Title Use your authority/Acts 3:1-10
Content "The Blessings" Series VII: Use Your Authority/Acts 3:1-10
1. A person who has been crippled by birth: verses 1-3
This person has had leg problems since birth. He didn't have the strength to walk, so he lived his life with his feet tied. It's not just your feet tied up. Because I couldn't walk, I didn't even have the opportunity to do things like farming or tending sheep. Their feet are tied up, and the opportunities to develop and use their talents and even the many possibilities of life. In the end, he became a life without any hope of life.
This man lived begging at the entrance to the temple. The temple is where our lives meet God and receive His influence. For this man, the temple was a place to beg for sympathy, even though it was a place where he could receive the good power of Almighty God and restore a healthy life. Ironically, he was always closest to the temple, but he was living a life that was far from the influence of God that he had to experience in the temple. It was simply to live day to day with the dongsang obtained by stimulating people's sympathy.
2. Peter was convinced that Jesus had the authority in him: verses 3-6
As usual on this day, I was begging people at the beautiful gate of the temple. Peter and John were going into the temple to pray at the ninth hour of prayer (3pm our time). The beggar reached out to Peter and John to beg, as usual. The meeting between the disciples and this person was a meaningless meeting. However, through Peter and John, God paid attention to the man's life in need of God's power. In this way, God pays attention to the life that needs His authority.
3. Peter using the authority of Jesus: verses 6-9
First, Peter noticed the power of Jesus in him. And he used the power of Jesus by making the beggar also do it by paying attention to the power of Jesus. This beggar drew attention to the power of Jesus, which he had never noticed before. He knew the power of money and the power of political power, but he did not know the power of Jesus. But Peter made the man pay attention to the authority of Jesus.
Second, Peter proclaimed to the man, “Stand up and walk, in the name of Jesus Christ, which I have.” “In the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk” is not a magic spell. This is a proclamation that comes from believing and trusting in the Creator's authority that Jesus, the Lord of life, has. It was proclaimed to the leg of the man who had lost the strength and ability to walk by the authority of Jesus in Peter. The authority that Jesus gave us is the “authority of creation” to create and rule the world. Therefore, when we proclaim the authority in the name of Jesus, all creation obeys the authority in the name of Jesus Christ.
Finally, Peter used the power of Jesus within him through an act of faith that took hold of the man's right hand and raised it. As he grabbed his right hand and lifted it up, the power of Jesus was transferred to the man, and a miracle occurred that his feet and ankles gained strength and walked. A miracle occurred when this man, who was unable to walk, was able to walk and run on his own feet. And the changes that happened to this man did not end there. He thought that his life had nothing to do with God, but now he realized that God was paying attention to his life and healed him with his power, and he entered the temple. And it changed to a life of praising and exalting God in the temple and communicating with God. In the end, the life of one soul was completely reborn through the power of Jesus that Peter used.
question and share
◎ This man had his feet tied. If there is any part of our lives that is tied up, let's share it.
◎ We have the authority in the name of Jesus. Am I aware that this power is within me? Let's share any experiences in our lives where we have experienced grace by using this authority.
◎ Let's pray together while proclaiming the power of the name of Jesus in us toward our lives and the lives of our neighbors. And let's put it into practice in the act of faith so that the power of Jesus name can work.