Rev Jim Lyons_Peter's 2nd Sermon_22nd Mar 26

In this episode we return to the book named 'The Acts of the Apostles' and look at Peter's 2nd Sermon. The Bible Reading is taken from Acts Ch3 verses 11-16.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Returning back to the book of Acts, we have looked at the first part of this chapter, and we pick up a reading from verse eleven through to verse twenty six, takes us to the end of the chapter. Now as the lame man who was hell was healed, held on to Peter and John. All the people ran together to them in the porch, which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people, Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But you denied the Holy One and the just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of Life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses, and his name, through faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers, but those things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets that Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brethren, him you shall hear in all things whatever he says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel, and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. You are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. To you first, God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from your iniquities. Amen. That's a Lord's word and we look to him for his blessing upon it. Someone has described the sermon by saying it's a little like a horse. Each has three basic parts a head or introduction, a body, content, and a teal or a conclusion. It's easy, of course, to see why a horse needs a head, but why does a sermon need an introduction? Well, maybe three purposes could be suggested for spending time in preparing an introduction to a sermon. To catch the attention of the hearer, secondly, to inform the hearer and lead them into the message a wee bit like a plane going down the runway, building up speed before it takes off. And thirdly, to present a pre-summary of the sermon so that the congregation or people listening knows exactly where you're going. But not only that, but they know how how you're aiming to get to that place of your destination. The introduction to this passage we read together is what precedes it in the first section. Through the miracle of the lame man, whom the people were very familiar with, Peter now has their attention as they're amazed at such a transformation in that man. I think we can gather from this chapter and the following one that the focus here is upon the name of Jesus and upon the power that there is in the name of Jesus. It's in the name of Jesus that this man is commanded to rise and walk in verse 6. Peter emphasizes that again in verse 16. Then in chapter 4, when Peter and John are brought before the Sanhedrin, they are questioned by what power and whose name this miracle has taken place. And so Peter replies in chapter 4, verse 10, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth this man stands here before you whole. Then in verse 18 in that chapter, they're commanded not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus. So that is the crux issue here. When you speak of the name, you're pointing to the person. So the focal theme is the name and the power of Jesus. He is a central figure, although in the eyes of all in the religious world at that time, it would seem that he was done and dusted. So as Peter commences his sermon, Jesus is central. So he seeks to bring to him the honor and glory that's due to his name. As we look at Peter's sermon, we'll break it into the three parts. So live rightly, you know where I'm going. So he exalts the Lord Jesus, he exposes sin, and he expounds the gospel of hope. First of all, he exalts the Lord Jesus, verse 11 to 13, and we'll incorporate verse 16. In chapter 2, if you can remember, when the sound came from heaven, like as of a rushing mighty wind, those who heard that came together. And then they heard the wonderful works of God's of God from the apostles. So it was the sign that drew the people, and then the word of God was given. Now in chapter three, this sign was given in the form of this miracle, and through this act of God, the attention of the people is captivated. Verse eleven. Now as the lame man who held on to who was healed held to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch, which is called Solomon's. They were greatly amazed. The porch was like a colonnade. This was probably, they say, on the east side of the court of the Gentiles, against the outside wall of the temple area. It was a sort of arched way or a covered walk. This is not it. This is a bit more modern than it would have been then. This is something else, but just to give you an idea of what the kind of thing and what the area was. So they gathered there in that area to Peter and John. So now a platform has been made and to Peter from which he can preach to these people. But before he preaches to them about the Lord Jesus, there's something that must be addressed. It's like the first sermon in chapter 2. Before he could present Christ to the people, he needed to deal with the existing confusion that arise from the phenomenon, I do not like saying that word, and particularly the Galileans speaking to them in various languages. Likewise, in chapter 3, he needs to bring clarification regarding the healing of the lame man. Because as Peter looks at these people, he senses that they have not judged the situation correctly. And we can glean this from what he says in verse 12. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people, men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why are you looking so intently at us as though by our own power of godliness we made this man walk? So Peter, when he had seen it, he saw something in this crowd. And this is why he spoke to them in this way. He could perceive that they believed that he and John, they believed that he and John were the ones who has made this man whole. So he sets out in verse 13 and also in verse 16 to set the record straight. As Peter speaks to them in verse 13, we see his focus is not upon the miracle itself, but the source of it. So he says, You think that we have done this? Then he says, It was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, who glorified his son Jesus Christ. Then he takes them to the crux of the matter, which is that God's glorified his son Jesus, and through him this man stands whole before you all. And this is the point he now makes in verse 16. And his name, through faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. So it wasn't the faith of the man who was healed, and it wasn't even the faith of Peter that healed the man, but he acknowledges that even that comes from the Lord. So Peter says, Don't look at us as if we are the big guns that have come to town. This is not the Peter and John faith healing roadshow, and don't look at the man, but he says, Lift your focus to Jesus, because through the miracles God has glorified him. How often do we hear the expression, my faith, our faith, or so-and-so's got a great faith, not so. We just realize over time how weak we really are and how great God is. God hasn't overnight become great, God has always been great. It's just we've never realized it before. It's not about us, it's about Him. In chapter 4, when Peter and John are brought before the Sanhedrin, they are consistent in their testimony that this happened through the power of Jesus' name. Peter is swift to take the attention away from them and center it upon Jesus. And isn't that how Psalm 115 commences? Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to your name give glory. So these apostles who have been brought under the control of the Holy Spirit, they are not absorbed with themselves. They're not looking to boost their own ego, and certainly not seeking to set up a Peter and John ministry. Their hearts are sincerely set on exalting Jesus. This is the ministry the Holy Spirit still carries out today, because he came not to glorify himself, but to exalt Jesus. And isn't that what Jesus said he would do in John 16, verse 13? George Haddensburg said that this is his chief office to glorify Jesus. You and I will never have the platform that Peter had, but in our everyday run of mill stuff in our lives, we can honor and glorify him and give him the place which is his alone. This is a spirit's ministry. Yet for that to be effective within our lives, we must yield to his control. We must cease from striving and seeking to live in our own strength for our own end, that we might give him central position and let him receive all of the praise. I absolutely cringe when I hear preachers, and well, if I come across, I guess you'll have to forgive me. You know, and sometimes I come across, I absolutely cringe.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

I said this is more about you than the Lord. This is more about what you can do. Aye, me.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

It's all about him. Several years ago, Hilda and I, when we lived down in Belfast, we were invited to attend our Christmas praise at the Salvation Army on the Craig Road in Belfast. Along with the musical items and the carols, the programme, which was very good, included a young singer, and I think he had a Scottish accent. And so maybe flew him over from Scotland. The end of every piece, this young man did something that I've never seen done before. And every time he sang, of course, in that kind of context, you're applauding him. He was very good. But after, near the end of every piece, he pointed his two index fingers vertically. I wonder, what on earth that young fella doing? Why is he doing that? And then I thought to myself, maybe he's indicating by that gesture that it's not all about me. It's all about him. So Peter brings clarity to the situation. Because he can see something in those people's eyes. And you can see something in people's eyes, can't you? When you're talking to somebody, you can pick up what's going on with that person. Sorry to go back to John Wayne, but if you watch the film Big Jake, and there's there's there's a scene with Richard Boone and John Wayne, and he's going to rescue his kidnapped grandson, and uh your man Boone, he was a kidnapper, and and he says, I can see something in your eyes that I don't like. And you can see something in a person's eyes. Peter can see something in the eyes of these people. You're thinking by Peter and John, by your great people.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

But I everywhere you go, I'm gonna follow you. There's nowhere like it like Northern Ireland, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 15:23

We're followers of preachers. Peter and John's, I can see something in this here. So he brings clarity and he redirects the attention of the people to their God who has glorified his son through the miracle. From that beginning, Peter doesn't miss his opportunity of laying the blame for Christ's death at their door. And that leads to the second point, which is now how Peter exposes their sin from verse 13 to 15. Peter returns to the same subject he's already addressed in his sermon in chapter 2, of the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus came unto his own people, but of course we know from John 1 12 13, they did not receive him. They refused to believe him, and they labeled him as an imposter and blasphemer, and as one that declared to be God. Their evil hearts were set then on putting him to death, and the fruition of such plans was the cross. Peter says in verse 13, You delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, you delivered him up, really, and delivered him in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. So they put him on trial. They lied about him, they spat upon him, they blindfolded him, and they said, You prophecy who slapped you. They slapped him on the face and they beat him. Such was their hatred for the one who was sent from God. After they handed him over to Pilate, they couldn't convince the Roman governor that he was worthy of death. In fact, Pilate repeatedly told them that he found Jesus to be without fault. And in his heart, says he was determined, in his heart he was willing to let him go. Now, maybe in a sense Pilate wasn't as bad as the Jews, yet he was ultimately responsible for putting Jesus on death row. Then Peter continues to remind them what he did in verse 14 and 15. But you denied the Holy One and the just and asked for a murderer to be granted to you and killed the Prince of Life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. When Pilate was determined to let Jesus go, of course we know he used a customer for releasing a prisoner at the feast. To evade the issue of making the decision himself, he presents this man Barabbas, an unrighteous one above the holy and just one. And Peter has that in mind. Well, what a crowd's going to do, he's convinced they're going to choose the Lord Jesus over this rascal, given his popularity, but it all backfires when they choose Barabbas. Peter says, You have chosen the unholy and unrighteous one above the holy and just one. And Peter has that in mind when he writes in the epistle, 1 Peter 3.18. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust. Jesus died the just one for the unjust, and that was certainly true of Barabbas, but for all of us today. So as Peter looks at the suffering and death of Jesus, he says to the Jews, you're guilty. This is the sin he exposes. Now, you may feel up to this point in your life you've lived a pretty good life. Minding your own business, working hard, taking care of your family and seeking to do good, yet we too are all guilty. You can't read the Bible and not come to that conclusion. Although we were not there when they tried and crucified Jesus yet, in the 21st century, when we reject him, we side with those who rejected him then. We didn't hammer the nails in his hands and feet, but we're guilty of rejecting him in the full light of who he is. The Jews had the promises, the prophets, the religious system, and we have the revelation from God through his word of who Jesus really is. Yet with that full revelation, we reject him. So we and they are guilty. And this is our sin today. Peter says, This is what you have done. You have crucified the prince and author of life. But God raised him from the dead. Jesus is alive. And this is why this man stands whole before you today. He confronts them, he exposes their sin, which condemns them. And if that is all Peter had in his message, these people will be lost without any hope. But Peter had a living hope to proclaim in this last section. And so our sins do condemn us. Yet God holds out this message of hope to us through the gospel, the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ in this last section. That should not read that, it should read verse 17 to 26. Peter acknowledges in verse 17 that what they have done from their wicked hearts, they have done totally in ignorance. And Peter isn't alone in this because didn't the Lord Jesus say that in that saying in the cross? When he says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. Then in verse 18, Peter brings in another dimension to the cross, that it wasn't just the Jews, and it wasn't just Pilate who put him on the cross, but there's another perspective we must hold to when we look at the cross, and that is the divine standpoint. And in verse 18, he says, But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. So Peter says to them, You have the scriptures, you have the law, you have the prophets, now you go and search the scriptures. Because Jesus revealed to Peter and to the disciples in Luke chapter 24 24. He told them when he came to them. He opened the word of God and he spoke to them from the law and from the prophets and the Psalms. He spoke to them about the suffering that he would endure. He says it's all there. So Peter says, search the scriptures. And so in verse 22 and 23, he goes to the law and he reminds him about Moses. And then he speaks in verse 24 as it is. I think he speaks about Samuel and then all the prophets that followed on from there. He says, search the scriptures. And if you sincerely search the scriptures, he says, you will find that these things were foretold. They should have known that the Messiah would come and suffer from the scriptures of Psalm 22, we looked at a bit of it last Wednesday night, and Isaiah 53, but they couldn't see it. They were blinded by their view of the Messiah, which was more political and militant given the Roman oppression. So Peter points out that before the Jewish rulers plotted against Christ to put him to death, God has already planned it. In fact, he planned it from before the foundation of the world. And Peter certainly grasped this perspective regarding the cross, and that's evident in the first chapter of 1 Peter verse 11. The Spirit of Christ, who was in the prophets, was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and that glory is that we followed. Peter says, look, it's all there from beforehand. Then further down that chapter to verse 19 to 20, we read that we have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He was indeed foreordained before the foundation of the world. So Peter faithfully presents the truth to these people that they are guilty. But he says, God was behind all of this, but it doesn't absolve you of your guilt. In the light of their sin, Peter sets before them the great gospel challenge in verse 19, as this is the only way he says for you to be pardoned. Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Peter knows from experience, therefore he sets it down in 2 Peter 3 9, that the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. Repentance is not feeling sorry because you've been caught out. As there are many in prison this morning who feel sorry they've been caught, but that doesn't necessarily mean they've repented. It means sorry enough to quit. It means sorry enough to forsake your sins. And Peter calls them to turn from their great sin of rejecting and crucifying Christ and be converted, which means to turn to God. It is demanded, and yet I think we can gather from verse 26, it's provided. As it says that God sent a servant to you, first of all, the Jews, to bless you, in turning every one of you from your iniquities. So then, can we conclude that if we sincerely come to God regarding our spiritual condition, aware of our sinfulness, that God will give to us the gift of repentance and enable us to turn from our sins. The promise in verse 19 is that if they did, their sins would be blotted out, which means wiped away. Behind this is a picture connected with parchment of that time. As it was expensive, so scribes would write with acid-free ink, which meant it would sit on top of the parchment. And all you had to do was to wipe it clean with a wet sponge. It's the equivalent today of bringing in the dryway board and listing all our sins on the dryway board. Dryway board would not be big enough for my sins. And if we're honest enough, it wouldn't be big enough for any of our sins. But it's like we write them on the dryway board, and it just fills us with shame, at least it should. And also the thought that we will be judged and condemned because of them, and that the fact that there's absolutely nothing that we can do about them, and that condemnation, but then someone comes forward and wipes them all away in your plain sight. That's what Jesus does for us. He forgives us, he wipes the slit clean and gives us a whole new life. Peter goes on to say that this will result in times of refreshment, or it can be times of relief. There is a sense in which we always need refreshment. And sometimes as a believer, we need refreshment. Sometimes we get into a flat period. Sometimes we struggle even when we come to church. Sometimes we struggle to keep switched on. And we just know sometimes that we're not the person we were before. And we just need that fresh notch and that fresh refreshment. Does that sound right? Fresh refreshment. From the Lord's presence. It's also been used in connection with revival, but I think in the context that it's given, it's relief from that sense of guilt for sin and the wrath of God that is upon us because of our sin. Didn't the Lord Jesus say in Matthew 11, 28, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Sin is a weight that we carry around with us because it condemns us. But if we come to Jesus sincerely in repentance, we can lay that burden down. It'll never happen until you admit to your own heart, yes, Lord, I am a sinner. I am a sinner. But when we do, and we bring that burden to him, he will release us, release us, and he will give us rest. Isn't that something you maybe long for this morning? The weight of religious performance, the weight on your conscience, because the Holy Spirit has been making you aware of your own sins. The gospel or good news about Jesus is that he came to die on the cross to make provision for salvation or deliverance from those weights. He calls us to come to him, to be joined, as Peter was saying the other Sunday, joined or yoked together with him, to be willing to have done with sin and turn from it, and to reach out to the Lord Jesus, and this massive burden will roll away, and you will find rest for your souls. Following on from this in verse 20 to 21, he gives them a little glimpse into the future, and that he may send Jesus Christ who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Jesus will return, but not until the appointed time, when God will restore all things. The time will come when he will wrap up this world like a garment. This world that seems so big and so massive to the people who live in it. But he's just come, the Bible says he'll wrap it up like a garment, and there will be a new heavens and a new earth. So Peter says, Repent and be converted, so that you can be part of this great eternal plan. So in this sermon, Peter exalts the Lord Jesus. He exposes their sin and presents the gospel of hope. And the repercussion of the message when you get into chapter 4 is hostility. And yet alongside that hostility is great blessing. As in verse 4 of chapter 4, thousands came to the Lord. It just numbers 5,000 men, but obviously there are a whole lot more people than that. So how this morning will you respond? Will you still reject the Lord Jesus? If so, be warned today that when Moses spoke there, verse 23 about the coming prophet like him, like one of his brethren, so he'd be Jewish, but like Moses, and that Moses performed the miracles of God, and so he came like Moses. But he said, When the people reject him and reject what he says, they will face destruction. And when we reject the Lord Jesus, don't matter how long you've come to this church, don't matter how many years you've been here, doesn't matter how many watts you have, if you reject him, if you have never received him, if you're shutting him out of your life, the Bible says there's a hell.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

There is a hell. And as for everybody who rejects Christ, no matter how good we live, no matter how good we try and behave, it's very clear and it's very simple. We will be rejected by him.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

So if you don't know him today, this is a day you need to come to him. There's no other day of salvation today, the Bible says, is a day of salvation that we need to come to him. So that's Peter's second sermon.