Missional Praying
Acts 4:23-31
We come back to our series in the book of Acts this morning after a wonderful missions conference last weekend. I've entitled this series "The Church on Mission." And by God's grace, that is what we will become with increasing degrees of obedience. The result of our conference last weekend is that $54,000 was pledged by our people to give to missions over the next 12 months through our Faith Commitment Offering. That is amazing! But of even greater importance is that 33 people committed to go on a short term mission trip over the next 12 months.
I was a child of the 70's and 80's. As such there was a TV that I watched called The Dukes of Hazzard. I tuned in every week to see what kind of mischief Bo & Luke Duke got into with Boss Hogg and the sheriff, Roscoe P. Coltrane as they drove their orange Dodge Charger around Hazzard County. Now one of the cinematic devices the creators of this show used very effectively was the "freeze frame." As you'd be following the action, just as they got to a critical point in the show, the action would freeze just before they went to a commercial. They'd freeze it right there in the middle of the action and you'd have to wait to see what happened. Bo and Luke would be driving their car, the General Lee, and it would go off some huge ramp. I don't know why there were so many ramps stationed around Hazzard County, but there were. Their car would go up and the show would freeze frame as they were in mid-air. At that point the narrator of the show, Waylon Jennings, would come on and say something very profound like, "I wonder what them Duke boys are gonna do now..." And as an 11 year old kid, I'm on the edge of my seat, just waiting to see what will happen.
I mention that because that's where we are today in our study through the book of Acts. In our last episode before our Missions Conference we were left at this freeze frame point. Last time we left Peter and John and they had been arrested by the Sanhedrin. They were taken away, thrown in jail overnight and the next day they stood before the high court of all Judaism. That ruling council of the Jews ordered them not to teach any more in the name of Jesus. And you remember what Peter & John say very courageously and defiantly: 19But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:19
Then it goes on to say that the council threatened them further and they let them go - Freeze frame. What's going to happen next? How will Peter and John Duke respond to the threat of the council? Where do they go from here; what do they do?
Do they keep on preaching? Do they go underground? Do they walk away despondent and discouraged? Do they start planning for the overthrow of the Sanhedrin? Do they start stockpiling weapons swords and shields to prepare for a military coup? What do they do? Well let's un-pause the freeze frame and see what happens next in Acts 4 beginning in verse 23:
23When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25who 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? 26The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— 27for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31And 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.
Isn't it interesting what Peter and John do immediately upon their release? They do one thing that's very natural, and they do another thing that's very supernatural. The natural response is to go to your friends. The supernatural response is they prayed. And not just that they prayed, but how they prayed and the result of that prayer. As we go through the message today you'll notice on the outline that I have five points to cover. The first point is the natural response of Peter and John to the threat from the Sanhedrin, the remaining 4 and where we'll spend the bulk of our time together is examining the supernatural response to the threat.
I. The PEOPLE Of Missional Prayer
23When they were released, they went to their friends...
This is a natural response, is it not? Peter and John were just threatened by the highest Jewish court and they go to their friends. This is an understandable next step. We all need friends, we all need a place that feels like home, we all need a group that we come back to after we feel like life has beaten us up a bit and we can find some comfort and healing.
This word that's translated "friends" here in the ESV is actually the word "their own." That's the people of Missional Prayer - their own.
They went to the people that know them, they went to the place where everybody knows their name - sorry, it's the 80's!
Who is this? This is the church, this is the believers gathered together; this is more than likely that group of 120 believers who were gathered together at Pentecost with probably others too. They went to the church.
It makes sense that they went back to them because they have to give a report. It's not just that they need to tell the interesting story about their imprisonment and release, but they need to tell the church - listen, the Supreme Court of Judaism has handed down a decree telling us not to teach in the name of Jesus any more. And they threatened us.
And this prayer is very relevant to us this morning because we are friends - are we not? We talk about it often, we are a spiritual family, we are connected together. And so it should be natural for us, particularly with times of conflict and opposition or persecution that we would press in toward our relationships together for encouragement and support. And again, that's a natural thing for us to do. But the supernatural aspect of this passage is the fact that they turned to prayer, and how they prayed. Their first impulse in the midst of these threats is not to whine, not revolt, not to plot - but to pray. That leads to my next point...
II. The PASSION Of Missional Prayer
24And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God
Don't you wish you were like this? Something scares you or startles you or catches you off guard and your very first impulse is to pray. Something unexpected or threatening comes your way and your first impulse is to pray. That's what they did and oh may that be our response as a people. If we face an obstacle or an opposition may our first response be to pray.
Now I say this is the "passion" of missional prayer because of one word in verse 24 - it's the word that's translated "together" in the ESV. You might want to circle that word on your outline. Greek: hu-mo-thü-mä-do'n
This word is used 12 times in the NT, and 10 of those times it's used in the book of Acts by Luke. It's a compound word made up of the word humo - which means together, and thumos - which can mean to rush along, wrath, fierceness or passion. The best way to understand this word is they rushed along together in passionate prayer.
Here's how one Greek scholar described this word here: The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a concert master, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of Christ's church.
So that’s the people and the passion of missional prayer – they lifted their voices together to God, in passionate prayer. But what did they pray? What was the content of this passionate, united, Spirit-inspired prayer to God?
III. The PRAISE Of Missional Prayer
No doubt they prayed for some time and Luke gives a summary of their passionate prayer in verses 24-30; 7 verses in total. But what’s interesting about their prayer is that 5 of the 7 verses are prayers of praise to God. The majority of their prayer, 5/7ths of their prayer is praise.
You know every Wednesday evening we have children’s activities, youth group, discipleship groups that meet here on our campus. And I lead a time here in the sanctuary of prayer and Bible study. Since my very first Wed night prayer time I’ve led here over 7 years ago I always start our prayer time together the same way. I ask the question, “Does anyone have anything they want to give praise or thanksgiving to God for?” And we’ll have 3 or 4 or 5 people offer praise to God for various and sundry things. That is with great intention. When you come to God in prayer ALWAYS begin your prayer with praise and adoration. That’s how Jesus taught us to pray – “Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name!” That’s praise – hallowing the name of God.
Some of you have used different acrostics to guide you in your personal prayer time. I do too. Many use the ACTS acrostic – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.
I often use another acrostic in my prayer time: PRAY – Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield. Regardless of which one you might use they both begin with praise and adoration. When you pray, don’t rush right into asking God for your laundry list of needs or concerns. Spend time – extended time PRAISING!
Now here's what I want you to consider - they've just been threatened by the Sanhedrin, they come together to pray for boldness in their witness. Yet they spend 5/7ths of their prayer not praying for boldness but praising God for who he is. Why would they do that? Here's why, and you might want to write this down:
Timid Christians have a tiny god, bold Christians have a BIG GOD!
Why would they repeat to God in prayer what God already knows about himself - because God needs to hear it? No! God doesn't forget who he is - but we forget who he is. God doesn't need to be reminded who he is, but we need to be reminded who he is!
We need to speak it; We need to confess it; we need to proclaim it, sing it, preach it and pray it! Well what can we praise God for? The same things they praised God for. There are four things they praised God for in this prayer and we must pray these same things if we are going to be a church on mission; if we are going to have an impact in this community and in this world for Christ. We must pray these things because bold Christians have a big God!
Praise God for His...
A. Sovereign CONTROL
Notice how they address God in this prayer: “Sovereign Lord..."
Now the normal word for “Lord” in Greek is kurios – but that’s not the word Luke chooses to use here. He uses one word that our English Bible translated into two words – “sovereign Lord.” The word he used here is
des-po'-tas – We get our English word – Despot. Here’s some synonyms of despot I found in the thesaurus: dictator, tyrant, autocrat. Now those words have a negative connotation in our minds and so we can't make the mistake of reading the modern English meaning of "despot" back into the 2000 year old Greek meaning of despotas - the meaning of the word has evolved over time. But the general idea is that a despot is someone who exhibits absolute control over his subjects.
In Greek des-po'-tas is very often used in connection with doulos - slave/servant. A despotas has all rights of ownership and all rights of sovereign control over his doulos (slave). The relationship denotes absolute control and power. Notice how often the word "servant" is used in this prayer. They say, "David, your servant; Jesus your servant; we your servants." So right off the bat in this prayer they are establishing the servant/king relationship. God is the sovereign ruler who exhibits sovereign control and they are the loyal subjects who submit to his authority.
And as you continue through looking at what they praise God for, each of them flow from the fact that he is the despotas, he’s the sovereign Lord who exhibits sovereign control. For instance, #2 they praise God for His:
B. Supernatural CREATION
The prayer continues in verse 24: “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
That phrase is a phrase that's repeated over and over again in the Old Testament. You can not overestimate the significance of the doctrine of Creation in the Bible.
And here's the implication: If God made the universe out of nothing, then why would we question any other miracle? If God created the universe out of nothing then the virgin birth is not hard to fathom; "Jesus couldn't walk on water." Are you kidding, He created the universe. "God couldn't rescue my marriage - Are you kidding, he created the universe!" God couldn't save my friend - Are you kidding, He created the universe! God is the maker of heaven and earth. This is not a small god - he is a HUGE God.
A couple of years ago a study was published by researches at - of all places, the university of Hawaii. They sought to answer the age old question, "Are there more grains of sand on the earth or stars in the universe."
You start to think, surely there's a lot of sand on the earth. When we go back to Florida and I reluctantly go to the beach with my family- that sand is everywhere, you can't get rid of it. And think of all the beaches and sea shores and all the desserts that stretch across entire continents. And you think of how small a grain of sand is - that's going to be an incredibly big number.
Well these scientists established the average size of a grain of sand and calculated the number of grains of sand in a teaspoon, and then extrapolated that out to all the grains of sand on all the beaches and all the deserts on the entire earth and they came up with what they called a very rough estimate seven quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains. That's 7,510,000,000,000,000,000,000. - 18 zeros Can you get your mind around that number.
Then looking at the stars in the sky, there are only so many stars you can see with the naked eye - several thousand. But when you look through the most powerful telescopes on the earth, astronomers can estimate different galaxies, distant stars, red dwarfs and faint light patterns and all sorts of things I don't understand and astronomers estimate that 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or 70 sextillion - 22 zeros.
What that means is, the stars of the sky win. Think of that - for every grain of sand on the earth there are multiple stars in the universe. Can you wrap your mind around the enormity of the universe? “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea
Speaking of the sea, these scientists then wanted to really blow our minds and so they asked this question, how many drops of water would it take to equal 70 sextillion molecules of H2O?
Every single drop of water is made up of billions of molecules of H2O. And so do you know how many drops of water it takes to equal 70 sextillion molecules of H20? Ten! Ten drops of water has more molecules of H2O then the number of stars in the sky and grains of sand on the planet. And God created all of that with a word. He made it, he sustains it, he directs it for his glory. Our God is not small!
They're asking God for boldness. Therefore, they praise God for his sovereign control, they praise God for his supernatural creation, and thirdly they praise God for His...
C. Special COMMUNICATION
In verses 25 & 26 they Psalm 2 is quoted. Psalm 2 was written by David, but notice how they introduce the Psalm in their prayer: who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit...
In their prayer they are offering praise to God for the Scriptures. And in this economy of words they summarize for us the doctrine of inspiration. God spoke through human agents who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is God-breathed, it is Holy Spirit inspired. And they recognize that when David, this fallen, sinful man was inspired to write Psalm 2, it was the Holy Spirit speaking through him. And they praise God for it.
When's the last time you praised God for his Word? When's the last time you praised God for his special communication? We praise God for that because we have a God who has revealed himself to us. We would know nothing of God were it not for the fact that He has revealed himself to us.
God reveals himself to us, God communicates to us in two ways. In theology it's known as general revelation and special revelation or general communication and special communication. And in this prayer they praise God for both aspects. General revelation is the way God has revealed himself in creation. We can look at creation and we can know God exists. As Romans 1:20 tells us we can know aspects of God's eternal nature and divine power simply through the communication that comes from creation - that's general revelation.
But special revelation - or sometimes called specific revelation - is how God communicates to us through His Word. He has inspired writers to write down for us who God is. And we cannot mine the depths of who God is apart from mining his Word.
So some will say, "I don't need to go to church to know God, I get to know him by going on a hike, or fishing on the lake, or sitting in the deer stand on a brisk morning." And I would say, yes you can come to know God in a general way through those opportunities; and yes your heart can be filled with wonder when you contemplate the vastness of the universe and the fact that God spoke all of this into existence. But you don't come to know God intimately and specially apart from His special revelation of himself to you. And so they praise God for his Special communication.
But notice what they quoted from God's special communication. They quoted from Psalm 2. I've lost count of how many times these disciples take an OT passage and apply it to Jesus here in the opening chapters.
No doubt this was another passage that during the 40 days after his resurrection Jesus explained in light of himself. In Acts 4 we just have the first 2 verses of Psalm 2, but I want you to see these verses in their context in the Old Testament: 1Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” Psalm 2:1-6
People sometimes say, "God must have a sense of humor." What they mean by that is look at things in his creation like, the proboscis monkey, or the blobfish - that's just funny. Or some of you, just look in the mirror and your realize God has a sense of humor. But verse 4 says, "He who sits in the heavens laughs." Do you know what really makes God laugh? When the people he's created think they can thwart His plan. What makes God laugh is when His creatures think they can overthrow His rule. He finds our great plans to rule the universe absolutely laughable.
And so they praise God because of his Special Communication, and in that communication he revealed this final thing they praised God for...
D. Saving CROSS
In verses 27-28 they interpret the passage from Psalm 2 as being fulfilled in the arrest, beating and crucifixion of Jesus. And they recognize and praise God for the fact that the wrath-assuaging, substitutionary death of Jesus was accomplished according to God's definite plan and timetable. Look at those verses again with me: 27for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
Now I've heard people say, "I don't believe in predestination." Well, then you don't believe the Bible. Because right here and in numerous other places the Bible talks about and affirms that the sovereign controller of the universe has predestined what happens. I looked up that word in the Greek and do you know the Greek word for predestined means? Predestined!
God determined beforehand that these things would happen, and not only that these things would happen but that Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel who all were involved in the plot to kill and crucify Jesus - they did exactly what their evil hearts desired to do, but in so doing they did exactly what God's hand and plan had determined beforehand would take place.
Why would they pray this way? Why would they remind themselves about God's nature and God's power and God's sovereignty and God's predestination in these specific ways? Because Bold Christians believe in a Big God; timid, afraid, weak Christians believe in a tiny god. And they recognize that God is so HUGE that the cross of Jesus was no accident; the cross of Jesus is not about a Jewish Rabbi getting caught up in the messianic fervor of the people in Roman occupied Jerusalem. The cross of Jesus was not about him just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They have come to realize that the cross of Jesus was ALWAYS God's plan to redeem a lost humanity. That means they've got a really Big God who works all things out according to his predetermined plan regardless of how the nations rage. And these believers are praying for boldness - and these truths embolden their witness. Which leads to my fourth point:
IV. The PETITION Of Missional Prayer
After declaring those theological truths in praise to God, they petition our great God in the last two verses: 29And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
The prayer goes in direct opposition to the injunction given by the Sanhedrin. And it's interesting to note what they did NOT pray for. They did NOT pray that God would remove the evil leaders from office; they did NOT pray that God would remove the threats against them. They did NOT even pray that God would protect them from persecution or death. Now you can pray for all those things but I'm just noting that that's not what they prayed for.
What did they pray for? What was their petition? They prayed that they would have boldness in the face of those threats. They prayed that they would continue to speak God's word while the same people who killed Jesus are still in power and authority. They prayed that God would perform signs and wonders in their midst. In this prayer they do NOT pray against their persecutors, they pray for boldness and faithfulness in their witness.
Can we honestly pray that kind of prayer? What happens when you pray that kind of prayer? Well that leads to my final point this morning...
V. The PRODUCT Of Missional Prayer
We find the product, the result of their prayer in verse 31: 31And 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.
Their prayer was answered. They prayed that they would speak the word of God with boldness, and that's exactly what they did. Why? Because they were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit. And I don't want us to miss the connecting of the dots here. Some churches will say, "we don't really concern ourselves that much with doctrine, we just want to be filled with the Spirit and function in the power of the Holy Spirit. We don't really concern ourselves with theology, we just want the filling of the Holy Spirit." Well here's the truth that we can draw from this account here in Acts 4: Authentic, genuine, legitimate Holy Spirit filling and empowerment is rooted in a strong, rich theological foundation.
Consider the points of doctrine they rehearsed in their prayer. You have the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty, the doctrine of Creation, the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture, the doctrine of Substitution, the doctrine of predestination. These are all some weighty and deep areas of theology. But it is when we are rooted in the fertile soil of these weighty and deep doctrines that the power of the Holy Spirit will fill us and empower us like Acts 1:8 promised.
Some have asked me, "Why do you preach so long?" My sermons average 45 minutes in length and I know that's 15 minutes longer than a 30 minute sitcom which seems to be our modern, conditioned attention span. Some have actually said to me, "You ought to be able to say all you need to say in 20 minutes." Dr. WA Criswell, longtime pastor of FBC Dallas responded to the same criticism with this statement: "We don't need more preacherettes who give sermonettes that produce christianettes who go smoke cigarettes." W.A. Criswell
We are a Bible church. And the more time we spend mining the depths of who God is in the sea of his inspired, inerrant Word the greater foundation of truth we will have to be a Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered and Spirit-controlled church that is on mission with the gospel across the street and around the World.
Our God is not small – he is huge, in fact he is eternal.
Our God is not scared – he doesn’t worry or fret about the threats of those whom he has created. - he laughs!
Our God is not surprised. Nothing catches him off guard. All things happen according to His predetermined plan.
And it is this reservoir of truth that informs our prayers as we seek to be bold witnesses for Christ. And so church, let's pray this way; let's pray like they prayed. And that leads to my last thought:
Last Thought: If the GLORY of God through the SALVATION of sinners is what we desire, then this is HOW we must pray!
Prayer time:
• Sovereign control – submit to Him as a loyal subject. King, ruler, master, Lord – you are his bondslave, servant.
• Creation – repeat to God those things in his creation that leave you speechless, that fill your heart with wonder. Earth, Heavens, Sea.
• Word – preserved the Bible for us, spoke through human agents inspired by the HS, he is not a God who plays hide-and-see, but a God who specially reveals himself.
• Saving Cross – the predetermined plan to save through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
• Ask God for boldness to speak the gospel to specific people, in specific situations. Ask God to empower you to boldly witness even against threats of defriending on FB or being ostracized or shunned by friends or family, being blackballed in business or perhaps even greater forms of persecution.
• Ask God for a fresh infilling of his Holy Spirit.
