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in your Bibles to the book of 
Acts. We're in Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. We'll look at the 
prayer of the church in verses 23 to 31. But I do want to begin 
reading in Acts chapter 4 at verse 1 to set the larger context, 
to remind us where we've been and what's actually going on 
in this particular section. But beginning in Acts chapter 
4 at verse 1. Now, as they spoke to the people, 
the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came 
upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and 
preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid 
hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for 
it was already evening. However, many of those who heard 
the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5,000. 
And it came to pass on the next day that their rulers, elders, 
and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, 
and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high 
priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had 
set them in the midst, they asked, by what power or by what name 
have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy 
Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, 
if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless 
man by what means he has been made well, let it be known to 
you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of 
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised 
from the dead, by him this man stands here before you whole. 
This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become 
the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any 
other, for there is no other name under heaven given among 
men by which we must be saved. Now, when they saw the boldness 
of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and 
untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had 
been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been 
healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 
But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, 
they conferred among themselves saying, what shall we do to these 
men? For indeed, that a notable miracle 
has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, 
and we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further 
among the people, let us severely threaten them that from now on 
they speak to no man in this name. So they called them and 
commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of 
Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, whether it 
is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to 
God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things 
which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened 
them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them because 
of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been 
done. For the man was over 40 years old on whom this miracle 
of healing had been performed. and being let go, they went to 
their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and 
elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they 
raised their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, you 
are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that 
is in them, who by the mouth of your servant David have said, 
Why did the nations rage and the people plot vain things? 
The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered 
together against the Lord and against His Christ. For truly 
against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod 
and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, 
were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your purpose 
determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats 
and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak 
your word by stretching out your hand to heal, and that signs 
and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant 
Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled 
together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy 
Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for the written word, and we pray now for the ministry 
of your Holy Spirit. We thank you, God, for your grace 
and your mercy and your power as it's revealed in the gospel 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for so great a salvation. Thank you that you've changed 
our hearts, that you've given us faith and repentance. You've 
caused us to see that Christ is altogether lovely and chief 
among 10,000. And may we now stand amazed at 
what happened in the early church in terms of its continued opposition 
to our Lord of glory. And may you encourage us in our 
21st century setting, knowing that there is increasing opposition 
to the gospel of our Lord. Help us in like manner to pray 
to you, and help us to see the emphasis in this passage on the 
necessity of the Word of God. Do forgive us now for our sins 
and our transgressions. Lord, open eyes and hearts to 
receive the truth of the gospel for any who have come this morning 
dead in their trespasses and sins. We pray that the voice 
of God, the voice that is able to crush the cedars of Lebanon, 
would come and speak to the hardened hearts of men and women and boys 
and girls, and you would bring so great a salvation. And we 
ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, this particular 
section, the prayer of the church, concludes what began in chapter 
3 at verse 1. Remember in chapter 3 at verse 
1, and following, we see the healing of this man who had been 
lame, who had been by the gate called beautiful, and who had 
been begging alms. Peter has nothing to give him 
in terms of silver or gold, but rather what he has, he gives 
him. In the name of Jesus Christ, 
this man is healed. On the basis of that, Peter then 
stands in Solomon's porch and preaches Christ. He preaches 
the person and the work of the Lord Jesus. The religious leaders 
get wind of this, and they are disturbed and troubled by this, 
and so they arrest Peter and John. You would think that Peter 
and John had been printing and distributing pornography at Solomon's 
Porch, but rather they had been preaching the truth of the gospel. 
But that arouses the suspicion of the religious leadership, 
and so they do arrest them, and then they call upon them to stand 
before the council and give a defense. So Peter and John do that, and 
then the council is faced with a great problem. They cannot 
deny that a notable miracle has taken place, because the man 
who had been lamed is now standing right before their eyes. Again, 
it's a wonderful problem that the council is faced with at 
that particular time. They'd love to deny it. They'd 
love to stifle the apostolic preaching. But they can't. The 
man who had been lame is now standing right before their eyes. 
So they have recourse to threaten the apostles. You can no longer 
speak in this name, that name which is a threat, that name 
which is opposition to these religious leaders. But they threaten 
the apostles. The apostles, of course, say, 
we are not going to stop. speaking about what we have seen 
and heard. So again, they're threatened, 
and now Peter and John return to their own. And I want to look 
at three things with reference to this section. First, the return 
to their brethren in verses 23 and 24. Secondly, the prayer 
of the brethren in verses 24 to 30. And then finally, the 
response from the Lord in verse 31. So we're given a bit of a 
glimpse here into an apostolic prayer meeting. We're given a 
glimpse into a corporate prayer meeting in this first century 
context when the people of God have been threatened from preaching 
the Word of God. Now note their release in verse 
23, and being let go. The Sanhedrin couldn't punish 
them, the Sanhedrin couldn't keep them in prison, the Sanhedrin 
couldn't beat them at this particular point, so they let them go. And 
it says that they return to their own. Companions is supplied, 
it's literally, they return to their own. In other words, other 
believers. And up to this particular point, 
we have the 12 apostles, we have the 120 that are gathered in 
Acts chapter 1, we have 3,000 added on the day of Pentecost, 
and then we have that number 5,000 in Acts chapter 3. So we're not sure just who it 
is that is in view at this particular juncture, whether it's just the 
fellow apostles, whether it's the larger community of God's 
people. I would probably take the position 
that it's the larger community of God's people. These two chief 
spokesmen, Peter and John, have been arrested. They come back 
to the people of God now to tell them what had occurred. And essentially 
what they would have said is this. They threatened us. They told us to no longer speak 
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They tried to exert pressure 
upon us. They exerted their control over 
us, or have tried to, and they want us to be silent with reference 
to our Lord Jesus Christ. So they make that report, and 
then notice what the people of God do at this particular time. 
It says, they reported all that the chief priests and elders 
had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their 
voice to God with one accord and said, Now, most likely what's 
in view here is that one man pre-upraise and all of the people 
are unified behind it. I don't think some special gift 
was given so that everybody gathered together said exactly the same 
sort of thing. The idea is probably that one 
of them, and it might have most likely been Peter or one of the 
apostles, prayed to God. Notice that it's vocal. This 
is corporate prayer. This isn't private prayer. This 
is something you could have heard. This is something that was audible. 
This was something that was voiced to God, and there was this one 
accordness. In other words, the people of 
God were unified when it came to their address to God. And 
that's gonna be very important for us to observe as we move 
through this. The people of God are unified 
at the throne of grace when they bring this petition to the Lord 
Most High. But in terms of their response, 
in terms of their prayer, I think it's very interesting to note 
the priority of prayer. They were threatened to no longer 
speak in the name of Jesus. Notice what they did not do. They didn't go home and get their 
guns and assault the Sanhedrin. They didn't go home and get their 
grenades and lob one into the Sanhedrin. They prayed, brethren. That was their priority. And 
John Gill makes this observation, that this news concerning a threat, 
on the one hand, shouldn't paralyze them, but on the other hand, 
it ought not to promote sluggishness. He says, and being, on the one 
hand, not over much terrified. We shouldn't imagine that. The 
government threatens us to no longer speak in the name of the 
Lord Jesus. We're not supposed to go run 
and hide. We're not supposed to go live 
on the top of a mountain. We're supposed to obey God rather 
than men. In other words, we're not supposed 
to be overmuch terrified. Oh, they've told us not to preach 
the gospel. We obey God rather than men. Always and in every situation, 
when man's word comes to try and subjugate God's word, we 
always follow God. That should be a given with us. 
If it's ever threatened by our government that we can no longer 
gather in the name of Jesus, we're still going to gather in 
the name of Jesus. There will still be services 
of the church as long as we have breath in our lungs. But back 
to Gil. and being on the one hand not 
overmuch terrified and cast down, and on the other hand not sluggish, 
careless, and secure, they betake themselves not to plots, conspiracies, 
and seditions, nor to arms to defend and avenge themselves, 
though their numbers were large. If it was, in fact, the 5,000 
people, they would have had the numbers to gun down, you know, 
metaphorically speaking, the 71-member Sanhedrin. He says, 
nor to arms to defend and avenge themselves, though their numbers 
were large, but to prayer that they might not be deterred by 
threatenings from speaking boldly the word of the Lord. You see 
what they do. They're threatened from the council. They're told not to speak in 
the name of the Lord Jesus. And what do they do? They pray. 
Now as we move to this prayer, there's three parts in this prayer. 
There is first, invocation. Secondly, there is exposition. 
And thirdly, there is supplication. Now, I'm not certain that every 
prayer that we ever pray ought to include exposition, but we'll 
see how it functions in this particular situation. They're 
comforting themselves with the Word of God. They're providing 
stability for their souls in light of the reality that God's 
Word had prophesied this very sort of thing. It's kind of like 
what Peter does before the Sanhedrin. He invokes Psalm 118, verse 22. He uses that as the theological 
rationale for their opposition to the apostles. because they, 
chief builders, were refusing or rejecting the very cornerstone. And so they utilized Psalm 2 
in that kind of a way. But note first the invocation. This is one of the reasons why 
the doctrine of creation is so important, because it brings 
us into contact with the Creator. Notice, if we believed in evolution, 
if we believed in even theistic evolution, we wouldn't be able 
to invoke God the way they invoke God in this particular instance. 
Notice in verse 24, it says, when they heard that, they raised 
their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, you are God who 
made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. 
Why do you think they do that? Or why do you think they would 
invoke God with that reality? that he's creator, because he's 
creator, because he's governor, because he's Lord, he's sovereign. The Greek word in verse 24 is 
not the typical kurios, it's the word despot. Now despot in 
English always connotes something negative, or typically it connotes 
something negative, but not so in Greek. It means the absolute 
authority, the sovereign over the universe. Such that when 
we face trials, such that when we face afflictions, such that 
when we have a 71-member council threatening us to no longer speak 
in the name of the Lord Jesus, we find our comfort in this reality 
that God made the world. that God even made these men, 
and as a result, God is sovereign over these men. It's the doctrine 
of creation that provides steel to the soul. It's the doctrine 
of creation that affords comfort to the peace of God. It is the 
doctrine of creation. by which or in which they invoke 
God in this instance. And this isn't unique in scripture. You see it in Nehemiah chapter 
9. In terms of a covenant renewal ceremony, when they pray to God, 
they first of all highlight God as creator. You see it in Psalm 
146, 6. You see it in the prophet Isaiah 
42, verse 5. But you see it uniquely in the 
prophet Isaiah in chapter 37, which is also 2 Kings chapter 
19, in a situation that in many respects parallels what the apostles 
are facing at this particular time. Remember godly Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the ruler over Judah. He was the monarch over Judah. 
And Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, wanted to bring 
Judah down. And so Hezekiah prays. And how do you think he addresses 
God? In light of the threat of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. 
He addresses God as creator. He thinks in terms of that reality. Brethren, it is that doctrine 
which, through the history of the church, has afforded great 
comfort to the people of God. The fact that He is over all 
things, that He has made all things, that we are on His side, 
ought to really encourage us, whatever the affliction, whatever 
the trial, whatever the difficulty may be. The thought that our 
God made everything and holds it together by the word of His 
power is something that ought to produce a smile in the heart 
of all God's people, and that is precisely how they are utilizing 
it here. Matthew Poole says, the creation 
and government of the world is a good consideration to confirm 
us under all things that befall us here. In other words, when 
we invoke God, we don't just do it in a manner that is consistent 
with church history. We don't invoke God simply in 
a traditional way. You know, when Jesus tells us 
in the Lord's Prayer to invoke God as our Father, it's not a 
routine that Christ is holding out to us. It's not rote, it's 
not patterned, but it's rather blessed comfort and assurance. 
We call God our Father. But by the same token, when we 
consider creation, the fact that God made all things by the word 
of his power in the space of six days and all very good, whatever 
we're facing, whatever issue confronts us, whatever threats 
we may be undergoing, God's over it all. See, the doctrine of 
creation is intimately connected to the doctrine of sovereignty. 
And we as Calvinists or we as Reformed people love that doctrine 
of sovereignty. Well, brethren, a God who is 
not sovereign in terms of creation is not sovereign in terms of 
providence or redemption. It's a packaged deal. And God 
Most High made all things. Now note their exposition in 
verses 25 to 28. They cite Psalm 2. Lord, you are God who made heaven 
and earth and the sea and all that is in them. who by the mouth 
of your servant David have said another affirmation of divine 
inspiration of Holy Scripture. They do this in Acts 1 at verse 
16. Notice in Acts 1.16, men and 
brethren, this scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy 
Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas. Acts 
2.30, David is identified as a prophet. So, whatever else 
we may say about Psalm 2, this much we must say. It's given 
by divine inspiration. It is the authoritative word 
of the living God, and that authoritative word of the living God, which 
contained a prophetic announcement, has specific application at the 
time of the apostles. Notice, they quote Psalm 2, 1 
and 2. And in this particular psalm, 
it's a messianic psalm. Now, kids, that simply means 
that while on the one hand it may be about David in some small 
way, it's mainly about David's Lord. When you hear that messianic 
psalm, it means that the subject of the psalm is Jesus Christ. 
And Psalm 2 is a psalm wherein the subject is Jesus Christ. 
And it deals with the rage of the nations, the opposition of 
the enemies of God and of His Christ. They take their stand 
together, they take counsel together, and they resist the moral government 
of Yahweh and of His Christ who's stationed at His right hand. 
And then the Christ speaks and talks about His installation 
at the right hand of the Father, the fact that He is the Son of 
the Father. And then the psalm ends with 
King David giving specific instructions to the nations surrounding Israel 
at that time that they should kiss the Son, that they should 
bow to the Lord Jesus, instead of opposing, instead of resisting, 
instead of shaking your fist at Him, rather bow to Him. And if you're here this morning 
and you're one that joins in this rage against Yahweh and 
against his Christ, listen to David. Be wise, be instructed, 
David says. Kiss the son lest he be angry 
and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. And the psalm ends on this high 
note. Blessed are all those who trust 
in him. You may not be blessed or you 
may not feel yourself blessed as you come to church on this 
Sunday. The pathway to blessing is not 
primarily the church, but the pathway to blessing is primarily 
Jesus. the Messiah of Psalm 2, the one 
stationed at the right hand of the Father, the one who is royal, 
the one who is glorious, the one who is exalted, the one who 
is from everlasting to everlasting, that blessed Jesus that we were 
reminded of in the scripture reading, who stood before godless 
men, who was treated with absolute contempt by godless men, He didn't 
do that because of his own sin or his own crimes. He did it 
for the sins and the crimes of his people. You see, blessing 
is found in Jesus. It's a beautiful thing, isn't 
it? Psalm 2 is all about that theme. But you can see how it 
would be useful in this context because Psalm 2 contains a prophetic 
announcement that there would be this enmity against Yahweh 
and against his Christ. Psalm 2 prepared the people of 
God for what would transpire when Messiah comes into the world. 
In other words, on the one hand, as we read through the passion 
narratives, we ought to be shocked and surprised and stand amazed 
at the contempt shown to our Savior. But on the other hand, 
having read the prophet Isaiah, which tells us that he was a 
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, we hid, as it were, 
our faces from him. There was nothing desirable in 
him that we should gaze at him. We should be prepared for this. 
And certainly Psalm 2, when is that going to take place? But 
when Messiah is manifested. The kings, the nations, the rulers, 
the Gentiles, they're all going to stand in opposition against 
Yahweh and against His Christ. But you need to remember something 
that's happening here specifically. What's happened with Israel as 
a body politic? What's happened with unbelieving 
Israel? They have taken their place alongside 
pagans in their opposition to Yahweh and His Christ. It's a 
terrible irony that is going on in this particular section. 
It's the nations that rage against God. It's the nations that oppose 
Jesus Christ. And notice that the apostle goes 
on, not only to cite the psalm, but as well to apply it with 
reference to Christ. Notice in verse 27, for truly 
against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod 
and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles, and there it is, the people of 
Israel. The tables have turned dramatically, haven't they? The 
people of Israel at the time of Psalm 2 should have been great 
recipients of Yahweh and His Christ. But here, Christ comes 
to His own, His own receive Him not. Instead of His own bowing 
and confessing Him as Lord and Savior, they've cried away with 
Him, away with Him, crucify Him. But you can see the function 
of this quotation in this particular situation. They're comforting 
their hearts with what's happening. This isn't a surprise, this isn't 
a shock, this isn't something that's supposed to run us away 
and cause us to hide and to fret and to never ever engage again 
in the preaching of the name of the Lord Jesus. No, God told 
us this was going to happen. But what's the grand emphasis 
in Psalm 2? It's not only a record of the 
opposition of the nations against Yahweh and against His Christ, 
but it's also the record of their loss. It's a record of their 
defeat. In other words, when you read 
Psalm 2, you don't come out at the end saying, wow, the nations 
win. That's not what happens, is it? You do not read Psalm 2 with 
the idea that the nations win. You read Psalm 2 with the absolute 
certain conviction that God and his Christ win. See why the apostles 
are citing this? See why the apostles are applying 
this? See why the apostles are fetching 
out from Scripture words of comfort for their tried souls? Now brethren, 
if the doctrine of creation ought to provide stability and comfort 
and security in the hearts of God's people at the throne of 
grace, so should Scripture. In other words, how do we pray 
to God? Pray His Word right back to Him. God loves His Word. God delights in His Word. And a prayer meeting ought to 
be about God's Word. Prayer closets ought to be saturated 
with God's Word. Family altars ought to be saturated 
with God's Word. Church prayer meetings ought 
to be saturated with God's Word. Why? Because the people of God 
need comfort. They need stability. They need 
grit and determination. What affords them that? Chatty 
stories from chatty preachers? No, it's the written Word of 
God Most High, given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit 
spake through David for the good of your souls. Why don't you 
memorize Scripture? Why don't you come to God with 
Scripture? Why don't you think Scripture 
and bring the comfort that that affords to the soul? And notice, 
with reference to the application, for truly against your holy servant 
Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate. You 
can read that. Only Luke records the treatment 
with Herod. Matthew, Mark, and John all record 
for us Jesus before Pilate. Luke tells us in Luke chapter 
23, 7 to 12, that when Pilate heard that Herod might have jurisdiction, 
Pilate does what every politician ever since has done. He passes 
the buck. Don't think that's new, right? 
What do politicians do? They pass the buck. They're political. They don't give answers. They 
don't give direct statements. They don't affirm and deny. They 
consider. If I affirm, what ramifications 
will it have? If I deny, just answer the questions. You see, politicians like to 
pass the buck. And the moment that Pilate, a 
two-bit governor in a two-bit province in the Roman Empire, 
hears that Herod might have some jurisdiction, well, let's send 
him there. Because you see, Pilate faced 
a problem as well. Something akin to what this council 
faced when they saw, or rather when Pilate saw, Jesus hadn't 
done anything wrong. This mob wants him to die, but 
he's not done anything wrong. But Pilate knows which side of 
his bread is buttered on, and so he wants to appease the crowd. Again, another gutless wonder 
that found its place in politics. The few that actually take courageous 
stands are persons we ought to praise God for. For the most 
part, they're gutless wonders, and they want to pass the buck, 
and that is precisely what Pilate does. But intriguingly, at the 
end of that narrative section, it says that Pilate and Herod 
now were friends, because they had formerly been opposed to 
one another. What's the point? The point is 
that enmity against Christ makes some strange bedfellows. Herod and Pilate will put down 
their animosity toward one another as long as their target is Jesus. You see, that's what the people 
of God face. The people of God face the mutiny 
of man. The people of God face the rage 
of the nations. China, America, and Canada, and 
all the countries of the world have this one thing in common 
in terms of unbelievers. They hate God, right? Is that what we're facing today? 
Yes, that's precisely what we're facing. When we see our so-called 
liberties being stripped away and freedom of speech and freedom 
of religion stripped away, what's the end game? It's to silence 
that what that tells us there's only one king and his name is 
Jesus. See, that's what happens in Thessalonica. The believers are brought on 
trial. Why? Because they preached another 
king, Jesus. See, that was an offense in the 
Roman Empire. It didn't matter to them if you 
worshiped a thousand gods. But when you worship the one 
true and living God, that's the problem. You see, these brethren 
comfort themselves with the word of truth. They get Psalm 2 out 
of its place and into their heart. And then notice what else they 
do. God, you're the creator. God, you're the one who's given 
us Psalm 2. God, you're the one who has announced that this sort 
of thing would take place. But God, we know and acknowledge 
it's according to your plan that it happened this way. You see, 
brethren, prayer, you see sometimes crazy book titles like Prayer 
Changes God. No, it doesn't. Prayer does not 
change God. I, the Lord, do not change. James 117, there is no variation 
or shadow of turning in our God. If prayer changes God, then prayer 
is an exercise in futility. Because if you and I have the 
potential to change God, what are we gonna change Him into? 
I shudder at the thought. Prayer doesn't change God. Prayer 
changes us. Prayer brings us in conformity 
to the will of God. Prayer brings soothing and comfort 
to our tired souls. Prayer helps us. And what more 
help could we possibly gain than invoking the God of creation, 
acknowledging that his written word has spoken to this eventuality, 
and as well, that this rage of the nations, the mutiny of man, 
setting themselves against God and against his Christ, nevertheless 
is according to the plan and purpose of God. You see that? Notice in verse 28, to do whatever your hand and your 
purpose determined before to be done. You'll hear that sometimes 
too. You know, cheesy book title number 
one, prayer changes God. Cheesy book title number two, 
if you believe in God's sovereignty, then how could you pray? If you 
don't believe in God's sovereignty, you'll never pray. It's God's 
sovereignty that provides the framework and the basis for prayer. Notice what these brothers do. 
They acknowledge that Herod and Pilate, the Jews, the Gentiles, 
the pagan uprising against Yahweh and against his Christ is according 
to Yahweh's purpose and plan. You see, Peter is no stranger 
to this way of thinking. Remember in Acts 2.23? You crucified 
him, but it was God's predetermined plan. You see, you think at times 
that sovereignty has no place at the throne of grace. Sovereignty 
is the foundation for the throne of grace. If we don't have a 
sovereign God, why would we ever think to pray? In other words, 
it doesn't change him, but if he is not sovereign, why pray? Typically, people ask people 
for help who they think are in a position to help. See, no one 
here has ever come to me and said, hey, can you loan me a 
million dollars? Because you know I'm not in a 
position to help. We typically ask people for a 
million dollars who have shown themselves, you know, financially 
savvy and they own banks or, you know, then it's not, can 
you give me? It's more, can you loan me? But 
you get the point. We come to God because he's sovereign. And this stabilizes the early 
church. This provides comfort and strength 
to the early church. God the creator. God the divine 
writer behind scripture, God the one who has purpose, even 
this revolt of man against God and against his Christ. This 
is the will of the Lord. Now, the obvious implication 
ought to be this. If the nations rage and if the 
peoples plot a vain thing against Yahweh and against His Christ, 
and we see that fleshed out specifically in the earthly ministry of Christ, 
vis-a-vis Pilate and Herod and ultimately Christ being crucified, 
there will be extension to the people of Christ. In other words, 
if they persecuted and rejected Jesus this way, it really ought 
not to surprise us that the godless Sanhedrin has threatened us to 
not speak in his name, right? You all get that, right? In other 
words, they're thinking theologically through this situation. And that 
not only informs their prayer life, but it also dictates their 
conduct when they get off their knees. See, if they're going 
to oppose Jesus and say, away with him, away with him, crucify 
him, and basically laugh and scoff and mock while he's on 
that cross, then they're going to threaten us when we stand 
before the Sanhedrin to speak no longer in this name. This 
prayer is designed to afford the greatest degree of confidence 
and comfort and stability to the prayers. And I think that 
we ought to take heed in our praying. So of course, Matthew 
10, the Lord Jesus taught that if they hate the master, they're 
going to hate the disciple. John 15, he teaches the same 
thing. If they hate the master, they're 
going to hate the disciple. It's simply the way it is. You 
know, it's amazing at times that we as Christians just can't believe 
that we're opposed. I can't believe it. I just can't 
imagine, you know, what's a nice guy like me suffering any persecution? They hated Jesus and hung him 
on a cross. What do you think they're going 
to do for people that are pro-Jesus? You think they're gonna say, 
oh, you're a great guy, you're a great girl. No, that enmity 
has settled in their hearts, and since they can no longer 
get to Jesus and hang Him on crosses, they do that for His 
people. You see, it's kind of a no-brainer, 
and that's the implication, and that's how they understand the 
situation. So we've seen invocation, we've 
seen exposition, now note supplication. Supplication. In other words, 
supplication is when we ask of God something. I think this is 
a great model prayer. We think of that acronym, acts. 
We adore God, we express contrition, we express thanksgiving, and 
then we supplicate. In other words, we don't just 
run right through the front door of heaven and say, God, give 
me. I know we think that that's the way we ought to pray, but 
brethren, stop and marvel in the presence of God. You know, 
when your kids are little or you're at home and the kids run 
home and they, you know, first thing through the door, can I 
have a snack? You probably want to throw a granola bar at them. 
How about, hi, dad. Hi, mom. Actually, you don't 
want to throw a granola bar at them. That's not very kind. Make 
sure they get their granola bar and throw it with a little bit 
of heat. You walk in and you say, how are you today? Good 
to see you, Dad. It's good to see you, Mom. It's 
been six long hours since I've been blessed with the radiance 
that is your face. Something kind. It's an offense 
to just run in and say, gimme, gimme, gimme. The leech has two 
daughters, according to Solomon or Eger in Proverbs 30. What 
do these two daughters say? They say, give. Give. That's 
all they ever say, give. Sometimes God's people can be 
like that. We run through the front door of heaven and say, 
give, give. Before any adoration, before 
any invocation, before any contrition before our God, before any expression 
of thanksgiving to our God, we get right to supplication. Give 
me, give me, give me, is our petition and prayer. Now again, 
brethren, if you're, you know, pummeling down the, you know, 
mountaintop in your car, you can ask God to spare you without, 
you know, the ACT. But for the most part, if you 
have time for prayer in your closet, not if you have time, 
make time for prayer in the closet, adore God. Express your contrition 
before God. Thank God and then supplicate 
God. That's what these brothers do. 
But notice their supplications. There are two of them. And the 
first highlights for us what they saw as most important. Now 
imagine for a moment that you spent a weekend at a Christian's 
home. And you happen to know that during 
the weekend, that one Christian, the man or the woman, prays audibly. Some people do that. Don't be 
freaked out about that. Some people in private prayer 
will pray audibly. They'll pray out loud because 
it helps them to verbalize and to speak to God. So imagine you 
happen to be walking down the hallway, and you've got your 
toothbrush in hand. And you overhear a brother, so-and-so, 
or sister, whoever praying. We could tell a lot about a man 
or a woman by what they ask of God, can't we? Yes? If I said to you, what do you 
pray for all week long? And you say, I pray for a new 
pony. I'm going to conclude that new ponies are something very 
important to you. What is it that the church prays 
for? It shows where they understand their priority lies. We pray 
for courage to preach the word of God. In other words, the primary 
application, the primary reason for existence with the church 
is the preaching of God's word. Anything that will threaten that, 
anything that will seek to dissuade us in that has to be overcome 
at the throne of grace. Notice, the apostle for the brethren 
says first, now, Lord, look on their threats. Again, I don't 
think it's in this manner. Look on their threats and destroy 
them. They don't pray that. Is it ever 
right to pray for the destruction of God's enemies? Yea and amen, 
it is. If you do not affirm that, you're 
gonna struggle with David's Psalms. But we're not always obligated 
to pray for the destruction of God's enemies. In other words, 
there's lesser things we can pray for. Does everybody get 
that? Notice as well that they don't pray for our comfort, for 
our stability, for our well-being, so that we won't be molested 
in the empire. That's not what they pray. It's 
not for the immediate removal of their enemies, and it's certainly 
not for their safety and their security. but rather their prayer 
is this, in light of the fact that the prophetic word announced 
this, and we see it lived out in the life and ministry of Jesus, 
and by extension, these opposers are still going to resist Jesus' 
people, we're not praying that you stop them from threatening, 
we're not praying that you remove us from the sphere of being threatened, 
but rather we're praying for boldness, so that when we are 
threatened, we don't kowtow, we don't roll over, we don't 
play dead, but rather we speak the word with boldness. It's 
brilliant, isn't it? The sublimity involved, you know, 
we could pray, God, destroy, smash the teeth of your enemies. 
That'd be legit. Psalm 58, the righteous will 
dance in the blood of the wicked. That's legit. But you're not 
always obligated to pray imprecatory psalms. And in this instance, 
they do not. They don't pray for the destruction 
of the Sanhedrin. They don't pray for the removal 
of the threat, but rather they pray for the boldness to navigate 
their way in the midst of a threat-saturated culture. It's really beautiful 
the way these brothers prayed. Now notice, now Lord, look on 
their threats and grant to your servants that with all boldness 
they may speak your word. Again, I believe that this is 
a recognition of their primary calling. This is a recognition 
of their primary calling in this infant church. Notice what is 
not their primary calling, social programs. after-school sessions 
for the kids, game night, movie night, and a myriad of other 
nights the church has sacrificed for the true preaching of God's 
Word. Such that anymore churches that 
actually just want to preach the Word are looked at like nuts. 
No movie night? No popcorn? Brethren, the problem 
in Canada isn't a lack of movie night and popcorn, such that 
the church should see themselves as the entity to provide that. 
No, the problem is sinners are going to hell. There is an angry 
God in heaven. There is mutinous man on the 
earth. And Psalm 2 has shown us definitively 
that man will always lose when he comes into opposition with 
God. And that men everywhere ought to be wise. They ought 
to be instructed. They ought to kiss the sun, lest 
he be angry, and they perish in his way. You see, why the 
church got in the business of entertaining people is still 
something lost on me. I don't get it. We're not good 
at it. That's always a problem when 
the church has a rock band. It will never be as good as a 
real rock band. Why would we even attempt that 
when our primary calling is to do what? to preach the word. What's Paul's last corporate 
command before Paul dies, according to 2 Timothy chapter 4? Preach 
the word, not entertain the masses, not have therapy sessions, not 
have encounter groups, not try to ameliorate every problem of 
the downtrodden. Preach the word. Be ready in 
season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with 
all longsuffering and teaching. Why? Because the time's going 
to come, Paul tells us, when they won't endure sound doctrine. 
So what have we done in the 20th and 21st century? They won't 
endure sound doctrine, so we're going to show movies and have 
rock bands and give them popcorn. No, that's not what you're supposed 
to do. When they don't endure sound 
doctrine, you know what the answer of the church is? Give them more 
sound doctrine. It's counterintuitive. I've often thought that when 
Timothy received that letter, he said, wait a minute, they 
don't want sound doctrine. And my response is, I have to 
give them sound doctrine? Paul, you're so mean. Let's give 
them movie night. Let's have puppet shows. Let's 
entertain them. Let's just, you know, have encounter 
groups. No, you preach the word to them, 
Timothy. You see, God knows that man is not fit to prescribe his 
own remedy. Man doesn't know what's best 
for him any more than your four-year-old knows what's best at dinner time. 
But I want cake. I don't care what you want, junior. 
You will have Brussels sprouts because they're good for you. 
They'll put muscles on you. Protein is necessary. Cake doesn't 
do it. Do we enter into debate with 
the four-year-old when it wants cake over meat? Do we? No, we give them what is necessary. So what's the church dying? We 
got a bunch of people screaming for cake. So let's give them 
cake. That's terrible. That's bad. It's horrible that that's the 
response of the church to sinners dying and going to hell. This 
group knew what was most important, not smash their teeth, eliminate 
the Sanhedrin with reference to the world. Lord, make sure 
that no threats ever come our way. No. Threats are settled. Sanhedrin opposing Christ is 
settled. Give us the boldness to preach 
the word in the midst of it. It really is counterintuitive 
for many. Daryl Bach says, the early church 
knew that its key priority was the mission of preaching Jesus 
to a needy world. You hear that too. That's another 
book title number three. We need to be like the early 
church. You know what the early church didn't do? They didn't 
have movie night and give popcorn to the dying masses. They preached 
the gospel. You see, brethren, again, it's 
just so, you know, counterintuitive to the way that we think today. 
I've shared before, people will call, not so much anymore, maybe 
the word's out there, but, you know, what do you have as a church? 
What do you do? Well, we have morning and evening 
worship and a Bible study on Wednesday night. They don't always 
say this, but I think this is what they're thinking. That's 
it? That's it? That's all you've 
got? Why is that? Because the consumer 
mentality says that my church ought to do everything for me. 
I need to have brilliant, beautiful nursery care. Not that we should 
have terrible nursery care. We ought to have programs for 
every age group at every time during the week for whenever 
I want it. It's a good thing I don't say the kinds of things 
that I want to say at times. Guess whose job it is to parent 
your children? It's yours. See, people want 
the church to parent their children. Worse, they want the state to 
parent their children. Unfortunately, there's a willing 
state that will do that. And there's, unfortunately, churches 
that will do that. That's not the job of the church. 
It's to equip you as parents so that you can deal with your 
kids, hopefully properly, But this that's it mentality with 
reference to a church that tries to emphasize the preaching of 
the word, that's everything, isn't it? Isn't that what we're 
about? You may all look, what's he on 
about? You know, we come here, obviously, 
we think that. This ain't the common report. 
And this is what it was here. They knew what their primary 
calling was, and the identification of their primary need, grant 
boldness. What does that indicate? They 
had boldness, didn't they? I mean, for Peter to stand in 
Solomon's porch and bring it with reference to who Jesus Christ 
is, in a situation where a vast majority of those people opposed 
the message of Jesus Christ, that was boldness, wasn't it? 
Remember when they stand before the Sanhedrin in verses 5 to 
12, they make that declaration again, heavy emphasis upon who 
Jesus is. The Sanhedrin now observe specifically 
with reference to Peter and John, their boldness. But remember 
the scripture reading from this morning, was boldness native 
to Peter? Was Peter eight foot tall and 
bulletproof in any situation he entered into? No. He kowtowed 
to a servant girl and he denied the master. What ought we to 
conclude? The boldness that Peter had, 
had been supplied by God. And in order for that supply 
chain to continue on, we need to ask God to provide for us. And what does this say with reference 
to preaching? Not only would I argue it's the 
primary emphasis with reference to the church, but the type of 
preaching. Is it supposed to be feeble and 
weak? Is it supposed to be hands-in-pockets 
chat? It's supposed to be with boldness. 
Doesn't mean every man has to raise his voice and yell and 
scream, but there ought to be an earnestness when it comes 
to the preaching of God's word. Paul not only gives the what, 
preach the word, but the how, convince, rebuke, exhort with 
all long suffering and teaching. Why? Because the time will come 
when they won't endure it. So they need to be convinced. 
They need to be rebuked. They need to be admonished. They 
need to be nurtured. And you need to do it with long-suffering 
and teaching. You see, it's not only the what 
that we find here, but with reference to their prayer, it's the how. 
They're facing a hostile empire. Hands-in-pockets chats aren't 
going to win the day. When Paul finds himself at the 
Areopagus, a couple of humorous anecdotes aren't going to win 
the day with those Stoic and Epicurean philosophers. When 
Peter and the rest of the apostles are facing down men who can give 
a kill order to send them to a lion's den, the stakes are 
too high for them to put their hands in their pocket and mumble 
something about Jesus of Nazareth. They need to convince, rebuke, 
and exhort. They need to do it with all long-suffering, 
realizing that God is sovereign in the manner of salvation, and 
they need to do it with teaching. In other words, all preaching 
should be expositional in nature. It should teach the people of 
God what the Word of God says. It should teach unbelievers what 
the Word of God says. Those elements are combined in 
passages like these such that if we ask the question, what's 
the primary focus for the church or the primary aspect of the 
church's mission in this world, I would hope that all of us would 
say the true preaching of God's Holy Word. That's it. It's what we do. It's what we're 
about. That's it. Notice. Well, one 
text that I want to highlight before we move from this request 
for boldness. You get this idea in your head 
of Paul, don't you? Kind of like you do this with 
Moses, and you do this with David. I mean, I don't know. David at 
the Valley of Elah, he's been out with the sheep, and he's 
ripped apart bears and lions. I got to think the guy is in 
good shape. He's got that idea. I mean, he's 
small, and in comparison to Goliath, he's nothing to look at. But 
a dude that bare-handedly rips apart beasts has to have something 
going on. So you get this idea of David, 
right? You get this idea of what he's 
like. And I think that happens with 
Paul. He's the patron saint of Reformed 
theology, right? We all just love Paul. You know, 
the paradigmatic Calvinist, he's just this machine of theology. Interesting, because Paul describes 
himself just the opposite. He says, when I was among you, 
I had nothing persuasive about me. They mocked me. He's no orator. He's nothing to look at. But 
when I preached, it was in a demonstration of the spirit of power. So we 
have this idea that David and Peter and Moses and Paul just 
had this native boldness. And we conclude things like, 
well, I don't have native boldness, so God will never use me. Well, 
then we sound just like Moses, don't we? Because wasn't this 
Moses' reply? Choose Aaron. Here am I. Send 
Aaron, Lord. He's got a good, you know, ability 
to speak. He's got, you know, forcefulness, 
a natural leadership ability. Aaron's your guy. What's God 
say? I make mouths. I make ears. I could certainly animate you 
and equip you to stand before Pharaoh with your finger in his 
face. Paul. praise with reference to boldness. In Ephesians 6, 19 and 20, and 
pray for me that utterance may be given to me that I may open 
my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for 
which I am an ambassador and change that in it I may speak 
boldly. So you mean it wasn't native 
to Paul? He needed to ask God for boldness? He needed to ask the Ephesians 
to ask God for boldness? Yes. And I love what he says 
at the very end. This kind of goes with what I 
said earlier. It's not only the what, but it's also the how. 
That in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." In other 
words, this gospel is so glorious, it demands far more than a chatty 
preacher. It demands far more than humorous 
anecdotes. It demands far more than an illustration 
from you buying a car the other day. It demands boldness. It demands commitment. It demands 
exposition of God's Word. So pray for me that I would speak 
boldly as I ought to speak. So these brethren at this prayer 
meeting, they pray first for courage. And then secondly, they 
pray that God will confirm the message that they preach. They've 
already seen this happen, right? God healed this man who had been 
lame from birth. He was over 40 years old. He 
used to beg at the gate called Beautiful. He would hold out 
his palm, and he'd ask for alms, and Peter and John had nothing, 
and so they give him the name of Jesus Christ, and it's that 
powerful name that brings healing to this man. So they pray. God confirmed. Stretch out your 
hand, show those signs, show those wonders, not to dazzle, 
not to impress, but to authenticate the true preaching of God's word. 
Now, of course, people are going to jump here and say, well, why 
would you be a cessationist? Because remember, the written 
word isn't completed at this point. There were still signs 
and wonders. There were still miracles operative 
in the early church. But now that the New Testament 
documents are complete, brethren, we just pray that God, the Holy 
Spirit, make that word known in the hearts of men, women, 
boys, and girls. But that's the point in this. 
Grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak your 
word by stretching out your hand to heal and that signs and wonders 
may be done. Now notice, through the name 
of your holy servant, Jesus. Next time you read chapters 3 
and 4 in the book of Acts, and you are the kind of person that 
underlines in your Bible, underline the word name, because that's 
what's at stake in chapters 3 and 4. It's the name of Jesus. By what power or by what name 
are you doing these things? So when they come to pray to 
God Most High, we want courage to speak the truth with boldness 
as we ought to speak. And we want you to confirm it 
with these miraculous signs, so that the name of Jesus Christ 
will sound forth, so that the name of Jesus Christ will go 
forward, so that the name of Jesus Christ will be the means 
of salvation. According to Acts 4.12, there's 
no other name given under heaven among men by which we must be 
saved. So essentially what they're saying 
is embolden us and send forth confirming power so that the 
name of Jesus Christ will go through the empire, conquering 
and to conquer. That's what a prayer meeting 
should look like. Now God answers. God answers 
specifically. Their petition. Does God answer 
prayer? Yes, He does. And he does so 
right here, very specifically. Notice in verse 31. We're coming 
to a conclusion. We're going to end soon. But 
notice in verse 31. And when they had prayed, the 
place where they were assembled together was shaken. That doesn't 
always happen. God can answer prayer without 
shaking the actual building you're in. Don't be a charismatic, well, 
God didn't shake my room, so I'm not going to get an answer 
to that prayer. No, remember, first century Christianity was 
punctuated by supernatural phenomena, again, to validate, confirm, 
and affirm that the word preached by the apostles was, in fact, 
the word of God. I know that charismatics don't 
like this argument, but the signs and wonders accompany revelation. In other words, when God is speaking, 
he confirms that speech by miracles through Moses, through the prophets, 
through Jesus, and through the apostles. Once that word is confirmed 
and affirmed and it's canonized and we have it, we shouldn't 
be looking for those supernatural phenomena. Doesn't mean God can't 
send it. Doesn't mean God has somehow 
forgotten how to shake a building. But rather, brethren, we are 
not to live based on that phenomena, but the written word of the living 
God. But in this instance, he shakes the place where they are. 
It's reminiscent of the day of Pentecost, isn't it? When the 
Spirit comes in power, it's a rushing mighty wind. There's this phenomena 
that attends the presence and the power of the Spirit. We see 
this in Exodus 19. You see it in Isaiah 6. The presence 
of God brings shaking. But it's not only that. They're 
filled with the Spirit. Now, these are believers in Jesus 
that have received the Spirit. This isn't a second work of grace. 
This isn't, you know, perfectionism. It isn't a second blessing. But 
rather, the Spirit is given to them in answer to the specific 
petition for boldness. The Spirit comes, and what do 
they do? They speak boldly, right? That's the text. Look at verse 
31. And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled 
together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy 
Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. So you see, God heard their prayer. God answered their prayer, and 
they, having had the answer, now do what God called them to 
do. In fact, look at, excuse me, verse 33. Verse 33, and with 
great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of 
the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. So you see, they invoked God. They expound God's Word and see 
it in its own application in their lives. And then they supplicate, 
or they petition, or they request from God. And that request highlights 
the priority for the early church. It's that the Word be preached, 
and that the Word be preached with boldness. Brethren, I would 
conclude by saying, first, we ought to observe the priority 
of prayer. You know, we do that at times. 
Oh, yeah, all we can do now is pray. What a terrible sort of 
recommendation for prayer. All we can do now is pray. Wow, 
makes me real confident about prayer. What do you mean all 
we can do is pray? We have the ear of God most high. 
What do you mean all we can do is pray? That ought to be our 
priority in every circumstance and in every situation. Not to 
say we shouldn't learn how to speak with boldness or take voice 
lessons, but whatever it takes to loosen our... I'm not saying 
we don't use those means. but prayer. John Calvin observed, 
wherefore, let the cruelty and reproaches of our enemies rather 
stir up in us a desire to pray than any wit discourage us from 
going forward in the course of our office. In other words, the 
threats, the violence, the intimidation, the attempt to control, the attempt 
to bring into subjection the very people of Christ, don't 
let it dissuade you, but rather May it make you pray. The priority 
of prayer. Secondly, we ought to appreciate 
the theology in their prayer. The theology in their prayer. 
What they pray reveals for us what they believe concerning 
God. They understand God made the world and all things in it. 
In other words, they had a proper understanding of Genesis. and 
it fed their souls and it strengthened them and it comforted them. They 
saw the doctrine of creation not as something distant and 
far and unrelated to life in this present world. No, it's 
that very fact that God is creator and we are his creature. It's 
that very fact that steals the soul against the enmity of men 
that want to keep us down from preaching the gospel. As well, 
they interpret their present trial in light of God's Word. 
They don't just say, well, we just can't understand what's 
happening. Of course we understand, because God, through David, said, 
Psalm 2, we see it played out in the life of the Messiah. Messiah's 
gone now in terms of his physical manifestation or presence, rather, 
on earth. He's at the right hand of the 
Father, but that doesn't defang the enemies of Messiah. They're 
going to come after the church. And so this theology of Psalm 
2 informs them, and it is the rationale behind the conduct 
that they undertake. And then they recognize that 
the rage of the nations is ultimately under the sovereign hand of God. 
I've often thought that in the whole debate concerning Calvinism 
or Arminianism or God's sovereignty. those passages that aren't necessarily 
salvation passages that highlight the sovereignty of God. The fact 
that God is behind the rage of the nations against himself and 
against the Messiah, who's going to actually argue God's not sovereign 
in light of verse 28? When the apostles can say everything 
that we're seeing here happens according to your purpose and 
plan, When Peter in 2.23 can say this is the predetermined 
plan of God, in 3.18, Peter can say that God had specified that 
you would do this, that Christ would suffer, that this was all 
written about. I mean, when's the debate about 
God's sovereignty? That should have died a long 
time ago. That there's still people out 
there saying, well, God's not sovereign. Haven't read scripture. And then notice the supplication 
in their prayer. Brethren, pray these prayers 
for this church. Cam and I don't wanna be the 
most handsome fellows. We're sure that ship has sailed. 
We don't wanna be the most famous fellows because that's just not 
what we want. We don't want to be the most 
successful fellows. Again, I think that ship has 
sailed, but we want to be faithful fellows, opening our mouths to 
speak the word with boldness. If the Apostle Paul asks the 
Ephesians to ask God that God give boldness to Paul, then can 
you, dear brothers and sisters, pray for us that when we stand 
in this pulpit or when we represent this church and our community, 
it wouldn't be with the latest stories about life in our shoes, 
it wouldn't be with little fireside chats or a little bit of an interesting 
anecdote in the life of Cam Porter or Jim Butler, but it would be 
to speak the Word of God. Because that's why we exist. 
That's why we're here. That's the purpose for Free Grace 
Baptist Church. It's not to be the most famous. 
It's not to be the most successful. It's not to be the place where 
the most razzmatazz is seen. But it's supposed to be faithful 
to the vocation that God has given. We can't do that without 
prayer. Brethren, as Paul will say in 
1 Thessalonians, pray for us. Pray for us. And then finally, 
with reference to the gospel, if you are not a Christian here 
this morning, see God's, and I speak anthropomorphically here, 
so allow me, see God's heart. In other words, what's important 
to God? What makes it in the book of 
Acts? It's this emphasis on the preaching 
of the gospel. Why is God like that? Because 
God is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. This very 
passage, where the apostolic men are seeking boldness to preach 
the Word of God, ought to communicate to you this morning that God 
really is about saving sinners. And if God really is about saving 
sinners, and I'm a sinner, and I need to be saved, I'm gonna 
go! I'm going to flee, I'm going 
to run, I'm going to hide, I'm going to kiss the sun, lest he 
be angry and I perish in the way when his wrath is kindled 
but a little. Blessed are all those who put 
their trust in him. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word. We thank you for your heart as 
it is revealed to us in the scripture. We know, God, that you are about 
saving sinners, and we pray that this gospel would go forth today, 
conquering and to conquer, that your word would not return unto 
you void, but it would accomplish the purpose for which you send 
it, and that many sinners from every tribe and tongue and people 
and nation And God, we cry out to you specifically for sinners 
in this city, sinners in this room, that they would taste and 
see that the Lord is good, that they would believe on Him that 
is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000, that they would 
believe on Him who is able to forgive and able to save to the 
uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through Him. We ask this 
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, let's sing 
the doxology in our praise to God. We'll stand as we sing the 
doxology. Praise God and all blessings 
flow. ♪ Praise Him, all creatures dearly 
o'er ♪ ♪ Praise Him, above the heav'nly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ The Lord bless you and keep 
you. The Lord make his face shine 
upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance 
upon you and give you peace. God, may this be true for each 
of us. May you go with us now. May you watch over us and protect 
us. Help us to sanctify the day today and find great joy in the 
presence of our God most high. Bless us, we pray, through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, please be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.