Easter morning

We're going to look at Acts chapter 3, mostly the last part of it.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

And so if you could have your Bibles open to Acts chapter 3, that would be a great help to you and to me.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

Different contexts make us behave in different ways, don't they?

Different churches have different styles.

And this story from Acts chapter 3 takes place after someone has been jumping and leaping in church.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

And that is not ordinary practice, is it, in any Presbyterian church I've ever been to?

It begins in verse 11.

We find that halfway through the story, there is a beggar who is clinging to the Apostle John and Peter.

And this beggar has created quite a stir in the temple courts.

Here was a man who was crippled from birth.

And each day, this guy would be carried to the temple and he would beg for money.

He is the very picture of misery.

And one day, about seven or eight weeks after Jesus had been raised from the dead,

this guy is sitting at the gate and he got much more than he bargained for.

Peter and John come along and Peter says to him,

I don't have any silver, I don't have any gold, but what I do have, I give to you.

In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.

You knew the chorus, I hope.

We loved it when I was a little boy.

And he went walking and leaping and praising God.

He begins to spring around the temple courts and to praise God.

And this guy yells right there in the temple courts.

And as he clings to Peter and John, I think he's clinging to them.

Because if he doesn't hold on to them, he's going to go springing off somewhere else.

And the crowd rushes in.

They know this man.

They've heard the noise.

And they see who it is.

And some of the people have even thrown change into his little tin as they enter the chapel.

But now he is in the temple.

But now he is leaping and whooping.

And so as the crowd begins to gather, Peter begins to preach to them.

And he wants to explain to them what is going on.

And he says to them that this lovely and stunning miracle is not only a result of the resurrection,

but it shows them something of the nature and the reality of the resurrection.

He says to the people listening, he says,

it wasn't because John and I are particularly pious or powerful.

This man was healed by the name of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, who was killed a couple of weeks ago, but is very much alive and active.

And now, in fact, this healing, he says, gives you a picture of what the resurrection does.

And so it's very, very important for us on this unusual Easter day,

because the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a one-off event way back in history.

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is not a curious oddity.

It's not a freak.

Nor is the resurrection a happy ending, a lucky occurrence for Jesus.

It is the beginning of something.

It is the beginning of something that opens the door that concerns every single one of us.

And if you take the Bible and you read it from the beginning to the end,

and I hope you will, I really hope you would,

you'll find that God promises from the first pages of the Bible

that there will come a day when he will restore and renew,

and God will heal this world.

And he will bring complete health and healing, both spiritually and physically,

both personally for his people and cosmically,

to the whole world, to all those who follow his Son.

And this miracle is a preview of that healing.

And so I just want to give you two words,

two words this morning,

that describe the effect of the miracle,

or the effect of the resurrection for us.

One is in the future,

and one is in the present.

So the first word is restoration.

Can you look down at verse 21?

And this is in the future.

Verse 21 of Acts chapter 3.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

He was raised from the dead.

He is in heaven now,

and he must remain in heaven,

verse 21,

until the time comes

for the restoring of all things.

Until the time comes,

Jesus is in heaven.

Jesus is in heaven.

Until that time when God will restore everything he's promised

through his holy prophets.

The restoration of this man,

in Acts 3,

points to the time when God will restore everything.

And that is why it is a very Jesus-like miracle, isn't it?

Did you notice that?

The guy was lame,

lame from birth.

His feet,

his ankles,

his calf muscles,

his thigh muscles,

had never, ever been used.

And it is beyond human capacity to fix.

It needs, doesn't it,

God the creator.

And the miracle

that the risen Jesus,

the name of the risen Jesus,

that miracle brings instantaneous,

complete healing.

And it is done as a demonstration

that the resurrection

has started something.

And you know,

I hope that the person who wrote

the book of Acts

was a medical doctor.

He was Dr. Luke.

And he uses no fewer than five medical terms

to describe this complete healing.

The man gets up.

He doesn't stumble around.

He doesn't need a walking frame.

He does not need six months

of physiotherapy.

He runs.

And he praises God.

And that is exactly

what the prophet Isaiah,

700 years before Jesus,

prophesied about this great day

of restoration.

He says,

then the eyes of the blind

will be opened.

The ears of the deaf

will be unstopped.

They will leap

like a deer,

the lame.

And the moot tongue

will shout for joy.

Waters will gush forth

in the wilderness

and streams

of the desert.

And this miracle,

the healing of this guy,

is a sign

that God

has already begun

the restoration

in the resurrection.

The fixing of

those ankles

and those feet,

the strengthening

of those muscles

in that man's leg

is a preview

of the renewing

of the whole creation.

When even

our bodies

will be saved

by the work

of the resurrection.

And some of you

may feel

watching me this morning,

this is just

very naive.

That you've given

up hope

that God

is going to do

anything significant

in your life.

And so you've

taken things

into your own hands.

It's up to us,

after all,

leave me alone.

Isn't it safer

to remain lame

at the gate

and accept

my limitations

rather than

raising my hopes

and seeing them dashed?

And that is why

we have to see

that the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

comes from

outside

our world.

The resurrection

is God

breaking in

with the great

restoration.

It comes from

outside of us,

from God.

Because every dream

of human happiness,

every utopian dream

that this world

has ever had

comes from

inside this world.

It's created

by human beings

and we all share

in this deep

corruption

in ourselves.

And so every

utopian dream

will only end

in despair.

It takes

what is

eternal

and incorruptible

to break

the chains

of what is

corruptible.

And the healing

of this man

is not just

an isolated incident,

it is a sample

of God's plan

to renew

and restore

through the

resurrection

from the dead.

This incident

is a trailer

for the movie

of the world

that is to come.

And the word

restoration

is a medical word

that Dr. Luke

uses and it

describes the full

health and the

full healing.

Because in the

healing of this man,

we get a small

picture of the

day when

Christ will come

and he will

restore justice

and he will

restore truth

and harmony

and beauty

and goodness

to creation.

And so if you

know the Bible

at all,

you will know

that the Bible

teaches that the

world that we

live in is sick.

We are sick.

Physicists call

it entropy,

don't they?

You know,

you buy a house

and within a few

weeks you've

got to make

repairs on it.

You put seeds

in the ground

in your garden

and a few

weeks later

you're pulling

weeds out.

You live until

43 and things

start falling

apart.

The world

is not the

way that God

made it.

And we sense

this, don't we?

And our world

is experiencing

this at the

moment and

COVID-19 is

teaching our

world this.

Our world is

not as it was

meant to be.

We've experienced

death in the

past couple of

weeks and

there's something

inside us which

tells us this is

not right.

This is not how

it should be.

We know,

don't we,

there is a deep

and profound

disappointment in

ourselves,

in our

families,

the disharmony

in our world

that we create,

the futility

and the

senselessness

and the

Bible is

very, very

realistic about

this futility

and this

vanity and

this disharmony

and says

there is a

virus of

decay

and futility

that all of

us share

together and

at its root

is a spiritual

issue.

And it

comes from

and is

caused by

our rejection

of God.

We have a

dislocation,

we have a

rupture in

our relationship

with God

because of

our rebellion

against him.

But the

Bible,

the lovely

story of the

Bible goes

and it shows

that Jesus

is going to

establish

and God

is going to

establish all

the purposes

of his

blessing

and there'll

be complete

and spiritual

and physical

renewal

at the end

of the day.

A day is

coming

when God

will remove

all evil

and all

disobedience

and he

will reverse

the ravages

of our

rebellion

against him

and he

will take

away all

frustration

and injustice.

He will

take away

all sickness

and all

death

and he

has promised

a creation

that is

marked by

glory

and not

by corruption,

by righteousness

and not

rebellion,

by peace

and not

futility.

And how

do we know

that God

is going

to do

this?

How do

we know

that God

is going

to pull

this off?

Because we've

seen it

in the

resurrection

where God

breaks the

chains

of death

and God

begins

something

entirely

new.

And that

is why

this

restoration

can only

come

through

Jesus

Christ.

It's

very

interesting,

isn't it?

How Peter

turns and

he points

to the

crowd

and he

involves

them

personally

and you

can be

thankful

that your

preachers

are not

so direct.

Look at

what he

says in

verse 13

to 15

of Acts

3.

Do look

down.

Now this

is the

crowd

who a

couple of

weeks

before

had cried

out for

his

crucifixion.

He says

in verse

13

he says

the God

of Abraham

and the

God of

Isaac

and the

God of

Jacob

and the

God

of our

fathers

glorified

his

servant

Jesus

whom

you

delivered

over

and denied

in the

presence

of Pilate

when he

decided to

release him

but you

denied

the holy

and righteous

one

and you

asked for

a murderer

to be

granted

to you.

He says

you didn't

just deny

Jesus

you traded

his life

for a

murderer's

life

and more

than that

can you

see

you killed

verse 15

the author

of life

on a

scale of

1 to

10

for oxymorons

that is

100

isn't it?

The author

of life

cannot be

killed

but in

some

fashion

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

who is

the source

of life

who is

the cause

of life

who is

the resurrection

and the life

submitted himself

to death

death

but in

raising

Jesus

from the

dead

God

has

overcome

death

and he

signals

in that

resurrection

the final

restoration

that he

is going

to bring

at the

end of

time

glorious

and wonderful

restoration

that's

our

first

word

the

first

word

about

the

resurrection

of

Jesus

it's

not

just

about

Jesus

it's

that he's

begun

the full

restoration

of all

things

that he

will come

in the

future

well then

what does

the

resurrection

mean to

us

right now

and here

Peter gives

us our

second

word

and it

is the

word

refreshing

can you

see that

down in

verse 19

look at

verse 19

repent

therefore

and turn

back

that your

sins

may be

blotted

out

that

times

of

refreshing

may come

from the

presence

of the

Lord

literally

times of

refreshing

that will

come from

the face

of the

Lord

from

the

presence

of the

Lord

the word

means

rest

or relief

or respite

or refreshment

and one of the

reasons that the

resurrection

makes us so

happy

and Christians

so happy

it's not that

it's pie in

the sky

when you

die

by and

by

if the

resurrection

was just

future

it would be

enough

wouldn't it

it would be

enough because

it would

ravish our

future hopes

but it's

more than

just future

that Peter

is saying

that if we

repent

and we

turn to

God

if we

believe in

our hearts

that God

has raised

him from

the dead

God

gives us

the new

life

now

God

gives us

the resurrection

life

now

that we

are brought

into his

presence

before his

face

now

and we

receive

times

of refreshing

from his

presence

now

and you

won't be

surprised

to know

that this

word is a

medical word

from Dr. Luke

the refreshing

word

it is used

for blowing

cool air

on a wound

the healing

cool air

on a wound

which would

bring complete

healing

and then the

word came to

me not just

physical healing

but relief

spiritual

and emotional

and psychological

relief

came to stand

for those who

lost hope

and had lost

strength

and need

fresh relief

speaks of

people who

have come to

an end of

themselves

and people

who need

rest

and Peter

is saying

that in the

resurrection

the wind

the breeze

of refreshment

blows to us

from the presence

of God himself

so this

huge

cosmic

restoration

at the end

of time

which has

begun

with the

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

blows

back

into our

lives

now

with this

healing

wind

life

giving

healthful

wind

and this

wind of

refreshment

blows into

our lives

as we

turn to

him

I find it

difficult to

illustrate this

you think of

those boiling

hot days

in London

you think of

those days

when there's

there's

just no

air

when you

walk on

the street

and the

street is

shimmering

and the

pavement is

boiling hot

and then the

dark clouds

come over

dark dark

clouds

and you

feel that

cold breeze

and you know

don't you

the rain is

about to

bucket down

and that

first breeze

which tells

you the

refreshing

rain is

coming

and it's

so refreshing

and the

life that

God gives

us now

is that

first breeze

of the

restoration

that he's

going to

give then

Calvin

says

therefore

our hearts

would often

be dismayed

if we did

not recall

that the

day of

rest

will come

which will

cool the

fever of

our troubles

and bring

an end

to our

miseries

and so

this morning

if you have

new desires

in your

heart

new desires

in your

heart

to love

your neighbour

to trust

in Jesus

to want

to serve

him

above

everything

else

you know

you struggle

you know

you fail

but that

desire

is there

you find

yourself

coming to

God

at the

end of

your

tether

and praying

our

father

in heaven

take

Jesus

words

come to

me all

you who

are weary

and burdened

and I

will give

you

rest

and that

is a rest

isn't it

that's going

to be ours

forever

wonderfully

but he

blows that

rest into

your heart

today

rest and

refreshment

from him

or take

that assurance

that nothing

can separate

you from

the love of

Jesus Christ

nothing

no suffering

no despair

no

disappointment

no pain

he will

bring all

who belong

to him

to his

goodness

and to

his

glory

and that

is a

wind from

the future

blowing

into our

hearts

now

I hope

that someday

soon

the

prime

minister

or

if he's

not well

enough

the foreign

secretary

will stand

on the

doors of

10

Downing

Street

and he

will announce

won't he

that this

is over

sort of

and you

can begin

to meet

together

and so

we in

Ealing

and all

over the

country

will be

impacted

by an

announcement

made in

Westminster

at a certain

amount of

time

it's the

same now

isn't it

we are

impacted

today

by an

announcement

on the

steps of

10

Downing

Street

that is

impacting us

from a

different

time

from a

different

place

and yet

we feel

the impact

of that

decision

made in

government

then

and so

it is

for us

this

Easter

Sunday

peace

has been

made

through the

death

of

Jesus

and the

cross

and the

guarantee

of full

peace

and

restoration

has

happened

through

the

resurrection

of Jesus

we are

impacted

directly

by what

happened

2000

years ago

on that

Easter

Sunday

morning

but we

wait

we wait

for the

full

enjoyment

of that

restoration

the

full

enjoyment

of

relationships

of

everything

but the

fact that

we know

it is

coming

the fact

that we

look back

to the

resurrection

changes

everything

for us

now

and the

primary

wind of

refreshment

that blows

into our

hearts

in verse

19

can you

see it

it's

that our

sins

can be

wiped

out

repent

turn

again

to

God

that

your

sins

may

be

wiped

out

we've

all

turned

aside

from

God

we've

all

gone

our

own

way

we've

all

rejected

Jesus

in a

way

and we

need

forgiveness

and many

of us

know

don't we

that

bone

weariness

and

boredom

and

distractedness

and

disappointment

with

ourselves

and we've

tried all

sorts of

things

while the

death

and the

resurrection

of Jesus

that we

celebrate

today

is sufficient

to wipe

away

our sins

to take

them as

though they

were written

on a

board

and wash

them clean

and they

are gone

and this

is where

our

restoration

and our

refreshing

come together

because the

forgiveness

of our

sins is

the final

declaration

of that

day

that Jesus

will make

about us

but we

know about

it now

and that

is the

future

blowing

into our

hearts

that is

the

assurance

that

Jesus

gives

and if

you don't

have that

assurance

ask him

for it

ask Jesus

for it

ask him

and he

will answer

seek the

Lord

while he

may be

found

turn to

him

while he

is near

let the

wicked

forsake

his way

and the

unrighteous

man his

thoughts

let him

return to

the Lord

that he

may have

compassion

on him

and to

our God

for he

will

abundantly

pardon

in

and so

we

rejoice

you don't

need to

leap up

and jump

if you

want to

feel free

but I do

hope that

your heart

this day

does a

little bit

of leaping

in the

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

because God

has begun

that full

work of

restoration

of the

world

bringing

his glory

and his

goodness

and times

of refreshing

that come

from his

presence

through

repentance

and faith

and the

forgiveness

of sins

and therefore

we can say

this morning

that I am

sure that

neither death

nor life

nor angels

nor principalities

nor things

present

nor things

to come

nor height

nor depth

nor power

nor nothing

in all

creation

is able

to separate

us from

the love

of God

in the

risen Christ

Jesus our

Lord

Amen