What I Do Have I Give to You - AOTA V

I. Foundation Day 00:00

Lord Jesus, we come before you this day, and we thank you that you are our foundation. We thank you that you’ve already purchased our victory. We thank you that no matter what comes our way, we can rest, we can stand on you. So, Lord, as we dive into the stories of what you’re doing here in this church, what you’ve taught us out of your Scriptures, we pray that you would help us to ever more build our life on the foundation of your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you couldn’t tell from the songs, today is Foundation Day. And maybe you’re wondering, “What is that?” Well, it’s the day that we celebrate the beginning of this denomination, the beginning of a worldwide movement that started in Saint Michael’s Church, this very building, and we celebrate the consecration of our first patriarch. I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about that, but I do want to make one point very clear. As we sang in our worship, the wind came, the waves nearly overwhelmed us, but this house has stood on the foundation of Christ Jesus, and for over thirty years we are a testament to what that means.

I look around here and I see many people who have known me since I was born, and I was born the year that this house was founded on that firm foundation, with the beginning of the denomination. And so I just want to say how privileged and blessed it is to stand in a place that knows where its foundation is. I think we’ve made that mistake a couple of times as a people. We’ve thought that one person or one thing or one program was our foundation. But God has continued to build into us that we are a people that are all about standing on Christ.

And built into that very foundation, we knew that in order for it to endure, it actually had to be passed on, generation after generation. And one of the chief ways that Saint Michael’s has always done that, since the beginning, is through our Saint Michael’s Christian Academy, our school.

II. Reinvesting in Our School 02:22

In our original mission statement there was this great line about taking down the strongholds of the enemy. And we did. We discerned as a people, as Saint Michael’s Church, that one of the key places that God had called us to fight that fight was by raising up our children in the way they should go, not only with our families but through our school. And the number of people who have laid down their lives to make that a reality is humbling, to say the least. I’m a product of that school. My son’s going to that school. And there are multi-generational blessings that are being poured out because people like Father Jim, like Bishop Kessler, like my grandfather, who was the first patriarch here, laid down their lives to build a school.

At this past Rector’s Council retreat, a few months ago, we had a word that was brought up with the leaders of this church, that we needed to reinvest in the school. We needed to pour out once again our lives to build this thing. And let me tell you, if you think the church has felt the wind and the waves, the school has felt the wind and the waves. And it’s because our teachers and our entire leadership stand on Christ that we still have a school today. It doesn’t make business sense, let me tell you, to have a school today. But God has blessed and multiplied it.

And so when we got that call to reinvest, we came up with a plan that was God-favored, to invest money. We had a benefactor who put up a hundred thousand dollars for the school, but they asked that we partner with them as a church and raise fifty thousand dollars. Not because the fifty thousand dollars was such an important number, but because we as a church needed to take ownership of the ministry of the school. For too long we’d fallen into the habit of treating it like, “Oh, that’s that thing that runs over there, and then we show up on Sundays and we do our thing over here.” No. We are the church. The school is the church.

And so through that we started thinking, “Okay, great. Now how do we raise fifty thousand dollars?” I’ve never raised fifty thousand dollars before. We were trying to figure out what God wants to do, and he has led us step by step in this process. We came up with a list of things we needed to do with this money. What do we need to do to reinvest in the school?

Well, number one, we need to have some young teachers come into this school. One of our most honored teachers, who’s been teaching here for thirty years, Debbie Powell: it was time for her to leave the classroom, much to our chagrin. Now she’s transitioning into a role as an administrator and a teacher mentor. She’s going to continue to bring her wisdom and benefit to the school for years to come. But we needed a kindergarten and first grade teacher. And we needed more than that. We needed another teacher, because the burden we were placing on our few teachers, to teach all the children we were sending their way, was not right. God didn’t like it. He wanted more people at our school teaching these kids, and not only that, but inheriting the spirit of our school and the teachers who have laid the path before them.

And so he put it on, actually, my wife Haley’s heart, and my good friend Hannah Powell’s, Debbie’s daughter. He put it on their hearts ages ago, like over a year ago, that they were going to teach at the school. And you know what? We looked at the books, we looked at what was going on right now, and we said, “Nah, not going to happen.” But this year, with the word from the Rector’s Council that it’s time to invest in our school, with those pledges of raising that money, we were able to hire Haley and Hannah to teach at our school. Praise God!

Now, as you’re sitting there and we’re clapping and we’re so excited about what God’s doing, there’s more. In fact, I encourage all of you to go look at what’s going on in that school, because Nathan Powell’s been leading a team to beautify our space, to put our time and effort into making that a space that shows the value that we put on our school as a ministry, so that when people walk in they can see the gold that we have in that school. Because the only problem with people not breaking down the door to apply is that they just don’t see what is there. Let me tell you, the value we bring at Saint Michael’s Christian Academy is such that you should put your kids in that school. I put my kid in that school. It is amazing.

And so you can go look at the changes we’re making. And then there’s some technical changes: we’ve got a brand new website, we’ve got a marketing campaign, so that people can see what we have at the school. And that’s what all this money that we’re raising is for, so that we can invest in that school. Because there are children in our community who need Saint Michael’s Christian Academy more than ever in our culture. It’s pretty clear they’re not going to get what they need in public school. And more than that, I think we have a premium on Christian education here at Saint Michael’s Christian Academy: the history, the quality of the teachers, the church community that has come around this ministry.

III. A Generous People 07:46

God is doing something special. And so we’ve got to raise fifty thousand dollars. But let me tell you about what God has done so far in that regard. We planned a banquet to celebrate Debbie and her thirty years as she’s going to retire. We had this beautiful June Jubilee, where we got all the alumni and parents of students and teachers together, and we just had a blast Friday night. But a part of that was we wanted to raise some money. So we said, well, I’ll say it, I said, “Why don’t we go for fifteen thousand dollars?” And throughout the night we had this wonderful time of raising money, and all of a sudden we’re past fifteen thousand dollars. Praise God! And then we’re past twenty thousand dollars. Oh my gosh, praise! Then we’re past twenty-five. We got to thirty-two thousand at our June Jubilee on Friday night.

And so I’m here not to say, “Oh, please give us money,” but to praise God for how he has provided through us. I believe this is a move of God, because I couldn’t have figured this out, and I don’t think any of you could have figured this out. But God has moved on our hearts and our community, and we have a goal by the end of this year to raise fifty thousand dollars so that we can invest in the future of our school. Because you know what? We have a firm foundation, in Christ Jesus, and in the people who have gone before and have set up the system, and in the building, and all of the sacrifices that have been poured out and made. And the question, I think, especially in this time, is: is he faithful through generations? That’s what we’re saying this morning, and I see it. I see it.

I am more excited about Haley being a teacher at Saint Michael’s Christian Academy than I can possibly communicate. There is no other job that I’d want my wife to have. It is such a blessing to see what God is doing in our midst, because what he’s doing is he’s building us into a church like the church that we see in the book of Acts. He’s building us into a church, like I said last week, that is a generous people. What defined the church of Acts? It said they gave and had all things in common, and everyone who had needs had their needs met in the church (Acts 2.44–45). That’s a blessing, and that’s a promise. That is what God wants to form, so that when you come to this church you’re not just taught, you’re not just given an opportunity to interact with the sacraments, as wonderful and holy and blessed as that is, but you are grafted into the family, the body of Christ. And part of that is the generosity that we have one with another, the school that we have to raise our children, the places that we have to connect.

I’ll tell you, one of the best things that happened Friday night… The thirty-two thousand dollars was awesome, but let me tell you, the fellowship was amazing: just being with these generations of people who have gone to the school, who have taught at the school, whose kids go to the school or have gone to the school. I can’t tell you how blessed we are to be a part of this community.

IV. From In Here to Out There 10:35

And so as we continue today, we’re going to do kind of a shorter message about what’s going on in the church of Acts, because I don’t think God’s done yet teaching us how to be a church. And so we’re going to talk a little bit about where the church went after Pentecost. It talked about how they were meeting: they continued steadfastly in the fellowship and the prayers and the breaking of bread (Acts 2.42). It was talking about all these things. And then Luke is very intentional. He tells a story of what the church looks like. And you know what? From here on out, every story that is told, or nearly every story, takes place out there.

The church stories that were handed down in our Scripture are actually not about in here, as wonderful and good as this is. We know that this was the foundation of what they were doing. This is where they got transformed. But the stories we’re told are about bringing in here to out there, bringing the kingdom of God to those who are hurting, who are broken, who need it. What did I say about the school? The reason the school matters is because of people out there who need the school. They need the love of Christ. They need the foundation of Christ’s love, so that when the wind and the waves come, they can stand firm.

And so let’s talk about the very first story in Acts. You’ll probably be familiar with it. We’re going to go to Acts chapter 3, and we’re just going to start in verse 1:

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Acts 3.1–2

I want to pause there for a second. So you’ve got the same setup as Jesus did in the Good Samaritan story (Luke 10.30–37). There’s a man on the side of the road who needs help, and you’ve got the important leaders of the church who are going to their prayers, who have other things to be doing. But let me tell you, unlike the story that Jesus told, they had been paying attention, and they stopped for that man.

Think about this. We become so callous, especially in our wonderfully successful, vibrant community in San Clemente, you know, the beach town, that when we see people who don’t match our standards, we tend to look the other way, don’t we? Those people who are homeless vagrants, the people who we don’t want to serve, the poor, the broken, the destitute, the people who don’t look the way that we want them to look: it is so much easier to just ignore them, isn’t it? I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. So much easier to ignore them.

But the very first story of the church, after it establishes this community, the very first story, is the leaders, the head honchos, those who knew Jesus himself, who had every reason to be more important than this man: they stop and notice him. They stopped, and they notice his brokenness. God, help us to be more like them.

V. Faith and Hope 13:48

3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. Acts 3.3–5

Fixed attention and expectation: I’m going to call those faith and hope. He had faith and hope that something good was going to happen. Maybe we’re the people who are callous to the needs of those around us. Or maybe we’re the people who are the broken man, who has lost his attention, his expectation, his faith and his hope.

I’ll tell you about my kids, because I have to. They’re my favorite people to talk about. So we’ve got Rowan, Ruby and Rhys, and they’re wonderful, five and three and two. And they’re playing, and they’re doing their things, and I start saying, “Rowan, Ruby, Rhys, come here.” Five minutes later: “Rowan, Ruby, Rhys, come here.” You keep going and going, and they’re just in their own little world. But the minute I say, “I have something for you,” they are barreling forward, knocking each other to the side, Rhys is screaming on the ground. It’s like they’ve got to get there, because Dad has something for us.

And yet our heavenly Father’s up there going, “Hey, I have something for you,” and we’re just doing our thing. And he says, “Hey, I’ve got something for you,” and we just get in our car and go to work, or we just continue to have that argument with our spouse about what color the curtains should be, or whatever it might be. We’re so concerned with our things that we don’t hear the voice of our Father. We don’t look with expectation, with faith, with hope, to him. But guess what? God has something for you. And unless you become like a little child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 18.3). Let’s be expecting God to show up. Let’s listen to his voice.

VI. What I Do Have I Give to You 16:08

So then Peter says to this person, who’s looking for money, obviously (alms, “Please give me something”):

6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. Acts 3.6–8

Hallelujah! That’s what you have for them. That’s what you have in you: the Holy Spirit.

First of all, let’s just be so grateful, because how many times has God reached down his hand and lifted us up? Maybe through somebody else in this room, maybe through some moment where you cried out to him and he showed up in your darkest place. So first we have to start by being grateful.

But then let’s go a little deeper. He’s saying, “Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” What’s the point of saying that full name? Well, Jesus is a name. Christ is his title. He is the Messiah, he is the hope of the world, the Savior, the one who brings that shalom peace that we talked about, the one who makes all things new. And then he says, “of Nazareth,” like that was a real person. This is not them just making up some Buddhist or Hindu idea of manifestation, somebody who came as a demigod. No: a person born in a place is the Savior of the world. That is a crazy claim, a person born two thousand years ago. And yet the evidence is the healing.

VII. Wonder and Amazement 17:24

Now, I was thinking about this, because he jumps up and he starts praising God. And first of all, there’s a little condemnation for us. How often are we walking and leaping and praising God, although God has done as much for us?

But I was thinking: what happens now is the whole community comes around, because they see this guy, who every day was being carried to the temple, laid down, lame, asking for alms. Maybe you’ve given him a couple of coins. And now he’s jumping up and down and praising God. What has happened? I’m kind of skipping through here a little faster, but let’s talk about what they did:

9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. Acts 3.9–11

I want the people out there to run here. But you know, all the programs, entertaining music and services and things that we offer in the world are as clanging drums and clashing cymbals if it’s not by the power of the Holy Spirit, if we’re not offering Jesus, if we’re not offering the real. We can do the programs. We could even have a really successful church that just does the programs really well, and people learn something, and their lives are a little bit better. But you know what? That is not what we’re about. We’re about introducing people to the saving power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We’re about raising the lame, healing the blind.

And maybe you’re like, “Well, I don’t know any lame or blind people that I see on a regular basis.” Yeah, well, you know a lot of spiritually disabled people, let me tell you. You meet people every day who are completely broken. I have talked many times about the rising anxiety, depression, the suicide rate. You think that God healing them is any less of a miracle? In fact, maybe you do. Maybe you don’t have faith that God could heal somebody’s depression, anxiety, suicidality. I’m here today to tell you that our God brings life, and life eternal, and that’s not about your physical body. That’s about all of you.

VIII. Not by Our Own Power or Piety 19:45

Okay, so the people are asking them… Man, I would love it if the people were coming to me: “Why is God doing miracles in your midst?” But we’ve got to do the miracles. We’ve got to get out there. We’ve got to bring the Spirit. And it says:

12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?” Acts 3.12

This sentence changed the world. There’s a lot of stories in here that changed the world, but imagine this: it’s actually not about how good you are. It’s not about how powerful you are. Think about the context. They had shamans, they had pagan priests, they had all of these rules and laws to be perfected, they had the chief priests. They had this whole structure and hierarchy. And so what are the people thinking? “Well, these are special people. Maybe it’s the gods among us.” In fact, elsewhere they say, “Maybe it’s Zeus and Hermes in disguise” (Acts 14.11–12). “They can’t be men. They can’t be like us. They have to be separate.” But the whole New Testament they spend explaining: no, this is for you to do. We’re not powerful, pious, amazing people.

Now, granted, it’s Peter saying it, so we have a lot of evidence to back that up. He was not pious. He was not powerful. He denied Jesus. He always said the wrong thing. He was crowned with confidence, but he was very pigheaded. It gives me a lot of faith for myself. What can God do? I don’t think he’s limited. I don’t know about you. He can be limited by us.

Today I’m here to tell you that when God makes us a generous people, when we raise thirty-two thousand, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. Because what is the money about? The money is about laying down your life for God and God’s purposes. And when you do that, the lame walk, the blind are healed, the sick are set free, the captives are released. So why do you stare at us? Why don’t you receive the Holy Spirit and go do it yourself? You don’t have to be powerful. You don’t have to be pious. The world is about men and women being transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. It’s not about how good you are. It’s not about how much power you have.

IX. You Killed the Author of Life 22:02

Okay, let’s talk quickly here through what he says then. So he’s starting out (I like this guy Peter) by asking them a question: “We’re not powerful or pious.” And then he says this:

13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. Acts 3.13–15

The God of our fathers: so he’s connecting with them. It’s the same God. You don’t get to blame the Romans on this one. You delivered him over, even when Pilate was going to release him.

Man, that’s such a tragic sentence. Nobody is blameless, when you put it that way. But, “whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.” It’s better than you think.

I’ll just say this real quick. Every one of us probably thinks that there’s something we’ve done that somehow disqualifies us from the love and the goodness of God. Well, guess what? We’re all guilty of killing the Author of life, and God forgave that, and God transformed that and used it to save the whole world. Is there anything in your life that he can’t do the same with? Is there any part of your life that, if you give it to him, he won’t make new? He doesn’t make it not bad. He doesn’t take away the things you’ve done by making them as if they didn’t happen. What he does is he makes you new. He transforms you, and he shapes you, so that you can bring his grace and mercy to the next guy down the street, who thinks he’s so much worse than you.

16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. Acts 3.16

“His name”: that’s Jesus. Make sure you know by whose Spirit you’re doing it. It’s by Jesus. It’s not our job. Because God’s going to start moving in this church more and more, as he already has, and some of us are going to do amazing things by the power of God. And the temptation at that point is to start thinking, “Oh, that’s me. Look at me go.” Don’t do it. It’s Jesus.

X. Times of Refreshing 25:52

17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Acts 3.17–21

This is our last point today, and I really wanted to get to it, because I was just feeling this this morning as I was going over this sermon. Have you ever felt like you just can’t catch a breath? Like you’re swinging back and forth between this frenetic motion and crazy busyness and energy, for fun or for your job, and then you swing to this vegging-out state, where you just anesthetize yourself by watching or consuming whatever makes you feel almost nothing, mind-numbing, to the point where you don’t even want to get up and get food in the kitchen? One side or the other. Maybe you need a time of refreshing.

How do you get the time of refreshing? Here it says: repent. “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” God’s making us a generous people, and God, I hope he’s making us a repentant people. If all we learn is that when you do something wrong, apologize, turn around, go back to him, you will have an abundant life. I mean, you might get a lot of things wrong, and you might have to do it a lot of times, some of us more than others. But God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1.9).

This message is for you, but it’s also for them. Because you know what cures anxiety and depression and loneliness? Repentance, with the power of Christ to save. You can’t just repent, because there’s a lot of self-help books that’ll walk you through how to repent and how to change your life. But repentance and turning to Christ: that is the power that resurrected Jesus from the dead, that changed the world, that made us participate in the life of God.

So when you talk about people struggling with anxiety, depression and sin, and you go, “Oh, poor them,” maybe what you need to say is, “Stop sinning.” Maybe. I mean, you’ve got to know how to minister to people. But I promise you that when we invite people into our life, we sometimes make it sound like we’re asking them to take on the burden of the law: “Oh, you’ve got to change this and this about yourself, and then you’ll be accepted.” No. Actually, repentance is about setting them free and healing them. And so let’s talk like they did. He wanted a time of refreshing. It wasn’t, “You wicked sinners.” It was, “Come and be a part of us, and experience the life that Christ has bought for us.”

And so as we talk through this early church, I want us to be a people who are generous. Praise God, he’s already doing that in our midst. And I want us to be a people who are repentant, so that we can be refreshed. And lastly, I want us to be a people who see the lame person standing in our way, the lame person who’s not where we’re heading, and stop and say, “Look at us.” You might not have what they think they need, but you have what they really need. You have Jesus. And so what we have, we need to give to them. Amen.