A Healing and a Sermon

In this third chapter of Acts we have the apostle Peter’s second sermon and his first healing.

1. Peter’s first healing

a. The disabled man’s plight

b. The disabled man’s perfect healing

c. The disabled man’s praise

2. Peter’s second sermon

Jesus is reigning as King

The days of fulfillment are here

Jesus has come to bless you

Peter’s first healing

Peter and John we’re told are headed to the temple to pray as chapter three of the Book of Acts opens up. We’re told it was the hour of prayer, or the ninth hour. If you want to learn how to calculate your biblical time clocks, the ninth hour is based on zero hour being 6am. This means the ninth hour is 3pm. At 3pm, on the way to the temple to pray, Peter and John are stopped by a disabled man.

Q: What time is the 9th hour?

A: 3pm

Notice with me three things about this disabled man - his plight, his healing, and his praise.

The disabled man’s plight (vv. 1-5)

Look with me at this man’s plight - the plight of the disabled man.

At 3pm, the sun’s rays are beginning to flatten out and shadows are beginning to fall. Sunset approaches quickly. The waning hours of daylight fall across a man who is seated by the side of the road. This man is disabled. Luke tells us this man was lame from his mother’s womb - lame from birth, says the NIV. Lame from birth.

This man had never known what it was to be independent. He had never been able to walk or even to hobble, let alone run or jog. Disabilities are focused on today in our world. Facilities are handicap accessible. It’s surprising how much of a presence disabled people have in the Bible.

And this man here, not only was he disabled - he was also asking for help. We’re tempted to read this and think of the men and women who sit along the side of the road or at intersections begging for help. We look down on that, rightly or wrongly. Regardless, giving financial help to the needy was highly approved of in Judaism. In fact, one author I read this past week said that giving financial help to the needy was an act of Jewish worship, and so it makes sense that this man would sit outside the temple.

Now, being disabled can, not always, but it can result in a person being pretty self-focused. It’s understandable that that happens. But what’s more important about this story is how Jesus changes the goal and the priorities of this disabled man. Look with me at verses 3-5: Acts 3:3-5

Acts 3:3–5 NIV

When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

The disabled man’s perfect healing (vv. 6-7)

And so, moving ahead to the disabled man’s healing, we read in verse 6: “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Now look at what Peter says, verse 6: “Silver and gold I do not have.” It wouldn’t have been wrong for Peter and John to have given this man silver and gold, if they had it.

I heard a story recently about a college student who gave his “tithe” one Sunday at church. Apparently he knew this verse: “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I gave to you...” As the story goes, this guy actually took this verse seriously. He didn’t have money, or silver or gold, but he did have a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit. So he wrapped up his biscuit and put it in the offering place with a little note carefully attached to it. What do you think the note said? “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I give unto you”. [Merida p46]

There is nothing wrong with giving money wisely and judiciously to the poor and needy. In fact we’re commanded to do so both as individuals and as a church. But money can never be the only thing we give, because money is not only thing we need. Nor is it even the most important.

And so Peter was saying to this man, essentially, “Look, I might give you silver and gold if I had it, but I don’t, and that’s okay, because what I do have is far better.” He’s saying, “You might be poor, but you have deeper needs than the material and financial. You might be disabled, but you have deeper needs than the physical and bodily. If you will let him,” Peter is saying to this man, and to us, “God wants to use your material and physical needs to remind you your spiritual needs.”

This is one of the reasons why we must never settle, as a church, for merely helping people physically. We can never be satisfied with helping people financially. Money tends to blind us to our spiritual problems. Having financial resources gives us a false sense of sufficiency. Jesus said this to the church at Laodicea: Rev. 3:17

Revelation 3:17 ESV

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Fall Festival 2021

44 registration forms

134 people listed

12 families want follow-up

100 children and adults heard the gospel

Final count: more than 225

A person in need of our help is an opportunity to talk about Jesus Christ and how He not only meets our needs, but He also shows us that our deepest needs are the ones we never even realized we had, and in Him we find a satisfaction that is deep and meaningful and that makes our other needs pale in comparison. That, church, is what we want the 225 people who came to our fall festival to know.

We want them to know that Jesus Himself is so satisfying that we can endure the not having those other needs met. In Christ, we can say with Paul that though “our outer man is decaying”, though we be hungry and thirsty and sick, “though our outer man is decaying,” he says, yet in Christ “our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2Cor. 4:16 NASB).

2Cor 4:17-18

2 Corinthians 4:17–18 NIV

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This man’s needs were many, but his deepest need was forgiveness and eternal life, because his most urgent problem was that he was a sinner in need of a Savior. And so it is with us.

The disabled man’s praise (vv. 8-10)

There was a pastor who was forced into early retirement by a virus that destroyed his vocal chords. The best he could do was a harsh-sounding whisper. He stopped preaching when he retired, but he still taught Sunday School because he didn’t have to project as much. The microphone that helped him speak was also recording him speaking when the miracle took place.

He was teaching on Psalm 103:4 which says that God redeems our life from the pit. He opened his mouth to speak and everything changed. He was in the middle of this sentence: “I have had and you have had in times past pit experiences.” It was on the word “pit”.

This is what the author telling his story said happened next: “He paused, startled; began again and stopped. He said a few more words — all in a normal clear tone — and stopped again. The class erupted with shouts of joy, astonishment, and sounds of weeping. God completely healed him as he was declaring the truth of this psalm”. [Larson, p292]

When God does heal us, the appropriate response is worship. When God heals others around us, the appropriate response is worship. We see both in verses 7-10.

Acts 3:7–10 NIV

Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

When God does heal us, and when he heals others, the appropriate response is worship. But when God does not heal us, and he does not heal others — when we pray and pray and pray for healing and rather than get better we or those we love in fact get worse — even then, and maybe especially then, the appropriate response is worship.

We all know the story of Daniel’s three friends: Shadrach, Meschec, and Abednego. Remember those guys? What are they known for? They’re known, of course, for the fact that God miraculously intervened and kept them from being consumed by the fire.

But before God had miraculously intervened, they said something incredible. When they were defending themselves before King Nebuchadnezzar, they said this: Daniel 3:17-18

Daniel 3:17–18 NIV

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

That, church, is true faith, and it makes Jesus look beautiful. Faith is not declaring that we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God will do this or that he will do that. We cannot manipulate God. We are never able to put ourselves in a position before God where He must do perform any action. The Creator does not subject Himself to the creature.

God is:

Good, so He wants the best for us

Wise, so He knows how to achieve it

All-powerful, so He is able to achieve it

God is good, which means He has our best interest in mind. God is wise, which means He knows the very best way to achieve our best interest. And God is all-powerful, which means He faces no obstacle in achieving our best interest. All this means that our healing may be something we want. But it may not be something that we need. And trusting in God means saying, “God, you’re able to heal. You want to heal. One day you will heal me or my loved one. But even if you don’t, you are still worthy of worship. And you still have my heart.

That’s the man’s plight, his perfect healing, and his praise.

Peter’s second sermon

But now we see that the healing of this man isn’t even the point. What it points to - who it points to - that is the point. Jesus is the point. Peter sees the crowds talking amongst themselves and raving about what happened. “Did you see that man get up like that? It’s like he’s 18 years old again. It was effortless. He’s been unable to walk his whole life. This is so wonderful.” And Luke is using this one word all along to describe their response. “Amazement.” Verse 9 Acts 3:9-12

Acts 3:9–12 NIV

When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

Now notice that question that Peter asked. You might almost miss it, right? “Fellow Israelites”, he asked in verse 12, “why does this surprise you?”

Surprise is a funny thing, isn’t it? When’s the last time you were surprised by something? When you’re surprised by something, it’s always the lack of expectation that creates the surprise. It’s not a surprise if you’re looking for it.

When I turned 30, my family tried to have a surprise birthday party for me. It really wasn’t a surprise because there was enough going on that day outside our appointment that I kind of was expecting it.

I also wasn’t expecting the gorilla...A few months ago, we took Abigail and a friend to the zoo for her birthday. When we came to the gorillas, we were fascinated at these creatures hanging from the trees, swinging from branch to branch. We were standing at the bottom of the exhibit with a glass pane separating us from the gorillas. I’m standing there with Noah and Abigail and we’re looking off to my right at these gorillas up in the three, and as I turned around to look in front of me, at the exact same moment I did that, another gorilla swung down from the opposite direction and slammed into the pane of glass right in front of me.

You can see from the picture that he really wasn’t happy with me for some reason. So I did a nervous laugh and we continued on, but as went, the gorilla was swinging from branch to branch, from tree to tree, following me. When I stopped, he stopped. When I started walking again, he started swinging again. He followed me like that as far as the limits of his environment would allow him to go.

The Jews that saw this healing outside the temple and they were not expecting it. But what Peter is saying in this first part of his second sermon is that, they shouldn’t have been surprised by it. And really, it’s this that Peter is trying to communicate through his second sermon. It should not surprise them that Jesus performed this work of power. It shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus has performed this work of power. Why? Peter gives three reasons in his sermon. The first is that Jesus is reigning as King.

#1: Jesus is now reigning as King (vv. 11-16)

Look with me at verse 12 the second part: “Why do you stare at us,” he asks, “as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.”

It wasn’t Peter who healed the disabled man. It wasn’t John who healed him. It was Jesus. Jesus, reigning in glory and power and matchless beauty. Jesus was crucified, yes. Peter doesn’t shy away from the death of Jesus Christ. Peter is not like so many today who are disturbed by the messiness of the cross. Peter pulls no punches when it comes to the death of Jesus, and when it comes to those who were responsible.

“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate…You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.” Talk about unpopular preaching! Oh, church, to have the boldness of Peter! You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this” (Acts 3:13-15 NIV).

So, yes, Jesus was crucified. But the cross gave way to the tomb which gave way to glory. Jesus is risen today and is reigning in victory even now, this very moment. There is not a single person, event, or institution — there is no thought or desire or ambition — there is no object or factor or situation no matter how small - that is not under Jesus’ complete and total control. “[The Father] put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, who is His body” (Eph. 1:22 NASB), Paul reminds us in Ephesians. That’s what it means that Jesus is glorified.

Peter is happy to give the Lord Jesus Christ the glory. He makes it clear that when great things happen among God’s people, it is God and not His people who are to get the glory. “By faith in the name of Jesus” - by faith in this Jesus, once crucified but now risen and reigning and glorified and one day returning - “by faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see” (Acts 3:16 NIV). Peter and John were eager to point away from themselves as the doers and toward Jesus Christ. Are we quick to do the same?

Church, listen to me: Does it please you give the Lord Jesus the glory in your life?

As a pastor, I would rather the Lord take away my gifting as a pastor and a preacher than to ever get to the point where I excel in it and do so for my glory. And if I ever do get to the point, I need you to remind me that it’s not about my gifts or Shawn’s gifts or our lack of gifts. Jesus is at work in our church — goodness knows, not because I am who I am. He is at work in our church because He is who He is. He is the One we are here for. He is reigning in power and glory from heaven.

The second thing Peter shows us about Jesus — the second reason why we should not be surprised to see His work in our midst — is that the Scriptures are being fulfilled.

#2: The Scriptures are being fulfilled (vv. 17-24)

This is undoubtedly what Peter is talking about in vv. 17-23. Look with me there, will you? Beginning with verse 17: “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance” - God is merciful, Peter is saying! He is not an unreasonable God! He is not an unreasonable judge! He understands our weakness and He overlooks our ignorance. But the thing about ignorance is that it’s almost always temporary, and there’s no excuse for it now. Because now is the age of fulfillment.

“I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God” . What is repentance?

Acts: An Introduction and Commentary b. Peter Explains the Incident (3:11–26)

This verb signifies the act of turning away from one’s former way of life, especially from the worship of idols, to a new way of life, based on faith and obedience to God

Change your mind about your sin. Change your mind about the course of your life to this point. Change your way of life as a result. Turn away from your idols, whatever they may be, and turn to God. Beg the Lord for the gift of repentance. God, give us the grace of repentance. We are not capable of softening our own hearts. He is a good Father. He will answer.

And the result will be, Peter says, that our sins may be wiped out and that “times of refreshing come from the Lord”. Doesn’t that sound good? Raise your hand if you could use some times of refreshing from the Lord. This I think is what David prayed for: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Those times of refreshing are promised in response to our repentance. It can be yours today. Pray for it. Pray for the grace and strength to repent that you might experience times of refreshing from the Lord. And even this was promised in the prophets.

We talk alot about prophecy being fulfilled today, and it’s true. We’re careless sometimes, though. We make it sound as though this is something new. As though it started within our lifetimes or even the lifetimes of our parents and grandparents. We also make it sound like prophecy being fulfilled is something we’ve discovered on our own.

But neither are really true. The age of fulfillment began in the book of Acts. Many, many centuries before us was the beginning of the age of fulfillment. Because, you see, much of what is OT prophecy pointed forward not to 2021 but AD 33. Jesus’ coming — His life, His ministry, His obedience, all were foretold in the OT. His death was foretold in the OT, down to striking details. Read Psalm 22 or Isaiah 53 if you want to see what I’m talking about. His resurrection and His glorification — all of that was foretold in the OT. Those prophecies pointed forward to Him, just as our preaching and teaching today looks backward to Him.

The days of fulfillment are here. Lastly, Jesus has come to bless us.

#3: Jesus has come to bless you (vv. 25-26)

The good news of Jesus Christ crucified, risen and now reigning above all things from heaven is the center of the gospel message. The good news of the forgiveness of sins now offered us and the hope of eternal life that is now ours because of what He has done for us - that, too, is crucial to the gospel message.

But in the last 100 years, a rival message has been introduced into the church. This rival message is known as the prosperity gospel - the health, wealth and prosperity gospel.

The health wealth and prosperity gospel is radically unbiblical, and it is spiritually dangerous. Why? Because it sounds good and appeals to our fallen instincts, but it actually pushes us away from Christ. God in Christ offers us forgiveness. He offers us eternal life. He offers us peace here and now hope for the future.

The prosperity teachers, though, would have us believe something different. They would have us believe that God offers us the promise of health in this life, the promise of wealth and assets here in this life, the promise of happiness and perfect wisdom in this life. And for those of us who have yet to attain the possession of health, wealth and happiness in this life, they say, “Oh you of little faith.” “If you would only open your hearts to God, and your wallets to us”, they would say, “all this could be yours.”

They preach this message here in America. But they also preach this message overseas. They preach this message in communities where the infant mortality rate is exponentially higher than it here. They preach this message to communities ravaged by diseases like Ebola. They preach this message in areas of the world where a full stomach is a luxury. “Believe this message and send us a check, and God will put a stop to all of your suffering - immediately.”

The prosperity gospel is devastating, actually. It is not good news. It teaches me to focus not on how great Jesus is but rather on the great things I want Him to do for me. It turns prayer into a financial transaction between us and God. It turns faith from a divinely enabled gift of grace into a means by which I can manipulate my Creator to get what I want. It appeals to my lowest instincts and teaches me to make earthly concerns into ultimate concerns. Most devastatingly, it ruins the faith of individuals who have placed their ultimate hope in the things of this world.

And what’s most unbelievable about it is that it goes against everything the NT clearly teaches on practically every page - and one example of that is here.

The prosperity teachers make a lot of talk about blessing. Blessing is usually seen in terms of health and wealth. Is that the kind of blessing we’re talking about here when I say Jesus has come to bless you?

Let’s ask that question of our text his morning. Look with me at verses 25-26: “And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’” That’s a reference to Gen. 12:2-3

Genesis 12:2–3 NIV

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

What is that blessing? Peter tells us in verse 26: “When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (NIV).

Church, when you think of the blessings of God, is this what you think of? Do you think of the fact that Jesus has turned you from your wicked ways? Are you grateful for that change? Do you see that as a blessing? Do you see it as a better and higher blessing than having a warm house to live in and nice clothes and some money in the bank? If you had to choose between all that and this, which would you choose?

The psalmist seemed to understand that simply having Jesus is blessing enough, regardless of what happens to us in this life.

Psalm 73:25-26

Psalm 73:25–26 KJV 1900

Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: But God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Conclusion and call for response

The ending of Peter’s sermon is the ending of mine.

My question for you all is this: have you turned from your wicked ways? Do you know this Jesus who has come to bless you by turning your life around?

Notice that it’s not you that does the turning. Did you see that? “He sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:26 NIV). Jesus does the turning, not us.

That’s good news, church. When I try to turn my own life around, I fail, every time. When I pull myself up by my bootstraps and tell myself I’m going to be a better Christian man, I fail, every time. You and I cannot turn our own lives around. It’s too much. “Apart from me,” Jesus says, “you can do nothing.” But if Jesus turns my life around - once Jesus turns your life around - that’s a permanent change.

If you don’t know Jesus in a saving way today, that is where you must start. Have you disowned your previous way of life and committed yourself to Him?

Not: did you pray a prayer or walk an aisle or sign a card or raise your hand. You can do any or all of those things and not ever actually turn from your previous way of life. Are you trusting in Jesus Christ’s shed blood today to forgive you and cleanse you of your sins and give you eternal life? Don’t leave here today without getting that settled. Find me or pastor Shawn or one of our deacons and pull us aside. Nothing would make us happier than to tell you how can find forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Christ.

Maybe others of you would make a decision of some kind of recommit yourself today. Maybe you’ve never followed Jesus in believer’s baptism. Maybe you’ve been attending our church for a while and the Holy Spirit is leading you to join as a full member. Maybe you just want to recommit your life to follow Jesus. You’ve strayed and you want to come home. He wants to receive you home!

May the Lord bless the preaching of His word to the hearts of His people. Will you stand with me?