Acts 3:1-26
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
In this account we get Peters second address, much like the first it powerful and a call to the gospel. This account is interesting as to the setting taking place.
The Setting
The Setting
Peter and John are going to the temple for the hour of prayer. Notice the man who could not walk is not a stranger to this settings.
He has been there a time before, but overlooked as the stranger, as the beggar, as the lame man. He is the least in the position of earthly matters.
Why would anyone look him over twice, he is pathetic, offers nothing to society, he is a beggar.
Going into the temple are your prestigious and more than likely upright citizens.
Peter and John do something and they stop. They look at this man in the eye and do not offer him gold or silver. They don’t have offer him a temporary fix.
What they offer him is Jesus.
The beggar outside of our door
The beggar outside of our door
Friends’ the reality is you and I are not like Peter or John. In fact most of the Southern Baptist and american evangelical church is not like Peter or John.
We have proper orthodoxy, right doctrine. This is good but we trust me more in being baptist then we do in being Christians.
We are faithful to open the doors every Sunday and in talk offer Jesus to the world. Look around you today in given church where those with right doctrine are there without the beggar.
I would place honest reflection if I were to bring in to this church the homeless, the drug addict, the one who can’t afford a tie would the doors truly be open?
If I asked you to name one person who lived on the streets; could you?
Peter and John were going to the temple, to pray because they have right doctrine and they have right orthropraxy or right living.
They stopped in their pious ways to look a beggar in the eye and offer Jesus.
I love Bunea Vista, I would rather play golf then basketball, and I enjoy the country club life from annual vacations to fine crusine.
I love right doctrine, that I spent most of my adult life studying doctrine under scholars. I spent good money to do so.
It is very easy for me to judge and overlook the lame. I’ll give Jesus to the church but will I do as the Lord did and leave the 99 for the 1?
Peter and John stopped because they saw the one sheep who needed Jesus. This is what the gospel does when Jesus latches unto your heart. It produces a missional living to find the 1 who left the the fold.
The Healing before the Word: On Ramps
The Healing before the Word: On Ramps
David Parson’s has taught me this lesson, we have many in our community that will not grace the church because they don’t have an on ramp to Jesus. We need to give an on ramp not because that is the gospel but rather it leads to Jesus.
If your traveling the highway you have an on ramp to your destination and when the proper ramp is taken you reach your destination.
Peter and John knew the ramp to Jesus was not giving money to the beggar. Yet they knew he still needed a ramp to Jesus.
They healed his body and gave him the gospel of Jesus. Repent and believe.
It was not that the healing was the gospel and even if was not provided the call of repentance still stands for the sinner.
The miracle was to give witness to the very truth of the gospel. In the early church this was given for this reason. It was the on ramp to repentance and belief.
Are you creating on ramps
Are you creating on ramps
The question to ask our selves is this are we creating on ramps for our community? The purpose of our study in Acts is to become a church that impacts her community for Jesus.
About two years ago I was brought to a school to teach urban kids. It was not the first time I taught in an urban environment but it was this time I learned something.
I don’t play basketball well and I’m not the biggest fan of the sport. Yet I wanted to reach the kids I worked with.
Basketball was their language . This became the on-ramp for talks about Jesus. I learned the game, understood the NBA, and started a basketball program .
Why? Because children needed to hear about Jesus and they would never enter a biblical church that preaches Christ clearly. Waughtown Baptist is not even on their radar of churches they would consider if they considered going to a church.
They would go and did go to play basketball. They did hear about Jesus every session that we laced up to go shoot some hoops.
Peter and John knew that for this man to hear Jesus, he was not going to welcomed in the temple they put him outside the gates, much like most of our American churches would do today.
The church (temple) was not the on ramp. Healing his body was the on ramp to Jesus. While scripture does not state, I would imagine the following prayer at the temple the man walked into the gate knowing the Lord.
False Piety
False Piety
In sports there is what is called band wagon fans. During the Tom Brady error there were Patriots jeresys all over town. During the Taylor Swift error of the Kansas Chiefs everyone’s girl friend all the sudden became a sports fan and the biggest Kansas City fan.
The same is happening here upon this miracle. All of the sudden the religious are giving amazement to what was done.
Now they see the lame man, and astonished at the work of God.
You see this often with charismatic events in the church or the unregenerate teenager who went on a mission trip and for a few months is “changed”
only to return to their unregenerate state as a religious youth group member who more than likely turns into an unregenerate church member who never knew Christ.
The apostles know this about the religious and call them to repent. They told him you knew Jesus who you killed. Why are you amazed? Repent for the forgiveness of your sins.
Your religion does not save you, the fact you were born into this church does not save you. Your mission trips do not save you. Your so called baptism does not save you.
Only Christ does. I have known professors of the faith to be healed of cancer, to praise God in the healing and then months or years go but the praises stop and life moves forward.
They were not born again. The same is true for the onlookers on this scene.
The apostles calling to them stands true for us today. Repent. Are you simply believing because you saw something that excited your fleeing emotions or are you truly born again?
Application for Waughtown
Application for Waughtown
Identify the Outcast: Who are those outside of our church that we have neglected? We are in a community that is rich in culture and diversity, and filled with the need of Jesus.
Create the On-ramp I am not speaking of building programs within the church. The world does not to church anymore, the church much go to them to build the on ramp into the local body.
Repent of your own sin Are we in need of religious repentance? Have we lost the community because like those in the temple we drag the lame to the door but never helped them walk into the gate? Is there a Peter and John among us?
Offer Jesus and receive the multitude. The questions churches often ask is why are we not growing like the church did in Acts? Peter and John were evangelistic outside of the temple. The temple was the place to worship but the streets of Jerusalem was the place where missions is. A dead or dying church has lost her zeal for evangelism and has become inward focus. Are you offering Jesus to your community that are not part of His body?
Opportunities
Opportunities
A. Ladies you have a great opportunity weekly to go into the nursing homes and lead bible studies with the other ladies of the homes. Lifeway has provided many resources to help guide in leading bible studies.
B. Men, your workplace, the golf course, the elk lounge, your community is your mission. Are you open to calling other men of their households to repent, to know Christ. Are you willing to disciple another man to lead his family well? Old men, what young family have you adopted to disciple?
Age is not a prohbitor of missions. Bake cookies and invite someone to your home or go to them to share Jesus.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The call of the Christian is like Peter and John on the way to church they looked the beggar in the eye, offered him a proper on ramp who then walked into the church to pray.
The life of Acts is nothing special, this is the life of a healthy Christian. Simply going into places, looking people in the eye, building on ramps, offering Jesus.
The church multiplies when she has evangelism in her heart. The church dies when evenagalism is just something of religious talk.
Jesus came to give the good news, he died giving the good news, and rose and commanded us to give the good news.