INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever heard the idea that you shouldn’t base your beliefs and convictions on a historical book - like Acts? What do you think? Do you think that we should follow the examples of those
OUTLINE FOR TODAY
WE MUST PRAY IN SOLIDARITY - ONE ACCORD
WE MUST PRAY TO A SOVEREIGN LORD
WE MUST PRAY FOR SPIRITUAL EMPOWERMENT
WE MUST PRAY IN SOLIDARITY - ONE ACCORD
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:
the term is homothumadon which means: pertaining to mutual consent or agreement - ’with one mind, by common consent, unanimously.
For example:
Romans 15:5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 15:6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Consider APPLICATIONS: We must learn to worship with one voice, we must learn to pray with one voice; this supports, I think, a dialogue, a dialogical form in worship and enough prescribed prayers that we can all enter in with one voice.
I have attended churches when everyone raised their voices aloud at the same time, with different requests. There are different kinds of prayer, to be sure. Corporate prayer should be like symphony of petitions before God; the theme is played and from the largest voice to the tiniest voice, all work together to call upon the Lord to act according to His revealed will.
I love Westminster LC 178 What is prayer? A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God,(1) in the name of Christ,(2) by the help of his Spirit;(3) with confession of our sins,(4) and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies.(5) (1)Ps. 62:8 (2)John 16:23 (3)Rom. 8:26 (4)Ps. 32:5,6; Dan. 9:4 (5)Phil. 4:6
WLC 187 How is the Lord’s prayer to be used? A. The Lord’s prayer is not only for direction, as a pattern, according to which we are to make other prayers, but may also be used as a prayer, so that it be done with understanding, faith, reverence, and other graces necessary to the right performance of the duty of prayer.
WE MUST PRAY TO A SOVEREIGN LORD
They recognized to whom they prayed. They requested from a God who was able to act, a God who was sovereign.
The NKJ says, "Lord" but the Greek word here is not the ordinary "Kurios" but "Despotes" Despo,thj -
NJB says "Master" and this is a common translation. But the NIV, NRSV, RSV, NASB, all have it best as: "Sovereign Lord"
"Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
25 "who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ’Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.’
27 "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
28 "to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
Looking at the Structure of the Prayer, There are four parts:
1) AN ADDRESS,
2) RECITATION OF THE REVEALED WORD,
3) APPLICATION OF THAT WORD,
4) A POWERFUL AND BIBLICAL REQUEST
AN ADDRESS - [Sovereign] Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
Psalm 146:6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever,
Hezekiah in Isa 37:16 addressed God: "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
RECITATION OF THE REVEALED WORD - 25 "who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ’Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.’
This Psalm 2:1 "Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed,"
APPLICATION OF THE REVEALED WORD - 27 "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod (KINGS OF THE EARTH), and Pontius Pilate (RULERS) with the Gentiles (NATIONS) and the people of Israel (PEOPLE), were gathered together 28 "to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
Of course, this was vain from the point of view of those haters of God, stopping his determined purpose. Everyone conspired together -"Let’s stop this Jesus of Nazareth from making trouble" -
Mark 3:6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Matthew 12:14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.
Matthew 27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.
Luke 19:47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him,
Do you think they succeded? Of course their plotting from the Divine and Predestined plan of God was not to bring about an effect of Vanity at all. They did succeed in killing Jesus and that WAS LIFE TO THE WORLD, the very salvation of His people; How does God crush his enemies? Sometimes he strikes them dead - even with worms LIKE HEROD or their guts burst out like Judas Iscariot. Aren’t you thankful that so graciously, he breaks us on the rock the chief cornerstone and makes a Saul, a Paul.
A POWERFULLY BIBLICAL REQUEST -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."
3) WE MUST PRAY FOR SPIRITUAL EMPOWERMENT IN THIS CASE BOLDNESS
SOME PRAY LIKE MARK TWAIN WHO SAID: "It is better to read the weather forecast before we pray for rain." - Notebook; More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927
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.
So often in our prayers, we jump to the request; - and we do not usually get the effect that they had - Their exact request was approved by God.
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.
Calvin says, "It is a wonderful comfort to hear that when we go to war under the banner of Christ, God is on our side. We may be assured that, even when all men, high and low, wickedly conspire together against this Kingdom, they will not prevail. For what is the whole world compared with God? But of this we must first of all be certain -- God will maintain forever the Kingdom of His Son, of which He Himself is the author; we may thus set his inviolable [unchangeable] decree against the [presumptuousness] of men and, trusting in the help of His hand, may with confidence treat lightly all the preparations of men, formidable though they may be."
Let us suppose that you know that God’s redemptive purpose is to send a substitutionary second Adam to save the fallen sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. Then you know that through faith in that Substitute, in His name, Jesus, that there is salvation; then that it is God’s unbending purpose to send his gospel messengers to proclaim this grace-word to the very end of the world; now one finds himself being threatened not to preach; what then do you pray for?
They assumed that they would have persecution because that is exactly what Jesus predicted:
John 15:18 " If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you" 20 "Remember the word that I said to you, ’A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
John 16:1 "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. 2 "They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 "And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 "But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Look at the Biblical Evidence for the Jewish Persecution
2 Thess 2:14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans,
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men,
16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
Gal 1: 11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.
14 And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
CONCLUSION
So then, let us work and be prepared to
PRAY IN ONE ACCORD
KNOW TO WHOM IT IS WE PRAY - THE SOVEREIGN GOD
TO PRAY EFFECTIVELY - ACCORDING TO THE WORD
FOR PURPOSES WHICH ACCOMPLISH KINGDOM OBJECTIVES
"The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time to pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. This something else is important--very important and pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer" (S.D. Gordon).
