The last time Stephen preached, he spoke from Luke 9 about the commission Jesus gave to His disciples – and how that commission took priority over all other things and involved trusting Jesus totally. Today, he looked at the practical outworkings of that through the healing of a man, told in Acts 3.
Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer – the implication is that this is something they did regularly, so presumably that had seen the crippled men begging at the gates before. On this occasion, however, when they were asked for money, they did far more than offer material aid.
Peter declared that they did not have any silver or gold that would help the man, but revealed that they had something far more helpful! They introduced the man to Christ and Christ’s healing. Not only did the man receive physical healing, however; he was introduced to spiritual life through this miracle (he began walking and jumping and praising God!)
We need to offer whatever we have to those in need. Sometimes it is relatively easy (and safe) to offer material help. We need to ensure, however, that we also introduce Christ into people’s situations, for more than anything else, people need Christ and the life He offers.