Third Week or Easter

Good morning. I am so happy that we can be gathered here together. It is the third week of Easter this week and I am happy that we are able to join together and enjoy the fellowship of gathering and engaging in worship.

Sometimes one of the challenges with being a Preacher is you have to come up with interesting or creative introductions to start a sermon. No matter if it is a cute story or a personal story I know that I sometimes struggle with this. If i don’t get a good introduction I will struggle with writing the sermon.

This morning I thought lets do something a little different. Let’s start with a story from the scriptures and let it help us introduce this mornings sermon.

Acts 3:1–10 NIV

1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter and John Heal

Here is this interesting story about Peter and John in the beginning days of the early church and they perform this amazing miracle. They heal this man sitting at the gates who is begging so that he can simply survive. I mean that sounds like the exact thing Jesus would have done. Is that is what is going on here. Just a new version of Jesus. Same actions just different people performing the miracles. Is this what the people can expect. Miracles from different men, but the same message? It really is an amazing story. It also raises a new question though that we have to struggle with. Now that Jesus has died on the cross, rose from the grave, and ascended into heaven what does that mean for us? How do we define ourselves in this new world becuase the truth is that this is a new world at this point and we have to deal with that.

The First thing i think that we can say though is we have to understand that...

We are God’s Children

This is an important aspect of our faith that we have to wrestle with right now. Think about this for a moment. Peter and John were able to do an amazing miracle because they knew who they were and where their authority and power came from. They knew the truth about who had trained, and sent them out into the world. We can know this from the books of the Bible that they have written and shared with others across the generations.

It is this idea that we are God’s children that is so essential because it helps us define who we are as believers. Look at this proclamation of John

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

This verse helps us understand where they were coming from or how we should view ourselves, as children of God.

This idea that we are the children of God is so important for us because it is an essential part of our faith and it also helps us to understand God’s love for us.

John 1:12–13 NIV

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

We are his not because of natural descent, or human decision or a husband’s will. No we are born of God. This is powerful. It actually had me thinking about some great stories.

Happy Adoption Moments

While i was working on this idea of Adoption and what it means to us i was on You tube for a bit and i searched Happy adoption moments. Now i have to preface this with a warning if you get online and you search for this same thing you better have a box of tissues ready. You can find video after video of either children, both young and old, and parents asking their kids if they would like to be adopted. It is powerful to watch.

After i stopped crying from watching only a few of these videos i couldn’t help but think about why it made me feel so emotional. I was thinking about the fact that it was love expressed in one of its deepest forms. The desire to be wanted and to be loved by others is powerful. It is moving and it stirs the soul to know that these people are showing their love for one another. If you really think about it, it is even more powerful because this love isn’t born out of a natural biological connection, or cultural connection, it is out of genuine love for one another.

God Adopted us

It makes me realize more and more how powerful it is than to know that when Jesus died on the cross for us he provided the path for us to become the children of God. That he provided the opportunity for us to believe and than in turn be so loved by God that we are considered his children. That he desires us and wants us he adopts us because he loves us. He longs for us to want to be adopted into his family. IT gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

All of this was possible because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

One of the challenges that we face though after we have accepted this adoption is how the world sees us...

The World Does not see it

One of the great challenges that we have both today and even back in the days of the early church is that the world does not recognize what has happened. Weather this is because they choose to ignore it or they do not know about it. The world does not recognize the work of what God is doing in our lives. To often when we are living our lives we struggle with the direction of the world because so much of our lives is wrapped up into.

The World also doesn’t understand or struggles to see what about our faith is so important. This failure to recognize what is happening as i said can come from different understandings. Look back at Acts and we can see an example of this to help us better understand.

Acts 3:11–17 NIV

11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see. 17 “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.

Peter and John explain

Peter and John had just healed this guy and they find themselves surrounded by a crowd who is astonished and amazed at what has happened. I can only imagine that they didn’t understand what was happening. I am sure many of them were wondering if Peter had replaced Jesus. They didn’t understand where the power and authority to do this had come from.

Peter than has to go through this explanation of what was done to Jesus and who he was and where their power comes from. This explanation is interesting to me because he has to do it because the world doesn’t understand.

John does something similar in 1 John

1 John 3:5–6 NIV

5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

For those of us who have chosen to be a part of the family of God we recognize and know what God has done for us in the coming of Jesus. We also recognize and value the fact that we needed Jesus to come and die on the cross to pay the price for our sins so that we can be free of those sins. This is what causes us to shift our life to living in a way were we strive to no longer sin and live a life to honor and glorify God.

As John says though if someone continues to live in sin has not seen or known him. It makes you think about where we are at in our walk. The World lives in a different place than we do. We are and should be counter cultural compared to the world. We shouldn’t look like the rest of the world we are to be set apart as something different. This lead us to our final point.

We are His Witnesses

Peter and John share the gospel message to the people who gathered who were amazed at what had happened. They shared with them that Jesus had to come and die for them and that though they sent him to the cross he was still there for them.

John also reminds of this in his letter.

1 John 3:4–7 NIV

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Listen to that last verse again. “Do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.” Our biggest witness is how we live. It is living life in a way that glorifies God. Yet, the actions alone are not enough we must also be willing to speak. We can not sit by and just hope that people notice what we do. We need to help them see what Jesus is doing in our lives and how it is changing who we are and what we do. Helping them to come to know him as we know him.

We want to share the love that we know God has for us. I don’t know about you but i want as many people to be able to experience the love of our savior Jesus. His love for us is amazing and it is something that i am so happy i have in my life because before he was in my life it wasn’t the same. After he changed who i am and saved me from myself it is amazing how different i view life and live life. This is the testament of what Jesus did for us and this is the testament that we have to live for.