Portico

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is once more a privilege to share the Word of God with the Saints of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church.

The song, The Heart of Worship, dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt Redman’s home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Redman’s congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.

Redman recalled that, “There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,”“He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”

Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”

Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.

“Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred.”

When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus

The song would quickly go international as many Christians around the world related to the lyrics.

It’s odd for me to think that that song is now 25 years old. In my head it’s still an example of contemporary Christian music! But I don’t know if something two decades old can be considered contemporary!

Regardless, the song captured the idea of easy it is to get away from the main thing with in the church and how good it is to return to the main thing!

It is no secret that I have been throwing around the word Revitalization in our church. I want to see our church growing in community, spiritual strength, and if I’m being honest, I want to see us grow numerically. I want to see us reaching others with the gospel and encouraging the saints to do the same.

We’ve been talking about and presenting strategies for how we can better reach people and grow in our numbers. We’re soon going to be launching Community groups as an opportunity to gather together in homes throughout the week and invite others to join us. People who may not walk through the doors of our church but are willing to sit on our couches. We’ve done other things like our Sunday evenings at the park in the warmer months. We’ve even recently thrown around the idea of having some form of Christmas light display to take advantage of our location by the interstate.

But why? Why do we want grow? Why do we want to see new people come in our building?

Part of it is that this church has existed for 80 years and we want to see that continue one in perpetuity. It would sadden all of us if this place were no longer in existence.

But the main thrust behind everything that we are doing IS and MUST BE: giving glory to God. We can put together strategies, we can strive for growth in the church, we can do a lot of wonderful missions and help a lot of people, but the engine behind it all must be the glory of God. Everything we do must be in response to and in honor of the grace of God we have received through the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ paying the cost of sins and assuring us of eternal glory.

We may have to do a series sometime soon through the book of 1 Peter. In my personal studies, I haven’t given 1 Peter too much consideration, but it seems that recently the Lord has placed it at the center of many of the various things I’m studying in Scripture. And this week I came across 1 Peter 4:10-11

1 Peter 4:10–11 ESV

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Church, we can have great music. We can participate in great programs. We can have a great discipleship network. We can have great Christmas lights. But at the end of the day if it ain’t about Jesus and for Jesus, it’s worthless. If and when people come to our church and like what they find, we pray that what they like is not the service, the people, or the programs, but the very God for whom all these things are for. As good stewards, we should be seeking to serve others and be used for the growth of the church. But we are only good stewards when our motivation is that in everything God may be glorified through jesus Christ. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Church, as we move forward may we truly do so for the glory of God. May the heart of our Worship, conduct, and service, be beating for the one whose blood was shed for us!

It’s all about Him!

Which brings us to our text from the book of Acts this morning. Turn there now if you haven’t already.

We’re jumping in to the middle of Acts chapter 3. We’ll start in verse 11. Last week we covered the first 10 verses and saw God accomplish a miracle through Peter and John. A lame man, crippled from birth, was healed. He is healed by the power of the name of Jesus and then leaps around the temple, showcasing how great of a miracle has taken place. Everyone was astonished. Quite a crowd is forming as the man who begged for alms by the gates for all those years is now up, dancing and shouting. Let’s check in on this scene:

Acts 3:11 ESV

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s.

The he in this verse in the formerly lame man who has been healed. He along with Peter and John are walking around Solomon’s portico. Other translations call this Solomon’s porch, or Solomon’s colonnade.

This is a bit of a rabbit trail, but the setting of this event is significant as we think about the advancement of the Kingdom as a whole seen throughout the New Testament and this transitional period for the church in the book of Acts. Solomon’s Portico was a double-columned porch on the east side of the Temple near the court of the Gentiles. Some believe that it was built on remnants of the temple Solomon built that was destroyed in 586 BC. Herod the Great had spent an unimaginable amount of money renovating many of the buildings in Jerusalem but especially the temple. He wanted to have his name remembered through the things he created. The extravagant renovations were an honest expression of buying one’s righteousness.

This is also not the first time we have a biblical scene set at Solomon’s Portico. In John 10, Jesus is confronted by a group of Jewish men. Jesus teaches the group that He and the Father are one. He is showing them that He indeed is the Christ whom Israel had long waited for. He explains He is the good shepherd, His sheep hear Him, know Him, and Follow Him. His followers are given eternal life. He told them about the eternal security of His followers. No one will ever snatch them out of His hand nor God the Father’s hand. He and the Father are one! In short, when Jesus visited Solomon’s Portico, He preached the gospel that we know, love and cherish to the very depths of our hearts, that is if we believe in Him.

So how do you think the Jewish men around Jesus responded to this message. I know my response would have been a great big hug! But that’s not what happened! After Jesus declares His divinity and that He indeed is the Christ, it says that the Jews who heard this picked up stones ready to stone Him! While it is not explicitly stated, Peter and John were likely witness to this encounter. At the very least they knew about it because John would record it in his gospel. That is what makes the rest of what we read this morning. John and Peter know that proclaiming Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ in this location could very well lead to their death. But with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and the sureness of their faith in the resurrected Christ we will see how the threat of persecution is unable to stifle their message.

So let’s check in what Peter does here:

Acts 3:12 ESV

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

Peter sees everyone gathered around, excited to see that the lame man has been healed. Peter takes advantage of the audience and starts his message with an incredible statement. In Kentuckian he says: Why do y’all think we did this?

This may seem like a simple little statement but it sets the foundation for everything we will see this morning. “Hey everyone! I know you’re interested in what has happened here. But if you think any of it is about us, you got it twisted.”

In just a moment Peter is going to set the record straight, but first he makes two clarification that are essential for us to understand as we think about the mission of the local church. He says, why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

Peter could have been a baptist preacher because he’s using an awesomely alliterated point. Power and piety.

We need to understand that nothing good that happens in our church is through our own power or piety.

When Peter is saying that it was not accomplished by his power, he means that there is nothing within in himself that is able to heal anyone. He was the vessel through whom God worked to accomplish the healing but he was not the power. The power was Jesus Christ.

As we think about this in the church, the best accomplishment, the mightiest work we could ever be a part is being used by God as the the mouthpiece that proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ and results in a sinner repenting of their sin, being plucked from the depths of hell and sealed for eternity in Glory. God works through us, yes, but it is only HIS power for salvation lavished upon everyone who believes.

Peter says it was not accomplished by his piety, that is how devoutly he and John practiced their religion. This is saying it was not about their behavior. They may have had the best attendance record in all of the temple. They may have given more alms than all of the other Jews combined, but their behavior was not what accomplished the healing of the lame man.

As we think about this in the context of the church, we must remember that any good done in this place is not done because of our behavior. There is nothing wrong with being pious, with being devout in our religion, except if we begin to confuse our behavior as our own justification. We should and do participate in the good acts like the Irishtown Toy Project. Those are good things but we participate not to earn good Christian points, but because Christ has given us His righteousness. He is just and the justifier of those who have faith in Him.

So Peter begins his message by telling the crowd the credit does not go to him. He is to receive none of the glory. As it should be with our church. Then, like we do or at least should every time we gather, Peter points the crowd’s attention to where it belongs:

Acts 3:13–16 ESV

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

This is Peter giving the devout Jews gathered in Solomon’s Portico a convicting wake up call. Peter is recounting what happened throughout the Passion week as the Jewish leaders turned on Jesus and delivered Him over to Pilate to eventually be put on the cross. It’s doubly interesting that this is taking place in the same courtyard in which some of these same folks were ready to stone Jesus to death. The depths of rejection shown towards Christ by the Jewish population was astounding. In verse 14, Peter mentions what happened with Barabbas. Pilate offered the crowd a choice. He would release either Jesus, or a convicted murderer Barabbas. You would think this was an easy choice. But the chief priests and elders convinced the crowd to ask for Barabbas’ release and have Jesus executed.

When we think about the Easter story, we often think about the Scribes and the Pharisees acting against Christ and coordinating everything, but here Peter is reminding the crowd that all of them played some part in the crucifixion of Christ.

Peter is confronting the crowd with the magnitude of their sin. He is also exposing their lack of understanding in the things of God. In verse 13 Peter lists, “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers,” That God, the one true God, the God whom we say we are in this temple to worship today. It is that God who glorified His Servant Jesus. These words would cut deep as they were heard and understood because Peter is telling them that “If they had remained faithful to the God of their fathers, they would not have been surprised at such signs.”

Peter is showing the connection between the Great I Am from the burning bush with Moses, to Jesus Christ. “The God who appeared to Moses to save his people from slavery, according to his faithfulness to his promise to Abraham, is the one who once again has kept his promise to save, now ultimately in Jesus, whom Peter’s hearers had killed by the hand of Pilate. Their sin is rejection of Jesus, and thus of God”

As we seek to make application from this story to our lives today, we should all note that, as we discussed last week, the people gathered in this place were some of the most devout practicing jews in the area. They would have studied the law, they would have made the right sacrifices, they would have gave to the poor, but at the end of the day when their time for judgment came, they would have recounted the many great things they had done for the Lord, and He would reply depart from me you workers of lawlessness, I do not know you. That is because they may have done many wonderful things, but they missed the one thing that really matters. They rejected Jesus Christ.

The same can be said for all of us today. We can do many great things by earthly standards are like anthills compared to the mountain of God’s righteousness. If we whiff on Christ, we whiff on it all. None of this matters if we do not know who Christ is! Look in this section as to how Peter explains who Christ is!

Christ is:

the glorified Servant (v 13).

The Holy and Righteous One (v 14)

The Author of Life (v 15)

The object of life-giving faith (v 16)

Those are found in Christ alone.

Faith in Christ is the centerpiece and great unifier of the church. Through faith in Christ we have more in common with one another than any other relationship on this planet. “Faith in the name of Jesus Christ brings power to the church. Any man or woman who has ever done anything substantial for Christ has done so only by faith in his name. If we could assemble the great missionaries of the cross, we would have the most extraordinary collection of idiosyncrasies the world has ever seen. They would not understand each other. Some would not like each other. But there would be one common, exciting characteristic in them all—a flaming earnestness of belief in the power of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

By grace we have been saved by faith in Jesus Christ. It always centers on Him. It His gift to us, not of works that we may boast.

The Jewish folks gathered around to hear Peter’s message did not possess faith in Christ. He makes this clear in the next verse:

Acts 3:17–18 ESV

“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

Peter tells them that they acted in ignorance. This verse is massively important both in the context of this story and in our application there of. Peter is stating that Israel was ignorant. They obviously didn’t realize that Jesus truly was the Christ. In their ignorance they committed this awful crime and had Jesus killed. Much like we read in the story of Joseph in Genesis, what man meant for evil, God used for God, but it doesn’t mean that Israel was justified in its treatment of Christ. Also, their ignorance was not an excuse. God in His grace and patience, is giving rebellious Israel another opportunity to receive their Messiah.

The over arching principle we need to take note of is that ignorance of sin does not excuse sin. Peter acknowledges their ignorance as he as also been clearly laying out their guilt.

We must realize that ignorance today still does not excuse our guilt. This plays out a few ways. First, we need to realize that we live in a massively fallen world and most of these people don’t even realize they’re sinners laughing their way down the highway to hell. If we realize their ignorance of their condition does not absolve them from the judgment their sin incurs, then we should be motivated to share with them the truth of their condition.

Also, this is why we must test everything we do in our church by the Word of God and do our best to ensure the gospel is our motivation for every decision we make. There have been many churches create their sacred calves unintentionally because they have taken their eyes off the gospel. They will hold on to a program or a tradition, not because it honors God but because they like it and have always done it. There have been churches split over an argument about what color the carpet should be in the sanctuary. I tend to think things like that happen over a period of time in which our eyes are taken off the gospel and ignorance slips in. Believers in Christ who slip into ignorance may not have to worry about facing eternity without Christ, but we should be reminded that God will judge how we use this life. We will be rewarded for the good, while the worthless work is burned up.

Ignorance is no excuse. We must be evaluating our own efforts by the Word of God and the centrality of the gospel. We also must be proclaiming the gospel to the unbelieving and unaware world, because one way or another all will come to know Jesus IS Lord.

Peter tells the ignorant Israel what they are to do now that they have become aware of their transgression:

Acts 3:19–21 ESV

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Israel has been ignorant and unfaithful to their covenantal promises. Now they are being presented with an opportunity for repentance.

We’ve spoken a lot recently about repentance. We said to repent is to turn away from something while turning to something else. In the context of conversion, repentance is turning from sin and to Christ. Repentance is more than an intellectual decision, it is a wholistic turning of every part of oneself to the Lord.

Here in Acts 3, Peter is explaining how repentance and salvation weaves into the eschatological promises of Scripture, that is the end of all things. And Peter highlights, that once again, Christ is at the center.

Peter is drawing the crowds attention to the fact that Jesus is coming a second time to usher in the New Heaven and New Earth. He is alluding to the end of Revelation where there will be refreshment in the presence of the Lord.

He is also explaining that Christ has not come back yet, because there are still people to be saved! Christ will come again when it is time to restore all things. That time has not yet come.

Peter then walks through Old Testament history culminating in Christ:

Acts 3:22–26 ESV

Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

In this section Peter is tying his message by going back to the historical name he mentioned in verse 13: He is saying “Jesus, the Christ (v. 20), is the very Prophet promised by Moses in Deuteronomy 18. Peter cites not only this promise but also the command to listen to the coming Prophet as well as the warning to any who reject him (Deut. 18:15, 19), thereby affirming that Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise and underscoring further the consequences of rejecting him (Acts 3:23). Not only did Moses prophesy about Jesus; so did all of the prophets from Samuel onward (v. 24). This means not that every word of every prophecy was “about” Jesus but that the general trajectory of their messages points to him. Every promise of coming salvation and every warning for rejecting God finds its endpoint in Jesus.”

Peter is explaining to the Jewish people here that Christ is the center of it all.

“ In Jesus, but only in Jesus, God intends “to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness” (v. 26).”

That was the message for the Jewish people in Solomon’s Portico, and for us today.

Through Christ and Christ alone, are we saved.

Through Christ and Christ alone, do we find purpose.

Through Christ and Christ alone, do we gather together in unity.

It all comes back to Christ who lived and died and rose again to pay the cost of the sins for all who believe in Him.