Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Acts: Enlarging Our Vision
What's In A Name? 08/31/08
Sermon Series: Acts: Enlarging Our Vision
Message: ‘What’s in a name?’ Text: Acts 3:1-26 pt.1
Introduction: There were two not so bright men in a pickup truck that drove to a lumberyard. One of them walked in the office and said ‘We need some 4x2’s’ The clerk said, ‘You mean 2x4’s don’t you?’ The man said ‘I’ll go check.’ And went back to the truck and called his boss. He returned a minute later and said, ‘Yeah, I meant 2x4’s’ Alright, how long do you want them?’ asked the clerk. The man paused a minute and said ‘I’d better check.’ After a while he returned to the office and said, ‘A long time cause we’re building a house.’ (Paul Decker)
Some people need more help than others…
wouldn’t you say? We’ll find that to be true as we read about a man who thought all he needed from Peter and John was some money. But what he really needed from them was a name…and not just any name…the Name…Jesus.
I did a search on the computer and found the most popular baby names in 2007 were. Any ideas?
· Boys: Aidan, Braden, Caden, Ethan, Caleb, Gavin, and Dylan
· Girls: Ava, Sophia, Abigale, Cailyn, Madeline, Isabella and Emma.
Every name is special, but none is as special as the name, Jesus.
Transition: Open your Bibles to Acts 3:1 (Pg. 832 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you) For it’s here that we’ll see what’s in a name.
I. Acts 3:1-11 The Miracle
Ordinary Times
ILL: Everyday we drive on roads to work, to church, to the homes of family and friends and to shop. If we drive slow enough we’ll notice of myriad of signs on the side of the road, like:
· Fines doubled in work zone
· Lane ends, merge left
· Caution: men at work
In the book of Acts, if we ask God to slow us down and enlarge our vision, we can see the sign that reads ‘Caution: God at work!’
Read: Acts 3:1-3
I want you to notice that Luke doesn’t write ‘One day Peter and John went out so they could do some miracles.’ He didn’t write ‘When Peter and John woke up that morning they knew that day would be different from any other day.
From everything we can see in the text, this was just, an ordinary day.
We read that Peter and John were on their way to the Temple for prayer. It was 3 in the afternoon…one of the 3 required times of prayer for faithful Jews
· 9am, noon, 3pm
· better known as the 3rd, 6th and 9th hours
So going to the Temple at 3 in the afternoon was nothing out of the ordinary for any religious person in Luke’s time. In other words, Peter and John were just on their way to church. It was their habit, part of their routine. For them it was just another day.
But it’s in the midst of ordinary days that we often find God at work.
Peter and John were on their way to the Temple to worship God. They would pray, read Scripture, sing, give their tithes and offerings and hear a teacher of the Law explain Scripture.
These things, to most, are just the ordinary activities of church attendance.
But to the Christian whose eyes are opened and whose vision is enlarged, these ordinary activities of worship bring about the extra-ordinary presence of God Himself into their lives.
Ordinary times, ordinary activities – extra-ordinary God!
Ordinary People
Not only does God work in ordinary times, but He works through ordinary people.
· Moses was an ordinary guy with ordinary hang-ups, like not being a good speaker.
· David defeated the giant Goliath, even though he was just a little shepherd boy…a scrawny, puny guy who when given battle armor made him look like he was wearing his fathers suit. (You know …with the pants to here…and the sleeves way past the fingers.)
· And Peter, just a few weeks earlier, had denied knowing Jesus three times and hid in fear of his life.
God works through ordinary people.
And then there’s the crippled beggar in the story. He’s no one special either.
He’s just like every other beggar you see when you walk the streets of NYC: at the intersections, in front of the tourist locations or by the subway seated on cardboard boxes expecting to get handouts from the people who walk by.
Yet, at this ordinary time, through ordinary people like Peter and the beggar, God is going to do something extra-ordinary!
Yeah, you say. That was then and this is now. God can’t work through me like that. I’m no one special, I’m just too ordinary.
· I didn’t go to college or seminary.
· I don’t have an important job, a fancy house or a cool car.
· I don’t wear trend setting clothes and
· I don’t like to talk in public
If you are thinking anything like this, listen….If God can work through an ordinary guy like
· Moses who didn’t speak well,
· David who had no experience outside watching sheep,
· Peter who was impulsive, fearful and a liar,
· and a crippled beggar,
then he can work through ordinary you, in extra-ordinary ways.
In our text, the crippled beggar is just asking for some money. Nothing extra-ordinary, just some pocket change. All he was expecting that ordinary day was some loose change...and it was the same everyday…that’s how he survived. It was what he and everyone else expected.
The man asked for something ordinary, but God acted in an extra-ordinary way. Aren’t we all like that, to some degree? We think too small when it comes to God. We think that God’s going to do all the truly great things He’s ever going to do, through great people. The rest of us know better than to ask God for anything big.
We’re just ordinary people, living in ordinary times. But, we’ve forgotten that we serve an extra-ordinary God who has and will continue to do extra-ordinary things…through ordinary people. And listen…expecting God to do extra-ordinary things through ordinary people is the essence of faith.
The problem is our vision of God is too small and what we do see is at best foggy. Why? Because God often doesn’t have our full attention.
Remember last week I said we are distracted people…distracted by so many things in life that spiritual things are only on the periphery of our live? Well, the beggar was distracted too…his low expectations distracted him from what was about to happen. He was so wrapped up in the ordinary, routine of begging, that Peter had to get his full attention.
Read: Acts 3:4-5
You know, I hear God saying the same thing today. ‘Look at me!’ ‘Give me your full attention.’ ‘Stop what you’re doing and listen to me.’ ‘Be still and know that I am God!” At least the beggar listened.
We need to slow down a bit. Look at the signs of God’s activity, of God’s voice in your life. If you listen closely by blocking out the ordinary distractions, you’ll hear God’s still small voice…your vision will be clearer and you’ll see God at work.
Let’s go back to the text. Remember Peter has the beggars full attention.
Extra-ordinary Name
Read: Acts 3:6-7
Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. There is extra-ordinary power in the name of Jesus.
You see, the name of Jesus stands for the reality of Jesus, his name stands for who he is. When Peter said
· ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’
He meant
· ‘I am saying the words, but Jesus is now healing you. When I speak his name, with the faith that he has now given me for your healing, he is acting, not me.’
There is power in the name of Jesus.
ILL: There is a story about a humble monk walking with a Roman Catholic cardinal at a time in the Middle Ages when the Roman Catholic church was at its zenith of power, prestige and wealth. The cardinal pointed to the opulent surroundings and said to the monk, “We no longer have to say, silver and gold I do not have.” The monk replied, “But neither can you say, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” (Guzik)
· When we live in the immediate, in the now, we lose sight of the forever, the eternal.
· When we live distracted by the world, we lose sight of the power of God.
· When we live only expecting the ordinary, we loose sight of the extra-ordinary.
But the power of Jesus’ name is not just that He can heal, answer prayer or meet needs. The power of Jesus’ name expresses the heart of Jesus…He cares about you, ordinary you, living an ordinary life. He knows your hurt, your pain and he cares. Jesus cares for you.
You might think this story would end here with the man going home and telling his family what had happened. But you’d be wrong.
Extra-ordinary Response
Read: Acts 3:8-11
The beggar would not be silenced. He would not follow the proper decorum in the Temple courts because something extra-ordinary had happened to him. His gratitude and joy needed to be expressed…fully expressed, no matter who was watching.
ILL: Someone once said ‘If one tenth of what you believe is true, you ought to be ten times as excited as you are.’ (John Hamby)
Think about that for a moment. Think of all the wonderful truths in God’s Word. Think of all the glorious promises in Scripture. How excited does that make you?
ILL: Someone else in connection to this text said ‘Some dear souls think themselves dignified when, really they’re petrified. We have lost our leap!’ (J. David Hoke)
Because of our desire for decorum, to be respectable, we have lost our leap.
Fellow followers of Jesus Christ, people who are called by his name, it would not hurt us if once in a while our hearts were ablaze with such joy and excitement because of the extra-ordinary presence and power of Jesus Christ, that we leap for joy.
This former beggar was walking, leaping, shouting, rejoicing…notice this…as he accompanied Peter and John into the Temple to worship God. Someone cared enough to reach out to this ordinary man in the very extra-ordinary name of Jesus. And his life was forever changed.
In verse 11, the Greek word for ‘held on to’ is very strong. I can imagine Peter and John trying to get away, to get to the temple to worship and this guy just wouldn’t let go.
· He was going with them, to worship God, no matter what, because God showed him that he was loved.
That’s devotion! And that’s extra-ordinary!
Conclusion
There are ordinary people here this morning who have ordinary needs, and who probably expect to have them met in ordinary ways.
You could be the ordinary person God uses to meet someone’s need, to show someone that God cares and it can have a huge impact on their lives.
But it takes
· an enlarged vision of God
· an enlarged faith in the extra-ordinary power of God to work
· and an enlarged will to get involved in the lives of the people here.
I want to thank those who helped the Cornman’s move yesterday. It was a longer day than expected but you made an impact on that family…and God was honored!
Peter and John could have just walked by that crippled beggar that ordinary day on their way to their ordinary routine of worship in the Temple. But, they were sensitive to God’s leading and open to God’s extra-ordinary power to make a difference in this ordinary mans life.
Jesus…the name above all names.
Have your way with us.
Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for the name of Jesus. It has lost none of its power. It is still transforming men and women, as it always has and not only spiritually, but occasionally physically. We thank you for the demonstrations of your power today as well. We know that you heal.
· We know that you can take a sick and ailing body and make it well and strong.
· But we also know you can take a sick and ailing spirit and make it whole, and heaven bound.
Father, some of us are sick, lame, blind, weak, oppressed, hurting, lonely or confused. And we now look to that precious name and ask the Lord Jesus, in his power, to set us free. In the powerful name of Jesus. Amen