The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
Isaiah 25:1opening worship reading: 'Lord, you are my God, and I'll exalt you, and I'll give thanks to your name... plans formed from long ago with perfect faithfulness'
1 Yahweh, you are my God. I will exalt you! I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago, in complete faithfulness and truth.
quoted during worship prayer: 'but God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead in our sins... he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead'
4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
faith in the name of Jesus healed the lame man, doubly emphasizing subjective faith and objective faithfulness
16 By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
closing verse of chapter three: 'When God raised up his servant Jesus, he sent him first to you, people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways'
26 God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to you first to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.”
main passage covering the arrest of Peter and John, their appearance before the Sanhedrin, and the believers' prayer
1 As they spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came to them,
2 being upset because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 They laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was now evening.
4 But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
5 In the morning, their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.
6 Annas the high priest was there, with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and as many as were relatives of the high priest.
7 When they had stood Peter and John in the middle of them, they inquired, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 if we are examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,
10 be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in him does this man stand here before you whole.
11 He is ‘the stone which was regarded as worthless by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.’
12 There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus.
14 Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
16 saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it.
17 But so that this spreads no further among the people, let’s threaten them, that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.”
18 They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves,
20 for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.”
21 When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for everyone glorified God for that which was done.
22 For the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
23 Being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 When they heard it, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, “O Lord, you are God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
25 who by the mouth of your servant, David, said, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
26 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take council together, against the Lord, and against his Christ.’
27 “For truly, in this city against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
28 to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to happen.
29 Now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness,
30 while you stretch out your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
quoted within the believers' prayer: 'why were the nations so angry? why did they waste their time with futile plans? the kings of the earth prepared for battle, the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah'
1 Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
closing verse: 'whatever it is that you do, whether in word or deed, do all of it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him'
17 Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message walked through Acts 4:1-31, the arrest of Peter and John and the prayer that followed it. Pastor Mark traced the confrontation between the apostles and the Sadducee-led council in Jerusalem, showing how the same gospel that had grown the church to five thousand men ran directly into the people with the most to lose. The thread running through everything was the unstoppable plan of God and the boldness it produces in ordinary people.
What was said
To understand why the Sadducees reacted so sharply, Pastor Mark took time to explain who they actually were. They were the priestly aristocracy, complicit with Roman rule, who believed the messianic age had already arrived with the Hasmoneans around 140 BC. They held only to the written Torah, rejected resurrection from the dead entirely, and were determined that no one outside their class should be teaching the people. When Peter and John showed up in the temple preaching resurrection through Jesus, they hit every nerve at once.
Peter's response to the council was polite, even generous, calling them "rulers and elders of our people." But he did not soften the claim. He told them plainly that the man standing in front of them had been healed by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the one they had crucified and whom God had raised from the dead. Pastor Mark noted that Peter says Jesus "is" the cornerstone, not "was," and then quotes him directly: "there is salvation in no one else. God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."
The council's private deliberation showed the problem with confirmation bias. They could not deny the healed man was standing right there, and they could not deny everyone in Jerusalem knew about it. Their solution was simply to order the apostles to stop speaking in Jesus' name, which Pastor Mark pointed out was a fairly absurd response to incontrovertible evidence. Peter and John answered with a question of their own: do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?
When Peter and John returned to the other believers and reported what had happened, the community's response was prayer, and Pastor Mark spent real time on what they actually prayed for. They opened by quoting Psalm 146, anchoring themselves in God as creator and keeper of every promise. They quoted Psalm 2, recognizing that the opposition of Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel had all unfolded according to God's predetermined will. None of that is accidental, Pastor Mark said. Sovereignty and human responsibility sit side by side in the text.
What the believers asked for was not protection or relief. They asked for boldness to keep preaching, and they asked for God to stretch out his hand in healing so that signs and wonders would be done in Jesus' name. The meeting place shook, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they preached the word with boldness. They got exactly what they prayed for.
Pastor Mark also paused mid-sermon to turn the lens around. Rather than only asking how we identify with Peter and John in the story, he suggested sitting with the healed man's position instead. Have we grown so used to whatever we are carrying that we are not sure we want to be healed? Are we open to being defined by Jesus rather than by our weakness? Those questions, he said, came out of a conversation with a friend who had been working through recovery, and they are as live for people in the room as they were for anyone sitting outside the temple gate.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Pastor Nathan pointed out that we can read Acts 3 from two angles: identifying with Peter and John, or identifying with the healed man. Which perspective felt more honest for you personally, and why?
Peter and John were recognized by the council as ordinary men with no special training, yet they were also recognized as men who had been with Jesus. What does it look like in your own life to be someone others can identify that way?
Speaker 3Alright. Good morning, everybody. How are we doing? Thumbs up, Scotty. Would you stand?
And I'd love to sing together. Good word from Isaiah 25 to lead us into worship. It's, Lord, you are my God, and I'll exalt you, and I'll give thanks to your name. Hey. It's Thanksgiving this week.
For you have worked wonders, plans formed from long ago with perfect thankfulness. God, thank you for your faithfulness to us. Thank you for the plans formed from long ago that have come to fruition. Thank you, God, that we, as a church, can be here together worshiping in your name. God, would you bless our time of worship in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Speaker 2All throughout my history, all throughout my history. If there's a mess that's walked where I'm staying. I see the oven in sunny good days all over my life, all over my life. I see your promises in fulfillment all over my life, all over my life. Help me remember when I'm weak.
Fear may come, but fear will lead. You lead news all over my life, all over my life. I see your promises in fulfillment all over my life, all over my life. See the cross, the empty grave. See the cross, the empty grave.
Yeah. That ends his end. All my sin heaven in so many good days all over my life, all over my And I see your promises in fulfillment all over my life, all over my life. So why should I feel? So why should I fear?
And woah, the heaven and savior.
Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat. We have a few announcements and they are. Awana is off this week. Awana.
Thanksgiving break. Thanksgiving break. That is great. What's next? Those are not there anymore.
Hey, this is still happening. Women's Christmas luncheon has happened in December 11. That's approaching quickly. It'll be ten to twelve up at the Snow King Resort Ballroom. Please do RSVP by December 4 so they can get an idea of how many people and how many tables and how much food and all that stuff.
So if you would, that's a great time. Ladies, Christmas, luncheon, Snow King, Ballroom, December 11. This is an ad for the church directory which we kinda make fun of because this is such a transient place. This is just a snapshot. You'll see bald headed people who used to have hair if you look at old ones.
Right? You'll see you'll see a snapshot just in time. You'll see different stuff. This is the best offering that we have to try to get you in touch with people in a like an analog fashion. They're next to the doors in the back and you can ask for others if you want other copies and we'll get you one.
So that's the highly anticipated, a momentary accurate church directory. Oh, boy. The Buzzard Breath chili cook off. Doesn't that sound festive? Buzzard breath chili cook off and caroling happens on the same night.
December 15, we start at 04:30 with the caroling. We leave out from here and go various places, usually downtown and to request requested places. And then we'll come back here around six or so, and we have a chili cook off. And it's a lot of fun, prizes and all kinds of stuff. Children love it.
People follow us back from town sometimes when we go do the caroling. We come back with more folks than we left with, which is really nice, and they come back in. We love it. Buzzard Breath Chili Cook Off and Caroling, December 15 at 04:30. Chili is needed.
It is a cook off, like there's an actual contest where it's involved. Angel Tree twenty twenty five. So there's not I mean, it's before Thanksgiving, so there's not a tree out there right now. But if you would like to get a jump on your Christmas Angel Tree giving, Several people have asked Tanya, when is it gonna be out? When is it gonna be out?
It was gonna be out by the end of the the day to day, we hope. But if you need to, you can call Tanya. That's her number right there. Good luck with her answering, Said her husband. Now you could text her or you can call her and she she's pretty good about returning that eventually.
So there we go. Weekly sermons are now available in podcast form on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Music. That seems like progress, doesn't it? So that's available. Thank you to Blake for figuring that out and Chris for helping him figure it out, and that's that's happening.
So that's that that probably is a better format for most of us. And I think is there anything else up there, Blake? I think that's it. Anybody have anything else you wanna correct me on? Okay.
Good. Do it now, not during the sermon. Would you stand? I'm glad that you're here. I don't mean to make light of it, but Lord have mercy on us.
Amen.
Speaker 2Praise the Lord. Are many. His mercy is mourn. Oh, what love could remember no wrongs we have done. Omniscient, all knowing he counts not their sum.
Throwing into a sea without bottom or shore. What patience would wait as we constantly roam? What father so tender is calling us home? He welcomes the weakest, the violest, the poor. Our sins, they are many.
Oh, the riches of kindness he's lavished on us. His blood was the payment. His life was the cause. We stood beneath the debt we could never afford. Our sins, they
Speaker 3Now, we have just sung a profound line there. Verse three was, what riches of kindness that he's lavished on us, his blood was the payment, his life was the cost, we stood beneath a debt we could never afford, our sins they are many, his mercy is more. And then hear this from Ephesians two, it's, but God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead in our sins that's the bad news, but there's good news. The good news of the gospel is he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is by God's grace that we have been saved.
God, thank you for the grace that you've extended to us. Thank you, God, for for your mercy that we don't get what we do deserve, that you, Lord, went to the cross for us in our place for our sin. And Lord, would that ever be before it? Just top of mind this morning. And God, would you continue to reveal what that means for us in our lives.
Not way back then when we made a profession of faith, but right now, today, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 2Worthy of every song we could ever sing. Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you. Jesus, the name above.
Jesus, the name above every other name. Jesus, the only one that could ever say. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you. We live for you.
Let's sing of his holiness. Holy, there is no one like you. There is none beside you. Open up my eyes and wonder and show me who you are and fill me with your heart and lead me in love to those around me. And let's sing, I will build my life.
And I will build trust in you would've known. And I will not be shaken holy. There is no one like you. There is none beside you. Open up my eyes and wonder and show me who you are and fill me with your heart and need me and your love to those around me.
Speaker 3And God, we make that our prayer and our song this morning. God, would you show us more of who you are? And God, would you fill us with your heart, your thoughts, your desires, and lead us into your brand of love, your self giving, others focused love. In Jesus' name.
Speaker 2If you're troubled, heavy hearted, to Jesus and find your peace. And if you run down empty handed, come to Jesus and find your strength because he is hope for the whole place. Rest for the weary, help for the hurting ears. If you're wandering in the darkness, come to Jesus and find your way. You want freedom, need forgiveness.
Just come to Jesus and find his grace as he is hope for the hope that he is. Rest for the weary, help for the hurting needs. He is mending the broken, bearing the burdens, and all that you're needing he is. And let's sing of who he is. He's to forevermore.
Savior and shelter through every storm. My refuge, redeemer, lord of lords, ears. He is child of heaven, son of man,
Speaker 3Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. This is a worship through giving part of the service and invite the ushers and to come on up.
Speaker 2We'll sing a song of
Speaker 3of gratitude this morning from first Chronicles. Let's give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His steadfast love
Speaker 1endures forever. Before we sing, Ray, may I ask you to pray? Sure. God almighty, thank you. Thank you.
Thank you, Lord. As we sit in front of the week of thanksgiving and we kinda dedicated time best thing that could happen. So even in the difficulty, Lord, I pray that we would be able to be cognizant that you are in charge, that you are creator of heaven and earth like we just sang in that song, like the disciples prayed in our passage today. Lord God Almighty, may we rest in your unfailing love, in your divine plan, and being a part of it. In Jesus name, may we dwell in gratitude all week this week just so we can keep on doing it next week.
In Jesus name, Lord, we are thankful. Amen.
Speaker 2All my words fall short. I've got nothing new. How could I express All my gratitude. I can sing these songs as I often do. I've got one response.
I've got just one move. With my own strange mind, I will worship
Speaker 1Downstairs, Children's Church. Middle school and high school included.
Speaker 2How
Speaker 1are y'all this morning? Good. Good. Me too. Enjoying being here and really really I mean, obviously, you're looking forward to thanksgiving.
You're starting to think about it even more. Can't be great grateful and anxious at the same time has been ringing in my ears a lot lately. There are a lot of studies coming out right now about that, and it's like, no, really? God's been saying this forever. Literally, he says, this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus that you would be thankful.
So yeah. God, thank you. It's it's it's overwhelming. We are going not just one verse today. I erased some of that.
Acts four thirty one is where we're gonna end. We ended at the end of chapter three last week. And so some of y'all, I'm looking out. Some of y'all, it's the first time you've been here. So I'll do a little quick summation.
Acts one, they replaced Judas, one of the original 12 disciples. Right? They replaced Judas with Matthias, and they did so by casting lots, which sounds weird to me, but random chance, know, show us Lord who is your preferred one. They cast lots. Lot fell to Matthias.
He's replaced Judas. And then, we see in chapter two, the coming of the Holy Spirit. And in the coming of the Holy Spirit, they no longer have to depend on random chance to determine what is the will of God, which is really cool. And they were confused because they understood it. That everybody understood it in their own language and that reversal of the Tower Of Babel experience where man was gonna build something so that they could be greater than God and God confused their languages.
And now, God has torn down that barrier and created such a unity in the body of Christ in the church that they could communicate freely. And he said, y'all are gonna be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and even to the uttermost parts. So that was in chapter one. Chapter two, when the Holy Spirit comes, they were all gathered in one place. And this is sort of a summary statement towards the end of chapter two.
All the believers, there were about 3,000 added on the day when Peter presented that first sermon on the day of Pentecost. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching. They were listening to what the sent out ones. Apostle means, one who is sent out, and these were capital a apostles sent out by Jesus. All believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship.
Getting together was important to them. Not just getting together, but really caring enough about each other to know that we're together on this, that I've got somebody who has my back. I have somebody who will help. I have somebody who'll comfort. Apostles teaching and fellowship and to sharing in meals including the Lord's Supper, but not limited to that.
Table fellowship in the New Testament especially, we'll see it a lot in Acts. Table fellowship where you extend the table to someone is huge. It's really really important. The Old Testament way is like this. They're supposed to be a light to the nations, a light to the Gentiles, but it was really kinda like we're not gonna extend the table.
But in the New Testament, it's wide open now. So should have been a little more wide open in the past, But sharing in meals including the Lord's Supper and to prayer. And if you if you look at these, these are the things that we really ought to be devoting ourselves to still today. I had somebody after the second service last week say, why didn't it say singing? I don't know, but it doesn't say singing right there.
Often it says, and they sang a hymn and departed. So it's like a closing song is normal. I don't know. But I don't know. I think that in the midst of fellowship and in the midst of singing about the apostles' teaching, you can sing about that.
It's a good way to remember stuff. I don't know why it doesn't say it but it doesn't say it right there. But apostles teaching fellowship, sharing meals, and the prayer. Chapter three, we saw Peter and John going into the temple, normal temple service in the afternoon, 03:00 service for prayer and ablation, which is it was the time when they would do some of the sacrifices. And they're going in with an understanding, profound understanding about Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice.
But Peter and John are going in, they notice a man who was there and crippled next to the gate. They looked at him, they asked him to look back at them, they saw him and they paid attention and then silver and gold have I none. What I do have, I'll give to you. Lift him up. So this is just a little background.
Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed. You all know how crippled he was before. You saw him out there. Faith in Jesus name has healed him before your very eyes is a good summary of how the apostles put it after the fact, after they were in Solomon's colonnade right there near the temple and on the Temple Mount. That's the way they said it.
And faith in the name of Jesus is doubly emphasized here. So it is the the subjective faith of the guy towards Jesus or maybe toward Peter and John towards Jesus. It is their faith that they've been given, exercised, and placed in Jesus, but it's also the objective faithfulness of Jesus characterized by calling it in his name. It is what Jesus did. His substitutionary atonement, redemptive suffering was available.
So it's both directions. It's it's listed here doubly in that. So I went through some applications drawn from the text last week and I had sort of a turn at the very end and at the danger of sounding repetitive, here they are again. If you are drawing applications from the text and you are looking at it from the point of view of being Peter or John, do I really see people who are suffering? That's a good thing to consider.
Do you just walk past them? Do you intentionally walk past them without looking? Do I really see them? Do I want for them to see me or hope they won't notice? Peter and John said, look at me.
Right? Do I give what I have to help others in Jesus name? If I have been given a gift freely by God, do I share it freely? Freely, freely, we have received freely, freely, we already give. So do I give what I have?
And they said flatly, silver and gold have I none. You know, don't have any money for you, but what I do have, I'm gonna pass along to you. Having been established on the good old gospel way, and they were. They had heard from Jesus. They they knew how treacherous legalism was, and they knew how hard licentiousness was, and they were established on the good old gospel way.
And they made mistakes from time to time. Peter said that man was not healed by his power nor by his godliness. Right? It was by Jesus. Having been established on the good old gospel way, do I reach down and lift people up?
Am I actively doing that? And if I do, then do I credit Jesus with the safe instead of thinking, look at me. Look at what I did. It's pretty awesome. God has given me this.
And I just, you know, no problem. Or do I say, no, Jesus did this, man. The whole 12 step program that we just covered, it really does it really does go back to this power that is greater than ourselves. Right? It really does, and that is Jesus.
Now I did these. I prepared all that ahead of time, but then I got in here during the song service practice. I got a realization that all of the struggle that I had been doing in myself to say, oh, is it going to be that we're praying for the charismatic gifts and we want to lay hands on people all the time and and talk in tongues? Or is it going to be cessationist? Because I know in this room right now, we've got all of y'all.
We're all in here. Right? Am I what am I going do? How do I how do I stay true to the text? Well, say what it says.
I did say what it says. And then I draw these straight from the text. And then I thought, maybe maybe we shouldn't consider ourselves identifying with Peter and John. Maybe we should be identifying with that healed man because we were flat hopeless. Boy, do I really wanna be healed?
Or have I become so accustomed to my way of life, the way that I live, that I don't really care whether I get healed or not. I'm I'm getting by. Am I open to a new and different way of living? Am I willing to receive help from others? Do I understand that I am a child of God allowing him to now define me and not be defined by whatever my weakness was, whatever my sin was?
When we went through the 12 steps and I kept putting up the slide of all the sins listed in the New Testament, all the vices. And if you say, well, it's just me. I'm a gossip. Oh, I'm not, by the way. That's not my deal.
So if you're wondering about pastoral confidentiality, I wish I hadn't said that out loud. I'm not a gossip. That's not my that's not my that's not what I struggle with. Okay? I do know some people that will say that flatly like, oh, I'm just a gossip.
I love to have a little item and I love to share it. No. I'm a sinner saved by grace. I know that I didn't deserve it, but miraculously, God saved me. Do I see a loving God moving in the lives of the people who've helped me?
That's pretty cool. But he did. He clung to John and Peter. He clung to them. He was clinging to them.
And will I open myself up to a deeper personal relationship with Jesus, the healer? Step 11. Step 11 is I've sought through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with God. Asking only for the direction, his direction for my life, the next step, and the power to carry it out. That's good.
Actually, Kirk Weaver was here last week and afterwards he said, man, you ought to come up with some questions from the from that guy's point of view because I didn't have any slides on that. So he and I came up with that. Acts three twenty six, last verse of three and then we'll get into four, what we really came to go through today. When God raised up his servant Jesus, he sent him first to you, people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways. That's a great summary statement of the first three chapters.
It's like this is God raised up his servant Jesus. I know some of you think the servant is the people of Israel. I know some of you don't know what the servant is, but Peter is being very forthright in saying when God raised up his servant Jesus, he sent him first to you, people of Israel. You missed him. Most of you missed him.
To bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways. Now, the apostles were were Jewish guys mostly. Most all of them were Jewish guys and they had recognized him and they recognized this. So here we go, four one through 39. Wow.
Peter and John were speaking, and they were saying this. Right? While they were still speaking, this is a flow from chapter three verse one to four thirty one is all a story. Know, I love to have preached it at one time, but this is the flow. While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests.
Can you see a hierarchy there? Yeah. They did too. While they were speaking, they were confronted by the priest, by the captain of the temple guard, their heavy, and some of the sadducees. Now, if you want to know a little more about these leaders, these leaders were all priests, captain of the temple guard.
They were all likely various degrees of Sadducees or Sadducees. They believed the Sadducees side of things. Now, we spend a lot of time in the church talking about Phariseeism. I think in this realm and in our context, we probably struggle more with Phariseeism than we do Sadduceeism. So you'll hear that come up more often.
It actually comes up more often in the Bible. But the Sadducees were the people who were officially in charge and they had been since the Hasmonean Dynasty from about a 140 or so BC. It had been a Sadducee line. So for me, growing up in a little Baptist church, it's like, I don't wanna be in Pharisee. I don't wanna be a sad you see because they're always so sad you see.
No. I just wanna be a goat. No. I just wanna be a sheep. It's not a goat.
I wanna be a sheep. Yeah. That was a Sunday school song we sang. Right? I just wanna be a sheep.
I don't wanna be a sadducee. I didn't know what a sadducee was. I'm gonna read something for you. The sadducees were the priestly and lay aristocracy who had ruled the Jews in religious and political matters at the behest of foreign overlords. So the Romans had been in charge for some time and the Sadducees were complicit with that.
They also believed in written Torah but not the oral Torah. Right? They they were sticklers for what is written but they would not build any hedges outside of what was written and the Pharisees did. The Pharisees in order to show their holiness like would go beyond what was written. And the Sadducees were like, well, you really gotta read that into the text.
That's not really there. And they were in charge. And so, during the Hasmonean times, they didn't believe that anyone but the priest should be instructing the people in spiritual matters. So we think of the Pharisees generally, they wear a black hat. Right?
They're they're bad guys. In the New Testament, we generally think of Pharisees as bad guys. Except for Nicodemus, he's a good guy, you know. Maybe Joseph of Arimathea. We got a few of them.
They're they're alright, but the rest of them are bad guys. Well, in truth, the Pharisees were of the people. They were very very pious people and not not in the hypocrisy sense. They really sought after being actually pious. They believed the the Pharisees were right wingers, you want to put it that way, and the Sadducees were left wingers.
So complicit with the Roman government, they had a measure of power that they did not want to lose, and so they believed that the messianic age had dawned with the Hasmoneans in the second century BC, like I said, a 140 or so BC. So they felt like they were already in the messianic age and they were the ones in power and they were acting as Messiah. That'll mess with your mind. But the Pharisees didn't believe that about them and the Pharisees didn't believe that about themselves. Anyone making messianic claims was at best mistaken and at worst they were political revolutionaries posing a threat to their comfortable position because they were the ones that were the landed gentry as it were.
In matters of doctrine, they considered themselves traditional but they held only to the written Torah. They rejected the oral Torah. They rejected the sayings of the fathers which the Pharisees accepted. One doctrine that they found particularly upsetting and difficult that they did not find in the written Torah was resurrection from the dead. And they were very very dogged about the belief that there was no resurrection of the dead.
Don't even say that. Don't even mention that. That's not in our politics. Can't do that. So seizing Peter and John was the next step.
The Sadducees. That's who they are. Do you feel like you know who the Sadducees are now? So written Torah, they did go by what was written, but they they fell down on the, hey, we're in charge and we get to say what it says. The Pharisees should not be preaching that nonsense.
And Jesus, we see him blasting the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, but he doesn't often blast them for their theology. Not often. He does sometimes. He does blast the Sadducees for their theology, and he does blast the Sadducees for he actually calls them ignorant because they don't understand what it is that they're reading. Well, they're trying to read it.
You don't know what confirmation bias is? Come on. Through COVID, you didn't learn what confirmation bias is? Really? Confirmation bias is when you look at information and you only note things that already agree with you rather than changing your mind by reading something that disagrees with you.
So Jesus would say, hey, I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make me make me look like a fool here by asking me about marriage blah blah blah because you don't believe in resurrection. I get that but you don't understand what's even written. Don't You understand the quality and condition of your heart won't allow you to understand it because you've already made up your mind. So that's the sadducee position.
Now these leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people, period. I could put a period there. It's not a period. But they were upset because they didn't believe anybody ought to be teaching the people, not the Pharisees who had studied. They just studied a different branch.
Right? These leaders were very disturbed. Sadducees that Peter and John were teaching the people. Now Peter had just thrown out to them that this Messiah that you rejected, that you crucified very boldly in chapter three. And he was saying, turn, repent, accept that it was true that you missed it the first time but the door is still wide open.
Come on in. He was hopeful in the temple that they would turn but the Sadducees who don't believe in resurrection can't can't be Jesus. They show up. These leaders are very starved that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus, there is a resurrection of the dead. Oh, okay.
It's against their platform. Can't teach that. So they arrested him. That's what you do. And since it was already evening, they only meet in the daytime.
They don't meet in the evening. Unless it's convenient. Remember Jesus' trial? Yeah. They rest him.
Since it was already evening, put him in jail until morning. We got to get the word out, get everybody here. But many of the people who heard their message believed it. Amen. They presented the gospel and people believed it.
Go figure. That's plan a. That's what Jesus said. I'm gonna build my church. You're gonna go out.
You're gonna spread the gospel and people are gonna believe it. Some of them are gonna reject you. Some of them will hear you later, but some of them are gonna accept it. They did. They believed.
So the number of men believed, who believed, now totaled about 5,000. Probably doesn't include women and children. So that's a growing church. 3,000 in one day, 5,000 men. It's getting bigger and bigger.
Now the next day, since they kept the Mangelo, next day, the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. That is probably referring to the Sanhedrin. Since it's the Sadducees who convened the council, the Sanhedrin would have been who it was. So the Sanhedrin is those who sit together in Greek. That's what it means.
The folks who sit together. And they sat like this. I got a better better drawing of this. But it's funny to me that this bottom position right here, right in the center that can see everybody is the main guy. N a s I.
I'm not going pronounce it. Don't really know how to pronounce it. And then the guy to his right hand is Ephesians, that's the number one guy. And then the rest of the 69 people are arranged according to their level of intelligence. That cracked me up and I just can't imagine having know, Iwana circle.
They sat in a semi circle like this, and these are there are 71 of these little dots here. And they're sitting there like this. That's not enough. That's an 1,800 representation of it. Here's another one.
That's still not enough. That's not 71 people even in that one. But that's the way they sat when they met in their official proceedings. Listed in order like chairs in the orchestra. Right?
The smartest ones. That's right where they met at the the chamber of hewn stone and it was like half of a threshing floor. It was half a circle and they sat like that. So they could all see each other's faces and there were Peter and John and probably the guy who was clinging to them right there in the midst of them. There might have been a few more people in the room, but we know these people were in the room.
Annas, the high priest was there. I don't I wonder what number he was. Along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the other relatives of the high priest because that's the way it goes. Nepotism is not a new thing. They brought in the two disciples and they demanded, by what power or in whose name have you done this?
So by what power is under which authority and literally, how did you do this? And then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers and elders of the people. That is actually polite. It's friendly. It's it's generous even.
You are in this position. I am in this position. Rulers and elders of our people. Are we being questioned today because we've done a good deed for a crippled man? Did we spend the night in jail last night because we were doing a good deed?
Is that the way this ought to go? Just the question itself is a little embarrassing. Do you wanna know how he was healed? Did they just ask him? How did you do this?
Speaker 2By
Speaker 1what authority? And actually, they had asked Jesus when he cleared out the temple. Think about this is the landed gentry. These are the wealthy folks. These are the ones who would say yes or no to whose booth get in to be in the temple that Jesus cleansed.
Not too long before that, when Jesus flipped over the tables and cleansed it with a cat of nantails and the whole deal, these were the guys who were in charge. By name, Annas, Caiaphas, we we know that these were the guys that were in charge. And they were the ones that were frustrated. And whose name are you doing this? And Jesus asked them a question that they knew in front of the people could not be answered, and so they kinda slink away.
Now Peter is kind of following after Jesus saying, do you really want to know? Are you asking the question just for the sake of the court here? Do you really want to know how he's healed? Let me clearly state to all of you, to all of the people of Israel, write it down. Broadcast this, that this man was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified.
That's bold. He had already said it last chapter, through faith in the name of Jesus subjectively placed in Jesus. But Jesus' faithfulness that he walked out a perfect record and died on the cross and had it to pay forward to anybody who would believe has healed this man. He was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. Wasn't the end of the story.
The crucifixion was not the end of the story. You thought it was gonna handle things but it didn't. Turns out, it's even better than you could have ever ever thought. The power that you hold, if you would just humbly agree to the plan that God has made, this will be the most marvelous thing you've ever seen. For Jesus is.
It doesn't say Jesus was. One of the hardest things about preaching a funeral is the word was. For Jesus is the one referred to in the scriptures where it says, the stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. The stone that the builders rejected. I think it's funny that he puts you in there.
The stone that you builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Psalm one eighteen, messianic psalm. And then he clearly states, let me clearly state, he doesn't want to leave anything to them guessing because they guess wrong. Let me clearly state, there is salvation in no one else.
God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Jesus is it. If it's not through Jesus, it's not gonna happen. When Jesus said, I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life, No one comes to the father except through me. That's exclusive.
But God didn't have to make any way. He did make a way and that way is Jesus and there's salvation and no one else. If you're gonna have a nawana memory verse for comforting yourself, this is it. I believe in you Jesus. I don't understand you.
I mess up a lot like the disciples, you know. But I know that that's where my salvation is. It's in the name of Jesus. I'm sure of that. There is salvation in no one else.
God's given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. And in our time, the exclusivity of the gospel is the hardest thing for our culture to accept because we're wide open to believe in anything you wanna believe even though even if it's absolutely obvious that it's not true. Right? Well, that's that's that's what they believe. It's their truth.
The gospel is true and it is capital t truth and it is an exclusive truth. Now the way that God gave the Jewish people the the sacrificial system, and the way that he set up the calendar, and the way that he set up all of this stuff that pointed to Jesus, and then the way that Jesus fulfilled it shows that there is a way out, and he is that way. So I know you wrestle with this and I know you wrestle with presenting this to people that it really is exclusive. If you just stomp your foot and say it's exclusive and it's excluding you, particularly the person you're talking to, it's exclusive in that it is the way, but anybody can take it. Anybody can take that way.
Anybody can come in. Whosoever can come in. It is the way. If there's one door out of a place, you have to go through that door to get out of that place. And this is what he's saying.
There's no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved. Just Jesus. That's it. Now the members of the council were amazed. Imagine they were.
71 of them sitting around. Let's see what they have to say. Woah. That we crucified. There's a whole crowd of people yelling, crucify him.
Yeah. But you were the ones in charge. The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John. For they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the scriptures. And if you ranked yourself in order of who's the smartest and you're vying for position to get closer to the NASI, whatever that is, for they could see that they were they were just ordinary folks, laymen.
They were just laymen. They didn't have any special training in the scripture. I mean, everybody had access to the scrolls. Everybody had time in church. Everybody tended to memorize large portions of scripture, but that wasn't special training.
Special training was probably doctrinal. They didn't know the Sadducees way. Right? They saw that they were just laymen, which they didn't want laymen to be speaking about God anyway. They wanted them just to listen to what they had to say, the land of Gentry Sadducees.
They could see they were ordinary men with no special training in the scriptures and they also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. You spend time with them. Read the gospels. Read the Bible. Read the prophecies.
Read it so that you know it, but also pray. Read God's word and pray. Lean into a relationship with Jesus. May we be recognized as somebody who has been with Jesus. Now, but since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them.
Do you all see this as comically as I do? This is great TV. Chosen is getting there this year, I think. Right? But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, can you imagine?
They say the reason they sit in a semicircle in Sanhedrin four three. It says, the reason we sit in the semicircle is so we can see each other's faces. And they're standing and looking at Peter and John and the guy who's standing right there with them. Peter's preaching boldly. John, I'm sure is making mental notes.
And then the guy is right there in the chamber of hewn stone. They could see him standing right there and they didn't try to deny what had happened. They had all walked past that guy. He'd been there. Every day it says that as was their custom.
Right? He brought this guy and he sat out there and all of them had walked past him. And he's standing right there. So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber. We're going have an executive session.
Get out of here. We'll confer among ourselves. So in this executive session, it says, what are we going to do? What are going do with these guys? Political as it was.
What are we going to do with them? They ask each other. And presumably, Luke had interviewed people. He says, interviewed everybody about this. You know, I I went back and followed.
Some of these guys probably turned to Jesus. But in the council chambers, this is what they're saying. What are we gonna do? We can't deny that they performed a miraculous sign even right here. Peter says it's not by my power nor by my godliness.
I didn't do this. Jesus did it. We can't deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and we can't deny that everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. Everybody saw that guy sitting out there. But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, We must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus name again.
Just don't just don't do it anymore. Isn't that silly? Age of Messiah has come, but we thought it started a hundred and seventy years ago. We're not gonna back off of our line. We're in a pretty good comfortable position here.
We can't deny what happened. We haven't been able to do that sort of stuff. They just want them not to speak in Jesus' name again. So they called apostles back in and commanded never again to speak and teach in the name of Jesus. Never.
Don't do that again. That's that's bad. Really bad for us. Really bad. Don't do it.
But Peter and John replied, do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? Now from their position, they are the ones ordained by God to be the the voice of God. But it's real hard when you feel like you're in that position to determine whether it's actually God speaking or my self interest speaking. And in this case, it's their self interest that's speaking. Incontrovertible evidence had been offered and they'd rather go away with it from what they already believe.
Just inconvenient. Gotta get them out of here. Do you think God wants us to obey rather you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything that we've seen and everything we've heard. Amen.
Because there were people that have been with Jesus and he's awesome. John later would write, if we wrote down everything that he did, the whole world couldn't contain the books. Right? The council then threatened them further. Well, but they finally let them go because they didn't know how to punish them without starting a riot.
That's why. They they would rather have just been excused, you know, killed them, beaten them, hauled them off, but they knew that if they did, it started a riot. And they're the ones in charge under Rome and Rome would then see that they had no power over the people and so that's not good politically. So they warned them. They warned them further, stronger, wagging of the finger, and then they didn't know how to punish them without starting a riot for everyone around there was praising God.
Amen. People are coming into the family of God because of what had happened. A miraculous sign. The healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years. It's congenital condition.
The man's over 40 years old and there's no doubt about it having happened. And so as soon as they're freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. And I just won't stop right here. Was that gossip? Was that gossip?
It happened to them. They heard what was going on. I mean, the executive session they didn't hear at that point. Luke had heard it before he wrote it down. But no, it's not gossip.
If it happened to you, you can talk to other believers about it. It's okay. Now, when you start putting motive in there and start trying to bad mouth people, that's pretty bad. But that, as soon as they're free, they just told them what the leading priests and elders had said. They said don't speak in Jesus' name.
Oh, well. Jesus said to speak in his name. Who are we gonna believe? Who are we gonna follow? We're following Jesus.
So no, it was not gossip. There we go. Now when they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God. Oh, sovereign Lord, creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. Does that sound familiar to you?
Yeah. If you've watched The Chosen, it sounds familiar. That's why they say the blessing on The Chosen. It starts off like that. But it's from Psalm one forty six.
I'm gonna read the whole Psalm even if it's time to go. Praise the Lord. Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
Don't put your confidence in the powerful people. There's no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, all the plans will die with them. But joyful are those who have got the God of Israel as their helper whose hope is in the Lord their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in him.
He keeps every promise forever. If I mention a song lyric in here, you all know the rest of the song most of it. Depends on the song, but you all know the songs. Right? I have done umpteen since I've been here and I can see you all like going through it in your head afterwards.
When they said this, it brings you back to the whole psalm. It's a song. They all know. Don't put your trust in powerful people. He gives justice to the oppressed.
He gives food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. Literally, doesn't that sound just like this situation?
The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever and he will be your God, oh Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the Lord. You spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant.
This is in the prayer. They're quoting scripture back to God in the prayer. You, Lord, spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant saying, why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? Psalm two one, another messianic Psalm.
Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepared for battle. The rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah. The kings of the earth prepared for battle.
The rulers together against the Lord and against his anointed one, which is Messiah, Christ in Greek. In fact, this happened here in this very city for Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, the people of Israel were all united against Jesus. Your holy servant whom you anointed, but everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. It was you are sovereign and they are also responsible. And now, oh Lord, hear their threats and give us your servants what?
What do you think that's gonna be? Give us your servants protection. Give us safety. Give us daily bread. That's okay.
What is it? What is it? Great boldness in preaching your word. That's what they pray for. Amen.
And has the sermon been difficult so far? Not not not because it's the truth. Has the sermon been difficult? It is basically Jesus came and lived a perfect life. He had a perfect record that he could give.
It was prophesied beforehand and if you'll take an honest approach, you'll see that. Salvation is available in his name. That's the message. Give us great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power.
Lord, may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. If that makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry. But I will say this, I I passed by somebody yesterday and they said, how's so and so? My friend of six and six and a half years ago, we started walking through the 12 steps together And I don't know this person. I was just walking by them and they said, how so and so.
They knew it was my friend. And I said, great. Sober is a judge. Everything's great. Goes to a couple meetings a week.
It's helped a lot of people get straightened out, you know, so. It's a miracle every single time that happens. Every time, it's a miracle. Stretch out your hand with healing power. Are you ready to have that thing, whatever it is removed from your life?
Amen. Humbly ask him. May miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And after this prayer, the meeting place shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and then they preached the word of the God. The word of God with boldness.
Amen. They got exactly what they prayed for. They were praying for it and then they stepped on faith and started doing it. And we'll see in the coming weeks that the plan of Almighty God is unstoppable. It will not be thwarted.
So may we listen and obey when he speaks and when he moves. May we preach the word of God with boldness. I would say, I'll call you back your attention to the beginning where he was polite. He was polite and friendly and winsome with that crowd. He did not shrink away from the truth, but he did go to him and say, listen, you've given us audience here.
And yeah, we spent the night in jail last night, but you are the rulers and you're the elders of the people. Each person really is in charge of what they decide to do with their eternal destiny. And so approaching them with a bold claim of the gospel, loving them enough to invite them in, I think is good. May we be preaching the word of God with boldness. Will you stand up with us and we will sing a hymn at the park.
No. We'll sing something in the park. Always. Oh, so good, Carl.
Speaker 2The in your hands. That your goodness is good without end, and you'll never change. And I'll tell. And I will tell all your wonders, sing of your grace. God of creation knows me by day.
Lord is faithful. Yesterday, now and always, always his mercy's mine. Your mercy's mighty. Age after age, all generations bow down in praise. Were here even now.
In your presence, I know there's power. And I will tell of your wonders, sing of your grace. God of creation knows me by name. The Lord is faithful. And I will tell all your wonders, sing of your grace.
The God of creation knows me by name. The Lord is faithful. Yesterday, now and always. Always your mercy is mighty. Age after age, all generations bow down in praise.
The Lord is faithful. Yesterday, now, and always always.
Speaker 1Amen. Blake, do you have one for me? Colossians three seventeen, whatever it is that you do, Peter and John were just minding their own business, weren't they? Kinda going by and then they recognize somebody. Whatever it is that you do, whether it's in word or indeed, be doing all of it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Giving thanks to God the father through him. Lord, God almighty, would you be with us and allow us the grace of thinking of it that way. You go ahead of us, you go with us, and you come in behind us with whatever is needed for your will to be accomplished. It's unstoppable, won't be thwarted. May we be a part of it.
