Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity

Let us pray, and then we'll get into Acts chapter 3 this morning.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

Father in heaven, we thank you that your word truly is like a double-edged sword.

That it cuts past our excuses and our insecurities and our pride and our ego

and gets to the very place where we are exposed.

So, Lord God, your word can do what only your word can do,

is draw us to Christ, the great healer.

Lord, this morning as we open up Acts 3,

and we encounter a man that has been lame from birth and how he was healed,

Lord, help us to see that the same Jesus that has healed this man

is here amongst us this morning by his Spirit.

And that healing and restoration that he offered that man is offered to us.

We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

I have a wonderful friend in my hometown who often says, and I kid you not,

I'm living the dream. He loves saying this, I'm living the dream.

My friend's not a churchgoer, although he was raised in the faith.

However, he still desires and seeks what we would call a blessing, or to be blessed.

And not just to have a few nice toys or some memorable experiences.

Rather, he desires a blessing that seems to be heavenly.

What I mean by that is a comfort and a joy that transcends work, want, struggle, and pain.

I thought about him this week while I listened to a conversation between a historian and a philosopher.

The historian is Tom Holland.

The philosopher is Douglas Murray, both Englishmen.

Both of them wouldn't claim to be confessional Christians, although they are favorable to the faith.

And within this conversation, they had a discussion about how Christianity has shaped the West in no small way.

And even though Christianity, by and large, is not practiced in the West anymore,

the West is still, in a sense, reverberating with the effects of Christianity over the centuries.

People still think in religious categories, even if they have almost certainly abandoned the Christian rhetoric or specific Christian practices.

Even still, they went on to describe these two conversationalists, Tom Holland and Douglas Murray,

how the lack of transcendence with the Christian God, in a sense, still haunts the Western imagination.

God is gone, but in a sense they were saying, we still long after him.

We still desire him.

We still want to enjoy real and forever blessings.

Although, as a society, we do not know what those blessings ultimately are or where to find them.

But we still crave after something that only God can give.

So as we make our way through Acts 3 today,

the text will help us to see that our deep desire to be blessed is a God-given one.

And that our greatest vision of blessing is so unbelievably small compared to what God has in store for us

if we are called by his name according to his purpose.

So we'll break up the text into three bits.

We'll look first at...

We're breaking it up to look at specific characters in the plot.

So the first, we'll look at the beggar's healing, verses 1 to 10.

And the second, we'll look at the nation's guilt, verses 11 to 18.

And we'll finish it off with looking at the servant's mercy, 19 to 28.

So let's read verses 1 through 5.

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.

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, look at us.

And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

Let's pause there.

As Peter and John walked through the beautiful gate to get into the temple to worship the Lord,

a beggar called out to them for alms, as he would have called out for anybody.

Scholars believe that this gate that he was sitting at would have been absolutely huge,

70 plus feet high, ornate, made with Corinthian brass.

I don't know what Corinthian brass is.

I'm not sure.

It sounds wonderful.

But it was made with ornate Corinthian brass.

So to see this destitute man propped up against this absolutely stunning gate would have been a contrast,

quite the contrast to see.

It would be like, I guess in a sense we're a bit desensitized to it, unfortunately,

but it would be like seeing somebody panhandle amongst the skyscrapers on Bay Street,

or downtown Ottawa with the gorgeous Parliament building in the background.

It seems like these two shouldn't be there.

With such beauty, there shouldn't be somebody begging.

It's such an intense contrast.

It was similar with this man.

He was a fixture at the gate, being brought daily by others.

Even more, given that the first century was a much more communal culture than ours today,

people would have known him.

They would have seen him.

They would have likely known his parents, or at least the men that brought him to beg.

They would have known that he was lame since birth.

And we're not sure why he was lame,

but that he was clearly so lame, so crippled,

that he couldn't walk on his own.

This man was known.

This was not a charade, but he was a known beggar at a very busy intersection in Jerusalem.

And what happens?

Looking for a few coins, what does he receive instead?

Let's continue on in verse 6.

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 up and walk.

And he took him by the hand and raised him up,

and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

And leaping up, he stood and began to walk and enter 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 had happened to him.

By verse 9, Luke records four times that this man was walking.

Make no mistake about it, Luke says.

The lame beggar who everybody knew,

who was crippled from birth,

who had to be carried to his spot by men,

because he was too crippled to walk.

This man has been healed.

And he is walking.

This is no charade.

It is no hoax.

God has done something.

In fact, later on in verse 16,

Peter says that this man was given by Jesus perfect health.

The condition of the beggar, remember,

isn't just that his legs don't work,

or that he doesn't have the ability to make money.

It goes even more than that.

This man is socially estranged from his people.

He's also religiously estranged.

Notice that he was daily at the gate.

He was not daily at the temple.

He did not participate in the religious life of the people of God.

And his greatest victory, day by day,

was being carried home with a few extra coins in his pocket.

Maybe a few bites of bread in his stomach.

In some ways, friends, we are not dissimilar.

We struggle with our relationships.

We struggle with the guilt that we have as we interact with God,

thinking that one mistake is all it takes for God to turn from us.

That we are so far gone because we fall into the same habitual sin,

and we are not liberated from our sin,

but we feel the weight of guilt and shame

heavier and heavier day by day.

Our situation, at best,

a victory for us is to create wealth,

to purchase toys,

seek experiences,

all of which in and of themselves are not bad things,

but that can often be,

if it is our greatest victory,

a very pitiable thing.

We know we need a blessing,

or a cure of some sort,

so we look inward to ourselves,

or we look outward to people and things,

all of which lack the capacity to do anything more than to numb,

or to distract.

I guess the similarity between us and the crippled man

is that we look for silver and gold,

but the thing is,

what we really look for is a divine touch from God.

We look for silver and gold,

however only a divine blessing will do.

In the West,

have we not abandoned God for silver and gold,

whatever that silver and gold may be.

I say in the West,

I speak generally,

but I hope the West isn't just outside of these walls for us,

that Canada isn't just outside of the walls for us,

but inside the walls too.

We swim in these waters,

we breathe this air,

where we constantly fall into the temptation

to find our wealth not in God,

find our blessing not in God,

but in silver and gold.

But we desperately crave Him.

Blaise Pascal, he writes this,

and if you've ever heard the term,

a God-shaped hole,

this is where it comes from.

This is what he says,

quote,

What else does this craving,

and this helplessness proclaim,

but that there was once in man a true happiness,

of which all that now remains

is the empty print and trace.

This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him,

seeking in things that are not there

the help he cannot find in those that are.

Though none can help,

since this infinite abyss can be filled

only with an infinite and immutable object.

In other words, by God Himself.

We have a longing

for divine blessing,

whether we call it that or not,

that can only be filled with the divine.

something,

someone,

that will,

that is eternal,

that is immutable,

that is unchanging.

The emptiness that we feel,

the restlessness that we

may not be able to explain,

friends,

is because we are created

to know God

and be known by Him.

If your conception of the Christian life

is that of drab and boring,

lacking of real blessing

and joy,

I'll humbly suggest to you

and to myself

in times of doubt

and struggle,

that we have a misguided view of Christ.

He is a healer

and a friend.

And He says to you,

stand up and walk.

I will heal your,

your,

the knees that buckle

and the ankles that,

that have no strength in them.

I will,

I will give you strength

in your hips

and your muscles

and you will walk.

He bids us

to stand up and walk.

Walk in true life.

Walk in full forgiveness.

Walk in the victory

of His cross over death.

Walk by His strength.

He says to a woman

in John's Gospel,

listen,

that water,

if you drink from it,

you'll get thirsty later on.

But if you drink from living water,

you will never thirst again.

This is a wonderful image

of the satisfaction,

the deep, deep satisfaction

that we long for,

being satisfied in Christ.

And friends,

He offers it to us lame beggars today.

to us who have no chance

of filling that God-shaped hole

in our souls.

Christ Jesus did more

than simply heal this man.

Look with me at verse 8.

And leaping up,

he stood and began to walk.

And he entered the temple with them,

walking and leaping

and praising God.

This man seems to be restored.

He began to enjoy

social restoration

and real joy.

And notice that

no longer is he at the gate

of the temple,

but he is entering

in the temple itself.

He is worshipping the Lord

because of what

the Lord had done for him.

Because Jesus

had given him perfect health.

This joy

became the source

of public curiosity

and amazement as well.

Verses 9 and 10.

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 were filled with wonder

and amazement

at what had happened to him.

And similar to what had happened

at Pentecost

in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

if you remember two weeks ago,

Peter seeing this opportunity

to give glory to Christ

and to bear witness

to the cross,

he stands up

and he begins to preach

to the crowd

that has gathered.

And much like the lame beggar,

we may find ourselves

actually identifying

with this next group.

And this is our second

group of people

we'll look at.

The guilty nation.

Look with me

at verse 11 to 16.

Actually,

11 to 13.

While he clung to Peter and John,

that is the healed man,

no longer lame,

no longer a beggar,

while he clung to Peter and John,

all the people,

utterly astounded,

ran together to them

in the portico

called Solomon's.

And when Peter saw,

sorry,

and when Peter saw it,

he addressed the people,

men of Israel,

Why do you wonder at this?

Or why do you stare at us

as though by our own power

or 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.

And I'll pause there.

Peter directs their attention

away from themselves.

He addresses them

and he says,

Men of Israel,

don't you know

that you cannot,

that we cannot do such things?

But only God

can do it

and not just any God

but the God of our forefathers?

Peter roots this healing

in the scriptures

by referencing Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob,

the patriarchs of the faith.

So,

Peter in a sense is saying

this isn't a new religion

but one that is

the culmination

of all that God has promised

according to his word.

Then he gives it

gives it straight to the nation,

the nation of Israel,

those that are gathered

as he did

at the Pentecost sermon.

And look with me,

verses 13 and following

to verse 16.

I'll read at the beginning

of 13 again.

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 by 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.

Peter says,

Listen,

you killed Jesus.

You dishonored him

in four ways.

You handed him over

to be killed.

You disowned him

before Pilate.

You traded Christ

for Barabbas,

a murderer,

an insurrectionist.

You killed

the author of life.

Friends,

what a damning accusation.

It was this Jesus

that they sent

to the cross

that was the one

who healed the man

from his condition.

And Peter punctuates this

by using the term

to describe Jesus

the author of life.

How can you kill

the author of life

except that that's

what has happened.

The author of life.

The creator

of all things.

The one who spoke

the world into existence.

The one who

orchestrated

salvation itself

by dying on the cross,

being buried

and rising again

to new life.

You killed this man.

It was faith

in that Jesus

that caused

that lame beggar

to be healed.

It was not as if

Peter and James

had the power

or knew the right formula

that would get

the desired response.

There was enough people

that could do incantations

in the ancient world

or at least claim to.

But it wasn't that.

It was by faith

and Peter is making

it very clear.

And even this faith

that made this man well

was the result

of Jesus' power

for that proclamation

of the power

that Peter and John

gave to that lame man

gave that beggar

an opportunity

to believe.

So even the act of faith

goes to Christ himself.

Even still,

that healing,

even though it's talked

about with faith

and that Jesus did it,

the healing,

even the healing itself

fades into the background.

And the apostles

and the man.

Instead,

Jesus and him alone

comes to the foreground.

The spotlight

is on Christ here.

He is the holy

and righteous one,

it says.

He is the glorified one.

He is the author of life.

The one who was raised

from the dead.

And the Jewish people

whom he came to save

betrayed him

and killed him

and handed him over,

traded him for a murderer

and ultimately he died.

As I mentioned

a couple weeks ago

in Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

in Peter's

Pentecost sermon,

the killing of Christ

was indeed

by the nation of Israel.

They are guilty for it.

But make no mistake,

it was the sin

of all mankind

that Jesus went

to the cross for.

For all mankind.

It was the sin

of me.

Sin of the Gribas

and Susan

and Brian

and Samuel

and the Petrancos

and Steve.

For all of us

he went to the cross for.

This wasn't a,

this wasn't just an issue

with the Jewish people

that they messed things up.

But they messed it up

because they're human

and guess what?

We are too.

Christ died on the cross

and we are the guilty ones.

So,

in a sense,

we

betrayed Christ

in the same manner.

I mean,

we didn't hand him over

to be killed.

We didn't disown him

before Pilate.

We didn't trade him

for a murderer.

But our sins

surely killed

the author of life.

Friends,

consider how we search

for life

and yet

we disregard

the author of life.

how we try to

absolve ourselves

from guilt

and shame

and ignore

the Holy and Righteous One

who is without shame.

Who offers us

in a sense

the alleviation

of all our sin and shame.

We try to glorify ourselves

something that only God can do.

We fight death

tooth and nail

but only through Christ

can we have hope

for eternal life.

Friends,

we are

in a very real way

confused people.

And that's why

we confess today

that we have sinned

by the things

we ought to have done

and the things

we ought not to have done.

And there's no health in us.

And it seems

jarring every time

we read it.

I don't know if it's

at least when I read it.

I don't know about you.

But in morning prayer

it says

it calls us

miserable offenders.

It's such a striking

like absolutely

no sugar coating on it

thing to call somebody.

You are a miserable

offender.

But is that not

what we are

if we are honest

with ourselves?

If we see ourselves

in a sense

in the

boots of the

nation of Israel here?

verse 17

Peter says this

And now brothers

I know that you

acted in ignorance

as also

and as did

also your rulers.

Yet even still

even though it was

ignorant

we didn't

know that we were

sinning against God

we were just

you know

neck deep

in opposition

to the author

of life.

Peter understands

that this was

an ignorant thing.

Nevertheless

it was still

the will

of God the Father

to send Christ

to the cross.

Verse 18

this is what it says

But what God

foretold

by the mouth

of all the prophets

that his Christ

would suffer

he thus fulfilled.

It was

certainly our sin

that put Christ

on the cross

but it was God's

will for him

to die in our place.

We talked about it

a few weeks back

about the

kind of a

hard concept

to grasp

maybe potentially

fully ungraspable.

I mean we could

get bits of it

how our

agency

our human agency

interacts with

God's sovereignty.

But this is what

the text is saying

in verse 17 and 18.

God had

foretold this

by all of his prophets

and then later on

in the chapter

he will name

three of them

Moses

Abraham

and Samuel.

all prophesying

Jesus' death

and resurrection

as the Christ.

Which brings us

to our third

and final point

for if

this was God's

will

to send Christ

to the cross

it was because

he was making

a way

to extend

his mercy

through his son.

And in here

he calls Jesus

the servant

and it's an allusion

to Isaiah 52

and 53

but really all

of the servant

songs in

Isaiah's prophecy

from I believe

chapter 41

all the way

culminating

in 53.

There's four

different servant

songs

and this is

what Peter

is alluding to.

So look with me

at verses 19

and this is our

third and final point

how we see

the servant's mercy

being extended

to us.

Repent

therefore

and turn back

that your sins

may be blotted out

that times

of refreshing

may come

from the presence

of the Lord

and that he may

send the Christ

appointed for you

Jesus

whom heaven

must receive

until the time

of restoring

all the things

about which

God spoke

by the mouth

of his holy prophets

long ago.

Repentance.

That's the response

is repentance.

Now that the truth

has been explained

now that

the surgeon's

scalpel

has cut

right to the disease

and we know

what it is

right to that

horrible tumor

we know what it is

we can't deny it

anymore

ignorance is dispelled

will you change?

Will you repent?

Will you be honest

with yourself

before God?

Will you turn away

from the wickedness

and turn towards Christ?

That's what he's asking

the people

that's what he's asking

us this morning

will you turn away

from the wickedness

and turn towards Christ?

In case you think

this is too hard

or too limiting

once again

I humbly suggest

to myself as well

that we may have

failed to recognize

our great need

for Christ

and Christ's great mercy

extended to us.

Look again

and see the result

of the mercy

we see here

in verse 19

that your sins

may be blotted out

verse 20

that times of refreshing

may come

and finally

that he may

that's the Father God

send the Christ

appointed for you

Jesus

whom heaven

must receive

until the time

of restoring

all the things

about which God

spoke

by the mouth

of his holy prophets

long ago

that our sins

are blotted out

that we have times

of refreshing

in his presence

and that one day

Christ will return

to right all wrongs.

That is the promise

for us

if we repent

and look to him.

So let's briefly

look at these three things.

The first

that sins will be

blotted out

literally our sins

will be obliterated

crushed

pulverized

made into nothing

dust

blown

lost in the wind

gone forever.

It's not like a

it's not a half measure

that he'll

blot out our sins

they're blotted

out completely.

It is a beautiful

picture

that

that we see here

our ledgers

are cleaned out

we are in the black

forever.

All our shame

all our guilt

gone

you are free.

Is this not

what we desire

deep down?

To know

that our shame

although

that

how great it was

is completely

crushed

and remembered

no more.

It's good news.

A freed

soul

is a happy

one

a joyful

one.

And this

then opens up

the opportunity

for us to come

before God's presence

which is

the second benefit

of repentance

and throwing

ourself at the

mercy

of Christ.

This refreshment

that is offered

to us

and

is this not

in a sense

what our souls

long for?

Is this not

in what a sense

my friend from

back home wants?

Times of refreshing

where our

hard

back-breaking

labor of life

not physical

necessarily

but just the

grind

is over

and that our

sorrows cease.

to be in the

presence of

Christ himself

to have

the Holy Spirit

reside in our

souls

to provide

comfort

and to lead

and to guide

in times of

need

this refreshment

has in view

a picture

of God's

leading

confused

and

in a sense

lost people.

we will have

purpose

in the

presence

of God

we will have

significance

in the

presence

of God

not because

of our

own good

deeds

that we

that are

that are

that we've

done this

week

or this

year

or even

this

morning

that

although

are here

are gone

tomorrow

are forgotten

but based

on Christ

righteousness

his perfect

work on the

cross

that lasts

forever

that's a

refreshing

thing

leaning

on somebody

who is

steadfast

to the

end

and finally

the great

and sure

hope that

Christ will

return and

judge the

living and

the dead

in some

ways it

can be a

scary thing

but friends

the past

three weeks

have been

very tough

come Lord

Jesus to

right all

the wrongs

and to

stop all

the wars

and to

take the

evil

and expunge

it

eliminate

it

forever

and ever

Christ has

fully defeated

death and

sin on the

cross

but with

his second

coming all

remnants of

death and

despair will

be forever

vanquished

it's as if

on the cross

when Christ

rose again

it's like he

paraded death

through the

streets as a

conquered

king

king and

in a sense

death was

mocked it

was as if

in the

ancient Roman

world the

captured king

would be

brought through

the city and

people would

hurl insults

at him and

throw garbage

at him and

he would be

mocked forever

and in a sense

that's what

Christ did on

the cross

however the

kingdom of

death and

Satan and

sin continues

on there's a

remnant that

continues on

until Christ

comes again

and when he

comes again

it will be

forever crushed

and we will

enjoy his

presence for

all eternity

chapter 3 ends

with this

verse 26

God having

raised up his

servant sent

him to you

first to

bless you by

turning every

one of you

from your

wickedness

God the

father has

done an

incredible act

of kindness to

us by sending

God the son to

take on

flesh to die

in our place

to defeat

evil and

rise again to

new life

will you turn

from your

wickedness

will you turn

from your

wayward ways

will you see

Christ as

completely glorious

and so very

worthy of your

entire devotion

will you see him

as the source

of ultimate

blessing

if we're honest

with ourselves

anything else is

folly

in the weight of

glory C.S.

Lewis penned

these well-known

words and this is

what he says

quote

it would seem

that our

Lord finds

our desires

not too

strong but

too weak

we are

half-hearted

creatures

fooling around

with drink and

sex and ambition

when infinite

joy is offered

us like an

ignorant child

who wants to

go on making

mud pies in a

slum because

he cannot

imagine what

is meant by

the offer of

a holiday at

the sea

we are far

too easily

pleased

friends

the vision

that God

has for us

to bless

us

is far

greater

than we

could ever

hope

by our

own

for a hundred

lifetimes

and he offers

it to us

this morning

let us see

Christ as a

source of

ultimate joy

and blessing

for he offers

it to us

this morning

let us pray

heavenly father

help us to be

real about

the type of

people we are

that lord

even the very

best of us

when it comes

to eternity

and to ridding

ourselves of

sin and shame

and guilt

we are as

good as a

lame beggar

but you are

in the business

of healing

lame beggars

so lord we

ask that you

would heal us

this morning

that you

would bring

to us

the realization

that our sins

are great

but that you

are greater

and that we

would repent

by your

help

by your

spirit

that we

would humble

ourselves

not so that

we would be

laid so low

never to get

up again

but so we

can know

true and

eternal blessing

and joy

for forever

starting right

now

lord help us

to be people

that glory

in the cross

we pray this

in christ's name

amen