Sermon Tone Analysis

Better than Coins

We look for daily provision, but God wants to give so much more.

Looking for Coins Looking for Comfort Looking for Christ

Have you ever had one of those times in life where you really, really hoped for something, and if you would only get that thing, you thought you would find some peace, or happiness only to be given something even better than you could have expected?

I know many people have a story of something like that.

They had a need, or a longing for something.

And that desire for whatever it was never came, but instead, something even better came.

We have all seen some of those videos of kids seeing their military dad or mom surprise them with a visit when they were assumed to be overseas.

I wonder how those kids started the day.

They probably were thinking of their parent, perhaps wishing they would get a phone call or email.

The longing for a loved one can be overwhelming.

I can imagine that a child who has missed their parent for months would be looking for any kind of contact with their parent.

These are probably normally letters or emails or the occasional phone call.

Those kids we see in the videos started their day most likely wishing their parent would call or something, and then receive the wonderful surprise of not the phone call or email or video call, but their parent coming into their classroom at school or some other place.

I still tear up whenever I see those videos.

When we are expecting something we greatly need or desire, and instead are given something monumentally better, we respond with such great joy that it can manifest in tears, just as we see in videos of people returning home safely.

In our passage today, we see just that.

A poor man, who had to be carried each day to a place where he could sit and beg for a living, is simply hoping for a few coins to meet his daily needs.

He had become a fixture there at the Beautiful Gate.

In the next passage, this is clear because people recognized him as the one who sat there at the gate.

He was looking for a few coins, something he could use to buy some bread or otherwise maintain his poor life.

His expectations were not much.

He probably knew about how the day was going to go, after years and years of sitting there.

He probably knew how to size up the people who walked by, who would be more likely to give him something, who would be more likely to pass by, turning their head to pretend they didn't see him, who would be likely to mutter something rude as they walked past.

All he wanted was a few coins.

And he probably notices that Peter and John seem joyful, there is something about them.

They probably seem like the type who would help a brother out.

He just wants a few coins today.

His prayer may have literally been “Give me this day my daily bread”.

All he wanted was to survive.

How many times are we like that?

We look to God for just enough to get us by.

We come to church on Sunday morning, after a week of working hard, and dealing with people and problems all week, and we simply want to be recharged or refreshed to make it through another week.

Sometimes we, like the man at the Beautiful gate, have daily needs.

Perhaps we need to come up with the rent, or the car payment, or money for food.

Sometimes we have an unexpected expense, like a car breakdown, or a needed home repair.

Our prayers in those situations can be simply to have that need met.

In those times, we can be a bit like the lame man, just looking for a few coins.

A few coins from the pulpit to get us through the week.

A few coins for the rent, the car payment, or some other need.

A few coins would just get us by.

A few coins would help us meet the need.

A few coins would relieve us of the concern for the moment.

A few coins would be enough that we could simply make our lives more bearable.

But what those coins represent are comfort.

What we are really looking for is comfort.

All of our daily needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, they are all for our comfort.

If any of those needs go unmet for a day, we will still survive, but may be uncomfortable.

God has so much more for us.

He doesn't want us so focused on the daily grind that we lose sight of what is most important: Eternity.

The Kingdom of God.

His will.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said Matthew 6:31–33

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

This means not looking for coins, not looking for comfort, but looking for Christ.

We need to be daily seeking Him and the Kingdom of God.

If we do, then He promises to take care of our other needs.

Our God is a God of provision, Jehovah Jireh, the Provider.

He is a God of healing.

But as wonderful as it is to have our daily needs met, and as wonderful as it is to have His healing touch raise us from a bed of sickness, how much more awesome and wonderful is Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who brings of the Kingdom of God.

We must be looking not for coins, not for comfort, but for Christ Himself!

I started out by sharing about when we have a longing for something, a desire.

I’ll share one of mine with you: Jenelle and I have been married 201years.

When we had been married for a few years, we took a vacation and went to Walt Disney World.

During our time there, we went to the Beauty and the Beast stage show.

As we were walking out, the show having ended, and the music still playing, we were walking behind a family.

Holding her daddy’s hand, the little girl was dancing and swirling.

She must have been enraptured with the fairy tale story, and was in a dreamworld, I’m sure imagining herself as Belle, dancing with her prince.

And right then I was filled with a great desire, not just to be a daddy, but to have a daughter.

I craved it.

I saw the little girl there with her daddy, and that is what I wanted more than anything else.

A couple years after that, I found myself working at Walt Disney World.

We still didn't have children, and as much as it was a joy to work there, I was constantly seeing little girls in their princess dresses, and the desire to be a daddy grew and grew.

The employees I managed knew I wanted to have a girl.

They also knew that Jenelle and I were frustrated at not having children.

We had the desire, but for whatever reason, we were unable to conceive.

During our time living in Florida, we started attending a Christian & Missionary Alliance church there.

The pastor preached expository messages, taking us carefully through scripture, challenging us.

I began to eagerly read the Bible, trying to grow closer to God.

It was a wonderful time.

We became active in the church.

Jenelle started attending a bible study there.

And one night, as the ladies were sharing, Jenelle poured out her heart and our longing for children.

The ladies prayed for Jenelle that God would heal and we could have children.

Jenelle had been seeing a doctor to try and find out what the reason may be for us not conceiving, and one day Jenelle got a phone call from a nurse at the doctors office.

She said Jenelle needed to get in right away to see the doctor, because he had discovered something on an ultrasound.

It sounded serious, and we imagined all of the worst things it could be.

This was about a week after the ladies had prayed for Jenelle.

Concerned about what the doctor had found, we called everyone we knew to please pray for Jenelle, there was something wrong.

Everyone prayed.

Jenelle went to the appointment and told me that the ultrasound had picked something up.

However, it would be ok in about 9 months.

She was pregnant, in less than two weeks after the ladies prayed for her.

We came into our Sunday School class that week, and all of those who were praying for this serious thing heard the news with great joy and excitement.

Two years later, Jenelle gave birth to our second daughter while we were attending Trinity Bible college.

We had the privilege to do our internship back at our Florida church, and during our time there were delighted to recount the story of our first baby and before we left that summer, we discovered that we would be having a third.

Something in the water in Longwood, Florida, perhaps.

So here is the point: Early in our marriage, like most newlyweds, we sometimes struggled to have the coins we needed.