9th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 116

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord Jesus Christ.

AMEN

Introduction 

Well – who would have believed it? –

“Toilets in – St. Mary’s Church – and – using an electronic organ for our services”

How many of us – just a few years ago – would have thought we would have got this far?

So what made the difference?

A clear God centred vision for the church ? – yes

Good leadership – planning – organization ? – yes

Working together? – yes – Money? – yes

What about prayer? – does that make a difference?

I remember – not so long ago – there was no more than a handful of us – meeting regularly – every fortnight – in the fellowship room – to pray for our building programme – things seem to move slowly in those days –

Now – we are all praying for it – at every service –every meeting – whenever we come together –

Praying together – can make a difference – as our readings remind us – with God’s help and guidance – amazing things do happen

  

Point 1      Solomon’s Temple

 

In our OT lesson – we are told how Solomon successfully built the first temple in Jerusalem – in just seven years –

The plans – had been drawn up – by David – years before – but – it was not until – God had given His approval – and the people had made a firm commitment – to Him and the Project – that the construction was able to start –

The passage – describes the magnificence of the finished temple –

Gold plated walls –
Gold plated floors –
Gold plated ceilings –
The finest olive wood carvings –

To the onlooker – It must have – really had that ‘wow’ factor –

But despite its magnificence –and special-ness – God reminds them – that what really matters – is their commitment to Him –

the temple only benefits those – who are – obedient to His will –

If the people turn their backs on the covenant – the temple will become a place of ruin and destruction – rather than a place of blessing –

Today – God no longer uses buildings – as a focal point for His presence – He’s everywhere – and especially here – in our hearts –

God’s kingdom became a temple within each one of us – made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ –

Through Jesus – we can pray to God – wherever and whenever we wish – inside – outside – together – on our own – privately – or – corporately

Our relationship with God is the most important thing to Him – and to us – provided we keep the temple within us – fit for His presence – He will be there ready and willing to guide and encourage us as we journey through our lives

   

Point 2         Release of Peter 

In our NT lesson we have a clear example of what happens when a congregation asks God for help –

Its around 47 AD

For thirteen years the church had enjoyed peace – and expansion – the gospel had spread to Cyprus – Antioch – and other parts of the Mediterranean – and had even reached some of the Gentiles –

But with Herod Agrippa – becoming king – the church was about to suffer some real persecution –

His first target was – James – the brother of John who he had – arrested – and beheaded –

Next it was Peter – He was arrested – and put in prison – it was the week of the Passover celebrations – and he didn’t want to upset his Jewish subjects –

he knew he would have to wait until after the Passover – before he could do anything – to Peter –

He ordered four squads of soldiers to guard him – each squad had 4 guards – one chained to each wrist – and the other two to guard the door –

He clearly intended to have Peter executed –

But He hadn’t counted on the response of the other Christians – and the power of their prayers –

As we see in verse 5 –
“While Peter was held in Prison the church kept praying fervently to God for Him”

the word for fervently – is the same word that is used to describe Jesus’ prayer – in the garden of Gethsemany

And God responded – by freeing Peter the night before his scheduled execution –

As with all great escapes – there had to be someone on the outside – in this case – it was “An angel of the Lord”

The story has a strange mixture of realism and the miraculous – The chains fell away – the doors opened – the guards seemed to sleep – through the whole thing –

Even Peter himself couldn’t believe what had happened – until he found himself outside the city –

He went straight to the house of John Mark – where the people were praying –– but had great difficulty being let in – never mind about telling his story –

Peter wasn’t expecting anything to happen – He was sound asleep and – when leaving the prison – he thought he was dreaming –

The church – wasn’t expecting anything to happen either – they were still praying for Peter when he arrived – and when Rhoda told them he was free – they told her she must have been out of her mind –

It was persistent banging – that finally got them to open the door – and accept it –

The reality was that because of the prayers of the followers of Jesus – Peter was set free – from a seemingly impossible situation – to go out and spread the gospel even further –

Not every prayer is answered in such a spectacular fashion – James’ death must have been a great loss to the church –

But Peter’s escape story reminds us that through prayer – we can do much more than we think – or even – expect –

In Peter’s case there was a clear will of the people and a clear will of God – to overthrow Herod’s plans to destroy the church –

Luke’s chapter started on a low – with James dead – Peter in prison – Herod triumphing – but it closed on a high – with Herod dead – Peter free and the Word of God triumphing –

 

  

Point 3       What about prayers

 

 

 

So when we pray together we can make a difference –

Corporate prayer is powerful prayer – together we encourage – strengthen –and help each other – to pray –

Like the voices in our choir – our prayers are amplified when we are all – singing from the same hymn sheet

We pray together – in many ways – during church service – like this – at home – at work – or in a prayer meeting –

our strong individual prayer habits – and bible reading – are an important – foundation for our prayers too – if we don’t pray when we are alone – we are unlikely to pray effectively when we are together –

The experience of the early church was that when they prayed together – the church grew –

If we want our church here in Lymm to grow – we have to pray for it too –

Praying for other people is a very important part of – our intercessions – and are vital for those we pray for –

For many our families and friends are – our most important prayer topics – wandering thoughts – is one of our biggest obstacles –

A young Boy called Ben asked his parents for a pet – ‘Sorry’ said his father – ‘not now – but if you prefer to pray really hard for two months perhaps – God will send you a baby brother’

So Ben prayed for a month – but to him it seemed to be futile – so he gave up –

However a month later – a new baby arrived- or so Ben thought – his father drew back the covers – and showed Ben twins –

Aren’t you glad – you prayed for a baby brother – ‘I certainly am’ – said Ben – ‘ and aren’t you glad I stopped praying when I did!’

God gives abundantly – we always receive more than we ask for – He wants us to be bold – and courageous – with our prayers – not let our half heartedness and non –expectancy hold us back – God will do great things through prayer – more than we can ever understand or expect – Peter’s experience reminds us – that we will really have no idea what He will do – until he’s done it –

Prayer comes easiest when we are in desperate situations – when our needs and our prayers are intense – that’s when we show God that we’re really serious about what we pray –

Jesus said “ The kingdom of God is within you”

Our prayers need to take these words seriously –

When we come to pray – we should expect to meet Jesus – make Him our only thought – empty ourselves from distractions – and allow Him to occupy His temple within us – then we will find its not we who are pray – but the spirit of God within us

Some one once wrote –
If the request is wrong – God says ‘No’
If the timing is wrong – God says ‘slow’
If we are wrong – God says ‘grow’

But if the request is right – and we are right – God says ‘Go’

 

 
Ending

 

Over the last few years our re-ordering programme has clearly been on the ‘Go’ button –

So with Phases 1 & 2 practically finished – and Phases 3 & 4 to go – lets continue to pray for the future of our church – here in Lymm – by joining in with our pledge prayer:

St. Mary’s Church – Pledge Prayer

God our Father,
We thank you for this house of Prayer through which you bless your family on its pilgrimage
We ask for your blessing on our re-ordering programme
May your Holy Spirit guide our decisions, overcome obstacles and open our hearts to give generously, so that all we do may be to your praise and glory.

AMEN