13 minute read
My pulpit message notes: Communal prayer
from TT 154
by TIMES TODAY
Communal Prayer
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When one reads this tale, you can’t help but ask why? Why was Peter arrested? Why was James killed? Why were the Jews happy that James was killed?
-To understand this you need to go back to the beginning when something strange happened in this great city called Jerusalem. This community of people were following this Man who at the time they thought He was just a man, but He turned out to be more than that. He turned out to be Elohim. He turned out to be Emmanuel (God with us).
-So He dies a sure death. The death on the cross. They were certain that He died. They were grieving that He died. And He was buried in a tomb, but on the third day He rose again and they all got to see Him. Five hundred of them got to see Him, walk with Him, talk with Him, eat with Him, put their fingers in His wounds. They verified that this Man was dead and is now alive, but Jesus wasn’t done yet.
- It wasn’t just the resurrection that happened, but He told them, ‘Go wait for Me in Jerusalem and I will send you the Holy Spirit, for John baptised with water, but I will baptise with the Holy Spirit’.
- Jerusalem did not know what was coming and a wind came and blew into the room. On their heads, eachone, were tongues of fire and the revival began like nothing they had ever seen before.
- Three thousand men were speaking in different dialects and everyone in that celebratory crowd that was in Jerusalem heard them in their own language and Peter was the chief speaker in this first revival meeting.
- And he spoke to them and what the inhabitants of Jerusalem said at that time, ‘it cuts through the heart’. And that day three thousand were joined to them as believers. Jerusalem was never going to be the same again. The Jewish leaders had put to death Jesus, but they couldn’t squeal it.
- Remember back in the day when Pharaoh tried to kill the sons of the Jews? They grew even more. Even Herod tried to squash this, but they grew even more.
- So this is where the story began. This group of people who had seen amazing things and were moved by the Holy Spirit. - What can we learn from this community?
The community of the believers.
The context of the believers’ prayer.
The conviction of the believers as they prayed.
1. The community of the believers.
- In the story of humanity’s redemption God has always used people. In the beginning He started with a family, but that old Lucifer, dragon who deceives people kind of usurped what God intended to do. The humans who were supposed to be harness the potential of the earth were now languishing in sin. But God persisted and found this other family, Abraham’s family and through them He grew. He made a promise to Abraham that through him all nations are going to be blessed and they grew.
- They went to Egypt because of a famine and they grew. And God used these people and got them out and was trying to communicate to Egypt through this people that ‘I am YAHWEH’ fear Me. Obey Me. Turn back to Me.'
- Obviously this was never going to be the case when these people were redeemed, crossing over to the promised land. Instead of being a community and changing their people, the people around them changed them. That great deceiver was still working, but Christ still persisted, still waited for His time to be born.
- Through these people He was birthed in Bethlehem and another community when He grew up came to be. These twelve disciples who were walking with Him.
- Communities matter to God.
- Today we have individualised our faith that our Jesus is just mine, but He doesn’t care about the people around me. My Jesus is just mine. When I come to worship, I want to hear great music, or when that pastor is preacher, it is for me. That Word is for me, but never do we look beside us and see the community that God has put you in.
- In Revelation we see that God was not speaking to individuals, but to churches there at that time. He wasn’t speaking to a pastor, or a prophet. When He comes and speaks, He will speak to Nairobi Baptist Church. When He calls us out of our sin, He sill talk to NBC.Those who gather as a community matter to God. That is the context in which He is speaking to all of us, individually and as a community.
- The Law brought the Israelites together, but now the Law written in our hearts makes us come together.
2. The context of the believers’ prayer.
- From the passage we do not know the content that the disciples were praying about. All that brother Luke writes is that there was a crisis that had come to the church. Herod wanted to please the Jews so he kills James and arrests Peter. We know that upon the arrest of Peter, the church prayed earnestly.
- We don’t know if they were praying for his release, or courage as he faces death. All that we know is that they prayed together for Peter continually, earnestly. They gathered in Mary’s home. They prayed consistently from the moment he was arrested to the moment that Peter came and knocked, they were still praying.
- They prayed openly welcoming all despite their socio-economic class. Rhoda the servant girl is the one who comes and opens the door and the Bible records that she was so excited that she recognised Peter and went back to tell the believers. I asked my husband who is a nerd for history, would a servant be able to talk to her boss the way Rhoda did and the answer was a sure no.
- I imagine the church today that if the Holy Spirit we were to embrace, would destroy any socio-economic class, any tribe that we ever thought would be and we would pray in our homes, we would welcome all despite their race, tribe, bias or prejudice, all those don’t matter because they dedicated themselves to prayer, fellowship, breaking of bread and to the Word.
- What would our churches look like if we reflected this kind of church? I believe the we as believers would be gathered constantly in prayer places.
- For all of us who have been blessed with homes you would open it up. I imagine Mary had so many resources to give, maybe not, we don’t know. But we are told that many gathered at their home.
- When Peter finished telling the tale, he says go tell James and the others. The key apostles were not there. You don’t need the pastor to come to your home so that you can have a prayer time. You need to just start praying.
- You have been called to fellowship, to prayer, to breaking of bread and reading of the Word. You are released to open your homes, to give of your resources so that we pray. We would only not seek prayer services to pray. We would not just fast when the church says, let’s fast. It’s a challenge to you and I. They just prayed.
- We would have even those who work for us welcomed. Have you shared the gospel with your domestic staff? I pray for the day when we would have prayer meetings in our homes and everyone is welcome. That’s the kind of church that these believers had.
3. The conviction of the believers as they prayed.
- When I read this story I ask, what was so different about these believers? Why did it seem that the church in general doesn’t seem to have this passionate power? - These believers were not only seeing signs and wonders amongst them, but the whole social strata was dismantled.
The boundaries set by society were demolished. There was no superstar, bishop, doctor, reverend. There was nothing like that. No one would go to God and then come back and tell them. - Why then are we like this? What would make people open their homes and give their resources to pray for a man they didn’t even know before this? And a few years back none of them knew this, but Luke records, that they were convinced that Jesus is alive. Anyone who can die on the cross and come alive, I am going to pray to. They were convinced, convicted. They knew that truly, Emmanuel is here.
- Are you convinced? If you were, all the things we pray about as a church would shift because we just want this kingdom.
After John and Peter in their conviction about Jesus’ power of raising the dead, if Jesus can raise the dead, even this person seated here begging, stand up, this is what they prayed after they had been warned not to teach about Jesus, Acts 4:23-31
- There is a risk of persecution and instead of praying for protection, they are saying, ‘Give us boldness to speak.’
- After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke God’s Word boldly.
- The reason I emphasise this prayer is that this people were being moved by the Holy Spirit, directed and prayed was all about the good news of Jesus. They were trying to support this missionary, Peter, please keep going, keep preaching the gospel.
- If this was our kind of church we would be bringing missionaries and always praying for them, calling them up and asking what do we need to do?
- If this was they church God wants us to pray, they call of going out and making disciples would burden us so much. It would be what grieves us. When persecuted Christians up in Iran, that is what we would be praying about, gathered in our homes.
- If we were convinced there would be nothing that would stop us from gathering together to pray and perhaps we need a renewal of our faith in Whom we are praying to. He is the resurrected Lamb of God and He gives us power.
- My challenge to you is that you would not be caught up with things of the earth that glimmer and glitter and call us constantly. That we would be moved and convinced that Jesus is alive. That is what we want to shout about.
What is the content of your prayer?
- There are those of us who have tried to pray about things in our lives and it is not working. I am one of them. I have prayed for years for my family, and it has not worked. But perhaps the trick is not to do it alone, and the conclusion is that when the church comes together they are a force to reckon with.
- When Peter was in chains, he had two soldiers each on either side, two sentries outside. He had four squads of soldiers to protect him. And the Lord put in my heart that Herod was not working for Him. He was working for the enemy. But many of our relatives are in chains like this. Many of those that we are praying for have been surrounded by the enemy. As Peter was in chains, could he have known that there was a church praying for him? Did they even realise that a prison break was going to happen?
- Peter’s chains fell off. I wonder today, are there people you have been believing to come to the Lord and you have been doing it alone. Don’t you know that when we come together we are a force to reckon with? Don’t you know that your prayer partner, you needed them and you didn’t know? That when we come together in oneness and call to the Lord someone right now is in prison, in chains, surrounded and those chains are going to fall.
- We need to come together and pray for our country, for your neighbourhood. I know there are believers in your apartment, or estate. Go and knock and tell them to be your prayer partner. We are supposed to take back this city for Jesus.
- These are the words that really encouraged me, Acts 12:11
- A rescue plan for the lost world will be found in our prayer. A rescue plan for your family will be found in our prayer. So let’s gather together and see one another finally differently, that you my bother/sister are the people I’m supposed to pray with. And for those who are in chains, one day they will come to themselves and they will say, ‘surely, I have no shadow of doubt that the Lord came to rescue me.’
- You are God’s rescue plan church. So we need to pray.
