The way of this world is to praise dead saints and persecute living ones.

Acts 4:23And being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them. 24And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, O Lord, thou that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is: 25who by the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David thy servant, didst say, Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples imagine vain things? 26The kings of the earth set themselves in array, And the rulers were gathered together, Against the Lord, and against his Anointed: 27for of a truth in this city against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, 28to do whatsoever thy hand and thy council foreordained to come to pass. 29And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, 30while thou stretchest forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy Servant Jesus. 31And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Persecution, what if you were a Christian in Afghanistan today?

In general, Christians in the West back off from naming Christ as they ought to, because of the fear that somebody might not like them. Or the fear of being ostracized from their society, or afraid of being fired, or the fear of being shut out of a community of people that they’d like to be a part of.

If handled right, persecution is a blessed experience. It is a wonderful experience. It is a plus, not a minus. It is a positive, not a negative. “My brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials.”

To suffer independent of proclaiming Christ, like some do in the form of pentence, is ridiculous.

There’s nothing negative at all about suffering. What happens if I get out there and the Lord leaves me? That’ll never happen. Romans 8:35. “What shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall tribulation, or distress, or,” what, “persecution? As it is written for thy sake we are killed all day long.” We’re expendable. “We’re counted as sheep for the slaughter, but in all these things we are more than,” what, “conquerors.”

Second Corinthians 12:9, and here he’s kind of saying Lord, I’ve got a thorn in the flesh and Satan buffets me with it and it could be possible that I could rid of it if You’d like, Lord. “My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” I like you weak, Paul, because then you lean on Me.

So what did Peter and John do?

They went back to the other apostles and to the people who, having been converted on the day of Pentecost and afterwards, were now forming the Christian church. They went back to their own company and reported what had happened.

This is the authentic account of what the Christian church is. The mere fact that we may think we are Christians does not prove that we are Christians. People have curious ideas about what constitutes a Christian. So we must all examine ourselves in the light of all that we are told about these men.

What would you say is an acid test to apply to one who makes a profession of being a Christian?

Some people seem to think that being a Christian is merely a matter of tradition and upbringing. Can you be a Christian without knowing anything of the Bible, without understanding its teachings, without being able to give any reason as to why you are a Christian?

Is Christianity simply a matter of custom and habit?

Then there are people who seem to think that being a Christian means that one holds a given set of beliefs. A mere intellectual acceptance of the truth does not make anyone a Christian. It is possible for us to receive teaching with our minds only. A dry-as-dust theology is of no value.

Others who would say that the test is whether there has been a dramatic, climactic experience. When people claim to be Christians, have their lives been changed? Has something happened to them that has turned them around and made them into different people? That is the essence of Christianity.”

I am very ready to agree that you cannot really be a Christian without some experience. Christianity is not mere intellectualism or goodness; it is a living and vital experience.

What is the acid test to determine if one is a Christian?

It is this: How does one react to trying and testing circumstances? You may have been religious all your life, and as long as life is going fairly smoothly and evenly, all is well. But suddenly you find yourself in a great crisis, and you become aware for the first time that all your religion means nothing at all to you.

It does not help you. So the way to test a profession of faith is the test of circumstances, trials, tribulations, troubles, or death staring you in the face.

When you are in some grievous trouble, your own goodness and morality do not help you or sustain you. The fact that you have done a lot of good to others does not somehow answer your problems. It is the same with some of those experiences that people talk about. The experiences really do not help them when they need the help most of all.

The ultimate test as to whether there is any value in our profession of the Christian faith is our response, our behavior, when everything is against us, when we seem to be without any human aid, and we ourselves can do nothing.

What is the true Christian response in times of trial?

Here is genuine Christianity. When the two apostles went back to the believers and told them that they were prohibited from speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus, when they said that they thought that these authorities were about to exterminate the Christian church, what did the believers do? “They lifted up their voice to God with one accord …” In other words, they prayed. And that is the ultimate test. The ultimate test of our profession of faith is our prayer life.

For some people, prayer is entirely a matter of posture, that if you are on your knees, you are praying, and that if you are not on your knees, you cannot pray.

Then many seem to think that prayer is a kind of thoughtless repetition.

The characteristics of true prayer are shown here in Acts. Here were people who were threatened with extermination, with death, with the end of all things.

The calmness, the quiet, assured, confident, certain manner in which they spoke. They were talking to God, and they had no doubt about it. “When they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord,

What was the explanation for the confidence of these early believers as they came to God in prayer? Their secret was that they knew God. The primary purpose of the Christian message is to bring us to a knowledge of God, and for some extraordinary reason this truth has been forgotten.

They did not merely get on their knees and repeat some set prayers. They began to talk to God with confidence and absolute assurance.

These people in Acts were not praying to “the absolute” or to “the ultimate reality” or “the ground of our being.” They were praying to a person, one they could address, a personal God.

Their prayer reveals their belief.

They Saw God as Creator

If you have any difficulty with miracles, if you can get just past Genesis 1:1 “, this Sanhedrin, this council that has forbidden us has power but God you’re the creator and you have almighty power. Lord, these people who have threatened us they are creatures.

They Saw God as In Control

They said, God, why should we worry? You made it all. They saw God as in control or everything. For them, God didn’t just wind it up and throw it out and let it spin. verse 25. You made everything and then you said something: Now, when they prayed, they began to pray Scripture. They’re quoting Psalm 2. They said, Lord, it was exactly what you said would happen

Before they prayed they looked back to the darkest day of their lives and they remembered the day when all of their hopes were nailed to that cross God planned, that Jesus Christ was slain before the foundation of the world and that nothing, nothing was out of control.

They Saw God as Conqueror

They saw God as conqueror of all things. They quote from Psalm 2 that tells of the Lord Jesus Christ who is going to rule and to reign from Zion. They knew that the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. Next time you have a problem, glance at your problem and gaze on the God of the Universe.

They Were Praying for the Right Purpose

verses 29 and 30. “And now, Lord, behold their threatening’s: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus”. Lord, we’re servants reporting for duty.

One Purpose, Was To Express God’s Word

They desired to express God’s Word. Grant, Lord, that we’ll be bold enough to speak.

What got them into trouble in the first place?

Speaking The Word of God.

What are they praying for? Are they praying for a better position? Are they praying that God would give them ease of comfort?

They just prayed for boldness. They just pray for courage. They say,“Lord, we got in trouble speaking for your name. Now, Lord, just give us courage to do it some more. God, give us courage to express Your Word.

A Second Purpose Was To Extend God’s Hand

verse 30: Lord, let your miracle-working power just flow through us. Lord, let our hand be your hand. Lord, not only do we want our mouths to be your mouth. But, Lord, we want our hands to be your hand.

What hand does Jesus have now that He is not on this earth? Their hands, and our hands. His body now on this earth is His church. What do you think this church, Harmony Church ought to be doing?

Nothing more, nothing less than Jesus Christ would be doing if he were here in the flesh.

Their prayer wasn’t a prayer for ease, or comfort, or wealth, or even for healing. It was, Lord, we want to express Your Word and Lord, we want to extend your hand.

Their Third Purpose For Praying Was To Exalt God’s Son

verse 30 “By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus”. The name of Jesus.

Do you know what it means to pray in the name of Jesus? It means to pray with his authority for his glory.
Do we ever pray those kind of prayers?

Ours are mostly, Lord, help me in this little problem. I stubbed my toe, help me with this or that. Those things are all well and good. But, those are not the kind of prayers that shake the house. Those are not the kind of prayers that cause God to move in mighty revival power.

God Validated Their Prayers

verse 31 “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.

How interested is God in our prayers?

When we get our life narrowed down, when we get our focus narrowed down to where we want to express God’s Word, to extend God’s hand, and to exalt God’s Son, according to the authority of The Word of God the Holy Spirit will fill us.

They said, We’re you servants, we want to express Your Word, we want to extend Your hand, we want to exalt Your Son. Grant it, God.” And God says, “I surely will. I’ll give you the Holy Spirit. I’ll make you one. And I will open your mouth and give you power to witness like you’ve never known before.” And God said, “Just to show you I mean business,” the whole place began to shake.

Will we ever pray like that? Will it take persecution to drive us there, or will we never get there, because we feel we should never be persecuted?