Missing the Best While Looking for the Rest
Sunday, July 25, 2010 AM
By Pastor James May
What did you come to church looking for this morning? You got up this morning, knowing that today would likely be a rainy day because of the remnants of a tropical storm that were coming into the area, yet you pried yourself out of the bed, dressed and made your way here. It’s not always easy to force this old body of flesh to go to the House of the Lord, so there has to be a reason for you to go through all the trouble to get here.
Did you come out of a sense of duty? There are a lot of Christians who force themselves to attend church services because they know it’s the right thing to do. Week after week they come, hoping that maybe this time it will be a little different. Maybe this time it will be worth the effort and I’ll really get something from the Lord.
While we all want God to move upon us, meet our need and pour his blessings upon us, we must never think that this is the only reason we come to the House of God. We come to worship God as a body of Christ! That’s the number one reason for coming. We come in obedience to the scriptures that tell us that we are not to forsake assembling ourselves together as a church. We come to hear the word, to visit with the people of God, but mostly we come to worship God.
Did you come to church this morning out of pure habit? Even though I think that there aren’t many people anymore who would keep coming just out of habit, it still happens to a few. They have just gone to church on Sunday morning for so long that they just get up and come without even thinking much about it. They are as faithful in attendance as anyone can be, and yet they come, sit, listen and then walk away, and there never seems to be any long term effect upon their lives. Coming to church is a habit, just like getting up the same time every morning without even using an alarm clock. I thank God because you at least have a good habit, and I pray that one day you will come because it’s more than just a habit.
Did you come to church this morning looking for something from God; hoping and praying that the Holy Ghost would move and that He would manifest his presence in a powerful way? That’s a great reason to come to church! I believe that when we come to church we will get what we are expecting; and we will get out of it, what we put into it.
If all we do is go through the motions, that’s all we will get out of it. But if we truly put our heart and soul into worshipping the Lord and we have a true hunger for the Word of the Lord; and we come expecting God to move – then I believe that we will get just what we came for, and we will leave this place changed by the power of the God, taking the anointing of the Holy Ghost with us.
There are people who will come to church looking for many things. Some look for friendship; some for peace; some for healing; some for whatever food or drink is offered; some for a handout; and then there are those that truly come looking for Jesus to make him a part of their lives.
In the Book of Acts, chapter three we have the story of one man who fit a lot of these points that I’ve been talking about.
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
Peter and John were disciples of Christ, and being disciples they had chosen to live in a manner that was different from anyone else. Their whole life was dedicated to following Jesus and becoming as much like the Lord as they could. Just like you and I, they had their daily struggles as they tried to become more like Christ.
Nobody ever said that being a disciple of Jesus was easy. After all, think about what you are trying to do. As a Christian, you have chosen to align your thoughts, actions and beliefs with that of Almighty God. Once you made that choice you set your face towards Heaven and you began to walk with the Lord. In effect, you are trying to become just like God, perfect in all you ways, while you are fighting the flesh, trying to overcome the world of temptation around you, and doing your best to use the spiritual weapons that God has given you to defeat the most powerful angel that ever existed, Satan, who became the evil god of this world. Is it any wonder then that you have such a battle? In fact, except for the power of God working in you, you wouldn’t stand a chance! Thank God that he is greater in us than Satan is in the world and that the Holy Ghost helps us to be over comers in this life.
Peter and John had developed a habit; a good habit of going to the temple to worship God on a regular basis. The time had come and they were going back to church again. It was time for the worship late in the day, the ninth hour, which is sometime between 3 PM and the going down of the sun. This was the hour of prayer in the temple and all good Jews would stop for a moment and pray at the same time.
Wouldn’t it be something great if Christianity in America would become dedicated to God enough to call an hour of prayer every day? Think about it. Muslims get down on their face before God three times a day and face toward Mecca so that Mohammed may hear their prayer. Buddhists walk around in a continual state of prayer and stop during the day at a certain time to pray to Buddha. Many false religions around the world stop at specific times of the day to perform their ritual of prayer to their idol gods. But Christians, who are serving the only living God, will go days on end without praying to their God. I think we need more than a National Day of Prayer. I think we need a daily hour of prayer established, where at some point, during that hour, we bow our heads or look toward the God of Heaven and pray a real prayer, not something we quote over and over like a mantra, but a real prayer. Can you imagine the difference it would make in the church and in our nation!
Why not start it with us? Why don’t we establish a daily hour of prayer? Starting today, between the hours of 11 AM and 1 PM, why don’t we just pause for a moment, with whatever we are doing, and say a prayer to our God. That would be fulfilling the requirements of 2 Chronicles 7:14 and we might just trigger the change that would transform our nation and begin turning us back to God.
2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
Peter and John were going up to the temple to worship the Lord and to spend their daily time in prayer. As they walked along, getting their minds on God, and bringing their thoughts and actions under control to approach God in the right way, they approached the gate of the Temple and the Holy Ghost stopped them in their tracks. God was ready to use them in ministry before they ever got to the temple.
That’s something that we must all realize. Ministry reaches far beyond the walls of the church. While ministry is wonderful in the church, there is much more to be done outside of the church. God can and will use you anywhere and at anytime. We must be always prepared and ready to witness for Jesus. Always be prayed up, anointed and open to hearing the voice of the Lord and following the leading of the Holy Ghost. Peter and John were about to be used in a mighty way before they ever got to church!
Acts 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Here was a man who was brought to the gate of the temple every day out of habit and out of necessity for his very life. Like so man in the world today, he was a lame man, lame from birth. Can we not see that the whole world is born lame and lying at the gate? There are some who come to church looking for a handout, seeking for what the church can give to them to help them through this life, but they miss the big picture all together.
This man’s need was so great that he couldn’t do much for himself. Thank God for good friends. They are hard to find and we all need them. This man had friends who cared enough about him to go pick him up and carry him to the gate of the temple every day. Were it not for his friends, he would have not lived for long. Every day, for years, he was laid at the gate of the temple seeking for help. Many people would pass him by, and a few would toss him a coin in a cup or give him something to help him on his way. For all of their gifts he was thankful, but the one thing he needed, no man could give, for no man had that power. He needed healing and deliverance. It was good to keep supplying his need; but what was better was to give him the ability to get up and supply his own need without having to beg.
Let us not forget what David said in Psalms 37:25, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." I don’t believe it’s scriptural for God’s people to stand on the street corner and beg. It’s not that we don’t need things, but I believe that God will give us the power to get what we need and that he will help us to get it.
I see church groups standing on the corners of our highways with a cup in their hand, begging for money. I don’t believe that’s right and I don’t like giving to them when they do that because they are not acting in accordance with God’s Word. Our church needs a lot of things but I believe that God can help us meet those needs without begging on a street corner. We will have to work, cook something to sell, do some kind of fundraiser when we need to, and we are scheduling another one right now for October, and maybe one in September. We will do whatever it may take, but we are not going to beg for anything. If God is in it, he will supply the need. If God’s not in it, then we don’t need it. I still believe in working for what you get. The biggest problem with our country today is that everybody expects to get everything for nothing.
When will we learn that there is no such thing as a “Free Lunch”? Everything costs something. You might think that government giveaway programs are free, but taxes are continually rising to pay for them, and along with that “free lunch” comes government control that takes away your freedom. We can’t have it both ways.
The lame man laid at the gate of the temple that was called “Beautiful”, or “The Beautiful Gate”. The gates of Jerusalem often had multiple names in use at the same time and have been called by different names by different generations. At this time it was called Beautiful for a reason.
According to most Jewish historians, when the Jews returned from captivity, as we are studying right on Wednesday nights in Nehemiah, the king of Persia commanded that they should make a figure of the palace of Shushan upon one of the gates of the temple so that they might fear the king, and not rebel against him. The Jews complied with his order and created this image on the outside of the Eastern Gate of the temple. According to Josephus, "nine of the gates were covered all over with gold and silver, likewise the side posts and lintels; but there was one, without the temple, of Corinthian brass, which in dignity greatly exceeded the silver and golden ones.''
This gate was more beautiful than even those of silver and gold plating because the Corinthian brass was polished to a high glossy sheen and reflected not only the light of the sun, but acted as polished mirror to every one who entered there. It must have been a beautiful sight to behold. This gate had the highest volume of traffic going in and out of the temple and that’s why the lame man was brought to this specific gate every day.
Acts 3:3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
When he saw Peter and John, there was something about them that drew his attention. Something within him said, “these men have something special to give to you, ask for it.”
That’s the way that many beggars are in our world today. They see churches, ministers and Christians as sources of gifts and help. It is fitting that they should do this, after all we do have something to give to them that no other people on earth can give. The problem is that most people can only see as far as their physical needs. They seek help expecting money, food, clothing or shelter. They come looking for the wrong thing! The church helps all it can in those areas, but that’s not why the church exists. The church exists to give them something far greater than their physical need!
Acts 3:4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
We want the world to see us! We want them to look upon us, not so that they might see us, but that they might see Jesus in us! We preach the Word hoping that some will hear. We tell everyone we know about the church, hoping that some will come. We cry out “Look on us” every time we do anything for people in the world.
Acts 3:5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
People in the world will listen because they want something. They just don’t know what they really want. I believe that this is where the church is failing the most. We give people what they expect instead of what they need. We feed them, clothe them, give them every program that will help them enjoy life and have better relationships. We provide fun, games, amusements, friendship and everything else. But how often do we do all those things and then fail to tell them about Jesus and their need of a Savior?
Not long ago, a few of our Pentecostal Church of God churches revealed that this is exactly what they were into. They were going into strip clubs after midnight with free food and drinks to give to the strippers and the people in the bars. They were meeting their need physically, showing them friendship, providing a service that I’m sure the strippers appreciated. But they also made it a point to say, “We don’t tell them about Jesus or preach repentance to them. We just hope they will see Jesus in us and want to be saved later on.” How are they going to see Jesus in you if you don’t tell them about Jesus when you hand them the food? All the strippers and drunks see is a bunch of crazy straight people who are handing out stuff in the bar rooms. They don’t care if your Christian or not as long as they get what they need for right now.
This is the time that we need to see what Peter and John really had to give!
Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
There’s the message I have for anyone who comes to Victory Temple, or any member of this church, begging for a handout! We are rich in this world’s goods! We don’t have a treasury full of money, a pantry full of free food, or a thrift store for free clothes! We don’t have much of this world’s goods to give away! But what we do have is something that money can’t buy; something that’s worth more than the gold in the whole world; something that will satisfy the hunger down deep inside greater than all the food we could give you – WE HAVE JESUS! WE HAVE THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL! WE HAVE THE ANOINTING, HEALING, DELIVERING POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST! WE CAN GIVE YOU THAT!
We can give that water where you will never thirst again!
We can give you salvation, so that you can live and never die.
We can give you Jesus who says that you will never have to beg again.
We can give you the chance for a better life; more life, joy, peace, happiness, provision and blessing than anything, or anyone in this world could ever offer!
Do you want him? Do you want eternal life? Do you want God’s blessings? Do you want the best life that you could ever hope for? Do you want deliverance from drugs, from alcohol, from everything in you life that has been your downfall? Do you want freedom from guilt, shame and sin? Then we can give you Jesus!
Acts 3:7-8, And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
The lame man got far more than what he was expecting to get from Peter and John. He didn’t get gold, silver, food or clothing. He got healed, delivered and set free! He was given the power and ability to fend for himself and not be dependent upon other people anymore. He found out that his sufficiency is in God; not in man! The gifts the lame man received were greater than any amount of money could buy!
Acts 3:9-10 And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
Do you want people to see the difference in you? When you walk out of those doors today, you can walk out with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. You won’t have to walk out with a downtrodden look on your face as though your world has come to an end. You won’t have to walk out feeling lost, abandoned and without hope! You don’t have to walk out feeling let down, discouraged and filled with fear of what tomorrow may bring!
You can walk out those doors with Jesus in your heart, a new hope for a brand new start, and with the load of guilt and shame gone forever!
Why did you come to church this morning? What did you expect to receive? Will you continue to look for what you want that will never satisfy? Or will you accept what has been offered and have your needs met in ways that you never thought possible? Will you continue looking to man, and to the world for your needs, or will you let Jesus be your Provider? You can receive so much more than what you came for if you want Him!
