It Grows With Boldness | I Am Living Proof

Welcome to Reach KC everybody, it's so great to have you with us, I just want to invite y'all to stand up and join in. I know who I am, cause I know who you are. The cross of salvation was only a start. Now I am chosen, free and forgiven. I have a future and it's worth the living. Cause I wasn't made to be tanned in a grave. I was called by name, born and raised back to life again. I was made for more. Why would I make a bed in my shame when a fountain of grace was running my way? I know I am yours and I was made for more. I know who I am, cause I know who you are. The cross of salvation was only a start. Now I am chosen, free and forgiven. I have a future and it's worth the living. Cause I wasn't made to be tanned in a grave. I was called by name, born and raised back to life again. I was made for more. Why would I make a bed in my shame when a fountain of grace was running my way? I know I am yours and I was made for more. Hallelujah, you called out my name so I'll sing out your praise. Hallelujah, you buried my past, I'm not going back. Hallelujah, you called out my name so I'll sing out your praise. Hallelujah, you buried my past, I'm not going back. I wasn't made to be tanned in a grave. I was called by name, born and raised back to life again. I was made for more. So why would I make a bed in my shame when a fountain of grace was running my way? I know I am yours and I was made for more. Cause I wasn't made to be tanned in a grave.

I was called by name, born and raised back to life again. ♪ I was made for more ♪ So why would I make a bed in my shame ♪ When a mountain of grace is running my way ♪ I know I am yours ♪ And I was made for more ♪ Hallelujah ♪ You called out my name ♪ So I'll sing out your praise ♪ Hallelujah ♪ You buried my past ♪ I'm not going back ♪ Hallelujah ♪ You called out my name ♪ So I'll sing out your praise ♪ Hallelujah ♪ You buried my past ♪ I'm not going back ♪ I was in bed to be attended ♪ I was called by name ♪ Born and raised back to life again ♪ I was made for more ♪ So why would I make a bed in my shame ♪ When a mountain of grace is running my way ♪ I know I am yours ♪ And I was made for more ♪ I was in bed to be attended ♪ I was called by name ♪ Born and raised back to life again ♪ I was made for more

♪ So why would I make a bed in my shame ♪ When a mountain of grace is running my way ♪ I know I am yours ♪ And I was made for more cheering & applause piano plays in bright rhythm piano plays in bright rhythm ♪ I'm wearing an instrument ♪ Of exultation ♪ And I was born to live ♪ To be in the presence ♪ Of all creation ♪ But there's a song of praise ♪ That only I can bring ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ There is no one ♪ Only in Jesus ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ There is no one ♪ Only in Jesus ♪ You are the infinite ♪ God of the angels ♪ Yet you chose to make ♪ My heart your dwelling place ♪ You healed my brokenness ♪ Showed me your glory ♪ So I have songs of thanks ♪ Not even angels sing

♪ Who else is worthy ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ There is no one ♪ Only in Jesus ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ There is no one ♪ Only in Jesus ♪ Who else is worthy There is no one, only you Jesus Who else is worthy, who else is worthy? There is no one, only you Jesus Lamb of God, anointed one Who was and is and is to come Seated on the throne above Holy, holy, righteous one Who shed His blood Who proved to us our Father's love Jesus Christ, we lift it up Holy, holy, Lamb of God, anointed one Who was and is and is to come Seated on the throne above Holy, holy, righteous one Who shed His blood Who proved to us our Father's love Jesus Christ, we lift it up Holy, holy, Lamb of God, anointed one Who was and is and is to come Seated on the throne above Holy, holy, righteous one Who shed His blood Who proved to us our Father's love Jesus Christ, we lift it up Who else is worthy, who else is worthy? There is no one, only you Jesus Who else is worthy, who else is worthy? There is no one, only you Jesus There is no one, only you Jesus There is no one, only you Jesus There's only you, there's only you, there's only you You're the only one, you're the only one who's worthy Who else is worthy, who else is worthy? There is no one, only you Jesus Who else is worthy, who else is worthy? There is no one, only you Jesus There is no one, only you Jesus

There is no one, only you Jesus Applause Music Music ♪ All the saints and angels, they bow before the Lord. All the elders pass their crowns before the Lord. Worth God and sin. You are worthy of it all. You are worthy of it all. For from you are all things, to you are all things. You deserve the glory. Oh, you're worthy. ♪ All the saints and angels, they bow before your Lord. All the elders pass their crowns before the Lord. Worth God and sin. You are worthy of it all. You are worthy of it all. For from you are all things, to you are all things. You deserve the glory. Oh, you're worthy. You are worthy of it all. You are worthy of it all. For from you are all things, to you are all things. You deserve the glory. Oh, you're worthy. So worthy. ♪ Day and night, night and day, they exist for us. Day and night, night and day, they exist for us. Day and night, night and day, they exist for us. Day and night, night and day, they exist for us. Day and night, night and day, they exist for us. Day and night, night and day, they exist for us. Day and night, night and day, you are worthy of it all. You are worthy of it all. So worthy. For from you are all things. And to you are all things. For you deserve the name. You are worthy of it all. You are worthy. You are worthy of it all. We give you praise. For from you are all things. ♪ Oh, the children of peace ♪ ♪ Viewers of the glory ♪ ♪ Oh, day and night ♪ ♪ Day and night, night and day ♪ ♪ When you set your eyes ♪ ♪ Day and night, night and day ♪ ♪ When you set your eyes on me ♪ ♪ Day and night, night and day ♪ ♪ When you set your eyes on me ♪ ♪ Day and night, night and day ♪

♪ When you set your eyes on me ♪ ♪ Night and day ♪ ♪ When you set your eyes on me ♪ ♪ Day and night, night and day ♪ ♪ When you set your eyes on me ♪ ♪ Day and night, night and day ♪ ♪ When you set your eyes on me ♪ ♪ Day and night ♪ ♪ When you set your eyes on me ♪ ♪ You are worthy of it all ♪ ♪ For from you are all things ♪ ♪ And to you are all things ♪ ♪ You deserve the glory ♪ ♪ You are worthy, you are worthy of it all ♪ ♪ You are worthy of it all ♪ God, you are worthy. ♪ For from you are all things ♪ ♪ And to you are all things ♪ ♪ You deserve the glory ♪ God, we just give you praise. God, even in the midst of our problems, even in the midst of our pain, this morning we just give you all the praise, all the glory, all the honor, God, that we would press in through the pain, that we would praise in through the storm, God, that we would allow you to change our situation, that you would get all the glory, that you would get all the praise, God. We just give you honor today in Jesus' name.

Come on, can we give a shout of praise to the Lord this morning? Come on, can we give one like we mean it today, church? Amen, hey, before you take a seat, could you just turn to one of your neighbors, give them a high five or a fist bump, say, it is good to see you today. I am so glad you are in the house of the Lord this morning. Amen, turn to your neighbor on the other side, your second option, the one you was afraid to say something to. Say, hey, it's good to see you too. Amen. Amen. What an honor to be in the house this morning and just be a part of what the Lord is doing. Amen, I don't know about you, but I enjoy getting to have the opportunity to just be where the presence of the Lord is. Sometimes that's here. Sometimes it's in your car. Sometimes it's in your prayer closet. Sometimes it's in your living room. Sometimes it's at work. Sometimes it's in LA. Come on, man. City of angels. Hallelujah, it was wonderful. I mean, I enjoyed the weather. It was like a 69 degree high with no humidity.

Ocean on one side, mountains on the other. Driving down Highway 1 like I didn't have a care in the world. All I needed was a convertible. I'd have been there. But I had my dream with me. She was there right beside me. Amen. Hey, we was a while back, we kicked off this thing that was called Build 900. Build 900 was an initiative that started to raise $900,000 originally to remodel our new facility that we built. We have purchased and have been remodeling and is almost done and ready for us to move in. Amen. And it's been amazing to watch it come together over the last eight months and just how people have rallied and just everything that God has done. And just, it's amazing to see what he's done. We've done about $600,000 in renovations and cash. And so it's been really cool to see, you know, people that people said nobody would ever be able to do anything through, people that, you know, a ministry that they said would never make it where we were going. And now we've raised over half a million dollars to do the renovations. And I mean, hey, if you haven't been there, you'll see it, you'll get excited when you get to be there and see it. And I just wanted to come and give an update

because we're getting so close to moving in. I know we've been talking about it for a year, but it was a lot of work. It was a building that needed the love of Jesus, amen. And we have just believed that God is not only rebuilding lives, but he's rebuilding buildings, he's rebuilding cities, he is taking the ancient ruins and just rebuilding it and just doing something amazing. And as we're coming to a close, one of the things that I just wanted to come back and revisit was the Build 900, because we're about $100,000 away from moving in, amen. And it's just, we're getting there, we're moving there, we're going there. And I just wanted to just say, and then we have a phase two that's gonna be a brand new lobby. It's gonna be a brand new kids area. I mean, we've got a whole wing, 7,500 square foot of a kid's wing that's gonna launch within hopefully the next year and a half. But we need about 350,000 more to finish phase two. We've already started framing it in. But today, before we even give, I wanna remind us this, that Build 900 is more than just a building. It's people. Every dollar has a name. Every single cent that we have represents a person.

Every seat in the building, every seat in this building represents a story. Some drastic stories. Every life changed represents someone that Jesus died for. Every single person, every single salvation that has been represented, every single person that hasn't met Jesus yet. When we started Reach KC, nobody would have been able to predict what God would do. I think he's done more than I even imagined with the capacity that I had at the time. And many of us came from broken places. Some of us came out of addiction. Some of us came out of prison. Some of us came out of hopelessness. Some of us carrying wounds that nobody else could even see because we hid them so well. Yet God took unlikely people from overlooked places and built something so beautiful that is just a beautiful image of what I think that heaven is going to look like in the future. And now I feel this burden and this call that he is calling us to build again and not stop here, not settle in, not nestle in to where we're at, but keep building. And Build 900 is about preparing the people for who aren't even here yet. The ones that haven't even entered in,

it's about the single mom who is searching for hope and hasn't had a break from what life is giving her, amen. And it has just been struggling. It's about the teenager who feels forgotten. The one who was raised in a fatherless home and has never felt the love until they walked in and had a grown man that loves the Lord just begin to love on their life. It's about them. It's about the man coming home from incarceration, the woman coming home from incarceration, looking for second chances and a place to call home. It's about the addict who is the one who is about to encounter Jesus with just one moment that is gonna give them a brand new life. And the reality is this, is if we're gonna continue reaching the one far from God and helping them become passionate followers of Jesus, we have to make room for them. We have to make room for them. And it's either we go to a third service here or we press in, we lock in, and we push in. And giving, honestly, has never been about paying bills. Jesus said in the gospel of Luke, give and it will be given. will be given to you. Giving is partnering with the mission of God. Every dollar given to Build 900 gives an opportunity to become a seat for someone to hear the gospel. Every time, a space for someone to worship that may have never worshiped before, a place

where marriages can be restored in Jesus' name, a place where prodigals come home and are able to worship in a place where lives can be transformed by the power of Jesus. We're not building for ourselves. We're building for the next person that God wants to reach. We're building for the next person that wants to enter into the kingdom of heaven. So today, as we give, don't just see an offering. Don't just see a three-minute time before the message. Don't just see an opportunity to just drop a couple of dimes in. See a life. See a family restored. See a person that is represented. Close your eyes and put the face of the person that you've been praying for to come and meet Jesus. See that future testimony. See that future life that is represented behind every dollar that is given today, because one day, someone is going to walk through those doors and meet Jesus, and their eternity will be forever changed, and we will have the opportunity to say, hey, guess what? We helped make room for that person. We helped make room so that person, when we get to see the altars flooded at the new building, when we see 50, 60 people giving their life to Jesus on one Sunday, we're going to be able to say, man, I sowed into that. I played a part in that. I have kingdom rewards. I have a mansion being built in heaven. So let's continue building what God has called us to build. And even if we can't give today, that's all right, because you can scan one of these codes, not this one, but click on that one that says build 900, the one after that. That one right there, just keep clicking on that a couple of times so it'll keep it up on the screen. You can scan that, and you can make a pledge.

What a pledge is is a pledge of saying, hey, I commit till October 31st to give this amount. It don't even require you to give today, but over time, you can get on there, and you can give according to the build 900. When you give, you typically give. You can earmark build 900 on there, and it will give towards that. I challenge you to give above and beyond what you already currently give, and let's see, let's make room, amen, for people to be able to be impacted by the gospel of Jesus Christ. What can God do through you? What can God do through you? Maybe you say, I don't have a whole lot. Guess what? Neither did the lady with two minds. The big checks, out of almost $600,000 that we raised, only $175,000 of it was a big check. You do the math. That's two-thirds of what we raised that came from each one of our giving. Maybe you gave 20 bucks last time. Guess what? That added up to $400,000. It wasn't the big checks that came in. It was everybody's obedience that said, hey, I'm going to do this. I'm going to call myself higher. I'm going to lean in. I'm going to press in, amen? Let's pray. Father, thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for all that you have done, and as we give today, Lord, help us see beyond dollars and help us see people. Help us see souls. Help us see lives represented, and use every gift to reach those that are far from you and create room for the harvest that you are bringing in, God.

We see it. We feel it. Bless every giver, and continue to build your church. Continue to do what you want to do right here through Reach KC, God, and allow our hearts to be in tune with you, God. Let us not just give out of obligation, but let us give out of a heart of worship for the one who rescued us, for the one who saved us, for the one who redeemed us. In Jesus' name, amen. Hey, we just want to welcome everybody home, amen? Mi casa, yo casa. Let's welcome the ones home on Pando, amen? Can we give a shout out to them? Let them know that they are loved, and they are thought about, and they have been prayed for, and the service has been prayed for. And man, I am just excited for what the Lord wants to do. We are kicking off. a new series that is still in the book of Acts and it's this theme of church on the move. We was in it starts with power and we were looking through the first couple of chapters of the book of Acts where it starts with the Holy Spirit coming and empowering the church and then all of the sudden right after that happens you begin to see it begin to grow with boldness and so we are kicking off a series that will get us through chapters three four and five of it grows with boldness amen and so today I have titled my message I'm living proof I am living proof and I want to jump right into the passage and then we're gonna we're gonna pull some stuff out of it but we're gonna be in Acts 3 verses 1 through 11 and so you can thumb there if not we've got the air Bible right behind that you will be able to follow along with but in Acts chapter 3 it says this it says Peter and John went to the temple one afternoon to take part in the three o'clock prayer service and as they approached the temple a man lame from birth was being carried in and 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 and when he saw Peter and John about to enter he asked them for some money now Peter and John looked at him intently and Peter said look at us and the lame

man looked at them eagerly expecting some money but Peter said I don't have any silver or gold for you but I'll give you what I have in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene get up and walk 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 and he jumped up stood on his feet and began to walk then walking leaping and praising God he went into the temple with them and all the people saw him walking and heard him praising God and when they realized he was the lame beggar when they are they had seen so often at the beautiful gate they were absolutely astounded and they all rushed out in amazement to Solomon's colonnade where the man who was holding tightly to Peter and John now I want you to think about someone you've known for a long time not somebody famous but somebody maybe from your neighborhood maybe somebody from your family somebody that everybody knows like the person that when their name comes up the first thing that comes to mind isn't who they are but it's what they are amen it's the person that oh yeah that dude he just strung out on drugs oh oh yeah that girl yes he's been through marriage after marriage after marriage oh oh yeah that's the guy who just keeps going back to prison yeah that's the person who traded their life for their business you know the story everybody knows the story after enough years people just stop expecting change come on that's my story amen I don't know if that's anybody else's story but it's the type of person where at first they prayed for at first people they hoped for at first they believed that things could actually get better in that person's life but year after year goes by with the same mistakes the same struggles the same repetitions the same failures the same disappointments and eventually people quit talking about what they could become and start talking about what they are their struggle literally becomes their identity their their failure literally becomes their name when that name comes up they are automatically people associate them with their failure their past literally becomes their future and if we're honestly if we're honest eventually that person starts believing the lie too they start believing the thing that was said about them too they stop dreaming they stop hoping they stop believing that life could actually ever be any different they're no longer trying to change their life now they're just trying to survive it they're no longer trying to press in but here's what I've learned from over a decade of ministry is some of the most powerful stories I've ever seen weren't the stories of people who had it all together church they weren't the stories of everybody that that that had it all together they were stories of people that everybody had given up on

They were the stories of men and women who spent years in addiction. Men and women who spent years in incarceration. Men and women who some have burnt every single bridge that they had. Men whose families had stopped believing that they could ever change or that they ever would change. That they were always going to be the same thing. Men who walked through the doors of our ministry carrying decades of failures on their backs. And you could see the weight of the pressure. And when they first came in, they wasn't even asking for purpose. They weren't asking for ministry. They weren't asking for destiny. Some of them were simply trying to just make it one more day. Just one more. If I could just do it one day. And some were looking for a place to stay. Others were looking for a way to eat. Some might have even just been looking for a second chance. Looking for enough help to just survive today. But guess what? God had something bigger in mind. Amen? Come on somebody. Because God has a way of seeing something in people that nobody else can ever see. Where others see an addict, God sees a future leader. Where others see an ex-convict, God sees a future disciple maker. Where others see a lost cause, God sees a God-giving testimony that can give him the glory. And I've watched God take men that everybody else has written off and turn them into living proof that Jesus is alive. He is alive. And today, guess what? Those same people are serving in church. They're leading their homes.

They're giving to fund the kingdom of God. They're doing something that is greater than themselves. Come on. We're making build 900 pledges to make room for other people. We are doing things, giving above and beyond. They're working, restoring families, discipling others. And every time I see one of them, I'm reminded of this simple truth. That people may define you by your worst chapter, but God never stops writing the story. Your story isn't over. And the greatest miracle in Acts chapter 3 wasn't that a lame man started walking. The greatest miracle was that a man whom everyone else had given up on became proof to the people that believed in God, even that God was still working, that Jesus was still alive, that healing power was still active in the church. And they had to sit and watch. See, they knew where he sat. They knew what was wrong with him. They knew his limitations. They knew his story. For years, this dude had just become part of the scenery at the temple. Come on, somebody. It was the same dude that answered the altar call every week. He was the same dude that was giving up the same addictions every single week and couldn't beat it. And the people, ah, here, just nurse him along. Just nurse him. He'll be all right. Just nurse him along. Just give him a little bit. But see, on this day, Jesus was about to take a man that everyone had learned to walk right past and turn him into an undeniable evidence that God was still at work, that God was still doing something. And what happens in this story teaches us something very powerful, that Jesus specializes in taking people who have become denied or defined by their brokenness and turning them into displays of his glory. Everybody say with me, I am living proof. Come on, somebody. I want to talk today.

I want to look at three steps. I want to show you three steps in the journey from surviving life to becoming proof that Jesus is alive. Amen. How many of us want to get those three steps to surviving life, to becoming living proof that Jesus is alive? If you're taking notes, which we all know you get a better place in heaven. If you do, the first step is this. Don't despise interrupted expectations. I know it's all right. You ain't got to shout stuff like that. Those kind of things don't get big. Amen. It's okay. But don't despise interrupted expectations. Amen. Acts 3 verses 4. Peter and John looked at them intently or looked at him intently and Peter said, look at us. I wish I knew the tone that Peter said that way. Was it like, look at us? Was it like, look at us, you know, like, look at us. We just broke people here with you, brother. Look at us. Like, look at us, bro. We are just broke like you are like we in the same boat. Like, look at us. That's what I think he said. And the lame man looked at them eagerly expecting some money. Everybody said that with me expecting. Some money how many of us know what we need isn't always what we expected But Peter said now I don't have any silver or gold for you Look at us. I

Don't have any money for you. Look at us I don't have but what I do have in the name of Jesus Christ Nazarene get up and walk Come on interrupted Expectations see this man had been carried to the same gate every day for years Every day same gate same condition same routine same request Same monotonous life and every morning. He would wake up hoping for enough money to just make it through another day And he knew that if he could get to the temple that he would get it because the people had to be generous Come on somebody It was it was written in the law people had to be generous he wasn't looking for enough money to change his life He was actually looking for just enough to survive it every day Going back every day and it's what's fascinating Is that when Peter says look at us the man immediately became excited because he thinks that a large donation is coming He said I look at you. What's up? I'm looking eyes peeled open and his Expectation though was limited by his experience See he can only ask for what he had seen before Which tells me that the lame man's greatest limitation wasn't his lame legs. It was his lack of vision It was that he couldn't actually see beyond his in capability He couldn't imagine a future beyond the condition that he had already known that he had always known his entire life He wasn't asking for a healing. He wasn't asking for restoration. He wasn't even asking for transformation He was asking for enough help to stay comfortable where he was Now before we're too hard on the fellow Many of us do the same exact thing See we ask God to relieve the pressure without ever changing the person See we ask God we ask him to ease the symptoms without actually leaving the source unhealed

we ask him to deal with the symptoms of our life without actually Changing the source of what caused it and we ask him for provision when what we really need is freedom See, I believe sometimes we've lived with something so long that it actually becomes part of our identity I'm just an angry person. That's just who I am That's just the way I handle things. I've always done it that way. I've always responded that way. I'm just an anxious person I've always been this way. My marriage is always gonna be like this. It's always been that way My marriage is always see I'm always my family has always struggled. I came from poverty. It's always gonna be poverty Ain't nothing gonna change it. I came from the hood. I'm always gonna be in a hood Ain't nothing ever gonna change what I came from I've got this from the past the addiction was passed down from my parents and and I'm just it is what it is I'm just always gonna struggle. I I know that I could never be used by God Because I've never had that nobody is and over time we actually stop believing God for transformation and start settling for maintenance See the enemy doesn't he doesn't always have to keep you bound if he can convince you to settle Because settled people stop believing God for more Settled people actually stop expecting Settled people stop asking God for impossible things They stop believing that things but Peter Peter refuses to participate in this main survival strategy Come on, some of us need some Peters in our lives some of us need some people that's not willing to just to just to our survive our Strategy of life and just call us that they would call us higher because the Peter essentially says hey I know what you're asking me for but I know what you actually need See, I could give you some money because I'm sure he had a little jangling in his robe But he didn't want to give that it wasn't that it was that he knew what he needed See Jesus never came simply to make people more comfortable in their brokenness. He came to make people whole That's why Jesus came see the gospel is not improving the old you The gospel of God is creating a new you It's turning something out of your see there was a season in my life when I thought my biggest problem was my circumstances If God would just change my environment, if God would just fix my situation, if God would just remove my consequences that I brought on myself, come on somebody. I know I'm not the only one that called on God as a bondsman.

Amen. And he never bonded me out. I came with 10%, you know. If he would just change my environment, then everything would be okay. But looking back, God knew my greatest need wasn't a change around me, it was a change in me. And if he could get that change in me, see I was asking for silver and gold when God was offering transformation. That's the difference. See the miracle started the moment that this man's expectations were interrupted. That's when the miracle started, because sometimes the greatest act of God's mercy is refusing to give you what you ask for, so that he can give you what you actually need. It'll be alright, see I told you, you should take notes because you don't need to reflect on this later, because you need to chew on it. Because sometimes God's greatest act of mercy is refusing you to give you what you ask for, so that he can give you what you actually need. And that's exactly where Luke takes us next, because Peter doesn't just speak faith, he acts on it. And this man had been sitting at the gate for years, his condition had actually become normal to him. The crowd expected him there, his family expected him there, come on, he expected himself there. His entire life had shrunk to just surviving just one more day. If I could just do it one day at a time, and just survive this one day, the tragedy wasn't that he couldn't walk, the tragedy was that he had stopped believing anything could change in his situation. That was the tragedy, see most people don't stay stuck because they love their bondage, they stay stuck because they've adjusted to it. See they've learned to manage, they manage the addiction, they manage the anger, they manage the bitterness, they manage their broken marriage, they manage their spiritual apathy, and after enough years, survival becomes our goal.

That's not what I expected. Well the lame man wasn't asking for healing, because healing wasn't even on his radar. It wasn't even on his radar. When you've lived with a problem long enough, you stop praying for freedom and you start praying for comfort. He didn't even think he could be healed. He didn't even think his situation was redeemable. He didn't even think that God could actually do something, because he had lived with this 40 years. He had been stuck in it, and that's what happens when disappointment lasts long enough. We stop believing that God can change our situation, and start asking him to help us just survive it. If I could just survive it. But the miracle began the moment that Peter challenged this man's expectations, because before Jesus can change your condition, he often has to change what you're expecting from him. You can't change it if you ain't willing to do something, which leads to the second step in the journey from surviving life to becoming living proof that Jesus is alive, and that's dare to activate your faith. First is, don't despise interrupted expectations. Don't despise them, embrace them. Embrace the interruptions in your life. Embrace the things that happen. Every time a miracle happened, oftentimes in the Bible, Jesus was on his way somewhere and was interrupted. Things happen in interrupted expectations, and then second thing is, dare to activate your faith. See, Acts 3 verse 7 says this, then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. Now notice something in this text.

Peter doesn't just simply pray. Peter doesn't even simply just preach. Peter reaches down and pulls him up. Now think about that. That's a risky move. That's a risky move, because if the man doesn't get healed, this is the first time this has ever happened. And if the man doesn't get healed, Peter looks like Boo Boo the Fool. At the gate, to the entrance of the temple, where everybody was there, all of the Pharisees were there. It was actually what they say, the gate that separated the court of the Gentiles, which I never even knew existed, which was outside the inner court, then the gate was there, and then you have the court. of women, which I never even knew existed. I don't know, I didn't spend enough time this week to find out what each one of them courts was, but I wish I would have, because I'm kind of curious now that we talk about it. But apparently there was something that needed a beautiful gate to separate the two. And here he was sitting, and Peter reaches down and grabs him, and it's a risky move, because if he doesn't get healed, Peter looks foolish. And if the man doesn't get healed, guess what? The crowd laughs at Peter, the one that has now stepped in to the role of leading the church. If the man doesn't get healed, Peter is lifting a crippled man up off of the ground for no reason, like a dead sack of potatoes. Struggling, and yet Peter acts before he sees evidence.

That's faith, that's faith. See, Peter made a bold declaration. He said, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk, but then comes the surprising part. Peter doesn't wait. Is he gonna walk? Is he gonna walk? He doesn't pause, he doesn't, do you feel anything? You feel any ligaments? Let's pray again, okay, okay, we're gonna pray again. Everybody pray, extend your hands. No, he doesn't do any of that. He reaches down, and he starts pulling him up. Why, because faith isn't merely believing God can. Faith is moving as though God will. See, faith is moving in a direction. Many people want certainty before obedience. We want certainty before, well, give me a sign, God. Give me a sign, Lord, if that's the direction you want me to go, give me a sign, and if you give me a sign, then I'll move, but that isn't how it happens. God often requires obedience before certainty. Let me prove it. Noah built the ark before it had ever rained. What's rain? I don't know, but God said it was gonna happen. Nobody even knew what rain was, and he's building a boat, because it's fitting to flood. Bro, it ain't ever even rained.

Like, we don't even know what rain is, and I'm gonna build a boat. Moses stretched out the staff before the sea ever parted. He got to the end of the peninsula where the sea was, and the chariots were clashing behind him, and he said, now what? And he said, raise out your staff. Oh, so I can look like Boo Boo the Fool in front of millions of people. He raised out the staff, and the sea split. The servants filled the jars before they ever became wine, and now Peter pulls up a lame man to his feet before there is ever any physical evidence of healing. Why? Because faith is not believing after you see God move. Faith is moving because you believe God already spoke. I'm gonna say that again. Faith is not believing after you see God move. That's not faith. Faith is moving because you believe God already spoke, because you believe God already spoke, and what's incredible is Peter isn't the only one exercising faith. The lame man had a choice, too. He could've resisted. He could've stayed seated. Nah, bro. You ain't fittin' to embarrass me in front of all these people.

I understand the assignment. I've been here for 40 years. Who are you? You walked by me how many times? And now, all of a sudden, you think you got the power? You think that you got, I got the power! I think that's what Peter was singing on his way up. I got the power! And then, maybe that's why he said, look at us. I don't know. But all I can think is this guy's like, no, no, bro, don't try and get my hopes up. Don't try and act like you got something to offer me that's gonna change my condition. I was born like this. I've been like this from the very day I was born. I've tried before. Just leave me here. All I need is a little bit of money to survive. You don't understand my situation. But instead, he actually puts his hand out and allows Peter to pull him upward. For the first time in his life, he actually places weight on feet that have never carried him before. Imagine that moment. 40 plus years of disappointment. 40 plus years of being carried by other people. And now he is forced to trust a word that he cannot even see or believe.

And unfortunately, this is where many believers get stuck. We love God's promises, but we struggle with them. process. We want God to heal our marriage, but he tells us to forgive first. We want God to provide financially, but he tells us to trust him in generosity first. We want freedom from addiction, but he tells us to confess, repent, and step into accountability, and allow somebody to call you out on something. See, some miracles happen while you're sitting, but most miracles happen while you're moving. You've got to be going somewhere. The church was growing because ordinary people were stepping out in extraordinary faith. Something was shifting. The miracle wasn't waiting on God's power. God's power was waiting on someone's faith-filled response. That's where the power was, and when faith and God's power collide, something happens that nobody can ignore. All of a sudden, the man that used to be lame is now leaping with joy. The man that used to panhandle is now praising God in the temple. Amen. The man who used to sit outside the temple is now walking inside of it because God did something that nobody else thought that he could do, but because what God does in a life is never meant to actually stay private, it becomes a witness for everyone watching. It becomes a witness for everyone to see, but your journey from surviving life to becoming living proof that Jesus is alive dares you to activate the faith in your life to say that something could shift, something could change, something could be made new in my life. My life could be healed. My life could be restored. Everything could reverse and turn around where God said it would, which leads us to the third step in the journey, which is this, a display of undeniable power. A display of undeniable power. See, first, you can't despise interrupted expectations. You have to embrace them. Then second, you have to dare to activate your faith to believe that something that you have always lived with actually can be changed by the power of God when you allow him into your life and actually change you from the inside out, that all of the sudden you can rewrite stories, you can rewrite legacies, you can rewrite generations, come on, because of the faith that you have. I wonder if I've got some

men and women in the house that would say that I've got enough faith in my life to activate, to say that my kids are not going to inherit what I inherited. I'm going to change the future. I'm going to change the trajectory. My kids aren't going to struggle with addiction like I struggled with. My kids aren't going to struggle with incarceration like I struggled with. I got faith in my life. I got something bigger than what I've always dealt with. Yeah, I know my father died from AIDS, but my kids are going to go to college. They're going to graduate with honors. They're going to do something different in their life because they ain't going to the school of hard knocks. The only school of hard knocks they see is Reach KC. Come on, somebody. And then we've got to have a display of undeniable power. Acts three, verses eight through 11 says he jumped up and stood on his feet. Brother said, you know, he looked at us. He said, what happened? He wasn't wobbling or nothing. He began to walk and then walking. He began leaping, and then he began praising God, and he went into the temple with them. And you have to remember, he had never been inside the temple before. You couldn't go in the temple. You couldn't go in the temple if you was lame. Because you was considered unclean. The religious people wouldn't let you in there. Like many churches today. Like if you were unclean, if you even look unclean, you're not welcome here. Like, bro, go home and take a shower, change your clothes. Come back to visit us in the Lord's house when you're prepared. But that isn't what happened. See, now he walked inside the temple with him, and all the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. And when they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the beautiful gate, they were absolutely astounded. They all rushed out in amazement

to Solomon's colonnade where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John. Now the crowd wasn't amazed because a stranger got healed. They were amazed because they knew this man. They passed him for years. they knew his story they knew his condition they knew his limitations they knew where he sat they knew what he couldn't do in fact I believe they knew his voice from begging how else would they know it was him when they rushed out to see him which means that he hadn't even entered yet he was still in the courts and somehow they knew it was the beggar that was there and now they're watching him walk and leap filled with joy see nobody had to convince them that something had happened nobody had to argue theology come on somebody nobody was arguing the baptism of the Holy Spirit nobody was arguing once saved always saved nobody was arguing Calvinism and Arminianism nobody was arguing the five points of tulip nobody was arguing any of these things nobody had to defend the miracle the evidence was standing right there in front of him the man who used to be broken was whole the sinner is healed the addict is set free see the strongest evidence for the power of Jesus has never been an argument it's been a transformed life that's why it doesn't matter to me to argue all that doctrinal stuff that's why we don't major in the minors that reach KC I'm not interested in some of these things that people argue about who cares Jesus saved my life I used to be lame but now I walk I used to not be able to do anything but now I can leap for joy now I can praise in the temple people can debate doctrine all they want critics are gonna criticize churches the church isn't the problem when you've been at 20 of them you are sorry does this make it any better cuz it does for me people can question sermons that's okay but it's hard to argue with a life that has been undeniably changed by the power of God you can't argue that you can't argue but this is how the gospel spreads throughout the book of Acts not through celebrities not through TV evangelists not through religious elite not through the people everyone expected but God kept taking unlikely people and turning

them into undeniable testimonies he kept using them a fisherman became a preacher a persecutor became a missionary and wrote 14 books of the New Testament come on somebody a demonized woman became a worshiper a jailer became a believer because the guy that was in prison began to minister to them and begin to praise when they was in the middle of their storm begin to praise when everything around them didn't look like they should have and God opened the doors and then they became a believer see broken people became billboards for the grace of God and if we're honest I believe that that's still the way that God's favorite way to work in the churches God loves taking people society has written off and making them trophies of his grace Corinthians talks about it using the foolish things of this world to confound the wise he uses the things that that nobody else thought that he would be able to use and he uses them so that people can begin to get the testimony of what they didn't even know was coming the addict the ex-offender the ex-person that got the homeless person that got saved and and changed their life and something happened in them and and now all of the sudden everything is beginning to change the abused one the forgotten the one that that everybody wrote off the person who grew up without a father and had nobody to teach them the person whose life seems beyond repair when everybody else is looking at it the people others overlook are often the very people God uses to display his glory through why because everyone knows where you've come from nobody can deny what God has done in your life and is what I have learned is God often chooses the most unlikely people because they become the most undeniable proof that he's real when your life is radically impacted for Jesus your life is radically impacted. I've watched men and women walk into our ministry broken by addiction, broken by incarceration, broken by homelessness, broken by years of failure, and those who had been told their whole life that they could never change, those who had burnt every single bridge along the way, those who had lost their families, lost their careers, lost their futures, but then Jesus got involved in their life, and today, they're fathers again. Today, they're mothers again. Today, they're wives again. Today, they're husbands again. Today, they're employees

again. They're leaders again. They're disciple makers again, and every one of those stories points to the same truth, that Jesus is alive and is still changing lives 2,000 years later. Ain't nothing changed, church. You are no different than the lame man that got healed at the gate called beautiful, except now it's called Reach KC, and your life is being impacted and touched. Notice this, that the crowd wasn't staring at Peter. The crowd wasn't staring at John. We often seek platforms for people to notice us, but they were staring at the lame man that was healed. The healed man became the sermon. The healed man became the proof. The healed man became the testimony, and that is still God's plan for His church. We're not merely called to just gather in buildings, church. We are called to become living evidence that Jesus is alive. Every transformed marriage, every recovering addict, every restored family, every single prodigal who comes home, every person rescued from darkness, every life changed by the gospel becomes a declaration to the world that Jesus is alive. It's amazing because the man entered the temple walking, leaping, and praising God, but the greatest miracle wasn't that he could walk. The greatest miracle was that the crowd who had ignored him for years suddenly had to confront the reality that God had visited His people. All of the sudden, all of these people were astounded, and I believe that that is still His mission today, not simply to just grow the church larger, not simply to just gather crowds, but to see broken people from every background encounter Jesus and be so radically transformed that the world has to stop and ask, what happened to that person? What happened? Because I know their story. I've related to them always by what they were, not by who they were, because I know I've seen the failure in their life. I've seen, but man, over the last five years, I've seen their posts even on social media just begin to change, and their life has just begun to change over the last six months. And man, how do I? And when they ask, here's what we got to do. We got to do the same thing that Peter did. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, it was Him. It was Jesus who changed my life. It was the one who everyone said couldn't be changed. It was Jesus who changed me. He healed me. He rescued me. And guess what? He is alive, and He wants to heal you, and He wants to heal your marriage, and He wants to heal your family, and He wants to heal your generation, and He wants to heal your brokenness, and He wants to set you free, and He wants to walk you out of everything that you have been struggling with so that you could have a changed life

that everybody else could see. Everybody say, I am living proof. If you could stand with me across this room for just a moment. Let's just rest in this moment. Nobody move. Nobody move for just two minutes, because I believe that there are some in the room today that God has been plucking on your heart, and He's been doing something in you, and you say, man, I have felt something in my heart and in my life, and man, I need to surrender my life completely today. Maybe you didn't even know that's what you needed. Well, hey, can I encourage you before I even ask you to lift your hand that you're not going to be the only one that does it, and when you do it, others are going to do it, and we're going to join you, and we're going to rejoice, and heaven's going to rejoice, and good things are going to happen, because there is going to be a life that is a living testimony, and you're going to become the proof today so if you're in here and you say man I need to have that personal relationship with God I've never had that I don't even know what you're talking about but I want whatever it is that you're talking about if that's you maybe you've never done it or it's been 28 years since you've done it you want to have a personal walking relationship with the Lord today if that's you could I just get you to slip up your hands so that we could pray with you come on I I just want to we just want to be able to connect with you I see hands back there anybody else hey if that's you maybe you didn't even raise your hand could I get you could I ask a bold step of faith I'm lifting out my hand could you could you just could you grab it and would you step up and walk would you come down here so that we can pray with you for just a moment come on we're just gonna come on celebrate for him we just we believe in you we ask God to just do something in your story we want to pray with you if that's you come on come on brother you ain't the only one today man we believe right now that God is doing it he's rewriting your story in Jesus name come on if you are in here today and you want that maybe you've been walking with him but you just need to press in and press through could we just lift our hands for just a moment and just believe the word that is being spoken and let's just worship for just a second church and believe that God who else is worthy of everything that we

have to give who else is worthy of everything that we have to give and just believe that God is going to do something different in our lives today that he is gonna set us free that he's gonna walk us out that he's gonna walk us into the temple and just believe that he's gonna do it right now who else could do it in our life but Jesus it's only you God I'm Tim Stalder Reach Homes director we just wanted to thank you for taking the time to watch today's sermon and we hope that the message spoke to your heart we understand that people who are in your situation often feel overlooked and pushed aside and we just want to let you know that we do consider you as a part of our church family upon your release we look forward to you paying a visit to us while you're incarcerated take the time to reach out and write to us if you're looking for safe stable housing reach out to Reach Homes your IPO or your caseworker can help you navigate that process we look forward to seeing you again next week and have a great day