DON’T GET STUCK AT THE GATE
John Clardy

Acts 3:1-3 GW
(1)  Peter and John were going to the temple courtyard for the three o'clock prayer.
(2)  At the same time, a man who had been lame from birth was being carried by some men. Every day these men would put the lame man at a gate in the temple courtyard. The gate was called Beautiful Gate. There he would beg for handouts from people going into the courtyard.
(3)  When the man saw that Peter and John were about to go into the courtyard, he asked them for a handout.

I know we have heard the story of the lame man at the gate of the temple many times, but I want to glean something else from it tonight.  Sometimes we hit the high places of this story, the man, the ministers and the miracle, but we miss something that though subtle, is just as pertinent to this man’s condition.  It was the way he treated and appreciated the place he was in.  His attitude was one of complacency and self pity.

THE BEAUTIFUL GATE: This gate of the temple that is mentioned in this narrative of the healing of the lame man by Peter and John was of unusual size and splendor. Its construction according to most historians was very elaborate and expensive.  It was also referred to by its lesser know name of “The Corinthian Gate,” which refers to the costly material of which it was constructed-- Corinthian bronze.  This gate greatly excelled in workmanship and value above all the others.  Others were plated with gold and silver, but this gate was still covered more richly and thickly.  It was larger than the other gates; was 50 cubits or about 30 ft.; its weight was so great that it took 20 men to move it.  Its massiveness and magnificence earned for it the name "Beautiful." 

This lame man was laid daily at a gate that was so beautiful that it had Beautiful as its name, but all he could see was an opportunity for a handout. He was not even enjoying the beauty that was surrounding him every day.  He was too caught up in his ugly attitude to appreciate the atmosphere that he was daily experiencing.  He was too bitter to enjoy the beauty!

I wonder how often we are in this same position!  Daily we are surrounded with the beauty of God!  Everyday, we are surrounded by things that are constantly testifying to the wonder and majesty of God. 

Ps 68:19  Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

All we have to do is look around us to see how God has blessed and beatified our lives!  But just like this man, we allow what we are facing, problems, people and pressure, to make us bitter instead of enjoying the beautiful!

Did you know that if a rattlesnake is cornered, it can become so frenzied that it will accidentally bite itself with its deadly fangs? In the same way, when a person harbors hatred and resentment in his heart, he is often hurt by the poison of his own malice. He thinks he is injuring his enemies by displaying his wrath, but the real harm is inflicted deep within his own soul.

You see this man was not just lame in his feet, he was lame in his spirit!  He was bitter because of his circumstances and position.  To him everything was tainted and ugly.  No one loved him!  No one cared.  He did not deserve to be where he was!  It was not his fault he was lame, it was his parent’s fault.  The Bible tells us he was lame from his mother’s womb. 

Maybe his mother didn’t care for herself and her unborn child as she should have during her pregnancy and it caused him to be born lame.  Maybe his mother was abused by someone during that time and it marred the unborn child within her body. 

Maybe it was a disease or improper development that caused the weakness in his ankles.  I don’t know.  But his angry attitude caused the weakness in his soul.  

Maybe he was angry at those who thoughtlessly passed him by everyday.  No one was paying him any attention.  Maybe he was angry at those who could walk and enter the temple when he could not because the Law said that his condition made him unworthy to participate in the religious rites that able-bodied men kept. 

This man was probably mad at the world and probably mad at God.  The result was for him as it is for some of us.  He was near something beautiful and he could see something beautiful – the gate.  He could hear something beautiful – singing and worship from the temple, but he could not enjoy the beautiful.  He daily observed from a distance but he never could get all the way into the place where he could receive God’s blessing.

What do you want when you come to church?  Why are you really here?  What are you expecting?  Just some alms?  Just another little bit to help you get by?  Are we coming just to hear someone sing or to hear a preacher preach?  Are we coming just to soothe our conscience or to play a role or give the rest of the congregation the impression that we are all right?  If so, you are making the same mistake that the lame man made when he was carried daily to the Beautiful Gate.  He was looking for the wrong thing.  He was seeking alms.  He had a get-by attitude that did not expect anything miraculous.  He wasn’t expecting healing.  He was stuck at the gate. 

Once a man worked for music recording company.  His job was to critique all of the albums that various artists made and to listen for all of the pops and sizzles so they could be corrected.  One day a colleague visited him at his home.  He noticed that his friend had a stereo system with all of the latest enhancements and features.  He commented that it must be a true joy to come home after a hard day and sit down and enjoy some good music on such great equipment.  With noticeable sadness, the man replied, “I wouldn’t know.  When I sit down to listen to music, all I can hear are the pops and sizzles.

He could not enjoy the beautiful because had listened to the bad so long that it was all he heard.

What kept him and keeps countless others stuck at the gate, the same place that they have been for years?  Their attitude!  An attitude that says, “I’m like this because nobody will help me.  I’m the way I am because my father did this or my mother did that.  I can’t help it I am like I am.  It’s not my fault.  I’m the way I am because nobody will help me get over to the place of blessing.”

The worst attitude in the world is a ‘get-over’ attitude regarding God.  Now you don’t have to be poor or sick or destitute to have a ‘get-over’ spirit.  The person with a get-over spirit is always looking for someone or something to help them get over his problem.  He is looking for what he can take from others, or what they will give to him freely.  You see a get-over attitude is one that expects somebody else to provide for you what god alone can provide for you, and then blaming that other person or group of people for failing you and causing you to fail. 

Yes, his pain was real.  He had a real problem.  Yes, someone else was responsible for his physical handicap.  But even though his hurt was a reality that he was not responsible for, his reaction of blame and bitterness were.  It kept his heart from rejoicing!  It kept him from appreciating the beauty around him.  It made more than his body heavy; it made his heart heavy.  And when your heart is heavy, everything about you is heavy. 

Your pain may be real; your problem may be real.  Someone in the past may be responsible for your limited ability, but you are responsible for your availability.  Someone in your past may have been responsible for your hurt, but don’t get stuck at the gate! 

The past is past!  This is a new day.  This is the present and you are responsible for your present position.  You can go on in bitterness and miss the beauty, or you can look around you and say this is the day that the Lord has made.  In spite of all my problems, I will rejoice and be glad in it.  I will find something beautiful that God is doing and I will let it bless me and deliver me from spiritual lameness.

No one can be your source of healing of spiritual lameness except God.  And nobody can put you in a right attitude for a relationship with God.  You are the only one that can get into a position to get “unstuck” from the gate.   

When you get your heart and attitude right and do what you can, God will do what only He can do.  He’ll send a Peter and John your way.  He will cause the miracle of deliverance in your body, your finances, and your emotions.  But before the outward gets right and the leaping and running happens, the inward must be gotten right.

Somewhere along the way, this man changed his attitude.  He made up his mind to make the best of the place he was in.  When he did that, God stepped in.  The day came when Peter and John noticed this man.  

When you get right with God, He will bring you to the attention of someone who will help deliver you from your suffering.  Peter and John noticed him and said, “Look on us.”  And he looked expecting to receive something.  “Silver and gold have I none.  But such as I have give I thee!”  God has seen your change of heart it’s time you quit sitting on the outside looking in.  God has sent us with your answer.  “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”  God, through Peter, lifted him up and immediately his anklebones received strength and he leaped and danced and entered into the temple to worship to the amazement of the people. 

He got over his self-pity and spiritual lameness.  He changed his attitude of bitterness and blame into one of eagerness and expectation.

Don’t get stuck at the Gate!  Bring your heaviness and hurts to the Lord.  Ask God to change you and then you will set the stage for God to change your situation. 

Matt 11:28-30
28           Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29            Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30           For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.