Sunday Sermon
sunday morning 8th Feb 2009
Acts 3: a miracle and a message.
Context:
We are still in the very early days of the church. As we saw last week the new converts were all getting along great. Learning, fellowshipping and praying. We were told in 2v43 that many miraculous signs were done by the apostles, in today’s passage we see one of them.
The apostles are leading the example in prayer, we find them here going to the afternoon Prayer Meeting.
Who would have thought that going to a PM could be such an exciting thing to do!
In fact they don’t even get to the PM. On the way God begins to work!
1) A Man is put in there way!
He was a sad figure of a man! A cripple from birth! Begged every day at the temple!
What kind of life did he have? Must have been hard to say the least.
But he did have people to look after him – he was carried to the gate by others!
Peter and John were his first customers of the day, they arrived at the same time he did.
The man took no time to settle down he just asked right out for alms, - means compassion, pity – not necessarily money.
Having been addressed Peter and John pay the man his first mercy of the day, they look at him! (easy to look away from beggars!)
So the man looks at them – obviously he had looked away, perhaps ashamed / embarrassed.
Also we know the man was well known v10, everyone recognised him.
At this point the disciples must have sensed a gospel opportunity!
Remember many signs were being performed – miracles galore!
This man presented an obvious opportunity for the power of God to be displayed.
App:
We need to be sensitive to the Spirits leading and guiding.
Look out for people that the Lord may be putting in your way.
2) The healing v6-8, 16.
The healing seems straight forward.
Peter, speaking in the Name of Jesus, that is in the power and authority of Jesus, commands the man to walk! So the man gets up and is healed and then praises God.
Using a person’s ‘name’ in Hebrew thought was more than just identification.
The name expressed the whole character and power of the person!
V16 explains how it worked.
The man was healed by “faith in the name of Jesus”.
The disciples believed in Jesus – he was the object of their faith and the source of their faith.
App:
All our work as the Church of God on earth is to be done in “the Name of Christ”.
That is we are to work in His power, for his glory.
The name is not magical, it is not an incantation.
Rather working in the “Name” refers to a certain lifestyle / way of working.
That is we work reliant upon God, we are dependant people, we live trusting him!
- This is shown mainly through our prayer life!
3) then there is the response to all this:
a) the people.
The people are taken aback! V10 they are absolutely astonished!
What an amazing thing they have seen, and they begin to run to find out more v11!
App:
Signs are pointers to something else. The healing was a pointer to Jesus Christ.
We don’t live in a day of signs and wonders in the same way today.
But all that we do is to be done in such a way that it points to Jesus.
Our lives are the signs God has left in the world today!
We are the salt and light of the world!
But how are we to respond when people do come to us and ask questions? -
b) Peter – he preaches: he explains what has happened! V12-26
1) Peter’s first point is basically to preach the gospel and say, why are you so amazed, this is the work of Jesus!
Jesus is the one God sent, whom you killed but whom God raised from the dead! V13-16
· His first point is basically to tell the Gospel!
App: the gospel is news about what God has done! It is good news because it is what God has done! Not about what we have done.
2) then he goes onto say, v17-23, you acted in ignorance so repent and believe in Jesus or you will be completely lost. He is allowing for mitigating circumstances.
· Having explained what God has done he calls for a decision!
App: God has done something and you need to respond!
3) he then finishes off by saying that they are living in the days of prophetic fulfilment and they have an opportunity to be saved now v24-26.
App: “Now is the day of salvation” – 2Cor6v2
· Finally note the vision of Jesus that the early church was filled with.
The application is that we need to be so Christ focused that we give him all the glory in our lives! The challenge is do we know Christ enough to give him the glory?
Look at the names Peter used to describe Jesus here,
V13 – Servant Jesus
V14 – the Holy and Righteous / Just One
V15 – the Author / Prince of life. That is the originator of life.
V16 – Jesus, calling for trust in Jesus! Jesus the man whom they all knew or knew about.
V18 – the Christ.
The early Church was filled with a vision of Christ that enable it to do all that it did – evangelise the known world, overcome persecution, be killed etc
All because of its vision of the greatness and glory of its Saviour.
Unless we get back to that we will be forever lost!
sunday evening 8th Feb 2009
Rom 8v12-17
Last week we saw that the believer is the temple of God.
Indwelt by the Holy Spirit and thus having a new dynamic of life within. Further because there is this new life within, the body also will be made new at the final resurrection.
So the Christian is someone who is indwelt by the Spirit, having a new life and looking forward to bodily resurrection. We saw all that in v9-11.
With these great facts in place Paul is able to move forward into some application.
1) we are obliged to work out our salvation v12-14
V12-14 we are obliged, we are debtors!
Because God dwells in us and owns us we are obligated!
· Paul as an apostle was obligated, called, duty bound, to preach the Gospel to Jew and Gentile - Rom1v14.
What are we obligated to?
Negatively first, it is not to the flesh! Not to the sinful nature!
We owe the sinful nature nothing! The flesh has no rights over us. Cannot demand anything. We are free from the demands of life according to the sinful nature. Why? Because the sinful nature is dead. We are now occupied by God, he owns us and is in control of us.
If we do live according to the sinful nature we will die!
Note this is not talking about a sinful relapse, not about the sin that we fall into as believers.
But about a “life” of sin. “live according to the flesh”v13 is speaking of our habitual practice.
We do not need to live that way. We are no longer obliged to follow that life!
Rather we have a new Spirit led life, and we seek to kill the sinful nature.
The result of doing that is life, not death! Why? V14
Because if we are led by the Spirit we are children of God! And thus we will not die!
Only those who are led by the Spirit can actually put to death the sinful nature.
The sinful deeds of the body, or the misdeeds of the sinful nature are not overcome by simple human effort! Rather it takes the work of God.
As the Spirit leads and as we follow that leading we put to death the sinful nature.
App:
As bible believers we are sure that Gods calling and election cannot be revoked.
As bible believers we are equally sure that we need to work out our own salvation.
Where do the two points come together? In Christ! We look to him and see all that he has done for our salvation and thus respond in love and service.
Question: When will be the time to judge how well we have done?
Never in this life! Only at the end will we know how we have ‘performed’!
Question: how does the Spirit lead? In many ways but ultimately through scripture. Our responsibility is to read the bible, to be steeped in it, meditate upon it, study it.
2) As we work out our obligation certain benefits follow v15-17
· Adoption making us fearless:
V15 as sons of God we do not need to be afraid. By the Spirit we call on God, Abba Father.
Following our obligation requires that we fearlessly call on our Father in heaven.
For it is only through fellowship with God as our Father that we can work out our salvation.
And what a privilege this is! Not slave, not employees, not even close friends but sons and daughters.
So the Christian need not be afraid! We have nothing to fear, God is our Father. Ps27!
Assurance giving us confidence:
V16 we have the inner testimony of the Spirit. He tells us we are Gods children.
As we call out to God as our Father the Spirit witnesses within our spirits that we are children of God.
This is subjective to the individual believer, but it cannot be picked up and used in isolation.
The inner testimony flows in line with working out our obligation, being led by the Spirit and calling on the Father in prayer. As we so live we will gain and internal assurance of salvation.
The danger is that we wait for an assurance before we work, whereas we should do the opposite – work until we gain an assurance!
Inheritance making worry unnecessary:
V17 as children we are heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ, shares in suffering and glory.
Just as assurance flows from adoption so does inheritance.
The word of this verse is almost too much to take!
It reveals to us the complete, unreserved, lavish, prodigal nature of Gods giving!!!
Children are of course heir of their parents. Nonetheless with Gods children.
We are heirs of God and co-heir with Christ. All the treasures that are Christ’s are our too!
· But the blessing is slightly tempered by a condition.
We will share in the glory only if we share in the suffering!
Yet this is not really a condition, for as Paul goes onto say the suffering is really nothing in comparison to the glory!
App
All this should draw out of us a greater love for Christ.
We have Adoption, Assurance and Inheritance because of Him.
We can live fearlessly, confidently and without worry because of Him.
