Read Acts 3:6-10 & 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
6 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.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 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.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
In the Old Testament you had a few special people like judges or kings or prophets. In the New Testament God said, ‘I will pour my Spirit out on all flesh.’ So, the more you put one person on a pedestal, the more people think there’s a special anointing or something, which is not true, and it actually makes the Church go backwards and not forwards. We’re not going to reach the ends of the earth if we’re relying on a few specially anointed or gifted people. The good news is that the job was given to every ordinary, weak kind of person. Now, why he did it that way, I don’t know. It seems an awful risk, but that’s the way he chose. (Jackie Pullinger)
The first thing that strikes me about this passage is the confidence of Peter’s faith. He doesn’t even pray; he just speaks. Now it does appear that Peter was uniquely gifted, even amongst the apostles, as in 5:15 we’re told that people were healed when just his shadow passed over them! However, his faith is still a challenge for us and since then there have been a number of people in history who have been anointed with a similarly amazing gift of healing; Jackie Pullinger is one although, challengingly, her main message is that we should all be involved in bringing God’s love to those who are sick, lost and broken.[1]
- On a scale of one to ten, how confident do you feel that God can heal people today?
- Do you know anyone who has been miraculously healed? Has this impacted your faith in any way? In what ways did it impact them and the people around them?
- Do you think that the Holy Spirit has given you the gift of healing? If so, how might you step out more in this area?
- What would you identify as your primary gifts? Again on a scale of one to ten, with how much confidence and faith do you think you outwork these gifts? How can we spur one another on in exercising our gifts in this way (i.e. with confidence and faith!)?
If you have a bit longer :-)
I once heard a Tim Keller sermon in which he made the point that in our lives God is either the end (i.e. the goal) or he is a means to another end (maybe peace, freedom from guilt, good health, assurance of heaven, a spouse…). We generally, he argued, come to God for the latter reason – i.e. because we recognize in ourselves some need that only God can fulfill. The challenge for the remainder of our Christian lives, therefore, is how do we move closer and closer to the first; i.e. how do we love God primarily for who he is (regardless of our circumstances) rather than just for what we can get from him (which, incidentally, it could be argued is also the primary theme in the book of Job!).
Here, it is clear that as amazing as the man’s healing is, its main fruit is the praise of God that it induces. It is for this reason that miracles within the Bible are generally referred to as signs; they are not ends in themselves (although they’re great!), rather they point to a greater end – God!
- Why did you initially decide to become a Christian? Was it purely because of love for God or was it because you had identified a need that only God could fill? If the latter, what was this need? Or – like me – are you not really sure why you became a Christian you just felt, at the time, an overwhelming conviction that this was something you had to do?!
- Are there any areas in your life now where you recognize that God is the means to an end rather than the end in and of himself? What areas are these?
- Accountability with one or more Christians whom we trust is an important part of growing in our faith and therefore becoming people who love God more and more for who he is rather than just for what we can get from him. Do you have people you can speak to in this way? If yes, maybe you could share with them your answers to the question above. If not, maybe this is something it’d be good to pray about and ask God to show you people with whom you can start sharing your life with more openly.
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