Acts 3:11-26

Passage

11 While he was holding on to Peter and John, all the people, greatly amazed, ran toward them in what is called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Or why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you. 15 You killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.

17 “And now, brothers, I know that you did it in ignorance, just as your leaders also did. 18 But what God predicted through the mouth of all the prophets—that His Messiah would suffer—He has fulfilled in this way. 19 Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah. 21 Heaven must welcome Him until the times of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning. 22 Moses said:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He will say to you. 23 And everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people.

24 “In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also announced these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring. 26 God raised up His Servant and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”

Psalm 32

The Joy of Forgiveness

Davidic. A Maskil.

1 How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!
2 How joyful is the man
the Lord does not charge with sin
and in whose spirit is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was drained
as in the summer’s heat. Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and You took away the guilt of my sin. Selah

6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
at a time that You may be found.
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place;
You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
with My eye on you, I will give counsel.
9 Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.

10 Many pains come to the wicked,
but the one who trusts in the Lord
will have faithful love surrounding him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice,
you righteous ones;
shout for joy,
all you upright in heart.

Study Questions

Acts 3:11-26

• Identify the elements of Peter’s second recorded message. Summarize the message in two or three sentences. How does this message address me or resonate with me?

  We should not be surprised by God’s power to heal as Jesus died and rose again. Just as we put Christ on the cross with our ignorance, we must repent and turn away from sin so we can be restored through Christ.

  This message is a reminder that God’s power to work miracles should be within our expectations. He can provide what we need as long as we have Christ as our Lord. We also need to think about our sins and what we have committed against God. Restoration can only come through Christ and what He did on the cross: defeated sin and death.

Acts 3:19-20

• Consider the promise to those who repent. How does repentance lead to times of refreshing?

  Repentance leads to seasons of refreshing which comes from the presence of the Lord. This is done through the Messiah and His ability to save us from our sins. This is a promise from God of what happens when one repents and turns away from his sinful ways.

  I have recently turned away from a sin that I have been plagued with for the last three months and I did not realize that it was such a big factor in having my relationship with God. I have repented 3 weeks ago and I am happy to say that my relationship with God has been restored. He constantly reminds me of to repent daily of the thoughts of anger, pride, gluttony amongst many other things that I experience. This reminder has helped me to have a better walk with God. I continually seek out role models from Scripture to help me to seek wisdom and be a better follower of Christ.

• Reflect on the message of Psalm 32. Are there some sins I need to confess and repent of? What am I gaining by keeping silent? What am I forfeiting?

  I did keep sins that I was not repenting of the past three months. My walk with God was in shambles and I was not able to find any rest. After having repented and turn away from my sin. I was able to find the times of refreshing mentioned in Scripture. I can finally say that verse 11:

  Be glad in the LORD and rejoice,
  you righteous ones;
  shout for joy,
  all you upright in heart.

  It is a continual struggle to remind myself to look to Christ and follow His instructions on the way to go. I will consistently seek counsel from God as well as my loved ones around me in situations that I will face in the future.

Free Thought

Thank you for reminding me of what kind of Savior you are. You are the Messiah, the One who is above all names, the One who loves. Help me to consistently go to you first and seek your wisdom above all else. When things may not go my way, I trust that it is going in Your way and I take comfort in that. Your way is so much better than my way and I ask that you help me to continuously enjoy this adventure you have created before me. Help me to love others just like you have loved me first so that I can spread the Joy that I have in my heart. Bless those who are walking with you and help me to carry the cross daily. Thank you Jesus for saving me from my wretched sinful nature. Amen.