seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Acts 3:1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Dr. Luke, the one who wrote the Gospel of Luke, wrote about this healing for us. It's a good thing this healing took hold... it would have been quite a different story if the Apostles pulled the guy up and he just fell right back down. Instead of joy... there would have been embarrassment. The man might have even said "hey... what do you think you're doing.... I told you I'm lame from birth!" This could have backfired big time. BUT.... Peter and John had faith. They had seen Jesus heal. They had even been sent out "two by two" to do some healing on their own. So, they were rookies but they were faithful rookies. That's why it worked. They both had enough faith to work together and heal the man.
I went to the commentary. I wanted to make sure I was making the right point this morning. I wanted to dwell on the fact that Peter and John were using their faith as instructed.... Look at this....
There is a story — perhaps true — about a humble monk walking with a Roman Catholic cardinal at a time in the Middle Ages when the Roman Catholic church was at its zenith of power, prestige and wealth. The cardinal pointed to the opulent surroundings and said to the monk, “We no longer have to say, silver and gold I do not have.” The monk replied, “But neither can you say, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
I hear the Catholic Church has had to sell off some of its assets lately. I wonder how long it will be before the church, with all its current priestly problems, has to say "silver and gold I do not have". They are selling off their land to pay the bills. IMHO.... maybe the priests should have let the babies be babies... instead of abusing them. Maybe they would have been able to stay opulent.We all heard about the Bakers. Remember Tammy Faye? They were the top dogs in the evangelical world for a minute or two... but then they got too big headed [and Tammy's make up bill went sky high too] and that led them to total disgrace... and it took the church they built with them. Now they can truly say... "Silver and gold I do not have".
Have you ever known a preacher who was so full of faith he could actually heal? I'm 73 years old... I've never met a man of the cloth who could heal anyone.
When the church first started, [yesterday's message] the church was full of awe. Now....
Dr. Luke reported today that Peter and John pulled a man to his feet and helped him to walk. That man followed them into the Temple... and he belted out some hymns of praise.... and on top of that... he didn't have to beg on the street anymore... The church took care of its own.
I think, over the centuries, the fake preachers who claimed they had harnessed healing power, have tainted the faith of all Christians. We have seen so many money-grubbing charlatans over the centuries, we don't believe humans can have enough faith to heal. Heck, I don't even think the doctors have enough training and faith in their own skills to heal anymore.
Nowadays.... We have more silver and gold than we have faith. Shame... Shame... Shame... Don't we even read our own book? Why didn't we avoid the pitfalls of shiny baubles? We all have a touch of magpie in us.... right?
Silver and gold are just stuff.... How's your faith balance?
