What's in your purse? {Act 3}
10:00 AM
February 11, 2020
When
I wrote my post for Luke 22, God made me take note of the purses and I didn’t
know why until I read Acts 3. Back in
Luke 22, Jesus told the disciples to now take two bags (1 purse and 1 bag) and
two swords. It’s my opinion that these purses
are to hold the best possessions you could have. Peter, the courageous one takes out the TRUTH
and gives it to this beggar. Jesus is
the ONE who can heal us. And Peter tells
all the people watching what it is that they need.
Luke
22:35, Jesus asked the disciples about when they were sent out and He told them
to take no bag, His command was to travel light and trust God to supply their
needs. The lesson is dependence on the
Father to meet their every need. But now
that Jesus is telling them to carry two bags and two swords, He’s telling them
to equip themselves for their mission.
He is warning them that from now on there will be hardship and hostility
if they are truly on the mission for God.
Here
in Acts 3, Peter now has a better understanding of what Jesus was telling them
in Luke 22. He is prepared to fight with
what he had been given – the truth of Christ and the mission God had given
Jesus. Now Peter’s courage is useful,
not the sword.
Here’s
the deal though – you’ve got some stuff in your purse and you need to let it
go. You are holding onto something and
you need to repent and let only the treasures of God fill your purse.
I
just love how when Peter has this man’s attention, he did two things. First, he admitted his bankruptcy in the
material realm: “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.” When you reach in your purse, what are you
looking for? Your wallet? Your checkbook? And then Peter does something amazing; “In
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” And in that electric moment, as
this man was looking at Peter and John, and heard these words, at the mention
of Jesus, something remarkable happened.
Strength came flowing into his ankles, and Peter, sensing it, took him
by the right hand and lifted him up. The
man rose and began to leap and shout and jump around, trying out this new-found
strength in his legs which he had never known, because he was lame from
birth. It’s no wonder it had an amazing
effect on the people watching.
Think
about it, the people were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was at
work. They heard this done - and saw
it! And it was done in the name of Jesus
– that name which signifies all that Jesus Christ is. The name of Jesus is not a magic formula that
Peter uses here to produce a miracle.
Peter is saying, “This is the Power on whom I am depending. I am not counting on silver and gold. That is not what you need.” I bet this beggar does need some silver and
gold. He probably needs some food and
clothing and other things. That is
not what Peter offers him, because he did not have it. He offers him the authority and power and the
resources of the name of Jesus. And all
that Jesus was, was working through Peter at that time.
That’s
what we are all called to do, to declare our bankruptcy of the material
world. The Church is not called to meet
the material needs of the world. The basic
call of the Church is to release the life of God, to declare the power of God,
and to make available to everyone what God can do, in the name of Jesus. These people saw it and were convinced that
God was at work, and they were prepared to listen to Peter’s explanation.
Remember,
that Luke always writes with the facts in mind.
And here is a series of unquestioned facts which Peter puts before these
people, in which they were deeply involved.
Notice the contrast he draws between the acts of God and the acts of men. He says, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, God of our fathers, (the God whom you have worshipped) has glorified his
servant Jesus. You handed him over to be
killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released
to you. You killed the author of life, but
God raised him from the dead. We are
witnesses of this. By faith in the name
of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes
through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” (13-16)
Christian
faith always rests upon well-attested, well-documented facts. These things happened; these people cannot
deny it.
Here’s
what I learned – this lame man is the picture of the world, lying at the door
of God, asking for help. Here is a sick,
lame, crippled society, unable to be the kind of men and women God wants them
to be, and looking in vain to the church, to the door of God, for help. They do not know what to ask for – neither did
the lame man. They ask mostly for
material help. And not that there’s
anything wrong with that kind of help.
But what is truly needed is exactly what Peter and John gave – not silver
and gold, but the name of Jesus, the power of a new life. A man was made whole! This is what God offers even today. He offers to make men and women whole.
Are
you relying on something in your purse that isn’t there? Perhaps it’s a little extra cash. Are you lying at the gate looking for help? You don’t expect any more than a friendly
hand, or a little help along the way.
But God has so much more to give you.
What do you hear when you listen to the amazing name of Jesus? All that is wrapped up in that one name is available
to you. “In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And be what
God wants you to be.
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