If you are new to us, we’ve been examining the book of Acts, line by line, in a sermon series called “You will be My witnesses”. Currently we’ve been focused on a story called “The Lame Beggar Healed” which spans from chapter 3:1-4:31. The story begins with the apostles Peter and John on their way to the temple to pray. They came across a lame beggar who was seeking alms by one of the entrances. They healed the man and a large crowd gathered and they lead them into Solomon’s Portico to teach them about the meaning of the miracle.

Peter declared that Jesus Christ, the One they crucified and God resurrected, was the one that healed the man through faith and that the people needed to repent of their rejection and murder of Jesus. 2000 people responded in repentance and faith and were added to the church. The Sadducees, who were members of the Sanhedrin which was the highest religious court in Israel, and who also rejected miracles and resurrection, overheard Peter and John and called for the chief of police and then went and arrested them, putting them in jail for the night.

The next morning the 71 members of the Sanhedrin gathered and then placed Peter, John, and the formerly lame beggar in the middle of the court and began to question them about their teaching and authority. Peter who was filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly explained to them that Jesus was the reason for the miracle and ministry and that they needed to repent and believe in Him. The Sanhedrin was astonished at how two common, uneducated Galileans, boldly declared their faith and testified that Jesus was and is the only Savior to the world. They then warned the apostles repeatedly not to teach or speak the name of Jesus again and then they released them.

This morning we will be looking at what happened right after their release. Take your Bibles and turn to Acts 4:23-31.

Read Acts 4:23-31

Pray

Examine

Verse

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

Commentary

The first thing we see after their release is that they went to their friends. Who were their friends? This is probably a reference to the other apostles and to the rest of the group that used to gather in the upper-room before Pentecost. “Friends” may have also included some of the people that were added to the church on the day of Pentecost. It is doubtful that “friends” is a reference to the whole church, all 5000, because they did not yet have a large enough place for all of them to meet. “Friends” is a specific reference to those that are in Christ. Jesus called His disciples “Friends” in Luke 12:4.

So Peter, John, and maybe even the healed man, went to their friends or brothers and sisters in Christ. Where did they go to find their friends? I suspect that they went to the upper-room. The upper-room was where they had gathered to pray before Pentecost and there is no reason to believe that it was no longer being used. The upper-room probably remained the primary staging and prayer place for the original core group until they transitioned to Solomon’s Portico with the larger body of believers. In a really cool way we are doing the same thing here at RHC. As a core group we gather here in this place until we can multiply and then branch out and plant churches all throughout our town and valley. Our goal is to do what the early church did. We want to spread and expand.

What did they do when they found their friends? The text says that they “reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.” Now it is unlikely that the apostle’s friends were unaware of what had happened. They were probably present in Solomon’s Portico when they were arrested or they had at least caught word of it. I suspect that when Peter, John, and the healed man were in the Hall of Hewn Stone before the Sanhedrin, the core group was gathered together to pray. In Acts 12:5 we read,

“So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”

The early church exercised great discipline in prayer. The early church devoted itself to prayer. They prayed for many things like the continued presence of Christ, for the leaders of the church, for gospel boldness, for God’s will to be accomplished, and for Divine intervention. The question for us becomes, are we emulating the early church? Have we devoted ourselves to prayer?

Are we seeking the Father each day for the continued presence of Christ; for the leaders of this church; for gospel boldness; for God’s will to be done in our lives and in our church; and for Divine intervention in our community? Prayer is the starting-point my friends. Preaching, singing, fellowship, potlucks, evangelism, and everything else all come after prayer. Prayer is the first fruit; prayer is the starting point; prayer is to precede all other things. If we put prayer down on the list, if we neglect it, we won’t get very far as a church. Ponder your own life and family for a moment. Where is prayer? Is it down on the list? Maybe that’s the reason for your troubles, weakness, sickness, disunity, strife, lack of joy, or whatever. We’re not absolutely certain as to what the church was doing during Peter and John’s trial but since they were devoted to prayer, it seems befitting that they would’ve been praying. So, Peter and John told their friends what the Sanhedrin said. “Friends, the religious leaders warned us not to teach or speak in the name of Jesus again.” Look at how they responded in verses 24-25:

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, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

Commentary

The church recognized the threat and immediately responded by posting on Facebook how foolish and stupid the Sanhedrin was. The church immediately responded by blogging about the Sanhedrin’s theological errors. The church immediately responded by contacting their local senator to share their concerns. The church immediately responded by storming the Sanhedrin with protest signs. The church didn’t do any of those things did they? No. The church responded to the threats by praying. Why, because prayer is the starting point.

Let’s examine their prayer together.

The first thing we notice in verse 24 is the unity of their prayer. It says, “they lifted their voices together to God.”

These people prayed the same thing together which means that someone had to instruct them what to pray for. It is very likely that after Peter and John told the group about the Sanhedrin’s threats, one of them, or both of them, instructed the group to pray specifically. Have you ever been in a prayer circle that was supposed to pray for something or someone in particular and then one guy or gal goes way off on a tangent? Isn’t that the most awkward thing? You’re thinking, “Why is he praying for the Iraq war right now? Why is he praying for cooler temperatures in Grass Valley? Why is she praying for her family problems right now?

There is always one person in the prayer circle that can’t follow the directions. Well that’s not the case here in our text. These people were instructed and then began to pray with one voice for the same thing. They were unified. How did they begin their prayer? As one voice they said, “Sovereign Lord”. The word Lord here is a very rare one in the NT. It is not the one usually translated as Lord. It is a word that we might translate as despot. A despot is one who exercises absolute power and authority. Lord here is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word for Lord in Exodus 20:11 which says,

Exodus 20:11

For in six days the Lord (despot) made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord (despot) blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

This group began their prayer by assigning the highest level of leadership in the known universe to God as the Sovereign Lord. They continued to affirm God’s sovereignty and authority by saying, “who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.” This could be a direct quote from Exodus 20:11. The early church understood that God is the Sovereign Lord who created everything. This seems like a no brainer but it really isn’t. There are many “Christian’s” today who believe in evolution. They think that God started creation and that nature took over and finished it. According to Genesis 1 and 2, that is a false belief system of belief. The Bible is clear that God created everything in 6 “literal” days. So the early Christians understood this and then responded to God properly by acknowledging His Sovereign Lordship and Creatorship. Look at what they prayed next in verse 25:

“who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit…”

Here they declared that God is the reveler of prophetic truth. That the Lord said something special through His servant King David long ago through the Holy Spirit concerning the events of the day. Look at the rest of 25-26:

Verse

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

Commentary

This is a direct quote from the Psalm that John read earlier, Psalm 2. In it, King David prophesied about how people and kings would gather against the Messiah in the future. And this is what happened during Jesus’ ministry. The religious leaders came against Him.

They opposed Him and plotted for how to kill Him. And then they arrested Him and Herod Antipas, the king of Israel opposed Him, and Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor opposed Him, and the religious leaders stirred up multitudes of Jews who opposed Him, and all of it culminated with a band of Roman gentiles crucifying Jesus on a wooden cross. That is what King David prophesied about. In verse 27 the prayer group applied David’s prophesy directly to Jesus. Look at what they said:

Verse

27 for truly in this city there 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,

Commentary

Paraphrased verses 24-27 would sound like this:

“God, you are our Sovereign Ruler and Creator who foretold through our forefather King David by the Holy Spirit that the world would turn against your Servant Jesus Christ. And it happened here, in Jerusalem, by the hands of Herod, Pilate, the gentiles, and the peoples of Israel.”

In verse 28 they added an incredible statement about God’s Sovereign choice and preplanning.

Look at it with me:

Verse

28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

Commentary

Paraphrased:

“All that took place took place according to Your sovereign will and plan. It is by your own hand that these things came to pass.”

Immediately I’m reminded of Isaiah 53:3-10.

Isaiah 53:3-10

“He was despised and rejectedby men; a man of sorrows,and acquainted withgrief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our grief’s and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him…”

As they prayed they said that God had “proorizō” or “predestined” for these things to happen.

“Proorizō” means to come to a decision beforehand—to decide beforehand, to determine ahead of time, to decide upon ahead of time. This word is also used in Ephesians 1:5 where God he had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would bring His people to himself as his sons and daughters.

Right now I can hear Calvinism alarms going off in some of your heads. I’d like to remind you that you are hearing the Word of God in the original language. I’d like to remind you that these words and doctrines were put on paper thousands of years before John Calvin ever breathed his first breath which means that he is not the originator of them. These things are mysterious, they challenge our minds, they act as a goad against our rationale and logic, and they seem to contradict much of what is being taught about salvation in churches today. But none of that actually changes the truth of what God’s Word plainly says. Truth is truth and it stands forever (Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:25). Error is error and it will come to an end (Revelation 20:10). And we as human beings are prone to error, not to truth.

My hope and prayer is that we as a church body would be diligent in seeking to understand Scripture. And that we would always remain willing to compare our beliefs, traditions, and theologies with the truth of Scripture and that we would be humble enough to allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten and transform us. May we be like the early church who accepted the truth with childlike faith. And this applies to the whole of our being and to every view point and doctrine, not just to one or two.

So God predestined for those things to happen to Jesus and for us to be gathered to Him. I’m so glad that He did that, aren’t you? As we move to verse 29 we will see their request. Everything up to this point has been glorifying and exalting. All prayers should begin this way. We should begin with the glory and majesty of who God is. And when we are pressed, persecuted, or discouraged we should recite God’s promises back to Him. “God you said this about those who love you or this about your servants or this about the future.” Our reciting God’s promises back to him may not physically change the outcome of our situation but it could bring us strength, peace, and comfort to make it through.

There is that aspect to the prayer of our text. The church was made aware of the Sanhedrin’s threats and then they prayerfully declared who God is, the Sovereign Ruler, and what He’s done as the Creator, and then they recited back to Him how He predestined for all of it to happen. This was meant to bring them comfort. We do the same thing when something happens or when life spins out of control.

We say God, “Life is out of control but You are the Sovereign Ruler over all things and You have ordained all things by Your mighty hand so help us to trust you and help us to remain steadfast in the faith”, or we might even cry out, “please rescue us from this situation.” Let’s look at verse 29-30 to see their request:

Verse

29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Commentary

This is one of the most selfless prayers I’ve seen in all of Scripture. Knowing that the Sanhedrin was going to come against them with Hell and Hades, they prayed not for rescue, not for deliverance, not for safety, but for boldness to continue to speak the name of Jesus. Peter and John’s testimony didn’t discouraged or frightened this group, it encouraged and emboldened them!

Before going out into the streets, to the market places, to the synagogues or to wherever, these folks prayed to the Lord for courage to do as Peter and John had done. Verse 30 says that they prayed for boldness to proclaim the name of Jesus while God healed people, and performed signs and wonders. Paraphrased: “God give us boldness to tie all that you do to Jesus and to call people to repentance and faith just as Peter and John had done.”

Right after they prayed something incredible happened. Look at verse 31:

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.

Commentary

The upper room was shaken! And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit!

And when they went out they spoke the word of God, the gospel, with boldness. God answered their prayer. How can we, as the people of God, be shook like this? How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit and boldness? We’ve got to begin by praying according to God’s will. It was God’s will that the gospel go forth. The early Christian’s knew this. And so they prayed for boldness to push the gospel forward. That is exactly what God desired and that is exactly why He granted them their request. The shaking of the upper room was His confirmation.

Our problem today is that we’re too caught up with our own needs, desires, and problems. We’ve become completely captivated and distracted by them. This is why our prayers are like ricocheting bullets that bounce all over the ceiling. We’re asking for the wrong things. Do you not know that your life, marriage, family, friendships, and career all exist for the glory of God and for the advancement of the gospel and His church? That is God’s will according to the Scriptures. Do you want to be shaken, do you want to be filled? Pray according to God’s will. Seek after His desires. Petition Him for power to accomplish His goals and you will be filled with power.

For many of us this will require an exchange of our little blurb of a life for the life that God has for us within His great grand story which is playing out in the universe. Creation is God’s stage. God is the director, the devil is the villain, Jesus is the hero, and the church is the hero’s bride. This is an amazing story. And it’s playing out right now. Are you a cast member in this story? Are you a man or women of the gospel? Are you engaged in the mission of God? Or are you all wrapped up in your little tall tale? We are commanded to apply the gospel to every aspect of our lives; to our friendships, jobs, households, families, marriages and finances.

If you begin to do these things you will be shaken and filled. Your life will change. Your marriage will change. Your family will change. Your job will change. Your friendships will change. Everything will change. You may even acquire some enemies. So be it. With God on your side, who can stand against you? Every one of us has been duped in some way into embracing a life that falls radically short of what God calls us to embrace and live.

If we have been living solely for ourselves, for others, or if we have been stuck in a vortex of self-pity, shame, guilt, anger, or addiction, we have been duped. God has called for us to live in His story, not that one. There is power available to release you. There is mercy there to forgive you. There is grace there to accept you. All of it is in Christ! He knows who or what you’ve been living for, He knows. And I believe His invitation to each of us today is a merciful and gracious one.

God has not flooded this place with His anger, wrath or judgment. He does not desire to crush us under His gavel. No. God is graciously inviting us into His story.

If you have yet to believe in Jesus, forsake the life that you’ve been living, forsake your story. Turn from your sins and place your faith and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If you have already done that, if you are a Christian, take a stand today and forsake the life/story you’ve been living.

Seek the will of God as reveled in Scripture. Pray according to His will. Embrace the mission of God. Give your heart and life entirely to Him and to His cause. Give your family to Him. Give your spouse to Him. Give your children to Him. Give your job and friends to Him. Give your sins and struggles to Him, lay them at the foot of the cross. From this day forward do not look back or to the sides. Look up and keep looking up. Together with Christ we will play our roles together. Prepare to be shaken and filled.