Our reading today is from Acts chapter three. We'll be reading the first 16 verses and thinking on one of many displays of the Lord's grace, his power in rescuing people from the effects of the curse. sin, death, and a fallen condition, life of vanity under the sun. And this man, among many others, knew some of that grief and trouble, and the Lord rescued him, showed his grace and mercy. And we read that account today and consider the Lord as we do. Let's first pray and ask for the Lord's blessing on his word, and then we'll read and hear the Lord's word. Father, we are grateful that you've preserved your word. Throughout all the generations of your people, you've spoken to them. You've reminded them of promises. You've given them laws and commands to keep. And in all of these, you've set forth the hope of the gospel, that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God coming from heaven, would be that savior for his people. And all who are afflicted and needy and affected by the curse and saw their own sin would look in faith and hope and love to Him. And now that we look back on all that He has fulfilled in His coming first among men, and with the hope of His coming again to judge the world, Lord, we look with special interest to know Him as our Lord and Savior, to be taught of God, to have our hearts strengthened in grace, that we may walk with this very joy that we sang in the song, that we're forgiven people through faith in Christ. We are disciples who are to follow with his yoke upon us, which is easy, which is no heavy burden, but whose commands are light and clear in the way that we should go. And we ask that you'd renew our strength to walk in him and for his sake, And as we consider this word read, that you'd bless the preaching of it to our hearts and our minds, and make for us to truly stand in awe of the Lord our God. Bless your word, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. Mille Lacs chapter three, verse 16, verses, this is God's word. Now, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, which would be three in the afternoon, the hour of prayer. And a certain man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. And when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. And Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze upon him and said, Look at us. And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I do not possess silver and gold, but what I have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, walk. And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened, and with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk. And he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the beautiful gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened. And while he was clinging to Peter and John, All the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered up and disowned in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release Him. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. but put to death the prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in his name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man, whom you see and know. And the faith which comes through him, that is Jesus, has given him, the man, this perfect health in the presence of you all. And so we'll go that far in the reading of God's word. May he bless it to us as we consider it today. Sometimes people undergo sudden changes. God has sudden changes for people. One goes from happy to sad, and another goes from sad to happy. Another goes from rags to riches, and yet another goes from riches to rags. One will be wonderfully healthy one day, and by the end of the week, very ill. And likewise, the other direction, one may be very ill one day and quickly, to one surprise, become healthy once again. God has it so that sudden changes may be brought to a person. It may be by his own doing, that is, that person's doing. It may be by God's inexplicable providence. It may be because of someone else than a person or the Lord using that person, but it may come to our senses as though someone else is behind that sudden change. But all of which are in the Lord's hands. Psalm 31, my times are in your hands. And so whatever the sudden change that may take us, It doesn't come as a surprise to the Lord, but that sudden change is from the Lord. In our passage today, we meet such a man who had a sudden change. He went from lame to leaping, and it only took a moment for that change to happen. Now, when we say that he was lame, we don't mean lame as the way the word is commonly used today. This man was lame, but not because he was inept or substandard or lackluster. This man was lame because he could not walk. From birth, we're told at verse two, that this man was lame. In other words, his legs did not work. His legs never worked in all his life. Now the story is an amazing and a surprising story. It should strike us with some astonishment even and interest as it did the people when it happened. And so don't come to the Word of God today as though it's just another story. Come today as if you were there gathered in the portico of Solomon at the beautiful gate, going about your business, and suddenly this change happens. Don't be about the routine and the perfunctory things of a Lord's Day that we can so easily slip into, even as sincere believers. but be struck with the hand of God, that he is gracious in his power, and he is powerful in his grace." What should strike us about this story of a man who went in the sudden change from lame to leaping? What should we take note of in the whole wow of the moment? Well, there are three points that stand out to me as I think upon this passage. The first is the man's situation. That's an obvious starting place, the man's situation. The second one is the apostle's ministry, which interacts with that man's situation. And then thirdly, there is the Lord's name. which is what stands supreme in all of this that Peter and John called attention to. So there's the man's situation, the apostle's ministry, and then the Lord's name. That's what we should note in this sudden change from lame to leaping. Verses one through five speak of the man's situation. As I said at verse two, the man was born lame. Some people have conditions that the Lord in his providence, and not explaining to us why, some have disabilities. They're handicapped. Certain parts of their body don't develop. And in no way are they abnormal when it comes to being a full human being, but God has given them in some way a disadvantage compared to others. And yet in other ways, such people, because they're often given a trial and an affliction from the beginning of their days, they often are very remarkable people in some other way. And so we should never look down on people as though they're not a full person. God regards all people as made in His image. This man's disability was that he was lame. What it must have been from his earliest days to never have his mother's applause or his father's for his first steps, or to walk hand in hand with his parents in some meadow or on a trail. to never run with any siblings or friends that he had. How sad to depend on others for where you're going in life. You had to be carried to and fro everywhere that this man went. That's unfortunate for any person, any child, and yet how more difficult for this man now as an adult. It's somewhat easy to lift a child. It's hard to lift an adult. Dead weight is heavy weight. And it says here in the passage that they carried him. Is it one or two? Maybe three? at least two. The weight, the burden of carrying this man, the stress that's involved in it, did this man himself wonder if he might be dropped along the way or injured further because of having to be carried. This is a situation of stress for all. Perhaps this temperament was otherwise naturally but he was likely struck with a sense of his misery. This is a miserable place in which this man is, having to be taken daily to the temple, probably by friends or relatives, to beg alms only reinforced the misery of his situation. like gray clouds every day in his weather pattern. The gate at which he was laid down was the beautiful gate. But it doesn't seem for this man there was really anything beautiful about his situation. Immobile as to his legs, immovable as to his situation. The only way he could move figuratively was by the alms that he received. He was dependent on other people's mercy. The need for mercy is a huge misery. And we look at this man and we say, what a pitiable condition I feel for the man. Well, take note of your own condition spiritually. You and I are like the man. Our situation is helpless. We have nothing to commend to God. If God has anything good about our lives, He must bring it to us. We can't attain to any goodness before God. We are immobilized because of sin. We're still, we can go nowhere. All of our efforts are futile. He's an apt illustration for the plight of every sinner, disabled as to walking in God's ways, never able to move himself or remove himself from his plight. He's able only to receive what God graciously gives to him if God is inclined to do it. Like this man, people may help us outwardly, They may give us time, they may give us money, they may give us service, they may say prayers for us, but all of that is nothing if God doesn't incline Himself and truly rescue us. That is our situation as sinners before God. This lame man illustrates the effect of sin upon us and our need before God. We might ask, what really was the man's heart? Peter's words at verse four say much. He says, look at us. Look at us. Why? Why? What is in that appeal? Was it that the man was too ashamed to look at people as they were putting money into his can or on his mat or there at his side? Was it that the man was ashamed, that he was too embarrassed of looking people in the eye who provided his needs. Had he done this many times and yet here he is over many years still in disgrace? Or was it that the man was discouraged by others' religiosity, people passing him, going to and fro through the gate, walking through the portico of Solomon, going on to their religious activities, and yet they didn't give anything or they gave little Was it that he was embittered over people's hypocrisy going in and out? Worship they gave to God, but no alms to him, which as Jesus taught, is a mark of true religion. Was he disgusted that he couldn't look at people? Was he just upset with everybody, even God? Was it that he had given up hope? Few, if any, regard him. Few, if any, help him. Could it be that no one seemed to care? Nobody seemed to care. Was he perhaps no longer expecting alms? Was he thinking, maybe this'll be my last day and I'll just expire altogether? Or was it that the man, in some sense, seeing all this possibly about others, was knowing in his heart that he was selfish in himself? Was he selfish? You'd say, such a man being selfish? Such a man in such dire need? Well, there are many people that take from others, and they could be productive, even in their limited ways. And was this man not using his hands as he could? And although he couldn't use his legs, maybe he had a good voice and he could sing, and maybe he could bless other people. Or maybe he had some skill that he was a great poet or a great writer, or he could write letters to friends, and yet he didn't do that. Was he like some people who love the handout, but don't even use what they can use of themselves for the bettering of other people? Was it that this man was selfish, a life-absorbed, self-absorbed life, always receiving alms and charity, and yet never even giving back a small percentage of what he had been given? Maybe it's all of this rolled up together, but Peter says, look at us. Look at us. Not just one of us, look at us. Was he looking at the people that were there to help him? Maybe putting money in? Or was it Peter saying, look at John and me? Well, the apostles' message is basically that people are to look at the apostles in their situation. They're to look to Christ in a fallen, broken, burdens situation. The apostle's message and outlook on life was quite different toward this man. Something was to be offered to this man that this man had to give attention to it. He couldn't be passive about it. He had to engage himself and rise to the occasion of at least giving attention to what was being spoken to him. The person that was addressing him, look at us. What does Peter do and say to him with John at his side, but to stare at us? Look at us. Sir, you have eyes. Your legs are lame, but you have eyes, and use those eyes to look at us. He demands an attention for gospel reasons. Like many today, getting his handouts, getting his help, these things got him nowhere. None of these other things, these ministries, these alms and all these things rescued him from his plight. So this word, this command is given, look at us. The fallen condition of any person is such that you need to look beyond mere men and women. You need to look to somebody who brings you a message from God. You need to hear what God says to you. There are all kinds of people that just continue on in a broken way of life, and they get this from some, and they get kind words from some, but it's the word of God, spoken as God means it to be spoken, that comes to be that saving help for man's situation. That's what this man needs to clue into. That's what many people, perhaps in churches today, need to really pay attention to. It's nothing on stage. It's nothing of the theatrics. It's nothing of the feel-good, sensory, sensual things that are happening in churches today. It's the Word of God and the means of grace that God has appointed for making helpless people holy having been humbled and then happy in the Lord. That's what this man's need is. And so his situation is met with, look at us. Does he even have the capacity to receive it? Well, he's got eyes and he can look. Verse five, he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Maybe it's money. But maybe this has piqued his attention that it's something else, something more. The lame man looked at the apostles, as many do when the apostles speak and the message is given. He's not thinking spiritual. He's thinking superficially. But God uses this so that Peter, when those eyes lock on Peter, he says, I have nothing in possession like silver and gold. I have nothing to give you, but one thing I do that will make you a poor, immobilized man, be a man that's rich and mobilized again, is Jesus Christ. Look at us at verse six. I do not possess silver and gold, but what I have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, Walk. No money, no handout, nothing but Christ alone. I wonder what you would do as a person whose legs don't work and yet God says to you, look at us and in the name of Jesus Christ, walk. Right there is the moment of truth. Will man's situation be met with grace in such a powerful way that the unthinkable, that which is impossible with man, would become impossible or possible with God that he get up and walk? We hear of people that allegedly do that at all sorts of healing services. And you saw that these people, they knew how to walk. They were just with great difficulty. And in many ways, they're helped and propped up by the people in those services. And then they go back to their condition. This man is faced with, am I going to walk when the command comes and says, walk? Will I trust in the Lord for what is spoken to me? Well, that's where this man's faith needs to be shown. And so this man's situation, we go to a second point with the apostles' ministry. This man was told to walk, but Peter reaches out his hand. And you see it there. Seizing him, verse seven, by the right hand, he raised him up and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. And with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk." You see, the apostles' ministry here was to speak and to set forth their hand. And this man had to take it. He had to accept what the apostles were offering. No silver or gold, the name of Jesus in God's means for that man, Peter's right hand. He grabbed a hold of it. And right there, he was lifted up and strength came into his ankles. Maybe they were deformed after years of inactivity, but there was power at work. in the word of God spoken, that this man with Peter stood upright. Peter seized his right hand and pulled him up. As one says, the power was Christ's, but the hand was Peter's. They both go together. The man's ankles and feet were strengthened. The man surprisingly leaps and rises up. and starts to walk. Notice the order there. Peter's not helping him and saying, steady here, wait a minute, let's not go too fast. You haven't used these ankles ever. This is all gonna be new to you, sir. Just hold on. We'll get you up little by little. No, there was power that came into this ankle and feet of this man. such that he, with a new power and a new mind that he had never worked before, stood up and then leaped and walked. The way the man instantly regained strength in his feet and ankles and leapt upright, standing into position, is exactly how the gospel works. There is new power. that comes where there is no power. And you are able to do the things you could never dream of doing. It's like Lazarus coming forth from the dead. The power of God in the words spoken and receiving that by faith and putting out your hand to receive what God offers. God strengthens the ankles and the feet and you leap up and then you walk. That's the order. He literally, according to the tenses, leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He wasn't helped up. The scripture is clear that he leapt. Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. Peter is just there as the means. It's like Jesus reaching out and touching those whom he healed. This was the apostles' ministry, to speak the word and do their miracles. Christ being the one who is saving and rescuing. We have a wonderful picture here of the Lord's mercy to sinners. That whoever is dead in trespasses and sins, whoever is impotent in spirit, who is immovable and can do nothing of himself, God gives that power through faith. That's the apostles' ministry. That's what the preaching of the gospel sets forth and God uses to make those who are not upright be upright in heart and stand for Jesus Christ. Now, it's not necessarily God's will that you will be healed of certain deformities or disabilities. or such things in this life. We wish it would be so. God has done many things throughout history in bringing people miraculously to be well again, but some have the calling to keep that affliction for the sake of God. The physical miseries of this life are a real thing, but God heals the soul, and that's most of all proper. for God in this life to tend to, because for those who believe and have a new heart in the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll have a new body in eternity. And what good is it to have a body that works perfectly if you have a soul that's still left without grace in Christ? And so although we suffer and we may wish, I wish I could leap. I wish I wasn't lame. Well, God may in this life do a sudden change and a surprising thing, but it is a call for us to, in faith, be those who persevere for the Lord's hand, to be reached out when He's pleased to reach it out, whether in this life or at the day of eternity, with a new body, with a new power. But the lame man does give us hope under the apostles' ministry to endure our trials, and to look to Christ. Now think about that. All of you with whatever afflictions, trials, health conditions that maybe you've had for years upon years, even some perhaps like this man since your mother's womb. This man looked to other people without fail for all the years of his life. We don't know his age. But he awoke each day and was taken by other people to look at other people and receive whatever help, whatever sustenance those gave him. That was good for him for all those years. Should it not also be good for you who believe, that have afflictions, have sore trials in life, Things that you've been praying for for years, that like Paul with his thorn in the flesh, which may well have been his eye condition, that you've said, Lord, take away this condition. And he asked three times. The Lord said, enough of this. The answer is no, it is not yet. I've answered, you must accept that. This man, for all these years, looked to other people in the hope of getting well. Can you not, should you not, as a believer in Christ, with all of your troubles, physical, mental, all the condition, everything about your life and body, should you not also look to Christ the remainder of your days? It's only a matter of time before the Lord is gracious to you, and He lifts whatever burdens, disabilities, health conditions, and trials, and takes them away once and forever, that in the very power applied to this man, on the day that your soul departs from your body, and on that other day when it's reunited at the resurrection with that now utterly perfect body, clear of all infirmities and effects of the curse, to as happy friends together, body and soul, walk into, leap into, lands of everlasting life. Can you not do that, believer? Can you not persevere? You may have other people in this man's situation take you on your rug to the beautiful gate outside the portico of Solomon. Can you not go to work? Can you not do the tasks in the kitchen? Can you not go about the pain and the frustration of life knowing that your day is coming? You can do that. You can do all things. You're Christ who strengthens you. And so this man going from lame to leaping is a portrait of the apostle's ministry that this is what God has in store for you. It's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. The lame man urges us then to walk strong in Christ's grace. Like a sinner like you and me, God made him well again. He leapt up, stood on his feet, and began to walk, and went forward. The man urges us to walk in Christ. He walked with the apostles into the portico of Solomon's temple, and he's there in the temple praising God, and all these people are coming around him amazed. Believer, walk with Christ. Walk with Peter and John. Walk with the scriptures every day. Hang on the words that God means for you to hear in the scriptures. Peter and John have left you that for that very reason, that walking with them, you might be strengthened to keep walking by the faith in which you were saved. Keep walking. That's why Paul said to the Hebrews in chapter 12, verse 14, that we're to strengthen the hands that hang down and those knees that are feeble. We're to consider one another and call each other to pursue holiness in the fear of God. Why can we do that? Because Christ has made us able to walk again. We can walk with Jesus Christ. We strengthen each other. And as that man walking with Christ, I don't think that he was hanging on to them. No, he was leaping. He was walking, but it was in that company. He was made well, and there he will be kept well. But you notice that healed, man went to worship. He literally leapt up, stood up, started walking, and went to worship. God put him right there so that his thanks would be shared by many, a whole throng of people he could meet and go and sing his praises in the temple of God. God has done anything well for you. You owe him thanks. It's a ready thing. God makes it literally right there so that he will get the praise. The power came from God. The grace was God's. All the thanks and the praise go back to God. And so what does he do? But he goes and he starts praising God. You can see this man, people recognize this, wait a minute, that's the guy that was at the beautiful gate. We know this guy. He sits there every day. No, that's not him, it's gotta be somebody else. No, really, it is. Go to the portico of Solomon. In fact, if you listen, you can hear him over there. He's praising God, he's yelling, he's leaping. Wow. God has done a great thing. People join in together. He sings his praise among the righteous. And you can picture discouraged people there saying, wait a minute, I want to get healed. I want to go thank God for the mercies I don't thank him for anymore. You see, what God does, he does a work of wonder so that he will get the praise, and it's like a vacuum that's happening. He draws it all together for his praise. That's the goal of the apostles' ministry. that people would be prepared to reach out as God offers grace. Pay attention and look at what God is saying. Take it in and respond in faith to what God commands and offers us. Repent and believe. Walk with Jesus Christ. The apostles' ministry shows us this. But thirdly then, of course, it's for the Lord's name. The people were puzzled by all of this. They were looking at the man. Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this as though just a phenomenon that happened? Some people were amazed just in the whole bear situation that this lame man is now leaping. Others, why do you gaze at us? Peter and John, as if we've done some kind of thing. Later on, people will look at them and say that they're gods that have come down from heaven. Peter's saying, why are you looking at us as if by our own power or our own piety we made him well? No, this is about the Lord's name. It's not about us. But you notice how Peter approaches this. He takes the opportunity and says, yeah, God did this great thing, but all you people are utterly unworthy of it. God hasn't just blessed this lame man. He's let this happen as yet a second chance, as it were, that you who disowned the Lord Jesus, who just did this miracle for this man, you disowned him. You had him crucified, even though Pilate washed his hands and said, look, we're not proceeding with this. I don't find any guilt. You guys, as this mob, said, no, you must crucify him. Because if you don't crucify him, Pilate, you're no friend of Caesar. And then you're going to be in trouble. Peter said, you guys don't deserve what this man received. It's by the name of Jesus, this man is healed. And he's not only been crucified because of you, God had mercy and he raised him from the dead. He showed his power in Christ and this same one is offering you terms of mercy. Here's another offer of the gospel. This man looked at us, And He took our hand and He leapt up. And all of you people that are amazed at this, what are you going to do now? Will you believe on Jesus Christ? And will you have this grace that God offers you for your condition and your situation? Peter preached the name of the Lord. He said this name is, this is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers. This is, verse 14, the Holy and Righteous One. This is, verse 15, the Prince of Life. And as he says, verse 16, on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man and made him in perfect health in the presence of y'all. It's the name of Jesus, the name of Jesus. There is no other name given to men under heaven by which we must be saved. There is no other name in which your plight before God can be remedied. It's the Lord's name or it's no name. And so what today would you look to, whether it's body and especially soul, where you'll look to Jesus Christ as the name that is above all other names. It's amazing that people here had a problem with what was going on and couldn't fathom the implications of this name. And it's almost as though they're saying to Peter, hey, wait a minute, by what authority are you doing this? What gives you the right to think that you can do these kinds of things? Well, Jesus faced that, by what authority? This is almost like when, say, the ACWA, O-C-W-A, Onondaga County Water Authority, comes onto your property, or you see him go to your neighbor's property, or you see National Grid, some guy show up in a vest, and he's looking at the house, and looking at a fire hydrant, or looking at a meter on a side, and you say, hey, what are you doing? That's not your house. Well, he has a right to be there, to service the water authority or the power or whatnot. The apostles have a right to preach the word of God. They have a right to extend their hand. They have a right to tell the people, you're out of line. You must believe on the name of Jesus Christ and find no fault with Jesus anymore. You must look to this name if you are to be saved. It's amazing that there are many people that want to be healed and want to be made well again, but don't submit themselves to the name of Jesus. They want to hand out, but they don't take the hand that God offers to them. That's the apostles ministry and it's the Lord's name. Just think about this then. What is it that you can do in the name of the Lord? Remember Psalm 118 and how powerful this name of God is for those who believe. This is David's psalm where he says, All nations surrounded me. In the name of the Lord, I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me. Yes, they surrounded me. In the name of the Lord, I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me like bees. They were extinguished as a fire of thorns. In the name of the Lord, I will surely cut them off. You have the Lord's name. If you stand in the name of Jesus Christ, you can keep all the commands that God would tell you to keep. In the name of Jesus, the Nazarene, I say to you, walk. That's the way it is in the name of Jesus Christ. You can do all things who strengthen you. I've given you a little power, he says in the revelation. We have a new power that having made us leap up keeps us to walk. Live in the Lord's worship and for his praise. What do you think of the name of Jesus? What do you think of it? Can you walk in that name? Can you obey God in that name? Can you praise God in that name? Can you ask forgiveness of sins in that name? If you pray in that name, would God hear you? You see, there's nothing magical. This is no mantra or chant where you just say the name of Jesus. No, it's by in faith, holding Jesus as everything you have and are, and the only ground on which you stand with God. You can do all things in that name that God means for you to have and do for your life. You can even endure as the Lord would call you to endure. So we've seen the man's situation, we've seen the apostle's ministry in the Lord's name. What effect does this have on you? Is there some sudden change that the Lord may indeed bring into your life because of faith in the name of Jesus Christ? I will leave that with you to take up with God. But the answer is indeed. And it's now to see how the Lord will bless this to you as you go trusting in the name of Jesus the Christ. Let us pray together. Oh Lord, our God, we marvel and how you changed this man and made him well. And Lord, it is a useful portrait for us to see the power of the gospel in the lives of the miserable, those who need mercy like ourselves. Thank you that you are merciful and you show mercy. You delight in showing mercy. Lord, your mercy will endure forever. Your mercies are new every morning. and for us today in various ways. Open our eyes that we might give our attention and fix them on the Lord Jesus speaking to us in the gospel. And we pray that you would enlighten our eyes to see the truth and walk in the ways that you call us to with leaping strength. and all to be about your worship and joy in the Holy Spirit. Give increase of grace to us in view of what we've heard this day and what we ask for now. Help us to see that there is no obstacle, there is no ordeal that is too much for us to handle in the Lord's name. And so be our help, we pray, and our saving rescue. In Jesus' name we ask, amen.