The Path to Faithfulness

Intro

The blindness of routine and busyness.

In 2007, the Washington Post conducted a social experiment. They had world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell, who plays Stradivarius violin worth millions, dress in jeans and a baseball cap and play as a street performer at a Washington D.C. Metro subway station during the morning rush hour. He played incredibly intricate, beautiful classical pieces for 45 minutes.

Thousands of people streamed by him. They were on their way to work. They had agendas, deadlines, and coffee to buy. In those 45 minutes, only seven people stopped to listen for more than a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, totaling just over $32. Most people didn't even turn their heads. They were in the presence of greatness, in the presence of beauty that people usually pay hundreds of dollars to witness, but their routine blinded them to it.

In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John are on a routine schedule. They are going to the temple at the hour of prayer. It would have been very easy for them to have "subway tunnel vision"—focused on their religious duty, ignoring the familiar sights and sounds of the needy around them. But on this day, the routine is interrupted by grace.

This morning I’d like to talk to you about the path to faithfulness from Acts 3. What you will see this morning is that even in the business of the every day life God has called us to be willing to stop what we are doing to share the hope of Jesus with a world in need of repentance.

Acts 3:1–26 ESV

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 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. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 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!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 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. 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

1. Pause for people’s needs.

Acts 3:1–5 ESV

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. (3 pm) 2 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. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

The difficulty of stopping when we are "religiously" busy.

There is a classic psychological study from the 1970s known as the "Good Samaritan" experiment. Researchers at Princeton Theological Seminary recruited seminary students and told them they needed to go to another building on campus to deliver a practice sermon.

Crucially, the researchers varied the amount of urgency they gave the students. Some were told, "You're late. They were expecting you a few minutes ago. You'd better hurry." Others were told, "You have plenty of time, but you might as well head over now."

On the path to the other building, the researchers planted an actor hunched over in an alleyway, coughing and groaning, clearly in distress.

The results were convicting. Of the seminary students who were in a hurry to go give a sermon about God, only 10% stopped to help the man. Several literally stepped over the victim to get to their religious appointment.

Peter and John were on their way to a religious appointment. The beggar was part of the landscape; he was there every day. It took intentional spiritual awareness for Peter to not just walk past, but to stop, direct his gaze, and say, "Look at us." Before we can offer spiritual help, we have to pause long enough to acknowledge human dignity.

Application: you cannot allow yourself to be so busy you do not have time to stop and meet people where they are so that you can do the second thing we see in the text and that is to:

2. Point people to Jesus.

Acts 3:6–10 ESV

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!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up [same Greek language used to talk of Jesus’ resurrection], and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, [up until this point because he was lame he could not enter the temple, lame and blemished priests were denied access to the inner courts] walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 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.

Deflecting attention to the true source of power.

Imagine you take a trip to verify the existence of the Grand Canyon. You hire a guide. You arrive at the rim, and the vista is overwhelming—miles of colorful rock strata, immense depth, and breathtaking beauty.

Now, imagine if your guide stood directly in front of you, blocking your view, and said, "Look at my hiking boots! Aren't they sturdy? Look at my backpack! It’s top-of-the-line. And hey, look at these leg muscles; I work out a lot to handle these trails."

You would be furious. You’d say, "Move out of the way! I didn't come here to look at you; I came to see the Canyon!"

A good guide knows they are not the main attraction; their job is to point to the main attraction. When the crowd saw the crippled man leaping and praising God, they rushed toward Peter and John like they were rock stars.

But Peter immediately acts as a good guide. He effectively says in verse 12, "Why are you staring at us? Our piety didn't do this. Our power didn't do this." He deflects the praise and points them directly to the Grand Canyon of God's grace: Jesus of Nazareth.

Application: you are not called to take glory for yourself. You are called to point people to the glory of Jesus Christ.

3. Plead for people to repent.

Acts 3:11–26 ESV

11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

The necessity of bad news before good news.

If you go to the doctor for a routine checkup, and the doctor discovers something life-threatening, they have a moral obligation to tell you the truth, even if it hurts.

It would be malpractice for a doctor to find a malignant tumor but say, "Well, I don't want to upset them today. I'll just give them a lollipop and send them home feeling happy." No, the doctor must give the hard diagnosis: "You are very sick. This will kill you." Why? Because only when you accept the diagnosis will you accept the cure—the surgery or chemotherapy that will save your life.

In the second half of this chapter, Peter performs spiritual surgery. He doesn't sugarcoat the situation for the crowd in Jerusalem. He says, "You denied the Holy and Righteous One. You asked for a murderer. You killed the Author of life." That is a crushing diagnosis.

But Peter doesn't leave them there. He pleads with them to repent so that "times of refreshing may come." He delivers the bad news of their guilt so they will be desperate for the good news of God's grace through Christ.

Application: Trust in Jesus because he alone saves us from our brokenness.

CLOSING

Pause for People’s Needs

Point People to Jesus

Plead for people to repent.

Have you trusted in Christ for your salvation? Are you to busy to be able to pause and meet people where they are so you can share Jesus with people?