Miracles at the Gate

When God does something miraculous, it is usually for something bigger than the person who He did it for. Dr. Tony Evans says God demonstrates His power for a purpose. So the whole point is to seize opportunities when God has come through in a unique way to be a witness, a testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. The book of Acts is the story of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of early church believers. Today, Tony will tell us about the significance of one particular miracle that teaches us about the importance of seeking what we truly need from God rather than just what we want.

Let's join him. We see the Spirit at work in a situation in chapter 3 where Peter and John are on their way to prayer. There is a man in verse 2 who's been lain from his mother's womb, was being carried along, whom they used to set every day at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, in order to beg arms of those who were entering the temple.

We're told from chapter 4, verse 22, that this man is 40 years old. But it says that he was there, he was lain from his mother's womb. So we have a man who can't stand on his own two feet. This man is dependent because he can't walk, so he has to be carried. He has to be laid there. He is poor because he's a beggar. He is physically limited.

He is hopeless. And he's at the church house, the temple, looking for some money as the people went in to worship. He sees in verse 3 Peter and John coming to go into the temple, and he asks them to receive arms. He's begging for some financial help. Peter, along with John, fixed their gaze on him and said, Look at us.

And he began to give them his attention. I'm sure expecting, it says, to receive something from them. But Peter said, verse 6, I do not possess silver and gold.

That'll deflate you on it. But what I do have, I give you in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene walk. Wow. He was being given more than he was asking for. He was actually given what he really needed, not what he thought he wanted. See, sometimes we go to God for what we want when it's not what we need.

And if we would settle for what we need, it would be greater than what we want. But notice, they seized him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately, his feet and his ankles were strengthened. Please notice, he didn't just say get up, it says they seized him. In other words, they grabbed him, they helped him up. And isn't that what the church is supposed to do with people who can't get up on their own? They don't have the ability to get up on their own.

They don't think they can get up on their own. But people who knew God reached down and grabbed him. Because you can be in a situation so long that you see no hope for it ever being able to be reversed, and all you can do is like the beggar say, I'm just trying to make it. I'm just trying to get by.

Just give me a little something so I can go another day. He was going to be satisfied with just getting by. But he had some brothers who knew God and was not going to allow him to sit there if he was willing to be seized or grabbed. He was only strengthened when there was action. With a leap, he stood upright and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and what? Praising God.

Okay, wait a minute. He hadn't been to college. He hadn't been to seminary. He hadn't even been to church because he's outside begging. See, you don't have to know a lot to be a praiser. He praises God for what God did right then and there in delivering him. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Because remember, praise is visible. Praise is visible. They saw it and they heard it. Now, when God does something miraculous, it is usually for something bigger than the person who he did it for.

Now, obviously, the person he did it for benefits because this guy's not walking. But when God does something out of the ordinary, that is out of the natural order of things, to give you a reason to praise him at a non-normal level. Because when God does it good for you, you ain't trying to be cute, sophisticated, and trying to make people like you.

You can't help it because you're overwhelmed spiritually. Verse 11 now, While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon full of amazement because now he's public with his witness because they knew who he used to be. When Peter saw this, he replied to the people, Men of Israel, why are you so amazed at this? Or why do you gaze at us as if by our own power or piety we made him walk? Peter now goes into a sermon.

Remember what he says? When you are filled with the Holy Spirit back in chapter 1 and verse 8, you will be witnesses of me. So the whole point is to seize opportunities when God has come through in a unique way to be a witness, a testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. So Peter speaks up.

He says it's not about me and it's not about us. He goes into the—it's the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. Pilate had decided to release Jesus six times. And he says, But you disowned the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, Barabbas. What he's saying is you were so blinded by sin that you couldn't even see straight. You got the holy and righteous one and you got Barabbas, a murderer, an insurrectionist who had performed no miracles. Jesus is healing the blind and the sick and the lame and raising people from the dead. And it's he who you crucify.

You put to death the prince of life—the word prince means originator of life— the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. I love this verse, a fact to which we are witnesses. The key to Christianity, of course, is the resurrection. If the resurrection is not true, then nothing else can be believed. If the resurrection is true, then everything can be believed.

And Peter says, I'm not telling you somebody told me. We are witnesses to the resurrection. We met with him after he rose from the dead. When Peter writes his epistle, he says, I want Jesus Christ to rise in your heart, meaning the more real the resurrection is to you, not mentally and intellectually, but personally and spiritually. On the basis of faith in his name—that's that word name again, which we'll talk about in a second— it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know. And the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

He says, you know this is real because you know this guy and you know he was a beggar. And now, brethren, verse 17, I know that you acted in ignorance. You didn't really know who Jesus was, just as your rulers did also. So he condemned everybody—the rulers, the people.

Okay, you really didn't understand who you were dealing with. And a lot of times we come to church in ignorance because we don't know who we're dealing with. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of the prophets that his Christ would suffer, he has fulfilled. So this was prophecy being fulfilled even though you didn't understand what you were doing. He says, Now the times of refreshing is another way of talking about the coming kingdom. He says, verse 20, The restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times. It is you, verse 25, who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant, which God made with your father, saying to Abraham, And in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed. For you first God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.

Now, by way of application, while that is a national issue for Israel, it is a personal issue for us. When we turn from sin back to God, then you have now freed God up to move in your life. When you turn from God to sin, your back is against God. We're told to look in the face of God.

That means face to face. He says, Jesus is who you are to listen to, but they turned their back by rejecting him and by their wickedness. So Peter has been preaching this sermon off of this miracle. So if God does something out of the box in your life, that's a signal to praise him and to give witness to him. Because that's what the Holy Spirit does.

But praise often invites pushback from non-believers. And Dr. Evans will return to tell us about that part of the story in just a moment. First though, I want to tell you about an enlightening resource that delves into discovering your divine calling. Tony's book, Kingdom Purpose. This transformative guide will help you uncover the unique role God has designed for you, empowering you to live a life of significance and impact. As our thank you gift for your generous contribution to support Tony's ministry, we're offering this book along with all 14 full-length messages in Tony's compelling two-volume audio series on the book of Acts. This sermon set takes you on a deep dive into the early church's journey, offering insights and inspiration for your own spiritual walk. To get all the details and make your request, visit us at TonyEvans.org or call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222.

That's 1-800-800-3222. We'll hear more from Dr. Evans right after this. I urge you to take this course. Dr. Craig Evans, renowned expert on the New Testament, serves as the special guest lecturer for the Tony Evans Training Center course on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible. It covers very important ground, what they are and what they're not. One of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls provide unparalleled insights into the accuracy of the Bible. These ancient manuscripts offer a treasure trove of historical and spiritual significance. They preserve for us the Hebrew Bible and shed light on the teaching of Jesus and the major contributors to the New Testament. The scrolls open a vivid window into the life and beliefs of the Jewish people during the time of Jesus. You will understand the Bible and Jesus and Christian origins better than you ever have before.

Take your first step as an honorary amateur archaeologist. Dive into the Dead Sea Scrolls with special guest lecturer, Dr. Craig Evans. Discover this and other fascinating biblical studies at TonyEvansTraining.org.

Explore the kingdom anytime, anywhere. This comes to chapter 4. As they're speaking to the people, here come the leaders. The priest, the captain of the temple god, and the Sadducees came up to them.

Because, man, they're getting all these people listening to him. Being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day because the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin, was not allowed to have trials at night. But many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of men came to about 5,000. So God used this one man to bring 5,000 men to Christ, but also to call attention to the leaders.

Because they grabbed now Peter and John, and the rulers on the next day, verse 5, elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem. They placed them in the center and began to say, By what power or in what name have you done this? By what power and in what name?

Now here's what I want you to notice. They connect the word name with power. By what power and by what name?

In other words, who authorized you and who had the ability to authorize you to do this miracle and to preach this message? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man—you locked us up because we made a sick man better—as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus, Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, uh-oh, whom God raised from the dead, there you go with that resurrection again, by this name, this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, the leaders of Israel, but which became the chief cornerstone. He is the key person in the nation.

You don't even know it. And there is salvation or deliverance or rescue in no one else. For there is no other—here we go—name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

Peter is laying it out there. Okay, so let's talk about name for a moment. Name is not nomenclature. It's not just a word you use. Names in the Bible was used of a reputation you have.

Something about you defined that name. When the Bible talks about the name of Jesus, it is talking about not only the person to identify who he is, it is talking about the person that identifies what he's here to do. He's here to rescue. Saved means to be rescued or delivered.

Spiritual salvation is delivered from hell to heaven. But he's also talking about this man's condition. He says, this man is here healthy by that name. So the name of Jesus, he said, when he healed him, in the name of Jesus, take up your bed and walk.

You know, they seized him. There is power in the name because there's power in the person. So if you use the name without understanding the person, or if you use the name without knowing the person, or if you use the name without being connected to the person, all you're doing is throwing out words. See, it was because Peter knew the person, that there was power in the name. You have a lot of people running around saying, you know, in Jesus' name, in Jesus' name, in Jesus' name. But they're throwing out nomenclature or words unrelated to the person and the power and the relationship. The closer the relationship, there's more power in the name. The Bible says, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, Philippians 3-11, that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father.

It is the exaltation of that name. So if Jesus is just a throw-in name, don't be surprised that there's no clout. And when they saw the man who had been healed standing there, they had nothing to say in reply because they had a witness.

They ordered them to leave the council, the Sanhedrin, and they began to confer with one another. What are we going to do about these boys? Saying, what shall we do with these men for the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. Now that shows you how bad unbelief is. They're looking at the miracle, agree that it was a miracle, got all them people agreeing that it was a miracle, and they're talking about, what are we going to do about these guys?

That shows you how hard their hearts have become. For so that it will not spread any further among the people— we don't want them to know any more about Jesus, even though we can see the miracle— let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name. Oh, but watch this. Verse 19. But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.

He says, We can't keep this to ourselves. When they threatened them further, they let them go, finding no basis to punish them on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God. Remember, they were praising God. Now, when they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

They told them what happened. And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord, that unity thing, and said, O Lord, it is you who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that's in them, who by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our Father David said, Why do the Gentiles rage? Why are these people fighting against God? The kings of the earth took their stand.

The rulers gathered together. So we're in opposition now, because sometimes on one hand, when you talk about Jesus, you get a miracle. The next moment, you get resistance. So they said, We're coming up against resistance. For truly in this city, they were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, verse 27, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur.

Okay, please note 27 and 28. It says in 27 that they gathered, and they gathered together against Jesus, but verse 28 says to do what you had predestined. So what you have is human responsibility and divine sovereignty cooperating. Men are doing what God had determined, but men are choosing to do it. So God is accomplishing His purpose, even though men are doing the opposite to what they should do. We should tell you something about God, that He can take our worst and still accomplish His best. And now, Lord, take note of their threats when they threaten to fire You, illegitimately, when they threaten to reject You, when you are losing because you have taken a spiritual stand.

That's the situation here. God, take note of their threats. In other words, God, they just threatened you. Now, they were talking to us, but they just threatened you.

You pay attention. That's like calling on your big brother. Did you hear what they say, God? Take note of their threats and grant that your servants may speak your word with all confidence. In other words, don't make us quiet. Give us more boldness.

Don't let their threats shut us up. While you extend your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place in the name of your holy servant Jesus, and when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the Word of God with boldness. What happens when you're filled with the Spirit? Bold confidence speaking the name of Jesus. Make us bold to keep blasting Jesus. And it says when they asked that, they were filled with the Holy Spirit because it was about Jesus. So you and I and we must make a big deal about Jesus if you want to see the signs and the wonders and the miraculous and the supernatural to enter in even in a threatening environment.

Keep Jesus front and center because that's when the Holy Spirit shows up. Dr. Tony Evans with a call to live out our faith with confidence and to let the world see the power of Jesus at work in our lives. Now if you'd like to get a copy of today's message to review on your own or to share with a friend, it's available on CD or digital download as part of the special combo offer I mentioned earlier. All 14 full length lessons from Dr. Evans two volume series on the book of Acts along with his transformative book Kingdom Purpose designed to help you find and follow your one of a kind calling from God. They're yours with our thanks when you make a donation to help keep this listener supported program coming your way. Just visit tonyevans.org to make the arrangements or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222 where team members are standing by 24-7 to help you. That's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. Dr. Evans says the early church saw the power and presence of the Holy Spirit at work because of its unity. But tomorrow he'll tell us about an event that threatened that closeness and why it was dealt with so severely. It's a powerful story you won't want to miss.