Last night I read Acts 3 and 4. But as I came to a specific verse, Acts 3:16, something just hit me. It's the story about Peter and James going to the temple for prayer. As they go they encounter a man that was lame, he could not walk. We know that he'd been that way 40ish years. Peter looks at the man and says in essence: "Look, I don't have money, but I do have the knowledge that Jesus wants to heal you now. So get up!" The man gets up. People are immediately drawn to the situation where Peter finds an impromptu opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus. In doing so he says something that got my head and fingers going last night:
(Holman Christian Standard Bible) Acts3:16 By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.
Let me expand a bit on what I said.Considering that the disciples had been with Jesus watching Him heal, that they had witnessed what was happening when Jesus made a decision, they should be acquainted with what Jesus wanted to do. However, until the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was fully poured out, they lacked the ability to do what they had seen done. They learned to listen (prayer) leading up to Pentecost and with the Holy Spirit on them it was instant connection and understanding of what they should do in that moment. As I looked at Acts 3:16 it hit me: Peter was saying that Jesus wanted to heal the man. Peter was also saying that he nor 'faith' (in an abstract form) healed the man, it was Jesus.
That's pretty bold trust. To look at someone and say, "God has healed you." This should be normal for the follower of Christ. I'm not trying to be all weird, I'm just saying that it all happens out of relationship. Just as me telling my son to tell someone else something I've said. It all begins with the assumption of Acts 2:39 - repentance of sin & filling of the Holy Spirit. There is no connection w/o repentance of sin. And to take a phone analogy a bit further...
You have no 'dial tone' without the Holy Spirit. Always 'answer' when Jesus is speaking, He will tell you what He wants... Then DO IT!
The problem of just being connected and choosing not to listen and obey, is that it creates a 'form of religion' but 'denies the power'. Jesus wants to impact our world through us! What I've noticed, from observation, is that, in general, people these days have lost faith in the church because the people in the church don't express God's ability to transform lives! So many in the church look and act the same as people in the world. The fruit of their lives doesn't show they they are different. Some of that is due to a misunderstanding that knowledge is maturity. IT ISN'T. The application of the knowledge of God's Word, the Bible, leads us to a deeper understanding of who we are in Christ and what we have. We live out of relationship with the Son of God who gave Himself up for us. It is in the intimate moments (morning, evening or whenever) that we begin to cultivate the ability to hear from God and do what He says. God wants us to get the "easy" stuff first. To walk in obedience and love God and others. I remember nights when I would be out on the bleachers during college praying for an hour or two and wondering "God are you listening?" Over the years I've learned that God is asking me, "Are YOU listening?" ;)
I've spent plenty of time wondering from the time I was a Junior in High School, "God, where are are the healings that Jesus performed? Why did He say we would do greater things than what He did?" I have friends that God has healed, of lukemia and carpel tunnel. I have a pastor friend that saw God raise a woman from the dead, before his eyes! So I knew that God could heal and have watched plenty of people laying hands on others for healing. For myself the journey took a turn when I saw again a saying, "Faith is not believing that God can. It is believing that He WILL." So many times I've watched as a person is prayed for, "God, if it is your will... we don't want to assume..." I sat one Sunday watching a woman and God said to me, "She's healed." It startled me. I really didn't want to say anything. I did. She had been healed. A friend recently asked for prayer for a job. Immediately I got, "Done deal." God knew he was going to get that job. He did. This is beginning to be the "norm" for me. Amazingly, it was the "norm" for the early church. The only thing that has passed is time.
The point? The whole church thing isn't a game. It isn't about how good we look (or bad). It's about connecting with God. Connecting with others and Connecting others with God. (borrowed from the sign in front of Niagara Alliance Church ;D ) If you have a good connection with Christ, the Holy Spirit will speak and use you. You will grow in your relationship with God and He will tell you what he wants in a situation. There's more that I could say. But for now let me just return to the original thought...
Ask Jesus what He wants to do. Peter did and then told the man and his life was transformed forever. God is in the business of transforming lives!
