We Are Church | One Small Step - Acts 3 | March 16

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Today we're starting on Chapter 3, Peter Heals a Lame Beggar.

One day, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer, at 3 in the afternoon.

Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called

Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from going into the temple courts.

When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, Look at us!

So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said, Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.

Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet

and ankles became strong.

He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple

courts, walking and jumping and praising God.

When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as

the same man who used to sit, begging at the temple gate called Beautiful,

and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and

came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade.

When Peter saw this, he said to them, Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise

you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

The god of abraham isaac and jacob the god of our fathers has glorified his servant jesus,

you handed him over to be killed and you disown him before polite though he

had decided to let him go you disowned the holy and righteous one and asked

that a murderer be released to you,

you killed the the author of life but god raised him from the dead we are witnesses

of this by faith in the name of jesus this man whom you see and know was made strong it is jesus name,

and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him as you can

all see now pharaoh is fellow israelites i know that you acted in ignorance

as did your leaders but this is how god fulfilled what he had foretold through

all the prophets saying that his messiah would suffer.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,

that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah

who has been appointed for you, even Jesus.

Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything,

as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

For Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me.

From among your own people you must

listen to everything he tells you anyone who

does not listen to him will be completely cut off from

their people indeed beginning with

samuel all the prophets who have spoken have foretold

these days and you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant god made with

your fathers he said to abraham through your offspring all peoples on earth

will be blessed when god raised up his servant he sent him first to you to bless

by turning each of you from your wicked ways.

The priest and the captain of the temple guard and the Sphyses came up to Peter

and John while they were speaking to the people.

They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people,

proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.

The many who heard the message believed, so the number of men who believed grew

to about 5,000. The next day the rulers, the elders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem.

And as the high priest was there, and so were the Caiaphas, John,

Alexander, and the others of the high priestess' family.

They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them.

By what power or what name did you do this?

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers and elders of

the people We are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown

to a man who was lame And are being asked how he was healed Then know this,

you and all the people of Israel It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

whom you crucified But whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before

you healed Jesus is the stone you builders rejected,

which has become the cornerstone salvation is

found in no one else for there is no other name

under heaven given to mankind by which we must

be saved when we saw the courage of peter and john and realized that they were

unschooled ordinary men they were astonished and they took note that these men

had been with jesus but since they could see the man who had been healed standing

there with them there was nothing they could say.

So they ordered them to withdraw the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.

Well, good morning, everybody. Thank you, Marlene, for reading.

We are looking at Acts chapter 3 this morning and some of chapter 4,

Acts 3 · chapter mention

in case that wasn't abundantly clear by the excellent reading that Marlene just did for us.

So if you need some extra time to open your Bibles, turn on your phones,

you need to get a Bible from the side to follow along, go ahead and take the

time to do that. We're going to be running through these verses shortly.

And while you're doing that, I'm going to ask you a question.

Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect? That's a hard thing to say,

butterfly effect, to over-enunciate my lips and syllables.

You guys heard of the butterfly effect? Heard of this thing?

I heard a yes, but let me clarify just to make sure. not the 2004 movie thriller

starring Ashton Kutcher, right?

We're on the same page, not that. So the butterfly effect is a chaos theory

that says in a closed system,

a tiny event, a tiny action can cascade and cause a colossal event down the line.

It's so-called the butterfly effect because the idea is that even the gentle

flap of a butterfly wing can cause a significant chain reaction given time.

And so a minor change in weather patterns leading to a hurricane is kind of the common example.

A wrong turn causing someone to run into their future spouse.

A political decision, a small political decision that ends up affecting a global economy.

A small error in a computer program that causes a major system failure.

This is the idea of a butterfly effect. Essentially any tiny initial change

that can create a significant ripple effect over time. This is what a butterfly effect is.

Great example is Pope Julius II. He asked Michelangelo to design his tomb for him.

And so Michelangelo came up with this really massive design involving something

like 40 sculptures over like three stories.

And so Pope Julius II saw this design. He loves it, of course.

He was a bit full of himself.

And he realized that in order to accomplish this vision for the tomb,

he would have to readjust because a mere renovation of his building site wasn't going to be enough.

So he tore down the old and he was preparing to completely rebuild a new St. Peter's Basilica.

So he tore down the old St. Peter's Basilica and was rebuilding it.

The cost of this rebuild led to the selling of indulgences.

The selling of indulgences led to Martin Luther opposing the selling of indulgences,

which led to the 95 Theses, which led to the Protestant Reformation,

which down the line kind of leads to us in some way.

So a small event, pretty much any way how a seemingly tiny, unrelated,

perhaps even insignificant event can have a global impact.

One moment of obedience, one act of obedience, one moment, one person saying

yes to God can change everything.

We see how God told his disciples,

Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 17, he said, for truly I say to you,

if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,

move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible to you.

That God can move mountains with even just a little faith, a little faith,

a little obedience, a little trust can have mountain moving consequences.

This is what we're talking about in Acts chapter three. In this section of Acts,

we see how just the tiny obedience from Peter and John led to this miracle,

the healing of a single man, which sparked a movement of thousands.

We see at the end of that chapter how their numbers grew to 5,000 for the healing of this one man.

Which leads us to a question to ask ourselves as we go through this scripture today.

What could God do with just a little bit of you?

What could God do with just even a little bit of you? What could God do with

just a little bit of faith?

Let's take a look at the healing events.

Acts 3 starts off, Peter and John went to the temple one afternoon to take part

in the three o'clock prayer service.

And so we know that the empowered witness of the apostles by the Spirit is going

out as we read and talked about before in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria

and to the ends of the earth.

So we're going to get to Judea and Samaria in a few short weeks.

But now we're still in Jerusalem and these Jewish believers are still praying

according to tradition three times a day.

So Peter and John are on their way to the temple and in the fashion of the Great

Commission, they are in their going, as it says.

And in their going, they are watered, they're well fed.

Even though they're going to a prayer service, they're prayed and filled up

with the Spirit. They're prepared and ready to make disciples in their going.

It says in verse two, as they approached the temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in.

Each day he was put beside the temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate,

so he could beg from the people going into the temple.

So this man was at one of the temple gates, at the gate called Beautiful, we just said.

And this is actually a very interesting place for the first miracle by the disciples

in the book of Acts to take place. It's not in the temple, as you might perhaps

suspect, although Jesus often healed outside of the temple. so maybe we're not surprised.

There's a real possibility that this man wasn't even allowed to be in the temple.

So when he was carried to the gate, he was placed there because they wouldn't let him in.

In Leviticus, it says, no man who has a defect shall come near to offer the

offerings of bread to his God.

So while this is more specifically talking about priests, and it doesn't necessarily

restrict this guy from entering into the temple, we're kind of unclear as to

whether he could go in. Something is keeping him at the gate.

Something is keeping them there. But God's Spirit isn't restricted by gates.

God's spirit isn't relegated to a house.

We see that word temple in Hebrew. The word temple is just the Hebrew word for house.

It's the same word. This is the house of the Lord, as we sang this morning.

And walls don't hold back the creator of the universe.

This is an often repeated theme in the book of Acts of the spirit of God.

We fell, as we talked about last week, the spirit of God fell and it fell not onto a building.

It fell not into a tent. It fell not onto a house or with a mouse or in a box

or with a fox. It didn't fall on a house.

It fell on us, on his people. In Acts 7, we'll see in Stephen's defense,

him saying that David, who enjoyed God's favor, asked that he might provide

a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

But it was Solomon who built a house for him. However, the Most High does not

live in houses made by human hands. as the prophet says, heaven is my throne

and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me? Says the Lord.

Or will my resting place, where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?

And again, Paul will repeat in Acts chapter 17, a very similar sentiment.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

He says that the God who made the world and everything in it being Lord of heaven

and earth does not live in temples made by man.

This is happening outside the temple. This is happening outside the house of the Lord.

There are something like 49 miracles in the book of Acts. And I'm not sure if

that's the exact number, but it sounds right. So somebody can look it up and let me know later.

But there's something like 49 miracles that take place in the book of Acts.

All but one of those miracles happens outside in the streets and everyday life as they're going.

Every single one, but one happens in their going outside because we are now the temple.

We are now the temple where God is pleased to dwell.

God is moving in this place right now. And not because it's a building because

we are here and we are his temple.

And he is, is pleased to have our spirit, his spirit abide in us.

God is, is wanting to move in you.

He is happy to live with you. This movement of the spirit is confirming the

witness of the apostles.

That's what's happening right now. The movement of the spirit is confirming

the witness of the apostles that, that this healing story,

this healing story is doing things, it's moving, it's pointing upward,

it's pointing forward, it's pointing inward, and it's pointing outward.

That's what this healing is doing. That's what this miracle is all about.

So let's talk about that. This healing points upward.

We read, starting in verse nine, that all the people saw him walking and heard him praising God.

When they realized he was the lame beggar, they had been seen so often at the

beautiful gate, they were absolutely astounded.

And they all rushed out in amazement to Solomon's colonnade where the man was

holding tightly to Peter and John.

So Peter saw the opportunity to address the crowd. He says, people of Israel,

he said, what is so surprising about this?

Why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?

For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of all of our ancestors

who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this.

We skip down to verse 16. He says, through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed.

And you know how crippled he was before.

Faith in Jesus' name has healed him before your very eyes.

So we've said this before, that his power, God's power is for his purpose.

That it's all about him. It's pointing upward. that this, this power of his spirit.

So the power of God is confirming, confirming the spirit of God that lives in

the people of God as they carry his message in their going, in their everyday

life to the ends of the earth.

Now, this is just one, this is one of the reason that God performs miracles,

but it tends to be one of the main reasons that God is declaring a statement

here saying, these are my guys. I have sent them.

I want you to listen what they have to say.

In a lot of ways, it's kind of like one of the first political advertisements,

right? That we don't have to deal with, thankfully, in this time of year.

God is saying, this message is approved by me. These are my people.

I have sent them to tell you this. Listen up.

In Hebrews 2, 3, and 4, it says, How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard.

While God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles,

and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

So God bears witness, confirming the witness, the message of the apostles,

so that we all will listen.

Not just so they'll listen, of course, so they will listen, but that we might

all listen and so not escape the salvation of God.

This miracle points upward. It gives all glory, all honor, all praise to God.

It gives all authority to Jesus.

It's pointing upwards. Later, when the disciples were questioned about this

particular miracle in Acts chapter 4, we see the chief priests,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

they brought in the two disciples and demanded, by what power or in whose name have you done this?

By what authority have you done this? Are you doing that?

This is a familiar question to us because Jesus has asked the very same question.

By what authority are you doing these things? We see that all throughout the

gospels as the chief priests and the powers that be question him over and over

again. What is the authority?

By what power are you doing this? But this is what it means to be a disciple.

This is what it means to be a disciple that we would follow in the footsteps

of Jesus, that we would be covered in the dust of our rabbi.

Jesus is our teacher, our rabbi, the Bible says. This is a very common blessing

over the disciples of a rabbi, that they would be covered in the dust of their

teacher as he walks before them.

And he kicks up the dust of his sandals that they would walk so closely that

we would walk so closely behind Jesus that we would be caked in his dust.

So we all, we all have this experience in a way, right? We've all driven behind

another car on a dirt road.

Maybe it's a nice summer's day. So we have our windows down and,

you know, you have to try and roll it up really quick.

And I don't know why I'm driving a 1992 Toyota Tercel without any power our windows.

Now we do this, but you still can't get it out the window up fast enough.

So the dust comes in, you experience the grit of the sand in your mouth.

You'll, you'll, you'll pull out dirt from your ears and your nose a week later.

But this is the goal of discipleship that we would be covered in the dust of

Jesus, that we would walk so closely behind Jesus that we would be covered by his glory as,

as God passed over Moses and he, he, he showed him his glory, which means that God,

Moses got to see what God left behind.

He got to see his glory where God had been,

that we would be covered in the glory of God, that we would be caked in his

glory, that we would walk so closely behind Jesus that we would look more and

more like him each and every day.

Like a child would walk behind their parent on the beach, being careful to put

their foot in every footstep of their parent.

Like a cat. I don't know if you've ever seen a cat walk.

When cats walk, they place their back feet in the footsteps of their front feet.

That we would walk so closely behind Jesus that we would follow in every footstep

that we would become more and more like him.

This is what it means to be a disciple.

Disciple means that we do what Jesus did, that we say what Jesus said.

As a disciple means that we follow in the footsteps of our rabbi.

Wherever God sets your feet tomorrow, wherever God sets your feet on Monday, follow Jesus.

That you are on a mission in the path that God has laid before you.

That I know, you know how I know that God cares about the co-workers sitting next to you.

You know how I know that God cares about those annoying athletes that you have to deal with every day.

You know how I know that God cares about the people in your neighborhood,

how he cares about the mothers in the homeschool group.

It's because God has cared enough to place you there in their life.

So you may follow in his footsteps and be caked in the glory and the dust of

Jesus as you engage with them by the power of his spirit.

Peter and John were questioned by what authority, what is the power?

And Peter continues to point upward. He says, let me clearly state to all of

you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed.

This man was healed by the powerful name of Jesus, the Nazarene,

the man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.

For Jesus is the one referred to in the scriptures where it says the stone that

the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

Faith rests on the person and the character of Jesus.

This is not, this is not God saying, look at me, I have the power to do magic show.

This faith rests on the power and the person of Jesus.

If you'll notice Christianity does not have a history of its faithful followers

being healed all the time and never suffering.

It's quite the opposite, actually.

People, Christianity didn't gain traction because it was known that you would

find physical safety there.

They risked everything to give their life for Jesus, knowing what that meant.

That Christianity has always been centered around the person of the living God, Jesus.

Faith rests on the person and the character of Jesus. It doesn't rest on the quantity of miracles.

It doesn't even rest on the quality of the miracle. It rests on the person of Jesus.

So this miracle, it points upward. It also points forward. It points beyond

itself to a future restoration.

Peter, seizing the opportunity of a captive audience, instructs them to repent, therefore,

and turn back that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may

come from the presence of the Lord,

and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive

until the time for restoring all things about God,

which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

This miracle is not about one guy who couldn't walk before, but surprise, now he can.

It's not about the healing of one man. It points forward to something greater,

to a future restoration, where in the end, God makes all things new.

Miraculous healings don't just exist so that one person can prolong their life,

stave off sickness and death, and just live a little bit longer.

They don't do that. I mean, they do because God is a loving father who lavishly

pours out onto his children from his abundance, from his generosity, love, and compassion.

So because he's a gracious and generous father, he does heal his people at time,

but it's never just about that.

It always points to something greater. So John, who was there,

later he saw in his vision of eternity, a new heaven and a new earth.

And he writes in the revelation, for the first heaven and the first earth had

passed away. And there was no longer any sea.

I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared

as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, look, God's dwelling place

is now among the people and he will dwell with them.

They will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning

or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away.

He who is seated on the throne said, I am making everything new.

Today in Christ, we get to give the world a glimpse of what restoration will be like.

And that's true in our healings, that in our healings, we get to give the world

a glimpse of what true restoration is like.

And it's also equally true in our suffering, that in our suffering,

as we suffer, we get to give the world a glimpse of what is worth suffering for.

We get to give the world a glimpse of this future restoration,

that this healing of this single man, it points forward to something greater.

This miracle also points inward. It is a salvation story as much as it is a healing story.

And aren't we all, aren't we all broken beggars pushed outside of the presence

of God by our own sinful pursuit?

Aren't we all, but aren't we all also brought in, brought near and filled so

that joy may overflow within us?

We are not all in need of physical healing all the time, but we certainly can

resonate with the deep need for spiritual healing.

So let's look, look at this man, this guy who was healed says each day,

this man was put beside the temple gate so he could beg from the people going into the temple.

We saw Peter and John about to enter. He asked them for money.

He didn't know who they were. He had no idea what they could offer him,

what they could give him.

In many ways, like the woman at the well in the book of John,

we see, she had no idea who Jesus was.

He says, if only you knew, if only you knew the gift that God has for you and

who you were speaking to, I would give you living water.

In the same way, this guy had no idea.

He had no idea who they were. He had no idea what they could give him.

And so it's not written in the story, but the guy asks for money.

So there's this question, whether it's initiated by the disciples or not,

what do you want? What are you looking for?

What do you want from God? If we put our shoes, self in the shoes of this lame

beggar bankrupt before the living God, what do we want from God?

What are we asking? What is the desire of our hearts?

The truth is that we don't always know what we want. We definitely don't always know what we need.

Romans 8, 26 tells us that the spirit it helps in our weakness.

We don't even know what we should pray for as we ought, but the spirit himself

makes intercessions for us with groanings, which cannot be uttered.

And we don't even know what we want or need. We have no idea.

And so when Jesus heals the paralytic man, right?

The guy that four of his friends carried on a mat and they dug through the ceiling

and they laid him before the feet of Jesus.

They were expecting a physical healing, but Jesus knowing what was even more

apparent, the heart of the need, the need of the heart, the heart's need,

he proclaimed confidently to this guy, take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.

That Jesus saw the deeper need, that Jesus looked beyond what was being asked

for and saw the greater need, that as bad as suffering is, there is something worse.

As bad as physical suffering is, there is something worse.

And as good as physical healing is, there is something far better.

So what do you want from God? This man received not only a physical healing,

he received a greater gift that day.

Peter tells us that it's faith that healed. So that Peter could also offer this

defense in chapter four, that there is salvation in no one else.

That has God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

It is by the name of Jesus that we receive something even greater than just

simple health that lasts for a while, but eventually fades away and gives way

to infirmity once again.

There's something even greater, a greater gift that Jesus points to.

And the result we see that this man enters into the temple, walking and then

walking, leaping, maybe doing some cartwheels. I don't know.

This man was full of the joy and the praises of God as he entered into the temple.

Interesting, interesting little detail, right? That he was outside begging,

but when he was healed, he entered in, which reveals to me some of the sad truth of our own lives.

That when we experienced healing, even physical healing at times,

we go right back to begging.

We don't rejoice in the praises of the most high God. we don't, we don't enter in.

We sit right back at the gate, just start begging again, asking for more.

God, what else can you give me?

What else have you got? What else, what else can I, can I get ahead here?

Can I, can I catch a break there? Can I get a new job, a new something?

We moan and we complain, we forget to rejoice.

So why, what are you wanting from God? What are you wanting from God?

Why are, why are the prayers of his people so consumed with the health of family

members and yet so absent of the prayers for the guy across the street's spiritual destiny?

Why do our prayer meetings when we gather in churches tend to be a list of wants

for physical healing? What are we wanting from God?

And are we rejoicing what God has already given?

Have we cultivated within us a heart of gratitude, a heart of thankfulness?

There's a verse in Matthew that I read a couple of weeks ago,

where he's telling one of his parables as he's prone to do.

And one of the things that the vineyard owner in the parable says to the servants

that he's paying is, can I not do whatever I want with what belongs to me?

And for me, what that struck in my heart was, can I not be thankful for what

God has given without expecting something else or something different?

Can I cultivate a heart of gratitude? So this miracle points inward,

points inward to our soul's deep need of salvation that we who have been forgiven

much would love in equal measure.

So it points inward. And also finally, this miracle points outward.

Let's take a look at the healer or at least the one through whom this healing is taking place, Peter.

Why was Peter so confident that this man could be healed?

Why was Peter so confident? What gave him the impression that this could happen?

If we just flip back a few pages before Jesus's departure, Peter and the guys

failed to heal. They failed to cast out a demon.

They came to Jesus in private and asked, Why couldn't we drive the demon out?

And he replied, because you have so little faith.

So where did this faith come from that now Peter didn't even feel the need to pray?

He didn't stop and ask God if this man should be healed.

He felt confident in the spirit and the power of the authority that was given

him to just command him to stand up and walk.

Just days before this, they were still waiting in that upper room for the power

to be poured out for them to be able to do their mission.

Now, something had changed. There is an inward directing that results in an

outward direction. I should say there's an inward leading that results in an outward direction.

I try not to use the same word too many times in a sentence or a paragraph.

There is an inward leading that leads to an outward directing of Peter.

Call it the spirit inside that initiated this movement of faith for him.

It's the great spirits, the great purpose of spirit, which fell on him,

purpose and power to move out. The mission remains.

While you're going about in your day-to-day, everyday life, in your comings

and you're going, the mission remains.

The mission is still there and Jesus is instructing us to go and in our going

to make disciples. as we go to make disciples, wherever we are to notice the

people around us and make disciples.

Peter and John, as we talked about, they're headed to the temple.

They're headed to their time of prayer. It's just their daily practice.

They were confronted with this man and they looked intently at him.

And it says that Peter and John, as they looked intently, they said, look at us.

Lame man looked at them, eagerly expecting some money. That's what he'd asked

for. Why would he expect anything different? Peter said to him,

I don't have any silver or gold for you.

Instant disappointment, but I will give you what I have.

In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, get up and walk.

Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up.

And as he did, the man's feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.

Notice that Peter didn't give this man what he was asking for.

Often when I see somebody on the side of the road begging, there's usually always

somebody on the corner of Wilson Ridge and bamboo.

Whenever I see someone begging, I think to myself, I don't have any money.

I don't carry money anymore. Who carries money?

I don't have anything to give them. But the truth is that we can't fix every

problem that we come across.

We can't expect to have everything that anyone ever asks for,

but we can open ourselves to the possibility that God can use what we have to

accomplish something greater than even what they're asking for.

There's a greatest purpose, a greater purpose that the depth of their soul is

crying for, even while they don't really know what they need or what they want,

what they may be asking for.

So Peter and John were open and they were aware to what was happening around them.

They were looking for opportunities to operate out inside the power of the authority given to them.

They walked with their eyes open and their hearts open as well.

They noticed, and we are called to notice the people around us to notice those

who are often overlooked,

that we would be people who are different,

that we would meet them with a smile, that we would extend kindness,

that we would be aware of the deep needs of those around us,

and that we would go out of our way to those who so often fade into the background

so that they feel noticed, that they feel loved, that they feel respected and valued.

Because we know that Jesus never failed to honor those who were cast out.

He never failed to take the opportunity to honor those who had been cast aside or ignored.

And God calls us, his children, as we are his disciples following in his footsteps

to do the same thing, to live lifestyles of forgiveness and care and compassion

while the world demands an eye for an eye and far worse.

That we would be beacons of hope, that we would be places where heaven meets

earth, that we would fall in the footsteps of Jesus.

But Peter notices, he looked intently and he makes that all important statement that we see.

What I have, I give you. What I have, I give to you.

This is what I can give. What can you give? What can you give for God?

What small step can you take right now in obedience today?

What small tiny step can you make? Last week, we talked about devotion, right?

We talked about how the disciples devoted themselves. They devoted themselves

to the apostles teaching.

They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread, to the fellowship and to prayer.

They were obsessed with these things.

They were obsessed with the word of God. They were obsessed with communing in

the present risenness of Jesus.

They were obsessed with prayer and with being family with each other,

a people together moving with great purpose.

In our group time, we looked up that word devoted.

And it goes back to this passage in Mark as kind of the first place it shows

up in the Greek and the Bible.

And it talks about having a boat ready for them to take them to the other side.

It's this idea of always being prepared, that we would be devoted,

that we would live a life where there is no moment we are not prepared for an

opportunity to serve God with the people around us.

What can we give? What small step can we make towards that right now?

What small step of faithfulness can you make?

Write it down, put it somewhere. You'll see it all the time.

Put it on the lock screen of your phone, perhaps. As we pick that thing up,

God knows how many times a day.

So put it somewhere, you'll see it. In the story of when Jesus feeds the 5,000,

we know that this one young boy gave of himself five loaves and two fish.

He gave what he had. And Jesus did so much with that little step of faith,

that little act of obedience, that there was more left over than what they started to.

Jesus tells us, whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive if you have faith.

And I know that that verse that we, a lot of us probably struggle with that verse.

I know I do sometimes, right? Because when I'm asking for something good,

something even gospel centered, and I don't see that yes from God,

I inevitably think to myself, do I just not have enough faith? Do I have faith at all?

What am I supposed to do with that? But there is a greater context in these

verses of faith that we have faith in God, that we believe that when we ask,

we come in faith and we believe that he can answer and he can.

We have faith, but we also have faith that God sees beyond our momentary desires,

our momentary wants, that he sees the greater need.

And so we have faith that he knows what will truly lead to our good.

We come with faith, with faith, knowing that his wisdom is higher.

His vision is clear, that his love is greater than we could ever comprehend.

So we can trust him even when we don't see the yes that we want.

We can trust him that we can have faith in our asking and we can have faith in our waiting.

We can have faith in our asking and faith in our waiting. Not that we should

receive everything that we desire, but that our heavenly father will give us

everything we need. even when we don't know that what that is?

What could God do with just a little bit of your faith?

What could God do with just a little bit of faith? Just a tiny step of obedience.

So we're going to spawn now by singing Faith by George Michael.

Would you imagine though?

What could God do with just a little bit of ourselves if we gave him just a little bit?

What move of God awaits a simple yes? This miracle we just talked about is pointing

upwards to the glory of God. It's pointing forward to a future restoration as even greater.

It's pointing inward to our greater need, the cry of our hearts.

It's pointing outward as we in our going move and act in God's direction.

It teaches us to never underestimate the value of just one lame duck, which is us.

One small yes here led to thousands more believing in Jesus.

It's that one small flap of the butterfly wing that we talked about,

which cascades and overflows and has wide sweeping consequences that nobody could have predicted.

Nobody could have imagined. And all it takes is for us to walk faithfully,

Never underestimate the impact, the importance of your next step towards Jesus,

whether that's something small or something large.

The movement of God's people is measured in the thousand tiny steps that it takes.

But what's your next step towards Jesus to walk faithfully in the power of the

spirit to the result of even just one person saying yes to God.

That's all it takes for God to show up and move in a mighty,

powerful way. So as we head towards Easter, we're just 35 days away, I believe.

As we head towards Easter, I want to place this question even more specifically.

And I want to ask you, what one person can you step out in faith towards? Who is your next step?

Who is your small step? Imagine the impact if each of and every one of us could answer that question.

If we could answer that question, who is the person that we're praying for?

Who is the person that we're...

Warring with God on behalf of for their destiny, their future destiny?

Who are you committing to pray for? Who will you invite to Easter?

What one person can you step out in faith and invite to our Easter gathering

at Sky Ranch? Who is your one? I've asked that question before.

When you think about people, someone

who is far from God, who is the one person who pops into your mind?

Is it a neighbor, is it a coworker, a family member? Who is your one?

Imagine if every one of us could answer that question with a person's name.

And we were committed to pray for that person, to invite them,

and then to pray for them some more, how it would change our community.

So what I've done is I've purchased some plastic light bulbs. I want to go get them.

I've purchased some plastic light bulbs and churches all over the place are

doing it. That doesn't mean that's something we should do, but it doesn't mean

it's not a bad idea either.

Passion city church in Atlanta did it a number of years ago village

church on Dallas is doing it right now I've been in several churches in

the past couple years that have done it or are

doing it and so what we're at what we're asking here is that each of you would

take some of the one of these bulbs I don't know what the best way to do this

is take one pest around that you would take one of these bulbs that you would

put it somewhere where you see it every day and your cup holder,

by your toothbrush, on your desk.

Hey, they even unscrew. So you can actually put somebody's name on a piece of

paper inside of them if you wanted, but put it somewhere that you're going to see it every single day.

And when you see it, pray for that person, pray for them, and then invite them,

invite them to our Easter gathering on April 20th at SkyRant.

And then pray for those and more.

What typically happens at these churches that are doing this,

and perhaps we'll do it as well, hopefully that'd be a great opportunity,

is when that person you're praying for comes, when they respond,

the light bulb gets screwed into some sort of marquee, usually has some sort

of Christian phrase on it, and they light it up.

And a lot of times when that person's baptized, they actually sign the light

bulb and they take a light bulb of their own to pray for someone else.

So hopefully will do that. That'd be great.

But for now, at least I would love for you just to use it as an opportunity

to pray faithfully every day, to pray, to invite, and to pray that we want to

ask for these small steps of faith.

We want to ask for these small steps in our lives and our families and the church.

We want to ask for these small steps in other people's lives,

these people that we're praying for.

We want to ask for these little tiny movements of faith, knowing that God has

the power to do the impossible.

What can God do with just a tiny bit of you?

So try it out, taste and see that the Lord is good and that he is faithful.

That he can do impossible things. If we just have faith and we just believe

and we step out in that. So God, we thank you.

We thank you that you are a mighty God, that you care for the one as you care

for the multitude as well.

I just pray that some of these bulbs and the people that they represent,

these names, these people that are on our hearts, that you care about and that

you've placed us in their lives because you care about them.

I just want to pray in advance for these people that you will move by your spirit

ahead, that our days would be bathed in prayer for them, that we would devote ourselves to it.

And that in the work that you have already prepared in advance that they would

come, they would experience you.

They would receive the greater gift, the greater, more powerful gift.

So we pray in faith, wanting these small steps of faith for our own lives.

We want these small steps of faith for each other, for this family,

for our families, for the church, for our community.

We want these small steps of faith, these singular yeses that you use to cascade

in greater unpredictable ways than we could ever imagine.

Ask on behalf of these people, these names, these souls that you've placed in

our hearts. We ask for their yes.

We just hope and we pray and we wait expectantly for you to do great and glorious things, God. Amen.

We're going to sing as we end our time together.

We're going to go ahead and participate in communion at first as well as we

respond. So I'm not sure who's going to be doing the communion part,

but as I play, we're going to respond in communion.

We're going to respond as we do each Sunday,

remembering why we're here, remembering the great, great love of God that pours

out in the sacrifice of Jesus and the resurrection that we celebrate every Sunday.

This is resurrection day, which is preserved in a lot of other languages and

cultures than it is in ours. We just call it Sunday, but some cultures,

literally the word is Resurrection Day. This is the day we celebrate Jesus.

So as I play, just come, come and eat and drink.

And remember just the wealth, the generosity, love and compassion that God lavishly pours out on us.

Thank you for listening to Mountainside Church's podcast. We hope you found

inspiration and encouragement in today's teaching. To learn more about our church,

stay connected or partner with us.

Music.