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Sermon Transcript September 27, 2015

Agents of Hope Acts 3:1-26

This message from the Bible was addressed originally to the people of Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church on September 27, 2015, at 511 Maple Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109 by Dr. Scott W. Solberg. This is a transcription that bears the strength and weaknesses of oral delivery. It is not meant to be a polished essay. An audio copy of the sermon on CD is available by request at (860) 563-8286. An audio version of this sermon

RESURRECTION It changes everything.

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Sermon Text Acts 3:1-26

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 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. 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 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, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, 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. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you

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first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Introduction

This morning we continue to make our way through the book of Acts. As we have already noted, it is the second book written by Luke. His first book is the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke is one of the four testimonies we have on the life of Jesus. Just like Matthew, Mark and John, Luke ends by recording for us the crucifixion of Jesus and then he gives testimony to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The last thing we see in the Gospel of Luke is the ascension of Jesus into heaven. That is exactly where the book of Acts picks up the story. You can look at the Gospel of Luke as Volume 1 and the book of Acts as Volume 2. And what is it that ties them together? The book of Acts reveals for us the ongoing “acts” of the risen Jesus in the world today. It is the resurrected Jesus that ties these two volumes together. It is in the book of Acts that we discover the events that unfold shortly after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The events of Acts 2 are a mere 50 days removed from the resurrection of Jesus. The theme of our series is that the resurrection of Jesus changes everything. That is exactly what we observe as we make our way through the book of Acts. There is no book of Acts if there is no resurrection of Jesus from the dead. As we make our way through the sermons of the book of Acts, we are discovering that it is the resurrection of Jesus that serves as the climax of each message preached. The resurrection of Jesus is the testimony of the apostles that carries us through the entire book of Acts. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is “the message” that is carried from Jerusalem in Acts 2 all the way to Rome in Acts 28. In fact, it is the message that still holds us together today. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15 that if Jesus did not rise from the dead then we have no basis for our faith and we have no hope. We wouldn’t be here this morning, doing what we are doing, if Jesus has not risen from the dead. This is our confession. This is what we believe to be true with all of our hearts. “We believe in Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, he suffered under Pontus Pilate, was CRUCIFIED, DEAD AND BURIED. He descended into Hades and the THIRD DAY, HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father (meaning that he is Lord of all) and from there he shall come again to judge the living and the dead..” This is what we give testimony to and what we believe to be true. I like the way Rich Mullins put it in a song he wrote about this early creed of the church. In the chorus he said, “I did not make it, (in other words, “I didn’t make this stuff up.”) rather, it is making me.” That is exactly the point of this series on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It changes everything! It changes what we believe about Jesus. He is Lord! And it is changing our lives for the good, therefore causing us to be God’s agents of change and

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hope for others. This brings us to Acts 3. As we make our way through this chapter, we will encounter a string of words laced throughout the narrative that describe the tone of life that comes into our lives when with faith we embrace the risen Jesus. The first word to describe our tone of life is “healing.” You can’t actually find this word in the text, but it is the word that describes what happens in the first half of the chapter. It is here where we will witness a lame man being healed “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” And then as the chapter unfolds, we find other words that are somewhat synonymous with the word “healing.” We find the word “refreshing” in verse 20 and “restoring” in verse 21. And then the chapter ends in the final two verses with the words “blessed” and “bless.” This is the “tone of life” that comes into the world as a result of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Peter characterized this tone of life in the verse we memorized last week out of 1 Peter 1. We have a “living hope.” In other words, this hope is alive. It shines through us. Because of the resurrection of Jesus we become “refreshing” agents of hope. Here is what I like about the way the word “refreshing” is used in verse 20. It is not confined to an event that may occur from time to time, rather it describes the overall tone of life for us. These are “times of refreshing” and we are moving towards “the time for restoring all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his prophets.” We live in a world that is filled with fear and is anxious and uncertain and filled with strife. But this is not the tone of life for us who possess this “living hope.” We bring healing and refreshment and restoration and blessing into a troubled world. We are carriers of hope. This does not mean that we don’t experience trouble and difficulty. You will discover next week that the events of Acts 3 brought great difficulty for Peter and John in Acts 4. But because they were marked with a “living hope” they possessed confidence and trust in God. At the same time, this “living hope” marked them with a sense of expectation. There was an expectation that the power of the resurrected Jesus can break into a situation and bring the blessing of the kingdom of God to bear in our suffering. There was an anticipation of the miraculous. There was a confidence in the power of the name of Jesus. There was an expectation that Jesus is active in this world and able to do above and beyond what one can imagine. They were filled with a “living hope.” To be honest with you, it is a tone of life that comes from the resurrected Jesus and it marks us in times of trouble and when we see Jesus do the miraculous. It marks us in life and in death. Because Jesus rose from the dead, this is our tone of life, we have a “living hope.” As we make our way through this chapter, that really is my question for you. Do you

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really believe that Jesus has risen from the dead? If so, what tone is marking your life? What tone do others see in you? Do they see a “living hope” shine through your life? It shows up in things like compassion, love, faith, confidence and truth. It is present in life and in death. This world needs to see this “living hope” shine through us like it did with Peter and John in Acts 3.

A Story of Hope

Acts 3 begins with a story of hope. It is a story of a miracle. The story begins with a man who has been lame since birth and it ends with him walking. Peter and John possess the “living hope” of Jesus and consequently they become a picture of agents of hope and blessing in this poor man’s life. So here is the story. Peter and John are on their way to the temple to pray. Keeping with the Jewish custom, there were three prescribed hours for prayer during the day. There was the morning prayer, the noon prayer and the evening prayer. The ninth hour would be 3:00 in the afternoon and so this is the beginning of the evening prayer. As they pass through the “Beautiful Gate” and enter the temple area they take notice of a man who sits there everyday. He has been unable to walk since birth. We discover in Acts 4:22 that this man was over 40 years old. No doubt, Peter and John passed by this man on a regular basis. Jesus probably passed by this man in his many trips to the temple. You get the impression from the text that he had been dropped on this spot for years. These are the people who kind of blend into the scenery and though they are there, how many people daily pass by without barely even taking notice of them. But on this day, Peter and John take notice of him. He was sitting there, asking for some spare change and when Peter and John stopped and took notice, I am sure he was filled with a measure of hope, thinking that they were about to extend mercy and drop a few coins in his cup. And it is here where Peter says in verse 6, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” The text says that immediately healing came to his feet and ankles. He didn’t just stand up. It says at the end of verse 8, that he was “walking and leaping and praising God.” One can only imagine how exuberant this man must have been in response to this miracle. For over forty years, he watched others walk by him. These people walking by him probably often took for granted the simple ability to put one foot in front of the other. How I am sure he envied them down through the years. And now here he is. I like how it says in verse 11 that “he clung to Peter and John.” He can’t stop hugging them and probably kissing them. And of course, everyone else observing this spectacle of joy recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms.” And now look at him!

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Here is what I learn from this story. Peter and John possessed the “living hope” of the resurrected Jesus and they were able to be agents of hope to this poor man because they believed that there was power in the name of Jesus. This resurrected Jesus, who ascended into heaven, did not remove himself from this world. Through the Holy Spirit, he assured his disciples that he would never leave them. Don’t forget, the book of Acts is the story of the “ongoing acts of the risen Jesus.” Our hope is a “living hope” because we have the living Jesus who is present among us. Did we not affirm last week from Acts 2 that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” We bring hope into this world because we operate under the conviction that there is power in the name of Jesus. I am not saying there is something “magical” about the name of Jesus. Rather, I am saying there is power in his name because the risen Jesus himself is active here. I want to say something about miracles. When we talk about the kingdom of God breaking into this world, we recognize that it came with the person of Jesus. We acknowledged this reality last week when we said from Acts 2 that “a new day has come.” In fact, the miracles Jesus performed were a demonstration that the kingdom of God has come into this world. Wayne Grudem says that “one of the purposes of miracles was to bear witness to the fact that the kingdom of God has come and has begun to expand its beneficial results into people’s lives.”1 In his book called Miracles, Eric Metaxas says “Miracles point to something beyond themselves . . . They are clues that that other world is not in our imaginations but is actually out there, wherever ‘out there’ actually is.”2 I agree and yet I would amend what he said by saying that miracles point to the fact that “that world” - that is the kingdom of God - is not “somewhere out there!” Rather, miracles demonstrate that it is here among us. Jesus said, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Miracles demonstrate what we read in verse 20, these are “times of refreshing.” And yet we still live in this fallen world, but in verse 21 we are reminded that some day the kingdom of God will come in full for “the time for restoring all things” is on the horizon. Now whenever we talk about miracles, we always have to be conscious of extremes. I am not talking about “name and claim it” theology that says if you release your faith you can speak a miracle into existence. Not only is that a dangerous theology, it is puts self at the center and it is abusive. There are many people with great faith who are not healed. Peter even says in verse 12 that this miracle was not a result of his “own power or piety.” The word “piety” refers to one’s spiritual maturity and faith. Rather, this is simply the result of the sovereign power of Jesus on display in this man’s life. At the same time, the other extreme is to reduce our faith to something that is purely rational and to forget that there is power in the name of Jesus. If we want to be agents of “living hope” in this world, we must have a firm belief that there is power

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in the name of Jesus. I am not suggesting that we need to see miracle after miracle to offer this hope. But it is a hope that finds us turning to Jesus, trusting in Jesus and helping others to do the same. After graduating from Pepperdine and London School of Theology, John found himself at the age of 30 pastoring a small and struggling church in one of the least churched counties in the country. In that church was a mild mannered man by the name of Michael. He was one of the volunteer worship leaders. That week, his estranged dad had died and to top it off, his arm was in a sling because of a pinched nerve. With moist eyes because of the pain, Michael had to tell the pastor that he was in too much pain to lead the worship that morning. Immediately the pastor’s mind began to race, trying to figure out how to tend to the details of the service since one of the main participants is not available. Being a bit dismissive, he said to Michael that everything would be alright. The service must go on! And it did. As the service begins, from the front the pastor is watching Michael and it was obvious that he was in pain. Uncharacteristically, the pastor stopped everything and he told the congregation what was going on with Michael and asked him to come forward. He placed his hand on Michael and asked for healing, but also acknowledged that if God chose not to heal that God would help Michael be brave and strong. About ten minutes later, in the middle of a song, this mild mannered parishioner started jumping up and down, just like the man in our story. He shouted from the pew, “He did it, John! He really did it!”3 Part of bringing “living hope” to this world, is the belief and the conviction that there is power in the name of Jesus. Does that always mean there is a miracle and a healing? No. There are many ways we can see how Jesus is present and working in our lives. And yet, as Grudem says, “there is nothing inappropriate in seeking miracles for the proper purposes for which they are given by God: to confirm the truthfulness of the gospel, to bring help to those in need, to remove hindrances to people’s ministries and to bring glory to God.”4 Let us live our faith as those who believe that there is power in the name of Jesus. In doing so, we are agents of hope in this world.

Our Cause for Hope

Now as you can imagine, once this very familiar man, who was somewhat of a permanent fixture outside of the gate leading into the temple, was seen “walking and leaping and praising God” the people were “utterly astounded.” In fact, they ran towards Peter and John to learn more about what they just witnessed. This is what leads to the sermon that unfolds starting in verse 13. “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy

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and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” Once again, this sermon finds its crescendo at the news that this Jesus who died has risen from the dead. To this they are witnesses. Peter is speaking to his own people, to fellow Jews. He tells them that “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers” is the same God who “glorified his servant Jesus.” Remember, the observant Jew so reveres the name of God, that he doesn’t even pronounce it. And Peter is saying to them that their God has verified his approval of Jesus through the miracle of raising Jesus from the dead. And furthermore, by referring to Jesus as God’s “servant” he is looking back into the Old Testament where the prophets spoke of a coming “servant” who would bring the blessings and hope of God into this world. There is a series of prophecies in Isaiah that are called “Servant Songs.” There are four chapters in Isaiah (42, 49, 50, 52-53) that speak of this coming servant. The most familiar to us is Isaiah 52-53 where we read of a “suffering servant” who will bear our sins. But prior to that we read of how this coming servant is the hope of the world. I like what is says of this coming servant in Isaiah 49:6, “It is too light of a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” And so Peter is saying that this “salvation” that our God has promised, has now come. How do we know? God’s servant has been attested to you through the miracle of his resurrection from the dead. It is the resurrection of Jesus that becomes the cause for our “living hope.” Is that not what 1 Peter 1:3 says, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.” Through the resurrection of Jesus, God demonstrated that he has power over death. This very power becomes the source of our confidence that we can bring hope and life into the lives of others. Peter gives the implication of the resurrection of Jesus in verse 16 when he says, “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.” We have confidence that we are carriers of hope in this world because our hope is in the “living hope” who has risen from the dead. Paul prays in Ephesians 1:18-20 “that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you . . . and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead.” In other words, we have great confidence that God has sent us into the world to bring hope because the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work inside of us. That is a lot of power. That

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should move us forward into this world with great confidence that God is using us for good. I love the fact that in his book on miracles, Eric Metaxas includes a whole chapter on the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But he doesn’t treat is just as an event that happened. Rather, in his conclusion he talks about how life transforming this miracle was. He writes, “Part of the miracle of the resurrection is that it so empowered a ragtag band of fishermen and tax collectors that they were emboldened to stand against all earthly authority and power, and ultimately would upend the once inviolable order of the mighty Roman Empire. History tells us that this happened. So what better explanation can be offered for how it happened. Unless we have missed something, there exists none. And if there exists none, we are invited to submit to the logic of what we now know: that this most celebrated and most scorned miracle of miracles actually happened.”5 And I would add, that it is this miracle that empowered Peter to speak life and hope in the name of Jesus into that man who was lame from birth. It is this miracle that gives us confidence to be agents of hope in this world and to do so in the power of the name of the risen Jesus Christ. He is at work through us in this world.

A Day of Hope

As Peter continues in his sermon, having given testimony to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, just like last week in Acts 2 he calls the people to repent of their sins. He says in verse 19, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 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.” So when you embrace this resurrected Jesus by repenting of your sins, you become part of something bigger than yourself. Yes, your sins are forgiven and you are made right with God. But there is more than that. One of the result of repenting of your sin is “that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” This is a description of the day in which are living now that Jesus has ascended and the Holy Spirit has come. This day is alluded to in Isaiah 32:15 where it says, “Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.” The notes in the ESV Study Bible define these “times of refreshing” as the refreshment inside of us that comes from the Holy Spirit. But it also points to the refreshing that comes to the world “affected by believers who are changed by the power of the Spirit.” Do you see it? Because Jesus has risen from the dead, we have a living hope that lives inside of us and so we are agents of hope in this world wherever we go.

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You get the same impression at the end of this passage where Peter reminds them of the promise God made to Abraham. He promised Abraham that through his seed, his descendants, God would bring blessing to this world. And so Peter is saying here that this promise is fulfilled in Jesus. God is bringing blessing to this world through the resurrected Jesus and through the covenant people of God. That is us! And so we read in verse 25, “You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning everyone of you from your wickedness.” So this blessing of hope that comes with the resurrected Jesus, comes to Israel first. But then, through the church, it spreads throughout the world. We are agents of hope as we come to others in the name of Jesus. When we turn to people with compassion and love, we are bringing the blessing of God to others. When we turn to God in prayer and pray for others in the name of Jesus and encourage them to turn in faith to Jesus, we are brining the blessing of God to others. When we proclaim Jesus, the crucified and risen Savior and Lord to others with grace and conviction, we are bringing hope and blessing to this world. This is the point. We are living in the day of hope. Because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, “times of refreshing have come” and through God’s people, Jesus is bringing hope to others. This is the tone that ought to mark us. We have the living hope of Jesus in us and we should be so bold as to believe that as we serve God in the powerful name of Jesus, God is going to use us to bring “times of refreshing” into the lives of people. Are you marked with a tone of hope? What more do we need? Jesus has risen from the dead!

An Agent of Hope

As I close this morning, I want to give you something very practical to do in light of this sermon. With the confidence that comes from the resurrected Jesus, I want you to see yourself as an agent of hope in this world. Where is the “lame beggar” in your life. What person are you “passing” each day that is living under the oppression and curse of this world and living without hope. It may not be a physical ailment that is at play in this person. It could be an emptiness. It could be a loneliness. It could be a fearful heart. It could be brokenness. It could be a disappointment. It could be someone who has hit rock bottom. I want to give you something to practice this week that will help you become an agent of hope. If you do this, it will move you towards people. We need to start seeing ourselves as the means by which God is bringing “times of refreshing” into this world. It is the certainty of the resurrection and the boldness to believe that there is power in

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the name of Jesus, that moves us to do so. So here it is. It is built around the word “BLESS.” Because that is what the goal is. You want to bring the blessing of God to others. B - Begin with prayer. Ask God to help you see the “beggar” you pass everyday. Who is it that God is placing on your heart. Don’t skip this part. Ask God to put the name of someone God wants you to bring the prospect of blessing. L - Listen for God. Be quiet. We don’t do quiet well. If you are going to ask God to put the name of someone on your heart, be quiet for awhile and let him speak a name into your heart. As you sense the Spirit of God prompting you, be obedient and step out in the confidence that you have in the resurrected Jesus and reach out to this person. E - Eat with the person. There is something that happens when you spend time eating with people. Relationships are formed. Lives are shared. Stories are told. Friendships are developed. The idea here is to build a friendship. S - Serve this person. As you get to know this person, you discover real tangible ways you can be an encouragement to them. With Peter and John, it was addressing the physical need of the lame beggar. In what ways can you bring refreshment to this person that lets them know that you and God loves them? S - Share your story. As your relationship grows, you will have opportunity to share with that person what is most important to you. If that person is convinced that you genuinely love them for who they are, they will at least give ear to your story and what Jesus means to you. Since we are in times of refreshing and the Spirit of God is at work through you, why would we not expect God to use us to bring others to himself? This is something that unfolds over time. It is a way of life. But here is what it does. It embraces the truth that we are agents of hope who have encountered the living hope and who believe that there is power in the name of Jesus. Lets BLESS others this week. ____________________ 1Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994) 360

2Eric Metaxas Miracles (New York: Dutton, 2014)

3Ibid

4Grudem, 371

5Metaxas

© by Dr. Scott Solberg - All rights reserved

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Sermon Title: Agents of Hope

Sermon Text: Acts 3:1-26

Sermon Date: September 27, 2015

1. Give an opportunity for those who memorized 1 Peter 1:3-4 to recite it for the group.

What part of the verse was particularly meaningful to you? Why? Next week add verse 5.

2. Get in groups of 3 or 4. Share the following with each other: What can you identify as a “turning

point” in your life? 3. What is one thing you are taking from Sunday’s sermon?

4. Read Acts 3:1-12. What are some observations you make of this story? What do you think it

looks like to live and pray with confidence that there is power in the name of Jesus? How do you

keep in balance the expectation that God can do the miraculous with the trust that God knows

what is best for us?

5. The four key words that set the tone for this passage are “healing” (the event of Acts 3:1-12),

“refreshing” (20), “restoring” (21) and “blessed/bless” (25-26). Discuss how these words are

used to describe the “living hope” we have in the resurrected Jesus. What do you think it looks

like for our lives to reflect the tone of these words?

6. Read Ephesians 1:18-20. What do these verses tell us about the power of God at work in

us? Does this surprise you? How does this verse encourage you and empower you to be an

agent of hope to others?

7. Talk about what it looks like to live out the acronym B.L.E.S.S.

B—Begin with Prayer

L—Listen to God

E—Eat With

S—Serve

S—Share

What does it look like to live out individually?

What does it look like to live out collectively?

8. What gives you confidence that you are called by God to be an agent of hope in this world?

9. Based on what you talked about, offer a “thank you” prayer and a “help me” prayer. 10. Continue to work on memorizing your verse for the week, 1 Peter 1:3-5.

Getting To Know Me Questions

Diving Into The Word

Taking It Home