First of all, Nancy and I wish
to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving. This Thursday is
Thanksgiving Day here in our country. I think Brother Ed has
already celebrated it up there in Canada. But we have so much
to be thankful for. Another year of God's grace. And another year of God's word.
And another year of fellowship in his word and around his word.
And there's been another year of testing, another year of tears
and conversation about things, another year of thanksgiving
to God, and for salvation enjoyed. He saved me. He is saving me,
and He will save me. It is all complete in Him. Now
I pray much for the church body, and I trust that you do too,
and for our families. And I pray that in this coming
year, we might have many doors of opportunity open to us. Now we find in the scriptures
that as the Apostle Paul was led to write by the Holy Spirit,
that he often found himself in a place where he had to leave.
But he praised God for those times when there was a great
door and effectual open to me. He did that in Corinth. There
was a great door, an effectual open to me. And we could say
that about Ephesus or any of the other places that the Apostle
Paul went. There was always a reason for
going there. And I'll never forget reading
for the first time after I was saved that Paul decided, wished
to go to an area and the Holy Spirit stopped him. And then
he said he wanted to go somewhere else. And the Holy Spirit stopped
him. And that night he had a vision
of someone in Macedonia, which is part of Europe, come over
and help us. And that's where he went and
preached the gospel and how God greatly honored his very word,
and many people were saved." Well, this draws us to our message
this morning as we look into the book of Acts chapter 3. Would
you join me in Acts chapter 3? As we continue our study in the
book of Acts, it becomes more and more great and honorable
because it is in this book that there are so many times mentioned
about the resurrection or the raising of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the significance of that resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We heard some of it this morning in the Bible class. God has accepted
the sacrifice. The Lord has sat down at the
right hand of the Father. We are in good stead. We are in
good possession in Christ Jesus. But here in the book of Acts
chapter 3, we find that the day of Pentecost has come and gone. Many people have been saved.
They've been added to the church. And the Lord continues to say,
the Lord adds daily, such as should be saved. such as should
be saved." Now we're going to be introduced to John and Peter. Peter and John going up to the
temple to pray. Now they were not involved in
those temple services anymore. They were not looking at those
sacrifices that were honored there. The temple service for
all intents and purposes from God's standpoint was over. Christ
is the Lamb of God. Christ went to the cross. He's
our Passover. And he fulfilled all the old
types and shadows contained in the Old Testament. But they went
up there because there was a place that they often went and could
pray. And on their way, they cross paths with someone who
is lame in his feet. I asked this question this morning.
Are you a lame beggar? Are you a lame beggar? Now this
chapter and the next chapter have to do with this healing
of this man. And it put the disciples in hot
water because they one more time brought up that the high priest
and all of those religious leaders had crucified the Lord of Glory. And you know that was like a
needle in them. They did not want to believe that they had
crucified their Messiah. But Peter and John continuously
brings this subject up. And we'll notice in this, these
two chapters, how many times the prophets wrote about this,
the prophets declared this, the prophets brought this up. And
they will bring that up to the magistrates and so forth that
are there. So as we read here, it says, now, Peter and John
went up together in the temple at the hour of prayer being about
the ninth hour. They're going up there about
3 o'clock in the afternoon. Now when we were on our trip,
it was interesting, they don't do it, a person doesn't get up
in these towers or minarets anymore, but they have loudspeakers. And we would be parked there
in our room and we'd start to hear this chanting that went
on, it was a call to prayer. For the muslims and we were on
a plane turkish air and on the way home They would show up there
on the screen at the front Which way was mecca and which time
of prayer it was you know? Time of prayer for me is all
the time But they're called a prayer and here we have that these two
are going up there not out of necessity they're going up there
as pleasurable how pleasurable it is to visit with God in Christ
Jesus, and how he has promised to hear his people pray. Now, we also know that he has
knowledge of what we have need of before we ask, and he moves
us to ask. It is His pressure in our back. It is His words in our vocal
cords, if I could just use that as an illustration. That He's
the one that brings up the thing that we should be praying for.
The things that we should be praying for. And we find out
that there's no need for any selfishness on our part, because
those are the prayers that are often left out to dry. We want to pray in His will.
Lord, Thy will be done. Remember reading about Mary the
mother of Jesus when she found out that she's not married, but
she's pregnant Lord be it unto me according to thy word now
that's that's the way God wants us to pray and these two are
going up there at the Certain time of day and on their way They cross paths with a lame
man now The Lord Jesus shared with us
in the book of Matthew, keep your finger right there if you
would for a moment. And in the book of Matthew, the
Lord brings up this subject that is so important even today. I might say, if you are a lame
beggar, I have good news. If you're not a lame beggar,
I don't have a word for you. it will just pass by. But lame
beggars love to hear the message that we're going to hear from
Peter and John, and that's the message of healing, if you're
a lame beggar. All right, here in the book of
Matthew chapter 9 verse 12, but when Jesus heard that, Matthew
chapter 9 verse 12, Jesus makes a comment about he being the
physician. And he says here in verse 12,
but when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, they that are
whole need not a physician. They that are whole need not
a physician, but they that are sick. Now they need a physician. And thanks be unto God that he
reveals unto us that we are in need of help. We're in need of
him, that we're not doing well, spiritually speaking, and we
need his intervention on our part. So as we go up there, we
find this lame beggar on his way. Verse one, verse two again,
back in the book of Acts, Book of Acts there, in verse 2, it
says, And a certain lame man, now the description is quite
plain. A certain man, we don't have
his name, but in the eyes of God he was a certain man. God
had him specifically picked out this day for crossing the paths
of John and Peter as they went up to pray. He is in the right
place at the right time and they're going at the right time and in
the right place when they go up there. How many times Peter
and John may have went up there in the past to have their prayer
and this man right there, like he has been for years, and their
paths didn't cross. They walked right by Him, but
their paths didn't cross. And now this day, we find out
God has ordained that their paths cross. I am so thankful that
God Almighty, in His great purpose of grace, will always bring good
news to His lost sheep and their paths will cross. Now, it may
be through sermon audio, and it may be through Zoom, but God's
people were going to hear the gospel of His free and sovereign
grace, their paths will cross, and they will find out that all
power for healing is in Him. And we have no ability of raising
ourselves, just like this man had no ability of raising himself
from the condition that he was in. And this condition has not
just been for two years or five years or 10 years or 20 years. We're going to find out that
this condition has been for 40 years. In fact, how old is he? He's 40 years old. He is in this
condition since his mother's bore him into this world. He
has never walked a day in his life. He has never been able
to support himself on his feet. And you know what? We find out
that this man sees his condition as normal because that's all
he's ever known. You know what? We, in our lost
condition, consider it as normal because that's all we've ever
known. We're thankful that God gets
involved in changing our normal. God gets involved in changing
our very thought about God. All right, as we look at this,
as they go up there, a certain man laying from his mother's
womb was carried. He had to be carried to this
position and he's gonna be carried up there apparently every day.
And it tells us here, because when we get a little further
in this chapter and in the fourth chapter, we're gonna find out
that they identify him as the man that's always been there.
He has laid there and he has a purpose for laying there. You
know, Nancy and I were there in some of the streets of the
towns that we were going to, and it's the same here. People going around with a little
cup, and they want to act very poor, and they mumble a little
and act like they're sick, and they're begging. They're begging. I'm sorry about the condition
of many people in this world. It breaks your heart. But the
condition of the soul is far more serious. And that's what
Peter and John do here. They don't have money for this
man. They're not going to give him
some money for his food. Now, that's his business of being
there is getting some money for food. He is expecting people
to support his need for food. And there he is every day, and
how much money he has in the bank, we don't know, but he is
a lame beggar waiting for someone to notice him there. A certain
man that was 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. No better people
to ask in this world than religious people for help. Here they are
going up there and these people go by and I'm sure that there
are a few of them that felt sorry for him. But we find out that
Peter and John are not going to feel sorry for him in that
capacity. Because Peter says, silver and
gold have I none. You're going to be hungry tomorrow
if I give you a dollar. You'll be hungry the next day
if I give you another dollar. But I have something that will
far greater superiority over that of just taking care of your
physical needs. He goes on to say, ìAsk of alms
that entered the temple, ìWhoís seeing Peter and John about to
go into the temple, ask an alms?î Now, from Peter and Johnís habit,
and this manís habit, I canít help but think that there had
been times in the past that their paths had crossed, but not effectually
crossed. Peter and John had not paid that
much attention to him in the past, and that man had not paid
that much attention to him in the past. But this day, we find,
and I love what we read in the book of Galatians, when it pleased
God. That's when something is done.
When it pleased God, their paths crossed. Now their eyes met.
We read here that Peter fastening his eyes upon him with John said,
look on us. This man was practicing his normal
being, crippled, Crippled crippled to him. It was as normal as going
to bed He had never walked a day in his life and this day Something
is going to take place that he couldn't even imagine could take
place He is so used to getting a dollar now. I'm using my money
compared to the money that they had in that day and time and
Probably had a drachma or something, but here he is waiting for some
money so he can buy some food and not have to beg from his
friends all the time. Peter fastening his eyes upon
him with John said, look on us. You know, it reminds me of what
Moses said to his father-in-law. Moses told his father-in-law,
come with us and we will do thee good. come with us, we will do thee
good." You know, I've told people that, come with us, we'll do
thee good. There's only the gospel that's
going to do any good to anybody on the long range. Now, I may
help somebody financially, but on the long range, they re going
to need some help again. But when it comes to spiritual
things, the Lord Jesus Christ s blood, when applied by the
Father and the Holy Spirit, when He causes us to be saved by His
grace and His infinite grace, He takes care of the problem
forever, that we ve been faced with forever, all of our lifetime. We are acting as normal, but
when he comes along, we're going to find out he takes care of
the normal and puts us in the abnormal. We are no longer broken
in the feet. Now, there are several people
in the Old Testament that I'm reminded of when it comes to
lameness. You remember the account of Mephibosheth? Mephibosheth. Now, there was
a king, first king of Israel, his name was Saul. Saul had a
son by the name of Jonathan. Jonathan had a son by the name
of Mephibosheth. Now, when Saul fell and Jonathan
was killed, we find that there is a whole movement to try to
get rid of this guy and the knowledge of him. And the nurse that was
taking care of Mephibosheth dropped him on his feet and he's crippled
the rest of his life. And when David comes to the throne,
he, as a picture and a type and a shadow, brings up the subject. Is there not one relative left
of Saul? And the report comes to David.
There is a son. His name is Mephibosheth, and
he lives in Lodibar. Now, when we were flying over
a bunch of turkey, it was Lodibar. I mean there was nothing but
desert. That's what the word means, a place of no bread. And that, spiritually speaking,
that is our lifetime before we're saved by the grace of God, there
is no bread. Because the Lord Jesus Christ
said, I am the bread of life. And that bread is serious bread.
It's longevity bread. It's forever bread. And he that
eats of me shall never hunger and never thirst. So we have
Lodibar, a place he's broken in the feet. You know what David
had done? Went and fetched him. Now Mephibosheth
would have never come to David because he thought that David
wanted his life. But when David went and got him
and fetched him and brought him to the king's house and fed him
at the king's table, he demonstrated great grace upon him and he did
that the rest of his life. Mephibosheth ate at the king's
table the rest of his life, broken in the feet. Now this man is
going to be a little bit different because Peter and John are called
on by God Almighty to heal this man. And we do not find that
the disciples ever left an impression in anybody's mind that they were
doing this by their own power. Jesus could do that. Jesus didn't
have to say a word, and we know He was healing by His own power.
He raised Lazarus by His own power. He healed people by His
own power. But the power that the disciples
had was only the power of Jesus Christ granted to them, and it
was for a season to completely authenticate the glorious activities
of the church that was brought about in that miraculous way
on the day of Pentecost. Now, the church didn't start
there. The church started in eternity past, and we find out
the first person in the church that ever met with God Almighty
after he died was Abel. There was a seat for Abel. First
person that ever was taken out of this world, but he had a seat
right there with God. Well, it continues on, doesn't
it? Seats are being filled as time goes on. And here we find
that this man, who is recorded to have this malady for 40 years,
has something happen to him that is glorious. Acts chapter 3, verse 4, And
Peter fastened his eyes upon him, when John said, Look on
us. You know, we say, Look unto Christ. John had some disciples, and
Jesus was there, and He says, Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. And they went and followed Him.
We point people to Christ. We have no ability in ourselves.
We have no ability in our words. We have no ability at all to
cause anything to happen. But we do find that God places
in His people a message of grace, and that alone is all we have
to share. All right. Peter fastened, looked
on us, and he gave heed unto them. What was he looking for?
He expecting to receive something of them, a dollar. And if it's really poor, a quarter.
And if it's really generous, it's two dollars. He expected them to do what everybody
else had ever done. You know, everybody else couldn't
help them. The only thing they could provide was food for the
next day. But Peter and John had been granted by God the power
to do something more than that. And in fact, they didn't even
bring up money. He expected money, but they didn't bring up money.
In fact, they said, silver and gold have I none. But such as I have, I give thee,
and in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. You know, when they brought that
subject up, and everybody around heard that, in fact, it's going
to be carried to the Sanhedrin court, it's going to be carried
to the Sadducees, that they were raising people in the name of
Jesus of Nazareth. That is exactly the accusation
that Pilate put upon that cross when they nailed Jesus to it.
Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Now, they went to Pilate
and said, oh, please, please, don't say that. Say that he said
that he was king of the Jews. And Pilate said, what I have
written, I have written. You know who moved him on that
point? God Almighty. This is Jesus of Nazareth. Now,
Jesus of Nazareth was, to many people, a miscreant, a false
leader, a false prophet, a false everything. But unto his people,
he is life and life abundant. And so they say, silver and gold
have I none, but such as I have, in the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, rise up and walk. Well, you know, to most people,
they think that this man needed to have some physical therapy
before he could do that. In fact, I watched a movie one
time that was depicting this, and you know, it took him about
five minutes to get up, and then they had to hold him and support
him up. What a fallacy. What a fallacy. You know, it's
kind of like we were in one of those, it had been a church,
the Muslims came in and they made it a mosque, and now it's
a church again. And there's lots of those small
little bitty rocks that have been put together to create a
mosaic. and the guide to our tour pointed out this picture
is of John This one is of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Jesus
is in the middle. And he said, in the book of Revelation,
I said, oh, good, we're gonna hear something good here. In
the book of Revelation, this is an account where John and
Mary plead with Jesus not to send anybody to hell but accept
everybody into heaven. Well, that's in the 39th chapter
of the book of Revelation. You are not going to find that.
What tradition has carried on? What lies have been promoted
in the name of religion? And here it is, even using the
Bible as a point. I wish later I'd have stopped
and said, what chapter is that in? You know, I had my Bible
right with me two or three times, and they'd bring up the chapter
and verse, and I'd read it. I'd say, that's not there. So they
have made up a conversation, and they think that they are
making headway with the people, and they're sharing a lie. Well,
this man, it says here, immediately, they took him by the right hand
and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength. And he leaping, doesn't sound
like much physical therapy, does it? It kind of looks like the
Lord was able to take care of the whole problem at one time.
And entered into the temple walking and leaping and praising God. What a spectacle. has taken place
right here, how God has caused them to meet Him with this word,
not silver and gold, but with this word of encouragement that
there's healing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we
find that that is also so true when it comes to spiritual things.
He received physical healing, but God is the one that provides
spiritual healing. And he demonstrated that in his
personal ministry here on this earth. If we go through the miracles
that Jesus Christ performed, he is always dealing, when he's
dealing with humans, he's always dealing with a physical malady
that is carried over to a spiritual malady. Blindness. You know,
one of my messages that we heard many years ago was about the
woman that was all bent over. There was a woman in the Bible,
all bent over, she couldn't look up. and the Lord healed her and
she could look up. What a statement about our condition
by nature that we cannot look up and He takes care of that. There was palsy, there was speech
impediments, there was hearing impediments, and all of these
things. Picture what Jesus Christ does
when He saves His people from their sins. I take care of every
spiritual malady that has ever been brought up about natural
man. My sheep are going to be complete in me. And that's why
he says we have every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. I will
take care of all spiritual maladies. Now, the whole need not a physician,
but they that are sick need a great physician. And so this man goes
in and all the people, verse nine, all the people saw him
walking and praising God. When did this happen? When it
pleased God. How long had he laid there? We
know he's going to be 40 years old. He's been doing it for 40
years. How many times did Peter and John walk by him? I don't
know. But we do know this day, the
appointed day, Peter and John noticed him and says, look on
us. And verse 10, they knew that it was he which sat for alms. What an interesting statement
we find there. They knew it was he that 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. The Lord Jesus brings up a number
of times in the scripture about those who were lame during his
personal ministry and he dealt with. Turn with me if you would
to the book of Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21. I have to say that we had a wonderful
time in Ashland, Kentucky at that conference. And I didn't
get many compliments, but one lady came up to me and says,
Norm, thank you for giving us time to find that passage of
scripture in our Bible and read it along with you. I said, well,
that's what I'm supposed to do. I want you to have time to look
it up in your own Bibles. And those were more noble at
Berea, then at Thessalonica, for they searched the scriptures
daily to see if those things were so. All right, here in the
book of Matthew, chapter 21 and verse 14, it says here, and the
blind and the lame came to the temple and he healed them. The blind and the lame came to
him in the temple, and he healed them. And the chief priests and
scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children
cried in the temple, saying, Hosanna, the son of David. And
they were sore happy." What's the word? Displeased. They didn't like this at all.
Turn with me, if you would, to the book of Luke. The book of
Luke chapter 7 as we find that the scriptures have this same
word used in various places during the ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ and share that it is His great power and this is why He
came to demonstrate in the healing of people physically what He
does spiritually for us. Oh, to be lame all our life,
to not be able to move all our life. And then one day, God,
by divine appointment, sends somebody who knows something
about the gospel and preaches that gospel, and we are caused
to hear it and then rejoice. And you know what? We'll never
be lame again. You know what? We'll never be
deaf again. You know what? We'll never be
blind again. That takes care of it for time and for eternity.
Salvation. All that the Father giveth me
shall come unto me, and he that cometh unto me I will in no wise
cast out. Here in the book of Luke chapter
7 verse 22, Then Jesus answering and said unto them, Go your way,
and tell John. Now John had a question. I've
had preachers say he was doubting his salvation. No, he had a question.
He had a question. No, the disciples could not see
that Jesus Christ came down here not to start an earthly kingdom,
but that he was going to the cross. how many times he told
his disciples, and even in that, it wasn't until after his resurrection
that they understood what he was talking about, and it was
by revelation. He said, oh, ye have little faith. Well, that's
not telling them that he's having problems with them, he's just
telling us by nature that's all we have. If we had faith as a
grain of mustard seed, we could say to Mount Hood, be ye removed,
and it would be removed. We don't have even faith as a
grain of mustard seed by ourself. It all must be supplied to us.
And so this faith, the Lord Jesus is going to encourage John with,
where is he? He's in prison. It won't be long
and they're going to take his head off of him. All right, listen
to this. Go your way and tell John what
things ye have seen and heard, how that the blind see the lame
walk. And more serious, the lepers
are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor
the gospel is preached. What miraculous things took place
during the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ in that three and
a half years. He did not come for the purpose
of healing everybody, but He demonstrates by healing these
people that He did heal. This is what I'm going to do
spiritually for everyone that is ever saved. I will take care
of their physical or spiritual lameness, their inability to
rise. I will cause them to rise. I
will cause them to see. I will cause them to hear. I
will cause them to taste. I will cause them to speak. I
will cause every spiritual thing because it is impossible on their
own. They cannot they are caught up
by the fall and there is nothing in that that can bring them out
of it Blessed is he who shall ever not be offended at me or
another translation who doesn't mind how I do my business You
know, sometimes we have to answer it's above my pay grade I Don't know why God said that
But I know that he said it and he's sovereign in the matter
Here, he said, don't be offended when I do my business. You know,
that's one of the things about salvation. He causes us to believe
all his word. And when he says, don't be offended
at the way I do my business, that means he may pass over somebody,
but don't be offended. and it may not be forever, it
may be for today. Just as Peter and John had passed
by this man, no doubt, many times in the past. In the book of John chapter 5,
would you turn with me there, John chapter 5 and there in verse
2, John chapter 5 verse 2, we read this. There's a man again that's unable
on his own to walk. It tells us here in John chapter
five, after these, there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus
went up to Jerusalem. He didn't go up there on a lark. He went up there on purpose.
He never went anywhere without a purpose. He never met anybody
that was not on purpose. There were no surprises in the
life of the Lord Jesus Christ because everything he did on
this earth had been purposed in the council halls of eternity
before time began. Everyone he met, everyone he
healed, every word he said, he's going according to script. And
that script is the everlasting covenant. He's going on script. All right, it says here, now
there was at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool. Where did
we find Peter and John? By the temple. by the gate beautiful. Here is at the sheep market a
pool, which is in the Hebrew tongue called Bethesda, having
five porches. And in these lay a great multitude
of impotent folk, a blind halt withered, waiting for the moving
of the water. For an angel went down at the
certain season into the pool and troubled the water." Now,
I've read this number of commentators say, oh, this is just words been
added. I'm just going to stick with what the Bible has to say.
I hope you do, too. Just stick with what the Bible
has to say. Whosoever was first in the troubling of the water
stepped in, was made whole of whatever disease he had. And
a certain man, again, we don't have a name, but it's the same
term that was used over there by the gate beautiful that Peter
and John meet. There's a certain man there which
had an infirmity thirty-eight years. Two years shorter than
the other man who had it 40. When Jesus saw him lie, he knew
that he had been now a long time in that place. He said unto him,
Wilt thou be made whole? Now this man, when he heard those
words, he couldn't put two and two together and come up with
four. He goes back and says, you know, I can't get down to
the pool. He never had any thought in his mind that this person
that he's speaking to, or speaking to him, has any ability whatsoever
of taking care of the problem. And that's what we are by nature.
We have no confidence in anything about God on our own, and we
don't think that he can take care of us, we're going to have
to help him along. Well, this man goes on and says,
Jesus says, wilt thou behold? And the impotent man answered
him, Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put
me into the pool. But when while I am coming, another
step is down before me. And Jesus said unto him without
his consent. You know, that was an interesting
thing about going over there to the book of Acts chapter three.
I do not read that Peter and John went up that way, up to
the temple and says, would you like to be healed? Would you
like to be healed? Would you like to be healed?
They didn't say a word, but they came to a man that needed it
and God moved on them. A door was open. All right. Jesus
said unto him, without his recognition, without his permission, without
anything. He says, rise, take up thy bed,
and walk. And immediately the man was made
whole and took up his bed and walked, and the same day was
the Sabbath. Now was that planned or not?
Everything about this whole scene was planned by God, and he planned
it on the Sabbath. Why? Because those Sadducees
and Pharisees were going to have a wall-eyed fit over this. How
can he be the Messiah and go against the Sabbath day? Well,
he did great things on the Sabbath day, didn't he? The Lord is our
Sabbath. He's our resting place. So Jesus
dealt with a certain man. How many did he leave unhealed? Many. Because it tells us there
that there was multitude. How many did he leave
healed? One. Why? God's sovereignty. That's the
way he does his business. And we think that he healed one. Nancy came back from a church
one time and said the pastor was explaining election during
one of his messages because she knew who, they knew who she was
married to. And said, election is like this. God has, there's a whole bunch
of blackbirds on the fence and God comes along and knocks these
off. And I thought about that a minute
and I said, that's exactly the opposite of what the truth is.
There's a bunch of dead blackbirds on the ground They cannot breathe. They have no ability in themselves. And he comes along and gives
them life and sets them on the fence. That's election. And they say, hallelujah. And
so do the people of God say, hallelujah, because God came
to me. Now, why didn't go to that person?
That's God's sovereignty. He is a sovereign God, and we
worship the sovereign God. All right, great multitude was
impotent, but there's only one that was healed. We find over
here, no doubt there were many that were at the temple called
Beautiful in the account of the Book of Acts, but only one is
healed. We find out he's 40 years old,
and because of this, incident because he was raised in the
name of Jesus of Nazareth. Because that went on, there's
going to be the beginning of a great persecution by unbelievers
against Peter and John and the rest of the believers. But Lo
and behold, the word of God will be honored, and 5,000 people
are saved as a result of hearing the gospel in this account, in
chapter 4. 5,000. We have 4,000 on the day
of Pentecost. 5,000 there. We have 9,000 people
that are saved in Jerusalem in this amount of time. And you
know what the church says? Hallelujah. Oh, there was a lot that didn't
believe. You know, that's the normal. That is the normal. This, I think of this man and
Jesus dealing with him through Peter and John. You know, the
Lord said about Lazarus, this sickness is not unto death, but
for the glory of God. And in closing, would you turn
with me to the book of John chapter 21. John chapter 21, verses 18
and 19. By the very mercy of God, by
the grace of God, by the purpose of God, he sent two of his disciples
on this errand that they didn't even know about at the time,
and they had that morning, someone set down a lame beggar that God
had his eye on from eternity, and their paths crossed. This
day, in a most enjoyable way, the man was healed. Well, look
here, as after the resurrection, Jesus said this to Peter. Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest
thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest. But when thou
shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another
shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. Now
notice the next verse. This spake he, signifying by
what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this,
he said unto him, Follow me. By what death he should glorify
God. Do you remember what the disciples
said when there was a man that was born blind? And they said,
Lord, who did sin? this man or his parents?" And
he said, it's not the parents that committed a sin that this
man is born blind, and not this man committed a sin that was
born blind. Not to say they weren't sinners,
but that's not the cause of this. But he was born blind so that
he might be healed for the glory of God. All right, Brother Mike,
if you'll come.