The Beautiful Gate SHUT by Pharisees
by Evangelist Johnny “the Baptist” Campbell
Please open your Bibles to Acts 3:1-11
Now when I call this man a beggar I do not mean he’s what we have running all over the country raising money, nowadays beggars is called missionaries.
See I have lived long enough to see the Church go through fads like it used to be Church Busses oh if you did not have fifty busses you would never make the Sword, now that’s faded out then it was mega Churches if you did not have twenty thousand in Sunday School and a Bible College you was a failure in the eyes of the movers and shakers.
So now we have another fad its missionaries, we are told that’s the magic pill to get GOD’S blessing on your Church. I know Churches that has more missionaries than members AMEN.
I know Churches their Pastors work a job so that Church can support some lazy out fit who has never worked a job, and runs to campmeeting after campmeeting begging give me a dollar and I will preach JESUS, excuse me while I puke.
Well lets get to the message this man was over forty yrs old Acts 4:22,also this born was born deformed Acts 3:2.
Now there was three Places they carried beggars to receive handouts.
- In front of rich peoples houses Luke 16
- On the highways like Bartimaeus Mk 10
- The Temple Gates like this man Acts 3
Now out of the three, the favorite Place to beg was the Temple (like our Churches easy picking) Folks going into the temple to Pray three times a day Ps 55:17
- nine am
- twelve noon
- three pm which was the peak time for the evening sacrifices.
Now Peter arrive at this gate at 3pm and seeing this beautiful polished bronze gate that Josephus says it took twenty men to open and close.
This story breaks my heart because he is sitting right where good Church (temple) going folks come to worship and sing praises to Jehovah. While they are doing all this a man is sitting right outside and nobody helps him to get inside the gate. Everyday he sits and listens to them pray and sing praises to the GOD of Israel while he sits just right out side the gate. What these worshipers are really saying is “stay outta here THE GATE IS SHUT TO THE LIKES OF YOU.”
My thought tonight is not about him being healed and going inside the gate , but its how in verse 2 and 10 Acts uses the word Gate but in Revelation 21:12-15 its plural Gates.
So lets look at the Parallel between Acts 3 and Revelation 21
- The man in Acts 3 had to be healed before he could enter the Gate. OH, GLORY GLORY! You and I have to be healed of sins sickness to enter the gates in Revelation 21 By his stripes we are healed not our bodies but our sins, “Oh I am about to have a spell”
- The man went through the gate Praising GOD in Acts 3. We will also go through the gates Praising our GOD who lifted us up Rev 5:8-13!
- The People in the Temple were surprised to see him in side the gate. “Oh I am drunk on new wine as I preach this.” Oh they were surprised to see Johnny Campbell ever get inside the gate, what about you were they surprised to hear about your Salvation ????????
Oh some Baptist I have met I will be surprised to see some of them also. AMEN
- The gate in Acts 3 can be and has been closed. BUT BUT BUT Revelation 21:25 the gates in the city will never be shut!!!!!!!!
- The People inside the gate in acts 3 were still sinners. But in Revelation 21:27 there will be no sinners inside the gates of that city.
- The Gate in Acts 3 had a Temple inside. But not so in Revelation 21:21-22 The LAMB is the Temple, well help your self run around the house rejoice that our names are in the book.
- This Lame man in Acts 3 took no credit for getting inside the gate. Well thank GOD somebody did stop by and let him know its all in the name of JESUS acts3:6
I am so glad somebody saw me in my helpless condition and said Johnny you wanna get on the inside of the gate of that city.
Sept 22,1968 I entered the gate, lots of people in Houston, Texas passed me by and said there’s no hope for him, on Sundays I could hear the Church chimes ringing and folks singing inside but the gate was shut to the likes of me.