From Lame to Leaping: A Story of God's Sovereign Power & Our Duty

[0:00] Good evening. We can carry on our public worship of God by singing to his praise, first of all, in Sing Psalms and Psalm 15. Sing Psalms and Psalm 15.

[0:16] On page 16 of our psalm book, Psalm 15 on page 16. Lord, who may stay within your tent, your sacred dwelling place, and who upon your holy hill may live before your face, whoever walks a blameless path, who acts in righteousness, and who will always, from the heart, sincerely truth express.

[0:42] Psalm 15, the whole psalm, to God's praise. Within your tent, your sacred dwelling place, and who upon your holy hill may live before your face, who ever walks a blameless path, who has been by justness, and who will always, from the heart, sincerely truth express.

[1:59] He has no sight on anyone, nor does his care in our own.

[2:18] He has no sight within his heart, our standard of his time.

[2:37] He has no sight within his heart, He has no sight within his heart, He has no sight within his heart, He gives the hope which he has farmed, He then the hell he experiences, He gives the hope which he has farmed.

[3:17] And who may see his heart, He gives the victory around, He would lay his heart, He vir quarterly, and who gods of all his love as Mohammed's soul, his lovezy shine, O to be in thy kindness, when all grace can take you.

[3:54] Let's join together a word of prayer. Let's pray. Almighty Lord, we come before you this evening and we ask that once more you would bring our hearts and our minds in alignment to what it is we're seeking to do.

[4:13] Help us not just to be here this evening for sure or to be here this evening just to be here, but help us to engage fully what is going on. As we come together this evening, we know this is not just something we are doing because it's good to do.

[4:29] We are doing it because we are commanded, but also because it is our privilege to do it. At this moment, at this moment as brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters, we are engaging in worship to you, the holy God, the sovereign God.

[4:46] At this moment, your presence, as it were, fills this place. We know it to be true because your presence fills your people and your people meet together in this place.

[4:57] Not because of any merit of this building. As precious as this building is to many here, as important as this place of worship is, we understand that it's just bricks and dust and wood.

[5:12] And one day this building will be gone. One day we will be gone. But we will be with you. Until we see that day. Until we see our Saviour as he is.

[5:24] Until we see him as it were face to face. Help us to be faithful servants in all you have given us to do. We thank you for the privilege we have of worshipping you week after week.

[5:35] The privilege we have of joining together in this public act of worship. This public act. As we join together as the fellowship. As we read about last week from your word.

[5:46] A reminder that your people have been gathering in a manner like this since the very start. Gathering together as sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. Gathering around your word as a focus.

[5:59] Gathering around fellowship and time together. Singing from your word. Singing psalms to your name. Reading and hearing portions of scripture. Hearing that scripture then broken down and applied.

[6:12] And enjoying what it is to be brothers and sisters together. Help us Lord then we ask this evening to understand what we are doing. We are joining in with the brothers and sisters of old. But also the brothers and sisters across the world this evening.

[6:27] Now though our cultures are different. Our styles of worship may well be different. Our understanding may well be different. Our way of doing things at times is different.

[6:38] Our language, our colour and everything else is different. Together we are united in the one thing that matters. We have a saviour who gave himself for us.

[6:48] Who calls us his own. Who loves us. And who we long to worship better and better week after week. Help us Lord then to have that mindset. That at this very moment we are just a small part.

[7:00] But also a glorious part. Of the assembled voices of your church. As we rise to sing your praises again. As we rise together to hear your word. As we rise together to spend time together.

[7:13] As brothers and sisters as family. We are aligning ourselves. Not just with you. But aligning ourselves with this church family. This worldwide.

[7:24] Universal. Across time. Church family. As we raise our voices in worship. We join in the worship of the angels in glory. Of the brothers and sisters who have gone before us.

[7:36] And to their rest. As they await that final day. They will receive their resurrected bodies. As they worship you just now in spirit. As they worship you just now. In the form and the way they are.

[7:48] As together we all long for this final glorious day. Until that day comes. Give us the strength to serve you faithfully. We pray especially this evening. Just for ourselves locally.

[7:59] We remember this morning. Our government. We remember this morning. Our nation. Our world. We pray this evening. Just for ourselves. We thank you.

[8:11] You've brought together your people. For many decades now. Year after year. Month after month. Week after week. Your name has been proclaimed.

[8:22] In this district. We thank you for many servants. Who have gone before us into glory. Men and women. Who sought to give their lives. To the service of the gospel. Who sought to give themselves.

[8:35] In their energy. In their service. In their worship. In their hospitality. In their skills. And talents. And gifting. To give themselves over.

[8:45] To the service of the gospel. We give you thanks for their labors. It's from their labors. That we now reap the benefits. We thank you for the reminder on Thursday.

[8:56] That things have never changed. That we may see ourselves today. As having a tough time. In terms of having too few workers. Your glorious son.

[9:08] Our saviour. He himself proclaimed the same fact. At the very start of his ministry. At the very start. As the church was forming. It was declared that. The fields are ready.

[9:19] That they are white for harvest. But how few are the workers. And we pray this evening. As our saviour. Instructs us to pray. We pray to you.

[9:30] The one who can gather together. The workers. We ask Lord. You would send and prepare. More workers. Prepare us to be workers. In North Tulsa. In the various facilities.

[9:41] And ways that we can. Interact with. We pray just now Lord. For our own homes. That first mission field. You've given us. Our homes. Our neighbours. Our family. Those we interact with the most.

[9:53] We pray also then. For those in the village. Who we see every so often. Help us to be. The source of comfort. And peace. And joy for them. They would know us. And see us.

[10:04] And know that we love our saviour. There would be something different. About us. A joy about us. That they long to have for themselves. Pray just now Lord. For those in our village.

[10:16] Who may be opposing the gospel. Just now in their hearts. In their actions. In various ways. Lord. You know the full details. Perhaps. Pray just now Lord. For those who hate you. In this village. Those who oppose your reign.

[10:28] And your rule. Those who want nothing to do with you. And those who quite. Viciously. Are against the gospel cause. Lord.

[10:38] That you would work your power. In their lives. And in their experience. We thank you Lord. For the evidence. That you win. Even though the evil one. He tries to assail us.

[10:50] In various ways. Both publicly. And privately. Both preacher. And hearer alike. We all suffer. As your people. The ongoing spiritual warfare.

[11:01] We ask Lord. Then that you would protect us. And continue to protect us. Help us to have a wisdom. To lay hold. And make full use. Of the spiritual armor. You have given us. Understanding.

[11:12] It is you who calls us. To fight. And our fight. Is not against flesh and blood. But we have nothing but love. And nothing but gospel care. For our neighbors and friends.

[11:23] It is against the evil one himself. We have the warfare. It is a warfare that has been won for us. The battle rages on at times. But the overall result is known.

[11:34] And ready. That he has lost. And our saviour has won. Help us then Lord. Of that sure hope and knowledge. To go forward. This new week. Knowing whatever we face. From the evil one.

[11:46] Whatever spiritual battles we endure. Whatever situations. Where he casts up old sins. And old situations. Whatever way we encounter. His attacks.

[11:57] Spiritually. Or physically. However he seems to manifest himself. In our experience. Help us not to be surprised. Or shocked. Instead help us take all things to you.

[12:08] Knowing that we and our own. Can do nothing. But we as we come to you. We come to the one. Who is in full control. We come to one. Who assures us.

[12:21] That he cares for us. We throw ourselves then. Into that care. The care of a father. Who truly loves his people. We thank you Lord. That you care far more.

[12:32] For the souls of North Tulsa. Than we ever will. We do pray just now. For the many souls of North Tulsa. Who as of yet. Have not seen. Nor experienced. Even a glimmer of gospel light.

[12:42] We ask that even this new week. You would show. And shine that gospel light. Into their hearts. But one day soon. We would hear the glorious news. Of many more.

[12:53] Of one more. Coming to know. And come to love Jesus. As saviour. Help us Lord. Make full use of us. As instruments in your hands. Prepare us for the work.

[13:05] Thank you for the privilege we have. Of living here. Of serving here. Help us Lord. To be encouraged. With that gospel positivity. That gospel optimism. Where we ourselves feel useless.

[13:17] The world tells us we are useless. The world tells us. The cause is useless. And yet you work through useless people. To bring about your glorious plans.

[13:30] But help that to be our example. In our story this evening. Take our loaves and our fish. Take our small offerings. And transform it. For your glory. And for your namesake. Lord we ask for every blessing we see resulting from that.

[13:43] It would be for your glory. Not for the glory of North Tolstice Free Church. Or the glory of this ministry. But for your glory. And your name alone. Ask all these things. Through the saviour who holds us.

[13:54] Who loves us. Who never leaves. Nor forsakes us. In his name. And for his sake. Amen. Well let's turn to read. God's word. Carrying on our.

[14:06] Series and acts. We're in Acts chapter 3 this evening. Acts chapter 3. Page 857 of the church Bibles.

[14:22] Acts chapter 3. Page 857. Acts chapter 3.

[14:34] Let's hear again together God's word. Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer. The ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried.

[14:46] Whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple. That is called the beautiful gate. To ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple.

[14:57] He asked them to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him. As did John. And said. Look at us. And he fixed his attention on them. Expecting to receive something from them.

[15:09] But Peter said. I have no gold. No silver and gold. But what I do have. I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

[15:19] Rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand. And raised him up. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk.

[15:31] And entering the temple with him. Walking and leaping. And praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. And recognized him as a one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple.

[15:44] Asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement. At what had happened to him. While he clung to Peter and John. All the people utterly astounded.

[15:56] Ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. When Peter saw it. He addressed the people. Men of Israel. Why do you wonder at this? Or why do you stare at us?

[16:08] As though by our own power. Or piety. We have made him walk. The God of Abraham. The God of Isaac. And the God of Jacob. The God of our fathers.

[16:18] Glorified his servant Jesus. Whom you delivered over. And denied in the presence of Pilate. When he had decided to release him. But you denied the holy and righteous one.

[16:30] And asked for a murderer. To be granted to you. And you killed. The author of life. Whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name.

[16:43] By faith in his name. Has made this man strong. Whom you see and know. And the faith that is through Jesus. Has given the man this perfect health.

[16:53] In the presence of you all. And now brothers. I know that you acted in ignorance. As did also your rulers. But what God foretold. By the mouth of all the prophets.

[17:05] That his Christ would suffer. He thus fulfilled. Repent therefore. And turn back. That your sins may be blotted out. That times of refreshing.

[17:16] May come from the presence of the Lord. And that he may send. The Christ appointed for you. Jesus. Whom heaven must receive. Until the time. For restoring all the things.

[17:27] About which God spoke. By the mouth of his holy prophets. Long ago. Moses said. The Lord God will raise up for you. A prophet to like me. From your brothers. You shall listen to him.

[17:38] Whatever he tells you. And it shall be. That every soul. Who does not listen to that prophet. Shall be destroyed. From the people. Now the prophets. Who have spoken. From Samuel.

[17:49] And those who came after him. Also proclaimed these days. You are the sons. Of the prophets. Of the covenant. That God made with your fathers. Saying to Abraham.

[18:00] And in your offspring. Shall all the families. Of the earth be blessed. God. God. Having raised up his servant. Sent him to you first. To bless you.

[18:11] By turning every one of you. From your wickedness. And so on. To God's praise. And to God's glory. Let's again sing. To God's word.

[18:22] This time. The Scottish Psalter. And Psalm 93. The Scottish Psalter. Psalm 93. That's on page 354.

[18:41] Psalm 93. Page 354. The Lord dove reign. And clothed is he. With majesty most bright.

[18:52] His works to show him. Clothed to be. And girt about with might. The world is also established. But it cannot depart. Thy throne is fixed of old. And vow from everlasting art.

[19:04] Psalm 93. The whole psalm. To God's praise. The Lord has written. And gold is he.

[19:18] With majesty most bright. His works to show him.

[19:30] The world is called to be. And girt about with might. The world is also established.

[19:49] That it cannot be far. Thy throne is fixed of old.

[20:05] And thou. From everlasting art. And hash it out. The blood's of Antonio.

[20:18] Lord have lifted out. Lifted up and voice.

[20:31] The blood's of liberty. Let the Lord that is on high Is more of might by power Than noise of any water-chips Or crazy billows are But testimonies every one

[21:32] In faithfulness excelling Thy holiness of evermore Thy house be calm and well Turn back to the chapter we had We were carrying on our series in Acts We're following on the start of the New Testament church Remember last week we got to the end of chapter 2 there And we had just a very brief summary Where Luke just stops for a second And Luke gives us the overview of what the church was like And we saw what the early church was like And we were quite surprised at points I'm sure to see That the worship and the mission of the early church

[22:32] Isn't all that different to our own worship Our own lifestyle and our own mission Well we move on today to chapter 3 And here we're looking really at verses 1 down to verse 10 This evening We'll delve a wee bit into verses 11 onwards also Just to help us But that's for God willing future weeks But looking at this miracle We see mostly verses 1 down to verse 10 This is the first miracle Really we see in Acts Done You could say at the hands of the apostles The saviour is now gone And we see the church is now Humanly speaking On their own But now of course we know We saw that the Holy Spirit Has now descended And he is with his people Empowering his people And here we see The first of several miracles Done at the hands of the apostles

[23:33] And we're careful how we word that Done at their hands But as they themselves say later on Not done by their hands And we'll see that in a moment One of the questions that we have reading And seeing sections like this Is one thing seeing the miracles that our saviour does Jesus doing miracles as a son of God As a second person of a Godhead It astounds us But it doesn't surprise us He is God He can do whatever he wants to do The whole universe is his He can heal diseases He can open the eyes of the blind He can bring back to life again It's extraordinary It's incredible It's worthy of praise But it's not surprising He is God He can do whatever he wants But here we see a situation And as we carry on through Acts We see a situation Where there are miracles taking place At the hands Of normal men

[24:34] Yes they're apostles But they aren't born anything different In one sense They're normal men Fishermen Crafters Lawyers But yet the Lord Uses them At this time And in this way So the question arises Well what's happened What's changed If the early church Saw these miracles back then Why do we not see them today Why can we not go Next door to our neighbours in Tulsa And say to them Be healed Stand up Walk Or whatever Now that requires Perhaps a whole series For us to answer in depth But just to Kind of Help us In the back of our minds As we go through this account The question to ask is Are there still These types of miracles today Do they still take place Now we've had this discussion before

[25:35] In fellowships And informally And again We'll do this as a sermon series In the future In short The answer My answer anyway Is yes There are times And there are places Where the Lord still chooses To show his power Through what we would call Miraculous ways Extraordinary ways Ways out of the ordinary And we know our own culture Our own history Of this village There are people Who prayed for things And they take place In extraordinary ways There are stories In our own culture Our own island Of those who prayed For someone to be healed And it happens And these are And these are And these are beloved brothers And sisters Of the old past Who we respect And who we love Ministers who we hold In high regard Who would say the same thing What's important to note For us is Although we believe They can happen They are As we said Extraordinary In the most literal sense

[26:37] Of that word They are not ordinary They are extraordinary They happen on occasion Very rare occasion And they are not normative They are not the normal way The Lord interacts with his people You see that even from scripture The pattern is quite clear It's a pattern we see In our own world But when the word First arrives somewhere When the word First arrives somewhere It's not been before It often arrives With great signs And great wonders And the Lord does this Almost to authenticate His word Think of the image Of blasting a road You want to get somewhere Well when the word arrives To make that track There is great signs And wonders Like dynamite To make real evidence Of what the Lord is saying Is true But once the Lord Has his people in a place Once there is a gathering A church in a place The signs stop The miracles stop Because the Lord then Has his normative way

[27:38] Of working Which is Us Working through his word The miracles Are there at the start To make way To prepare the way As it were For God's people To live And act And move You see that All the way Through the New Testament Act is full Of extraordinary signs And miracles When you come To the letters of Paul Where Paul writes To these established churches Do we see mention Of healings Or miracles Or raisings From the dead No Why?

[28:13] Because the church Is established The word is being preached And God is then using His normal way Of doing things Now we hear Even today There's folks I've heard this Second hand A man Who we would all Trust I'm assuming One who we know Quite well Who has Seen it for himself A believer In a Middle East country Has a vision They're still A Muslim Believer At this point They have a vision As a devout Muslim believer In the vision They're told To go to this building Knock on this door And they have this vision A few nights in a row I think it is Anyway They think Well What have I got to lose I'll go do it In the vision They're told To do In real life They go knock on the door They go to the building And in that building They find a group Of Christians Meeting in secret Having a church service They're saved And then No more miracles No more wonders

[29:13] They become A normal believer Like you or me The Lord uses His work And His way To establish His people All that to say God is able But God works Through means As we've been hearing The last few weeks And now we see The miracle Of God Saving His people In North Tulsa Rather than waiting To see great miracles Great signs and wonders We understand That we As Thomas reminded us On Thursday We are the means The Lord uses To take people To His word And through His word Being preached And read The Lord then Opens up And brings to life Those who are dead And those whose eyes Are shut All that to say These things happened At times May still happen But this was a day That took place in It's now the word That the Lord uses We find this poor man then

[30:15] Peter and John Are heading To worship At the hour of prayer We said that last week Remember That yes We met together As one gathering But also we see That the early Christians Following their Jewish Roots They would go And keep As it were The temple hours Of prayer It made sense For them at that time But here we find As we walk into the temple A man And this man Has a wrong Need He has a need But he has A wrong Need In verses 1 Down to verse 3 We see first of all In there We're walking To the temple Of the hour Of prayer Of the ninth hour And a man Lame from birth Was being carried Whom they laid daily At the gate Of the temple That is called The beautiful gate To ask alms Of those entering The temple Seeing Peter and John About to go into the temple He asked to receive Alms Peter and John

[31:16] As we said Are going about Their daily business We could say They're heading To pray at the temple It's been a busy While for them A lot's been happening And they're going Quite the thing To do Their normal business There's nothing Out of the ordinary For them In this day And as they're walking there They are stopped By this man Now this man Who we're told Is lame From birth Often we have to Remember We perhaps Are so used To having Some form Of a net You could say Where people Are caught Those who Have social issues And health issues Are looked after At least we try And look after them We have Social services We have NHS And so on And so on All these Different layers Of help But we're so thankful To the Lord for And we get so used to it We get so used to it

[32:16] And think In this day This poor man All the help he has Are whoever is carrying him To the temple There is no social services There is no housing for him There's no health Given to him There's no Medical help offered him He is just there On his own His legs And his ankles Clearly not working And he is there Just plonked there To earn And ask for a few pennies From those who are going To worship At the temple And the contrast Is pretty painful Isn't it Because where has he been Placed down He is daily He's been placed down In front Of a gate That is called Beautiful Several gates To the temple courtyards And here he is Outside the temple courtyard One of the gates Now we can't say For certain But From the early church Onwards

[33:17] The early writers Who had In living memory Had seen these gates They were saying That this was likely This was What they called The Nazcar Or Nazcar gate If you imagine it It's a big gate It's about nine foot By about six foot It's a big opening It's probably the size of A good size actually I was driving yesterday In town The porter's lodge Is it The big gate there As a size You're talking about A big gate like that Crowds going in and out of it And this gate If it is the right gate Which we think it is We know it was burnished In a mixture of Really highly polished bronze And wrought iron design This is an expensive gate Shining Gleaming It is a beautiful gate There was likely We can't say for certain But they also suppose There was some sort of Decoration added to it We don't know what it means But it's there In the history books Either way

[34:17] Glorious Shining bronze gate Beautiful Well adorned Well kept Outside this beautiful Expensive gate Is a poor man Who can't even Set himself up properly Whose legs Whose ankles Just don't work Beauty Glorious beauty And then down To the horrendous Contrast Of a man In agony A man perhaps In agony But a man With no help A man with no hope A man on His own A man who is Financially poor A man who is Physically poor And a man who In many ways We can assume Is spiritually poor In that he has No access To get into the temple No one's carrying him in He's being left outside A man who is In all ways A pretty poor State Now he of course Does not know Who these two men are There are just two more men In the crowd

[35:18] Who are passing him by He just takes his chance As I'm sure he did Every day To shout at them To ask them To beg Them And he begs them What does he say to them Seeing verse 3 Seeing Peter and John About to go into the temple He asked to receive alms He asked them For these alms He asked them For a few Small pennies Perhaps at times Also asking for A marshal of food If they had it Asking for whatever He could give The same as we have Today with Those who Find themselves Homeless For these reasons You know Who are asking At times For so little And to the crowds Ourselves included To our shame Often Walk past Without even saying A word to them But Peter and John Do stop And we do acknowledge him But the question he's asking

[36:21] He's asking for the wrong thing Isn't he Now of course In one sense He needs money to live He's no fool He understands He needs to Buy something for himself Or to get some food Given to him But what does he actually need Yes he needs money But what does he need really Well he needs to walk again If he could get his legs Working again If he could be cured Of his lameness His life would be Transmissible Transformed Like anyone else His need Was Big But his sense of that need Was so distorted It was so Wrong And in some way And lucid is In some way We haven't Changed much We're the exact same As this man You know We think if only I had X, Y or Z If only I had a bit more money A bit more savings A bit more independence A bit more whatever else Or this or that Then my need Is fulfilled And for those of you

[37:21] Who've had your needs fulfilled Who've achieved whatever Who've got whatever You've always wanted When you get there Is the achievement Anything close to what you hoped it would be I doubt it is I doubt it is I doubt it is All would be well If I got just what I wanted A better house A more secure relationship X, Y or Z What do we truly need What does man truly need Well he needed The help Of a saviour Who cared For him A wrong question Then leads To a real answer Verses 4 Down to verse 7 Where we see this Incredible interaction Taking place Verses 4 And verse 5 Perhaps these verses Often sound a bit harsh to us I don't know I all find myself reading it And thinking This sound a bit harsh They sound as if they're talking to this man

[38:22] In a bit of an abrupt way Don't they Peter directed his gaze at him As the John So they both stare at him They both lock eyes on him And they say to him Look at us And you think But it depends how you read it Doesn't it It depends how you Imagine the scene taking place Because what are they doing here Are they trying to impose Their power in this man They're trying to show him They're a authority No What are they doing really They are showing this man Genuine care There's crowds passing by They might give a few pennies to him They might throw money at him They might stop for a second And give him something They stop completely And they focus their full attention On this poor lame man They care for him And they stop to show that care To him To stop to actually listen to him To engage with him Look at us So they stop at him

[39:24] They stop beside him In front of him They look at him And they say to him Look at us Or listen to us And again It's so harsh for us But it's not harsh at all The sense is not harsh The Greek wording is not harsh For it's saying to him You know We're here Just look at us for a second Listen to us for a second And we see From verse 6 and verse 7 This poor man Of course His hope is now raised Verse 5 And he fixes his attention I bet he does He fixes his attention on them These two men Expecting to receive Something from them And for this poor man He finds out That these two apostles Are just as poor as he is Probably in terms Of her monthly wealth We heard in previous weeks They've given all they have To one another They haven't got That much money themselves They are In terms of cash They are cash poor Themselves They've got nothing

[40:27] They can give him In terms of their riches But supposing they had All the riches To give him What they're about to give him Of course Is eternally More precious And we see This simple interaction Taking place They stop They talk to them He listens And a favourite verse In Acts But Peter said I have no silver And gold But what I do have I give to you In the name of Jesus Christ Of Nazareth Rise up And walk Rise up And walk He jumps up Effectively His legs Are healed His ankles Are healed Note that word There immediately Immediately They take him By the hand And they raise him up And again It's not because

[41:28] The miracle wasn't Fully effective The man doesn't need Help to get up It's care It's love It's attention These great apostles Are saying Help you up It's a man on the ground I'll help you up As we would anyway As any of us would do And in a second In a sentence This man's legs Are healed His life is Transformed Note the lack Of complication The lack of Thaff There's no bells Or whistles The word is spoken The legs are healed The man Gets up When our saviour Does anything He does it well When our saviour Does a miracle He does it well We're covering In our prayer meetings The Jude The brother of Jesus He writes And he warns Church of false teachers We'll cover this This Thursday This Thursday

[42:29] As part of our service We'll do something Unusual perhaps But something that must be done I've got a list of names Of very common False teachers For us to be aware of In our own culture Our own context Our own time to do One thing to note is When you see Supposed healings Taking place And this is why I was careful At the start To say God does heal at times He does whatever He wishes at times He is God But it's not normative And you see I can almost guarantee I say it was carefully But you can almost guarantee If it's been broadcast On telly Or online And shown to millions And there's music Playing in the background Then what you're seeing Is probably not real And you've seen that Years ago With the Copelands Peter Popoff's Joyce Meyer The whole lot of them They all do the same tricks The same act Very popular today Is Bethel Church In America And they have healings And they have miracles And there's one common factor

[43:31] None of them are immediate None of them actually last I was watching a horrifying Horrifying report Every day It's a four hour long video By a faithful Christian man Michael Winger And he had an investigation Into all the healings Of Kenneth Copeland One of his famous false teachers And he investigated Every person he could Who claimed to be healed By Kenneth Copeland Or the Copelands Claimed they had healed Of these hundreds of people He found Not a single one Did he find Who say that that healing Lasted more than a day Or a week Many healed from cancer Died of the same cancer A month or two Or a year later False healings Either the evil one Or adrenaline Or something in between We don't know

[44:31] When Jesus does a healing When Jesus does anything He does it properly And completely And here this man He is totally Fully Healed And note The healing is done Through means Through means He uses Our saviour The spirit Working through These men He uses The words of the apostles What do we mean Well providentially And this Was sermon Was written Before Thomas Arrived on Thursday I had no idea What Thomas would Actually say on Thursday Providentially We're coming together Here Where we see That on one hand God's sovereign power On the other hand Our responsibility So what do I mean Well Peter and John Could have kept their chat Going Walked past the man Gone to the temple Done their worship And went home again That's what I did

[45:33] The other day it seems Peter and John Could have seen the man Ignored him And kept walking They could have seen the man Given a few pennies And kept walking But no They stop They interact And through their words Through their words Through their interaction The Lord has chosen To bless this man To heal this man In one sense They could have just done Anything else Other than stop But because they stopped Because they gave him The time of day Because they had faith And trust In the saviour They worshipped The Lord then uses that As a means To heal This man That's the glorious truth We see all the way Throughout Scripture A lesson for us And again It's amazing The words are there Typed out on Tuesday Or Wednesday Whatever it was You know We think We have to go Door to We think Well why do we have to go

[46:33] I should say Door to door Or why do we have to Give out these invites If God Is doing his work Anyway As Thomas reminded us And he says it better Than I can God is sovereign Yes But God sovereignly Tells us To get our act together And to serve him well God uses means Brothers and sisters We are the means For this lame man Peter And John Were the means The Lord chose to use Saying Well the Lord will bring in Who he brings in The Lord will save Who he saves Let him do the work And not us It sounds at times Very good Theologically It sounds Very right Very correct It is theological Nonsense Verging on theological If not heresy Then a real Close line Away from it Because it is saying I will do

[47:33] What I think God is saying Me to do Rather than What God is Clearly telling me To do To say That work is God's And not mine Is to say to God In his word I see what you are Saying to me And I will choose To ignore it God says God says He is sovereign He is glorious He is powerful But he chooses In his sovereign power To use Peter And John To use us Simple As that They approach him They talk with him And yes We see quite clearly Later on It is a power of Jesus Of course That heals This man But this is a way Through Peter and John The Lord had planned The healing power Of a saviour To heal This man Why share invites Why in the future Go door to door Why face the embarrassment And awkwardness And confusion At times And just oddness Of sharing the gospel

[48:34] To family And friends And those around us North Tolstair Why? Because God Uses These means To fully enact His plans And brothers and sisters Whether we like it or not We are the way We are the means The Lord has chosen To use For those in our families Those in our communities We are the means The Lord has ordained To use Whether we like it or not That those around us Will hear from us The glorious gospel Truth From this we see This poor man Who spent his life On the ground He is now Cured Immediately Feet and ankles Are made strong Verse 8 And leaping up He stood And began To walk What's the first thing He does He enters the temple Alongside Peter And John Walking And leaping

[49:35] And praising God What a glorious image Of the work Of Jesus The work of our saviour In the lives of anyone From being crumpled On the ground To a second Jumping up Walking And leaping And the very first thing His heart wants to do His heart full of praise Is to walk Into the temple Walk through that gate He had so long Stood Or sat I should say Outside of His very first instinct Is to join these two brothers now And walk through the gate And praise God His whole life Is transformed His whole future Is now Transformed He's got a new stride Quite literally He's got a new leap A new joy In his heart What's also incredible Is this man's new life Yes it's incredible For him to have a new life To have working legs As it were But the miracle

[50:35] The Lord does here Has wider consequences You see that in verse 9 And all the people Saw him walking That's everyone In the temple courts All the people Saw him walking And praising God And recognised him As the one Who sat At the beautiful gate Of the temple Asking for alms And they were filled With wonder And amazement At what had happened To him When God works In someone's life It isn't just To the benefit Of the person Who God is working Through or working in When God saves someone When God is aware Spiritually heals someone Yes it's amazing It has eternal consequences For the person Who is saved But also it has A benefit To those Around That person's Circle of influence We could say Friends and family And neighbours Here The power of God

[51:36] Cannot be ignored They saw this man They saw his weak legs They saw him Begging every day And now And it seems to be He is praising Quite loudly We can assume By the wording of things And the fact Everyone heard him And saw him This man He doesn't care Why should he care He has far too much Joy in his heart Far too much Love for his Lord He doesn't care What the social Dictates of the day Say He is leaping And jumping And crying And shouting for joy In the temple court And everyone's seeing this And he goes Wait a minute Wait a minute That's a man Who was there Crumpled on the ground Not five minutes ago Or not every single day We walked past him And now he's Jumping, leaping And going before us Into the temple His life is transformed And he is now A witness He is now A shining example He is now As it were A city on a hill Showing God's Glorious power To all

[52:36] Who know him All who see him A changed life Is a way That the Lord Can use To break Into the lives Of others The work And the power Of God Always has A wider Effect on people The crowd Saw it The crowd Beheld it At the end Of verse 9 And verse 10 They were filled With wonder The crowd And amazement At what had Happened To him I don't eat Into next week's Sermon Too much But just To note Verses 11 Down to Verse 17 Here we see Peter Excuse me Peter gives A mini sermon Of sorts Verse 11 The man Is now Clinging to Peter and Joe And you think Well Why is he clinging Well the image Here is not Because his legs Aren't working He's clinging On to them Because he's He's just Overjoyed He's full Of happiness

[53:36] Full of life He's just Grabbing on to them He's grabbing on to them For sheer joy Sheer love He's grabbing on to them And all the people Of course Are astonished And they've gathered Round them And Peter Uses the chance To give this sermon And here's where Just in close For us to note Where Peter Reminds the crowd Whose power Or by whose power This man is now Healed and walking Men of Israel Why do you wonder Literally Why are you Wondering Why are you Staring and wondering At this Or why do you Stare at us As though By our own Power Or piety We have made Him walk He then goes on To give this Many sermons Saying It's not us It is the Lord Yes through us But it's all The Lord's glory All the Lord's power It's all Jesus It is Jesus Who has healed

[54:37] This man It is Jesus Who has rescued This man It is now Jesus This man Will be praising Till the end Of his days Brothers and sisters We must Like Peter and John Here be careful Be careful If the Lord Does choose To bless His work In North Tulsa If the Lord Does choose To carry on Bringing perhaps More and more To hear the gospel If the Lord Does choose To listen To the cries Of his people And we pray That he does And we see More folks Coming in And more folks Lives being changed Like Peter and John And this is next week We'll say to you now Quickly Like the apostles Here we must be careful That he receives All the glory All the glory Never let it be said By any of us It's because of One man's ministry One congregation's Efforts Wherever else We are simply The means By which the Lord Chooses to work His wonder Working Glorious

[55:37] Salvation power In this place Not this time If the Lord Chooses to work Through us He is even more Glorified Because he works Through instruments Like ourselves That at times Are needing Severe calibration Instruments That at times Are pretty blunt Instruments That at times Are pretty broken But the Lord Uses us As instruments In his hands To fully Bring about His glorious Gospel work And our prayer is That there are many In North Tulsa Many in North Tulsa Who like this man Will join us Join us Worshipping God Leaping And praising And not caring A single bit About how much They express They love Their saviour That's our prayer That's our Hope this New week It's about Ed's now A word of prayer We thank you Lord for the Gift of your word Thank you for The accounts

[56:38] Like this Account of This Lame man Whose name We don't know But you knew His name And you know His name Who you chose To heal In such a Glorious way We thank you Lord Help us We ask To be Emboldened And encouraged To see the way You worked Through your people In these days And understand That yes Although We may not see Miracles In a literal sense We still see Miracles As every single Soul that is Dead in sin And trespass Comes to life We see a miracle As every single Closed eye That is closed In the death Spiritual death And spiritual sleep Is open To the glorious Hope of the gospel We see a miracle Everyone who once Hated you Coming to now Love you That is a miracle You're the God Of miracles We pray Lord For these miracles To be seen In North Tulsa Use us As means Use us As these Instruments In your hand We would see

[57:39] Your name glorified Your name praised From the Glen to Gary All for your glory All for your name's sake Help us this week then To pray Carefully To ask for gospel Sharing opportunities I would see Your name glorified I would see Our saviour exalted Ask all these things In and through And for His precious name's sake Amen Let's bring our time To a conclusion We send to God's praise From the Psalter And from Psalm 95 Scottish Psalter Psalm 95 A psalm we know well But a psalm Just to Bring our minds up In praise To Like this Poor man To Praise God Psalm 95 Is on page 357 We can sing Verses 1 Down to Verse 6 Psalm 95 Verse 1 To 6 Oh come Let us sing To the Lord Come let us Everyone A joyful noise Make to the rock

[58:39] Of our salvation Let us before His presence Come with praise And thankful voice Let us sing Psalms to him With grace And make a joyful noise Psalm 95 Verses 1 To 6 To God's praise Sing to the Lord And let us Everyone A joyful noise Make to the rock Of our salvation With outsider And let us Give give our

[59:44] Come with praise And make a joyful noise.

[59:55] For God, I hate God and give me that all God's tears.

[60:10] Depths of the earth, but in His hands the strength of His senses.

[60:26] In the spacious seatbelows for He the same to me.

[60:41] Then guide and also from His hands this God that first did He.

[60:58] O come on, let us worship Him. Let us bow down with all.

[61:13] And on our knees before the Lord, our King, we have led us all.

[61:30] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and forevermore. Amen.