"The Gate Called Beautiful"

   "And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple;
   who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.
   And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said "Look at us."
   So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
   Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."
   And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
   So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God. Acts 3:2-8

According to the Strong's Concordance the word Beautiful means ... "belonging to the right hour or season (timely) i.e. flourishing (beauteous)" and that is what I would like to talk to you about today. This guy spent all his days sitting and waiting for people to show him compassion and give. He spent all his time asking with an expectation that lay below the surface. Expecting but not expecting. I say that because  ... even though he was sitting there begging, asking for alms, (expecting help) he was asking by rote ... and not really expecting. John and Peter had to speak to him and tell him to look at them when they approached. It was only then that his level of expectation jumped to the surface and he really looked at them with a valid expectation to receive.

As I was praying about this message God reminded me that we all have this "right hour" ... this "right moment" where we are at the Beautiful gate waiting for our "right season," This "day of visitation." The question is, will we respond with an expectation to receive or not? Even now we are in this season of visitation and the Holy Spirit is saying, "Look at Us."  I believe that we are even now coming into a day and an hour where we not only can, but need to look at God expecting to receive far above all that we need or have been asking for! Its time that we as His people stop waiting for the right season or the "flourishing" to happen sometime in the future. Today is the day that He is saying to us, His people, that sitting at the Beautiful gate by rote is no longer enough. We  need to be looking to  Him with an expectation to receive because it is His heart that we would receive everything we need to be walking, and leaping, and praising God.