The Acts of The Holy Spirit
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
Healing Doesn’t Pose a Threat
Healing Doesn’t Pose a Threat
I heard it said that some people want to be like the church in the book of Acts.
I thought that as well.
11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.
They rushed out to Solomons’s Colonnade, This was a place where Jesus taught also known as “Solomon’s porch.” Jn 10:23 “23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.”
It was also a favored place for Jerusalem Christians Acts 5:12 “12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.”
So this man who was lamed followed the apostles to this place called Solomons porch. He’s enthusiastically holding on to Peter and John all the while a large crowd is following them.
I love the fact that this lame man was enthusiastic about his blessing.
When was the last time you where that enthusiastic about a blessing from God?
when was the last time you where enthusiastic about your marriage.
About your health
About your job
About salvation
About your kids
About your church
Or the country God has placed you in
Or are you always angry maybe bitter , or dejected about life.
12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
When Peter says “people of Israel” or “Men of Israel” he’s speaking to there identity. He’s meeting them where they are at. He’s relating to how they are related to God in human history.
Then Peter immediately shift the focus off Himself and puts it on our Lord Jesus Christ.
Allot of times we put undue focus on human agents who God use and it strips away from Gods glory.
There are some churches you go to the Pastor is sitting on a throne nice and comfortable the finest cushin you can think of. And the church is sitting on hard benches where people are getting spenters the chairs have no back to them.
Peter knew that he had to shift the focus fast.
Later in Lystra Paul healed a certain man who was crippled, and these people who where pagans started worshipping Paul and Barnabas They called Paul Hermes and Barnabas Zeus.
So Peter knew this could easily happen to him if Christ wasn’t glorified in this situation.
Jewish people often thought wonder workers did miracles (e.g. causing rain ) by their great piety or godliness, or how spiritual they are. Only if I had a little more faith then I’ve could’ve been healed.
Its not by your virtue healing happened but by Christ virtue healing happened.
Luke emphasizes that the apostles were normal people, filled with God’s Spirit Acts 14:15 “15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,”
After Peter healed the lame man. He took the opportunity to preach the gospel.
Healing always precedes the gospel message.
No healing is designed to stand on its own.
The healing alone doesn’t pose a threat
Actually in chapter four it was the preaching of Jesus and the resurrection that got Peter and John arrested not the miracle.
It was the preaching that 5,000 souls where converted not the miracle. The mircle helped draw the crowd by the glory was in the gospel!
It was the gospel that people fear that was deemed illegal.
People don’t care that you are a good person, they welcome that. They don’t care that you are feeding the homeless they are all about it.
They don’t care if you are opening a recovering center, giving vaccination shots, building wells in Africa etc. Etc. Any humanitarian work to perserve the human race they are all about it.
But as soon as you open your mouth about Jesus His resurrection. Him being the only way! Its a big rub.
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
Peter who was once scared and running from these people not He’s boldly looking at these same people and saying you rejected Jesus before Pilate
14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
Peter gives Jesus Christ three titles here.
His Servant Jesus - Peter said that the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob has brought glory to His servant
Theres no glory in servitude naturally.
Usually you are stripped of your glory .
Usually you are stripped of your glory and it goes to the Master.
The glory usually belongs to another as your serving.
Theres glory in our servitude for The LORD
Jesus was One whom served are we greater then our Master?
Matt 20: 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The Holy ad Righteous One- They rejected the Holy and Righteous One and released a murderer.
They rejected all that is pure all that is good for evil.
The Prince of Life
NLT Acts 3:15 You killed the author of life,
They killed the Author of Life. The Irony ! But yet God raised Him from the dead!
The accepted a murdered and killed the author of life. They accepted this revolutionary in modern day terms he would be considered a terrorist.
Hebrews 12:2 “2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Jesus is the author of creation as well as He is the author of redemption.
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.
20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.
21 For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.
The final restoration was a picture of the restoration of the lame man. The very healing of the lame man was just a glimpse of when Christ will restore all things to Himself .
The lame mans restoration was temporal Gods restoration was eternal.