The World Is Waiting For You.

Main Passages for sermon. Acts3:1-10, 1Kings 18:30.


Acts 3 - Peter Heals a Lame Beggar
¹ One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. ² Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴ Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. ⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹ When all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Jesus said in the scriptures that "no man comes to the father except by me". Jesus practiced the principle of Prioritisation. To get ahead in daily life you need to stop wasting your resources on things that aren't necessary and important. The understanding of your purpose will determine your focus.


Knowing your purpose and what God says is a very crucial thing in your life. Jeremiah 1:7

⁷ But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you."

Jesus sent his disciples to the lost sheep of israel to preach the gospel. They brought redemption to the lost. So also you are a solution to a problem, don't let the solution walk past the problem.


From the text we saw that Peter and John went "together" to the temple. The emphasis here is the togetherness. They probably had been going to the temple individually in the past and walked past the lame begger who we know from verse 2 is always at the temple gate. But because they were together they connected and saw the problem, which is the lame man at the gate. There is power in togetherness. Acts 1:6, Acts 1:14, Acts 2:4, Acts 2:44, Acts 2:46.


Verse 1 says they went "Up" to the temple. This implies that they were now operating on a higher level with God, gone to the next level, to the next dimension. Only then could they be sensitive to the things around them. You need to go higher, rise above the vicissitudes of everyday life.
When you start to go higher you start to lose people and friends (i'm not talking about death), God starts to prune you of the unnecessary things holding you down.


Why should we go up higher i hear you say?

1. The further you go, the further you see. When you go to the place of God, you start to see the needs of others. God wants you to see more so that you can start to pursue things other than yourself.
2. The further you can see, the further you can reach. Mathew 9:25 ²⁵ After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.

When Peter and John came up higher, they could then feel the need of the lame man. When you see further, you start to feel empathy towards others. Don't get sucked into the details of your problems. David exalted God even when he faced Goliath.


Peter and John saw the lame man and said "look at us". They were able to say this because they have been spending time with God and looking to God. When you look to God, then people can look to you and see God because he lives in you. The man looked on them expectantly, they stirred up an excitement in him. They said to the man “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”. They were not complaining about their lack, but they were magnifying who they have. How awesome is that!


In conclusion, it is time to come together as there is power in corporate gatherings and also to move to the next level with God. When you do this you are able to go further, see further, and reach further to the people who desperately need to know God. The World Is Waiting For You.