Acts 3 Some Bad News & Some Good News

INTRODUCTION

A man in the oil sales industry addressed a large group of potential consumers:

Oil Man: I've got some good news and some bad news.

Audience: What's the good news?

Oil Man: The good news is that this summer you'll be able to buy all the gasoline you want, with no shortages.

Audience: {Cheers. Then ...} What's the bad news?

Oil Man: The bad news is that you'll have to drive to Saudi Arabia to pick it up.

Here’s another one for you:

Lewis and Clark, the adventurous pair of individuals who were sent to explore West of the Mississippi when the Louisiana Purchase was acquired, were having a conversation with their team while on the expedition.

Lewis made an announcement: "Men, I have some good news and some bad news.

First, the good news: We covered more miles today than any other day on our entire trip, 50 miles.

Now the bad news: We're lost."

I think we have all experienced a “good news/bad news” scenario in our lives.

This good news/bad news formula seems to be used primarily when the bad news tends to outweigh the good news.

The good news is a kind of distraction for optimists and the bad news is a confirmation for the pessimist.

But no matter how optimistic we are almost immediately when someone says, “I have some good news and some bad news” we have been conditioned to expect the worst.

But what happens if we reverse the formula to “I have some bad news and some good news.”?

One should hope the good news would outweigh the bad, right?

If you have you ever had a time in your life where you hoped to receive something specific but rather was given something invaluably better this message will speak to you.

This morning we will read about a man who had spent his entire life as a professional beggar.

A man intimately acquainted with humiliation who came face to face with a “bad news/good news” situation

and

received something so valuable he could not stop dancing around.

While in our passage this morning, Peter does not use the phraseology “some bad news and some good news” an astute reader will hear the formula within the text.

“Acts 3:1-16 teaches us a couple of things

1. The importance of being aware of ministry opportunities

2. Where the power resides to minister to others

If you have ever found yourself wrestling with doubts about whether you are capable to minister or what Jesus can do through you to impact others, envision yourself in this text and reflect on the powerful words of Peter,

“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

PRAYER.

BACKGROUND

The book of ACTS chronicles the acts of the apostles after Jesus’ resurrection.

It describes the early Christian church and the growth it experienced, miracles which occurred and significant events within the church involving leaders such as Peter and Paul.

Keep in mind the early Christian believers were primarily Jewish.

The early followers were seen as a sect of Judaism by non-Jews and heretics by their Jewish brethern,

Yet, they continued to participate in the local synagogue and daily prayers.

Location: No one knows the place where the books of Acts was written

Authorship: Scholars support Luke as the author

Dating: It would be reasonable to date Acts around 60-70 a.d.

Purpose: Luke had a variety of purposes within ACTS but mostly you will find he imparted practical lessons rather than theological ones.

NARRATIVE

“A. Opportunity for Ministry (vv. 1–5)

“SUPPORTING IDEA: Some opportunities for ministry call on us to determine the real needs of the ones to whom we minister and the resources we have that will help them

“Acts 3:1

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.”

**The importance of a ministry partner

“Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits”.- “Mark 6:7

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.”- “Luke 10:1

Point #1- Ministry partners point out opportunities we may not initially see

Personal Story: Jeff and I talking with gang members at Shadow Tree

Point #2- It is easy to justify walking past the need

The apostles may have justified themselves thinking “we have somewhere to be” “We are supposed to be at worship service” or “we’ll catch on the way out”

When in reality God was calling them to worship Him by ministering to a beggar at that very moment.

They may have walked past the need but together they met the need.

Challenge: Who is your John? Who is the Peter in your life? Who challenges you to minister to the needy in the name of Jesus?

Or do you find that more often than not you walk past the need and justify your action?

“Acts 3:2

“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.

The temple gate was called “Beautiful” and I imagine it was a beautiful sight for those walking through the gold and silver artwork.

The gate itself was of unusual size and splendor.

Josephus gives many interesting particulars about this gate, which, he tells us, greatly excelled in workmanship and value all the others .

These were plated with Corinthian bronze which was an alloy of gold and silver.

The other gates were ornate but the Beautiful gate was more so.

It was larger than the other gates; was 50 cubits in height (75 feet) (the others 40 or 60 feet); its weight was so great that it took 20 men to move it.

Indeed, the gate was called Beautiful but no one walking in that day suspected something else incredibly beautiful would occur at this place.

Point #1- Needy people place themselves in the way for help

The crippled man was placed every day at the gate beautiful not on accident.

This would have been a high traffic area.

The location would have the greatest potential for garnering alms from faithful worshippers.

A vast majority of the people would enter every day through the Beautiful Gate.

Notice- he was being carried out there just prior to the 3:00pm prayer service- a strategic timing for begging.

He may not have sat there all day long but had friends who carried him back and forth.

They chose the best location at the most productive times.

Point #2- The crippled man had always been crippled

The crippled man had been crippled from birth.

He was now over forty years of age as Acts 4:22 specifies

This man never knew what it was to walk on his own two feet.

He had only seen the Beautiful Gate either from being carried or laying on the ground- I wonder how beautiful it was from the floor??)

The people who are placed in our paths for ministry oftentimes have always been spiritually crippled.

They have never known what it means to be spiritually healthy or to have a reconciled relationship with a God who loves them deeply.

“Luke 7:22 parallel passage

Silver & Gold Peter did not have- idols were made from silver and gold. He was not offering an idol of silver or gold but what he did have was a genuine relationship with the one true and living God.

“3:3:These men had recently been involved in an evangelistic effort which brought thousands to Christ. Now God tells them, this one lost sheep is just as important to him as the thousands to whom they preached at Pentecost. This lesson should sound a clarion note in a society obsessed with numbers and size. A pastor or congregation serving Jesus Christ in a rural church of fifty renders just as important service for the kingdom of God as the pastoral staff and sprawling congregation in an urban megachurch of five thousand. God is not interested in the number of people you and I teach or disciple or influence; he watches how faithfully we seize opportunities for ministry.

“3:4–5 Peter commanded, Look at us! The Greek form tells us the man gave the apostles his total attention, possibly expecting some unusual generosity. Why call for his attention when he had already addressed them? Because a veteran beggar would be looking well beyond his immediate clientele to whomever might be next in line. Beg to everyone, and hope a few will respond. Peter, filled with the Spirit of God, had more in mind. God forced them into a ministry opportunity they had not anticipated, but they were ready. In the seconds that passed during this brief encounter, this man could not have known what his Creator was about to do through these two potential donors

“B. Power for Ministry (vv. 6–10)

“SUPPORTING IDEA: Service for the Savior cannot be carried out in our own strength. Only divinely-empowered responses to ministry can count in any way