Acts 4:23-32
December 30, 2001
Powerful Prayer
People may become upset with Christians for a variety of reasons, but rarely have I read of someone becoming furious by Christians praying. The anger came not because it was a pubic display of prayer, nor was their prayer in their face. Rather, the anger arose solely on the basis of prayer.
You may have heard the story about the small town in Kentucky who for years was a dry town, not a drop of liquor could be found in the city limits...until one day a local businessman man decided to build a distillery and a tavern. He admitted he could build it outside the city limits just as easily, he did so in the town just to irritate the Christians who objected to the sale of alcohol in the town. As the local atheist, he sought every opportunity to express his displeasure at the faith of the faithful. The city ordinance was overturned, the man got his license and soon built his distillery and tavern. Several of the churches in town decided it was time to call a special prayer meeting and spent the night praying that God would close down the distillery. That night a violent storm blew through the area and lightning struck the distillery and it burnt to the ground.
Well, the churches were elated; the atheist wasn’t, especially after he heard the news of the prayer meeting. So the atheist tavern owner took the two churches to court to sue them for damages, claiming that the prayers of the congregation were responsible. The churches likewise hired a lawyer to argue it wasn’t their fault.
The presiding judge said and I quote “This is the most perplexing case I have ever sat on because on one hand I have an atheist who claims to believe in the power of prayer and on the other hand I have two churches that deny it.” (adapted from Johnston, Why Christians Sin, Discovery House, 1992, 129)
What do we really believe when we pray? Do we think that our prayers are just recitations of hopes devoid of any organic connection to the power of God? Or do we believe that prayer is the first and most vital response to whatever circumstance we face in which we recognize our utter dependence on God? In Acts 4 we have an instructive example in the early church to see how they responded when faced with threats of persecution.
Up to this point the church has grown with little oppression from the Jewish leaders. But with the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate outside the Temple and Peter’s subsequent sermon pointing to Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah who was rejected by both Jews and Gentiles, the peace was soon to come to an end. Peter and John were arrested and taken to the Sanhedrin. The court demanded to know on what basis, by what power and authority dared they speak of Jesus.
Peter's response only served to throw gasoline upon the fire. He points to the resurrection, that undeniable event of just weeks before as the basis on which the miracle was accomplished and the sermon was preached. Peter ably argues that Jesus is the Messiah, whom that very court rejected, is the only means by which they or anyone else, has hope for salvation.
The Sanhedrin was dumbfounded, unable to refute their use of Scripture and logic. Unable to show the Apostles’ their error, they think they can succeed by use of pure force. They threaten Peter and John, ordering them to keep this belief in Jesus as the Messiah to themselves. Peter’s response is simple and clear: “No! A court such as this can judge that they must obey God and speak about what they have seen and heard.”
With that, Peter and John are dismissed from the court and they immediately join their friends to let them know what has happened. Following their report, the church responds in prayer. That prayer points us to two very important and basic truths which we must never forget. First, we must know to whom we go to in prayer. Second, we must know what we should ask for in prayer. READ Acts 4:23-32.
In the Temple and before the Sanhedrin, the church was bold in witness. Now facing persecution they become bold in prayer. The boldness in worship and witness is important for us today.
We must know to whom to go in prayer
Where do we go when life is not going well? When people bug us, when irritations mount?
We, like the Apostles may well go to our friends to discuss the situation, but often it goes no further than a gripe session in which our friends merely console and comfort. We seek the cathartic release of veching, complaining and leave the situation at that.
Perhaps if we are sufficiently motivated we may go further. If, like the Apostles, there was an unjust civil action taken against us, if persecution would raise its ugly head here in Milwaukee, we would call Action 6 for good P.R., hold a press conference, write a letter to the editor, form a political action committee, hire a lawyer, or protest outside the Sandhedrin’s chambers. But instead of forming a committee, the church prayed.
Centuries later, the Christian John Bunyon, who well understood persecution, expressed a thought that summarizes the situation in Acts 4 very well. He said," You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed."
After reporting the situation, the church responds with corporate worship. They unite in prayer.
Verse 24 shows their solidarity in knowing how to respond when trouble comes. The voices are one as they prayer, be it an echoing back of a leader’s words in a liturgical response or a whole hearted agreement with what was said. We know that while men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons -- they are helpless against our prayers.
They knew exactly where to go with their problems. The way they address God demonstrates the depth of their understanding about the situation at hand. They call Him Sovereign Lord.
The term used in Greek here is despotes, from where we get the term despot. The term is found only five times in the New Testament, but only here of God. It refers to a master, owner, often the head of a household. When used of a king or of God, it describes one who has absolute and ultimate power over his realm. God is understood as the overarching authority.
Having stood before the Supreme Court of Israel, before those who were both civil and religious authorities, before those who weeks before manipulated the execution of Jesus, they expressed supreme confidence that God was nevertheless in control.
When Martin Luther stood before a Papal Delegations, they asked him: “Where will you be when all of your supporters desert you?”
To which he replied, “Where I’ve always been, in the hands of the sovereign God.”
It is that realization each of us must have when we know that all around us seems so uncertain. The sovereignty of God then must cease to be a theological abstraction or a point of debate and become the bedrock on which we stand.
These may be hard words to mouth when trouble comes our way. Last week Tim Russert spoke with some religious and political leaders about the events of this past Fall. He inquired how are we to view God in the face of the tragedy of 9/11. The Christian leader spoke in a comforting tones empty words when he pontificated on God’s gentlemanly refusal to manipulate His world. His portrayal of God was one in which human freedom keeps in check God’s power, so that God is impotent against evil.
That is a far cry from the prayer of the church in Acts 4 and should never be entertained on our lips. Rather than us telling God what God must do, we have the confidence that God has not lost his power. They went to God as their Sovereign Lord because they knew that what we must know.
We go to God who is in control of creation v24
They begin in the beginning. Before even considering the threats of a single court in a solitary city, they put everything in perspective. This Sovereign Lord is the one who made the heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them.
Centuries later the Apostles’ Creed begins with these words for much the same reason. Before we even consider our present circumstances, we best not forget who made us, who owns us and all creation. To have a vision for who God is and what he has done, don’t forget our very lives belong to him. God’s sovereignty begins in creation itself. The comfort here is that he who holds the whole world in his hand, holds your problems as well.
We need to have a view of God that is large before we see how small our problems really are. We must understand that this God is the God of creation, who created all, maintains all, rules all, and owns all. Remember, the Creator is more powerful than those who He has created.
We go to God who is in control of revelation v25-26
But they don’t just look at God who is bigger than their problems, viewing their circumstances not just from the perspective of creation. Next they turn from the God who made to the God who spoke. They go to the Word of God.
But they do more than just find a comforting passage. They read Bible Christocentrically. This constant pattern should be ingrained on your brains. Every time the early church speaks, every problem they encounter, the look to see Christ etched in the pages of God’s Word.
They quote from Psalm 2 about the rage of the Gentiles.
In the “rage” of the unbelievers who refuse to submit to God’s control makes use of the same word which describes a spirited horse. But just as the horse may trample and toss their heads; in the end they will have to accept the discipline of the reins. The enemies of God may have great plans but they are “in vain”, empty. Even what seemed as the greatest defeat Christ death on the Cross, God foresaw and turned in the greatest of all victories, salvation.
The context of the Psalm continues this theme of the uselessness of creation fighting against the Creator. Look back in Psalm 2 to see the context of the church’s use of this passage.
Psalm 2:3 continues: “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
This is what the Sanhedrin said when they refused bow to Christ or repent when confronted by the Apostles. To Pilate they shouted: “We have no king but Caesar!” So now they refuse to submit to God’s reign. This is the very essence of sin. Sin is telling God, “I will not have you to be my Lord or my God. You can be God for somebody else, but not for me. I want to be my own god and lord.” In this OT psalm we have a classic expression of this essential sin. (Boice, Acts, 90)
What happens next in Ps 2 when God is faced with such arrogance?
God laughs at the very idea of humanity’s rebellion. The laugh, however, is not the pleasant chuckle of the father at the foibles of the toddler. Wrath is the only appropriate response to such rebellion.
We go to God who is in control of history v27-28
The prayer moves from God who made, to the God who spoke and now it is God who has decided... They apply the text to themselves, they see its fulfillment in Christ and as the body of Christ, they are likewise suffering under the same insane rebellion against God’s control.
The raging of the nations represented the Gentile rulers and their cohorts, the soldiers who executed Jesus. The people of Israel were those who plotted in vain. Herod represented the kings of the earth; Pilate the rulers; and Christ the anointed of God.
Yet no matter how much they scheme and plot, God laughs. Their sinful actions are merely what God had planned would happen. The greatest evil of all time, the unjust murder of God’s innocent Son, the execution of the anointed One who now sits on the throne, was not outside the plan of God.
Despite all the raging of humanity, God’s purposes prevail. They did so in Christ. They did so with the apostles before the Sanhedrin. Should they be concerned that mere men have threatened them and are seeking to stamp out God’s kingdom? Of course not! God’s plan can not be frustrated by man’s sin. Instead, God uses humanity’s sin to accomplish their salvation.
The early church believed in predestination, meaning what happens in the universe is what the God of creation, revelation and history ordains to happen. Notice how they handle the thorny problem of human responsibility and divine sovereignty? They both stand. Humanity is culpable and God is in control. God is not the author of sin and the will of the creature is not violated. There is no chance, in other words. God ordains everything that comes to pass.
When we grasp who our God is, then what we ask for begins to change. What we can expect our God to do is altered. But there is a warning here. Notice how perceive this Sovereign Lord?
Remember their filter is not just God as Creator, but they go to God as Redeemer as well. They see God not only as all powerful, but as one who send his Son as a servant (v27). The later half of that Psalm which they did not quote focuses on his triumph. This the church believed and proclaimed. But in this passage their focus is on Jesus as the holy servant, the one who suffers. Now as they begin to formulate what they ask for, as they see themselves attached to this suffering savior, notice what they ask for. They do not expect the rage to go away. It did not for Jesus, why for them?
We must know what to ask in prayer
We should ask for boldness to speak
What they prayed for is very different what I would ever consider to ask.
I would have prayed: “Lord, make them stop it” Or more specifically and poetically: “May their vocal cords dry up and their tongues fall out”
But that wasn’t the approach that the early church took. They didn’t ask the mountain be removed instead they asked for the courage to climb it. Rather than asking that their enemies be made to shut up, they ask to be able to speak more boldly.
The boldness they request is a courage to speak, a confidence to believe that what they say will make a difference. They want to continue what they have already been doing – they want to speak.
Yet it is not just that they are able to articulate thoughts and present them in a cogent manner. They ask to speak “your word.” Once again they go back to the point that when they speak they are not just sharing an opinion, they want God to give them the confidence that what they say will be rooted in what God has already said.
They desire to do this with confidence, boldness because the focus of their message is not themselves, but the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It is He who has defeated sin and death. What is the worst that may happen to them? Christ has already conquered death, so in the face of persecution, knowing that their Savior died for them, there is no reason to fear.
They trust in God’s Word that the name of Jesus, the good news of his atoning death is such that sins are forgiven, death is destroyed, the lame leap and God declares sinners just. What they desire is what God does throughout Acts. This prayer is constantly answered by God right down to the very end of this book. In Acts 28:31 we read that Paul, even while in prison was proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
We should ask for power to serve
But that is not all. They desire that God would not only give them boldness to speak, but also that God would perform signs and wonders. But those signs and wonders are not just acts of power and might. They are not praying that lightning from heaven come down and burn up their enemies.
Rather, they want God to stretch out his hand to heal. They want all this done through the name of the Father’s holy servant Jesus. The focus here is on acts of compassion, mercy. The prayer begins with God as supreme power and now concludes with humble service.
There are those in the church today who love to speak of the need for signs and wonders to confound the lost world. There have been those who speak of “power evangelism” as though if we can just muster up enough flash and show people will be drawn more effectively to God. Interestingly enough, the Sanhedrin saw a lame man healed and they did not repent. Rather than miracles as a sign of power, the signs and wonders they desire are those that serve and done by the servant Jesus.
And God answers their prayer as word and work go together:
The house shakes. Just as at Pentecost when the Spirit filled each of them to proclaim the word boldly, so here God’s presence is felt. The description is similar to the earthquake at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19 before the Law was given, and in Isaiah 6 when the angels proclaim God’s holiness and the thresholds of the Temple shake. This is a reminder of what was promised in Haggai 2. As exiles return from captivity to Jerusalem and the temple is rebuilt, God promises to send his Spirit to them and to shake the earth so that in those days, at this time, God’s glory will fill God’s Temple with an even greater glory than before.
