Helping a Needy World
Acts 3:1-10
Introduction
The book of Acts tells us in simple terms how the Early Church functioned and affected its world. This morning we are going to take a look at an interesting experience in the life of the young church and see how we can apply to today. It Will Help Us Understand What Has Brought the Church to this Point.
The believers back in chapter one had been given a command and two promises: the command was to wait in Jerusalem (1:4), Promise #1: was that they would receive the Holy Spirit (v. 5) and Promise #2: was, “This same Jesus…will come back” (v. 11).
While they waited for the Second Coming, they were to live lives full of victory and joy. To do this they would have to be obedient to God’s guidance. In chapter 2, the believers were obedient and God flooded over them through His wonderful Spirit. And the church grew rapidly. Please note though, that when I talk about the Holy Spirit, I am not referring to an “it.” When the scripture refers to the Holy Spirit, it is talking about God in the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God’s special way of being with His people wherever we go.
When we surrender our wills totally to Him, we enter into the life promised to us in Isaiah 1:19, to enjoy the best the land has to offer. Many Christians struggle in an attempt to be good and are even exhausted by their efforts because they have never truly surrendered their wills to His way. In too many lives the clay is trying to dictate to the Potter what it wants to be. If we truly want to be blessed and used by God, then we need to learn how to get out of the way of the Holy Spirit working in side of us and let God work.
Listen to the words of Acts 3:1-10 again with me.
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down everyday at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something form them. But Peter said, “I do not possess silver or gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – walk!” And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
As I read this passage I see two things that jump off the page at me here. Two notes of what we as Obedient Christians should be doing in our daily walk with God.
I. The Obedient Believers are Praying
a. Twice we see the importance of prayer in the Early Church
i. In chapter 1, after the Lord Jesus Christ had been lifted up into Heaven, there were praying.
1. They were devoting themselves to prayer
2. Asking God for direction, guidance, and assistance with fulfilling the command of spreading the Gospel.
ii. Now here in chapter 3, they are on their way to a prayer meeting.
1. Prayer is absolutely essential to the Christian life.
2. It is our life line to God
3. When we don’t go to the Lord in prayer, we isolate ourselves from Him.
4. That is when we start to burn out and stumble.
5. But, if we stay plugged into God through our prayer lives, we stay charged up and ready for anything that may come our way.
b. The encounter mentioned here in verses 2-3 would have been very normal for the time.
i. Before his encounter with the people of God the beggar was totally helpless.
1. He couldn’t walk or much less do anything for himself.
2. The money that people would give him, might put some food in his stomach, but it wasn’t going to heal him.
ii. What happened after that encounter with Peter and John made him a completely different person.
iii. In verse 4, Peter and John are not timid survivors.
1. They have absolute confidence according to verse 6, about what God can do for this man.
2. They know without a shadow of a doubt what the power of God can accomplish.
c. Peter did not give the man what he requested. He gave him what he needed.
i. We live in a crippled world today that needs help.
ii. Jesus can and will change the world if we will present Him to the world.
d. It is not silver and gold that the world needs. The world needs Jesus.
II. The World Needs Someone to Reach Out a Hand of Faith to them
a. It took faith to do what they did in verse 7.
b. When believers reach out in faith, great things happen.
i. The key world here is “faith”.
ii. It is so easy for us to say, but yet seems so hard to do.
iii. When you place limitations on what God can do in and through your life, God will not answer.
iv. God’s Word tells us that just a mustard seed of faith will move mountains.
1. But when we go to God to ask for help our to lift others up to Him in prayer, and we already have doubt that it will happen, that prayer is killed even before it leaves us.
2. Back in 1996 in Wichita Falls, TX – Sheppard AFB; I truly learned the power of faithful prayer and learn just how powerful it was. I became apart of a men’s ministry on the Air Force base there known as the Brothers-In-Christ. We would meet every Saturday morning at 6am, that right, 6am. And we would pray. I remember the first time I went though; I had a little hesitation and doubt. And I remember one of the men there (Chris Taylor) explaining to me the power of prayer and simply told me if you don’t believe what can take place here, then don’t bother standing in the circle and praying with us. I stood in the circle that day and every Saturday to follow. I witnessed people being healed from terminal cancer, alcoholics getting dried up, and the lost of the lost coming to Christ. Why, because those men in that circle had FAITH that would they gave to the Lord, He was more then able to do and it wasn’t just in that circle, but in every aspect of their life’s.
c. When believers start living in a way that demonstrates what they say is true, a struggling world will find the help needed.
i. Have you ever wondered why maybe someone in your family or someone you work with will never take that invite you give them to come to church?
ii. Maybe it’s because they don’t see anything in you that they don’t already have.
d. The greatest need in our world today is for Christians to live the Spirit filled life and reach out to a needy world in faith.
Closing
God will do mighty things to change crippled lives in our world, when we fully trust Him. The miracles that are recorded in the Book of Acts can be repeated today if we will become an obedient people. Will you be that obedient person?
