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*Do You See Me Sitting Here?** *

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Acts 3:1-3:10 (NIV, NIRV, TNIV, KJV)

Sermon Series: The Book of Acts

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Do You See Me Sitting Here? \\ Acts 3:1-10 \\ \\ Chuck Swindoll tells about a man who went to see a psychiatrist because he was extremely depressed.

The psychiatrist just could not get him to snap out of it.

So he said to the man, “Tonight I want you to go to the circus in town because they have a clown named the Great Rinaldi, he is the funniest clown I have ever seen.

Whenever I go to see the Great Rinaldi it always lifts my spirits.”

The man responded.

“You don’t understand doctor, I am the Great Rinaldi.”

\\ \\ This world is full of Great Rinaldis, who are empty.

They are desperate and can find no relief not even in the comedy of a clown.

They may put on masks of happiness, to appear fine to everyone, but when they return to their homes at night they cry themselves to sleep because their life is pointless and they long to find something in life to make them happy and give them a sense of meaning.

They look at their lives and wonder what it is all about.

Life must have more to offer me than this, they say.

\\ \\ Billy Joel in his hit song Piano Man examines all the miserable people who come into his bar and it’s his job to help them forget about life for awhile.

You know, this culture is full of miserable people who would like to forget about life forever.

\\ \\ God has given us the responsibility as Christians and as churches to reach these hurting people.

The church above all else is a place for people who have problems.

The church was designed for the single mother who works two jobs to support her kids.

Church is for the drug addict who can’t stop his habit.

Church is for the man who can’t stay away from pornography on the internet.

Church is for the young person who struggles with self esteem.

The church is for the young couple who lives together and doesn’t know its not the best way to build a home.

The church is for the alcoholic who is ready to admit he needs help.

Ezekiel 34:16 instructs, “Search for the lost, bring back those that stray away, put bandages on those that are hurt, and make the weak strong."

\\ \\ But you know the problem with so many of our churches is that we often pass by the hurting souls in our world and ignore them and in doing so we miss an amazing opportunity to lead them to Christ.

Because it is often hurting souls that make the best converts to Christ.

They are broken and they have nowhere to turn and Jesus is the visible answer to their predicament.

We need to be perceptive enough as Christians to notice the hurt in people and give them what they need and that is Jesus.

\\ \\ I. THE EXPOSITION \\ In Acts chapter 3 we read a hurting soul that was brought into the church.

Acts 3 is an account of a crippled beggar who Peter and John, two disciples met one day outside the temple in Jerusalem.

This beggar was hurting deeply.

He had sat near the temple everyday and no one noticed him sitting there?

To me this crippled beggar represents exactly the kind of person the church is trying to reach.

Those who have been crippled by life’s circumstances.

From this story I think we can learn some valuable lessons about how to minister to those people around our churches who are hurting like this crippled beggar.

Acts 3:1.

\\ \\ Verse 1, “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer at three in the afternoon.”

Let’s stop here and keep in mind that this is at the beginning of the church and so believers in Christ were still attached to the temple.

In fact, Acts 2:46 says that the believers were meeting in the temple area on a daily basis.

So it is not uncommon to see Peter and John going to the temple to pray because they were still probably observing many Jewish religious customs.

\\ \\ Now this is not the first time we see Peter and John together in the Bible.

Luke 5:10 tells us they were partners in a fishing business.

Luke 22:8 says they worked together to prepare the last supper for Jesus.

John 20:3 tells us that ran together to the tomb on Easter morning.

And later in Acts 8 we read that they ministered together to some Samaritans who believed.

And here we see them going together to the temple for one of the three times of Jewish prayer.

\\ \\ Verse 2, “Now a cripple man from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.”

The temple gate called beautiful was one of the favored entrances into the temple and thousands passed through it on a daily basis.

That is why we see this crippled man being put there.

He knew exactly where the most people would enter the temple at one time.

And the more people who entered, the more money he could mooch off them.

This verse says that the crippled man was carried to the temple and put every day to beg.

He probably had cohorts who were in business with him.

They probably made enough money everyday from his begging to live a nicely.

It was their livelihood to bring their crippled friend to the gate and leave him to beg.

\\ We have some people in my church in Cincinnati who know what it is like to beg.

They tell me that if a beggar finds a good spot on the street where a lot of people pass by, he can make sometimes up to $200 dollars a day.

\\ \\ And this crippled man was a professional beggar like that.

He knew exactly what to say to warrant pity.

He knew exactly the best times to be at the temple.

He knew how to work the crowd for their spare change.

\\ Warren Wiersbe points out that the giving of alms to the poor was an important part of the Jewish faith and so many Jews going to the temple would give to these beggars over and over again as a way of fulfilling their religious duty.

The beggar probably rationalized his behavior saying to himself, “I’m just helping these religious folks do a good deed.”

They give to me and they feel good about themselves, what’s wrong with that.

We need each other.

They help me and I help them.

\\ \\ Verse 3, “When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

Peter looked straight at him, as did John.

Then Peter, said, ‘Look at us!’

So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.” \\ \\ This man called out to Peter and John perhaps because he knew who they were.

They had probably been to the temple everyday and he recognized them as regulars there.

Perhaps the two apostles had given him money or even talked to him about Jesus.

\\ \\ I suspect that this was not the first time that Peter and John had seen this poor beggar.

But something this day touched Peter’s heart and he stopped.

There were probably scores of beggars at the gate that afternoon but Peter talked to this one.

Maybe it was the Holy Spirit that tugged at his heart, but he gave this man his full attention.

The Kings James Version says that Peter fastened his eyes upon him.”

The Phillips translation says, “Peter looked intently at the man.”

\\ \\ Now the Bible says the beggar expected to get something from Peter and John.

Most likely, his immediate desire was money.

People often think money is the answer to their problem.

But Verse 6 records Peter’s words.

“silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

And verse 7 says, “Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.

He jumped to his feet and began to walk.”

Peter had no money for this man, but he had something much better.

He had healing.

\\ \\ And this says Peter healed this man in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

What that means was that he was doing the miracle “by the authority and power of Jesus Christ.”

Peter wanted to let this man know that it was not him, who was doing this.

It was Jesus.

Peter would take no credit for it.

Jesus was working this miracle.

It was Jesus alone who had the power to change lives.