Play

“We Cannot But Speak”

Allen Dvorak
11/17/24 - Sun PM

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

Scripture reading this evening comes from acts chapter three, acts three verses one through 24.

I'll be reading from the new King James version you'll see will be on screen behind me.

Now, Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour and a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful to ask alms for those who entered the temple who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms and fixing his eyes on him with John and Peter said and fixing his eyes on him with John and Peter said, look at us.

So he gave them his attention to expecting to receive something from them.

Then Peter said, silver and gold.

I do not have but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk and he took him by the right hand and lift him, lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

So he leaped up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them walking, leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God.

Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the at the beautiful gate of the temple.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

In acts the seventh chapter.

The death of Stephen is recorded.

Stephen had been brought before the council and had been accused by false witnesses.

Stephen boldly preached to the council charging them as Peter had done on the day of Pentecost, Peter and the other apostles with the death of Jesus Christ.

In their rage at his sermon, they took him outside the city and they stoned him.

But you know, it wasn't like that in the beginning of the gospel we're told in the book of Acts in chapter two and verse 47 that the earliest disciples in Jerusalem were having favor with all the people.

A little bit later on in Acts the fifth chapter in verses 12 and 13, we're told that while some were reticent to join the disciples, they held them in high esteem, but it wouldn't be long.

However, before the Jewish leaders would begin to resist the preaching of the gospel and in particular, the preaching of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So this evening, I'd like to talk a little bit about Acts third, the 3rd and 4th chapters, gonna look at those events in those two chapters.

Um we'll divide the text into three different sections.

In chapter three, you have the miracle that you just heard from the reading.

And then of course, Peter Servant sermon that results from the crowd that gathers together.

But then in chapter four, we're going to look specifically toward the end of the chapter at the prayer of the disciples.

Once Peter and John had been released by the council, there are some rather interesting things about that prayer, things that I think could be helpful to us as we try to serve the Lord.

So let's begin in the first part of that text in acts three, looking at the miracle and the sermon that followed it.

I want to begin with the circumstances of the lame man.

Luke in writing acts is very careful to tell us that this man was lame from his mother's womb, lame from birth.

Here's an individual who had never walked and we're told later on down uh in toward the end of this section.

Uh actually the end of uh chapter three that this man was over 40 years old and he was brought in daily laid at one of the gates, the entrances to the temple.

They're thinking to receive alms in the Old Testament and in the Inner Testament period, alms, the giving of alms and righteousness were very often connected.

And so the best place to go if you wanted to receive financial help from others was to go to the temple and to ask for alms of those who would come in to worship God there.

And so that's where this man is.

Uh It was interesting.

I uh I was looking for pictures that might at least reasonably represent the scene of this, this man being laid at the temple.

And one of them, he's holding his crutches uh, after the healing, of course, that would presume that he had crutch his way in.

Is that a word anyway that he gotten his way in by himself?

But the text says they carried him daily in the impression I get is that he couldn't walk at all.

He's lame and doesn't walk even a small amount.

But Peter and John arrived at the temple at a regular hour of prayer.

The ninth hour would have been about the middle of the afternoon, about three in the afternoon.

And this man does what he probably done with many others.

He's expecting alms asking for alms and Peter and John didn't give him alms, but instead Peter healed the man.

And the text is critical because it says immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

That's in verse seven.

I don't know if you've ever been bedfast for a few days or maybe a few weeks.

If you were, if you've had that experience, you probably understand that when you begin to try to walk again, even after a fairly short period of being confined to bed, not being able to walk, that your legs are extremely weak.

When I was in junior high, I had to be in bed for a couple of weeks, uh, with some problems with my knees.

And after just two weeks to get up and to try to walk, I felt unsteady and my legs felt, felt, uh, uh, weak.

This is a man who's never walked.

And yet when Peter takes his hand and raises him up immediately, he's leaping and walking.

As verse eight of chapter three says, he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God.

Not like some of the miracles that people talk about today where be healed.

And in three weeks, you know, you're gonna be all better.

This is a man who's never walked and now he's leaping and walking.

I've been walking nearly all my life.

I don't do much leaping now.

But here's a man who is obviously healed.

The healing was obviously a miracle.

At least two things make that evident.

We've already discussed the first one.

And that is that immediately.

He begins to act like someone who's been walking all his life, which is not the way the thing that you would expect from somebody who perhaps had not been healed.

But the other thing is important also and that is the reaction of the people who see him walking and leaping.

He has been there at the temple gate, who knows how long?

He's over 40 years old.

The people recognized him.

He was a common fixture there in the temple and they recognized him and they realize that something tremendous has happened.

The Bible says in verse 10 that they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Verse 11, which is not on the screen says they were utterly astounded.

I don't know how Luke could say it any better than to say, they were shocked that what had, what had happened.

And so you've got people who know this man, they know he's lame and they recognize that he is now healed of his lameness.

Well, that will attract a crowd.

And that's exactly what happens.

Beginning in verse 223, we find that Peter and John take advantage of the fact that people have gathered together to witness or to find out what's going on how this has happened.

And Peter begins by simply noting if you're wondering if we did this by our power or in our name, that's not the case.

This man was healed by the name of Jesus.

Verses 12 and 16, make that very clear.

But Peter immediately then launches into a sermon in which he talks about how God had glorified Jesus.

I want you to notice that in the text there uh in the sermon, this is in chapter three and beginning in verse 12.

Peter first begins in verse 223 by saying men of Israel, why do you wonder at this or why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety, we have made him walk the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus Peter is going to affirm that this miracle is by the power of Jesus, by the name of Jesus.

But before he does that, he'll actually come to that conclusion down in verse 224.

But before he does that, he has some things to say about Jesus.

He introduces him as one who has been glorified by the God of their fathers.

There's the connection to them.

And he says, uh he glorified his servant Jesus whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him.

I want you to notice the contrasts that Peter makes in this sermon.

The next couple of phrases he says in verse uh 225, there you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when Pilate had wanted to release Jesus.

And if you recall from the gospels pilot had decided I will chastise him and release him.

Oh no, oh no, they didn't want that.

They wanted Jesus punished, they wanted him killed.

But the Jews called for Jesus death.

And so he goes on to say, but you denied the holy and righteous one.

You denied him, but you asked for a murder to be granted to you, the holy and just one you denied but one who was a killer, that's who you asked for.

That's who you wanted granted to you.

The contrast here, the double contrast, it is amazing but it gets, it continues and you killed you Jews the author of life.

But God raised him from the dead, you killed him.

God raised him, which incidentally, well, not so incidentally is the prominent theme in the apostles preaching in the chapters, the early chapters of acts, the resurrection of Jesus is the miracle of the Bible.

It's the miracle of miracles.

And so it is the focal point of these early sermons by the apostles whom God raised from the dead to this.

We are witnesses in acts two.

Peter will actually uh appeal to scripture to prophecy to show that Jesus had fulfilled prophecy.

But here incidentally, Peter also talks about eyewitness testimony.

But here Peter and John are saying we're witnesses of the risen Jesus whom God raised from the dead to this.

We are witnesses and his name by faith in his name has made this man strong.

So I want you to see that He begins by saying it wasn't us that did this, not our power, not our piety.

This was by the name of Jesus.

But in between, in the midst of that statement, he lays down the facts of the gospel, God glorified Jesus.

You denied him handed him over, you killed him.

God raised him up.

And so he says then in verse 227 and now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance as did also your rulers.

But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that His Christ would suffer.

He thus fulfilled one of the problems that the Jews had in understanding the role of Jesus as Messiah was.

They really weren't expecting a suffering, Messiah, they were expecting a triumphant kinging.

That's why in John the sixth chapter, they're ready to march him, take him by force to make him king in Jerusalem.

They didn't understand that Jesus was going to have to suffer as the sin sacrifice for mankind.

And so uh Peter talks about Jesus suffering as the fulfillment of scripture there in verse 227, repent therefore, and turn back that your sins may be thought it out that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send the Christ appointed for you.

I prefer the new king James version translation here uh appointed for you Jesus whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets.

Long ago.

Peter will end this sermon in verse 228 by talking about the blessing that was going to come through Abraham.

But he's already alluding to it here in verse 203 when he encourages them to repent and turn back that your sins may be blotted out one of the things that seemed to be a matter of confusion for the Jews.

We talked about this in our auditorium class this morning.

In the study of John chapter seven, the Jews understood several things from prophecy about the Christ, about the prophet, but they didn't always put all those things together.

It's interesting that the Essenes even understood that the Christ might be deity, but the average Jew didn't seem to understand that.

And they separated the prophet of Deuteronomy 220 from the Messiah of second Samuel seven.

But Peter connects them here.

When he says, Moses said, this is verse 230.

Moses said, the Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from his brothers.

You shall listen to him and whatever He tells you and it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.

So Peter introduces Deuteronomy 231.

But then he continues and all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and those who came after him also proclaim these days he's talking about Jesus.

He introduces Deuteronomy 18 so that they understand that Jesus is the prophet that they needed to listen to as Moses wrote so long ago, you are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your father saying to Abraham.

And now he introduces that promise in Genesis 12, that all the families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham's seed.

Well, what is that blessing?

What's, what's the blessing?

Peter says, God uh excuse me in verse the end of verse 25 saying to Abraham and in your offspring, shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

God having raised up his servant, send him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness, the promises for all the families of the earth.

But God sent his servant Jesus to you first to bless you.

And that blessing is the forgiveness of sins repent therefore, and turn that your sins can be blotted out.

As I said, he has already alluded to the response that God wants from them.

Well, as we move along in the text, the next section of the text in the beginning of chapter four is in the 1st 22 verses, Peter and John are arrested on that same day, they're put into custody.

It's late in the day toward evening.

And so they spend the night in custody.

We need to understand that the high priesthood and all of the activities of the temple essentially were controlled by the SADs.

There's some background there that we won't take the time to go into.

But it's important to understand that when we get to chapter four and it says, and as they were speaking to the people, the priest and the captain of the temple and the Sagos came upon them.

Those are the people who would have controlled the priesthood, particularly the high priesthood.

Those are the ones who would have controlled the activities of the temple.

And here are Peter and John in the temple and they're preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And that annoyed these folks as you read in verse two.

They were greatly annoyed because they were teaching Peter and John were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And so they're arrested and put in custody.

And uh now we're gonna have a question and answer session the next day where Peter and John will be brought before a number of the leaders of the Jews.

It seems the whole council that would be the Sanhedrin.

Uh in verse five, on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Anna, the high priest and Caas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high priestly family.

Listen to the question the very first question.

And really the only one that, that, that these individuals asked Peter and John by what power or by what name did you do this?

They ask about the source of the Apostle's power or authority.

And when they do note that they are tacitly admitting that a miracle has been done.

The first question is not, did you guys do a miracle that's already a given?

They want to know what the power was behind this miracle.

The things that you're doing here in the temple by what authority do you do these things?

That's reminiscent of the question that was asked of Jesus when he cleansed the temple both times early and late in his ministry.

By what authority are you doing these things?

But I want you to notice that the question is a tacit admission that a miracle has been done.

And frankly, later on in verse 16 of chapter four, um even the council members themselves saying, what shall we do with these men?

They're talking among themselves for that.

A notable sign, another name for a miracle has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and we cannot deny it.

And so they want to know by what authority are you doing this?

Well, Peter and John are going to answer Peter in verse eight is the individual who is named as speaking filled with the Holy Spirit.

He says, 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?

I want you to pick up on that.

They didn't have to say that Peter didn't have to say whom you crucified.

He could just said this is by the power of Jesus but just like on the day of Pentecost, he is charging them with the denial and the death of the Messiah whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead by Him.

This man is standing before you.

Well, you know, it's interesting a little bit later on in this chapter before Peter and John are released, the observations can be made that Peter and John are standing there before the council and there's the man who has been healed standing with them.

And the text is not really clear to me at least.

Um in chapter four, in the beginning of the chapter, whether it was just Peter and John who were put in custody overnight or whether it was Peter and John and the guy who's been healed as well, I suspect and this is my personal opinion.

I suspect it was just Peter and John.

I'm suspicious that the men who had been healed made a point to be there the next morning when Peter and John appeared before the council and they're now being interrogated by these leaders of Israel.

I can't prove that, but I do find it interesting that the lame man, the formerly lame man doesn't just 303 and escape.

He doesn't take off.

He's there with Peter and John and he is evidence exhibit a that a miracle has been done and there's nothing that they can do to contradict that fact, this Jesus whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead by him.

This man is standing before you.

Well, 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's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Peter does not back up at all.

The same Hedron was designed even the way that they sat when they talked to people was designed to intimidate people.

You've got these August rulers of Israel, you've got the high priest and his son-in-law gave, you've got the chief priests and scribes.

You've got all these members of the sand, which would have included some Pharisees and there they are, they're the learned, they're the intellectual intellectuals of Judaism and here's Peter and John in front of them.

They're not intimidated at all.

In fact, we're told in verse 13.

Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men, they were astonished.

They hadn't sat at the feet of rabbis.

They weren't making some sort of intellectual argument to try to wow, the, the council, you crucified the Christ God raised him up.

That must have rankled in the ears of Sago.

And furthermore, there's not salvation in any other name given among men.

The boldness of these men and the council takes note of it.

These are not the kind of guys fishermen, common men that you would expect to be able to stand before the Sanhedrin and say you're the guys guilty of murder.

And they recognize that they had been with Jesus.

Let that sink in.

They recognized that they had been with Jesus.

Something about the way they spoke their boldness, the authority by which they made their observations.

Their charges said these people were associated with Jesus, but seeing the man who was healed, standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

So what they do now is they take Peter and John, they put them aside and now the council will kind of talk among themselves saying what shall we do with these men?

For that?

A notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

We cannot deny it.

But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.

That's something, isn't it?

A miracle has been done?

It's there's no question that Peter and John are the ones involved in the performing of this miracle, even though they say it's God who has done this through Jesus.

But let's keep these guys quiet.

Let's forbid them to teach in this name.

They're missing the whole implication, the whole point of the miracle.

And so it is in the gospels more than once that people who are looking at a miracle in the face are unwilling to accept the implications of that miracle that this is God working.

And so they oppose God commanding people not to teach in the name of Jesus.

But if you want to hear some boldness in verse 19, Peter and John answered them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you, rather than to God, you must judge.

That's not even hardly a rhetorical question.

You guys judge whether we should listen to you or listen to God.

It reminds me of the question of Jesus when he's in the synagogue and he asked, is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath day?

You know, who's gonna say to do evil?

Who's gonna say that we ought to, you ought to listen to us rather than God.

But that's essentially what they are saying when they forbid these men to preach in the name of Jesus.

And when they had further threatened them, they let them go finding no way to punish them because of the people for all were praising God for what had happened for the man on whom the sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old.

Now, this is gonna change.

But at least right now, the council can't really do anything with Peter and John because everybody knows about this miracle.

It's been broadcast around the man was recognized.

It's such a notable sign as they themselves admit that they really can't do anything to Peter and John, but the time will come when the disciples would be scattered from Jerusalem.

The beginning of chapter eight, you can read about it because there's a shift in the attitude of the general public toward the Jewish public, toward the church.

And so they threatened these men and release them.

And then in verse 23 we want to look at the last section um of this text, chapters three and four and specifically at the prayer that is offered there and recorded by Luke when they were released, they went to their friends, the the word friends there is not literally in the text, they went to their own is the text.

Um I think in the new King James version, it uses the word companions, but it italicizes it to let you know that that's not, it's not in the text.

The Greek text itself.

They went to their own.

I think they just went to meet with other disciples, perhaps the church there as a, a larger group.

And they reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them.

It is important for you to note that fact that what they told the other disciples was what the chief priests and elders had said to them.

You know what I would have been blabbing about.

You should have seen that guy.

He was walking and leaping and everybody knew that a miracle.

It was fantastic.

But what they tell the other disciples is what the chief priests and the elders said to them and what the chief priests and elders had said is no more preaching in the name of Jesus.

That's important because when they begin praying, I can get behind here.

The first thing out of their mouths in verse 24 is sovereign.

Lord who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

The first thing they do is acknowledge that God is sovereign.

They answer the question, who should we listen to you?

The Jewish leaders or God?

And the answer is we need to listen to the sovereign, the one who is the creator of everything.

He's the sovereign God.

And so they begin by pushing back in this prayer against the chief priests and elders who are saying we're telling you no more preaching and they're saying sovereign Lord and they'll go on to say, help us to continue to speak boldly.

But I get ahead of myself because the next thing they do in verse 25 is they're going to cite Messianic passage there in Psalm two, the first couple of verses.

Why did the gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.

And so the next thing they do is they cite this passage.

And then in verse 27 they make the connection between that prophecy that there would be resistance to the messiah to the Lord's anointed.

They make the connection between that prophecy and what has already happened in the life of Jesus.

For truly in this city, there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the gentiles and the peoples of Israel.

In verse 27 they are talking about the people who are mentioned in Psalm two verses one and two. Herod.

There may not be Herod.

Antus, the one to whom Jesus was brought during the uh civil trial before his death.

That may be Herod the great, if you recall Herod, the great tried to kill the infant Jesus, the anointed one of God, he failed in that Pontius Pilate.

Well, wait a second, Pontius Pilate managed to put Jesus to death.

Sounds like Pontius actually won against Jesus, didn't he keep reading verse 28 along with the gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

When Pontius Pilate allows Jesus to be taken and crucified.

He is allowing exactly what God's plan required that Jesus die as a sin sacrifice on the cross.

Peter talked about that in the sermon on Pentecost when he said that Jesus had been delivered by the determined counsel and Foreknowledge of God.

It was part of God's plan for Jesus to die on the cross.

Read Psalm 22.

You can't miss it.

And so even though Pontius Pilate inherited the great, inherited the anus that matter, his son, even though they raged against Jesus, as the text says, they were impotent to change the plan of God, what God decides is going to happen is going to happen.

That's the point here.

And now, Lord look upon their threats, whose threats.

Well, the chief priests and the elders had threatened Peter and John no more teaching in the name of Jesus.

Now, Lord look on their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.

Peter and John were noted by the council members for their boldness and they were released.

We'll note some other things here and just uh a little bit about boldness.

But I want you to note this Peter and John and the church or the disciples assembled here did not offer the prayer that I suspect I would have made and maybe you would have made as well if you had been threatened by these Jewish leaders, threatened with possible beatings or maybe even with your life, death.

Would you have prayed for boldness or would you have prayed for escape?

Would you have prayed?

Would I have prayed that God would, would stop this kind of persecution so that we can preach the gospel freely?

I I gotta confess, I think that's what I would have prayed.

It's not what they prayed for.

What they prayed for was the boldness to continue to speak the word.

I think understanding that there would be continued persecution, continued resistance to the preaching of the gospel.

Lord help us be bold preaching the word in acts four and verse 20.

For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

We are going to speak because of what we have seen and heard.

They saw a dead man raised Jesus of Nazareth, the one who had claimed that he would be raised, even as he claimed to be the Son of God and in human flesh, we've seen it and we can't help but say it.

I wonder if our faith He is so strong that we essentially have no alternative but to speak what we know what we have seen and heard through the eyes of scripture.

And then finally, they ask God to continue to heal.

Let's read it in the text in verse 30 while help us to continue to be bold.

And I are speaking the word while you are speaking to the Lord, stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

Now I'll tell you what's interesting about this prayer, Peter and John have already been bold, but they seem to understand that they were going to need God's strength to continue to to boldly speak that way.

Remember Steven in chapter seven, he would speak boldly courageously, but he would also be killed for his boldness.

And so these disciples are asking God to continue to, to offer the signs that produce faith and those who saw them.

And then verse 31 and when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continue to speak the word of God with boldness.

That's what they prayed for and God answered with his help.

Well, I appreciate your kind attention this evening.

What do we need to take away from these two chapters?

Well, there's a lot of stuff here that we didn't even unpack and I'm not going to go over all this stuff even that we did discuss or focus on uh briefly.

But I think first of all, we need to remember that no matter what happens in this life that God is sovereign.

He is the ultimate authority.

And that comes out in this prayer.

I think that that's Luke's point in citing this prayer and citing what the Peter and John had told the other disciples.

They talked about what the chief priests and elders had said.

And then the next words are sovereign. Lord.

One has created heaven and earth, everything in them.

God is sovereign.

Does that mean that we won't suffer from time to time for our faith?

Or for speaking boldly, no, Stephen is gonna die.

Other Christians are going to die.

But understand in the end, everybody as Mike pointed out so, well, this morning, everybody answers to the judge, to Jesus Christ.

That's the authority that you and I have to deal with.

It's not the US government, the Supreme, it's not the government of Alabama or the state in which you live, if you're visiting or even local governments, God is sovereign and we must obey God rather than men.

That's a principle that seems so simple until you begin to apply it and there are consequences to its application.

But then the second point that I would make that, I think we can take away from all of this.

And that is that a grounded, strong faith makes for boldness.

You find yourself maybe sometimes a little timid to say anything.

The apostle said, we can't help but speak, say the things that we have seen and heard what we have in our Bibles is the record of a resurrection and that changes everything is our faith so strong.

Are we so solidly convicted by the things that we study in our Bible classes and our personal study and in, in venues like this are we so solidly convicted that there's no way we're going to be quiet about this, especially as Mike pointed out this morning, how much people need to hear what we know what we have seen and heard in the scriptures.

A grounded, strong solid faith makes for boldness.

We need to shore up our faith.

If we're timid in speaking the truth about Jesus Christ and about his gospel.

Well, the disciples said, and there is salvation and no one else for.

There's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Some excellent thoughts by Mike this morning.

Talking about people.

It seems to be more of a common perception now that you can go to heaven in various roads.

That's a common doctrine.

It's been around for a long time, but more and more people are embracing it.

It's comforting.

You have to worry about the right path or a specific path.

You just believe whatever you want and you can choose your savior from whoever seems to please you or meets your expectations.

But the Apostle said salvation and no other name, Jesus said, I am the way no one comes to the Father except through me.

What's your relationship with God?

Do you need to accept the grace that God offers through the Gospel to those who will believe in his son, who will confess Him as the Christ, as the Son of God, the risen savior and who will repent of their sins and then be baptized immersed in water for the remission of their sins that they can have the hope of eternal life.

That's what we have seen in the gospel.

That's what we need to share with others if we ourselves already enjoy that hope.

But if you don't this evening, if you're outside of Christ, never having obeyed the gospel, then we want to encourage you to change that tonight.

And so we invite you to obey the gospel.

If you'll come to the front as we stand and sing in just a moment, we want to encourage you, we'll assist you and we encourage you.

Now, as we stand and sing.