Today we pick up our study of Acts in chapter 3.  In chapters 1 and 2, Jesus ascended, the Holy Spirit filled the 120 at Pentecost, Peter proclaimed the Gospel, 3000 people responded with faith and repentance and the Jerusalem church was established.  Their unity and love bore witness to the grace of God among them. As a result, many were saved and added to their number.  In a nutshell, that’s what we’ve seen so far.

Now in chapter 3, an amazing miracle takes place.  Let’s read the story.

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

So, this guy was healed.  It’s a bona fide miracle.  People were amazed and a large crowd gathered.

Peter explained what happened – saying essentially, “look it wasn’t us who healed this man, it was Jesus!”  From there, Peter launched into a presentation of the Gospel.

In chapter 4, upset with the apostles’ preaching and popularity, the religious leaders arrested Peter and John.   They threatened them saying, “‘never again preach in the name of Jesus”.  Peter and John courageously denied their request. However, in light of the recent miracle, public approval was on their side.   Consequently these leaders had no choice but to release the Apostles.

Peter and John re-joined the rest of the Jerusalem church for what turned out to be a most powerful prayer meeting. Verse 31 notes, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with great boldness.”

Now, that’s a quick summary of today’s story.

The question is, “what can we learn?”

I want to answer that question, but first, let me remind you of the main point of Acts:

“The unstoppable ministry of Jesus continues by the power of His Spirit
through the witness of His people.”

Our passage shows us the equipment needed to get the job done – to advance the mission.

In the second Gulf War, in mission Iraqi Freedom – the soldiers needed the right equipment to succeed.  The mission required a certain kind of armor, certain kinds of tanks, special weapons, specific vehicles etc…  You’ll remember there was public outrage when some of the troops apparently didn’t have everything they needed.

In a similar way, all believers in Jesus Christ from every age are soldiers in the Lord’s army.  We are in an extremely intense spiritual battle to see the Gospel advance in this community and beyond.  The powers of darkness are arrayed in all their evil might against the church.

Our story reminds us that there is certain equipment that the Lord’s army, the church of Jesus Christ needs for the mission-for the mission of taking the Gospel to the world.  Thankfully there are no budgetary constraints with God; He never overlooks anything.  God liberally supplies all we need to fulfill the mission He’s given us to accomplish.

What Do We Need for Our Mission Together?

Like the Christians in our text, we need faith, we need the gospel, we need the Spirit, and we need boldness.  As a side note, you might find it interesting to know that faith, the gospel, and the Spirit are all part of the armor of God in Ephesians 6.  And boldness is the fruit of wearing God’s armor.  However, that’s another passage for another time.

We Need Faith

So a forty year old man, lame from birth, is healed.  The people vs.10 “were filled with wonder and amazement…”  Vs.10 says they were utterly astounded.  The original language gives the sense that the people were just completely blown away.  They were in awe.  So Peter spoke up.  He said to them vs.12,

“Men of Israel, why do you stare at as, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?”

He then went on to explain that God was glorifying Jesus, by healing this lame man and that vs.16,

“faith in his name [that is the Name of Jesus]—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.”

So God healed the lame man, through (or by means of) Peter’s faith.  As a result, the door was opened for Peter to preach the Gospel, and chapter 4 verse 4 says during this time, many believed.

Now we might think: “What in the world can we learn from a healing performed through the hands of an apostle?”  Well, here’s what we can learn:  God sometimes uses faith to heal and advance the mission.

Notice, it wasn’t Peter who healed this man. It was Jesus.  God used Peter’s faith in the Son of God to heal him.

Now, there are at least two common mistakes Christians often make where there is a connection between faith and healing.  Some in “word of faith” circles believe God heals all those with enough faith.  Tragically, suffering people who are not healed are often told their lack of faith is to blame.  Of course according to scripture, that’s not right.  Human faith cannot coerce or manipulate God into anything.  He is sovereign.  He reigns supreme over all; therefore we must trust Him when it comes to who gets healed and who does not.

Notice in verses 12 & 13 Peter goes out of the way to say this healing was not due to their piety or but according to the purpose of God.  So God used their faith, but their faith wasn’t the ultimate cause of the crippled man’s healing.  The purpose of God was the ultimate cause of his healing.

Other Christians make a different mistake.  They assert that God ceased doing miracles at the end of the apostolic age, sometime around the close of the first century; therefore we should no longer ask for or expect God to do great miracles.  That too is a mistake.

As part of a larger response to that position, Dr. Wayne Grudem writes:

“Though there does seem to have been an unusual concentration of miraculous power in the ministry of the apostles, this is not a reason for thinking that there would be few or no miracles following their deaths.  Rather, the apostles were the leaders in a new covenant church whose life and message were characterized by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in miraculous ways.  Furthermore, they set a pattern that the church throughout its history may well seek to imitate in its own life, insofar as God the Holy Spirit is pleased to work miracles for the edification of the church (Systematic Theology, 368).”

So Grudem says essentially that we should read passages like this one and think – “Ok, there is something here for me, for us to model.” And I agree with that.  It’s not just “That was then and this is now.”

Like many stories in Scripture, our story illustrates that God sometimes uses faith to heal and advance the mission. Though the presence of faith doesn’t guarantee healing, it certainly can result in healing.

So on one hand, we must guard against the tendency to think, “God is sovereign, so who cares if I have faith?” and on the other to believe “If I only have enough faith, I or someone else will be healed.”  God is not ambivalent to faith, nor is He some kind of genie.

The bottom line is, it sometimes pleases God to use our faith to heal.  Therefore we need to ask God, in faith, to heal.  We need to believe He is good enough and powerful enough to heal and pray accordingly.

In our story, the early church models this.  Near the end of our passage, Peter and John with other believers joined together to pray.  And one of the things they ask is that God would stretch out His hand to heal and to perform signs and wonders in the name of Jesus.  After quoting that verse in his systematic theology, Grudem comments:

“Far from teaching that we should not ask God for miracles, this example of the early church gives us some encouragement to do so.”

He goes on to say:

…”our faith that God will work in powerful and even miraculous ways may be far too small.  We must beware of being infected by a secular worldview that assumes that God will answer prayer only very seldom, if ever.  And we should certainly not be embarrassed to talk about miracles if they occur—or think that a non-miraculous answer is better!  Miracles are God’s work, and he works them to bring glory to himself and to strengthen our faith.  When we encounter serious needs in people’s lives today, it is right for us to seek God for an answer, and where miraculous intervention seems to be needed, then to ask God if he would be pleased to work in that way.”

To all of that, I say “yes and amen”

So, are you physically ill in some way?  Do you know someone who is sick?

• Why not ask God to increase your faith?
• Why not pray for healing?
• Why not ask your pastor and others to join with you?

Shouldn’t we pray that God would use healing in our day and in our church to open doors for the proclamation of the Gospel?  This stuff still happens today.  My friend, Marty Machowski, a pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church recently returned from a trip to Uganda.   He tells the following story:

The church I am speaking at is a half hour drive from Nagongera into the bush of Africa.  They have no electricity, no running water, and the church building was constructed by members who carried water for two miles to mix the cement.  They recently planted a church in a nearby town.  They held a fast with no food or water that lasted for 100 hours.  At the conclusion of that fast they went into the town to preach the gospel and start the church.  A man who was mad (out of his mind for some time) came in and they prayed for him.  He was healed and went back to his family.  He, his wife and his daughter all were converted and joined the church.

So, God still performs miracles today, and uses healing to advance the Gospel.  May we boldly ask God to do the same, in this church, through us.

We Need the Gospel

We need the Gospel!  This may seem like an obvious point, but it is one we must not overlook.  Peter’s message is the core of the Gospel: the death and resurrection of Jesus.  In sermon one, the crippled man is healed. And Peter says essentially, “Don’t look at us.  Jesus healed him.  Yea, Jesus.  That’s right.  The One you screamed out to “crucify Him”, the One who died on the Cross and then rose again from the dead.  Yep, he’s the One who did this.  Peter goes on to say, we are witnesses to all of this and might I remind you the prophets told us in advance that this stuff would happen to the Christ when he comes.”

Peter then calls them to repent.  Don’t miss this: The people who carried Jesus’ nails in their pockets, Peter invites to find vs.19 forgiveness and refreshing in Jesus.

In the second sermon, after the Jewish high court tries Peter and John, Peter says nearly the same thing.  Keep in mind, the audience is the Sanehedrin, the same political and religious body that condemned Jesus to death just a few months earlier.  Peter tells them chapter 4 verse 12

“there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Folks, the Gospel has power to save even those responsible, humanly speaking, for the crucifixion of the Son of God.  I tell you, your sin, however great it may be however much it may burden your soul this morning, does not lie beyond the reach of God’s forgiveness and mercy.

So with zeal, passion and courage, Peter proclaimed Christ.   And we remember Christ this morning too.  He is our message.  He is our hope.  As Peter says, times of refreshing – both in the present, and in the future come to those who repent of their sins and trust in Him.   Therefore, Sovereign Grace Church of Middletown, we must believe Him when he promises us mercy, and we must proclaim Him.

May God use the proclaim course, beginning this Friday, to help stir our hearts in this direction.

I find the simplicity of Acts so refreshing. It’s just the Gospel, by the power of the Spirit through the witness of His people, transforming lives again and again.

We Need the Spirit

As I mentioned the opening message of the series, the Holy Spirit is mentioned over 50 times in Acts.  His person and work takes center stage and I want you to see it, so together, we can appreciate His work in a greater way.  In chapter 2, the Spirit fills Peter.  As a result, in our story, He performed a miraculous sign and powerfully proclaimed the Gospel.

In chapter 4 verse 8, filled afresh with the Holy Spirit, Peter preaches with great anointing, unction and boldness – causing members of the high court to marvel (v.13).

In chapter 4, verse 31, in response to the believers prayer for boldness

“the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

Now that was a dynamic prayer meeting.  The Spirit descended and the place was shaken.  The ESVSB notes it was “like an earthquake” – meaning the believers could tangibly sense and feel His presence.

The New Covenant Age of the Spirit was ushered in at Pentecost.  Then the early church experienced fresh infillings of the Spirit.  Within a short span of time, Peter was filled with the Spirit at least three times – first at Pentecost, then as he stood before the Sanhedrin, and next at this prayer meeting.  I’m sure many if not all of the 120 at Pentecost were filled at this prayer meeting as well.  The result was bold witness for Christ.

Reading this kindles a desire in my soul to more regularly pray for God to fill me with His Spirit – because I want to be a bold witness for my Savior.   I am personally convicted of being self-sufficient, of not seeking and depending upon the infilling of the Holy Spirit; I am convicted for how I have neglected the third-person of the Trinity.

Francis Chan writes in his new book The Forgotten God:

There is a big gap between what we read in Scripture about the Holy Spirit and who most believers and churches operate today…Without Him people operate in their own strength and only accomplish human-size results.  The world is not moved by love or actions that are of human creation.  And the church is not empowered to live differently from any other gathering of people without the Holy Spirit.  But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural.  The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice.

We Need Boldness

The theme of boldness runs throughout our story.   Peter boldly commands the crippled man at the gate beautiful to walk.  After the miraculous healing, he boldly proclaims the gospel to the crowd.  A little later – Peter, the guy once afraid to acknowledge Jesus before a servant girl, boldly proclaims Christ to the same assembly that a few months earlier gave Jesus a mock trial and unjustly condemned Him to death.

I mean, Peter’s transformation was incredible.  In fact it was supernatural.  Filled with the he went from “man of fear” to “man of faith.”  What a dramatic a difference the Spirit can make in a person’s life!  Filled with the Spirit, we see him bold.  But then, when not filled with the Spirit, we see him fearful again.

Your may recall from Galatians, in Antioch Paul corrected Peter for his fear of the circumcision party, causing him to eat separately from Gentiles.  This just goes to show, we never outgrow our need for the Spirit’s help.  Even for the Apostle, the struggle with fear didn’t end after His encounters with the Spirit, it continued.  We can all relate, can’t we?  Certain sinful tendencies, like the fear of man, can re-surface even after significant victories.

However, I digress.  In our story, filled with the Spirit, Peter was a new man.  He was bold.  He was courageous in witness.  And so were the people.

After the Sanhedrin released Peter and John from prison in vs.23 we read they  “went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.”  In response, the people pray.  They begin by praising God.  They affirm God’s sovereign control over the events of history.  Then, they intercede.  What do they ask for?  That the opposition be removed?  That’s what I’d be tempted to pray for.  Of course it’s not always wrong to pray for God to remove opposition, but that’s not what the early saints do here.  Instead, they pray for boldness.  Let’s read part of their prayer beginning in vs.29:

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

The word for boldness used of Peter’s speech and the believers’ prayer in c.4 means “freedom in speaking”, “unreservedness in speech”, “free and fearless confidence” “cheerful courage…”  So the Christian community prays not for relief from opposition, but for boldness, for “cheerful courage” “free and fearless confidence” to proclaim the Gospel in the midst of it.  And God answers their prayer.

This is instructive for us.   We need this!  In our mission statement we say:

Our aim is to be a people transformed by the Gospel, empowered by the Spirit, reaching our world.

Our story reminds us that as we reach out, we should expect opposition. We should expect Satan to try and undermine our efforts at spreading the gospel.   We should expect sin within us and forces outside us to oppose us when we reach out to unbelieving neighbors, co-workers, family members and friends with our testimonies, with the gospel.

However, we shouldn’t be overwhelmed or discouraged because the Holy Spirit is with us.  So like the Jerusalem church, we must pray for boldness to speak the word of God, to speak the Gospel boldly.  The early believers needed boldness and so do we!

Beginning on Friday February 19^th, in Care Groups we will begin the Proclaim Course-an evangelism course that equips us to bear witness about Jesus.  It is the perfect complement to and application of our series in Acts.  Acts and proclaim go together.  So be there.  Don’t miss out on what God, by His Spirit, is doing among us.  If you’ve not regularly attended Care Group recently, now would be a great time to re-engage and get going again.

As we prepare our hearts, here’s my encouragement: Pray that God would fill us with His Spirit and that He’d give us new found boldness – a real “cheerful courage” to share the Gospel.

CONCLUSION

Folks we need all the things we’ve talked about today.  We need all of the equipment, the armor God gives to effectively reach this community with the Gospel.

As we learned today, we need faith.  Do you have faith, faith that God can and at times delights to heal?  Our faith that God will work in miraculous ways may be too small… When we encounter serious needs in people’s lives today, even unbelievers, it is right for us to seek God for an answer – for the glory of God and the advance of the Gospel.

We also need the Gospel.  Are you confident in the power of the simple Gospel message, the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection, to transform lives?  May our confidence on the power of our message grow in the days ahead.

We need the Spirit as well.  Is there a big gap between what we read in Scripture about the Holy Spirit and your experience of the Spirit?  If so, will you seek to be filled with God’s Spirit – to not be self sufficient, but to depend on the Spirit in a new way each day?

Finally, we need boldness.  When was the last time you boldly declared the Gospel to unsaved loved one, co-worker or friend?  If it’s been a while, perhaps its time to step out with a bold and gentle love.

Let’s ask God for these things right now.

PRAY