The Terror of the Resurrection
Acts 2:1-47 (42-47)

I am aware that if you read the title to the sermon this morning
It was probably a little perplexing.

After all, we sing and talk about the resurrection as a wonderful thing.
Easter Sunday is a great Sunday because Jesus rose from the dead.

And I certainly don’t argue with that sentiment.

However it may surprise you to know
That the first time the resurrection of Jesus Christ was preached
Joy was not the response.

The first time the resurrection was preached
It provoked sheer terror in the hearts of those who heard.

WHY? – Because it was first preached to those who killed Jesus.

In fact I’ll give you a sneak peek.
Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

And so this morning the text reveals to us an interesting point.
That for those who have yielded their lives to Christ,
The resurrection is a wonderful thing,
For it solidifies the power of Christ’s salvation.

But for those who have rejected Christ,
The fact that He is alive does not bring peace,
For it that they have rejected the One True Savior.

And maybe you can share the sentiment a little bit.
If you have never yielded to Jesus,
The thought that He is alive and returning isn’t a peaceful thought.

If you’ve ever thought like that,
This morning let me show you what to do about it.

We can divide this chapter into four parts.
#1 THE ENTRANCE OF THE SPIRIT
Acts 2:1-13

(1) “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.”

“the day of Pentecost” was otherwise known as “The Feast of Weeks”
It occurred 50 days after the Passover. (Pentecost means 50)
It was a day of rejoicing after the harvest had been brought in.

This is one of 3 feasts that every Jewish male was commanded to attend.
(Passover, Feast of Booths).

“they were all together in one place.”

WHO?
Acts 1:15 “At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,”

There was a gathering of Christ’s followers meeting in Jerusalem.
They were all together, celebrating the feast of weeks together.

AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED.
(VERSES 2-4)

This is the inaugural coming of the Holy Spirit.
He had not been present until now.

John 7:38-39 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

And so, for the first time in human history,
The Holy Spirit of God has come to man.

And His arrival was evidenced by the fact that
He was equipping those 120 believers in the upper room
To speak all the foreign languages of the world.

It was quite a site, and it did not go unnoticed.
(VERSES 5-13)

Obviously the crowds were amazed.
Here were Jews who had traveled from the four corners of the globe
To celebrate the feast of weeks and they were shocked to hear
These Galilean’s speaking their own native tongues.

“speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”

It was miraculous to say the least.
And the crowds were confused. “What does this mean?”
Of course the skeptics offered the only solution they could think of.
(13) “But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”

They accused them all of being drunk.
But the point is that something amazing was occurring,
And the crowds could not explain it.

The Entrance of the Spirit
#2 THE EXPLANATION OF PETER
Acts 2:14-36

Because the people are confused,
Peter sets out to clarify the scene and explain what this all means.

And we can further divide his explanation into three points.
1) THIS WAS PROMISED BY GOD (14-21)

Peter begins by answering the mockers
Who accused them all of being drunk.
“it is only the third hour of the day;” (9 a.m.)

But rather what you see taking place is something that “was spoken of through the prophet Joel:”

Joel actually prophesied that a day like this would come. (Joel 2:28-30)

(VERSES 17-21)

Joel saw a day preceding the 2nd coming of our Lord
In which He would pour out the Holy Spirit on mankind. (vs. 17 & vs. 18)

And the pouring out of God’s Spirit would result in an explosion of preaching.
(17) “YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,”
(18) “AND THEY SHALL PROPHESY”

This is not a drunken party,
This is the fulfillment of God’s promise through Joel.

Furthermore Joel said that when this occurred,
It would also bring about a tremendous opportunity
For anyone who listens to what they say to be saved.

(21) “AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

This was Promised by God
2) THIS WAS POURED OUT BY JESUS (22-35)

Joel said that God would “pour fourth of My Spirit”

Here Peter reveals who actually did the pouring.
And in order to do that he must give enlightenment to the crowd.

(VERSES 22-23)

Of course they should have been aware of this.
Just 50 days ago, the Jews thought they got rid of
One of the biggest problems they had ever seen.

They crucified Jesus.

They crucified Him even though it was obvious
That He had power from God.
(22) “a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst,”

John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

Peter said, you should have recognized Him as God’s Messiah
Based upon His power, but you ignored that.
And you chose to kill Him anyway.

And you killed Him using Rome as your weapon.
“you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”

The Romans drove the nails, but we all know who put Him to death.

And so Peter brings back to their memory the crucifixion of Jesus.

But then Peter enlightens them to something
They may not have been aware of.

(24) “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

Every Jewish man there would have known that Jesus had been killed,
But the fact that He had been raised was definitely new news.

Jesus had certainly entered into death, but “it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

WHY?
1 Corinthians 15:56 “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;”

Because Jesus had no sin, death had no grounds to keep Him in custody.
Death had to turn Him loose.

BUT THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS EASILY BELIEVED.
So Peter turns to another Old Testament passage
(Psalms 16:8-11)

(VERSES 25-28)

And his explanation is simple.
If David was talking about himself, then David was a liar.

(VERSES 29-32)

If David was talking about himself when he said that God would “NOT ALLOW [HIS] HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY” then David was a liar.

WHY?
“I may confidently say to you that regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.”

In other words, David is undergoing decay.
There is his tomb, and inside is his rotting body.

If David was referring to himself, he was lying.

BUT DAVID WASN’T TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF
(31) “he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY.”

The Holy One David was talking about was Jesus.

(32) “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”

So Peter has taken a moment to introduce the fact
That Jesus has risen from the dead.

WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ALL THOSE PEOPLE SPEAKING IN TONGUES AND THE PROPHECY OF JOEL?

(33) “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”

His resurrection is significant,
Because He is the One who has done all this.

Jesus died, but He rose, and He now sits at God’s right hand,
And it is He who poured out the Spirit on us.

3) THIS IS PROOF TO YOU (36)
This is what Peter really wants them to understand.

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified.”

They all wanted to know what these people speaking in tongues meant.
Remember vs. 12 “What does this mean?”

It means that when you killed Jesus, you killed God’s Son.
You rejected the Christ, you killed the Messiah.

IT MEANS YOU MADE A SERIOUS MISTAKE!
Because now He is alive, and He is sitting at God’s right hand.

The Entrance of the Spirit The Explanation of the Spirit
#3 THE EXPECTATION OF GOD
Acts 2:37-41

(37) “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

I think that is a fair question.
• You just found out that you killed God’s Messiah…
• You just found out that you spurned God’s will for your life…
• You just found out that you and God are not on the same team…

I would think seeking a solution would be the top priority.
“Brethren, what shall we do?”

(38) “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Now please read carefully what Peter said.
I would like to point out that Peter did not say for them to “believe”.

He said to “Repent” and “be baptized”.
But he did not tell them to “believe” per say.

ARE YOU SAYING THAT WE AREN’T SAVED THROUGH FAITH?
No.

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

Scripture is clear that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone.

Yet Peter told them to “repent” and “be baptized”
WHY?

“Repent” = turn your back on you.
Any specific sin in your life for sure.
But even more than that, realize that everything about you is all wrong.

“Be baptized” = run to Jesus.
Commit your life Him.
Do it publicly so that the world can see it.

What Peter commanded them to do
Is the same thing Jesus commanded His disciples to do.

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

And this is the same thing Peter reveals here.

Peter is not denying that faith is required for salvation.
Peter is revealing what saving faith looks like.

True saving faith is that which denies self and follows Jesus.
That is also why verse 44 refers to those who did that as “those who had believed”

And that is very important for you and I to understand.

CLAIMING TO BELIEVE IN JESUS IS NOT ENOUGH!

James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”

Peter didn’t tell these people that they needed to believe Jesus died.
(They knew that, some of them even had a direct hand in it)

Peter didn’t tell these people that then needed to believe Jesus rose from the dead.
(They believed that to, that is why they were so afraid)

These people needed to turn from their sinful ways,
Confess their lack of worth before God
And fully present their lives to Jesus.

And that is the same for you.
If I were to ask you did Jesus die on the cross, you’d say “yes”.
If I were to ask you did Jesus rise from the dead, you’d say “yes”.
DOES THAT MAKE YOU A CHRISTIAN? – no.

Denying self, turning from sin, trusting in Christ, submitting your life to Him; that is what makes you a Christian.

And Peter is very specific about that here.
These people were on the wrong side of God’s wrath,
They needed to turn from their former way of life and yield to Jesus.

(39) “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Peter was revealing that these people could instantly
Go from being God’s enemy to be God’s children.

That is the essence of Peter’s sermon.
That is not all he said, but that is the essence.

(40) “And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

Peter preached a long sermon on that day.
But Peter’s sermon had one theme.
“Be saved”

And the Scripture says that many on that day headed Peter’s warning.

(41) “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”

These were people who turned from their wicked way of thinking,
And yielded their lives to Christ.

Let me tell you friend, you must do the same.

“Why, I didn’t crucify Him?”
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

If you fail to trust Christ, it is the spiritual equivalent to crucifying Him.

Others assure themselves that they are fine before God.
“I’m a good person”
“I was raised in a Christian home”

Romans 3:10-12 “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

This sermon of Peter is for all men for all time.
You must turn from yourself and follow Christ.

That is the expectation of God.

#4 THE EVIDENCE OF SALVATION
Acts 2:42-47

There are many today who would say, “I don’t need to repent and submit to Christ, I’m already a Christian.” “I’ve already got the Holy Spirit.”

WELL, LET’S SEE.

Because what we see next is
What these people looked like after they received the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

5 evidences that true salvation had occurred.
1) THEIR DEVOTION (42)
“continually devoting themselves…”

• They could not get enough of Bible preaching.
• They could not get enough of fellowship with other believers.
• They loved taking the Lord’s Supper.
• They couldn’t stop praying.

It is amazing the number of “Christians” we have in the world
That never go to church to hear the word,
That never fellowship with other believers,
That never partake of the Lord’s Supper,
That can’t remember the last time they spent time in prayer.

People who have truly been changed by the Holy Spirit are devoted

2) THEIR FEAR (43)
“Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe”

The literal translation of that verse is: “fear was occurring to every soul”

The word “awe” translates PHOBOS
It’s were we get our word phobia

It is the same word used in Acts 5
After Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit.

Acts 5:11 “And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.”

And it is what is expected of true genuine believers.
1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

And the idea is that the life of a true believer
Is consumed with a desire to please God.

People who have truly been changed fear God.

3) THEIR LOVE (44-45)

1 John 3:16-17 “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

The idea is that once they were changed,
Then they started to demonstrate the love of God in their lives.

It is saddening to me how many people there are
Who claim to be Christians and have never once in their life
Aided the poor, or the sick, or the needy.

When these people received the Spirit of God they began to walk in love

4) THEIR FAITHFULNESS (46-47a)
“Day by day continuing…”

In other words their new passion was not just a flash in the pan.
Their new commitment didn’t wear off after a couple of days.

Casting Crowns – “The Altar and the Door”

When the Holy Spirit changes a life He changes it for good,
And that life is never the same again.

5) THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE WORLD (47b)
“And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

The world doesn’t always like Christians,
But it should always be able to spot them.

Can the people in your world tell that you are a Christian?
• Would they be surprised if you went to work tomorrow and told them where you were today?
• Would they faint if you told them you went back on Sunday night?

The point is that these people truly yielded their lives to Christ
And as a result they received the Holy Spirit,
And He had a real and lasting effect on their life.
This morning that is the change I offer to you.

FOR YOU THE RESURRECTION
CAN EITHER SPARK JOY OR FEAR.

• Jesus Christ died on the cross, but death could not hold Him.
• He rose from the dead and ascended to the Father.
• From there He poured out the Holy Spirit.

And He is a gift from God available to all who trust in Jesus.
This morning I ask you to do the same.

“Be saved from this perverse generation!”
Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

048 When Grace Appeared
Luke 1:26-38
December 23, 2012

Well this morning we find ourselves just on the cusp of
Probably the most celebrated holiday in the world.
We are all geared up for Christmas.

And since we have just completed the Olivet Discourse in Matthew’s gospel
And have yet to begin the section on Jesus’ Death, I thought it fitting this morning to take a little break and sort of focus in on Christmas a little.

We know that Christmas certainly has a reputation
For being misunderstood.

We’ve all seen times when the focus can be on things
Like Santa, or flying reindeer, or elves.

But even to make Christmas all about presents or food
Or even family is in reality to miss the point.

The point of Christmas is that God became flesh and dwelt among us.

Most holidays today are centered around some sort of human event.
(Presidents day, Memorial day, etc.)

But Christmas is not a holiday that focuses on human achievement
Or one that recognizes human accomplishment.

Christmas is a holiday that focuses solely on
Divine accomplishment and achievement.

Christmas is a celebration, not of what man did, but of what God did.

This makes Christmas more than a celebration,
But in reality a time of worship.

Those wise men had it correct.
Matthew 2:10-11 “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

Christmas is a time to worship God for one of the most tremendous things He ever did for us.

It was Zecharias (The father of John the Baptist)
Who said:
Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,”
WE WORSHIP BECAUSE GOD CAME NEAR!

And that is why I call this sermon, and really the Christmas season, “When Grace Appeared”

As he pondered on the miracle of the incarnation, the apostle John said:
John 1:14-18 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

It is certainly not to insinuate that God was never gracious before, but grace was never realized like it was in Jesus.

The incarnation, the coming of Christ, the appearance of the Savior,
Certainly took grace to a whole new level for all of humanity.

Grace may not have began at Christmas,
But Christmas is certainly where grace became the most apparent.

Now recently we have talked about grace.

Many of you have been with us on Sunday nights as we have been studying “The Jerusalem Confession”

Acts 15 recounts the story where the issue of circumcision threatened to divide the early church as some Jews were insisting that Gentiles needed to be circumcised to be saved.

The council at Jerusalem met to discuss the issue
And one of the main points made was that grace matters.

Peter actually said:
Acts 15:11 “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

And in studying that we talked about grace quite a bit.

Grace has always been defined as “God’s unmerited favor”
And that is certainly true, but I’m not sure it fully grasps all that grace is.

Grace is not just a fond look from God.
Grace is not just a pat on the back.

We actually defined grace like this:
“Grace is the divine answer to human weakness in every way”

• Mankind couldn’t obtain righteousness, grace obtained it.
• Mankind can’t overcome weakness in ministry, grace gives ability.
• Mankind can’t endure suffering, grace is sufficient.
• Mankind lacks resources, grace supplies with what is lacking.

Everywhere you find human weakness in regard to spiritual things
Grace solves the problem.

Grace is the divine answer to human weakness in every way.

And of course the greatest weakness mankind has faced
Is in regard to salvation.

Mankind cannot achieve righteousness on his own.

Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

If we are to be honest about the whole situation,
HUMANITY IS BESET WITH FAILURE AND WEAKNESS
And nowhere is that more evident than in the effort to become righteous.

• Take all the religious acts in the world…
• Take all the hours spent in temples…
• Take all the sheep slaughtered upon altars…

And mankind never came close.
Isaiah 64:6 “… all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment…”

Mankind was not righteous,
And mankind in his weakness could not achieve righteousness.

The Divine Answer to this problem came at Christmas.

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

Hebrews 1:1-4 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”

God intervened at Christmas.
God saw human weakness and His grace answered the weakness.

That answer was the incarnation.
The answer was God becoming flesh.
The answer was “Emmanuel” (God with us)
Grace appeared at Christmas.

And from this point on, we could all stand and give testimony of how grace appeared in each of our lives.

We could all stand and give testimony to the difference
That Christ coming into the world made to us.

But this morning we are going to see grace as we look at the life of Mary.

Now, ironically, when most of the world hears about Mary
Grace IS in fact the first thing they think of.

But tragically thanks to the Catholic heresies
Many think of Mary as the one who gives grace.

She has been called “The Mother of Grace”

Pope Pius X called Mary “The dispenser of all the gifts that Our Savior purchased for us…”

In the “Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma” Ludwig Ott writes, “Since Mary’s Assumption into Heaven no grace is conferred on man without her actual intercessory co-operation”

Much of the world actually buys into this Mariolatry.
I can assure you those views are not only false,
But are heretical and damning to those who trust in it.

Mary has never been a savior…
Mary has never been the intercessor for humanity…
Mary has never been the dispenser of grace…

Even Jesus knew that Mary had nothing in her worthy of worship.

Luke 11:27-28 “While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Mary was a tremendous woman, but she is not worthy of worship,
And if Mary knew the kind of worship that is directed toward her today,
She would be rolling in her grave.

The reality is that Mary is not the giver of grace,
But that Mary is a recipient of grace.

Mary was a fallen sinner, just like every other descendant of Adam,
But Mary was one who tremendously received the grace of God.

So this morning the example of Mary
Is how you and I should receive the grace of Christmas.

So this morning let’s look at how Mary received grace when it appeared
And learn from her example.

Four things
#1 THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF GRACE
Luke 1:26-30

Verse 26 actually records for us a rather tremendous scene.
There had been over 400 years of silence
Since God had last spoken to the prophets in the Old Testament.

And now, this the second angelic message inside a year.

“the sixth month” refers to the pregnancy of Martha
Who verse 36 tells us was “now in her sixth month”

It had only been about 7 months prior
That Gabriel had first broken the silence by speaking to Zecharias,
And now he has spoken again,
But this time in a very strange place and to a very strange person.

It is one thing to speak to a priest in the temple in Jerusalem.
But here Gabriel appears to a young virgin girl
Living in an insignificant town in Galilee.

“Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.”

Nazareth was a spot in the road, only a few hundred people.
Beyond that it was in Galilee.
(Not a place known for righteous supplication to God)

Culturally a Jewish girl entered a pre-arranged engagement when she was about 12 or 13. It would be about a year until the actual wedding feast,
But during that time the man and woman were legally bound.
So Gabriel picked a 13 year old engaged virgin
In the insignificant town of Nazareth.
That alone should be considered an act of grace.

But then comes the amazing statement.
(28) “And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

That is a remarkable statement.
Sadly it has been grossly misinterpreted.

This verse became the bases for the Ave Maria or “Hail Mary”
In which Mary is attributed to be full of grace.

But that is not what Gabriel said.

“favored one” translates CHARITOO
Which literally means “receiving grace”

Ephesians 1:6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

Gabriel did not say, “Hail Mary full of grace”
Gabriel said, “Greetings grace receiver!”

Gabriel called her the one who was receiving grace.

(29) “But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.”

This 13 year old girl thought, “What are you talking about?”
In what way have I received grace?

(30) “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God”

Again “favor” translates CHARIS which means “grace”

• Gabriel called her the grace receiver.
• Mary wondered what that meant.
• Gabriel said, “You have received grace from God”

Gabriel told her she was getting something she didn’t deserve.
She was receiving the divine answer to her human weakness.

If Mary was worthy prior to this,
There would be no talk of grace whatsoever.
God gave her grace because she was not worthy.

But Gabriel came and announced that grace was coming.
The Announcement of Grace
#2 THE APPEARANCE OF GRACE
Luke 1:31-33

So Gabriel told Mary that she was a grace receiver
And Mary didn’t full understand what he meant.

Well, here is the explanation.
(31-33) “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

Mary was a grace receiver because the Savior was about to arrive!

The unique thing is that she had the divine privilege
Of being the vessel through which He arrived.

“you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”

In Hebrew it was YESHUA which means “Yahweh Saves”

The Savior is coming to you, and He will come through your womb.

AND THEN WE LEARN ABOUT THE COMING SAVIOR

(32-33) “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

Gabriel gives a quick but powerful resume of the coming Savior.

1) HIS NATURE
“He will be great”

That is an understatement,
But in reality how do you sum up all that Jesus would be in His life?

When Gabriel told Zecharias about John the Baptist
He said “he will be great in the sight of the Lord”

But with Jesus, there is no qualification.
He is just “great”

And really substitute the words if you want, but none will do Him justice.
“He will be great”

2) HIS NAME
“and will be called the Son of the Most High”

Certainly this is a statement of the deity of Jesus.
He is not just the son of man, He is “the Son of the Most High”

Fully God and fully man
A Savior who can be a true mediator between God and man.

3) HIS INHERITANCE
“the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;”

• He inherits a kingdom.
• He is the Messiah.
• He is in line for the throne.

A Savior who will also be King.

4) HIS AUTHORITY
“He will reign over the house of Jacob forever”

He is no paper king.
He is no puppet ruler.
He is a king who will reign and reign forever

5) HIS PREEMINENCE
“And His kingdom will have no end.”

This King will take the throne and never give it up.
He is the greatest ruler ever.
He is the God man, the ruler of all people forever and ever.

That is the brief but powerful introduction that Gabriel has for Mary.

• Mary you will receive grace.
• That grace will come in the form of a coming Savior who will reign forever,
• And that King will enter the world through your womb.

That is the Announcement of Grace and the Appearance of Grace
#3 THE APPREHENSION OF GRACE
Luke a1:34-37

I told you that grace is
The divine answer to human weakness in every way.

Well here we see grace again.

In verse 34 Mary asks the obvious question.
“How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

It should be noted that Mary had no qualms with
• The coming of the Savior,
• The deity of the Savior,
• The authority of the Savior
• The preeminence of the Savior.

Mary had a full belief in all of that.
Her problem was with the arrival of the Savior.

Human logic teaches that virgins can’t bear children.
It didn’t make sense to Mary how this could happen.

THAT IS HUMAN WEAKNESS.
Humans are so weak they can’t bear children without conception.

Well grace answers human weakness and so here it is.

(35) “The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

Humanly speaking, it is not possible for you to have a child,
But God will do what is not humanly possible.

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you.”

The Holy Spirit is God’s agent of creation,
And perhaps His most miraculous creation ever
Will take place in the womb of Mary.

God will do by grace what is not possible through human effort.

God will cause you to conceive a child in your womb apart from human effort and “for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

I know that is hard to fathom.
That is one of those mysteries that quite honestly
Is beyond human comprehension.

The only explanation is that God will do it.

And if you need proof (which Mary did not ask for) here it is:

(36-37) “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Elizabeth actually served as proof for Mary
That God could make the impossible possible.

God by grace causes barren women and virgins to conceive.
He can do whatever He wants.

That is the grace of this whole event.

You are receiving grace, not because you took it, not because you earned it, but because God has chosen to give it to you.

The Announcement of Grace The Appearance of Grace
The Apprehension of Grace
#4 THE ACCEPTANCE OF GRACE
Luke 1:38

And don’t you love that statement by Mary!

Notice the SUBMISSION:
“Behold, the bondslave of the Lord”

That is that word that Paul and Peter and James and John
All called themselves.

They were those willing slaves of the Master.
Mary here placed herself in a place of submission to God’s will.

You also have to love her FAITH:
“may it be done to me according to your word”

There was no argument.
There was no doubt.

God said He was going to do it and Mary believed it and submitted to it.

Grace had appeared and Mary received it.

She is a tremendous example of what it looks like
When a person receives the grace of God
And this morning I want us to learn from her example.

The first thing I would tell you is to make sure you hear the announcement.

The angel approached her and said, “Greetings grace receiver!”

That is the announcement that God makes to us.
He has grace available for us.
He has a plan for salvation.
I would also tell you to understand the implications of the offer.

For Mary that grace meant the appearance of a Savior,
And it means the same for us.

Grace appeared for us in the form of Jesus.

John 1:17 “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

Understand what grace is all about.

Grace was God answering your weakness.
• You couldn’t earn salvation
• You couldn’t please God
• You couldn’t travel to heaven

But God answered your weakness at Christmas by sending the Savior.
He is Great
He is God
He is King
And His Kingdom will never end

Understand exactly what God is offering.
He is offering salvation.

At that point you need to do like Mary again and recognize your weakness.

Mary knew that delivering the Christ child
Was impossible by her own strength and ability.

Well, you also are too weak to bring this about on your own.

This isn’t a works thing, this is a grace thing.

And finally, like Mary submit to His plan.

Mary gave a tremendous answer: “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”

I can’t think of a better answer to Jesus than that.

Jesus says, “Follow Me”
Jesus says, “Trust Me”
Jesus says, “Come to Me”

And our answer should be just like Mary’s
“I am the bondslave of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.”

That is how Mary received this grace that had been offered to her.

Well this morning I remind you that Grace has appeared.
God intervened.
Eternity stepped into time.

And man’s weakness was answered by God’s appearing.

So Christmas isn’t just a time to give presents…
Christmas isn’t just a time to be with family…
Christmas isn’t a time to dwell on Santa…
CHRISTMAS IS A TIME TO WORSHIP GOD

It is not a holiday that focuses on the past achievements of man.
It is a holiday that focuses on the gracious appearing of God.

Receive this grace this Christmas and worship God for giving it.

John 1:17-18 “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

Acts 17:22-31

We are here this morning on a traditional Easter Sunday morning.
It is the pinnacle Sunday on the church calendar.

For the Christian, the resurrection of Jesus is THE event.

THE RESURRECTION PROVES
He is the Son of God
He is the sacrifice for sins
He is the great high priest

And we love each of those proves and enjoy talking about them.

BUT NONE OF THOSE ARE GOING TO BE OUR FOCUS THIS MORNING.

For you see, there is something else the resurrection proves.
It is a thing that is very rarely mentioned, and often overlooked.

To find it, we will begin in the 17th chapter of Acts.

Acts 17:16 “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.”

Paul had fled from Berea thanks to some angry Jews,
And landed in Athens.

And while he was there, “his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.”

And by the way, the word “provoked” there literally means
“to become angry or infuriated”.

Paul had what Jeremiah referred to as “a fire in my bones”.

Athens was a city filled with
Mysticism, Idolatry, Philosophy, Temples, and False gods.

As Paul witnessed this “intellectual” city
Giving God’s glory to graven images, it was more than Paul could take.
Paul went on the offensive

Acts 17:17 “So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.”

Eventually he did catch people’s attention.
Acts 17:18-21 “And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,” — because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

The Areopagus was a court named after the hill on which it stood.
It was in this court that Socrates
Had been condemned several centuries earlier.

These philosophers wanted to know what Paul was talking about.

Acts 17:22-23 “So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

Paul immediately diagnosed the condition of the men of Athens.
“you are very religious in all respects.”

That is to say the least.
They had temples and statues, and altars for everything.

They even had “an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’”
THEIR THEOLOGY WAS VERY MYSTICAL & COINCIDENTAL

They recognized the presence of deity,
They just failed to actually know who that deity was.

Let me say, America is not just heading there, America IS there.

We live in a PLURALISTIC NATION, which recognizes every religion.
We live in a POLYTHEISTIC NATION, which recognizes every deity.
We also live in a MYSTICAL NATION which is fascinated with spiritualism.

Like the people of Athens,
America today is fascinated with deity.

We constantly hear the words “faith” or “God” or “spiritualism”
(Even Oprah is fascinated by it)

BUT LISTEN TO ME
SPIRITUALISM IS NOT CHRISTIANITY
AND IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU KNOW GOD.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
SPIRITUALISM IS PRECISELY WHAT THE MEN OF ATHENS HAD
They had religion and mystical experience steeped in ignorance.

They had no knowledge of God, yet they carried out ceremony.

And this is relevant today.
The cry of Christianity is that we have a personal relationship
With God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.

And yet, even in Christian circles, many do not truly know God.
They’ve never met Him…
They don’t converse with Him…
They don’t hear from Him…
They are not interested in His word…
They are not consumed with His desires…
They are not angered by things that anger Him…

They are summed up all to well by the apostle John.
1 John 2:4-6 “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

Despite all the lip service about faith, and spiritualism, and God, The overwhelming disobedience to God indicates only one thing.
PEOPLE TODAY DO NOT REALLY KNOW GOD

Today, God is by in large, “unknown” to many people.

Paul was up against that very issue
(Religious people who do not know God)
And Paul determines to make “The Unknown God”; known.

There are two main things Paul points out in this text.
#1 WHO HE IS
Acts 17:24-29

If God is virtually unknown then there is only one place to begin.
We need a basic understanding of who He is.

In these 6 verses, Paul speaks of 5 of His attributes.
1) HIS EXISTENCE (24)

I told you that the men of Athens were very religious.
In fact, it was the center of Greek mythology.
Regardless of the gods found in Athens, one thing stood in common.
The gods were all relatively small.

Now, they would not come out and say so,
But it was evident in their theology in that each of them
Had their own temple in which they dwelled

And no doubt they would have also built a nice little cozy temple for our God too, if they only knew who He was, but Paul attacks that fallacy first.

Our God could not possibly dwell in a temple.
WHY?

He is “The God who made the world and all things in it” and “He is Lord of heaven and earth” He could not possibly “dwell in temples made with hands.”

In fact, when Solomon built that first temple for God he said:
2 Chronicles 2:5-6 “The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods. “But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?”

Even Solomon knew, the temple was not to hold God

And that is what Paul points out.
God is real, He is so real in fact
That He is the God who created everything you see.

Our God is the real God who created everything.
And “He is Lord of heaven and earth”

I know scientists today tell you that you came from a monkey,
or that there was a massive explosion that started this world.

They try to disprove creation
Because they seek to disprove the existence of God.

Without debating all their ignorance, let me just give you the truth.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Paul wanted the men of Athens to know first that God is real,
And that He alone created all things.

“He is Lord of heaven and earth”

His Existence
2) HIS POWER (25)

The next attribute Paul wanted these people to know about God
Is that He didn’t require any help from them at all.

Greek mythological gods all had special powers, but they all,
Like their human inventors also each had crippling weaknesses.

Hermes had a propensity to steal and was known as a cheater and thief
Aphrodite had many love affairs
Dionysus was given to drunkenness and was effeminate
Zeus was given to lust and a wandering eye, even to human women

And because their gods were beset with human weakness, there were also obvious times when their gods could need help.

But the true God is not like these.
“nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything,”

Psalms 50:10-12 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.”

The true God, is not beset with weakness,
Nor does He need anything from humanity.

Rather, “He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.”

It is not He who comes to you for help,
But it is you who should go to Him for help.

He is God, and He is powerful.
3) HIS SOVEREIGNTY (26)

Not only does the true God exist as creator of all things, and not only is He powerful, but the true God is also sovereign over His creation.

That means that the true God even determined your life.
Every human ever born was determined by God.
Where he would live, when he would live, etc.

“having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”

The true God is not controlled by His creation,
Rather He sits in control of His creation.

Jeremiah 10:11-16 “Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses. Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name.”

God is real, God is powerful, God is sovereign
4) HIS INTENTION (27)

Paul even throws in, what it is that God intends,
By placing each man exactly where He placed them.

The intention of God is that His creation would seek Him.
In fact God intends that they would grope for Him,
And as a result of this seeking that they would find Him.

The Bible teaches that there is a partial knowledge of God all around us.
Both the conscience of man, and the creation of God testify of God.

Romans 1:19-20 “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

That testimony is not sufficient to save us,
But it is sufficient to motivate us to seek the source of it.

If you see a building, then you know it had a builder.
If you see a painting, then you know it had an artist.
If you see a design, then you know there was a designer.

Everything around us points to a creator,
The idea is that we as humans would seek to know the Creator.

It is God’s intention that you seek Him and find Him.
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

God is real, He is powerful, He is sovereign, and He expects to be sought
5) HIS PROVISION (28)

Not only is He the author of life, and sovereign over life,
But it is only because of Him that LIFE CONTINUES TO EXIST.

“in Him we live and move and exist”

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

And that is not some foreign new concept.
Even the pagan philosophers in Athens had enough sense to recognize that something, somewhere had to keep life going.

“as even some of Your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’”

The point is, every man, should recognize that there is a true God
Who does indeed provide for life.

“I KNOW THAT GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH ME”
(Man in Florida airport)
WELL – DUH!

That is one of His key attributes.
He is the source of life and provider of all good things.

James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

So Paul has given five basic attributes about the one true God.
He exists
He is powerful
He is sovereign over creation
He intends for man to know Him
He sustains life and provides life for all creation

And then Paul sort of gives a simple point in reference to all these.
(29) “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.”

Not only did Paul want them to recognize there is one true God,
Paul also wanted them to quit dumbing Him down to their level.

God is not formed in our image, we are formed in His.
God is not created by us, we are created by Him.
We do not move God, God moves us.

That is who He is.
But there is a second and vitally important thing
We must also learn.

Not only who He is, but:
#2 WHAT HE REQUIRES
Acts 17:30-31

If there is one true God who sits enthroned over all creation,
And who holds my life in His hands,
Then I had better learn what it is He wants from me.

“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,”

ARE YOU INCLUDED IN ALL PEOPLE?
ARE YOU INCLUDED IN EVERYWHERE?

Then what is God now saying to you? – “repent”
It is the one word message of the God of creation.

Some could say, “Repent of what?” – Everything.

Romans 3:10-18 “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

That is God’s summation of mankind.
It is not that man just does bad things,
It is that man has missed the mark in everything.

Even the good man does, is not acceptable to God.
Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

His assessment is that man has completely and totally missed the mark.
Not one single human is acceptable to Him.
Not one single human is pleasing to Him.
“all people everywhere should repent”

And people say, “Why should I repent? I like my life”

(31) “because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
The reason you should do what God says,
Is because the God who created this world,
Has already fixed the day, in which He will judge it.

Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

And when He does, He will judge this world by one man.

“He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man who He has appointed.”

Some day, when the curtain is removed, and judgment begins,
We will not be compared to one another.
The standard of God’s judgment will be One who is perfectly righteous.

Isaiah 28:16-18 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place. “Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, Then you become its trampling place.”
The tested stone…
The measuring line called justice…
The level called righteousness…
Are all one and the same, they are the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is God’s perfect standard
Someday when judgment begins, you will be placed beside Jesus,
If you do not measure up to Him, you will be forever judged.

HOW DO I KNOW THAT GOD WILL JUDGE MEN BY JESUS?

It is that often unspoken purpose of the resurrection
I was telling you about.
“having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

When God raised Jesus, He revealed that Jesus was acceptable.
There was no grounds by which death could hold Him.
He is perfect, and He is righteous, and He is God’s holy standard.
The resurrection of Jesus also serves as a tremendous proof
That Jesus is the standard by which God will judge this world.

If you wish to escape the judgment of the one true God,
You must be as righteous as Jesus.

You say, that’s not possible.
I can’t be as good as Jesus. In fact, I’ve already blown it.

What should I do?
“God is now declaring to man that all people everywhere should repent.”

Peter said the same thing:
Acts 2:36-39 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent”

Give your life to Jesus.
He is the Savior of the world.
And if you will surrender your life to Him, He will save you,
He will wash you in His blood and make you righteous before God.

Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

This morning I want you to look at the empty tomb,
I want you to know that Jesus is acceptable to the only true God.

God is real, He is powerful, He is sovereign, He intends for man to seek Him, and He is the provider and sustainer of this world.

HOW CAN YOU KNOW THE UNKNOWN GOD?
Repent, and give your life to Jesus, He is God’s only Savior.

John 6:29 “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

DO YOU KNOW GOD? DO YOU KNOW JESUS?
God has accepted Jesus, what have you done with Him?

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Continuing along our theme from this morning.

We are talking about “The Significance Of The Resurrection.”

And this morning we talked about:
WHAT THE RESURRECTION SAYS ABOUT JESUS

And of course we saw that because of the resurrection, we know:
JESUS IS GOD
“He was declared the Son of God with power, by the resurrection from the dead”

JESUS IS THE STANDARD FOR JUDGMENT
God will “judge the world through a Man, having furnished proof by raising Him from the dead”

JESUS IS THE SAVIOR
“He was crucified for our transgressions, He was raised because of our justification”

And so the resurrection plays a very significant role
In determining who Jesus is.

Tonight I want us to see
“WHAT THE RESURRECTION SAYS TO US”

TURN TO: 2 Timothy

I’m sure you are by now familiar, as we have discussed many times, that
2 Timothy was written at a time when Timothy was discouraged

READ VERSES 1:3-4

One of the main tactics Paul uses throughout the letter is to
Remind Timothy of various individuals.

He reminds of those who have sincere faith:
• Mother and grandmother (1:5)
• Of Himself (1:12) (3:10-11) (4:6-8)
• Onesiphorus (1:16)
• Luke (4:11)
• Mark (4:11)
• Tychicus (4:12)
• A host of brethren (The Church) (4:19-21)

He reminds of those who have defected from the faith:
• Phygelus & Hermogenes (1:15)
• Hymenaeus & Philetus (2:16-18)
• Jannes & Jombres (3:8)
• Demas (4:10)
• Alexander the Coppersmith (4:14)
And the idea is that Paul is revealing to Timothy
That he must choose a side.

• You are either faithful to the calling of God, or you defect away from the calling of God.

• You either preach the gospel accurately, or you altar the gospel to make yourself more acceptable to the world.

But you must choose a side.

But in this great letter of encouragement Paul reminds Timothy of one other great example.

READ 2 TIMOTHY 2:8-13

The greatest encouragement Paul could give to Timothy
Was to remember the reason why we can face opposition.

The reason we face opposition is because of “Jesus Christ”,
And namely because He has “risen from the dead”.

This fact was enough to motivate Paul, and Paul trusted
That it would be enough to motivate Timothy as well.

THE INSINUATION IS that as believers
We ought to find hope and encouragement from the resurrection.

Certainly Timothy is not the only one to have ever been discouraged.
Anyone who has ever sought to live this Christian life and lead others to Christ as well, no doubt has been frustrated.

Even Elijah asked to die.

Tonight I want to show you why
Paul wanted Timothy to remember.

We are just going to “remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead”,
And I want you to see what that means for you.

• I want you to find hope…
• I want you to find conviction…
• I want you to find strength…
• I want you to find boldness…

And just as we did this morning, there are three things we learn
As we examine the resurrection.

#1 SALVATION IS POSSIBLE

Now of course we talked about the counterpart to this earlier today.

This morning we saw that Jesus is the Savior.
And therefore, if Jesus is the Savior,
Then obviously that means that for you and I – SALVATION IS POSSIBLE.

And of course we should know,
That if there is no resurrection
Then it is impossible for you or I to be saved.

TURN TO: 1 Corinthians 15:12-24

The Corinthians actually had some there who thought
The resurrection of the dead was a myth.

Paul reveals the consequences if such were true.

• FAITH IS USELESS (14)
• APOSTLES ARE LIARS (15) (Scripture isn’t true)
• FORGIVENESS IS A MYTH (17) (bulls and goats can’t remove sin)
• YOUR MOMMA IS IN HELL (18)
• CHRISTIANS ARE PITIFUL FOOLS (19)

But we can rejoice that Christ has been raised,
Not as a one time demonstration,
But as (20) “the first fruits of those who are asleep”

He was the first of many more to come.
He came and brought life.

And so we know He is a Savior, and we know salvation
Is possible because He rose from the dead.

BUT TONIGHT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND IT A LITTLE DEEPER

Don’t just look at the resurrection
As nothing more than a verifying proof.

Jesus did plenty of works by which to prove Himself.

And while the resurrection does prove He is God, and Savior, and the Standard for judgment, THE RESURRECTION IS NOT JUST A PROOF.

It is far more than just a demonstration.

Let me explain.

THE VIRGIN BIRTH
Certainly a demonstration of His deity, as Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

But the virgin birth was more than a demonstration,
It was also necessary as Jesus could not be born of Adam.

THE CROSS
Certainly a demonstration of God’s unfailing love, as “greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

But the cross was obviously more than a demonstration,
It was also necessary to pay the sin debt of mankind.

THE SAME IS TRUE FOR THE RESURRECTION
Certainly it is a demonstration of power, as Jesus conquered the grave and proved He was legitimate.

But the resurrection is way more than that.
The resurrection is the channel through which salvation flowed.

TURN TO: 1 Peter 3

Again, the background to 1 Peter is suffering.
It was written to (1:1) “those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia”

And the letter is written to explain how to suffer biblically.
To bad Kings…
To bad bosses…
To bad spouses…
To bad friends…

In chapter 3 Peter begins to reveal the victory over suffering
As he reminds us of the ultimate sufferer; Jesus Christ.

And of course Peter reveals how He died, where He went,
And the victory He had there.

READ 1 PETER 3:18-20

But then Peter makes a great analogy to us.
READ 1 PETER 3:21-22

Peter just compared the work of Jesus, to the work of Noah.
In a very real sense, Jesus is our ark,
Which carries us through the judgment.

If Jesus stays dead, then it is the equivalent of the ark sinking.
It is the resurrection that makes salvation possible.
That is how Jesus moves us from the life of darkness to the life of light.

That is why we don’t just place our faith in His death,
But also in His resurrection.

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Jesus doesn’t just carry us into death,
But through death into eternal life.

Because He rose, salvation is possible.
#2 SALVATION IS POWERFUL

What I mean by this, is
Our salvation is much more than just a ticket into heaven.

It is a salvation with the power to turn death into life.
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 8:51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.”

Eternal life does not start when we die.
Eternal life starts when we are made alive in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”

When people view salvation as simply going to heaven
They are missing the power of it.

Yes, the resurrection is victory over physical death.
2 Corinthians 4:14 “knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.”

It is also victory over sin.
Romans 6:4-9 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.”
Paul is speaking of a spiritual resurrection, where the old man dies,
And the new man is given life.

You see this salvation is not just eternal life,
It is “Life” that is eternal.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

This is what Jesus was revealing at the tomb of Lazarus.
TURN TO JOHN 11
(I love this at funerals)

(Mostly verse 44)

It is a powerful salvation.
Victory over death…
Victory over sin…

It is victory over fear
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

When Jesus stepped out of the grave,
He didn’t just kill physical death.
He killed spiritual death and it’s fearful intimidation.

BECAUSE OF THE RESURRECTION:
We are free to walk in righteousness without fear of the enemy,
Knowing that even if he kills our body,
He can never take our life away from us.

It’s no wonder that Paul wanted Timothy to “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead”

Salvation is possible
Salvation is powerful
#3 SALVATION IS PERMANENT

Jesus rose from the dead to never die again
And there is a reason for that.

After His resurrection, He took on a new role.

TURN TO: Hebrews 7:23-25

TURN TO: Romans 5:6-10

TURN TO: 1 Peter 1:3-5

Because Jesus rose from the dead,
He now has a role of intercessor,
By which He secures our salvation.

And therefore, this life that we enjoy
Can never be taken away from us.

Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

So look, Timothy, it may be hard where you are.
• You may be persecuted…
• You may be mocked…
• You may be rejected…
• You may want to quit…
• You may see no hope of success…

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead”
Because He rose, you can be saved…
Because He rose, you can have new life…
Because He rose, nothing can ever take that life from you…

THAT IS WHAT THE RESURRECTION SAYS TO YOU.

Now:
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THE RESURRECTION?

Matthew 28 says the disciples “worshiped Him”
In John 20, Mary wouldn’t stop “clinging” to Him
Thomas said, “My Lord and my God”
Peter said, “Lord, You know that I love You”

And you may indeed say all those things.

But the first thing Jesus wants you to say
In regard to His resurrection is:
“I BELIEVE”

Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
Believe that He rose:
And endure that trial…

Believe that He rose:
And be faithful to your calling…

Believe that He rose:
And stop the sin you have been practicing…

Believe that He rose:
And be saved…

The Resurrection of Jesus is highly significant,
Truly believing it, will change your life.