Acts Part 6

WARM-UP

Are our eyes open to see the needs of people around us or are we so engrossed with our own needs and problems that we cannot see other people’s needs?

ONE BIG IDEA

We are saved to save. We are blessed to bless. We are healed to heal.

STUDY (Acts 3:1-11)

“1 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. 4Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” 7Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. 9All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.” (NLT)

LEARN
WHEN WE SEE OTHER PEOPLE’S NEEDS, WHAT DO WE DO?
TELL THEM TO BELIEVE AND EXPECT.

Believing is necessary to receive something from God. You must tell the person you are helping to believe in God. (Hebrews 11:6) People often expect help from others; in fact, we have a tendency to become dependent. Yes, we should extend help if we can but we have to point them to God. Inform them that we are just vessels of blessing, but God is the source, allowing them to believe in Him alone and expect Him to answer their prayers.

PROVIDE FOR THEIR REAL NEEDS.

When people come to us and ask for help, ask God to reveal to you what they truly need. If we do not possess a living
relationship with Jesus Christ, we will never be able to know other people’s real needs. You can’t be sensitive to God’s leading if you’re apart from Him. It is important that we develop our own spiritual life if we desire to touch people’s lives. The apostles didn’t have silver and gold, but they had the power of God. In the same manner, we are not in need of possessions, but the power of God: the power to touch people’s lives with His presence, the power to reach out to people and lift them up out of their tragic circumstances, the power to give them hope and healing, the
power to give them true friendship and fellowship.

SHARE TO THEM GOD’S JOY.

The man who had never walked in his life stood up with a leap and he didn’t quit leaping. Look at the transformation of the man: as a result of this miracle, he was changed. Not only was he healed, but joy flooded his soul. The Scripture says, “Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.” Because of some else’s concern to reach out to him in Jesus’ Name, his life was never the same.

What did this mean to him? It meant now that he could walk. It meant that he could work. It meant that he could live a full life. Much more than those, it meant that somebody cared. It meant that God loved him. Now he could live in communion with God everyday. He had been healed in more ways than one.

Because of the man’s healing and joy, the people were convinced that it was God at work, and that this miracle had been done in the Name of Jesus. When we truly have the joy of God, we cannot help it but share it to others.