It’s been a while since I sent you my weekly journal and that’s the reason I’m overly excited about sending you this one. I also want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued prayers and words of encouragement. May God bless you!
I trust that God has been doing an awesome work in your life through his word. Before I continue with the story of the lame man, I want to share something with you from Acts 12. Here, we see Peter, the same Peter who helped the lame man up was bound in chains with guards surrounding him. As long as he was bound, he had no control just as the lame man could do nothing about his lameness in and of himself. In verse 7, the Angel of the Lord stood before Peter. Watch this; the Angel was doing exactly what he wanted Peter to do. He stood, he did not squat, he did not lounge, he stood. God sent him to lead Peter out of the prison, but you see Peter had to cooperate with him for that to happen; he did not nag, he wasn’t doubtful, he was full of faith and he obeyed. Then the Angel of the Lord said to him arise quickly; get up fast, rise up! Right after this, the chains binding Peter fell off.
Here’s a word for you: the times of being lame, asking for alms, and bound in chains is over, act on the word that you are hearing. Rise up so your chains could fall off, rise up and be free, rise up and walk into the destiny God has planned for you.
STUDY TEXT – Acts 3: 1- 10
1 Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, [being] the ninth [hour].
2 And a certain man that was lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and his ankle-bones received strength.
8 And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk; and he entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 and they took knowledge of him, that it was he that 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.
I have learnt by study and experience that God is a God of process who through times, and seasons, would work in steps and stages, or in a sudden and speedy manner as we see him do in this passage.
Most people go through the movement stages of stretching, bending, twisting, shaking, creeping, crawling, standing, walking, jumping, and leaping; yet, we see that the order of movement by this man is not in accordance with this; in fact, it is the exact opposite of what you’d expect from someone who’d never walked. I believe this is mainly because God accelerated his recovery process. I could almost hear God say to him, you don’t have to start from stage one – creeping; this is not the time for gradual progression, Leap! Lift yourself off the ground. Stand. There’s strength in your ankle bones, walk. Exercise your feet, by the way how are you enjoying being able to use them?
I want you to see what this man did, immediately he was able to stand, he headed for the temple. The temple is a place of worship. Standing is an act of praise; it is also a posture that portrays soundness and alertness. Can you picture the transformation? Before he was lame, weak, and poor but now he’s standing, sound, and alert. His expression and attitude were that of appreciation, resounding praise, and a declaration of God’s faithfulness. He knew the reason for his healing
You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy. That I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever. Psalms 30:11-12 NLT
So he praised, the people heard him and knew he was the beggar they had seen so often at the gate. They saw him (in the temple) where he’d never been and doing what he hadn’t done before (standing), and they became amazed – absolutely astounded and in awe at what the Lord had done. This is exactly what God’s going to do in your life. Your breakthrough will ultimately bring him glory.
When this situation started harassing you, God could have easily rescued you then than now, but for his glory, so the world could see, and so that you would be a point of reference, he allowed you to experience the challenges you are facing now.
I want you to know that you are not reading this journal by chance, God’s about to speedily do things on your behalf. I hear these words in my spirit, No more delays, no more lingering. Receive it and believe it
This is the year of God’s favour and when He has favoured you, head for the temple, give him praise, praise him so the world would know what he’s done, let them be amazed, and return the glory to him.
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1 NASB
I believe that by now you have the word of God addressing your need and you are warring a good warfare with them. Continue with it, your breakthrough is around the corner, you’re going to rise. As promised last week, I will continue with the story about the lame man who rose and walked. Enjoy!!!
STUDY TEXT – Acts 3: 1- 10
1 Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, [being] the ninth [hour].
2 And a certain man that was lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and his ankle-bones received strength.
8 And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk; and he entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 and they took knowledge of him, that it was he that 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.
The scripture says in Ecclesiastes that money answers all things and it’s also a defence, support, and insurance. Maybe I’m wrong but I’d like to think that if this lame man collected enough money, he could have had surgery; then again I thought of how long it would have taken him to raise the money. Could he have afforded to waste another moment considering that he was already over forty, and had done practically nothing with his life so far than to beg? Perhaps, this is what God revealed to Peter that prompted him to answer the man in this manner: I can’t give you silver and I can’t give you gold. In other words, I cannot offer you a loan. I am incapable of hiring you a physio or an occupational therapist, I am unable to refer you to a doctor, neither do I have the power to put you on a clinic waiting list, nor am I qualified to perform surgery on you, but I have the name of Jesus and when I call on it, you will rise and you will walk.
Without waiting for the man to respond, Peter took him by the right hand and pulled him up. This does not surprise me at all because Peter being a disciple of Jesus knew that unbelief was a major hindrance to receiving a miracle and had he given the lame man a chance to respond, he probably would have spoken words of doubt and fear to hinder his healing.
Right after Peter’s prayer, he pulled the man by the right hand. First, I see this as a prophetic act to call and pull the man up, out of lameness, poverty, and lack; secondly, the pulling up was to give him support and assistance and thirdly it catalyzed the healing process, he got up faster than he would have on his own.
The bible goes on to record that the man’s feet and ankle bones were healed and strengthened immediately afterward. The man got his healing but the pulling or lifting up by Peter sealed and perfected it.
I hope this word has ministered to you, We’ll wrap up the story next week but before then I want you to know that God has anointed and positioned someone to call and pull you out of the situation you’re in, someone to help you rise up with ease, and as quickly as possible, someone to seal your breakthrough; don’t allow doubt and unbelief to hinder you from obtaining your miracle. You will rise up; say it with me, I will rise up in Jesus name. Amen
I believe that by now you have the word of God addressing your need and you are warring a good warfare with them. Continue with it, your breakthrough is around the corner, you’re going to rise. As promised last week, I will continue with the story about the lame man who rose and walked. Enjoy!!!
STUDY TEXT – Acts 3: 1- 10
1 Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, [being] the ninth [hour].
2 And a certain man that was lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and his ankle-bones received strength.
8 And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk; and he entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 and they took knowledge of him, that it was he that 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.
The feet are the part of the body responsible for weight-bearing and propulsion. Without this very significant part, the body is immobile, unstable, and cannot function maximally.
In the above passage, we see the record of a man lame from birth. It is recorded that this man now forty-plus would normally be carried to the gate so he could beg for alms from the people going into the temple. The scripture does not tell us his name or when this man started going to the temple, however; we know he was well-known for his alms begging. In today’s society, he’d be on a Department of Social Security (DSS) disability allowance.
I could picture him arriving at the DSS office with dial-a-ride on a wheelchair, waiting for his care assistant who’s deliberately wasting time to help him onto the lift. I see tears drop from his eyes as he approaches the counter for his bi-weekly allowance, and perhaps the object of ridicule and discussion. The sight of his fellow men walking around unaided with their wives and kids makes him even more sorrowful.
He may have had a fine face, nice build, and even all the good qualities a sister would desire in a brother, but he was incapacitated, immobilised, disabled, helpless, hopeless, broken, poor, weak, and in short, lame from birth. He was at a gate called beautiful but his situation was ugly. I don’t know about you but I can relate to this man.
Talk about having an ugly situation, it’s like having enough cash to make a down payment for your home but you can’t get a mortgage because of your previous bad credit history. You love the lord and you are called according to his purpose but nothing seems to be working out for your good. You are lame physically, emotionally, financially, socially, mentally, and even spiritually.
We read that one day at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Peter and John approached the temple to pray as it was their custom and saw this man. They were looking at him intently to pray for his healing, and he was looking at them eagerly expecting a gift.
Let me ask you; what are your expectations? Would you prefer to be pitied than be healed? Would you rather be given alms than receive your breakthrough? Do you know God’s will concerning your situation? You, who are believing God for a partner, a child, a house, a car; whatever your desire, can you tell me what you know the will of God is regarding your need?
It is crucial you find out because if you know then you will know not to ask amiss. This man would have asked to receive his healing so he could be able to make money only if he knew the promises of God.
I encourage you to seek the will of God concerning your situation today. Next week I will bring you the rest of the story but until then, Remain Blessed.
Instrument of Praise is a Music Ministry which operates on a national and international scale ministering physical, emotional and spiritual healing to the afflicted....
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