ACTS 3 POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS2016 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 3 Power In The Name Of Jesus

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2016. Well, this evening we are in Acts chapter 3, and we'll be looking at the whole chapter, but let's begin by reading verses 1 through 8. Acts chapter 3 verse 1 says, Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

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 from those who entered the temple, who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him with John, Peter said, Look at us. So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

Then Peter said, "'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. 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 his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God."

Here as we look at this passage, Acts chapter 3, we're continuing on the look at the beginnings of the church. And we spent several weeks in chapter 2 looking at the day of Pentecost and how the church first began as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples and as the crowd gathered together and Peter preached the gospel and 3,000 people got saved and we saw the very beginnings of the church and how they continued steadfastly and it

the doctrine, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. And now as we go into chapter 3, we're beginning to see a little bit going forward now the life of the church. And a little bit like just kind of jumping into a day in the life

of Peter and John, you know? And so we get to see some of the things that were happening as they were living out this new life in Christ and living out their calling now to reach the world with the gospel message. As we look at Acts chapter 3, I've titled the message today, Power in the Name of Jesus.

Power in the name of Jesus, because that's what Acts chapter 3 is really about. In fact, Acts chapter 3, as well as Acts chapter 4, really center around the name of Jesus. And it really centers around this event that happens here in Acts chapter 3. Here, what we're going to see happen is they encounter this guy who is lame. The Lord works miraculously and heals them.

And then there's another commotion as a result, and Peter is able to preach the gospel again, and people respond to that. And then the religious leaders get involved in chapter 4, and they're investigating this event, and they're upset about this and the preaching of Jesus. And so as we head into Acts chapter 4 next week, we'll continue on this account, and it's the response of

But it's based upon, and they're upset about, the disciples here using the name of Jesus and preaching and working in the name of Jesus. In Acts 4, verse 10, we'll get to see Peter when he says, "...let it be known to you all and the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole."

And so again, we see them very clearly, very boldly proclaiming and declaring that it's the name of Jesus. And then in Acts chapter 4, verse 18, the religious leaders call the disciples in and command them not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus.

And so they forbid them to teach or to speak in the name of Jesus. And so there's this power in the name of Jesus and they didn't want them. They were trying to prevent them from using the name of Jesus for speaking the name of Jesus. They were trying to prevent them from, you know, representing Jesus and working on Jesus's behalf.

And so there's a power there that we need to consider and that the Lord will have us reflect on this evening as well as next week in chapter 4. So there's three points we'll get into here in Acts chapter 3 as we talk about power in the name of Jesus. And definitely the network is messing up, Tina, so good job. Point number one.

Found here in verses 1 through 8 that we just read. And that is power to heal. The first thing we see about the power in the name of Jesus is that there is power to heal.

In verse 1, it says, And so here they're heading up to the temple. Now, for the Jews here in the book of Acts, they were Jews. They were raised in Judaism all their life. And so much of their life centered around the temple. And there was a lot of things that were happening at the temple aside from the sacrifices. So they were raised in Judaism all their life.

So the sacrifices were no longer necessary because Christ had died upon the cross for their sins. And so they didn't participate in the sacrificial system any longer. But there was still the times of prayer that they would participate in. And so they were going to the temple during this time or for one of these times of prayers.

Now at the temple, they would have three times of prayer that were designated times of prayer each day. There would be a time in the morning with the morning sacrifice. There would be a time in the afternoon, and there would be a time in the evening. And so the one we're looking at here is the middle one. It's around three o'clock in the afternoon. Peter and John are on their way to the temple because, well, that's the time of prayer.

And so they're gathering there, they're looking at, you know, joining together with their fellow brethren, the Jews, and praying to God because it is the same father that they're praying to. It was something that they could easily and naturally do as Jewish believers. And so they would gather together at the temple for the time of prayer.

I thought it was interesting. We looked at last week in chapter 2 that the believers continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, in the fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. And we talked about how, you know, there's the definite article there. It's like the specific times of prayer. And

in addition to whatever times of prayer the church had, it might also be referring to this, that they were faithful, that they were joining in at the temple because that's where the Christians were. They're in Jerusalem where the temple was. And so it might be referring to that they were steadfast in their attendance of these times of prayer at the temple.

So they're gathering together as they normally would. When a Jew was in the area, they would join in with these times of prayer at the temple. And so Peter and John are committed to that and they're engaging in that. Well, going on into verse two, it says, "'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 from those who entered the temple.'"

who's seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asks for alms. And so now it's setting up for us the scene that we're about to watch unfold as they come into contact with this guy and the Lord heals them.

And so we're introduced to this lame man. He is a lame man who has been lame from his mother's womb. So this guy has never walked a day in his life. He's never taken a step. He's never been able to do that. From the very beginning, you know, we don't know exactly what was wrong with him. He had legs, he had feet, but they didn't function from the very beginning.

We learn in the next chapter, the Jews, as they're talking about this situation, they testify that this guy is over 40 years old. So here's this guy, he's in his 40s, and he's never walked once in his whole life.

Now, in our minds, many times, of course, we kind of categorize miracles into, you know, different segments of what's more difficult, what's more hard, you know? And so is it more difficult? We would think it would probably be more difficult for a man who's never walked one time in his life to be healed and be able to walk, as opposed to someone who recently had an injury and hasn't been able to walk for a couple weeks. We would kind of categorize them differently, right? But

But as far as God's concerned, I love how it's this way. You know, God's able to heal even the things that we would think, well, that's impossible. And so there's this lame guy. He's lame from birth. He's never walked. He's never taken a step at all in his life. And so he's laid at the temple gate every day. And so he's laid there. He's carried there. People, friends, family, we don't know. But they take him there to the temple every day. And he survives there.

By asking for donations, by begging for people to give as they're heading into the temple. He's asking for alms. And as he sees Peter and John about to go into the temple, they're just like everybody else as far as he's concerned. He's just asking for alms. Now, this was a good spot to ask for alms. It was a good spot to ask for donations because this was the temple gate that was called Beautiful. Beautiful.

And in many ways, it was the main entrance into the temple courtyard and into the temple area. So, you know, as people were coming to the hour of prayer, they would...

come through this gate, most likely. The majority of the people would. And so it was high traffic spot. And if you're going to be, you know, asking for money from people, that's what you want. You want high traffic, right? Get as many people as you can. But it was also a prime spot because it was a place where people would come to worship. And so their minds were on God. And so they're thinking about God. They want to, you know, be pleasing to God. And so

Oh, well, just in case, you know, I haven't been that good. Just in case, you know, I need some extra bump. You know, people would have that on their conscience to give.

And, you know, some commentators talk about people who would just walk past them and be in the time of prayer and worship and then being filled guilty like, oh, I didn't give to anybody on the way in. So then they go back out and, you know, give to someone who is in need. For the Jews, it was highly regarded for them to give to the poor. You know, helping people who are in need was something that was highly valued. It was really important to them.

And so to be here was a good spot. The point I'm trying to make here is that he wasn't begging and starving and skin and bones, but it was just, this was how he survived. This was how he made his living. And he probably made a pretty decent living. His needs were met. He was provided for.

But he was there begging because that was the only thing he could do. He couldn't work in the field. He couldn't, you know, do something else. He was there because that was the only thing that he could do. And so he's there at the temple gate called Beautiful. Now, this gate is definitely said to be beautiful. Josephus, the Jewish historian, describes this gate.

And he describes it. It was made of brass and it was 75 feet high with these huge double doors. So it was this massive gate that people would go through into the temple courtyard. And it was described as very beautiful, like it couldn't have been more beautiful if it had been made of gold or silver. So even though brass was a lesser metal,

The design, the intricacy of it, it was so beautiful. It was preferred over more valuable metal. So this beautiful gate, he's there, he's asking for alms. And then now we see in verse four, it says, in fixing his eyes on him with John, Peter said, look at us. So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

And so this guy is laying there. He's asking for alms. He sees Peter and John and he says, hey, can I have something? Can you spare some change? And Peter makes eye contact. It says that he fixes his eyes on him with John. So, you know, I don't know what's happening. I kind of picture Peter and John like, you know, any two of us. So, you know, maybe kind of nudging each other like, hey, something's about to happen. Like, check this out. And so they fix their eyes on this guy.

Now, you know that when you are trying to avoid someone who's asking you for money, this is not what you do, right? I'm sure everybody's familiar with this, right? The thing that you don't do if you want to avoid somebody, the thing that you don't do is you don't make eye contact, right? It's like you put on these blinders. I mean, if you don't do that with, you know, people who are asking for money, at the very least, you do that for people who are asking if you'll let them into the lane, you know, the

I don't see you. I don't see you. I don't see you. You're not there. And you know, you just kind of, you try to avoid that eye contact because then you have to have an exchange. But here, Peter and John, they have this, not just a little bit of eye contact, but they fix their eyes on him. Something big is about to go down. We're paying him attention and God is going to do something here. So it says in verse five, so they gave him

they gave them his attention. I'm sorry, he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. So when someone makes eye contact, then it's like, all right, I got one. All right, so now he's expecting. All right, here are these guys. They're paying attention to me. So what am I going to get? What do they have to give to me? And then Peter speaks in verse six. It says, then Peter said, silver and gold I do not have.

As Peter is heading into the temple here, he says, I don't have silver and gold to give you. I imagine the guy kind of like, you know, he was a little bit like, oh, well, that was a disappointment. You know, why'd you give me so much attention then? Why'd you, you know, tell me to look at you then?

He says, I don't have silver and gold. Now, why didn't Peter have silver and gold? If you think about it, it was probably just a few days earlier at Pentecost, he preached to thousands, but he must have forgot to take an offering. I don't know what happened. He didn't have any silver and gold now as he's heading into the temple. I'm just being silly. But what did Peter have? He had the power of God in the name of Jesus. He says, I don't have silver and gold, but here's what I do have.

He says, So Peter didn't have silver and gold, but he did have something else. He did have the name of Jesus. And it's in the name of Jesus that this miracle takes place. It's in the name of Jesus that Peter says, Now, this idea, the whole concept of in the name of Jesus is,

is important to understand. For the Jewish people, the name was not just the identity or just, you know, how we distinguish one person from another person. It was much more than that. To speak in the name of somebody spoke of their authority, their power, and their whole being.

Thomas Nelson puts it this way, the phrase in the name of Jesus is not a magical formula used to give some affirmation or guarantee to a prayer. A person's name represented that person's authority and influence.

And so as Peter here is speaking in the name of Jesus, he has the name of Jesus. And so he's able to speak in the name of Jesus. He's speaking with the authority of Jesus. Another way to put this is that Peter is acting on behalf of Jesus, or he is representing Jesus. He is the authorized agent of Jesus to do good, to work miracles, to preach the gospel, and to bring forth the good news.

And so he doesn't have silver or gold, but he does have the name of Jesus. It's not a magical name or a magical phrase. Sometimes, you know, we kind of get so used to it because we conclude all of our prayers, you know, in Jesus' name we pray, amen, that we kind of think it's just, you know, that's just how you close a prayer. You know, that's just the proper way to do it. Just like the proper way to pray is to fold your hands, you know, intertwine them, bow your head, close your eyes.

Like that, we get involved in these traditions and we forget the meaning and the value of them. I remember Pastor Gil sharing many years ago, he used to work at the Thrifty over on Main Street. It's not there anymore, but remember the Thrifty that was there? He was working there. And so he was a manager there. And one of his responsibilities was to do the announcements over the PA and specifically the closing announcements when he was closing.

And so if you've ever had any kind of job like that, or you're answering phones and you're saying the same thing over and over and over again, you just kind of get in your routine and your mind's not even engaged. You're just saying the words that you have said over and over and over again a thousand times. And so he was sharing that one time he was closing down the store. He was saying, hey, we're closing in 15 minutes. Please bring your purchases up for your convenience. We'll be open tomorrow at this time.

Thank you. Have a good night. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And then he hung up the PA. And so it was just, you know, his mind was just, you know, in automatic mode. And it just was, it just kind of came out, you know, in Jesus' name we pray. That's how you conclude a PA announcement for the closing of the store, right? No, that's how you conclude a prayer. But sometimes it can be so automatic for us that we forget about the value.

And this evening, I want to encourage you, and that's why I think it's important for us to look at chapter 3 and chapter 4, and we'll be spending some time on this this week and next week, and maybe depending on how the Lord leads the next couple weeks. But in the name of Jesus, it means something to speak in the name of Jesus. It means something to pray in the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus, and that power is

Well, for one thing, it's power to heal. Now, that doesn't mean that every time we say something and we add the name of Jesus to it, that it happens or that it goes the way that we want. It doesn't mean that everybody's healed when we pray for them in the name of Jesus. But think about it this way. This guy, he's over 40 years old. He's been laid at this temple every day for

for the past 40 years because he's lame, that means that Jesus had walked past this guy many times throughout his life and ministry. See, part of the reality is Jesus walked by him and didn't heal him. Part of the reality is he had been lame from his birth. So it wasn't an injury that happened after Jesus had resurrected or ascended. And so he didn't have that opportunity. But the reality is Jesus didn't heal everybody everywhere.

He healed lots of people. There was amazing miracles that were done, but it wasn't all-inclusive. There were those who were not healed for whatever reason. And partly for this guy, it was just a timing issue. Jesus did want to heal him, obviously, because later on he did through Peter, acting in the name of Jesus. But

But the timing wasn't the right time. And so now Peter connects with him at the right time. And the idea here, again, is he's the authorized agent. So if Jesus had been there, then Jesus would have done the healing for this guy. But Jesus was up in heaven with the Father. And so now Peter is his representative acting on behalf of Jesus and saying, okay, now's the time. Timing's right.

And so there's power to heal in the name of Jesus because, well, when Jesus wants to heal, we are his authorized agents to do the work, to bring the healing, to bring the message that he wants to bring forth. And so Peter is able to say, I don't have silver and gold, but I do have something else. Jesus has authorized me to represent him, to talk to you and say, rise up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Verse 7 says,

There's power in the name of Jesus to heal. And a great miracle takes place here. As this man who has been lame since his birth stands up and walks.

In verse 7, it tells us, as Peter reaches out and begins to lift him up, it says his feet and ankle bones received strength. Luke was a physician, so, you know, he's talking about these specific parts of the foot, these specific details that these words aren't used elsewhere in the scriptures. They're very detailed, specific medical terms that he's using, saying these specific parts of

identifying really, you know, the issue that prevented him from walking his whole life, suddenly they received strength. I kind of like to think of this as a double healing. On the one sense, it was a medical healing. His feet and his ankle bones received strength, but it was also a physical therapy healing, right Colleen? Someone who's never walked in their whole life and suddenly in verse 8, leaping up, stood, walked, entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God.

That happened instantly. It wasn't like he knew how to walk. He lost the ability for a little bit, and now he's able to again. His body hasn't been trained how to walk. You know, the kids go through the process. It's kind of a long process of learning how to walk. And people who are recovering from injuries have to relearn how to walk. And it's a long process of teaching and training your body how to walk. But God does this miracle where it's not just that the bones and the muscles and the ligaments are all restored and healthy. It's a miracle that God does this miracle where it's not just that the bones and the muscles and the ligaments are all restored and healthy.

but that also his body knows how to walk. His body knows what to do. And so he's able to walk and leap and praise God with them in the temple. There's power in the name of Jesus, power to heal. Now, as we consider these things this evening,

You may not have seen a lame man as you walked in to service today, and you might not see a lame man tomorrow as you're out and about, but as we consider these things for our own selves and what the Lord wants to speak to us about it, I would encourage you to think about it in these terms. Like Peter, you are an authorized representative so that if you did see a lame man today and Jesus wanted to heal him, you could be the person he chooses. Right?

Because you're his authorized agent. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you may not have silver and gold, but you do have the name of Jesus. You do represent Jesus. You have the authority of Jesus so that when Jesus wants to do a work, you can be the person he chooses to do the work. And Peter will make that a little bit more clear as we go on in the next few verses in just a moment. But you're an authorized representative.

Now, as you think about that, and as you encounter things in life, as you encounter people around you, sometimes we encounter people with lifelong issues. And again, we kind of categorize them as like, well, that's a really difficult one. You know, to heal a man who's never walked, that's more difficult. I'll just focus on trying to heal the people that, you know, used to walk and they can't walk anymore. But listen, the Lord is able to heal people with lifelong issues, right?

Sometimes we get discouraged as we encounter people, or maybe people in our own lives, who've had lifelong issues with drugs or alcohol or some other type of addiction. Lifelong issues with this or that. And we think, you know, it's hopeless. It's beyond repair. It's beyond, you know, the reach of, it's never going to change. It's not going to get any better. And yet, in the name of Jesus, you need to know, as his authorized representative, you need to know that

that there is power to heal and God can transform any life. God is able to work miraculous things. I was really encouraged this afternoon.

On the one hand, it was a really busy afternoon because there was a lot of interaction that I wasn't expecting to have. So as I was preparing for this evening, there was a lot of interruptions. But they were a blessing because one of the interruptions was a couple by the name of Bill and Helen. And if you're on the prayer list, you kind of got a little preview already. They came by today to follow up. They came by in January. As I've been setting up the canopy out there, they came by for prayer back in January and said...

And we're losing our house. We're on our way right now to, you know, check out a place that maybe we'll be able to stay. And we're not sure if it's going to work out. But, you know, if this doesn't work out, we don't know what we're going to do. We have nowhere to go and we have to be out by tomorrow. And so they were, you know, virtually homeless. They were on the way to check it out. And they saw the canopy and the banners and such. And so they came by for prayer back in January. So I've been praying for them.

Never heard anything back until today. Then they showed up. And just, you could see, like, just joy and beaming and just praising God. They were walking and leaping.

and just saying, God is so good. And they walked me through the story of what happened. And that one that they were on the way to look to, that last time when we talked to them, and they were on the way, that one didn't work out. But the next day, God provided something better for them. And it was less expensive, something that was more affordable. And then the place where they wanted to be, you know, that wasn't working out. But then God provided a different place. And there's

blessing after blessing and how God provided a lake for them and a garden and all these details that was just like they're better off than where they had been. And they're just so excited about what God has done and so thankful for us for praying for them and being part of that work with them. Listen, there's power in the name of Jesus.

And the opportunity to pray for people like this, you know, that come in contact with us, whether with you individually or that we come in contact with collectively as a congregation, there's power in the name of Jesus to heal, to transform lives, to work miracles. There's power in the name of Jesus. And so we can pray for people with confidence and we can interact with people with confidence knowing that we're authorized agents of Jesus.

And if Jesus wants to provide them a place to live, when we pray for them, they get the place to live. If Jesus wants to heal them, when we pray for them, Jesus heals them. And we get to be part of that. I like the way that Warren Wiersbe talks about this. He says, faith in the name of Jesus releases power so that lives are changed.

To pray or minister in his name means to ask or act on his authority so that he alone gets the glory. We operate in the name of Jesus. And what we're doing is we're acting on his behalf. Remember in Matthew chapter 28, he said, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. And so what did he do with that authority? He gave it to his disciples and said, now go make more disciples. He authorizes us.

We are his agents, his representatives working in his name, but I like how Warren Worsley points out, for his glory. And that's what Peter will get into in these next verses, that he's making sure to point the glory to God, making sure to recognize this is about the name of Jesus.

This isn't about the name of Jerry. This isn't about the name of David. This isn't about your name, my name, or ourselves, but it's about the name of Jesus. There's power in the name of Jesus. Power to heal. Power to work great miracles, even resolve lifelong issues. Well, going on to point number two, now we're in verses 9 through 16. Here we have power to be a witness.

In the name of Jesus, there's power and it's power to be a witness. In verse nine, it says, and all the people saw him walking and praising God. Verse 10, then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the beautiful gate of the temple and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Verse 11, now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch, which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. Verse 12,

You can kind of imagine this unfold. They're outside the temple gate. Here's this guy begging. Peter comes in contact with him, says, rise up and walk in the name of Jesus.

And he's excited, of course. And so he's, it says, walking and leaping and praising God. Now, at this time, they have all journeyed into the temple courtyard. And so now they're in the courtyard. And so there's even more people around. And as he's walking and leaping and praising God, he's causing kind of a little bit of a commotion, you know, because people are like, hey, this is an hour of prayer. You're supposed to be quiet. You know, it's like a library, like everybody's

But here's this guy hooping and hollering. Just imagine being in the library with Pastor Cisco, and you kind of get a little visual there. Just like hooping and hollering, doesn't care who he is, just so excited, overwhelmed at the miracle that has taken place. And so they're in the courtyard, and people are like beginning to notice all the noise, and they're recognizing the guy. Now remember, he's been at this gate every day for his whole life, essentially. And so they've seen him a thousand times as they come for prayer. They know that guy.

Just like I'm sure there's some people that you know, maybe those who are poor, those who are needy, or maybe those who are just, you know, living on the streets or whatever, and you recognize them. I recognize them. There's people that I see regularly, and I recognize them. And so then if I saw them in a different condition, well, I would notice. And that's what's happening here. They're recognizing, like, hey, isn't that the guy? You mean he's been faking it this whole time? I've been giving him money, and he was...

No, they're realizing this guy, this guy was lame. And it says in verse 10, they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the beautiful gate. And so then now everybody's filled with wonder and amazement. Like, how did this happen? What's going on here? Well, the people began to direct their attention now to Peter and John, because in verse 11, it says that he was clinging to them. He held on to Peter and John.

And you can imagine, right? He's holding on. Oh, thank you, man. Whoa. Just so excited and overwhelmed and just jubilant about what has happened. Jumping around and swinging them around probably and just exercising his new leg functions. Let's put these to work. And he's so excited, holding on to them. And now they're in Solomon's porch. Great group of people have gathered together. And now they're looking at Peter and John.

Look what you guys did. Look at you. Harvey, look at you. Look what you did, Harvey. Oh my goodness, I can't believe. Harvey, I didn't know you were that spiritual. I didn't know that you were that holy. That's kind of the idea, that people are looking at Peter and John. And so Peter recognizes what's going on. They're over-inflating Peter and John's responsibility or participation in this event. They didn't have that much to do with it.

in the sense that it wasn't their power. He says in verse 12, why do you marvel at this? Or why do you look so intently at us as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? Surely this kind of miracle has to be done by someone who is incredibly spiritual and holy, right? Someone maybe who is kind of on par with Jesus, perhaps. Peter says, no, no, no, no. Don't look at us that intently. It wasn't, he says, our power and it wasn't our godliness that made this man walk.

Peter here is making sure, he's setting the stage to give glory to Jesus. As this work, as this miracle has taken place in the name of Jesus, now Peter is going to have power to be a witness to Jesus. And he's going to be able to testify, this was not in my power and it was not in my godliness. It was in the holiness of Jesus. It was in the power of Jesus. And so he goes on in the next few verses to share the gospel.

Now, as you look at these verses, you and I today might share the gospel a little bit differently, but this was appropriate for them for where they were and what they knew. It reminds us that the style and approach of sharing the gospel may change, but the content stays the same. Notice in verse 13, he says, Verse 14.

But you denied the Holy One and the just and asked for a murderer to be granted to you and killing the prince of life whom God raised from the dead of which we are witnesses. Here Peter gives kind of a short but definitely appropriate version of the gospel. He goes back to the father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of our fathers, he says, glorified his servant Jesus.

And so he begins talking about the father, talking about the father's servant, Jesus, the father sending Jesus, and that Jesus was innocent. He says in the presence of Pilate, Pilate was determined to let him go because Pilate found Jesus innocent. There was nothing he was guilty of. He was determined to let Jesus go. But then in verse 14, he says, but you denied the Holy One. So again, emphasizing Pilate.

the sinlessness of Jesus. He was the Holy One and the just. He was completely righteous. And instead, you exchanged him for a murderer, for Barabbas. You asked for him to be let go instead of Jesus, although Pilate was determined to let him go. And so you, he says in verse 15, killed the Prince of Life. The Prince of Life. You killed the Son of God. He was holy. He was righteous. He was without sin. He was the servant of God.

the one that God had sent. And he says, you killed the prince of life. But then he says, God raised him from the dead. And so on the third day, he resurrected. And again, he says, of which we are witnesses. And so he puts himself and John in this place of being those who would testify and declare, we can validate, we can for sure tell you that Jesus is resurrected. We can declare to you that this is the truth.

And so he gives them the gospel that's appropriate to where they're at. You know, they had just gone through these experiences. And so he talks about these events in a way that they know what's going on. They know. They're able to relate. They're able to understand. And they're able to see the flow here. That the Father sent the Son who was holy and righteous but was put to death and was resurrected on the third day. The people had handed Jesus over to Pilate to be crucified.

But God raised Jesus from the dead. And the point that Peter is making here is that it's in the name of this very same Jesus that this crippled man was healed. It's a further testimony of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was going around doing miracles while he was alive. And so it's not that big of a surprise that Jesus, still being alive, is still working these kinds of miracles. And so it's a powerful witness to the people of Jesus.

The fact that Jesus is resurrected, that he is alive. Peter makes that point in verse 16. He says, and his name through faith in his name has made this man strong whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through him was given him, sorry, comes through him, has given him this perfect soundness in all the presence of you all.

It's in the name of Jesus and through faith in the name of Jesus that this man has been made strong. Something I would ask you to consider is whose faith is Peter talking about here? Notice he says in verse 16, and his name through faith in his name has made this man strong. Is Peter saying because of my faith in the name of Jesus, this man was made strong? I would suggest to you that he's saying it's the lame man's faith.

Because what Peter said to the lame man was, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And in my mind, I'm picturing the lame man hearing the name of Jesus, having seen Jesus walk by, having heard about many others healed by Jesus, having heard about the crucifixion and then resurrection of Jesus, having been around the day of Pentecost probably not too long earlier. And he believes. As Peter talks about the name of Jesus and gives him the power to

In the name of Jesus to stand, this lame man has faith in the name of Jesus and said, yes, I agree. Jesus is the son of God. He is the perfect one who is crucified, but resurrected the third day because he is our savior.

Peter says the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect soundness in all the presence of you all. He believes in Jesus and by faith in Jesus, he has received this great miracle. There's power in the name of Jesus because he is alive. There's power in the name of Jesus because he still wants to work mightily. There's power in the name of Jesus because he still wants to reach the lost. And so Peter here is able to,

to be a witness. He has power to be a witness in the name of Jesus as he works on Jesus's behalf. And this guy is healed. He now speaks on behalf of Jesus in Jesus's name about the work that Jesus can do. And it's a powerful testimony. We'll see later on that 2,000 people are added to the church in the process of this event, as well as some of the others around it.

And so there's a powerful witness that's coming forth here as he operates as an agent of Jesus, in the power of the name of Jesus. There's power in his name, power to be a witness. David Guzik says, Peter consciously did this in the authority and power of Jesus, not the authority and power of Peter. And that's what I would encourage all of us to consider this evening. There's power in the name of Jesus, the power to be a witness.

But in order for us to be able to be a witness, we also have to make that conscious decision to not operate in the power and authority of our own selves, but to operate in the power and authority of Jesus. If you want to experience the power of God in your life, then be engaged in the work of God. Be engaged in the will of God. And you'll get to see the power of God working in you and working through you.

Get on board with what God wants for your life. Get on board with what God wants for your day, and you'll see the power of God. And so you as a believer in Jesus are an authorized representative, but you have to make the choice to then operate in his power and in his will. And that's why it's so important for us to have those times with the Lord, to hear from the Lord daily, regularly, that we're

We're directed by him, that we allow him to give us instruction and that we take steps of faith as he calls us to do things. Again, if Jesus wanted to heal a lame man today, he could use you if you would operate in the name of Jesus and the authority that Jesus gives to you as his follower. Again, he says, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. And then he looks to us and he says, here's some authority. Go make disciples.

And so we're authorized by the Lord, enabled by the Lord. There's power in the name of Jesus. It's not a magic phrase that we just utter and then everything works out okay. But it's a way of life for us to operate in the power that he gives to us, in the instruction that he gives to us. And so make sure you operate in the name of Jesus, not in your own name or in somebody else's name. There's power in the name of Jesus because he's alive, because he still wants to work, and because he still wants to reach the lost.

Well, finally, point number three is found in verses 17 through 26. And that is, there's power to turn from sin. The power in the name of Jesus gives us power to heal, power to be a witness. The power in the name of Jesus also sets people free from sin. Verse 17 says,

Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets, that the Christ would suffer, he has fulfilled. So Peter is continuing on. I kind of split the message into to make the different points. But Peter is saying, look, Jesus, God's servant, whom you crucified, even though Pilate wanted to let him go,

He was crucified, but God resurrected him. And it's in his name that this miracle has taken place because he's still alive. And now he goes on to say, but I know you guys did it in ignorance. Remember when Jesus was on the cross, he says, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. There is some ignorance that was taking place. They didn't know exactly what was going on. And yet, although they were ignorant and they

turn Jesus over to be crucified in this way. In verse 18, he says, but these are the things that God foretold. And so God is orchestrating these things as the point that Peter is making. William MacDonald puts it this way. He says, without excusing their sin, Peter shows that God overruled it to fulfill his own purposes. The prophets of the Old Testament had predicted that the Messiah would suffer.

That's what the Old Testament tells us. All of his prophets, he says, say that the Christ would suffer. And so God has fulfilled these things. It doesn't absolve you of your guilt, but God worked through it to bring forth the opportunity of salvation in the name of Jesus. And that's what he says in verse 19. "'Repent therefore, and be converted, "'that your sins may be blotted out, "'so that times of refreshing may come "'from the presence of the Lord.'"

This is one of those verses that always stands out to me every time I read through it. I love this verse. Part of the reason why I love this verse is because I remember my days of total running away from the Lord. And I remember how miserable that was. I remember that. I remember how that whole season, you know, I kind of call it the dark ages in my own life. Like it was, there was a heaviness.

As I was attempting to run from the Lord, as I was attempting to get away from the things of God and disregard the things of God, there was a heaviness upon me. There was this burden that was just there. It was just always there. There was always this pressure. There was always just this bitterness, this miserableness. It was always there. And the whole idea of refreshing, that was a concept that was like, oh, that would be amazing.

But for a long time, I wasn't willing to do the thing that was required to be able to experience the refreshing. And that's what Peter says here. Repent, therefore, and be converted so that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. There's a lot of people who are not refreshed because they're not willing to repent. And so Peter calls them to repentance. You know what it's like to experience that burden, that heaviness.

We read about it this week in Psalm chapter 32. David talking about his sin with Bathsheba. He said, when I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. Can you relate to that? Have you had that experience? You know, your bones growing old because there's this heaviness upon you from sin. Verse four, for day and night, your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

The life that I had, the vitality that I had was turned into a summer drought. It's a dry lake bed. It's just dry and crusty and worthless. I used to have that refreshing. I used to have the refreshing of a spring, but now it's a dried out lake. I used to have the lightness and the joy, but

My bones have grown old and your hand was heavy upon me. That's what life is like outside of Christ. There is no refreshing apart from the presence of the Lord. The only thing that there is, is distractions. So you can distract yourself. You can engage in this or that to try to take your mind off of the miserableness that there is. But the reality is outside of Christ, there is no real refreshing. Refreshing is in the presence of the Lord.

And so Peter says, I know you're miserable. I know you have these burdens. I know you're trying to keep the law. You're trying to follow the Old Testament, he says to this Jewish audience, right? You're trying to keep the sacrifice. You're trying to do all these things and keep all the extra rules and things that the religious leaders have placed there. And you're miserable. It's a heavy burden. You're not refreshed. But he calls them to repentance. Repent and be converted. Turn to Jesus Christ. Your sins will be blotted out.

He called people to repentance in chapter 2, and now again in chapter 3. This is an important part of the gospel and the power in the name of Jesus. We call people away from sin into the presence of the Lord. Verse 20 says,

And that he may send Jesus Christ who has preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. I'm not going to get into the details here, but he's talking about times of refreshing. And then he looks forward to the millennium and he says, look, if Israel will turn to Jesus, then Jesus will return and establish his kingdom.

And that is going to happen, but it's yet future because Israel as a whole did not turn to Jesus when he was on earth or when Peter preached about him afterwards. And so he talks about the restoration of all things in verse 21, talking about that millennial kingdom when Jesus will establish his reign for a thousand years here upon the earth. And that will be the ultimate refreshing. The ultimate refreshing comes in eternity.

But in the meantime, we have that internal refreshing. We might not see the refreshing from all the world being transformed by the presence of Jesus Christ. We still deal with sin and trouble and sickness and lameness and all that kind of stuff. As Paul said, outwardly, we are wasting away, but inwardly, we're being renewed day by day. There's a refreshing that comes from the presence of the Lord. Going on to verse 22.

He says, Here Peter quotes from Deuteronomy chapter 18. And so he calls out, he says, look, Moses said this was going to happen, that a prophet like him would be raised up.

And you should hear him. And if you don't hear him, then you will be destroyed. Again, receive Jesus Christ or be destroyed. Verse 24. Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days, you are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant, which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, and in your seed, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

What Peter is doing here is he's establishing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises that God made in the Old Testament. So the promise to Abraham that the Messiah would come, the Savior would be a descendant of Abraham, he says that's fulfilled in Jesus. The promise that Moses made, that there would be the prophet who came like Moses, that was fulfilled in Jesus. He's declaring again, he's saying, look, this is what the Lord said. It has been fulfilled in

And now you have first opportunity to receive this promised savior. Verse 26, he says, to you first, God having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

So you have the first opportunity because you're God's people. You're the Jews. And God told you ahead of time, he was going to send the Messiah. He gave these particular prophecies. He gave these particular criteria. It's fulfilled in Jesus. And now you have the first opportunity. You get to receive this blessing. And you, all the families of the earth will be blessed, God told Abraham. And you get first chance to receive this blessing. And what is that blessing? He says, in turning you away from your iniquities. Every one of you, he says,

The blessing that you have is you get to be turned away from your iniquities. You have a unique opportunity to receive Jesus, first chance to receive salvation, and Jesus is going to bless you by turning you away from your iniquities. There's power in the name of Jesus to turn from sin. The work that Jesus does in our lives as we

turn to him as we repent and confess and are converted. The work that he does, the way that he blesses us, the way that he gives us these times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord is he turns us away from our iniquities. And so we have this opportunity today like Peter to call people to repentance. I would say it's probably appropriate first to call ourselves to repentance, right? Judgment begins at the house of the Lord. We need to call ourselves to repentance first and

Because we get caught up in sin. And understand, there's power in the name of Jesus. There's no sin that has authority over your life that's a greater authority than the name of Jesus. Turn your life to Jesus, and he will turn you away from your iniquity. And then pass that on to others. People need to be set free, and it's God who can set them free.

And so when people come with overwhelming situations and lifelong issues, we as authorized agents of Jesus, we can have a boldness that there's power in the name of Jesus, power to heal and transform lives, even things that have lasted for their whole life. And we have the power to be a witness because we know we're authorized agents of Jesus. We are his representatives. And as we invite people to Jesus in the name of Jesus, we know.

There's power to turn people from their sin. It's not about, you know, being real determined or, you know, having a good program or a good plan, a good set of laws and rules and regulations, but it's about repenting and being converted. And then Jesus turns us away from our sins. As we walk in the name of Jesus, we're refreshed, we're set free, we're delivered. And now we have the opportunity to take that and pass it on. And so I want to close with that thought.

You know, we have what we refer to as the connection vision. And that's why we have the canopy out there. That's why I have the banners out there. That's why we wear these shirts. Because we are inviting God to use us. We're saying, all right, I'm in my uniform, Lord. I'm your authorized agent. I'm on duty. I want to represent you to the world around me. Now, that's true of you. You can be. You don't have to wear the uniform. You know what I mean? But it's just a way to present that and remind myself that God

This is my role in this world. I'm to operate in the power of the name of Jesus as his agent, his authorized representative. And if God wants to do a work today and that person next to me, I can be the one he uses. It's not my holiness that causes or allows God to work. It's God's work in the name of Jesus. And so I want to encourage you to remember that, to think about that, to consider that

The power that's found in the name of Jesus. It's not magic words, you know, like you could just replace abracadabra within the name of Jesus and then just poof, everything gets better. But it's you saying, Lord, I want to represent you. It's you saying, I'm going to speak on your behalf. I'm going to reach out as you prompt me and lead me. I'm going to do your work in the name of Jesus. Paul tells us later on, I think it's in the book of Galatians or Ephesians or Philippians or Colossians, one of those. Do all things in the name of Jesus.

That's the way we're to live our life. And if you want to experience the power of God in your life, do all things in the name of Jesus. Let's pray. Lord, I pray that you would help us to not lose sight of this reality. Lord, that you've called us not to live our own lives and do whatever we want and just experience the things that we want, Lord, and go forward in our plans and our visions. But Lord, you've called us as your followers to

to walk in your will. Even if it comes at great cost, Lord, like Jesus in the garden, you've called us to say, not our will be done, but your will. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to look to you, to submit our lives to you, to submit our day to you, to submit our words and our conversations and our choices to you. Lord, that we would find ourselves continually in the center of your will. Lord, that's where the power is at.

us being right with you where you want us to be. That's where the refreshing is at in your presence, Lord. It's also where the power is at. And so, Lord, help us to stay there. Help us to submit our lives to you and to seek you in all things. And then, God, I pray that you would give us opportunity to work on your behalf. Lord, you want to reach our family. You want to reach our neighbors and our friends and our coworkers. You want to heal. You want to do miracles. You want to work things.

in the lives of people around us. And so, Lord, help us as we're submitted to you, as we're walking with you, to hear your voice, to recognize your prompts. And Lord, help us to have boldness in your name to represent you well, to act on your behalf. And I pray, Lord, that you would send us forth to work miracles, to transform lives, to preach your word, the gospel message, to be a witness to you

Help us, Lord, to call people to repentance that their lives can be changed and set free as you turn them from their iniquity. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.