Get Up And Walk (Acts Pt. 21)
The Gospels (MMLJ) give us the incredible history of Jesus’ life, teaching, and miracles… but there is a focus on His 3 years of hands-on Kingdom discipleship with the 12. It’s amazing and humbling to remember that at the height of His ministry, He simply invested His life fully in a small group of men.
At the end of this time, Jesus is rejected by the Jewish religious leaders and crucified… which shocks the region and scatters these men. After an agonizing Friday night and the longest Saturday in history, Mary goes to visit the tomb on Sunday morning while it’s still dark… she discovered what we celebrated last Sunday, Jesus is the RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE!
“He is not here; He is risen!”
For the next 40 days, the once dead Jesus walks the earth as a resurrected man and reveals himself to over 500 people!
The Book of Acts opens on the final day of Jesus’ life on the earth. He reminds them of the promise of the Holy Spirit, and He is taken up to the right hand of the Father. His ascension is followed by the most significant day in the history of the Church a short 10 days later - Pentecost.
Why was it the most significant day? Because on that day, the Lord fulfilled the promise of Joel 2 to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh… we saw this in Acts chapter 2. The church was birthed in a day!
40 + 10 = 50.
Pentecost was a feast that occurred 50 days after Passover. It was also known as the “Feast of Weeks” and it was an annual celebration of the first fruits of the HARVEST! Remember when Jesus told the disciples, “Look up! The fields are white for harvest!
Pray for laborers…” This is amazing stuff that only God could orchestrate… 3000 people got saved on a feast day celebrating the firstfruits of the harvest!
Right now, we are again living in that 50 day time period. This year, Pentecost falls on June 8th, and I believe we are in a critical window of opportunity, preparation, focus and spiritual warfare because, yet again, THE HARVEST IS ON THE HORIZON.
If you are needing some fresh motivation… a fresh boost of vision… a reason to knock off the dust of winter and re-dedicate yourself to the present move of God’s Kingdom, you came to the right place today. It’s time to wake up; it’s time to get up; and it’s time to make your bed.
Acts 9:32-43 // Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.
John 5:2-9 // Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Discipleship - The transfer of Kingdom truth and authority from one Christ-follower to another in a way that promotes spiritual maturity within the individual members of the body of Christ. This is a central theme in Acts… we get to watch the disciples walk it out.
2 Timothy 2:2 // “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”
Jesus didn’t just disciple Peter in spiritual knowledge… He modeled and entrusted to him spiritual authority.
“Do you want to be healed?”
Bethesda = “house of mercy” or “house of grace”. Can you imagine how discouraging it would be to lay in a place called the “house of mercy” for 38 years and not know how to access that mercy?
This man believed in the power of God, but he saw God’s power as random, impersonal, unpredictable and OUT OF REACH. Therefore he would always be the victim who couldn’t access God because other people were getting in his way.
The truth is that God had become very personal - the Word became flesh and dwelt among us! This man saw God as distant and inaccessible… and then one day, the God of mercy literally walked up to Him!
Do you ever struggle with feeling like God is distant and impersonal? Do you ever feel like His healing power is randomly distributed? You aren’t alone. But here is the Good News… even when this man couldn’t access what he believed to be the source of healing, the True Source of Healing ACCESSED Him. What a beautiful picture! The God of heaven came down and met this man in his pain… this is actually not just his story, it’s every single one of ours.
When we realize that GRACE has already come for us, it will empower us to GET UP AND WALK. When we realize that MERCY has already come to us, it paves the way for us to walk out of our deepest pain, despair, guilt, shame, etc.
IF YOU WANT TO BE HEALED, healing has already come for you. So why do so many of us sit by the pool for 38 years? Why are there still areas of our lives that feel lame and paralyzed? Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes I think it is because we have missed the first part of the invitation… RISE. GET UP.
There is an invitation here that requires an active participation of your faith and the engaging of your will. GET UP AND WALK.
Ephesians 4:1-3 // I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
WALK… In a manner worthy of the Lord… No longer in the ways of the world… In love… As children of the light… In wisdom. In scripture, “walking” is simply exercising the daily practices of obedience to God’s word. This is spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is not about gaining more knowledge and information; it’s about obedience to what you already know, which produces transformation.
James 1:22-25 // Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
I sense the Lord saying that it’s time to get up and tend to the “little things”. The way forward is to faithfully do the small things that have a huge impact… like making your bed.
Benefits of Making Your Bed:
Increased Productivity: Making your bed can be a small, initial act of accomplishment that can snowball into a more productive day.
Improved Sleep: A tidy, organized bedroom can contribute to a more restful night's sleep.
Potential for Better Mental Health: A clean and tidy environment, including a made bed, can have a positive impact on mental well-being and reduce feelings of stress.
Possible Correlation with Success: Some studies suggest a correlation between making your bed and various aspects of success, including job satisfaction, happiness, and wealth.
This message is two-fold…
It’s about Supernatural Miracles and Simple Obedience. We believe in the power of God. We believe in the present-day, miracle working power of Jesus to do the same signs and wonders that we see in the scripture. But you know what’s cooler and more powerful than supernatural miracles? Simple obedience from the heart of a man or a woman who has been saved from sin, born again, and is learning to love Jesus through engaging his/her will to obey Him daily in the little things. I would rather have a church of radical obedience to the simple commands of the Lord than a church full of miracles that hears the word but doesn’t do it. The Apostle Paul calls this the “obedience of faith”...
I actually believe that if we will simply “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” that we would see a natural and effortless increase of signs, wonders and miracles. Throughout the book of Acts, this is the pattern. They obey Jesus and do what He’s already asked them to do, and miracles follow… salvations follow… deliverance follows.
Testimonies
Struggling with anxiety? Seeking His Kingdom FIRST leads to peace in a world of stress
Struggling with financial burdens? Tithing leads to miraculous provision
Struggling with lust? Walking in the light leads to deliverance from generational bondage
Rise and make your bed. Tend to the little things. Be a DOER of the Word.
Response
Our team heard 2 pretty specific invitations as we sought the Lord in prayer…
Laying on of hands. We believe in the RIGHT NOW power of God to heal.
Theme of forgiveness.
2 Corinthians 2:8-11 // So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
In a Kingdom built by the blood-bought forgiveness of Jesus, unforgiveness is a scheme of Satan meant to outwit the church and open doorways for demonic activity. For the believer, who has been a recipient of God’s forgiveness, unforgiveness is anti-Gospel, anti-Christ and demonic 100% of the time.
Colossians 3:12-14 // Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Love BINDS everything together.
Binds = ligaments, that which holds the different parts together
Satan attacks our bonds through unforgiveness. He “GAINS AN ADVANTAGE”
And by doing so he destroys the “unity of the Spirit in the BOND of peace.”
If you are withholding forgiveness from someone, you are in disobedience to the Word of God and it is rebuking you today. If you are holding onto bitterness or unforgiveness toward someone in this church body, you are currently being outwitted by Satan - He’s using your sin to weaken a ligament in the Body of Christ, which will destroy the Unity of the Spirit.
But God’s mercy has already come for you, so get up and walk.