Sermon Tone Analysis

SF243

IF YOU ARE GOING TO TELL IT, TELL IT RIGHT

Acts 3:11-26

INTRODUCTION

I like to tell stories and jokes.

So does Carla, but frankly sometimes I get frustrated when Carla tells a story.

See I think I am a better storyteller than she is.

So I often tell her "If you are going to tell it, tell it right."

The healing of this lame man provided an opportunity for Peter to tell the story of Jesus again.

And tell it he did!

I believe God wants us to tell His story today, but I believe He wants us to tell it right.

To tell it right we must tell of the...

1A.

THE REJECTION OF CHRIST  (3:12-15)

1B.

The Sadness of It  (3:12,13)

They rejected the one they had longed for, for centuries.

This same Jesus is the one people long for today.

2B.

The Seriousness of It  (3:14)

They disowned the Christ.

"Holy" = Speaks to His deity.

"Righteous" = Speaks to His sinless life.

They desired the criminal.

Ø      They traded life for death.

3B.

The Sinfulness of It  (3:15a)

Ø      Not only did they reject life - they killed the Prince of life (literally the origin of life).

John 1:4 (NASB) 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

John 11:25 (NASB) 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,

2A.

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST  (3:15b-18)

1B.

The Proof of It  (3:15b)

THE RESURRECTION ON TRIAL

Judge to Guards:  "What happened to the body you were guarding in the tomb, sealed with the governor's seal?"  Guards:  "While we slept, the disciples came and stole the body.

" Judge: "You slept!"  Guards: "Yes, your honor."

Judge:  "Is that what you were paid to do?"  Guards:  "No, your honor."

Judge:  "How do you dare make such an admission?

What is the penalty for sleeping on guard?"

Guards: "Death, your honor."

Judge:  "But you were asleep?"

Guards:  "Yes, your honor."

Judge:  "Does the governor know about this?"  Guards:  "We expect so, your honor."

Judge:  "Then why have you not been arrested?"

Guards:  (Embarrassed) "Can't say, your honor."

Judge:  "But you were asleep?"

Guards:  "Yes, your honor."

Judge:  "If you were asleep when it happened, how could you possibly know what happened to the body?”  (Laughter in court)  Guards:  (Embarrassed silence.)

Judge:  "Your testimony is worthless.

We shall have to have a full investigation of your story to see if you are committing perjury.

I am going to bind you over for trial.

Bailiff, put these men in custody.”

Bailiff:  "Very good, your honor."

(The disciples take the stand and are sworn in.)

Judge:  "You claim you have seen the body."

Disciples:  "Yes, your honor."

Judge:  "All of you?"  Disciples:  Yes, your honor."

Judge:  "Are you the only ones who have knowledge of its where-abouts?"

Disciples:  "No, your honor."

Judge:  "Who else has seen this body?"

Disciples: "There are hundreds, your honor.

We know of one occasion when five hundred people saw it at once."  Judge:  "Where is this body?"

Disciples:  "In heaven, you honor."

Judge:  "What do you mean, in heaven?"

Disciples:  "God has raised Jesus from the dead.

He appeared to us and to others in His resurrection body on numerous occasions and in various places over a period of forty days between the Feast of First Fruits and Pentecost.

He ate with us, allowed us to touch Him, came and went, appeared and disappeared at will.

Then ten days before Pentecost we walked with Him through Jerusalem, out of the city gate, down across the Kedron, up past the Garden of Gethsemane to the brow of Olivet.

From there, He returned to heaven.

We watched Him rise.

We saw the cloud receive Him out of our sight.

We know where His body is, your honor.

It is in heaven.

God has raised Jesus from the dead, of which we are witnesses."

2B.

The Power of It  (3:16)

They could deny the person of Christ.

They could not deny the power of Christ.

3B.

The Prophecy of It  (3:17-18)

The ignorance of the people  (3:17)

Ø      They looked for the wrong kind of Messiah.

The faithfulness of God  (3:18)

3A.

THE RETURN OF CHRIST  (3:19-26)

1B.

The Call for Repentance (3:19-21)

The requirements of repentance (3:19a)

“metanoeo” means a change of mind that issues in a change of behavior.

Ø      Turn from sin

Ø      Turn to God

The prompters that lead to repentance

Ø      The knowledge of God’s Word

Luke 16:30-31 (NASB) 30“But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’

31“But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Ø      God uses sorrow for sin to lead men to repentance.

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 (NASB) 9I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.

10For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Ø      God’s goodness and kindness are to motivate men to repentance.