Acts 3 Times of refreshing

And we shall read the first 19 verses. Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb, was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.

Who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms, and Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God.

And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.

When Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus, whom ye delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you, and kill the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. And his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know.

Yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I want that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Now I would be grateful, and I think you might find it helpful if you had your Bibles open at the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. I wonder why, I wonder why you came into the tabernacle this morning.

I wonder why on a Sunday you come along to church at all. No, I'm not being impertinent, I'm not being impudent. I'm putting a question to you that I think sometimes needs to be asked, because we can all be, can we not, creatures of habit, do things by rote, mechanical fashion.

And church going is something that, again, can just be the routine of our lives. It's our custom to be present at the tabernacle or a similar church on a Sunday morning, so here we are again. I wonder why you came this morning.

Some dear friends of mine very often say, and because they're friends, they're very dear friends, they're not trying to impress me, they're just sharing the secrets of their own heart. And they say, you know, Mr. Sergeant, we love our Sundays. We love our Sundays.

And I gather from the way they develop their little comment that Sunday, around the Word of God and around this table, is so vital to their experience, such an essential part of their life, that they couldn't conceive a week without being amongst God's children and coming around His Word. I like to think of the tabernacle as an oasis in a barren land. The Israelites were pushing their way through Sinai, and that's a very God-forsaken spot, semi-desert scrubland, a very, very hard journey.

But God hadn't forsaken the Israelites, you know, and though the going was rough, at one particular time they were so glad to come to a place called Elim, because at Elim there were twelve wells of water, and there were dozens of palm trees, and there the Israelites were refreshed. They came to Elim, to an oasis, as they were going through a barren area. And may it be the realized prayer of my heart, in your own experience, that this tabernacle, that this local church shall be a veritable oasis, where you will find refreshment and renewal and help.

It's good, I reckon, to come into church on a Sunday morning, and indeed in an evening when possible, because Sunday is a very special day for the Christian. It is equivalent to the Sabbath day of the Old Testament. And this is what I read with regard to the Sabbath in the Old Testament, and it's an amazing passage found in Ezekiel chapter 31, in Exodus 31, where reference is made to God's great program of creation.

And God goes on to speak about the seventh day, and He underlines the significance of the seventh day. He says, It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. On the seventh day God rested and was refreshed.

Why am I saying all this? What's it leading up to? Well, look, we're trying to work our way through a series of studies on the acts of the apostles, and we looked last week into Peter's first sermon, which took place after the events on the day of Pentecost. And now in the third chapter we find Peter bringing another message from the Lord. A congregation has gathered in a very impromptu fashion.

Peter and John, I remind you, were going into the temple. They were going for a period of prayer, and they were accosted by a man who was lame. And this man wanted some money.

Peter had no money, but he said he would try and help him, and so he prayed for him in the name of Jesus, and the cripple was healed. And that was such a staggering thing that naturally a lot of people were interested in the event, and so they gathered round, and here's Peter, presented with a choice opportunity of telling men and women about Jesus, and he exploits that opportunity, tells them that the Lord Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the fulfiller of Old Testament prophecy, and that the Messiah had been put to death by the Jews and by the Romans, and it was necessary that people looked into these things, examined their own hearts, and made themselves right with God. And Peter is really flourishing in the way that he presents the gospel message in a personal fashion, as in the 19th verse he brings things together and he directs it to every individual, and he says, you repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Repent, be converted, and the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And it seems to me as I've been reflecting upon that little phrase, the times of refreshing, that that well enshrines the reason why many of us are here in the church at this moment. We want to be refreshed.

We want to be refreshed on the Sabbath day, for as God relaxed on the seventh day after engaging in His program of creation, so it is obviously beneficial to His creatures that they, too, recognize one day in the week as being special, when together they come into the presence of the Lord and they ask for help, they ask for renewal, they ask to be refreshed. And this is what Peter is promising those who listen to him. If only you respond to the gospel, if only you'll ensure that your sins have been dealt with through the atoning death of the Lord Jesus, then you will know times of refreshing in your own experience.

And here's a visual aid of what he means, that there's a man who's been healed, a man who was a cripple but now he's leaping and dancing, a man who's been renewed, who's been refreshed by the power of God. And Peter says it's those times of refreshing that you spiritually shall know if you respond to the message of redemption. And as I further reflected upon that phrase, times of refreshing, I thought, what an accurate way it describes the occasions when the early Christians are described as coming together within the pages of the Acts of the Apostles.

They join in the name of Jesus before the presence of God and times of refreshing are there for them to enjoy. Read all about Acts 2, read about the church meeting in Acts 4, go on into the book of Acts and you'll find that when these Christians come together in the name of God they're refreshed. And this is why Sunday is so precious to me.

Why Sunday, I pray, is so precious to you because here you can be refreshed and know times of blessing from the hands of God. Let's inquire into this little phrase for a while and I'll try and be as quick as I can. What is denoted by this expression, times of refreshing? Well one shade of meaning from the original is cooling, cooling.

You imagine the labor in the fields in Palestine, he's been about his job for a few hours and now it's midday and you know how hot it gets out there. You can imagine how warm this man is, he's been perspiring in the fields and midday comes and so he has a break. Maybe he goes home, perhaps he goes to some tree and by the shadow of the tree he has a drink and he has a rest.

He's cool, he's refreshed, he relaxes, he has a siesta. I'm not suggesting that you should come into church with the idea of having a siesta, of going to sleep. There is a little ditty that says, by our preacher perplexed, how shall we determine what embraces the text, go to sleep, says the sermon.

Well I trust that we'll be delivered from that, but at least the point that I'm trying to underline is this, that when we come into the church we shall know a time of relaxation, of refreshing from the presence of God. We shall know the cooling of his blessing upon our lives, cooling us in all our frustrations, enabling us to relax and to enjoy him. And then another shade of meaning is renewal.

And the example of the renewal of which Peter is speaking of, Peter now speaking spiritually but the example is a physical one, is this layman who has been quickened, he has been renewed, he's been revitalized. This man has been remade by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life. And does that not adequately describe what happened to the disciples on the day of Pentecost? They were renewed, rejuvenated, invigorated, the power of God in their lives.

It changed them, changed their personalities, it made life worth living, it gave them a purpose, it gave them objectivity. And this is what times of refreshing do when they come from the Lord. They revive, they renew, they cause us to relax and to be able to face all the responsibilities and challenge that life brings to us.

So all this I say is denoted by the expression times of refreshing. There is the thought of cooling, of an ability to rest in the presence of God. There is also the idea of renewal.

Well let me put up another question to this phrase. From where do these refreshing times spring? What is their origin? Well the text answers the question. The times of refreshing shall come from the presence of God.

It is God who blesses his people in such a fashion. Look in the 16th verse Peter is explaining to the congregation that has gathered what happened in the experience of the cripple who is now walking. It was no magical power on the part of Peter and his colleague John.

It was not just pure psychology, it was an auto-suggestion that brought about this phenomenon. No, says Peter, this man through faith in Jesus Christ he has been made strong. The blessing came from the Lord Jesus and he is always the origin of spiritual blessings which he pours down upon his church.

Peter tells us and indeed we can work it out ourselves from the Acts of the Apostles that when the Lord Jesus returned to his position in heaven at his father's right hand side he pours down the blessing of his spirit upon his church. And I say every blessing comes from God that is the source of all spiritual renewal. The prayer meeting last Monday we were reading together a psalm and in the psalm we came across the words that the Lord commands the blessing.

The Lord commands the blessing. Another psalm tells us that in the presence of God there is joy and at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Listen to a wonderful verse from Ezekiel chapter 34 the 26th verse.

Hear God speaking as to what he will do for his people says, I will cause the shower to come down in his season. There shall be showers of blessing. Those phrases are synonymous.

Showers of blessing and times of refreshing. They come from the hands of God. Now what did the early Christians need more than anything else? They needed to be refreshed.

It's very difficult for us to throw ourselves back into the first century and imagine what conditions must have been like for the disciples. Just a handful of men really, 120 odd on the day of Pentecost and then there were the new recruits after Peter's sermon of 3,000 and more. But nonetheless comparatively speaking a small community of people relative to the population of Palestine and they were to take on not only the Jews but also the Romans as they told forth the glorious message of salvation.

They got everything against them. What was imperative for them to experience? What did they need so that they could be successful in discharging their obligation? My friend they desperately needed times of refreshing. They needed God to command the blessing.

Here's Peter and John on trial before the Sanhedrin. We'll read about it later on in our series. And how are they going to answer these justices in Jerusalem as to what they have been doing? These are not men, Peter and John, who are trained in the niceties of Jewish law.

But God commands the blessing and he gives them the words to speak. God fills them with his spirit when they are faced with a critical situation. And when the church comes together and they hear of the release of these disciples what do they do? Well the whole church is caught up in praise to the Lord, in a crescendo of praise as God refreshes the people as they join together to bless his name for all that he has done on their behalf.

The Apostle Paul writing to the church at Rome and he's anticipating his visit, looking forward to joining them. He's never been to Rome, he's never met the Christians there, but in the fifteenth chapter and towards the end he expects the situation. He lives it through in his mind as to what will happen when he arrives at the capital of the empire.

And he says, I may come unto you with joy by the will of God and may with you be refreshed. There is a need, I say, for us today to know refreshing from the hands of God. To know these times of blessing and they come from the Lord.

He is the origin. He is the source of all spiritual blessings. Well let me put up another question and try and work out the answer from the context surrounding this phrase in the chapter.

What effects do these times of refreshing have? Well what effect did they have in the experience of this once lame man? What effect did they have in the combined experience of the emerging New Testament church? Well what would you say about this cripple? Well let's fix our attention on him for a moment. How would you describe him now as opposed to what he used to be? You'd say that he got a new lease of life. And this is one of the byproducts of the blessing of God upon the soul of the Christian life.

This man is jumping around in the temple. He's praising God, almost doing somersaults, he's so happy that God has met him at the point of his need. I can imagine some Jewish rabbi coming up and saying, brother you don't do things like that here, you're not behaving properly.

He was behaving properly. He was showing to God the gratitude that was in his own heart as in an exuberant fashion he praises the Lord. I say the contrast between this man now and what he was is underlined in that one word life.

He's received new life. And this is clearly what happened on the day of Pentecost and in subsequent experiences that the early disciples had. They had new life granted to them in and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And there was joy in their experience, says Peter. There was joy unspeakable and full of glory. These Christians, they were excited because God was with them.

God was pouring his spirit out upon them. They were knowing times of refreshing and I say that one of the characteristics of those times is life. What's another characteristic? Well how about the word power? I mean this lame man's got power now.

He's been healed before he was immobilized. Now he can move. He can walk around.

He can run. He can dance. He can jump.

He has power. And the early church was a community of people which had power, a power which came from the Lord. A power which you and I are to know because this is part of our legacy, because we're Christian people.

We are to know it in the 20th century for it is for us to enjoy times of refreshing. And one, as I say, prays to the Lord each Sunday and indeed whenever during the week that we meet together that we shall have these moments of real blessing, these times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. It's not enough for us to be in a theological deep freeze.

Some of us need to be unfrozen I think. A.W. Tozer has a lovely quote which I came across the other day reading his book Born After Midnight. He was really contrasting the experience of so many and the attitude of so many today over against that of the early church and what these early disciples knew.

And he says this, in spite of the undeniable lukewarmness of many of us today, we still fear that unless we keep a careful check on ourselves we shall soon lose our dignity and become howling fanatics by this time next week. We set a watch on our emotions night and day lest we become over spiritual and bring reproach to the name of Christ, which all, if I may say so, is for the most of us as sensible as throwing a police cordon around a cemetery to prevent a wild political demonstration by the inhabitants. Well he expresses the point forcefully, doesn't he? And I think he's got something that needs to be reflected upon in these days.

When times of refreshing come they have an effect and those effects are expressed in terms of life and of power. Well let me put my last question to my phrase for this morning's meditation. How are these times of refreshing obtained? Well essentially of course they're in the hands of God.

He is the one, as we've already worked out, who bestows blessings upon his people. He is the one who gives the increase, who supplies refreshment. He is the one who furnishes the table in the wilderness.

But we have reason to suppose from the word of God that he's not reluctant to do this. The catering department of heaven never runs out of provisions. God is always ready to meet with his people.

And I tell you it would be a travesty if on a Sunday morning or a Sunday evening we were to come together and not experience a time of refreshing. Our meeting would have been in vain. But I say that God is prepared to spread the table for us, prepared to refresh us.

But there does seem to be some responsibility within my text on the part of those who are going to receive these blessings from the Lord. Let me read to you the Living Bibles version of this 19th verse. Now change your mind and attitude to God and turn to him so that he can cleanse your sins and send you wonderful times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

Change your mind and attitude and turn to him. My friend, you may tell me that your soul is very barren. It's as hard as ground that hasn't known water for a long time.

Maybe the reason for your barrenness is that you haven't implemented some of the principles enshrined within this text and that could be gathered from the rest of Scripture that speaks along this line. There is a necessity for you and for me to cultivate that holy walk with God. This is a prerequisite for knowing times of blessing.

If my people will humble themselves, if they will turn from their wicked ways, if they will seek my face, then we have the promise of God that he will come and minister to us. I will pour water on him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground. God was not just speaking of Palestine as a geographical place.

He was speaking of the hearts of the Jews. He's speaking today about your heart and my heart. I will pour water on him that is thirsty.

So there must be a concern to live a life that is compatible with that of Jesus Christ. There must be a desire within your heart to know blessing from God. If any man thirsts, let him come unto Jesus Christ and drink.

Oh everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. Come ye that have no money and buy. Here is God giving an invitation to each of us to know these moments of refreshing in our lives.

Listen to the Savior as he catalogs the Beatitudes. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Did our Savior ever lie when he was on earth? Have his promises been rescinded? Then why can we not cash them in Sunday by Sunday? My question is rhetorical because I believe for the vast majority of us here we are cashing in these promises.

We are knowing these times of refreshing, but we want to know more and more. We want on a Sabbath day to rest and relax and be refreshed as Scripture tells us, and I can't explain what it means when it does refer this to God, that on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. What was good for our Creator is good for his created beings.

Times of refreshing from the hands of God. This is what the early church required. This is what she received.

May you love your Sundays because on a Sunday as we gather together around God's Word, he speaks to our heart. He puts everything into perspective. Those things that have caused us pain and injury and almost caused us to despair during the week, they don't seem to matter anymore because God is there breaking up the dry ground as he pours out his blessing upon us, reassuring us that we are his children.

He's got a plan. He's got a purpose for each one of us. His arms are beneath us.

He's going on before. He has something for you and for me to do. Times of refreshing.

Oh, God, in your infinite grace, from the depths of your loving heart, may these people here and not excluding the preacher know more and more of those showers of blessing, of those times of refreshing. Every time we come into this tabernacle, there shall be showers of blessing. This is the promise of God.

There shall be seasons refreshing if we but trust in his word. Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need. Mercy drops round as a falling, but for the showers we plead.

Amen. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, the friendship and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be our experience now and until our Savior calls or returns for his church. Amen.