancy, or God Responds to our Faith.
✞ Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (NIV)
I believe the church today is hungry for encounters with the living God; how many of you are here today because you desire to experience God’s presence? We yearn to sense the manifold presence of our supernatural God. But what is our expectation? When we join together as the church to we expect to experience God’s presence, or do we just expect another church service–business as ususal? What is your expectation today? We need to have an expectation of the unlimited possibilities that can occur when God shows up with His people.
The early church had an expectation that God would show up–His presence would be manifest among them. Jesus told his followers that when they were together in His Name, He would be present with them; they believed it. Jesus said that whatever they asked of the Father in His Name would be done for them; again they believed Him. Put simply, the early church had faith that Jesus would do what He had said. And Jesus honored their faith; God showed up among His people.
Look at Peter’s defense before the religious leaders in & Acts 4:8-12. Peter believed that the risen Christ would fulfil His word. Peter and John had proclaimed the name of Jesus believing that God would then do what they could not do, AND GOD DID IT! Remember what had happened in Acts 3; it was just Peter and John on their way to the temple for a prayer meeting. Only two believers who believed Jesus was really with them. They had a divine expectation and God made His presence known with them and a cripple was healed.
Let’s start having a divine expectancy! Do you have faith that God will meet with us today; will you believe that the manifold presence God will go with you tomorrow? Anything is possible because God is with His people!
2. A habit of prayer brings God’s response, or a consistent pattern of joining together with other believers will bring the manifold presence of God.
Acts 2:42, 46 tells us that the church joined together regularly for prayer; they were committed to praying with one another, and not just once a week; they got together daily. So the encounter with God in Acts 4 was not the result of a crisis prayer meeting. The church regularly met for prayer which initiated God’s response to them.
If our desire is to experience the dynamic and powerful presence of God, then we must make it our habit to be together in His presence. I shared last week from Hebrews 10:25 that one of the simplest ways in which we can encourage one another to good works is to be consistent in our times of worshiping together; we need to attend church regularly. Now I tell you that because I love you, and it is my desire to see you grow and mature as a follower of Christ. But may I take it even a step further this week. As important as being together for a Sunday worship service is that is not enough!
As a church we should meet together for prayer daily; it should be our habit of joining together with Jesus. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 18, if just a couple of us are together in His name, then He is right there with us; it’s guaranteed! Now I’m not saying that we should open up the church (the building) seven days a week for organized prayer meetings (although that may not be a bad idea either)! What I am saying is that when we have contact with one anther throughout the week, we should include Jesus in our time together. Husbands and wives, parents and children should pray together regularly; when we talk with each other on the phone, or see one another around town we should share a prayer together.
✎ Last night we visited with friends; we ate pizza and played games. It was a great time. The best part of the night though was not the laughter or the fun; what I enjoied the most was the 10 minutes of prayer at the end of our evening. We experienced God; it was an “eternal moment.”
Remember scripture teaches us that we are the body of Christ, the church (the church is not made up of bricks and mortar, but of individual believers joined together by His Spirit.) Therefore, if we ignore Jesus throughout the week whenever we are in contact with one another, then it shouldn’t be a surprise if God seems to ignore us when we “play church” once a week. We are either the church 24/7 or we aren’t the church at all.
Look again with me at Hebrews 10. Would you agree with me that after we have been saved and made a part of the body of Christ that we sin against God whenever we ignore Jesus and other members of His body. God takes this seriously!
✞ Hebrews 10:26-29 (The Message) If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment–and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay.
I believe that as the Day–that is the moment of Christ second coming for His Church–as that Day draws near, it will be increasingly more and more easy for we who are members of the church to act like the world. That’s dangerous! Jesus asked if at His return if there would be faith on the earth (Luke 18:8). We must make the conscious choice to recognize the presence of Christ that is with us. We can not ignore Jesus or one another. The consequence may be greater than we are willing to pay. Let’s make a habit of praying together!
Prayer was an essential and fundamental part of the early church. You might say they stayed prayed up. They had to be! They didn’t have church buildings, programs or ministries, preachers, people or anything else to help them get by. But neither was it a church living in the shadow of an inferiority complex. They depended on God through prayer to see them through every day, and God came through every time!
Now remember that I love you. It’s my desire that we grow together as the body of Christ and together experience the reality of God being with us–today and everyday. This is good medicine for all of us–from the pastor right down to the youngest child.
Conclusion:
We can learn much more from the prayer meeting and the church’s encounter with the living God. Next week we are going to look at the patter of their prayer; the way in which this church prayed put them in a position to meet personally with God. We need to learn to pray the same way.
But for now we need to learn two simple lessons: [1] we need to have a divine expectancy–our level of faith needs to grow. [2] We need to develop the habit of prayer, to be consistent in coming to God together.
Are you suffering from an inferiority complex? Do you share the limited perspective of those dairy cows? It’s time to let God change all of that.
Is the church in the books of Acts any different than the church today? Should it be? No.
The God they prayed to is the God we pray to. The God whom they encountered we too can experience today. Let’s draw near to God–He will respond by coming near to us and making His power and presence known!
The God who shook them is the God who will shake us.
The God who filled them is the God who desires to fill us with His Holy Spirit.
The God who empowered them to speak is the God who empowers you and I to speak so boldly about Jesus Christ.
Their encountering of God must be our encounter.
God does not look at us in our size, buildings, programs, and not even our singing and preaching.
He looks upon as to see whether we desire to encounter Him. And when we encounter Him we are not inferior to anything or anyone.
Prayer: "God, You are God! We desire and want to encounter Your living presence today. Shake us while in Your presence so as to loose the things that bind us. Fill us with the sweetness of Your Holy Spirit so as to empower us with boldness of speech to proclaim Jesus Christ." Amen!
