Peter and John Went Privately to the Temple Gate Called Beautiful

It's commonly known as a public demonstration of a miracle at the temple gate where Peter and John was instrumental to the healing of a lame beggar. But actually, Peter and John went there without any intention of doing or performing something in public to attract people and lure them to their church ministry. They just went there for prayer. This lame beggar asked them for money (neither did he expect that a miracle for him was about to happen) which the apostles didn't have at the time.

Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash.

When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. [Acts 3]

There was no pre-planning for this, no program or gimmick or whatever churchy thing that was prepared "for God's glory" to be seen by men. They were there for a simple, quiet prayer, and I can imagine that it was a private one, though they were amid a crowd gathering there also for prayer. When they talked with the beggar, it was not done to attract people. They simply talked with him. 

Miraculously, the beggar was healed and "he went with them to the temple courts." Then an excited crowd gathered. But, just like their Lord, they were not comfortable with a crowd that was excited about them. Jesus was never comfortable with a crowd that loved him. He pissed them off to make sure they were liking him for the right reasons--reasons the Father would approve of. Otherwise, he would just be performing a righteous deed "to be seen by men." The same with Peter and John. Seeing that the crowds loved what they did, Peter pissed them off with a criticism:

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? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

I don't know if a pastor today would say this to a big crowd already beginning to like him and his church. We would've been very careful not to offend the people or shoo them off with a silly criticism like that. We'd think a statement like that was uncalled for. Why not simply evangelize to the crowd and tell them God loves them and has a wonderful plan for them? Nope, Peter had to emphasize how they "handed him over to be killed." 

Why this statement? It was to make sure they were not there simply to please people and "be seen by men." I believe Jesus and the apostles did this to make sure the intention of their hearts was to do things in "private" because God watches what is done in private and rewards it. But since the crowd was now there and screwed up their privacy policy, they made sure they were not just pleasing the crowd but pleasing God. 

If the crowd persecutes you for your righteous deed, you don't do it "to be seen by men" but to please God. The reward is when you are persecuted for Jesus. But if the crowd likes you, beware. The persecution factor determines who is being pleased--God or people. People should be convicted by the Holy Spirit, be contrite and broken, repent and surrender to the Lord, not just feel blessed by your sermon and yet stay the same. And if your flesh likes how your preaching or ministry "blesses" (the right word is "pleases") people, you're definitely not doing it for God but for people and yourself. Your ego. I feel uneasy when people tell me they're blessed after I preach. I'd rather have them angry or broken and seriously repented than "blessed."

This is why I believe Peter and John went to prayer meeting without any desire "to be seen by men," much less to showoff the miracle to please the crowd or be seen doing it and be appreciated. Their heart's intent was to do things in private so that only the Father saw what they were up to. And when they saw how they had no choice but to be noticed by the people, they made sure their motives were pure and not a hint of hypocrisy was involved--a desire to be seen in public doing something for God. 

After urging them to repent, Peter also revealed God's good intentions for them if they decided to abandon their "wicked ways" and go all out for the Lord. Just imagine---the crowd was beginning to love them and then Peter tells them they had wicked ways. He should've at least simply said they were lost and misguided.

“Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

Here are several things we can learn from these passages:

1. Peter and John never planned or prepared a program for this.  
2. No one was invited. No attempt to gather a crowd to watch their program, to be seen by them.
3. They were simply attending a prayer meeting. Period.
4. God used the situation to glorify himself and the apostles simply moved with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
5. Clearly, everything was supernatural. Everything was God's plan.
6. When the crowd liked them, they started an acerbic message, something the crowd wouldn't like. 
7. They revealed God's plan, not their plan.

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SURRENDERING TO JESUS 

Ask forgiveness and repent of your sins. Believe God's forgiveness. It is promised in the bible. Receive Jesus Christ into your heart as your sole Savior and Lord. Then be assured of heaven, not because of anything you have or do (not your good deeds or religion or church), but because of God's grace and mercy through what Jesus Christ did on the cross. 

In Jesus alone is salvation. Jesus is: 

‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” [Acts 4] 

Surrender to Him by intently studying the bible daily (ask guidance from the Holy Spirit) and applying in life everything you learn. And then pray that God lead you to the right person who'd disciple you, one who is totally surrendered to Jesus and living His Word in the bible.

Are You Jabbed with the Other Vaccine?

Yes, there's another "vaccine" you may not have heard of yet. It's actually a priority vaccine but often serve as a standby remedy in case our plans A and B fail. We have good plans to fight Covid and survive this pandemic, one of which is getting jabbed with vaccines offered freely by the government (I got my second dose of AstraZeneca two days ago). Or any other remedy other people are preferring if they don't subscribe to vaccination. 

Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash.

But there's another type of "vaccine" you should have because this is provided freely by the government of the Kingdom--God's Kingdom government--and which is made available to all. If you haven't got this vaccine yet, you better do so now, especially when variants are appearing and spreading like crazy. God's vaccine protects you from all variants and all kinds of diseases.

The best thing is, there are no side effects or risks. No allergic reactions. It's guaranteed safe. Has it been tested? Yup, even before the universe was created. It applies regardless of age and gender.

Get a review of my e-book, God's Flesh.

Click here!

The Vaccine

It's a spoken vaccine. The spiritual "vaccine" comes in the form of God's Spoken Word, pertinent promises freshly released from His own mouth. His spoken Word is ever reliable and applicable for all time. It never expires or gets obsolete. It's new every morning. It's his steadfast love. The vaccine is spoken thus:

"The Lord will keep you free from every disease."

That's spoken in Deuteronomy 7:15. It's a sure promise from God, and God never lies. He is ever reliable and true. The only thing we need is to really BELIEVE with all our hearts and minds. This means, we re-align our lives with his Word in the bible. It's like medicine. Doctors give us meds which must be taken according to their prescription, if it's taken once, two or three times a day. If we don't, the meds will not take effect. They may even prove fatal.

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The same with God's "vaccine." We need to get God's "prescription" on it and follow it to the letter. For instance, we need to worship God properly every day, not just on Sundays and not just in our church buildings. Here's the prescription on the vaccine found in Exodus 23:25,

"Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. 

I will take away sickness from among you.."

Now, we can expand that prescription to include other things, not just food and water, like our place of work, the routes we travel going to places when we need to, vehicles we ride on, the things we touch, the air we breathe when we have no choice but to be in crowded places like public transport. In the promise above, the "blessing" (God's "anti-Covid protection," as it were) is on our food and water. But those are just examples. God can expand that to other things, because nothing is impossible to Him if we believe. 

Thus, we feel more safe, secure and protected with God's supernatural "vaccine," aside from the protection we get from our medical vaccine--or whatever protection option we prefer (but I hope you decide to get jabbed). God's "vaccine" comes with this assurance in Jeremiah 33.6:

"Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; 

I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security."

This does not mean, however, that we go out there in the streets any time we want because we have become Covid resistant. Far from it. We still observe strict safety protocols like distancing, wearing double masks, face shields, hand-washing, disinfecting plus taking organic health supplements. Don't wallow in false pride. The Lord always favors the meek and lowly and obedient.

God's supernatural vaccine is also effective after you get positive with Covid. It's never too late with God's powerful spoken Word in the bible. HE promises in Psalm 41:3:

"The Lord sustains them on their sickbed

and restores them from their bed of illness."

But prevention is better than cure. It's always best to keep away from danger rather than carelessly letting it affect you before you start doing precautions. Some people brave going out needlessly despite the pandemic, thinking that anyway God will protect them from the virus. Some even refuse to wear face masks and shield. Faith does not work that way. God provides supernatural protection but we need to apply His wisdom, too:

"The prudent see danger and take refuge, 

but the simple keep going and pay the penalty." [Proverbs 22.3]

Why the Need for Medical Vaccination?

We may ask, what's a medical vaccine for if we get God's superior supernatural vaccine? First, God's Word says we need to submit to the governing authorities, and the government urges us to vaccinate. Second, it's the same thing with food. We need natural foods to be healthy or to heal. God can provide us with food supernaturally (or supernaturally eliminate hunger so we'd be nourished and feel full even without eating) but it's still God's will that we buy food, cook it, and eat. Third, we do take meds when we need them, right? So, it shouldn't be a big deal.

But if you opt not to vaccinate, that's your right. And I pray that we all become safe from Covid.

How to "Register" for God's "Vaccine"

To register for this vaccine, simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And "believe" means totally surrendering your life to him. I did this on September 05, 1980 at 8 pm when I "met" the Doctor personally, that is Jesus Christ, when I heard the Gospel of the Kingdom, and received Him into my life as Lord and Savior. Then I totally surrendered to Him. By receiving Jesus and surrendering to Him, you get all the Kingdom benefits, among which is God's "vaccine."

Surrendering to Jesus 

Ask forgiveness and repent of your sins. Believe God's forgiveness. It is promised in the bible. Then receive Jesus Christ into your heart as your sole Savior and Lord, then be assured of heaven, not because of anything you have or do--not because of your religion, church or good deed--but because of God's grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. 

Surrender to Him by intently studying the bible daily (ask guidance from the Holy Spirit) and applying in life everything you learn. And then pray that God lead you to the right person who'd disciple you, one who is totally surrendered to Jesus and living His words in the bible.