Christ is Life Podcast

So there are a lot of people, a lot of people in our world today, who are invisible. Now I'm not talking about the fact that they have some kind of super power in being invisible. In that way, I'm talking about invisible as far as being unnoticed. There are people who feel like they are not seen in this world. They feel unvaluable, they feel unworthy. They mainly feel unloved and like they don't really have much to offer because no one seems to notice them. Many of these people, you and I walk right past every single day in our schools and at work and in our neighborhoods and all around our community, and even sometimes they're in our own families, they're in our own homes. But we're just too busy. We're too consumed with our own world, we're too consumed with the things of our own life and things going on in this world to really notice them, or much less to reach out and to help them in any particular way. There might be some of you who are feeling that today, you feel like you are one of those invisible people, like you go unnoticed, that you are unwanted, that you are unloved, and that you don't have much to offer as well. But what I want you to see today is that our text will speak to the situation that you find yourselves in, if you feel like you are one of the invisibles, or even those of us who may not feel that way, but recognize that there are those within our church, our families, our culture, and all the other areas that are and so let's see what Luke has to say, beginning in Acts. Chapter three, verse one says, One day, Peter and John, these were two of the apostles. Two of the disciples were going up to the temple at the time of prayer, which was three in the afternoon. Now this was one of two prayer times that people gathered around in the Jewish community at the temple. One of them was at nine in the morning, and the other one, as you see here, is at three in the afternoon. And so people would would gather together to pray and to offer sacrifices and and read the scrolls and scriptures and all of the above. Now, Peter and John were on their way to the temple that afternoon not to offer sacrifices because they understood that Jesus had already offered the ultimate sacrifice, the once for all sacrifice for the sins of all time. And so they certainly weren't going to offer sacrifices, but they were going to pray. We talked about last week how the temple was still a place that people would gather, that people would come to worship and to pray and offer these sacrifices. And so if you want to share the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ with those who may not yet have put their faith and trust in Him for salvation, then this was a great place for them to go to pray with people, to build relationships with people, and to share the Good News of Jesus with them. And so this is where we're told that Peter and John were headed. They were on their way to the temple. Now the other thing to just kind of keep in mind as we get ready to finish what Luke says here is that Peter and John were kind of a big deal at this point. I mean, we saw in Acts chapter two, how the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. And then once all this commotion happened, and all of these 1000s of people began to gather around and question what was really going on in this particular moment, Peter stands up, emboldened and empowered by the Holy Spirit, shares the good news of Jesus with all of them. And we're told that 3000 people put their faith and trust in Him and become part of the church. They have their lives transformed and changed forever. And then we're told about how they all started to meet together, and Peter and John and the other apostles were the leaders of this whole community. And so they were the ones that had spent three years with Jesus. And so they were like, wow, tell us everything about what Jesus said. And so they were looked up to as important people who would share the truth about what was going on in this new life that they had in Christ. We're also told at the end of the last chapter how there were people in the community that began to respect them because of the different kind of community that was taking place through the power of the Holy Spirit. And so Peter and John. What I'm trying to say is that they were important people. Peter and John were important people, and they have important things to get to. There's crowds of people to influence when they stand up and speak and do things, 1000s of people are impacted and saved. And so these are the people that we're told are on their way to the temple. Afternoon, who are about to encounter Luke is going to tell us one person who probably feels mostly invisible to the rest of the world Acts, chapter three, verse two says, now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple court. So So here's our invisible person, this one who was lame from birth, one who couldn't interact and walk around and be involved with other people in all kinds of activities. Just one who was kind of cast to the fringes, put off to the side, who felt invisible. Now we're told that he was put at the temple gate, beautiful every single day. Now the reason this is important is because even though he doesn't tell us here, he will find out later in the chapter that this guy was over 40 years old. It's what Luke is going to tell us. So think about the time that is going by every single day for 30 or 40 years. You are sitting at a gate where people are walking in to the temple. Day after day, you sit there with all of these people walking past you, and certainly at some point you start to feel invisible. I mean, hundreds of people are walking by, and how many of them ever, never even really notice him, never even lay eyes on him. So you've got to start to think that he felt that he was unseen, unvaluable, unwanted, unlovable. The other thing is that you know how this goes. Even when someone like that does kind of get attention, you notice someone that's asking and begging for money and you're kind of walking past them. What would happen a lot of times in this case, or even in our case today, is okay, you got a little loose change in your pocket, or, well, one day in the past, not too long ago, you would have and you just kind of toss it his way and just kind of keep going. You don't really notice him. You just kind of flip it and move it in that way, and really, let's be honest, when that happens, it's not really about them. It's not really like you're doing an act of good deed to try to really help them out. That's really more about us who are walking past them. We feel a little bit guilty. We feel like we probably should do something to help someone. We feel like if I don't do it, then the Lord might get mad at me and upset for not doing something to help someone else, and he make my make my life hard as a result of that. And so it's really people passing by, and they're just kind of even the ones that help. It's more about checking a box, doing a religious duty, trying to get God off of our back about something. And so even when people do notice him, they don't really notice him, he's invisible. It's the world this guy lives in each and every single day. And now we're told that Peter and John are on the way to the temple, where this guy was put every day to beg. I wonder what happens. Luke tells us that when he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. This is what he does all the time. But verse four, we're told that Peter looked straight at him. This phrase, the way it's written in the original Greek, means that they fixed their gaze on them intently. They looked at him intently. They fixed their gaze on him. In other words, they noticed him like like really noticed him,
gave him their full attention,
this invisible man who goes unnoticed and unseen by all of these people, and even the ones that do just flipping something in his way, they stop and they give him their attention. This whole series, as you know, is being called life in the Spirit. So can I just go ahead and tell you what life in the Spirit looks like, what life in the Spirit looks like based on what we're seeing today, because they're empowered by the Holy Spirit. Is simply this. Life in the spirit means that you will notice invisible people. Life in the spirit means that you will notice invisible people that Peter and John had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. We saw that in chapter two, Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came. Now they're in the spiritual union with Jesus. Well, guess what? We happen to know about Jesus.
He spent a lot of time with
invisible people. He spent a lot of time with people who were invisible in the world, those who were taxed. Collectors and those who were prostitutes and the lame and the blind and people that were looked down upon and were shamed and made to feel worthless, and Jesus noticed them like like, really noticed them, gave them his attention, spent time with them, healed them, met their needs, befriended them, even a dinner with the invisibles of this world. Jesus noticed the invisibles, and he offered them, to borrow a phrase from the mentoring Alliance in our community, tangible help in eternal hope. Jesus noticed the invisible people, and he gave them tangible help and eternal hope when he met with them. And now Peter and John, empowered by the Holy Spirit in union with Jesus, are being led to do what notice invisible people, the same way that Jesus did, and he's going to use them to provide tangible help and eternal hope. You see, Jesus is still alive. He's still ruling and reigning today. He just does it through the power of the Holy Spirit in his church. This is what he's doing. This is an act of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit through two people who were now part of the church, this new thing that was formed in Acts chapter two. And so they get or he gets their attention. They're looking at him intently, fixing their gaze on him. But apparently he wasn't any more, because the very next verse, Then Peter said in verse four, look at us. In other words, he had noticed them. He was looking at them. He wouldn't be begging for money if he hadn't noticed them, right? He saw someone. He saw Peter and John. Hey, can you provide some money? And then what happened?
His head went down. Why?
Shame?
Everybody else just walks past me. I'm invisible to every other person here, even though I ask, I know I'm not getting anything from you. So head down, I am not expecting anything in this moment. And so Peter said, The Holy Spirit prompted us to notice you. We're fixing our gaze on you. We see you, and now we want you to look back at us and notice that we are noticing you, that we're seeing you, that the God of the universe through us, is having an encounter with you in this particular moment. So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. But then verse six says, Then Peter said, silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give you. I think there's an important thing for us to see here, because sometimes the Holy Spirit prompts us to notice invisible people. You ever had this happen to you? It's happened to me all the time. I notice them, but then the very next thought that I have in my flesh or from the enemy is I don't really have anything to give them. What can I really do to help them? Anyway they're so far gone, or whatever else is going on, and then I just walk on past because I've had that moment there. And so what we see here is that we may not have what they're asking for, but Peter is going to respond to give something to them out of what it is that he does have. So we may not have what they're asking for, but let's be honest, how many of us really know what we really need anyway? I mean, people who are asking don't know what we don't know what we need sometimes. And so we trust that if the Holy Spirit causes us to notice someone, then we trust it was from him. We don't try to talk it away in our flesh. Let the enemy swoop in. We recognize his lies and our tendencies and go, no, no, no, the Holy Spirit who dwells in me caused me to notice what's next. Jesus what's next through the Spirit, and then we allow him to move us in those particular ways. That's what's happening here. So then Peter said, Silver, Gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give in the name of Jesus, Christ, of Nazareth. Nazareth walk. How much better than money is that? Right? Lame since birth. Now, notice what's happening here. Peter is not healing this guy. He's not declaring in his own power or strength. He didn't just say get up and walk like he's drawing upon the authority in the name of Jesus Christ. Why? Because he's the name above all names. Kings. He's the king of kings. He's the one who speaks and things are created and formed. Winds Calm down, waves become steel. It is in his power because he is the one who's defeated sin and death at the cross, forever, through His finished work on the cross to defeat the power of sin and death, and through His resurrection, and through His ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit, he now sits at the right hand of God in a place of authority. And so Peter is drawing upon his power through a spiritual union that he has, that is in a union with Him that Colossians three says, we're seated right there in oneness with and so he's drawing upon that union and spiritual relationship in Christ's power to say in his name, in his strength, in his power heal. Now, sometimes Jesus chooses to heal when we ask for it. Sometimes he doesn't. Jesus didn't heal every single person that he encountered through the Gospels. Jesus doesn't heal people through the apostles, with every single one of them that he will encounter. But we trust that he's an all knowing God, that he's an all wise God, and that he's all good. And so from his perspective, for whatever reason, sometimes he chooses to heal, other times he doesn't. But we trust him as an all knowing, all wise, all good God. Anyway, this time, he decided to heal. Verse seven, taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly, the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. Notice the very last thing there that doesn't say he praised Peter. Praised God. He recognized that it was God who healed him. In other words, what we see here is that it wasn't just physical healing that this man received, but he received spiritual healing, because life in the Spirit for Peter and John involved providing tangible help
and eternal hope,
tangible help
and eternal hope.
And when, of course, it's a lame guy whose tangible help means now that he can walk, that's the kind of thing that will get other people's attention, and that's what we're told Next, when all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. And so again, while we're thinking about this one act towards this one individual. We think, okay, great for this guy. But what we need to notice here is that when this guy was healed, all the people saw it got all the people's attention. It caused all the people to be filled with wonder and amazement. And then what we don't see here, and we're not going to read all the way to it, because it's a bit further down into the next chapter, but we'll get there on either next Sunday or the Sunday after that is that after all of these people's attention had been caught like this, Peter, just like the last time he was in front of a crowd, when attention was gathered And people were wondering what was going on and how things happened. Emboldened and empowered by the Holy Spirit, stood up and gave a speech at that time to explain it. He's going to do the same thing in this moment here, and here's what we're told in the next chapter. Acts 44 many who heard the message believed. So the number of men who believed grew to about 5000 people. There were 120 people, we're told early in Acts 3000 come to note. So there's 3120 in the church. One guy, through an act of compassion for one invisible, lame beggar, the Holy Spirit, used it to touch 2000 other people's lives. What do we learn from that? Well, what we learn is that sometimes when the Holy Spirit, when life in the Spirit, means that we notice one invisible person, and again, we go to that argument, it's one person. What difference is that really going to make? Right? I mean, well, not only does it make a difference in their lives, but who knows what the Holy Spirit can do to impact even more people's lives through that one act of compassion towards one
invisible. Person.
I was reminded of this even through a story that I saw online not long ago. Some of you have probably seen it. Many of you may have seen it. It probably got shared a number of times in different formats. But Pastor was telling the story about how in 1934 there was a tent revival in Charleston, North Carolina, and there were 214 year old boys who happened to be in the area of that tent revival that was happening. They weren't planning on going to the tent revival. They just happened to be near. They were kind of walking by. They noticed what was kind of happening. It caught their attention, and so they decided to start walking over to kind of see what it was all about. Well, when they got a little bit closer and they could kind of hear the guy that was preaching, it got their attention, but they couldn't really hear it great, but they were intrigued, and so they wanted to stick around and listen. And so they were looking and and looking and and they couldn't find seats. I mean, it was so crowded and so packed that there were no seats, especially two seats where they could sit together. And so they decided that they were just going to leave, and they began to walk off. And when they began to walk off, one Usher happened to notice that 214 year old boys were walking away. And he said, No, no, not on my watch. And so he goes after him. And he says, boys, if you want to stay, I can find two seats for you together. They go, Yeah, well, we'll stay. And so he ushers them down to two seats that they can sit in. And they continue to listen and hear the good news of Jesus Christ. And both of these 14 year old boys are in heaven today because one Usher came by and said, No, no, if you want a seat, I'll get you a seat. Their lives were transformed and changed forever. You go, wow, that's that's awesome. I mean, that's great too. 14 year old boys are now in heaven, worshiping and praising Jesus. But one of those boys names, name was Billy Graham. And you know how many 1000s, if not millions, of people were impacted by the power of the Holy Spirit IN and THROUGH Billy Graham? And then those people's lives were changed, and then they impacted other people,
because an usher,
through the power of the Holy Spirit, provided tangible help. How much more simple is tangible help than two seats? But in the hands of the Holy Spirit, it can turn into eternal hope that cannot impact just their lives, but millions of other people all down the road. And so the next time, the power of the Holy Spirit prompts you to notice someone that's invisible and be going, what difference can it really make? Think about those two boys who are about to walk away
from this tent revival that day.
You never know what impact the Holy Spirit wants to have in and through you when he causes you to notice someone invisible. Again, the point is, is that life in the Spirit means that we will provide tangible help and eternal hope to people in need through the power of the Holy Spirit, not in and of ourselves, but through the Holy Spirit, causing us to, first and foremost, notice them. That's what happened in Peter and John. The Spirit caused them to notice, then the Spirit caused them to fix their gaze on them. So that's what we should expect in ours, okay, well, we noticed. Now the Spirit is gonna I'm gonna give you my attention. Look like you really are a valuable creation of God, one who is made in the image of God, and give you my attention. And then he used what it is that they had to make tangible help and provide eternal hope. And so we trust that the Holy Spirit will use what we have to provide tangible help and eternal hope. And so the question is, if that's what life in the Spirit looks like, what does that practically look like for us today, in 2025
This was 2000 years ago?
Well, it can look like much of the same thing. I mean, we spent a week in the hospital with Natalie, and I walked up and down the hospitals. I go to visit people in the hospitals and in nursing homes and a number of physical rehab facilities and all kinds of situations here throughout the community. And do you know how many people's rooms that I walk by where I never see anyone, anyone in there except the patient, and again, a nurse will come by and check on them every now and then. But there are people who are in situations, who are dealing with illnesses or sicknesses or chronic issues of things and and they're invisible. No one is showing up to support them, encourage them, befriend them, pray for their healing, provide tangible help in any way. So. Well maybe, if we're talking about practical ways, it still plays out today. Why can't it still look like that? I think it can. And maybe that's one of the things that the Spirit wants to do in and through you, is to notice the invisible people who are dealing with these kinds of issues, and to give them your attention, and to not just give them your attention, but to meet any practical needs that you see arises, to pray for their healing, to befriend them, to encourage them, to support along the way, maybe it's providing tangible help and eternal hope for someone who's differently abled. Maybe there are people who are dealing with or have autism or Down Syndrome and a lot of different kinds of things. And so sometimes when when people are in those kinds of situations, they feel like they've been pushed off to the fringe of society and just kind of out of the way, because we don't know what to do in those situations sometimes, and so they get pushed and pushed until they're in the fringe and no longer in the light, and they're one of the invisible people. I was just made aware not very long ago, that one of our members, who usually comes to the first service, she comes to the first service, she sticks around and she teaches Sunday School almost every single Sunday after that, but she was made aware of a mom who was coming to this service here, who had someone in a situation, a child who was causing some disruptions, and it was just hard. It was hard for her to be able to sit in and through worship. And so even though this church member who came to the first service and Sunday school had already been here for two and a half hours that morning, volunteered to start staying for this service right here each and every single Sunday to walk with their child around the building, providing tangible help and love and that they're valued and sharing about Jesus with them, so that mom could get a break for a little while and actually enter into and experience and encounter Jesus as we worship together. Now, that is life in the Spirit, because many of us would see something like that going on, and in our flesh, we would go, Why can't she do something about that kid who's being a distraction.
But you know how rude that is.
Terrible parenting over there, take them out, do something whatever, and we just want to complain about those things, but life in the Spirit will cause us to notice and then to go provide tangible help and eternal hope to people in situations like that. And so maybe that's what the Spirit wants to do in your life as well, through someone here at church, through someone in your school, in your neighborhood, a friend, a family member, I don't know, but that's what life in the Spirit looks like, maybe tangible help and eternal hope looks like providing for someone in the foster care system today. Do you know that there are over 1200 kids in the East Texas area who are in foster care? You talk about people kids, there may not be anyone more invisible than them that are in the foster care system, especially the older ones, how many times they've been kicked to the curb, told they're unvalued, they're unlovable, they're unwanted.
Stories would break your heart.
Garrett Marcy and I went to luncheon at the fostering collective, an organization here in the Tyler area was was putting on and they were making us aware of how they're partnering with the church in the Tyler area to make people more aware of the kids who are in foster care within our community. Why? Why? Because the fostering collective understands that life in the Spirit means providing tangible help and eternal hope to people who are in need through the church. That this is what the Holy Spirit does. He's in the business of providing tangible help and eternal hope, and he does that in and through the church. And so the more that they make us aware, as the church, about the needs that are going on, the more the Spirit uses us to notice, like not just be aware of it, but notice that these are kids and what they're going through, and then cause us to really fix our gaze on them, and then lean into the power of the Holy Spirit to provide tangible help for them and eternal hope to kids who have none through what they've been through. And the Holy Spirit's doing that. All around Tyler, there are stories of the church, people in the churches who are under the power of the Holy Spirit, stepping up and becoming foster care certified and taking kids into their home and loving them and and some who are adopting them and looking primarily for those who are older in age, because they're the ones who often get older. Overlooked the most. And so maybe today, if we're really asking and going, great, what is life in the Spirit look like in 2025 in Tyler, Texas? Well, apparently for some people, it looks like engaging with people who are in the foster care system to provide eternal hope and tangible help. So maybe that's something that he wants to do in your life today. For others of you, it may be someone at your school, your neighborhood, your workplace. You may already know the person the moment that we talked about it earlier. You may not know but you're going to be more aware of it now, entering into those spaces and trusting that the Spirit will lay someone on your heart and that you'll trust it's from the Holy Spirit, and that he's going to provide the next steps for you. As we think about this and finalize this, one of the things that I need to say, because I mentioned it earlier, is that maybe the spirit is using today to get your attention about someone that's even in your own family, someone that's in your own home. You've gotten so busy with your to do list and and with work and in social life and in social media and video games or whatever it is that you don't even notice your spouse anymore. You You
don't notice your kids.
Really notice them.
You'll notice a brother or a sister or a family member, a grandparent, they've become invisible. And so maybe what today is all about, for you personally is that the Holy Spirit is causing this to get your attention about someone in your own home, that he wants to lead you to provide tangible help and eternal hope to through the way that you love and you serve them, even in your own home. And so whether it's that, whether it's someone in your school work neighborhood getting involved in the foster care situation, finding a person who's who's differently abled, or a family walking through those kind of situations, someone who's in a nursing home a hospital, walking through a difficult season and home bound because of things. There are a number of ways that this could apply to us today. So we don't just walk out of here and go. That was a great little lesson. We go spirit. I'm available. Reveal to me as I walk through life in the Spirit, the next steps that you're leading me to take. And if there's some of you who are here today and you
feel like you're one of those invisible people
we've seen today that God notices invisible people, that he loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross for you, so that your sins could be forgiven and so that you could be in an eternal relationship with him, and so if you've never put your faith and received His love and His forgiveness and grace into your life, I want To give you a moment to do that right now.