Beach Life: Captivating Celebration
Throughout this “Beach Life” series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us to follow him and make his mission and values our own. We kicked off this series by discussing the Mission of Beach Church. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Our Mission is the reason we exist.
Our five guiding values guide us in fulfilling our mission.
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus invited men to follow him and learn from him. He showed his disciples the way to live.
1 John 2:6 (NLT2)
6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
Our Guiding Values are rooted in Jesus's life. The more we allow these guiding values to shape our character, the more effective we will be in leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.
Our Guiding Values are:
1) Life-Changing Truth
2) Transparent Living
3) Uncomfortable Grace
4) Captivating Celebration
5) Selfless Service
Today, we are going to talk about our fourth guiding value of Captivating Celebration.
We believe that… following Jesus results in a joy-filled life that draws people to Jesus. We believe that when followers of Jesus celebrate, especially through hard seasons, other people without Jesus are drawn to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.
I have been around people who claim to be followers of Jesus – and never crack a smile. They don’t laugh. They don’t celebrate. They are not joyful.
But that is not who we want to be. We want to be followers of Jesus who always live lives filled with JOY. Life is more fun that way.
No other man in scripture better demonstrates this guiding value than the lame man from Acts 3.
Acts 3:1-12 (NLT2)
1 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. 4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” 7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. 9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John. 12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?
I don’t know how old this man was, but I do know that since he was born, he had been carried around wherever he went. He never learned to stand or walk, and he never knew what it was like to run and feel the wind on his face.
During this time period – anybody that had any type of physical defect was considered an outcast and rejected by the world around them. This man was just sitting outside the temple asking for money…and unexpectedly…his life was changed forever.
Peter and John said to him, “We do not have any money, but what we do have, we give you. In the name of Jesus, get up and walk!” Then Peter took him by the hand – and as the man rose to his feet – his feet and his ankles were healed!
Suddenly this meant:
No more begging for food!
No more depending on other people to move him around.
No more dragging himself through the town.
He was changed.
He was made better.
He was a new person.
If by faith you believe that you have been forgiven. If by faith you believe that you Jesus rose from the dead and one day he will return. If, by faith, you took a moment, received Jesus into your life, and committed to follow Him.
Then you KNOW exactly how this man felt.
Before you and I became a follower of Jesus, we were just like this lame beggar. We lived crippled by sin. Crippled by shame. Crippled by guilt. Crippled by hopelessness. Crippled by doubts.
But when we became followers of Jesus, we were made new and set free!
We were set free to show GRACE to others.
We were set free to HOPE and to BELIEVE THE BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD.
We were set free to experience the overwhelming, never-ending, breathtaking love of God found through Jesus.
So, as we remember what we have been rescued from, we should look at the example this man provides:
Followers of Jesus should…
Celebrate life-change hard
Acts 3:8-9 (NLT2)
8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. 9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God.
WALKING – this shows us that this man was healed.
LEAPING – this shows us this man had strength.
PRAISING – This shows us that Jesus was credited for the change, not Peter and John.
The old, lame man was GONE. The new man with strong feet and legs was here – and he could not have celebrated harder!
If there is anything that the people of Myrtle Beach do well – whether they are born again or not – is CELEBRATE! People love to PARTY! They party on the beach – they party in the ocean. They celebrate on the miniature golf courses. They go on helicopter rides and race go-karts. They ride their Harley’s from all over and party hard.
And…at Beach Church…
We celebrate Baptisms. We cheer and applaud when somebody comes out of the water.
We celebrate when marriages are rescued from the brink of divorce and redeemed.
We celebrate stories of people being rescued from addictions and their new life in Jesus.
We Celebrate Recovery from hurts, habits, and hang-ups every Friday night.
But I would love it if we celebrated MORE.
I always wish our voices were louder in worship. I sometimes wish our voices would drown out the band on the stage. I sometimes wish our applause and cheers would linger longer during our services as we celebrate our great God that changes people's lives. And I am not talking about the fake kind of celebration. Not the polite golf-clapping type of worship that I have been guilty of doing before.
I am talking about the type of celebration this man showed: UNHARNASSED HAPPINESS for the work God did in his life. And I sometimes find myself wishing for that because I recognize that…
Captivating celebration draws others in
As this man leaped, shouted, and praised God, all the people outside the Temple heard the celebration and rushed in!
Acts 3:11 (NLT2)
11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.
The people who heard the CELEBRATION were curious about what had happened, so they ran together and surrounded Peter and John. When we celebrate our faith – Those without Jesus will become captivated.
Even when we celebrate through hard seasons…
For the first six years of our marriage, we could not have children. We tried – we would pray. And quietly, we each began to think something must be wrong with each of us. Because of my childhood, the thought crept in: “God doesn’t want me to have children. I will never be a dad.” And, Kristy wrestled with her own thoughts as well.
Then, in 2005, she broke the news to me that she was pregnant. We laughed. We cried. We celebrated. We announced to family, friends, and our church. Then, the bleeding started…and before the first trimester ended, we lost the baby. It was hard to breathe. We held onto each other. On our way home from the hospital – I began to worship Jesus anyway. Through my tears and with a voice tightened with the lump of sadness – I began to choke out a worship song and sang:
And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
When we can celebrate even though we walk through storms we do not understand, other people will be captivated.
And that leads me to my final point:
Captivating celebration leads to changed lives
Crowds of people rushed in when they heard the celebration of the former crippled man. Now think about that.
Jesus had told Peter and John to tell everybody about him – and now, because of the hollering and celebration of this man, all these people gathered around Peter and John.
We see Peter's response in verse 12.
Acts 3:12 (NLT2) 12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?
Peter SAW his opportunity to tell others about Jesus! The crowd was full of questions. They wanted to know how Peter and John had made this man walk – and Peter took the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. Peter tells them about forgiveness and hope through Jesus for the rest of this chapter. He helped them understand that Jesus' power healed the crippled man and that the Power of Jesus can give them new life as well – new spiritual life. The only reason those people were there was that the man's celebration had drawn them in.
An invitation to celebrate your faith in Jesus can lead somebody else into a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Beach Baptism is one of those moments.
On Saturday, May 31 at 7:00PM at Plyler Park, we are gathering to celebrate stories of changed lives through Jesus. We are going to worship, cheer, celebrate baptisms, and publicly declare that Jesus still changes people today.
If you have not been baptized since you have become a follower of Jesus, I invite you to use the Beach Church app and sign up. Somebody you invite to celebrate baptisms may end up beginning a life-changing relationship with Jesus.
So, check it out – Peter took the opportunity to tell them about Jesus – and skip to Acts 4:4 as Peter wrapped up his message.
Acts 4:4 (NLT2)
4 But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of believers now totaled about 5,000 men, not counting women and children.
Do you see it? Isn’t it beautiful? When followers of Jesus celebrate our faith – others can be drawn in out of curiosity and become followers of Jesus as well.
Followers of Jesus can celebrate because Jesus defeated sin.
Followers of Jesus can celebrate because Jesus has defeated death.
We can celebrate because Jesus holds the keys to life and death in his hand.
We can celebrate because Jesus has defeated hopelessness, loneliness, and addiction.
We can celebrate because Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to guide us.
Followers of Jesus can celebrate because we know for certain that we will be in heaven.
We can celebrate because NOT ONE THING will ever be able to separate us from the love of God.
That is why CAPTIVATING CELEBRATION is one of our GUIDING VALUES at Beach Church – and I invite you to make it one of yours.