It Grows With Boldness | The Evidence of Jesus

I just want to invite y'all to stand up and join in with us. I just want to invite y'all to stand up and join in with us. Oh my God! I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you. All my life you've been right here by my side, God. I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you. Oh glory, bless on me. Oh glory, glory to you. Even I'm torn to say it again. Even I'm torn to say it again. Who am I that you keep me on your mind, God? I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you. All my life you've been right here by my side, God. I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you. Oh you've been here all my life. And I, I thank you for my hands. You gave me chance after chance, after chance. And I, I give it all that I have. You gave me chance after chance, after chance. And I, I thank you for my hands. You gave me chance after chance, after chance. And I, I give it all that I have. You gave me chance after chance, after chance. And I, I thank you for my hands. You gave me chance after chance, after chance. And I, I give it all that I have. You gave me chance after chance, after chance. Who am I that you keep me on your mind, God? I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you. All my life you've been right here by my side, God. I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you.

Who am I that you keep me on your mind, God? I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you. All my life you've been right here by my side, God. I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you. I've survived and I'm here to testify, God. I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you. I'm alright if they say I'm out of my mind, God. I'm just grateful for you. God I'm just grateful for you. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ There is no one, only you, Jesus There is no one, only you, Jesus To you is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all All thrones and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all And the angels cry Holy, all creation cries Holy, you are lifted high Holy, holy forever A thousand generations Falling down in worship To sing a song of ages to the Lamb And all who've gone before us And all who will believe Will sing a song of ages to the Lamb Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all All thrones and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all And the angels cry Holy, all creation cries Holy, you are lifted high Holy, holy forever Hear your people sing Holy to the King of kings Holy, you will always be Holy, holy forever And if you've been forgiven And if you've been redeemed Sing a song forever to the Lamb And if you are so free And if you bear His name Sing a song forever to the Lamb

We'll sing a song forever and again And the angels cry Holy, all creation cries Holy, you are lifted high Holy, holy forever Hear your people sing Holy to the King of kings Holy, you will always be Holy, holy forever You will always be Holy, holy forever God, you will always be holy Your goodness is not determined by our circumstances, but it is determined because of who you are. So God, as we meet this morning, let us be captivated by your presence. Let us be moved in your presence, God. God, we just give you praise, God. I just want to just honor you in this moment. Let's just worship for just a moment one more time. Let's go back through that last part. Just let's just sing this out. Just tell God how holy he is, even in spite of our circumstances, even in spite of our situations, and just lift him up, lift our arms up, and just say, God, you are holy. God, you are the one. You are worth everything that I bring today, God, and more, God. Come on. Praise your name. Stand above them all. And all girls, all girls, in convenience, all powers, in positions. Your name stands above them all, and the angels cry, holy, all creation cry. Holy, you are lifted high. Holy, holy forever. Hear your people sing. Come on, that's us. Let us sing. Holy, to the king of kings. Holy, you will always be. Holy, holy forever. Hear your people sing. Holy, to the king of kings. Holy, you will always be. Holy, holy forever. I just feel like the Lord is just dropping it in my spirit right now that this song is just a reminder of why we meet, of why we do what we do, so that we can enter into the presence of a holy God. And it's a moment that we can just come in and just say, God, I want to forget about everything that I've been going through and just lift you up, God, and let all creation sing that you are holy, because this isn't just a moment where we come and just be social and congregate and just get into this and that conversation, but God, let us get into a moment where I can just encounter the one true God for just

a second and just be able to just forget about everything that I'm going through and just be able to sing you are holy, because it doesn't matter what I'm going through, God. You are still holy. You are still righteous. So God, have your way. Move everything that is in our heart aside, God, so that we could be captivated by you this morning, that we could be captivated by your presence, that you would do what only you can do in our hearts and in our minds and in our spirits, Lord. Pray that you would just do something special in this moment this morning for the remainder of our time, that we would just lift you up, that we would give you glory, that we would give you honor, and that we would give you praise, and that we would dial in and say, God, this is your moment. Even if I don't know you, this is your moment. I'm here today and I came to receive a word from the one true God, the one that is holy and the one that is righteous and the one that is pursuing me. So God, we give this time to you in Jesus' name. Amen. Come on, can we give a shout of praise to the Lord for just a moment? Hey turn to one of your neighbors and just give him a high-five say hey it is so good to see you this morning. Amen. Now turn to your other neighbor and say man this place would not be the same without you. Amen. Now turn to the person behind you the one that you was afraid to talk to when you sat down and say you know what I'm glad you're here too. Say I am so glad that you are here. Hey man. God is good. Amen. Even when it feels like Hades outside. Amen and all the time. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well I got a towel today and cuz sweat be dripping down his bald head. So it's okay. But I was reminded as I was standing down here worshiping that God kind of took me back to when I was in Moberly prison when I recommitted my life to the Lord and the last time that I was in prison and you know I wasn't raised you know with some of these fundamentals but whenever I dedicated my life to the Lord this last time I just felt like the Lord was pressing it on my heart to start sowing seed for something because seed brings a harvest and so you you can't expect a harvest without planting seed like it would be crazy if a farmer was to just go out and stare at the soil

every single day but never cultivate it never plant seed I mean he could go out there and he could lay hands on it he could pray over it he could rebuke the the the the rocky soil he could rebuke and cast out all this stuff but if he never planted seed in the soil he would never have a harvest and as I was in prison I remember the Lord pressing it on my heart and saying hey you need to start sowing seed so that you can see a harvest later on and so I well what where do I sow seed what does that even mean and I wanted to go to Bible College I felt it pressed on my heart to go to Bible College whenever I gave my life to the Lord and at the time I believed I was gonna go to a Bible College in Broken Arrow Oklahoma called Rhema. Rhema Bible College and so I started sending out a little $3 little $3 tithe every month for my little $30 pay slot working in commissary I'd pray over that Joker and I'd go to the caseworker and I'd send out my green check and and I would believe that God was gonna do something with that seed. It wasn't that they received some big grandiose amount because I didn't have that I had a $30 pay slot in commissary that was it and I would sow that seed and believe that God was going to do something with that seed and often is what I have found in my life is that it was not the seed that was going sent out that was multiplied it was what was happening inside of the soil of my heart when I planted that seed because God began to birth a trust in me when I was in the Department of Corrections that said hey if you will trust me now with this then you'll begin to trust me with other things in your life and since then you know I hear people say well when I start making more money I'll tithe. No you won't because you wouldn't tithe when you made a little bit of money. It's easier to write a $10 check than it is a $10,000 check I wrote both but I would never have been able to write a $10,000 check to the church if I never wrote a $10 check to the church because I trust God with the seed and when I trust God with my seed then I know that I can trust him with my relationships I can trust him with my walk I can trust him with my life and to have that kind of trust birthed in my life is what it does is it tells me that I have the opportunity to be able to trust the Lord with every single thing that he has placed in my life.

When I read the word of God and and it says do this I can do it because I trust that I'm going to get the result from from planting that seed in my life because I know the seed time and harvest rule and and it's no different in any other area of our life and so I challenge us today not because we want your money not because of this because I want to see every single one of us trust the Lord in a way that would allow us to walk different that would allow us to talk different that would allow us to act different that would allow us to say my whole life trust God because that's where the real work is that's where the real fruit is that's where the real harvest is is saying God I trust you with every single thing that I have in my life if I could get some ushers to come forward I challenge you maybe you've never given hey try it try it today see if the Lord and really don't do it because I challenged you but do it and say God I want to do this because I want to trust you in an area of my life that I've never trust you with before and and and I'm going to commit to this for 60 days and I want to see how you change my heart towards this situation so Father we thank you Lord we give you the glory we give you the honor we give you our finances our life the seed the trust everything that we have gotten may we just lay it at the foot of the cross today and say Lord I trust you I trust you with my finances I trust you with my life I trust you to give above and beyond even to build 900 because I want to see the kingdom of God built and if I have the resources God help me do that help me be a good steward of everything that I have Lord let us honor you with everything that we have in Jesus name amen good morning Reach KC I'm Diane Boots I'm the communications director here sometimes it feels like the world is fighting against us but here at Reach KC we fight for our tribe and rooms you are not in I want to be there to defend you to make sure that I can be your sister in Christ and that's what we all stand for as a community and as a tribe did you forget that we have dinner plans tonight we're going to Chipotle the one-off Sterling 4 to 8 p.m if you bring your flyer which is found in the connect center you can help donate money towards the Reach Homes by getting dinner who doesn't love Chipotle and who doesn't love the Reach Homes so be sure to stop by the connect center to get your flyer or even open your church center app and go to the events if you pull up the events our graphic will be in there that you can show to Chipotle do you have the church center app if not just scan this QR code right here and you'll be able to stay up to date and stay connected with your tribe now let's get ready for service as a tribe and as a family

and let's hear what pastor Adam has for us today hey man come on just believing that God is doing big things not not just here but in the Reach Homes and and just in in in general man we just I love you know I'm probably going to lose my voice today we was at Licking South Central Correctional Center yesterday and did a did an event and so it was just man we're just coming kind of off a spiritual high from that it's like going on a week-long missions trip for two hours and so it really isn't it it's got me it just is and so we are thankful to be able to do what what God has given us the ability to do and so it's just an honor and so just know that even in the background like there are things happening there was 180 men in a maximum security prison yesterday that that was in this event and I would say at least 70 probably of them was on their face at the altar at the end of that event I mean laid out crying out to the Lord believing for change in their life believing that he was going to do it and honestly there is nothing more that warms my heart than going into a room full of maximum security inmates and just Man, you got, you got, I mean, I know there's some tough dudes in here, you know what I mean? I know, I know. But there's just, I mean, I know for a fact a couple of them got over a hundred years. I know that because I've talked to them. And to just see God doing something in men's lives like that just says something. One, it tells me that there's no reason that God couldn't do something in every single one of our lives. Amen? Amen? He doesn't wreck every single one of us. Sometimes we just gotta, I told them this yesterday, sometimes we just gotta tear down those interior walls that just says that I'm too tough for this. I'm too tough to be weak and I can't expose myself to be seen on my knees at the altar like that because other people would think I'm weak or they'll pray on me, man, mess all that stuff. Because there is something about being in the presence of the Lord that can change not

just your life, but the trajectory of your family's life, the generations after you's life, and you can change something right now in your family's life by just becoming that individual that says, you know what, there is nothing more important in my life than pursuing the presence of Jesus every single day in my life. Amen? So anyways, that was just my, hello, welcome home. So we are, we're just thankful that everybody is here and I believe that God is wanting to do something in some lives today and I'm gonna just jump right into the Word and I, we have been in this series in Acts and honestly it's probably been one of my favorite series, but I wanna talk from the title today, The Evidence of Jesus. The Evidence of Jesus. I've noticed something fascinating about kids, specifically my wife and I have recently been discussing this, especially in light of us having a baby on the way, and yes, I know, I look like I'm close to 50, and yes, I still am having children, and so it's okay because I'm not the one that's carrying it, and so, you know, but in light of having a child here soon, my wife and I have just been kind of talking about some of this stuff, that you can tell who they've been around. Your children. And even more than that, you can tell how they carry traits of each one of us. Like each one of us, her and I, we can tell, like sometimes my kids will say something or do something and I'll laugh and Catherine and I will kind of side-eye each other and she'll look at me and she's like, that's you. That is you in Addie, you know? And she wanted to name Addie after me, so like that was as close as Addie could get because they call me Add, and so, you know, and she'll look and she's like, that's you. And then sometimes they'll say something that Catherine always says or do something that Catherine always does, and I look at her and I'm like, and that's you. And we were sitting at the table the other day doing our Bible study as we do every morning, and I don't even remember what brought it up, but we just started talking about like the little quirks that each one of our children have and how that's me and how that's you

and how it's funny because they each have traits of both of us, and it's funny of just how that really works, and it's not that they decided to imitate us. They didn't wake up and say, you know what, I'm going to be like dad today, or I'm going to be like mom today. No, they simply become like the people that they spend the most time with. Like that's how influence works. That's how it works. You literally become like what surrounds you, and if I'm honest, this is the same that is true spiritually. The greatest evidence that you have been with Jesus is not that you can quote Bible versus church. It's that people begin seeing Jesus inside of us. They begin to see Jesus through us. They begin to see whether we realize it or not, every one of us is becoming like whoever we are spending the most time with. Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes that's a bad thing. Amen. The question isn't if you're being shaped. The question is who is shaping you? Because Acts 4 shows us what happens when ordinary people spend so much time with Jesus that the world can't help but notice. I've never met anybody that spends time intimate time with Jesus that walks out and you can't physically see something different in their life and so today I want to show us three things that happen when someone spends enough time with Jesus that they begin to look like him. Three things. The first thing that happens is this. Jesus changes ordinary people. Jesus changes ordinary people. Acts 4 13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, remember they're standing in front of the Sanhedrin, all of the religious elites, the high priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, all of these people that knew the word, that held tight to

it, they fasted, they prayed in public, they did all of these things. They was the religious, they was the ones that society would have said they had it all together and they're standing in front of them and it says now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And I love this because Luke intentionally includes their lack of credentials. He intentionally includes that they were uneducated and that they were untrained ordinary men because the Sanhedrin believed that true authority came from education, that it came from pedigree or that it even came from religious positions and sadly we have become a culture that chases some of those very things. We are a culture that chases positions. We are a culture that chases platforms. We are a culture that chases titles but heaven has honestly never been measured. They never have measured influence that way from heaven. God has never looked down and said, oh because you got a title, you're winning. Oh because you have this. Jesus didn't build his church on impressive resumes. He built it on transformed lives of ordinary, untrained, uneducated men of people that had just been, listen you don't need a microphone to have influence church. That's just not what it is. You don't need a title to carry authority. You don't need a platform for God to use you. The greatest influence has never came from where you stand. It's come from where you spend and who you spend the time with. Where are you at? See some of us are waiting on a title before we ever think God can even use us. I've heard it way too often. We think that that the platform is what drives the the power. The platform is what drives what what God can do in us. We've been waiting on a position before we believe that we'll actually have influence but Acts 4 reminds us that God's power has never been dependent on a platform nor a title. See Jesus took ordinary fishermen, ordinary fishermen, lowly business guys and gave them an authority that made the religious scholar stop and take note. That's what one of the scriptures says in this passage is that they took note and sadly we live in a generation that mistakes visibility for influence. Because I have a platform, how many followers can I get? How many likes can I

get? How many hearts can I get? Well how come they didn't do this and how come that pastor that I'm friends with didn't look at this and and he didn't thumbs up my post but I thumbs up his post all the time. That's facts. When was the last time you didn't you you posted something and you get on your post to see if anybody liked it? Because we measure visibility for influence. We think that if we can get the platform that we can finally make a difference. God finally seen me. God finally found me but Peter didn't have a platform here. All he had was the presence of God. All he had was the power of the Holy Spirit. All he had was something that that could move something. The presence of God gave him more authority than any platform ever could. Listen, influence isn't built by what hangs behind your name, it's built by who walks beside your life. You've got to get into the presence of God. See Peter had none of these things. He had no rabbinical degree, he had no prestigious mentor, he had no influence, no title yet these men who possessed every single credential that I just named were intimidated by these lowly fishermen. Standing in the presence of Peter and John and now all of the sudden they're stumbling on their words, they're questioning, they said hey you got to get out of here so we can collaborate. We've got to figure out what to do with you guys because we don't even know what to do and God continually chooses ordinary people to demonstrate extraordinary power so nobody can confuse the source see that's where when we get to a place where we think that we deserve something sometimes that's why we don't get what we think we deserve is because God wants to remove the pride within us and say hey you know what humble yourself and get back to this place that you need to be at because see Paul later says God chose what was foolish what was weak what was low what was despised so that he can be the one who becomes the one that gets the glory he said don't boast before anybody unless you are boasting in the things of God why so that nobody can think that they was the ones that did it see religion says become qualified and maybe God can use you but Jesus says come follow me and I'll qualify you you're a fisherman that's all right I'll make you

fishers of men come on get get on with me come follow me and I'll do that see this has been true all throughout Scripture if you look at Scripture you'll see it Moses couldn't speak that's all right Aaron come on you're gonna help him he'll raise up somebody to come alongside of you David was overlooked Peter was impulsive and had anger issues Paul was a persecutor he killed Christians he was on his way to serve death warrants to Christians when God interacted in his life and and just interrupted him but see God has never been looking for impressive people he's been looking for surrendered people he needs people that's willing to get in his presence and surrender everything quit hanging on quit coming to a to a prayer meeting with an agenda just say God meet me meet me here when was the last time that we just got the physical presence of God turned on some worship music and turned off everything else and just said God I need to meet with you right now I need to hear from you and I'm not moving until I hear from you and I don't care what my plans were I'll cancel them because I need to hear from the Lord I need something that can change who I am and is what really amazes me notice what shocked them notice what shocked the Sanhedrin it wasn't Peters intelligence you can quote scripture all you want you can sound smart you can have theological degrees you can do all of this stuff it wasn't his charisma it wasn't any of it wasn't even the miracle that they were standing on trial for that the lame man was walking but it was Peters boldness that that they have to stop and take note this same Peter the same Peter who stood around a campfire just months ago denying Jesus to a little servant girl now stands before the most powerful court in Israel without even flinching without even flinching this isn't just a personality this is true transformation 60 days ago dude was a coward now today he's standing before the most powerful court with a boldness that all of the religious leaders have to take note if there is a moment that that was to say this is how you do ministry this is it you submit to the presence of God and then all of the sudden because of the time that you have spent with Jesus people will take note it will you don't have to fight for you don't have to

petition for it God will make a door open up for you that you didn't even know the Bible says that your gifting will make room for you that it will bring you before great men that's what is happening here and I understand personally what it feels like to believe that your past has disqualified you I know exactly what it's like listen I didn't grow up looking like the person that people would have ever expected God to use that was not my story I came from a fatherless home I made decisions that led me into destruction that led me into addiction and eventually years of incarceration I spent seven years of my life behind prison walls there were literally moments when the evidence of my failure seemed way louder than the possibility of my future I promise people wrote me off a long time ago and it seemed like my record spoke louder I had more I still have more felony convictions than any other successful thing in my life amen I just I'm trying to change that number but I have eight felonies and I only have a few good things that I've done and so but but it's okay but my circumstances declared that it wasn't possible people's expectations said one thing of me, but guess what? Jesus's expectation said something different of me. It said something that he could do. See, Jesus met me. Jesus met me in a place where most people would say that it was the end of the story. And he stepped into a prison cell and began calling something out of me that I couldn't even see in myself yet. But I had to be fully submitted. I didn't have a ministry platform. I didn't have a degree. I didn't have a polished testimony nor theology. I was just a broken man who had encountered Jesus and slowly Jesus began changing everything inside of me. He changed what I wanted. He changed the way I thought. He changed the direction of my life. He literally took places where I carried shame and turned them into places where I could carry hope to somebody else. He said, hey, I've been down that road, man, but I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, God can change that situation. All you have to do is surrender it to him. And now when I walk into prisons and preach the gospel, I'm standing there because I wasn't the most likely candidate. I'm standing there because Jesus still chooses to use unlikely people just like me and just like you. This is what God does. He uses ordinary people. Sometimes I wonder what people from

my past must think when they see my life today. Some of them still remember who I was. They'll remember my failures. Some of them will remind you of that, right? They'll remember the decisions that I made or failed to make. They'll remember my inmate number one zero five six two two six. I still remember it. I had to write it down for years, but what they cannot deny is that something happened to me. Something and that something is that I have been with Jesus, that I have been in the presence of God, that I have done something different. And that is the testimony. Not that I pulled myself together. I couldn't do it. I tried. I tried for years and years of my life to do something. And not that I became disciplined enough to actually walk this thing out. I was a failure for many years of my life. And it's not that I found the strength to actually reinvent myself and do some. The testimony is that Jesus walked into the wreckage of my life and made something out of what everybody else had counted out. And he said, you, my son, if you will submit to me, you, my daughter, if you will submit to me, if you will get into my presence and you will seek my presence and I will do something in your life, if you would only remove yourself. Sometimes it takes us to get in a room and that's why I am thankful that I went to prison. Because that was the moment where God could meet me and I had nothing else in my life. $30 a month. That's all I had. I didn't have, I was believing. God, I'm praying for manna today in Jesus name. Amen. I need a, I need a little boy with a fish and a sack lunch. I can take it from him like the disciples did. I need something Lord. And the truth is, is that when people cannot explain your transformation by your education or by your ability or your upbringing or your personality, they are forced to look at another explanation. I didn't come from that background. I praise God that my kids will. I praise God that in Jesus name, my kids will serve the Lord all the days of their life. They will be filled with the Holy Spirit. They will walk in ministry roles and their kids will walk in ministry roles and their kids will walk in ministry roles because I want to lay the foundation for that. But that's not all of our stories. And the thing is, is when, when, when we do it by our own things, see sometimes the greatest evidence that Jesus is alive is that standing in front of people who knew who you used to be. People are like, well, how do you, how do you deal with whenever you see these new people? I stand strong. I keep my shoulders back. I keep my 10 toes down and I stand confidently and Jesus changed my life. And I was in prison

15 years ago and I encountered a God that met me in a prison cell and WRDC and I surrendered my life to him. And I said, God, I'm going to give you everything because I understand that you are the one that I love, the one that loves me. And I'm not going back to that sin. I'm not going to return to the vomit like the dogs did. I'm not going to return. I'm not going to cast my pearls to the pigs. I'm going to stand with the Lord that has changed my life. And that is what makes the difference. That is what makes the difference. Hear me, you may still carry reminders of where you came from. I do. I got tattoos that I can explain from where they come from. I got scars, I got wounds internally in my life that are reminders of where I came from, but those reminders are not proof of what you can't do. They're not proof that God cannot use you. In fact, they may be the very evidence that he already is using you. See, they may be. See, your past may explain why people counted you out. So what? Mine too. I have it, but see, your transformation will reveal why Jesus has called you in. Come on, somebody. They can count you out for your past, but the way that you transform could be something that God does in your life. Some of you have allowed what has happened behind you

to determine what God can do through you, but Peter's story and my story proves that Jesus does not just need a perfect resume. He needs a surrendered life. God's greatest qualification has never been ability. It's been availability. See, God don't look for the qualified. He qualifies the called. That's just how it happens. He doesn't call those who have this prestigious degree. He doesn't call those who have a, there is not anything that you could do to work up to the point where God could use you except surrender your life to Jesus, and then he starts doing something in your life that nobody else could do. How did ordinary men become extraordinary? I believe Luke tells us in one sentence. They had to take note that they spent time with Jesus. They had to take note. Notice the Sanhedrin didn't compliment Peter's theology. Well, I can tell you have a PhD that came from the Pentecostal University. It didn't complicate his communication skills. It didn't compliment his leadership. They didn't even compliment the miracle. Remember the lame man still standing there. You know he had to have been standing there weird. The whole reason they're there is because of him,

and now all of a sudden, he's not even a factor in the game. He's back there saying, can I go home? I can walk. He's back there like. He's back there like. Let me say, Bailiff, get that man out of here. It wasn't even the miracle. They had came to one conclusion, and that's that Peter and John had been with Jesus, which tells me something very profound. Before they noticed Peter's ability, they noticed Peter's association. See, you can have all the ability in the world. You could preach like any better pastor or preacher that you've ever seen. You could have all ability. You could sit in a church service and know exactly where I'm going whenever I'm preaching the word, you could be 10 steps ahead of me and you got scriptures that I didn't even have that would endorse this, and you could be doing something, and if you ever get to a place where I've been before and you think that you could do it better than that person, I would be very careful. I would be very careful because it wasn't Peter's ability. It was Peter's association, and the second thing that happens is this. Jesus leaves an undeniable mark. He changes ordinary people,

and he leaves an undeniable mark. You cannot deny when somebody encounters Jesus in such a way. Acts 4.13, I was gonna read like six verses here, but I didn't, because it all is relative to this, so I would just, if you haven't already, I would go read the whole chapter of Acts 4. But Acts 4.13, they recognized that they had been with Jesus. There are moments in scripture that almost seem too simple to pass over, and this is one of them. Luke could have simply wrote, they recognized Peter. They recognized who was there. They recognized this, but instead, Luke writes, they had recognized that they had been with Jesus. This one sentence literally explains everything. It explains Peter's courage. It explains Peter's authority. It explains Peter's conviction. It explains why these religious leaders were so uncomfortable because they thought that they had removed Jesus. They thought that they had eliminated Jesus yet somehow it seemed like they were standing in the same place looking at him again. That 60 days ago they had just sentenced him to death and crucified him and now all of the sudden there's a couple people standing in there that reminded him exactly of him. But see they didn't see Jesus. They saw someone who looked like him. Think about it. Who stood before this same council without fear? Jesus. Who challenged a religious hypocrisy? Jesus. Who healed the lame? Jesus. Who else spoke with authority instead of trying to impress people? Jesus. See the Sanhedrin wasn't just hearing Peter in this moment they were hearing echoes of Jesus. That's why to me that this phrase is so powerful. A disciple wasn't merely just taught information in this society. A

disciple was expected to become like his teacher. So much that in Jewish culture a disciple followed his rabbi everywhere. He listened. He watched. He imitated. He literally absorbed his teacher's priorities and so much that he absorbed his speech, his mannerisms, and his convictions until eventually people could identify the teacher by looking at the student. And I believe that that's exactly what was happening here. You know the council looked at Peter and thought we have seen this before. What is happening? And can I tell you this is that one of the greatest compliments that a Christian can ever receive is not you're an amazing preacher or man you are so gifted man you can shred or man you know so much scripture but rather it's I can see Jesus in you when you move. I can see Jesus in you. That's the goal. Christian literally means followers of Christ, representatives of Christ. Our calling isn't simply to know about Jesus it's to resemble him church. It's to look like him. Notice what they recognize they didn't recognize Peter because he wore different clothes. He didn't have his Sunday outfit on. They didn't recognize him because he carried a big Bible. They didn't recognize him because of any they recognized him because his character had changed. Because when you get into the presence of Jesus some of those innermost things in your life can begin to change. See Peter became bold where he was once fearful. He became bold. He became compassionate where he was once impulsive. He became steady where he was once unstable. The loudest evidence of Jesus wasn't merely what Peter preached it was who Peter had become. And here's a shocking reality is that the miracle on trial wasn't even the only miracle. See everyone focuses on the lame man walking in this story and rightfully so but I wonder if there was another miracle standing in the room. A fisherman who had once denied Jesus before a servant girl standing before the highest court in Israel completely fearless. See the crippled man wasn't the only miracle in the room. Peter was too. As I'm driving down the road the other day I'm I'm listening to something I don't oh I was actually listening to an audiobook on exegesis not that any of you care might even know what that means you thought I was exing Jesus out of something but it's not that it's anyways

I was listening to this book and it started talking about the prodigal son and so many of us love the prodigal son story but is what it reminded me of was an individual who had been around the father so long but did not carry the same mark because of the brother in the story because if you go and you read the prodigal son story and you read the brothers the brother was upset when the prodigal son was welcomed back after he squandered everything that the father did for him and the brother was so upset that the dad told him hey go get the go get the fattest calf that we have go get the go get it cuz we're getting ready to party and he said hold up wait how come you're doing that he's been out sleeping with the pigs he's been out doing stuff with people that he shouldn't even be doing you gave him his inheritance and he blew it and squandered it and now you're gonna welcome him back here here is my fear is that some of us can be in the presence of the church so long that we actually lose the mark of Jesus in our life. Because see, there is two identifying marks. There is one of them that if you've been in the presence of Jesus, you begin to resemble Jesus. But there's another one of the story of the prodigal son, which is the story of our father in heaven who is welcoming those who have been lost, who have went back out and went did stuff. And I believe that there are some people in the house today that is that person. You've been known the Lord before, but you've walked out and you have been squandering everything that the Lord did for you. And I believe that today that this is a house of God that will welcome you back in. I don't want to be the prodigal's brother. I want to be Peter and John. I want to be known for the presence of Jesus. I want to be known for welcoming people back in. I don't ever want to get so conditioned to spending time with the father that I lose the heart of the father. Because isn't that how religious people are? Well, you can't say that word when you're telling me to pray for you. Why do you smell like that when you're asking for prayer? Why do you talk like that, man? Don't you know that you can't wear that in the house of the Lord? Don't you know that you can't? Hey, I'm not against all that stuff. Because I believe, here's the difference, if you get into the presence of Jesus long enough, all that stuff will change. My job is to get you to the presence of Jesus.

I'm not playing Jesus. I'm not acting like him. I'm not doing all this stuff that makes you get this vibe that I don't even love broken people. I want to be the presence of Jesus in your life that loves you and makes you say, man, there is something different about that individual. How come he loved me even though? Even when? See, here's the question that I believe acts for, ask every believer. If your co-workers watched you for a week, would they recognize that you've been with Jesus? If your family observed your responses under pressure, would they see Jesus? If your children imitate your life, if your children imitate your life, will they become more like Jesus? Because here's the truth, we become whatever we spend the most time with. If we spend our lives immersed in outrage, guess what? We're going to become angry. If we spend our life immersed in fear, guess what? We're going to be filled with anxiety. If we spend our lives immersed in the world, guess what? We're going to look awful worldly. But if we consistently remain in the presence of Jesus, we cannot help but become more like him. Paul said it this way. He said, so all of us who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. Literally, the goal of Christianity isn't simply to get people to believe in Jesus, it's for people to see Jesus in us. To see that we have spent time with Jesus, because here's the truth, you can fake religion, but you can't fake resemblance. You can fake religion. You can act holy all you want, but you can't fake resemblance. Because that fake stuff, it stands out. Drink sweet tea with Splendibra. It is not the same. It's a glass full of lies. I need sugar. Sugar, babe. See, the more time you spend with Jesus, the less people notice you and the more they notice him. Which naturally raises the question, what happens when somebody truly begins to look like Jesus? I believe that it also gives us the answer in there, and it's that people can threaten your voice, but they cannot silence your witness. So the third thing that happens is this, is Jesus creates an unstoppable witness. When you encounter Jesus, he will create an unstoppable witness in this. I love this in Acts 4 verse 20, because they're giving a response and they're telling him, hey, you cannot talk. about that where you can't talk about Jesus you can't tell nobody else when

you leave this place you can't and they said as for us we cannot help but speak about what we have seen and heard I can't help it the Sanhedrin literally gives Peter and John one command hey don't speak any more about Jesus and Peter's response is fascinating he doesn't say we won't stop he says we can't stop Peter isn't just saying hey we've decided to keep on preaching he's saying something has happened inside of us that makes silence impossible I can't stop I have to talk about it because if I don't then I'm gonna explode why because you can't silence what someone has seen in Jesus you can't silence someone who has seen Jesus who has rightfully seen him think about it Peter wasn't arguing theology with him he wasn't saying well you guys do this and you guys pray loud but you know you don't act like that you know you do this and he wasn't debating philosophy he wasn't even defending some denomination he was defending about someone and testifying about someone that he knew see it's it's completely different that's why he says what we have seen and heard see witnesses don't argue opinions witnesses tell experiences some of us know about that amen only a few got that Tim but Peter wasn't preaching information he was proclaiming a person that he had seen and knew see you can argue theology all day long but you cannot argue with me what I have seen and heard I can we can argue doctrine we can argue theology we can argue denominations we can argue once saved always saved we can argue the baptism of the Holy Spirit we can argue what tongues is and what tongues ain't we can argue all these things but you cannot tell me what God did and didn't do in my life I was a broke-down sinner an addict a womanizing person that was doing things that I should have never done and God met me in a cell he met me in prison and told me you're gonna be different son you're gonna be raised up and you're gonna start telling people about me because I'm gonna use all the brokenness in your life and I'm gonna do it oh no no no I'm gonna I'm gonna follow exactly what the Lord has told me and I cannot help but talk about what the Lord has done in my life if you get in my presence yeah I'm a joke and play and and I'm gonna probably put the steering wheel in your back and drive you a

little bit and I'm gonna make you question if we even friends my wife always tells people he loves you if he's doing that question when he's not yeah that's what she always tells but you are in fact going to hear about Jesus when you get in my presence there is no option but to hear about Jesus when you get in my presence because that is just what I do the Sanhedrin had a bigger problem than just Peter see their problem wasn't Peters preaching their problem was the resurrection because if Jesus really rose from the dead guess what everything changes and honestly I think it's crazy because the Sanhedrin admits that they cannot deny the miracle because the miracle is standing in front of them but yet they still reject the Messiah and this to me should sober us because it proves that evidence alone does not produce faith you seeing the miracle in other people's life can be something that never changes you you can sit in the presence of miracles all day long and never change your life see the issue has never merely been evidence it's the heart behind it and here's what the enemy has always tried to silence notice what they attack not the miracle not even Peter but the message of the gospel verse 17 I don't have it in there but it says that they wanted to stop it so that it may spread no further and here's just a fact of my study Acts began with the baptism of the Holy Spirit but what is the immediate result see a lot of us if you've been around church at all and you know you've been around these different things a lot of people would say that the initial evidence is speaking in tongues but from what what I'm reading I'm not discounting that but from what I'm reading I see more of a bold witness see Peter preaches and 3,000 people are saved first sermon hashtag goals you know I'm saying like help me Lord acts for guess what they're filled again what's the result more boldness more witness guess what more people saved all throughout acts the filling of the Spirit never stops on the individual it always propels the church forward

sometimes I wonder if we've settled for celebrating the evidence of the Spirit while neglecting the purpose of the Spirit yes the Spirit gives gifts yes the Spirit gives power yes the Spirit gives supernatural language but the Spirit also gives supernatural boldness see the baptism of the Holy Spirit wasn't given primarily to produce an experience it was given to produce a witness Jesus did not say you will receive power so you can enjoy a powerful church service no no no no he said you will receive power so that you will be my witnesses see the evidence of the Spirit isn't merely something that happens to us it's something that happens through us imagine somebody discovering the cure for a terminal disease a cure that that could save every life and would we applaud them for just keeping it private would we say oh that's wonderful I'm glad that it worked for you I'm glad no of course not we would expect them to tell everyone that they could why because life-changing news demands to be shared and the gospel is infinitely greater than that I wonder if one of the greatest indicators of spiritual drift is not that we stop coming to church but that we stop talking about Jesus and how he changed our life because all of the sudden sometimes is what happens is we get this guilt and condemnation and we begin to think that our story isn't valid anymore because of what God did to us but are we becoming like the brother of the prodigal story or could we be the son today could we be the son that could be broken in the presence of God that could know that we need God to do something in our life when was the last time that someone heard about Jesus because of you not because of reach KC not because you invited them to church or they came to church but because you sat down and told them the gospel and what God could do in your life and what God could do in their life when Jesus truly changes an ordinary person he leaves an undeniable mark on our life that creates an unstoppable witness the greatest proof that Jesus is alive isn't an empty tube in Jerusalem it's a transformed life that refuses to stay silent it's somebody that walks in and embraces everything that God has to do in their life this says hey I'm gonna surrender today I'm gonna submit

everything that God wants to do in my life and I want to do it right now if I could have everybody stand with me for just a moment because I believe that what the Lord wants to do right now in this moment is call sons and daughters home that he wants to call some of us back to what he has called us to and in our lives and just get to a place listen he can use ordinary people he will leave an undeniable mark and he will create an unstoppable witness in your life what we got to do is get into the presence of Jesus and I'm talking about being fully submerged into the presence of Jesus so much that it changes our life so if you're in here today and that's you and you say man I just I need to get into the presence of the Lord today and maybe you don't even know what that means and and you just say hey I need to surrender my life today maybe you've never given your life to the Lord or maybe you gave it to him a long time ago and you just need to return back to the Lord and you just say man I need the presence of God in my life right now you don't even recognize you just feel a pull right now in your spirit that is pulling you to that if that's you can i get you to step out of your seat and just come down right here right now come on if that's you i want you to just step out of your seat and come down here if that's you come on come on come on don't worry about just say hey excuse me people will move people will move just say hey excuse me real quick can i come down i need to come down here come on there are more of you come on just let's flood this moment in jesus name come on if that's you i want you to just step out of your seat and i want you to come down here because we want to pray with you we want to get you some information come on there are a couple more of you it's okay it's okay you can step out of your seat you can step out of your seat come on and let's just believe that god is going to do something right now in this moment you can still come even if they walk off we you can still come because we'll never get away from this moment maybe you're here today and just say man i need to get back to what it really is i need to get back i need to god i want something to burn inside of my spirit for you again i want people to recognize that i've been i want people to recognize that i've been with jesus they can recognize that i'm sober they

can recognize that i got my life together they can recognize that i got a good job they can recognize that i got a nice whip now they can recognize all that stuff but if they can't recognize that i've been with jesus god get me back to the presence of you so if that's you as the worship team begins to play and and lead i want you to just step out of your seat come down here to the altar and i want to just take two minutes and just worship for just a moment so if that's you and you just say god i need to get back in your presence for just a moment i i want to worship you in this moment in my life god and i need to surrender some thanks in my heart and in my life so that i can get back to you so that i can be a better image of you i want you to just come on down and just stand or kneel down here and just begin to just cry out to the lord this morning come on change oh you are lifted high holy holy you