Another Gospel Message
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Continuing the mission
Continuing the mission
Jesus had told them to wait for the gift, they did.
The results of the gift were the preaching of the first gospel message and the 3000 who were saved that day.
But the gift also brought the gift of the Church. A body of believers with one mind, a sincere heart, praising God and having favor with all people.
46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
They were Jews just a few days before, now they are Christians with a Jewish heritage.
It was custom that at 9am, 12pm and 3pm for Jewish men to pray. It was optimal if they came to the courts of the temple to do it, but that was not always feasible, but for Peter and John in our story today it is and was.
We learn more about Peter and John today in our passage they were men of:
Consistency
Sensitivity
Flexibility
Authority
And humility which then leads to the second gospel meeting and finally the challenge, the call to the people.
There is a flow to this passage from serving, to sermon, to summons
Serving (vv.1-12)
Sermon (vv.12-16)
Summons (vv.17-26)
I. Serving
I. Serving
Let us look and read (Act3:1-12)
(Have everyone open bibles and read Act3:1-12 together) - - - not on slide)
I mentioned before that they were men of consistency. They went to the temple 3 times a day to pray.
Men of consistency (prayer, petition, thanksgiving)
(Insert a prayer slide here)
The time consisted of 15 minutes of silent meditation, 30 minus of petition and 15 minutes of adoration.
When we take time to reflect, to meditate on the greatness and goodness of God and we know of His faithfulness we can come to Him confidently with our requests. We know we can take all our concerns to Him for He cares for us (Mt11:28-30; 1Pt5:7). Our problems are no problems for Him for His yoke is easy and His burdens are light. Then we should be filled with gratitude for we know He hears our prayers and our hearts are turned to worship (adoration) of Him.
Men of sensitivity (seeing with heart of compassion)
So they went to the temple to pray and they see the beggar. Someone they may have passed by many other days since they were men of consistency. In fact it is more than likely even Jesus passed by the man by the gate called beautiful. But on this day they had eyes to see the man and what the man’s real need was. (vv.2-5)
Men who see the real need was not alms but healing (vv.2-4)
These are men filled with the Spirit and lead by the Spirit and today the Spirit opened their eyes to see. May we be attentive to the Spirit too and not miss the opportunities that are before us. This was the time, this was the place that God ordained for this to happen.
Men of flexibility (don’t get strapped into routine) (vv.4-5)
They were on the way to do something they were consistent in doing, pray, a good thing, a godly thing, but God had something else for them now. They needed to be flexible, this interruption was divine inspiration. - may we not get so tied into our routines that we miss out on the divine inspiration in our lives. Not speaking of divine revelation, but inspiration
Don’t miss out on diving inspiration due to your routine; some interruptions are God’s way of work in us and through us.
Even unbelievers believe in the work of the Church, the body of believers, why do you think the man was outside the gate beautiful? Why do people who are not church people come to churches for help? The intuitively know that is what churches do.
Men of authority (God given authority) (vv.6-7)
The man wanted alms, Peter and John knew what he really needed was more and they had the authority to give it to him.
Real authority only comes in the name of Jesus (v.6)
the man looked at them when they called him to look at him, expecting to receive alms and their response was unexpected.
“Silver and gold I have none”
that sure is different then the “name it and claim it” or the “prosperity gospel” or even the “seed faith” that many churches are turning to from the true gospel.
(insert Thomas Aquinas story, illustration here) - not on a slide
Whenever we turn from the true gospel to something different we are trying to operate outside of the power given which is by Jesus and in Jesus name.
Men of humility (trust, faith in action) (vv.8-11)
The moment of truth was upon them. They called for the man to get up. A man who had never walked from birth (v.2) and by faith (their faith) they told him to get up and took him by the hand.
What was the results of their faith, their humility?
He stood with a leap (v.8)
He walked, he entered the temple praising God (v.8)
It was evident to all around and they praised God (v.9)
They were filled with wonder and amazement (vv.10-11)
(Transition) So in serving it lead to praising, praising was opening the door for real preaching (the second sermon)
II. The Sermon
II. The Sermon
12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13 “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.
14 “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
16 “And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
Like any good preacher Peter seized the moment to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not the gospel of the healing ministry of Peter and John. This was the opportunity to preach the power of Jesus. It was through faith, look at it with me.
The sermon points
This Jesus the God of their fathers had glorified
This Jesus whom they had delivered up
This Jesus whom they killed, but has been raised and we are witnesses of
This Jesus whom Peter is telling us is the Holy One of Israel.
This Jesus in which they had faith in that healed the man, not them by their power.
It was Peter and John’s faith in Jesus and the name of Jesus that healed the man.
The man was not looking for a miracle and he was given one. The real miracle was not the healing of his lameness but the healing and restoration of his soul by faith!
Miracles still happen today, every breath you take is a miracle that cannot be done without God. Its a miracle that God who is just is willing to forgive us our sins through the blood of His Son. Miracles do happen, you are one if you have been baptized into the body of Christ for the remission of sins.
III. The Summons
III. The Summons
(have everyone turn to Act3:17-26) - - - not on screen; but will break it down a verse or two or a few at at time.
The reason - Ignorance (v.17)
17 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.
It was not anything new, it should not be a surprise, it was announced by God, but it is no excuse (vv.18-19)
18 “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
The summons was for response - repent (v.19)
The proof of the ignorance, the reason (vv.20-26)
He references the return of Christ (v.20)
20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,
21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you.
23 ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days.
25 “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
This Jesus who was preached by the prophets (vv.21-22)
who heaven must receive until the time of restoration. (v.21)
Lest they be totally destroyed (v.23-34)
Further look at (Deu18-15-19)
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 16 “This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’
17 “The Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 ‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
19 ‘It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.
God made the covenant with Abraham, the seed promise. that all nations would be blessed through His seed. (Gen12:3; 22:18)
3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
This promise fulfilled through Christ Jesus whom He raised from the dead so as to
sent by God to bless them
To bless them by turning them away from their sins
So the service was done to bring about the sermon, the sermon delivered with a summons to repent, what was the result? Well next week we will look at the result for them when we look at (Act4) but for us today, what is the result?
(Lead to invitation) - - - - - Insert Invitation slide