Dream Rangers

This video is a commercial for a Taiwanese bank. It talks about dreams and living for your dreams. Obviously they are trying to sell loans or banking services. But it can speak to Christians, as well because it is also about vision. These are men who didn’t want to sit out the end of their lives living just to keep alive. They have decided to do something with the end of their lives.


Actually this video is based on a true story. There are three things that this video speaks to us I think.

· We can be motivated to by current crises to risk it all
· Age is not a factor in the completion of vision
· They weren’t limited by circumstances

I think the biggest impediment to living out the will of God, for most Christians is…themselves. We limit ourselves. We think that we are unable to rise above the circumstances in out lives; the disabilities, the difficulties. Today I want to look at different men in the Bible who are “Dream Rangers.” Despite what was happening, or had happened in their lives they overcame the circumstances and triumphed in God. I wan to examine how those things can be applied to our own lives. I want to use a simple text to examine Dream rangers in the Bible.

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Where there is no vision the people perish. According to Miriam-Webster Dictionary vision can be defined as: the act or power of imagination. If you can imagine it, you can make it happen.

Disneyland is a place where the creative spirit is encouraged. They are true believers in the idea that if it can be imagined it can be built. In fact, they use a staff of civil and mechanical engineers to design and build equipment and rides. Those engineers are called “imaginers.” The people at Disney have vision.

Vision is responsible for all the major success in any form: Literature, Art, Business, even Church planting. All of these things derive from somebody’s ability to imagine it. That’s what vision is: Vision is what will cause you to override your circumstances and move forward.

The Four Beggars – Circumstances Cause Risk and Change

2 Kings 7:1-8 (NKJV)
7:1 Then Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: 'Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.' " 2 So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, "Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" And he said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it." 3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, 'We will enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die." 5 And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. 6 For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses--the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!" 7 Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact--their tents, their horses, and their donkeys--and they fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.

These four men are lepers, they’re living in a very difficult time in Jerusalem’s history. This moment takes place in the middle of a siege so overwhelming and lasting that women have begun to boil and eat their babies. These are dire circumstances, extremely difficult time. The circumstances have begun to control people’s actions, even their emotions. How desperate do you think a woman has to be to kill and eat her child? But look at the attitude of the lepers:

2 Kings 7:4 (NKJV)
7:4 If we say, 'We will enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die."

Maybe it’s because they have nothing left to lose, but it is the circumstances that have moved these men to action. “If we stay here, we die. If we go into the city, we die. But if we go to the Syrians we might die, but we might not.” Their circumstances were actually the motivation for them to take action.

Look at our world today. These are also desperate time. There is violence and unrest throughout the world. Sickness and disease are increasing, with super bacteria and the like. There is an increase in deaths to do natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and the like. There is even the global economic crisis. These are desperate times for many people. These are times every bit as desperate as the time the lepers in which the lepers lived. Their circumstances caused them to act. But what about the circumstances we’re facing? What are we going to do?

After all, as Christians, we are the ones with an answer to desperation and hopelessness. But often we’re sitting and watching as the world becomes less and less caring, and more and more brutal and dangerous. We have two choices, we can sit here and do nothing or we can answer the call that God has placed on our lives and take a risk.

The thing is that some of you reading this know God has a call on your life, but you are allowing your own dreams to override His vision for you. Some people can sit by and watch people perish, and be fatalistic about it. “Oh well, that’s just the way it is today.” It’s easy to do that so we can sit there like that or we can be like the lepers and say. If we stay here we die…and then take action.

Can you sit and watch or can you be galvanized into action? These are ugly times, but guess what, they’re going to get uglier, especially if Christians sit and do nothing. Don’t let you fear regulate your ability to answer the call of God on your life. The lepers didn’t know what they’d face if they went over to the Syrians, but they went anyway.

In the last month, or fellowship has launched seven couples into international works. Some of those couples were launched right into the middle of the violence and unrest. These couples have answered the call of God to go into the middle of the danger. They don’t know what it’s going to be like; they don’t know what’s going to happen. But they’re going anyway: Like the lepers.

In fact no couple that’s launched out to pioneer a church knows what the future will hold. But they go. They answer the call. It is much easier to do nothing and many make that choice. They want to wait until the circumstances are right. When I have more money. Maybe when the kids are older. Or whatever the circumstance in their lives is that overrules their calling. But I want to tell you something there is no right time to get pregnant. If you wait until the circumstances are perfect, you’ll never have kids, because the fact is there will always be problems and difficulties. That’s how life is. If you wait until your circumstances are perfect to do something for God, then you never will.

When these lepers did this it saved Jerusalem. They took a chance. They took a risk. What about you? Are you willing to risk?

Abraham and David – You’re Never Too Old or Too Young

Genesis 21:1-5 (NKJV)
21:1 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him--whom Sarah bore to him--Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

1 Samuel 16:10-13 (NKJV)
16:10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these." 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here." 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

These men in the video were eighty-one years old when they began that trip. But they got it into their minds that even with all the frailties that come with age, their sicknesses and their disabilities, that they could do it. They didn’t allow their age to limit them.

Do you realize that God is not a respecter of age? Abraham is being given the son of promise, Isaac, at one hundred years of age. God isn’t worried that Abraham is too old to do what God has purposed for him. David, on the other hand is anointed king at sixteen years of age. God isn’t worried that he isn’t old enough to carry out God’s plan for Israel.

The problem is that the world limits people based on their age. The elderly are set aside too old to be of any help. The young don’t know anything. What could they possible achieve?

Ronald Reagan was reelected president of the United States at seventy-three years of age. In that term as president he ended the cold war with Russia.

Mark Zuckerberg was twenty-three years old when he created Facebook …he’s a Billionaire.

We don’t have to be limited by age. We are neither too old, nor too young to answer God’s call. Those couples that were launched out some were very young and others were in their fifties or older. An older person with wisdom and experience can serve God. A young person with energy and zeal can serve God. Do you know what’s the perfect age to answer God’s call? How old are you? That’s the perfect age. God calls you by his measure, so if you’re hearing the call you’re old enough, or young enough as the case may be.

Moses – His Circumstances Didn’t Stop His call

Exodus 4:10-17 (NKJV)
4:10 Then Moses said to the Lord, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." 11 So the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." 13 But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send." 14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: "Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs."

So Moses wasn’t perfect to answer God’s call. Moses was concerned that his disability would keep him back. He was slow of speech, do you know that means, he stuttered. He had limitations. He had also tried to do what God was calling him to do once before, on his own. He completely messed it up. He tried to do the whole thing on his own strength and ended up killing a man and thereby making everyone else unwilling to follow him. That’s why in Exodus three he is so concerned about, “who shall I say sent me?” But when God makes the call he goes and God is able to use him in spite of the things he sees as his weaknesses.

I’m not just talking about physical disabilities here, though. This is really about the kind of weakness that we all have. All of us have things that damage our confidence in ourselves. Things that make us think we can’t do it. That’s what Moses said, “I can’t, I’m not good enough. But what was God’s reaction?

"So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses”

I guess God had a different idea. God wouldn’t allow Moses to use his personal circumstances to keep him from answering God’s call. Moses overcame his circumstances, sufficiently, to become one of the greatest leaders in all of history. Maybe God wants to do that in you, as well.

Are You a Dream Ranger?

So, the question before us is this…Are you a Dream ranger? Are you able to put God’s call before everything else? Are you willing to answer God’s call; willing to respond to God’s vision? These are desperate times for the world. So much of prophecy is right before our eyes. I truly believe, that more than ever before, we are hurtling toward the return of Jesus. These are the times for action. These are not the times to sit back and nurse our wounds or worry about the circumstances of our lives. There are so many people whose eternity hangs in the balance.

In the book of Esther, Mordecai is talking about the call on Esther’s life. It was a desperate time for Jews. Haman had gained power and convinced the king that the Jews should die. The decree had gone out, the time was set. Only Esther had access to the king, but even for her it was dangerous. No one could approach the king, if he had not called them. The penalty was death. Esther was hesitant and Mordecai tells her this:

Esther 4:14 (NKJV)
4:14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

She listens and responds, “If I perish, I perish.” She’s going to answer the call. She’s going to put aside her concerns and be about the business of God. She’s a dream ranger. What about you, are you a dream ranger?

The Hero

The author Vladimir Nabakov, best known for his novel “Lolita,” once stayed with family friends in the rural area of Alta, Utah. He was an avid butterfly collector and took advantage of the time the to increase the size of his butterfly and moth collection. This was his passion he was difficult to distract when engaged in this hobby.


One day he returned to the house and told the family he was staying with, that while he was down by the stream chasing a particular butterfly, he heard someone moaning terribly. Alarmed, the family asked him if he stopped t render assistance to whoever was in need at the stream. Nabakov replied, “No, I had to get the butterfly.” The next morning they found the corpse of an old prospector, in the area described by Nabakov.

As he was engaged in his own pursuits a man died. Hoew many times have you felt like Nabakov? Too busy with your own business to reach into someone else’s life? Consider this:

James 1:15
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death

So if we think about this in this way, then those who are lost in sin are like the prospector, they are in the midst of the throes of death. It is up to us to not be like Nabakov, but to offer any help we can. We can’t give them salvation but we can lead them to the one who can. It’s up to them to accept or reject Jesus but it is our responsibility to give them the opportunity to make that choice. If not then we are no better than Nabakov who allowed a man to die because it would interfere with his hunt for butterflies. What are our priorities as Christians? Is it the salvation of other people? Or are butterflies the priority? 

Today I have entitled my post “The Hero.” It’s taken from the scriptures surrounding Jesus’ death. It’s a look at the men who crucified Him and the willingness of only one to offer aid to Jesus as he died.

Matthew 27:37-50
37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said,42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.43 “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. 45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!”48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

The Men Who Crucified Him
Let’s look at what is happening in this moment. The soldiers have finished their work. It’s their job to get those who will be crucified from the garrison to Golgotha, nail them to the cross and then basically, wait for them to die. Crucifixion was a slow and gruesome death. The soldiers, after bringing them to the hill of death, were left to while away the time until those who were crucified died.

We know from the scriptures that some of them spent their time gambling for the seamless tunic that Jesus wore, but after that there was a long time spent just waiting. The soldiers were somewhat disconnected from Jesus’ crucifixion. To them, this was just a “Jewish thing.” They weren’t Jews; they didn’t understand the religious significance of what was happening. So they made no judgments about whether it was right or wrong. They were only following orders.

As theywere waiting jesus cries out, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.” I’ve always wondered about this. He cries out and the people standing around assume he is calling for Elijah. The people didn’t understand what he was saying, but he was crying out in the language of the Jews. They should have understood in their own language. But perhaps, the men were not Jews but Roman soldiers. They didn’t understand the words because they didn’t speak that language. But they all recognize this cry as a cry of anguish; a cry of suffering.

When they heard the cry they were immediately broken up into two groups of people: Those that recognized the cry of suffering and wanted to help, and those who recognized it for what it was but chose not to do anything.

In the late 1960s, a young woman was brutally murdered in the streets of her apartment complex. This was a murder that took place over a period of time. It was not to quick shots from a gun. She was chased up and down the street, beaten and stabbed to death. She screamed and fought for her life for a full twenty minutes. But no one came to help her. There were hundreds of people within earshot of this murder. They heard the screams; they shut their windows; they tried not to look at her. No one called the police, thinking that surely someone else already had. People recognized her screams for what they were. No one came to offer help. While Jesus’ cries were only for that moment and that time, there are cries of suffering that we hear today.

What Jesus cried out, “Eli, eli lama sabachthani” is translated as, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” Why have you turned your back on me? I wonder if you’ve ever felt the same way. I know that I did. As I wallowed in the sin and bondage that was my life before salvation, I wondered why God seemed to not know or care about me. We hear this cry from other people all the time as we rub shoulders with those still lost in sin. We hear it in our workplace; we hear it in our school, wherever we may be. People aren’t always wearing their misery on their sleeves, but we can see it in the emptiness of their lifestyles. We can see their loneliness and need and we recognize it because we have experienced it, ourselves. The question then, is what are we going to do about it. That’s where we see the division of thought; those that won’t offer help and those that will.

Why We Can't Answer the Call
Most of the men in our text were willing to ignore the cries of anguish. If we could project ourselves back in time to that moment, I’m sure if we asked them they would have reasons; logical, well thought out reasons why it was impossible to help, in the same way that we have reasons when we don’t help.

One reason might be that they thought the call was for Elijah. If the call is for Elijah, then it’s none of their business. But this is wrong thinking.

There is law that governs ocean-going vessels; it’s called Maritime Law. In Maritime Law it’s illegal to disregard a distress call. You cannot see or receive a radio call of a vessel in distress and not try to render assistance. If you do then you are held morally and legally responsible for any loss of life. It isn’t enough to say they weren’t calling me so it wasn’t my business. There is a requirement that aid be offered. This same thing is true in other circumstances as well. If a house is burning and you know people are inside, you can’t just walk away and say, “I’m not a fireman, so it’s not my business.” Drivers are required to help the injured if they pass a traffic accident, they can’t say, “I’m not a policeman.” We can’t ignore a crime victim bleeding in the street by saying, “I’m not a doctor.” It is no excuse for our behavior; we are to render assistance as we see the need. Recognition of need is a cry unto itself.

Another reason might be that they heard the cry but figured someone else would help. Surely someone else will do something. This is the thinking of those who left that young woman to be murdered in the street while they closed their windows to her screams. Christians do that as well: The others will cover outreach today. That brother will pray with that sinner, “He likes to do that.” Other people will be evangelists, they always do.

Have you ever hung back, when you know God is speaking to you to witness to someone, thinking, “I really don’t know what to say so if I stay back, someone else will step up and do it.”

Or probably the most compelling reason is that maybe they wanted to help but ti all seemed so hopeless. The man is being crucified, what good can a drink of water do? What can I really do, anyway? Will anything I do change the outcome? If I make an emotional investment in helping and things don’t change I may be disappointed or hurt. So rather than face disappointment we would rather suffer the paralysis of hopelessness.

We face that all the time, don’t we? The Gospel has been preached for two thousand years and look around you, most of the world remains unconverted. Even in your own community, most people aren’t Christians. I live in Taiwan and the vast majority of the people in my community are not Christian. There are so many people that aren’t converted, “What can I do on my own?”

In the book, “The Fall of the Fortresses” the author writes about the heroics of the pilots and crews of the B-17 “Flying Fortress” bombers during World War II. In one story a B-17 takes a hit from a 20mm shell that lodges in the fuel tank and remains unexploded. The pilot is able to safely land the plane with no losses. Had that shell exploded the bomber would have also exploded killing the entire crew. So the pilot asked the repair men if he could have that unexploded shell, as a souvenir of his incredible luck on that day. The repair man told him, there were 11 unexploded shells in the fuel tank that the bomb squad had to dislodge and defuse. Amazed the pilot then went to the bomb squad and asked for the shells. But the bomb squad leader told him the shells had been turned over to military intelligence, because every one of the shells was empty. There was no explosive in any of the shells. They weren’t completely empty, though, because inside one of the shells was a handwritten note. The note was in Czechoslovakian and it read, “This is all we can do for now.” The man who wrote this jt was no doubt a prisoner, forced to do slave labor after the Nazis overran that country. It must have seemed to futile to those prisoners, that this effort at risk of their lives, could change the course of the war. But for that one crew it made an incredible difference.

How many times have we met people and thought, “What can I say that is any different from what they’ve heard before?” Maybe nothing, but that doesn’t mean we don’t try. We don’t know how God is going to work in their circumstances. We only know that we’re called to reach out to the lost.

The One Who Responds

There is one man who responds. He hears the cry of anguish and he responds:

He doesn’t worry that he’s not the one called on:
He doesn’t wait to see if someone will respond first:
He doesn’t stop to analyze the outcome of the only effort he can make…He just responds.

He responds like we are to respond; with what he can do. He knows that giving Jesus sour wine he’s not going to save his life. He knows he can’t save Jesus from the Roman Empire. He can only offer what he can and hope that it helps. That’s what we can do. We can only offer what we can; an opportunity to respond to the Gospel. We can’t save them, we can’t forgive their sin; we can only bring them to a place where they can accept Jesus.

This nameless man, this Roman soldier is a role model for you and I. He did what he could do. We can only do what we can do, we can witness, testify, preach and pray. Sometimes it seems like so little but it’s what we can do.

So what happened to the soldiers at the crucifixion, what happened to the soldier who gave Jesus a drink? We don’t know, the Bible doesn’t mention them again. But I do know what the Bible does tell us:

Matthew 25:34-40
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:35 ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;36 ‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?38 ‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?39 ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.

We are called to reach the lost and we will find a reward. It may not be before men. It may not be in this world, but the Bible does promise reward.

2 Timothy 4:8
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

God desires that we will answer his call and in answering the call we will find a reward. We may not find that reward in this world but we will have a reward.

A number of years ago a missionary and his wife returned from Africa on the same ship as US President Theodore Roosevelt. They had given their lives to missionary service in Africa. They had given up their homeland, their friends and family and were on their way back to their homeland. President Roosevelt had been in Africa on a vacation. He had gone to go hunting. And as they returned there were hundreds of people at the docks to welcome the president back home. But the missionary and his wife had no one to meet them. They picked up their bags and walked to a cheap hotel near the docks.

As the msissionary watched the crowd cheering for the president he thought to himself, “My wife and I have given our lives to God’s service. We have made many sacrifices, this man has returned from a hunting trip, he has made no sacrifice and given no service. Why does he receive all for this and for us there is no one.”

When he arrives at his hoetel room he goes in to the room and prays. He laid it all out to God, he wept and repented of his bitterness and envy, and came out of the prayer with a changed countenance. He told his wife, “I complained to God. I told him my every thought. I told of my bitterness and envy at the great reward the president when he arrived at home, but for us there was nothing. God answered me with four simple words, “You’re not home, yet.”

There will be treasure for us in heaven if we are obedient here on eart. We think of Billy Graham and the thousands f people he has won to Jesus and we think, “I could never be that fruitful.” But the Bible tells us that there is rejoicing in heaven over one soul that is saved. The impact thatwe make is every bit as great as the impact that Billy Graham makes, especially for that one soul that’s saved. One last illustration:

There is a young boy walking a long the beach. The night before there had been a great storm at sea and on the beach were thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore. As he walks along he is picking up starfish and hurriedly throwing them back into the sea the to keep them from drying up on the beach. The child meets up with a man who has been watching throw the starfish into the sea and ask\s him what he’s doing. The child replies I’m throwing these starfish back to save their lives. The man looks up and down the beach and says, “There are too many of them you can’t possibly make a difference, throwing them one by one into the sea.” The child looks down at the starfish in his hand and throws it back into the sea. I made a difference in that one’s life.

We’re not called to change the whole world ourselves. We are called to make a difference in the lives of individuals, one heart at a time. We are called to render assistance when we hear the cry of anguish, just like that nameless hero.

Lessons from a Fig Tree

One of the things I preach about often is faith. Mostly I speak of it in terms of our need for faith in order to see God move in our lives. If you think about it, faith is probably the most important aspect of our Christian lives. We need faith for so many things,


We need faith to:
Pray for the sick
To have real Christian joy
To know that God cares about us
To worship God

It even takes faith to receive the gift of salvation. But one thing we often don’t think about is that it takes faith to live out your purpose in God.

I live in Taiwan and recently after Bible study class we had a discussion on the differences in Eastern/Western thought on fate and destiny. Fate and destiny, from the eastern point of view, are interchangeable. They have the same meaning. But our discussion centered on the question of whether they are, in fact, interchangeable.

According to Mirriam-Webster Dictionaries fate is defined as: The cause or will that is held to determine events

Destine is defined as: to direct or set apart for a specific purpose or place, then destiny can be defined as that specific purpose.

So fate can be considered to be the force that carries you to your destiny. It is something that can’t be changed. But destiny is the end point of fate and that can be changed by decisions that you make along the way.

My thought of it is like this: Fate is like a river that runs into a lake. In the lake there are two cities one is to the right of the river delta, we’ll call that one Beautiville. The other is to the left of the river outlet. We’ll call that one Uglyland. As you drift on the river the current carries you ever onward. You can’t change the course of the river or the direction in which the river flows.

The river Fate carries you toward the two cities, but you make a decision where you will turn at the end of the river and the destination at which you arrive, is governed by the decision you make. The River is fate and is unchangeable. The destiny is the city at which you arrive and that is governed by the choice you make along the way.

Let me ask a question, "Was your destiny changed at the moment you received salvation?" As you continued to live in sin you were carried inexorably to a destiny of eternal torment and separation from God. But as you repented and turned from sin, you were accepted by God and your final eternal destination was no longer hell but heaven: The Joy of your Lord. Destiny, for you, at the moment of repentance was changed.

But even more than that, I believe that we, as individuals, have more than one destiny. For example, I believe that because of the Muscular Dystrophy it is my destiny to be disabled. But because of the call of God on my life , it is also my destiny to preach in Taiwan. Finally, as a result of the gift of salvation it is my destiny to abide in heaven. One person three separate destinies…so far.

It requires no faith at all to be swept along by the current of fate: To allow outside events to shape our lives and determine our destinies. We can simply drift along and allow these events to govern our destiny. But it takes faith to recognize the call of God and work to make the effort to change the outcome of fate in our lives. With faith we can shape our destiny. Today I want to look at faith and destiny in light of the following scriptures:

Mark 11:13-14 (NKJV)
11:13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it.

Mark 11:20-23 (NKJV)
11:20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

The Fig Tree

In our text, Jesus comes to a fig tree. He’s looking at the fig tree and sees that it’s empty. So he curses the fig tree and by the next day the fig tree has withered away and died. Why did Jesus curse the fig tree? Do you think He was angry at the fig tree? In order to answer that, we need to examine the purpose of the fig tree. The purpose of the fig tree is to produce figs. If a fig tree is not producing figs, what good is it?

Luke 3:7-9 (NKJV)
3:7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

Do you realize that God didn’t save you for your purposes? That’s what we think sometimes, isn’t it? God saved me so I could go to heaven. He saved me so that I could recover from my hurts and disappointments. He saved me to make me happy. I have to tell you that God didn’t save you for any of those things. Not that you won’t see those

God didn’t save you for any of those reasons. He saved you for His purposes. This isn’t about fig trees it’s about disciples. We are called to bear fruit. That is the purpose of disciples and Jesus will look at us and expect us to bear fruit; good fruit. Our text tells us what will happen if we choose fail to live up to His purpose for us. If we fail, or as I say in the introduction, if we choose to turn away from our destiny, then we are in danger of judgment.

Jesus is making a judgment here. He judges the fig tree and finds it without fruit and curses it, causing it to wither and die. It wasn’t fulfilling its purpose. This isn’t something that veers away from Jesus’ teaching. It’s not some different angry approach…really it’s Jesus being consistent. He said the same thing in Matthew 7. Jesus will always uphold his standards. He will judge us in the same way if we do not live up to our calling or what He would call our purpose. Look at this scripture in Matthew 7:

Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV)
7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

What things did Jesus say these people told Him they had done:

Prophesied
Cast out demons
Done many wonders…In Your Name and what are these things…

Mark 16:17-18 (NKJV)
16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

The things they said they were doing were the things that Jesus said were the signs that would follow those who believe. These people were the believers. They were the Christians, but Jesus judges them and tells them to depart from Him, why? Because they didn’t do the will of “My Father in heaven.” We can believe from this that we will be judged, as well, if we forsake the will of the Father. In other words, we will be judged if we do not fulfill our purpose: That purpose that God has for us.

It’s imperative that each of us examines our own life:

Is your life given over to the will of God for you?
Are you laboring to do what God has called you to do?
Are you producing fruit?

Those are questions you have to be asking yourself. Because I’m going to be blunt for a moment: Some of you that are reading this know that God has called you to a specific purpose. You already know to what He’s called you. But you hesitate to fulfill it, because God’s will for you interferes with your own will for your life. I want to warn you that there is a danger there. Jesus will judge you if you don’t produce fruit like He judged the fig tree.

We Will Wither and Die

Mark 11:20-21 (NKJV)
11:20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."

I want to look at this for a moment from the fig tree’s perspective. What exactly did Jesus say to the fig tree? Look at verse 14:

Mark 11:14 (NKJV)
11:14 In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it.

That’s Jesus’ judgment of the tree. Look at what he didn’t say. He didn’t say, “Die you foul, fruitless tree.” He didn’t say, “I curse you to wither away, fruitless wretch.” All He said was, “then let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” His curse that caused the fig tree to wither was telling it that if its purpose wasn’t fulfilled now, then it never will be able to fulfill that purpose in the future. I think it’s interesting that there is a timeline for our response to God’s call.

God is calling and He has a timeline for us to respond to His call. If we hesitate, or put off responding there will come a time when we will no longer be allowed to answer that call.

I have a friend who, ten years ago was asked to go out and pioneer a church. In fact, the year I was sent out this man was asked before I was. But he declined. He said I’m not ready financially, or whatever his reason was. But in the ten years since that time, he has never been asked to go again. In fact, his pastor asked me, “How can I invest in someone like that?”

That pastor wasn’t being mean he was making a judgment based on this scripture:

Matthew 16:24-25 (NKJV)
16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Jesus said this to Peter in the context of his statement to Peter that he was mindful of the things of men, rather than the things of God.

Matthew 16:23 (NKJV)
16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Do you know why He said that to Peter? He told Him that because Peter was telling Jesus He didn’t have to live out the will of God, which for Jesus was to die on the cross.

Secondly, look at the reaction of the tree to Jesus telling it, it will never fulfill its purpose. The tree withered and died. We will do the same thing. When Peter thought he had destroyed his destiny in denying Jesus three times at His trial before the Sanhedrin, what did he do? He gave up. He was a broken man.

After the crucifixion we see Peter and he’s saying, “I’m going fishing.” He’s given up. Later we see him behind locked doors, hiding for fear of the Jews. This is the same man who raised his sword and took off the ear of one of the soldiers that was there to arrest Jesus. Where was that courage and resolve? He had withered under the idea that he had failed and thereby disqualified himself from fulfilling his purpose and calling. He has given up; a withered and broken man.

But Jesus never cursed Peter. Peter, thinking he had destroyed his destiny, withered away on his own…just like the fig tree.

This is Really a Lesson on Faith

Mark 11:20-23 (NKJV)
11:20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

I think it’s really interesting that Jesus turned this into a lesson on faith. When the apostles see what has happened to the tree they’re amazed, aren’t they? “The tree you have cursed is withered away.” It’s almost as if they’re saying, “How could this have happened?” Jesus says to them, “Have faith in God.” So he links it to faith. He’s telling them they can do anything if they have faith. He’s saying that in the context of them being able to do what He has done, if they have faith in God.

“See what I did, you can do that too, if you have faith.”

But I want you to look at this a little differently, too. And I want to go back for a moment to the brother who declined to go out and pioneer. Because what was the thing that kept him from the call of God, a lack of faith.

“I’m not ready yet, I don’t have the finances.”
  "I’m not ready yet, I don’t know enough.”

It takes faith to answer the call of God. I don’t know anybody who felt ready to respond to God’s call in the moment He called. Look at some of the men God called to be leaders. Look at their reactions in the moment God called them.

Abraham in Egypt: Tell them you’re my sister so they don’t kill me. I know what God promised but these people are going to kill me for you.

Abraham at 100 years old: A baby? I’m 100 years old and I’m going to father a child? You know what I’m going to name him? Laughter.

Moses at the burning bush: I can’t do it God; I’m slow of speech. Send someone else, send anyone else…I know send my brother Aaron.

Jeremiah at fifteen: Me, I’m fifteen, I’m just a baby…what can I possibly have to say?

I want you to know, God is calling you, now. Some of you are reading this and you know that God is calling you to a purpose, right now. The question is, what are you going to answer? What you respond is between you and God. But the way you answer that call is a statement of your faith. Just like these men’s answers were statements of their faith.

With faith you can live out your destiny. With faith you can move what ever mountain is an obstacle between you and your destiny.

Mount Finance
Mount I don’t know enough
Mount Ability
Mount Personality

Whatever mountain it is can be moved if you have faith. It takes faith to live out your destiny and God’s will. Peter lost faith after the crucifixion, that’s why he withered. But Jesus challenged him on the Sea of Galilee, “Peter, feed my Sheep.” I’m writing this to challenge you. Peter rose to the challenge, what will you do?

A Look at Ministry

I have been looking at what the responsibility of our ministry in Taiwan really is. In doing that I have examined the role of the congregation of the church in ministering to others. The following is a Bible Study on the purpose and value of ministry. It is written from the perspective of a missionary endeavor.


The Missionary’s Purpose

If we look at Paul’s missionary journeys, we can see the goal and purpose of those journeys is to establish a church. Paul went into Ephesus and established a church; He went into Thessalonica and established a church etcetera. Every place he went he established a church and set a pastor over the church. Then he went to the next place and established another church.

This is he method of our fellowship. We go into a place, draw a group, establish a church, disciple men and then set a local man in the place of pastor, or send those men to other cities to duplicate what has been done in their city. The goal is always the establishment of a self-sustaining local church.

There are many missionary organizations that send people to a place to provide service to that community. These are not missionaries in the sense of Paul’s service. I’m not saying there is not a place for this, but I’m saying the goal of these organizations ought to be to feed the local church.

Recently at 木匠的家咖啡店 (Carpenter’s House Coffee Shop), where I volunteer on Fridays to teach English Bible Study, there was group from Australia who came and provided a number of musical presentations of the Gospel. They gave testimonies, preached a short Gospel sermon and then spent time talking and witnessing one-on-one to the people present at the event. This is only a part of the missionary’s responsibility. It is important that anyone who responds to the call of the Gospel, (There was no altar call at this event, so people were not given the opportunity to repent), be directed into a church where they can be discipled as a follower of Christ. A place where they can see the call of God on their lives facilitated.

The call on Christians is not just to preach the Gospel but to make disciples.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

As a missionary and a pastor it is my intention to raise up disciples. That is really the purpose of this letter and the purpose of Sunday’s sermon. A disciple is a learner, one who learns. But it is more than that; a disciple is one who desires to be like his teacher. I’ll give you an example; next to the Riverside church was a martial arts school. There was a group of young men there who were learning Kung Fu. One day I had a conversation with one of the young men and I was asking him a number of questions. To each question he began his answer with the words, “My teacher says…” As I talked with him I began to see how much he was influenced by his teacher so I asked, “You want to be just like your teacher, don’t you?” His response was, “Absolutely.” This young man is a disciple. He is learning the information he’s being taught, but more than that there is something that is being imparted into his life. He wants to be like his teacher. This is what being discipled means. There should be an impartation that takes place between us. Look at Paul’s call to his disciples:

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NKJV)
11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

1 Corinthians 4:15-16 (NKJV)
4:15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

The Purpose of Ministry

Acts 6:1-7 (NKJV)
6:1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. 7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Here is ministry as it takes place in the early church. The Greeks had a complaint that the Jews weren’t taking as good care of the Greek widows as they were the jewish widows. So they complained to the leaders. The leaders said, “We can’t do what God has given us to do and wait on tables. Therefore, pick out seven men and have them take on this responsibility.” This is the creation of lay ministry. It is the serving of people in a practical sense. We have a number of ministry opportunities that exist to provide service to the congregation.

Translation, worship service, setting up the church before service, follow-up, the church council and any other aspect of being a part of the functioning of the church. It is important that you understand that there are other purposes to ministry beyond the service that is provided. One other purpose is to provide a platform for men to be able to grow into preachers and pastors. Another is to bring growth to the church.

Ministry teaches us a great number of things.

How to work with other people
How to serve others
How to think in terms of going beyond the minimum expectation

Ministry is not a favor that you’re doing for the church. It’s not a favor you’re doing for me; it is a privilege to share in the work of building the church that Jesus founded. It is our opportunity to be a part of what Jesus is doing in Taoyuan City. It is a step in the discipleship of the people who follow Christ. We are learning to be more like him.

Have you ever thought about why Jesus washed the apostle’s feet? It was to demonstrate to them that He was here to serve…to be a servant. He was also teaching them that this was their place as well.

Matthew 20:28 (NKJV)
20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

If we want to be like Christ then we also must be servants. But there is something else here that is important: The purpose of ministry is to grow the church. Look at what happens in verse 7 of our text:

Acts 6:7 (NKJV)
6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

One of the goals is to multiply the disciples: In other words, to add more people to the church. This is what we are aiming for through ministry. That is a call that’s on every one of us. A group that preaches but doesn’t build the local church isn’t making disciples. We don’t draw men to ourselves we draw them to Jesus.

What is the essence of ministry? Look at the following scripture:

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NKJV)
10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

This scripture holds the essence of ministry. Let us stir up good works. That’s what ministry is…good works. But it is also tied to church attendance. “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” Look at what we have people doing in our church:

Translation – making the word of God available to Chinese speakers
Worship Music – preparing hearts to hear from God
Service preparation – making it comfortable for people to come to church.

All of these things facilitate drawing people to Jesus. That’s the real purpose and goal of ministry.

The Standards of Ministry

Acts 6:3-5 (NKJV)
6:3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,

The leaders gave instruction for choosing people to minister. The people who were chosen were to be men of good reputation. This means that they were to be examples. People that people could look up to: People that the people could learn how to be a Christian from. These are the ones who did the right thing…they attended church.

In those days they didn’t have the Bible to read like we do, the only way they could hear the word of God was by attending church. That’s also how faith is built.

Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

People ask me to send them sermon outlines. They want to be able to study ahead to prepare themselves to listen and understand in English. But other than those translating, I don’t like to do that. Because, I think what happens is that people get the sermon outlines then think they don’t have to attend church because they already have the information. But this is not about information I’m not really trying to teach you anything during the sermons, I’m trying to impart something into you. That comes from hearing; faith comes from hearing.

Romans 1:17 (NKJV)
1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

This scripture speaks of impartation, the transfer of faith from me to you. That’s how disciples are made, and making disciples is the goal of ministry. That transfer, or impartation only takes place in person. You can’t have faith imparted into you by reading sermon outlines, it only comes by being in church and hearing the words. Anyone that is involved in ministry needs that impartation so that you are equipped to impart it into someone else’s life. if you want to see people have the faith to believe in Jesus, you have to be equipped to transfer that faith though your faith. Church attendance is necessary for that. All ministers in the church should attend both services on Sunday. They are two different sermons, by design, to impart faith into your lives.

Those in ministry need to be an example to others in the church. Attending church faithfully is part of being an example. The problem is that people are watching how you live to understand how they should live as a Christian. When you have ministry you have credibility as a Christian. You’re a leader and people who want to live as good Christians will want to watch how you live, in order to know how to live.

Let me make one other point on this. What you do those who are watching you will do the same +1. What do I mean by that? Look at this illustration of that:

There is an interesting phenomenon that takes place among generations. We do what our parents do but take it one step further. Example: The drug of choice for my parent’s generation was alcohol. There were not many who were into other things. The drug of choice for my generation was Alcohol and Marijuana. We took it one step further the drug of choice for this generation is Methamphetamines (stimulants), Marijuana and Alcohol.

The same thing is true of people that come into the church. They watch what you do and take it one step further.

At our church ministry includes: Church Council, Worship group, translating, setting the church (Ushering), Follow-up, or any other aspect of being a part of the functioning of the church.

If you are a part of any of these ministries or want to be a part then you may want to follow the guidelines.

Attend Church faithfully – Be at both services on Sunday; Bible Study if possible
Live as an example – No drinking, cussing, smoking or other sin. No TV
Pray – pray daily, come to prayer on Saturday at 9:00 (Read your Bible)
Attend events and Revivals – Support your church
Tithe faithfully – financially support the church
Dress reverently at church services – Ties for the guys, dresses/skirts/dress slacks for the women (Think about Who you represent – Jesus)

These are the standards of ministry that we will be upholding. I hope that you will respect them. These are not requirements but good suggestions for those that only desire to attend church and are not involved in ministry.

Ministry Will Grow the Church

Your faithful involvement will draw others to Jesus. Let me give you an example of how it works: Someone comes into the church the church is clean and comfortable (cleaning crew & ushers), the worship group ushers in the spirit of God, (worship group), The sermon is preached and the altar call given, people respond to the altar call and we pray with them (everyone’s responsibility), the follow up people call them and invite them again, they make friends with them (follow-up) and those people come back as they feel like they have become a part of something.

Overcoming Weariness

One of the major problems that people suffer these days is depression and weariness. This becomes a real problem when it overflows into the church. I think depressed Christians are one of the saddest things there are, after all, Christianity is supposed to fill us with Joy. Why do some people have joy in the church while others struggle with weariness, depression and oppression?


I want to examine that question from the Word of God. The Bible often gives us insight into our feelings and emotions. People are sitting in pews all over the world today and they’re wondering why they aren’t experiencing the promises of God. They’re wondering why they’re experiencing depression and weariness. They’re looking at the changes that have taken place in their lives and they’re thinking to themselves, “Is this all there is?”

“Is this is what’s meant by the Joy of Salvation, because I’m not feeling particularly joyful.”

Today, I want to show you from the word of God, how we can overcome depression and weariness in our lives.

Galatians 6:2-10
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.5 For each one shall bear his own load. 6 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

The Weariness of Bondage and Oppression

If you have been a Christian for any amount of time then you have come to the understanding that the Christian life is supposed to be a blessing, after all, there is the promise of joy:

1 Peter 1:7-8
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

Peter is telling us, here, that with genuine faith comes inexpressible joy. But you might be saying to yourself, “Where is that promise in my life? I’m not feeling joyful; in fact, I’m feeling just the opposite. If that’s a promise then I should be experiencing it, but I’m not.”

If we look carefully at the promises of God we will see that they’re all conditional. If we meet with certain conditions then God will reciprocate with the fulfillment of His promises. We see an example of this in 2 Chronicles Chapter seven.

2 Chronicles 7:14
14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

IF we will humble ourselves, pray and seek His face AND turn away from our sin, THEN he will forgive our sin and heal our land. This is a conditional promise, there is a condition that must be met before the promise is fulfilled.

This is something we do with our children all the time, isn’t it? We tell them IF you will do your chores, without complaining, without me having to remind you, with or me having to get loud to get you to do it. THEN you will receive some reward, usually an allowance or something. Then it is up to them to do what’s necessary to receive the reward. This is what God does with us. There are no unconditional promises in the Bible. All of the promises of God come with something we must do before they are fulfilled.

IF we will sow, THEN we will reap. Any farmer understands this. If you plant seed then you will reap a harvest. If you don’t plant seed then you won’t reap a harvest. The condition of reaping the harvest is planting the seed.

Blessing comes from right giving:

Malachi 3:10
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

IF we don’t tithe then we won’t know if God will pour out the blessing. Tithing is the condition to receiving the blessing.

If we believe in Jesus we will receive everlasting life:

John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Whoever believes in Him will receive everlasting life. Whoever doesn’t believe in Him will perish. Believing in Him is the condition; everlasting life is the promise. If you want to receive the promises of God then it is critical that you live out the conditions to receiving the promises. If we refuse to live according to the will of God how can we expect to receive the blessing?

We all want the promise of Heaven, am I right? None of us wants to go to Hell. Well, there’s a condition to receiving that promise:

Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

So the condition to receiving the promise of heaven is that we must do the will of the father.

The problem for many Christians today is that they’re tired and their worn out because they are still living in the same sin that they were involved in before they got saved. How many know that depression and weariness is brought on by guilt and shame. You know you’re not living right and so you’re depressed. Weariness comes from not doing the will of God.

Weariness comes from not living the will of God for our lives. Jesus is a filter in our lives, at least, He should be. The things that don’t belong in our lives should be strained out through that filter.

“I’m living for Jesus, so I shouldn’t be drunk.”
“I’m living for Jesus so I shouldn’t be fornicating.”
“I’m living for Jesus so I shouldn’t be lying, stealing, committing adultery, gossiping…”

Whatever thing I’m doing that is destroying my relationship with Jesus, I shouldn’t be doing. Have you ever heard this? I’m sick and tired of my lifestyle. I’m tired of partying. I’m tired of waking up sick every morning. I’m tired of feeling empty, unfulfilled, stressed out, used, broken. We’ve all heard that. As a matter of fact, some of us have actually said that.

But have you ever heard this? I’m tired of being blessed. I’m tired of being free of guilt and shame. I’m tired of receiving the promises of God. I’m tired of being joyful. You’ve probably never heard anyone say that.

It’s sin that wears us out and bums us out. It’s sin that destroys relationships and causes pain and hurt. If we will step out of sin then we step out of weariness. Sin is a bondage. It’s oppression in our lives.

John 8:34
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

Slavery is oppression; it’s a burden that we carry. Have you ever gone backpacking? What would be a simple casual walk becomes a difficult and exhausting trek with the added burden of a seventy-pound backpack. The oppression of slavery will cause us to groan under the weight.

Exodus 2:23-24
23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

They’re groaning under the weight of oppression and we, when in sin, also groan under the weight of that oppression. Sin causes weariness. People are sitting in churches weary and depressed because these things are working in their lives.

Overcoming Weariness

The question is, how can we overcome weariness? How can we throw off the shackles of depression? The first way is through conditioning.

A friend of mine races hand-powered bikes. The type of races he is involved in is the endurance race. These are not high-speed sprints, they’re races over time to test your physical strength and endurance. And so in order to be competitive he must work out regularly to make himself strong enough not to be overcome with weariness before the race is over.

Paul tells us we are engaged in an endurance race as well:

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

The one who endures until the end will be saved. In order to endure we must prepare ourselves by making ourselves strong enough to go the distance. An athlete calls this conditioning: We must condition ourselves for the race that’s before us.

This is what my friend is doing through exercise. He is conditioning himself so that he will have the endurance to complete the race. But the race that we’re in isn’t a bicycle race or a running race. It isn’t a physical test of our endurance at all. We are engaged in a spiritual race, so we must condition ourselves spiritually to to complete the race. Physical race: Physical conditioning…Spiritual race: Spiritual conditioning. It would be much easier if we could just lift some weights; run some laps; do a few pushups to get ready for the race. But, what we need is spiritual conditioning. We need to condition our heart to overcome the weariness that comes upon us. I believe there are three things that will condition to endure over the long run.

The first thing is prayer, particularly prayer before church. Prayer is what prepares us to hear from God, and hearing from God will energize you. have you ever walked away from service thinking, "God really spoke to me today, that was something I needed to hear?"

Prayer opens our hearts; it unburdens us from the day’s events. You can lay all the problems of life on God, “Here God, this is what happened this is how awful it was…” Then you can call on Him to speak to you. “God speak to me, give me direction…Help me God.” What was that promise? If we will pray and seek his face, then forgiveness will come and with forgiveness comes the unburdening of ourselves from sin. That weight of oppression will come off.

The second thing is to attend church with an air of expectation. Know that God will move. That’s an expression of faith. If you have an expectation of a powerful interaction with God, you’ll be excited about coming to church. It won’t be boring, who knows what God will do? If you are expecting God to do something powerful, or that he will speak something into your life, if you just know something is going to happen you will be excited. Excitement energizes.

The third thing is to be involved in the things of God. One thing that I have noticed is true in my life, is that when I lay around and do nothing I often wind up more tired than I was when I decided to take it easy. When I’m busily doing things, and have a feeling of accomplishing something I’m buoyed up, I’m excited and energized. When I take it upon myself to get up and go witness to strangers, or preach the Gospel in public or just get involved I feel better. I might be physically tired, but that bone weariness that comes from depression isn’t there.

So if we pray and open ourselves up to hearing from God: If we will attend church with an expectation of an encounter with an all-powerful God: If we will be involved with what God is doing, we will be conditioned and will be able to overcome depression and weariness. This is what will give us the strength to endure until the race is finished. We will be able to run the race with en durance.

Road to Redemption

So if we want to receive the promises of God we need to understand the conditions and what it will take to be able to receive them. Then we need to condition ourselves to make ourselves strong enough to endure the conditions of the promise. Finally, we need to create an atmosphere where God can move in our lives.

The problem is that sometimes we create conditions in our lives that hinder the movement of God. Sometimes, we are involved in sin; we’re unable to break free. It should be obvious that if we are still involved in sin that God can’t move there. Other times the problem is that we come to church with an atmosphere that must be overcome, before we can create an atmosphere where God can move.

We may get in argument with our spouse or someone in the church and we come in and bring that air of hostility with us. “I’m not talking to anyone, they’re all against me.” Or “I’m not talking with my husband, so I’ll just ignore him and tell the girls what a rotten husband he is.”

God has to overcome our attitude in order to do something in our lives. We haven’t created an atmosphere were God can move. Instead, we have hindered His movement. It is up to us to create an atmosphere where God can move to do something in us or through us. Our text shows us three factors in the creation of that atmosphere.

The first is “bearing the burdens of others.” Making ourselves available to bear the burden of another person. One of the major symptoms of depression is weariness. You want to sleep all the time. Sleep is an escape from hurt and sorrow. We don’t feel those things when we’re sleeping. But psychologists will tell us that the best way to overcome depression is to do something for someone else. If we are willing to bear the burdens of someone else in the church we will lose the weariness that we feel. That doesn’t mean that we should take all their problems and make them our problems. It’s not saying that we need to solve all of their problems ourselves. But we can help them with what they’re struggling by praying for them and with them. Or maybe by just being available to listen to their hurts or encourage them. Do you realize that a church is like a family, intentionally, so that we will care about each other and help each other.

The second thing is to “share all good things with him who teaches.” Do you realize that you can encourage your pastor by sharing with him the things that God is doing in your life? Your pastor really wants to see God moving in your life. People have a tendency to go to their pastor only with the problems and headaches. Maybe it’s not the pastor but the person who helped you or prayed with you. Maybe they had a scripture that they gave you to read. You can say, “Wow, that scripture really helped me…or that thing you said really helped me get through a tough time.” You can really encourage and bless that person by just telling them they helped.

The third is, “do good to all of the household of faith.” Do you know that it’s okay to bless other people in your church? Really, it’s okay; you can do something nice for someone else in the church.

I always marvel at my pastor’s wife and her energy level. She’s constantly doing things and never seems tired. If you asked her she would say, “God helps us.” That’s true, but one of the reasons, I believe she’s never tired is because she’s like this. She is always doing something for someone else. I remember when some young people got married a number of years ago. She organized a group to go and paint the house they were going to move into. This is not unusual. She’s always like that.

Do not grow weary in well doing for what you sow that you will reap. The promises are there for us. God has given us promises that he will deliver. God is faithful. But all too often we become weary and depressed, we become too weary to endure. But we can condition ourselves to endure and we can help each other to make it through.

When we help bear someone else’s burden we make our own load lighter. When we share in all good things to him who teaches, we encourage ourselves in the bargain. When we expend the energy to bless someone else, we are given more energy. We don’t have to lose heart. We can finish the race and endure until the end.

Recovery from Shipwreck

There is one thing in life that we all face, trouble. None of us is exempt; from time to time we all face trouble and if we’re not careful it can have a lasting affect on us. I can look back at my life and see certain times, certain traumas that shaped how I lived life. It wasn’t so much how the traumatic event ended up, but the issue itself that messed me up.


One of the things that I have come to understand about schizophrenia is that it can sometimes be onset by trauma. The trauma has already passed and life has gone on, but the person is caught in the trauma of the thing that has happened. They had built up a fantasy to escape the pain of that traumatic time in their life and after a time they can no longer separate the fantasy from the reality.

I was thinking about this and it is like the person suffering from schizophrenia has a reality of his own, it’s not the same reality to which the rest of us are responding. They are responding to their personal reality and trying to make sense out of it. To us who have the “real” reality what they are doing appears strange and doesn’t make sense. But there is a logic in their response, it’s the reality that they’re responding to that is the problem: That other reality was set into motion by the trauma they’ve suffered and the fantasy they’ve created in order to deal with it.

Problems in life can create trauma for us. A Cheating spouse, with his/her repeated violations attacks your self worth: A loved one’s death; a loss for which you were unprepared can result in loneliness and in some cases, survivor’s guilt. Debilitating disease, a loss of physical strength and self-reliance can result in a loss of self-esteem. Accidents that result in chronic pain or injury for you or death for someone else can destroy self-worth and leave massive guilt. These are devastating traumatic problems and if we’re not careful they can influence us in every aspect of our lives. In this post, I want to deal with those issues and our response to them.

Acts 27:9-22 (NKJV)
27:9 Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, "Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives." 11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there. 13 When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. 15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. 16 And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. 17 When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. 18 And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. 19 On the third day we threw the ship's tackle overboard with our own hands. 20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. 21 But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

Shipwreck

We have all from time to time experienced shipwreck. These are times of great stress in our lives. They are also often beyond our control.

Life threatening illness: People get sick
Loss of a close family member: Your husband or wife dies; maybe a child.
Loss of a job: Lay off due to downsizing

Or perhaps it’s an accident where someone is hurt or killed, a financial reversal, an act of nature, such as an earthquake or a tsunami. These are not just bad days I’m talking about these are terrible and lasting traumatic times for people. Sometimes these times are the result of our own misbehavior or sin, such as a drunk driving accident that causes an innocent person to be killed. It doesn’t matter how these things occur in our lives, the point is that shipwreck happens and it is important how we deal with it, in order to overcome the affect.

I wrote in the introduction about schizophrenia, but that isn’t necessarily the only result of trauma. I know in my own life that it can lead to severe depression and hopelessness. It can also lead to bitterness and hostility.

I read recently about a man who shot and killed eleven children in a school in Brazil. He left a note indicating that this was planned as a method of suicide. I’m sure that if we tracked down his past we would find that at some point he suffered shipwreck and he allowed that shipwreck to destroy him. I believe there is a pathway to recovering from shipwreck.

This event that’s taking place in our text is truly shipwreck. All of the people in this story are under extreme stress. We can read about their fear and anxiety. We can look at their responses to the events to understand the stress they were under.

In verse 18 they began to lighten the ship. The ship is carrying cargo. Cargo is the means of payment for the people operating the ship. This is how they make their money. This is their means of support and they are tossing it overboard to lighten the ship.

In verse 19 they began to toss overboard the tackle of the ship. This is the equipment that’s used to steer the ship, to set the sails to operate the ship. This is a panic move, because without the tackle it is virtually impossible to steer and direct the movements of the ship.

In verse 21 it says, “after long abstinence of food.” The fear, nausea and work kept them from eating. In verse 29 they prayed for daybreak. In verse 30, some of the sailors tried to escape in the lifeboats. This is a hugely traumatic event.

What they are experiencing is what we all experience during the traumatic events of our lives. The stress, the fear, the anxiety, sometimes we lose our appetites. We sometimes begin to panic and jettison the things that have been important to us.

Here’s an example, a family comes under financial problems and at first they begin to lighten the load, and they cut out the luxuries. They figure out what they can do with out. But sometimes the financial problem doesn’t get better; it damages the relationships within the family. Do you know what the number one source of arguments in marriages is? Finances. Sometimes the marriage is cast overboard. Which creates another shipwreck…for the children.

Not every problem in our lives is our fault. Paul is innocent in all this. He makes a statement, he says, “I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” But Paul is a prisoner, he doesn’t have a say in what happens to the ship. The centurion trusts the man who has experience in sailing. Paul is carried along.

This happens to all of us. Many of the problems we face in life because we have no choice: Your company downsizes; another driver makes a mistake. You can’t plan for every contingency in life.

People who are careful about their health are an example. They eat right, they watch their weight, they exercise: They do all the things that they should protect their health: The things that should help them to lengthen their lives. I read about a man just the other day that went to a baseball game and was beaten by two thugs and left with serious brain damage. His life completely and forever changed. His family suffers a shipwreck.

Much of life is unpredictable and ends up in trauma. Our response to that trauma can be the difference between recovery and devastation.

Responding to Shipwreck

We see a number of different responses to shipwreck in our text. We have talked about some of them as panicked and improper responses. In getting rid of the tackle of the boat, they have lost all control of their destiny. The Bible says the ship was driven by the wind. When we discard the things that give our lives direction, we also lose control of our destiny.

Have you ever seen someone become angry with God because of the circumstances in their lives? Things don’t go the way they want them to go and they blame God. “How can I believe in a God that would do this to me?”

By doing that you are tossing over the guiding principles of life. You’re refusing to read or hear the Word of God. You’re turning away from prayer. You’ve basically discarded the things that give our lives direction. Once you have done that where do you find comfort and release? By turning away from God you’re taking it all on yourself. This is what the sailors tried to do. They called upon their own strength and skills to save the ship…and even they lost hope. That’s why they tried to escape in the lifeboats; they were unable to save themselves.

But Paul’s response was different. He didn’t abandon God. Look at this:

Acts 27:22-26 (NKJV)
27:22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island."

Paul listened for God’s response to all this; and God did have a response. Do you realize that God often speaks in the midst of crisis? God speaks to Paul and gives him comfort and hope. Paul uses that confidence and hope that he has because of the words of God to give the others hope. People watch us in a crisis, and how we react can give them hope as well. The sailors were watching Paul. They grabbed hold of his words because they could see the confidence that Paul had in God. Paul makes a statement about God and about his faith in God.

23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me

The God to whom I belong, and I serve…I believe God. This is a testimony of faith. They heard those words and saw the confidence that Paul had in those words, and they were encouraged. God has spoken to Paul through this angel. In the midst of this huge crisis God speaks and the word of God brings comfort.

I sometimes feel sorry for atheists. They have nothing besides their own skills and strength to believe in. Where can comfort come from for them? They’re comes a point where you realize that you’re not going to be able get yourself out of trouble. There’s no hope and no comfort.

But God speaks to Paul and tells him “It’s going to be alright. Everybody can live.” The interesting thing here for Christians is this: Where does the comfort come from? It comes from God’s plan and destiny for Paul’s life. “You’re not going to die here, Paul. I have another plan for your life.”

Remember when the disciples were in the boat with Jesus and the storm is blowing and they all think they’re going to die? What’s Jesus doing, He’s sleeping. The disciples are panicked, they’re losing hope and Jesus is so relaxed He’s sleeping. Jesus can relax because He knows God’s plan and destiny and that His destiny doesn’t include drowning in this storm. What does he say to the disciples, “Oh you of little faith…” There’s comfort in knowing that God has a plan for your life.

God will speak to you in the midst of shipwreck, but you have to be listening for Him. Don’t jettison the thing that brings comfort and direction to your life.

The other thing that’s important here is that Paul tells the soldiers to cut away the lifeboats.

Acts 27:30-32 (NKJV)
27:30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.

We think we can use the lifeboats to save ourselves, but in some cases getting into the lifeboats makes it worse.

In the book, Working on the Edge, author and King Crab fisherman Spike Walker, tells this story of the crabbing boat, The St. Patrick.

The St Patrick, a 158 ft vessel, encountered a nightmare storm in the Gulf of Alaska. The storm whipped up huge waves. A monstrous wave that rose twenty-five feet above the wheelhouse slammed into the boat and took out all navigation equipment and the engines lost power. The ship took on water and began to list at about fifteen degrees. And the batteries exploded from the contact with the seawater. The ship was in danger of sinking. The captain and the crew made a desperate decision, climbing into their survival suits and tying themselves together they jumped ship into the icy thirty-nine degree water, to swim to the lifeboat that had been washed off the stern of the boat. By morning all but two of the crewmembers were dead of exposure. Without a survival suit a person can only survive twenty minutes in water that is that cold, with their survival suits they died one by one overnight.

These people felt they had no chance if they stayed with the boat., they were afraid the boat would go down and suck them down with it. They abandoned the only hope of survival they had by choosing to jump. The saddest part is, that the boat didn’t go down. If they had stayed aboard the St. Patrick, most likely they would have all survived.

Sometimes, taking the lifeboats can be more dangerous that riding out the storm in faith.

Getting Back to Normal

Acts 27:33-37 (NKJV)
27:33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you." 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat. 36 Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves. 37 And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship.

There is a young woman in America that was kidnapped at 11 years old and held as a sex slave for 18 years until she was discovered by two policewomen and rescued. The interesting thing is her comment at being asked about what has happened in her life over the last two years. She said, “I’m trying to get back to normal.”

Paul encourages the sailors and soldiers to eat and get back to normal. The Bible tells us that they were encouraged. What happens all to often, I think, is that we dwell on the hurts and disappointment? When we do that, that’s the time when bitterness and anger can set in. We can become fatalistic and always waiting for the next bad thing to happen. Depression and psychosis settle in and we lose part of ourselves.

Our text gives us a strategy for recovery from shipwreck:

First, we need to pray, read our Bibles and attend church. So that we can hear from God, so that we can listen for God to speak in the midst of a crisis.

Second, we need to cut away the lifeboats so that we will trust in God to bring us through. We cannot try to “tough it out” in our own strength, let God’s power help us.

Third, when we have made errors and cut away the things that support, sustain and guide our lives, we need to return to a normal Christian life, which are all the things in the fiorst two strategies.

I know that God can help us to recover from shipwreck. I’m not just giving you a theory here. I have experienced God’s life changing power of deliverance from this very thing. God is a miracle working God, who cares about our lives.

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.