If you don’t expect people to give their lives to Jesus, why talk to them about Jesus? If you don’t expect God to move, why pray? Peter and John lived in expectation and courage. God is changing lives! Put your foot on the accelerator that motivated the first church – live in expectation and courage.
Acts 3-4
Speaker: Kevin Ozolins
my name is Kevin I get the joy of serving as one of our pastors here and man that's some crazy exciting news right and I know that can be a lot to take in but what all of this starts with is bold moves as you may have heard Pastor Josh say in the video this is a bold move but that's how God likes to work and I actually I wore my specially custom-made hoodie just for this morning I actually came from a conference that I went to with a bunch of my students a while ago and I thought I was fitting for this morning because not only are we taking a bold move in approaching this multi-site church launch this just doesn't happen people don't do something like this successful churches don't just say okay go go do something else people don't do this but God does this and that's why I'm so excited about what God is gonna do not just here in Tunkanek but up north and what God's gonna do through Pastor Aaron Pastor Tim and that crew man if you've spent any time with them they are so passionate about their area and God's gonna do some really cool stuff there but many of you may or may not know many of you that doesn't make any sense you may or may not know that I actually grew up in Bridgewater just not Bridgewater Pennsylvania I grew up in Bridgewater New Jersey and if you know that area at all it's central Jersey Somerset County it's very much known for being kind of like the pharmaceutical capital of the world you've got Johnson and Johnson Eli Lilly Bristol Myers Squib you can go down the list if you go through your bathroom there's a lot of stuff in there that comes from New Jersey let's not read too much into that though but the church that we served at for six years before came out to the beautiful Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania and that we hope to never have to go back to to that area it was full of people who worked in those types of industries it was a really affluent community and one of the elders at our church his name was Will and I noticed one day when Will showed up to men's morning Bible study not in his usual Audi he had bought himself a new toy this nice little Porsche boxer and I'm like well this doesn't fit you he was this real clean cut guy I don't know what he did for a living but always had the most conservative approach to everything and I'm like well this just isn't you and then one morning one Sunday morning after I had preached I had talked about this little strip of bypass that was supposed to continue on in one direction and the other but funding got cut so the road got cut so now there's just useless two miles strip of land in the middle of totally gridlock New Jersey so I had mentioned this in my sermon and Will comes up to me afterward and says Kevin I've got one question for you is that road patrolled like well he wanted to go take his Porsche out and open it up on that stretch of land so I said well of course I would love to go out to lunch with you and as we're driving a lunch he's telling me about the car and how his son convinced him to buy it like he's the conservative guy he wasn't going to do that on his own and all the different modes on it it had sport mode which makes it go faster and then it had sport plus mode that makes it go even faster faster it had wet mode that I think turns it into a boat I'm not totally sure on that one and then it had n which I assume stood for normal but Will insisted it was for his wife Nancy this was Nancy mode that just drives slow and easy I'm not sure what mode we were in that morning but I do know that we got to lunch fast that car when you step on the gas it accelerates and it just goes and it was a really fun car but for some reason when I got back to the church that afternoon and stepped on the accelerator of my jeep compass four cylinder little SUV it didn't have that same kind of go it didn't have the same power behind it and while I was in Will's super fun car I came back to mind I'm like man where's the power where's the acceleration and I feel like sometimes we can do that when we're living our Christian faith as well is we we come back and we get so locked into our own routine and we start asking ourselves where's the power where's the acceleration why am I not going anywhere and I love being a part of bridge order church where I have constant reminders that God is still doing something that God is still in the business of changing lives and he is still moving and accelerating us forward and as we've been in this series called under the hood over the past few weeks we've been taking a deeper dive into what God is doing and what specifically he was doing in the book of acts at the start of the early church and in the first week we talked about how the the chassis the foundation of the Christian life is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ then we talked about how the spark is the Holy Spirit that without the power of the Holy Spirit we're not going anywhere and we also talked about the fuel being devotion that devotion sets everything into motion and we talked about last week being at the end of acts chapter two that the disciples were all devoted to one another they were devoted to the apostles teaching that means the Bible they were devoted to spending time together and they were devoted to prayer and that's what we're going to pick up this passage not only we're coming right out of acts chapter two into chapter three but we're going to see what it looks like for Peter and John to have been totally devoted to prayer so starting in verse one it says Peter and John went to the temple one afternoon to take part in the three o'clock prayer service they were so devoted to prayer they made it a part of their daily life not to just pray on their own but to go out and to pray with other people because we are not created to do this life alone we were created to do this life in community to be with others and God does something different and big and awesome when we choose to humble ourselves and come before him in prayer in fact James writes in chapter five the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results are you praying like your prayer has results I know it can get it can be easy to get into this mentality of that four cylinder SUV stepping on that accelerator and just not going anywhere but prayer produces results and God wants us to move further faster that's what we're talking about with this whole launch thing the question was how do we move God's kingdom further faster because your neighbors your friends your relatives without Jesus Christ are dying and they are going to hell and we can't stand for that as people who know the truth of the gospel we have to stand up and do something about this we have to tell people about the power of the gospel to change lives and we have to pray for people with expectancies that something will happen Peter and John knew what it was like to have their lives changed by Jesus Christ and they were there when Jesus told them in John chapter 14 anyone who believes in me will do the same works that I have done and even greater works because I am going to be with the father they had experienced Jesus in a powerful way and they chose to devote their lives to him to give absolutely everything they had to follow him and they saw people coming to faith to trust in Jesus Christ as leader and forgive her to live with an expectancy that God can do something more than we can even begin to imagine and that's why I love working with kids because Jesus tells us that if if you want to be a part of the kingdom of heaven you have to have the faith of a child right and children just it's not that they're foolish or stupid they but they take you at your word when you say you're going to do something they say yeah I believe that and that's why I love working with Voyager about a well about a year and a half ago or so pastor Brett our executive pastor happened to be down at our campus and I came to him the one day I was like hey do we do anything for kids like in the middle of the week because we've got small groups for grown-ups and that's a great way to reenergize us and spark us back and to remind us of what God is doing to be together and to challenge and spring each other on but our kids are missing out on that they're missing out on a midweek thing and I want our kids to be challenged in the middle of the week to be have that shot of adrenaline before they finish out the school week to go back into their communities and to love their neighbors himself to bring the gospel to them so I didn't say it in quite so many words to Brett but he said no we don't have that but you can lead it I was like no thanks I just want to be here to consume okay we were just kind of at a point in our life we wanted our kids to be in something like that but long story short on that guy continued to work on our hearts pastor Adam and Kurt pastor Kurt cornered us one morning and said hey you guys are going to lead Voyager for us we're starting in the fall and man I'm so glad they did because God has done some awesome stuff in there if you don't know what Voyager is about we've got a quick video to show you a little bit more about it and we'll tell you a little bit about how you can get involved let's check it out want your kids to have fun in a safe and engaging environment once a week here at Ridge father we have an awesome experience called Voyager where your cage your fifth grader gets to learn how to be more like Jesus as they interact with other kids work on daily devotions memorize God's word and hang out with caring leaders not only do we want to provide this opportunity for kids but it also allows you to use that time to join nearby small groups and connect with other parents if you are interested in finding out more about Voyager or would like to volunteer we would love to talk with you join us as we have a blast taking new steps with Jesus so Voyager is a chance for us to pour into our kids to give them a place to connect to belong and to encourage them in their faith so if you've got kids in the K through fifth grade age range please send them on out to Voyager we have some of our second best small groups going on that night I say second best because the first best is happening tonight it happens to be at my house so if you guys want to come hang out with us but seriously we have some of our best small groups going on on Thursday nights for the explicit reason that we want your kids to be engaged in something awesome as well so child care for those groups is taken care of with Voyager we would love for your kids to come out and be a part of that if you don't have kids we would love for you to continue praying for that ministry or even to help us out and supporting it by being there with us I would love for our leaders to not have to be there every week they would love to be there every week but I would love to provide them the opportunity every once in a while hey I can't make it to have a a trove of people who say I love our students I can't be there every week but maybe once in a while call on me or if you've got a skill that you would like to teach we do this cool thing called life skills where we use very practical life skills that you can use any day like cooking or balloon making or juggling super practical normal stuff that all of our kids need to know but if you've got some kind of skill crafts sewing I would love to offer something about finances for our kids that would be so cool but maybe you have a skill that you would like to share with them talk to me after the service we would love to get you plugged in or to just be there every week and hang out with them develop students and develop relationships with them because man if we want to see God do bold moves and do big things we've got to jump in and be a part of it so that's your uh your voyage or commercial for this morning but I just love what God is doing and he loves to do big things but he wants us to take bold and big steps of faith sometimes to jump out and do something that might be a little out of our comfort zone and that's exactly what we're going to see Peter and John do because and we can take these bold steps because we know Romans 828 tells us that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them that we can take these steps of faith knowing that God's going to work through all of this and that's what Peter and John held on to as we continue the story here. Acts chapter 3 verse 2 as they approached the temple a man lame from birth was being carried in each day he was put beside the temple gate the one called the beautiful gate so he could beg from the people going into the temple when he saw Peter and John about to enter he asked them for money so this man has been crippled from birth his legs don't work and that's a major inconvenience at the very least in this day and age but going back to that day and age he was a total outcast he wouldn't have been able to work for himself he wouldn't been able to have a family for himself because he couldn't provide food for himself much less a wife and kids and a man in that day with no offspring with no kids was about as worthless as the dirt that this guy couldn't walk on so when Peter and John approached him everybody else had walked by him and when he saw Peter and John it says he asked them for some money and this man is used to people doing that eye dodge you know when you see somebody I was walking out of Walmart yesterday and these guys are out selling cookies they looked a little bit old to be selling cookies and they definitely didn't look like Girl Scouts but I wanted to do the eye dodge and be like now I'm just going to keep walking by and we all do that right that's what this guy was used to is just people walking right by somebody who's in need and not doing anything about it but Peter and John looked at him intently in verse four and Peter says look at us so this man who's used to being avoided somebody takes the time to invest in his life to say look at us to pay attention to him and recognize that he exists the lame man looked at them eagerly expecting some money so Peter says I don't have any silver or gold for you it's a major letdown right this guy looks up with this great expectation that he's going to have dinner tonight Peter says I got nothing for you I don't have what you need what you want but I'll give you what I have there's another great butt of the Bible in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene get up and walk get up and walk I don't I don't have what you want but I have what you need Peter expects God to do bigger things and this man can even begin to imagine are we praying like this are we living like God can do bigger things and then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up and as he did the man's feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened he jumped up stood on his feet and began to walk then walking leaping and praising God he went into the temple with them now this man would not have been allowed to enter the temple for his entire life because his body was mutilated imagine not being able to be a part of church or being told no get away we don't want you here for all of your life and all of a sudden Jesus comes in and changes everything you see Peter and John had been with Jesus they knew what it looked like to have a changed life and they knew they could expect God to change lives they lived in this expectation that God does something bigger and better they lived with the expectation that they could walk out and in the name of Jesus say to this lame man get up and walk and that he could that he would and it can be so hard sometimes when we see people who we know who are far from God it's so hard to believe that maybe they can come to know Jesus but at the beginning of this series we asked you to grab one of these Pray and Vess invite cards we call them pie squared cards to put three names on it of people that you're going to be praying for to come to know Jesus is leader and forgiver did you take one of these cards have you been praying for them do you expect that God can change their lives because I know sometimes it can be easy for us to think oh well I can pray for owls cousins uncles dog and trust that but I don't believe that God can change my neighbor's life I don't believe that God can change my my brother's life because I'm I'm with him every day and he just seems so far from God but I can pray for somebody who's far far away from me and trust that God can change their life put those names people who are close to you remember and expect that God can change their lives and then not only do we want to expect that God to change lives I want you to expect God to give you courage because I know it can be hard to not just pray for people but then to invest in their lives to take the opportunity to change your own routines and patterns to step into somebody else's world and care about them it was really hard for Peter and John to not just walk by this guy who was way more convenient to do that change your patterns in your routines so you can pour into somebody else's life and say I care about you how are you investing in these people's lives and caring about them this is the reason we have these in order pray invest and then invite because as a church I went to growing up said they won't care how much you know until they know how much you care show them that you care for them by investing in their lives asking them questions and then the third part is invite and at Bridgewater church we want to make it as easy as humanly possible for you to invite your friends and your neighbors and your relatives out to know Jesus through our ministry or through somebody else's ministry so we give you the opportunity to to grab one of these this will change your life forever cards these invite cards that are good for every week we have specific cards for open house next week and guess what these are limited edition these are totally useless after next week you are the last service so go and make sure our shelves are empty of these on your way out stock your pockets with these so that everybody you encounter this week has the opportunity to to know that Jesus is good pray each morning that God will give you an opportunity to talk to somebody about Jesus and be ready to talk to them about it and if you don't know how to use these cards you're scared about that we've got a card for that too okay so there's top five tips on how to use these cards keep them in your pocket keep them with you so that when you have the opportunity to talk to somebody maybe you put your hands in your pockets you're like oh I've got one of those cards I should give it to them talk to them about open house man what's better than coming out to see some really cool cars and have a breakfast burrito or some free lunch that's a pretty good day if I got to sit through a church service to get it maybe I'll do it but be ready for those opportunities that Jesus gives you to share his love and his truth as we continue and pick up Peter and John's story in verse nine it says all the people saw this man walking and heard him praising God when they realized he was this lame man that they had seen so often at the beautiful gate they were absolutely astounded they were blown away and they couldn't understand what was going on but they knew God was doing something big and Peter sees this audience gathering and sometimes I feel like we're like a dog chasing after a car we're like all right I'll give you an invite card but what do I do if you actually ask me about Jesus Peter was ready for it and this is what gives him the credentials to write to us in first Peter 315 if someone asks about your hope as a believer always be ready to explain it be ready to explain how God has changed your life as we talked about a few weeks ago having that I was but now I see I was blind but now I see that we can move forward and say this is who I used to be before I knew Jesus this is how I came to know him and here's how he changed my life forever and I want him to do that for you too and here's how it works out so Peter will dive into this beautiful sermon in the rest of Acts chapter three that I would encourage you to read on your own about how all of the Bible points to Jesus and how all you need to do is trust in him as leader and forgiver and he will change your life the more you trust and the more he will change your life and make it so much better and then in Acts chapter four we see the results many of the people who heard their message believed it so the number of men who believed now totaled about five thousand if you're tracking along from the very beginning of the book of Acts there are 120 people huddled together cowering in an upper room not knowing what to do with this whole Jesus thing that had just happened then the Holy Spirit comes down in Acts chapter two and empowers them and emboldens them to share their faith and three thousand people are saved and then now we're in Acts chapter four and five thousand men alone that means we add on women and children we're easily over ten thousand ten thousand people how do we go from 120 to over ten thousand we trust in God to be the accelerator to move us forward and we devote ourselves to the the apostles teaching to the Bible to the breaking of bread together as we were getting ready for our small group in this past week and passage Kurt talked about being devoted to sharing meals together one of the people in our small group came to us and said hey I think we should have a dinner together every time we have small group because the Bible tells us to be devoted to be the breaking of bread and sharing meals together and I said that's a fantastic idea because my long-standing policy is any meeting without food should have been an email so we'll be having dinner tonight at the best small group in bridge water toncanic four to six at my house four fifteen to six five forty five at our house so you got time to drop your kids off for youth group but share a meal together something special happens when we do that and then as we're faithful to what God is calling us to here's how the passage ends up the members of the council this is the jewish religious leaders were amazed when they saw the bold moves of peter and john for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the scriptures they also recognize them as men who had been with jesus do the people in your life recognize you as someone who's been with jesus but to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further they said to each other the religious leaders we must warn them not to speak to anyone in jesus name again so they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or to teach in the name of jesus you think that's going to stop god's people but peter and john replied do you think god wants us to obey you rather than him we cannot stop telling about everything that we have seen and heard and this is my hope and prayer for each one of you that you will experience the life-changing power of jesus christ in an amazing way in the same way that peter and john did that they were once just dirty fishermen but their lives were completely changed by jesus and now they cannot stop talking about him i want bridge order church to be known as the church that cannot shut up about jesus when i go to walmart or all the i want to invite people out to cut to church and say hey i don't even know what pocket my invites are in say hey we would love for you to come be a part of bridge order church with us and they say yeah i got three of those already today like good because change lives change lives saved people serve people and found people find people how want this whole community to know jesus christ as leader and forgiver so don't shut up about him let's pray lord god we thank you so much that you are a god who changes lives that you have changed lives for thousands of years and you're not going to stop now father we thank you that we get to be a part of what you're doing here in northeastern pennsylvania in the southern tier of new york and gal we are so excited to see what we're what you're going to do with this multiplication effort and that we will truly be able to go farther faster because you are in this and gal we trust you we know it can be scary to to take a step of faith to ask somebody to come out to church or to to pour into their lives father give us the boldness and the courage to step up we don't want to cower in a room all by ourselves we want this community to know you as leader and forgiver because you change lives you change hearts and gal we pray that you will allow us to be a part of that father help us not stand in the way of your kingdom but help us to step on the accelerator and allow you to move in awesome and powerful ways we pray these things in the awesome and holy name of Jesus Christ
