Proclaiming the Risen Christ

Blessings that you give us Lord, we thank you how. You walk with us through so many different things Lord. As you know, we hear prayer, request shared here, every week Lord, it never ceases to amaze me the wide range of things that go on throughout our church family throughout our community. but Lord, I pray that you'll just help us to realize that none of us are walking that road alone. Board that most importantly, you are walking it with us or that your spirits, enabling us to deal with it. But Lord also that our church family is here for us. Walk with us and to help us in whatever ways they can. But Lord most of all, we can always know that we are being prayed for By this body of believers. And Lord, there is indeed power in prayer and I pray that you will help us to never forget that and Lord help us in our times of doubt and worry to be quick to turn to you in prayer. Enter reach out to our Brothers and Sisters in Christ to pray along with us. We pray this all in your most, holy name. Amen.

well, today we're continuing on in Our journey through the book of Acts and today is when we get into Peter's sermon. We've been setting it up the past couple weeks and today we get into it and today is he know when Peter starts proclaiming, the Risen Christ in what is known as the first Christian sermon.

You're Brian, put a little bit of pressure on me. When he texted me last night and said, hey I saw the title for today's sermon, I'm excited. I hope you are afterwards but Will start in two Acts chapter 2 verses 22 through 36. And we're going to kind of journey through a little bit of what Peter is laying out here in this first sermon in the awesome thing about it is so much of what we've already talked about this morning and sing about. Centers, on the same ideas. Two acts 2:22 Peter starts out by saying fellow Israelites, listen to this. Jesus of Nazareth, was a man who had God's approval. God did Miracles wonders and signs among you through Jesus. And you yourselves know this. Yo Peter's challenging them to really listen to what he has to say because you know he's boldly. Proclaiming this based off of two truths. Based off the fact that God had worked miracles through Jesus. And the fact that many of the people standing there listening to him, had seen it with their own eyes. And it's those apostles who were there. They had most certainly seen it all with their own eyes. They could give a first-hand account so that's what allowed him to be so bold. but you know, the very fact that God is still offering salvation to these Israelites despite their unbelief, despite the fact that they rejected Jesus as their Messiah and despite the fact that they crucified him, I mean it's just An amazing testimony to the generosity of God's grace. And Peter is trying to make that point from the beginning. Did you know? It's the evidence of Jesus's life and works that's undeniable and conclusive that he was indeed that Messiah that they kept looking for. Even though he may have not looked like the Messiah, they wanted Peters telling them know what you've seen. Gave you all the proof you need.

But as it says, in John 3:19 people, loved Darkness, instead of light, they loved Darkness. Because what they did was evil,

I mean, the people of Israel knew that what they had done is they had committed, the greatest sin that can be committed, they had rejected, Jesus Christ,

So, Peter continues on in Acts, chapter 2 verse 23. He says, you know, long ago, God plan that Jesus would be handed over to you with the help of evil people, you put Jesus to death, you nailed him to the cross. You know, Peter knew what they would be thinking, he knew what their first argument was going to be. They were going to say, well, if Jesus really was the Messiah, if he was the son of God, if he had all this power, why didn't he use that power? To save himself. Why didn't he use it to avoid the cross?

But, Peter tells them pet, you know, God used evil men to accomplish his goals. He used what you guys intended for evil to still accomplish his plan. That the reason that Jesus didn't use his power to avoid the cross was because Jesus knew that it was a part of God's predetermined plan that things would happen this way.

You know, other verses that attests to that fast and John chapter 10, verses, 17 and 18. It says, the reason, my father loves me is that I give up my life, but I will take it back again. No one takes it from me. I give it up myself. I have the authority to give it up, and I have the authority to take it back again. I've received this command from my father. Or a little farther on in John chapter 19, verses 10 and 11. Do you refuse to speak? To me pilot said, don't you understand? I have the power to set you free or to nail you to a cross. Jesus answered, you were given power from Heaven. If you weren't, you would have no power over me. So, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.

You know, Peter is making sure to emphasize the point that, you know, Jesus was only handed over to them because it was a part of God's Eternal plan.

They might have thought that it was their plan to accomplish their objectives would. Indeed, it was a central part of God's plan and to be able to accomplish what he had planned for all eternity to save mankind. Your God didn't have to modify his eternal plan to compensate for the schemes of wicked men. They didn't outsmart got on this, it was all a part of his plan all along, and that's why Jesus dying on the cross and no way. Invalidated his claim to be the Messiah, in fact, it confirms it. now the fact that Jesus was purposefully delivered to death, you know,

as a part of God's predetermined plan, what Peters trying to make clear here is just because it was a part of God's plan that Jesus would. I don't think you're off the hook for it. Because I think he knew that would be the other part of the argument from those listening to him. Well, okay, then it's not a sin that we killed Jesus, right? It was all a part of God's plan. No, Peter makes it clear that they nailed Jesus to a cross and that they put Jesus to death. You know, it was the Godless Romans that might have been the ones who actually carried it out but there was no doubt that they were the instigators of it happening.

And it was their evil intentions.

And even though God use evil men to accomplish his purpose, they are still guilty of it. The Peter goes on to present, you know, that it is just a part of God's sovereignty. And even though God is Sovereign and it's all a part of God's plan, man is still responsible for what we do. We're still responsible for the sins that we commit

There's many times in Scripture that that is confirmed invalidated Luke 22:22. Says the son of man will go to his death. Just as God has already decided, but how terrible it will be for the one who hands him over.

You know, men are not responsible for God's plan but they are responsible for their own sins. But the sins of man cannot stop God's plan. We hear more about that as we go on and Acts. Chapter 2 verses 24 through 32. It says, the god raised him from the dead. He set him free from the suffering of death. It wasn't possible for death to keep its hold on. Jesus, David spoke about him. He said, I know that the Lord is always with me because he is at my right hand, I will always be secure. So my heart is glad and joy is on my tongue. My whole body will be full of Hope. You will not leave me in the place of the Dead. You will not let your holy one right away. You always show me the path that leads to life. You will fill me with joy. When I am with you fellow Israelites, you can be sure that King David died. He was buried, his tomb is still here today, but David was a prophet. He knew that God had made a promise to him. God had promised that he would make someone and David's family line king after him. David saw what was coming? So he spoke about the Messiah rising from the dead. He said the Messiah would not be left in the place of the Dead. His body would not rot in the ground. God has raised the same. Jesus back to life, we are all Witnesses of this.

You know, as I've said before, the resurrection of Jesus was not only a theme of what the apostles were preaching throughout the Book of Acts throughout the Gospels. But, you know, without question it is the climax of Redemptive history.

You know, it proves Beyond a doubt that Jesus is the son of God knitted validates. All of his credentials to be the Messiah. Yeah, the resurrection is the ultimate proof that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. mean, without at his death becomes just a heroic death of a noble martyr and or if you don't believe in him, it becomes the pathetic death of a Madman or The execution of a fraud if you don't believe what Jesus was claiming. So the greatest proof that Jesus is the Messiah, then is not his teaching, it's not his miracles, it's not even his death, the greatest proof that Jesus is who he says he is, is his resurrection.

And that's what becomes the main theme of Peters sermon and so much of the apostolic preaching that we see happen after this mean, in this short passage for today. We see that, you know, price are Peter, spent 1 verse on Christ's life and one verse on his death and then nine verses on his resurrection. That's where his focus is. Continuing on and verse 33. It says, Jesus has been given a place of honor at the right hand of God. He has received the Holy Spirit from the father. This is what God had promised. It is Jesus who has poured out, what you now. See and hear. David did not go up to heaven, but he said the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand, I will put your enemies under your control. Be sure. Of this, all of you, people of Israel. You nailed Jesus to the Cross, but God has made him both, Lord and Messiah. you know, I love how Peter uses one of the phrases that They used to condemn Jesus, you know, they called it blasphemy when Jesus said that he would one day be seated at the right hand of the father. But Peter uses that here he says not only did Jesus rise from the dead. When he is lifted to a high place of honor, at the right hand of God, that is where he is now. And then Peter goes on to say that it is from that high position of Honor that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be honest. And that is what you guys have all just witnessed. Remember, he's talking about what just happened to Pentecost, you know, the rushing wind, the tongues of fire, all of them. Proclaiming the Risen Christ in different languages. People being able to hear it in their heart language,

He's saying you just witnessed it for yourselves. That God allowed this to happen. It's more proof that Jesus was the Messiah. It's more proof. That what Jesus Promised happened, you know, Jesus promised that the spirit would come after he left and it did, and you just witness that in a big way. So he now kind of brings his listeners full circle because he know, he's went through the whole thing of how we know, Jesus is the Messiah and all this, but he's brought them back to what they just experienced to themselves. Seeing the events of Pentecost happen. And he's just sings them. What more proof do you need? You just heard it. You just saw it. We've all witnessed it firsthand. Many of you witnessed a lot of the things for 10. What more do you need to know that Christ is risen? Indeed in that he is the Messiah. He is our savior. God has fulfilled every promise that has been there.

I think it's just incredible how, you know, Peter provided overwhelming, evidence from Jesus's life, his death, his resurrection, you know, all those things to point these people to the fact that Jesus is indeed their long-awaited Messiah. But I love how he does a great job of pulling the whole thing together with that last verse. So be sure of this, all you people of Israel, you nailed Jesus to the cross.

The God has made him both Lord and Messiah. You know, Peter didn't let them off the hook at the end. He makes sure that they knew the verdict was in that they were on the wrong side of guilty. Of what he was talking about. They we're on the wrong side of where they needed to be, they had committed the ultimate sin of opposing God and rejecting the Savior that he sent. There's no doubt about it, that's what they had done. I think, you know, it's easy for us to sit here and think I do those stupid Israelites. You know, I mean, they got what they deserved to me. None of us would have done that, right? If we had all the convincing proofs that the Israelites had none of us, would reject God, right? None of us. Would walk away from.

But we have more than what they had.

We have. The entire Bible, we have God's Holy Scripture. If you think about it, the Israelites all they had was the first five books of the Old Testament. That's pretty much all they had and all that they were taught during that time. They didn't get to hear all the rest of it. We get to see the whole story. We know the whole thing, we know how the story ends they had no idea.

but yet, even though we have all that information,

we still do the same thing.

Now, I'm going to do something that will make everyone a little uncomfortable but that's good. It's right now turn to the person next to you and say you nailed Jesus to the cross.

Now, look at the cross upfront and say I nailed Jesus to the cross.

You're uncomfortable, but true. It's a hard reality for us to realize, but, you know, praise God, we live on the Sunday side of the Cross, right? We live on the side where we know there is hope where we don't have to stay in the shadow of the shame of our sin. That's where the enemy wants to keep us. He wants to keep us in the dark and the Shadows feeling guilty and down on ourselves, but we don't have to stay there. No, that's why. It felt a little uncomfortable to look at somebody and say, hey, you're the reason Jesus was nailed to the cross. But it's true. It's even harder for sometimes to admit that I'm the reason. Jesus was nailed to a cross. I'm just as guilty as every single one of those Israelites we all are for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, right?

But the Risen Christ, defeated sin, and death. Therefore, the shame of your sin, The Sting of death, no longer have any power over you as a believer in Jesus Christ.

If? And this is a pretty big yet. probably the biggest if there is, if

you have confessed your sinfulness if you've asked for forgiveness and if you've proclaimed Jesus to be your savior then those things have no more power over you, but if you have not done that,

then you're still on the guilty side. You're still living on the Friday side of the cross. Where everything is dark. Where everything seems hopeless? Like I said, the good news is that we don't have to live there anymore. No one has to.

and you know, as we get ready to celebrate communion not I love it that it were