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Our focus will be on verses 23 
to 31, but I wanna begin reading in verse one, Acts chapter four. 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 five 
thousand. 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 the 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. Now the 
multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. 
Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was 
his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power 
the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord 
Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone 
among them who lacked, for all who were possessors of lands 
or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that 
were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet, and they distributed 
to each as anyone had need. And Joses, who was also named 
Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated son of encouragement, 
a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and brought 
the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Amen. Well, let 
us pray. Our gracious and our glorious 
God, we thank you for the Lord's Day. We thank you for the privilege 
to gather in the house of God on the day of God with the people 
of God to worship you. We ask that you would be glorified 
in this glad hour. We ask that you would bless this 
coming year. We thank you for this transition and we pray that 
you would be merciful, that you would cause your face to shine 
upon us, that you would keep us in 2022. Help us to be faithful 
as individuals and as families and as a church. And as we consider 
this passage, may we be a praying church. May we know that that 
is a great privilege secured for us by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
wherein we can come to the Father through the Son and the power 
of the Holy Spirit and to lay out our burdens before you. And 
Father, we ask now that your spirit would guide and direct 
each one of us. We ask that you would wash us 
in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that you 
would truly sanctify us by your truth. Your word is truth. And 
we ask in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
amen. Well, about a month ago, a month 
and a half ago, we prayed or we looked at a sermon on praying 
for the persecuted church. So in Hebrews chapter 13, the 
apostle Paul tells us to remember those who are in chains. This 
morning, we're gonna look at the prayer of the persecuted 
church. Now things may change in 2022. Some of us suppose that one of 
the new COVID variants may just be full on communism. So it is 
very important for the church to be full of prayer and earnestness 
at the throne of grace. to be zealous like the apostles, 
like the apostolic church, and to pray in a manner that is similar 
to what we find here in Acts 4. It is a scene of persecution. If you go back to chapter 3 in 
verses 1 to 10, Peter and John went to pray. They meet a lame 
man on the way, and by God's grace, they heal him, they restore 
him. And so they then preach a sermon, 
Peter does, in verses 11 to 26. So there's this healing, verses 
1 to 10 of chapter three, and then a subsequent sermon in verses 
11 to 26. That brought the apostles under 
public, into the public eye. It brought them under ecclesiastical 
scrutiny, and here they're butting heads with the religious leaders 
of their time. Now this was in fact the Sanhedrin, 
the highest council in Israel at this particular time. It was 
made up of 71 persons. And they had not only religious 
sort of boundaries that they tried to enforce, but also political. In fact, if you look at chapter 
four, at verse three, they laid hands on them and put them in 
custody until the next day, for it was already evening." They 
had the coercive power of the civil state in order to jail 
those who they deemed appropriate for jailing. So there's this 
miracle of healing, a subsequent sermon, and then they're brought 
under ecclesiastical scrutiny. And specifically, we see them 
arrested in chapter four, verses one to four. They then address 
the council in verses five to 12, And then the council deliberates 
in verses 13 to 27 here in chapter 4. And on three occasions, the 
council admonishes these men, Peter and John, not to preach 
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They forbid them, they prohibit 
that. And so the apostles come back 
now to their brethren and we find the prayer of the persecuted 
church. First, we'll look at the return 
to the brethren in verses 23 and 24a. Secondly, the prayer 
of the brethren in verses 24b to 30. And then finally, the 
response of the Lord in verse 31. Now God doesn't always right 
away answer our prayer, But he does here, and it confirms for 
us that the apostles, the apostolic church was on the right path 
in terms of their prayer in this current challenge or in this 
current situation. So notice in the first place 
their return. So we're dealing with the apostles, 
Peter and John. They're the ones who went to 
pray in chapter 3. They're the ones that healed the man. They're 
the ones that have come under ecclesiastical scrutiny. So they 
had been arrested, they had been questioned, and then, as I said, 
threatened. Notice in verse 17. 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. Verse 
18, So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all, nor 
teach in the name of Jesus. And then in verse 21, 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. So obviously the Sanhedrin 
is very much opposed to the proclamation of Christ and Him crucified. 
And we notice that the apostles don't care. The apostles don't 
say, well, we see that it's displeasing to you, so we'll go ahead and 
toe the line and knuckle under and not ever preach in the name 
of Jesus again. No, it is wrong. It is contrary. It violates and transgresses 
God's demand and God's command that the gospel of Jesus Christ 
be preached to every creature. So rather, Peter and John do 
not submit. Peter and John rather resist. 
Peter and John acknowledge the higher authority of the Lord 
God Most High, and they submit to Him and to His rule. So they 
return to the brethren in the church, and notice in verse 23, 
being let go, they went to their own companions. This would have 
included apostles and brethren. And then Peter and John reported. 
all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. They 
reported that this man had been healed. They reported that there 
was a subsequent sermon. They reported that this incensed 
and outraged the Jewish Sanhedrin. They reported that they had been 
arrested. They had reported that they had been threatened. They 
had reported all of the particular details involved. And now we 
see the church's response. Look at what it says in verse 
24. So when they, the church, heard that, they raised their 
voice to God with one accord. That does not mean that everyone 
in unison said the same thing. Most likely there was one prayer, 
and yet the entirety of the congregation was in solidarity with him. It's 
like in our prayer meetings, one person prays on behalf of 
the church or the pastoral prayer. One man prays on behalf of the 
church, such that it can be said that they prayed to God with 
one accord. John Gill says, and being on 
the one hand not over much terrified and cast down, and on the other 
hand not sluggish or 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, but 
to prayer, that they might not be deterred by threatenings from 
speaking boldly the word of the Lord. It's a great observation. What do we do when the fires 
of opposition or persecution are turned up? We pray to God 
Almighty. We make our petitions known to 
God Most High. We come to the Father through 
the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. With reference to corporate 
prayer, we attend, we come to church, we express to God worship 
and praise and adoration with our fellow brothers and sisters. 
We go to the throne of grace because Jesus has secured access 
to that throne of grace, such that we can, in the language 
of Hebrews 4, come with boldness into the very presence of God 
Almighty. So God Most High has given something 
to the church and yet oftentimes the church does not use that 
resource. It does not use the prayer meeting. 
It does not use that availability at the throne of grace to go 
to God with the petitions that affect us and to lay them out 
before one who hears one who cares and one who answers for 
his own glory and the good of his people. Now notice, secondly, 
the prayer of the brethren in 24b to 30. They first begin with 
an invocation. Invocation is just a big word 
that means to call upon. And so they call upon God Most 
High. They call upon the Lord. They 
don't pray to ancestors, they don't pray to friends, they don't 
whine and grumble and complain, but rather they call upon the 
Lord God Most High and they invoke Him as Sovereign Lord. Notice 
in verse 24b, Lord, You are God who made heaven and earth and 
the sea and all that is in them This is a pattern replete in 
holy scripture You see it in nehemiah 9 at verse 6 when the 
children of israel come out of the babylonian captivity And 
they pray to god almighty. They acknowledge his sovereignty. 
They acknowledge the fact that he is creator They acknowledge 
the fact that he is ruler and over all things you see it throughout 
the psalter So many instances of prayers there coming to God 
and acknowledging His omnipotence, acknowledging that the one to 
whom we go has the power, has the authority, has the ability 
to answer our prayers. And then you see it in Hezekiah, 
when the king of Assyria sends his spokesman to threaten Judah, 
you see Hezekiah take a brief refrain and pray to God. How 
do you think he addresses God? He addresses God in the same 
manner and in the same sense that the apostolic church did. 
We pray to the sovereign God of heaven and earth, the sovereign 
God who created heaven and earth, the sovereign God who governs 
all his creatures and all their actions. That's meant to encourage 
you. An invocation isn't simply calling 
upon God, but it's also understanding and rehearsing who God is. It's 
confessing Him. It's understanding. It's praying 
according to knowledge. It's realizing the target of 
our petition is the one who has absolute ability to carry out 
what He has promised and purposed. Matthew Poole makes this observation. He says the creation and government 
of the world is a good consideration to confirm us under all things 
that befall us here. Listen to that again. The creation 
and government of the world is a good consideration to confirm 
us under all things that befall us here. The God to whom we pray, 
the God we pour out our burdens to, is the God who made all things. the God who governs all things. 
And you'll notice that when they come to the application of Psalm 
2 in their current situation. They know that this enmity from 
the Sanhedrin against them, they know that this rage of the nations 
targeting Yahweh and His Christ, and those who have solidarity 
with Christ, they know this is under God's sovereignty. They're 
not for a moment thinking, you know, Lord, you've lost control. 
You know, Lord, there's something out of your hand here. These 
people have gone rogue. They've become renegades. They've 
become mavericks, and they're persecuting poor little us. No, 
they never give any inkling of that whatsoever. They are through 
and through convinced that God is over even the threatenings 
of the Sanhedrin leveled against these men such that they stop 
preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, that 
is the vantage point upon which we pray. We don't come to a God 
who is crippled. We don't come to a God who is 
hindered. We don't come to a God who is 
neutered. We don't come to a God who is silent. We don't come 
to a God who is absent, but we come to the God who made the 
world and all things in it. We come to the God who governs 
all his creatures and all their actions. We come to the God who 
holds the hearts of all men in his hand. We come to sovereign 
power when it is time to pray. Now notice the application of 
Scripture to their particular situation. So they go from invocation 
now to what I'll call exposition. I'm not sure that's the best, 
perhaps application is better, but what they do is they understand 
their situation in connection to redemptive history. In other 
words, there is connection between the apostles, the people of God 
in this early church situation, and David, the psalmist who penned 
Psalm 2. Notice they make this prophetic 
announcement, or rather they underscore this prophetic announcement. Notice in verse 25, "...who by 
the mouth of your servant David have said..." Notice the doctrine 
of inspiration. How does God give us His Word? 
He does it through human means, but He does it through divine 
agency. In other words, the very words 
that David pens are those given him by inspiration of God the 
Holy Spirit. That's conspicuous. Notice, who 
by the mouth of your servant David have said." David didn't 
just look down the tunnel of time and think that someday there's 
going to be some opposition to God Most High. No, when David 
comes to write the Psalms, he's under the Spirit's inspiration 
and he's moved to write Psalm 2 concerning the mutiny of man. 
and the rage of the nations, and the reality that people don't 
want God, they don't want his Christ, and that is precisely 
what they point to here in the second Psalm. 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. The Psalm is messianic and declares 
that the rage of the nations in their opposition to God and 
his Christ will never be successful. You understand that, right? They 
may try, they will venture, they will certainly attempt, but Jesus 
Christ builds his church and the gates of Hades shall not 
prevail against it. That's the same emphasis in Psalm 
2. When Ryan read that at the outset of worship, hopefully 
your hearts are thrilled. Though the nations rage, though 
the peoples plot vain things, though they raise their fist 
at Yahweh and against his Christ, God is not shaken, God is not 
moved. God doesn't say, oh, poor pathetic 
people, I'm gonna go ahead and do whatever it is you want. No, 
that's not it at all. God most high is in the calm 
dignity of his throne room where he is not shaken, he is not thrown 
off off the throne, and he is able to maintain that dignity. 
So go back to our text. Notice, why did the nations rage? 
The people plot vain things. Kings of the earth took their 
stand. The rulers were gathered together against the Lord and 
against his Christ. While the second Psalm, along 
with Matthew 16, and just about everywhere that speaks to these 
things, promises there will be harassment from the devil and 
his servants against Christ and his, It is never the case that 
the devil wins. It is never the case that he 
is victorious. In other words, Jesus does build 
his church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 
Brethren, that ought to encourage us at the throne of grace, whatever 
they throw at us. Whatever the devil who roams 
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, whatever 
machinations he throws our way, good old Puritan word there, 
he will never be successful. He will never dethrone Jesus 
Christ. He will never shut down the church 
of Jesus Christ. Assaulted, attacked, beaten, 
bruised, broken, but never destroyed Why? Because this has been an 
old game with the devil and his minions from the beginning, this 
rage against Yahweh and against his Christ. But I would submit 
that the brethren that are praying this prayer see them connected 
not only to David and his psalm in terms of the rage of the nations 
against Yahweh and his Christ, but the rage that is against 
them as well. See, they're friends of Jesus. 
They're friends of Yahweh. They are pro-Yahweh and pro-His 
Messiah. So being pro draws from the enemies 
of Yahweh and His Christ the animus, or the enmity, or the 
persecution that we find in Acts chapter 4. So the early church 
understood the fight or battle they were in. One man says, here 
the point of the citation, Psalm 2, is to confirm from scripture 
that when the rulers of the world rise up against the Lord and 
His anointed one, their attacks are doomed to failure. That's 
a good reminder for us, isn't it? They're not going to win. 
They may try. They're industrious. They have 
some stick-to-itiveness, but they'll never win. Calvin says 
on the text, Hereby we may persuade ourselves that howsoever all 
men, both high and low, do wickedly conspire together against this 
kingdom, yet shall they not prevail. For what is all the whole world 
compared with God? See, while the nations rage and 
the peoples plot vain things and the rulers and the kings 
take their stand together and raise their fist against Yahweh 
and His Christ, what is Yahweh's response? He who sits in the 
heavens shall what? Tremble? Bite his fingernails? No, he'll laugh. He'll hold them 
in derision. It's at that point we see the 
revelation of the covenant of redemption, wherein Yahweh says 
to the Christ, you're gonna rule over them with a rod of iron. 
You're gonna shatter the nations with a rod of iron. You're gonna 
be the savior for all those who take their refuge in you. So 
God's response to the mutiny of man is twofold. One, judgment 
for those who continue to resist and reject and rebel against 
him, but two, salvation. for all those who by grace find 
their way into the kingdom through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." 
So they make this announcement, or rather they highlight or underscore 
this announcement, and then notice the specific fulfillment. So 
verses 25 and 26 are Psalm 2, 1 and 2. Now note the application 
they make in verse 27. It says, "...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." So first of all, notice, "...truly against 
your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and 
Pontius Pilate, with Gentiles and Jews, conspired against Him." 
So they apply Psalm 2 to the situation in the 1st century 
when Jesus comes in the 1st Advent. That opposition, that enmity, 
that rage, that desire on the part of the religious leaders 
to destroy Jesus. I mean, the similarities between 
then and now. They didn't want to just silence 
their opponent. They wanted to murder their opponent. 
They didn't want to just cut him off. They wanted him gone. 
They didn't want him to affect them whatsoever. So in their 
minds, crucifixion, death, execution, that's the only proper removal 
from someone we just disagree with in matters of theology. 
It's a horrific practice, and it's certainly satanic in its 
origin, that persons can't disagree without one or the other wanting 
to kill them. That is unconscionable behavior, 
and that's what the Pharisees did with our Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke 23, you can turn to see 
this mutiny. You can turn to see this conspiracy 
between persons who at one time were at odds with one another. 
Look at Luke 23, specifically at verse six. When Pilate heard 
of Galilee, he asked if the man were a Galilean. And as soon 
as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent 
him to Herod. Again, nothing new under the 
sun. What is this politician doing? He's doing what so many 
politicians after him and before him did, pass the buck. Get rid of responsibility. I don't want to be looked at 
badly by the body politic. I don't want to make unpopular 
decisions. I don't want to have to deal 
with the fallout. I don't want to have to deal with principled 
obedience to law and order. Brethren, the better way to go 
for any man, woman, boy, or girl is principled obedience to law 
and order. But back to our passage, as soon 
as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent 
him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. Now, 
when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad, for he had 
desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many 
things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. 
But then he questioned him with many words, but he answered him 
nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently 
accused him. Then Herod, with his men of war, 
treated him with contempt and mocked him, arrayed him in a 
gorgeous robe and sent him back to Pilate. Now notice in verse 
12, that very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each 
other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other. 
So going back to Acts chapter 4, they take Psalm 2, 1 and 2, 
and they apply it to the present situation affecting our Lord 
Jesus. When Herod, when Pilate, when 
men who were previously opposed are now in solidarity against 
Yahweh and against His Christ. So back to Acts chapter 4, notice, 
"...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," but notice this, "...to do whatever 
your hand and your purpose determined before to be done." So it's not 
like in the invocation they acknowledge the sovereignty of God, they 
acknowledge the creatorship of God, and then abandon that thought 
when it comes to considering the current situation. They understood 
that what happened to Jesus was under the plan and purpose of 
God Most High. They didn't doubt sovereignty. 
They weren't fair weather fans with reference to sovereignty. 
If sovereignty goes our way, we typically like to confess 
it and embrace it. But if sovereignty doesn't go 
our way, then we start to question, well, is God really in control 
of all things? Because if he were, how could 
any horrible thing ever befall such a splendid person like me? 
That's not what they do. They acknowledge God is God. even over persecution, even over 
opposition, even over a Sanhedrin that threatens Peter and John 
from preaching Christ and Him crucified. They know that God 
is over even this. Again, this is the vantage point 
upon which we pray with great confidence. Go back to chapter 
2. Peter's preaching reveals that he understands that everything 
that obtains is as a result of the decree of God. Notice in 
Acts 2.22, men of Israel, here, these words, Jesus of Nazareth, 
a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs 
which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves 
also know. Notice verse 23, him, being delivered 
by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have 
taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death. 
Peter does not accept at all the idea that the crucifixion 
was accidental, the idea that the crucifixion was a plan B, 
the idea that the crucifixion was an afterthought in the mind 
of God to make the best out of a bad situation, that Christ 
came offering the kingdom to the Jews, they reject it and 
so they crucify. That's not what happened. It 
was the plan and purpose of God Most High in the sending of the 
Son of His love to take on our humanity with all the essential 
properties and common infirmities thereof, and yet without sin, 
so that He might live for us, that He might die for us, that 
He might be raised again for us. This is God's decree. This is God's purpose. This is 
God's plan. And these brethren cannot be 
dissuaded by that, even in the midst of persecution. So notice, 
again in chapter 3 at verse 18, Peter affirms the same reality 
that God is in control of all things. Notice in 3.18, but those 
things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets 
that the Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. Again, 
it should have not been a surprise to anybody. It should have not 
been the case, like, I just can't believe it. What do you mean 
you just can't believe it? That God is bringing to pass 
all of the promises of God that are yea and amen in our Lord 
Jesus Christ? That's a good thing. But the 
point here, brethren, is that God is sovereign even over the 
bad things in our lives. God has the ability to take crooked 
things and to make them straight. Joseph understood this in Genesis 
50 at verse 20. You meant this for evil, but 
God meant it for good. And it was evil. What did they 
do? They put Joseph into a pit. The text later tells us that 
Joseph was crying out for deliverance from the pit while his brother 
sat around the pit eating their lunch. Talk about calloused wretches. You think you got problems in 
your family? Think about Joseph and the great calamities that 
man faced. And yet when all was said and 
done, he was a better theologian for it. You meant it for evil, 
but God overruled it for good. Acts 2, verse 23, the worst crime 
ever perpetrated by man in history was the crucifixion of Jesus. 
If the government arrested us today and put us to death tonight, 
it would be wrong. But we're not wholly harmless 
and undefiled. We've done something somewhere 
along the way, perhaps not worthy of execution by the state, but 
it's not the case that we're wholly harmless and undefiled. 
It's not the case that we have no sin. It's not the case that 
Pontius Pilate could confess three times of us, I find no 
guilt in this man. But with reference to Jesus, 
there was nothing in him. No speeding violation, no failure 
to report something on his tax form, no white-collar crime, 
no blue-collar crime, no lustful look, no rageful thought, no 
enmity in his heart that was unfounded or ungrounded. Our 
blessed Savior was innocent, and yet he was put to death, 
and Peter tells us that it was the predetermined plan and purpose 
of God. See, brethren, God Most High is most high over your good 
things, but God Most High is God Most High over your bad things 
as well. And we cannot abandon ship. We 
cannot abandon the sovereignty ship the moment things go awry. Well, I just can't believe it. 
Why can't you believe it? Do you have eyes? Do you have 
a mind? Do you have a heart? Have you 
read scripture? Did you see what happened to 
Daniel? Did you see what happened to Naboth? Did you see what happens 
to Abel? Do you see what happens to the 
godly in the history of the church? Do you see what happened to the 
Lord Jesus Christ? Do you see what happened to the 
Apostle Paul? Are you actually doubtful that bad things can 
happen to decent people in this modern world? If you are, you 
need to read your Bible more. You need to understand the scriptures. 
You need to understand the depravity of man. You need to understand 
the glory of God Most High, who is over all things. Notice in 
verse 28, to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined 
before to be done. So Pilate and Herod acting willfully, 
acting as responsible agents, are nevertheless doing the will 
of God, who had decreed and determined the death of Jesus the Messiah 
for the salvation of sinners. Now, again, Matthew Poole, he 
says, the apostles mind not so much second causes in what our 
Savior or themselves suffered, but see and acknowledge God in 
all, who makes a straight line with a crooked stick. I think 
that's helpful, brethren. I think I'm probably, you're 
probably aware of it. I'm preaching to myself in this 
sermon a lot. It is very easy to get filled 
with rage and enmity. It's very easy to get angry. 
It's very easy to get up in arms. It's very easy when you see footage 
of the Netherlands last night at a protest over lockdowns, 
having the police sick dogs on them. This in the name of health? It is outlandish, it is absolutely 
nonsensical, and it makes one want to get upset from time to 
time. But we need to come to this place 
where we understand that even in this, God is on the throne. That even in this, the Lord God 
Most High reigns and rules, and that is precisely what the apostles 
do here, to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined 
before to be done. Now, before we move on, I just 
want to make this observation. What Psalm 2, 1 and 2 records 
against Yahweh and against His Christ is true for Christ's people. Again, solidarity with the Savior 
brings persecution and oppression from the enemies of the Savior. 
This is basic biblical teaching. Turn to Matthew's Gospel, Matthew 
chapter 10. Just a few passages, there are 
a lot more, but just a few to show this solidarity, Christ 
and His people. Matthew 10, verse 24. Disciple 
is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It 
is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher and a 
servant like his master. If they have called the master 
of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of 
the household? Notice what he says. Therefore 
do not fear them, for there is nothing covered that will not 
be revealed and hidden that will not be known. Turn over to John's 
gospel, John 15, the upper room discourse. The upper room discourse. Jesus doesn't sit in that room 
with them and just give them platitudes and promises of things 
that weren't gonna happen. Jesus prepares his apostles. Jesus prepares his disciples. 
He prepares them. He's the general, they're his 
soldiers. He's gonna send them out amongst 
wolves and they need to be harmless as doves and cutting as serpents. But notice in the Upper Room 
Discourse, Jesus gives them this same message, John 15, 18. If 
the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated 
you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. 
Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of 
the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word 
that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. 
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept 
my word, they will keep yours also. You see that? All these 
things they will do to you for my name's sake, because they 
do not know Him who sent me. Notice in Acts chapter 9, Acts 
chapter 9, this conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to 
Damascus. Very intriguing what we find 
here. Specifically at 9.3, as he journeyed, he came near Damascus 
and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell 
to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why 
are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? 
Then the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It 
is hard for you to kick against the goats. Saul of Tarsus was 
persecuting Jesus? Yes. Yes, he was. When Saul of Tarsus persecuted 
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, he persecuted Jesus. That's the emphasis. Turn over 
to 1 John 3. 1 John 3. And if you're asking yourself 
as you're turning, how is this a happy New Year's message? The alternative was the great 
white throne judgment in Matthew 25. So I'm just, I think we need 
to be encouraged to be a prayerful church. I think we need to be 
encouraged to be a prayerful church, faithful at the throne 
of grace. We all make resolutions, don't 
we? Or some do. Someone resolved 
not to make any resolutions in 2022. It's just the reality. We make these resolutions. As 
a church, we ought to resolve to be a praying people. 1 John 
3.13, do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. So going back to Acts chapter 
four, They invoke God, they appeal to His sovereign power, glory, 
majesty, the fact that He is creator, the fact that He is 
governor, the fact that all things in Him consist, and then they 
move on to the application of Psalm 2 into their current situation. And as we consider this, they 
are likely understanding that the Psalm 2 rage envisaged against 
Yahweh and against His Christ continues on in this new covenant 
era. Men still do rail against or 
rage against Yahweh and against his Christ. And they oftentimes 
do it with the church. They do it with the professing 
people of God. They do it with us because we 
are hopefully good representatives of what heaven's kingdom looks 
like. And so the apostles, the early church, had solidarity 
with Jesus in his suffering, but as well with the history 
of the people of God throughout its history. Genesis 3, we considered 
that passage in our confession study. In 3.15, I will put enmity 
between your seed and her seed. God puts the enmity there. It 
is a God-wrought antithesis that obtains between the righteous 
and the unrighteous or the wicked. And so the apostles understand 
that. Now it's in light of this that they move on to supplication 
in verses 29 to 30. So they invoke, they expound 
or apply scripture, and now they move to supplication or specific 
requests concerning their situation. Look at verse 29. Now, Lord, 
look on their threats. I want to say something that 
I hope is not confusing. I think it's quite actually simple. 
Not every passage says everything there is to say about a particular 
topic. Everybody understand that, right? 
Not every passage says everything there is to say about every topic. So we see here an example of 
the church at prayer specifically for government. Now I'm not suggesting 
they are praying for the Roman government. I'm suggesting they're 
praying for the Sanhedrin, which as I've explained had both a 
religious and a political aspect. They had the power of coercion, 
according to chapter 4, in order to arrest men and keep them in 
custody overnight. We see their coercive power as 
we move through the book of Acts, when they're constantly nipping 
at the heels of the Apostle Paul, and the Jews are turning him 
over at every stage to the Roman government, so that Paul can 
really get in trouble for all of his horrific crimes. So, suffice 
to say, they are praying for a governmental entity, specifically 
the Sanhedrin. When they pray, they acknowledge 
the situation, they know that God is a God of justice, and 
they say, look on their threats. But their prayer for the government 
at that point terminates. The prayer primarily is for them. In other words, how are we supposed 
to respond when the pressure comes? How are we supposed to 
function when the difficulties arise? If you ask the Bible, 
how can we pray for civil government? I've reduced it to three R's. 
First, we pray for their redemption. 1 Timothy 2, verses 1 to 7. You see that God, the Apostle 
Paul, tells Timothy specifically to pray. I entreat you, first 
of all, I urge you, that prayers, supplications, intercessions, 
and givings of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all 
who are in authority. In verse 4, he highlights the 
fact that Jesus Christ is a Savior of all men. By that, he doesn't 
mean all men without distinction, but in the context, all men without 
exception, kings, Rulers, civil authority. So it is just and 
legit for the church today to pray for the redemption of our 
government authorities. Secondly, we can pray that God 
restrains them. Solomon, the wise man in Proverbs 
21.1, tells us, in tune with God's sovereignty, that the Lord 
holds the heart of the king in his hand, and that he directs 
that heart the way he does the rivers of water. So Lord God, 
restrain them. We don't want the variant communism. Please keep that from us. That 
is a legit expression of biblical praying on the part of the people 
of God. When I was younger, they taught 
us of the horrors of communism. We forgot those lessons. Communism 
is anti-Christ. It is an absolute opposition 
and contradiction to the Lord of Glory. The most virulent anti-communists 
ought to be people of God in churches, because commies don't 
provoke or incite true religion. They clamp down on it. So restraint 
is a perfectly legitimate prayer for civil government. And then 
there's the third R, which is remove them. Remove them. Psalm 74 verse 11. Asaph prays 
that Yahweh withdraw his hand from his bosom and destroy the 
enemies of Israel. Again, that's the kind of praying 
we kind of shrink back from because we're filled with love in the 
new covenant as if God in the old covenant wasn't filled with 
love. Love is opposed to wretchedness, to wickedness, and to evil. 1 
Corinthians 13 tells us love rejoices in what? Truth. Not 
lies, not deceit, not deception and falsehood. It rejoices in 
truth. So God Most High can either redeem, 
restrain, or remove. That is a specific petition that 
the church has legitimacy to pray with reference to their 
civil authority. Now back to our text. They understand 
the opposition, they see the rage of their enemies, they understand 
the nature of the battle, and let us see how they pray. So 
when we pray for redemption, restraint, or removal, let's 
not neglect to pray for ourselves on how we're supposed to conduct 
ourselves in the midst of oppression and persecution. Notice verse 
29. Now, Lord, look on their threats. Great place for them to invoke 
the removal clause at that point, but they don't, and I'm admitting 
that, and I'm acknowledging that, but there's other places in the 
Bible where men do invoke the removal clause. But here it's 
now, Lord, look at their threats and grant to your servants. See, 
here's the rub, brethren. Whatever happens from out there, 
whatever happens within here, whatever happens in God's big 
world, there's always our response to it. There's always our reaction 
to it. There's always the way we think 
through it, the way we strategize about it, the way we conduct 
ourselves in the midst of it. And I think it's biblically right 
to ask God, to make us proper vehicles in the midst of oppression 
and persecution to advance His cause. See, for them, that's 
what was important. It isn't their safety. It isn't 
their happiness. It isn't their freedom or liberty. And again, brethren, throughout 
Scripture, those are legitimate petitions for us to make to God 
Most High. Remember the principle, not every 
text says everything that can be said about everything. But 
in this particular situation, when the men of Jerusalem have 
admonished them, have commanded them, have threatened them not 
to preach Jesus in the city of Jerusalem, look at how they respond. Now, Lord, look on their threats 
and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak 
your word. the request for courage to speak 
the word of God. This request reveals the understanding 
of their primary focus. What's the primary emphasis for 
a Peter and a John in redemptive history? It's to speak the word 
of truth. What's the primary emphasis for 
the Apostolic Church in the Roman Empire? It's to speak the truth 
of God. What's the primary purpose for 
Peter and John in a city controlled by a godless Sanhedrin? It's 
to preach the word of God. See, that is a never-changing 
article of our true religion. That is a never-sacrificed aspect 
of our relation to our God. So they understand their primary 
calling, speak your word. Daryl Bach says, the early church 
knew that its key priority was the mission of preaching Jesus 
to a needy world. Beautiful, right? All these things 
are happening. Everybody's gone awry. They're 
forbidding us to preach in the name of Jesus. So Lord, look 
upon their threats and grant to us the ability to speak your 
word. But then notice, it's not just 
speak your word. They don't want to just stand 
out in the corner with their hands in their pockets and their 
latte in their hand and give a little Jesus juke to the persons 
passing by. They want to preach with boldness. 
They want to preach the word of God the way the word of God 
is supposed to be preached. This isn't the word of man. This 
isn't the ramblings of Peter and John. This is the word of 
the living and true God. Samuel Davies rebuked the king 
of England when he looked away for a moment during a sermon 
and spoke to his wife. He says, the beasts of the field 
stand in awe when the lion rages. You must listen to the word of 
the living and true God. Where's that caliber of preacher 
today? What about John the Baptist who put his finger in the face 
of Herod and said, it's not lawful for you to have your brother's 
wife. Something so basic, something so foundational, something so 
fundamental. Could we find a preacher today 
to stand before the royalty of our day and decry their sin and 
wretchedness? Could we find a man who stares 
not and cries aloud, lifts his voice like a trumpet and tells 
the herods of our age, no, it's not right what you're doing. 
No, it's not right to murder babies. No, it's not right to 
murder old people. No, it's not right to ban conversion 
therapy. Heard that explained recently. 
Somebody well said, a guy from ARPA. He said, if conversion 
therapy is like shock treatment, we're getting the paddles and 
we're putting them on people's head to get the bad out of them. I 
don't want shock therapy. I don't want conversion therapy. 
But if conversion therapy is preaching Christ and Him crucified, 
identifying sin or sexual sin as sin and saying that it's wrong, 
if that's conversion therapy, then we're going to be wrong 
because we're not going to sacrifice and we're not going to shave 
off the rough ends of what God's word has to say to our generation. So back to the text. Now, Lord, 
look on their threats and grant to your servants that withhold. 
boldness, they may speak your word. They don't ask God to smash 
the Sanhedrin. They don't ask God to smash Caesar. They don't ask God for God to 
save all of the Sanhedrin. They simply ask that in light 
of the persecution or oppression that is obtained in their lives, 
They would be faithful. They would do their job. They 
would not shrink back from declaring the whole counsel of God. The 
apostle in 1 Corinthians 4 at verse 2 says, moreover, it is 
required of stewards that they be found, what? Faithful, not 
famous, not celebrity, not the best guy on the face of the earth, 
the happiest kid. Know that they'd be found faithful 
proclaimers of the word of God. Do you ever just get to those 
points in your life where you just wanna grab people by the 
neck and give them a shake? And I mean that metaphorically. 
I don't make it a point to go out and grab people by the neck 
and give them a shake. But it's like pastors preach. Preach! Say it! Preach! Preach! Preach! That's the job. It's preach. 
Everybody here has a job, right? Everybody here has a task. Everybody 
here has a function. Everybody here has a vocation 
or a purpose in this life. So does every man in a pulpit, 
and that job is to preach. And that job is to preach as 
far as God is willing with boldness, the truth of Holy Scripture. 
Now, they understood or had this boldness previous to this particular 
point, but they don't assume that it's always going to be 
the case. In chapter 3, verses 12 to 26, when Peter preaches, 
he preaches with boldness, and they understand that. Notice 
as well chapter four at verse 13. 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. What a great text, hey? I'm all 
for seminary provided the seminary is a good one, but just because 
there is a seminary doesn't mean it's a good one. So it would 
be better to have untrained and uneducated men who spent three 
years with Jesus versus some apostate or liberal seminary 
where they come out woke. That is absolutely positively 
unacceptable in terms of biblical Christianity. So we see that 
the civil authority, authority himself, saw or perceived the 
boldness of these men. So when we come to the prayer, 
they don't just assume that boldness is always going to be there. 
You've probably heard before that word unction. God send the 
unction of the Holy Spirit. Lloyd-Jones makes this observation. 
He says, I don't know what unction is, but I know when it's not 
present. Basically, unction meant when the Spirit of God came upon 
a preacher and he brought it, he proclaimed. He did what the 
prophet was told to do. Cry aloud, spare not, lift up 
your voice like a trumpet and proclaim or declare to Jerusalem 
our sins. So there is this unction, this 
power, this boldness, this accession. Read about it in Ian Murray and 
his studies in terms of the Puritans and Puritan preaching and Martin 
Lloyd-Jones, same sort of a thing. But with reference to this, they 
don't assume that God will always supply them with boldness. Neither 
does the Apostle Paul. Turn to the book of Ephesians. 
We have this mindset of the Apostle Paul that he was eight foot tall 
and bulletproof, and that's just not the case. The Apostle Paul, 
well, before we're on your way to turning to Ephesians 6, here's 
what Paul was like. Here's how Paul describes himself. He says, I was with you in weakness 
and fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching 
were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration 
of the spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the 
wisdom of men, but in the power of God. So for Paul, he says, 
I didn't bring anything to the table, but the spirit of God 
came and he brought everything to the table. And that's what 
you witnessed. And in Ephesians chapter 6, notice 
after giving his teaching on the whole armor of God, he says 
that the people of God are to pray. Verse 18, praying always 
with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful 
to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the 
saints. And 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 in chains, that in it I may speak 
boldly, notice, as I ought to speak. He didn't just rest on 
past performance. He didn't just say, well, I'm 
the mighty apostle Paul, and that accession to power will 
always be evident and prevalent. No, he says to the church in 
Ephesus, pray for me. Brethren, pray for pastors, pray 
for preachers, pray for men that are supposed to be proclaiming 
the truth of God's holy word, that they don't shrink back from 
declaring it. that they're able to say with 
the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 20, I have not shunned to declare 
to you the whole counsel of God. He's able to say, my hands are 
clean. And in that, he's invoking the memory of the prophet Ezekiel. 
Because God said to Ezekiel, if you warn men and they still 
continue in their sin, they're going to be destroyed, but not 
you. But if you don't warn men, if you don't caution men, if 
you don't tell men to flee the wrath to come, then that'll be 
upon your head, son of man. So the apostle takes that same 
sort of attack when he addresses those Ephesian elders. Now back 
to Acts chapter 4. We see that God, or they go on 
to ask for miracle. says that with all boldness they 
may speak your word, and then by stretching out your hand to 
heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name 
of your holy servant, Jesus. The request for miracles was 
not to dazzle, it was not to impress, it wasn't just to get 
the multitudes to come, but it was rather a means by which God 
would confirm their word as being his word, and it was a means 
by which God would extend the kingdom of his grace to needy 
sinners. That's what we see in the life 
and ministry of Jesus. That's what we see here in the 
life and ministry of the apostles, that signs and wonders may be 
done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. Now let's 
look finally at the response of the Lord. We entered a vortex 
at about 1210. The clock just moved amazingly 
fast. So I apologize. We're going to 
go a few minutes over, but that's it. Notice in the response by 
the Lord in 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 all boldness. You see that back in chapter 
2, in verses 1 to 3, on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit comes 
in power, and that is attended by phenomena. It is attended 
by shaking. It is attended by thundering. 
It is attended by lightning. It evokes the memory of Sinai 
in Exodus chapter 19. Remember the children of Israel 
are prohibited from going up on the mountain, from getting 
near the mountain, from touching the mountain. But what do they 
witness? They see the clouds. They hear the sound of thunder. 
They see the presence and the magnificence of the glory of 
God most high. And the same thing is true in 
this apostolic prayer meeting. Now, this does not mean every 
time we pray, this has to be the result. No, God is sovereign 
in these sorts of tokens, these sorts of emblems. But in terms 
of this particular one, 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. That's the purpose of the filling 
of the Spirit in this particular instance. filled with the Spirit 
in Ephesians chapter five, so that we can sing and make melody 
in our hearts to the Lord. So we can teach and admonish 
one another in our singing unto the Lord, so that we may submit 
to one another in the fear of the Lord. So there's various 
purposes with reference to the filling of the Spirit. And here 
specifically, it is to grant the petition that they themselves 
offered up, that God would enable them to, with boldness, speak 
the word of truth. So God affirms, God confirms, 
God shows His approbation to this particular supplication 
or petition by answering them. In other words, there's increasing 
persecution, there's increasing opposition, there's increasing 
turmoil, there's the civil authority in Jerusalem commanding us that 
we cannot preach Jesus anymore in their city. Lord, grant us 
boldness. What does God do? He grants them 
boldness. So many times we fall prey to 
what James condemns. You have not. Why? Because you 
ask not. You don't go to the throne of 
grace. You don't go to the Father through 
the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. You treat prayer as an 
accouterment. You treat it as an attachment. You treat it as something that's 
not intrinsic to the life and ministry of the church of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Well, it's intrinsic to the life 
and the ministry of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. A praying 
church is what we must be in a time of trouble for the church. And that is precisely evident 
in this passage. They pray for boldness, God gives 
them boldness. Drop down to 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. That's a beautiful confirmation that they were on the right track 
in terms of supplication relative to their recent prohibition from 
preaching the gospel of Jesus in Jerusalem. God, we're not 
going to do what they say. And God, we're going to engage 
in contrary behavior. And while we engage in this contrary 
behavior, we not only want to do it, but we want you to make 
us very bold in our doing of it. We want to do it in such 
a way that it brings glory to you, that it brings honor to 
you, and that it, get this, brings genuine help to sinners. See, 
when the churches shut down, when the ministers shut up, is 
that an expression of love? No. What does man need desperately 
right now? What does man need desperately 
right now? He needs the blood of Jesus Christ, 
the son of God for cleansing from sin and rebellion. He needs 
the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to him and received by 
faith alone. When pulpits shut, when pastors 
shut up, when men do not do what God has called them to do in 
terms of a bold preaching of the Word of God, that's not love 
to people, that's not the second great commandment, that's not 
evidencing or manifesting or demonstrating to them that we 
have a genuine concern for that which they desperately need. 
Man in Canada desperately needs Jesus Christ the Lord. Man in 
Canada desperately needs the gospel of Christ. He needs blood 
atonement. He needs the righteousness of 
another. He needs Zechariah 3. He needs Psalm 2. How does Psalm 
2 end? With David calling upon the judges, 
calling upon the rulers, calling upon the kings that surrounded 
Israel. And he tells them to serve the 
Lord with trembling. to rejoice in the Lord, to kiss 
the sun, lest the sun be angry and you perish in his way, when 
his wrath is kindled but a little. See, David understood that good 
foreign policy, first and foremost, was that the pagans repent and 
believe in Israel's God. That was foreign policy as David 
understood it. And with reference to our current 
situation, shirking our responsibilities, not proclaiming Christ and Him 
crucified, listening to the civil government when they get out 
of their lane and they step into our lane to try to silence us 
or shut us down, when the mass of humanity around us desperately 
needs blood atonement? That's not love, brethren. Love 
is to disobey at this point. Love is to do what God calls 
us to do. Love is to pray. to God to give 
us boldness to do our job to proclaim Christ to be crucified 
to every creature under heaven. Brethren, in summary, in conclusion, 
we have the theology in their prayer. They fortify themselves 
by calling on God the Creator, they interpret their present 
trial and difficulty in light of God's holy word, and they 
recognize the rage of the nations is ultimately under the sovereign 
hand of God. We see the supplication in their 
prayer. We can tell what is important 
with a man when we hear his prayers, can't we? The man says, oh Lord 
God, I just want a summer home. I just want great shoes for my 
feet. I just want a nice cozy bed. You kind of get the idea 
that temporal benefit is high on his priority scale. I'm not 
saying we should want the worst bed ever. We want to live in 
a hut and we don't want nice shoes. I'm not suggesting that 
either. All right, you got that? If I say I love oranges, that 
doesn't mean I hate apples. We forgot the lost art of thinking. 
You know, we used to talk about critical thinking skills. I'd 
be happy with just thinking skills at this point. Critical has obviously 
demonstrated itself to be a bit too difficult for this modern 
generation, so just a semblance of thinking would be delightful. But with reference to their prayer, 
boldness to speak the word of God, confirming miracles of God 
to highlight the name of your holy servant Jesus, and the absence 
of anything non-theological. They don't ask for their comfort. 
They don't ask for their ease. They don't ask for their joy. 
They don't ask that they wouldn't be persecuted. Rather, they ask 
that in the midst of all of the calamity, God help us to be faithful. 
That's it. There's your hopefully encouraging 
New Year's message. Moreover, it is required of stewards 
that they be found faithful. Brethren, we're not gonna change 
the world. We're just not. We're not gonna make a dent, 
most likely. And I know that shatters delicate 
snowflake thinking today. The mass of humanity has come 
and has gone, and very few of them we even remember. So if 
you got these delusions of grandeur that you're going to single-handedly 
John Knox Canada back into some sort of semblance of true religion. I'm not a pessimist necessarily. 
My wife might say I am. I don't think I'm the most optimistic 
guy as the pessimist typically says I'm a realist. I just don't 
think it's going to happen. But moreover, it is required 
of stewards that they be found faithful. That's the call. That's the encouragement. That's 
what the Church of Jesus Christ is to pursue. Let us pray. Our Father, we confess that at 
times it's difficult to be faithful when all around us seems like 
it's crumbling. But we have the promise of God throughout the 
Old Testament. We see it in the Psalter. We 
see it in Psalm 46 so clearly and beautifully revealed. We 
see it in this apostolic prayer meeting. We see the reality that 
you are over all things, that you are the one who gives grace 
to his people. You are the one who fortifies 
us and who stabilizes us and who grants us the grace of perseverance 
so that we can continue to go forward. I pray, Father, for 
your blessing upon this church. I hate the division that has 
happened as a result of this pandemic. I know that I have 
contributed to it. I pray, God, that you would help 
all of us coming into this new year to just glorify you, to 
love one another, to remember Romans 14, As well, God, I pray 
for other pastors in this province and throughout this country. 
I thank you for those men who have stood fast. I pray they 
would continue to do so, that you would continue to bless them, 
that you would increase the grace that you give to them, that they 
may faithfully and boldly proclaim your word. For those pastors 
who perhaps have been struggling, I pray that you would empower 
them, that you would enable them, that you would grant them grace 
to meditate upon passages like these and find great encouragement 
and great comfort. to stand fast and to proclaim 
the word of God the way that John the Baptist did to Herod. 
As well, our Father, may you bless all of the churches in 
Canada, all of the churches throughout the world, that in the midst 
of crisis, our task remains the same, to boldly proclaim the 
gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. And as that word is proclaimed 
today, God, I pray that it would run swiftly and be glorified, 
that a multitude from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation would 
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that a multitude would come out 
of darkness into marvelous light and know the joy of being found 
in Christ Jesus. As well, God, strengthen and 
encourage and build up all of your people. Second Peter gives 
us a high standing order in the life of the church of Jesus Christ. 
We are to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord 
and Savior, Jesus Christ. So God help us to be Bereans, 
help us to be diligent in our study of scripture, and help 
us to be steadied by it, and help us to be fortified by it 
as well. We thank you for this time that 
we can gather together on this first Lord's Day in 2022. May you bless us, may you keep 
us, and may you cause your face to shine upon us, and may you 
be our portion and our lot. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.