I want to bring to you this morning
a story from the book of Acts chapter three. Story of a lame
man who was healed by the Lord through two men, Simon Peter
and John, the apostles. This is the story though of every
person saved by sovereign grace, saved by the Lord himself. This
is my story. Uh, in verses one through three,
let me read it to you. 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 and they laid
daily at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful, beautiful
gate. They laid him there to ask alms
of them that entered into the temple, asked for help. Who seen Peter and John about
to go into the temple, asked them an alms, asked them for
help. It says these two men went up
together into the temple. These two men were together,
Peter and John. Who were they? Well, when you
think of Simon Peter and John the Apostle and Matthew and these
men, do you think of someone very, very special, someone much
higher and nobler and someone has supernatural powers? No,
these were just men whom the Lord chose and called and saved,
and they were just sinners like everyone, like Me, like you,
saved by grace. They were once fishermen, and
now fishers of men. They were once never thought
of God. They never gave a thought to God. Fishing was their life.
Now Christ is their life. Now they rarely think about fishing. And they were once in business. They had boats and nets and all
that. Well, when Christ came and called them, they dropped
all of that to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. These two men were
together. Scripture says where two or three
are gathered together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is there. So as they went up to the temple. at the hour of prayer. These
two men once never went to the temple to worship. Now this is
their life. It says they went up. The Lord
called them from the bottom of a boat to go up to his temple. like the children of Israel were
in Egypt. They were in the slime pits.
The Lord brought them out of those slime pits, out of the
depths, up to Mount Zion. And that's what the Lord does
for a sinner. He takes them from this miry
clay to set their feet on a rock. They go up. These two men went
up together to the temple, God's house. God's house, where God's
people are, where God is worshiped. God still has His places where
His name is there and His people worship Him in spirit and truth,
rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ. God's house, a place chosen.
And what our Lord called the house of God was a house of prayer.
And verse one says they went to the house of prayer the ninth
hour. What a blessing to pray. What a mercy if we do pray and
feel the need to pray. What mercy if God hears us pray. What a privilege, what a blessing
to pray. Well, they went up the ninth
hour and it says a certain man Lame from his mother's womb was
carried and laid daily at the gate of that temple. A certain
man, he was lame, he could not walk from birth. Someone carried
him, laid him at that gate. A certain man, all through scriptures
it says this many times, a certain man, a certain woman. This man
has no name. He's a nobody from nowhere and
he's lame on his feet, he cannot walk. He never had. He will today. Today is His salvation. The Lord
saves certain individuals, certain people whom He hath chosen in
love and mercy and grace to cause them to walk by faith, to come
to Christ. All of us are born lame. We cannot
walk. We will not walk by faith, walk
in paths of righteousness, cannot come to God. Christ said of many
that were right beside him, he said, you will not walk by faith.
Coming to me. Oh, they were Religious and they
were interested in this Jesus, but they had not really come
to him for mercy for salvation But this man will and all of
God's people Will in due time it says this man was carried
every day They carried him and laid him at the gate of this
temple. Do you know that you and I have been carried? all
of our lives God has carried us, has fed us, has girded us,
though we did not know him. He is God in whose hands our
breath is. We're in his hands. He has carried
us all our days. This man probably never gave
God a thought. He will. Well, they laid him
at this gate, the gate of the temple, the gate of the temple
called beautiful. They laid him at the gate. He's
not in the temple. He's outside. He's not inside. He's at the threshold. He's near,
but he's not in. Oh, how many people come into
the church house that are not in Christ, in God, in the kingdom. How many sit in the pew, not
seated in Christ, in the heaven. How many people think the building
is beautiful, the singing is beautiful, the service is beautiful,
but see no beauty in the Lord Jesus Christ, see no need of
him. Well, there this man sat, sat
on the outside. He's not inside. This was me. This was me. In Ephesians 2,
it says of some that were dead, who were quickened, this was
me. In time past walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children
of disobedient. That is just like everybody else. No thoughts of God captive to
the God of this world and the things of this world down in
verse 11. It says in verse 12, it says without Christ, aliens,
strangers from the truth, no hope without God in the world.
That's that was me. That's everyone by nature, but
it says, but now in Christ Jesus, who you, who were sometime a
far off or made an eye by the blood of Christ brought into
the kingdom by the sovereign mercy and grace of our God, by
the gospel of God, by the spirit of God, that was me. That was
this man. They carried him daily, laid
him at the gate. He's not on the inside. He's
going to be. And he saw Peter and John, he saw two men go into
the temple and he asked all of them. He saw two men. As I said,
these weren't special men. They were just men. And what
he saw in them was two men that might help him out financially. He had no spiritual need. Now,
Simon, Peter, and John were apostles, men of God, sent by God to do
one thing, preach the gospel, the gospel which is the power
of God, the word of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, the word,
the salvation of God in Jesus Christ, the power of God to raise
dead sinners, to make people walk by faith and come to Christ,
to walk into the kingdom like Enoch. Well, he didn't see anything
in these men but two men that could help him financially and
so he asked them for some money Oh, how many people come to the
study of the church building where I sit and prepare the messages
such as this, where I'm sitting right now, bringing this message
to you. How many people come here seeking
a handout? None. I say none come here asking
for spiritual help, for answers from God's word. Verse four,
Peter fastening his eyes upon this man with John said, look
on us, look at me, look at us. You know, preaching is to people.
We're not, Paul said, I don't fight as one that beats the air,
shadow boxing, or not speaking to hear my own voice, but preaching
to people, the word of God, the people, the salvation of God,
the people that are lost. Word of God. And Peter said,
look on us, look at me. What do you see when you see
the preacher? Just a man? Yes, that's all he
is. That's all he is. It's just a man. But I tell you
what he has, if the Lord sent him, he has the salvation of
God in the message that he brings. And you need to listen, you need
to take heed to what he's saying, like these two men, Simon, Peter,
and John. In verse five, the man gave heed
unto them. He heard them, and he's listening,
expecting to receive something of them. Oh, he's going to receive
something, all right. Something he did not expect,
something he wasn't looking for, something he wasn't wanting.
He wanted money. He's going to receive mercy.
He wanted financial help. He's going to receive soul salvation. Oh my. Here's what Peter said
to him. Peter said the gospel in one
line, Simon, Peter said, silver and gold. Have I not, but such
as I have give I thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
rise up and walk. In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, rise up and walk. Silver and gold, he said, have
I none, but I preach a person. I preach the Lord Jesus Christ
and his salvation. In Peter's letter to the church,
he said, you know, you're not redeemed with corruptible thing
as silver and gold. People take great refuge in their
money and their possessions and their savings account and a trust
in riches. The scriptures calls them the
deceitfulness of riches, the uncertainty of riches. No man
can redeem his soul with money. You're not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold or from your vain conversation.
We're not redeemed. We're not saved by works. No
one is justified by his own works, by his morality, by anything
he's ever done or quit doing. It's all vain, he said, or traditions
received from your father's church tradition to do this or do that.
But he said, we're redeemed, saved, forgiven. Brought into the kingdom of God
one way. Verse 19 and first Peter one were the precious blood of
Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. This is what
Peter was preaching. In the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, rise up and walk. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, Son of Man, Jesus, yeah, but God manifest in the
flesh. Jesus Christ, second Adam from
above, Messiah, Savior, Redeemer, Prophet, Priest, King, the only
Mediator, the only Savior of sinners, the only Redeemer, the
only name given among men under heaven whereby we must be saved
in the name, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ shall be saved. Well, he said, in the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he laid hold
of that man in verse seven, took him by the right hand, lifted
him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
Now, a man can receive nothing except to be given him from above.
The Spirit of God, the Word of God came in power and lifted
this man up. It says, leaping up, he stood
and walked and went into the temple. He never been in there
before. He is now with Peter and John. It says he was holding on to
these two men. walking by faith, walking with
them into the house of God to worship the God he never gave
a thought of, and holding on to these men who were now his
brethren in Christ. And all the people saw what had
happened to him, and they wondered greatly at the great mercy and
grace of God to make a lame sinner walk again. How about you? Oh,
may the Lord lay hold of you through his word and cause you
to rise up, come to Christ and walk by faith. Amen.