Reach

 

John 20:27

27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

 

Reach = to extend, to stretch, influence, to touch

 

In each of our individual lives, I believe that there is always something outside of ourselves that God would have us to attain.

 

• There is a stretching that God requires of us.

 

There would be no need of “Faith”, if we truly had everything that we ever wanted or needed at our disposal.

 

• God requires a reaching of us in our lives.

 

• Reaching out to Him
• Reaching out to others
• Reaching out receive His blessings
• Reaching out to do His work

 

All of us here have a different reach.

• Our arms can only reach out so far.
• Example…“Stretch your harms out”
• But we have a reach nonetheless.

 

If we never stretch ourselves, we will never reach what God is asking us to reach.

 

My arms were designed to extend.

• They were created to reach.

 

• My feet were designed to reach out for the next step.
• My lunges were designed to reach out for the next breath.
• My eyes were created to help me reach out to things both near and far.
• My ears reach out for not only the small whisperings that are very close to me, but also to the sounds of things distant.

 

• Even my neck was designed to reach and pitch my head forward.

 

We were created to reach.

• We were designed to extend ourselves outward and upward.

 

This trip that I just took last week was a reaching for me.

• I did not have the time to go.
• I did not have the money to go.
• I did not have the energy to go.
• But I went because I felt God calling me to reach outside my present circumstances and into the realm of the miraculous for someone else.

 

You see if you and I never do step aside from our own conditions once in a while to reach into someone else’s life, we never will fulfill the will of God inn our lives.

 

We were not created to reach inward; we were created to reach outward.

 

• How may of you have found it easier at times to help other people than it is to help yourself?

 

• When we help others, we minister to Jesus Christ.

Mt 25: 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

 

You see we need to be careful whom we DON’T reach out to.

 

• It may just be Jesus who needs your help.

 

If I did not go to India

• If I did not reach out to those people…
• No one would say, “Jim never came”.
• They never knew me until I went there.
• I was never invited by them to come.
• We just went.

 

• They would not have even known my name or that I existed if I did not show up.  (Keith: “Showing up is the most important part of life”)

 

• But I would know that I didn’t go.
• I would know that I didn’t show up!
• I would know that something was within my reach and I did not reach out to it.
• For the rest of my live, I would have to deal with the regret that I did not try.
• And God would know that I did not reach what He put into my heart to reach out to.

 

Your greatest reach is not when someone like me encourages you to reach.

• Like some physical therapist pulling on your limbs.

 

But your greatest reach happens when you stretch yourself out to attain something that is just beyond where you are.

• Others will say you will never attain it.
• Your doubt will say it is just beyond your reach.
• But you know in your heart that if you would just stretch yourself beyond where you are at right now, you could touch it.