Okay, let's open back up to Acts
chapter 3. Acts chapter 3, and I want to
go ahead and read the first 11 verses leading up to the text.
Look at the, set up the story. Acts chapter 3 verse 1 says, Now Peter and John went up together
into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
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 of them that entered into the temple. Who seeing Peter
and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes
upon him with John, 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. 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. And 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
him. And as the lame man, which was healed, hailed Peter and
John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is
called Solomon's, greatly wondering. Now verse 12 begins our text
and it says, and when Peter saw it, when Peter saw it, he noticed
all these people filled with amazement and they were greatly
wondering. Verse 12 says, and when Peter
saw it, he answered unto the people two things. He said two
things to them. The first one is, he said in
verse 12, ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Why marvel ye at this? That hit home to me. I thought about Kingsport Sovereign
Grace Church when I read that. A little under two years ago
I was in Rocky Mount, Virginia and I accepted a call to come
here and all of the men who had experience like Peter, told me,
you just go and preach the gospel and God will bless His word.
Just go preach the gospel and God will bless His word. And
when people say things like that, I think, how do you know? Experience tells us, right? But that's what they said. You
just go preach the gospel and God will bless His word. You
just keep on preaching the gospel and God will bless His word. Peter said, why marvel ye at
this? God had mercy on this man, and
he said, why marvel ye at this? It's like we are shocked if God
blesses his word, right? My daughter, you know, went to
preschool. She went to kindergarten. She
just today finished first grade. Somewhere in there, maybe kindergarten,
You know, she's always coming to me and asking, do you know
the things that she's learned? And at some point, she came and
said, you know what 2 plus 2 is? What is it? 2 plus 2 is 4. That's
right, honey. That's good. Not once did I say,
I can't believe it. I never called Hannah and said,
her teacher told her 2 plus 2 is 4. You're not going to believe
this, but she believed it. She believed it. Never. So why is it when I see God confirm
the truth in men and women, why do I say I can't believe it?
I say that I can't believe it. Why not? It's the truth. It is
the truth, isn't it? Every man and woman ought to
believe it. It is in black and white. When God opens eyes to
see the truth, it is in black and white. It's a mystery that
has to be revealed, but once it's revealed, it cannot be hid. You see it on every page. Why do we marvel at God's mercy? Why do we marvel at God's grace?
The first thing Peter said was, why marvel ye at this? The second thing he said was,
in verse 12, he said, or, why marvel ye at this? Or, why look
ye so earnestly on us as though by our own power or holiness
we had made this man to walk? That hit home too. I've known different men and
heard different men preach and they were so gifted to preach.
They just declared the gospel with so much boldness and so
much liberty and I love those men. I love them. But do you
know what I honestly believe with all my heart? I honestly
believe this with all my heart. I want to learn this. I really want to learn this.
And I hope and believe the Lord is teaching me this. But here's
what it is. The speaker has nothing to do
with salvation. Nothing to do with salvation.
Salvation is in the message. And the message is Jesus Christ. That's the message. Salvation
is of the Lord. It's of the Lord. The messenger
has nothing to do with the message. If it's a real message, now if
I got a sermon in the mail out of a packet, which is pretty
common these days, or if I spent all my time in there trying to
impress somebody, then I might walk up here with a sermon. Lord,
I don't want that. We don't need that. We need a
message, and if we have a message, the delivery man has nothing
to do with it. Nothing to do with it. It's a
gift. Salvation is of the Lord. I'm so thankful for that. Every
true messenger of God is going to say this. Don't look at me. Don't look to me. as though by my own power or
my holiness or my ability, mercy has been shown. Verse 12 says,
And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, You men of Israel,
why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on
us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this
man to walk? Now he's about to tell them how
this man walked. And that's the message. How can
a dead, cold sinner walk? That's the message. That's the
gospel. That is the gospel. He's about to give them the message
and he's about to give them the means. And that's the title of
this. The message and the means. Verse 13 says, The God. Let's just start right
there. The God. There is only one God. And it's not me. If I have the
final say in the matter, I am God. But I don't. I don't. There is only one God. And the
God actually is God. He really is God. Turn with me
over to Joshua chapter 2. I've always loved this. Joshua
chapter 2. Joshua sent two men to spy out
Jericho. And they came to a harlot's house
named Rahab. And I love that woman. I've always
said I'm looking forward to meeting Solomon, but I think I'm maybe
more so looking forward to meeting Rahab. If God had mercy on her,
maybe he'll have mercy on me. So they came to this harlot's
house, Rahab, and somebody told the king of Jericho that there
were spies in the land. So Rahab hid these two spies
in the roof of her house. And Joshua chapter 2 verse 8
says, and before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon
the roof and she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath
given you the land and that your terror is fallen upon us and
that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For
we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for
you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did unto the two
kings of the Amorites that were on the other side Jordan, Sion
and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these
things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any
more courage in any man because of you. For the Lord your God,
He is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. The Lord your
God, He is God. If a person ever sees the true
God, they will bow the knee. They will bow the knee. The Lord
your God is God. That is the message of salvation. The message that we don't need
to marvel at. The God is God. That's the message of salvation.
Go with me back over to Acts chapter 3. Verse 13 says, The God of Abraham and
of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, the God of you,
the God of me, our, hath glorified his son, Jesus. The God hath glorified his son. God is a Trinity. God is a Trinity. The God, the
one God, is three persons. And I've mentioned this before,
but I want to remind us of it again. Most people in this world,
most people in religion, most people in churches, will tell
you that they believe in the Trinity. And I'll tell you a little secret,
that is really wherein we differ. We really do. And you'll see
what I mean in just a minute. But most people will tell you
that they believe in the Trinity. God is a Trinity. But they view
that Trinity in a vertical line. They view God the Father, and
then He has His Son, And then somewhere, I don't know what
the distance is, but way down here somewhere is the Spirit.
All three of them. Which to see it that way is actually
not believing in the Trinity. To believe that God is three
persons is to view them horizontally. You have God the Father, you
have God the Son, and you have God the Spirit. And these three
are one. Let me show you that over in
1 John chapter 5. 1 John 5. 1 John 5 verse 4 says, For whatsoever
is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh
the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? Less than God? Verse six says, this is he that
came by water and blood. That means life and death, sanctification,
justification, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water
and blood. And it is the spirit that beareth
witness because the spirit is truth. I thought Christ said, I am the
truth. If there are three persons. Isn't
that what Christ said? I am the truth. The spirit is the truth. Verse
seven says, for there are three that bear record in heaven, the
father, the word, and that's Christ. and the Holy Ghost, and
these three are one." These three are one. Now turn with me to
Colossians chapter 2. Colossians 2, look at verse 6. As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up
in him, established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit, After the tradition of men, and
that is where men and women go wrong. Tradition. Tradition. We leave the word,
and tradition creeps in. After the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him. which is
the head of all principality and power, complete in Him. In this one man, Jesus Christ,
dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And what that
means is Jesus Christ is God. It means if you've seen Him,
you've seen the Father. The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. It means Christ is all, complete
in Him. Back over to Acts chapter 3. Verse 13 says, The God of Abraham,
and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified
his son Jesus, whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence
of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. Is Peter telling
those people that God had every intention of glorifying His Son,
but you ruined it? Is that what he's saying? What he's telling them is how
God glorified His Son. He is explaining to them exactly
how God glorified His Son. Turn with me to John 17. John 17 verse 1 says, These words
spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father,
the hour is come. What hour? The hour of his accomplishment. The hour for all of his redeeming
work to be finished. It's the hour of his death. Verse
17, the hour is come. Glorify thy son. That thy son
also may glorify thee. Look at chapter 12 with me. John
chapter 12, verse 23. John 12, 23, And Jesus answered
them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should be
glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit. He that loveth his life shall
lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep
it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him
follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If
any man serve me, him will my father honor. Now is my soul
troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto
this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Now
watch this right here. Then came there a voice from
heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. The people therefore that stood
by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said an angel
spake to him. Jesus answered and said, this
voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the
judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying
what death he should die. He said, Father, glorify thy
name. And the Father said in verse
28, there came a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified
it and will glorify it again. And everybody who was standing
around said, it thundered. Now, somebody told me this years
ago, and I've never forgotten it. Every time you hear it thunder
from here on out, Especially, you know, you see the lightning
and every second it's a mile away. You know the times when
it's on you and it scares you and it's roaring through the
sky and it cracks. You think, I have both glorified
it and I will glorify it again. It thundered. It thundered. I love that. The absolute glory
of God is this. that God, the actual God, who
is God. Now listen to this. The God would allow worms and
maggots like us to deliver him up. He would allow
us to deliver him up. And that he would put up with
us denying him. He would let us, He would sit
there and wait while we deny Him. And that He would let us bring
Him before a council. This is His glory. He would let
us, He would go along with it and let us bring Him before a
council. And that He wouldn't immediately wipe us off of the
face of the earth for hanging Him on a tree. That is His glory. Moses said, show me your glory,
and he said, I will have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. That's
my glory. Father, glorify thy son. Back over in Acts chapter 3,
verse 13 says, The God of Abraham and of Isaac
and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his son,
Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied him in the presence
of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. But you 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. That is the message. If a person wants to know what
is the truth, if a man's going to stand up and preach the truth,
and I'm going to hear different men preach, who's telling me
the truth? That is the message. That is
the message of truth, right there. We were and we are, by nature,
wicked and vile sinners. That's where we start. We denied
the Holy One. We denied Him, the Just One. And we desired, we preferred
evil. They said, give us Barabbas.
And you crucify that man. We hate him. Preferred a murderer
over, look at verse 15. He said, and killed the prince.
If you have a margin in your Bible, mine says the author.
Killed the author of life. It was my sin that he laid down
his life for. My sin is the reason for his
death. But God raised him up. God raised
him up because the work was finished. He took that sin, He paid the
debt, the work was finished, and so God raised Him up. And
when God raised Him up, God raised every person He died for up with
Him. That is the message. We are raised up with Him. It's the only message there is.
Every page in this Bible says the same message. It really does. I mean, it sounds like I preach
the same message. And I am just thrilled for that.
Lord, please don't let me leave it. Don't let me leave it. It's the only message of Scripture. We're saved by grace. Christ
alone, grace alone, Scripture's alone. That's the message all
through God's Word. Look at Ephesians 2 with me. Ephesians 2 verse 3 says, Among whom also
we all had our conversation in time past, in the lust of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But
God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved
us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ, by grace you are saved, and hath raised us up
together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches
of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
That is the message. If somebody wants to see the
five points of Calvinism, we just read them. We just read
them. Christ alone. In spite of us,
we were saved by the work and grace of Jesus Christ. That's
our message. All right, now let me show you
the means. Very quickly, let me show you the means. Ephesians
2, we're already here. Look at verse 8. It says, For by grace are you
saved through faith. And that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God. Now go with me back to Acts
chapter 3. Acts 3 verse 16 says, And His name, through faith in His name, hath
made this man strong. You see that? It says the same
thing. What made this man strong? His
name. Christ did. The Savior did. How
did He choose to do it? Through faith in His name. Verse 16, His name through faith
in His name hath made this man strong whom you see and know. Yea, the faith which is by Him
hath given Him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. It
is pleased the Lord to give salvation to sinners through faith in His
name. That's how it has pleased God
to give salvation to sinners. Through faith in His name. The
middle of verse 16 says, the faith which is by Him. By who? Christ. Faith, we just read it. It's
not of ourselves. It's a gift of God. He's the
author of it. He's the finisher of it. And the verse right after
that in Ephesians 2 said, "...not of works, lest any man should
boast." But I want to show you something. Right here in the
margin, it says, "...the faith which is by him." If you have
that in verse 16, my Bible says Matthew 9, 2. Matthew chapter
9, verse 2. Turn with me over to Matthew
9, verse 2, and this is going to help explain this verse to
us. Matthew 9 verse 2, And behold, they brought to him
a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their
faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer,
thy sins be forgiven thee. seeing their faith. Well, I thought
all faith was the faith of Christ. I thought it was not of ourselves.
I thought it was all His faith. It is. It is His faith. But here's the
thing we need to understand about faith. Ephesians 2 verse 8 said,
It is not of yourselves, It is a gift. That's the part we leave
out sometimes. The work of faith is of Christ,
but it is a gift to us. The scripture doesn't say that
Christ finished the work and then kept it all to himself.
It says Christ finished the work and then he gave it to us. That work of faith is applied
to us. That work is fulfilled in us. It's on our account. It's a gift.
He produced it. He's the author of it. He's the
doer of it. He's the finisher of it. He's
the object of it. And after it's all done, he gave
it to you. to us and through us. And here's
the point, we experience it. We experience it. Back over in
Acts chapter 3, Peter told those men, salvation
is of the Lord. And he told them, salvation is
to sinners just like you and me. And he told them, salvation
is to all who believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The end of verse 16 says, Yea,
the faith which is by him, that's Christ, hath given him, that's
sinner, that's the crippled man, the lame man, this perfect soundness. In the concordance, I looked
up the two words, perfect and soundness, and they are the same
word, they got the same definition. They both mean complete in every
part. Complete in every part. Peter
told those men, do you see this center right here? He is complete
in Christ. That's what he told them. He
is complete in Christ. That's where I want to be. I
want to be complete in Christ. Perfect soundness in the presence
of you all. Lord, make us all believe. He said through faith. The means,
through faith. Make us all believe that we are
complete in Christ. What must I do to be saved? Christ did it all. That is the
belief. That is the acknowledgment. What
must I do to be saved? Well, there's a work you've got
to do. It's called believe. Yeah, you're going to believe,
but it's not a work. What must I do to be saved? Look and live. That's it. Lord,
make us believe we're complete in Christ. OK, let's stand together.