September 16, 2001 Acts 4:23-31
“When the church prays”
1. The church prays in response to God‘s actions. (4:23-24)
They were thankful for God’s deliverance.
[recount the events that led up to this impromptu prayer meeting]
Sometimes, God chooses to rescue His people from danger. At other times, He walks with them right through the middle of it. Regardless of which it is, our proper response to God is to be thankful.
What do we have to be thankful about concerning the events of this week?
- Be thankful that you were not there. When Tammy heard about all of this, one of her first thoughts was of her brother. Up until just a short time ago, he lived in New York and worked in the financial district there. She was relieved that he was no where near the disaster. Then, yesterday, she found out that he makes a trip once a week to New York for a meeting with other staff of his company. Guess where that meeting is held? – you guessed it, the World Trade Center. Thankfully, this was not the week scheduled for that meeting.
- Be thankful that your family was not there. Kiss your children. Hug on them. Some people will never again have that opportunity.
- Be thankful for those passengers who thwarted the plans of the hijackers on the plane that crashed in Penn.
- Be thankful that Tuesday, as bad as it was, was not as bad as it apparently had been planned to be.
- Be thankful for leaders who are working hard to see to it that something like this never happens again.
Regardless of how bad the situation may be, you can always find something to thank God for.
They were together in their praise to God.
When they were released, the first thing that they did was to seek out other believers. Tough times bring people together. Billy Graham, in his comments at the National Cathedral on Friday said that this event could have torn us apart as a nation, but instead, it has brought us together. It is virtually impossible to find a flag for sale in any store in the United States. They have all been sold and are being proudly displayed all over our nation. I heard that K-Mart sold 88,000 on Wednesday and even more the day after. It was encouraging to see our senators stand shoulder to shoulder on the steps of the capitol, all singing “God Bless America”. They set aside their labels, Democrats and Republicans, and said with one voice, “We are behind you, Mr. President, and we will do whatever it takes to bring justice to this situation.” The enemy is no longer the person sitting across the aisle. The enemy is now terrorism.
We could learn something from them. Instead of turning our anger on the person sitting across from us for some action that they committed or some obligation they failed to fulfill, remember who the true enemy is. The enemy is not your brother. The enemy is not your landlord. The enemy is not even Asama Ben Laden. The enemy is Satan. Turn your anger toward him. Attack his strongholds with one voice and one resolve. Then you will defeat more than just terrorism. You will defeat hunger, and war, and famine and hate. We must unite in our praise to God and in our supreme commitment to grow His kingdom on earth.
2. The church prays in recognition of God’s control. (4:24-28)
They recognized His sovereignty as the God of creation. (vs. 24) “you…made”
God is in control of the world He made – “…[He] holds all things together.” When it looks like the world around you or your personal world is falling apart, remember that God really does have the whole world in His hands.
God is bigger than the world He made. There is no problem that you have that is bigger than God’s ability to solve it. There is also no problem that you have that is bigger than God’s ability to use it. The God that we serve is able to make all things work together for good. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity for God to show Himself mighty.
God knows the limits of the humans that He made, namely you. “God remembers that we are but dust.” He will not give us more than we can handle through His strength. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Cor 10:13) The temptation right now is fear. But God provides a way out. It is to trust completely in the God who made it all.
They recognized His sovereignty as the God of revelation. (vs. 25) “you…spoke”
In this verse, Peter makes reference to the passage that I read from on Tuesday night at our special prayer meeting. It is Psalm 2. [read it] The verse here and in Psalm 2 begins by asking the question, “Why do the nations rage?” That word “rage” is the word that is used to describe the sound produced by high-fed, spirited horses. The horses “may trample and toss their heads, but in the end they will have to accept the discipline of the reins.” [William Barclay]
All this week, we have listened to people talking. We have heard terrorist experts try to explain why we never saw this coming. We have heard airline experts try to explain how these hijackers could have gotten control of the planes and what they did with them once they got control. We have heard politicians cry out for justice to be done. We have heard the content of the 911 calls made from doomed airliners. And we have heard hurting people tell the stories of the last time that they saw their loved one. But it all began with a group of terrorists who made one decisive statement when they plowed two jumbo commercial jets into the side of the world trade center and one into the pentagon. They tried to say that they were in control, that they could not be stopped, and that we need to be afraid. They were throwing their heads around, trying to throw off God’s control, running wild.
I’ve got news for them and for all the reporters of all the world. When God speaks, it does not really matter what anyone else has to say. In a time like this, when others seek to destroy our lives or steal our joy through what they have to say, remember what God has already said. Things like, “I love you”, “I will never leave you or forsake you”, “You are my child”, and “I’m coming back to get you.” Things like “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want…though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” and “until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle – not the smallest portion of my word – will pass away.” And there’s another thing that I would like to remind us and those who have attacked us that God has said. He said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay”, says the Lord.
We like to hear those things, and it is important to remind ourselves of those promises that we can stand on when the foundation of our lives crumbles all around us.
But just as important, and maybe not as pleasant, we need to remember as I was reminded by a couple of different people this week that Jesus said, “Love your enemies; pray for those who spitefully use you.”
Whatever others may say, and whatever you may say, the only thing that really matters and that will stand the test of time is what God has already said.
They recognized His sovereignty as the God of history. (vs. 28) “you…decided”
Before Tuesday, we looked at those twin towers towering over the New York skyline, and we thought that they were indestructible. They had withstood a previous attack with little damage. They were the symbol of the New York financial strength. Even to a certain extent, they were a testimony to the “can-do” attitude of all Americans. Do you know the way that you felt when you first saw those twin towers falling to the ground realizing that there were thousands of people dying right before your eyes? Maybe now, for the first time, we can get a glimpse of the way that Jesus’ followers felt when they saw Him die on that tree. They saw Jesus the same way. He stood taller than anyone. They thought that He would always be with them. And then they watched Him die. How could this be happening? It’s like a scene from an end-of-the-world science fiction movie. Everything that you hold sacred, everything that you’re counting on…they could go just as easily and just as quickly as that building did.
We look at a situation like this, this terrorist attack, the same way that they looked at the loss of Jesus. How could God allow this to happen? How could anything good come out of this? And yet we know both from history and from our faith that what men intended for evil, God used for good. Yes, Jesus died, but He also rose again. If God could take the event of 2000 years ago and turn it to good, don’t you believe that he could take this event and bring about good from it? The fact is that ONLY God can do this. He is the God of history.
God has a plan. As Luis Palau said this week in response to these events, “God’s plans are not thwarted by man’s evil.” You are a part of God’s plan. You decide only if you will be willing participant or an unwilling participant. A big part of God’s plan for you is that you enter into that event that happened 2000 years ago – that you place your faith in Jesus Christ, that you accept His sacrifice as the payment for your sins. Then you can be used of God to help defeat the evil that is in this world.
3. The church prays to make request for God’s intervention. (4:29-30)
They prayed to have the boldness to continue to speak. (vs. 29)
Right now, there are a lot of people who are afraid. For a while, every time that you hear a plane overhead, a little bit of apprehension will creep into your heart. It may be that some of you will be hesitant to let your kids or your spouse out of your sight for fear that you will never see them again. But you know what. It is not up to you to handle all those things in your life that can make you afraid. Look at what Peter said: “consider their threats”. “Consider” means to think about or ponder to the point that you allow those thoughts to control your actions. The tendency for us would be for US to consider the threats of other people or nations toward us. It occupies our thoughts constantly even as it has occupied our television viewing constantly for the past several days. The more we consider their threats, the more potential those threats have for stopping us from doing what God has called us to do. The better way, the way that Peter did was to hand over those threats to God and let Him deal with them. “You think about these threats God, and you deal with them. I haven’t got the time or the energy to deal with them. I’m too busy considering your greatness God and the greatness of the opportunity that you have set before us. I don’t have time to think about the weak threats of weak men. So YOU consider their threats.” Turn your fears over to God! Don’t waste your time worrying about what might happen tomorrow. Use today to its greatest potential. It’s all that you have.
Notice that they didn’t pray for their own safety. They didn’t pray that someone else would come along to take over their responsibility. They could have easily remained safe, simply by keeping their mouths shut. Hear me here for a second, Christians. This is our chance to speak. Many of you have shared with me that you would share your faith with other people, but you just don’t know where to start the conversation. Now, you don’t have to start the conversation! All you have to do is join in the conversation that is going on in every office and every household in America. People are thinking about death right now. They are faced with death every time that they turn on the television set or the radio. They cannot escape the reality that death may come at any moment. We’ve got to jump on the opportunity! We’ve got to boldly proclaim the message of hope and peace that God has given us. The opportunity is now. Don’t let it slip through your fingers. The opportunity is there. You don’t need to pray for that anymore. What you need to pray for is boldness.
They prayed to have God display His power. (vs. 30)
In a situation like this, one of the things that people deal with is a sense of powerlessness. We want to do something, anything, to alleviate the suffering of other people. So we give blood, and we make financial contributions, and some actually go to help in the rescue and recovery efforts.
This past weekend, Mike, Ben and I spent time with other men from our state discussing the disaster relief work of the Southern Baptist Convention. Our focus was planned to be on the relief efforts for the flood in the lower part of the state, but the focus was shifted to what is going on in New York and Washington. Our speaker was supposed to be the national director for disaster relief efforts in the SBC. He didn’t make it there, because his services were urgently needed to help with the relief efforts in New York. When I learned of what Southern Baptists are doing in New York, it made me proud to be one. You may have heard the newscasters speak of counselors that are there at the armory where people come to declare who is misssing and check on information. At least 12 of those counselors are Southern Baptists. Southern Baptists are there with feeding units. The Red Cross provides the food, and Southern Baptists fix and serve the food to all those workers. They can serve upwards of 25,000 meals a day from one feeding station. There are a couple of shower units up there from Southern Baptist churches so that workers can take a refreshing and cleansing shower after having worked in all that soot and carnage. There are Southern Baptist command units up there that are able to help provide communication efforts for rescue and recovery efforts when other means of communication don’t work. Southern Baptists, Christians, are there helping to ease the suffering of people, wrapping their arms around them, and telling them that there is a God who understands and can heal.
As much as we might like to be a part of something like that, for most of us the only avenue that we have to help is to pray. And sometimes that sounds so weak. But in reality, that is the most powerful thing that we can do. Those rescue workers may not be able to reach all of the trapped people down there in time, but God can. Prayer is our means of activating the power of God in our lives and in our world.
There are times in your life that you would like to see God display His power in the destruction of your enemies. “Zap them Lord! Wipe them off the face of the earth!” Now could be one of those times. It could have been one of those times for Peter and the other disciples. But they took their cue from Jesus who when He was being nailed to that tree cried out “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
They had seen God work signs and wonders before. They wanted to see it again. This whole series of events had been brought about because of God working a miracle. A man who had been crippled from birth (Acts 3:2) was now able to not only walk but to leap for joy! (Acts 3:8) They wanted to see God do that again, not so that they would look good, but so that the words that they said would have confirmation as the truth and so that hurting people could find healing.
Right now, there are a lot of hurting people in our nation. People who, like this crippled man, feel like their legs have been cut out from underneath them so that now all they can do is crawl. But God can work a miracle and heal those people. And that’s exactly what it will take. Time can dull the pain, therapy can help us deal with the pain, but only God can heal the pain. God can take crippled people and make them leap for joy once more. God does more than just take away pain. He is not just a cosmic extra-strength Tylenol pill. God gives joy. You may be hurting right now, thinking that there is no way you will ever leap for joy again. But God can work a miracle. God can heal.
4. The church prays with the expectation of results. (4:31)
After every crisis that we have in our nation, there rings out a call for people to pray. It happened after the school shootings. It happened after the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma. It has happened again. People everywhere are sending up prayers for our nation. Reporters, who only a day before would have hastily jumped on any story in which the ACLU was condemning prayer in school or some government office, are now happily reporting on church services and prayer meetings. They are seeking wisdom from church leaders on how we should respond to all of this. I’m glad. It’s about time. But I am also fearful. I am afraid that when this crisis is passed, the focus on prayer will end too. Our nation sees prayer as a tool to console people and to help them deal with their crisis. It does not realize that prayer actually changes things. It does not understand that it appropriates the power of God, and that some of these things might have actually been prevented had we been on our knees as a nation before God prior to the coming of this week’s events.
The people at this church in Jerusalem, they expected results from God. They prayed because they expected that God would actually grant what they were asking for. Look at what happened. The Holy Spirit descended on that place and gave them exactly what they had been asking for. I want you to notice something though. The place was filled with praise and prayer before it was filled with the Spirit of God. In fact, the place had to be filled with praise and prayer before it could be filled with the Spirit of God. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people. In a place filled with prayer, the Spirit is welcome. In a place filled with prayer, there is nothing to prevent the Spirit from coming. It’s almost as if the Spirit says, “Look at those people! They’re pouring out their praises. They’re on their face before the Father. I am welcome there. I can work through those people. They are ready. I am coming!”
Would you like God’s Holy Spirit – the Comforter – to come into this place and give us the boldness that we need? Would you like Him to heal your heart? Then seek His face. Get down on your knees before Him. Allow Him to change you.
CONCLUSION
This past Tuesday night, we had a special prayer meeting for all those who are involved in this week’s tragedy. I was encouraged by the attendance that we had that night especially since it was such a hastily called meeting. But then, the very next night, at our prayer gathering that we have every Wednesday night that everyone in our church should know about because it happens every week, we were back to our usual handful of people. There’s something wrong there. What is it going to take to get us to call out to God on a continual basis? Is it going to take a long, drawn out war? What is it going to take? The true strength of a church is not measured in how many are present on Sunday morning but in how many are there to pray on Wednesday night. Right now, that means that we are a weak church. Will you come and pray with us?
Some of you may be sitting here, not really sure what all this is about, and not knowing how to pray because you don’t have a relationship with the Father. You have never come to Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, and asked Him to become your Savior. Maybe you’ve been approached by a Christian before, or maybe God has convicted your heart at some time in the past, and you’ve said, “Not today; maybe tomorrow.” You may not have a tomorrow. Those people who got on planes in New York and Boston thought that they were going home or to their business to conduct life as usual. They did not know that that flight would be their last one. People who were in those twin towers and the Pentagon had no idea that a plane was going to plow into their buildings. They thought that they had many more tomorrows to come. They were wrong. You may be wrong too. Make a decision to invite Jesus Christ into your life today.
