Cornerstone Christian Center
Cornerstone Christian Center
Are you Praying Dangerous Prayer? | Dwell
What happens when you combine the thrill of adventure with unwavering faith? Get ready to be inspired as I share exhilarating childhood stories from the breezy alpine slopes of Europe to the sun-soaked desert trails of Phoenix, where the thrill of the ride taught me lessons about risk and faith. This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered whether playing it safe is truly the best way to live. Discover how embracing life's challenges, whether it's snowboarding through dense forests or scuba diving with curious sea creatures, can lead us to deeper faith and joy.
Let's shift gears and tackle the concept of "dangerous prayers," an idea that challenges us to live courageously for God's Kingdom. Inspired by biblical figures like Esther, Jonah, and Peter, we ponder the risks and rewards of stepping out in faith. Whether it's about sharing our beliefs or staying connected to divine promises, these stories show us that living boldly in faith isn't just about personal transformation but also about community and connection. Explore how the early church exemplified devotion and obedience, seeking divine intervention with unwavering faith.
Finally, we journey through moments of spiritual awakening, healing, and bold proclamations that can transform lives. From the miraculous events at Solomon's Porch to the defiant declarations of Jesus' name, we reflect on the tension between traditional beliefs and the revolutionary message of Christ. Be inspired by the boldness of Peter and John, whose transformation from fishermen to powerful speakers shows us the power of faith and the importance of proclaiming Jesus as the cornerstone of salvation. Join us as we extend a heartfelt invitation to experience community, love, and grace at Cornerstone, where everyone is cherished and empowered.
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Dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen. Are you praying dangerous prayers? I was thinking about this idea of things that are dangerous, and something that popped to mind was whenever my kids, when they were growing up in Europe, we would take them on these alpine sleds during the summer. Now, if you haven't had a chance to go on one, I'd suggest that you try it. They have it more than just in the Alps, but when you get on the alpine sled, it's one of these things where it has a track and your only control is the brake, and so you can see this imagery here of what that looks like.
Speaker 1:But as you start to go down this alpine slide, it picks up speed rather quickly, and so what we started to do as we were doing this every day, we progressively were trying to get faster and faster down the mountain, and the only way to do that was that you had to let the other person go ahead of you quite a ways, because once you didn't touch the brake, you were going to catch them really fast. You guys know what I'm talking about. And so you're coming screaming down this mountain and you're holding on. You're catching like the little bit of g-force that's going which way? Every way like this. And the people were like man, you guys are so crazy, you're so dangerous, how come you're not hitting the brake? And I thought about that. I was like, why am I not hitting the brake? Oh, that's right, because I'm from Phoenix and in Phoenix we grew up riding ATVs and in big trucks and things like that. In the desert it looks like this. And so you would go and ride your ATV or your quad or your dirt bike or your truck and you would go as fast as possible up the dirt hill. Did you know it was on the other side of the dirt hill? No, no, you didn't. That's what made it good. And so we were running as fast as we could, going flat out, having an amazing time.
Speaker 1:And people would talk about that and they were like, well, man, whenever you talk about going to the Alps and snowboarding, things like that, I was like, well, that's because I did the truck thing and I did the quad thing. That's why, when we got to the Alps, we would just go for it and just send it down the mountain. You guys know what I'm talking about. And you're just going. Let's like, let's see how fast this baby can go, you know, and so you just try to point your nose down there and go forward as fast as you could. And it wasn't like we learned that there. We had to learn, you know, as incrementally.
Speaker 1:And we learned that in Big Bear, kind of going back through the woods, back snowboarding through the trees, and if you miss and you hit a tree you pay for it, and so you don't miss, because if you do then you're in trouble and you know people would say that's kind of dangerous. But you know, before I did any of that stuff, we had, you know, also gone and learned how to scuba dive, and so you go under there and you're in a whole nother world and when the sea lions start going and biting on your fins and stuff, you know you're like, well, this could be problematic, not the small ones, but the really big ones. You know what I'm talking about. It's like a freight train in the water coming at you trying to eat you, and so you're like, well, this is a problem, but it wasn't as bad as like whenever you would surf and you get caught under by a really big wave because you don't have the breath and you can't get back up, and all these things and all these activities. Some people in the crowd are saying, no, that's why I don't do those things. And other people in the crowd are like, sweet, when are we going on the next adventure and see there's praise the Lord? I know Mike, he's with me and that's the idea.
Speaker 1:Some people would say it's dangerous, but I tell you, the real thing that's really dangerous is whenever you start to share your faith in God with others, because there's real risk involved and we want to try to calculate all the different risks that would be there. You think about how you're trying to do all the math and put all the things together. You think about okay, if I say this to my friend, what will they think about me? After all, they know all the areas where I am not 100% a Christ follower. They know all the places where I make mistakes. They know all the places where I've come up short in my faith in God. And what if I say something to them about my faith? And then they wanna use that against me and they're like, oh, you're a hypocrite. And so you start to do this dance in your head. How dangerous is this? To share my faith in God with others? Am I talking to anybody today?
Speaker 1:And friends, I'll tell you this that we need to be those willing to pray dangerous prayers, because the people who need to hear about the hope of God are worth it. They are worth sharing your faith. They're worth the judgment you might feel. They're worth them disagreeing with you. They're worth it because God loves them like he loves you. He has a plan for them, like he has a plan for you. He doesn't want them to be stuck in their old life and away from him. He doesn't want them to be stuck in any kind of mess that they're involved in. He has a way out for them. If you will be dangerous enough to share your faith, see, it's not about all these other adventures those are great, but it's really about are you dangerous enough to live for God for real? The Lord, help us to pray dangerous prayers. We're so thankful that you're with us today, cornerstone, it's a blessing to be able to worship here together. If we haven't met.
Speaker 1:My name is Jay, and Celeste and I we have such a great opportunity of leading here at Cornerstone. Here at Cornerstone, we very much see ourselves as people on a journey with Christ. None of us have arrived. All of us are still following after Jesus, and that's true because we know that none of us are perfect. All of us are in need of a savior and since that's the case, then we're gonna try to live to be more like him and his character. We want to be more like Jesus, and so we say that collectively. That's why we love God and we make disciples and we reach the world, is because that's what we're trying to be. We're trying to be the character of Christ, and so that's why I encourage people to do that intentionally and to be a part of a life group. Man, it's such a great time this last week Many people involved in a life group. I got to be a part of one yesterday. Man, such a powerful time of just being able to share together, hear a challenging word, even a good, short word, super challenging, very good, and it does something to be together with people who are being intentional in their faith. So let me encourage you to get involved, to connect, grow and serve the Lord. Amen.
Speaker 1:We have this theme that we're doing called Dwell. It's this idea of staying connected to the Lord and spending time with him. We've been using this theme of Psalm 23, 6 as our theme scripture for it. I would encourage you to highlight it in your Bible, write it down, man, make this be a piece that you memorize and let it just wash over your heart. It says surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. See, that's what we're talking about is this idea of dwelling in God's goodness and his presence and when we do, dynamic things happen.
Speaker 1:Pastor Celeste shared a few weeks ago about this idea of destiny and the character of Esther in the Bible, of following the obedience of God, being able to risk it, because she had a faith in God and because of it it changed the destiny, not just for her but for the people of God she actually became the savior of. In the same way, pastor Angus was talking about this idea of what happens whenever we deal with darkness in our lives, and he gave the examples with Jonah and also with Joseph, about how we deal with that and how we become a light in a dark place. We talked about this idea of determination and about the character of David and King David as he went from being a shepherd boy out on a field to being the king of Israel and the process by which he stayed determined after the things of God. And we talked about what happens whenever we slip in our determination and we start to become idle in going after God, and what can happen. And we talked about also, once we've made a mistake, how we should be challenged to turn our hearts back to God and be determined to follow after him with all that we have. We talked about what it means to be devoted to follow the Lord, and we talked about how the Holy Spirit impartation on the day of Pentecost, how it was such a challenge that people like Peter stood up in boldness and be able to share their story. And by that boldness, the Lord used it to see many people come to know him. And not just that, but it changed their life forever and they became able to look out for one another because they were devoted to God.
Speaker 1:Today we're talking about this idea of dangerous prayers and about going after the greater things of God in faith, amen. Okay, now, if you have your Bible, your tablet, your phone, we're going to look today to our scripture, and that's in Acts 4, starting in verse 29. It picks up here and it says and now, lord, look upon their hearts and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant, jesus. Lord, we thank you for your word today, lord. We pray over it, lord, asking for your impartation, asking, lord, for your anointing Lord, asking for these words to become alive in us, lord, that we would be transformed more into your character. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Are you praying dangerous prayers?
Speaker 1:This idea of dangerous starts out with this the impartation of the Holy Spirit. And we talked about that last week where the early church they were pursuing after the things of God, after Jesus' ascension back to the Father, he challenged them to go and do what he said to do. Take the gospel message, the message of my redemption, go and take that to the whole world, but first wait for the empowerment from on high, from the Holy Spirit. And I love this painting that we see of what that would be like, of the impartation, the tongues of fire that were upon them and signaling that the Lord was upon his church, each and every one of them, anointing them to do the work he had called them to do. And so when we start to look at this scripture that we're looking at today, about this idea of hey, even though there's threats that are happening, even though there's danger that's coming towards us in our faith, lord, give us the boldness not to shrink back but to go after what you've called us to do. And so whenever we look at Acts 4, 29 and 30, they're saying not just that we're asking for boldness, but we're also asking for the miracle, we're asking for an impartation. So when we see that in verse 29 and 30, it says while you stretch out your hand to heal, we want to see signs and wonders. We want to see the divine happen.
Speaker 1:Now, we, as people, we're thankful for hard work. We're thankful for planning. I'm a big believer in all of that. If you're not doing those things, then you should, because those things are from God. He's given you a mind to plan. He's given you a way to work hard. Amen. There's lots in scripture about that. I'm thankful for the wisdom he gives us in medicine. I'm thankful for our nurses and our doctors and those that serve us. I'm thankful for fire and for all those that serve us in that way. I'm thankful for them because they have a knowledge and they're helping us At the same time.
Speaker 1:The tension between it is that we still ask the Lord for the divine healing to happen and we ask for divine provision to happen. We work hard, we plan, we do all those things, but we still ask for the Lord's hand to be with us. We ask for him to rebuke the devourer, the enemy, the evil one, for those things to fall off of us. We're asking for these things so that we can walk according to what he wants us to do, which is beyond ourselves. It is, in fact, a charge of the divine, so we need divine power to do it, and so that's what we see here.
Speaker 1:We pick up with this story of Peter and John is that they're on their way to go worship the Lord at the temple. And so it picks up here in Acts 3, one chapter back, and it starts to talking about this idea of this lame man that was laid at a gate called beautiful Picks. In verse 2, picks up here. It says a man, lame from birth, was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple. Now, even in our society we have people who are begging for alms or begging for help and they're having a handout as we pass them. And this is interesting because it says that he had been laid here at this beautiful gate daily. All the time he was there asking for help.
Speaker 1:And I think that's an interesting thing, because what we see is that this was a habit for these guys to do was that they were going to worship the Lord. It was time for Sabbath and so they're going to go worship the Lord, or maybe they're going to go meet together, even on an off day, and go pray and worship the Lord. They pass this guy all the time. Not just them, but this guy called Jesus also passed him. Because you know why Jesus went to the temple? How do we know? It's in the Bible. So, unless Jesus always avoided the beautiful gate and Jesus makes beautiful things from the beginning the word was there. He created all things that are beautiful I would assume he would wanna see the beautiful gate occasionally, which means that most likely, jesus also passed by this guy.
Speaker 1:And it's an interesting thing for us to wrestle with, because so often we see where Jesus he heals the masses. He heals all these people. He comes across. He heals people that don't even know they want to be healed at the time. They want a forgiveness of sins. He's like you're forgiven, also, you're healed. Get up. And it's a powerful thing. And so you see this situation where this guy is still here needing a miracle. But isn't it true that there's also a timing of God? And see, we wrestle with this and it's a tension in our faith because we want our timing, like when I'm ready for the miracle.
Speaker 1:I need the miracle now. It's like delivery at our house for anything that we order, right, we're mad when it takes more than a day. We're like why is it not here already? I ordered it an hour ago. They should have developed that and been waiting for me to order it. I ordered it an hour ago. They should have developed that and been waiting for me to order it. And everybody feels this way and all the people who were before the internet are like what are you talking about? We had to send carrier pigeon like and they send it by boat and you know, fight off pirates and it finally get there to you two years later. But that's the difference in our even, in how we are now. We need the miracle now. I need it right now.
Speaker 1:And God's like well, maybe, maybe not. Maybe the miracle is coming to you, but maybe not yet. And that's a hard thing for us to wrestle with and to think about is that god is still good and god is still divine, and god is still going to heal you. But what if the process is that you have to trust him one more day? And, friends, I'm wrestling with that myself because I'm like, lord, what about this? What about this? He's like do you trust me? Do you trust me to be the one that says I'm going to fulfill these things? And he has done it. I have a whole track record, my whole life, of him being with me. I survived all that stuff. I showed you on the screen and I'm still here to tell you this God is good, god is healer, god is divine. And then someday it is your day and it's the day for the healing, and so it's interesting.
Speaker 1:So the man who's laid there at the gate he reaches up and he's like, hey, I need some help here. And so they're looking down at him and they see him, and so you see this imagery of them there and it's a famous painting. You see it in the mat. It's hung there about them going and reaching down at the beggar. And Peter, it says, directed his gaze at him, as did John. And it's interesting here because so many times, because he was such a stable part of that set of stairs right that led up to the beautiful gate, he was always there, so he laid them all the time so to seeing this guy. Maybe they even dropped this guy something in the past. He's always there. He's like a plant at this point. He's always there. But there was something that moved upon their hearts that day where Peter and John, they didn't see him as just an obstacle to walk around, to get through the beautiful gate. They saw him as a person and it says that they looked at him intently, that they looked at him. There was something in their hearts where the Holy Spirit is saying hey, look right here, I have something for you to do right here. He says. And so Peter says to the man look at us, look at us. And so they're looking at him, he's looking at them. He's like what you got, I need gold bullion, you know. He's like something Expecting to receive something, something from them. And Peter says this, and I love this, and this is true of Peter Most of his career following Jesus, he was broke and so he needed to follow Jesus.
Speaker 1:Right, he needed to pay the tax. Jesus has to bring the fish with the money. Here he is. He's saying again I have no silver or gold. Or some translations say silver and gold have I? None, but what I do have I give to you.
Speaker 1:What does Peter have? Peter has an empowerment from the Holy Spirit of God, a boldness and a faith to believe. He's the one that had the faith to walk on the water. He's the one that had the faith to pray the prayer, to be bold by the Holy Spirit. So he's saying listen, what I have is a faith to agree with you for the healing in the name of Jesus Christ. He says by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And then he took an action step. He picked him up by his hand and the Lord restored him and made him strong.
Speaker 1:Friends, sometimes we need the helping hand up, but we know this it's not the person who's doing the helping, nor is it the person receiving. It's the Lord who is doing the miracle. And so if that's true, then what we're seeing is an action step of people joining their faith together. Whenever we pray for people at the altar, what we're doing is joining our faith together for what God wants to do. See, the miracle was happening in that person's heart. The man's heart that was lame was receiving it.
Speaker 1:In that moment, there was a faith that belts up inside of him where he's saying today's the day. Today is the day I'm gonna receive from the Lord. It's not these guys, but what they have is an impartation. They have faith to believe. And right now, boom, the miracle happens. And so he is full of power, and you can see the imagery there where they would reach down, and he reaches out his hand to take their hand. And it says that everyone knows what's going on. They've seen this guy all the time, and suddenly this guy is healed in the name of Jesus Christ. And so, peter and John, they respond to the crowd and it says and his is his name by faith in his name, meaning Jesus has made this man strong, who you seem and know. The faith that, through Jesus, has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. See, it's because he had faith in Jesus's name, in the power of Christ, that it changed his situation.
Speaker 1:Maybe you're here and you're in need of healing. The word for you is that the Lord is healer, the Lord is your healer and the Lord is one who heals. And we're thankful for all the things that we do in medicine. We obey those things, we walk after those things, we look after ourselves, but we still contend that God is a miraculous healer and he will reach us exactly where we are. See, sometimes you get in that zone where it needs to be just you and God and you need to focus in on what he's doing. It's like you're being encapsulated all the way around by his presence and you're like Lord, it's me and you.
Speaker 1:I need to reach into where you are, lord, I need something from you. I need more of your presence. Did you know that God wants to see you restored, because he doesn't want to see things broken? He wants to see you restored. He wants to see the fullness of what that is. And since that's true, whenever you press in to receive more of him not just his hand, but his face what does the story say? He says no, no, no, no. Don't look at my hand, look at me, look at me. And that's the same thing that the father is saying to us in this imagery here is that we look not just to his hand. Lord, what can you do to help me in this situation? Lord, I need more of you. I need more of you.
Speaker 1:And whenever you start to pray those prayers, friends, those prayers are dangerous. Those are dangerous prayers because you're asking God for more of him. That means we have to give up some stuff, and some of us have got used to being broken and it becomes our identity. Sometimes we live broken for so long it becomes our identity and we can't let go of it, or else we don't know who we are.
Speaker 1:Friends, there's some today that the brokenness in you is the very thing that you have pride in. The Lord wants to minister to you. He wants to heal you, but you gotta let go of whatever that is, because if you're not willing to let go of it, then he can't heal you from it, because you've based your identity in it. Maybe it's being a victim, maybe it's something that was done to you, maybe it's something that you have pride in in some area of your life. Friends, that is the very thing he wants to heal you from, so that he can use you and heal you to go on. That becomes no longer a wound that's open but a healed scar where God says look at the thing I brought this child of mine through Friends. That is the word for you today. And when you start praying a dangerous prayer, that you can be expectant that a living God will meet you, for you today, and when you start praying a dangerous prayer, that you can be expectant that a living God will meet you where you are, a loving God will meet you where you are.
Speaker 1:So they continue forward, they cross through the threshold of the beautiful gate and they walk into what's known as Solomon's porch, and so you can see the imagery of what that would be. It's this outside area, that's all these, it's porticos that are there, that are held up by these massive pillars, creating the shaded area all the way around the temple complex. In fact, as you would see, the Eastern gate is what it would look like, and it talks about how Jesus will will come back through this Eastern gate, and it's how Jesus will come back through this eastern gate, and it walks right into the center of what the Temple Mount would look like in Jesus's day you can see all the way around, is Solomon's porch. It's something of stature, it's something where Solomon built that for the Lord and built it for people to be able to congregate to worship the Lord. And so, as you can imagine what that would be like in those colonnades that are there, they have all these people that are already meeting together and suddenly there's a stir because a miracle happens and everyone starts to form a crowd. And so, even today, as we were to look back through some of what that might look like in the ancient ruins, you can take an idea of the grandeur of by which it was and how you would be there and having these conversations in this ancient historical thing that King Solomon built all the way back in those days.
Speaker 1:And so there's Peter and John and there's this healed man. It says that he's clasped himself onto them and will not let them go. He's like found the source of life. He's like, no, you're not shaking me loose, you know they're trying to run the option, they're trying to break free, and he's like, uh-uh, sticking to him, and I love that. And it talks about where it picks up here, and so they start to address the crowd that forms. And Peter man he's super good at being a preacher he just tells them it's their fault. That's what he tells them the whole time. He's like, hey, you know how you killed Jesus. Yeah, you did Guess what. You need to repent because you are sinners, and it's true. But he's just giving it to him straight, straight on. To him. He's like, man, you know, we're here, this guy got healed because of Jesus. Remember Jesus? You killed Jesus. Remember that? Yeah, okay, hey, you need to repent right now.
Speaker 1:And it picks up here in Acts 3.19. It says repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send the Christ appointed for you. Jesus, friends, that's what happens whenever we experience the forgiveness of God. It's that our sins are blotted out and that we have a refreshing that comes from God. It says in that day 5,000 people the number was swelling to 5,000 believers and it said that the people at the time, the religious leaders, they were really upset about this because this thing had happened and they weren't in control of it and they don't agree with them. And so they tell them. It says in the scripture, in some translation, says that the leaders were greatly annoyed, and I love that. I love that. Man, let's live in such a way that the Holy Spirit annoys some people. You know, there's so much miracles happening that people get annoyed, especially people who don't believe. They're like man. I'm so annoyed by that. I mean there's obviously something going on. It's like, yes, get annoyed about it, god is doing something. And it says that they called these guys to them and have this meeting. And so they call Peter and John to them and it's all the high priests that are there and they start to have this dialogue.
Speaker 1:This is from a fresco that's in one of the monasteries. That's there showing this meeting of Peter and John together and they're having this conversation with them and Peter starts to share from the scripture. He's tying together the Old Testament, which all of these leaders know by heart. It's part of what they have to know. He's tying all these pieces of scripture and prophecy together and he starts to say this in Acts 4, 11 and 12. He says this is Jesus. He's talking about the one who was foretold, the one who was promised. This is Jesus, the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. It continues. It says there is no salvation in no one else. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Speaker 1:Friends, this is a bold thing to say, because there's only salvation in Jesus, and that becomes something dynamic. It's he saying to them listen, you are the ones who build this faith. The people listen to you. You're the builders of this thing. You're the one that build these things and the one that you rejected, the one who have everything should be built off of, is Jesus Christ. He's the cornerstone. That's where our namesake of this church comes from. Is establishing our life in Jesus. Whenever he is the cornerstone, when he is the foundation, the one that makes us set everything in our life straight, whenever he is the one that we build our life off of. Friends, we'll have a life of meaning, one after God. But when he is challenging them to their face, peter to their face, he's saying you're the ones, you're the ones that rejected Jesus. You're the ones that rejected Jesus. He's the only one that will save us, and only by his name will we be saved.
Speaker 1:Friends, that's a dangerous prayer. It's a dangerous thing to say Because whenever we place our faith in Jesus. When we say, jesus, I believe you are who you say you are. I invite you into my heart and life. We're praying a dangerous prayer and the reason it's dangerous is that you're saying guess what? Jesus is the only way, which means I disagree with billions of people and guess what? That's okay, because they need to hear about Jesus.
Speaker 1:Man, I have good friends, good friends who are good people, that they believe that they can earn their way into God's good graces. I have other friends who are good people, good, believe that they can earn their way into God's good graces. I have other friends who are good people, good families, who believe, if they do enough good things, that they themselves can become God of a planet. I have other friends who are good, good people and they believe hey, if I live right, then my karma will run over your dogma and these other things will happen and it'll be okay. And I have good friends, friends who are good people, who believe in the crystal and the rock and the other thing, and this is why they don't eat meat, because the cow could be their grandma or whatever, and all these things they hold sacred, all of these things being not the answer, and that's a dangerous thing to say. It's a bold thing to say because I'm saying Jesus is the only way and, like Peter and like John, before the religious leaders, I'm telling it to you that Jesus is the only answer and if you're looking for healing and you're looking for restoration, then, friends, he is the only one and it's only by his name that we are saved. It's only by his name that we are saved. It's only by his name that we are restored.
Speaker 1:It picks up here in this story, continues forward in chapter four, verse 13. It says and when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived they were uneducated, because they were like okay, these guys, these guys are not Ivy League, where did they go to school? They're like oh, they're fishermen. These guys are fishermen. Says they were common men. That these leaders were astonished because they're tying together all these things, all these historical pieces that these religious leaders should know, these untrained men know by the Holy Spirit. It says they were astonished and they recognized they had been with Jesus. I love that sentence. The idea is that they know where this came from.
Speaker 1:This came from following after Jesus. What if, whenever you follow after Jesus, he elevates everything that's going on in your mind and in your heart. What if following after Jesus does all that for you? And whenever people follow after Jesus, he elevates everything that's going on in your mind and in your heart. What if following after Jesus does all that for you? And whenever people talk to you, they're like man, this is different than the old you. You're like significantly different. It's almost as if you've spent time with Jesus. What if people say that about you when you're not there? It's like, well, they're different. Now you know they follow Jesus. What does that say about your life? It says that you are doing the right thing because you're living a dangerous prayer out loud.
Speaker 1:Peter and John. Whenever they're challenged, they told them you can't go and preach the name of Jesus anymore. You can't do it, you're not allowed to do it. And they're the religious leaders. These are the ones they're supposed to listen to, and I'll tell you this. This is the thing is that they said listen, we honor you, we honor our leaders. They honored their leaders in their day. Jesus says give to Caesar what is Caesar's. We pray for our leaders. We do so today, the same before the election as we do after the election. We pray for every single leader, because they need guidance from the Lord, god, they need the anointing to be leading our country. And we pray that same thing for all the world leaders that they would have the same empowerment of the Holy Spirit to guide them. But in this moment, they're telling them they can't talk about Jesus anymore. Friends, this is a rule you're allowed to break.
Speaker 1:It says, and Peter and John answered them whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God. You must judge. They're saying you're telling me not to listen to God, isn't that what you do? Ooh, ooh, problem, friends, be obedient to God. Living with obedience to God. It is a dangerous thing Because whenever we say yes to him, that means that we're walking by faith, we're trusting in him. It's a dangerous situation.
Speaker 1:And it says they released them. They didn't know what else to do. They were going to try to hurt them and do a bunch of things. Later they do throw them in prison and you guys know some of the stories that are there. But here in this moment, one of the leaders is like listen, remember when we killed the last leader and all his followers? They just they dissipated. And then this other one, like we got rid of him too. And all those leaders, they all fell apart. Well, this guy that we killed, all of his people are growing in number. Killed, all of his people are growing in number. So maybe, maybe we should just let this one ride.
Speaker 1:And it says that they came together and they were worshiping the Lord. It says here in Acts, 4.31,. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. So they came together. They give glory to God and they're saying Lord, we are so thankful that you counted us worthy to be challenged for you. What a perspective that I was willing to be suffered for your name because you saw me worthy of doing so. And they give glory to God, and what happens there is they get more of the power of God in their lives. It says and now look upon their threats and grant your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal with signs and wonders that are done through the name of your holy servant, jesus.
Speaker 1:Friends, when you pray a dangerous prayer like that, then you will experience the impartation, the shaking of the Holy Spirit in your life and he'll shake you up and he'll start things in your life that you'll see will be a dynamic, a divine miracle. When we dwell in the house of the Lord. Are you praying dangerous prayers, friends? Let's be dangerous for the Lord as we dwell in the house of God. Today we have this opportunity to respond to the word of the Lord, and maybe you're here and you've never made a commitment to Jesus. Today is your opportunity to do so. Let me encourage you, because each one of us has to answer that question for ourselves. Let me encourage you that you would say yes to him today when we ask the question have you embraced Jesus? It's one that's dynamic because every single one of us is responsible for it by ourselves. It's not our parents that can decide for us, and we can't decide for anyone else, not our spouse or our best friend, not our sibling, no one. It's you who have to make a decision to follow Jesus For us.
Speaker 1:We see the symbol of the cross as one that's dynamic. We see it as a place of salvation. We see it as a place that's marked where it starts freedom. We see it where it's, a place where it's all of these things of healing and restoration is all there at the cross. And the reason it's at the cross is because the cross is where Jesus. He took on all of the sin of the world on himself and though he did not commit a sin, he took on our sin, our mistakes. He took on your sin, took on our mistakes, he took on your sin, he took on your mistakes, he took on mine and he paid for them upon the cross. And whenever he gave his life for us, he put to death sin. He put and paid for all of those things so that we could be reconnected with the Father.
Speaker 1:See, there's no way for us to do enough good works. There's no way for us to earn our way into heaven by giving enough. There's no way for us to do any of those things. It's only by grace that we are saved. It's only by the work of Christ and us responding in faith, saying Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are Lord. I believe you are who you say you are Lord. I believe you are the only way to heaven. And so, lord, I place my faith and trust in you.
Speaker 1:Today. The apostle Paul. He writes to the church at Rome. He says it like this because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes and is justified with the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Friends, today is your day. It's your day of salvation. It's your opportunity to invite him into your heart and life. I'm going to ask if you would. If you just stand, if you're here in the room online, you prepare your heart for what God wants to do. To ask if you would. If you just stand, if you're here in the room online, you prepare your heart for what God wants to do.
Speaker 1:Friends, I've been praying for you today, praying for you this week that you would respond to the message of God's love for you. I'm praying for you this week that you would run to God and be put back together, become a new creation that he wants to do in your life. That you no longer have to be filled with guilt and sin and despair, but instead that you can be forgiven of those things and have a whole new life after Jesus. That's been my prayer for you and I pray today that you make that decision to follow Christ. Maybe you're here and you've never made a decision.
Speaker 1:Today is your opportunity. Or maybe you have made a decision in the past, but you definitely aren't living it now and you need to make a recommitment to God today as heads are bowed here in the room. And you need to make a recommitment to God today as heads are bowed here in the room. If that's you, you want to say, pastor, that's me, I'm making a commitment today to follow after Jesus. I want to invite him into my heart and life. I want to recommit my heart back to God. If that's you, if you just raise your hand right where you're at, say, pastor, that's me, I want to make a decision for that. I see the hand that's there. The hand that's there and that's there, people making decisions today, hands that are going up. Thank you, lord. Thank you, lord.
Speaker 1:Others, online friends making decisions. Thank you, god. You know where you're at. You know exactly what you're going through. Thank you, jesus.
Speaker 1:Friends, I'm going to ask if everyone to pray this prayer together out loud. Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name. I pray Amen, amen. Friends, we rejoice with you making a decision to follow Jesus today. Many people raising their hand today, but that's you. Let me encourage you. We want to put something into your hand. You connect with us back at the prayer banner in the back on your way out. We want to give something to you. If you're online, message us. I want to be able to give you resources so you can live for Jesus.
Speaker 1:For all of us, friends, the challenge is this is that we are those who come to Christ. We ask him for more of his impartation in our lives. We ask for more of the Holy Spirit so that we can live this thing dynamically after God. If you're someone that you're lacking something in your life, then I would say this if you seek more of God, then you'll see not just his hand, you'll see his face. And if you see his face, you draw near to him and dwell with him and see that he won't heal you of whatever's going on. See that he won't provide for you in your situation, see that he won't restore your marriage, see that he won't bring back the relationship with your children or your grandchildren.
Speaker 1:Friends, no one is outside of the reach of God. Let me tell you that when we pray these dangerous prayers, we should expect to see the answer from God, but it first comes from us drawing near to him. So today, we open up this altar to you as you come and draw near to the Lord, maybe even just for more of his power and spirit, so that you can see the divine in your life. Lord, we thank you so much for your presence and your power. Lord, we thank you for your anointing and we thank you, lord, for this message that you use as an example to us. Lord, in your timing, lord, we experience the divine healing that is ours, lord, as the children of God.
Speaker 1:Lord, and I thank you, lord, for the boldness, lord, of those who prayed great prayers, like Peter and John. Lord, for this beggar there on the beautiful gate steps. And, lord, not just that, but, lord, the boldness to stand for you and because of it, many people experienced a miracle and many people came to faith in you. And today that's our same prayer, lord, as we come to this altar. Lord, that we would have an impartation of your spirit. Lord, that we would have more of who you are. Lord, not just seeing your hand, but seeing your face. Lord, drawing near to you, lord, to dwell in your presence, lord, and from there we'll experience the miracle and the healing and the restoration, lord, and the provision that we're looking for, lord. We open up this altar today, lord, coming near to you. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Speaker 2:What a fantastic morning. I just feel so encouraged. How many of you feel encouraged to pray and live, yeah, with just that dangerous prayer life? I want to encourage you. If you are new and you've been coming to the church in the last three months, we would love to meet you. We have Party with the Pastor taking place right after this. If you have children, grab them first and then meet us in the East Hallway. There's a room in there and we will be there just to meet you. Our team will be there. We just want to answer any questions you have and just let you know what's going on here at Cornerstone.
Speaker 1:Amen. Before we go, I'm going to pray this blessing over us today. The Lord bless you and keep you, or make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, or lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. Will you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us? We pray this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen, amen. Know this. We love you very much here at Cornerstone. God bless you and have a great week.