The book of Acts is the most vivid description we have of what the first followers of Jesus, and what the Early Church, actually “did” together. They were moved to mission. They met in small and large groups to teach one another, remember Christ’s sacrificial death, and serve one another in love. They gathered together regularly, in the temple courts, in full view of the public, for worship. They gave generously and sacrificially to further the cause of Christ.
We see how they boldly spoke of their encounter with Jesus (his life, his teaching, his works, his ministry). They recounted their firsthand experience of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. They declared the salvation hope they’d found in Christ. They risked danger, even persecution and death, for the sake of Christ’s name. They traveled to the ends of the earth preaching the gospel, raised leaders, planted churches.
The first followers of Jesus were many things; boring is not one of them! Sometimes we have a hard time reconciling what we read about the church in Acts, with the church we see today. So many churches lose their sense of vitality.
This past week our staff attended a two-day conference. Tony Morgan was describing how every church has a “Life Cycle.” On the left side of the bell curve, a church launches, it grows, it strategizes, it builds momentum, there is excitement. But then a church begins to peak, and the momentum fades. On the right side of the bell curve, a church slips into maintenance mode, it tries to preserve the past and resurrect the glory days. Inevitably, churches find themselves on what he calls “life support.”
The topic this morning is that a Church of Impact “Prays Relentlessly.” You can apply this message just as much to your personal life, and you can the church. Just as churches can lose their sense of vitality, believers can also lose their sense of vitality. Maybe you remember a point in your life when your faith came alive, and you started growing. But then life happened, and you found yourself sliding down the right side of the bell curve. I don’t know, maybe you feel your spiritual life is in “maintenance” mode, or even on “life support”?
Prayer is one of the ways we can invite God to interrupt our lives, interrupt our Church, and interrupt our world. We don’t have to go through the motions, riding the bell curve up then down. We can keep inviting God to infuse new life into our church and into our lives. This morning I want to focus more on the church-wide aspect of prayer, and what it looks like to be a church of prayer. On page 70 of your study guide, you can find a list of some of the critical moments the early church gathered for prayer. There are plenty of passages for you, and your small group, to dig into.
This morning I want to talk about a time when I learned to pray relentlessly...
Back in mid 1990’s, I was working my way through Bible College. Lara & I were engaged, and her dad was urging me to find a ministry. I didn’t know what the big deal was, maybe her dad didn’t want us living in his basement? I had no business preaching. I was young, inexperienced, immature. I heard a nearby Church was looking for a minister so I sent my resume. They drug their feet forever, and finally called me to interview. The church was desperate to having someone come preach, and I was desperate for a job, so it was a match made in heaven!
When I interviewed, the Elders didn’t seem very enthusiastic. They explained how nobody had made a decision for Christ for years. They couldn’t remember the last time they filled the baptistery. Guests rarely visited, and when they did, quickly left never to be seen again. The church was struggling to pay the utility bills. There were barely any families or children in the church. It was like they were trying to talk me out of coming! The sanctuary was falling into disrepair. The property was overgrown with weeds. Stepping into the church, was like stepping back in time fifty years.
The building was symbolic of the spiritual condition of the church, and the community. The church was filled with animosity, division, and strife. People would openly fight and argue. The older ladies gossiped and complained. There was no vision for reaching the town. Christ was being discredited in the community because of the blatant sin and hypocrisy of church members. The church had a reputation for chewing up and spitting out young preachers (a reputation people in the community and at the Bible College repeatedly warned me about).
Here is the first thing I had to learn about prayer:
What did I “really” believe about God’s presence?
Did I believe God existed? Did I believe God saw me? Was God near? Would God be attentive to my prayers? We all imagine ourselves to have great faith—but what do we do when we face challenges, or struggles, or temptations? Prayer tests our true convictions. In Matthew 28:17, Jesus appears to his disciples on a mountain. He had just been crucified and raised from the grave. Some of the disciples worship Jesus but some of them doubt. After Jesus commands them to go and make disciples of all the nations, he makes this amazing statement (this promise) in Matthew 28:20, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
In your heart of hearts, do you believe Jesus’ words? At the end of Mark’s gospel, Mark 16:19-20, we’re told how Jesus was taken up into heaven before their very eyes. “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his words by the signs that accompanied it.” Powerful stuff! The Lord worked with them… The Lord confirmed his words… Listen to the intimacy of that language. We pray to a God who is with us, who is ever present and near. We don’t go forth, whether in life or in ministry, alone. God is within earshot of us, always.
The second I had to learn about prayer was this:
What did I “really” believe about God’s promises?
People were telling me the church I was serving was dead. I was told over again, “If the horse is dead, dismount.” But I got an attitude every time I heard this for two reasons. First, I didn’t believe my church was dead. It may have been on life support, but I believed it still had a heart beat and soul. Second, even if the church was dead, is not Jesus the resurrection and life? And is not the resurrection and life the Lord of the church? And didn’t this same Lord promise to be with us always to end of the age?
In Acts 1:4, Jesus commanded the disciples not to leave Jerusalem, “but to wait for the gift the Father promised,” which Jesus spoke about, which was the Holy Spirit. As I faced my own monumental hurdles in life, I became curious about the promises of God. What kind of promises has God made for an ordinary guy like me? I started reading the Bible and listening to sermons, to understand what I could count on God doing in me, and through me…
I heard one preacher expound upon Jesus’ statement in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus says, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hades will not prevail against it. . . What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” I concluded that whatever my circumstance God wanted me on my toes, not falling back on my heels!
I heard a preacher talk about Jesus statement in John 12:32 where he says, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” I concluded that if I would talk about Jesus as clearly and faithfully as possible, Jesus would take care of the drawing. He’d cause people to respond, to believe, to change, to grow, to flourish…
Early on, by God’s grace, I read the OT story of Nehemiah. When God’s people faced trouble, Nehemiah scoured the Scriptures and he came across a promise God made lone ago. In Nehemiah 1:5 he prays, “O Lord, God of Heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night…” What conviction do you think Nehemiah had about God’s presence?
In his prayer Nehemiah confess his sin before God. He prays, “we have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses.” But then he prays in Nehemiah 1:8, “Remember the instruction you gave Moses… that if you are unfaithful I’ll scatter you… but if you return to me and obey my commands… then even if my people are on the furthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I’ve chosen as a dwelling for my name…” Well, here I am! I’m your servant! I’m claiming your promise! give me success!
My encouragement to you is dig! Dig into God’s word. Dig into the Old Testament, the New Testament. Find the promises God has made to you, the promises that apply to your exact circumstance and situation. You might wonder what you should pray about. Ask God to fulfill his word!
The third thing I had to learn about prayer was this:
What did I “really” believe about God’s power?
One Sunday, after I’d just started preaching, I asked a guy if we could start a Sunday School class. His name was Tom Ealey. Tom was the church treasurer, and he wasn’t sure how to tell me no, so for the longest time it was just the two of us awkwardly meeting in the basement. We studied Colossians, and were struck by the verse in Colossians 1:6 where Paul says, “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.”
And I was like, “Hey Tom… guess what God’s doing to do in this tiny little church, with our tiny little class?” A few months later, I got married, and Lara started attending our class. I was like, “Hey Tom… I started with you, but not there are two, that’s like 100% growth, not counting me. God is showing up!” Week after week, I kept teaching, and all of us kept praying, and slowly but surely God filled one table, then two, then three. We lifted up the name of Jesus, and he drew people into the church. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, and how it was happening in my church!
When you pray, it’s not enough to be assured of God’s presence. When you pray, it’s not enough for you to claim God’s promises. When you pray, it’s absolutely essentially that you also live/ walk/ and act boldly in God’s power. Mark 16:20, “The disciples went out and preached everywhere… and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word.”
If you don’t complete the loop, and actually walk in faith, you’ll never receive the confirmation of God’s presence/promises/power you long for! And I think this in large part explains the gap between what we read of the early Church in Acts and what we see today. The first followers of Jesus leaned into God’s presence, promises, and power… and as a result God interrupted their lives, their church, their world. People were will with amazement and awe. Their impact spread exponentially all over world.
Maybe your spiritual life is in maintenance mode, maybe it’s on life support. Have sought God’s presence, claimed his promises, and walked in his power? When the darkness set in. When the church felt scattered and confused. When the church needed wisdom. When sin, famine, hardship, insult, danger, persecution, or sword came upon the church. When people needed God’s healing touch. When the church was filled with turmoil and division. When their mission was threatened. When opportunities presented themselves… The church prayed relentlessly. Let’s do same!