Power (2)
Burning or Burnt • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is once more a great privilege to share the Word of God with the Saints of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church.
We are entering a time of the year in which people are more aware of doing good unto others. The Christmas season may be watered down from its spiritual perspective in popular culture, but there has been at least been some mass retention of having goodwill toward men. This is the time of year you will see initiatives and missions both secular and religious in which charity will be highlighted. Just after the feast of thanksgiving, the blur of black Friday, and the binge of cyber Monday, comes giving Tuesday. A day dedicated to spending whatever money you have left from the other days on “good” causes.
I have no problem with this influence on benevolence. In fact it can be a really good thing. I recently wrote an article that will be going out to the Central Kentucky Network of Baptists this week encouraging our churches to use this season as a reminder to be involved with our friends at Sunrise Children’s Services. I talked about a few of the ways we can do that. Feel free to find me afterwards if you’d like to know more about what you can specifically do to support their work. But I also spent a bit of the article talking about how the work of Sunrise is good, essential, and God-honoring. We need to remember this in light of a verse we looked at briefly last week:
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
When we realize that the Lord in saving us has called us to do good unto others, and especially those of the household of faith, and we recognize that groups like Sunrise Children’s Services are serving with a mission aligned with our own, united under the gospel of Jesus Christ, when we realize those things, then we are not COMPELLED as if by some form of legalism to partner with and support Sunrise, but we are ENABLED and ENCOURAGED to partner with them for the glory of God.
Church, we should absolutely be encouraged to do good unto others this Holiday season and beyond. I am thankful for the ways this church has been a force of good, compassionately serving others at their point of need in times of need. We’re partnering now with the Irishtown Toy Drive, we’ve gone to the Freeda Harris Baptist Center, we’ve done collections for Eastern Kentucky Flood Victims. Many have done countless other things both as a church and as individuals for the good of others.
My point this morning isn’t to build us up with pride and throw ourselves a party for the good we’ve done, but rather to say let’s keep it up! Let’s find more ways to steward the gifts that we have been given for the glory of God. Let’s do good unto others and to one another.
This might sound like a lofty calling. I know that many of us have limited means. But today as we approach God’s Word, I hope that we will all see that have been uniquely equipped to be an extreme source of good in this World. We should also see that being a force of good doesn’t necessarily involve financial efforts.
If you have not already, turn in your Bibles to Acts 3. Today’s section of Scripture is a story of specific incident involving two of the twelve disciples. Directly prior to this chapter we have seen the ascension of Jesus Christ, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and then the beginning stages of the church. Last week we looked at the last six verses of chapter 2 which serve as a kind of general, broad description of daily life for the new Christians.
Today we are zooming back in on a specific occurence involving Peter and John.
Let’s begin in verse 1.
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
As we seek to both wrap our minds around what is about to happen and then apply what we learn to our own lives, we need to first make sure we have a clear picture as to what is going on here.
We see Peter and John, two of the apostles walking together to go to the temple at the hour of prayer, on our modern clocks, 3 in the afternoon. Peter and John are long time friends. Not only had they been together through the miraculous forging of the early church at Pentecost, they had been taught together by Jesus both after the resurrection and before. They were two of the three disciples closest to Jesus, who witnessed His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. And their friendship likely extends even before Jesus called them to be disciples as they grew up together, fishing the same lakes.
Not every friend we have from a young age continue with us for the rest of our lives, but what a grace it is when it occurs! This friendship may have started on the seas but it was forged in the fires of ministries, bonded by the blood of Jesus. We would do well to have a shared faith uniting our own relationships.
So these two brothers in the faith head to the temple at the hour of prayer, 3 in the afternoon.
This poses an interesting question for us as the New Testament church. What in the world were these Christian leaders doing at the Jewish center of faith. Didn’t Peter just declare on Pentecost that it was the Jewish people who were responsible for the death of Christ? Further, I don’t think any of us regularly attend Jewish synagogue.
There are a few opinions on why they were there. One pastor suggests that this is before the book of Hebrews was written. The Apostles grew up as practicing Jews and so they would not have known any better than to continue to participate in the regular acts of religion that they witnessed before the crucifixion of Christ. I am not overly compelled by this argument. It is true that this event takes place before the writing of the book of Hebrews, but the apostles had spent 40 days with Christ receiving teaching on the Kingdom. I think they would’ve known from that time and/or the direct aid of the Holy Spirit that they were no longer obligated to participate in the rituals of the temple.
I think what we are most likely seeing is the continuity of the Kingdom of God. By this I mean Peter and John understand “themselves to be the followers of the Messiah, the one promised by God through the prophets; as inheritors of the promise, true children of Abraham through faith in Jesus, they continue to frequent the central place in Jewish life. They are not, however, continuing in temple worship per se; there is no record of the Jerusalem believers going up to the temple with sacrifices, for example.”
Basically, they go to the Temple with an even better understanding of what the Temple is for than those who even work in the Temple. They know that God is saving His people through Jesus Christ and thus they can go and pray to their God while sharing their faith and calling more of God’s people unto Him.
Whatever the case may be, it should be clear to all of us that the Temple is not the conduit through which what is about to happen goes down. As we progress through the early church we will see that what has come through Christ is greater than the Law and systems that captivated the minds of the average Jewish person.
That will be made known to many as this 3 pm hour of prayer is one of the highest traffic times in the daily rhythm of the temple. Which leads us to the next part of our introduction:
And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.
Laying at the Gate, was a man who had been lame, unable to walk, since birth. This would have been a common occurence in that day and time. We aren’t told the exact diagnosis of this lame individual, but we know that he has been afflicted since birth with some form of weakness that does not allow him to walk on his own. We aren’t told this in the text, but tradition suggests that this man was 40 years old. So for decades, he had been placed out front of the best gate, the Beautiful Gate, giving him the best chance of making the most money.
Injured and afflicted folks would often seek these positions as the only way for them to be able to make an income. They did not have the social programs that we have today nor the same advancements in medicine. Someone lame from birth, now 40 years later, would not have had much of a choice to do anything but beg at the gate.
So the man did this day after day, because it worked. As we’re thinking about this in the context of people being more aware of doing good this time of the year, were talking about something fairly similar to the Salvation Army bellringers. I noticed them for the first time this year in the vestibule at Kroger on Richmond Road just yesterday. Now, I’m not bringing this up because I have any sort of problem with the Salvation Army, I just want to use something we can all relate to better understand our text. The locations for the bellringers are strategically chosen to maximize the amount of donations they will collect. I remember one time as a child I was walking into the store to get Christmas presents for my family. I only had a five dollar bill to accomplish my entire Christmas list, but I really wanted to help the man who gave his time to ring that bell out front of the Walmart. So I walked up to the bucket and decided to make change, not by taking any money out of the bucket, but by tearing a corner off of my $5 bill. It had to worth at least 50 cents right? I wasn’t a very bright kid.
But the strategy worked on me! I didn’t know how money worked, but I wanted to help. I was full of Christmas cheer and wanted to share.
Now let’s take this back to our lame man by the Beautiful Gate. He was strategically placed by the nicest door at the highest traffic time of the day. And we must remember one thing: the regular Jewish people attending the temple during this hour of prayer were by and large, legalist. That means they were arduously trying to earn their favor before a holy God by their own merit. They wanted to be the best boys and girls they could be so that they could pat themselves on the back and feel good about themselves. Giving alms to the poor was seen as a way to earn their good points for the day. And our man lame from birth knew this. He was willing and ready to be the recipient of their piety. Being that he was set up at the Beautiful Gate, those jewish folk walking through this entrance were likely the most concerned with making appearances. It is almost certain that this man did very well for himself day in and day out, begging in this location.
So he sees Peter and John and asks to receive alms, receive money. And here’s what happens next:
Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
The man is expecting his money. But God has something much greater in store.
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!”
As I read through this passage I thought to myself, I wonder how disappointed the man was at this moment. How down he must have been. This man has been lame since birth. He has never even considered walking before. Think about how much dystrophy there must have been in his legs. And these two guys from out of nowhere get his attention, look him straight in the eyes, get his hopes up about receiving some cash, and then tell him to walk? What a cruel joke to play on the man.
At least it would have been cruel, if they had not been serious.
And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
Overall, this is certainly a miracle, but there is some glory in the subtleties that we might miss if we aren’t careful readers here. First, notice that Peter took the man by the hand and raised him up. That is, Peter pulled the man up. Basically, the man didn’t believe him! Yeah right! You want me to get up? Good luck with that.
But Peter knew what he said and where the power to accomplish such a feat would come from. Peter, the same Peter who doubted on the water while walking to Jesus and began to drown, now full of faith in the power of the name of Jesus Christ, extends his hand and lifts the fellow to his feet!
And it is here that we see the great and instantaneous work of the Lord in action. We’ve already said that we don’t know exactly what caused the man to be unable to walk, only that he was unable to do so since birth. So if tradition is correct, for 40 years his appendages would have grown at some degree, but not with the same strength and veracity of the rest of his body. Yet immediately, he stood! He began to walk! The muscles, the ligaments, the veins, all once barely functioning, now at the full strength of grown man! DON’T OVERLOOK THE MIRACLE HERE!
This man, lame from birth is now up and WALKING! Not only did Jesus heal this mans legs and give him strength, Jesus repaired the neuro-pathways, the nervous system that allows the brain to tell the legs what to do. AND God gave this man the immediate knowledge to know how to use his legs. We can be tempted to overlook this because we are so accustomed to adults walking. But think about what a miracle it is when a little baby takes their first steps. They teeter and totter and fall down after a step or two. This man instantly was granted the ability to run and leap! This is truly a miracle! And like all of God’s creative works, it is instantaneous! Like Adam in the garden being created as a fully formed man and we never consider how incredible it is that he is up, walking, naming the animals right on day one, but in a similar complete creative vein, this man is healed, his legs are restored and he is fully functioning.
If we aren’t able to fully picture the grandeur of the miracle here, at least he was able to. verse 8 tells us he leaped up, stood, walked, I’ll add he probably Strutted into the temple with John and Peter on either side, but after a minute he’s like man I’ve been sitting too long forget strutting, I’m leaping! But not just leaping! Ima shout a Hallelujah Because this is God who done did this to me!
As you can imagine, this created quite the scene:
And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
“When the rejoicing cripple entered the temple, the echoing chambers resounded with his jubilation. Hallelujahs rang from the vast cedar ceiling of Solomon’s Porch as everyone stopped (even the money changers) to watch the high-jumping cripple!”
They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Wonder and amazement fills the area. It serves as the perfect sermon introduction for Peter. We’ll get more into that next week. But everyone’s attention is had and the focus all throughout this scene is on the amazing thing God has done here.
So what are we to do with this story? What is the application here? I said in the onset of this message that I hope we would see how we have been uniquely gifted to be a source of good in this world and that being a force of good doesn’t necessarily involve having or using financial means. Does that mean that we read this story and believe that for us to be a force of good we have to be healers and miracle workers? Those things don’t cost money but I’m not sure how to do that!
First of all, we need to understand have a good grasp on the theology of the gift of healing. We looked at healing quite a bit in our previous serious through Matthew 8 and 9. In which Jesus was displaying His authority over creation and His rightful place as the Son of God through Healing. We should note that Christ Himself accredited His ministry by certain miracles. In the early church, He gave that same capacity to the apostles and the prophets in order that the word that they spoke might also be confirmed by signs and wonders and mighty deeds. The confirmation of any man’s ministry today is not that any longer. It is whether he matches the Word of God. This has become the standard, because it is God’s final revelation. But before the New Testament was complete in the era of the early church, the accommodating miracles gave confirmation to the gospel. If you look through the book of Acts and the epistles for that matter, you will only see healings accomplished by or in the direct presence of the Apostles.
Further, if miraculous healing were to be the norm and a regular part of the practice of believers, why is it not commanded or even encouraged really in any of the epistles to the early churches? There are many directions given including how to be filled with the Spirit even, but there is not a command given for the regular believer to go out and heal others.
Also, as I’m taking a bit a of a rabbit trail to battle those false prophets claiming the modern gift of healing, it should also be noted that in the New Testament Church, the act of healing is always done to show the power of God to unbelievers, its not done in the context of a tent filled with people who already claim belief and just want to feel better.
Even in our text today, this healing takes places to gather the attention of the Jewish people who still have not come to faith in Jesus Christ. When the man was healed it was not by the power of Peter, but in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Peter used this “full name”, if you would, so that there would be no mistake as to how, who, and why this was happening. It was an act of God through the second person of the triune God, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
There is a contextual link that we may miss, proving the messianic purpose of this healing. Verse 8 says that the lame man got up and leaped!
Isaiah 35:3–6 (ESV)
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man *leap* like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
These eschatological promises made in Isaiah began to be fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry and continue to be fulfilled in the ministry of his Apostles. This new eschatological era of fulfillment founded on Jesus the Messiah is central to Peter’s message to the witnesses of this miracle that we will look at next week.
It is clear that this healing is a continuation of the fulfillment of Scripture. Healing is not the prescription for how our church can be a force of good in this world. So then, what is? I can’t leave us hanging this morning.
Go back to 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!”
The apostles were especially gifted with the ability to heal, there is no denying that.
But there is a principle here, that if we truly wrap our minds around as a church, we will see REAL good being done in our world.
Peter looks to the man and says I don’t have silver. I don’t have Gold. But here’s what I do have. The Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Church, we might not have much. We individually might have next to nothing. But if we know the power of the name of Jesus Christ. If we know Jesus as our Savior. If we bow to Him as the Lord He is. Then what we have is more valuable than all the banks in the bluegrass. What we have is more healing than all the treatments at St. Joes. What we have is more Satisfying than all the Ale-8 in Winchester. And what we have is more needed by those around than the very air in their lungs whether they recognize it or not.
We must be bold enough to address the needs of those around us with care, compassion, and most of all with Christ!
And honestly when we read this story, we shouldn’t really be trying to identify with Peter and John. That’s not us in this story. We’re the lame man. We’re the ones who had nothing else to do but beg for whatever cheap thrill might numb our hearts desire for a brief moment only to spend the next day begging again until somehow by no work of our own we were confronted by the power of the name of Jesus Christ and we were saved by our sins by the grace of God for the glory of God.
We might not think our stories are all that dramatic but if you have been plucked from the gates of hell and saved for eternal glory, you ought to be leaping more than our man who got his legs in our story this morning. When we truly cherish the salvation we’ve been given, we’ll be celebrating too! And you know what happens when we act like we actually enjoy the salvation Christ secured for us? People are filled with wonder and amazement and want to know what happened to us! They are primed and ready to hear the gospel! We don’t know how they’ll respond, that’s between them and God. But church, may we know, cherish, and SHARE what Christ has done in our lives. I’ve asked Sarah Davis to share just that with us this morning.
Sarah Davis
Sarah Davis
You too can find salvation
Three Circles
Three Circles