I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this evening. Let us ask the Lord's
blessing in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven
and of earth, we ask thy blessing upon our gathering for worship
this evening. Do help us, Lord, as we come
before thee, as we read thy word and as thy word is proclaimed. Do grant us thy felt presence
and do meet the needs of each of thy people. And Lord, answer
the prayers of those that have been offered up before our gathering. We ask these things through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn: 383 Tune: Crediton 120 Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, the Acts of the Apostles and Chapter 12. If you have one of our free Bibles,
that is page 1022, 10-2-2. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter
12, and we'll read the chapter from verse 1. Now about that time Herod the
king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James, the brother
of John, with the sword. And because he saw it pleased
the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened
bread. And when he had apprehended him,
he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers
to keep him intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison. But prayer was made without ceasing
of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought
him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers
bound with two chains, and the keepers before the door kept
the prison. And behold, the angel of the
Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison. And he
smote Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from
his hands. And the angel said unto him,
Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy
garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed
him, and wished not that it was true which was done by the angel,
but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first
and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth
unto the city, which opened to them of his own accord. And they
went out and passed on through one street, and forthwith the
angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself,
he said, Now I know of a surety that the Lord has sent his angel,
and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all
the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had
considered the things, He came to the house of Mary, the mother
of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together,
praying. And as Peter knocked at the door
of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when
she knew Peter's voice, She opened not the gate for gladness, but
ran in and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said
unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that
it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking,
And when they had opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. But he, beckoning unto them with
the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord
had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go, show these things
unto James and to the brethren. And he departed and went into
another place. Now as soon as it was done, there
was no small stir among the soldiers what was become of Peter. And when Herod had sought for
him and found him not, he examined the keepers and commanded that
they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to
Caesarea and their abode. and Herod was highly displeased
with them of Tyre and Sidon. But they came with one accord
to him, and having made blasters, the king's chamberlain, their
friend, desired peace, because their country was nourished by
the king's country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed
in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto
them. And the people gave a shout,
saying, It is the voice of a God, and not of a man. And immediately
the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory
And he was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost. But the word
of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned
from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and
took with them John, whose surname was Mark. Lord, bless to us that
reading of his holy word, and help us as we come before Him
in prayer. Let us pray. O Thou most merciful and gracious
Lord God, we thank Thee that we come to Him that withheld
not His only begotten Son, but delivered him up for the Church
of God. O Lord, we thank Thee for that
love bestowed that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us. And O Lord, we thank Thee that
we do come to Him who knoweth our frame and remembereth that
we are dust. Thou who art the firstborn among
many brethren, and that Thou didst know Thy people intimately. It is Thou that hath chosen them
from eternity, chosen in Christ Jesus before the world began. Lord, it is our sins that were
laid upon Thee, and Thou didst know them and bear them. that is this in love. O Lord,
we do thank Thee that when Thou dost make intercession in heaven
is not a general one, but it is for Thy people. I pray for
them. I pray not for the world, but
for them whom Thou hast given me. And that we do bless Thee
for that friend we have above, and advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ, the righteous. Lord, we do see that we might
know the things of God as revealed to us by thy Holy Spirit. That thy word might be fulfilled
in us, they shall all be taught of God. Great shall be the peace
of thy children. That which we see not, teach
thou us. Do open to us, like thou didst
to the two on the way to Emmaus, and those in the upper room,
the Scriptures. And O Lord, do grant that we
might be fed as through the word as thou didst to Peter, feed
my sheep, feed my lambs. We thank Thee where Thou hast
given us an appetite for Thy Word, for Thy truth, to satisfy
us with the goodness of Thy house, to remember Thy people in all
their temptations and sorrows and trials, in all their affliction
He was afflicted. We think of Thee as the Good
Shepherd and the shepherds in the days of the Scriptures, the
flock, with the flock at night, with the flock out in the fields,
thou identified with them. Lord, thou hast said, lo, I am
with you always, even unto the end of the world. And Lord, we
thank thee of what that really means. for Thee to be with us. O Lord, we do seek that Thou
wouldst deliver us from everything that grieves Thee, grieves Thy
Holy Spirit, grant us a tender conscience, grant us to walk
in the Spirit and not after the flesh. Grant that help and commanded
deliverances from every sin and every evil. O Lord, that cause
that is too hard for us. And Lord, we have many like that.
Help us to bring them before thee. Use them, we pray, to bring
about a real communion, fellowship, and union with our God. O let
not our hard cases drive us from Thee, but cause that they might
drive us to Thee. And O Lord, do grant that we
might be given faith to trust where we cannot understand, and
trust where we cannot see. We thank Thee, Lord, for the
softening showers that are upon the ground here at this time.
Do grant unto us those showers in a spiritual way. Lord, the
ground has been so hard of late, and Lord, the plants wilting
because of it. But, O Lord, we feel the same
need, Lord. Our hearts are hard. We need
that dew from heaven. We need those softening showers. O Lord, do grant thy people to
know what we see the land is having at this time. I do pray
that thou hast be with each that gather together this evening.
We know that there are those gathering for united prayer. There are those gathering to
hear the preached word. And we seek Lord thy blessing
on each gathering together. Do bless our gathering here. We do lay our petition for thy
day. to remember thy servants due
to preach for us here, to bless them, to be pleased to be with
Philip Bass for the morning, and Mark Seymour for the evening,
and help them, Lord, in ministry here, and to be with me where
I go in Bethlehem, we ask thy blessing to be upon the preached
word there. Remember each of thy servants.
We think of those that are moving house because of taking up pastures. Thy servant in America at this
time, bring him safely back to this land and do help him in
all the arrangements that he needs to make. in moving there
and Lord do help those that move to Appleborough and to Haines. Oh Lord we do pray that thou
send forth more labourers into the harvest, that thou send forth
deacons that thou hast sent those that are useful, and that thou
hast filled the house of God, fill us here with hungering,
thirsting souls. We pray that thou hast worked
in this neighbourhood, and quickened many from darkness into light,
and bring them to spiritual life in the Lord Jesus Christ. We
pray for our dear aged friends we ministered to this morning. May thy blessing be upon them
in Pilgrim Home, also in Bethesda. O Lord, do help us each as we
feel the increases of infirmities as years increase, that we might
have often the thought of heaven, the thought of a hope beyond
the grave, and as the outward man is reduced and is perishing,
so Lord to renew our inward man day by day, strengthen our faith,
may our desires be strong for that place where we shall spend
eternity. Oh save us Lord from those things
that threaten and that take away our assurance and comfort and
interest in Thee, and Lord do grant that we might live closer
to Thee. Thou do forgive our many sins
and wash us in Thy precious blood, Renew the spirit of our minds. Bless us, Lord, with repentance
and remission of sins. O Lord, Thou who knowest the
hard cases, Thou knowest the cases of all Thy people. Remember
Thy blessed name. His name shall be called Jesus,
for He shall save them, His people, from their sins. O save us from
ours. We do pray for a tender conscience,
a teachable spirit, a love of holiness. O Lord, do grant us
that which is good and that which is good for us here below. Lord, we do pray for those in
affliction at this time, dear friends that are nearing their
journey's end and their loved ones that look on. Help them,
strengthen them, encourage them in Thee, and where it is Thy
will, do bless treatment, that it might lengthen days and times
here below. O Lord, prepare them, prepare
us each to stand before Thy face. I do pray for the rising generation
O Lord, do grant that there might be those raised up amongst them,
those that shall be deacons and ministers of the gospel, those
who shall bring forth children that shall also be taught in
the ways of the Lord. And O Lord, do strengthen our
churches and build us up again. Grant a real spiritual revival
in this land. We would mourn on account of
the sin, but Lord save us from our sin as part of the whole. We do pray for strength equal
to our day. Remember ease that feel weary
and tired, fear to have little strength. Lord, strengthen and
help them, be with them. Lord, many that have infirmities
that they know they shall carry to the grave. You grant grace
to help, especially with our long-running afflictions. Remember the lonely ones. Remember
those that when we speak of gatherings, they know they cannot gather. And Lord, do remember any that
could gather but don't. Oh Lord, we do pray that there
might be those provisions for thy people where they are scattered,
where they do not have a sound place of worship near them or
the ability to go. Lord, do help them, whether in
this land or in other lands. Now, Lord, do be with us as we
turn to the word, if it could please Thee, and open it up. Grant, Lord, some sweetness in
it, and, Lord, may we find it precious. And do provide. Remember us as a church and people
here, that we might be able to have those times of gathering
for united prayer, gathering together in a prayer meeting. We pray for those that do gather
tonight at Bethel Luton for prayer. May thy blessing be upon them
as they come at the throne of grace. We ask thee these things
through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn: 882 Tune: Eshtaol 332 Seeking for the help of
the Lord, I direct your prayer for attention to Acts chapter
12 and verse 12. The specific part of that verse
is the latter part, gathered together, praying. They have been speaking on these
Thursday evenings on the theme gathered together. And this evening
I desire to speak gathered together, praying. The whole verse reads,
and when he had considered the thing, He came to the house of
Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many
were gathered together praying. This is Peter after he has been
miraculously released from prison, where Herod had him kept so securely
with two soldiers outside and two bound with him and also with
the doors of the prison and bound as well with chains and Peter
that time was asleep and yet while he was asleep the Church
of God we read was praying. Well here in this account is
a gathering for prayer. And that is the subject for this
evening, not private prayer. Our Lord spoke of private, personal
prayer that was absolutely vital, that we should go into our closet,
shut the door, and pray unto our Father which is in heaven. It was one of the remarks that
was said of Saul of Tarsus, Behold he prayeth. A Pharisee turned
from the Pharisee's prayer to the publican's prayer, a real
heartfelt prayer of one that felt to be a sinner, or the Apostle
Paul, as he was to be called, testifies of himself as the chief
of sinners. Then we think of those that prayed
like our Lord, in private, with his Father, whole nights in prayer. We think of the case of Hezekiah
when he was sick and the Lord heard his prayer. By these things
men live, in all these things of the life of my spirit, he
says. The Lord hearkened to his prayer,
lengthened his life by 15 years. We think of Paul and Silas in
prison. There was two of them. They were
praying for themselves. In one sense, it was a gathering
together. But the thought here is not those
that are specifically praying for themselves, but in a united
way, they're praying, and it concerns all of those that are
gathered together praying, the united, as it were, prayer meeting,
a gathering in this way. And I want to look this evening
at about six occasions in the Word of God where there were
such gatherings and what those occasions were and some of the
things that were brought to pass on those occasions. But before
we come to that, let me remind ourselves what prayer is. In preaching, I, as a minister,
am God's ambassador and speak on God's behalf to you, the congregation. In prayer, I speak on your behalf
to God in heaven. And prayer is man's voice, man
calling upon the name of the Lord on earth. And we might say
it's a miracle, it's a wonder, but it is ordained of God. We
rely upon the word of God that the Lord would have all men to
pray and not to faint, and that whatsoever we would desire of
the Lord, that we are to bring it before him in prayer. Prayer
God has appointed. He himself has enjoined it, and
it is prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. It is prayer. It is not dictating to God. It is not treating God like a
puppet. It is not saying to him, what
He must do, but is supplicating Him what we desire Him to do
for us. How that prayer is answered,
when that prayer is answered, is left up to the Lord. And that is vital for us to understand. When we think of how great the
Lord is, how small we are, how insignificant we are. God has
never given us authority to treat him with any contempt, familiarity,
or in a way that would make him a slave to what we wanted. We think of Jonah sitting outside
of Nineveh and trying to get the Lord to change his mind. regarding not destroying the
Ninevites, the sworn enemy of Israel. The Lord would not do
it. And Jonah could not turn the
Lord in what he had said that he would do. The Lord saw their
repentance and he granted them life. Prayer has its basis. especially
when there are mercies sought, grace sought, anything really
sought for sinners that don't deserve it. All its basis is
on the precious blood of Christ that was shed at Calvary. We
plead for mercy through that blood. Our ground of acceptance
is that the debt is paid and that the benefits and blessings
then can come to us. We come before the Lord in prayer
using words and the Lord hears those words. By thy words shalt
thou be justified, by thy words thou shalt be condemned. We should be careful what words
we use but not in a way that so hinders us in prayer that
we're afraid to pray anything. If it is according to Scripture,
with reverence, with fear, and subject to the will of God, we
may be sure that though we pray wrong like Paul did when he prayed
that the thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, would
be taken from him, and he prayed three times, The Lord said no,
and instead he gave him grace to bear that thorn in the flesh,
to be able to endure it. Many of the Lord's people have
cried for something to be removed, something to be stopped, some
relief, but the Lord has said no, this is your appointed path,
but I will give you grace to bear it. to resist the evil,
to resist the devil, grace, to bear that infirmity, that affliction,
that trial, and that is His answer. So we would think of prayer as
that which God has given to bring His people and Himself together. We might be tempted and say,
well, if God knows what we need, why do we need to ask for it?
And we are told that before they call, I will answer. While they're
yet speaking, the Lord shall do that which they're asking. The Lord has already appointed,
when we say before, we might say, how long before? From eternity. But the Lord has ordained this
means and this way And so when we read, cast thy burden upon
the Lord and he shall sustain thee, we read in the margin,
cast thy gift upon the Lord. Those things that are our burden,
our trouble, the Lord is giving us things to bring us to him. Moses said to his people, The
cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me and I will hear
it. If there was never a cause that
was too hard for the people, Moses would never have had anyone
come to him. And if we could manage everything,
we would never come before the Lord in prayer. And we can be
sure this side of the grave, that one of the things the Lord
has not said he'll ever take away, And that is sin. We shall still be sinners until
our dying day. We are not made sinless. To pray that we might be sinless
is praying contrary to the word and will of the Lord. Death shall
put an end to life, shall put an end to sin, and then in glory
there shall be no sin. But this side of the grave, however
much we might fear we'd be a better Christian, that we'd get on much
better, we didn't have our sins, our besetting sins, and the evil
of our heart, that is still there and will always be so. But the
Lord has given that answer as Paul said, that who shall deliver
me from this body of death, I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord. So prayer is appointed by God
and each individual, each Christian, must have a life of faith and
prayer. He that cometh to God must believe
that he is, that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him. And so prayer has its foundation
in God's authority, in what the Word of God sets us to, and the
examples in the Word of God of individuals, and as we have this
evening, where there are a collection, a gathering together, and it
is specifically for prayer, a prayer meeting. So, I want to look then
at the cases in the Word of God, and I want to begin with the
case that is before us here in Acts 12. And that is where there
is one that is in great need, great danger. Maybe a person
could be having an operation. Maybe they're in a persecuted
land. We're praying for those in another
land. In this case, it was in their
own land. one of their number locked up
in prison, one had already been slain. You might think, with
the miraculous deliverance of Peter, why was James permitted
to be slain? God's sovereignty, why he should
spare one and not another? But here is Peter and he's been
given time over Easter, afterwards, he's going to be brought forth.
And the Church of God used that time. That Lord's been encouragement
to us when the Lord gives us time to use it in a way that
we might pray and come before the Lord in prayer. The Apostle Paul often used to
enjoin the churches, brethren, pray for us. In other words,
a church gathering, gather together, pray for us in the ministry. And of course, the path that
he walked, many trials, many troubles, many afflictions. But
he also says that where there was answers, where many had been
praying and then there was answers, there would be many giving praise
and many giving thanks. And that must always be the case,
we should never forget that when we have gathered together for
prayer, and that prayer is answered, then it is right to gather together
to give thanks and to give glory unto the Lord. So here there
was a gathering, you might say not instigated by Peter, it was
by the Church of God, I remember many, many years ago when my
dear one was afflicted, unbeknown to me, the rest of the church
and one of the elders in the church had organized a gathering
together, a church gathering together to pray for her. We only found out afterwards
that it had actually taken place. And it's a good thing where there
is that real felt desire to bring another before the Lord and to
do that instead of individually gathering together. And we see
them here gathered and it must have been because Peter, when
he considered the matter, he must have expected that this
was where the church would be, this is where they would be gathering. And he was right, they were gathering,
and they were praying. It's a good thing, isn't it?
When a church has a reputation for a people that pray, a people
that gather, and it can be expected where they would likely to be
gathering. This time, of course, Time with
Peter was apprehended, there was no church buildings, there
was no place like we have now, where we are more likely to gather
in our places of worship. But of course it's not necessary
that the gathering be in a public place of worship. It could be
in a home, like in this Twelfth of Acts. But what a reminder
we have here of the mercy and kindness of the Lord. We do not
know what they were praying. I believe it was that he might
be spared and delivered out of Herod's hand. But you might say
what unbelieving prayers because when Peter knocked and when Rhoda
understood it was Peter and told them within, they couldn't believe. They thought it was an angel.
Sad thing, isn't it, that we pray and we don't really believe
the Lord will or is able to hear our prayers. And yet here he
did and worked a wonderful miracle to bring it about. And what a
blessing it was for them to see Peter released in that wine. In a most solemn way, I felt
as we read this account, in this chapter 12, Acts chapter 12,
we have two gatherings that are mentioned. We have this one for
prayer and how it was wonderfully answered and Peter was delivered
out of Herod's hand. And then at the end of the chapter,
We have another gathering. And this was when Herod was displeased
with them of Tyre and Sidon. And they all gathered. They gathered
together. They came to him. They had the
king's chamberlain for their friend and to speak to them. And they made out that Herod
was a king. They said, the people gave a
shout, saying, it is the voice of a god and not of a man. And so God immediately, the angel
of the Lord, smote him because he gave not God the glory." And
what a solemn difference between those two gatherings, those two
assemblies. And maybe you remember this account
here of the gathering together of the Church of God, and we
have that summarised in verse 5, Peter therefore was kept in
prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God
for him. And how wonderfully that was
answered, and what an encouragement for us to, in similar circumstances,
to gather the Church of God to pray. I want to look then secondly at
continuing in prayer. I want to put this secondly, we
don't want to always think, well, there must be a special occasion
for us to gather for prayer. there must be that which answers
like the case that we have here. No, we read in the beginning
of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1, verse 14, that after
the Lord had been taken up from them into heaven, then they returned,
and these, the apostles, they continued all with one accord
in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary, the mother
of Jesus, and with his brethren." It's during that time that they,
again, make it a matter of prayer as to who should take the place
of Judas. We read in verse 24, after they'd
appointed to Joseph, called Barnabas, who was surnamed Justice and
Matthias, And they prayed and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest
the hearts of all men, show whether of these two Thou hast chosen. And they did it through lots. The lot fell upon Matthias. He
was numbered with the eleven apostles. And so We have a continuing
in prayer, and when things came up in that assembly, they made
them a specific mention in prayer. And in Acts chapter 16, we read
of that which begun the Philippian church with gathering together
where prayer was wont to be made. We read in verse 13 of chapter
16, On the Sabbath we went out of the city by a riverside, no
building here, but a riverside, where prayer was wont to be made. And we sat down and spake unto
the women which resorted thither. And this is where they met with
Lydia, and Lydia heard the word that they spoke, and the Lord
opened her heart, and she paid attention, that she attended
unto the word, things which were spoken of Paul. She was baptized in her household,
continued with Paul. But we have the picture that
for no stated reason no thing like Peter shut up in prison
but they are gathering together for prayer and it follows that
which is said in private prayer to continue in prayer instant
in season and out of season there need not be a specific reason
there are many reasons of course for the church to pray to pray
for the Lord's blessing on the ministry, to pray for his servants,
to pray for those who are afflicted amongst them. And so we should
not think that we only gather together for prayer when it is
an important occasion, occasion that is significantly troubling
the church, the congregation. May we know, may we be provided
with the opportunities to gather together for prayer. I want to look thirdly then, as
a gathering together for, we might say for thanks. In Acts
chapter 4, We have a time of persecution, a time when the
apostles were taken before the Jewish council and they were
examined and they were threatened and they were threatened that
they should not speak anymore in the name of the Lord Jesus. It followed the miracle of the
man being healed and be able to walk at 40 years old. And it was a miracle that opened
the door for the word of God to be preached and to be set
forth. And we read that in verse 23,
being let go, they went to their own company, reported all that
the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And they're remembering what
was said by David in the Psalms. They're coming together for praise,
for thanksgiving, but they're also coming together for prayer. And we read in verse 31, when
they had prayed, the place was shaken, where they were assembled
together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they
spake the word of God with boldness." You would think, well, already
they'd been bold before the council, they'd been really helped in
this time of persecution, this time of having to give an account
of what had happened, and yet they gather together, they give
glory to God, and then they come before the Lord in prayer, and
the Holy Ghost is given, and they speak with boldness. It's
a great encouragement when we're able to return from a time of
trial, return when the Lord has helped us, delivered us, and
we gather together And part of that gathering is for prayer. And the further blessing that
then follows on from that. You know the Jews, they tried
to stop them preaching, they tried to stop the spread of the
message of salvation. And in reading verse 18, they
called them, commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in
the name of Jesus. that they said we cannot but
speak the things which we have seen and heard in spite of all
their threatenings. They were let go and this is
what they did. And so it's a blessed thought
really, being let go they went to their own company, they went
to their own people, reported those things and it was in that
gathering that then there is prayer made. and the Holy Spirit
that is given. So may we, if under persecution,
times of trial, times of coming to report what the Lord has done,
those also be times of prayer, prayer for thanksgiving and prayer
that the Lord will hear us in this case and pour out his Spirit
upon us. Remember, of course, that the
circumstance here was witnessing persecution. The blessing that
was given of the Holy Ghost was exactly suited to what they had
been up against. They may have feared even further
persecution, but then to be given that extra boldness in doing
the very thing the Jews wanted to stop them doing, to speak
the word of the Lord. The fourth thing that I bring
before you is when we are taking leave of someone. And there is in the Apostle Paul's
second or last race, the third missionary journey. And as he's
returning to Jerusalem, you have a couple of these assemblies,
these gatherings together. In Acts 20 and verse 36, we have
where the apostle had called for the elders of the Ephesian
church to come to him. He wasn't going to them, but
he wanted to take his leave of them, so he called for them,
so that he might take leave, so that he might speak to them
and virtually say goodbye. We read
in verse 17 from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called the
elders of the church. When they had come to him, he
said unto them, You know from the first day that I came into
Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
serving the Lord." And he goes and he speaks of all that he'd
done with them and not shunning to declare the counsel of the
Lord. He gives them chance to take
heed to themselves and to the flock over which the Lord had
made them overseers. And then as he is then speaking
to them, he takes his leave of them. And we read in verse 36. And when he had thus spoken,
he kneeled down and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore
and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him. Sorry most of all for the
words which he spake, that they should see his face no more,
and they accompanied him into the shepherd. So we can picture
this with a church, with a minister that had been so blessed to them,
they're not going to see him anymore this side of the grave.
He's parting from them. And those occasions when that
is realised, very emotional occasions, but here in that gathered assembly,
they pray, committing each other into the Lord's care and the
Lord's keeping. And this is repeated in the next
chapter as well, when Paul continues his journey and he goes and he
lands at Tyre, verse 4, chapter 21, and finding disciples We
tarried there seven days. He said to Paul through the Spirit
that he should not go up to Jerusalem. And when we had accomplished
those days, we departed and went our way. And they all brought
us on our way with wives and children till we would come out
of the city. And we kneeled down on the shore
and prayed. What a way to take leave. When we have gatherings with
the families, with the Church of God, dear disciples, dear
brethren, what better way to take leave of each other than
to gather together for prayer. Prayer is made at that time. So may we remember that, gathering
together for prayer, times when we take leave, one of another,
to come before the Lord in prayer. The fifth one I bring before
you is the dedication of the temple, a well-known prayer of
Solomon when the Temple, the first temple, was dedicated 1
Kings chapter 8, and there is a long prayer, and in it, of
course, he makes supplication for Israel, but he also supposes
many other gatherings, when the people of God have been carried
away and captive, when they prayed toward that place that the Lord
would hear and that he would forgive. And you can picture
this gathering, Solomon had made a scaffold, he was above all
of the people, he kneels down, he puts up his hands toward heaven
and he makes this prayer on behalf of all the congregation, all
the people of God. And we have that in verse 22,
Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of
all the congregation of Israel, spread forth his hands toward
heaven. He said, Lord God of Israel,
there is no God like thee in heaven above or on earth beneath,
who keepeth covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before
thee with all their heart. And this long prayer then was
a gathered assembly, gathered for the dedication of the temple. We think of openings of places
of worship, for the first time a place of worship is used, is
consecrated, is dedicated for a gathering together of people. And the prayer then is first
offered in that place. Of course, with the temple, it
was a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ,
when he came to the second temple, when the second temple was built,
after the first had been destroyed, when the children of Israel went
into Babylonian captivity, When the second one was built and
it looked nowhere near as magnificent as the first, but the prophet
said, the glory of this latter house shall be greater than the
first. And it was because our Lord should
meet there and should walk in that house. And so the Lord Jesus
Christ said, destroy this temple and in three days I'll raise
it up again. But he spoke of the temple, of
his own body. And so the prayer really was
offered, dedicating it, pointing the people to the great Aditya,
to the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to look then lastly at
the prayer that Jehoshaphat made when Judah were threatened by
the children of Moab. You find it in 2 Chronicles chapter
20, And those of Mount Seir had come against them, a great multitude,
those of Ammon, children of Moab and Ammon. And then Judah gathered
themselves together to ask help of the Lord. Even out of all
the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord. On a notice
board outside here in the chapel porch, we have a photograph of,
in the times of the war, in the time of Dunkirk, when the King
of England, when he called for a national day of prayer, and
there were long, long lines of people, all waiting to get into
the cathedrals, into the churches, for gathered prayer, that the
Lord would appear for us as a nation and deliver us as a nation. We know how wonderfully those
prayers were answered at Dunkirk. Instead of just 30,000 being
recovered of our servicemen, over 300,000 were brought. And other times of prayer where
the Lord appeared for us as a nation and Jehoshaphat shows and leads
the way in that, when the place seems so impossible, so difficult,
and yet he gathers the people together and he makes prayer
to the Lord. The Lord answered through one
of his prophets at that time, told them they should not need
to fight in that battle, and the Lord appeared for them. They
did and all they needed to do was to go forth and they went
forth believing, praising, singing, blessing the Lord and Jehoshaphat
encouraging the people to believe his prophets and to believe the
Lord their God. And so we have an example of
gathering for prayer in a national national events, something that
was threatening the whole land, something that was very serious. What encouragements we have in
just some of these examples and there are others in the Word
of God for a gathering together for prayer. And may we know the
difference between private prayer and a gathering for prayer whether
it be two or three gathered as a family or as a small church
or whether it be a large large assembly but it is a gathering
for united prayer to almighty God And may we know that the
Lord does hear such prayers. He regards such gatherings in
his dear name. May the Lord bless this word. We have this wonderful example
in our text of such a miraculous appearing of the Lord and answering
their prayers. And we know, of course, that
that is the Lord's sovereignty. In the end, Peter was to die
in the way the Lord said he would, that is, by crucifixion, stretching
forth his hands, carried where he would not. The Lord had already
told Peter how he was to die, and that was not by the sword. But each one of us, we will have
a time that we must die, and no amount of prayer will stop
that. And afflictions even that lead
up to death, like Elisha fell sick of the sickness whereof
he died, no amount of prayer will prevent that. And when we
remember that, it's a reminder again to pray subject to the
Lord's will. We think about Lord Jesus Christ
in the Garden of Gethsemane, Praying to his Father, if it
be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my
will, but thy will be done. May the Lord then help us in
gathering together for prayer. Amen. Hymn: 397 Tune: Pentonville 488 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.