Peter and John, disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. The messiah, that was prophesied about, the God that became flesh and walked with them. The atonement of sins for the world. Peter and John were doing what they were commanded to do. They were spreading the good news of salvation and when they get to the temple they see a man crippled from birth being carried to the temple gate.
What follows was not only miraculous but also meaningful. There is a hidden message in that healing. The first healing that we hear about in the book of Acts. The message is that there is power in the name of Jesus Christ.
Three things happened during this passage and they are three things that need to be applied to everyday life. Three things about the work Jesus did.
First Peter tells the man, look at us. They wanted his undivided attention. They were not going to compete with that man’s attention.
Secondly Peter says Get up and walk. He healed the crippled man.
Finally the man goes around telling everyone that he was healed.
What does our God tell us? He tells us the same three things.
God says, give me your attention? Give me your belief. God wants us to believe that he sent his son to this world to die. He wants us to believe that his death on the cross is the only way to heaven.
Without the mans undivided attention, Peter could not heal that man. He said. Look at us. He wanted to be sure he was listening to only them. Without our undivided attention, God cannot work in our lives.
As Jesus and his disciples left Jericho, two blind men heard he was coming and asked him to heal them. The men ignored the crowd that rebuked them and they asked for healing. They gave Jesus their undivided attention.
They knew that if they could just get him to stop and talk to them, they could be healed. They had faith that Jesus could do it and he had compassion on them because of their faith. Throughout his ministry, Jesus healed those that had faith.
A hemorrhaging woman walked up behind him and had faith that this man could heal her and he did. A group of four men lowered their friend down through a hole in the ceiling where Jesus was teaching in hopes that Jesus would heal him and he did. Talk about letting your friends down. This time it was for the good.
Without your full attention, you will not have complete faith in Christ. God needs your attention at all times so that he can do his work through you. He doesn’t want only half, or 3 quarters. He wants your undivided attention.
When Peter and John had their this man’s attention, the healing took place. Paul tells us that when we believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord, we are justified. The Holy Spirit will heal your broken spirit and make you born again if you have given your attention to God.
It is with belief in Christ, that God’s holy spirit descends upon your heart and you are healed. The old creation is gone and you are a new creation as Paul told the Ephesians. And he told the Romans and the Corinthians that you’re old life is gone and your new life exists.
All by letting God have your attention and then by calling on his name. That power name of Jesus Christ, you will be healed. Your sins will be remembered no more and God will write on your heart his law and you will be worthy enough to be considered a child of God because of the power in the name of Jesus Christ.
It was in the name of Jesus Christ that Peter told that man to walk and he did. He raised up and he walked. We must simply call on the name of Jesus to help us get through our temptation or trial. We turn on a light switch to tap into the power that exists in the switch. We can tap into the power of the name of Jesus by simply asking for it.
If we try to get there alone, we will stub our toes or bang our knees. It is only with the power of Jesus Christ our Lord that we can make it through those tough times. Just reach out to God and flip the switch.
The third thing that this passage teaches us is that the man knew he was healed and he proclaimed it to the world. He went into the temple courts walking and jumping and praising God.
We give God our attention, he heals us and then what do we do? Do we sit on it and say yeah I am going to heaven (speak softly) or do we jump up and down and yell "YEA I AM GOING TO HEAVEN!! PRAISE THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!"
You are permitted to do either. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus tells his disciples to Go into the world and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We are told to spread the good news that Jesus Christ is lord of lords and king of kings.
Your saved. You are born again, you are a new creation. Don’t let it stop there. If that man would not have jumped up and ran around, no one would have known he was healed. They probably would have assumed he died and that would have been the end of it. But instead he jumped up and down and praised God. People recognized him and guess what else they recognized about him. They recognized that he had been healed.
What do people recognize about you? Jesus tells us that the world will know us by our fruit. Not by our peaches or pears that we buy at the store, but by the fruits of the spirit that we show to the world. If you are not bearing fruit then you will not be recognized as being born again and you will be doing nothing for God and he won’t have your full attention and he won’t continue to heal you.
Now I don’t expect all of us to go out and shout to the world that Jesus Saves. Some of you may do that, and I may do that but not all of us. But, people will see you and will know you by your actions.
James tells us that faith without deeds is dead. He doesn’t mean that it is our works that get us to heaven. You see there are our works and then there is our salvation. Salvation is not dependent on works. Salvation is one thing and works are what come out of it.
IF you have good works, and by that I mean, you don’t break the ten commandments every chance you get, by that I mean you give to the needy and love your neighbor and do not gossip or enter into judgment of someone. If you have good works then you are bearing good fruit and you will be rewarded for your deeds.
If you have a dead faith, then you will do what you want, you will continue to gossip when I am telling you now that it is wrong and God does not like it. You will continue to judge when I am telling you now that God does not want you to decided what someone is thinking because you don’t really know anyway. If you have dead faith, then you will produce dead fruit and you will not be rewarded for that.
The man shouted to everyone he saw. He praised God because he was healed. We should do the same. We are healed by the power in the name of Jesus Christ. We are healed by him and only by him. We should not be shy about telling the world or showing the world this by our actions and by our talk.
Stop and think for a moment. Stop and think about when you first accepted Jesus Christ as your savior. When you realized that he died on the cross for you. Think about that time. Maybe you don’t remember the exact day or hour and maybe not even where you were. Now if you have never done that, then there is no better time to accept it. Say a prayer to yourself and God will hear it. But mainly know that it is true and believe it in your heart.
Now think about that moment. Think of the joy you had that you knew you would go to heaven. That is when you were healed.
Now think about the time you completely gave yourself to the Lord. When you decided that belief was not enough and you knew that God wanted to work in your life. Remember that day. Remember the joy you had knowing that God was going to use you and mold you and make you into something new. If you have never done that, or if you have taken your life back out of his hands. Give it back to him now. IT is never too late to start over with God. Give him your full attention. Give it to him and say take my life and let it be. Give him all your cares and all your fears and all your burdens. Cast them all upon the Lord because you know that there is power in that name. Cast them all on him and say take it.
Now when you decide to take control again, stop look God in the eye and give it all back to him again. He will heal you again and then finally go and shout it to the world. Tell it from the tallest mountain. Say God is so good. Let me tell you what he did for me today. You may not save someone if they are already saved, but you may strengthen and encourage them. Our mission is not to just make disciples, but to make better disciples and heal them through the power in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
