How many have gone to a sports game in a sports arena or stadium? Everybody gets excited. They beat on drums, blow horns, chant cheers to encourage the teams to play well. Everyone is excited and exuberant. That kind of excitement is fine in sports but if we get excited at other times people think we are crazy. Especially if we get excited about religious things we would soon be ostracized and jeered at. Today's passage tells us about a man who got really excited when God did something special for him.
We see three parts to this passage: The Miracle, The Message and The Manifestation
The Miracle
Peter and John went up to the temple to pray at three o'clock in the afternoon. For the devout Jew there were three times of prayer 9a.m., 12 noon, and 3 p.m. For the Muslim there are 5 times when they are to stop and pray. For the Christian there are no special times but Paul told the Thessalonians to "Pray without ceasing." Often Christians are not nearly as diligent in prayer as those who do not have any hope, who are seeking God earnestly but never have assurance that God hears. As Christians perhaps we are not diligent enough about prayer. We have confidence that God hears and answers prayer whenever we call. The apostles committed themselves to a ministry of prayer and preaching the word of God. They felt that prayer was one of the keys to the Christian life.
A man who was lame from birth, born with a deformity, was sitting in the temple area by the archway to the inner court asking people for money. How do you treat beggars? I would imagine that many of them feel rejected, helpless and would like to have a regular job but in many countries even today people with physical handicaps are treated as though they have mental handicaps as well. The temple was considered a good place to beg because people coming to the temple would treat their fellow man more kindly before going to worship God Every day his family would bring him to the Gate in the temple which was called Beautiful. There he would have to sit in the hot sun begging the people for money. When Peter and John came he asked them as well. I am sure that most people would disregard his pleas but on that day Peter and John stopped and talked to the man. Perhaps they sensed God speaking to them to help this man.
The man looked up when Peter asked him to expecting to receive some money from them. When he obeyed he received something far more valuable than silver or gold. God is concerned about our physical needs in life being met but he is much more concerned about our obedience to Him and His servants. When we are obedient we receive abundantly more than we could ask or think.
Next Peter announced that they did not have any money. Imagine you are that beggar and would have heard those word what would your reaction be? If they were not going to give him any money why did they bother to stop? Were they too going to make fun of him? What did they have if they were not going to give him any money.
We saw in our study of chapter 2 that every one shared what they had. Peter and John had shared what they had and they did not have any money but they gave what they could to the man. This is a very important principle. Perhaps we would like to give more money to God. God is not interested in money. He is interested in you. He is interested in our talents and abilities. He wants us to give what he has given to us. Every Christian has received spiritual gifts and spiritual power. God is asking each one to give what he can. Of course if you do have money that can be used for God's kingdom but the money the disciples had was already used up and they did not have anything left.
Thomas Aquinas who lived about 1225-1274 A.D. once went to Pope Innocent III when he was counting a large sum of money. The Pope said to Aquinas, "See Thomas, the church can no longer say, 'Silver and gold have I none.'" Aquinas replied, "True holy father, and neither can she now say,'Arise and walk.'" Have we lost our spiritual power because we have depended too much upon our financial wealth.
When man becomes rich he often forgets God and wastes himself in his own riches. If we study the Old Testament we find that when the Israelites became rich they depended upon their own strength and not upon God. They gradually fell away from God and God had to punish them. Japan enjoys great material wealth. In the paper I read that the per capita income in India is $290 per year (less than 4 Man) However Japan is not spiritually prospering. Most Japanese only pray when they are in danger or in difficulty. At other times they forget their own gods and do what they please. God wants to bless us but he also wants us to use that which he has given to us for building up his kingdom.
The apostle used the power Jesus had given to them through the Holy Spirit and healed the man. Here we see one of the many miracles which were performed through the apostles. In Chapter 2:43 it says that many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. These signs and wonders were proof that the power of God was in the message of the apostles. In John 14:12 we see that Jesus promised his disciples that they would do what Jesus had done and even greater things than Jesus had done.
The apostles asked for the miracle to be done in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus told his disciples seven times in John 14,15,16 to ask in His name and He would do what they asked. This is not just adding a phrase at the end of our prayer "In Jesus name I pray". It is not a magic formula that will make everything happen that we have prayed for. Before we pray we are to have discernment and ask only what we know to be in the will of God. We have a similar story in Acts 14:8-10. Here we read that Paul looked at the crippled man and saw that he had faith to be healed and knowing this called out, "Stand up on your feet!"
Here the writer does not record Paul saying the words, "In Jesus Name" but the miracle took place. The important ingredient was faith not some special words.
In our prayers we need to have the element of faith. Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1. This is the kind of faith that the disciples had. They had seen God perform miracles and they in faith used God's power to change the lives of the people around them. God is changing us and as we pray he will change the lives of people around us as well.
The man's feet and ankles became strong; he stood up and began to walk. Imagine seeing everyone do something which you yourself cannot do; you dream about some day being able to do it and then suddenly you do it. What a thrill. Chris and I made an airplane and tried several times to fly it. Every time we tried it crashed. Then one day Chris was flying it. It went into the air and circled and he brought it down safely. Chris was flying but I got so excited that even before it got to the ground I grabbed Chris around the waist and lifted him into the air. I was over-joyed. Something we had dreamed about had happened. Maybe you have had those wonderful moments you can think back to.
Your graduation day, your wedding day, the day you got your first job or other special days. For those who are committed Christians, the day that we made that decision to follow Jesus and asked him to forgive our sins is one of those wonderful days. The burden of sin was lifted, we no longer had any fear of death, we felt cleansed and thankful. Luke 15:7 tells us of the joy in heaven when someone repents and comes back to God.
When the people in the temple saw this man walking and jumping and praising God they were amazed. They knew the man. They had seen him sitting in the same spot begging for years and knew he could not walk before. God had healed him. His heart was filled with joy and praise. He could not contain his thankfulness. He was jumping in the court yard and discovering his new found strength in his feet. It was not common for people to show such joy and so his activities attracted the attention of all the people coming and going into the temple.
Does your experience with Jesus allow you this kind of joy and freedom? Some of you have grown up with a very strong teaching that we are to be silent before God. We certainly would not jump up and down in the church. How would you have reacted to this miracle? Could you get excited and praise God for the miracle?
The message
Peter and John were not embarrassed. They made full use of the occasion to express the message. When God performs a miracle we can let others know why it happened. The man was so enthusiastic that he drew a crowd. What a crowd there was!!! Peter began to explain the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus. The manifestation of God's power was not due to their own power or godliness but because of faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
Verse 17 of chapter 3 says that "some had acted out of ignorance but that was not excuse to reject Him now. Some of you have acted in ignorance as many have before you. Some play church and have heard the stories in the Bible4 but you have never experienced the freedom from your sins and the joy and excitement that comes from a dynamic relationship with God. Peter says to repent - that means to change your mind - and realize your false presumptions that you can wait to trust in God. We never know when we will meet God. All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags. When we ask Jesus to transform us and take all our sins he cleanses us and removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. Your sins will be blotted out and you will be set free from the burden of guilt and shame.
What has been your crippling problem? Lack of love, burdens of guilt, lack of security, bitterness to someone, ignorance of what to do? You don't have to remain in that ugly state. Don't you want to turn your life over to God and be transformed? Be freed from what ever may be bothering you?
The man was not just healed from his crippled state. He was spiritually and socially healed. He was no longer a beggar. He could go out and work. He was no longer crippled by sin but free.
Verse 23 says that "every soul that does not harken shall be destroyed." ( John 3:16 - 18 )
I would plead with you this morning to turn your life over to Christ today. Not only will Jesus blot out your sins but you will receive a fresh new spirit. Jesus will come and forgive you and fill you with His Holy Spirit. Oh what a beautiful experience this is when you give your life to Christ and he forgives you.
The Manifestation
Three things happened because of this message. The chief priests and Sadducees were not happy so they took Peter and John and put them in jail over night. No message is without opposition. Some reject the message. Some who read this message will reject it but many who heard the word believed. Acts 4:4 says that about 5000 men believed that Jesus was the one who could cleanse them from their sins.
Do you need a miracle in your life? Are you crippled by something? Won't you come to Jesus today and experience true freedom and peace?
I believe that we as Christians should be the happiest people in the world. We have the great power of God with us. We should be rejoicing as this man rejoiced. We should be experiencing the power of God in our lives so that others are attracted to God. Do you have the joy of the Lord? Does your life attract people to God? We begin to have this joy first of all by praying and asking God to come into our hearts and cleansing away the selfishness, the pride and the sins. Then we continue to have this joy by keeping up a fellowship time with God and listening to his Word and obeying it. When we have that kind of relationship with God we can say with David as he wrote in Ps. 23:5 "My cup runneth over". If you do not have an overflowing cup this morning pray right now and ask God to cleanse you and bless you. He will give you peace and joy. Let us close by reading Eph. 3:16 - 21.