Second Sermon

Amazement

AS the people saw the man who had been healed leaping and praising the Lord, the people were amazed. They had never seen such a miracle. They attributed the miracle to Peter and John. However, Peter quickly corrected the people. He told them that God was glorifying Jesus through this miracle.

Not only was this miracle a testimony to the power of God, but it was also an opportunity for Peter to share the gospel.

God still does miracles today. He still does them for the same reason he did them back then. To show his great power and to provide an opportunity to share the gospel.

The first miracle that I witnessed myself was the healing of my friend Bobby Webb. I had not been a christian long and my friend and associate Pastor was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The church had a 24 hour prayer time where there was someone at the alter praying for Bobby 24 consecutive hours. The next week when they went back for the final scans to come up with a treatment plan, the cancer was gone! Bobby has been cancer free for over 25 years now. What a testimony to the power of Jesus.

That miracle solidified my faith in Jesus. I knew that Jesus heard prayers and did things that go beyond what we can understand. And here we are today and this miracle still causes me to praise Jesus.

Our Sin

Peter not only gave the people an explanation of the miracle, he also called them out for their sin. He told the people that they were the ones responsible for putting Jesus on the cross. He said that they handed Him over, disowned, and murdered the Son of God. The people that were standing in amazement were also standing in judgment of the God who had just healed this man. They had rejected the Son of God.

This is our sin today. Many will say their sin is pride, or cussing, or drinking, or sexual, or selfishness. All of these are just symptoms of the one true sin that condemns us. That is the rejection of Jesus. The reason we engage in sinful behavior is because we reject Jesus and the righteousness He gives. In essence we choose sin over Jesus. That is why John says in John 3:19

John 3:19 NASB95

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

When we love sin more than Jesus we will give into temptation.

God gives us grace to overcome temptation. Grace is the power God gives us to overcome the temptation that plagues our hearts.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB95

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

This is why we pray in the :or’s prayer “Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.

Sin is the rejection of Jesus to do the works of Satan.

We have the power to overcome because Jesus came and defeated the works of Satan. He bore the penalty for it, gave us the power to overcome it, and will one day eventually remove the consequence of it. 1 John3:8

1 John 3:8 NASB95

the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Our Ignorance

Peter said that the people acted in ignorance. They did not know that Jesus was God’s Son. They did not know that God was going to raise Him from the dead. They simply saw a man that taught a teaching that was contrary to their religious system.

There are many people that are ignorant to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. They are all around us. You can notice them by there actions. You will find them uninvolved in church. People will say they can be a christian and not be a part of church. This is not Biblical. Heb. 10:25

Hebrews 10:25 NASB95

not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

We are to come together and worship Jesus and encourage one another. There are still others that simply live lifestyles of sin.

It is our job as a church to go tell everyone that Jesus is the Son of God and salvation is found in Him alone.

Acts 4:12 NASB95

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

We must make sure that people know this. Their eternal dwelling place depends on it. We must also tell them how to receive salvation.

Our Repentance

Peter told them to Acts 3:19

Acts 3:19 NASB95

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

Repentance means to have an inward change. The Greek word is Metanoia. It means to change your mind or heart. The people had to change their minds about who they thought Jesus was. They could no longer believe that He was just another religious zealot. They had to believe that He is the Son of God. In believing that they could return to a relationship with God. John 14:6

John 14:6 NASB95

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jesus made the way for people to return to God.

It us important to understand that what we believe about Jesus is much more important than what we do. What I mean by this is we gauge our salvation on our behavior rather than our belief. It is our belief in Jesus that changes our behavior.

A person can look like a christian on the outside and still be lost. However a person cannot be a christian and life a lifestyle of sin. 1 John 3:4-10

1 John 3:4–10 NASB95

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

Jesus abides in us through the Holy Spirit. His Spirit convicts us for the purpose of change.

When we repent and return to the Father our sins are wiped away and times of refreshing come.

1 John 1:9 NASB95

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As we choose to turn away from sin and follow Jesus, He washes our sins away and we can have times of refreshment.

It is kind of like this. Friday afternoon I cut grass. When I got through, I was nasty and gross. I didn’t smell good, look good, or feel good. However I recognized this and took a cold shower. It was refreshing and took the smell away, made me feel cleaner, and was a time of refreshing.

There maybe some here this morning that need a spiritual shower. It begins with what you believe about Jesus. If you believe that He is the Son of God then you can come. He will wash away all of your sin and bring times if refreshment. The other choice is you can remain nasty. What is you choice this morning?