Accessing the Power of God

If you have ever had a safe deposit box at a bank, you know that in order to access it, you've got to have two keys, the bank's key and your key.

Have you ever stopped and thought that there are two keys required to access the power of God?

The first key is the Holy Spirit.

God has given us the gift of His Spirit to empower us to live the Christian life the way that He intends, the way that He has worked in us to enable us, the way that He calls us and instructs us in His Word to live it.

Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher in the 1800s in England, he explains how dependent all of us are on the Holy Spirit.

He says, without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing.

We are as ships without wind.

We are useless.

We need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The second key to accessing the power of God is prayer.

God has given us the gift of prayer to access His power.

The New Testament scholar D.A. Carson points out how the Apostle Paul stressed the importance of prayer as he wrote letters to many churches.

Here's what he said.

Paul recognizes that the true power for effective ministry and life transformation comes from God in response to prayer.

You know from your own experience that meaningful prayer doesn't always happen, even when we want it to.

It's not easy.

In fact, a lot of times prayer is a struggle for most Christians.

More often than we want to admit, when we pray, we feel distant from God, don't we?

We don't really always enjoy being close to Him, feeling close to Him.

We feel powerless at times, even as we pray, over the sin habits in our lives, the sin nature, the sinful desires, the temptations that come our way.

We feel powerless instead of being confident.

As Paul said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Let's just be real honest about this matter of prayer.

How often do we bow our heads and talk to God and we're really mostly concerned about getting things from Him than we are being in His presence and enjoying that time with Him as our Heavenly Father.

If you're tired of that, if you're tired of a joyless and meaningless spiritual life and prayer life, I've got good news for you today.

God wants to empower you.

He wants to empower you with His Spirit.

He wants you to access that power with prayer.

And He wants to do this in such a way that you will bring glory to Him.

You will make a meaningful difference in the lives of the people you live with, work with, all people in your life.

And God wants to revitalize you personally, spiritually as well.

Let's look at how God does this this morning.

The first thing I want us to note is really a review.

Power for living the Christian life comes from the Holy Spirit.

The only way that we can kill sin, get rid of it, eliminate it from our lives, and develop Christian character,

and then effectively serve God as He calls us, is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now that's what we looked at two weeks ago.

We spent the entire time looking at how God has given us His Spirit to live within us,

to teach us, to equip us, to comfort us, to convict us, to empower us to live a Christian life.

So we're not going to go back to that today.

What I want us to focus on this morning is point number two.

Power for living the Christian life is most often accessed through prayer.

Power for living the Christian life is more often than not accessed through prayer.

Now I want to be clear about this.

God is not confined to working in our lives only in response to our prayers.

God is sovereign.

God can do whatever He wants to do whenever He wants to do it.

God is not enabled by anything we do.

God also is not limited by anything that we do not do.

But there is a principle found in Scripture that God normally works in response to the prayers of His people.

And I want us to look at one passage of Scripture that is a great example of God answering the prayers of His people in great power.

Read with me if you would from the book of Acts, chapter 4, verses 23 through 31.

Acts 4:23–31

When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them.

That's describing Peter and John.

They had been preaching.

People's lives had been changed.

A man had been healed.

People had been saved.

Many people had been saved.

Well, the Jewish authorities hated that.

The Jewish authorities arrested Peter and John.

They threatened them.

They tried to intimidate them.

Then they let them go.

Peter and John, look at it again, verse 23.

They went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them.

And when they heard it, that is their friends, not just the other apostles,

but Christians of all walks of life who were there with them, their friends.

And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said,

Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,

who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

why did the Gentiles rage and the people's plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.

And that's a quote from Psalm 2.

But they understand that was a prophecy about Jesus.

We continue on, verse 27.

For truly in this city, there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus,

whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

while you stretch out your hand to heal.

And signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken,

and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

That was powerful prayer that resulted in a powerful answer from God.

Let's look at it.

This passage reveals some of the characteristics of powerful prayer.

First, prayer should be focused on God.

All of our prayers.

A lot of times we're just thinking about ourselves,

or we're just thinking about someone, or a certain situation,

especially in a time of crisis.

But all of our prayers need to be focused on God as theirs was in this case.

These Christians were focused on God as they addressed Him as sovereign Lord in verse 24.

This describes a ruler, a ruler of unchallenged power,

that idea of a sovereign Lord.

What they're doing here is they're acknowledging God's absolute power and authority

over everyone and everything,

including those religious leaders who had threatened them,

who had told them they could no longer preach in the name of Jesus.

Addressing God in prayer like this,

it honored God,

and that's the number one goal.

But it also,

when we address God like this,

when we honor Him like this,

it helps us to keep what's going on around us in perspective.

No matter what's going on,

we have an audience with Almighty God when we pray.

He is really and truly sovereign.

He is in control.

They also, as they prayed,

acknowledged some aspects of His sovereignty.

I want you to note with me,

they pointed out how God created all things in verse 24.

They pointed out how God controls all things in verses 25 through 27.

When they quoted that Old Testament prophecy that was pointing to Jesus,

then they talked about how it was fulfilled in the crucifixion of Jesus.

But note again, in verse 26,

everything happened according to God's predetermined plan.

It says to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

No matter what, God's in control.

Even when people are doing things to hurt you,

as they were these apostles,

God is at work.

God is going to use it in some way for His glory,

for your good, for other people's good.

It may be hard.

There may be suffering involved.

We've got to trust our sovereign God.

He didn't just create everything.

He continues to control everything.

There's one other thing they pointed out.

God has a purpose for everything.

We see that again in verse 28.

Now, what I want us to think about is we look at how they are praying,

how they address God,

how they rehearse who God is,

what God has and is doing.

They know God personally.

They're not just speaking words.

There is no formality here.

They are having a conversation with their holy God,

sovereign God, their heavenly Father.

Now, I want you to think.

Do your prayers reveal that when you talk to God,

it's a personal relationship?

There's personal fellowship going on.

You know, many people who write about prayer emphasize that the primary purpose of prayer

is to have fellowship with God,

to enjoy being in His presence.

Professor from Southeastern Seminary, John Hammett,

he describes it like this.

Prayer is not exclusively or primarily about getting things from God.

It is about enjoying and growing in intimacy and fellowship with God.

D.A. Carson,

effective prayer is the fruit of a relationship with God,

not a technique for acquiring His blessings.

So let's think about it.

Is your prayer time,

is your being with God,

with your head bowed, eyes closed,

or driving down the road,

just talking to Him,

is your prayer time more about being with God,

enjoying Him,

having a conversation with Him,

or is your prayer time times

mostly about getting things from Him?

Our greatest need in life and in prayer

is to know God better,

to be able to draw close to Him in real fellowship.

Our real need is to know Him and love Him more and more every day,

to understand His purpose,

to understand His will as revealed in Scripture.

Everything about our Christian lives,

everything about prayer,

flows out of our personal relationship with God.

Now,

how do we do that?

How do we develop this kind of relationship with God?

How do we draw close to Him and know Him?

Well, it's no secret.

God has given us two primary ways

to develop a relationship with Him.

Prayer and Bible study.

The Christians in Acts 4 that we're reading about,

they had a real relationship with God

that they had developed

by spending time with Him in prayer

and by studying His Word.

For them, it was just the Old Testament.

Their prayer, look at it again,

their prayer shows

they know a lot about God.

And they learned it.

They didn't even have scrolls.

They didn't have their own Bible.

They learned it from hearing.

They learned from being taught

the Old Testament Scriptures.

They knew a lot about God.

And more important,

or just as important,

it is just as important,

they knew God personally

because they'd spent time with Him,

talking to Him,

listening to Him

as they pray,

as they listen to His Word.

What do your prayers reveal

along this line?

Do your prayers reveal

that you know a good bit about God

that's come from your study of His Word

personally, in church, wherever?

Does your prayer life reveal

a knowledge of God

that you have gained

through the study of His Word?

And then,

does your prayer life indicate

that you do know Him personally?

If people overhear you praying,

where are they going to come away thinking,

you're having a conversation

with someone you know,

your Heavenly Father?

John Piper describes

what's going on here

in Acts chapter 4 like this.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

He says,

it is remarkable

that these Christians

take five verses

to tell God who He is

and two verses

to ask what they want from Him.

Now, God does not need

to be told who He is,

but Christians need to know

who He is,

and precisely in their prayers,

they need to know

and confess

that He is the kind of God

who can and will

answer their prayers.

In essence,

what they are doing

in verses 24 through 28

is hallowing God's name

before they pray,

Thy kingdom come.

These Christians are praying

as Jesus taught them.

They're praying the model prayer,

as we sometimes say,

the Lord's prayer.

Their focus is on God,

on His kingdom,

and on His will.

If we're serious

about wanting to experience

God's presence

and God's power

as we pray,

we've got to learn

to pray like this.

Prayer should be focused

on God personally.

But that's not all.

Prayer should be focused

on God's purposes as well.

We see that

in verses 29 and 30.

I want you to note

in verse 29,

as they pray,

they've just come

from those Jewish officials

who have threatened them,

intimidated them.

You cannot preach anymore,

threatening them

with bodily harm.

They do not come

and pray and say,

Lord, rescue us,

deliver us.

Look at what they say.

They said,

look upon their threats.

What's going on?

They come together,

they're praying,

and instead of saying,

Lord, you get them.

Look what they did to us,

your servants.

They just said,

look upon their threats.

Now let me say,

it would not have been wrong

for them to have asked God

to deliver them,

to spare them from suffering.

Paul did that at times.

Nothing wrong with it.

But for some reason,

that's not what they asked for.

Maybe what they're doing

in this statement,

look upon their requests.

Maybe as they are focusing

on the fact that God is sovereign,

they're just going to trust Him.

They're just going to rest

in God doing what's best

in their situation

to accomplish His purpose.

Now,

they did make requests of God.

Look next.

They asked God

to enable them

to be bold witnesses.

Verse 29,

And now,

Lord,

look upon their threats

and grant to your servants

to continue to speak

your word

with all boldness

while you stretch out

your hand to heal,

and signs and wonders

are performed

through the name

of your holy servant,

Jesus.

Notice what they prayed for.

Not safety,

but they prayed

for the power

and ability

to boldly,

effectively

preach the word of God,

preach the gospel.

Think about that.

They were living

under difficult times,

tough circumstances,

but they did not pray

for easier circumstances.

What they're actually

praying for

is the ability

to be faithful

in the midst of

those difficult circumstances.

Are your requests

similar to that?

Or,

if you're honest,

are most of your requests

to God

to make your life easier?

to make your life

less painful?

Are most of your prayer requests

basically selfish?

Think about it.

Many years ago,

a young lady

wanted to talk to me

about her job situation.

As we were going

to get together

and talk,

I thought of her

as a very mature

Christian young woman.

She had been involved

in college

and campus ministries,

leading Bible studies

and things of this nature.

She had been involved,

was involved

in the life of the church,

involved in teaching

women's studies.

When we got together,

she told me

that she was working

in an office

with two other women

who were not Christians.

They were very worldly.

She said that

the way they talked,

the way they acted

made her feel

terribly uncomfortable.

But they didn't mistreat her.

They didn't abuse her.

It was just the way

they were.

It was just who they are.

And they were fine

with her.

But their ungodly lifestyle

just made her feel

very, very uncomfortable.

She didn't like working there.

She asked me,

what do you think?

Well, I tried to encourage her

that God had her there

for a purpose.

I pointed out,

you know,

they're not doing,

saying anything to you.

They're treating you fine.

I encouraged her.

Think about it.

God has you,

a mature,

committed Christian,

there in that little office

with two unbelieving women.

He wants you

to be a witness to them.

And just the way you live,

the way you interact with them.

And he,

if I think he'll be faithful,

prayerful,

careful,

look for opportunities.

He may even give you

the opportunity

to share the gospel

with them,

probably one at a time.

She seemed to be okay

with that.

We prayed

that God would give her

the ability

to relate well to them

and be a faithful witness

before them

and look for the opportunity

to share the gospel

with them.

Well,

you know what happened?

A few weeks later,

she just quit.

She just quit.

And her response was,

I just felt so uncomfortable

being in that office

with those unbelieving women.

The truth was,

she was more concerned

with being comfortable

than with being faithful.

She was more concerned

with personal comfort,

being at ease

where she worked,

than she was being used

by God

to be a faithful witness

to two women

who may not have had

anyone else in their life

to shine the light

of Jesus Christ.

What about you?

Are your prayers

more about seeking

your will

or God's will?

It's certainly not wrong

to pray for things

like your health,

your job,

things going on at school.

If we are parents,

grandparents,

we pray for our children's success

in many areas of life,

academically,

athletically,

with music,

things of this nature.

Those things are part

of a healthy Christian's prayer life.

But what's the focus?

What's the top priority

when it comes to your prayer life?

Jesus taught us,

be more concerned

with God

than ourselves.

Be more concerned

about His will

than our own will.

And that's what we see here

in Acts 4

that these Christians

were doing.

We need to pray more

for God to empower us

to develop Christian character,

to be able to overcome

sinful habits,

to resist temptation,

to be faithful witnesses.

Those are some of the priorities

that every Christian

needs to have in prayer.

We also need to make requests

like this

for the other people

in our lives

that we pray for,

including our children,

including those

who are closest to us.

What do you pray

for your children?

Is it just

that they be healthy?

That they do well in school?

That they not get into trouble?

That they make friends?

That they make the right friends?

That they do well in sports

or whatever they're interested in?

What do you pray

the most about

when it comes to praying

for your children?

How often do you really pray

as they're growing up

for their salvation?

For God to work in their lives

to help them

to have an awareness

of their sin,

their need for a Savior?

How much are you

talking to them about Jesus,

who He is,

what He's done for us,

how He can save us?

If your children are Christians,

your grandchildren are Christians,

do you pray

that they would develop

Christ-like character,

that they would be concerned

about living a godly life

and pleasing God

more than anything else?

The way we pray,

our actions

reveal just what

we consider most important

in our lives

and in the lives

of the people we pray for.

Now, accessing God's power

in our lives,

it involves prayer

that's primarily focused

on God

and God's purposes.

And that's the kind

of prayer

that we can expect God

to answer

in a powerful way.

Let's look at the next point.

Prayer is answered

with God's power

in verse 31.

And when they had prayed,

the place in which

they were gathered together

was shaken

and they were all filled

with the Holy Spirit

and continued to speak

the Word of God

with boldness.

Now, note how God

answered their prayers.

The place where they were praying

was shaken.

It could have been

an earthquake.

It could have been

something like

powerful thunder.

I felt our house

shake at times

in some of these

terrible storms

over the years.

There was some kind

of supernatural event

that took place

to let these Christians

know that God

is heard

and God is answering

the prayer.

He is with them

in a powerful,

supernatural kind of way.

But look also,

they were filled

with the Holy Spirit

and empowered

to speak the Word

of God

with boldness.

that's what

they were praying for

and God answered

that prayer.

The point

that I want to make here

is that God

answers prayers

according to His purpose.

God answers prayers.

Prayers prayed

according to His purpose.

So just think about it.

Is God answering

my prayers?

Now keep in mind

that we talk about

God answering prayers

He does more

than just answer

our prayers yes.

Sometimes God,

His answer

to the most godly Christian,

the most humble request

is no.

The Apostle Paul

is probably the best example

of that.

Paul had a problem

that he referred to

as a thorn in his flesh.

It may have been

some kind of physical problem.

Some people think

he may have had malaria,

may have had eyesight trouble

as a result of that.

He prayed that God

would remove

that thorn

from his flesh.

He asked God

to do that three times

he tells us

in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12.

But God's answer

was a direct

no.

And God's explanation

was

in 2 Corinthians 12

my grace

is sufficient

for you

for my power

is made perfect

in weakness.

God wanted

to use Paul

in a powerful way

with whatever

that was

that made him

weaker.

That was God's plan.

That was how God

was going to use Paul

and Paul accepted that.

Paul even goes on

to talk about

glorying in the fact

that God would use him

in such a way.

Sometimes God answers

our prayers

no.

Sometimes though

God answers

our prayer

wait

not now.

It may be

the times

not right.

It may be

that you're

not right.

It may be

the circumstances

may not be right.

So when we talk

about God

answering prayers

sometimes

he answers

our prayer

yes.

Sometimes

he answers

no.

Sometimes

he answers

wait.

As Christians

we can trust

our Heavenly

Father

he knows

what's best

in our life

and he's

going to so

work

to accomplish

what will be

best

in terms of

our

serving his

purpose

doing what

he has

called us

designed us

intend for us

to do.

You know

Jesus made it

clear in one

of his teachings

that God

really does

like

enjoy

answering

his people's

prayers.

This is found

in Matthew

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

beginning in

verse 9

Jesus said

which of you

if his son

asks for bread

will give him

a stone

or if he

asks for a

fish will

give him

a snake

if you

then though

you are

evil know

how to

give good

gifts to

your children

how much

more will

your Father

in Heaven

give good

gifts to

those who

ask Him

God

desires

to give

God

desires

to bless

His

children

what we

need to

learn

is to

pray in

a way

that shows

we honor

God

that we're

more concerned

about Him

than His

blessings

you know

when we

look at

the prayers

of Christians

in the Bible

we see

that they

often

they pray

differently

than we do

they were

focused more

on God

than they

were

themselves

they had

a relationship

with God

that just

comes out

in the way

they talk

to Him

the way

they interact

with Him

in prayer

when we look

at their prayers

not just Acts 4

but many prayers

in the New Testament

these people

are focused

on serving

God's purpose

not their own

if we want

to be people

who experience

power

as we pray

experience

powerful answers

from God

we need to learn

to pray

like Jesus

taught us

in Matthew

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

the Lord's

prayer

the model

prayer

and

the way

that these

Christians

in Acts 4

model for us

the right way

to pray

I want to

encourage you

make a commitment

to spend time

with God

every day

in prayer

and as you do

don't think

about forms

and formalities

think of your

prayer time

as talking

to God

as fellowship

with Him

communion

with Him

as a conversation

with Him

make your prayer

more God

centered

than self

centered

read the

prayer of

Jesus

in Matthew

6

the model

prayer

to see

the priorities

that ought to

be in our

prayers

seek God's

glory first

always

seek God's

purposes

before your

own

it's important

to pray about

everything in

our lives

don't hear this

prayer

this sermon

and think

I'm talking

about we should

never ask God

for anything

we should

but in the

proper time

our focus

is on God

knowing Him

drawing close

to Him

having fellowship

with Him

seeking His

will

seeking to

please Him

and with that

mindset

that heart

He's going to

help us to know

what we should

ask for

what we don't

need to ask

for

He'll help us

to pray

more accurate

prayers

prayers

prayers

that we can

expect

real answers

to

you know

some people

have found

it helpful

to use

the acrostic

acts

A-C-T-S

to help them

to guide them

in their prayers

A stands

for adoration

we begin our

prayer time

praising God

worshiping Him

loving Him

see His

confession

as we draw

into God's

presence

as we realize

His holiness

and purity

we're going

to be

made aware

of our sin

we're going

to be convicted

of sin

and we need

to confess it

be honest

with God

adoration

confession

thanksgiving

we have much

to thank God

for every day

at the top

of the list

is the life

He has given

us in Christ

the forgiveness

of our sins

last

adoration

confession

thanksgiving

and supplication

that's making

your request

to God

talking to Him

about needs

in your life

needs in other

people's lives

I want to

encourage you

make time

to pray

personally

make time

to pray

with your family

you may feel

uncomfortable

doing that

it just takes

practice

and if you feel

uncomfortable

right now

get your family

together

and pray

the Lord's

prayer

together

read it

from Matthew

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

but get

together

with your

family

talk to God

together

talk about

God

together

pray

together

read His

Word

together

final thought

what we saw

a while ago

from D.A.

Carson

listen

effective prayer

prayer is the fruit

of a relationship

with God

not a technique

for acquiring

His blessings

make your prayers

conversations

with God

enjoy

being with God

in prayer

would you bow

with me

Father

work in every

one of us

to give us

a desire

to experience

the kind of

prayer we've been

looking at

this morning

give us

Father a desire

to know

you better

to draw

closer to

you

to feel

your presence

and your love

to be able

to call you

Father

and know

that we are

your children

Father I pray

that you'll

convict us

of our

failure to

pray

and convict

us of our

sins of just

praying selfish

prayers

just reading

off lists

to you

to the

neglect

of enjoying

being with

you

Lord I

pray

that you'll

help each

person

to make

sure that

there's a

time every

day

that they

set aside

for you

make an

appointment

with you

to just

be before

you

to talk

to you

to listen

to you

with an

open Bible

an open

heart

in Jesus

name we

pray

Amen

church

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen