Bible Reading from the Book of Acts Chapter 3, from Biblegateway.com for those who may not have a Bible
New International Version (NIV) Acts Chapter 3
Peter Heals a Lame Beggar - Verses 1-10
1. One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer�at three in the afternoon. 2. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, �Look at us!� 5. So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 6. Then Peter said, �Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.� 7.Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man�s feet and ankles became strong. 8. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10. they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Peter Speaks to the Onlookers - Verses 11-26
11. While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon�s Colonnade. 12. When Peter saw this, he said to them: �Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus� name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see. 17. �Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20. and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you�even Jesus. 21. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22. For Moses said, �The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.� 24. �Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, �Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.� 26. When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.�
Right...Jesus Christ has passed by the very same man at the gate called beautiful many, many times...alms was not like begging for money, it is a term that refers to healing. The reason Jesus Christ did not heal him during his ministry was that he, the man, was not at the place in his life where he was ready to be healed...in this case he was. There is a gross mis-understanding about the alms equaling 'begging for money" I think this is because of what Peter says to him...however God is actually powerful enough to say and mean money when he means money, ya, know..so, lets not read into it, like begging for money...
Jesus Christ always required believing of individuals, except for those cases where believing was not available from the individual...and I am not going into that, right now.....an example of Jesus Christ requiring believing of an individual, as well as working with an individual to build believing was the blind man....Christ applied mud to the man's eyes, well that was done because God told him to do it.
today......there have been healing's with oil and like the water of Lourdes, there is nothing inherently "healing" with regard to either water or oil or french fries for that matter...it has to do with what the individual believing....today, it is believe and then receive......back then, in the gospels..it was receive then believe.
I think we all can agree that faith is man responding to God's word and will. Faith is also believing God concerning what He has said He will do and can do, and knwing that will accomplish whatever He says or set out to accomplish. Ths man was healed not becasue he desiresed to be healed, but because God so desires that he be healed as a sign to the Jew, and Peter and John acted upon what God had told them to do.
Many times we are not healed, or accomplish anything in our lives becasue we do not have faith to believe in what God tells us to do or not to do, nor follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Salavtion of healing is the total work of the Holy Spirit of God, and when there is obedience there is healing. The man was a begger, there is not doubt about it and here is nothing more than can be read into this passage, but that he sat at the door of the temple and the BIble tells us DAILY to ask for alms, and that's begging...
This man was there as the Bible tells us to ask for alms of people who came into the temple. So this lets us know that this was a habit of him begging at the door of the temple for money or whatever anyone would give to him on a daily bases.
We are also told that this man ASKED of Peter and John for money expecting to receive something from them, and this is why Peter spoke out and said what he said, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I will give to you in the name of the Jesus Christ of Nazareth... and then Peter told the man to rise up and walk, becasue Peter had given the man something that money could not buy, Peter had given him the power of the HOly Spirit to be healed. And that was a healing so that the man could walk and not have a need to beg anymore and could go and make a decent living for hmself.
But Peter also gave a sign for those who did not believe, surely had not the man asked for money there would not have been a need for Peter to tells him silver and gold I do not have...
Michael, I love you as well with the love of Christ, maybe your disappointment should lack of your spiritual understanding passed the elementary things of scripture. milk vs meat...
Also, know that I am very careful when choosing my teachers plus, I already have enough teachers who are well qualified. Moreover, know that learning does not necessarily require having a teacher.
Neveretheless, just what is it that you're trying to teach here, that I might learn?
I operate all of the manifestations of the Spirit in the Body of Christ. I am currently operating the "enabling ministry" of Pastor in Colorado Springs. I doubt we agree on anything.
