Sunday Service Sermon | Pst. Paul Adefarasin – Water Walkers Part 13: Rise and Leap

Sunday Service – House on the Rock Church
Date: August 24th, 2025
Message by: Pst. Paul Adefarasin
Theme: THE WALKING ON WATER SERIES – WATER WALKERS Part 13: RISE AND LEAP – FROM HANDS OUT TO HANDS UP
Foundational Text: Acts 3:3–8

We’re in interesting times—there’s a move of God taking place in the world now.

In Acts 3:3–8, Luke writes: It’s 3pm in the afternoon and there’s a beggar at the gate, who is there almost daily, begging for alms and hoping to fix his problems. The church is meant to be the fixer of problems.

The beggar is sitting at the gate when he sees Peter and John entering the temple. He asks them for alms, and Peter—looking intently at him—tells him to focus. The man gave them his attention (he paid heed to them). Then Peter says: Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.Peter took him by the right hand, lifted him up, and immediately he stood. Then he leaped—that was the first thing he did!

The Passion Translation (TPT) puts verses 7–8 this way: Peter held out his right hand to the crippled man. As he pulled the man up slowly, suddenly power surged into his feet and ankles. The man jumped up, stood there stunned, and then began to walk around. As he went into the temple courts with Peter and John, he leapt for joy and shouted praises to God.

God has much more in store for me than just the reason I became a Christian. You may feel like you can never rise beyond your past or the environment you find yourself in, but God is commanding you right now: RISE UP AND DO WHAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO BEFORE.

I have a King living inside of me, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That’s why I don’t run from challenges—they are platforms for God to show Himself strong in my life. I have received an alert: Christ is in me, my hope of glory.

God, give me hands up, not handouts. Lift me up and strengthen my feet so I can walk.

MORE SERMON: 

• Monday Online Service: The Cyrus Partners Priesthood / Kingdom Takeover: Service To All

In our text, the lame man is sitting at the temple gate begging for alms, as he had done for most of his life. But the temple where he lay was also “lame,” because God was not there. The temple was governed by Herod, a Roman colonial ruler. God’s throne room is the believer’s body, for He does not dwell in brick and mortar.

• Luke 13:34 – Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets…

• Matthew 24:2 – There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Israel became a nation before it possessed the Promised Land. In Genesis 18:19, God says of Abraham: For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment…

Justice and equity are the true hallmarks of leadership.

• Romans 13 – All authority is from God.

The Martyrdom of Man – Read the book.

The Church has the responsibility to correct what the world got wrong, because it is the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

• Psalm 11:3 – If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Nigeria cannot grow until its foundation is fixed.

We have two civilizational roots in Nigeria:

1. Colonial conquest from the Sahel.

2. Colonial conquest by the British—who created Nigeria as a business venture.

Western civilization is very strong in Nigeria. We worship the Son of God, while some worship the sun, moon, and stars. We will fully know God when we put off mortality and put on immortality.

Our situation in Nigeria today mirrors Israel’s situation in this text.

There are three levels of equity and justice:

1. Individual – the man, the person.

2. Temple – not just where we worship, but a shrine of justice and equity. Executive offices of government, legislative halls, and judicial courts should all be “temples” of justice and equity. These too must be transformed.

3. Nation – a reflection of the culture and value system of the people. You cannot build the Nigerian identity without education. Only the right people can build a nation.

Corruption has become a sustenance system, a culture, and a way of life. But this must change.

The Church of God is the pillar and ground of truth—but truth must travel faster than love. We are not thermometers but thermostats. We set the temperature, not the other way around. I AM A THERMOSTAT.

We need the right leaders to build Nigeria. Let’s make politics unattractive to looters. Nigeria is one of the richest countries in the world, yet also one of the poorest.

The Theology of the Temple

There was a shift from God dwelling in a physical temple to dwelling in man. God created man with volition and free will. He responds to choices. He chose you before you chose Him.

• Acts 7:48–49 – The Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands… Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build Me?

Our God is not like the gods of this earth. Man was created to have dominion and regulate the earth.

• 1 Samuel 7:5–13 – Samuel gathered Israel at Mizpah to pray.

• 2 Samuel 7:5–13 – God promises David: He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish his throne forever.

God moves wherever two or three gather in His name.

God emancipated Israel with many power moves. The last plague in Egypt was the death of the firstborn. Afterward, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he chased the Israelites because they had taken Egypt’s wealth and labor. But their enemies pursued only to their burial ground. The Red Sea opened for Israel but swallowed the Egyptians.

God used Gideon—even though he was from the least family of the least tribe and doubted God.

We also see His power moves with the Hebrew boys in Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar promoted them to rule provinces, but jealous Babylonians conspired and threw them into the fire. Yet the Son of God was in the fire with them (Daniel 3:25–29).

The old covenant axiom was “do.” The new covenant axiom is “believe.”

Joshua was Moses’ assistant, yet God chose him as successor. God always has a purpose.

There’s a greatest power move of all time coming to your life—it will remove the veil so you see God as He truly is.

There’s a blind man in John 9. His illness was not unto death, and Jesus healed him on the Sabbath.

I am not meant to stay at the steps of life, but to move forward to my destination.

Christ is the ultimate power move of God. He was prophesied by many, and in the fullness of time He came through the womb of a virgin. She did not birth God, but He became a seed, entered her womb, and chose an egg to fertilize. Her body became God’s temple. A temple carried another temple.

Jesus’ humanity died, but His divinity rose and now lives in believers through the Holy Spirit. Whatever fills you is what will lead you.

The Three Temptations:

• Lust of the eyes

• Lust of the flesh

• Pride of life

Jesus overcame them all. Afterward, the Spirit descended on Him like a dove.

God gave us three things:

1. His Word and hunger for it.

2. Christ, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

3. The Holy Spirit after Christ returned to the Father (John 14:12–17).

The sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is vision (Joel 2:28).

In Acts 3:2, the lame man was debilitated not only in his body but also in other areas of his life. Accomplices kept him in that state.

Your name written in the Book of Life is not just about salvation but about agency—you are an agent of God’s kingdom.

• Acts 17:28 – For in Him we live and move and have our being…

I AM NOT DOING HANDOUTS ANYMORE. God is about to change my self-concept. I will feast on His glory.

• Mark 5:28 – If I may but touch His clothes, I shall be whole.

This is the faith of the Syrophoenician woman. My God keeps His promises. Where you are weak, glory will lift you. God is changing pain into power. Whatever God does is permanent.

God is giving me speed—and it will last.

Impact – What the Power Move Will Do

The power move had great impact on all those God used.

Ten Things the Power Move Will Help You Do:

1. Desire God – Delight yourself in the Lord… (Psalm 37:4, Philippians 2:12).

2. Do what you’ve never done before.

3. Destroy coping mechanisms that keep you bound.

4. Elevate your vision beyond barriers and glass ceilings.

5. Redefine what you call impossible—minimizing man’s opinion.

6. Give you new life in God, to see Him as He truly is.

7. Enable you to praise God in the very blessing He gives you.

8. Stand in blessings, good health, and overflow.

9. Receive double promotion and answers to petitions.

10. Redefine your self-concept as you master God’s power moves.

The steps of a good man are ordered by God to a destination. Power moves are going to redefine your whole life.

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