We'll sing hymn number 298. 298. In shady green pastures so rich
and so sweet, God leads His dear children along. Where every hour's cool flow
bathes the weary one's feet, God leads His dear children along. Some through the water, some
through the blood Some through the fire, but all through the
blood Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song In the night
season and all the day long Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines
so bright, God leaves his dear children alone. Sometimes in
the valley in darkest of night, God leaves his dear children
alone. Some through the waters, some
through the flood Some through the fire, but all through the
flood Some through great sorrow, but God gives us all In the night
season and all the day long God bleeds his dear children
of old. Through grace we can conquer,
defeat all our foes. God bleeds his dear children
of old. Some through the water, some
through the flood. Some through the fire, but all
through the blood. Some through great sorrow, but
God gives us all. In the night season and all the
day long. Away from the mire, away from
the flame, God bleeds His dear children alone. Away in glory, eternity stained,
God bleeds His dear children alone. Some through the water, some
through the flood Some through the fire, but all through the
flood Some through great sorrow, but God gives us all In the night
season and all the day long Be seated. We'll sing hymn number
357. 357. We'll sing the first, second, and fifth verses. 357. Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer
to Thee. Even though it be a cross that
hath raised me, my song shall be, nearer, my
God, to Thee, nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee. Though like the wanderer, the
sun won't die. Darkness be over me, I rest. Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer,
my God, to Thee, nearer, my God, to Thee. For if a joyful wind Slips from
the sky On the fifth verse Sun, moon, and stars for God Upward
I fly Be nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer,
my God, to Thee. Acts chapter 5, pick up right
where we left off. I'll start reading in verse 12
and read down to verse 28 and then deal with the verses later
as we go through them. And by the hands of the apostles
were many signs and wonders wrought among the people. And they were
all with one accord in Solomon's porch. And of the rest durst
no man join himself to them, but the people magnified them. And believers were more added
to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women, 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 them, some of them. 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 they that were with him, which is of the sect of the Sadducees,
and were filled with indignation. And they laid their hands on
the apostles and put them in the common prison. But the angel
of the Lord by night opened the prison 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 heard that, they
entered into the temple early in the morning and taught. But
the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called
the council together, and all the senate of the children of
Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came and
found them not in the prison, they returned and told." Can
you imagine going to jail and them fellows ain't there? He
said, boy, we got a good jail. We got a good place to hold these
fellas. But it couldn't hold them. Ain't nothing can hold
you when Christ sets you free. Look what he goes on to say now.
Saying, the prison truly we found shut with all safety. Everything
was just like it was when we put them in there. And the keeper
standing without before the doors. Those guys that was keeping the
watch. The guards, they didn't know anything. They didn't see
a thing, didn't know anything. Watch this. But when we opened
it, there's nobody in there. Nobody was in there. No man within. Now when the high priest and
the captain of the temple and the chief priest heard these
things, they doubted that them were undeath would grow. Then
came one and told them, saying, behold, the men whom you put
in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people."
Now, you just... They go to jail, they're not
in there. And then there's somebody, they're up there, standing up
there, teaching and preaching. And they got over there and say,
them fellows you put in jail, you never would believe where
they're at right now. You just wouldn't believe it.
They're over there at the temple, they're teaching and preaching.
Did you put them in prison? We've seen you do that, but look
at them. Look at them. And oh my, then went the captains
with the officers and brought them without violence. They went
to them just quiet and calm. You know, if those apostles had
refused to go, Wonder what would have happened. Wonder what would
have happened. There'd have been a riot there.
They wouldn't have let them take them. But when the captain with
the officers brought them without violence, for they feared the
people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they brought
them, they set them before the council, and the high priest
asked them, saying, did not we straightly command you that you
should not teach in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem
with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon
us. Our Father, oh, our blessed,
blessed Father in heaven, as Bruce preached the other night,
we come with love. We come because we have a Father
that loves us, cares for us, meets our needs, counts the hairs
on our head. And we're worth more than anything
in this world. And you give us nothing but good
gifts. You bless us and allow us to meet together. And Lord,
I thank you for this blessed privilege for me to be in the
pulpit here again, to be here with the people of God, to be
with the folks I've been with for so many years. And Lord,
I pray that you would meet with us tonight. Give us of your presence. Give us of your power. Open the
scriptures to our understanding. Give us light. Give us understanding. Give us faith. Give us ears. Give us hearts to believe. And
Lord, we do pray for those that are among us that are still frail,
still sick, Rick and Helen, others among us, Lord. God bless them. Lord, continue to strengthen
Albert and uphold him and his dear family and James and Bonnie. Lord, we thank you for them.
Pray that you'd meet with us and give glory to yourself tonight
for Christ's sake. Amen. Hymn number 175. 175. Standing on the promises of Christ
my King Through eternal ages let His praises ring Glory in
the highest I will shout and sing Standing on the promises
of God Standing, standing, standing
on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, I am standing
on the promises of God. Standing on the promises that
cannot fail In the howling storms of doubt and fear I sail By the
living word of God I shall prevail Standing on the promises of God
Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing. I am standing on the promises
of God Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord Bound to Him
eternally by love strong-born Overcoming daily with the spirit's
sword Standing on the promises of God Standing, standing, standing
on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing. I am standing on the promises
of God Standing on the promises I cannot fall Listening every
moment to the Spirit's call Resting in my Savior as my all in all
Standing on the promises of God Standing, standing, standing
on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, I am standing
on the promises of God my Savior. Alright, back here in Acts chapter
5. The title of my message this evening
is, Counted Worthy to Suffer. Because it says down in verse
41, And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing
they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name's sake. You know the last time we dealt
with it, down here in verse 11, Chapter 5, and great fear came
upon all the church, and as many as heard these things. And the
reason being, the church had been in such harmony, had this
wonderful unity, but Satan filled two hypocrites with deceit, and
God s judgment fell on them, and they both dropped dead. because
they was lying to God, lying to the Holy Ghost. And so, Ananias
and Sapphira, Sapphira came in, her husband had been buried,
and she came in about three hours later, and she dropped dead,
and they took her out and put her in her grave clothes and
carried her away. But look what happens now, I've got three points
tonight, and I hope I can get through it all and be a blessing. But look what it says in verse
12. A great power came upon these
people, and by the hands of the apostles were many signs and
wonders wrought among the people, and they were all in one accord
in Solomon's porch. And of the rest, no man durst
join himself to them, but the people magnified them, magnified
them. You know, it says here that many
signs and wonders, miracles were wrought among the people, and
they were all in one accord there. And why did God use these signs
and wonders, these miracles for the apostles? Well, you keep
asking, look over in Hebrews chapter two. You know, our Lord
told His disciples, said, of all the works that I've done,
you'll be able to do even greater you'll be able to do even greater.
But here in Hebrews chapter 2, you know, why they gave them
these miracle signs and wonders was to give witness to the power
of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He was indeed risen from the
dead. But look what is said here in
verse 3. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation,
which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, This great salvation
began to be spoken by Christ Himself and was confirmed unto
us by them that heard Him. Now listen to this, God also
bearing them witness both with signs and wonders and with diverse
miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to His own will. God gave Him this special power.
Nobody else had it. The disciples were gone and look
what it said down here in verse 15. Insomuch, Acts 5, 15, insomuch
that they brought forth the six into the street and laid them
on beds and couches. Now listen to this, that at the
least the shadow, just the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow
them. Now, I tell you, you're talking
about power. They lay people out in the street
and they hope that when Peter passes by, his shadow would fall
on them and they would be healed just by his shadow. Now, that's
miracle working. That's wonder working. That's
supernatural. And our Lord said they'd do this
wonder, just the shadow of Peter healed the sick. And it says
there in verse 12 again, and they were all in one accord.
That's one of the most, this is one of the most common things
that they said in the scripture. They were in one accord, they
was unified. They had one purpose, they had
one aim, they had one goal, and that was to honor their master.
And they used these miracles and these opportunities to preach
the Lord Jesus Christ. And that was making these people
whole. That was what was making it.
And look in verse 14 now. See, they're bearing witness
to Christ is what God was blessing these men to do these miracles
so people could be brought to Christ. And it looked what it
said in verse 14. And believers were more added
to the Lord. Multitudes were added to the
Lord. Now I want you to notice what it says there. It says added
to the Lord. Didn't say add it to the church. Didn't say there's added to the
to the church roll. It says they were added to the
Lord. You see, we're members of His
body, and being joined to Christ is where salvation is. God taking
a sinner and joining him to the Lord Jesus Christ. God taking
and baptizing him by the Spirit into the body of Christ. And
that's why it says many, a multitude were added to the Lord. And I
tell you what, salvation, if God adds a man, if a man is ever
saved, God's got to be the one to add him. We can't add nobody. I heard Greg, somebody asked
Greg, how many people you got here? Greg said, I don't know.
You know what happened to David for numbering the Lord's people? He said, Joab said, don't number
them. Said, they're God's people. Leave
them alone. He said, no, no, I want to know
how many I'm king over. I want to know how many I'm reigning
over. Well, they went out and took a census, come back and
told him, God gave him three options. You can fight in front
of your enemies for three months. I can kill 70,000 people and
not forget what the other one was. But anyway, he says, Lord,
let me fall into your hands. and they fall into your hands.
But that's what you don't do. You don't start telling about,
you know, it's not our church, it's the Lord's church. And these
people were added to Christ. And that's what he's talking
about. Christ in you is the hope of glory. But oh my, you see,
he's the word. He's the one that's been, he's
the one that's heard. He's the one we're added to.
But persecutions coming again. And in verse 17 through 42, and
we'll deal with them as we go. There's three different spirits
at work in this chapter, three different spirits. And over in
John, look with me to 1 John 4. I want you to see this before
I move on. 1 John 4. You know, three different spirits
are at work in this particular chapter. God blessed these men
to preach the gospel, but persecution's coming again. Look what it says
there in verse 1. Beloved, believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits where they are of God, because many false
prophets are going out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit
of God, and every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is
coming to flesh is of God. Jesus Christ was God manifest
in the flesh. Many false prophets. But first
of all, we see the Spirit of air. Look what it says there
in verse 17. Here's the Spirit of air. Then
the high priest rose up and all that were with him, which is
the sect. You see that? Notice there's
a sect of the Sadducees and were filled with indignation. Oh my,
filled with indignation. And they called them a sect.
You know, the priesthood became a political office before the
Lord, even during the Lord Jesus Christ's time. It was supposed
to be an office to go in behind the tabernacle and go into the
presence of God and serve at the tabernacle. But it became
a political office. It became a powerful office.
It became an office that they could do things with. And this
is an evidence of it right here. You see, first of all, it says
they were filled with indignation, and I tell you, and laid their
hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. These
men, these sect of the Sadducees manifested their hatred. They
hated these men. They hated Christ. And they used
force to intimidate these men and bring them forth and bring
fear upon the saints. They wanted to bring fear on
them. And I seen today, let me just stop and say this right
now. There's places in America right
now that if you take a Bible to church, they look and they
consider it contraband, and they ll go through your backpacks
and try to take them away. And if it wasn t for certain
organizations, they d take Bibles away from people, and they re
doing that in different places. In America, a lady got fired
because her signature was Jesus loves you, and they fired her
over that. They got her job back and gave
her, I don't know how much more. Listen, this Antichrist is well
and alive in America. And if they'll do everything
they possibly can to shut down the truth, the truth. But these
men hated these apostles. They used force to intimidate
it. And these leaders, these men here, were frustrated Those
who believed in and upon Jesus of Nazareth, they said, it's
growing. Ain't that what they said down
there in verse 24? They said, they doubted of them
wherein this would grow. My goodness, it's growing now.
If we don't stop it, it's gonna continue to grow. They said,
this thing's out of control. There's so many people believe
in this. And oh my. And then three things,
three things. really bothered these leaders.
First of all, it was the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
you know what else? They would not even mention His
name. Look over here in verse 28, saying, Did not we straightly
command you that you should not teach in this name? This name. They wouldn't even use the title
of Jesus. They wouldn't use the title of
Christ. They wouldn't use the title of Messiah. They wouldn't
use the title of Savior. To them, Christ was an imposter. To them, Christ was a false prophet. To them, Christ was a blasphemer.
That's what they said, said, you know, he asked them one time,
they said, they started picking up stones. They told him, he
said, for which good work are you gonna stone me? He said,
we're not gonna stone you for a good work, because thou being
a man, make yourself one with God. And we can't take that,
a man can't be God. And you make yourself one with
God, and that's blasphemy. And that's what they called,
we heard him speak this blasphemy. And here's what they think, they
said, we crucified him, and we were right in doing it. Then
look what he went on to say here in verse 28. And he said, and
not only have we told you, commanded you should not teach in this
name. He said, didn't ask them, they commanded them. They got
the authority, they got the power. And look what else it says, you
filled Jerusalem with your doctrine. You filled Jerusalem with Christ. You filled Jerusalem with the
doctrine of Christ. You're going around here preaching
that there's salvation in one man. You're preaching that they
crucified somebody that was God himself. And oh my, and look
what it says. You filled Jerusalem with your
doctrine, with your teaching. And look what else he went to
say. And you intend, intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Now, let me show you what they
said over here in Matthew 27 about that. Matthew 27 about
his blood. Matthew 27 and verse 25. Oh my, you know, You're gonna bring this man's
blood upon us. You're gonna make us responsible
for him. You're gonna make us responsible
for his blood. You're gonna make us responsible
for his death. And oh, look what he said. In
verse 24, Matthew 27. When Pilate sought that he could
prevail nothing, but rather a tumult was made, he took water, washed
his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the
blood of this just person. You see to it. Now listen to
this. Then answered all the people and said, his blood be on us
and on our children. And you know what that says?
It said, we'll take responsibility for what we've done. And if we're
wrong, His blood be on us. You know, His blood be on us.
And I tell you, the Sadducees, they didn't believe in a resurrection.
That's one thing they did not believe. They didn't believe
in a resurrection. You remember in Matthew 22, they come to the
Lord Jesus, said, a man had a wife, he died, man had another brother
married him, he died, another brother married him. They went
on and had seven husbands, and they all died. Now, they said,
which one is gonna be her husband in the resurrection? Because
they don't believe in a resurrection. Our Lord says, you do err, neither
knowing the scriptures or the power of God. In heaven, there's
neither marriage nor giving in marriage. Oh my, and the Sadducees didn't
believe in a resurrection. They didn't believe in angels.
And to have it preached, that Jesus Christ our Lord was raised
from the dead. It's bad enough for a Pharisee,
but for a Sadducee who doesn't believe in a resurrection, it'd
be worse. This attacked their theology, their knowledge of
the scriptures. And if the resurrection was true,
Christ really was the Messiah, where did that leave them then?
Where'd that leave them? And here's the second thing,
the third thing about him. this spirit of error. They were
jealous. Look what it said in verse 17
again. They were filled with indignation.
And when you look in the margin, it says they were envious. They
were filled with envy. Huh? Oh my. It's one thing to claim that
Jesus Christ was a false prophet and to stand up for that truth
if you really believe it. And would they all be right if
that thing was true? But to be jealous? so fleshly,
so carnal? Why were they jealous of? You
know, Pilate said he knew that they delivered him for envy.
But what were they jealous of? Were they jealous of Christ?
Because His name was throughout all Jerusalem? His name was all
over Judea? His name was heard everywhere?
Were they jealous over Him? Jealous over Christ and His name? And their name was nothing? Or
were they jealous over these apostles? And the power that
they had, and the glory that they had, and the miracle-working
power that they had. Oh, my. As far as they were concerned,
were they jealous? You know, Christ was dead, and
the apostles was false. What did they have to be jealous
about if they really believed that? Oh, they were jealous of
the Lord Jesus Christ because His name was recognized, not
theirs being proclaimed. And they were jealous of the
apostles because of the miracles and the people were following
them. Now, let's go to the second spirit, that spirit of error.
Here's the spirit of compromise. Let's go down here to verse 34,
34. You know, we're gonna get to
where we wanna go, but we gotta get there in a roundabout way. And then there stood up one in
the council, in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a
doctor of the law, had a reputation among all the people, commanded
to put the apostles forth a little space. And he said unto them,
you men of Israel, Be careful what you intend to do. Take heed
to what you yourselves intend to do as touching these men.
Before these days, before Christ came, before these men began
to preach, rose up Thudas, boasting himself to be somebody, to whom
a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves. They were
all slain, and as all as many as obeyed him were scattered
and brought to naught, brought to nothing. And after this rose
up Judas of Galilee in the days of taxing, and drew away much
people after him. He also perished, and all, even
as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. Now listen to what he says now.
And now I say unto you, refrain from these men, let them alone. For if this counsel or this work
be of men, it will come to nothing, just like Judas and Thutis. But if it be of God, You can't
overthrow it. Lest happily you be found even
to fight against God. And to him they agreed, and when
they called the apostles and beaten them and commanded them
that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, let them go. Here's the first thing, this
spirit of compromise. This man, you know, he's a Pharisee. And the Pharisees was the most
dedicated, committed people that's probably ever been on the planet.
You think Amish and the Mennonites and the holiness people, you
think they dedicated and committed. And these fellas right here,
nobody was more committed to the scriptures and living a separate,
Pharisee means to be separated, set apart from everything and
everybody. That's why Paul, he was a Pharisee.
And he said, of the strictest sect, I was a Pharisee. Now look
what he said, and it said there, she had a great reputation. But
look what Paul said over here in Acts 22. Look what happens
over here in Acts 22 about this Gamaliel. In Acts 22, look what happens
over here in verse three. Oh my, they've got the Pauls
in front of a bunch of men and they've got him about ready to
put him in jail, tried to kill him. And now look what he says
here. Acts 22, 3. I am truly a man,
a Jew, verily a man, which am a Jew born in Tarsus, a city
in Cilicia, yet brought up in the city," listen to this, "'at
the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner
of the law of our fathers, and was zealous toward God, as you
are all this day.'" That Paul sat and learned at this man's
feet right here. This man here was a great teacher,
had great respect, had a great reputation, and he used these
two illustrations, Thutis and Judas. And if these men are not
of God, that same thing's gonna happen to them. But oh, what
a spirit of compromise he had. He was truly, truly indifferent
as to what was going on. You know, he said here in verse
38, Now say unto you, refrain from these men, let them alone. Let him alone, for if this counsel
or this work be of men, it'll come to nothing, just like everybody
else ever did. But now he didn't care if it
was of God or not, but he said, but if it be of God, you cannot
overthrow it, lest you be found even to fight against God. He
was truly, truly indifferent. And this is what he oughta said.
If he is an honest man, if he is a God-fearing man, if he is
a God-honoring man, If he was a man who understood the scriptures,
the first thing he would have said, if this thing is of God,
you know what we ought to do? We ought to examine it. We ought
to examine these men. We ought to question these men.
We ought to get some evidence. We ought to find out if these
fellas are really telling the truth. We should look into this. Let us see if what they're saying
is true. These men have hazarded their
lives for the gospel. They've hazarded their lives
for Christ. Let's examine them. You know, it said about the Lord
Jesus Christ, the scriptures tells us that he by many infallible
proofs was raised from the dead. So he was a compromiser. It's
just, you know, this is the wisest thing for him to do. And then
not only that, but he's a coward. He's a coward. He's a coward. He said in verse 38, but if it
be of God, you can't overthrow it. And oh my, he is such a coward. If it is of God, if it's of God,
why didn't he believe it? Why didn't he accept it? Why
didn't he bow to it? Why didn't he believe it? Oh,
he just ignored it. It didn't make any difference
to him. He's gonna be saved by law and establish his own righteousness
anyway. And then look what it said in
verse 40. And they all agreed with him. Said, you know, you
really come up with a good idea here. You come up, you pretty
smart fella. You really come up with something. And oh my. And then they called the apostles.
Now look what happens now. Here's the third spirit that's
in these days. And I want you to go back with
me here. Look at verse 20. Here's the spirit of truth. We
had a spirit of error, spirit of compromise, and here's the
spirit of truth. You know, they put the apostles. Now, I don't know how many of
them there were. I know there was John and Simon Peter, probably
James, and it says apostles. And I'll tell you then, you know, And this council, you know, never
mentioned to them being in jail. But then they said, by night
the angel opened the doors and brought them forth. Listen to
this now. These men were fearless. They were standing preaching.
This is supernatural act here now. Go stand and speak in the
temple to the people all the words of this life. Oh my, when they brought them
back in front of the council, they never mentioned that they'd
ever even been in jail. They stand in preaching in the
same place they arrested them. It's supernatural. And I tell
you something, all of God's, all the salvation of every soul
that's ever been saved, it's been a supernatural act of God.
God's gotta do it. I mean, he's the only one can
bring a dead man to life. He's the only one that can give
a new heart. He's the only one that can do
that. And they were fearless. Oh my, look what it says. And
they went out and stood in the speak. We commanded you not to
do this, but they were fearless. Go speak the words of this life. God uses words to give his people
life. It's by the preaching of the
gospel. Look what our Lord Jesus Christ said over in John 6, 63.
Look over here in John 6 with me. The words of life. And you know that's something. The words that we speak. Words
of life. Words of life. Oh my. And it's said here in John 6,
63. Our Lord's preaching now. He
said, it is the spirit that quickeneth, or spirit that gives life. The
flesh prophets don't profit anything at all. Listen to this now, the
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are
life. But there are some of you that
believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were that believed not and who should betray. And he
said unto them, therefore I said unto you, that no man, I don't
care who he is, no man can come unto me, except it were given
unto him of my father. From that time, many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto
the 12, will you also go away? This is what Simon said. Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words, the words
of eternal life. And I'll tell you what, these
men were faithful. Not only were they fearless,
they went right back and they went right back there. And it
says down here in verse 25, then came one and told him, saying,
the men you put in prison are standing in the temple and they're
teaching, preaching to the people. They brought them back. They
brought them back. And that Pharisee and that Sadducee
and all that big council, I mean, you're talking probably 67, 80
people that these men are in front of. Got their robes on,
you know, and their phylacteries. Oh my, just like one of these
Catholic guys got the fish hat on, you know, on his head, and
the big long robe, and they got red winds, and they got white
winds, and they got scarves to put around them, and all that
rigamarole. That's the way these fellas were. They was dressed
to the nines. You know, they were decked out.
You know, we're somebody here, you know. There's these old apostles.
They got on. They're working men. They was working men. They worked
all their lives. And one thing they note about these men, that
these men were ignorant and unlearned, but they did notice this, that
they had been with the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ won't leave his
people in ignorance. He'll bring them to a knowledge
of himself. And to know Christ is to know
everything you need to know in this world. I believe that. If
you know Him, you can leave this world, you can deal with this
world, and you can live in this world and have some peace and
comfort and joy in this world and some assurance. But oh my,
they were so faithful. And when that man told that Pharisee,
told Sadducee, told him, didn't we tell you not to teach in this
name? You filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring
this. Then Peter and the other apostles, I don't know how old
they were, but there's several of them. answered and said, they
commanded him now, he answered and said, we ought to obey God
rather than you. Who are you? We ought to obey
God. And then he started preaching. Look what he did. And Peter began
to preach the gospel. The first thing He said is this,
the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged
on a tree. First thing He faced them with
was the crucifixion. He said, you slew Him and you
hanged Him on a tree. You done it. You did it. And then look what else He said
here. And then there's the resurrection, the God of our fathers, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. He raised Him from the dead.
He's not dead. He's not dead. He's not dead
at all. And then look what else he said. And this one that was
crucified, this one that was raised from the dead, God exalted
him. God exalted him. He ain't never
gonna exalt you. God exalted him. Where'd he exalt
him to? To his right hand. The place
of power and authority and honor. Oh my, and He exalted Him to
be a Prince. He's got a crown on His head.
He's a Prince. And listen to this, not only
is He a Prince, but He exalted Him to be the Savior. And both
of those are capitalized, Savior. Now listen to me. You know, if
it says Christ is the Savior, then that means that He saves.
Is that not right? So if He's a Savior, then He's
gonna save. The only question is, who He's
gonna save? Is He gonna save every man? Or
give just an opportunity? Or just open door? Or make it
possible? They said God exalted Him to
be a Savior. And one thing our Lord Himself
said, you know, this is the gospel first began spoken by our Lord.
He says, no man, no man comes unto the Father but by Me. I
said, if you wanna speak to my father, you gotta speak to me.
You want my father to hear you? And I tell you what, if you want
my father to teach you, you got to come to me. And I tell you
what, if you're gonna learn anything, you're gonna learn it through
me. That's pretty strict, ain't it? That's about as narrow as
you can get. That's about as exclusive you
can get. I like the exclusivity of the
gospel. I like the fact that there's one Savior, and I like
the fact that He sits in God's right hand. I like the fact that
He has all power in heaven and earth, and beloved, every soul
on this earth is in His hand to dispose of them as He sees
fit. That's what He said over there.
He just said, I know those that didn't believe on Me, and that's
like I told you, no man can come to Me except My Father gave it
to him. Oh, I guess you fellas go, no, no, Lord, I ain't fixing
to leave you. Why? Because you got the words. You got the words. These men
were faithful. Then he dealt with his exaltation. And then look what else it says
there in verse 31. To give repentance. Oh my. Everybody says, repent,
repent. Well, you can't until God gives
it to you. And then look at what else it
says. And then he gives forgiveness of sins. He's the only one who
can forgive you of your sins. And look what else he said in
verse 32. And we're witnesses of these
things. We're witnesses of his crucifixion. We're witnesses
of his resurrection. We're witnesses of exaltation. We're witness of him being a
savior, being a prince to give repentance and forgiveness. We're
witnesses of these things. And so also is the Holy Ghost
whom God has given to them that obey him. Now watch what happens
right here. And when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. I mean, and they weren't cut
to the heart in a good way. Look what it says. Then they
took counsel to kill him. They done the Lord Jesus exactly
the same way. They were filled with such hate.
such hate, cut to the heart, filled with hate, said, oh, we're
going to kill them. We're going to kill them. We're
going to kill these men before it's over. We're going to kill
them. We can't let these men live.
First, they give them threats. Then they give them a beating.
Then they give them death. And then look what it says over
here in verse 41. In verse 40, excuse me. And when
they agreed, when they had called the apostles and beaten They'd
done this the second time they beat these men. And commanded
them that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let
them go. And look what it says. And oh,
they were so steadfast. And they departed from the presence
of the council. All these big shots rejoicing. How can you rejoice just getting
beat? You just got whipped. I mean,
a whole bunch of fellas are beating on you and thrashing on you and
busting your head and hitting you in the back and hitting you
in the stomach and beating on you. Then you walk out rejoicing. And what they were rejoicing
was, listen to this now. They were counted worthy. to
suffer shame for one reason, the name of Christ. Our Lord
said, you know, he said, Paul said, we'll fill up the sufferings
of the body of Christ. This was him filling up the sufferings
of the body of Christ right here. When we suffer in this life,
we're just filling up the sufferings of the body of Christ. And I'll
tell you what, look what it says. Oh, they said, oh, this is, thank
God. They said, God counted us worthy.
for this meeting. God count us worthy to be whipped. God count us worthy to let these
fellas mistreat us for Christ's sake. Not just because we're
small-alecks, not because we're mean men, not because we're know-it-alls,
not because we're braggers and full of boasting. No, but for
Christ's sake they done this. And you think, well, I tell you
what, it's time for us to quit. Let's fold our tent and quit.
No, look what it says. And daily in the temple, daily
they went up to the temple. And when they was in somebody's
house, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ. Oh, God help us never to cease
and preach Jesus Christ. preach the apostles' creed. Well, I'll get to one of these
days. But there's two things that happen every time we preach
the gospel, two things happen. It's a saver of life unto life
to them that believe, but it's a saver of death unto death to
them that don't. When these men preached to these
fellows right here, it filled them with hatred. When Christ
preached, it filled them with hatred. But when Christ is preached
to us, it fills our heart with love and assurance and comfort. Don't it? Our Father, oh, blessed be your
name. Our Lord Jesus, thank you for
allowing us to meet here. Oh, what a blessing, what a privilege.
And Lord, we've not suffered for the name of Christ, so very,
very little if we've suffered at all. But Lord, maybe someday
we will, someday you'll count us worthy, you'll count us worthy
to suffer for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I know here
now in America, Antichrist is ruling and reigning everywhere,
but yet, oh Lord, you've got a people that'll never bow the
knee, that'll never surrender, will never give up, will stand
like the apostles did, will stand, It may cost us everything we
ever had, never thought to have, but oh God, give us grace to
stand clearly, boldly, and plainly for the truth as it is in our
Lord Jesus Christ. God bless these dear saints as
they go home. Bless those that are not with
us tonight. Kim and Steve, I know they're sick and would love to
be here if they could. God bless them. Lord, encourage
them and strengthen them for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen. There is a name I love to hear. I love to sing its word. It sounds like music in my ear. The sweetest name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus.