WEBVTT 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:04.400 We are looking at the subject of prayer this morning. 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:10.880 Some of you may be thinking, boy, he sure talks and preaches on prayer a lot. 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:12.720 Good. 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:14.960 I hope you're noticing that. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:22.640 We started the month of January off with four sermons on prayer, as we do every January. 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:30.399 The first week we every year cancel most of our church activities because we're called to pray. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:35.840 Because prayer changes a lot of things, including us. 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:47.679 And so we're looking at this exciting story that happened in real time in history in the life of Peter and the church. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:56.960 And we're going to close out this Arise Capital campaign in the same way that we started it in prayer. 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:01.520 This capital campaign was birthed in prayer. 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:03.759 It's been bathed in prayer. 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:06.480 The three days of prayer and fasting. 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:09.359 Many other prayer meetings. 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:13.920 At home, in the closet, in this building, and other buildings. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:18.159 I hope you're believing that in new ways. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:20.640 Listen to the word of God. 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:26.400 About that time, Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:29.680 He killed James, the brother of John, with a sword. 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:34.239 And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:37.760 This was during the days of unleavened bread. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:50.719 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending that the Passover, after the Passover, to bring him out to the people. 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:57.760 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:08.719 Now when Herod was about to bring him out on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:14.080 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:19.439 He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, Get up quickly. 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:22.560 And the chains fell off his hands. 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:26.800 And the angel said to him, Dress yourself and put on your sandals. 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:28.240 And he did so. 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:32.879 And he said to him, Wrap your cloak around you and follow me. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:35.280 And he went out and followed him. 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:42.400 He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought that he was seeing a vision. 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:47.919 When he had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:50.879 It opened for them of its own accord. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:56.319 And they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:08.560 When Peter came to himself, he said, Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting. 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:17.439 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:22.639 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:31.199 Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:34.400 They said to her, You're out of your mind. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:39.360 But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, It's his angel. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:45.439 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:57.280 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison, and he said, Tell these things to James and to the brothers. 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:00.159 Then he departed and went to another place. 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:05.919 Now when day came there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:13.360 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the centuries and ordered that they should be put to death. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:18.000 Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:23.920 This is the reading of God's holy and infallible and inerrant word. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:30.399 Let's pray that the Spirit would make the truth come alive this morning in our hearts and minds. 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:38.399 Father, thank you for giving us amazing stories. 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:54.079 Thank you for giving us an amazing Savior and an amazing deliverance in our own lives as we have been set free from our own prisons and the greatest prison of all, hell and condemnation. 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:57.759 Holy Spirit, fall fresh on us now. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.439 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:00.319 Amen. 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:08.879 Prayer is the foundation for all that we do at this church. 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:20.240 Whether you're new and you're just discovering that here, or whether you've been here for years and you still haven't discovered it, I want you to hear. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.319 Prayer is the foundation for all that we do in this church. 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:29.040 So let's tell the story. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:31.279 What a great story it is. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:40.399 This is the third time that Peter's been arrested and put in jail since the day that he preached that sermon on the day of Pentecost that we looked at last week. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:48.160 Herod Agrippa laid his hands on some who belonged to the church, the Bible tells us. 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:51.519 Herod's uncle, Herod Antipas, had tried Jesus. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:53.120 He'd killed John the Baptist. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:56.000 Remember those stories in the Gospels? 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:01.519 His grandfather had massacred the baby boys around the time of Jesus' birth. 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:08.399 And now, this Herod, in order to gain favor with the Jews, this was all about politics. 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:13.279 The Jews seemed to like what we did with Jesus. 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:21.040 Maybe, and he'd already arrested James, the brother of John, and executed him. 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:26.399 The polls were trending in his favor as he persecuted the church. 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:29.120 Now it's time to get Peter. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:37.759 So he arrested Peter, but because it was the Passover, isn't that interesting that it happened a few years earlier with Jesus and the timing? 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:40.000 God's timing. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:44.639 So Peter is waiting, his trial, waiting, awaiting execution. 00:06:45.120 --> 00:07:01.600 And the very night before the trial, and presumably the execution, while he's fast asleep in the jail, in the prison, each wrist fastened by chains to a guard here, to a guard there. 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:04.639 I mean, he's shackled. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:12.560 And then there's the guards outside the door, and there's four squads of these soldiers that spell each other off through the night. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.240 Maximum security. 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:20.800 For good reason. 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:23.120 He had escaped before. 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:26.800 Herod must have been scared. 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:33.120 While on the one hand, he wanted to gain popularity with the Jewish leaders. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:41.680 He must have known this God, the one they serve, he's not to be toyed with. 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:47.439 But Peter was a dangerous man from the day of Pentecost on. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:50.399 He lived what he preached. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:56.319 This is the same man that would write in his first epistle to the church. 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:03.759 You cast all of your care upon God because he cares for you. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:06.959 Do you think you believed what he preached? 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:14.000 Fast asleep, knowing that the next day likely would have meant his death. 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:16.800 Are you casting all your care? 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.199 All your care upon your God. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:26.319 This was spiritual warfare going on. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:32.720 The Herods of this world today are still laying violent hands on God's people. 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:36.559 Chris took us there in the prayer. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:38.960 Sri Lanka. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:45.039 Sudan, China, the list goes on. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:54.559 The Herods of the world today are still laying violent hands on God's people because of the spiritual warfare. 00:08:54.799 --> 00:09:06.480 But I want you to really focus on, we don't have much time, but I want you to focus on verse 5 because that's really, I think, an amazing verse for us to give attention to. 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:15.120 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by. 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:02.960 Last minute, God showed up. 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:04.879 We thought we were going somewhere else. 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:06.080 We thought we were going. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:17.840 We thought we were going across the street to Alexandria Country Day School, to their library, that held about 90 people. 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:20.639 Last minute, God opened that door. 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:25.360 And then a few five years later, we thought we were going to go to Charles Barrett Elementary School. 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:28.799 Last minute, God opened the door. 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:31.840 And here we are for the last 21 years. 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:41.600 And it kind of feels like that on this journey right now, as we begin to take steps to building our own permanent church home. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:46.480 It feels like we don't have any more time than we need. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:48.159 That's just God. 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:52.399 He delights in answering many of our prayers the last minute. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:55.120 Have you noticed that in your own personal life? 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:01.279 Oftentimes it's not just what God does with churches, it's what God does with families and singles. 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.799 I think he must do it because he knows that he gets all the glory. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.240 It's not because of our clever planning. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:18.399 He opens doors when his people pray. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:30.799 In response to the prayers of God's people, God sent an angel into the prison and a light shone in the cell and it woke Peter up and the angel said, tapped him, get up quickly. 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:33.279 You know what the King James translates that? 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:35.519 Arise. 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:41.279 That should sound familiar with what's going on here. 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:49.200 Are you coming alive in new ways the last couple months as we've been preaching the gospel? 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:56.879 Have you come alive in any new ways the last couple months? 00:11:57.120 --> 00:11:59.200 Are you praying any differently? 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:04.080 What has taking off your ornaments looked like in your life, stripping off your ornaments? 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.639 What have you been repenting of lately? 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:14.320 I can tell you with a straight face, I have been repenting of things that I hadn't repented of before. 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:22.080 And I'm trusting God in ways I feels like new grace. 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:24.320 I hope you are. 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:26.639 I hope you're not missing this journey. 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:31.600 I hope you're not sitting on the sidelines and you're saying, well, I'm going to step back and just see what God does at APC. 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:33.440 You can do that. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:35.759 I hope you're not. 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:43.279 I hope you're inviting the Holy Spirit into your life in new ways and you're praying differently. 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:47.279 I hope you're not missing this. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:51.279 Because you can. 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:05.039 This is about your marriage. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:09.039 This is about your children. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:11.200 What are the promises that you're going to give? 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:16.000 What are the promises that you're going to pass on to the next generation and to the next generation? 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:19.120 Singles, this is about your career. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:20.639 This is about your friendships. 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:22.159 This is about your relationships. 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:25.120 This is about everything, about everything for everyone here. 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:30.000 And you either believe that or you don't. 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:32.159 But invite him in. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:35.440 Arise. 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:37.759 The angel says, follow me. 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:39.759 I'm your celestial escort. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:40.799 Follow me. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:43.840 Peter's probably thinking, but there's guards all around us. 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:44.320 No problem. 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:45.440 I got that. 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:49.759 And Peter follows, and Peter thinks this must be a dream. 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:52.159 Surely this can't happen. 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:59.039 It's finally when he gets through the city gate and he gets out on his own that he realizes, wait, this isn't a dream. 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:00.879 This is real. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.080 It's almost like this gospel comedy. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.039 Peter knows right where to go. 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:13.039 How did Peter know where to go? 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:17.279 Because no doubt Mary's house was known as a place of prayer. 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:20.240 And no doubt he knew that the people of God were praying for him. 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:23.039 He goes right to Mary's house and he starts knocking. 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:30.320 And finally, Rhoda, the servant girl, hears the knocking. 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:34.480 And she comes to the door. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:36.960 And Peter's saying, It's me. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.919 And she just finds that incredulous. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:41.200 Well, Peter's in prison. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:42.320 How could it be Peter? 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:44.559 What are they doing in the prayer meeting? 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:46.879 Praying for Peter's release. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:53.360 She goes back and she tells the crowd, praying, excuse me, I've got a message from Peter. 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:55.600 Peter's at the door. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:56.960 We'll let him, you know. 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:57.519 No. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:14:59.200 It's not Peter. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:01.919 Well, how do you know it's not Peter? 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:08.720 Because, well, we're praying for Peter's release, but it can't be Peter. 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:13.120 Do you ever pray like that? 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:14.879 Of course you do. 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:18.080 I pray like that sometimes. 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:26.080 When was the last time you were really surprised by how God answered your prayer? 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:28.799 I hope it hasn't been long. 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:32.639 They say you're out of your mind. 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:36.159 But their prayers were answered, but they couldn't believe it. 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:41.039 They were not ready to believe that God could answer their prayers so quickly. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:43.759 And yet, this is the verse that jumps off the page. 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:48.639 The Lord delivered me from prison, is what Peter said when he finally got in. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:57.919 When Rhoda went back to the door and finally opened the door, unlatched the door, and he came in, and they realized that it wasn't his angel, it was Peter in the flesh. 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:02.399 Peter's message was quite simple but powerful. 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:08.639 The Lord delivered me from prison. 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:16.159 And we've already perhaps done that this morning, but if not, don't miss this chance. 00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:25.679 This day, have you believed that message that the Lord has delivered you from your greatest prison? 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:29.360 You can't get out of your prisons. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:32.159 You just can't. 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:40.080 There's only one person that can deliver us out of the strongest prisons of our lives. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:50.399 Jim Boyce tells the story he believes. 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:57.039 The Indian evangelist Sundar Singh had been witnessing in Nepal and had been forbidden to preach in a particular city. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:59.679 However, he went on preaching and was arrested. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.480 They put him in a dry well with a lid on the top. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:05.599 He was there to die because they didn't intend to feed him. 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:10.799 In fact, Singh was sitting on the bones of people who had died before him in that well. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:17.440 While he was there praying, he heard a noise and he looked up and he noticed that somebody was lifting the lid. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:20.160 And soon a rope was lowered. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:27.119 The rope had a loop in the end, so he put his foot in the loop and he hung on and he was drawn out of that deep well. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:32.079 But when he got to the top and he looked around to see who pulled him out, there was nobody there. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:49.279 His deliverance sounds perfectly natural so far because we can imagine how a sympathetic person was there, knew his plight, opened the lid, dropped the rope, and then ran away quickly so not to be detected. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:57.759 But when Singh looked around, he saw that the cover was back on the cistern and he didn't put it back, and that it was locked again. 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:00.319 How had that been done? 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:07.279 Singh was merely thinking that whoever rescued him had done his job efficiently and got out. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:13.519 However, the freed evangelist went back to the very city and started preaching again. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:19.680 He was arrested again the next day, and he was brought before the priest, the chief man of the city. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:23.519 The people thought that some sympathetic person had freed him. 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:24.880 But no. 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:38.720 When they searched to see who had the only key to the cistern's lid and how Singh might have gotten it, they found that the only key was on the belt of the priest who had him arrested. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:50.160 At this point, Singh believed that God had sent his angel to deliver him. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:54.400 Do you believe that God has that kind of power? 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:59.279 Do you believe that God is still doing miraculous things today? 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:01.920 Because he can. 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:11.920 And because he desires to rescue his people from prisons of their own making and prisons that are not of their own making. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:16.960 Closing. 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:23.279 Is there a prison in your life that you feel like you're still chained to? 00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:26.880 What's robbing your joy? 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:31.920 What's robbing your peace? 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:35.680 You know the loss of joy is a serious sin. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:36.880 Did you know that? 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:40.079 The joy of the Lord is our strength, Nehemiah said. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:41.920 The joy of our Lord is our strength. 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:44.240 If you don't have joy, you're weak. 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:47.599 If you don't have joy, you are a weak Christian. 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:51.279 Many people say, well, no, it's just joy. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:53.839 No, it's joy. 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:56.000 It's the joy of the Holy Spirit. 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:59.279 The joy of the Lord is the strength of God's people. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:01.839 What is it that you need? 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:04.559 What does the prison look like in your life? 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:07.359 Verse 5. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:16.400 Oftentimes what is required is earnest prayer for the person prayed to God by the church. 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:18.640 Let's break that down in closing. 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:20.160 Earnest prayer. 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:24.799 If you were here at the Good Friday service, I talked about this Greek word, this adverb. 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:32.000 It's the same word you might recall that Jesus, his use of Jesus as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his death. 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:36.160 It means literally stretched out. 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:40.960 It's interesting that King James translates this praying without ceasing. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:42.880 Stretched out. 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:45.839 Most people don't think that's right. 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:47.839 That was not a good translation. 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:54.079 It's not stretched out in time, which obviously we ought to pray, stretched out in time. 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:57.039 This is stretched out in terms of earnestness. 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:04.640 This is like a runner getting running, getting ready to shoot out of the blocks in a sprint. 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:08.720 You know that position? 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:14.720 Every muscle is attached. 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:18.079 You're ready to explode out of the blocks. 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:20.480 As soon as the gun goes off. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:33.920 Evidently, the night in the garden, every muscle in Jesus' body and every part of his soul was stretched out to the Father. 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:41.920 Which is why he prayed as earnestly as he did, and drops of blood and sweat dropped from his face. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:45.839 That's earnest prayer. 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:52.240 Remember the book on prayer by Halisby that many of you have read? 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:53.440 What is prayer? 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:55.599 Prayer is a cry. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:05.200 Sometimes I'm sure that we don't see our prayers answered in part because we don't know how to cry. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:13.119 We just say our prayers like we're reciting an encyclopedia sometimes, don't we? 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:16.319 Oh, and God, would you I I forgot that. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:18.079 Can I add this to the list? 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:22.559 Sometimes our prayers probably feel like a grocery shopping list. 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:25.680 Oh, God, yeah. 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:28.400 Let me, let me, I'm gonna ask this one too. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:38.559 That has nothing to do with this. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.640 Are you learning how to pray from your heart? 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:46.559 Sometimes with real tears. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:56.079 Because what you know you need so badly, your heart is stretched out toward God. 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:03.039 Why pray if God will do it anyway? 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:06.000 We don't have time for that answer. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:09.440 It's the anyway that's the problem. 00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:10.880 Well, God is sovereign. 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:13.680 He's gonna accomplish his will no matter what, period, right? 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:19.440 Well, he's decreed the ends, his purposes, but he's also decreed the means. 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:22.160 Let me put it like this, very shortly, because we've got to move on. 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:31.440 Do I believe that we would be where we are today, today, on first fruit Sunday, do I believe we would be here today without those days of prayer and fasting? 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:32.799 No, I don't. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:42.559 Do I believe that we would be here today where we are in this rise capital campaign without the prayers of hundreds of people pleading with God, crying out to God? 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:43.759 And the answer is very simple. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:45.599 No, no, we wouldn't be here. 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:51.039 And unless you believe that, you haven't learned how to pray. 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:55.519 You don't just, we don't just say, God, you know, oh, I need this, I need that. 00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:59.039 Are we learning how to pray earnestly? 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:01.599 Because there's real needs. 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:04.559 And real people are going to hell. 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:10.319 And real people's marriages are in shambles. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:16.720 And real people's lives are being tormented. 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:24.720 If you know that, it's going to shake you out of your slumber. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:27.680 And you're going to pray differently. 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:33.039 But you need the Holy Spirit to show you this. 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:36.400 You need the Holy Spirit to wake you up. 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:39.920 And what does the rest of the verse say? 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:43.119 Prayers made to God. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:44.880 All right? 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:46.240 Earnest prayers. 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:48.000 Secondly, for the person. 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:49.599 This was for Peter. 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:52.400 A definite prayer for a definite person. 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:57.279 We don't just pray, don't just jot gun your prayers. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:24:59.920 A specific person. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:01.759 A specific need. 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:03.599 Earnestly. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:06.160 Thirdly, they pray to God. 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:07.759 We think, well, that's a no-brainer. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:08.880 Of course it's to God, right? 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:10.480 Well, maybe not so quick. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:13.599 When we pray, what's really on our minds? 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:17.440 Is it really the holiness and almightiness and the power of God? 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:22.000 That God is all-powerful, but God is also all-merciful and all-gracious? 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:26.799 Or do we sometimes, when we pray, find ourselves just thinking more about us? 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:33.680 God, I'm just feeling so miserable and so lousy about my life. 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:39.200 And God, I yeah, I mean, you know, just kind of going every which way. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:44.240 Are our prayers really to God? 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:52.240 Mindful of, more conscious of who he is than more conscious of who we are. 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:55.039 You can't do that without the Holy Spirit. 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:57.599 Otherwise, our minds will just drift. 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:03.440 Otherwise, we'll just kind of like, you know, I know I'm praying to God, but it doesn't really feel like a heart connection. 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:12.799 Like one of the preachers back in the 19th century in England described, suppose an Englishman was summoned to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen. 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:19.039 He wouldn't, when he ushered into the presence of the Queen, he wouldn't say, I wonder how long I have to stay here. 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:21.599 Because I've got a busy day. 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.039 She wouldn't say that. 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:30.880 She might think, I wonder how much time the Queen will give me today. 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:36.480 I wonder how much time my God will give me today. 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:39.279 He's got all the time you've got. 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:45.039 By the blood of Jesus, we come into the throne room. 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:47.680 We don't come in our own merit. 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:52.720 Again, the well-known illustration, which is so powerful, is going to the bank. 00:26:52.880 --> 00:27:01.680 When you go to the bank of heaven for whatever it is that you need, when you go to the bank of heaven, don't take your checkbook. 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:07.440 Because you've got nothing in your account. 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:13.279 You say, no, no, I actually, some of us might say, no, actually, I've got quite a bit in my account. 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:15.279 No, you don't. 00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:18.160 Not when it comes to your prayer life. 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:24.079 You say, Jesus, I need your check. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:28.799 Because all of the merit is yours. 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:36.400 I need your check from your bank with your name on it. 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:40.000 Are you learning how to pray like that? 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:43.359 That's real prayer. 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:47.440 And Jesus says, There, fill it in. 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:49.200 What? 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:52.000 Fill in the amount. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:56.480 And sometimes we say, but God, it's a lot. 00:27:57.440 --> 00:27:58.640 He says, I know. 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:01.839 Why do you think I sent my son? 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:10.559 There are no perfect, perfect prayers by me or anyone here. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:15.839 The only perfect thing about our prayers is the perfection of our intercessor, Jesus Christ. 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:18.640 But his perfection is the only one we need. 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:20.160 Praise God. 00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:31.359 As we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, to the Father, through Jesus, in the Holy Spirit. 00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:36.559 And lastly, and we pray together, corporate prayer. 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:40.400 There were many gathered together in that room who were praying. 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:46.400 I'm going to close this morning by asking everyone in this room to take a step. 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:53.039 Take a step in this direction. 00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:57.759 There's nobody in this room that doesn't need to take a step, and it starts with a pastor. 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:04.960 I've told some of you how much I've seen God grow me the last year. 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:11.200 No question, God has grown me the last year. 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:15.440 And God has shown me the ornaments I've had to strip off. 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:20.799 And God has grown my faith. 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:25.920 And I need to- there's more steps I need to take. 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:28.799 But there's more steps you need to take, too. 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:31.519 Take a step. 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:37.920 If you've never been to a prayer meeting at APC, take a step. 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:41.279 Come to a prayer meeting. 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:44.319 Pray with other people. 00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:50.400 If it's been a while since you've come to a prayer meeting, come to a prayer meeting. 00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:52.960 Take a step. 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:57.039 If you're not praying at all at home, take a step. 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:02.240 Ask God to help you to start praying. 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:05.279 Take a step. 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:10.240 And see what God does. 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:15.200 As we pray for specific people, for specific problems in specific prisons. 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:18.799 And we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:22.400 We pray through Christ and we pray in the Holy Spirit. 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:24.000 And we pray to God. 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:26.799 And we see what God continues to do. 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:31.359 And we can sing with the Wesleys. 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:33.359 And can it be? 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:36.559 Pray with me. 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:40.640 Father, we ask that you would please awaken us. 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:43.599 Awaken us, Father. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:48.000 Help us to arise spiritually. 00:30:51.359 --> 00:31:00.799 Amaze us with what we see you do as your people pray to you through your Son and your Holy Spirit. 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:02.480 Awaken us. 00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:06.880 Do powerful and mighty things in Alexandria Presbyterian Church. 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:09.440 In Alexandria in Washington, D.C. 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:11.039 and throughout the world. 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:16.559 Do amazing things, even through the prayers of your people in this church. 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:19.200 We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:19.920 Amen.