“The Miracle in What You Have”
Acts 3:1-26
What do you have of value? Consider the following first-person account. “Bad luck – the light turned red, and I was trapped standing at the corner. I prayed for it to change quickly. He was standing too close to me. And besides, it was cold and I was getting wet from the snow. ‘Can I have something for my file, mister?’ he asked. This one was a crazy – no doubt about it. The grimy box under his arm gave him away immediately. Crazies always carry something, usually a shopping bag with handles. They can be unstable, but this guy looked pretty safe. ‘Sorry, no money.’ I had repeated the old lie so often it came out automatically. ‘Have you anything for my file?’ he repeated. Finally, his message sank through. I fished in my pocket, pulled out a brochure, and handed it to him. ‘No!’ he shouted. Then, almost pathetically, he finished, ‘I don’t have a file for that.’ I took it back and turned away. Come on light – change. I stepped over the curb to look for a break in traffic. ‘I’m Howard,’ he said. ‘What’s your name?’ ‘Mark.’ One syllable was all the information I intended to give. I had no desire to have some crazy calling me all the time. I knew people who had to change their telephone number to stop calls. I liked my number.
I chanced a quick look to see what he was doing. He had a pencil in one hand and was stooping to pick up a piece of paper form the snow. Just then the light changed, and I took off. Halfway down the block, I slowed down and looked back. The crazy had just closed his box and begun to look around for another victim. A few days later, I was walking the same route when I noticed an ambulance parked outside a dingy alley. I joined the crowd of onlookers. Two attendants in white jackets wheeled their stretcher out of the alley. It was the crazy. His face was showing, so I knew he wasn’t dead. But as the attendants shut the door, I could tell by their conversation that he wouldn’t stay uncovered for long. A policeman questioned some of the people in the crowd but received no answers. Nobody seemed to care that much, It was just a little added excitement on an otherwise dull December day. The cop raised his voice and asked, ‘Did anyone know this guy?’ Nobody answered. Finally, I volunteered. ‘His name is Howard.’ The people around me backed away – as if my knowing the crazy’s name made me crazy, too. The cop came over and began to pump me for more information. ‘His name is Howard. That’s all I know, sir.’ ‘Well, at least there will be a name for the headstone. Thanks for your help…Oh, by the way – would you take this for me?’ He reached down and picked up the crazy’s box. ‘I’d like to skip the paper work on this one.’
He shoved the box into my hands and walked away before I could say anything. ‘Why would I want this guy’s garbage?’ I looked around for a trash can, but…I could just toss the box. Maybe it was the stories I had heard of millionaires who lived like bums, or perhaps it was just my slightly misguided sense of loyalty to the human race. Whatever it was, I opened the box. I was disappointed. There was nothing but old clothes and a file folder. I pulled out the file and dumped the rest of the stuff. Then I noticed the crude printing on the folder: ‘FRIENDS.’ I opened it and looked inside. It held only one small scrap of paper. On it was written, ‘MARK.’” (1)
What do you have of value? As we turn to the third chapter of Acts we discover that WHEN WE HAVE JESUS, THERE IS GREAT VALUE IN WHAT WE HAVE.
As Acts chapter three begins, Pentecost is over and the daily routine of life has returned. Peter and John were headed to the Temple to offer afternoon prayers. They are addressed by A MAN WITH BASIC NEEDS. He was a man crippled from birth who sat and begged at this particular City Gate everyday. On this day he asked Peter and John for money. Beggars knew all the ropes. Begging was their life, their occupation, their art. They knew where to be, when to be there, and from whom to beg. They had an instinct that focused their sight on those most likely to give. They knew what was happening in and around town; they heard all the gossip and news. He probably knew who Peter and John were. So they were prime targets for him.
Have you ever seen a beggar? THE BEGGAR REPRESENTS THOSE WHO ARE LAME IN BODY, MIND, OR SOUL, people with basic needs. Certainly beggars are the homeless and others with obvious needs. But the beggars can also be those with an inability to serve or work, those paralyzed by unbelief, those with little or no faith. Today’s beggars are those loaded with low self-esteem, or petrified by fear, overwhelmed by failure, or overcome with grief. Modern day beggars can be those immobilized with hate, crippled by doubt, alienated by sin, or short on willpower. Beggars are also those who are lost in sin, who have rejected and ignored God.
Quite frankly, THERE ARE BEGGARS ALL AROUND US. Some of us, in fact, may have been just such a beggar – perhaps some here today are still begging. You know the pain, the emptiness of heart, the despair, the hopelessness. Certainly we encounter such people everyday – at least if we open our eyes. People with deep needs frequent the places we go, even the sanctuary in which we worship. There is a hunger deep inside which cannot be met with bread, or with silver and gold. We want to remain in the comfortable excitement of Acts 2 – with the tongues, the fire, the worship, the daily gatherings; but the reality of life will never allow us to do so. All around us are beggars with basic needs. As Spirit-filled people our hearts must be broken with the things that break the heart of God.
So Peter and John are confronted by this man with basic needs. He asked them for money. “Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.” This beggar had received gold for forty years but he was still in the same condition. On this day, however, he met A DISCIPLE WITH BENEFICIAL NOURISHMENT. "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.” Peter’s visible resources were nil but his invisible resources we unlimited. Peter possessed that with which the poorest is rich and without which the richest is poor. For Peter, THERE WAS A NEW CAPACITY FOR FAITH. Peter and John now understood Calvary and Pentecost. They had been led to look beyond what Jesus could do for them to what Jesus could do through them. They knew that, in Jesus, nothing was impossible. Jesus had taught them that He was the vine and they were the branches; they truly believed they were partakers of the divine nature, that Jesus Christ the Son of God had poured Himself into them. So Peter did not hesitate; HE GAVE WHAT HE HAD. "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.” He gave what he had and it brought new life to the beggar.
So what do you have of value? What is your beneficial nourishment? Each of us needs to ask this morning, WHAT DO I HAVE OF VALUE? Your Christ-like loving smile, your divine word of encouragement, your holy comforting presence, your Spirit-filled gift of hospitality, your biblical wisdom, your godly love, your loyal friendship, your patient listening ear, your gracious understanding, your bent towards timely acts of kindness, your heart for children, your skills for building, your time for tutoring are of value. We can only give what we have to give and God does not expect any more than that – but neither does He expect anything less. We are not the healers. We are only the channels through which the healing power of Jesus can flow. What a liberating concept! We don’t have to be everything to everyone; we don’t have to match what someone else can do; all Jesus expects you and me to give is what He’s already given to us. Think about it – if Peter had listened only to what the beggar said he needed – money – he would have responded, “Sorry. There’s nothing I can do. I have no money.” But he instead gave what He had – and the beggar was healed. It’s significant to note that the word Luke uses for feet when describing the healing is the word from which we get our English word, “basics.” Luke is telling us that Peter gave the man the basics of life and that is what healed him.
Do you realize you have beneficial nourishment? Or do you feel paralyzed, unable to act, inadequate, and inept? You want to love but find it difficult; you want to express care but feel inhibited? When the American poet Edgar Guest was a young man, his first child died. Wrote Guest: “I was lonely and defeated. There didn’t seem to be anything in life ahead of me that mattered much. I had to go to my neighbor’s drugstore the next morning…and he motioned for me to step behind the counter with him. I followed him into his little office at the back fo the store. He put both hands on my shoulders and said, ‘Eddie, I can’t really express what I want to say, the sympathy I have in my heart for you. All I can say is that I’m sorry, and I want you to know that if you need anything at all, come to me. What is mine is yours.’” Years later Guest reflected on the incident. He said, “Just a neighbor across the way – a passing acquaintance. Jim Potter (the druggist) may long since have forgotten that moment when he gave me his hand and his sympathy, but I shall never forget it – never in all my life. To me it stands out like the silhouette of a lonely tree against a crimson sunset.” “…what I have I give you.” What do you have of value? Are you prepared to give it and be a blessing?
It’s quite a story: a beggar with basic needs met a person with beneficial nourishment But the story doesn’t end there. The most significant aspect of the experience is that the beggar also met A SAVIOR WITH A DIVINE NAME. A crowd quickly gathered following this miraculous healing. Peter reminded 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? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 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 complete healing to him, as you can all see.” Remember how Peter offered what he had. “In the name of Jesus…walk.” In those days a name represented all the power, authority, and characteristics of the person, so invoking the name of Jesus brought all the power, authority, and characteristics of Jesus to bear upon the beggar. So often we hear in advertising, “Tell them so-and-so sent you.” To use the name is to gain recognition and perhaps a special deal. If, Jesus said, we ask anything in His name, it will be given to us. So when confronted by people with basic needs, GIVE IN THE NAME OF JESUS, the name which is above all names. There is, in fact, no other name by which we can be made whole and be saved. In essence, Jesus has told us, “When you give your beneficial nourishment, mention my name – call forth my authority and power.
Years ago, a young girl wanted to enter a little Sunday School in Philadelphia, but was told there was no room. So she began saving her pennies to ‘help the Sunday School have more room.’ Two years later she became ill and died, and they found a small pocket book under her pillow with 57 pennies and a note which read: “To help build the Little Temple bigger, so more children can go to Sunday School” The pastor told the story to his congregation and the newspaper took the story across the nation. Soon the pennies grew, and the outcome can be seen in Philadelphia today. There is a church that seats 3,000 people, a Temple University which accommodates thousands of students, a Temple Hospital, and a large Temple Sunday School. And it all began with 57 pennies in the name of Jesus. It’s amazing what happens when we give in the name of our divine Savior.
Yet so often I find that I am hesitant, concerned I’ll promise or call forth what I cannot deliver. But here’s the key – we don’t have to deliver, if we give what we have in the name of Jesus. WHEN WE DO WHAT WE CAN, GOD WILL DO WHAT WE CANNOT. When we are at the end of our resources, God’s giving has only begun. That’s why Paul prayed for the Ephesian Church, and for us (1:17 ff.): “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know … the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” The fullness of God and Christ – in you! You have not only beneficial nourishment; you also have a Savior with a divine name. Give what you have, do what you do in the name of Jesus!
Perhaps you’ve come today more like the beggar – in great need. Or you’ve come more like the person with beneficial nourishment, but you need a rekindling of the flame within you. It doesn’t matter which. We all need to ask the same questions. Have I received the Holy Spirit? Is my heart His home? Do I believe that power is given to me through the Holy Spirit? Have I utilized this power in Jesus’ name for the lame in myself and in others? Do I truly believe the miracle in what I have? Pentecost happened; the power of God has come upon us; Jesus Christ lives within us. So – what do you have of value? Go forth in the name and with the power of Jesus. To that end, let us offer up our hearts in awe and praise – in the name of Jesus.
(1) Ted Brooks, from Servant, March/April, 1989
