I suppose it was probably 15 or 20 years ago when I got a call from a young lady in our church who was working as a phlebotomist at St. Mary's Hospital in Reno. She had established a friendship with a couple who were in a crisis because he was facing a surgery for a blocked carotid artery. She had talked to them some about Jesus and sensed that they were, at this important juncture in their lives, very open to a relationship to Him. So, I was called in to share the Gospel with them, to "close the deal" so to speak.
So, as I arrived with everyone in the room I was a bit surprised to find out how young the man was--he was a mere 40 years old. As it would eventually be revealed, he had abused recreational drugs nearly his entire adult life, which was likely responsible for the health predicament that he now found himself in.
They were indeed open to Jesus and the Gospel, so after I shared with them about how they could be assured of the forgiveness of sins and eternal simply through putting their faith in Jesus, they both prayed a prayer to trust in Jesus.
Of course, there was still the problem that his physical condition presented. I then learned that medical tests had determined almost a total blockage of one of his carotids, and surgery was scheduled for the next morning. But before the surgery, doctors had ordered one last test to assure them that surgery was indeed needed.
Well, this seemed like the perfect set-up for a miracle to me. So, I prayed to the Lord Jesus, in the name of the Lord Jesus, for a complete healing by the time that that one last test was performed the next morning, so that the carotid artery would be completely clear, and the surgery could be cancelled.
Now I was unusually confident, for me, that God was going to heal this man. I know how God sometimes works--Jesus came to seek and save the lost, God's heart bleeds for the lost, and thus He often delights to affirm His power to save through Jesus, by demonstrating His power to heal.
So, I called the next day. And I was not exactly surprised, but was very delighted to hear that indeed God had heard our prayers and when the test had been completed, it had shown that the blockage had completely cleared, leaving doctors bewildered about what had happened. Their faith assured, the couple checked out of the hospital, and continued to believe, though their obedience was rather halting due to years of sinful habits.
That experience came powerfully to mind as I considered our passages and our topic for this morning--that Jesus Himself strongly encouraged believers to pray in His name, and guaranteed that our prayers in His name would result in our doing the very same kind of works, that is miracles, that He Himself did, and even greater works in John 14:12-14. And it so happened while I was preaching on this passage during our series on the Truly, Trulies of Jesus just about six months ago, Jeanie and I in our daily devotions were reading the Book of Acts, and we came across Acts 3, where it become clear that Peter and John, the Apostles of Jesus, just a few short months after Jesus had made the promise in John 14:12-14, precisely obeyed Jesus, prayed boldly in Jesus' name for a man who had been lame from birth, and experienced the very same result that Jesus had predicted.
The apostles, believe it or not, just simply did what Jesus told them to do--they prayed in Jesus name, and guess what, Jesus did what He said He would do--they perfromed the same kind of miracle that Jesus was famous for in His ministry.
Now, let's just take a moment to review what Jesus promised in John 14:12-14: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."
Now Jesus said this the night he was betrayed, in the upper room, the day before His crucifixion. It was an encouragement to His disciples clearly to continue to do what He had been doing, and an absolute exhortation to them to continue to do so and an explanation of how they could continue to do so, by praying in Jesus' name. And notice that it was not just a promise for them, or for the first century, or the apostolic age. The promise was made to "he who believes in
Me." It's clear that Jesus was eager for us to pray in His name, so that the Father might be glorified in the Son--so that God the Father and His Son, might be glorified, or get the credit, the faith, and the thanksgiving for doing only what the Living God and Redeemer can do. And then note his final encouragement: "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."
In other words, He wants believers to ask Him for anything, and He encourages us that He will do it when we ask.
Now, let me ask you a simple question. Can you think of anywhere in the Bible where Jesus or anyone else suspends this promise, alters it to say something different, or tells us that it no longer good for anyone who believes in Jesus? I cannot, and I suspect you can't either. If this promise of Jesus is not true, then perhaps His promise of eternal life in John 3:16 as a result of believing in Him is not true, either.
So, my honest question, both for myself, and each and every one here this morning, is why don't we act like we believe it. And more than that, I want to introduce a novel thought: "What if we simply did what Jesus said to do when someone needs a miracle and see what He does?"
My answer to that question is that it's because we don't believe. We don't really believe this promise of Jesus. We don't believe despite the fact that there is nothing in all of the Bible that is said that would cause us to doubt it.
So, why are we so skeptical? It's because of the worldly, agnostic and atheistic presuppositions common to our Western academic, materialistic and scientific culture that miracles don't happen. And so, if you're like me, it doesn't happen because often you don't believe. And then another spiritual dynamic comes into play, as Jesus described it, in Matthew 9:29: "According to your faith it will be done unto you." Or perhaps more accurately in our case, "According to your unbelief it will not be done unto you." And then another one in James 4 also comes into play, "You do not have, because you do not ask."
Now I don't want to be extreme here. God doesn't always heal. He doesn't heal for reasons only known unto Him. And Jesus didn't heal everyone who was ill in the Gospels, but He did heal everyone He intended to heal. God has His own purposes in this matter, but what is clear from John 14:12-14, is that one of His purposes is to do the miraculous through us in Jesus' name, just as He did the miraculous through Jesus.
So, my question for each one of us here this morning, is why don't we insert ourselves into those situations that scream for a miracle, and then pray boldly, and openly, in Jesus' name for God and Jesus to be glorified.
That's exactly what Peter and John did in Acts 3.
It starts out as a typical day in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. As we've read, Peter and John, joint witnesses of the Resurrection in John 20, are entering the temple in Jerusalem, at the ninth hour, which would be 3 p.m. by our accounting, at an hour designated for prayer. The designated hours were 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m., so it was a busy time at the temple. No doubt many Jews were following the custom on this day.
And as we're told, they observed as a man who was lame from birth was being carried and set down at the gate of the temple, which was called Beautiful, in a prime spot for pan-handling as we might call it today. He was set down at the Beautiful Gate, which was most likely the gate at the eastern entrance, or front entrance to the Temple. So as crowds of people funneled through the gate, they would inevitably come face-to-face with this poor man who had never been able to walk a day in his life, begging alms for his living, just as we might see someone like him today sitting a wheelchair at a busy intersection, with a sign saying, "Anything will help."
Now what should be noted here is that this was a daily thing. This lame man was there every day, likely for years. It was a prime spot for pan-handling, and so everyone knew him. Everyone who regularly went to the temple was aware of his sad state of affairs, because they likely saw him every day in that same place attempting to provide for himself through the alms of the religious Jews. And this had very likely gone on for decades, for as Acts 4:22 notes, this man was more than 40 years old. His infirmity and condition were likely considered to be absolutely hopeless.
So, what I want you to notice here is that this was a set-up. This was a divine set-up for a miracle. This guy needed a miracle and everyone knew it and no one, except Peter and John, ever expected it to happen, because he had been disabled for life. It was at the busiest time of day at the busiest place it could possibly happen, when Peter and John came face-face, or eye-to-eye with this disabled beggar, and I'm sure the Holy Spirit prompted them. And then, verses 3-6 deserve to be read again, because it reflects such an amazing series of events: "When the beggar 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 from them. But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene--walk!"
What did Peter do here? He simply did what Jesus said to do in John 14:12-14. He prayed, or commanded the beggar, in Jesus name. And guess what? Jesus came through. He seized the man with his right hand, pulled him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened, and with a leap he stood upright and began to walk!
And how! He entered the temple and not only walked but leaped and walked and praised God. "Hallelujah!!! Glory to God in the Highest!" He was so excited; he caused a stir. And when that bustling crowd there for the hour of prayer saw who it was who waswalking and leaping and making such a ruckus, they were astonished, absolutely blown away. Why, because they recognized the guy. This is the man who has always been lame from birth! What happened!!! Has he been healed!
Now this shows us how God can use each one of us here, and believe Jesus' promise, to bring people to faith in Jesus. And if you don't believe this, I'm asking you why. I guarantee you it's not because of anything Jesus Himself ever said. For He's the one who said, "According to your faith be it unto you" in Matthew 9:29, and "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you" and "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." (Matthew 17:20).
And so, the first lesson for us this morning is to do what Peter and John did. Look for and notice problems that only Jesus can resolve by prayer in Jesus' name.
Now I know you know about them. You have believing and unbelieving neighbors, friends and relatives who have extreme physical needs. And I see those prayer requests all the time on your cards every week. And I do believe God can heal through medical intervention. But I also believe that He can heal instantaneously, and miraculously so that Jesus gets the glory.
And this leads me to the second point in this message this morning. Peter and John didn't just utter a silent prayer as they passed by this lame man. No, they boldly prayed in the presence of whoever was there in the name of Jesus, or perhaps it's better to say they declared that in the name of Jesus, this man was healed.
Now let me ask you what would have happened if they had just silently prayed for the man to be healed, and he was eventually healed. Would Jesus have gotten the credit? Would the crowd have been impressed? Would they have come running to hear what Peter had to say about it? Nope. It would have been a miracle, but nobody but the disciples perhaps, would have known that it came about because of prayer in the name of Jesus, and in a sense, this great miracle would not have accomplished all that God wanted it to.
The bold prayer in Jesus' name in a public setting with not only the afflicted present, but the affected present, was essential to the purpose that Jesus had cited as the reason for praying in Jesus' name--that God would be glorified through His Servant Jesus. And that's exactly what happened on this busy afternoon in the temple.
Do you see what I'm driving at here? It's a good thing to pray for friends and family privately in Jesus' name. But it's a far better thing to pray boldly and publicly in Jesus' name for such a person. Because then God and Jesus get the glory, and people are willing to listen to the Good News!
And so, the second point this morning, and it is the decisive turning point in this story, is this:
Pray boldly and publicly in Jesus name in the presence of both the afflicted and the affected.
You do this for God's glory. You do this so he gets the credit--the honor and the glory He deserves before believers and unbelievers. You do this so that unbelievers will now hear the Gospel and come to faith.
Now I want you to notice something. Peter and John were in the midst of unbelieving Jews at this point in their ministry. These Jews had previously been hostile to Jesus. Their generation, and perhaps some of them personally, had been part of the crowd who only a couple months earlier had shouted down Pontius Pilate's offer to release Jesus, and chosen the murderer Barabas instead and had screamed "Crucify Him, Crucify Him" repeatedly.
Now, look at what happened when they saw this formerly life-long lame beggar walking and leaping and praising God.
Verse 11: "While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. But when Peter saw this, He replied to the People, "Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk."
Now, in other words, the bold and public prayer that this man be healed in Jesus name resulted in a crowd of formerly skeptical Jews who were now ready to hear the Good News about Jesus. It was another mass divine appointment, which came because this time, Peter and John simply obeyed and believed Jesus' promise about prayer in Jesus' name.
Now some here will ask why don't we see more of this in the church if this is true. Again, my answer is because of the dynamic of another promise Jesus gave, "According to your faith be it unto you--or in accord with your unbelief be it unto you." We often don't do this because we don't believe. We don't ask, so we don't receive.
But it is exactly these kinds of things that are happening all over the world.
As I have noted before, American Scholar and Seminary Professor Craig Keener has made a study of miracles that are happening all around the world in the name of Jesus in his two-volume work called Miracles. He noted that miracles like these are common in what he calls "the Majority World" world of Christians which consists of believers in Asia, Africa, and South America, virtually everywhere but Europe and North America, which he claims has been unduly influenced by what he calls "The Radical Western Enlightenment" which has embraced culturally the unbiblical total skepticism about the supernatural advocated by Scotch philosopher David Hume. And so our unbelief, and our skepticism with regard to the supernatural is fed by our unbelieving culture and our educational system. But where that is not the case, miracles are both expected and commonplace. It's our ethnocentric pride in our spirituality and our lack of awareness about what God is doing nearly everywhere else in the world through believers who actually believe that has left us in a state of unbelief and inaction.
And I for one, for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus and it's advancement, declare it's high time for us to repent, and believe Jesus' promise, and boldly and publicly pray in Jesus' name, and let Him do what only He can do, when we do so.
So, what follows this incredible miracle done in a bold and public way in Jesus name. People come running and Peter realizes God has sovereignly and supernaturally given him a chance to both explain how what has happened has happened and exhort these unbelieving Jews to repent of their unbelief and believe in Jesus the Messiah.
As verse 12 indicates, these unbelievers who have run to see the lame man who walks clinging to Peter and John have a question. How did this happen? Who did it? Why?
And Peter boldly answered: Verse 13: "Why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our Father, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you put to death the Prince of Life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses, . And on the basis of faith in His name , it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know, and the faith that comes through Him has given Him this perfect health in the presence of you all."
You see how Peter gave glory and credit to God and to Jesus here. That's why it was so public. So, people could see Jesus was real and the Savior/Messiah!
So, when God comes through, then explain to those who have seen how and why the miracle occurred.
And don't leave out step four: Exhort them to change their minds about Jesus and believe. Exhort them to repent of unbelief and trust in Jesus.
And that's what happens next in our story.
Verse 17: "And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore, repent, and return so that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
Do you see the Gospel in what Peter has said. This Jesus, the Christ, suffered and died so your sins could be forgiven. He's been raised from the dead as proof He is the Christ. And so, it's now high time to repent of your unbelief, and put your faith in Jesus, too. He can save you by the same power he healed this man lame from birth.
Now this happens today even in our culture when we give God a chance, by praying boldly and publicly in Jesus' name.
Barb Cianciarulo told an amazing story recently in one of our deaconess meetings. Believe it or not, she was invited to speak by some Jewish relatives who are rabbis in a synagogue in the east coast. So, Barbara did so boldly, and preached Jesus, believe it or not to these Jews. And then, moved by the Holy Spirit that a young man who was there was struggling with Homosexuality, she invited anyone struggling with any number of sins, including homosexuality to come forward and receive Jesus as their Savior.
And this young man came forward. And as she counseled him afterward, she prayed boldly in the name of Jesus, commanding the foul spirit of lust that had controlled his life to come out of him, and he fell to his knees and in tears was delivered and saved!
Yes, it happens today for those who are so bold as to simply believe and obey what Jesus said to do.
What might Jesus do through you, if you simply did what Jesus says, pray publicly and boldly in His name for his glory.
We're starting a new ministry here toward this end. You have in your bulletins this morning the outline of what you might do if you find yourself with an opportunity to pray as Peter and John did, for a miracle for someone. It's called the In Jesus Name Prayer and Care Ministry. And in it, we offer the services of ourselves, including Miles and I, and our deaconesses, to go with you and pray if you will.
Go and pray publcly and boldy in Jesus' name and then explain and exhort to faith. Let's pray.
