Not long after the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Day of Pentecost, Peter and John had an experiential encounter as they were going into the temple to pray.
It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon and that time was designated in the Jewish community as the hour of prayer. Even though these gentlemen had now been born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit, they still continued to observe the time and practice of prayer. I think it is interesting they didn’t immediately castigate the Jewish way of doing things and abandon the worship in the temple.
As they approached the gate of the temple, which was, by the way, called the Beautiful Gate, they encountered a lame man sitting by the gate. Little did this man know, but this day that gate was going to really become the Beautiful Gate to him. But I digress. We are told that someone, most likely his family, would bring this man every day so he could sit at the gate and ask for alms. The Jews would have called this “tzedakah.” This could be called charity, but not in the western sense of the word. This word meant to them “a way to empower poor people to support themselves, helping them in developing their talents and skills.” So, the Jewish people of that day would have viewed it an ethical obligation to give something to this man to assist him along his way.
So, along came these two apostles of Jesus Christ approaching the gate. The man called out to them, begging for some means of helping with his support. Peter stopped and gave an intent gaze towards the man and said to him, “Look at us.” Probably, no one had ever spoken to him like that, but simply dropped something in his container or hand in the form of alms. What an unusual encounter this was, but the Bible tells us that he fixed his attention upon these two men, expecting they were going to give him something and wondering what that might be, considering this out of the norm engagement.
We have always joked that some congregations adopt the attitude regarding their pastor of “Lord, you keep him humble and we will keep him broke.” While that is funny, it is at the same time sad. Well, for whatever reason, here staring at this man were two broke preachers. Peter caused his hope to sink when spoke the words “I (we) have no silver or gold, but what I do have, I give to you.” I’m sure this lame man was wondering “why then would you even address me if you had no money to offer to me?” But what happened next made him forget about needing money or anything else that might be considered alms.
Peter approached the man and called out, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” Peter then reached for the man’s hand and began to lift him up from the ground. As Peter raised him up from the ground, the Scriptures tell us that his ankles were immediately strengthened. Within seconds, he was running around the place, leaping up in the air, walking around, and ultimately, offering praise to the Jesus who had healed him. I must offer a groaner, at this point…this man asked for alms, but he got legs! I’ll be over here in the corner if you need me.
The folks standing around who had noticed this man for years, were astounded at his healing and recovery and his ability to go running and leaping all over the place. This provided an opportunity for Peter to proclaim the good news about Jesus Christ to those in the crowd. Near the end of Peter’s message, here came the religious leaders and the Bible tells they were “annoyed.” They shut down the preaching by Peter, but not before “many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” That is a pretty good evangelistic crusade.
We can learn some lessons and maybe some motivation for taking the next steps in our mission of life from this encounter by these two men of God and this (now) formerly lame man. Let’s begin here. They offered this man what they had. Too many of us bemoan our lack, comparing ourselves to some other “mighty” saint of God and declaring we could never do what they do. Peter and John had total disregard for what they did not have, but rather focused on what they did have…the power of Jesus Christ given to them by the Lord Himself. And in so doing, they saw a miracle right before their very eyes, that opened up the pathway to a large “catch,” as they probably recalled when Jesus told them by the Sea of Galilee they would become “fishers of men.”
Peter and John said, “what we do have, we will give you.” Jesus had empowered them to do the works that He had done and actually greater works, because He went to the Father and assumed His role as our Intercessor. When Moses exhibited some reticence regarding leading the children of Israel out of bondage, the Lord said to him, “what is that in your hand?” Moses looked and he was holding a staff, just like every other male in that day. God had him throw it down and it became a serpent. Moses was naturally scared. God then told him to pick the serpent up by the tail – that is where I would have been reticent. But he obeyed the direction from the Lord and as soon as he grabbed the serpent, it became a staff again. The point of that story is that many times we are patting our foot wanting some magnanimous gift or revelation and what God wants to use is already in our hands. Remember what Peter said; “what I do have I give to you.”
So I am asking you, what is that in your hand? It could just be a stick or it could be the vehicle by which God brings healing and deliverance to someone. Do not discount your contribution to the extending of God’s kingdom in the earth, regardless of how many letters you have or do not have after your name. Give what it is that you have.
There is a great quote by C.S. Lewis that encourages us to be the vehicle by which God reaches and ministers to people.
“God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures. He commands us to do slowly and blunderingly what He could do perfectly and in the twinkling of an eye.”
C.S. Lewis , Studies in Theology.
What do we have that we can give to others? Well, it is a little too simple, and yet true to say what is it that the Father has bestowed upon us uniquely? We each have proclivities that come from God and if we cease minimizing their value, He can use us to minister to more lame people. This is why Jesus is quoted in Acts 20:35 as saying,
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
In the Greek text that means, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”😊 This is because the releasing of the staff out of our hand provides the opportunity to turn it into something we didn’t expect. Let’s identify some things we can and should offer others. One of the first things that comes to mind is that we should be merciful to someone; especially someone who doesn’t deserve it right now. In Luke 6, Jesus says that we should,
“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”
Just a couple of verses later, we see Jesus making this declaration.
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
I know that verse is almost always used to encourage financial giving, and the principle isn’t all wrong, that if we want more of something, we must be willing to let go of it (see the rich young ruler Mark 10.) But when we examine this statement by Jesus, we discover He isn’t talking about money. He is talking about mercy. For you see, if we want to have mercy extended to us, then we must be merciful in the same manner God is toward us. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made it even clearer.
“How blessed are those who are merciful, for it is they who will receive mercy!”
The apostle Paul wrote to his spiritual son, Titus, “He saved us…according to His own mercy…” and we must offer that same mercy to others, regardless of the offense. When you are merciful, Jesus says you will reap more mercy “running over and being poured into your lap.”
In similar manner, since we have received forgiveness from the Lord Jesus, we have it within our ability to release someone from bondage by issuing to them forgiveness. Forgiveness is the sending away of an offense so that it is not even part of the equation anymore. That’s what Jesus did for us, He cast our sins as far away as the east is from the west. Micah 7 tells us that He has cast our sins into the depths of the sea. So, what we are holding in our hand is the power to remove the shackles from someone by saying to them, “such as I have, forgiveness, I give unto you.” They might just begin to leap and run themselves.
Of course, following the example of Peter and John, we can offer the power of God to someone in need. Peter made it very clear when he addressed the crowd that had gathered –
“”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?”
After offering a few convicting words (Acts 3:13-15), he proclaims,
“And 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.”
It wasn’t anything special about these two apostles, except they had been with Jesus and they were there in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came upon them, enduing with power from on high. You and I should be ready to offer the power of God to someone we encounter who obviously needs a miracle from God. One thing we must remember. As Peter pointed out to the crowd, it was not him or John that possessed the power to see this man healed, outside the power of Jesus Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we are hesitant to pray for someone’s healing or a miracle to occur because we think we will have egg on our face when it doesn’t happen. But we must remember if a prayer isn’t answered immediately, that’s on God, not you. By the same token, when someone is healed or receives a miracle, that is also on God and not you. And too many times, we don’t know what God is doing in the background or what His timetable is. One blind man Jesus was healing wasn’t completely healed at first…he still saw men as trees. But, upon another touch from Jesus, He blindness was cured. So, be ready to offer the power and grace of God to those in need.
Finally, the most obvious help you can offer is to those who lack in some area. Proverbs 28:27 says,
“Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.”
The Bible says a lot about our responsibility to give to and help the poor. Jesus even said the poor we would always have with us. And it is nice to offer some earthly goods to those who would be considered poor, but sometimes that help comes in the form of helping them find gainful employment and teaching them how to manage their finances.
When the people gathered around Jesus beside the lake (the feeding of the five thousand), Jesus told His disciples, “you give them something to eat.” Jesus is still saying that to His disciples…and they is us. Let’s take an inventory, spiritual and natural, to determine what we might have that we can offer to someone else in the moment. We all have a stick of some kind that God wants to put into action. So, let me ask you, what is that in your hand?
