OPEN: Years ago at summer camp I learned this little song.
If you know it sing along with me:
Peter and John went to pray. They met a lame man on the way.
He held out his palm and asked for an alm, and this is what Peter did say:
"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!"
He went walking and leaping and praising God,
Walking and leaping and praising God.
"In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."
(PAUSE) In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
We’re not quite sure WHY Peter and John were going to the Temple that day. The song I just sang says they went there to pray, but the text simply says they “were going up to the temple at the TIME of prayer” (verse 1).
The book of Acts doesn’t give us an exact timeline, but it seems to me that the Day of Pentecost (where 1000s became Christians because of the outpouring of power from God’s Spirit and because of a powerful sermon by Peter) may have only happened a day or so before. And if that’s true, there’s every possibility Peter was so excited about what happened on THAT day that he going back to the Temple to find more people to preach to.
Now that may have been Peter’s plan.
He may very well have been on his way to the Temple to do "church stuff."
But then he gets interrupted by a cripple who’s looking for a handout.
It might seem like the cripple is an interference in Peter’s plans, because Peter wasn’t looking for a cripple to heal that day. He was on his way to “church.”
ILLUS: I’ve read about a congregation in Florida where the worshippers who arrived at church one Sunday found themselves confronted by a bum sprawled against a palm tree on church property. This guy was lying there surrounded by beer cans, wearing a battered hat that shielding his eyes, and wearing shoes with holes that exposed the flesh of his feet.
NOBODY stopped to see if they could help.
Most hurried their families around him to avoid touching him.
About half an hour later, the congregation was aghast as they watched the bum enter the church building, make his way up the aisle, climb up on the stage and stand behind the pulpit. The bum, wasn’t a bum at all… it was their preacher.
He was preaching that Sunday on the story of the Good Samaritan, where a beaten and bleeding man lay along the road while the religious people of the day passed by on the other side. Those men in the parable were just like the people of the church… they were too busy “doing church” to stop and help a person in need.
I believe Peter was on his way to do “church stuff”… and the cripple was a distraction.
But the difference was this – unlike the worshippers in Florida was that (PAUSE) Peter stopped. He didn’t hurry past this man. He wasn’t bothered others by his pleas for alms. He wasn’t repelled by this cripple.
In fact, I think Peter was not only not repelled by this man… he was attracted by him. He was intrigued by this man. Here was a man he could help. All he had to do was reach out and touch the man, and he could heal him.
ILLUS: As I was preparing this sermon it occurred to me… how cool is this?
How cool would it be to heal people with just a touch?
To be able to heal a man who’s been a cripple since he was a baby.
If I could do that… I’d go right down to the hospital and I’d empty that place out.
I’d have a healing service EVERY DAY of the week and twice on Sundays.
We wouldn’t have to pray service for people to get healed.
We could just into pile into the car… and go do some home visitation.
(Pause) But - I can’t do that.
And I’m pretty sure you can’t do that either. But if you can, you come see me after service, because I’ve got a ministry for you.
Now, by contrast… in the early church… the Apostles could do things like that.
When Paul was explaining the proofs that he was an Apostle, he wrote:
“The things that mark an apostle— SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES— were done among you with great perseverance.” II Corinthians 12:12
The Apostles were empowered by God to do all kinds of wonders and miracles and wonders. These were the marks (or proofs) that they were who they said they were. Being Apostles, they could do all kinds of things… including reach out and touch the sick and bring immediate healing.
So I might be excused if I think: “Gee, I can’t do anything like what Peter did. I mean, he was an apostle. He could heal people with just a touch. I can’t do that. So, there must not be anything for me to learn in Acts 3.”
But if you or I thought that…(PAUSE) we’d be WRONG.
Notice what Peter says here: "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you." Acts 3:6
What I have… I’ll give you.
Now, here’s the deal – we are followers of Jesus Christ.
And we are called to do Church, like Jesus did Church.
There are Church-people who think that doing “Church” is what we do here in the building. If they sing some songs, pray some prayers, take some communion, and listen to a sermon they’ve done our “religious thing” for the week. They’ve “done church”.
Now, Jesus did worship regularly at the synagogue, but Jesus did “Church” all through the week. And He did it by reaching out to people whom others would not touch.
· He ate with tax collectors and sinners.
· He spent time reaching out to prostitutes and outcasts.
· He put mud on the eyes of the blind
· And He reached out and physically touched the bodies of lepers… something no one else would do!
Warren Wiersbe once wrote, “Lost sinners came to Jesus not because He catered to them or compromised His message, but because He cared for them.”
Jesus did church, the way we should do Church.
Church is when you show that you CARE for someone.
ILLUS: I read about a congregation where two men were serving God by delivering food from the pantry. They’d been asked by the niece of a particular woman to deliver food to her aunt. But when they arrived at their destination, they were shocked to discover that it was a business address: for a fortuneteller.
They double checked with their church, and found that indeed, that was the address. But the men were not happy about it. This was a fortuneteller after all. This woman was engaged in something that was directly condemned by God.
But they went ahead went inside to take food to this woman who said she could talk to dead.
This woman was amazed “You guys really do help people regardless of a person’s faith, don’t you?”
“Yes,” they said, “but life is very hopeless without Jesus.”
They talked a little, more, put the food down, and got ready to leave. But just before they left they prayed for the niece as the fortuneteller and customers watched. Seeing them pray for the niece… some of the customers began to ask for prayers as well.
And the men then asked if any would like to become Christians… and eight of those present said, “yes.”
The preacher of that church later commented: “Two bags of groceries built a bridge into the lives and hearts of those who needed Christ.”
Those two men were doing Church.
· When our Haiti group served the poor in Haiti… those folks were doing Church.
· When our Food Pantry hands out food to the needy… that’s doing Church.
· When we do activities that reach out to the community and tell them we care about they and their families - activities like our Trunk or Treat/ Tent Revival, Upward Football - that’s doing church.
Now, when we gather here on Sunday mornings we worship.
We get in touch with God.
We recharge our batteries.
We revive our spirits.
We encourage one other and build each other up.
AND we do all that so that we can get fired up and go and out and REALLY “do church”. Because “doing church” is when we GET OUT and touch the hurting of this world.
That’s why Peter turned to the beggar, and offered him what he could offer him.
He didn’t have any money.
But He Had Something BETTER to give him.
Now, there’s a 2nd thing I want you to notice here.
When Peter reached out to this crippled man he did NOT say:
“Oh, you poor man… let ME heal you.”
That’s significant, because, most of us - when we do good things for others don’t mean to say it this way… but essentially we do anyway.
We essentially say: “Let ME help you.”
But now notice what PETER says: “
“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Now, just in case you might get the impression that this was just some religious statement - kind of like “God bless you” or “Praise God” or “may God be with you” Peter restates this very idea with a more intensity just a little later in the story.
After Peter healed the cripple, the man got so excited that he started jumping and running around. And his excitement drew a fairly big crowd that are looking in astonishment at Peter and John.
“When Peter saw this, he said to them: ‘Men of Israel, 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?’” Acts 3:12
“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 given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.” Acts 3:16
Who’s getting the credit? (Jesus is!!!)
Peter’s had a chance to get the credit, but he rebuked the gathering crowd for even thinking that.
“OH NO! (he says) we didn’t do this by our own power or godliness. Get it straight. Understand this. THIS ISN’T ABOUT US… it’s about Jesus.
Now, I know how pleasing it is to do a good deed and get the credit.
It feels good to have someone look at you in gratefulness. And you just know they’re thinking to themselves: “What, a nice person this is!”
You know they’re going to say something like
“Why, did I ever tell you what Jeff did for ME?”
Hey, it feels good. It’s nice to appreciated
But it’s kind of short-sighted.
Jesus said: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32
You know what Jesus was saying there?
He’s saying “Don’t make this about you. Make it about Me. Mention my name.”
He’s saying: “Be a name dropper! Speak of ME when you do something nice for someone else.”
And, He’s saying - if we give HIM the credit when we do something nice He’s going to turn to His Father and say:
“Hey, did you see that?
Did you see what Bob did? What Mary did?
They not ONLY did something nice… but they acknowledged ME!
They told others of how much I meant to them when they did that!!!”
ILLUS: Now, just to get a feel for what Jesus is saying here, I want you to imagine something for me. Imagine that you’ve received a huge inheritance and that you are now a multi-millionaire. You’ve got more money than you know what to do with.
One day, you encounter a young man who has a dream of starting a restaurant… but he doesn’t have nearly enough money to get it going. You’re impressed with him and you decide to invest in his vision and give him the money to start up his restaurant.
The day of the Grand Opening takes place and you are one of his first customers. As you walk through the door, one the first thing you notice is that he has put a picture of you up in a place of prominence.
Later you discover, that when he hired a few workers he sat them down and explains to them that the only reason they’ve got a job is because you gave him the money.
When people come in to eat and they praise his food he explains to them that if you hadn’t given him the resources, there wouldn’t be any food for them eat.
Every chance he gets – this young man talks about you.
How you gonna feel about that?
Now, if that young man comes back to you someday and says “I’d like to expand my business, and I was wondering if you’d be open to lending me a little more money”
Would you give him some money?
Well, I WOULD!
Not only is he a good investment… He makes ME look good!
Essentially, that’s what Jesus is saying to us in Matthew 10.
“If you make me look good, I’ll find a way of rewarding you.”
But it’s about more than that.
This isn’t about Jesus getting His ego stroked by us.
It’s actually about us giving people what they truly need.
You see, Peter could have given the beggar money.
He could have gone back to the church and taken up a collection for him.
I mean, this was a church of 3000 people. People who had proved themselves willing to sell their lands to help poor Christians in their midst. If Peter had asked for such a collection, he could have raised enough money to fix this guy up for life.
But he had SOMETHING BETTER to give this cripple.
He had the ability to touch this man and make him walk.
But if that had been all Peter had done for the cripple he would have failed.
Even if he’d supplied this beggar with millions of dollars.
Even if he’d been able to heal this man – not only of lameness – but of all present and future ailments for the rest of his life.
What if he’d been able to do these things for the cripple and the man when to hell?
What good would he actually have done for the man?
Jesus “…what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36
That’s why Peter wasn’t satisfied in just healing a cripple.
That’s why, when the crowd gathered, Peter gave credit to Jesus.
That’s why, Peter began with Jesus, and then commanded the crowd to “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” Acts 3:19
You see, while “doing church” involves meeting the needs of the hurting, we dare not be satisfied with stopping there. Our mandate is not only to heal the sick and help the suffering… it is to offer them the peace and hope that can only come through Jesus Christ.
To illustrate that, I want to close with this true story:
CLOSE: Chris was an undertaker had bought out a neighboring funeral home and kept the staff on. One of the staff was a man named Eric who lived above the funeral home.
Eric was a pagan.
He was a womanizing, ex-professional baseball player who spent his spare time in bars, and was generally loud, obnoxious and arrogant.
Chris would visit the new funeral home on a regular basis, and as time went by Eric noticed that Chris’ life was different than his, and he asked why.
Chris told him he was a Christian.
"That’s fine for you," Eric said, "but don’t go preaching any of that Christian blankity blank to me!"
"That day," Chris said, "I decided to put him on my prayer list. I thought OK God, let’s see what you can do!"
Over the next few of years, Eric battled alcoholism. He’d go to clinics for a month or so and come back promising to reform... and then fall back into drunkenness. The AA program he was part of told him he needed a spiritual focus to help him combat his alcoholism. And Chris tried to tell him at that time what a relationship with Christ was and how God could change his life. But Eric still didn’t want any part of it. He’d quickly shut Chris down claiming the spiritual focus could be anything or anyone.
"Besides," he would say, "I’ve done way too many rotten things for Jesus to love me."
About four years after buying the other funeral home, Chris decided to pray for Eric non-stop.
For 8 weeks, he prayed for this man.
But Chris noticed that his praying did not change Eric much.
But it did change him. He became more sensitive to opportunities to witness to Eric because Eric was specifically on his mind. Chris was on a mission!
On the 8th week, Chris came into work and was met by another of the workers. The man wasn’t a Christian himself, but he said: “Chris, you need to get over to Eric’s, he is at home not doing good. I think he needs God and I figured you are the one to go visit him."
He got to Eric’s apartment and found him a mess. Eric told him, "my life is falling apart and I don’t know what to do…. For the past four years I have watched you and your family and I’ve noticed that you have a peace and joy that I have never had. I want it."
"The answer is simple," Chris said, "You need Jesus."
Finally, Eric said, "Tell me about Jesus." And For the next hour he sat and listened. When Chris finished giving the plan of Salvation, Eric said, "I want Jesus in my life!"
That was back in 2001. Today, Eric is a different person. The crudeness is mostly gone and when it does show up, Eric expresses remorse. His language is cleaner. He has read through the entire New Testament and has been faithful at church.
After Chris baptized him, Eric whispered in his ear two simple words-- "thank you."
(Transformations, p. 64-66)
Chris understood that Eric needed something more than just the ability to stop drinking. He needed more than just a change in his lifestyle. Eric needed Jesus. He was a broken and damaged soul that Chris was able to help and lead to Jesus.
When we reach out to the hurting, we need to remember that we have one central message of hope: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” Acts 3:19
INVITATION: But if you don’t belong to Jesus today, you don’t have that hope. That’s why we offer an invitation at the end of every service…
