Category Archives: Sovereignty of God

Acts, Prayer, Sovereignty of God

Acts 12:1-24 – The church must be out of its mind to pray! (v5,9,15)

Context

The book of Acts is attempting to describe the spread of the good news that Jesus is Lord. The expansion of the gospel is taking place in many directions now, in Jerusalem and surrounding towns, to the north of Jerusalem as far now as Antioch, and to the south-west where Philip had baptised an Ethiopian.

The story has bounced between Peter’s experiences and Saul’s experiences. We return to Jerusalem now and to Peter and the others. There has been a great explosion of faith since Acts 2 but also scattering of believers through persecution. Jerusalem was experiencing a time of strengthening and peace and growth (Acts 9:31). But then King Herod acts. This is the Herod who had arrested and beheaded John the Baptist. In Mark 14:1-12 we learn that Herod was aware of prophets and their public influence. We also learn that he is influenced by the whims of the people and of the moment.

Observation

Structure

  • 1-5 Herod’s attack and the church’s defence
  • 6-11 Peter is rescued by God’s messenger
  • 12-17 The church is astonished
  • 18-19 Herod executes his own soldiers
  • 19-24 Herod is executed by God’s messenger

1-5 Herod’s attack and the church’s defence

“who belonged to the church…” Once the followers of Jesus were called disciples, then believers, then people of “The Way”, and then Christians. Now, they are recognised as the church. This word means “gathering” or “assembly” or “congregation”. Many will use it to describe a building used for religion but it is undeniably used here to refer to the people gathering together for a common purpose. It is used as a synonym for all the previous titles given to the followers of Christ.

“Herod” – This is Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great. See ‘Context’ for more.

“Persecute” – The greek says something like: to mistreat in the hands of Herod. As the mistreatment of is aimed at the church, ie, a specific people group, it is persecution.

“James, the brother of John” – these are the two sons of Zebedee, disciples of Jesus. At the end of this narrative, another James, probably the brother of Jesus, is told of Peter’s rescue. This second James is likely the writer of the epistle by the same name.

“…death with the sword…approval among the Jews.” Most of the Jews who had turned to Christ had been scattered out of the area under Saul’s persecution. While there was peace in Jerusalem post Saul’s conversion, apparently many Jews still viewed the Christian church as a nuisance and abomination. Herod’s dislike or hate for the church was embraced by the Jews. The approval encouraged Herod to arrest Peter, the leader of the church.

“Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.” The Festival of Unleavened Bread is a seven day annual event amongst the Jews in preparation for the Passover. Both festivals are memorial celebrations of the Exodus, especially the night when God passed over all the houses marked by blood. This was the same festival coinciding with Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion. Jesus had told Peter that he would die a similar death (John 21:18019). Perhaps Peter felt like this was the moment!

“…but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” This was the church’s line of defense – to take their concern to God and plead with Him to intervene. Against a King who has successfully executed one believer and assigned 16 soldiers to guard Peter, the church prays. Perhaps Herod conceived a remote possibility that the church would muster a rescue plan by force? But he did not expect a rescue mission from the Almighty!

It must be noted that the church prayed ‘earnestly’. I wonder if there really is a different type of prayer? Of course you can say that you’ll pray and you can throw a light-hearted suggestion to God for something (like someone to believe, healing to happen, peace to be reached). But if it’s not earnest prayer, is it actually prayer? Of course I need to answer yes. Prayer is prayer whether it is described as earnest or casual. These are just adjectives. But this verse describes the focus of their gathering – they desired for God to help Peter in some way. They prayed deliberately, decidedly, thoughtfully, intentionally. The actual word here means: eagerly, fervently, constantly. They were still together at the end of the rescue – still in prayer! (v12) And the answer to their prayers even took them by surprise! It is so good when God answers our prayers so vividly. And it is a shame that we don’t pray like this. Individually and as a body of believers, it would be good to cultivate our prayer habits.

6-11 Peter is rescued by God’s messenger

“Then Peter came to himself…” The account of Peter’s rescue is mixed with physical action and mystical illusion. On the one hand, Peter is physically struck by the angel in order to get him to wake up, he is ordered to dress himself and chains and doors are removed or opened. On the other hand, Peter doesn’t feel like it is really happening, the guards are mysteriously avoided, doors and chains are dealt with magically and the rescuer is an angel. It all happens, in Peter’s mind, as if it is a dream or a vision. But when he comes his senses, he sees that this has actually happened. God has answered the prayers of the church and intervened miraculously.

All of the intentions of the government and the religious enemy have been thwarted by God. Everything was stacked against Peter. But God was against the will of men in this instance.

12-17 The church is astonished

“John, also called Mark.” This new character becomes very significant in the early church and the work of God. He became a travelling partner with Saul and Barnabas (v25), he was a cousin of Barnabas (Col 4:10), remained in service of the apostles and described as a son to Peter  (1 Peter 5:13). He is recognised as the writer of the gospel in connection with Peter.

“You’re out of your mind!” It’s amazing how Peter’s arrival was met with doubt. They had been praying for God to act but even this was beyond their expectations. The episode of the arrival of Peter is comical. But when they realised that Peter was saved, they celebrated and sent word to James to encourage and relieve him too. Our Christian growth will include a growing confidence in the ability of God to act. He will not always give us exactly what we ask, but when we pray fervently for things that God has promised to do, we must dismiss the temptation to doubt He can do it!

“It must be his angel.” This could be understood as Peter’s spirit (like Matthew 14:26) or as a guardian angel of Peter’s (see Matthew 18:10 and Hebrews 1:14).

“But Peter kept knocking” – He didn’t intend to go in and stay with the believers in Mark’s home since he immediately “left for another place” (v17). But he was intent on showing his brothers and sisters that he was alive and free and that James be told as well. Peter’s persistent knocking may remind us of the persistence needed sometimes in prayer. This is a shallow link, I know, but his unstopping approach is paralleled by the unstopping prayer of the church. It’s a small illustration of persistence when the initial prayers are not answered, don’t give up.

18-19 Herod executes his own soldiers

“no small commotion…thorough search…cross-examined…” The aftermath of the escape was extreme. With no answers found, Herod executes the guards. Perhaps his only explanation was that the guards were hiding the truth from him. How else could the escape be explained? It reminds me of when illnesses are mysteriously removed – unexpectedly – but doctors will just shrug their shoulders rather than concede that someone divine has intervened. Herod knew that the Christian church was surrounded by stories of miracles – even an empty tomb. But rather than examining the truth and conceding Jesus as Lord, he orders and execution on his own men.

19-24 Herod is executed by God’s messenger

“…because Herod did not give praise to God…” These verses describe the unique way that Herod the Tetrarch died. Although he was bringing a kind of unity in the region, according to these verses, he did not rebuke the people for praising him as a god. He had been exposed to enough of the work of God to know better and this was the final straw. A messenger of the Lord struck him down. He wasn’t instantly killed but bizarrely he was eaten by worms and died.

It’s a fitting conclusion to this section which began with Herod’s attack on the church. The church had prayed for the situation with Peter. Not only was the prayer answered by delivering Peter to freedom but it was further answered by delivering Herod over to death by worms!

Meaning

The church might appear out of their mind to pray – but we would be out of our minds not to!

Application

  1. Prayer of course! Prayer must be understood as a request or plea to the Almighty to take action. It is not a demand or a ‘name it and claim it’ practice. But neither is it a social pleasantry aimed at closing a Christian gathering or wishing someone good luck. When we pray, we enter the council of the Lord our God and we ask him to save, to restore, to renew, to protect or to reveal. Christians have turned their life to Christ and admit that God is supreme over their lives, which they are failing to live properly. Prayer is this faith speaking. The community of saints must be a community of prayers. If we are to be a “Christian community devoted to maturing in Jesus”, then let us devote ourselves to prayer!
  2. Reflect on your prayers and consider what you pray for. Do you bring to God the things that you believe he would want you to want?
  3. Pray for the persecuted church. opendoors.org.au, vom.com.au, and barnabasfund.org are three ways to be informed in your prayers – to pray specifically.
Acts, Prayer, Sovereignty of God

Acts 4:1-31 – No other name

Context

The church is growing in number and in excitement. People are flocking because of the convincing message of Jesus as Lord, because of the resurrection, and because of the signs and wonders shown through the apostles. Peter has preached publically on two occasions now, attracting great interest in Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He and John performed a miracle in Jesus’ name by instructing a lame man to walk. He showed his trust in the name of Jesus by jumping to his feet and walking. Peter told the crowd that Jesus is the prophet like Moses who everyone needs to listen to.

Observation

Verses 1-4

Peter and John had been preaching near the temple where the lame man was healed. The Priest, the Sadducees and the temple guards appear to have all come out of the temple area to hear the comotion and deal with what was troubling them. Ie, the events of Chapter 3 were all outside where they were.

What exactly disturbed them? Was it the teaching about the resurrection? Was it about Jesus being the source of the resurrection? Was it that the apostles were simply teaching anything? The rest of the story seems to show that it’s the name of Jesus that they are unhappy with.

It was evening. The healing of the lame man happened at about three in the afternoon. They’d been teaching around the temple for a number of hours. The events of that afternoon were not quiet and small and blown out of proportion over time – it was big and eventful and went on for a while. The lame man was still with them right to the end. Note 3:11, 4:14.

Another 2,000 people were added to the church that day.

Peter and John were placed in prison. It seems to be a Jewish prison instead of something organised by the Roman soldiers who are not present. When you collect all the details from this paragraph, it seems that Peter and John were still preaching and those in the temple who were not interested in becoming followers came out with security to see what was happening. They then heard what was being preached, didn’t like it and put the preachers in lock-up until they could work out what to do with them.

Verses 5-7

All the “kings horses and all the kings men” came to sort out what was happening! Anyone who was important in the Jewish hierarchy were gathered to discuss what to do.

Their issue: what name did you do this? They don’t debate what has been done, but they want to know where they got their power from. Not a completley stupid question. If they answered something like: the Dark Lord! then we’d happily see them be thrown back in prison or told to stop!

Verses 8-12

Their answer is: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! The miracle was all Jesus. He is the foundation stone that has been rejected. He is the only name we need to bother with because salvation comes from him and him alone. Did I mention Jesus?!!

Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. We might ask, wasn’t he already filled with the Spirit? Yes he was. This is an example of the Spirit enabling a servant for a specific task. The Spirit lead Peter’s speech to say exactly what he should say. Remember Luke 12:11-12!

What exactly is the church being singled out for? An act of kindness on a lame man? No! The problem the rulers have is with Jesus and the teaching about him.

Compare 4:10 with 3:15; 2:22-24 – Peter’s sermons have a very familiar focus and it is to do with Jesus Christ and the resurrection. It is very significant that the emphasis in all of this is the resurrection and not the cross itself. This is not that Peter thought nothing of the cross – no – he knows that the cross is significant (2:38, 3:19, 4:12). Peter knows and preaches that salvation from sin is what it’s all about – but the emphasis is on the resurrection because this is the proof that Jesus is Lord! Although the rulers rejected him, God raised him from the dead.

“No other name” – it may be obvious to us but there is no other religion or faith that people can rely on except the faith in Jesus. He is it!

The trouble is that Jesus can be rejected and this is what the Psalm 118:22 quote refers to and it is what is happening from the rulers. The name of Jesus is being dismissed and rejected.

Verses 13-17

This is an amazing paragraph. Look at what the rulers find astonishing and compare that with what they think is just notable! They were astonished that these “ordinary men” had such courage! But when they talk about the miracle of the lame man they simple “could see the man who had been healed…there was nothig they could say.” What about “Wow! How did you do that! That’s amazing!” And then they described the miracle as a “notable sign.”

They cannot deny that this miracle has happened but they are determined to stop it from spreading. If I was a lover of religious ceremony and that was the sole motivator of my participation with God then I might also think that we don’t want any more of this miracle business and certainly not entertain further conversation about resurrection in Jesus name. We’d definatley have to put an end to any further talk of restoration and blessings through the seed of Abraham so that our way of life was not interupted!

Verses 18-22
The Rulers: Stop it!
The Apostles: No!
The Rulers: We’re warning you!
The Apostles: OK, we’ll let our people know but they’re not going to listen to you when God has clearly spoken!
Verses 23-26

When Peter and John are released and tell the church what has happened this brings the church to pray. By “church” I mean the people who had joined with the apostles to follow Jesus. The count at the moment is 5000! So what we are getting from Luke is likely to be a snapshot of what people were saying. How Peter and John communicated with so many people is not clear – they may have gathered together at the temple courts, or in an open space, or communicating to groups through their networks. The specifics are not important, the key is how the followers responded to the threats – they prayed.

Their prayer acknowledges God as the creator of all and then continues to declare how foolish it is for people to try and rise against him.

The theme of the prayer is taken from scripture. I love how their prayers model for us how scripture guides and informs our requests to God.

Also, the theme of the prayer is about who’s the boss. God is referred to as Sovereign Lord – a double reference to God’s rule over everything. He is the boss and sovereign king. The prayer then engages with the challenge God has with the rulers of this world. And completes with the disciples asking God to show his power and might.

Verses 26-28

The quote from Psalm 2 is used to describe exactly what is happening now – the leaders banding together against the anointed one (Jesus) and it is used to reflect on how the rulers treated Jesus. What is happening to the disciples is reflective of how Jesus was treated (John 15:18-21).

Herod and Pilate and the people of Israel are a band of unlikely coworkers. But because of the name of Jesus, they worked together to conspire against Jesus.

The anointed one. This is the equivalent to “the Messiah” or “the CHRIST”. All have the same notion: God’s chosen king. All the rulers will band together to take down the one true king.

Verses 29-31

I love this bit! The prayer has moved from adoration (v24) to understanding (v25-28) and now to supplication – they come to request action from God.

What they ask for is twofold: 1) that God enable his people to speak with boldness and 2) that God continue to heal and show signs and wonders. They are calling on God to s how his strength and power against these puny kings and rulers! Bring it on God! Just notice that they pray for God to work more healings.

The prayer is immediately answered – but not quite what was asked for. Part A was granted in that they were aided by the Spirit to speak boldly the word of God. Part B however was answere by a sign that God is powerful – but more healings are not granted.

I love it because it points to God’s priority in having his word spoken and not for the church to grow through miraculous healings. He doesn’t remain silent in the powerful signs category though. The place where they were meeting was shaken. This was a sign directed at the prayers. It’s like God replied, yes, I am powerful and I want you to keep preaching the word. Keep speaking in the name of Jesus.

Verses 1-31

The name of Jesus is important to this whole section. It’s what got the disciples into trouble. It’s what they were threatened to stop preaching. It’s what God empowered them to continue to speak with boldness. It’s the name that the nations band together to reject and hate. It’s the name that is the only name by which all men can be saved.

Meaning

The believers receive the same rejection that Jesus experienced. Teaching in the name of Jesus will result in those who believe (v4) and those who reject and refuse his kingship. People will see Jesus the King and people will see Jesus the problem.

Application
  • There’s no sure fire way of growing God’s Kingdom. The same technique will produce believers and unbelievers.
  • At the root of sin is the rejection of the true King.
  • A great response to persecutin is to pray.
  • We pray for God’s help because it is his kingdom, his gospel and we depend on Him for growth and boldness.
  • Religion in general is inoffensive. It may seem foolish (as the leaders of the temple showed with their response to the miracle) but it is often not offensive.
  • It’s Jesus name that calls believers or calls persecution.
  • Nothing has changed in this world. Persecution still exists. See opendoors.org.au for information about the persecuted church around the world.
  • Clearly we can pray for boldness to talk about Jesus into our world.
Prayer for the week
Sovereign Lord, you have created us and shown us your anointed King, Jesus. Help us to tell the world that Jesus is Lord. Help us to tell the world that salvation comes from Jesus and only him. Give us boldness and strength, commitment and perseverance to praise your name in all the world. Amen.
Acts, Growth Group tips, Sovereignty of God

Acts 2:14-41 – this ‘Jesus’

One discipline to keep in mind when preparing studies is to read more than one translation of the text. As you read and re-read the passage, and meditate on the meaning yourself, read it in the ESV and see if you notice anything different.

Context

The book of Acts picks up the account of all that God is doing in the world through Jesus after his resurrection and ascension. Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until he sends them the promised Holy Spirit to empower the gospel mission into all the world (acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost when God-fearers from all over the known world were represented. Everyone present heard the 120 believers declaring the glory of God in languages that could be understood. This loud event left all onlookers either scoffing the disciples as drunk or asking “what does this mean?”

The present passage immediately follows that question.

Observations

The structure of this section might be broken up like this (I say “might” because it is part of the readers decision regarding structure. The original Greek text didn’t have spaces between words let alone paragraph markers. I look out for clues in the writing for the breaks – time changes, location changes, new idea type words like ‘for’, ‘now’, ‘therefore’. This passage could be divided based on the logic of what Peter is saying but I will be using his recurring phrase: ‘fellow Israelites, listen…’ to help the structure…)

  • 14-21 Peter addresses the crowd to preach Joel 2 – this is the last days.
  • 22-28 Peter continues to preach Psalm 16 – this Jesus was accredited by God.
  • 29-36 Peter continues to preach Psalm 110 – This Jesus is both Lord and Messiah.
  • 37-41 Peter calls the people to repent and be saved.
Verses 14-21

Then Peter stood up with the eleven not only is Peter taking the initiative to preach the gospel to the crowd, but the eleven are distinguished from the other 120. These were, one way or another (see acts 1 on Matthias), chosen by God for this mission. Peter shows more courage now than he did at the time of the crucifixion when he denied Jesus thrice (I hope you like that word). Keep in mind that the disciples are growing and learning in their faith as we read the accounts in Acts.

Raised his voice and addressed the crowd I suppose many will wonder what language Peter used to speak to the crowd of so many different languages. Was this speech a miracle of languages too? It’s likely that he spoke Aramaic to his fellow Jews or perhaps Greek. It’s possible for many people to share a common market language while each having their own language of origin. Peter raises his voice to address everyone and call people to attention. From this day onward, Peter and the eleven will be recognised as the leaders of the Christian church.

…not drunk…it’s only 9 o’clock! A straight forward response to the accusation from verse 13. The people shouldn’t dream up some absurd conclusion but should ask the question: what does this mean (v12).

By the prophet Joel Joel 2:28-32 is used by Peter as the passage for his sermon. It’s possible that the word ‘Joel’ was not included in the original by Luke and added later by copiers who knew clearly where this prophesy came from. The addition (if it is an addition), although true, hides the actual author who Luke does name in the text! As he quotes from Joel, he attributes the message to God: “in the last days, God says…” The point is that these are the words of God, the promise from God, not a prophet.

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. The passage quoted is from Joel 2 and marks this event as the last days. These last days, which we still live in today, began at the resurrection and Pentecost and will continue until CHRIST returns.

The sign of the last days is the pouring out of God’s Spirit. Isaiah 44:3 and Ezekiel 39:29 also promise the pouring out of God’s Spirit when God acts to restore his people. And note my favourite OT reference on the Spirit in Numbers 11:24-30. Why don’t we have more people named Eldad and Medad?! Listen to how Moses rebuked Joshua for wanting to stop people working through God’s Spirit: “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Num 11:29). This prayer of Moses is answered at Pentecost and to all who believe in Jesus as CHRIST and Lord (John 7:37-39).

Verses 17-18 uses poetry to repeat the one message: the Spirit is for all people – sons, daughts, men, women, you and your children and so on.

Verses 19-20 could describe some events of Jesus’ earthly ministry but it seems clearer to read it as describing the second coming (Luke 21:11; Matthew 24:29). When the Old Testament refers to the last days it often calls it the day of the Lord and seems to describe it as one great and terrible day. Here we get a clearer understanding that the last days represent an age which encompasses the great day of salvation through the cross and resurrection and culminate in the second coming which will bring on judgement day. So, not one day of the Lord but two.

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved Everyone who does not call on the name of the Lord will not be saved. We need saving and God has made it clear who our saviour is – we need to respond to God or else face judgement.

Verses 22-28

Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God…as you yourselves know this person named and identified as from the Jewish town of Nazareth was, in the listeners own history, given undeniable support from God. Jesus was well known in and around Jerusalem and people came from all over to be healed by him. God supplied enough evidence in his life to show that he was approved by God.

But you put him to death by nailing him to a cross the crowd are given joint responsibility for their behaviour against Jesus. They were ‘wicked’ in their actions. Jesus blood is on their hands. This was not a blow to God, however, since even in men’s wickedness, God was seeing his plans fulfilled.

This is where the discussion of free will and God’s sovereignty pops up. We will conclude that God didn’t need men to behave wickedly in order to accomplish his purposes – people did what they did by their own choice. But we will also conclude that God is not taken by surprise by the actions of people and he will work all things for the good of those who love him. Exploring what it means for God to have foreknowledge is a complex thing. Many will be satisfied by saying that God knew beforehand what would happen and that is enough for them. Others will see that the issue is more complex than that and will need to look into a good book on the topic.

God raised him from the dead, we sometimes sing in church that ‘death could not hold him down’. Verse 24 expresses this sentiment and portrays God as the one who raised Jesus. It was not simply that Jesus’ slipped through death’s fingers, but that he was raised up. God accredited this Jesus, God raised this Jesus up and later we’ll read that God seated this Jesus on the throne in heaven.

Verses 29-36

David died and was buried Psalm 16 was written by David and you could imagine that people could nurture the idea that The Psalm was about David. But he is dead and was buried.
The Psalm is not about him but about one of his descendants as promised on oath in 2 Samuel 7 that a descendant would be on the throne forever.

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it the we must refer to the 12 apostles. The locals in Jerusalem can testify that Jesus performed many signs and wonders but the apostles can inform them that they have seen Jesus alive again.

Psalm 110 is quoted by Peter to support his statement that the Messiah, Jesus, has been exalted to the right hand of God.

36 Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah this is the punch line to Peter’s sermon. Let me assure you, say Peter, that God himself has presented Jesus to you as our Lord and promised Messiah – and you crucified him. Lookup the ESV for a better translation to the NIV here. Note that crucifixion is not simply the act of killing somebody but is almost the definition of humiliation and shame.

Verses 37-39

Peter immediately supplies the remedy for the people’s heartfelt grief over what they have done – repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus. There is no time to waste. Everyone listening is called to turn to CHRIST. On believing what Peter has preached and repenting, they will receive the Holy Spirit – the outpouring will continue and has continued to this very day.

Verses 40-41 Peter said many more things than what Luke recorded. Can you imagine 3000 people being baptised in a day?!

Save yourselves from this corrupt generation again, the NIV misses the mark here. The idea is something like, “don’t just stand there, accept the invitation today!” True evangelist style. The gospel was described compellingly. The people were cut to the heart and the preacher didn’t give them time to go away and think about it. Peter did the alter call.

3000 souls were saved that day. It was a remarkable day indeed. God is still saving souls today. Be encouraged that the Holy Spirit has not stopped working. The gospel has been spread and continues to do so. People all over the world are hearing the call to repent. People in Campbelltown are also. Pray that we will expect to see more people come into the kingdom when we preach and teach and exhort souls to believe that Jesus is Lord. The apostles saw a revival in Jerusalem in the name of Jesus.

Meaning

Don’t you understand that this Jesus of Nazareth is both King in heaven and the promised rescuer of the world!? Turn to him now and do not put it off. We are living now in the last days! The proof is out there.

Application

  • Have you turned to CHRIST yet?
  • If not, what are you waiting for?
  • Praise God that his promises always come true – the Messiah came and the Spirit has come – and he will return again.
  • CHRISTIANITY was not invented by the disciples. They simply saw the signs and interpreted the scriptures as God had said.
  • Our gospel conversations need to centre around who Jesus is…beware of describing your faith apart from Jesus.
  • Jesus is not simply our ticket to the resurrection – his relationship to this world is King. The king will rule and defeat his enemies, so, call on the name of Jesus and get on the right side. Is he your master?
  • The crowd of people were cut to the heart to hear what they had done to the Messiah – pray that we would awaken our hearts to love the Lord and care about how he is regarded in this world.
  • Expect people to respond to the gospel in this way. Many will reject faith in Christ, but let’s repent from expecting everyone to respond in this way.

Prayer for the week

Father God, we give you thanks and praise that while our hearts were far from you, you came near to us. We acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and Saviour and deserves first place in our hearts. Thank you for pouring out your Holy Spirit on all who believe. Help us, we pray, to declare the name of Jesus wherever we are. Please revive our own hearts as well as the hearts of those around us. We pray this in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.