Acts 3: Beautifully Healed

Scripture Reading: Acts 3

Synopsis:  There was a man, known to be lame, begging for money outside of the gates of the temple.  Peter and John, on their way inside the temple to pray, look upon this man and heal him in Jesus' name.  This public healing provided Peter and John with an opportunity to bear witness to the power of Jesus Christ; the same man they executed without cause.  Peter continues to inform the people of their need to repent.

Teaching Points

No excuses 

There is an old adage that says time heals all wounds.  Despite popular belief, time is neither a healer nor an ally of wounds.  Time serves only to dull pain and allow for infection.  Without proper care, time is the worst enemy of a wound.  

When Peter and John spoke to the crippled man at the gate, verse 7 says that his feet and bones received strength immediately.  When we look at the instances when Jesus healed we see see a similar timetable.  In John 4 we read that a noble man realized that his son was healed at the exact hour that Jesus said he would live.  When Jesus healed Peter's mother in law Luke 4 says that  she immediately rose.  In Luke 5 Jesus heals a man lowered through a hole in the roof and he immediately.  As Jesus heals others including Lazarus and the woman with the issue of blood you will notice that their recovery was immediate.

Jesus does not need time to heal us.  Not only that, but his immediate haling comes with a beckoning to repent and come to God.  When we receive Jesus' healing we are no longer restricted by our ailments.  When Jesus calls us from a life of sin, we do not need time to repent and turn to God.  Our repentance needs to be immediate; matching the healing Jesus has provided.  

When God delivers us from sin we need to turn to God with a sense of urgency and immediacy.  God's healing is immediate and we can't be comfortable returning to what God has  delivered us from.  Often we want to use time to indulge our carnal nature and reason with phrases like, "God knows my heart", or "He's not through with me yet."  God calls us to live our lives with a sense of purpose; a purpose centered around His will.  We're not called to meander through life dabbling between the flesh and the Spirit.  The first step to living a Spirit purposed life is to purpose yourself in the Spirit.

Most of us, if delivered from our most severe physical ailment would not dream of returning to our physical limitations.  The same should be true of our spiritual deliverance.  

Moving in Christ with Confidence

In Acts 3 the Jews of the time are celebrating Pentecost, the first major feast after Passover.  It was during that Passover that the Apostles had seen Jesus crucified.  In less than 2 months after seeing the Jewish leaders crucify the Lord Peter looks at this lame beggar and in full confidence instructs him to get up and walk.  The bible makes no mention of Peter wondering what would happen if the man was not healed.  What would that have done to his ministry.  Moreover, what would healing the man do for his life?

All Glory to God  

After the man gained strength in his ankles Peter addressed the crowd as asked them, "Why do you look so earnestly on us?  Before there was a chance to heap glory upon him and John, Peter immediately directs an amazed crowd back to Jesus who they had crucified.

This is an important point to understand as we attempt to do things for Christ.  When God uses us for His purpose, it sometimes leads to personal glory and accolades.  In James 4:10 God instructs us that when we humble ourselves He will lift us up.  Remaining humble on the way up can provide a challenge.  Many a testimony has been ruined by pride as a result of misplaced praise.  Everything we do for God should result in Glory to God.  Any glory paid to us should be directed to God.

Next Level Question

In what practical ways are we to move in Christ with confidence?      

Acts 2 : The Holy Spirit

Scripture Reading:  Acts 2

Synopsis:

In Chapter 1 we read how Jesus instructed his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit.  Jerusalem at this time was full of Jewish holy men.  The disciples gathered in a house to pray and the Holy Spirit was delivered to them.  When the Holy Spirit came upon them they spoke in foreign languages allowing all of the Jewish sects to hear the works of Jesus in their native tongues.  Upon hearing the truth many believed and became Christians.

Teaching Points:

Of one accord

I wrote a blog entry about the apostles being both in the same place and of one accord.  Below is an excerpt of my "Missing Ingredient".

But before the Holy Spirit cam upon them there were a group of people described in the NIV version of Acts 2:1 as together in one place.  

Seems a little redundant; together in one place.  When you go to the KJV though you see that these men were not simply gathered in the same room, but they were described as being of one accord in one place.  Simply put, these men were not just meeting in one location.  There was a unity that existed BEFORE the Holy Spirit was poured out on them.  For emphasis I will repeat that statement.  THERE WAS A UNITY THAT EXISTED BEFORE THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS POURED OUT ON THEM.

Saved individuals not a saved crowd

In Christianity individualism is not always valued.  It is a sad fact.  Speakers, singers, and others who speak into a microphone are seen as individuals, but all others are typically referred to as congregations, groups, multitudes, sheep and other titles that speak to the lack of individuality.  It's easy to read this passage and think that the apostles proclaimed the truth to one crowd and that a crowd got saved.  Nothing can be further from the truth.

A crowd gathered and was confounded (vs 6), but the truth was heard by every man (vs 6).  In verse 21 Peter says that whosoever shall call on the name shall be saved.  Whosoever speaks of individuals in a crowd.  On the day of Pentecost God did not save a crowd of three thousand; He saved three thousand individual souls (verse 41).

In John 6:44 Jesus said that no man can come to him unless the Father calls him first.  That calling is an individual calling.  God calls us individually, Jesus died for us individually, but modern day Christianity aims to classify, group and conform as quick as we bear witness.  As soon as a person is saved we push them to join an assembly.  Then we herd them into new member's classes.  We guide them through a cookie cutter Christian experience to create a Christian that conforms to what someone else believes that they should be.

I do not put aside Titus 2 where the bible tells us that the older are to instruct the younger.  There is a need for older Christians to teach the younger.  The bible holds this principle in many different passages, but there is a difference between teaching a person and attempting to conform a person.  To better explain what I mean I'll use a baseball analogy.

I taught my oldest son to hit a baseball.  I stressed technique, telling him to keep his weight back, his eyes on the ball.  I worked with him on keeping his elbow up, his swing level, and stepping into each pitch.  Despite being my son's main teacher our hitting styles are totally different.  I am a right handed power hitter while my son is a left handed slap hitter.  Neither style is better than the other.  In fact, for a team to be successful they would need a combination of both of our skills.

Such is also true regarding Christianity.  God has called a diverse set of individuals to be a part of His team.  We Christians often have problems embracing diversity.  We form and conform to denominations and sects  based on race, political affiliation, musical style, and many other differences.  I've been in church services where preachers have not been able to deal with different versions of the bible; stating that the King James version is the only true version of God's word.  While I admit that there are passages that I think lose their meaning in the NIV, I have been fortunate enough to have been able to use the NIV to bring people to Christ.  Moreover, I have seen some of these babes in Christ grow in maturity using the NIV.

God told Jeremiah that He knew him before He formed him in the womb. (Jeremiah 1:5)  In Psalms 139:13 David says that God formed his innermost being.  God has created us to be individuals equipped for the purpose for which He has purposed in us.  While the bible refers to us as sheep, it also lets us know that God calls us individually, and measures our faith to serve His purpose.  God is the designer of our individuality, He has called us to Himself individually, and He is not interested in constructed clones.        

Tongues; Tradition vs. Reality

The last teaching point I'd like to hit on is the use of tongues in Acts 2.  In various denominations and sects of Christianity Pentecost has been misunderstood and the gift of tongues misused and abused.  Because of that I'd like to point out the truths of this gift of tongues.

The apostles spoke an earthly language.  The words they spoke were understood by other humans.  The apostles testified to the unsaved about the works of God.  According to 1 Corinthians 14:22 tongues are a sign for unbelievers.  The bible does not teach us that tongues are a sign for believers.  In addition, the bible gives us rules for tongues; rules that most assemblies practicing tongues violate openly:

27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three,each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 1 Corinthians 14:27-28

Tongues are not a sign for the saved and they are not a sign of being saved.  Nowhere does the bible teach that all who are saved must utter tongues.  Paul specifically says that tongues are not a gift for us all.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is major tenant of Christianity.  God sent His Spirit to be a help, and a guide to us who have believed.  The Holy Spirit is our link to God; expressing to Him the things we cannot verbalize.  He was promised to us by Jesus himself.  His arrival in our lives is more than funny sounds and convulsions on the floor.  Like all other things; we diminish God's gift when we don't understand what has been given to us.

Next Level Question

How can we distinguish between things that are dogmatic and things that a matter of preference?