FEBRUARY 16, 2025 "Something Amazing I Guess" Acts 3:1-10

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God bless.

This morning we'll be in Acts, chapter 3.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

Acts, chapter 3.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

We're going to look at the first 10 verses there this morning.

As you turn there, in preparation for today, I kept thinking of a line from a movie Now when my kids were little, one of.

I don't know if it was one of their favorite movies.

One of my favorite movies when my kids was little was the Incredibles.

I don't know if you remember that movie or know about the movie, but I'll quickly tell you.

The Incredibles was a Pixar cartoon and it was a cartoon, yes, and it was one of my favorite movies.

But anyway, it was a story of a superhero family who were in hiding because superheroes at the time went through a point where they were being sued because of collateral damage when they were saving people, and so they were being sued.

So all the superheroes had gone underground and were in hiding and Mr Incredible was selling insurance at the time and was very frustrated with his life.

And one day he was coming home from work.

It had been one of those days and as we all have.

And he came home from work and as he stepped out of his car he tripped over a skateboard, grabbed the top of the car bent it to the point that the car door wouldn't close anymore.

And in his frustration, he picked the car up.

Did I tell you he had super strength?

Mr Incredible had super strength, picked the up, held it over his head, turned around and looked and there was this little boy on his tricycle blowing a bubble that popped on his face, to which Mr Incredible slowly put the car down and backed away.

A few days later Mr Incredible was coming home again after being fired, again super frustrated.

But as he got out of the car, this time he slowly closed the door, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He turned around and saw this little boy on his tricycle again and he said well, what are you waiting for?

And the little kid said I don't know.

Something amazing, I guess, as we come to Acts, chapter 3, what the apostles are going to see is something amazing.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

We just talked about in Acts, chapter 2 and in verse 43 that the apostles were doing miracles.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

In 243, it says and all came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

And, lastly, we talked about how the apostles were doing these wonders and signs to demonstrate how Christ was continuing his work through them, how people could trust the words and they needed to devote themselves to the teachings of the apostles.

And that was confirmed by their performing these signs and wonders.

And we saw that.

We just mentioned that last week, but today we're actually going to see one of these signs.

What's going to happen in our passage today?

A man was healed by the power of the Holy Spirit through Peter and John as they continued the work of Christ.

Hear that again.

A man was healed.

A man was healed by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the power of Peter and John.

A man was healed by the power of the Holy Spirit through Peter and John as they continued the work of Christ.

As we look at this passage today, we need to understand this is a narrative, it's telling a story.

So as we approach this, we have to look and see what happened.

And then we have to look and see what happened.

And then we have to stop and say why was this story so important that Luke and the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit, using Luke, thought it important enough to to put into the scripture here?

So the first question that we want to ask today is is what was done to cause such amazement?

In verse 10, the last verse that we look at, it says and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what happened to him.

What happened to cause them to cause such wonder and amazement?

So let's read this morning in Acts, chapter 3.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

If you are able, if you'll stand with me as we give honor to the reading of God's word, acts, chapter 3, we're going to start in verse 1.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour, and a man, lame from birth, was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple.

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.

Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, and he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Rise and walk.

And he took him by the right hand and raised him up and immediately his feet and ankles were strong and leaping.

He stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what happened, what had happened to him.

Let's pray together, god.

We thank you for today.

We thank you for how you love us.

We thank you for all you've done for us.

God, I pray that this morning, as we open your word to engage with what is happening here, god, I pray that you work, you lead us in all truth, that you open our eyes, you open our ears, you open our minds to understanding and to hearing what you are saying to us.

Be honored here this morning, jesus.

It's in your wonderful name that we pray, amen.

So we begin by looking at what was done to cause such amazement.

Well, the first thing that I want us to see here is let's look at the ordinary.

Let's look at the ordinary things that were happening in this story.

Well, first of all, we see the ordinary things that were happening, that were happening in this story.

Well, first of all, we see the ordinary things of Peter and John.

We see right there in in the first verse that Peter and John.

They went up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

So we see these two guys going up to the temple.

Well, a lot of the commentaries as I was studying and looking at this.

At the beginning of Acts we're going to see Peter and John together a lot we're going to see them together and even as we see the apostles, especially at the beginning of Acts, they're going to travel in twos and there's kind of some, I think, some reasoning for that.

Remember, in Acts 1.8, jesus called them what Witnesses you will be my witnesses when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and the Holy Spirit has come upon them.

And so now they are witnesses.

Well, in Deuteronomy, chapter 15, or chapter 19, deuteronomy, chapter 19, verse 15, we see the importance of them going two by two.

Deuteronomy 15 · chapter mention Deuteronomy 19:15

Here in this passage it says a single witness, a single witness.

One will not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrongdoing in connection with any offense that he has committed.

Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.

So for the testimony of a witness in court in the Old Testament, for testimony of a witness to be verified, it couldn't be a single witness.

It had to be at least two or three people who came and verified the story.

And so we see you needed two as witnesses.

Even Jesus, he worked along this same idea in Luke, chapter 10, verse 1.

Luke 10:1

Jesus sent the disciples and the apostles.

He sent 72 of them out.

It says in Luke 10, verse 1, after this, the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

Luke 10:1

It would seem that Peter and John here are working off the same premise.

Jesus had sent them out two by two and here they are as witnesses, going two by two, because as two witnesses a story can be verified.

So they are being the witnesses that Christ has called them to do.

What we see Peter and John doing right here Is obeying.

We see them obeying.

You think, grant, all they did was go up to the temple.

Yes, they are obeying, they are being witnesses For Jesus.

A lot of the commentators that I read said Not only are they going up to worship at the temple, but, as they are going, they go during the times of prayer, because that is when the most people are there and they can be witnesses.

So they're going two by two.

But not only that do we see in this ordinary they are going up at the ninth hour, which is a hour of prayer.

A couple weeks ago we looked in in chapter two when Peter was preaching in Acts, chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And the apostles had been accused of being drunk because they were speaking in languages that other people didn't understand.

And Peter stood up and said we're not drunk.

I mean, it's only the ninth hour, not the ninth hour, it's only the third hour, which was 9 am.

That would have been an hour of prayer for the Jewish.

In Jewish customs there were three hours of prayer at nine noon and three, and so people would stop and pray.

But the three o'clock hour was was really when people would go to the temple.

Because not only at the three o'clock hour did they.

Was it an hour of prayer, but sacrifices would would have been offered at three o'clock, did they?

Was it an hour of prayer, but sacrifices would would have been offered at three o'clock, so you would have had the most people at the temple.

But what I want us to see here is that peter and john were going to the temple to pray and to bear witness.

They were living in obedience to god.

See that, peter and they would have still considered themselves to be Jews.

They were still celebrating and keeping the Jewish customs because, let's be honest, there was nothing wrong with the Jewish customs.

What had become wrong was that Jewish leadership had replaced the customs.

They had made the customs more important than the one to whom the customs should have pointed.

They were so concerned about keeping the law that they forgot to whom the law pointed.

And so, peter and John, they were going up to the temple to pray.

Say, grant, what's the big deal?

Here's the big deal that I don't want us to pray.

Say, grant, what's the big deal?

Here's the big deal that I don't want us to miss.

They were living in obedience.

They were doing what God had called them to do.

They were witnessing, they were bearing witness, they were being witnesses, but they were praying.

They were going to the temple and they were doing little steps that we would not consider big things.

They were doing little things.

I want us to see the ordinary here in this story.

Not only do we see the ordinary in Peter and John, but we also see the ordinary.

In this lame man, verse 2, it says A man, lame from birth, was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.

You hear this A man who was born lame daily went to this gate to ask alms daily.

Went to this gate to ask alms.

Now listen, if if I do something, the same thing for two hours, I feel like it's mundane.

This guy had been doing the same thing daily for years and and he, he was born lame and we know from acts, chapter 4, verse 22, that he was over 40 years old.

Acts 4:22

In Acts 4, verse 22, it says For the man on whom the sign of healing was performed spoiler alert the sign of healing, he's going to get healed.

Acts 4:22

The man on whom the sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old.

So this guy in his ordinariness of life was being carried to the beautiful gate to beg for alms.

Now, the beautiful gate.

Many have identified the beautiful gate to be a gate on the eastern side of the temple.

That would be this way on the eastern side of the temple it was a gate, probably that separated the court of the Gentiles, from the court of the women.

So it was a perfect gate for him to go ask alms.

Because here's what happened he was inside the temple complex, so he experienced the security of being in the temple while at the same time having the opportunity to come in contact with the most people.

Because if you were a Jewish man, you would go through the court of the Gentiles, through the court of the women, into the inner court, and so the most people would go, would see this gate, so daily he would go there and he would ask for alms, daily.

See, I don't want us to miss the ordinariness of this story.

I don't want us to miss the everyday things that were happening in this story, because what we're about to see Is we're about to move from ordinary To extraordinary.

As you come to the next verse, in verse three, he sees Peter and John about to go into the temple and he asked them for alms.

And Peter and John, they did something different.

They stopped and they said hey, look at me, look at me.

I remember when my kids were little, when I had to talk to them, I had a bad habit of yelling, saying hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, and just yelling and trying to get their attention and telling them what to do, while yelling at them and them just running all over, and I finally realized the thing I needed to do was get them to stop and look at me.

Hey, stop, look at me right here.

Now I don't have to yell, I need you to do this.

Peter and John came by this man who was probably crowded there's people passing all through and if he's ADD, like me, his eyes are doing this and he's going everywhere and there's people passing through and Peter and John said hey, stop, look at me, look at us right here.

So he stopped and he looked at him and he was expecting to to receive alms from them.

He was expecting to see receive money from them.

And then Peter says hey, we don't have silver and gold.

If I was the guy, I would say well then, why are you wasting my time?

Peter says we don't have silver and gold, but what we do have, we give it to you.

See what they gave him.

They gave him Jesus.

Now you may say Grant, no, they gave him.

They gave him Jesus.

Now you may say Grant, no, they gave him healing.

He was healed.

But hear what they said, we do not have silver and gold, but what we do have, what I do have, I give to you In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Arise and walk.

See what Peter does here is.

He invokes the name of Jesus and in the Bible when a name is used, it is like the person is there.

John Poole Hill, one of the commentaries that I read he says this about names in the Bible.

He says the reference to the name is not incidental.

In the biblical sense, a name is far more than a label.

It represents a person and is an extension of that person's being and personality, and is an extension of that person's being and personality.

To invoke the name of Jesus is to call on his authority and his power In a real sense.

Then Jesus, through Peter, continued his healing ministry.

Now, while this man was healed, they offered to him Jesus.

That is what he needed.

Sure, he had been lame for over 40 years.

Sure, he wanted to walk, and I'm sure, because he was lame, he was unable to work.

So I'm sure he needed money.

That's why he's asking for it.

But what he needed most was Jesus.

And what Peter and John do is they offer him Jesus.

Then it says in verse 7.

And he took him by the right hand, that's, peter took this man by the right hand and raised him up and immediately his feet and ankles were strong.

Now catch this they didn't just Whatever was wrong, they didn't just heal what was wrong, they made it strong.

So now I think about, I think about several years ago, mr Paul Williams he's not here, but Mr Paul broke his ankle and I think about the recovery from that, because not only did they have to fix the bones in his foot, then he had to go through rehab to regain his strength.

Many of you you've experienced that when you've been hurt or something and you've had to lay in bed or not move or not use a part of your body for an extended period of time, what happens to it?

Very quickly it gets weak, the the bodies, they, the the muscles, they.

They lose their strength and you have to regain that strength so that you can use whatever was fixed.

But but immediately here see what happened.

They reached down and they pulled this man up and immediately not only were his bones healed, but his muscles were strengthened and he jumped up and it says he leaped and he walked and he entered into the temple and he was praising God.

And as the people in the temple looked around and they saw this man worshiping and praising Jesus.

We come back to the very first verse, the very verse that we begun with.

In verse 10, it says and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Why were they filled with wonder and amazement?

Because a miracle had happened.

Jesus had continued his work.

He continued the work that he began through John, through Peter, as this man was healed.

So we see the story, we see what happened and we understand because we talked about it a few weeks ago why in the New Testament this was important.

Because in the New Testament, here's what the signs and miracles did for the apostles it confirmed their ministry.

When Peter and John, they continued the work of Jesus by healing this man in the name of Jesus and they gave him Jesus.

They continued this work.

When that happened, the people could then stop and say, hey, if their works are Jesus's works, their words must be Jesus's words as well.

We need to listen and we're going to see next week.

That's exactly what happens.

You're even going to see next week and we'll look at it for just a moment, but you're going to see next week in chapter three verses.

We'll start in verse 12 and read a few verses.

We're going to get to it next week, but let's look ahead just a little bit.

In verse 12 it says and when Peter saw it, he addressed the people, men of Israel.

Why do you wonder at this?

So he's like, why are you so amazed?

Why are you in wonderment about this?

Why are you in wonderment about this?

Or why do you stare at us as though, by our power or by our piety, we have made him walk?

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant, jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him.

But you denied the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead.

To this we are witnesses.

And his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

See, peter and John knew that it was not because of them.

They knew that this healing didn't take place because they had walked with Jesus for three years.

They knew that this healing didn't take place because of some kind of special relationship that they had with Jesus.

They knew that this healing took place because Jesus had decided to continue his work through them.

It was Jesus who healed this man and it was the power of the Holy Spirit that came upon them and used Peter and John for this man's healing, and they pointed them to Jesus.

And so now, as the people see this and they see the work continued, it confirms their ministry.

So people will listen to them.

But for us, why is this important for us?

What do we see in this?

What can we, in 2025, gain from this?

I think there's a couple of things that we need to see here.

First of all, I think we need to see that Peter and John expected the extraordinary while following the ordinary.

They expected Jesus to work Because he told them he was going to.

They expected the Holy Spirit to work Because Jesus had told them.

We saw it in the gospel of John that Jesus said I'm going to go away and another is going to come to you and he will do even greater works than those that I do.

Jesus had told them that was going to happen, so they're expecting this to happen.

Here's the deal.

They don't know when it's going to happen, they don't know how it's going to happen.

So what are they doing?

They're not out trying to figure out extraordinary.

They're doing the ordinary.

They're going to the temple to pray.

They're going to the temple to be witnesses.

They're doing just the simple things that Jesus had told them to do.

They're expecting the extraordinary by doing the ordinary.

Sometimes I think we get caught up, thinking we have to do extraordinary and us trying to do extraordinary, we forget the ordinary.

We forget the simple things, the following Jesus Church.

Hear me, I know I've put these labels of ordinary on them, but following Jesus is no ordinary task.

It's a daily task.

It's a task that requires disciplines, but it's no ordinary task.

You say, grant, what can we do?

What can we do in these tasks of following Jesus at it?

Last week we looked at two things you can do.

The early believers are what devoted to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship.

Here's two things you can do.

You can devote yourself to the word of God, which is the apostles teachings, and you can devote yourself to the church and to each other.

That's two things you can do.

That's two ways that you can follow Jesus.

That's two ways that you can live the ordinary.

Not only that.

They devoted themselves in the fellowship.

They devoted themselves, remember, to prayer.

Here's something else you can do.

You can devote yourself to praying.

Now, listen when I say devote yourselves.

Listen.

This is not I used the word earlier disciplines, and I know sometimes we get this negative connotation from the name discipline.

So if you want to say habits, I'm okay with it.

Either way, here's some things that you can put in your life, that you can strive to do, to follow, so that you can every day walk with Jesus.

He's given us things to do and while we do these everyday things, hear me, we need to expect extraordinary.

Now let me explain that some.

When we hear extraordinary, what we think is somebody being healed, or we think thousands coming to Jesus.

Let me change your thinking just a little bit.

When you stop, when you stop the crazy, hectic chaos of your life and you sit down and you spend time in God's word, hear me, that is extraordinary.

When you go and you bear witness about Jesus to the people in your circle.

Hear me, that is extraordinary.

Whether one of them comes to Jesus or not, that's not up to you.

That's the work of the Holy Spirit.

What he's called you to do is be witnesses when we do the little things, listen me me standing here today.

Look, country boy from Pontotoc County, from Troy, that when I was in high school I thought the water tower was the sun, because it was big, bright and yellow and we couldn't see the sun.

We were so far back in the woods.

Me standing here today.

Now you may not think the sermon is extraordinary and that's a different thing, but me standing here before you is an extraordinary feat, and it's not because of me and it's not because of what I've done, but it's because Jesus is at work.

But it's because Jesus is at work and anytime he works in our lives, anytime that you take the time to open God's word and he shows you something new.

Guess what?

That is extraordinary.

Anytime you open God's word, even if you don't see anything new, but you've spent time with God, the God Almighty who spoke creation into being, who said let there be light.

Boom, there was light.

That God.

Anytime that you devote any, any amount of time and that he chooses to spend with you.

Hear me, that is extraordinary, extraordinary.

And as we do the ordinary things in life, hear me, you can expect God to do what he's promised that he would do.

Walk with us, listen.

He tells us in Philippians, philippians, chapter 1, verse 6.

Philippians 1:6

He says this, and I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you, that's God Paul, is writing to the church at Philippi and he says that God, who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus.

Hear me as God works in you and he brings it to completion, that is extraordinary.

He goes on to say in chapter 2, verse 12 of Philippians, he says fear and trembling.

That's doing the ordinary, so that, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

As we do these ordinary things, these simple things, god is working to carry out his will in our lives, and that is extraordinary.

And as we do the ordinary, we need to expect God to work and be extraordinary, because that's what he promised he would do and God keeps all of his promises.

As you go back to the movie the Incredibles, so the family they go through all of these adventures and things and the movie ends and it ends with a big explosion where the day is saved and the family is saved from this big, fiery explosion.

And they look and it ends right at their house, which gets blown up, but the family is saved.

And you look and as the smoke clears, there's that little boy on his tricycle and he yells and he says that was totally wicked.

I have to wonder how many days did that little boy go by that house expecting to see the extraordinary, expecting to see something amazing?

I guess he went.

I can imagine he went day by day, by day.

Hear me, church, as we follow Jesus, day by day by day, he is going to do extraordinary.

Extraordinary just in us getting to spend time with him.

Let's devote ourselves To his word, let's devote ourselves To prayer, let's devote ourselves to each other, let's follow him daily and just wait and see how he's going to move through us.

I don't know where you are today, but if you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, I need you to hear me.

I need you to hear this.

I need you to understand, because I know the message today was mostly to believers, to believers devoting themselves in the ordinary to Jesus.

But I need you to hear this that lame man, that lame man, his life was changed.

His life was changed by faith in Jesus.

He didn't go that day expecting healing.

He didn't go that day looking for healing, but Jesus showed up and healed him.

Listen, if you are here today and you've never trusted Christ, listen, spiritually you are just like him.

You are lame and there's nothing you can do.

Life can be frustrating, life can be hard, and just as Peter and John offered to him, jesus, that's what I'm offering to you today, jesus, he came and he died on the cross and he arose for your salvation, to heal your soul, and that is the only way you're going to find it.

And if you've never trusted him this morning, I invite you.

We're going to pray in just a moment.

We're going to sing a hymn of invitation.

As we are singing, I invite you to come down.

I would love to pray for you.

There are counselors here who will take you out and can share with you how you can trust christ and your soul can be healed, like this man.

But if you've trusted Christ, but right now you have abandoned the ordinary, you have abandoned the walk with Christ.

What you need to do during this invitation time is you need to repent.

You need to confess this morning that you need to follow him.

I'll be down here.

I would love to pray with you.

Maybe you don't need my prayers.

Maybe what you need to do is you need to come and kneel at these steps and you need to cry out for God and you need to confess your sins, that you have not trusted in him or walked with him.

You've depended on yourself and you're tired and you are crying out to him.

Maybe you need to come do business with him.

If, this morning, you're looking for a church home, a place where you can devote yourself to the fellowship, we would love to have you here.

We would love to have you at DeSoto Hills as we try together to devote ourselves to the Word of God, to prayer and to each other.

We invite you to come.

We'll be down here.

We can share with you how We'll be down here.

We can share with you how you can unite with us.

Listen, as God is moving this morning, however, he is moving in you.

We encourage you to make that decision today.

Let's pray, god.

We love you so much, god.

We thank you for giving us opportunities daily to follow you.

God, help us not to make it too hard, but to simply walk with you and know that as we walk with you, you are changing us and you are moving us.

God, it may not be a moving us and changing us that comes with fireworks and a parade, but, god, nonetheless, we understand that when you have changed us, it is an extraordinary change and we trust you Work in our lives, god.

We pray that today you will give us the faith that we need to trust and follow you.

Jesus, it's in your wonderful name that we pray, amen.

Thanks for listening to this week's sermon.

If you have any questions for our pastor, Amen.