Acts 3:1-10

So thankful to the Lord for this beautiful afternoon, powerful time of worship. If we didn’t have to preach God’s word today, we could just continue worshiping; that is how powerful the Spirit of God is moving in our midst. And I pray that even as we go into God’s word, the same Spirit will move in our hearts as well as we allow the word of God to touch our lives and renew us like never before.

Today is, as you have already heard in the introduction, a very special day. First of all, Pramod and Joslin, you’re worshiping as a couple for the first time. Welcome to Restoration Church; we’re so glad that you are here. Especially Pastor James and family, I don’t know how many of his cousins are here, maybe they’re on the way, but if you’re here, we welcome you. Any guests that are here, we welcome you. So thankful for what God did yesterday through that beautiful wedding service and the reception afterward, especially in the life of Sunnychian, and Jayamama. What a beautiful occassion this is for all of us to come together yesterday and again today to worship our Lord. And we are so grateful for God’s work in their lives, and we pray that God will continue to strengthen you and guide you and bless you abundantly in the days and years to come.

We are going through our series “Church On The Rise” as we are going through the book of Acts, and we’ve finished chapter two last week, talking about the tremendous fellowship and the things that were rightly focusing on in the early church. They were devoted to the teaching of the Apostles, prayer, breaking of bread, and koinonia fellowship. Chapter 2 ended with the beautiful statement of how God, the Lord, was adding each day to the church, to their number, daily those who were being saved. And now we make a shift, and there is no idea how long it took between the ending of chapter two and the beginning of chapter three. My guess is maybe just a day, maybe a couple of days, maybe a week. Not long after this, we see the events of Acts chapter 3.

Before we go into this very familiar story of God’s word, what we find here is the Spirit of God making the apostles go really into the pit of the enemy, and God is starting to uproot them from the temple tradition and making them move into a greater understanding of the power of Jesus’ name. Turn our Bibles to Acts 3:1-10:

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the Temple Gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ So, the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have, I give 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 became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the Temple Gate called Beautiful, and they were all filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”

So much beautiful detail is given here by the pen of Luke. Acts 3:1 tells us this, “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer, at three in the afternoon.” Tells us exactly who is going and the word that is used over there “going up to the temple” literally means “as they had always done, they were going up to the Temple. One thing we need to understand in this preliminary reading is that the Apostles are still attached to the Temple, they still go to the Temple. They do not have a church building. In fact, remember at the end of chapter 2, we see them going to the Temple courts. So this is something they would routinely do. Later on in their life they would completely detach from the Temple, but right now they are still attached to the Temple as was customary to them. 3 o’clock in the afternoon, these two men, Peter and John, are going for the evening prayer. 3 o’clock in the afternoon was the time when the evening prayer is offered, the evening sacrifice is offered. They are required to pray at 9 o’clock in the morning, at 12 at noon, and then again at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. So they are going there as is customary, as they had done all of their lives.

Very interesting combination. In fact when you go to the book of Acts, you see these two coming together at many times. If you remember their calling, it was not always Peter and John. First it was Peter and Andrew then it was James and John. Peter and Andrew who are brothers, James and John who are also brothers. They have some things in background in common: they were both engaged in fishing business, we know that they were together when they prepared the last meal of our Lord, and you remember the story of how them two are the two that ran to the tomb to check on the report of the women who had come from the tomb. So there’s a little bit of a bonding that is already happening in the Gospel accounts. But only the Sovereign God, our beautiful Lord, can put these two together because they are in character, in nature, even though John is called a son of Thunder, really the opposite of each other.

Peter was outgoing, he was impetuous, often very, very opinionated in his own life. Someone once said the only time Peter opened his mouth was to change the feet in the mouth. John was serene –  I know what he’s talking about he was always putting feet in his mouth he opened his mouth to change the feet – contemplative, reflective. He was often tender, he was self-offessing, the one Jesus loved, and the one who leaned on Jesus brush at the Lord’s supper. And we see also in their life with Jesus differences between them. Peter was generally a doer he would do things and then ask questions later. John was more of a dreamer. Peter was a motivator, “come on let’s do this we will go and die with him.” John was a mysitc, often wondering about the great things. In his own writing in the Gospel of John, epistles, we see this of John coming through. Peter would point to John and ask of the Lord “what would happen to him.”

And you remember the story of the Sea of Tiberias in John 21:7. When Peter was confused as to who was standing at the banks and calling them up, it was John who reminded him it is the Lord. John, because he was younger, would outrun Peter to the tomb but guess who went to the tomb first? Peter went into the tomb first! John got to the tomb stood at the entrance, Peter came running afterwards, maybe a minute, maybe two minutes, afterwards and pushes John out of the way and goes running in. Peter would come out of the tomb and keep on running because he was so confused with what he saw; the Bible says John stood there and wondered what all this strangely arranged clothes inside the tomb meant. These two men were polar opposites in a way, but here the Spirit of God is bringing them together, the hands of fellowship are bringing people together. What I’m trying to impress upon your mind is that even within the church we see all kinds of different people but God can use all of us when we bring together under the common bond of the Lord Jesus Christ, when we come with the same unity and the same mindset what we are trying to do – your personality, my personality, your tendencies, my tendencies might be different – but the Holy Spirit is able to bring it together to accomplish his purpose here. Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer 3 in the afternoon.

This time is so significant in the Bible. If you remember, about two months before this, it was at this time that Jesus prayed His last prayer when He cried out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” That cry arose at three o’clock in the afternoon, significant because that was the time when the evening prayer was about to be offered, the sacrifices about to be offered in the temple, and right when they were about to do it, the veil in the temple was torn into two, showing the sacrifice was no longer needed, and everything was accomplished on the cross at three o’clock in the afternoon.

We’ve seen in the Old Testament that Daniel prayed at three o’clock in the afternoon, we see in the Old Testament that Elijah prayed the prayer before Baal’s prophets at three o’clock in the afternoon, and other significant prayers as well. Ezra prayed his prayer that he prayed before the people at three o’clock in the afternoon. In the book of Acts, Cornelius would pray another prayer at three o’clock in the afternoon. All of these prayers were answered by the Lord except for one prayer; the prayer that Jesus prayed on the cross, to that the answer was no because it was the perfect will of the Father that He would offer His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. While every other prayer was answered, His prayer was answered no because of His great love for us. So this time is very, very significant.

And then the Bible tells us in verse 2, “Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the Temple Gate called Beautiful.” The Bible gives a description that this man has never walked in his life. We do not know if it was a congenital birth defect, whereby he was born lame, or maybe something happened at birth that caused him to be lame. But his feet have never, without assistance, touched the ground and walked. He had always been carried ever since he was a baby. Some traditions say that this man, by the time you come to Acts 3, was about 40 years old. For the last 40 years of his life, he was being carried by people. He was a lame man, and not only that, the Bible says he was coming and begging at the most prominent place in the temple, a Temple Gate called Beautiful.

Josephus, in his writing, tells us there were nine gates at the temple in Jerusalem, but this gate, the Gate called Beautiful, was the biggest and the grandest of them all. He says it was 75 feet in height and 60 feet in width. It took 20 men to open and close the gate that is called Beautiful. It was made of Corinthian brass, and as such, it was often known also as the Corinthian Gate. It had adornments thick, rich plates of gold. Josephus writes that it was the gate that was the most adorned out of all the gates that went into the temple. That’s why it’s called the Beautiful Gate.

This man was strategically placing himself at the Beautiful Gate at the time when people were coming to offer sacrifices. They were feeling guilty about their sins, so it was a great place for a beggar to be, because they would see this beggar and, in order to somehow ask God to have favor upon them, it is very likely that they would give something to the beggar as well. He had done this all his life. Look at the next words: “He was put there every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.” So, we don’t know if he really wanted to be there or if he was being used by someone else to be there. Whatever the case might be, this was his daily routine. Every day, prayer at nine o’clock in the morning, 12 o’clock at noon, three o’clock in the afternoon, he is there. He’s not there for worship; he’s only there for one reason: to get money from the people going into the courts.

1. Vernon McGee, writing about this man being at the Beautiful Gate, made this beautiful picture behind this, “here is a contrast between the gate that is called Beautiful and here’s a man who is marred all of his life. See, man can make beautiful things,” he writes, “but man cannot improve himself. See, man can make beautiful things, but man cannot improve himself. Of course, man can do some trimming on the outside, like we all do; he can cut his hair, shave, have his fingernails manicured, take a bath now and then (hopefully every day), and use some deodorant (hopefully a lot of deodorant). But man can never change that old nature of his.” This is the contrast we have: a beautiful gate at the temple and a man who is lame from his mother’s womb. All the beauty of the gate cannot do anything for the man. All the priests inside the temple have not been able to do anything for this man. All the worship that has been going on inside that temple has not made an iota of real difference in the life of this man. All that he has done is to alleviate a little bit of the poverty and suffering of his life.

I’m here to tell you that all the measures of man, all the attempts of man, are only able to make a cosmetic difference in your life. But it is only the God of the universe who can come and make you transformed from the inside out. That is the work of the supernatural God. Only He can do that. All the works of man are what? Humanitarian. You hear that word all the time: “improve human condition.” And oftentimes, our problem is that even for the deepest problems of mankind, we try to come up with human solutions. You might temporarily improve the temporary conditions of a man, but to permanently change who he is is the work of the Lord and can only be accomplished by the work of the Lord. That is why the world has been engaged in all kinds of charity events for the last two thousand plus years and beyond, still, man is lost, man is desperate, man is struggling. There is no real change happening in the world because why? They’re not looking to the one person who can truly change them. And into this instance, we see verses 3-5: When he saw Peter and John about to enter, as he normally does, he asks them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. And I love this the way it is phrased in God’s Word; them two are walking together; they had absolutely no plans to look at anybody that day. They are only going there to worship and come back home.

Peter looks at this man. Who also looks at him? John looks at him. Why do they both look at the same man at the same time? Because the same Spirit that is prompting them to look. Oh, the beauty of the work of God in the life of the apostles! They are individual people, remember what I told you; the difference between them: one is a doer, one is a watcher, one wants to do everything right away. If the Bible had said Peter looked and John kept on walking, that would have made more sense to me. But no, Peter stopped, and he looked, and John looked as well, prompted by the same Spirit of God. I don’t know how many beggars were out there on that day. My guess is that probably hundreds of beggars were lining up the streets on that day leading up to that Beautiful Gate. They happened to be at the right point at the right time. No, God was orchestrating a plan, God was working, God was prompting them to go to the temple, God had put the beggar exactly the place where he saw them, and they saw him as well.

Peter said, “Look at us.” Kind of a strange thing; usually, people would walk by, put some coins in the offering, and just keep on walking. This is probably the first time ever the beggar ever heard this word, “Look at us.” And he thought, “Wow, this is gonna be my lucky day.” He doesn’t know how lucky he was. He was like, “Man, I am definitely going to get something really good today.” Because Peter stopped, and they’re saying, “Look at us.” And he’s probably staring and seeing what kind of ornaments he’s wearing or what kind of jewelry he has on him, or something showing there was a wealthy man, and looking at him says, “Wow, ordinary guys.” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

But what we see here is also the way God works. When the Bible says, “Peter and John looked at him,” another way of saying it is, “God is looking at him.” Another way of saying that is, “God stopped and looked at him,” because God is now having compassion on him. See, it is only the Christian faith where God stops and looks at that one man, the many people on that day, but God is so concerned about the plight of that one man. He stops them, and he makes them look at it. D.L. Moody, when preaching about this, said this so beautifully: “The apostles fastened their eyes on the lame man. Is not this a characteristic of Christianity, that it fastens its eyes on the afflicted and the suffering?” He says, “Science fastens its eyes on inanimate matter and asks the question, ‘Where did all this come from? What is it? Where are we going?’ And they look at objects, they study them all day long. Art fastens its eyes on beauty. But art, going to the temple to pray, which, by the way, in his time would have fixed his eyes on the gate called Beautiful, if art were to go to the temple that day, he would have looked at the beautiful gate, 75 feet high, 20 feet wide, adorned with Corinthian brass. They would have looked at the gate and thought, ‘What a beautiful gate.’ And the same,” says D.L. Moody, “art would have looked from the top of Mount Olive and looked at Jerusalem and thought to his heart, ‘What a beautiful city.’ Jesus looks at the city, the same city, and he weeps, thinking about the plight of the dying souls within it. See, it is only the Christian’s heart and the God behind our faith that looks at the afflicted and the suffering. Science seeks out the secrets of the world. Art seeks out its beauties. But Christianity fixes its eyes on the sorrows and ills and strives to remove them.” Oh, what beauty we find in the heart of God! The things that attract you and me are not what attracts the heart of God. The things that really make us stop and look are not what attracts God. In the midst of it, he is concerned about your suffering, he’s concerned about your plight, he is concerned about your poverty. He is concerned about that one man, the throngs, the worshippers coming on that day, matters to God. But what is most important in the mind of God is that man who was crippled from birth. So God makes them stop in their tracks.

Isn’t it wonderful that in my life, in your life, we are who we are today because God stopped and he looked? God stopped and he looked. God stopped and he looked. In fact, even before he created this whole world, he stopped and he looked. He saw us. The Bible says even before we were formed in our mother’s womb, he saw us. That’s the grace of God. That is the knowledge of God. That is the love of God that goes so beyond anything we can describe. And then here’s the answer he never expected, verse 6: “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have, I give to you.” Till this day silver or gold I do not have, but there is something inside of me that is more precious than any silver or gold. There is something that is working inside of me that is about to change the trajectory of your life. If I give you silver or gold, you’ll be happy. You’ll buy some food, buy some clothing, but you are still a lame man. But what I have inside of me is about to change you forever and ever. It’s going to make you not only a lame man anymore, but you are going to now encounter the greatest healer the world has ever seen, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is going to take away your sins.” And one thing this man is not realizing, the greatest need of his life is not to be healed of his lameness. The greatest need of his life is to be healed of his spiritual darkness.

Sitting at the temple gate has not made him a believer yet. But here comes the grace of God, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk! Hallelujah! The name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk! I know that in our culture today, I know that a society today, Jesus is a name that people often use just to associate with profanity. He is debunked by people, made fun of my peopl;e but I’m here to tell you even today the 21st Century as we sang this morning the most powerful name in the universe is the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. His name is the greatest name in the world, whether you believe it or not, whether you accept it or not, whether you acknowledge it or not, his name is still the greatest one of all.

And when no one can touch you, no one can heal you, no one can deliver you, his name, the power that is contained in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, is able to set you free like no other. All of our lives are a testament to it. When I need help in my life, there is no other name I’d rather call than the name of Jesus. When I need deliverance in my life, there is no other name I’d rather call than the name of Jesus. When I need healing in my life, there is no other name I’d rather call than the name of Jesus. When I need assurance in my life, there is no other name I turn to other than the name of Jesus. Yes, he still delivers. He still heals. He still sets the captives free. And here we come this afternoon, declaring in the name of the Lord that even today, even if we don’t have silver or gold, what we have, we will give it to the world. That is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The sad state of the church today is that the church is richer today than at any point in the history of the church. In fact, one person wrote, “If we were to sell all the churches we ever bought and all the things the church owns today, it’ll be richer than all the riches of the world.” The church has a lot of silver or gold. There’s story about a humble monk who was walking with the Roman Catholic Cardinal at a time in the Middle Ages when the Roman Catholic Church was at its zenith of power, prestige, and wealth. The cardinal pointed to the opulent surroundings and said to the monk, “We no longer have to say, ‘Silver and gold I do not have.'” The monk replied, “But neither can you say, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.'”

We have traded one for the other. But wouldn’t it be wonderful that in the midst of everything God has given to us, all the silver and gold that we have, that even this beautiful building that God has given to us, we will stand here and still say, “It is not this building, it is not our wealth, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” That’s what we want to do. We don’t put our trust in our silver or gold. Our silver and gold cannot make an iota of difference, a real difference, in the life of anyone else. But what we have, we are willing to give. What prompted them to say that? It was the Spirit of God that was living inside of them.

Peter and John make this very important. Peter and John did not walk down the road that day and heal every beggar that was sitting there, nor did the Bible say they came back the next day and started healing beggars again. This was very unique, specific, prompted by the Spirit of God. So here is our counsel for us: unless the Spirit of God tells you, don’t tell anyone to rise up and walk. Because that will cause more shame to the name of the Lord than anything else. Or, unless the Spirit of God tells you, “Rise up and walk,” rise up and walk. This was prompted by the Spirit of God.

Look at verse 7: “Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up instantly. The man’s feet and ankles became strong.” This word is used over here: feet and ankles. It’s the only time in the New Testament you find these Greek words: feet and ankles. In fact, Luke, the doctor, is using a medical term. He uses a very unique medical term that will only be known by a doctor to make this assession, that his feet and ankles became strong. He could have just said he stood up and he started walking, but no, he goes into detail. He says, “His feet and ankles became strong.” And then, look at verse 8: “He jumped to his feet and began to walk.” Okay, good, good. So far, he’s got up; he’s jumped to his feet, and he’s starting to walk. But look at what the Bible says: “He went with them into the temple courts.” Now he’s no longer walking. He’s walking, and look what he’s doing. He is jumping, and he is praising God.

You know how amazing this is? As you know, in the beginning of 2020, Elijah broke his ankle, and for six weeks, his ankle, his feet were in a boot, and he was counting the days. “Oh, dad, six days after that, I’ll be able to run around and jump around and go back to playing basketball and all these things.” And I kept on telling him, I said, “I don’t know. They talk about physical therapy. You probably won’t be able to.” The day the boot was taken off, I still remember this. I think that’s the one time he really cried. He tried to put his feet on the ground, and the pain was intolerable. Why? When you don’t use your muscles for six weeks straight, they atrophy. When you try to compact everything inside a boot, he has lost his ability to walk. He had to go through physical therapy for several weeks before he could put his feet on the ground again.

But look what the power of God did. This man had not stepped his foot on the ground for 40 years of his life, if the tradition is true. When God healed him, there was no physical therapy that was needed afterwards. Prince was not needed. Jason was not needed. God strengthened his feet and ankles instantly. Instantly. That he walked. You know how important this is? Suddenly, his brain instantly has an idea on how to walk.

You know that’s a learned thing? No baby comes out of the womb and starts walking and jumping. They have to learn how to walk. They have to learn how to jump. All this has to be learned over many, many years. But the power of God is so strong. The healing is so strong. There is no doubting here. He’s not walking with a crutch. He is not walking with the help of the apostles. He is walking. He is jumping and praising God as well. How can you do that? Every ankle has been strengthened as if he was a new creation. You know why?

My God had done the work of creation again in the life of this man. Not just healing; he was instantly creating the joints, instantly creating the connection between the brain and the feet and the ankles, instantly making him learn what would take many years to learn on how to walk. Not only walk, but jump and praise God as well. What the power of God in his life.

This was no accident. Isaiah prophesied it. This is a prophecy about the end times, the millennial kingdom of the Lord. But God is giving a preview to us in Isaiah 35:5-6. “When the Spirit of God comes, the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.” Here is the lame, leaping like a deer because the kingdom of God had come. Jesus had come, and the kingdom of God is starting to be established in this world in the form of the church.

Finally, verse 9 and 10: “When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.” We will continue about their wonder and amazement and the response to it next week. Three things I want to leave with you as I end it is this:

Miracles are dependent on the perfect Sovereign will of God. I told you before all beggars were not healed, one beggar was healed that day, at least that’s recording God’s word. Some may be healed of cancer, others are not healed of cancer. Some may be healed of heart disease, others die of heart attacks. Some remain lame for the rest of their life, others leap for joy at the healing that God has given. Some are born blind and end this world blind, some receive their sight for healing. We should never make a blanket statement about the work of God and his sovereign way in which he deals with us. Healing is not for everyone. Deliverance is not for everyone. For some, the answer is, “That’s enough, my grace is sufficient for you, my strength is made perfect in your weakness.” God heals according to his perfect sovereign will.

Secondly, Miracles result in joyful worship and praise. Any other miracle is not from the Lord. Who is praised here? My God is praised. Why do God do miracles? So that you can run to a miracle crusade? No, so the name of the Lord can be lifted up.

Thirdly, miracles happen in the inherent power of Jesus’ name and for his glory. There’s power in the name of Jesus, and he is able to heal.

You know this picture of the lame man and the Beautiful gate is actually our story. He had to be carried to the Temple Gate every single day. The Bible says you are helpless, unable to save yourself. You were carried to the Beautiful Gate, and you were sitting there begging. But, oh, I don’t know when it was, 10, 15, 20, three months ago, 20 years ago, Spirit of God stopped, looked, and said, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up.” Oh, and then the spirit of man who was dead inside of you, was made alive. The Bible says you became a living being again, and you started walking, you started jumping, you started leaping, you started praising God. But it was a=the sovereign will of God and the beautiful act of redemption that made you walk again, leap again, and have joy again.

Pastor Steve Cole shares the story of his friend named Glenn. He was saved while he was in prison doing five years to life for drug dealing. His Godly mother was at home praying for him. At the very moment the wayward son walked into a chapel at prison and got saved. The man in Acts 3 is kind of like Glenn. He was totally exuberant and open about what God had done for him. After he was released from prison, Glenn was not the same. He would walk into a crowded restaurant and he would shout out, “Praise the Lord!” Then, having everyone’s attention, he would go around and say, “Here’s a gospel tract. I was in prison, Jesus saved me. This is what Jesus can do for you.”

See, salvation creates joy in our hearts that are unexplainable. Let me ask you, are you excited? Oh, are you joyful? Do you have the joy of the Lord inside your heart? Is there a bubbling inside of you to tell others about what Jesus has done? That’s what the Spirit of God wants to do in your life. He wants you to be excited about your faith. He wants you to see when someone is begging on the side of the street, not to ignore them. He wants you to stop, he wants you to look, he wants you to pray for them, he wants you to tell them about your Jesus who changed your life. God wants your life to be filled with the joy of the Lord. The very fact that we are so passionate for our Lord should be the essence of who we are as believers. Then we’ll be able to lead many others, like this man once again, to the very place where they can find restoration and healing.

Let’s look to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you. Thank you for your word that reminded us about the power of your name. We come in the name of that Lord, that name that came and died for us to make us be children of God. Thank you for eternal salvation, redemption, and the forgiveness of sins. As we now enter into your table, we pray for your presence to continue with us. Thank you for this time. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.