How did you do that?
Rich began this week’s message by sharing a personal story with us. While at Trail Days earlier in the month, a magazine reporter interviewed him about his part in the Appalachian Trail ministry. As the interview wore on, the reporter’s questions gradually changed from scripted interview prompts to genuine, heartfelt inquiries. Finally, the reporter said to Rich, “This week, I noticed you having conversations with just about every hiker that came your way. You were talking about Christ, weren’t you? How did you do that?”
How do we minister to others powerfully? How do we find a way to share with others the truths and the love that we ourselves have found in Christ? This is the question that the interviewer was asking. He probably expected Rich to explain a conversation method or a five-step process for engaging listeners. Maybe he thought Rich would teach him a rhetorical technique or persuasive stratagem. Whatever the interviewer was expecting, the answer Rich had for him was quite simple. On Sunday, Rich based his message on that very simple answer.
The Overflowing Life
In last week’s sermon, Nancy pointed out that God calls all believers not only to believe in Christ, but also to surrender their lives to Him. What she didn’t necessarily emphasize is that this type of surrender has life altering consequences – good ones. The natural result of surrender, according to scripture, is what Rich described this week as an “overflowing life,” a life that is full of the Holy Spirit and its fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and discipline (Galatians 5:22). Herein lies the answer to the reporter’s question: when a person has surrendered his life to God, the change that takes place leaves him brimming with excitement and gratitude for what God has done for him. Therefore, it is no difficult chore for him to share all of that with others. It is not a tedious or awkward responsibility; it comes naturally. Divulging the truth about Christ’s love came naturally to Rich because he was so full the Holy Spirit that he was overflowing with it, just as a glass of water that has reached its full capacity overflows when more water is added.
“I am what I am, but I am not yet who I will become”
The idea of an overflowing heart has its basis in scripture. Christ pointed out in the Gospels that whether with goodness or with evil, each person’s heart overflows with something: “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luke 6:45). Before Christ rescues us from our sin, our lives are not “overflowing” with goodness and truth. Rather, they are often overflowing with hurt, fear, anger, or any number of unfavorable things. Rich stated in his sermon that thankfully, amidst all of the toxic trash that inhabits our minds and souls, Christ comes in and loves us anyway. He loves us so consistently and unconditionally that eventually, we start letting go of some of our sin. When we get rid of some of that trash, it gives Christ a chance to come in and inhabit more space in our hearts. The more surrendered we become and the more old attitudes, destructive behaviors, and lies we let go of, the more God is able to fill us with His Spirit, and over time, He is able to make us into that person that He had in mind when He carefully designed us. Rich made a point to say that when God looks at our unregenerate, filthy state as sinners, He sees us as we are, but He also sees us as the new creations we will become. He knows our potential because He gave it to us when He made us, and He loves us. He loves us with a love as intense as a fire that cannot be extinguished, and He believes in us and in our potential even when we do not believe in either. He rescues us from our sin, takes us as we are, and begins the long, slow, yet careful and loving process of making us into who we will become.
Peter and John: Failures with Potential in Christ
In his sermon, Rich mentioned that he loves reading about successful people who were once failures because it gives him hope for himself. Two such examples of this are Peter and John, two of Jesus’ disciples who, when Jesus found them, had enough flaws to discourage anyone from believing in them. John had a violent nature, and Peter tended to vacillate between overweening pride and shameful cowardice. Would you believe that John, who was latterly termed the “Son of Thunder,” went on to be called the Apostle of Love and that Peter, weak and prideful as he was, went on to demonstrate great humility and courage? These two men were changed by the love and power of Christ. The Lord saw their potential long before it was evident to anyone else because He had created them with it. And through various trials and surrenders, they became the men that we see in Acts 3:1-20.
Peter and John: Prime Examples of the Overflowing Life
By the time of the encounter described in Acts 3:1-20, Peter and John had witnessed Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension and had received his Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Through God’s providential work in their lives and through their own willingness to surrender everything to Christ, they had been changed. What Peter and John demonstrate in this passage is a prime example of ministering not according to a formula or strategy, but out of a life overflowing with God’s Holy Spirit. In his sermon, Rich used Peter and John’s example to point out several principles of “the overflowing life.”
Principles of an Overflowing Life
- Routine Situations Become Sacred Opportunities
First of all, the sacred encounter that Peter and John had with the beggar in Acts 3 was not something they had planned in advance. On that particular day, the two friends were merely going to the temple to pray at the usual time – a routine they probably followed daily. Approaching the temple, they encountered a lame man, whom the narrator tells us was a regular beggar at the temple, known by most. So Peter and John’s situation was nothing unique: they were going to a place they visited regularly and encountered a man they had likely seen before.
What made this ordinary moment special was the Holy Spirit. Because Peter and John were surrendered to God and the Holy Spirit indwelt them, they were open to hearing the Lord’s voice. The Scripture explains that in the moment when the lame man asked for alms, the Holy Spirit seized Peter’s and John’s attention and caused them to “fix their gaze” upon the man (3:4). Rich noted in his sermon that in this situation, the Holy Spirit caused Peter and John to see the beggar as Christ saw him rather than as just another face in the crowd. We are not privy to what went on in Peter’s mind during this occurrence. The narrator only tells us that the beggar had caught his attention. I am guessing, however, that there may have been a quick prayer exchanged silently between Peter and the Lord in which the apostle asked what to do, and the Lord impressed upon him that he was to give the beggar what he had. Whatever his thoughts were at the time, Peter’s response to the beggar’s request for alms was this: “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene -- Walk!” With the word “walk,” the crippled man got up and was healed, his life having been forever changed because he crossed paths with Peter and John and the power of God “overflowed” onto him.
- God Wants to Do More Than We Ask or Expect
What an amazing gift – to be whole again and to be able to walk and function as a regular person. We can only speculate as to how this changed the beggar’s life. One thing is certain, however. We can learn a biblical principle from the beggar’s story: God’s ways are not just different from our ways; they are BETTER. The beggar’s highest aim was to receive money from Peter and John. God’s desire was to give the beggar more than that – He wanted the beggar to be whole again and able to walk. Through Peter and John, God does more for the beggar than the beggar would have thought possible. In Ephesians, Paul echoes this principle when he describes Christ as “Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (3:20)
Uncovering Hidden Treasures
Rich ended his message with an object lesson. He showed us an old duffle bag filled with miscellaneous items and said that the bag represented his life. Reaching down into the canvas tote, he pulled out several belongings, one at a time – a tennis ball, a picture of himself with a huge trophy fish, a book, his wallet, a pocket calendar, and a picture of his family. Each one of these belongings, he noted, represented a different aspect of his life that was very dear to him. He also stated that at some point or another, God had brought him to the point of having to surrender each of those things to Him.
As Rich presented each item, he lingered for a little while, telling us about an experience involving each prized possession. When he got to the book, however, he explained to us that early in his life, books, especially textbooks, had been not a treasure to him but an odious symbol of failure. He briefly referenced his tortuous memories of being in high school and not knowing how to study. At the time, he thought so little of his own abilities as a student that he didn’t even attempt any kind of scholarly pursuits. Then, through a series of circumstances, he was brought to a point where he had to surrender even his failures to the Lord. He saw himself as a failure academically, but God was compelling him to go to college, and in order to succeed in college, Rich had to do something he thought would make him miserable: study. But he surrendered even that to God, and over time, God not only caused him to be a successful student; He also showed Rich that really, he had created him with a love for learning and reading. Today, many of us know Rich as someone who is well versed in the Bible and in many areas of theology. There are even times when his passion for reading and studying “overflows” onto the rest of us as he hands out books and study tools to us to help us get more out of God’s Word. This hidden treasure of scholarship was one that Rich would have never discovered had he not been willing to surrender his life to Christ. So it seems that when we surrender to the Lord’s work in our lives, we sometimes find hidden treasure that we do not expect. And many times, we find that God has created us with hidden potential that exceeds what we would have ever imagined ourselves as being able to do.
Are You Ready Yet?
After Rich’s sermon, the service ended with a song called “More Precious than Silver.” This piece of music is a love song to Christ, expressing his surpassing superiority to anything else on this earth, even the most desirable things that we can imagine. The song mentions gold, silver, and diamonds, claiming that the Lord is still more precious, more valuable and more costly than these, the most prized treasures in the world. We all sang this song, yet I wonder if we are ready to believe it. If God is truly more valuable than even the most valuable of worldly treasures, shouldn’t we feel safe in surrendering our own treasures to him? Rich ended his message by asking us whether we were ready to surrender all that we had to God. He held up his bag to show us the things that he had to surrender. Then he said: “There are three things that God wants: your fears, your failures, and your future. Are you ready to trust that if you give those things over to God, He will take care of you?”
Scriptures Referenced in the Sermon
Luke 6:43-45; Acts 3:1-20
Other Scriptures to Consider
Ephesians 3:20
Colossians 2:2-3
Rich began this week’s message by sharing a personal story with us. While at Trail Days earlier in the month, a magazine reporter interviewed him about his part in the Appalachian Trail ministry. As the interview wore on, the reporter’s questions gradually changed from scripted interview prompts to genuine, heartfelt inquiries. Finally, the reporter said to Rich, “This week, I noticed you having conversations with just about every hiker that came your way. You were talking about Christ, weren’t you? How did you do that?”
How do we minister to others powerfully? How do we find a way to share with others the truths and the love that we ourselves have found in Christ? This is the question that the interviewer was asking. He probably expected Rich to explain a conversation method or a five-step process for engaging listeners. Maybe he thought Rich would teach him a rhetorical technique or persuasive stratagem. Whatever the interviewer was expecting, the answer Rich had for him was quite simple. On Sunday, Rich based his message on that very simple answer.
The Overflowing Life
In last week’s sermon, Nancy pointed out that God calls all believers not only to believe in Christ, but also to surrender their lives to Him. What she didn’t necessarily emphasize is that this type of surrender has life altering consequences – good ones. The natural result of surrender, according to scripture, is what Rich described this week as an “overflowing life,” a life that is full of the Holy Spirit and its fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and discipline (Galatians 5:22). Herein lies the answer to the reporter’s question: when a person has surrendered his life to God, the change that takes place leaves him brimming with excitement and gratitude for what God has done for him. Therefore, it is no difficult chore for him to share all of that with others. It is not a tedious or awkward responsibility; it comes naturally. Divulging the truth about Christ’s love came naturally to Rich because he was so full the Holy Spirit that he was overflowing with it, just as a glass of water that has reached its full capacity overflows when more water is added.
“I am what I am, but I am not yet who I will become”
The idea of an overflowing heart has its basis in scripture. Christ pointed out in the Gospels that whether with goodness or with evil, each person’s heart overflows with something: “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luke 6:45). Before Christ rescues us from our sin, our lives are not “overflowing” with goodness and truth. Rather, they are often overflowing with hurt, fear, anger, or any number of unfavorable things. Rich stated in his sermon that thankfully, amidst all of the toxic trash that inhabits our minds and souls, Christ comes in and loves us anyway. He loves us so consistently and unconditionally that eventually, we start letting go of some of our sin. When we get rid of some of that trash, it gives Christ a chance to come in and inhabit more space in our hearts. The more surrendered we become and the more old attitudes, destructive behaviors, and lies we let go of, the more God is able to fill us with His Spirit, and over time, He is able to make us into that person that He had in mind when He carefully designed us. Rich made a point to say that when God looks at our unregenerate, filthy state as sinners, He sees us as we are, but He also sees us as the new creations we will become. He knows our potential because He gave it to us when He made us, and He loves us. He loves us with a love as intense as a fire that cannot be extinguished, and He believes in us and in our potential even when we do not believe in either. He rescues us from our sin, takes us as we are, and begins the long, slow, yet careful and loving process of making us into who we will become.
Peter and John: Failures with Potential in Christ
In his sermon, Rich mentioned that he loves reading about successful people who were once failures because it gives him hope for himself. Two such examples of this are Peter and John, two of Jesus’ disciples who, when Jesus found them, had enough flaws to discourage anyone from believing in them. John had a violent nature, and Peter tended to vacillate between overweening pride and shameful cowardice. Would you believe that John, who was latterly termed the “Son of Thunder,” went on to be called the Apostle of Love and that Peter, weak and prideful as he was, went on to demonstrate great humility and courage? These two men were changed by the love and power of Christ. The Lord saw their potential long before it was evident to anyone else because He had created them with it. And through various trials and surrenders, they became the men that we see in Acts 3:1-20.
Peter and John: Prime Examples of the Overflowing Life
By the time of the encounter described in Acts 3:1-20, Peter and John had witnessed Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension and had received his Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Through God’s providential work in their lives and through their own willingness to surrender everything to Christ, they had been changed. What Peter and John demonstrate in this passage is a prime example of ministering not according to a formula or strategy, but out of a life overflowing with God’s Holy Spirit. In his sermon, Rich used Peter and John’s example to point out several principles of “the overflowing life.”
Principles of an Overflowing Life
- Routine Situations Become Sacred Opportunities
First of all, the sacred encounter that Peter and John had with the beggar in Acts 3 was not something they had planned in advance. On that particular day, the two friends were merely going to the temple to pray at the usual time – a routine they probably followed daily. Approaching the temple, they encountered a lame man, whom the narrator tells us was a regular beggar at the temple, known by most. So Peter and John’s situation was nothing unique: they were going to a place they visited regularly and encountered a man they had likely seen before.
What made this ordinary moment special was the Holy Spirit. Because Peter and John were surrendered to God and the Holy Spirit indwelt them, they were open to hearing the Lord’s voice. The Scripture explains that in the moment when the lame man asked for alms, the Holy Spirit seized Peter’s and John’s attention and caused them to “fix their gaze” upon the man (3:4). Rich noted in his sermon that in this situation, the Holy Spirit caused Peter and John to see the beggar as Christ saw him rather than as just another face in the crowd. We are not privy to what went on in Peter’s mind during this occurrence. The narrator only tells us that the beggar had caught his attention. I am guessing, however, that there may have been a quick prayer exchanged silently between Peter and the Lord in which the apostle asked what to do, and the Lord impressed upon him that he was to give the beggar what he had. Whatever his thoughts were at the time, Peter’s response to the beggar’s request for alms was this: “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene -- Walk!” With the word “walk,” the crippled man got up and was healed, his life having been forever changed because he crossed paths with Peter and John and the power of God “overflowed” onto him.
- God Wants to Do More Than We Ask or Expect
What an amazing gift – to be whole again and to be able to walk and function as a regular person. We can only speculate as to how this changed the beggar’s life. One thing is certain, however. We can learn a biblical principle from the beggar’s story: God’s ways are not just different from our ways; they are BETTER. The beggar’s highest aim was to receive money from Peter and John. God’s desire was to give the beggar more than that – He wanted the beggar to be whole again and able to walk. Through Peter and John, God does more for the beggar than the beggar would have thought possible. In Ephesians, Paul echoes this principle when he describes Christ as “Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (3:20)
Uncovering Hidden Treasures
Rich ended his message with an object lesson. He showed us an old duffle bag filled with miscellaneous items and said that the bag represented his life. Reaching down into the canvas tote, he pulled out several belongings, one at a time – a tennis ball, a picture of himself with a huge trophy fish, a book, his wallet, a pocket calendar, and a picture of his family. Each one of these belongings, he noted, represented a different aspect of his life that was very dear to him. He also stated that at some point or another, God had brought him to the point of having to surrender each of those things to Him.
As Rich presented each item, he lingered for a little while, telling us about an experience involving each prized possession. When he got to the book, however, he explained to us that early in his life, books, especially textbooks, had been not a treasure to him but an odious symbol of failure. He briefly referenced his tortuous memories of being in high school and not knowing how to study. At the time, he thought so little of his own abilities as a student that he didn’t even attempt any kind of scholarly pursuits. Then, through a series of circumstances, he was brought to a point where he had to surrender even his failures to the Lord. He saw himself as a failure academically, but God was compelling him to go to college, and in order to succeed in college, Rich had to do something he thought would make him miserable: study. But he surrendered even that to God, and over time, God not only caused him to be a successful student; He also showed Rich that really, he had created him with a love for learning and reading. Today, many of us know Rich as someone who is well versed in the Bible and in many areas of theology. There are even times when his passion for reading and studying “overflows” onto the rest of us as he hands out books and study tools to us to help us get more out of God’s Word. This hidden treasure of scholarship was one that Rich would have never discovered had he not been willing to surrender his life to Christ. So it seems that when we surrender to the Lord’s work in our lives, we sometimes find hidden treasure that we do not expect. And many times, we find that God has created us with hidden potential that exceeds what we would have ever imagined ourselves as being able to do.
Are You Ready Yet?
After Rich’s sermon, the service ended with a song called “More Precious than Silver.” This piece of music is a love song to Christ, expressing his surpassing superiority to anything else on this earth, even the most desirable things that we can imagine. The song mentions gold, silver, and diamonds, claiming that the Lord is still more precious, more valuable and more costly than these, the most prized treasures in the world. We all sang this song, yet I wonder if we are ready to believe it. If God is truly more valuable than even the most valuable of worldly treasures, shouldn’t we feel safe in surrendering our own treasures to him? Rich ended his message by asking us whether we were ready to surrender all that we had to God. He held up his bag to show us the things that he had to surrender. Then he said: “There are three things that God wants: your fears, your failures, and your future. Are you ready to trust that if you give those things over to God, He will take care of you?”
Scriptures Referenced in the Sermon
Luke 6:43-45; Acts 3:1-20
Other Scriptures to Consider
Ephesians 3:20
Colossians 2:2-3
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