God Elevates

God has a plan for you.  I've said that about a million times.  It probably seems like a cliche, but I want you to know that God does indeed have a plan for you.  Those aren't idle words.  “This isn't just preacher talk.”  This is a truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I want you to know that God has a plan for you.  It’s something that ELEVATES you.  It’s something that will lift you up.  It’s something that will bring you into His kingdom.  I've seen this happen over and over.  It’s one of the powerful things about attending CFM conferences, that you see men who were at one time, drug addicts, thieves, and liars, lifted up into a usefulness for God:  Elevated into someone that can be used by God.  He takes common men and makes them men of God.

So, today I want to post a post that I have entitled, “God Elevates.”

1 Kings 19:15-16 (NKJV)
^19:15 Then the Lord said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. ¹⁶ Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.

The Call

God elevates, not just the off-scouring of the earth, but He takes simple, common men, men like you and I and elevates them into men of God.  God took a simple shepherd and made him a deliverer.  He took another shepherd and made him the king of Israel, and he took Elisha, a farmer and made him a man of God.

That’s what I want to look at in this post – the process.  How man becomes not just a man, but a man of God.  This isn't about men becoming preachers; it’s not about men being launched out – It’s about becoming a man of God.

The process of becoming a man of God without fail comes from a calling.  It’s a calling, it’s not a profession.  It’s a calling, it’s something that God does in you.  It’s not something that happens in a classroom.  It’s not something that happens as you respond to an advertisement – It’s a calling.

1 Kings 19:19-21 (NKJV)
^19:19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. ²⁰ And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, "Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?" ²¹ So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen's equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

This is the calling on Elisha’s life.  Elijah walks past him and throws a mantle over him.  That mantle is like a cloak.  It’s like a covering that the prophet wore.  It was the symbol of the calling to be a prophet.  He’s saying, in a sense, “Here it is, this is what God has called you to; you’re called to be a prophet.” 

Elisha recognizes this as a calling.  He knows what’s meant by the mantle being laid upon him.    He knows what’s happening here, and so he says to Elijah, “let me go and say goodbye to my family.”    Elijah says, “What’s it to me what you do.  I haven’t called you to this, God has.  This isn't coming from me this is the call of God.  What are you going to do about HIS call?”

We have a tendency to stay with what’s comfortable; to stay with what’s familiar.  We want to stay in the culture in which we’re living.  For example, people will say to me, “The culture of Taiwan is familiar.  I can’t violate the culture of Taiwan.  This is how I was raised.  There are certain things I’m uncomfortable about as a Christian.  There are things that go against what I've been taught.”  It’s another way of saying, “Let me go and kiss my parents,” but Elijah says, “Are you going to let your parents  keep you from the calling of God.  Are you going to put filial piety before God’s will for you?  This is the calling of God!”

So what does Elisha do?  He turns around and destroys the things of his old life.  He offers them to God as a sacrifice.  He’s a farmer, but he says, “I’m not going to need these things anymore.  God has called me to a different place.  I need to respond to God’s calling.”  There’s always a sacrifice in the response.  We can’t continue in the things of the world when we respond to the call of God.  There’s a change that’s going to take place.

I met a young man a number of years ago.  I was witnessing to him, telling him about Jesus and he told me, “I don’t believe in God.”  I pressed him and he eventually said to me, “You know to tell you the truth, I can’t become a Christian, because there are some things I want to do that I know I ‘d have to give up.”  He knew that it was a calling of God.  He knew he couldn't answer God’s call and remain the same.  Elisha knew that if he followed the prophet he’d never be the same, so he gave up the vestiges of his old life. 

In 1520, when Cortez the explorer, landed in Mexico, his men came ashore and Cortez burned up the boats.  There was no way back.  His men HAD to be committed to what they had embarked on.  They had to follow Cortez. 

This is what Elisha was doing.  He burned his farming tools and boiled his oxen.  There was no way he could go back to being a farmer.  He was now committed to what he was doing; he had to follow God.  Then, “he arose and followed Elijah and became his servant.”

God’s Method of Elevation – Discipleship

It’s important that it says here, “he became Elijah’s servant.”  It wasn't that he was taking the prophet’s clothes to the laundry or washing his car.  I’m not talking about servant-hood in that case.  What Elisha did was serve in Elijah’s ministry.  He grabbed hold of Elijah’s vision.  He learned to do things the way Elijah did them.  He wasn't out there with his own plan and his own methods; he was doing what Elijah did. 

He followed Elijah.  He went where the prophet went.  He was trying to glean as much from the prophet as he could.  It was like Jesus’ disciples, who followed Him around.  They weren't off doing their own thing.  They were with Him.  They were doing what He did.  They were listening to His words and following His teachings.  They were on board. 

Elisha was doing the same thing.  He was going where Elijah went.  He was doing what Elijah did.  He was actively taking part in ELIJAH’S ministry. 

People come to me all time, “This is what you should be doing.”  Or, “This is where I think you’re making a mistake.”  Or, even, “This is what they did in my old church.”  I appreciate your input, but this is where I’m going.  I’m following God AND my pastor, who’s following HIS pastor, who’s following HIS pastor.

2 Kings 2:5 (NKJV)
^2:5 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?" So he answered, "Yes, I know; keep silent!"

They weren't just being informative, here.  They weren't thinking, "Elisha may not know, we need to tell him."  They were trying to talk him out of following Elijah.  They were saying, “Why are you following him, God’s going to take him away.”  The sons of the prophets were trying to send Elisha in a different direction.  They were going to Elisha and saying something different than Elijah, and the result could have been confusion and division, but Elisha said, “I’m following Elijah.”  Because God had spoken to him.

2 Kings 2:6 (NKJV)
^2:6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So the two of them went on.

His prayer was give me a double portion of what that man has.  “I want what Elijah has but I want twice as much.  I want to do what Elijah’s doing but more so.”

2 Kings 2:9 (NKJV)
^2:9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."

It was God speaking to Elisha, but from where was God speaking?  He was speaking from the mouth of Elijah.  Elisha was listening to Elijah not the other voices; not the conventional wisdom – He was listening to Elijah and hearing from God.  This is what discipleship is.  It’s not being “blown around by every wind of doctrine.”  It’s not listening to all the “Christian” voices and opinions.  It’s not following the sons of the prophets, for Elisha it was following God and Elijah.  So look at what happens:

2 Kings 2:7-8 (NKJV)
^2:7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸ Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

Elijah takes his mantle and uses it to open the waters and they cross the Jordan.  A chariot of fire descends and Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind, and Elisha witnesses the whole thing.  Then he picks up the mantle, only now it’s his mantle – The transference is completed.  He walks back to the Jordan and look at what he does:

2 Kings 2:13-14 (NKJV)
^2:13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.

He did the same thing his pastor did and with the same result.  Now he’s the prophet of God.  God ELEVATED him.  He learned what to do by watching and imitating his pastor.  He didn't get together with the sons of the prophets and ask, “What do you think I should do?”  He didn't ask, “How do you think I should go forward.  What do they do in the Sons of the Prophet church.”   He did what his pastor did and it worked.

I think if I hear one more time about how because of Taiwanese culture this can’t work or that can’t work, or you can only say that in Taipei…I’m going to scream.  I’m not preaching American Christianity and I’m tired of hearing about Taiwanese Christianity.  There is no American or Taiwanese Christianity; there is only Christianity.  It’s not American culture or Taiwanese culture that I’m preaching it’s Christian culture. 

Recently, our fellowship added two more churches in Africa.  There must be close to two hundred fellowship churches in Africa now.  It was all started by non-African pastors and they have exploded:  Because it’s not about culture – it’s about Jesus, and what He said and did.

People always tell me Taiwanese people won’t go to church on Sunday evening, well Christian people do – All over the world.  In every culture that our fellowship is in, people go to church on Sunday evening – It’s Christian culture.

God Elevates

Elisha received the double portion he asked for.  He did exactly twice the miracles that Elijah did.  God elevated him from a simple farmer to a man of God.  How did He do it?  He did it through discipleship.  Elisha fastened himself to the man of God.  He said, “I’m going to follow what he’s teaching, because what he’s teaching is from God."  God elevates through discipleship.

After this episode you never really hear about the sons of the prophets again.  Do you know why?  They never really did anything after this, but lose some guy’s ax head, that Elisha had to find for them.  That’s it.  They didn't do anything else.  But Elisha, we can read about what he did and all that happened in his ministry.  The Bible goes on and on. 

I don’t listen to the sons of the prophets in Taiwan.  If I listened to the things they’re saying:

I have no idea what I’m doing.  I have no understanding of Taiwanese culture.  I’m running off all the converts, because I preach too hard.  I don’t conform to the local churches' actions.  What I’m preaching isn't God, it’s American culture. 

If I listened to all that, I’d go home immediately feeling like a huge failure. 

I’m following a pattern.  A pattern that’s resulted in more than three thousand churches all over the world.  If it can work in all of the rest of the world, it can work in Taiwan, or wherever you are; in spite of the local culture.  So, I’m going across the Jordan – Are you going to stay here with the sons of the prophets or are you coming with me?

Spiritual Leadership 101: For Men

I want to start today’s post with a few quotes on leadership:

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something that you want done because he wants to do it.—Dwight D. Eisenhower

I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.-Ralph Nader

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. - Thomas Jefferson 

You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership. - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Some of what I write here today may get me in a little trouble.  I’m sure there are those who won’t like some of the things I touch on in this post, but Richard Nixon once said, “If an individual wants to be a leader and isn't controversial, He never stood for anything.”  So this post will be on the topic of Spiritual Leadership:

Joshua 24:15 (NKJV)
^24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Leadership Begins in the Home

This is Joshua, he’s declaring to all of Israel that his entire household will serve God.  He’s not saying as for me, I will serve the Lord.  He’s making the decision for his family. 

This takes place after the Promised Land has been conquered.  The Bible says they have been given rest from their enemies all around.   This is a time of peace, a time when they can take stock of the way they’re living their lives.

Joshua is like a true leader trying to move them into the Will of God here.  He’s trying to bring them all into the same understanding about God’s desire for Israel.  To do that he declares, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” 

There can really only be one leader.  It never works when there is more than one leader.  A committee can never get anything done quickly.  Even on the Board of Directors there is the chairman.  There can only be one leader, especially when it comes to spiritual leaders.  There can only be one leader.

In my house my wife and I are a united front when it comes to raising our children.  We work together, we discuss things, and we take the same stand.  If we disagree we discuss it in private away from the children, but there is only one leader in my house. Especially when it comes to spiritual matters.  Men, we are called to be spiritual leaders in our homes.  Someone once said, “Leadership is not making all the decisions; it’s seeing to it that the right person making the right decisions.”[i]

Look at this scripture:

Ephesians 5:22-25 (NKJV)
^5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

Wives submit to your husbands, but first we must be submitted to Christ.  Jesus is the head of the church.  Our submission to each other comes out of our submission to Him.  We think of Jesus as our savior, and He is, but He’s more than just a savior.  He is also Lord; that means He is to be obeyed.  He commands us.  We are first submitted to the Lord, and secondly to each other.  Husbands love your wives; give yourself for her.  Wives submit to your husbands.  The Bible tells us why it is to be this way.

1 Timothy 2:12-14 (NKJV)
^2:12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. ¹³ For Adam was formed first, then Eve. ¹⁴ And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.

God brought Eve to Adam, He said, “It is not good that man should be alone.  I will make a helper for him.”  A helper is not the leader.  That doesn't mean that men can give orders and demand responses.  It says, “Husbands love your wives.”  Love is not dictatorship.  This is what Love is:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJV)
^13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

That’s the Biblical description of love.  This is how we love our wives.  So, men we’re leaders in a Christian home and as leaders WE will be held accountable for the spiritual direction of our homes.  We will be accountable for our children’s grounding in the word of God.

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
^22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

We will be accountable, and if we’re accountable then we need to be sure that our kids are where they can be grounded in the word of God and that’s in church. My children have been in church since they were born.  They were born on a Wednesday night and were in church the following Sunday.  They aren’t allowed excuses from church.  Church attendance is not negotiable in our house, because I know they won’t be sitting around reading their Bibles if left to themselves.

The idea is to impress upon them that church isn’t a social function; church is about worshipping God – Our LORD.  We will be accountable for our families’ spiritual well being; we are called to lead them into the will of God.  Our families are our greatest ministries.  It’s up to us to LEAD them in the right direction, to teach them to put God before anything else.

It’s easy for us to get caught up in al, the things we have to do.  Life is busy.  There are many, many things to do all the time.  It is also easy to listen to our friends and family members who aren’t saved and all their advice.  “You’re trying to do too much.  You’re kids need their sleep.  You’ll make yourself sick.  You’re spending too much time at that church.” 

When I was working and pastoring at the same time, my co-workers were always telling me that I was burning the candle at both ends.  “You’re out late every night and at work early every morning.  You’re going to burn yourself out.  You’re going to die.”  Guess what, I did that for eight years as a pastor and nine years before that as a disciple and I’m still here. 

Joshua, in making this declaration is saying he doesn’t care what other people think, he’s going to do what he thinks is right.  Joshua will lead his family.  He’s the spiritual leader in HIS house.

One last thing I’ll say to young unmarried people.  Young man if you’re in a courting relationship, you need to be willing to lead there, too.  You need to hold yourself to God’s standards in a love relationship.  You must stand for purity before marriage.  Don’t pressure her to sleep with you and don’t allow yourself to be seduced.  The Bible tells us to flee sexual immorality.  In sin, the blessing of God is removed from your relationship.  Give your marriage the best opportunity to succeed by saving the blessing of sex for after the marriage, as God intended.

It is absurd that a man rule others, who cannot rule himself. – Latin proverb.

Spiritual leadership in Ministry

This is another side of spiritual leadership:

1 Timothy 3:8-13 (NKJV)
^3:8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, ⁹ holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. ¹⁰ But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. ¹¹ Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. ¹³ For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

These are the qualifications for ministry in the church. Let’s break down what this says:

Reverent means to honor God – Do you fear God?

Not double-tongued; practice what you preach. – Say what you mean and mean what you say.

No drinking; not greedy.

Let them be tested.  I don’t just turn over ministry to anyone who hasn’t proven how he lives.  There is a waiting period for ministry in our church.  This is the time of testing.  “Let them be tested.”  We want to see how you live,.

1 Timothy 3:12 (NKJV)
^3:12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

This is statement that goes back to the last point, we must be leaders in our own home.  We need to rule our children well.  They need to be obedient.  We need to teach them to obey.

I’ve seen children in church that are a huge distraction:  Running up and down the aisles, screaming and throwing things.  I’ve even seen kids standing during worship service reading comic books.  We’re not teaching them reverence.

If they’re in song service they need to be a part of the worship.  If you allow them to do other things, you’re not teaching them to worship God.  You’re not teaching them to give God priority in their lives.  They will grow up and downplay the need to worship and the priority of worship and may even retreat from serving God altogether; and if they do, woe to you.

Luke 17:2 (NKJV)
^17:2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

The Greek word in this scripture that is translated as offend means to cause to stumble: To cause to fall into sin.  We’re not teaching them reverence.  Some parents even want to leave their children with relatives because they’re disruptive, but that doesn’t teach them to reverent.  We have to teach our children self-control.

My father died when my children were two years old. (They’re twins.) My children were present at my father’s funeral.  After the service when we were greeting people, people marveled because they didn’t realize that the kids were there.  They sat quietly throughout the one and half hour service.  They were used to being in church.  They were used to sitting quietly, because they knew what would happen if they were disruptive in church.  They learned that…we taught them that.  We enforced right behavior, and this is the key – we were consistent.

This will make me real popular:  I see the wives in my congregation.  They’re exhausted and they’re frustrated because the kids are too much for them.  Sometimes I have asked the men, “Do you stand up for your wives when the kid’s misbehave, or do you make them the bad guy all the time? ‘Woman, teach your children. Can’t you teach your kids, right?’”  It’s not husband and parent; it’s parents.  You are just as responsible for your children’s teaching as she is.  Give your wives a break.  It’s not babysitting when they’re your own children…it’s parenting.  The Bible doesn’t say, “Let Deacons be the wives of one husband ruling her house well.”  According to the Bible MEN are accountable for their children’s behavior.

My kids weren’t perfect little angels, in fact, they still aren’t.  We were rebuked for things our children did and so we’d have to deal with it.  It only took a few discipline sessions, then they’d behave, but sometimes after a while they’d backslide.  So we would have to be consistent and do it again.  Children will always test limits.  So, you constantly have to enforce the limits.

Joshua’s Declaration

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  This is Joshua showing us the will of God.  This is Joshua showing men how to live.  You know, it’s funny:  Men always want to be in charge.  We always want to be the ones who do the thinking and get others to do the work…except when it comes to leading at home.  At home we want to go off and do work and let our wives deal with all the issues and enforce all the rules. 

Leadership is example.  I want my kids in church so I go to church EVERY TIME.  I want my children to learn to give so I give my tithes and offerings.  I want my family to know how important it is to be a part of God’s will so I’m involved in what our church is doing. 

The question is, “Do you think it’s important that your family serve God?  Are you concerned about their eternal souls?  Do you believe what we’re preaching and teaching?  If you do how can you not want them to grasp it?  God has a plan for you and your wife and your kids, and you are accountable to God for whether or not they live up to that plan.  You can stand there in joy when he asks about your children.  Or you can stand there and mourn, because you missed your opportunity to lead them into God’s plan. 

They will have to answer to God for their choices, but you will answer for whether or not the choices they made were informed choices. 

AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE…WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!

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[i] Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations

The Gate Beautiful

The Bible is an amazing document. We can read through the words written so many centuries ago and gain an understanding about life in 21st century. You can get revelation about what God has for your life, even though you’re not specifically mentioned.

I am convinced that those who make the argument that, “the Bible was written by men, and so it can’t be the inspired word,” of God have never read it. How can this be true when it has so many connections and references to the Messiah: When it has all the foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, written hundreds of years before His birth; all of the rituals that are chronicled that speak of the death and resurrection

In this post I want to examine one porton of scripture for how it speaks to us in the twenty-first century, more than two thousand years after it happened.

Act 3:1-13
And on the same day Peter and John went up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. (2) And a certain man, who was lame from his mother's womb, was being carried. And they laid him daily at that temple gate which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered into the temple. (3) Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. (4) And fastening his eyes on him, Peter with John said, Look on us! (5) And he paid heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. (6) But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! (7) And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up. And immediately his feet and ankle-bones received strength. (8) And leaping up, he stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. (9) And all the people saw him walking and praising God. (10) And they recognized him, that it was him who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (11) And as the lame one who was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. (12) And seeing this, Peter answered the people, Men, Israelites, why do you marvel at this? Or why do you stare at us, as though we had made this man to walk by our own power or holiness? (13) The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His son Jesus, whom you delivered up, denying Him in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to let Him go.

The Apostles’ Ties to Their Roots

The first thing that I’d like to examine is that these men were tied to their roots. In the text we find them on their way to prayer. Peter and John are no longer Jews in the sense of religion. They are now believers in Jesus as Messiah, the savoir sent by God. So now they’re Christians. They have accepted the Messiah. The law no longer binds them, because they have been justified by their faith in Him. But yet they are still involved in prayer at the temple. Don’t forget that the beginnings of the New Testament church was Jewish. They’re still meeting daily at the temple courts.

Act 2:46-47
And continuing with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they shared food with gladness and simplicity of heart, (47) praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

They wouldn’t cast off their Jewish identity because they accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Christianity isn’t the end of the Judaism it’s the fulfillment of their faith. For centuries, prophets predicted Jesus as the Messiah that was sent to deliver them.

Isaiah 9:6-7
For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (7) There is no end of the increase of His government and peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on, even forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this.

The problem is that they missed Him, they didn’t recognize Jesus as the one who was predicted. They were looking for another type of Messiah; a political one.

But Peter and John recognized this in their lifetimes. They knew that Jesus was the Messiah who had come for us. They knew that He was God among men. They knew that they had seen the fulfillment of the prophecies and rituals come to life before them. Can you imagine how exciting it must have been for them to realize that the Messiah they had waited for, for so long had been revealed? All of their lives they had been taught to expect Him; all of their lives they had heard the words of the prophets and now they were actually seeing them come to life, right before their eyes. It must have been a terribly exciting time to be alive for a believing Jew.

One time Brenda and I had an opportunity to go to Tombstone Arizona. This is a very famous part of the American history of the old west. This is the place where the legendary lawman Wyatt Earp, had his most famous gunfight with the Clanton Brothers at the OK Corral. I was standing in the very place where Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp, and Doc Holliday faced down the Clantons in that famous fight. I was excited. I had seen the movies, I had read about it, I was standing in the place where it had happened. But it was just history. No change had taken place in my life as a result of that gin battle. I can’t imagine how I would feel if I ever stood at the garden tomb, or on the hill Golgotha, or in the garden of Gethsemane.

That’s what it must have been like for them as they met God face to face: the One who had been prophesied; the One who had been foretold. Can you imagine how the preaching in the temple came alive after as saw some of those prophecies fulfilled?

Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your King comes to you. He is righteous and victorious, meek and riding on an ass, even on a colt, the son of an ass.

Matthew 21:1-9
And when they drew near Jerusalem, and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, (2) saying to them, Go into the village across from you. And immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. (3) And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, and immediately He will send them. (4) All this was done so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, (5) "Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King comes to you, meek, and sitting on an ass, even a colt the foal of an ass." (6) And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. (7) And they brought the ass, even the colt, and put their clothes on them, and He sat on them. (8) And a very great crowd spread their garments in the way. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them in the way. (9) And the crowds who went before, and those who followed, cried out, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

Church must have really come alive for them. Their future was tied to their heritage. Our future is tied to our heritage. Have you ever heard the saying, “Learn from history or you’ll be doomed to repeat it?” We can learn from our heritage to enhance our future. Look at this scripture:

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope

The word translated as future comes from the Hebrew word achar which is the same root for the word that means behind. In Hebrew the thought is that your future is something that is coming behind or following after.

You can get a word picture if you think of a man rowing a boat. He is facing where he has been and where he is going is at his back. He is looking backwards and moving forwards. If you look at it in that sense, where we have been is important to where we are going.

Of course many of us think, I've had a horrible past. I have lived my life in opposition to God. But if our past is linked to our future then we can’t be all that God calls us to be, without that influence from the past. God may want to use something in your past to minister to someone in your future. Your heritage plays an important part in who you are today. I can minister effectively to someone who is heading down the same path I went.

I once shared a testimony on a university campus. I shared with those students that I was once a university student. Like any university student I experimented with alcohol and drugs but I always thought it was all harmless fun, I wouldn’t get addicted. Ten years later I was a broken and hopeless alcoholic, on the very verge of suicide. I told them that some of them, even though they didn’t see it at the time, were on the same path I was on, because the university party scene was where I started drinking heavily. I was able to use my past to answer God’s call on my life.

Their Understanding of Their Calling

Secondly, I want to examine what they were doing at this moment and what that says about their calling as Christians. We can look at their example, here, and understand what was important to Jesus. These men are his disciples. A disciple is someone who has attached himself to a teacher. They are seeking to learn, but discipleship implies even more than that: Disciples are looking for an impartation from their teacher. Impartation literally means to bestow something. In other words they are looking for something to be laid into their lives; not just to be taught but that something be transferred to them so that they become like their teacher.

Next to our church in Riverside was a Kung Fu school, and often I would talk to the young men who frequented the place. I was struck with the words they spoke about the teacher. I would ask a question and they would answer with, “My master says…” or “Our master teaches…” One day, I asked one of the most faithful of them, “You want to be like your teacher, don’t you?” His response was, “Oh yeah!” This young man was a disciple, he was looking for more than knowledge, he was looking for impartation.

Jesus has imparted something into these men, Peter and John, about the importance of their ministry. Look at verses three through six of our text:

Acts 3:3-6
Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. (4) And fastening his eyes on him, Peter with John said, Look on us! (5) And he paid heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. (6) But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!

Their ministry is about people, not about being in church, although we notice they are on their way to the temple. The word ministry literally means to serve; a minister is a servant.

Once our church choir was invited to a choir competition with a number of other churches in our city. The sponsoring church made a big fuss over the pastors who attended. They had set up a section right in the front where they sat the pastors. It was like first-class on an airplane and they provided comforts that they didn’t provide to everyone. I learned something from my pastor’s reaction, he was so uncomfortable that after a few minutes, he got up and went and sat with the other people in our church. His priority was about ministering to the needs of people. It wasn’t about his ego, in fact, it wasn’t about him at all. That’s how Jesus was too. He focused on the needs of the people. He put Himself at risk to minister to the blind, the lame and the deaf.

Luke 6:6-11
And it happened, also on another sabbath, that He entered into the synagogue and taught. And there was a man whose right hand was withered. (7) And the scribes and Pharisees watched him to see if He would heal on the sabbath day, so that they might find an accusation against Him. (8) But He knew their thoughts and said to the man who had the withered hand, Rise up and stand in the middle. And he arose and stood. (9) Then Jesus said to them, I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil, to save life, or to destroy it? (10) And looking around on them all, He said to the man, Stretch out your hand! And he did so. And his hand was restored whole like the other. (11) And they were filled with madness, and talked with one another as to what they might do to Jesus.

Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi, He understood the law. He knew the Pharisees would see it as a violation to heal this man on the Sabbath. But His regard was for the man who suffered. This beggar stopped Peter and John, as they hurried into the temple, and they focused all their attention on him.

There was a liquor store very near the church in Riverside, and homeless men would stand near the liquor store or the church and beg. Everyday when we went into the church we would have to pass them to get into the church and there was an interesting thing that happened. People would bring them food, they would give them money, and they came and ate with them. Some people said they wanted to experience what the homeless men experience, everyday. These things were nice. They ministered to these homeless men on one level, but they never offered them what they needed most: The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Peter and John have surely seen this beggar before. The Bible says he was brought to the temple everyday. But on this day when the beggar speaks to them he can’t even look at them because he’s ashamed. They tell him, “Look at us.” The beggar feels worthless, Peter doesn’t give him money, he reaches into his life and lifts him up. He gives him a whole new lease on life.  The people who fed and comforted the homeless men in Riverside, gave them food and comfort that would help them in that day, but never the new lease on life that only Jesus can give.

Peter and John understood what it is to be a minister of the Gospel. They understood that it was about serving people, not with the material things (although there is a place for that) but serving them with the thing can meet all of their needs.

Our church isn’t involved with all the “Christian” causes. We aren’t boycotting products, we aren’t protesting in front of abortion centers. We aren’t doing any of those things. Why? We are here to preach Salvation through Jesus Christ, if the people we deal with come to a place of salvation and deliverance, then all those other things will take care of themselves. I’m not saying those things are bad, or that people shouldn’t do them, but the focus of ministry is conversion. Conversion will change behavior in a way that these other things can’t. Look at the reaction of this beggar as Peter reached down and pulled him to his feet.

And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up. And immediately his feet and ankle-bones received strength. (8) And leaping up, he stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.

He leapt up and went into the temple to worship God. I bet worship service had a whole new power for him, as well.

The Beggar’s Testimony

Finally, I want to consider one last point and this concerns the beggar more than Peter and John.

Act 3:9-10
And all the people saw him walking and praising God. (10) And they recognized him, that it was him who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Have you ever considered your testimony? This is the thing we have; this is what God has done for us. This is what he has given each of us, specifically. What you have been given by God is most likely different from what He has given me. I was delivered from the sin that was specific to my life and you were forgiven from that sin specific to yours. Your testimony of God’s grace and mercy is different from mine.

In our text, this man receives the ability to walk. He has been lame from birth; from the womb. Everyone knew him as the beggar from the Gate Beautiful. They have seen him for years, lame and begging at the gate. Here he is walking, leaping and praising God. They were filled with amazement and wonder. Do you realize that people look at YOU that way? You're the person they knew from the bar or prison or wherever your sin took you. Now they see you well and living for God you’re life completely changed and they’re amazed.

A few years back, my wife and I had dinner with a woman that knew me in high school. She couldn’t get over the fact that I was a pastor, because she knew how I was before. She knew how I lived; she was involved in some of the sin in my life. She knew me well. She could see the profound change that had taken place in my life and she was amazed. That night it struck me how important my testimony is, because in seeing the change in me, someone who is hurting and enslaved by sin can envision a change in his or her own life.

People are convinced that they can’t change. They’re convinced that they’re stuck with who they’ve become. . But we who have experienced the power of Jesus Christ understand that there is a lasting change that can come into our lives. That change that is so evident in us can become a beacon of hope for others.

That’s why it is so important that we guard our testimonies: That we always protect the change that has taken place in our lives. If we stumble publicly and destroy our testimony, we may shatter the hope that someone else has. They may say, “See, I told you it was too good to be true.” That’s the tragedy of people who have destroyed their testimonies and been caught in some gross sin. They have brought a reproach on the Gospel and other people will throw it at you when you tell them you’re living for Jesus. Have you ever heard this, “I know this guy who said he was saved but then I see him doing…” I’ve heard that recently, too many times. Our testimony is a gift from God and we need to protect it so that others will find hope in it. Those that surrounded Peter, John and the beggar were greatly wondering, and people are looking at your life and wondering, “Can that work for me, too.” People are watching you, not because they hope you will fail, but because they hope that you won’t.

I want to leave you with one final thought.

Acts 3:12-13
And seeing this, Peter answered the people, Men, Israelites, why do you marvel at this? Or why do you stare at us, as though we had made this man to walk by our own power or holiness? (13) The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His son Jesus, whom you delivered up, denying Him in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to let Him go.

Peter and John took no credit for this miracle. God didn’t heal the beggar to make Peter and John look good. He didn’t do it because they were good people and He wanted to give them credibility. He did it because He’s a sovereign God.

Exodus 33:19
And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before you. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.

We are just lucky that he uses us for his work. It’s a privilege to be used by God; to be a part of what He wants to do in the lives of other people. We were rebels, liars, cheaters and fornicators, but He has chosen us to be the instruments of His will.