Under Jesus' Authority | John Challinor

Okay, now we can move to a collection of do something

different that is wrapped around the idea of

prayer. And if you were here kind of week one,

the idea was God had just kind of challenged

me with my own prayer life that I wasn't satisfied

with where it was at. And God's like, you don't

need more information. You need to do something

different. You need to just do it. With around

that, I realized I've got to change the way I

view prayer, that if I'm going to do something

different, I have to see it through a different

lens. And so if you were here the first week,

we talked about this idea that prayer is a gift

that waters. And there was a planner box up here.

If you still haven't seen that, you need to go

back and watch it. But there's a planner box

that is bringing to life everything that God

put inside of you that he always intended for

to grow in your life. And so prayer is this gift

that allows me to water those things into being.

We talked last week about the winter seasons

of life, right? Like the difficult things that

when we go through things we don't like, things

that we would prefer to run away from, that it's

actually in those moments when we lean into prayer

that what prayer is, is it's a gift that waters

into life. But it's also because we're watering,

we're trusting in a relationship that is inside

of the mess. And what we find is the person of

the relationship, which is God, and we had a

table set up here, that we get to sit down at

the table with God Almighty, with the one that

one word changes everything. We sit with him

and what he's longing from us is honest conversation.

That we would just be honest with God about where

we're at. That we would hand over to him the

things that we're holding that are so deeply

ingrained in us that are holding us back from

growing into all the things that he wants us

to be. And so this gift of prayer at the table,

which brings us to today. That prayer is a gift

because it releases the power of heaven. Prayer

is a gift because it releases the power of heaven.

For me, there was a moment on my sabbatical where

I got to go to Montana, and I happened to be

there in between skiing season and boating season.

So there was a mountain for skiing, and there

was a lake for boating, and I was there in a

season when they were doing neither. The lake

was too cold, so nobody was in the lake, and

the mountain had just lost its snow. Right? So

it was a rainy day, and I went, you know what?

On a rainy day, it feels right to just have a

fireplace. I'm sure whatever the ski lodge is,

they got a fireplace. They got a coffee shop.

I'll go get a cup of coffee, sit by the fire,

read a book. I'm like, that sounds so good. So

I drive up the mountain, get to the ski lodge,

and wouldn't you know it, they closed the week

before. So I'm like, okay, God, I don't know

where I'm going to go now. And so I begin to

drive down the mountain. There was these signs

for hiking trails. Now, those of you that know

me, I do not hike. So my version was, I wonder

if there's a parking lot with a view and I'll

just sit in my car and read a book, right? And

so I pull up in the parking lot and I realized

they'd made a little outlook. I'm like, okay.

So I get out and I kind of walk the outlook and

the view is amazing. But what I noticed is there

was a bench and it's right on the edge and there's

nothing in front of it other than the view. I

don't know how you feel about the bench. I feel

like the bench was put there for me by God. OK,

so I sit on the bench and I'm looking and the

view is the top of the pine trees and then down

a mountain. And then there's the lake that nobody's

on because it's not boating season. And then

there's another mountain going up. And as I'm

reading this book on prayer, I'm sitting on this

bench and I watch a storm come in. And the storm

drops down one mountain across the lake and up

the other mountain and out. And in that moment,

I'm reminded of the power of God. I'm reminded

of how powerful he is. I'm reminded that I have

no control over this moment and where this storm

goes and what it does. I'm reminded that me sitting

there going is not going to do anything to that

storm. And I'm in awe of the power of God. And

then this question is in this book. If you were

to take every single prayer that you have prayed

this weekend, recall them and recount them, and

you were to write them down, and then God answered

every single one of them that week. So as you

look back on your week and you go, God answered

every single one, this was the question. What

would have happened? So let me ask you, if you

wrote down, if you recalled every prayer that

you have prayed this week and God answered every

single prayer today, what would happen? What

would change? Because you see what I realized?

My prayers don't match the God I'm praying to.

I pray about the dumbest stuff. That whether

it's answered or not, it doesn't matter. Whether

the Steelers win or not, next season's coming.

Right? Like we just pray about the dumbest things.

And don't get me wrong. I'll pray with you about

anything. But what I realized is that if I really

believe in the power of prayer and the person

that I'm praying to, then I got some bigger prayers

to pray. That what I prayed didn't move the needle

at all in the kingdom of heaven. And I realized,

I realized that what Jesus was talking about

in Matthew chapter six, this idea of the prayer

of heaven being released, I realized that my

prayers are too small. Here's just what I mean.

So the context that we're about to jump into,

right? The context is that the disciples have

asked Jesus somewhere along the way, because

it's captured in another spot. Teach us how to

pray. So it's overplayed and often said, and

I've said it before, but of all the things that

the disciples could have asked that they saw

Jesus do, right? The thing that they asked Jesus,

the thing that they go, this moved the needle

of heaven on earth. This moved the needle in

the life of Jesus. What you capture them asking

is teach us how to pray. So he says this, this

then is how you should pray. Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name. Instantly, what happens

is our Father, our Father, right? So it's relational.

It's connection to God. This is not just some

random being. It's our Father. And what are we

saying? He's in heaven, right? Like he is God,

our Father. Hallowed, there is no one like you.

Hallowed be your name. There's no one like you.

So instantly in the first two parts, we're just

framed up as one, we're in relationship with

this God. Two, he is like no one else. The next

part, your kingdom come, your will be done on

earth as it is in heaven. Your kingdom come,

your will. Okay, your kingdom. So instantly what

I've said is, My kingdom is secondary to whose?

Your kingdom, God, my father. Your kingdom come,

your will. So my will, what I want, is secondary

to God, what you want. So God, your kingdom and

your will come where? On earth. You know what

earth is? It's your home. It's my home. So, so

we want your kingdom and your will in our home

as it is in heaven. So, so, so what Jesus is

tapping into is the reality that in our home,

it can be shaped. It can be shaped by the things

of heaven. Then in fact, in prayer and the gift

that you have is to go to God almighty, the one

who, his word, things change, right? Because

he's got authority. You now have the privilege

in prayer to go to God and go, I want my home

to match what is in heaven. Now, this is connected

to what God always intended for you. What Jesus

is talking about is your purpose on planet earth.

My purpose on planet earth. This is what you

were created for. What do I mean? You go all

the way back to creation. What do you find in

creation? You find humans put into a garden.

And in Genesis chapter 1, verse 26, it says specifically

Genesis 1:26

that they were created, these humans were created

in the image of God. Right? That he created them

to be reflectors of who he is. That you would

be a reflection, that when people see you, they

would see God. And then he says that they are

to rule. So as a reflection of him, they are

to rule. So what the word rule is, it carries

royalty to it. And the idea is that it's a transfer

of authority, that authority, they were put under

the authority of God to shape and manage God's

creation, to make it in the shaping and in the

managing, to make it look like God. to make it

look like a reflection of his image, that what

you would create with your hands would be created

in such a way that when people see what you do

and how you shape and what you do when you're

home and what you do in the spaces that God has

you, that those spaces would be a reflection

of God himself. That was the original intent

of creation. That's why humans exist. And so

what happens is you follow the story along, you

find that sin enters. And what sin does is sin

disconnects us, right? If God created us to be

co -managers, what we do is we go, I'm going

to manage my world. I don't need you. And so

the humans stepped out from that and they begin

to shape the world the way they want to shape

the world. They begin to manage the world the

way they want to manage the world. And what happens

is they're disconnected from the source. And

so now it's under their effort and under their

way, and their world is being shaped by their

hands. Enter Jesus. What does Jesus do? Jesus

shows up, and his mission that he is on is to

restore all things. What is he restoring them

back to? To the way God always intended it to

be. Well, what was his intent? That you would

be co -shapers, co -managers, right? Like that

you would be co -creators with God under his

authority. Sin leaves us stepped out from under

his authority, and now you are the authority.

What Jesus does is Jesus comes and he restores

you back under the authority that you were always

supposed to be under, the authority of God the

Father, which is why your kingdom come, your

will be done. What are we saying? We're under

your authority. We're under your will. Right?

And so what Jesus does is Jesus restores the

relationship so that now I can spend my days

on planet Earth on the purpose that I was originally

created for, to be a reflection of God himself

through everything I shape under the authority

of God. Now, here's where it gets fascinating,

because when Jesus was about to leave the Earth,

you might know it as the Great Commission. He

says, all authority on heaven and earth has what?

Been given to me. So Jesus has all authority.

And what does he do? He puts his people, his

church under his authority. And then he tells

them things like this. When you pray in my name,

it'll be given to you. In my name, any request.

And you see it over and over in scripture, in

Jesus name. And you might've been like, I just

thought that's how you ended the call, right?

Like, I just thought that's how, when you were

praying, that's what you're supposed to do. I

don't know. And what you get is this, that in

my name, in Jesus's name, the translation of

that is under my authority. Anything, so you're

placing yourself back to what you were always

created to be, under the authority and connected

to the power source of heaven to shape what?

To co -shape and co -manage this world to look

a whole lot like God. Now, I don't know how you

feel about all that. But I'm kind of simple.

If you've been around me, just, if you're like,

no, you're not, stick around for 10 minutes.

Because I think this helps us understand. You

were created to move things and shape things

and manage things. In the kingdom of heaven.

You were created by God to co -manage under his

authority, under his power, under his reign,

and the resources of heaven. Resources of heaven.

That's what, when Jesus teaches here, that's

what he's calling forward. That what is available

in heaven is available on earth through who?

Through his people. And so what has happened

is in the original creation, we were connected

directly to the source. And we were put into

a garden where he says, OK, in the garden, you

are going to co -manage. and shape this space

in the image of God. And you're like, okay, I'm

creating it, which I don't think Black and Decker

was created in the image of God, but there you

go. I'm created in the image of God and I will

shape, I will shape and co -manage with God that

his reflection is seen in what's created, essentially

heaven on earth, where his rule and reign is

what's there. Where his ideals and what he cares

about. So what happens in the original creation,

we're connected directly to the power source.

To what? To shape. And some of you are like,

that's obnoxiously loud. I agree. I hope it's

obnoxious. You want to know why? Because God

made you with muscle memory. Guess what's going

to happen next time you hear a leaf blower? You're

going to remember. Now, okay, so sin enters.

What actually happened with sin? If we were connected

directly to the source to co -create and manage,

what happens with sin is now I'm out on my own,

under my own strength and under my own power

and whatever I can grab, and I'm trying to shape

and manage my space. Pretty limited, right? The

person of Jesus. It's the first time you're like,

Jesus is an extension cord? Yes, he is. What

did Jesus do? Jesus restored your connection

to the power source of heaven. Jesus restored

all of the resources of heaven according to the

prayer of Jesus. This is how you should pray,

that your kingdom come, your will be done where?

On earth, in our home, as it is in heaven. So

what you're asking is the resources of heaven

because I'm connected to the power through the

person of Jesus, I've been restored. So what?

So now I can go about the world in a restored

way. You also have to feel it because God made

you to remember by feeling, right? But in Jesus,

what has happened is what's been restored is

the purpose you were always created for. You

were created to be a conduit of heaven. You were

created to be a conduit for the God who at one

word, everything changes. You were created to

be a power connected to the power source that

in this moment, in this space, you can call forward

the resources of heaven. You were created for

it. And Jesus has restored it and given it back

to you. And here's the thing. I don't pray like

it. I don't find myself praying like all of heaven

is available and the resources of heaven are

available to this moment. And Jesus goes, hey,

your kingdom come. Isn't it amazing? Sometimes

I think, sometimes with like Bible stuff, we

just need stories, right? If you're here and

you're like, John, I don't really know. Go back

to our Christmas service. All of the good news

stories, guess what? They all came through the

power of prayer. They all came from heaven releasing

its resources to earth. When you pray for somebody

for healing, what are you asking? God, you, under

your authority, you are the healer. You have

the power. And we're asking that that power flood

this moment to this human and heal them. We're

calling forward heaven to earth that it would

be on earth because in heaven, guess what? Everything

is healed. There's no more ailments. There's

no more pain. There's no more suffering. If you

like that message, come back in a couple of weeks.

We're going to dig into that even more. But here's

the thing. You are a conduit. You have the ability

to pray with power. You have the ability to call

forward heaven to earth. And we need these moments

where we capture stories. There's a lady named

Monica, and Monica had a son. And Monica would,

every night, put her hand on her son's forehead,

and she would pray for him. And she would pray

that he would be a man of God, that he would

be one that pursued passionately the things of

God, that he would stand for Christ and everything

that Jesus was for, that through him the kingdom

would be built. Every night she's got her hand

on his forehead. The young man, or the baby turns

into a young man and turns adamantly opposed

to Christianity, adamantly opposed to his mama's

faith. In fact, so much so that he becomes an

agitator on the other side. He decides that he's

going to not only not stand for his mom's faith,

he's going to stand against it. And he begins

to speak in public spaces about it. And there's

this moment where his mama doesn't stop praying

because she believes in prayer, right? So she

keeps praying. And she keeps praying that, God,

you would rescue him and use him in the kingdom

of God. And all the prayers that she's prayed,

she's still praying those, that you can do that.

And one night God gives her a dream. And in the

dream, she sees her son restored to the faith.

She sees him doing great things for God. And

that ignites her again. And she's now got the

new passion to begin to pray. And nine years

later, this young man is about to go to a city.

The city is known for ungodly living and everything

that's opposed to God. And he's going to take

this trip and she's scared for him. And she prays,

God, don't let him go. And yet God still lets

him go. And when he's in the city, something

happens and the young man's life is turned around

and he meets Jesus and it transforms his life

for the rest of his life. And he did a 180 and

became someone who was so strong in the faith

in the early church. You might have heard of

him. His name is Augustine. If you don't know

who that is, go research it. Because it's someone

who has transformed your life sitting here. It's

someone that God has used to build his church.

It's someone that God used within the foundations

of our faith. And it started where? A mama going,

I'm going to call the resources of heaven to

a crib. Don't miss it. The power of heaven being

released. There's a story. I think stories are

just so good to help us understand. Acts chapter

Acts 12 · chapter mention

12. And verse one, it was about this time that

King Herod arrested some who belonged to the

church intending to persecute them. He had James.

the brother of John put to death with the sword.

So King Herod is arresting the early church and

his intent is to persecute. Not only does he

arrest, but he actually puts to death, right?

And here's the thing, James is put to death.

And in that, I want you to capture, what does

this mean for the church? Okay, so imagine we're

here today. There's a new regime that comes in

place. And that king's like, I'm going to start

pursuing the church and putting them to death.

And everybody outside of the church is celebrating

that you're being persecuted and put to death.

I don't know about you. My natural thing is like,

that's not good. To be scared, to be worried,

because they are actively putting them to death.

And so in this context, all of the human feels

are there, right? Like all of the natural fears

that would have been into it. into the moment.

And so then in verse three, it says, when he

saw, so when the king sees that this met with

approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize

Peter also. So what happens is the Jews who are

the ones that by having their support, by not

creating any riots, by keeping the peace, so

to speak, By making them happy, that keeps him

in power. So what is happening, the king politically

is making a power move, a power play. He is,

you might say, using the worldly things to shape

his kingdom, right? The king is using means of

violence. He's using means of coercion. He's

using means of... playing the political power

game, and he's doing it all to what? To shape,

to shape the world around him. So much so that

then verse four, he says, after arresting Peter,

so Peter's a leader in the church, after arresting

Peter. He put him in prison, handing him over

to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers

each. Herod intended to bring him out for public

trial after Passover. So he arrests Peter, who's

the leader. He puts him into a prison. The best

we can tell, there were these four squads. And

in those four squads, there was four soldiers.

And so two of the soldiers would be side by side

with him, chained to him. And then two of them,

one by the first door, one by the second door.

There was no way Peter was walking out. is what

the Bible wants us to understand. And then on

top of that, it says that he's gonna have a public

trial. Now the public trial, because he already

knows the favor of the people are what? On his

side, the public trial of Peter, you might as

well have just said is a death sentence. He's

gonna be put to death. So you've got a king who

is using the world around him, using worldly

measure, worldly. activities, if you like, false

senses of power, false senses of fear, to shape

the world to be how he wants it to be. I want

to give you a picture of what that looks like.

Some of you are like, man, what is going to happen

next? I don't know. I'm with you. But we got

this guy. Let's see what it does. Because for

the king, he's choosing to use what? Not the

gift that came by purpose through Jesus to heaven,

but he's choosing to use another power source.

He's choosing to use the world's power to shape

the world around him. And it looks like it works,

right? This thing sounds like a go -kart, I'm

just telling you, right? Every time, smells like

a go -kart, sounds like a go -kart. But here's

the thing, the king is shaping the world around

him. And he's using... The world's means to do

it. And as he shapes, at some point, it becomes

extremely limited. At some point, his power will

run out. Because what he's tapped into is a false

sense of power that was never created to ignite

who God created him to be. And to shape the world

around him the way God intended to shape the

world around him. I wonder, church, I wonder

how many of you, how many of us, we just continue,

we continue to wonder why our world, and by world

I mean your life, why your life is so limited.

while you're always fighting to hold on to, while

you're always fighting to shape and move. Oh,

you're trying to do what you're created to do,

but you're tapped into the wrong source of life.

And it's fascinating. Listen to what the church

does, right? So he's arrested. He's about to

go on trial. He'll go to death. Listen to the

very next verse. So Peter was kept in prison,

but the church was earnestly praying for him.

What is the church doing? This is bad. That's

what the church is doing. This is not good. You

know what happens? I mean, you can imagine the

conversation, right? You know what happens when

he goes to trial? They're definitely going to

condemn him. You can understand the anxiety and

the stress and that this isn't going to turn

out well. And the temptation is that I go and

I shape it by this, right? Like I shape it by

what I can do. Instead, what we're given by the

church is they step into what? They step into

prayer and it's not just any kind of prayer.

That word earnestly is to fervently pray. It

is also to constantly pray. They constantly went

to what? The power source that they knew. What

does the church do? The church goes, I'm going

to connect. I'm going to connect to what we've

been given in Jesus. And through the power of

the Holy Spirit, we're going to go to God in

prayer. I'm going to ask him to work. We're going

to ask him to shape. That what seems impossible

is possible with God. And so we're going to go

to the source. We're going to go to heaven's

resources and ask them to flood. Listen to what

happens. The night before, Herod was to bring

him to trial. So the night before, this is last

minute, y 'all. The night before, like the next

morning, he's going to trial. He's going to be

found guilty. He's going to be put to death,

right? So that's the kind of timeline. This is

last minute. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers

bound with two chains. And sentries stood guard

at the entrance. Wait. Peter's chained to two

soldiers. And what is he doing? The night before,

the last minute, he's sleeping. There's something

here about trusting the one who, one word from

him, one word from him. I can sleep in the midst

of what looks like certain death. Why? Because

one word from him, one word from him will change

it. And so the church is tapped in, right? Like

the church is calling forward. Suddenly, an angel

of the Lord appeared and the light shone in the

cell. The prayer makes it to the cell. He struck

Peter on the side and woke him up. He's sleeping

so solidly, he has to be hit in the side to wake

him up. That is how confident he is in who God

is and what God is doing. He gets hit on the

side. Get up, he said, and the chains and the

chains and the chains, what? Fell off. And the

chains fell off. I wonder how many of you sitting

in here, the story that you're reading is actually

you. And you know what you're chained to? Your

vices. You're chained to your way of shaping

the world. You're chained to the things that

you just can't stop, that you said you would

stop, but you can't stop. And you're chained

to them. And you need to know today, the only

power that breaks the chains that are on you

is the power released from heaven. There's not

another source. That you're not strong enough.

Oh, it may look like you're winning today. You

will not win because your power will run out.

The only thing that breaks the chains around

Peter is God himself and they fall off. Verse

eight, then the angel said to him, put on your

clothes and sandals. You know what you do when

an angel tells you to do something? You do it.

And Peter did so. Wrap your cloak around you

and follow me, the angel told him. Peter followed

him out of the prison, but he had no idea what

the angel was doing, what the angel was doing

was really happening. He thought he was seeing

a vision. They passed the first and second guards,

so they just breeze on by, easy breezy, and came

to the iron gate leading to the city. I don't

know much about iron gates, but I know they're,

in these days, they're pretty strong, right?

One word from our God, listen. It opened for

them by itself. An iron gate. Just open. Why?

Because heaven's resources crashing into earth

changes the way earth works. It changes the way

earth is shaped. And they went through it. And

when he had walked the length of one street,

suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came

to himself and said, now I know without a doubt,

the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me. The

Lord has sent his angel and rescued me. Notice

what he doesn't say. Oh, there's a whole bunch

of people that are praying for me back there

because they were praying and because of their

power. No, no, no, no. They prayed and what showed

up? The Lord showed up and rescued. He has no

doubt. He is very clear. One word from that God,

when that God showed up, Shows up, things have

to change. From Herod's clutches and from everything

the Jewish people were hoping would happen, when

this dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary,

the mother of John, also called Mark, where many

people had gathered and were what? Praying. So

he goes to the very place. Where there is a group

of people who believe in prayer that are calling

forward the resources from heaven that on earth

heaven would crash in. Peter knocked at the outer

entrance and the servant named Rhoda came and

answered the door. When she recognized Peter's

voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without

opening it and exclaimed, Peter is at the door.

You're out of the mind. You're out of your mind,

they told her. When she kept insisting it was

so, they said it must be his angel. They had

a belief at the time that when you died an angel,

you had a guardian angel and that guardian angel

showed up. So they're believing he's dead and

his guardian angel has showed up. But Peter kept

knocking at the door and when they opened the

door and saw him, they were what? They were astonished.

Okay, we just got to catch the story. Peter,

set free, he comes, he knocks at the outer door.

Rhoda comes up to the door, right? Oh, that sounds

like Peter. She runs back. Hey, Peter's here.

Meanwhile, Peter's still out of the door. Can

I come in? You don't let me in? So we have a

debate on whether it's an angel or not, but when

they realize it's Peter, maybe it's just worth

stating. It was easier for them to believe that

Peter had died than it was that God answered

prayer. And I wonder how many of us, it's easier

for us to believe that God will not answer your

prayer than God will answer your prayer. I don't

know about you, but I want to be in a community

that is astonished by the power of heaven that's

released on earth. I don't want to be a part

of a community. I don't want to pray anymore

around the whole like the idea of, oh, well,

we'll pray and see what God, I don't want to

do that. I want to pray in expectancy that the

God who has unlimited resources, who has tapped

us into it through the person of Jesus and tells

us to pray that heaven would come to earth, that

we would pray that heaven would come to earth.

That what you need and what I need and what you

see, that we would trust the God who is all powerful

for one word that'll change everything. And so

let me ask you, if you wrote down all of your

prayers, This past week. And God answered everyone.

What would happen. Let's pray. God. God we humbly.

Recognize who you are. Just in recognizing you

are God almighty. That means we're not. God we

say thank you. For restoring in Jesus the purpose.

That we have on this earth. that we can co -shape

and co -manage, that we get to co -create with

you, that we get to be the distributors through

our prayers of heaven's resources. God, would

you light a fire in us in the belief of prayer

that it is a gift from you? God, I pray over

those today that their prayers are too small.

Would you give them faith? Would you help them

in their unbelief? God, would we be a people

that cry out to you that heaven, your kingdom,

that it would come to earth, that your will would

be done where? In our homes. God, would you start

in our homes? Would you move to our community?

Would you move through our church? Would you

move through our nation? that we would see the

power of heaven released. So God, we thank you

that we're people that get to put you on display.

May your kingdom come and your will be done.

It is in your name that we all say, amen.