Something Better Than Gold

If you were to die today, do you know for sure you go to heaven? That's something you really need to seriously contemplate. Well, this man found salvation. He found God. He found joy. He found peace, and he found something better than gold.

The Bible says, now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the ninth hour, 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 in 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 into 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 arms 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. We're going to take a look today at something better than gold.

And we take that from the verse where Peter Says in verse six, silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee something better than goal. Let's pray. Before we begin though, father, we thank you now for your word. We thank you for the time that we have today to spend in it. And we pray. Father, that thought, what is just helpless us now to glean the truth from this, what? That would be an encouragement and a help and a blessing to us. We pray and ask it all in Jesus' name.

Amen. Well, it all happened on Solomon's porch and you say what? Solomon's porch. Who? Solomon. Well, Solomon was at real rich fella. He was that real wise man. He was the third king of Israel. He was the son of David. But Solomon's porch really has not much to do with Solomon because it was not even in the temple that Solomon built.

Actually, that temple was destroyed and rebuilt during the era of Ezra and then about several decades before the time of Christ King Herod wanting to earn some Brownie points with the Jews, remodeled it and added onto it, and it became something amazing. But there was a porch. It's actually a colonnade or corridor that would be along the eastern gate, and in this picture here, you're.

You're catching a bit of the temple over in this side there, but that's Solomon's porch stretched across the top and beyond that you see the. You'd see the Kidron valley if you could, and if it were in insight, you'd see the Mount of Olives, but Solomon's porch was a colonnade there in the temple area. It was a corridor making up the east side of the wall there. That was never remodeled by Herod. It would have been far too expensive.

According to Joe Josephus, the Jewish historian, but a couple of years earlier from this time we read in John Ten, 23 that Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. There was a lot that went on at Solomon's porch.

In fact, this is where he gave the good shepherd discourse there, but time had marched on a couple of years had passed, and even pentecost was now in the rear view mirror of the early church there, but an event takes place in acts chapter three on this particular site that's often overlooked on that particular site. 5,000 men got saved, plus women and children and may have been the site of the salvation of more souls than at any place in any time in previous history.

You know, we find here that the church in the first century didn't have a church building yet even their meeting on Solomon's porch quite often and something amazing takes place when a crippled man on that particular day comes into contact with the Gospel and he received something, not really what he wanted, but more valuable than he wanted. In fact, more valuable than gold.

As we pick up the story here in verse Number One, we see first of all, his desperate request, his desperate request in verse number one, it's an is now peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer being the ninth hour. Here's Peter and John. They go way back. In fact, they probably grew up together. They were longtime friends. They were fishing buddies. They were fishing partners and they were.

They were kids who grew up together on the wrong side of the tracks, if you will, way up north there in Galilee, a place that nothing good could come out of, but they grow up and they find Christ as their savior. They become two of the 12 apostles. If you can imagine that and part of the inner circle, the top three of, if you will. In fact, it was even narrowed down to these same two fellows that Jesus sent to prepare the upper room for that Passover meal.

They were the only two incidentally who followed Christ after his trial and after his arrest and and to calvary there, and they were the first to to run to the empty tomb. That fateful morning. They're the resurrection. Peter and John. It's funny how how the cross brought them closer together. No doubt because they were totally different men. If you think about it, if you read between the lines, you find that Peter was a very impetuous fella and he was always just running off at the mouth.

John was a bit more quiet and reflective. It was. It was John Doe who Outran Peter to the tomb that morning but stopped almost in reverence, didn't even feel like he could go in while Peter just pushed past John and he bolted in and he looked around and and then he just went back home. He dashed out.

It was John who stayed there and stared at those grave clothes and and realize what that cocoon meant there, that Jesus was alive and the Bible says he believed they were opposite and maybe they should have gotten on each other's nerves, but such was not the case. There was very a very close relationship there and a common bond because of, of Christ and how he had brought them back together. Now we find here in verse Number One, it mentions that Peter and John went up together into the temple.

Notice at the ninth hour, at the ninth hour in the Jewish, uh, economy, if you will. It's 3:00 in the afternoon. A high noon would be the six hour and 3:00 PM would be the ninth hour. That was the, the time of the evening ablation to the Jewish people. Something that went way back to the time of the Passover lamb and the days of Moses. And we fast forward up to the time of Daniel in Daniel Nine, 21 daniel says, I was speaking in prayer about the time of the evening or ablation.

That was the ninth hour. That was a very special time when Jewish people banded together and they prayed and we find out that 600 years after the time of Daniel, it was the time when the Lord Jesus Christ. He yielded up the ghost there on Calvary's cross in matthew 27, 46. It says an about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, my God, my God, why Hast Thou forsaken me?

And so we find all those sheep sacrifice for all those years, at that particular time, the time, the evening oblation just being a picture of calvary when Jesus Christ would die at that specific time, it was a time of prayer for the Jewish people. It was actually one of three times that were set aside for the Jewish people to come together and to pray, uh, being 9:00 AM in the morning and high noon. And then 3:00 PM.

And we find the psalmist in psalm 55, 17 saying evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud. So it was fitting that these two men came together. They came together on Solomon's Porch, is 3:00 PM in the afternoon and they've come to pray. Now in verse two, it says, 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 in to the temple wants you to get the setting here.

Here's a man who had been born lame from his mother's womb. He came out and the rest of them was healthy, but the legs were like dish rags and his parents looked at those Naral legs and thought he'll never be able to walk. You'll never be able to run. He'll. He'll never be able to play. They no doubt. Took him to a physician and the physician looked at him and I'm, I'm sorry, there's just nothing I can do for this boy.

And so he grows up, never walking, and so he has to resign now to begging for a living. He gets a Tin Cup and every day as he grows up, he, he sits there at the gate called beautiful in the temple near Solomon's porch, and he cries out box sheesh. Sheesh in his language, meaning help the poor, help the poor. Every night he goes home and he empties out his Little Tin Cup and he, he counts a few meagerly pennies there and figures it's enough to maybe eat on.

He goes back the next morning and he does the same thing and this goes on for decades, for decades, 40 years of saying box sheesh box. She helped the poor, help the poor. There he is outside of the beautiful gate. The Bible tells us the reason for that is he could not go through it. According to levitical law, he was deformed and and not welcome beyond the beautiful gate. Add to that a stigma that handicap people had in those days that it was God's judgment.

We find another handicap man in John Nine, two, and Jesus' disciples asked him saying, master who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind, so this, this lay men has all that coming down on him that he's born cripple through no sin of his own. And the people think, all right, what did his parents do? He can't even go in the temple, but you add to that the fact he could not work a job like the average Jewish man.

That's how the Jewish man received his identity through gainful employment there. And that's where he took his pride. But not this man, this man has to be carried everywhere. He gets up in the morning and somebody takes him to that same spot everyday. He's carted out there everyday. He's a burden to somebody everyday. He begs now, normally begging took place at one of two places. Quite often it was a long, uh, a busy road side or a busy intersection.

That's where a blind Bartimaeus had his tin cup and he was out there begging and that would be a common place where people would come by, like they're on the Jericho road, but the other place where people would beg was often a place of worship, a house of worship, a shrine or, or a, a temple. And it was a common custom for beggars to sit out there with their tin cup in a place where people were feeling religious and charitable is same way today.

If you go to some of these shrines and temples across the world, you will find that people are begging there. Well, this is the Temple Mount. It was a perfect place. In fact, it was a huge place after harrods remodeling project. This complex had grown to a shroom to about 35 acres, if you can imagine the Temple Mount there, and we find in verse number two that this man pick this particular place known as the beautiful gate and if you have to beg, that's the perfect place.

The beautiful gate there. He sat there for 40 years. Now. The beautiful gate was kind of an intersection where if you, if you, if you turn to the last, you went to the, uh, the court of the gentiles and there was that famous sign above it that said, uh, if you're a gentile, you go beyond here upon pain or fear of death because you'll be put to death if you're not a Jew entering further than this.

And then if you went through the beautiful gate and you turn to the other way, you went into what was known as the quarter of the women. And so there he was at that busy intersection at that busy gate. It was, it was one of nine main gates in the temple at that time. But it was the only gate of all of them that was made out of Corinthian brass.

Corinthian brass was extremely valuable and they even plated this, this big, huge brass gate with these panels made of gold and these panels made of silver there, and it was said that as the sun came up over the mount of all olives and it's shown on that beautiful gate, it exploded and dazzling array and sparkling colors. And there was like blinding there. And so it was known as the beautiful gate. There was a, it was a place of beauty, but it was also a place of bounty.

That's where this man made his living. That's where he got his money here. And this is where he begged for alms for 40 years. In verse number three, it says of him who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked and all. Now did he recognize them while they would have been famous by this point, I imagine on the day of Pentecost, 3000 people getting saved. It's the talk of the town and, and everybody's talking about these guys, Peter and John.

But I don't think he would have known who they were perhaps or even been interested in who they were. He was hungry and he was handicapped. We see, first of all, his desperate request. But secondly, we see, uh, a different reply, something he did not expect. In verse number three, it says, who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked and alms and Peter fastening his eyes upon him with John said, look on us, look on us. He's asking for money. And they stop and they say, look at us.

How many have ever been solicited for money someplace? I think most of us have. Alright Buddy, can you spare a dime? And we find here that in verse number four, Peter Fastens his eyes upon him, you know, everybody knows that if you're hit up for money, the best way is to avoid eye contact, right? If it, if it's a panhandler or pedaler or anything like that, you just kind of keep your eyes straight and you keep walking.

And that's true, whether it's in Mexico or it's in the Middle East or wherever it might be. If there's pedalers everywhere. Hey, come here. Come here. You just Kinda don't make eye contact. Okay, well we find out in verse number four, and Peter fastening his eyes upon him with John said, look on us, look on us. He does the exact opposite. He says, look at me. And the Bible says that they gazed at each other.

Actually it's using the same expression in the Greek as it uses when Jesus ascended and they'd be held him and it just staring. There's this steering going on here. And in verse number five, it says, and he, the beggar, gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Can you just see him going? Yeah. Yeah. He's saying back. She's back office for the poor and they say, look at us. And he's going, yeah, yeah.

In the beginning of verse six then Peter said, silver and gold have I not really, I mean, for the moment, think of how he felt. I mean, he, he, he turned out his pockets inside out and he said, I don't have a dime on me. Silver and gold, have I none. And that would've been a cruel joke, wouldn't it? It had been a really cruel statement to say, look on us, and then just say, sorry, I'm broke, you know? Gotcha. But that wasn't the case here at all. Truth of the matter is he didn't have any money.

The Bible tells us that this time that they were selling whatever they had and distributing and, and really have any man had a need, they, they just gave it to that person. They sold and they dispersed it and so they were totally living by faith. Silver and gold have I none. I know folks who have done that. We've had times in our family where we've done that. It's an exciting thing to do. We Find Peter Saying, silver and gold have I none but it. It wasn't a joke. It was true.

He didn't have a dime to give them. Here's, here's Peter with his pockets turned out inside out. Not a dime, not a penny in it saying silver and gold have I none in verse number six. By the way, how different from so much religion today, isn't it? When you think of televangelists and things like that are flying around in these $20,000,000 jets and and yet we find Peter and John Saying, silver and gold have I none. Back in 1135 add.

Thomas equinas visited pope innocent the second who was gleefully sitting there counting a huge amount of money and he looked up and he said, Thomas, he said, the church can no longer say silver and gold, have I none? And Thomas looked back and he said, yeah, but neither can we say, arise and walk. Either how true that is. Peter and John were were poor, but they had something better than gold.

And Bible tells us in James Two, Five Hath Not God chosen the poor of this world, rich and faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him. Now Peter and John had something better than gold, something priceless in something totally unexpected to this beggar. Peter knew what he was going to do, only because the Holy Spirit had laid on his heart what he was going to do.

We find in verse number six, 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 Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the beggar had heard this name. Almost everybody in Israel had heard this name. Why too many wasn't that?

That blast femur wasn't that that guy they condemn, wasn't that that guy that they crucified, and then apparently the apostles came and they stole the body away and made up some story about a resurrection.

And now this, this new group has formed and were we see them hanging around the temple here all the time having their church services here and, and, and as dozens of thoughts are whirling through the mind of this beggar, we find in verse number seven, and he that is Peter took him the beggar by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength. He was healed. He was healed.

The commentator John Phillips had this to say, he said this was no gradual cure. It was instantaneous, nor did Peter built a basilica and dedicate a shrine for the man's crutches to become crutches to other men's faith. No, there was a better evidence than that. There was a man himself leaping, trying out his new ankles, jumping all around. We find out in the next chapter actually, that this man had been like this for 40 years, four decades as a lame man, not one step.

Now the Bible tells us he's standing, he's walking, he's leaping, he's praising, he's trying out his new legs, and it's really a second miracle if you think about it. If you learn to ride a bike, isn't there a time of getting your balance or if you learn to skate or ice skate, isn't there a wobbly period where you're falling down? You're doing this, you're doing that. If you think about it, there's always that time period of getting your feet under you. Not this guy.

He's walking and he's leaping and we find an incredible miracle has been done. He's healed. You say, pastor, are you able to do miracles like that? Nope. I'm not able to do miracles like that. If I was, I'd be at the hospital all week long healing people and instead of going on TV and ask him for money, I mean, doesn't that make sense? If you think about it, know that time period of of doing miracles like that has passed.

We read in acts five, 12 that by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders, rot or worked among the people, and they're all with one accord in Solomon's porch. Once again, there were already ordained men who for a certain time period had a special power given to them from God to do these miracles.

We find in acts chapter 19 that God rotter work special miracles by the hands of Paul so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons and the diseases departed from various people here. So there was a time period in the first century where there were these miracles, these signs, these wonders that were done to authenticate and give credibility to this new found message.

This new new messiah, if you will, Jesus of Nazareth, but as the Bible was being complete, as the new testament was being written in the first century, these miracles were fading off the scene, and by Second Timothy Four Twenty, Paul Mentions Erastus the boat at Corinth, but Trophon, mess. Have I left at my lead, I'm sick. Here's the same guy.

He's just sending parts of his robe to people and they're getting healed, but as he's writing his last epistle, he mentioned this guy, troy from s, and guess what he did with him was under the weather and Paul left him behind. He didn't heal on what's the deal with that? Well, apparently that that ability was fading by that time period. In fact, as Paul writes to Timothy, his son in the faith, he tells him and one of his last epistles, he's saying, Timothy, you've got a stomach problem.

Try a little grape juice for that. You know, I didn't. He say, Hey, I'll just send you one of my cloths here and this'll do the trick here. Just lay it on your, you know, your stomach and you'll be better known. The truth be known. That particular gift was fading at that particular time.

In fact, Paul himself writes how of an infirmity of the flesh that he had some kind of a physical malady and and he prayed and asked God to heal him three different times and God said, no, my strength is sufficient for you. So we find that today, God wants us to look to his word, not signs, not wonders. In fact, Jesus said that a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign God wants us to live by faith and faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

We keep going back to the Bible. What serves not of faith is sin. The just shall live by faith. And so today, do we have faith healers? No, we don't have faith healers. We have faith healing. We believe that God still heals and, and, and, uh, answers the prayers of God's people. I know many Christians that were healed and God still in the healing business, but no, we do not find faith healers today.

We find those who claim to be faith healers, and oftentimes when they can't heal, they'll say, well, that person just didn't have enough faith. Well, did this guy here in acts three have any faith? Was he looking to be healed? Even know he was looking for the greenbacks. He was looking for money. It wasn't about faith at all. In fact, as you study the Bible, you find out it's lost.

People that are healed, people have no faith, so there are no faith healers today, but God can heal nonetheless, but it was an app systolic thing. If you would get that from this, it was something that was taking place in the first century. In fact, Paul Even said in Second Corinthians 12, truly the signs of an apostle were rot or worked among you in all patients in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.

He's defending his apostleship and proving it to them by saying, I was able to do the miracles that an apostle is able to do those miracles. They gave credibility to the Gospel and they made the message authentic there. So we find here, first of all, a desperate request and a different reply, but finally we see thirdly, a dynamic reaction in verse number three of the Baker.

It says in heat and leaping up stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. Here's the man who had never walked again. I had no balance at that time whatsoever, and now he's sleeping and he's praising and he's like a kid with a new toy leaping in the temple and praising God. It reminds me of this verse in Isaiah 35 slash six.

Then show the lame man leap as an heart and the tongue of the dumb saying the Bible talks about the lame man leaping like the deer. In verse number nine, it says, and all the people saw him walking and praising God. He came into the temple making a scene. He wasn't lame anymore. He could go through the beautiful gate. Now under levitical law, he was shunned before, but now he's healthy and for the first time he goes through those huge doors made of Corinthian brass, leaping and praising God.

Boy, talk about disruptive to what was going on in there. Put yourself there. If you think about it. Here's this, this formal stuffy worship

Can you imagine what it sounded like as you're on the other side of of Solomon's porch and you're on the other side of the beautiful gate and all the sudden you hear something going on across the courtyard. You say, what's going on on the other side there and there was just this ruckus over there and it's the most joy perhaps in the most life that that cobweb crusty old temple had seen in years with all its ritualism.

There by way I'll never forget my very first church service in a Bible believing church and what a breath of fresh air that was, to hear a message that, Whoa, wait a minute, he's saying something up there and, and, and you tune in there and you sing these hymns and in this preaching is amazing and you're listening. And it's like, wow, well we find that this cripple here, this, this lame man is having this spell.

And in verse number nine, it says an all the people saw him walking and praising God. Well, I can imagine what the Pharisees thought. The farracies hung out there at the temple along with the sadducees and scribes and the priests and all that, and all of a sudden they hear this noise and these people running together and I'll bet in their minds they went, oh no. Oh No. We just got over pentecost. What's this going to be? We thought we were rid of that Jesus' business. We bribed the guards.

We covered the whole thing up and, and now this and they couldn't deny it. They couldn't cover it up. In fact, later on we find in acts four, they say, what shall we do to these men, John and Peter for that indeed a notable miracle has been done by them, is manifest to all of them that dwell in Jerusalem and we cannot deny it. They say, we can't hide this one. We can't cover this one up. This one's been done in broad daylight. Well, in verse 10 it says, and they knew that it was.

He was sat for arms at the beautiful gate of the temple and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened to him. I looked this last week at those words. They knew that it was he. They knew that it was he. You know, when somebody gets saved, the world takes notice. Especially if somebody gets saved in before. He had a very different reputation. When somebody gets saved, they say, is that he that that is him. He's not at the bar room anymore.

He's not at the pool hall anymore. He's not at the racetrack anymore. He is this the same guy who used to be at those places that now he's going to church all the time and he's carrying that Bible around me. He's talking about the Lord. He's listening to Christian radio. They knew that it was he. This is the same. It's hard to believe. It's the same guy. There was a man years ago by the name of Mel Trotter. Mel Trotter was a hopeless alcoholic.

Mel Trotter was continuous, me drunk, and finally he exhausted the the finances of his family and started selling whatever he could to keep up his, his drinking habit. His little two year old daughter came down sick and his wife gave to him some money to go down to the drugstore and buy some penicillin or something to bring home to the daughter and about halfway there he was walking outside of a bar and end.

This urge to drink came over him and and he knew that was all the money in the world they had, but he just couldn't overcome any wind to the bar and he drank it up. Long story short, his daughter did not recover from illness and died and he was even more miserable now blaming himself for her death. The funeral came around and he was so overwhelmed in grief that as he, he looked over the body of his little girl, he began to sob and all he could think about is, I need a drink. I need a drink.

He took the little shoes off her feet and he went down to the bar and he plopped them on the counter. He said, I don't have anything else. I needed to break. The bartender, looked at them, disgusted knowing the whole story and where those came from, and he shoved the booties back with a glass of whiskey. He said, there's your drink now. Go put those booties back on your little daughter. I mean, he was that down. He was that desperate.

Long story short, he stumbled into the, I think it was the Pacific Garden mission. One day got gloriously saved. God changed his life. He never drank again. He went on to preach some powerful sermons. After that time, is this he? Is that the same guy? They're looking at this cripple saying it looks like him. Is it? Is it really him? You know what the Bible says? The Bible says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold all things are become new.

So they're squinting at this beggar. Going sure looks like him. No, that is him. That is him. Well, finally in verse number 11, it says, and as the lame man which was healed, held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto him and the porch that is called Solomon's greatly wondering notice.

I also noticed this last week how he held Peter and John Ever had anyone shake your hand and not let go and you're okay or, or give you a hug and you know, and they keep hugging ya or put their arm around. That's, that's this guy. I mean, he wasn't letting go. These two guys, he's got Peter on this side, John on that side and he's holding onto them. You know, by the way, that's a good thing. He's a new convert. He's got a couple brethren there, couple of preachers and and he's holding onto them.

He's, he's attaching to the church, if you will, and I said this last time when it comes to the faith, God didn't call you to be a lone ranger or to get your faith over the internet or to live stream as it were, but to be part of a fellowship. So He's, he's holding onto the brethren here right out of the gate and, and there's no denying what's happened to him. We find in verse 11 that the people ran together to see that there is nothing like a change life to draw a crowd.

And boy, he's drawing a crowd here. Now the man couldn't preach and he's going to leave that up to Peter and we'll look at the sermon next time. It's a powerful message. 5,000 people get saved, but quickly a few thoughts and an application if you will. Right? There was a commercial on years ago and it was some girl who fell down and couldn't get back up and she, she called someplace and she said, help. I've fallen and I can't get up and many of you are smiling because you remember that help.

I've fallen and I can't get up and there are many people honestly in life who feel that way emotionally. They can't get up or spiritually they've fallen or domestically they've they've fallen or maybe economically or physically they've fallen and they just can't get up. There is a reason that this story is in the Bible in acts chapter three, you know there are dozens, maybe hundreds of beggars there in, in, in, in that 35 acre a Temple Mount complex that, that were begging for money that day.

There were hundreds of miracles that were taking place at this time, but here's, here's Luke the physician. All right, and this would catch his attention. A man is healed and so he meticulously records this one for Theopolis, that Roman dignitary to read about. There's no denying a physical miracle took place here, but there was a bigger miracle really that took place here.

This man, his health was saved, but no doubt he is soul was saved as well because this was a man who not only could not walk but could not worship. He is shunned outside the beautiful gate. There he is, day after day, needing the touch of the Almighty and God gave them something better than what he wanted, something better than gold. Think of that beautiful gate as heaven, if you will, but there he is, stuck in this spot, helpless and hopeless, surrounded by dead religion.

Day after day he could hear that formalism, that ritualism, that dead religion taking place just outside of that beautiful gate there. Until finally he got the touch of God. He got saved and he went through the gate. Have you had that touch? So many people are fallen and they can not get up. I was basically in that predicament over 37 years ago. Religious but lost, had a ton of religion, not analysis.

Elevation went to church every Sunday, but didn't know the Lord knew about him, but had never been born again. You know, last time I mentioned, there is a greater miracle than assigned miracle and so easy for us to go after those wonders and those signs and those miracles, but the greatest miracle friend is the salvation of the soul. And when somebody is truly gloriously born again, old things do pass away and all things do become new.

I just know that on March fifth, 1981, God saved me and I have never been the same. There is a miracle that takes place. And so often we emphasize the miracles and the signs, but not the salvation. You know, last week somebody got saved here and, and uh, we hear that week after week. Oh, that's nice. No, that's wonderful. You see a miracle every single time somebody is born again. And this poor lady man really is a cameo of the human race.

You find this man here, he can't stand before a holy God. He, he stumbling or falling through life in a dead religion that can do nothing for him and his lame condition. He is hopeless. He is helpless and without God. And that's the state of the human race. Spiritual cripples, if you will. Here's a man who was born spiritually cripple, but the bottom line is he got something better than gold. That's what he wanted, but he got something better. You know the wealthiest men alive.

It's still a spiritual crippled beggar without Christ. We're all beggars. We're like this man here. We all need the touch of God to get through the beautiful gate. Bible says in Psalm 51 five, behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceived me. That's the way we're born into this world centers. That's the way we are conceived centers.

Here's a man who could not walk, could not worship, who need the touch of Almighty God, stuck outside of the beautiful gate, hopeless and helpless, surrounded by dead religion. Maybe I'm talking to someone today. You have never been born again. You cannot relate to what happened to this man. You have never received something better than gold. That is salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. You cannot work your way to heaven. You baptism does not wash your sins away or make you a child of God.

In fact, you have to realize you're a sinner before you can become a child of God and that sin is serious with God. Have you ever had a time in your life when you realized you were lost on the road to hell, but the shed blood of Christ on calvary's cross was for you and by placing your faith in that sacrifice of Christ on the cross, in repentance from sin, you call upon the Lord and you were born again the Bible way. If you were to die today, do you know for sure you go to heaven?

That's something you really need to seriously contemplate. Have you been saved? Because again, the wealthiest man alive is still a spiritual cripple and a beggar needing the touch of God in order to get through that, that beautiful gate. Well, this man found salvation.

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