“Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but [what I do have] I
give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’” (Acts 3:6 NIV)
The cripple at the Beautiful Gate was certainly not the only beggar
that day; there may well have been others /calling for Peter’s and John’s
attention. But the Bible says that “Peter looked straight at him.”
Other translations say, “Peter, fastening his eyes upon him…” (KJV) or
“Peter looked intently at the man” (Phillips)…
By the Spirit [Peter] perceived that God was about to do something for
this individual. Peter did not feel drawn /to everybody /at the gate /in
some wholesale sort of way, but only to this particular man.
There was no indication that the cripple believed in Jesus the
Messiah. He didn’t ask Peter for prayer.
He simply uttered the Jewish
equivalent of “Buddy, can you spare some change?” like all the rest.
Yet Peter knew in his heart what to do—or rather he somehow knew what
God was about to do. He initiated contact.
“Look at us!” he declared.
This insight is something () we need to recover today. Not very many of
us expect God to give us these kinds of supernatural indications and
leadings. The Holy Spirit may want to touch someone with his divine
power and change his or her life for ever—but he can’t seem to find a
channel to use, someone //whose spiritual antenna is pointed outward /in a
heavenly direction and ready to obey God’s prompting. The story in Acts
3 is not hocus-pocus mysticism but a factual account of what the Holy
Spirit did through two yielded servants.
Too often we pray /about problems /in a mechanical way, mouthing the same
words /over and over /regardless of the case.
We would do far better /if
we waited on the Lord and were sensitive /to the mind of the Spirit /about
what to do, what to say, and what not to say /as we walk among
needy people, broken relationships, and other problems that come our
way. The same God who led Peter can lead us today.
Please notice that Peter did not declare healing /to every beggar /at the
temple gate /that day, only to one in particular. There is no basis
/anywhere in the New Testament /for mechanical, assembly-line operation of
any spiritual gift /according to some whim of the Christian believer.
Rather, every indication is that we need to be open and obedient /to the
moving and sovereign mind of the Holy Spirit.
Think of all () we miss /by not being in tune /with the Spirit’s sensitive
and yet powerful leadings. Within minutes that day in Jerusalem, a
crippled man was up on his feet, jumping around and dancing for the
first time in his life...
This man’s sudden walking and jumping and leaping were fairly dramatic evidence //that the name of Jesus had power…
-Pastor Cymbala (excerpted from Fresh Power)
Read the full account, Peter Heals a Lame Beggar, in Acts 3:1-10.