Sermon Extras

SERMON NOTES

Rooted and Renegade: Acts 3:1-26 “A map for a miracle” 

REVIEW: PODCAST QUESTIONS! We have spent a lot of time in Acts Chapter 2:

• Acts 2 is the moment that Christianity becomes a movement.
• Acts 2 is the birth of the New Testament Church. 
• Acts 2 is the fulfillment of God’s promise to give the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
• Acts 2 is about the Spirit of God in us. 
• Acts 3 is about the Spirit of God through us. 
• Luke gives us a little bit of a preview of this in Acts 2:43, “And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.” 

CONTEXT> Now what we see in Acts 3 is an expansion on that statement. This is the first recorded miracle through the Apostles in the Book of Acts. Why is this a big deal? Because the Apostles continue the ministry of Jesus. Before we get started I think we need to do a little bit of work: 

1.   What is a miracle? A miracle is an extraordinary move of God that authenticates the message of the Gospel. 
2. What is the point of a miracle? The point of a miracle is to point to Jesus. 
3. Why don’t we see miracles today like we do in Bible days? 
1. Because of God’s common grace in the advancement of human medicine. 
2. Because of God’s sovereign plan of redemption. 
3. Because of the hardening of the human heart. 
4. Because we don’t see the ordinary every day miracles of God as miracles. 

Context> The key to understanding miracles is actually found in the main word that used to describe them in the bible. “This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.”- John 4:54 What is the purpose of a sign? To point to something! *ILL> Driving to the country wedding and following the signs. 

APP> 3 things a miracle points to : 

1. Miracles point upward to the King.

• v6 “…In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” v16 “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.” Do you see what Peter is saying here, he keeping deflecting, he keeps point to something. 

*ILL> I remember being in a Christian school in TX and there was all this buzz going around that we were going to get “accredited”. The O.E.D defines accredited as – (of a person, organization, or course of study) officially recognized or authorized.

APP> Miracles are not the goal. Miracles are a means to validate the gospel message and gospel messenger. 

APP> The point of miracles is to point to Jesus. “How often do we seek the gifts over the giver?” 

2) Miracles point forward to the kingdom. 

• v8 “And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.” Notice something… Luke is a Doctor so he is going into great medical detail here.. but do you notice the word “leaping” that means something and would have meant something to those there and it’s an OT prophecy in Isaiah 35…. “Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
• v21 “Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.”

“Why didn’t Jesus ever show off his powers in miracles, with X-ray vision or something? Why is it that all the miracles alleviate suffering? Because it’s pointing forward to the end of all things, to the end of history when God restores all things. Here is what we learn: God did not invent blindness or sickness, he didn’t invent lameness. God didn’t create a world with suffering and death but he came into a world filled with suffering and death.” – Tim Keller 

*ILL> One of my favorite things is to go see movies, and I have to see previews! 

APP> Miracles are previews of coming attractions. 

3) Miracles point inward to the brokenness. 

• v6 “But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you..” What is Peter saying here… do you see that he switches.. he goes from the material to the spiritual… He is essentially saying.. “Whatever you think you need most… there is a greater need.” Think about it.. Peter could tell this man, “you think that if your legs worked you’d never be unhappy again… but look at all these people who have their legs and look how unhappy they are…” 

APP> What if the thing you think you needed most, isn’t your greatest need?

APP> The greatest need that every single person has is a relationship with God the Father based on grace and forgiveness. 

Application> So what is the solution, Peter actually tells us how to respond to this miracle… v19 “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

APP> Repentance is turning from sin and turning to Jesus. 

If the point of a miracle is to point to Jesus what is our response with Jesus? 

*ILL> Joni Erackson Tada… “I grew up in a little congregation where they read the Gospel, sang hymns from the heart, and kneeled in prayer. Sunday worship was serious business and I learned as a child what it means to bend my knee before the Lord. Obviously, God listens whether his people pray standing, sitting, or lying prostrate. So what’s my point about kneeling? I wish I could do it. Being paralyzed, it’s impossible for me to kneel for prayer. Once at a convention, the speaker closed his message by asking everyone in the room to kneel on the floor for prayer. All five hundred people got on their knees. All except me. I cried, not because I felt awkward but because I was struck with the beauty of seeing so many people bow in worship. I breathed a prayer: “Lord Jesus, I can’t wait for the day when I will rise up on resurrected legs. The first thing I will then do is to drop on grateful, glorified knees.”

Application: 

• What miracle do you need in your life? 
• What do you most need to believe about the gospel in your life, right not? 
• What is the Spirit saying to you?
• What are you going to do about it? 

(Portions of this sermon have been influenced by Tim Keller, JD Grear, JC Ryle, Charles Spurgeon)