Today, I want to take a look at the life of a man that was radically changed by the power of God. But most importantly I want to look at his faith and his reaction to Jesus.
As the story open up, we see that this was a man that was paralyzed. He had never known what it was to walk. What he had known was a life of dependence on others and a life of suffering. Unfortunately, during his era there were no work programs for handicapped people in the ancient Middle East. The government didn’t send him a check every month. And to add insult to injure the paralyzed man also carried the cultural stigma that went along with his condition, which was a heavy burden to carry.
Let’s look at his routine. This man’s days consisted of being carried to a place daily to beg for money so that he could help in some tangible way with his upkeep. This was a man that lived by faith. It was a Faith of the goodness in hopes that God move on the hearts of others to help him.
Our story is erected out of the book of Acts chapter 3, verses 1 through 11. And as we examine the story we see a man who was doing all he could when he was met by God. Now what we see in these eleven verses is a spectacular, miraculous story about a miracle performed through the apostles Peter and John. We see a man’s life changed by the power of God. And how many of you know that God’s still changes lives today?
As I prepared this study, I see that our story is being laid out in five points. We see the Scene, the Situation, the Solicitation, the Supernatural, and the Spectacle.
The Scene (Acts 3:1) 1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. The first thing I want us to notice here is that Peter and John are together. Some people have questioned why that is. The answer is simple. If you remember, in the gospels, Jesus sent out the disciples in pairs to do the work of the ministry. So, pairing up to do ministry was already established.
We also see back in Luke chapter 5, verse 10 that Peter and John, along with John’s brother James had a fishing business together before they were called by the Lord to become his disciples.
And they went to the temple to do ministry that day. They went at the hour of prayer, now the verb tense used here tells us that they went to the temple frequently at the hour of prayer. One thing worth noting here is that two things were going on in this span of time. First there was the hour of sacrifice, and then there was the hour of prayer. And Peter and John had several divine appointments that day. We see the
first appointment in verse 2. Which was the The Situation (Acts 3:2) because the bible says that: And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; so, their appointment was with a lame man.
Now this lame man’s situation consisted of being carried into the temple, and being laid at the beautiful gate of the temple, to seek a handout from those going in. And we know that he was not a Con artist because the bible says that the man was lame from birth. This was more than likely a birth defect that afflicted the man.
So, here is the picture. Peter and John are walking through the temple to reach the court of Israel, and they run into this lame man, at the second gate they get to. In verses 3 through 5, we will see the lame man’s request, which leads me to my third point the Solicitation.
In Acts 3:3-5 it says 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
The lame man saw Peter and John walking to the gate. As I said earlier, they were going from one court in the temple to another. He probably saw the joy on their faces. These guys were filled with the Holy Spirit, and I would imagine that this would look pretty different from the religious establishment that came in and out of the temple daily. The lame man wanted support because of his condition. He wanted support from those that could afford it, and from those that were willing to help.
These guys looked pretty generous. The lame man probably thought, here are some good guys to ask. So, he asks them for alms. He’s looking for a handout. Peter looks at the lame man.
No doubt they have seen this guy hundreds of times before. Remember I said Peter and John frequently went up to the temple for prayer. Devout Jews went up three times daily to pray. Each time for one hour, once at 9 am, once at noon, and once at 3pm.
But this time it was different. This time, they felt moved by the Holy Spirit to do something. God had plans for this lame man lying by the gate. God didn’t have plans for his support by the way of money, but God had plans to transform his life by the healing power of God. In other words, God had a different plan for how he was going to bless him that day.
As the man was begging Peter told the man, look on us. He wanted the lame man’s undivided attention. That’s how Jesus is with us. He wants our undivided attention. He doesn’t want us looking around at our circumstances or trying to figure out how He is doing something. He wants our undivided attention.
So, the lame man gives them his attention as we see in verse 5, he is expecting to receive something from them. When I looked at this lame man, I saw something. Many times, we come to Jesus not to thank Him, but in a spirit of expectancy, looking for a blessing. But there are sometimes when we should be thanking Him for all that He has done for us.
I noticed some about this time that this man was begging. He came at the hour of prayer. There is some very significant about this hour and what it entails. The Jews had a certain manner in which they prayed. The hour was broken up in three parts. The first part which lasted fifteen minutes consisted of quiet reflection on who God is. The second part, which lasted thirty minutes, consisted of petitions to God. The last portion, which lasted the remaining fifteen minutes, consisted of adoration and worship of God. This suggests to me that our prayer life needs to be balanced. We need to spend at as much time meditating on God and praising Him as we do asking for things.
It is a good pattern to follow because when you think about God’s greatness and power, you are confident that He will answer our requests. After pouring out your heart to Him, you can’t help but to worship Him. Let’s get back to our lesson here though. We have a lame man focused on Peter and John, in front of the Beautiful gate of the temple, expecting a handout. But what he received was something supernatural, not a handout, but a hand up.
In verse 6, Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them walking, leaping, and praising God.
Look at this, Peter starts by telling him the bad news, and then the good news. The bad news is, we don’t have any money to give you. This would have no doubt disappointed the man, because He was looking for some money. That’s what he was there for. He was there looking for a handout because he couldn’t support himself. He was totally dependent on that income, and He could have gotten upset and bitter, like some of us do when we don’t get what we want, but he didn’t do that.
The bad news is that we don’t have any silver and gold, but I have some good news. Peter tells the lame the good news. The good news was that even though he didn’t have any money, he was going to give what he had. What Peter had was the authority from Jesus Christ to heal the sick. That’s what the little phrase ‘in the name of’ means in the original language. Peter tells the man, “by the authority of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. The man was expecting money and he got a miracle.
What he received that day was far better, and more valuable than all the money he had ever gotten.
He came to the temple that day looking for a handout. But, Peter gave him a hand up. In verse 7 Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up.
Peter had faith because he was moved by the Holy Spirit. He didn’t question God, he was moved by God, and he responded to the Lord’s direction.
That’s why I love Hebrews 11:1 that says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
If the lame man got what he wanted that day, he would have just received some money, and he would have spent the rest of his life begging at that gate. But, look what happens, the lame man’s feet and ankle bones were strengthened.
That’s God’s mercy, and that’s God grace, His unmerited favor toward this man. The city of Jerusalem probably had hundreds of beggars, not doubt that many were lame, just like this man, but God chose to heal this man that day out of His supreme will. Not because the man spoke it forth in faith, or
something like that.
Look at his reaction in verse 8. The man leaped up. He stood and he walked. He didn’t have to learn how to stand or how to walk.
The man was overjoyed. He walked into the temple with Peter and John, all along the way, he was walking, he was talking, he was leaping and praising God.
He was trying out his new legs and his new feet. He was jumping up and down to see if this was for real of not. he was making sure that it wasn’t a dream.
The most important thing to note here in verse 8 was that He was giving God the glory for healing him. He was praising God. The Lord had just healed him through Peter, and the man was praising the Lord for it.
But then the spectators and the haters saw him walking and praising God, and someone said isn’t this he, the one who sat begging at the Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
They were shocked, and they were amazed by the miracles of God’s power. But may I tell you that it is no secret what God can do, what he’s done for others, he can do the same thing for you.
You ought to tell your neighbor that if you don’t know what miracle look like just look at me, because I should been dead and gone, but look at me I’m still here, that’s a miracle.
I should be blind, cripple and crazy, but the Lord has blessed me that’s a miracle.
I’m reminded of a story of a little eight-year-old little girl, who one day she heard her mom and dad talking in a serious and sad tone about her little brother, Andrew.
The little didn’t understand everything that they were saying, but she got the gist of the story that her little brother, Andrew, was very sick, and they were completely out of money. They would have to move out of their house and move into a small apartment because Mom and Dad didn’t have enough money for the doctor bills and the house payment. On top of that, only an expensive surgery could save Andrew. They could not find anyone to lend them the money. At that point the little girl heard her dad say, “Only a miracle can save Andrew now.”
She ran to her room, pulled out a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in her closet. She poured out all the change on the floor and counted it carefully. She then put the change back in the jar, put the jar under her arm, slipped out the back door and ran down to the Drug Store about six blocks away.
The pharmacist was talking to a man, intensely and they didn’t notice that she was standing there. She waited patiently for a while and then loudly she cleared her throat, but still, no luck.
The pharmacist did not see her. Finally, she got his attention by taking a quarter out of her jelly jar and tapping it on the counter. That did it. The pharmacist noticed her and said, “Just a minute. I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen for ages.”
She said but “I want to talk to you about my brother. He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle. His name is Andrew and he has something growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost? I have the money here to pay for it. It’s all that I have saved. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much a miracle cost.”
The pharmacist’s brother was a well-dressed man. He stooped down and asked, “What kind of miracle does your brother need?”
“I don’t know,” she replied, with her eyes welling up. “I just know he’s really sick and Momma says he needs an operation. But my parents can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”
“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago. The little girl said one dollar and eleven cents. It’s all the money I
have in the world, but I can get some more if I need to.
The man said well, you are in luck, the man said with a smile. “One dollar and eleven cents is the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.”
He took the money in one hand and with the other he took hold of her mitten and said, “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well-dressed man from Chicago was Dr. Carlton who just happened to be a noted neurosurgeon. The operation was successfully completed without charge...and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well. The mom and dad were grateful, and they were talking one night about the chain of events that had saved Andrew’s life. Momma said, that was a real miracle.” And then she said, “I just wonder how much it would have cost.”
The little girl smiled and said I know exactly how much a miracle cost one dollar and eleven cent, plus, I remembered that you all taught us in church that if we have the faith then God’s got the power. You also said if we called on him that he would answer.
