WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:02.209 So I think it is appropriate, but before we get 00:00:02.209 --> 00:00:05.389 into the scriptures and before we get into the 00:00:05.389 --> 00:00:08.490 sermon, it was said if you're skilled in landscaping 00:00:08.490 --> 00:00:10.789 or yard work that you can sign up. You don't 00:00:10.789 --> 00:00:13.310 have to be skilled in either to sign up. You 00:00:13.310 --> 00:00:15.730 can be an unskilled person in that and you can 00:00:15.730 --> 00:00:18.289 still come and help pick weeds and clean up because 00:00:18.289 --> 00:00:20.289 intermission, their campus really, really needs 00:00:20.289 --> 00:00:22.789 that. But we have already seen the Holy Spirit 00:00:22.789 --> 00:00:24.949 at work in an amazing way, both in the table 00:00:24.949 --> 00:00:27.510 of our Lord and the commissioning of a missionary. 00:00:29.609 --> 00:00:34.170 see it in the sermon today. I once was lost, 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:37.390 but now I'm found, was blind, and now I see. 00:00:38.090 --> 00:00:41.549 It is an amazing testament in that song, Amazing 00:00:41.549 --> 00:00:46.670 Grace. And really, friends, why we sang that 00:00:46.670 --> 00:00:49.030 is because it's the heartbeat of the gospel. 00:00:49.409 --> 00:00:53.329 That yes, the gospel is belief. Confess and believe. 00:00:53.429 --> 00:00:55.789 That's what we heard from Josh this morning. 00:00:55.810 --> 00:01:00.109 But then it's the Holy Spirit in action. And 00:01:00.109 --> 00:01:02.490 it's a reminder that we could never ever earn 00:01:02.490 --> 00:01:05.769 or fix grace for ourselves, but that God gives 00:01:05.769 --> 00:01:09.189 it to us freely in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:01:09.930 --> 00:01:13.049 Now, we see the work of the Holy Spirit. We see 00:01:13.049 --> 00:01:15.409 the ascension of Christ in Acts 1. We see the 00:01:15.409 --> 00:01:17.069 Holy Spirit coming. Remember, they had to wait. 00:01:18.090 --> 00:01:21.409 But now we see that truth lived out. We see a 00:01:21.409 --> 00:01:26.109 story of a man crippled from birth outside of 00:01:26.109 --> 00:01:30.780 the temple begging for coins. For a simple lunch. 00:01:31.180 --> 00:01:35.099 He doesn't even know what he's asking for in 00:01:35.099 --> 00:01:37.900 the day. Much like we heard in Josh's testimony, 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:41.000 that simple prayer can be a dangerous prayer. 00:01:41.219 --> 00:01:43.659 Thy will be done is probably the most dangerous 00:01:43.659 --> 00:01:46.519 prayer we can pray as believers. Not dangerous 00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:49.019 as in scary, even though that could be. It's 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:52.459 dangerous as in you're asking the creator of 00:01:52.459 --> 00:01:56.280 the universe, the creator of you, to do his will 00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:59.269 in your life. When we pray that prayer, we better 00:01:59.269 --> 00:02:02.969 be ready for an answer. This guy was not. But 00:02:02.969 --> 00:02:05.189 in the name of Jesus, Peter and John give him 00:02:05.189 --> 00:02:07.810 something infinitely greater than a couple of 00:02:07.810 --> 00:02:11.669 coins. They give him healing, restoration, and 00:02:11.669 --> 00:02:16.110 new life. That miracle becomes a sermon in motion 00:02:16.110 --> 00:02:20.580 and a picture of grace. And as we commissioned 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:24.340 a missionary from now this church, though he 00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:27.300 grew up in a church right down the street and 00:02:27.300 --> 00:02:30.240 has, it's kind of a mosaic of all the different 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:32.599 parts of Josh's life that has been put together 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:36.479 for this moment, we are reminded of a very similar 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:40.139 calling. Though it may not be to West Africa, 00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:43.719 it may be to the cubicle next to you, to the 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:47.110 neighbor that doesn't mow his lawn. To the person 00:02:47.110 --> 00:02:49.789 that you're driving behind in traffic going 20 00:02:49.789 --> 00:02:54.250 miles under the speed limit. That we are called 00:02:54.250 --> 00:02:57.050 to carry the grace of Christ beyond this brick 00:02:57.050 --> 00:03:01.590 and mortar. Beyond 214 Ridge Road. To others 00:03:01.590 --> 00:03:06.310 who may be lost to be found. Those who are broken 00:03:06.310 --> 00:03:09.229 to be made whole. So let's dive in. We've got 00:03:09.229 --> 00:03:12.990 a lot of work to do. The irony of the beautiful 00:03:12.990 --> 00:03:15.979 gate. So let's start. We're going to be in Acts 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:19.020 chapter 3, the first two verses. Now Peter and 00:03:19.020 --> 00:03:21.400 John were going up to the temple at the hour 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:24.219 of prayer, the ninth hour, and a man lame from 00:03:24.219 --> 00:03:26.879 birth was being carried, whom they laid daily 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:29.860 at the gate of the temple that is called the 00:03:29.860 --> 00:03:33.719 beautiful gate, to ask alms, or money, of those 00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:37.360 entering the temple, the man. Did you just catch 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:41.419 that? He is laid there daily. When I was doing 00:03:41.419 --> 00:03:46.599 some of my sermon prep, I thought about the relationship 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:48.960 that this guy had. We don't know the relationship 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:50.860 this guy had with the guys that were laying him 00:03:50.860 --> 00:03:54.740 down every day. I think we see the first miss. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:57.960 That if it was, let's just say it's the same 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:01.199 people or it's on a rotation schedule, right? 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:03.840 Like our prayer team is or whatever of all those 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:05.680 that are going to start coming more and more 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:08.639 to our Tuesday night prayer meeting because everything 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:12.960 starts with prayer here at Munster Church. I 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:15.740 think they miss it. What if it were you or I 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:19.000 that our job was to carry this guy and lay him 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:21.779 at a gate and go on about our day? We already 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:25.220 have more than he does. We are not lame. We are 00:04:25.220 --> 00:04:27.839 not crippled. We have the ability to walk. This 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:30.740 guy doesn't. And I look at just what was missed 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:34.339 there. But this man is laid daily at the gate 00:04:34.339 --> 00:04:38.420 called beautiful, yet his life, anything but. 00:04:39.159 --> 00:04:41.939 Luke may be underscoring the contrast here between 00:04:41.939 --> 00:04:45.740 the outer beauty and the inward brokenness. That 00:04:45.740 --> 00:04:47.980 true beauty does not come from the architecture 00:04:47.980 --> 00:04:51.139 of our lives or our buildings or what we create, 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:56.839 but from God's grace that transforms us. And 00:04:56.839 --> 00:04:59.759 here's there's expectation, right? The posture 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:03.180 of expectation here is very different than the 00:05:03.180 --> 00:05:08.079 posture of expectation we may have in life. I 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:10.220 don't know what your life is like as far as expectations. 00:05:10.740 --> 00:05:13.600 My hope is you verbalize your expectations because 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:16.300 we cannot be a church that has assumed expectations 00:05:16.300 --> 00:05:18.720 or that we can read each other's minds because 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:21.339 we cannot. Not even all those that have been 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:25.879 married 20, 30, 40, 50 years. You talk to those 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:28.339 who have been married that long, decades of marriage, 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:30.720 the best thing they can do one to another is 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:33.629 communicate. To those couples that are looking 00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:36.990 to get married, verbal expectations are always 00:05:36.990 --> 00:05:40.129 more positive than assumed or just try to guess. 00:05:41.110 --> 00:05:45.269 But think about this man's expectation. His normal 00:05:45.269 --> 00:05:49.949 life was to be carried, plopped at the entrance 00:05:49.949 --> 00:05:52.449 to this gate to get a couple shekels, a couple 00:05:52.449 --> 00:05:55.050 alms, that people would just maybe walk by and 00:05:55.050 --> 00:05:59.290 just flick him a denarii or two to help him out. 00:06:00.469 --> 00:06:04.709 Verses 3 through 5. Seeing Peter and John about 00:06:04.709 --> 00:06:07.649 to go in the temple, he asked to receive alms. 00:06:07.769 --> 00:06:11.689 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, 00:06:11.730 --> 00:06:16.550 and said, look at us. And he fixed his attention 00:06:16.550 --> 00:06:21.110 on them, expecting to receive something from 00:06:21.110 --> 00:06:24.019 them. Right? I'm not going to put a cup of coffee 00:06:24.019 --> 00:06:25.779 or lunch on this because it's too easy. What 00:06:25.779 --> 00:06:28.759 is he expecting now from Peter and John who kind 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:30.379 of did the look at me? What is he expecting? 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:34.420 Money. Thank you. That's been his mode of life. 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:37.040 Have you ever been stuck in a mode of life wanting 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:40.339 to receive something different day in and day 00:06:40.339 --> 00:06:44.519 out? Congratulations. You must be insane. Because 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:48.120 that is the exact definition of insanity. Expecting 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:50.199 the same thing, or doing the same thing, and 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:53.839 expecting a different result. But what he doesn't 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:56.100 realize is that God is going to be doing something 00:06:56.100 --> 00:07:00.600 massive in his life. He fixed his attention on 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:03.420 them, expecting to receive something from them. 00:07:03.579 --> 00:07:06.860 The Greek here has a sense of someone clinging 00:07:06.860 --> 00:07:12.180 to hope. He's expecting coins. But what he receives 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:16.939 is infinitely beyond his imagination. This underscores 00:07:16.939 --> 00:07:20.500 Ephesians 3 .20. God does immeasurably more than 00:07:20.500 --> 00:07:24.500 we could ask or imagine. And now we're going 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:26.540 to walk into the miracle, right? We're going 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:29.680 to see the immediacy of the healing. He's expecting 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.680 coins. He's going to be made whole in verses 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:37.220 6 through 8. But Peter said, I have no silver 00:07:37.220 --> 00:07:41.990 or gold. But what I have to give you, but what 00:07:41.990 --> 00:07:45.329 I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ 00:07:45.329 --> 00:07:48.730 of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him 00:07:48.730 --> 00:07:51.790 by the right hand and raised him up. And immediately 00:07:51.790 --> 00:07:55.790 his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping 00:07:55.790 --> 00:07:59.220 up, he stood and began to walk. and entered the 00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:02.639 temple with them, walking and leaping and praising 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:06.600 God. Remember, this Acts is written by kind of 00:08:06.600 --> 00:08:10.259 Luke's writer, right? And so Luke, a physician, 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:13.199 uses the medical detail. And I love this. His 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:18.500 feet, ankles were made strong. The healing was 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:22.779 instantaneous and complete. This is going to 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:25.019 make some of you mad. He didn't have to go to 00:08:25.019 --> 00:08:27.040 rehab. He didn't have to go to rehabilitation. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:29.660 He didn't have to work it out. He didn't have 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:32.379 the pains and the groans and is this going to 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:34.779 heal? Is this not going to heal? There was no 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:39.620 delay. Because he wanted coins, but what Jesus 00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:42.980 gave him was complete restoration physically 00:08:42.980 --> 00:08:46.200 and spiritually. Whoa, pastor, where did you 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:50.320 get spiritually? Look at what he did. He's been 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.519 plopped at the temple every day to look for some 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:56.360 coins. He is instantly healed. He doesn't praise 00:08:56.360 --> 00:09:00.120 the guys. He praised Jesus of Nazareth. How do 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:03.919 we know? He went walking and leaping and praising 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:10.019 God. There was no time to doubt it. There was 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:12.559 no time to wonder what actually happened. He 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:17.519 went from brokenness to restored healing to praise. 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:22.120 When's the last time we had our prayers answered? 00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:27.289 And we actually took time to praise. Because 00:09:27.289 --> 00:09:30.629 friends, we all need that transformation. It 00:09:30.629 --> 00:09:32.769 might not be a physical healing that we need, 00:09:32.830 --> 00:09:35.690 but I know for many of you today, it is. You've 00:09:35.690 --> 00:09:38.909 been waiting to be healed, and it has not come. 00:09:39.730 --> 00:09:42.929 The thing that I try to say to those in that 00:09:42.929 --> 00:09:45.090 situation is, God's trying to give you perspective. 00:09:46.029 --> 00:09:48.950 Lean in. What is God trying to teach you in that 00:09:48.950 --> 00:09:51.330 time? Or maybe it's the brokenness of the world. 00:09:52.140 --> 00:09:55.000 Week in and week out, we just see brokenness. 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:58.080 We need God's healing. And some of us may agree 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:01.200 with Dwight Schrute from The Office. We just 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:03.399 need a new plague, and we need to thin some of 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:06.899 us out. I know I'm not the only one that thought 00:10:06.899 --> 00:10:09.759 that. I know other people do. If you didn't get 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:11.519 The Office reference, that's okay. Don't worry 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:14.279 about it. The same holds true. God, it would 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:17.720 be much better if you intervened. What are you 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:21.730 doing? Friends, who are we to question the creator? 00:10:22.889 --> 00:10:27.389 That the Lord may be bringing community, society, 00:10:27.950 --> 00:10:33.830 church, family healing through you. I always 00:10:33.830 --> 00:10:37.110 think it's hilarious and actually it's terrifying 00:10:37.110 --> 00:10:41.549 to see two of his disciples being so bold to 00:10:41.549 --> 00:10:45.509 heal in Jesus' name. Now some of you may have 00:10:45.509 --> 00:10:47.490 tried to do that before to know a veil the way 00:10:47.490 --> 00:10:50.240 this is. And so we're like, we're just not going 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:55.440 to do it. But what courageous faith of the disciples 00:10:55.440 --> 00:11:01.019 to be a part of bringing transformation. Because 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:03.440 transformation is powerful, right? The three 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:05.360 verbs of transformation that we're going to see 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:11.059 in verse 8. Luke's writer says this, and leaping 00:11:11.059 --> 00:11:14.120 up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:16.919 the temple with them, walking and leaping and 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:20.840 praising God. He leapt up, he stood up, he began 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:25.580 to walk. The order highlights a progression. 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:28.500 When the Holy Spirit gave this to me this week, 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:32.139 I needed it more than anybody. From dependence 00:11:32.139 --> 00:11:37.379 to stability to active participation in worship. 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:39.679 And you might be like, oh, this is great. Here 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:42.659 comes the conviction curveball. This mirrors 00:11:42.659 --> 00:11:46.980 our salvation. From helplessness to standing 00:11:46.980 --> 00:11:54.580 in grace to walking in newness of life. Okay, 00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:57.940 friends, this is going to be tough. For some 00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:01.879 of us in our faith, we go from that dependence 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:05.480 to stability. We have an issue. We got a problem. 00:12:05.779 --> 00:12:08.480 God solves it. I cannot believe I just quoted 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:12.759 Vanilla Ice in a sermon. But it's true. We have 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:17.059 a problem. We give it to God. He solves it. And 00:12:17.059 --> 00:12:20.840 we go right on about our day. I think that's 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:24.200 the wrong response. And I'm not saying this to 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:25.820 guilt anyone to get involved in things at the 00:12:25.820 --> 00:12:28.779 church or to become more active in worship or 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:31.559 what the mission of the church is doing. But 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:33.720 I'm going to challenge you. I'm going to ask 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:36.840 you to think about that engagement that you ask 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:40.919 God for help. He helps you. And you just go on 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:44.340 about your day like nothing's different. Think 00:12:44.340 --> 00:12:49.480 about the witness this guy has. Every day, plop 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.200 there to ask for money. This guy's now praising 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:57.799 in the temple. I think it would have sent shockwaves 00:12:57.799 --> 00:13:00.080 through the community. We all know that this 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.960 community gossips. We all know our churches gossip, 00:13:03.179 --> 00:13:07.000 whether we're a part of that or not. But the 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:13.220 witness of healing, of stability, to active participation 00:13:13.220 --> 00:13:17.870 in worship. Maybe you're struggling to go there. 00:13:18.450 --> 00:13:20.750 And maybe, just maybe, and here it comes, three, 00:13:20.809 --> 00:13:24.110 two, one. Well, we're just not doing things the 00:13:24.110 --> 00:13:27.610 way I want them done at the church. So I'm not 00:13:27.610 --> 00:13:32.710 going to get involved. I hope and pray that that 00:13:32.710 --> 00:13:36.450 mentality dies in you at some point because you're 00:13:36.450 --> 00:13:39.379 going to be able to bring that to heaven. Does 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:41.840 heaven need to be exactly the way you want it 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:44.919 to be? I know we joke about that, right? I hope 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:46.899 the menus are in English. I hope all these things 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:50.460 when it comes to heaven, sure. But friends, we're 00:13:50.460 --> 00:13:52.059 talking about heaven. We're talking about the 00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:54.919 kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven that 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:58.480 you and I are a part of. Well, I just don't like 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:00.360 the way they're doing it or I don't like this 00:14:00.360 --> 00:14:04.019 or I don't like the new logo. That's stopping 00:14:04.019 --> 00:14:07.120 you from participating into the worship of God. 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:11.059 Friend, that's not a Munster Church issue. That's 00:14:11.059 --> 00:14:13.240 a you issue. That's not the heart of Munster 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:15.440 Church issue or Faith Church or whatever the 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.919 true churches are in our areas. That is, insert 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:22.379 your name, heart issue. Because one of the things 00:14:22.379 --> 00:14:25.159 we're going to see is the validation of the work 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:28.679 of God through the public, the people, as I was 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.970 alluding to, verses 9 and 10. And all the people 00:14:31.970 --> 00:14:35.090 saw him walking and praising and recognizing 00:14:35.090 --> 00:14:38.169 him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate 00:14:38.169 --> 00:14:41.490 of the temple asking for alms. And they were 00:14:41.490 --> 00:14:45.950 filled with wonder and amazement as to what happened 00:14:45.950 --> 00:14:49.250 to them. Friends, here's the conviction continued. 00:14:49.750 --> 00:14:52.610 People know that you're struggling. People know 00:14:52.610 --> 00:14:54.929 that God's answered your question or answered 00:14:54.929 --> 00:14:58.899 your issue or your problem. Yet they look and 00:14:58.899 --> 00:15:03.440 go, but nothing's different. Nothing's the same. 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:08.620 They're just going on like nothing's happened. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.080 I think we can get that way about our salvation. 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:16.039 How many of you have ever thought about the fact 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:21.000 that the wages of sin are? All of us were promised 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:24.570 that because of sin. But us in Christ, that is 00:15:24.570 --> 00:15:27.549 no longer the promise. The promise is new life 00:15:27.549 --> 00:15:32.450 in Christ. Yet we don't want to flee the old 00:15:32.450 --> 00:15:35.129 flesh. We don't want to flee the flesh that's 00:15:35.129 --> 00:15:37.309 going to be going, that should be going to hell 00:15:37.309 --> 00:15:40.450 in a handbasket. We are living a new life in 00:15:40.450 --> 00:15:42.549 Christ. Yet when people see your life, you're 00:15:42.549 --> 00:15:45.090 still complaining. You're still gossiping. You're 00:15:45.090 --> 00:15:47.549 still causing drama. Nothing's ever good enough. 00:15:47.789 --> 00:15:50.960 Right? The marriage is still on the rocks. Because 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.419 nothing has changed. Everything changed for this 00:15:54.419 --> 00:15:58.299 guy, and so did his perspective. So I don't need 00:15:58.299 --> 00:16:00.500 to bring you the correction today, because Peter 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:04.679 does. A Christ -centered correction, verses 11 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:09.840 and 12. While he clung to Peter and John, all 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:12.580 the people, utterly astonished, ran together 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:16.759 to them. And the portico called Solomon's. And 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:22.919 when Peter saw... He addressed the people. Why 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:27.100 do you stare at us? Men of Israel, why do you 00:16:27.100 --> 00:16:30.840 wander at this? Why do you stare at us as though 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:35.120 by your own power or our own power or piety we 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:39.000 made him walk? They're looking for magicians. 00:16:39.139 --> 00:16:42.360 They're looking for something that they can explain. 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.220 Peter instantly deflects the attention from himself 00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:52.700 to Christ. True spirit -filled ministry refuses 00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:56.519 glory for self and gives all the glory to Jesus. 00:16:57.259 --> 00:16:59.759 This mirrors John the Baptist, one of the last 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:04.279 prophets. He must increase and I must decrease. 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:08.279 You guys are a part of a church that is growing. 00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:12.359 We can't deny that. We're seeing growth in many 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:16.720 different ways. Praise the Lord. The minute we 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:20.119 think we're the cause of that, the Lord that 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:23.799 gives is also dug. The Lord that takes away. 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:28.000 Wow, we have a lot of dugs. That's why we need 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:31.019 to stay humble. We need to stay excited and a 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:34.160 little bit terrified because God's the one doing 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:36.579 the work. It's not me. It's not our counsel. 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:39.579 It's not all you. He is calling us to something 00:17:39.579 --> 00:17:42.660 bigger than ourselves. Why? Because he's the 00:17:42.660 --> 00:17:46.259 author, has been, will continue to be, the author 00:17:46.259 --> 00:17:50.559 of Munster Church's life. Jesus is the author 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:57.460 of life. Verses 13 through 15. The God of Abraham, 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:00.119 the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:02.900 fathers glorifies his servant Jesus whom you 00:18:02.900 --> 00:18:05.759 delivered over and denied in the presence of 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:10.559 Pilate when he had decided to release him. But 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:13.359 you denied the holy and righteous one and asked 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:16.579 for a murderer to be granted to you and you killed 00:18:16.579 --> 00:18:20.319 the author of life whom God raised from the dead. 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:27.579 To this we are witnesses. Unique title, right? 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:32.680 They killed the Argeos in the Greek. They killed 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:36.799 the pioneer, the founder, the originator of life. 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:41.579 Yet God raised him up. The paradox, what doesn't 00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:44.599 make sense in our mind, the giver of life was 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:48.259 killed. But death could not hold him. This is 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:51.319 the gospel paradox and the triumph that you and 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:54.839 I can't explain. We had no pardon, yet we point 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:59.140 to or should point to in our lives. Let's go 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:02.640 back to the first sermon of this series. What 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.819 was the church? The people that walked with Jesus 00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:07.420 or were close to the people that walked with 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:10.500 Jesus that saw him alive, saw him on the cross, 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:13.059 saw him dead in the tomb, saw him rise again. 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:16.200 That was the church. Friends, we've made it so 00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:19.180 much more. We have made it so much more complicated. 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:24.420 And we do that because of two things. Our ignorance 00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:30.019 and our need of grace. Verses 16 and 17. And 00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:33.480 his name, by faith in his name, has made this 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:38.140 man strong with whom you see and know. And the 00:19:38.140 --> 00:19:41.079 faith that is through. Jesus has given the man 00:19:41.079 --> 00:19:45.079 this perfect health in the presence of you all. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:48.759 Peter acknowledges something great. You acted 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:53.119 in ignorance. This doesn't excuse their sin, 00:19:53.339 --> 00:19:57.480 but it opens a door for grace. The only way to 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:01.420 receive grace is to confess our sins. When someone 00:20:01.420 --> 00:20:04.059 comes to me and wants to make profession of faith, 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:06.740 the first question I ask is, tell me about the 00:20:06.740 --> 00:20:09.579 bad news of your sin before you tell me the good 00:20:09.579 --> 00:20:12.599 news of Jesus. Because we can know the good news 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:16.130 all day, right? You can come in and you can recite 00:20:16.130 --> 00:20:18.809 the Apostles' Creed, Lord's Day 1, Belgian Confession, 00:20:18.849 --> 00:20:22.650 Article 2, whatever it is. But do you understand 00:20:22.650 --> 00:20:26.089 the bad news of your sin? Because if you don't 00:20:26.089 --> 00:20:29.349 understand the bad news, then the good news isn't 00:20:29.349 --> 00:20:34.950 all that good. Father, forgive them, for they 00:20:34.950 --> 00:20:38.109 know not what they do. Don't we hear that echoed 00:20:38.109 --> 00:20:41.509 in this? It's what Jesus did on the cross for 00:20:41.509 --> 00:20:46.369 us. So as we go through this life, as the church 00:20:46.369 --> 00:20:48.750 continues to work within the world, we're going 00:20:48.750 --> 00:20:52.049 to need those times, right? The promised times 00:20:52.049 --> 00:20:54.950 that God meets with us. It's today. I know we're 00:20:54.950 --> 00:20:57.190 going long, but we can get over it. Guess what? 00:20:57.230 --> 00:21:05.069 The bears are on a bye. The promise of times 00:21:05.069 --> 00:21:11.490 of refreshing is something we all need. Because 00:21:11.490 --> 00:21:14.740 really what that is, friend, And I say this first 00:21:14.740 --> 00:21:17.920 and foremost looking here, it's the time where 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:21.059 I'm not the center of it. I'm not doing the things. 00:21:21.180 --> 00:21:24.980 It's not my will be done. Because if we were 00:21:24.980 --> 00:21:28.759 honest, if life was lived as my will be done, 00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:31.720 my guess is not all of us would be in this church. 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:35.880 We would all be doing something else. Or some 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:39.380 of us. Or most of us. Or whatever. But what we 00:21:39.380 --> 00:21:42.019 see in the life of the church is that when God 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:45.180 is moving, when God is at work, we need to pause. 00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:48.279 We need to reflect. We need to praise. We need 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:51.539 to fill up. I heard it said once that churches 00:21:51.539 --> 00:21:54.680 are a gas station for the people of faith. That 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:58.059 they run empty to Sunday, fill up to go yet another 00:21:58.059 --> 00:22:01.900 week. Yeah, that may put in perspective those 00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:04.259 of you that choose to not come on a Sunday for 00:22:04.259 --> 00:22:06.460 whatever reason. Hopefully you're filling up. 00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:10.500 believe that, because I think we can fill up 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:12.299 in many different ways, but that's one of the 00:22:12.299 --> 00:22:16.960 reasons the church exists. To refresh and fill 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:21.839 the people of God. Verses 18 and 19 help this 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:25.019 point. But what God foretold by the mouth of 00:22:25.019 --> 00:22:28.480 all the prophets, that is, his Christ would suffer, 00:22:28.599 --> 00:22:32.299 he thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and turn 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:37.630 back that your sins may be blotted out. The Greek 00:22:37.630 --> 00:22:41.069 word ananapsis meaning cooling relief, renewal, 00:22:41.390 --> 00:22:47.190 revival. Repentance is not a burden, but it's 00:22:47.190 --> 00:22:50.150 a blessing. Think about your life right now. 00:22:50.250 --> 00:22:56.369 What if you were not able to repent? I just described 00:22:56.369 --> 00:22:59.430 the agnostic. I've just described the atheist. 00:23:00.789 --> 00:23:04.710 Well, who do you repent to? Right? Do you just 00:23:04.710 --> 00:23:07.779 repent to your spouse? That ain't fun, and it's 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:10.740 not going to get you to heaven. We repent to 00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:15.460 someone who receives that confession, takes our 00:23:15.460 --> 00:23:18.680 sins upon himself, and as the Psalms reminds 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:22.440 us, remembers your sins no more to the one who 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:26.160 confesses. Because what is repentance? I'm going 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:28.900 down whatever road I'm at, bad, bad, bad, something 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:33.759 bad. I stop, I pause, I confess, I repent, and 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:38.140 I go back to the cross. What a teaching these 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:44.640 people are getting in mere minutes. This anticipates 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:48.180 both personal renewal and the ultimate restoration 00:23:48.180 --> 00:23:53.240 when Christ comes. What are you doing to prepare 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:58.039 yourself for when Jesus comes back? Has anything 00:23:58.039 --> 00:24:00.839 changed in your life? Have you received forgiveness 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:06.180 for the sins? Yet nothing seems to change? Or 00:24:06.180 --> 00:24:07.920 a friend of mine and I were talking about cheap 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:10.380 grace this week. And the understanding of how 00:24:10.380 --> 00:24:13.660 we just throw it out there on a Monday. Hey God, 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:15.940 I'm going to sin on Friday and Saturday, so I'll 00:24:15.940 --> 00:24:21.900 ask for forgiveness Sunday. See you there. Guys, 00:24:22.059 --> 00:24:26.200 he already knows. He's already there. He's already 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:29.500 disappointed, but he is ready to forgive you. 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:35.349 But just like a kid. That just continues over 00:24:35.349 --> 00:24:40.109 and over to fall, to argue back, to disrespect, 00:24:40.309 --> 00:24:42.990 or to whatever. They just don't have that understanding 00:24:42.990 --> 00:24:47.670 yet. If you are in Christ and you have professed 00:24:47.670 --> 00:24:50.230 Christ as Lord and Savior, guess what? You have 00:24:50.230 --> 00:24:53.210 that understanding. And you understand what cheap 00:24:53.210 --> 00:24:59.569 grace is. Because God already knows. God already 00:24:59.569 --> 00:25:02.289 sees you in your brokenness. He already sees 00:25:02.289 --> 00:25:06.509 you. When you feel worthless. And here's the 00:25:06.509 --> 00:25:09.289 thing. He never puts that on you. That's you 00:25:09.289 --> 00:25:11.269 putting it on you. That's Satan putting it on 00:25:11.269 --> 00:25:13.230 you. That's an unhealthy relationship putting 00:25:13.230 --> 00:25:15.950 it on you. That's whatever it is. Negative putting 00:25:15.950 --> 00:25:18.569 it on you. God doesn't see that. Because prophets 00:25:18.569 --> 00:25:22.589 call it out. But then they see the good. They 00:25:22.589 --> 00:25:25.789 call you to something greater. And Jesus, as 00:25:25.789 --> 00:25:28.529 the greater prophet, has always been the case. 00:25:28.670 --> 00:25:31.309 He is the greater prophet, priest, and king. 00:25:33.029 --> 00:25:34.930 Peter's going to connect with them as he lands 00:25:34.930 --> 00:25:39.329 the plane, and so will I. That times of refreshing 00:25:39.329 --> 00:25:42.009 may come from the presence of the Lord, and that 00:25:42.009 --> 00:25:44.990 he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 00:25:45.109 --> 00:25:48.329 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring 00:25:48.329 --> 00:25:52.029 all things about which God spoke by the mouth 00:25:52.029 --> 00:25:55.190 of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, the 00:25:55.190 --> 00:25:57.470 Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like 00:25:57.470 --> 00:25:59.930 me from your brothers. You shall listen to him 00:25:59.930 --> 00:26:02.980 in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:05.740 every soul who does not listen to that prophet 00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:10.160 shall be destroyed from the people. Peter connects 00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:13.720 something very important. Peter connects to Moses' 00:26:13.940 --> 00:26:17.720 promise in Deuteronomy 18. Jesus is the prophet 00:26:17.720 --> 00:26:21.960 like Moses, but greater. Because he doesn't just 00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:27.640 reveal God's word, he is God's word made flesh. 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:34.220 And here's the thing. We had a profession of 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:37.579 faith today. We had a baptism last week, or a 00:26:37.579 --> 00:26:39.640 couple weeks ago. We had a profession last week. 00:26:39.660 --> 00:26:40.920 We have a profession at the end of the month. 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:43.759 We're seeing these sacramental ties all come 00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:46.359 together from the covenant of God that he made 00:26:46.359 --> 00:26:48.900 with his people then and he makes with us today. 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:52.460 Not only I will be with you always to the very 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:56.259 end of the age. And I guarantee you that Josh's 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:59.200 family is leaning into that as they say goodbye 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:02.819 to him this upcoming week. That the same God 00:27:02.819 --> 00:27:05.440 that is with them is the same God that's going 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:07.920 to be with you. Is going to be with you when 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:10.400 you're doing your mission. When he's with all 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:13.019 of us, when we do our mission, starting the minute 00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:17.920 we walk outside the door today. That covenantal 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:21.569 blessing we see in verse 24. And all the prophets 00:27:21.569 --> 00:27:24.650 who have spoken from Samuel and those who came 00:27:24.650 --> 00:27:28.049 after him also proclaim these days, you are the 00:27:28.049 --> 00:27:30.730 sons of the prophets and of the covenant that 00:27:30.730 --> 00:27:33.450 God made with your father, saying to Abraham, 00:27:33.789 --> 00:27:37.049 and in your offspring shall be all the families 00:27:37.049 --> 00:27:40.069 of the earth be blessed. God, having raised up 00:27:40.069 --> 00:27:43.730 his servant, sent him to you first to bless you 00:27:43.730 --> 00:27:48.130 by turning every one of you from your wickedness. 00:27:49.710 --> 00:27:53.049 The gospel is never tribal or local, it is global. 00:27:54.049 --> 00:27:59.230 That makes this passage perfect for today. Because 00:27:59.230 --> 00:28:02.430 one of the things we need to understand is that 00:28:02.430 --> 00:28:05.349 the same God that is calling Josh to go to the 00:28:05.349 --> 00:28:08.849 other end of the earth is the same God calling 00:28:08.849 --> 00:28:11.009 you to go to the other side of the office complex 00:28:11.009 --> 00:28:15.259 and reconcile with that individual. To that family 00:28:15.259 --> 00:28:18.319 member, that spouse, that child, that aunt, that 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:20.519 uncle, that person that hurt you, the person 00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:24.259 that you hurt. He is calling you to bring that 00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:28.960 amazing grace. That amazing grace that he brings 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:31.579 to us in our salvation. He calls you to bring 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:36.660 to a world that desperately needs it. Friends, 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:39.720 I could go on forever. But we're not going to. 00:28:40.839 --> 00:28:43.619 Because I think... What the Holy Spirit has done 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:47.380 for all of us today is enough. So Cheryl, we're 00:28:47.380 --> 00:28:49.680 going to go to the very last prayer. I'm going 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:52.779 to ask that you stand if you are able. And let 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:54.400 us close our time. We're going to close with 00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:57.200 a worship song too. Let us close our time as 00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:59.359 we've done every sermon of this series together 00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:03.839 with this closing prayer. We'll all say together, 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:08.099 Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for your amazing 00:29:08.099 --> 00:29:11.890 grace. You have healed our brokenness. forgiven 00:29:11.890 --> 00:29:15.690 our sin, and raised us to new life in your name. 00:29:16.049 --> 00:29:20.150 Fill us with your spirit, send us with your boldness, 00:29:20.309 --> 00:29:23.750 and use us to proclaim your grace in every place. 00:29:24.210 --> 00:29:27.390 Bless the missionary we commission today, and 00:29:27.390 --> 00:29:30.490 through them others may come to know your saving 00:29:30.490 --> 00:29:34.730 love. Amen. And as we go out into our days, into 00:29:34.730 --> 00:29:36.089 our mission fields,