Prayer (Speak With Your Abba Father Series

Sermon series - 6 qualities for spiritual health

2) I am a person of Prayer.

- Last week I began a series to help us grow in our spiritual health.

- It all begins with totally loving God.

- As I see it, this Love closely mirrors the love & affection we would have with our

dads, but on a much greater scale.

- In this Love we have, reverence/respect, & fear.

- In these qualities we recognize the power of our earthly dads.

- If we mess up we’re sure dad will give us what we deserve!

- By that is a healthy fear, because dad’s only doing it for your betterment.

- In the reverence/respect, we from an early age learned our place. We

answered to dad, because we knew he has the authority.

- The greatness of this Love shows the next crucial part of our spiritual health.

- To be a person of prayer.

- If you Love your Father, surely you will want to talk to Him!

- Let’s open our Bibles to Acts 4:23-33.

- As we read this, put yourself in the position of the 5,000 that are asking for boldness.

- Imagine you are taking to your Dad, & telling Him I just can’t talk to people.

- Here’s the setting,

- After Peter & John heal a lame man, from birth. They are detained by the priests, the

captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, they were held overnight, & questioned

the next day.

- After their release, they go to the people (about 5,000) who saw the miracle &

believed.

- Listen to the response, & then see what took place, because of God’s deliverance.

Acts 4:23-33

23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

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

25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,

28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

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.

32 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.

33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

- Think of this moment! The very drive & power that came from this event was, & is still

today, earth changing.

- Prayer

- From my key verse, verse 29, comes a misleading idea.

- The baptism of the Holy Spirit.

- The thought is you have to pray for the Holy Spirit to come into you, after you

are saved.

- People justify this by saying, the 5,000 believed when they saw the miracle,

Q- But What did they believe in?

- At That moment, it wasn’t that Jesus was their Savior.

- Then verse 24 comes in,

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

- This is the recognizing moment!

- They heard how Peter & John preached Jesus boldly unto the priests, but were still

released.

- They recognized God’s Love, Jesus is God. He’s God the Son, the second member

of the Trinity.

- They all come together, in submission, in verse 29.

29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

Q- Do you see the submission of a sinner?

- Lord I cannot save myself, but You have saved me.