Introduction
I. I heard a neat story at PBU on Wednesday, told by a pastor from Calvary Church at Souderton.
A. The pastor told of how nine years ago, as a student in a bible college down south, he had been required to perform a ministry, as all students were.
B. He decided that, even though he didn’t know how to roller skate, he was going to go to the local roller rink, and in the midst of falling down, share the gospel as God would allow.
C. He told of an e-mail he had recently received,
1. It seems that a young lady had tracked him down by Googeling his name.
2. This lady had gone to this extent, in order to say “thank you”.
D. It seems that those many years ago, she had been one of the people he had shared the Christ with.
E. She wrote
1. At the time she had not accepted Christ as her savior, BUT, she did remember what he had shared.
2. Some time later, in large part to his efforts she had become a believer in Christ.
3. She also wrote, how God had then begun to change her life.
a. It seems that she was now very committed to Christ herself,
b. She had just returned from a short terms missions trip, and was very involved in sharing the Good News of Salvation with anyone that would listen.
F. The point of the Pastor’s sharing on Wednesday was to encourage the students at PBU to get involved, because even when you don’t see the results, God is faithful to do His good pleasure.
II. As I listened, I wondered how many people this pastor had shared Christ with, during his skating days.
A. And I thought, that in all liklihood very few if any actually accepted Christ in that ministry; probably very few, if any.
B. Sometimes, we never know how God will use our faithfulness.
III. Perhaps he thought at times that, as a ministry, he wasn’t very successful.
IV. I could only imagine how he must have felt to know that his faithfulness was to be rewarded, only later, and yet God would allow him a glimpse of his service.
V. Not all of us are bold enough to share with complete strangers, but if we are convinced that Christ is the only way to salvation, all of us can be bold enough to share with someone in need.
VI. Acts 3 relates the story of the Apostles Peter and John, and a beggar crippled from birth, that faith made whole.
A. Maybe Acts 3, verse 6 should be our verse of inspiration when we come across the opportunity to share what Christ is capable of.
B. “...Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles become strong.”
C. Silver and gold, we do not always have, but what we do have is Jesus Christ.
D. The lame man walked, and all the people in this public place were amazed.
VII. Acts 3 16 is our anchor verse this morning - “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 which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.”
VIII. In order for us to understand Peter’s statement in verse 16, we must first look at the beginning of chapter 3.
The Setting For a Miracle (vs. 1-3)
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
2 And a certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
3 And when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.
I. The church of Jesus Christ has just been born.
II. Prior to his ascension, Christ had told the future church to wait in Jerusalem until they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit.
III. You may also recall that chapter two contains the story of the believers assembled in the Upper Room, in obedience to that command.
A. The Holy Spirit came, and annointed the 120.
B. That church then committed themselves,
1. To prayer
2. The Apostles teaching,
3. Breaking of bread
4. Fellowship, and
5. Worship
C. Peter was annointed to preach his first sermon, and 3000 came to faith.
D. The church was born and miracles began.
E. That was chapter two, and now chapter three,
IV. In Judaism of the day, there were three daily times for prayer,
A. Morning
B. Afternoon; about three o’clock
C. And then in the evening.
D. Morning, noon, and night; sounds like a good plan to me.
V. What is interesting is that the text states that Peter and John were on their way to the “temple” to pray; but why the temple.
A. These new believers were no longer bound by the law,
B. They had been set free.
C. Perhaps they were going to the temple out of habit; or out of respect for their roots.
D. But,
1. I believe they may have been going to the temple because that is where people gathered.
2. Is there a better place to share the gospel than in a place where people gather?
VI. The gate called “Beautiful”.
A. Though Jewish historians do not name such a gate, Theologians believe that this gate was more properly called the Corinthian gate.
B. This gate was overlaid in Corinthian bronze, and Josephus states that it “far exceeded in value those plated with silver and set in gold.”
C. It was at this gate that a beggar was laid every day, in order to survive.
D. For this beggar to be laid at the gate to the temple was logical, because giving to the needy was considered an act of contrition, and what better place for that kind of act that as people came to worship.
VII. But sometimes, we don’t always realize what we really need.
We Don’t Always Realize What We Really Need (vs. 4-7)
4 And Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze upon him and said, “Look at us!”
5 And he began to give them his attention expecting to receive something from them.
6 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!”
7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
I. When it comes to being culturally aware, for the last several years, Christians have basically fallen into two camps.
A. One camp says that all people really need is to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
1. For these, the priority is the sharing of the good news of salvation.
2. If people will simply give their lives to Christ, and begin to live for him, then they will receive blessings that transcend human need.
3. For these Christians, physical and cultural needs are secondary.
B. The other camp says, “No. What people need first is to have their physical or cultural needs met.”
1. As concerned Christians, we must feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and meet needs.
2. If people are hungry and naked, it is impossible for them to see the benefit of faith in Christ.
3. For this group; it is meet the needs, and then maybe you can share the gospel.
C. I believe the Bible teaches that both are necessary and should be a priority on one level or another.
II. Peter and John had lived and learned from Christ for about three years.
A. They had seen Christ do both.
B. But can you imagine the faith it took for them to look at this man, who had been crippled from birth and say, “Get up and walk.”
1. They knew that Christ had been able to perform miracles, BUT
2. Could they do the same things that Christ had done.
III. Have you ever wondered what has happened to all the miracles?
A. Christ said that we would do the same things that He had done, and even more.
B. And yet for some reason, many of us today believe that miracles like the healing of a person paralyzed from birth has ended.
1. Speaking in tongues; gone
2. Prophecy; only for charlatans,
3. Healing the sick; if at all is limited to what doctors say can happen.
C. We hold tight to 1 Corinthians 13, verses 8 to 10, “8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.”
IV. I have been trained and schooled as a cessationist, that is to believe that for the most part that there are particular gifts that do not exist today, but I confess that those things are not a settled fact in my mind.
A. I believe there may be one reason why we only believe in what I call “minor miracles.”
B. I believe that many of us lack the faith that God is still God, and that God can perform miracles.
C. Look at Acts 3:16 again, - “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 which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.”
V. I believe one reason that God SEEMS to have limited abilities today, is because I/We do not have the faith to say,
A. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, WALK.
B. In the name of Jesus Christ, the eternal, never changing God, fill your church.
C. In the name of Jesus Christ, I believe; help me with my unbelief.
VI. The beggar at the Beautiful gate didn’t recognize his real need.
A. He thought he needed to beg for money, in order to eat.
B. Only days prior, Peter, John and the other disciples believed they needed Jesus Christ to be physically present in order to see the Kingdom of God come.
VII. Now, the new church has found out that what they really needed was faith.
VIII. What this beggar needed was someone with faith in Christ to believe and act, and touch him with the only thing they possessed, FAITH.
IX. The old Beetle song says, “All we need is love” that is not true, all we need is faith in Christ, and then we might well be amazed at what we begin to see.
X. So what are the components that cause faith to act.
A. In verses 1 to 3, Peter and John saw a need.
1. Needs are all around us, and be careful how you hear this, but needs go beyond the need for Jesus Christ as savior.
a. Yes; that is the greatest need, but even Christ took the time to heal and meet needs.
b. In truth, we can’t meet every need, and even Jesus himself didn’t always meet every persons need, BUT
c. We can meet some, it just first we have to see beyond ourselves.
d. Faith looks for needs in others.
B. In verses 4 to 7, Peter said “Look at us.”
1. We have to get the attention of those that have needs.
2. Think about it for a moment, what are some of the needs right here in our community?
a. Unemployment?
b. Contentment?
c. Teen suicide?
d. Drug and alcohol usage?
e. Simply something to do?
f. And how much more?
3. As a church, we can’t meet every need, but we must ask ourselves, can we meet one or two or more.
4. One of the purposes of the Community Day in July was, “Hey. Look at us. We care about you and we have some answers.”
5. That is one of the purposes of the Café, to say, “We care enough to offer you something in addition to the normal church routine.
6. I thank God for those that participated in the ministries of this church, and I pray that others of us will consider what we can do to help get Langhorne and Newtown’s attention.
7. We are looking for new ways to say, “Hey. Look at us. We want to help meet your need.”
8. Faith says, “Hey. Look at us.”
C. Finally in these verses, it says, “Peter seized him by the right hand...”
1. We have to be willing to touch people.
2. A touch wasn’t what this man thought he needed.
a. He was looking for alms.
b. He was expecting money.
3. Faith is willing to touch, even when the touch is unexpected.
XI. We don’t always recognize our real need.
XII. For many of us Christians, our real need is to exercise faith.
Faith Brought a Miracle, A Miracle Brings Testimony (vs. 8-11)
8 And with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 And 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.
I. Verse 16 again - “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 which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.”
II. How amazing was this thing that had just happened?
A. Do you see the word “wonder” in verse 10?
1. That word means to “render immovable”
2. At first the crowd was so amazed at what they had just seen that they couldn’t even move.
B. Then as they regained their composure, Peter took advantage of the opportunity.
III. The rest of chapter 3 is the second great sermon that Peter preached.
A. One might miracle, drew a crowd of people to see what had just taken place, and Peter took that time to explain that only through faith, can miracles occur.
IV. Miracles attract attention.
V. Miracles offer an opportunity to share the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
VI. Is it therefore logical to say that where there are no miracles, there will at best be little opportunity to see the kingdom of God increase.
VII. And here are the major points, that I would like you to keep in mind from this morning.
A. Miracles are the result of faith placed in action by those that already know Christ.
B. Miracles happen when we see a need.
C. Miracles happen when we attract the attention of the needy.
D. Miracles happen when we reach out in faith to meet the needy.
E. Miracles result in increase opportunity of testimony about Jesus Christ.
VIII. Why don’t we see more miracles today; could it be because we need to exercise our faith in the power of Jesus Christ to impact lives.
