Six months ago, my wife, Hannah, and I began to pray about what God was doing as we slowly realized that he might be moving us from Arizona to California. Initially, during this time of uncertainty, my reaction was far from Godly. I was afraid of the unknown. Instead of seeking the Lord in prayer, I argued with my spouse and stayed up at night worrying about the logistics. During this time, we became convinced that we needed to pray consistently and spend time seeking wise counsel from trusted brothers and sisters in the faith. Even as the coronavirus began to spread, and the economy started to slow, we felt confident that God had a plan. Through it, He challenged us to step out in faith boldly, to come to California, to join with the people of Peace Tustin, for such a time as this.
On June 28, we looked at the rhythm of persistent prayer of the early Christian church and one surprising prayer from Acts chapter 4. The Apostles Peter and John had just experienced a massive set back. The religious leaders of the day had forbidden them from preaching in the name of Jesus. Their life calling was declared illegal. Let that set in. It was in the face of this trial, in the midst of this uncertainty, that they returned to their community, not to complain, not to feel sorry for themselves, or give up in defeat. Instead, they united together in this prayer.
“Sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.’
Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
Prayer like this puts things into perspective for the early church in the face of a massive set back. Instead of focussing on the uncertainty, they turned their attention to God, the creator of the universe. They remember the chaos and uncertainty that occurred as the leaders and people conspired to crucify Jesus. A moment that, to the world, looked hopeless and weak, instead was the very power of God on display. A moment where God’s very plan of salvation for humanity occurred.
Prayer like this puts things into perspective.
No matter how weak, small, or uncertain, we may feel about our current situation, we serve a God who is strong in our weakness. He has not given us a spirit of timidity or fear, but He sends his Holy Spirit to us and shakes things up. I am convinced that now is the time for us to pray, echoing the words of the first Christians. Knowing that God is in control, we pray for boldness to proclaim his Gospel message during this time.
Here is my challenge to you — spend time in daily prayer. Pray that the Lord would send his Holy Spirit and give you boldness, give our church boldness to do what God is calling us to do right now. Pray that he would use our church to proclaim His Gospel message in new ways in this time of uncertainty. Ask what role he is calling you to play in this task.
We all have a part to play so that everyone in our community will have a chance to hear the good news of Jesus. We are all here, at Peace Tustin and beyond, for such a time as this.
Pastor Nathan