30/03/2025
Speaker: Isaac Chris
Sermon Title: The Power of Prayer
The Acts 4:23-31
23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
‘Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
The community of Israel was very oppressive then.
Micah 3:9-11
9 Now hear this,
You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And pervert all equity,
10 Who build up Zion with bloodshed
And Jerusalem with iniquity:
11 Her heads judge for a bribe,
Her priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord, and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No harm can come upon us.”
The early church took note of this evil stuff and put their foot down not to allow it to continue. The early church was then persecuted by the leaders. There is power in prayer.
When these people were praying, quoted scripture.
Psalms 2:1-4
1 Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
When you begin to pray according to the will of God, he will answer your prayers. They did not take their will as number 1 but God's will. This is a key to answered prayer: praying according to the will of God. When you come across certain situations, you can tell God, "may your Will be done." Prayer can change nations and communities.
When God was creating Man, he said, "let us create man in our own image that he may rule." We are meant to have dominion or subdue. God qualifies you to rule on this planet. This planet and its fullness belongs to us.
Ephesians 3:1-11 (NLT)
1 When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles
2 assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.
3 As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me.
4 As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ.
5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.
6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.
7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
The will of God is extremely important. Because the saints knew the will of God wherever they went, they began with prayer. They wanted to know the will of God over the people that they were over. We need to know the will of God and once we begin to pray according to the will of God, we will shake the place.
Matthew 6:10 (NLT) May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
This is how we were taught to pray.
Matthew 8:7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
The Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’
Matthew 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
There are times when we ought to deny ourselves.
Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
This is simply telling us to deny ourselves certain things. When we do this, we will then know the perfect will of God. Do not copy the world in all the things that you do. Stay away from it and give yourself to God and you will know the will of God. This is one of the things that you ought to do as a believer.
May we sacrifice our bodies and deny ourselves. What do you watch on your TV and phone? What you watch affects you.
1 Peter 2:15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—
When things are not moving well, continue doing the right things. The devil tries to frame something so that he can sway you from the will of God. How do you respond out there when things aren't working for you? Are you doing good thi gs out there? Are you publicising your master by the good you do?
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
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