Pastor Paul Chappell: The Declaration of Peter

take your bibles this morning and stand with me please and turn to the book of acts acts chapter 2 and we are continuing our series this morning a series entitled i declare and i hope you've been declaring about jesus christ every other person out there is talking about their favorite theme whether it's a ball team or whether it's some other issue but we want to be the church that declares christ and that's what we're learning about and we've heard the declaration of the apostle paul john the baptist we've been going through various different declarations but today we're going to hear from peter on the day of pentecost and today we turn to acts chapter 2. next sunday we'll conclude the series and we'll hear the declaration of jesus christ as jesus declares himself to be the way the truth and the life you don't want to miss it and then we'll move into our new series coming up in september overcomer and so we have a lot of great things from the pulpit lord willing over the next several months that i trust will lift up your heart and draw you closer to the lord we're going to read just a few verses this morning but we'll be looking at several others so keep your bibles open to acts chapter 2 and let's read in acts chapter 2 verses 22 through 24 as we begin this morning acts chapter 2 verses 22-24 ye men of israel hear these words jesus of nazareth a man approved of god among you by miracles and wonders and signs which god did by him in the midst of you as ye yourselves also know him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of god ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain whom god hath raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it let's pray together father thank you for the wonderful music and for the opportunity to gather together we ask that you would bless now give us uh understanding by your spirit conviction by your word and by your spirit and help us to respond today to this message as you lead us i pray in jesus name amen you may be seated what we have been learning that a declaration is a powerful thing we certainly could attest to that as american citizens as we look back at the historic declaration of independence and all of the ramifications of that great declaration some people declare their love some people declare bankruptcy some people declare their candidacy some people declare a state of war and some people declare a state of surrender a declaration is a powerful thing declarations can have major impact and this morning we are studying the greatest declaration that was ever made on planet earth that is the declaration of the gospel of jesus christ paul said in first corinthians 15 and verse 1 moreover brethren i declare unto you the gospel which i preached unto you which also ye have received and wherein ye stand before us today is the first sermon preached in the church at pentecost this great sermon as the holy spirit has now descended and indwelt the believers there in jerusalem peter stands to declare what this is all about why the empowerment of the spirit is necessary why these sign gifts are showing forth and proving out that jesus was the christ the early church was not all about the sign gifts those happen on rare occasion under apostolic observance the early church was all about preaching the gospel of jesus christ acts 5 and 42 and daily in the temple and in every house they ceased not to preach jesus christ acts chapter 8 and verse 4 therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word i want you to get it in your mind not just the preachers everyone went everywhere talking about jesus christ that is normal christianity now this message in acts 2 is in particular to a jewish audience and i think you saw that in verse 22 ye men of israel no doubt they had seen and heard of the crucifixion of christ perhaps they thought they were done with christ when he died on the hill at golgotha nevertheless he rose again and now his followers were with mighty power proclaiming jesus as the messiah and so peter stands to bring clarity he speaks into the hearts and minds of these jewish men in jerusalem and he declares to them the truth of the gospel and he declares to them in the first place the supremacy of christ the supremacy of christ did you see that in verse 22 jesus of nazareth a man approved of god among you by miracles and wonders and signs which god did by him in the midst of you as ye yourselves also know now ladies and gentlemen in these days when government seems at times overbearing and at other times inept or both at the same time we as believers need to take hope in the fact that jesus christ is our king and that heaven is our kingdom let us never forget this let us never forget who jesus is that he is the name that is above every name that he is king of kings and lord of lords and peter stands to declare the supremacy of christ his deity was known his deity was proven verse 22 tells us he was the god man amen you'll see it in verse 22 approved of god that is he was exposed he was shown he was exhibited he was declared in all of his glory to be the son of god second peter 1 and 17 for he received from god the father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased you'll recall the baptism of jesus in the jordan river we've had occasion to visit that river and even to baptize some of our members there it's a beautiful place and it was there as jesus was baptized of john the baptist that the dove descended from heaven and a voice from heaven sounded out this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased you see the credibility of the ministry of christ was not only due to his incarnation not only due to his nature his miracles his deity but by the testimony of his father we know that jesus is the christ he was approved by god the father he was approved with miracles and wonders the bible tells us in verse 22 that there were miracles and wonders and signs john chapter three and verse two the bible tells us about this man nicodemus who came to jesus by night and he said rabbi we know that thou art a teacher come from god well how do you know that nicodemus because of the miracles that thou doest no man can do these miracles except god be with him and someone might say well anyone can fake a miracle anyone can do a miracle friend i want you to understand no one can fake the crucifixion of the cross no one can fake out 5 000 people with the little loaves and fishes and feeding the five thousand or the casting out of demons or the raising of the dead and i mean the bible says of lazarus he yet stinketh i'm talking about real live miracles i think of even peter who's preaching this message how that jesus had healed peter's mother-in-law i won't have time for this probably in the next service but just ponder the fact that if peter was the first pope and he was not that he had a mother-in-law and no man in his right mind would have a mother-in-law without a wife can i get an amen to that there was a day when peter walked into his mother-in-law's home in capernaum some of you have perhaps seen pictures or been there the bible says in luke chapter 4 and verse 38 and he arose out of the synagogue and entered into simon's house and simon's wife mother was taken with a great fever and they besought him for her and he stood over her and he rebuked the fever and it left her and immediately she arose and ministered unto them peter's not preaching things he heard about he is preaching as did the other apostles that which he had seen and heard and he had seen the miracle of his own mother-in-law's life having been saved by the power of god and we see here in verse number 22 that as as peter is speaking he says to them that it was miracles and wonders and signs which god did in the midst of you you know this to be the case he says you see the jews who rejected christ did not lack information it was not for lack of understanding men do not reject the bible because it contradicts itself they reject the bible because it contradicts them they do not want to change the way they are living they do not want to repent of their sin jesus did not hide his works he did not hide his words john 18 and 19. the high priest then asked jesus of his disciples and of his doctrine and jesus answered him i speak openly to the world i ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple whither the jews always resort and in secret have i said nothing why askest thou me ask them which heard me what i have said unto them behold they know what i have said the bible is very clear that jesus went throughout that region preaching the gospel and that the jewish people through the ministry of john the baptist through the ministry of jesus through the great outpouring of god's power on the day of pentecost they saw the deity of christ before them his deity was proven to them and his ministry was planned for them we see in the text that the ministry of christ was a planned ministry notice in verse 23 speaking of christ him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of god ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain now notice the predeterminate counsel of god it was as if to mark out with a boundary that this would happen and i want you to think of the love of god with me for a moment it's hard to imagine that in eternity past god the father god the son and god the holy spirit in predeterminate counsel determined that because in their foreknowledge they understood that we are sinners that we would fail that there must be a way of redemption no doubt they knew that the law itself would fail that there would need to be the shedding of the blood of the lamb of god and so the plan of god for us was that jesus christ would come in his perfection and in his glory and that he would lay down his life and shed his blood for our sin this was no accident this was according to the plan of god the predetermined counsel of god based upon the foreknowledge of god it was predetermined according to his foreknowledge god had the prognosis for the problem of the world and he knew that the sickness of the world whether in afghanistan whether in the philippines or china or america or the city of lancaster the prognosis of sin is death and there must be a redeemer and the redeemer would be none other than the son of god the lord jesus christ and so this predeterminate counsel set the calendar set the boundary determined the date for the crucifixion of christ you see man proposes but god disposes man can make his plans but god rules in the affairs of men god predetermined that jesus would suffer and die to pay for the sins of mankind in your notes you'll find ii timothy 1 9 who saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in christ jesus before the world began but is now manifest by the appearing of our savior jesus christ who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel i want you to think of this today i want you to take rest in the sovereign plan of god for the ages i want you to realize that god according to his predetermined counsel made a way of salvation for us that does not know your free will nor mine but it simply states the fact that god knew that we would need one day to make a choice and he allowed the savior to come in order that we might have the opportunity to choose the lord jesus christ for whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved and so we see this morning in peter's declaration the supremacy of christ but notice secondly the sacrifice of christ it is clearly mentioned in verse 23 ye have taken him and by wicked hands have crucified and slain i appreciate strong declarations i appreciate the gospel preaching that is happening throughout the country this morning but can you imagine speaking perhaps to some of the very ones who are responsible for the crucifixion of christ and looking at them and saying you have slain him the boldness of peter is amazing and it is none other than the evidence of the holy spirit working through him christ was sacrificed on the cross he was crucified he was taken taken there in the garden of gethsemane as judas betrayed the lord jesus christ john 18 and 2 judas also which betrayed him knew the place for jesus oft times resorted thither judas sold our savior out for a few pieces of silver and the roman soldiers carried him away to the praetorium hall of judgment and there he was beaten and then taken on to pontius pilate and others until finally he was taken to the old rugged cross where he was slain uh the bible tells us in romans 5 and 8 but god commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners christ died for us much more then being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him they took him up to that place known as the hill of the skull they nailed him with real nails through his hands and his feet and a crown of thorns upon his head the blood began to rush down the joints and ligaments were torn until finally he gave up the ghost finally he said tetelestai it is finished he was crucified for our sins his blood was shed for our sin and without the shedding of the blood there's no remission for sin but thank god on the third day he rose up again verse 24 whom god hath raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should beholden of it thank god this morning that he arose amen up from the grave he arose there is no greater testimony to the power of the ministry of christ than the empty tomb itself death could not hold him john 2 and 18 then answer the jews and said unto him what signs show us thou unto us seeing that thou doest these things the jews always required a sign jesus said to them destroy this temple and in three days i will tear it i will raise it up again jesus said if you destroy my body in three days i will raise it up again they thought he was speaking of the of the man-made temple re the place of worship but he spoke of his own body oh god rose him up the bible says uh he was loosed though once bound he was now released and god rose his son up from the empty tomb according to the prophecies of the word of god notice the bible says in verse 25 for david speaketh concerning him i foresaw the lord always before my face for he is on my right hand that i should not be moved therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption you see david himself had prophesied that the holy one the messiah would not see corruption and true to the prophecy of the old testament jesus rose up on the third day he was risen up by the power of god according to the prophecy of god and there were many witnesses who observed this verse 32 this jesus hath god raised up whereof we all our witnesses there were over 500 witnesses on one occasion over 1500 in total eyewitnesses of the resurrected christ first corinthians 15 6 after that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once what is peter doing peter is giving them all the evidence they could ever need he's reminding them of the miracles he's reminding them not only of the death burial and resurrection he's reminding them of the fact that witnesses saw the resurrected christ he was crucified he arose and then we see that he is exalted verse 33 therefore being by the right hand of god exalted and having received of the father the promise of the holy ghost he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear he is at the right hand hebrews 10 and 12 but this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of god from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool do you understand he offered once for the sins of mankind that's why we reject the doctrine of the roman catholic sacrament the doctrine of transubstantiation which would say every time a roman catholic takes this uh this communion so-called that jesus christ literally the bread they teach becomes the body and the juice they teach becomes the blood literally reiterating or stating that the sacrifice is happening again can i remind you this morning jesus died one time for the sins of the entire world and you don't need to get saved again and again and again and again but you need to trust in the sacrifice that jesus made on our behalf and then he sat down at the right hand of god the father and the bible says expecting till his enemies be made his footstool oh let me tell you something today jesus is not in heavenly in heaven trembling about the taliban he's not in heaven trembling about the united nations he's not in heaven trembling about all of those that one day will rise up against him he's not trembling at the professors and the colleges of the uc system who are denying christ and who'd belittle the christian faith let me help you to understand jesus christ one day will return with his vesture dipped in blood and he will come in righteousness and in judgment he is now seated at the right hand of god the father but he is coming again to rule and to reign as the bible has promised the sacrifice of christ and the resurrection of christ simply prophesied to us that jesus christ is coming again we see peter's challenging message the supremacy of christ the sacrifice of christ but notice thirdly the salvation of the hearers the salvation of the hearers now sometimes we might read the history of the bible there is no more glorious history than the death burial and resurrection it's marvelous to hear it from peter on the day of pentecost but the question may come how does this affect us today how do we apply this to our lives today well i want you to notice just two simple thoughts as we close this morning because this is not merely about me declaring the gospel to you this series is about us declaring the gospel to others i declare what are we going to declare why is it so important well notice first of all that in order for people's lives to be changed we must know and understand the gospel why do we preach the gospel like this so that we can grow in christ and grow in love with christ yes but so that we can share the death burial and resurrection with others now notice verse 36 the bible says therefore let all the house of israel know assuredly that god hath made that same jesus whom ye have crucified both lord and christ in order for a man woman boy or girl to have a relationship with god they must assuredly understand that jesus is lord and christ they must understand him to be the son of god it is vital that people all around us know america is becoming a biblically illiterate society in this age of post-modernism as people have turned away from absolute truth there are children in your streets who do not know who jesus is they surely do not know about adam and eve or the or the apostles or the books of the bible and they must know the truth of christ if they will ever be saved that is why we have vacation bible school that's why some ladies have bible class in their garage that's why we run sunday school buses to bring children to church that's why we have a friend day so that people can come and hear the gospel they must know assuredly who jesus christ is and so we see clearly that there must be an understanding on the part of those who have never heard john phillips said they crucified him god crowned him they had entombed him god had enthroned him they had cast him out god caught him up they had executed him god exalted him people need to know that this savior who was crucified is truly resurrected and at the right hand of god the father and peter's message showed them that jesus christ was their messiah their savior and lord and notice in verse 37 their response when they heard this they were pricked in their heart they were pricked in their heart bible preaching has a way of pricking hearts declarations have a way of touching one's heart and here we see as peter is declaring the gospel and declaring who christ is there are hearts beginning to be touched peter is telling them that jesus is lord that jesus died in their stead romans chapter 3 and verse 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in christ jesus whom god hath set forth to be a propitiation or a covering through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remissions of sins that are passed through the forbearance of god you see god sent his son jesus christ who by himself covered the sins of the world and rose up again for our justification salvation is not just turning over a new leaf salvation is not saying ooh i almost got shot when i was in the army but i got rescued it's not saying i was sick in the hospital but i got out all of those things are helpful and wonderful but those are not bible salvation the bible is very clear that one must come to christ as a sinner and believe that he is the savior that he is the lord that he is the one who can change our lives and so men must know this we must know this how many of you know who jesus is and what he did for you amen if we know it we must share it people need to know this men must know this and when they know it men must turn to christ they must turn to christ now notice that in verse 37 now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart and they said unto peter and the rest of the apostles men and brethren what shall we do now notice first of all there is a conviction that takes place we do not believe that a preacher or a choir can bring conviction sometimes overly zealous christians try to create guilt trips upon people but we must not try to play the place or the person of the holy spirit nevertheless conviction of sin must precede salvation there is a difference between saying a prayer and being saved the prayer must be based upon the knowledge of christ and it must be preceded by conviction of sin their hearts were convicted and sorrowful because they realized that they had crucified the messiah and ladies and gentlemen we must realize that when the messiah died he bore our sin in his body we must be convicted of that men and women must know that that he died for the sins of the entire world and the result of this preaching is the conviction of heart but what a person does once convicted is still their choice which is very evident by the fact that some believed and some turned away and discussed and said that it was not true conviction jesus said in matthew 23 37 o jerusalem jerusalem thou has killed us the prophets and stones them that are sent unto thee how often would i have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under under her wings and ye would not some men made a choice many of these jewish men they would not be gathered together around jesus christ those who reject christ do so because they are content in their darkness they're fine in their sin they're enjoying their sin and because they choose darkness rather than light they will forever have darkness rather than light eternity simply crystallizes their choice into permanence men must know who jesus is they must know what he has done for them they must sense the conviction that the word of god brings and then they will be saved when they turn to christ notice in verse 38 the bible tells us concerning this matter of what shall we do in verse 37 what do we do and peter said to them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus for the remission of sin and ye shall receive the gift of the holy ghost here we see the message of repentance here we recognize that these men were called to make their choice their repentance is is a changing of mind it is a turning from their unbelief to belief in jesus christ they were turning to christ as savior salvation is all about turning it is not all about baptizing some have falsely taken this verse to say that the way of salvation is to repent and then you must be baptized as a part of that salvation i believe baptism is emphasized here because of the jewish audience in particular needing to publicly come out and say i believe but all of us should publicly state our faith in christ when we are saved we should follow in baptism it is not baptizing that saves first corinthians 1 17 says for christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel not with wisdom of words lest the cross of christ should be made of none effect we dare not say that baptismal waters wash sins away the only thing that washes sin away is the blood of jesus christ repentance and faith toward god are necessary in order for one to know christ as their savior and yes baptism will follow and so they said well what do we do some would not follow some jesus said would not come to him but others said what do we do and thank god on this one day in church history there were 3 000 people who turned to jesus christ and were baptized that very day in the pools there on the southern steps of the of the cap of the uh uh of of the temple and there as they were baptized they were stating publicly we identify with jesus christ hey it's a wonderful thing when people get baptized because they're saying i believe in christ the first message of the early church this message should be a standard for every church unfortunately today we have churches emphasizing everything from environmentalism to saving the whale to gay rights and everything else in between when the church should be declaring the death burial and resurrection of jesus christ and these people as they heard it they were pricked in their heart i wonder friend as i close this morning is there someone here that would say pastor chapel i'm not sure that i'm saved say this this kind of declaring like this how you're preaching i'm kind of not used to this i don't i don't really understand all of this do you understand that you're a sinner that jesus loves that all of us have sinned do you understand that jesus christ is the only way of salvation friend if you do i encourage you today turn to christ that's what repentance means to turn to christ and be saved a couple days ago we had the funeral here for one of our dear friends and members brother jack harper brother jack was a blessing to me in so many ways and sometimes travel with me when i'd go speak like here in long beach california what a wonderful testimony he had several of his relatives were convicted of their need for christ and were saved at that funeral service but as i was going through the little file of jack's letters to me over the years there was something i found that so tickled my heart i wanted to share it with you this morning after jack got saved he made a little business card for himself and this is the essence of what i hope all of us will understand jack understood that even though he was an airplane mechanic he understood that his real mission in life was much deeper than that he understood and this was made a few years after he got saved that now that he was saved he was an ambassador for jesus christ so the way he wanted to introduce himself and one of his friends told me he said pastor i remember jack designing that when he was at lunch one day i remember that clear as a bell he saw himself as an ambassador for jesus christ and this was his verse but if our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost how will people be saved if they don't know who jesus is how will they turn to one of whom they have not heard oh listen teddy if you don't know christ today come to christ and trust him as your savior if you do know christ would you declare it to someone this week would you take that gospel tract and just give it to someone and tell someone what christ has done for you because if our gospel be hid it is hid to those who are lost

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

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Keywords: lancaster baptist church, lancaster baptist, baptist church, paul, chappell, paul chappell, pastor paul chappell, declare, Acts 2

Id: pyUHfmKxT_Y

Length: 35min 5sec (2105 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 30 2021