| |
ACTS 3:6 “BUT PETER SAID, SILVER AND GOLD HAVE I NONE; BUT SUCH AS I HAVE GIVE I THEE: IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH RISE UP AND WALK.” (KJV)
“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.” (NKJV, NIV)
“But Peter said, ‘I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!’” (NASB)
“But Peter said, ‘We don’t have any money for you! But I’ll give you something else! I command you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!’” (TLB)
A song to remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZO9BPkqyCU
I have to start with “A song to remember” today. Please listen to it and let it capture your thoughts. Cheryl and I used to teach children’s church at the Nazarene church we attended in Enid, OK. This was one of the songs we taught the kids to sing every Sunday. After singing, “Silver and gold have I none,” you clap three times. The kids loved the song. If you listen to it enough times (maybe even teach it to your kids), you will have it memorized very quickly. What a great way to hide the Word in our lives!
I used this Scripture in sermons several times too. Peter’s first sermon ended up seeing 3,000 people added to the church (see Acts 2:14-41). It was a long sermon too! After Peter helped the beggar to rise up and walk, he preached another sermon that resulted in that number climbing to 5,000 (Acts 3:11-4:4).
Now, these were some kind of sermons. Of course, the second sermon resulted in him being thrown into jail too. What preacher wouldn’t want that many converts after his preaching? Of course, no one wants to end up in jail either, huh?
The sermon I liked the best, however, was the one he preached to the beggar. Look again at Acts 3:6-10. Again, results! He went walking, and leaping and praising God. Listen to that song again.
Peter’s very effective, Spirit-inspired sermon had three main points…most great sermons do:
1. You gotta know what you don’t have.
2. You gotta know what you do have.
3. You gotta know how to give what you have away.
We definitely need to know what we do not have. The beggar wanted money. He had been begging for it for years. There is no indication that any of the disciples/apostles were ever wealthy. No doubt, Peter did not have silver and gold to give this beggar, nor anyone else. He also knew that money had never done it for this man and never would. It is interesting that knowing his greatest need…to not be a crippled man any more…that the man had become satisfied begging for money to support the life he had instead of asking to be healed.
We need to know what we do not have also. We sure can be ready to give away that which we really do not possess. There is nothing wrong with giving of our blessings and wealth to those in need. Jesus preached that we should. But, most of us don’t have that much anyway. And, giving money to a problem instead of really stepping in there and giving what actually needs to be given is rarely the solution. Money alone rarely meets the needs of others.
It is very important to actually know what we do have. This was Peter’s first act of being the vessel for healing someone. How did he know that the Lord would use him to heal this man? How did he know that he had that faith…that gift of healing for this man…inside him? He did know, though. He knew that healing was “such as I have.” Wow!
Do you have the gift of faith to reach out and, through the Holy Spirit, heal someone who is in great need? Can the Holy Spirit speak through you to heal emotional, physical and psychological needs that many of those around you need?
There has been lots of teaching in recent days about us using the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us. We sometimes mistakenly assume we can take a survey or somehow come up with what “our gift” is. That often disregards the part of 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 which describes the gifts as “the manifestation of the Spirit” and the Spirit “gives them to each one, just as he determines.”
We can mistakenly think we can pick which gift is ours. The dead giveaway in this thinking is how many “prophets” we have and absolutely no one demonstrates that they have the gift of healing. Where is the wisdom? Where is the discernment that seems to be lacking a lot of the time?
We need to know what we have. But we need to also exercise and demonstrate it by faith as the Holy Spirit leads us to. Peter knew, in that moment, that the Holy Spirit would exercise that wonderful gift of healing though him for that crippled man. Are you ready to do the same when the Spirit tells you that is exactly what He has through you now?
We need to know how to give it away. Peter said, I know what I don’t have…the silver and gold you are asking for. He then said, “but such as I have”…I know what I have and I know that you need it. I have it for this exact time when you need it. I have it because the Holy Spirit has put it inside of me. “Now, what I have, I give to you.” “In the Name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.”
As much as we brag about being great givers as Christians, we aren’t always that great at giving it away. Money, yes. Healing, not so much so. Taking real time to listen to someone, maybe. Really supporting those who can go around the world, where we might not be able to go, so they can give it away on our behalf, pretty rare.
Isn’t it interesting that Peter probably exercised the gift of knowledge or discernment from the Holy Spirit to know exactly what He wanted in that situation before he exercised the gift of healing? We need to do the same.
Don’t try to solve the problems Jesus puts in front of you with what you do not have. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, know what you actually do have at your disposal to meet the specific need that He brings across your path. Then, through faith in Him who gives the gifts to share in the first place, give it away to meet those needs. Try that out today. Do it while you are singing that children’s song: “Silver and gold have I none (clap, clap)…”
Questions to consider: In addition to discernment to know what is needed in life’s situations, does giving away the gift also sometimes require some real patience on our part to wait for it to be revealed? How quickly have you stepped in to help take care of a problem only to find out you really didn’t know what the problem was, or even knew what was really needed? Is it true that the gifts and tools the Lord gives us to meet the needs of the world are far greater than we even realize? How often have the gifts God gives us been “left on the shelf?”
Other Scriptures to study: Acts 4:5-13, the next sermon Peter preached, this time to the leaders of Jerusalem. Acts 6:7-10, great power and wisdom of Stephen. Acts 7:54-60, the results of Stephen’s great sermon. Are you ready to be stoned for preaching the truth?
 
|
|
