Sermon Information

Sermon Topic: 
June 28th.
the power of prayer

Scripture taken from Revelation 8:1-6 & acts12

Sermon notes

Revelation 8:1-6
when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 

Then i saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of god; seven trumpets were given to them. 

another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar.  He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne. 

the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of god to the angel's hand.

the angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

and the seven angles who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

1. what we've read in revelation 8 gives us a powerful portrait of what prayer is... and what prayer does.

it says that an angel takes a censer full of incense... which were the prayers of the saints, and filled that censer with the fire from the golden altar.  then the angel threw incense and fire down upon the earth, and the world literally exploded with thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightening and an earthquake.

1.  you'll never be closer to god than when you pray.
if you really want to be close to god....you have to pray!

2.Since jesus was crucified on the cross for our sins... our prayers are now different than they would have been back in the old testament.  
before jesus died on the cross there was the curtain that separated the HOLY place- from the HOLY of HOLIES.
that curtain symbolized the separation of SINFUL men from a HOLY GOD.
it was a physical barrier that pointed to the wall that stood between an impure people, and a pure god. the curtain was as close as anyone was going to get to god.
but when jesus died for us- god tore that curtain in two

matthew 27:50-51 
But jesus cries out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.
 suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, the rocks were split.

3.This means that the wall of our sin that separated us from god, was torn down when jesus died FOR OUR SINS on the cross

there is now no seperation between god and us.  and that means we now have boldness to approach the very throne of god.

4.  we can now have the confidence to enter into god's presence and talk directly to him.  we don't need anyone to act as a go-between when we pray- not the saints. not mary, not any human being... JUST jESUS!

5.  we can have the assurance that god actually listens to our prayers, and when god listens... things happen. just consider what revelation said took place when the angel cast the incense (representing the prayers of the saints) with the fire from the altar down to earth. 
and the world literally explodes with sights and sounds and earthquake. that's what god says can take place when we pray.

6. there are many different examples in the bible about what happens when god's people pray. lets look at just one example in the book of acts.
Acts chapter twelve is set in a time of mounting persecution, about which the people of god seem to be unable to deliver themselves.  but the most important thing they could do was also the only    thing they could really do ... and that was to pray.

sometimes we as christians feel the same way about situations that we face, it could be someone we love with a terrible disease, maybe insecurity about jobs, perhaps trying to turn someone who is straying away from the lord, or the moral decline of our nation.

we are all at different places in our journey in this life
but i know this- there is hope for those who hurt.

we often look in all the wrong places.
  but when we focus on the correct places-

1. turning first to god.
2. turning to other believers,
3.  and relying on the power of prayer,

you can be sure, as peter and paul were, that god will take care of your needs.