Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Morning everyone. This morning scripture reading comes from Acts four
twenty three through thirty one. On their release, Peter and
John went back to their own people and reported all
that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
When they heard this, they raised their voices together in
prayer to God, Sovereign Lord. They said, you made the
heavens and the earth, and the sea and everything in them.
(00:23):
You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of
your servant, our Father David. Why do the nations rage
and the people's plot in vain the King of the
earth rise up, and the rulers band together against the
Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed, Herod and ponscious
Pilot met together with the gentiles and the people of
Israel and the city to conspire against your Holy Servant Jesus,
(00:46):
whom you anointed. They did what your power and will
had decided beforehand. Should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats
and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
Stretch out your hand to heal and preformed signs and
wonders through the name of your Holy Servant Jesus. After
they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken,
(01:08):
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke the word of God boldly. This is the word
of the Lord. You may be seated.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Now.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Mintally, this is a little out of season. How many
people have seen the like the og cartoon version of
How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Just shove hands. I mean,
you have seen that. As I've been studying preparing this week.
There's a scene at the end of that movie that
I keep kind of coming back to to mentally a lot. Right,
the Grinch, his plan has come to fruition. He is successful.
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He has stolen all the presents, all the decorations, all
the food. And he's sitting there on his perch at
top of the mountain, just sort of desrving his handywork,
just with delight, waiting for the whovill to figure out
what had happened, and to his dismay. As the sun raises,
all the little who's come out of their house and
they all stay in the city square, they kind of
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join hands and they all like without a care in
the world. This all starts singing about how great Christmas is,
how happy they are, and the Grinch is like shocked.
See if you're anything like me, without realizing it, you
may picture the disciples in our textaday like that. As
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they're gathering together to pray. They're just holding hands in
a circle. They're happy, they're carefree, They're just like whovill.
They have no anxiety, no concerns. They simply trust that
Gods can control everything. Everything's gonna be fine. They're just
singing their little hearts out. We may think that to
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have real faith, right the fologies, the right way, we
need to be just like this. We need to be
sort of naively upbeat at all times. When we think
about how we're supposed to pray in the middle of
horrible situations. Subconsciously, without realizing it, we might be referencing
that type of picture.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
We might think that this is how God expects me
to pray.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
As we study our text together this morning, I want
you to know that's not the truth in our prayer life.
It's okay to be real with God. It's okay to
be uncertain, it's okay to be upset. In fact, to
know and follow Jesus, we have to learn how to
lament to know and follow Jesus in an authentic way.
We have to learn how to lament. Currently, we're studying
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the Book of Acts together chapter by chapter, verse by verse,
and Acts. Chapter three, we saw Peter and John they're
going to the temple at the time of prayer, and
as they're like going there, they meet this man who's
lame since birth, and they stop and they notice him
and they say in the name of Jesus, to get
up and walk, and he does. This miraculous healing occurs,
and you can imagine it drew quite the crowd, and
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Peter and John they start teaching the crowd about the
finished work of Jesus Christ, about how Jesus defeated sin
and death, he was crucified, but he raised from the dead,
and a lot of people are very interested in what
they're saying. And at this time, the chief of the
temple guard. They come and they arrest Peter and John.
They toss him into prison, and then at the start
of Acts chapter four, we see them being interrogated by
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the Sanhedron. They're face to face with the exact same people, literally,
the exact same people who crucified Jesus. So Peter and
John they know what these people are capable of, they
know what they're willing to do in order to keep their.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Power, their prominence.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
And after they're threatened and they're warned, they're set free,
they're released, and our text today is what happened, what
they did immediately after getting out of prison. This is
word of picking up the story. So let's not miss this.
We know that in our text today, the disciples are concerned.
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We know that they were scared, and this is why
they prayed. Look at what they asked for. What did
the disciples ask for? They asked for boldness, They asked
for courage if they weren't scared. If that wasn't true,
if they didn't need those things, then they wouldn't have
prayed about that. Right, I don't have to have courage
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if I'm not terrified. We know that the disciples recognize
the real trouble that they were in. We know that
they didn't consider themselves able to carry that burden by
their own strength, and that's why they prayed. We aren't
to think about them like whovill just singing out their
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prayers to God without without a concern in the world. However,
we're not to think about them as like losing their mind,
like frantically searching for answers.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
The disciples were scared, they were overwhelmed, but they had faith.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
They took their actual feelings and concerns to the Lord.
To know and follow Jesus, we must learn how to lament.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
And our time together today.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
I wanted to examine how the early Church prayed in
this scenario, in this situation, Let's see how they did
it and then see what we could apply to our
own lives today.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
That's our goal.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
By my estimation, there are three components to this prayer
from our text today. There's three things that the early
Church did as they prayed to the Lord, and this
is served sort of as an outline for our time
together today. First, they prayed in community with each other.
Right they weren't isolated, but they shared what was really
going on in their lives. And then together they prayed. Second,
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they listened to God instead of simply asking him for things.
They didn't just speak to God, but they also listened
to him. And third, they asked for the ability to
join with God in his mission. God, help us to
keep going, help us to keep following in that direction,
They prayed in community with each other. They listen to
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God and simply instead of simply asking him for things,
and they asked for the ability to join with God
in his mission to no one follow Jesus, we must
learn how to lament.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
So that's what we're studying this morning. That's what we're
going to try to apply to our lives. Let's first
pause and praise. We're preparing to do that. So Jesus,
in this moment, we recognize your rule and rain. We know.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
That your resurrection was your coronation, that you are the
rightful king, and you've proved that to everyone. Every force,
every power is now subservant to you. But God, we
also know we're in this sort of in between world
have already but not yet.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
We know that you will.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Come again and fully institute your reign one day. So God,
as we're waiting for that to arrive, help us to
have a real relationship with you, one where where we
can bring who we really are, our real concerns. Teach
us to be people who looked at You in all things,
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not just in certain things. That's our prayer this morning's,
and your precious to the name, I pray these things.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So first, let's realize that the church prayed in community
with each other. Verse twenty three of our Texas ys.
On their release, Peter and John went back to their
own people and reported all that the chief priests and
the elders had said to them. When they heard this,
they raised their voices together in prayer to God. So
the first thing I want us to notice is that
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Peter and John they didn't try to carry this bad
news on their own. They didn't withdraw from community because
they were feeling overwhelmed and said. They pressed into community.
The very first thing that Peter and John was go
to their friends. This conflict drove them closer together, not
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further apart. It did not drive them into isolation. It
didn't drive them away from God. It drove them closer
to God. So here's the point. I'm not suggesting. What
I'm not saying is that when you are feeling overwhelmed
or when you're feeling scared, that you can't take time
to process things. I'm not saying that you can't rest
or weep or scream on your own. I'm not saying that.
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What I'm suggesting is that we can't stay stuck in
a cycle of isolation when we are feeling outmatched by
life's circumstances. I'm not saying that you can't withdraw and
take some time to gather perspective. I'm saying that you
can't stay withdrawn. We need each other the most when
we're at the lowest points of our lives. But if
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you're anything like me, that's the time that I'm tempted
to withdraw the most. When I'm at my lowest point
in my life. Sometimes I don't want to talk about it,
So what I'm tempted to withdraw the most is probably
what I need to press in the most. Sometimes we're
even tempted to isolate ourselves from God. Sometimes that temptation
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is fueled by a lack of perceived justice. Horrible things
have happened, things that we know God had the power
to prevent, but he did not. He chose not to,
so deep in our hearts we sort of withdraw from
the Lord in an attempt to sort of protest against
him or maybe even get even with him a little bit, like,
if that's how you're gonna act, God, that I'm gonna
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do this. Other times, that temptation is fueled by an
incorrect belief that we cannot tell God exactly how we feel.
Sometimes I don't go to God because I think I'm
not allowed to speak to.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
God like that.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I think that that my prayers have to be flowery,
they have to be censored, they have to be positive.
I think my prayers have to sound like Whoville. But
all I can muster is groans of pain and disappointment,
just being jaded.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
That's all I can give you right now. Lord, we
think I'm not allowed to give that to God.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
So I withdraw until I can sort of fix things
on my own enough that I can go back to
God in this sort of like happy, upbeat, positive way.
It's that second scenario that I want to briefly examine
and debunk this morning. So, as we've already mentioned to
Norfolo Jesus, we have to learn how to lament. And
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in the Bible there are a lot of examples of
what lament is. In the Book of Psalms fifty eight
out of the one hundred and fifty psalms, so over a
third of the psalms are psalms of lament.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Over one third.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Of the psalms are psalms about things that aren't going well.
They are complaints, they are just overwhelmed prayers. There's a
book in the Bible called Lamentations. The majority of the
Book of Job is a prayer of lament, So the
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question becomes, what in the world is lament?
Speaker 3 (12:18):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Well, Lament is a journey through our pain to arrive
at a remembrance of God's goodness, his hope, the hope
that we have in Jesus. Lament is a prayer that
journeys through our pain so that we can arrive at
remembering who God is. It's a prayer of confusion that
ultimately has its destination and trusting God more fully. So
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lament understand this. Lament is not the opposite of praise.
Lament is not the opposite of praising God. It's not
complaint and confusion about God. It's complaint and confusion with God.
As we pray, we recognize God's infinite goodness and wisdom,
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even in the scenario where it's really hard to see
God's infinite goodness and wisdom at work. So we can
think about this, Lament is what trust and praise looks like.
When I'm overwhelmed by life, like I'm choosing to go
to God even as I'm struggling to recognize how God
is at work a prayer. Lament typically has at least
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two questions that has asked. One is God, where are you?
And God, if you love us, why is this happening? God,
where are you? I'm having trouble understanding that. God, if
you love me, I'm.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Really having trouble understanding how that's lining up with that truth.
You see, when we've.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Come to incorrectly believe that to be a Christian we
can't talk to God about real stuff. We've come to
incorrectly believe that our prayers have to be positive always.
We have to be censored, we have to be flowering
the friends. I want you to hear me on this.
God doesn't want that. He doesn't want that. What he
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wants more than anything is a real relationship with you.
What God wants is a real relationship with you. Just
think about it. Think about some of your closest relationships
that you have with people right now, when you are struggling,
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when confusion happens, don't you want that person to come
to you with how they really feel and that what
you desire. You don't want them to go behind your
back and talk about you. You want them to talk
with you. You want them to complain to you, complain
to me. This is exactly what we see happening in
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our Textaday Peter and John. They're concerned, they're scared, and
they take that concern and that fear to their friends
so that together they can approach God. The Church lamented
together the disciples in this moment. They were scared, they
were concerned, but they didn't isolate. They came together with
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each other. Then they approached the Lord in prayer together.
That's the first thing I wants to notice. The early
Church prayed about real things in community with each other. Secondly,
the early Church listened to God instead of simply asking
him for stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Verse twenty four. Sovereign Lord, they.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Said, you made the heavens and the earth, the sea,
everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through
the mouth of your servant, our Father David. Why do
the nations rage and the people's plot in vain? The
kings of the earth rise up, the rulers band together
against the Lord, against his anointed war. Indeed, Herod and
Conscious Pilot met together with the gentiles and the people
of Israel in this city to conspire against your Holy
(16:07):
Servant Jesus, whom you annoyted they did what your power
and will had decided beforehand should happen. So as we
just mentioned a real relationship with someone, it has its
roots in this idea that I can freely express my
authentic experiences and disappointments with people. Like to have a
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real relationship means I'm allowed to talk to someone about
how I really feel, how I'm really experiencing life. But
I also want to know that a real relationship is
a two way street. Like if a real relationship happens,
it's not like one person gets to be authentic and
the other person has to be censored. Regarding this thought,
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pastor and author Tim Keller he painted the following picture
and I'm going to paraphytus his teaching this morning. He says,
imagine that you sit down and you sort of like
pour out your life story to someone, tell them in
detail who you are, what your dreams are, what you've
been through, Like this is who I am, this is
where I'm from, this is what I'm about. Imagine you
go to great links to make sure that this person
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can learn about you, to learn who you actually are.
And then imagine that after you get done talk to
you about that, that they respond and ignore everything that
you just said. They simply talk about their own life,
what's happening with them right now, what they need, what's
bothering them. Imagine they never reference a single thing, a
single idea that you just mentioned. You would probably wonder
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what is wrong with this person right You would probably
question the closeness of your relationship with them. You would
not feel like this is a like I'd be what
are your expectations for this relationship?
Speaker 3 (17:47):
You might be thinking.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Yet, according to Keller, this is how many Christians have
been taught to pray instead of listening to God. We
believe that prayer is talking at him, like telling him
what we need, telling him what we want. It's not
that we can't tell God what our current experiences are,
it's that we can't only do that, we have to
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remember who God is.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
What he's about, what we know to be true to
true about him. So as we're praying, we need to
hear those words repeated back to us.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
This is who I know God is, this is what
I know is true about him. So prayer is really
speaking and listening to God. So in our Textaday, how
did the early Church model for us how to listen
to God in their prayer. In our text, as they
pray together, they quote disciples or they quote a Psalm two.
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In fact, in only four chapters, we're only to the
end of Acts chapter four. In four chapters, we've already
seen the disciples quote Scripture nine times. Nine times in
four chapters, the Disciples have quoted scripture. The early Church
made it a habit to listening to God by meditating
on scripture. They spoke scriptured to each other. They spoke
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Scripture to God as they prayed. In other words, by
by meditating on what's already been revealed and God's preserved truth.
Their prayer is a two way conversation with God. They
not only voice their thoughts, they request their confusion. They
also are reflecting on what has already been revealed to
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them through the Bible. I want us to notice the
very first words of their prayer. The very first thing
is that the disciples say as they pray is sovereign Lord.
If you're anything like me, maybe you've read this text
before and you just sort of like just glanced right
over that. Maybe you think, Hey, they're just going out
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their way to be reverent here. They're just using kind
of like this interesting title because they're trying to bend
God's eer a little bit like, let's offer them up
Sovereign Lord.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
That sounds nice. This is certainly a true title for God.
But this is not a.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Common title in the New Testament. This is only you
six times in the entire New Testament. This title Sovereign Lord,
only six times the entire New Testament. You see, the
disciples are not just trying to sound fancy here in
their prayer. They're approaching God with their very real needs,
and they're reflecting on the solution already as they start
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their prayer. They're starting with what they know is the solution. God,
you are sovereign. Your sovereignty is the answer to my
current circumstance. God, you are aware of everything that is happening.
You have power over absolutely everything. God, I'm feeling overwhelmed.
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I'm feeling powerless. Yes, I can't carry this one on
my own. But God, you have power over everything, and
I know that you are for me and not against me.
Sovereign Lord. The Early Church praise in our texts God
has power over creation. They pray, You made the heavens
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and the earth, you made the sea, You made everything
in them, God, you have power over creation. They prayed
about how God has power over rulers and authorities of
the world Verse twenty seven.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Herod and conscious pilot.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
They met together with the gentiles the people of Israel
in the city to conspire against your Holy Servant and Jesus,
whom you anointed. But they did what your power and
your will had decided beforehand should happen.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
God did.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
They didn't overpower you. Everything that has happened was through
your will.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
God. We know you have power.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
You have power over everything, over creation, over the rulers
of authority of this world, over everything. In their prayer,
the early churches were remembering that although they may be
confused and scared, God is in control. Although we may
be confused and scared, God is in control. He will
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not allow anything to separate those who love Him from
his eternal safety and comfort and security. I want us
to notice that this prayer, it didn't magically fix everything.
It wasn't like, hey, they prayed in a really good way,
and now like we don't have to get persecuted, like
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as we're going to read, the church is persecuted. Their
prayer didn't magically fix everything, but What it did do
is re center them on the truth of God, on
the truth of who He is. By praying about the
Lord's sovereignty, they lined up their needs with what they
already knew to be true about God. They prayed scripture
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to listen to God. They spoke back to him what
God has already said to be true. They're referencing what
God has already said. God, I know you've already said
this to me. I'm saying this back to you. Regarding
this idea again, here's a paraphrase of the teaching of
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Tim Keller. He says, we only learned how to speak
our native language, like I learned how to speak English
because someone first spoke English to me, Like I learned
how to speak because I was spoken to. Otherwise I'd
just make noise and I would babble. So someone spoke
to you first, and you learned how to respond, You
learned how to answer. His argument is like all speech
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that is learned is really answering speech. I learned how
to speak because someone first spoke to me.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
And this is.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Exactly the prayer is no different. We learn how to
spiritually speak to the Lord because He has first spoken
to us. He's spoken to us in scripture. He's speaking
to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer
has its roots and responding to the truths that God
has already spoken about himself. That's the roots of prayer.
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It's responding to the truths that we already know to
be true about God. In other words, prayer is talking
to God, but it's also just answering God. Prayer really
is answering God. In the middle of this situation Lord,
where I'm feeling overwhelmed and I know that You've said
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this to me, I'm answering you, So to no, I
follow Jesus. We have to learn how to lament. We
have to learn how to grieve the real brokenness of
this world. We have to learn how to answer God
when things are not going according to what we think
would be true. So if we hope to find hope
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and healing through prayers of lament, what we have to
also prioritize is just spending time in scripture, like I
have to reflect on the truth of who God is
if I'm going to answer him. Well, So if you're
struggling right now, let's say you were just really struggling
through a season right now, and you're really struggling to
know even how to pray. One thing that you can
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consider doing is just spending time reading the Bible.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Just search for the words to pray.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
And I want to reflect on the truth of who
you are so I know how to respond to you.
The early Church listen to God instead of simply asking
him for things. So the final observation is that the
early Church, even in their confusion and fear, they ask
for the ability to join with God in his mission.
Verse twenty nine says, now, Lord, consider their threats. Enable
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your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
The primary thing.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
That the Early Church prayed for in the middle of
this difficult situation was help us not to give in,
Help us not to give in to fear, help us not.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
To give in to hate, Help us to stay the path.
I'm not praying that you would eliminate my enemies.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
I'm asking you to give me the courage to keep
going if my enemies don't change. They asked for the
ability to join with God and his mission and the
circumstances that I find myself in, Lord, would you give
me the grace to still join you in your mission?
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You see it's not wrong to ask the Lord to intervene,
to fix what's broken, to redeem, to heal, to say.
But even as we ask those things, we must always
ask the Lord to empower us, to enable us to
keep going no matter how things turn out. Like God,
I'm asking you for this specific stuff, but even if
I don't get this specific stuff, help me to keep going,
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Help me to keep following you friends. This is what
we see happening in the Garden of Yosemite. Like moments
before Jesus is arrestedent and crucified. He is lamenting. He
is praying, God, I don't want to do this. If
there's any other way, take this cup of suffering from me.
He's saying, change my circumstances yet not what I will,
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but you will be done.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
God.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
I'm ask you to change this circumstance. But if that's
not the answer, help me to keep going. As Jesus
in the garden, he was lamenting. In every pre lament,
we must always remember to pray for an unshakable trust
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in the Lord. That's what we see Jesus doing, not
my will, but your will be done. When we lament,
we're praying God, grant me the ability to trust You.
So transform my fearfulness, transform my anxiety, transform my worry. Lord,
in the middle of this horrible situation, help me to
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see the truth about you right now. Help me to
see the truth about you right now, even though it's
hard to see this truth.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
I'm asking you to change my circumstances. But just as importantly, God,
I'm asking you to change me.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Grant me the ability to have faith and trust in You,
Verse thirty one. After they prayed, the place where they
were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly. So
throughout the Bible, the presence of God as God is
being present. One image that's used a lot is this
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idea of trembling or a shaking, an earthquake. When Moses
received the Law on Mount Sinai, we are told that
the foundations of the mountain s shook. In Isaiah chapter six,
when the prophet is having this vision of the Lord's
Throne room, we are told that the foundations of the
temple that they trembled in the presence of God. So
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this imagery, it communicates that when God is present, he
is sort of too much to handle. When God is present,
He's too much for a mountain to handle. He's too
much for a person to handle. God's power and his love,
his grace, and his mercy, as Chelsea talked about last week,
they are abundantly too much. God's grace and mercy, his awesomeness,
his power. They are abundantly too much.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
In our text.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
At the conclusion of their prayer, were told that the
place that they were meeting it shook. God was present,
and as that place was shaking, what he want us
to see is that the disciples were praying that they
would become more and more unshakeable. God helped me to
be rooted in you, in your truth, me to be
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rooted into finished work of Jesus Christ. As this place
is shaking, helped me to become unshakable in you. You see,
there's another part in the Bible where we clearly see
that the earth is trembling, it's shaking, as Jesus is
being crucified. We read this in Matthew twenty seven, when
Jesus had cried out again in.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
A loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn
into from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding
Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they
were terrified. They exclaimed, surely he was the son of God.
So last week, as Jake was talking about, as we
were celebrating resurrection Sunday, we remembered that on Good Friday,
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Jesus allowed himself to be tortured and beaten and humiliated
and murdered for your sake. On Friday he was shaken
to pieces for you, But that was at the end.
On Sunday he rose again and forever defeated.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Sin and death. Matthew twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
At dawn on the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalen and the other Mary went to look at Jesus's tomb.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
There was a violent earthquake. For an angel.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
The Lord came down from heaven that was going to
the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning. His clothes were as white
as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that
they shook and they became like dead men. Angel said
to the women, don't be afraid for I know that
you're looking for Jesus, who was crucified, but.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
He is not here. He has risen on resurrection Sunday.
Jesus rose from the grave.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Sin and death itself was shaken to pieces by the
finished work of Jesus Christ. To friends, that's the solid
foundation that we've been given. That's the solid foundation that
makes us unshakable. That's where we stand on our prayers
of lament. We stand on the unshakable foundation of the
(32:04):
finished work of Jesus Christ. We're told in Hebrews that
we can boldly approach.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
The throne of God.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
But we're welcomed as sons and daughters of the King
through the unshakable foundation of the finished work of Jesus Christ.
No matter what happens, no matter what life circumstances become,
no matter what, Jesus has defeated sin and death. He
has risen from the dead, and he will redeem all things.
(32:36):
That's the basis for our hope, that's the basis for
our joy. That's the posture of lament.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Lord.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I know in my mind that one day you will
set everything right. And I know this picture that I'm
suffering right now, it's not that. So I'm trusting and
what I know is true in you, even though I
can't experience it fully right now. It's what we remind
each other every week as we gather together around the
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Lord's table. So a moment we're gonna take communion together,
We're gonna remind ourselves of the unshakeable foundation that we
have in Jesus. We're gonna remind ourselves that we weren't
simply saved from eternal death. We were given an eternal life.
We were given an eternal two way relationship with God.
(33:26):
So that being said, as we prepare for communion on
your tables, there's some handouts there that's dissecting Psalm thirteen.
So Psalm thirteen is a psalm of lament. This is
not the only way to lament. This is a way
that someone has lamented. This is a pattern, not that
we are to copy and paste into our own lives,
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but it's it's a pattern that we can see that
someone has approached God with. So what I'm gonna ask
you to do is consider your own life right now.
Maybe you're in the middle of a hard season. Maybe
there are some things that are really causing you some
anxiety or some concern.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Maybe you're not there right now, but you've.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Been there in the past, and the best way you
knew how to cope with it was just like to
ignore it and sort of stuff it down. But maybe
you've never actually truly went to the Lord with how
you how you've really experienced life. So my invitation is
start now, finish later on the backside, write your own
psalm of lament.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
Just dare to.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Be truthful with God. Don't be irreverent, but dare to
be truthful. And then my invitation is, don't do that
in isolation. Share that with someone. Share your your thoughts.
It could be your writings, but share your thoughts with
someone of like, this is what I'm lamenting. So as
we're preparing for a communion, let's spend the next few
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moments just approaching the throne of grace through a posture
of I want to be real with the Lord. After that,
Scott will come and lead us in communion. So let's
up for the next few moments right now reflecting on
land the lament of Psalm thirteen
Morning everyone. This morning scripture reading comes from Acts four
twenty three through thirty one. On their release, Peter and
John went back to their own people and reported all
that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
When they heard this, they raised their voices together in
prayer to God, Sovereign Lord. They said, you made the
heavens and the earth, and the sea and everything in them.
(00:23):
You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of
your servant, our Father David. Why do the nations rage
and the people's plot in vain the King of the
earth rise up, and the rulers band together against the
Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed, Herod and ponscious
Pilot met together with the gentiles and the people of
Israel and the city to conspire against your Holy Servant Jesus,
(00:46):
whom you anointed. They did what your power and will
had decided beforehand. Should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats
and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
Stretch out your hand to heal and preformed signs and
wonders through the name of your Holy Servant Jesus. After
they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken,
(01:08):
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke the word of God boldly. This is the word
of the Lord. You may be seated.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Now.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Mintally, this is a little out of season. How many
people have seen the like the og cartoon version of
How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Just shove hands. I mean,
you have seen that. As I've been studying preparing this week.
There's a scene at the end of that movie that
I keep kind of coming back to to mentally a lot. Right,
the Grinch, his plan has come to fruition. He is successful.
(01:51):
He has stolen all the presents, all the decorations, all
the food. And he's sitting there on his perch at
top of the mountain, just sort of desrving his handywork,
just with delight, waiting for the whovill to figure out
what had happened, and to his dismay. As the sun raises,
all the little who's come out of their house and
they all stay in the city square, they kind of
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join hands and they all like without a care in
the world. This all starts singing about how great Christmas is,
how happy they are, and the Grinch is like shocked.
See if you're anything like me, without realizing it, you
may picture the disciples in our textaday like that. As
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they're gathering together to pray. They're just holding hands in
a circle. They're happy, they're carefree, They're just like whovill.
They have no anxiety, no concerns. They simply trust that
Gods can control everything. Everything's gonna be fine. They're just
singing their little hearts out. We may think that to
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have real faith, right the fologies, the right way, we
need to be just like this. We need to be
sort of naively upbeat at all times. When we think
about how we're supposed to pray in the middle of
horrible situations. Subconsciously, without realizing it, we might be referencing
that type of picture.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
We might think that this is how God expects me
to pray.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
As we study our text together this morning, I want
you to know that's not the truth in our prayer life.
It's okay to be real with God. It's okay to
be uncertain, it's okay to be upset. In fact, to
know and follow Jesus, we have to learn how to
lament to know and follow Jesus in an authentic way.
We have to learn how to lament. Currently, we're studying
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the Book of Acts together chapter by chapter, verse by verse,
and Acts. Chapter three, we saw Peter and John they're
going to the temple at the time of prayer, and
as they're like going there, they meet this man who's
lame since birth, and they stop and they notice him
and they say in the name of Jesus, to get
up and walk, and he does. This miraculous healing occurs,
and you can imagine it drew quite the crowd, and
(04:05):
Peter and John they start teaching the crowd about the
finished work of Jesus Christ, about how Jesus defeated sin
and death, he was crucified, but he raised from the dead,
and a lot of people are very interested in what
they're saying. And at this time, the chief of the
temple guard. They come and they arrest Peter and John.
They toss him into prison, and then at the start
of Acts chapter four, we see them being interrogated by
(04:28):
the Sanhedron. They're face to face with the exact same people, literally,
the exact same people who crucified Jesus. So Peter and
John they know what these people are capable of, they
know what they're willing to do in order to keep their.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Power, their prominence.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
And after they're threatened and they're warned, they're set free,
they're released, and our text today is what happened, what
they did immediately after getting out of prison. This is
word of picking up the story. So let's not miss this.
We know that in our text today, the disciples are concerned.
(05:09):
We know that they were scared, and this is why
they prayed. Look at what they asked for. What did
the disciples ask for? They asked for boldness, They asked
for courage if they weren't scared. If that wasn't true,
if they didn't need those things, then they wouldn't have
prayed about that. Right, I don't have to have courage
(05:33):
if I'm not terrified. We know that the disciples recognize
the real trouble that they were in. We know that
they didn't consider themselves able to carry that burden by
their own strength, and that's why they prayed. We aren't
to think about them like whovill just singing out their
(05:57):
prayers to God without without a concern in the world. However,
we're not to think about them as like losing their mind,
like frantically searching for answers.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
The disciples were scared, they were overwhelmed, but they had faith.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
They took their actual feelings and concerns to the Lord.
To know and follow Jesus, we must learn how to lament.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
And our time together today.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
I wanted to examine how the early Church prayed in
this scenario, in this situation, Let's see how they did
it and then see what we could apply to our
own lives today.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
That's our goal.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
By my estimation, there are three components to this prayer
from our text today. There's three things that the early
Church did as they prayed to the Lord, and this
is served sort of as an outline for our time
together today. First, they prayed in community with each other.
Right they weren't isolated, but they shared what was really
going on in their lives. And then together they prayed. Second,
(06:55):
they listened to God instead of simply asking him for things.
They didn't just speak to God, but they also listened
to him. And third, they asked for the ability to
join with God in his mission. God, help us to
keep going, help us to keep following in that direction,
They prayed in community with each other. They listen to
(07:15):
God and simply instead of simply asking him for things,
and they asked for the ability to join with God
in his mission to no one follow Jesus, we must
learn how to lament.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
So that's what we're studying this morning. That's what we're
going to try to apply to our lives. Let's first
pause and praise. We're preparing to do that. So Jesus,
in this moment, we recognize your rule and rain. We know.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
That your resurrection was your coronation, that you are the
rightful king, and you've proved that to everyone. Every force,
every power is now subservant to you. But God, we
also know we're in this sort of in between world
have already but not yet.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
We know that you will.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Come again and fully institute your reign one day. So God,
as we're waiting for that to arrive, help us to
have a real relationship with you, one where where we
can bring who we really are, our real concerns. Teach
us to be people who looked at You in all things,
(08:17):
not just in certain things. That's our prayer this morning's,
and your precious to the name, I pray these things.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So first, let's realize that the church prayed in community
with each other. Verse twenty three of our Texas ys.
On their release, Peter and John went back to their
own people and reported all that the chief priests and
the elders had said to them. When they heard this,
they raised their voices together in prayer to God. So
the first thing I want us to notice is that
(08:44):
Peter and John they didn't try to carry this bad
news on their own. They didn't withdraw from community because
they were feeling overwhelmed and said. They pressed into community.
The very first thing that Peter and John was go
to their friends. This conflict drove them closer together, not
(09:07):
further apart. It did not drive them into isolation. It
didn't drive them away from God. It drove them closer
to God. So here's the point. I'm not suggesting. What
I'm not saying is that when you are feeling overwhelmed
or when you're feeling scared, that you can't take time
to process things. I'm not saying that you can't rest
or weep or scream on your own. I'm not saying that.
(09:30):
What I'm suggesting is that we can't stay stuck in
a cycle of isolation when we are feeling outmatched by
life's circumstances. I'm not saying that you can't withdraw and
take some time to gather perspective. I'm saying that you
can't stay withdrawn. We need each other the most when
we're at the lowest points of our lives. But if
(09:51):
you're anything like me, that's the time that I'm tempted
to withdraw the most. When I'm at my lowest point
in my life. Sometimes I don't want to talk about it,
So what I'm tempted to withdraw the most is probably
what I need to press in the most. Sometimes we're
even tempted to isolate ourselves from God. Sometimes that temptation
(10:13):
is fueled by a lack of perceived justice. Horrible things
have happened, things that we know God had the power
to prevent, but he did not. He chose not to,
so deep in our hearts we sort of withdraw from
the Lord in an attempt to sort of protest against
him or maybe even get even with him a little bit, like,
if that's how you're gonna act, God, that I'm gonna
(10:34):
do this. Other times, that temptation is fueled by an
incorrect belief that we cannot tell God exactly how we feel.
Sometimes I don't go to God because I think I'm
not allowed to speak to.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
God like that.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I think that that my prayers have to be flowery,
they have to be censored, they have to be positive.
I think my prayers have to sound like Whoville. But
all I can muster is groans of pain and disappointment,
just being jaded.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
That's all I can give you right now. Lord, we
think I'm not allowed to give that to God.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
So I withdraw until I can sort of fix things
on my own enough that I can go back to
God in this sort of like happy, upbeat, positive way.
It's that second scenario that I want to briefly examine
and debunk this morning. So, as we've already mentioned to
Norfolo Jesus, we have to learn how to lament. And
(11:38):
in the Bible there are a lot of examples of
what lament is. In the Book of Psalms fifty eight
out of the one hundred and fifty psalms, so over a
third of the psalms are psalms of lament.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Over one third.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Of the psalms are psalms about things that aren't going well.
They are complaints, they are just overwhelmed prayers. There's a
book in the Bible called Lamentations. The majority of the
Book of Job is a prayer of lament, So the
(12:16):
question becomes, what in the world is lament?
Speaker 3 (12:18):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Well, Lament is a journey through our pain to arrive
at a remembrance of God's goodness, his hope, the hope
that we have in Jesus. Lament is a prayer that
journeys through our pain so that we can arrive at
remembering who God is. It's a prayer of confusion that
ultimately has its destination and trusting God more fully. So
(12:42):
lament understand this. Lament is not the opposite of praise.
Lament is not the opposite of praising God. It's not
complaint and confusion about God. It's complaint and confusion with God.
As we pray, we recognize God's infinite goodness and wisdom,
(13:04):
even in the scenario where it's really hard to see
God's infinite goodness and wisdom at work. So we can
think about this, Lament is what trust and praise looks like.
When I'm overwhelmed by life, like I'm choosing to go
to God even as I'm struggling to recognize how God
is at work a prayer. Lament typically has at least
(13:27):
two questions that has asked. One is God, where are you?
And God, if you love us, why is this happening? God,
where are you? I'm having trouble understanding that. God, if
you love me, I'm.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Really having trouble understanding how that's lining up with that truth.
You see, when we've.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Come to incorrectly believe that to be a Christian we
can't talk to God about real stuff. We've come to
incorrectly believe that our prayers have to be positive always.
We have to be censored, we have to be flowering
the friends. I want you to hear me on this.
God doesn't want that. He doesn't want that. What he
(14:17):
wants more than anything is a real relationship with you.
What God wants is a real relationship with you. Just
think about it. Think about some of your closest relationships
that you have with people right now, when you are struggling,
(14:38):
when confusion happens, don't you want that person to come
to you with how they really feel and that what
you desire. You don't want them to go behind your
back and talk about you. You want them to talk
with you. You want them to complain to you, complain
to me. This is exactly what we see happening in
(15:01):
our Textaday Peter and John. They're concerned, they're scared, and
they take that concern and that fear to their friends
so that together they can approach God. The Church lamented
together the disciples in this moment. They were scared, they
were concerned, but they didn't isolate. They came together with
(15:22):
each other. Then they approached the Lord in prayer together.
That's the first thing I wants to notice. The early
Church prayed about real things in community with each other. Secondly,
the early Church listened to God instead of simply asking
him for stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Verse twenty four. Sovereign Lord, they.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Said, you made the heavens and the earth, the sea,
everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through
the mouth of your servant, our Father David. Why do
the nations rage and the people's plot in vain? The
kings of the earth rise up, the rulers band together
against the Lord, against his anointed war. Indeed, Herod and
Conscious Pilot met together with the gentiles and the people
of Israel in this city to conspire against your Holy
(16:07):
Servant Jesus, whom you annoyted they did what your power
and will had decided beforehand should happen. So as we
just mentioned a real relationship with someone, it has its
roots in this idea that I can freely express my
authentic experiences and disappointments with people. Like to have a
(16:29):
real relationship means I'm allowed to talk to someone about
how I really feel, how I'm really experiencing life. But
I also want to know that a real relationship is
a two way street. Like if a real relationship happens,
it's not like one person gets to be authentic and
the other person has to be censored. Regarding this thought,
(16:49):
pastor and author Tim Keller he painted the following picture
and I'm going to paraphytus his teaching this morning. He says,
imagine that you sit down and you sort of like
pour out your life story to someone, tell them in
detail who you are, what your dreams are, what you've
been through, Like this is who I am, this is
where I'm from, this is what I'm about. Imagine you
go to great links to make sure that this person
(17:11):
can learn about you, to learn who you actually are.
And then imagine that after you get done talk to
you about that, that they respond and ignore everything that
you just said. They simply talk about their own life,
what's happening with them right now, what they need, what's
bothering them. Imagine they never reference a single thing, a
single idea that you just mentioned. You would probably wonder
(17:35):
what is wrong with this person right You would probably
question the closeness of your relationship with them. You would
not feel like this is a like I'd be what
are your expectations for this relationship?
Speaker 3 (17:47):
You might be thinking.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Yet, according to Keller, this is how many Christians have
been taught to pray instead of listening to God. We
believe that prayer is talking at him, like telling him
what we need, telling him what we want. It's not
that we can't tell God what our current experiences are,
it's that we can't only do that, we have to
(18:13):
remember who God is.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
What he's about, what we know to be true to
true about him. So as we're praying, we need to
hear those words repeated back to us.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
This is who I know God is, this is what
I know is true about him. So prayer is really
speaking and listening to God. So in our Textaday, how
did the early Church model for us how to listen
to God in their prayer. In our text, as they
pray together, they quote disciples or they quote a Psalm two.
(18:45):
In fact, in only four chapters, we're only to the
end of Acts chapter four. In four chapters, we've already
seen the disciples quote Scripture nine times. Nine times in
four chapters, the Disciples have quoted scripture. The early Church
made it a habit to listening to God by meditating
on scripture. They spoke scriptured to each other. They spoke
(19:09):
Scripture to God as they prayed. In other words, by
by meditating on what's already been revealed and God's preserved truth.
Their prayer is a two way conversation with God. They
not only voice their thoughts, they request their confusion. They
also are reflecting on what has already been revealed to
(19:31):
them through the Bible. I want us to notice the
very first words of their prayer. The very first thing
is that the disciples say as they pray is sovereign Lord.
If you're anything like me, maybe you've read this text
before and you just sort of like just glanced right
over that. Maybe you think, Hey, they're just going out
(19:54):
their way to be reverent here. They're just using kind
of like this interesting title because they're trying to bend
God's eer a little bit like, let's offer them up
Sovereign Lord.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
That sounds nice. This is certainly a true title for God.
But this is not a.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Common title in the New Testament. This is only you
six times in the entire New Testament. This title Sovereign Lord,
only six times the entire New Testament. You see, the
disciples are not just trying to sound fancy here in
their prayer. They're approaching God with their very real needs,
and they're reflecting on the solution already as they start
(20:30):
their prayer. They're starting with what they know is the solution. God,
you are sovereign. Your sovereignty is the answer to my
current circumstance. God, you are aware of everything that is happening.
You have power over absolutely everything. God, I'm feeling overwhelmed.
(20:58):
I'm feeling powerless. Yes, I can't carry this one on
my own. But God, you have power over everything, and
I know that you are for me and not against me.
Sovereign Lord. The Early Church praise in our texts God
has power over creation. They pray, You made the heavens
(21:21):
and the earth, you made the sea, You made everything
in them, God, you have power over creation. They prayed
about how God has power over rulers and authorities of
the world Verse twenty seven.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Herod and conscious pilot.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
They met together with the gentiles the people of Israel
in the city to conspire against your Holy Servant and Jesus,
whom you anointed. But they did what your power and
your will had decided beforehand should happen.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
God did.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
They didn't overpower you. Everything that has happened was through
your will.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
God. We know you have power.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
You have power over everything, over creation, over the rulers
of authority of this world, over everything. In their prayer,
the early churches were remembering that although they may be
confused and scared, God is in control. Although we may
be confused and scared, God is in control. He will
(22:18):
not allow anything to separate those who love Him from
his eternal safety and comfort and security. I want us
to notice that this prayer, it didn't magically fix everything.
It wasn't like, hey, they prayed in a really good way,
and now like we don't have to get persecuted, like
(22:39):
as we're going to read, the church is persecuted. Their
prayer didn't magically fix everything, but What it did do
is re center them on the truth of God, on
the truth of who He is. By praying about the
Lord's sovereignty, they lined up their needs with what they
already knew to be true about God. They prayed scripture
(23:02):
to listen to God. They spoke back to him what
God has already said to be true. They're referencing what
God has already said. God, I know you've already said
this to me. I'm saying this back to you. Regarding
this idea again, here's a paraphrase of the teaching of
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Tim Keller. He says, we only learned how to speak
our native language, like I learned how to speak English
because someone first spoke English to me, Like I learned
how to speak because I was spoken to. Otherwise I'd
just make noise and I would babble. So someone spoke
to you first, and you learned how to respond, You
learned how to answer. His argument is like all speech
(23:48):
that is learned is really answering speech. I learned how
to speak because someone first spoke to me.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
And this is.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Exactly the prayer is no different. We learn how to
spiritually speak to the Lord because He has first spoken
to us. He's spoken to us in scripture. He's speaking
to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer
has its roots and responding to the truths that God
has already spoken about himself. That's the roots of prayer.
(24:19):
It's responding to the truths that we already know to
be true about God. In other words, prayer is talking
to God, but it's also just answering God. Prayer really
is answering God. In the middle of this situation Lord,
where I'm feeling overwhelmed and I know that You've said
(24:40):
this to me, I'm answering you, So to no, I
follow Jesus. We have to learn how to lament. We
have to learn how to grieve the real brokenness of
this world. We have to learn how to answer God
when things are not going according to what we think
would be true. So if we hope to find hope
(25:01):
and healing through prayers of lament, what we have to
also prioritize is just spending time in scripture, like I
have to reflect on the truth of who God is
if I'm going to answer him. Well, So if you're
struggling right now, let's say you were just really struggling
through a season right now, and you're really struggling to
know even how to pray. One thing that you can
(25:22):
consider doing is just spending time reading the Bible.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Just search for the words to pray.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
And I want to reflect on the truth of who
you are so I know how to respond to you.
The early Church listen to God instead of simply asking
him for things. So the final observation is that the
early Church, even in their confusion and fear, they ask
for the ability to join with God in his mission.
Verse twenty nine says, now, Lord, consider their threats. Enable
(25:52):
your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
The primary thing.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
That the Early Church prayed for in the middle of
this difficult situation was help us not to give in,
Help us not to give in to fear, help us not.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
To give in to hate, Help us to stay the path.
I'm not praying that you would eliminate my enemies.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
I'm asking you to give me the courage to keep
going if my enemies don't change. They asked for the
ability to join with God and his mission and the
circumstances that I find myself in, Lord, would you give
me the grace to still join you in your mission?
(26:38):
You see it's not wrong to ask the Lord to intervene,
to fix what's broken, to redeem, to heal, to say.
But even as we ask those things, we must always
ask the Lord to empower us, to enable us to
keep going no matter how things turn out. Like God,
I'm asking you for this specific stuff, but even if
I don't get this specific stuff, help me to keep going,
(27:01):
Help me to keep following you friends. This is what
we see happening in the Garden of Yosemite. Like moments
before Jesus is arrestedent and crucified. He is lamenting. He
is praying, God, I don't want to do this. If
there's any other way, take this cup of suffering from me.
He's saying, change my circumstances yet not what I will,
(27:23):
but you will be done.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
God.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
I'm ask you to change this circumstance. But if that's
not the answer, help me to keep going. As Jesus
in the garden, he was lamenting. In every pre lament,
we must always remember to pray for an unshakable trust
(27:51):
in the Lord. That's what we see Jesus doing, not
my will, but your will be done. When we lament,
we're praying God, grant me the ability to trust You.
So transform my fearfulness, transform my anxiety, transform my worry. Lord,
in the middle of this horrible situation, help me to
(28:14):
see the truth about you right now. Help me to
see the truth about you right now, even though it's
hard to see this truth.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
I'm asking you to change my circumstances. But just as importantly, God,
I'm asking you to change me.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Grant me the ability to have faith and trust in You,
Verse thirty one. After they prayed, the place where they
were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly. So
throughout the Bible, the presence of God as God is
being present. One image that's used a lot is this
(28:51):
idea of trembling or a shaking, an earthquake. When Moses
received the Law on Mount Sinai, we are told that
the foundations of the mountain s shook. In Isaiah chapter six,
when the prophet is having this vision of the Lord's
Throne room, we are told that the foundations of the
temple that they trembled in the presence of God. So
(29:13):
this imagery, it communicates that when God is present, he
is sort of too much to handle. When God is present,
He's too much for a mountain to handle. He's too
much for a person to handle. God's power and his love,
his grace, and his mercy, as Chelsea talked about last week,
they are abundantly too much. God's grace and mercy, his awesomeness,
his power. They are abundantly too much.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
In our text.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
At the conclusion of their prayer, were told that the
place that they were meeting it shook. God was present,
and as that place was shaking, what he want us
to see is that the disciples were praying that they
would become more and more unshakeable. God helped me to
be rooted in you, in your truth, me to be
(30:00):
rooted into finished work of Jesus Christ. As this place
is shaking, helped me to become unshakable in you. You see,
there's another part in the Bible where we clearly see
that the earth is trembling, it's shaking, as Jesus is
being crucified. We read this in Matthew twenty seven, when
Jesus had cried out again in.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
A loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn
into from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding
Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they
were terrified. They exclaimed, surely he was the son of God.
So last week, as Jake was talking about, as we
were celebrating resurrection Sunday, we remembered that on Good Friday,
(30:44):
Jesus allowed himself to be tortured and beaten and humiliated
and murdered for your sake. On Friday he was shaken
to pieces for you, But that was at the end.
On Sunday he rose again and forever defeated.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Sin and death. Matthew twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
At dawn on the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalen and the other Mary went to look at Jesus's tomb.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
There was a violent earthquake. For an angel.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
The Lord came down from heaven that was going to
the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning. His clothes were as white
as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that
they shook and they became like dead men. Angel said
to the women, don't be afraid for I know that
you're looking for Jesus, who was crucified, but.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
He is not here. He has risen on resurrection Sunday.
Jesus rose from the grave.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Sin and death itself was shaken to pieces by the
finished work of Jesus Christ. To friends, that's the solid
foundation that we've been given. That's the solid foundation that
makes us unshakable. That's where we stand on our prayers
of lament. We stand on the unshakable foundation of the
(32:04):
finished work of Jesus Christ. We're told in Hebrews that
we can boldly approach.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
The throne of God.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
But we're welcomed as sons and daughters of the King
through the unshakable foundation of the finished work of Jesus Christ.
No matter what happens, no matter what life circumstances become,
no matter what, Jesus has defeated sin and death. He
has risen from the dead, and he will redeem all things.
(32:36):
That's the basis for our hope, that's the basis for
our joy. That's the posture of lament.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Lord.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I know in my mind that one day you will
set everything right. And I know this picture that I'm
suffering right now, it's not that. So I'm trusting and
what I know is true in you, even though I
can't experience it fully right now. It's what we remind
each other every week as we gather together around the
(33:06):
Lord's table. So a moment we're gonna take communion together,
We're gonna remind ourselves of the unshakeable foundation that we
have in Jesus. We're gonna remind ourselves that we weren't
simply saved from eternal death. We were given an eternal life.
We were given an eternal two way relationship with God.
(33:26):
So that being said, as we prepare for communion on
your tables, there's some handouts there that's dissecting Psalm thirteen.
So Psalm thirteen is a psalm of lament. This is
not the only way to lament. This is a way
that someone has lamented. This is a pattern, not that
we are to copy and paste into our own lives,
(33:46):
but it's it's a pattern that we can see that
someone has approached God with. So what I'm gonna ask
you to do is consider your own life right now.
Maybe you're in the middle of a hard season. Maybe
there are some things that are really causing you some
anxiety or some concern.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Maybe you're not there right now, but you've.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Been there in the past, and the best way you
knew how to cope with it was just like to
ignore it and sort of stuff it down. But maybe
you've never actually truly went to the Lord with how
you how you've really experienced life. So my invitation is
start now, finish later on the backside, write your own
psalm of lament.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
Just dare to.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Be truthful with God. Don't be irreverent, but dare to
be truthful. And then my invitation is, don't do that
in isolation. Share that with someone. Share your your thoughts.
It could be your writings, but share your thoughts with
someone of like, this is what I'm lamenting. So as
we're preparing for a communion, let's spend the next few
(34:48):
moments just approaching the throne of grace through a posture
of I want to be real with the Lord. After that,
Scott will come and lead us in communion. So let's
up for the next few moments right now reflecting on
land the lament of Psalm thirteen
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