The Gift Worth Giving

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. A certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, fixed his eyes upon him and said, “Look at us.” And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene — walk.” And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

The power of God was present there. The power of a touch — when Peter held him by the hand — transferred from Peter to this lame man.

It was authority in the name of Jesus. So Pastor reminded us, or told us yesterday, that the book of Acts records the lives of the disciples, the apostles, the early church, after Jesus was resurrected.

And you know, when we go back to Acts 1:8, Jesus said to his disciples —

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

And of course, He had told them to remain in Jerusalem — to tarry in Jerusalem for this power: the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This is Peter, who was intimidated, Peter who was fearful when he was confronted by the maid and denied Christ. The same Peter, when he was endued with power from on high, saw this lame man.

Now, this lame man was hardly a lazy man. You know what? He was working the best way he knew how. He had these people bring him every single day at the gate of the temple to beg alms.

So he was doing what he could to enhance his livelihood, right?

They went up at the hour of prayer. Many of us are not disciplined in our prayer lives. We’ve got to wait for the fire — the fire. The fire is when trouble comes — you say, “I’m going to pray.”

Sometimes we put it aside: “I’ll pray a little bit later. I’ll pray a little bit later,” and later never comes.

We need to have a disciplined time of prayer. Yes, thank God we come on to 6 a.m. prayer, we pray for others, but we still need to engage in prayer for ourselves.

What does the Word of God say? That we are always — men are always — to pray and not faint. We are commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing.

So as they were focusing on going into the temple, they were interrupted. How do you handle interruptions? Do you see them sometimes as divine interruptions?

What about us? If we were going to the place of prayer and perhaps there was an accident or something happened — you saw it happen — would you stop and say, “You know what, even though I’ll be late for church, perhaps I can stop and pray for someone”?

Of Course today, we still have to be wise and discerning, because there are all kinds of tricks and gimmicks. But God will give us discernment.

So they were interrupted on their way to do something spiritual. So let’s not be too busy to be a blessing. The Bible says, do not forget to entertain strangers, for we may be entertaining angels. We may think it’s a stranger, but it could be an angel. So we have to be careful how we entertain strangers.

So in the midst of situations, how are we? This man — he was persistent in coming every day. Every day he was brought before the temple. Suppose he had missed that day — he would have missed this opportunity, more than likely, to be healed. So sometimes we have to push to get to the house of God.

Now, there was a time in 2 Kings 7:3–4 — we had lepers who sat. Now, if they had stayed where they were, they were outcasts, they were not supposed to be going into areas where people were, but they sat there. The Bible says there was a famine in the land, but they said, “Why sit we here and die?”

So I’m speaking to someone. It’s a word of encouragement. I am not bashing you. I am encouraging you if you are sitting before your TV set on Sundays, you’re sitting before your computer, you’re sitting before your iPhone, whatever it is, and you have been content to sit — I ask you the question today: Why sit any longer and stay there and die? Why sit there until you die?

The day will come, the season will come, when you will no longer be able to come to the house of God. You don’t think it’s going to happen to you. You say, “Oh, I’m not that old.” You never know when your last opportunity to come back into the house will be a season that has passed.

So I encourage you, my brother, my sister — even some younger people — don’t sit there any longer. You will be welcomed back with loving arms.

So there’s a place of anointing. You can be healed in the house of God. I’m not saying you cannot be healed in front of your TV set, but why not leave that for the seniors, those that are incapacitated, those that are not able to come — and you come to the house of God.

So the lame man made sure that he was in position. Perhaps he heard, or he could hear others praising God, whatever it was — he came. And it’s just so amazing how Peter and John locked eyes on this man.

He also had to exercise faith, because even when Peter reached out and pulled him up by the hand, he could have fallen backward. He could have been afraid to take a step. He had never walked before. He was lame from his mother’s womb. So he had to exercise baby faith. He stood, he walked, he leapt. The power of God was so full on him — he leapt and he praised God.

Why not come into the house of God, where we can leap if we want to leap, and we can give God all the glory that He deserves?

So, despite how you feel — come on. Why not say, “Nevertheless,” get over your will and say, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

In Luke 22:42, Jesus was in Gethsemane. He said, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done.”

God gave the biggest gift — the gift worth giving. God looked upon us, vile sinners, wretched sinners. He looked upon us way back before the foundation of the world. He saw us, and He knew, and He gave His only begotten Son — a gift worth giving, a gift that is still replicating, a gift that is still being given.

And even with the gift that Peter and John gave to that man — his very attitude, his praise and thanksgiving caught the attention of others around. What about us? In our deliverance, in our victory — does it bring honor and glory to God?

So listen, if you’ve been praying, as Pastor said — this man was hoping and praying. He was looking to get by, but God had a greater gift.

Did Jesus pass by and see him? We don’t know, I don’t know. But nevertheless, he never gave up. He kept coming.

He was coming for something he thought he needed. He thought, “All I need is some more alms; I’ve got to get by. I need food, I need whatever to survive.” So he thought that’s all he needed, but what he needed — he needed a Helper. He needed a word from God.

We — what are we giving people? Are you sharing the gift that God has given you with others? Are you giving people what they want, or are you giving them what they need? It takes the power of discernment.

You can give somebody a tract, you can tell somebody about the love of God, and how much God loves them. You can stop and pray for somebody?

So I just want to encourage you, my dear brothers and sisters, to believe God, and when God comes, take a leap of faith. Use the gift that God has given you and give it to someone else, and let it be replicated in the name of Jesus.

The best thing you can do is pray for someone to come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Hone your skills and use the gifts God has given you to the honor and glory of God.

So Father, once again, we thank You for the gift of salvation that has been given to us and Lord, we cannot keep this gift to ourselves. We have to share it, Lord, with the world out there that needs to know that Jesus loves them.

Somebody needs us to pray for them. Oh God, give us favor, with others that we present the Gospel to — that if we just say, “Can I pray with you they will receive us gladly.