Using Jesus' Power

The message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on Sunday morning, March 6, 2022.  The Bible verses used are Acts 3:1-26.

            We’re all familiar with the miraculous healing power that Jesus had when he was on earth.  Over and over again, we read in the gospels about Jesus making a blind man see, or a lame man walk, or something similar.  Once the word spread that Jesus could do that, people from all over brought their loved ones to Jesus to be healed.  We read of times when Jesus would spend hours, all day sometimes, healing people.  It had to be an amazing thing to witness.

            What we don’t think about as often is that, after Jesus returned to heaven, His disciples had miraculous healing power, too.  Now, they did not use it as often as Jesus did, or at least if they did we’re not told about it in the Bible.  We don’t read of people bringing their loved ones from all over to be healed by Peter or John.  But they did have that power, and they could use it on occasion.  As they did in our Bible reading for today.

            And you know, as we read these stories, we really need to think about them, because to me, the way this comes about is kind of interesting.  We’re told that Peter and John were going to the temple at the time of prayer.  Presumably this is something they did frequently–probably every day if they could.  And we’re also told that this man, who had been lame from the time of his birth, was at this same gate of the temple every day, where he would beg for money.

            I mention this because, as I think about this, it seems likely that Peter and John knew this guy would be there.  In fact, it seems likely that they’d seen him there before.  Maybe lots of times.  Maybe they’d talked to him before.  Maybe they’d even gotten acquainted with him.  Maybe they’d even given him money before, if they had any.  Now, again, we don’t know this–the Bible does not say it–but it just seems likely given the facts that we do know.

            So, given all that, did Peter and John plan this?  Did they decide they wanted to heal this man?  Did they pray to God for the power to heal this man?  Again, we don’t know.  The Bible does not say.  It just seems to me like it could’ve happened that way, given the way this all plays out.

            But at any rate, Peter and John go to the temple.  They see the man.  He asks them for money.  And Peter makes the statement, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”  And Peter helps the man up, and he walks!

            The guy is overjoyed, obviously.  He starts jumping up and down, celebrating.  And from the reaction of everyone, it seems like lots of people were acquainted with this man, this beggar.  We’re told they were “filled with wonder and amazement” at what happened.

            And Peter and John were ready for that reaction.  Whether they planned this in advance or not, when the crowd reacted, they were ready.  Peter tells them exactly what happened, how it happened, and why it happened.  He tells them, why are you staring at us?  We did not do this by our own power, but by the power of Jesus Christ.  You remember Jesus, right?  You had him killed, but God raised Him from the dead.  It’s by faith in Him that this man was healed.

            Peter goes on to say, look, I know you guys just did not know any better.  But now you do.  So now, repent of your sins, and accept Jesus as the Savior.  Then your sins can be wiped out and you can be blessed by God.

            So the question is, as you’ve heard me say several times before, what can we learn from this story?  Well, in this case, I think there are a lot of things we can learn.  This is a story with all kinds of lessons for us.  I won’t have time to go through all of them today.  But we’ll hit a few of them.

            One lesson we can learn is that our faith in Jesus can give us power.  Quite likely, it gives us more power than we realize.  Now, I’m not saying it will give us the power of supernatural physical healing.  It is possible–after all, nothing is beyond God’s power.  But I’ve never been able to heal someone just by saying a few words.  And my guess is that most of you have not been able to do that, either.

            But still, our faith in Jesus can give us power, if we’re willing to rely on that faith and that power.  Have you ever been in a situation where you did not know what to do, but you felt like you had to do something, so you did, and it turned out to be the right thing to do?  That’s using Jesus’ power.  Have you ever been in a situation where you did not know what to say, but you felt like you had to say something, and you did, and it turned out to be the right thing to say?  That’s using Jesus’ power.  Have you ever been minding your own business, and all of a sudden the name of someone came to mind, and you felt like you needed to call them or do something for them, and it turned out to be just what that person needed?  That’s using Jesus’ power.  

            Those are just a few examples.  There are all kinds of situations in which our faith in Jesus can give us power, if we’ll only rely on that faith and that power.

            Another lesson we can learn is that, if we keep our eyes open and keep our hearts open, the Lord will give us all kinds of chances to use Jesus’ power.  Again, we don’t know if this was something Peter and John planned out in advance or if it happened on the spur of the moment.  But at some point, they opened their eyes and opened their hearts to this man.  At some point, Peter and John realized that they could do more for this man than just give him a little money.  At some point, the realized that they had been given the chance, not just to do something nice for this guy, but to use the healing power of Jesus on him.  They had been given the chance to truly make an impact on his life.  They had been given the chance to change someone’s life forever.  They had been given the chance to make a disciple of Jesus Christ.

            If you and I keep our eyes open, if we keep our hearts open, God will give us those chances, too.  Again, I’m not saying we will have supernatural power–although, again, nothing is beyond God’s power.  But if we keep our eyes open, and if we keep our hearts open, God will give us the chance to do more than just do something nice for someone.  God will give us the chance to truly make an impact on someone’s life.  God will give us the chance to change someone’s life forever.  God will give us the chance to make a disciple of Jesus Christ.  If will happen.  In fact, it probably has happened, several times.  Maybe sometimes you’ve recognized it.  Maybe you have not.  But the chances are there, and they will continue to be there.  God will give us those chances.  We just need to keep our eyes and our hearts open, so we can see them and take advantage of them.

            But that’s another lesson we can learn from this–that if we miss those chances, God will give us more of them.  Who knows how many times Peter and John might have seen this guy before they healed him?   Who knows how many times they may have walked right past him on their way into the temple, maybe stopping to give him a little money, or maybe not?  They may have missed chance after chance to help this man.  But God kept giving them chances, until eventually they saw what God wanted them to do, and they did it.

            God will do that for us, too.  If we miss chances to use Jesus’ power, we will get more of them.  God will never stop giving us chances to make an impact on someone’s life.  God will never stop giving us chances to change someone’s life.  God will never stop giving us chances to bring people to Christ.  If we’ve missed them in the past, well, we probably cannot do much about that.  But we can take advantage of the chances God is still giving us, now and in the future.

            There are lots of other lessons we could learn, but here’s just one more:  when we do see the chances God gives us, be ready.  Be ready not just to use Jesus’ power, but be ready to explain what we’ve done and how we’ve done it.  Be ready to tell people that it is, in fact, the power of Jesus Christ that we are using.  Be ready to explain to people who Jesus Christ is.  Be ready to explain to people that, if they have not believed in Jesus in the past, it’s okay.  They just did not know any better.  But now, they can know.  And so they can repent, and turn to God.  They can believe in Jesus as the Savior.  And then, their sins, too, can be wiped out.  And they can be blessed by God.  And it’s a pretty awesome blessing.  It’s a blessing that gives the chance for salvation and eternal life.

            Our faith in Jesus Christ can give us power.  God will give us chances to use that power.  If we miss some, God will give us some more.  But it’s up to us to take advantage of those chances.  Take advantage of the chances God gives us, not just to do something nice for someone, but to make an impact on someone’s life and bring them to Christ.  To help them accept the salvation and eternal life that Christ offers.  God will do God’s part.  Let’s do our part.