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Welcome
Good morning… thank you for joining us today as we continue our "Devoted to" series.
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Reading
Introduction
Melanie Verwoerd… writing for News24 asks a challenging question…
How much are you prepared to give to save a life…
As we speak today I want you to remember it because we will be coming back to it later…
Last week…
Spoke about the importance of being "Devoted to"
We noted that Jesus calls us as believers to be devoted to Himself alone
We saw how devoted Apostles influenced the growth of the church.
Today we address the question of the Apostles doctrine.
Which in fact was the doctrine they were taught by the Lord Jesus.
Which God put in place to fulfill His plans and purposes before the creation of man
This was not some new-fangled philosophy…
It was all part of a progressive revelation by God from the beginning.
Background
Jesus was crucified, buried and has risen from the grave…
He appears to many including the Apostles
Giving many convincing proofs that He was alive… Acts 1:3
The Apostles were eye witnesses of all this
The Apostle John testifies and says…
He saw, heard and touched the resurrected Jesus… 1 John 1:3
Jesus instructs them…
Not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit from God
This gift will empower them in their calling to be Jesus witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth… Acts 1:8
As this instruction is completed…
We read of His ascension into heaven…
With the promise by the angels… that He will return … John 14:3
Ten days after the ascension the disciples are all together waiting…
And the fulfillment of God’s promise takes place…
And they are all filled with the Holy Spirit…
And as the Spirit enables them they are able to speak in different languages… Acts 2:4
A crowd has gathered and they are amazed and somewhat perplexed that these Galileans are able to speak all these different languages ... Acts 2:12
And start asking questions.
This is when Peter stands up and explains this phenomenon.
And in his sermon we see the basic structure of the Apostles doctrine.
A doctrine that we hold to too this day…
Because it reveals the purposes, plans, promises and the person of the Lord Jesus.
So for our purposes today we will discuss 4 basic points of Peter’s message…
Gods plan
Gods prophets
Gods promises
Gods person
As Peter addressed the people he says to them "Listen carefully to what I say"… Acts 2:14
And I humbly ask you to do the same today…
Not because I am a great speaker
But because the truths he reveals, are today, for us, life changing and have eternal consequences
1 Gods Plan…
Acts 2:23 This man who was handed over to you by God’s set purposes and foreknowledge… and you put him to death…
The first thing we must recognise is that the death of Jesus was not just another incident in history…
Peter tells us in verse …
This man (Jesus) was handed over to you by…
By… GOD…
Not Judas, the Jews, or Romans
Why would God handover His Son?
To fulfil his set purposes.
Peter tells us He was put to death…
Why…
His death was there to fulfil Gods set purposes.
Come with me to the writings of another Apostle… Paul…
Writing to the Ephesian church he says…
(God) chose us in Christ (Jesus) before the creation of the world… Ephesians 1:4
To be holy and blameless.
In Him, we were chosen according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purposes of His will… Ephesians 1:10
God had a purpose…
So He develops a plan that will fulfil His purposes
- Then He creates a place where His purposes can be carried out.
Before God created the world He purposed to create man for relationship with Himself…
Do you see how this flies in the face of evolution.
The universes did not just happen by chance…
It is not a co-incidence of nature that this world is perfectly suited for mankind…
The God of all creation created it for a purpose…
In order to accomplish that purpose He created the world we live in…
The world was made for man…
Man is not a co-incidence of nature as evolutionists would have us believe.
God created man for His purposes…
His purpose is to make man… holy and blameless
So He permits Judas to betray Jesus
He permits the Jews to put Him to death
And the Romans were permitted to hang Him on a cross
All of which was prophesied centuries before…
The death of Jesus was permitted because God’s plan was to make sinful men holy and blameless…
And to achieve that Jesus had to become the sin bearer because Gods law demanded it…
But that having been accomplished on the cross…
Death could not hold Him so He arose from the dead… Acts 2:4
The final piece in God’s plan was to glorify Him and bring all things in heaven and on earth under one head even Christ… Ephesians 1:10
Do we get the picture…
All of this is in the purposes and plan of God before the world or man is even created
God has a purpose, a plan, creates a place. Introduces a people for Himself.
But ultimately everything in heaven and earth must come under Christ.
2 Gods Prophets
In order to reveal His plans and purposes God speaks through the Prophets… Hebrews 1:1
At various times and in different ways…
But in these last days… by His Son… Hebrews 1:2
Peter quotes two of the prophets…
Joel and David…
But there are many more like…
Moses, Isaiah and Jeremiah and others…
- He reveals over a long period of time who He is… E.G…
To Moses… the Great I am…
Ever present, ever able, ever faithful, merciful God
The all-powerful saviour, redeemer and provider
- To Isaiah…
The thrice holy God… Isaiah 6
The Servant King, Emmanuel, God with is… Isaiah 7:14
The sacrificial Lamb of God… Isaiah 53
To David…
He reveals the one over whom death has no hold…
The one who is to be resurrected from the dead… Acts 2:27… Psalms 16:8-11
The everlasting King… sitting on David’s throne
Through Joel... what He is going to do…
He intends to… Acts 2:17-21… Joel 2:28-32
Pour out His Spirit on all men
To save all who call upon the name of the Lord…
Slowly but surely that revelation paints a clear picture…
All of Gods purposes and plans are centred in one person…
Jesus… Gods Messiah… promised one
Rejected by ma…
Made Lord and Christ by God… a name above any other… Acts 2:36
Despite the fact that these prophets never met and lived in different eras
They all pointed in one direction and to one person…
Jesus Christ.
Peter concludes…
Jesus was accredited by God with signs and wonders and miracles… Acts 2:22
Death could not hold Him… Acts 2:24
Exalted by God to His right hand… Acts 2:35, Psalms 110:1
Paul concludes…
With a name that is above every other name… Philippians 2:9
The great purpose of all prophecy was to bring us the Lord Jesus Christ… Galatians 3:24
The one sent by God to make us holy and blameless.
3 Gods Promises
So this God who reveals himself as holy, righteous and sovereign…
Makes promises that He is obliged to keep… and able to keep…
In order to preserve His integrity
To Abraham He promises…
A people and a place to dwell
And his descendants end up in a land flowing with milk and honey
Living in houses they had not built
Harvesting crops they had not planted.
To David an everlasting throne… 2 Samuel 7:12-14
Upon which one of his descendants would sit.
Where righteousness will reign.
So when Jesus is born we can trace his lineage back to Jesse, David’s father
Through Joel He promises that… Joel 2:28-32
All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved…
Made Holy and blameless
Through the death and resurrection of Jesus…
We are born again into God’s family
A new creation indwelt by His Holy Spirit
Holy and blameless
So Jesus reveals his purpose…
I am come that you might have life and that more abundantly… John 10:10
He comes to fulfil the promises of God
4 Gods person
All of this to be accomplished and fulfilled in, through, and for one person…
Jesus
So we find… 44 prophecies coming from the prophets all of which are fulfilled in the life of Jesus…
From…
Place of birth to place of burial
Details of death to resurrection from the dead
The suffering that He would endure and the purpose of suffering
Peter concluded…
Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, signs and wonders which God did among you through Him… Acts 2:22
You saw them… you know what happened… no excuses
This Jesus, God has made Lord and Christ… Acts 2:36
Lord… Jehovah… the supreme one… God with us
Christ… Messiah… the chosen one … Promised Saviour.
Jesus is the central core of all God is accomplishing…
Without Him there is nothing…
Jesus confirms this when He says
No one comes to the Father but by me… John 14:6
Summary
God has a purpose…
Creating man for relationship with Himself
God used the prophets to convey His purposes…
Today we have the Bible in which we have a record of their writings
God made promises…
All of which have been and are being fulfilled in order to bring His purposes and plans to finality
God does all of this through one person…
Jesus who He has appointed Lord and Christ
Conclusion
This is the Apostles doctrine that changed the world…
Within a hundred years it had spread throughout the entire Roman world…
Rome tried in vain to stamp it out
But in actual fact they had created a perfect situation for it to spread…
Augustus’s census was in fulfilment of prophecy
The road infrastructure made travel easier
The new cities, theatres, market places, public buildings all lead to ideal places for evangelism to take place.
The use of common Greek as a universal language made communication easy
Their brutality in dealing with Jerusalem cause Christians to move throughout the Roman world
And Pax Romana created by Augustus Caesar was politically ideal.
Paul and others use these situations to the very good effect.
None of this was co-incidence…
It was all in the perfect will and purposes of God
Throughout history there have been many attempts to eradicate this message…
Rome tried in vain to stamp it out
The Jewish leaders tried as well
Communistic Russia tried
China is trying but is not succeeding
Muslim extremists are trying
Humanists are trying…
But they will never succeed because Jesus said…
My Work will not pass away… Luke 21:33
Why will it not pass away…
Because nothing can stop the Sovereign God from accomplishing His purposes.
A study of prophecy and the history of Israel proves that point.
The purposes and plan is…
To bring mankind into permanent relationship with Himself
To do that He created the earth as a temporary place to prepare us for Himself
And as the angels promised the disciples at Jesus ascension… He will come again
To take us to be with him so that where He is we are also…
To this purpose God the Father is totally devoted…
And so is the Lord Jesus
Challenge
Believer…
How much are you prepare to give, to save a life…
