No Silver, No Gold - The Book of Acts

In this Bible Story, Peter and John boldly heal a man who had been lame since birth. People are astonished, but Peter assures them that they did not heal from their own strength, but from the Spirit of Jesus. This story is inspired by Acts 3:2-4:31. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Acts 3:6 from the King James Version.

Episode 218: In front of the gate called beautiful lay a beggar who would not use his legs. As he lay there receiving coins from those who passed by, Peter knelt beside him to give him a gift. The gift Peter was giving to him was not one of silver or gold but of healing. He picked the man up by his hand and proclaimed healing in the name of Jesus. Both the man and the crowd were in high spirits after that. And Peter, being filled with The Holy Spirit, preached to the crowd again…and many more came to be saved. But as five thousand men and women proclaimed allegiance to Jesus, the priests and sadducees were once again riled to anger.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none, But
such as I have I give thee in the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Rise up and walk Acts
three six. Dear Lord, as I meditate on to day's
reading and Acts three to four, I will bring my

(00:24):
attention to Peter and John and the lay man outside
the gate called beautiful. As I look through the story,
I thank you that you are giving me the ability
to give to people what they truly need, and not
the needs on the surface level. Because I am a
change agent. What you give to me to give to

(00:47):
your children will meet the deepest need of their heart
in the same way that man received healing. I praise
your Holy Spirit that through my life you will use
me as a conduit to bring healing and restoration to
your children who are waiting just outside of a beautiful life.

(01:10):
When I am questioned and asked by what authority do
I operate in, I will boldly declare that by the
finished works of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary,
I have all rights and authority to speak life, to
live life, and to breathe new life into God's children.

(01:31):
Thank you, Holy Spirit, that your authority is in my
life and is evident in the miracles that surround my
purpose and destiny in Jesus name.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Amen, Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life.
To hear the Bible come to life. Stay tuned for
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in a Year dot.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
Com, No silver, no gold.

Speaker 4 (02:08):
In our last story, the Holy Spirit descended on the
disciples like a whirlwind. The strength and authority of Jesus
was poured out on the disciples as they proclaimed the
glory of Christ. Thousands were added to the church that day,
and the movement of Christ's family began. Now we see
glimpses of Jesus in the way Peter and John teach

(02:30):
and heal the people around them. Seeing that the disciples
were becoming more like Jesus every day, the priests and
elders feared that they would have another problem on their hands.
Inspired by the Book of Acts.

Speaker 5 (02:46):
Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
in a Year podcast. But before we began, I want
to let you know about a unique ebook that's yours
to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from
Stress and my prayer is that it will help you
conquer the daily task and pressures and burdens that bring

(03:06):
stress in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking
Free from Stress today by visiting Jack Graham dot org
slash stress. That's Jack Graham dot org slash stress. In
our last episode, we heard how the Disciples and others
were given the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

(03:26):
As they gathered in the temple with Jews from all
over the world, a rushing wind came and tongues of
fire descended upon them. These are symbols of the power
and the presence of the Holy Spirit. They began to
speak God's truth in other languages so that the people
could understand the gospel. Peter then spoke to the crowd
and delivered a message that cut to people's hearts, and

(03:48):
over three thousand repented of their sin and received Christ
that day, and the Church was birthed. Today we'll hear
as Peter and John began to boldly, courageously carry out
the mission of gen Jesus, preaching and healing with wisdom
and power that clearly was not of themselves, but was
in the power of the Resurrection, the power of Jesus himself.

(04:10):
They will soon face opposition for their message that threatens
the power of the religious elite, just as it happened
to Jesus. So let's listen now to today's reading from
God's Word.

Speaker 4 (04:23):
The lame beggar watched as dozens of people passed by
him to enter into the synagogue. It was the hour
of prayer, and many devoted men and women entered into
the House of God to pray and seek him. It
was a fruitful time for the lame beggar. He would
lay beside the gate called beautiful and ask for spare coins.

(04:43):
Since people felt charitable before praying, he would often make
most of his money in that time. The man raised
his cup and shook it, waiting for coins to trickle in.
The lame man saw two men walking side by side
into the gate. Spare some coin for a poor lame man,
he asked. The two men looked at him. The taller

(05:04):
and older one knelt down and looked him deeply in
the eye. He smiled and held out his hands. Gold
and silver. I do not have, he said, but what
I have I can give to you in the name
of Jesus Christ. Get up and walk, then All of
a sudden, the lame man felt a warm sensation travel

(05:25):
from his toes up his spine. He looked down to
his feet and moved them. His eyes began to water
with tears, and he rose to his feet. He hugged
at the two men. They were none other than John
and Peter. The people stopped to stare at the man
who was jumping up and down. They knew him to
be the lame beggar and were astonished to see him

(05:47):
leaping in front of the gate. Dozens of people gathered
to see so Peter and John took the opportunity to
share with them the power and the story of Jesus.
Since the man was lame from birth, he clung to
Peter and John for balance. Peter then spoke to the
whole crowd, saying, do not look at us as if
we are the ones who made him walk. Look at us,

(06:08):
we are not special. It is Jesus who performs these deeds.
The one whom you all allowed to be crucified is
the one who works these mighty things. Peter declared the
gospel to the crowds. He spoke of repentance, forgiveness and purpose.
Many more people were added to the family of God
that day, including the lame beggar, who now walked with

(06:31):
purpose under the will of God.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
As they were.

Speaker 4 (06:34):
Speaking, an old enemy emerged from the synagogue doors. The priests,
the captain of the Guard, and the Sadducees walked out
to see a large group of people surrounding Peter and John.
Their stomachs dropped as they watched five thousand men and
women declare faith in the resurrected Jesus, the Jesus they killed.

(06:55):
The next day, Peter and John were preaching again in
the city streets. Caiaphas, the High Priest, came with his
guard and yelled, by what power or authority do you
do these things? The high priest was livid since Peter
and John had been healing and preaching among the people. Peter,
filled with the Holy Spirit, stepped down and walked to
the priests and his guards. Are we being threatened because

(07:18):
we have done good deeds? Peter asked, I want it
to be perfectly clear. I do these things with the
authority of Jesus, the one you crucified. He is the
cornerstone by which we build our lives. There is no
one else we look to for salvation. Peter did not flinch.
He spoke with boldness. Caiaphas had seen this boldness before

(07:40):
in Jesus. It sent chills down his spine. Out of fear,
they asked them to leave the temple streets and not
to speak the name of Jesus. Of course they refused,
but the priests could not do anything, for the masses
were in love with the disciples.

Speaker 5 (07:59):
In our scripture today we find a man sitting in
the gate near the entrance of the temple. The gate
was called beautiful, but for this crippled man, life was
anything but beautiful. He could not provide for his own needs,
and he was surely considered cursed by those around him.
All he could do was beg for spare change and
hope for generous strangers to give him a coin or two.

(08:21):
So as Peter and John passed by, he looked at them,
hoping they would take pity on him and give him something.
These men are now walking in the power of Jesus Christ,
filled with the spirit. Peter and John looked upon this
man with love and compassion. They were like Jesus. They
were full of Jesus, and Peter and John knew that

(08:43):
this man needed more than physical healing, he needed spiritual healing.
Peter looked at him with kindness, but rather than drop
just a few coins in the beggar's cup, he healed
the man in the name of Jesus Christ. This man
is now on his feet, walking and praising God. Can
you imagine the joy of experiencing the power of Christ

(09:06):
and the healing of his body. Of course, this would
cause quite a scene those nearby who had seen the man,
probably many times unable to walk, and now he was
jumping around and smiling and praising God. He's talking about
Jesus and what Jesus had done for him. Peter and
John knew this was an opportunity to share a much

(09:28):
deeper healing, so they began to share the good news.
These two fishermen were not trained speakers, and they were
certainly not scholars, but God was in them. The Holy
Spirit was filling them, and the Lord gave them the
words to say, Just as Peter had done on the
day of Pentecost. He began to tell everyone of the

(09:48):
love of Jesus and how Jesus was sent by God.
And even though people rejected him, his own people rejected
him and sent him to a cross. That Christ rose again.
And now the the resurrection power of Christ was alive
in them and available to all who would trust in Christ.
He called them to repentance, to turn from their sins

(10:09):
and receive the grace of God. His words were clear
and compelling and courageous, and once more they were convicting.
They cut to the heart. Five thousand more souls were
saved that day, and the church continued to grow with explosive,
multiplying growth. Of course, the religious leaders hated this. They

(10:31):
imagined that Jesus' followers would just fade away with time,
But now the opposite is happening. So they had Peter
and John arrested and brought them before the Council of
Priests and Scribes the next day. They tried to intimidate
these two men, these two disciples. But these men were
full of God, and they were full of boldness and courage.

(10:52):
Peter and John, even under custody of the officials, did
not stop preaching the gospel of Christ. They knew the
power of Jesus was in them, and so they fearlessly
carried out the mission of our Lord. The religious leaders
had no basis to keep them confined. After all, they
had simply done a good deed and healed a lame man,

(11:14):
and still they warned them to stop preaching. And I
just absolutely love Peter and John's response given to us
in Acts four, verses nineteen and twenty. Listen to these words.
Whether it is right in the sight of God to
listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,
for we cannot but speak of what we have seen

(11:36):
and heard. In other words, we're going to obey God
and not you. We are compelled to keep speaking about Jesus.
We should pray for that same boldness today as we
share the Gospel with others. We cannot help but speak
of what Christ has done for us, And if we
have experienced the love and grace of Jesus, we are

(11:58):
compelled to tell others. Just like Peter and John and
so many others. We don't need to be eloquent or
educated to share the good news of Christ. We need
to be prepared and know the gospel, but then really
simply to be willing and obedient and trust God that
in the power of the Holy Spirit, He would change
lives through our bold witness. Dear God, we thank you

(12:22):
for the courageous example of Peter and John. Help us
to look for opportunities to see people all around us
who need the hope and help that is in Jesus Christ.
May we boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ
with the people we meet in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank
you for listening to today's Bible in of Year podcast.

(12:44):
Before we go, I want to let you know about
a unique ebook that's yours to download absolutely free today.
It's called Breaking Free from Stress, and my prayer is
that it will help you conquer the daily task and
pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by

(13:05):
visiting Jaggraam dot org slash stress. That's Jagraham dot org
slash stress.