“Peter and John went to the temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service.” – Acts 3:1 (NIV)
Y’all, I just got back from Israel last year, and walking where Jesus walked changes everything. In America, when something’s important or memorable, we put it in a museum behind glass with “no flash photography” signs. But in Israel? You can walk and touch and sit among all the places we read about in Scripture. There’s a gate at the temple where they think this story happened, and standing there, I could almost see it unfold.
This is a story about showing up expectant. It’s a story about what happens when ordinary people believe an extraordinary God. And it’s a story about “that day”—the day everything changes.
Never Neglect the Gathering
Here’s what I love right from the start: Peter and John, followers of Jesus, disciples who walked with Him—they never neglected the corporate gathering. Acts 3:1 tells us they went to the temple for the three o’clock prayer service. This was their normal routine.
Listen, during COVID, it made sense not to assemble because of a transmissible disease. But here’s the problem—that’s in direct contradiction to what Scripture instructs us to do. Hebrews 10:25 says we should “not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (NIV).
Peter and John were going to prayer. They were going to corporate time together. They were showing up expectant.
We live in a country where we can be in the house of the Lord. I travel a lot to Africa, and I was watching videos yesterday of what’s happening in Nigeria—we should never take this freedom for granted. Never.
Forty Years of Begging
As Peter and John approached the temple, Acts 3:2 tells us: “Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple” (NIV).
Can you imagine a life—forty years of begging? We know from Acts 4 that this man had been lame for forty years. Maybe there’s a season where any of us might be in a place of begging—when ends aren’t meeting, when you get laid off, when something goes south in your life. But forty years? Especially as a man charged with leading his household, caring for his family?
On this day, he’s begging again. And tomorrow, he’ll be begging again.
Look at Me
Acts 3:3-4 says: “When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!'” (NIV)
I love that Peter and John looked at him intently. Because if you go to Springfield—or maybe in your town too—you’re going to see a beggar at every single corner. And I don’t know about you, but I try to look past them sometimes. I don’t want to make eye contact because that would suggest I have something to give, and most days I don’t carry cash.
But Peter and John? They’re making intentional eye contact. This isn’t just a glance—this is “I see you, and I need you to see me too.”
The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting money. You know, we can think we know what we need. “God, if You would just do this. If You would just answer this prayer.” This man thinks he knows what he needs—money. That’s what beggars need, right?
But Peter says something incredible in verse 6: “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (NIV).
Can you imagine the confidence that takes? “I know you’re a beggar. I know you’ve been in this condition for forty years. You think I’m going to give you money, but I don’t have any. But what I do have, I will give to you. Get up and walk.”
Greater Than Silver or Gold
The level of faith that takes is incredible. And here’s what we need to remember—this is the same Peter who just chapters earlier was denying Jesus three times. This is the same Peter and John who operated like you and I do. They loved the Lord, they followed Him, but they knew how far off they could be.
We know that in one breath, just like Peter, we can be denying Christ. Maybe not the same way Peter did, but your doubt, your anxiety, your fear, your insecurity—all of that is actually a denial of who Christ is. Because where we are fearful, where we are bound, means we’re not trusting God in that area.
But on this day, God gave them faith to believe. And they didn’t let what they didn’t have stop them from giving what they did have.
Church, we have greater in us than what people actually need. They might think they know what they need, but what they truly need is relationship with Jesus. Because when we are in relationship with Jesus, there is no lack. He says everything you need, He will provide.
Peter and John could pray. They could say, “We don’t have what you think you need, but we know who to call on, and there’s no lack in Him. So get up and walk.”
Helping Someone Stand
Here’s what’s beautiful—Acts 3:7 says: “Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong” (NIV).
Peter took him by the hand and helped him up. This man had been bound for forty years, crippled on the ground. The power must have been coming out of Peter and John in that declaration, but it still required Peter to physically help him.
Why? Because that’s his norm. That’s where he’s comfortable. He’s only ever been a beggar. Can you imagine doing something you’ve never in a million years thought you could do?
Don’t miss this—we can help people with our words AND with our actions. We can pray over people and declare what God has for them, but we also need to take them by the hand and help them stand up.
Walking, Leaping, and Praising God
Acts 3:8 gives us this beautiful picture: “He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God” (NIV).
This man is not only physically healed—he’s emotionally healed. When’s the last time you saw somebody leaping? I like to think of it as skipping. When you see a kid skipping, they’re emotionally doing just fine. You just don’t skip if you’re not okay.
And he’s not only walking, but Scripture says he’s leaping and praising God. That’s the testimony of his life. “I was one way and now I’m another way. I was begging at the temple gate and now I’m walking into the temple. I was crying out for money and now I’m going to praise and worship God.”
Everything about this man’s life changed in an instant.
Why This Day?
Some days we’re like, “I’ve asked God. I’ve begged God. I’ve sat at His feet. I’ve cried out for Him to do it again.”
If this man had been there for forty years, surely Peter and John had passed by him before. The Beautiful Gate was where a lot of people entered the temple—it was a popular entrance because it was, well, beautiful. So why on this day? Why not yesterday?
I don’t know. Scripture doesn’t say.
But what I believe is that every single person reading this will have a “that day” moment. There’s something within us that God says, “I want you to expect it. I want you to come to the temple expecting. I want you to show up in worship expecting—not only that I’m going to use you, not only that I’m going to speak to you, but that I’m going to show up for your need as well.”
This wasn’t just about the lame man’s life being changed. Peter and John’s lives were forever changed. Later in Acts, it says they were “unschooled, ordinary men” but people recognized “that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NIV).
With Them
I love this detail in verse 8: “Then he went with them into the temple courts” (NIV).
He went WITH them. He was an outsider, and now he’s with them. He went from a beggar outside the temple to a part of the body of Christ.
Lest we forget that God came for the least of these. Lest somebody walk in our church doors next Sunday and any of us look at them like, “Clearly, you’re not in the family.”
This man was a beggar. He had nothing to offer. He’d never contributed to society—from the day he was born, he’d only ever been a beggar. He never volunteered at church, never passed out groceries, never paid taxes. But on this day, he’s part of the body.
Are we willing, church, to receive people who walk in the door exactly where they are, regardless of what they have done or haven’t yet done?
Peter and John didn’t look down on this beggar. They saw their brother in Christ. He’s worshiping with us now. He’s part of the body with us.
Who is it in your life that needs to be with us? Not because of their list of accolades, not because of everything they’ve done, but because God created them in the image of God.
A Specific Invitation
I want to challenge you today: Who are you going to invite to church next Sunday?
Not a casual “anytime you want to come” invitation. I mean a specific one. “Next Sunday at 10:50, I want you to come with me.”
The kind of invitation that says, “I’m expectant for what God’s going to do.” Because it’s His house and it’s what He does—He loves His bride.
Sometimes we give ourselves a pass. “Well, I told them anytime.” No, this is specific. We’re going to church at three o’clock (or ten fifty, or whenever your service is), and God’s going to do something.
Through Faith in the Name of Jesus
When the crowd rushed out in amazement (verse 11), Peter saw it as an opportunity to address them. Acts 3:12 records his words: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” (NIV)
Peter’s quick to deflect any credit. This wasn’t us. We recognize what we carry. We prayed in faith that it would happen. But make no mistake—this is not by our own power.
And then he gives us what I consider the most important verse of this passage. Acts 3:16 says: “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see” (NIV).
Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed.
It wasn’t Peter’s power. It wasn’t John’s ability. It was their faith in Jesus that enabled them to say, “Get up and walk.”
I don’t even know if the lame man had the faith to get up and walk—he didn’t try on his own. But Peter was like, “You know what? I have some faith for you. Let me help you.”
I love that God met this man exactly where he was and said, “Let me help you. Let me help you to believe.”
You Know How Bad It Was
Luke, who wrote Acts, includes this detail in verse 16: “as you can all see” (NIV). You know how crippled he was before. You know how bad the situation was.
I just feel like that’s so relatable. You know how bad your situation is. You know how awful the disease is. You know how terrible your son is doing. You know how bad the addiction is.
Luke is saying, “You know. You remember. This was the guy. It was terrible.”
But faith in Jesus’s name healed him before your very eyes.
My Mom’s Story
Can I share something personal? My mom has been in a wheelchair for twenty-five years. I think I told some of you last time I was here, but about a year ago, my mom walked about forty steps.
Now granted, she hasn’t done it since then. But I still praise God for that day because that day for her was one of those “that day” moments.
There was a man of God who believed like Peter and John. He looked at her and said, “Get up and walk.” And she did it. I was flabbergasted. I was astounded.
It reminds me of when Peter was walking on water and then started looking around, recognizing “I’m walking on water right now,” and began to sink. Somewhere along the journey, it hit my mom and me and the rest of us—”Oh my gosh, that lady’s walking. That lady who happens to be my mother is walking.” And then she started to fall, and we had to get her chair.
But it was crazy, y’all. It was wild. I haven’t seen my mom walk in twenty-five years.
But isn’t that the life of faith? It’s a journey, and I’m here for it. This is what I signed up for. I wish and hope and pray I see it again and again and again.
The man of God who prayed over her reminded me of Peter and John when he looked at her and said, “Get up and walk.” He was convinced. He was fully persuaded.
And everybody who saw it was absolutely astounded.
Times of Refreshment
Peter concludes his message with this invitation in Acts 3:19: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (NIV).
I don’t know if you’re weary today. I don’t know if you’re tired of asking. I don’t know if you’re no longer believing God. I don’t know if you’re looking at your situation and you’re so focused on how bad the problem is that you think there’s no way.
But Peter is saying, “Friends, we can all be ignorant. We can all deny God. Been there.” Peter denied Jesus three times in a really short amount of time. “But if you’ll repent like I did, if you’ll turn from your sins and your ignorance, He will wipe them away, and times of refreshment will come.”
Just a few chapters down the road in your life, you might find yourself like Peter and John, and people will recognize you as someone who’s been with Jesus.
Been With Jesus
Acts 4:13 says: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (NIV).
Isn’t that the cry of your heart? I hope and pray that people would look at me and say, “She has no special training in the Scriptures, but she’s clearly been with Jesus.”
Why? Because it’s not just about me. When you’ve been with Jesus, chains start falling off other people. We start walking by them, speaking to them, praying over them, inviting them into the temple with us to be a part of the body of God.
And all of a sudden, chains start breaking. They get freedom. They start praising God out loud. People see who they are and start going, “Wow, if God did that for them, God could do that for me.”
That’s how your testimony multiplies over and over and over again.
Perhaps Today Is That Day
There’s something about faith in the name of Jesus. Faith that says, “Surely this man had asked before. Surely Peter and John had passed by this guy before. But on that day, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Look at that man. Pray for that man. Speak over that man.’ And that day changed everything.”
Perhaps today is that day for you.
I don’t know what you came here needing, but maybe it’s such a great need that you’ve become so used to just staring at it that you’ve missed the One who is able to rescue you from death.
Faith in Jesus is what made this man walk again.
Show up expectant. Believe again. Invite someone specifically to come with you next Sunday. Look at people—really see them—and be willing to pray, “In the name of Jesus, get up and walk.”
Because you never know—today might just be that day.
Sara Forhetz is a radio host, podcaster, and speaker who encourages thousands daily through her authentic storytelling and bold faith. Follow her daily encouragement on Instagram @saraforhetz and tune in weekdays from 6-10 AM on 88.3 The Wind.
