Okay, now let's turn to Acts
chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, we're going to
pick up where we left off. And that's at verse 25. Acts chapter 2 verse 25 begins by
saying, four. And when we see the word four,
we look up a few verses to see what it's there for. So I want
to start in verse 22 and we're going to read to verse 36. Acts 2 verse 22, it says, Ye
men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, You have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain,
whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because
it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh
concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for
he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore
did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. Moreover also
my flesh shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see
corruption. Thou hast made known to me the
ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy
with thy countenance. Men and brethren, Let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore,
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He seeing this
before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was
not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This
Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses, Therefore,
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed
forth this which you now see and hear. For David is not ascended
into the heavens, but he saith himself, Thee, Lord, said unto
my Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make Thy foes Thy
footstool. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus
whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ." What a message. What a message. Now, what he
just said is this. Jesus of Nazareth, a man, a real
man, who was proven by God to be a perfect man. A man who was
delivered to you, this perfect man. A man who never did you
any wrong. A perfect man. He was delivered to you by the
determinate counsel of God. You took him and crucified this
perfect man. But God raised him up. Because
it was prophesied in the scripture that every bit of that would
happen. That's why God raised him up. And he said when David
wrote that in Psalm 16, he wasn't writing his own words in Psalm
16. He was writing the words of Christ,
the actual words of Christ. That's amazing, isn't it? Now
before we look at these words, I want us to take note of something.
Peter is doing something very specific in this message. Very
specific. And everybody who God has called
to preach, and everybody who God has called to hear, we ought
to take note of this specific thing that Peter is
doing. He stood up the first time back in chapter 1. Look
at chapter 1, verse 15. Chapter 1, verse 15. And in those
days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the
number of names together were about 120. Men and brethren, this scripture
must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth
of David spake before concerning Judas, which was God to them
that took Jesus. The first thing he did when God
sent the Holy Spirit, caused that man to stand up and preach
is he quoted scripture. It's the first thing he did.
He quoted Psalm 41. That's where that was taken from.
I've got a marginal reference in my Bible and I've been following
all these as we're going through them. And he was quoting Psalm
41. Then, in verse 20, he said, For
it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be
desolate, and let no man dwell therein. Right after he quoted
the scripture, he quoted the scripture again. And that time
he was quoting Psalm 69. And in verse 20, he said, he
went on to say, and his bishop, Rick, let another take. He quoted Psalm 109. All right. Then in chapter two, verse
16, He said, but this is that which
was spoken by the prophet Joel. And then for the next few verses,
17 through 21, he quotes the scripture. Now in verse 25, he says, for
David speaketh concerning him. I foresaw the Lord always before
my face for he's on my right hand that I should not be moved.
And in verse 25, he quoted the scripture. We just read it, Psalm
16. Alright, now in verse 30, Therefore
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He is quoting
Psalm 132. Verse 34 says, For David is not
ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord said
unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes
thy footstool. He's quoting Psalm 110. You notice anything about this
message? The word stands out, doesn't
it? Paul told Timothy, preach the word, preach the word, preach
the word. We don't have to preach on how
to be a better giver. All we got to do is preach the
word. We don't have to preach, really, on how to be a better
husband or a better wife. All we've got to do is preach
the Word. All we've got to do is preach the Word. Just preach
the Word. A man calls himself a preacher.
How do you know if he is? He will preach the Word in its
entirety. He will preach the Word. Our
God has not commanded us to preach our outlines. He has not commanded
us to preach our illustrations, although I love illustrations.
I try to use one every time I can think of one, as long as it supports
and explains and allows us to enter into the word, the word. Every true messenger of God will
come delivering the word. It's a vital thing to take note
of that. Well, that's what Peter is delivering
to these men here in verse 25. But he begins by saying, David
speaketh concerning him. He's given the meaning of the
scripture. He said everything David said right there was concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. Every single thing. Our Lord
said, Search the scriptures, they are they which testify of
me. On the road to Emmaus, our Lord expounded to those two men
in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Everything. And Peter says in verse 25, David
speaketh concerning him. That's concerning Christ. Now
turn with me back over to Psalm 16. Let's read these words of
the Lord himself. Psalm chapter 16. Peter was quoting verses 8 to
11. These are the words of Jesus
Christ. He says, I have set the Lord
always before me. That's Christ speaking. This is what God's word said.
Look unto me and be ye saved. So you know what Christ did while
he walked this earth? He said, I have set the Lord
always. But the whole time he was here,
he was looking to the Lord as an obedient man. He was doing that for me because
I don't. That's what he was doing. The
whole time that I'm trying to figure it out on my own, the
whole time I'm trying to get myself out of trouble, the whole
time I'm trying to the whole time he was looking to Christ
the whole time. Every bit of it. The Lord Jesus
Christ obeyed every word. So verse 8, he says, I have set
the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved. Now, the words in that verse,
He is, is in italics. That means they were added by
the translator. And it's a good help. I like the fact that they
put that in there. It's a good help to understand
that verse. But let's read it without those italics, without
those italicized words. It says, I have set the Lord
always before me because at my right hand I shall not be moved. At my own right hand I shall
not be moved. Who is the right hand of God?
Christ. At my own right hand. Verse 9
says, Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. Our Lord is talking about His
greatest glory. His death that He should accomplish. That's what He's talking about.
And He says, My glory rejoiceth. Hebrews 12 says, He endured the
cross for the joy set before Him. This is an enjoyable event. This is a joyful event. What was accomplished in His
death means great mirth for his people. That's what it means. He endured the cross for the
joy that was set before him. He said, in this glory, during
this glory, I'm going to lay down my flesh. Now, only God
could accomplish what Christ accomplished on the cross. He took my sin. He paid my debt. He took it away, never to be
found again. And only God could accomplish
that. So Christ said, I'm going to
lay down my flesh for three days. I'm going to lay down my flesh.
But my flesh shall rest in hope. Hope is expected anticipation. He said, I expect to accomplish
my greatest glory. I expect it. Verse 10 says, for
thou, I expect it for thou. I have set the Lord always before
me. Verse 10 says, for thou will
not leave my soul in hell. Can we fathom that statement? Thou will not leave my soul in
hell. What do you say about that? It's hard to know what to think
about that. What can a mere mortal understand
of that? We don't like to think about
hell. I don't like to talk about it.
I considered not talking about it tonight. But our Lord said,
I have set the Lord always before my face. I'm looking to God.
I'm trusting in God. And I'm going to go do this work.
And while I do this work, I'm going to lay my flesh down. But my flesh is going to lay
there for three days, resting in hope, full assurance. And the reason is because you're
not going to leave me in hell. I don't even like to talk about
it or think about it. It is a horrible, indescribable
place. To think of it as only being
a place that is on fire, only being a place where people
burn in fire, that doesn't even begin to describe the terror,
and I do mean utter terror, and the horror of being in a godless
place. That's what hell is. It is a
godless place. You know, in the movies, they
talk about a godforsaken town. No town on this earth is a God-forsaken
town. The sun warms it. The rain brings
food. God has put a conscience in people's
mind to not do all the things that they could do. The viciousness,
the evil. This is a God-restrained place
for the sake of believers. That's why. It's unthinkable to think of
a place where no amount of the restraining hand of God exists. That's what hell is. It is separation
from God. Separation from God. It's called
outer darkness. 1 John 1 says, God is light. There is no light there. And
I'm not just talking about the sun, I'm talking about any amount
of, there's no light there. Now in the glorious and in the
loving and in the happy and in the peaceful kingdom of God. Let's get out of that for a minute.
There is no night there. All there is, is light. Because
all there is, is God. There is no sin there. That's where God was. You talk about humble himself,
we think that he humbled himself to the earth. He said, you're
not going to leave me in hell. Oh man, I can't even hardly,
I can't even enter into this. Our great Lord and Savior, He
endured separation from God for us. That's what He went through.
Separation. My sin caused me to be worthy
of separation from God. You're on your own. I'm leaving
you to yourself. You're going to be meat for ravenous
dogs. I'm going to send you to the
slaughter. And the Lord Jesus Christ endured
separation from God for us. That's all I know how to say
about it. It's unbelievable, isn't it? Verse 10 says, For
thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer
thine Holy One to see corruption. Now, the body of this Holy One,
The body that he laid down to rest for three days while he
accomplished this victory in a God-forsaken place. That body,
that beautiful, precious body, had no sin in it. None whatsoever. There was no
sin in that flesh. It was the only flesh like it. The only flesh like it. We cannot
compare it to our own. Our own has sin in it. My flesh, my skin, it has spots. It's getting spots. And it's
not because of overexposure to the sun. It's because of sin. Because of sin. That's the reason. I get wrinkles because of sin. My skin, my flesh dies and it
flakes off because of sin. That's the reason. If I didn't
have sin, I wouldn't lose one cell. I'd be flowing with life,
life, eternal life. My flesh stinks. I have to take
a shower every day because of sin. My breath smells bad because
of sin, and my teeth rot because of sin. We wither and we shrivel because
of sin. But His flesh, this glorious
flesh, had no sin in it. As he laid there, he did not
see one spot of corruption. Not one spot. Turn with me over
to Ephesians chapter 5. Hold your place in Psalm 16 and
go to Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5 verse 2 says, And
walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given
himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet-smelling
savor. His death, his death for three
days was a sweet smelling savor. It was a savor of life. Nothing ever smelled as sweet
as his death. When those two precious men,
and I'm looking forward to talking to them about it, talking to
what was going on in their mind and their heart, Their sorrow, but then ultimately their joy
as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took the Lord's body, that sweet
smelling body, and wrapped it in linen and they put myrrh and
they put spices and they put all these things in this body
and they laid it in this tomb. And the whole thing was just
a sweet smelling savor. No sin, no stink. No nothing. Sweet smelling savor. Go back
over to Psalm 16. Verse 10 says, For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to seek corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of
life. As a man, he trusted in the Lord. He looked to the Lord for all
things. He said, Thou wilt show me the path of life. But here's
what he's saying. This is what he's saying. Verse
10 says, Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt
Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show
me The path of life. Thou wilt show me the path of
life. Thou wilt show me to be the path
of life. Because you will not leave my
soul in hell. And you will not suffer my body
to see corruption. You're going to show me to be
the path of life. There is one way. There is one
path, and it's in this sweet-smelling, precious, beautiful death, burial,
and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 11 says,
Thou wilt show me the path of life. In Thy presence is fullness
of joy. Once a person sees this for what
it is, it is the fullness of joy. At Thy right hand there
are pleasures evermore. Who is the right hand of God?
It's Christ. At Christ, because of Christ,
there are pleasures forevermore. Now go back with me to Acts chapter
2. Acts chapter 2 verse 25, it says,
For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always
before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should
not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover, also my flesh shall
rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou hast
made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full
of joy with thy countenance." Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. He's saying his bones are still
in the ground. Now one of these days when Christ
comes back, those bones are coming out of the ground. But for right
now, they're still there. Verse 30 says, Therefore, being a prophet and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit
of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ
to sit on his throne, he seeing this before spake of the resurrection
of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his
flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we are all, we all are witnesses. Witnesses, John said
that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you. Can we say
that with him? I have seen him. I've seen him. I want to be able to say that. I want to see Him with eyes of
faith. I want to see His glory. I want to see the glory of His
death. I want to see Him high and lifted
up. And I want to see Him become
a man. And I want to see Him humble
Himself like no other. And I want to see His resurrection
in glory and in victory. Have we seen that? I want to
see that. Lord, would you show me that?
Would you show me that in this Word? As we go through this Word,
would you show me that? I need to see that. High and
lifted up. Peter said we were eyewitnesses
of His Majesty. Verse 33 says, Therefore being
by the right hand of God exalted. That's Christ. Being by Himself
exalted. And having received of the Father
the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which
you now see and hear." Peter told them, God has opened your
eyes, God has opened your ears to the Word. And I'm going to
tell you this, when God opens a person's eyes to the Word,
and when God opens a person's ears to the message, you see
and you hear like Well, it was like you were dead before. That's
what it was like. It was like I was dead. And now
I see it. And now I hear it. And my heart
burns within me. And there's life there. Peter
told them, you now see and hear. comes through the promise of
the Holy Ghost. Verse 34, For David is not ascended into the
heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool.
The Lord, if you look at that in verse 34, it's the capital
L-O-R-D, Jehovah said to my Lord, the Messiah. The Father said
to the Son. Sit thou on my right hand until
I make thy foes thy footstool. You know who his foes are? That's
me and you. One time enemies, enmity against
God, alienated from the commonwealth, right? But God broke us. He broke us and He made His foes
want nothing more than to sit at His beautiful feet. His foes
are now His footstool. Verse 36 says, Therefore let
all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus. He told them the one you rejected,
the one you spit on, the one you beat, the one you whipped,
God hath made that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both
Lord and Christ. He told them He is risen, and
He is risen victoriously, and He's your God. I hate to tell
you this, but you beat, and you whipped, and you spit on, and
you cursed your God, and He is your God. And that's a terrible,
that's a wonderful, awful truth. that every sinner realizes when
God opens his eyes. I've sinned against God. This
man Jesus of Nazareth, I thought he was just Jesus of Nazareth.
I thought he was just good old Jesus. And I didn't reverence
him, and I didn't fear him, and I didn't bow the knee to him.
And now I realize that was God. It was God. He is God. Well, Lord willing, next week,
We're going to see the response that this brings. Peter just
finished his message right here in verse 36. He said, Amen. OK, let's stand together. That's
what he said. He finished his message. And we're going to see
the response it brings. Verse 37, when they heard this,
they were pricked in their heart and they said to Peter and the
rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? What shall we do? And the answer
is look to Christ. It's already done. Look to Christ. All right, let's stand together.