July 2, 2003
Title: Keep Right, God Working
Text: Acts 3:1-11
Introduction
Thanks for all your prayers for us while we were on vacation! We had a wonderful time!
I’ll have to be honest, I was looking forward to going on vacation...
but I certainly was NOT looking forward to:
the long drive...
all the traffic...
and road construction...
driving through Atlanta...
but in spite of it all...
we made pretty good time...
and we really weren’t hampered by all the road construction.
Throughout all our driving (about 2,300 miles worth),
we occasionally came upon areas where we would see those orange construction signs...
and big orange barrells...
and there would be signs like:
"speeding fines doubled in work zones"
or "men working"
or "left lane ends in 1 mile, merge right"
I even saw one that was written in print like a child might write, "please drive carefully, my daddy is working today".
As we continue our study of Acts, we come to Acts Chapter 3.
Acts 1 has been called: The Holy Spirit is Promised
Acts 2 has been called: The Holy Spirit is Out Poured
Acts 3 has been called: The Holy Spirit at Work!
As Acts chapter 2 comes to an end, Luke writes "Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles" Acts 2:43 (NIV)
And then in Chapter 3, Luke chooses one of these miracles to explain in more detail.
Read Text: Acts 3:1-11
I’ve entitled my devotions for tonight, "Keep Right...God at Work"
Body
1. God works in the ordinary times of our lives.
Luke writes, "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon" Acts 3:1 (NIV)
He doesn’t write, "One day, Peter and John went out so they could do some miracles"
He doesn’t say, "When Peter and John woke up that morning, they knew that this day would be different from any other"
From all evidence, we see that this is just an ordinary day.
Peter and John were on their way to the Temple at 3:00 in the afternoon...
For the devout Jew, there were 3 special times of prayer:
9 AM
12 Noon
3 PM
This would be a good place to interject:
I hope you have found a special time of prayer in your own life.
It would be great if you had ONE special time...perhaps in the morning or the evening.
But if you had THREE special times...I’m sure you would be the better for it.
Just because the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in Chapter 2...
that didn’t change the way they felt about making their way to the Temple (the Church)
that didn’t change the way they felt about spending time with God in prayer.
Sometimes God works in extra-ordinary ways on extra-ordinary days...
sometimes the Holy Spirit comes with flames of fire...
and the blowing of a great wind...
But God also works in just every day ordinary ways.
Peter and John were on their way to church
I don’t know what it is like in your home and in your car before you get to church...
One time, early in our marriage, Kay and I had one of our biggest arguments on the way to Church on a Sunday Morning! And yes, it was over something stupid.
And I’m sure that it’s not just us!!
Maybe you know what I mean...
the stress of getting ready for Church...
messing with the kids...
a spouse that doesn’t seem to help...
and you have the ingredients necessary for just an ordinary day, making your way to church.
But... Perhaps if we had our eyes opened to God’s work ...
we might have seen that God could do something tremendous;
even on ordinary days!
God wants us to experience revival and the blesses presence of His Holy Spirit in a special way...
but their comes a time when the revival ends...
and the evangelist leaves...
and its time to go back to work...
But don’t worry...
that’s just the time that God is getting to work too!!
God wants to do miraculous things in our lives...
not just on the mountaintop of revival...
but even in the valley of our work-a-day world!
Dr. Hugh C. Benner said, "So far as the record goes, not one soul was converted in the Upper Room....We must get out of the ’Upper Rooms’ out to where the needy are waiting, and give them our witness to the redeeming love and grace and power of Jesus Christ". (Hugh C. Benner, "The Church in Mission", p. 7)
John Henry Newman wrote these poetic words:
I sought to hear the voice of God
and climbed the topmost steeple:
but God declared: "Go down again---
I dwell among the people"
Peter and John were going to the Temple, as usual...
they were going to worship...
to pray...
to give their tithes...
These things might seem ordinary to others...
but to the Christian...
These are the ordinary things that bring about the extra-ordinary visitation by God Himself into our lives!
2. God not only works in ordinary times of our lives...but He works in ordinary people filled by the Holy Spirit!
This crippled man could have chosen any place to beg.
He could have sat in the market,
or along a main road
But he had his friends place him near the gate to the Temple.
He had the feeling that people who serve God would be more helpful and more generous to people like him.
As he sat out by the gate begging, I wonder what kind of response he was getting?
Perhaps some people passed by the other side of the gate...
I mean, this is one big gate!!
Josephus tells us that this gate was made of Corinthian Brass
it was plated with gold and silver
it stood 75 feet high...
and 60 feet wide!
This room is close to 40 feet long...
so the gate was nearly half again as long as this room.
It would have been easy for those early worshippers to pass on the other side of the gate without coming into contact with this needy man.
Maybe some of them would drop a few coins into his hand as they came to worship and pray...
perhaps they gave from good motives...trying to help out a fellow human being...
perhaps they gave from selfish motives...so that other people could see how generous they were...
or perhaps they were hoping that God would take special notice of their sacrifice.
But then, Peter and John come by.
Our Scripture indicates that they didn’t pass by the far side of the gate...
they didn’t just drop a few coins into his hands and then hurry on...
they stopped...
they actually looked at him...instead of averting their eyes...
they even took the time to speak to the man!
What’s the difference?
What’s the difference between Peter and John...
and all those other worshippers who were coming to Church that day?
Peter and John were both Jews; like the other worshippers that day...
They had the same background...
the same knowledge of the Holy Scriptures...
they attended Church like the others...
they gave of their tithes...
they spent time in prayer...
just like the others...
What was the difference?
Why did Peter and John stop...when no one else gave the man more than a casual glance out of the corner of their eye?
The difference is Peter and John had been to Pentecost.
They had been filled with the Holy Spirit
And something happens when you are filled with the Spirit!
You see people differently...
You understand their hurts...
you understand their needs...
And I hope you realize that the crippled man’s needs were more than just the need to walk. (we will talk more about that in a moment)
Peter and John were ordinary people...just like all the others that were gathering to worship that day...
They were just ordinary every day people...
but they had been filled with the Spirit!
and that is just the kind of people that God uses!!!
God uses ordinary people...
people like you...
people like me...
IF WE HAVE BEEN FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT!
Thomas Aquinas was visiting Pope Innocent IV in Rome.
The Pope showed him the vast treasure in the church’s vault...
Pointing to all that great wealth, the Pope said, "No longer can the church say, ’silver and gold have I none.’"
Thomas Aquinas replied, "It’s true, nor can the Church say to the lame man, ’rise up and walk’"
In other words, the church can be rich...financially; but it can be powerless because the people are not filled with the Spirit...
on the other hand, the church can be dirt poor; but it can have great power; becaue the people are filled with the Spirit!
Peter and John told the crippled man...
"hey, we don’t have any money to give you...
but we have something far greater than money can buy!"
Then they took him by the hand and said, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Acts 3:6 (NIV)
There may have been an absence of money...but there was the presence of power!!!
and the man was healed!
An american tourist watched a missionary nurse applying medicine to the open wound of a leper.
the sight of that wound was shocking and revolting to this american...
He said to her, "I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars"!
This nurse, who was a Christian, said, "Neither would I".
Peter and John were just ordinary guys...but they were filled with the Spirit!
they didn’t have any money to give...
but what they had; they were willing to give away!
They were willing to serve...
they were willing to love...
they were willing to be used of God to touch people’s lives!
What about you?
Are you just an ordinary man or woman?
What do you have?
Do you have silver and gold to give?
Maybe not...but what do you have?
Do you have God-given talent?
Do you have the ability to pray?
Can you take the time to reach out and touch the life of someone who needs Jesus?
God uses ordinary men and women who are filled by the Holy Spirit!
3. God not only works in ordinary times of our lives...and not only does He work in ordinary people filled by the Holy Spirit...but He works to meet people’s needs.
This man THOUGHT his need was for a little more money; so he could buy some bread or meat enough to eat this day...
But Peter and John looked beyond the surface...
and saw that more than money...
this man needed Jesus!
Randall Earl Denney wrote, "God gives what is needed, not what is asked! It’s true Jesus once said, ’everyone who asks receives’ (Matt 7:8) But when God takes over by His grace, we often get MORE that we ask! That beggar asked for a handout, but he got health instead!"
When Peter told the man to "walk, in the Name of Jesus"...
evidently this man just sat there...
He knew that he couldn’t walk...
so Peter took him by the hand and helped him to his feet.
What an image of what the Church should be!!!
We should be in the business of reaching out our hand to those who are lost...
and those who are hurting...
and those who need Jesus...
and give them more than just a hand out...
we can give them a hand UP!
we can encourage...
lift up...
and work miracles through the power of Christ!
The church that stands afar off...oblivious to human pain and human need...is not much of a church!
God’s plan calls for the church to walk right along side of those who are hurting and needy...
and to hold out that right hand of help...
and salvation...
and through us...
God can lift a broken man or woman to their feet and give them new life in Christ!
This crippled beggar not only was healed in his body...
but he was healed in his soul!
Acts 3:8 says, "He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God"
The man who USED to sit outside the gate asking for a handout...
was now walking through the gate into the House of Worship...
...well, that’s not quite right...
He was jumping up and down, praising God for what He had done for him!
I would like to see more of that in the life of the Christian!!
I get tired of seeing all the Christians just kind of strolling along...
seemingly oblivous to what God has really done in their lives!!!
If we really have been set free from our sins (more about that on Sunday!!)
If we really have received a miraculous touch from God...
I don’t think we would gather into the house of God to worship
with our faces downcast...
looking like we’ve been eating dill pickles for breakfast!!
I think we would have a little of the joy that this crippled man had!!
One Sunday, we were gathering in for choir practice, like we do before Sunday School...
and my daughter Lora came running through the aisle!
Well, you know that the Pastor’s kids have to be perfect...
and they need to show the proper reverence for God’s house...
so I said, "Lora, stop running in church"!
Lora promptly obedy me by stopping running...
but she proceeded to SKIP the rest of the way!
One of the choir members was quick to point out that "hey, at least she’s not running!!"; as they all enjoyed a good laugh at my expense!
One day a man was visiting a church that was gloomy and silent...
and he kept interrupting the service by saying, "Amen! Well, Praise the Lord"!!
Finally, an usher came to him and said, "you must keep quiet"!
The man said, "I’m sorry, but I just can’t hold it in. I’ve got a wonderful religion!"
The usher snapped back, "Well, you didn’t get it here!"
The lame man had reason to jump around and shout praises to God...
the thing is...we do too!!
Conclusion
While we were on vacation and when we came upon a construction zone...
the sign might says, "Keep right...men at work"
The traffic didn’t completely stop...
it merely slowed down so the men and women working on the roads were free to do so.
Here we are...on the road of our spiritual journey...
and we have come upon a sign that says, "Keep right...God at work!"
God is at working building and strengthening and growing the Church...
and we must not give up or stop...
we just need to slow down a little...
and give God a chance to do a work in our church!
(I borrowed liberally from Randall Earl Denny, "Do It Again, Lord", pp. 85-96)
