Text: Acts 3:1-10
Title: No Gimmicks, Just Jesus
Introduction: It has been said that if one jumps through hoops and turn flips to get a person to the church, that same person will have to keep jumping through hoops and turning flips to keep them in church. The purpose of the sermon is to simply share with us in our journey as a church and convincing people to trust Jesus, let them no there are no gimmicks, just Jesus. The secret to a fulfilled life is no gimmicks, just Jesus.
In the text we see a couple of ministers’ life and what it consisted of on a regular basis. Peter and John had a life that included and involved prayer. P.T. Forsythe said, “Prayerlessness is a sin.” These men’s lives included prayer…9 a.m., 12 noon, and 3 p.m. (1). This was part of their lives and the lives of those who were new converts in the Lord (cp. 2:46). So it should be with our own lives.
I. The Man’s Predicament (2,3)
• A predicament has been defined as an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation.
• He was lame, he was dependent, and he was a beggar (2). He was outside the temple…that’s where ministry is many times, outside the church.
• There were 9 gates to the temple. Eight side gates, as we may call them, were all two-leaved, wide, high, with superstructures and chambers supported by two pillars, and covered with gold and silver plating. But far more magnificent than any of them was the ninth (9th) or eastern gate, which formed the principal entrance into the Temple. The ascent to it was from the terrace by twelve easy steps. The gate itself was made of dazzling Corinthian brass, most richly ornamented; and so massive were its double doors that it needed the united strength of twenty men to open and close them. This was the ‘Beautiful Gate.
• Note, he was humble because he asked for help (3).
II. The Master’s Power (4-8)
• (cp. 43) Christ had demonstrated His power through the Apostles before.
• (4-5) They got his attention.
• (6) No gold or gimmicks, just Jesus
• (7-8) Power in His name – “In Heb. thought the name does not identify a person as much as express his character or being. In a real sense the power of the person was sensed as being present in his or her name. Thus, what Peter was saying was, “In the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” That power did flow. The cripple’s feet and ankles were strengthened, and the man walked and leaped, living proof of the power of Jesus.”
III. The Miracle’s Proof (9-10)
• (9-10) They saw him walking and praising God (9) & knew who he was (10)!
• leaping up, stood … walked … entered the temple walking, leaping, and praising God—Every word here is emphatic, expressing the perfection of the cure, as Ac 3:7 its immediateness.
Conclusion: The Man’s Praise - This cripple is a vivid illustration of the lost sinner in that: (1) he was born lame, and all are born sinners; (2) he could not walk, and no sinner can walk so as to please God; (3) he was outside the temple, and sinners are outside God’s temple, the church; (4) he was begging, for sinners are beggars, searching for satisfaction.
