As the Lord may be pleased to
help us this evening, that is myself in speaking and you, dear
friends, in hearing, and those of you online, I'd like to invite
your prayerful attention to the words found in the Acts of the
Apostles, chapter 4, and we'll take as our text verse 12. Acts of the Apostles, chapter
4, and verse 12. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved. The 12th chapter in the Acts
of the Apostles, 12th verse in the 4th chapter of the Acts of
the Apostles. These words, inspired by God
the Holy Spirit, were spoken by the mouth of the
Apostle Peter, promised by the Lord Jesus Christ
in Mark's Gospel that the power of the Word of God He has said, heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. Nothing
can destroy God's word. It is of God, he who is eternal,
he who created this world, this universe, who also by his eternal son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, has given these great, wonderful promises. We read in Mark's Gospel these
wonderful words. Mark 13 and verse 9, we read
these words. These are the words which
the Lord Jesus gave to the disciples who became apostles
at the beginning of the New Testament church. The Lord Jesus is God. He knew the end from the beginning.
He knew all that was before. Each of these dear men that he
had called to work in the New Testament church, he knew how
they would be opposed. He knew how his word would be
rejected. But the Lord Jesus sent them
forth to work, not on their own, but he assured them that he would
be with them. He would be taken to glory, but
his spirit would still be there. He says, but take heed to yourselves,
for they shall deliver you up to councils, and in the synagogues
you shall be beaten, and you should be brought before rulers
and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel
must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you
and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak,
neither do ye premeditate, but whatsoever shall be given to
you in that hour. That speak ye, for it is not
ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
he whom we were referring to this morning, who in establishing
the foundations of the early New Testament church promised,
when he breathed on them, and said, receive ye the Holy Ghost. Just as God the Father had sent
the Lord Jesus Christ into this world, so the Lord Jesus is sending
these dear men to go forth in His name to hold
forth the Word of Life, whereby souls otherwise lost, all those
souls eternally designed to be saved from before the foundation
of the world, will come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And these words that the Apostle
Peter answered with following that trial, when they were falsely
accused of preaching the gospel, especially when you read that
the Sadducees were there and they could not believe in the
resurrection. The Pharisees did all they could
to hide the very fact of the resurrection in that they paid
great money to the guards who had become disabled and thrown
backwards by the power of God at the resurrection. They went
and told these things to them. They said, take this money and
say that the disciples came by night and took the body of Jesus
away. And if this comes to the governor's
ears, don't worry, we'll support you. We'll put a word in for
you. You won't be in trouble. That,
dear friends, is bribery and corruption, isn't it? But as sure as the Lord Jesus
warned these dear disciples, so And when they had preached
the word of God, and remember this was right on the back of
that remarkable healing of this poor man, he was born disabled,
unable to move himself about. He was lame from his mother's
womb. He had to be carried, and he was daily carried to the temple,
which is called Beautiful, arms of them that entered into the
temple. In other words, he was reduced
to being a beggar. He had no social security. No, he depended on people given
to him so that he might live from one day to the next. But seeing Peter and John about
to go into the temple, he was bold enough to put his hand out
and ask, for some money? What was the answer? Peter, fastening
his eyes upon him with John, as the two of them, said, look
on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting
to receive something of them. Then Peter said, silver and gold
have I none, but such as I have, give I thee. Remember, the apostles
were empowered, especially for their work. They were given powers
given to them by the Lord Jesus. He breathed on them the power
of the Holy Spirit. He gave them the ability to heal
sicknesses and disabilities. He also gave them power whereby
sins were forgiven, but they were forgiven through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Every blessing that these people
received at the hand of God through the apostles came through the
finished work of the Lord Jesus. Such as I have. That's what they
were giving to this man. That's what they promised. Silver and gold have I none,
but such as I have, these blessings that Jesus has bestowed upon
us, this power from above, he said, in the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he, that is Peter, with his
strong fisherman's arms, took him by the right hand and lifted
him up, and immediately, his feet and ankle bones received
strength. No physiotherapy, no massaging, no form of healing,
only by God himself who created mankind. His feet and ankle bones received
strength. You'd think if he could stand
up after never walking, that would be remarkable. But God does exceeding abundantly,
doesn't he? Listen to this. He, leaping up,
stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking
and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking
and praising God. And they knew that it was he
which sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple. And they
were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto
them. The result of this was that the
people wondered. But Peter saw it. He answered
unto the people, ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Why look
so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness
we had made this man to walk? And then he goes on to remind
them of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of all their
fathers, glorified his son Jesus, and
then he goes on to remind them of how, if they were among that
crowd who cried out, not this man, but Barabbas. Yes. They were quickened in their
very hearts and souls. He says, ye denied the holy one
and the just and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. and killed
the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof
we are witnesses. And through his name, his name
hath made this man strong. And he spoke to them, he preached
of the resurrection. And for the being so forthright
in preaching through Jesus, the resurrection from the dead, what
did they do? Well, they laid hands on Peter
and John and locked them up overnight. In the morning, they held a trial.
And it would seem as though it was the same sort of trial as
the Lord Jesus endured. Who was there? the elders and the scribes, the
high priest, John, Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred
of the high priest. It's just possible, we mustn't
read between the lines in Scripture, it's quite possible that the
Apostle Paul, a Saul of Tarsus, might have been amongst them.
It was before his conviction and conversion that he might
have been amongst them. We don't know. But these people
tried, Peter and John, trying to put aside what they had done
and accuse them for what they had done in the name of the Lord
Jesus. They asked them, by what power
or by what name have you done this? And then we read, the working
out of that great power that the Lord Jesus gave to these
apostles when he met with them in the room following the resurrection. We read at the same day, these
men were locked in a room. We read the door was shut and
Jesus came and entered in. He said, peace be unto you. What
a greeting. They were afraid because of the
people who were now trying them. Yes, but Jesus came and he blessed them
with his word, with his presence, and he gave to them power over
the effects of sin. Before sin came into the world,
there was no illness. There was no separation between
the holy God and mankind that God had created. Sin came into
the world, and death, and danger, and disease. But these apostles were given
power, divine power, to overcome these things. And when the last
of the apostles, who could well have been the Apostle John, who
was the youngest, when he went to glory, I believe that was
the end of the apostolic age. And by that time, the Christian
Church of the Lord Jesus was growing, despite opposition,
yet people were proving what we have
sung, that God will never forsake them, No, that which he has begun,
he will continue and work out his sovereign plan of salvation
to the salvation of lost souls. They asked Peter and John, by
what name have you done this? Peter filled with the Holy Ghost
said unto them, ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel,
if we This day 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 he crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. The finished work of the Lord
Jesus, And what a blessing that finished work is. Peter goes
on to tell them, the theme of the Lord Jesus as
the stone which is set at nought of you builders, which has become
the head of the corner. This wonderful truth was prophesied
in Zephaniah and in Micah. the Lord Jesus Christ, the stone
which the Jewish nation refused. They refused it, yes. We read
in the opening chapter of John's Gospel that he came unto his
own and his own received him not. But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name. They received him not. They refused
to own even the promised Messiah, the stone that the rulers and
the religious leaders, or so-called leaders, would not build their
faith on him whom their God had promised and sent. No, they sadly
put him to one side. He was promised right from when
sin came into the world. And he came. The angels were sent from heaven
to herald his birth. Remember the shepherds on those
hills around Bethlehem and that light shone round about them
and they were sore afraid? And any of us will be sore afraid
if suddenly a light shined in the blackness of the dark in
the middle of the night. Fear not, said the angel, for
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to
all people. For unto you, you that fear my
name, yes, unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior,
which is Christ the Lord. Yes. He came, and in Isaiah 53,
a very sacred chapter, very short, but loaded with God's wonder. What do we read there? He was
wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And by his stripes,
we are healed, yes. He was despised and rejected,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with sin, acquainted with grief, and we
hid as it were our faces from him. How sad. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. So, sadly, those who reject Christ,
it's a very solemn thing, those who reject Christ are rejected
by our almighty Heavenly Father, God Himself. But by His suffering and taking
on Him the full weight of all sin, of all who would come to
a saving knowledge of Him, and what a blessing this is, He has become the headstone of
the corner, the chief cornerstone on which the foundation of all
true believers, Jew and Gentile, are united in Christ Jesus. By grace alone, in Christ alone,
by faith alone in Christ Jesus, These precious truths are made
known. Now I'd like to look for a little
while at these things under three headings. This name that the
Apostle Peter was helped to put before these people who were
trying them, is a name like none other. He
says, neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none
other name unto heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. This is a unique name. It is the only name of salvation. There is none other way of salvation
but by and through our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's so sure because
in the great mystery of the eternal counsel of God, before ever this
world began, God knew his people. What does he say? This people
have I formed for myself. They shall show forth my praise. And if you and I, dear friends,
have in our hearts and souls a love to the Lord Jesus because
he has awakened us to a felt sense of our need of salvation
and taught us through the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus that
he is our hope for time and eternity too. These rich blessings are
that which can only belong to him. The word unique is used
rather loosely quite often. But something unique is that
there is nothing else to be compared with it. Now the name of Jesus
is a name which is above every name. He's a holy name. And holy means separate from
all others. That's why on the front of our Bibles we have the
title Holy Bible. It is holy, there's no other
book like it. It is divinely inspired by God,
recorded by those whom God worked in their hearts and lives. He
says, that which was written aforetime was written for our
learning, that we through faith and comfort in the scriptures
might have hope. And that hope comes, that hope
is given. What a blessing, what a favour. A unique name, the only name
whereby souls can be brought out of darkness and into light. A remarkable name. And a name whereby a soul can
have no peace and no rest until Jesus in grace and mercy comes. We don't know how long blind
Bartimaeus sat by the wayside begging, do we? But that day
came when he couldn't see, but he heard a crowd of people going
by. And he asked what it meant. We have that in Luke's gospel.
The account says he asked what it meant. And what a blessing.
When they told him, it was Jesus of Nazareth that was passing
by. There he was down in Jericho. And the Lord Jesus wasn't going
to Jericho again. No, he was on his way up to Jerusalem
to do love's redeeming work, which he could uniquely do. There was no other name unto
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved than the name
of Jesus. Yes. Blind Bartimaeus asked what
it meant. It was when they told him it
was Jesus of Nazareth that he cried out. Jesus, thou son of
David, have mercy on me. If there was another person there
by the name of Jesus, Bartimaeus wasn't going to be confused.
No. The Lord Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of David, great
David's greatest son, the Lord Jesus, he said, Jesus, thou son
of David, have mercy on me. It was then that Jesus commanded
him to be brought. There was no if or but. No, it
wasn't that Jesus is there. If you want him, you can go to
him. No, Jesus came to him. Jesus came to him. That's how
God works. He comes into our life. He makes
himself known to poor sinners and meets their need. That remarkable
miracle took place. And what do we read about Blind
Bartimaeus after that? What we read is that he followed
Jesus in the way. Yes, he joined himself to those
who were already following Jesus. Surely there's a lesson there,
dear friends. What a blessing it is to follow Jesus in all
his ways, in all his ordinances. know him whom to know is life
eternal. There is none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. It is also
a uniting name, a uniting name. It brings God and his people
together. These dear apostles could well
have felt quite lonely. And we can feel lonely in the
Christian pathway, but what a blessing it is when we can encourage each
other in the things of God. It's a wonderful blessing. And
Peter was no doubt reminded of the blessings He had been wonderfully restored
by the Lord Jesus. Yes, he had denied that he knew
the Lord Jesus, but Jesus said, and he knew all that would happen,
he said, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat.
But he said, I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And he said this in the presence
of the other disciples. Yes, he singled out Peter. He said, Satan has desire to
have you, and he may shift you as wheat. But he said, I have
prayed for thee, that is, each of the apostles around him, prayed
for thee that thy faith fail not. All of them, the Lord Jesus
would restore their faith. He said, when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren. Peter knew rich blessing from
the uniting power of the Lord Jesus Christ in his people. One with each other, one with
the Saviour. This name of Jesus is a name
which is above every name, a uniting name. None could disprove or disparage
or belittle what was done. This lame man was walking. He was with Peter and John when
they were being tried. He says, beholding the man, this
is verse 14 in this chapter, beholding the man which was healed,
standing with them, they could say nothing against it. What
a uniting influence this must have been. There were two of
them, then there were three of them. And we read in the scriptures
that a three-fold cord is not easily broken. Yes, if ever there was a visual
aid, it was this man. Those that were trying them had
this man before them. He was standing. Behold the man
which was healed standing with them. not laying like he did
all of his life for over 40 years, but he suddenly was healed. And
the power of God surely had a uniting influence in this situation.
And then thirdly, it is, this name is an unending name. The
name of Jesus had no beginning and can have no end. What a blessing
it is that we have, through the scriptures, so many references
to the eternal sonship of the Lord Jesus. We have it way back in the promises
given to those years and years ago. What was that word that
went forth? The eternal God is thy refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms, those arms of God, working
through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, those arms which
cannot give way. If we, dear friends, place all
our hope of salvation on the Lord Jesus Christ, it is an unending
power, an unending name, the name of Jesus. Those arms everlasting
arms are powerful. If those arms are held out in
love and support, whereby you are maintained in the Christian
life and not left to your own strength to fall, you can't fall
beneath those arms, can you? I read an account of a A little
girl who was trapped in a tall wooden house and it was starting
to burn. The fire was great. And they
suddenly looked up at one of the high windows and there was
the face of a little girl looking out of the open window. And they
called up to her. They found a big strong blanket
and held it out and said, jump. She wouldn't jump, would she?
She was afraid of that drop. all of a sudden a man came running
around the corner and he called up and he knew her name he called
to her by name and said jump she leapt out of the window and
jumped to safety and landed on that that great big blanket that
they were holding and one of the men turned to her afterwards
he said why didn't you jump when we called you she said that man
that called me was my dad What a blessing it is that the Heavenly
Father calls us and we're safe in the hands of Jesus. For how
long? Well, for time and eternity too,
an unending name. Yes, we love Him. Why? Well, because He first loved
us and He gave Himself for us. the gift of God's eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. And when we think of that name,
it straight away reminds us that God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. So may the Lord bless his
word to us this evening and encourage us to trust and not be afraid. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none of the name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved. May the Lord add his blessing. Amen.