Who is outside the walls of the church
In this New Year we have been looking through the scriptures at ways that God reveals his direction, His will to us as individuals and as a church.
We have been using a memory device to guide our thinking. The big idea is that the prophets typically referred to hearing a word from God for the people.
That makes me think of the word VOICE.
God’s voice is rarely described as being something audible, God communicates through scripture, emotions, situations, visions and on occasion audible words.
- In our study on communication that guides and shapes us, we started with Jeremiah being sent to watch a potter at work. The letter V stood for vision. I lead you to understand that we are the clay in the picture and while it was imperfect the potter was willing to rework the clay into something useful.
- We talked about the necessity of being Open to God working around us as a way of communication.
Next we looked at scriptures related to God’s Incarnation or presence which ultimately is the gift of the Holy Spirit that actually lives within each believer.
-- God over time moved closer and closer to communicate with man.
Last week was a description of how God guides us based on the communities we are a part of. In this case I limited the community of being a faith community …the church. We examined how God can speak to us through 1 or many people in our church. How it is important to be an active and healthy member of the community because the relationship we have with each other is two way communication.
So as a review, we have
V – vision
O – openness
I – incarnation
C – community and today we have the final letter in the word.
E is for OPPORTUNITY.
No, that is not a spelling mistake although Renee suggested that it could happen.
What I am trying to avoid is keeping some of you from putting your brains in park and avoiding traveling through today’s mental and spiritual journey with me.
There are some days when the scripture or the sermon title have some of you taking off in a direction because you think that you already know where I am headed. I can accept that because at least you are engaged enough to look in the rear view mirror from time to time to see if we are still headed in the same direction.
But from there are times when I hit on a topic where some of you wait right there in the pew thinking about your chores and shopping list and just wait for me to get back. I feel like that you are so disinterested, afraid or complacent that you don’t want to risk spending any spiritual gas to see where the path leads.
-- So we will stick with the word opportunity for now.
Let’s read our scripture for this morning.
Acts 3:1-10
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those 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 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.
In our scripture today, we have two disciples still in Jerusalem, and they are acting in a pretty normal way. They don’t seem frightened to be seen in public. It is the 9th hour, that is three in the afternoon and that means it is time for prayer at the temple.
Peter and John are just headed up to the temple, ... in scripture it is always described as going up to the temple….two reasons…the first is , when you are going to be in the presence of God you always go up.
The second reason is that the temple is the highest place in Jerusalem…
This event happens shortly after Pentecost…when the 120 disciples were filled with the Spirit and preached in the streets… thousands of people came to believe that day and on the days following.
The new believers started attending “Sabbath school” and were taught about Jesus and the Good news message, in the temple.
Even though they were teaching people about Jesus which was very controversial, the disciples do not seem to be afraid of doing this in public. They don’t seem to have any fear of the authorities.
So, we can guess that Peter and John were heading up to their teaching and prayer time at the temple.
There is no telling how many days they have seen this man. A beggar, 40 years old and never had a real job a day in his life, because his legs are obviously weak.
I doubt he looks healthy and he would not be dressed nicely.
Back then, if you could not support yourself, and your family did not support you it was not long before you died.
There was no real treatment for disabling disease or birth defects. It is amazing that this man lived to 40 years old. It in a way is a testimony to his friends and family.
At his age, begging for food and money was the only job he could have. He had to earn his own way.
The Jewish law instructed the people to give to the poor. It was part of the culture to give some of what God gave you for the sake of humanity.
His friends get him to his begging spot right in front of the main entrance to the temple…
I imagine that this man was not the only beggar along the stairs. There are people with illness and defects lining the streets leading t the temple. The closer you get to the entrance the closer together they are the louder the calls for alms of gifts becomes.
It sounds like this man is still being helped by his friends, he is almost to his work station and he is already calling out to people on their way to the temple.
Good righteous people that are obligated to offer assistance.
This man asks Peter and John for money.
He is like one of those telemarketers that call during dinnertime.
They call to offer you an opportunity, a Credit Card, a time share, news paper or any kind of product or service.
-- In a rather simplistic way, this man is offering Peter and John an opportunity to obey the law and to rid themselves of a little guilt.
What is our response when someone offers us an opportunity….Are we suspicious?
Do we look for what is in this proposal is good for us?
Of course we do!
When we are offered an opportunity, there is supposed to be something in it for me. But, it will most likely include a benefit for the person asking as well.
We get the wall Street journal at a discount and … they get a commission for sharing this amazing deal….
In their job, they have to ask, 10, 20, 50 maybe 100 people before someone actually agrees to take the service. That is hard work. I cannot imagine how someone can take that much rejection.
This beggar is offering the people entering the temple a chance to keep a God given instruction to give alms to the poor. He is asking 100’s of people a day just to get enough money for food and shelter.
If he were making big bucks he would not have been working the steps day after day.
He sits there because he has little or no choice of leaving or choosing to do something else.
He just faces the rejection as being a part of his job.
He sits there not really expecting anything doesn’t he?
100’s of no’s and an occasional yes with a few small coins perhaps a couple of dollars from time to time.
We can see beggars in Rome GA, In Atlanta and NY. Any place where busy people pass by.
I have been to Mexico several times on mission trips. I have also walked across the border when on a business trip in Arizona.
I quickly learned that I don’t like border towns. The beggars are everywhere because of the tourist. Most are children that come running up with their hands out. There are lots of people with deformities sitting on the sidewalks calling out.
It does not take long to learn not to look at them because if you make eye contact there is that expectant look and the obvious need. If we actually look at them it gives them some kind of encouragement and the shout louder and follow you down the street as you try to escape.
But we know that we can’t help everyone, which ones are in real need?
The guilt of not responding to everyone or more generously or not at all……………. makes us move faster.
But Peter does something different.
Peter speaks to the man, "Look at us!"
This beggar is awakened out his dulled thoughts and automatic calling of ALMS.
He is expecting to hear a coin, of some value hit the ground or land in his cup. He looks up expectantly.
Peter continues, Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.
-- You know that had to be a downer, to have a small expectation of money and this guy is teasing him.
What is he going to give him, a beating with a stick, or some other abuse, I guess it could be a little better perhaps some bread of fruit.
The man has such a limited expectation that there is no way that he would have expected anything except a cash to be of any real good to him.
He had no expectation that his life could be changed. God made him this way at birth and that was it.
There are plenty of times that we are given opportunities to give to all kinds of needs. - - We give our pocket change to help children through the loving hands of the Shriners.
- We give to relief efforts like Haiti, or other disasters. We help families at Christmas and when some have special needs.
We offer our prayer support for families with all kinds of problems and occasionally we share in their joys. All around us, if we look there are people that provide us church people an opportunity to give.
It is normally not too long before we might almost quote a part of this scripture, , "Silver or gold I do not have.”
And it can easily be true. As far as I know none of us here has unlimited financial resources. All of us are limited on how much we can help. But the opportunities that people all around us seem to be limitless.
-- In the scripture event Peter accepts the opportunity to give something o this man that he needs. He says to the man, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Before the beggar can give any reaction, before he can laugh it off or tell peter to get lost. Peter reaches for his hand and pulls him up. And the scripture says that his legs and ankles were made whole and he started to walk.
The man did not ask for healing. He had no idea that that there was an opportunity to be healed. He was looking for earthly support form good people to have the basics needed for life.
He made himself available not expecting life changing help.
Church family, Think for a moment, have you ever be outside of church and had someone spill out personal information regarding their worries, pain, needs. Not necessarily a beggar on the side of a street but perhaps a stranger that starts talking about problems with their spouse or children or health.
That is what a person that is in a relationship with God and Jesus and the Spirit should recognize as an OPPORTUNITY!
God leads us to notice the opportunities around us. That is one of the ways that God communicates His will for us and for the people with needs. As believers we see stuff. The question is how do we respond to this revelation form God as individuals and as a church as we see people on the road ways leading to and from church?
-- It is easy to say silver or gold I do not have and keep going. Ignoring the opportunity to offer what you do have.
How often do we offer these people what Peter offered. Something life changing, something that can heal the pain, ease the loss and generate hope.
There are a lot of crippled people that are in our lives. Do we offer a non believer criticism and judgment because they don’t believe and their lives are messed up?
Or do we look them in the eye and say that we can listen, or watch the kids, or drive them to town…
What we are talking about is offering Jesus…. The real word of the day that seems to be so scary to Christians and non-Christians alike is Evangelism.
Evangelism is simply offering people a blessing from God because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a willingness to respond to needs, to offer help to people with no restriction of judgment because of their apparent caused for their situation and NO REQUIREMENT for them to respond in a certain way.
That does not sound easy but it is also does not sound impossible. The gifts needed to be an evangelist, an inviter and giver don’t sound that bad when we look at it that way.
-- I think that evangelism has gotten a bad reputation because of the way that we have seen it done.
For some the process is like a game of toss up and smear or kill the man with the ball. What I mean is that some identify a lost person as the man with the ball and tackled by an evangelist and they hold them down until they claim Jesus as Lord and savior.
Or maybe we have been turned off by bathroom evangelism, where people leave little paper tracts in the sink or the towel machine that have a title that starts with “If you died tonight….” Or it may look like a folded 20 dollar bill with a messaged of salvation printed inside. Perhaps, we have been turned off by televangelist that connect the giving of money as a means of salvation and healing.
Maybe we just fear sharing what we have … What if we fail? What if somehow we turn the person off?
-- Notice something in this scripture; Peter and John never invite this man to go to the temple.
This man responds to being healed by jumping around and shouting praises to God.
He leaves his post and for the first time this man enters the temple. A place of worship that he was restricted from entering since the day of his birth. According to the law of mosses he was restricted because he was cursed by God. As a disabled person, he was considered a sinner, and completely unclean. He was ineligible to come to worship and could only listen from outside.
Now suddenly, with no warning, the beggar gets a gift that he never expected. He has been miraculously healed. Not only are his legs strong but he knows how to walk and jump. Something he has never personally done.
His response is that he enters the temple courts, the beggar is praising God. He is shouting his praises so that everyone can hear. Look What God has Done!!!
A natural response to being touched by God is to find a way to worship and offer praise.
So if the results are so powerful and they seem to bless us as much as the person that God touches….why is it that the majority of Christians don’t take advantage of the opportunities which GOD engineers and places in our path.
Clear and obvious opportunities, to speak about God’s love to anyone outside of the church.
What can we do to learn to respond?
First we have to repent and ask God to help us to get over our fears and failures.
We might even need to practice or think about what we will do on the next opportunity.
Maybe we need to be reminded of what it looks like and sounds like when someone is healed of their condition by God.
With that in mind Starting today, I want to call you as a church to take seriously your role as evangelist. I want you to start with something that is not that threatening. In fact I am going to make it easy for you to participate in reaching out to prisoners.
I was made aware of an opportunity to go into a state prison as a part of an evangelism team.
As a member of that team I need a support team that will offer about $250 of silver and gold to help pay the expenses.
I need about 150 people to commit to praying in 30 minute shifts for 72 hours while the sessions is going on.
I need people to home bake a total of about 60 bags with 6 cookies in each.
I need letters written to 30 men that you don’t know and will never personally meet.
This is a safe way to offer your prayers and blessing on behalf of people that are automatically separated from our culture by their actions. They are despised and disposed of and stored in a concrete box.
The common view is that if there is a God that he feels just like the world about them.
That there is no hope for them.
You need to decide that you will respond to the VOICE of God and participate in the work of the kingdom. If not prison ministry then friends and family. Or that you are willing to let God help you respond to any opportunities that cross your path.
Peter and john offered a physical healing that allowed a single man to enter into the temple . The prison ministry seek to restore 30 men by helping them to understand that they can also be forgiven and able to enter into a direct relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Folks what I expect to happen with this opportunity that I have just mentioned is that you will hear what God will do inside of prison walls for convicted broken men. With that encouragement based on God’s success with strangers we might feel free to make the same commitment in prayer and invitation for people closer to home. People that we know and love that are just as lost as convicted felons, murderers, thieves, liars.
It is not your job to change a person it is your job to share what you have received.
All Glory be to God!
