Recharge | The Church: Gather to Pray

What does the church do together? This semester on Wednesday nights, we're working through that question one practice at a time.

This week: corporate prayer — and then we actually did it.

Pastor Jason Smith opens with two stories: Adoniram Judson, the first American foreign missionary, sustained in a Burmese prison by a church praying an ocean away — and the early church in Acts 4, a ragtag group of disciples who prayed under threat from the Sanhedrin and watched the room shake.

Then the church family gathered to pray together — for Bo, a 25-year-old bold enough to ask his church family for deliverance from temptation; for Pat and Glenna, asking God to restore their sight; and for Iran, where mission partners report the Gospel is moving forward even as believers are specifically being targeted.

This is what the church is. Not just a gathering. A people who pray — and see what God does.

Part of our ongoing Wednesday night series on what we do together as the church.

https://www.fbcboerne.org/sermons/

https://www.facebook.com/fbcboerne

Transcript

Why The Church Gathers

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So on Wednesday nights, we've been walking through uh this semester, taking a look at uh the church. I want us to think well about the church. And so I've just been kind of doing a step-by-step series. We are now in the middle of a section where we're looking at what we do together as a church. So two weeks ago, we looked at the fact that we gather together to worship. And so, as you can see on the screen this evening, I'm gonna be talking to us briefly about the fact that we gather together to pray, um, and then we're gonna do it. All right, so my my time is going to be short because we're gonna spend some time praying. Adam Iram Judson, the first uh uh uh American foreign missionary, uh, in the early 1800s, him and his wife sailed to Burma, which is modern-day Myanmar. And the mission field was was brutal. And uh especially on Judson for a number of reasons the climate, uh, the language difficulties, but he experienced really intense persecution as well. Um he would uh lose uh his wife and even bury several of his children. Now, at one point, they arrested Judson uh in that persecution and they threw him into a Burmese prison. Now, in your mind, you you need to remember that we're not talking modern-day prisons here in the United States, you know, with uh exercise time and TV time and those sorts of things, right? It's it's filthy, it's awful. Uh and they would beat him and mock him. Uh they starved him. He was wasting away, uh, essentially forgotten. And from all human perspective, uh it looked like his entire mission was finished, and he himself was so discouraged. There, of course, were moments where he did not think he would live, he did not think he could carry on. Now, back in the United States, uh, at that time, there were churches that knew of Judson, they would get reports from him periodically, but they had committed to pray for him. Well, Judson eventually suffered through and uh would go on to do incredible things. He he came back to the states and would visit some of those churches that would um uh that coveted to pray for him. And lo and behold, this is back in the day when church secretaries kept notes of all that they did and what dates and and whatnot. Um but the church the church would give account that they met that Wednesday evening for prayer meeting and and just felt pressed by the Spirit of God to cry out in a special, unique way. And the and the ledgers would would just say, we cried out for Adonai Ram Judson. That's what they did that entire Wednesday night. And lo and behold, it it coincided with with him in prison at his absolute lowest moments, and he gave testimony that in those in those depths he had no clue why, but he would he would be lifted up and and he would be encouraged and he would know that he could make it another day. Okay, I share that with you because I want you, church, to be reminded of the absolute power of prayer. Give you one other account in Acts chapter 4. Right after Peter and John were arrested and they were threatened by the Sanhedrin, they gather together back with the early church. Okay, think of the context. A ragtag group of disciples, okay? The Sanhedrin has just threatened you. They've killed Jesus just months prior, and now they are threatening you. And listen to the account at the end of Acts chapter 20. They gather together and they begin to pray. And this is what they say. And now, Lord, take note of their threats and grant that your bondservants may speak your word with all confidence while we ext while you extend your hand to heal with signs and wonders that take place through your name, the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they prayed, the place that they had gathered together was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. Why? Because they prayed. So with the next six, eight minutes that we have left, I want us to pray. Okay? You can pray in circles where you are. I'm gonna ask you a few questions. Um but we gotta get right into it. Right? Wednesday nights are short, we don't have a lot of time. I do have a question for the floor. Is there anyone here that has something pressing that they want me to pray from stage and all of us to pray together and use? Okay. Alright. For you, brother. Let's go. There's a young man. Bo, how old are you? Twenty-five. A young man, bold enough to say to all of us right here, he needs deliverance from temptation. I want you to extend your hand to him right now. Heavenly Father, we lift up our brother Bo. In the name of Jesus, we cry out on behalf of him and every one of us in this room. Father, we are tempted. We are flesh. But your word has promised that we will not be tempted in a way that there is not a way of escape. And Father, you provide a way of escape. When it's sexual temptation, Father, you provide a way of escape. When it's temptation for us to control situations, when it's temptation for us to gravitate towards material possessions and to find all of our refuge and all other things, Father, you provide a way of escape. And I we lift up our brother Bo right now and we pray a special anointing over him as he walks out in victory solely through the power of the Holy Spirit. But Father, we confess that we need you, that it is a daily battle to walk out of temptation of our life, especially when the enemy gets us in chains, that there's a pattern of our thinking, God, that needs to be broken, that needs to be replaced with your word. And the truth is, is that you are better. You are better, King Jesus. God, allow that truth to wash over him and us as we are in the midst of temptation. Because the devil always lies to us and tells us, whatever it is, in that moment, that immediate gratification, that is the thing that we must chase. Our flesh craves it as well. And Father, we need your spirit to break those chains. Lift Bo's head and lift our head in the name of Jesus. Amen. Anything else? Yes, ma'am. Okay. We'll pray for healing. All right. Am I coming to you or are you coming down here? Seems like I'm coming to you. Okay. Remind me of your names. Pat and Glenna. Pat and Glenna. Heavenly Father, your word teaches us to come to you with all things. King Jesus, while you while you walk this earth, you had the power to heal. You are our creator, and Father, we cry out for those good things right now in Jesus' name over Pat and Glenna. Father, I pray and I ask that you would restore sight. Father, we are so dependent upon our eyes. God, uh, please, in your kindness, in your goodness, would you see it fit to restore that? We ask for good things. Father, we trust you in all things. We know that these bodies, Father, that these bodies wear out. But and that we've been promised the ultimate body on the other side of the grave, the resurrected body. We just celebrated Easter. So, Father, we know where our hope ultimately lies, but we ask. God, we ask because you are a good father, and so you have taught us to ask. And if you say no, we certainly don't want to be because we didn't ask. And so we collectively bow before you right now in Jesus' name. Amen. Anyone else? Got time for one more. Yes, back there.

unknown 10:04

Um the situation in the Middle East.

Closing Blessing And Dismissal

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Yes. Okay, great. The situation in the Middle East. I can tell you I get periodic updates from our mission partner. I've tried to uh pass those along to you. Uh I'm assuming you're aware that there's a ceasefire. I'm assuming that you are like me. All of us are on pins and needles in terms of what's going on inside Iran with the people, with the regime, and all of those things. First and foremost, right, the scripture teaches us to pray for our brothers and sisters, to pray that God's kingdom would come. The reports that I have gotten last week are that in the midst of the turmoil, that the church is flourishing, that the gospel is going forward, okay, that Christians are not shrinking back even though they are specifically being targeted. Okay? Even though they are specifically being targeted. We are incredibly grateful for all of our servicemen and women who are putting themselves in harm's way to accomplish such amazing things in other countries, and we're gonna pray to that end. But ultimately, right, we pray that the gospel would go forward, that people would be saved. You know the darkness in that country? The darkness in that country, but it's the fastest growing uh church in the world for like the past two, three decades. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we cry out, we cry out in Jesus' name. God, you be glorified in the country of Iran. Please, God, please, God, the name of Jesus, continue to show yourself through dreams. We praise you that you have used that medium in such an incredible way that you are showing up through dreams. Father, we pray for our brothers and sisters, just like Acts chapter 4 said, right? There is this fear of the government and an evil regime that wants to squish you. But Father, we pray, we pray exactly this scripture. God, strengthen your church, give them a boldness and a courage. We pray against the kings of this earth that opposed you. Father, we pray that your kingdom would come. We pray that that all that they have done would turn into fertile soil, that the seeds of the gospel would be planted, and God, that you would move, that your name would be great, that as people genuinely assess one, the oppressiveness of Islam and the absolute lack of truth, the false nature of it, the evil nature of it, and the hope of the gospel in the midst of the darkness, that your people are standing up, that your people are preaching the good news. Father, please, please make much of your name. You are worthy. You are worthy to have your name exalted amongst the Persian people, amongst the Arab people. Father, call out your sons and daughters, make them yours. Father, I also pray for those uh Middle Easterns that are here in the United States. I pray for the large Afghan community that is in San Antonio. Father, I pray that they hear the gospel. That you would move amongst them, that you would do a work that we have only dreamed of. All for the glory of your name. All for the glory of your name. Use us however you see fit. We count it such a privilege to live in a day and a time and to have the resources where we can be connected across the globe. Father, use us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God bless you guys. We all pray together. You don't have to break up into circles.