May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Word. Let's
turn to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 4, and we'll read verse
23. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter
4, and reading verse 23. And being let go, they went to
their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and
elders had said unto them. We read the first 11 verses in
the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles because it speaks
there about the man who was healed, we're just told, and a certain
man lain from his mother's womb was carried whom they laid daily
at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful. And this
man was miraculously healed as Peter and John viewed him and
this man was commanded to look upon Peter and And John, and
through that, he was wonderfully healed. And this, of course,
created quite a stir. He'd been there all his life,
really, he'd been lame, and there was this amazing change in this
man. And so, Obviously, the rulers,
they weren't keen to hear that this was done through the power
of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and also to the truths
that the apostles were able to speak to the multitude. And there was obviously a large
multitude. We're told there were some 5,000
people. So it was a very large community
that was there. And so we have this picture then
of this great, wonderful miracle bringing about much instruction
really to the people and of course though the rulers they didn't
like it at all and we're told and as they spake unto the people
the priests and the captains of the temple and the Sadducees
came upon them being grieved they taught the people and preached
through Jesus the resurrection from the dead and they laid hands
on them and put them in hold until the next day for it was
now eventide so now it was evening of this day and it's good as
we read these accounts that again we observe as we often do in
the New Testament that given the opportunity the Apostles
always desired to preach the gospel, to bring the good news
of the gospel. They were never backward in coming
forward in their desire to spread the good news. And although that
occurred, of course, many years ago, the good news of the gospel
has not changed. The good news of salvation is
still the same. And it is a wonderful and glorious
message to be able to declare whether we are preachers or whether
we are individuals, we should all observe the wonderful privilege
to speak well of the Saviour and describe indeed what He did. And through that wonderful work
which He accomplished on Calvary's Cross, He brought salvation to
so many in this vast world and it is good news indeed. And when the apostles were criticized
and were put, as it were, in prison overnight, and they were
asked about the situation, and Annas the high priest and all
his household came also to ask, and they asked the question,
by what power or by what name have you done this? And then
we see in this account the wonderful answer that Peter gave. Peter, of course, always appears
at the forefront. We might wonder sometimes, why
was that? Well, of course, we might say Peter had the biggest
debt to pay. Well, of course, we all have
a great debt to pay, but it was Peter himself who denied the
Lord Jesus Christ. It seems, therefore, that every
opportunity that presented himself, Peter, was very forward in speaking
well of the Savior. And so he comes and says, then
Peter filled with the Holy Ghost. And he asked him, he said, if
this day we be examined of the good deed done to the impotent
man by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all
and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. Surely it's very wonderful and
really lovely to read the clarity with which Peter describes the
reason why this man was healed. In a few words, very succinct,
and yet very direct, so that the high priest and all those
were under no illusion that how this had come to pass. And Peter
goes on to accuse them and he says, this is a stone which was
set at nought by you builders. which is become the head of the
corner, neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none
of the name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. That was true then. My friends,
that's true today. It's so true. Such a truth never
fails, never becomes out of date. It is true today. And may all
of us realise the wonderful blessing it is. And may we all be concerned
that we all possess this great and wonderful salvation. Salvation means the saving of
our souls. All of us have a never-dying
soul. All of us need to be saved, saved
from our sin, freed from our sin, forgiven from our sin. We all need this great salvation. And it's wonderful to know that
this was brought to unworthy sinners. And so we're told now
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived
that they were unlearned and ignorant men. They marveled,
and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. That's a wonderful testimony.
And it should be a wonderful testimony about us today. We, of course, have not physically
seen the Lord Jesus Christ. but it's a great blessing if
we received him by faith as our salvation. And that wonderful
and blessed gift has had a real effect upon us. It's not something
which is just passing and of no consequence. It is of the
utmost consequence. And the beautiful statement tells
us they marvelled and they took knowledge of them that they had
been with Jesus. That was physical, but if we
receive the Lord by faith, it should be evident in our lives
that people do take knowledge of us. Yes, they may not perhaps
always voice it, but nonetheless it's good if our example indicates
that we do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so there was
this situation then, obviously Peter was speaking the truth,
these people, the high priest and the Sadducees, they didn't
want this This good news to travel, so they told them that it mustn't
spread any further. Then I straightly threatened
them that they speak henceforth no to no man in his name. And they called them and commanded
them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. Well, the devil still wants that
to occur today. He doesn't want us to speak of
Jesus. He wants us to keep our mouth
shut and never mention the things of God. And so the response to
that was, from Peter and John, they answered, whether it be
right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto
God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things
which we have seen and heard. Well, it's good you know if the
grace of God has come upon us into our hearts so that we cannot
but speak of the things which we have seen and heard by faith. That the gospel does mean something
to us. The Lord Jesus Christ does mean
something to us. And I hope it's not just something
which is casual, but that it's really important because he is
our salvation. Now if he is our salvation, what
a blessed truth that is. And so although Peter and John
were commanded not to speak, they said they couldn't stop
speaking. And then we're told, so when
they have further threatened them, they let them go, finding
nothing how they might punish them because of the people. For all men glorified God for
that which was done. You see, as I often say, our
lives are for the honour and glory of God. And this man who
was healed, this lame man who was born lame, was over 40 years
old, wasn't young, he'd been there for many years, and people
had passed by him, and so most people knew who he was and what
he'd been like. And it was very clear that this
great act of healing had occurred. And so Peter and John were let
go. And so where did they go? They were free people. They could
have gone anywhere. They could have done anything
they wanted to do now. What do they do? We're told. and being let go, they went to
their own company. Who were their own company? Their own company were the people
of God. And that's a wonderful truth.
It's a wonderful blessing if, even today, if we're free to
do what we want to do, What do we do? It's a good question,
isn't it? What do we do? If you and I are
free to go anywhere we want to, to meet anybody we want to meet,
who do we desire to meet? Who do we want to meet? Well,
these two, Peter and John, desire to meet the Lord's people. The
other disciples, many who'd been converted, that was the ones
that they wanted to meet because they were at home in their company. The company wasn't alien, it
wasn't a worldly company, it was a godly company. And they
would have rehearsed together what had occurred. how the Blessed
Saviour had been crucified, how He'd risen from the dead, how
He was ascended to His Father. It was all wonderful. It was
all good news. And this was what they were speaking
about and desired to speak about. They didn't want to go anywhere
else. And being let go, they went to
their own company. Well, it's a good example And
it's a wonderful example, and it's a good example for us today. As we live in this world, and given
freedom of choice to go where we want to, where do we want
to go? Who do we want to meet with?
Well, I hope it's the people of God. And I hope it's the people
of God because we can talk about heavenly things, heavenly realities. You know, it's a sad day in which
we live, really, that there is not very much spiritual conversation. There's not very much speaking
about what God has done for our souls, how he has appeared for
us. Now, Peter and John had clearly
declared what had occurred, how it had occurred, by whom it had
occurred. They were not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ. It was very precious to them. It was very real to them. And
you see, such a test comes into our lives perhaps sometimes.
And being let go, do we want to go to our own company? Do we come to our own company? And we're told about Peter and
John, what they did then. And being let go, they went to
their own company and reported all that the chief priests and
elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, He
lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord,
thou art God, which has made heaven and earth and the sea
and all that in them is, who by the mouth of thy servant David
has said, why do the heathen rage and the people imagine vain
things? The kings of the earth stood
up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
against his Christ, for of a truth against thy holy child, Jesus,
whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with
the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done. And now, Lord, behold our threatenings,
and grant them to thy servants, that with all boldness they may
speak thy words. by stretching forth thine hand
to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy
holy child, Jesus. Well, it was a good testimony.
It was a good example. It was what these two desire
to declare And those that they spoke to
also desired to declare, they desired to spread the good news,
the good news of the gospel. Well, these things, my friends,
are written for our instruction, for our direction, because the
times in which they lived were dark times. The times in which
we live are dark times. But the blessing is, Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday and today and forever. He does not change
and we have therefore a great and a glorious and a blessed
Savior to proclaim. We should not think and let none
of you think well I'm not called to preach, I'm not a preacher,
and therefore such things don't fall to my lot. My friends, all
of us, if we are chosen of God, if we've been called by God,
if God has spoken to our souls, we are in reality ambassadors
for Christ. We are to show forth his praise. We are to desire. that we may
be concerned to show forth his praise. Now, don't be surprised
if the great enemy of souls desires always to shut our mouth. The devil never wants the name
of Jesus to be spoken of in a right way. He's happy if the name of
Jesus is taken in vain, but he never wants the name of Jesus
to be spoken of well. So, we should be encouraged as
we have these wonderful examples in the Acts of the Apostles of
how the Apostles did act in those early days of Christendom. They were blessed days, but my
friends, we still are privileged to have the Gospel preached. The Gospel hasn't been shut down. The devil would shut it down
if he could, but bless him God, he's been unable to. And it is
still the power of God unto salvation, as we just read in those verses
that we quoted. And what a blessing it is. So
then, as we ponder this little account, what the word tells
us here for being let go. They went to their own company
and reported all that had occurred, really. Well, you and I know
how we are, what our position is. I wonder if we have got something
to say, something to report. Remember, the enemy of souls
want silence. Bless God when the Spirit of
God enables us to speak forth the praise and honor of our God. It's a wonderful blessing if
the Lord gives us that desire and that spirit so to do. epistle to the Colossians, the
Apostle Paul, in that first chapter, he speaks this, he says, towards
the end of that chapter, he says, whereof I made a minister according
to the dispensation of God, which is given to men for you to fulfill
the word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid from ages
and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints. If you and I are a believer called
by God, we are a saint of God. That's a very humbling realization,
but it's a great truth. But now is made manifest to the
saints to whom God would make known what is the riches of the
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in
you, the hope of glory. It's a very wonderful statement.
It's a very simple statement. And as the apostle was so keen
always to lift up Christ and to declare him. So it is here
when he said, what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles. And it is a mystery. Godliness
is a mystery. To realize that almighty God,
the creator of all things, has called a people, has chosen a
people has elected a people from eternity past has a love to a
people from all eternity and therefore that is conveyed to
the living Church of God and what a humble experience it is
to realise that Almighty God conveys this spiritual understanding
to our very souls so that we have the evidence of this truth,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. My friends, the only
hope of glory that you and I can have is to have the evidence
that Christ is in us. And what a blessing that is.
And my friends, let us never deny it. devil will try and say
well that's a true statement but it doesn't apply to you you
don't possess that well let me just remind you the word of God
tells us a little that a righteous man hath is better than the treasures
of many wicked so if you and I possess a little of the grace
of God, a little of the unmerited favour of God, a little of the
favour of God toward us, it is the wonderful evidence that this
word is true, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. There's no hope of glory without
the wonderful evidence that Christ is in us. And that's not something
that you and I produce ourselves. It's that which the Holy Spirit
has brought about to give unto us this wonderful and blessed
hope that Christ is indeed in us. What a blessing that is.
How amazing to think that almighty God has condescended to reveal
Himself to us as our great Saviour, our great Salvation, to reveal
to us that Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to save
sinners and to be like the Apostle Paul and say of whom I am chief
We will never Point fingers at others and say well they of course
are worse than me Because when the Holy Spirit convicts us of
sin that sin Left by itself will sink us But in that situation
The grace of God enables us to look up. And that's why we have
those glorious words in Isaiah. Look unto me and be saved for
I am God and there is none else. I want to favour them today to
be found looking unto Jesus. So being let go We desire to
go to our own company. That means go to the people of
God because they speak the same language. They speak about the
things of God. They have the evidence of the
work of God in their soul. So there is some union and some
communion whereas in the world they have no knowledge of these
things they have no understanding of them they don't appreciate
them we're talking a foreign language but to the Church of
God it's a heavenly language it's a heavenly language you
know when by the grace of God we get to glory What do you think
we're going to be talking about? What do you think we're going
to be singing about? You think we're going to be talking and
singing about the things of this vain world? I'm sure we shall
be singing and speaking about the things of glory, the things
of Christ, His great and wonderful work. It's a song which will
never grow old. It will be a song which is ever
new. It'll be good news. And I believe to the Church of
God, we don't start speaking and we don't start singing about
the things of God when we get to glory. The commencement will
be on this earth. The commencement will be when
we join together, when we meet together, with God's people,
just like this, being let go, they went to their own company. And you know, the own company
is a wonderful company. It's the church of the living
God. What a wonderful thing it is
to be a member of that church and to be amongst those who God
has loved with an everlasting love and are able to describe
what the Lord has indeed done for our souls. Now in the epistle
of John, the first epistle of John, the third chapter, there's
a very straightforward clear position that you and I may take
courage by to know that we are the children of God. And in the
14th verse of the third chapter, this is what we read. We know
that we have passed from death unto life. Now that's something
that you and I need to know. We want to know that we are alive
in Christ. We're not dead. We're spiritually
alive. And here is a very simple and
very true testimony. We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. Because we love
the children of God. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. Well, it's a simple question,
isn't it? Do you and I love the people
of God? Put another way, do we want to
be in their company? Are we happy to be with the children
of God? Or do we enjoy more being with
the people of the world? enjoying the things of the world.
Do we not want to be with the people of God? Well, the people
of God show forth the mercy and the love and the grace of God. And there is, in conversations
with such, something that links us together. It's a common bond. And that common bond is the love
of the Saviour. And it's very wonderful that
in the Church of God, the love of God cuts across all boundaries. It cuts across rich and poor. It cuts across ignorant and brainy. It cuts across colour, it cuts
across language. There is a common bond. And the common bond is very simply
specified like this. All one in Christ Jesus. I know sometimes that can be
used in a wrong way, but it's a glorious truth, in truth. that the Church of God are united
in Christ. And it's wonderful. And I've
been privileged, as most of you know, to travel in a good number
of parts of the world and to meet Christians in other parts
of the world with totally different backgrounds. And yet it's good
that very quickly, we might say almost immediately, there is
that evidence of Christ in you, the hope of glory. It's a wonderful bond. The truth
is, it's an eternal bond. You see, friendships on this
earth cease. When death occurs, friendships
cease. My friends, those who are alive
in Christ have an eternal bond which is never broken. So what
a blessing it is then to realise the wonderful, wonderful favour
of God and to have the evidence here wherever on the earth. We know it is important, isn't
it? You see, many people seem to
live, using a description from the Pilgrim's Progress, they
seem to live and to rejoice in living in a place called Doubting
Castle. And they seem to think there's
some grace in living in Doubting Castle. My friends, there's no
grace in Doubting Castle. And what a blessing, therefore,
if we're able to come to this realization by a very simple
test. We know that we have passed from
death, spiritual death, into spiritual life. Why? Because we love the brethren. And we see the love of Christ
in them. And that's what it is, unites
us together. They are those also for whom
Christ has died. those for whom the Lord gave
His life. He shed His precious blood upon
that cross at Calvary. Unity. Oh my friends, it's a
blessing and a wonderful evidence therefore of the life of God
in our souls. So I hope you can just meditate
and ponder and think about that. Whether you have the evidence
In your heart, you are therefore one of the children of God. And
given this opportunity, being let go, they went to their own
company. We go to those children of God
who at one time we may have despised, but now we realize they are in
actual fact the salt of the earth. They are the chosen of God. and reported all that the chief
priests and elders had said unto them. There's much to talk about
of the grace of God. There's much to acknowledge of
what God has done. And we should never be ashamed
and we should never be backward in singing the praises of our
God. Acknowledge what He has done. It's not what we've done. It's
not because we've been a wonderful, good person and we've done this
and we've done that and we're counting all these things that
we've done and we think they're adding up so that we have a good
passport to heaven. There's only one passport to
heaven and that's through the glorious death and resurrection
of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why the hymn writer
so ably says, To know my Jesus crucified by far excels all things
besides. You and I might seek after many
things in this world, many things in time. Now we have to work,
we have to live in this world and it's not wrong to therefore
work well and ably and to seek natural prosperity but must always
take second place. Christ and Him crucified must
be our song. To the true Church of God it
will be their song. And although there's a battle,
and although the devil tries to stop our mouth, bless God
when our mouth is opened and we can testify of the love and
the mercy and the grace of Almighty God. Well, it was good, wasn't
it, that Peter and John set before us this wonderful example. And
it all comes back to the grace of God who enabled them to look
upon this man and this man to look upon them and receive that
healing in his body. And that was that. which was
the catalyst, you might say, for this time of blessing and
for these wonderful words to be spoken. And so we should remember,
as we read the last verse in this fourth chapter, sorry, the
last verse we read, verse 31. And when they had prayed, the
place was shaken, when they were assembled together, And they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost. And they spake the Word
of God with boldness. Well, perhaps we don't witness
this shaking of the evidence of the work of the Spirit in
a physical way, but we may know it in our own hearts, in our
own soul. the wonderful effect of the work
of the Spirit of God and what does that do? I believe it acts
in the same way as it did to the people in those days and
they speak the Word of God with boldness well we should be very
thankful if we have the evidence of God's work in our soul that
we can say one thing I know Whereas I was blind, now I see. There was a time when I didn't
know anything about the things of God. But to be able to say
today, one thing I know, wasn't a lot, but one thing he knew. Whereas he was blind, now he
saw. Well, may we each have that wonderful
evidence of spiritual sight, to realise that we were lost
and are found. Jesus found me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God, he to save my soul from danger,
interposed his precious blood. We then have to come and say,
surely, what a saviour we have, to the praise and honour of our
God. Amen.