Acts 3 – The Ministering Church
In Acts 3 Peter heals the crippled
beggar. There are physical healings that
point to Christ’s spiritual healing of a person. (1) Rom.
10:17 – Faith comes from hearing the word.
Peter healed the crippled man in the name of Jesus. (2) Acts 3:2 – The man was helpless to
change himself. Without Christ, God
calls us all “dead in trespasses and sins”.
(3) Eph. 2:8 - by grace you
are saved. God healed the man through
His grace. (4) John 10:10b – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full”.
At three in the
afternoon Peter and John were going to the temple to pray. Three in the afternoon or the ninth hour was
probably a special significance to them because this was the hour when Jesus
cried out from the cross, “It is finished” in John 19:30. On the way they saw a beggar who asked for
money. They didn’t ignore him like most
people would, but looked straight at him.
Peter said, “Look at us!” - Acts
3:4. Then Peter told him he had no
money, but that he had something better.
The Holy Spirit prompted Peter and God gave Peter supernatural ability
to trust Him. He simple spoke and told
him in the name of Jesus, “walk”. Peter
took his hand and helped the beggar up and he began to walk.
Compare Peter’s
healing miracle with today’s so called healers.
The healers today usually put on a fraudulent show and they do it for money. This gift was given to the apostles following
Pentecost. These miracles were getting
the attention of the same crowd who crucified Christ. They were hearing the gospel, repenting and
receiving the gift of salvation from the very one they crucified. This healing of the Holy Spirit got their
attention and validated the power of God giving authority to the message that
would follow. Healing power is available
to Christians today by the power the Holy Spirit through prayer.
The man followed
Peter into the temple and shouted with joy praising God and telling everyone
what God had done. The name of Jesus is
powerful! Acts 3:15 – He is the author of life. Acts 3:16 – His name
heals. Acts 4:12 – “Salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be
saved.” Acts 4:30 –
miraculous signs and wonders are performed through His name.
As people heard
the man telling his story, a crowd quickly assembled. Peter took advantage of the moment to share
the gospel. They were the ones who
disowned and rejected Him. They handed
Jesus over to be killed. He said “you killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the
dead.” – Acts 3:15. He told them this was God’s plan to let Him
be crucified because it was the only way to save sinners.
Yes, it was
God’s plan that Jesus die on the cross.
You can’t sin in such a way that God hasn’t prepared for it. There’s no sin that Jesus didn’t take care of
on the cross. Peter told them they were
personally responsible for Jesus’ slaughter.
If He can forgive that, He can forgive anything. Nothing is impossible for God.
The healings
done in the Bible are not only physical but point to Jesus’ spiritual
healing. The man was helpless to heal
himself. We can’t help ourselves. Only Jesus can help us. God helps those who have no hope in helping
themselves. That is the message of the
Bible.
John 10:10 - “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have
come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Rom. 10:17 – “Faith comes
from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
Eph. 2:5 – “when we were
dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.”
Eph. 2:8 – “For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is
the gift of God.”
Are you a
believer, yet living in a helpless way? The beggar’s healing
in a picture of the spiritual life. God
is able and willing to transform your life.
All you have to do is truly believe and trust Him. Give Him time in personal Bible study, prayer
and obedience. Depend on His
strength. He will give you the power to
change your thoughts and actions.
When Peter saw
how the crowd reacted, he asked them why they were surprised. Jesus had healed all kinds of people and it
shouldn’t seem strange that He is healing from heaven. He made it clear that he was speaking about
the God of Israel. Peter wasn’t afraid
to confront them in boldness. He said
they had handed Him over to be killed and you killed Him. “You killed the
author of life” – Acts 3:15.
But Peter
offered them hope. He told them to
repent and turn to God so their sins would be wiped away. In the same way we have hope. Acknowledge your sins, repent, believe and
trust in Jesus and you will be saved.
Then your sins will be forgiven and erased from your record.
Principle:
Jesus is the author of life.
Acts 4 – Persecution Begins
Peter and John
were arrested by the Sanhedrin, because they were teaching and proclaiming in
Jesus the resurrection of the dead. The
rulers saw their courage and that they were just ordinary men – uneducated, but
knew the scriptures. They knew they had
been with Jesus and they saw the proof of the man who was healed. The rulers knew there was nothing they could
do since the apostles had done nothing against the law. So they ordered the apostles to stop teaching
the people and warned them to not speak in Jesus’ name. But Peter and John said, “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and
heard.” (Acts 4:20) God allowed this
opposition in order to unite the apostles and deepen their roots in Christ.
Will you ask
God to give you a firm conviction that Jesus is the only way?
Do you share
your salvation with others?
If you are not,
what is keeping you from it?
The central
message that Peter and John proclaimed is in Acts 4:12 – “Salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be
saved.”
The apostles
returned to their own people. They
prayed to God who has all power and authority over all (Acts 4:24), prayed using the promises and prophecies of Scripture
(Psalm 2) as a basis for prayer in
the will of God (Acts 4:25-28), and
asked for more boldness to witness and more power to help others (Acts 4:29-30). God answered by power (Acts 4:31) with an outward sign of an earthquake.
Notice how they
prayed. First they acknowledged who God
is, that He is sovereign and Creator.
They asked that He enable them to speak with boldness. They asked that God heal and perform
miraculous sings and wonders. Does this
make you think about how you should pray?
Again all the
believers were one in heart and mind.
They shared everything they had.
There were no needy persons among them.
They often sold their properties and gave the money to the apostles to
be distributed to anyone in need.
Principle: God
gives His people power to speak boldly about Jesus.
Join me here
next week for our study of the book of Acts. -- I
encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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