WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.799 Welcome to DeSoto Hills Baptist Church. 00:00:02.959 --> 00:00:07.200 Our Sunday morning services are weekly at 9 and 10 30 a.m. 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:11.439 You're listening to an audio recast of this past week's service. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:12.960 We hope you enjoy. 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:14.240 God bless. 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:18.320 Favorite Bibles this morning will be in Acts chapter 15. 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:23.679 We're gonna look at the first 19 verses of Acts chapter 15. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:32.719 As you're turning there, you know, not too long ago, uh we um I hate to use celebrated because it's one of my least favorite nights of the year. 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:35.359 So let me say recognized, maybe. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:36.960 Uh Halloween. 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:41.759 And uh many of you, including my family, we went trick-or-treating. 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:43.840 My kids love getting the candy and all of that. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:48.960 But but that's also another big day in the history of the church. 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:56.240 I don't know if you recognize that, but but many, many celebrate October the 31st as Reformation Day. 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:08.799 It was it it was the day that that Martin Luther went to the church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nailed his 95 theses on the doors of the church in Wittenberg. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:14.159 So let me tell you a little bit about the Reformation and what that is, because you hear people talk about it all the time. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:16.239 You you may not know what's going on. 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:26.400 The Reformation was a time where many people within the church began to rise up against uh the Roman Catholic Church. 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:47.120 And their reasons for doing that was it seems, it would it seemed to them and at the time in the life of the Catholic Church, they it seemed that the church was more interested in attaining power and raising up empires than it was, than it was about doing ministry within their local communities. 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:58.319 It would even seem that many of the leaders of the church at that time, at least, were more interested in keeping people in darkness than they were bringing them to the light. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:06.400 And there were people who recognized this and and and really wanted to change that, Martin Luther being one of those. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:17.360 So on October the 31st of 1517, he went, as I've already said, to the church there in Wittenberg and nailed his 95 theses on the door there. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:21.039 Let me tell you a little bit about who Martin Luther was. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:27.919 Martin Luther was a monk, and he was a monk who hated the God of the Bible. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:29.520 And you say, what? 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:31.039 How? 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:33.439 Well, let me explain a little bit. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:42.400 At that time, Martin Luther was not a monk who really studied the Bible, he was just one who heard people talk about it. 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:47.039 So what Martin Luther began to do was to study the Bible for himself. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:53.439 Interestingly enough, as he studied, he found Jesus. 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:57.520 And it changed everything. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:00.479 Changed everything for him. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:06.479 Changed the way he approached the Bible, it changed the way that he approached God. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:12.159 And he learned something significant about himself and about the world. 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:18.879 He learned that there was nothing he could do to change the evil in the world. 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:23.599 There was nothing he could do to even change the evil within himself. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:25.840 Only Jesus could do that. 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:32.400 So what he began to do was to depend more and more and more upon Jesus. 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:37.280 There are really two distinctives reading and studying. 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:37.599 R. 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:37.840 C. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:43.360 Sproul recognized there's really two distinctives of the Reformation. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:48.240 The first one is really dealt with authority. 00:03:50.080 --> 00:04:06.080 Martin Luther asked the question of who, and not just Luther, but people like Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin and other reformers, they would ask the question of who has who can who has the authority to say what is true? 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:07.199 Is it the Pope? 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:08.879 Is it the priests? 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:10.960 Or is it the Word of God? 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:15.840 Who carries that authority to say what is true? 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:34.240 They also dealt with how to reconcile who we are with who God is, who we are as people, because we are, as Luther, we've already said about Luther, we are evil, and in and of ourselves we are we are not good. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:39.439 So how do we reconcile that with a good and holy God? 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:42.480 How do we bring those two things together? 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:50.560 And what the reformers really found is this Scripture carries authority. 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:58.319 Since the time of Jesus, since the time of the apostles, all authority has been found in Scripture. 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:05.120 Honestly, that's why, in just a little bit, when we stand up and I read Scripture, I'm gonna ask you to stand and read Scripture. 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:06.560 There's some significance in that. 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:12.560 Part of that significance is this authority is not found in my words that I proclaim from here. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:16.639 Authority is found in God's word that we're gonna read from here. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:19.519 So we stand to recognize that. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:24.240 So the reformers found that who can say what is true? 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:26.240 Well, Scripture says that. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:37.360 Also, when we're trying to reconcile God with man and who we are, only Jesus can bring that reconciliation. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:39.439 He is the only one. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:41.680 There's no other things. 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:45.920 And you say, Grant, why are we spending so much time talking about the Reformation? 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:47.920 Well, it's very interesting. 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:58.000 Reformation was 1517, and about 1,500 years earlier, the early church was going through some of the same things. 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:00.079 Some of the same things. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:08.319 What we find in our passage today is Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed Jesus Christ and the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:17.360 And Gentiles were accepting this gospel, but people were coming up and following behind them, saying, Oh, no, no, no, no, hold on, hold on. 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:24.000 Before you can become a Christian, you've got to be circumcised and adhere to the law of Moses. 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:27.519 They were adding to the gospel. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:32.000 So this dissension arose within the church. 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:37.839 And Paul and Barnabas, it tells us they're they're discussing, having discussions and debates over what is true. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:45.680 And so the church is going to send them to Jerusalem, to the Jerusalem, to the church at Jerusalem to figure this out. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.680 Say, why send them to Jerusalem? 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:49.759 Well, the apostles are still there. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:52.399 By and large, the apostles are still at the church. 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:58.879 There are elders at the church of Jerusalem who knew who Jesus was, one being his half-brother James. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:01.759 And so they send them to the church. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:04.720 But after this council, really the apostles are going to leave. 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:09.680 There's not going to be another council like this in Jerusalem again. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:16.720 So they're going to answer this great question of the dissension that is going on in between them. 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:25.680 Are people saved by becoming adhering to the law and then to Jesus or just by adhering to the gospel? 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:30.959 Are we saved by grace alone, through faith alone? 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:48.319 So what's going to happen today is the apostles and the elders, Paul and Barnabas, they are going to testify to the salvation that it is a gift of God's grace. 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:54.639 Listen, and we need to stop and we need to be careful to recognize that as well. 00:07:54.879 --> 00:08:13.839 Listen, while our words may contend that yes, we are saved by grace alone, and seeing this room, you would probably proclaim that and say that, but sometimes not just through our words, but through our actions, through things that we do, we don't necessarily believe it. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:28.959 By the things that we do, by the way that we read scripture, by the way that we sing, by the reasons that we have for coming church, would testify more that we believe there's something more to it. 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:43.440 But what we need to recognize, what we must recognize, is that we must live under the grace of God for salvation, for sanctification. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:51.279 And not only must we live under that grace, but we must proclaim that same grace to the world around us. 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:57.200 So the challenge for us today is this just live under the grace of God. 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:01.279 Live under that grace that we just sang about. 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:04.720 That Jesus is mine. 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:09.120 I was a slave, but I've been set free. 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:22.399 Today we're gonna seek to do that by answering this question: how did these men witness and testify to salvation by the grace of God? 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:28.720 So I'm gonna ask you this morning if you are able to stand with me as we read God's word together. 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:34.240 Acts chapter 15, we're gonna start in verse 1 and read down through verse 19. 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:45.679 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you're circumcised, according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:57.919 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:09.759 So being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:17.519 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:28.559 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:46.080 The apostles and elders were gathered together to consider this matter, and after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:57.360 And God who knows the heart bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:08.960 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our focus nor we have been able to bear? 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:16.480 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus just as they will. 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:26.879 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:30.799 After they finished speaking, James replied, Brothers, listen to me. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:37.200 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for his name. 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:46.159 And with these words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, After this I will return and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen. 00:11:46.399 --> 00:12:01.360 I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old. 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:10.960 Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:12.960 Let's pray together. 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:21.759 God, we do thank you for your word and the truth that it brings to us. 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:28.799 God, we thank you that you have revealed yourself to us through your word. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:37.360 And that you have sent your Holy Spirit among the apostles, among the Gentiles, and among us as well. 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:49.759 Father God, we pray that you work in our lives, that you illumine our hearts, that you enlighten our hearts to know you through your word. 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:52.559 God help us. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:55.519 Jesus, it's in your name we pray. 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:56.480 Amen. 00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:57.919 You may be seated. 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:11.600 So again, we come to the question of how did these men witness, how did these witnesses testify? 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:16.159 How did they testify to the grace of God for salvation? 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:37.200 Well, as they arrived in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas and these others, we we saw that they came to the church and the church befriended them, accepted them, came in, and they they began this discussion we see in chapter, and not chapter in verse 6, that they were gathered to consider the matter. 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:42.720 And then in verse 7, after they had been, there had been much debate. 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:45.600 Much debate. 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:49.679 Peter stood up and he addressed the crowd. 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:54.240 Now Peter recognized that Peter is representing a group here. 00:13:54.320 --> 00:14:02.320 He's representing the apostles, those 12 who had walked along beside Jesus and who had been with him during his ministry. 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:05.279 Peter stands up and he is speaking for them. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:07.759 Peter has become the spokesperson for them. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:09.600 We saw that pretty early on. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:15.840 Peter became that spokesperson for the apostles, so he he stands up and he begins to speak. 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:21.360 And Peter immediately, immediately goes back to Cornelius. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:24.000 We've talked about Cornelius in the book of Acts. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:30.559 Remember, it was Cornelius who was the Gentile who God said, Send for Peter, and he's going to tell you how you can be saved. 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:38.720 And he sent for Peter, and Peter came, Peter preached to them, and the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles there in Cornelius' house and saved them. 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:43.519 Peter is immediately going to be drawn back and speak of that event. 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.480 He does it in verse, in verses 7 through 9. 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:55.919 He says, Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:02.080 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us. 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:09.120 And he has made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:21.600 So Peter addresses going to Cornelius' house, but there's three things that we I want you to see about this address that Peter says when he comes and he talks to them about going to Cornelius' house. 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:28.879 The first thing that I want us to see that it this was God's choice for Peter to go to the Gentiles. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:30.159 God chose that. 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:31.759 Peter didn't pick it. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:33.919 The apostles didn't pick it. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:35.600 God chose it. 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:43.519 He says right there, he says, brothers, you know in the early days, God made a choice among you. 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:50.159 God made this choice to send Peter to Cornelius' house so that Gentiles could be saved. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:54.399 God made the choice for the Gentiles to hear the gospel. 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:58.960 God made the choice for the Gentiles to believe in the gospel. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:00.559 God chose them. 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:02.480 We see that all throughout Scripture. 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:05.039 We see him choosing Israel. 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:06.080 We see all of that. 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:10.960 So now here we see Him doing that as well among the Gentiles. 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:16.000 It was God's choice to send Peter. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:27.279 Second, not only was it God's choice, but it's God's witness that caused them to believe. 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:29.679 Verse 8. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:37.360 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them. 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:40.879 Who bore witness? 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.679 I mean, I know it's Peter speaking. 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:48.240 I know he sent Peter and Peter spoke, but who bore witness? 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.279 God bore witness to them. 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:54.480 God revealed himself to them. 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:57.759 God spoke to them through Peter. 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:00.639 It was God's choice here in this matter. 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:03.519 It was God's witness in this matter. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:15.359 And then we see God's gift to the Gentiles in this because he bore witness and sent the Holy Spirit to them. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:29.200 Just as he had sent to the Jews, just as he had sent to the Samaritans, now he sends to the Gentiles this great gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:44.880 So Peter, as he stands up and addresses this crowd, he immediately speaks of his experience and how God had moved, how God had moved among the Gentiles at Cornelius' house. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:52.480 But after he goes to Cornelius, something interesting happens in verses 10 and 11. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:59.519 Because he talked, begins to talk about the yoke of the law. 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:01.519 Look at verse 10 and 11. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:17.759 He says, Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear. 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:22.960 Now understand, listen what Peter is saying here. 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:30.960 He says, what we're doing, as he addresses his craft, what we're doing is we have been given this yoke of the law. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:36.559 It is the law that is that was given to Israel so that we could be in relationship with God. 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:39.920 But here's the problem nobody's kept it. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:42.799 Everybody has been unable to keep it. 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:46.720 No one outside of Jesus has kept the law. 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:51.839 And so it has not just become, it is not, it has become more than a way into relationship with God. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.519 It has become a yoke. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:19:05.119 It has become a burden that the patriarchs of old, Moses, Joshua, go through the list. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:07.200 David. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:10.960 None of them have ever been able to keep the law. 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:14.880 And he says, not only were they unable to keep the law, guess what? 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:17.200 We have failed at it as well. 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:19.599 So why? 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:25.759 Why are we putting this yoke that we are unable to keep upon them? 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.000 And then he comes to verse 10. 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:36.160 But we believe that we have been saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:41.839 Peter says, listen, we're not saved because we kept the law. 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.559 Because we haven't kept the law. 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:48.799 Salvation didn't come by the law for them because nobody kept it. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:50.559 We weren't saved by the law. 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:53.119 We weren't saved by keeping the law. 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:55.519 So why would we put that on them? 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:56.480 We have been saved. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:08.880 Peter said, as Jews, we have been saved by the grace of God that Jesus came and that he kept the law perfectly, that he died in our place, that he arose for us and gave us victory over sin. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:10.640 He gave us victory over death. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:12.480 He gave us victory over those things. 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:14.000 He kept it perfectly. 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:16.480 Now we are saved by the grace of him. 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:24.160 Just as the Gentiles will be saved by the grace of God. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:32.880 Just as you and I are saved by the grace of God. 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:42.400 And then I love what happens in verse 12. 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:47.119 It says, and all of the assembly fell silent. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:50.640 You understand that. 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:55.680 We have enough sports fans to understand this. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:06.079 You know, when your team's playing really good and you're all excited, and then momentum shifts and it changes and it goes from, yeah. 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:14.640 Reminds me, my senior year at MC was the fall of 1999. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:17.759 I was dating a girl from that went to school at Ole Miss. 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:27.359 And I was at Mississippi College, but I was a Mississippi State fan, and we decided to do something really romantic and go to the egg bowl that year. 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:40.960 Went to the egg bowl that fall and sat by each other, and it was the year Ole Miss that they really dominated the game throughout the whole game. 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:44.079 Winning throughout most of the game. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.079 And this this girl that I was dating at the time, it wasn't Amber. 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:49.839 It was not Amber. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:58.079 This girl that I was dating at the time, she didn't talk trash, but she was very excited. 00:21:58.480 --> 00:21:59.440 The whole game. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:16.799 But then within the fourth quarter, really within the last few minutes, Mississippi State came back and won that game. 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:22.480 I didn't talk trash. 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:24.960 No, I didn't. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.880 But can I say that car ride back to Pontiat was quiet? 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:38.000 A hush. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:46.400 A hush fell over them. 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:50.000 And then Paul and Barnabas began to speak. 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:58.400 Paul and Barnabas spoke of the signs and the wonders that God had done through them. 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:02.880 We won't have to spend a lot of time here. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:09.920 We've talked about the signs and wonders that they had done through Paul and Barnabas and through the apostles. 00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:26.640 See, this the signs and wonders, what the purpose, their purpose served to point to the authority that the apostles had, and just a few others, Barnabas and one other, really are the only ones outside of the apostles that we see performing signs and wonders. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:27.519 So you don't see that. 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:35.119 So what they did, what the signs and wonders did, appointed to the to the fact that they were working under the authority of Jesus. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:42.000 That they, the authority that Jesus had, the authority that Jesus that had given them was there. 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:44.640 And so they were continuing that work of Jesus. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:45.839 It was pointing to that. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:53.599 But listen, after the apostles died and we are given the complete word of God, the purpose of signs and wonders changes. 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:57.759 We don't need them because we have the authority of the word of God. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:00.400 We don't need authority of signs and wonders. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.720 We have authority of the word of God. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:13.920 And so as we look, as we talk about authority and where it comes from, listen, we need to we need to look to God's word. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:17.039 I've said it before, I will say it again. 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:20.319 God's word is sufficient. 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:27.519 Everything that we need to know for salvation is given to us here. 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:39.279 Not only everything that we need to know for salvation, but everything that we need to know to live a life that honors God is found here. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:42.480 This is the authority. 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:50.319 It's not me, it's not you, it wasn't the Pope during the Reformation, it is God's word. 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:55.119 We need to look to his authority. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:25:01.839 Then Paul and Barnabas, after they shared, they didn't share a super long time. 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:05.359 James stands. 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:10.240 Now James will meet him further in the New Testament. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:15.519 James is the half-brother of Jesus that wrote the book of James. 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:24.960 He had become the really leading elder at the church at Jerusalem and will remain in that position really until his death. 00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:30.240 So James, he stands up and he speaks as well. 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:36.000 And what he does is he begins by commending the words of Peter. 00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:39.440 Look, what Peter says is right. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:40.720 We saw this. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:41.839 We saw this happen. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:42.640 Remember it? 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:45.359 Yes, Peter is correct. 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:48.079 Salvation was sent to the Gentiles. 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:49.359 Yes, that is true. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:50.079 That is right. 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:50.799 You see that. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:57.200 But James, not working on the authority of being an apostle with Jesus. 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:00.799 He is working on the authority of being an elder of Jesus. 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:02.640 See what he does. 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:07.519 He points them to the word of God. 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:15.680 And what he does is he quotes from Amos chapter 9, verses 11 and 12. 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:18.880 We see that in verse 16 and 17. 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:28.000 He says, This after this I will return and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen. 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:46.799 I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:58.640 What he's quoting from Amos, what Amos is saying back in Amos chapter 9, is it is a look forward to the Messiah's return. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:04.160 When the Messiah would come and he would restore the throne of David. 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:06.960 And listen, Israel is looking forward to this. 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:14.880 Israel is looking for the day for someone from the lineage of David to restore the throne in Jerusalem. 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:16.960 They're looking for that day. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:24.960 And this is a prophecy saying that's going to happen, that God is going to restore that throne. 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:28.640 But it's not just for Israel. 00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:34.240 See what he says, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord. 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:36.079 Hear this phrase. 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:44.240 And all the Gentiles who are called by my name. 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:49.359 Here's what had happened for Israel. 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:59.119 What the law had done for Israel, even though they were unable to keep it, the law had separated them from the rest of the world. 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:02.559 It was a distinctive. 00:28:02.720 --> 00:28:09.279 The law is what made Israel distinct from everyone else in the world. 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:19.039 There was no other nation, there was no other people that had anything like that where they were in a relationship with God, and that happened because of the law. 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:31.359 But what is happening here, what he is saying, is when Messiah comes, the Gentiles should be known as my people as well. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:41.519 So what happened with Jesus is the law was not the distinctive anymore that set God's people apart from the world. 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:44.640 The distinction is Jesus. 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:52.400 It is Jesus who separates God's people from the world. 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:57.519 He calls us as believers. 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:06.960 All believers are called by his name. 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:09.440 And that's Jesus. 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:13.599 So James stands and he says, Listen. 00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:17.359 Scripture has pointed out to this. 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:20.000 It's not just Peter. 00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:22.640 Scripture has pointed to this. 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:33.759 So he says in verse 19, therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:40.720 Because salvation is not a work of man. 00:29:42.079 --> 00:29:43.680 It is a work of God. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:52.079 And it comes by faith alone, through gracefully in Christ. 00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:56.880 What does this mean for us? 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:13.599 Is this the battle that was fought during the Reformation within the church that was being fought within the first century church? 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:18.720 It's a battle that is still being fought in churches today. 00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:27.920 There is a a battle in churches over authority. 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:33.359 Listen, and here's what we need to understand. 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:41.920 Because there are so many things that say, well, so many people that say, well, I mean, the Bible is an old book. 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:44.319 Shouldn't have authority over me. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:50.079 Or there are people that say, I can make my own rules, I can do what I want to. 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:51.839 Nobody can tell me what to do. 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:53.119 It's me. 00:30:54.799 --> 00:31:09.680 And there's this grasp for authority when really the truth, just like it was in the Reformation, just like it was way back in the first century, authority lies here in the Word of God. 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:16.240 We need to believe what this says. 00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:22.400 And what the authority of Scripture tells us is this. 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:31.039 It helps us answer that second question of the Reformation, which I think we're still dealing with in the church today. 00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:36.960 The second question was this: how do we reconcile who we are with who God is? 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:41.920 How do we reconcile a sinful mankind with a holy God? 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:48.240 And what scripture tells us is this we reconcile it with Jesus and Jesus alone. 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:59.440 That He came, that He lived a perfect life, kept the law perfectly, died on the cross as a sacrifice for me, as a sacrifice for you. 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:09.039 And then he arose from the grave, and now he is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Father, interceding for us. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:16.880 The way that we bring ourselves to holy God. 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:22.079 Let me rephrase that. 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:26.880 We cannot bring ourselves to a holy God. 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:41.519 The way God has prepared to bring us to himself is by pouring grace about on us. 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:45.920 And we place our faith in him. 00:32:56.720 --> 00:33:00.880 Fifteen hundred years, two thousand years later. 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:07.920 Let me ask you, where are you? 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:14.480 Listen, if you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, He died for you. 00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:19.759 And I hear questions all the time about Grant, God could never love me. 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:21.279 He doesn't know what I've done. 00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:30.640 Yes, he does, and he's made a way to bring you to salvation the same way he brought me to salvation, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:34.400 You need to trust him. 00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:47.039 And then when we have, here's where we really get caught up on making the gospel a work of man. 00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:53.759 Because we think we can control God if we read our Bibles. 00:33:54.079 --> 00:34:20.079 If I read my Bible every day, if I pray every day, if I go to church every Sunday, if I sit through that boring message every Sunday, if I go and if I do all of these things, if I become a church member, what's going to happen is God is going to love me more and he's going to take care of me more when all of that is the wrong reasons to do any of that. 00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:27.039 God cannot love you any more than he already does. 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:33.119 He can't love you any less than he already does because he loves you perfectly. 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:45.199 What we do when we study God's word and we read God's word and we pray and we do those things, we're not doing them to make God love us more. 00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:48.960 We're doing them because he loves us already. 00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:52.880 And because I want to love him more. 00:34:54.559 --> 00:34:58.800 The way I love God more is by knowing him more and better. 00:34:58.960 --> 00:35:00.719 And I do that through this. 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:06.639 By knowing him more and better, and I do that by surrounding myself with his people. 00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:12.559 So listen today, so we come to our time of invitation. 00:35:13.519 --> 00:35:18.800 If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, may today be the day of salvation. 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:25.920 Place your faith in him because you can only be saved through him. 00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:28.159 If you have. 00:35:29.360 --> 00:35:34.000 But you're trying to work your way into a better relationship with God. 00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:36.000 Listen, that's not how it works. 00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:43.760 What we do is we we study and know because he loves us perfectly, and I just want to love him back. 00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:52.159 And if you're trying to work to earn his approval, listen, you need to repent this morning. 00:35:52.400 --> 00:35:54.960 You need to live under the grace of God. 00:35:55.840 --> 00:35:57.840 He loves you perfectly. 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:04.000 This morning, if you're looking for, so we invite you to come. 00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:08.880 If you need to repent, come and kneel at this altar and repent. 00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:13.280 If you're looking for a church home, we invite you to come. 00:36:13.440 --> 00:36:14.559 I'm gonna pray for us. 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:16.000 We're gonna stand and sing. 00:36:16.239 --> 00:36:19.760 Whatever decision you have to make, we invite you to come. 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:21.599 God, we love you. 00:36:23.360 --> 00:36:26.639 We thank you for today, and we thank you for how you love us. 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:32.960 God, I thank you for making a way for us. 00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:38.000 Making a way for us for salvation. 00:36:40.400 --> 00:36:41.920 By your grace. 00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:49.199 By making a way for us for sanctification, the way for us to grow in our relationship with you. 00:36:51.360 --> 00:36:54.880 It's by just trusting you and living under that grace. 00:36:57.039 --> 00:37:01.280 God, I ask you now to move and work in our service as only you can. 00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:06.320 Give faith to those who need to make a decision today. 00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:08.639 Jesus is in your name. 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:09.599 Amen. 00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:12.000 Stand with us as we sing this hymn of invitation. 00:37:12.079 --> 00:37:15.119 If you have a decision to make, now is the time. 00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:18.400 Thanks for listening to this week's sermon. 00:37:18.559 --> 00:37:24.400 If you have any questions for our pastor, feel free to reach out at DeSotoHills.com.