The Gathered Church (4) - Gathered for Prayer

We're going to begin by singing in Psalm 9, as we begin our worship. Psalm number 9,

and that's on page 208, the tune is Argyle. We're singing verses 1 to 9.

Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart, thy wonders all proclaim. In thee, most high,

I'll greatly joy and sing unto thy name. When back my foes were turned, they fell and perished

at thy sight, for thou maintain'st my right and cause on throne sat judging right. Verses 1 to 9,

in Psalm number 9, Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart. Please stand if you're able to.

Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart, thy wonders all proclaim.

Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart, thy name. When back my foes were turned, they fell and

and perished at thy sight. When back my foes were turned, they fell and perished at thy sight.

Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart, thy name. When back my foes were turned, they fell and perished at thy sight.

For thou may take thy light and cause on throne sat judging right.

The heathen love renewed in us, the wicked overgrown.

Thou hast to doubt there in such way,

In heaven or beyond.

O heavenly love, destruction, O heavenly love, destruction, O heavenly love, destruction,

O heavenly love, destruction, O heavenly love, earth, and earth.

By the heart, thy name.

The heaven and earth.

Thou hast to doubt there in such way,

And there in such way,

In heaven or heaven,

Thou hast to doubt,

In heaven or heaven,

Thou hast to doubt there in such way,

O challenger for any love,

for judgment set his throne,

in righteousness to judge the world,

justice to give each one.

God also will a refugee for those that are oppressed,

a refugee shall be in times of trouble to discuss.

Let's all unite now in prayer.

Let's call upon the Lord in prayer.

Let's call upon the Lord in prayer.

Gracious and eternal God, as we gather once more in your presence,

we give thanks for the encouragement these words have given us,

that you always prove to be a refuge to your people,

and that you remain to be the God who is constant, who endures forevermore,

who deals justly with all the circumstances that we find ourselves in,

and especially with us in all our circumstances,

as indeed everybody else in the creation.

And we give thanks, Lord, tonight that we gather before you as the God who is sovereign and wise

and all-powerful and loving in his loving kindness continues to remember us as your people.

Lord, we thank you for every opportunity we have to gather together in your name,

for every way in which we find encouragement mutually with each other,

to bring before the Lord our concerns in prayer,

to sing his praises and to hear his word.

And we thank you tonight that we form part of a great number throughout the world,

and that we indeed, O Lord, also are conjoined with those who are already in heaven,

for their praise of you, their worship of you,

is essentially the same as that we have for ourselves,

although theirs is perfect, while ours is still flawed.

We thank you that they sing your praises as the God of redemption, as we do here,

that they are conscious of you as the God whose worthiness

far exceeds our ability to contemplate in its entirety,

and we thank you tonight, Lord, that as you are worthy of our worship,

so we are pleased to render to you this sacrifice of praise.

All power and glory belongs to you.

There is none else who has the rights that you have to be praised,

and there is none else to be worshipped but the Lord God.

Lord, we give thanks that you have impressed upon us

these aspects of your own being as they are revealed in your word,

your own sovereignty and holiness and love and affection and commitment to your people.

Indeed, everything, Lord, that you have revealed in your word about yourself,

we know is entirely true.

And we ask tonight for grace to receive the teaching of your word about you and about ourselves.

Help us also to read the events of our own lives and our own time in the light of your word.

Help us, Lord, to once again appreciate that the principles that apply to each generation of the world

as it goes on in its course until you return,

that they are all opposite and all relevant to our age also.

And we thank you tonight, O Lord, for every way in which you deal with us,

different to what we deserve.

We give thanks that you are the God who forgives sin,

who receives repentant sinners to yourself,

who establishes them, Lord, in your family.

For it is one thing for us to consider that our sin is forgiven,

that our guilt is no longer held against us.

But it is a step further for us to admire the fact of your adoption,

that you receive your people, those whom you save, into your own spiritual family,

and that you continue to provide for them in that regard as their Father in heaven.

Bless us, Lord, we pray every announcement of the gospel.

Help us to appreciate that through the preaching of the gospel you have promised great things,

that it is through hearing of your word that faith comes.

And we pray that our faith tonight will be strengthened as we meet together here in your name.

Bless us, Lord, we pray, in all that we engage in as a congregation.

Bless us in all our efforts to make your name known in our community.

Bless us in all the activities that we engage in,

that we seek, Lord, to be a means of furthering the gospel,

of furthering our own knowledge of you.

And to that end, bless, we pray,

all the activities and the services that we anticipate on this coming week.

We pray that they be blessed to us in all ages.

We pray again for our children.

We ask for them, O Lord, that you would establish them further in your ways and in the way of following you.

And help them, Lord, we pray, as we pray for them to be characterized in their own lives by the fear of God,

by respect for you and by faith and trust in you.

Lord, bless to them the teaching they receive in their homes,

in Sunday school and Bible class and in tweenies and in other ways.

And we thank you for all who give so willingly of their time to teach our young people.

We thank you for all our youth leaders and pray that you would bless them, O Lord,

as they commit themselves so willingly and diligently to this work.

And we ask that you bless all who contribute to the well-being of the congregation in different ways.

We thank you for the variety of gifts that we represent,

acknowledging that they are by your appointment,

by your blessing, by your own arrangement and wisdom.

We pray that by your grace we might be able to use our individual gifts

in conjunction with one another,

so that we will, as we should,

function as a congregation of your people

in holding forth your word as the word of life.

We pray your blessing, Lord,

tonight on all whom we know who belong to us

as a congregation who has special needs at this time,

especially in your providence,

as we find many in the congregation who are ill at this time.

Bless them, Lord.

We pray at home or in hospital or in hospice.

Grant your blessing to them, Lord,

as they wait for further developments.

And bless those, we pray,

who are recovering from treatment,

from surgery of various kinds.

Bless those who are ill with mental health issues as well.

We commit them, Lord, to you and ask us,

we pray for them,

that you would help them in these situations

in which they find themselves in their minds,

that you would grant to them, Lord,

a sense of assurance in knowing yourself.

We pray, too, for those who mourn loved ones,

those who have lost loved ones in recent days

and in times gone by.

We pray that your blessing, Lord,

will comfort them and establish them

in the knowledge of your ways

and in the grace that is able to upbind

their own broken hearts.

We pray, too, for those who are nearing death,

who are seriously or even terminally ill.

We ask, O Lord, for your blessing

to prepare them as we all must be prepared

to take that great step out of time

and into eternity.

We pray that you would furnish them

with the necessary grace, O Lord,

that that journey may be taken in peace

and to the everlasting rest

of the Lord and of his kingdom.

We pray for our world at this time, Lord,

and the various ways in which turmoil

and anxiety and distress

is found in so many places.

And we pray especially tonight

for those, Lord, who are beset with war

and with the tragedies of war

and the difficulties

and the deprivations that war brings.

We think of the situation in the Middle East

and we commit that to you

and ask, O God,

that you would bring about a means of peace,

a means by which people will be established

not in hatred for each other

but in the ways of peace and of righteousness.

Remember the Jewish people.

We know that while all the peoples of the world

to some extent have the gospel set before them,

whether they be Islamic or Jewish or otherwise,

Lord, we pray especially for them as a people

for so many of your promises

are bound up with them and in them.

And we pray at this time

that even the troubles that they experience

as a nation, Lord,

that by your blessing

they might prove to be a means

by which they come to recognize their Messiah

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we ask for all who are active

in mission toward them

that you would be pleased

to bless their efforts.

Bless all the agencies, Lord,

that we know of

who stand for the principles

and the values of the gospel

and of those moral values

that emanate from it.

Remember the Christian Institute.

Remember Christian Concern.

Remember the work of Road to Recovery

here locally

and in other places in the country.

Remember Safe Families.

Remember every other similar agency, Lord,

that seeks to do good to those around us,

to those who are in need.

And to be pleased, we pray,

to bless all who are engaged in that work.

And so continue with us now

as we wait upon you here.

And as we, Lord,

seek to set these things before you in prayer,

we confess our sins,

we confess our unworthiness,

we confess our need,

we confess, O Lord,

that once again we need to know

the assurance of our sin forgiven

and to continue in a repentant frame of spirit

throughout all our days.

Hear us, we pray,

for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Now we're going to praise God once again,

this time in Psalm 57.

This time it's in the Sing Psalm,

Psalm 57.

That's on page 74 to Tune Selma.

And we're singing verses 1 to 5.

Have mercy on me, Lord,

to you my soul holds fast.

Your covering wings will shelter me

until the dangers pass.

I cry to God most high,

to God who answers me,

for he fulfills his purposes

for me most perfectly.

Psalm 57 and verses 1 to 5.

To God's praise.

Amen.

Have mercy on me, Lord,

to you my soul holds fast.

Your covering wings will shelter me

until the dangers pass.

I cry to God most high,

to God who answers me,

for he loses his purposes,

for me most perfectly.

He sends his help from heaven

and saves me from the heart.

I cry to God most high,

to you my life,

for senses to come above.

I live with savage peace,

I dwell with thy own strong,

with men whose keep with piercing words

a sharp sword is their tongue.

above the highest end,

O God exalted be,

and over, holy and below,

display your majesty.

Now let's turn to read from God's word

in the book of Acts,

Acts of the Apostles,

in chapter 12.

And let's read down through

the whole of the chapter.

Acts chapter 12.

Acts 12 · chapter mention

About that time,

Herod the king laid violent hands

on some who belonged to the church.

He killed James,

the brother of John,

with the sword.

And when he saw that it pleased the Jews,

he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

This was during the days of unleavened bread.

And when he had seized him,

he put him in prison,

delivering him over to four squads of soldiers

to guard him,

intending after the Passover

to bring him out to the people.

So Peter was kept in prison,

but earnest prayer for him

was made to God by the church.

Now when Herod was about to bring him out,

on that very night,

Peter was sleeping between two soldiers,

bound with two chains,

and sentries before the door

were guarding the prison.

And behold,

an angel of the Lord stood next to him,

and a light shone in the cell.

He struck Peter on the side

and woke him, saying,

Get up quickly.

And the chains fell off his hands.

And the angel said to him,

Dress yourself and put on your sandals.

And he did so.

And he said to him,

Wrap your cloak around you

and follow me.

And he went out and followed him.

He did not know

what was being done by the angel,

that what was being done by the angel was real,

but thought he was seeing a vision.

When they had passed the first

and the second guard,

they came to the iron gate

leading into the city.

It opened for them of its own accord.

And they went out

and went along one street,

and immediately the angel left him.

Now when Peter came to himself,

he said,

Now I am sure that the Lord

has sent his angel

and rescued me

from the hand of Herod

and from all that the Jewish people

were expecting.

When he realized this,

he went to the house of Mary,

the mother of John,

whose other name was Mark,

where many were gathered together

and were praying.

And when he knocked at the door

of the gateway,

a servant girl named Rhoda

came to answer.

Recognizing Peter's voice,

in her joy,

she did not open the gate,

but ran in and reported

that Peter was standing at the gate.

They said to her,

You are out of your mind.

But she kept insisting

that it was so,

and they kept saying,

It is his angel.

But Peter continued knocking,

and when they opened,

they saw him and were amazed.

But motioning to them

with his hand to be silent,

he described to them

how the Lord

had brought him out of the prison.

And he said,

Tell these things to James

and to the brothers.

Then he departed

and went to another place.

Now when day came,

there was no little disturbance

among the soldiers

over what had become of Peter.

And after Herod searched for him

and did not find him,

he examined the sentries

and ordered that they

be put to death.

Then he went down

from Judea to Caesarea

and spent time there.

Now Herod was angry

with the people of Tyre and Sidon,

and they came to him

with one accord,

and having persuaded

Blastus the king's chamberlain,

they asked for peace

because their country

depended on the king's country

for food.

On an appointed day,

Herod put on his royal robes,

took his seat upon the throne,

and delivered an oration to them.

And the people were shouting,

the voice of a God

and not of a man.

Immediately

an angel of the Lord

struck him down

because he did not give glory,

God the glory,

and he was eaten by worms

and breathed his last.

But the word of God

increased

and multiplied.

And Barnabas and Saul

returned from Jerusalem

when they had completed

their service,

bringing with them John,

whose other name

was Mark.

May the Lord again bless to us

reading this portion

of his word.

Before we turn to

some aspects of this passage,

let's sing again,

singing Psalm 142,

142,

that's on page 186,

singing to a tune,

Finart.

I cry for mercy to the Lord,

to him I lift my voice in prayer.

Before the Lord I bring my plea,

to him my trouble I declare.

Each time my spirit faints in me,

you are the one who knows my way.

For in the path on which I walk,

a hidden snare for me they lay.

Singing on to the end of the Psalms,

Psalm 142,

I cry for mercy to the Lord.

I cry for mercy to the Lord,

to him I lift my voice in prayer.

Before the Lord I bring my plea,

to him my trouble I declare.

Each time I sit,

it hints in me,

You are the one who knows my way.

For in the path on which I walk,

a hidden snare for me they lay.

To my right and landing note,

There is not one God sent for me.

I love no refuge,

I love no refuge,

No one cares for me in my adversity.

I cry for mercy to the Lord.

I cry for mercy to the Lord,

I cry aloud to you, O Lord.

You are my hiding place in sight.

You are the one sustaining me.

You keep me in the land of life.

Lord, listen to my guide for help,

For I am an extra strategy.

Save me from those who seek my life,

Because they are too strong for me.

So that I may give thanks to you,

From prison's darkness set me free,

The righteous men will gather round,

Because you've shown your love to me.

Well, let's turn for a short time to Acts chapter 12.

Acts 12 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 12,

Acts 12 · chapter mention

Particularly the words of verse 12,

Though we can read verse 5 as well.

So we'll read verse 5 and then verse 12.

So Peter was kept in prison,

But earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

In verse 12,

When he realized this,

He went to the house of Mary,

The mother of John,

Whose other name was Mark,

Where many were gathered together

And were praying.

You recall last time,

As we continued this short series of studies

On the gathered church

And certain aspects of what is

True about the church,

As gathered together in the name of Christ.

We saw last time how important it is

That our gathering is in order to listen

To the voice of God.

One aspect among many,

But an important one nonetheless,

As we saw last time.

That we are gathered to listen to the voice of God

Speaking to us from his word,

Through the blessing of the Holy Spirit we trust,

So that we hear the voice of God

Preeminently not the voice of any human being,

Though that of course is the means,

The conveyance of the Bible's teaching.

But there are other aspects of our gathering together

In God's name,

Such as we are this evening,

That are important and mentioned for us frequently

In the scriptures.

There are two especially,

And that these two are prayer and praise.

And we are going to look at these in turn,

Looking at tonight,

The importance of the church gathered together

For prayer or in prayer.

And we are looking at this chapter especially

As the context in which we are seeing

The church at prayer.

That will be our first point.

The church at prayer and the circumstances

In which we find the church there together praying.

And then secondly we will look at a couple of the benefits

That come to us from gathering together

For prayer and in prayer as God's people,

As God's church.

Now it is significant here,

The church at prayer is significant in the chapter

Twice here you find in these verses

We have mentioned verses 5 and 12

That it is the church that is mentioned as praying.

It is not just individuals,

Obviously the church is comprised of individuals,

But the emphasis here is very firmly

On the church as the church.

Gathered together for prayer.

And that is important in the context of Acts especially

You will find it elsewhere in the Bible

But Acts as you know

Is the book that tells us about the development

Of the early New Testament church.

The spreading out of the gospel

Beyond Jerusalem into the regions around

And eventually really into the world

Into the Gentile world.

And in the difficulties that were faced

By the church at that time

It was so important that prayer was emphasized

As an essential element in the church's gatherings

And that prayer is seen in these passages

This one and others

To be a feature of the church gathered together.

It wasn't enough that they would go home

And pray in their own homes

As they undoubtedly did.

It was important that the church as it was seen

And living as the church of God

That it was a church engaged in prayer.

The gospel message met as it did here

With much opposition, with persecution

As we will see in a moment.

But that was all the more a context for prayer

For the church at prayer

To actually engage in prayer

As they sought to present the gospel

And reach out with the gospel

To the world around them.

And you can see this elsewhere

In the book of Acts as well

That prayer was so important to the church

Chapter 2, verse 42

Chapter 4 from verse 24 onwards

Chapter 6, verses 1 to 6

The election of what came to be known as deacons

Chapter 13, verses 1 to 3

The appointment of those who were going to mission

To go into a specific mission

All of these activities and situations

Were times not just for individuals to pray

But for the church to be together in prayer

The gathered church at prayer

Now of course here we have a specific context

As one of persecution

Here is Herod exercising his authority

And first of all causing James

The brother of John to be put to death

To be killed with the sword

And then he set his sights on Peter also

He was the next in line to be killed

But meantime he just couldn't go through

With it immediately

It was a time of unleavened bread

So instead of killing him on the spot

Or putting him to death

He put him into prison

Caused him to be guarded in prison

And this of course is part of the context

Of the book of Acts

That indeed all the way back into

The time of Jesus himself as well

That the figure of Jesus

The teaching of Jesus

The authority of Jesus

The way that Jesus was attracting so many

To follow him

For the state

That was a great challenge

And here now in the days of the apostles

The political world of the day

Sees the church as a great threat

A threat to its authority

A threat to its hold on people

And along with that you have

An obvious spiritual hatred

For the king of the church

As he is presented in the gospel

It is that spiritual hatred of the heart

That really comes to the fore

As much as anything political

And you can translate that

Into the world in which you and I

Are living today

Because that same threat

Or at least is perceived as a threat

By the state

When the state becomes

The controlling factor over people's lives

And we are not against actually

Complying with the state

When that is biblical to do so

The powers that be

As Paul says in Romans 13

Are ordained of God

And we have to give due place

To the state

To those powers that God

In the civil and political world

Has appointed

But then the state

Very often steps out of line

It is not true to God

Sometimes it is a persecuting state

Sometimes it comes to express

It is hated for the church

And for the gospel

And for what the church stands for

Even to the extent

Sometimes of persecution

And you will find it very difficult

In our own context today

As a nation

In some places at least

To actually stand out rightly

For the gospel

It is going to meet

Not just with hostility

But what really

Amount to persecution

And some people

Have ended up being imprisoned

And some people find

That even authorities

Like the powers of law and order

And the police service

Sometimes overstep the mark

And actually cause

That kind of difficulty

For people who are simply

Being through

Without in any way

Being violent

Or seeking to press

People into decisions

They don't want to take

Still it is the gospel

It is Jesus

It is the voice of God

It is the church

Presenting the claims of Christ

And the world does not like that

And never will

As long as it is the world

And there are of course

Thousands throughout the world

Today in prison

Because they are Christians

Because they are true to Jesus

Because they want

The message of Christ proclaimed

Because they are concerned

That people will come

To know him for themselves

That they will come to have him

As their saviour too

And that of course

Is met with great hostility

Especially as a secularist view

Of life increases in our own nation as well

Well that is in a sense by the way

But that is the world

That is the context

In which you find this chapter set

And these incidents

But you see here in verse 5

Peter was kept in prison

But earnest prayer for him

Was made to God by the church

The church made it its business

And exercised its privilege

To pray to God

You see the contrast very clearly

In that verse

Peter was kept in prison

The state had the power

Of closing the gates of the prison

Of keeping Peter imprisoned

Of actually shutting him up

So he couldn't speak publicly at all

So the prison was closed

The gates were shut

It was firmly held fast

But the gates of heaven were open

And the church knew

That the gates of heaven were open

And how did the church exercise

Its knowledge

Of knowing that the gates of heaven

Were open

By praying

By coming to exercise

Their right and their privilege of prayer

They gathered together

For earnest prayer

Specifically for Peter

At that point

That is what the church did

That is what the whole

Of the church at the time did

And so you find the same in verse 12

When Peter had

By the agency of the angel

Come to be released from prison

He went to the house of Mary

The mother of John

Whose other name was marked

And then notice

Where many were gathered together

And were praying

Where many were gathered together

And were praying

It's obvious from the way it's put there

That that meeting

That that meeting was specifically for prayer

That that gathering was for prayer

For Peter particularly

But I'm sure they prayed for other things as well

But it's a meeting specifically for prayer

They were gathered together

And were praying

They were in the act of praying

They were busy praying

They were praying together as a church

As a people

Collectively

They were praying

They were praying

They were praying

They were praying

I remember one of my

Most wonderful experiences

Was in Korea

At the time of attending

An early morning prayer meeting

And that early morning prayer meeting

Is a prayer meeting

They have every single day

In the congregations in Seoul in Korea

And the congregation that we went to

Had something like 90 or 100 people

If I remember rightly

That had gathered at that time in the morning

At half past five in the morning

It was still dark

And they all gathered in the church there

And the pastor led them

For the opening prayer

Then he knelt down himself

Behind a lectern

Or a pulspot at the beginning

At the one end of the church

And as he knelt down

All the lights in the church

Were then switched off

And prayer started

And everybody prayed

Where they were

It seemed strange to us

Who were there

Because we don't normally pray

Where everybody prays at the same time

And for a start

It sounds a little bit disorganized

But actually you get used to it

And what really strikes you

Is the fervency of the prayer

That's going on around you

And we of course ourselves

Attempted to be engaged in prayer as well

And prayed for various things

Before the Lord

But the remarkable thing is

That at that time in the morning

These people had a burden

To gather together for prayer

It was their practice

It was their custom

It was the church in prayer

And that's all that went on

For that whole hour

Or however long it was

When people finished prayer

Their own prayer

They went out quietly

But the meeting carried on

Until the last person

Finished praying

If we set a prayer meeting

For 5.30 in the morning

From tomorrow onwards

Would you and I

Be burdened enough to attend?

Would we come to that meeting

That meeting

That regularly?

There's a question

But this church here

In the days of the apostles

They were gathered together

And were praying

And it appears from

All that you read in this chapter of Acts

That this was not something

They did every month

And it wasn't even something

That they did with regard

To a specific need

Such as the imprisonment of Peter

It was something

That regularly

They engaged in

As time went on

Week by week

Day by day

And that's the kind of thing

We must attend to ourselves

I'm absolutely persuaded

That it's a mark

Of the health of any church

As to how frequently

They come together to pray

Not just how frequently

People pray in their own homes

Or individually

As I hope we all do

But how often

And how much

Do we come together to pray?

We have meetings

Specifically for prayer

Set on the first Monday

Of each month

We have one each Saturday

On a weekly basis

But we need to actually attend

To how many attend

Why we don't have so many attending

As we should

Why is there just a few

Out of the membership

Of the church

That you have less than 20 people

At a monthly prayer meeting

Even when it's conveniently

Held on Zoom?

Is it because it's not the right time

For most people?

Is it because the time

Isn't just suitable?

Or is it that we don't have

In our hearts

A sufficient burden

To be together

To pray?

To pray

I'm putting that as a challenge

To myself

But it's a challenge

To us as a congregation

Isn't it?

That we really need

To focus

More than we're doing

On being gathered together

Specifically to pray

I know that our Wednesday meeting

Has a limited time for prayer

Because there's also

Bible exposition

Which in its own right

Is important

But the meetings we have

Specifically for prayer only

And for people to be together

To pray

To pray

Whether it's in person

Or by means of Zoom

Or whatever

The point I'm making is

This friends

We will not go very far

Unless we have this desire

This burden

To be gathered together

To pray

To pray as a people

To pray congregationally

To pray

With corporate prayer

As much as we do

In gathered prayer

In individual prayer as well

So there's something

To consider from this passage tonight

Where is my own desire

In relation to what I find

In this passage

Of this church

In the days of the apostles

The days of the apostles

Actually burdened to be together

Specifically to pray

The more we do that

And it's not a matter of just doing it

For its own sake

We have to pray that the Lord

Will give us the burden to be there

We have to pray that the Lord

Will impress upon us

How important a feature that is

Of the life of the church

It's basic to our spiritual health

It's basic to our growth

As a congregation

Growth not just numerically

But especially growth spiritually

And as we'll see later

That's such an important issue

In the book of Acts itself

So there's the first thing

The church at prayer

Is it a specific situation?

Yes

It's specific to the needs of that time

But all of that impresses upon us

How much we ourselves should

Have this as a principle

And as a practice

That as a church

We come together

Not just to praise the Lord

In singing

Not just to hear and listen

To the voice of God

But also specifically

To pray to Him

To let our voice be heard in heaven

And to come to place before the Lord

As is our privilege

The things the Lord lays on our hearts

To pray for

To put before Him

The church at prayer then

So what are the benefits

Of the church being gathered together for prayer?

Well I'm going to mention two

That are more than that as well

First of all

It contributes to our unity in the faith

It contributes to our unity in the faith

We read in Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

From the beginning of the chapter

Again there's Paul as a prisoner of the Lord

And saying

Bear with one another in love

Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit

In the bond of peace

And so on

He says there to maintain the unity of the Spirit

The Spirit of God creates the unity that God's people enjoy

But we are charged to maintain to look after that unity

The unity that the Spirit creates

The unity certainly that we are dependent on the Spirit for the maintaining of

But it's not without prayer

And one of the beauties of prayer is that we urge the Lord

We pray to the Lord

To maintain that unity

To bless us as a people

As a corporate body of people

As witnesses to Christ in the world

So you see as we come together to pray

Yes we pray

As I keep saying individually

At home that's a great privilege for us as well

We pray at times when we are gathered virtually

And I know that that's a means by which people are able to

Take part in meetings that they can't otherwise physically be at

For good reason and of course we accept that

But wherever we can and whenever we can be gathered together physically for prayer

Here is one great advantage of it

That it actually contributes to our unity in the faith

Because there is where we pray together

As we pray together

What are we praying for?

We're praying for growth

We're praying for others besides ourselves

We're praying together for specific needs of the church

Or of the congregation

We're praying for the advance of the gospel

We're praying for the church at large

We're praying for the congregation in its settings

We're praying in confession of our sins

We're listening to others

And joining with them as they confess their sins

And we confess our individual sins to God

We pray for our children

We pray for the blessing of God on our children

We pray as we collectively gather together

It's a wonderful thing to hear together of people

Actually engage together in prayer

Even if it's just one person that's actually speaking

We're collectively engaged in our minds along with that

And setting out our desires and putting out amen to that

We're praying for the nation

We pray for all the things God lays upon our hearts

What a great privilege it is for us

To gather together specifically to pray

To be able, as God has enabled us

To give that time

To give that time

And it's

Amongst all our other burdens

Amongst all our other duties in the world

It's not

A large portion of our time

That we are to give to prayer collectively

It's only an hour

Or at the most

Or at the most two hours a week

Or at the beginning of each month

Where is that in relation to

The time we give to other things

Even things other than our necessary duties

And family or whatever

Maybe a good exercise for myself

And for yourselves

To draw up a little sheet

And put down in that sheet

The number of hours we spend doing certain things

Whether it's actually watching television

Being on Facebook

But put a column there

As to the number of hours we spend

In a month let's say

In collective prayer

That will be quite revealing I'm sure

And quite challenging as well

Well what we're saying is that

That collecting

Collective prayer

The gathered church

As it gathers to pray

Is such an important feature

In its health

In its witness to God

And in our building of one another up

Collectively in the faith that is in Christ

Now the issues

The issues that are most emphasized in the Bible

And especially in the New Testament

The issues that are specified

Most or most specified

As issues for prayer

Are actually spiritual

Not material

You look at Paul's epistles

Look at the glimpses he gives us

In these passages in some of his epistles

That tell us about what he was praying for

And he's revealing to these churches

And whether it's Ephesus or Colossae

Of the kind of things that he was praying for

Again let's just think of Ephesians

In chapter 3

And from verse 14 onwards there

Where he says this

For this reason

I bow my knees before the Father

From whom every family in heaven and on earth is named

That according to the riches of his glory

And then he goes on to specify what he's praying for

That he may grant you to be strengthened with power

Through his spirit in your inner being

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

And that you being rooted and grounded in love

May have strength to comprehend with all the saints

What is the breadth and length and depth and height

And to know the love of Christ

That surpasses knowledge

That you may be filled with all the fullness of God

You see the things he's praying for

He's praying for

He's praying for the church's strengthening

For the church's growth in their appreciation of the love of Christ

And all the way through

He tells us these spiritual things

That he sets before God in prayer

And is now revealing to the church

This is what I'm praying for

And he's saying this is what you yourselves

Are actually to be committed to as well

So it contributes to our unity in the faith

But secondly, the benefits of gathering together

Connects us with God at work

It connects us with God at work

Because God answers prayer

Now just in passing

I want to mention verse 15 there

It's interesting there, it's quite revealing

That when news was brought to the meeting

That Peter had actually been released from prison

They told Rhoda, you're out of your mind

No, that's not possible, he's in prison

No way he's getting out of prison

Just now, how could he possibly have gotten out?

Of course, they were praying for one thing

They were praying for Peter

And yet when it came to the point of his release

They weren't prepared to believe it

That it was true

And it reminds us that we are to pray expectantly

As God enables us

That we're not to pray certain things

Leave them with God

And then not exercise our minds believingly

Or expectantly

He was a church at prayer

And yet, even in the days of the apostles

They weren't prepared to accept

That their prayers had been answered

Or answered that quickly

That's in the passing

But it's important

But what is it that follows from their prayer?

How did God answer the church at prayer?

Well, in two things

First of all, in Peter's release

And then secondly, in the death of Herod

The man who had actually organized

And in his authority

Had taken pleasure in putting James to death

And Peter in prison

As you go through the chapter

As we read through it

All of a sudden he died

Just as he was in the midst of

A great oration

And in his pomposity

And in the regal splendor of his gowns

As he spoke there to the people

He was struck down by an angel of God

And he was eaten of what I'm saying

Some internal

Condition

Which led very quickly to his death

Here he was

The voice of a God

And not of a man

And this is going on as the church

Was praying for their situation

And praying for Peter

And praying for themselves

And all of a sudden

The person who was most instrumental

In putting Peter in prison

Is dead

Is part of God's answer

They didn't pray that

Herod would just fall down dead

Doesn't appear to be the case anyway

Some of them might have wished that

But in any case

That's the result

That's how God

In his wisdom

Answered their prayers

And Peter was free

And Herod is dead

And both of these

As elements in answer to prayer

Fit the purpose of God

And what is the purpose of God?

Well it's in verse 24

But the word of God

Increased and multiplied

You see the contrast

That word but

You find it there in verse 5

Peter was kept in prison

But

Ernest prayer was made by the church

Here is

Herod's threatening

But the word of the Lord

Increased and multiplied

That was God's purpose

That is actually what happened

And many revivals in the history of the church

Have come about

Through times of persecution

That were accompanied by or involved

The church turning to prayer

The church turning to prayer

The church turning to prayer

People gathering together for prayer

One of the greatest

Tragedies or events

In the church in our own nation

Took place in 1662

What's known as the Great Ejection

When nearly 2,000 Puritan preachers

Were ejected from their congregations

Because they weren't prepared to sign up

To what was called the Act of Uniformity

Where they would have to comply with the state

In terms of what was set out in the Book of Common Prayer

And other things that accompanied that

Well, I don't need to go into detail

But that's what they were

The state trying to force them to do that

They said, no, we can't do that

So they were ejected from their congregations

But you see that led to a great volume of prayer

And it didn't just happen that immediately God answered these prayers

But many take the view that the revival

The evangelical revival that broke out

Especially in the 1730s to 1740

Not just in this country

But also in North America as well

The Great Awakening as it was called

Out of the view that that itself

Was an answer to the church at prayer

And the church at prayer following a time of persecution

God hears his praying people

Worldly persecution

Cannot prevent the gospel's advance

When it's in the mind of God to advance it

Nothing is going to actually interfere with that

Nothing is going to prevent that

What happened here

The word of God increased and multiplied

You see, that's the very thing that Herod was trying to prevent

That's what he was trying to stand against

By putting James to death

And putting Peter in prison

There was Herod exercising authority

And saying pretty much that

I'm not going to allow this message, this gospel

These people to interfere with my reign, with my authority

With the state's power, with the secular state's power

This is gone

Herod's gone

God's listened to his people

The very thing that Herod tried to prevent

Is the very thing that happened

In the providence of God

The word of God increased and multiplied

Not only was Herod

And those who helped him

Unable to prevent it happening

But it was just the opposite

Of what he was trying to do

He was trying to stamp out the influence of the word of God

And of the apostles and of the church

That advance

And it didn't just fail

It actually led to an increase

In the word

Multiplying

Throughout these regions

But it didn't happen

Without the church gathered for prayer

And that's the point that I want to finish on

That's the point we've been laboring

All the way through our study tonight

Everything that happened here

The word of God increasing

The demise of Herod

None of that happened

Without the church at prayer

And the lesson for us is that

When the church is collectively

And wholeheartedly engaged in prayer

Things happen

Because God hears that volume of prayer

God hears every individual prayer

That's sincerely offered to him

Thanks be to God

But here and elsewhere in the Bible

The church gathered to pray

Is something that is emphasized

Something that's significant

Something that has historically led

By God's blessing to results

To further blessing

To the gospel's increase

To God's church being strengthened

Friends, I need not tell you that

The days in which we are living

Are perilous times for the gospel

There are so many things that

Are being brought out as threats

To the gospel's advance

And yes, we need to go home

And pray about that individually

We need to be doing that all the time

But the more the church sees the threat

Of the world to the gospel

The more the church sees the world

The state seeking to clamp down

And indeed to bring the gospel

To nullify its effects

The more you and I should be persuaded

We need to get together to pray

We need to be like the church

In the book of Acts

That actually come realizing that God

Hears his people as they pray

And expectantly set our concerns

Our prayers, our desires before God

As the church at prayer

The church engaged in prayer

You know, prayer is

Surely one of our greatest privileges

And being collectively gathered together to pray

Is a privilege along with that

It's our privilege to come individually

And speak to God

It's our privilege to be together

To share together

To hear together

To have all of that

Those features of gathered prayer

What a great privilege that is

When the world is concerned

To be together so often

For worldly purposes

When today you would have had

Thousands of people

Gathering together

At different sporting events

I'm not decrying sporting events

Though we would rather

They were not on the Lord's Day

But there's the commitment of the world

To following their agenda

Where is ours

For the agenda of the gospel

For the church's proclamation

For the truth

For God's name to be glorified

For ourselves as a church

To be strengthened

By the grace of God

Well, may God bless these thoughts

On his word to us

Let's conclude by singing again

In Psalm 57

I'd given verses 1 to 3

Which is a mistake really

It's Psalm 57

But the final verses

I'm sorry

If that complicates things

For the presenter

It's the same

The same psalm

So it'll fit the tune that he's chosen

The tune is Martyrdom

But if we sing from verse 5

Sorry, from verse 7

Verse 7

My heart is fixed

My heart is fixed

My heart is fixed

O God

I'll sing and praise

My glory wake

Wake, wake, psaltery heart

Myself I'll early raise

I'll praise thee among the people

Lord

Among nations sing will I

For great to heaven

Thy mercy is

Thy truth is to the sky

O Lord

Exalted be thy name

Above the heavens to stand

Do thou thy glory far advance

Above both sea and land

These verses 7 to the end of the psalm

To God's praise

My heart is fixed

My heart is fixed

O God

I'll sing and praise

My glory wake

With saundry heart

With saundry heart

Myself I'll early raise

I'll praise thee among the people Lord

My nations sing will I

My nations sing will I

For great to heaven

Thy mercy is

Thy truth is to the sky

O Lord

Exalted be thy name

O Lord exalted be thy name

Above the heavens to stand

To love thy glory far

To love thy glory far advance

Above both sea and land

I'll go to the main door after the benediction

Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

The love of God the Father

And the communion of the Holy Spirit

Be with you now and evermore

Amen