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[0:00] Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 and 2 says, If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

[0:12] Set your mind on the things of God, not on the things of the earth. So if we believe what God's Word says, a follower of Jesus Christ should have a kingdom mindset.

[0:26] Every day that we get up, our goal, our passion for that day should be furthering the kingdom of God. Not making more money, not the things of anything else.

[0:41] Those are all secondary to having a kingdom mindset. As we see the apostles, and we'll be looking at Peter this morning, the disciples left everything to serve Jesus.

[0:59] Now that's actually what God calls each of us to do. He doesn't necessarily mean today that we should leave our job, leave our family, leave everything, but everything else should be secondary to the mission that God has left us here to accomplish.

[1:23] And that is only one thing, is to build His kingdom. And we build His kingdom through God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

[1:35] Do you love the world? I'm not talking about love the evil things of this world, because when the Bible talks about the world there in John 3.16, He's talking about the world of people.

[1:47] Do we love this world of people so much that we would be willing to give up our life for it? Jesus did. And we may not be asked to give up our life for this world, but the Bible says that we are to take up our cross daily, die to ourselves, and live with a kingdom mindset.

[2:11] He says, don't set your, don't set your, Jesus, seek those things which are above, not the things that are on the earth, but let your mind be attuned to where Jesus is sitting on the right hand of God.

[2:24] Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. So a true child of God is to be thinking about the things of God, be filled with His Word, and also be filled with His will for our lives.

[2:39] So the question is, what does it mean to have a kingdom mindset? Are we passionate about the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we passionate about what He wants accomplished in this world?

[2:54] Those with a kingdom mindset, I believe, are going to be controlled by the Spirit of God. We'll be filled with the fruit of, and controlled by the fruit of the Spirit. We will be faithful to the Word of God, because the Word of God is the foundation for our faith and what we do.

[3:15] All too often, people use the Word of God as a foundation for what they believe, but don't take it the next step. They're just hearers only, but not doers of what Jesus said to do.

[3:27] And so having a kingdom mindset involves a whole lot of doing. It involves believing what God said is true, but it also involves putting it into action.

[3:40] Those with a kingdom mindset are going to be growing in their faith. You're not going to be the same person tomorrow that you were today. You're going to be closer to the Lord Jesus Christ next year.

[3:52] You're going to know more of God's Word and God's will next year than you do this year. We're not going to be like those in the New Testament that Paul said, you've been followers of Jesus long enough.

[4:05] I shouldn't be having to feed you with milk and just the simple things and to be good. We get a lot of messages, I'm sure, on Sunday mornings that live a good life, be a good person, help the poor, and just go forth and be happy.

[4:23] Well, that's not what God called us to do. God called us to grow in our faith, because there are some things that are going to come into your life next week, next year, that you're going to need the foundation of God's Word, and you're going to need the presence of God and His Holy Spirit in your life to get you through it.

[4:44] And if our faith is so superficial that our faith is only a religion, then it will not take you through it. We also ought to be glowing with the love of God as well, showing God's love to others.

[4:58] We ought to be going with the message of God as we share the gospel to those around us. We're going to be seeing the world through the eyes of Jesus.

[5:10] Because what did Jesus come to do? Jesus didn't come to set up a religion. Jesus came to save the world through His death on the cross. He had a mission.

[5:21] He knew He only had a certain amount of time to accomplish His mission. So in three, three and a half years, Jesus knew that He was going to have to hit the ground running.

[5:32] He was going to have to accomplish the work that His Father set Him out to accomplish. We're going to speak the words of comfort.

[5:44] We're going to challenge. And we will have the conviction based on the Word of God. If we have a true kingdom mindset, we're going to be busy about God's work.

[5:57] We're not going to be building our own little silo. We're going to be about building God's kingdom in tandem with everyone else in God's kingdom. Because God didn't just leave us here as a small group of people to accomplish His mission.

[6:14] Do you realize that God's got followers all over the world? And He wants us to work together to accomplish His mission. Those with a kingdom mindset are going to be fruitful in their service.

[6:26] Because we're going to be accomplishing things under the control of God's Holy Spirit. Those with a kingdom mindset are going to be on mission for God.

[6:37] In today's verse is what we see this morning in Acts chapter 9. We're going to see Peter as he is going all over the country sharing and spreading the good news of the gospel.

[6:53] We're going to see some miracles that he does as he goes around and as he is accomplishing this mission with his kingdom mindset. And in the process, he heals a few people.

[7:06] Now that kind of begs the question. As great as these miracles are, we should ask ourselves the question, what is the greatest miracle that God could do for us?

[7:22] There are going to be some that would say, well, the greatest thing that God could do for us is the healing of the body. And that is a great miracle.

[7:33] Now some would vote, as we're going to see in the second paragraph, that the greatest miracle that God, the greatest thing that God could do for us is raise the dead.

[7:45] Now those are great things that God can do for us. But I think it's something else. The greatest miracle that God could do for us is to save a lost sinner.

[8:00] As great as physical healing is. And who doesn't want to be healed? I mean, I pray for it. When I'm sick, I'm a terrible patient. And I know some of you may be as well.

[8:10] Most of it's our guys. We're not great patients. And I have been in the trauma room where family have literally been praying for God to raise a family member from the dead.

[8:26] Been there. He chose not to. But as great as a miracle as that would have been, I think the greatest miracle is when a child places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

[8:44] When a middle-aged person places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. When someone on their deathbed, no matter what kind of life they've lived, comes to the point where they surrender themselves to Jesus and gives their life over to Him.

[9:01] That's the greatest miracle that God could ever perform. Because salvation costs the greatest price. It produces the greatest results. And it brings the greatest glory to God.

[9:13] Because that's why Jesus came to earth. Do you realize Jesus didn't come to earth to perform miracles? He performed miracles while He was on the earth. But Jesus didn't come to earth to perform miracles.

[9:27] That was not His goal. That was part of the process. And that was part of the plan. But it was when Jesus said, Tetelestai in the Greek, which means, It is finished.

[9:42] And the Bible says, He breathed. He gave up the ghost. He gave up His soul. He gave up His soul. And said, That's it. He breathed His last. He chose the moment that He would die. That was the greatest miracle.

[9:55] So I want to challenge us today to have a kingdom mindset. So you ask yourself the question, How? How can we have a kingdom mindset? Well, I believe it begins with recognizing our role in God's kingdom.

[10:09] We see that in verses 32 to 35. Let's read, starting with verse number 32. Now it came to pass, As Peter went through all parts of the country.

[10:20] So what's Peter doing? We have to ask ourselves this question. Peter's got this kingdom mindset. He wasn't content just to stay in Jerusalem. Because what did Jesus tell His disciples?

[10:34] Not just His apostles, but the disciples. He said, Stay here for a while in Jerusalem. He said, Because in a little while the Holy Spirit's going to come upon you.

[10:46] And when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, You are going to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, In Judea, In Samaria, And to the uttermost parts of the earth.

[10:56] To the ends of the earth. And so Peter says, You know what? I need to have a kingdom mindset. And I do. And Jesus said, Take it out from here. And so it says, Now it came to pass, As Peter went through, What?

[11:14] All parts of the country. He was an itinerant apostle. He was an itinerant preacher. He was an itinerant evangelist.

[11:26] And he was going around. He was sharing the gospel. It says that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. So Peter's engaged in this itinerant ministry.

[11:39] He found a certain man named Aeneas, Who had been bedridden for eight years. And was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you.

[11:50] Arise and make your bed. So children, When mom and dad say make your bed. I don't know. That's not necessarily what he meant here. But even Jesus said, Make your bed.

[12:02] That's an aside, By the way. And so he says, Make your bed. And then he arose, Aeneas arose immediately, So all who dwelt at Lydda, And Sharon saw him, And turned to the Lord.

[12:18] Now we see Peter visiting the city called Lydda. It was about 25 miles from Jerusalem. So he had walked 25 miles. And as we come to verse 33, We meet Aeneas.

[12:31] We know very little about him. We do know that, According to verse 33, That eight years, For eight years he had been bedridden. He couldn't get up.

[12:42] He couldn't work. He couldn't do anything else, Because he was paralyzed. And he was a burden to himself. He was a burden to others. But notice in verse number 34, Peter said to him, Aeneas.

[12:59] So the question is, Who healed Aeneas? Tell me this morning. Who healed Aeneas? Uh-uh. No, not Peter. What did Peter tell him? He says, Jesus, the Christ, Heals you.

[13:16] So what Peter is saying, I'm just an ordinary person. I'm just a follower of Jesus. The power is in the name of Jesus Christ himself.

[13:30] And I want you to notice, The miracle was, Did he kind of get up And have to go through physical therapy For a little while? To learn how to walk?

[13:41] No. It says, Immediately. He arose immediately. It was a perfect and complete healing That Jesus accomplished for Aeneas.

[13:53] What was the response of this miracle? We see, That all who dwelt in Lydda, Now I'm not sure every single person, But all who were there, Who knew Aeneas, Witnessed the miracle, And it says, They turned to the Lord.

[14:15] Now this, I don't think, Is just a story, Or just an account of a miracle. I think it's a testament To the transformative work Of Jesus Christ And the Holy Spirit Through an obedient servant.

[14:32] Peter was simply an obedient servant Who was going out And carrying on The building of the kingdom With a kingdom mindset, Sharing the gospel As he went, And during this period of time, God was seeing fit To work through people.

[14:48] He had worked through Philip. He had worked through others. And now he's working through Peter To show the world That this Jesus really is alive.

[14:59] And he says, Jesus is the one That is healing you. It's a powerful reminder, I believe, That when we embrace Our identity As kingdom workers, God can use us To bring about Extraordinary change.

[15:19] If all were just willing To go to that neighbor, To go to that co-worker, And say, I know someone That can Take you through Whatever it is That you're going through.

[15:36] I know someone That is the answer To all of our, All of your problems. It's Jesus Christ. And be that agent of change Where we represent, We are ambassadors, By the way, That's what the Bible says.

[15:53] We are ambassadors of God. We go out into a foreign country, Which, Wherever you live, Is a foreign country. Well, people say, Well, no, I'm American.

[16:04] I have a passport to prove it. Well, the Bible says otherwise. The Bible says, While you might be now A part of this country, He says, You're just an alien. You're a sojourner.

[16:14] Because this is really not The country to which we belong If you are saved By the blood of Jesus Christ. Because our citizenship, The Bible says, Is Asia, America, No, yes, Our citizenship Is in heaven.

[16:30] And so, As followers of Jesus With a kingdom mindset Who are willing To embrace our identity And just let God use us, Recognize our role As being ambassadors, God can use us To accomplish great And mighty things.

[16:50] Now, bringing it a little bit Closer home, You might be saying, Well, I'm no Peter. I'm not an apostle. I can't just say, You know, Get up and walk Like Peter did.

[17:02] I don't see God Necessarily performing miracles To the extent That He did here. Does God still perform miracles? Yes, He does. And could God raise the dead today If He wanted to?

[17:14] Yes, He could. But the thing is, We need to realize That it's the power of God That accomplishes What God accomplishes. And the truth is, Every single one of us Has a role to play In the kingdom of God.

[17:27] You may be thinking to yourself, Well, I didn't go to Bible college. I didn't get prepared. I don't have a position In the church. Well, you know, A position is just a position.

[17:39] It's what you do with that That makes the difference. Are we kingdom agents of change? It's not about performing Miraculous healings. It's about embodying love, Embodying compassion, And the power of Christ In our everyday life.

[17:55] So when you have coffee With a neighbor, Do you have the kingdom mindset? And are you aware Of your role in this kingdom? Because God might be using you In that person's life To accomplish an eternal change.

[18:08] Because it may be That they are looking to you To show them That there's something Beyond what we see around us. Because people need to know That there's hope.

[18:19] People need to know That there's more than just What we see around us. So whether you're a teacher, A mechanic, A parent, A student, Whatever it is, Your life is a platform For God's kingdom work.

[18:32] Whether you're helping a neighbor, Whether you are teaching your child About Jesus Christ, Whether you are teaching A Sunday school class, Whether you're mowing the grass, Or whether you're cleaning the church.

[18:46] It's a platform that God can use, And He can use everything that we do When it's done for His honor, And done for His glory, God can use it. Think about your daily interactions.

[18:59] Think about as you go through your day. Every moment of your day Is an opportunity To demonstrate the values of the kingdom. What about when you see someone, Those of you who work outside the home, You see someone maybe walking down the hallway, Or you see them out and about, You see that they may be having a difficult day.

[19:22] And you just say, Do you mind if I, You look like you're having a rough day. Do you mind if I pray with you right now? Do you think many people would just say, No, I don't want prayer?

[19:33] No, because I've heard of your testimonies. I've heard when you've said, They said, Would you please? And I think it's a testament To our relationship with Jesus Christ That we know that everything we're doing, There's no such thing As the spiritual or the non-spiritual.

[19:57] Because everything that we do Ought to be done In the power of God's Holy Spirit And to accomplish God's kingdom plan. So when you think about The spiritual or the secular, You know, There's not that, In the follower of Jesus Christ, There's really not that dichotomy.

[20:16] There's not that, The difference. Because every, 100% of our life Should be around Jesus Christ And His kingdom. You know, It could be as simple As offering a word of encouragement.

[20:28] It could be as simple as Help picking up leaves In a neighbor's yard. It could be as simple as Inviting them to have coffee If it looks like they're having A difficult time.

[20:43] Standing up for what's right Or taking time Simply to listen to somebody's struggles. Do you realize that some people Just need somebody To listen to them? Just, Just listen To them.

[20:55] I know there's some here That, That part of their responsibility It may be officially something else. But part of what they might need Is just someone to hear them.

[21:07] Just someone to listen To their pains, Their aches, Their problems, Their difficulties. And then we can encourage, But sometimes it's just The fact of We are willing to step Into another person's life.

[21:21] Peter goes to, He found a certain man Named Aeneas. Peter was willing to see What was around him. He was willing to see Who was around him.

[21:32] So as he's going around, As he's sharing the gospel, He finds, I find that interesting, He found a certain man Named Aeneas Who had been bedridden For eight years And was paralyzed.

[21:43] And so Peter says to him, Jesus, The Christ, Heals you. Take up your bed, Make your bed, Roll it up, Whatever pallet that he was using. And he says, Get up, You don't need it anymore.

[21:55] And you are healed. So every act of love, Every word that we speak in love, When we speak the truth, Every gesture of compassion, I believe is a reflection Of the love of Jesus Christ To the world around us.

[22:13] Recognize our role In the kingdom of God. No matter what we do, If it's done In the power of God's Holy Spirit, And if it's done For the glory of God, God is going to use that And he can accomplish So, so much.

[22:31] It's just like Taking one or two seeds, Planting them in the ground, And it grows a plant That is going to bear fruit More than just the one seed. It's going to bear many.

[22:42] And the more we plant, The more we're going to be able To reap one day in his kingdom. So how do we start? Well, start every day, Maybe with a prayer.

[22:53] Asking God to open your eyes To the needs around you. What needs to be done To the opportunities around us. Just like Peter. He found a man. He didn't just walk away.

[23:04] He did something about it. Ask God to use you In whatever way that he sees fit. Be attentive to the needs Of those that you encounter Throughout the day.

[23:16] Be willing to share your faith With others. Be consistent in your character. Because the world needs to see Someone who's the same today. And who'll be the same tomorrow.

[23:27] As long as it's If you're If the Holy Spirit's Accomplishing the fruit of the Spirit Within you. Hopefully it's not negative. But if they see positive character, They need to see That you are living According to the Word of God.

[23:44] And know that God has equipped you For every good work. According to 2 Timothy 3 Verse number 17. So, who has he called us Or what has he called us All to do?

[23:57] Well, let's look at Verses 36 through 39 As we continue. At Joppa, verse 36 says, There was a certain disciple This was a follower of Jesus Named Tabitha Which is translated Dorcas This woman was full of good works And charitable deeds Which she did But it happened in those days That she became sick And died When they had washed her Which is typically How a body was taken care of You didn't go You know, you didn't call On the phone And the local funeral home Come And they take the body And they go off No, it was And it's been It's been this way Up until Really just very recently In history Where a family Would take care of Their family Who had passed away And they would wash the body They would They would take care of them

[24:58] And they washed her They laid her In an upper room And since Lydda Was near Joppa As we see here Joppa Is modern day Joppa And it's about Ten miles Beyond Lydda Now some of you May remember That city Joppa Think back Those of you Who remember The Old Testament Isn't that Where Jonah Went To run Away From God Because Jonah Wanted to Run away From the Gentiles But I find it Interesting That it was In Joppa That Peter Gets the call To go to The Gentiles Because we're going to see At the end of our Paragraph this morning That he ends up Going to the home Of Simon a tanner So Peter Is still going about He's still sharing The gospel He travels An additional

[25:59] Ten miles He comes to To Joppa And Since Lydda Was near Joppa And the disciples Had heard That Peter Was there They sent Two men To him They knew They had heard That miracles Were taking place Where Peter was And they Begged him Implored him Not to delay In coming to them Then Peter Arose Went with them And when he Had come They brought him To the upper Room And all the Widows Stood by him Weeping And what were they Doing They were showing Him The tunics And the garments Which Dorcas Had made While she was With them And then Peter Puts them out Kneels down And he prays Turns to the body And says Tabitha arise And she opened Her eyes And when she Saw Peter She sat up Then he gave Her his hand And lifted her up And when he

[26:59] Had called the saints And widows He presented Her alive And he became Known throughout All Joppa And many believed On the Lord So What we see here These verses We are introduced To a pretty Remarkable Woman She was a Disciple But what she Did with her Time Was She sewed And She had made Garments And I'm sure She was also Involved In helping Others People would Come to her And she would Help them Her life Was marked By compassion And service We see that In the response Of the widows They loved her And they knew That she had An important role In the body Of Christ During that Time And she was Reflecting God's Love In very Very Tangible Ways So I believe How How do we Have this Kingdom mindset How do we Understand and

[28:00] Recognize our Role Well it's to Show compassion As a sign Of the kingdom To people We come across Being willing Being able To show Compassion She made Probably Made clothes For the needy Probably cared For the poor As well And she was Touching other Lives in the Community as Well now Let's consider Our own lives Do we pass Opportunities What are we Doing are we Simply focused On our own Needs and I'll Have to admit I'm often Focused on my Own needs And what can I Do to take care Of what I need To do and Sometimes just Don't see Don't see Others Don't see Things around I believe Tabitha Dorcas Reminds us Or challenges Us to look Beyond ourselves And to be Able and be Willing to show Compassion On others And sometimes It's just simply Found in simple

[29:00] Acts of kindness Just simply Doing something For someone Else Showing Compassion Showing Kindness Each act of Kindness Has a ripple Effect That makes a Difference in Other people's Lives It's sad When someone At the end Of their life Passes And there's No one there I've been Asked To do Graveside Services By funeral Homes Literally It was Me The funeral Director And the Guys there Who were Digging The hole No family No one Isn't that Sad Now I don't Know I don't Know their History I don't Know what Happened What Took place But I know Enough about People's lives And I've

[30:00] Heard enough Of people's Stories That they Pushed so Many people Away during Their life That no One was There At the End of Their life But know That every Act of Kindness Every Act of Compassion That we Show to Someone else That at The end Of your Life If the Lord Waits long Enough Before he Comes back For us If we're In that Coffin I guarantee That people Will be Able to Come And say Or they Will be Able to Stand During the Service And say I Remember The time That they Someone else Will stand Up I remember The time That they Did this I remember The time They just Sat and Listened To me I remember When they Helped me Through a Particular Problem Particular Issue They Showed Me Kindness They Encouraged Me They

[31:01] Opened God's Word They Opened The Bible And showed Me What I Needed To do They Helped Me Make Good Decisions You see That's Our role If we have A kingdom Mindset We're Going To be Engaged In Other People's Lives We're Going To be Present In Other People's Times Of Sorrow We're Going To Rejoice With Them As Well And We Are Going To Be Engaged And That's Something That I Need To Work On And I Believe That we All Have Room To Work On That As Well As Being More Engaged In Other People's Lives I Want To Encourage Us As a Church Family To Seek Tangible Ways That We Can Use That God Has Given Us Look For Tangible Ways Where We Can Demonstrate Compassion In Our Own Community Look Around Us Look In Your Neighborhood Who Has A Need That We Could Take Care Of Maybe There's A Local Charity That We Can Be In We Have Supported Abraham's Tent In The Past They're

[32:03] Always Looking For People To Come And Serve Food They're Looking For People To Just Simply Come And Help Them Those Are Tangible Ways That We Can Help Others Who Have A Need Remember The Kingdom Of God Is Not Just About What We Believe It's About How We Live Out Those Practical Truths In Those Tangible Truths In Practical Ways The Kingdom Of God Let Say That Again The Kingdom Of God Is Not Just About What We Believe It's About How We Live Out Those Beliefs In Practical Ways I've Heard It Said That There Are A Lot Of Christians Who Are About 300 Verses Overweight What That Means They Know They Know A Lot Of They Aren't Exercising It They Aren't Putting It Into Practice They Aren't Walking Out Those

[33:03] Verses They Just Consume It And They Never Work It Off What Does James Say Don't Just Be A Hearer Of The Word Be A Doer So We've Got To Believe The Right Stuff But Don't Just Be A Believer Be A Doer So If We Have A Kingdom Mindset We're Going To Be Doing What God Says We're Going To Be Living It Out But It Doesn't Stop There I Believe We Need To Prioritize Spiritual Transformation There So Many Churches That Stop Short Of Jesus Kingdom Purpose They Meet Together Preach The Word Of God They Help The Poor They They're Engaged In All These Social Programs Which We Should Be But They Stop Short Of Sharing The Gospel And Stop Short Of Making The Most

[34:03] Important Thing That A Person Could Do Is Trust Jesus Christ As Their Savior Because It Doesn't Matter If They Have A Full Belly If They're Lost And End Up In The Lake Of Fire Because We Want To Make Sure That We Are Taking Care Showing Compassion Showing The Love Of Jesus And In The Process Not Forget That Our Main Mission Is To Make Disciples Our Main Mission Is To Teach Them What Jesus Christ Has Taught Baptizing Them In The Name Of The Father In Name Of The Son In The Holy Spirit And So Let's Not Stop There So Peter Verse Number 40 Put Them All Out He Kneels Down He Prays Turns To The Body And Says Tabitha Arise She Opened Her Eyes And When She Saw Peter She Sat Up She Gave Her His Hand And Lifted Her Up And When He Called The Saints And Widows He Presented Her Alive

[35:03] And I Want To Pay Attention Verse 42 To Testify To The Power Of Jesus Christ And So The Result Of This The Result Of The Healing People Getting Saved People Coming To Know Jesus The Result Of The Raising Of The Dead Was So That People's Attention Would Be Turned To Jesus And So People Believed And People Trusted Christ As Their Savior As With The Healing Of Aeneas As With The Raising Of Dorcas The Great Attention That We See Here Is People Trusted Christ As Their Savior And Peter Stayed Says That He Stayed Many Days In Joppa And So It's Not Enough That People Believe In Miracles They've Got To Believe In Jesus And So Peter Stayed He Grounded Them In The Word He Taught Them More He

[36:05] Was Discipling Them He Was Teaching Them Because Faith Built On Miracles Alone Is Not Substantial We Need To Teach People What The Word Of God Says You Know It Doesn't Matter How You Feel What Matters Is What You Know And What We Do Based On That Knowledge So It Was About The Life Giving Message Of The Gospel That Peter Was About Accomplishing In The Same Way Our Interactions With Those Around Us Ought To Be Based On God We Go We Show The Love Of Jesus Christ We Share The Gospel And We Disciple Them And Teach Them How To Be Good Servants Of Him Good Followers Of Jesus Christ Each Encounter That You And I Have Carries With It The Potential For Eternal Significance I Want You To Think About That I Want You To Etch That Into Your Brain Every

[37:06] Single Encounter That You Have With Another Human Being Has The Potential To Make An Eternal Difference If It's That Store Clerk At Dollar General Or The Mechanic That Works On Your Vehicle Or The Plumber Or Your Physician Whoever It Is Anytime We Have An Interaction With Someone There's A Potential That We Can Be The One That God Uses To Make The Eternal Difference In Their Life If They Already Know Jesus It Might Be Encouraging Because There's So Many People That Are Tired There's So Many People That Have Begun To Lose Hope Lose Hope In Life Maybe You're That Person That Ignites That Spark Of Enthusiasm Again In Their Life That We See That We See Them To See That Every The The The The Purpose To It But It Means That It Means Always Be

[38:06] In Our Mind That If God That If They Open The Door They Talk About Something That Is About Jesus Is About The Gospel Or Even About World Events Where The Bible Speaks To It I Mean If They Open The Door Put Your Foot In It And It Might Be An Opportunity That God Is Giving To You But I Believe It Does Mean Living With An Everyday Awareness That People We Meet Are Eternal Beings And They Have A Soul Who's Either Going To Spend Eternity In Heaven With God Or The Lake Of Fire Separated From Him So Everyone That We Meet Has An Eternal Destiny Whether It's Through Our Words Whether It's Through Our Actions Or Through Our Attitude We Need To Be Bringing People Closer And Closer And Closer Through What We Do To Allow God's Holy Spirit To Begin Working In Their Hearts And Their Minds So That We Can Be A Reflection Of Jesus Christ His

[39:07] Hands His Feet In This World These Things Might Seem Like Some Small Gestures But They Can Have A Profound Impact On Someone Else's Life So I Challenge You To View Our Daily Interactions With People View Them With A Kingdom Mindset This Is Not Just An Interaction I Have With The Checkout Person At Walmart This Has The Potential Of Being A Kingdom Interaction I Believe In Divine Appointments You Know Things Don't Happen By Accident God Has A Plan And God Will Use Everything In Our Life To Work Out For Good To Them Who Are The Purpose God Puts You Where You Are At A Particular Reason So If We Have A Kingdom Mindset We Are Going To Say God What Do You Want Me To Do Right Now What Do You Want Me To Say What Is My Role In This Person Life Right Now

[40:07] So Think About Your Family Think About Your Friends Think About Your Co-workers Think About The Strangers That You Encounter How Can You Be A Vessel Of God's Transformative Power In Their Life Sometimes It Just Means Being Bold Enough To Share Your Testimony Sometimes It Need It May Mean Speaking A Word Of Truth In Love Other Times It Simply By Being A Consistent Witness Living Out Our Life As A Follower Of Jesus Christ Always Doing What's Right And Always Showing Compassion When Necessary And As We Close I Believe It Was Significant That Peter Stayed In The Home Of Simon Who Was A Tanner Not To Get Too Graphic Here But Hides Were Tanned Using A Particular Chemical Some Of You Know Where I'm Going With This

[41:07] Chemical Process With Urea And Those Of You Know What That Word Means Knows That It Was Not A Very Clean Job And So For The Average Jew A Person Who Tanned Tides Was Considered Unclean And They Should Have No Interaction With Them So This Here We See A Gentile Because Joppa Was Primarily A Gentile City What We See In Peter's Mind We See God Taking Peter From Being This Orthodox Jew And Then We See Him Slowly Moving Peter To Open Up His Mind To Realize We Are In A New Covenant That These People That God Is Calling Me To Reach They're Not Unclean They're Not Dirty They're Just Lost

[42:08] And So Here He Is A Jew In A Tanner's Home And He Says What's More Important Is The Kingdom And So We See Peter Beginning To Realize That It's About Souls It's About The Kingdom So He Stayed Many Days In Joppa With Simon A Tanner So God Was Moving Peter One Step At A Time From Jewish Legalism Into The Freedom Of The Wonderful Grace Of Jesus Christ So In Closing Let's Remember That The Physical Healing Was Not The Greatest Miracle Raising Of The Dead Was Not The Greatest Miracle The Greatest Miracle Were Those Who Trusted Jesus Christ When They Saw The Power Of God At Work Because It Cost The Greatest Cost It Produces The Greatest Results And It Brings The Greatest Glory To God When A Soul Comes To Know

[43:08] Jesus Christ As Their Savior Let's Be Part Of That Miracle Let's Be The One That Shares The Gospel How Will They Know Unless They Hear Faith Comes By Hearing And Hearing By The Word Of God So Let's Be The Ones That Share The Gospel Let's Allow The Transformative Power Of God's Word Paul Says He Was Not Ashamed Of The Gospel Of God Because He Knew It Was The Power God To Save Let's Let's Lord God We Come To You Today We We Pray That You Would Help Us To To Live Out Every Day With That Kingdom Mindset And That Everything That We Do Should Be Done With Love Of Jesus Christ Seeing Everything Around Us And Everyone Around Us Through Your Eyes And Living Out Lives Of Compassion Living Out Lives Of Service And Seeing That We

[44:08]  Have A Role To Play It May Be We Think Small But There Are No Small Roles In Your Kingdom Because Anything That We Do That's Empowered By Your Holy Spirit Can Accomplish Eternal Results So Father Help Us To Live Out A Life Realizing That You Want To Work Through Us In Everything That We Do To Have A Kingdom Mindset We Pray This In Jesus Name Amen Amen