1, A man
[0:00] Good morning, everyone, and a warm welcome to the service this morning. It's good to see all! It's good to see some visitors with us as well today, and you are especially welcome! The morning service, as you can see, is a communion service. We'll celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's Supper at the end of the service. And those who are visiting with us, this is the Lord's Table, it's not the North Harris Free Church Table, and you are very welcome to come and sit at the Lord's Table with us if you are trusting the Lord and the membership in a church somewhere else.
[0:39] This evening, the service will be at six, and it will be followed by a fellowship, and there will be tea and cakes, and all of them will share some testimony, so be encouraged to come this evening.
[0:51] We have a retiring offering usually in the evening service, and this time, the retiring offering will go to Blytheswood. So we didn't take a collection the day that Jeremy was here from Blytheswood, but tonight, if you can remember, there's a collection that will go for Blytheswood, so please, if you're able to give to that work, please do so.
[1:14] The last thing to say is, just to give you the good news, not everyone will know, but we have, over the course of the communion season, welcomed five new people into membership in the congregation. So Gina came on Friday night, Gina McLeod from Kylos, along with Ailey Morrison and our own Lois McLeod. And then last night, Kirsty Marie MacDonald came forward, and so did Victoria Smith. So we're thankful for the Lord's work in our lives, and we pray the Lord's blessing upon them as we look for the Lord's blessing on us as we come together in his name. Again, we're thankful for Malcolm. The ministry of the word threw him over the weekend, and we're thankful that he's leading the service this morning and this evening.
[2:13] And I'll hand you over and I wish you a wish. Thanks a lot. Well, it's good to be here again to worship the Lord, and we can do so by singing Psalm 24 from Sing Psalms.
[2:49] The world and all in it are gods, all peoples of the earth, but it was founded by the Lord upon the seas beneath. Sing the whole psalm, Psalm 24.
[3:01] The world and all in it are gods, all peoples of the earth, for it was founded by the Lord, upon the seas beneath.
[3:33] Upon the seas beneath. Who may ascend the hill of God, all in this temple stand?
[3:54] The one who shunns false thoughts and lies, who's good in heart and hand.
[4:10] He will find favour from the Lord, and promise to be a great.
[4:25] God's holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy So may the name of glory come forever to hide.
[5:12] But who is this exalted King? What glorious King is He?
[5:28] It is the Lord of strength and might, the Lord of victory.
[5:42] You wings shunks, lift up your heads, your doors be open wide.
[5:58] So may the name of glory come forever to hide.
[6:13] But who is this exalted King? Who can this sovereign be?
[6:27] The Lord Almighty, He is King of glory, non-party.
[6:43] Shall we pray?
[7:02] We give you thanks, Lord, for the psalm we have just sung. The psalm that describes the perfect man who was able to ascend the hill of the Lord.
[7:13] And we realize in a real way that that refers to Jesus, your own Son, who lived a perfect life here in this world.
[7:24] And then returned on the ancient doors of heaven. We're open to receive Him. And we give you thanks that He's now highly exalted.
[7:37] Having been given the name, it's above every name. And it is in that name that we gather here as we meet around His table.
[7:48] We thank you, Lord, that the table is an opportunity for living contact with the one who is highly exalted.
[8:02] And that through the Holy Spirit, there's a link that transcends anything we can possibly imagine.
[8:13] But there's a real living interaction between Jesus, now highly exalted, and us down here with all the various features that mark our lives.
[8:30] And we do ask that our time together would be one of help and one of comfort and one of discovery as we experience afresh the love of Christ.
[8:50] So we ask you, Lord, to remember each one of us and all our particular needs. You know where all of us are coming from, where we are in life, and what our troubles are, fears, what our joys are, what our hopes are.
[9:12] But in all the various things of life, we need to look above and hear on this occasion. We have an opportunity to meet with the real world, the world of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom that the Saviour instituted, the Kingdom that has been growing ever since, and the Kingdom that will one day be the only Kingdom that there will be.
[9:45] So, Lord, help us to experience the good of that Kingdom, the spiritual benefits, the peace and the joy and the righteousness that comes from within it, and that our hearts would be encouraged and our vision would be widened, and that we would come away from the Lord's table, not only glad to have done it once more, but to really sense that you yourself have met with us and blessed us.
[10:17] So remember us, Lord, then, be with any who can't be here, for whatever reason that may be. And we just ask, Lord, that whatever your people are connected to the congregation, that you would bless them.
[10:31] As we meet in comfort here, we would remember many of your people around the world today who do not have the same external comforts as we have.
[10:44] And we realize that many of them may also be gathering around the Lord's table. And we ask you, Lord, that you would help your suffering church today as they engage in the same activity that we're engaging.
[11:03] And we just pray that we would have a sense of unity with them and with all your other people who are remembering your death today. It's not a unity that we can even really imagine, but it's one that's truly there.
[11:17] And help us, Lord, to appreciate the global dimensions of your kingdom. So be with us, we pray, and lead us and guide us through the service and pardon our sins.
[11:32] For Christ's sake, amen. I want to speak to the children just now. But whenever I give a children's talk, actually the average age of the children is 50.
[11:47] So I want to tell you about something I bought. And it was actually a suit.
[11:59] I bought it several months ago. And when I bought it, I discovered three things about it. One thing was it didn't fit.
[12:12] So it had to be sorted. The second thing about it was, as I looked at it, I realized it came from a foreign country.
[12:25] And nothing wrong with that, but that's where the suit came from. And the third thing I discovered about the suit was I had to pay for it.
[12:38] And, of course, that wasn't a new discovery. It was just a repeated thing I have to go through. But anyway, I was thinking about this suit that didn't fit me and came from another country and I had to pay for it.
[12:59] I know that led me to think about. It led me to think about what the Bible calls the garment of salvation. And as I thought about the garment of salvation that Jesus gives us to wear, not on our bodies, but on our souls, as it were, I just realized that it fits me perfectly.
[13:25] And if you want to have it on, it will, whatever clothes it is, it will fit you perfectly as well. I also realized that the garment of salvation comes from another country.
[13:42] It comes from heaven and that it's God's gift to us. Whatever age we are, whether we're young or whether we're old, it comes from a special country.
[13:58] It comes from heaven. And as you look around this room today, there's lots of people wearing it and they got it from heaven.
[14:09] And the third thing about the garment of salvation and like my suit is that it's free. I don't have to pay for it.
[14:20] All I had to do was ask God for it and he gave it to me. So maybe when you go home today, there's somebody in your house wearing a suit. And as you look at the suit, you might say to yourself, well, maybe it didn't fit when they got it.
[14:39] And maybe it came from another country and no doubt they had to pay for it. And just say to yourself and also say to them that you know about a garment that always fits perfectly and comes from heaven and is free.
[15:02] So just remember that. And if you're a child under 50 or over, remember that as well. We'll now sing from Psalm 16 and sing Psalms.
[15:17] And we'll sing verses 7 to 11. I'll praise the Lord my God whose counsel guides my choice and even in the night my heart recalls instructions voice.
[15:33] We'll sing these verses to God's praise. I'll praise the Lord my God whose counsel guides my choice.
[15:50] Whose counsel guides my choice and even in the night my heart recalls instructions voice.
[16:13] I said the Lord alone Be constantly. I set the Lord alone.
[16:29] Because he is at my right hand. I'll not be overthrown.
[16:47] Therefore my heart is loud. My tongue with joy will sing.
[17:02] My body too will rest secure. In hope unwavering.
[17:20] For you will not allow. My soul in death to save.
[17:36] Nor will you be your holy one. To see the truth decay.
[17:53] You have made more to me. The path of life divine.
[18:10] This shall thy hope.
[18:45] We can read from verse 14. But Peter standing with the eleven.
[19:07] Lifted up his voice and addressed them. Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you. And give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk.
[19:19] As you suppose. Since it is only the third hour of the day. Or nine o'clock. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel. And in the last days it shall be.
[19:32] God declares. I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. And your young men shall see visions. And your old men shall dream dreams.
[19:43] Even on my male servants and female servants. In those days I will pour out my spirit. And they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above. And signs on the earth below.
[19:55] Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness. And the moon to blood. Before the great day of the Lord comes. A great and magnificent day.
[20:06] And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord. Shall be saved. Men of Israel hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth. A man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders.
[20:20] And signs that God did through him in your midst. As you yourselves know. This man. So this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.
[20:32] You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up. Loosing the pangs of death. Because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
[20:43] For David says concerning him. I saw the Lord always before me. For he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad.
[20:55] And my tongue rejoiced. And my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades. Or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life.
[21:08] You will make me full of gladness with your presence. Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David. That he both died and was buried.
[21:19] And his tomb is with us to this day. Being there for a prophet. And knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him. That he would set one of his descendants on his throne. He foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ.
[21:33] That he was not abandoned to Hades. Nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up. And of that we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God.
[21:45] And having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit. He has poured out this that you yourselves are seen and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens.
[21:57] But he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord. Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain. That God has made him both Lord and Christ.
[22:10] This Jesus whom you are crucified. Now when he heard this they were cut to the heart. And said to Peter and the rest of the apostles. Brothers what shall we do?
[22:21] And Jesus said to them. Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ. For the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
[22:33] For the promise is for you. And for your children. And for all who are far off. Everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. And with many other words. He bore witness.
[22:44] And continued to exhort them saying. Save yourselves from this crooked generation. So those who received his word were baptized. And there were added that day.
[22:56] About three thousand souls. And may God bless that reading to us. We can now sing Psalm 110.
[23:07] From the Scottish Psalter. We can sing the whole Psalm. The Lord did say unto my Lord. Sit thou with my right hand.
[23:18] Until I make thy foes a stool. Whereon thy feet may stand. The Lord did say unto my Lord. The Lord did say unto my Lord.
[23:34] Sit thou with my right hand. Now at my right hand. Until I make thy foes a stool.
[23:52] Whereon thy feet may stand. The Lord shall earth. The Lord shall earth.
[24:03] Of Zion said. The rod of thy great pearl.
[24:14] In mist of all thine enemies. Be thou the government. Be thou the government. I will lay people in thy day.
[24:36] All power shall come to thee. In holy beauties.
[24:47] From all our soul. Thy youth. Thy truth shall be. The Lord himself hath made an oath.
[25:06] And will repent in never. Of your dear of Melchizedek.
[25:20] The Lord shall holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy The kings who are his way The kings who see who he will judge The dead in peace will lie The mighty of the earth will crush
[26:20] All through his truth divine We turn back to the chapter we read, Acts chapter 2 And we can take this text, verse 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another What does this mean?
[27:18] In one of his letters, Peter says to his readers That they should always be ready to give an answer to anyone Who asks them about the hope that is in them The particular verse I just mentioned That Peter wrote Probably has a court case in mind Because he says they've actually got to give a defence Of the hope that they have within them But anyway, he is telling them That they're liable to get questions About why they do things And Peter, I suppose As far as the Bible record is concerned Got frequent questions I mean, Jesus asked questions of Peter
[28:23] He asked them on occasion The disciples in general Who do men say that I am? And once they had run through the range of options He then said to them Who do you say that I am?
[28:44] And Peter replied You are the Christ The Son of the Living God And Jesus told him he was blessed Because he knew the answer to the question That did point out to him That the reason that he knew the answer Was because his Heavenly Father Had revealed it to him But it wasn't just Jesus Who asked Peter a question On the night that Jesus was arrested Some servants in the high priest's house Asked Peter Did he know Jesus?
[29:25] And Peter on that occasion Well, he didn't want to answer it But he did answer it And he answered it with a lie He told the girl And the man who asked him That he never knew the man And he answered with oaths and curses So Peter knew a bit about answering questions, didn't he?
[29:55] And here's another question coming up This time on the day of Pentecost As the crowd who are gathered there Are perplexed By what has happened This crowd that's gathered there Is quite an interesting crowd Because they're obviously very devout Every male Jew had to attend Three annual feasts in Israel The first one The Passover Had occurred 50 days Before this particular day That's what the word Pentecost means 50 days between Passover and it And a good devout Jew Would go to the Passover And then 50 days later Would go to Pentecost These feasts were both in the spring
[30:56] And then later in the year In the autumn They would go to the Feast of Tabernacles But anyway This group here They're exceptionally devout Because they don't live in Israel They come from all over the world So they're Jews So they've either Gone back home After the first one And then returned to Jerusalem Or they have stayed In Jerusalem For that 50 day period It's more likely That they've gone home But if you see the places They come from And they would have had to walk there And then walk back It gives us an insight Into their sense of dedication As to their worship Of the God of Israel So they're very devout And they're hoping to please God And as they come for this Second annual feast That they're meant to attend They see something
[31:56] That they've never seen before Taking place at it And that is That these Individuals That they connect with The one that they had Cried for his crucifixion 50 days earlier They see people Connected to him Speaking in Different languages And it's not just The fact that they're Speaking in different languages But it's what they are Speaking about As we see in verse 11 They're speaking about The mighty works of God And therefore They want an answer To the question And I suppose Some people may want To ask us What are we doing Just now What is the point Of our gathering What's the reason And the reason For our gathering
[32:57] Is pretty similar To the Same reason That Peter went on To give And reply To those who had asked The question here The answer is Basically Jesus And we can see that From the answer Peter gave We read it And it's all about Jesus He doesn't really Mention anything else And Here we are And The Lord's Supper Well It's about us In a secondary sense But primarily It's about Jesus And What he Means And what he does And so on So as we Go through our service I just want to Pick up Some things Of what Jesus About what Peter says About the Saviour And see if they'll Help us
[33:57] As we Attempt to focus On him Today Because There We can't see Jesus But there's somebody else That we can't see either And that's the devil And he's going to Try and stop us Thinking about Jesus In our service Today So We have to Just focus On God's word And see some Of the things That were That are highlighted Here About the Saviour I've got six things Hopefully it won't Take too long Most of them Are straightforward I hope And I hope that All of them Lead us To admire The Saviour Each detail First one is
[34:58] He's a man It's in verse 22 I think That's what Peter calls him Men of Israel Hear these words Jesus Of Nazareth That's his name It was his name Back then And when we Think of the word Jesus Well we might be So used to it That We don't really Think about it But it was Quite an unusual Name in Israel Because in it It mentioned That Yahweh Saves Or Jehovah Saves It's a name That pointed Immediately To a
[35:59] Special purpose And of course We know That's what the name Was given to him By the angel When He was born The angel Told His parent Mary and Joseph To call him Jesus Because he shall Save his people From their sins And it's a Wonderful name Isn't it How sweet The name Of Jesus Sounds It always Should I have no Idea what My name Means I assume Somewhere Way back in the Past It meant Something And it may Have meant Something Connected to Columba I think But The I'm quite Sure I Haven't lived Up to Columba Standards But Jesus Lived up To
[36:59] The Requirements Of his Name He lived A perfect Life And so On He's Also Jesus Of Nazareth What Kind Of Place Was Nazareth Well Nathaniel The Man Whom There's No Guile The Man Who Basically Always Told The Truth Who Lived In Cana Six Miles From Nazareth He had To Say About Nazareth Can Anything Good Come Out Of There Nothing Good From Nathaniel's Perspective Could Come Out Of Nazareth And Yet Jesus Came Out Of There I Read Somewhere Years Ago That If You Were On The Run In Israel The Best Place To
[37:59] Go And Hide Was Nazareth But There In That City Or Town Known For Its Sinfulness The Perfect Saviour Lived And That's Really Astonishing Isn't It He Didn't Go Somewhere Where He Was Detached Or Preserved From Contact With Sinners But He Lived Among Them And You Know One Day After He Had Ascended From Heaven According To Paul's Account In Acts Chapter 22 Jesus Appeared To Him On The Damascus Road And When Paul Asked The Unknown Interrupter Of His Journey Who Are You He Said I
[38:59] Am Jesus Of Nazareth So Even Up In Heaven At This Moment That's How Jesus Identifies Himself Jesus Of Nazareth That's A Reminder To Us In The Way Even The Very Way He Calls Himself That He Doesn't Mind Been In The Company Of Sinners Even Although He's Highly Exalted So It's A Beautiful Name The Man Jesus Of Nazareth But then Peter goes On to Say About Him In The Same Verse That He Did Live An Extraordinary Life A Man Attested To You By God With Mighty Works And Wonders!
[39:55] And Signs That God Did Through Him In Your midst As You Yourself Know I'm Sure All of Us Have Done Something Special In Life Whatever That May Happen To Be And We May Have Done Something Noteworthy And People Spot It Because Of Its Rarity Its Uniqueness But With Jesus In His Three Years Of Public Ministry It Was Constant He Was Doing Mighty Works One After The Other And The Apostle John Says That Jesus Did Many Signs And If All Of Them Were Recorded How Many Books Would It Take To Describe Them We Just Got A Fraction Of Them And Sometimes These Signs Were Done In Front Of A Small Group Other Times They Were Done In Front Of
[40:55] Thousands And Thousands Of People And The Extraordinary Thing About All Of Them Is Anytime Jesus Attempted To Do One He Did It He Never Failed In Any Of His Efforts To Do Extraordinary!
[41:14] That Should Have Spoken Powerfully To Those Who Saw Them Because It Was Predicted In The Old Testament Of The Messiah That He Would When He Would Come He Would Do Activities And Actions That Indicated That God Was With Him And That God Was Using Him To Set Up His Messianic Kingdom And And We Can Run Our Minds Through Some Of These Extraordinary Things That He Did And Sometimes He Almost Took The Back He Sat In The Back Row As It Were As The Sign Was Happening As For Example When He Turned The Water Into Wine He Almost Kept Himself At A Distance From Where The The The Sign Was Happening Other Times He Was There In The Middle Like When He When
[42:15] He Fed The Five Thousand And And As His Disciples Kept Going Back And For With Their Basket To Get Food For The Crowd! It Almost Gives The Impression That Although There Was At Least Five Thousand Men There And There Might Be The Same Number Of Women Who Knows But As They Went Back And For The Twelve Of Them With Their Baskets It Looks As It Didn't Matter If There Been Fifty Thousand There Or Five Hundred Thousand That Jesus Could Have Supplied It It Didn't Matter What The Number Was It Really Extraordinary And It's Not Surprising That The People On That Occasion When They Saw What They Had Done What Jesus Had Done Sorry They Wanted To Make Him King If He Can Do This In Half An Hour What Could He Do In A Whole Day And What Could He Do In A Whole Lifetime And They Were Really
[43:15] Impressed But Here Peter And He Saying! To To Them A Man Works And Wonders And Signs Each One Of These Signs Was A Cry From Heaven God Speaking To Them I Have Sent My Messiah And He Is Here Right In Your Midst What An Extraordinary Thing To See Day After Day After Day So That's The Second Thing That Peter Says To Them A Real Man Real Man From Nazareth At The Same Time He's The Messiah Doing Activities Only God Can Do As We're Told For Example When The Psalms The Lord Gives The Blind Their Sight Well Jesus Did That And So On
[44:15] But Then Another Thing That Peter Mentions About Jesus And He He Says That He Was Murdered Because There In Verse 23 This Jesus Delivered Up According To The Definite Plan And Foreknowledge Of God You You Three You People There Right In Front Of Me Who Are Puzzled By All These Signs You Who Are So Devout You Are Up Here In Jerusalem For The Second Time This Year You You Crucified Him And They Might Have Said Well We Didn't Actually Touch Him But We Know That They Manipulated Pilate Into Bringing About The Crucifixion Of Jesus Jesus And
[45:15] I Mean It's It's Terrible To Be Accused Of Something Isn't It And The Here Were They And They Had Imagined That What They Had Done Fifty Days Earlier They Had Imagined This Is What God Wants He Wants Us To Deal With This Imposter And They Did And It Was Something That Peter Here Points Out To Them And There Is Something Marvelous About This Particular Thing Isn't There Because On The Day Of Pentecost The Culprits Became The Converted Those Who Have Committed The Most He Of Crime The Murder Of The Savior In One Short
[46:15] Afternoon As It Were Or The Morning Because It Is Nine O'clock Peter Speaking On That Day These Culprits Who Had Spent The Last Fifty Days Imagining They Had Done The Best Thing Now Discovered They Had Done The Worst Thing They Had Killed The Son Of God But Peter Has Got More To Say About That And It's Good That He Does And In The Same Verse There In Verse 23 Points Out That It's The Whole Instance That They Had Been Involved In Doing What They Did To The Savior The Most Beautiful Man The Perfect Man The Man Who Did All These Mighty Works And Wonders And Signs He Reveals Them This Astonishing Mystery Doesn't He There In Verse 23 It Was Part Of God's Eternal Plan This Jesus Delivered Up
[47:16] According To The Definite Plan And Foreknowledge Of God You Know There Was Only One Person In Jerusalem That Day Who Had A Perfect Plan A Definite Plan These Individuals They Had Their Plans But Their Plans Were Uncertain Even The Day When They Arranged For Jesus To Be Crucified They Had No Power To Bring It About And Yet They Had Done It Because Somebody Else Had A Definite Plan And Of Course The One Who Had The Definite Plan Was God Himself God In Heaven And In Ways We Don't Understand And In A Certain Sense There Is No Point Trying To Work It Out Because We Can't Work It Out Because Our Minds Aren't Big Enough To Take It All In But The Whole Incident Of Calvary Wasn't
[48:17] Under Pilate's Control It Wasn't Under The Control Of The Crowd Shouting And Calling For Christ Execution Every Instant Every Moment It Was Just Happening Because God Had Decreed It And That's A Reminder To Us Isn't It Because In A Certain Sense The Day When Calvary Occurred Was The Most Chaotic Day In Human History Because There's The Creator Put On The Cross And Yet From Another Point Of View It Was A Day Totally Under Control That God Was In Charge And All That Took Place That Day He Implemented It Doesn't Excuse Their Action But There They
[49:17] Were And Peter Pointed Out To Them You Had Your Plan On That Day And Your Plan Was For The Son Of God To Be Crucified God Had His Plan That Day And The Plan That Day Was For The Son Of God To Be Crucified For Different Reasons Of Course They Wanted To Crucify Him To Get Rid Of Him God Arranged For The Crucifixion Because It Was Part Of His Saving Plan And As We Think Of Jesus Today We Think Of The One Who Fulfilled Perfectly God's Perfect Plan You know Peter points Out there That These People As They Fulfilled God's Perfect Plan Their Aim
[50:17] Was To Crucify Him Normally When Somebody Was Crucified It Was The End Of The Road Wasn't It Once You Were Put Up On A Tree Crucified That Was The End It Was A Long Period For The Crucified Person To Die But They Weren't Going Anywhere Else And It Took A Day Or Three Days Or Whatever Sadly Whoever Was Crucified Was Going To Die It Was The End Of Everything End Of Their Hopes End Of Whatever Life They Had But On This Particular Day Even Crucifixion Had A New Meaning Think Of The Man That Was Crucified Beside Jesus The
[51:19] Penitent Criminal I Mean When He Left His Cell That Morning He Was A Hopeless Man A Man Was Nothing To Look Forward To And He Found Himself Crucified Beside Jesus And Somehow As He Was Hanging There Beside Jesus He Actually Realized That The Man Beside Him Could Give Him Hope And In A Made A Request That Had Never Been He Had Been He Had A Crucifixion Before Remember Me When You Come Into Your Kingdom He Could See The Saviour What
[52:19] Happened To Him He Was Nailed To The Tree And As He Looked At Him And He Saw What The Disciples Couldn't See At That Moment The Disciples As They Looked At The Cross They Thought It Was The End This Man This Criminal As He Looked At The Crucified Saviour Initially He Derided Him But Within A Very Short Period Of Time He Realized This Man Is Perfect He Done Nothing Wrong And He Realized Maybe Had Some Kind Of Background In The Synagogue Who Knows Somehow Realized That This Man Beside Him Was Fulfilling All The Scriptures When He Just Turned To Him And Said I
[53:19] Know Where You're Going You're Going To A Kingdom And Remember Me When You Come To It I Mean There Was A Sign Above His Head Wasn't It Jesus Of Nazareth The King Of The Jew And It's Appropriate For Jesus Of Nazareth To Be With Sinners Even The Worst Of Sinners And Extraordinary Jesus Said To That Man Today Before 6pm Because That's When The Day Ends Before Six O'clock This Evening You're Going To Be With Me In Paradise
[54:43] Paradise But Shortly After That He Just Cried With A Loud Voice Finished Somebody Said It's Good He Said It is Finished Not I Am Finished But The Word Finished As We Know It's The Word That A Carpenter Would Have Used When He Finished Making A Chair And We Can Easily Imagine The Savior In The Carpenter Shop In Nazareth Saying To A Customer Who Had Come In Asking For A Table Or A Chair To Be Made For Him And Jesus Saying To Him There It's Finished And As Jesus Would Have Said That There Would Be A Sense Of Achievement A
[55:43] Sense Of Satisfaction A Sense Of Even Pleasure In Having Done It And Here As He's Engaged Not Just In Making A Chair Or A Table But In Providing The Basis For An Eternal Kingdom He Looks At It And He Says Finished Completed I'm Satisfied With It It's Even A Sense Of Triumph It's Not The Last Gasp Of A Defeated Man There Is A Cry Of Pleasure Of A Man Of Achievement Who's Done What Everybody Else Would Have Thought Was Impossible And
[56:45] In The Midst Of All The Chaos In The Midst Of All The Darkness He Has Done The Most Beautiful Thing Ever Done Provided The Basis For Sinners To Be Converted That's Where We're Here Isn't It We're Here To Think About The Most Amazing Achievement Not Just That He Managed To Get The Criminal To Heaven But That He's Going To Manage To Get A Number That No One Can Count To Heaven And We Gather Here In Anticipation Of That Future Event And The Anticipation Is Not Uncertain Because It's All In The Hands Of The One Who Finished The Work He Was Given To Do And Then As We Look At It We Find Peter
[57:45] Points Out That This Identity Of This Man It Was Fully Revealed There In Verse 24 God Raised Him Up Loosing The Pangs Of Death Because It Is Not Possible For Him To Be Held By It And You Know Earlier In Their Service Today We Sang Psalm 16 You Know There Are Some Passages In The Bible That Describe Jesus As It Were From A Distance And There Is Others That He Described By Those Who Knew Him Very Well But There Is Also Some In Which He Speaks Directly And In Psalm 16 He Speaks Directly He Tells Us What He Felt Although
[58:45] David Wrote The Psalm And Wrote It Centuries Before David Before Jesus Was On Earth But David Is Guided By The Holy Spirit To Tell Us What Jesus Thought As The Time On The Cross Came To An End And We're Told There That His Heart Was Glad And So On And His Tongue Rejoiced Because His Flesh Would Dwell In Hope Because He Would Not Be Abandoned!
[59:16] To Hades Nor Even! See Corruption And As He Made His Way Into The Dark Valley We're Told About Him There In Verse 28 That His Estimation Was That God Had Known To Him The Path Of Life And That What Seemed To Be A Tragedy A Demise A Defeat It's Actually The Path Of Victory And He Is Ascending To Glory To Be In The Presence Of God And There Is Three Days Later He's Raised From The Dead And We're Told By Paul That He Was Declared To Be The Son Of God With Power By His Resurrection From The Dead As He Came Out From The Tomb Triumphant Over The Power Of Darkness And The Power Of Death You Know When He Appears And
[60:17] He Appears To All These Disciples Who Have Failed Him And Every Time He Meets Them On That First Resurrection Day He Says Peace Peace Be to You Whoever They Are When He Meets The Woman Peace Peace And He Meets The Disciples Themselves In The Upper!
[60:36] Peace Peace And When He Sends Letters To Any Of The Churches In The Bible He Gets His Apostles To Begin It By Saying Peace And Jesus Is Saying To Us Today Peace It's All There For Us And Peter Himself As He Speaks On This Occasion He Speaks As One Who Has Actually Met The Risen Christ Because He Spent 40 Days After The Resurrection Of Jesus He Spent These Days Experiencing The Power Of The Risen Savior And During That Time He Himself Had Been Restored Personally On The First Day Of The Resurrection And Then Sometime Afterward He Was Restored In A Public Manner When Jesus Asked Him Three Times Do You Love Me More Than These And
[61:38] The Real Character And Beauty Of The Savior Is Just Revealed And Peter Here Is Speaking Out His Own Personal Experience As He Announces To The Crowd The Answer To Their Question Yes He Died You Killed Him But He's Alive Now And He Can Be Alive For Your Benefit And They're Listening To These Words But He's Got More To Say Doesn't He About Jesus There In Verse 33 He Refers To His Majesty Where Is He Gone We Sang About It From Psalm 110 And Peter Here Quotes Psalm 110 He's Gone He's Gone To The Throne Of God I Mean He Is
[62:38] The Eternal God He's Gone To The Throne Of God As The One Who Is The God Man He's There As The Father's Agent The One That Was Set Apart By God The Father To Be The Deliverer Of Sinners And He's Up There In Heaven Now Highly Exalted Seated On The Throne And What's He Doing From The Throne What Did He Do On This Day And What Has He Been Doing Ever Since On Every Day He's Been Sending The Holy Spirit When He Ascended To Heaven He Was Given The Holy Spirit In A Special Manner That He He Would Build His Church In The World And He's Been Doing That Ever Since This Incredible Day When He Ascended To Glory He Received A Great Reward And The
[63:39] Reward Was That The Holy Spirit Would Go Here And There Throughout The World And Bring Sinners Into His Kingdom And Where Would We Expect The Gracious Savior To First Of All Send His Spirit Who Is He Going To Send Him To Well How About Sending Them To The Ones That Crucified Him The Ones Who Have Spent The Last Fifty Days Probably Patting Each Other On The Back That They Had Managed To Get Rid Of This This Man Who Was Pretending To Be Something And Then When The Spirit Came They Discovered His Real Identity But
[64:41] It All Came From Jesus Himself In Heaven And These Ideas I've Just Mentioned These Aspects Of The Saviors Of Peter's Description Of Jesus They're All Relevant To Us Aren't They He's The Man That We Need He's The Messiah The Messiah Who Was Murdered But In A Strange Way Whose Death Was Arranged By God For Our Benefit And Because He Died And Rose Again We Can Look Up To Him And Experience His Power The Power Of The Holy Spirit And We Worship Him Because He's Highly Exalted Given A Name Above Every Name The Most Important Person Here Today Is The One We Cannot See Jesus
[65:41] The King And May We Worship Him As We Continue We'll Pray Lord We Give You Thanks For What Happened To The Savior It's All Part Of Your Plan The Death Was Gruesome The Attitudes Against Him On That Day Were Appalling Most Perfect Man The Holiest Man Ever Lived And There He Was Treated So Despicably Upon Him Was Vented Hatred And Disgrace And Yet He Did It All For Us It Wasn't That His Sufferings Externally Were For Us That Internally When He Made His Soul An Offering For Sin When
[66:43] He Carried The Weight Of Divine Judgment That Was Due Us For Our Sins When He And You Engaged In That Incredible Transaction And When He Had To Undergo The Darkness Not Just The Darkness That Everybody Else Felt Around Them For The Darkness Of Forsaken That He Had To Undergo And Yet We Admire Him As He Keeps On Going Paying The Penalty And Eventually He Cries Out Finished Achievement Atonement Made And Here We Are Ready To Remember Him And Help Us Lord To Do So For Your Own Name Sake Amen Well We Come to Lord's Supper And
[67:43] One Question Is Always Asked Is Who Should Be There And Well One Point of View It's Fairly Straight Forward The Lord's Table Is It's A Place For Those Who Love Jesus I Mean That's What It Basically Comes Down To It's A Place For Those Who Love Jesus And Who Love Him So Much That They Want Others To Know That They Love Him Sometimes It's Not Easy To Go To The Lord's Table That May Be True For Those Who Are Doing It For The First Time It Can Also Be True For Those Who Are Doing It For The Hundred Time There May Be Things Happening In Life That
[68:43] Make Things Complicated And And There May Be Things Going On Within Ourselves That Make Us Wonder Should We Really Do This But The First Lord's Supper Who Was At It We Know These Disciples And On That Particular Occasion If It Went By The Normal Grading That Humans Give For Their Meetings On That Occasion None Of These Disciples Would Have Been At It But We're Here With The Lord Of Grace And The God Of Mercy And They Were Marked By Their Particular Sins And Sins Express Themselves Differently And Of All Nights For Them To Be Self Confident
[69:43] That's What The Sin Was They All Had Wasn't It Peter Says I'll Never Deny You A Couple Of Hours Later There He Was Denying Them Sins Of Different Kind Can Show Themselves And Sometimes We Wrongly React To That And Say Well Because Of These Thoughts Or Whatever I Shouldn't Be At The Table But The Table Is For Lovers Of Jesus And If We Love Him And If We Love His Word And If We Love His People We Should Be At His Table So We Can Sing From Psalm 34 And Sing Psalms And
[70:44] We Can Sing Verses 1 To 8 At All Times I Will Bless The Lord I Will Praise Him With My Voice Because I Glory In The Lord Let Trouble We Sing Verses 1 Tonight At All Time Time Will Bless The Lord I Will Press Him With My Voice Because!
[71:30] iseise through! through! through! through! And through through with me.
[72:02] I saw the Lord His answer came. From fear He said he believed.
[72:20] They looked to Him a shining with joy. They are not doomed to shame.
[72:37] This suffering man cries to the Lord. From Him He never came.
[72:55] The angel of the Lord shall rise and rise on sing.
[73:09] The King of the Lord to end! says!
[73:24] His King King King King Is the King The Lord is good And trust in Him is blessed O dear the Lord You saints with need Till the well of people rest