Please take a seat. Open your Bibles to the book of
Acts chapter 3. Great passage.
Peter and John went up together
to the temple at the hour of prayer, the 9th hour, they call
it the ninth hour because it's the ninth hour of daylight.
Prayer for the disciples was the one thing that they asked Jesus
to teach them about. They didn't ask teachers how to
walk on water, didn't ask teachers how to, you know, make
bread out of nothing and, you know, multiply fish.
Didn't ask that. Lord teach us how to pray.
There were three calls for corporate temple prayer for the
Jews going back to the book of Daniel.
You remember that? Daniel's life, his clock, even
though living in Babylon, 2700 kilometres away from Jerusalem,
he wore a Jewish watch. He had a Jewish heart and
Daniel's life and schedule kept to those three times of praying.
9 AM. 12 noon, 3:00 PM. Significant with the crucifixion
of Christ, aren't they? Here we find Peter and John
heading up for the 3:00 PM prayer gathering.
It's after the sacrifices have been carried out and now prayer
follows the sacrifices. This was the usual daily routine
even for now the newly Spirit filled disciples of Christ. 50
days Pentecost 50 days from the death of Christ, Resurrection
Pentecost fell. Church was born, the disciples
filled with the Spirit of God to witness the power of God and now
we find them in their normal routine going to pray still as
Jews at the temple. It was a normal routine day of
events also for a certain lame man from birth.
We learn from chapter 4, verse 22 that this man was more than
40 years old whom they're going to meet.
There's two. And a certain man lame from his
mother's womb. It was his ankles, his feet,
that was the problem. Never walked in his life, whom
they laid his friends, colleagues, pick him up, carry
him daily. Notice it says daily at the gate
of the temple, which is called beautiful there to ask arms.
You know what arms are, and I'm not talking about these.
From those who entered the temple and how many people came.
He knew who came 912 and three, it is believed, because of his
age. Who would have passed by this
man Jesus? How come he hadn't healed him?
Now the gate is called beautiful.
It was the eastern gate. They believe it was called
beautiful because it was overlaid with Corinthian bronze
panel beaded. And when the sun shone on this
gate, it's shone like gold, and it was called the Beautiful
Gate. That gate, the eastern gate, LED
from the Court of the Gentiles into the Woman's Court.
So this was his usual day at the gate, begging for arms.
What are arms? Arms are gifts for the poor.
That's what it means, gifts for the poor.
Nothing out of ordinary at the moment is there?
The usual Peter and John usual. The lame guy usual.
Now verse 3, the lame guy who's seen these two many times before
seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple.
So they've got to go path, he's at the right spot, asked for
arms. The beggar, seeing Peter and
John, propositioned Peter and John and asked for money.
So Peter obligingly takes out his little leather money pouch
that he carried his money in, dropped 20 denari in the lame
man's cup. John, seeing what Peter did, OK,
he pulls out his little leather money pouch, pulls out a canner
and drops that in the cup, and then they go on their way.
No, that's not the story, is it? You cannot give what you do not
have. But each and every one of us do
have something. And this chapter and the timing
of this chapter is important for us as a church.
So we have following Pentecost 3000, filled with the Spirit.
Remember, baptised, we're the church, we're in the book of
Acts, we are filled with the Spirit.
What do we have? We had the same one.
I'm not going to say same thing. We have the same gift available
to us, which we can give. So verse 4, fixing his eyes on
him with John, Peter said, look at us now.
I can imagine the beggar. He's going, hey, we're on arms,
arms, arms for the poor. So he gave them his attention.
How much are you going to give? Are they going for the purse,
going for the wallet? There's two of them.
He's expecting to receive something from them, isn't he?
And Peter said, aha. And here's here's where we get
to silver and gold. Have I known now?
Peter and John, by the way, sidestep both wealthy fishermen.
They're businesses, especially John and his father.
And then Peter join in booming, fishing, sea Galilee, man, they,
they, they, they go. They do all right.
But Peter says silver and gold. I do not have.
But what I do have, I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk. So instead of going to his
purse, to his Bunny pouch, Peter says to the lame man, look at
us. The beggar at this time probably
thinking I'm on a winner. Arms are on their way.
Listen, and it's very important. Money was not what this lame
beggar needed the most. Money was not what the lame
beggin needed the boat most. What would you have done?
Flipped out a few. Denari kept on going.
He needed salvation for his soul.
I want to take a step back. This is the book of Acts.
The Holy Spirit has fallen on the church.
Peter has preached one message, 3000 and got saved.
He sees this man. God's moving through Peter and
John. That's why he said, hey, look on
us because we're going to see what's happened here and you and
I want to see where the focus of what our ministry really is.
He needed healing for his body, yes.
Couldn't walk his ankle bones, feet bones didn't function from
birth. Money could provide neither they
could have given him 100 denarii and gone off said good on you
and he was said lovely people love you know those those new
believers they are lovely. They're followers of that Rabbi
Jesus lovely people. What did what good would it have
done him but so well he would have had 100 denarii.
It's a beautiful picture of salvation before us in these
verses. Often we get people coming to
church. Often I get emails, usually from
faraway lands. I won't mention the continents.
Pastor Keith, been praying for you.
Thank you for your word. Thank you for your church.
Anyway, could you? Would you?
You see one of the things, and I've got to be careful how I say
this, when people come to Calvary Chapel over the past
times, people have come and they come and we go.
We ask them, yes, you want to see someone, you need help, OK,
come to church, sit in the service, sit in.
No, I'll come back after that. So they go away and then they
come back after the service. So then usually now I'll meet
with them, talk with them, the pastors will speak, speak for
them, and I'll ask questions. I'll ask questions and I'll ask
what do you want? How can we help you?
And then I go, usually tell us this story and then I go and
then I do this. And I don't say silver and gold,
have I none. But I say this and I don't mean
it rudely. I say we're not a bank.
We're not a bank. This is a church.
I tell you what we can give you. We would love to give you a
Bible. We would love to pray with you.
We would love to see Christ come into your life.
But as usually I head down that path, we get the direction.
Not interested in that Jack and I begin to get more sometimes we
get abused happens over the phone as well.
I get calls. Can you help us on?
This is what I need. I need that soon as I begin to
ask questions, they get really cranky.
Usually they cuss me out over the phone.
And here's the deal. Chuck Smith always taught past
Calgary Chapel passes to err on the side of grace.
They go, well, Keith, how come you don't err on the side of the
grace? Because I want to get there
first. And normally, even if someone
says, yeah, I'll come and sit in church, I'll take a Bible.
They allow us to pray. You know what we will do?
We will normally then follow up, provide support.
But if we don't get past the first base, again, this is not a
bank. This is a church, Peter has said
to this person, silver and gold have I none but such as I have,
give I thee. There was a man in.
I've told you the story before, but we used to witness on
Saturday nights in the streets of Perth, Friday and Saturday
nights, part of our Bible college training, we would
witness in the streets of Perth Light.
We got to know all the street people, all the difficult people
in Perth. There was one man who would go
from rubbish bin to rubbish bin. He had.
He would hide behind the bin, he'd go in through the bin, wait
for then he would move on to the next bin, get behind the bin, go
through the bin. He wore jeans, braces, no shoes,
T-shirt, filthy. He came to an outreach we had a
couple of times in the centre of Perth and first night he came,
someone gave him, they used to call it in the old Pentecostal
circles, a Holy Spirit handshake.
They slipped 20 bucks into his hand.
Great. He takes off as soon as they do
that. Next time we have an outreach,
he's there. We spot him, I bring him into a
room, me and another brother in the Lord and we say look mate,
this is what we'd like to do for you.
We see you in the streets. I see you got no shoes.
We'd like to buy some shoes. We'd like to buy some clothes.
We'll find some accommodation for you and we'll even work on
getting a job for you, meals and stuff like that.
Do you want to change? Do you want to receive Christ?
Are you, are you tired of living this way?
He took off, just bolted because he said you're not giving me any
money and he just took off. I say this because Calvary
Chapel, yes, we'll be gracious and we will be, but there needs
to be first of all, we're accountable.
We're stewards because people will come up and thank you, say
well, hey, go over there. They just give you 50 bucks.
You just got to ask them. They'll give you the 50, they'll
give you the 100, and then the word will go just it's the ATM
because we ask them about have you been to the Salvation Army?
Salvation Army, an awesome group, aren't they funded also
by the government? And you know what the majority
of people, these people will go now we, they sent us away.
They didn't, we couldn't No, no, no, no Salvation Army, I know
how they operate. They will support you, they'll
provide this. And I, I know the background
that's there for the Salvation Army.
And so we starting to find out that we're getting not the truth
of the matter, we're finding out we're not interested in anything
about you. I just want some coin and we
aren't going to give it that way.
And so Peter says, and you can look at Peter and tell, wow, not
very. Why didn't he just give them
some money? Because if you give them some
money, they those people will remain the same.
If we aren't challenging people, if we aren't saying we would
love to pray with you. And what if someone said and God
had brought them? They think they come for this.
They think they come for arms, but they actually come and we
present silver and gold. Have I numb, but such as I have
GUID if we give them the gospel and go would you?
I've always wanted someone to pray with.
I didn't know about that. I grew opposite.
I went to Sunday school when I was a kid, But if we don't do
that, if we aren't don't don't do that, then the then I am
abrogating. Is that the term?
No, it's not Abdicating, abrogating, abdicating.
Thank you. I am not.
I I am a watchman who's not not. And I'll have the blood of that
person's salvation on my hands. People say, are you a bit?
You're not very polite, Keith. You know, I would rather have
someone angry against me because I gave them the gospel than just
give them a few dollars and leave them without being
challenged about their walk with God.
And so Peter tells us what he does here.
This man didn't need money. God said he needed salvation for
his soul. Jesus had been past this man.
He needed healing for his body. Can we pray for you?
Money could provide neither. And it's a beautiful picture of
salvation before us. In these verses.
The man was born lame, as are all of us.
How's that? Because we are born unable to
walk as to please God. I'm lame in my sin.
I can't please God. Adam our Father, we're related
to him, and he passed on his lameness all the way down to me.
Romans 512 Therefore justice through one man sin entered the
world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men
because of all sin. Because Adam sinned and died.
I will die, this body will die. The man was poor.
We as sinners A bankrupt before God.
We owe him a debt. We could not pay the wages of
sinners death, we can't pay that.
The lame beggar also, from the time of his birth, because of
the law of Moses, he was never allowed in the holy place.
Not allowed in the holy place. He was outside the temple, as
are all sinners. We are separated from God by our
lameness, our sin, as to in our salvation.
This man's healing, however, was instant.
And say Peter and John say, look, we'll come back over the
next 10 weeks. We'll sit down with you and
we'll go through a few things. It was instant.
For the first time, this man is going to stand up on his own
ankles and feet. For the first time in his life,
there would be no question where this man stood.
Verse 7. So Peter grabbed him by the
right hand. I want you to notice the
language here because this beggar is doing nothing about
his job, about his situation. Like you and I, God grabbed hold
of us. Peter grabs hold of this man,
grabs him by the hand and rips him up.
And as he leaps up, Doctor Luke, the medical physician in the
Greek language, tells us that as he rips him up to stand, at that
instant, miraculously the bones of the ankles and the sinews
and, and the the bones and the feet that had never walked, that
were buckled and crippled from birth, all came into place and
he stood. He's never, he's never stood in
his life. And immediately notice that
immediately his feet and ankle bones receive strength.
Doctor Luke is giving us the medical background to hear.
So he the lame man, What does he do?
Hey, you need to sit down. He jumps, wouldn't you?
He's never jumped in his life. He's leaping up.
Stood and he walked. He hasn't walked ever.
And where does he walk? Notice he entered the temple
with them. He's got a hold of Peter and
John. I'm not letting you guys go
walking, leaping and praising God.
Three of them go into the temple.
Peter at that moment by the Holy Spirit is given the faith to say
and do. He says, look at me what he did.
God gave him the faith because Can you imagine?
He grabs the guy, rips him up and drops him.
Everyone says what'd you do? What'd you do?
The line going, I see you just ripped him up and you just
dropped him on his head. That's pretty cruel.
Could have happened. Peter's grabbed him because God
by the Holy Spirit is giving him the faith, sees hold of him,
grabbing him up and immediately he's done.
He's got a perfect 10. He grabbed the man, lift him up,
allowing the man to stand for the first time.
Nope, this man did. It's important he did not run
off home to live his life now and tell his friends.
Hey Peter and Joe. Thanks.
Hey everybody, look at this. Check this out.
I can dance. Check this out.
No. Remember the 10 lepers?
Go and show yourself to the priests.
That was the lepers and as they went to the priests, they were
healed. One came back.
What did Jesus say? Weren't there 10 of you and he
wasn't going? Wouldn't there 10 of you?
There was 10 of you. Where's the other night?
You see, God's involved in this. And so this man entered the
temple with Peter and John, praising God.
So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple
with them. And all the people saw him
walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he
who sat begging arms at the beautiful gate.
Why? Because everyone walked past him
and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had
happened to him. Now as the lame man who was
healed held on to notice what he's doing, he's stalking Peter
and John. He's hanging on to these guys.
All the people ran together to them on the porch, which is
called Solomon's greatly amazed. Now on the left hand side of the
temple, that side, there was a porch like a big patio that went
around. And that's where Jesus taught.
And this is where Peter comes out.
The crowds gathered and Peter says, and that's where the crowd
has come. And there's this massive crowd.
Acts chapter 3, If I was to ask you, most people say what's Acts
chapter 3 about? Oh, it's about that guy being
healed, isn't it? The lame man, you know, and him
running and jumping and leaping and going into the temple.
I would disagree, as you and I will see through Peter's words
as to why at this moment in time with this man, this happened.
Jesus would have passed by this man.
Peter will now tell us in this chapter and this passage, it is
not about all. Amen.
Yes, it is. You just read it.
Yeah, he's part of the story. But it is about.
Remember I gave you 2 weeks ago, where's Jesus in the text?
Every text, every passage, every word of the God of the Bible.
Where is Jesus in this text? It's about Jesus Christ, the
Messiah of Israel, who was crucified and is now
resurrected. Peter's going to talk about not
the lame man as such, but from there he's going to talk about
Jesus Christ crucified, resurrected, the gospel.
So Peter saw it, verse 12, he responded to the people, man of
Israel. Why do you marvel at this, or
why look so intently at us as though by our own power or
godliness we made this man walk the God of Abraham.
OK, so the weathervane points wrong.
Notice the focus going off the lame man.
It's going on to Jesus Christ, the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, the God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus.
Capitalist whom? Yeah.
And here's where it gets even personal.
Big crowd gather. They're going, wow, what's going
on here? And Peter says the guy who you
crucified is involved in this. Hang on a minute.
I just come over to see. I heard this lame man guy.
And now what's going on here? Peter has switched the sermon.
Whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate man
when he was determined to let him go.
Pilate wanted to let him go, but you denied the Holy One, Jesus
and the just and asked for a murderer.
You guys can remember Barabbas? Hang on a minute, I'm just over
here talking, looking at some lame guy to be granted to you
and killed. The Prince of life whom God
raised from the dead of which we are witnesses.
Jesus died on the cross. You're responsible for it.
Three days later he rose from the dead.
We saw all this. You know about this.
Notice how this has gone from a guy being healed of sore ankles
that never walked to all of a sudden it's the full blown
gospel. Peter takes this gathered crowd
of curious onlookers. Where does he take him?
He took him to the cross of Calvary.
Peter then asked the crowd 2 questions.
Why do you marvel at this has happened?
Secondly, why do you look at us as if we had something to do
with this? Get your eyes off this.
I want you to look at where your eyes should be looking.
Peter shows us how our witnessing you and I should
always track. He should always focus on
Christ, his death, his resurrection, and not the
peripheries or the side issues. Well, yeah.
OK. Oh, well, if God would do a
miracle, you know, if if he, if he appeared before me now, I
believe. If someone came back from the
dead, I believe. Where did Cain get his wife?
Where's the land of Nod? How many people?
How could you fit all the animals on the ark?
Jesus Christ? You let all that just go to the
keeper. We say Jesus Christ died on the
cross. You know Jesus Christ lived.
What are you doing about Jesus Christ?
Why do you think he died on the cross of Calvary?
You know he arose from the dead 3 days.
You know, after that, he's the only one.
There's only one person that's come back from the dead.
What are you doing about that? You see, Peter knew this now
gathered crowd needed to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Peter isn't talking about it wasn't a wonderful how I grabbed
the lineman and when I lifted him up, I wasn't sure what's
going to happen. And he landed on his feet and
you did you see him? He came into the temple walking
and leaping and praising. Wasn't that a yeah, it's an
awesome story. Oh, well, come and tell us the
testament. How did it happen?
How did you feel when I looked at you and you you thought you
were going to get money? He didn't mention any of that.
Verse 16 and his name, Jesus through faith in his name has
made this man strong. Ah, whom you see and know.
Yes, the faith which come through him has given him this
perfect soundness in the presence of your wall.
Jesus is alive from the resurrection.
You saw him died. You cried out for his death.
You took Barabbas instead. And Jesus is alive because Jesus
is alive. He ascended into heaven.
Where? When?
And he is still working. It's not gone.
Jesus is still doing that which he did.
Peter also told them that the faith that he spoke to this lame
man was not of his doing, had nothing to do with us.
No, the very faith to speak and do what he did came through
believing in the name and power of the name of Jesus Christ.
There's no other name. Peter was teaching him that
faith did not come by seeing or hearing about miracles.
You and I know this. The answer says where does faith
come from? The answers in the book, Faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. But how do I get this faith?
Keith? Do you work it up?
Do you stop drinking, stop swearing, start showering?
3 * a week? Go to church 4 times a week?
Is that how I get faith? No, Romans chapter 10, verse 17.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Peter did not promote, by the way.
Now I've healed this guy. I'm going on a tour that I just
talked to John. He'll be able to talk to you
about where I'm staying and you know how, how much of the cost,
what, how much of the tickets will be.
And you know, the, the place where we're going to just pack
out, going to the Coliseum going, we're just packing out.
I'm going on a Peter's healing ministries.
He didn't do that, did he? It happens today, doesn't it?
Now? Instead, he rightfully pointed
to the power of Jesus that healed this man from heaven.
Jesus was continuing to heal people.
And here's the word for you and I today.
Jesus continues to heal people from heaven.
Today, the same Jesus resurrected from the dead.
Back in verse 13, Peter said that Jesus was the perfect
servant of God. He was the promised one, but
when the promised one came, he was tortured and crucified.
The people chose Barabbas instead of Jesus, even when
Pilot tried to release Jesus. But it was God who raised Jesus
from the dead. Peter says we witness we saw all
this with our own eyes. It's the same Jesus that has
made this lame man whole. It was faith in his name and his
name came in his name came the power.
Peter said it was not my faith. Verse 17 Yet now, brethren, I
know what you did. You did it in Ingrids and all
the guys going, Oh yeah, we didn't know what we got before.
I didn't know it was Jesus. If I didn't know it was Jesus, I
wouldn't have cried out, crucify and crucify him.
I wouldn't have called out for Barabbas if I didn't know who it
was. Imagine I know that you did an
ignorance as did also your rulers.
But verse 18, those things which God foretold by the mouth of his
prophets that the Christ would suffer, he has fulfilled you
gathered here today. Peter said you called for Jesus
execution in ignorance. Yes you did.
You were ignorant of God's plan for humanity.
Yes we were, yes we were. But Peter goes on to say this,
but your ignorance doesn't make you innocent.
You're guilty. You see, I can sin in ignorance.
But officer, I didn't see the light change.
I didn't know it was 70 kilometres an hour here.
I don't care whether you didn't know when you didn't see it, you
still broke the law. You're guilty.
You and I can sin an ignorant in in ignorance, but it is still
sin, because Peter says now what to do.
Repent to this crowd and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord. Peter did not speak to condemn
them. Shame on you, you, you, you, you
called out for Barabbas. No, no, no.
But instead, Peter exhorted those who were listening to him
to repent and be converted, to repent and believe.
It's the same message, isn't it? Still, you know, we don't preach
that today in many churches. We preach it all the time here
because that's the only way you come to Christ.
How do you come to Christ? If you want to know how to lead
your loved one to Christ, you don't tell them a great story
about a nice church, plays nice music, you've got nice chairs
and have a lovely garden. You know, the building of a
children's thing. No, no, no, that's all nonsense.
You come to Christ through repentance.
If you realise and know you're convicted by the Holy Spirit,
you're a Sinner. Jesus began that That message,
we continue it. It's the very message that's
active today. Repent and believe.
Christianity is not rebuilding your life.
Christianity is not a self improvement programme to strive
to do better. No Christianity is the gospel of
Jesus Christ and what happens? It's becoming a new creation.
Jesus said you must be born again. 2 Corinthians 517
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he she is a new
creation. What's happened?
Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become
new. Romans 64 Therefore we were
buried through with him, through baptism into death, That just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, Even
so also should we should walk in now in units of life.
I'm going to stop there because I've gone over time.
Here's the deal. Chapter 3, it's not about a lame
man. Chapter 3 is about Jesus is
alive. He's still doing miracles.
He hasn't stopped you and I have to pray.
God use us, help us to have the faith.
Give us the faith. We can't crank it up, but there
will be a moment. There may be a time when you go.
I'm going to I'm LED this way to pray.
You're going to be wise. You're going to know it's the
Lord and that faith that comes. It's not our faith.
It's a gift for by grace are you saved through faith and that not
of yourselves is the gift of God.
Jesus is alive. The miracles still occur where
the vessels God wants to use us.