God's People Unite in Prayer

Good morning, church.

It's great to be with you this morning.

Good morning, my name is Chad Eckerd.

I've been married to my wife, Bethany, for 18 years, and God has blessed us with six kiddos.

We've attended Maranatha now since early 2023, and it has been a great privilege to be part

of this church and to serve alongside all of you.

The sermon series is titled, Becoming the Church, and the message today is God's people unite

in prayer.

Pastor David has gotten us back into Acts the last two weeks, and we've been working our

way through chapter four.

He provided a helpful summary by chapter, especially considering how many months we were in judges.

In Acts chapter one, he pointed us to Jesus commissions his witnesses.

Acts two, Jesus empowers his witnesses.

Acts three, we see that Jesus works through his witnesses.

In Acts four, Jesus builds his church.

Two weeks ago, we looked at the arrest of Peter and John.

The priests and Sadducees interrupted their message to the crowd and physically removed them

and threw them into jail.

It was the message that they preached, and specifically the resurrection and power of Jesus,

that drew the opposition and the rage from the spiritual leaders.

But despite the opposition, Pastor David pointed out that the text clearly reveals

the authorities are unable to control Christ's work.

As the narrative states, many believed the message that they preached, and the number of the men

was about 5,000.

Nevertheless, Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin in an official trial to answer

the question that we find in verse seven of chapter four.

By what power or in what name have you done this?

What we see in Peter's answer is that spirit filling brings about a proclamation of God's work in Christ.

The visible result was faithful, courageous, Christ-centered speech.

Despite the opposition, the filling of the Holy Spirit makes the reality of Christ greater.

Peter boldly points the Sanhedrin to the truth that salvation is found in Christ alone.

Ponder the reality of God's grace in this moment.

He's using Peter, the same guy who just weeks before fell flat on his face.

In this moment, God wanted to use him.

And we know God will continue to use Peter

to preach his word and grow his church.

It highlights the point that Pastor David made last week.

When we fail, our focus doesn't mainly need to be on ourselves.

It's an easy tendency to beat ourselves up when we fail.

That doesn't diminish the importance of being honest,

of acknowledging our failures,

repenting of our sin.

But the greatest need that we have

is to see more of Jesus.

He's at work.

And he's empowering his people to do great things.

Even the ones that just failed.

Last week, we saw

that the response and confidence of Peter and John

completely astounded the Sanhedrin.

This group of the most influential

and highly esteemed spiritual leaders

with all their education

were left speechless by two fishermen.

To the point that they sent them away

so that they could gather their thoughts

and come up with a response.

What we saw was that the council

was simply unwilling to accept the truth about Christ.

The truth that was standing right in front of them

in a healed lame man.

So they ordered Peter and John

to stop speaking of Jesus.

And this was in direct opposition

to Peter and John's commissioning.

Jesus sent them out to be his witnesses.

And so the response to the Sanhedrin was,

as for us, we must speak.

They cannot stop speaking

because they're filled with the Holy Spirit

and compelled to proclaim his name.

They cherish Christ more than anything else.

And this unified response

leaves the Sanhedrin obviously angry.

But they don't have as many options

as they'd like

to impose upon Peter and John.

Which brings us to our passage today.

If you're using the Pew Bibles,

you're going to find our text on page 912.

The focus this morning is on unity

and prayer.

Let's start in Acts 4, verse 23.

Acts 4:23

It says,

When they were released,

they went to their friends

and reported what the chief priests

and the elders had said to them.

If you're following along in the bulletin,

the first note is right here.

The fellowship we share as believers

is essential.

The fellowship that we share as believers

is essential.

Our fellowship as a body

at Maranatha

is essential.

Let's think about what Peter and John

just experienced

in this trial before the Sanhedrin.

This was an intensely intimidating,

high-stakes confrontation.

The Sanhedrin were the highest legal,

political,

and religious council

in ancient Israel.

They possessed immense wealth

and political influence

and authority.

And although the text

doesn't specifically state it,

we're likely safe to assume

that the threats included

threats of physical violence.

This wasn't just a stern

talking to that they received.

It's probable that they threatened

physical harm against Peter and John

and maybe even their loved ones.

And we'll see in chapter 5

that that's exactly what they inflict

upon the apostles.

There was also likely

the threat

of social and religious exile.

This would mean being

completely outcast

from the spiritual life of Israel.

And also,

a natural result of that

would be personal ruin

and business as well.

The threat of death,

which obviously just happened

to Jesus

as Peter and John witnessed.

Pastor David pointed us

to the parallels

between the trial in Acts 4

and Jesus' trial

before essentially

the same men.

So we know that they're willing

to take this step

if necessary.

It's also worth

taking a moment

just to think about

what we know

about Peter and John.

Just to briefly focus

on the reality

of their lives.

Peter's married.

The Gospels mention

Jesus visiting

Peter's mother-in-law.

And Paul mentions

Peter's wife

accompanying him

on multiple trips.

John has been given

responsibility over Mary,

Jesus' mother.

And we know that

his family runs

what seems to be

a pretty successful

fishing business.

There were people

just like us

dealing with the pressures

and decisions

of everyday life.

And they stood

before a council

that had the power

and authority

to completely change

their life.

To completely change

the reality

that they faced.

And after responding

boldly and courageously

to the council,

Luke tells us

that Peter and John

return

to their church

or group of believers.

our text says

their friends.

The fellowship

that we share together

as believers

and as Maranatha

Baptist Church

is something

that we should cherish

and prioritize.

It's a privilege

to build community

together,

to share victories

together,

to bear one another's

burdens,

encourage and build

one another up,

to be devoted

to each other

in brotherly love.

We need

to spur one another

toward love

and good deeds.

And we need

to hold each other

accountable.

Jesus states

explicitly

in John 13, 35

that it is our love

for one another

that bears witness

to all men

that we are

his disciples.

It's our love

as a church

that makes people

see were his.

And so I think

it's very clear,

even though it's

a small part

of our text,

that fellowship

as a body

is essential.

And we see

the evidence

of this reality

in the fact

that Peter and John

immediately seek out

this fellowship.

The second point

this morning

is when God's

people are united,

they pray together.

When God's people

are united,

they pray together.

look at the first part

of Acts 4, 24.

And when they heard it,

speaking of the people

Peter and John

returned to,

they lifted their voices

together to God.

The New American

Standard says,

and when they heard this,

they lifted their voices

to God

with one accord.

Peter and John

report what the

Sanhedrin

had threatened

them with,

and they unite

in prayer.

And we see the emphasis

of their unity.

The Greek word

that's translated

with one accord

describes people

who share

like precious faith,

creating a God-produced

unity between them.

Here they have

the same mind

because each receives

the same revelation

of his word.

Now the New Testament

uses this word

11 total times

and 10 of them

we find in Acts.

And Luke has already

used this word

to describe this group

of believers.

The first instance

that we see

is in Acts 1, 13,

following the ascension

of Christ.

starting in the first

part of verse 13,

it says,

and when they had

entered,

they went to

the upper room

where they were staying.

If you drop to 14,

it says,

all these

with one accord,

that's our word,

were devoting

themselves

to prayer.

We find it

again

used in

Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Look at the unity

described

starting in

verse 44.

Acts 2, 44.

And all those

who had believed

were together

and had all

things in common.

And they began

selling their property

and possessions

and were sharing

them with all

as anyone

might have need.

Day by day

continuing

with one mind

in the temple

and breaking

bread from

house to house.

They were taking

their meals together

with gladness

and sincerity

of heart,

praising God

and having favor

with all the people.

What we see Luke

communicating

is that God

is producing

a special unity

amongst this

people.

It's unity

that he produces

through the fruit

of the Spirit

working in his church.

and we see

that this unity

produces prayer.

The persecution

from the Sanhedrin

and all the pressure

was initially

directed at two men,

Peter and John.

Now the entire

community

is together

and calling out

to God

to bear the burden.

Persecution

against one

or all

unites God's people.

Now the corporate

prayer life

of the early church

was already

well established.

Just in the

couple chapters

leading up to this,

Luke highlights

several instances

where the same

community

gathered to pray.

As they were

waiting for the

coming of the Holy Spirit,

they prayed together

as we just read

in Acts 1,

13 and 14.

When they were

replacing Judas,

they prayed together

to seek God's will

in Acts 1,

24 to 25.

Right after

the day of Pentecost,

Acts 2, 42

describes the believers

devoting themselves

to the apostles'

teaching

and the fellowship,

to the breaking

of bread

and the prayers.

By the time

they faced

the Sanhedrin's

threats

in chapter 4,

corporate prayer

had been established

as a way

to unify

their hearts

and seek God.

It was an

essential aspect

right at the birth

of the early church

and a way

to continue

walking in step

with Him.

And that hasn't

changed for us.

Which brings us

to the actual

prayer found

in our passage

today.

And it's the bulk

of what we'll be

looking at.

starting in verse 24.

And when they heard it,

they lifted their voices

together to God

and said,

Sovereign Lord,

who made the heaven

and the earth

and the sea

and everything

in them,

who through the mouth

of our father David,

your servant,

said by the Holy Spirit,

why did the Gentiles

rage

and the people's

plot in vain?

The kings

of the earth

set themselves

and the rulers

were gathered together

against the Lord

and against His anointed.

For truly,

in this city,

they were gathered

together against

Your holy servant Jesus,

whom You anointed,

both Herod

and Pontius Pilate,

along with the Gentiles

and the peoples

of Israel,

to do whatever

Your hand

and Your plan

had predestined

to take place.

And now,

Lord,

look upon their threats

and grant to Your servants

to continue

to speak Your word

with all boldness,

while You stretch out

Your hand to heal,

and signs and wonders

are performed

through the name

of Your holy servant,

Jesus.

What we see first

in their prayer

is that they recognize

who God is.

They recognize

who God is.

The prayer begins

calling out

sovereign Lord.

We see this term

used ten times

in the New Testament,

and it's consistently used

to underscore

absolute authority,

whether divine

or human.

In our passage,

they're praying,

addressing God

as sovereign Lord,

legitimizing their confidence

in divine control,

despite the hostile rulers.

They're focusing

on His power

and His purpose

in creation.

God is the true authority

over all human authorities.

And what we see,

even just in how

they start the prayer,

is that the courage

of the church

is rooted

in a clarified vision

of who God is.

they start

by reminding themselves

who's in charge

of their circumstances.

The second thing

we see

is they recognize

the authority

of Scripture.

The beginning

of verse 25

says,

who threw the mouth

of our father David,

your servant,

said by the Holy Spirit.

It's God's decisive work

evident in His people.

The Scriptures

are written by man,

inspired by God

through the Holy Spirit.

It also points

to their knowledge

of the Word

and their reliance

upon it.

They're about to recall

Psalm 2,

but there are numerous

examples,

again,

that we see

right before

this chapter 4

in Acts

that point

to their emphasis

of knowing God's Word.

We're not going

to take the time

to look at each one,

but just to list them

out as an example.

In Peter's sermon

at Pentecost,

he references

three Old Testament passages.

He quotes Joel

in Acts 2,

17-21.

He quotes Psalm 16

in Acts 2,

25-28.

He references

Psalm 110

in Acts 2,

34-35.

Then in Acts 3,

18,

he connects

the rejection

of Jesus

to what the prophets

foretold.

And the promise

given to Abraham

in Genesis 12,

he cites in Acts 3,

25.

The point is,

the early church

knew Scripture well,

and they frequently

reminded each other

of God's promises

and His faithfulness

by referencing it.

And now we see

they quote Psalm 2,

specifically the first

two verses.

The second part

of verse 25,

Why did the Gentiles

rage

and the people's

plot in vain?

The kings of the earth

set themselves

and the rulers

were gathered together

against the Lord

and against His anointed.

This psalm

is quoted

explicitly four times

in the New Testament,

and it's referenced

another dozen,

making it one of the

most frequently referenced

Old Testament chapters

found in the New Testament.

Psalm 2 is a call

to kings

and rulers

of the earth

to worship God,

to honor Christ,

and take refuge

in Him.

It declares God

as sovereign,

the true king.

It tells us that

He scoffs

at earthly rulers

and has declared

Christ as king.

C.H. Spurgeon

notes,

This psalm

sets forth

as in a wondrous vision

the tumult

of the people

against the Lord's

anointed,

the determinate

purpose of God

to exalt His own

Son,

and the ultimate

reign of that Son

over all His enemies.

We have in the

first three verses

a description

of the hatred

of human nature

against the Christ

of God.

In terms of the

believers recalling

Psalm 2

in this prayer,

Spurgeon says,

No better comment

is needed upon it

than the apostolic

song in Acts 4,

27-28.

And what we find

in verse 27,

this is called

a pescher

hermeneutic.

I put it in your notes.

I had no idea

what it was

before I started

studying this passage.

A pescher

treatment of a text

is a method

of scriptural

interpretation

where an ancient

prophetic text

is explained

as having meaning

that applies

directly to

current circumstances.

In this instance,

what we see

is the early believers

taking groups

mentioned in the Psalm

and equating them

with persons

involved in

Christ's crucifixion.

You see the Gentiles

and nations

mentioned,

those are represented

by the Roman authorities.

The peoples,

that's the people

of Israel.

Kings of the earth

represented by

King Herod.

Rulers,

Pontius Pilate,

the Roman governor.

And the anointed,

of course,

that's Jesus,

the Christ.

Christ.

What the believers

are doing

is recognizing

continuity

between the hostility

that Jesus endured

and the hostility

it now faces.

It's truly a hostility

against Christ's rule.

The Sanhedrin

have made this

quite clear

as they've taken issue

with who Peter

and John

give credit to.

Remember the question,

by what power

or by what name

did you do this?

They've forbidden them

to speak

or teach

in the name of Jesus.

The fourth thing

that we see

in the prayer

is that they recognize

God's providence.

verse 28.

To do whatever

your hand

and your plan

had predestined

to take place.

So,

sitting on my shelf

at home,

there's a rather large book.

It's got about 700 pages

that I've cracked open

a couple times,

but this sermon

led me to getting into it

a little bit more.

The title of it

is Providence,

written by John Piper.

And although I was

very eager

to get the book,

I have not read it all.

And I've only referenced

it a few times

as I've studied

different topics.

My wife would say

that this fact

applies to far

too many books

on my shelves.

And for now,

she's not wrong.

Amen.

In the book,

Piper's goal

is that Christians

would see and savor

the providence of God.

Now,

providence is not a word

that's found in Scripture.

But I think the purpose

of using the word

will become evident

as we define it.

And it's exactly

what John Piper does

at the beginning

of the book.

He says,

Providence

is purposeful

sovereignty.

It's the active

outworking

where God

applies

His sovereign power

to guide all things,

govern creation,

and successfully

achieve

His ultimate goal

for the universe.

He says,

Sovereignty

establishes

that God

has the supreme right,

absolute authority,

and total power

to rule.

Providence

is the actual

outworking

of that power

as He actively

manages,

sustains,

and guides creation.

Now,

although Luke

doesn't use

the word providence,

I think it's exactly

what the believers

are communicating

in their prayer.

Almighty God

is the one

that they pray to,

the creator

of heaven

and earth.

And He has used

men

to communicate

His holy word

to His people.

And He's also

used men

to come against

Christ.

according to

His purposes

which He

predetermined.

What the believers

recognize

is that God

is at work

and they trust

in His plan.

The next thing

we see in their prayer,

they ask for

confidence

and boldness.

In verse 29,

it says,

And now,

Lord,

look upon

their threats

and grant

to your servants

to continue

to speak

your word

with all

boldness.

They note

the threats

that the

priests

and Sadducees

have

threatened them

with

and they ask

God to give

them confidence

and boldness

to continue

to proclaim

His name.

This is what

they have just

faithfully done

in verse 20.

They had just

done this.

They recognize

their need

for new

mercies

despite

previous

victory.

And sometimes

I think this

can be a

stumbling block

for us.

Maybe a source

of pride.

We experience

spiritual victory

in some way

and we lose

sight that God

is the one

who produced it.

or we start

to believe

that we can

duplicate it

ourselves.

Even though

Peter and John

had just

faithfully defended

the work of

Jesus before

the Sanhedrin

and boldly

spoke in

His name,

we see them

here along

with the rest

of the believers

asking for

boldness

to proclaim

His name.

They don't

ask for

escape

or removal

and depending

on the

circumstances

I'm not

sure that

that's

wrong.

In fact,

Paul asks

for the

thorn in

his flesh

to be

removed

and Jesus

asks for

removal in

the garden.

But in

this instance,

Jesus had

commissioned

this group

of believers

to give

testimony

to Him

to the

ends of

the earth.

So when

the Sanhedrin

charged them

not to speak

in Jesus'

name,

this order

is in

direct

conflict

with Jesus'

order.

Pastor David

pointed us

clearly to

the fact

that Peter

and John

cannot

stop

speaking

and the

reason they

cannot stop

speaking is

because they're

cherishing

Christ

appropriately.

What we

see is the

believers have

a clear view

of their

circumstances

and their

dependence on

God to

work through

them.

They're asking

God to help

them to remain

faithful to

their mission

and displaying

true humility

and dependence

on Him.

next we see

that they

declare faith

that God

will continue

to work.

They declare

faith that God

will continue

to work.

Verse 30,

while you

stretch out

your hand

to heal

and signs

and wonders

are performed

through the

name of your

holy servant

Jesus.

The council

forbid the

name of

Jesus.

Jesus.

So the

church asks

God to

keep displaying

the power

of the

name of

Jesus.

They're

praying that

God would

continue to

work,

continue to

do the

work you

have purpose

to do

and help

us to

remain

faithful

to what

you call

us to

do.

The

challenge

here is

that we

don't allow

the obstacles

in life

to grow

bigger

than what

they are

in reality.

This doesn't

diminish the

challenges that

we face.

There are

many challenges

and struggles

that we are

facing every

day.

Many great

challenges even

people within

this body are

facing.

But our

God is so

much greater

than any

challenge that

we might

face.

God

has given

us his

word to

strengthen our

confidence and

illuminate our

understanding.

He's given us

his spirit to

recognize how

he is at

work and

to empower

us to be

faithful to

him.

I know I

I far too

often spend

too much

time looking

at my

problems or

looking at the

circumstances that

I'm facing.

I like to

analyze and

sometimes that

can be a good

thing.

But when I get

distracted by

analyzing the

problems in

front of me

and I delay

or I fail to

bring it to

God, what

happens is I

end up focusing

far too much

on the problem

itself.

And generally

when I do

that, the

size of the

problem gets

out of proportion

to reality.

I lose sight

of the bigger

picture.

And often

when I do

this, I'm

trying to

resolve the

issue in

my own

strength and

in my own

wisdom.

What we see

in chapter 4

is this group

of believers

immediately take

this to God.

not only

that, scripture

implores us

in the book

of James,

specifically

when we face

trials,

verse 2,

James says,

count it all

joy, my

brothers,

when you meet

trials of

various kinds.

What a

challenge that

is.

Count it

joy.

joy.

And as I

thought about

joy, I

couldn't help

but also

think about

what Hebrews

tells us

about Jesus.

I'm sure

it's familiar

to all of

you, Hebrews

12, 2,

looking to

Jesus, the

founder and

perfecter of

our faith,

who for the

joy that was

set before

him endured

the cross,

despising

the shame.

As

believers,

when we

face trials,

it's our

joy that

is to be

evident to

others in

those moments.

And we

have that

joy because

our hope

is in

Christ.

We know

the victory

is found

in him.

And so

despite what

we face

here on

earth, we

have joy.

It's my

prayer that

God would

produce this

focus on

all of us.

When trials

appear, that

we would be

joyful, that

we would

recognize that

the trials

verify and

strengthen our

faith, that

they would

enhance the

unity we

have in

Christ as

a body.

And that

we would

be

encouraged

because it's

through the

trials that

God draws

us to

himself and

deepens our

intimacy with

him.

Each trial

is an

opportunity to

trust him

more.

Which brings

us to the

last point

this morning.

God answers

immediately

and

definitively.

God answers

immediately and

definitively.

Verse 31.

And when

they had

prayed, the

place in

which they

were gathered

together was

shaken.

And they

were all

filled with

the Holy

Spirit and

continued to

speak the

word of

God with

boldness.

God responds

by causing

the place they

were gathered

to shake.

They're all

filled with the

Holy Spirit and

speak the word

of God with

boldness.

The exact

thing that they

were praying

for.

When it says

that the place

was shaken,

it's the same

word that's

used to

describe when

the prison

was shaken

that Paul and

Silas were

imprisoned in.

The earthquake

that happened,

that's the same

word that's used

here.

This was a real

shaking.

It was

unmistakable.

God responds

immediately.

Note the

unity of the

people.

The entire

group, not

just Peter and

John, are

speaking boldly.

There was no

way to miss

that God was

at work.

The filling of

the Holy Spirit

they experienced,

this was not a

second Pentecost.

It's a fresh

filling.

The filling of

the Holy Spirit

God.

The church is

empowered for

boldness and

confident witness.

What an amazing

God that we

serve.

What a

gracious God

he is.

And as I was

contemplating the

main message in

this passage,

what we see is

that God's given

us a clear

picture of a

united people

devoted to

him.

This passage is

a pristine

example of a

group of

believers that

cherish God

rightly and

how they

pray.

I'm not

saying they're

a perfect

people, but

we do see God

working mightily

through them to

cherish him

despite the

circumstances that

they face.

and they pray

with great

faith.

My favorite

gospel is

John.

And as I

thought about

their prayer,

I couldn't

help but think

of what Jesus

tells us in

verse 13 of

chapter 14.

He says,

whatever you

ask in my

name, this

I will do,

that the

Father may be

glorified in

the Son.

If you ask me

anything in my

name, I will

do it.

We can be

confident that

when we pray in

accordance with

his will, he's

faithful to do

it.

What we've

seen in Acts

4 is that

despite the

opposition,

God builds

his church.

And God is

still building

his church.

May we be a

body that

prioritizes

fellowship and

prayer to the

honor and praise

of him.

Let's pray.

Heavenly

Father,

we are

humbled to

be able to

approach you.

We are

humbled that

you are at

work upon

us.

We are

humbled that

we get to

experience the

power of the

Holy Spirit

working in

us.

I pray for

our church

that you would

move mightily

amongst us.

We recognize

that you have

done great

things.

Please continue

to work in

us and help

us to see

the opportunities

that you put

before us each

day.

You are still

at work.

You are still

building your

church.

church.

It is our

desire to be

obedient to

you and to

represent you

well.

I pray that

you help us

to recognize

each opportunity

that we have

in front of

us.

It's in the

great and

powerful name

of Jesus

that I pray.

Amen.

may

may