People Who Pray in Times of Crisis and Trouble (Ac. 4:23-37)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” May the unprecedented and never-repeated answers of God be upon you today. The title of today’s message is, “People Who Pray in Times of Crisis and Trouble.” It might be hard to tell on an everyday basis, but when there’s a problem or crisis, then our true actions and beliefs are revealed. Typically, in the face of a problem or a crisis, people try to think of a method or some kind of strategy, that’s the characteristic of people who live centered on themselves, without God. However, people who believe in and have God will look to God to see His guidance and plan in the face of crisis. It’s not that that takes place automatically, that action follows whatever is inside of that person already. For example, if, inside of me, I prioritize my experiences and the knowledge that I’ve gained, then I’ll use that to create a strategy for that problem. On the other hand, if the things of God are inside of me, then I’ll look to God in problems.
1. Prayer in the midst of crisis
1) Words of the priests and elders (Acts 4:23)
(1) Do not speak in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:17)
(2) Do not teach (Acts 4:18)
(3) Prohibited the gospel by the authority and name of the council (Acts 4:7)
During the Early Church, Peter and John raised up the crippled beggar in the name of Jesus, so the Israelites imprisoned or arrested Peter and John and made them stand trial. The Israelites are saying that, “By our authority, we forbade you from testifying of Jesus Christ; why are you speaking of Him?” That is where the Word was proclaimed, that there is no other name than Jesus Christ through which we are saved. We call that, “only,” the “only” that does not exist in the world, the one thing given by God, the salvation, there is only one. When the Israelites saw that the crippled beggar was indeed standing, they had nothing to say and let Peter and John go.
We do need to experience and learn many things, it’s because we live in a physical world, but if we don’t have the true “only,” then all of these experiences and knowledge will hurt me more than they help me. King Saul was like that, he had so much power and knowledge, but because he did not have “only,” those great things actually destroyed him. The Christians must follow “only” because there is no other way for salvation other than only Christ. There is no way for us to receive power other than only God. There is no way for this world to be saved other than proclaiming only Jesus Christ. For the people who study and work while holding onto “only,” they will receive the answer of “uniqueness,” then without a doubt, the works of “re-creation” will take place. Once God saves us, He wants to change us through re-creation. He wants to re-create the curses of our family line, and He re-creates the curses and the destiny that I was supposed to receive, and He re-creates the culture of the region in which I am living.
So, the Israelites leaders threatened Peter and John, “Do not ever speak or testify of the name of Jesus Christ again,” so they went back to the members of the Early Church and told them what they had heard. They told the members of the Early Church, “If we testify of the name of Jesus Christ, we will be put to death,” but the members of the Early Church had gathered in Mark’s upper room to believe in Jesus Christ, and not only were they intending to quietly believe in Jesus Christ alone, this was a gathering of people who want to testify of Christ. But, if they do testify of Christ, they would be exiled from society and give up on success. Later on, they would even have to stake their lives. This is the crisis these people faced. There are many reactions that can come, “Oh, how could we break through this crisis?” Some people might think, “Let’s try to break through this crisis by reading the books of old heroes like Napoleon or Genghis Khan or CEOs or heroes of the past.” Some people who believe in God might begin to resent God, saying, “If God is alive, why is He allowing this crisis?”
2) Prayer with one heart
(1) Lifted their voices together to God (Acts 4:24)
However, the members of the Early Church reacted to this by raising their voices together in prayer to God. That’s because the absolute things of God were inside of these people. It was automatically activated as their inner system. When we have external problems or crises, then our internal system must activate to automatically stand before God.
(2) Sovereign Lord (Acts 4:24)
(3) Made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them (Acts 4:24)
They were praying to the Sovereign Lord, they were standing before the One Who is controlling the heavens and the earth. They said, “Sovereign Lord, You made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.” When we face a problem or a crisis, we must go back to the fundamentals, we must stand before God Who is the source of all things, because only God controls and moves all things, so we must stand before Him. There is no greater wisdom than that, there is no greater strategy than that, because we entrust it all to God. When you’re facing a problem or a crisis and you stand before God, He will continuously give you evidence that He is alive.
3) Prophecy through David
(1) Nation’s rage (Acts 4:25)
Inside of this crisis, the Holy Spirit begins to work inside of them. The Holy Spirit reminded them of the Word of God in the Old Testament to David. This was in Psalm 2 when David said, “Why do the nations rage?” It says “All peoples, all nations rage.” If people do not have God, if people do not have Jesus Christ, they are bound to have rage. If the peace of God is not within us through Jesus Christ, then we have no choice but to act with rage. We try to cover this up with our personality or with manners, however, it is like a dormant volcano, where the magma can erupt at any point, that is the state of being separated from God. Many people try to oppress this or try to change this with the methods of the world. When people get married, they look at the positives of the other person they like; however, human beings who are born separated from God are filled with rage inside. It’s just that you’re not able to see that in the other person because you’re only looking at the things that you like. But, God is telling us through the Bible, about the spiritual inner state of people who are separated from God.
(2) Peoples plot in vain (Acts 4:25)
David says, “The peoples plot in vain.” Many people are plotting or planning their lives, but it is all in vain, but they work so hard without realizing it’s in vain. In the end, they will realize, “It was all useless.” The older you get, the more you will realize, things do not go your way, that’s what it means to become mature. When you’re young, you think you can do anything, and that is immaturity, because you think, “Yeah, I can study on my own, I can work hard and get into college, I can work hard and get a job,” but after that, you’ll face more and more things that are beyond your control, because I cannot manage my life. That ideology is given by Satan. The Creator and Ruler of all is truly managing everything.
But when people are separated from the spirit of God, they turn back to being centered on themselves and physical things. All of their thoughts, everything they’re centered on, are focused on themselves. Because they do not have God’s wisdom, they think of everything within their own experiences and knowledge. They speak of “my things,” they only seek “my own things.” Because I don’t know God, of course, I will seek “my things,” “what I like,” “what I want,” then I cannot escape from “me.” Some people who go a little beyond themselves think, “us,” “my family,” “our company,” or “our nation.” But if you realize the gospel, it’s not about me; it’s Christ. It’s not about what I want, it’s what God wants. It’s not about revealing my own name, but testifying the name of Jesus Christ to the entire world. So, which of these two streams are we going into now? Am I going into the stream that is centered on “me,” “my things,” and “us,” or am I going into the stream of Christ, God’s Kingdom, and world evangelization?
People work so hard and live so diligently but it’s all in vain. That’s what King Solomon said. King Solomon who had the greatest wisdom and had the most wives and most power of all people said that everything is in vain. What does this mean? Is he telling us not to do anything in the world? Is he saying that we don’t need to study or work or that we don’t need money? No, if you don’t eat, you die; if you don’t make money, you can’t live in the world. If you don’t study, then you’re going to lack knowledge and life will be hard. It’s saying, “Do not rely on those with your heart.” There is nothing we can rely on other than God. We rely on our great knowledge, but later on, it is in vain. So yes, we do need that knowledge and education, but we cannot rely on it. Yes, people are important, but we shouldn’t rely on people; we must only rely on God. That was King Solomon’s final confession. The Bible is telling us the same thing today. All of the plans that the people of America and the entire world are living with are in vain.
(3) Kings and rulers of the earth oppose Christ
Then Acts 4:26 says, “The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD.” This is the Word the Lord had already given to David in the Old Testament by the Holy Spirit. So, in the face of a crisis, by the work of the Holy Spirit, these people are remembering the Word of God. So, how are the kings and the rulers opposing the Anointed One?
2. Confirm the situation through the Word and prayer
1) Blocked the gospel
(1) Herod and Pontius Pilate (Acts 4:27)
Acts 4:27 says, “Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus.” There are two types of people in the world. There are people who testify of the name of Jesus and those who go against the name of Jesus—only two. In Genesis 3:15, as soon as Adam and Eve fell away from God because of sin, God planned to send them the Christ.
That’s in Acts 4:28, they did what your power and will had decided beforehand about what should happen. This means that Jesus Christ was already predestined to die on the cross to save all of the sins of mankind. That is in God’s power and will to fulfill. So, these people, the leaders and the kings gathered together to conspire against Jesus according to God’s will. This world has unity in opposing Jesus. If you didn’t know Jesus Christ accurately and then you began to testify of Jesus after you knew Him, then your family will start to fight back against you. When you talk about other things, then you can be more united. But the moment I tried to testify of Jesus Christ, now they start to resist and go against me; that’s the work the devil does with authority in the world.
(2) Joined together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel (Acts 4:27)
So, Jesus Christ being crucified on the cross, Herod, the King of the Israelites, Pontius Pilate from Rome, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all in unity to crucify Him, so Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross. So, in their vain plotting of life, they went on the side of killing Jesus. But even that was part of the process to fulfill the plan of God.
(3) Opposed Jesus (Acts 4:27)
Jesus Christ was not crucified because He was not powerful enough to block it; it was already within God’s will and plan, and God used those who were plotting vain in life to fulfill His work. Does that mean after the cross that the vain plots or plans of people’s lives went away? No, they’re still in progress. That’s the reason the Israelite leaders were so angry and stopped people from testifying of Jesus Christ. Then, all of their leadership and attempts to control the Israelite nation were in vain; it was futile.
2) Fulfillment of the Word
(1) To accomplish God’s power and will (Acts 4:28)
(2) To carry out what He had predestined (Acts 4:28)
(3) Gathered together (Acts 4:28)
So, the members of the Early Church are facing this crisis again, and they pray to God, the Lord. If you see the contents of their prayers, you can tell what their spiritual state is like. Within any kind of crisis, problem, or situation, without a doubt, there is a plan of God’s blessing in there. This is the reaction of people who know and enjoy that mystery. However, if we think that this is going to be a big problem or that this is going to be the end, then it’s evidence that we’re losing hold of the gospel, because Christ is our Lord and Master even now. Even in the midst of our problems and crises and circumstances, Christ is our Lord. This might look like a problem or a crisis to us, but the Lord has already a plan to bless us with the gospel. The only difference is whether we’re able to see that or not yet.
3) Prayer content
(1) Look upon their threats (Acts 4:29)
(2) Enable Your servants to speak Your Word with boldness (Acts 4:29)
The members of the Early Church prayed next, “Consider their threats and enable your servants to speak Your Word with great boldness.” The absolute Word of God never changes. God promised Abraham that, “Through You, all peoples and nations will be blessed,” and that Word never changes. God promised us, “Go and make disciples of all nations, proclaim the gospel to all peoples, and heal them,” that promise never changes. No crisis we are facing can block the Word of God’s promise. Maybe your life plans will be broken down, but the Word of the Lord can never be broken down.
(3) Stretch out Your hand to heal (Acts 4:30)
After they prayed to testify of the Word, they said, “Stretch out Your hand to heal.” This means, to “Stretch out the hands of Jesus Christ to heal.” It might look like I am stretching out my hand, but it’s actually Jesus Christ Who is stretching out His hand to heal, because that was promised.
(4) Perform signs and wonders through the name of Jesus (Acts 4:30)
“Perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant, Jesus.” It’s possible that you are in a crisis where the gospel is being blocked or the gospel is being hidden. In that time, when those who are diseased are healed and the great signs and wonders of God are performed through Jesus Christ, it is evidence of Christ’s resurrection. So, if there’s anyone who is suffering from problems, diseases, or crises in your workplace, at your school, or maybe where you live, I hope you will pray for them because these works must take place for the gospel to be proclaimed. The reason why God raised up the paralyzed man was so all of Israel could see Jesus Christ.
3. Filling of the Holy Spirit, proclamation of the Word, offering
1) God’s presence (Acts 4:31)
(1) The place was shaken (Acts 4:30)
(2) Filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:30)
(3) Spoke the Word of God boldly (Acts 4:30)
Then, Acts 4:31 says, “After they prayed, the place they were meeting in was shaken,” that meant that God was present there. When Moses was on Mount Horeb, there was a cloud that would symbolize God’s presence, and after they prayed, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. What is the filling of the Holy Spirit? If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, it means that the Holy Spirit completely takes over your thoughts, your heart, your emotions, and it channels through your physical body to reveal God. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
You need to think of the word, “healing” correctly today. Whatever the doctor does is just a treatment. What God does is He saves the fundamentals. When the Holy Spirit completely controls my heart, my thoughts, and my emotions, even my mental illnesses are overcome. The scars and the traumas of my heart will also be healed when the Holy Spirit completely fills and controls me. The health we can get from therapists and counselors are a little bit helpful, but we must receive the fundamental healing through Christ. If the Holy Spirit strengthens our thoughts and our mind, then even our body is healed as well. It’s the same principle for your studies and your job. When you pray, then the Holy Spirit will fill Your thoughts with wisdom in order to spread the Kingdom of God. God will do that because your studies or your job is a tool to testify of the gospel of the ends of the earth.
Then, what is the role of the Holy Spirit? John 14:26 tells us it teaches us and reminds us of the words of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit reveals the future to us. When this Holy Spirit works upon my thoughts and my heart, then I will remember the words of Jesus Christ, which will bring me peace. That’s in John 14:27, where it says the peace of God will guard your heart and minds. That’s why when Jesus sent His disciples to evangelize, He told them to ask others, “Do you have peace?” This peace is given by Jesus; it is not for the world. Whatever you get from the world may be comfort, “Oh, if I don’t have any problems right now, then I’ll be comfortable and happy,” that’s the worldly standard. Let’s say that there was a time of war, and then the war ends and there is a time of peace, the people say, “There is peace,” but the peace that the Bible tells us about is the peace of Jesus Christ inside of us. Human beings are so amazing because we were created to live, receiving the power and the peace from God Himself. But if we don’t receive that from God, then people have no choice but to be filled with rage and face problems in life.
That’s why you should always work in prayer, study in prayer. When the person who has this prayer faces a problem, they will overcome that problem. Praying means you’re spiritually looking towards God at all times, and when that kind of person faces a crisis, they overcome the crisis. That’s prayer, I hope you will understand prayer correctly. What is evangelism? It’s the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it is something done by God by the work of the Holy Spirit, and it is the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Why do I study and why do I work? In order for that to take place. If I’m studying to fulfill my own plans and desires, then that is the strategy of the devil and that is all in vain, vain, vain. May the plan of God that He has had before the creation of time be fulfilled through me. Then God will boldly testify of His Word through that person. The evidence that God is with me is that I can remember and receive God’s Word.
2) One heart, one mind
(1) Shared their possessions with one another (Acts 4:32)
Then, once these people are filled with the Holy Spirit, Acts 4:32 says, “All the believers were of one heart and one mind.” Because the Holy Spirit worked, they had one heart and one mind. If the Holy Spirit does not work upon us, human beings have no choice but to have conflicts and division in mind. It’s very difficult to align with someone else’s heart. But people try so hard in their lives to barely maintain that alignment, that’s hard. But, if both people are looking towards God and are aligned with God’s heart, then that’s easy. In the family, the house is not the head, Christ is the head and center. The family is not centered on the children, Christ is the center; that is what the family teaches. God wanted to teach us that, that’s why He allowed us to live together, because God wanted us to see and learn a life that is centered on Christ.
(2) No one claimed that their possessions were their own (Acts 4:32)
No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own and they shared everything that they had. When you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, then there is no “mine.” Before, it was “mine.” Now, it belongs to God and now we share for those who are in need. We use it to proclaim the gospel in the field. We use it to maintain worship and the church building. Money is from God, it is not made by me, it could all go away overnight. As evidence that it belongs to God, the harder you try to hold onto it, the more it will escape. Then, all of it will crumble and you will realize. From the beginning, you need to know this, “My life is not mine, it belongs to God.” When God takes it, you must go. Your children are not yours, if God calls my children away, then I can’t do anything about it. Your studies are not for you. I take what God has given me and use my studies to glorify God. The reason God gave me my business is momentarily entrusting it to glorify God. without this, all of our finances are useless.
(3) No needy persons (Acts 4:34)
Then it says in Acts 4:33, “There were no needy persons among them.” There are some people who only talk about the death of Jesus. “Jesus died on the cross for you,” and a lot of people end it with just that. But if you haven’t testified of the resurrection of Christ, then you haven’t testified of Him at all. So yes, Jesus died to solve our sin, but what after that? He is alive right now, Christ is alive right now, and when we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, God works upon us as evidence that God is alive. When I proclaim the gospel, I tell nonbelievers this boldly because nonbelievers do not believe in Jesus, so they kinda resist, but I tell them very surely that all problems of mankind are from the fundamental problem. Every problem comes from the sin that separates us from God. The problem you are facing right now, the problem your family is facing is coming because we’re separated from God, and because our spirit is dead, God cannot act upon us, so then, we are seized by the devil and have no choice but to worship idols. There is no way to escape from that other than “only Christ,” and if you are set free by the name of Jesus Christ, then pray in the name of Jesus Christ as evidence that God is with you. Then, as evidence that God is alive, He will give you answers.
Talk about how God had worked upon you in the previous week, and I’d tell them that last week, my God worked upon me in this way, with His Word. That is testifying of the resurrection. Then they can’t say anything against it. People just talk about Christian doctrine, that’s why people talk back with theory, and sometimes people talk about what they learned in Bible studies, so people argue against that. Talk about the resurrection right now. One time, I went to evangelize at UC San Diego, and I talked with a Muslim student, and imagine how much this student was arguing that Jesus was only a prophet. Then, what should I do? They’re not going to receive that.
So I said, “Let us pray. You pray in the name of Allah and I’ll pray in the name of Jesus Christ.” There is nothing I can show other than that, so I pray, In the name of Jesus Christ, may the forces of darkness and evil spirits be cast out. May the authority of the devil that is holding onto this student be broken, and inside of my heart, I pray, “May this student come to know and understand Jesus Christ.” What I’m telling you is, at your job, in your family, in your region there are people who are facing crises and problems, so, pray for them. Go and pray for them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has all authority on heaven and on earth, that this evil spirit will be cast out. God gave you the name of Jesus Christ so you can use it to proclaim the gospel, and if needed, even miracles take place.
But if you’re worried about what other people think, then you’ll never be able to proclaim the gospel. Pray boldly for God to reveal the miracles and signs at your company, your family, your region to show that God is alive. The covenant of God will never be blocked. When you pray in the name of Jesus Christ, forces of darkness break down, so, use the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, may all of the organizations of darkness in my family and region be broken down. When you pray in the name of Jesus Christ, God is already sending you angels with answers. In Daniel 10, when Daniel revolved in his heart through prayer, God was already sending him answers through angels. The devil was blocking that angel for 3 weeks. Then, the Archangel Michael fought against the evil spirits in the sky and brought the answer to Daniel. When we hold onto the covenant and pray for God’s will in the name of Jesus Christ, answers are already on their way. Once you go out into the field, God had already sent the angels and prepared the answers there. All of that takes place during worship, so this is what it means to make worship the greatest time of victory.
People who make a lot of money don’t work that hard. They have already finished everything, they already know exactly who they’re going to go to, and they make appointments. But people who cannot make a lot of money, they work really hard from morning to night, but the more expensive a restaurant is, they only take reservations, they don’t go out and do sales, because their product is so good, and it’s very unique. So, people who have money will gather to them, so they buy it from each other. That’s what Christians are like, that’s what the spiritual things are like. Already, here, the answers have begun, then, for the rest of the week, you’re going into the world to confirm those answers. Knowing this is the one who knows the mystery, but the devil will prevent you from knowing this. So I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that you will restore this blessing.
3) Received great grace
(1) Sold their land and houses (Acts 4:34, Acts 4:37)
(2) Laid at the apostles’ feet – Offering (Acts 4:35)
(3) Distributed to each as any had need (Acts 4:35)
So all of these people received grace and testified of the resurrection of Jesus and began to give offering. They lay the offering down before the Apostle’s field, meaning it was given to the church for the church to use wherever it was needed. That’s what happens when people receive the grace of the filling of the Holy Spirit—they give offering. “Oh, I received God’s grace but I never want to give offering,” then you haven’t really received grace. The Bible tells us, we have to choose, will you serve God or will you serve money? But if you receive grace from God, you’ll realize, “My life does not belong to me, I give it to God.”
Conclusion
1. Confirm the Word in times of crises and problems
When I first accepted Jesus Christ, I received so much grace, I was receiving so much grace that I was studying and I wanted to keep listening to the Word of God. So, I received so much grace listening to the message in the book of Judges, and I was praying to God for me to become a Nazirite, which were the prophets who didn’t cut their hair. I didn’t even know what it meant, but turns out it means a modern-day pastor, but I just prayed that, without knowing what a Nazirite is, by the working of the Holy Spirit. So, I was just studying and praying as the Holy Spirit was guiding me, but that was the prayer that came out of me. Turns out later on, that work was already taking place. The “Nazirite” who does not cut their heart, that was that age’s pastor. I didn’t know what a pastor or Nazirite was, but that was the prayer that came out of me. It was the Holy Spirit’s prayer that came out from me, so God had already prepared me to be a pastor from long ages past.
2. Pray to be able to relay God’s Word
God allowed me to experience 29 years of my life as a nonbeliever in the world because there was a way that He wanted to use me, so God was watching and waiting, but at the correct time, He said, “Now I will use Him.” So when I accepted Jesus, I loved it so much because I entrusted my whole life to Him. Because I entrust my entire life to God, it’s so comfortable. When I face a crisis or conflict, but when I try to hold onto my life and I’m so conflicted by it, then I have more problems. To give it up completely to God means, “May this be used for the will and plan of God.”
Do you know why it’s hard to do? Because I don’t want to lose my life to God, I want to hold onto my sovereignty, and I want to drive my life. Even when my child is really not listening to me, if I try to hold onto my child by myself, I’m built up with darkness, but I even entrust my daughter to God. Even this morning, she was bickering about something, but if I were to nitpick everything she says, I can’t give sermons, so I just gave her a few important words, and I entrusted her to the Lord. That doesn’t mean I’m just washing my hands of her, I’m asking God to intercede with His absolute perfect power, because I know with my capability and my personality, I cannot make my child into a masterpiece. I realize this more as time goes by.
3. Proclaim the Word through the filling of the Holy Spirit
4. Meet needs through offering
Joseph, a Levite from Cypress, sold his field and brought the money before the Apostle’s feet. If we receive God’s grace, we begin to give more and devote more of our life. If you are facing a problem or a crisis, may you have the blessing to restore the Word of God and the grace of the filling of the Holy Spirit. Make the decision that the Word God gave you today is the covenant. When you hold to the covenant and pray in the name of Jesus Christ, God is working even now.
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word we have received.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. Even if it seems like we are facing problems or crises, we praise the Lord Who has given Your promise and fulfills it through answered prayers. Allow us to concentrate on the covenant You are carrying out, and allow us to become believers who go out, holding onto the covenant that will never change.
We have returned Your materials as offering. May this be the offering that testifies of the gospel, saves the people of all nations, and carries out the temple construction that testifies of the gospel. We pray You will work with the blessing of the economy of light to save the 237 nations and the 5000 unreached tribes of the world, upon the hands that have given the offering. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Closing Prayer and Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, the indwelling, working, guidance, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all the people of God who desire to receive God’s unchanging answer as the Word in the face of crisis, to be a witness to others, upon their families, their businesses, and their studies, be with them now and forevermore always, amen.