Youth
night. Significant
Relationships: Reaching out with our relationships.
Our relationships should strengthen our spiritual lives. This message focuses on intentional relationship building,
which facilitates spiritual growth.
Acts 3:1 (KJS) Now Peter and
John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, [being] the
ninth [hour]. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried,
whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to
ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3 Who seeing Peter and John
about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4 And Peter, fastening his eyes
upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them,
expecting to receive something of them. 6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold
have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth rise up and walk. 7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted
[him] up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the
temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him
walking and praising God:10 And they knew that it
was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were
filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
"Asked
to receive an alms" (Acts 3:3) The minister was being entertained at the
home of one of the elders. While they were at dinner the little daughter of
the house said to the minister, "I heard you preach today."
"You did?" said he. "Can you tell me, then, what I preached
about?" "Yes," answered the little girl. "You preached
about a man who asked for arms, and got legs." --Selected
The Gift of life comes in 5 stages.
To which level of giving are you going and giving?
To which would you like to go? What
do you have to give?
1.
Looking stage: Shows
you care enough to look. You
recognize them and their existence. Have
you seen the lost, the lonely, and the least?
These are those who know of their need of help.
These are the ones who are open to help.
Will we help them? Those
who no one loves or spends time with. They
are the ones that society has forgotten.
Have you seen the need? A
sea of souls surrounds those in the life boat of Christ.
2.
Loving Stage: Acceptance,
forgiveness, and passion are seen in the eyes of those who have the life and
the light of Christ within them. People who care. When
no one else seems to notice those who give the gift of life must give the gift
of love. Do you have the love of
Christ to give?
3.
Lifting Stage /Labor: Shows
you care enough to put your faith into action.
You are extending your hand to those in need.
You are willing to take the time to help.
You are willing to make the sacrifice necessary to make a difference.
Give of yourselves to those who are spiritually and physically needy.
Will you lift them up?
4.
Living Stage: Spiritual
rebirth will happen when we join the Lord in Salvation.
The Lord chooses to use his people in seeking and saving the lost, the
lonely, and the least. When you
see someone who is in need of the Lord and you share Him with them you have
given the gift of true Life. The
gift of life is often associated
with the donation of blood. The
Bible says that the life is in the blood.
Jesus has already given the blood necessary for Spiritual life.
Will you share Him with them?
One of the first words learned by the traveler in India or the Near
East is "baksheesh." Multitudes of beggars hold out their
hands and say this one word. Some of them have been willfully deformed by
parents to arouse the pity of those who might give. Preaching through an
interpreter, I had occasion to speak of salvation as the gift of God. I
emphasized the word. It is a gift. I paused while my translator spoke his
line. "Baksheesh, baksheesh," I heard him say.
The
reason why more people do not have salvation is because they are not willing
to take their place among those who are poor in spirit; spiritual bankrupts
deformed by sin, possessing nothing, wholly dependent upon the baksheesh of
God, which He is so willing to bestow upon those who will come in His way
(Acts 3:2,3). -- Donald Grey
Barnhouse, Bible Truth Illustrated (Keats Publishing, 1979), p. 26.
5.
Leaping Stage: Result
of giving the gift of life. We
must leap before they can. A leap
of faith for you and me to believe the Lord is capable of changing someone’s
life. Rejoicing with those who
have received the gift and are praising God.
Longfellow could take a
worthless piece of paper, write a poem on it, and instantly make it worth
thousands of dollars -- and it's called genius.
Rockefeller
could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth millions of dollars
-- and it's called riches.
A
mechanic can take material worth only five dollars and make it worth five
hundred -- and it's called skill.
An
artist can take a fifty-cent piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make
it worth thousands of dollars -- and it's called art.
Jesus
Christ can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it in His blood, put His Spirit
in it, and make it valuable to God -- and that's called sanctification.
The
Lord is in the business of taking rough, raw material and using it --
transforming men by His power to be the extension of His work in the world.