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THE POWER OF HIS NAME
TEXT: Acts 3:1-11
1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. 11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering
INTRODUCTION
Our text provides us with is a perfect picture of salvation.
Perhaps as well as any other story in the Bible it paints the picture of our condition without God,
our inability to save ourselves,
the true way of salvation,
and what happens to a person after salvation.
Also, this passage is a beautiful demonstration of the power of Jesus.
Peter and John did not have silver or gold to give this poor beggar.
What they did have was Jesus Christ and His power to save and heal.
Peter said, “...In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6)
And rise up and walk is just what he did!
In fact Not only did he rise up and walk.
Verse 8 says he was “...walking, and leaping, and praising God”!
So Let’s look at these verses and let's see what they teach us about salvation:
I. NUMBER ONE, NOTE THAT THIS LAME BEGGAR WAS IN A DESPERATE CONDITION.
1. First of all, he was born lame.
Verse 2 says he was “...a certain man lame from his mother’s womb...”
He was born with a terrible handicap--
-he COULD NOT WALK.
he didn’t become this way through life.
Our text says he was BORN that way; he was
“...lame from his mother’s womb...”
In the same way, you and I were born with a handicap.
And like the lame beggar, it is a terrible handicap.
That handicap is called SIN.
Psalm 51:5 says “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Psalm 58:3 tells us “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”
2. Not only was he born lame...
note secondly that he was powerless to help himself.
Note verse 2 - “And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful”
This man had to be carried to the gate of the temple.
There was not one thing he could do to help himself.
He could not be healed by: self-effort, sincerity, good intentions, religious zeal, or giving (to doctors, or buying cures, medicine, or so on)
Like the beggar,
we too are powerless to save ourselves from the handicap of sin.
No amount of self-effort, sincerity, good intentions, tithing, or religious zeal can help us save ourselves
Our condition is too desperate.
We are literally helpless to do anything to save ourselves from our sins and make ourselves righteous before God.
Romans 5:6-8 -
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
There was nothing that we could do for ourselves so Christ did it for us
3. The third thing about this man’s condition was that he was outside the temple. -
Physically, he was outside the place where God was.
He was separated from God and His people because of his condition,
Even though he was right beside the door he was still separated outside
Spiritually, WE TOO are separated from God---
no matter how close we are to the door.
We are still separated
Listen to the words of Isaiah in Isaiah 59:1-2 - “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
4. Fourth, he was a poor beggar.
Look at verse 2“...they laid daily at the gate of the temple to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.”
If you’re here today without Jesus, you too are a beggar, searching for peace and satisfaction,
but you may be searching in all the wrong places.
--Some people search for peace and satisfaction in PEOPLE (whether it's your spouse, your children, or friends or whoever) -
But people will always let you down.
--Some people look to THINGS to give them peace and satisfaction in life -
Things like cars, houses, clothes, stereos, and so on
but things wear out and become outdated.
--Some people think MONEY will bring them joy and happiness.
But money never satisfies.
Someone asked the super-rich, early twentieth-century oil tycoon John D. Rockerfeller, “How much money does it take to be happy?” - His reply was: “A little bit more.”
--Some people hope for peace and satisfaction in PLEASURE and ENTERTAINMENT and ALCOHOL and DRUGS But all of these are just forms of escape from the harsh realities and the problems of life,
or a vain search for fun, or pleasure or a thrill---
something to fill an empty heart.
But when you finish these,
The buzz wears off or you come down from your high then you have to face the real world again,
and your life again,
and your problems again.
All of these things---people, things, money, pleasures, and escapes---all of these bring temporary pleasure and relief--
-but they don’t solve the real problem and the ache of your soul.
You’re just like this lame beggar--
-he was begging for money that would bring temporary relief,
but what he really needed was healing!
Money was just a band-aid to help him get through life as a cripple.
What he really needed was THE HEALING TOUCH FROM JESUS.
And so do you and so do I.
We don’t need any more temporary escapes that really don’t solve the problem of our soul.
We don’t need short-term relief.
We don’t need any more band-aids.
We need the healing hand of Jesus to come in and change our hearts and our lives.
So the first thing we see about this beggar was that he was in a desperate condition.
II. SECOND, NOTE THAT SOMEBODY CARED FOR HIM
You see, somebody got him to where he could be healed.
In verse 2 we read, “...they laid daily at the gate of the temple...”
Who laid him there?
Somebody who loved him.
Somebody who cared for him.
If you are a here without Christ, you may be here today because somebody loved you enough to invite you and bring you here where you could hear the Gospel and find Christ and receive forgiveness of your sins.
If you’re a believer in Christ---do you see the importance of your role?
The lame man might never have met Peter and might never have been healed if someone who loved him and cared for him had not been faithful to bring him to where he could get healing.
You need to be witnessing and getting people to church to hear the Gospel and be in a place where they can get healing for their sin-sick souls.
III. NOTICE THIRD THAT THIS BEGGAR WAS HEALED!
And I want you to notice four things about his healing:
1. First, he was healed immediately and he KNEW he was healed! -
Verse 7 - “And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.”
I mean one moment he was a lame man and the next we see him jumping around like a crazy man!
His healing was instantaneous---and he KNEW it.
He couldn’t HELP but know that he was changed forever!
The same thing happens when a sinner is saved.
Being saved is not a “process” that takes place over time.
It’s an EVENT that takes place in a point of time---in an instant.
Years later this man could look back to the day he was healed.
And when you are saved, you can look back to a time when you began a relationship with God.
It is something you can never forget.
Illus. - When I ask some people if they’re saved, they sometimes answer,
“Well I think so” or “I hope so.”
What if someone came up to me and asked, “Pastor, are you married?”
Suppose I say, “Well, I think so.” You say, “Now wait a minute. You either are or you aren’t.
I mean, do you have a wife?” And I respond, “Well, I’m not quite sure, but I certainly hope so.” You would all think I was crazy, wouldn’t you?
Now I KNOW I’m married!
How do I know?---Because I stood in front of a preacher. And the preacher said to me “Do you promise to love and cherish, in sickness and health, in prosperity and adversity, this woman whose right hand you now hold?” And I said, “I do.”
And he said, “Do you take this woman to be your lawful, wedded wife, as long as you both shall live?” And I said, “I do.”
And he said a few other nice things, and then he said “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
The last thing he said was, “You may now kiss your bride.”
How do I know I’m married?
Because it was an event that forever changed my life!
Well if you are saved that’s how you know you are saved.
It’s an event that forever changes your life.
I know everyone’s salvation experience is not the same,
and some of you may not have had an experience like someone else did when you trusted in Christ,
or you may have come to faith when you were very young and you just don’t remember the details,
but you know right now if you are trusting in Christ alone for your salvation.
And the main thing is that if you are truly a believer,
Then you know it because Christ has made a difference in your life.
This man was healed immediately, and he knew it,
and when you truly find Christ, you will know it.
2. The second thing about his healing is : it gave him strength.
The second part of verse 7 tells us “...his feet and ankle bones received strength.”
Now that he was healed, his legs had strength to walk.
Some people think, “Well, I’ll get saved one of these days,
but I need to straighten my life up first.”
That’s the opposite of what the Bible teaches.
The Bible says that we come to faith in Christ for salvation first,
and then after we’re saved, the Holy Spirit comes inside of us and HE gives us the power to straighten up our lives!
What if the lame man had said, “I don’t want to be healed now Peter.
First, I need to strengthen these leg and feet and ankle bones up.
As soon as I get it all together and get strong enough,
I’ll come back and let you heal me.”
That would have been crazy wouldn’t it?
But that’s the way some people look at salvation.
The exciting truth of the Gospel is that you don’t need to become good to be saved; you get saved to become good!
3. Third, his healing was complete.
Look down at verse 16 - “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”
When God healed this man, he didn’t get “a little healed”-
--he got COMPLETELY healed!
Verse 16 says he got “perfect soundness.”
Now I believe that “perfect soundness” means that everything wrong with him in his body was now totally cured:
--If he had a cold that day---that got healed too.
--If he had asthma all his life---that got healed too.
--If he’d gotten a little burn on his finger that morning---that was totally healed also.
And when Peter said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk,”
it wasn’t that he could just stand up and walk.
Verse 8 basically says this man got the whole nine yards---
he was “walking and LEAPING.”
--When you are saved by God’s grace, you don’t get just a LITTLE saved---
You get saved ALL THE WAY!
--You don’t just get SOME of your sins washed away--
-You get every sin you ever committed forgiven,
no matter how bad,
or how wretched it may have been.
God doesn’t do anything half-way.
And when He saves a person, that person gets saved “the whole nine yards.”
--We gets saved from sin---but we also gets the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
--We gets saved from hell---but we also gets heaven.
--We are freed from the control of Satan in our life---but we also gets the Holy Spirit to indwell and change us!
When you get saved you get it all
4. Fourth, note that his healing was a miracle accomplished by the power of God and not by any works or self-effort on his own part.
His healing was not by his good works, or self-effort, or religious zeal, or any goodness on his part.
He was healed because of only one reason: When Peter gave him the invitation to be healed, he BELIEVED that God would heal him.
And the sinner comes to God the same way--
-not through his church,
or his religion,
or his baptism,
or his good deeds,
or his goodness.
We are saved when we take God at His word, and we BELIEVE that God will save we by His grace because God has promised to do so in His Word!
IV. LASTLY, NOTE THAT ONCE HE WAS HEALED, HIS LIFE WAS PERMANENTLY CHANGED.
Our text shows us at least two changes in the life of this beggar:
1. First, he entered the temple and stood with the believers
BEFORE, remember, he was OUTSIDE the temple.
Now, in verse 8, we read “And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered WITH them into the temple...”
When people believe in Jesus Christ, they have a different attitude about church. Before, they have no real desire to go to church.
But when they come to Christ, they love the people of God and want to be identified with them.
Acts 4:14 - “And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”
Here Peter and John had been arrested and were brought before the magistrates to answer for their preaching and healing in the name of Jesus.
And who is standing right there with them?---
That former lame man!
Now that he could stand, there was no question WHERE he stood!--
-HE STOOD WITH THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
And when a person becomes a believer, you know where THEY stands--
-they stand with the people of God!
2. The second change we see is that he praised God -
Verse 8 - He was “...walking, and leaping, and praising God.”
Why was he praising God?---
Because he once was lame, but now he could walk!
And why does the saved sinner praise God?---Because, as that precious song, “Amazing Grace” says---“I once was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see.”
Before, the lame man had nothing to praise God about.
His life was a mess.
but Now he had EVERYTHING to praise God for!
Now notice how the people were astonished at the change in him!
Note Verse 10 - “And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.”
They marveled.
They couldn’t believe what had happened to him!
And you know what?---
People always marvel at the change that takes place when a person truly gets saved.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
In the Old Testament, God promised that after the Messiah (Jesus) came to the earth, he would change people’s hearts -
Ezekiel 36:26-27 - “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
That’s exactly what happens when people get saved.
CONCLUSION
I want to ask you what is your spiritual state this morning?
Are you like this beggar?--
-A sinner by birth?
Powerless to save yourself?
Outside of God and His blessings for your life?
Poor and destitute,
looking for peace and satisfaction in empty things that can never fill and satisfy?
well just Like this lame beggar, you too can experience a healing of your soul.
You can be saved by God’s grace today.
You can have your sins forgiven.
You can receive a new life and a new nature.
You can KNOW that you are saved and on your way to heaven.
I invite you to come to Jesus...Right now...Today.
Let's pray!
