Worship

“I Speak Jesus” by Charity Gayle, featuring Steven Musso

Scripture

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 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. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

“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.’ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.When all the people saw him walking and praising God,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.” -Acts 3:1-10, emphasis added

The Kingdom Colliding with Earth

What a perfect illustration of Easter for us this week! May this devotional stir wonder and hunger in you for this life in Christ who lives in you! (Forgive me if this one is a little longer.)

This is one Scripture segment I could write 100 passionate pages on because it is packed with so much! It’s a picture of the collision of the Kingdom of Heaven coming to Earth. It’s a picture of ordinary men filled with the extraordinary power of Christ who lived in them. It’s a call to the Church to believe in the power of Christ, to see people in their crippled state, and to call them out of darkness and into God’s glorious light! This is one of the greatest passages I love to train my teams on as we declare Jesus to the villages we are about ready to walk into because His resurrection power goes ahead of us and fills us to the fullness of Christ who fills everything in every way (Ephesians 1:23)! No limits. There’s no favoritism for a more “super Christian” versus a baby in the faith—His power is available to the surrendered. Oh, the marvelous power of the name of Jesus! Oh, the life of Christ made manifest through His people!

Modern-Day Miracles

I have to share a quick story from my trip to South Asia last week. I sat with a group of women and shared the gospel. Hungry they came. The majority gave their lives to Jesus, which was the greatest miracle of all! My translator said to me, “Now we must pray for healing. Many are in pain and very sick.” One by one they came, and God touched them in a significant way! But this one little crippled lady came up, completely bent over, using her stick to walk. Her torso was parallel to the ground; that is how crippled she was. I simply asked the Holy Spirit to come and said, “In the name of Jesus, back straighten.” The woman took a deep breath, and straight up she stood. You can see her in the picture. She left her stick by the tree! There is power in the name of Jesus! To God be the glory! (Mind you, I was exhausted, dehydrated, and weak in my own humanity. But not Jesus! He was ready to show His love and goodness to these women.)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” -Isaiah 61:1-3

The Miracle at the Beautiful Gate

Peter and John set out two by two, passing the crippled beggar so many times before I would presume since he had been set there for many years. I wonder if Jesus even passed by him several times, knowing that assignment was for Peter and John. They finally see the one and call him to his feet. He didn’t just stand up! He jumped to his feet—walking, jumping, and praising God! A crippled man since birth who would have zero muscle memory for walking and jumping. His brain synapses were immediately given to him right there in a moment. His bones and muscles and ligaments and tendons were strong enough to leap and walk! He even had new lung capacity and a strengthening of his heart muscle for such activity. And now he had a new song in his mouth of praise to God!

And everyone stood in wonder and amazement!

A Call to the Church Today

Church, there are crippled beggars waiting for you to bring Jesus to them! You pass thousands every day, even though they might look polished and strong on the outside. But they are desperate for the name of Jesus to bring them life and healing and deliverance and eternity! There is victory in the name of Jesus for every crippled beggar we pass, but Jesus waits for us to see them and open our mouths.

“My fear is not that our great movement, known as the Methodists, will eventually cease to exist or one day die from the earth. My fear is that our people will become content to live without the fire, the power, the excitement, the supernatural element that makes us great.” -John Wesley

I pray I will spend my life, till Jesus takes me home, declaring the name of Jesus to those sitting at beautiful gates everywhere, just waiting to encounter Jesus. This passage is one of the greatest Easter messages of all time because we see firsthand the power of the cross, resurrection, and ascension in the life of two ordinary men who were filled with the power of the Spirit.

Peter could have sat in a life of shame and regret, even after Jesus forgave and reinstated him. He had to accept forgiveness and step into his identity and calling. It was a choice. Either Jesus had the last word or the enemy did. (We get to decide when we sit in shame and regret, unable to accept His forgiveness.) No one made him see the crippled beggar, respond with compassion and authority, declare the name, or touch the man. No one made him speak to crowds or religious people about the truest gospel of good news. He had to receive what Jesus gave him and move in it! He had to step into what was given so that the destiny and call on his life would find its fulfillment.

Will you step into what was given to you because of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus? Would you leave your old life behind and fix your vision on Jesus? He has so much more ahead for you.

Jesus prophesied to Peter before his failure, “‘Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:31-32).’”

Jesus knew failure and regret was coming for Peter. But Peter would turn back to Jesus, and his testimony would strengthen those in the Lord!

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” -1 Peter 1:3-9

Church, this is our greatest week of celebration in His story! It’s what this passage of Scripture is founded on. All of what Christ paid for you in His suffering so you could be the righteousness of Christ, filled with the power of the Spirit, and called to raise crippled beggars to their feet is made possible by the cross, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus! It’s time to once again leap and praise God and put the past behind you! The trials you are facing are painful, but they are sanctifying you to become more like Jesus! The world needs Christ followers to boldly go forth in the power of the Spirit—even if we go forward with a limp!

I will hang my hat on the conviction that Jesus is coming soon. I want to be found with oil in my lamp, keeping the faith and finishing my race well. The world needs the Church to stand to her feet and see people and bring them the name of Jesus. It’s not only our commission; it’s our spiritual and eternal legacy we leave the Earth with! Whatever is hindering you, throw it off and receive the forgiveness, deliverance, and healing of Jesus. Time is short, and crippled beggars sitting at beautiful gates are waiting for you!

A Few Key Notes

• Join us for Training the Bride to War! This study will equip the Bride of Christ for this hour and train her hands to war. Sign up for this six-week study beginning April 2. Register here.
• We are hosting an Arise Missions Conference for women pastors, mission leaders, and women who want to begin a mission movement in their churches to mobilize and equip women to find their calling and role in the Great Commission. Join us on April 9 as we seek to build your faith and answer the why and how of missions. Register now!
• Come take the gospel to the nations with Arise. View our open teams and apply for one today!