I listened to a message from Adrian Rogers titled, “The Keys to a Beautiful Life”, Pastor Rogers taught out of Acts Chapter 3 and I learned a lot that I want to share with all of my friends and loved ones. Today I speak to you about the story of the crippled man in Acts Chapter 3 who was lame from his mother’s womb and could not walk his ankle bones had not developed, he could not work, he could not worship. Every day he would be carried to the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask for alms which means money or goods given in charity to the poor. A man deformed was considered unclean and could not enter the Beautiful gate, he was on the wrong side of a beautiful life. Peter and John were about to enter the temple and the lame man expecting alms turned his attention to them, Peter said “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” His feet and ankle bones received strength, he began leaping, walking and praising God while he entered the temple with Peter and John. This was a miracle of healing, a sign, a miracle with a message. The man is a representation of us all who are spiritually and morally crippled by birth because we are without Jesus in our lives. This man was forty years of age living on the wrong side of the gate, he needed a touch from Almighty God, a spiritual touch not a physical touch.

The miracles performed by Jesus were all brought to us with messages. Jesus healing the blind really means how he can heal the spiritually blind for the Bible says, “... except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven...” Jesus healing the deaf means how he can heal those who are spiritually deaf for the Bible says, “... men have ears but they do not hear...” Jesus raising the dead really means how he can heal those of us who are spiritually dead, without Christ we are all dead and we trespass in sin. The significance of Jesus raising the dead says in the Bible, “... I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly...” Peter said silver and gold I do not have, but I have something better to give to you, he gave the lame man Jesus! There is not a gift better than that and silver and gold can not compare to the beautiful life that you can enter in when you have Jesus, for without Jesus you are on the wrong side of the gate.

And in the inside of the temple, all the people ran to see this filled with wonder and amazement for they knew this man was the one who was daily outside the Beautiful gate begging alms, and now here he is, healed, leaping with joy, dancing, praising God. Peter says, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this?” Then he said why do you look so intently at us as though by our own power or godliness we made this man walk. He says Jesus did this! The Jesus you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when Pilate was determined to let Jesus go, Peter says you denied the Holy One and the Just and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Prince of Life, whom God raised from the dead. Through His name, through faith in His name, has this man been made strong. And this miracle can not be humanly denied, can not be humanly explained, and can not be lightly dismissed.

The message of this Chapter says to us, Jesus still lives. Though you may deny Him, he still lives. And people are sadly mistaken when they think that they can get God out of schools, off of money and what ever else. Because you can’t get rid of Jesus. The murderer that was granted to be let free is a portrait, a picture of every unsaved man, woman, boy or girl in this world. This man’s name was Barabbas, he was a thief, he was a rebel, and he was a murderer. So it is, every man without Jesus Christ is a thief... well you say... but, “I don’t steal!” This is the incredible reality that you do not see, you are blinded, if you have not given God the Glory, if you have not submitted your life to God, you have robbed Him of that Glory which is due to His Holy Name... picture this... you live here on this earth, you walk God’s green earth at that, you breath God’s pure air, receive God’s sunshine and God’s rain, you eat God’s food, and yet God is not your Lord and you do not serve Him, you have STOLEN from God! Also, you are a rebel against God. When you refuse God, it isn’t merely that you have missed out on a blessing... unbelief is a clenched fist in the face of God. Basically you are saying if there be a God at all you aren’t Big enough to make me serve you... I am my own God, I am going to live my own life. You may repent your sins and think well at least I have not killed anyone, well guess what...??? YES, you have, you are a murderer. You killed the son of God, you choose Barabbas , but it is never Christ and Barabbas, it is always Christ or Barabbas. Matthew 12:30 states that, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” It was ours sins that nailed Jesus Christ to the cross, our hard hearts. Still to this day when we sin it is like crucifying Him once more, driving the nails in a little deeper, as if the first time was just not enough to make you realize just how much you are loved by Jesus. If you don’t crown Him you crucify Him. It was are sins that crucified Him and we are implicated in His murder.

Peter goes on to say in Acts Chapter 3, I know that you did this in ignorance as did your rulers. But God has fulfilled what was foretold by the mouths of Prophets that the Christ would suffer. He says repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. And this miracle was that of a message that converted them. We have a Risen Lord which it says in Acts 1:3 “to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” It was said that Jesus would rise in three days, the tomb was sealed with a stone, a stone that would take a forklift to remove, and Roman soldiers were there to guard the tomb. The stone was said to be blown away because it was a significant distance away from the tomb and no man could have moved it. It speaks of how the elders gave a large sum of money to the soldiers to say that the disciples came at night and stole away the body of Jesus while they slept, in Matthew 28:12-15. Sleeping on guard duty is a crime awarded death. How ridiculous is it to say that it was the disciples who stole away the body of Christ, if they were indeed really asleep how would they know this? We have residing Lord, He is present.

We have redeeming Lord, Acts Chapter 3 says, Repent and be converted. Repent meaning a change of mind, a change of thinking. Before you said I am boss, now you say He is Lord, before you said sin is best, now you say righteousness is best, before you said I think I can make it by myself, now you say I can’t do it by myself. In Luke 13:3 it says, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Has there been a radical dramatic change in your life where you say I am sick of the old way, I want Jesus Christ to come in and give me a new life. With Christ there will be seasons of refreshing, better and brighter days, your life will be something beautiful... because without Christ ours lives are not quite at all what they were intended to be. We have a returning Lord! We say what is this world coming to? Well, the answer is, It is coming to Jesus. If the outlook looks glum, the up look is very bright. Be on the right side of the gate which is called Beautiful, leaping, dancing and Praising God.

The first time Jesus came as a lamb, the second time He comes He will come as a Lion of the tribe of Judah. The first time He came to redeem, the second time He comes He will rein. The first time He was known as the King of the Jews, the second time He comes He will be known as the King of Kings. The first time He was crowned with a crown of thorns, the second time He will be crowned with a diadem of Glory. The first time He came in poverty, the second time He will come in power. The first time He had an escort of angels, the second time He will have 10 thousands of His Saints. The first time He came in meekness, the second time He will come in majesty. Will you be one of the 10 thousands of Saints that are with Him in the restitution? I would hate for you to be on the wrong side of a beautiful life eternally separated from your Father.

Picture yourself spiritually as a crippled, on the wrong side of the gate called Beautiful, unable to walk the walk of God, unable to work the work of God, and unable to enter into the worship of God. Picture a new life, Jesus reaching down to you with a nail pierced hand and taking you by your hand and raising you up spiritually, giving to you a lift that will last, a power to enter in through the gate to the courts of God, giving you a beautiful life.

Are you saved? Does God’s Holy spirit bear witness with your spirit? Are you certain that if you died right now that you would go to heaven? If not pray a prayer like this... just talk to your Father...

Dear Lord,
I know you love me and I know that you want to save me. Lord spiritually I am crippled, and I am on the wrong side of the gate. Lord, I reach up now my hand of faith, save me Jesus, come into my heart and save me and make something beautiful of my life.
In your name I pray,
Amen

I prayed before I wrote this that God would give me strength to do so, that He would guild my finger tips as I typed, and I prayed that He would use me to reach a lost a dying world, for this is my purpose, for what greater purpose is there to fulfill than to lead people to Christ. I believe He truly has answered this prayer because these words are not of my own but of our Father’s, not only was He using me to speak to me but also to speak to who ever reads this... I pray that you are touched and enticed to enter in to a beautiful life. I Love You All, God Bless Shanon