Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Focus Passage:

Acts 3:1–11 (AV)1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being 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 of them that entered into the temple; 3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

Outline

In (vv.1-2) the setting is set for a miracle to take place.

We find Peter and John doing as they would typically do.

They are on their way to worship we are doing right now.

For the first century Christian, the Christian faith was very much centered on Jerusalem and worship within the temple.

The first century Christian would be seen going daily to pray and worship the Lord.

This would take place twice daily for special prayer times.

As the ninth hour (3p.m.) comes, they do as they would have done before, go and pray.

Let us understand a few truths that must be applied today for the contemporary church as it was for the 1st Century church.

Follow the Example (vv.1-2)

We are to be dedicated to worship

We are to realize our ministry is with the people

We are not to miss an opportunity to witness

Take advantage of the opportunity (vv.3-6)

Acts 3:3–6 (AV)3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

People are looking for help.

People are looking for that which will bring them healing.

Contextually, what we find before us is a man who has been crippled since birth.

He has an infirmity of the ankle or feet.

He has been carried to the temple his whole life and has been begging alms for as long as he could remember.

During this time, he has been treated as an outcast.

He has been overlooked.

Because of Levitical Law, he has not been allowed into the inner court of the temple for worship.

This has been happening for some forty years.

Many within life find themselves in the same position.

People walk by them, drive by them on their way to church and don’t even realize they are there.

They are treated as outcast.

They are treated as they don’t matter.

However, brothers and sisters, we are called to witness to each and everyone of them.

We are not called to overlook people.

We must learn the importance of ministry.

We must hear the cry of the lost (v.3)

We must eliminate the distractions of the lost (vv.4-5)

We must point them to the Healer (v.6)

We must remember that true ministry does not end at sharing the Gospel.

This is where the church has failed for some time now.

We may be used to lead one to Christ, and we may follow that up with baptism but this is only the beginning.

The life of a Christian is a lifelong endeavor.

It does not just begin and end at a prayer of repentance and accepting Jesus as Lord.

It means responding in faith.

It means accepting that new life in Christ.

We see this within our text.

Peter and John and have stated, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee.

The lame man sought a financial answer.

He sought a physical answer.

However, the answer that he needed was not financial.

Peter and John go further and state, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

When Peter and John invoked the name of Jesus, they were calling upon the power of Jesus.

Brother and sisters, money, popularity, drugs, relationships, power, none of this is the answer for what cripples you today.

There is one answer to the infirmity that cripples us all, sin, and that answer is Jesus Christ.

It is within His power that we find healing.

Not only does Peter lead this man to healing in faith in Jesus Christ, he goes further, And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up.

He was not going to just leave the man there.

He wanted him to realize he was healed.

His life had been changed.

Many, I mean many, within the church need this reminder today.

When they accepted Christ, their lives changed.

As Paul wrote to the church at Corinth...

2 Corinthians 5:17 (AV)17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

When the lame man accepted his healing in faith, he went from one that was crippled to one that was whole, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

The idea is that he felt the healing, the change.

I have never met someone that was genuinely saved that did not feel the changing, empowering power of the Lord.

You cannot be healed of God, saved by Jesus and not feel different.

Not only was this man physically healed but his healing was spiritual too.

His position in life was healed.

He went from being an outsider to an insider.

He went from being an outcast and not allowed to worship in the inner court to being able to worship with the others of his family, his home, his town.

He no longer would be carried to the temple to beg for alms, but now he could walk to the temple, worship God at the temple, and declare the healing and redemptive power of God at the temple.

The Importance of One’s Testimony (vv.8-11)

Acts 3:8–11 (AV)8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

One’s testimony reveals a new life (v.8)

One’s testimony causes others to take notice (vv.9-10)

All these people, the same people who had been passing him by, giving alms, which was their righteous and religious act, now were taking notice.

They saw this cripple running, leaping, and praising God.

It caused them to question why, they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

One’s testimony is a doorway to the sharing the gospel (v.11)

As we come to close of this section of text, we find ourselves at the cusp of another message.

Peter had already delivered a powerful message at the Day of Pentecost where thousands were saved.

He then left that setting and while taking time to worship, saw the importance of not only leading thousands to the Lord, but the importance of leading one to the Lord.

As a result of realizing one is just as important as thousands, God was going to use him greatly once again.

We find Peter, John, and the new convert being surrounded by the people wanting to know what changed this man, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

Conclusion

What does this mean for you and I? How can we take this text and apply it to our lives?

First and foremost, we must first ask ourselves where we are in the this story?

Are we the lame man that needs healing?

Are we the crowd that has seen the miraculous, changing power of Jesus in the lives of others but have never experienced in our own lives and wonder what it is like?

Or Peter and John and have been given opportunities to share the gospel, but possibly just did not see them?

Are we like the people going to the temple daily, ignoring the hurting people around us or acting out of religion may give a little money in the offering plate but we never cared to share the redemptive work of Christ?

Or have we shared the Gospel and one was redeemed, but we never gave them a hand to begin their new walk in Christ?