You can't squash Jesus!

You Can’t Squash Jesus!

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Acts 3 NKJV

1 ¶  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 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.

9  And all the people saw him walking and praising God.

The rest of the story:

1. V. 8 – the healed man went to Church with Peter and John

2. V. 9-11 – everybody who knew him as a lame beggar now saw him as a healed worshipper. 

3. V. 12-26 – Peter got a chance to preach – His message went like this

a. He introduced Jesus as the Son of God in v.13

b. Gave Jesus the credit for healing the man 

Acts 3:16 “And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”

c. Peter preached repentance and forgiveness of sins in v.19​

d. The man who was healed was over 40 years old and had been laid at the temple gate for years and years … (Acts 4:22)

i. I wonder how many times Jesus passed this man without stopping to heal him.

ii. I wonder how many times the Apostles and other Believers passed this man without stopping to heal him?

iii. I suppose the plan and the strategies of God remain without question … God has a perfect time for everything.

iiii. Only God can save, heal and forgive sins.

4. Chapter 4, verse 1 – Here come the Sadducees …

a. A few Sadducees seem to show up at almost every meeting

b. These are the skeptics … cynical anddisbelieving of anything spiritual, miraculous or supernatural. If they can’t explain it, they are against it. (Disbelievers, not just unbelievers …)

c. The Sadducees don’t believe in the resurrection or the Holy Spirit or angels … this is why they are Sad, you, see!

d. For some reason, the Sad-you-see disbelievers usually have the backing of the government and even the leadership of many large churchorganizations. 

e. Maybe it has something to do with the god of this world and the worldly influence on governments and religions. 

5. These leaders, according to verse 2, were “greatly disturbed” … and they arrested Peter and John. BTW – this is happening all around the world today. Whenever leadership feels threatened by something they can’t control the tendency is to squash it is as quickly as possible. However …

You can’t squash Jesus!​

6. Before the authorities and the skeptical disbelievers could stop them, Peter and John had already sowed the seeds of eternal salvation in the hearts and lives of those who were ripe and ready for the harvest. 

a. God knows how 

b. He knows who 

c. He knows when

Acts 4:4  However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

d. 5000 were saved that day! Great sermon …

e. Perhaps that’s why this lame man was chosen by God to be touched and healed on a certain day, at a certain time, in a certain place. 

f. These 5000 would reasonably have been men, mature men, mostly married I would suppose, who would follow the course and the example of Abraham, and raise their children and their households to serve the Lord. (Genesis 18:19)

g. Fathers are still some of the most powerful witnesses to the true conversion experience found in Christ Jesus.

h. When you get a father saved, you most often get a family.

It is not unreasonable to imagine this one event growing the numbers and the responsibilities of the Church by 15 to 25 thousand people. No wonder by the time we get to Acts 6, the number of disciples had risen sufficient to demand more leadership be added to administrate the daily needs of the Church congregation. 7 deacons were ordained to just take care of widows.

Conclusion: 

1. God has a plan and a time for everything

a. Don’t be consumed by other people’s problems …

b. Refuse to allow needs to become your master …

c. Wait on the leadership of the Lord.

2. Don’t let the dis-believers or the fearful shut you down.

a. You’re not responsible to satisfy the skeptics 

b. You’re not accountable to the enemies of the Gospel

c. Let God’s Word and Work speak for themselves.

3. Sow simple seeds of repentance and forgiveness of sins …

a. Every person you impact with the Gospel will impact others

b. Salvation for the lost is cheap at any cost … what’s a little persecution … just keep on living and sharing the love of Jesus.

i. Knowing people who have problems will have problems with you.

ii. Problem people are going to be a problem 

iii. Just don’t let problem people become your problem

c. All through Jesus’ ministry, people complained about Him helping people … they will surely do the same to you.

Next week: Acts 4:9  “If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well …