Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / No Silver, No Gold - The Book of Acts

Transcript

No Silver, No Gold - The Book of Acts · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: I none, but such as I have I give thee.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: and walk. Acts 3.6 Dear Lord, as I meditate on
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: today's reading in Acts 3-4, I will bring my attention
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: to Peter and John and the lame man outside the
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: gate called Beautiful. As I look through the story, I
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: thank you that you are giving me the ability to
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: give to people what they truly need, and not the
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: needs on the surface level. Because I am a change agent,
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: what you give to me to give to your children
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: will meet the deepest need of their heart. In the
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: same way that man received healing, I praise your Holy
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Spirit that through my life you will use me as
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: a conduit to bring healing and restoration to your children
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: who are waiting just outside of a beautiful life. When
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: I am questioned and asked by what authority do I
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: operate in, I will boldly declare that by the finished
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: works of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, I
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: have all rights and authority to speak life, to live life,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: and to breathe new life into God's children. Thank you,
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, that your authority is in my life and
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: is evident in the miracles that surround my purpose and destiny.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name. Amen.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: No silver, no gold. In our last story, the Holy
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: Spirit descended on the disciples like a whirlwind. The strength
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: and authority of Jesus was poured out on the disciples
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: as they proclaimed the glory of Christ. Thousands were added
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: to the church that day, and the movement of Christ's
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: family began. Now we see glimpses of Jesus in the
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: way Peter and John teach and heal the people around them.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: Seeing that the disciples were becoming more like Jesus every day,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: the priests and elders feared that they would have another
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: problem on their hands, inspired by the book of Acts.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: slash stress. In our last episode, we heard how the
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: disciples and others were given the Holy Spirit on the
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: day of Pentecost. As they gathered in the temple with
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: Jews from all over the world, a rushing wind came
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: and tongues of fire descended upon them. These are symbols
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: of the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: They began to speak God's truth in other languages so
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: that the people could understand the gospel. Peter then spoke
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: to the crowd and delivered a message that cut to
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: people's hearts. and over 3,000 repented of their sin and
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: received Christ that day, and the church was birthed. Today
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: we'll hear as Peter and John began to boldly, courageously
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: carry out the mission of Jesus, preaching and healing with
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: wisdom and power that clearly was not of themselves, but
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: was in the power of the resurrection, the power of
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: Jesus himself. They will soon face opposition for their message
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: that threatens the power of the religious elite. just as
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: it happened to Jesus. So let's listen now to today's
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: reading from God's Word.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: The lame beggar watched as dozens of people passed by
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: him to enter into the synagogue. It was the hour
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: of prayer, and many devoted men and women entered into
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: the house of God to pray and seek him. It
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: was a fruitful time for the lame beggar. He would
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: lay beside the gate called Beautiful and ask for spare coins.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: Since people felt charitable before praying, he would often make
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: most of his money in that time. The man raised
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: his cup and shook it, waiting for coins to trickle in.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: The lame man saw two men walking side by side
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: into the gate. Spare some coin for a poor lame man,
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: he asked. The two men looked at him. The taller
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: and older one knelt down and looked him deeply in
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: the eye. He smiled and held out his hands. Gold
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: and silver I do not have. he said. But what
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: I have, I can give to you. In the name
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: of Jesus Christ, get up and walk. Then all of
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: a sudden, the lame man felt a warm sensation travel
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: from his toes up his spine. He looked down to
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: his feet and moved them. His eyes began to water
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: with tears, and he rose to his feet. He hugged
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: the two men. They were none other than John and Peter.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: The people stopped to stare at the man who was
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: jumping up and down. They knew him to be the
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: lame beggar and were astonished to see him leaping in
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: front of the gate. Dozens of people gathered to see.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: So Peter and John took the opportunity to share with
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: them the power and the story of Jesus. Since the
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: man was lame from birth, he clung to Peter and
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: John for balance. Peter then spoke to the whole crowd, saying,
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: Do not look at us as if we are the
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: ones who made him walk. Look at us. We are
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: not special. It is Jesus who performs these deeds. The
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: one who you all allowed to be crucified is the
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: one who works these mighty things, Peter declared the gospel
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: to the crowds. He spoke of repentance, forgiveness, and purpose.
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: Many more people were added to the family of God
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: that day, including the lame beggar, who now walked with
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: purpose under the will of God. As they were speaking,
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: an old enemy emerged from the synagogue doors. The priests,
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: the captain of the guard, and the Sadducees walked out
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: to see a large group of people surrounding Peter and John.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: Their stomachs dropped as they watched five thousand men and
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: women declare faith in the resurrected Jesus, the Jesus they killed.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: The next day, Peter and John were preaching again in
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: the city streets. Caiaphas, the high priest, came with his
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: guard and yelled,' By what power or authority do you
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: do these things?' The high priest was livid, since Peter
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: and John had been healing and preaching among the people. Peter,
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: filled with the Holy Spirit, stepped down and walked to
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: the priests and his guards. Are we being threatened because
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: we have done good deeds? Peter asked. I want it
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: to be perfectly clear. I do these things with the
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: authority of Jesus, the one you crucified. He is the
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: cornerstone by which we build our lives. There is no
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: one else we look to for salvation. Peter did not flinch.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: He spoke with boldness. Caiaphas had seen this boldness before
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: in Jesus. It sent chills down his spine. Out of fear,
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: they asked them to leave the temple streets and not
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: to speak the name of Jesus. Of course, they refused,
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: but the priests could not do anything, for the masses
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: were in love with the disciples.
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: In our scripture today, we find a man sitting at
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: a gate near the entrance of the temple. The gate
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: was called Beautiful, but for this crippled man, life was
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: anything but beautiful. He could not provide for his own needs,
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: and he was surely considered cursed by those around him.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: All he could do was beg for spare change and
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: hope for generous strangers to give him a coin or two.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: So as Peter and John passed by, he looked at them,
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: hoping they would take pity on him and give him something.
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: These men are now walking in the power of Jesus Christ.
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: Filled with the Spirit, Peter and John looked upon this
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: man with love and compassion. They were like Jesus. They
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: were full of Jesus. And Peter and John knew that
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: this man needed more than physical healing. He needed spiritual healing.
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: Peter looked at him with kindness. But rather than drop
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: just a few coins in the beggar's cup, he healed
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: the man in the name of Jesus Christ. This man
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: is now on his feet walking and praising God. Can
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: you imagine the joy of experiencing the power of Christ
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: and the healing of his body? Of course, this would
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: cause quite a scene. Those nearby who had seen the man,
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: probably many times, unable to walk, and now he was
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: jumping around and smiling and praising God. He's talking about
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: Jesus and what Jesus had done for him. Peter and
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: John knew this was an opportunity to share a much
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: deeper healing, so they began to share the good news.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: These two fishermen were not trained speakers, and they were
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: certainly not scholars, but God was in them. The Holy
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: Spirit was filling them, and the Lord gave them the
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: words to say. Just as Peter had done on the
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: day of Pentecost, he began to tell everyone of the
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: love of Jesus and how Jesus was sent by God,
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: and even though people rejected him, his own people rejected
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: him and sent him to a cross that Christ rose again,
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: and now the resurrection power of Christ was alive in
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: them and available to all who would trust in Christ.
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: He called them to repentance, to turn from their sins
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: and receive the grace of God. His words were clear
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: and compelling and courageous. And once more, they were convicting.
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: They cut to the heart. 5,000 more souls were saved
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: that day and the church continued to grow with explosive,
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: multiplying growth. Of course, the religious leaders hated this. They
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: imagined that Jesus' followers would just fade away with time,
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: but now the opposite is happening. So they had Peter
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: and John arrested and brought them before the council of
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: priests and scribes the next day. They tried to intimidate
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: these two men, these two disciples. but these men were
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: full of God, and they were full of boldness and courage.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: Peter and John, even under custody of the officials, did
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: not stop preaching the gospel of Christ. They knew the
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: power of Jesus was in them, and so they fearlessly
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: carried out the mission of our Lord. The religious leaders
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: had no basis to keep them confined. After all, they
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: had simply done a good deed and healed a lame man.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: And still, They warned them to stop preaching. And I
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: just absolutely love Peter and John's response given to us
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: in Acts 4 verses 19 and 20. Listen to these words.
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: Whether it is right in the sight of God to
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: For we cannot but speak of what we have seen
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: and heard. In other words, we're going to obey God
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: and not you. We are compelled to keep speaking about Jesus.
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: We should pray for that same boldness today as we
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: share the gospel with others. We cannot help but speak
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: of what Christ has done for us. And if we
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: have experienced the love and grace of Jesus, we are
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: compelled to tell others. Just like Peter and John and
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: so many others, we don't need to be eloquent or
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: educated to share the good news of Christ. We need
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: to be prepared and know the gospel, but then really
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: simply to be willing and obedient and trust God that
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: in the power of the Holy Spirit he would change
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: lives through our bold witness. Dear God, we thank you
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: for the courageous example of Peter and John. Help us
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: to look for opportunities to see people all around us
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: who need the hope and help that is in Jesus Christ.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: May we boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: with the people we meet. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: Before we go, I want to let you know about
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: a unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: It's called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: that it will help you conquer the daily tasks and
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org slash stress.