# Expecting Change (Jonathan Josephs)

An episode of [Elevation with Steven Furtick](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/216015753), 4 Jan 2026, 42 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/cbb40a38-726f-4243-a86e-b0ed01477640/85d1065c-6043-4c4c-b281-b3c8013b3c03/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=ff9164b2-aa64-410d-9ee1-b0ed0147765c

God doesn’t just want to “fix” you, He wants to restore you. Right now, He’s transforming you to impact others. Expect more than a personal breakthrough; expect God to exceed your expectations and bless others through your life. If you’ve just made a decision for Christ, please respond HERE: ele.vc/tIepfr Scripture References: Acts 3, verses 1-12, 16 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:04] Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
[0:06] Speaker 2: I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.
[0:09] Speaker 2: Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these
[0:11] Speaker 2: new sermons every week. Hope you're blessed today.
[0:20] Speaker 1: Slipped our hands together for a moment.
[0:22] Speaker 3: Let's have a prayer of consecration as we head into
[0:25] Speaker 3: a new year together as a church family. Jesus, it's
[0:33] Speaker 3: your name we exalt today. We exalt you in our lives.
[0:37] Speaker 3: As we head into a new year. We just re
[0:40] Speaker 3: establish in our own hearts today that Jesus, you are
[0:44] Speaker 3: our priority, You are our desire, You are one ambition.
[0:51] Speaker 3: I don't know what this year holds, whether it's hills,
[0:53] Speaker 3: whether it's valleys.
[0:54] Speaker 1: But I know that you go with me, and that
[0:57] Speaker 1: you go before me.
[1:00] Speaker 3: Head into this new year, we thank you God that,
[1:02] Speaker 3: oh the weapons might be formed against us, they will.
[1:04] Speaker 1: Not prosper or prevail.
[1:07] Speaker 3: I thank you that surely goodness and mercy will follow
[1:11] Speaker 3: me all the days of my life, and I will
[1:14] Speaker 3: dwell in the House of the Lord forever. Thank you
[1:18] Speaker 3: for your abiding presence, Thank you for your strength this year.
[1:22] Speaker 1: Thank you for a spirit of perseverance.
[1:24] Speaker 3: Falling on your people. God thank you Lord. That is
[1:27] Speaker 3: we orient our hearts towards you. We will see your
[1:29] Speaker 3: kingdom come. Your will be done here on earth.
[1:33] Speaker 1: As it is in heaven. We honor you Lord. We
[1:37] Speaker 1: give you our hearts, we give you our lives. It's
[1:40] Speaker 1: in your name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, Happy New Year, everybody.
[1:51] Speaker 3: It feels good to start out the year in worship,
[1:53] Speaker 3: doesn't it.
[1:55] Speaker 1: If I haven't got a chance to meet you. My
[1:56] Speaker 1: name is Jonathan. I know we have so many new
[1:58] Speaker 1: people here today. My name is Jonathan. I'm one of
[2:00] Speaker 1: the pastors here.
[2:01] Speaker 3: And let me show you a picture of my family
[2:03] Speaker 3: real quick, they'll throw it up there.
[2:05] Speaker 1: It's my wife, Anna and our three kids. And we've
[2:11] Speaker 1: been a part of this church for thirteen years now,
[2:14] Speaker 1: and for us, it's such a joy to be able
[2:16] Speaker 1: to be a.
[2:16] Speaker 3: Part of this church family, this church community, and to
[2:19] Speaker 3: be under the incredible leadership of our pastor.
[2:21] Speaker 1: Can we thank the Lord for our pastor.
[2:24] Speaker 3: And you know, not too long ago after I preached recently,
[2:31] Speaker 3: someone came up to me and they said, man, I
[2:33] Speaker 3: really enjoyed.
[2:34] Speaker 1: The sermon you preach. I said, thank you so much.
[2:36] Speaker 3: And then what they said next, They said it like
[2:39] Speaker 3: it was the big accomplishment. They said, you know, I
[2:42] Speaker 3: used to get so upset when Pastor Stephen wasn't preaching,
[2:45] Speaker 3: and they said.
[2:46] Speaker 1: But now I've decided, when he's not.
[2:47] Speaker 3: Preaching, I'm just going to thank God that he's getting
[2:50] Speaker 3: to rest his voice.
[2:52] Speaker 1: And I didn't really know how to take that.
[2:53] Speaker 3: But let's get in on it together, and let's thank
[2:55] Speaker 3: God that our pastors getting.
[2:57] Speaker 1: To rest his voice this weekend.
[2:59] Speaker 3: And who are kidding, He's probably writing a brand new
[3:02] Speaker 3: song for us to sing right now. But I'm really
[3:05] Speaker 3: excited about what the Lord has given me to share
[3:07] Speaker 3: with you today on the cusp of this new year.
[3:11] Speaker 3: And we're gonna look at a scripture from Acts three
[3:13] Speaker 3: that I think has several implications for us today, but
[3:17] Speaker 3: we'll also set the tone for us.
[3:18] Speaker 1: We're gonna read our scripture. You can stay standing for
[3:20] Speaker 1: just a moment and then we'll get to sit down
[3:23] Speaker 1: after that. It's optional, but.
[3:26] Speaker 3: Acts Chapter three, One day, everybody say one day.
[3:31] Speaker 1: I won't have you repeat every two words, but just.
[3:33] Speaker 3: To feel along the way, everyone say one day. Peter
[3:37] Speaker 3: and John were going up to the temple at the
[3:39] Speaker 3: time of prayer at three.
[3:41] Speaker 1: In the afternoon.
[3:42] Speaker 3: Now, a man who was lame from birth was being
[3:45] Speaker 3: carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was
[3:49] Speaker 3: put every day to beg from those going into the
[3:52] Speaker 3: temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about the enter,
[3:56] Speaker 3: he asked them for money. Peter looks straight at him,
[4:01] Speaker 3: as did John. Then Peter said, look at us. So
[4:05] Speaker 3: the man gave him. Gave them his attention, expecting to
[4:10] Speaker 3: get something from them.
[4:11] Speaker 1: Everyone say expecting. Then Peter said, silver or gold I
[4:17] Speaker 1: do not have.
[4:17] Speaker 3: But what I do have, I give you in the
[4:20] Speaker 3: name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk Taking him by
[4:25] Speaker 3: the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the
[4:29] Speaker 3: man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet,
[4:34] Speaker 3: and he began to walk. Then he went with them
[4:37] Speaker 3: into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God.
[4:41] Speaker 3: Did anyone walking to church like that today? Walking and
[4:44] Speaker 3: jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him
[4:50] Speaker 3: walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same
[4:54] Speaker 3: man who used to sit begging at the temple gate
[4:58] Speaker 3: called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement
[5:03] Speaker 3: at what had happened to him. My title for today
[5:06] Speaker 3: is expecting change. Expecting change, go ahead and grab a seat.
[5:16] Speaker 3: I thought that would be a good title for your
[5:18] Speaker 3: first Sunday of a new year. Anyone expecting change going
[5:22] Speaker 3: into this year? Now, I know that there's probably sixty
[5:25] Speaker 3: percent of you that when it comes to a new year,
[5:27] Speaker 3: you roll your eyes at the thought of new year's resolutions.
[5:30] Speaker 3: You're like, it's January fourth, and already most people have
[5:34] Speaker 3: already failed at the things that they set out to
[5:35] Speaker 3: do this year, and so this is not a new
[5:38] Speaker 3: Year's resolution message. Don't worry even though there's others of
[5:41] Speaker 3: you who who I mean? This is like your favorite
[5:44] Speaker 3: time of the year. You've already had an off site
[5:45] Speaker 3: with your spouse, You've reflected on the prior year, You've
[5:48] Speaker 3: set your budget, all your vacations planned, every date night,
[5:52] Speaker 3: all your workouts.
[5:52] Speaker 1: You've got all locked in.
[5:54] Speaker 3: Anybody like that, You're just so excited for a new
[5:56] Speaker 3: year and the possibility of change. No one, Okay, cool,
[5:59] Speaker 3: we're talking into a cynical church today. That's amazing o good.
[6:04] Speaker 3: But there is even though I know there's a part
[6:06] Speaker 3: of us that goes, what's so different about you know?
[6:09] Speaker 3: December thirty first to January. First, it's just a change
[6:12] Speaker 3: on the calendar. And yet there's something about transitions in
[6:16] Speaker 3: our life that create a sense of expectation or even
[6:20] Speaker 3: anticipation for change to happen in our life. Often God
[6:24] Speaker 3: will use external transition to bring about internal change in
[6:28] Speaker 3: our lives.
[6:29] Speaker 1: So even though you're.
[6:30] Speaker 3: Heading into a new year and some of your I
[6:31] Speaker 3: don't know what's going to be different from this year
[6:33] Speaker 3: to next, there is a sense of optimism, let's say,
[6:37] Speaker 3: in the atmosphere even today, that maybe something could be
[6:40] Speaker 3: different as we head into a new year. Now, new
[6:44] Speaker 3: year's resolutions, that's that's one thing. If you're trying to
[6:46] Speaker 3: lose weight this year or set up an emergency fund,
[6:48] Speaker 3: that's amazing.
[6:49] Speaker 1: You can come up with your plan and set your goals.
[6:51] Speaker 3: But what I want to talk to you about today
[6:54] Speaker 3: is less about those those type of changes that you
[6:59] Speaker 3: need to see happen in your life and that you
[7:01] Speaker 3: want to work towards this year. I want to talk
[7:03] Speaker 3: to you more so about the God changes that you
[7:06] Speaker 3: need to see happen in your life. As we ended
[7:10] Speaker 3: last year, many people in our church participated in our
[7:13] Speaker 3: year on offering once again, thank you to everyone who
[7:15] Speaker 3: is a part of our trust in God offering this year,
[7:20] Speaker 3: and as part of that process, we ask everyone in
[7:22] Speaker 3: our church to write down a word that represents what
[7:24] Speaker 3: they're believing God for as we head into a new year,
[7:28] Speaker 3: and as our staff was praying over those words, there
[7:30] Speaker 3: wasn't a single word that I saw that looked like
[7:32] Speaker 3: a new year's resolution. I didn't see go to the
[7:35] Speaker 3: gym eat more vegetables. I saw words like restoration. I
[7:41] Speaker 3: saw words like healing. I saw words like forgiveness. These
[7:45] Speaker 3: aren't ordinary changes, These are God changes. These are things
[7:48] Speaker 3: that can only happen in our life when God begins
[7:51] Speaker 3: to create change in us.
[7:54] Speaker 1: So I love the story.
[7:55] Speaker 3: Of this man in Acts, and I was drawn to
[7:57] Speaker 3: it because on this ordinary day, a day, remember, Luke
[8:01] Speaker 3: starts out Luke, who wrote the who wrote the Book
[8:03] Speaker 3: of Acts, and the Gospel of Luke starts off by
[8:06] Speaker 3: painting this as just a day like any other day.
[8:09] Speaker 3: This is not December thirty first, This is not January first.
[8:12] Speaker 3: This is not Peter's birthday, this is not the Man's birthday.
[8:14] Speaker 3: It's not Christmas, it's not Easter. It's an ordinary day,
[8:18] Speaker 3: and yet something extraordinary happens in the middle of an
[8:22] Speaker 3: ordinary day. How many you believe that God can do
[8:24] Speaker 3: something extraordinary on an ordinary day. Everything about his language
[8:31] Speaker 3: is indicating that there's nothing special about today. One day,
[8:34] Speaker 3: Peter and John are going to the temple. They're going
[8:36] Speaker 3: at the time of prayer. This would have been part
[8:38] Speaker 3: of their custom. This is just what they do. And
[8:40] Speaker 3: then it tells us that there is a man who
[8:42] Speaker 3: every day, every day was put out by the temple
[8:46] Speaker 3: gates to beg for money. It's an ordinary day, and
[8:48] Speaker 3: yet something so profound happens to this man on this day.
[8:52] Speaker 3: This man who was lame. Luke later tells us that
[8:55] Speaker 3: who's about forty years old, but all his life, this
[8:58] Speaker 3: was his routine in the morning. And I don't know
[9:01] Speaker 3: who took him to the gates, whether it's his parents
[9:04] Speaker 3: or whether it's for his friends.
[9:05] Speaker 1: But someone took him and set him outside that gate,
[9:09] Speaker 1: and day after day he would sit there and beg
[9:11] Speaker 1: for money.
[9:11] Speaker 3: And yet something happens on this day that changed this
[9:15] Speaker 3: man's life forever. Now, when you come to church, it's
[9:19] Speaker 3: so important that you come in with a level of
[9:21] Speaker 3: expectation that God could do something in your life today.
[9:25] Speaker 3: Sometimes we get in the habit of treating it like, Oh,
[9:27] Speaker 3: it's just another Sunday, I'm gonna hear some worship songs,
[9:30] Speaker 3: I'm gonna hear a message.
[9:31] Speaker 1: But what if you came.
[9:32] Speaker 3: In with the expectation and belief that today God could
[9:36] Speaker 3: do something in your.
[9:37] Speaker 1: Life that would change you for the rest of your life.
[9:39] Speaker 3: Anybody believed that anything is possible with God today. Now,
[9:48] Speaker 3: as I read about this man's miracle, the question and
[9:50] Speaker 3: the tension for me of why I kept going back
[9:52] Speaker 3: to this passage is I think it's so amazing that
[9:54] Speaker 3: as he meets Peter and he meets John, and that
[9:57] Speaker 3: his legs are strengthened, and he jumps and he leaps
[9:59] Speaker 3: in he praises God. I want to celebrate the miracle
[10:02] Speaker 3: that happened in his life. But the question that brings
[10:05] Speaker 3: up in me is why now, after forty years of
[10:10] Speaker 3: waking up day after day, why now, why did God
[10:15] Speaker 3: choose to heal them this day? Even pastorally, I wonder
[10:19] Speaker 3: that a lot. It's amazing what I get to see
[10:21] Speaker 3: God do in the lives of the people of this church.
[10:23] Speaker 3: And when someone lets me know that God set them
[10:26] Speaker 3: free from PTSD or God set them free from a
[10:29] Speaker 3: pornography addiction. I'm the first one to celebrate and praise
[10:32] Speaker 3: God for what he's done when someone tells me how
[10:34] Speaker 3: God completely restored their marriage after all kinds of betrayal.
[10:38] Speaker 3: I want to praise God, jump leap, praise God with
[10:41] Speaker 3: them for what he's done. But in the back of
[10:43] Speaker 3: my mind sometimes I'm asking the question, why now? And
[10:47] Speaker 3: maybe you found yourself in that place too, where you're like, God,
[10:50] Speaker 3: I'm so thankful after all these years of being single,
[10:53] Speaker 3: you finally brought a man into my life. But God,
[10:57] Speaker 3: why now? Why now? Is it about today? What was
[11:02] Speaker 3: it about this one day that led to this man
[11:05] Speaker 3: being changed? And so look at the story with me,
[11:07] Speaker 3: says day after day, every day he was put at
[11:10] Speaker 3: the temple to beg from those going into the temple courts,
[11:12] Speaker 3: and he sees Peter and John and he asked them
[11:15] Speaker 3: for money. Peter looks at him, as did John. And
[11:18] Speaker 3: look at this in verse five. So the man gave him,
[11:21] Speaker 3: gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
[11:25] Speaker 3: But he's not expecting a healing that day. He's just
[11:29] Speaker 3: expecting some money. He's just expecting change. And yet what
[11:33] Speaker 3: he got was so.
[11:34] Speaker 1: Much greater than even what he was expecting.
[11:37] Speaker 3: Now, I wonder if there was ever a point in
[11:39] Speaker 3: this man's life where he was expecting a miracle.
[11:43] Speaker 1: It wasn't this day.
[11:44] Speaker 3: But I wonder maybe if in his teenage years he
[11:47] Speaker 3: had days where he would just wake up in the
[11:48] Speaker 3: morning and try to wiggle his toes, wondering, maybe things
[11:51] Speaker 3: will be different from me today. Maybe today I won't
[11:54] Speaker 3: have to call my friends and ask them.
[11:56] Speaker 1: To take me to the gate.
[11:57] Speaker 3: But some of us get stuck in a condition for
[11:59] Speaker 3: so long that it becomes our reality in such a
[12:02] Speaker 3: way that when it comes to our relationship with God,
[12:05] Speaker 3: we've even given up on expecting anything to change. And
[12:10] Speaker 3: yet I'm so thankful that God is a God who
[12:13] Speaker 3: exceeds our expectations.
[12:17] Speaker 1: There's this phrase I've picked up somewhere that I used to.
[12:19] Speaker 3: Say that God will often meet you at the level
[12:21] Speaker 3: of your expectation. And I would love to say that
[12:24] Speaker 3: coming into church because and on one hand, it means
[12:26] Speaker 3: that that if I come into church just expecting it
[12:29] Speaker 3: to be an ordinary day or ah, the message was okay,
[12:32] Speaker 3: then I'll often.
[12:33] Speaker 1: That's what I'll experience.
[12:35] Speaker 3: And so it say God will often meet you at
[12:37] Speaker 3: the level of your expectation. If you come into church
[12:39] Speaker 3: with an open heart and an open mind, if you
[12:41] Speaker 3: come in expecting that through the Holy Spirit, God will
[12:44] Speaker 3: speak to you, often that's the very thing you receive.
[12:48] Speaker 3: And yet when I think about that statement, I couldn't
[12:50] Speaker 3: be more wrong, because when I look back over my life,
[12:53] Speaker 3: I'm so grateful that God did not meet me.
[12:55] Speaker 1: At the level of my expectation.
[12:57] Speaker 3: I'm so grateful that time and time again, God has
[13:00] Speaker 3: done exceedingly more than I could ever ask or imagine.
[13:05] Speaker 1: Is that anyone's testimony?
[13:06] Speaker 3: Like you didn't expect to even be alive today.
[13:10] Speaker 1: You didn't expect to be where you are.
[13:12] Speaker 3: You didn't expect to be blessed with this family, blessed
[13:15] Speaker 3: with this purpose. You certainly didn't expect that you would
[13:17] Speaker 3: be in church in twenty twenty six.
[13:19] Speaker 1: But how many you want to.
[13:20] Speaker 3: Praise God that he did more than you could ever
[13:23] Speaker 3: expect or imagine. So he's expecting to get some change
[13:30] Speaker 3: from them, and instead Peter speaks to him.
[13:32] Speaker 1: And it's so swaggy the way Peter does it.
[13:35] Speaker 3: In the name of Jesus, get up and walk and
[13:38] Speaker 3: look at this taking him by the right hand, he
[13:40] Speaker 3: jumped up and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong.
[13:45] Speaker 3: He jumped to his feet and he began to walk.
[13:47] Speaker 3: And this is key. It says that he went with
[13:49] Speaker 3: them into the temple courts. That's a key detail because
[13:54] Speaker 3: all this, all his life, he was not allowed to
[13:57] Speaker 3: go into the temple. Every single day of his forty years,
[14:03] Speaker 3: he was sat down outside of the temple gates. His
[14:07] Speaker 3: condition prohibited from prohibited him from going into the temple.
[14:12] Speaker 1: And yet when God heals his.
[14:14] Speaker 3: Condition that day, not only does he jump and walk
[14:18] Speaker 3: and praise God, but it says that he went into
[14:21] Speaker 3: the temple. I want you to know that when God
[14:24] Speaker 3: brings about a change in your life, it's not just
[14:26] Speaker 3: to fix you.
[14:27] Speaker 1: It's to restore you.
[14:30] Speaker 3: Because him going into the temple is significant because it
[14:33] Speaker 3: represents him being restored to worship with God and restored
[14:38] Speaker 3: into community with others. The things that God wants to
[14:41] Speaker 3: bring in your bring about in your life, the changes
[14:43] Speaker 3: that God wants to do on a deep level, they're
[14:46] Speaker 3: not just meant to fix your condition, to make you
[14:48] Speaker 3: feel better or to alleviate your pain temporarily. They're meant
[14:52] Speaker 3: to restore you. In worship and restore you in community.
[14:56] Speaker 3: That's this most significant change that happens to this man.
[14:59] Speaker 3: He goes into temple and as he's in there, everybody
[15:02] Speaker 3: recognized him as the man who, look at this, used
[15:05] Speaker 3: to sit at the gate, called beautiful. I love that language,
[15:09] Speaker 3: because y'all this just happened to him. This just happened
[15:14] Speaker 3: to him. And yet they're already calling him the man
[15:16] Speaker 3: who used to sit. That's like you introducing your husband
[15:19] Speaker 3: to someone in the lobby after church and say, oh,
[15:21] Speaker 3: this is Frank who used to have road rage, and
[15:23] Speaker 3: they're like, what are you talking about? I just saw
[15:25] Speaker 3: him getting angry in the parking lot on the way in.
[15:28] Speaker 3: It wasn't all that long ago. No, No, he used
[15:30] Speaker 3: to have road rage. He's a changed man because he
[15:32] Speaker 3: was a church and God touched him and he changed
[15:36] Speaker 3: the man who used to sit. And they're filled with
[15:38] Speaker 3: wonder and amazement because they recognized him.
[15:42] Speaker 1: This guy for forty years.
[15:43] Speaker 3: Has been sitting at this gate, and isn't that the
[15:45] Speaker 3: same guy? Now he's walking, he's leaping, he's jumping, he's
[15:49] Speaker 3: praising God, and they're filled with wonder and amazement. Look
[15:53] Speaker 3: what God does in their life. Because of what He's
[15:56] Speaker 3: done in this man's life. God heals him, but he
[15:59] Speaker 3: fill them with wonder and amazement. When God, when a
[16:04] Speaker 3: God change happens in your life, it creates wonder in
[16:07] Speaker 3: other people. If it's possible for him, I wonder what
[16:10] Speaker 3: God could do for me. And they're filled with wonder
[16:15] Speaker 3: and amazement because look at that this man who had
[16:17] Speaker 3: just been sitting there instantly his feet and ankles became
[16:22] Speaker 3: strong instantly. And as I thought about that word, I thought, man,
[16:26] Speaker 3: it must have been so amazing for everyone to see
[16:28] Speaker 3: this man who had just been sitting there lame, suddenly walking.
[16:33] Speaker 1: And yet for this man, this miracle is anything but sudden.
[16:40] Speaker 1: It's been forty years.
[16:42] Speaker 3: And often the God changes that happened in your life
[16:45] Speaker 3: will look sudden to other people. But for you, I mean,
[16:49] Speaker 3: you know all the labor and all the prayer and
[16:51] Speaker 3: all the tears you cried to get to this place,
[16:54] Speaker 3: and so other people are filled with wonder and amazement.
[16:57] Speaker 3: Look what God has done in your life, and it
[16:59] Speaker 3: looks so easy to them. And yet you know all
[17:02] Speaker 3: the petitions when you went before God saying God, can
[17:05] Speaker 3: you do something about my situation?
[17:07] Speaker 1: God?
[17:07] Speaker 3: Can you help me right now. And so it was
[17:10] Speaker 3: sudden to them, but it was slow to him. And
[17:13] Speaker 3: it brought back up that question in my mind. So
[17:17] Speaker 3: why now, forty years, day after day, this man is
[17:23] Speaker 3: put by the temple gates to beg for money. It
[17:26] Speaker 3: was just his way of surviving. Day after day he
[17:30] Speaker 3: was placed there begging. And yet on this ordinary day
[17:34] Speaker 3: something happens in his life that changes him forever? Why today?
[17:40] Speaker 3: And I sat there with this question looking for some
[17:42] Speaker 3: deep answer, you know, something beyond just oh, well, in
[17:45] Speaker 3: God's timing, because how many you know when you're really
[17:47] Speaker 3: wrestling with something, When you've been chained up and bound
[17:50] Speaker 3: by something for so long, the last thing you want
[17:52] Speaker 3: to hear as you're working to get free is just oh,
[17:55] Speaker 3: in God's timing. I want to be able to trust
[17:57] Speaker 3: God's time. But that's not the thing I want.
[17:59] Speaker 1: To hear all the time.
[18:00] Speaker 3: And so I'm looking at this passage going what was
[18:03] Speaker 3: different about today? One day, every day time of prayer,
[18:07] Speaker 3: one day, every day, time of prayer? What was different
[18:11] Speaker 3: about today that led to this god change in this
[18:14] Speaker 3: man's life? And the answer is right on the surface.
[18:19] Speaker 3: What was different about today? He met Peter? That's what
[18:24] Speaker 3: was different about today he met Peter, and y'all, the
[18:30] Speaker 3: man's not the only one changing. Peter's changing too. And
[18:36] Speaker 3: I realized that as Luke writes this story, the man
[18:40] Speaker 3: who was healed, that was lame from birth, he's not
[18:42] Speaker 3: even the main character.
[18:44] Speaker 1: Peter is.
[18:46] Speaker 3: And Luke is trying to get us to see that
[18:49] Speaker 3: Peter is changing, as there's a whole bunch of transition happening.
[18:53] Speaker 3: Let me give you some context. Luke wrote the Gospel
[18:56] Speaker 3: of Luke, where he recorded the words and deeds that
[18:58] Speaker 3: Jesus did on the earth, and then he continues his
[19:01] Speaker 3: Gospel of Luke with the Book of Acts.
[19:04] Speaker 1: Acts.
[19:05] Speaker 3: Chapter one starts out with Jesus, who is resurrected from
[19:07] Speaker 3: the dead ascending into Heaven. So Luke's trying to get
[19:10] Speaker 3: you to see there's a God change happening.
[19:13] Speaker 1: Jesus, who had been.
[19:14] Speaker 3: Doing ministry on earth for three years has now resurrected
[19:18] Speaker 3: and ascended to the Father. That's Acts Chapter one. Acts
[19:22] Speaker 3: Chapter two. There's another God change that happened as the Apostles,
[19:27] Speaker 3: the people who had been with Jesus during his earthly
[19:29] Speaker 3: ministry are in an upper room in Jerusalem praying God
[19:33] Speaker 3: sends the spirit, the Holy Spirit, and it falls on
[19:36] Speaker 3: them like tongues of fire, and the church.
[19:38] Speaker 1: Begins that day.
[19:40] Speaker 3: In Acts chapter two, y'all, that's a god change. God
[19:44] Speaker 3: is saying, although Jesus in his physical body has ascended
[19:47] Speaker 3: into heaven, Luke wants us to know that the ministry
[19:50] Speaker 3: of Jesus is now continuing, but it continues through his church.
[19:55] Speaker 3: And then in Acts chapter three, where we are, Luke
[19:58] Speaker 3: is trying to get you to see that not only
[20:00] Speaker 3: is there so much change happening, but as the way
[20:03] Speaker 3: God is working in the earth is changing, he's changing.
[20:06] Speaker 3: Peter two, the Peter we read about in Acts chapter three, y'all,
[20:11] Speaker 3: if you read about him and the gospels, this is
[20:13] Speaker 3: not the same Peter.
[20:16] Speaker 1: This Peter in the name.
[20:17] Speaker 3: Of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk. But y'all, it wasn't
[20:20] Speaker 3: too long ago. Right now he's healing people, but not
[20:22] Speaker 3: too long ago he was cutting off someone's ear with
[20:25] Speaker 3: a sword. How many you know this is not the
[20:27] Speaker 3: same Peter. This Peter here who's boldly declaring who Jesus
[20:32] Speaker 3: is and what he's done, not too long ago, just
[20:35] Speaker 3: weeks earlier, was keeping his distance as Jesus went to
[20:39] Speaker 3: the cross and even denying that he knew him.
[20:42] Speaker 1: This is not the same Peter.
[20:44] Speaker 3: He's somewhere between fishermen Peter and Saint Peter. He's not
[20:47] Speaker 3: there yet, but he's certainly not who he used to be.
[20:52] Speaker 1: And a miracle takes place.
[20:53] Speaker 3: In this man's life because God is changing. Peter is
[20:57] Speaker 3: going through a God change right now. I want to
[21:00] Speaker 3: show you a few things that are changing in Peter's life.
[21:03] Speaker 3: The first one is this. It says that Peter looked
[21:06] Speaker 3: straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, look
[21:11] Speaker 3: at us. So the man gave him his attention, expecting
[21:14] Speaker 3: to get something from him. It's amazing to me that
[21:17] Speaker 3: before the man gave Peter his attention, Peter gave him
[21:21] Speaker 3: his Peter's changing because Peter had a tendency, if you
[21:26] Speaker 3: read about his life, to always be caught up in
[21:29] Speaker 3: what he was doing, always be caught up in his agenda,
[21:33] Speaker 3: always be focused on what's in it for Peter. Right now,
[21:37] Speaker 3: and it's amazing that is Peter is doing his thing,
[21:40] Speaker 3: going up to the temple to pray. It was the
[21:42] Speaker 3: right thing to do. It was on his calendar for
[21:44] Speaker 3: the day. I'm going to the temple to pray. It's
[21:47] Speaker 3: amazing that Peter, as God is changing him, stops to
[21:52] Speaker 3: see someone in their condition who needed help. The fact
[21:56] Speaker 3: that Peter saw him is incredible. Lets me know that
[22:01] Speaker 3: Peter is changing, because that's not like Peter.
[22:04] Speaker 1: Now.
[22:04] Speaker 3: When the scripture says that he saw him, it's an
[22:07] Speaker 3: echo to when the scripture uses the word saw, it's
[22:10] Speaker 3: an indication of It means he was filled with compassion
[22:13] Speaker 3: and a sense of responsibility.
[22:16] Speaker 1: Y'all.
[22:16] Speaker 3: This is Peter who would say, Hey, tell the little
[22:18] Speaker 3: children to get away from Jesus, I'm spending time with them.
[22:20] Speaker 3: He's now filled with compassion and a sense of responsibility.
[22:25] Speaker 3: Like when Jesus was about to heal, about to raise
[22:28] Speaker 3: a little boy from the dead, it says that he
[22:30] Speaker 3: saw his mother and his heart went out for him.
[22:32] Speaker 3: Jesus saw people and had compassion, And after three years
[22:36] Speaker 3: of being of Jesus and not always getting it, now
[22:40] Speaker 3: Peter is changing.
[22:41] Speaker 1: And as he's going to the temple, he sees this man.
[22:44] Speaker 3: Now, every day, thousands of people would have walked past
[22:49] Speaker 3: this man, and many of them would have given him
[22:51] Speaker 3: money as they went to the temple. The worship part
[22:54] Speaker 3: of their worship was giving alms to the poor. So
[22:56] Speaker 3: there would have been beggars all around the temple, and
[22:59] Speaker 3: people as they would walk to the temple, they would
[23:01] Speaker 3: walk past them and maybe throw them some money. They
[23:04] Speaker 3: would look past them, but they wouldn't look at them.
[23:08] Speaker 3: What's different about this is that Peter stops and he
[23:11] Speaker 3: sees the man. He gives him his attention instead of
[23:16] Speaker 3: just giving him money. This isn't transactional, it's relational. And
[23:21] Speaker 3: one of the ways that I know God is changing
[23:23] Speaker 3: me in my life is when I begin.
[23:26] Speaker 1: To see people, see people. Not get so caught.
[23:30] Speaker 3: Up in my world and what I have to do
[23:33] Speaker 3: and what I think should happen. But I want God
[23:35] Speaker 3: to give me eyes to see people for where they are,
[23:39] Speaker 3: and that he would fill me with compassion. I'm so
[23:42] Speaker 3: glad Tad's sitting in church today. You're always in church,
[23:44] Speaker 3: but I was glad you're here today. One of the
[23:46] Speaker 3: things I love about Tad is this is one of
[23:48] Speaker 3: the things I admire about Tad because Katie, when we
[23:52] Speaker 3: do baptisms as a church and there's sometimes hundreds of
[23:54] Speaker 3: people lining outside the tank waiting to get baptized, you
[23:58] Speaker 3: can see them kind of shaky tears in their eyes
[24:00] Speaker 3: as such a big and special moment for them. I
[24:02] Speaker 3: love watching your husband because he has a way of
[24:05] Speaker 3: seeing people. And Tad will walk through the line and
[24:08] Speaker 3: stop and talk to each person and pray for every
[24:12] Speaker 3: single person being.
[24:13] Speaker 1: Baptized that day because he's a changed man. God saw
[24:17] Speaker 1: him and now he sees others. I wonder what.
[24:26] Speaker 3: I wonder what God might do through you if you
[24:28] Speaker 3: become a person who has eyes to see people who
[24:31] Speaker 3: are in need. That was a prayer I had for
[24:34] Speaker 3: a year. I'd wake up every day. It was simply
[24:35] Speaker 3: went like this, God help me see Christ in others
[24:38] Speaker 3: that they might see Christ in me. God help me
[24:41] Speaker 3: see Christ in others that they might see Christ in me.
[24:45] Speaker 3: See Peter, he's not seeing like he used to see.
[24:48] Speaker 3: He's seeing like Jesus. He's noticing people in their need,
[24:51] Speaker 3: in their condition, and he senses not only compassion, not
[24:54] Speaker 3: just I feel for them, but I have a sense
[24:56] Speaker 3: of responsibility to do something about it.
[24:59] Speaker 1: And look what happens. Not only does Peter see him,
[25:02] Speaker 1: but Peter then says.
[25:03] Speaker 3: Silver or gold, I do not have if anyone had
[25:07] Speaker 3: an excuse just to walk by this man, that day.
[25:10] Speaker 3: It was Peter because he did not have what the
[25:13] Speaker 3: man was asking for.
[25:14] Speaker 1: He didn't have silver or gold.
[25:17] Speaker 3: And as this man is asking for money, Peter could
[25:19] Speaker 3: have just been nope, gone on his way.
[25:22] Speaker 1: But he stops and.
[25:23] Speaker 3: He says, silver or gold I do not have, but
[25:25] Speaker 3: look at this, But what I do have I give
[25:29] Speaker 3: to you. I know Peter is changing because most of
[25:33] Speaker 3: his life Peter operated from a place of scarcity. Like
[25:37] Speaker 3: when crowds of people were waiting around to hear Jesus,
[25:40] Speaker 3: Peter's the one saying, send the crowds away so they
[25:42] Speaker 3: can get something to eat, because he himself was hungry.
[25:45] Speaker 3: Peter had a way of just thinking about being protective,
[25:48] Speaker 3: and yet here he is in this scenario. I know
[25:50] Speaker 3: God is changing him because he says, I don't have
[25:53] Speaker 3: what you're asking for, but what I do have, I
[25:56] Speaker 3: want to give it to you. I know God is
[25:58] Speaker 3: changing me when I begin to give more than what
[26:01] Speaker 3: people ask for. If you can get this idea in
[26:05] Speaker 3: your heart, I really believe it will unlock your ministry
[26:08] Speaker 3: this year and the things that God wants to do
[26:10] Speaker 3: through your life.
[26:11] Speaker 1: So many of.
[26:12] Speaker 3: Us live our lives going well. If someone asked for it,
[26:15] Speaker 3: I'll give it to them. But something fundamentally shifts in
[26:18] Speaker 3: the way that God can use you when you stop
[26:21] Speaker 3: limiting your ministry by what people are asking for and
[26:24] Speaker 3: you begin to look at God, what have you already
[26:27] Speaker 3: given me in my life that I can give to
[26:29] Speaker 3: be a blessing and make a difference in someone's life.
[26:33] Speaker 3: Because you have to realize people will rarely ask you
[26:35] Speaker 3: for what they actually need. They just ask you for
[26:38] Speaker 3: what they want. This man, he wasn't asking for healing,
[26:43] Speaker 3: he was asking for money. An example in my life,
[26:47] Speaker 3: my friend Levi's here today. I didn't tell him I
[26:49] Speaker 3: was gonna use him as an example. But when we
[26:50] Speaker 3: were getting to know each other, we'd hung out a
[26:52] Speaker 3: couple times through a mutual friend, and one day that
[26:55] Speaker 3: friend of ours he pulls me aside privately, I've never
[26:57] Speaker 3: told you this, and he said, he said, leave, I
[27:00] Speaker 3: wants to go to church with you so bad.
[27:02] Speaker 1: I said what? And two things came through my mind.
[27:06] Speaker 3: I said, all the times we've hung out, he's never
[27:07] Speaker 3: asked me about going to church.
[27:08] Speaker 1: What's up with that? And second of all, it's a church.
[27:11] Speaker 3: He doesn't need a special invite to come.
[27:13] Speaker 1: If he wants to come. You can just come.
[27:15] Speaker 3: You don't need an invite from the campus pastor to
[27:17] Speaker 3: show up here. But I thought about it, I said,
[27:19] Speaker 3: he said, no, he really wants to go with you.
[27:21] Speaker 1: I bet if you ask him, he'll come.
[27:23] Speaker 3: And so on his encouragement, I invited Levi to church
[27:25] Speaker 3: and guess what he came.
[27:27] Speaker 1: Now, this isn't a dramatic story.
[27:29] Speaker 3: He already had a relationship with Christ, but he was
[27:32] Speaker 3: outside of Christian community and he didn't have a place
[27:35] Speaker 3: of regular worship. And I knew that, and I knew that,
[27:40] Speaker 3: and I knew I had what he needed, but I
[27:42] Speaker 3: never offered.
[27:43] Speaker 1: It because he never asked.
[27:47] Speaker 3: And I wonder if there are people in your life
[27:51] Speaker 3: who need what you have, but you are withholding it
[27:55] Speaker 3: because you're waiting for them to ask you.
[27:58] Speaker 1: And I wonder, well, you're a assuming.
[28:00] Speaker 3: Well, if they wanted to come to church with me,
[28:02] Speaker 3: if they wanted me to pray.
[28:03] Speaker 1: With them, they would ask. And they're going, I don't
[28:05] Speaker 1: get it. I know they love their church. They talk
[28:08] Speaker 1: about it all.
[28:08] Speaker 3: The time, they post the messages, they're always playing the
[28:10] Speaker 3: worship song. I wonder how they love their church so
[28:13] Speaker 3: much and yet they've never asked me to come.
[28:17] Speaker 1: My dad's here today, so I want to use him
[28:19] Speaker 1: as an example.
[28:19] Speaker 3: And it's a good one too, okay. But so often
[28:24] Speaker 3: when I call my dad to talk to him, talk
[28:25] Speaker 3: to him, he'll tell me how he got the minister
[28:28] Speaker 3: to someone, how he got to pray with someone, whether
[28:30] Speaker 3: that's praying for someone in an employee at his office
[28:34] Speaker 3: who got a cancer diagnosis, or someone at the gym
[28:38] Speaker 3: who's going through a divorce. And he always call me
[28:41] Speaker 3: with these stories, I got to pray for so and so.
[28:42] Speaker 3: They're going through this, they're going through that. And I
[28:44] Speaker 3: was always wondering, why are so many people asking my
[28:47] Speaker 3: dad to pray for him pray pray for them, because, y'all,
[28:50] Speaker 3: I'm a pastor, and people don't even ask me.
[28:52] Speaker 1: To pray for them as often as they ask him.
[28:55] Speaker 3: Time after time he tells me these stories, and then
[28:57] Speaker 3: I realize, no one's asking him to pray with them,
[29:02] Speaker 3: no one's asking him to pray with them. But somewhere
[29:06] Speaker 3: along the way, he decided to be intentional with what
[29:09] Speaker 3: God has given him, and instead of waiting for someone
[29:13] Speaker 3: to ask, he decided to give. So when someone said
[29:16] Speaker 3: I just got a diagnosis. He knows he can't heal
[29:19] Speaker 3: their cancer, but he gave what he had. Can I
[29:24] Speaker 3: pray for you when someone's going through a divorce. He
[29:27] Speaker 3: knows I don't know how to fix your marriage right now,
[29:29] Speaker 3: but can I pray for you?
[29:31] Speaker 1: He gave what he had.
[29:33] Speaker 3: And I want to let you know, brothers and sisters,
[29:36] Speaker 3: that God.
[29:37] Speaker 1: Has given you so much.
[29:39] Speaker 3: And what God has done in your life is not
[29:42] Speaker 3: just meant for you, It's meant for other people around you.
[29:46] Speaker 3: There are people in your world who need the peace
[29:48] Speaker 3: you have, who need the joy you have, who need
[29:51] Speaker 3: the hope you have, who need the strength you have,
[29:54] Speaker 3: and God has given it to you. God has changed
[29:56] Speaker 3: you so that you can give it to them. Peter says,
[30:00] Speaker 3: silver or gold I don't have, but what I do
[30:03] Speaker 3: have I give to you. He gave the man something
[30:06] Speaker 3: so much greater than what he asked for. And that's
[30:09] Speaker 3: my heart for this year, not only for myself, but
[30:12] Speaker 3: for all of us as a chruth. What would this
[30:15] Speaker 3: city look like if we became a people who did
[30:18] Speaker 3: not wait to be asked, but decided that we're gonna
[30:21] Speaker 3: freely give what God has given us. He gave what
[30:25] Speaker 3: he had look at this last thing that's changing in
[30:28] Speaker 3: Peter's life, and it shows up in this powerful statement
[30:31] Speaker 3: he says next, in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, walk, y'all.
[30:38] Speaker 1: This is a change for Peter too. Now, sometimes when.
[30:42] Speaker 3: We read these stories, it's easy for us to kind
[30:44] Speaker 3: of strip.
[30:44] Speaker 1: The humanity out of it.
[30:46] Speaker 3: Sometimes Peter sounds so bold, in the Name of Jesus
[30:49] Speaker 3: Christ of Nazareth, Walk, But I wonder, do you think
[30:52] Speaker 3: maybe underneath the surface Peter's heart was racing a little bit.
[30:58] Speaker 3: Do you think maybe, as he said in the Name
[31:00] Speaker 3: of Jesus Christ, walk, that his voice got a little
[31:03] Speaker 3: bit shaky, wondering, man, I've seen Jesus do miracles before,
[31:08] Speaker 3: But what if this doesn't work. There's all these people around.
[31:12] Speaker 3: What if I say, get up in the name of
[31:13] Speaker 3: Jesus and this man can't. What if it doesn't work,
[31:15] Speaker 3: What if he can't walk? Worse, what if I set
[31:18] Speaker 3: him up to hope again and it doesn't work. I
[31:21] Speaker 3: wonder if Peter was feeling a little bit anxious as
[31:24] Speaker 3: he walked past this man and decided that day I'm
[31:27] Speaker 3: gonna pray.
[31:27] Speaker 1: For his healing.
[31:29] Speaker 3: Maybe he was a little bit anxious or the old
[31:31] Speaker 3: Peter certainly would have been arrogant.
[31:33] Speaker 1: You know, Peter had a way of just doing things
[31:35] Speaker 1: his way. I know what's best.
[31:38] Speaker 3: But whether it's insecurity or conceitedness, it's all self consciousness.
[31:43] Speaker 3: And one of the changes that God wants to bring
[31:45] Speaker 3: about in our life is taking us from being self
[31:48] Speaker 3: conscious to Christ conscious. When he says in the name
[31:54] Speaker 3: of Jesus, this is not just like a formality, like
[31:56] Speaker 3: what you pray at the end of giving a blessing
[31:58] Speaker 3: over your food, thank you for the carrots, thank you
[32:00] Speaker 3: for this chicken. Bless it to our bodies, in the
[32:02] Speaker 3: name of Jesus. Amen, no, no, no. When he says
[32:05] Speaker 3: in the name of Jesus, it means that it's in reference.
[32:08] Speaker 3: It means that he is walking in the identity of Jesus,
[32:12] Speaker 3: the power of Jesus, and the authority of Jesus.
[32:17] Speaker 1: So as Peter.
[32:18] Speaker 3: Stands before this man, this is a change for Peter
[32:21] Speaker 3: because for once in his life, he's not trying to
[32:23] Speaker 3: do it in his own strength. He's doing it in
[32:27] Speaker 3: the strength and in the name and in the authority
[32:30] Speaker 3: and in the power of Jesus.
[32:35] Speaker 1: Some of us talk.
[32:36] Speaker 3: Ourselves out of being used by God because we're going,
[32:38] Speaker 3: how can I give someone advice on how to fix
[32:41] Speaker 3: a relationship when there's people I'm afraid to pick up
[32:43] Speaker 3: the phone and call. How am I going to talk
[32:45] Speaker 3: to someone about their addiction when I've got this plank
[32:48] Speaker 3: in my own eye?
[32:49] Speaker 1: And so we.
[32:50] Speaker 3: Disqualify ourselves from being used by God because we think,
[32:54] Speaker 3: how can God use someone like me? But the reality
[32:57] Speaker 3: is that if you are in Christ, it has nothing
[33:00] Speaker 3: to do with your worst days or your best days.
[33:03] Speaker 3: When you stand up in front of someone to minister or.
[33:06] Speaker 1: To be used, you're not doing it in your name.
[33:09] Speaker 1: You're doing it in the name of Jesus. Do you
[33:15] Speaker 1: have his power, you have his authority? You're doing it
[33:19] Speaker 1: in his name, y'all. Yesterday Anna said to.
[33:22] Speaker 3: Me, she said, do you try to be nicer to
[33:23] Speaker 3: me before you preach? I think she said, to you
[33:26] Speaker 3: being so nice lately, it's like I need to come
[33:28] Speaker 3: up here with a clear conscience.
[33:30] Speaker 1: And uh, I said in my head, I thought, well.
[33:32] Speaker 3: It's better than the alternative, right, because not too long
[33:36] Speaker 3: ago I used to be so mean before I preached.
[33:38] Speaker 1: Wouldn't that be mean? I can't believe I'm telling them
[33:40] Speaker 1: this right now.
[33:43] Speaker 3: And honestly, for a long time, it was the pressure
[33:47] Speaker 3: and the anxiety I would feel around preaching, because I
[33:49] Speaker 3: would I would think, what do I have to say?
[33:53] Speaker 3: What do I have authority to speak on? Who am
[33:56] Speaker 3: I to stand up there and talk to people? And
[34:00] Speaker 3: through the work of God in my life, something began
[34:02] Speaker 3: to shift where all that anxiety started to go away
[34:06] Speaker 3: because I realized it's not me standing here that when
[34:10] Speaker 3: God gives me an opportunity to minister, I'm not doing
[34:13] Speaker 3: it as Jonathan josephs, I'm here to minister in the
[34:16] Speaker 3: name of Jesus. So it's not about what I have
[34:23] Speaker 3: to say.
[34:24] Speaker 1: It's about what he has to say.
[34:26] Speaker 3: And it's not about my worthiness, whether I was mean
[34:29] Speaker 3: or whether I was nice. But I'm glad I'm being
[34:30] Speaker 3: nice now. It's not about that. It's about what he's done.
[34:35] Speaker 3: It's about what he did. Peter looks at the man
[34:38] Speaker 3: and says, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
[34:42] Speaker 3: walk and instantly the man's healed, and he gets to
[34:46] Speaker 3: his feet, and he's jumping and he's leaping, and he's
[34:49] Speaker 3: praising God because on this ordinary day something changed. He
[34:54] Speaker 3: met Peter, and Peter's a changed man. There are things
[34:59] Speaker 3: that God will do in your life that aren't just
[35:01] Speaker 3: meant for you, They're meant for other people too. God
[35:05] Speaker 3: changes you so that he can change others. And look
[35:08] Speaker 3: at this. As people are standing looking at this man
[35:11] Speaker 3: in wonder and amazement, it says that a bunch of
[35:14] Speaker 3: people start to come together, the words getting out about
[35:17] Speaker 3: what has happened. And in verse twelve, look what Peter says.
[35:21] Speaker 3: When Peter saw this, he said to the crowd. He
[35:23] Speaker 3: uses every miracle as an opportunity to declare the gospel.
[35:27] Speaker 3: When Peter saw this, he said to them, fellow Israelites,
[35:31] Speaker 3: why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at
[35:34] Speaker 3: us as if it's by our own power or godliness?
[35:38] Speaker 1: We had made this man walk.
[35:41] Speaker 3: Look at verse sixteen by faith in the name of Jesus.
[35:46] Speaker 3: This man whom you see and know, was made strong.
[35:50] Speaker 3: It is in Jesus's name and the faith that comes
[35:54] Speaker 3: through him that has completely healed him.
[35:57] Speaker 1: As you all can see. It is in Jesus's name
[36:03] Speaker 1: and the faith that comes through him. Peter said, what
[36:06] Speaker 1: are you looking at us? For?
[36:09] Speaker 3: It's not by our power, it's not by might it's
[36:12] Speaker 3: by the power of Jesus that this man can walk,
[36:14] Speaker 3: not only Jesus's name, but he says by faith in
[36:17] Speaker 3: the name of Jesus.
[36:18] Speaker 1: Now the question is whose faith?
[36:22] Speaker 3: Whose faith in Jesus healed this man, this man never
[36:27] Speaker 3: asked to be healed, was in his faith. There's no
[36:31] Speaker 3: indication this man even knew who Jesus was. It was
[36:35] Speaker 3: in his faith. So whose faith in Jesus? Peters? Peters,
[36:45] Speaker 3: Your faith isn't just meant to change you.
[36:48] Speaker 1: Your faith is meant to change others.
[37:00] Speaker 3: And some of us that are in the habit of just,
[37:02] Speaker 3: you know, coming to church when we need something from God.
[37:05] Speaker 1: I got to get the church today. I need encouragement,
[37:07] Speaker 1: I need strength.
[37:08] Speaker 3: And as long as you look at your faith that way,
[37:10] Speaker 3: as if it's just for you to help you get
[37:12] Speaker 3: through and to help you get by, you always limit
[37:16] Speaker 3: what God can do through your life. But what if
[37:19] Speaker 3: you decided that, hey, I'm coming to church anyway, because
[37:23] Speaker 3: even though I might not have a need today, maybe
[37:25] Speaker 3: there's someone else coming to church that needs a touch
[37:28] Speaker 3: from God, and maybe God has given me what they need.
[37:32] Speaker 3: Your faith isn't just meant to change you. It's meant
[37:36] Speaker 3: to change the people around you, and Luke goes on
[37:39] Speaker 3: to say that there were many, many people who place
[37:42] Speaker 3: their faith in.
[37:43] Speaker 1: Jesus that day.
[37:44] Speaker 3: People's lives were changed because God changed that man. But
[37:48] Speaker 3: God changed that man because he changed Peter. And I
[37:54] Speaker 3: see this year being different for you because I know
[37:57] Speaker 3: all of us have things in our life that we're saying, God.
[37:59] Speaker 1: Just help me. But I want to expect you. I
[38:02] Speaker 1: want to have expectation.
[38:03] Speaker 3: I want to have faith, I want to have hope,
[38:04] Speaker 3: I want to have trust. There are things in my
[38:06] Speaker 3: life that I want to see God change. But I
[38:08] Speaker 3: have to remember too that some of the things that
[38:10] Speaker 3: God wants to change in my life aren't just meant
[38:13] Speaker 3: for me. It's because God has blessed me to be
[38:16] Speaker 3: a blessing. God changes me so that he can change others.
[38:20] Speaker 3: I need eyes to see, I need open hands to
[38:23] Speaker 3: give what He's given me. And I don't do it
[38:26] Speaker 3: in my own strength. I do it in the name
[38:28] Speaker 3: of Jesus. I see this year being a year where
[38:32] Speaker 3: you go from just coming to God like Peter used
[38:35] Speaker 3: to do. So much of Peter's life was following Jesus
[38:38] Speaker 3: because of what was in it for him, and.
[38:40] Speaker 1: Now Peter's changing.
[38:42] Speaker 3: Peter's changing, and he sees his purpose in life not
[38:46] Speaker 3: just knowing Jesus for his own sake, but for the
[38:48] Speaker 3: sake of others. I see this changing in your life
[38:51] Speaker 3: this year. I see you coming to church not just
[38:53] Speaker 3: to receive, but to give. I see you praying for
[38:56] Speaker 3: people out in the lobby after church because you saw
[38:59] Speaker 3: an orange Bible in their hands and you said, I
[39:01] Speaker 3: can pray for them, I can.
[39:03] Speaker 1: Give them a word of encouragement.
[39:04] Speaker 3: I see you looking at someone in worship and God
[39:06] Speaker 3: giving a scripture on your heart, and you going up
[39:09] Speaker 3: to them and being a blessing to them. Because your
[39:11] Speaker 3: faith is not just for you. God changes you so
[39:15] Speaker 3: that He can change others. So I want to close
[39:19] Speaker 3: by just praying over you a prayer of activation today
[39:24] Speaker 3: as we head into this new year, that this would
[39:27] Speaker 3: be a year that not only do you see God
[39:29] Speaker 3: changes in your own life, but that God would change
[39:32] Speaker 3: people through you as well.
[39:34] Speaker 1: Can you stand to your feet.
[39:40] Speaker 3: H hm.
[39:43] Speaker 1: Hm, And let's do it like this.
[39:48] Speaker 3: Let's put our hand on the shoulder of someone around
[39:51] Speaker 3: us right now, and in the spirit of this message.
[39:55] Speaker 1: I'm gonna pray and you're.
[39:57] Speaker 3: Gonna repeat after me, and I haven't planned this out,
[39:59] Speaker 3: so there's not like a nice cadence to it.
[40:02] Speaker 1: You just got to go with me.
[40:05] Speaker 3: But you're going to pray for the person on your
[40:06] Speaker 3: right and on your left because you have been given
[40:09] Speaker 3: the spirit of God and you are in Christ. The
[40:11] Speaker 3: Bible says that the prayers of the righteous are powerful
[40:14] Speaker 3: and effective, and God is getting ready to do incredible
[40:18] Speaker 3: things in our church this year.
[40:20] Speaker 1: God is getting ready to do amazing things in.
[40:22] Speaker 3: Your life, things that will exceed your wildness imagination. But
[40:26] Speaker 3: it's not just what he wants to do in you,
[40:28] Speaker 3: it's what he wants to do through you. So with
[40:31] Speaker 3: your hand on the shoulders of the people next to you,
[40:34] Speaker 3: do your best to flow with me as we say
[40:36] Speaker 3: this prayer together. Okay, say Father, I thank you for
[40:40] Speaker 3: the person on my right and on my left. Thank
[40:45] Speaker 3: you for what you've done in them, thank you for
[40:49] Speaker 3: what you're going to do in them, and I thank
[40:53] Speaker 3: you for what you want to do through them.
[40:57] Speaker 1: I pray that you would give them boldness this year.
[41:01] Speaker 3: I pray that you would open up their eyes to
[41:03] Speaker 3: see the opportunities that you're giving them to make a
[41:09] Speaker 3: difference for your glory, strengthen them, increase their expectation, stir
[41:18] Speaker 3: up their faith that we would see you move like
[41:23] Speaker 3: never before.
[41:25] Speaker 1: We pray these things in the name of Jesus. Let's
[41:32] Speaker 1: give God a praise.
[41:39] Speaker 2: And I hope you enjoyed the podcast, and if you did,
[41:42] Speaker 2: make sure to share it and subscribe so we can
[41:45] Speaker 2: get you all of these new messages as soon as
[41:47] Speaker 2: they're available. I also want to take a moment and
[41:50] Speaker 2: thank all of you who are a part of Elevation.
[41:53] Speaker 2: Whether you support us financially, or serve with us, or
[41:56] Speaker 2: just share these messages, it's because of you that we're
[41:59] Speaker 2: able to each people all around the world. And if
[42:02] Speaker 2: you want more information on how to be a part
[42:05] Speaker 2: of Elevation, click the link in the description. Thanks again
[42:09] Speaker 2: for listening. Make sure to leave a review, share the message,
[42:12] Speaker 2: and subscribe.
[42:13] Speaker 1: God bless you.

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