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Good morning. My name is Dorothy and I'm a member of the youth group here at Christchurch.
Today's scripture reading is from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 3, verses 1 to 21, as printed in your liturgy.
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
One day, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer, at three in the afternoon.
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 courts.
When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.
Peter looked straight at him, as did John.
Then Peter said, Look at us.
So the man gave him his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then Peter said, Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
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.
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.
While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade.
When Peter saw this, he said to them, Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you?
Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.
You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.
We are witnesses of this.
By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.
It is Jesus' name and the faith that it comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance as did your leaders,
but this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer.
Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,
that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
and that he may send the Messiah who has been appointed for you, even Jesus.
Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything,
as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks.
Thank you, Dorothy, for that excellent reading.
If you are new to Christchurch within the past few weeks,
hello, my name is Jonathan, and I'm one of the pastors here.
I'm so grateful to our many elders and different friends, guest preachers who've come
so that Catherine and I could get some extended time with our families.
And I'm very, very happy to be back home here in Berkeley and with you all here at Christchurch.
I hope that you celebrated the semi-quincentennial yesterday.
And I know some of you did not get much sleep because of all the noise last night,
but hopefully I can help wake you up a bit.
Also, I hope that you plan to celebrate a U.S. victory over Belgium tomorrow evening.
And if you're from Belgium, no disrespect, but we do hope to beat you.
We're diving back into the Acts of the Apostles.
It's one of the most exciting books in the Bible and really in all of literature.
And some of you will remember that we explored Acts 1 to 2,
which is the story about how the resurrected and ascended Jesus
poured out the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
And the gospel began to go out and it began to be believed.
It began to be lived out by new believers.
And we read there in Acts 2.42 that the early church devoted themselves
to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
And it says that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
So as we read this book, you can almost feel the life of God
and the presence of God and the power of God pulsating in the life of the early church.
And today we pick back up in the story in Acts chapter 3
where this lame man sits at the temple gate.
He's over 40 years old, as we learn in Acts chapter 4.
He has this congenital disease that has caused him to be so severely disabled from birth
that he can't use his feet.
He can't use his ankles.
He has to be carried everywhere.
He's reduced to begging.
And his humanity has been diminished significantly.
And so as we look at the experience of this man
and as we listen to Peter's explanation of his experience,
we want to ask ourselves today,
what does it mean to tell us about the church's mission and the church's message?
What does this mean for us today as we seek to carry on the mission
and to share out the message here in the Bay Area in 2026?
And so I want us to look at three things today.
The lame are leaping,
the power is proclaimed,
and the repentant will be refreshed.
So if you're taking notes, three things.
The lame are leaping,
the power is proclaimed,
and the repentant will be refreshed.
Let's start with the lame are leaping.
Verse 1.
It says,
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer
at three in the afternoon.
And in just a moment,
we're going to explore
the way that Jesus' resurrection power is displayed
in the life of this lame man.
But let's first note the source and the secret
of how Jesus' power flowed into his disciple community
so that it might flow through them.
It says they went to prayer meetings.
There was a daily prayer meeting at 3 p.m.
And they went to it.
It was their holy habit.
It was their predictable pattern.
It was their regular rhythm
to pray in community as a church.
Acts 2.42 says,
They devoted themselves to prayer.
Just as Jesus had devoted himself to prayer.
Mark 1.35 says that
Very early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
Jesus got up,
and he went out of the house,
and he went off to a solitary place
where he prayed to the Father.
And this was the source and the secret of power
in the life of Jesus.
It was from this place of prayer
that he went out and healed the lame
and the blind and the sick.
Prayer is plugging into the power of God.
Anyone have an electric vehicle here?
Some of you do, I know.
And your life is like that electric vehicle,
and prayer is plugging your EV
into the supercharger of God's presence and his power.
Until you do that, you're empty.
But when you do that, you're full.
Right?
You go in without any power,
and you come out with much power.
And Peter and John,
they go to this time of prayer regularly
so that they can be filled up
with the power of God
and so that they can be ready
when they encounter a situation
that far exceeds their own abilities
and their own resources.
They know how to respond
because they've been in prayer.
Can I get an amen?
Amen.
So, they go to the hour of prayer,
and then verse 2 says
that now a man was lame from birth.
He was being carried to the temple gate
called Beautiful,
where he was put every day
to beg from those going into the temple courts.
And when he saw Peter and John about to enter,
he asked them for money.
So, here's this man.
He's lame from birth,
and he cannot walk into the temple
in order to praise God.
And really, he represents the helplessness
and the hopelessness of the whole world.
Right?
His physical disability
is a picture of humanity's
spiritual paralysis before God.
That in our fallen, sinful condition,
we are not able to enter into the presence of God.
We're not able to have a right relationship
of praise to God.
We are lame spiritually
as he is lame physically.
And did you notice what this man asked for?
Does he ask to be healed in his body?
Does he ask to be saved in his soul?
No, he asked for alms.
He asked for money
so that he can buy his daily bread.
He just wants to live another day
so that he can ask for more alms tomorrow.
He expects very little.
He hopes for very little.
And it's a sad and tragic situation.
And he is the microcosm
of the state of our world.
This man is put before us
at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles
as a picture of the world
to which the church is sent.
And how do Peter and John respond?
How do these Christians respond?
Do they give this man the money
that he asked for?
Well, you know,
Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan,
Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount
teach us that it's obviously important
to give alms to the poor
as an expression of our faith in God
and our love for God.
It's obviously important
to feed people and clothe people
and house people and nurse people.
It's why Christians invented hospitals.
It's why Christians have always,
you know, had soup kitchens
and all these other things.
But the point here is that the church
has something far better than alms.
The church has something far better
than money to give.
It says in verse 4 that
Peter looked straight at the man
as did John.
And then Peter said,
look at us.
And so the man gave them his attention
expecting to get something from them.
And then Peter said,
silver or gold I do not have,
but what I do have I give you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
walk.
And taking him by the right hand,
he helped him up
and instantly the man's feet
and ankles became strong.
You see, Peter and John
had been discipled by Jesus.
They had learned how to pray from Jesus.
They had learned from Jesus
what to do
in these kind of desperate situations
of helplessness and hopelessness.
And so Peter says,
I may not have power
in the way that the world
thinks of power.
I'm not rich with silver and gold.
But also you have problems
that money can't touch.
And so Peter says,
the power that we offer
is an infinitely greater power.
It's a power that the world knows
very little to nothing about.
It's a power that's greater
than silver and gold.
It's a power that's greater
than banks and businesses
and governments can offer to you.
It's the power of a name.
And what's the name?
The name is Yeshua.
Jesus.
It means God saves.
That's the meaning of his name.
And the title attached to that name
is Christ,
which means God's anointed king.
And this Jesus,
this Christ of Nazareth,
just a few months before,
God had raised from the dead.
And so Peter says,
I'm offering to you
the name of Jesus,
the power of Jesus.
That's what he says
to this broken man.
Now I just want to pause here
and speak to those of you
who may be exploring Christianity
for the first time.
And just acknowledge that
some people struggle
to believe the miracles
in the New Testament.
And stories like this
can kind of feel embarrassing
when we read them.
People say,
well, these must just be legends
of primitive superstition
that somehow crept into
the oral tradition
and then later got written down.
But we know that
the laws of nature
cannot be broken
and therefore miracles like this
are impossible.
Now if that's you
and that's how you think,
I want you to consider
just a few things for a moment.
First of all,
chaos theory
and quantum mechanics
have told us that
the world we live in
is much stranger
than we have ever really imagined.
Secondly,
if God created everything
and sustains it
by the power of his word,
then the laws of nature
are just another way
of talking about
God's customary way
of sustaining his creation.
But if God wants to go above
and around his customary ways,
who's to say that God's not free
to do whatever he wants?
Third thing
is that the miracle
at the heart of all the miracles
in the Bible
is the resurrection of Jesus.
And if that didn't happen,
then we're wasting time
talking about
any of these other miracles.
But if you look at the compelling
historical evidence
for the resurrection of Jesus
and if you become convinced
that he was in fact
raised from the dead,
then it follows
that if Jesus defeated death
in his tomb
and if he won a victory
over sin on his cross,
then dealing with
powerless feet
and weak ankles,
that's not a problem for him.
Right?
If he can do the greater thing,
he can do the lesser thing.
Fourth thing I want you to consider
is that miracles,
the miracles of Jesus
are never naked displays
of power.
We never see Jesus
acting like Superman
in the Gospels.
Right?
He's never flying through the air.
He never has lasers
coming out of his eyes.
Have you noticed this?
He's never breathing
like cold air on people
and running at supersonic speed.
No.
What does Jesus do?
Jesus is putting
the creator's fallen
and broken creatures
back together again.
When he's working on people,
he's giving the blind sight.
He's making the lame walk.
He's not suspending
the natural order.
He's restoring
the natural order.
He's taking powerless feet
and ankles
and he's putting his power
into them.
He's taking people
who have been told
you're never going to walk again
and he's not just saying
rise and hobble
or limp away.
He's saying,
no, you can go walk
and jump away.
Here's the fifth thing
I want you to consider
if you're exploring Christianity
is that every Jew
witnessing this event
and reading this story
knew the ancient prophecy
of Isaiah 35.
And the prophecy went like this
that when God comes
to his people,
when the messianic age begins,
Isaiah says this,
Then the eyes of the blind
will be opened
and the ears of the deaf
unstopped.
Then shall the lame man
leap like a deer
and the tongue of the mute
shout for joy
and you shall see
the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
And you see,
when Jesus heals
the disabled
and paralyzed
in the gospels
and when the resurrected
and ascended Jesus
is healing this lame man
now through his disciple community,
this prophecy
is being fulfilled.
The kingdom of God,
the kingdom of the Messiah
has in fact arrived.
And here's the sixth thing
I want you to consider
if you're exploring Christianity.
If you look down
in verse 21,
Peter speaks about
a future time,
quote unquote,
time for God
to restore everything.
And what that means
is that Jesus' healings
are these small
temporary signposts
that point forward
to God's future restoration
of all things.
When what was broken
in God's good creation
in the Garden of Eden
will finally be put right.
When all the poverty
that we see around us,
when all the sickness,
when all injustice,
when all disease and death
will finally be abolished.
every time you read
about a healing of Jesus,
it tells us that
he hates suffering
in this sinful world
more than you do.
And also that he's committed
to someday dealing with it
and restoring everything
once and for all.
And the restoration
of this lame man
to wholeness
is providing for us
a preview
of coming attractions.
It's a preview
of the coming cosmic
comprehensive restoration
that God will give
to his entire creation
and what Jesus
is asking you to do.
If you're exploring Christianity,
Jesus is just saying,
trust me.
Trust the power
in my name.
And all of this healing,
all of the strength
that's in me
will come into you.
Now,
that's for those of you
who are exploring Christianity.
If you're a Christian,
I want to speak to you
just for a minute
and say that
what happened to this man
physically,
invisibly in his body,
it's a picture
of what happens to us
spiritually and invisibly
in our soul
that's disabled
and paralyzed
by sin.
That when Jesus,
when the gospel
comes into us
on that deeper level,
that which was dead
and useless inside of us
is made alive
and useful.
that which was bound
and held up
within us
is released
and set free.
That which was diseased
in our soul
becomes healthy
and the power
and the strength
of the resurrected Jesus
himself
comes into your soul.
That's what it means
to become a Christian.
And how do you know
that that's happened to you?
Well, look at verse 8.
It says that
he jumped to his feet
and began to walk
and then he went
with them
into the temple courts
walking and jumping
and praising God.
And 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.
You see,
God's power
to save
leads you to praise
and then your praise
leads other people
to wonder
and amazement.
And we went
to this church
last weekend.
Catherine and I
went to the church
where we got married
and if you had been there,
you would have been
blown away
at the way
that these Christians
were praising their God.
It was amazing
because it was
low budget musicians,
right?
This was non-professional music.
It was just a piano
and a guitar
and a couple vocalists,
no screens,
just a page
with some notes
and some words on it.
But,
oh my goodness,
the power
of their praise,
the strength
of their singing,
the depth
and intensity
of their joy
was obvious.
These Christians
were like this
lame man
leaping
and they were
unashamed
to praise the God
who had healed them
and had saved them.
It wasn't
World Cup level
but it was
approaching
World Cup level
like Argentinian
Mexican level.
It was amazing.
I don't know
if you've seen
the fans
but that's the kind
of way
this guy
is praising God.
And do you know
the impact
that this had
on me and Catherine
as we were sitting there
listening to their praise,
we were filled
with wonder
and amazement.
Not just at their praise
but at the God
of their praise.
We were strengthened
in our faith.
We were encouraged
in our hearts
because we remembered,
oh my goodness,
the presence of God
and the power of God
is in this place.
the grace of God
and the glory of God
is available
even to us.
And we
were wondering,
we were amazed
in a way
that only the praises
of God's people
can cause you
to wonder
and be amazed.
And you see
this man
who once sat
outside
of God's temple
not praising
but begging.
He's been transformed
to now
become a worshiper.
He's gone
all the way inside,
all the way
into the presence
of God
and it says
that he's leaping
and he's praising
his God.
The lame
are leaping.
But also,
it's not just
that the lame
are leaping,
it says that
the power
is being proclaimed.
The power
is being proclaimed.
Look at verse 11.
It says,
while the man
held on to Peter
and John,
all the people
were astonished
and came running
to them in the place
called Solomon's Colonnade.
And when Peter
saw this,
he said to them,
people of Israel,
why does this surprise you?
Why do you stare at us
as if by our own power
or godliness
we had made this man
walk?
This man
who's now healed,
he's now whole,
he's clinging
to Peter
in a bear hug
while Peter's
trying to start
preaching.
And you notice
that because
Jesus changed
this man's life,
it causes
other people
to wake up,
it causes them
to be hungry
and thirsty
to hear an explanation
for what in the world
just happened to him,
what power
has transformed
him.
And that's what happens
in the history
of the church
during periods
of revival.
You don't have to
convince people
to come and listen,
they start to run.
Like this passage
says,
they're running
to hear an explanation
of the power.
What is it
that makes people
whole?
And what does
the apostle Peter
say to these people?
Well he's quick
to say as the church
should always say,
don't even think
this is about us.
Don't even think
that it's our power
or that it's our godliness
or that it's our,
the piety of our prayers
that somehow
changed this man.
He says,
why do you stare
at us?
Let me turn
your focus
on the one
who's worthy
of wonder.
And oh,
I wish we had time
to fully unpack
what Peter says here
but look at verse 13.
He says,
the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac,
the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers
has glorified
his servant Jesus.
You handed him over
to be killed
and you disowned him
before Pilate
though he had decided
to let him go.
You disowned
the holy and righteous one
and asked that a murderer
be released to you.
You killed
the author of life
but God
raised him from the dead
and we are witnesses
of these things.
That's the message
of the Bible
in a nutshell.
That the God,
the creator God
who said,
let there be light.
That same creator God
who came to Abraham
and said,
I'm going to bless you
and through you
all the nations
are going to be blessed.
That same creator God
who came to Abraham's
enslaved children
and liberated,
dismantled an empire
to set them free
and to walk them
through the wilderness
and lead them into
freedom in the promised land.
He says,
that living God
of our fathers
has fulfilled
his promises
when he sent Jesus
his son
and servant
out of eternity
and into time.
And when the author
of life came to us,
Peter said,
we live in a world
that killed him.
But God vindicated
and glorified Jesus.
When the only truly
holy and righteous person
came to us,
what do we do?
We disowned him.
But God raised him
from the dead.
And Peter says,
that is the power
that I proclaim to you.
That the once rejected Jesus
is now the resurrected
and reigning Lord.
And so,
verse 16,
he says,
by faith in the name
of Jesus,
this man whom you see
and know
was made strong
and in Jesus' name
and the faith
that comes through him
that has completely
healed him
as you can all see.
Peter says,
do you want to know
how this man
was restored
and made whole?
Do you want to know
how that can happen
to you?
You got to trust
in the name
and the power
of Jesus.
Peter's proclamation
of power
power is actually
quite countercultural
when you think about it.
Because when you drive
through the Bay Area,
what is every billboard
in the Bay Area
about right now?
It's about the power
of what?
What did you say?
The power of AI.
It's about the silver
and gold
that AI
is going to give
to us.
The United States
and China
are in an all-out
sprint
to be the first
and the best
at harnessing
the power
of artificial intelligence,
of biotechnology,
of what's called
the electric stack
of batteries
and magnetic motors
and power electronics.
And why
are they racing
to this finish line?
because just like
steam power
and steel manufacturing
and the combustion
engines
of the industrial age
and just like
the semiconductors
and computers
and internet
of the digital age,
these civilizations
know that
if we control
these technologies,
then we'll have
the power
to rule the world.
We will rule
the world.
But you see,
Peter is talking
about a different power.
He's talking
about a deeper power.
He says,
this is a power
that these nations
and the little men
and women
who are leading
these nations
know nothing about.
It's a supernatural power.
It's resurrection power.
It's a power
that doesn't come
from inside
of this world.
It's a power
that comes to us
from outside
of this world.
It's a power
that comes
and lays down
its life
for the sake
of humanity
only to take
that life
up again.
Peter calls Jesus
the author of life.
The holy
and righteous one,
the servant
of God.
And Peter says,
he's been glorified
and he's been raised
from the dead.
And by faith
in his name,
you can have something
that AI
and biotech
and electric power
cannot give you.
because Jesus
in the restoration
of all things
will do
way more
for you
than he did
for this lame man
leaping.
He'll give you
a resurrection body
like his resurrection body.
And even now
as we wait for that,
the life of God
can come into your soul
because of what God
accomplished
in his servant Jesus,
the author of life,
hung up on a cross.
Friends,
do you recognize
in Jesus
a power
above and beyond
all the powers
of this world?
It's a power
that's greater
than your silver and gold.
It's a power
that's greater
than the United States
and China.
It's a power
that's greater
than the robots
and all the people
building the robots.
Jesus can do
for you
what none
of these things
can do for you.
Because only
he has the power
to meet
the most fundamental needs
not only of your body
and your soul
but of our planet
and of our entire universe.
His is a power
to heal your soul
and to resurrect
your body.
His is a power
to restore all things
and to enable us
human beings
made in the image
of God
to live again
in the goodness
of God's creation.
No one else
can do that
and Jesus says
this is the power
Peter says
this is the power
that I proclaim
to you
silver and gold.
I do not have
and frankly
I don't need
but I have something
far more powerful
and it's the glorified
and resurrected
Christ.
And that's why
the lame are leaping
and that's why
I'm proclaiming
to you this power
and Peter goes on
to finish
he says
the repentant
will be refreshed.
The repentant
will be refreshed.
The question is
how do we
access this power?
How do we tap
into this power
that is above
and beyond this world?
Well Peter says
very simply
in verse 19
he says
repent
then
and turn
to God.
Repent
then
and turn
to God.
Peter uses
a key word
that is repeated
over and over
in the New Testament
from John the Baptist
to Jesus
to the apostles
all of them
are talking about
this one simple word
repent.
Repent then
and turn
to God.
Peter ends his sermon
where all good preaching
leads
and he emphasizes
the necessity
and the blessings
of repentance.
This Greek word
metanoeo
repent.
It means literally
change your mind.
Change your mind.
Make a change
of principle
and practice.
Peter is calling
for
a turnaround
and an about
face
and put negatively
to repent
involves
turning away
from yourself.
Turning away
from
all of your
self-serving
and self-dealing
and self-centeredness
and turning away
from your old
worldview
and your old
mindset
and your old
ways of thinking
about yourself
in this universe
and put positively
to repent
means
turning to God
and embracing
a new worldview
a new mindset
new ways of thinking
based on
who he's revealed
himself to be
through the Bible
in Jesus
by the Holy Spirit.
So repent
is a radical
change
both of your
mind
and of the
direction
and the trajectory
of your life.
And Peter says
everybody
needs to
repent
and turn to God.
and he says
if you repent
three successive
blessings
will happen
and here they are
in verse 19
repent then
and turn to God
so that your sins
may be wiped out
the times of refreshing
may come from the Lord
and that he may send
the Messiah
who has been
appointed for you
even Jesus
heaven must receive him
until the time comes
for God
to restore
everything.
Did you hear those
three successive blessings
to those who repent?
Number one
your sins will be
wiped out
Number two
times of refreshing
will come from the Lord
and number three
God will send the Messiah
to restore
everything
and I just want to try
to tie this together
as we close.
That first promised
blessing to those
who repent
says
your sins
will be wiped out
even the worst sins
he just talked about
people who killed
the author of life
even that sin
in an instant
in a moment
can be blotted out
and erased
and obliterated
it's not hard
for God
to do that
but now let's jump
over that
second promised
blessing
to those who repent
and look at the third
in verse 21
it says
heaven must receive
the Messiah
Jesus
until the time
comes for God
to restore
everything
and what that means
is that Jesus
even now
is awaiting
the signal
from God the Father
to return
as the king
who will bring
about a restoration
of all things
and will launch
the new creation
in which brokenness
and sin
and self-centeredness
will finally
and fully be removed
and Peter's saying
if you repent
you'll get to participate
in that
can you imagine
a restored creation
how beautiful
it will be
how pleasant
it will be
how wonderful
it will be
to experience
that with Jesus
Peter says
the Christian life
is sandwiched
between
your sins
being wiped out
and everything
being restored
and in between
these two great
events
there's this
second promised
blessing
to those who repent
and here it is
in verse 19
it says
times of refreshing
will come
from the Lord
times of refreshing
will come
from the Lord
that's what the
Christian life
is meant to be about
have you ever been
in a place
of such
oppressive heat
I've just come
from such a place
in the southeast
a place of such
oppressive heat
you're indoors
there's no air conditioning
it's exhausting
it's suffocating
and then all of a sudden
somebody opens
a window
or opens a door
and this fresh
burst of cool
breeze
just comes flowing
in and somebody
comes and hands
you an ice cold
crisp drink
and you take
a deep breath
and you take
a deep drink
and somehow
your strength
returns
and you feel
revived
anybody ever
experienced
that kind of
refreshing
Peter says
you can have
that in the
Christian life
you can have
times of refreshing
that come from
the Lord
and literally
it says
times of refreshing
that come from
the face
of the Lord
times of refreshing
that come from
the very countenance
of the Lord
as he looks
upon you
and you gaze
upon him
Peter says
you can go
to God
today
you can go
to God
tomorrow morning
you can go
to God
in your worst
moment
this week
and you can
look him
in the face
the face
that he's revealed
in Jesus Christ
and from that
place
you can ask
him
please give me
a cold
breath
of air
from the Holy
Spirit
please give me
a fresh
deep drink
from your presence
and he will
refresh you
you can expect
the God
who has graciously
wiped out
your sins
to give you
times of refreshing
now
today
that are foretaste
of that wonderful
final restoration
that's coming
at the return
of the king
times of refreshment
that come from
the very presence
of the Lord
himself
from his face
that because
of Jesus
looks upon you
with love
with mercy
with compassion
and with grace
and you can
expect him
to give to you
an advance
anticipation
of the final
and full
refreshment
that we expect
when God
will come
and complete
his work
at last
and so my
question
for you today
is friends
who here
needs
deep soul
rest
just me
who here
needs
deep
existential
relief
who here
is longing
and thirsting
for
spiritual
refreshment
friends
do you
look around
the church
in the Bay Area
and say
you know
I think
that the church
here might
need to be
revived
I think
it might
need to be
refreshed
well the way
into this
is so
so simple
repent
therefore
and turn
to God
just simply
turn away
from yourself
and turn
to God
and the Lord
will give us
a foretaste
of that final
refreshing
that's coming
and for which
we wait
and hope
let's just take
a moment now
as we
we're going to
come to this
table
to the very
presence of
the Lord
the face
of the Lord
where he
wants to
refresh us
and so I
just want to
give you
time and
space to
ask God
to come
and do
that for
you
in whatever
personal way
and particular
way you
need it
today
let's go to
him now
in prayer
in the name
of the
Father
Son
and Holy
Spirit
Amen