Steven Furtick - I'm Up For It (01/29/2026)
In the opening message of "Stretch Marks," Steven Furtick dives into Acts 3:1-10, where Peter and John heal a man lame from birth at the Beautiful Gate. Through bold faith and partnership, Peter commands "Walk" in Jesus' name, instantly strengthening the man's legs—he leaps, walks, enters the temple praising God. The core takeaway: real strength and transformation come in the stretch beyond our comfort, as God expands His kingdom and our potential when we get moving and say "I'm up for it!"
Getting Ready for a Life-Changing Word
Are you ready for the Word? Acts chapter 3, verse 1 through 10. After I read this, you can be seated. But don't sit down too comfortably, because you will want to jump up. This is one of those messages. I want to speak to you today from Acts chapter 3 for the first installment of our series called Stretch Marks. How many know that your strength is in the stretch beyond what you think you're able to do, beyond the possibilities that you've imagined for yourself? That's where God meets you, and He shows you who you can become. In Jesus' name.
Acts chapter 3, verse 1. I'm excited to preach from this passage. It's one of my favorite passages in the Bible. When the Lord told me I could preach from Acts 3, I was more excited than Chris Brown at the scoop-neck section of All Saints. So much good stuff in here. Such a selection. I think I still have a little bit of jet lag, if you want to know the truth about it.
One day, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer at 3 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, and Peter said, Look at us. So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Quick life principle. If you give God your attention, he'll always exceed your expectation. Then Peter said, Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. You've spent all week worried about what you lack. You've spent all week frustrated about what's not working. Peter said, I'm going to take the attention off what I don't have and put my focus on the action that I can take. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. One word. Walk. Walk. Get moving. Get moving.
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. And then he went with them into the temple courts, walking, jumping, praising God, shouting, screaming, and hollering, declaring the victory. 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.
Embracing Change: Don't Get Used to This Version of You
Don't get too used to the way I am right now, because I'm on my way somewhere. I'm in a metamorphosis. I'm not going to be like this in 2016. He's taking me from glory to glory, from strength to strength, by his spirit. Touch somebody next to you and say, don't get used to this. Don't get used to this. Don't get used to this. Don't get used to this. This is just the beta version. I said, this is just the beta version. I'm about to be better. Better, better.
They recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful. That meant he looked the same, but he wasn't the same. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. What had happened was he got moving.
I want to announce my title of this message for week one of the series, and I want to use a declaration for a title, but I need you to high-five ten people and give them my sermon title. Will you do that? Gaston, will you do that? Rock Hill, will you do it? University City, will you do it? High-five ten people and tell them, I'm up for it. I'm up for it. Come on. I don't even know what it is yet, but I'm up for it. I don't know what challenges this week is going to bring my way, but I want you to know right now, whatever it is, I'm up for it. Hallelujah! Boy, I feel something in this church today. I'm up for it. Amen.
All right, now get down with it. Take a seat. Isn't that funny how I'm up for it and I'm down with it basically mean the same thing?
We All Shift Between Being Up and Being Down
Two different people in this passage we could focus on. We could focus on the pair, Peter and John, who were up, or we could focus on the beggar who was down, and yet in any given day we will all find ourselves in each position, won't we? All right. There are going to be some times where I get to stretch my hand to someone who's down, and there are going to be those other times where I need to look up and I need somebody to stretch out to me and help me do what I can't do for myself.
I don't know if you're up or down today, but when you leave here, you're going to be up for it. Declare it again, say I'm up for it.
It's six weeks till summer. Many of you will be watching this message at a later date, but as of this preach, six weeks till summer. I don't know if any of you have a summer fitness plan. Do any of you have a summer fitness plan? You're going to get that beach body, aren't you? I'm going to target those obliques. I don't even think I know what obliques are, but what I'm saying is I can't guarantee you a washboard stomach in six weeks, but I'm about to give you a spiritual six-pack. Come on, somebody. Watch out, devil. We're going to get you spiritually strong for the summer. Are you in? Six weeks. Stretch marks.
This passage is a great picture. Let me do a little bit of teaching, because the book of Acts has to be understood in its context. It's going to be applied correctly. It's an amazing book. It shows the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem, just a few people, all the way to Rome, now touching the world. But in order for the gospel to spread, the disciples had to stretch.
God's Dual Work: Expanding the Kingdom and Stretching His People
Two things are happening simultaneously in your life at any given time in any season. God is always trying to grow his kingdom and stretch your imagination, stretch your mindset. God has a dual purpose, you might say, for anything we go through. He wants to expand his kingdom, expand his purpose, expand his presence. God is all about expansion, and the church should be all about expansion too. It's not a church if we just do it for us. It's a club. If you're going to be a church, you have to have an outstretched hand, and you have to have a mind to spread the gospel.
But for God's purpose to spread, God's people must stretch. The only reason we would even have a campus in Lake Norman, the only reason we would even have a campus in Raleigh-Durham, the only reason we would even have that beautiful new building at University City that that rowdy crew just about tore apart on Thursday, and I think we're going to have to do some roof repairs, is because of people who stretched. Yeah, I'll give above and beyond. Yeah, I'll serve, and yeah, I'll pray. The growth is always in the stretch.
So the book of Acts gives us a simultaneous, dual-purpose picture of how the church expanded from being this small little sect, just a split-off of Judaism, to becoming, even now in our modern time, this message that covers the earth. It's a stretch. And yet, at the same time, the Bible shows us how the people who carried the presence of God into new places were stretched in the process.
I've heard people say before, I would have loved to have followed Jesus when he walked on the earth. I'm not so sure you would have liked it, because he was constantly stretching those who dared to follow him. Hey, give these people something to eat. Well, you didn't tell us to pack any lunch. There's 20,000 people, Jesus. If you would have given us ample time to prepare, we could have met your expectation. He's always putting his disciples in situations they weren't prepared for so they could experience his power. That's called a stretch.
In my own life, it's been in the times of the heaviest demand where I've discovered the deepest supply. Sometimes for you to understand just how deep your supply is running in God, you have to have a demand put on you that weighs more than you think you can bear.
The Pattern of Power and Witness in Acts
That's what was happening in Acts chapter 3, because Peter and John were together when Jesus called them. They were in business together, and now Jesus has left them in physical form, but his spirit has come down. Acts chapter 1, verse 8 gives us the pattern of the book of Acts. It says that Jesus promised them… Everybody say, promise. Promise. He promised them the Holy Spirit. He said, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. So this thing is going to spread, but for it to spread, they had to stretch.
For the purpose of God to spread, the people of God must stretch. Yet the Bible does something so interesting. It's a literary feature, but it's also, I think, of spiritual significance that instead of describing for us how the gospel went forth, the Scripture demonstrates how the gospel went forth. Usually a demonstration is better than a description. Let me break that down more. Your kids will do what you show them more than they will do what you tell them. What happened? Did the church just start a funeral that I didn't hear about? So I'm saying that instead of God just giving us a description of his love, he gives us a demonstration of his love. For God so loved the world he gave his only Son, and on the cross he was demonstrating what he had declared, that I love you. Without a demonstration, a declaration is empty.
So now Peter and John have to put into practice the power that they claim to have received in God's presence, like you do when you go to work. You have to practice what you profess. Then they're going to church, and they come across this dude. I wonder how many people had stepped across this man by the time Peter and John came upon him. Did you know that your greatest potential for a miracle might be in the form of something you're stepping over? The greatest opportunity for a miracle in your life might be lying there in the form of something that you're stepping over?
Four Angles on the Story: All Starting with P
Come here, Wade. Come here, Huey. Y'all welcome Wade and Huey to the stage, everyone. These guys are for real, for real, for real. Huey has the gift of gab, and Wade is so thoughtful. He's got rock-solid thighs, quads of steel. It'll be all right. Both of these guys have been with me for a long time, and they have different personalities. I want to break this text down into four scenes, or I really should say I want to turn the camera on four angles. I started with ten, and I thought, well, they don't want to hear ten, and I got it down to seven. I finally got it down to four. I want to give you four angles on this story to launch this series about your potential and your growth. They all start with the letter P. I'm looking out for you. I'm helping you remember.
First Angle: The Power of Partnership
I want to first of all talk about this scene. I want to talk about the partnership, because the Bible says that one day Peter, Huey, you can be Peter, and John, Wade, you can be John, were going up together. Everybody say together. It's a key conjunction when it says Peter and John. I wonder who is on the other side of your and, and I wonder what difference that's making in your life.
See, because Peter, like Larry Hubeka, was really good at speaking, but John was really strong in a solid, steady way. So when I'm in a meeting with these two, I meet with them and some teams every week. Huey is great at saying stuff. That's not all he's good at, but he's so good at saying stuff that if he doesn't know what he's talking about, he will say it so well that you'll think you're confused. Do you know anybody like that? I told him when I first hired him, I said, the only thing you need to know about me is I'm better at that than you are, so don't try it here. You've met your match. But you can be Peter, because this guy is amazing. I'm telling you, his leadership is amazing. And he's a bold guy, man. He's a great guy. And so is Wade.
But Wade is like John. John was the one in the Scripture at the upper room who, when Jesus was announcing that all of them were going to deny him, John didn't argue or debate. He just laid his head back on Jesus. And John was more laid back, but he was also the only one who stayed while Jesus was hanging on the cross. When Peter and John raced to the tomb, because they kind of had this competitive thing because they'd been in business together before Jesus called them. And then when Jesus called them, they stayed in business together, but they just went fishing in a different pond. They were fishermen, but then they started fishing for men. Sometimes God wants to use the skills you have but put them to a different use. And he don't want to change your skill set. He just wants to put you doing something different with it that'll make a difference.
So he's bold, but he's steady, and they need each other. So they go out two by two. Jesus always sent them two by two. It's the power of the dynamic duo. In fact, I do, Joel. I call them Joy Batka. Way Joy. Larry Hue Batka. Joy Batka. I've been calling them that for seven years. Since that time, I saw them riding together in a Corolla, and it was so cute. I said, oh, Joy Batka. But these guys need each other. Peter and John need each other.
When they raced to the tomb, Peter got there second, but he went in first. John got there first, but he stayed on the outside. Some people in life are more cautious. They stay on the outside, but it doesn't mean they don't care. Some people rush right in, and they create situations. But, you know, you need somebody staying on the outside on the lookout while he goes on the inside. We need each other. It's the power of partnership.
You have to teach this in marriage, or I will start to resent the part of you that God put in you to make me what I'm supposed to be, and I will surround myself throughout my life with people who make me comfortable but never challenge me in areas where I need to grow.
I think it's cool that Peter and John chose to go up together because they were so different, but something about them knew that for their partnership to be effective, their differences had to remain intact. Their dynamic was in their differences. Quit fighting people to try to get them to be like you and start learning from them what you can that you might not be able to see. They don't have to share your perspective to share your purpose. We want the same thing, but we come at it different ways, and we need that in our lives. Shaq needed Kobe. Kobe needed Shaq. Lennon needed McCartney. Kanye needs Kim. Maybe? Too far? But you have to think about the dynamic of differences. It's a partnership.
Everybody say, partner. Turn to the person next to you and say, will you be my partner? You are. Come on. Tell them, I need you. I need you. This is not a pickup line, by the way. Don't you dare. Tell them, you need me. We're better together.
See, this man in the passage, this man had some partners. The man at the gate, Peter and John were partners, and we all need the right partners in our life, but the man had partners too. Look at verse 2. It said that every day somebody would take this man who had been lame from birth. He had been weak from the womb, which is a whole other sermon, girl, let me tell you. Weak from the womb, meaning that there are some things that we deal with genetically that we have to learn how to fight in Jesus' name.
This man had been in a condition, we read later, for over 40 years, a crippled condition, sitting by a gate. I heard one preacher say one time he had an ugly condition, but he was sitting at a beautiful place. Sometimes you feel that way at church. It's like the juxtaposition of the junk you're dealing with with the joy you're a part of that can make you feel out of place. This man could be where they were, but he couldn't go in and do what they did.
Peter and John come up to him. I kind of wonder if Peter hadn't been there, would they have had the boldness to do it? But if John hadn't been there, would they have had the compassion to stop? Maybe Peter would have been in such a hurry to get where he was going, and maybe John would have been a little scared or a little timid to speak up, but together they saw a miracle.
Maybe that's why the Bible says, if two of you will touch and agree, if two of you will get together, if we'll bring our differences together for a strength and for a purpose and for a destiny, we can accomplish some amazing things. Together they saw something amazing.
This man says that every day he was put there to beg. Now, if he was put there, that means he has to have some people who transported him. So, he had some friends that were willing to help, but they could only do so much for him. Go with me. Go with me. I'll have to stand up and shout to get the word across to you, do I?
Is it possible that you have some people and partners in your life right now who have taken you as far as they can take you? It doesn't mean they're bad people. These people helped their friend as much as they could, but they could only get them so far.
Now, it's unclear as to whether these people were paid professionals. We do know that there were some services, and they would take the man out, and maybe they collected a portion of the alms he collected begging that day as a fee for their delivery to the gate. Or maybe he just has some good friends, you know, guys he grew up with. All right. Johnny, you take him on Tuesday and Thursday, and I have pickup trucks. I'll come around on Wednesday and Friday, and we'll get him there together. We'll all pitch in.
And then, regardless of how much he appreciated those partners, he needed some new partners. See, there comes a point where you have to get past getting help and get determined to get healed. And sometimes people's help gets in the way of our healing. Sometimes people who are really trying to help us drop us off, but they can only take us so far.
Peter and John come, and the man wants one thing. I won't even stop and talk about how now God will use one desire to lead you to your destiny, but they're not even the same thing. The man expects some money, but instead he gets a miracle.
So it happened when he hooked up with the right partners. In fact, though, it doesn't say John helped at all. It said Peter reached out his hand and picked the man up. John was the silent partner, and thank God for the silent partners. Thank God for the people who don't always have to be talking and all the people who don't even have to tell you, I have your back, because they just do. And thank God for all the partners in this church that might not stand on stage, play a guitar, make a big fuss, but they're back there, and they're out there, and we couldn't do it. Peter couldn't preach. If John wasn't there, thank God for the silent partners. Amen.
It's a partnership. Don't you realize that your very relationship with God is a partnership? God says, I want to expand my kingdom, so I'm going to stretch your faith. As I'm stretching your faith… This was Peter's first time to do this on his own. He had done it before, but Jesus was there for him to report back to, but now the coach has left the field, and now I have to stretch. Peter stretched his hand.
The Bible says that when he did, when he stretched his hand, when he did something that he didn't know if he could do in a situation that seemed beyond repair, I love this, taking him by the right hand. You know the right hand represents authority. For all of this man's life his paralysis had been his authority, telling him what he could do, what he couldn't do, where he could go, where he couldn't go.
But Jesus said, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. In fact, he said, all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me. So when you hook your paralysis and affliction up with God's power and authority, take somebody by the hand and say, there's power in the name of Jesus. See, without him I can do nothing, but in his name I can do all things through Christ.
Second Angle: The Importance of Being on the Right Path
The power of partnership and the power of the path. I want to talk about the path, because you can't get the right partners if you're not on the right path. Let's give this man some credit. Although he couldn't walk, at least he knew where to be. He said, if you're going to drop me off somewhere, don't drop me off at the bar, because I don't want to drink this away. Don't drop me off at the club, because I don't need to dance this away. Don't drop me off at the whorehouse or the crack house, because I don't just want a quick fix. Yes. Put me on the path of some people who are going to prayer.
You know what you did right if you didn't do anything else right this week? You put yourself on the path to power. That's what coming to church is. Sometimes we come to church in pitiful conditions, but if you put yourself on the path to power, it's just a matter of time. Yes. I said, it's just a matter of time. I said, it's just a matter of time, because at three in the afternoon… Back up again. At three in the afternoon, Peter and John had an appointment to keep, and what the man didn't know is that God had Google-synced his calendar with Peter's calendar.
You have no idea what God might do one day if you'll stay on the right path. Come on, somebody. This man had some severe issues, but at least he located himself in the path of life. At least he put himself… He said, if there's one place I can go, put me outside the church.
Now, I won't even touch the fact that most of the miracles that happened in the book of Acts happened outside of the church. So, please don't think that Sunday is the only time you can glorify God when you have Jesus on your job Monday through Friday. I won't work on that.
I want to talk about how, at the lowest point in his life, he figured that the place I can go where I'll encounter the most generous people is the church. Of all the places he could have begged, I wonder, does our community feel that way about us? Like, when things are breaking down, I have to get to the church.
We have to be the kind of place, church, with an outstretched arm and clear the path of all the obstacles that get people all turned off to God and give them all kinds of wrong ideas about Jesus.
Show me where the man earned his miracle. Show me where he even had a pure motivation. He'll say, well, you ought not come to church if you don't come for the right reasons. Show me that in Acts chapter 3. All he wanted was some money, money on my mind, money on my mind. He wasn't doing it for the law. He wanted some lunch.
God said, I don't even care what brought you here. I don't even care why you came. I don't even care if you came to Uptown just to meet a girl, because while you're sitting at the gate…. I got an appointment, even if you got the wrong motivation, I'm sitting at somebody.
And the Bible says instantly, instantly…. That's an interesting word, isn't it? Instantly the man's feet got strong. Instantly, instant, instant, instant. That word is only used outside of Luke's writings one time in the whole New Testament. Luke was an action man. He saw it. He called it instant, like grits. Instant. Everybody say, instant.
I wanted to call this message the quick fix, the quick fix, because he wanted one kind of change, but he got another. He wanted something that could get him through that day, but instead he got a strength that would carry him through the rest of his life.
Now, you're thinking on the wrong level. You're thinking you came to church just to get through the week. You didn't come to church just to get through the week. You come to church so you can learn how to walk.
Third Angle: Counting the Cost – The Price of Real Change
So, let's talk about the price. That's my third P, the price. You say, wait a minute. Healing is free, yeah, but obedience is costly. You know how they rewarded Peter for helping out this man? Put him in prison. Guess who had to go with him? Be careful who you hang around. It costs you something.
Change will cost you something. If you set out to make a change and you don't count the cost, it's just a matter of time before the reality of the challenge will outstrip your desire for change. I can't say that again. I don't know half of what I'm saying out here. I'm just asking the question. Have you made the decision that the progress is worth the price, or are you still window shopping?
They left everything to follow Jesus. They walked away from everything. That's why they were so disappointed when it seemed that he had failed in his mission. They paid a price. They paid a price. They paid a price, but so did he.
I mean, because now, for this man, everything changes. Everything changes. They say, you want some change? I don't have some spare change. I got some life change. I'm telling you what grace will do is not just cover your weak feet, but it will strengthen your weak life, and it will become in you a power that will prevail over your paralysis. It will become in you a new purpose, but you're not going to get this change change if you don't want to pay the cost.
What I just said, whatever it was, will apply to any area of your life where you want to see a change. I want the strength. I don't like this stretch. I want the change. I don't want the challenge. There's a price to be paid. Peter paid a price. John paid a price. The man paid a price.
What was the price the man paid? The price of new beginnings. The price of starting over. The price of having to figure out, how do I walk when I don't know where I'm going? This is all I've ever known. This is the only way I've ever known. This is the only way I've ever known to respond to conflict. This is the only way I've ever known to get things done. I always scream. I always yell. I always manipulate people with my… How do I live in peace? This is the only way I've ever known to be happy. How do I do it without sex? I don't know. I don't know We don't know any other way to get high, but God is giving this man a different kind of way to get up.
We have all kinds of quick fixes we rely on and all kinds of things we rely on, all kinds of dependencies we've created in our lives to establish some semblance of stability, but Peter gave this man a lift. He said, Get up! In fact, he said, Walk! Walk!
When the man figured out what was going on… You have to think, when this guy first starts pulling on him, he goes, Wait a minute, man. What's wrong with you? I'm going to sue you for everything you've got, your broke self. Don't even have any change to give me. But while he's pulling, I feel something. And the Bible says his immediate response was to start dancing.
Now, I can't dance. I'm not going to try to imitate this guy. I don't know if there was a line dance. I don't know what kind of dance he was doing, but he did what he could. He started jumping and leaping and praising God and shouting, and Brian hit a B-flat. When Brian hit a B-flat, he started to… He's just trying stuff. At first, I'm just doing good to stand up, but I wonder if I can stand. I wonder if I can step. I wonder if I can step. I wonder, I wonder if I could put one step with two steps. I didn't even know.
The people were so amazed they came running. We have to find out what happened in the temple court, so they followed him to the colonnade. Before we leave church, let's go from the court to the colonnade where the people gathered in amazement, saying, We've never seen anything like this before.
Man, that's what I wanted to tell you. When you finally commit to getting on the right path, when you finally hook up with the right partners, when you finally decide to pay the price… Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head, and I'm following him wherever he leads. When you finally decide, you know what you're going to say about yourself and others are going to affirm about you. I've never seen anything like this.
I didn't know joy like this was possible. I didn't know I could turn the other cheek when they struck me. I've been so used to hitting them back. I didn't even know I have a greater power call submission. I didn't even know. Look what I can do.
You would think everybody would be happy for the man, but church people… Yeah, it is. It's really another series if you want to know the truth. The man finds himself caught in a conflict, and he becomes the object of controversy, because the Jewish leaders are really afraid that what Peter and John are preaching and teaching is going to challenge the whole system of religion that employs them professionally. Anytime a system is threatened and stretched, you're always going to face resistance. Throw Peter and John in jail.
When I was deciding to preach this text, the way I imagined it is like we'll end on verse 10. He was walking, jumping, praising God, and the people said, you've never seen anything like this. God is about to do something in your life. You've never seen anything like it. I'm telling you, expect the unexpected. I was going to do exceedingly abundantly above all you ask. Go imagine. Somebody gave him a shout of praise. Hallelujah!
But the Lord told me, don't stop on verse 10. Read the next verse. Because, like I say, I've preached this passage before, but I asked God, show me something I've never seen before. Do you know if you'll pray that prayer, God will take you up on it? Show me something I've never seen before. Open my eyes.
The Lord told me, if you want to see something you've never seen before, just read the next verse. So I read the next verse, and what I saw shocked me. It said in verse 11 that Peter decided to seize the occasion of the healing of the paralyzed man to preach a sermon. Okay? What do you do with your opportunities? Use them as a platform? Or does the pressure get the best of you? What do you do on the stretch?
So Peter said, all right, there's controversy here. This might get us in trouble, but I'm going to preach Jesus. The Bible says in verse 11, 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.
You didn't catch it either. All I could ever focus on was the people came running. You know what I missed? While the man held on to Peter and John. I never saw it in my life. How did I miss that? Because the question it raises Jesus is, if he had the ability now to leap, why was he still leaning in verse 11? I'll see y'all next week. You don't care. You don't want it. I'm doing it just for you. None of them, just for you. You don't care.
Leaping in Reality but Leaning in Mentality
If he had the ability to leap, why was he leaning? You know what God told me? Because his mentality hadn't caught up with his reality yet. His feet were stronger than his mind. And the way I saw it is that he was holding on, and I'm thinking, wait, he's leaping in one verse. He's leaning in the next. Don't we go through life leaping and leaning? Don't we? You might be leaping today, but if I can catch you at 3 o'clock tomorrow, you'd be leaning. Amen?
The Lord wanted me to ask you, what are you leaning on that you don't need anymore? What are you leaning on? Now, it might be a person. It might be a substance. It might be a food filled with substances. It might be a pattern of pessimism or negativity. It might be a way of dealing with things or people. It might be a habit.
See, what happened when I was reading… Everybody say, what had happened was…. He got healed instantly. It says in verse 7… Let's back up to it one more time. It says in verse 7 that when Peter helped him up, instantly his feet and ankles became… Everybody say, became. That means it happened definitively. It just did.
Can I tell you what happened when you gave your life to Jesus? You became. You became in your spirit a new creation. The old is gone. The new has come. It's a reality. It's done. You are. You became.
But if you go to another verse, it says he jumped to his feet and began. Everybody say, began. That means in some ways he was just getting started. Now the stretch is, can my mind catch up with my feet? Can my attitude catch up with my new actual? I got a new heart when I received Christ. He got me up. You have to understand, he reached down and got me up.
Fourth Angle: God Props Us Up to Point to His Glory
I want to end this sermon today talking about the prop. The prop. That's my fourth P, my fourth little piggy. You didn't see this coming, but I want to preach about the prop. See, because this man is holding on to Peter and John. John's finally making himself useful. John's strong to lean on, and the man is holding on to Peter and John, and he's propping himself up on Peter and John.
But you know what's interesting? Peter doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he said, well, if you're going to hang around here, I'm going to put you to use. So, when Peter started preaching, it said that he used that paralyzed man as a prop. Who's using who? We got the man using Peter and John to prop himself up. We got Peter using the man as a prop to point to, to say, look what God has done.
God said, I want to prop you up so I can point to you. I want to prop you up so I can show off my strength. Won't he show his strength through your weakness? While that man is leaning, high-five somebody and say, I'm up for it. I'm up for it.
The man said, I'm not sure about all this yet. I've got to lean on you for a little while. But Peter said, as long as you're standing around, why don't I use you for a sermon illustration? In verse 12 it says, when Peter saw the crowd coming and felt the man leaning, he said to them, fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why are you looking at us like we did it? It wasn't our power that made this man walk. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, what's he doing? He's giving God the props. He's giving God props.
Won't you give God a praise right now for propping you up where you lead, for strengthening you where you're weak? All the man had to do was hold on and stay in position. I know I can walk, but I don't know where to go next. So, guys, now that you've got me into this, will you hang with me for a little while? Because all I ever knew before I met you was laying down at the gate, and the Lord told me to preach this message to somebody who feels like you're still leaning when you should be leaping.
But he's saying, all you have to do to grow in grace and all you have to do to grow in God is hang with the one who healed you. That's God's spiritual growth plan. Hang with the one who healed you.
Hey, guys, I've never been in temple service before. I don't know what's next. To be honest with you, my dancing was kind of awkward. Look, the people are staring at me. Can I hang with you? Peter said, yeah. Actually, if you're going to hang out, though, you have to earn your keep so you can come here and be my sermon illustration.
You know, the Bible says that over 2,000 people joined the church that day when Peter finished preaching. Progress. Maybe not because Peter preached so good. Maybe because of that man. Maybe because of that prop. Sometimes God will use the prop more than he'll use the preacher. Sometimes he'll use the weakness more than he'll use the strength.
Can I come with you guys? I don't know where to go next. Can I just come? Can I come with you? Jesus was so simple when he called people. He said, follow me, and I will make you what I know you already are. I'll show you what your new feet can do. Now that you can walk, let me show you where.
I'm with you guys. You guys show me how to do this. This is amazing. Wow. God, will you show me how to love my enemies? I don't know how to do that. Oh, God. Oh, will you show me how to trust you? I don't know how. God, will you show me how to raise my kids because my dad wasn't around? Will you show me? I'm holding on. I'm holding on.
I've got a new heart, but I don't have my habits yet, so I've got to hold on a little while. I need some grace. Be patient with me while I come up these steps. I can't take the turns too fast, but I'm going to hold on. I'm right here with you. Just lead me, Lord. Just lead me. Just lead me.
I'm not used to my new legs yet, but if you'll lead me, I'll be right behind you. If you'll show me somebody who's leading on Jesus, come on and give him a shout of praise. If you've got legs, jump up on your feet and leap up and high five seven people and tell them I'm up for it. I'm up for it. I'm up for it. I'm up for it. I'm up for it.
I don't know where I'm going, but wherever he takes me, I'm willing. I'm surrendered. I'm up for it. Whatever it brings, wherever he leads, lead me, Lord.