“The Spirit Speaks” – Acts 3:11-26

Do you remember many years ago a television ad campaign for a particular financial investment firm? Two people would be talking in a crowded place with a lot of ambient noise. The first one would say what he or she had been doing regarding investments. Then the first person would ask the second about what he or she was doing. The second would say, “My financial advisor is” and would then say the name of the firm. As soon as the advisor’s name was mentioned, all noise would come to a halt, and all ears would be turned to the second person. The tag line for the ad was, “When our firm talks, people listen.”

It was an interesting ad, and a lot of comics had fun with it. The point of the message was that the advice given was so sound and so good, that everyone wanted to hear what they had to say.

There aren’t too many people or things that are worth listening to today. But there is one who deserves our undivided attention. When the Holy Spirit speaks, it pays to listen.

Background

In today’s passage, Peter and John have gone to the Temple. As they approach, they come upon a lame beggar. The man has been lame for life, and he is sort of a fixture at the place. The man calls out to Peter and John for money. Peter and John both look at the man, and Peter says, “Look at us.” The man turns to them, expecting a hand out or something. Instead, Peter says, “Silver and gold I do not have, but I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Peter then reaches down, takes the lame man by the hand and helps him up. The Bible says that as soon as the man stood, “instantly his feet and ankles became strong.” The Bible then says the man began to walk with Peter and John, and as they entered the Temple area, the man was not only walking, he was jumping and praising God.

Inevitably, it drew attention. Those who saw the man recognized him as the long-time beggar unable to walk. They became “filled with wonder and amazement.” As the crowd gathered, Peter saw the opportunity to speak to them about Jesus, and the Spirit once again took a simple sermon and turned it into a powerful message.

Central Truth: The Holy Spirit speaks a simple truth with conviction.

The Spirit’s message includes:

The reality (11-16)

People were running to see what the commotion was about. They recognized the man who had been lame, and they knew something astonishing had taken place. But they didn’t know what had happened or how it had happened. Taking advantage of the situation, the Holy Spirit led Peter to begin to speak to the crowd.

The first element of the Spirit’s message was to draw attention away from Peter and John and toward Jesus. I love Peter’s first words: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you?” It’s as if the apostle is saying, “This is nothing new. It’s been done before, and you all remember when it was being done, not just a few months ago. You saw it happen more than once, so why are you surprised now?”

The second question is more pointed. “Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” The natural tendency for people is to take credit, but Peter and John were having nothing of that. This miracle was not of their doing. They were instruments through which Jesus had performed His healing ministry on this man. And the Spirit leads Peter to stress the significance of Jesus to the crowd.

What I find interesting about Peter’s words is that it strongly reflects the same words of his Pentecostal message. There, he reminded them that they had turned against Jesus, that they had betrayed Him and caused Him to be crucified. Here, Peter addresses the Jewish faith of the crowd and refers to God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers. Peter points out that this same God—the one they worship and acknowledge as Lord of their lives—has glorified Jesus. The Spirit, speaking through Peter, reminds them how they responded to the Son of God in their midst. They handed Him over to be killed, disowned Him before Pilate, and demanding a murderer be set free instead.

Peter then begins to change the tone of the message, when he says, “You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.” He then goes on to tell the crowd that this same Jesus whom they had disowned and condemned is the same one who brought healing to the lame man. Peter summarizes this part of the sermon with, “It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.”

The Spirit cuts right to the chase has He gives the words to Peter. Reminding the people of what they had done to Jesus, and reminding them Who Jesus is, the apostle wraps up with the affirmation that Jesus is still working in our world, and that His power and faith brought the healing they all knew had happened.

The Spirit did not want to spare feelings. He isn’t concerned about what is or isn’t socially correct. People need to be confronted by their sins in such a way that they cannot deny them. Having pointed out the sin, the Spirit then points to Jesus and the need for faith in Him for healing.

This is the reality of the Spirit’s message, and it rings true today.

The hope (17-23)

If we tell people only that they have sinned and let them know the penalty of sin, then we come across as callous and uncaring. We appear to be judgmental, haughty and severe. But Jesus wasn’t like that, and neither is the Holy Spirit. Having confronted the crowd with their sin and the need for faith in Jesus, the Spirit then offers the crowd hope in overcoming sin.

Peter tells them that he knows they acted out of ignorance. Not just the crowd, but their leaders as well. That’s not to say ignorance is an excuse or bliss or anything else. They still were guilty of sin. But there is hope. The Spirit tells Peter to let them know that Jesus’ suffering was always part of God’s plan for Jesus and for us. Peter’s central point of this part is found in vs. 19-20: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.”

The message of hope is that the crowd may have rejected Jesus—they may have disowned Him and turned away from Him. The hope, though, is that it’s not too late to turn from that rejection. Instead, return to God through Jesus and find refreshing cleansing from our sins.

The same message of the Spirit to the crowd applies to us today. Each one of us, when we first sinned, helped nail Jesus to that cross. Each one of us condemned Him and disowned Him. We each spurned the truth about Jesus and turned to our own desires and remedies. As we lived a life of sin, we found ourselves becoming covered in its filth and muck. But when we turn to Jesus, when we seek His forgiveness, when we receive Him by faith, then something marvelous happens. Our sins are washed away, and we are refreshed and renewed. Our outlook changes and we begin to see the world through new eyes. As the Spirit takes hold of our lives, He begins to transform us, making us a new creation and leading us more and more each day toward the will of God in all its glory and wonder and peace.

Even for those who turn from Jesus, there is hope if we come back to Him. The Spirit tells us so. But, there is also condemnation for those who do not listen to the Spirit. “Anyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among His people.”

The promise (24-26)

Peter wraps up his short sermon with the reminder that Jesus has been the subject of all the prophets, from Samuel on down. A few verses earlier, Peter reminds them that Moses even spoke of Jesus. Through this rich history of prophecy about Jesus, the wonder is that it has now come to pass, and those who are there at the Temple listening to Peter are the beneficiaries of that prophecy fulfilled. Peter tells them, “You are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers,” and he ends it with, “When God raised up His servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

The promise of this passage is that God has not rejected those who had turned away from Jesus, who had disowned Him only a few weeks ago. Rather than turn His back on those who had betrayed Jesus, God offers Him to them if they will only believe. If they will come to Jesus, God will turn them from their wicked ways and make them into something so much better. They can become no longer the children of Abraham, but the children of God.

For as long as Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, there is always hope and the promise of forgiveness if we will turn from our wicked ways and turn to Him in faith.

Conclusion

“When the Spirit talks, people listen.” Sadly, that’s not always true. The Spirit of God continues to speak in our world, but His voice seemed so often to be drowned out by the world’s desires and ways. Yet, when a person listens to the voice of God through the Spirit, they find themselves transformed into a new person with a new hope and a new desire to be pleasing to God.

You know what I’m talking about. You know how the Spirit speaks to us, even today. The still small voice that tells us the way, shows us the truth and gives us the life that is all found in Jesus Christ.

Are we listening?