R539 What To Do When You Run Out Of Gas

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton about what to do when we run out of gas.

I know this has nothing to do with fuel, but the fuel that we need to live for Jesus. Today we'll head to Acts chapter 3 with Dr. Don Wilton, well-known author, seminary professor, evangelist, and pastor. As a matter of fact, the pastor of Dr. Billy Graham for 25 years. If you didn't know that particular fact, you'll discover more on our website at www.tewonline.org. You can even see the book Dr. Wilton wrote called Saturdays with Billy.

That's online at www.tewonline.org. While you're there, there's also some wonderful resources I'm going to tell you about in just a minute. The King is coming, and is this the end? Remarkable end-time studies with Dr. Wilton and Dr. Lutzer. That's all on the way. We'll tell you about that in the middle of the program, but now let's study God's Word together.

This is Dr. Don Wilton. I'm going to read to you this morning probably one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I love this story. And I want you to follow along with me because when I read about what happens to this man, here in Acts chapter 3, it does something for me.

It kind of picks me up and it encourages me. And I've often wondered why, right here at the beginning of the New Testament church, that God would have placed this particular story in Scripture for us to read throughout the centuries. Why would God do that at the beginning of the New Testament church? The church is just getting underway, as it were, the New Testament church. In Acts chapter 2, we learned about Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. We're going to read about the progressive coming of the Holy Spirit right throughout the Acts of the Apostles because the book of Acts is about the acts and activities of the Holy Spirit. It is the inauguration of the New Testament church. So why would God bring such an incredible story as this right at the outset, the foundation of the New Testament church?

Let's read about it. Acts chapter 3 and verse 1. One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer at three in the afternoon.

Now a man crippled 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. Then Peter said, Look at us. So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from him.

Then Peter said, Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. 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. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. 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. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Now while the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them, Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed and you disowned him before Pilate, even though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the holy and righteous one and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this by faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders, but this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.

Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. And I'm going to close with a statement that the times of refreshing may come from the Lord. May the Lord write his word upon our hearts. I want to speak this morning for just a moment a word of appreciation to all the moms sitting worshipping the Lord Jesus today, to all the dads who've given so much of their time, to parents who have spent literally hours upon hours loving their sons and daughters and trying to teach them and to rear them in a proper way, in a way that would be well pleasing.

But I want you to listen, folks. It is possible to become weary in well doing. I will guarantee you there are at least a number of parents here worshipping today whose hearts are breaking with their sons and daughters and you're becoming weary in well doing. You've always been there for them. You've always loved them.

There's never been any limit that you've put on them. And yet today you're growing weary in well doing. I want to talk to a Sunday school teacher today that for years you've been faithful at your post.

You're always prepared to the one who brings the doughnuts and coffee and it seems like every Sunday you're there, you're faithful. It is possible to grow weary in well doing. It is possible to run out of gas, you know.

I want to speak to you about what to do when you run out of gas. I believe that God has a special word for us and I also believe God's got a sense of humor. Did you know that?

Now I want you to listen. God has given to us everything in the Word of God for a reason. There's a purpose for everything in God's Word.

And I'm going to venture to suggest to you that there are many purposes for which this wonderful true story about the man lame from his mother's womb was put into Scripture for you and me to read. But I do believe that somewhere deep down in the heart of Almighty God, he was looking at the church, at the body of Christ, and he knew and understood that the call to discipleship and Christian service is the call to weariness. And I think that God knows and understands that you and I can grow very weary in well doing. And God knows that we can run out of gas. Let me give you six principles taken from this passage that will encourage your heart today. Principle number one, you want your gas tank refilled? Number one, open your eyes.

Open your eyes. Verse two, the Bible tells us that there was a man there, crippled, lame. I cannot even begin to imagine the number of people who just had passed him by.

Can you? Bible says he was lame from his mother's womb. Later on in the Scripture, the Bible is going to tell us exactly how old he is.

In chapter 4 and verse 22, the Bible is going to tell us this man was 40 years of age. Do you know that this man sat at that gate for 40 years before someone came by, opened their eyes and took in the predicament that this man found himself in? Do you know sometimes, my dear friends this morning, that when we grow weary in well doing that we begin, as it were, within our hearts and souls, we begin to withdraw somewhat. We begin to close our eyes in our weariness. We begin to shut down.

I'll guarantee you there are some moms here today who would never admit it publicly, for obvious reasons, but you're weary. You're weary with looking after your sons and your daughters and your children and getting them off to school and times and clocks and running a taxi cab and having to deal with this and that, and you've grown weary in your heart. I believe what Jesus Christ is wanting us to do here. He's saying, listen, if your gas tank is low or getting empty, open up your eyes and refresh your spirit by just looking around.

I don't mean to be critical by this because I think so highly of our teenagers, but I would say that one of the concerns that I have is that our teenagers have got it too good. You know, in America today, folks, there's a whole generation of young people who have got no idea what it is to suffer or to hurt or to pay a real price for what they have. Friends, there are people in every walk of life who are hurting.

There are crippled people lame from their mother's womb. There are men and women and boys and girls even in this great city of Spartanburg who distinctly and definitively and desperately need to know about the Lord Jesus Christ, oh, may God open our hearts. May we be lifted up in our spirits. May we see the need.

May we see that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Open your eyes. Don't recoil within the context of your own circumstances. Principle number two, focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. Here in verse six, the Bible says, Peter said, Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.

Principle number two, you want your gas tank filled? Refocus on Jesus Christ. Remember Peter on the Sea of Galilee sees Jesus coming. He says, Lord, can I walk to you? Jesus says, come on.

Peter gets out the boat, begins to walk. The moment he takes his eyes off Jesus, what happened to him? Down he went. Down he went. Do you know what happens, folks?

Do you know something? I could preach a Sunday by Sunday by Sunday, but if I take my eyes off the Lord Jesus Christ, down I go. Do you know you could be the most wonderful parent, but you take your eyes off Jesus Christ, down you go.

You could work in social welfare and you're dealing with needy people and your heart is broken day by day. Take your eyes off Jesus, down you go. You're going to run out of gas.

If you're a young person here today and you're facing critical decisions, I will guarantee you, my friend, there are going to be forces that are going to come and they're going to be like a battering ram against you and they're going to entice you and pull you. And before you know what, your testimony for Jesus Christ is gone and your focus is gone and down you go. Focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. Number three, be happy when others are blessed. Wonderful biblical principle. I love this. In verse 10, the Bible says they recognized him as the same man.

He sat begging at the temple gate called Beautiful. What was the result? They were filled with wonder. Now watch me, folks. Listen to this. This is great. I love this.

This is incredible. Here's what God is saying to my heart. God is saying to me, listen, Don, you run out of gas.

When you are completely out of gas and you are running out of gas and you're about to get into a stall on the middle of the highway of life, why don't you just look for somebody who is being blessed and celebrate their blessedness and in turn you will receive a blessing. Now here's how it works. Here's how it works. If you just give out, you've been so faithful, folks. You've been teaching master life for years.

Your home is open all the time. You've been working with young people. You're in the ministry. You've been coaching a team.

You've been working with the scouts and with RAs and GAs. You've been coming to the orchestra and playing faithfully. You've been singing in the choir. You've been ministering just time without number.

You've been ushering and it just, after a while, you're just growing weary in well-doing. God says, listen, just look around for someone who's happy and who's being blessed. I'm telling you, there are people here this morning, folks, who right now, they're sitting right on top. They're happy. They're being blessed. Look for them.

Identify them and go and attach yourself to them. That's what God is saying. God is saying, listen, you want your gas tank to be filled. You want to recharge your batteries.

Just tap into another happy or blessed person. Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back in just a moment with the rest of today's message. What to do when you run out of gas with Dr. Don Wilton. But Dr. Don wants me to let you know we're here for you. We'd love to pray with you anytime at 866-899-WORD.

We really encourage you to jot the number down or store it in your cell. 24 hours a day here to pray, here to connect you with great resources. And speaking of resources, one of the most, actually the most popular resource is the daily encouraging word.

Here are all the details on how you can get your copy. The Encouraging Words most requested resource is the daily encouraging word. The daily encouraging word is a daily devotional made available in a quarterly booklet or delivered each morning in your email inbox. If you would like to request this free devotional, please call 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Or visit online at TEWOnline.org.

That's TEWOnline.org. We are confident that it will be a blessing to you. The Encouraging Word is a viewer and listener supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. And now let's dive back in with today's teaching, What to do when you run out of gas, from Dr. Don Wilton here on The Encouraging Word. And it's going to kind of rub off.

You know, it's just nice to be around people like that. Make a point of that. God will bless your socks off.

Principle number four. Remember who is in control from verse 11 through 16. And I don't have time to do a proper study of these passages. But I want you to notice something.

When Peter saw this in verse 12, he says, men of Israel, why does this surprise you? You need to get back to the point at which you understand that God is the author and the finisher of life. God is in control. I had a wife come to me some time ago.

I remember it so clearly. And she said to me, pastor, she said, I'm married to the most wonderful man. And I love him with all my heart. But he's not a believer. He doesn't love the Lord.

He doesn't go to church. And she said to me, I forget now. It was like 33 years. She said, I have been praying for him, loving him. I have supported him. I backed him up. I have been everything that I believe a godly wife should be.

And I looked at her, and I took her hands in mine, and I said to her, my dear friend, tell me what's really in your heart. And she said, pastor, I'm growing weary. I'm tired of this seemingly endless endeavor to bring my husband to the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know what God says? The only way you're going to get your gas tank filled when you get to that point is just to remember who's in control.

Folks, you've got to look past yourself. Here the word of God says, Jesus Christ is in control. Principle number five, refresh yourself in God's word.

I love this. I wish I had two hours to preach on this. Verse 19, look at it. Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out in order that the times of refreshing may come from the Lord. It's kind of like taking a bath, isn't it?

I mean, you come home and you're just absolutely muggy and you're full of all the grime and you're dirty and so on and you've been at it and you've been out there all morning and all night and boy, you run that bath water and eventually you get into the bath and you sink under there and you just lie there and soak in the tub and you feel just so much better. What God is saying here, He's saying, listen, if your gas tank is running out, allow the word of God to bathe you, to refresh you. Number six, keep the goal in sight. I didn't read these verses, but verses 24 through 26, the Bible tells us about the fact that through your offering, offspring, all peoples of the earth will be blessed.

And then down in the end there, He says when God raised up His servant, He sent him first to you to bless you. I love that. Do you know that God says, listen, you want to keep the focus and you want to have your gas tank filled. These are some of the things that you can do, but don't forget the goal that is in sight.

Don't forget. Just look around and see the products of your faithfulness. I just want to thank you today.

Could I just do that? Don't grow weary in your well-doing. You know what happens, my friends, as I come to the end of this message. We all grow weary in well-doing, don't we? But God looks at us and He says, count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. God says, look at me. I'm the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

I'm the first and the last, and it is in me that you live and you move and you have your being. Oh yes, it's okay to grow weary in well-doing. Do you know, I'm just glad that I've come to church today. I'm glad that God has spoken to me through His Word, because when God speaks to me through His Word, He helps me to get my gas tank filled again. Would you bow your heads with me for a moment?

Every head bowed and every eye closed. Heavenly Father, we came to church today and we discovered that you are here. We read your Word and our cups are being filled. For many of us, our Father, we came today perhaps being discouraged, perhaps riding the mountaintop.

We are a blessed people. And Father, I know as pastor of this wonderful church that there is an army of people who seem to know no limit to well-doing in this place. Lord, may each one of them have their gas tanks filled to overflowing. May they walk out of the house of God today refreshed and rejuvenated. May they be ready to do it all again. May they love with no strings attached. I pray for parents in this congregation, Lord. Please don't let them give up. Don't let them ever settle for second best for their sons and daughters.

Lord, give them a boldness to speak up even when it's unpopular. Lord, give our Sunday school teachers such a recharged and a re-energizing today that next Sunday literally those who sit under their teaching would marvel and say, wow, where in the world did that energy come from? Father, may each one of us speak with conviction and with a spark in our eyes. Lord, I pray for school teachers, for principals and superintendents who every day face the battering rams of life. I pray for doctors and nurses who are under pressure, who day by day are ministering to the needs of others.

And Father, after a while their work becomes ho-hum and perhaps sometimes it becomes just a sense of ritual. Father, I pray for business people today who give, give financially, who share of their blessings. I pray for those who serve others. I pray, oh God, in this church of yours. I pray, oh God, as we begin to set the seal upon a master plan that will take us on for the next several decades. I pray, oh God, that God's people would stand up with one accord and be counted and that we would rise and say, as for me and my house, we are serving the Lord. I pray, oh God, that you would bless this house and all that dwell therein. And I pray, oh God, that we might be mindful that in everything that we do and everything that we have, that we might at all times give thanks to you because you're a great and a wonderful God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We do have so much to be grateful for.

Dr. Don Offen talks about the attitude of gratitude that makes a difference in every aspect of our life. Perhaps as you've heard Dr. Wilton teaching today from the book of Acts chapter 3 about what to do when you run out of gas, you realize that the Lord is calling you to either a deeper walk or a brand new beginning with Jesus Christ. You've heard Dr. Wilton as he's been preaching from the pulpit, but now he steps into the studio to speak with you about something very heavy on his heart. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin, and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name, my friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. Perhaps you just gave your life to Jesus, praying along with Dr. Don Wilton moments ago in that invitation prayer, or maybe you were praying along and rededicating your life, coming home to the faith. Either way, Dr. Don Wilton has prepared some specific resources he wants you to have absolutely free. The quickest way to get those is calling us right now at 866-899-WORD. We would love to put them in the mail to you right away. 866-899-9673 is our phone number, and we would love to be a part of encouraging you in the next steps. Again, that's 866-899-9673.

Or meet us online. TEWONLINE.org is our website. That's TEWONLINE.org. And speaking of that TEWONLINE, if you haven't had the opportunity to know this, Dr. Wilton takes great privilege in praying for you and hearing about how God is using the encouraging word, the Bible itself, in your life.

We'd love to hear your story. Feel free to email Dr. Don. His email is simply Don, D-O-N, at T-E-W, online, dot O-R-G. That's Don, D-O-N, at T-E-W, online, dot O-R-G. He would love to hear from you. He would love to pray for you. Let us know how we can minister to you. Now this has been a privilege.

What a great week of broadcast. If you want to catch up or see some of the video presentations as well, you'll discover all the information online at TEWONLINE.org. And I would prayerfully challenge you to look deeper into who we are, where we've been, the fact that Dr. Don Wilton was for 20 plus years the pastor of Dr. Billy Graham. This is fertile soil to invest in, and we would ask you to consider financially and prayerfully supporting this ministry. We believe that the kind of preaching Dr. Wilton has rooted his life in, biblically based preaching, is what we need more of. Consider online today at TEWONLINE.org.