Amen, all right, before I preach this morning, I'm gonna sing a song about the greatest thing that we've got, and that is God's power, and kind of like the old song used to say, all is vain except the spirit of the Lord come down. We need the power of God, and certainly that's our prayer is for God's power. Lord, we seek to serve thee, and our hearts would do thy will. But so often, Lord, we fail thy calling to fulfill. If we serve thee in the flesh, thy blessing then we cannot see. But when in the Spirit's power we go Our lives are used on Thee Send forth Thy power, Lord, we pray Turn our hearts to Thee today, keep us conscious of our need to lean on Thee. With grace that God alone imparts, Renew the fire within our hearts, So a channel of Thy love our lives might be. Lord, the world is calling, and the flesh would bid us go. But we must stand faithful, if thy blessing we would know, how we long to see revival. that thy church would stand apart, free from sin and fit for service ever after. we're seeking help us That each heart would be thine altar, Set apart in Christ for thee, And our lives, since not our own, A living sacrifice might be. Send forth Thy power, Lord, we pray. Turn our hearts to Thee today. Keep us conscious of our need to lean on Thee. With grace that God alone imparts Renew the fire within our hearts So the channel of thy love our lives might be For only in Thy strength can we stand strong for Thee. Send forth Thy power Amen, we'll let the little ones go to class with Mrs. Shore, and oh, God send forth thy power, that ought to be our prayer, how we need the power of God. All right, let's open up our Bibles please, Acts chapter 12 is where we're at, Acts chapter 12. And it has been a good week, just praise God for what he's done in our church, and there's a lot of encouraging things, a lot of exciting things, certainly a lot of things that we need to be praying about, asking for God's grace, to see everything accomplished and so do be praying much about what we're seeing God do here not just not just the building that's been a focus of our prayer time last year as we've been trying to get everything done but there's been tremendous opportunity God's given us as far as guests coming in our church and we don't have first-time visitors with us today but it's been very common for us to have first and just pray for repeat follow-up visitors, and especially unsaved that would come in and get saved, and then come back. And we did have a man get saved about three weeks ago. We'd be praying for him, that we'd see him back as well. But there's a tremendous battle that gets the church in how we need, how we need the power of God. You know, oftentimes as I run, I listen to preaching as I'm running, and I'm thinking about it here as I look down. I'll put these back on. And I listened to a good message by Evangelist Harold Vaughn, and he has something called prayer advances. So instead of a prayer, I'm sorry, men's advances, instead of like a men's retreat, that's what he calls men's advances, just because he don't like the name retreat. It sounds like you're stepping back and he wants to get the men aside to encourage them to go on for God. And he said this in his message, he said, the early church didn't have a prayer meeting when Jesus ascended. when Jesus ascended. It's a great statement that the early church as it started, it started in prayer. It started with a group of men and women that were gathered together 120 or so in that upper room in united prayer or as you'd say corporate prayer. And so if you've been doing the Bible readings and you've been reading through the book of Acts with us as a church, if you're not doing that, I encourage you to participate in that. We've got the the schedule up there and if you want to jump into that you can do that but we're about you know two-thirds of the way through the book of Acts now in our reading but we're reading again and again about the early church and it's an early church history and how they how they worked for God and lived for God but a big part of that was prayer and just getting together and seeking God's face again Pentecost was the result of corporate prayer And then when they got into the battle and the thick of it, the persecution started, they again got on their knees, cried out to God for boldness, and in prayer, God answered tremendously. Acts chapter four, verse 31. When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they are all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God. with boldness. And so the apostles saw prayer as primary. We talked about that in Sunday School this morning, because we're talking about Acts chapter 6 and that call for the deacons. They needed deacons in the church. But the apostles said, we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word, but prayer again being primary. So I want to preach from Acts this morning on this passage. It's about a church prayer meeting and an incredible answer to prayer that God gave in answer to their corporate prayers. The setting, Acts chapter 12, is that the Apostle James has been executed. We'll read about that, we've read about that at the beginning of that chapter. But then the Apostle Peter is in prison, he's put on death row. But a church pyramid was assembled at John Mark's mother's home, Mary's home, and they began to pray in faith for Peter's release. You know, if they had not prayed, the Apostle Peter would have perished. That's certain. According to the word of God, it's very clear that what God did was in the answer to believe in prayer. So we know that for sure the apostle would have died. If they had not prayed, King Herod may have continued to kill God's apostles. That could have happened, certainly would happen. They would eventually be martyred, but it would have maybe happened more quickly. If they had not prayed, the church may have been crushed by the persecution that was taking place as it was all coming to bear at that time. And so, what would you have done if you were a part of their church? Would you have believed God could release Peter? Would that have been your response, a faith response, that Peter's here in prison, but God could get him out? Would you have attended the prayer meeting? That special meeting's called, and they say, hey, we gotta get together as a church, we gotta pray. Would you have been there, and would you have made a difference for God upon your knees as you joined with that group in intercession? The Bible says in Hebrews 11, verse 6, it says, And so what I want to preach on this morning is you need to get in your prayer life to the point where God answers your prayers. Where you can look at it and say, I asked God about that? And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God did that. Do you have a prayer like this morning? Do you have a time that you have established that as a believer where you get aside, you spend that time with God in prayer, and then are you seeing specific answers to prayer that you can look at and say, I know God did that in answer to a believing prayer? Let's pray and ask God to help us as we look at this. The Book of Acts, thank you. It is one of the key books there for us as a young church as we model our ministry after the Bible and we see what you did. It's early church history really is foundational in what we do as a church. And so I prayed this morning, and as we look at specifically at prayer, I ask that the Spirit of God would challenge us in our prayer lives. Father, the greatest thing that we could have in our church is praying people. The strongest thing for us and our families is if we have praying moms and dads in our families, praying children in our families. And so Father, I ask that the Spirit of God really speak to us this morning about this that we have coming to God and asking you to do amazing things because you're an amazing God and you're fully capable of a father to come in faith and to receive the answer that we requested. And so we ask for your blessing. Father, pray for the kids in their classes. We're gonna be attentive and listen. We pray that you bless Mrs. Schor as she instructs them. Father, I ask for your enablement for her, as I ask for your enablement for myself, as I minister the truth of the Word of God this morning, I have no ability to speak of myself. Father, it's a miracle to me of the grace of God that you called me in creation, that you've given me gifts and abilities to exercise in this way in dependence upon you. And I pray, Father, that you'd undertake for me as I take the privileged responsibility that you've given. It's in Christ's name we pray. All right, and so our desire this morning is you need to get in your prayer life to the point where you see God answering very specifically the prayers that you're asking. And so for God to answer your prayer, there's gonna be four things that we're looking at from this text this morning. For God to answer your prayer, your faith will have to overcome obstacles. You'll have to overcome obstacles. In this story, there's a lot of obstacles. somehow enter into that and release Peter, there are some great obstacles to their faith. And so it says in Acts chapter 12, verse one, 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 a 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." And then this phrase, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And you just wonder, as the Spirit of God penned those words through Luke, and as Luke is writing that, why the emphasis? Why, you know, here we got all these things that are happening, and then you've got that phrase, but a prayer was made without ceasing of the church Well, I think two reasons, because they prayed despite incredible obstacles. I think it points it out, you know, it's a really difficult situation, but they're on their knees, they're praying. I think that's important to recognize that they were praying despite the obstacles that were there, but because they prayed, God overcame those incredible obstacles as well. And so it's both that they prayed, there's incredible obstacles, and that God in answer to their prayers overcame those incredible obstacles. And so we see first of all, powerful obstacle. It says in verse one, now about that time, King Herod the King stretched forth his hands to vex certain You might have sounded the alarm and sent out these to call them. I forget what they're called. I got I'm kind of going back to my youth. In my youth back then before we had emails, there was a prayer chain. That's what it was called. And if something happened to somebody who's in the hospital, somebody would pick up the phone and there was a prayer chain. I would, you know, the pastor would call the deacons. The deacons would call certain people. They had kind of a way of getting very quickly the word out to people to say, hey, you need to pray about this. So this is kind of happening there. In the church of Jerusalem, the call goes out, hey, Peter's been taken, James has been killed. Church, we need to pray. And they send out that request. You know, some people might have said something like this. What can we do against the king? Prayer's not gonna work. Prayer's not gonna avail anything. I mean, this is powerful. You got the king there. He said that, you know, he's taken Peter, and what can you do against him? Well, the Bible says, Proverbs 21, verse one, the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. As the rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will. We might look at it and say, there's no way, what could anybody do? But God is over that situation, that powerful person. King Nebuchadnezzar had seven years of insanity because he didn't believe in the power of God. And his pride rose up thinking that he was some great person and God took him down only who he was because of God. Daniel 4, verse 31, while the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee, and they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven from men, and did he eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the juice of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers, and his nails like bird's claws. And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes into heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or stand to him, what doest thou? All right, again, the church can look at it and say, but it's a king, right? What do you mean? Get on your knees and pray, it's a king, he's powerful, don't you understand? But the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. You know, doesn't God's church have powerful enemies in our day? Aren't there some that are intent on the destruction of the church? That would be people that are in positions, even politically, of great power and great authority. Right now in Scotland, you might have heard about the transgender conversion therapy legislation that is before Parliament that makes it illegal for a parent to say their son, no, you're a boy, to say their daughter, no, you're a girl, that that would be punishable, they say, with this law of up to seven years in prison. And again, people could look at it and say, but what can we do? It's the government. You know, sadly, again, the Bible says about the government in a situation like that, Isaiah 10, verse one, wanted them that decree, unrighteous decrees, and that right grievousness, which they have prescribed. And in our day, again, we can be defeated by that. We can think, well, you know, what's the use? Or could we not, as a church, begin to get together and say, hey, let's pray against this. Let's pray about this. Let's ask God to intervene. But then they had supposed providential obstacles, supposed providential obstacles. It said in verse two, and he killed James, the brother of John, with a sword. And what I wanna speak about here is really a lie that Satan would say, and it would go something like this. Since God didn't spare James, why do you think he would spare Peter? You know, providentially, God did not intervene. When James was put to death, church, God did not intervene. So why should you get on your knees and pray and ask God to do any differently than he did in the case with James? And so Satan could come to us even in our prayer life. He could say something like, since God allowed this in other cases, why should you pray otherwise? Why should you even get on your knees about it? I know you understand that. Not every believer gets healed. There might have been a believer that died of cancer. There might be a believer that had something, a situation medically, and the church really prayed, asked God to intervene, and God saw fit to take that person's life, and so Satan could come to us and say, why bother? Why pray about it? If it's God's will, God will heal them. If it's not God's will, God won't heal them. You see what I'm saying? It could kind of take that supposed providential It could be a common need that we're burdened to pray about, we feel like we need to pray about. Something like people being saved and going out for God and being faithful to God. And we could look at it again and we could say, but we, you know, God, if God's going to intervene, you know, for instance, I mentioned man that just got saved three weeks ago. And as a church, we can say, but we have seen people get saved and we've seen them go away. And that's just the way it is. Or we can get in there and we can say, but let's pray about it. Let's pray about this young man that has trusted Christ. Let's pray about the battles that he's facing to get out to the house of God or things like that. But Satan would say, why pray? If God's gonna do something, he would have done something. He doesn't always do something. It could be people responding to evangelism. We can feel like, you know, we do a lot of door-to-door, we do a lot of personal leafleting, we do straight evangelism, and it's just a cold day, it's just a dark day. God hasn't gotten in there in ways that we wanna see God do, and God's allowed it to be that way. And Satan would say, why bother praying about it? Why really get on your knees, church? Why really go to God about it? In a bit of Baptist churches in Scotland have been trying to be established for 65 years. The modern missions movement to Scotland began with James Stewart back in the 1960s. And in a bit of Baptist that came as missionaries trying to establish churches. And I'll tell you, there's a lot of sad stories. A lot of things that you can look at and say, did they pray? Yes, they prayed. Did they work? Yes, they worked. You know, and Satan can lie and say, hey, God didn't establish that church. What makes you think that he desires to establish Southside Free Baptist Church? Certainly, there's been a lot of people that pray for revival. Asking God to work and to get in there, begin to serve, begin to move. and really in the church as well, in the church on fire for God and getting really surrendered to God. And suppose providential hindrances would be something like, hey, God hasn't done it before, why should he do it now? Well, they had that in our story. And they didn't look at it and say, focus on what God didn't do, they focused on what God could do. And they began to pray in faith and say, God deliver Peter. Are you prepared to overcome supposed providential obstacles? They get in there and say, well, yeah, okay, we've seen times where God did, God didn't, but let's get in there and believe God can and believe God will. And then political obstacles. Verse three, it says, because he sought to please the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. The Bible doesn't say why King Herod killed James, okay? It might have been personal, it might have been something that took place that he didn't like or something, so he takes James, he says he's gonna execute him, but then he finds out, hey, this is good for my base. My base favors this, and this is good for politics, this is good, the majority are behind this idea of putting down the church, and he begins to politically work. As a church responded to that, the church could have thought, well, if we had some representation, if we had some people that were good with the king and that could get in there politically and talk to the king, well, then I'd come to the prayer meeting because, or if the king would respond to a petition or something like that, that we could bring this political pressure to bear, then I would pray because then I could see how it might be possible. that politically God could get in there and effect Peter's release. and the MP down there in Parliament, his name's escaping me right now, William Wilberforce, that a Christian in politics, if we just had that, then we could pray for God to work. Because if politics was in our side, then we could see God do something great. They didn't have any recourse with the king to try to, you know, kind of backhand get in there to try to affect Peter's release, and yet they prayed in faith. They had a great political obstacle to overcome. You know, are we going to pray again knowing that we've got no other way to obtain this? We're not going to trust in some political savior, you know, that God's going to raise up some, and by the way, we're praying for Christians in government, we're praying We'd like good government, but that's not the source of our faith for what God can do in our day. And so there's a great political obstacle to overcome in our story. And then there's the prison obstacle. It says in verse four, 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. obstacle is impossible it's not just that there's a bounty on the head of Peter and Peter's hiding and they know that if Peter gets caught that's it but Peter is already apprehended he's already taken he has an around-the-clock guard he's got four groups of four soldiers four quaternions of And they're guarding him and watching him. And you kind of wonder, you know, is Peter, you know, a great criminal of some sort? You know, why the guards? Well, maybe Herod had heard about Peter being arrested before and heard that an angel led him out of prison before. And he went back to the temple and preached. or something like that, or the tomb that was guarded of the Lord Jesus Christ and how Jesus Christ had been taken. I don't know if that's it or not, but he is guarded like he's a great criminal. There's absolutely no way to get him out. I guess in that regard, it's kind of reminiscent of Elijah calling down fire upon Mount Carmel and saying to them, come and pour some more water on it. Come and pour some more water on it. Come and pour some more water on it. so that it's completely impossible. Imagine if you're part of that prayer meeting and you're there and you're like, okay, what are we praying about? Okay, Peter's in prison. He's got guards around the clock. He's got an execution date that has been set. James was killed. What are we doing here? And then maybe somebody goes, hey, remember the three Hebrew children? Remember how they were put into a fire? Remember somebody else walking around that fire with them? God. How they walked out of that place and they even smelled like smoke. Somebody else goes, yeah, you know, Daniel, right? Remember Daniel? Daniel was put in the den of lions. And he was put in that place, it was hopeless, but remember the king came back and asked, oh Daniel, is that God able to preserve the true king? I mean, I talk about hopeless. I mean, that was it. I know God prepared that, but God had them there in that place, and God delivered them. You can almost imagine what it's like as that faith begins to come into the hearts of these people. These people are praying in faith for something that you look at and say, that is not possible. You know, this morning, you got some impossible things in your life, things that you're praying about? As you look at that, are you looking at that and say, well, what's the point? Why even get on my knees? Why should we as a church really take some of these things that we're praying about, even as I've sung about this morning, this idea of revival, why should we go to our knees in faith corporately and ask God to do something that is impossible? And the answer is, because God is God. They're asking God to do something that, I mean, they've got obstacle, obstacle, obstacle. but they're saying God can. Again, church, are we gonna overcome obstacles in praying faith? Are we gonna encourage each other in that and say, hey, you know, with men it's impossible, but not with God. For with God, all things are possible. And so we got, yeah, we got obstacle, obstacle, obstacle, but it's okay, because we've got God. And so if we're God to answer your prayers, your faith will have to overcome obstacles. And then for God to answer your prayers, your faith will have to obediently follow. It says in verse six, 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. Okay, now it's Peter's D-day. He has no idea, it's deliverance day, and he doesn't understand that that's gonna happen. He's got no idea of the numbers of people He probably himself had been praying and asking God, God, deliver me from the situation that I'm in. And so as we look at the story, the story shows what God can do in answer to believing prayer, as we talked about, but it also reminds us that we have to obediently follow to see God answer prayers. Peter's gonna have to respond to what God's doing, and he's gonna have to, in obedience, follow God. And so Peter had to get up in the middle of the night, it says in verse seven, It says, I knocked on Giles door on I forget, Tuesday or something. I'm not going to snore. Giles works nights, so he works at the hospital cleaning the surgical equipment, surgical theaters and things. He does that. I don't really know when he sleeps. It's just kind of random. I'm not going to snore. Pretty quickly, he got to the door, comes to the door, opens the door, and I could just tell that I had woken him up. I said, I'm sorry, did I wake you up? Well, how do we know we woke somebody up? Well, somebody that's woken up isn't as quick as they normally are. Giles is normally a very quick guy, right? Not as quick. And that's the way we are when we wake up, right? It's just kind of slow. So just put yourself there with Peter. Peter's just been awake, right? It's just, I mean, the lights are going on and he's coming out of a deep sleep. He had to process instructions and follow them by faith. It says, the angel said unto him, verse eight, gird thyself and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, cast thy garment about thee and follow me. Now Katie and I have been parenting for over 21 years. Kind of hard to believe. Most of that time we've had young children. Now our youngest is nine. So we still have one under 10. Okay. And so when you leave the house, you always give some instructions. You're getting ready as a family. and you're shouting those instructions. Hey, guys, we're getting ready to leave. My kids will tell you this is common at our house, OK? And so what do I say is, Dad, grab your jackets. Make sure that you're not going to be cold. You never know in Scotland, right? Rainproof, waterproof, whatever. Get your shoes on, all right? Are you guys almost ready to go? And so all those instructions are taking place as we get ready to go out of the house. You know, as you look at the story, I kind of go, I can relate to that. God's given some really basic instructions. Again, Peter's just waking up, and I guess if it's early morning as a family, especially if we're getting ready for an early flight or something, then I'm giving really clear instructions. Okay, guys, because you're just kind of waking up. Here it is, here it is, here it is. And so God, as he's dealing here with the angel and Peter, the instructions that are given are really basic. You could say childlike instructions. as what we would say, get your shoes on, get your coat on, do all these things. You know, sometimes God has to deal with us as little children, and we need to respond in kind. In other words, God just needs to give us some basic instructions, because maybe it'll be shocking a little bit, maybe surprising, and so he's gonna just kind of get in there and give us the basic things that we need to do. John 13, 33, Jesus did this with his disciples. He said, little children, Yet a little while I'm with you. And just picture Peter, you got Peter, the fisherman, I don't know what he looked like, probably with a big beard, right? And some of these guys would have been tall and still maybe bigger than the Lord Jesus. And he looks at them and says, little children, yet a little while I'm with you. A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I've loved you, that you also love one another. "'By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, "'if you have love one towards another.'" And again, it's a familial instruction that I would give to my kids. And I do, if we're leaving and we've got kids that are there staying at the house, I'll say to them, hey guys, help each other, care for each other, and meet each other's needs. And Jesus is getting ready to depart. He looks at his guys and said, guys, get on, all right? Love each other, just like little children. And so sometimes God does that with us. He just gives us that basic instruction and says, here, this is what you need to do. Jesus certainly does this with regard to salvation. Matthew 18, verse three, he said, verily I say unto you, except you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. And so there has to be that childlike response that says, I take God at his word about my sin, the punishment of my sin, the surety of my Savior's death and his resurrection from the dead, and I obey the gospel, right? And it could be somebody praying for your salvation and you have to participate by faith. I'm gonna obey God. and we're praying about something, we might be asking God, God do this, God do this, God do this, and then God goes, okay, do this. And it's part of the answer, but we have to obediently follow by faith. Peter had to follow even though it was surreal. Verse nine. It says, and he went out, and he followed him, and he wist 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. Then they went out and passed on through this one street, and forthwith the angel departed from them. You know, life can be surreal at times. You know, we say, somebody pinch me. Am I dreaming? What's going on here? You know, you and I are used to automatic doors. That's kind of normal for us. Our family went down to Edinburgh on Friday night, and we went into kind of a corner shop, and it had bi-fold automatic doors. So we walked around the corner, the doors kind of popped, and like, you know, it opened up. And that kind of startled us. We're used to, you know, sliding automatic doors, that kind of door, not so much. But Peter's not used to that at all. And he walks to the gate, and what happens with the gate? It opens up its own port. In his room, there was light. We're used to electric lights. We're used to getting a switch, lights come on. We're used to automatic doors. Peter's not used to any of that. Some very unusual things are taking place, so much so that he wished not that it was true. He thought he saw a vision. And so, again, it's kind of a somebody pinch me. Am I awake or not type situation for Peter? You know, if God does a miracle in answer to believing prayer, Shouldn't we expect to be amazed? Shouldn't we expect in a sense that this is almost surreal, like really, God has done this and that? Maybe we've been praying about it for a long time, asking God, God, please, God, please, and then God answered. You know, many times when God works, it's surreal. Peter could look back in his life and he can remember that time where he is, with Jesus, and Jesus says, launch your boat onto this place, and you're gonna receive this big catch of fish, and Peter says, I've toiled all night, right? I've been doing this all night, and nevertheless, Lord, at thy word, I'll let it down. He did so, and Luke 5, 9 says, for he was astonished at all that were with him at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. Wow, look at what God did. kind of a surreal experience. I think the disciples in the storm felt that incredible surreality as Jesus awakens and he gets up and he says those words, peace be still. And the men marvel saying, what manner of man is this that even the winds and the seas obey him? And I think, to a certain degree, our church has seen this. We prayed for years, God, we need a building, we need a building, we need a building. And then God provided the money and it's like, We've got incredible resources that God's given, but there's no property available. They were praying for a property, praying for a property, and I don't know about you, but still, in this place, and especially when God allows us to walk into that sanctuary, and the sanctuary's done, and it's finished, and we have the dedication of that place, I think there is gonna be very much a sense that this is surreal because of what God has done. This miracle would not have happened in our story without Peter responding. You know, the church is praying and they're asking God, God, get in there, God, work, and yet Peter had to obediently follow as God were. You know, are you praying? Are you ready to step out by faith as the Spirit of God speaks to your heart? You might join with us in prayer for revival. You might join with us in prayer for God to save souls in our community. You might join with us in prayer for God to allow us to see souls saved, added to the church, going on for God. And yet, as we pray about that as a church, are we ready to step into that and say, okay, I'm gonna be obediently followed. I'm gonna participate as God answers our prayer. So when God answers your prayer, your faith will have to overcome obstacles. Your faith will have to obediently follow. That could be many things. If that's in your personal life, you're praying about something, God, would you do this? Would you do this? But then there's that opportunity. Okay, if God's gonna work, then you gotta step out by faith many times. And then thirdly, this morning, when God answers your prayer, your faith will have to observe facts. Peter had to observe the facts. It says in verse 11, that when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath 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 thing, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together, praying." All right, the angel leaves. And I just, you wanna be there in a sense and go, what was that like? And Peter's thinking back like, you're kidding. This is incredible. I've been set free. God has delivered me. I mean, this is a tremendous answer to prayer. He thinks about it, he goes, you know what? I bet the church is gathering here to pray at Mary's house. And so he heads there. Now I know of a surety. You know, it's a wonderful thing when you step back and you can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, God has answered our prayers. It's a tremendous time when you can look at the facts and put them in front of you and say, no, I mean, this is beyond a doubt. This is something that God has done. You know, we prayed in faith for God to provide a mini-glass for our church. It's something we voted on. We were at the Midlothian Innovation Center, and we voted on a specific amount. I mean, we were looking and looking and looking. And a minibus in Scotland to find a good one used is rare. If you try to get online and try to find one, it's very difficult. But beyond that, we needed an automatic transmission. In Scotland, that's exceptionally rare. Go down to England, you can find many more, OK? But even searching all of eBay, searching all of these things in England and Scotland, a minibus, and then God provided the minibus that we found, but it was outside our price range. But we prayed about it and said, that's what God wants us to do. As somebody that doesn't often attend our church, felt led of the Lord to give a specific amount, they gave us an amount that I could name, but it was the exact amount that we needed to make up the difference, and we already decided to move forward and purchase that, and it was given designated to that. God did that. And so today, we look at that and the minibus is sitting out there. We can look at that and look at the facts and say, we're praying, asking how to provide. We voted on this amount of money and then God provided exactly the amount we needed to make up the difference so that we could obtain that vehicle. I look at that and say, that's the minibus God wants us to get. We observe the facts and then we praise God for what he's done. Peter had to observe the facts. And then Rhoda had to observe the facts. Verse 13, 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 this young girl, apparently a woman gets to the door and finds that it's Peter. She doesn't even open the door and say hi or hey, Peter, it's great that you're out of prison or anything like that. But she just runs inside so excited about what God has done. Of all the people in our story, she processed the facts more quickly than anybody. She processed them by faith. And Rhoda looked at it and said, God has answered her prayer. She was there in the prayer meeting. She goes to the door, she hears Peter's voice and she runs in. She didn't open it and see him. She just hears him speak and she takes that by faith and she runs in, she declares the answer to the others. They say, you're crazy. How can it be Peter? Peter's in prison. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. You know, if we're gonna have faith, and we're gonna be praying together, this is the kind of faith that we need to have. The kind that examines it really quickly and says, God did that. That we're very quick to give God the glory, give God the praise, to recognize, no, this is exactly what we're asking God to do, and God has done it. The church had to observe the facts as well, verse 15. 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. You know, the church as a whole was very slow to believe God, very slow to trust that God had answered his prayers, even though they were part of that prayer time. And so you see that, first of all, they deny it. They go, no, no, no, it can't be Peter. And she goes, no, it's Peter. And then they go, well, it must be his angel. Why? Because they knew Peter was in prison and they knew there was no way for him to be standing at the door. but weren't they on their knees asking God to deliver Peter from prison? And so often I think that's where we find ourselves. We find ourselves quick to doubt, quick to explain away. God does something great in answer to our prayers and rather than observing the facts and going to God and saying, God, thank you, we're very quick to go, I don't know. God's done something incredible and answered a believing prayer, and may God receive glory for it. And so when God answers your prayers, your faith will have to overcome obstacles, your faith will have to obediently follow them, and your faith will have to observe facts, look at it and say, okay, we're asking God to do that, that's what God did to God be the glory of great things he had done. And then when God answers prayer, for others okay so answers a prayer glorious testimonies to God to be able to say modern-day look God is answered prayer as you pray and you participate in prayer you'll be among the first to know stories of answered prayer it says in verse 17 But he, beckoning unto them with a hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison." Okay, they had prayed, and God had answered. So now Peter comes, and Peter comes right to them, and it's no accident that he's there. God led him there. He comes, and he says, church, God has answered your prayers. This is how it took place, that the lights and everything that we've read about in the story, we've thought about, all that took place, the glory of God, and God said, get up and do this and do this, and the angel led me here, I'm here. You know again have we participated in anything like that where you can look at that and say I just want you to know God's done something great. I know I'll tell you as a church we've got the privilege every time we've got friends come in from the States or something that we're praying with us we can take them and say I just want to show you the answers to your prayer. God has been so good to provide this, and that's tremendous because we're right there getting to see what God does. You'll get to tell the story of the answer to prayer. It says, and he said, go show these things unto James and to the brethren. And he departed and went into another place. If you're a part of that prayer group and Peter came and said, hey, this is what God has done, wouldn't you love to tell other people? I mean, wouldn't it be exciting to be able to go again to the church and say, church, be encouraged. God has answered prayer tremendously. God is at work, God is involved, and to strengthen the hands of the church. You also get to record the story of the answered prayer. It's good to write things down and say, keep this for future generations. Let people know some of the encouraging things that we could do in our walk with God is to pick up a biography that somebody else has written talking about what God has done in the past in their life, how they've seen God answered prayer. Well, then go forth. He has a great book, It's wonderful to read how she saw very specific answers to prayer, and she and her husband, Jonathan's ministry. Darlene Diver Rose has a book called Evidence Not Seen. If you want a good book to read, it's a great biography to read how God answered prayer in a very difficult situation. She was a prisoner of war. Hudson Taylor, Spiritual Secrets. Again, just testifying to what God has done through a believing prayer. It's some of the greatest highlights of my life, have been times where I've gotten to see God answer prayer. Just being able to be a part of that and asking God to do something and seeing God work. And I wanna share some stories. It's not to my credit at all, but an opportunity to say, you know what, God is a great God. In New York City, when I was a youth pastor, we had a young girl that came to a youth activity. She was from an unsafe family. She lost her keys out in the field by the church. And that's where we were playing and having the activity. And we had some MBT guys that were there. And I said to the NBT guys, I said this story that I shared with the church recently, I think about Katie losing her ring and then God providing an opportunity to find it. And I said, you know, God sent me to find some things at times. And so I told them that story. I told them about a young man in our church that we're playing outside in a very filthy kind of car park. He lost the lens to his glasses, and the lighting wasn't very good out there, but we prayed and asked God to help us find it and help God help us find it. And I said to them, I said, look, I said, I believe God can help us find that young girl's keys. Now understand, we're talking like Memorial Park is the size of the place that we're talking about. We played in a specific area. And I said to them, I said, I believe God can help us find those keys. She's going to get in trouble. Her mom's not saved. I made a statement of faith and now I want to pray about this and ask God to help us find it. You guys pray about it as well. The next morning I walked out there area where we had played and I didn't walk around for a half hour looking for the keys I didn't walk around in zigzag or anything like that I'm not saying I'm a prophet or anything of that sort but I'll tell you this I walked in a straight line but I was walking like that and I picked up the keys and I found the keys you know what I did after I found the keys praise God Because I look at that and I go, you know what, only God can do that. And God led me to that. I examined the facts and I gave God glory for what he had done. I got to go to those guys and I say, guys, look what God did. God answered prayer. Later on, I was traveling and Katie and I were on deputation with kids and we had a truck that we drove and pulled a mobile caravan. And I was unhitched from that, and I drove the truck down that morning to the water. It was in Superior, Wisconsin, and kind of a beautiful area, far northern Wisconsin, northern Minnesota. It's right where the borders meet of those two states. And I was having my devotions, and I'm looking out at that, and because I was having my devotions, I just pulled up, and I turned the truck off, and I'm just sitting in the truck. And I thought, that's gorgeous. I just wanna get a little bit closer. So I got out, and I started to walk over in my truck lot, and the keys were in the ignition. I'm about a mile from where the church car park where I stand. The problem was the keys were in it, but that's not the big problem. The big problem was Katie had lost her keys. And so there's only one set of keys. The keys that I had are now locked in the truck. It's Sunday morning, church is gonna be starting. And my wife had already looked, she'd already tore up the trailer trying to find it. She had emptied her purse out. And I call her and I say, honey, I locked myself out of the truck. You gotta look for your keys again. And she says, there's no way. I've already looked, we don't have them. And I said, well, look, you've gotta look in your purse. I've already looked, I've already emptied it out. I said, well, you gotta look again. She looks in her purse and she pulls out the keys. You know, the whole way back to the church, what I was doing is praising God. It was a tremendous encouragement that morning. I didn't regret the fact that my keys had got locked in the truck, that I had a mile run there, a mile run back. I didn't care about that. Because God had shown himself powerfully to me and reminded me again that he is almighty God. I'm just saying this to us this morning. We need to get to the point where we see answers to prayer. And I haven't arrived in my prayer line. Please pray for me as your pastor. Dear God, help Pastor Ben in his prayer line. As a church, I would just say this. If you can't see the hand of God working in our church, you need to open your eyes. And I say that kindly. God is, I mean, everything that we see here, this is something that God has done. This is something that only God can do. We are participating with God in something tremendous, but the burden would be to take that a step further and say, because God has been so good and God is so mighty on our behalf, I wanna be a part of that prayer meeting. They called a prayer meeting and they said, we gotta pray. And just imagine, I guess, imagine if they hadn't prayed, Peter is in prison, Peter dies, what happens to the church? What happens at that point in history? Because the church failed, because it doesn't say in the word of God, but the prayer was made by the church without ceasing unto God for him. Now praise God it says it. And I just wonder today, Southside Free Baptist Church, what is God not doing in our area? Because we don't really believe in prayer. because we're not really interested in prayer. And if pastor leadership called a prayer meeting, we might be there. Or we could look at it and say, you know what, we need to do as a church, I'll tell you this, Wednesday nights I give a Bible study and pray, but if God worked in our hearts in such a way where our church said, pastor, we just need to pray, I would gladly give up our Wednesday nights so that we could just seek God. We've got 5.15 prayer time today. Some of us are here quite early. If anybody wants to come, 9.30, every Sunday, we're gonna have prayer. You might think, well, it's not that important that I'd be a part of something like that. I just encourage you, you know what, the greatest thing that we could do is pray. Honestly, hands down, if we were to set aside everything else about everything, the biggest thing that we could do together as a church is say, you know what, I really believe that God has the power to do that. Listen, the greatest thing you can do in your family, in your life, is to look at your family and say, you know what, the God that did something like that can do a miracle in our life too. So that I'd have stories that I could begin to say and say, look, this is what God has done in answer to prayer. Let's pray. Father, I just ask that the Spirit of God would apply the message to our hearts this morning. I love our church. And Father, I pray that the Spirit of God would, and I'm not, Father, whether or not, you know, a lot of people look at this message and say, Pastor, I believe in that, so I'm gonna be at the 5.15 prayer meeting, I'm gonna be at the 7 p.m. prayer meeting, I'm gonna be at the 9.30 prayer meeting. Father, set that, I pray in our hearts, just set that aside. Father, give us grace to look at this text this morning and say, you know what, I believe that God still exists. and I do see the importance of prayer. And whether I can make it to all those prayer meetings or not, Father, I just pray in our hearts that we decide, you know what, I'm gonna be a praying person. And Father, that the Spirit of God would raise up in our church, men and women that have the power of God in their prayer life, that can say, you know what, we saw God do that. Examine the facts. But Father, to get to that point, we're gonna have to overcome obstacles, incredible obstacles. to obey and follow. Sometimes we have to participate in answers to prayer. We can't just pray. And so may the Spirit of God apply this truth to our hearts and may He encourage us in our walk with you. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Let's stand please. We're sending him an invitation this morning. If God's speaking to your heart, do business with God. If God's speaking to your heart about