07.Dec.2009 Walking the Call

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Ephesians 4: 1-4: “Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.”

Acts 3:1-8: “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.”

What is the call of God for our lives? The call of God is a lot of things, but it is to have glorious futures. Elevate your thinking about yourself. In life, we are to bind together with peace. When we see someone hurting, we are to help that person, not bring someone half way. Referring to the Acts excerpt, Peter would not have gone to the temple without an offering, so he had money when the beggar asked him for money. However, God knew that the beggar needed healing. God spoke to Peter, and Peter gave the man what he needed, which was healing.

So why this day? Why, when Peter and John passed this man every day, why today? Why would the man be healed today and not the day before or after? Something happened today that shifted in Peter’s heart, and he picked the man up and helped him inside.

It isn’t like the man had no friends. The man was crippled since birth. His friends and family carried him to the temple and home from the temple every day. The difference is that the man’s friends hadn’t had the vision to bring him into the temple. They only brought him to the entrance of the temple because he was a cripple. Something went off in Peter’s heart, and he knew that he just had to bring this man into the temple, and when he did, the man could control himself. Peter shouted “look at us!” people knew who Peter and John were because of this, and they knew that Peter and John believed in Jesus, the Messiah. By healing the crippled man and bringing him into the temple instead of just to the edge of the House of God, they were making a statement, a very true statement, that Jesus Christ is Lord, the true son of God. Peter also grabbed the man and pulled him up. In that day, cripples were not touched. They were the bottom level, the lowest place you could be; they were dirty!

What we need to do is bring the people we know into the House of God. We need to touch hearts, and bring people to where God and His love reside. We need to reach people where they are at. If you find someone sitting on the sidelines of life, do not just leave them there. Bring them into the House of God. Have vision for people’s lives. The call of God on our lives is to extend our hands to people, and bring them into the House of God.

Have a vision of what is possible. Destiny is a hard thing to understand, but what and where is your destination? How will you get there? Develop a sensitivity to God, so that when He asks you to do something for Him, you can and will. Isn’t it a wonderful feeling to know that you have helped God to change someone’s life? Will you do something crazy for Him?

God NEVER gives up on people, and neither should we. Don’t let anything stop you from loving and believing in people. Be the Peter to someone’s life. Bring people into the House of God, instead of just to the House of God.

So, which person are you right now? Are you the beggar? Are you the friends of the beggar? Or are you the Peter?