Good morning, Family!
We are looking at Acts chapter 3 and some of chapter 4 this morning, in case that wasn’t abundantly clear by the reading of the Word which just happened. If you need some more time to open up your bibles, or turn on your phones, go ahead and do that now. We’ll be running through these verses shortly.
While you’re doing that, let me ask you a question, have you ever heard of the Butterfly Effect? Do you know what the Butterfly Effect is? And no, I don’t mean the 2004 movie thriller starring Ashton Kutcher.
“The butterfly effect refers to the [chaos theory] that [in a closed system] a tiny [action] can cascade and cause a colossal event down the line. It’s called the butterfly effect because the idea is that even a gentle butterfly flapping its wings can be enough to set up a chain reaction.”
“A minor change in weather patterns leading to a hurricane, a wrong turn causing someone to meet their life partner, a single political decision impacting a global economy, or a small error in a computer program causing a major system failure; essentially, any situation where a tiny initial change creates significant ripple effects over time.”
“How about Pope Julius II asking Michelangelo to design his tomb?
Michelangelo comes up with a massive design involving 40 statues. Julius II sees the design, realizes it would require more than a mere renovation of [his building site to] accommodate the tomb, decides to [tear down] the old and to erect a totally new St. Peter’s Basilica.
Funding of the new basilica leads to the selling of indulgences, which leads to Martin Luther opposing the selling of indulgences, which leads to the 95 Theses and the start of the Protestant Reformation.”
How seemingly tiny, unrelated, even perhaps insignificant events can have a global impact.
One moment, one act of obedience, one person saying ‘yes’ to God can change everything. With just a little faith, God can move mountains. Jesus told His disciples this in Matthew 17. He said, “for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you” (Matthew 17:20 NAS).
A little faith. A little obedience. A little trust can have mountain moving consequences.
In this section of Acts, we see how a little obedience from Peter and John led to a miracle of a single man that sparked a movement of thousands.
Which leads us to the question, what could God do with just a little bit of you? What can God do with just a little bit of faith?
Let’s take a look at the healing event.
Acts 3 starts off, “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service.”
The empowered witness of the apostles by the Spirit is going out, if you’ll remember, from Jerusalem, and then to all of Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the Earth. We’ll get to Judea and Samaria in a few short weeks, but for now we are still in Jerusalem, where the Jewish believers pray according to the tradition, three times per day. It was a time of prayer, and so in the fashion of the great commission, Peter and John are in their going. And in their going they were watered and well-fed, filled up and prepared to make disciples.
“2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple.”
This man was at one of the gates to the Temple–the gate called beautiful. Which is an interesting setting for this first miracle by the disciples in the book of Acts. It doesn’t take place in the Temple. There is a real possibility that this man was carried to the gate because he wouldn’t have been allowed into the temple. In Leviticus it says, “No man, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings of bread to his God” (Leviticus 21:17-18). And while this doesn’t necessarily restrict the man from entering the Temple, something seems to keep him at the gates.
But God’s Spirit isn’t restricted by gates.
God isn’t relegated to a house. The Hebrew word for Temple is just the word house. It’s the house of the Lord. But walls do not hold back the Creator of the universe.
This is an often repeated theme of Acts. The Spirit fell, as we talked about last week, not on a building, not on the Temple, not in a house, but onto His people. In Acts 7 we’ll see in Stephen’s defense him saying that “David, 46 who enjoyed God’s favor asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 49 “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? 50 Has not my hand made all these things?’” And again Paul will repeat in Acts 17, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,” (Acts 17:24).
This is happening outside the temple!!! Outside of the house of the Lord!!! We are now the temple!!! We are now the temple in which he is pleased to dwell (1 Corinthians 3:16).
God is moving in this place right now, not because it is a building, but because we are His temple and He is pleased to have His Spirit abide in us. God is ready to move in you.
The movement of the Spirit is confirming the witness of the Apostles.
And that’s what this healing story is all about. This miracle points upward. It points forward. It points inward. And it points outward.
This healing points upward.
We read, “9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.
12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this…
16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes” (Acts 3:9-13, 16).
His power is for His purpose. It all points to Him. This miracle is not about God proving that He has the power to put on a good magic show. This is the power of God confirming the Spirit of God in the lives of the people of God as they carry His message in their going to the ends of the Earth. That’s just one reason God does miracles. But it is one of the main ones.
“Miracles are a way to show that these guys are mine, I sent them, their message is something I want you to know.”
Hebrews 2:3-4 says, “3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
God bears witness, confirming the message of the Apostles so that we will listen and not escape from the blessing of the salvation of God. This miracle points upward, giving all power, all glory, all praise to God.
Giving all authority to Jesus. It points upward.
Later when the disciples were questioned about this particular miracle, in chapter 4, in front of the chief priests, “7 They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?” (Acts 4:7).
By what authority do you do this?
It’s a familiar question which Jesus is asked as well, “By what authority are you doing these things?” (Mark 11:28)
This is what it means to be a disciple. To follow in the footsteps of Jesus. That we would be covered in the dust of our Rabbi. Jesus is our teacher, our Rabbi. And this was a common blessing over the disciples of a Rabbi. That they would follow so closely to Jesus that they would be caked in his dust.
You know what it’s like driving behind another car on a dirt road on a nice, warm summer’s day. You have the windows down and then you’ve got to roll them up really quick. I don’t know why I’m pretending to drive a Toyota Tercel from 1992 that doesn’t have electric windows. But you can’t get the window up fast enough and now you have the gritty taste of sand in your mouth. You're going to find dirt in your ears and nose a week later.
This is the goal of discipleship. That we would walk so closely behind Jesus that we would be covered in His glory. As God passed over Moses and revealed to him His glory which was left behind. That we would be caked in God’s glory. That we would follow so closely that we would become more and more like Jesus.
That’s what it means to be a disciple. A disciple says what Jesus said. A disciple does what Jesus did. We follow in the footsteps of our Rabbi.
Wherever God sets your feet on Monday. Follow Jesus. You are on mission in the path God has laid before you. You know how I know God cares about the coworkers sitting next to you, the people in your neighborhood, the moms in your homeschool group? It’s because He has cared enough to place you there. May you be covered in the dust of Jesus as you engage with these people in the power of His Spirit.
Peter and John are questioned, “by what authority? What is this power?”
And Peter points upward once again, “10 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’” (Acts 4:10-11)
Faith rests on the person and the character of Jesus. It has nothing to do with the quality of the miracles. If you’ll notice, Christianity does not have a history of followers of Jesus who are always healed and never suffer. Quite the opposite actually. Christianity didn’t gain traction because people knew they would find comfort. It has always been centered on the person of the living God–Jesus. Faith rests on the person and the character of Jesus. It points upward.
This miracle points forward beyond itself to a future restoration.
Peter, seizing the opportunity of a captive audience, instructs them to, “19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” (Acts 3:19-21)
This miracle is not just about one guy who couldn’t walk, but (surprise) now he can. It’s pointing to something greater. It’s pointing forward to a future restoration where, in the end, God will make all things new.
Miraculous healing doesn’t just take place so that one person can prolong life and stave off sickness and death for a little longer. I mean it does, because God is a loving Father who lavishly pours out on His children from His abundance of love and compassion. He is a generous God and so He at times heals His people. But it’s not simply about that. It points forward to something greater.
John saw in his vision of eternity, “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:1-5, NIV).
Today, in Christ, we get to give the world a glimpse of what restoration will be like.
And this is true for times of healing.
We give the world a glimpse of what restoration is truly like.
And this is true in times of suffering.
As we suffer well, we give the world a glimpse of what is worth suffering for.
This healing points forward to a future restoration.
This miracle points inward.
It is a salvation story as much as it is a healing story. Let’s look at the one who was healed.
Are we not all broken beggars pushed outside of God’s presence by our own sinful pursuits? But we are brought in and filled up that joy may overflow. We are not all in need of physical healing at all times, but we certainly can all relate to a deep need for spiritual healing.
“Each day [this man] was put beside the Temple gate so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.”
He didn’t know who they were.
He wasn’t aware of what they could offer him. Just as the woman at the well wasn’t aware, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water” (John 4:10).
What do you want?
Put yourself in the shoes of this lame beggar, bankrupt before the living God.
What do you want from God? What is the desire of your heart?
We don’t always want what we desperately need.
Romans 8:26 tell us that “26 the Spirit helps in our weaknesses. For we do not [even] know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
We don’t even know what we want or need.
As when Jesus heals the paralytic who is carried on the mat by his friends, who dig through the ceiling and lower him at the feet of Jesus. They are expecting a physical healing but Jesus knows what the heart needs and proclaims confidently, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven" (Matthew 9:2–8, Mark 2:3–12, Luke 5:18–26).
Jesus saw the deeper need.
That, “as bad as suffering is, there’s something worse. As bad as suffering is, there’s something worse…
And as good as physical healing is, there is something better”.
What do you want from God?
This man received not only physical healing, but a greater gift that day. It is faith that healed so that Peter could offer defense that “12 there is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
It is by the name of Jesus that we receive something even better than simply good health, which will once again fade and give way to infirmity.
And the man “enters the temple walking and leaping with new life as he praises God.”
The interesting thing is that some of us get healed spiritually or even physically perhaps, but then we go right back to begging. We don’t rejoice in the praises of the Most High God. We don’t enter in. We just sit right back down at the gates looking for something else. What else can you give me God? What else have you got? Can I get a new job now? Can I catch a break here? Can I get ahead there? We moan and we complain and we forget to rejoice.
What are you wanting from God? Why are the prayers of God’s people so consumed with the health of family members rather than the spiritual destiny of the guy across the street? What are you wanting from God?
And are you rejoicing in what He has already given you? Have you cultivated a heart of thankfulness? This miracle points inward to our souls' deep need for salvation. That we who have been forgiven much would love in equal measure. (Luke 7:47)
And finally, this miracle points outward.
Let’s take a look at the healer, or at least the one through whom this healing took place.
Why was Peter so confident that this man could be healed? What gave him the impression that this could happen? Not too long ago he and the boys had failed to heal, they had failed to cast out a demon. “19 [They] came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive [the demon] out?” 20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith” (Matthew 17:19-20).
Where did this faith come from that he didn’t even feel the need to pray beforehand? He just commanded the man to stand up. Get up. Just days before, they were still waiting for the ability to fully carry out their mission - the power and purpose of the spirit to lead them.
Now, something had changed. Something was inwardly leading him and outwardly directing him, call it the spirit inside that initiated this bold command of faith. The Spirit fell with great purpose, the purpose and the power to move out.
The mission remains. When you are going about your business day in and day out the mission remains. The mission is still there. Jesus instructs us to go and in our going make disciples–wherever we are going.
Peter and John are headed to the Temple as was their daily practice, their daily routine. They were confronted with this man and they looked intently at him. Acts 3 says, “4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” 7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.” (Acts 3:4-7)
Notice that Peter didn’t give the man what he was asking for but that didn’t hold him back. Often, when I see a person begging on the side of the street, there’s almost always someone at the corner of Bamboo and Wilson Ridge, I think to myself, “ahh, I don’t have any money.”
And you know what, you can’t fix every problem out there. But you can open yourself to the possibility that God doesn’t need you to have exactly what someone else is asking for, for Him to use you for a greater purpose–for what the depth of their soul is crying for.
Peter and John were open and aware, looking for opportunities to operate under Jesus’ authority. They walked with their eyes and their hearts wide open.
We must take the time to notice. To notice those who are so often overlooked. Let us be different from the world around us. May we smile, extend kindness, and go out of our way to make those who fade into the background feel seen, valued, and respected. Jesus never failed to honor those who had been cast aside or ignored.
“God calls His children to a countercultural lifestyle of forgiveness in a world that demands an eye for an eye and worse.”
Peter notices. He looks intently. And he makes the all important statement, “What I have I give to you.”
What can you give?
What can you give for God?
What small step of obedience can you take today? Right now?
Last week we talked about devotion, that the disciples were devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to the breaking of bread, to the fellowship, and to prayer. They were obsessed with the word of God, with communing in the present risenness of Jesus, with prayer, and with the family of God as they belonged to a people moving together with great purpose.
What’s one small step you can make toward that right now? What small step of faithfulness can you make? Right it down. Put it somewhere you’ll see it everyday. On the lockscreen of your phone perhaps.
In the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 one boy gave of himself, just five loaves and two small fish. And Jesus did so much with that small step of faithfulness that there was more left over than what they started with.
Jesus tells us, “22 whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:22)
I know most of us probably really struggle with this verse. I do as well at times. Because when I’m asking for something good, something gospel-centered even, and I don’t see a yes from God, a part of me is left wondering, “Do I have faith at all? Do I not have faith?”
What am I supposed to do with that?
But there is a greater context to these verses of faith. When we come to God, we come in faith, believing He can answer. And He can. We have faith. But we also have faith, that He sees beyond our momentary wants and knows what will truly lead to our good. His wisdom is higher, His vision clearer, and His love deeper than we can comprehend. So even when His answer is different from what we hoped, we can trust…
We have faith in our asking and faith in our waiting, not that we should receive all that we desire and want, but that our Heavenly Father will give us all that we need, even when we don’t know what that is.
What could God do if we just had a little faith?
So, we’re going to respond now by singing “Faith,” by George Michael. Nooooo, I’m kidding. Could you imagine? You’ve gotta have faith, faith, faith.
What can God do if we give Him just a little bit of ourselves?
What move of God awaits one person’s simple yes? This miracle points upward, it points forward, it points inward, and it points outward. It teaches us to never underestimate the value of the one lame duck that everyone else has cast away–which is us. One small yes here led to thousands more believing in Jesus. It was the one, small flap of a butterfly wing which had wide-sweeping consequences beyond what could have been predicted.
Never underestimate your next step toward Jesus. Small or large.
All it takes is for you to faithfully walk in the authority and power of Jesus spirit in you to the result of one person saying yes, that’s all it takes as God shows up and moves mightily.
As we head toward Easter, we are now a mere 35 days away, I want to place this question even more specifically to what one person can you step out in faith and invite to our Easter gathering at Sky Ranch?
Who is your small step?
Imagine the impact if every one of us had just one person we prayed for and shared the gospel with. Who are you committing to pray for? Who will you invite to Easter? Who’s your one? I’ve asked you that before. When you think of someone far from God, who’s the first person who comes to mind? Is it a neighbor? Coworker? Who is it?
Imagine if every one of us here could answer that question with the name of a person. How would it change our community?
What I’ve done is purchased these plastic light bulbs. There are a lot of churches out there who have done this or are doing this. Passion City Church in Atlanta did it a number of years ago. The Village Church in Dallas is doing it right now. I’ve heard of it and seen it in many more. I want each of you to take one of these bulbs, put it somewhere you’ll see it everyday. In the cupholder of your car, by your toothbrush, on your desk. And when you see it, I want you to pray for that person. Pray for your one. I want you to pray and then I want you to invite. And then I want you to pray some more. And what typically happens is when that person is baptized that bulb is then added to a sort of marquee. And a lot of the time the person baptized will sign their bulb.
We want to ask for these small steps in our lives, our families, our church, we want to ask for these things for other people’s lives. And we want to ask for these things in faith, knowing that God has the power to do the impossible.
Try it out. Be faithful. Taste and see.
Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):
Summit Church - Sent: Acts Series
Christianity Today - What does faith like a mustard seed mean in Matthew 17:20
Retro Christianity - Proof of Paul's miracles a case of self-authenticating testimony
She Reads Truth - All creation will be restored
Glimpses of Jesus - noticing the unnoticed holding those we thought unholdable
Radical - calling out to God in faith Matthew 21:22
Got Questions - Ask and you shall receive
Phone: (828) 202-9143
Email: hello@mcboone.com