Act 3:2 " The Beautiful Gate "
The Lord has put on my heart a heavy buried that I'm going through....hope you don't mind me sharing. The Lord has spoke to me about how when we are face with impossible situations, we can't possibility get ourselves out of, we right away believe in our heart that "this is just to big for God to get me out of ". No matter how much we pray and fast, our heart continuously steers back to this conclusion. " Lord you know I can't pay that $30,000 bill I owe..."" Lord you know that they are going to foreclose on my home." " Lord how am I going to make it through an another bout of chemo."
"And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. " (Acts 3:2 NASB) This man was at the Gate Beautiful, for every church service, begging for aims and the people inside knew him. I believe that this man had faith for his condition, otherwise he would not have shown up all the time. Since he was known by the people in the church, he probably didn't receive much aims, because the people got tried of him begging. When Peter and John came upon him, Peter fixed his eyes on him with John and told him to look upon them. Peter said, " Silver and gold I have not; but such I have I will give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Act 3: 10 says when Peter and John brought this man leaping and dancing in to the church, the people 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.
The Lord said to me this is your condition...making me so small in your heart and mind that your faith decreases , to doubt and unbelief. Peter was upset with those church folks, for being surprise at the power of Jesus Christ. This lame man had enough faith to come to the outside of the church begging for help, but couldn't find Jesus inside the church. How many of us have been praying for that condition of a love one that needs to come around, but it has been years..and our conviction in our hearts starts to wavier.." I will keep praying..but man I don't think they will make it." that's what we are say in our hearts about our impossible condition........
"And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. " (Acts 3:2 NASB) This man was at the Gate Beautiful, for every church service, begging for aims and the people inside knew him. I believe that this man had faith for his condition, otherwise he would not have shown up all the time. Since he was known by the people in the church, he probably didn't receive much aims, because the people got tried of him begging. When Peter and John came upon him, Peter fixed his eyes on him with John and told him to look upon them. Peter said, " Silver and gold I have not; but such I have I will give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Act 3: 10 says when Peter and John brought this man leaping and dancing in to the church, the people 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.
The Lord said to me this is your condition...making me so small in your heart and mind that your faith decreases , to doubt and unbelief. Peter was upset with those church folks, for being surprise at the power of Jesus Christ. This lame man had enough faith to come to the outside of the church begging for help, but couldn't find Jesus inside the church. How many of us have been praying for that condition of a love one that needs to come around, but it has been years..and our conviction in our hearts starts to wavier.." I will keep praying..but man I don't think they will make it." that's what we are say in our hearts about our impossible condition........
Comments
I'm sorry to say...the church has become a massive sales-force, that don't make a lot of sales.
I don't think we can sit back and wait for the church to become relevant and then get involved. We get involved now and make it relevant by supporting it with our money, our volunteering and our leadership.
A church that has a heart for the unchurched and is desirous of reaching out beyond the walls of the sanctuary to the community would be wise to understand relational authority. Today’s post-modern and post-Christian world view will ultimately limit traditional as well as seeker-sensitive approaches.
So some church have adapted, there culture having to adopt more un-biblical views regarding pluralism, sexuality, honesty, etc., the majority of evangelical church members have adapted to accept the new cultural positions rather than stand firm in the truth taught by Christ and his apostles. In other words, they have been taken “captive by the empty deception and philosophy according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Col. 2:8).
Second, our 18- to 29-year-olds are leaving a classical evangelical faith in large numbers. A third of them directly leave any involvement with evangelical church, with half of that number going into liberal mainline denominations and the other half leaving behind all church affiliation. Of those who remain associated with an evangelical church, one third of them attend church but do not hold to a biblical world-view and another third do not go to church or hold to a biblical world-view.
Reference:
Bradley Johnson, Ph.D., "The Good News About Evangelicalism," First Things online edition,