Third chapter of the book of Acts. I've read the entire chapter. Now I'll read verses one through eleven and we still will make reference to the balance of the chapter but Acts chapter three. Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer the ninth hour and a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried when they whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called beautiful to ask alms from those who entered the temple who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked for alms and fixing his eyes on him with John Peter said look at us so he gave them his attention expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said silver and goad I do not have but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk and he took him by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones receive strength so he leapt or he leaping leaping up stood and walked and entered the temple with them walking leaping and praising God and all the people saw him walking and praising God then they knew that it was he who sat begging at the beautiful gate of the temple and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Now when the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John and all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's greatly amazed. Now in Acts chapter 2 it ends with a description of the new life that is manifest within the new the new community which has been created through the spirit or by the spirit through the ministry of the Word. In chapter 2 verse 47 we are told in the very last sentence or that this is what God is doing that God is extending the church and in other words how God is adding to the church those who are being saved. The ministry of the Word has brought this community into existence and it continues to expand. The Lord is continuing to call people into his covenant community which is the kingdom itself. So chapter 3 opens with really sort of a new insight or another angle of God building this new community of faith. In fact it's really an extension of the work that we see in chapter 2 and chapter 2 with the Word going forth. Now we see it going forth and we see it really from a different vantage point. We see it from the level of the ground. We see it really in the combat mode in which it's presented. In any event what we see is that this covenant, this newly created covenant community corresponds with the world in such a way that God continuously brings them to prominence and what we see is and a sort of as is juxtaposed because on the one hand we see the growth of this new community and on the other hand as we open up in chapter 3 we see a diminishing view of the temple in Jerusalem. There is ultimately there's a gradual separation we see from the earlier verses in chapter 2 that the people, even though they begin in the temple, but we are told how this new community, this new covenant community actually has its life in the homes as they gather from house to house and so the more they gather from house to house the more they are built up in the knowledge of God and the knowledge of Christ, the more we see a separation from the temple in Jerusalem. In fact it becomes increasingly clear that the apostles and the disciples for them, that the religion that they embrace, this religion of Jesus Christ is a religion that is different from the religion practiced in the temple and so therefore really what we're seeing here in chapter 3 is one of the last connections to the temple. It marks a transition, this acts three marks a transition in the life of the church away from the temple. They began in the temple and for good reason but now we see that the religion that is embraced and that is really birthed on the day of Pentecost is a religion that is different from what was experience and expressed in the temple in Jerusalem. This becomes clear in Paul's writings, his later writings in the book of Galatians when he equates the temple of Jerusalem with Mount Sinai and different from the Mount Zion and the gospel. Now that being the case the third chapter marks this transition and in fact it's what one 17 century theologian Matthew Paul has suggested that when we see in chapter 3 that Peter and John go up to the temple at the time of prayer that it doesn't mean that they went up to the temple to pray, but in fact he makes the case that they went to the temple because they knew that was the ground that was right for evangelism. In fact it seems to be validated by this by by the whole scenario that takes place and and so whether we believe that they went up there to pray themselves or not we don't know but it does seem based on what we see in verses 42 through 40 of the end of chapter 2. It seems that that the prayer of the church was among those who believe the same things and so that even though that they pray together beginning in the temple but certainly that wasn't the end of it but in any event whatever reason they went to the temple for we see that there is certainly evangelism that takes place. Now what I'd like to do this morning is look at three things relative to this event that's recorded here in in Acts chapter 3 and the first thing that we'll note as Peter and John goes into the temple will you notice that there is an unusual scene that is painted for us. It's an unusual scene it's very subtle but it's something that's very unusual here. We're told in verse 2 of a certain man who has been lame since birth who was brought daily to the gate of the temple for the expressed purpose of asking all to put it nicely he was brought daily to the gate of the temple in order to beg and that's an unusual scene. You see we don't really see much in the scriptures concerning beggars in fact we don't see many beggars that are mentioned in the scriptures. We do see blind Bartimaeus in the gospel record and we are told that he was a beggar along the way but that was on the road to Jericho. We certainly don't see beggars in conjunction with the temple that that seems to be an anomaly. We don't see the face and here's another thing that we certainly don't see in conjunction with the temple and that is those who are physically informed being reduced to begging at the temple. We do read as I mentioned of Bartimaeus and we do see others that that are informed but but what we actually see is when when people who are physically informed are brought into the vicinity of the temple it's not for the purpose of begging. It's really for the purpose of seeking a remedy for their healing. We get a glimpse of this in John chapter five when it speaks of those who would come to the sheep's gate and the sheep gate was not an immediate part of the temple per se or the temple proper but the sheep gate was in conjunction with the temple because it was probably the place where those who would bring from the pilgrimage and they would come on the holy days they would bring their animals that they were offering up for sacrifice. They would allow them to be refreshed or prepared for the sacrifice so that the sheep's gate was actually near the temple but it was not the temple but there was a pool that was associated with the sheep's gate. We are told in John chapter five that at this gate people were brought there who were paralyzed, who were blind, who were diseased and they came for the expressed purpose of looking to be healed but that's not the case with what we see here in Acts chapter three. In Acts chapter three we see a man who is being brought to the temple, the very gates of the temple, not even the sheep's gate but at the very gate of the temple itself, we see him brought there daily for the express purpose of asking of arms. That's something that we can just bypass and you know we especially live in big cities and we're used to driving and seeing at various intersections people who have been reduced to begging for whatever reason. We're not trying to read whether or not there's a legitimate concern but we're so used to seeing beggars that you just don't it doesn't stand out and so it's easy that when we read this passage in Acts chapter three that we don't see anything unusual but it is unusual because of where he's begging. It is unusual because of his his own physical makeup he is physically inferred and yet his begging has nothing to do with his infirmity and here he is not not in the streets he's not on the road to Jericho but he is begging at the temple. The temple that God himself calls the house of prayer. Here's the irony that people would go into the temple see him begging and they would go in and pray. These are people who were governed by the mosaic laws and according to the mosaic law the people were to to extend themselves to whatever extent in essence you know for what reason to make sure that the covenant people were never reduced to begging. So here's something that's unusual that's taking place not that beggars are there but that that something has taken place within this temple that this man who has been who has been begging or has been crippled from his from his mother's womb has now thought it the best use of the house of God was to go and beg. It seems that he had never gone inside. It seems that he had no one had ever thought to bring him inside. It seems as if no one even that they could bring him to the gate but they could not bring him inside. This is unusual because God's law governing the hearts of God's people connect them to such an extent that the needs of God's people are met. In fact here's the irony of all ironies as especially as this passage unveils for us. We see earlier in Acts chapter 2 verses 44 through 46 that this new community, this new covenant community created through the ministry of the word by the Spirit is a community that when the church gathers for prayers and when they gather for worship the physical and financial meet of their brothers and sisters were met. Here's an unusual scene because in the very house of God a one who has who is informed in his body has been reduced to begging. He's not invited in to pray and it seems like he's good with him begging and his brothers and sisters are good with him begging and the people who bring him to the gate are good with him begging but not only are they good with him begging they are comfortable with him not being in prayer. Therefore the people who brought him to the gate they don't bring him inside and the people who inside don't invite him. It's an unusual scene but not only do we see an unusual scene here we see that this man when he sees Peter and he sees John going into the temple he asked them for arms and arms could be favors but we see that Peter understands it specifically in terms of dollars because that's primarily what he's asking for he's not asking for somebody to pray for. He's asking for money and so he sees Peter and he sees John and he asks them and so we see in the second place we see first off an unusual scene and that's a beggar from the house of Israel begging at the temple but here is we see also an unexpected response the man sees Peter and John and he asked them what he asked all of the other that goes into that all of the others that go into the temple and we see in verse four that Peter Peter says to him look at us which is an interesting phrase in fact Luke gives us even more details on this because he says that the man fixes attention on Peter and John indicating that perhaps as a posture of a beggar that he asked but he didn't look up or perhaps it is something that is difficult for a person to be in this position and so perhaps because his pride had been broken perhaps because he was so used to being walked over that he was not used to actually making eye contact just put the cup out or whatever it was and and if you were merciful that you would give but Peter Peter looks at him and and when he asks of of arms of Peter and John Peter says look at us and Luke gives us the details that the man does indeed look and he gives his attention he makes eye contact with Peter and with John and then when he he looks but it says that he was expecting them to give him something so there is this sense of expectation he broke he broke his his usual pattern and looked his the people that he was begging from in the eyes and perhaps he was looking for a particular gift and when he looks at Peter we are told that Peter says he says silver and gold I don't have any but that which I do have so his response Peter's response is really twofold and the first place what Peter does is he addresses this man's core need he addresses the man's core need because we can say that because Peter says I don't have any money but if I do have if I did have money that's not what you need brothers and sisters God has left the voice of the church in this world so that men would understand what the real needs of fallen humanity really are we talked last week about that one needful thing that one necessary thing and if we are alienated from a living God then we need something more than our outward and external circumstances would determine what this man needed in fact it seems as if here's what he had grown content with he was content with being lame and he was content or not being in the temple and so what Peter addresses is his core needs he doesn't tell him that way he simply says if I did have it I wouldn't give it to you look at this and and you consider the how difficult that must be to digest because didn't we just read in chapter 2 that they had everything in common many people think that the church is nothing more than the charitable arm of humanity that we are the place where the poor ought to be able to get their needs met and that we are the place that if nobody else feeds the church as an institution ought to feed and I'm not saying that we should not help and that we should not extend ourselves and certainly as we as individual believers in the body of Christ who have been dispersed into this world where we do see hurting humanity we have an opportunity in fact an obligation to make a difference brothers and sisters if we don't give out a single meal if we don't pass out a single dollar to those outside of the covenant community as an institutional body but we are faithful to the cause of the gospel then we've been what we are supposed to be people don't get that they don't get it and perhaps this man was take so so used to people not caring about him and just giving him money that no one on the inside who was praying every day gave him a job that no one on the inside thought enough of him to bring him into their home no one thinks about that but if the church if the church doesn't do if the church does what Peter does then somehow the church is not being the church but Peter addresses this man's core needs and addressing humanity's core needs is the prophetic function of the church in this world we are here to let people know that our biggest problem is not if our computers crash our biggest problem is not in Washington DC our biggest problem is not in the state house even though all of these issues should be addressed and we are to engage them our biggest problem is not poverty in the streets man's biggest problem is he is alienated from God and so therefore Peter after offering offering or or really addressing the man's core needs and therefore we're looking past and people with eight welts would say that he's being harsh but he's not being harsh and we see that fleshed out in the text that that that Peter addresses his core needs because he at least has the has the backbone to say that's not what you need in other words you've been begging for all of your life and it still hasn't changed who you are that's not what you need and so Peter therefore offers the greatest gift that heaven has given to fallen humanity he says here's what I do have the name of Jesus and he says that which I have I give to you and what Peter is saying is that your greatest problem is neither your poverty nor your lameness your greatest problem lies somewhere else and here's the only thing that can fix your greatest problem and that is the name of Jesus now needless to say man didn't expect that he didn't expect that you you can imagine if they just end it there because certainly there was a possibility that he could have said you know what good go buy but Peter doesn't leave it there Peter mentions that that what I do have I give to you and then he takes him by the hand and says in the name of Jesus of Jesus of Nazareth rise so Peter gives him access because Peter this apostle this this man of God has been given access to heaven's greatest gift for man's greatest problem and the only if our greatest problem is sin then the greatest gift we can receive is Jesus but here's the third thing that we see not only an unusual scene in a man begging at the temple and an unexpected response once last time someone begged and you gave them Jesus name and they said thank you but thirdly we see an undeniable display of divine power an undeniable display of divine power because notice it what takes place especially in verses eight and nine it gives the it's sort of explains what happens here that that Peter says silver and gold I don't have but that which I do have in the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk and so he takes him by the hand and notice how it describes that strength immediately came into his ankles and into the bones of his ankles he was strengthened and he was able to walk and walking wasn't good enough he leaked and he didn't just leave he began to praise and then we are told that not only does he praise but the very place he had no intention of going inside but he goes in the temple now here's what I'm saying that there is this undeniable display of divine power and Jesus or Peter explains it that way and in fact notice the way the people respond in verse nine it says or verse 10 it says when they knew that it was he who was who sat begging alms at the beautiful gates of the temple that they were filled with wonder and amazement and what happened to him I love the way Peter puts it in perspective he says what do you you don't get it you don't get it see in other words here's what people are amazed at that this cripple man was made to walk this lame man was made to walk Jesus basically tells him or Peter tells him that this is really this is only a small display of a greater power that you need to be aware of is he notice what Peter does he goes into the sermon and in the sermon that he preaches you talk about fire and bramstone Peter talks about Jesus whom he again says that you guys have have delivered up and and you are the ones who were guilty and he makes all of that clear but then notice what he says in verse in verse 20 or 21 he says whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things which God is spoken by the word of his mouth and then in verse 22 for Moses truly said to his fathers the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet so so so far so good right but notice what he goes on to say he says and concerning this prophet he makes it clear in verse 23 and it shall be that every soul who will not hear the prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among your people in other words the power to heal this man from his lame condition is but a vague display of the power that will be used to destroy the enemies of God and so Peter is saying yeah you pay attention this is this is small potatoes if you think it's something that God is able when he makes it clear that that we didn't do it it wasn't by our godliness nor by our power but the name of Jesus was able to give strength to this man who had never walked now if you think that's something then when he comes again that same power will be amplified in destroying all of those who reject him is he but not only is this a demonstration of God's power to destroy but the healing of this lame man is a demonstration of God's power to save you see it in two places particularly in verse 19 where Peter says repeat therefore and be converted and he's telling sinners to do what they can't do and then look at verse 26 where he says to you first God having raised up his servant Jesus set him to bless you and notice this in turning away every one of you from your equities brothers and sisters the power that is on display in allowing this lame man to walk is a small glimpse of the power of him who will judge the earth and it is a small glimpse of the power that is able to convert us from sinners unto saints and really that's the point of the miracle the the miracle is not an end in itself who I want to I want to serve a God who can heal my cripple body that's going to die but no the power the point of this display of power is so that we can see that the power of God that can raise a lame man and cause him to walk is the power that I need to make me right with God because brothers and sisters the gospel is the demonstration of God's power to save and the point of this is not the rich the the the lame man leaping the point of this display of power is for dead sinners to be brought to life because we are either brought to life in time or we will be eternally banished by the same power now that puts a pretty heavy burden on all of those who first saw the miracle and hurt the word because in the day of the Lord if they have not repented there will be no repentance for them if they have not embraced Jesus why have you not believed the my power was on display in first healing broken bodies but more importantly in restoring lost sinners and the power of the gospel that is not embraced that's what Peter says and everyone who rejects this message he will destroy now if you think he can like I said picking up a crooked limb and making it straight if you think that's something you wait till he comes in the fullness of his majesty and his justice here's what we see brothers and sisters something that shouldn't happen and that is someone being reduced to begging at the temple where people are praying and unconcerned here's the here's something that we don't expect and that is for Christians who we see already selling their properties so they can meet the needs of others not ignoring the man but really seeing the man for what he is but brothers and sisters here's what we cannot deny that God's power is on display and it is it behooves the people who are the witnesses of his power to praise him now because when he comes in the fullness of his justice there will be no buffer in between the man praised God because he saw in God something greater than arms he received what Peter would describe in his letter to the church he received that which is more precious than silver and gold what he receives is the atoning power of the blood of Jesus brothers and sisters this man is not a lesson for us so that we can see that we can also heal lame people know this message is given to us this record is given to us so that we will know the greatness of God's power on display in the proclamation of the gospel the Apostolic Church is a church that believes that God and God alone has the power to save and he uses weak vessels like you and I to preach a message that can change the lives of hellbound centers let's pray father we thank you for your word we thank you for the reminder of the sufficiency of this great display of your saving power in the gospel of Jesus Christ we thank you for the humbling reminder that you have left us here for the express purpose of lifting up that name so that men and women would see that their real need is beyond physical and it's beyond economic their real need is that they need to be reconciled to a God who is all powerful and so we thank you that in the name of Jesus your power to destroy has been converted to the power to save let us embrace that in Christ name amen