Finding Boldness Through Prayer Part 2
Acts 4:23-35
Churches in America have operated for centuries without interference or fear of persecution. However, that seems to be changing as Biblical truths conflict with secular values. What is our response to be? Around the globe, persecuted believers have found their greatest weapon is prayer.
When the world attacks the gospel, it wants it silenced. And yet, if it is silenced, it ceases to have a reasonto exist.
Why are we angry and surprised when the world acts like the world?
The world needs the gospel! The world needs Jesus! The world needs those who tell the Good News!
God emboldens His people through contact with Him. It is His person that moves us, not the precepts we defend.
God does not need to empower His people in order for them to sit, but to serve.
Salvation prepares us to have a full spiritual life by giving us the Spirit, but it doesn’t automatically give us the tools to realize that life. That comes through discipleship.
I learned a lot about who God is and about what God does but not about how God desires a relationship with me.
I. The Shaking of God’s Presence is Experienced v31a
· Persons who pray are often more aware of the presence of God than those who have failed to pray.
· Spiritual aptitude is developed by spiritual exercise.
· When God charges His people with His power there is created an ATMOSPHERE of holiness.
II. Spiritual Power is Received v31b
· The filling of the Spirit came as a consequence of prayer-though they did not pray for the Filling of the Holy Spirit.
· The union and unity among the people played a special part.
III. The Sharing of God’s Word Results v31c
· Those filled with the Spirit pour out the Spirit.
· Real evangelism is not just witnessing, it is God sharing Himself through one person to another.
IV. Sacrifice for God’s Purpose is now the Natural Response v32b-35
· The Preparation for Service:
Prayer → Filling → Sharing → Sacrifice
