SERMON: WHAT CAN I DO?

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Judges 6:1-16

 6:1 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

 7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

 11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

 13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

 14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

 15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

 16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

         -- several years ago, a local businessman decided to convert his business from a dry goods store into a tavern for financial reasons -- and even though the town where he lived was a dry county, it looked like he had enough support from the county commissioners to push it through -- it was just a matter of time before he could open up this bar up for business

-- a group of Christians from a local church got concerned and planned an all-night prayer meeting -- they wanted to ask God to intervene and stop the tavern from opening up in their community

-- so, on a Sunday night, the Christians gathered for their prayer service, and on the very next day, lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground -- the owner of the bar sued the church, claiming that the prayers of the members were responsible

-- the church hired a lawyer to defend them in court and argue that they were not responsible -- "we're only a small church -- what could we have done to cause this to happen? -- all we did was pray”

-- the judge who presided over the case was a man who was very wise -- he read the arguments presented by both sides, and after his initial review of the case, he stated, "no matter how this case comes out, one thing is obvious -- the tavern owner believes that God worked through the prayers of this small church and the Christians do not"

 

            -- you know, over the course of my ministry, I have developed this theory about the way small churches think and operate -- I call it the “reverse-Napoleon complex” -- let me explain what I’m talking about

            -- everyone in here is probably aware of what the psychologists call the “Napoleon complex” named after the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte -- Napoleon was a very short man -- he definitely did not stand head and shoulders above the crowd -- and because he was so short, he developed this drive to excel in other areas of his life

            -- most historians agree that Napoleon compensated for his short height by seeking power through war and conquest -- in other words, because Napoleon was small, he sought to do more and to have more than those around him to make up for the difference in physical appearance

            -- in our world today, we see men just like Napoleon who have this same drive for power and influence brought on because they have an inferiority complex about their height or some other aspect of their lives -- this is what psychologists call a “Napoleon complex”

 

            -- but in the church, we see an opposite dynamic at work that I call the “reverse-Napoleon complex” -- based on the Napoleon complex, you would expect small churches to be the driving force in Christianity today -- you would expect that they would be trying to compensate for their small size and their small resources by seeking greater influence and greater power and greater results than larger churches near them -- but that’s not the case

            -- just like the church in the story I told you about the tavern that burned down, the mind-set of many churches is, “we’re just a small church -- what can we do? -- if we had more people, we might be able to do something for God -- if we had more money, God could really use us -- if we had more people praying, God would listen and respond to our prayers more often”

            -- rather than using their size to motivate them to even greater levels of ministry, small churches tend to get emotionally crippled and end up thinking that God can’t use them because they aren’t big enough -- and large churches tend to reflect the same view -- looking down on smaller congregations in a condescending way because they don’t believe that small churches can accomplish anything either

            -- it’s this reverse-Napoleon complex that is driving the mega-church movement in America today -- it’s this reverse-Napoleon complex that causes denominations to put on training seminars and courses to help small churches grow so that maybe one day they can start doing real ministry and start having an impact for Christ in their area

            -- I read a book several years ago on growing your church and making a real impact in the community for Christ -- the author presented several ideas for churches to try in their community to increase interest in the church and in the gospel message -- I thought I might try a few of his suggestions -- but then the author wrote, “Of course, this is only applicable to the smaller churches -- those with congregations of 200 members or more” -- and with that statement, he basically said that any churches that were smaller than 200 members were really not viable communities who could do anything for Jesus today

            -- the overall message that is coming out from the Christian community is that small churches are cute, but just not effective -- small churches are a curious oddity, but they really can’t anything for God

-- but, you know what? -- that type of thinking is wrong -- it’s simply not biblical -- it goes against everything that we see in the Bible -- in fact, I was thinking the other day as I was reading an article about the fastest growing churches in America and looking at an ad for a church-growth seminar that if Jesus was here today, some denominations would be encouraging Him to go to a workshop to help Him grow His church

-- if you think about it, Jesus only had 12 people in His church at the end of His ministry here on earth

 

-- if you get nothing else out of this message today, I want you to get this -- there's nothing wrong with being small -- size does not limit what God can do through you

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (Judges 6-7)

-- if you want to see what God can do with the least of these -- if you want to see what God can do with small churches and small people, look at the story of Gideon here in Judges 6 

-- before we look back at this passage in more detail, let me give you the context so you know what’s going on and how this passage fits in the whole scheme of things

-- the Book of Judges covers the first 350 years of the nation of Israel right after they entered the Promised Land

-- this is sometimes called the “Dark Ages” of the Israelites because it was a time when the Israelites would turn away from God and start worshiping idols -- God would respond by sending an enemy against Israel, which caused the Israelites to turn to God for help -- finally, God would raise up a deliverer who would rescue them from their enemies and lead them back to a right relationship with Him again

-- these deliverers were known as “judges” -- and Gideon was one of these judges during this 350-year period

 

-- look back at verse 1-10

 

6:1 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

 

7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

 

 

-- as Judges 6 opens up, we read that the Israelites have once again turned away from God and were doing evil in His sight -- because of this, God allowed the Midianites to oppress the people

-- not only did the nation of Midian come against Israel with their military might, but they also took away Israel’s way of life and their livelihood -- they destroyed the crops of the Israelites and forced them to flee their cities and live in caves and shelters in the mountains

-- their situation looked hopeless -- they had no homes -- they had no resources -- they had no food -- so, once again -- in desperation -- they repented of their sins and they cried out to God for help -- they asked Him to send a deliverer who would save them from the power of Midian

-- now keep in mind that Midian was a powerful nation with a vast army and lots of resources -- when God responded and said that He would send a deliverer, the people were expecting Him to send someone powerful -- someone who had a lot of resources -- a lot of men at his disposal -- someone who was comparable to Midian and who could go toe-to-toe with them in a battle -- the people were expecting God to send someone like Rambo or Schwarzenegger or John Wayne with the calvary -- but look who God sent

 

-- verse 11-16

 

6:11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

 

13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

 

14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

 

15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

 

16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

 

-- God sent Gideon -- Gideon -- here is this guy who is so afraid of the Midianites that he is hiding in a winepress threshing wheat -- he’s not even brave enough to thresh the wheat on the threshing floor where it should be done

-- in verse 15 he tells us that he’s from the tribe of Manasseh, the weakest tribe out of all the 12 tribe of Israel -- and not only is he from the smallest and weakest tribe, but his clan is the weakest in that tribe -- to make matters worse, Gideon points out that he is the least in his own family -- in other words, Gideon is the lowest of the low -- he is the weakest and least powerful of any person or clan or tribe in the entire nation of Israel -- but this is who God chooses to use to deliver the nation of Israel from the power of Midian

 

-- notice in verse 11 that it says that “the angel of the Lord” came to Gideon at Ophrah -- just so you know, when you see that phrase, “the angel of the Lord,”  in the Old Testament, that is an appearance of the preincarnate Jesus -- if it says, “an,” angel of the Lord, then it’s an angel -- but if it says, “the,” angel of the Lord -- then it’s God Himself appearing in human form

-- so, God Himself comes to Gideon while he’s threshing wheat in the winepress and in verse 12, He calls Gideon, “mighty warrior” -- Gideon was not a mighty warrior -- as we just saw, Gideon was a small man -- so, why would God call him “mighty warrior?”

-- it wasn’t because of who Gideon was -- it wasn’t because of who Gideon’s family or his tribe was -- it was because the Lord was with him

-- you see, that’s the thing that a lot of people miss when it comes to churches and what churches can do for God -- does a small church have a lot of people to depend on? -- no -- does a small church have significant financial resources to depend on? -- no -- does a small church have a lot of material possessions or large sanctuaries? -- no

-- so, what do they have? -- they have the Lord with them -- in Acts 3:6, when the crippled man at the gate Beautiful asks them for money, Peter and John reply, “silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you -- in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” -- and the man got up and walked

-- here’s the thing -- Peter and John only had one thing -- they had the Lord with them, and it made all the difference

 

-- Gideon only had one thing -- he had the Lord with him, and it made all the difference -- Gideon may not have been a mighty warrior when he was hiding in a winepress threshing wheat, but with God by his side, he was about to deliver the nation of Israel from their worst enemy

-- in verse 14, God tells Gideon to go in the strength that he has to save Israel from the hands of Midian -- God didn’t change anything about Gideon’s situation -- He didn’t send an army to gather around the winepress for Gideon to command, although that comes later -- He didn’t have money fall out of the sky for Gideon to use to buy weapons and food and other resources -- He didn’t give Gideon supernatural wisdom or strength or stature

-- the only thing Gideon had was the presence of the Lord by his side, but that made all the difference

-- in fact, when the men of Israel did rally around Gideon’s call to fight Midian, God wouldn’t let Gideon take all of them into battle -- skip over to Chapter 7, verse 1-7

 

7:1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

 

4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

 

5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

 

7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”

 

-- as chapter 7 opens, Gideon has an army of over 30,000 men surrounding him -- he thinks he’s ready to do something for God -- finally, he has enough people -- finally, he has enough weapons -- finally, he has enough resources -- finally, they are as big as everyone else

-- but look at what God says here in verse 2 -- “You have too many men -- in order that Israel may not boast that they defeated Midian in their own strength and in their own power, you need to reduce the size of your army”

-- and so, God told Gideon to send home everyone who was afraid -- 22,000 men went home, leaving Gideon with a pitiful army of just 10,000 men -- but God looked at that army and said, “Nope, you’ve still got too many” -- so God had the men drink water from a stream to further whittle them down -- and when all is said and done, Gideon is left with only 300 men to fight against the entire Midian army

-- when he looked at that army of 300 men compared to the Midianite army, do you know what Gideon thought? -- “We’re too small to do anything -- we don’t have enough people -- we don’t have enough money -- we don’t have enough resources -- God won’t be able to do anything through us -- maybe if we were larger, He could -- but not now”

-- but you know what? -- with only 300 men and faith in the God who was with him, Gideon went into battle anyway, and he defeated the entire Midian army once and for all -- never again would the nation of Midian be a threat to Israel

 

III.  Closing

-- let me remind you what I told you in the start of this sermon -- size does not limit what God can do through you -- the only thing that can limit you is you

-- the only thing that can keep God from working in us and through us in our belief in the power of God to use the smallest things in this world to do great things in His name

 

-- think about Chick Fil A and the story of Truett Cathy

-- Truett Cathy started out in Atlanta with a restaurant so small, it was called the Dwarf Grill -- later, he called it the "Dwarf House" -- it only had 10 stools and four tables

-- and, when he opened it, he didn't offer a full menu like all the other big restaurants had -- he didn't even offer hamburgers -- all he offered was chicken sandwiches and french fries -- and he did something else strange -- he refused to open on Sundays, even though other restaurants got over 20% of their income on that day -- Cathy wanted to make a stand for God

-- for almost 20 years, Cathy operated the Dwarf House -- it was the only restaurant he had -- but this restaurant met a need in the community -- McDonald's didn't have chicken sandwiches -- neither did the other big restaurants -- and business grew

-- finally, in 1967, Cathy opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall -- but he didn't change the way he did business -- he still didn't try to do everything the big chains and the big restaurants did -- he just sold chicken sandwiches and fries -- and he didn't try to make his restaurants bigger than his neighbors -- he just did what he felt God had called him to do

-- and, by doing what God called him to do, God blessed him -- currently, there are over 2,400 Chick-fil-A restaurants in 47 states -- a far cry from the original Dwarf House that Cathy started with

-- an article in Atlanta Business Chronicle several years ago noted that Cathy could make a fortune if he made a public stock offering for Chick-fil-A, but he refuses to consider it -- he said, "We're able to do a lot of things that we couldn't do if we were a large public company" -- Cathy has made the decision to keep Chick-Fil-A small

 

- it’s like Malcolm Gladwell wrote: “the fact of being [small] can change people in ways that we often fail to appreciate: it can open doors and create opportunities and educate and enlighten and make possible what might otherwise have seemed unthinkable”

-- do we need to be large to do great things for God? -- do we need more people in order to be effective in ministry and sharing the gospel with others? -- do we need more finances or more resources to serve God? -- No! -- all we need is what Gideon had -- the Lord beside us and faith in His power

 

            -- so, the question I want to leave you with this morning is, “Do you believe? -- Do you believe that this small church of 10 people can do the impossible with Christ by our side?”

            -- God took 300 men and defeated an entire nation -- and when the world saw that, they knew that only God could have done it

            -- God wants to do similar things through us -- He wants to do great things through us -- but we have to believe it’s possible

 

            -- as we close, I want to encourage you to dream big dreams for this church -- I want to encourage you to envision great ministries that will come to pass -- there is nothing that God can’t do through us, if we only believe -- if we only trust -- if we only have faith

            -- as you pray this week, ask these questions, “What does God want to do through us that will make the city of Naylor stand up and notice? -- Where is God calling us to go next so that His name will be glorified?”

            -- let us pray

             

SERMON: WHAT WE HAVE

7 June 2015

I.  Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Acts 3:1-10

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 crippled 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 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.

            -- a few years ago, the Christian group Cloverton released a song called “Take Me Into the Beautiful.” 

            -- let me share with you the opening lyrics of that song:

            -- “Take me into the beautiful -- Won't You take me back again? -- With a love unexplainable, come fill up this dry land.

            -- "Let it open our eyes to see a world we've never seen -- Let it open our hearts up to see You inside of us -- You're here inside of me.”

            -- This song, and especially these opening lyrics, talk about the desire to be taken into the beautiful -- to a place where our faces glow with a light that never dims -- to be in the presence of God as Moses was -- to meet with God face-to-face -- to know Him and to be with Him so our faces glow like Moses' with the reflection of God's glory and beauty and so that others would come to know Him in that way as well

            --  if you think about it, isn't that the reason we're here today? -- isn't that the reason church exists in the first place? -- to know and to experience God and to share His presence with others?

            -- this morning, I want to talk about what it means to be the church of God -- what it really looks like in practice -- and how we can better be who we are called to be

            -- so let's start our discussion by looking back at this passage in Acts Chapter 3 -- just to give you the context, this chapter occurs after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus -- as you know, Jesus spent about 40 days with His disciples after the resurrection, teaching them from the scriptures about Himself and what it meant to live in the Kingdom of God -- and after the 40 days were up, Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives and just a few days later, on the Day of Pentecost, Jesus sent His Spirit to indwell the believers and fill them with the living presence of God Himself

            -- the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the birth of the church of Christ -- and Peter and the other disciples had been sharing the good news of Jesus' resurrection and the forgiveness of sins throughout Jerusalem -- the Bible tells us that more and more people were hearing the message and putting their faith in Jesus and that they began to meet together in their homes to worship God together

            -- which brings us to Acts Chapter 3 -- if you would, let's look at verse 1 again as we begin our discussion this morning on what it means to be the church today

            -- verse 1

1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon.

            -- Peter and John went to the Temple to pray -- now I want you to stop there and think about what we just read -- a lot of people have this idea about church -- that a real church has to have a lot of people -- that a real church needs a building -- that a real church needs professional educated ministers -- but is this true? -- is this biblical?

            -- let's unpack this verse a little bit and answer the question, "what does it take to be a church?" -- when we read here that Peter and John went to the temple together to pray, were they the church?

            -- first, do you need a lot of people to be a real church? -- that's the mindset that a lot of people in our community and our country have -- they believe that numbers equate with success in the eyes of God -- that's the first question we ask others about their church, isn't it? -- how many people go to your church?

            -- did you know there's actually a number people use as the definition of what a real church is? -- if you read the texts and the theories about church administration and function, you'll see the number 200 thrown out a lot -- if you have at least 200 people, you are a church -- if you have less than that -- say between 50 and 200 -- you are considered a small church -- not quite there yet -- if you have less than 50, you're not really a church -- so to be a real church, many people believe you need at least 200 people

            -- but what does the Bible say? -- how many people do you need to be the church? -- to do great things for Christ? -- to enter into the beautiful of His presence? -- I think Jesus gave us the answer in Matthew 18:20 when He said, "Where two or three gather in My Name, there I am with them." -- wherever Christ is, His church is there with Him -- and I contend that Peter and John were the church that day as they went up to the temple to pray

            -- what about buildings? -- I hear that a lot -- where's your church located? -- and sometimes I try to be flippant and I'll say, "Well, Sara and her family live in Hahira and we live in Dasher and the Summerfords live in Dothan" -- and they'll just look at me, because what we really mean when we say the word church is building -- so what they're really asking is where's your building? -- and when I tell them we meet at the Hampton Inn, I get that look -- not quite the same look I got when I told them we met in a Doggie Daycare, but still, it's that look that says, "Oh, you're not really a church because you don't have a building"

            -- would it surprise you to know that no where in the Bible are we told to go and build a structure to "have church" in? -- would it surprise you to know that there were no church buildings for the first 300 or 400 years of Christianity? -- would it surprise you to know that the practice of most of modern Christianity today -- outside of the Western world -- is to not build a church building?

            -- when the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost and the church of Christ was birthed, the first thoughts of the disciples were not, "Let's build a building" -- instead, they primarily met in each other's homes -- sometimes they would gather at the river or in other places to join together in worship -- and sometimes they would go to the temple, as we see Peter and John doing here -- not because God only showed up in buildings, but because that's where the people were who needed to hear the good news of Christ

            -- contrary to popular opinion, you don't have to have a building to be a church -- in fact, a lot of resources in the church today are tied up in church buildings, and if these resources -- time and money and labor -- were freed up for ministry instead of building maintenance, you have to wonder what God would do through His church today

            -- and, finally, the question of professional, trained and educated clergy -- we hear that a lot -- and while I think it's good for clergy -- and for everyone -- to learn as much about God as possible, it's certainly not a requirement to go to seminary to serve God

            -- the Bible tells us the Spirit will lead us into all knowledge of Christ -- He gives us what we need to know to share His message with others -- I believe education is important, but not necessary, to do great things for Him

            -- God certainly used Peter and John to spread His message and grow His church, but they were not accepted by the religious institution of their day because they had not trained officially under a Rabbi or been in an accredited rabbinical school

            -- the early church grew and spread under the leadership of men and women just like you, who only knew one thing, and that was Jesus -- they didn't have to go to seminary or to Bible school to serve God and be effective in His name -- so don't let the lack of a degree or education hold you back from doing ministry for God now

-- and I bring all this up to make a point -- a lot of times we look around the room at the number of people sitting here and we think we really can't do anything for God -- "if we were only larger, then we could do more -- if we had a building, more people would come -- and if we had more people, we would have more money -- if we had more money, we could have more programs and God could do more through us and we could do more ministry for Him"

-- we get to looking at the bigger churches in Valdosta and we get envious of them because they seem to be able to do so much more than us -- youth groups -- children's church -- nurseries -- huge VBS's -- mission trips -- multiple services

-- you've done it -- I've done it -- but, you know what -- we were wrong -- the message I want you to get from this first verse and the reason I spent so much time talking about this is to get the point across that all we have to do is be faithful to God's vision for us and He will do great things through us

-- we don't need a lot of people -- we don't need a building -- it might help to have an educated minister, but we don't need that -- all we need in order to enter into the beautiful and experience and serve God is to gather together in His name and look for His presence and trust in Him -- that's what Peter and John were doing when they headed for the temple that day -- they expected God to work through them, even though they were small in number

-- let's move on -- vs. 2

2 Now a man crippled 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.

-- here we read about this crippled man who was "put" by the gate of the temple -- there was a big difference between Peter & John and this man - P&J went seeking God -- they went expecting to see God work through the two of them

-- but the crippled man didn't come to church seeking God -- he didn't expect God to do anything for him -- he went looking simply for what the world had to offer -- we have a lot of people who come to church with that same mindset -- they don't come looking for God -- they come looking for money -- for what man can give them -- they don't come expecting God to work in their lives

-- that is exactly what we do when we try to compare ourselves with larger churches -- we are, in effect, saying that the reason God is working through them is because they are large and the reason why God is not working through us is because we are small

-- this shows a lack of faith in the power of God -- the same God who is working in the life of the large church is the same God who built a kingdom through just 12 disciples -- in 1 Cor 1:27, Paul tells us that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise -- He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong

-- God loves to use small churches because it shows that it was Him who did it and not the church

-- verse 3

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 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.

-- now, don't miss what is going on in this passage -- this crippled man had come to the temple at the same time as Peter and John -- to this large place of worship -- to this large church

-- we don't know how many times this man came to this site -- we don't know how many times he sat by this gate, begging for money but needing a miracle -- we don't know how many members of this church walked past him every day

-- but one thing is sure -- despite all its money -- despite all its members -- despite all its programs and ministries -- this large church couldn't meet the true needs of this crippled man

-- instead of using the priest and the congregation there to heal this man, God chose to work through a church of two men -- Peter and John -- to reach out and meet that man at the point of his need

-- the crippled man didn't know what he really needed -- he didn't know what was possible -- maybe he had given up his dream of being healed -- all he knew was what he wanted -- he wanted money -- but God wanted to give him more -- God wanted to give him what he really needed -- physical and spiritual healing -- and it was only the small church who could meet him where he was that day

-- look again at Peter's words in verse 6

6 Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

-- listen to what he's saying -- "silver and gold I do not have -- we don't have a lot of money -- we don't have lots of members -- we don't have lots of programs and lots of ministries -- we don't even have a church building -- but what I have I give you"

-- what does Koinonia Church have to give? -- what person -- what group of people -- has God called us to reach out and touch for Him  -- because no one else and no other church -- will -- what do we have to give -- what do we have to offer?

-- well, the first thing that we have to give is Jesus -- just like Peter and John, we have the living Son of God in our midst and in our hearts -- and I don't care how little we are or how little money we have, we can give Jesus away free of charge to everyone we come into contact with

-- and, when you think of it, when you only have Jesus to give, you still have the greatest gift in the world

-- another thing that we have to offer is that we have a stronger sense of family -- we know each other -- we couldn't get lost in a crowd even if we wanted to -- and this makes us closer

-- when someone in a small church is hurting, the entire church hurts -- when something goes good for someone in a small church, everyone rejoices -- this is a major advantage that we have over the larger churches

-- we also have more opportunities for individual spiritual growth -- everyone in a small church is needed -- we can't just come and leave on Sunday -- if you're a member here, you get put to work -- and that's the way it should be -- we're not just here to be entertained on a Sunday morning -- we're here to bring the good news of God to others -- and God uses our small size to challenge us and to stretch us and to help us grow into the people He's called us to be

            -- verse 9

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.

            -- so what happens when a tiny, little church comes together -- believing God is going to use them -- trusting God to do great things through them? -- you see it here

            -- people get healed -- lives get changed -- and everyone is amazed at the power of God in their midst

            -- we're not here for us -- as Rick Warren wrote in the start of his book, "The Purpose-Driven Life," "it's not about us" -- it's about Him -- it's about God -- it's about bringing glory to God

            -- and we do that -- not by being big -- not by having the most beautiful meeting place in town -- not by having a bank account bulging at the seams -- no, we do that by being His hands and feet -- by believing in Him and His power -- by knowing that He can do through us what we cannot do -- and by trusting that He will use even us to bring glory to His name

-- the important thing for us to remember is that even though we may not be large -- even though we may not have lots of money or lots of people -- we still have something to offer

-- silver or gold I do not have -- but what I have I give you -- I give you Jesus

-- go and do likewise this week

-- let us pray