We're going to look at Acts chapter 3, mostly the last part of it.
And so if you could have your Bibles open to Acts chapter 3, that would be a great help to you and to me.
Different contexts make us behave in different ways, don't they?
Different churches have different styles.
And this story from Acts chapter 3 takes place after someone has been jumping and leaping in church.
And that is not ordinary practice, is it, in any Presbyterian church I've ever been to?
It begins in verse 11.
We find that halfway through the story, there is a beggar who is clinging to the Apostle John and Peter.
And this beggar has created quite a stir in the temple courts.
Here was a man who was crippled from birth.
And each day, this guy would be carried to the temple and he would beg for money.
He is the very picture of misery.
And one day, about seven or eight weeks after Jesus had been raised from the dead,
this guy is sitting at the gate and he got much more than he bargained for.
Peter and John come along and Peter says to him,
I don't have any silver, I don't have any gold, but what I do have, I give to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.
You knew the chorus, I hope.
We loved it when I was a little boy.
And he went walking and leaping and praising God.
He begins to spring around the temple courts and to praise God.
And this guy yells right there in the temple courts.
And as he clings to Peter and John, I think he's clinging to them.
Because if he doesn't hold on to them, he's going to go springing off somewhere else.
And the crowd rushes in.
They know this man.
They've heard the noise.
And they see who it is.
And some of the people have even thrown change into his little tin as they enter the chapel.
But now he is in the temple.
But now he is leaping and whooping.
And so as the crowd begins to gather, Peter begins to preach to them.
And he wants to explain to them what is going on.
And he says to them that this lovely and stunning miracle is not only a result of the resurrection,
but it shows them something of the nature and the reality of the resurrection.
He says to the people listening, he says,
it wasn't because John and I are particularly pious or powerful.
This man was healed by the name of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, who was killed a couple of weeks ago, but is very much alive and active.
And now, in fact, this healing, he says, gives you a picture of what the resurrection does.
And so it's very, very important for us on this unusual Easter day,
because the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a one-off event way back in history.
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is not a curious oddity.
It's not a freak.
Nor is the resurrection a happy ending, a lucky occurrence for Jesus.
It is the beginning of something.
It is the beginning of something that opens the door that concerns every single one of us.
And if you take the Bible and you read it from the beginning to the end,
and I hope you will, I really hope you would,
you'll find that God promises from the first pages of the Bible
that there will come a day when he will restore and renew,
and God will heal this world.
And he will bring complete health and healing, both spiritually and physically,
both personally for his people and cosmically,
to the whole world, to all those who follow his Son.
And this miracle is a preview of that healing.
And so I just want to give you two words,
two words this morning,
that describe the effect of the miracle,
or the effect of the resurrection for us.
One is in the future,
and one is in the present.
So the first word is restoration.
Can you look down at verse 21?
And this is in the future.
Verse 21 of Acts chapter 3.
He was raised from the dead.
He is in heaven now,
and he must remain in heaven,
verse 21,
until the time comes
for the restoring of all things.
Until the time comes,
Jesus is in heaven.
Until that time when God will restore everything he's promised
through his holy prophets.
The restoration of this man,
in Acts 3,
points to the time when God will restore everything.
And that is why it is a very Jesus-like miracle, isn't it?
Did you notice that?
The guy was lame,
lame from birth.
His feet,
his ankles,
his calf muscles,
his thigh muscles,
had never, ever been used.
And it is beyond human capacity to fix.
It needs, doesn't it,
God the creator.
And the miracle
that the risen Jesus,
the name of the risen Jesus,
that miracle brings instantaneous,
complete healing.
And it is done as a demonstration
that the resurrection
has started something.
And you know,
I hope that the person who wrote
the book of Acts
was a medical doctor.
He was Dr. Luke.
And he uses no fewer than five medical terms
to describe this complete healing.
The man gets up.
He doesn't stumble around.
He doesn't need a walking frame.
He does not need six months
of physiotherapy.
He runs.
And he praises God.
And that is exactly
what the prophet Isaiah,
700 years before Jesus,
prophesied about this great day
of restoration.
He says,
then the eyes of the blind
will be opened.
The ears of the deaf
will be unstopped.
They will leap
like a deer,
the lame.
And the moot tongue
will shout for joy.
Waters will gush forth
in the wilderness
and streams
of the desert.
And this miracle,
the healing of this guy,
is a sign
that God
has already begun
the restoration
in the resurrection.
The fixing of
those ankles
and those feet,
the strengthening
of those muscles
in that man's leg
is a preview
of the renewing
of the whole creation.
When even
our bodies
will be saved
by the work
of the resurrection.
And some of you
may feel
watching me this morning,
this is just
very naive.
That you've given
up hope
that God
is going to do
anything significant
in your life.
And so you've
taken things
into your own hands.
It's up to us,
after all,
leave me alone.
Isn't it safer
to remain lame
at the gate
and accept
my limitations
rather than
raising my hopes
and seeing them dashed?
And that is why
we have to see
that the resurrection
of Jesus Christ
comes from
outside
our world.
The resurrection
is God
breaking in
with the great
restoration.
It comes from
outside of us,
from God.
Because every dream
of human happiness,
every utopian dream
that this world
has ever had
comes from
inside this world.
It's created
by human beings
and we all share
in this deep
corruption
in ourselves.
And so every
utopian dream
will only end
in despair.
It takes
what is
eternal
and incorruptible
to break
the chains
of what is
corruptible.
And the healing
of this man
is not just
an isolated incident,
it is a sample
of God's plan
to renew
and restore
through the
resurrection
from the dead.
This incident
is a trailer
for the movie
of the world
that is to come.
And the word
restoration
is a medical word
that Dr. Luke
uses and it
describes the full
health and the
full healing.
Because in the
healing of this man,
we get a small
picture of the
day when
Christ will come
and he will
restore justice
and he will
restore truth
and harmony
and beauty
and goodness
to creation.
And so if you
know the Bible
at all,
you will know
that the Bible
teaches that the
world that we
live in is sick.
We are sick.
Physicists call
it entropy,
don't they?
You know,
you buy a house
and within a few
weeks you've
got to make
repairs on it.
You put seeds
in the ground
in your garden
and a few
weeks later
you're pulling
weeds out.
You live until
43 and things
start falling
apart.
The world
is not the
way that God
made it.
And we sense
this, don't we?
And our world
is experiencing
this at the
moment and
COVID-19 is
teaching our
world this.
Our world is
not as it was
meant to be.
We've experienced
death in the
past couple of
weeks and
there's something
inside us which
tells us this is
not right.
This is not how
it should be.
We know,
don't we,
there is a deep
and profound
disappointment in
ourselves,
in our
families,
the disharmony
in our world
that we create,
the futility
and the
senselessness
and the
Bible is
very, very
realistic about
this futility
and this
vanity and
this disharmony
and says
there is a
virus of
decay
and futility
that all of
us share
together and
at its root
is a spiritual
issue.
And it
comes from
and is
caused by
our rejection
of God.
We have a
dislocation,
we have a
rupture in
our relationship
with God
because of
our rebellion
against him.
But the
Bible,
the lovely
story of the
Bible goes
and it shows
that Jesus
is going to
establish
and God
is going to
establish all
the purposes
of his
blessing
and there'll
be complete
and spiritual
and physical
renewal
at the end
of the day.
A day is
coming
when God
will remove
all evil
and all
disobedience
and he
will reverse
the ravages
of our
rebellion
against him
and he
will take
away all
frustration
and injustice.
He will
take away
all sickness
and all
death
and he
has promised
a creation
that is
marked by
glory
and not
by corruption,
by righteousness
and not
rebellion,
by peace
and not
futility.
And how
do we know
that God
is going
to do
this?
How do
we know
that God
is going
to pull
this off?
Because we've
seen it
in the
resurrection
where God
breaks the
chains
of death
and God
begins
something
entirely
new.
And that
is why
this
restoration
can only
come
through
Jesus
Christ.
It's
very
interesting,
isn't it?
How Peter
turns and
he points
to the
crowd
and he
involves
them
personally
and you
can be
thankful
that your
preachers
are not
so direct.
Look at
what he
says in
verse 13
to 15
of Acts
3.
Do look
down.
Now this
is the
crowd
who a
couple of
weeks
before
had cried
out for
his
crucifixion.
He says
in verse
13
he says
the God
of Abraham
and the
God of
Isaac
and the
God of
Jacob
and the
God
of our
fathers
glorified
his
servant
Jesus
whom
you
delivered
over
and denied
in the
presence
of Pilate
when he
decided to
release him
but you
denied
the holy
and righteous
one
and you
asked for
a murderer
to be
granted
to you.
He says
you didn't
just deny
Jesus
you traded
his life
for a
murderer's
life
and more
than that
can you
see
you killed
verse 15
the author
of life
on a
scale of
1 to
10
for oxymorons
that is
100
isn't it?
The author
of life
cannot be
killed
but in
some
fashion
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
who is
the source
of life
who is
the cause
of life
who is
the resurrection
and the life
submitted himself
to death
death
but in
raising
Jesus
from the
dead
God
has
overcome
death
and he
signals
in that
resurrection
the final
restoration
that he
is going
to bring
at the
end of
time
glorious
and wonderful
restoration
that's
our
first
word
the
first
word
about
the
resurrection
of
Jesus
it's
not
just
about
Jesus
it's
that he's
begun
the full
restoration
of all
things
that he
will come
in the
future
well then
what does
the
resurrection
mean to
us
right now
and here
Peter gives
us our
second
word
and it
is the
word
refreshing
can you
see that
down in
verse 19
look at
verse 19
repent
therefore
and turn
back
that your
sins
may be
blotted
out
that
times
of
refreshing
may come
from the
presence
of the
Lord
literally
times of
refreshing
that will
come from
the face
of the
Lord
from
the
presence
of the
Lord
the word
means
rest
or relief
or respite
or refreshment
and one of the
reasons that the
resurrection
makes us so
happy
and Christians
so happy
it's not that
it's pie in
the sky
when you
die
by and
by
if the
resurrection
was just
future
it would be
enough
wouldn't it
it would be
enough because
it would
ravish our
future hopes
but it's
more than
just future
that Peter
is saying
that if we
repent
and we
turn to
God
if we
believe in
our hearts
that God
has raised
him from
the dead
God
gives us
the new
life
now
God
gives us
the resurrection
life
now
that we
are brought
into his
presence
before his
face
now
and we
receive
times
of refreshing
from his
presence
now
and you
won't be
surprised
to know
that this
word is a
medical word
from Dr. Luke
the refreshing
word
it is used
for blowing
cool air
on a wound
the healing
cool air
on a wound
which would
bring complete
healing
and then the
word came to
me not just
physical healing
but relief
spiritual
and emotional
and psychological
relief
came to stand
for those who
lost hope
and had lost
strength
and need
fresh relief
speaks of
people who
have come to
an end of
themselves
and people
who need
rest
and Peter
is saying
that in the
resurrection
the wind
the breeze
of refreshment
blows to us
from the presence
of God himself
so this
huge
cosmic
restoration
at the end
of time
which has
begun
with the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ
blows
back
into our
lives
now
with this
healing
wind
life
giving
healthful
wind
and this
wind of
refreshment
blows into
our lives
as we
turn to
him
I find it
difficult to
illustrate this
you think of
those boiling
hot days
in London
you think of
those days
when there's
there's
just no
air
when you
walk on
the street
and the
street is
shimmering
and the
pavement is
boiling hot
and then the
dark clouds
come over
dark dark
clouds
and you
feel that
cold breeze
and you know
don't you
the rain is
about to
bucket down
and that
first breeze
which tells
you the
refreshing
rain is
coming
and it's
so refreshing
and the
life that
God gives
us now
is that
first breeze
of the
restoration
that he's
going to
give then
Calvin
says
therefore
our hearts
would often
be dismayed
if we did
not recall
that the
day of
rest
will come
which will
cool the
fever of
our troubles
and bring
an end
to our
miseries
and so
this morning
if you have
new desires
in your
heart
new desires
in your
heart
to love
your neighbour
to trust
in Jesus
to want
to serve
him
above
everything
else
you know
you struggle
you know
you fail
but that
desire
is there
you find
yourself
coming to
God
at the
end of
your
tether
and praying
our
father
in heaven
take
Jesus
words
come to
me all
you who
are weary
and burdened
and I
will give
you
rest
and that
is a rest
isn't it
that's going
to be ours
forever
wonderfully
but he
blows that
rest into
your heart
today
rest and
refreshment
from him
or take
that assurance
that nothing
can separate
you from
the love of
Jesus Christ
nothing
no suffering
no despair
no
disappointment
no pain
he will
bring all
who belong
to him
to his
goodness
and to
his
glory
and that
is a
wind from
the future
blowing
into our
hearts
now
I hope
that someday
soon
the
prime
minister
or
if he's
not well
enough
the foreign
secretary
will stand
on the
doors of
10
Downing
Street
and he
will announce
won't he
that this
is over
sort of
and you
can begin
to meet
together
and so
we in
Ealing
and all
over the
country
will be
impacted
by an
announcement
made in
Westminster
at a certain
amount of
time
it's the
same now
isn't it
we are
impacted
today
by an
announcement
on the
steps of
10
Downing
Street
that is
impacting us
from a
different
time
from a
different
place
and yet
we feel
the impact
of that
decision
made in
government
then
and so
it is
for us
this
Easter
Sunday
peace
has been
made
through the
death
of
Jesus
and the
cross
and the
guarantee
of full
peace
and
restoration
has
happened
through
the
resurrection
of Jesus
we are
impacted
directly
by what
happened
2000
years ago
on that
Easter
Sunday
morning
but we
wait
we wait
for the
full
enjoyment
of that
restoration
the
full
enjoyment
of
relationships
of
everything
but the
fact that
we know
it is
coming
the fact
that we
look back
to the
resurrection
changes
everything
for us
now
and the
primary
wind of
refreshment
that blows
into our
hearts
in verse
19
can you
see it
it's
that our
sins
can be
wiped
out
repent
turn
again
to
God
that
your
sins
may
be
wiped
out
we've
all
turned
aside
from
God
we've
all
gone
our
own
way
we've
all
rejected
Jesus
in a
way
and we
need
forgiveness
and many
of us
know
don't we
that
bone
weariness
and
boredom
and
distractedness
and
disappointment
with
ourselves
and we've
tried all
sorts of
things
while the
death
and the
resurrection
of Jesus
that we
celebrate
today
is sufficient
to wipe
away
our sins
to take
them as
though they
were written
on a
board
and wash
them clean
and they
are gone
and this
is where
our
restoration
and our
refreshing
come together
because the
forgiveness
of our
sins is
the final
declaration
of that
day
that Jesus
will make
about us
but we
know about
it now
and that
is the
future
blowing
into our
hearts
that is
the
assurance
that
Jesus
gives
and if
you don't
have that
assurance
ask him
for it
ask Jesus
for it
ask him
and he
will answer
seek the
Lord
while he
may be
found
turn to
him
while he
is near
let the
wicked
forsake
his way
and the
unrighteous
man his
thoughts
let him
return to
the Lord
that he
may have
compassion
on him
and to
our God
for he
will
abundantly
pardon
in
and so
we
rejoice
you don't
need to
leap up
and jump
if you
want to
feel free
but I do
hope that
your heart
this day
does a
little bit
of leaping
in the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ
because God
has begun
that full
work of
restoration
of the
world
bringing
his glory
and his
goodness
and times
of refreshing
that come
from his
presence
through
repentance
and faith
and the
forgiveness
of sins
and therefore
we can say
this morning
that I am
sure that
neither death
nor life
nor angels
nor principalities
nor things
present
nor things
to come
nor height
nor depth
nor power
nor nothing
in all
creation
is able
to separate
us from
the love
of God
in the
risen Christ
Jesus our
Lord
Amen