Give Them What You Got
Read the Text: Acts 3
Memorize the Text: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)
Consider the Text: Acts 3:6
People in the world long for someone or something bigger than themselves. They seek various avenues to find purpose and meaning in life. In Acts 3, a lame man sought compassion and help from anyone who passed by him. As he sat at the gate called Beautiful, he desired that love and mercy would be extended to him. When he asked Peter for help, Peter could offer nothing but the greatest gift, healing.
Peter knew the gospel was MORE IMPORTANT than worldly wealth. The lame man desired gold or silver to meet his physical needs. These needs may have included items like food or water. Though these items are needed for survival, Peter knew that a more significant condition existed. Peter understood the message of the gospel as eternally impactful. Peter knew that the gospel alone would meet the spiritual need and provide hope. Let’s not miss the physical healing, either. The man’s physical healing served as an example of Peter dealing with the physical to get to the spiritual element.
As followers of Christ, we face various forms of people in need. We see poverty run rampant worldwide and people desperate for clean water. Meeting these physical needs should be part of our walk with Christ, but they must be secondary to the importance of proclaiming the gospel. Meeting physical needs often opens the door for the spiritual conversation of the gospel, but we must not lose focus on the gospel in pursuit of meeting worldly needs.
Peter gave of what he HAD EXPERIENCED in Christ. Peter received salvation through a faith-based relationship with Jesus. This relationship provided Peter with the gift of eternal life. This experience formed a base for Peter to extend the gift of eternal life to the lame man. Peter knew he did not have the material wealth that man sought, but he did know that he could offer redemption because of his experience with Jesus.
When we follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we gain the experience with Jesus that forms the greatest gift we could extend. This gift is the message of the gospel and the offering of eternal life through a relationship with Jesus. Our experience with Jesus sets the stage to be able to give what we have experienced. The critical truth remains that to share Jesus’ impact on your life authentically; then you must have a personal relationship with him.
Peter used this moment as a TESTIMONY of the greatness of God. Later in Acts 3, we find that the crowds flock to Peter to hear the message of the gospel. They came because of the work Peter did in the life of the lame man. They came with a desire to hear and willfulness to listen. They wanted what the man experienced. As a result, Peter used the moment to share the testimony of the greatness of God and the gift of eternal life. Peter could declare the work of the Lord because of his experience with the Lord.
As followers of Christ, we have a God story. We can share the truth of what God has done and is doing in our lives. The focus never turns to what we accomplish; instead, our declaration should concern the goodness of Christ alone. When we focus on Jesus and his work, we proclaim the available gift for others to receive and support the argument by witnessing about a personal experience with Jesus.
We may not hold the cure to every disease known and unknown to humanity. We may not have the solutions to resolve issues of poverty and famine. But, as believers, we hold something far more critical, the gospel. We are called to give the world what we got and what we have is the message of salvation that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. So a quick question, are you giving them what you got?
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
