Come Boldly!

Come Boldly!

SUNDAY 26^TH SEPTEMBER, 1999.

BIBLE READING: Acts 3:1-10, Heb 4:16

CAPTAIN MARIEKE VENTER

Introduction:

Have you ever received more than you asked? This week-end we went on a Sunday School camp, and, you will remember that we asked some of the Corps folk to supply some teatime treats. We expected a few tins of biscuits, a couple of packets of chips etc – but I wish you could have seen what we got! We hardly needed food! We had a room full of biscuits and sweets and chips – the children actually started saying " no thanks" after a while, that’s how much there was! We asked for something, and we got FAR more than we asked!

We read from the Bible tonight about someone who asked for little, and received a lot more than he expected!

Let’s look at this poor man in our Scripture Reading from Acts 3. The Bible tells us he was

1. Crippled from birth. He had never learned to walk, never known what it felt like to play sport, to run, to jump… all the things we take so for granted, this man had never done.

I think in today’s day and age it is not easy to be disabled – but in the days of the Bible it was even worse! Not only did people not worry much about the rights of disabled people – they also thought that if you were disabled, it was because you’d done something wrong! It was God’s punishment! And in the case of this poor man who was born crippled, well, I guess they would have thought it was his parents’ fault – they must have done something terrible!

Did you know that this man at the beautiful gate is symbolic of all of us? Did you know that spiritually, we are all crippled from birth?

The Bible tells us something interesting in Ps 51:5: "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me!"

Sinful at birth? It’s hard to imagine a little baby being sinful, but I suppose we know what the Bible is teaching us: We human beings were born with the potential to sin! Somehow, wrong thoughts and wrong actions come easily to us, they come almost naturally. We have a sinful nature!

Yes, we are crippled from birth! Crippled not in our bodies, but crippled in our spirit. And many of us limp along through life. Not many of us know what it feels like to soar like eagles, to run and not get tired, to walk and not grow faint – those lovely words from Is 40 are a mystery to us because we crawl along, we limp along in life.

To come back to the man in Acts 10, we must realise that life was not easy for him. There was no job for him, there was not much sympathy for him, and

2. All he could do was to beg.

He was completely dependent on the kindness of others. Of course, the temple gate was a good place to beg, because people passing by there were going to worship. No doubt their thoughts would be turning to God and his goodness, and they would possibly feel kinder and more obliged to help, and they would drop some money into his lap.

Here’s another way in which that man was just like us! All he could do to survive was to hold out his hand. And you know, if you and I are interested in eternal life, all we can do too, is to hold out our hand. We can do nothing to earn it. We can do nothing to deserve it. We can do nothing to buy it. Again, the Bible is clear about our position: Two verses in Romans: 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All are crippled. All are beggars. All we can do, is to hold out our hand. But let’s see what happens when we DO hold out our hand: Rom 6:23 – The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Yes, if we’re interested in eternal life, we cannot work for it or pay for it – we can only hold out our hand for it and receive it as a GIFT. The GIFT of God, eternal life.

But there was a problem with the man at the gate of the Temple. You know what his problem was?

3. He asked for too little.

There he was, asking for money. Money to buy him some food for the day. Money perhaps to buy him a new coat. Money to pay his taxes… and he was happy with the pennies that dropped into his lap. It was all he wanted. It was all he thought he needed. Until Peter and John came along.

I wonder what he thought when they stopped in front of him. The Bible tells us they stood right in front of him, and said: "Look at us!". What was in his eyes as he looked up at the two strangers? Was there hopefulness in his eyes? Expectancy? Was he thinking: "Maybe I’ll get a nice bit of money from these men!"

Was he disappointed when he heard their words: "silver or gold I do not have?" "Well, thank you very much! Why bother to stop in the first place!" The man might have thought.

But wait! There was more! "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you!" "Well", we can imagine the man thinking, "maybe they will give me some food or a new piece of clothing!" I bet he never expected their next words: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!"

Walk? Did they not know who he was? Did they not know that he had never walked in his whole life? But there was no time to argue, because Peter had him by the arms and simply pulled him to his feet! And the Bible says the man’s feet and ankles became strong, he jumped to his feet and began to walk!

All these years he’s been asking for alms, I read somewhere, and what he really needed was legs!

He’d been asking too little! But when God entered into his life through Peter and John, the gift he received was greater than he would have ever thought of to ask!!

He asked for too little.

I want us to think of our own individual lives for a moment, and I want us to think specifically of our prayer life. Sometimes I think I ask for too little. Do you sometimes ask for too little?

Many of us pray for "things". We pray about a job, a house, a car, food… and it’s good to pray for those things! Nothing is too unimportant for God! There is no detail of our lives He is NOT interested in! But we sometimes forget to pray for the BIG issues in life. The issues that have value in this life AND the next.

Things like a gentle spirit. Wisdom. Love. Things like the salvation of our loved ones. Big things! Bigger than money or possessions! There’s a verse in the SB I really like, and it says these words:

"Thou art coming to a King,

Large petitions with thee bring,

For his grace and power are such

None can ever ask too much."

Listen also to Eph 3:20 that speaks about God who "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine."

More than we ask! They say God is much more willing to give, than we are to ask!

More than we imagine!

Let’s be bold in our asking.

Listen to Heb 4:16: Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Application:

The man, we don’t even know his name, was crippled from birth. Spiritually, we are like him too. He was a beggar. When it comes to salvation, we are all beggars with outstretched hands waiting for a free gift. But in begging, he asked for too little. He held out his hand expecting money – instead he found a strong hand taking hold of him and pulling him to his feet.

When you come to God in prayer, do you hold out your hand expecting something small? I want to challenge you today. Keep asking for the small things – God listens. But stop being afraid to ask for the big things. Hold out your hand and expect him to pull you to your feet in a new way! Hold out your hand and start expecting a miracle!

Chorus 2: All that you need is a miracle….

All that you need is a miracle,
And all that you need can be yours.
All that you need is available,
That moment you turn to the Lord.