Enter your e-mail address below to get Musing Upchurch sent directly to your in-box!

Past Ponderings

Sunday, October 21, 2018

PONDERING... Are You Looking For Alms? (Acts 3)

Are You Looking For Alms? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: We don’t need alms; we need transformed by Jesus.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 3
This morning we’re coming to Acts chapter 3, and we’re going to try and work through the whole passage together this morning. It seems like we’re on an every-other-week kick here. One week we cover twenty verses; the next week we cover two ☺️. Nonetheless, I couldn’t separate this passage out in my mind. What we have here is a miracle followed by a sermon which explains the significance of the miracle☺️. So, let’s start by reading the first seven verses. Then, we’ll move through the rest as we come to them.

"1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.”

This should be reminiscent of what we saw Jesus doing throughout His earthly ministry. That’s intentional, right? The apostles are going out to the world as Jesus’ representatives, pointing others to His saving grace. And like I said a moment ago, this miracle is really more of a parable as it points to our deepest need. That’s the gist for this morning: we don’t need alms; we need transformed by Jesus.

I. AN ILLUSTRATION OF OUR NEED (1-7)
So, the first thing we see in this passage is an illustration of our deepest need. This physical miracle points to a spiritual reality. We need Jesus to completely transform us; we don’t just need a temporary adjustment in our circumstances. Let’s walk through this miracle a bit.
We Have A Man Born Helpless. The passage tells us he was lame from birth and dependent on others to carry him down to the temple gate to beg. He is a man→
Who Spent His Life Begging For Temporary Relief. He’s looking for alms. He can’t work, so this is the only way he’s able to get money for survival. He’s not looking for anything drastic. He’s just hoping for enough to get by. Then→
He Asks Peter And John For Alms. Peter tells him that’s not what they have to offer. But getting his attention he tells the beggar they have something much better. →
They Show Him Jesus! That’s what this entire interchange is about. “You want money. But that’s not what you need. You need Jesus.” We’re told later that what happened next was because of the man’s faith. He’s a fixture in Jerusalem. Chances are high that he knew about Jesus and had even heard the apostles preaching of His resurrection and ascension. He had heard the gospel presented, and Peter calls him to trust in Jesus. →
And His Life Is Completely Transformed. The man who had been hopeless from birth was completely changed. His life was new. Don’t you see the gospel here? We are the ones born enslaved to sin, and we spend our lives just looking for something to make each trial a little more survivable. But when Jesus comes into our lives, we realize that’s not what we need at all. We need Him. Giving Him our lives, then changes everything!
And incase you think I’m just reading into the text what isn’t there, look at what happens immediately after this. We’re given→

II. AN EXPLANATION OF OUR NEED (11-26)
So, first we see it illustrated, then it explained through a sermon. This transformation is the result of the Gospel, the Good News! Jesus came to “turn us from wickedness.” Look at verses 11-12.
“11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?”
Peter Seized This Opportunity. The lame man is clinging to them because his life has just been completely revolutionized. People have taken notice and are coming to investigate, so Peter doesn’t waste any time. Remember, miracles were never “ends in themselves”.  They were used to point to the truth of who Jesus is and what He came to do. So Peter starts by making it very clear: “We didn’t do this!” Instead, he seizes this opportunity→
To Point To The True Source of This Miracle. Look at verses 13 and 16, “13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him...  16 And his name--by faith in his name--has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.” Peter makes it clear. This was God! God of the Old Testament (which they knew well) sent Jesus--and you killed Him. Even when Pilate had decided to let Him go. This same Jesus is the one who healed this man. It was faith in His name that did the transforming.
So, he starts with this key truth. God is holy. Jesus is God. We are wicked. We need transformed by Jesus. He then keeps going→
And Points Even More To Their Deepest Need. Look at verses 14-18, “14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name--by faith in his name--has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. 17 "And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.”
He starts by pointing out that they wanted sin more than God, so they killed the “Author of Life”. He doesn’t mince words here. Jesus came as God in the flesh, and they rejected Him! This is our natural state. We are wretched sinners who want sin more than we want salvation. Even though we might want rescued from the results of our sins, we don’t really want to give up the sins that are enslaving us. We don’t want pain, but we do want to keep playing with the fire.
After laying this out, Peter points to Jesus’ resurrection. They rejected Him and killed Him, but He rose. Peter is a witness to this. This is salvation procured! Jesus came to make the difference. He came not to make your circumstances better, but to destroy sin. We don’t need our lives tidied up. We need to be transformed, and the means of this change is salvation by grace (Jesus’ action) through faith (our heart’s being transformed!)
Peter then goes on to say, they might have been blind to both their condition and Jesus’ purpose (even though they shouldn’t have been since the Old Testament had told them all about it!), but now they don’t have that excuse so→
Then, He Calls Them To Repentance! Look at verses 19-26. Man, there is some beautiful truth in here, and it’s put right next to serious warning. “19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.' 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
So, he calls them to repent, to turn from sin to Jesus. As a result, they could be both forgiven and restored. I love, love, love this picture. Remember, coming to Jesus isn’t just about being sorry for sin. It’s realizing that you are completely at odds with His design. We have rebelled against God’s plan and are living out the results of our sinful natures. When we repent, we’re forgiven. Our sins our blotted out. We are no longer seen as wretched sinners, but holy children, made clean by His blood!
When this happens, we’re also restored. Look at verse 20 again, “that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord”. I love that word “refreshing”. It implies being brought back to where you’re meant to be. When you’re thirsty, and that thirst is quenched. When you stink, and that warm shower washes away that stench. When you spiritually dead, and Jesus brings you life! Salvation is life as it was intended!
After pointing to this, Peter tells them that Jesus is returning. Right now, He has ascended to Heaven, but is still actively working in the lives of individuals until the time comes for His return when He will ultimately restore all things. Therefore, we must be ready...or be destroyed. The prophets pointed to this. Now, it has happened. He tells them they have been given this gift. As Jews, they were blessed with the Old Testament Scriptures which pointed to the Messiah. Then, Jesus came to them first. They have this opportunity to turn from their wickedness. The implication is “don’t miss it!” And guys, we’re in the same boat today. If you have grown up in this area, you have most likely grown up hearing these truths. We’re without excuse. Turn to Him.
The last thing I want to look at this morning is→

III. THE RESULTS OF OUR NEED BEING MET (8-10)
Look back at where we left off with the miracle in verses 8-10, “8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”
I know I’ve been a little longer on the first points, so I’ll try to be brief here. But we’re given the results of this transformation, and they are awesome!
He Has A New Life. He’s not who he used to be. He couldn’t walk. Now, he’s jumping! And→
He Has Visible Praise. What’s coming out of His mouth? Praise. Not thankfulness for what the apostles did, but praise to the God who made the real difference! He is rejoicing, and people are noticing! Is that how we’re living our lives? Because when he does this→
He Has A Community Impact. People remember who he was and come to see this difference. They’re curious, some were even amazed--and as a result, as we’ll see tonight, many were saved. We should be living our transformed witness before the world!

TAKEAWAYS
1. We need to be transformed by this reality; this is our deepest need. We’re not in need of life adjustments; we need complete change. We need to keep this perspective. We also need to realize by nature people are not keeping this perspective. We want our immediate circumstances fixed. We don’t want to be sad, or lonely, or in pain. We want to get that promotion, or remodel that bathroom, or find that special someone. We want to see an end to our suffering or the suffering of those we care for, possibly even the end to world suffering in general. Either way, we’re often looking for an immediate fix to a temporary problem instead of an eternal solution of our eternal need. We’re looking for alms when we need Jesus. Come to Him and experience His forgiveness. Your life won’t be all roses, but it will be as it was meant to be (remember that “refreshing”!)
2. Once transformed, our lives should be new and our praise should be evident. I know, this can be my pet topic, but it’s in this passage. I’m not just pulling it out of the air. People should be able to tell that you’re saved. We should be different, and we should be praising!
3. We are called to point others to this reality. Stuart Olyott summarized this point in a call for us to “preach facts”. We aren’t pointing people to some mystical hypothetical. We’re pointing them to the truth! This should be the substance of what we are constantly sharing. Jesus is God. He is holy and righteous. We’re wretched sinners who have rejected Him. Still, He willingly came and died to forgive us. He took on Hell in our place. If we believe in Him and give Him control of our lives, we will be saved. We will be forgiven and restored! Have I talked about this before? Of course. Will I talk about it again? Yes. Why? Because it is the only message that has the power to transform lives!



No comments:

Post a Comment