At Todd's Road Grace Church,
we'd like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neither. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nibbert. In Acts chapter 2, the apostle
Peter brought a message, and at the end of that message, the
scripture lets us know that 3,000 people were brought to a saving
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is actually the beginning
of the New Testament church. And in Acts chapter 3, some people
think that this was probably the next day after this sermon
on Pentecost. The next day we have the first
recorded miracle that took place. I'd like to read that to you
in Acts chapter 3, beginning in verse 1. We're going to read
the first 11 verses. Now, Peter and John went up together
into the temple. at the hour of prayer, being
the ninth hour, nine o'clock in the morning, and a certain
man 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 enter into the temple. who seeing Peter and John about
to go into the temple, asked an alms. And Peter, fastening
his eyes upon him with John, said, look on us. And he gave
heed of them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter
said, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I to
thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Rise up and walk. And this man, before I go on
reading, he was over 40 years old, and he had been lame from
the womb. Can you imagine what kind of
condition his feet were in? And Peter says, in the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him
by the right hand and lifted him up. And immediately, this
wasn't a gradual process. Immediately, his feet and ankle
bones received strength. And he, leaping up, stood and
walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and
leaping and praising God. Now, think about this. This man
had been a beggar for 40 years, born lame. I can't imagine the
condition of his legs and his feet. He'd never moved. He'd
never walked. Now, all of a sudden, he leaps
up and walks with him, leaping and praising God, verse 9. And
all the people saw him walking and praising God. And they knew
it was he which 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 first miracle after Pentecost. A miracle is an event not explicable
by nature or scientific laws, and this was indeed that. As
a matter of fact, the enemies of the apostles said, indeed,
a notable miracle has taken place. They couldn't deny that. This
was a miraculous healing. These people had seen this man
for years as a beggar. seeking alms, and now they see
him walking and leaping and praising God. His healing was instantaneous. Now, this miracle is a parable
of salvation. Does God still work miracles
in our day? Well, He can. I certainly wouldn't
say no, because He can. With God, nothing shall be impossible.
But the point behind this miracle is to teach us something about
God's salvation. Now, we read in verse 1, a certain
man. A certain man. God always saves
certain men and women. Men and women he purposed to
save. He was a certain man. He knows his own sheep. and calls them out by name. He
said to the Pharisees, you believe not because you're not my sheep,
as I said unto you. He knows his own sheep. Not everybody's
a sheep. a certain man, for whom he did
foreknow. He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified,
and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we
say then to these things if God be for us? who could be against
us. He was a certain man. God always saves certain men. He's always on the trail of his
sheep. And the scripture says he was
lame from his mother's womb. He was born in this state of
paralysis. He was born in this state of
inability. He was born in this state of
disability. He was lame from his mother's
womb. And that's given to teach us
something about what you and I are, sinners from the womb,
born sinful. born bad, born unable. David said, in sin did my mother
conceive me. The wicked are estranged from
the womb. They go about as soon as they be born speaking lies. Now, the reason I'm born sinful
is I'm born with my father Adam's sinful nature. You remember when
he ate of the fruit, the scripture says he died, and the day you
eat thereof you'll surely die. Now, he didn't die physically,
we know that, but he died spiritually. And he became unable to believe
the gospel. He became unable to love. no longer relish God's presence.
He went and hid from the presence of the Lord. He no longer wanted
to be around him because he was now dead in trespasses and sins. This man was lame from the womb. We're born into this world with
Adam's sinful nature. Now, there are four different
views a man can have of human nature. The first, and what many
hold to, is the evolutionary view. that man has evolved from
something. He's evolved. And there's so
many different theories on that. And it is a theory. Let me say that. Evolution's
a theory. It's not scientifically proven. It's a theory. But that
view says men have evolved. And that view means that men
don't need a Savior. They're just getting better.
They're going to get better and better and better. The survival
of the fittest through natural selection, man is just going
to get better. He's gone from this state to
this state to this state. He's evolving. He doesn't need
a savior. He's evolving. The other view
of human nature is that of man being born morally neutral. and he needs to be educated to
make him make the right choices in life, and he needs to be given
the right example, but he's born morally neutral, and if we educate
him in the right way, he'll make the right choices. Now, if that's
the case, men don't need a savior. They need a good teacher. They
need a good example. The third view of human nature
is men are fallen, Men are sinful. They were affected by Adam's
fall, but they still have the power of free will, and they
can decide to be saved. They can, of their own free will,
accept God's offer of mercy. They can accept it or reject
it, but if they accept it, they'll be saved. Now, if that's the
case, men don't need a savior. They need a persuader, somebody
to persuade them to make the right choice. And then the fourth
view of human nature, which is what I know the scripture teaches,
is that men are dead in sins. They're born that way. And a
man born that way, what he needs is a savior. He needs to be saved
from his sins. Now, this man, verse two, a certain
man 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. They set him outside
of the temple to beg. I think it's ironic that the
temple is called beautiful, and here this man sits before this
beautiful gate, but it can't do anything for him. Now this
beautiful gate, this temple, I know what it means in the Old
Testament, but what this has given is to teach us something
about man's religion. Here he sets to beg all religion
can do. It can't do anything about his
fundamental problem. his lameness, his sinfulness, his depravity,
his inability. Religion can't do anything about
his fundamental problem, but it can make his life a little
bit more comfortable. He sits there to beg, to get
money to make his life a little bit more pleasant, a little bit
more easy. Now, religion will provide moral
teaching, moral advice, psychological self-help, positive thinking,
the best you now, how to live a better life, social help and
social relief. It's what Peter called silver
and gold. Silver and gold have I none. But here they set him
at the temple looking for some help to make his life a little
bit better. But yet this could do nothing
about his lameness, his fundamental problem. Verse three, who, seeing
Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms. That's what he always did. When
he'd see somebody coming in, he would hope somebody would
be moved to pity him, and he asked an alms. Verse four, and
Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, look on
us. And this represents the Lord
fastening his eyes on his people. I love that passage of scripture
in John chapter five, speaking of those, that great crowd laying,
impotent folk, blamed, maimed, blind, waiting for the moving
of the water. And the scripture says there
was one who Jesus saw him. There were a lot of people there,
but he fixed his eyes on one and knew that it had been a long
time in that case. You see, the Lord sees his people. And Peter and John were made
to fasten their eyes on this man and say, look on us, look
on us. We've got something to say to
you. Verse five, And he gave heed unto them, expecting to
receive something of them, expecting to be given something that would
make his plight in life a little easier and a little better. And
he didn't have any idea what he was getting ready to hear
and what he was getting ready to experience. Verse six, then
Peter said, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give
I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, rise up and walk. Now here we have the function
of the church, the purpose of gospel preaching. It's not to
make your life better. It's not to make it to where
you have a better marriage or better finances or you won't
get sick and everything will be hunky-dory for you. That's
not the purpose of the church. That's not the purpose of gospel
preaching. That all goes under the name
of silver and gold. That's what the world can provide.
But Peter says, I don't have any of that. Silver and gold
have I none, but such as I have. give I thee." Now what does Peter
have? Christ Jesus the Lord. In the
name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise and walk. This is something silver
and gold cannot do for you. This is not something that religion
can do for you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth,
rise up and walk. And notice he says, such I give
thee. He doesn't say, I'm offering this to thee. The gospel is not
an offer up for your acceptance or rejection. Such as I have,
I give thee. God never gives and somebody
doesn't receive. If you didn't receive, it's because
he never gave. If he gives, you will receive. He says, in the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Now, the authority is in
his name. The ability is in his name. His
name is who he is. His name is all of His attributes. His name is His Godhood. His name is His righteousness. His name is His grace. His name
is His mercy. His name is His power. In the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Now, as you
go on reading, they were arrested for this. They were arrested
for this. They did this on the Sabbath
day, and they thought they were breaking the Sabbath. But look in verse 7
of Acts 4, And when they had set them in the midst, they asked,
By what power, or by what name, have you done this? And Peter,
filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people,
and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed
done to the impotent man, by what means he's made whole, be
it known unto you and to all the people of Israel that by
the name of, if he would have said Jehovah or God, everybody
would have said amen and would have agreed with him. And what
he said would have been true, but he wouldn't have been telling
the truth. You know, a lot of preachers say what's true, but
they don't tell the truth. They leave out what is critical.
Well, Peter didn't do that. He didn't say, in the name of
God, because everybody would have said, okay, we agree with
that. He didn't say, in the name of
Jehovah, people would have said, okay, I agree with that. But
he said, by the name, be it known unto you all and to all the people
of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom
you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him, that
this man stand before you whole. By his name this was done. Such as I have, give I to thee
in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Rise up and walk. Now understand this. May God
give you grace. May God give me the grace to
understand this. There's one reason for salvation. It's not because you do anything. The one reason for salvation
is the Lord Jesus Christ for His name's sake. That's why God saves, not because
you asked, not because you're worthy, for Christ's sake. Ephesians 4, 32, Be ye kind,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. Now, look what it says in verse
7 of Acts chapter 3. After he told him to rise up
and walk, verse 7 says, He took him by the right hand. Now, that word took is generally
translated apprehended. It's the word that's used for
arresting somebody. He took him. He apprehended him.
He didn't wait for him to do anything. He took him. I love
the song, hail sovereign love that first began the scheme to
rescue fallen man, hail matchless, free, eternal grace that gave
my soul a hiding place. Enwrapped in thick Egyptian night
and fond of darkness more than light, madly I ran the sinful
race, secure, without a hiding place. But thus the eternal counsel
ran, Almighty love, arrest that man. I felt the arrows of distress
and found I had no hiding place. Now that's what God does when
he saves somebody. He apprehends them. He arrests
them. He interferes. He stops them. He does something for them. Peter
took him by the right hand and lifted him up. And the scripture
says immediately, immediate salvation. Immediately his feet and his
ankle bones received strength. You see, this is what is called
invincible almighty grace. This is God's grace. God's grace
is not an offer. God's grace is not up to your
acceptance or rejection. When God gives somebody His grace,
a miracle takes place. They live. They're given life. Their feet and ankle bones receive
strength. And that's figurative. It was
literal here. This man really did. I mean,
he was 40 years old when this took place. But this is a picture
of God's grace. God's grace saves. God's grace
doesn't take no for an answer. God's grace apprehends. God's grace lifts up. God's grace Oh, by grace ye are
saved. By grace you save that not of
yourselves, but through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's
the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. He
lifted him up. He didn't wait to see if he had
faith to stand up. He lifted him up. And immediately,
instantaneous salvation, his feet and his ankle bones received
strength. You see, salvation is of the
Lord. This is indeed a miracle of grace. Salvation is of the Lord, and
even the reception of the gospel is by his grace. Let's go on reading. And he took
him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet
and ankle bones received strength. And I've got to say this. These
people who claim to be healers and say God's given them the
gift to heal, why don't they go into the hospital and do what
Peter and John did? Peter and John came to this man
and he healed a man who was born lame. And these people who claim
to have this faith healing ability, why don't they do this? I can
tell you why they don't do it, because they can't. It's phony. Those gifts left with the New
Testament. It was only through the laying
on of the apostles' hands that these gifts to heal and raise
from the dead and speak in tongues and so on were given. And when
that was taken, when the last apostle died, nobody else could
transfer the gifts. But when they came to this man,
He was healed. Verse 8, and he, leaping up,
stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking
and leaping and praising God. You see, he knew who to praise.
This was God's work. He wouldn't give Peter and John
the credit for this. Oh, he loved Peter and John.
He was grateful how the Lord used them, but he was giving
all the praise to God. And when God saves somebody,
that's what they do. They give all the praise to God. They say
salvation is of the Lord. They wouldn't dare give their
works the credit or their free will the credit. They say, praise
God. That's exactly what these men
did. And he leaping up, stood and walked and entered with him
into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. Verse 10. And they knew that
it was he would set for alms at the beautiful gate of the
temple. These people witnessed this. This man they'd seen for
40 years as a beggar, a lame beggar, sitting at the temple.
And now they see him walking and leaping and praising God
and they're amazed by this. And the scripture says in verse
10, they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had
happened unto him. Salvation is what happens to
a man. It's something God does, and
it happens to you. That's what they saw when they
saw this man who had been lame all of his life, now walking
and leaping and praising God. Something happened to this man. Now listen real carefully. You,
lame by nature, lame by birth, lame by choice, lame by practice,
sinful, unable to do anything. God says to you, rise up and
walk. The gospel is a command. Rise up and walk. Is He speaking
to me? Yes, He's speaking to you. Don't
try to figure out whether or not you're good enough or you
have had some kind of experience. Don't try to figure out whether
or not you're one of the elect or whether Christ died for you.
Don't try to figure out whether or not you've been born again.
Here is God's command. Rise up and walk. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. That's a command from God. And what did he do? He rose up
and he walked. And the people saw that something
had happened to him. Now that person who rises and
walks, indeed, something has happened to him. If you're saved,
do you know that God elected you before time began to be saved? That's what happened to you.
If you're saved, do you know that Christ stood as your surety
before time began and guaranteed He would do everything necessary
for your salvation? That's what happened to you.
It's not something you did. That's what happened to you. If you're
saved, did you know that Christ came and walked in this world
and kept God's law perfectly. He never sinned, and He did this
on your behalf. That's what happened to you. Christ kept the law for you. And if you're saved, when Jesus
Christ the Lord died, your sins were paid for. He took your sins and made them
His very own. If you're saved, that's exactly
what happened. He took your sins. He can do that. He took your
sins, your sins against God, your evil. He took your sins
and your sorrows and made them His very own, and He paid the
price on Calvary's tree. He put away your sins. That's what happened to you.
And when You experience salvation. In your experience, something
happened to you. You were given life. You were
birthed from above. And you were enabled to hear
the gospel as gospel. Something happened to you. Now
the gospel is good news. There was a time when it was
boring. There was a time when you weren't even interested.
But now it's the most important thing there is. Why? Something
has happened to you. If you persevere all the way
to the end, it's because you are kept. Something has happened
to you. You are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation. When you stand in glory, perfectly
conformed to the image of Christ, you're gonna know something has
happened to you. God did something for you. Now always remember, Salvation
is not what you do for God. Salvation is what God has done
for you. Salvation is not found in the
word do. Salvation is found in the word
done. It is finished. Peter said to that man who could
not stand, who was born lame, Rise up and walk, and the gospel
command to you is right now, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust Him as all that's needed
to make you perfect, and thou shalt be saved. Now we have this
message on DVD, CD, If you write the church, call or email, we'll
send you a copy. This is Todd Kniber, praying
that God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's
our prayer. Amen. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.