Okay, now turn back to the Acts
of the Apostles and the fourth chapter. Now, we looked last
week at chapter 3 and we saw the event when Peter and John
went up to the temple to pray at the hour of prayer when they
expected people to be there and they came across the lame man
by the beautiful gate and he held out his arms begging for
something and instead of giving him silver and gold, Peter looked
at him and said, silver and gold have I none but such as I have
give I thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and
walk and of course it led to a tremendous opportunity for
the gospel to be preached to thousands of people and that
salvation was proclaimed the miracle was merely the backdrop
of it salvation was proclaimed Holy Spirit power was evident. The Spirit had come down on the
day of Pentecost a few days earlier. Holy Spirit power was evident.
Dramatic things were happening. It was authenticated by miracle.
And there was a huge polarization. Do you know what a polarization
is? There's one on the earth. One's called the North Pole and
as far as away as you can get is the South Pole. One end to
the other. And there was a polarization
in the crowd. There were those who believed
and there were those who hated it. two separate camps. This large number, 5,000 believed
and others were furious. What did the 5,000 believe? I'll
tell you what they believed. They believed that the one whom
they had crucified, that man Jesus of Nazareth whom they cried
out crucify was God come in flesh to live in their place, to die
in their place, to earn the righteousness that they must have if they would
see God and to pay for the sins that they had committed and would
commit. That He had done all those things and they saw that
He is the One. He is the Promised One of Scripture. He is the Messiah. He is the
Truth and the Life and the Way. And they trusted Him. And the
religious leaders, because of their position and their influence
and their comfortable state of life that they had, were furious
about it. And so what did they do? they
put Peter and John in custody overnight that's what it says
in verse 3 they put them in the hold until the next day in custody
overnight and then they put this trial together in verse 5 and
6 on the morrow and on the morning their rulers and the elders and
the scribes they came together Annas the high priest Caiaphas
John Alexander and look at this and as many as were of the kindred
of the high priest it was a cleave It was their cronies. It was
their mates. They just got together to have
a trial of these two and to stamp it out. They weren't interested
in the fact that there'd been a tremendous healing. They said
later they couldn't deny it. There'd been a tremendous healing.
A tremendous miracle had been performed. They couldn't deny
the fact that already, if the numbers are right from what we
read here, 3,000 on the day of Pentecost, 5,000 at this sermon, Plus, others were being added
every day. There were over 8,000 people
in Jerusalem who'd been going about their selfish, self-centered
lives, doing their own thing and now, with favor of all the
people because they couldn't deny it, this was a people who
were transformed. They were revolutionized. They
were totally different. They had all things together.
There was a spirit of complete self-denial between them. It
was this utopian society of the Church of Christ there in Jerusalem.
So why were these rulers so much in opposition? Now what I want
to look at this morning in this message is why is there opposition
to the Gospel? And secondly, how did the early
church react to it? Now we need to understand this.
Why was there such opposition? Why will there be opposition
to the Gospel in Nebeth as it's preached? It's because it's in
God's sovereign purpose, that that's the way it should be.
Did you hear me? It's because it's in God's sovereign
purpose. I don't claim to understand it,
it's beyond human understanding, but learn this well, rest in
it. I said earlier in a prayer, the
fear of the Lord, this is in Proverbs, in two places, the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and then a little bit
later the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge resting
in the fact that God is sovereign that He is over everything the
one who is making the sun to shine this morning and making
the planet spin on its axis and go round the sun and upholding
all things by the word of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ
is sovereign and God orders all things according to the counsel
of His own will do you know this is a truth of scripture The human
heart and human reasoning kicks against it. But God has chosen
to set the brilliance of redemption. You know the fact that God should
come in Christ and pay the price for his people to be saved is
a brilliant thing. It's a jewel in all of creation.
It's marvellous. It's God's marvellous work. And
God has chosen to set the brilliance of redemption against the backdrop
of spiritual darkness. and rejection. You know how a
light, you see, if you've been to the seaside and you've looked
at a lighthouse, and when it's early evening and it's light,
if you look carefully, you can just about see it, can't you?
Because it's light, still. There's light all around, you
can just about see it. But what happens as it goes darker
and darker? the light seems to get brighter
and brighter, doesn't it? It shines ever more brightly
because it's against the backdrop of darkness. And God has chosen
to set the brilliance of salvation, of redemption, against the backdrop
of spiritual darkness. It's a contrast. Now let's look
at some Scriptures. Look at Genesis 3. I want to
show you that this is the pattern of the whole of Scripture. And
the more you read it, And the more you get into it, the more
you see this is what God has revealed. Do you know what passes
in so many places for the truth of God as it is in the scripture
is man's opinion imposed. And they twist the words and
they translate it differently to try and make it fit with the
way they want it to be and the way they think it is. The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Let's bow to the
fact that He is sovereign over everything. and hear his voice.
You know in the Garden of Eden, there was Adam and Eve and the
serpent, Satan. Satan, the devil. Lucifer, the
prince of the morning who'd rebelled against God. He comes and he
comes alongside Eve and he beguiles her. He fools her. He tricks
her into believing that the fruit of the tree was good. And she
takes that fruit to Adam and Adam loves his wife. Adam loves
his wife. they didn't just go off down
a road of sin willy-nilly as if they couldn't they had no
idea what they were doing Adam knew what he was doing and out
of love for his wife and out of love for that which God had
given him more than the God who'd given it Adam took that fruit
so that he would be with her so that they would both be condemned
together so that they would both fall and God pronounces God pronounces
His judgment on the situation. And He says to the serpent, to
the devil, in verses 14 and 15, the Lord said to the serpent,
because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle and
on your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days
of your life. And then verse 15, and I will put enmity, that's
disagreement, that's opposition between you and the woman. between
you and Eve and between your seed, your children and her seed. You know who the seed of the
woman is? Well in a way it's all of us, but particularly it's
the Lord Jesus Christ. It shall bruise your head, that
seed of the woman shall bruise your head and you shall bruise
his heel. Enmity, it's right there at the
very beginning. Opposition is right there. The
opposition is not fleshly opposition either. It's from Satan, principalities
and powers and we're told in Ephesians chapter 6, we're told
we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, with human influences,
but with principalities and powers and spiritual darkness. The things
of the devil is what we wrestle with in spiritual terms. It's
the devil that blinds the minds of those who don't believe. It's
not flesh and blood arguing it, It's not Professor Richard Dawkins
persuading people not to believe. It may seem that way, but no,
it's the devil. It's principalities and powers
and darkness. Jesus said to the Pharisees when
they were arguing with him in John chapter 8, verses 43 and
44, and he basically said this, Why can't you hear me? You can't
hear me. I'm speaking to you and you can't
hear me. And he says this. I'll tell you why. Because you
are of your father. You're the seed of your father,
the devil. And who is he? He says he's the
father of lies. That's why. Opposition. Think
about Pharaoh. Just turn to Exodus chapter 10.
Remember when the Israelites went down into Egypt and they
were down in Egypt and Moses was set apart to bring them out
of Egypt and he was told to go to Pharaoh and say, let my people
go. And again and again he went and
Pharaoh hardened his heart. But do you know who really hardened
Pharaoh's heart? It says it again and again and
again. There are many, many references in the book of Exodus to the
fact that it was God who hardened Pharaoh's heart. Exodus chapter
10 and verse 1, And the Lord said to Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh,
go into his palace, for I, this is God speaking, I have hardened
his heart and the heart of his servants that I might show these
my signs before him." God hardened his heart. Oh, what's the view
of the modern religionists, the modern so-called Christian? Oh,
God is desperately trying to get everybody to believe him
and follow him, isn't he? God is sat on the sidelines wringing
his hands going, Oh, if only they would believe me! How nice
I would be to them if only they would believe me! God hardened
Pharaoh's heart. Why did he do it? Because he
had a purpose to show signs before them to demonstrate the truth
of salvation before them that was why he did it and Paul says
referring to this in Romans chapter 9 Romans 9 and 17 he's talking
about God's sovereign purposes and he says this it was like
this with Pharaoh God says for this reason have I raised you
up Pharaoh that my name might be declared throughout the earth.
Why was Pharaoh raised up? Why was his heart hardened? It
was God's sovereign purpose. That his name, his saving name,
his name of salvation, his marvelous work of salvation might be declared
throughout the earth. Think of Job. We're going to
look at Job a little bit later on today when we meet later on.
But in Job chapter 1 and verse 8 we have a scene which is almost
picture language in terms of spirits appearing before God.
And one of those spirits is Satan. And God says to Satan, Where
have you been and what have you been doing? And Satan says to
God, Oh, I've been wandering up and down in the earth and
round about it, doing my thing, doing what I do. And God said
to Satan, God said to Satan, in your wanderings about, have
you considered my servant Job? That he's the best one I've got,
basically. Have you considered him? Who
was it who pointed opposition at Job? It was God. It was God. Satan was merely the instrument,
but God instigated it. God said, have you considered
my servant Job? What am I saying? This opposition
is all in the sovereign will of God. And it's for His sovereign
purposes. Let's not be dismayed by it,
if and when it arises. It's all in God's sovereign purposes. Look at Psalm 105. Now this is
such an important verse. Psalm 105 and verse 25. The whole of Psalm 105 is recounting
the marvellous works of God with His people, the Israelites. and
what a picture of salvation it is and where he took them and
what he did with them and the opposition that they faced and
in Psalm 105 verse 25 we have a reason why the people got this
opposition and why we and why the gospel gets this opposition
and why Peter and John at this time were put in prison and dragged
before a jumped up trial look what it says He, that is God
God turned their heart, these who opposed, He turned their
heart to hate His people, to deal subtly with His servants. God did it. We need to learn
that. God is sovereign in all things.
He's sovereign in this matter of opposition to the Gospel.
It's the darkness in which He's setting the light of His Gospel. And we need to learn not to despair
about it, not to be surprised by it, not to be downcast because
of it. God it is who blinds the minds. Look again, Isaiah chapter 6. There are mysteries in this that
God reveals to His saints. Mysteries of the Gospel to those
He sets apart. In case anybody thinks I'm talking
about people that the Roman Catholic Church declares as saints, I'm
not. If you're in Christ, if you're
a believer, from the richest to the poorest, to the wisest
to the dimmest, you are a saint, because it just means you're
a set-apart one, set-apart by God. And Isaiah has had that
vision of Christ in the temple. Chapter 6, the year that King
Uzziah died. And in verse 9, he says this
he's looking for who to send and he said go and tell this
people hear indeed but understand not see indeed but perceive not
make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy
and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear
with their ears and understand with their heart and convert
and be healed does that shock you? It should do. If you believe
the modern version or the version that there's always been of how
God deals with men, that should shock you. God is saying there
are those He hardens to the message of truth. There are those He
hardens to the gospel of grace. This is what the Word of God
teaches. And not only does He say it there, but don't look
these up. I'll just give you these as references.
Matthew chapter 13 verse 14 quotes those words. Why are the people
not believing? And in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus
says it's because of this, that hearing they might not hear,
and seeing they might not see. In Mark's Gospel, chapter 4 and
verse 12, exactly the same. In Luke's Gospel, chapter 8 and
verse 10, exactly the same. In John's Gospel, chapter 12
and verse 40 all four of the Gospels Jesus says the same thing
why do they not believe? why is there opposition to what
you say? the disciples were asking why is there opposition? because
God has sovereignly decreed it that that's the way it will be
there will be those who will not believe they will oppose
and it's all in the sovereign will of God look at the final
one Acts chapter 28 right at the end of the book that we're
looking at, Acts chapter 28 and almost the last words Acts chapter
28 and verse 26 or even verse 24 Paul has been
preaching in his lodgings he's been preaching, he's been under
house arrest and he had tremendous liberty even though men locked
him up God's Spirit gave him tremendous liberty to preach
the gospel and a powerful influence and verse 24 and some believed
you see he persuaded them concerning Jesus out of the law of Moses
and of the prophets from morning till evening tremendous liberty
and some believe the things which were spoken and some believe
not and when they agreed not among themselves they departed
after the Paul had spoken one word and what did Paul say? those
words in Isaiah well spoke the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet
to our fathers saying go to this people and say hearing you shall
hear and not understand and seeing you shall see and not perceive
for the heart of this people is waxed gross fat and their
ears are dull of hearing and their eyes they have closed lest
they should see lest they should hear lest they should understand
and be converted and I should heal them why did they not believe
Paul I says it's what God had said in his word it's all in
the sovereign will and purpose of God there's one final one
in Romans 9 and verse 8 where again exactly the same thing
is quoted that is they which are the children of the flesh
these are not the children of God I think I've got the wrong
reference there maybe I meant verse 18 No, I've lost it. Never mind.
It's in there somewhere. We won't waste time trying to
look for it just now. But God is not frustrated in the face
of unbelief as so many think. He's not sat on the sidelines
as a weak God trying to persuade people to believe Him. He's not
frustrated in that He's done everything He can and now it's
up to us to believe Him but we just won't believe Him. God is
sovereign in the affairs of men. He's sovereign over salvation.
He's sovereign over all things. He's the potter. And men and
women are the clay. You see, the natural man, as
I often quote 1 Corinthians 2.14, the natural man cannot receive
the things of the Spirit of God. Neither can he know them. They're
spiritually discerned. He can't know them by himself.
You need God's Spirit to be able to understand and see the things
of salvation and how God works. And you know, people who disbelieve
this message and even religious people they twist and turn the
scriptures look at 2nd Peter and chapter 3 2nd Peter chapter 3 and verse
16 he's talking about the things
that Paul has written in all his epistles verse 16 2nd Peter
chapter 3 and verse 16 he says, as also in all his epistles Paul's
epistles speaking in them of these things which are some things
hard to be understood some things are hard to understand some of
these things concerning God's sovereign purposes are hard to
understand which they that are unlearned and unstable rest they
twist them as they do also the other scriptures and to their
own destruction. You see? Those who don't believe
even take the scripture and they twist it to their own destruction.
We need spiritual enlightenment from God. And the reason they
do this is it's all in God's sovereign purpose. Just as it
was with Pharaoh. They take the word of life to
God's people and they make it poison to their own souls. The
savour of life to those who are believing and the smell of death
to those who are perishing. This is what Paul called it in
another place. The savour of life, the sweet
smell of life is the gospel to those who believe. But to those
who are perishing in the sovereign purposes of God, it's the smell
of death. So don't be disturbed when we
meet opposition, as the apostles met opposition before councils
such as these. And of course we know as we go
on in the Acts, it wasn't just opposition where they threatened
them and then let them go. They ended up stoning them to
death. And Stephen was the first martyr in a few chapters time.
Don't be disturbed when we meet opposition to the truth of God
in Christ. We must expect it. We must not
be dismayed by it. But we must trust God in it. Because He has ordained it. That's the way to look at it.
He has ordained it. This is how he can say, how Paul
could write in years to come after this. He, God, causes all
things to work together for good to those who love God, who are
the called according to his purpose. Why? Because he's sovereign over
it all. There was opposition. Now how
did the early church react to this opposition? And there are
three things, three things. Firstly, they understood its
cause, and really they understood what we've just been through,
that this is part and parcel of the situation. that it's all
in the sovereign will and purpose of God. They understood its cause.
Now look at verse 25 of Acts 4 in our chapter. Acts chapter
4 and verse 25. This is beyond the section that
we read but it's when they'd gone back to their own company
and we'll come back to this next week and look at a bit more about
this own company that they came back to. But when they got together
they told them all that had been done and in verse 25 This opposition,
he said, who by the mouth of your servant David has said,
why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against his Christ. They had
just been put in front of a council to try and stop them from preaching
Christ and preaching salvation in him alone. And they'd met
with tremendous opposition And they said to the people, but
don't be dismayed. David, hundreds of years earlier, had written,
this is the way it would be, when he wrote Psalm 2. Why do
the heathen rage and imagine a vain thing? They imagine that
they can frustrate the sovereign purposes of God. That's why the
thing was vain that they imagined. That the people of this earth
think they can frustrate the sovereign purposes of God. They
rage against Him. They imagine vain things. The
kings of the earth, the rulers, take counsel together. They're
gathered together. Against what? Against the Lord
God and His anointed. As Pharaoh was, against the Lord
and His anointed. And all the way down the history
of the children of Israel. And so it is up to this day.
Opposition. They knew. They understood the
cause of this. It was in God's Word that it
would be that way. they would be written many years after by
the Apostle John, after they experienced these things, sort
of 60-70 years later probably, something like that, when he
wrote the book of Revelation. In Revelation chapter 12, we're
not going to turn to it now, but at some stage we will, and
there you see in a picture, the rulers of this earth, waiting
to try and devour and crush this church before it's born. It's
there in picture, and here at this council, this jumped up
trial, they were trying to crush the preaching of Christ, there
and then. And so it goes on. What happens
today? Oh, we're all trying to build
some great big worldwide utopia that will be the answer to all
human ills, and will cure all diseases, and will all live forever,
and will all be endlessly prosperous forevermore, It's the kings of
the earth rising up and taking counsel together. It's the kings
of the earth rising up and building again the Tower of Babel. You
know it was at the Tower of Babel where God confused the languages
because men and women rose up to say, we don't need God. We
will not have this one to rule over us. We can sort out our
own destiny. We can produce a utopia that's
good for all men to live in. And look at the mess it constantly
produces because it flies in the face of God's sovereign purposes. And these people, these apostles,
this early church, these 8,000 that were gathered together,
they rested in the comfort of God's sovereignty. How were they
able to do that? You know these apostles, Peter,
John? Not very many months earlier, they'd been in a boat on the
Sea of Galilee when a storm came up. And in that boat was a man
asleep. Do you remember? And do you know
who that man was that was asleep when the storm came up? He was
the God of the universe. He was the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was asleep in the back of the boat. And they said to Him,
Master, don't you care that we're about to perish? And they'd seen
Him. You of little faith. And He said
to the wind and the waves, peace, be still. They rested in God's
sovereignty. They'd seen His sovereignty.
They'd seen that He was the one who ruled over all things. If
this God, they said, If this Christ, if this Holy Spirit whose
power they'd seen so evidently displayed, if this God before
us, who can be against us? Who ultimately can be against
us? They may take us, they may kill us, they may burn the body,
they may do what they want, but ultimately they will not be against
us. For nothing shall separate God's people from the love of
God which is in Christ Jesus. He said, I will never leave them. They shall never perish. No one
shall be able to pluck them out of my hand. And they knew, these
disciples, this early church, they knew what Paul would write
in years to come. In Romans 8, 37, in all things,
all things, we are more than conquerors. through Christ who
loved us through Him who gave Himself for them so they knew
what was its cause and they knew it was all in the sovereign purposes
of God and so must we secondly they preached Christ they preached
Him boldly they preached Him fearlessly in the strength of
God's Spirit now look back in the trial and in verse 7 And
these rulers, Annas and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all
of their mates, they all got together and they said, they
put them in the midst of them and they said, right, by what
power or by what name have you done this? Not, this is tremendous,
what's going on here? We need to learn about this.
By what power or by what name have you done this? You're upsetting
things in Jerusalem. In answer to that question, Peter
preached Christ plainly. He preached Christ. He was determined
as Paul was later to know nothing other than Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. He didn't preach morality. He
didn't preach social order. He didn't preach social welfare. He didn't preach no end of other
things that people do in the name of the Christian Church
today. He preached Christ Jesus and Him crucified and Him alone. He preached Jesus of Nazareth.
He said, look how bold He was. Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Ghost because it was Holy Spirit power that came upon him for
this moment as we've been promised. you know if you're God's child
he's promised you whatever situation you're in you will have my spirit
and he gives his spirit in measure for the situation Peter said
to them you rulers of the people and elders of Israel if we this
day be examined if we're being tried for the good deed done
to this impotent man by what means he is made whole and you
can't deny it can you there he is he'd been walking and leaping
and praising God Be it known unto you all, and to all the
people of Israel, but by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth."
That's how you know Him. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. How
do you know Him? Because He's the one whom you
crucified. Where is He now? Whom God raised from the dead.
Because He was His Christ. Because it was not possible that
death should hold Him. He's the Christ of God. He's
the Messiah of God that the Scriptures speak of. Even by Him does this
man stand here before you, whole, well, made. His legs working,
everything working. It's by that same power. And
that same power which raised that man up, that impotent man
up, is the power that can save men and women from their sins.
Because He is the Christ who alone is able to save men and
women from the dreadful consequences of sin. Oh, your sins have separated
you from Me, says God. your sins. He is of purer eyes
than to behold iniquity. God cannot look upon evil. He
is just. He is holy. God must be just. God must punish sin. But here
is a gospel. In this name, in this one, in
this Christ, there is salvation. For this Christ has done all
that is needed for His people to be right with Him. This Christ
has earned righteousness for these people. this Christ has
paid the penalty for the sins of these people the justice of
God is satisfied so that as your scriptures said he is a just
God and a Savior so that he can be just and justifier of those
whose faith is in Christ he is the Christ he is the cornerstone
of God's living temple look what he goes on to say in verse 11
it's by his power this man stands here whole and verse 11 this
is the stone He's not talking about the man who was made whole. He's not the stone. He's talking
about the man who made him whole, the man Christ Jesus, who is
the God-man. This one, Christ Jesus, Jesus
of Nazareth, is the stone which was set at nought of you builders,
which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there
salvation in any other. What he's saying is this. Your
Scriptures, Psalm 118, we read it right at the start. Psalm
118. I know I refer you to a lot of
scriptures, but that's deliberate because I don't want it to be
my thoughts. Psalm 118 verse 22 speaks of this, speaks of
the Christ as the stone which the builders refused. The builders,
the people of Israel, the ancient people of God, the builders,
the people of Israel. The stone is Christ. He is the
way alone. to God. In Him alone is salvation. And what did they think of Him?
They rejected Him. He's become the head of the corner.
He's the one on which the whole building rests. He's the cornerstone, the foundation
stone, the link stone. And if you are in Christ, if
you are in God's temple, you see there was a temple in the
Old Testament that was made out of real stones, cut from a quarry. There's a temple in the New Testament.
It's not a building. It's the church of the living
God. And the stones that make it up are people, men and women,
saved by grace. They're the stones that build
up the church. That's what Ephesians chapter
4 says. You can read it for yourself. I'm not making it up. And if
you're in God's temple, you're in God's church. You're one of
the living stones in God's church. And how are you that way? It's because you are founded
upon the cornerstone. and that cornerstone was rejected
by those who were the rulers by all who opposed the gospel
of his grace that's what Jesus himself said Matthew 21 42 to
46 he quotes the same thing we won't turn to it for time's sake
at the moment the stone that the builders rejected do you
know that reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the book of Daniel when
he saw that great big image and there was a stone which is all
the kingdoms of the earth worldly history and there was a little
stone that was cut out without hands and that stone pictures
Christ so insignificant in the terms of political influence
so insignificant and he comes and he crushes and grinds that
great big image to powder as he does with the whole of human
history as he will for he's coming again Christ is coming again
and this is why The psalm that we read earlier, Psalm 2, says
this in verse 12. It says to men and women, sinners,
all you that pass by, it says this. Oh, kiss the Son. Kiss Christ. Come to Him. Plead with Him for mercy. Call
upon Him while He is near. Today is the day of salvation.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry with you. Because if you're the
wrong side of Him, you will perish in the way. That's what He says. God is just, but in Christ there
is such salvation. And this is our message, O kiss
the Son, lest He be angry with you, and you perish in the way.
And they proclaimed, no other name, there is none other name,
commit this verse to memory, there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Because men
will tell you, you can be saved by this way and that way and
this religion and that religion, but there is no other name under
heaven given whereby we must be saved. For only He, Christ,
is infinite God. Become man to redeem man. Only
He. Only He is the one who is infinitely
able to save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him.
Only He is that spotless Lamb of God of which the Scriptures
pictured in the Old Testament. to act as a sacrifice, to stand
in the place of others as He did, as the Lamb did at the Passover
when the blood was painted on the doorposts. Only He is able
to do that. Only Christ is able to live for
me in my place, to satisfy what God requires of me. Only He was
able to bear my sins and to be made sin for me that I, a sinner,
might be made the righteousness of God in Him. It's not my religion
that will save me. It's not my tradition. It's not
my character. It's not my good works. It's
not my wisdom in this world. It's not my riches, if I had
any. It's not my influence. It's not my intelligence. It's
Christ and Him alone. That's our only message. There
is salvation in none other. And these ignorant disciples
and I say that because the scripture says they looked at them and
they marveled because they were unlearned and ignorant men verse
13 these men where have they got their learning from they're
unlearned and ignorant men and yet they came with the power
of the Holy Spirit to preach this and they would not be restrained
they said whether it be right to listen to you or to God you
judge but we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard
and if you've got if you believe Christ and His Holy Spirit has
revealed Him to you you know you cannot but speak Him you
must speak Him and then thirdly what did they do? they prayed
verse 24 as I say we'll come back and look at this in more
detail but they prayed together with one voice and what did they
pray for? verse 29 grant unto thy servants
that with all boldness they may speak thy word this is what we
pray God give us strength and boldness to speak this message
and their prayer was granted and they were united in purpose
and the place was shaken so let us do likewise let us not be
dismayed in the face of opposition let us know it's all in the sovereign
purposes of God let us preach only Christ and let us pray let
us pray This Spirit is real. This God is true. Amen. Okay, we'll sing our closing
hymn which is...