God Is Not In Your Box

Notes
Transcript

Secular -

Some Box Puns:
When a person is putting a box together, they use tape and stick to the job.
When a person is unpacking a box, the stuff gets injured because it’s laid out after being boxed earlier.
Boxes aren’t good at poker because the cardboard folds easily.
The person taping a box together is on a roll.
Are you Card-Bored yet?

Historical/Cultural Context -

Luke was a physician and a travel companion of the apostle Paul. He wrote the book of Acts. The earliest possible date of Acts is immediately after the events that Luke recorded in, which would have been c. A.D. 62. Acts is addressed to “Theophilus,” about whom nothing more is known. Luke’s broader audience consisted primarily of Gentile Christians like Theophilus who had already “been taught” about Jesus.

Biblical Text -

Acts 3:1–10 NKJV
Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - God Works Out Of The Box All The Time. Our Response Should Be To Help Others, Let Him Work The Way He Wishes, & Tell Others What God Has Done.

Life Point- Let’s Help Those Who Are In True Need

Exegetical

Acts 3:1–3 NLT
Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

Homiletical -

We serve a God who is not constrained by our thoughts about Him. He is wholly other and outside of our box. God can and does do whatever He wants, whenever He wants it. This recounting of the lame man proves it.
So here it is about three in the afternoon and Peter and John are heading up to the temple for prayer. This was probably something they did all the time. This day does not start out extra ordinary. It is just an ordinary day for them.
So they are coming through one of the gates it’s name is beautiful. The Gate Beautiful. So they see a man lame from birth being carried in. He couldn’t walk. So he had to have someone carry him in to the gate to beg for money.
This is an humiliating experience. a humbling one at that. Why?
It takes a lot for someone to beg, but especially this man. You see physical ailments were seen as a punishment for sin, either the parents sin or the sin of the individual.
Unfortunately we have people in churches today that believe that very thing. While physical ailments can be a punishment for sin, this is not always the case. Sin has entered out world and ravaged it and as such or genetic makeup is breaking further and further down the further we get from Adam and Eve.
We see another example of this in scripture:
John 9:1–7 NLT
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
Another reason this man is humbled is because he had to rely on other people. It is hard when you believe you are a burden on others, that they give of their time, talent, and often times money to help take care of your needs.
But that is what we are called to do church. We are called to take care of those in true need. I ain’t talking about the con-man but the one truly in need.
So here this man is, at the temple no less, surrounded by a bunch of religious people who thinks he is in sin, begging for money. Yeah, he had to be humbled by his circumstances.
When the Holy Spirit prompts you to do something for a total stranger, don’t you think you should do it? Whether that is giving food or giving a word of encouragement.
We are to be led by the Holy Spirit in situations that come up in everyday life.
Matthew 25:34–40 NLT
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Notice that the righteous did these things without even thinking about being paid back. They didn’t even know that they were taking care of the work of Jesus by showing mercy to others.
If God has shown the believers so much mercy in saving our souls then we should do the same for those in need.
Now these two are moved by the Holy Spirit to do something about it. It

Illustration -

I know people who keep bags of canned food, bathroom supplies, and even small gift cards in their cars for those they run across who are in need. They sense a prompting from the Holy Spirit and spend 2-5 minutes handing them out as they drive by. This is a good example of thinking outside our Christian boxes.

Life Point - Let God Do The Work He Wishes To Work

Exegetical -

Acts 3:4–7 NLT
Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.

Homiletical -

So Peter tells this man to look up at them. He does, expecting some help with money because no one can do anything about his legs, right?
Now Peter being Peter is straight to the point. He is like I know you expect money, but I got something better for you. He tells the man to get up and walk.
But Peter just didn’t say the words, he helped the man to his feet. He put his faith where his mouth was and did something.
Now notice this. The man was healed instantly as he was trying to get up. The man put his faith in what Peter was saying and he took Peters hand and got up.
This could have gone down several ways had it not been God’s will to heal this man.
If Peter would have ignored the prompting of the Spirit then this man would not have been healed.
If the man did not put his faith into action and took Peter’s hand, he would not have been healed.
Does God still heal today?
Yes. I have seen where a man was supposed to have surgery for a blocked artery or vein or something and the images showed that he only had one. The doctor takes more images after the entire deacon body, with the pastor, lays hands on him and anoints him with oil, with the church praying, and now where there was one in the image, there was two and no surgery was needed. This is a verifiable miracle.
Does God heal everybody instantly?
No. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a miracle. It would be just another day at the office.
I wish God healed everybody but He doesn’t.
So what is our response?
James 5:14–16 NLT
Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Our job is to believe and to pray. It is God’s business, if it is His will, for that person to be made well.
Also, just because someone isn’t healed immediately doesn’t mean they won’t get better.
Also remember that confessing our sin to one another and praying has the effect of healing a person’t spirit and mind too. Sometimes that can mean more to someone than just a physical healing. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and let Him do the work that He wishes to work.

Life Point - Tell Others What God Has Done For You

Exegetical -

Acts 3:8–10 NLT
He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded!

Homiletical -

When God does something miraculous in your life, whether that is salvation or a physical miracle, you can’t wait to just tell others about it. At least I can’t.
This man jumped up, stood on his feet and started walking. But he didn’t stop there he started jumping and praising God.
This time instead of staying outside the temple he went in with Peter and John to worship God and give thanks for what He had done.
We are supposed to praise God for the miracles that he brings into our lives, for His goodness. Yet not everyone does that. They should but they don’t
Luke 17:11–19 NLT
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
Do you think people are any different today? No they aren’t. Notice only one came back and praised God for his cleansing and he wasn’t apart of the promise of the messiah for he was a foreigner to the Jewish religious system.
Listen you are gonna have folks that you help who will not be grateful. They will not thank you, they even may have an air of entitlement. You know what we are called to do? Help them anyway and let the testimony of God’s goodness be seen by those around you.
Notice in our main text when the people saw it they were astounded. A testimony is to be shared with others, not to be hidden, not to be let go as it were.
Make sure you are telling people what Jesus has done for you. The easiest way is this:
What was happening to you?
What did Jesus do?
How are you now?
This works for witnessing too:
How were you before you met Jesus?
How did you meet Jesus?
How are you different now?

Life Principle Our Response Should Be To Help Others, Let Him Work The Way He Wishes, & Tell Others What God Has Done.

Call to Action – altar call….

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