Prayer to Usher in the Power of Revival
Recording:
1 Today's Topic: 120 Praying People!
2 Today's Scripture: Acts 2:41-42
2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
3 Prayer – Prayer to Usher in Church Revival!
Lord Jesus, we see that on the day the Holy Spirit descended, the apostles preached a sermon that we can all preach, and as a result, three thousand people believed in the Lord. We know that this is Your work. When we see new people coming among us and immediately experiencing the descent of Your Holy Spirit, we know that it is Your work. Lord Jesus, we long for You to do even greater and more glorious works among us in the days to come. Lord Jesus, we long to become the 120 disciples who yearned for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in that era! Lord, teach us how to pay the price of prayer, to open the heavens, and to see Your glorious descent! Lord, grant us the gift of yearning for Your coming, so that we may cry out like those 120 disciples! Let us also, like them, cry out in unity and pray earnestly, interceding for this generation, to obtain Your Holy Spirit’s powerful presence! To see that glorious day come!
In the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen!
4 Introduction: What People Need Most Is Blessing!
Last time, we talked about Restoring the Fallen Tent of David. That passage is quoted from the Book of Acts, from a speech by the Apostle James at the first worldwide Christian conference. One clear meaning of quoting this is that the era they were in was the era of restoring the fallen tent of David. That is to say, in that era, the grace brought by the church was like the tent established by David! People's problems, even problems in life, were readily solved in the face of a church with the characteristics of David's tent! The result was that all the goodness of life descended upon the disciples! We quote this not for any other reason, but because we also long to welcome the coming of such an era. My heart, my spirit, begins to see that God also wants to restore the fallen tent of David through us! That is what this generation needs most! We will serve our generation by restoring the fallen tent of David!
The Power of Worship and Blessing
Many people do not understand how restoring the fallen tent of David can serve this generation. Last Friday was Brother Xiaomeng's wedding. Brother Xiaomeng invited a few friends. One of them is also a PhD. After graduating with his doctorate, he returned to his country, but later found that life was not easy, so he returned to Singapore to look for work. He saw us worshiping God and being absorbed in God's presence, and he was very dissatisfied. Afterwards, he said to the pastor's wife, What would the world be like if everyone came to church? I understand what he meant, that is, if everyone came to church and just sang hymns and worshiped God, would the world still progress? Wouldn't the world collapse? If everyone came to worship God, who would work? Would we all starve? I thought to myself, but didn't say it out loud, Silly PhD, aren't the PhDs among us doing better than you? You're the one who can't find a job, aren't all the PhDs among us employed? If there is someone who is not working, it's because she is pregnant and has given up her job! But what about you? You can't find a job, can you? If everyone were like you, then it would really collapse! In Europe, only a little over ten percent of the people are unemployed like him, and they are already in a crisis! I really hope he can hear what I preached last week. King David of Israel deeply knew the importance of worshiping God. He led all the Israelites to learn to worship God, and as a result, the nation became the strongest nation. His son Solomon built the temple for God, also deeply influenced by his father King David, learning to worship God, and as a result, the kingdom of Israel under Solomon's rule was even stronger than David's! Because worshiping God brings down blessings! What people need is not effort, what people need is blessing!
Say to the person next to you: What you need is blessing!
Even today, we can still see this pattern! Whoever worships God, whoever pleases God, prospers. From individuals and families to enterprises and nations! It is all the same! Recently, some of our newly baptized brothers are struggling in this area. What they are struggling with is where their future lies. In fact, relying on your own efforts is a dead end. It was just a little reversal by worshiping God, how could you forget it? Where is the path? It is in worshiping God. The Lord Jesus is the path to our blessing! Don't be confused. The devil is so hateful, just when you are a little better by relying on the Lord Jesus, he comes to deceive you. You have no future here, you have to go back to your country. Do you have a future when you go back to your country? No! The problem is not whether to return to your country or not, the problem is whether your path is led by God!
When I first came to Singapore, my salary was less than a thousand dollars. At that time, there was someone who earned tens of thousands. More than twenty years later, he worked and I worked, but it turned out that I was richer than them! I can now live without working to earn money, but they still have to work to earn money. God is God. God has mercy on whom He will have mercy, and God bestows grace on whom He will bestow grace. Those who receive God's mercy and grace watch with their own eyes as they are blessed! Those who are blessed definitely live better than those who are not blessed. So here I answer those who have the same confusion as that silly PhD: Worshiping God can not only be sustenance, but you will eat better than you! I am not boasting about wealth, I am saying that this gospel is truly the gospel! But if my pastor demanded more and was stricter with me, making me pay a greater price, like David, to restore the fallen tent of David, I think I would be even richer, more prosperous, and have more of God’s presence today. Unfortunately, I lost some years, that was really depriving myself! Thank God, God still has mercy on me.
Priestly Mindset and the Path to Blessing
Throughout history, this has been proven time and time again! The United States in our generation is a country founded on Christian faith. It took 200 years to become the most powerful country in the world. But because they have turned away from God, the country is in decline. I choose to worship God, and I can see blessings descending upon me. Later, I led our brothers and sisters to worship God, and I also saw blessings descending upon our brothers and sisters! The way we worship God is different from many churches in that we no longer count the time! We invest a lot of time in prayer, in reading the Bible, and in worshiping God! That is the path that David walked! That is the path to the flourishing of human life! That is the path to the flourishing of the family!
Last Sunday, what we talked about, Restoring the Fallen Tent of David, is the path to the flourishing of individuals, families, enterprises, and nations! That is the path of believing in the Lord at a cost! With a method of believing in the Lord without paying the price, you can't see anything, you don't have any blessings, and you can't solve any problems. In Singapore, the method of believing in the Lord without paying the price is becoming more and more popular. Whether it is pastors or believers, they all have a very serious businessman's disease. Their minds are completely in the mindset of a businessman. But the path to blessing through believing in the Lord is the mindset of a priest. Without the priestly mindset of offering sacrifices, you really can't see the blessings! What the Lord Jesus advocates is the priestly mindset. The Lord Jesus said you cannot worship the Lord and also worship Mammon. That is to say, if you have the mindset of a businessman, you cannot have the mindset of a priest. Once, I accidentally saw on the Internet the introductions of some pastors, and their identity was actually entrepreneurs. It wasn't just one pastor who was like this, there were quite a few. Including some that I am familiar with. A little bit of silent sadness arose in my heart. Pastors all want to become entrepreneurs! Can entrepreneurs bring prosperity to individuals, families, enterprises, or nations? No, only priests can! Priests are the key to bringing heavenly blessings to earth! It is not that you build a church with money, it is that the place will be blessed because the church is established!
Restoring the fallen tent of David, the concept of paying the price is key. But this paying the price is not the price of a businessman, it is the price of a priest! Amen! Because this tent is a tent for worshiping God!
5 Blessing This Generation Is Our Mission!
Thinking back, in poverty and despair, I walked into the church, and more than twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye! Because I worshiped this God and paid the price in worshiping Him, did I suffer a loss? No! The blessings I have experienced far exceed what I could have imagined. From the beginning of experiencing God, I have been fervent in spreading the gospel. For the sake of the gospel, I have paid a lot of price. Of course, some of the prices I paid were not in accordance with God's heart, but my motive was not a problem. I really hope that everyone experiences what I have experienced. But because I didn't get the method right and didn't know the key to the problem, the effect was minimal. In my heart, there is a longing, I often long for evangelism to be like the era of the Book of Acts. In that era, it was so easy to lead people to believe in the Lord! How I long for such a thing to happen to me.
Thank the Lord, such a thing has begun to happen!
The Path to Blessing and the Mission of Evangelism
My heart is very clear, believing in the Lord is truly the path to blessing! I am not a fool. Those who refuse to accept the gospel are the fools. They are the ones who ask the foolish questions that the silly PhD asks. Thank the Lord, I am an evangelist. Perhaps because I have such a sense of mission, constantly evangelizing, even if I do it wrong, God has mercy on me, remembers me, and greatly blesses me. From the day I believed in the Lord, I talked about Jesus to everyone I met. I preached the gospel to everyone I met. Later, they gave me a nickname. In the school cafeteria, as soon as they saw me walking over, those people would say, Quick, quick, the Christian is coming. I thought, how foolish these people are, like that silly PhD. If you want to be blessed like me, how could you live in such a desolate situation today? Actually, I just want you to be blessed with me. Why treat me like a plague? It's like saying, The plague is coming, the plague is coming! As a result, one day, the person who said that became mentally ill, and I went to visit her. Not a relative, she only realized then that when she had difficulties, she still had this person with the Christian nickname willing to help her.
Everyone, don't get me wrong, I don't need to get anything from people. Especially those new immigrants who come to Singapore, you really don't have anything worth me deceiving you for. I just hope that you, like me, can go from not knowing this path to blessing to knowing that this is the path to blessing! In these past years, for the sake of the gospel, I don't know how many walls I have bumped into! In my heart, I have always longed for the coming of a day like the one described in the Book of Acts, when Peter preached, a very ordinary sermon, probably one-tenth of my sermon notes, but there were actually three thousand people who believed in the Lord! What was amazing was that after they believed in the Lord, they all devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer! These people all liked to gather together, liked to pray, and enjoyed believing in the Lord. It seemed that it was very easy to evangelize and lead people to believe in the Lord. Transforming these people also became very simple. We are really amazed at how this happened. Perhaps because we understand this path and have also experienced such miraculous things! My longing has not been in vain. Over the past few years, I have clearly seen the Lord's leading, and it has become easier and easier to evangelize. It has also become easier and easier to transform a person.
A few months ago, on a Sunday, a newcomer came, prayed, was filled with the Holy Spirit, immediately turned around, and experienced God's miraculous works. A few days later, another one came, and it was the same. Two months ago, a newcomer came, prayed, and immediately experienced God. These people were all baptized the day before yesterday! Three Sundays ago, a newcomer came, prayed, was filled with the Holy Spirit, immediately turned around, and began to be released, experiencing God's grace. Two weeks ago, it was the same. When they returned home, without having to teach them so painstakingly, they learned to pray on their own, and in prayer, they experienced release, cast out demons, and people became joyful! Last Sunday, a newcomer came, and the Holy Spirit directly touched her, and tears flowed down on their own. After that, she came to church to pray almost every day. Where did this come from? God's work is so miraculous! This is what I have longed to see, but when I saw it, I couldn't believe it! In the past few years, what we have experienced has truly left us dumbfounded.
Can you imagine? Today, it is just that occasionally a newcomer comes and experiences God. In the future, perhaps God will do even greater and more miraculous things! I believe that we will see even greater and more miraculous things!
Say to the person next to you: You will see even greater and more miraculous things!
6 Let us look again at this passage and the truth revealed in this passage – Acts 2:41-42
2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
The Mystery of Acts and the Key to Revival
Having experienced these wonderful things happening among us in the past, reading this scripture again feels particularly meaningful! I believe God has revealed to me and arranged for me to speak on this topic, surely with His own wonderful plan! (As you all know, our topic was arranged several months ago, and it's on the leaflets.)
Why did three thousand people believe in the Lord after Peter preached? Peter's sermon is not a particularly brilliant one in Christian belief. If we were to take out the sermons of some evangelists of this generation, they should be more impressive. But why did three thousand people believe in the Lord? Could such a thing happen among us? Can we understand the mystery within? I have been pondering this question. I think I have found the key to unlock this door. This is what I want to share with everyone today.
Many people have studied where this actually came from. Some people said it was because they broke bread daily, so they learned to break bread daily, and then discovered that nothing happened. Later, some people said it was because they steadfastly adhered to the apostles' teachings and did the same, but later found that nothing happened. Some people said it was because the people feared the apostles, but when everyone in the church feared the pastor intensely, they later found that such things in the Book of Acts did not happen. Others said it was because of prayer, so they started praying, praying intensely, but later found that such things in the Book of Acts did not happen!
So how can we make such things happen among us? What were the factors that caused this to happen at that time? We have to go back to the Book of Acts and start with what the preceding verses said.
The preceding verses of this passage record the events after the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost. The origin of this matter is as follows:
Jesus and more than five hundred people discussed the things of the kingdom of God on the Mount of Olives. That was before Jesus was taken up in a cloud.
Act 1:4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. Act 1:5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Act 1:6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Act 1:7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. Act 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Act 1:9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. Act 1:10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. Act 1:11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
I think that the five hundred people must have been so excited at that time to see this scene. How wonderful it would be if I had seen this scene! But I think our generation will see Jesus return in this way! Among these five hundred people, there were 120 who were so excited that they could not control themselves. Too excited! With this excited heart, they returned together to a room in Jerusalem. Actually, I find it very strange why, out of the 500 people who saw this, only 120 went back to a room in Jerusalem to pray. The others went home to farm. How foolish! How could they still be so numb when they encountered such a big event!
The Power of Prayer and the Mystery of Revival
- These 120 people kept hearing the words of the Lord Jesus in their ears, Do not leave, do not leave, wait for the Holy Spirit promised by the Father! With great longing, they prayed fervently there. I think I have reason to believe that this group of people prayed fervently there! Because they had all heard the teachings of the Lord Jesus, and even if they had not heard them, the Lord Jesus would reveal them to them. That is in Luke 11:5-13: Luk 11:5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; Luk 11:6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ Luk 11:7 And suppose the friend inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me; the door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ Luk 11:8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. Luk 11:9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Luk 11:10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Luk 11:11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Luk 11:12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Luk 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
They were there, earnestly and persistently asking, Fill me with the Holy Spirit, fill me with the Holy Spirit, let the Holy Spirit descend, let the Holy Spirit descend... One day passed, and everyone's enthusiasm remained unabated, continuing to pray and cry out! Because that was what the Lord Jesus commanded! Wait for the Holy Spirit promised by the Father! Another day passed, and nothing happened! But everyone was still praying as if drunk. It was that sentence: Fill me with the Holy Spirit, fill me with the Holy Spirit, let the Holy Spirit descend, let the Holy Spirit descend... No one knew when it would end, how long they would have to pray! But no one asked such a silly question. They continued to pray! Everyone knew that God is faithful.
- I think they continued to cry out and pray there for more than a week. This was not an easy thing. But it was such a price that opened the era of the descent of the Holy Spirit! Why did three thousand people believe in the Lord after Peter preached? It was not because Peter preached well; of course, Peter preached well, but the key was that there were 120 people praying there, praying continuously for more than a week, praying every day for the Holy Spirit to fill them! As a result, the Holy Spirit descended and filled the entire room. It also filled the people in the room! Everyone began to speak in tongues, which was a very noisy sound, so that some people thought they were drunk. I think it was not that they initially prayed silently for more than a week, but that they prayed earnestly and persistently for more than a week. Otherwise, how could they suddenly become so noisy?
If we connect these two things together, we know that these three thousand people believed in the Lord because of the prayers and cries of these 120 people! We can say that the most effective way to evangelize is the method of prayer revealed in the Book of Acts! Because God does things much simpler than people do! All of a sudden, three thousand people believed in the Lord! Let us also look forward to such days coming!
The Power of 120 Praying Disciples and the Hope of Revival
If we summarize the previous points, what made three thousand people be baptized after Peter finished that sermon? It was because of these 120 earnestly praying disciples! The prayers of these 120 people were with longing hearts, with great longing and hope, praying earnestly and persistently there! It was definitely not the kind of soft, sleepy prayer. In this way, the heavens will be opened, the fire of the Holy Spirit will descend, the Holy Spirit will move throughout the earth, and people will come to the Lord Jesus! People will be changed by the Holy Spirit!
If we begin to see God working among us, doing a small work, and see God's wonderful deeds, we have every reason to believe that God will also do that great work among us! Just as He did in the era of the Book of Acts. Let us pray earnestly with great longing and great hope! Pray earnestly with great longing and great hope! Let us joyfully welcome the coming of that day!
Say to the person next to you: You will surely see the days like those in the Book of Acts come!
7 God's intention is that we should be the 120 praying disciples in the Book of Acts
On our prayer leaflets, there is a number, 120 elite soldiers of prayer warfare! Where did this number come from? It was in 2011, when we were praying, I asked God to give us 100 people. In fact, a church of 100 people is a very small church. I thought I could probably do 100 people. But the Spirit of God said in me, Not 100 people, but 120 people. I thought to myself, What does it matter? Is there only a difference of twenty people between 100 and 120 people? Anyway, once we get to 100 people, we will soon get to 120 people. The Spirit of God still insisted, Not 100 people, but 120 people. Later, I changed it to 120 people on the leaflets. At that time, I didn't quite understand what that meant. I couldn't explain it clearly either. After a while, God revealed again, Those are 120 elite soldiers of prayer warfare. I thought to myself, Look, we have been praying for so long, and there are still only a few kittens? The Spirit of God said, Not kittens, those are lions, those are the lions of Judah. I said, Oh, sorry God, I will never say that they are just a few kittens again. But today I begin to understand why God said not 100 people, but 120 people. That is very different. There is no source for 100 people in the Bible. But 120 people is a number that God likes in the Bible. By the way, in the days of Noah, God said that people could still live for 120 years. 12 tribes in the Old Testament, 12 apostles in the New Testament. 12 months in a year. In the era of the Book of Acts, it was 120 praying people who opened the era of the glorious New Testament church! It turns out that God's intention among us is to open a new era – an era of restoring the fallen tent of David!
I have been a little excited recently! Every time I prepare a manuscript and publish my latest understanding and discovery, I feel, What kind of person am I that I can receive such grace? What a glorious thing it is that God has chosen me to accomplish His wonderful plan! Brothers and sisters, you must begin to be excited with me, because this group of us will be the 120 people that God will greatly use! It is not an impossible thing for three thousand people to believe in the Lord all of a sudden. If we continue to pray earnestly and cry out urgently, the fire of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost will also descend among us, and the revival after that will also come because of our cries. In fact, weren't the 3,000 people who believed in the Lord later and the tens of thousands of people who believed in the Lord later all the fruits of the 120 people who prayed earnestly and called for the Holy Spirit to descend?
The Hope of Revival and God's Call
If 3,000 people suddenly believe in the Lord among us, that is not the most exciting thing. What is the most exciting thing? The 120 praying people in the Book of Acts personally saw the Lord Jesus ascend to heaven, but this group of us will personally see the Lord Jesus descend in this way! What grace this is!
Don't underestimate ourselves. Since God has approved of us, let us follow the Holy Spirit and work with God!
In the early twentieth century, in 1904, Evan Roberts, the son of a humble miner, and a small group of unremarkable young people constantly prayed and cried out urgently, bringing the greatest revival of the twentieth century in Wales, an unremarkable British dependency. That era was just like the era of the Book of Acts. People spontaneously poured into churches, weeping and repenting, and tens of thousands of people automatically believed in the Lord under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The whole town, which used to be full of prostitutes, drug addicts and crimes, was completely transformed in a short period of one year!
In the early twentieth century, in 1907, in a small, inconspicuous black church on Azusa Street in the United States, a small group of inconspicuous black people who were looked down upon brought about the most influential revival in the United States because of their earnest prayers! Tens of thousands of people believed in the Lord, repented, and the social atmosphere completely changed!
In the twenty-first century, we are also a group of inconspicuous new immigrants living on the margins of society. We also pray and cry out urgently. We will also see God greatly use us to transform our generation! Rebuild the fallen tent of David! See the glorious descent of God!
Say to the person next to you: May you be one of the 120 elite soldiers prepared by God!
8 Conclusion – God is looking for people who love Him and long for His coming!
When you see the wonderful work God is doing among us, begin to enter into the next more wonderful ministry!