Acts 3:11-26
Notes
Transcript
Peter Speaks on the Temple Mount
Peter Speaks on the Temple Mount
Good morning friends, I trust you’ve had a good week.
We are here in the month of March, and spring will be here before we know it. I’m excited.
I want to encourage you to pray for those around you. There are so many who are walking through some struggles that we are unaware of at times.
As the children of God, be sure, be faithful to pray for each other.
And then I want to encourage you to pray for our church, its leaders, myself, deacons and ministry leaders as we serve and seek God’s will and direction everyday
And the last thing I want you to pray for is revival. Asking God to stir us( Steering in us to make us more like Him in all things) and lead us for His glory.
Now today we come back to Acts chapter 3, it is the aftermath of the healing of the man born lame who was healed at the gate called beautiful. Wow...
Then he entered the temple, walking and praising God.
And so today, we look at the scene that unfolded after his healing....
So let me share this verse with you as our core as we look at the rest of this chapter.
16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
So lets begin with this thought my friends, As all this was unfolding, there was a Compelling Sight....
1. Compelling Sight....
Now remember what we looked at last week, there was a man who was lame from birth, one who had never walked, at best he might have been able to drag himself around some perhaps while at home.
But anything else required the help of others. And we know that daily people near to him brought him, literally carried him to the gate called Beautiful that he might beg from alms from those coming to the temple mount to worship.
So daily he begged, seeking alms.. Until this day, this day Peter and John came to the temple and through the Lord Jesus extended a much better gift by faith to this man who was born name.
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
Wow, what a day, Up until this point this had been just like most days, he sat begging, dependent upon the generosity of others and their faithfulness to the law.
But now he has been made whole! And verses 8 and 9 say the man was leaping, standing, walking and praising God. His life had been changed and he didn;t forget to give God thanks.
He was whole for the first time in His life and he praised the Lord
So He entered the temple with Peter and John and we know that many asked, “....isn’t that the one who begged?....”
It was, and they wanted to know what happened.... so here is that happened..... look at verse 11.
Now look at Acts 3:11
11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s.
All the people ran over to see what happened! They were curious, they saw him begging and now he is taking victory laps on these healed legs and feet. They wanted to know how did this happen...
Don’t we like to know what happened when it comes to the simplest things in life.
So did they...
Let me tell you this, do you know God is at work all around you and I think He is waiting for you to ask, What you doing, Father.... can I help? Can I share in this?
The answer is yes, but you have to ask Him, seek the Lord with your whole heart my friends, when we do that the Scriptures promise that we will find Him.
It was a compelling sight, they wondered what was happening...
Now this brings us to a second thought..
2. A Bold Witness....
As these people gathered around Peter, John and this healed man, well Peter wasn’t one to let a good opportunity pass him up.
So Peter begins to speak up, Acts 3:12
12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
Peter tells them, You men of Israel. Now we say men because there were different places on the temple area for the men and for women. This area would be only men.
So Peter says Men of Israel, Why are you wondering about this??? why do you marvel???
And why are you staring at us, As if we made this man walk.
There are two implications with what Paul is saying here. A.) Why does a man’s healing amaze you?
We are in the temple area in front of God’s temple. Isn’t God a God who heals?
Peter is calling them to know and remember just who God is…
B.) But secondly, Why would you think we did this, are we God? Heavens no! We are men like you, it is not within our pay grade to do this… Our life before God (Piety- Our right standing) doesn’t even qualify us...
But, Let me tell you what happened here my friends....
Look at verses 13-16 Acts 3:13-16
13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
As you look at the passage you see that Peter does a couple of things here.
A. Do you remember Jesus, the one you denied, the one you knew as innocent but still delivered Him over to crucifixion by Pilate, choosing a murder to even be released over Jesus.
B. This innocent servant, Jesus, the God of your Fathers has gloried and used Him, the Holy and Righteous One, whom was killed, and whom God raised from the dead, whom we are a witness too...
Remember they saw the empty tomb and the resurrected Jesus.
By faith, this man, believed in the name of Jesus and was healed.
Peter puts it on the line, we didn’t do this but Jesus did as this man exercised faith in His very name.
It was a bold witness, backed up by the testimony of Peter and John, but now also by this man who was lame and is now whole.
I want to share this with you my friends, you have a testimony, it is one of the strongest tools you have in your life.
You were lost but now found, You were sick or in need and Jesus healed and helped. You were facing death and had no hope but now you ave hope and life..
Take your bold witness and share it with others....
And this brings us to the last thought....
3. A Call to Repent.....
If there is one truth I want you to hear today, it is this: When you hear the truth, you have to make a decision.
You either make a decision positively or negatively, you make a decision to accept it or reject it.
That is always the case...
Peter has been sharing Christ in the midst of this man’s healing , and look at what happens… verses 17-21
17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.
This is a beautiful passage,
Peter tells them, I know you acted in ignorance, as did your rulers. In ignorance they did not recognize Jesus as the holy and righteous one of God.
If they had known who Jesus was, they would have listened to Him. And by nature, they would not have crucified Him.
But now they are presented with a choice....
Life is full of choices my friends, but the choice here is the greatest, it is the difference between life and death.
Peter calls for these men to repent and and turn back to God. Look again at verse 19
19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
While they had previously rejected God’s Messiah, and thus God they left themselves condemned and in need of help.
They have sinned against God, and Peter gives them a clear call.... in light of now knowing who Jesus is, you are now called Repent and Turn Back, that your sins may be blotted out.
To repent mean to recognize and know your sin and one makes the decision to turn from it.
These Jewish brothers were to have a complete change of mind, they were to turn from their previous ways and evaluations of Jesus. Turning to Him now, seeking His face and forgiveness that they might be saved and forgiven.
In turning back to God, Peter days their sins would be blotted out.
The word blotted out here means to abolish, wipe away, and erase.
When you think of sin like this, it tells us that God promises to do away with our sin and He will remember it no more.
25 “I, I am he
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
God desires to and promise to blot out the sin of those who turn to him. Redemption and forgiveness is not our work, Heavens no, it is His work based entirely upon His mercy and love.
Even though their sins were many ( just like ours). To those who turn to Jesus and exercise faith in Him, God applies the blood to their life and forgives their sin. God cancels our debt!
Paul affirms this, He says this in Col 2:13-14
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Do you see that… Those who were dead, God made alive in Christ.
These Jewish men Peter is giving the call to repent and change their mind, their destination and their faith!
Then and only then could they experience what Peter calls the times of refreshing...
What does that mean, “Time of refreshing?” The idea of a person coming to faith in Christ, and to have a time of refreshing is to be restored.
We were made for God and in Christ we are in Him again, no longer separated but instead restored to our place in and with Him.
So we live and walk with and in Christ, we have a new life, a new birth and a new name, Child of the Living God. And being in Him we wait until He returns...
Go look at verse 21
21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.
Return from where, we know Acts 1, Jesus ascended back to heaven.
He did this so that the Holy Spirit could enter the world and work on behalf of the Father’s will. But there is a future day when He will return to gather His church and later restore the Kingdom of God for a season.
We wait for that day, working serving and praying untill He gathers us home.
But all this comes down to the choice these men will make?
We my friends have choices everyday, ......
Choices to avoid sin or run to it.
Choices to receive Jesus as Savior or not
Choices to be forgiven and saved or to be lost
Choices to glorify God with your new life that has been found in Him
So what choices will you make today? He is calling you ?
I want to invite you to come and meet in this altar, asking God for forgiveness, for help, and for strength to stand faithful in difficult times.
I want to invite you to come and pray for a lost person
Come pray for your neighbors, your family and your friends.
Come and ask God to have his way in your life.
Come and ask God to send revival in and through our lives.
lets pray
11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
Compelling sight
Bold Witness
A Call to Repent