Open your Bibles, if you would,
to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. The name of the message today
is Divine Truth Declared. Now Peter and the other apostles
had received the gift of the Holy Spirit of God, filled with
the Holy Spirit of God in the beginning part of this chapter.
And today we'll be looking at verses 14 to 36. We're going
to be looking at it in sections. Acts chapter 2, and we see the
sermon we'll be looking at today, the sermon that Peter preached
at Pentecost. And this message which Peter
declared is remarkably simple, very simple message. It displays
no great learning. Peter was a fisherman, a man
called by the Lord, a man sent by the Lord to preach, but it
does not bring forth great learning. It contains no height of oratory.
It contains no thrilling stories or illustrations. There's none
of that. It's a simple declaration of divine truths. And we're seeing
that today. It's a simple declaration of
divine truths. And it's delivered to the hearts
of man by the power of God. God took this message and he
used it for his glory, which is what he does each time one
of his preachers get up and preaches the gospel. We think, like Paul,
who's sufficient for these things? You ask any gospel preacher,
and we'll say that, who's sufficient for these things? We're not.
But God equips us and allows us to preach and proclaim, and
He takes the words from my mouth and uses them. The Holy Spirit
takes them and blesses you with the preaching of the word. He
puts a message on my heart, and I proclaim the message that He
put on my heart. And I was looking at other texts.
I couldn't get away from this text this week. It was amazing. It just kept coming right back
here. It just kept coming right back here. And there's nothing
in this sermon by Peter to impress the flesh. Nothing in it to impress
the flesh. But we see here that there's
much in this sermon to prick the heart. There's much in this
sermon to prick the heart. And the one object of Peter's
sermon at Pentecost, we will see, and the one object of the
Holy Spirit who inspired him, because it's set in scripture,
it's in scripture, was to set before fallen men guilty, needy
sinners, which is what we are, right? The redemptive accomplishments
and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we'll see so
clearly and plainly that he sets these divine truths forth before
his hearing. So let's read, let's start with
verses 14 to 21. Let's start there first. But
Peter, standing up with the 11, lifted up his voice and said
unto them, ye men of Judah and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem,
be this known unto you and hearken to my words. Now, right before
this, they were speaking in tongues. Now tongues was not gibberish.
If you look in the Greek at the word tongues, it's a known language.
And we can tell from the text above that these men heard Peter
and the other apostles speak in their own languages. And some
men, mocking, said, oh, they're just a bunch of drunks. Now,
these are languages that they did not know, and they were speaking.
It was a sign gift to unbelieving Jews. It's no longer, in fact,
right now, but it was a sign gift to unbelieving Jews. And
look what he says in verse 15. For these are not drunken, as
ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But
this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, and it shall
come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my
spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old
men shall dream dreams. and on my servants and on my
handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit and they
shall prophesy and I will show wonders in heaven above and signs
in the earth beneath blood and fire and vapor of smoke." Well
that all occurred at the cross, didn't it? The sky darkened.
There was a great earthquake. The graves burst open when Christ
died. Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness. Look at that. when
Christ died on the cross and the moon into blood before the
great and notable day of the Lord come and it shall come to
pass that Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall
be saved. Look at that. Shall be. There's
another one of them little words. It's certain, isn't it? They
shall be saved. It's not maybe. It's not if they
make a decision. There's no decision in there.
They shall be saved. Those who call upon the Lord
shall be saved. It's wonderful. It's wonderful.
So we see in verses 14 to 21 that Peter here explains what
happened on that great day of Pentecost. And Peter meant these
men where they were. He meant those he was speaking
to where they were. They were mocking the apostles.
Look at verse 13. They were mocking apostles upon
whom the Holy Spirit had fallen. They were mocking them. It says
here. Others mocking said, these men are full of new wine. Oh,
they're just a bunch of drunks. No, they're not. So Peter responds
to them, doesn't he? Filled with the Holy Ghost, he
responds to them. The Scriptures declare this.
Now think of how this is true right here. With their response,
the Scripture declares, a natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. We
see it right there in their response. Foolishness unto them. Neither
can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. A
natural man cannot know the truths of the Scripture. We know that,
who are being born again by God's Holy Spirit, because we just
have to look back in our past and see what we thought of God,
who we thought Christ was, how we thought we could get to heaven,
and realize it was all wrong, wasn't it? Because it was all
about us. It was all about us. But in the
scriptures, and according to the scriptures, salvation's of
the Lord. It's all His doing. See, we've been taught something
now, haven't we, as a people of God? We've been taught that
we're receivers of the grace and mercy of God. So the man
heard the apostle speaking in their own language, and they
attempted to explain away the work of the Holy Spirit. That's
natural man, isn't it? That's natural man. Tries to
explain away the work of the Holy Spirit of God. They tried
to explain away that which they could not understand. They couldn't
understand it, so they tried to explain it away. It happens
still today. Happens still today. And they
tried to explain away the work of the Spirit by saying, oh,
these men are just a bunch of drunkards. They're just a bunch of drunkards.
And we see in verse 14 that Peter stood and lifted up his voice
with confidence and boldness and he said, listen to me, I
will explain to you from the word of God which you profess
to believe. Now remember the Jews professed
to believe the scriptures, didn't they? They professed to believe
the scriptures. Remember Peter when he's preaching
here, he's preaching from the Old Testament. There's no New
Testament at all. So whenever you see the scriptures
in the New Testament, that's talking about the Old Testament
scriptures. They didn't have what we have today. And then
he says, I'll explain it to you from the word of God, which you
profess to believe what is happening right in your midst. That's basically
the language that he was saying to them. That's a little paraphrase
for us to help us understand it more. That's what he was saying.
In this marvelous outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment
of Joel's prophecy. Turn, if you would, to Joel,
chapter 2. Joel, chapter 2. Now, Joel identified
the Messiah positively. by giving a fourfold proof of
his enthronement in the establishment of his kingdom. The scriptures
point us to the Lord Jesus Christ and they say, this is the Messiah,
this is the Messiah. Joel 2, verse 28, and it shall
come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men
shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also
upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days, will
I pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the
heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood
before that great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it
shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be delivered. See, this is what Peter was speaking
to them. He was speaking to them from
the scriptures. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be
deliverance. as the Lord hath said, and in
the remnant whom the Lord shall call. I kept what Brother Travis
read open, and verse 16 struck me when he was reading that in
Exodus 15. And think about the deliverance
that we have. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord,
and God saves his people. Those who he's purchased, he's
not going to lose one of them. And you know, we have an example
right there, and I'll read the verse here. It says, Exodus 15,
verse 16. Fear and dread shall fall upon
them by the greatness of thine arm. They shall be as still as
a stone. The enemies of God will be as
still as a stone. Till thy people pass over, O
Lord, till the people pass over, till all of them pass over. There's
not one left behind. And then it says this, which
thou has purchased. Do you know, beloved, he will
not leave one of his sheep in this world? We will all go home
to glory. Every single sheep whom he has
purchased will go home to glory to be with him forever. He will
not lose one of them. Oh, how that makes my heart sing.
Because I know what I am. Makes your heart sing, doesn't
it? It's wonderful. What assurance we have as believers
in Christ. What assurance. Now we know the
last days began with the coming of the Messiah, and the last
days encompass the whole space of time from the first advent,
when Christ came, to the second coming of Christ. We're in the
last days right now. We have been for 2,000 years.
For 2,000 years. And the Spirit of God has poured
out His Spirit upon the Jews and Gentiles, men and women,
rich and poor. Look at verses 17 and 18 in our
text, in Acts chapter 2. and it shall come to pass in
the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young
men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And
all my servants and my handmaidens I will pour out in those days
of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. Men in the Old Testament
from time to time were filled with the Spirit of God, and this
great outpouring of the Spirit was reserved as a signal that
Christ, the Messiah, had come and established his kingdom. Listen to this. I one time had
someone, I was talking with someone one time, and they told me, well,
the Old Testament saints, they were saved, they weren't born
again. And I said, well, that's just an outright lie. You know,
they're saved just like we're saved, by the blood of Christ. They're born again by the same
Holy Spirit we're born again. And how do we know that? Well,
in John chapter 3 it says this, Jesus answered and said unto
them, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except the man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. So if a man's not born
again or a woman's not born again, they won't see the kingdom of
God. Well, that includes all the elect of all the ages, right?
The elect in the Old Testament times and the elect in the New
Testament times. You must be born again. You must
be. Nicodemus saith unto me, how
can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb and be born? That's a natural man's
response, right? Jesus answered, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except the man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I say unto thee, ye must be born again. Ye must
be. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof. But can it not tell whence it
come and whither it goeth? So is every one that is born
of the Spirit. You must be born again. You must
be. Now the miraculous gift of tongues,
prophecy and visions were temporary. They were given to announce the
enthronement of the Messiah, the enthronement of Christ. And
the judgment of God has fallen upon the nation of Israel for
their rejection and crucifixion. Turn if you would to Matthew
chapter 22 and then put your finger in Luke chapter 19. Matthew
chapter 22 and Luke chapter 19. Again, the judgment of God has
fallen upon the nation of Israel for their rejection and crucifixion
of Christ. And Joel described God's judgment
of Israel in figurative symbols because of their contempt of
the gospel. They had a contempt for Christ. He was sent unto
his own, and his own received him not. They had a contempt
for him, just like every other person in this world who's not
born again. And we know that because we just
have to look back before we were born again and say, how did I
think about Christ? So we're born with a natural
contempt for the gospel, and we're born with a natural contempt
for Christ and for God. We're enemies in our minds, like
the scripture says, with God, by wicked works, by our sins. That's our state. Look at this,
though, in Matthew 22, verse seven. But when the king heard
thereof, he was wroth, and he sent forth his armies and destroyed
those murderers and burned up their city. Now turn to Luke,
chapter 19. Our Lord weeps over Jerusalem.
He weeps over Jerusalem. Again, Joel describes God's judgment
of Israel and figurative symbols because of their contempt of
the gospel. God destroyed the civil government of Israel as
a nation and turned the light he had given them into darkness.
Look at this in Luke, chapter 19, verses 41 to 44. Our Lord
weeps over Jerusalem. Luke 19, verse 41 to 44, and
when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept over it, saying,
if thou hast known, even now, at least in this thy day, the
things which belong unto thy peace, but are now hid from thine
eyes. Look at that. The gospel's hidden
to them, just like it's hidden to natural man, because they're
natural men. For the days shall come upon
thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and
come past thee round the ground, and keep thee in on every side. And shall lay thee even with
the ground, and thy children within thee. And they shall not
leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knowest
not the time of thy visitation." And that happened in AD 70, when
Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple was destroyed. Romans
went in there and just My, just look up AD 70 with Jerusalem
and you can see what happened on Google. It's amazing. They
just, the city was devastated. And blinded Israel now stands
as a beacon, as a warning to all who trifle with the things
of God. Listen to the words of the master. Turn, if you would,
a couple chapters over in Luke, to Luke chapter 23. Listen to
the words of the master in light of that as he's going to his
crucifixion. Now remember, our master's going to his crucifixion
when he says this to the daughters of Jerusalem. And keep in mind
of what was brought forth in Luke 19 and what was brought
forth in Matthew 22, verse 7. And keep in mind that blinded
Israel stands as a beacon to all who trifle with the things
of God. Look at this, Luke chapter 23. He's going to his crucifixion
and he speaks these words. to the daughters of Jerusalem
who are wailing. Listen, look what he says, verse
28. Luke 23, 28. But Jesus turning unto them and
said, daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me. Look at that. You know why? Because he said
his face like a flint to the cross below. He must redeem his
people from their sin. He says, don't wait for me. Don't
wait for me. I'm going to accomplish that
which I was sent here to do. Oh, the Word of God speaks these
words to these daughters of Jerusalem. God incarnate in the flesh is
speaking these words to them. He says, weep not for me. Don't
weep for me. He has come to accomplish the
salvation of his people. And we know he obtained eternal
redemption at the cross for us, didn't he? He says, weep not
for me, daughters of Jerusalem. Weep not for me, but weep for
yourselves. and for your children. For behold,
the days are coming in which they shall say, blessed are the
barren, and the womb is that never bare, and the paps, which
never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say
to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. For
if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the
dry? Weep not for me, he said. Weep
for yourselves. And the gospel of God's grace
is now proclaimed, beloved, to all the nations, isn't it? We
put the gospel out on the internet and out it goes. And it's amazing
each month to see different countries where the gospel is being downloaded.
It's not just us, it's all the Grace Churches putting their
messages up and even Grace Churches we don't even know about around
the world. Because there are some all over. We just don't
know about them all. Donny found somebody Brother
Donnie said he found somebody over in England preaching the
gospel, didn't even know, no one ever knew him or anything,
and there he was just preaching away. It's amazing. It's incredible. Look at Acts 2.21. And it shall
come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord
shall be saved. That's the general call out there.
There it goes. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Turn, if you would, to Romans
chapter 10. God now gathers his elect. God now gathers his elect
from among the Gentiles by the preaching of the gospel according
to his wise and sovereign purpose. Again, I'll read Acts 221. And
it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be saved. Have you called upon the name
of the Lord? May God make it so. If you haven't,
and if you have, rejoice. Rejoice that God has given you
grace to call upon the Lord and that you are saved. Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was
lost, but now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see. All
by the grace of God. all by the grace of God. Look
at this in Romans chapter 10 verses 10 to 13. For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness. Remember? Whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Well here, look at
this. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.
And Christ is the righteousness of God. And with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. For the scriptures say, if whosoever
believeth on him shall what? Not be ashamed. We're not ashamed
of Christ, are we? We're not ashamed of what he's
done for us. We rejoice, and we marvel in what our great God
has done for us. He's wonderful. Look at this.
For there's no difference between the Jew and the Greek. The only
one who's made you and I to differ if we're saved from Jews and
Gentiles out in the world who aren't saved is the Lord Jesus
Christ. And the only one who's made certain
Jews and certain Gentiles to differ is God. And we're one
in Christ. For the same Lord is rich upon
all that call upon Him. Oh, He's so rich, isn't He? He's
so rich in spiritual blessings. He's so rich, beloved. He's so
rich. We have the forgiveness of all
our sins. We saw last week we're changed. We have a new raiment, don't
we? New clothes, the righteousness
of Christ. Our filthy garments have been
taken away from us. Glory be to God, he's so rich. And we
have all spiritual blessings in Christ, in Christ alone, nowhere
else. And we have them all because
of Christ and because of what he's done for us. Oh, our Lord's
rich. He's rich in mercy, isn't he?
Praise be to God, he's rich in mercy. He's rich in being long-suffering,
isn't he? Praise God, the sinner says he's
rich in long-suffering. Oh my, he's rich in grace too,
isn't he? Gives it abundantly to his people.
And he's rich in mercy. And the scripture says his mercies
are new every day. Oh my, for there's no difference
between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord overall is
rich unto all that call upon him. Verse 13, for whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved by the grace
and by the mercy of, and you know why? Because it pleased
him to do so. That's the part that I marvel
at, I'll be honest with you. That's the part that I marvel
at, that God was pleased to save me. It's amazing. I'm never going
to get over that, are you? It's amazing. It's amazing that
God has had mercy upon sinners like us, but he's done it because
it pleased him to do so. Oh, my. It doesn't get any better
than that. It just doesn't. It just doesn't. So this is the meaning of Pentecost,
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God declares that Christ has
come, redeemed, and established his kingdom. At last, God's promise
to Abraham is fulfilled. The scripture says this in Galatians
chapter 3, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
He's purchased us from the curse of the law. The law had a claim
on us. Being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a tree. that the blessings of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles, and the blessings of Abraham have
come upon us, haven't they? We're rich in Christ. Through
Jesus Christ, there's the key, through Jesus Christ, that we
might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith, Galatians
chapter 3, verses 13 and 14. Let's go back to Acts chapter
2. Now we'll read verses 22 to 24. And we'll see here that Peter,
in this sermon again, proclaimed the person and the work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verses 22 to 24. 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, ye 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. Now, Peter here
seems to have anticipated a question which the Jews, whose hands were
freshly stained with the blood of Christ, might ask. And again,
this is all by the power and might of God the Holy Spirit,
who knows the thoughts and the intents of man, And being God,
he knows the end from the beginning. And the Jews may have asked this,
if this Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of God, if he has
established his kingdom, how do you explain the fact that
we nailed him to the cross? They may have asked that question.
Well, we see in our text here that this is dealt with. Look
at this. This is dealt with by our great God, because Peter
here proclaims, Jesus of Nazareth, look in verse 22, Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God. A man approved of God. And we
see here the humanity of Christ, clearly bought forth. He was
really a man. It says here, Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God. He was really a man. And it says,
among you, He walked among them. He talked with them. And now,
he will bring forth that Jesus Christ was also God in the flesh
by these words here. Among you, by miracles and wonders
and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves
also know. So, in the same verse, he says
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God, so there he's speaking
of his humanity. And then he says, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him. Now he's bringing forth his deity
in the same verse. He sets forth before them the
humanity of Christ, and then he sets forth before him the
deity of Christ, which God did by him in the midst of you, as
you yourselves also know. And this is in tune, this ties
in with other scriptures. I'll read some scriptures here.
Let's turn to John chapter 8 first. John chapter 8. This ties in
with other scriptures where our Lord Jesus Christ claimed divinity. He claimed to be divine. And
this ties right in with it here. This one little verse here. There's
so much packed into this sermon by Peter. Look at this in John
chapter 8, verses 56 to 58. John chapter 8. verses 56 to 58, and then we'll
go to John 14 after that. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews
unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham? They did not know who he was.
He's God incarnate in the flesh. He says this look look at this
he reveals his deity here And they knew what he was saying
because they picked up rocks to stone him afterwards Jesus
said unto them verily verily I say unto you before Abraham
was I am What a declaration? What now turn over to John chapter
14? John chapter 14 Look at this
John chapter 14 starting in verse 8 to 11 Philip saith unto him
Lord show us the father and it sufficeth us, Jesus saith unto
him, have I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not
known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And how sayest thou then, show
us the Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak
unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth
in me, he doeth the works. believe me that I am in the Father
and the Father in me or else believe me for the very works
sake. So the Lord Jesus Christ's claims
to divinity were proved by his miracles. The miracles, and that's
why Peter wrote that or spoke that when he said a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God
did by him. So the miracles which the Lord
Jesus Christ did proved his claims to divinity. Those miracles performed
by Christ were indisputable facts of public record. He raised the
dead. He healed the lame. He gave sight
to the blind because he's God. Emmanuel, God with us. And how did Christ the God-man
come to die the painful, shameful death of the cross? Well, let's
go back to Acts chapter 2, and let's look at verse 23. How did
Christ the God-man come to die the painful, shameful death of
the cross? Acts chapter 2, verse 23. Him,
not being Christ, being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain. The act or the death of Christ,
beloved, was an act of God. He purposed it and he planned
it and he executed it. It came to pass according to
the will and purpose of our sovereign God. You know, I often heard, I often
heard this when I was in religion. And in light of this scripture
right here, it's so wrong what I was told and what I used to
tell other people when I was dead in trespasses and sins and
a religious man. I used to say this, and I don't
know if you've ever heard this, I used to say, well, if the Jews
have accepted Christ, then he wouldn't have had to die on the
cross and they would have ushered in the kingdom and all that.
I was told that in my past times in religion. And of course, I
just regurgitated the garbage, because that's what it was. It
was just garbage. Christ had to die on the cross.
He had to. He must. And he came to save
the elect, both Jews and Gentiles, by dying on the cross. And it
was according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, wasn't it? We see it right here in this
scripture. See, now my beliefs, now the
Lord is showing me by his grace who he really is. I didn't know.
I thought I knew who he was. But I had a refuge of lives,
which was based upon myself. Was it so for you? If you came
out of religion, yeah, Denise, you know. Mine. Fabrication of
lies. We built our refuge of lies,
Henry Mahan used to say. I had that. But God, by his grace,
showed me the truth. And now I look at this verse
and I marvel, because Christ went to the cross by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God to save me, and if you're
one of the elect, to save you. Wonder of wonders. And it all
came to pass according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God. Now, natural men acted according
to their nature and their will, which was governed by a dead
nature, a nature dead in trespasses and sins. They, by wicked hands,
took and crucified the Lord. But it was all according to the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. The Lord Jesus Christ
was foreordained and predestined to be the substitutionary sacrifice
at Calvary's cross for the sins of God's people. And our Lord,
we know from Revelation chapter 13, verse 8, He's the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, right? That's what the Scriptures
declare. So the only way sinners could
be saved is by the satisfaction of God's justice. And the only
one who could satisfy The justice of God is the Son of God, the
Word of God. The perfect, spotless Lamb of
God. The Lamb slain from what? From
the foundation of the world. He's the only one who could satisfy
God's justice. He's the only one. And the only
way we could be saved is by the death of the great Lamb of God. That's the only way we could
be safe is by the death, the great lamb of God. And he did
that for his people by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. Never forget that, beloved. If you're one of the God's people,
never forget that. He died at Calvary's cross. A
term. He died at Calvary's cross by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God for you. No wonder we
love him. No wonder we love him so. No
wonder we rejoice to hear the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's done everything for us,
hasn't he? He's done everything. Listen to what one grace preacher
of old commented. He said, on this verse, he said,
yet Christ died by the hands of wicked men, acting according
to their own free will. He says, if nothing else convinces
man of the abhorrence of free will doctrine, this should free
will crucify the Lord of glory. Man was acting according to their
nature, and they just went and cried out, crucify him, crucify
him. And you know what? If we were there in an unregenerate
state, we'd have cried the same thing. We would have. Praise
God for the one who made us to differ. Praise God for the forgiveness
of all our sins. Oh, my. Then look at verse 24
here. By the Christ's resurrection from the dead, our Savior has
abolished death. Listen to the words of verse
24. Whom God hath raised up, Heaven loosed the pains of death
because it was not possible that he should be holding of it. Death
couldn't hold him. He's sinless. He's spotless. In his life, he's the sinless,
spotless lamb of God. And in his death, he's the sinless,
spotless lamb of God. And death could not hold him,
beloved. It could not hold him. The Lord Jesus Christ abolished
the penal aspect of death for his people. He abolished death's
power. He abolished death's power, beloved.
He abolished death's terror. Did we not fear death before
the Lord saved us? Like, I mean really fear it.
Oh, my. And he's taken away the fear
of death for all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
we wonder how he's going to take us out. We've often talked about
that, right? But the sting of death is gone
for the believer. The moment we breathe our last
breath, we're in the presence of the great King, the Lamb of
God, who, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, gave Himself for us. My, what a Savior. And rejoice,
beloved, as the resurrection of Christ was God's public declaration
that His justice is now satisfied. It's a declaration. When Christ
rose from the grave, it was a declaration that God is satisfied with the
sacrifice of Christ in the room and place of his people. Hallelujah.
What a Savior who was delivered for our offenses and was raised
again for our justification. That's why he rose from the grave,
for our justification, so that we could stand in the presence
of God clothed in the perfect spotless righteousness was raised
again for our justification, therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. How? Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him. And Him alone. No
peace with God except through Christ. No Christ, no peace. If you have Christ, you have
peace with God. My. By whom also we have access
by faith into this grace wherein We stand and rejoice in the hope
of the glory of God. We rejoice in our great hope,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's read verses 25 to 31
of Acts chapter 2. And we see in our text that Peter
gets proof from the Old Testament scriptures that the Messiah must
suffer death and must be resurrected all by the power of God. Acts
chapter 2, verses 25 to 31. 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 did my
flesh, 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 seek 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 patriot David, that he is both dead and buried,
and his sepulcher is with us to this day. Therefore, being
a prophet and knowing that God hath sworn with an oath To him,
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would
raise up Christ, that's the Messiah, to sit on his throne. And seeing
this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was
not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Turn,
if you would, to Psalm 16, verse 8. Peter here is quoting Psalm
16, verse 8 to 11. And this speaks of Christ. This
was David prophesying about Christ, about the Messiah. Because as
Peter said, David's sepulcher is still with us. So these words
are spoken of Christ, because Christ, he rose from the grave. Look at this. Psalm 16, verses
8 to 11. I have set the Lord always before
me. Because he is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved. Now, look at that. Because he
is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Look at that. God's
at our right hand. We won't be moved. That's wonderful. Oh, my. Therefore, my heart is
glad, and my glory rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope.
Who's our hope? The Lord Jesus Christ. David
had the same hope. He was looking to the Messiah.
He was looking to the Messiah. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to seek corruption.
Christ is the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, both in life and
in death. He is the Holy One there, spoken
of. Thou wilt show me the path of life, in thy presence is fullness
of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures
forevermore. So we see that Peter shows that
David's words were a prophecy of Christ's death, a prophecy
of the death of the Messiah. his resurrection, and his exaltation. And in all that he did, our Redeemer
sought the glory of God. He came here to do the Father's
will. And the Father's will was that
Christ would redeem his people by the shedding of his precious
blood on Calvary's cross again, all according to the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. The Lord God hath opened
mine ear. I was not rebellious, neither
turned away, or turned away back. I have given my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face
from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help me.
Therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint, that I know that I shall not be ashamed. Isaiah
chapter 50 verses 5 to 7. Those are words speaking about
Christ. He gave his back to the smiters
and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. What he went through
with those Roman soldiers was awful. And those Roman soldiers,
they were the elite of the elite in the ancient days. Even just
the normal legionaries, they were not just, I guess you could
call them the soldier soldier in a sense because they were
the top they were the creme de la creme but they were brutal
I read a few books on them what they've done in reading these
words in Isaiah 50 verse 6 I gave my back to smiters my cheeks
to them that plucked off the hair I hid not my face from shame
and spit and they beat our Lord they they took a crown of thorns
and they pratted it a lot that to me they they hammered it down
on me oh what he went through and he was silent. You know why?
Because he's the lamb being led to the slaughter. Our Savior has faced his greatest
trial with joyful confidence that he would, by his obedience
to death, both obtain the place of highest glory and save his
people, all of them, from all their sins. Our Lord faced his
greatest trial, the cross of Calvary, again, with joyful confidence. The sinless, spotless Lamb of
God dying for our sins. Now let's look at Acts chapter
2 verses 29 to 31. Men and brethren. So when David
spoke these things, he was speaking to the Messiah. 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 out of the fruit of his loins, remember,
David was of, or the Lord Jesus was of the lineage of David,
the lineage of David. According to the flesh, he would
raise up Christ to sit on his throne. And seeing this before
spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not
left in hell, neither did his flesh seek corruption. So may
God give us grace, beloved. May God give us grace to follow
our Redeemer, do in the will of God, for the glory of God.
That's what Christ did. He came here to do the will of
God for the glory of God. That's what he did. And may we
be sustained by the awareness that God is ever with us. He'll
never leave us nor forsake us, never. And we can rejoice in
Christ who is our hope. Let's lastly look at verses 32
to 36, where we see that our Lord Jesus Christ is risen. You
see how Peter has just placed Christ before them? Simply, too,
isn't it? Simply. It's been amazing. It's
wonderful. I got so excited looking at this
this week. It's so exciting to see how he
just simply placed Christ before them. Look at verses 32 to 36. This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we are all witnesses. So they were witnesses, remember?
They saw him and then they saw his ascension, too. He saw him. 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 ye now see
and hear. 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. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know Surely that God had made that same Jesus whom
you have crucified both Lord and Christ Look at that Marvelous
So we see here so clearly that Peter declares the Lord Jesus
Christ the Savior and Redeemer of God's people Look at also
to look at verse Verse 37, now when they heard this, they were
pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of
the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter
said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Oh my, wonderful,
wonderful. So remember this too. Look at
that, look at verse 36. Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom
you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now here's a good
application for you and I. Everything that includes all
his people, no matter what we go through, and that includes
this church here, right, because the church is the body, no matter
what we go through, every aspect of our lives, our great God and
Savior, our Lord, is over it all. He's over it all. And all
rejoice, ye who are born again, the born-again, blood-washed
child of God. Rejoice! Our Redeemer was crucified. Our
Redeemer has risen from the grave. And our Redeemer is right now
seated at the right hand of God as the exalted King of heaven
and earth. And this we see so very clearly
before us in this text, don't we? Now here's a thought for
all who will hear this message. Sooner or later, we will all
bow to and acknowledge the rightful dominion and lordship of the
Lord Jesus Christ. May God give you grace to bow
to his lordship in this life, to trust him in this life. as the only savior of sinners,
because if you die not trusting him, may God be glorified through
the preaching of his word.