Acts 2:42-47 "A Dependent Community"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Father, that's true.

Thank you for showing me that fresh, even while they sang that song.

The one who would speak your word is desperate for you.

Not in this moment only, but every moment.

And all of us, we struggle to grasp control, to be in charge, to have things our way.

And what we need is you.

And so we come to you this morning, a father who delights to give good gifts.

To his children.

To give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for it.

So we do ask that.

Father, send your spirit.

Send your spirit in ways we maybe haven't experienced him before.

That we would see our need for you.

And that we would delight, even.

In being dependent on such a good father.

Teach us.

Change us.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're in the middle of talking for a few weeks about what God tells us to be as a community.

As a church that he would use to see his kingdom advance in great ways.

We've said that we want to be here not merely to play church.

It's easy to do that.

But rather to be the kind of community together that by God's grace would storm the gates of hell.

That God would bring revival here and elsewhere through us.

And as we talk about what that looks like today, something you might expect to hear.

That we need to be dependent and prayerful.

We've been talking about that this morning.

It's the thing most people would associate with revival coming.

People would think about that first.

Easy to write it down and put that in your core values as a church.

But even as we did that, as leaders of this church, we said it's really important.

And that is really hard for us.

In many ways, something we seem allergic to.

Being dependent, prayerful.

And we'll talk more about that in a minute.

But first I want to share another story of God's powerful work with you.

I'm sharing these with you over these weeks because they involve normal people much like us.

In places very similar to the one where God has placed us.

Where God has worked in them and through them in ways that would make our mouths gape.

And our hearts leap with joy if we got to be a part of something like this.

Last week in the 1700s with the Great Awakening.

Today in the mid-1800s in New York City.

It was exactly 12 noon on September 23rd, 1857.

A tall, middle-aged, former businessman climbed creaking stairs to the third story of an old church building in the heart of lower New York City.

He entered an empty room, pulled out his pocket watch, and sat down to wait.

The placard outside read,

Prayer meeting from 12 to 1 o'clock.

Stop 5, 10, or 20 minutes, or the whole hour as your time admits.

It looked like no one had the time.

As the minutes ticked by, the solitary waiter wondered if it were all a mistake.

Jeremiah Lanphier was the last-ditch effort of the old Dutch North Church.

When many other churches had closed their doors and moved out of town,

they had decided, despite having very few people left,

to try hiring someone with no church experience or training,

to visit the neighbors and seek to revive the church.

And so, here he was.

The minute hand of his watch pointed to 1230 when at last he heard a step on the stairs.

One man came in, then another, and another, until there were six.

After a few minutes of prayer, the meeting was dismissed

with the decision that another meeting would be held the following Wednesday.

That small meeting was in no way extraordinary.

There was no great outpouring of the Spirit of God.

Lanphier had no way of knowing

that it was the beginning of a great national revival

which would sweep an estimated one million persons into the kingdom of God.

The meeting of six grew to 20 and then 40.

Within a month, it cleared 3,000.

Within six months, over 10,000 were praying daily at noon in New York City alone.

And the revival was spreading to Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis,

and many other cities all the way to the Pacific coast.

People gathering to plead for God's help.

Specific prayers for His deliverance.

General prayers for God to save dying people in a dying nation.

And many estimate around one million eternal souls

saved in that one year alone,

just a couple years before many of them would die in the Civil War

and face eternity.

All of this amazing work of God

called the layman's prayer revival.

In other words, mostly untrained Christians

gathering to cry out to God together.

In fact, one preacher said,

there is such a general confidence in the prevalence of prayer

that the people very extensively seem to prefer meeting for prayer

to meeting for preaching.

The general impression seemed to be,

we have had instruction until we are hardened.

It is time for us to pray.

Now, lest you get carried away,

we have also read of God using the preaching

of the cross of Christ from His Word

to bring revival.

But, prayer.

There is a reason you think of that

when you think of revival.

It is a repeated marker of revival.

When God works,

it is not always and usually

just among seminary trained preachers.

It is among untrained Christians

who cry out to Him.

Often, it begins with just a very few people

like this did.

Like others,

Zinzendorf's round-the-clock prayer

met three years round-the-clock

before seeing revival break out.

And then it ran for a hundred years

round-the-clock

until a great breakthrough

of missionary expansion of the Gospel

took place.

Over and over again,

God stirs His people's hearts

to pray

because they are desperately dependent

on Him to accomplish

the mission that Christ has sent them on.

And that is really the bottom line

this morning.

It is what I want us to see.

Here is a review of where we have been

the last couple of weeks.

First, we said that

the church must be focused on Jesus.

It is absolutely where it starts.

Last week,

a church centered on Jesus

must be on the mission of God together.

Moving outward toward others, right?

Today,

a church on God's mission

must be prayerfully dependent

on God's strength.

It is not profound, right?

But a spirit of utter dependence

reflected in a lifestyle of prayer.

prayer.

This is not something new.

It didn't start in the 1800s.

And in fact,

the early church

in the book of Acts

had prayer as a core commitment.

Did you know that?

Let's read Acts 2.

This famous description

of the early church

that begins it

at verse 42.

And they devoted themselves

to the apostles' teaching

and fellowship,

to the breaking of bread

and the prayers.

And awe came upon every soul.

And many wonders and signs

were being done

through the apostles.

And all who believed

were together

and had all things in common.

And they were selling

their possessions

and belongings

and distributing the proceeds

to all as any had need.

And day by day,

attending the temple together

and breaking bread

in their homes,

they received their food

with glad and generous hearts,

praising God

and having favor

with all the people.

And the Lord added

to their number

day by day

those who were being saved.

You hear what's happening

in these verses?

It's kingdom impact, right?

There's people being saved daily,

needs being met,

people being helped.

We would love to be on mission

like this community.

And because it is,

it's a community devoted,

among other things,

to prayer.

The words there,

the prayers,

likely indicate

even specific set gatherings

to pray together.

What I want us to do

for just a few minutes,

rather than unpacking

this particular passage

or talking about

how to pray,

which is another

helpful thing to do,

is simply give you

a snapshot of what

this looks like

in the early church.

The church that grows

from a few fledgling disciples

who really mess up

more than they do

anything right

into this mission force

that turns the world

upside down.

What does the beginning

of that church look like?

The book of Acts

tells that story.

And it is covered

with prayer

just a few places.

Places.

Chapter 1.

As soon as Jesus

leaves them,

His followers

gather to pray

and wait for the Holy Spirit.

Jesus has promised

to send them

so that they can be

His witnesses

on His mission.

And while they wait

for what He has in store

that none of them

really could even imagine,

what do they do?

They pray.

Verse 14.

Devoting themselves

to prayer.

As a matter of fact,

as they pray,

they realize

they need to replace Judas.

And so they pray

for God's direction

on who will replace Him.

Chapter 2 of Acts

includes the report

we just read

of their commitment

to prayer,

devotion to prayer.

In chapter 4,

they're being persecuted

and told to be quiet.

It appears the movement

could be squashed

by powerful authorities

before it even begins.

So they gather

to pray for boldness.

In the face of opposition,

let's pray for boldness

until God sends

His Spirit powerfully

to enable them

to continue

to preach God's Word.

Chapter 6,

they pray

when they are commissioning

the first deacons

to kingdom work

with the poor.

Chapter 8,

when the gospel spreads

to the Samaritans,

Peter and John

make a special trip

to hold a conference.

No.

To teach them theology.

No.

To pray for them

and the Holy Spirit

to lead them.

Chapter 9,

when their beloved Dorcas dies,

Peter prays

and she is restored to life.

Chapter 10 tells of this

glorious breakthrough

of the gospel

to the Gentiles

that will explode

the mission of the church

where Jesus has sent them.

Where?

To the uttermost parts

of the earth.

And there's been

great things happening

but they haven't gone there yet

and all of a sudden

it does.

What do you think is featured

when that happens?

The gospel explosion

that continues to this day,

when it starts,

what do you think

is talked about

in chapter 10?

Prayer.

God speaks to Cornelius

as he prays.

Gentile Cornelius

prays continually,

we're told.

Verse 2.

And his prayers ascend

to God.

Verse 4.

And then God speaks

to Peter

as he prays.

Verse 9.

And God tells him,

don't call unclean

what I have made clean.

You go and tell the good news

to Cornelius.

And the gospel explodes

beyond Jerusalem

and Judea

and Samaria

to the uttermost parts

of the world,

to the Gentiles,

the nations,

the mission of God

is happening

as people pray.

Chapter 12, though,

things take a turn.

Peter is imprisoned.

These followers of Jesus

are stirring things up

and the Romans

don't like it

and they're about ready

to be through with this.

Let's kill some of their leaders.

The church's existence

again seems threatened.

And so what do they do?

They gather,

verse 5,

for earnest prayer

for Peter.

It's almost like

they don't know

what else to do.

And I love this picture,

especially in chapter 12,

of them praying

because it's like me

when I pray.

Here they are gathered

around there.

They're praying.

They're pleading

for Peter's deliverance

from prison.

And Peter knocks on the door

and the servant goes

and gets the door

and comes back

and says,

it's Peter.

And they say,

shh, shh, shh.

We're praying for Peter.

He's in prison.

No, no, he's here.

God, no, no,

we're praying for Peter.

He's in prison.

He can't be here.

No, God has answered

our prayers.

It is Peter.

Chapter 13,

they pray when they

send out missionaries.

Chapter 14,

they pray as they

plant churches

and appoint elders

in town after town

and the church

of Jesus Christ

is now spreading

rapidly

and they're praying

picture after picture

on the early church

Facebook page.

They're kneeling

in prayer.

It's as though God

is telling us

something here,

isn't it?

Look at the power

of prayer

and how God works.

He handles these situations.

Southwood,

prayer is the work

of the church.

It is the devoted commitment

of those who need God

desperately.

Jesus, of all people,

Himself demonstrates

this pattern of praying,

doesn't He?

Pulling away

to be with His Father

when no one else

knows where He is.

When there are

important moments

coming up in His ministry,

we find Him alone

with His Father.

When you write the history

of the church

of Jesus Christ

and the work

of God's Spirit

to advance the mission

of God in the world,

it's covered

with prayer

on every page.

That's why Samuel Chadwick

said,

the devil laughs at our toil,

mocks at our wisdom,

but he trembles

when we pray.

He knows that the one

we pray to

is stronger

and crushes

the gates of hell

and the history

of the church

bears that out.

can ask us simply

to think this morning

about that.

Is that what the narrative

of our lives

and of our church

would read like

if someone were to write up

that story for us?

I didn't ask

if they would cite it

as being on our website.

I mean,

they're not going to look

at the screen

to see are we

a praying church.

I asked,

do you

and do we

pray?

Listen,

there is a lot

of prayer

in this church.

Many people

who are more faithful

in prayer

than their pastor is.

And I know that.

But I want to push us

this morning

to consider

why it's not

what it should be.

Why almost everyone

who looks at these

core commitments

and says,

yeah,

we should be about

these things

says,

dependent

and prayerful.

We got a long way

to go on that one.

Why is that?

Can we think about that

for just a minute?

I'd suggest

that a big part

of our struggle

is that we don't pray

because we don't

think or feel

like we need to.

That's in some ways

hard to argue with,

right?

I mean,

we do the things

that we feel like

we need to do.

All of us

runs our lives

that way.

The things

that are really

important are the

things that get

our attention.

You see,

dependence and prayer

are inextricably

linked to each other.

And as Derek said

earlier,

we're conditioned

all of our lives

to be not dependent

but independent.

We don't need much,

right?

It's not one

of our favorite

things.

We live under

the delusion

often that we

can take care

of ourselves,

provide our own

daily bread.

Why would we be

asking God

for that?

I got that

covered.

As I've examined

my own life,

practically speaking,

day in and day out,

I tend to trust

myself

more than I trust

God.

I don't want

it to be that way.

I wouldn't set out

to make it that way

but practically,

that's what I see

often in my life.

I've shared with you

before Paul Miller's

convicting observation.

If you are not

praying,

then you are

quietly confident

that time,

money,

and talent

are all you need

in life.

You'll always be

a little too tired,

a little too busy,

but if,

like Jesus,

you realize

you can't do life

on your own,

then no matter

how busy,

no matter how tired

you are,

you will find

the time to pray.

In fact,

time in prayer

makes you even

more dependent

on God

because you don't

have as much time

to get things done.

I hate that.

Nothing that removes

time to get things done

could possibly

be a good thing.

efficiency,

accomplishment,

achievement.

It's what drives me

and God says,

stop.

Rest.

Can I push just a little

further on this?

I know it's painful

enough to consider

not praying

because we don't feel

we need God,

but can I ask

why we don't feel that?

I hated realizing

this this week,

so I kind of apologize

in advance

for sharing it with you,

but I think often

we don't pray

because we're not

on a Christ-centered

mission

where we feel

our need for God.

We don't pray

because we're not

actually on

a Christ-centered

mission in our lives

or as a church

where we feel

our need

for God.

We don't believe

God will sponsor

our own self-serving

missions.

We don't talk to Him

about that,

but that's what

we're really up to.

I don't often feel

the need to pray

if my greatest goal

for the day

is checking off

my to-do list,

my priorities,

making a buck,

pursuing my comfort,

building my reputation.

I don't usually

pray about those things.

If you were here

last Sunday,

you've seen this wheel

with self

at the center of it.

This way our lives

often function

where that's what

it's really about

is me

and everything else

is here to serve

that end.

If that's what

I'm up to,

I don't need to pray

until I need

just a little extra help

in some of the hard spots

like the test

is really hard

or the presentation

is hard

or the relationship

is hard

and I'm frustrated

and it's not allowing

me to achieve

my mission

of a successful self

and feel the way

I want to about me

and so I better pray.

And so sometimes

prayer gets sprinkled in

and that's often

my experience.

Help me out

of this tight spot.

But if my mission

is truly

the glory of Jesus

and His mission

of restoration

in this world,

I promise you

I feel the need

to pray

real quickly.

When that's

what I want to see

my day

or my life

be about,

think about it

for a minute.

If my goal

is reflecting

the glory of God

by loving my neighbor

as myself

and I see my selfishness

leading me to hurt

even my wife,

the one person

I picked to love

out of all the neighbors

I'm supposed to love,

then help.

I need God

for this.

If I can't speak

of Jesus at work

without repercussions

and I'm surrounded

by people

who are desperate

for the hope

of the gospel,

I better pray.

If some of my neighbors

are impacted

by unjust systems

that might relocate

some of their

section 8 housing

without asking

for their input

in a way that would

negatively affect them

and the whole system

needs to be transformed

by the gospel,

I need God's help.

If I'm hearing

the call to shape

my life outwardly

towards others

but my grief

or my depression

or my anxiety

is just debilitating,

I need God.

If I'm working

and focused

on unity

in my city

but I'm encountering

infighting

within my own church

and competition

among other churches

and I can't fix it,

then I better pray.

If I'm longing

for my atheist neighbor

to see the glory

of Jesus

and His intellectual

sharpness

simply surpasses

mine,

I realize

I'm dependent

upon God

in prayer.

See, I know

we're praying

and I know

God's working

because those

are just conversations

I've had this week

with some of you.

That's what

drives us to prayer,

isn't it?

Don't you need God

for those

in a hundred

other situations

like them?

Maybe as you start

shaping your life

around God's mission

and His glory,

you'll find yourself

more dependent

and more prayerful.

Maybe as you

pray more,

you'll find yourself

strangely drawn

towards God's mission

and God's glory

and having a vision

for what that could

look like in your life.

God loves to do that

for His children.

Did you know that?

As you look to Him,

He loves working

that way

in our hearts.

Just think about

what a painful experience

it is for a parent

to watch a child

neglect their input,

go out on their own,

deny their need

for a parent

to their own harm.

It hurts, doesn't it?

It hurts when they're

two years old

and they insist

on letting go

of your hand

and run off

and scrape their knee

on a rock.

It hurts when they're

22 and you refuse

to heed wise counsel

and fall into

bigger trouble.

But even in the midst

of that painful reality,

when the child

then sees

his need for help,

does the parent

laugh at the crying

two-year-old?

Ha!

Served you right!

Letting go of my hand!

Hope it hurts!

You ignore the call

from the police station,

tearfully crying,

somebody help me!

No.

You pick your child up

off the ground

or from the police station.

You might think

God would ignore you

after all your

self-reliance

and refusal to come

and dependence upon Him

and prayer

and He never hears from you,

but He won't.

In fact,

Deuteronomy 8

tells us

God sometimes

makes His people hungry

so that He can feed them.

so that He can remind us

that what we really need

is Him.

So far from putting us off,

over and over again,

our Father invites us

to prayer.

This last point

is really short,

but it's really important.

I want you to know

what your Father says.

Listen to a few invitations

God gives

in His Word

to His struggling children.

He says,

Abide in Me.

Ask Me for what you need

and you will bear much fruit.

He says,

Come to Me

when you're weary

and burdened

and you will find rest.

He says,

Call upon Me

and I will always

be near.

He says,

Call upon Me

in the day of trouble

and I will deliver you

and you will glorify Me.

He says,

Ask,

Seek,

Knock,

and I will answer.

Jesus says,

in the Lord's Prayer

that we prayed together earlier,

You call My Father

Your Father.

And then watch

and see and learn

what a gracious

and generous

Father

He is.

That's the invitation

to us

and the promise

of finding our Father

all sufficient.

Over and over again

to rebellious,

self-reliant people,

God says,

Climb up here

in My arms.

Tell Me about it.

I want to talk with you.

What a glorious relationship

we have

because Jesus

has lived

and died

to make us

sons and daughters

of God.

We say our relationship

with God

is one where

we remain

desperately needy

and He remains

gloriously

sufficient.

We repent

and He forgives.

We depend

and He provides.

Prayer is weak people

prevailing upon

a strong Father.

That's what it is

for us.

Prevailing upon

Him to do

mighty things

in and through

and in spite

of us.

Are you willing

to be weak

this morning?

To find your

Father

strong?

He loves

to do great things

to show Himself

glorious

as we

see our need

for Him

and look to Him

and He's inviting

all of us back

to Him

into His strong

arms

today.

Here's the picture

I want to leave us

with.

One of my favorite

things about being

a dad was when

my little baby

would curl up

on my chest

and sleep.

I could lie like

that for hours.

I just loved it

except now

my girls are all

a little bit

older than that.

Mostly past

that stage.

They think

they're big girls

who can

usually handle

life

except when

they get

sick enough.

Seen that before?

When they're

sad enough

needy enough

to ask

to be held

and curl up

in my arms.

A little bit bigger

but they just

want to be held

right there.

Listen

I am far

from a perfectly

loving Father.

I've never

said no to that.

Not once.

Yeah.

Yeah come here.

Come here.

Let me hold you.

Let me remind you

how much I love you.

Experience

my love

and comfort

again.

I never say

you're not my child

because you haven't

been in my arms

recently often enough.

No.

Neither does

our Heavenly Father.

We're His children

not because

we've been there

praying recently

enough

but because

in love

He sent His Son

for us.

So when I say

come here

and rest

and let me

care for you

and experience

my love again

I'm not happy

they're sick

for sure

but

I am happy

they're in my arms.

Our Heavenly Father

doesn't enjoy

our pain

our emptiness

our desperation

but He does enjoy

us leaning on Him.

I want us to do that

together

this morning.

We pray a lot

when we come to church.

One of the things

we don't do

particularly often

together

is kneel

in prayer.

it reminds us

tangibly

and physically

in some ways

of that

posture of

dependence

on leaning

on God

together.

Some of you

may not be able

to do that.

I understand

that's just fine.

You can bow

right where you are.

Some of you

may be able to

but you're going to

need to move

to the aisles

where there's carpet

instead of wood

and I get that too.

Feel free to do that.

But I want us

who are able

to kneel together

this morning

we're going to pray

a prayer on the screen

together

and then spend

some time

privately

praying and meditating

upon God's Word

before I close us

in prayer.

Would you kneel

with me as we pray?

Join me in prayer.

O God of grace,

the world is before us

this day

and we are weak

and fearful

but we look to you

for strength.

If we venture forth

alone

we stumble

and fall

but on the beloved's arms

we are firm

as the eternal hills.

we believe you

accept your word

submit to your will

rely on your promises

trust your providence.

We have cast our anchor

in the port of peace

knowing that present

and future

are in nail pierced hands.

We yield to your sovereignty

all that we are

and have

do with us

as you will.

For more information

visit us online

at southwood.org

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