“And his name [Jesus] through
faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the
faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of
you all.”—Acts 3:16
Miracles were a part of the earliest days of the Church,
along with fellowship, prayer, preaching, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, divine
illumination and joy. In fact, Christian
history is filled with numberless accounts of miracles which people who had
faith in God experienced. Today with a
flick of the wrist, in nations around the world, people are made aware of the
numerous miracles that are being experienced in the lives of people who believe
in God, who trust His word, and act upon His promises. I want to encourage you that miracles are a
way to share Jesus and that you can take part in the occurrence of miracles.
Acts 3:1-16 will inspire your faith that miracles happen in
the ordinary course of life events. Did
you know that the first miracle, after Pentecost is recorded in this chapter?
Let’s beginning in verse 1…
Now Peter and John went up together into
the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from
his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple
which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3Who seeing Peter and John about
to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John,
said, Look on us. 5 And
he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6 Then Peter said, Silver and
gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7And
he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and
ankle bones received strength. 8 And
he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple,
walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 And they knew that it
was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were
filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. 11 And as the lame man which
was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the
porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. 12 And when Peter saw it, he
answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look
ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this
man to walk? 13 The
God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath
glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence
of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. 14 But ye denied the Holy One and the
Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15 And killed the
Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. 16 And his name through faith
in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith
which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you
all.
These principles will help in your efforts to glorify God by
lifting up Jesus.
Secondly, discern those around you (v. 4).
Begin to train yourself to discern, and ask the Lord for His help. Many years ago, I was asking the Lord why I
didn’t know some things about people or situations. I was surprised by His response to me. He said, “You
see what you see and you hear what you hear; however, you are overriding your
discernment with emotion and self-will.”
I was surprised by His response, but the more that I thought about the
answer the more I began to understand that was exactly what I had been
doing. I repented and began to train
myself to watch and listen to people and situations, also I asked the Lord to
sharpen my discernment. It wasn’t long
before the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about situations and people and I
could see and know things. This
knowledge was helpful in ministering to people and avoid some situations that
would have had bad consequences. Notice
in our text that this lame man daily came
expecting. I think that Paul
discerned that he was expecting which made the situation ripe for a miracle.
Thirdly, use the name of Jesus (v. 6). Jesus said, “If you ask anything in My name I will do it… (John 14:13). This is exactly what Peter did. Peter had been with Jesus and had heard His
teaching. He applied what he had heard
his Master say, and you can too! …just do it!!
Fourthly, reach down and be a part of the miracle (v. 7). Encourage people to receive their
miracle. It is God who is at work in you
to do His good will and pleasure. It is
His will to heal and restore people. Remember
that Peter was doing what he had seen Jesus do. (Mark
9:27 “But Jesus took him by the
hand, and lifted him up; and he arose”).
Lastly, always turn the people’s eyes to Jesus (vs. 11-12, 16). When Jesus is lifted up, people will be drawn
to Him.
Prayer—Heavenly Father, I am expecting divine appointments where Your
Son Jesus can be lifted up. Lord please
help me to be discerning and not to be fearful to participate in a
miracle. Today I acknowledge that Jesus’
name is higher than any other name, and that You have given me authority to use
His name. Right now, today, I trust You
to bring people and events into my life so that the miraculous takes place and
Jesus’ name is lifted up, in Jesus name I pray.
Amen.
