Does God Care that You’re Weary? [34]

Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: In this episode of Back to Rurality, host TJ Freeman discusses the concept of true and lasting refreshment sourced from our satisfaction in the Lord. Through his own personal experiences and in his study of Acts 3, TJ emphasizes that, unlike temporary fixes, true refreshment comes from repentance and turning away from sin. He closes the podcast by inviting listeners to reflect on their lives, suggesting practical steps like reading and praying through Acts chapter 3, and ends with the hymn 'And Can It Be.'

Connect with Us:

• Website: backtorurality.com
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• Email: tj@brainerdinstitute.com

Transcript

Could you use a little refreshment in your life? Man, refreshment sounds really good. I'm recording this in the winter and a nice refreshing afternoon on a nice hot sunny beach sounds really good. I don't know what refreshment might look like to you, but I'll bet as you think about your week you can understand what it feels like to go, yeah, I could use a little refreshment right now.

Well, Hey, this is the perfect episode for you. Because we're going to look at scripture to consider where real Lasting refreshment comes from and how you can find it. Well, thanks for joining us for another edition of back to rurality. My name is TJ Freeman and I am the host of this podcast and just like you.

Yep. I live in the middle of nowhere. And I've come to love that fact. Something I struggled with for a little while. When I was frustrated that I didn't have Chick-fil-A or sushi at an arm's reach. But, I've come to recognize that living in a location is about more than just the conveniences or the comforts you experience there.

It's about recognizing that you're actually there. To bring glory to God. That's why He's got you in that place. And you should just regularly be asking yourself, what does it mean to bring glory to God where I live? And if you live in the middle of nowhere, you're one of the only people thinking about that.

Which is why this podcast is so important, because we want to think together about what it means to pursue the glory of God in the middle of nowhere. And, living in the middle of nowhere, it's easy to get into the rut of life. You can just kind of fall into the trap of going through the motions and maybe it's hard for you to get a vacation.

You've got some responsibilities that make it hard to get away. Maybe you've been around the same people over and over. You feel a little like your life is Groundhog Day. If you haven't seen that movie, can't tell you if I recommend it or not, but it's the one where Bill Murray just repeats the same day over and over and over again.

And you might feel a little like you're doing that. Well, refreshment is something we're tempted to look for in all of the wrong places. And there's a story in Acts chapter 3 that shows the life of a man who really needed some refreshment. He was a man who was born lame from birth, meaning he was unable to get up and walk.

In fact, the text tells us that this guy had to get carried out every single day and set down at the gate of the temple. Ironically, they put him at the beautiful gate. So here's this ornate, beautiful gate. It's so pretty, they just named the thing Beautiful Gate. And in stark contrast to that, here's this man who's Life is anything but beautiful. And the way he was searching for refreshment was through a handout.

He was a panhandler. So every day he's set out there. Somebody has to carry him, set him down out there, and he's just asking people for money. Alms for the poor. Alms for the poor. Excuse me, could you spare any change for the poor? And one day, and this guy's in his forties, these two guys came on the scene.

They walked up to the beautiful gate. The man does his normal routine. Alms for the poor. He's looking for a little daily refreshment. And Peter and John turn to him and they go, Look at me. Just, just look at us. Which must have been weird. And then they said a line that I bet a lot of people said, Hey, silver and gold, I don't have.

So the guy's like, yeah, you're not giving me any money, thanks. But then they said something super weird. They say to this guy, what I do have, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, we give you, Rise up and walk. Now, if you were an on looking part of the crowd and you saw these two men do this, you'd think, man, these guys are cruel.

This dude has been sitting outside the temple day after day for over 40 years and these guys are like, hey, I don't have any money, but why don't you get up and walk? It would feel kind of like saying, hey, if you want it, come and get it. Why don't you? Well, I don't know what this man was thinking, but as Peter stretches out his hand to the man and offers him the ability to stand, The guy looks up at Peter and he takes his hand. And the text says Immediately his feet and his ankles became strong and he was able to stand up and walk. And you know what he did after that? Man, he started leaping and shouting for joy. Imagine what that would be like the closest thing I can think of is those videos where you see Little kids that get a cochlear implant.

They've never been able to hear their whole life. But maybe somewhere around, like, age two, they do the implant surgery, and then the mom talks to the child, and the child hears its mother's voice for the first time. Oh, those are tough to watch! They're real tearjerkers. It's amazing to see somebody who was so bound by their disability experience freedom from it.

And that's exactly what happens here in the text. This guy is free, and he is leaping and jumping for joy, just like you would do, too. Well, that whole thing draws a big crowd, of course. And by the time they make their way around the temple complex to Solomon's portico, there's a whole crowd there that wants to know what in the world have you guys done?

Who are you guys? Do you have some kind of superpower? Whatever it is, why don't you share some of that with us? And Peter's like, hey, I don't know why you're amazed at this thing. The Lord's told us in his word how we can actually be healed. This guy wasn't healed by me. He wasn't healed by my buddy John.

This guy was healed by Jesus. All he did was put his faith in Jesus name, and Jesus healed this man. But what happens is this guy's healing is a picture of true refreshment in the Lord. He was looking for a handout of daily refreshment. Day after day after day. Sticking his hand out hoping somebody would give him enough to get by there at the temple gate.

And these guys offered him something different. They offered him healing instead. And then Peter flips this thing on its head and uses it as an object lesson to show the people of Israel how they can be refreshed. He actually goes on to accuse them. He said, You guys are the ones Who actually should know who Jesus is because by the way you killed him.

He's the author of life. He's the God of our fathers and you you put Jesus to death. You know who Jesus is. You just don't have faith in his name. So he goes on to say repent. It's like I recognize you did it out of ignorance because you're born into sin. You've been taught sinful stuff and I'm offering you the same thing.

I'm putting out my hand And I'm offering you the chance to be healed or refreshed as well, if you'll just take it. And what he means by that is, if you'll repent and trust the Lord and follow after Him, you'll experience times of refreshing. That's exactly the language the text uses. Do this so that times of refreshing might come.

And this same object lesson really hits us right between the eyes. We are a people who regularly need to be refreshed. You get tired, you get weary, you get worn out. You need some refreshment in your life. 

And if you're like me, and most people, the last place you look is in the category of repentance. And I don't know why, but I don't think of repentance as a warm, fuzzy kind of a word. It actually makes me feel a little uncomfortable to think about repenting of something. It means, first of all, that you have to admit that you've done something wrong.

And then secondly, it means you have to be willing to change. Hey man, I am on a diet right now. Oh man, that is the worst thing I can imagine. I wasn't that hungry before. But now that I'm on a diet. I just all of a sudden all I can think about is food. It's so ridiculous I don't like dieting. But I also know that I haven't been eating in a way that stewards my body very well. So if I'm gonna repent of over indulgence in food, That means I have to admit that it's actually wrong. And that after I've preached two sermons on a Sunday A bowl of ice cream is not my just reward. But boy, some cookie dough ice cream after preaching a couple of sermons really hits the spot.

I have to recognize that I shouldn't try to satisfy myself with food. I should be satisfied in the Lord. Food is a blessing from the Lord. And if food is beginning to ruin my body and make it so that I can't play with my grandkids someday, that's a problem. So if I'm going to repent of that thing, I need to turn it over to the Lord, ask for His help, apologize for areas where I've actually sinned, and then commit to changing.

That is a hard, hard thing to do. When I think about repentance, I don't automatically think about refreshing. Well, the problem there is not on the Bible. It's on me. And I've recognized this as a pattern in my life over time, that the lead up to repentance and change is hard. But after the confession and walking in newness of life, There is a time of refreshing that comes and it is a joy to cling to the Lord. No matter what it is that was standing in the way, that has been moved now, that allows you to be closer to the Lord.

It is so worth it. It's a delight to be close to the Lord. If you want to experience true refreshing, what you really need is more of Christ. And to get more of Christ, part of what you need to do is turn from those things that are keeping you from being closer to Him. So, my challenge for you today is to consider what are some things that you might need to repent of.

Why would you want to cling to those? Why would you want to sit at the gate, sticking your hand out, begging for alms, when you've been given something much richer in Christ? So stop asking for a handout and be healed as you turn to the Lord through repentance and just rely on Him daily. This isn't about like some legalistic, you're doing everything wrong and now you need to go do it right, like Job's friends sat there accusing him.

But it is a recognition that there are probably some things, whether it's your thoughts or your actions, your attitudes, your behaviors, which are probably an awful lot like actions. You know, these kinds of things. I'm sure there's some things in there as you think about it that you could turn over to the Lord and experience the kind of refreshing that comes when you do. 

Hey, how about start this way? Why don't you go read Acts chapter 3, go slow, pray your way through it, and just think about what it means to walk closely with the Lord who came that your soul might be refreshed. I want to close our time with a song.

It's probably my favorite hymn. I dare you, find a hymn with better lyrics than this one. It's the hymn, And Can It Be. And in the third verse, it talks like this. It says, Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night. So I'm in the darkness of the night of my natural self. It's dark. We're born with dark hearts. And I'm bound up by my sin. I'm like in chains from my sin.

Then it says, thine eye diffused a quickening ray. So God looked and into that darkness came a little glimpse of truth from the Lord. A quickening ray, an enlivening ray. So God looks at me in a way that brings me to life spiritually.

It goes on to say, My chains fell off. My heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed thee. Here's the reality. When Peter gets talking about Refreshment and repentance and these things in Acts 3.

He talks about it on the basis of Jesus Christ coming to rise from the dead. Just as Jesus caused that man to rise outside the gate by faith, Jesus himself rose from the dead so that we can rise with him on the last day. If you have been made alive in Christ, man, you have been set free. So, go out from this podcast refreshed and be a good testimony of transformation so that as other people saw that crippled man and were in awe, let them see your transformed life and be in awe too.

For now though, let's get back to life. Back to? Oh, you thought I was going to close, didn't ya? Maybe I should just tell you this podcast is sponsored by the Brainerd Institute for Rural Ministry. For more information about what we do to help equip the saints to lead healthy rural churches, head on over to www.brainerdinstitute.com. Now, get back to life. Back to rurality. Bye bye.