September 1, 2024 SERMON

 How to Put Power in Our Prayer
Acts 4:23-33

We're in a series entitled: "That Old-Time Religion" And we’re taking a journey through the book of Acts to see if we can learn and become a church similar to the early New Testament church.

Today we are in Acts chapter 4 beginning in verse 23, so if you will find that and keep your Bibles open we’ll be looking at that scripture in a moment.

Today’s message is on "How to Put Power in Our Prayer." Not merely to pray, but to pray with power—to pray so as to get our prayers answered.

I’ll begin with a little background; the disciples had miraculously healed a cripple, and the religious rulers of that day could not deny the miracle, because they saw it, but they tried to keep the disciples from preaching or teaching in the name of Jesus, so they threaten and forbade to continue doing so and sent them on their way.

As a result of that, we begin reading in verse 23: "And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they had heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, who hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; who, by the mouth of thy servant, David, hast said, Why did the nations rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the nations, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child, Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of those that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:23-33).

I want us to see that it was trouble that brought the church to prayer. The gospel of our Lord and Savior was being opposed. Christians were being threatened. This was the catalyst for this great prayer meeting.

Someone said, Christians are like tea—their real strength comes out when they're in hot water. So, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, today, ought to be praying.

I look around and I see militant humanism. I see false cults. I see the communist menace circling the globe. I look inside of this beloved nation of ours, and I see moral corruption. I see the slaughter of unborn innocent babies. I see a drug epidemic, alcoholism, sexual perversion.

I see a people that do not know God, millions—God help us—billions, who've never even heard. Oh, they’ve heard but they are not listening regarding the name of Jesus. I am convinced that only prayer can hold back the floodtide of sin and judgment, and only powerful prayer can send revival.

It’s not just any prayer that we need, it’s prayer with power. It is not the rhetoric of our prayer—how eloquent our prayers are. It is not the music of our prayer—how beautiful our prayers are. It is not the logic of our prayer. It is not how methodical our prayers are. But   it is the power of our prayers that counts.

I read, in verse 31, that when these disciples had prayed, the place was shaken. That is, there was power there—such power that it literally shook the place. God said amen with an earthquake.

This boldness can only come from one place. Boldness comes from being with Jesus.  John talks about touching Jesus and being with Jesus but Jesus Himself says that if we believe 
without seeing Him we are blessed.

John 20:29 Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen Me yet have believed."

We are here because of their boldness; who will be here next week, month or next year because of our boldness.

It was the Holy Spirit that enabled theses men to speak with boldness and Jesus says that the same Holy Spirit is freely available to anyone that would ask (Luke 11:13).

It’s the same Holy Spirit poured out on the early church. This same blessing is available to us today should we ask God to baptize us with His Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:12 "therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech" Hope stimulates our boldness to speak.

Matthew Henry says, "When we are sent on an errand by God to speak then we go in boldness and deliver the whole counsel of God boldly. We go in the authority of God not doubting what we say nor feeling the burden of saying it."

It is clear from the passage that the reason that they were prompted to pray in this way was because they had their first taste of persecution from the authorities.

It would seem that courage came no more easily to them as it does to us, to maintain courage they had to rely on the Holy Spirit.

The enemy threatens to provoke fear to drive us away from our work, but it should work in the opposite way. Fear should drive us to pray for strength and boldness in the face of the enemy’s objections.

If you don’t feel welcome in a situation as an ambassador of Jesus, then it may just be that the enemy doesn’t want you there because he knows the God we serve.

1Peter 5:8 "your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour"

The enemy the devil is no more than a roaring Lion - God is sovereign.

The devil makes a lot of noise, trying to distract us from looking to Jesus. If we focus on the noise, then fear sets in. We must always remember that God is God, and the enemy is only an Angel and a fallen one at that.

We cannot afford to walk away from a challenge because of fear. Our actions have serious consequences. Walking away is like being ashamed of Jesus.

I want us to look at this scripture and see what the principles of powerful prayer are. First: I want us to see what I call the confidence of mighty prayer.

Verse 24: "And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, who hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is."

This was a prayer that saw God as the Creator of all things, "God, You're a sovereign God. You're Almighty God.

The Jewish high court has told us not to preach. They've told us not to teach. But Lord You are the Creator. Lord, they are the created. And Lord we don't have to be intimidated by them, because all of the forces of nature are at Your fingertips."

It's necessary that, when we're opposed, and when trouble comes, we go back and get things into perspective, look beyond the visible to the invisible, and look beyond the creature to the Creator so that we can pray with confidence.

They saw God as the Creator of all things, and so it follows, as night follows day, that they saw God as the Controller of all things. Begin in verse 25.

They speak of God, "who, by the mouth of thy servant, David, hast said, Why did the nations rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the nations, and the people of Israel, were gathered together"—now watch this and underscore it—"to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."

These disciples were facing a difficult situation. But then they looked back to the darkest day that they'd ever known when all of their hopes, aspirations, and dreams were nailed to a Roman cross.

When the Son of God was ganged up on by the high court, by Herod, by Pontius Pilate, and when all of these people nailed the Son of God to the cross.

But they said: "Nothing has gotten out of control." They quoted from Psalm 2, they understood what David had said 700 years before Jesus Christ was born that this was exactly, precisely what was going to happen.

Again I want us to notice in verse 28: "To do whatever thy hand and thy counsel determined before"—that is, before it ever happened—"to be done."

What God showed these people was not only that God was the Creator of all things, but also that God was the controller of all things, that nothing had gotten out of the control of Almighty God, that God foresaw it all, and that God knew exactly, precisely what was going to happen.

You see, we get all bent out of shape. We think, "Well, maybe the devil somehow has taken over, and maybe, somehow, things are not going to turn out as the Bible says they're going to turn out."

But nothing has happened that God has not already foreseen and that God does not control. We need to learn that God is still in control.

Corrie ten Boom—the woman who had suffered in Hitler's concentration camp and was such a shining testimony for Christ. Many of you probably read her book “The Hiding Place.” She said "There is no panic in Heaven—only plans. The Holy Trinity never meets in an emergency session; Praise God!”

Listen, this is what God had foreordained. This is what God planned. God knew it was all going to take place.

Notice the confidence of this prayer: "Lord, you are the Creator of all things. Lord, you are the Controller of all things and then He is the Conqueror of all things. If you read Psalm 2, it tells about how the kings would crucify the Lord Jesus Christ; it says, "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion" (Psalm 2:6).

It speaks of how the Lord Jesus Christ is going to rule, how He's going to conquer, and how He must prevail. It tells us that God is on the throne, that sin cannot win, that faith cannot fail, and that our God is the conquering God.

I trust that all of God's children have read the last chapter. We know how it's going to end, and therefore, we can pray with a confidence that God is the Controller of all things, because God is the Conqueror of all things and the Creator of all things. Thank God for that.

And, when you pray you need to get your prayer in perspective. So many of us are whining and groveling when we ought to be praising God and thanking God for the victory and praying with the mighty confidence that these disciples prayed with so long ago.

The second thing that I want us to notice is, not only the confidence of powerful prayer, but I want us to notice the commitment of powerful prayer. Look in verse 29: "And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word."

Underscore the word servants—that speaks of the commitment of mighty prayer. That word is a translation of a Greek word that literally means "bondslaves." "Lord, grant to your bondslaves—that they might speak your Word with boldness."

The reason that many of our prayers are not answered is that we've not made that bond servant commitment to the Lord.

Every now and then I'll come behind a car, and it'll have a bumper sticker on it that says, "God is my co-pilot." No, He's not. He's not. Some businessman says, "Well, I'm going to open a business, and I want God as my partner." God doesn't want to be your partner. Church, He is your L-o-r-d, Lord. He's not your partner. He's not your co-pilot—you are His bond slave, and He is our sovereign Lord.

Many times, we want to use God. God's not going to be used. You want God to answer your prayers? Then submit yourself to Him, totally, as Lord.

Why should God increase your strength to give you more power to serve the devil? Why should God answer your prayer, unless you're committed to Him totally?

Here were people who were committed to Him. What did they want God to do? They wanted God to give them power to express God's Word. Look in verse 29—as servants they deserved three things. Number one: to express God's Word. "And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word."

Is that the desire of your heart—to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, to obey the Great Commission? Grant, Lord, "that with all boldness they may speak thy word"—that they may express God's Word.

I remind you; it was the expression of God's Word and it was the preaching of God's Word that got them into trouble to begin with. They didn't say, "Lord, move us to more favorable circumstances." They didn't say, "Lord, keep us safe."

They prayed, "Lord, give us more of what got us into trouble in the first place." Think about that: "Lord, we're in trouble for preaching your Word. Now, God, give us boldness to preach it some more."  "We want to express your Word."

Folks, Jesus Christ did not come to get you out of trouble. He came to get into trouble with you, and that's exciting. These disciples—if you read the book of Acts—they stayed in trouble. They said, "Lord, give us boldness."

This is the commitment of prayer with power: to express God's Word. Not only did they want to express God's Word, but they also wanted to extend God's hand. Notice in verse 30: "By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child, Jesus."

"Now, Lord, we want You to stretch forth Your hand." Well, how was Jesus going to stretch forth His hand? After all, Jesus had gone to Heaven. How was He going to stretch forth His hand? Their hands were to become His hands. What they were saying is: "Lord, take our hands and do, through our hands, what You would do if You were here in the flesh."

Let me show you how that prayer was answered. Turn to chapter 5, and look in verse 12: "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people." They said, "Lord, stretch forth Your hand," and then, the Bible says, "By the hands of the apostles were [these things done]."

We have to understand that we are now the Body of Christ, and that He wants to inhabit our humanity and display His Deity through our humanity? Are you available to Him?

Are you saying, "Lord, these hands are Your hands, and Lord, if You want to stretch forth Your hands, then all You have to do is to say the word, and my hands will be stretched forth."

Are you committed to Him like that? That is the commitment of mighty prayer—prayer that wants to express His Word—prayer that wants to extend His hand.

I read, some time ago, about a cathedral in Europe that was bombed in World War II. Some of the Americans were there, and they wanted to rebuild the cathedral, and so, they did. And, in that cathedral was a magnificent statue of Christ with his arms outstretched and, underneath it, the scripture: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). 

The statue had been broken to pieces. They searched through the rubble. They found all of the parts, and they assembled them back together. But, when they came to the hands, they could not find the hands. The hands had been destroyed, and they couldn't find them. 

They didn't know what to do until somebody had an idea, and he wrote beneath that statue "He has no hands but our hands."

Lord, we're Your bondslaves. Lord, we're here to express Your Word. Lord, we're here to extend Your hands. And Lord, we are here to exalt Your Son.

Notice the third thing—verse 30: "By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child, Jesus." Not in our name, but in the name of Jesus.

The name stands for character and person of Jesus. That is, when it is done, it will be obvious that Jesus Christ is doing it, and Jesus Christ will get the glory, and Jesus Christ will get the praise.

Jesus said that we are to pray in His name—that's what they're talking about. Praying in the name of Jesus is not just something at the end of your prayer—tacking on a little phrase, "In Jesus' name.” It means, "Jesus, with Your authority, and in Your power, and for Your glory, Lord, do this. We want you, Lord Jesus, to be exalted."

So many of our prayers are selfish. We're not concerned with the glory of Jesus. The apostle, in James, says, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3).

God's not some glorified bellhop running up and down the corridors of Heaven to find things to bring to us in order to satisfy our whims and our wants.

We need to understand what prayer is. Prayer is a means of bringing the power of Heaven into our lives; when we are interested in expressing God's Word, when we're interested in extending God's hand, and when we're interested in exalting God's Son and glorifying the Lord Jesus, then maybe we'll see our prayers answered.

There are so many of us who think that we can just kind of run up to God with a little shopping list. Are you committed to Him? There is the confidence of powerful prayer, of mighty prayer.

That confidence sees God as Creator, God as Controller, and God as Conqueror. And, then along with that confidence, not only is there the sovereignty of God, but there's the servant hood of man, where we say, 29b "Lord, now grant to your bond slaves that we may exalt Jesus, that we may extend the hand of God, that we may express the Word of God."

I've talked to you about the confidence prayer, then, about the commitment of mighty prayer. Thirdly, I want us to think of the consequences of mighty prayer. I want us to see what happens.

Begin in verse 31: "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4:31-33)

What were the consequences of this prayer? Number one: the Spirit is received. 31: "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit."

Wait, they had already been filled with the Holy Spirit, in Acts 2, but now they are filled with the Holy Spirit again. That teaches us that we cannot operate on yesterday's experience. There must be a fresh filling of God's Holy Spirit. There must be this time when day after day we are filled with the Spirit.

There's another lesson: you cannot divorce the fullness of the Spirit from the witness of the servant. Look at it. "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31). Why is God going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit? Not to make you feel good, and not to soothe you, but to empower you.

Acts 1, verse 8: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me" (Acts 1:8).

You say, "Spirit of God, baptize me with Your Holy Spirit, I want to be a great Bible student." The Spirit of God says, "I'm not interested."

"Spirit of God, baptize me I want to live victoriously over sin." The Spirit of God says, "I'm still not interested."

"Spirit of God, baptize me, I want to have peace in my heart." He says, "I'm not interested."

"Spirit of God, I want to express God's Word. I want to extend God's hands. I want to exalt God's Son." Spirit says, "If that’s what you want that's what I want also. We'll get together on that."

The Holy Spirit of God will baptize you when you're committed to be a witness to Jesus Christ. Are we committed that way?

What are the consequences? Number one: the Spirit is received. Number two: unity is achieved. Notice here in verse 32: "And the multitude of those that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common" (Acts 4:32).

They were fused together. They became one. Prayer, more than anything else, unites the church. When the church prays, God’s Spirit is received, and unity is achieved.

There is a unity that is achieved in prayer that can be achieved in no other way. So, if we want our church to stay unified and be greatly unified, then indeed, we must practice this kind of prayer.

When the Spirit is received, when unity is achieved, then the gospel is believed. Notice what the Bible says in verse 33: "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great grace was upon them all."

As a matter of fact, there are three great things that ring through the book of Acts. Two of them are here, and one's in Acts, chapter 5: great power, great grace, and great fear. That's what we need in our churches today.

It just follows that, when God's Holy Spirit comes in, we are fused together by the Holy Spirit of God, and there is a unity and a power that causes the gospel to be believed when we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The time will come—if it has not already come—when for God to answer your prayer will mean more to you than anything else on this earth.

It means that your life, your home, your family, this church, this community, America, and our world, will never see the power of God as they ought until God's people learn how to pray—how to put power in your prayer. The need of the hour is prayer with power. Let's pray.

Father, I pray, in the name of Jesus, that you'll help us to learn from this passage of scripture that has spoken to my own heart. Lord, we say, as the disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray." In Jesus' Name, Amen!