Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to [a]ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. Acts 3:1-8
Warren Wiersbe said ministry happens when the divine resources meet human needs through loving channels for Glory of God. I love this definition of ministry. If you are a Christian(born again), you are in the ministry, and you are the loving channel God uses to meet some of those human needs. Throughout the Bible, we are called to serve. The church was built on the principle of helping fellow brothers, meeting their physical and spiritual needs. This requires us to be unselfish and focus on the needs of others, and the world we are part of has a totally opposite message. Social media drives you to tell the world about you, posting selfies, the food we eat, the places we visit, and posting the most mundane things of daily life. We are so self-absorbed, and in many cases, genuinely busy with our lives, we seldom have time to notice the needs of others and get involved in someone’s life in a meaningful way. By nature, we are selfish; thus, to be God’s instrument; we need to recognize a need of others, notice when someone is hurting, or simply need a shoulder to cry on.
In our text today, we see John and Peter perform the first miracle. We are all very familiar with this text. What can we learn from Peter and John? You see, that was not the first time John and Peter passed by that beggar. They went to the temple regularly. They probably passed by this lame guy number of times. What was different about that day? This day, He called out to them, and they took notice of him. As soon as they stopped, the ministry took place. Divine resources ( miracle) met human need ( healing) through loving channels ( Peter & John) for the glory of God.
There is an enormous lesson for us to learn from this account. Like the disciples, sometimes we are so engrossed in church, we don’t notice the people who are in need. There are spiritually lame people all around us. There are at our gates, just begging for someone to share Jesus with them. They may have a physical disability or mental sickness, financial need, a single parent who needs a helping hand, a teenager who needs a mentor, someone who is suffering from grief whose heart has not healed from the loss of loved one. These people are all around us, asking, begging, searching for answers to their problem. Most don’t even know what they need and are so used to their suffering. They are only looking for relief instead of a solution like the lame beggars. He was asking for some change and was not looking for much more. He was resigned to the fact, he was born lame, and he is going to die lame. Peter and John could have simply walked passed him as they had no money to give him, but they recognized his actual need. He needed healing, not money. Like Peter and John, we need to start noticing the real needs of people.
We have the solution to their problems. Jesus. He is a healer. He restores our soul ( psalm 23:3). He comforts our hearts ( Psalm 23:4). He provides all our needs ( Philippians 4:19). He is our salvation (Acts 4:12). He is our savior ( luke 2:11). He is the only one who can give you peace ( John 14:6). There is no problem that you have, or someone who you are trying help has that Jesus can not solve. Many of us, like the beggar, have accepted our condition, not realizing that the same divine power that healed him is available to us. God performed an astounding miracle through Peter and John, which allowed them an opportunity to preach, and many joined the church. God can use us in the same manner. Don’t misunderstand me; I am not telling you to find someone in a wheelchair so you can make him walk, but an opportunity to meet a human need is all around us. But before God can use you, you have to know the divine source personally (Holy Spirit), be willing to focus on others and allow God to use you as loving channels, and if He does, then don’t get puffed up but give all glory to God. Peter was an instant celebrity after the healing miracle. He could have started a healing ministry and gotten rich, but instead, he right away told people the source of healing, removing himself from the equation and giving all glory to God. By recognizing the need of one lame beggar, Peter was able to reach masses. In our churches, we spend endless hours discussing outreach and evangelism; Many good-hearted Christians genuinely want to spread the Gospel and to be used in ministry. We dedicate our resources in purchasing tracts, hosting events, support a ministry in another country. Still, perhaps the most impactful ministry we can do is to take notice of hurting people sitting right at our gate. Maybe the person sitting next to you in the church needs a hug. Perhaps, someone in your life needs to be comforted. God opened my eyes to such need not too long ago. And, I know this person for years and never noticed how badly they were hurting.
In order to be the best Christian we can be, we need to learn to be compassionate. In closing, do you know Jesus personally and the power available to you through the Holy Spirit? Are you willing to help those in need beyond just donating money? Do you have a sympathetic heart for those who are suffering and in need? Are you ready to be the loving channels of God? Learning to recognize the need is key to victorious Christian living. Amen
only savior jesus 