Sunday Morning Service 8:30AM- The Mission and the Vision Pt2 Pastor Ryan

please open up in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 3. Acts chapter 3. So last week, we started into a two-week series talking about the mission and the vision of Calvary Chapel. We were in between books, and it felt like a really good time to present that to us, to talk about what it looks like to be the church and what's our vision here at Calvary Chapel and what are we supposed to be doing. We talked a lot about the church and kind of how we ended up

having church the way that we do with the synagogue model, things like that. If you want to, you can go back and listen to that on our website or on Facebook. Go back and listen to that to recap. But ultimately, we came to the place where we realized that there are two different purposes. For the church. Two purposes based upon what Jesus gave us the Great Commission to go forth

to preach, to teach, to make disciples, and to be witnesses. We said that there were two main purposes. The first purpose of the church in general is to build up the body of Christ. Building up the body of Christ by making disciples and by teaching. Our goal is not just to fill up a church here. Our goal is to see you become disciples of Jesus Christ, followers of Jesus

Christ. And become who God has intended for you to be. So, the first purpose of the church is to build up the body of Christ. But the second purpose of the church is to reach out to the lost world that is around us. To reach out with the gospel. To preach, to be witnesses, to the world that is around us. Because you and I have what we're told in 2 Corinthians is a treasure in an earthen vessel. The treasure that

we have is the truth of Jesus Christ. The truth of the gospel. And we need to take that knowledge and take it to the other words or that treasure and share it with the world that is around us. And so last week, we looked at what is based upon those two purposes of the church. What is the mission and the vision of Calvary Chapel of Ark City? Well, we said that it is two phrases, Calvary Chapel of Ark City, reaching in and

reaching out. We reach in to make disciples and to build up the body of Christ. We reach out to the lost world that is around us with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so last week, we looked at the aspect of reaching in. What does it look like to reach in and build up the body of Christ, to make disciples here at Calvary Chapel of Ark City? And we used Acts chapter 2, verse 42 with the disciples

where it says they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. And so we talked about those four things. We said that in order to build up the body of Christ, there's four things that take precedence within the church. The first is the word, which we do through expositional teaching, small groups, and hopefully individual study of the word of God.

We do it through fellowship, by getting to know each other, by spending time with each other and pouring into each other because of the commonality that we have in Jesus Christ. We do it through the breaking of bread, both through the Lord's Supper together, which we did last week, but also having meals together, which by the way, apparently La Fiesta owes me money because everybody from church invited someone to go to lunch with them last week. And La Fiesta was filled up with nothing but Calvary Chapel people. I will be seeing them about my finder's fee later. So Wednesday night, somebody said, man, La Fiesta, man,

everybody there was from Calvary Chapel. Everybody took what you said and invited a friend to church. I love that. I thought that that was great. So we talked about that breaking of bread together. And then of course, the aspect of prayer, the prayer, which is corporate prayer together, which we highly encourage through both our before service prayer meetings, and hopefully in every

small group that takes place, there is prayer that happens because the building up of the body. And I noticed a whole bunch of people signed up for flock note as well to start receiving prayer requests through that. So that was a very exciting thing to take place. And so that's, those four things are what take precedence if we are to build up the body of Christ. And I,

and I will reiterate one more time that if you are not involved in one of the small groups that are mentioned on the left-hand side of the bulletin, even just coming on Wednesday night to an additional service, you're not going to be able to do that. You're not going to be able to do that. You're not going to be able to do that. You're not going to be able to do that. You're not going to be able to do that.

If you're a little bit smaller, a little bit shorter, give a little bit more time for fellowship together, then you really need to pray about getting plugged in somewhere. Because it is so hard to really grow if you just come here on Sunday morning and then leave. Because you don't have other people investing in your life throughout the week. And so it's really, really important that you take a look at one of those and think, where could I get plugged in so that I can glean a little bit more and hopefully be encouraged in the body of Christ. And so that's the aspect of

in. But today we want to look at reaching out. Taking the gospel outside of the four walls of the church and really begin to reach out to people. You know, I'm reminded, when we think about the church, we need to be reminded that the church is not a building. This is a church building because the church meets here. But the church is so much more than a building. The church is not an

organization. The church is not a program. The church is people. You are the church. And so that's why when we build each other up and fulfill that role of the church, it's going to involve people. Meaning that you're going to have to get your hands a little bit messy with people. And sometimes that's a hard thing to do. But that's what it's going to involve. And if you're going to reach

out with the gospel, listen, it's going to involve people, right? I used to hear it said all the time, preach the gospel and if necessary, use words. Listen, I've been doing this for a really long time. It's necessary to use words, okay? Like your lifestyle is important, but eventually you're going to have to get your hands a little bit messy with people. You're going to have to get your hands

a little bit messy with people. You're going to have to get your hands a little bit messy with people. You're trying to nap, right? Like at some point in time, it's like, does he have Jesus or is he sleeping, right? I mean, there's only so much we can do. And so we have to look at reaching out to take the gospel outside of the four walls. And that's exactly what the early church faced in

the book of Acts. Because remember, what happened on the day of Pentecost brought 3,000 new converts to the church. The church just went from being about a couple hundred people to being over 3,000 people. Now, if one day 3,000 people showed up at this church building, first of all, we'd be in trouble because we won't all fit. But second of all, you'd kind of go, hey, we can kind

of kick back a little bit because look at how much the church has grown. We can just kind of relax. And the danger of a growing church and the danger that they faced in the early church as the church was growing was to sit back and say, let's just keep to ourselves. We've got enough people here. We've built a really good church. Let's just keep to ourselves and try to become some sort of a holy club that only we can be

involved in. And that danger exists for every church in the United States of America and every church throughout the world, is that we would become people who are so inwardly focused that we never get out amongst the people. And that was the danger that they faced here. However, they did not allow that to become who they were. And so there's a story that I want

to look at in Acts chapter 3. We're going to cover the first 19 verses. And what I would like for you to do is you follow along quietly as I read this to you. Just allow God's Word to soak into you here. Notice what it says. It says, Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. The man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set

down every day at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, in order to beg, to receive alms of those who were entering the temple. And when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, Look at us. And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I

give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, walk. And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. And with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk. And he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people who saw him walking and praising God, and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the beautiful gate of

the temple to beg alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together, to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Or why do you gaze at us as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, the one who you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. But you, disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. But put to death the Prince of Life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in his name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened the man whom you see and know. And the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect health

in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also. But I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also. And I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also. But I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also. And I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also.

But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. Therefore, repent and return so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. And so there's this wonderful story here in the book of Acts of the disciples just kind of living life. Now, I thought about, and I said this, I say this every time we come to the story, I always say this, I say this every time we come to the story, I always say this, I say this, I say this, I always think about making you sing the song with me. But I know that there's a handful of you

that will never come back if I make you do an interactive song with me. So I'm not going to do that. I used to do that to my Bible class all the time. Matter of fact, I had a student who refused. He was way too cool to sing the song and leap up and walk and leap and praise God. And we did it three times. And I said, we will do this until he does it with us. And finally, I looked at him,

I said, I will flunk you out of this class if you do not do this song with us. And he goes, fine. And we all sing it one more time together. So I won't do that to you guys. But there's this great story. So Peter and John, remember, great things are going on. Great things are happening. The church is growing. They're devoting themselves to all of the right thing. And they go to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. Now, I want you to

take note as kind of a sidebar. They didn't go for a sacrifice. They went for the time of prayer. There was a morning and an afternoon prayer time that they were supposed to attend. And they go at the time of prayer. They didn't need to sacrifice anymore because Jesus had already made that sacrifice. But they were still learning what it was like to be a Christian. And they were still

to transition from being a Jewish person to being a Christian. And so they still went and did what they knew how to do. They went to the temple at the ninth hour, which is about three o'clock in the afternoon. So three o'clock in the afternoon, they find themselves going to the temple. And there's a man who's laying there. And this man is laying there who has been lame from his mother's

woo. Now, later on, if we were to continue on into Acts chapter four, we would learn that this guy was over 40 years old. So he was not new at laying there. Now, I want you to think about something. Jesus would have walked by this same guy. You say, Ryan, how do you know? Well, because Jesus would have been here about six months before this. And this man has been laying there probably

since he was in his late teens or early 20s in the exact same spot, undoubtedly begging for money because that was kind of what he had to be able to do in order to survive in life. And I wonder how many times Jesus walked by that guy and thought to himself, you just wait. Your time's coming. You just wait. It's going to be okay. It's just not going to be okay. You just wait.

It's not time yet. And so this guy is laying there at the temple. And as he's laying there, he's begging for these alms. And he looks up at Peter and John. And I love the response of Peter and John. He says, do you have any money? And Peter and John were like, we ain't got no cash, right? We don't have any silver and gold. We don't have any money. And can I just say,

I appreciate that the disciples didn't have any cash on them that day, or probably ever. Like, I can appreciate that. Like, I can understand that. If some dude's like, hey, I need some money. I'm like, you and me both, kid, right? Like, and so they just, like, I don't have any money. I don't have begging for this money, and he said, we don't have any money on us, but I do have something else.

And he was moved by the Spirit. And I want you to notice what it says that he did. Look at verse 4. It says, but Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, look at us. And he began to give him his attention. He said, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he reaches out, and he grabs him by the hand, and he raises him up.

Now, I want to know, we were talking about this with a, I don't know if it was a group of kids, I don't know, I talk to way too many people, I forget who I say what to. And we were talking about the fact that we want a certain amount of things to be pre-recorded in heaven, so that when we get there at any time we want to, we can go back and we can watch things, right? Like a heavenly TiVo, or a heavenly DVR, where we can go back and go, hey, let's watch that one again, because that one was really cool. This is one that I want to be able to see happen, right? Because I have a few

questions. Number one, how nervous was Peter at this point in time? And number two, how nervous was Peter at this point in time? Right? Like he just essentially, if you will, had to put his money where his mouth is. He knew God was able to heal. He had watched Jesus heal. And now he has to be able to actually put his money where his mouth is and say, in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up

and walk. Once you make that statement, you got to really hope that God's going to come through, right? He felt led. He took that step of faith, and he reaches out and he grabs him by the hand. So I want to know, like, could you see Peter's heart pounding out of his chest at this point in time because he was nervous? How freaked out was the lame guy at this point in time? Was he like,

all I wanted was silver and gold. Why are you reaching out your hand to me? But he was willing to reach out his hand and have him lift him up, which would have been a pretty big step of faith on his part, right? Because his feet and legs had never worked. Luke goes on to describe kind of what that would have looked like, but his feet and legs didn't work. And I also want

to know, since his legs didn't work, we know that sometimes that means that they're shriveled up because the muscles aren't working properly. Was all of the muscle and muscle tone restored? Immediately? These are some questions that I have, which is why I would like to watch it on DVR when we get to heaven, because I think it would be a fascinating thing to see if his legs are just like, right? Like he's, he's got the legs of like Saquon Barkley or something like that. When he

stands up, he's like, I don't think he turned into a bodybuilder at that point in time, but he raises him up and the dude is so stoked, right? Says, says he's, and again, if we were singing the song right now, this would be the part where you would leap out of your chair, and we would sing, he went walking and leaping and praising God. And if I had a bunch of little kids in here right now, they would be real into that, right? I could get a whole front row of kids walking and leaping, praising God. I'd have to calm them back down. And he's so excited. He's

clinging to Peter and John. And I think Peter was as shocked as anybody at this point in time. He's like, son of a gun. How about that? Right? But then all of a sudden, everybody starts looking at Peter and John and going, whoa, these guys were amazing. Look at what they just did. Again, another danger comes. Another danger comes for Peter. He could have started to take credit for himself. And if anybody would have had a tendency to take credit

for himself, it was Peter, right? But filled with the Holy Spirit, he realized where the credit needed to go. He said, I understand where you're coming from, but this wasn't us. We weren't the ones that did this. As a matter of fact, the power to do this came from the very Jesus that you rejected. The very Jesus that you crucified. The very Jesus that you disowned when Pilate would

have been willing to set him free. In other words, the Jesus who took your place is who gave the power to do this. But through faith in his name, the man that you see before you has been made well. And then Peter goes on to say, therefore, repent. The times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Now, it's not given to us in chapter three, but if you go into chapter four, you'll find that 5,000 people got saved that day.

All because he was willing to reach out. All because he was willing to get outside of the four walls of the church, to put himself out there a little bit, to get out and serve someone. We see that because he was willing to reach out, the church was built up more that day. And people who were lost in their sins came to a place of being made right with Jesus. And so as we look at this story, it kind of lays

out for us what I think is the principles of what it looks like to reach out, of what it looks like to be a church that reaches out. And so there's five principles that I've pulled from this. We'll spend the rest of our time together talking about these five principles. And interestingly enough, I think that these principles will build upon each other, because if you don't have one, the next one will be impossible. So principle number one is that you must live a lifestyle

of prayer. A lifestyle of prayer. It's still blank up there. Oh, there it is. Found it. A lifestyle of prayer. Notice what these guys were doing. What were they doing? It says, verse one, now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth, hour of prayer. The indication we're given in this, in the tense of the Greek verbs that are used, is that this is what they always did. This was their lifestyle that they lived,

is they lived a continual lifestyle of prayer. Now, this is the second week in a row that we've talked about this, if not the third. Did we talk about it the week before too? It must be a pretty important thing for us to talk about. It must be important for us to be people who pray. It's important for corporate prayer. It's important for your individual life, but it's also

important for your personal life. It's important for your personal life. It's important for your personal life. It's important to reach out. And it reminds me that we always have to remember what is the point of prayer. Too many of us, especially in a Western culture, give me what I want sort of world, think that prayer is to accomplish my will on earth. I want to pray to God so that he will

do the things that I want him to do when I want him to do them. I get really nervous about people that start demanding things of God. I start kind of going, whoa. I also get really nervous about people that think that they can speak things into God. I get really nervous about people that think that they can speak things into existence through prayer. I'm like, feels a little bold to me, but

I get nervous about that. But prayer is not to accomplish my will on earth. Prayer is to accomplish God's will on earth. And it always will align my heart with the will of God. That's why there is great necessity in praying, not my will, but your will be done. Well, what's the will of God when it comes to the lost? Well, God's desire to accomplish my will on earth is to accomplish God's will on earth.

Well, God's desire is that none would perish, but that all would come to everlasting life. Now, we need to realize that that may not happen. There are going to be people who will refuse to obey the gospel. I point that out because somebody sent me a reel on Instagram this week, and it's the same old tired argument that's come around. And this guy is quoting Rob Bell. And if you don't know who

Rob Bell is, then don't worry about it. But the idea is that no one will ever go to hell, because God will just keep loving them until finally they realize the truth, and ultimately God will save them, because God's will is that none should perish. Listen, Jesus talked as much about hell as he did about just about anything else, and he made it pretty clear that for those who refuse to believe that those that reject him, hell is their destiny, and that it is eternal. That's why he says, the flame is not quenched, and the worm never dies. We need to understand

that reality. It's important to understand that reality, because once I realize that that's the reality for most of the world that lives around me, it starts to change my view of the people that live around me. Because the desire of God is that none should perish, but some people will continue to reject the gospel no matter how much you present it to them. But we should get our hearts aligned with God's will, and we should get our hearts aligned with God's will, and we should get our hearts aligned with the will of God, and God's desire is that none should perish. God's

love is for people. How do I know that? Because Jesus took on the form of a man and came and dwelt among us so that he could save humanity. Therefore, it's his desire to see people come to know Jesus. It's his desire to see people come to a saving knowledge that will deliver them from the wrath that is to come. And so we have to understand that that's God's desire. And if we are to be lined up with what God's heart is for us, then it's going to

require prayer. And sometimes it's going to require this term we call intercessory prayer, which is me going on behalf of someone else before the Father. And as I do that, it begins to change my heart towards people. And as my heart begins to be changed towards people, I start having a desire to reach out. But it all begins with a lifestyle of prayer. I guarantee,

everybody in here has somebody in their life that does not know Jesus. And I would say, start by praying for them. And then start by praying for whoever it is that you think can never come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I don't care who that is. I don't care how far gone you think that they are. You should start praying for them. Because listen, if Jesus

can save you, he can save them. And so start praying for those people and start being a people constantly lined up with the will of God. That's why we're told to pray for our enemies, to pray for those who despitefully use you and abuse you, so that your heart can be lined up with the will of God and seeing them desire to come to know Jesus. And so it starts with a lifestyle of prayer. Number two is a love for people. A love for people. Notice what it says

in verse four. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him. Why is that important? Because they were not willing to look past someone in need. They were not willing to look past someone who had a distinct need in their lives. They took the time to stop and love someone. I went back and listened, because this is the second time I've given this message. I went back and listened to

the first one to see if I had any wisdom to share. And I did have a little bit of wisdom to share with myself. Do you remember 2020? Unfortunately, some people felt like they were living their best life to not be around people all the time. They were like, oh, it was great. I never had to be around people. Because I hear a good number of people say, I just don't like being around people anymore. And I have watched since 2020,

that began to take place. I have seen more people isolate themselves continually since 2020 happened in our lives. I have seen more people withdraw themselves. I have seen more people not be willing to have conversations with individuals that they've never met before. I have seen more people turn inwardly since 2020 than I had in my previous 40 years of life. And it's because

we naturally don't love people. We naturally are selfish. We naturally care about us, and we are inwardly focused. And for six months to a year, the entire world told us the best thing you can do is be inwardly focused. And it has taken us a long time to get past that. Because there are a good number of things that are just not back to normal. But we as the church have to get a little bit back to normal. And we have to get back to

loving people. Because at the end of the day, all of life is comprised of relationships. Have you ever realized that all of the instructions in the Bible, come down to instructions about relationships? Either your relationship with God, or your relationship with people? And it's almost like one of the greatest things that God wants us to do is to love the people that are around us. What was the very first thing that God said after

he created Adam? The only thing he said wasn't good. He said, it's not good that man should be alone. Why? Because he needed someone to show love to. He needed someone to display that love to. And then God told him, be fruitful and more faithful. And he did. And he did. And he did. And he did. And the only thing he taught him was that he finish what the Bible said because

what he said, it could not end up good. And I think that's something that's required of you. Add maybe sometimes no to altre them Mary and Paul. Because there are just too many God's out there to go down. Why? Because there would be more people to show love to when Jesus came, when the second Adam, that's who Jesus is, came. What was the commandment that he left his disciples with? He said, a new commandment I give to you, that you

love one another because I have loved you. Now, that's a whole other study all in and of itself to love the way that Jesus did. Because love doesn't look like what the world says. world's telling us right now that love means I accept you for who you are and you don't have to change. Love means affirmation. And here's the thing, love doesn't mean affirmation. Love means

that I tell you the truth. Love means that I sacrifice me for the best for you. Even if that means sometimes I have to tell you really hard truths. You know why? Because Jesus constantly told really hard truths. But we have to love people. And as the church, we should be known for our love. There's a great hymn, and I think it came out in the 60s or the 70s. I have it on one of my

running playlists that For King and Country did. They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love. And that's kind of the whole chorus of the song is about that. And right now, the world doesn't always know that we're Christians. You know why? Because they don't see us love. They don't see us love each other a lot. And they don't always see us love the world a lot. But love for people is

what we're supposed to have. But listen, I will tell you right now, if you don't have a lifestyle of prayer, you won't have a love for people. Because your heart will not be lined up with the will of God. And if you don't have a lifestyle of prayer, you won't have a love for people. Your heart will be lined up with your own will in life. And you will want to make people into

your own image instead of seeing them conformed to the image of God. But brothers and sisters, we have to start looking past all of the garbage in the world and start loving people. Well, Ryan, you don't understand how bad people are. Yes, I do. And if anybody really understands how bad people are, it's Jesus. And what was the very last thing that he said before he gave up the ghost on

the cross? He said, I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. Before he cried out, it is finished, he said, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. Because of the great love that he had for some really terrible people. Brothers and sisters, if we are going to reach out, it will start with a lifestyle of prayer, which will lead us to a love

for people. Number three is an attitude of availability. An attitude, of availability. Now, what were Peter and John doing when they came across this lame man? They were just going about their daily lives, right? They were, they were going to the temple at the ninth hour for prayer. That's what they probably did every single day as good Jewish boys. They knew that was the time that they were supposed to go. And as they were going about their daily lives,

an opportunity presented itself. But listen, that opportunity took them out of their comfort zone. And that opportunity got them off of their schedule, and they had to be okay with it. Because you can imagine how it would be for them. Oh man, we're going to be late for prayer. Listen, buddy, I can't help you right now because I got to, I got to get somewhere. I've got somewhere

that I've got to be. I realize that you got a situation here right now, but I've got to be somewhere. No, they had this attitude of availability. Even if it meant that they had to stop what they were doing right then, even if it meant that they might have to be late for something, even if it meant that they might not get to do something that they would normally do, they had this attitude of availability that I'm willing to stop what I'm doing right now in order to meet the need that sits right in front of me. John Corson in his commentary said this,

he said, interruptions are often divine inspirations. Interruptions are often divine inspirations. And listen, sometimes in this crazy busy world that we live in, we need to be willing to be. Interrupted. We need to be willing to have our day completely thrown off because an opportunity arose to minister and to reach out to someone else. How many times do we miss out on something

because I've got to hurry up and get through the store so that I can get back home because I might be late to sit on the couch? How many times do we miss an opportunity because we don't have that attitude of availability? We need to be willing to have our day completely thrown off because we need to be willing to have our day completely thrown off because we don't have that attitude of availability because we know that if I stop and have this conversation, and listen, if anybody understands this, it's me, okay? I have to just, sometimes I have to put my head down and go, and even then I'm like, but what if I'm missing something? What if I'm missing someone? And so

my wife just knows when I go to the store, it's going to be a while before I get back. That's all that there is to it, right? I go to the coffee shop here all the time, yes, it's because I have a slight caffeine addiction, but it's also because it genuinely becomes a counseling office for me. I'm here to tell you right now, 80% of the conversations that I have where I minister to people take place in the front room of Steamy Joe's coffee shop because someone will come in and they will say, oh, hey, Pastor Ryan, how are you? And I'm like,

I'm good, how are you doing? And they'll always say the same thing. Can I ask you a question? Sure, go ahead. And they'll sit down next to me and they'll start talking and they might be there for 20 minutes and we'll just talk about what's going on in life. Or they'll share with me about what's going on with one of their kids. Or they'll share with me about something that's happening in the world

that's got them a little bit stressed out right now. And it just becomes my opportunity to be with people because I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but most people aren't just like, I have a question, I'll just go to the church, right? Because especially people of the world, the last place they want to darken the door of is, is a church. And so you've got to be available anywhere you go. And if you're available anywhere

you go, then you find that all of a sudden, all of those little interruptions actually become your greatest place of ministry. Because now you can reach out to the world that is around you. Now you can start to reach out, but you have to be willing to be late sometimes. You have to be willing to say no to some things and say, hey, listen, I've got this going on right now, and so I'm going to be able to make it to that because I think what I'm doing right now is really, really important. It's okay. Are you going to make people mad? Yes, I make people mad all the time. It's okay.

But you've got to have that attitude of availability. And that's what they had. They said, listen, this is just what we do. We're going to serve because it's an option and someone needs help. And so we are going to reach out to them. And that brings us to number four, a willingness to serve. A willingness to serve. Notice what it says in verses six and seven. But Peter said,

I don't possess silver and gold, but what I do have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, rise up and walk. And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. If you don't have a lifestyle of prayer, you won't have any love for people. If you don't have any love for people, you won't have an attitude of availability. And if you don't have an attitude of availability,

you will never be willing to serve. Because if you start viewing all of those little interruptions as divine inspirations, then pretty soon everything becomes an opportunity to serve. Now, the one thing I agree about about that statement is preach the gospel and if necessary, use words, is this part right here. Sometimes people do not care about the message of the gospel until they know that you love them.

And one of the greatest ways to show that you love people is to take time to serve them. Jesus was always taking time to serve people. After all, what did he do with 5,000 men plus the women and children? He served them, right? That's me breaking bread. I don't know. That's the best I got. Send another story I want to see happen on DVR. He took time to serve people.

That's what he was always doing. If you think about it, everything about Jesus' life was a willingness to serve. He served down to the fact that he was willing to lay aside his glory and come down and dwell among us. He said, I love them so much that I can't stay home. I love them so much that I can't just let this continue to happen. I will lay aside my glory and I will come down amongst a bunch of people who don't like me,

who will ultimately reject me, who will call me every name in the book, and I will continue to love them. I'll just continue to serve them. And that's what it will require of us, is a willingness to serve people. And do you know that sometimes the greatest avenue that you'll have to preach the gospel to people will come in the smallest ways possible. Sometimes the avenue that you will have to preach the gospel to someone will come

because you decided to buy their lunch for them. Maybe they're standing in line and you say, you know what, I want to buy their lunch too. And they're like, oh no, you don't have to do that. No, I want to. I would like to do that for you. Why? Why on earth? Why on earth would you do that? Because I just want you to know that Jesus loves you. And I want to talk to you about it a little bit.

Do you have a few minutes for me to tell you about that? And pretty soon, you just bought their lunch. What are they going to do? Say no, right? Sometimes one of the greatest things you can do is just carry someone's groceries for them, right? Like I saw this lady the other day and she's struggling to get out. And I'm like, can I just help you put those in the car?

Because I think we're both going to feel a lot better about that, right? And so I helped her put her groceries in the car and I got to say, hey, Jesus loves you. And I moved on. And it didn't turn into a conversation, but sometimes that's the greatest thing that you can do. Maybe you've got a neighbor who is an absolute turd. And like they just absolutely treat you like garbage and want nothing to do with your Jesus.

You know what you should do? You should go rake their leaves. You should clean out their gutters for them. You should mow their lawn. Take their garbage can back up to the front walk. And I'm here to tell you right now, eventually, if you have that willingness to serve, they will want to know why you are so stinking nice to them. Why are you being them? Why are you behaving this way?

Can't you just let me hate you? No, I can't. I just want you to know about Jesus, but you got to have that willingness to serve. You know, that willingness to to be who God wants you to be. And it's going to be getting outside of your comfort zone, and it's going to be being who God has called for you to be. But it will always start with a lifestyle of prayer.

And then it will lead to a love for people. And pretty soon, you're just like, man, I just love people so much I can't help it. That's the way I am. I just love people. Do they irritate me sometimes? No. I don't want to hurt them. No. I don't want to hurt them. Yes. Do I irritate you guys sometimes? Probably. Turns into a love for people. And then all of a sudden, now that I've got this love for people, I'm just always like, hey, I'm just available.

I've got this attitude of availability that turns into a willingness to serve. And when I'm willing to serve, people are usually willing to listen. And that brings me to number five. Take advantage of the open doors. Take advantage of the open doors. Because, brothers and sisters, those doors don't open very often. And you need to take advantage of them when they do.

Did you notice what happened here with Peter? It would have been very easy. Again, they were just trying to go to the prayer meeting, right? Undoubtedly where they were going to pray for the salvation of souls. They were just going to go to the prayer meeting. And on their way to the prayer meeting, somebody needed something. And so they took some time. Out of their day.

And they ministered to them. They served them. And as they served this guy, this guy was so thankful. All of a sudden, a crowd comes together. Now, sometimes what we can tend to do in these situations is we can go, well, see you guys later. Happy walking, right? Because I don't have time to preach to this whole crowd. I don't have time to talk to this whole group of people.

After all, what if they ask me some questions that I can't answer? What if they don't agree with me? Listen. They probably won't. And they probably will ask some questions that you can't answer. But take advantage of the open door. Take advantage of the opportunity. That's what Peter did. Peter said, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, listen. I realize that what happened here was pretty neat.

That wasn't us. That was Jesus. The Jesus that you crucified. He actually presented the gospel message. Because he presented their sin. He presented salvation. And then he gave them an opportunity to respond. He just gave a quick little. Gospel message. Did you notice it took just a handful of verses? Meaning it probably took him five minutes to do this. Five minutes for him to present the gospel and 5,000 people get saved.

Now it's going to cost him because they're going to get sent to prison. For a short period of time. But at the end of the day, he took advantage of the opportunity. And because he took advantage of the opportunity, the gospel went out and people responded. I have to be completely honest with you. There was a time in my life where I was given a beautiful opportunity and I did not take it.

Probably more than one, but one that I can think of in particular. We were street witnessing. I have two stories from street witnessing in Oceanside. The first one was my failure. We were street witnessing down in Oceanside and I was pretty new at it. And I start talking to this guy about Jesus. I did this in about the, you know, most eloquent way possible.

I would come up to someone with a track and I would say, did you get one of these? Did you get one of these yet? That was my opening line, right? That's right. I'm an evangelist. Did you get one of these yet? No, what is it? It talks about Jesus. And pretty soon this whole group of people gathers around me. And I'm like, here, you guys can have one too. See you guys later.

And I didn't take advantage of it because they were all a very intimidating group of human beings. And here I am, a 19-year-old kid that doesn't know come here from sick. I'm about anything yet. And I'm like, what if they don't like this? Like this is an intimidating group of human beings. And I missed an opportunity. It could have turned into an opportunity where maybe lots of people would have stood around and heard the gospel.

Maybe some would get saved. Maybe some wouldn't. Who knows? But you've got to take advantage of the opportunity. But I will tell you about one where I did take advantage of the opportunity. It went pretty cool. So another time, we used to go down there quite a bit because we were an hour from Oceanside. And Oceanside was a pretty rough town, at least the part that we would go to.

And there was, first of all, a bus station there because Camp Pendleton was right by Oceanside. So all these Marines. All these Marines would go get on the bus, and they would drive down to Tijuana and do things that their moms wouldn't want them to do in Tijuana. And so we would all hang out by the bus station, and we would street with these Marines. And this guy's waiting for the bus, and he's smoking a cigarette and just absolute James Dean sort of a guy.

And I walk up to him, and I use my classic line, have you got one of these yet? And he said, no, what's that? And I said, well, it's a track. It talks about Jesus. Can I tell you about it? So I walk him through the track, and it gives the whole salvation. And meanwhile, the whole time, he's smoking this cigarette. And I said, would you like to give your heart to Jesus?

And he said, yeah, I would. And I was like, now you understand. Like, I tried to talk him out of it for five minutes because I'm like, it's not supposed to be that easy. I'm not an evangelist, right? I'm a teacher. And I could give a gospel message that in my mind, just like, man, I just presented the gospel in about the most clear way possible. And people would be like, thank you for sharing that.

And I would be like. And, you know, you get some of these guys like Greg Laurie and Billy Graham, and they can be like sunshine, bubbles, and Jesus. And people are like, I want to know Jesus, right? We went to a Franklin Graham crusade when we were at the pastors and leaders conference. And he gave what I would call a nominal gospel message. And I was like, really?

Kind of expected a little bit more from Franklin Graham than that. Meanwhile, someone's translating for him into Spanish the entire time. So he'd be like, and God said, Spanish guy speaking. And that was the entire. And I'm like, wow, this is like the most. Broken up message. How's this going to go? Dude, the whole infield of this baseball stadium, people are just rushing.

And we're going, did we miss something here? Like, what is, what? That didn't seem all that powerful. Because it was the Holy Spirit, right? That's what the Holy Spirit does. So I'm not an evangelist. That's not who I am. So I try to talk this guy out of this for like five minutes. I'm like, listen, you know this is a serious decision, right? Like, this isn't just buying fire.

And she can go, no, I really need this. Smoking a cigarette the whole time. And I said, well, would you like to pray with me now? And he goes, yeah. And he puts out the cigarette and he bows his head. He really does give his heart to Jesus. And it was the craziest thing ever. But it was the one time I really took advantage of the opportunity. That I didn't just run away from it and cower like I did the other time.

And listen, that's going to happen to you sometimes. Because as you live out the truth and as you declare the truth and as you serve people and love people and are available to people, they're going to want to know the truth. Because I don't know if you've noticed this, but in our culture right now, there's a real premium on truth. And people want something real.

They want some reality in their life. They're tired of social media filters and AI and not being sure what's real anymore or not. And they want something real. And if you show them something real and then tell them about something real, then they're going to want the real thing that you have. But it won't happen. Unless you start. To reach out. Unless you get outside of the four walls of your comfort zone.

Unless you get get outside amongst the public and really get real with knowing that people are the job. And so, brothers and sisters, if we are to reach out and I think as a church we should be reaching out, we need to do these five things. Number one, you must have a lifestyle of prayer. Number two, you must have a love for people. Number three, you must have an attitude of availability.

Number four, a willingness to serve. And then number five, taking advantage of every open door. And listen, I see this reaching out taking part in about three different ways. Number one, each of you individually should be reaching out to people. I continue to be amazed as I watch new people show up at church. And 95% of the time I say, so how did you end up coming here?

And usually it's because a friend invited them. And Chuck Smith, the guy that started Calvary Chapels, always had this philosophy, had this saying. He said, healthy sheep make other healthy sheep. Because if I give you the truth, if I teach you and continue to show you God's word, what it says, then you go out and start ministering it to people, then they will come and they will want to hear the truth as well.

They will want to get involved in what's going on as well. And I watch it happen over and over again. I'm watching it happen across all age groups, too. Like I'm loving that we've got like just all these little teenage girls that are bringing all their friends. It's so much fun. And I'm like, how did you get here? Well, she invited me. Well, how did you get here?

Well, she invited me. Well, how did you get here? Well, she invited me. I'm like, so you got 10 people that all just invited each other and now they're coming to church all the time. And it's a beautiful thing because now they're getting their hearts right with Jesus. I talked to one of their dads the other day and I said, hey, your daughter's coming to my church all the time.

He said, I know. She's a different person. And I'm like, man, that's pretty cool. Right? And so it's pretty encouraging to me. But that's what happens. And it's happening across all age groups. I'm seeing it happen all over the place right now. And it's so cool to see because healthy sheep make other healthy sheep because that's what we're called to do. But it also doesn't just happen on an individual level.

It happens on the small group level, too. We've got one small group here in particular that does a lot of reaching out. They actually had an event here back in the spring, I think, and just served hot dogs to the neighborhood. And a bunch of people from the neighborhood came. And they got to pray with them. And I think a couple of people started coming to church because of that.

And so that's pretty cool to see that kind of take place. But then hopefully at some point in time we can maybe start putting on some outreaches as the church. Oh, there's also mission trips that we're taking right now. Those are outreaches that you're going and being willing to serve. And we see the gospel go out in those ways. And as we do so, we keep reaching out to the community that is around us.

And so what does it mean for us? Well, we need to live it out. Three things. Number one, we need to remember that the church is made of people. The church is made of people. Therefore, people are the priority. Buildings are great, all those kinds of things. You've got to have them because you've got to house all the people. But people are the church. Therefore, people are our business.

Therefore, people are who you need to love and care about. The church is made of people. And we need to know that. Number two, you need to pray that you can catch the vision. And the mission. I've been really encouraged to hear a couple of people go, so are we going to sit somewhere different this week? So, you know, we invited some people to lunch and some things like that.

That's starting to catch the vision. You're starting to catch the mission. That you're not just here to fill up a seat. You're here to build up the body. And you're not just living in the world so that you can hopefully occupy and just make a little bit of money and wait until you go home to be with Jesus. No, you're here to be a force for good. You're here to be a force for Jesus in the world that's around you.

Pray that you can catch the vision and the mission. Because if you can get people that are on fire for the Lord, then it starts to set a fire everywhere. And listen, brothers and sisters, I mean this when I say it. God's at work in this area. God's at work in Cowley County. I'm watching it happen. We had our kickoff meeting at Dexter. And Dexter's a really small school.

And it didn't even get announced until the day before. This is for Fellowship of Christian Athletes. We had, I think, 15 to 20 kids show up for the very first devotion where I got to give them the gospel. We had our very first kickoff meeting at Arc City. Almost 100 kids showed up to that thing. And we handed out memory verses to all of them. And it was just really neat to see God's at work.

The Holy Spirit's moving. There were even some kids that we were like, hey, what are you doing? It was advisory. We're like, hey, you should come to FCA. They're like, isn't that that Jesus thing? And we're like, yep, come on. And they came in. And it was like, hey, that's kind of fun, right? God's at work here. And I want us to be a part of it. But the only way that we can be a part of it is if we can catch that vision,

if we can catch that mission, then God will do that work in our hearts. And then number three, we need to obediently live it out. We need to obediently live it out. As you catch that vision, don't just be like, what a great vision for the church. I hope they can do it. No, you are the church. It's not the church's job. It's the church's job. It's the church's job to live this thing out obediently.

And as we do so, who knows? We'll see what God can do. I watched a great movie. I actually think, well, anyway, I cried in a whole lot because that's what I do in movies. But I watched a great movie called Woodlawn. If you've not seen that movie, I would encourage you to see it. You can't watch it for free on any streaming service. You have to pay for it, at least not that I can find.

But for $3, you can be really encouraged in the faith. Woodlawn tells the story of a high school down in Birmingham, Alabama during the time of integration and all of the violence and things that was going on there. And there's this guy who goes in and keeps asking the coach, hey, can I talk to your football team? Can I talk to your football team? And finally, the coach says, you've got five minutes.

Make it good. Which, by the way, is just kind of what happens when you're a speaker, right? They're like, make it good. Okay, I'll do the best I can. So he goes in. And like an hour and a half later, he comes back. He's like, what's everybody saying? He's like, what's everybody still doing here? And they're all just glued to what this guy is saying. And he's like, why is he still here?

He goes, I don't know. But let's keep listening. And finally, he gives this, like, call to, you know, hey, respond to this message. And the whole team gets saved. And the coach goes home that night. And she goes, why are you so late? And he goes, had a speaker for the team. And she goes, what happened? He goes, team got saved. And she goes, the team got saved?

He goes, yep, whole team. And she goes, is that it? Is that a good thing? And he goes, the whole team. And then walks away. Well, at the end of the movie, there's a revival that takes place kind of all over the city because of this. This is a true story. It's a revival that takes place all over the entire city. And the guy stands up in front of a whole crowd of kids at a football stadium.

And he says, this is what happens when God shows up. Well, brothers and sisters, as we catch the vision and the mission, we, like that, can say, this is what happens when God shows up. Because we will turn into a people who will reach in to build up the body and reach out with the truth of the gospel. Amen? Let's all stand. And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come before you.

And, Lord, I thank you for your word. I thank you for these examples of your disciples, Lord, who lived out this truth for us so that we can have an example to follow. And so, Father, as it is our great desire. To become who you have called for us to be, Lord. May you do the work in the heart of each person that's here, each person that's watching online. And, Lord, may we catch the vision for what you want to do.

Not only within the walls of Calvary Chapel of Arc City, within the congregation of Calvary Chapel of Arc City. But, Lord, what you want to do in this area. Lord, in Arc City, in Winfield, in Dexter, in Burton. In all of Cali County, Lord. To see your word go out with power. To see people brought to the truth of who you are. To see families restored. To see marriages restored.

To see hope restored in the lives of people. And so, Father, do your work that needs to be done in us so that we can take that work out to the people that are around us. Father, continue to move as you see fit by the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

Amen. Come to Christ. Come to Christ! Amen. All my heart will cry. These bones will sing. W しout Your praise! Our hearts will cry. These bones will sing,уем These bones will sing,στ our hearts will shine husband will sing. Praise... our hearts will cry these bones will sing great we thank you so much for the work you're doing lord just continue lord to encourage us and help us to serve you with our whole hearts lord

just as we are sinners saved by grace lord we thank you we thank you we praise you for what you're doing in jesus name amen the lord bless you all