“Surprised by the Time of Refreshing”
Acts 3:11:26
Robert Warren
Westmoreland Church of Christ
June 6th, 2004
1. It takes me a very long time to write a sermon.
a. The actual writing can take a number of hours...
b. But the time from beginning to end can be a number of days...
i. I have to decide what scripture to preach on...
ii. Then I have to procrastinate for a long time, while I think about what God would have me tell you from his word
(1) Susan used to make fun of me, because I would tell her that I was going into my study to work on my sermon and a little while later she would hear the sounds of gunfire or music coming from a video game: but, I insist that all of that procrastination is just the time that God uses to allow his word to percolate in my mind.
iii. When it actually comes time to write the sermon, usually Sat. night around midnight, I’ve had plenty of time to think about what the word is saying, but precious little time to actually get the sermon done.
iv. There have literally been times when I’ve gotten my sermon done as the sun was coming up on a Sunday morning.
2. Therefore, I have to say that I am very impressed with Peter, he appears to be one of those preachers who is able to be used by the Spirit to preach at a moments notice. This is what all of us are called to do: 2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage– with great patience and careful instruction.”
a. And, unlike a lot of preachers who claim to preach without preparation by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Peter actually was used by the Spirit to say something, not all “on the fly” preachers can say that.
i. I remember being at a church camp one year, at the final banquet...it was about 6:30 PM and we were finishing up the meal. I was sitting across from the evangelist and he said, “I wonder what I’ll preach on tonight.” Mind you, the service was at 7 PM...I was stunned that he hadn’t prepared anything. But, he claimed, he preached from the Spirit and didn’t need to prepare. The only problem: he preached basically the same sermon all week, and his lack of preparation was very obvious.
3. But not Peter, he is able to be opened up to the movement of the Holy Spirit at a moment’s notice to preach the Word.
a. If you remember, his first sermon was very unplanned.
i. It was on the Day of Pentecost, and Peter had no idea what God was going to do.
ii. The disciples had met to worship like any other day, when the Spirit was unexpectedly poured out on them.
iii. The Spirit fell on them, sounding like a roaring wind, looking like fire, and making itself known by causing the disciples to speak in various languages.
iv. All this commotion caused a large crowd to gather, amazed at what God was doing: some praised God, while others thought that the disciples must be drunk.
b. So, just like that, Peter jumped up and seized the opportunity to preach the Gospel.
i. He told them that they were not drunk on spirits, but filled with the Spirit.
ii. And from there, he went on to tell them the whole Gospel story, telling the crowd that if they wanted to get right with God they needed to repent and be baptized.
iii. And sure enough, just like that, 3,000 people were baptized and saved.
4. Now, once again, God calls upon Peter at a moment’s notice to proclaim the Gospel.
a. (When I was a minister in KY I was a volunteer firefighter: we had to carry with us radios: when they went off, we had to drop whatever we were doing, put on our turn out gear, and get to the fire...usually in time to save the chimney of the house on fire. It was nerve-wracking: when you heard that tone, your heart leapt. You raced around trying to get into your gear and find the fire. You didn’t know if you were going to a little dumpster fire, or a house with children trapped inside. When you heard the tone, the adrenalin rushed and you did what you had to do.)
b. This is what Peter is like: whenever the Holy Spirit rang the bell in his heart, he knew that he had to jump up and respond.
i. He had denied God once before, he would not do it again, because he knew how bad it felt to walk away knowing that God could have used him but was unable to because of his fear.
ii. Ever had a chance to witness and walk away? It’s not a good feeling.
iii. So, Peter was ready, “in season and out” to preach the Gospel.
5. If you remember the story from last week, you’ll remember that Peter was “out of season” for preaching.
a. He wasn’t on his way to a street corner to preach, he was on his way to the temple for his own personal worship. All he had in mind was going to the temple to pray and perhaps hear a lesson from a rabbi.
b. But, on the way, God put his foot out and tripped him up with an opportunity to witness.
i. Peter and John ran across a beggar: now, this wasn’t that big a deal.
ii. There were many beggars gathered around the temple, hoping to appeal to the religious sensibilities of those coming to worship: it’s the same reason that needy people today come to churches for help.
iii. Many of these beggars would have had great needs: no doubt there were blind people, lame people, disfigured people, orphans, widows: all people with great needs.
iv. But, for whatever reason, this beggar caught Peter’s eyes: and he stopped. When he stopped, God got ready to work.
c. Catching the beggar’s eye and taking his hand, Peter and John said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
6. Now, knowing the humility of Peter this ought to be the end of the story. The beggar would have been able to walk, and Peter and John would have went on to another typical day of worship.
a. But the beggar would not hear of this.
b. He had been bound by his infirmity, and by the power and name of Jesus Christ he was now free. What else could he do?
i. He could do nothing else but: “he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God.”
ii. Sure enough, this attracted another crowd. When people are unashamedly praising the works of God, people will take notice and either praise along or make fun. The people in the crowd saw this man who they had stepped over day in and day out, this crippled man, now jumping and laughing and praising God.
iii. And so, verse 10, “they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”
7. Once again Peter was in a great place to give a sermon, and so, just like that, Peter presented the Gospel. This wasn’t your typical place of worship, but Peter was determined to feed the lost sheep of Jesus with the Gospel at every opportunity that was given to him.
a. So, standing there with a formerly lame man clinging to him and a crowd of Jewish worshipers staring at him with slack jaws, Peter gave them a message that we would do good to overhear.
8. Peter had a message to crippled people.
a. No, the whole crowd gathered there were not crippled in the same way that the beggar was: physically, they were fine, able to walk around, like most of us here today.
b. But, in a spiritual sense, they were very crippled. Again, like most of us.
c. What do I mean by this?
9. Verse 12: Peter says to them, “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you.”
a. Now, what kind of question is this: “Why does this surprise you.”
b. Wouldn’t you be surprised if someone who had been crippled from birth was now all of a sudden standing in the front of the church, jumping and dancing and praising God? Sure you would. But you shouldn’t be.
c. Look at who Peter was addressing: he says, Men of Israel.
i. In other words, these were Jewish people, believers in God, holy people, folks who knew the One and Living God.
(1) they knew that this was the God who had created the world
(2) ...who had given the Promised Land to Abraham
(3) ...who had given a son to barren Sarah
(4) ...who had spared Isaac from the sacrifice
(5) ...who had delivered the Israelites from Egypt by leading them through the Red Sea
(6) this was the powerful living God, who can do anything, especially a miracle like healing a lame man
10. Now, look at how he says this: he says, “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you?”
a. I think that you need to underline you.
b. Of course seeing a lame person walking should surprise the average person, but not you, not the Men of Israel. Not you who know that God is able to do great and mighty, miraculous things. You should expect that God is going to do great things.
c. It is shameful that they had forgotten how great God was, and how he was able to do great and mighty things, especially since they had just seen the greatest work of God’s hands in the person of Jesus.
11. He then goes on to show them how they are crippled. They are not crippled in their legs, they are crippled in their spirits, and the symptom of that is that they are surprised that God could do something like healing a crippled man.
12. Simply put, they, like all of us who are not in a right relationship with Jesus Christ are crippled with their guilt before God.
13. Look at how he lays their guilt out before them: he does this by showing them what God has done through Christ, and what they have done in response.
a. Verse 13: God glorified his servant– you handed him over to be killed, and by crucifixion. God glorified Jesus– you humiliated him.
b. God gave you his son– you gave him over to a Gentile. You who should have known better took the gift that God gave you, and you gave it to a ruler of this world to be killed.
c. God gave you the author of life–you chose a taker of life, a murder named Bar abbas in his place. God gave you a life-giver, and you exchanged him for a murderer.
d. You killed Jesus, but God raised him from the dead.
14. Their guilt is this: they rejected everything that God had given them in Jesus, choosing the opposite instead. God glorified Jesus, giving him to them as a gift, giving them life. But, instead, they humiliated Jesus, rejecting him for a murderer, putting him to death.
15. They, the Men of Israel, should not be surprised at what God had done, but they are because they have continually rejected God. They are crippled in their relationship with God.
16. And now, they see what they have rejected. They have seen an incredible miracle: a man born lame is now walking: this is a great miracle indeed. Muscles and bones which have never held a man are now leaping and dancing.
a. And it was not Peter or John who did this great thing. No, this miracle was done by faith in the name of Jesus Christ. Verse 16, “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 this complete healing to him, as you can all see.”
b. They are guilty of crippling their relationship with God by rejecting Jesus. They are guilty of a great sin in turning their back on God’s son, they, the Men of Israel who should know better.
17. But, Peter, like all good preachers, is not content to just lay their guilt before them. He will not tell them their problem without giving them the remedy.
a. Their relationship with God may be crippled, but it need not stay that way.
18. For, you see, he shows them how God sees their condition.
a. We wouldn’t think to blame a person who was born lame for their condition, would we? That would be unthinkable. We would not blame them, we would only want to help them.
b. Well, in the same way, that is how God sees us. We are crippled by our sin, but rather than condemning us, God wants to save us through Jesus Christ.
c. Verse 17: “Now, brothers, I now that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.”
d. The Men of Israel sinned greatly in rejecting Jesus, but they did so in ignorance. Their sin and spiritual blindness crippled them and prevented them from seeing the goodness that God offered them through Jesus Christ.
e. But, though they may have been ignorant and crippled, God is not content to leave them that way.
19. It is one thing to act in ignorance: anybody could forgive that. But it is quite the horse of a different feather when a person knows the right thing to do but fails to do it. We may have once lived in ignorance, but now that we know what God expects of us, we are expected to do it.
a. So, Peter shows them what is expected of them:
20. Verse 19: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you– even Jesus.”
a. They may have been ignorant when they turned Jesus over to Pilate to be humiliated and crucified, but now they know who Jesus is and they are required to make a decision:
i. To reject Christ and pay the punishment,
ii. Or to accept Christ, repent, and receive the reward that he offers.
21. Now, church, we are in a similar situation. If Jesus were to move among us, bringing life to the dead, giving strength to crippled limbs, and changing lives, we would probably be just as surprised.
a. But Peter would say the same thing to us: Children of Jesus, why does this surprise you?
b. We, of all people, should expect that Jesus is going to great things for us.
c. It’s a shame that we who are Christians are so often surprised to see Jesus doing great things among us through his Holy Spirit.
i. We know that Jesus healed the lame, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, and even gave life to the dead.
ii. We know that he walked on water, turned water into wine, calmed the storm, and fed the thousands with a few loaves and fishes.
iii. Why should we be surprised to know that Jesus can change lives today?
iv. Most of us Christians live in such a way that we don’t really see the power of Jesus in our lives.
(1) if we are Christians, it should radically change our lives, yet most of us are simply going through the motions of our Christianity: going to church and little more.
(2) we are like those spoken of in 2 Timothy 3:5, “Having a form of godliness but denying its power.”
22. But, there is so much that we can expect from God. Peter says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
a. Think of that phrase, “that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
b. I’m not sure exactly what that phrase means, but I know that it sounds good to me.
i. If you are like me, you have gone through times in your spiritual life that seem very dry and arid, like you are journeying through a spiritual desert.
ii. There are times when we feel like we are only going through the motions of the Christian life, going to church, serving in various ministries, saying empty prayers, and yet thirsting for God.
iii. It’s times like this when it’s easy to wander from God, and the temptations of sin are that much harder to fend off.
iv. We can get so crippled in our relationship with God that we would be genuinely surprised if God were to do a miracle in front of us.
v. When you feel like this, thirsty, dry, empty and alone, a time of refreshing sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
23. To the Jewish people there who were thirsty to see the power of God like they had seen in this crippled man walking again, Peter gave them their solution: repent and turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and healing.
24. And to us today, the same formula is true.
a. If you are crippled in your relationship with God, either from sin or from spiritual apathy, God offers the same deal.
b. Repent of your sins, repent of your apathy, repent of your spiritual lameness, and turn to Jesus Christ, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
25. A lot of us here today could use that kind of refreshing. We are like the Men of Israel, surprised to think that God could still do miracles. But the same God who gave us Jesus is the same God who is alive and well today.
a. I want to give you a promise as someone who has been a crippled Christian, wandering in the dry deserts of an empty spiritual life: there can be times of refreshing, as Peter shows us in this sermon on the fly.
b. But there will never be refreshing from God without first humbling ourselves before him, repenting of our sins that got us in the desert in the first place, and expecting that the God who gave us Jesus is the same God who can restore us today.
26. God gave Peter a sermon that day. Peter didn’t know that he would be called on to preach, but God wanted to reach some who were ignorant of his goodness.
a. So, God gave Peter an illustration: a man who was unable to walk was touched by the name of Jesus, and now he was able to jump, walk, and praise God.
b. In the same way, there are a lot of you here today who are spiritually crippled. In a sense, you are not even able to crawl along in your spiritual life, you are empty, broken, and crippled by the weight of the world, the weight of your sins, and the weight of the world.
c. You would be genuinely surprised to see God work in your life, even though in your mind you know that God can do all things.
d. So, if you would walk today, if you would leave here jumping, singing, and praising God, do what Peter tells you:
i. Come to God, repenting of your sins, turning from your empty life, and ask God to give you the refreshing that can only come from His Spirit.
