570. The Acts of the Apostles - Chapter 3 - A Lame Man is Healed "In Jesus' Name" - June 7, 2024

[00:00:06] and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.

[00:00:21] An employer? Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord,

[00:00:27] I pray that you would reveal to everyone listening how much you truly love each and every

[00:00:33] one of them. I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. This is Proverbs 7, beginning in verse 1.

[00:00:42] My son, keep my words and treasure my commands within you, keep my commands and live

[00:00:50] and my law as the apple of your eye, bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart.

[00:00:59] Say to Wisdom, you are my sister and call understanding your nearest kin that they may keep you

[00:01:08] from the immoral one from the seductress who flatters with her words.

[00:01:14] For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice and saw among the simple,

[00:01:20] I perceived among the youths a young man devoid of understanding, passing along the street near

[00:01:29] her corner and he took the path to her house. In the twilight, in the evening, in the black

[00:01:37] and art night and there a woman met him with the attire of a heart and a crafty heart.

[00:01:45] She was loud and rebellious, her feet would not stay at home. At times she was outside

[00:01:53] at times in the open square lurking at every corner. So she caught him and kissed him

[00:02:01] with an impudent face she said to him, I have peace offerings with me. Today I have paid my vows,

[00:02:11] so I came out to meet you diligently to seek your face and I have found you.

[00:02:19] I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen. I have perfumed my bed

[00:02:27] with mirror, aloe's and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning.

[00:02:35] Let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home. He is gone on a long journey.

[00:02:45] He has taken the bag of money with him and will come home on the appointed day. With her

[00:02:52] enticing speech, she caused him to yield with her flattering lips she seduced him.

[00:03:00] Immediately he went after her as an ox goes to the slaughter or as a fool to the correction of

[00:03:09] the stocks till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know

[00:03:18] it would cost his life. Now therefore listen to me, my children, pay attention to the words of my

[00:03:28] mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her paths. For she has

[00:03:35] cats down, many wounded and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell

[00:03:45] descending to the chambers of death. A friend's I'd like to key in on verses one and two today

[00:03:54] and proper seven verses one and two say this. My son, keep my words and treasure my commands

[00:04:04] within you. Keep my commands and live and my law as the apple of your eye. Friends prior to

[00:04:14] closing we will come back and revisit those two verses but what I'd like to do today is to wrap up

[00:04:22] the week by talking about the effect that Jesus had on his disciples. Now we are currently in a

[00:04:31] study on the gospel according to Luke and this week we have been in chapter eight the entire week

[00:04:39] on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday's podcast and on Monday and Wednesday we talked about the

[00:04:47] parable of the sewer and we talked about there being different types of ground that we can plant

[00:04:57] seeds on and only one type of ground was productive and that was the good soil. We also talked

[00:05:07] about the parable of the revealed light. This is where Jesus is comparing himself to a light

[00:05:16] and the Bible tells us we are the light of the world. Next Jesus's mother and brothers came

[00:05:24] and we found out Jesus told us that our brothers and sisters in Christ are our true family. Those

[00:05:35] are going to be the people with us in eternity. It is more important to get along with brothers

[00:05:43] and sisters in Christ than it is your very own flesh and blood if they have it received Jesus.

[00:05:53] We also talked about a storm that rose up on the sea of Galilee and how Jesus had calmed the storm

[00:06:02] then we closed with a demon possessed man healed and this was a man in a region called the

[00:06:11] Gata Reigns and he had been basically a wild man for years and years and years and yet when

[00:06:20] Jesus came he delivered him from what was inside his body. Today what I'd like to do is go to the book

[00:06:32] of Acts. What I'd like to do is set the stage for this. Let's think keep in mind Jesus was crucified

[00:06:41] and then he was buried in a tomb and the third day he rose again and then he stayed on earth

[00:06:49] for 40 days and that is the day that we celebrate today called Pentecost and in the last chapter

[00:06:58] of Luke and also the first chapter of Acts Luke wants to make sure that we all know that Jesus

[00:07:07] literally left the earth and ascended in the heaven and you could physically see him doing that.

[00:07:15] But my question today that I'd like to go over is how did the apostles and his closest disciples react

[00:07:27] once he was gone. Now when Jesus ascended into heaven he sat there and told his disciples that they

[00:07:35] were not to leave Jerusalem that they were to carry there and wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them

[00:07:43] and that they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit. So what we're going to do today is go to the

[00:07:50] book of Acts and I am going to go to the third chapter and find out that a lame man is healed.

[00:07:59] It's a short account of this story only 10 verses but I think there's a lot that we can figure out

[00:08:08] and determine about Jesus and the impact he had on Peter and John. Let's begin Acts chapter 3

[00:08:20] beginning in verse 1. Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer,

[00:08:29] the ninth hour. So the first point that I would like to bring up today is Peter and John went up

[00:08:38] together to the temple. Now friends I am reading out of the Nelson study Bible and what I'd

[00:08:46] like to do is go over the commentary for verse 1. It says went up to the temple,

[00:08:55] the disciples of Jesus continued to follow Jewish tradition, a prayer service accompanied each of the

[00:09:05] two daily sacrifices, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The ninth hour would

[00:09:15] have been 3 p.m. So the two hours of prayer were 9 a.m. And that is what our scene is right here.

[00:09:26] They are going to the temple and basically to the prayer service that everyone was at. Now what I

[00:09:34] want you to keep in mind is what was the purpose of the disciples, the purpose of the disciples

[00:09:41] was to carry on the work of Jesus. And what did Jesus do? His main message was repent from your

[00:09:50] sin and follow me. Follow the way that I live my life. Follow the way that I do things. It's a new

[00:10:00] way of thinking. Let's go to verse 2. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried

[00:10:11] whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful, to ask alms from those

[00:10:20] who entered the temple, who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked for alms

[00:10:29] and fixing his eyes on him with John. Peter said, look at us so he gave them his attention,

[00:10:42] expecting to receive something from them. Now what I'd like to do here is go over the commentary

[00:10:51] in my Bible for verse 2. I have often wondered when I first became a Christian, this is one of the

[00:11:00] passages of scripture that I had questions about and I believe that this commentary for

[00:11:06] verse 2 will bring up a lot of information that may answer some of your questions.

[00:11:14] The lame man was laid near the gate called beautiful. This gate opened into the court of the

[00:11:23] women from the outer court of the Gentiles. It served in a sense as the front door to the temple

[00:11:33] proper. The beautiful gate would have been an ideal place for the man to position himself for

[00:11:41] begging, those who ignored the man's pleas may have found a difficult to worship due to the guilt

[00:11:51] they felt for refusing to help such a powerless person. Moreover as people left the temple,

[00:12:01] they would be more apt to give to someone who was waiting there for help.

[00:12:07] Friends, that makes a lot of sense to me. Now we have people today who basically do the same thing

[00:12:16] and they're on street corners often asking for money and help and they have these signs and

[00:12:23] you know at times I'm not quite sure what to do with these people. I don't know what their motivation

[00:12:31] is. A lot of times they may actually just be doing this to try to get money from people.

[00:12:38] Some of it may be true. So I sometimes have a difficult time with this but what my wife and I

[00:12:47] have done from time to time is we'll actually go and buy them a meal just to know that they actually

[00:12:57] are going to have something to eat. Let's go back to verse 6. Then Peter said, silver and gold

[00:13:07] I do not have but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up

[00:13:17] and walk and he took him by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and

[00:13:26] ankle bones received strength. So friends, point number two for today is a lame man is healed in

[00:13:39] Jesus name. What I'd like to do is go over the commentary for verses 6 and 7.

[00:13:48] The apostles indicated immediately that they did not represent themselves in what they were about to do.

[00:13:58] They represented Jesus Christ and friends this is an example of what we should do today.

[00:14:07] If we are applauded or people tell us what a good job we are doing we should give Jesus the glory.

[00:14:17] Only by the blood of Jesus only with the help of Jesus. Let's go on because of his name

[00:14:27] who he is the beggar would receive the miracle of God. The phrase in the name of Jesus or sometimes

[00:14:38] today we say in Jesus name is not a magical formula used to give some affirmation or guarantee

[00:14:47] to a prayer. A person's name represented that person's authority and influence. The power in the

[00:14:58] name of Jesus comes from what the Holy Spirit will do because of that name. Note that Peter and John

[00:15:09] did not lay their hands on the beggar and pray for God to heal him. Rather as apostles

[00:15:18] with the power of God to perform signs and wonders they simply told him to rise up and walk.

[00:15:29] Now friends, I want to clarify just a bit for those of you who may not be familiar with how

[00:15:38] Jesus operated and the disciples had watched Jesus over and over again. When someone was ill

[00:15:49] what Jesus would do is talk to that particular illness or disease. If someone had a spirit in the

[00:16:00] side of them and they were demon possessed, Jesus would talk to the spirit. When there was a storm

[00:16:09] Jesus would talk to the storm. So these disciples namely Peter and John were among the leaders

[00:16:19] of the disciples and they took the lead in this particular case. In other words they are basically

[00:16:27] going to begin their ministry which they feel Jesus has given them the authority to do. Let's

[00:16:35] look at verse 7. His feet and ankle bones receive strength. Now this is really, really interesting

[00:16:44] and this is from the Gospel of Luke. Luke a physician by profession described what took place.

[00:16:57] Instantly strength was given to the portions of the body that needed it. Blood supply was increased

[00:17:07] to the muscle. The brain sent signals to the nerve endings of the ankles and feet. The hardened

[00:17:16] fluid between the joints was softened and the atrophied muscles and ligaments re-gamed flexibility.

[00:17:27] The feet suddenly could bear the man's weight. Now friends this man had never walked in his life.

[00:17:39] Imagine his relief and his attitude changed when all of a sudden he could stand up.

[00:17:51] This is awesome. Let's go back to our story. In verse 8, so he leaping up, stood and walked

[00:18:02] and entered the temple with them walking leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him

[00:18:13] walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the beautiful

[00:18:24] gate of the temple and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

[00:18:34] So friends my third and final point today is all the people were filled with wonder and amazement.

[00:18:44] Let's look at the commentary for verse 10. The people had seen this beggar day after day,

[00:18:54] maybe year after year, his healing was not a staged event. When the beggar stood and walked,

[00:19:04] the only reasonable explanation was that God had healed him. Awesome, awesome story.

[00:19:15] Friends before we close today I'd like to go back to our proverb of the day and our proverb of

[00:19:22] the day is proverb 7 and I'd like to go over verses 1 and 2. My son, keep my words and treasure

[00:19:32] my commands within you, keep my commands and live and my law as the apple of your eye.

[00:19:41] Let's look at the commentary for this. Keep my commands as the apple of your eye,

[00:19:50] the problem of immorality or in this particular case,

[00:19:56] fidelity with one's spouse does have a solution. Keep the commands of God,

[00:20:07] get in the scripture and know what the scriptures tell us to do. People should guard

[00:20:15] wise words as instinctively as they protect the pupil of the eye. God cares for his people

[00:20:26] with his same diligence. My call to action today what I'd like for you to do is to imagine

[00:20:36] that you were in that gate called beautiful and you were there and you have just witnessed this

[00:20:45] miracle. You have just witnessed this man who has been lame his entire life and he's begging

[00:20:54] for alms and Jesus simply tells him, rise, take up your bed and walk. And all of a sudden

[00:21:06] he helps him to his feet and he grabs hold of the man and the man is unsteady at first and eventually

[00:21:14] the strength begins to come into his legs and all of a sudden he is like a normal person,

[00:21:23] able to stand, able to leap, able to dance. I want you to imagine that, I want you to take

[00:21:31] the weekend and ponder what it must have been like when Jesus was on earth. Awesome, awesome,

[00:21:42] awesome. Friends I will never end a podcast without giving anyone an opportunity to receive

[00:21:49] Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If there is anyone listening today you've never taken that step,

[00:21:56] I invite you to repeat a simple prayer after me today. Jesus, I recognize that I am a sinner

[00:22:04] and indeed of a Savior. I ask that you come into my heart. I ask that you lead me and guide me from

[00:22:12] this point forward. I make you my Lord and Savior. Friends that is all it takes. You are now a member

[00:22:23] of the family of God. Welcome to the kingdom. Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

[00:22:31] The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance

[00:22:38] upon you and give you peace. Friends this is the weekend. I pray that you take out your spouse,

[00:22:47] take a kids out with you, have a good time, have some good family fun. Let them know how much God loves

[00:22:55] them and how much you love them and I will see you back on Monday morning as we further explore

[00:23:04] wisdom today.