Please turn with me to the book of Acts. Today we're going to study Acts chapter 3, verses 1 through 10. Acts 3 verses 1 through 10. Let's hear God's word. 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. 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 right 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. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for Your Word. We are Your people. We belong to You. So, we need your guidance and directions. Please, Lord, teach us how to stand before you, following your Son, forsaking our own sinful nature. Please, Lord, have mercy upon us and speak to us that we may be able to respond to you in adoration, in our thanking heart. We pray in the name of Christ. Amen. Please be seated. First of all, thank you so much for inviting me to your pulpit. And I do believe it is my third time to preach here. So I can recognize some of you here, but also some of you I don't think I've met so far. Again, it is my privilege and honor to share God's word or gospel with you, God's people. Let's study together. When I entered this church building this morning, I didn't see any person asking for money. And obviously, I don't think there was anyone asking for money. But hypothetically, when you were entering this building, after you parked, and there was someone saying, please help me. I need some help. and we who have studied the bible would have wanted to say we don't have any silver and gold right then the beggar would have said i'm not asking for silver or gold your cash that's what i need or even your credit card probably he would have put some guilt trip on us right what would you have done Here, like the illustration, we find a beggar asking for money he was born that way so he is in his 40s in a later passage of chapter 4 verse 22 specifies that he is older than 40 so he is in his 40s and we don't know exactly but probably his friends or family members every day brought him to the temple to work to make some money So very pathetic in a sense, right? He cannot get a job. And in those days, they didn't have any good system or government system to help people who are disabled. But here, a person who is in his 40s, I assume that he has never married. It's a single man. He has to depend upon his friends or neighbors to bring him to his own workplace. Very helpless, right? And even very hopeless. He doesn't know how long he's gonna live. He's in danger many times. He's in trouble. many times as well. What good things are stored up in the future for him, right? Very pathetic, helpless, hopeless picture we are observing from the very beginning. But dear brothers and sisters, I want you to know that we are no different than this lame beggar. From God's perspective, we are helpless. We are hopeless apart from the precious gospel. So we should be able to see ourselves in this character, the lame beggar. Spiritually, we are born lame, and it's not curable apart from Jesus Christ. So, as we all know, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the New Testament believers. About 120 believers, including the apostles, were praying hard, having fellowship with one another, remembering the promise of the Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm going to send you the promised Spirit. He will reveal all that I have taught you so far, and He will make manifest what my Father wants you to do, and what I want to teach you continually. And on the day of Pentecost, mightily, powerfully, the Spirit was poured out upon the believers. And He was sent by our precious Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we sometimes call the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Christ as well. Many people, thousands of people were converted. And they felt that they were not deserving any of God's mercy. They were doomed to eternal damnation. And Peter, or the other apostles too, delivered the gospel to them. Having heard the sermon of Peter, the first sermon of the New Testament time, they were converted, and beautiful community was formed. They devoted themselves to the preaching of the gospel, the teachings of the apostles, and they also devoted themselves to the sacraments, the baptism, the Lord's Supper, and also prayer. And they loved one another. And God grew them in spirit and in number as well. We do not exactly know how long it has passed. There is a gap, time gap, between chapter 2 and chapter 3. But we speculate that most likely it was like maybe one month, two months, or maybe three months. So not long after the birth of the New Testament church, we find this miracle. place of the Old Testament church building per se, the temple. Right there, we find that people go there to pray. Traditionally, they would go to the temple three times a day, 9 a.m., noon, and at 3 p.m. So we do not exactly know why the apostles and the New Testament believers went there very faithfully. But we can say for sure that they did not participate in the animal sacrifice. Rather, they went there to deliver the true gospel. They wanted to let them know, the others know, what Christ has done for them. He died for our sins. That's why I do believe they went there. At this beautiful gate, now we find the beggar. The timing is very interesting so we need to pay attention to the context or the timing of this event. Let's remember that it was not the first re-encounter of the apostles to see this beggar. They went there every day. Not only the apostles who went there every day, but also the New Testament believers who went there as well. As we read in our passage, the beggar was carried to the temple also every day. In other words, so far, the apostles, none of them wanted to heal this beggar. We do not know exactly if they even gave the beggar some money or not. We do not have to even speculate. But the only thing that we know is that the apostles have not attempted to heal this beggar. He cried out every day, please help me, look at me, how pathetic I am. Apart from your help, how can I survive? But dear brothers and sisters, therefore let's remember that the ministry of the apostles was not independent of the directions or guidance of the Holy Spirit. They were not autonomous in terms of performing any miracles. For example, even the Apostle Paul, who was not there at that time, he could not cure his own thorn in the flesh. He could cure many other people, but he himself could not heal himself because it was not the will of God to heal him. So here we find that therefore, for whatever reasons, the Holy Spirit has delayed this healing, the healing of this beggar. Finally, the time has come that the lame beggar has to be healed. Peter and John both felt the spiritual prompting or spiritual guidance at the same time. As usual, they were going to just go to the temple to pray. Even though they were hearing the crying sound of the beggar, but suddenly they felt that God is now. He wants to heal this beggar. They stopped immediately. And now they are looking at the beggar. So, here is what they're saying. Peter and John. Verse 4. Peter directed his gaze at him as did John. Both. So, the both apostles felt the same thing. They received the same message from the Holy Spirit. And they said, look at us. And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." They're saying, look at us. Look at us. Pay attention to us. pay attention to us, not necessarily they really need to have the beggar's attention to him per se. Because they were keenly aware of the fact that the Holy Spirit indwelt in them. For example, right now, I can say to you, dear brothers and sisters, don't fall asleep. Pay attention to me. Not necessarily I want your attention so that my own words can be heard to you. No, no, no, no. The reason I want you to pay attention to me is because I know that the Holy Spirit wants you to listen to this preached Word of God. Just like that. The two apostles felt that the Holy Spirit needed to do something for this beggar. So they're saying, look at us. We have God dwelling in us. He is now going to do something miraculous for you. The beggar didn't get it. He thought, oh, maybe finally, those two leaders, they're saying they're some apostles or whatever, some leaders of the New Testament church. They normally didn't give me any silver and gold. Maybe finally, maybe I really did a good job today. Maybe I melted their heart today. Okay, how much? $50? $100? He was kind of daydreaming per se, hoping that he would get lots of money from those two apostles. But sadly, humanly speaking, the apostles are saying to him, we do not have any silver. We do not have any gold. If I make some funny joke, I always think this way, then the beggar must have thought, no silver, no gold, then diamond? You are so generous. Sure, I receive any diamonds. But as I said, that was a joke. So they were paying attention to the beggar. The beggar didn't get it. And now the apostles pronounce this way. Let me read again. 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. in the name of Jesus Christ. And later in our passage, the apostles made sure that it was not their power, it was not their godliness or godly character that made this beggar healed. No, no, no, no. It was in the name of Christ, or it was the name of Jesus Christ. It was Jesus, our precious Savior, who healed this beggar. Therefore, this morning, I have to ask you this way. Do you know Him? Do you need Him? Do you feel the need of meeting with Jesus Christ? How are you doing, by the way? How many times did you cry this past week? Did you sleep well? Did someone bother you? Has your precious relationship been broken recently? Are you dealing with some financial hardship? Do you have some enemies per se at your workplace? Or maybe even you have some siblings who hate you? I don't know your situation. Maybe some of you are dealing with some physical illness. But dear brothers and sisters, let me say very strongly, what you need, your uttermost needs is with our precious Jesus Christ. That's what you need. You might think that only if I can handle this broken relationship, Only if I do something for my relationship that is totally broken, only if I can get a better job, only if I can study better, only if my body gets healed, my life will be better. Let me tell you very strongly, you are mistaken. Our life is filled with heartbreaking things. Even though I'm not a prophet, but I'm going to prophesy. The rest of your life will be filled with very heartbreaking things as well. You're going to suffer emotionally, spiritually, physically. However, we all know that our Lord Jesus has never left us, even though it was the ministry of the apostles. Further, we can say even though it was the ministry of the direct healing of the Holy Spirit, according to the apostles, they're saying it was Jesus Christ. In other words, they felt, they always felt that their precious Lord was with them. Even though physically Christ was not with them, spiritually He was with them. Just like this morning, our Lord who died for us is with us. He's asking you, could you stop worrying about your situation? Could you stop being immersed in your own difficulties? Would you please, could you please pay attention to me? Look at us. Listen to me. I'm the only one who can handle your situation. I'm the only one who can comfort you. Because I made you. Because I died for you. I myself experienced all the difficult things. I even had to cry when I lived on earth. Teared. That's what the book of Hebrews says. Our precious Lord teared many times. Dear brothers and sisters, hear those two apostles give the precious gospel to the lame beggar. He's delivering the very presence of Jesus Christ to him. Here you are. Here you are. My Lord, who loves me so much, who died for me, is with me. He not wants to be with you as well. Look at us, therefore." What happened? We all know that the beggar was healed. It was a miracle, right? It was a miracle. and now he's just jumping like leaping like singing and he's just running around in the sanctuary person many people would have thought how ungodly he is what he's doing in the sanctuary but he's with those two apostles and i do believe he was with the other new testament believers too now he's joining the prayer meeting he's so happy and many people recognize immediately that, wait a minute, he's the one over the last like 30 or 40 years. He's the one who has been begging for money every day. What's going on? He's running, he's singing, he's praying with us. He's not supposed to be here according to their ceremonial laws per se. But dear brothers and sisters, in a sense, spiritually, I want to say this way. Our Lord Jesus Christ wants to claim upon the temple. The Jewish people, who did not know, who did not understand God the Father correctly, made the temple become like some religious, institutionary type of kind of building. But here, the Holy Spirit is right there. And God the Son is right there too. And we do believe God the Father is there too. And we see the walls are broken. Whoever believes in me, out of his belly will flow the rivers of living water. Come to me. I know you are thirsty. I know you are so like desperately hungry. You are starving. But I'm here to give you living bread. I'm here to give you living water. Come to me. I'll be the fountain of eternal life. And I'm going to dwell in your heart. Therefore, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water." Right there at the temple, I do believe rivers of God's eternal life are flowing now. Our Lord is present. He's not a dead Savior. we should be able to see the very presence of Christ in our passage. He's very powerful and He's very compassionate. Rise up! I love you. You are so pathetic apart from me. If you remember, dear brothers and sisters, including myself, we're no better than this lame beggar. We need His compassionate, loving voice speaking to us. Pay attention to me. Listen to me. Come to me. Hug me. Oh Lord. Do you love Him, by the way? Dear friends, have you really ever met this precious Lord? I'm pleading with you now. to pay attention to the very voice of Christ that is being heard to you by the Holy Spirit. He's inviting you to come to Him. Many convergences were made again. It was just the beginning of the story. We should not just stop at this miraculous event. What is more powerful, more precious is that the apostles, or Peter, was able to preach the gospel now. Right after this event, many, many people were gathered around to know what has just happened, by the way. And Peter now is going to preach the gospel. Verbally, he now wants to explain what has happened. Jesus Christ died for you. If you invite me again, I'll finish up the rest of the story. But today, we're not gonna go there. So out of my just pastoral heart, let's not misunderstand our passage as if now we can put our God in a box. We can control our God. In other words, don't try to use this passage thinking that do you have a friend who has maybe cancer? Oh, Here's God's promise. Rachel, my friend, the Lord wants to heal you, as in Acts chapter 3. Don't do that, okay? The reason why I'm saying that is because I did it. I misunderstood this passage many times when I was much younger. If I allow me, I would like to sidetrack a little bit. This illustration is not in my manuscript, by the way. It was very sad. About 15 years ago, a friend of mine fell from the ceiling, that high. It was at the church in the sanctuary, by the way, where I was attending. The service was done, people were talking outside. I don't remember exactly, but one of the lights maybe was gone, so my friend got a really tall ladder. and he climbed up and something happened so he fell to the ground and he became disabled right there so he couldn't walk right after that he lost everything like he could think he could move his arms but that was it and we cried a lot because we were there and i visited him on one day thinking that if i read this passage he'll be healed So I said, brother, I'm going to read this passage. I read it. God didn't perform any miracle at that time. I was very disappointed. But dear brothers, I want to say this way. Our God is still powerful. Even though he might not do like performing some miracle healing your friend who has cancer or some uncurable disease, but what I can say is that his power has not diminished. He's gonna do a powerful thing according to his will. So even though He's not going to necessarily heal your friend that way, but He can convert your unbelieving family member. He can convert your unbelieving friend. Because our Lord will say, rise up and walk. You spiritually dead person, believe in me. Dear brothers and sisters, He's with us. And I do believe He has performed another miracle among our gathering. I don't know how and in what way, but I do trust that He might have already comforted some of you in a miraculous way. He might have changed your view of the gospel or view of the theology. I do not know exactly, but I know this. He's here with us. And He loves you. Trust Him. Trust Him. All right? Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we are all lame beggars, spiritually or metaphorically. We need your grace daily. We need your presence. And we need the ministry of your Son. And we need the precious power and presence of the Holy Spirit as well. Therefore, we ask you now to bless us bountifully. Grow us, mature us to the glory of you only. Father, please, where so weak, fragile, comfort us, wipe away our tears, and let us know that you will be with us forever. We pray in the name of Christ. Amen.