“The Church’s First Persecution” | Acts 4 | Sunday AM | Pastor Keith

The title of this morning's message is The Church's First

Persecution, Acts chapter 4. Philip Brooks, a great Bible

Acts 4 · chapter mention

commentator, wrote Do not pray for easy lives.

Instead pray to be stronger. Men and women.

Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers

equal to your tasks. As you we gather this morning

and we teach through the Word of God, I pray that the Holy Spirit

will get a hold of your heart and get a hold of your mind and

he will reset it. And you will then be in line

with the moving and the power of God as he speaks to you.

Because what happens is we go out into the world and the media

and the fashions, you, your, your people, you work with

people, you go to school with people in your sporting clubs.

They reinfluence you to to have to think, to try and fit in, to

think and go along with them. And so often we as Christians,

we pray incorrectly. We pray God stop them from doing

this. God Get Me Out of this.

And God says no, Grow up. Be salt.

When is salt used? Salt is used to stop the rot.

You're in the sporting club, you're in the classroom, you're

in that work location where there's no other Christian.

You ought to be the salt. I want you to get salt here.

You're in a dark place, families going through a dark area or a

dark place, dark situation, he says.

I want you to be the light to bring light where there's only

darkness that they're they're they're stumbling around.

What are we to do? How's this going to work out?

Everything's falling apart. Do not pray for easy lives.

That's not the gospel of the Bible.

That's not the Church of the Bible.

Instead, pray to be stronger, men and women.

Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.

Pray for powers. Lord, help me to overcome this.

Help me to deal with that guy that's always abusing me.

Help me to deal with that bully at the school.

Give me powers equal to the task.

So the promise of the Holy Spirit has come.

Day of Pentecost that fell just as Jesus had said.

On the day of Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit fell

and the church was born. Peter preaches his first Holy

Spirit powered message 3000 souls.

That's just the men they didn't count the women and the

children. So there was many more were

added to the church and I said and the Lord added daily such as

should be saved. Peter and John Acts chapter 3

Acts 3 · chapter mention

are on the way to the temple. They prayed 3 times a day.

They still have the Jewish Jewish clock.

They went to the temple, didn't do the sacrifices.

Jesus had sorted all that out, but they went to the temple to

pray. On the way, they come across a

guy. He's been lame.

He's over 40 years of old. He's never walked in his life.

Peter grabs hold of his hands. He says silver and gold, have I

none? He's a beggar.

He doesn't give them money. I want you to go back Wednesday

night. What I dealt with about this is

not a bank. This is not an ATM.

This is a church that gives the gospel of Jesus Christ.

People don't need more money. There's a social welfare,

there's there's Salvation Army, there's everything out there now

you can get the food bank. What they need is the bread of

life and the church needs to turn back from being a social

welfare place to the place where you hear the gospel of Jesus

Christ. So on the way to the temple to

pray, Peter is given a burst of faith by Jesus.

Peter tells us that he grabs hold of this guy.

He's on the ground. He grips his hand.

The guy had nothing to do. He had no faith.

He had nothing. He had no his feet couldn't

stand. He never stood.

Peter grabs him and jerks him up in the air.

Doctor Luke tells us that as Peter grabs him and jerks him in

the air, that instantaneously his ankle bones, his sinews, and

all those things that had been deformed from birth all came

back into place. Medically beautiful and he

stands first time and then he jumps and runs and he holds

Peter's hand and John and they go into the temple.

A crowd gathers as this guy is just going ballistic. 2000

people come to know Christ because as the crowd comes,

Peter preaches the gospel. He says, hey, this is no big

deal and look at us. They had nothing to do with us.

It's Jesus, the resurrected Jesus.

He straight away goes to the gospel.

He straight away goes to the empty tomb and he gives them the

gospel. That's what they needed.

Wasn't a miracle. Crusader is about to start the

crowd gather. Peter preaches 2000 more men

only not counting the women and the children come to Christ.

So now there's 5000 men plus women and children in the church

and now the first persecution hits.

Peter and John will read or arrested.

They gaoled overnight, they questioned threatened.

Jesus says in John chapter 15 verse 20.

John 15:20

Jesus said, remember the word I said to you, he said to the

disciples, a servant, that's what we are 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. And so the reward for living a

Christian life in a in a fallen world.

And you're not going to hear this in many churches because I

want to just keep keep them. But backsides on seats and

people coming. The reward for living the

Christian life in a fallen, sinful world is not adulation

because you're always such a nice person.

Oh, yeah, yeah, you're. Oh, wonderful.

We got we're a Christian here. He's joined with us.

We got a Christian playing in our footy team.

Isn't that awesome? Hey, guys, we got a Christian

playing in our footy. Oh, yeah.

Awesome, great, great. They're they're really nice

people. It's not fame, Judy.

Good works, man. You're a Christian.

Oh well, go on Twitter, tell, tell people what the things that

you do, you know all the great, wonderful things you do.

You can be an influencer famous. How many people are following

you on Twitter? Or X what it's called actually,

the reward for living the Christian life in a fallen

sinful world is persecution. And we don't like to hear that.

We want to live a happy life. And here's the thing, joy is

found in serving Christ and it comes with persecution.

And that doesn't take away the joy.

Paul wrote to Timothy Young pastor and said this yes and all

who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus is that you do you

desire to live godly life Christ Jesus.

Here's the next step will suffer persecution when your kids come

home from school and you know the only Christian kid in school

they mocked by the teacher and they mocked by their classmates.

You don't go well, let's get the kid out of the school.

Let's go and sack the teacher because that's, that's, that's

just, that's not the way it works.

That's what we normally do. No, we pray for the teacher.

We pray for the kids and we pray for our son and our daughter.

We give them the strength of the word of God.

We send them back off into school and they grow because the

Bible says greater is he that is in you than he is in the world.

Because they're learning to become a disciple of Christ and

to live godly comes with it. Persecution, yes.

And all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer

persecution. But evil men and imposters will

grow worse and worse. The world's not going to get any

better deceiving and being deceived.

But you, Paul says, must continue in the things which you

have learned. Mum and Dad, you're teaching

your kids through the word of God, the things that they need

to learn. Continue on in them.

Now the Boy Scouts have a mass of merit badges for their

progression to leadership, don't they?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, before he died under the Nazi treatment,

wrote from his cell in the Flossenburg concentration camp.

These words he said, Suffering is the badge of the true

Christian. Suffering is the badge of the

true Christian, Martin Luther said.

The marks of a true church are those of a community of those

who are persecuted and martyred not for being religious idiots,

but for the gospel's sake. Because they share the gospel

and they live by the gospel. Not by being some religious

crank, but because they live of Christ and they share the love

of Jesus Christ and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That Jesus died on the cross. He died for the sins of the

world. That he rose from the dead on

the third day, that he ascended into heaven.

That he's seated at the right hand of the Father, and that

he's coming back again. And unless you receive Jesus

Christ as your Lord and Saviour, your eternity, you will go to

hell. Can't say that.

Shouldn't say that. Now you need to hear that.

That's why parents tell you kids when you go out.

And when you have little kids and they've got a screwdriver

and they're going near an electric socket, you don't go

stop. I'd like to tell them off, but I

always want to speak positive. So now the church will read

praise together for the first time collectively under the

power of the Holy Spirit, and it's recorded.

And their prayer releases the power of God in such a way the

very ground shakes. We'll see that in verse 31.

But for some of us, we will never know or sense or taste the

power that is released through prayer.

Why? Because we never pray.

We're Christians, We don't read the Bible, we don't pray, but we

go to church, we're saved, and we live the saddest lives of all

sinners. Enjoy living in sin.

Believers who love Christ, love serving God.

But those who are saved but just have enough to come to church,

they're the most unhappy people in the world because they

they're kind of like living like the world, but they know that

that's not right. And so they dance between the

two. For some of us, we'll never know

the power released through prayer also because every prayer

that we pray is misguided. It's only when I'm in trouble,

when I'm lost at sea and I pray. I've been lost at sea, man

didn't have any problems with praying.

God save us. We're going to drown.

I've been the most terrified in all my life.

When I'm surfing, I'm thinking I am going to drown.

This is fun. This surfing, it's really good.

You go out there and commit suicide and go, man, that was

that was really cool. Nearly drown.

It's awesome. Do it again.

Some of us will never experience the power of prayer because even

when we pray, we don't believe it's going to be answered.

Yeah, OK, Yeah, let's pray. Lord, help us through this

situation. It's not going to work, but we

prayed. But listen, it's not all bad

when the first martyr of the church, Stephen, was being

stoned as he preached his first recorded sermon under the power

of the Holy Spirit. In Acts Chapter 7 verse 55, it

Acts 7:55

says Stephen being full of the Holy Spirit is the key, gazed

into heaven as the stones were thumping down on him, saw the

glory of God, Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said,

look, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the

right hand of God. They were his last words near

the last words before he died. And then he said these words.

He fell to his knees and said, Lord, don't charge the men who

were throwing the stones with this sin and he died.

But Stephen would never have seen or experienced the welcome

to heaven unless he had preached the power and the wonder of God.

And then because he did on his only ever first recorded sermon,

he's killed. It's a different life, the

Christian life. Let's read verse one.

You go, oh thank goodness he's finally going to get to the book

of Acts. Now as they spoke to the people,

the priest, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came

upon them. That's Peter and John standing

with the lame man, being greatly disturbed that they taught the

people and preached in, preached in Jesus, the resurrection from

the dead. There's the key.

And they laid hands on them. They arrested them, put them in

custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

That's why they locked them up overnight.

We'll read about that. However, many of those who heard

the word believed, and the number of the men only, we're

told, came to be about 5000. So Peter has preached standing

next to the Lane guy who said another 2000 people have come to

Christ. Now the Sadducees, not the

Pharisees, were the other religious group of the day.

And when I mention and go through what these people are

like, Gee, they remind me of a certain group of people today.

The Sadducees oppose the church mainly from political motivation

are into politics. We'll see that most of the

coming persecution through the rest of the book of Acts is from

the Sadducees, not the Pharisees.

Quite a few of the Pharisees came to Christ.

The Sadducees denied the supernatural.

They didn't believe in the supernatural.

They said there's no such thing as evil spirits, no such things

as angels, and there is definitely no resurrection.

That doesn't happen. So to the Sadducees, Jesus was

simply an ideal, a fad. And the messianic age, it was a

process. They were the educated, wealthy

elite political sycophants who would sell their mothers to stay

in power. Is that remind you there's five

And it came to pass on the next day that their rulers, elders

and scribes, as well as the high priest, oh Caiaphas, John and

Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high

priest. It's a family we're gathered

together at Jerusalem. So we have the crew who

condemned Jesus standing around Peter and John.

Peter and John I and I believe the healed lame man were locked

up overnight. Why?

Because it was a breach of Jewish law to have a trial in

the evening. But we we remember that this did

not stop Christ. Late night kangaroo court did

it? Don't worry about that.

It was like being in front of the mafia.

That's Caiaphas Anus because they were the family ran the

business the the priestly business now are just ripping

everyone off and the Sadducees were the corrupt government

politicians. They're all gathered together.

Verse 7 and when they had set them in the midst that's Peter

and John and the lame man they asked this is the question by

what power or by what name have you done this sounds a similar

question that Jesus was placed by what authority do you do

these things. The question was a trap because

if Peter or John attributed the miracle healing to any power

other than Jehovah. The Sanhedrin at 74 of them,

which had gathered against three, would have them sentenced

to death based on. Deuteronomy chapter 13.

Deuteronomy 13 · chapter mention

I'll read it to you. If there arises among your

prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a

wonder, and the sign or the one that comes to pass of which he

spoke to you, saying, let us go after other gods which you have

not known, and let us serve them.

You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that

dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing

you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your

heart, with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord

your God and fear him, and keep his commandments and obey his

voice. You shall serve him and hold

fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer

of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order

to turn you away from the Lord your God.

So that's the accusation. So what are Peter and John going

to say then? Peter verse 8.

Here's the key part. Filled with the Holy Spirit.

We read that about Stephen, didn't we?

So Peter, each time he preached it said this Peter filled with

the Holy Spirit. So it's not Peter going up.

Hey John, I've got this, I'll tell him something.

No, no, no. The Holy Spirit fills Peter and

Peter then speaks rulers of the people and elders of Israel.

Notice you didn't say you bunch of thieves.

You think I'm going to tell you anything?

No, he actually is pretty gracious.

This is a gathering that he's speaking to of the same faces of

those who had met. Remember to condemn Jesus to

death by crucifixion. In verse 8, we read Peter is

filled with the Holy Spirit and he preaches with power the

gospel to those who stand in judgement of their preaching of

the resurrection. Peter's message again, you need

to learn this was built upon the word of God.

My words, my opinion, count for nothing.

Don't counsel people and go well, this is what I think you

should do. What you should do is actually,

let's say a word, you should point them to the Scriptures,

should get them to pray and seek wisdom from God.

Don't you tell you don't know what you're doing anyway.

I don't know what I'm doing, but I know the Bible tells us what

to do. I know God will speak to us.

And so it says, verse 9, if we this day are judged for a good

deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made,

well, let it be made known to you all and to all the people of

Israel. Here he goes, that by the name

of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, doesn't hold

back. He didn't sell.

And and some people, you know, they crucified him, but not you

guys. No, it was them whom God raised

from the dead by him. This man stands here before you

whole this verse 11 is the stone which was rejected by you

builders which has become the chief cornerstone nor is there

self. Now notice he says that that's

how the healing happened. Now he goes on to another deal

about you can only have a relationship with God.

How nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other

name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Wow. Now when they saw the boldness

of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated, these

are Galileans, untrained men. They hadn't been to university.

They marvelled and they realised that they had been with Jesus.

That's the difference. Because they've been with Jesus,

they're like Jesus. And seeing the man who had been

healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

Peter's message was again built upon the Word of God.

Daniel chapter 2, verse 34 to 35.

Daniel 2:34–35

Daniel speaks of the stone they would crush down.

Remember the great image that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of.

The stone not made with hands would come crash it down, and

they would fill the whole world. That's the Millennium that's

coming with Jesus will rule the world.

Isaiah spoke of the same stone in Isaiah chapter 8 and chapter

Isaiah 8 · chapter mention

28. Zechariah the prophet refers to

the very same passage in Zechariah chapter 3.

Zechariah 3 · chapter mention

And Peter quotes Psalm 118, verse 22, the stone which the

Psalms 118:22

builders rejected. Jesus had quoted the Scripture

about himself in Mark's Gospel, chapter 12, verse 10.

So who are the builders? They're the Jewish nation.

Who's the stone? The Messiah?

Jesus. He's rejected but now seated

victoriously after his resurrection and ascension into

heaven at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

He was once despised and now he's glorified Peter.

And verse 10 declares that it was by Jesus that resurrected

Jesus. He's not dead, he's in heaven

and he's still ruling and he's still performing miracles.

You killed him, but God raised him from the dead and he's the

one that's healed this lame man. Peter goes deeper now in verse

12 and declares that only through that Jesus, Jesus of

Nazareth resurrected from the dead, seated at the right hand

of the Father, the stone that you rejected, that he, only

through him can salvation be found.

So what happened after Peter's Holy Spirit filled message?

Well, the Sanhedrin, there's this guy healed.

I had nothing I could say. The proof was before the impact,

The power of the Holy Spirit, Peter's words, the power of the

word of God used by Peter hit the mark.

The religious leaders, So they send Peter and John, the lame

man out and they convene, you know, the all three stooges.

What are we going to do? What are we going to do?

They come back. Some of you don't know the three

Stooges, mate. Come on.

Get some intellect and learning into your lives.

One of my kids used to call them The three students couldn't say

Stooges. The three students are on.

The three students are on. They're educated.

The religious leaders convene. They decide to release Peter and

John. We've got to let them go, man.

There's a crowd gathered. No law had been broken, a man

had been healed. They threatened them with

violence is the only solution. Peter and John will let you go

this time on this proviso, you must not speak to anyone and

mention the name of Jesus. Verse 18.

You know, that sounds a lot like government departments, doesn't

it? In schools, it's funny.

You can talk about yoga, Hindu, Islam, don't touch Islam, don't

want to be an Islamophobias. You can talk about all sorts of

you can talk about that we're we're created from monkeys.

You can say that you touch Jesus, you're out of there.

You get dismissed, you get sacked, you get hold over the

coals. You see the world hasn't

changed. Jesus doesn't fit in a fallen

world. He came to save sinners.

So Peter's response about not preaching Jesus name anymore

verse 19. Do you think God wants us to

obey you rather than Him? You see, that's up your sleeve,

believers. Peter says we cannot stop

telling what we have seen and heard.

Acts chapter one, verse 8. We are witnesses.

We testify of what we've seen and what we've heard.

Peter and John leave and they return to the gathered church.

The church had been threatened by the most powerful religious

political leaders in all of Israel.

God allowed this to happen. First of all.

Note that this didn't happen by chance.

God allowed Peter and John to be brought before the Sanhedrin.

God had directed Peter and John that fateful day to tell the

lame man to look at them, and he grabbed him and rose him and he

stood and walked. But what now?

Well, we'll pick it. We'll pick it.

Let's call a group and we'll get T-shirts and go ban the

Sadducees and we'll pick up the houses and spray paint them and

all sorts of things. And or we can move.

We can build big walls and not having any come, no one come

near us. You know, God gives each and

every one of us the opportunity to know who he is and his holy

power and might, but so few ever taste of such an experience as

we'll read that the church experienced.

Why is it the church today isn't experiencing the power and the

might that we read so much? Good question when the church

verse 24 heard what had happened and what Peter and John had been

threatened with, what did they do?

Went to their local member said this is terrible organised the

political rally Acts verse chapter verse 24 says and when

they heard this, they lifted up their voice to God with 1 accord

and said Lord you are God which made heaven and earth and the

sea and all that in them is you go what are they climate people

in this church. What is the go here and they

know what's going on at least no.

The first thing, the first thing the church did at this dangerous

impasse, this challenging and threatening moment was one they

immediately lifted up their voices with 1 accord and

together pray to God. You know, if we stand and we

pray as a church on issues, you know what will happen.

God will move. If we stand together and pray on

issues, God will move. Here is a true Christian

fellowship in action. It's in prayer.

That's where the greatest fellowship occurs, in prayer,

not when we're having muffins together.

Have you ever wondered? Well Peter and John have been

bold in their witness of Jesus and they were equally as bold in

turning to God in prayer. The church was.

Have you ever wondered what the actual words were of Jesus when

he prayed? We have the Lords Prayer now

before our eyes. We have the very words, the

actual words of prayer, Peter and John and the church, the

actual words of prayer added by the lips of this gathered early

church are written down. The first Christians in the

early church. It's a place you can go to and

go. We're going to pray like this.

How do their words, how does their passion, how does the

impact of their prayer compare with yours and mine today?

Do we start off with Lord God? You were God, you made heaven

and earth, see, and all that is in them, the first thing they

prayed, Lord, you are God. That's important.

The word Lord here that they use is the Greek word despotes,

where we get our word despot. It means sovereign Lord, it

means the Lord of Lords. How does that first statement

set the compass for your prayer to be powerful, for your prayer

to be answered Because you're going to the Lord of Lords, You

know when you have a problem at a shop.

So I want to see the manager. Usually the shopkeeper turns

around and says I'm the manager. You haven't noticed that.

And some nothing against young kids.

Some young kid comes in, I'm the manager of the day.

Oh, OK then. Well, let's just leave it.

The religious leaders could threaten, warn they got out of

prohibitions, but their authority was subject to a

higher authority. Still you know Albert Albanese,

his authority is subject to the Lord of Lords, as is Putin, as

is Trump, as a Starmer, as is every government the United

Nations around the world. God rules.

Psalm 110 verse one. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit

thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies your

footstool. That's the Lord of Lords

speaking to Jesus in Isaiah chapter 41 of the great passages

Isaiah 41 · chapter mention

in the Bible. It says verse 22, God sits above

the circle of the earth. Notice that's for all the flat

earthers. The people below seem like

grasshoppers to him. He spreads out the heavens like

a curtain. He makes his tent from them.

He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to

nothing. Ask Nebuchadnezzar, Isn't this

the great Kingdom that I built? Great Babylon?

Next minute he's out eating grass for seven seasons.

Verse 25 of Isaiah 40. To whom will you compare me?

Who is my equal? God says past the Holy One, look

up to the heavens who created all the stars.

He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each

by its name. Because of His great power and

incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.

You see, the edicts of men overturn, cannot overturn the

decrees of God. I want you to hear that.

The edicts of men, that's men's laws, men's rules cannot

overturn the decrees of God. Who shall I obey, you or God?

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you better bow down.

The music started. You better bow down to that

image or throw you in a fire. Well, you know, whether the Lord

delivers us from the fire or not, that's up to him.

But we ain't bowing down. Throw them in the fire.

Who's in the fire? How many did we throw in the

fire? 123 There's a fourth person in

there, and he looks like the Son of God.

We ain't bowing down. Daniel praying.

It's against the law to pray. You've gone up there as you've

had. You've had your bedroom window

open and there you go praying again.

Bring him in, throw him into the lions.

Then Daniel. Daniel, you're still there.

Yes, my king, still here. Lovely night laying on the

lions, lovely fairy bed. Bit of a fur ball.

Man said you cannot pray to your God.

God said no. Where do you fit in this second

thing Note with me the second point of this amazing prayer.

Before the people brought any request, any petition, before

they asked for anything, they first filled their minds with

thoughts of the divine sovereignty, the power and

authority of the Almighty, Almighty God.

Who are they all praying to? We have a saying in Australia.

He'll sort it out. Don't worry, he'll sort it out.

He'll sort it out. Verse 24 Lord, you are God who

made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them.

To which God do you pray? Which God do you pray to?

To the God you doubt. What's the use?

You doubt could change or do what you ask because that's a

little God. That's not the God of the Bible.

That's not the God the church prayed to.

Or do you pray to the God who created all things, let there be

light and there was the God you can trust who is able to do the

impossible. That's what God does.

You see, you and I live in a world with men that you can't do

that. That's that's not going to

happen. And God says, I'm outside this

world. I made this world.

When you pray to me, I intervene, I change things.

I can hold the sun, Joshua said. We need more sunlight.

There you go, Fight away. We can't cross the the sea.

We got to see. Be honest.

And Chariots. Egyptians, don't worry about

that. But where do you and I fit in

that? Or do we just read those in

Sunday school books? Is that how you live as an adult

now, as a believer to the God who created all things, the God

you can trust who is able to do the impossible?

That's why you pray Hebrews 11/6.

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he

who comes to God must believe that He is, that He is a

rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

James says don't pray if you're a doubter tossed around like the

a cork on the ocean. Luke 11 Jesus told the story

verse 11 if a son asked for bread from any father among you,

will he give him a stone? Or he asked for a fish, will he

give him a serpent instead of a fish?

Or if he asked for an egg will he offer him a scorpion?

Jesus says hey you guys listen up if you then being evil you're

just human know how to give good gifts to your children.

How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to

those who ask him? He is the God of creation, verse

21. He is the God of Revelation,

verse 25 to 26. He is the God of history.

We see it in the past. He created all things.

He's been in charge of everything.

We went through the book of Daniel.

He told you which empires will come, who's next, who would

fall. He's told us what's going to

happen in the future in the Book of Revelation.

We sit at this stage now in the book of Acts.

Revelation is about to start, the rapture is soon, seven years

of tribulation are coming, and then 1000 year reign.

That's the future of the world. Where do you sit with that?

Because we kind of go, you know, when the last does.

No, let me tell you, time's short.

Time is short. 3 verbs in this powerful prayer.

Verse 24 you made. Verse 25, you spoke, it was 28.

You decided only now with their hearts, minds and souls filled

with the vision of the God who they're praying to, the all

powerful mighty created God, were they ready now to ask

something in prayer. When you pray, if you don't

believe in the God who's the creator and most powerful being

in the world, then you that is going to happen.

But if you go to prayer and you're going to God and you know

who it is, you're going to pray for man, you're confident,

aren't you? You're trusting.

Whatever he does, he's going to, he's going to sort this out.

That's what you can say to your kids, husbands, That's what you

can say. If you're a man of God in your

family, you can be saying that to your wife.

Don't trouble. Don't worry.

God, the God we serve the the true God of the Bible, he'll

sort it out. We'll give it to him, cast out

cares before him. Why?

Because he cares for you. They asked for three things. 1X

429. Now, Lord, look on their threats

and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak

your word. They didn't go into a Secret

Service mission, they said. Now look at what they've said.

Lord, take what they've said and help us now to continue to speak

boldly the word of God. Wow.

Exactly opposite to what they've been threatened about.

The word look means consider, behold their threats.

They were not praying that their threats would fall under divine

judgement. They didn't ask that.

They did not pray their threats remain unfulfilled so they could

live under peace and safety. They didn't ask that now they

asked God. Consider them.

You look after them. Lord, have them on your mind.

Regard them, but give us boldness first.

Second thing, that God would enable them his servants.

Notice it says his servants slaves literally to speak God's

word with great boldness and grant to your servants that with

all boldness they may speak your word.

They were undeterred by the religious councils, threatening,

unafraid of their threats. Thirdly, their third prayer

request was that God would act verse 30 by stretching out your

hand to heal, bring healing, heal one man, heal more, and

that signs and wonders may be done.

How through the name of your holy servant Jesus capital S son

of God. Let me qualify.

The demand now on these three things was not now for miracles

of vengeance. Kill all the Sanhedrin, wipe

them out, swallow them up in a great hole.

Destruction fire from heaven. No, Lord, bring miracles for the

glory of your name. Just just bring miracles for the

glory of your name. What happened after they prayed?

That's a good thing. God's answer was that he shook

the ground on which they stood in power.

And in response, verse 31 And when they had prayed, the place

where they were assembled together was shaken.

And notice what happened. We read it again, and they were

all filled with the Holy Spirit. You see, Pentecost, how many

feelings has Peter had? How many times?

Oh, I was filled with the Holy Spirit back in year 38.

It was I remember I just after before the Second World War and

I got another burst just after the Second World War and God

really moved back in those Hey, hey, today you need today you

need to be filled tomorrow you need to be filled with the Holy

Spirit. Ephesians says go on continually

being filled and they were all filled all filled with the Holy

Spirit. So what was the impact of the

shaking? They're all filled with the Holy

Spirit. God answered their prayer.

How specifically verse 29 and they spoke the word of God with

boldness. Note that fill them with the

Holy Spirit. What happened?

They spoke the word of God with boldness.

So you send your son, your daughter back to school, back to

the team. You go back to your workplace.

You, you're not, you're not ducking and dodging from the

bully or the, you know, the boss that gives you a hard time.

You speak with wisdom, wiser as a serpent in general as a dove,

but you speak with boldness. Well, actually, you know, you

said that about this doesn't change anything that I believe.

I still believe what the Bible says is correct about that.

You speak with boldness. Boldness doesn't mean you have

to be bombastic. It means you speak it.

Speak it. But notice what else came for in

the next chapter. It's recorded Acts chapter 5,

Acts 5:12

verse 12, and through the hands of the apostles many signs and

wonders were done among the people, and they were all with 1

accord in Solomon's porch this morning.

God is drawing us and putting a focus on us as a church.

A church isn't a place where individuals go to find Christ

had to do with Christ. A church is a place where

brothers and sisters in Christ gathered together under the

leadership of Jesus Christ and they work together bringing the

gifting that they have to do the work of God.

It's not an individual thing that you come and go, oh I've

done my thing and no, you're part of the body of Christ.

Read 1 Corinthians 12/13 and 14 and you supply a very important

part for the rest of the people. And when you don't do your bit,

we suffer. The body isn't working till it's

full capacity. God is calling us this church to

be a people of prayer, to pray as a church and to pray

powerfully. The people who, when we pray,

God moves. And you know what?

We've experienced that, haven't we?

Those of you who come on the Wednesday nights, you know that

the things that we've prayed for, what has happened, God has

moved miraculously. A people who will pray for all

things, a people who will pray together with one mind, led by

His Holy Spirit. The question is, I want to ask

you today, will you be a praying person this morning?

Will you be a praying person? God's God's asking you.

The harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few.

And we come from thinking, I don't want to go out there and

do OK, pray, gather with the church and pray.

Do that. That's the best job you can do

anyway. That's the most powerful thing

you can do anyway. Do you believe in the power of

prayer for today? God is speaking to you about

that because in Two Chronicles 16-9, the Bible says for the

eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to

show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is

perfect toward him. This morning God calls you to be

a people of prayer that as as a church, not just an isolated

individual, I'm going to do my thing.

People whose prayers are not loaded with selfish desires, no,

but prayers that are driven by God's desires.

The Lord's Prayer starts off with what our Father, our

Father, notice doesn't say. My Father, our Father, who art

in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be

done where as it on earth, as it is in heaven.

That's our job. Jesus said pray this way.

That's what we're going to do. God wants to draw you close to

him for you to know him as your heavenly Father.

Powerful. He's powerful, He's protective

and he's loving and he's merciful.

He is our Father in heaven who desires to answer your prayers

and to bless you. That's God's desire.

God raised this crucified Jesus from the grave.

There is salvation in no one else but Christ.

It's Jesus Christ or nothing. It's Jesus or judgement.

It's Jesus or eternal hell. Do not pray for easy lives.

Pray to be stronger. Men and women.

Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.

Pray for powers equal to your tasks.

Let's stand in honour of the Lord, shall we?

Father, I pray for any who are here today that do not know you

as their Lord and Saviour, that you are calling them not only to

be part of your Kingdom, but you're calling them to be part

of your prayer power team. Lord, let our children be people

of prayer. Let each home be a House of

prayer, but let this church be like the Church of the early

days. And Lord, I pray that you'll

shape this building and shake the very ground on which we

stand as we ask and seek you and pray these things.

We ask and pray in Jesus name. And everyone said Amen, Amen.