Several years ago, the Lord gave me a message to preach based on Acts 3:1-8. That text concerns a man that was born lame – his physical condition restricted his mobility. As we read on in the Scripture, we learn that every day others carried this crippled to the gate of the temple. Daily, the man sat at this gate, which was called Beautiful, and begged for money from those on their way into the temple. Furthermore, the Scripture tells us that as Peter and John were about to enter the temple the lame man gave them his undivided attention. As the account progresses, we learn Peter commanded the man, in the name of Jesus, to stand up and walk. Peter then lifted the lame man up by the right hand. Supernaturally, the man’s feet and ankles became strong and the man stood for the first time in his life. Upon receiving his healing, the man praised God and went into the temple with Peter and John. Regarding the above account, many people focus on different facets of it. But one aspect of the story that God opened my eyes to was the location where all this took place. Scripture says, that this incident occurred at “the gate called Beautiful.” This is what the Spirit of God brought to my attention, so I did some research about this gate. While scholars differ about exactly which gate this was – there is general agreement that this particular gate was large and splendid. It was a magnificent, eye-catching, extraordinarily impressive to look at, particularly because of its size and because it was made of Corinthian brass, which was a very valuable metal (Josephus, Jewish Wars, book 5, chapter 5, section 3). What I want to emphasize here is that those going to the court of the temple for the purpose of praying, worshiping, praising, and perhaps even to participate in the sacrifice of the temple-service had to enter thru the gate called Beautiful. It was at this stunning, striking, massive gate that in order to survive, the lame man sat daily in total dependence upon the compassion and generosity of those on their way to worship God. Now for the blunt comment to wrap this up: To me the scene in Acts 3:1-8 is a word-picture of the impotence of, not only the church of that day, but also of ours. The Acts 3:1-8 scenarios speaks to me of the splendid, huge, attention grabbing and ridiculously costly church facilities that we have. And as was the case in Acts 3:1-8, on our way to enter His courts with praise, we often pass right by the helpless sitting near the doors (the gates that can be called Beautiful) of our religious edifices. Yes, on our way to worship, praise, and glorify God, we pass impotently by those that are lame and broken - not only in body, but in spirit and in heart –desperate souls in dire need of much more than a handout from people on their way to church! As I looked at Acts 3:1-8, I saw a heartbreaking portrait – not so much of a lame man – but of a lame church! A church that looks stunning to the human eye in terms of its eye-candy appeal. A church that lacks little in terms of breathtaking architecture and high tech gadgets that provide an accommodating, comfortable, convenient and sophisticated atmosphere for all that have passed by the desperate and humbled specimen of a human being sitting outside the gate called Beautiful before entering His courts to offer Him praise. There is another aspect of Acts 3:1-8 that filled my heart with repentance. It is when the Lord said to me, Son, you and others “pass thru” the gate called Beautiful into My courts to experience My power and glory on that side of the gate called Beautiful. But what is needed is for you and others to demonstrate of My power and glory outside the gate called Beautiful - on the beggar’s side of that gate! Please believe me when I say that I do NOT stand in judgment of any ministry or any church because they have a huge and expensive church building. I do not think there is anything inherently wrong with gigantic, beautiful, expensive and modernly equipment church facilities. However, there is a problem when that is all that they are! And that is what they become when we fail to take the power and glory of God and release it – demonstrate it –outside the gate called Beautiful! It is a Kingdom imperative, a Kingdom mandate that we minister outside the gate called Beautiful where there the downtrodden wait for a child of God to come by and declare “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. The desperate of this world are waiting for us to stretch out our right hand and lift them up off the potholed road of life so that they too can stand, leap, and worship God and accompany us thru the gate called Beautiful into His courts with praise! Now, finally let me proclaim this: During the Elevated Place Summit, we are going to experience the power and glory of God. In our midst, there will be those filled with His Spirit and set afire for Him. These will receive an enlarged heart that will have the newfound capacity to absorb the outpouring of God’s love and life. Those touched by this holy fire – will receive their commission and from that time forth, militantly take what they freely received and freely give it to the lame people they encounter sitting outside the gate called Beautiful! Praise the Living, loving, redeeming God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 01:40:22 +0000