Look at another event where the power of God flows... Read ACTS 3:1-10
It’s 3.00pm in the afternoon (the hour of prayer in the Temple), Peter & John head up to join the rest.
And on the way in, as they came to the Gate called Beautiful (a gate inlayed with gold and precious stones, an entrance in the Eastern side of the Temple courts) - they came across this man who had been crippled since birth.
A man so lame that he couldn’t even hobble along with the aid of a crutch, but had to be carried around. You can imagine how bad his condition was. Some good friends would carry him every day and lay him at this entrance to the Temple so that he could beg from the people going to pray.
But, as Peter and John approached this particular day he saw them, and so he asked them for money. Most would try to get past him without looking, but Peter said to him: "LOOK AT US! Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." (v.6)
Peter took hold of the man’s right hand and lifted him up. At that moment, "instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong." (v.7)
FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE, he experienced strength! He went into the Temple, walking, jumping and praising God!
What a great miracle! We love to hear stories like this. We long to see the power of God changing people’s lives like that! The question is: In what kind of environment WILL God’s power flow?
We see some basic principles here:
1. GOD’S POWER FLOWS WHERE THERE IS PRAYER
When people turns to God and cry out to Him, we’ll see His power and His great work. Man can only give you silver or gold, but God can heal you completely and give you a miracle. But we need to cry out to Him - only in Jesus’ Name can this man rise up and walk. Only in Jesus’ Name, can this man experience strength for the first time in His life.
The moment to direct our attention to God and pray - we’re tapping onto His power and unleashing that power for our lives.
CHURCH CLEAN-UP
A church organised a big clean-up day. Several ladies showed up with vacuum cleaners to clean the sanctuary. After an hour of hard work one lady noticed that her machine wasn’t working. She flicked the switch and nothing happened. She turned to notice that the whole time she had been working so hard her vacuum cleaner was not plugged in but she hadn’t noticed because all the noise of the other machines!
Even though there is a lot of noise around and hard work, it doesn’t mean a thing if YOU are not plugged into the power source!
Do you feel that way sometimes? After all the running around and the hard work, little was achieved?
You see something remarkable here - this man has been here, just outside the Temple, for many years. Acts 4:22 tell us he was over 40 years old. He was so near to the Temple of God, meeting the religious people every day, pious people going in and out to pray, yet he remained a crippled all these years! In all their religious fervour, there was NOTHING that these people could offer him! The best they could do was a few copper coins to ease their conscience. They knew nothing about the power of God.
He was so near the Temple and yet so far from the presence and power of God.
Notice something here - when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the Temple - which for centuries had barred man from the presence of God - was torn in two, right down the middle, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. It wasn’t the work of man, but the work of God.
It means man and God has been reconciled through Jesus Christ. It means 2 things:
1. We can enter into the Holy of Holies - into His presence and commune with Him.
Heb 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
2. His presence is not confined within the veil. He now lives in the midst of His people. Jesus dwells in our hearts today.
When that curtain was torn away, God was making His final declaration about where He intended to reside - in the hearts of every believer!
The healing presence of God is no longer confined to a place. The crippled man experienced the real power of God’s presence, not in the Temple but outside.
Bro/sis, whenever we cry out to Him in Jesus’ Name, we’re unleashing the power of God to act upon the events of our lives. When Peter stretched out his hand to help this man up, it was still his hand, but the power of God is flowing through.
We are His hands and feet today. Each time we pray, we move the hands of God. Each time we pray, we are going to see the purposes of God fulfilled through us.
IN THE PAST, MAN LOOKS FORWARD TO THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF JESUS
Healing of Jairus’ daughter - Jesus was delayed:
Luke 8:49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don’t bother the teacher any more."
Lazarus’ case - Jesus was very late:
John 11:21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
They knew that where Jesus is, there is power.
Today, He dwells in our hearts. He is here with us, every day, every moment. He’s just a PRAYER away. Cry out to Him, and we’ll experience His power at work in our lives.
2. GOD’S POWER FLOWS WHERE THERE IS EXPECTANCY
In order words, simple faith. Verse 5 "So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them." This man did not question Peter. Apparently he simply responded. Remember, he has never walked. Yet in v. 7 Peter "taking him by the right hand, he helped him up..."
This man did not resist. This man did not refuse. This man did not ask why and how.
Yet he responded, not negatively but with an real attempt to stand up.
He did entertain the POSSIBILITY that he can stand up!
This was faith - He has faith in God. Peter mentioned later in verse 16 that it is "the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him..."
This expectancy is there in many cases:
• Woman who has a bleeding for 12 years and touched Jesus’ cloak - expected this possibility - she has faith in Jesus’ ability to heal her. And that was expressed through her action.
• Jairus’ (synagogue ruler) daughter - Luke 8:41ff. Has this expectation - with Jesus his daughter can live.
• Healing of Centurion’s servant - Matt 8:8-10 8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, `Go,’ and he goes; and that one, `Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, `Do this,’ and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
There is this EXPECTANCY that something can happen. Faith that believes Jesus will act.
• David - shepherd boy - went to the battlefield to look for his brothers. Saw soldiers of Israel hiding in fear of the Philistines because of giant Goliath. He offered to go out - EXPECTING God to show up and help him - he said to the King in 1 Sam 17:37 "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
We know that God does "exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ever ask or think".
The problem is that so often we come to God not expecting anything at all!
We come to church ready for "just another Sunday service".
We have the mindset that a man is speaking to us and not God. Samuel’s experience.
We expect life to go on the same every day. In fact, it would surprise us if Jesus shows up.
Do you go through your daily routines not expecting God to show up? Do you go through life positively sure that nothing is going to happen!
Someone once said that when you do not expect anything to happen, nothing would happen. Because PRAYER is founded on the premise that God will act in response to our prayers! He will act to do, not necessarily what we want, but what is right. It is a faith in a God who acts.
It’s the same about worship - when I come, I come EXPECTING His presence. I believe He is here. And He will speak - sometimes it comes through the songs, sometimes during prayers, at most times, through sermons. Worship does not depend on good music, good mood, good environment... although all these does help but they are not my crutches - I don’t depend on them in order to truly worship God. Because I believe He can speak to me apart from all these human aids.
God’s Power Flows Where There Is EXPECTANCY.
When we come to God, we must come with expectancy.
Heb 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Did you come here EXPECTING God to do something new, something exciting, something fresh in your life? Each time you pray, did you EXPECT Him to act? That’s why we like the song - every time I pray, I move the hands of God... (Reminder to us that there’s power in prayer. God acts in response to our cries.)
This crippled man EXPECTED something - and he got far more than he ever expected.
God gave him "exceedingly abundantly above all that he could ever ask or think".
Hudson Taylor’s life motto: "Attempt great things for God, EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM GOD!"
He wrote: "Many Christians estimate difficulties in the light of their own resources, and thus attempt little and often fail in the little they attempt. All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His power and presence with them." (J. Hudson Taylor)
3. GOD’S POWER FLOWS WHERE HE WILL RECEIVE THE GLORY
This man went into the temple courts praising God. He became a living testimony, because many knew him as the crippled beggar at the gate. Peter took this opportunity to preach. Acts 3:16 "By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see."
Before the Sanhedrin the next day, Peter testified again - Acts 4:8-10
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Eventually they let Peter and John go, because 4:21 "...they could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened."
At the end of the day, God’s Name is glorified and the people are drawn to Him.
God’s power flows where HE will receive the glory!
Two times in ACTS we see people trying to get this power:
• Acts 8:9ff. Simon the Sorcerer - saw how miracles happened when Peter and John lay hands and
wanted to give them money for this. Peter rebuked him.
• Acts 19:13ff Some Jews casting out demons - "...in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches..."
Evil spirit: "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"
They wanted it to gain glory for themselves.
God’s power flows WHERE HE WILL RECEIVE THE GLORY!
REVIVAL IN WALES: 1858-1860
The man whom God greatly used in that revival was Rev David Morgan. An old minister was there with David Morgan in one of the service - evening service on New Year’s Day, 1860.
He wrote: "The evening was marvellous! So near was the revivalist to his God that his face shone like that of an angel, so that none could gaze steadfastly at him. Many of his hearers were greatly moved .../... ON THE WAY HOME I dared not break the silence for miles. Towards midnight I ventured to say, ’Didn’t we have a wonderful meeting, Mr Morgan?’
’YES’, he replied; and then after a pause he added: ’The Lord would give us great things, if only He could trust us.’
’What do you mean?’ I asked.
’If He could trust us NOT TO STEAL THE GLORY FOR OURSELVES.’
Then the midnight air rang with the sound of his cry, at the top of his voice, ’Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto THY name give glory.’"
That was Psalm 115:1 "Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to Your name be the glory..."
The 2nd part is: "...because of Your love and faithfulness."
We see here that God’s power flows:
1. Where there is PRAYER
2. Where there is EXPECTANCY
3. Where HE WILL BE GLORIFIED.
