Acts 3

Acts 3:1

Peter and John were men of consistency. Like all devout Jews, according to the Jewish custom of the day, every day at 9:00 A.M., noon, and 3:00 P.M., they stopped what they were doing and headed to the temple, where they spent an hour in prayer. This time consisted of fifteen minutes of silent meditation, thirty minutes of petition, and fifteen minutes of adorationwhich, by the way, I think is a neat pattern for prayer. Meditate on the greatness and goodness of God, and you will be confident in bringing your requests to Him. When you realize that even your biggest concerns are no problem for Him, your heart will overflow in worship toward Him.

Acts 3:2

Peter and John were men of sensitivity. As the lame man called out to them, they found their eyes “fastened” on him. We’ve passed this guy hundreds of times before, they must have thought, but at this moment something unique is happening. Peter and John were men of flexibility. When they saw this man, they could have said, “We don’t have time for him. We have to start the temple prayer meeting in just a few minutes.” But they realized what we all must learn: Interruption is often divine inspiration. For some of us, life is one bother after another. I have found that when I start a day, saying, “Nobody better bother me,” I find myself getting bothered at every turn. But if I expect to be bothered and remain flexible, I allow the Lord room to work in moments of the miraculous.

Acts 3:5

It’s interesting to me that even unbelievers understand that because Jesus Christ cared about hurting sinners, so should His body. Like the lame man, the hurting people in our culture know intuitively that the one group of people most likely to help them is the Christian community. Unfortunately, many times the world understands this better than even the Church does.

Acts 3:6

“Silver and gold have I none.” That’s a far cry from the “Name It And Claim It /Prosperity/Seed Faith” mentality of today. The story is told that the pope was counting the silver and gold coins in his coffers one day when Thomas Aquinas walked in. “Greetings, Thomas,” he said as he gleefully held up some coins for Thomas to see. “We can no longer say, silver and gold have we none, now can we?” Thomas looked at the pope and said, “And neither can we say, “In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Throughout history, whenever the church has traded purity for prosperity, she has lost power. Peter and John were men of authority. Having the power of the Spirit upon their lives, they were given the green light by the Spirit to proceed in the arena of the miraculous.

Acts 3:7

The original Greek text seems to indicate that this man’s ankles were congenitally and permanently dislocated.

Acts 3:8

Peter and John were men of humility. I believe the moment of greatest potential peril for Peter was when he took the lame man by the hand and lifted him to his feet. How easy it would have been for Peter to say, “Hey, look what just happened! I had this surge of faith and power and I grabbed this man, and he’s now walking and leaping. This calls for the birth of a new ministry: THE APOSTLE PETER HEALING MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL. I hope we got a picture of this. I can put it on my prayer calendar. I can take this guy on tour!” In the next verse, however, we see Peter do exactly the opposite. Helping the Hurting A Topical Study of Act_3:1-11 You’ve seen homeless people on the freeway exits and entrances holding cardboard signs, asking for work or food. You’ve seen them pushing their shopping carts downtown. You’ve seen them, and perhaps your heart has gone out to them, to those who are homeless and hurting, to those who beg for change and cry for help. You’ve seen them, and perhaps your heart has been angry with them. Those lame people. Didn’t they see the “Help Wanted” sign at Burger King? Why don’t they get a job? You’ve seen them, and perhaps your heart goes out to them one moment, and is angry with them the next. I believe this passage in Acts sheds light on how we are to respond to the hurting people around us. During World War II, a church in France was bombed by the Luftwaffe. When the war concluded, the people in the community cleared away the rubble and found a statue of Jesus, the base of which was inscribed with these words: Come unto Me, all ye that are weary. It was remarkably preserved except for both hands, which had been destroyed. Hearing of this, the sculptor whose work it was immediately offered to replace the hands. But the pastor wisely declined. And so it was that the statue was returned to its original position in front of the church, but with a new inscription that read: He has no hands on earth but ours, for we are His body. It’s true; we are the body of Christ. If Jesus is going to reach out and touch a lame persona beggar, a hurting individualit will be through our hands. He will use us. In our text, I see three key components that will help us deal with the hurting folks around us. Sensitive Hearts No doubt Peter and John had glanced at the lame man many times, but this particular day something took place deep within their hearts that drew them to him. It was a moment of the miraculous. It was a time for ministry. The same is true for you and me. When you drive by the fellow who is asking for help, and you know it is not merely general cultural guilt being imposed upon you, but a spiritual dynamic taking place deep within you, you have a choice to make. You can say, “Wait a minute. The Lord is doing something here.” Or you can look away, adjust your radio, and drive on. Now, understand this: As the lame man sat in the Gate Beautiful, Jesus Himself probably walked past him a number of times. This tells me that Jesus didn’t minister according to need, but according to obedience. We see an example of this in John 5… A whole lot of hurting people were lying by the Pool of Bethesda, each one hoping to be the first in the pool when the water stirred, for the first one in would be healed. Jesus went in the back way, found the man farthest from the edge of the pool, and healed him (Joh_5:2-9). If I had been Jesus, I would not have come in the back door and talked to one man at the rear. I would have gone to the front, looked at everyone, and said, “Everyone stand up! You’re all healed!” Why didn’t Jesus do that? I suggest it is because He didn’t minister according to the needs He saw, but according to the directive of His Father, who said, “There’s one person I want You to touch at the Pool of Bethesda today.” I believe that’s why Jesus was so at peace in Himself and why tranquility radiated from Him. Although Jesus was accused of being a glutton, a winebibber, and a friend of sinners, He was never accused of being busy or frazzled. He didn’t act according to the needs He saw. He acted in obedience to what His Father said. So, too, when we do what He tells us to do, we won’t be weighed down or stressed out because His burden is easy and His load is light (Mat_11:28-30). He won’t overwhelm us with the needs we see; rather He’ll direct us specifically. “You have a ten-dollar bill in your pocket; give it to that person,” or “Give some of your time to that man who needs to hear about Me.” Listen to the voice of the Spirit, and like Jesus, you will respond not out of compulsion, but out of compassion. Discerning Minds “Give me some money,” the lame man said. “Silver and gold have we none,” answered Peter and John. Really? Hadn’t at least three thousand believers sold their goods and pooled their money? Peter and John must have had access to a lot of money. Were they lying? No. I believe this is what Peter and John were saying when they said they had neither silver nor gold: “For you, sir, silver and gold have we none because your need is not for a coin or two, or ten, or twenty. Your need is more profound. You need to be healed.” Impacting Words As Peter grabbed the lame man by the hand, saying, “In the Name of Jesus, stand up and walk,” I wonder if at that moment he thought, What if nothing happens? Here I am, the leader of the Church. What if I say, “In the Name of Jesus, walk"and he falls down? It’s not going to look good on my application for pope. But Peter’s words were impacting. He told the lame man to walk, and the lame man did just that. Why? I suggest three reasons… Peter and John Were Men of Preparation Where were Peter and John when this event took place? They were on their way to the temple for prayer, as was their custom. Often we’re confronted with an opportunity to touch someone in order that he might take steps physically or spiritually, but because we have not built up a history of prayer, we are impotent and miss the moment of the miraculous. In Matthew 17, we see the disciples in this position… The disciples asked Jesus why they were powerless to cast a demon out of a boy brought to them for healing. Jesus answered, “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” The disciples probably scratched their heads and thought, “How were we to know that a demonized boy would be brought into our presence? We didn’t have time to fast.” And perhaps with a smile on His face, Jesus may have said, “That’s the point. You can’t wait to begin fasting until it’s time to minister. You need to live a life of prayer and fasting.” You see, when the moment of the miraculous opens before you, it’s too late to say, “Boy, I had better get my faith together.” Unless there has been a backlog of prayer and the Word, of fasting and seeking, it will be too late. Perhaps you’ve seen a lame man. Your eyes became fastened to him, and you knew it was an opportunity to share, but you felt impotent and powerless. Was it because you were not a person of preparation? Precious people, be in a place where you are constantly being prepared, because you don’t know what’s coming an hour, a week, a month, or a year down the road. You don’t know when your colleagues at work are going to say, “I need something from you,” even as this lame man did. You don’t know when your neighbors are going to come to you crying and brokenhearted. You don’t know when your kids are going to need you to minister powerfully in the Spirit. I don’t know when those moments will be, but I do know this: Like the disciples, we’re powerless unless we’ve been prepared. Peter and John Were Men of Impartation Peter and John had been filled with the Holy Spirit. You can look at the lame people with whom you work, the homeless who come your way, the hurting folks who surround you every day; but unless you are filled with the Spirit, you will have neither impacting words nor a healing touch. Jesus said to His disciples, “Go to Jerusalem. Wait for the promise of the Father for you shall receive power when the Holy Ghost comes upon you. And then you will be My witnesses” (see Act_1:8). How thankful I am to be linked to a body of believerswhere so many hunger and thirst for more of the Lord, for more of His Spirit. Peter and John Were Men of Authorization In addition to the power of the Spirit upon our lives, we need authoritythe okay, the green lightfor a miracle to happen. You might drive a Corvette with a four-hundred-cubic-foot engine under the hood. When you drive, the ground shakes, people stare, and men drool. You’ve got power. But when you come to a red light, it doesn’t matter how big your engine is or how much power you haveyou’ve got to stop. So, too, many of you have been empowered by the Spirit. The ground may shake and rattle all about you, and that’s terrific. But until the Lord turns the light green, until He says, “Now is the time to deal with that man, or give to that person,” you can rev your engine all you want, but you won’t make any progress. On the other hand, you might drive a car like my Volkswagen Beetle: Even though the light may be green, there’s no power when you hit the accelerator. You see, to cross the intersection of the supernatural, we need power and authority; and when those two points come together at a given moment, the result is a miracle. In the tiny compartment of a passenger train sat a young lieutenant in uniform. Next to him sat his commanding officer, a crusty old general. Across from him sat a beautiful young lady. Next to her was her grandmother. As the hours passed, an attraction developed between the young lieutenant and the young lady. They were laughing and talking and enjoying the trip when suddenly the train went through a long dark tunnel. Midway through the darkness, the sound of a kiss was followed by the smack of a slap. As the train emerged from the tunnel, the four travelers looked at one another with a variety of expressions. The young lady was delighted that the lieutenant would kiss her at that moment, but puzzled as to why her grandmother would slap him. The grandmother was angry that the lieutenant had the audacity to kiss her granddaughter, but grateful to the general who slapped the young man in line. The general was proud of his lieutenant for kissing the young lady, but confused and smarting from the slap of the young girl. The lieutenant was hardly able to contain the laughter within him, as he alone knew what had actually transpired in the tunnel. Under the cover of darkness, he had seized the moment to kiss the girl and smack the general. Seize the moment, folks! Watch for the moment of the miraculous when the Lord will use you in this dark tunnel of time to slap the Enemy in the face, as you heal a hurting world.

Acts 3:12

At this very crucial moment when Peter could have been shelved from ministry, what did he do? He said, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? You know your history, how God parted the Red Sea, provided manna from heaven, used a slingshot to kill a giant. Our God is the God of the miraculous. Why, then, are you surprised that He healed a lame man?” Whenever God uses people in any way, there will be those who will look to them and say, “You’re special. You’re anointed. My goodness, you’re spiritual.” Watch out! Be careful. It is the base part of our nature that wants people to assume we’re deeper than we really are, think we’re special, and know our name. Go into a crowded room where nine or ten conversations are taking place simultaneously, and no matter whom you’re talking with, if someone speaks your name, you’ll pick it up because each person’s ears are tuned to the sound of his own name. Salesmen know this. That’s why the first thing they do is ask your name. Industry understands this. That’s why they monogram shirts, imprint pencils, and personalize coffee mugs. People are stuck on themselves! They want to see their name in print or hear their name on people’s lips. But what does God say? I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.Isa_42:8 If you’re a musician or a Sunday-school teacher, a writer or a singer, a pastor or a worship leader, know this: The quickest way to be taken out of ministry is to say, “I want my name exalted.” I know a number of men and women who were at one time greatly used by the Lord but are now on the shelf gathering dust because they wanted the gloryor even just a portion of it.

Acts 3:13

Peter wisely and immediately took the spotlight off himself and pointed it at Jesus, for it is at His Name that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess (Php_2:10). Before leaving this vignette, I would like to consider one other aspect: Not only do Peter and John provide principles for us, but the lame man is a picture of us. You see, like the crippled man, we too were lame from birth. Adam, our father in the flesh, fell. And so great was his fall that all of his descendants were born lame. Unable to walk with God, or after the things of God, we sat outside the templealienated from God because of our sinand begged enough silver or gold to get us by for one more day. Maybe we weren’t bitter about life, but every one of us realized our handicap to some extent. And then something happened. Through a brother or sister, a church or a fellowship, perhaps when we least expected it, Jesus grabbed us by the hand and said, “Stand up and walk. I’m calling you into the kingdom. I’m taking you to heaven.” Thus, it is no wonder that like the crippled man, we not only walk, but we leap and praise God for His goodness and grace to us lamebrains. “You killed the Prince of Life,” Peter declared. “You murdered the One who came to give life to you and be life for you.”

Acts 3:16

“The faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness.” Not only did the healing itself come from God, but even the faith to believe came from Himwhich is why I thoroughly reject the implication that people are sick because they don’t have enough faith to be made well. I would say to the preachers and faith healers who propound such an idea, “Why isn’t your faith kicking in?” In this example it wasn’t the lame man’s faith that figured into the equation at all; he was just begging for bucks. It was the faith given by God to Peter and John that healed him.

Acts 3:17

I like Peter’s tact here. He said, “What you did, you did through ignorance.” He left the door open for his audience to repent. Sometimes I think we press our point so hard that we win the argument, but lose the soul.

Acts 3:18

Even though Peter allowed that they acted ignorantly, he also insisted that Christ’s death was not accidental. It wasn’t a massive mistake. It was part of a prophetic plan.

Acts 3:19

“Repent,” said Peter. “You looked at Jesus as One worthy of death. Change your mind concerning Him and see He is the Prince of Life. Your ignorance nailed Him to the tree. Now repent and bow your knee.” Peter is not saying, “Get your life together.” He’s saying, “Change your mind.” At one time, you may have said, “Christianity is a crutch for weak people.” Then you changed your mind and realized Christianity is a crutch, but it is also a wheelchair, a hospital bed, a surgical team, and an ambulance! It’s everything we need because we have been run over and wiped out by the dump truck of sin. “I’m a sinner,” you said, “and He died for me. I’m sick, and He came to heal me. I’m weak, and He wants to be strong through me.” It’s no longer: I’m okay, you’re okay. It’s: He’s okay, and I’m a mess. “The times of refreshing” have a prophetic meaning spoken of in Deuteronomy 30, Joel 2, and Zechariah 12, as they speak of the time when Jesus returns. But they also speak to you and me personally. We can be refreshed presently whenever we repent of how we used to think and turn toward Him. Our Relationship with His Spirit A Topical Study of Act_3:19 All Jerusalem was abuzz. Tens of thousands of Jews from all over the world had congregated in the Holy City to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, just as they had done annually for centuries. But this Pentecost was different. There were rumors that there was a group of Christians, followers of the radical Rabbi from Galilee, huddled together in an upper room, praising and worshiping God in different languages. The Jews on the street below, recognizing the various mother tongues of their homelands, were amazed. Some said, “What does this mean?” Others mockingly said, “These guys are drunk.” Hearing their accusations, Peter declared, “These men are not drunk as you suggest. This is the fulfillment of Joel 2, which speaks of an outpouring of the Spirit.” Many, hearing the preaching of Peter, responded to what he shared and to what they sawand three thousand were saved that day. Acts 2 goes on to say that the new believers lived together in great hilarity, with gladness of heart, sharing all of their possessions communally. They were immersed in the teaching of the Word, they loved each other intensely, and the whole city looked upon them and found favor with them. Then in chapter 3, after Peter and John were used by God to heal the lame man, the people began to congregate on Solomon’s porch to see for themselves the man who walked and leapt and praised God. Peter realized he had an opportunity to preach againso he did. The thesis of his message is found in our text: “Repent and be converted, that your sins might be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come.” “The times of refreshing” spoke to Israel nationally. For centuries, the prophets had spoken of a time of refreshing when the kingdom would be established in Israela time when the wolf would lie down with the lamb, when there would be prosperity, and when men would study war no more. “The kingdom is coming,” Peter said to the Jewish people nationally. “Repent. You rejected the Messiah. You crucified Jesus Christ, but He is the King. You nailed Him, but He is Messiah. Now repent, turn around, and you will see the times of refreshing which are to come.” I suggest that the times of refreshing spoke not only to Peter’s audience nationally, but to each one of them individually. “If you will individually give your heart to this One, Jesus Christ,” Peter said, “you will have a time of refreshing, knowing that your sin is forgiven.” Not only nationally and individually, I suggest to you “the times of refreshing” speak to you and to me personally. You might be saying, “I read about the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of the saints. I see the miracles happening and the boldness emanating from the disciples. Wow! How wonderful. But even though I read about the power of the Spirit on the pages of the Bible, I’m dry as a bone. I read about it. I believe in it. But I am not personally experiencing the times of refreshing.” I’ve got news for you, dear saint: The Holy Spirit is the agent of the times of refreshing. Water is a symbol, or type, of the Spirit throughout the Scriptures. “The times of refreshing,” “the latter rain,” “the overflow” all relate to the dynamic work of the Holy Spiritnot just for Israel eschatologically, not just for Peter’s audience historically, but for you and me presently. If you’re dry, listen carefully: “Times of refreshing” are what the Lord desires for you today. This is the day of refreshment. Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let Him come unto Me and drink. And out of his innermost being shall gush forth torrents of living water. This spake He of the Holy Ghost” (see Joh_7:37-39). Now, as we have seen and experienced, Scripture clearly presents three relationships a person can have with the Holy Ghost. The Spirit with You In Joh_14:17, Jesus said, “The Spirit is with you, but he shall be in you.” The first relationship you can have with the Holy Spirit is when He is with you. The Spirit was with you before you became a Christian, telling you to get saved. Blaspheming the Spirit There is a negative counterpart to this first relationship. In Gen_6:3, God says, “My spirit shall not always strive with man.” In Act_7:51, Stephen, talking to people who were not responding to the Word, said, “You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and in ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” Jesus said, “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men” (Mat_12:31). In other words, the Spirit is with you, but He won’t always be there. If you continually say, “I’m not interested in becoming a believer,” there will come a point when the Spirit is blasphemed. He will no longer be with you. You see, the Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman. He will woo you. He will invite you. He will draw you. But He will not force Himself on you. The Spirit in You You can have a second relationship with the Spirit. Jesus said, “The Spirit is with you, but he shall be in you” (see Joh_14:17). When does the Spirit come in you? When you open your heart and say, “Jesus, be my Lord,” you are sealed with the Spirit (Eph_1:13). He comes into your life. When did this happen to the disciples? It couldn’t have happened in John 14 because Jesus had not yet died for their sins. But in John 20, after Jesus had died and risen from the dead, He met again with His disciples and breathed on them, saying, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” At that point the Holy Spirit was in them. They were born again. Grieving the Spirit Just as there is a negative response to the “with” ministry of the Spirit, there is a negative response to the “in” ministry of the Spirit. Paul writes: “Grieve not the holy Spirit whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph_4:30). You can grieve the Spirit. He is not a force. He is not a power. He’s a Person. Once He has come into your heart, He will never leave you, but He can be grieved greatly. How? Ephesians 4 tells us we are to put away lying, that we are to steal no more, that we are not to let corrupt communication come out of our mouths, that we are not to be bitter or full of wrath or anger or evil speaking. Those things will grieve the Spirit (Eph_4:25-31). What happens when the Spirit is grieved? Ask David… David, who should have been fighting with his army against the enemies of Israel, one day found himself relaxing on the rooftop of his house. Looking down, he saw a woman taking a bath, whose name, appropriately, was Bathsheba. Feeling attracted to her, David called for her. Adultery was committed, and Bathsheba conceived. To cover his tracks, David ordered her husband back from battle, saying, “Hey, Uriah, spend some time with your wife. You’ve been fighting hard, you’ve earned some time off.” But Uriah didn’t go to his house. How could he be with his wife when his brothers were dying in battle? He slept on the steps of the palace. David knew he was in trouble; his plan wasn’t working. Then he had another idea. “I’ll send a message to my general Joab. All the forces will rush against the enemy, and on a certain signal they’ll all retreat, all except Uriah.” Thus, Uriah died in battle, murdered by the diabolical plan of David (2 Samuel 11). I got away with it! thought David. But something happened inside him because the Spirit was grieved, as seen in the psalm he wrote in the course of the following year. O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.Psa_38:1-4 “I’m a mess,” David said. “My skin shows it. My bones ache. I’m over my head in sin.” My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.Psa_38:5-7 “I stink. There’s an odor that emanates from me.” Perhaps David was speaking spiritually. But perhaps he was speaking physically, for you see, most Bible scholars believe that the “loathsome disease in his loins” speaks of a sexually transmitted disease that resulted from his affair with Bathsheba. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me…For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.Psa_38:10, Psa_38:17 “I am feeble; I’m broken. The sparkle is gone from my eye; the spring is no longer in my step; I’m ready to give up.” For a year, David went through an unbelievably dry time. He had grieved the Spirit, and the result took its toll physically and emotionally, as well as spiritually. And I would bet there are people who have, for the past year or longer, been going through a very dry season as well. The times of refreshment, the latter rain, the torrents of living water are not happening in your life as they once were. There is no longer the outpouring, the bubbling of the Holy Ghost within your heart. It could very well be because you have grieved the Spirit. You haven’t dealt with the sin you know the Lord has put His finger on. You find yourself getting drydesert dry. Your bones are aching, your walk faltering, and your eyes dulling. The Spirit upon You After Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive ye the Spirit,” He said, “Go to Jerusalem, and wait until the Spirit comes upon you” (see Luk_24:49). As the Spirit came upon Samson, upon Moses, upon David, and upon Gideon in Old Testament times, so, too, Jesus said the Spirit would come upon His disciples, and they would be His witnesses (Act_1:8). The “coming upon,” “the baptism,” “the overflow” of the Spirit, whatever term you want to use, is an empowering for service. Quenching the Spirit The negative response to the “coming upon” ministry of the Spirit is quenching Him. “Quench not the Spirit,” wrote Paul (1Th_5:19). How is the Spirit quenched? 1Th_5:20 says, “Despise not prophesyings.” People quench the Spirit whenever they say, “The gifts of prophecy, tongues, healing, word of knowledge, and discernment of spirits are all irrelevant.” “Well,” you protest, “I don’t really despise those things. I’m open. And if the Lord wants to bring a prophecy to me or through me, I’ll be happy to accept that gift.” That’s not what Noah said… A dove was released, and it circled the earth, which was covered with water. As it looked for a place to land, the Bible says it found no place for the sole of its foot. Throughout Scripture, the dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. And I believe the Holy Spirit is still circlinglooking for churches, looking for people whom He can come upon, those who will not quench Him. Has He found a place to land in your church? Has He found a place to land in your life? Genesis 8 goes on to say that Noah stretched forth his hand and grabbed the dove, bringing it unto himself. C. H. Spurgeon nailed it when he said this is an illustration of the active pursuit of the Spirit in a man’s life. You see, Noah didn’t say, “Well, dove, you know where I am. If you want to land on me, that’s fine.” No, Noah reached out his hand in faith and brought the dove in. The person who moves in the overflow of the Spirit is not one who sits passively with arms folded. Rather, he is one who hungers and thirsts after rightness; he is one who says, “I deeply desire the power of the Spirit upon my life. I’m going to reach out in faith and pursue all that God has for me. I’ll not be satisfied with a theology of the Spirit. I want the power of the Spirit upon my life and the gifts to flow through my life. I will not despise prophesying. I will not quench the Spirit.” Now, even if you have already received the “coming upon” of the Spirit, if you are presently not pursuing Him in the way you once did, He’ll be quenched, you’ll be dry, and the times of refreshing will just be a nice historical event to read about in Acts 3. What’s the solution? In all three caseswhether we’re resisting the Spirit, grieving the Spirit, or quenching the Spiritthe cure is repentance. “Repent ye therefore,” Peter preached, “and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Act_3:19). He didn’t say, “Get your life together, and be converted.” He said, “Repent and be converted.” Remorse says, “I feel bad about what I did, but that’s my weakness, so I’ll probably do it again.” Repentance is not remorse. Regret says, “I feel bad about what I did because I got caught.” Repentance is not regret. Resolve says, “I feel bad about what I did, but I’ll try harder next time.” Repentance is not resolve. Repentance says, “I change my mind about who Jesus is.” Repentance is a return to the Lord, a change of thinking, and a change of direction, which results in a change of heart. If you have been resisting the Spirit’s tug at your heart, change your mind about who you think Jesus Christ is, and give your life to Him. If you have been grieving the Spirit, change direction and deal directly with the sin you know He is speaking to you about. If you have been quenching the Spirit, change direction and pursue Him instead of being apathetic toward Him. And guess what? You will experience times of refreshing upon your life. That’s what happened to David when he finally dealt with the issue of his sin, for you see, David, the broken man who wrote Psalms 38, also wrote Psalms 51. Nathan the prophet came to David and said, “David, we have a problem. Within your kingdom, there’s a rich man who owns many sheep. Wanting to give a visitor leg of lamb, he went to his next-door neighbor’s house. Now, his neighbor was so poor that he had only one little lamb that he treated as a pet. But the rich man took the poor man’s single lamb and fed it to his guest.” “What?” thundered David. “The rich man ripped off the poor man? He shall surely die!” (see 2 Samuel 12). You’ll always know you’re in sin when you’re harsh with other people. Stealing a lamb was not a capital offense, yet David was treating it as such. Whenever a person is in sin, his tendency is to start nailing everyone else because finding fault with others makes us feel a little better about our own sin. Nathan then said, “David, thou art the man. It’s you. The story relates to your sin.” And David repented. After a year of bones aching and skin stinking, after a year of failing to deal with the issue, he changed the direction of his life, and he cried out to God, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned…” (Psa_51:4). Wait a minute. Didn’t David sin against Bathsheba, against Uriah, and against Ahithophel, Bathsheba’s grandfather, who was one of David’s own advisors? What about them? The psalmist rightly declared that he had sinned against God. Sin is always only against God because no matter what we do to someone else, and no matter what someone else does to us, it’s less than what we or they deserve. We’re all sinners and we all deserve to be wiped out, destroyed, and consumed. But God? He is perfect and holy, loving and gracious, patient and kind. He is the only One unfairly hurt by the consequences of our sin. David went on to say, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Then will I teach transgressors thy way (see Psa_51:12-13). I’ve learned my lesson, Father. Restore me.” And God did. Oh, there were still repercussions of his sin, but there was also the restoration of joy. David became a psalm-writer once again, and he experienced the time of refreshing upon his life. So will you, and so will I if today we choose to repent. As we study the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, perhaps you are saying, “I just can’t seem to get filled. I’ve been praying. I’ve been asking. But I can’t get filled.” Perhaps it is because you don’t need to be filled as much as you need to be emptiedof carnality and sin, of rebellion and unbelief. How? By saying, “No more excuses, no more justifying, no more whitewashing, I repent.” Repent, precious people, and you will experience times of refreshing in beauty and in reality.

Acts 3:20

There are those who say “the restitution of all things” spoken of here means that every person will one day be savedincluding demons and even Satan. The problem with that interpretation is that Jesus didn’t teach it. In Mat_25:41, He spoke clearly of sending some into everlasting fire. The word “everlasting” is the Greek word aionios, which is the same word used in Joh_3:16. Therefore, whoever says that the fire in Matthew 25 is not really everlastingthat people will only burn for a while until they’re purged (i.e., purgatory), or until the restitution of all thingsmust also say that the everlasting life God promised in Joh_3:16 is equally transitory. “The restitution of all things” refers not to the condition of the soul, but to the people of Israel. Israel shall be restored (see Romans 9-11). She will one day acknowledge Jesus as Lord because the promises and covenants of the Old Testament toward the Jewish people are unconditional. They will be fulfilled. Perhaps because Karl Marx was himself a Jew, many Jewish young people and intellectuals have been fascinated by and drawn toward Marxism since the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948. Consequently, the kibbutzim were perhaps the purest form of true Marxism on the face of the earth. But since the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union, thousands of Russian Jews have returned to Israel, bringing with them stories about where Communism actually leads. Because of this, the kibbutzim have experienced a whole-scale turning from Communism and a turning toward traditional Judaism. As a result, there is now a massive move by many of the kibbutzniks to explore traditional Judaism once again. In many kibbutzim, the Sabbath and traditional hours of prayer are kept, the Shema is recited, and the Torah is studied. To those who understand Israeli society, this movement is just as remarkable and impacting as the demise of Communism in Russia, or the dismantling of the Berlin Wall in Germany. I personally think this sudden interest in Judaism is preparatory for the Jews to at last recognize their Messiah (Zec_13:9). God is not through with Israel, folksnot by a long shot.

Acts 3:22

A street preacher with an incredible handle on the Word, Peter quotes here from Genesis, Deuteronomy, and I1Samuel to those who had gathered on the porch of the temple. If you want to be used by the Lord, learn the Word. The study of Scripture is a lifelong discipline and an eternal delight. It’s pleasurable. It’s fascinating. It’s stimulating. Take notes. Write in the margins of your Bible. Do whatever it takes to help you remember and become thoroughly familiar with the Scriptures. If you do, not only will your heart be filled and your mind enlightened, but like Peter, you will be used by the Lord time after time.