describes believers devoting themselves to teaching, fellowship, meals, and prayer after 3,000 were added
1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.
4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.
6 When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
7 They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans?
8 How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?
9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,
10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”
12 They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
15 For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.
16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams.
18 Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21 It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,
23 him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;
24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
25 For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
28 You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn’t left in Hades, and his flesh didn’t see decay.
32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.
34 For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
36 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”
40 With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.
43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 All who believed were together, and had all things in common.
45 They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.
46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.
primary preaching text covering Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate and Peter's sermon to the crowd
1 Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.
3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy.
4 Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.”
5 He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
7 He took him by the right hand, and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength.
8 Leaping up, he stood, and began to walk. He entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God.
9 All the people saw him walking and praising God.
10 They recognized him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
12 When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, “You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk?
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.
14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.
16 By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 “Now, brothers, I know that you did this in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
18 But the things which God announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled.
19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,
20 and that he may send Christ Jesus, who was ordained for you before,
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets.
22 For Moses indeed said to the fathers, ‘The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him in all things whatever he says to you.
23 It will be that every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
24 Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days.
25 You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘In your offspring will all the families of the earth be blessed.’
26 God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to you first to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.”
cited as Moses prophesying that God would raise up a prophet like him whom the people must listen to
15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
16 When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good.
18 You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to perform it yourself alone.
19 Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God.
20 You shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men which fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
22 Let them judge the people at all times. It shall be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge themselves. So shall it be easier for you, and they shall share the load with you.
read as benediction that by God's divine power we have everything we need for living a godly life
3 seeing that his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue;
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor John walked through Acts 3:1-26, the healing of a lame man at the Beautiful Gate and Peter's sermon to the crowd that gathered afterward. The point was not to settle debates about miracles but to see what Peter actually said about who gets the credit and why it matters.
What was said
The sermon opened with a quick look back at where Acts has been: the Holy Spirit's arrival in chapter two, Peter's first sermon, and the summary picture of the early church devoting themselves to teaching, fellowship, meals, and prayer. That was the normal life of the believers just before the specific story in chapter three begins.
Peter and John were doing nothing unusual. They were headed to the temple for the three o'clock prayer service, the same thing they always did. The man at the Beautiful Gate was doing nothing unusual either. He was at his regular post, doing what he always did. What broke the pattern was that Peter and John stopped, looked at him directly, and asked him to look back. Most people, Pastor John noted, were trying not to be noticed by him. These two were different.
When Peter said he had no silver or gold, that was not a setup for a lecture. He told the man what he did have and used it: healing in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene. The man's feet and ankles were instantly strengthened, and he went into the temple walking, leaping, and praising God. The crowd that recognized him as the same man who had been sitting lame at that gate for years was astounded.
Peter's sermon to that crowd moved fast and stayed pointed. He refused to let any of the credit land on himself or John. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had glorified his servant Jesus, the same Jesus that crowd had handed over to Pilate, the same Jesus Pilate had repeatedly cleared, the same holy and righteous one they had rejected in favor of Barabbas. Peter said it plainly and did not soften it, even though he acknowledged he had said something ugly about Jesus himself that same week.
Peter then called what they had done ignorance, not to excuse it but to leave a door open. He connected the moment directly to Moses in Exodus, who said God would raise up a prophet from among the Israelites and that anyone who refused to listen to him would be cut off from God's people. Every prophet from Samuel forward, Peter said, had been pointing toward this. The people he was addressing were the children of those prophets, heirs of the covenant God made with Abraham that all families on earth would be blessed through his descendants.
The sermon closed with three questions drawn from the text for self-examination: Do I really see people who are suffering, or do I walk past them? Am I willing for them to see me in return? Do I give what I actually have to help others, in Jesus' name? Those questions were aimed at everyone, not just people with financial resources.
Then Pastor John described something that had hit him that morning before the service. All week he had been wrestling with the tension between charismatic and cessationist views of miracles, trying to figure out how Peter and John's example applies to ordinary believers now. The realization that stopped him was that maybe the right starting point is not to see ourselves as Peter and John at all. Maybe we are the man at the gate, lame from birth, brought there by others, unable to help ourselves, lifted up by the power of Jesus. And if that is true, then the right response is the one the man gave: get up and praise God.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Peter and John were going about a completely ordinary day when they stopped and really looked at the man at the Beautiful Gate. What does it look like in your own routine to genuinely see someone who is suffering rather than hoping they do not notice you?
Peter told the crowd that the healing happened in the name of Jesus, not by his own power or godliness. Where in your own life are you tempted to take credit, or give credit to an instrument, for something that Jesus actually did?
Speaker 2Good morning, everybody. Hey. What do you say we stand and sing a song together? I would love to do that. And then here is a Psalm to lead us into that worship.
Psalm 100, it's worship the Lord with gladness and come before him with joyful songs. Would you join us in singing Come Thou Fountain?
Speaker 1And y'all can have a seat. I've got a and so that's Awana starting here tomorrow at 05:45. Today's the day. It's the due date for the boxes. I've seen a lot of them walk in the doors.
You can take them into the church office if you want to and put them in there. This is the due date for those boxes. So if you if you got them with you, good. If not, bring them quick afterwards. There's another service after this one.
Right? So that's the day. Women's Christmas luncheon. This is the first that I'm seeing the small print. Wednesday, December 11 from twelve to two.
That is always just a great time. So the women's Christmas luncheon, Deborah Buckingham will be bringing the message. Lissa will be leading. Lissa Hunter and her orchestra will be leading the music. It should be a fun time.
So that's December 11 and you can RSVP by December 4, a week before. That will be a good time. I promise. Hey, the highly anticipated momentarily accurate church directory. It was a snapshot in time.
We know how this valley is. There are people who've come in. There are people who've gone. There are people who've had to change houses three times since two weeks ago. But this is what you've all been waiting for.
The directory for first b, it's in the racks by the entry. If you want, we'll have more printed by next week. Also, if you could, let us know what we did wrong. Are you with me? That's the way it always goes.
Oh, my number is not right. My email is not right. Whatever. Let us know and we'll make it even more accurate for next week. But Nick is back in the back.
Can you all just say, howdy do to Nick? My goodness. He does so much. He does so much of this kind of stuff that's just kind of background refreshing all the time. He's constantly doing stuff like that.
He's really really helpful with all of our internet tech stuff. So anyway, that's good. Discovery class happens third Sunday of the month each month in my office. Is this the third Sunday? I think it I think it is.
So it'll happen today in between services in my office, and that's it. Blake, is that the last one? He does this when it's over. Will you all stand with us? And let me pray for us.
God Almighty, thank you for bringing us together this morning. Your mercies are new every morning, Lord, and I'm swimming in them this morning. I'm thankful for what you have done for us, and I'm thankful for what you've done. When I look out and I see people here on Sunday morning, I just go, God, be praised. You are wonderful.
You are good. You're our creator and Lord. So God, may we ascribe to you all of the glory, all of the good that you're doing, Lord. It's amazing just to see it happen. And so in Jesus' name, we pray that you'd receive these, songs of praise.
Amen.
Speaker 2There is joy in the morning springing up in my soul, there is life worthy. And as he calls me, he's a howling luia after sweet victory. Let's hear this together. It's always be joyful. Never stop praying.
Be thankful in all circumstances. This is God's will for us who belong in Christ Jesus. Lord, would you help us? Would you help us to do so, to sing praises with joy? Lord, even if we're not feeling it, God, would we awake our soul, would you, this morning as we sing to you?
God, would you give us a deep down gut level joy because we recognize the grace that's been extended to us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. A simple verse, but it's so profound from first John four. It says, God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.
Thank you, Lord, for providing not just a way, the way. Thank you. And that you loved us. Now it wasn't that we that we loved you first, but that you loved us first, and you sent Christ as a sacrifice to take away our sin. And thank you, Lord, for new life in you.
In Jesus name. Amen. I count on one thing, but the same God that never fails will not fail me now. Man, you can have a seat here for a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service, and invite our ushers to come on forward.
And what are we gonna sing? Y'all know we're Christians?
Speaker 1Yeah. Sounds good.
Speaker 2From John thirteen thirty five, Jesus says, it's our love for one another that proves we're his disciples. And before we sing, Ray, may
Speaker 1I ask you a prayer? Sure. Lord God Almighty, I'm thinking about Awana tomorrow night. Proved workmen are not ashamed from Timothy. Lord, that you want us to study to show ourselves approved.
A good workman, student, and workman with a practical application of all that goes in, Lord. But I pray that that seeking after purity of thought would not encumber us, Lord. Paul says also knowledge puffs up. And God Almighty, we wanna be filled up with a purpose and then be doing that purpose. As this offering time happens, Lord, I pray that you would bless gift and giver and receiver, that the blessing would just be on all of it.
Lord, that you'd multiply to do your kingdom's work, your will done in your way. May we have a practical outflow that happens. That happens as a matter of course because we are getting closer, drawing closer to you and you're drawing closer to us. Would you show us your will Lord for us individually and collectively? Would you show us what it is that you would have us to do and then fill us with the power to be able to do it.
In Jesus name, amen.
Speaker 2With each other.
Speaker 1Amen. It's time for children's church downstairs. Alright. And it's time for church church up here. That looks like a lot, doesn't it?
Acts three one through four thirty one. So that's almost two chapters of Acts. I don't think I'm gonna get there today, but that's the next section of scripture. Okay? It's kind of broken down into four parts in that.
I'm gonna do two of them today. So I'm gonna go just three through the end of the chapter. That's my plan. As the spirit moves, we might go that far. I doubt it.
But let's go. Acts three one to four thirty one. Now what we've seen so far in Acts is in Acts one, they replace Judas with Matthias. They do so by casting lots, which is unthinkable after chapter two. Chapter two, the arrival of the Holy Spirit.
And my favorite way of explaining Acts chapter two is, and the crowd was confused because they understood. There were as a crowd of people from all the nations, devout Jews from every nation and they were there and they heard these Galilean backwoods hicks talking in their language. And they were confused because they understood. And they understood it partially because they understood what was being, you know, what was happening in their own language, but the content of what was being said was that Christ Jesus is the way. Repent and believe the gospel.
The gospel is being presented. All of that, the content of what was being said was what was the important part, but the delivery part was amazing for them. So casting lots in chapter one, now obsolete in chapter two, now God speaks through his Holy Spirit and fills believers. Oh, beautiful. Acts three, here we are.
Oh, well, let's get to the end of Acts two first. This, after those 3,000 were added on that first sermon, can you imagine? First sermon. Peter's first sermon and 3,000 probably men, maybe women and children in addition to that, but 3,000 were added that day. And then, the summary statement at the end of Acts two says this, all the believers, all of them, devoted themselves to the apostles teaching.
And that teaching centers on Jesus as the Messiah, anointed one, the Christ, the way by which you may be saved. All believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, they got together, and to sharing in meals including the Lord's Supper and to prayer. So that, if you were to pick a memory verse, say you're an Awana leader, if you want to pick a memory verse for Acts two, that's a good one. That's what we all need to be devoting ourselves to. A deep sense of awe came over all of them and the apostle performed many miraculous signs and wonders, it says, kind of nonchalantly.
And all the believers met together in one place. They shared what they had. They sold their property and possessions. They shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the temple each day, which was their custom.
There's a morning time to go to the temple and an afternoon about 03:00 time to go to the temple. They worship together at the temple each day. They met in homes for the Agape meal for the Lord's Supper and they shared their meals with great joy and generosity. It wasn't a drag. And all the while, they're praising God and they're enjoying the goodwill of all the people.
Each day, the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Does that sound like something that you'd want to be a part of? Yeah. Okay. So now it goes from general statements to a very specific time, acts as a narrative.
It's fun to just get into the narrative story. And that's why you can have sections that are three one to four thirty one, and it doesn't even feel like you've done anything. Peter and John. They went to the temple one afternoon, normal. It's the oblation service, sacrifices and prayer, 03:00 in the afternoon.
Peter and John went to the temple one afternoon to take part in the 03:00 prayer service like they always did. And as they approached the temple, there was a man who was lame from his mother's womb technically in the text, but from birth. It was a congenital condition that he had, lame from birth and he was being carried in. Now, just hearing he was being carried in, did any of you all else go back to story in Luke and Mark where there's this guy that his friends are carrying and dropped him through the roof in front of Jesus? That's that I think is intentional.
But as they approached, it's just the story is the story. He they saw a man lame from birth that was being carried in. And each day, he was put beside the temple gate, the one that was called The Beautiful Gate. If you know anything about the temple in Jerusalem, probably the Nekainer Gate, is prettier than the outside gates. The one that was called beautiful.
So he could beg from the people going into the temple, And when he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money because that's what he did. That was normal for him. That was the norm and that's what he did. And Peter and John looked at him intently. They placed their eyes upon him and they saw him.
And Peter said, you, look at us. Look right here. Now, the layman looked at them eagerly. Cause most people, when you're walking by a beggar, don't you just try to kind of not be noticed? You're hoping that they won't notice, and they're calling out to you.
And this is different than that. They're looking at him intently. They're paying attention instead of just kind of sneak about, oh, I hope that guy doesn't say anything to me. I was with a guy in a car one time. This was in high school.
I'm riding along and there's a guy that came we were riding it through Downtown Atlanta, one of the Peach Tree Streets. Right? And guy came up and he's got a bottle, he starts washing the window. And before he approached, the fellow I was riding with said, well, if he comes over and washes my windshield, he would have just done his good deed for the day. I ain't giving him nothing.
I was mortified. Absolutely mortified to be in the car with the guy and he did and he didn't give me anything. And I felt like just sinking into the seat, you know. But Peter and John looked at this guy intently. They cast their eyes upon him.
Peter said, you look at us. Look look to us. And the lame man looked at them eagerly because he was expecting money. Okay. These people are not trying to sneak by.
But Peter said, I don't have any silver or gold. Great. Can you imagine the guy? They're looking at me but they're I'm gonna get a lecture, I'm sure. I don't have any silver or gold for you, but I'll give you what I have.
Silver and gold have none. Right? That's the old saying. Silver and gold have none. It it already said that they were putting all of their possessions into a pot.
So it might have been that he didn't have any on him, somebody else is carrying the money bag. I I don't know exactly. But doctor Larkin, in this translation says, I don't have any silver or gold for you, but I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, get up and walk.
Speaker 2Then
Speaker 1Peter took the lame man by the right hand and he helped him up. And as he did, the man's feet and ankles were instantly healed. These ankles and these feet had never been. This wasn't regaining his strength. He had never had the strength.
It's a miracle. There's not any doubt about it. And I know it makes some of you uncomfortable. I know it makes me uncomfortable. But I'm so glad it happened.
So glad it happened. Right? As Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. As he did, the man's feet and ankles were instantly healed and they were strengthened and he jumped up and he stood on his feet and he began to walk. Walking and leaping and praising God, he went into the temple with them.
So he's by the beautiful gate. This is outside of the court of women and then the court of Israel, which was beyond the court of women. This is in between where the Gentiles can go and then where only those of the chosen people, Israel. The women and then the further gate would have allowed for the men only. Peter and John, as they're walking in, see this guy, give him what they have.
Now they were sent out by Jesus. They were sent out before this and when they came back, they said, we were healing people in your name. We were casting out demons in your name. This is not something that is unknown to them. They have done this before.
But what we see, this guy jump up, stand on his feet, he begins to walk. There's a let me see if it is. There, I'll put it in there. And then Isaiah. Oh, Isaiah is so pretty.
Looking forward to this time. Some of you will call it the church age, the age of grace. Looking forward to this time where Peter and John are carrying out what Jesus told them to do. The lame will leap like a deer and those who cannot speak will sing for joy. And all the people saw him walking and they heard him praising God.
And when they realized that he was the lame beggar that they had seen so often at the beautiful gate, it was his it was their custom to go to temple at the right time. So the same people are going. Right? You all know this. Same people are here.
Same people go to church. Same people go. And if you're in a church where they give testimony, same people give testimonies. It's a similar kind of thing. This guy set up in his normal post.
When we used to live in Mexico, we would pass by folks who were playing, with an accordion. And they're sitting in the same place they were sitting last Friday when I brought the team in to go to the tourist market. It's a normal thing to have a post set up. It was his job, if you will. But then the normal things were upset by God Almighty.
When when those other people realized that this was that lame beggar that they had seen and probably skirted past so often at the beautiful gate, they were absolutely astounded. Situation normal has been completely turned upside down. And they all rushed out in amazement to Solomon's colonnade, where the man was holding tightly on to Peter and John, the folks who had just healed him. Or had they? Let's listen to what they say.
This is Temple Mount. Just a little drawing of Temple Mount. And the women's quarters right here, the beautiful gate in there, and then the inner area. And you know the holy of holies, we won't go into that. But this right here is Solomon's portico or colonnade.
So after they are going in for this service and he follows them in, it says after that, since he's leaping for joy, probably causing quite a stir, there are a bunch of people who are there for that service that follow him out. And then, they're up under Solomon's Columnade. Was it raining? I don't know. Text doesn't mention it, but they're under the Columnade now.
They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon's Columnade where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John, and Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. Remember last week, where Peter preached for a long time? He was looking for opportunities. People of Israel. So he knows where he is, he knows the crowd, And he starts off.
He said, what's so surprising about this? What's the only thing that would be surprising about this in the age where Messiah has come, the only thing that would be surprising to you about it is you're still waiting on him. Right? What's so surprising about this? Peter and John had been a part of seeing this happen for three straight years.
They had been a part of seeing it happen without Jesus present when they went out into the land around Israel and Judea and Jerusalem, even over into some Decapolis and some Gentile areas. He says, what's so surprising about this and why is it that you're staring at us as though we had made this man walk by our power or our godliness? He's not saying it's because I'm any more godly than you are, and it's not because I'm any more I don't have a secret. I didn't figure out the Bible code. I don't have any specific thing that Jesus blessed and he handed to me and said, hold on to this.
Don't tell anybody about it. Why are you staring at us as though we made this man walk by our power or by our godliness? For it is the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of all of our ancestors. He ties it immediately back to the story that they know and know well, to the God that they know and are there to worship. It's the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of all our ancestors who has brought glory to his servant.
Servant. I could have stopped it right there. Servant. The Isaiah passages of the suffering servant that Israel had taken for themselves to think, surely, we're the ones. We're the ones, just us as a nation, we're the ones that have been beaten down all these years.
And God's servant is us as a nation. And Peter is saying, no. God's servant, Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.
He's glorifying his servant, Jesus by doing this. Now if we back up and we look, where was it? Yeah. Where was it? I don't have anything for you, but what I do have I'll give to you.
In the name of Jesus. I was going back to make sure he said that. Yeah, he did say that. It's Jesus' power. He said it ahead of time.
He saw his opportunity to dress the crowd, people of Israel. What's so surprising about this? Why are you staring at us? It's not us. I told you we don't have anything to give.
I told him we don't have anything to give. But what we know is that in the name of Jesus, the God of Isaac, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, This is the same Jesus, bold. Oh my goodness, Peter is so bold. He's already done this once. He's already said this once.
This is the same Jesus who y'all handed over and rejected. This is the same one. You remember? It was just less than two months ago. We all stood there.
I mean, I said something ugly about him too with a curse. I denied him. But y'all should have known better. I should have known better. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and you rejected before Pilate despite Pilate's decision to release him.
If you read the kangaroo court that happened before the crucifixion, you will hear Pilate himself clear Jesus like four or five times. You'll hear other people. It happens eight times he's declared innocent, and they crucify him anyway. What kind of justice system does that sound like? It sounds like it's slanted, and it sounds like it's going after the squeaky wheel.
And Peter's calling them the squeaky wheel. I'm sure he's reflecting on it himself. He actually goes into it. In a few minutes, we'll hear him. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and you rejected before Pilate.
Despite Pilate's decision to release him, you rejected this holy, the righteous one, the only righteous one, Jesus. And instead, you demanded the release of a murderer, Barabbas. There's no doubt. You knew better, but you wanted to get rid of him because he was a problem. And so you do anything and politics make strange bedfellows.
It just does, always has. You rejected the holy righteous one. The holy one of Israel is a is a name that Isaiah says over and over and over referring to the Messiah. And the righteous one also, multiple prophets mention. You rejected the holy righteous one.
Instead, you demanded the release of a murder and you killed the very crown prince of, author of, instigator, perfecter, architect, archegos is the word. You killed the author of life itself, but God. Amen. Raised him from the dead and we are witnesses of this fact. And so when he saw the opportunity, I'm a witness.
He said I'm gonna be a witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts. Here we are in Jerusalem. And what just happened is amazing. I'm gonna seize the opportunity. We're witness of this.
Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed. Now was that man's faith what healed him? The name of Jesus is what healed him. The objective faith of Jesus is what healed him. Jesus's faith in God is what allowed him to carry out imperfection.
Perfect submission to the will of God, the spirit of God, and never had any sin debt of his own. And it was that that healed the man according to Peter. The Greek construction says through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed and you all know how crippled he was beforehand. You all know. You've been walking past him for years.
He's a grown man. You all know. Now, you may have been able to deny it before, but you've heard everybody talking about Jesus, the resurrected Jesus. And it's an uncomfortable thing for you, I'm sure, since you were screaming, crucify him, crucify him, less than two months ago. But it's through faith in the name of Jesus that this man was healed in the name of Jesus that that actually stands for Jesus.
Jesus healed this guy. And he did it not even present here with us right now. And we want to give credit to Peter. We want to give credit to John. We want to give credit to the instrument.
But you all know how crippled this guy was before. You all know it. Faith in Jesus name has healed him before your very eyes. This is undeniable. You saw it happen.
You're pious and holy, and you're here with the right heart and the right reason. You just missed it a couple of months ago, but now you've got a chance now. Through faith in the name of Jesus, faith in Jesus name, it's said both ways. It's sort of a key aspect construction. And it's saying, right here before you is the evidence that you need that Messiah has come.
You know what Isaiah said. You know what the prophet said. Friends, people of Israel is broad, but then he again comes down to friends. Here we are. And I realized that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance.
I know that. I get that. Actually, in Numbers and in Exodus and Leviticus, there are multiple places where it mentions what to do for somebody who commits a sin in ignorance. And it's it's lesser, but you still have to do something about it. You're still responsible for it even if it was done in ignorance.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse, basically. But it does it is a mitigating factor. Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. So but God. That's two today, but Gods.
It's great. Your situation was dire because you did something even if you didn't know better, you still did it. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but it does we do have an understanding God and he does make a way when there is no way. But God, he was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah that he must suffer these things. And it was unconscionable for the disciples when they were walking with Jesus, even for Peter.
Remember when Jesus says, listen, I have to go through this. This is before the crucifixion. It's gonna happen and I know it's uncomfortable. I'm giving you all this teaching so you'll know what to do until the Holy Spirit comes and then you'll be able to trust the Holy Spirit when the Spirit does come and I am going to be crucified. And Peter said, surely not.
I will defend you absolutely. And what did Jesus say to him at that point? Get behind me, Satan. Don't even tempt me like that. Get behind me, Satan.
I must suffer these things. Now, Peter's sermon goes on. Repent of your sins. Turn to God so that your sins may be wiped away. Repent of your sins.
Now, have relegated repentance, doctor Lockett said in his little commentary. We have relegated in the modern times, repentance to some cartoon character with a sandwich board that says, the end is near. Repent. Right? Some bearded kind of crazy person.
Repentance is simply, it is to turn from your sense. It is to have a change of mind. And what he's pleading with these folks to do is, you have reasoned these scriptures for your whole life and you came up with a bad conclusion, and I've shown you the proof, Jesus showed you the proof, you saw it before your own eyes today. Are you going to continue to walk in ignorance or are you going to turn from that ignorance? Repent of your sins, turn to God so that your sins may be wiped away and then, praise God, times of refreshment will come from the very presence of the Lord.
Having the Lord present in your life in the form of the Holy Spirit, I think. The times of refreshment will come from having the presence of the Lord with you. You won't worry so much about being right and you will allow for God to make you righteous by his spirit. The times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord and he will again send you Jesus. We do have that incorruptible hope to look forward to.
Jesus Peter was already presenting incorruptible hope of the second coming. The second coming of Messiah, then times of refreshment will come from the presence of Lord and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. Don't miss him. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things that you're looking forward to, just as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. I know that you know it, but you've been heretofore misunderstanding.
I know what you did, you did in ignorance. It's a very gracious presentation even though it's bold saying you did kill Jesus though. Moses said, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything that he tells you. Now they would have known this.
There's no doubt about it. Exodus eighteen fifteen, Moses continues. Exodus, Moses is making lots of big speeches and he says to all of the people, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you fellow Israelites. It will be somebody of our lineage and you must listen to him. Actually, he goes on and says, then Moses said, anyone who will not listen to that prophet will be completely cut off from God's people.
Now this is people who have the birthright and they have everything else right. That's what they're talking about. And those are the people he's talking to and you know the scripture. He says, this is what he's gonna do. Listen to him and if you don't, you're cutting yourself off from God.
So Exodus 18, let's go back to that. 18 says, I will raise up for you a prophet like you from oh, this is God speaking to Moses. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will tell the people everything that I command him. Remember Jesus saying, I'm not speaking on my own.
Everything the father says to me, I'm saying to you. This is a fulfillment of Exodus 18. He's gonna tell the people everything that I command him. I will personally deal. God Almighty says this.
I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. They ought to capitalize the p. Think I did that. Okay. The New Living Translation doesn't capitalize the prepositions and names of God in different ways.
They just chose not to. NASB does. I prefer it. So I just put the capital p prophet because that's pointing to Jesus. If you wanted to, you could read Exodus eighteen fifteen through 22.
That kinda covers what I'm saying right here. And then, so Moses is the first one that said, y'all can be looking for a prophet that's like me. And then, there was a series of prophets after him. Samuel is the one. Right?
Samuel, and we can't find a specific messianic thing, but he is the one who calls out David. Right? It's a great story. But starting with Samuel who was a prophet and every other prophet, they all spoke about what's happening today. Now last week when we were doing communion, I said, that's from Joel.
That's from Jeremiah. These prophecies were being completed. Starting with Samuel. You know Samuel. You know what he had to say.
Every prophet spoke about what's happened in the day. You're living in the age, Peter was saying, you're living in the age of grace that was inaugurated at Christ. Life, burial. Life, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session. Every prophet spoke about what's happening today and y'all are the children of those prophets.
Actually, he doesn't even have to say it, but you know what they did to those prophets. Right? They killed them. They sawed them in half. They did all kinds of ugly stuff to them, chased them into the woods.
You're the children of those prophets. You're included in the covenant that God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, it is through your descendants that all of the families on the earth will be blessed. Remember Genesis 12, when God said to Abram, leave your native country, leave your relatives, leave your father's family and all of your inheritance and go into the land that I will show you and I will make of you a great nation and I'll bless you and I'll make you famous. Father Abraham had seven sons.
We still sing about that guy all the time. And you will be a blessing to others. And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who treat you with contempt. And all of the families, all of the nations on earth will be blessed through you. And when God raised up his servant Jesus, that is what he was talking about.
There there are folks who argue to the nail vehemently for through your descendant is singular. Your seed, Jesus, the one, the only. I can go with that. When God raised up his servant Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel. You're the chosen people of God.
You have the backstory. You should have been able to recognize him and he's showing himself even from Jesus' first sermon. He showed them he was here to proclaim liberty for the captives and set the set them free. He was here to heal the sick. He was here to do all those things, even raising the dead, which he did.
When God raised up his servant Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel to bless you by turning you back from your sinful ways. I have often talked about the good old gospel way is not legalistic and it's not licentious. It's not in that ditch and it's not in that ditch. It is knowing that God is good and has made a way out for those of us who are legalistic and want to prove our righteousness by what we do, and for those who have abandoned hope and just want to have some fun. He sent Jesus first to you Israel, and you should have known to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.
So I'm gonna stop right there. We'll go to the aftermath of this next week, which I think is is it includes all of that, but it's the it's the more interesting part for me. But application drawn from this text so far, and then I'm gonna have the band come up. Let's plan on singing two songs because hey, I'm finishing early. Not like Peter.
Application drawn from the text. Here are a few questions for self examination based on what it said just as far as we've gone today. Do I really see people who are suffering Or do I walk right on past them? And I mean, that might be physically on a walker, it might be just knowing about. And we Oh my goodness.
In this information age, we are so exposed to so much suffering. So occasionally, just take this in. You can't fix every problem. I know that. But do you really see the people who are suffering?
Peter and John seemed to have had a normal course day that they were going about their normal day. And when they saw that guy on that day, they noticed him and they didn't try to get away from it. They looked at him. And they asked him to look back at them. So do I really see people who are suffering and do I want for them to see me too?
Am I willing to share who I am with them? Do I give what I have to help others? In Jesus' name. So there are some of us in here who have resources, and I mean like financial resources, and that can apply to you. Do I give what I have to help others in Jesus name?
I know that there are a lot of y'all who have those resources who are involved in education, prison ministry, and all kinds of benevolence, all sort of stuff. I know that. Then there are others of you who are scraping by, but you're willing to sit and listen. For all of us, can we consider this question? Do I give what it is that I have to help others in Jesus name?
I cannot believe I got to go to seminary. It was my job for five years to just study the Bible and that is awesome. It was really cool, but it's a responsibility to to share that with people who are like, I don't know anything about the Bible. Why would anybody do that? I don't get it.
But I don't know who God is either. Can you show me the way out? Well, it's it's a responsibility if you know to you're one step ahead of your, you know, if you're one step ahead of them, it's your responsibility to bring them along. Do I really see people who are suffering? Do I really want for them to see me?
Do I give what I have to help others in Jesus name? And that's important. And having been established in the good old gospel way, where we know it's not by our deeds that we're saved, and we know that he can redeem us from our wicked ways and bring us up into the good old gospel way. Having been established on that, do we reach into the ditches and pull people up? In humility, it's the only way to do it.
And if we do, do we credit Jesus with the safe instead of saying, well, I got I got so many people sober. I preached on the 12 steps. No. It's a miracle every time somebody gets sober. It's a miracle every time somebody gets saved.
It's Jesus that does it. It's in the name of Jesus. Now, I had a realization this morning. I'm gonna invite the band back up. Come on up.
I had a realization this morning I had to go downstairs and cry for a minute. Because all this week, even when I preached this sermon to Tanya the day before yesterday, I've been worried about the tension between the charismatic and the cessationist movements, and where do we land, and all of that. Why we answer these questions? You gotta answer those questions. Everybody's got those questions, and you've studied, Tanya said.
And I was like, no, it says what it says. I'm not going to do that. It says what it says. And the tension was there. Peter and John, is that normal?
Should we all be able to do that if we had more faith? Well, Peter says it's not by our power and it's not by our godliness. So it's not that you lack power and it's not that you lack godliness. When Jesus is ready to save somebody, he's gonna do it. He might do it through you.
Now, the cessation would say, that's not right. Closes the cannon, didn't happen, the economy of God doesn't need to happen. Who am to say what God needs to do? His ways are not my ways. I can't land that far to that side.
And I can't land so far that I think a man in a white suit inviting people forward and knocking them down is going to be healing them all. I just I I don't understand that. I don't get it. I think the good old gospel way is more trusting in the name of Jesus that has saved us. And so the twist for me this morning that knocked me off my feet was this no no pun intended.
Maybe we shouldn't be trying to figure out what's normal and trying to make ourselves into Peter and John. And that's what all my questions were based on Peter and John's mentality. Right? It's do I do this? Do I do that?
Maybe we should see ourselves as the guy, the beggar that God has saved miraculously because it's a mirac miracle every time it happens. Maybe we were the ones who were stricken and helpless and our friends brought us and laid us down. It is the power of Jesus that lifted us up. And maybe what we need to do is what that guy did, which is leap to your feet. Hey, right now is a good time.
Leap to your feet and praise God with us because that's what he did. Here we are, rejoicing and praising God. Amen. And as a benediction from second Peter one, by his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We've received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
Lord God Almighty, may that be spilling over onto everyone around us. Would you walk with us, Lord, day by day, and show us the ones you want us to see and allow them to see us. Would you draw us together and keep the chain going? In Jesus name, amen.
