A Broken Man at the Beautiful Gate
Notes
Transcript
Acts 3:1-10
Acts 3:1-10
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.
Introduction: RECAP of ACTS 2
This man was sat out daily at the gate called beautiful. It was the way of the day. The crippled or diseased were not allowed in the temple. The broken people were not allowed in the temple (church). Much like many of our churches today. We don’t want the broken people, forgetting that we are broken ourselves.
The ones who were unable to work were brought and sat near the gates because it was the busiest place in the city and they could beg for donations. The church people of the day would give them alms but not let them go in. They had to stay out side the gate.
Divine Interruption
Peter and John were going to pray. 3:00 PM. An hour of prayer, 15 minutes of meditation, 30 minutes of petition, 15 minutes of adoration. Mediate on his greatness and goodness, gain confidence for your petitions, overflow of worship.
Their intended journey encountered a divine interruption.
This man who we find out in Acts 4 had been crippled for over 40 years was at the gate begging. A broken man at a beautiful gate. This was a daily time of prayer. How many times had Peter and John made this journey? How many times had they seen this man during their lives and walked on by? How many times had they given alms to the man?
He sat right outside the gate to the temple. Hundreds or thousands of people walked by him daily on their way to church. They all left him sitting in his broken condition. Maybe they gave alms, sometimes they didn’t. For 40 years, he watched people go into the temple and come out. And he stayed in the same condition.
Peter and John were on their way to pray. They did not have time for interruptions. But today their plans are interrupted by a divine appointment.
Are we willing to let God interrupt our plans? One of the reasons we do not see more people healed today and set free from bondage today or even saved in many churches today is because we are more dedicated to our routines than we are to Jesus. We are more married to our set schedule and set time to get out and go eat dinner than we are to the presence of God. The reason we do not see great moves of God in our services is because we won’t let him.
We have forgotten this is all about him and not about us!!! We pray for the Holy Spirit to send revival. We pray for the Holy Spirit to come into our services but we won’t allow Him the space to interrupt it and take over. Many of our churches have not seen a move of the Holy Spirit in so long, they would freak out if He showed up.
Even outside of our church time, do we have time to be interrupted and stop and talk to a lost person and share the gospel? Do we have time to pray with someone in need? Do we have time in our busy schedule to do what Jesus said and heal the sick and cast out demons? Do we have time for divine interruptions? Or are we too busy with our own lives to be concerned about the condition of others or about fulfilling the Great Commission that Jesus has given us?
Peter and John were interrupted. Have you ever been on your way to do one thing and God interrupt your day? Have you ever been in a situation that seems like a coincidence but then you realize it is a divine appointment?
What was different about today than every other day Peter and John went up to pray? This time, they are filled with the Holy Ghost, endued with power from on High. And as we read on in the story, Peter and John are not just going up to pray like they had done so many times in their lives. This time, they are actually going up to preach about the Man who the leaders of the temple had killed but who had rose again. Most likely, these two men would not even be welcomed in the temple any longer.
You do things a little differently when you are led by the Holy Spirit. Being led by the Holy Spirit means you allow Him to control your calendar and your clock. The Holy Spirit gives boldness that you did not have before.
When you are led by the Holy Spirit, He says go and you go. He says stop and you stop. He says speak and you speak. He says “shut up,” and you shut up.
Look who is leading this interaction. You would expect John, the beloved, to be the leader, not Peter the denier.
Normally, they might throw a little something in the bucket and walk on by. This time, Peter stops and fixes his eyes on the man. He says, “Look at us.” Peter realizes this is not just another day and this is not just another interruption. This is a divine appointment with a broken man who God wants to make whole.
2. Do you have anything to give?
Acts 3:5 “So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.”
He expected to receive “something”. He was not going to get what He expected. He was going to get something much greater. But at least he expected something. Most of the time, we don’t even expect anything and then we get mad at God when we do not get what we didn’t even expect to get in the first place.
Acts 3:6 “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.”
Peter could not give what he did not have. He did not have any money. But he had something so much greater. You cannot give what you do not have. But if you have Jesus, you have something to give!!
Anybody here got Jesus? If you have Jesus, why do you want to keep Him to yourself? You have the greatest treasure the world has ever known. Why would we not want everyone to know? The treasure inside of you is not just for you. Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give.” The deposit made in you is so you can deposit into someone else.
“In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”
Not in their own authority. In the authority of Jesus Christ that He gave them. And the authority He has given us.
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
These are the last words of Jesus before He ascended to heaven recorded in Mark. the gospel of Mark is believed to be written based on Peter’s eyewitness account. Peter heard these words from Jesus before He ascended to the Father. Now Peter is doing exactly what Jesus said He would do.
So many times, they had seen Jesus do the same things. John said if He had written of all the things Jesus did, the world could not contain the books. The word “Christian” was originally meant as a derogatory term. It was coined at Antioch and means “Little Christs.” The people would see them coming and say, “Here come those little Christs,” mocking them for being like Jesus.
If we are to carry the name Christian, should we not be doing the same things Jesus did? And Jesus said, “You will do even greater works.”
GOD GETS THE GLORY
Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.
So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
The people are amazed that the man they knew as the lame man is now walking. Peter does not use this as an opportunity to promote himself. People today carry their phone with them to make sure that anytime they help someone or someone gets healed or a demon gets cast out, it gets caught on video so they can build a bigger audience for themselves.
Peter refuses to take any credit. He is not concerned with a bigger platform or becoming an influencer. He is concerned with preaching Jesus. Peter, John, and the other apostles never chased clout or miracles. They just chased Jesus.
Peter makes certain all the credit and glory go to Jesus. You would think everyone would be happy that this man could now walk.
Not everyone will be happy when you or someone else gets healed or set free.
Revival makes religious people upset. Religious people get afraid when God starts doing something they had not planned, cannot explain, and cannot control.
Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,
being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
When things seem to get out of control, you can always count on the religious people to try to shut it down. Revival is messy and religious people want to maintain control. This is often what stops the spread of revival today. Men try to put their hand on what the Holy Spirit is doing then He lets go.
The high priest and others question Peter and John in front of all the people. And Peter takes it as another chance to preach the gospel.
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.
And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
The realized they had been with JESUS!!!!!
They could not deny the man who was standing in front of them. They cannot deny when a person who has been a drug addict for years is suddenly sober and delivered. They cannot deny when someone comes in strung out on meth and leaves in their right mind. They cannot deny a person whose cancer tumor disappears overnight. They cannot deny watching a young person’s self harm scars disappear in front of their eyes.
They can argue all they want. They can fight against revival if they want but when the Spirit of God takes over and people get set free, healed, and delivered, they won’t be able to deny it.
Acts 4:19–20 “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.””
CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP
All we can do is speak what we have both seen and heard. We cannot deny what we know to be true.
You do you, boo. I will never stop proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ. I know who He is. I know what He can do. Peter and John are saying, “You have waited too late to change my mind. I have seen too much.”
Acts 4:4 “However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”
The purpose of miracles is to bring people into the Kingdom. They are not about gaining notoriety for yourself. They are not about increasing your following. They are about increasing Jesus’s following. They are about making Jesus known and glorified. Miracles are about winning souls.
Miracles are about revival!!
