What's in your purse? {Act 3}

Scripture for today, Acts 3

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.

 What this man receives is truly something he can put into his purse.  It’s everlasting – this healing, God-given healing through faith.  This man probably saw and heard Jesus teach for the past three years.  He had to have seen Peter and John before, and we may wonder why Jesus never healed him as He taught.  But God’s timing is perfect.  And now Peter, John and this lame beggar, and all the on-lookers have something to put into their purses.

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.