It Grows With Boldness | When the Spotlight Shifts

Welcome to Reach KC everybody, it's so great to have you with us, I just want to invite you guys to stand up and join in. Come let us sing to the Lord Come let us bow down before Him His banners never more will rust His mercies are new every morning Singing Lord Lord So lift your height Forever lift your height High within our hearts High within our minds Jesus you alone Are up a cornerstone High within our hearts High within our minds Come let us sing to the Lord Come let us bow down before Him His banners never more will rust His mercies are new every morning Singing Lord Lord So lift your height Forever lift your height High within our hearts High within our minds Jesus you alone Are up a cornerstone High within our hearts High within our minds

So lift your height Forever lift your height High within our hearts High within our minds Jesus you alone Are up a cornerstone High within our hearts High within our minds Oh lift your height Lord You found a hold in us To fly out in our place You returned the home You gave with our race Oh, I won't let the fly out in my place No, no, no, no, no, no, no You returned the home You gave with our race I won't let the fly out in my place No, no, no, no, no, no You returned the home ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ I won't beg for a shout-out in my grave ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪

♪ I praise His weapon, I praise His weapon ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ I praise His weapon, I praise His weapon everyday ♪ ♪ I praise His weapon, I praise His weapon everyday ♪ ♪ I praise His weapon, I praise His weapon everyday ♪ ♪ I won't let the sky out of my head ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ I won't let the rock cry out in my grave ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ I won't let the rock cry out in my grave ♪ ♪ We return the praise you gave when I prayed ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh oooh ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ♪ ♪ The big medicine is all we need, the big medicine need ♪ ♪ The big medicine is all we need, the big medicine need ♪ ♪ The big medicine is all we need, the big medicine need ♪ ♪ The big medicine is all we need, the big medicine need ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh oooh ooh oooh ♪ ♪ The big medicine is all we need, the big medicine need ♪ ♪ The big medicine is all we need, the big medicine need ♪ ♪ The big medicine is all we need, the big medicine need ♪ Jesus. ♪ The big medicine is all we need, the big medicine need been the mine for me too long ♪ ♪ Visit us your way ♪ ♪ Jesus is my home, he's been my home and in the fire time and time again ♪ ♪ Born of his Spirit, washed in his blood and what he did for me on Calvary's morn and day ♪ ♪ I trust in God. ♪ ♪ My Savior, the one who will never fail ♪

♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ Perfect soul to share all His happiness ♪ ♪ Perfect soul to share all His happiness ♪ ♪ I know the author of tomorrow's order of my sins ♪ ♪ So this is my story and this is my song ♪ ♪ I'm praising my risen King and saying I'm all that's left of Him ♪ ♪ So this is my story and this is my song ♪ ♪ I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ My Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ That's what I trust him, that's what I trust him ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ That's what I trust him, that's what I trust him ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ That's what I trust him, that's what I trust him ♪ ♪ I trust in God, my Savior, the one who is ever there ♪ ♪ Who is ever there ♪ ♪ I trust in God, my Savior, the one who is ever there ♪ ♪ Who is ever there ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪

♪ That's what I trust him, that's what I trust him ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ I trust the Lord any hurt any answer ♪ ♪ That's what I trust him, that's what I trust him ♪ ♪ God, my Savior, the one who is ever there ♪ ♪ You are never there ♪ ♪ I trust Him, God, my Savior, the one who is ever there ♪ ♪ You are never there ♪ ♪ You are never there ♪ ♪ You are never there ♪ ♪ You are never there ♪ ♪ You are never there ♪ ♪ You are never there ♪ ♪ You are never there ♪ You give life, You are love. You bring light to the darkness. You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken. And later You know. You give life, You are love. You bring light to the darkness. You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken. And later You know. It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise to You only. And later You know. You give life, You are love. You bring light to the darkness. You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken. And later You know. It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise to You only. It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise.

It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise to You only. And later You know. And later You know. And later You know. When all the earth will shout Your praise, When all the earth will shout Your praise, Our hearts will proudly call to say, Great are You, Lord! When all the earth will shout Your praise, Our hearts will proudly call to say, Great are You, Lord! It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise to You only. It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's Your breath, You are love. So we pour out our praise to You only. So great are You, Lord. So great are You, Lord. Because You give life, You are love. You bring light to the darkness. You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken. So great are You, Lord. So great are You, Lord. You are so great. Lord, we are so thankful for Your goodness, Your kindness, Your graciousness and Your mercy that reigns in our life now. Lord, I thank you that you call dry bones to live again, and you breathe fresh wind into us. Lord, you call us where we are, but you don't let us stay there. You move us forward into things that you have called us into, God. Lord, you're not willing to leave us in one place. You want to see us surrendered to you. And so we're so thankful for fresh wind that comes into our lungs so that we can pour out our praises to you, Jesus. Lord, you came and you lived a life of sinless life, Lord, and you laid your life on the cross for us so that we could come and pour out our praises to you because you gave us new creation and new life, Lord. We are so thankful for the life that you laid down on our behalf so that we could praise you this morning. We're so thankful for the breath that we have to worship you in this place. God, we're so thankful for the move of God that you are doing here today, God. Lord, we thank you for how you minister to our hearts, how you welcome in the brokenhearted,

how you restore the ones that are lost, God. We are so thankful. We just want to pour our praise out to you this morning. We want to say, great are you, Lord. Great is your goodness. Great are you, Jesus. Great is your righteousness. Great is your sovereignty. Great are you, Lord. Great are you, Lord. So we pour our praise. Lord, our praise. Your grace. Our life. So we pour our praise to you only. Oh, great are you, Lord. Oh, great are you, Lord. You are the only one, Jesus, who deserves our praise. We're so thankful. We're so thankful that we get to give you our praise this morning. God, you are so good. You are so good in this place today. We thank you for a new life. We thank you for what you're going to do through this service today. We give you all the praise and the honor and the glory. And the church said, amen. Amen. Well, good morning, Reach. It's so good to see you in the house of the Lord this morning. As you sit down, make sure and turn to your neighbor and say, I'm so glad you are here today. Welcome to Reach, Casey.

We're so excited to have you with us today. It is good to see you this morning. If you are new around here, we just want to tell you, welcome home. Welcome home. We are so glad that you're here. And we know that if you came in the doors this morning, that the Lord has something specifically for you. It is not by accident that you have come to join us today. God has something planned for your life. Jesus wants to speak to you this morning. So if you're new around here, I just ask you to open up your ears to hear and your eyes to see, because God has something special for you today. You know, our missions team went to the LA Dream Center just a couple weeks ago. Shout out to the missions team. And while we were there, we did multiple outreach with the Dream Center. We went and did food distribution on the streets. We went and did adopt-a-block. And visited with families in the projects and got to pray over their needs and deliver food to them as well. We also did kids ministry where we went out to a park in the projects. And we got to share hope with some kids that maybe have felt like there was no hope to have. It was an incredible experience for our team. And on the very last day, we went to Skid Row. I got to say that as we walked the streets, we ministered to the people that were very broken and lost there. We got to give them food and pray over them, hear their stories. But it was also one of the hardest days for our team. It was hard to walk those streets and just to see how these people are experiencing life right now. And how they're experiencing homelessness and how broken and lost that they were. But the one thing that I really noticed is how proud I was of them. my team, because as our team moved and walked down the street, they weren't shy about sharing their stories, they weren't turned off or disturbed by what was happening around them, they loved freely, they ministered with their whole hearts,

they followed the Holy Spirit when they were prompted, and they got to share hope with a very broken place. It was incredible to see. I know that each of us on the team that day when we left, we were impacted by what we had experienced throughout the week, but especially on Skid Row, and all of us felt that nudging from the Holy Spirit that there is still more to do here at home, right? In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about the Son of Man separating the sheeps and the goats, and as he tells this parable, he says to the sheep in Matthew 25, 34 through 36, and the King will say to those on his right, come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world, for I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you invited me into your home, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you visited me. The sheep replied to the King and said, but when did we ever do these things? And he replied in Matthew 25, 40, I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me. Our missions team did this this last a couple weeks ago while we were in LA, and as they did it for the least of these, they were doing it for Jesus, and that's what we as a church here at Reach KC, that's what we are doing it. We are doing it for the least of these, and as we do it, we are doing it as unto the Lord. Our mission here at Reach is to reach the one far from God and help them become passionate followers of Jesus. Now as a passionate follower of Jesus, we do what Jesus mentioned in this parable, we invite the lost in and we care for them. Your giving is how we're able to do that. Not only is your giving honoring God, giving your first 10% and saying, Lord I trust you, I know that you can do more with this than I can do on my own, but it's also helping us to reach further than where we currently are. It's helping us to minister to the lost, it's helping us to be able to feed those that are hungry, it's helping us to give hope to people in a hopeless place. So we thank you for your giving, and as we look forward to the future of our new building, we know that we are going to see multitudes of people come and be saved by the powerful work of Jesus

Christ in their lives, right? We believe that as we open the doors of that new building, that there are swarms of people that are going to come in from the community that is around there and from the broader KC area that are going to come to meet their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, maybe for the very first time. We're going to see people that are broken from addiction, that are set free from the things that have held them back, who are going to have their lives restored because of what God is doing. So today, I just invite you to be a part of that vision through your giving. Bring your 10%, bring your tithe to the storefront so we can continue to reach the lost, so we can continue the mission that God has given Reach KC, and then go above and beyond. Support the vision of Build 900. We want to see the kingdom restored, and we want to see it happen here. We want to see revival in KC, and we want to see a building that can open so we can welcome in the multitudes. So let's be part of the vision. Be part of it through your giving. Be part of it through your prayers. Make a commitment today to go above and beyond, even your 10%, and support the vision that God has given us. Amen? Okay, I'm going to have our ushers come up to the front. There are multiple ways that you can give today. You can give online, you can give through the app, or you can simply toss it into the bucket as our ushers come around. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord, we just thank you. Lord, first and foremost, we thank you that we get to be a part of your vision. It's not our vision, God. It is the vision that you have given to us, and you've called us to be a part of. And so, Lord, we thank you that we get to make sacrifices, and we get to serve you in this capacity. Lord, we thank you that when we give our offering to you, Lord, that you are able to multiply it and do far more with it than what we could do with it on our own. God, we thank you for the giver. Lord, we thank you for their sacrifice and their willingness to trust you with their finances, knowing that you are going to bless them abundantly, and that you're going to shine favor on their lives, God. So, we thank you for the giver. Lord, we give you this offering today, and we pray, Lord, just that you would multiply it,

that you would multiply it and make it spread further than what we could do if we were trying to manage this all by ourselves, God, because you are so good. You are the provider, you are Jehovah Jireh, and you are the one who makes things possible. Lord, we love you, we give you our honor and our praise today in Jesus' name, amen. We just wanna welcome you home. I just, you know, it is such an opportunity for what God is doing here. And speaking of missions teams, amen, the team just went to LA, but we've got three different teams from across the country here with us today, amen. Come on, can we give it up for the missions? Can we give it up for Partnership International? And just so thankful for all that Pastor Doug and his wife, Jeannie, has done and just everything that they're doing, man. What a wonderful, we're gonna be at the new building doing some work this week, and so we are just excited about welcome every one of you guys that are here and just, man, we just believe that God is doing things all across, not just here, but all across the country, and we are just thankful that we get to be a part of it and that you get to join us in this mission, and so we are so thankful for that. But we do, we just wanna welcome you home.

Maybe it's your first time, maybe it's your first time in a long time. Hey, we just are so thankful that you are here. We have planned for you, we have prepared for you, we have prayed for you, and we have believed that you are going to encounter the one true God today because God is here. When his people come to praise his name, he said that he will inhabit the praises of those people. Amen? Amen! And so we believe that he is going to meet with us today. I believe he already has, and we have been in this series, it's this theme that I love, and it's the church on the move. And we're looking at the book of Acts and just kinda going through it passage by passage, verse by verse, and just believing that God is just going to just bring great revelation to us through it. But in that, we started with, it starts with power, and we're in this moment where it starts with boldness, or it grows with boldness. And today, if you are taking notes, which we all know you should, because you get a greater place in heaven, you get a bigger mansion, amen, you get more rooms, you've got all kinds of stuff there, there's greater revelation that comes when you get there.

And so we just believe that that's just what it is. But if you're taking notes, the message to, or the title of my message today is when the spotlight shifts, amen, when the spotlight shifts. And the truth of it is, is the spotlight is honestly a very dangerous thing. It's a very dangerous thing. Most people think persecution is the greatest threat to the move of God. But honestly, successes, sometimes successes, not just persecution, but success, because when God begins to move, guess what? People begin to notice. And when people begin to notice, crowds begin to gather, sometimes in mass, and stories begin to spread, influence begins to grow, and eventually when influence begins to grow, the spotlight shows up. And the question is this, what happens when the spotlight shifts on us? What happens when all of the sudden, something great happens, and now all of the sudden, the light is on you? Well, this is exactly what Peter faces in Acts chapter three that we see, because a crippled man just got healed. We talked about this last week, and the crowd gathers, and everybody is staring, and the man is going through Solomon's colonnade,

he's leaping with joy, he's praising God, he's never done it, he's clenched on to Peter and John, and Peter's first response to the people, because they were in awe, the first response to the people from Peter was stop looking at me. Quit looking at me, this is not my platform, I am only here because of what Jesus is doing through me, it is not me, and so I wanna just spend the next three hours, come on somebody. I thought we came for church today, amen? I don't know about you, but I came to have church. I want to observe 19 observations, just kidding, I wanna look at three. For the short time that we have here today, I want to look at three observations to identify when the spotlight shifts. Three observations to identify when the spotlight shifts and the first observation is this. If you're taking notes, this is a longer one so I know it's gonna take a minute so I'll give you a minute. The wrong focus produces the wrong wonder. The wrong focus produces the wrong wonder. Acts 3, I love I love Peter and John and and the way they address this issue and they look at the people that is around them and they address the men because that's just what happens but in the NIV version which I'm writing from or reading from right here it says, fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? The King James Version or the New King James Version I believe states why do you wander at this? Why are you wandering at this? Why do you stare at us as if it is by our power or our godliness that we have made this man walk? This man that you see, this man that was healed, why are you looking at us as if we made this man walk? And I love when you look at how Peter addresses this because the first thing that Peter does is he starts with honor. He begins with honor. He says, men of Israel, this was a respectful address.

Peter honors them but notice this, honoring people never prevented the Apostles from confronting error either. You'll catch that later for the note-takers when you're going back to read because honoring people never prevented and it should never prevent today from confronting error either. See, this is a needed word in our culture and our society because some people think that love never means confronting. Accountability seems as if there's an offense. Calling you higher means that there is something that why are you just picking? No man can judge me. I'm not trying to judge you. I'm trying to lead you. I'm trying to hold you accountable. I'm trying to call you higher. I wouldn't ask you to do something that I wouldn't do myself neither. I wouldn't hold you accountable to something that I haven't applied in my life and you can hold me accountable to that but Peter shows us that honor that you can still honor people and still challenge their thinking. See, Peter asked why do you wonder at this? Why do you wonder at us? In other words, why are you shocked that God restored a man that everybody else has given up on? Why are you enamored by what God has done and think that it was me that did it? Why are you surprised at the move of God in the place? Why are you surprised? See, the crowd was staring at the man who had spent his entire life at the gate. Every single day a man that they had walked past, a man that they had written off, and a man that they had assumed would always be broken. He would always be who he always was and yet now that same person stands before them completely restored and I think that Peter almost sounds surprised by their surprised. I think that he's like, hey, why are you guys so surprised? Why are you guys so caught up on this? Because when you have walked with Jesus long enough, you start believing that nobody is beyond his reach. When you start hanging around Jesus long enough, it's not, I mean it is amazing, but it shouldn't just blow our mind that some broken person, some lame man, some person that everybody else wrote off and overlooked is becoming who God has called them to be. We should be the faith in the room through the Holy Spirit to believe that when you walk in the room, I want you to feel the presence of God

and it could change you before anybody else ever even says a word because it's not about us. It's about what the Lord wants to do and so Peter begins to expose their misplaced focus. He says, why do you stare at us? And you've got Peter, you've got John, and you've got the lame man clenching on to both of them it says and he's addressing them preaching one of his messages and he says, why do you stare at us? See the miracle wasn't the issue, the direction of their attention was. What they were looking at was, see the crowd was attributing the miracle to Peter and John, but Peter immediately rejects the spotlight. Not because he was an insecure leader see not because he lacked confidence and and was scared to walk in it But because he knew something important that a lot of us miss and it's if people misunderstand the source They'll easily miss the Savior See if we beat our chest if we take claim that God is doing something through me You have now made you the source of the miracle and you have removed the miracle from the miracle Because the miracle is is that God is using a donkey. I Ain't gonna say what the King James says You can go and read it it's a bad word But if people misunderstand the source they'll actually miss the Savior and Peter says hey, why do you think this happened? Do you think this happened to to him because of our power? Do you do you think this happened because of our power where Peter is actually saying? Do you think that John and I have some special reservoir of miracle working power inside of us? Do you think that we have something that could actually Make this happen and something that I think is worthy to note here at this moment Is that you have to realize that Jesus walked right by this man every time he went to the temple for worship Think about that for a moment Think about that for a moment because how many times did Jesus go to the temple? I Don't know a Lot because there was three times of prayer during the day There was other things that they would go for for the scripture readings and and worship and all of these but Jesus Manifested God manifested in the flesh walked right by this man and yet somehow when Peter and John walked by him that man's healed and

Who knows how many times that Peter and John was actually with Jesus when they walked right by this guy and you know that Peter and John could have easily had the Opportunity to inflate their ego and we know because John and James got into an argument of who was going to be greatest in the kingdom and yet Here they are walking by a guy that Jesus didn't heal But I did Jesus ain't got nothing on me But see they didn't because they understood one thing they understood that believers are not the source Believers are the channel The believers are the conduit the believers are see the power belongs to the Lord whether we want it to be that way or not We can't steal the thunder we can't take the thunder the thunder belongs to the Lord and when a miracle happens It's because God showed up. See the moment that a water hose starts believing that it is the water source It has forgot its purpose All you gotta do is Disconnect it That's why some of us feel the way that we do Because we get so disconnected from the source we start to lose our purpose Because see you are just a channel for what the Lord wants to do through you you are not the miracle God did a miracle in your life, but you are not the miracle dethrone ourselves Take ourselves off of the shelf. We are not we have become an idolatry driven Society where we have placed ourselves on the top shelf like aged alcohol. Come on somebody And we have moved God to the lower shelf as if he's just easily accessible for everybody to just come and get a drink of and he is because he said I am the well of Life, but see Peter goes even deeper for a moment. And he says do you think that this happened because of our godliness? Do you think that this happened because we earned this do you think that this happened because we was actually Jesus's right hand guys. Do you think that we earned this because we've been at the temple every single day? We've did the fasting we've done the stuff Do you think that we've earned this because of our godliness and you have to remember the audience? You have to remember the people that he was talking to the people that thought that he was talking to

People thought that it was all about a checklist it was all about the things that you had to do in order to do all of this and they said do you think that because of our godliness and sadly this is where religion so easily sneaks into society see people often assume God's power flows because someone is more holy than another because someone is more holy than somebody else and somebody has gotten this all figured out I mean honestly let's think about it how many of us has ever held the pastor you don't have to raise your hand how many of us has ever held the pastor to a higher standard than ourself come on I know I'm guilty please don't do that to me one I'm gonna jack you up not physically but mentally because I'll never meet your expectations I'll never meet do you know that 99.99999% of church hurt comes because people put their faith in a man and not in God well the church did this or the church did that and Peter rejects this mindset yes godliness matters yes obedience matters but none of these things make us the source none of these things God is still the source and over the years I have had people come up to me and bless their heart like I'm not I'm not casting stones at anybody but and people have said hey if you're not preaching I'm not coming to church and while you could allow that to be a compliment it's really not and people say there there really is no other church like Reach KC and I get it I really do but I've had people point to my testimony I've had people point to my my story I've had people point to my tattoos come on you should go to reach the tattoos pastor or the the pastor's tattooed up bro I want to be tattooed with the blood of Jesus amen I I mean you I mean whatever I mean I've even had people say that God is doing something here because of our worship ministry right and talk about them like they're the reason that God is moving and when when man when the band starts playing the Holy Spirit just arrives and and and I'm not saying that that can't be true because we do have an absolutely phenomenal worship team and I'm grateful hey I'm grateful for the team I'm grateful for every kind word that that is said to me but there is still something inside of me that wants to respond like Peter and say why why are you staring at us why are you staring at us what if we turn the lights down and and we all face the back of the stage because this is not about us what if I preached in the other room to where nobody could see my tattoos to where nobody could even know what I look like would you still get the same revelation would we still be moved by the Holy

Spirit because if all you see is a former drug dealer ex-convict person who lived a rough life that planted a life-giving church you've missed the miracle you've missed the miracle if all you see is a gifted worship leader a gorgeous one by the way amen I don't know why y'all men are clapping I'm just kidding she's my trophy y'all can clap if you want to she's coming home to daddy okay just so y'all know but if all you see is a gifted worship leader or a worship team guess what we missed the miracle church if all you see is even a growing church you've missed the miracle because the miracle isn't us the miracle is always him that's it that's it I don't want to ever take the light I don't want and God if I ever do in fact one of the quickest ways to know that the spotlight has shifted is when we start fighting over positions instead of pursuing his presence that's better than than some of y'all wrote down because it's so easy to notice when the light shifts when we start fighting for positions because we think that's what brings the miracle because we think that's what brings the attention because we think that's what boosts our ego and we do that instead of pursuing his presence see when people become more passionate about being seen than seeing Jesus something has sadly shifted something has drifted completely away from where it should have been see the crowds mistake wasn't that they were amazed their crowd the crowds mistake was that they were amazed by the wrong thing see wonder is a gift from God but if we're not careful we'll attach that wonder to a vessel instead of the Savior and we'll believe that that vessel is what is is being the miracle but see Peter refused to allow the spotlight to stay on himself and so before he explains the miracle he redirects their attention is that I don't look don't look at me do not look at me you're looking at the wrong thing and honestly I don't think that human nature has changed all that much because we are drawn to what we can see we are so drawn to the visible did you know this is just a fun fact I think it's 80% something like that you could google it and fact-check me I may be lying I don't know somewhere between 60 to 80% of

church growth is transfer that means that 60 to 80 percent of churches are growing because people left one church to go to the next church why because society hasn't changed we're drawn to what is visible we're drawn to the gifted we're drawn to the successful we're drawn to the influential that's why social media has become so powerful and detrimental at the same time because never in history have people had this much access to personalities literally we follow people think about it you're on Instagram what do you do you follow them when you're on tick-tock what do you do you follow them we study them we quote them we post their stuff we repost it and then we will even go as far as defending people that we don't even know we don't even know their integrity we don't even know what's happening behind closed doors we don't even know what's really going on and we will defend them as if we was their kinfolk and we don't even really know what's happening and sometimes I think we even do the same thing in church we have a tendency to attach glory to whatever we can see but did you know that this is bigger than pastors did you know that this is bigger than platforms this is bigger than personalities this is bigger than a preaching passion this is bigger than influencers and and celebrities it's bigger than gifted communicators and it's even bigger than successful ministries it is because Peter reminds us boldly that wonder becomes detriment and dangerous when it lands on the wrong object see we put hope in people and in things and in ministries that can never carry the weight that we put on them and the crowds mistake wasn't that they were amazed the crowds mistake was giving credit to the wrong source because whenever the spotlight shifts from Jesus to people we've already started missing the point we've already started missing it see Peter refuses to let the spotlight stay on himself he immediately redirects it to where it belongs and that's to Jesus which leads me to my second observation and that's this the right focus requires truth see the wrong focus will get you focused on the wrong wonder but the right focus requires truth and when you use that truth here's what happens see Acts 3 verses 13 through 15 it says for it is the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob

remember he says why are you staring at us you're staring at the wrong thing don't look at me for it is the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the God of all of our ancestors because he's talking to the Jewish people the Pharisees the religious elite the ones that that had it and who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this this is the same Jesus whom you handed over whom you rejected before Pilate despite Pilate's decision to release him you rejected this holy righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer Barabbas you killed the author of life it was you but God raised him from the dead and we are all witnesses of this fact see Peter immediately redirects the spotlight to Jesus he takes it off of himself and he redirects it to spotlight on Jesus but notice which Jesus that Peter is preaching see Jesus isn't preaching some comfortable Jesus he isn't preaching some Jesus that'll tickle your ears and tell you that all you have to do is say a simple prayer after me and you never have to change anything else that's that's not the Jesus see he's not talking about a cultural Jesus see he's not talking about a Jesus that asked nothing from them no he's pointing them to the Jesus that they rejected and Peter starts with their heritage he says the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the God of our ancestors see Peter isn't introducing a new God to them he's actually connecting Jesus to everything that they claim they already believed and in essence he's saying the God that you've been worshiping all these years yeah that God he revealed himself through Jesus the one that you killed the one that you rejected and then Peter does something fascinating he calls Jesus I'm going to get theological for you for just a moment and teach a little bit of stuff here okay he calls them God's servant and he doesn't merely just call him a servant he calls him his servant which is the language that the prophet Isaiah uses in the book of Isaiah to describe the suffering servant which is actually prophesied as the messiah see Peter is saying the one that Isaiah prophesied the one this is what they would have been understanding the one that Isaiah prophesied the one who who would suffer the one who would carry sin the one who would be vindicated by God that's Jesus the one that that Isaiah was talking about that's Jesus see the miracle this healing that that is right here literally points back to the messiah not us why are you staring at us why are you looking at us and then Peter's boldness forces it to even get a little bit more uncomfortable when he says this Jesus

whom you hand it over don't you hate it when somebody puts the accountability back in your court you're like hold up wait hey they say they said the Jesus whom you denied the one whom you rejected and killed think about this Peter has a crowd gathered around him man most of society would love that wouldn't they they just had a crowd of people just sitting around listening to everything they said hinged on every word that was coming see people were interested they were in wonder their eyes were locked on Peter and John and all of a sudden Peter takes this moment and he has this whole crowd listening people are amazed and and Peter chooses accountability over applause think about it Peter could have been like yeah I did that matter of fact if you think about it Jesus walked by this man many a times and didn't heal him but I did we're gonna look later on where people was laying people in Peter's shadows just so that they would get healed if just his shadow could cast on him see Peter had the opportunity but Peter chooses accountability over applause and this is so rare because here's the human tendency we love explanations that remove responsibility sorry I love you guys see we love finding somebody else to blame why because culture teaches victimhood me too you deserve to jump on this train you deserve what you you need to you need to get yourself you are the victim here see the flesh prefers excuses society teaches us victimhood but Peter refuses to let himself be blamed for what he did Let them explain away what happened. He lovingly but clearly says, you played a role in this. The reason that you see this miracle is because you guys killed Jesus. You guys murdered him. And here's the hard truth, is healing begins where excuses end. You will never be healed unless you allow yourself to stop making excuses.

One of the reasons that people never experience true transformation is because they lack the opportunity to take ownership. Think about it. We blame our parents. Well, I wasn't built with a silver spoon. Well, neither was I. But I stole one from somebody. I'm just kidding. I really didn't. I earned mine. And the silver faded. Come to find out, it was just plated. Turned my hand green using it. We blame our upbringing. I just wasn't, I didn't have that. I didn't have that. We blame our circumstances. Come on, we'll blame our spouse for the reason our marriage is never successful. We'll blame our church for the reason our spirituality isn't where it was supposed to be at. We'll blame our past. We'll blame everything. And now these things can absolutely affect us and shape us. I'm not saying that. But transformation starts when we stop asking whose fault is it and start asking what is God trying to change inside of me. One of the number one things that I

advise when I do premarital counseling or any kind of thing is I suggest and implore people to look in the mirror every single day and say, what can I do different today? They are not the problem. You are. Even if they did something wrong, you responded in a way that you probably could have handled different. There's something deep down within us that we can always shift and change. See, Peter understood something. The same crowd that witnessed the miracle needed truth more than inspiration. They needed something more than just a couple swipe rights that on a post I can reshare, amen? We repost things that we don't even live. See, notice this contrast. Peter keeps lifting Jesus higher while exposing humanity lower. He says, you denied him, but he is the Holy One. He is the righteous one. He is, in fact, the author of life. And Isaiah used Holy One language for God himself. And so when he was attributing the Holy One to Jesus, they knew immediately what Peter was saying. And Peter is making a staggering claim that they would have understood clearly. And that that was this, that the one that they rejected wasn't just a prophet. He wasn't just a teacher. He wasn't merely just a miracle worker.

He was God in the flesh. He said, you rejected the Holy One. You rejected and denied the righteous one. And you killed the author of life. But God raised him from the dead. Why? Because human failure brings about divine redemption. Human rebellion ushers in divine mercy. Human rejection delivered divine resurrection. But here's the truth that we must face today. The spotlight can never stay on Jesus if we're unwilling to face the truth about ourselves. It'll never stay on Jesus if we're unwilling to face the truth about ourselves. Because we will turn something so much about us that we remove the light off of Jesus and we magnify something about us. Nobody that you were ever around even hears you talking about Jesus because all you ever do is complain about yourself. Or brag about yourself. Or brag about yourself. Come on, somebody. We know them people, too. One-uppers. You got a Cadillac on 24s, they got one on 28s. You led 1,000 people to Jesus, they led a million. It don't matter. is is the same Jesus who comforts us is also the same Jesus who confronts us but we take it as offense and we don't we don't you ain't gonna talk to me like

that I'll just cut you out of my life yeah be the last time better check my file you better ask somebody about me talk to me like that one more time we're gonna be acting real Pentecostal in here cuz we're gonna be laying some hands on people and people gonna have to pray for you and anoint you with oil and all kinds of stuff when I get done with you better ask somebody because see Peter understood something that we desperately need today if all we do is celebrate the miracle without confronting the heart we've shifted the spotlight again which leads me to my third observation 16 left you didn't know I could pull that much out of three verses did you third observation is this don't forget the purpose of the power don't forget the purpose of the power which tells me that you can have the power but don't forget why it was given to you because see acts 3 16 says this by faith in the name of Jesus this man whom you see and know was made strong it is Jesus's name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him as you can all see see Peter is intentionally overwhelming the crowd with one reality stop looking at us Jesus did this look at him look at Jesus don't look at us because throughout the book of Acts you see signs and wonders create these opportunities to witness but the emphasis is never the sign but it's always the Savior the emphasis is always the Savior the miracle was never intended to be the destination the miracle was intended to only be the microphone somebody says man you've changed yeah I know man I did this I did that I'm doing this I'm doing that never once even mentioned what happened when you encountered Jesus and he radically changed your heart you started weeping like a little baby and you became soft inside of you yeah I said it you're soft because that's what happens when you meet Jesus he takes this big person that that can be very tough in the physical and breaks you down in the spiritual that's what I love about God I remember being in Boonville in 2005 there was this biker you could tell he had body count in a good well it's not a good way but not in that perverted way that you was just thinking Ryan dude had killed multiple people okay that's what I mean let me clarify that for a minute edit

this out Diane cuz I think we're gonna post this one later and so you won't see that statement on it that way she's got a clip to do dude was about six seven could whoop anybody on the prison baldhead you could tell dude it just murder people been down 17 years on a murder I remember watching him drop at the altar one day lifting his hands weeping couldn't understand what was happening I started weeping other men in the chapel started weeping because God will take somebody and break them down and and make them moldable in his presence and in his hands because that's just what it is see Peter does not say my faith healed him he doesn't say John's faith healed him he doesn't even say that the lame man's faith healed him he said that his name because in Scripture a person's name represented their character it represented their nature it represented their authority it represented their identity they were very strategic in the Bible to even name their children a certain name because it held significance and so Peter is saying this happened because Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be see the name and the person cannot be separated it was all in one Jesus means Savior and Christ means Messiah the anointed one and so Peter is declaring the Messiah and all of his fullness healed this man that you see and the miracle got crowd's attention, but Peter isn't interested in creating a movement around miracles. He's interested in creating disciples of Jesus. Who cares if you can spit on your palm and touch 16 people's head and they're all healed? It's not about us. See Peter says the faith which comes through him, even the faith involved in the miracle ultimately traces back to Jesus. Why? Because Jesus supplied the power, Jesus supplied the authority, Jesus supplied the faith, Jesus supplied the healing. Peter is literally systematically removing every opportunity for any man to take credit. Just in case you thought you did it, nope. See one of the greatest dangers of experiencing God's power is forgetting why he gave it.

We can easily become fascinated with the experience. Some people only come to reach because of the experience. Some people only come not because you encounter Jesus, not because you're fascinated with the experience. We're fascinated with gifts, we're fascinated with platforms, we're fascinated with influence, we're fascinated with results while completely forgetting the purpose. See the purpose is always Jesus. Nothing else. It is that. The miracle wasn't produced by extraordinary people. It was produced by an extraordinary Savior. The reason you can do extraordinary things is because we have an extraordinary God. Why did Jesus heal this man? Not merely so he could walk. Not merely so the crowd could be amazed. Not merely so Peter could gain influence. He healed this man so that the spotlight would return to Jesus. The power had a purpose and the purpose was Jesus. See I believe that this is why Jesus never healed this man when he passed by him on his way to the temple. He knew that there was going to be a point in time where the people needed to see this miracle to prove that the Messiah was still indeed alive and active. And so he chose to not take the glory himself in that moment so that he could spare the moment so that he could be glorified through Peter and John. But what if Peter and John would have stole the thunder? What if Peter and John would have tried to allow themselves to take the glory? See this is why I love what happens every week at Reach KC. We celebrate transformed lives. Literally. We celebrate.

But listen the testimony is never, look at what I did. Thank God I started that church. Glory be to Adam Brown. See the testimony is never how strong I was. The testimony is never how much faith I had. The testimony is Jesus changed me. Not only did Jesus change me but guess what? Jesus healed them. Guess what? Jesus restored you. Guess what? Jesus delivered me. Yes, Jesus found you. Yes, Jesus carried us. But Jesus did what we could not do for ourselves. Then I love what we see Peter say next. He says whom you see and know. You know the guy. You know the guy that you've seen. Everybody knew his condition. Now everybody could see his transformation and the evidence was standing right in front of him. I see this verse at work every single week. I get to sit and be a part of former addicts worshiping Jesus. their whole heart. I'm talking with their whole heart. I get to see returning citizens, men and women getting out of prison and they are now discipling people right here at Reach KC. Guess what? I get to see broken families restored, families that have been apart for years restored. I see people who should still be trapped in shame because of everything that you have done, walking in the freedom of Jesus. I see people who were written off by families, by friends, by systems,

all while finding purpose now in life. See, I see it in the person who hated church but now loves Jesus. See, I see it in the person who had every reason to stay broken but chose not to. Different stories, same Savior. You see the spotlight all throughout this story shifting. Throughout this story and it shifted from the miracle, it shifted from Peter, it shifted to John, it shifted to the held man and Peter, I love what Peter's doing, he keeps pushing it back to Jesus. Let me ask you this, where has the spotlight shifted in your life? Maybe it shifted to your success. Maybe it shifted even to your gifting. Maybe it shifted even to your calling or to your ministry. Maybe it shifted to your pain. Maybe it shifted to your story. Maybe it shifted to politics. Maybe it shifted even to your favorite preacher. Maybe it shifted even to your favorite preacher or to your favorite influencer or what if it shifted even to a movement or a denomination or a church. Here's what Peter would say church. Why are you staring at us? Why are you staring at these things? Here's what I know. Reach KC is never the story. The worship team isn't the story. The pastor isn't the story. The testimony isn't the story. The miracle isn't the story. Jesus is the story. Everything else is simply evidence that he is still alive and the moment that we forget the purpose of the power, the spotlight begins to shift. But when the spotlight returns to Jesus, people don't just admire a miracle. They meet the Savior. What's become the spotlight in your life? What are you allowing in your heart to take the focus that only Jesus deserves? What is it in your heart? What is it in your life? What is it in your family's life? What could you do today to shift the focus back on the Savior, the Holy One, the suffering servant, the Holy One of Israel, the anointed one? What is it that you could do today to remove that thing and say, Jesus, you get everything that you deserve back in my life today. Because you are worthy of everything. If I could have everybody stand with me for just a moment. Worthy of everything. If I could have everybody stand with me for just a moment. Maybe you are in here today and you feel the Lord doing something in your heart right now. You feel him pulling you back and you don't even know.

Everybody stay for just a moment. Give me two more minutes. I want everybody that was intended to encounter Jesus right now to do it. And sometimes I think we can be so quick to move that maybe somebody that we brought with us was getting ready to surrender their life to Jesus and because we needed to hurry up and go, we just made them miss a miracle. Don't rush the moment for just a second, please. I don't mean that in an offensive way. But maybe you're in here today and you feel that. You feel something in your spirit and you say, man, I don't even know what it is. But whatever you have been saying is just piercing me to my spirit and I need to surrender today maybe it's for the first time maybe it's for the first time in a long time and you need to give your life over to Jesus and that is you today and you say that's me pastor I need to do that you can't even resist it right now if that's you could I just get you to slip up your hand real quick could I just get you to slip up your hand come on I know there's a few people come on I see a couple of hands come on I see you I see you hey if that's you if you raised your hand or maybe you didn't I know there's a few of you in here could could you just come down here real quick could you come down here right over here to my left to your right come on come on come on come on come on come on come on hurry hurry don't look at us don't look at us just let the Lord do let the Lord do what the Lord wants to do come on church let's give him praise in the moment let's worship him for what he wants to do let's give him everything that is his let's praise him for the name of God let's lead him back to Jesus let's say Lord you are worthy of my praise God you are greater than my problem God you are worthy of every breath that I breathe in the name of Jesus come on church let's just worship him for a moment let's worship him for a moment say God you are greater than my problem let's flood the altar if we need to if you miss the moment come on you can still come down we will take you we'll pray with you come on 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