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Sunday 10/26/08 #1054 “GIVERS OR TAKERS”
Text: Acts 3:1-11
INTRO:
There are 2 different types of people in this world: givers & takers. Some people really enjoy giving, they are always looking for excuses or ways to give to others & there are other people who really enjoy taking, they are always looking for excuses or ways to take from others.
What is interesting is what the Bible says about each type. It says that the givers will always have enough to give, while the takers will always be lacking, never having enough.
When we talk about giving & taking, most people think only in terms of money.
But giving & taking involves more than just money, it c/be time, grace, forgiveness.
Some people love to give all those things, while others love to take those things.
This am., in our text, we are going to take a look at 2 men who were able & willing
to give something to someone else. Freely they had received, freely they gave.
Today we will learn that we all have something to give. The problem is:
Do we want to give, or only prefer to take??? Are we givers or takers???
TURN TO TEXT: Acts 3:1 (As we continue where we stopped)
Can be divided into 2 parts: #1) The Man (vv.1-11) - #2) The Message (vv.12-26).
We will see 2 things about the man: a) His tragedy - b) His transformation.
We will see 2 things about the message: a) Sadness of it - b) Seriousness of it.
With this chapter, we start a new section. Chaps.1&2 dealt with the Principles of the early church. Starting here & all the way to chap.12, we have the Practices of the early church.
The emphasis in chaps.3 & 4 is on the name of the Lord Jesus. A name implies much more than identification; it carries with it: authority, reputation & power.
When somebody says, “You can use my name!” We then hope that the name is worth using. “I was sent by Paul Jones”… “Who is Paul Jones???” Trouble!
If an order is given in the name of the President of the United States, or the Prime Minister of Great Britain, those who receive the order know, that they are obligated to obey. If, anyone of us, was to issue orders at the White House, (if we c/get in), nobody w/pay much attention because our name has no official authority behind it.
CONT'D...
But the name of the Lord Jesus has “all authority” behind it, (Mat.28:18) for He is the Son of God. So, because His name is “above every name” (Phil. 2:9)...
He deserves our worship & obedience. What is beautiful is that, those who have Him who has all authority, have the authority to give Him to others.
I am here today because, several years ago, someone gave me Jesus.
Everyone of us have the authority from God, to give Jesus to others.
The problem is not that Jesus does not want to be given to others, the problem is that people do not want to give Jesus & all the promises that come w/Him.
The takers are very happy to take Him, but are not willing to give Him to others.
This is just the way they are, they love to take, but not to give.
May we learn today to be givers & not takers.
Luke continues his story dealing w/the practices of the early church & says….
VV.1-6 - 1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 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; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 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.”
It used to be Peter & his brother Andrew w/James & his brother John. Now it is Peter & John. Calvary had brought these 2 men into closer fellowship w/each other. By nature & temperament, these 2 were very different. Peter & John were opposites. By nature they might have gotten on each other’s nerves, but now they were walking together.
Peter & John were not so caught up w/large crowds, that they had no time for individuals. Nor were they so busy in ministry, that they had no time to pray.
They had learned their lesson well form the Lord. Even though there were already over 3,000 people in their fellowship, they had time for prayer & time to minister to 1 man. What a lesson for us!
Here we see the 1st thing about Peter: He was a man of prayer! He may have fallen asleep when the Lord asked him to pray earlier, but now, after receiving power from the H.S., he was a man of prayer. He went to the temple at the hour of prayer. In those days the people offered prayers in the temple 3 times per day:
1) Early in the morning - 2) In the afternoon - 3) At sunset.
The date of this even is not given, but the time is.
CONT'D...
It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. It is interesting that the time of prayer was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. It was the very moment when Jesus had dismissed His spirit, bowed His head & died. A fitting hour for 2 men who loved Jesus, to go to pray, in the name of Jesus, at that very hour.
The arrival of the apostles at the temple coincided w/the arrival of a man crippled from birth (v.2), who was carried there, by friends or relatives, so that he c/beg from those who came to worship & pray.
Luke tells us the tragedy in this man’s life: He was lame from birth.
Think about the parents: They were all excited to have a boy, & when they looked upon their little boy, they saw that his legs were not right.
The defect became increasingly evident as the months passed.
He could not stand & he never learned how to walk.
Think about him: He could never run & play w/other kids, he had to be carried everywhere. There had never been a day in his life, when he had not been a burden to somebody. He could not walk & he could not work. All he c/do was beg & sit there, where his friends, or relatives dropped him & hoped that his situation w/provoke pity & people w/give.
There were only 2 good places for beggars to go to beg:
1) At the door of the Temple, because people might be moved to give as they were coming to the house of God.
2) At the door of rich people, because their rich visiting friends might be moved to give. This man here had chosen the temple, while Lazarus (Lu.16) chose the rich man’s gate.
We do not know anything about this man. We are not told exactly how old he was, we are told over 40 (4:22). We don’t know where he was from, nor what his name was. All we are given is: 1) Where he laid down to beg: “at the gate called Beautiful” 2) What he did all day long: “asked alms from those who entered the temple.”
Scholars are unable to say w/certainty where the gate called “Beautiful” was located. It is believed by most of them to be the Nicanor gate, located east of the court of the Women. It provided access to the court of the Women from the court of the Gentiles. It was called “Beautiful” because its doors were made of Corinthian bronze, beautiful shinning doors.
Notice that he asked alms from those entering the temple & not leaving the temple Why??? Because on the way IN, a person’s thoughts w/be more sharply focused on the nature & character of God, than on the way OUT. CONT'D...
The superstitious people, hoping to appease God & secure His goodwill, were more disposed to drop a coin or 2 in the beggar’s hand, as they went in, than as they went out. (Maybe we s/receive tithes & offerings as people come in – just kidding!)
God had told the Israelites (Deu.15) that there s/not be any poor among them,
but the Jews ignored God’s command & refused to take care of them.
They considered giving alms to beggars, a virtue, as seen in Mat.6.
This cripple man is a vivid illustration of the lost sinner in 4 different ways:
#1) He was born lame - & all are born sinners, spiritually lame -
#2) He could not walk - & no sinner can walk w/God & please God -
#3) He was outside the temple - & sinners are outside God’s temple, the church -
#4) He was begging - & sinners are beggars, searching for satisfaction.
When he saw Peter & John, he asked them for money (v.3). To him, they were nameless worshipers. He had no clue who they were. They were leaders of a revival that was the talk of the town. Thousands had come into new life in Christ.
All he knew was that he was hungry & poor & handicapped, that life had cheated him & that if he did not get some money, he w/go to bed hungry.
He expected that they w/stop & give him some money.
We notice 2 things in v.4:
#1) Peter was not interested in the symptoms of the man’s condition. He did not ask him any question about his disability, how it had happened or when. Peter wanted to do more than restore the man physically… he wanted to do something special for him, he wanted to give him Jesus.
#2) Peter was not interested in performing a miracle without response from the man Guided by the H.S. Peter & John wanted to determine whether the man had faith, or not, to be healed. So 1st there was the request to look at them & then, there will be a request to rise up. Later in v.16, Peter will confirm that the man was healed by faith.
In no time the crippled man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them (v.5). He will indeed, receive something from them, but not exactly what he was expected.
Peter continued to be the spokesman as John remains silent (v.6). Peter was not a rich man. The money from the people who sold lands & valuables did not belong to Peter. What Peter gave to the crippled beggar was of far greater value than any amount of silver or gold. No money in the world could have given him back his legs.
A witty old preacher once said: “The crippled beggar asked for alms and he got legs”
CONT'D...
Peter healed the crippled man in the name of J. C. of Nazareth. For over 40 years, this man had been paralyzed/ immobile & was about to use his legs for the 1st time. Peter called on the name of Jesus to show him the healing power of Jesus. It was not Peter, but Jesus who granted the restoration. The beggar had heard of Jesus, all Jerusalem had heard of Jesus. Since Pentecost, thousands had believed & were talking about Jesus.
At this point the crippled man c/have argued w/Peter: “What are you talking about, telling me to rise up & walk. Don’t you know I have never done that in my entire life! Haven’t you notice that I am crippled & cannot get up & cannot walk?”
Nobody had ever talked to him like that before. But he remained silent w/his eyes still fixed on Peter. Dr. Luke goes on…
VV.7-11 - 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 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. 11 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.
Peter went 1 step further: Not only did he talk to the man & asked him to get up, he grabbed him by the right hand & lifted him up. It takes a lot of faith to do that.
I often wanted to do that, take someone’s hand & pull them out of their wheelchair, in the name of Jesus, but I always been afraid that they w/fall down, hurt themselves & take me to court.
So here we see a 2nd thing about Peter: He was a man of faith.
As we continue, we will see 6 more things about Peter.
What Peter did here, was follow the same procedure Jesus had practiced when He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. Jesus took her hand & helped her up.
In both cases, the miracle took place after the patients extended the hand by faith.
Again, at this point the crippled man c/have objected & said: “Don’t touch me.
What are you doing? Let me go, don’t you know that I am crippled & cannot get up?” But he did not say a word & as Peter was lifting him up, his feet & ankles received strength. The crippled man could only stand & walk if he put his faith in Jesus.
So he did... & What a feeling that must have been for that man!!!
Something he never felt before.
Even though the man had never been able to walk before, he tried & had no difficulties what-so-ever. CONT'D...
His walking turned into jumping (v.8). Realizing that God had performed a miracle in his life, he pronounced words of praise & thanks to God. When we remember the slow, painful process an infant goes thru in learning to walk, we realize how wonderful it was for this man to walk & leap right away, for the 1st time in his life.
This miracle, performed in the Name of Jesus, was a further testimony to the people of Israel that the One they had crucified was alive & was willing to be their Healer & Savior.
Now, notice what the man did. He was a new man w/new legs & c/have gone anywhere he wanted to go. He c/have gone home, or run to see his friends. No!
Where did he go??? “he entered the temple w/them” (v.8). He accompanied them into the temple, the place of fellowship & prayer.
It is always a good sign in a life touched & transformed by the name of Jesus.
It is a bad sign to desire to remain in the bar, poolroom, or racetrack.
He had a desire to accompany the apostles into the temple, to express his gratitude to God, like the 1 leper who returned to Jesus after he was healed by Jesus.
To say we are healed & yet have no love for the house of prayer is a contradiction!
Notice, he was praising God & not praising the apostles. He knew who had healed him. Someone said: “we may give a tip to the messenger, but we must return thanks to the sender”.
So after the tragedy in the man’s life, we see his transformation!
We are not told how long the 3 men (2 apostles & the healed man) stayed & prayed in the temple (v.9). Luke relates the reaction of the people who witnessed the miracle.
For many years they had known the crippled man as a beggar seated at the gate called “Beautiful”. They also knew that his infirmity was a birth defect that made it impossible for him to walk. They recognized him & heard him praise God for healing him. They were amazed in reaction to a wonderful act of God.
The world is always astonished at the evidence of new life in Christ.
As Jesus used to perform miracles in their midst, now His apostles performed them in His name. What Jesus began during His earthly ministry was continued thru His immediate followers.
The healed man was hanging on to the 2 apostles, as if to indicate to the crowd that the disciples of Jesus had been instrumental in healing him (v.11).
It is the right thing to do, for the new convert to hang on to believers.
The new believer will not go far astray if he does that. CONT'D...
Earlier the sound of a mighty rushing wind had caused a crowd to gather together, this time a miracle, caused a crowd to gather together. There is nothing like a changed life to draw a crowd.
When the crowd gathered, the healed man did not say anything, Peter did not either ask him to say anything, no special advertisement for the Lord.
Peter was anointed to preach & he will do that, as we continue next week.
CLOSING:
What a story! The 2 men going to the temple that day had no idea what w/happen. They did not have a clue that God was going to use them mightily that day & perform a mighty miracle thru them. They simply went to church as usual that day.
The crippled man had no idea he was going to be carried for the last time that day. He did not have a clue that God was going to use 2 guys coming to church, to heal him. We never know what God is going to do next.
As usual the beggar asked for money…. That’s what he was doing for a living.
Peter assured him that he had none of that to give, however, such as was in his power, whatever was entrusted to him, he was willing to give. Peter & John did not have any money, but they had something that the Lord had given them & that was FAITH & POWER of the H.S. So they gave what they had. They were givers.
They did not look the other way, or find an excuse not to give.
They could have ignored that beggar & go right to their prayer meeting.
Having the same flesh that we have, it was not in their nature either to give.
But they listened to the Lord who wanted to do a mighty work in that man.
The salvation of his soul was the bottom line here.
We may not always be able to give to people. We may not have extra money (silver or gold) to give to help someone. But if we are givers by nature & not takers, the Lord will speak to our heart & will guide us. If we listen to the Lord, He will show us HOW & WHAT we can give.
It may not be money, it may not be a mighty miracle of healing... it may be our time, or something else….. it may only be a cup of cold water... but a cup of water, given in the name of Jesus, may bring the soul to salvation, in the name of Jesus.
There are many ways to give them Jesus, even when they do not want to hear that Name.
CONT'D...
There is absolutely nothing that we have, that was not given to us by God.
Let’s ask Him what He wants to do with what He has given us. He is a Giver by nature, let’s ask Him to make us givers by nature.
Let’s be willing to give to others... we all have something to give. Jesus is the greatest gift we can ever give to anyone. Let us not be takers, knowing that God makes sure that takers never have anything to give.
Let’s give them Jesus.
But before we leave today, let’s examine ourselves & find out which type of people we are… We are either givers, or takers.
