Ready For Opportunities

Sermon Transcript

Well, good morning. Will you help me welcome all of our campuses who are worshiping with us? It's so great to worship with you. I just want to say thank you so much for your generosity over the last four weeks as we've been talking about our Taking Ground capital campaign. I know so many of you gave so generously.

I know there's others this week who have written in saying, how can I give? You can give by going to Taking Ground dot net. You can do it right online. You can use the QR code behind your seat. Again, we are just grateful for all those who are participating.

Once the money's counted, we'll let you know where we stand and what's going on and. But we're trusting the Lord just for great work. So just thank you so much for doing that. Very excited to get back into a book and preach my way through it as I Preach through Acts 1 and 2. Prior to that series, I just couldn't get it off my heart.

So we're going to be back in the Book of Acts starting in Acts, Chapter three. Today we'll go through that book. The series is called Unstoppable. We'll break it down into some different segments. Today will be an unstoppable power for a few weeks, but trusting that the Lord will use this to grow your relationship with Jesus and how he uses you both inside and outside the walls of this church.

So with that, let's continue our worship and go before the Lord and pray and get ready to hear his living and active word among us. Will you pray with me? Our Father in Heaven, we thank you so much for who you are and for all you're doing in our lives. Lord, we're so thankful here on this Sunday morning to be able to gather, to celebrate you in song, to praise your name, to seek you in prayer, and Lord, to hear from you through your living and active word. And Lord, the reason we're so encouraged by this is we as a people that every time your word is faithfully and accurately proclaimed that you are speaking.

So our prayer this morning is, speak, Lord, for we are ready to hear. And so now, for all those who have gathered who desire to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak directly to you, who will believe what he tells you and who will by faith, put into practice what he shows you, will you agree with me very loudly this morning by saying the word Amen? Amen. I remember when I was in high school and I would sit down to begin a class and I would hear the teacher say, take out a sheet of paper, put your name at the top, number one to 10 down the left, and remove all the materials from the top of your desk. You remember, that was the pop quiz, which wasn't a bad thing if you knew what the pop quiz was about.

It was kind of assumed. It wasn't in the syllabus, but it was kind of assumed that you would be reading and doing the things that you were supposed to do, and if you were reading and doing the things that you were supposed to do. And those 10 questions would be relatively easy, but if you hadn't, they'd be very, very difficult. And what it boils down to is readiness. Sometimes when you play on an athletic team, you're waiting your chance, you're waiting your chance, and all of a sudden when your name or number gets called, you get all sorts of nerves because you're like, I don't know that I'm ready yet.

Readiness is so important in every aspect of life, whether we're talking business, whether we're talking school, whether we're talking friendships, whether we're talking dating. Readiness is so important. But when it comes to spiritually, it's so important that we're ready. And here's why. Because oftentimes when we teach through the book of Acts, people will say things like this.

Pastor Jeff it would have been so great if I could have lived in the first century, because wouldn't it be great if we could serve that same God that still could do everything that he did back then? Friends, our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And when we read this, what the inspired words of scripture should do by the Holy Spirit is inspire you to walk the way that God calls us to walk so that you can experience God in the full measure that God wants you to experience him. And it really boils down to readiness. Will you be ready when opportunities present themselves?

Because I want to let you know there's opportunities around us all the time. Simple opportunities right in front of our face. And sometimes we miss them because we're not ready. So how can we be ready for the opportunities? That's what I want to talk to you about today.

And to do that, we're going to be in Acts chapter three. If you want to turn your Bible there to Acts chapter three. I hope to get through all 26 verses today. And as I do, what I want to do for you is highlight five ways that you can be ready. Five ways that you can be ready.

If you love the Lord Jesus, I don't care whether you're 10 or 110. These five ways will work for you. Not only will you be ready when the opportunity presents itself, but you'll know what to do when you see it. So Acts Chapter three is where we're going to start. And as you're turning there, just to set up this story, you'll remember as we talked through the first two chapters in Acts, Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem.

He told them that was going to be the mission, that they were going to receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. They'd be as witnesses in all Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. We saw the foundation of how the Church worked. As they waited on the Lord in prayer and were waiting for him to move, we saw his presence come upon them. We saw the gospel proclaimed by Peter.

We talked about how this gospel is not only for this generation, but the generation to come for your sons and daughters. And then we saw, as 3,000 people came to Christ, how the community of God function. And here, as we get into chapter three, which would have been a few weeks later, we're going to see this story develop where these two men, Peter and John, were ready for the opportunity that was presented to them. So let me begin this morning by giving you the first readiness principle that you need and what you need to be ready. And it's this.

You need a ready eye that sees the need. You need a ready eye that sees the need. Notice what happens. It says, now, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. A man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.

So how ordinary could this story begin? I mean, this is just so mundane of a story. And here's a guy, one of many guys, but here's a specific guy that's been lame from the time of his birth. He came out of the womb lame. He's been lame his entire life.

He's being put on a mat, carried to this place right outside the temple gate, which is called the Beautiful Gate. He's being set down there for one purpose and one purpose only, to beg for change so that he can take care of his basic needs. And that's been his life for his entire life. And that's what he's done. That's the story.

That doesn't sound like a great opportunity, does it? Can I tell you this. Some of your greatest opportunities you'll ever receive as a Christian. Start off just that way. They're very ordinary.

Think about for a moment the people that have impacted your life the most. Probably wasn't from a platform, probably wasn't a big event. It was probably one person. Maybe it was a dad, it was a coach, it was a mom, it was a sister, it was a brother, it was a friend. It was somebody that saw something in you one on one.

Short period of time, longer period of time, that invested in you in a way that nobody else knows. And it changed who you are. Just a mundane, ordinary story. That's how this starts off. But guess what?

They had. They had a ready eye and they saw the need because notice what happens. It says when Peter and John. When he saw Peter and John about to go in the temple, he began asking to receive alms. So he now makes eye contact with Peter and John.

And when he sees them, what's he do? He asked for money. We still see this every day in our city. It happens right down the street on Hampden and i25. This guy made eye contact with Peter and John and he was what?

He was asking for money. Don't know if he had a sign, doesn't say. But it did say that he was speaking. He was asking for money. Everybody saw this guy every single time they went by because this guy was there every single day.

It's just a boring story. It's a lame guy begging for money, and he's asking Peter and John for money. I mean, the story can't get more ordinary than this. But notice how this changed. Notice what Peter and John do.

But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, look at us now. I don't know about you or what it's like for you, but what do you like when you go by people that are begging? Do you turn the other way? Do you roll up your window? Do you lock the doors if you're outside your car, do you walk fast?

Do you walk around the other side? I mean, that's not what Peter does. Peter looks right back at him and says, look at us. Fix your attention. I want to talk to you right now.

We can say a lot about people that are asking for alms. There's some of us here who, because of our convictions, would say, you know what the Bible says in second 2 Thessalonians 3, if a person doesn't work, they shouldn't eat. I don't feel comfortable giving my money out to somebody that's begging. Others of us would say, I want to give to them as to Jesus, and God can take care of whatever he wants to do. That's not the point of this story.

The point of the story is, can you look at the people that are begging? Do you have time for those that are needy? Can you get them to draw their attention upon you? That's what Peter and John are doing. Peter's like, hey, quit asking us for things.

You look here and notice what happened. And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. See, Peter and John engaged because they saw a need and they weren't just walking by. Now where were they going? Let's be clear.

It's three in the afternoon, the ninth hour. They're going to the prayer meeting. They're on their way to First Tuesday. That's what's happening. But they're not so hyper spiritual where they're saying, hey, we can't help this guy.

We're praying on their way to pray on their way to seek the Lord. They notice a man begging who's been begging there from birth, who says, do you have anything for me? And they said, hey, you look at us right here. And the man started looking like, what do you got for me? What do you got for me?

By the way, if you do choose to give something to somebody that's begging, ask him this, what's your name? Ask them their name. Call them by their name. Give them the dignity of their name. Tell them that Jesus loves them, right?

Look at them. Pause long enough so often we get to a stoplight like, I hope they don't make it down four cars by me, right? Look at they're human beings created in the image of God. Whatever you choose to do, that's your business between you and the Lord. And you have to have discernment sometimes.

But look at them. Give them a smile, say hello, ask their name, right? We see this all over the New Testament. Wasn't Jesus this way when he was feeding the 5,000? Seeing the people, he felt compassion for them because they were distressed and dispirited like a sheep without a shepherd.

Or how about the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2? Here's what he says. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also the interests of others. What does he say? No matter what you're doing in life, you should have time to pause and see the needs of other people.

You should be able to take note of what's going on. It shouldn't be like, oh yeah, there's all these needs in our culture. I just drive by them all the time because I'm not gonna take time to see them. I'm only gonna focus on me. That's not biblical as a Christian.

Or how about Galatians 6:10? So then while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people and especially those who are of the household of faith. So do good to everybody, but especially those who go to church, do good especially to those who know Jesus. Like take time for people. This is what we see in the story of the Good Samaritan that Jesus told.

What was the point? The point was that the two religious people, the priest and the Levite, walked by the man because either A, they didn't want to be bothered by him, or B, they didn't know him and either way they didn't care. But the Samaritan, the one that was despised, the one that nobody liked, took time, went up, found out who he was, didn't know him either, but bandaged his wounds, put him on his animal, took him to an innocent, paid for him to stay there, made sure he was nursed back to health, and then said to the innkeeper, if he needs anything else, let me know, I'll be back by, I'll pay for everything. And when Jesus asked the religious leaders of the day which one did what he was supposed to do, here's what they said. The one who acted neighborly, they couldn't even say the word Samaritan, right?

And that's what the heart of the gospel is, is that if we really believe in Jesus and believe he died for us and rose from the dead and we were once dead, now we've been made alive and that we should open our eyes and be ready to see all the things around us that are going on. Amen. I was in Portland on Wednesday speaking to a group of pastors and ministry leaders. And I was with Pastor Nick. And after I got done, which Portland's one of the most unchurched cities in the in the country, and I was able to encourage them, we got an Uber to head back to the airport.

And as we were going, we were talking to our Uber driver who told us he was a believer, had a hard time getting to church on Sundays cause he needed the money to get paid. But he tuned into different services and he was asking us about us. And I said, well, guess what? In this vehicle at 10 o' clock every morning in Portland, I'm on the radio, you can listen to me personally, I'll talk to you. So he thought that was really cool.

And he was telling us how he would, you know, sometimes get the chance to pray with people in the car and talk to him about Christ. And we were getting ready to get out of the car by the time we were done. And both Pastor Nick and I prayed for him, said, let us pray for you. We prayed for him. He turned around, he had tears in his eyes.

He goes, I've prayed for people before, but not one time has anybody ever prayed for me. Now, let me tell you ordinary story, not a big deal. It was a big deal for him, but not for anybody else. Let me tell you something. The biggest stories in your life that are gonna unfold start off as just very ordinary, mundane stories.

So when you say, I'm reading the Book of Acts, I want something to happen, magical. It always starts off just like that. If you have eyes to see the need, then you can move on to the next one, which is this. It's a ready hand that serves with compassion. It's a ready hand that serves with compassion.

See, there's more than just seeing the need. There's meeting the need. Notice what happens next. But Peter said, as God was looking, okay, what do you got for me? But Peter said, I do not possess silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene Walk.

How about that? Silver and gold, I don't have. I don't have money. I can't give you what everybody else is giving you. But I can give you something that nobody else can give you.

I can give you Jesus, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene Walk. Now, when we read this story, you have to understand the Book of Acts is not prescriptive. It's not prescribing how every story should happen. It's describing what has happened. Does that make sense?

So when we read through this story, it doesn't mean every time you see somebody that doesn't walk, tell them in the name of Jesus to walk, and they'll walk. And here's how I know that. I know it biblically, and I also know it experientially. There are times where God will prompt you to pray for someone's healing. There are times where God may move on your heart to speak something to them boldly.

There are times where you may see something miraculous. I believe that I have room in my theology to believe that if God wants to move through you to heal somebody, he will do that. I also have enough room in my theology. It's not even room God is sovereign. God gets to choose what he's going to do, when he's going to do it, and how he's going to do it.

Amen. I know Christians who have been healed from cancer, and it's never come back. I know Christians who are with Jesus now who never got healed from cancer on this side of heaven, who are perfectly healed now. And why? Because God's sovereign.

He does whatever he wants, however he wants, whenever he wants to do it. Amen. God doesn't just heal every single person, but in this moment, Peter and John are listening, and they're being prompted by the Spirit to tell this guy to walk. So they say, I don't have silver and gold, but what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, walk and notice what happened.

And seizing him by the right hand, not only are they looking at him, not only are they saying, we don't have what you need, but we got something else in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene walk. They reach out and grab him by the hand and pull him up as if to say, this is what's going to happen. And they grabbed him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. Now, how does that happen? This guy has atrophied from the time that he was born.

And all of the sudden, in the time that it took John and Peter to raise him up, he's perfectly healed. How do you know? Because in verse eight, with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk. And he entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God. Now, if you've seen on the Discovery Channel, like animals like giraffes or whatever, when they're born, they kind of stumble around.

They kind of walk. I mean, they. Even animals that are born with the ability to walk at the moment that they're born say stumble. And this guy's not stumbling. This guy has no problem.

This guy gets pulled up. As he's being pulled up, everything's healed, and he begins to skip his feet and leap. And he's praising God, and he's hugging on Peter and John. And off they go to the prayer meeting. Pretty significant, right?

Watch what happens. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the beautiful gate of the temple to beg alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement as to what had happened to him. Let me tell you why God heals. Let me tell you why God does something Symbolic.

Let me tell you why God does a sign. He doesn't just do it for that one person. He does it so that he can get glory. He does it so that people recognize him as God. That's why he does it.

The miraculous happens so that others see him. Now, notice this about healing. You'll see it all throughout the Bible. You see it when Jesus healed. You'll see it when the apostles healed.

Here's what happens. There is none of them, not Jesus or the apostles, that tries to explain what you should be seeing in the miracle. Do you see how he couldn't walk and now he can walk? If it's a miracle, you can figure that out yourself. It's faith healers that have to say, they were in a wheelchair and now they're walking.

Hey, let me see that. They were in a wheelchair and now they're walking. And let me see that. They're walking six days from now, too. Right?

You don't need to convince me of your power. Peter and John aren't doing any of that. Peter and John are like, we're going to pray. This guy asked us for alms. We told him to walk, and now he's coming to pray with us.

And everybody's like, that's the guy that's been sitting there for years, for decades. And he's walking and he's praising like, what in the world is going on? That's what's happening. Now. Why is this important?

Because while you may not have a prompting of the Lord to supernaturally heal somebody, here's what I want you to know. They didn't just pass by the man. They saw him through the spirit's eyes. They saw what the Holy Spirit was doing. And the compassion that they presented, it wasn't just.

Wasn't just sentimental. It was supernatural. Anytime you feel prompted by the Lord, when you see a need to move with compassion, the Lord will show up. Now, let me tell you what I mean by that. There's oftentimes where we see the need, but oftentimes, when we see the need, here's what we say.

Somebody needs to do something about that man. The church needs to help with that. You know what? The government needs to do their job. No, you need to do yours.

Like, that's what the story is about. You see a need, you are moved with compassion. You do something. Yeah, but they need some money. Give it to them.

I mean, if you really believe that everything you have and everything you are belongs to God, then every opportunity you have is you asking God, how can I steward everything you've given to me to help this other person. Like that's the gospel. One of the reasons we don't see the gospel translated as much as we want to or see as many people responding as we would, is because we might believe the message of it, but we're not willing to get our hands dirty and do it. But even our Savior did not come to be served. But to do what?

To serve. And to give his life as a ransom for many to become the slave of all. Why is it so important? Because we live in a culture that's thinks about being upwardly mobile. How do you get more notoriety?

How do you make more money? How do you get into a better neighborhood? How do you get more people to recognize your Jesus didn't do that. He did just the opposite. He left heaven and came to earth.

And then when he got here, went even lower and lower and lower. Is that really your Lord? Then why are we so concerned about upward mobility? And we're not so concerned about what's going on around us. And we're not so concerned about how do I serve those near me, especially those in the church, but even those outside of it.

Because that's what it means to be a Christian. Amen. Like, and when we see a need, instead of calling out like somebody needs to do something about it, we see a need and we say, I gotta do something about it. Maybe you take some people with you to do something about it, but you gotta do something about it. You can't walk by it anymore.

You can't just bypass the moment. You've taken the time to see it. You see the need for it. And because you're a Christian, you're stepping in to make a difference. And this is what the whole New Testament talks about.

In James, chapter two, it says, if a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled, and yet does not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so, faith, if it has no works, is dead being by itself. What good is your faith if people don't see it demonstrated in their lives? It's dead, worthless. Or how about 1st John 3, 17 and 18?

But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but indeed and in truth. Or how about this one? In Matthew 25, where Jesus is separating the sheep and the goats. And they're asking, lord, when did we see you like this?

In Matthew 25:36, he says, for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger. You invited me in naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me.

How about this one? I was in prison and you visited me. Can I just tell you something? Please pray for us. We've been invited out to meet this week in Washington D.C. with the deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons because they've heard about what we're doing here at Brave, and we're gonna get to meet.

I believe that meeting's 10 o' clock Thursday, Denver time. But you think about Jesus ministry. He didn't just tell people to be healed. In Mark, chapter one and verse 41, when the leper said, I want to be cleansed, what did Jesus do? He reached out and touched him.

I mean, it really doesn't matter what the deal is. I mean, maybe you're prompted to pay for somebody's groceries. Maybe you're prompted to call your neighbor and encourage them. Maybe you're prompted to go visit somebody in the hospital. Maybe, whatever it is.

But when you do it, can I just encourage you? You don't need to put it on Instagram, don't need to take a video of you look at me paying for the groceries. You don't need to do all that. Just do it. Because who are you doing it for?

I'm doing it for Jesus. And he sees me and nobody else even needs to see it. Now, God may use you sometimes where it gets public, and that's okay too. But it should never be about us. It should always be we see see the need and we're moved by the need.

And we're going to do everything we can to meet the need. Sometimes that need takes place in your family. Sometimes it's in your neighborhood, sometimes it's where you work, sometimes it's with your friends, sometimes it's with your family. Sometimes it wasn't even anything that you expected. Sometimes you're just at a store and you see chaos.

Men, don't avoid it. Step into it. Meet the need. What happens in Christianity in our culture is we're so daggum passive about getting involved in anything because we don't want to bother anybody else. And we say, that's not my problem.

I've got enough problems of my own. I'm just going to do my own thing. And we walk by the need and we don't show compassion. And then we complain and say, God, how come it doesn't work like it did in the first century? Here's what his answer would be.

Because your heart is hard and you don't care about my people. That's why. I mean, if you really care about what God wants to care about, here's a really dangerous prayer that you can begin to pray. Lord, today I'm convicted that everything I am belongs to you. You saved me from hell and you've given me eternal life.

Everything I have is you give me opportunities this week to see things I haven't seen before and give me the courage to step into them and serve in a way I've never done. He will answer that prayer if you're bold enough to pray it. That's what God wants. And see if you live like that. And then everybody's asking these questions like what is going on and how come you did that and why did you serve that way?

Then you not only need a ready eye that sees the need and a ready hand that serves with compassion, but you need this. You need a ready voice that spotlights Jesus. You need a ready voice that spotlights Jesus. It means you need to be able to talk about what's actually taking place. Notice this in verse 11, while he was still clinging to Peter, he's still holding on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.

So they're all getting into the temple, they're going to pray, they're all running. They're like, this is unbelievable. Like, this is the guy, he was there. I gave him change yesterday. I mean, he's been there for decades.

He's, that's what's going on. But when Peter saw this, When Peter saw this, he didn't see it as an advantage to put on social media. He didn't see it as an advantage to heighten his stature. When Peter saw this, he replied to the people, men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why are you surprised at this?

Why are you amazed at this? And why do you gaze at us if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? Okay, so you see the miracle which is miraculous, ordinary story now turns into this healing guy's leaping all over the place and they're like, what's going on? And Peter's like, why are you amazed at this? Why is this so surprising to you?

And why is it you look at us if by our own power or piety, like our religion and our practice. Like we did this. What's he saying? We had nothing to do with this. It's not about us.

It's not about who we are. It has nothing to do with any of that. And what's he going to tell them? He's going to tell them about God. He says this.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus. Why does he start with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Because that's the God of the Bible. We still serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the same God, yesterday, today and forever. That's the God we serve.

Now, why does Peter refer to Jesus as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has glorified his servant. Why is he referred to as a servant? Do you know why? Because all throughout the Old Testament, that's how Jesus is referred to. The Messiah is going to come as a servant.

You read the end of Isaiah, chapter 52. In all of Isaiah 53, what do you have? You have the suffering servant who is beat beyond recognition, who was pierced for our transgressions, who was wounded for our iniquity, who's by his stripes we have been healed. Who was that? That was the servant.

Psalm 22. Who was on the cross crying out, that was his servant. What's he saying? Jesus came as God's promised servant who served to the death. That's what he's saying, saying, israel, know this. You shouldn't be surprised by this guy walking.

This is Jesus, his servant. Who has done this? The one. Notice what he says. The one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him.

He's not letting him off the hook. You know who this is? You know the one that healed him. Remember Jesus when he was standing before Pilate and Pilate said, I wash my hands. I find nothing wrong with the man.

And you're like, yeah, but we don't want him. We want Barabbas. Well, what should I do with Jesus? Well, crucify him. Remember when you did that?

Remember when you acted that way? That's the one who healed him. And how do you know he says this? He's glorified his servant. The one who you disowned in the presence of Pilate when he decided to release him.

But you disowned the holy and righteous one. There's only one. The only one is Jesus. And ask for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of Life. The one whom God raised from the dead.

A fact to which we are witnesses. You asked for Barabbas, the criminal. You put to death the Prince of Life. You put to death the promised Messiah. And God raised him from the dead.

We're witnesses of that. We saw him ascend. We know who he is. And guess what? He's still operating today.

Because you can't kill the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. That's what he's saying.

And who's he putting the responsibility of death to? Jesus. To all those who were there. Who's responsible for Jesus death on the cross? All of us.

Because we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It was the sin of mankind that placed him on that cross where he willingly went to that cross to die in your place for all our sins. And what does it say? And on the basis of faith in his name. It is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know.

And the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. So what happened? Jesus just healed him? You thought he was dead. He's alive.

We've seen him. He's still alive. You know that he is because he's still doing all the same things he did when he was here. So why are you looking at us as if we did anything? We're not doing anything.

We're just acting on his name. We're speaking about his name. We're telling people about his name. His name means his reputation and who he is. Friends, Jesus Christ is always, was, always will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

And when there's opportunity for people to wonder what in the world's going on, tell them it's all about Jesus. It's all about. It's our opportunity. The problem I have with faith healers on tv, beyond the fact that most of them are totally fake, is simply this. They're always trying to draw attention to themselves.

And they're always trying to get money for themselves. And they're always trying to tell people what they're able to do. I never see that from Jesus or any of the apostles. They're not all excited about the healing. They're excited that people would see that Jesus did it and would turn to Him.

That's what's exciting. Amen. And that's what we see here. And when you see something that goes on in your own world or in the bigger world and God is in, it changes how you are. It changes how you are.

I mean, when Charlie Kirk was killed a few weeks ago, we did a memorial service for him here. And then I watched the one the following week on Sunday. That was about, I don't know, five hours long worth. But wasn't it interesting how many people stood up from his wife to his pastor to people in the president's cabinet and what did they talk about? Jesus Christ, repentance, faith, turning to him.

Jesus being the only way, the only truth, the only life. And I'm watching this from my father and mother in law's couch saying this is incredible. This is being watched by hundreds of millions of people all over the world. And what are they testifying to? Jesus.

It was a beautiful picture of what that's supposed to look like. See, spirit filled believers refuse the spotlight, they redirect it to Christ. I mean, think about John the Baptist. John the Baptist is the forerunner of Jesus. John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus.

When, when, when Mary and Elizabeth came together and they were both pregnant with those two boys, John the Baptist leaped in his mother's womb when he saw that Jesus was, when he sensed that Jesus was alive next to him. I mean, when they were just like a womb away, you know, it was just cool. And so he's coming on purpose to say, prepare the way of the Lord. And yet it's interesting because in the Gospel of John, when the people see Jesus, he said, behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. The two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus.

So John's small group's getting broke up now because Jesus Christ is there and John's saying that's the Messiah. And they're like, okay, we're not going to be in your small group anymore. We're going to go follow him. And he has no problem with that. As a matter of fact, In John chapter 3, verse 30, he succinctly says what should be the heart and posture of all of us as believers, which is this.

He must increase, but I must decrease. He must become greater, I must become less. That should be the heartbeat of every single born again believer on the planet. Even the apostle Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 4, 5, for we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus is Lord and ourselves as bondservants or slaves. For Jesus sake, we're nothing.

He's the Lord. We're nothing but servants. We're nothing but slaves. That's all we are. It's all about him.

Even Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said, let your light so Shine before men that they may see your good works. And do what? And glorify your Father who is in heaven. John the Baptist stepped back. I mean, it's like this.

You. You think about the sun that radiates all this light, but you think about the moon. The moon doesn't make light, it reflects it. We're to be like that. We're just to reflect the glory of Christ.

It's always about him. And you know what it's like. You know our sinful nature. We want to be known. We want to have a badge.

We want to have a name. We want people to know what we do when we do something in the church. We want a title. We want a title so people know who we are. And we want to have people know who we are so we feel important.

None of that stuff's biblical. What's biblical is, I just want to serve Jesus. And because I want to serve Jesus, I'm just looking for other people to serve. And this is the opportunity he's given me. And I praise God, I get that opportunity.

And if nobody else knows it's going on, God does, and he's proud of what I'm doing, right? That's the heartbeat of how we get to see some of these miraculous things. See, for us, we want to see things before we believe things, right? We want to see it happen, then we'll believe it. I want to see the miracle, then I'll believe that God does it.

I'm telling you, if you just do these things, if you have an eye to see this and hands to go serve it, and you have a voice to go speak it, God will show up. I mean, I love it now. And when it's genuine, and I've seen a lot of genuine athletes do this, whether it's football players or other sport players do this. When they say, you know what? Before I start tonight, I just want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

He gave me the ability to do this. And you know, it's genuine. Not only when somebody wins, but when they lose and they have a bad game. And they're still thanking Jesus for the opportunity they had and how they want to show him glory. It's like, wow, they're serious about.

I love that, just like you do. That's what we should all be. And most of us never have a platform like that. Most of us don't have a national platform, even a citywide platform. Here's where you get a platform.

You got one with your family, you got one in your sphere of Influence at work, you got one in your sphere of influence at school. There are people every single day, everywhere you walk that are wearing a sign, if you could read it, that says, I'm in serious need. Could you help me? We're like, yeah, I'm just walking by them because I want to. I want to go help somebody that's really important so that I feel good about me.

No, if you'll just open your eyes and you'll start meeting that need and you'll start doing what God wants. And when they're like, why are you helping me? Well, because I love Jesus so much and he loves you so much. And I wanted to just serve him and that's why I'm doing this for you. Everything about your world changes because it's no longer about you, it's about him and others, which is really how you sum up the Bible.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. In other words, quit thinking about you, which is really hard because it goes against the flesh of everything we have. Amen.

But can I just tell you this? If spirit filled believers are going to continue to live ready, that's not enough. It's not enough to see a need, it's not enough to meet the need. And it's not enough to tell other people about Jesus. Here's where I would tell you that you can take the next step.

And it's this that a ready heart summons to repentance. A ready heart summons people to repentance. He's told these men what's going on. He's told them it's not us, it's Jesus. Jesus just healed this man.

Remember the one that was just here a couple weeks ago that you killed on a cross that God raised from the dead. We're witnesses of that. He's still alive. He's still moving, he's still working. But that's not enough because notice what they say next.

And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did. Also. Okay? In other words, you didn't know when you were yelling crucify him that you were crucifying the Messiah. You didn't know you acted in ignorance.

Can I just say this? You need to hear this. You need to hear this. Ignorance does not let you off the hook. I have studied the Bible for the last 35 years.

I have not found a shred of evidence in the Bible of someone who does not know Jesus that ends up in heaven. Not one you say, well, what about the migrant farmer in Africa or whatever. The person in Asia that grew up Buddhist or I would say, what about the person that went to Brave Church whose parents were Christian, but they're not. I mean, ignorance is not an excuse. How do you know?

Because Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. And if that doesn't pain your heart, it should. Well then how are all these people gonna know? Because of us. Because we're his church.

We've been commissioned to go tell them. Which means some people are gonna have a burden on their heart and they gotta move and go tell em. Other people are gonna have a burden on their heart to stay and glorify God and reach more people in their area. That's totally fine, but you've got to be obedient to what God calls you to do. But just because they acted in ignorance, it wasn't like, yeah, you guys didn't know.

It's okay, God still loves you. No, you acted in ignorance and you're born dead because of your sin. And God's wrath is on you unless you do what I'm about ready to tell you. Which is where we get shy at sharing this. When we share the gospel, he says, but the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, I.e.

christ would suffer, has been fulfilled. You were ignorant, but you actually fulfilled the scriptures. Therefore, here's what you must do. Repent and return so that your sins may be wiped away. That's what you need to do.

Now let's talk about those two words. What's repentance? Repentance comes from a Greek word called metanoia, which means to change your mind. But if your mind has been changed, it'll change everything about you. So let me just tell you about Christianity.

You're not saved by your good works. There's nothing you bring to the table. You've sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. You will not make it in. You are born dead in your trespasses and sins.

God's wrath is on you. There's nothing you can do to find Jesus. There's nothing you can do to find God. You're blind spiritually, you're deaf to what he's saying, and you're dead. That makes it very, very hard for you to find God.

But God in His mercy, sent Jesus Christ, who came to this earth, who did for you what you couldn't do, and who came as a perfect God. Man born of a virgin fulfilled the Law did everything that was required. And before he left the earth, he took your place on a cross. And God poured all his wrath out on Jesus so that anyone who would turn from their sin, they would have all their sin paid for. Jesus validated he was the Son of God by rising three days later.

And what we have the opportunity to do now is to repent and to turn to Christ. Repentance means Jesus has not been my Lord. I've been living for myself. I'm doing my own thing. I know that I'm dead.

I know I'm on my way to hell. I know there's nothing I can do about it, but I'm done with that. I'm turning from that and I'm turning back. And I'm letting Jesus be the Lord of my life. And whatever he says, he's the Lord.

Wherever he wants me to go, that's what I'm doing. I'm putting myself under his lordship. That's salvation. You don't do anything to earn it. You just turn and you trust.

That's it. Now, if that happens and Jesus is the Lord of your life, everything's gonna change. Everything. Because you used to live for you and now you're living for Christ. And it doesn't mean you'll do everything perfectly going forward.

But increasingly everything's gonna change. So your behavior doesn't save you. But if you've been saved, your behavior will follow. It's automatic now. Why do I say that?

Because there's some people who are ignorant in our own church who think they're saved just because they believe this God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. True, you've sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Yeah, everybody sins. Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead. Yeah, I guess I can believe that.

Okay, well, what do I do to get to heaven? Okay, well, you really don't want to be your Lord, but just pray this magic prayer. If you pray this prayer in, like, five seconds, you can be saved. Even if you live in your sin for the rest of your life. No, you can't.

What must you do? Repent. John the Baptist, first sermon. Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus, first sermon.

Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Peter's first sermon. Repent. Be baptized. You receive the Holy Spirit.

Paul, even in the back of the Book of Acts. I now command all men everywhere. To do what? Repent. Without repentance, there is no salvation.

You can't say I don't Want Jesus to be my Lord, but I want to be saved. That's the Lord who saves. If Jesus isn't the Lord of your life, if you're still living for yourself, you can call yourself whatever you want. The devil would love to have you call yourself a Christian when you're not a Christian so that he can keep his thumb on top of you. Some of you need to repent and allow Jesus to be the Lord of your life.

You don't make him Lord. He's always been Lord. You come under his authority, you come under his lordship. So what's Peter telling these people? It's time for you to repent and return to him.

It's time for you to come home. It's time for you to stop living your own religious ways. That's what he was telling them. In order what? The times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, there's a day coming.

Those times are refreshing, are the millennial kingdom. When Jesus Christ gets here, and let me be clear on this, on this side of heaven, there will be no perfect utopia. There will be no perfect utopia. It will not be. All Hollywood movies are Christian and all artists are Christian, and all athletes are Christian, and all politicians are Christian, and all educators are Christian.

And we live in a perfect Christian world. And it's so Christian. And it's never going to happen. Jesus didn't promise that. Paul told us things would go from bad to worse.

People be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to parents, et cetera. Jesus said, I'm telling you these things in advance so that when they happen, you won't lose heart. In Matthew 24, it's not going to get better. At some point in time, it'll get worse. What do we do in the meantime?

We fight for what's true. For what sake? For the sake of the gospel, so that more people can hear about Jesus. Why do we get involved in our culture? Why do we get involved politically?

It's not because we're going to turn the whole culture. It's so that more people can hear about Jesus. That's why. Right. So he's calling them to repent.

Now, why is this so important? Because I find that when we talk to people about the gospel, we're willing to tell them a lot. But when it comes to telling them they need to repent, we back up. If I tell them to repent, that means I'm telling them that are wicked. Yep, they are.

Not only are they wicked, but they're blind and they're deaf and they're dead and they're dumb. That's what you're telling them. And that if they don't turn to Christ, they will suffer an eternity of wrath and hell. I don't want to tell them that because that's like really mean. If they don't realize that's the state that they're in, what are they getting saved from?

Do you realize in some aspect what you're getting saved from is God himself, who is going to punish all those who don't respond to him in faith. I mean, that's what's going on. And so if we don't tell people their need to repent, we're not sharing the gospel. And I'm afraid in our culture in America, there's a lot of unsaved people that go to church every single week, who are probably, as far as Americans go, good people, who do good things, who give money, who serve in the church, who are in a small group, who say nice things, who help others who are totally still dead in their sins because they've never repented and trusted Christ. And we need to know this.

So that's what we tell people. Repent, repent, repent. When the prodigal son goes home to see his dad, we know that he's repented. You remember the story about the father that had two sons? The younger one went off and squandered all he had in wild living.

And when he did, it was this picture of, you think that's bad, it's about to get worse. Because God will engineer all sorts of circumstances in your life to make you realize how much you need him. So then there was a severe famine in the land, and now he finds himself slopping the pigs, slopping the hogs. And now he finds himself wishing he was a pig because the pig's eating better than he is. I mean, his life's out of control.

He's in that situation where he's like, I never thought it could get this bad in my life. When I was 4 years old, 7 years old, 10 years old, I would have never guessed. This is the lot in life I would be in. That's where he was at. So he says, I'm thinking about my dad and even my dad's hired hands are doing better than this.

I know what I'll do. I'll go back and talk to my dad. So he comes up with a three point sermon. Cause he wants to be religious, right? So he says, dad, I've Sinned against heaven and against you.

Point two, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Point three, make me one of your hired slaves. That's just religion. But we know he did more than religion. He repented.

How do you know? Because it says that he went back to see his dad. He returned, he faced the music. And when he goes back to see his dad, here's the first thing he sees from a long distance. A dad who's never ran because it's undignified for Jewish men to run, starts sprinting at him.

The last time he saw his dad, he basically robbed him and told him he wished his dad was dead and took all of his inheritance. And now he sees his dad, who's never run, sprinting at him. What do you think he was thinking? Probably not. No.

Dad wants to hug me. I mean, that's probably wasn't going through his mind. And when the dad gets there, though, that's exactly what happens. Cause he only gets two of his three points out. Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you.

I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the dad's too busy hugging and kissing him. And then the dad's not even listening to him because he's like calling his servants. He's like, quick, bring the best robe and put it on. And put a ring on his finger.

Put sandals on his feet. Kill the fattened calf. Let's eat and celebrate. The son of mine was dead, and he's alive. He was lost and found.

And they all began to have this huge party. Why? Because when you repent and come home, you don't come home as a slave. You don't come home as a servant. You come home as a daughter or a son of Almighty God.

And you're part of the family.

And that's what repentance does. Now, let me be clear. If you've repented and trusted in Christ and you're in the faith, you're in the faith no one can snatch you out of God's hands. You're not going to lose what you didn't earn. But, Christian, when was the last time that you repented, sister?

When's the last time that you repented, brother? When's the last time you repented not to get saved? But when's the last time that you went before the Lord and said, lord, is there anything in my life that's not aligned with you that you've been trying to talk to me about? I mean, I've had seasons or different Times in my life where I've done that and the Lord brings things to me and breaks me. I didn't even know that was a thing in me.

I didn't see it. And God shows it. Why? It's like Martin Luther said, the entire life of believers should be one of repentance. Have a ready heart that summons repentance.

Have it in your own life. A ready heart will call people back to God and get them to turn from their sin. Let me give you a final one, and it's this. If you have a ready heart, then you can have a ready life that stands in hope. A ready life that stands in hope.

He just got done saying that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Friends, times of refreshing are coming like the utopia is on the way. I mean, the Old Testament describes the the lion will lay down with the lamb. The Old Testament describes a child can play with a cobra and pet its head. That's not going to happen before Jesus gets here, I promise you that.

But every other word that Jesus promised comes to pass. There's going to be a millennial reign of a thousand years that God promises where all these things will take place. And when's that going to happen? Verse 20 says, and that he may send Jesus the Christ appointed for you whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient time, Moses said, who was the first prophet in Deuteronomy 18. The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren to him.

You shall give heed to everything he says to you. And it shall be that every soul that does not heed that prophet, that's Jesus, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. And likewise all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel on and his successors also announce these days it is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your father, saying to Abraham said it in Genesis 22:18. And in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed for you. First, God raised up his servant and sent you to bless.

Sent him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways. What's he saying? He's saying that Jesus is in heaven until the appointed time. Well, what's the appointed time when he returns? Do you remember the question that disciples were asking in Acts chapter one?

Lord, is it at this time that you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel? And Jesus doesn't say, no, I'm not going to restore the kingdom to Israel. Let me tell you something. God is going to restore the kingdom to Israel. And in this anti Semitic world that we live in, you need to understand God made a covenant with Israel and He does not break his word.

He still has a plan for the nation of Israel. That's why we stand with Israel. Not because Israel always makes good decisions. Not because Israel is holy. There's been a hardening of their heart.

But you go back and you read through Romans chapter 11. God makes clear that His Word is true and he still has a plan for Israel. And I'll stop by saying that because otherwise I'm gonna preach a whole nother sermon. But, but listen, he's still got a plan. And when's that going to happen?

When the restoration of all things happens. When's that? When Jesus returns and hands the kingdom to Israel and there's a thousand year reign on this planet. That's when we'll see all these things take place. You as a believer need to live with incredible hope because it's coming.

Friends, no politician is going to change everything forever. No teacher is going to change everything forever. No pastor is going to change everything forever. No church is going to change it. Jesus Christ will change it once and for all.

Amen. And he's coming and you should look forward to him.

Titus 2:13 says, Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Or Philippians 3:20 and 21, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly await for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory. Or Hebrews 10:23. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. And for he who promised is faithful.

I mean, there's a story in the Bible of Simeon and Anna waiting at the temple when Jesus was born. They wanted to see him. They've been waiting and waiting and waiting. And when he was brought in to be circumcised, they, they recognized that's the Messiah. That's the one that's going to save our people.

I mean, think about it like this. At a, at a wedding, when a bride gets ready for her groom, right? The wedding's at 4:00'. Clock. I can promise you that the bride doesn't start preparing at 3:15.

The groom may, but not the bride. It's an all day event with all sorts of gals that have gathered. Family, mom, mother in law, everybody's there. And everybody's a part. That's how we should be preparing for the return of our Lord.

With everybody preparing. He's coming, he's coming, he's come. We gotta be ready when he gets here. We gotta be ready for that opportunity. And until we get here, let's live the way God wants us live.

Amen. You want to see God at work? Have a ready eye that sees the need. Have a ready hand that's willing to serve with compassion. Have a ready voice that spotlights Jesus.

Have a ready heart that summons people to repentance. Have a ready life that stands in hope. That's how we're going to see it, because spirit filled believers are always ready. Jesus will call your number this week if you're willing to pray that way. If you're the type of person that says, well, I don't know if he's real and I don't know if he'd ever listen to my prayer, and I don't know that God would really use someone like me, then pray this way.

Take one of those five things. Say, God, open my eyes so I see the need. Lord, open my heart so I'll actually serve. Lord, give me a voice that when these things happen, I can tell people I'm a follower of Jesus and God. Give me the opportunity this week that when somebody talks about their faith and we recognize it's not aligned, I can tell them to repent and believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

And Lord, let me live a life where I'm not just living for this world and getting frustrated by everything that's not happening. I'm living for the world to come, y'. All. While I'm here, I'm gonna maintain the kingdom values and do everything I can to fight for truth and justice. But I know that until Jesus gets here, it won't be the way I read about in my Bible.

And I'm looking forward to his coming. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen. He's coming. But until he gets here, he wants to use you.

He wants you to experience him in ways that you never ever dreamed possible. And that's what he has for your life, and that's what he wants to do in you. Would you stand with me? Our Father, we give you praise and glory and honor for each and every person here. And, Lord, the way that you want to move in each and every person's heart.

And I pray this week for anybody that could receive this prayer, Lord, that you would open our eyes, that you would open our hearts, that you would open our minds, open our voice. You'd open our lives and we'd be ready to live for you at any given opportunity. We wouldn't be quick to pass by people, but we would be very quick to pause and allow you to prompt us how you want to be Lord of our life. Lord, we give you all the glory, we give you all the honor, we give you all the praise in Jesus name, Amen and amen. Can we give God praise for his word?