Class Lesson May 25, 2014

I’ve really blown it. Is there hope for me?

We all need hope. We’ve all made mistakes. We feel shame or regret over something in our present or past. We’ve all tried to fix things in our lives and we’ve all failed. Even those among us who seem to have it all together have areas of hurt in their lives. If we’re not careful, we can be blinded by an onslaught of mistakes, shame, and regret. If we face enough of that, we can lose sight of any kind of hope. We have been studying God's Word for these hopeless situations in life and now we have come to the final lesson in this series.


Let's reflect on the truths from our past five lessons:

1. No matter what your situation is, you are never, ever beyond hope.
2. When you seek Christ, that's where you will find hope.
3. When we go our own way and fail miserably, and we will fail miserably, we should come to our senses, repent and come back to God and He will welcome us back just like the prodigal son's father did - why? Because of His deep love for us.
4. As David expressed son well in Psalm 138, gratitude should be our response to the hope we have in Christ.
5. Peter's denial and failure is our story too. I am so thankful for the great hope in knowing that when I fail like Peter, Jesus will restore me.

Remember this: You can't change your past, but you can determine your destiny, by deciding for Christ! When you do that Christ changes your past; He wipes out all the sins of the past. So, choose you this day, not tomorrow, this day whom you are going to serve. Many of you are going to have to decide today - what is the #1 priority in your life - all through the Bible - choices...choices...choices!
  

What a promise we have in Jesus - what a hope! All eyes are on You Jesus! I pray you will let His hope in!

This is our final lesson in this series and it is entitled, "Hope Shared."

What is something you had to share when you were growing up?

Sharing can be difficult. For example, sharing that one last slice of dessert is a challenge. As a child, sharing a bed with a sibling (or two) often translated into more crowding and less sleep. But sharing doesn’t always mean less. Sharing a good book or a movie doesn’t diminish our experience; it gives us something to talk about and provides fresh perspective. Hope is also something we can share without losing. When hope takes a foothold in our lives, it affects our actions, our words, our attitudes, even our emotions. When people seeking joy or hope encounter you, they notice your hope. They can be drawn to it.


The Bible Meets Life: When it comes to sharing our faith with others, the minds of many turn to the idea of learning a set gospel presentation. In our culture, though, people don’t want to just hear the truth; they want to see it, feel it, and to trust it - you know S F T. We should certainly talk about the hope we have in Christ, but we must support what we say by living it out and showing hope to others. The Bible gives us a great example through Peter, a follower who took the hope he had in Christ and shared it with others. Johnny does the same thing with Luke in Seven Days in Utopia.

S F T - Watch Here 

The Lesson Setting: When Peter and John were going to the temple to pray, they encountered a lame man who was begging. They did not give him what he asked for, but instead they gave him something more, they healed him. This was the first public healing recorded in the Book of Acts. This miracle described in 3:1-10 is the first recorded in the Book of Acts. In commissioning His followers, Jesus had charged them to begin at Jerusalem. This miracle took place at the temple; thus, it struck at the heart of the city. Subsequently it would become the occasion for a sermon to the Jewish worshipers concerning Jesus as the Christ and the hope that is available through Him. 

After finding hope in Christ, we must share it with others.

 




I. LOVE SEES A ______________ – ACTS 3:1-4

3 Now Peter and John were going up together to the temple complex at the hour of prayer at three in the afternoon. 2 And a man who was lame from birth was carried there and placed every day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so he could beg from those entering the temple complex. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple complex, he asked for help. 4 Peter, along with John, looked at him intently and said, “Look at us.” 
 




Acts 3 tells of an otherwise typical day for Peter and John. It was 3p.m. and they were headed to the temple at the hour of prayer. They weren’t necessarily on a mission to heal anyone. They were just going about their routines.

That’s the thing about loving and serving others. Many times we don’t have to go looking for those opportunities. Many times God brings them to us. The questions are:

• Will we have the eyes to see the need before us?
• Will we have the courage to do what God calls us to do?

Verse 2 introduces us to a man who might have been easy to miss. He was a man who sat at the same place at the same time every day. He had been lame from birth and had been carried to that place so he could beg for handouts from the large crowd coming to the temple. Perhaps people had conditioned themselves to ignore people like him. when he saw Peter and John and asked them for help, he may not have expected much from them. At best, a coin. At worst, a rude comment as their robes brushed by.

Peter and John did not ignore the man, quite the opposite. Verse 4 notes that they looked at him intently. Looking fully at someone means giving him enough attention, time, and energy to really understand him and his needs. Peter and John not only looked at the man, but they called on him to do the same.

The man, lame from birth, likely didn’t have a clue who Peter and John were, except … maybe … men with pockets full of money. His request was for financial help (v.3-6). The fact that the lame man misunderstood Peter and John didn’t stop them from serving him. It’s not up to us to discern the motives of those who want our help. It’s only up to us to help.

 

How can we discern the less obvious needs of others? 

Sharing Hope

Mark yourself on the scales.

When Johnny asked Luke to spend seven days in Utopia, was it to fix his golf game?

• Johnny knew that Luke’s problem wasn’t golf – it was a heart problem.
• He needed someone to share hope, faith, and love in something besides a game.

When the lame man asked Peter and John for help, what kind of help was he asking for? Was there a strategy to the lame man’s begging?

• Sacrifices were part of the morning and afternoon prayer times. Peter and John knew there was no longer a need for the sacrifice because the ultimate sacrifice had been made in Jesus. But they wanted to share in prayer and look for opportunities to witness to the gospel. Larger crowds would be at the temple during prayer and sacrifice times. So it was a prime time for those dependent on the generosity of others to be near the temple complex. For the Jews, the giving of gifts of charity either in the form of money or others acts of kindness was a major mark of the righteous life. Those who relied on these gifts would likely consider those coming to the temple to be more gracious.
• Like the beggar, some people live with problems beyond their own making and need the support of others.

Why did Peter and John look at the lame man so intently?

• They saw more than a beggar. They saw a human being in need – but a need greater than that which could be satisfied by giving him a coin.
• Believers are to look at others with a compassion that probes beyond surface needs to identify people’s deeper needs in life.

Do you agree or disagree with this statement from the PSG:

“It’s not up to us to discern the motives of those who want our help. It’s up to us to help.”




II. LOVE OFFERS _____________ – ACTS 3:5-8

5 So he turned to them, expecting to get something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” 7 Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. 8 So he jumped up, stood, and started to walk, and he entered the temple complex with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.


If someone has lost hope, what can I do? What do I have to offer?

• Will I have the time and energy to serve?
• How will I make this whole offering hope to others thing work?
• Do they even want what I have to offer?

The first words Peter said to the man must have seemed more than a little discouraging: “I don’t have silver or gold.” I can imagine the man thinking, Great. Then move along and stop wasting my time.

The man thought he needed money. Typically, the thing we think we need is only a symptom of a greater problem. The man’s need for money was a symptom of his physical disability which kept him from working. The lame man wanted something to get him through the day, yet he was talking to men who could help him walk again.

What Peter and John had to offer the man was a sure hope and confidence in the presence and power of Christ. We may not possess the power to command a lame man to stand up and walk, but we have the same hope and confidence in the presence and power of Christ. And we can share it. 


Whom has God placed in your life? What do they need to hear you say or see you do? You have more to offer than you think you do. You can share the hope you have. That may take courage. God will provide it. Courage isn’t when you feel brave; it’s when you do the right thing regardless of how you feel.

• It takes courage to notice others.
• It takes courage to evaluate the resources you have.
• It takes courage to step from inaction to action, to serve others.

What obstacles or excuses keep us from serving people and offering hope?

Peter and John healed in Jesus’ name.

How can we meet the needs of others so that it clearly points to God?

When we step out in faith to serve others with all that God has given us, amazing things start to happen. Healing begins to take place in both ourselves and in others. We become conduits of God’s grace to others. Our impact in the world becomes exponential; the effect grows greater than we ever could have imagined.

Peter told the lame man, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Peter reached down and helped the lame man up. As he did, the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped up. But that’s not all he did. He began to jump and praise God in the temple courts. 
 







III. HOPE SHARED ______________ GOD – ACTS 3:9-10

9 All the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple complex. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him.


Healing the lame man wasn’t the end; it was only the beginning. Remember that it was 3 p.m. and the temple complex was crowded with people gathered for prayer. They saw this man who was now healed, and they “were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him.” the miracle wasn’t just about the man; it was about the community.

Part of the thrill of serving others is seeing the ripple effects that occur in that person’s life as well as our own. Sharing hope with one person has a way of spreading. The reality is that our choices – for better or worse – have a ripple effect that we may never fully understand.

You have hope in Christ. As you have received hope, offer it to others as much as possible in as many ways as possible. To engage in this adventure is to embark in the only calling worthy of our lives. It’s a calling of hope.


 

How have you witnessed the ripple effect of helping someone in a small way that impacted others in a big way?

Finish the sentence, “For me to notice and meet the needs of others, I need to_________________”





Someone said a person with an argument is not a match for a person with an experience. Peter and John acted out of their experience with Christ. They had known His love and grace and had found hope in Him. They shared what they had with a lame man. The Lord used them to do a great work. It was manifested in a healing, but it was so much more. “It was more than a miracle (wonder); it was a sign (4:22) in which a picture was given in the physical of what could be done in the spiritual; just as a man (was) made whole physically (4:9-12) so could one be made whole spiritually.” Then this one who had benefited from Peter and John’s graciousness and the Lord’s power and who had found hope when he had none, praised God. His praise was so powerful that others were drawn by his experience and were able to hear the message of Christ. That is how God has chosen to do His work on this earth – one person comes to know hope in Christ and then he or she seizes an opportunity to share that hope with another. 

 

Live it Out

So what does finding hope look like as you share it with others? 

1. Open your eyes. Take time each day to pray a simple but powerful prayer: “God, make me aware of those around me who may not know You.”
2. Open your home. As you become aware of people who are not Christ followers, establish relationships with them. Let them see Jesus in you. Invite them over to share a meal.
3. Open your mouth. Share your story of hope with a friend or coworker. How has Jesus brought you through a rough time?

God gave you hope when He healed your past through Jesus Christ. Like Peter and John’s interaction with the beggar, you’ve got something worth sharing. You may never know the ripple effect you start with a little bit of hope. 

 

After finding hope in Christ, we must share it with others.

Prayer of Commitment

Dear Lord Jesus, I have hope in You. I praise You for it, but help me not to stop even there. Guide me to share with others that they may know Your hope for themselves and give You praise and glory. Amen.

This has been a great series on the hope we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior and how we too can and should share this great hope with others in desperate need. 

"I was blind but now I see!"

How about you?

Hope to see everyone this Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan