Healing of the Lame Man
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Review ALL IN series. Purpose for the series: how our discipleship process is just beginning like it was for them…
Review where we are: we just finished Acts 2, after Upper Room Outpouring, after Peter’s first sermon, and the overview of the first days of the early church…
Review Last Week: Day by Day…
What we have seen is a brief overview of what the early church looked like.
Literary tool used in much of the biblical writings: overview, then detailed look.
Now, we will see a bit more about how this played out on a more granular level in the lives of the members of the early church…
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.
4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!”
5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”
7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Explain Christianity as a continuation of Judaism, not a “new” religion.
Peter and John were going to the time of prayer like they always did…
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
9th hour = 3pm, time of the evening prayer…
This would have been a “normal” occurrence for Peter and John. (i.e. they weren’t out on a special trip intended for evangelism; day by day)
They were still intending to pray with the Jews, as a Jew who had seen the messiah.
2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
Lame from birth… Not just limping around, but lame… No use of his legs… No strength… No purpose…
He was being “carried along…”
At the same time Peter and John are going to the temple for a routine prayer, the lame man is set for a routine day of begging…
Mundane, normal, nothing out of the ordinary…
“They” would bring him to the gate and lay him down.
They did all they could for him, but he always ended up in the same place…
There comes a point when even the best help finds its end… but God…
Have you ever had those times when no matter what you try, you always find yourself in the same place?
3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.
4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!”
How many times in the course of every day life do you look without seeing?
In the living of this life of “normal Christianity” we must fix our gaze on those around us…
There are lost and hurting people all around that need to hear about the hope we carry…
We cannot afford to carry on with our heads down any longer.
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few…
The world is looking for peace in the midst of chaos…
In the midst of all the scandals and craziness, drama on every news station, everyone crying victim, tornados and earthquakes, and at some point, we need to have the boldness to say ‘LOOK AT US!’
5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
Expecting…
What do you expect?
God tends to be the God of the unexpected…
When they expected a warrior messiah, He came as a babe in a manger…
When they expected a governmental overthrow, Jesus introduces a new kingdom not of this world…
They expected Jesus to be lifted up on a throne, but instead He is lifted up on a cross…
He’s the God of the unexpected!
What do you expect?
This is why I think the second coming will look differently than we expect…
The lame man is expecting to receive charity, but Peter and John serve the God of the unexpected…
6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”
You can’t give what you don’t have…
Peter said, “What I do have…”
I think those who refuse to believe in the supernatural fail to see the miracle of salvation for what it is…
Salvation isn’t just a commitment to behavior modification…
You’re not cleaning yourself up…
It’s not just hope of a future…
Salvation is a supernatural transformation…
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Expand on this. Salvation is a miracle. If there are no miracles, there is no salvation.
I know God can do it, because He did it in me… If he can save me, He can heal you…
6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”
IN THE NAME of Jesu Christ…
I’ve got it, but it’s not mine… It’s in me, but not of me…
Just like we are in this world, but not of this world…
Explain “in the name”
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We carry the authority of Heaven in us… I may not have it all, but that which I do have, I give freely…
7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Jesus said healing is the children’s bread…
As an assembly of God church, we believe divine healing is provided for in the atonement…
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
I believe in going to the doctor. I believe in eating right. I believe in taking care of your body…
But when all of that has carried you as far as it can go, just as they carried the lame man to the gate called Beautiful, then it is time for God to step in as the Great Physician…
We recognize that there have been abuses regarding divine healing. Excessive claims and unfounded judgments are offered by some. But we must not let that cause us to retreat from a positive proclamation of the truth of the Scripture. Peter and John were able to say to the lame man who was to be healed, “What I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6). May we, too, remain committed to the reality of the power of God to effect divine healing.
-AG Position Paper: Divine Healing
Altar Call: Pray for Healing