“These personal notes are shared from sermons, classes, activities, journals, and reflections on faith. They do not represent the official views of Vox Church, and this site is not formally affiliated with Vox Church. To learn more about Vox Church and its beliefs, please visit voxchurch.org.”

Vox Sunday Sermon: Redefining Possible – House of Miracles – Part 3

Written by

Jay Downes

in

Sermon by – Lead Pastor Justin Kendrick – Vox Church

My Personal Sermon Notes …

A series focused on the idea that every word in the Bible is meant to be lived out.

Part 1: Promise Fulfilled in the Coming of the Holy Spirit to the Early Church
Part 2: The Early Church Was a Prayer-Saturated People
Part 3: The Spirit driven growth of the early church through Miracles
Part 4: Community and Sacrificial Love


“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 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 courts. 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!’ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.” Acts 3:1-10 (NIV)

Many believers today and throughout history have tried to separate themselves from the miracles recorded in the Bible. An example of this is The Jefferson Bible (“The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”), created by Thomas Jefferson in the early 19th century. This work focused on Jesus’ moral teachings while excluding supernatural events and theological doctrines. Jefferson used a razor and glue to cut out passages from six Bibles in different languages (English, French, Latin, and Greek), omitting references to miracles, Jesus’ divinity, the resurrection, angels, and the afterlife. Jefferson viewed Jesus as a great moral teacher but rejected the supernatural aspects of Christianity.

However, if you edit out miracles, it becomes difficult to explain the explosive growth of the early church. Miracles played a key role in the rapid expansion of the early Christian church by confirming the truth of the gospel and demonstrating God’s power.

Miracles served several purposes:

  1. Validated the Message – Miracles confirmed Jesus as the Messiah and strengthened the apostles’ authority (e.g., Peter healing the lame man).
  2. Showed the Power of the Holy Spirit – Signs at Pentecost and miraculous healings demonstrated God’s presence and led to mass conversions.
  3. Drew Attention – Miracles attracted crowds, providing apostles the opportunity to preach and convert thousands.
  4. Helped Overcome Persecution – Signs and wonders emboldened believers and reinforced their faith despite opposition.
  5. Converted Skeptics – Encounters like Paul’s on the road to Damascus and miracles in pagan cities led to conversions.
  6. Created Unity – Miracles inspired communal living and strengthened bonds among believers.
  7. Confirmed the Resurrection – The resurrection of Jesus was the ultimate miracle that motivated the apostles’ boldness and faith.

✅ Miracles authenticated the gospel, strengthened believers, converted skeptics, and fueled the rapid spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire.

Throughout history, many scientists have turned to faith as they gain a deeper understanding of the scope of creation. The existence of life depends on an extraordinary degree of fine-tuning across multiple factors:

Some Examples of Fine-Tuning:

  1. Fundamental Physical Constants – Gravity, electromagnetic strength, and the universe’s expansion rate are precisely balanced. Even slight changes would prevent the formation of stars, planets, and life.
  2. Ratio of Forces – The strong and weak nuclear forces, and the balance between gravity and electromagnetism, are finely tuned. Small variations would make atomic and planetary structures unstable.
  3. Mass of Particles – Proton, neutron, and electron masses are delicately balanced. Changes would prevent stable atoms from forming.
  4. Initial Conditions – The universe’s low initial entropy and the imbalance between matter and antimatter were necessary for galaxies and planets to form.
  5. Water’s Properties – Water’s ability to expand when freezing and its heat retention stabilize Earth’s environment, making life possible.
  6. Earth’s Position – Earth’s distance from the Sun, the Moon’s stabilizing effect on its tilt, and Jupiter’s role in deflecting asteroids all create a life-friendly environment.
  7. Biological Complexity – The intricate design of DNA and protein folding suggests an unlikely level of order and precision.

Probability of Life Forming by Chance

Given all these finely-tuned constants, scientists have calculated that the probability of life forming by pure chance—without any guiding intelligence or design—is incredibly small. The figure of 1×10731 \times 10^{73}1×1073 (1 followed by 73 zeros) is often used to represent this near-impossible probability.

This number comes from an estimation of how unlikely it is that all the necessary conditions for life would line up by accident, without any external influence or design. Some scientists, particularly those who argue from a theistic or intelligent design perspective, point to this improbably low number as evidence for a Creator or an intelligent force behind the universe.

For context, if you consider the number of atoms in the observable universe, which is roughly 108010^{80}1080, the probability of life forming by chance (using the figure of 1×10731 \times 10^{73}1×1073) is far less than 1 in the total number of atoms in the universe.

This underscores just how extraordinary the conditions for life are.

Do you believe all of this happened by accident? (Keep in mind that this perspective requires just as much faith.)

Or do you choose to believe there is an intelligent creator?

Jesus’ Ministry to Proclaim the Kingdom of God and Heal the Sick
Out of five instances when Jesus sends His disciples to preach the gospel, four include a command to heal the sick.

The Bible teaches that we should be a people who pray for healing and expect God to move:

James 5:14-16 (NIV)
“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

A Time Between the Times: The Overlapping Ages, the “Now” and “Not Yet” of the Kingdom

We live in a period between Jesus’ first and second comings, experiencing an “overlapping age” where God’s Kingdom is partially realized but not yet fully fulfilled. The “now” refers to the present reality of the Kingdom through Jesus’ work, while the “not yet” points to its future completion when Christ returns. Christians live in this tension, experiencing aspects of God’s reign now but awaiting its full realization in the future.

God Broke in as the Person of Jesus Christ to Make All Things New

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.’” Revelation 21:5-7

We pray for miracles and healing, but we shouldn’t anchor your hope solely in physical healing. We are called to ground our hope in the person of Jesus, trusting in the promise of our salvation and resurrection.

I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. John 11:25-26 NIV

Often, we struggle with our faith when we pray for miracles and healing but don’t see the results we hoped for.

We may believe that witnessing miracles firsthand would strengthen our faith. However, the Bible provides examples where this was not necessarily the case:

  • Thomas didn’t believe even after seeing Jesus calm the storm, an Lazarus raised from the dead.
  • The Israelites wanted to return to Egypt despite witnessing the Red Sea part.

What was wrong with them?

What is wrong with them is what is often wrong with all of us. Our minds can talk us out of any miracle.

Reflect on the person of Jesus—His miracles, His world-changing, life-transforming examples, teachings, claims, character, and life. Contemplate His good news and you will see that His worldview is the most compelling, life-giving, and mentally satisfying. In doing so, you’ll realize that Jesus is the most miraculous reason to trust God with every aspect of your life.

Acts 3: The First Miracle of the Modern Church – Parallelling Our Need

The Crippled Man and Our Brokenness

  • A man is crippled from birth, symbolizing our own inherent brokenness from birth.
  • He is sitting outside the temple, representing our separation from God’s presence.
  • The man is at the gate but cannot enter, seeking access to the presence of God.

Our Same Condition
“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:3-5 NIV

  • This reflects our own attempts to reach for God, but we often cannot access Him. The man sits right outside the gate but can’t or won’t go in.
  • The man doesn’t ask for healing; he asks for silver and gold. This pursuit of temporary things is like filling our cup, but it’s always empty the next day. In the end, it runs out, leaving us outside the gate. No closer to God and His true healing and satisfaction.

The Pursuit of Secondary Joys: Pseudo-Saviors

  • We tend to pursue secondary joys such as love, entertainment, money, career, and even family. But these are not true saviors; they leave us empty.

Peter’s Intervention: The Right Hand of Salvation

  • The text says specifically Peter pulls the crippled man up by his right hand.
    • The right hand represents salvation—in the Bible, God’s right hand symbolizes strength, victory, and salvation.
    • Jesus is referred to as sitting at the right hand of God, and the right hand represents salvation and deliverance.
    • Psalm 60:5: “Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered.”
    • Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
  • Jesus: Yahweh is salvation. He died in our place so we can be saved, leaving the gate, entering the temple, and being made whole.

The name Jesus, derived from the Hebrew Yeshua or Yehoshua, literally means “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh saves.”

The Miracle

  • The man was healed and entered the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God—this happened at the 9th hour (3 PM).

The Significance of the 9th Hour

  • The 9th hour is significant: the man is healed, the lamb is sacrificed, and Jesus is killed. This event fulfills prophecy:
    • Isaiah 35:4-6
    • Isaiah 53:5-7
  • The greatest miracle is not the temporary healings but the good news and the free gift of eternal life.

Peter and John’s Role

  • Peter and John go to the temple.
  • Peter, an uneducated fisherman who had once denied Jesus—rather than John, who had remained faithful—takes the lead. This demonstrates that our qualification to pray and witness miracles comes solely through our position as firstborn in Jesus Christ.
  • Peter and John were likely there because Jesus had told them to be there, and they noticed the man.

Key Lessons from Acts 3:

  1. Pray for Miracles in Community
    • Be part of a community that prays for miracles and expects God’s intervention.
  2. Notice the Needs Around You
    • 95% of people would want you to pray for them. If it works, great! If not, they still feel blessed. So, don’t be overly intense or “weird.”
  3. Pray in Faith
    • Mark 9:24: “I believe; help my unbelief.”
    • Stretch your faith and believe God for the impossible.
  4. Keep the Prayer Simple
    • Prayers don’t have to be long or complicated. Keep it simple, focused, and full of faith.
  5. Become a Community Praying Big Prayers
    • Let’s grow in hope, faith, compassion, and love. Allow the face of Jesus to be revealed through His church to the world.
  6. Look for Miracles and Coincidences
    • In the time between, God will break through His church and His Spirit, showing His power and presence.

My Takeaway

We are called to approach God with the simplicity and boldness of children, bringing our requests with trust and expectancy, knowing that He will move in our lives and in the world. God desires our healing—mind, body, and spirit—but He also wants us to understand that we won’t always grasp the timing or reasons behind His actions. We are to accept, in faith, that whatever He does, in His perfect wisdom and knowledge, will always be for our good and for His glory.

In experiencing this healing, we are then called to extend that healing to others. As the church, we are the temple of God, and His Holy Spirit dwells within us. We are His hands and His heart. Just as the nation of Israel, descendants of Abraham, was once called to bless all the peoples of the world and share the knowledge of the Creator, we, in this age, are called to be the vessel through which that knowledge is shared and healing is offered.

All this comes through faith that is built on a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Reflect on the person of Jesus—His miracles, His world-changing, life-transforming examples, teachings, claims, character, and life. Contemplate His good news and you will see that His worldview is the most compelling, life-giving, and mentally satisfying. In doing so, you’ll realize that Jesus is the most miraculous reason to trust God with every aspect of your life.

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