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The Gathered Church (4) - Gathered for Prayer · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin by singing in Psalm 9, as we begin our worship. Psalm number 9,
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and that's on page 208, the tune is Argyle. We're singing verses 1 to 9.
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Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart, thy wonders all proclaim. In thee, most high,
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I'll greatly joy and sing unto thy name. When back my foes were turned, they fell and perished
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at thy sight, for thou maintain'st my right and cause on throne sat judging right. Verses 1 to 9,
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in Psalm number 9, Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart. Please stand if you're able to.
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Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart, thy wonders all proclaim.
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Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart, thy name. When back my foes were turned, they fell and
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and perished at thy sight. When back my foes were turned, they fell and perished at thy sight.
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Lord, thee I'll praise with all my heart, thy name. When back my foes were turned, they fell and perished at thy sight.
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For thou may take thy light and cause on throne sat judging right.
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The heathen love renewed in us, the wicked overgrown.
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Thou hast to doubt there in such way,
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In heaven or beyond.
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O heavenly love, destruction, O heavenly love, destruction, O heavenly love, destruction,
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O heavenly love, destruction, O heavenly love, earth, and earth.
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By the heart, thy name.
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The heaven and earth.
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Thou hast to doubt there in such way,
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And there in such way,
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In heaven or heaven,
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Thou hast to doubt,
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In heaven or heaven,
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Thou hast to doubt there in such way,
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O challenger for any love,
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for judgment set his throne,
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in righteousness to judge the world,
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justice to give each one.
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God also will a refugee for those that are oppressed,
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a refugee shall be in times of trouble to discuss.
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Let's all unite now in prayer.
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Let's call upon the Lord in prayer.
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Let's call upon the Lord in prayer.
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Gracious and eternal God, as we gather once more in your presence,
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we give thanks for the encouragement these words have given us,
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that you always prove to be a refuge to your people,
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and that you remain to be the God who is constant, who endures forevermore,
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who deals justly with all the circumstances that we find ourselves in,
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and especially with us in all our circumstances,
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as indeed everybody else in the creation.
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And we give thanks, Lord, tonight that we gather before you as the God who is sovereign and wise
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and all-powerful and loving in his loving kindness continues to remember us as your people.
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Lord, we thank you for every opportunity we have to gather together in your name,
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for every way in which we find encouragement mutually with each other,
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to bring before the Lord our concerns in prayer,
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to sing his praises and to hear his word.
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And we thank you tonight that we form part of a great number throughout the world,
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and that we indeed, O Lord, also are conjoined with those who are already in heaven,
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for their praise of you, their worship of you,
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is essentially the same as that we have for ourselves,
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although theirs is perfect, while ours is still flawed.
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We thank you that they sing your praises as the God of redemption, as we do here,
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that they are conscious of you as the God whose worthiness
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far exceeds our ability to contemplate in its entirety,
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and we thank you tonight, Lord, that as you are worthy of our worship,
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so we are pleased to render to you this sacrifice of praise.
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All power and glory belongs to you.
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There is none else who has the rights that you have to be praised,
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and there is none else to be worshipped but the Lord God.
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Lord, we give thanks that you have impressed upon us
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these aspects of your own being as they are revealed in your word,
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your own sovereignty and holiness and love and affection and commitment to your people.
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Indeed, everything, Lord, that you have revealed in your word about yourself,
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we know is entirely true.
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And we ask tonight for grace to receive the teaching of your word about you and about ourselves.
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Help us also to read the events of our own lives and our own time in the light of your word.
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Help us, Lord, to once again appreciate that the principles that apply to each generation of the world
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as it goes on in its course until you return,
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that they are all opposite and all relevant to our age also.
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And we thank you tonight, O Lord, for every way in which you deal with us,
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different to what we deserve.
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We give thanks that you are the God who forgives sin,
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who receives repentant sinners to yourself,
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who establishes them, Lord, in your family.
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For it is one thing for us to consider that our sin is forgiven,
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that our guilt is no longer held against us.
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But it is a step further for us to admire the fact of your adoption,
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that you receive your people, those whom you save, into your own spiritual family,
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and that you continue to provide for them in that regard as their Father in heaven.
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Bless us, Lord, we pray every announcement of the gospel.
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Help us to appreciate that through the preaching of the gospel you have promised great things,
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that it is through hearing of your word that faith comes.
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And we pray that our faith tonight will be strengthened as we meet together here in your name.
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Bless us, Lord, we pray, in all that we engage in as a congregation.
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Bless us in all our efforts to make your name known in our community.
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Bless us in all the activities that we engage in,
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that we seek, Lord, to be a means of furthering the gospel,
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of furthering our own knowledge of you.
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And to that end, bless, we pray,
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all the activities and the services that we anticipate on this coming week.
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We pray that they be blessed to us in all ages.
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We pray again for our children.
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We ask for them, O Lord, that you would establish them further in your ways and in the way of following you.
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And help them, Lord, we pray, as we pray for them to be characterized in their own lives by the fear of God,
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by respect for you and by faith and trust in you.
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Lord, bless to them the teaching they receive in their homes,
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in Sunday school and Bible class and in tweenies and in other ways.
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And we thank you for all who give so willingly of their time to teach our young people.
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We thank you for all our youth leaders and pray that you would bless them, O Lord,
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as they commit themselves so willingly and diligently to this work.
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And we ask that you bless all who contribute to the well-being of the congregation in different ways.
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We thank you for the variety of gifts that we represent,
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acknowledging that they are by your appointment,
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by your blessing, by your own arrangement and wisdom.
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We pray that by your grace we might be able to use our individual gifts
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in conjunction with one another,
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so that we will, as we should,
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function as a congregation of your people
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in holding forth your word as the word of life.
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We pray your blessing, Lord,
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tonight on all whom we know who belong to us
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as a congregation who has special needs at this time,
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especially in your providence,
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as we find many in the congregation who are ill at this time.
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Bless them, Lord.
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We pray at home or in hospital or in hospice.
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Grant your blessing to them, Lord,
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as they wait for further developments.
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And bless those, we pray,
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who are recovering from treatment,
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from surgery of various kinds.
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Bless those who are ill with mental health issues as well.
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We commit them, Lord, to you and ask us,
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we pray for them,
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that you would help them in these situations
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in which they find themselves in their minds,
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that you would grant to them, Lord,
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a sense of assurance in knowing yourself.
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We pray, too, for those who mourn loved ones,
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those who have lost loved ones in recent days
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and in times gone by.
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We pray that your blessing, Lord,
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will comfort them and establish them
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in the knowledge of your ways
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and in the grace that is able to upbind
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their own broken hearts.
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We pray, too, for those who are nearing death,
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who are seriously or even terminally ill.
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We ask, O Lord, for your blessing
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to prepare them as we all must be prepared
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to take that great step out of time
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and into eternity.
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We pray that you would furnish them
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with the necessary grace, O Lord,
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that that journey may be taken in peace
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and to the everlasting rest
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of the Lord and of his kingdom.
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We pray for our world at this time, Lord,
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and the various ways in which turmoil
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and anxiety and distress
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is found in so many places.
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And we pray especially tonight
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for those, Lord, who are beset with war
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and with the tragedies of war
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and the difficulties
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and the deprivations that war brings.
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We think of the situation in the Middle East
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and we commit that to you
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and ask, O God,
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that you would bring about a means of peace,
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a means by which people will be established
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not in hatred for each other
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but in the ways of peace and of righteousness.
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Remember the Jewish people.
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We know that while all the peoples of the world
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to some extent have the gospel set before them,
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whether they be Islamic or Jewish or otherwise,
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Lord, we pray especially for them as a people
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for so many of your promises
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are bound up with them and in them.
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And we pray at this time
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that even the troubles that they experience
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as a nation, Lord,
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that by your blessing
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they might prove to be a means
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by which they come to recognize their Messiah
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in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And we ask for all who are active
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in mission toward them
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that you would be pleased
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to bless their efforts.
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Bless all the agencies, Lord,
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that we know of
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who stand for the principles
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and the values of the gospel
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and of those moral values
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that emanate from it.
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Remember the Christian Institute.
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Remember Christian Concern.
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Remember the work of Road to Recovery
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here locally
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and in other places in the country.
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Remember Safe Families.
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Remember every other similar agency, Lord,
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that seeks to do good to those around us,
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to those who are in need.
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And to be pleased, we pray,
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to bless all who are engaged in that work.
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And so continue with us now
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as we wait upon you here.
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And as we, Lord,
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seek to set these things before you in prayer,
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we confess our sins,
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we confess our unworthiness,
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we confess our need,
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we confess, O Lord,
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that once again we need to know
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the assurance of our sin forgiven
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and to continue in a repentant frame of spirit
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throughout all our days.
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Hear us, we pray,
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for Jesus' sake.
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Amen.
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Now we're going to praise God once again,
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this time in Psalm 57.
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This time it's in the Sing Psalm,
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Psalm 57.
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That's on page 74 to Tune Selma.
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And we're singing verses 1 to 5.
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Have mercy on me, Lord,
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to you my soul holds fast.
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Your covering wings will shelter me
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until the dangers pass.
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I cry to God most high,
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to God who answers me,
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for he fulfills his purposes
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for me most perfectly.
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Psalm 57 and verses 1 to 5.
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To God's praise.
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Amen.
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Have mercy on me, Lord,
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to you my soul holds fast.
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Your covering wings will shelter me
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until the dangers pass.
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I cry to God most high,
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to God who answers me,
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for he loses his purposes,
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for me most perfectly.
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He sends his help from heaven
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and saves me from the heart.
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I cry to God most high,
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to you my life,
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for senses to come above.
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I live with savage peace,
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I dwell with thy own strong,
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with men whose keep with piercing words
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a sharp sword is their tongue.
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above the highest end,
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O God exalted be,
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and over, holy and below,
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display your majesty.
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Now let's turn to read from God's word
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in the book of Acts,
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Acts of the Apostles,
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in chapter 12.
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And let's read down through
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the whole of the chapter.
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Acts chapter 12.
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About that time,
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Herod the king laid violent hands
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on some who belonged to the church.
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He killed James,
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the brother of John,
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with the sword.
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And when he saw that it pleased the Jews,
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he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
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This was during the days of unleavened bread.
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And when he had seized him,
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he put him in prison,
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delivering him over to four squads of soldiers
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to guard him,
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intending after the Passover
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to bring him out to the people.
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So Peter was kept in prison,
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but earnest prayer for him
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was made to God by the church.
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Now when Herod was about to bring him out,
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on that very night,
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Peter was sleeping between two soldiers,
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bound with two chains,
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and sentries before the door
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were guarding the prison.
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And behold,
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an angel of the Lord stood next to him,
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and a light shone in the cell.
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He struck Peter on the side
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and woke him, saying,
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Get up quickly.
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And the chains fell off his hands.
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And the angel said to him,
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Dress yourself and put on your sandals.
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And he did so.
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And he said to him,
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Wrap your cloak around you
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and follow me.
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And he went out and followed him.
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He did not know
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what was being done by the angel,
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that what was being done by the angel was real,
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but thought he was seeing a vision.
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When they had passed the first
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and the second guard,
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they came to the iron gate
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leading into the city.
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It opened for them of its own accord.
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And they went out
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and went along one street,
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and immediately the angel left him.
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Now when Peter came to himself,
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he said,
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Now I am sure that the Lord
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has sent his angel
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and rescued me
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from the hand of Herod
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and from all that the Jewish people
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were expecting.
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When he realized this,
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he went to the house of Mary,
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the mother of John,
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whose other name was Mark,
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where many were gathered together
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and were praying.
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And when he knocked at the door
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of the gateway,
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a servant girl named Rhoda
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came to answer.
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Recognizing Peter's voice,
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in her joy,
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she did not open the gate,
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but ran in and reported
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that Peter was standing at the gate.
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They said to her,
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You are out of your mind.
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But she kept insisting
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that it was so,
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and they kept saying,
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It is his angel.
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But Peter continued knocking,
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and when they opened,
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they saw him and were amazed.
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But motioning to them
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with his hand to be silent,
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he described to them
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how the Lord
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had brought him out of the prison.
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And he said,
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Tell these things to James
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and to the brothers.
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Then he departed
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and went to another place.
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Now when day came,
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there was no little disturbance
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among the soldiers
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over what had become of Peter.
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And after Herod searched for him
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and did not find him,
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he examined the sentries
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and ordered that they
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be put to death.
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Then he went down
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from Judea to Caesarea
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and spent time there.
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Now Herod was angry
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with the people of Tyre and Sidon,
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and they came to him
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with one accord,
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and having persuaded
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Blastus the king's chamberlain,
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they asked for peace
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because their country
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depended on the king's country
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for food.
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On an appointed day,
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Herod put on his royal robes,
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took his seat upon the throne,
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and delivered an oration to them.
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And the people were shouting,
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the voice of a God
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and not of a man.
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Immediately
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an angel of the Lord
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struck him down
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because he did not give glory,
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God the glory,
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and he was eaten by worms
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and breathed his last.
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But the word of God
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increased
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and multiplied.
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And Barnabas and Saul
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returned from Jerusalem
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when they had completed
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their service,
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bringing with them John,
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whose other name
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was Mark.
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May the Lord again bless to us
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reading this portion
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of his word.
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Before we turn to
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some aspects of this passage,
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let's sing again,
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singing Psalm 142,
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142,
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that's on page 186,
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singing to a tune,
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Finart.
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I cry for mercy to the Lord,
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to him I lift my voice in prayer.
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Before the Lord I bring my plea,
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to him my trouble I declare.
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Each time my spirit faints in me,
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you are the one who knows my way.
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For in the path on which I walk,
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a hidden snare for me they lay.
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Singing on to the end of the Psalms,
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Psalm 142,
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I cry for mercy to the Lord.
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I cry for mercy to the Lord,
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to him I lift my voice in prayer.
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Before the Lord I bring my plea,
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to him my trouble I declare.
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Each time I sit,
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it hints in me,
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You are the one who knows my way.
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For in the path on which I walk,
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a hidden snare for me they lay.
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To my right and landing note,
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There is not one God sent for me.
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I love no refuge,
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I love no refuge,
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No one cares for me in my adversity.
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I cry for mercy to the Lord.
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I cry for mercy to the Lord,
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I cry aloud to you, O Lord.
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You are my hiding place in sight.
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You are the one sustaining me.
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You keep me in the land of life.
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Lord, listen to my guide for help,
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For I am an extra strategy.
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Save me from those who seek my life,
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Because they are too strong for me.
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So that I may give thanks to you,
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From prison's darkness set me free,
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The righteous men will gather round,
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Because you've shown your love to me.
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Well, let's turn for a short time to Acts chapter 12.
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Acts chapter 12,
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Particularly the words of verse 12,
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Though we can read verse 5 as well.
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So we'll read verse 5 and then verse 12.
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So Peter was kept in prison,
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But earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
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In verse 12,
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When he realized this,
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He went to the house of Mary,
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The mother of John,
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Whose other name was Mark,
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Where many were gathered together
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And were praying.
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You recall last time,
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As we continued this short series of studies
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On the gathered church
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And certain aspects of what is
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True about the church,
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As gathered together in the name of Christ.
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We saw last time how important it is
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That our gathering is in order to listen
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To the voice of God.
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One aspect among many,
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But an important one nonetheless,
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As we saw last time.
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That we are gathered to listen to the voice of God
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Speaking to us from his word,
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Through the blessing of the Holy Spirit we trust,
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So that we hear the voice of God
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Preeminently not the voice of any human being,
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Though that of course is the means,
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The conveyance of the Bible's teaching.
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But there are other aspects of our gathering together
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In God's name,
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Such as we are this evening,
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That are important and mentioned for us frequently
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In the scriptures.
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There are two especially,
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And that these two are prayer and praise.
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And we are going to look at these in turn,
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Looking at tonight,
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The importance of the church gathered together
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For prayer or in prayer.
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And we are looking at this chapter especially
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As the context in which we are seeing
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The church at prayer.
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That will be our first point.
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The church at prayer and the circumstances
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In which we find the church there together praying.
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And then secondly we will look at a couple of the benefits
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That come to us from gathering together
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For prayer and in prayer as God's people,
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As God's church.
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Now it is significant here,
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The church at prayer is significant in the chapter
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Twice here you find in these verses
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We have mentioned verses 5 and 12
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That it is the church that is mentioned as praying.
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It is not just individuals,
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Obviously the church is comprised of individuals,
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But the emphasis here is very firmly
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On the church as the church.
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Gathered together for prayer.
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And that is important in the context of Acts especially
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You will find it elsewhere in the Bible
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But Acts as you know
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Is the book that tells us about the development
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Of the early New Testament church.
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The spreading out of the gospel
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Beyond Jerusalem into the regions around
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And eventually really into the world
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Into the Gentile world.
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And in the difficulties that were faced
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By the church at that time
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It was so important that prayer was emphasized
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As an essential element in the church's gatherings
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And that prayer is seen in these passages
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This one and others
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To be a feature of the church gathered together.
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It wasn't enough that they would go home
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And pray in their own homes
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As they undoubtedly did.
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It was important that the church as it was seen
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And living as the church of God
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That it was a church engaged in prayer.
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The gospel message met as it did here
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With much opposition, with persecution
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As we will see in a moment.
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But that was all the more a context for prayer
30:23
For the church at prayer
30:24
To actually engage in prayer
30:27
As they sought to present the gospel
30:29
And reach out with the gospel
30:31
To the world around them.
30:33
And you can see this elsewhere
30:35
In the book of Acts as well
30:37
That prayer was so important to the church
30:40
Chapter 2, verse 42
30:42
Chapter 4 from verse 24 onwards
30:45
Chapter 6, verses 1 to 6
30:48
The election of what came to be known as deacons
30:51
Chapter 13, verses 1 to 3
30:54
The appointment of those who were going to mission
30:56
To go into a specific mission
30:58
All of these activities and situations
31:01
Were times not just for individuals to pray
31:05
But for the church to be together in prayer
31:09
The gathered church at prayer
31:12
Now of course here we have a specific context
31:14
As one of persecution
31:16
Here is Herod exercising his authority
31:20
And first of all causing James
31:23
The brother of John to be put to death
31:26
To be killed with the sword
31:28
And then he set his sights on Peter also
31:30
He was the next in line to be killed
31:32
But meantime he just couldn't go through
31:34
With it immediately
31:35
It was a time of unleavened bread
31:37
So instead of killing him on the spot
31:40
Or putting him to death
31:41
He put him into prison
31:43
Caused him to be guarded in prison
31:46
And this of course is part of the context
31:49
Of the book of Acts
31:51
That indeed all the way back into
31:53
The time of Jesus himself as well
31:56
That the figure of Jesus
31:58
The teaching of Jesus
31:59
The authority of Jesus
32:01
The way that Jesus was attracting so many
32:03
To follow him
32:04
For the state
32:06
That was a great challenge
32:07
And here now in the days of the apostles
32:09
The political world of the day
32:11
Sees the church as a great threat
32:14
A threat to its authority
32:16
A threat to its hold on people
32:18
And along with that you have
32:21
An obvious spiritual hatred
32:24
For the king of the church
32:26
As he is presented in the gospel
32:28
It is that spiritual hatred of the heart
32:32
That really comes to the fore
32:34
As much as anything political
32:35
And you can translate that
32:37
Into the world in which you and I
32:39
Are living today
32:40
Because that same threat
32:42
Or at least is perceived as a threat
32:45
By the state
32:46
When the state becomes
32:47
The controlling factor over people's lives
32:50
And we are not against actually
32:53
Complying with the state
32:54
When that is biblical to do so
32:56
The powers that be
32:57
As Paul says in Romans 13
32:59
Are ordained of God
33:00
And we have to give due place
33:02
To the state
33:04
To those powers that God
33:05
In the civil and political world
33:08
Has appointed
33:09
But then the state
33:11
Very often steps out of line
33:12
It is not true to God
33:13
Sometimes it is a persecuting state
33:15
Sometimes it comes to express
33:17
It is hated for the church
33:19
And for the gospel
33:20
And for what the church stands for
33:21
Even to the extent
33:23
Sometimes of persecution
33:24
And you will find it very difficult
33:27
In our own context today
33:30
As a nation
33:31
In some places at least
33:32
To actually stand out rightly
33:34
For the gospel
33:35
It is going to meet
33:36
Not just with hostility
33:37
But what really
33:38
Amount to persecution
33:40
And some people
33:42
Have ended up being imprisoned
33:44
And some people find
33:45
That even authorities
33:46
Like the powers of law and order
33:49
And the police service
33:51
Sometimes overstep the mark
33:52
And actually cause
33:54
That kind of difficulty
33:55
For people who are simply
33:57
Being through
33:58
Without in any way
33:59
Being violent
34:00
Or seeking to press
34:02
People into decisions
34:04
They don't want to take
34:05
Still it is the gospel
34:06
It is Jesus
34:07
It is the voice of God
34:08
It is the church
34:10
Presenting the claims of Christ
34:13
And the world does not like that
34:15
And never will
34:16
As long as it is the world
34:18
And there are of course
34:21
Thousands throughout the world
34:22
Today in prison
34:24
Because they are Christians
34:25
Because they are true to Jesus
34:28
Because they want
34:29
The message of Christ proclaimed
34:31
Because they are concerned
34:32
That people will come
34:33
To know him for themselves
34:35
That they will come to have him
34:37
As their saviour too
34:39
And that of course
34:40
Is met with great hostility
34:42
Especially as a secularist view
34:46
Of life increases in our own nation as well
34:50
Well that is in a sense by the way
34:52
But that is the world
34:53
That is the context
34:54
In which you find this chapter set
34:57
And these incidents
34:58
But you see here in verse 5
35:00
Peter was kept in prison
35:02
But earnest prayer for him
35:04
Was made to God by the church
35:06
The church made it its business
35:09
And exercised its privilege
35:11
To pray to God
35:12
You see the contrast very clearly
35:14
In that verse
35:15
Peter was kept in prison
35:17
The state had the power
35:19
Of closing the gates of the prison
35:21
Of keeping Peter imprisoned
35:23
Of actually shutting him up
35:25
So he couldn't speak publicly at all
35:27
So the prison was closed
35:29
The gates were shut
35:30
It was firmly held fast
35:32
But the gates of heaven were open
35:34
And the church knew
35:37
That the gates of heaven were open
35:39
And how did the church exercise
35:40
Its knowledge
35:41
Of knowing that the gates of heaven
35:43
Were open
35:44
By praying
35:45
By coming to exercise
35:47
Their right and their privilege of prayer
35:50
They gathered together
35:52
For earnest prayer
35:54
Specifically for Peter
35:55
At that point
35:57
That is what the church did
36:00
That is what the whole
36:01
Of the church at the time did
36:03
And so you find the same in verse 12
36:06
When Peter had
36:07
By the agency of the angel
36:10
Come to be released from prison
36:12
He went to the house of Mary
36:14
The mother of John
36:16
Whose other name was marked
36:18
And then notice
36:19
Where many were gathered together
36:21
And were praying
36:23
Where many were gathered together
36:26
And were praying
36:28
It's obvious from the way it's put there
36:31
That that meeting
36:32
That that meeting was specifically for prayer
36:34
That that gathering was for prayer
36:36
For Peter particularly
36:37
But I'm sure they prayed for other things as well
36:40
But it's a meeting specifically for prayer
36:42
They were gathered together
36:44
And were praying
36:45
They were in the act of praying
36:46
They were busy praying
36:48
They were praying together as a church
36:50
As a people
36:51
Collectively
36:52
They were praying
36:53
They were praying
36:54
They were praying
36:55
They were praying
36:58
I remember one of my
36:59
Most wonderful experiences
37:03
Was in Korea
37:05
At the time of attending
37:07
An early morning prayer meeting
37:10
And that early morning prayer meeting
37:15
Is a prayer meeting
37:16
They have every single day
37:17
In the congregations in Seoul in Korea
37:22
And the congregation that we went to
37:26
Had something like 90 or 100 people
37:28
If I remember rightly
37:29
That had gathered at that time in the morning
37:32
At half past five in the morning
37:34
It was still dark
37:35
And they all gathered in the church there
37:37
And the pastor led them
37:38
For the opening prayer
37:39
Then he knelt down himself
37:41
Behind a lectern
37:42
Or a pulspot at the beginning
37:44
At the one end of the church
37:45
And as he knelt down
37:46
All the lights in the church
37:47
Were then switched off
37:49
And prayer started
37:50
And everybody prayed
37:51
Where they were
37:52
It seemed strange to us
37:53
Who were there
37:54
Because we don't normally pray
37:55
Where everybody prays at the same time
37:57
And for a start
37:59
It sounds a little bit disorganized
38:01
But actually you get used to it
38:03
And what really strikes you
38:04
Is the fervency of the prayer
38:06
That's going on around you
38:08
And we of course ourselves
38:09
Attempted to be engaged in prayer as well
38:11
And prayed for various things
38:13
Before the Lord
38:14
But the remarkable thing is
38:15
That at that time in the morning
38:17
These people had a burden
38:18
To gather together for prayer
38:20
It was their practice
38:21
It was their custom
38:22
It was the church in prayer
38:24
And that's all that went on
38:25
For that whole hour
38:27
Or however long it was
38:28
When people finished prayer
38:30
Their own prayer
38:31
They went out quietly
38:33
But the meeting carried on
38:35
Until the last person
38:36
Finished praying
38:37
If we set a prayer meeting
38:44
For 5.30 in the morning
38:47
From tomorrow onwards
38:49
Would you and I
38:51
Be burdened enough to attend?
38:53
Would we come to that meeting
38:56
That meeting
38:57
That regularly?
38:58
There's a question
39:00
But this church here
39:03
In the days of the apostles
39:04
They were gathered together
39:06
And were praying
39:07
And it appears from
39:09
All that you read in this chapter of Acts
39:11
That this was not something
39:12
They did every month
39:13
And it wasn't even something
39:15
That they did with regard
39:16
To a specific need
39:17
Such as the imprisonment of Peter
39:19
It was something
39:20
That regularly
39:21
They engaged in
39:23
As time went on
39:25
Week by week
39:26
Day by day
39:27
And that's the kind of thing
39:31
We must attend to ourselves
39:32
I'm absolutely persuaded
39:35
That it's a mark
39:37
Of the health of any church
39:39
As to how frequently
39:41
They come together to pray
39:43
Not just how frequently
39:44
People pray in their own homes
39:46
Or individually
39:47
As I hope we all do
39:49
But how often
39:50
And how much
39:51
Do we come together to pray?
39:54
We have meetings
39:55
Specifically for prayer
39:57
Set on the first Monday
39:59
Of each month
40:00
We have one each Saturday
40:02
On a weekly basis
40:06
But we need to actually attend
40:08
To how many attend
40:11
Why we don't have so many attending
40:13
As we should
40:14
Why is there just a few
40:16
Out of the membership
40:18
Of the church
40:19
That you have less than 20 people
40:22
At a monthly prayer meeting
40:23
Even when it's conveniently
40:24
Held on Zoom?
40:27
Is it because it's not the right time
40:29
For most people?
40:30
Is it because the time
40:32
Isn't just suitable?
40:34
Or is it that we don't have
40:37
In our hearts
40:38
A sufficient burden
40:39
To be together
40:40
To pray?
40:41
To pray
40:42
I'm putting that as a challenge
40:44
To myself
40:45
But it's a challenge
40:46
To us as a congregation
40:47
Isn't it?
40:48
That we really need
40:50
To focus
40:51
More than we're doing
40:53
On being gathered together
40:55
Specifically to pray
40:56
I know that our Wednesday meeting
40:58
Has a limited time for prayer
41:00
Because there's also
41:01
Bible exposition
41:02
Which in its own right
41:03
Is important
41:04
But the meetings we have
41:06
Specifically for prayer only
41:08
And for people to be together
41:09
To pray
41:10
To pray
41:11
Whether it's in person
41:12
Or by means of Zoom
41:13
Or whatever
41:14
The point I'm making is
41:16
This friends
41:17
We will not go very far
41:19
Unless we have this desire
41:21
This burden
41:22
To be gathered together
41:24
To pray
41:25
To pray as a people
41:28
To pray congregationally
41:30
To pray
41:31
With corporate prayer
41:33
As much as we do
41:35
In gathered prayer
41:37
In individual prayer as well
41:40
So there's something
41:42
To consider from this passage tonight
41:45
Where is my own desire
41:48
In relation to what I find
41:51
In this passage
41:52
Of this church
41:54
In the days of the apostles
41:55
The days of the apostles
41:56
Actually burdened to be together
41:59
Specifically to pray
42:01
The more we do that
42:04
And it's not a matter of just doing it
42:07
For its own sake
42:08
We have to pray that the Lord
42:10
Will give us the burden to be there
42:12
We have to pray that the Lord
42:14
Will impress upon us
42:15
How important a feature that is
42:18
Of the life of the church
42:20
It's basic to our spiritual health
42:25
It's basic to our growth
42:28
As a congregation
42:29
Growth not just numerically
42:31
But especially growth spiritually
42:33
And as we'll see later
42:35
That's such an important issue
42:37
In the book of Acts itself
42:39
So there's the first thing
42:41
The church at prayer
42:42
Is it a specific situation?
42:45
Yes
42:46
It's specific to the needs of that time
42:49
But all of that impresses upon us
42:51
How much we ourselves should
42:53
Have this as a principle
42:55
And as a practice
42:56
That as a church
42:58
We come together
42:59
Not just to praise the Lord
43:01
In singing
43:02
Not just to hear and listen
43:03
To the voice of God
43:04
But also specifically
43:06
To pray to Him
43:08
To let our voice be heard in heaven
43:11
And to come to place before the Lord
43:14
As is our privilege
43:16
The things the Lord lays on our hearts
43:18
To pray for
43:20
To put before Him
43:24
The church at prayer then
43:25
So what are the benefits
43:26
Of the church being gathered together for prayer?
43:30
Well I'm going to mention two
43:32
That are more than that as well
43:34
First of all
43:35
It contributes to our unity in the faith
43:40
It contributes to our unity in the faith
43:43
We read in Ephesians chapter 4
43:45
From the beginning of the chapter
43:47
Again there's Paul as a prisoner of the Lord
43:49
And saying
43:51
Bear with one another in love
43:53
Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit
43:56
In the bond of peace
43:57
And so on
43:59
He says there to maintain the unity of the Spirit
44:03
The Spirit of God creates the unity that God's people enjoy
44:06
But we are charged to maintain to look after that unity
44:12
The unity that the Spirit creates
44:16
The unity certainly that we are dependent on the Spirit for the maintaining of
44:22
But it's not without prayer
44:24
And one of the beauties of prayer is that we urge the Lord
44:28
We pray to the Lord
44:29
To maintain that unity
44:31
To bless us as a people
44:33
As a corporate body of people
44:35
As witnesses to Christ in the world
44:39
So you see as we come together to pray
44:42
Yes we pray
44:43
As I keep saying individually
44:45
At home that's a great privilege for us as well
44:48
We pray at times when we are gathered virtually
44:52
And I know that that's a means by which people are able to
44:57
Take part in meetings that they can't otherwise physically be at
45:01
For good reason and of course we accept that
45:04
But wherever we can and whenever we can be gathered together physically for prayer
45:10
Here is one great advantage of it
45:12
That it actually contributes to our unity in the faith
45:15
Because there is where we pray together
45:17
As we pray together
45:18
What are we praying for?
45:19
We're praying for growth
45:20
We're praying for others besides ourselves
45:23
We're praying together for specific needs of the church
45:27
Or of the congregation
45:28
We're praying for the advance of the gospel
45:30
We're praying for the church at large
45:32
We're praying for the congregation in its settings
45:35
We're praying in confession of our sins
45:38
We're listening to others
45:39
And joining with them as they confess their sins
45:42
And we confess our individual sins to God
45:45
We pray for our children
45:47
We pray for the blessing of God on our children
45:50
We pray as we collectively gather together
45:52
It's a wonderful thing to hear together of people
45:55
Actually engage together in prayer
45:58
Even if it's just one person that's actually speaking
46:02
We're collectively engaged in our minds along with that
46:06
And setting out our desires and putting out amen to that
46:09
We're praying for the nation
46:11
We pray for all the things God lays upon our hearts
46:16
What a great privilege it is for us
46:19
To gather together specifically to pray
46:24
To be able, as God has enabled us
46:27
To give that time
46:30
To give that time
46:31
And it's
46:33
Amongst all our other burdens
46:35
Amongst all our other duties in the world
46:41
It's not
46:43
A large portion of our time
46:47
That we are to give to prayer collectively
46:51
It's only an hour
46:53
Or at the most
46:54
Or at the most two hours a week
46:57
Or at the beginning of each month
47:00
Where is that in relation to
47:03
The time we give to other things
47:05
Even things other than our necessary duties
47:08
And family or whatever
47:10
Maybe a good exercise for myself
47:15
And for yourselves
47:17
To draw up a little sheet
47:19
And put down in that sheet
47:21
The number of hours we spend doing certain things
47:25
Whether it's actually watching television
47:27
Being on Facebook
47:29
But put a column there
47:31
As to the number of hours we spend
47:34
In a month let's say
47:36
In collective prayer
47:38
That will be quite revealing I'm sure
47:41
And quite challenging as well
47:43
Well what we're saying is that
47:45
That collecting
47:47
Collective prayer
47:48
The gathered church
47:50
As it gathers to pray
47:52
Is such an important feature
47:54
In its health
47:56
In its witness to God
47:59
And in our building of one another up
48:04
Collectively in the faith that is in Christ
48:07
Now the issues
48:09
The issues that are most emphasized in the Bible
48:12
And especially in the New Testament
48:14
The issues that are specified
48:17
Most or most specified
48:19
As issues for prayer
48:21
Are actually spiritual
48:23
Not material
48:25
You look at Paul's epistles
48:27
Look at the glimpses he gives us
48:30
In these passages in some of his epistles
48:32
That tell us about what he was praying for
48:36
And he's revealing to these churches
48:38
And whether it's Ephesus or Colossae
48:40
Of the kind of things that he was praying for
48:42
Again let's just think of Ephesians
48:45
In chapter 3
48:47
And from verse 14 onwards there
48:49
Where he says this
48:50
For this reason
48:52
I bow my knees before the Father
48:54
From whom every family in heaven and on earth is named
48:57
That according to the riches of his glory
49:00
And then he goes on to specify what he's praying for
49:03
That he may grant you to be strengthened with power
49:06
Through his spirit in your inner being
49:08
So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
49:12
And that you being rooted and grounded in love
49:15
May have strength to comprehend with all the saints
49:19
What is the breadth and length and depth and height
49:22
And to know the love of Christ
49:24
That surpasses knowledge
49:26
That you may be filled with all the fullness of God
49:29
You see the things he's praying for
49:31
He's praying for
49:32
He's praying for the church's strengthening
49:35
For the church's growth in their appreciation of the love of Christ
49:39
And all the way through
49:42
He tells us these spiritual things
49:44
That he sets before God in prayer
49:47
And is now revealing to the church
49:50
This is what I'm praying for
49:52
And he's saying this is what you yourselves
49:54
Are actually to be committed to as well
49:56
So it contributes to our unity in the faith
50:01
But secondly, the benefits of gathering together
50:05
Connects us with God at work
50:08
It connects us with God at work
50:12
Because God answers prayer
50:16
Now just in passing
50:18
I want to mention verse 15 there
50:20
It's interesting there, it's quite revealing
50:21
That when news was brought to the meeting
50:25
That Peter had actually been released from prison
50:28
They told Rhoda, you're out of your mind
50:31
No, that's not possible, he's in prison
50:33
No way he's getting out of prison
50:35
Just now, how could he possibly have gotten out?
50:37
Of course, they were praying for one thing
50:41
They were praying for Peter
50:43
And yet when it came to the point of his release
50:45
They weren't prepared to believe it
50:47
That it was true
50:48
And it reminds us that we are to pray expectantly
50:52
As God enables us
50:54
That we're not to pray certain things
50:56
Leave them with God
50:58
And then not exercise our minds believingly
51:01
Or expectantly
51:03
He was a church at prayer
51:05
And yet, even in the days of the apostles
51:07
They weren't prepared to accept
51:09
That their prayers had been answered
51:10
Or answered that quickly
51:12
That's in the passing
51:13
But it's important
51:15
But what is it that follows from their prayer?
51:16
How did God answer the church at prayer?
51:19
Well, in two things
51:20
First of all, in Peter's release
51:22
And then secondly, in the death of Herod
51:24
The man who had actually organized
51:28
And in his authority
51:30
Had taken pleasure in putting James to death
51:34
And Peter in prison
51:36
As you go through the chapter
51:38
As we read through it
51:40
All of a sudden he died
51:41
Just as he was in the midst of
51:45
A great oration
51:47
And in his pomposity
51:49
And in the regal splendor of his gowns
51:51
As he spoke there to the people
51:54
He was struck down by an angel of God
51:57
And he was eaten of what I'm saying
52:00
Some internal
52:02
Condition
52:04
Which led very quickly to his death
52:07
Here he was
52:08
The voice of a God
52:09
And not of a man
52:11
And this is going on as the church
52:12
Was praying for their situation
52:14
And praying for Peter
52:15
And praying for themselves
52:17
And all of a sudden
52:18
The person who was most instrumental
52:20
In putting Peter in prison
52:21
Is dead
52:23
Is part of God's answer
52:25
They didn't pray that
52:27
Herod would just fall down dead
52:29
Doesn't appear to be the case anyway
52:31
Some of them might have wished that
52:33
But in any case
52:34
That's the result
52:35
That's how God
52:36
In his wisdom
52:38
Answered their prayers
52:40
And Peter was free
52:42
And Herod is dead
52:44
And both of these
52:46
As elements in answer to prayer
52:48
Fit the purpose of God
52:49
And what is the purpose of God?
52:51
Well it's in verse 24
52:53
But the word of God
52:55
Increased and multiplied
52:57
You see the contrast
52:59
That word but
53:01
You find it there in verse 5
53:02
Peter was kept in prison
53:03
But
53:05
Ernest prayer was made by the church
53:07
Here is
53:09
Herod's threatening
53:11
But the word of the Lord
53:13
Increased and multiplied
53:15
That was God's purpose
53:17
That is actually what happened
53:19
And many revivals in the history of the church
53:22
Have come about
53:24
Through times of persecution
53:26
That were accompanied by or involved
53:28
The church turning to prayer
53:29
The church turning to prayer
53:31
The church turning to prayer
53:33
People gathering together for prayer
53:35
One of the greatest
53:37
Tragedies or events
53:39
In the church in our own nation
53:41
Took place in 1662
53:43
What's known as the Great Ejection
53:45
When nearly 2,000 Puritan preachers
53:48
Were ejected from their congregations
53:50
Because they weren't prepared to sign up
53:53
To what was called the Act of Uniformity
53:55
Where they would have to comply with the state
53:58
In terms of what was set out in the Book of Common Prayer
54:01
And other things that accompanied that
54:03
Well, I don't need to go into detail
54:05
But that's what they were
54:07
The state trying to force them to do that
54:09
They said, no, we can't do that
54:11
So they were ejected from their congregations
54:13
But you see that led to a great volume of prayer
54:18
And it didn't just happen that immediately God answered these prayers
54:21
But many take the view that the revival
54:25
The evangelical revival that broke out
54:28
Especially in the 1730s to 1740
54:31
Not just in this country
54:33
But also in North America as well
54:35
The Great Awakening as it was called
54:37
Out of the view that that itself
54:39
Was an answer to the church at prayer
54:41
And the church at prayer following a time of persecution
54:45
God hears his praying people
54:51
Worldly persecution
54:55
Cannot prevent the gospel's advance
54:58
When it's in the mind of God to advance it
55:01
Nothing is going to actually interfere with that
55:04
Nothing is going to prevent that
55:06
What happened here
55:08
The word of God increased and multiplied
55:10
You see, that's the very thing that Herod was trying to prevent
55:14
That's what he was trying to stand against
55:17
By putting James to death
55:18
And putting Peter in prison
55:21
There was Herod exercising authority
55:23
And saying pretty much that
55:25
I'm not going to allow this message, this gospel
55:29
These people to interfere with my reign, with my authority
55:33
With the state's power, with the secular state's power
55:37
This is gone
55:40
Herod's gone
55:41
God's listened to his people
55:44
The very thing that Herod tried to prevent
55:48
Is the very thing that happened
55:51
In the providence of God
55:53
The word of God increased and multiplied
55:57
Not only was Herod
56:01
And those who helped him
56:02
Unable to prevent it happening
56:05
But it was just the opposite
56:07
Of what he was trying to do
56:09
He was trying to stamp out the influence of the word of God
56:11
And of the apostles and of the church
56:13
That advance
56:15
And it didn't just fail
56:17
It actually led to an increase
56:19
In the word
56:21
Multiplying
56:22
Throughout these regions
56:28
But it didn't happen
56:30
Without the church gathered for prayer
56:33
And that's the point that I want to finish on
56:36
That's the point we've been laboring
56:38
All the way through our study tonight
56:40
Everything that happened here
56:43
The word of God increasing
56:45
The demise of Herod
56:47
None of that happened
56:49
Without the church at prayer
56:50
And the lesson for us is that
56:54
When the church is collectively
56:56
And wholeheartedly engaged in prayer
57:00
Things happen
57:02
Because God hears that volume of prayer
57:05
God hears every individual prayer
57:07
That's sincerely offered to him
57:09
Thanks be to God
57:11
But here and elsewhere in the Bible
57:13
The church gathered to pray
57:16
Is something that is emphasized
57:18
Something that's significant
57:20
Something that has historically led
57:24
By God's blessing to results
57:26
To further blessing
57:28
To the gospel's increase
57:30
To God's church being strengthened
57:33
Friends, I need not tell you that
57:38
The days in which we are living
57:41
Are perilous times for the gospel
57:44
There are so many things that
57:47
Are being brought out as threats
57:49
To the gospel's advance
57:50
And yes, we need to go home
57:54
And pray about that individually
57:56
We need to be doing that all the time
57:59
But the more the church sees the threat
58:02
Of the world to the gospel
58:04
The more the church sees the world
58:07
The state seeking to clamp down
58:09
And indeed to bring the gospel
58:11
To nullify its effects
58:12
The more you and I should be persuaded
58:14
We need to get together to pray
58:16
We need to be like the church
58:19
In the book of Acts
58:22
That actually come realizing that God
58:25
Hears his people as they pray
58:28
And expectantly set our concerns
58:32
Our prayers, our desires before God
58:35
As the church at prayer
58:39
The church engaged in prayer
58:43
You know, prayer is
58:46
Surely one of our greatest privileges
58:51
And being collectively gathered together to pray
58:54
Is a privilege along with that
58:57
It's our privilege to come individually
59:00
And speak to God
59:01
It's our privilege to be together
59:04
To share together
59:07
To hear together
59:09
To have all of that
59:11
Those features of gathered prayer
59:15
What a great privilege that is
59:19
When the world is concerned
59:22
To be together so often
59:26
For worldly purposes
59:27
When today you would have had
59:31
Thousands of people
59:33
Gathering together
59:35
At different sporting events
59:37
I'm not decrying sporting events
59:39
Though we would rather
59:40
They were not on the Lord's Day
59:42
But there's the commitment of the world
59:45
To following their agenda
59:47
Where is ours
59:50
For the agenda of the gospel
59:53
For the church's proclamation
59:57
For the truth
59:58
For God's name to be glorified
1:00:01
For ourselves as a church
1:00:06
To be strengthened
1:00:08
By the grace of God
1:00:10
Well, may God bless these thoughts
1:00:14
On his word to us
1:00:16
Let's conclude by singing again
1:00:19
In Psalm 57
1:00:21
I'd given verses 1 to 3
1:00:23
Which is a mistake really
1:00:24
It's Psalm 57
1:00:26
But the final verses
1:00:27
I'm sorry
1:00:28
If that complicates things
1:00:29
For the presenter
1:00:30
It's the same
1:00:31
The same psalm
1:00:32
So it'll fit the tune that he's chosen
1:00:33
The tune is Martyrdom
1:00:35
But if we sing from verse 5
1:00:37
Sorry, from verse 7
1:00:39
Verse 7
1:00:40
My heart is fixed
1:00:45
My heart is fixed
1:00:46
My heart is fixed
1:00:47
O God
1:00:48
I'll sing and praise
1:00:49
My glory wake
1:00:50
Wake, wake, psaltery heart
1:00:51
Myself I'll early raise
1:00:53
I'll praise thee among the people
1:00:54
Lord
1:00:55
Among nations sing will I
1:00:57
For great to heaven
1:00:59
Thy mercy is
1:01:00
Thy truth is to the sky
1:01:02
O Lord
1:01:03
Exalted be thy name
1:01:04
Above the heavens to stand
1:01:07
Do thou thy glory far advance
1:01:10
Above both sea and land
1:01:14
These verses 7 to the end of the psalm
1:01:16
To God's praise
1:01:17
My heart is fixed
1:01:26
My heart is fixed
1:01:30
O God
1:01:33
I'll sing and praise
1:01:38
My glory wake
1:01:43
With saundry heart
1:01:45
With saundry heart
1:01:48
Myself I'll early raise
1:01:54
I'll praise thee among the people Lord
1:01:58
My nations sing will I
1:02:00
My nations sing will I
1:02:03
For great to heaven
1:02:20
Thy mercy is
1:02:24
Thy truth is to the sky
1:02:28
O Lord
1:02:33
Exalted be thy name
1:02:38
O Lord exalted be thy name
1:02:43
Above the heavens to stand
1:02:49
To love thy glory far
1:02:50
To love thy glory far advance
1:03:01
Above both sea and land
1:03:10
I'll go to the main door after the benediction
1:03:13
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
1:03:15
The love of God the Father
1:03:17
And the communion of the Holy Spirit
1:03:19
Be with you now and evermore
1:03:21
Amen