WEBVTT 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:07.280 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:11.679 We exist to awaken this generation to life Christ. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:16.320 Thanks for tuning in.com. 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:19.760 Good morning, church. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:20.320 Hi there. 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:23.679 My name is Felicia, and I'm one of the pastors here on staff. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:26.800 And it is my joy to get to be with you today. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:36.240 Today we're starting a two-week series called Bold, and we're going to be looking at what is it like to be bold in uncertain and unpredictable times. 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:40.719 Today I get to walk us through Acts 4 and talk about bold prayer. 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:43.439 So before we do that, let's pray. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:51.039 Father God, we just thank you for this time and ask that you would please just shrink the distance over this screen, God. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:55.600 Would you help us to feel as if we are joined together as one congregation? 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:00.560 I pray, God, for anyone who's joining us for the first time today who may not know you. 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:03.280 God, may today be their day of salvation. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:09.040 For someone who does know you but has just been wavering in their faith, would you bring them back today? 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:13.599 God, I just pray that you would use my words to bless your people. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:17.120 God, by the power of your spirit, would you embolden me today? 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:19.439 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:22.000 All right, church. 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:25.040 So what do you do? 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:30.400 How do you pray boldly when you don't know the outcome? 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:34.719 When you have no idea how something is going to turn out? 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:40.560 How do you pray when you have zero idea what is going on even? 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:42.640 Have you felt that way lately? 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:45.040 Well, I want to tell you something. 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:49.680 Sometimes I pray in an effort to try and control the outcome. 00:01:49.920 --> 00:02:03.120 Now, confession, I'm sure some of you guys do that too, but I just want to say that we're going to talk about what does it look like to pray bold prayers and to pray and ask God for boldness. 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:22.960 So, the question that we're going to be thinking through is how do we boldly pray when we have zero control over the problems that we're facing, and then when things like our money, connections, education have no control over the outcome. 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:33.759 Let me tell you about a time that I was facing when I had no idea how things were going to turn out, but I was betting on God to show up big for me. 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:39.280 So I had to go downtown San Jose Family Court. 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:50.240 I was going there because I was trying to restructure visitation and custody and get a little bit more child support for my daughter who was stepping into middle school. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:53.759 And you know, middle school girls, they require a lot of money. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:03:04.960 So I was stepping into this situation armed with not only what I thought was best for my daughter, but things that she had asked me to ask the judge to help our family. 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:10.159 You see, we had difficulty paying for things that she needed. 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:13.039 And so she was like, Could you please ask the judge for this? 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:14.080 Could you please share this? 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:16.240 Because she was too young to go to court with me. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:24.639 Well, in facing that, I reached out to a few of my prayer partners who had gone with me before, but this time they couldn't come to court with me. 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:27.840 You see, I had to go in on my own. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:37.919 I had to face a judge, and that was scary for me because when it comes to authority, sometimes I tend to get really scared and crumble. 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:44.240 Well, I just want you to know that God is in the details. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:04:02.240 You see, I ask you again, have you been in that situation or some other situation where you had to pray boldly and expect God to show up on your behalf when you had zero control over what was going to happen and zero control over the outcome? 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:06.080 What kind of bold prayers may have you been praying lately? 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:10.479 Have you maybe been praying about what's it gonna look like when we go back to school? 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:14.400 Maybe you're the parent who's like, how do I teach my kids at home? 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:23.759 Or maybe you're that high school student or that college student who's wondering, this experiment we call learning, how am I gonna graduate on time? 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:29.199 What does your bold prayer sound like when you need to find a job? 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:33.920 When you are hoping to keep the job you have? 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:39.519 What is that bold prayer when you, in order to keep your job, have to move? 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:45.759 So that means a new town, new friends, and to try and find a new church. 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:54.879 I bet we've been praying some bold prayers around the COVID crisis and the numbers rising every day. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:56.399 That's scary. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:04.399 There are those people also who work on the front lines, who work in the food industry and work with the elderly who are scared. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:16.079 And what does it look like to pray a bold prayer when there are things going on in the streets, people are trying to fight for equality? 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:25.199 And you're wondering how do we dismantle a systemic system of inequality? 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:29.040 Do I even have the energy to stay the course? 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:36.480 Well, I just want you to know questions like this, prayers like this, have been prayed all throughout the church's history. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:39.120 What do these prayers sound like? 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:42.879 What kind of faith do people have to muster up? 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:46.399 And do you believe that God even cares? 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:58.319 Well, I know he cares, and I know that the church in the early days were trying to figure out what is this like? 00:05:58.639 --> 00:05:59.600 How do we pray? 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:02.720 How do we lean into the power of God? 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:08.720 Well, Jesus told them in Acts 1 that He was going to send power. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:11.279 They were supposed to sit and wait. 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:22.000 And in that sitting and in that waiting, and they were being prayerful in this upper room, Jesus brought about what he had promised them. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:24.480 The power of the Spirit descended on them. 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:36.560 And only because they were in community, focused on prayer and in the word, did they recognize the power that Jesus had promised when it showed up? 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:43.839 Did they recognize that this power that was going to give them incomprehensible power to do great things? 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:46.399 Jesus said greater things than he had done. 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:51.120 It showed up, and they recognized it because of the power of prayer. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.800 So we're going to step into Acts chapter 4. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.879 But before we do that, that story actually starts in the middle. 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:03.680 We've got to go back to chapter 3. 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:09.360 Where we land in chapter 4 starts in chapter 3, and let me just give you a quick summary. 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:22.560 You see, Peter and John were walking into a temple, and on their way in, they have to pass by this gate called beautiful, where they find a man who had been sitting there begging because, well, he was crippled. 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:27.839 He couldn't make money on his own, and so he was asking for help from people. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:33.360 Well, Peter and John look at him and tell him, We don't have silver and gold, but what we have, we will give you. 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:37.600 In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk. 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:44.720 And so he goes into the temple walking and leaping and praising God and runs into people who recognize him. 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:51.040 You see, he was 40 years old at this point, so he had to have sat at that gate for quite a while. 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:59.040 But when he walked into the temple, into Solomon's colonnade on the outer skirts, people recognized him. 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:03.360 But so did the people who the temple actually belonged to. 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:04.879 The Sadducees. 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:15.600 They came up after they heard the roar of the crowd, arrested Peter and John, put them in jail, so they had to await their trial the next morning. 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:28.399 The next morning they stand before the Sanhedrin, this powerful group of people who just weeks before had tried their own Savior and hung him on a tree. 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:40.960 You see, this was a scary place to stand for Peter and John, because just weeks before, Peter, sitting around a campfire, denied Jesus three times to people with less authority. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:47.440 But now he stands before them in boldness to answer the questions that they have for him. 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:48.879 Here's the question. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:55.120 The question was in whose name and under whose authority did you heal this man? 00:08:55.679 --> 00:09:09.120 Well, Peter says to them this it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:14.320 Now, what's important to know about the Sadducees is that they didn't believe in the resurrection. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:16.000 They did not preach that. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:23.519 Back in Luke 20 and in Matthew 22, they share this as they're talking with God, as they're talking with Jesus. 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:29.919 But I love what Peter does is he calls them out right in the midst of them accusing him. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:39.279 And he says to them, This power I speak in, the authority of the name of Jesus Christ, the resurrected one. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:50.720 In that moment, he talks about Jesus as Messiah and at the same time talks about his resurrection, debunking everything that they're teaching in this temple. 00:09:50.960 --> 00:10:06.480 Well, of course, that didn't win him any prizes with them, but because there were people who were around celebrating and praising God, all these people could do was breathe out threats against the disciples. 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:11.519 They told them to stop preaching in this name and stop spreading the gospel. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:18.240 Well, this is what makes me laugh about Peter because he has a lot of courage to say what he says next. 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:23.759 In Acts 4, where we're about to go, but in verse 19, he says this. 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:29.279 Basically, who do you think it's better for me to obey? 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:31.200 You or God? 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:34.960 To put it another way, who should I disobey? 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:38.879 You, mere men, or should I disobey God? 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:46.320 And then he goes on to boldly state, you can't even shut me up about the things that I've seen and heard. 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:50.639 You see, Peter walked with Jesus when he was on the earth. 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:56.960 He walked with him for three years as Jesus preached and taught and healed people. 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:06.960 And those are the things, along with the gospel and the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection, that Peter was not willing to stop preaching about. 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:18.639 So after saying that, there's the party still going on, the excitement around the healing, and they just have to let him go because they didn't want to deal with the crowd. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:20.080 The crowd was on their side. 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:23.039 So the Sanhedrin said, All right, fine, go. 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:40.639 What I love about what happens next, though, is that Peter and John and the rest who were standing around didn't just go back and say, see, the power that God gave us, they didn't get all prideful, yeah, Jesus is on the throne, no problem, we've got this. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:46.639 It wasn't about their strength, it was about the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:52.240 So what they did, they went back to that room and started a prayer meeting. 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.000 Let's read this scripture together. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:12:02.879 Acts chapter 4, verses 23 through 33 reads like this. 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:13.279 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:17.519 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:23.759 Sovereign Lord, they said, you made the heavens and the earth, and the sea and everything in them. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:29.519 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David. 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:33.200 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:38.799 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed. 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:49.519 Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:54.879 They did what your power and the will had decided beforehand should happen. 00:12:55.120 --> 00:13:01.279 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:08.480 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:14.159 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:19.919 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:24.559 All the believers were one in heart and mind. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:31.919 No one claimed that any of their possessions were their own, but they shared everything they had. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:43.039 With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's grace was so powerfully at work in them. 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:55.519 So when they got together to pray, it wasn't to say, see, we won, Jesus worked his power through us, we can do miracles. 00:13:55.840 --> 00:14:08.639 No, what they did is they got together with their community and they prayed to the sovereign Lord who had a plan, who's been working out his plan all this time, since time began. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:15.279 It's why we can hear, count it all joy when you fall into difficult trials. 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:22.559 Why Scripture can say that we are to believe that all things work together for the good of those who love God. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:33.200 Now that doesn't mean that everything that happens is good and that everything is joyful, but that does mean that whatever is happening, God is working out to a good conclusion. 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:46.799 So they prayed to the sovereign Lord in community, looking for the plan of God in the circumstances they were in, and then they acknowledged the leadership of the Holy Spirit. 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.559 And they anchored their faith in God's word. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:55.360 When they talked about their father David, that scripture there, that was from Psalm 2. 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.480 So they were praying God's word right back to him. 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:07.279 At the end of the day, what the apostles and the early believers needed was boldness to move forward in what God had called them to do. 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:14.960 What Jesus said to them when he resurrected, he came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:18.399 Now go and make disciples. 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:26.720 So the very thing that the leaders and teachers of the law were trying to get them to not do was what Jesus told them to do. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:29.200 And they were not going to disobey God. 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:32.559 So what they needed was boldness to move forward. 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:40.639 This is what it looks like to pray bold prayers and to pray for boldness. 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:51.440 The four principles that we can take out of this passage is what does it look like to pray boldly and to pray for boldness? 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:57.279 Well, like I said, bold prayers are prayed in community. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:59.120 What does that mean? 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:04.799 Well, being with people, being with a group of people to pray. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:14.000 That means one or two, as scripture says in Matthew 18, 20, that when two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst. 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:18.000 God is going to show up when just two or more pray. 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:21.360 Here's what you need to know. 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:28.879 Even if you don't have someone to pray with, the Holy Spirit prays with and for you, so you're never alone. 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:39.759 We also can, as in Hebrews, the end of Hebrews 11 and the beginning of chapter 12 tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:45.840 So we have the ability to join our prayers with the faithful ones who have gone before. 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:47.440 See, you're never alone. 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:55.279 Generation after generation, the church has been praying, and we just get to get in flow with those prayers that have been prayed before us. 00:16:55.519 --> 00:17:08.079 Because what that scripture also says in Hebrews 11, near the end of that, is that there were those who were counted faithful who had not received the fullness of what God had promised to them. 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:16.640 Now, they received parts of it that they could remain faithful to, but there were things that could not be fulfilled until the church began. 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:18.319 And that's the same even now. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:24.319 There are people who prayed that could not see things until now the church in this day began. 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.079 So just so you know, you're never alone. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:35.680 You can have a friend, you pray along with the Holy Spirit, or you can pray along with the faithful ones who have gone before. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:39.200 Bold prayers are prayed in community. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:43.279 Next, bold prayers are prayed seeking God's plan. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.880 You see, they prayed to the sovereign Lord. 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:49.759 As I said already, God has a plan. 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:56.559 But if you don't go to him and ask him what it is, you don't get to connect with him and the plan that he has. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:04.160 Whether it's for your life, your community, your family, you have to go to God and ask him what is his plan. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:12.720 You realize that you can know that even though you're afraid, God wants to join with you. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:14.160 We are finite. 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:15.279 He is infinite. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.160 He sees the end from the beginning. 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:20.720 And so that's why we go to God in prayer. 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:22.400 Sometimes I know I do this. 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:27.119 I can be all day concerned about a specific thing in my life. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:35.359 And then I lay my head on the pillow at night and I think to myself, I could have been praying about that the whole day when I was worried about that. 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:42.160 And so I'd say that to you to say, the moment you start to worry, turn that worry into a prayer. 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:45.039 Go to God and say, I don't know what to do with this. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:52.640 That is at least seeking the infinite God for a plan that's better than anything you could ever come up with on your own. 00:18:54.640 --> 00:19:00.400 Then bold prayers are prayed by the leadership of the Holy Spirit. 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:07.519 You see, what happened when they were praying was that they prayed for boldness. 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.640 They didn't pray that God would remove their enemies. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:14.000 That would have been a good prayer, totally, not a problem. 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.680 But they also didn't pray that God would protect them. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:18.880 Also a great prayer. 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:20.319 You can always pray that. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:30.000 But instead, what they did was they prayed for boldness, that whatever came their way, they would be able to face it by God's Holy Spirit. 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:36.160 When they got together, they weren't praying that they would have the Holy Spirit. 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:38.960 They already had Him indwelling inside of them. 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:48.400 What they were praying for was a clearer manifestation of the Spirit so that they could recognize God speaking through and leading through them. 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:51.920 Sometimes we think that, oh, well, how do I do that? 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:56.880 Well, you just ask God, can you help me to be more aware of your spirit? 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:01.359 Can you help me to walk in step with your spirit, as Galatians 5 says? 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:05.680 So that we can walk in step with God's Spirit, we need to ask for that. 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:09.039 And then we need to wait and listen. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:15.920 Sometimes He's just waiting for us to slow down long enough to let the Holy Spirit whisper what's the next step. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:21.759 And then bold prayers are prayed on a foundation in God's Word. 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:29.279 Okay, so I'm just gonna tell you right now, I'm gonna give you what's not such a very good visual, but I guarantee you'll never forget it. 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:38.880 So when we talk about meditation on the Word of God, I've heard this compared to a cow ruminating on its cud. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:43.359 What that means is that it goes into the stomach and then comes back up to the mouth. 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:46.240 Yeah, I told you it's gross, but here's the point. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:55.359 As you get the word of God down into you, what rolls out of your mouth comes from the word of God. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:02.559 So here's the thing I want you to do as you think about meditating on the word of God is what are you memorizing? 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:03.680 What are you reading? 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:05.599 What's your devotional material? 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:10.799 As you get the word of God down into you, it informs the way you pray. 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:19.279 The power you know that you have, the power that you know that God has on your behalf, that is why we meditate on the word of God. 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.599 That is why we memorize scripture. 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:26.720 Next, you can simply pray God's word back to him, like they did here. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:31.039 They prayed Psalm 2, they just opened up their scriptures and prayed it back to God. 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:36.960 The Psalms, there are prayers by Ezekiel and Daniel, prayers by Jeremiah and Paul. 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:40.240 You can just open your Bible and pray those back to God. 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:42.720 It's just that simple. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:51.039 And also, you can take the stories of the Bible, the different narratives that you read, and you can say to God, You did it for them. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:53.519 Would you be willing to do it for me? 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.880 That's how we use God's word in prayer. 00:21:57.200 --> 00:22:09.200 Meditating on it, getting it into you so that it Flows out of you, you can use prayers that are already there or even the stories, asking God, would He do it for you too? 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:19.519 But when you do that, realize that the goal isn't to shape the Word of God to you, but for the Word of God to shape you. 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:23.200 We sometimes don't want to take the Word of God as is. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:25.359 We want to make it fit us. 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:32.559 But the way to get the mind of Christ is to be like Christ, to let the will of God be the number one thing in your life. 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:39.200 Jesus said, Not my will, but your will be done, in the hardest thing that God was asking him to do. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:47.440 If we're going to be more like Christ and have the mind of Christ, we have to not make the word fit us, but let it mold us. 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:53.680 Praying bold prayers, you'll see in verses 27 through 30. 00:22:53.759 --> 00:23:03.920 I'm not going to read them again, but a couple of other things that may not be some specific points, but I just want to say these to you because as you look at those verses, you'll see they were honest with God. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:07.680 They said to God the realities of the situation. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:11.279 Then they didn't assume that God knew, they asked. 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:16.400 They asked God to consider them, to enable them, and to join with them. 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:22.240 And then lastly, they had an expectation that God would show up on their behalf. 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:27.039 They didn't just assume, oh, well, I'm just going to throw this up to the sky and whatever happens, happens. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:30.559 No, they served a God that they knew would show up on their behalf. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:33.599 They didn't know how, but they knew that he would. 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:37.039 Let's read verse 31 again. 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:45.759 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:52.319 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:59.599 I bring that verse back up again because what you notice is nothing changed. 00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:07.759 There was still a hostile environment outside that they had to go back into to continue preaching the gospel because they had determined to obey God. 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:13.440 So if nothing changed, then why pray bold prayers? 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:15.359 Why pray for boldness? 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:19.759 Well, because bold prayers cultivate hope. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:28.079 And scripture tells us that hope in God never disappoints, and those who hope in God will never be put to shame. 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:30.799 That is why we pray bold prayers. 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:40.000 Not because we necessarily know the way it's going to turn out, but because we know the God who we believe in and have faith in. 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:44.319 So let's take a look. 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:51.920 When God shows up in answer to our bold prayers, things start to get shaken up. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:53.759 What does that look like? 00:24:54.000 --> 00:25:04.480 Well, God isn't going to necessarily shake things up exactly the way you asked, but he might shake up your perspective about what you asked for. 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:07.200 You see, God is always after our hearts. 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:15.119 He's not always just after like what it is that we exactly want, because he knows exactly what we need. 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:20.559 And because he's a good father, that's what his aim is to give us, is what we need. 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:23.680 He might also shake up our complacency in our faith. 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:30.720 Sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers exactly the way we want or in the timing that we want, because he wants a relationship with us. 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:32.640 He wants to continue to grow your faith. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:35.839 And so he'll shake things up to grow your faith. 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:39.680 He might shake things up because you're praying too small. 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:43.279 And he wants you to pray bigger and bolder prayers. 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:45.279 That's why God shakes things up. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:52.799 And he might also shake things up to change your posture and the atmosphere that brings you into prayer. 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:58.240 He might want to embolden you to change what's happening around you. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.079 Next, bold prayers unify God's church. 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:11.519 Jesus in chapter 17 of John prayed his last prayer before he went to the cross. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:16.880 And he prayed for unity among his believers and then for those who would believe in their message. 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:22.319 And so we pray bold prayers, and when we do that, God unifies his church. 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:24.799 Because prayer is intimate. 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:33.839 And practically speaking, when we pray with someone, when we connect with them in an intimate way, we're less likely to be jealous of them. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:35.839 We're less likely to envy them. 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:41.519 We're less likely to covet things that they have, and we're more likely to be forgiving. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:52.880 When we meet with people and we pray with them and we know what's going on in their lives, then when they say something to us that may be offhand, we're like, I let that go because I know their heart. 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:55.359 That's what unity looks like. 00:26:55.519 --> 00:27:00.079 When we pray bold prayers, God brings that kind of unity into his church. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:02.640 He also emboldens the leaders. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:07.119 Can I just tell you, as a leader of awakening, I hope you are praying for us. 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:09.200 Because we need boldness. 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:20.240 We need to be emboldened as we continue to figure out what it looks like to meet this city right where it is and to continue outside of our walls the things that God is doing in us. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:27.920 Yes, we start with Del Mar helping those who are in need, but we want to go beyond our walls and into the city to help the vulnerable. 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:36.079 And so we need to be emboldened, not to be another do-gooder organization, but to do it in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:43.759 We want people to know why we do what we do, and more importantly, who is behind why we do what we do. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:45.599 And so we need boldness for that. 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:46.640 And so do you. 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:56.640 Whether it's in your school, whether it's online or not, you have friends that you've made and that you've met, you have roommates who may not know Jesus, you have family members who may not know Jesus. 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:59.759 And as we say here at Awakening, all of us are leaders. 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:05.599 You are leading in some way in your life, as a student, as a friend, as a mother, as a coworker. 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:10.960 And so you need to be emboldened as you step into the places where you have influence. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.480 And so God does that when we pray bold prayers. 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:18.559 And then God unleashes grace to all. 00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:22.799 I don't know about you, but I could use some grace sometimes. 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:27.680 And our city needs grace, and our friends need grace, and our family needs grace. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:37.519 And grace is, as Ryan has told us many times, doing for someone what they need when they deserve it the least. 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:47.039 But what's important to also understand about grace is that it's the overflow of unconditional love that we have received from God. 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:52.319 It is important for us to understand what that looks like. 00:28:53.279 --> 00:29:02.160 So, God shakes things up in our lives, and some things are unexpected the way they turn out. 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:11.279 I want to bring you back to the story I was telling at the beginning because there was a very unexpected ending to this story for me. 00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:31.440 You remember I was walking into court armed with my paperwork, with what I thought were reasonable requests of the court, what my daughter wanted, and I thought I'm gonna go stand in the gap for her, I'm gonna speak truth, not diminishing anything and not inflating anything, but simply the truth. 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:40.880 I go into court with my prayer support behind me, and I was devastated at the way it turned out. 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:44.640 You see, I didn't get what I wanted that day. 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:47.839 Everything stayed exactly the same. 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:49.680 I was lied on. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:30:00.720 I was actually, believe it or not, laughed at by the judge, and that was really hard because he thought I was after something else that I wasn't. 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:07.920 And I was not so necessarily upset with how that turned out. 00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:09.920 I was upset with God. 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:16.400 Because God was the one I was believing in and waiting on to help me. 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:19.200 God was the one who I expected to give me justice. 00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:21.680 I don't expect justice from the courts of man. 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:26.640 So that day when I left the court, I was in tears. 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:30.079 And I was like, God, what just happened? 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:32.079 I thought you were on the side of the vulnerable. 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:34.240 I thought you cared about children. 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:37.759 God, I thought you cared about justice. 00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:39.839 What just happened? 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:51.839 And as I sat crying, I felt like a little girl myself in that moment, with my head on the knee of my father, just crying out to God. 00:30:52.160 --> 00:31:00.000 And I felt as if he just began to rub my head and say to me, sweetie, I know that hurt. 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:04.799 I know that what just happened seems like they won. 00:31:06.160 --> 00:31:07.119 And it did. 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:14.079 It felt like a huge punch in the guts to have to go home and tell my daughter that we didn't get anything that she asked for. 00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:26.480 But when, in my mind's eye, I could see God lift up my head and take his hand under my chin so that I could look to his face. 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:35.680 And what he said to me was this they've emptied their bag of tricks, and you're still here. 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:42.720 In that moment, I let that reality wash over me. 00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:49.920 And I realized he's right, there's nothing else they could do. 00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:54.960 And that emboldened me in a way that I never thought was possible. 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:58.960 So you guys know me 12 years after this event. 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:07.200 And so you guys may see me as someone with confidence and boldness, but that was because of that day and many more days like that since. 00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:10.960 That God has continued to teach me how to trust him. 00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:22.559 That God, even when he doesn't answer in exactly the way that I want him to, that I don't think that he's out to get me, but I know he's up to something for my best good. 00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:31.680 And so I want you to know that when God may not answer prayers exactly the way you want him to, that doesn't mean he doesn't love you. 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:33.920 And I want to ask you something. 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:40.160 When that happens, do you run away from him or do you run to him? 00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:44.240 Because he can't change your perspective if you run away from him. 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:50.559 He can't change anything about the way you see the situation if you run away from him. 00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:53.440 You have to run to him, even as hard as that is. 00:32:53.599 --> 00:32:59.920 But here's the thing: he's big enough, he can handle your anger, he can handle your frustration, he can handle your tears. 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:01.759 So run to him. 00:33:02.319 --> 00:33:07.359 He wants to shake things up for you, but he can't if you run away. 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:15.200 I just believe truly that there's someone out there who has been running from God and he's saying, Will you come to me? 00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:16.559 Will you cry to me? 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:22.160 Will you let me show you exactly what I'm up to and what you're going through? 00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:28.960 I may not have answered it exactly the way you wanted, but I have a plan and I'm working it out. 00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:52.960 You see, church, I'm convinced that bold prayers, prayed in community, seeking the sovereignty of God, based in his scripture and connected to the power of the Holy Spirit, that God's up to something. 00:33:53.119 --> 00:33:56.480 He's a good father and he wants to answer. 00:33:56.799 --> 00:34:00.640 Maybe not the way you want, but in the way that's best for you. 00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:03.279 So here's what I want you to do. 00:34:03.599 --> 00:34:11.039 We're just gonna demystify prayer, and I'm gonna ask you to step into an actual relationship with God through prayer. 00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:16.639 This next week, I want you to get one person, maybe two at the most. 00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:19.840 And I want you to simply pray. 00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:22.559 Get in community with people. 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:23.760 And here's what I want. 00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:28.880 If you've got 15 minutes, you each get one minute to share your prayer requests, and then you pray. 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:31.280 If you got 20 minutes, you get two minutes each. 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:33.039 Because here's what I know about people. 00:34:33.199 --> 00:34:38.800 We tend to sit with our friends and we chit and we chat, and then they tell us, oh, I'm sorry, I don't really know what to do with that. 00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:40.079 We should probably pray. 00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:41.440 So then pray. 00:34:41.679 --> 00:34:45.599 Pray your request, your request to God and see what he will do. 00:34:45.920 --> 00:34:52.000 Because here's what I know: God wants to shake things up in our lives and in our world. 00:34:52.320 --> 00:35:00.400 God wants to bring unity in his church and to start, and it starts with small groups of people willing to pray. 00:35:00.719 --> 00:35:15.199 God wants to embolden us, and so that happens when we take the invitation to boldly come before his throne of grace, and then he unleashes his grace on the community that we're ready to serve. 00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:24.559 Church, what would it look like if awakening became a prayerful church, praying bold prayers and praying for boldness? 00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:27.199 Who might we become? 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:29.280 How would God use us? 00:35:29.920 --> 00:35:31.360 I know I want to be used. 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:34.239 I know I want to see this church be used to do great things. 00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:38.880 So, are you ready to pray? 00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:41.599 Are you ready to step out in boldness? 00:35:43.360 --> 00:35:44.320 Will you join me? 00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:45.920 Because I'm gonna do it. 00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:47.920 Pray with me. 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:56.000 Father, I thank you that I know that we have a church of praying people. 00:35:56.159 --> 00:36:01.039 I know that you've also woken some people up today to the power of prayer. 00:36:01.360 --> 00:36:09.199 And I pray that through your word that they would understand how to continue to connect with you in a real way. 00:36:09.519 --> 00:36:11.360 God, you want relationship with us. 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:15.199 And I know relationship does not happen without communication. 00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:21.440 And so I pray that you this week will begin to cultivate for your children a new relationship with you. 00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:28.000 Would you demystify prayer for them as they step into community to pray with their brothers and sisters? 00:36:28.239 --> 00:36:31.360 I pray that in small groups people would start to pray together. 00:36:31.519 --> 00:36:37.039 I pray that friends and couples and families would start to pray together this week. 00:36:37.519 --> 00:36:43.519 God, would you meet them and embolden us as a church and ready us for what you have for us next. 00:36:43.760 --> 00:36:45.199 In Jesus' name. 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:46.159 Amen.