We're going to be in the Book
of Acts again, Chapter 5 of the Book of Acts, and we want to
say a few things here about the great acts that were being done
by the Holy Spirit This is the Acts of the Holy Spirit. If you
have Acts of the Apostles, put a little parenthesis around that,
put over there, Acts of the Holy Spirit, because truly this book
is the Acts of the Holy Spirit. And we find that the apostles
were used as the Holy Spirit moved upon them and used them
to preach the gospel. In this fifth chapter of the
Book of Acts, we have been looking here for some time at a great
notable experience that the disciples had, particularly Peter and John
to begin with, when they came upon a man and said, silver and
gold have we none, have I none? but such as I have," and he said,
in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Now the wonderful
thing about that, it didn't take six months of physical therapy
for him to do that. He was instantly leaping and
jumping and praising God for what had happened there. He knew
who had healed him. It was not Peter and it was not
John. Now those of the authority, those
that sat on the council, the Sanhedrin council, they wondered
how this happened, but the man didn't have to wonder. Peter
and John didn't have to wonder, but those folks that are unregenerate,
they'll always wonder how can these things happen. In the book
of Acts chapter 5, I'd like to begin reading with verse 14.
This is just after Ananias and Sapphira, and I am surprised
how many people think that Ananias and Sapphira were just backslidden
Christians. They're not backslidden Christians.
They are lost. They're in the church there,
and we find that they're just like a lot of folks, as Paul
wrote to the Corinthians, unless you have believed in vain. If
you believe in vain, this is null and void. If you know Christ,
this take it to the bank. Well, here in the book of Acts
chapter 5 verse 14, the believers were more added to the Lord,
multitudes, both of men and women. What a revival was going on there. And what a salvation, what a
giving of the word, and God honored it. And it says, insomuch that
they brought forth the sick into the streets and laid them on
beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing
by might overshadow some of them." Now, you can believe this or
not, this happened. We get to be witnesses
of it. When we read the scriptures,
we're witnesses of what the scripture have to say. And we do not need
physical proof to prove what the word of God has to say. I
do not, and I repeat this, do not need to see the ark to believe
that there was an ark. I do not believe to... I have
to see a brazen serpent to know there was a brazen serpent. It's
written in the Word. And when we read this in the
book of Acts, chapter 5, these disciples were having great things
happen as a result of their presence. Now, we're going to find out
why this happened, and I want to note right here, I don't believe
that their bank accounts grew as a result of their activity
and the healings they were performing. Now, I'm not going to mention
any names, but I went online and noticed that 10 richest preachers
in America, two of them are healer people, quote unquote. One of
them is worth $760 million, and the other one is worth $40 million.
Now, they're not doing it for free, are they? Peer, James,
and John, and the rest of the disciples, this is not their
ministry. It's just falling out, authenticating
their message that they are from God, that they're not bringing
something that is strange. They're from God, the God that
the Jews said they believe. but they did not. All right,
notice as we go on, insomuch that they brought these, and
even the shadow of Peter, there came also a multitude out of
the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them
which were vexed with unclean spirits, and they were healed
every one. Then the high priest rose up,
and all that were with him which is the sect of the Sadducees
and were filled with indignation and laid their hands on the apostles
and put them in common prison. But the angel of the Lord by
night opened the prison doors and brought them forth and said,
go stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of
this life. And when they had heard that
they entered into the temple early in the morning and taught,
but the high priests came and they that were with him and called
the council together and all the center of the children of
Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought. Well, they're
surprised because they're not there, but we'd like to spend
some time here as the events that followed their arrest. The
great miracles were going on. I cannot help believe that these
disciples, these apostles kept in mind what the Lord shared
with them back in the book of Luke chapter 10, when 70 of those
folks went out and they were to preach the gospel, but they
were also given great power of demons and other things. And
they came back. Would you just turn with me to
the book of Luke chapter 10 for a moment? And we find that, no
doubt, this was kept in their mind as they saw these great
events taking place. They did not come and brag about
them. They did it once. They didn't
need to do it the second time. In the book of Luke chapter 10,
Luke chapter 10, And there in verse 17, we have the 70 sent
out, and the 70 returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even
the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said
unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold,
I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means
hurt you." Now, I think by the gospel, that's the power we have
today. He granted them power that we
don't have. It doesn't need to be. We have
the entire New Testament given to us. And once we had the New
Testament, there was no need for the signs. They passed away. And here he says in verse 20,
and I can't help but think that they remembered these words when
they saw all the miracles that were performed. Notwithstanding
in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you.
But what does it go on to say? but rather rejoice because your
names are written in heaven. Rejoice that your names are written
in heaven. And now, if you can see in your
mind's eye the activities in the streets of Jerusalem, as
there's many people have been healed as a result of the presence
of the apostles, and they're bringing them in from all over
the countryside in there, and many of them, all of them are
being healed by the power of God, by these apostles. They
kept in mind, this is not our ministry. Our ministry is preaching
the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is just to authenticate
that what we have to say is the truth of Almighty God. This is
God's word we're going to share and it's going to be so important
to these people. If we don't hear God's word,
if we do not hear the gospel, then we can never believe the
gospel and we will never be saved if we don't hear the gospel.
It is absolutely essential that we hear the gospel and then God
is able, he will, and can save his people. That's what we find. All right, as we move just a
little bit, there in the book of Acts, would you back up to
chapter 4 for just a moment? In chapter 4, and there in verse
10, we have the reason that Peter and John were arrested. Now,
it wasn't for healing a man. That added a lot of notoriety. But you know what? The real reason
they're arrested, it's not for a man leaping and praising God. They have done something as a
result of this healing that we are called on to do all the time
without the healing. preach the gospel, preach Christ
and him crucified. Here in the book of Acts chapter
four and verse 10, we read these, 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. Now, what is this being brought
about because of? He's, in verse nine, if we this
day be examined of a good dean to an impotent man, by which
means he is made whole, I want you to know that he's raised
by Jesus Christ, the name of Jesus Christ. And then they go
on and say this, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him that this man stand here before you whole. Now that's
the problem that the Sanhedrin court is going to have. They
are accused of crucifying the Messiah, which they did. And
as a result of this, Christ being crucified, buried and risen again,
we have the authority to tell the world that everyone that
Jesus Christ died for, their sins were completely paid for
and they shall never come into condemnation. The resurrection
of Jesus Christ and the ascension of Christ back to the glory throne
is proof to the church Sin was paid for. I love that passage
of scripture that Brother Lauren read. Far as the East is from
the West. There's no time God's people
will ever come into condemnation. I appreciate what Brother Wayne
shared there about someone said, well, even our future sins? Brother Wayne said, from our
standpoint in history, everything was future. We don't have to
worry about it. Every sin was going to be future.
So yes, he died for all the past, all the present and all the future
sin and said, I will not bring you into condemnation because
all the sin of all my people was poured out completely upon
Jesus Christ on that cross. And he paid completely and totally
for all our sin. And the church says, well, hallelujah.
That's wonderful. The real problem here is found
in verse, back up to chapter 4 and verse 1, it says, and it
came to pass the people, the priests, the captain of the temple
and the Sadducees came upon them being grieved. that they taught
the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the
dead. Here's the real problem, and that's going to be the problem
over here in chapter 5, when they are once again arrested
and they're brought before this council once again. It's they
have a problem with their preaching. They could care less about the
healing. Just keep your mouth shut. Don't
tell anybody. But when they preached Christ
and him crucified and the successful resurrection of Jesus Christ,
they had a problem because that put the finger upon them. Now
in chapter five, would you look there with me again, chapter
five and verse 20. These disciples, it seems like
all 12 of them were arrested. All 12 of them are taken into
They're taken and put in a common prison. They're brought in there. It tells us there in verse 17,
when the high priest rose up and all that were with him, which
is the sect of the Sadducees, they were filled with indignation.
That's uncomplimentary comment. We don't like these guys and
they're going to plot to kill them. They plotted to kill Jesus. By permission, he gave them permission
to do it. They're going to plot to kill
all 12 of these apostles. Now probably, from a historical
standpoint, all of them were eventually martyred except for
John. So their plotting worked out
eventually. but they were willing to do that.
It says in verse 18, they laid their hands on the apostles and
put them in a common prison. Now they're going to deal with
this on the morrow. And we find out that they ordered
them to be brought into the council and they were going to grill
them again. And we're going to find out they're going to beat
them. Well, the Holy Spirit had something else in mind. He is
going to challenge their authority one more time. The doors are
locked. Prisoners are in. Guards are
out. And the Holy Spirit comes along
and charges their authority one more time. You cannot keep this
silent. This is God. It's God's power. And he demonstrated that by releasing
them and not disturbing one guard. And he instructs them these words,
verse 20. Go stand and speak in the temple
to the people all the words of this life." And then we find
the very next verse, and when they heard that, they entered
into the temple early in the morning, and taught. Now they're not going into the
temple structure itself. They're going into Solomon's
porch, what we've talked about a couple of Sundays ago. It was
a very spacious place there close to the temple. Women could go
in there, Gentiles could go in there that had accepted Judaism. And that is where about 50,000
people could gather. And there was a corner over here
that they'd gather their folks around and say, let's have a
preaching service. and they would preach Christ
and Him crucified and God would honor the preaching of Christ
and Him crucified and save every one of His elect that were present
there at that time. He saved His people from their
sins. It tells us here that they went
into the temple They're in verse 21, and when they heard that,
they entered into the temple early in the morning and talked.
But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and
they called the council together, and all the senate and the children
of Israel, and they have quite a gathering of folks here to
find out and to condemn these people that are preaching the
gospel. Go stand and speak in the temple, the temple courts
to the people all the words of this life. You know, some years
prior to this, the Lord Jesus had a large following. The Bible
tells us that there were 5,000 men, besides women and children. Now, how many are in this group
that Jesus is talking to in John chapter six? We don't quite know. It was large host. And you know
what the Bible says? They were believers. And Jesus
did what these disciples are doing. They're only preaching
what Christ preached. Preaching Christ and him crucified
is the same message that Christ preached about himself while
he's upon this earth. He didn't start up something
new. He's preaching the Old Testament, Christ and him crucified. So
here they're preaching. Well, on this time, the disciples,
or the Lord Jesus has this whole host of people following him.
And you know, he mentions the gospel. He mentions that God
is a God that's in charge of things. And he's not manipulated
by human frailties, not manipulated by human beings. He doesn't bend
to them. He doesn't get people together
on this side and this side and the more people that are praying
for something, they win. I was in a church one time and
the preacher said, I never went back to that church. He said,
this is the way God answers prayer. He says, we pray for something,
and then he has a coin, and he flips it and goes like that,
and then he gives you the answer. And I said, that is just blasphemy. That is blasphemy. God never
has to choose anything. He's got everything figured out,
purpose, before the foundation of the world. Everything that
happens to us is falling out as a result of God's counsel
before the foundation of the world, even a wreck. We're thankful that nobody was
seriously injured. But that just happens. No. No. For a believer, it's for our
benefit. Well, Jesus is talking to those disciples and they leave. And he turns to his apostles
and he said, will you also go away? And I love what Peter had to
say. To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. The same life that these apostles
are preaching on this day in the book of Acts chapter five
and verse 20. This life, keep preaching about
this life. Well, when I think about that,
I have to come to the conclusion that this life is gonna share
the best news I ever heard. I grew up with a God that was
not able to do what he hoped he could do. Did you ever grow
up with that kind of God? The preacher preached that nonsense
from the pulpit. Why? Because he didn't know any
different. He didn't know the gospel. But God is not a manipulated
God by us, by anybody. He's not manipulated by Satan
himself. He is a created being. He's not
manipulated by our desires, our prayers, our money. God has a
purpose and a plan from the foundation of the world, and he's going
to carry that out. Now, when I first heard about
that, God, it made me upset because now I'm not in charge. But you
know what God revealed himself to me? That was the gladdest
news I've ever heard. that there's a God that can do
what he says he will do and has power to do it. And in that,
we find out he has the power to save his people from their
sins. There is so much good news in
the Bible. Good news to those who God reveals
good news to. It is good news. It's no wonder
Brother Wayne kept saying, my, oh my. It is exciting to read
the Bible and find out what God has done for his people. We find
out as those folks there speak about this life, teach about
this life. So when they were given that
commission, just like the Lord gave the commission there in
the book of Matthew chapter 28, go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. When he sent some over here and
some over here, they're not preaching two different things. They're
preaching Christ and Him crucified. And if they begin preaching two
different things, we have to go to the book of Galatians and
say, you know what? One of you is not preaching the
gospel. And the scriptures are the only way that we can determine
who is. And once we realize that this
person is not preaching the gospel, we need to get closer to this
guy that is. That's just all there is to it.
Now, I'm going to treat that preacher as a Jacob until he
dies. I hope and pray that God would
be merciful and save him." And then you have a different attitude
and a different message too. So this is what we have. Speak to the people all the words
of this life, the life which is in Christ. the theme of the
message of all the words of this life, the gospel, the whole gospel,
and nothing but the gospel. This is the theme of the gospel.
There is a God who saves his people from their sins. He doesn't
suggest it. He says, I will. He also says,
you shall. Now, he's gentle about it most
of the time. Just talk to Saul of Tarsus.
I mean, he came, he had a rod in his jaw. He's brought to God
Almighty by God's infinite power and wisdom and bowed to it. And you know, I've had people
tell me that they're in the book of Romans, oh wretched man that
I am, that was before he was saved. He could have cared less. He didn't care about sin, he
cared about nothing. He cared about destroying this
way. He cared about destroying Christians.
But he had no cognizance of his sin. It wasn't until Jesus Christ
was revealed to him, just as we read over in the book of Ezekiel,
I will do this, I will do this, I will do this. And when I do
this, you're gonna recognize that you're a sinner before a
thrice holy God. And that's when we bow and say,
God, be merciful to me, a sinner. So the great news that we find right
off in the Bible, Genesis 1.1, in the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. And you know what? As God reveals
God to us, we find out that he took care of the spiritual birth
too. the spiritual creation. God is so powerful that he created
the heavens and the earth from absolutely nothing. Now, I had
the privilege of going over to Brother Timothy's shop the other
day, and he's got some projects planned out there. And you know
what? He has to have material. God didn't start with any material.
He started with absolutely nothing. And you know what? That's exactly
what He does when He saves His people from their sins. They
offer no material. It's dead in trespasses and sin. There's no material here for
Him to work with. And yet He is able to quicken
His people to a life, the living life, the life of life. He is
able to do that. God, He is over all. You know,
when I was saved, I found out that's great news. God is over
all. It's great news to find out He's
the creator of all. It's great news to find out how
big He is. That He's in charge of all and
He directs all. And you know all the nonsense
that's going on in the world? He moves kings to do exactly
what He pleases. He moves queens to do exactly
what He pleases. Presidents and dictators, He
moves them to do exactly what He pleases. You know, a lot of
people have the idea that Satan is doing all of that stuff. You
know, I mentioned this in a message not too long ago and I'm going
to read it again because it touched me. It is strange that by the
general consent of man, sin against God has been so ever considered
so perfectly unnatural. By many, sin is considered so
perfectly unnatural by man, so evil in itself, that no man would
commit it unless pushed or forced to it by the agency of the devil.
You know what? There is this much said in the
Bible about the devil, and there's this much said about our heart.
Rotten to the core. Our righteousness is as filthy
as rags. Our heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked. And you know, when I first heard
that, I cringed. Because I was a pretty good guy.
Never had a police record. Never drank a beer. Man, I was
in like flam. Never went to dances, never played
cards, and all the other stuff that good boys weren't supposed
to do. But you know what? When God acquainted me with his
son, I was a wretched, depraved, beyond hope or help in this world
until he breathed life into me. And I could say, as that man
did there at the temple, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God is in charge. He will save all his. When we
seek God's word about the problem among peoples, we also find out
that there's good news because God is able to take care of the
problem. You know, in Ephesians chapter two, would you turn there
with me? Ephesians chapter two. We have this on a little fire
now, because I won't be able to wear out the pages. The battery
may die, but in my Bible, some of the books I have, Ephesians
is about wore out, because it's so comforting. It's so gracious. It declares God to us. And then
it declares that God does this for his people. In the book of
Ephesians chapter two, we read these wonderful words. And as
Mike brought out this morning, you cannot go and enjoy chapter
two, unless first of all, you've enjoyed chapter one. And if you
can't enjoy chapter one, then don't even think about enjoying
chapter two. You're on sacred ground and you're
not permitted there. If you are given the joy of chapter
one, then take hold of chapter two, three, four, five, and six. In Ephesians chapter two, and
there it says in verse one, it says, and you hath he quickened. You know what that means, don't
you? Been given life. You hath he quicken. There's
the quicken the dead. There's the living and the dead. You hath he quicken. Well, what
is he insinuating here? You're dead to begin with. You
don't have any spiritual life. You don't have any spiritual
hope. You have nothing unless God should move on you. All right,
and then he says here, who are dead in trespasses and sin, wherein
in time past you walk according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air. You know, I
just look at that and I say one more time, God shares with us
that we have the problem right here. This is our God, our worship
is right here, we worship ourself, we worship our will, we worship
our things about ourselves, and Lord, help me from blaming it
onto someone else. If I wouldn't have done that,
if that guy hadn't have done that. Yesterday, I just, I came this
close. I went to a concert. And right
in front of me, this guy stands up and starts dancing and hides
the people I want to see in the concert. So I went to the security
and says, I didn't pay this money to have some guy dance in front
of me. Well, I'm not, I can't do anything. So I went to the
guy and says, would you mind moving or sitting down? You're
not going to get that done, buddy. And I went, oof. Oh, so close. He was just being a jerk. But aren't we like that? We find
out that we're fallen, dead, and trespasses in, wherein in
time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince and power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past, in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the mind, flesh and the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others. And you know, people
will tell me, they'll tell you, I'm not like that. And in ourselves, we're not,
because we're pretty good folk. At least we're better than them.
So we're pretty good folk. But God says this, and you know,
after the Lord saves us, we say, thank you for revealing that
truth to me, that what Adam did affected me immediately. I'm dead in trespasses and sin
and Adam all died. You know, you get to believe
some things that you didn't want to believe. He reveals the truth
to you and you say, Amen. That's the truth about it. We find out how great our sin
is. Everybody hates God by nature
and nobody confesses it. All will not come to him that
they might have life. That's what Jesus said. You'll
not come to me that you might have life. All that the Father
giveth me shall come unto me, and he that cometh unto me, I
will know I was cast out, but you'll not come to me that you
might have life. Left to ourselves, we'd not come.
It is God's action upon us. That's when we get to come. All
cried, crucify him. Someone that says, I wasn't there,
we were. We were there, we were human
representation was right there. Our forebears were right there
and said crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. Why? Because
he said he was born of a man, he was born of a woman, but he
said he's God. You know what? After we're saved,
we get to believe that. We get to rejoice in it. Here's
God walking among us. They shall call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. We have God
walking among us. We have the God-man, Immanuel.
We shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted as God
with us. And you know what? He's still
with his people right now. All the benefits and effects
of his death on the cross are ours, given to us and revealed
to us. All we reject God, all cry crucify
him. None doeth good. No, not one. None doeth good. No, not one. How effective then is the blood
of Jesus Christ, and this is good news. It's so good. You know, I was taught all my
growing up years that Jesus did something for everybody. But
he can't do it unless you give him consent. I've heard that all my life.
I have to give consent before he does that. Well, the fallacy
about that is, spiritually, Will never gives consent. We're not
interested in that. We're kind of like that Pharisee
that said, God, I just thank you that I'm able to tithe and
I'm able to do this and I can I can fast and I give tithes
of my celery seed. Can you imagine sitting down
and counting out your celery seeds so that you could give
a tithe to the Lord? He just said, I'm bound under
the law. And there is absolutely no hope
under the law. It condemns. Every time he mentioned
something, there was a condemnation against him. You can't do it,
you can't do it, and you can't do it. Over here, we have someone
else that he mocks. He says, I'm glad I'm not like
him. This man over here, he saw that Jesus Christ and him alone
could save him from his sin. God be merciful unto me, a sinner. We must have a savior that has
effectual blood. The world would teach us that
Jesus Christ went to the cross and died for everybody, and if
that be true, he is a fake, a failure, and I'm going fishing. There's no need to put up with
it. Because if God can't save you without your consent, and
a whole bunch of people that he died for have gone to hell,
then what good was his death? What good was his blood? What
good was his love? What good was his purpose if
he can't do what he said he could do? Well, we know the very first
thing that we looked at, the God of the Bible is a God that
does stuff. and is in charge of stuff, and he's all powerful.
And besides that, he does what he said he will do. And he said
he would do, look with me, John chapter 10, would you join me
there? We must have someone that has
effectual blood, blood that is accomplishing something, blood
that's doing something. And we get to rejoice in this,
and this is exactly what the Holy Spirit told those disciples
to do when they went to the temple court the next day, go preach
about this life. Don't preach about the law and
the death of the law. Go preach about this life, the
life we have in Christ Jesus, the resurrected Savior, the one
that is sitting at the right hand of the Father, the one that
was accepted back to the throne of God because he was successful
in his death, he was successful in his burial, and by that he
was successful in his resurrection. And now he's ascended back to
the throne. Well, here in the book of John,
Jesus Christ himself shares with us those that he was going to
die for. Now, I've shared this before
too, but I want to put it in this message. And Brother Gary
Shepard shared this in a message and I'm just copying it. Someone
said, I don't believe in election. And you know what Brother Gary
said? You're too late. It's already
been done. God took care of that and eternity
passed. So you're just out of the running.
Vote against it if you want, but that's not going to happen.
All right, here in John 10, verse 11, it says, I am the good shepherd.
Hallelujah. We've got a shepherd who cares
about his folk. He's the good shepherd that cares
about the sheep. He's a good shepherd that will
feed the sheep. He's a good shepherd that will lead the sheep. He's
a good shepherd that will take the sheep to water. He's a good
shepherd that will take the sheep to the grass. He's a good shepherd
that lays them down, contented, as we read in the 23rd Psalm.
He's the good shepherd. And this good shepherd is very
special in the fact that it says here, I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Now, Jesus
Christ died for a particular group of people. Now, who they
are, that's God's business. I'm not going to get an argument
over it. You know, I'm just surprised that he saved me. I think it
was Isaac Watts. Someone came into him one day
and said, did you hear that this guy down the street's been saved?
He says, I didn't think anybody, he could ever be saved. And Isaac
Watts said, God saved me. He can save anybody. All right. Turn with me, if you would, back
to the book of Isaiah, chapter 53 and verse 11, as we think
about this wonderful life that he's given us. And it's hard
to take until the revelation comes, till Christ gives us the
new birth. I've been asked several times
by a young fellow I've been dealing with and visiting with, how do
you know that you're born again? Well, next time he asks that,
I'm gonna say, how did you know your physical birth? You know how I knew my physical
birth? I quit kicking my mama. How do I know about a spiritual
birth? I quit arguing with God. The argument was over. He won.
I agree. Yes, I am a sinner. Chiefest
of sinners. Your almighty God. And your son
came and laid down his life a ransom for me. paid my sin debt, and
I know that because you gave me the new birth." We're looking
at a passage of scripture over in the book of Judges, chapter
five, I think it's verse 23. Three things that Manoah's wife
mentioned when Manoah said, we've seen God, we're gonna die. And she brings up three things,
the reason why we're not gonna die. He spoke to us. He spoke to us. Two other reasons,
can't remember right now. Listen to Judges chapter five,
or 13, this Wednesday night. Isaiah 53, there in verse 11,
it says, he shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. I love it when God is satisfied
with the sacrifice of His Son on the behalf of all that the
Father gave Him before the foundation of the world. I'm thrilled when
I read about it. It excites me to read that Jesus
Christ, His sacrifice, His blood offering, His doings on the cross
satisfied the Godhead. I can no longer charge them with
their sin because all the charge went to him and I'm satisfied. The debt's paid. I'll never bring
it up again. 1 John 2, verse 2. Would you read that with me?
1 John 2. This is a verse that's been thrown
up in my face a number of times since God revealed the gospel
to me. And here in the book of John
2, he is the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins
only. 1 John 2, verse 2. Not for our
sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Now, if you
and I go down through that verse of scripture, what words might
need a definition or an explanation in that verse of scripture? He, do we need to go over that?
Probably not. Kind of self-explanatory. He
is the propitiation. Is it our, do we have to go over
our? Probably not, we probably understand
that. How about sins? Do we need to go over sins and
come up with a definition for that? You know what it is. Whole world? Do we need to go
over that? Probably not. If we understand the one word
in this verse of scripture, that's more than two syllables. Propitiation. Propitiation. He is the propitiation. There's only one word in this
verse that needs some definition or explanation, and this word
is forever left out of the equation. People jump right over it. They
use it as, oh, this is just a filler word. Let's put some parentheses
around it, and let's just say Jesus died for everybody, and
that will make it happy. Who did he make propitiation
for? Number one, what does that mean?
I looked that up and it means to propitiate or expiate. Oh, hallelujah. I just stepped
from one place to another. It wasn't a word. My English
teacher went over with me. I didn't study this. And I'll
tell you what, my preacher never brought this up. He didn't want
to mention this verse of scripture and explain that word. To conciliate,
to appease, propitiation, the benefit of Christ's blood for
the sinners in acceptance by the Father. Propitiation means
that the Father accepted the sacrifice. Now, if the Father
accepted the sacrifice, was appeased by the sacrifice, why? Do people he died for go
to hell? They don't. That's all there
is to it. They just don't. He was satisfied. He propitiated for them, not
for our sins. And he's talking to a group of
church. He's talking to a church. Not for our sins only, but for
the sins of everybody else that God's ever going to save. He
propitiated for them, paid their sin debt. How would you like
it if you spent $100 on your Visa card and you paid that Visa
card off and the next month they required another $100? And you pay that, and the next
month they require another $100. We're going to talk to a lawyer
about this. This isn't fair. Well, that's exactly what God
said about his special son's blood. He propitiated, he expiated,
he filled in, paid the debt, paid the sin debt for a bunch
of people, and they shall never come into condemnation. Now the rest, God is gonna deal
with them according to his word. In Hebrews chapter two, Hebrews
chapter two, would you join me there? Hebrews chapter 2 and
verse 17, as we think about this life, go preach this life. Preach
this life about God. Preach this life about Jesus
Christ. Preach this life about sin. Preach
this life about a savior of sinners. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 17,
wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his
brethren. You know what he looked like? You and I without sin. Couldn't be reckoned with. You
know what? They all look alike. He looked just like us. The haircut
was the haircut of the day. His clothes were the clothes
of the day. His speech was the speech of the day. But he was
the God man. Be like his brethren, that he
might be merciful and a faithful high priest in things pertaining
to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."
Reconcile to God. You know, we offended God and
Adam. He's the offended party and we're
the offending party. And God sent his son to pay the
sin debt, and you know what? I get to shake hands with God.
I've been reconciled to God. I get to meet Him on good terms. The terms I meet Him on is Jesus
Christ. That's the terms I meet Him on.
I meet Him in the Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in
the book of Hebrews chapter 8. Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 10. Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 10. We're not through, but we're
through. We'll stop right here, but I want to read this verse
of scripture, Hebrews chapter 10. For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I'll put my laws into their mind.
What's that? You know what? We get to read
the scriptures in the Holy Spirit and they reveal some of it to
us. but it's gonna reveal Christ in him crucified. It's not gonna
reveal that I have to get under the law. It's not gonna reveal
that I am a debtor to the law. God did, took care of that. There's three things we must
have if we're ever gonna meet God. We must have perfect righteousness. I mean, not a thread of ours,
it must be someone else's. Christ's righteousness must be
imputed to us. We must have perfect righteousness.
Two, we must have our sin dealt with. We cannot meet God in our
sin. We can only meet God in Christ.
And thirdly, we must have a spiritual life. His kingdom is not of this
world. His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom,
and he must give us a spiritual part, and that is the new birth. We must have the new birth. All
right. As we finish up in Hebrews 8, verse 10, for this is the
covenant that I'll make with the house of Israel after those
days, saith the Lord. I'll put my laws into their mind,
write them in their hearts, and I'll be to them a God. Hallelujah.
Oh my goodness. I'm going to take this upon myself
to be their God. And you know what? The church
says thank you. I spit too much at that altar
of Baal. wasted all my living at the offering
of Baal. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, know the
Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. What
a, hallelujah. How good is that? Every one of
his church will know him. This is my Savior. Can I introduce
you to my Savior? This is my Savior. And everybody
else says, no, we never have to ask the question. of why are
you in the city of refuge? We can just say Christ is my
Savior. And it goes on to tell us here,
for all to know me from the least to the greatest, for I will be
merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. And you know, when we get to
looking at that eternal place that those without Christ go,
they're dealing with their sins and iniquities. Not forgiven. So the good life, the new life,
that life that the Holy Spirit told the disciples, go over to
the temple tomorrow morning, get over there, people will come
around you, and preach this life. Guess what they did? They preached
that life. Guess what's happened? They're
gonna be arrested again. And this time, they're all gonna
be beaten. but they wanted to kill him. God protected them
so they could preach another day. Brother Mike, if you'll
come.