SUPERNATURAL BREAKTHROUGH #1:
REDIGGING THE WELLS OF PRAYER
OPENING TEXT:
“And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.” (Genesis 26:18).
· This morning we want to redig some of the wells of the early church!
· “The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:9). This ‘latter’ temple is not yet greater than Acts!
· It’s time to start contending for a supernatural breakthrough in our midst!
· PERSONAL STORY: Of encounter at the first Joel’s Army, Kingdom of God, outpourings of the Holy Spirit; youth praying for the sick & raising the dead.
· It will happen when we get hungry for more of God! Get tired of the usual!
KEY TEXT: “Then Jesus taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’?” (Mark 11:17).
THE BIG IDEA: If we want to see the same power – signs, wonders, healings and miracles – as the church in the book of Acts, then we must have the same priority of prayer as they did.
· Jesus wants His church to be a house of prayer (ministry and blessing) for all people. How do we become that?
THE FOUNDATION OF PRAYER IN THE BOOK OF ACTS:
1:14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer.
1:24 And they prayed… (for wisdom and direction from the Lord)
2:1-4 And they were all with one accord… and they were all filled with the Spirit.
2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to…teaching, fellowship…and prayer.
A LOOK AT THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN ACTS: Three simple keys
1. The Presence of God. The early believers expected the experienced presence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit to be with them each time they gathered.
- Revival preacher Leonard Ravenhill wrote, “There was a time when people came to church to meet with God. Now they come to sing songs about Him.”
2. The Power of God. The early believers expected the supernatural power of God to be expressed in their midst when they gathered. (Mark 16:15-20).
3. Participation by all. The early believers came to their gathering anticipating that each one would have something to contribute as the Holy Spirit led.
- We’ll talk about this a little more next week – the gifts of the Spirit. (Church at its Simplest – Tom Wymore – www.churchplanting.ca)
THE BIBLE STORY PART #1:
“1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed” (Acts 3:1-11).
WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS STORY?
a) We need to make prayer our priority. “They went to the temple at the hour of prayer.” (My house will be called a house of prayer – not praise or preaching, although those things are important).
b) We need to stir up our expectation for God to do something. The man “gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.”
c) We need to get the power of God first before we can give it. Peter said, “What I do have I give you… the name of Jesus…”
- Peter knew they were blessed to be a blessing – freely they had received, freely they gave. Where did they get the boldness?
- “When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
THE BIBLE STORY PART #2:
“23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them… 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:23-24,29-31).
WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS PRAYER?
a) We need to pray together as a church. “They raised their voice to God with one accord.” This Greek word helps us understand the uniqueness of the Christian community. It is a compound of two words meaning to "rush along" and "in unison". 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. (Strong’s Concordance).
- This month – we will have prayer every Tuesday at 5:30 am.
b) We need to remind ourselves of who God is and what He has done. “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth…” Remind yourself of what God has done in the past. Power of a testimony.
c) We need to ask God to give us boldness to speak His Word.
d) We need to ask God to perform signs and wonders. Signs point to Jesus; wonders cause people to ‘wonder’.
e) We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit anew and a fresh. (Acts 10:38).
CLOSING PRAYER: Revelation 2:2 – return to first love!
Chris Jordan is the lead pastor of Beausejour Community Church in Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada.
For more sermon outlines, and online audio sermons, go to www.beausejourchurch.ca.
