P.U.S.H.- sermon
Thesis: The church needs to PUSH through in prayer for the breakthrough. We need to Prayer Until Something Happens.
Opening Illustration: Song by Mark Schultz “ He’s my son”
Mark states, “On May 22 1998, my friend John Baird’s 14 year-old son was diagnosed with Leukemia. I wrote this song during the middle of their year long battle.”
PLAY SONG with Scripture up on screen.
Mark shared at Group’s Convention that today years later John is in remission from this disease. Why? Because a father PUSHed through for his son.
Text: I Thess. 5:17 “Pray continually”
Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
P.U.S.H. – Clip
P = Pray
U = Until
S = Something
H = Happens
Acts 12:1-19 Read text on Peter’s release from prison brought on by prayer.
The Holy Bible, New International Version
Acts 12:1 (NIV)
1It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
Acts 12:2 (NIV)
2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Acts 12:3 (NIV)
3When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Acts 12:4 (NIV)
4After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
Acts 12:5 (NIV)
5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
Acts 12:6 (NIV)
6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.
Acts 12:7 (NIV)
7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
Acts 12:8 (NIV)
8Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him.
Acts 12:9 (NIV)
9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.
Acts 12:10 (NIV)
10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
Acts 12:11 (NIV)
11Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
Acts 12:12 (NIV)
12When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
Acts 12:13 (NIV)
13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door.
Acts 12:14 (NIV)
14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
Acts 12:15 (NIV)
15“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
Acts 12:16 (NIV)
16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
Acts 12:17 (NIV)
17Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the brothers about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
Acts 12:18 (NIV)
18In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.
Acts 12:19 (NIV)
19After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while.
Acts 12:20 (NIV)
20He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.
Acts 12:21 (NIV)
21On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people.
Acts 12:22 (NIV)
22They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.”
Acts 12:23 (NIV)
23Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
Acts 12:24 (NIV)
24But the word of God continued to increase and spread.
Acts 12:25 (NIV)
25When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from£ Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
Introduction:
I don’t believe that God wants us to pray and expect quick fixes as many are in the habit of believing today. I honestly believe that prayer as described in the Bible is an act that takes effort. I believe prayer is like the pioneers of old who pushed their way across the Dakotas through raging blizzards and cold to get to sunny California or Oregon. I have read many of their stories. Their adventure was filled with determination, set back, and a fortitude that drove them through the storms to their desired location of sun and surf.
The Word of God exhorts us, charges us to pray through – to Pray, Until, Something, Happens. To pray through for the break out and breakthroughs.
I. When trials and tribulations come we need to P.U.S.H. through them with prayer.
a. Peter and the church taught us about the importance of praying through (Acts 12:1-19).
i. James is killed by a sword directed from Herod and Peter is arrested. The church is under attack and Herod inspired by the Jews and Satan is bent on wiping out the church.
1. The church at this point has a few options at its disposal to confront this injustice ( Idea here pulled from Cymbala’s book “Fresh Power “ pg.88,89).
a. They could start a demonstration – they could march on Washington and protest there are 5,000plus in the church. We are a voting block Herod you better take notice and give us what we demand.
b. They could storm Herod’s palace and slay him with the sword like he did James.
c. They could condemn James for not having enough faith because he was martyred.
d. They could have started confessing positively and saying this is all going to go away. Everything is fine James is not really dead. Peter is not going to be killed after Passover is over.
e. They could start a Newspaper to address the issues and inform the public of what’s going on.
f. They could have remembered all the past spiritual victories and rehashed them. They could live in the past and remember the way we where.
g. They could have turned tail and run.
h. They could have quit and given up on God because things where getting tough.
i. But they did none of the above- Instead they called a prayer meeting and started praying earnestly to God for a miracle.
i. Cymbala states, “Too many times when we are under stress or opposition, we hold strategy sessions, we ‘claim the promises’ in rote sort of way instead of praying them biblically. But God said we could ‘receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.’ Where? At ‘the throne of grace’ ( Hebrews 4:16).
ii. Abraham Lincoln wrote, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.”
iii. This is the attitude we need to have in the church today to see a determination to PUSH through in prayer and see lives transformed.
2. In Acts 12:5 we are told that the church is earnestly – in other words – they working diligently at praying – they are praying on a continual basis – they are laboring to give birth to a miracle- their knees are aching – they sweat is pouring out because of their hard labor. Their crying out in anguish to the Lord.
a. They are doing this with passion and determination, they are P.U.S.H.ing through the storm from Herod. The dangerous cold heartless storm of a man pleaser. The raging blowing wind of an enemy of the church and of Jesus Christ.
b. A storm that has already taken some lives and is hungry for more. They are pushing against it they are driving it away.
i. They PUSHING through the pain for the break out.
ii. They know where the power of God comes from it is unleashed by prayer.
iii. It’s not like this cartoon!
T.S.- The church needs to labor earnestly in prayer for our world and others so we can be apart of a miracle.
II. When we pray earnestly don’t be too surprised when God does a miracle ( Acts 12:5-17).
a. The prayer warriors could not believe the women’s report. They said women your flaking out don’t take this prayer thing to serious. Your delusional.
b. But believe it or not prayers bring miracles. Not only in the NT church but today: (Miracles in the Gulf War from Preaching Today)
i. Illustrations: Power of Prayer
ii. Illustration: Another Gulf War Miracle
iii. Some people in the church are afraid of the results that could come from prayer. For Example:
Illustration of Churches praying against Brewery and being sued by the atheist owner. The judge said he was in a dilemma on one side the atheists who does not believe in God blames the churches for praying and having his brewery destroyed and on the other side the churches deny that it was their prayers that burned down the brewery.
1. Persecution from those affected by prayer
a. Yes whether you want to acknowledge it or not in spite of prayer and miracles that follow them there will still be hard times. Some people will not be released. Why? Because God’s in charge!
b. God responds to prayers in three ways:
i. Yes
ii. No
iii. Wait
2. Some don’t want miracles of the supernatural kind because then it messes up their man made theologies.
3. Some don’t want miracles because then they realize that it’s God that is in charge not us.
4. Some don’t want miracle because then they realize that we need to do more praying instead of our pet programs.
5. Some don’t want miracles because they fear that we could lose control and have to do things God’s way.
6. Some don’t want miracles because then people will be Spirit empowered doing ministry with no formal training.
7. Some don’t want miracles because their will be jail breaks and then we will have all these ex-cons in our church.
iv. Some actually will not believe it even when God does do a miracle ( Acts 12:14,15)
1. Reread this text – some of you are thinking this is impossible– Peter got out of jail by an angel appearing, waking him up, unlocking the chains that bound him, getting him past the guards and supernaturally unlocking and opening the gate by itself.
2. Then he was inspired to go to the prayer meeting where they where praying for his release and he knew where it was. Ya right!
v. What did the early church receive for it’s efforts in prayer?
1. Herod never got his man. Why? The church prayed!
2. Herod was dealt with by God. Why? The church prayed!
3. The Gospel kept being presented. Why? The church prayed!
4. They experienced miracles. Why? The church prayed!
5. People kept getting save. Why? The church prayed!
6. People continued to be amazed and saved. Why? The church prayed!
7. This true life story is in the Bible. Why? Because the church prayed.
8. They learned to not preach people out or sing people out but to pray them out of bondage!
Conclusion: Why should we earnestly pray?
1. Because the enemies plans to destroy the church will be thwarted and the church will see miracles.
2. Because the spread of the Gospel will continue as long as the church prays.
3. Because people will find Jesus and be saved.
4. Because there will be jail brakes wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit and prisoners will be set free.
5. Because there will be testimonies shared to the delivering power of God through prayer.
6. Because people will encouraged to PUSH through if we keep praying.
7. Because if we stop the church will stop an hover in the water like a dead ship with not power.
Close with Jim Cymblala’s Quote!
