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Group Lesson Two Teacher’s Notes
"Ready to Hear"
Let’s read Acts 2:5-13 (NLT) At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”
In our last study we learned about "Shavuot" (Pentecost) that was celebrated 50 days after Passover. Many faithful God-fearing Jews "came from every nation living around Jerusalem." It was after the morning sacrifice, around 9:00 in the morning, when God let His Spirit come down like a mighty wind and alight on the followers of Jesus. In turn each believer began speaking a language that a person from another country could understand. God has impeccable timing doesn't He?
Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Passover.
Who came to Jerusalem to celebrate? The Jewish faithful from all nations.
When did God let His Spirit come down? At Pentecost at 9:00 AM
What was it like? Loud and windy with the appearance of fire on top of the apostles' heads.
What did each believer do? Spoke about the Good News in other languages.
"And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” The faithful Jews who came to celebrate Pentecost stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. The faithful heard and wanted to know how this was happening. They heard and understood these phenomenal things about God. At the same time there were those who heard and explained it away as drunkenness and just laughed. Making fun of things we don’t understand is a common way of dealing with things. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is hard to understand if you don’t know Jesus. Some hearts are hard some hearts of ready.
The difference between the two responses from those who witnessed the Holy Spirit descending reminds me of the parable that Jesus told about "A Sower, Seeds and Ground."
Matthew 13:1-9 (NLT)That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."
What analogy did Jesus use for His parable? A farmer sowing seeds.
How is this relevant to us? It talks about the condition of the hearts who hear the Good News and how they receive it.
We all hear the Word of God, but
it’s how we receive it. The faithful people of God coming out of the temple, heard and their hearts accepted the wonderful words that were spoken in their native tongue. Their hearts were fertile soil and immediately the wonderful truths they heard sprung up within them. (Later we'll see how many came to know Jesus.)
Everyone hears the Word of God but its how they receive it.
Notice what happened next. There were those who were there who heard the words spoken and for whatever reason they explained the phenomenon away by saying the followers of Jesus were just drunk. (What a lame explanation.) I know that when people get drunk they speak in languages they've never spoken before and tell wonderful stories about God. (NOT!!!)
People like to explain away God by making fun of it.
Have you ever been in a situation were the Word of God was spoken and you tried to explain it away? How about when you are involved in, let's say...gossip and someone stops the conversation with something good about the person/s you are talking about? Do you try and explain your behavior away? What is keeping you from hearing the truth? What irks you about someone interrupting your conversation, your way of doing things? How do you explain your frustration when you hear good news? Does any of this type of behavior sound familiar? (Sadly, it does for me.)
When we are faithful to Jesus, we can hear and receive His words at anytime and be blessed by Him. When we are involved in unfaithful activity or mindsets we become irritated by the seed that falls on us. God wants us to prepare our hearts to hear more and more of what He has to say to us. Why do we resent it so much?
When we are faithful to Jesus we can hear and receive His Words anytime and be blessed by Him.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NLT) And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
Are you ready and willing to receive God's message to you? Is your heart soft and pliable to allow it to be planted deep within your soul? Is your heart hard because of ungodly behavior, unforgiveness, lust, greed...? Do you feel like you can't hear Him anymore?
Hebrews 4:6-7 (NLT) So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”
We choose to have our hearts softened by God and through our obedience to Him or we harden our hearts further and further when we are disobedient. What is the condition of your heart? I must analyze my own. I pray, "Lord, give me a soft heart willing to receive what you have for me to hear."
Choosing obedience softens our hearts and frees up God’s possibilities.
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Group Lesson
"Ready to Hear"
Let’s read Acts 2:5-13
Pentecost is celebrate _________ after Passover.
Who came to Jerusalem to celebrate?
When did God let His Spirit come down?
What was it like?
What did each believer do?
"And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
Matthew 13:1-9
What analogy did Jesus use for His parable?
How is this relevant to us?
Everyone hears the Word of God but its how they _____________ it.
People like to explain away God by
When we are faithful to Jesus we can ___________ and _____________ His Words anytime and be _____________ by Him.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NLT) And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
Hebrews 4:6-7 (NLT) So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”
Choosing ______________ softens our ___________ and ____________ up God’s possibilities.
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Lesson One
"Alive and Active"
Read Acts 2:14-21.
Who was Peter speaking to?
Why did the people think they were drunk?
How did Peter explain it?
What was the prophecy from Joel?
What happens to those who call on the Name of the Lord?
Make it relevant to us today?
Peter responds to the people who called them "drunk" at nine in the morning and he did so with the eleven other disciples standing beside him united in the Holy Spirit. They stood unified. He knew it was important to direct the crowd's attention to the truth of what was happening. Standing on the Temple Mount, as people were just coming from the morning sacrifice, God's Holy Spirit descended into the followers of Jesus. Prophecy was fulfilled at this point and Peter quoted the passage from the Book of Joel. (Joel 2:28-32)
How can you and I direct people toward the Truth (Jesus)?
What kinds of “untruths” have you heard or even believed about Jesus?
I'm sure this scripture caught the attention of the faithful at the Shavuot (Pentecost) festival. They should have recognized the passage of Joel because it would have been something they had a learned in Hebrew School. It caught their attention and some probably realized that this prophecy was being fulfilled before their very eyes and by hearing in their own language.
Peter had memorized this scripture and was now preaching to many from it. He had just graduated from his time in the Talmidim (students) of Rabbi (Teacher) Jeshua and his diploma was the Holy Spirit sealed within him. God's Holy Spirit gave him the words to say to the crowd gathered around them.
The words of scripture are not mere words. They are supernatural and are always active and accomplishing the will of God whether we realize it or not. It's important that followers of Jesus learn His Word. It equips us as we live out our lives in this world.
Read Psalm 119:105. Explain it in your own words. Make it personal in a prayer.
God's Word illuminates the way God wants us to go. Without His words we walk in complete darkness. It's important to know God's Word.
Read Ephesians 6:17. Why does Paul describe salvation as your helmet and the Spirit as your sword?
Salvation is our helmet because it guards our minds and attacks from the evil one. Nothing can take away our salvation and it shields us when we firmly believe that we are saved by Jesus’ salvation. God's Word is our defense against the evil we encounter. Without knowing scripture we can find ourselves walking into danger. It's dangerous without the best sword for defense ~ God's Word.
Read Hebrews 4:12. How can the word of God be alive and active?
What does it mean by being sharper than the sharpest two edged-sword?
God's Word is not trapped in the dust pages of a book lying on a shelf somewhere. It is "alive and powerful." Its sharper-than-razors edges cut quickly between the supernatural and the world. It divides evil from godly. It opens up and reveals what is real and what is fake. God's Word cuts away the useless information we build up in ourselves by living in this world and gives us clear direction if we are open to it.
How do you view God's Word? Is it alive and active? Have you felt the sharp edges of scripture that draws a straight line between good (His good) and evil? Do you understand the power at your fingertips? Explain.
Why do we often glaze over our need for the Bible?
My daughter wrote a wonderful blog (I'm proud of her), about this very thing. pocaluzlittlelight.blogspot.com She writes, "The Bible is a nutritious, healthy, home-cooked meal that fills you up and gives you strength. You have to see it and read it for yourself to know what I'm taking about. The Bible is something SOLID. It's not an opinion, I dare say it's living fact. Its God-breathed or in simpler terms, God Inspired."
The Bible comes with a promise unlike any other book ever written. Peter quoted it in His sermon on Pentecost at the Temple. It is found in verse 21:"But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Saved from what? Saved from ourselves and this world that only promises that we will all die one day. God promises us new life now and eternal life always even after our human bodies die.
Read 1 Peter 1:23-26. Where did your new life come from?
How long does it last?
What does, "All people are like the grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass dies and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord will live forever" mean to you?
Knowing what God has to say is essential to a Believer's life. Without it we run on empty. It fills us up and nourishes us. It brings life and protects our hearts. Peter knew this and shared it with those listening to him that day. The results were that he set the record straight and brought people to Jesus.
Immerse yourself in God's Word. Write them on your heart and mind. Just like Moses told the Chosen to do many, many years ago: "Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NLT)
God's Word is active and living. Make it part of your life.
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Lesson Two
"The First and Last Perfect Sacrifice"
Read Acts 2:22-24. There is an exclamation at the end of the first sentence. Apparently Peter wanted to make a point. What is it?
Why couldn’t death keep it’s grip on Jesus?
Make it relevant to people today?
Peter continued on with his speech before all the faithful Jews there at the Temple Mount for Pentecost (Shavuot). They had just experienced the hearing of their own languages and were possibly still hearing them as the disciples continued speaking the various tongues of those present. They were a rapt and interested audience wanting to understand more. So Peter took advantage of it.
Peter wanted their attention and he got it. He began explaining to these people why they were speaking in these languages and who they were speaking for. The only reason they could speak in tongues was because it was for God's purpose. He meant it only to tell many nations represented at the Temple that day about His Son Jesus and bring glory to Him.
Peter then went on to say how God sent Jesus to earth and accredited Him (proved who He was) by "the miracles, signs and wonders" Jesus did. With all this proof, not everyone believed Him. Was God's plan thwarted? Absolutely not.
Read Isaiah 46:9-11. How does God describe Himself in this passage?
What does He say about the future? His plans?
Have you ever felt that God’s plans have been challenged and possibly failed? Explain.
What miracles, signs and wonders have you experienced?
Do you ever wonder if God really has a plan or do we just wish He did? I wonder sometimes. But, if I am to believe that Jesus is who He says He is, then I have to believe that God had a plan when He brought Him here. Sometimes we don't always understand God's plans. Verse 23 kind of upsets me some (see below).
Acts 2:23 (NLT) But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.
Why would God plan the death of His own Son? How could that ever be good? Wasn't there a better way? What’s your opinion?
Read Isaiah 53:10. What does this scripture say about God’s plan for the Messiah?
God planned for the Messiah to give His life as an offering for sin. What is the reasoning behind this?
God knew that the only way to conquer sin in the lives of those He loved so dearly (us), was to conquer death. He knew that He would have to come down and die Himself because their was no other sacrifice pure enough to cover the magnitude of sin in this world. He sacrificed the life of His dear Son Jesus. Jesus is God and loved us so much that He willingly laid down His life. (See John 3:16-17)
The Jews understood that death was required for the forgiveness of sins. They had just walked out of the morning sacrifice. For centuries the blood of animals was used to cover their sins. It only covered the sins temporarily. Jesus' ultimate sacrifice was complete. It conquered sin and its result ~ death.
1 Corinthians 15:52-56 (NLT) For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
These bodies of ours must be renewed and no amount of plastic surgery or self-help books and conferences will get that done. Jesus was the first to lay His body aside and willingly opt for death because death to this world is the only way to life eternal. Though He never sinned He set the example and made the way to possible for our lives to be exchanged for the eternal.
Read Philippians 2:7-11. What did Jesus give up to become a human? ____________
________________________________________________________________________
How did He humble Himself?
What honor did God give His Son for His ultimate sacrifice?
Who will bow to Jesus?
Couldn't there be an easier way? Could you come up with a better plan? Maybe God could just erase our sins without this ultimate sacrifice? Couldn't He has gotten rid of all the evil people and let the good people stay? If that were the case then all of us would die.
Proverbs 14:12 (NLT) There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.
What seems right in your life that has turned out wrong?
Make it personal. Write out a prayer that acknowledges His ways are right and your ways are wrong. Give Him thanks for the path He leads us down that ultimately leads to life.
Our plans end in death and God knows this. He knew it when He gave His Son over to the will of evil men. He knew that by letting them have their way His Son would die. God knew it but He also knew that His plan would be fulfilled and death would be destroyed.
Thank you Lord that you know best even when all we see is demise. His plan worked and we have eternal life because of it. Peter told the faithful of God about God’s perfect Son who was the first and last perfect sacrifice. Praise God for Jesus!
His plans always work!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lesson Three
“A King About The King”
Today we are taking a big chunk of Acts 2. We'll break it down into chewable pieces and see what God wants us to learn. It's exciting to learn about the previously secret things of God. The Israelites didn't know them until this miraculous day on the Temple Mount when God sent the fullness of Himself to dwell within those who loved Jesus. He sent His Holy Spirit. It didn't rest on them like it did on the Patriarchs of the Old Testament ~Abraham, Moses, Joshua, King David and others, it actually nestled up inside their souls, wrapping around every fiber of their being. The same is true for us today. Even today, those who love Jesus have this miracle dwelling within them.
King David prophesied about Jesus many years before. Let's look at what He said:
Acts 2:25-28 (NLT) King David said this about him: ‘I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’
This portion of Acts 2 is actually a prophecy about Jesus. God never left Jesus and Jesus depended upon His Father. He totally relied on Father God to sustain Him as He walked as God in human form on this earth. Jesus knew that He would be offered up as a sacrifice for the sins of man but He also knew that God would not leave Him in the grave and this was His joy. He was in complete submission to God and never swayed from it.
What is your joy?
How do you know that God indwells you?
What are some examples of when you thought He had forsaken you?
What are some examples of times when you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was with you?
God never leaves us nor forsakes us. Why would someone who was willing to lay His life down for you ever want to forsake you and leave you alone? Sometimes I forget or grow used to Jesus dying for my sins. If I really looked at the reason He did what He did I would never doubt Him again. The magnitude of His perfect sacrifice overwhelms me.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT) "So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
This scripture in Deuteronomy was God's message to the Israelites through Moses as he passed the reigns to Joshua. It was a scary process for all of them and took faith. God had never let them down before and He wasn't about to then. The same holds true for you and me. God now indwells those of us who love and serve Jesus and He won't ever take that away.
Read Romans 1:2. What’s the difference between copying behavior and being transformed?
Make it relevant. How can being transformed into a new person change the way people think?
What’s different between our will and God’s will?
Let's move on to the next portion of today Scripture.
Read Acts 2:29-31. How do we know that King David wasn’t referring to himself in this prophecy?
What was God saying in this prophecy of David?
Why did Peter refer to this prophecy?
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| King David's tomb Jerusalem |
King David believed God. He was a faulted human like the rest of us, but He always believed God's promises. This King (David) spoke about the King of Kings (our sweet Jesus). We are witnessing through the scriptures how God kept His promise to King David. He indeed raised David's ancestor, who is the Messiah Himself, up from the grave. The Jews at "Shavuot" (Pentecost) that day witnessed the fulfilling of Scripture as they left the morning sacrifice and discovered the perfect sacrifice ~ Jesus. All the things they had heard about God and the prophecies they studied were coming together for them. Can't you just feel the electricity in the air? I'm sure some didn't believe it but many did. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place for them that day.
Read Acts 2:32-41. What were the apostles witnesses to?
Where is Jesus now?
When Peter’s words hit the intended mark ~ the hearts of the faithful. What was their response?
What did Peter say for them to do?
How many were baptized and added to the church?
Those who really listened to Peter's message had their hearts "pierced." The NIV puts it this way, "They were cut to the heart." The Greek for "cut" is "katansyssomai" and means "stabbed." The Greek word for "heart" is "kardia" and means "heart and mind; the seat of thought and emotion." Essentially that were stabbed in their soul. Everything came into focus and they were desperate to know what they should do.
Peter was very willing to tell them what to do. He was giving them a lifeline. Have you ever felt that kind of pain before where you knew you had been wrong and now you wanted to make it all right? This is how they felt and now they were thrown another chance to love God through His Son Jesus the True Messiah.
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| A Mikvah in Israel |
King David prophesied about King Jesus. God raised Jesus from death to life and seated Him at His right hand. All this came together for the Hebrew faithful who chose to believe that Jesus was Messiah. Their ritual religion was now a wonderful relationship.
Make it personal. If you have just had a religion and not a relationship with Jesus take the time to make it that way. If you already have a relationship with Jesus praise Him for it.
God is good. Everything He had spoken will take place. He allowed an earthly King to foretell of the coming King of Kings ~ Jesus. Is your faith based on religious notions or on a relationship with a King who laid His life down for you? Don't allow religion to overshadow what's important ~ having relationship with Jesus.
Lay down religion for a relationship with Jesus!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lesson Four
"Devotion"
Read Acts 2:42-47. What did the believers devote themselves to?
Make it relevant. How does devotion to all these things strengthen the Church?
Many people met Jesus that day of "Shavuot" (Pentecost) on the Temple Mount. This was the beginning of the Church that many of us take for granted here in the United States and in many other free nations. The nation of Israel was not a free nation. It was under the control of Rome. The Jews did have freedom to worship God, but now this new belief in Messiah Jesus would be a challenge to their faith and their very being.
In the infant stages of the Church, the members met together everyday and devoted themselves to four things:
1. The Apostles' teaching.
2. Fellowship.
3. Sharing meals.
4. Prayer.
What is the significance of these four things?
Describe what you think was their reasons for devotion. Do you see this kind of devotion in the Church today? Why or why not?
The Greek word used here for "devotion" is "proskartereo" and means "to remain steadfast; to stay close." The believers in the early church wanted to be close to one another. They desired to learn from the Apostles. Fellowship and sharing meals helped create a close bond adding to their united front. Prayer strengthened the deal as each person sought to know what Christ wanted for them by remaining in constant communication with Him.
What could we learn from this early church?
Today's church has some reflections of the early church. Of course it has grown and reached many millions of people over the centuries and that is to the praise of our God.
I wonder, are we are as devoted to one another as we should be? What does the Bible teach us about how we should conduct ourselves and live as a unified church?
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| Mount Hermon |
When we live in unity as brothers and sisters who love Jesus, we are blessed. So often we run out of church to avoid others because our lives have become too "busy." (I'm totally guilty of that). We are angry at the way someone has acted toward us and don't seek to smooth the waters with this person. We don't give to the church because we may need that money for something else instead of giving our first 10% back to God. We don't do "potlucks" anymore because that is the way the old school church did it and its not "cool" anymore. What's happened to us? Where is the Church as a whole going? What does Jesus think about it?
Romans 15: 5-6 (NLT) May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Complete harmony? You've got to be kidding me! How can we do that? Why should we have to? Doesn't God see how "those people" are? I'm called to do WHAT?!!! God has called us to live in complete harmony! Complete harmony is the rich full sound of an orchestra or the soulful sounds of a southern hymn or spiritual. It soothes the soul and fills us with the energy required to do as Jesus says.
Revelation 1:12-18 (NLT) I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Revelation 2:4-5 (NLT) “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches."
When I read these portions of Revelation I get chills. It speaks of our Christ walking among the lampstands. These "lampstands" represented the churches that were about to be described in the next few chapters of Revelation. Each church had its own personality. Some had good things that Jesus approved of and some were doing things against the very nature of Christ's commands. Jesus walks among the churches judging the light each produces. I don't want Jesus to remove any church. I want us to be unified in our love of Jesus and each other.
Churches today are still "lampstands" and Christ still walks among them. Some are huge lampstands with little light. Other lampstands are small with a brilliant roaring fire in them. Some are small and their light is almost out because someone had covered them in trying to keep out others. The descriptions can be endless. What is important is that one day Christ sees the lights they produce and will deal with each one as He sees fit ~ reward or discipline.
Make it personal. What can you do to strengthen the Church you attend? Make it a prayer.
Our aim, our purpose as a the Bride of Christ ~ the Church ~ is to bring honor to Him. We need to go back to our roots. We must become more and more devoted to one another. Let's bring prayer back as the foundation on which we stand. Let's meet together often, sharing a meal or a cup of coffee. Let's share! Let's give as God has asked us to! Let's do it!! Let's watch the blessings flow like "oil on Aaron's beard."
What are we waiting for? Let's stoke the fire. Let's get it burning bright so others will see the light and know where to come for salvation, love and support. Let's do it!
Harmony in the Church brings delightful blessings
from the One who walks among the Lampstands.
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Lesson Five
"Don't Just Sit There"
Read Acts 3:1-10. Where did Peter and John go and what did they do?
Who approached them and why?
What was Peter’s response?
What happened to the man?
What did the people who witnessed this miracle do?
Make it relevant. Why is this story important to know?
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| The Beautiful Gate (Model of Herodian Temple) |
Imagine sitting in the same place day after day after day after day. Not only do you have to sit there, because you can't walk, someone has to place you there everyday. This is your only way to survive ~ begging at the Temple Gate called "Beautiful."
We quickly feel sorry for this beggar, but that isn't what this story is about. It's about getting his attention and pointing him to Jesus. The beggar was focused on the way things were, not the way things could be. He was resigned to be a beggar and thought that all he could do was to get money to survive. It worked for him so why would expect more?
How about you? Do you remain in a constant state of "this is how it is?" What could be different in your life?
This lame man begged for money but Peter and John had something else in mind. First, Peter had to get the man's attention. He looked right at the man and said, "Look at us!" There is an exclamation mark at the end of this sentence so it means that Peter probably either shouted at him or used a commanding voice of some sort. Peter wanted his full attention so he could get his mind on something other than the daily routine of begging for money. Peter was pointing him toward Jesus. He wanted him to change his focus and see what they really had to offer.
What do you focus on in your daily life?
What are some struggles that you have?
Do you believe that Jesus cares and wants the best for you? Why or why not?
Are you stuck begging at the gate like this beggar or are you ready to get up and accept God's healing?
Make it personal. Write your prayer.
The lame man was close to the heart of the Temple but couldn't make it in. Peter and John showed him that money wasn't what he needed. He needed healing ~ complete healing. Peter said, "In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” He pointed him to the Healer, the Savior ~ Jesus.
This is our role as believers in Jesus; to bring others to Him. We, who are in Jesus aren't supposed to remain at the "temple gate" expecting nothing more than existing. We are to get up and walk. We are to believe God in our situations and get up and walk ~ to live by faith in the Son of God.
Galatians 2:20-21 (NLT) My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Jesus asks us to believe and trust Him, not to sit in the memories and regrets of our pasts. He also wants us to help bring people to Him for healing. No more status quo! Our lives should reflect who He is not who we were.
2 Corinthians 5:1-3 (MSG) For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less.
Why do we settle for less than God's best for us? I think its because we focus on what we think is the best and not God's best. This isn't a "name-it-and-claim-it ~ blab-it-and-grab-it" mentality. It is believing that God has unsurpassable plans for our lives. Like the passage says, "He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less."
Let's not just sit around wallowing in our own wants. Let's get up and move forward in faith and in doing so, bring others to our King.
Never settle for less than God's unsurpassable best!
* What is one thing you learned or re-learned that God has brought to your mind through these lessons?
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