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[0:00] This is the First Mustang Pulpit Podcast, a podcast of the weekly preaching and teaching at First Mustang. Thank you for joining us. Hey everybody, so I am Blaine G, this is my wife Lacey, and we have a nine and a half month old son named Wyatt. Anyway, we are the G's and so we are here today to give a testimony.

[0:53] So, in recent years, one of the greatest blessings we have received as a family is the privilege to know God better through his word. A huge part of this is the biblical sound teaching and discipleship that we've received here at First Baptist Mustang.

[1:10] We are so thankful to be a part of a church family that holds the word of God in high esteem, and not to only have leaders that study the word, diligently preach and teach the word, but also have a strong and supportive church family.

[1:22] Amen.

[1:52] So, we have had a great example of how to study the Bible through expositional teaching in Sunday school and in preaching on Sunday mornings. After our first visit to Sunday school class here at First Baptist Church, we both commented that it was the first class either of us had been where people not only answered questions asked by the teacher, but also were actually engaged in the church, but also were engaged in the church, wanting to be sure of the true meaning.

[2:18] We are so blessed to be surrounded by believers who loved the word. As for me, I grew up in church, but the church that I grew up in was not actively discipling its own body or ministering to the community.

[2:31] It was not an environment where I felt, where I was being strengthened or encouraged by my faith. As I matured, this truly started to trouble me. While I have read the New Testament and understood what is required of the church, both its leadership and members, it was difficult for me to understand how to put into practice and what a Christ-honoring church looked like.

[2:52] After joining First Baptist Church here in Mustang, I saw how people got together to help not only the people in the church, but also the community. That ultimately gave me a desire to dig deeper into God's word, and I praise him for the work he continues to do through his church.

[3:07] As I dug deeper, I realized that I could benefit from having a more solid biblical background, and after hearing men talk about the Institute, I told Lacey that I wanted to join, and she said she would fully support me.

[3:20] I joined the Institute this past summer and had taken two courses so far, the first being the Life of Christ in the Summer, and the second, which we just finished today, was Hermeneutics.

[3:31] Since joining the Institute six months ago, I have learned so many things, and it has given me not only the knowledge, but also the confidence to continue reading and digging deeper into God's word, as well as witnessing to unbelievers.

[3:42] It is because of God's word, it is because of this church's love of God and faithfulness to grow in his word, that I was encouraged to grow in my faith and become a better follower, husband, and father.

[3:55] And I encourage all men to join the Institute to learn more, and to use their biblical knowledge and leadership, not only to benefit their own lives, but to benefit their family, community, and the whole body of Christ.

[4:06] Yeah, so for me, Ladies Night of Theology and my D groups have made such an impact on my walk with the Lord. I've been in many women's Bible studies that focus primarily on a gospel of self-help, based mainly on emotion, inspiring quotes, and workspace self-improvement, with a verse pulled out here and there to support the writer's point.

[4:28] This message never brought about any lasting change in my life, but just reading and understanding the Bible seemed more challenging than just reading what other people had to say about the Bible. Digging into scripture with the faithful believers of this church, verse by verse, with the simple goal of understanding it in its proper context, has strengthened and encouraged my faith more than I could have imagined.

[4:49] The more I study the scriptures, the more in awe I am of my Savior. Worship and joyful obedience have naturally flowed when my thoughts shifted to what scripture is revealing about God first and foremost.

[5:00] I am so thankful for all the women in this church that are committed to rightly dividing the word of truth and who are encouraging other women to join them as they learn. Our church family's emphasis on sound doctrine has strengthened and encouraged us both in our faith, and the blessings have been immense.

[5:16] It has made us better spouses, parents, employees, and ministry workers because, most importantly, proper understanding of the word has given us hearts that seek to glorify God in all that we do.

[5:28] Colossians 3, 16-17 Let the word of God dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God, and whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the God, the Father, through him.

[5:48] Please bow your heads with me in prayer. Dear Lord, thank you that we live in a country that allows us to openly worship you and take the gospel to all people. Thank you for this church family and their heart for ministry.

[6:00] Thank you most of all for sending your son to die on the cross, taking the penalty for our sins, that we may be reconciled to you through his blood. May we seek you first in all that we do. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

[6:11] Amen. Thank you, guys. What a great reminder and encouragement of the importance of what we do as a church and why we do it.

[6:24] Really enjoyed hearing from your hearts. Appreciate how you guys have been a part of what the Lord is doing here and helping us to continue that work. As he mentioned, he said they just finished hermeneutics.

[6:35] We've got a group of about 75 guys who just took their final exam about an hour ago, and so I'm thankful for that group, and he is one of the students that is a part of that.

[6:47] We've got another testimony I'm excited to hear in just a moment. Before we do that, let me invite you to turn in your Bibles to Romans 3. After Jeff and Jill Moser share in just a moment, Kent is going to bring our message on the theme of salvation found only in Christ.

[7:06] And so just to help get our minds going that direction, let me ask you to turn to Romans 3 and stand with me if you would and honor the reading of God's Word as I will begin reading in verse 21 of Romans 3.

[7:24] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

[7:36] For there is no distinction for all have sinned and falls short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forth as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith.

[7:55] This was to show God's righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

[8:14] You can be seated. We invite Jeff and Jill to come and to share. And after they are finished, Kent will come and open the word with us this evening. Good evening, church family.

[8:37] I'm Jeff Mosier, and this is my wife, Jill. We've been married for 19 years and have a 17-year-old son, Maddox. We've been members of FBC Mustang for 11 years, and we have been blessed to have served in many different areas.

[8:51] Jill and I had the opportunity to teach second grade Sunday school for a number of years in the children's ministry until stepping down a couple of years ago. I cannot believe how many of your second graders are now in middle school.

[9:04] It's been a privilege for us to watch your sons and daughters turn into young godly men and women. I've also had the privilege to work on the Eyes and Ears team in the past years and have been a part of a men's Bible study group for six or seven years now, which has been a great blessing to me and my family.

[9:19] We meet weekly for fellowship and Bible study. Jill's heart of hearts has always been caring for babies and toddlers. She has probably taught or subbed every age group at some point in the preschool ministry.

[9:30] She has been honored to have served in the women's ministry, VBS, and PDO, as well as having been served by our church family in numerous ways. Our son, Maddox, he's a junior at Southwest Covenant High School.

[9:43] He currently serves in Passion Choir and on the Tech Lead Team, and in past years he's helped with VBS and other areas of the children's ministry. Tonight I would like to share how God has used you through your love of Christ to help carry us through trials that we've endured over these past 11 years.

[10:01] Our family has experienced what at times felt like more than our share of grief. We've experienced tragic, unexpected losses of several family members and friends over the past decade, which with each of our losses, you as a church body have been so faithful to service in many different ways.

[10:17] Our church staff has always been willing to service in any way they can. Michael and Jeff have preached numerous funerals for us, with other staff being right there to help facilitate the services. Jill and I have also had what at times feels like more than our share of health issues, with Jill undergoing multiple neck surgeries and myself with a broken heel bone a few years ago.

[10:38] Our church family has always been faithful to pray for us, minister to us here in church, to send us words of encouragement through text messages, postcards, and letters, not to mention the numerous meals you've provided.

[10:54] All of this was so comforting to us, and we want you to know how encouraging you have been to us. We are so grateful to God for you and your love of Christ and the way that He has used you to bring us closer to Him and strengthen our desire to serve Him as you do.

[11:11] Psalm 61, verses 1 through 4. Hear my cry, O God. Listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.

[11:25] Let me dwell in your tent forever. Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings. In 2012, I left a job that I had held for 22 years. God had allowed a tremendous amount of provision through this job, but I felt like I was sacrificing a lot of time and happiness away from my family.

[11:41] God had put in our path a great job opportunity, but it involved a significant pay cut. I made the move, but that job only lasted two years before I was laid off due to restructuring. Initially, I was very shaken by this event.

[11:54] I had never in my life been unemployed since landing my first job at 16 years of age. Again, our church family was there for us in so many different ways. I literally had church family members walking up to me, handing me cash.

[12:06] The Lord quickly provided another job, but it would entail considerable travel time and in a volatile industry. After several months, another opportunity came about, and through the Holy Spirit's leadership, I decided to make another change, which would again involve another cut in pay.

[12:23] Today, I'm blessed to have that job, and that is now it's more secure. It has great health benefits, which we've used a lot, and through God's provision, has allowed me to provide for my family and allowed time for me to put God and my family before my career.

[12:38] We chose to trust God in the beginning of this journey because he had always been faithful, as he continues to be today and forevermore. Throughout these trials, God has brought us to our knees many times and has helped us realize our utter dependence upon him and used them to test our faith and to teach us joy in these trials.

[12:58] It says in 1 Peter 1, 6, and 7, In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it has been tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

[13:23] I would like now to share with you some of the wonderful things God has been doing in our family's lives here recently. Over the summer, our son Maddox was saved at Falls Creek. Jill and I stand in awe of what God has done in his life over these past few months.

[13:36] His love of Christ has become so evident, and the Holy Spirit is using him in mighty ways to glorify God. For example, a week ago at his football game, the headmaster of his school, which is also his Bible teacher, approached to joyfully tell me what a blessing he has been to him and the other students in the class.

[13:53] He was amazed at his biblical knowledge and ability to cross-reference scripture. He has been sharing that knowledge with his classmates and at the same time showing them what true conversion looks like. Church family, through your love of Christ, you have played a major role in this.

[14:07] We want to thank all of our pastors for their consistent expository preaching each week. Kent, Joey, Kathy, thank you for your faithfulness to consistently teach God's Word each week in the youth and children's ministries, as well as the many, many Sunday school, preschool, and VBS teachers and our church family members who have taught him God's Word, prayed for, and served him over the years.

[14:30] All of you, as you have borne our burdens with us, please now share with us in our joy of his salvation. We are eternally grateful. I would also like to mention the Men's Institute, as it has especially been a blessing to our family.

[14:45] As I mentioned, Maddox is a junior, so he will likely be going off to college in less than two years. God's timing has been impeccable on this, as he and I have the privilege to join the two-year program this past summer.

[14:56] We will finish just as he is graduating from high school. Our hope and prayer is that he will walk in holiness as a godly leader on campus, bringing others to know Christ. Just a few minutes ago, we took the final exam for our second class, hermeneutics, as was just mentioned.

[15:12] We had heard from others how beneficial the program was, and as expected, in just a short time, we have learned so much about God's Word, His redemptive plan, and understanding His will for our lives. For our immediate family, God is especially using this as an opportunity for Maddox and I, as father and son, to spend time together, studying and talking about His Word, while also bringing what we've learned home to Jill.

[15:33] Church family, again, thank you for your faithfulness. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you today to thank you for your Word. Thank you for placing us in a church that teaches your Word at every gathering.

[15:46] We thank you for your perfect plan that enables us to show how to love you and others. We pray that you will use this testimony to encourage others that may be going through trials, and that they will look to you for comfort.

[15:57] It is in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, guys. Thank you for your testimonies this evening.

[16:09] A great encouragement to us all. I'm honored to be able to open up God's Word with you, so if you'll go ahead and turn to Acts chapter 4, that's where we're going to spend our time this evening.

[16:20] As we look at this idea of salvation being in Christ alone, John joked earlier, as he joked with me, I don't know what songs to choose for your preaching topic, Kent.

[16:33] I said, it's fine. Just open up your list of songs and point to one. They sure all better point to salvation being in Christ alone. Every single song, every single sermon, every single truth that we ever look at as a church is wrapped around this idea of salvation being in Christ alone.

[16:55] And so tonight, I simply want to take us back to the beginnings of the church. Just soon after Christ had finished His work and had ascended to heaven, the church was on its way under the leadership of the apostles, and the gospel was spreading.

[17:13] And I want us to remember for a moment what the apostles said and what they did as they began to face the early persecutions of the church and how they stood firmly in the truth of the gospel that is salvation through Christ alone.

[17:32] And so we're going to be reading in Acts chapter 4 this story of Peter and John before the council. We'll just start and work our way through it.

[17:42] Acts chapter 4 verse 1 says, And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

[18:00] And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000.

[18:10] So let's stop real quick, get a little context of what's happening here. In Acts chapter 3, you've got Peter and John doing the works of ministry that God had left for them to do.

[18:22] At some point, they came across a lame beggar and they healed him. In verse 9 of chapter 3 tells us that whenever they healed this man, the people were filled with wonder and amazement.

[18:35] And as happened in the early church, the works of the apostles, they were given the ability to do miracles just as Jesus had done because it would earn them a hearing to proclaim the gospel.

[18:46] When these people were being healed, the people that saw it and heard about it, they wanted to know, like, how is this happening? What power is this coming through? And so the apostles then preached that Jesus himself was the fulfillment of all the prophets of the Old Testament who pointed to the Messiah.

[19:06] And they say that we healed this man by the name and the power of the name of Jesus, the one who is the Christ, the Messiah that the Old Testament speaks to.

[19:17] In chapter 3, verse 19, they say to the people, so repent therefore and turn back that your sins may be blotted out. This simple gospel message that they were speaking to people, they were doing the works of ministry that God had called them to and proclaiming the gospel everywhere they went.

[19:34] And they call the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, Jesus. They call him out by name. That's common for us to do today, but remember, in the world in which they lived, the Jewish leadership missed Jesus.

[19:50] They didn't understand who he was or what he was. Jesus was simply an annoyance. He was the fly that wouldn't quit buzzing around their head. And they just had to dispatch him.

[20:02] They had to get rid of him. And so, for them in these early days, Jesus was nothing. And the apostles are sitting here saying, Jesus is everything. He's the Christ, the Messiah that our very religion pointed to.

[20:18] He's the one who Peter had just told the religious leaders that they had killed. And so, these religious leaders of the Jewish faith come together and they arrest them.

[20:29] What does the text say? They arrest them because they were annoyed. That's some power right there. You know what? You're annoying. I'm just going to arrest you. But you better believe they were annoyed by Jesus and Jesus' followers.

[20:43] There's no doubt about it because this new movement, the people of the way that would become known as Christianity were completely taking up the Jewish faith, tipping it upside down, and just leveling it, leaving it with nothing.

[21:01] And so, they arrested them because they were annoyed that they were proclaiming Jesus had resurrected from the dead. So, the question is, why were they so annoyed?

[21:13] Like, if Jesus was nothing as the Jewish leaders claimed and if He meant nothing to them, they had already killed Him and gotten Him out of the way. So, why did they care?

[21:24] Well, they cared because of what we read in verse 4. Many who were hearing the apostles believed and a number of the men alone came to about 5,000.

[21:36] This is not long after Jesus was gone. The church was just gaining its footing and people were coming to faith so rapidly that thousands of people were jumping off the Jewish ship and placing their faith in Jesus.

[21:55] You better believe the leaders of the Jewish faith were upset and they were concerned. Why were they concerned? Were they concerned because people were walking in some false faith now?

[22:08] I don't think so. Were they concerned because they believed all these people were now heretics following Jesus instead of following the faith of their forefathers and the Old Testament teachings?

[22:19] Well, no, because that doesn't make sense either. Why were they annoyed? They were annoyed because it was 5,000 men plus women and children who were no longer under their leadership and authority. You see, the Jewish leaders in this day were so focused on power, on authority, on having people sit underneath them that they could exercise their authority over that when they began to lose people to the way, to Christianity, they were annoyed because they were slowly losing their power.

[22:52] They feared they would lose far more. This, in Acts chapter 4, is the first recorded persecution against Christians. So let's read on. As they are arrested and kept overnight in a jail, so Acts 4 verse 5 says, On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high priestly family.

[23:19] And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power? Remember, I said that they were obsessed with power. They say, By what power or by what name did you do this?

[23:30] And then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders. If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him, this man is standing before you well.

[23:58] This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

[24:15] And all God's people said, Amen. That is the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that is the truth that the apostles wanted to preach. And so as they're arrested for healing someone and then for proclaiming Jesus and his resurrection, they want to know by what power did you do this?

[24:35] They don't care about the power by which they preach. There's a lot of teachers and preachers out there. That wasn't what they were concerned about. How do you have the power to heal this lame man?

[24:48] They want to know what kind of ability they had, what kind of miraculous strength that they have inside of them. Why? Because the Jewish religious leaders did not have that kind of power.

[24:59] They did not have that ability. And all of a sudden, these random fishermen! who were untrained and uneducated, who had nothing special about them at all, had spent some time with Jesus, this guy that they had crucified, and all of a sudden, they were healing people and still preaching Jesus?

[25:22] They were upset and they wanted to know by what power did you do this? It says they were annoyed because they were preaching Jesus and Jesus resurrected.

[25:34] You know, surely they thought whenever they crucified Jesus, they had already done away with their problem. They crucified Him, He was done, He was gone, problem over with.

[25:44] But in verse 9 here, we see that Peter says they were not really being questioned about their annoyance with Jesus, their annoyance that they were preaching Him.

[25:54] They were being questioned because of the power that they had to heal people. The Jewish religious leaders were annoyed by Jesus, but were consumed by power.

[26:08] The Sadducees, of course, that were a part of this group that arrested them, we're told the Sadducees were greatly concerned as a group of people, not only with religious things, but with political things.

[26:20] The Sadducees cared deeply about staying okay with Rome. They knew that if Rome found out that there was some Messiah that was coming up, some man who was going to take over as king of Jerusalem and of the Jewish people, that this would cause problems with them in Rome.

[26:39] This is part of the reason that they had went to crucify Jesus because the Sadducees wanted to keep the power that they had under the authority and the umbrella of Rome.

[26:50] They wanted to keep Rome happy and talk of the Messiah would upset that balance. But also, they hated Jesus because those who, they hated Jesus and the people that claimed Jesus because the people that claimed Jesus had the same miraculous power that Jesus had, that none of the other religious leaders had.

[27:14] They had this power and it was a power that they themselves desired to have. And they also hated Jesus and those who claimed Jesus because with every Christian convert, there was one less person under the religious leader's authority.

[27:31] You see, they were captivated with the self. This is the problem with the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious leaders of the day.

[27:41] They were captivated with themselves. And all of a sudden, I think these terrible religious leaders of the New Testament sound an awful lot like me.

[27:56] Because this is the same problem that we continue to struggle with today is this idea of power. They were captivated with the power that made them in the end miss Jesus, the Messiah.

[28:09] But this is nothing new. It's the same power that caused Adam and Eve to eat the fruit, desiring to have power and authority and be like God. It's the same selfish longing for power that leads every single one of us into sin and rebellion against God.

[28:25] when we desire to have the power and to be the decision makers of our life instead of Him and Him alone. We all, like these Jewish leaders, are obsessed with power.

[28:36] We want to have authority over ourselves. We want to be the rule makers for ourselves. This is what caused them to arrest the apostles. This is what caused them to kill Jesus.

[28:50] And so Peter challenges them in their state of rebellion against God by sharing the gospel. Now understand what's happening here in Acts 4. Peter and John have been arrested and they've been taken after spending a night in jail, they've been taken to stand in the same place in front of the same people who had just crucified Jesus.

[29:17] And when they were standing before them, they had to know, like, this is the same situation that Jesus of Nazareth has just went through. And it didn't end up so good for Him in a sense.

[29:27] He died. Is this what we are headed towards as well? And so when they went into this place, understand, they probably thought this might be the end of our life.

[29:40] This might be the end of our days on earth. And so you have to wonder, what was Peter thinking? What was John thinking? What were they going to do when they stood before these priests and Sadducees and the council of elders?

[29:53] They understood that they were standing before the same people that brought crucifixion, and that's really scary. Now, I think that Peter was probably thinking of Jesus' teaching in John chapter 15, verse 18.

[30:05] You can turn there real quick if you want to, back to the left. Whenever Jesus was alive and with His disciples, He's teaching about the true vine in John chapter 15, and He starts teaching the people how they will be hated by the world just as Jesus was hated by the world.

[30:24] John chapter 15, verse 18, it says this, Jesus speaking to His disciples, He says, If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

[30:36] If you are of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master.

[30:50] If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know Him who sent me.

[31:07] Because they do not know Him who sent me. Jesus had already promised them, I'm going to be persecuted, and so are you. And it's like the disciples remembering that Jesus said, You will be persecuted for my name's sake.

[31:24] And the apostles, the disciples of Jesus Christ, stand before the same men who crucified Jesus and said, In the name of Jesus, who promised us we would be persecuted for His name's sake, we do everything we do.

[31:40] So, do what you must. Come what may, here we are. And so they knew what was coming to them. They knew the danger they were in. They knew they were facing one of life's most difficult moments.

[31:53] But look at the example of Peter. They didn't try to escape it. They didn't try to use slick words and try and ease their punishment.

[32:04] They got bold. And they kept doing the very thing they were arrested for. Sharing the gospel. Acts chapter 4, verse 10.

[32:16] They're challenged. And Peter's testimony is this. Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man is standing before you well.

[32:34] This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

[32:51] And so let's look for a quick moment at this testimony of Peter before the council as he's challenged by what he's doing. He goes to share the gospel with them and I'll kind of wrap it into four points.

[33:03] And the first point is this. He talks of death. He says, this Jesus whom you crucified, the one who you brought to death, the one that you killed, death, we also, like the Jews who crucified him, are guilty because Jesus was crucified for us.

[33:24] The Jews physically crucified him, but Jesus himself said, no one takes it from me. Talking about his life. He said, no one takes it from me, but I lay my life down on my own accord. Third, Jesus died because he chose to die.

[33:38] He chose to die because the Father directed him to. This is why he died. Because the Father told him to and the Father told him to because of his great love for us.

[33:51] Jesus chose to die. The Jewish leaders did not crucify him, but instead, because of their sin, he was crucified.

[34:01] And because of our sin, he was crucified as well. Isaiah 53, verse 6 tells us that we all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way, our own power, our own authority.

[34:14] We've turned to our own way. And it says, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Like the Jewish leaders seeking their own way by their own power, we turn to our own path of rebellion against God.

[34:27] Romans 3, 23 that we read a little while ago tells us all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It's the reminder that the death Jesus died, we deserve.

[34:39] There's nothing that can be done to change that. We deserve that death, but Jesus took it upon himself. We are the guilty ones. Philippians 2, verse 6 and following says of Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but instead he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form.

[35:05] What did he do? He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. It's the reminder that no one humbled Jesus. Jesus humbled himself.

[35:18] No one took Jesus' life, but he freely gave it for us because it was the plan of the Father all along, because of the Father's great love for us.

[35:29] The first point of Peter's testimony is death, that Jesus, whom you crucified, he died because of your sins, Peter says, and he goes on to say in verse 10, let it be known not only that he is Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but he's also he whom God raised from the dead.

[35:50] This is the second point of Peter's testimony. The first is death. The second is defeated, that Jesus rose from the dead, that Jesus defeated death.

[36:02] 1 Corinthians 15, verse 3 says, For I delivered to you as of first importance that which I received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

[36:18] This is the message of the Gospel. Like, anyone could die. Everyone does die, but only one person could die as a spotless sacrifice.

[36:31] The problem is, no one is perfect, everyone is sinful, everyone would die, but no one who has ever lived was capable of dying a sacrificial death for sin, not a single person.

[36:45] Not a single person in the Jewish faith, not a single hero of faith in the Old Testament, not the greatest of people that have ever lived. There is no spotless sacrifice, which is why Jesus had to come.

[37:01] He's the only one who could die the spotless sacrifice. He's the only one who could come and die and raise from the dead and live in a transformed body. That's our Jesus.

[37:11] Jesus, the only one who could raise from the dead to defeat death, not only for himself, but for all his children and for all eternity. This is the work of Jesus.

[37:22] It's why salvation is in Christ alone. It's why there's no good deeds that anyone can do to earn the favor of God, because no good deeds can be equal to the work of Christ raising from the dead.

[37:37] None of them, nothing we can do comes anywhere in comparison to the incredible work of Jesus Christ in salvation, dying a death he didn't deserve for our sins as a spotless sacrifice and being raised from the dead to defeat death and offer eternity to all who follow him.

[37:57] Now, the Sadducees that had arrested and were challenging Jesus, they not only did they not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but they didn't believe in anything after this life.

[38:08] And so they challenged Jesus and they're saying to him, not only do we not believe in this Jesus that you're talking about, but you're claiming he was resurrected from the dead, which we don't think is possible, because the Sadducees didn't believe in afterlife.

[38:22] They didn't believe in the resurrection from the dead. They didn't believe any of it was possible. They were missing it. But resurrection is the very thing necessary for Christ to defeat death and provide a path to eternal life for all who believe in him.

[38:38] Without it, the gospel is not complete. That's why we need to be careful for those of us who proclaim the gospel, who want to do the work of evangelism, that we often fall short.

[38:49] We have to be careful not to fall short and say, Jesus died for our sins, so believe in him. That's true, Jesus died, but it's equally as important that he rose from the grave and defeated death for us.

[39:02] So we've got death and death defeated as the second point. The third point of Peter's testimony is the word determined. Write down the word determined.

[39:15] The end has been determined by God's sovereign will, which is God's will over opposition. It says this in verse 11, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

[39:35] It's the reminder that Jesus had great opposition in his life and the church of Jesus has opposition in his death and resurrection. But God's will will be done.

[39:49] Salvation and the work of Jesus would not be stopped. Peter says, you killed him, but God raised him from the grave. And this third point that God's will over the opposition is happening is that God's sovereign will cannot be stopped.

[40:06] All along the way, sinful people tried to stop Jesus. All along the way, they put roadblocks in his path and now they're putting roadblocks in the path of the church and of the apostles trying to stop them from spreading the gospel, trying to stop them from doing the work that they were called to do.

[40:23] There is incredible opposition to those who walk in obedience to the will of God. But the will of God is ever stronger than any opposition that can come before it.

[40:36] He looks back to Psalm 118, verse 22 in these verses. I'll start in verse 21 where it says, I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

[40:51] This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[41:03] The stone you rejected looks to opposition. James 4, 4 reminds us that friendship with the world is enmity with God. That everything that exists in the world is against God in opposition to God.

[41:16] It's not friendly with God. The world and its ways are against God because sin has taken root in this world. Selfishness and a desire for power over oneself.

[41:28] But even in its attempts to find God on its own, the world finds itself in enmity with God. The world's trying to find God. That's why there are umpteen thousand different religions that exist.

[41:41] Because everyone who lives on this planet has a built-in desire for their creator. But they just find themselves walking in the wisdom of the world seeking God in ungodly ways.

[41:53] The Jewish leaders sought to earn God's favor by keeping the law and then adding some to it. Not unlike many people today. Eastern religions that exist today seek to appease little g gods in order to earn the merit and favor of those gods that one day they may eventually earn nirvana and peace and whatever that looks like is very different for each sect of eastern religions.

[42:18] Catholics believe salvation is in Jesus Christ and good works and baptism and church membership also in mass and in confession and in purgatory and in last rites and in prayers of the saints prayers to Mary oh and in the indulgences and and and like this is why the reformers ran to Jesus this is why they ran to him and stood under the banner solus Christus in Christ alone because since the beginning of time people have seen that there is a creator God and they and they've been told the truth of how to come to him through Christ alone the truth is out there in our world it cannot be hidden but everyone seeks to add to it why do people constantly try to add to the simplicity of the gospel that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone as revealed to us in the scriptures alone as our authority and as our revelation of God everything in this world the things that are in this world go directly against God an attempt to appease

[43:42] God apart from the works of Christ anything that attempts to appease God apart from the finished work of Christ is in opposition to him it's sin the Jewish leaders in Acts 4 the heads of God's chosen people they rejected the savior of the world when he finally appeared they stood in opposition to him and they killed him they were in opposition to him they rejected the stone but God's sovereign will would not be thwarted God by his own work said that though you reject the stone he has become the corner stone like every harm they attempted on the Christian movement God used to ignite a firestorm the Jewish leaders under the leadership of Saul coming out of Acts chapter 4 moving forward through the next few chapters of Acts they would under the leadership of Saul begin a great persecution against the

[44:43] Christians we remember that Saul who would become Paul was the leader of this movement of persecution he led the in Acts chapter 7 he led them to stone Stephen and he began massive attacks on the Christians that would leave them fleeing everywhere in the known world they were dispersed all over scattered abroad these Jewish leaders undoubtedly thought that they had won when they killed Jesus they thought they had won when they arrested the apostles they thought they had won when they stoned Stephen they thought they had won when the believers were scattered but God was sovereign over all of it over every moment and when they brought their greatest opposition against Jesus Christ and his church killing them all over the place and the church was scattered you know what that meant the first evangelistic and missionary movement known to the world happened what they meant for evil God used for good and for his kingdom because

[45:44] God was sovereign over everything and as the scattering of believers happens in Acts chapter 8 we see this first missionary wave where thousands of people come to Christ they thought they had defeated Jesus when they killed him but they didn't realize they didn't kill Jesus he died of his own volition he died by his own power and he rose by the power of the father and he reigns on the throne forever more and he will return one day soon God is sovereign and for Jesus and for the early Christians no opposition against them could matter because even though harm might come to them and some did die and face great harm even though they may have went through terrible life difficulties they had to flee their homelands and and just I can't imagine what they went through in the end God used it for his kingdom and for his glory every single moment of it because our

[46:48] God is sovereign and so we see in the text that first is death but death is defeated and third is that God's will is determined Christ was determined to die and the end has been determined by God's sovereign will the last word I'll give you is the word deliverance in verse 12 after all of this we're reminded that there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven which is given among men by which we must be saved there is salvation in no other name this word salvation here just real quickly is it's kind of interesting because it's actually the same base word that's used earlier when it's talking about the beggar being healed the beggar was being saved from his physical issue so he was given salvation from his but here it's

[47:50] Peter's playing on that word he's saying that man was physically saved by the name of Jesus but you might also be spiritually saved from your sin and rejection of God it's all through the name of Jesus though the power to heal is Jesus the power to save from sins is Jesus the power to give eternal life is Jesus there's no other name but Jesus no other religion the narrow path of Christ leads to eternity people call us Christians narrow minded they're probably right I am narrow minded because the path to salvation is narrow and my mind must be centered on that people call us hateful and bigots but these things that we preach about Jesus being the only means and the only path to salvation they are not true because we say they are they're true because

[48:52] God says they are and now look at what happens real quick before we run out of time together in verse 13 after Peter has said these things boldly to the people we see their response and I just want you to see it real quick he he he's sitting before the very people standing before the very people who had murdered Jesus and instead of backing down he boldly stands before them and the results in verse 13 is this now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus but seeing the man who was healed standing beside them they had nothing to say in opposition like the response of someone who boldly stands on the truths of the gospel that salvation comes through the name of Jesus

[49:52] Christ alone and his finished work leaves people astonished saying that's someone who's been with Jesus and there is no opposition to that against Christ there is no reasonable argument and there is no other option for salvation this is what people are astonished by boldness standing on the truth of the gospel and of salvation you know what people even in our world today you know what people are not astonished by timidity Christians who live and act and speak in timidity rather than standing up and boldly proclaiming the gospel but don't want to hurt feelings and so we kind of are timid with the truth we have that that is not something that astonishes people hypocrisy in the lives of Christians not something that astonishes people selfishness in the life of believers not astonishing at all and I mean selfishness not only in lifestyle but by keeping the gospel to yourself refusing to tell people about the saving work of

[51:04] Jesus Christ that's not astonishing people don't care when you live in timidity hypocrisy selfishness and worldliness and the list goes on people care when we do like what the apostles did stand in boldness before opposition knowing that whatever may come God is in control so if I can a couple of takeaways for you just to think about be bold for Jesus remember that Peter and John were facing the same type of trial that their savior went through before he was crucified in life's scariest moments most difficult moments be bold for the gospel don't back down number two recognize that boldness can't be by your own strength but it must be by the spirit it must be by the spirit remember that Peter it says was filled with the holy holy spirit recognize that any of our own efforts that are not empowered by the holy spirit will fall short pray for power for courage for strength for wisdom to walk in the gifts of the spirit number three don't soften the rock of offense this is the gospel of

[52:20] Jesus Christ the rock of offense don't soften it the gospel is no feathered pillow it is a rock of offense any attempt to soften the gospel message will turn it into something other than the gospel the gospel is what it is there's salvation in no other name it's not hateful to share that it's hateful to keep it to ourselves when Martin Luther had openly broken away from the church in Rome and refused to recant there were a lot of plots against his when that came to be known it actually led various knights like warriors knights of the day to offer their services to defend him and Luther would not accept protection from anybody and he says this and I quote he said I will not resort to arms and bloodshed for the defense of the gospel it is by the preaching of the word that the world has been conquered by the word the church has been saved and by the word also it will be restored

[53:30]  I will depend on none! Christ alone let's pray Father we thank you for the truth of your word that salvation is in Christ alone our hope and our satisfaction and our joy is in Christ alone anything that means anything in this life comes through Christ alone we praise you for that help us like the apostles before us and many other believers before us to be bold with the truth of your gospel to stand firm in it not backing down when facing opposition but knowing that with the boldness that the Holy Spirit and the courage of the Holy Spirit is in us that we can do incredible things for your glory and for your kingdom so God help us to be a people that stand on the truth that salvation is in Christ alone never backing down and taking it to the ends of the earth in the name of Jesus I pray amen amen all right well thank you so much for being with us church be praying for us over the next couple days as we do host hundreds and hundreds of pastors and other church members from around the state if you're serving with us thank you come ready just to be a blessing to those that are going to be in our building if you're not planning on being here serving please be praying for us starting early tomorrow morning through the evening on Tuesday you're dismissed have a great evening having a great evening