The Keys to a Beautiful Life

Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message.

Here's Adrian Rogers. Today I want to be talking to you about the keys to a beautiful life. Acts chapter 3, and if you would like the secret to a beautiful life, pay attention. We read together now the first ten verses. Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 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. Who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked in alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 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. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up. And immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. And they knew that it was he which set for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. Now, what was the result of all of this? The result was that perhaps 20,000 people came to Christ.

Look, if you will, in chapter 4 and verse 4. Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed, and the number of men was about 5,000. How many women were there? Well, if you know anything about worship you know generally there's more women than men. Women have a softer heart.

Men are hard headed and hard hearted. So, I would imagine there were more women there. And he doesn't mention anything about the children. And we just simply say 5,000 men and 5,000 women and 10,000 children, two children for every man and woman, that's 20,000. Just the men were 5,000 that were converted in this one service. We talk about Pentecost where there were 3,000 saved on the day of Pentecost. Folks, it is beginning to build.

And now in a single service 20,000 come to our Lord and Savior. Now, what was the background? Something happened. Three basic ingredients.

I want you to see them. Number one, these people who were saved were confronted with a miracle. And there was the miracle that confronted them. It was the healing of a man that had been lame or crippled from his birth. When he was born his father and mother took him and examined him as all mothers do, little babies. They noticed that something was not quite right with the little baby's feet. His ankle bones had not developed. His little feet somehow were not made whole like feet should normally be for a little baby. And this little boy never learned to walk.

And when other boys would go out to skip and run and play he couldn't. Later on when other men went to work there was no work he could do. All they could do was to take this man and loving friends would take him every day and put him down there at the gate to the temple, the gate that was called Beautiful. He had his little tin cup there. And as people would come and go to worship he would cry out, Baxish, Baxish alms, help the poor, help the poor. And people would drop their pennies and their coins into his tin cup. Day after day that's the way he lived.

People would come and go. He's right there at the gate of the temple. That gate of the temple was called Beautiful. It was gorgeous. It was really the Corinthian gate made of Corinthian brass overlaid with silver and gold panels. And when the sun would come up over the Mount of Olives and burst upon that gate that looked toward the east it would just dazzle, almost blind you in its beauty. It was unspeakably beautiful, the gate called Beautiful. And here's this man just outside that beautiful gate because he cannot enter through it because Levitical law said that a man deformed cannot enter past that gate. He's on the wrong side of a beautiful life.

He's just outside the gate and he's crippled. Now Peter and John come and they see him and he says alms. And Peter and John they didn't have any money.

Oh, but they had something better than silver and gold. They said, but such as I have give I thee and friend that something we all ought to have is Jesus. And then they said in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Rise and walk and they take him by the right hand and lift him and immediately his ankles and his feet receive strength. And he realizes he's been healed. Now the next chapter tells us he'd been this way for 40 years. He's a 40 year old man, never walked, not one step had he taken. And now he's leaping and dancing and praising God.

And now he enters in through the gate beautiful, into the temple of God, in with the people of God, loving God, serving God, praising God with the people of God. A miracle. Well you say, Pastor do you have the power to perform a miracle like that? No, I don't.

And I'm not expected to have. Acts chapter 5 and verse 12 tells us that these were the works, the miracles of an apostle. By the apostles hands these kind of miracles were done. Now God gave the apostles special power. And these were special miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles to give authenticity to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now in Acts chapter 4 this miracle is called a sign. A sign.

Now why is it called a sign? It was more than a miracle. It was a miracle with a message. That is there was a sermon in this miracle. It is meant to illustrate an even greater truth. And it would be a shame if all you see is the physical miracle. We don't deny the physical miracle. But there is a greater miracle and a greater truth that lays behind this sign. You see all of us, this man was born crippled and he represents all of those of us who are spiritually and morally crippled by birth.

The Bible says, And sin did my mother conceive me. Here's a man who cannot walk. And here's a man who cannot work. And here's a man who could not worship. And what he needed was a touch from Almighty God more than merely in the physical realm but in the spiritual realm. When Jesus opened blinded eyes the greater truth is that men are spiritually blind and except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven. And when Jesus unstopped deaf ears the greater miracle is that men need their spiritual ears unstopped because Jesus said men have ears but they do not hear.

And when Jesus raised the dead He was giving the greater lesson that men are dead and trespasses and sin. And Christ said, I've come that you might have life and have it abundantly. Talking to people whose hearts were already beating but I've come that you might have life. And when Jesus through the apostles healed this man then what He was saying is this, that all of us need a touch from God to live a beautiful life, to walk the walk of God, to do the works of God, to worship God, and to go through that gate of God into the house of God with the people of God to have a beautiful life.

He wants to make something beautiful of your life today. So these men were confronted with a miracle, the miracle that confronted them. Now I want you to notice several things about this miracle. The very first thing I want you to notice it was a miracle that could not be reasonably denied.

Look in verse 11, And as the lame man which was healed, held Peter and John, all the people, ran together unto them in the ports that is called Solomon's greatly wondering. I mean it was there folks. The only way you could deny this miracle was to close your eyes, they knew Him. It could not be reasonably denied. Secondly, it was a miracle that could not be humanly explained. Look in verse 12, 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 our holiness we had made this man to walk. Don't give us the credit for it.

We don't take the credit for this. There is no human explanation for what has happened. It could not be reasonably denied. Verse 11, It could not be humanly explained. Verse 12, And therefore it could not be lightly dismissed. Verse 13, Here's what Peter says, 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, that is Pilate, was determined to let Him go. Now what is Peter saying?

Peter saying, You want to know who did this? Jesus. You've still got Jesus on your hands. I mean this Jesus that you denied. This Jesus that you delivered up. This Jesus that you thought you crucified. This Jesus that you thought you'd been finished with, He's the one who healed him.

They couldn't get rid of Jesus. Now folks let me tell you something, if you don't believe in Jesus Christ let me tell you, you've still got Christ on your hands and He's still performing miracles. I mean listen, you're going to have to be confronted with a miracle. His life was a miracle. His death, burial, resurrection and ascension is a miracle. The physical miracle such as the healing of this man, and the spiritual miracle such as my own life. You say, Oh, you're bragging.

Oh, no friend I'm testifying. My life is a miracle. A miracle.

You can't explain what has happened to Adrian Rogers. You'll never explain what has happened to me these blessed years since I've known Jesus except that God worked a miracle in my heart and in my life. I know it is so. I know day by day that the life I live is a miracle life, that God is alive and He's doing something in me. And every Christian who's been changed by the power of God and all of those of us who will open our eyes and look around will have to testify unless we have bigotry and prejudice that God is a God of miracle.

He's still changing lives today. I heard of a little girl who was standing in the edge of a crowd while her daddy was giving a testimony. It was a street meeting, an old fashioned Salvation Army street meeting.

This man was standing up testifying how Jesus Christ had saved him and delivered him from this alcoholism and his craving for drink, and the old life that he had and he was giving Jesus the glory. And there was a cynic in the edge of that crowd that said, oh, why don't you just shut up and sit down you're just dreaming, just dreaming. That cynic felt that little girl pull at the tug of his coat.

That little girl was a beautiful little girl, quite mature for her age. Said, sir, that's my daddy you're talking about. You say my daddy is dreaming. Let me tell you about my daddy. My daddy used to be a drunkard. He used to come home drunk.

He used to hit my mother and she would cry most of the day. She said, we didn't have good clothes to wear because my daddy spent all of his money on whiskey. She said, sometimes I didn't even have shoes to wear to school. She said, look at those shoes.

Look at this dress. My daddy has a good job. So over there is my mother. So she's happy now. She doesn't cry around the house now, she sings around the house even when she's ironing.

My mother is happy now. And Jesus changed my daddy. And Jesus has changed our home.

And if my daddy is dreaming please don't wake him up. Amen. But notice not only the miracle that confronted them, but notice the murder that condemned them. Ah, now Peter goes on, now that he has their attention he begins to say in verse 14, but ye denied the Holy One and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of Life whom God has raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. And now Peter points his finger in their face and he accuses them of murdering the Prince of Life.

And the way he did it is this, he said, do you remember what you did? You were in that crowd when Pilate said, which of these two men shall I release unto you, Barabbas or Jesus? Now remember Pilate said, I'm going to release a man to you today, which of the two? And Peter said, you denied the Lord. And you chose a murderer to be released. Now I want to tell you something ladies and gentlemen, God arranged it that Barabbas was a portrait and a picture of every unsaved man, woman, boy, and girl in this world.

Think about it. The first place the Bible tells us that Barabbas, that man that was released that day, that man they chose that day was a thief. And every man without Christ is a thief. Oh, you say, don't call me a thief pastor.

Well, I just called you one. A thief. You say, why am I a thief?

I don't steal. Listen, if you haven't given God the glory, if you have not submitted your life to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you have robbed Him of that glory that is due to His holy name. And you live here on this earth and you walk God's green earth, breathe God's pure air, receive God's sunshine and God's rain. You eat God's food and God is your landlord and you do not serve Him, you have stolen from God. The Bible says you've robbed me even this whole nation, you are cursed with a curse.

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. And you owe to Him, you owe to Him dear friend that allegiance, that alliance, that service that is His. You fail to give it, you steal. Well, not only was Barabbas a thief, but Barabbas was a rebel. The Bible says he was arrested for insurrection. And every man, woman, boy, girl without the Lord Jesus Christ is a rebel against God. When you refuse God, when you refuse Christ it is not just merely that you miss a blessing. What unbelief is, is a clenched fist in the face of God. It says, God if there be a God you are not big enough to make me serve you. I am my own God.

I am going to live my own life. And there is rebellion against Almighty God. And the crime of the man without Christ, are you listening, is the crime of high treason against Heaven's King. But not only was Barabbas a thief, and not only was he a rebel, but he was a murderer.

That's what Peter tells us right here. You received a murderer. You chose a murderer. And you denied the Prince of Life. You say, well Pastor you can't charge me with murder.

I just did. You are a murderer. You say, I never killed anyone. You killed the Son of God.

You killed the Son of God. You see when you choose Barabbas you deny Jesus. You say, well I want Barabbas but I don't want to deny Jesus. Listen friend, it's never Christ and Barabbas, it's always Christ or Barabbas. Jesus said in Matthew 12 verse 30, He that is not with me is against me. And he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. It was our sins that nailed Jesus Christ to the cross.

Our hard hearts drove those nails. And maybe those people there that day, those 20,000 they didn't literally nail Jesus to the cross. But I want to say Peter said, you murdered Him. You murdered Him.

If you are not with Him you are against Him. If you don't crown Him you crucify Him. And in God's court, in Heaven's court it was our sins that crucified Him and we are implicated in His murder. Dr. Robert G. Leaf one time was witnessing to a man and the man was getting under conviction of sin and he said, well preacher I guess I've done just about everything except kill a man.

Dr. Leaf said, you did that too. You did that too. Now listen what he does is this to bring them under conviction. Oh God, Holy Spirit help people who sit in church this morning so dressed, so nice, so cultured. People who come and go to understand in the sight of God that they are guilty of deicide, the murder of God. The same kind of crowd that was there in the temple area that day is the crowd that listens to me today. People who were religious and little dreamed the crime that condemned them. Now notice first of all there was a miracle that confronted them.

Secondly there was a murder that condemned them. Now thirdly after this platform is laid there was a message that converted them. Now the stage is set for one of the greatest evangelistic messages ever preached.

And I want you to see the message that converted them. The Apostle Peter begins to preach in point number one in his message is a risen Lord. Look in verse 15, and you kill the prince of life whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. Now listen folks the death of Jesus Christ is a clearly authenticated fact. Chapter 1 verse 3 the Bible says to whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs. There is more evidence that Jesus Christ came out of that grave than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived by many infallible proofs.

No one who will look at the facts can deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that when Jesus Christ was put in that grave the religious leaders warned the Roman leaders that He has said that He is going to be raised from the dead. Now it may be that His disciples will come in here and try to steal the body. So we want you to seal that tomb and make it as sure as you can. And so they put a great stone, it would take a forklift to move that stone in front of the tomb. And then they put a seal upon that tomb. And then they took Roman soldiers there to guard that tomb.

If you know anything about Roman law you know that a Roman soldier derelict in his duty suffered the penalty of death. Now, you remember what happened that Easter morning when Jesus Christ came the stone was rolled away. Now actually the stone was blown away, it was not rolled up the track but in a place separate all the way over.

And human beings could never have lifted and moved the stone that far. Well, the Sanhedrin got all antsy. And the Bible tells us, the Sanhedrin being the Jewish High Court, the Bible tells us that they paid those Roman guards and told those Roman guards, listen say that the disciples came and stole the body.

You can read about that in Matthew 28 and verse 12. Now let's suppose they had a court case there that day to prove what happened to the body of Jesus. Let's examine they didn't have a court trial.

And I'll tell you why they didn't want one. They didn't want to hear the evidence. Suppose they had had a court trial.

Can you imagine how ridiculous it would have been? The judge is there and first of all he summons, there is a subpoena goes out and those guards come. And the judge says, are you the guards that were given the job of guarding the tomb? Yes, Your Honor. Is it your testimony that the disciples stole the body of Jesus? Yes, Your Honor. Were you guarding the tomb? Yes, Your Honor.

Well, when did they steal the body of Jesus? While we were asleep. You were asleep. Do you know that to sleep on guard duty is a crime worthy of death? Well, yes, Your Honor. Well, have you been arrested? Well, no.

Well, why haven't you been arrested? Well, we don't know, Your Honor. Well, you say the disciples stole the body while you were asleep. Is that right? Yes, Your Honor.

Well, if you were asleep how do you know what happened? We don't know, Your Honor. Throw these bums out of court. Can you imagine the ridiculousness of a trial like that? Now bring the disciples in.

Do you know where the body is? Yes, Your Honor. Have you seen it? Yes, Your Honor. All of you? Yes, Your Honor.

You alone? Oh, no, Your Honor. He was seen by 500 people at one time.

Call them in if you wish, Your Honor. They didn't want to put those people on trial in that day. He was shown alive by many infallible proofs. As I told you before many of these disciples paid for their testimony with their very lives. Now a man may sometimes live for a lie.

No man knowingly dies for a lie. But they seal their testimony with their blood. And so the first point in this sermon He's a risen Lord. We are witnesses. But not only is He a risen Lord He is a residing Lord.

Not only is He alive but He is present. Look in verse 16 of this same chapter. And His name through faith in His name hath made this man strong. Now the word name stands for character, nature.

Just change it. And His nature through faith in His nature 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.

What's He saying? That Jesus did it. It's done in His name, in His nature, in His power. He's not an absentee Lord. He is a residing Lord. He is here.

He is present. Not only is He a risen Lord and therefore a residing Lord. Thank God now He sets the stage for the message and He is a redeeming Lord. Look in verse 17, And now brethren, I know that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which God before hath showed by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled.

This thing was not done in a corner and it was done exactly as God had said through the centuries it would be done through the fulfillment of Holy Scripture and fulfilled prophecy is one of the greatest proofs of the character of the deity and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now He tells them in verse 19, Because of this they can be saved. Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out.

Now listen, listen. You want to be saved? Repent. Repent.

You want a beautiful life? You want to be spiritually healed? Repent. What does repentance mean? The Greek word repentance literally means a change of mind, metanoia, a change of mind.

Well, what does that mean? Well, you change your way of thinking. Before you're saved you say, I am boss and I have no room for Jesus. But now you say, He is Lord. Before you're saved you say, sin is best. Now you say, sin is wrong and righteousness is best. Before you're saved you say, I think I can make it by myself.

And now you say, I can't do it by myself. I need the Lord. Before you're saved you sometimes fall after self and sin and Satan. But what is repentance? Repentance is a change of mind about self, about sin, about the Savior, about Satan. It is a change of mind.

It is an about face. And Jesus said in Luke chapter 13 and verse 3, except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish. You don't have any hope of heaven unless you repent. And if you've joined a church and you've never repented, I'd hate to be in your shoes at the judgment. Repent and be converted. Have you repented?

Have you? Has there been a radical, dramatic change in your life where you say, I'm sick and tired of the old way. I'm going the new way. I want Christ. Repent. Now that doesn't mean if you can clean up your life God will save you. You can't clean up your life without Him.

But dear friend you have to be willing for Him to clean it up. There has to be a hard attitude. Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of life. When you repent Christ comes in and He gives you the power to live the life that you could not live. I'm not telling you if you can be good enough that Jesus will save you.

None of us can be good enough. But there still must be that time in our hearts and in our lives when we say, I'm tired of the old way. I want God to work a miracle in me. A greater miracle than the healing of that lame man so long ago. Repent and be converted. And notice what's going to happen when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

That speaks of something beautiful that He's going to make out of your life. Times of refreshing. But friend no repenting, no refreshing. Have you received the Lord? Look, listen He's a risen Lord. He is a residing Lord.

He's alive and present. He is a redeeming Lord. Repent and be converted. And then the last thing in this great Gospel sermon that Peter says is he's a returning Lord. A returning Lord.

Notice verses 20 and 21, Do you know what the Bible has been saying since the creation of the world? Jesus is going to come and redeem us. He's going to go back to Heaven and then He's coming back again to restore everything.

I mean He's going to make it alright folks. What's this world coming to? It's coming to Jesus. It's coming to Jesus.

And if the outlook looks glum I want to tell you the up look is very bright. Jesus is coming and Heaven has received Him until, until the time of restitution. I don't want you to be in Hell when all that's going on. I don't want you to be on the wrong side of the gate.

I want you to be inside the gate called beautiful. And I want you to be like this man leaping and dancing and praising God when Jesus comes again. Listen, what a day it's going to be when our Lord comes again. The first time He came He came as a lamb. When He comes again He's coming as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The first time He came He came to redeem. But when He comes again He's coming to reign. When He came the first time they asked, Where is He that's born King of the Jews? When He comes again He's coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When He came the first time they gave Him a crown of thorns. When He comes again in the restitution He will wear a diadem of glory. He came the first time in poverty.

But friend He's coming again in power. When He came the first time He had an escort of angels. When He comes again He will come with 10,000's of His saints. He came the first time in meekness.

He's coming again in majesty. Now put it all together folks if you want a beautiful life picture yourself on the wrong side of the gate. Picture yourself spiritually as a cripple. Unable to walk the walk of God.

Unable to work the work of God. Unable to enter into the worship of God on the wrong side of the gate. Picture a new life. Picture a gate gloriously beautiful.

You're right on the wrong side of that gate and you can't enter in without a miracle. I want you to picture the Lord Jesus Christ who was in Simon Peter that day. I want you to picture Him coming by you today and looking down at you. And I want you to picture today Jesus reaching down to you a nail pierced hand and taking you by your right hand and raising you up and spiritually giving you a lift that will last. And giving to you my dear friend the power to enter in through the gate to the courts of God. That's what this miracle is all about. God wants to give you today a new life.

He wants to make something beautiful of your life. The miracle that confronted them. The murder that condemned them.

The message that converted them. A risen Lord. A residing Lord. A redeeming Lord. A returning Lord.

And if you would just say, Lord, I trust you. Oh, come into my heart. Save me Jesus. Save me.

He will. For the Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Are you saved?

Does God's Holy Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you're a child of God? If not, if you don't know that if you died right now you'd go to heaven. I want you to pray a prayer like this.

Dear Lord, just speak to Him out of your heart. Dear Lord, I know you love me and I know you want to save me. And Lord, spiritually I'm crippled and I'm on the wrong side of the gate. But Lord, I reach up now at the hand of faith. Save me, Jesus. Come into my heart and save me and make something beautiful of my life. In your name I pray. Amen. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with Him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org. Or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.