Said Dr. Gamaliel, Theodos is dead, and all
who followed Theodos scattered.
Judas is dead, said Dr. Gamaliel, and all
who followed Judas scattered.
And said Dr. Gamaliel, if Jesus Christ is
dead, all who follow him will scatter.
If he's dead, but if he's alive again,
if this thing be not of men, but
of God, you cannot fight against him, unless
you can fight against God.
And nearly 2,000 years later, we're here
tonight, to tell Dr. Gamaliel that he was
right.
For Theodos is dead, Judas is dead, those
who followed Theodos and those who followed Judas
scattered, they too are dead.
But all over the world today, out of
every nation, kindred, tribe and tongue, there are
those who know, that he whom they crucified,
God raised from the dead, and Jesus, our
Lord, is alive.
And we share his resurrection.
And so then in the early church, convinced
to the truth of it, entering into the
good of it, demonstrating the fact of it,
preaching in the power of it, and living
in the joy of it, they cease not
to teach and to preach, that Jesus was
the Christ.
So we introduced to the early church, those
who as individual members in particular, had been
added to the body corporate of our Lord
Jesus, that second body the Father gave him
on earth, in which he would continue to
do, and continue to teach the things that
he once had begun to do, and begun
to teach.
But you know, sometimes we tend to believe
that the disciples, you know, had something going
for them, that isn't going for you and
for me right now, that they were men
of another caliber.
That you can't expect of us today what
was expected then of them.
That untutored bunch of human beings, who evangelized
the then known world in one generation, turned
the world upside down, and changed the face
of nations.
But you know that isn't true.
For as James himself speaking of Elijah, so
we may know of these, that they too
were of like frailty.
They were of our flesh and blood.
But something happened.
And it's into what happened, that I'd like
with you to explore a little bit tonight,
and discover why it was, that the message
of the early church was, this Jesus whom
they crucified, God has raised from the dead.
Chapter 1 of the book of the Acts,
a witness to the resurrection, and chapter 2
and 3 and 4 and 5, this Jesus
is alive again.
I'm sure there must be many preachers, teachers,
pastors, evangelists, missionaries, among us here tonight.
Those who teach a Sunday school class, lead
some evangelistic outreach or mission, your mum and
dad maybe, around the breakfast table.
And you get discouraged sometimes, that so little
of what you say seems to penetrate, those
to whom you minister.
Well if you on occasions are tempted to
get discouraged, I've got good news for you,
nobody ever had a duller Bible class, than
Jesus Christ.
They were absolutely solid.
Thick as they come.
For three whole years he taught them, and
nothing penetrated.
Isn't that encouraging?
Do you know that's kept me preaching, for
over half a century.
As a matter of fact it's one of
the reasons, why I accepted this very gracious
invitation, to come and talk to you here
at prayer.
I thought to myself, they couldn't be worse
than that lot.
And I may be wrong.
So I thought we'd backtrack a little bit
tonight, and discover what kind of men they
were, before that happened.
That transformed their lives.
So turn with me to the 16th chapter
of Matthew's Gospel.
Matthew 16.
I saw the Lord Jesus had a marvelous
sense of humor.
Because if as our creator he hadn't had
a sense of humor, in all probability he
wouldn't have created us, with a sense of
humor.
And in all probability had he not had
a sense of humor, he wouldn't have created
some of us.
In the 13th verse here, this I believe
is one of those occasions, when he had
a little fun with his disciples, he said
in so many words, what's the latest?
Because then as now you see, everybody had
their way out idea, as to who he
was, and why he had come, and how
he was going to do it.
So when Jesus came into the coasts of
Caesarea Philippi, 13th verse, Matthew 17.
He asked his disciples saying, who do men
say that I the son of man?
What's the latest?
And they said well, there's a little group
down the road, they think you're John the
Baptist.
Well you know what happened to John the
Baptist?
He had his head cut off, by that
wicked evil King Herod, who was living in
adultery with his brother Philip's wife.
And those down the road you see, thought
that John the Baptist, had had his head
put back on, and he was back in
town.
So they laughed about that.
But there's another group said another, they live
the other side of the city, and they
think you're Elijah.
And you know what happened to Elijah?
He was caught up in a whirlwind, and
escorted home by a chariot of fire.
And there were those the other side of
the city, thought that Elijah had been in
orbit, all down the centuries, he had landed,
and was back in circulation.
And so they chuckled about that, and somebody
else said you'll never believe this, they think
you're Jeremiah.
As if you look that miserable.
And some, you know, think you're this prophet,
and some think you're that prophet.
Then said the Lord Jesus, in the 15th
verse, But whom say ye that I am?
To what conclusion have you come?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And that was a big thing for a
Jew to say.
You're the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ
of God, a prophet, priest and king, a
greater prophet than Moses, a greater priest than
Aaron, and a greater king than David.
Christ, Christ, Son of the living God.
And Peter was absolutely right.
And the Lord Jesus answered and said to
him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah, flesh
and blood hath not revealed it unto thee.
My Father which is in heaven, if you've
recognized my identity, it's by revelation, all truth
ultimately, if it is to be wholesome, and
healthy, and safe, is by revelation.
Of God the Holy Spirit, the author of
this book that testifies of God's dear Son,
and who having authored it, is the one
of whom said the Lord Jesus, He will
be your teacher, he'll lead you into all
truth, he'll delight supremely to take the things
that are mine, and reveal them to you.
Never ever drawing attention to himself, but only
always focusing your attention upon God's dear Son.
Revelation.
Peter was right.
He just had one problem.
That although what he said was right, he
didn't know what he was talking about.
And that's a problem.
And it's a big problem from which we
suffer today, because we are, most of us,
tutored in the evangelical jargon of those who
are sound, Bible-believing, conservative evangelicals.
But you see, it's one thing to learn
the language, and become skilled at putting it
in the right place, and impressing everybody.
But it's quite another thing to understand what
you're saying.
And you see, Peter at this stage didn't
have a clue.
Not a clue.
That's why maybe, perhaps to our surprise, because
you might well have imagined, that just as
soon as Peter had recognized the identity of
the Lord Jesus, and mustered up enough courage
to give public affirmation of the fact, to
which, no doubt, the others added bare consent,
that they were highly qualified to go out
into the highways and the byways, and shout
it from the housetops, that He, for whom
all Israel had been waiting down the centuries,
the seed of Abraham, the rose of Sharon,
the Messiah has come.
I mean, that's what we do today, just
so soon as somebody professes conversion, we get
them on their feet, get them involved, get
them on the bandwagon.
Not the Lord Jesus.
In the 20th verse, then charged He His
disciples, sternly forbade them, that they should tell
no man that He was Jesus the Christ.
Just as soon as they have discovered who
He is, says the Lord Jesus, not a
word, and placed them under a total prohibition,
told them to keep their mouths shut.
Why would the Lord Jesus call disciples to
Himself, some of whom were named to be
apostles, and then just as soon as they
discovered who He is, place this prohibition upon
them, and forbid them to tell anybody, that
He, Jesus, was the Christ.
Well, the answer is very simple, you see,
it's one thing to say that Jesus is
the Christ, quite another thing to understand, what
as the Christ did come to do, and
how He was going to do it.
One thing to say that He was the
Messiah, quite another thing to recognize, and understand
the messianic mission.
And at this stage, the disciples had no
idea, whatever, what it was all about.
No challenge to their sincerity, their loyalty for
the Lord Jesus, their sentimental attachment, they had
a deep affection for Him, they'd quit their
homes, left their jobs, they'd hit the trail,
and joined His party, and they were all
enthusiastic about getting the movement off the ground.
But they hadn't a clue what it was
all about.
They were rather like the Jesus people a
few years back, you know, naive in their
sincerity and enthusiasm.
If in their day the disciples had had
stickers, they would have been plastered with them.
On the tail of every donkey there'd have
been a little placard.
Snort if you love Jesus.
They would have been sincere then as they
were a few years back.
You see, if you don't know what you're
going to talk about, the best thing is
don't talk, because if you don't know enough
to talk sense, you'll talk nonsense.
With the best will in the world, a
tremendous amount of genuine affection for Jesus Christ.
But it's not interesting.
You see, there's nothing that perpetuates ignorance more
than unenlightened enthusiasm.
And there's an enormous amount of enthusiasm being
fanned today in our evangelical constituencies that is
almost bankrupt of understanding of what God has
to say in His word about His Son.
So the Lord Jesus said, Keep your mouth
shut until you can talk sense.
And you might think that sounds pretty tough
to say that of these earnest, sincere disciples
of our Lord Jesus.
But you look at the next verse, 21.
From that time forth began Jesus to show
unto His disciples how that He must go
to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the
elders and chief priests and scribes and be
killed.
But He said, Don't panic, because I'll be
raised again the third day.
Does anything of that surprise you?
Or shock you?
Well, you say, No.
That's the solid foundation upon which I have
built my faith.
That our Lord Jesus, God incarnate, the Word
made flesh, conceived of the Holy Spirit, clothed
with our flesh and blood, living in the
sinlessness in which was seen the perfection of
deity.
Though He knew no sin was made sin
for us, on a rugged Roman gallows He
died, that we might be forgiven.
But triumphantly on that third morning He was
raised again from the dead, delivered for our
offenses, raised again for our justification.
We know all that.
It's old hat.
We've known it from our mother's knee.
But just as the Lord Jesus gave them
a panoramic view of His messianic mission, what
He was going to do, go to Jerusalem
and there be done to death by wicked
men, but God would raise Him from the
dead immediately, verse 22, Peter took Him, gently
led Him on one side to give Him
a quiet word of counsel.
Wasn't that nice of Him?
Began to rebuke Him saying, Be it far
from Thee, Lord, this shall not be unto
you.
This cannot, must not, will not happen and
we're going to make absolutely certain that it
doesn't.
And Peter stood between Christ and His cross.
He didn't want the cross because he didn't
recognize any need for the cross.
And as we may well discover later, didn't
believe in the resurrection.
So many words said Peter to the Lord
Jesus, all this stuff and nonsense about going
to the city of Jerusalem and you being
done to death and this far-fetched idea
that you're going to be raised again from
the dead, said Peter to the Lord Jesus,
forget it.
Little wonder the Lord Jesus told him to
keep his mouth shut.
I mean, would you have invited Peter here
for this spring missionary conference?
As one who denied the need for the
cross and repudiated the idea of Christ's resurrection
from the dead?
Was he a Christian?
Can you be a Christian and say no
to the cross and refuse to believe that
this Jesus whom they crucified, God, raised from
the dead?
What do you say?
No.
So was Peter at that stage in the
New Testament sense a real Christian?
Well, of course he wasn't.
You can't be redeemed and reconciled to a
holy God other than on the basis of
that atoning sacrifice that he tried to prevent.
Nor, as Peter later was to discover, can
you be born again apart from his resurrection.
So Peter at that stage, for all his
enthusiasm, dedication, personal affection and love for Jesus
Christ had nothing to say of any value
to the world in which he lived.
So the Lord Jesus said, keep your mouth
shut.
He turned and said to Peter, verse 23,
Get thee behind me, Satan.
He knew that the devil was capitalizing upon
Peter's enthusiasm.
He was capitalizing upon Peter's love and affection
for Jesus Christ.
Persuading him that it was his responsibility to
stop the Lord Jesus Christ in his tracks
and misguidedly save him from the unhappy consequences
of his own stubbornness.
That's the devil.
And the man, you see, whose lips at
one moment had been the mouthpiece of the
Father God in heaven, the next moment was
the mouthpiece of the devil himself.
In a subtle seduction to which today the
evangelical constituencies is being exposed as never, ever
before.
Satan, capitalizing upon the enthusiasm, sentimentality, affection and
soulish response of countless, hundreds of thousands of
those who otherwise would be named as true
Bible-believing Christians.
He'll capitalize on anything if it's the price
of his survival.
Said the Lord Jesus to Peter, you are
offensive.
Thou savorest not the things that be of
God, but those that be of men.
Your theology is of the earth, earthy.
Sad, isn't it, that when the Lord Jesus
asked those who were his disciples what men
had to say about him, they could quote
every Tom, Dick and Harry.
One says this, the other says something else,
and this one has this idea.
The only thing they didn't know was what
God had to say about his dear son.
Sad thing, there are countless true Christians today
who can quote countless people and their ideas,
their opinions and what they have to say,
but remain abysmally ignorant of what God has
to say.
Many of them textually aware, but they remain
spiritually unenlightened.
Look at the 17th chapter, verse 1.
Chapter 17, verse 1, After six days Jesus
taketh Peter, James and John his brother, bringeth
them up into a high mountain apart.
And there he was transfigured before them, and
his face did shine as the sun, his
raiment was white as light.
Well, we know this to be the mount
of transfiguration.
And we've surrounded it with an aura of
glory.
Somebody mentioned to me today, soon we'll have
to go down to the valley.
In other words, we're on the mountaintop.
And normally when folks speak of that, they
cannot but remember the mount of transfiguration.
Because you see, we've blown it up to
represent some peak experience in the lives of
Peter, James and John.
But of course if you look objectively at
God's word, not read into it what you
think it ought to say, but let it
tell you what it says.
It was an abysmal flop.
That's why verse 9 of the 17th of
Matthew, as they came down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them saying, tell the vision to
no man.
Not a word.
No matter what you may have seen, no
matter what you may have heard up there
on the mountain, not a word to anybody.
You might well have imagined that such an
exotic, soul-stirring experience as that, psychedelic, the
Lord Jesus transfigured, Moses, Elijah, that their faith
would be marvelously undergirded, much encouraged to go
out, reinforced in their faith, to tell the
world Jesus said, not a word.
Not a word.
As they came down from the mountain, Jesus
charged them saying, tell the vision to no
man, until the Son of Man be risen
again from the dead.
Because the Lord Jesus knew perfectly well that
nothing could or would make sense until the
resurrection.
The resurrection.
That's what transformed the lives of the disciples
of our Lord Jesus, and the lives of
the apostles.
That's what precipitated them into action.
Men and women who not only cleansed in
the shed blood of Jesus Christ, but becoming
the recipients in the person of his Holy
Spirit of his resurrection life, went out to
let all godless in the world in which
they lived.
Not until the Son of Man was risen
from the dead.
Little wonder the message of the early church
was this Jesus whom they crucify.
A death they didn't want.
God has raised from the dead a resurrection
which till then they refused to believe.
Let's examine that a little more closely out
of the ninth chapter of Luke's gospel that
takes a magnifying glass and gives us it
in a little more detail.
Luke in chapter 9.
In the 28th verse it came to pass
about an eight days after these sayings that
the Lord Jesus took Peter, John, James went
up into a mountain to pray and as
he prayed the fashion of his countenance was
altered, his raiment was white and glistering and
behold there talked with him two men Moses
and Elijah and they appeared in glory and
they spake of his decease.
That was the topic of their conversation.
His death.
And notice the expression that's used there which
he should accomplish.
Not drifting to disaster.
Not the untimely end of a noble idealist.
Not the martyrdom of one who was too
progressive for his day and age.
And came to a tragic end.
The death that he would accomplish.
An accomplishment is something that somebody sets out
to do and achieves success.
You see the national flag flying proudly from
the masthead on the top of Mount Everest
and a little group of men have faced
every kind of privation to set out to
conquer that mountain.
And everybody watches on the television newcast and
sees their accomplishment.
And you see the Lord Jesus with Moses
and Elijah talked about that death that he
was going to accomplish at Jerusalem.
That accomplishment of death that allowed the Lord
Jesus to cry in triumph it is finished.
Tetelestai.
Mission accomplished.
The debt is paid.
Father now boldness of access into the holiest
of all for any little boy, girl, man
or woman who will plead my shed blood
whom you will welcome, accepted in the beloved.
The accomplishment of death.
Just to turn on a page to the
22nd chapter we'll be back there a moment
in the 9th chapter but in the 22nd
chapter of Luke.
He took bread, verse 19, at that last
supper gave thanks and break it and gave
unto them saying this is my body that
is given for you.
This do in remembrance of me likewise also
the cup of supper saying the cup is
this new testament in my blood which is
shed for you.
No coincidence of course that the Lord Jesus
was crucified at Passover.
First Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7 Christ
our Passover sacrificed for us as we've mentioned
in the early sessions the Lord Jesus.
The one portrayed so magnificently then by the
unblemished lamb a bone of whose body was
not to be broken.
Painted upon the door post and the lintel
that in the day of God's judgment his
judgment might pass over.
No coincidence that all those centuries later the
Lord Jesus should have been crucified just then
dead on schedule.
Behold continued the Lord Jesus, verse 21 the
hand of him that betrayeth me is with
me on the table.
And truly the son of man go with
as it was determined but woe unto that
man by whom he is betrayed.
They were astonished.
In the other gospels the record tells us
they turned the one to the other and
said one of us is it I?
He can't mean one of us.
You know nobody guessed that it was Judas
Iscariot.
You know as a kid looking at the
pictures that had been painted of the Last
Supper I reckon that you could pick Judas
Iscariot out a mile off.
I mean with the great big hooked nose
and beady eyes you could almost see his
tail lashing under the table.
But Judas Iscariot wasn't like that at all.
Three solid years he was with them named
with the others to be an apostle.
I would have imagined Peter would have nudged
John and said well I know who that
is.
Didn't like his face from the first day
he joined us.
James might have turned to Thomas and said
can't think why he chose him in the
first place.
But they all said is it I?
When they needed somebody to carry the money
back and act as treasurer they voted unanimously
for Judas Iscariot and he was the only
thief amongst them.
Did this take the Lord Jesus by surprise?
Well no because you can read the whole
story in the eleventh chapter of the book
of Zechariah written five centuries before it happened
in God's history book that's written in advance.
Because you see there's a historicity so far
as God is concerned about the future as
there is a historicity so far as we're
concerned about the past.
We look into the past and call it
history God looks into the future and calls
it history because he's timeless, he's the eternal
I am he inhabits eternity.
The only difference from God's point of view
between the future and the past is that
in human experience it just hasn't happened yet.
That's all.
That's why we don't believe that Jesus came
as he did conceived of the Holy Ghost
and born at Bethlehem because the Bible says
he did.
Nor that he lived that sinless life because
the Bible says he did nor that he
went to the cross because the Bible said
he did nor even that he rose again
from the dead because the Bible said he
did or ascended from the Mount of Olives
back to be with his father and glorified
forever because the Bible said he did nor
even that he would come in the person
of his other self the Holy Spirit on
the day of Pentecost to share his life
with his redeemed people because the Bible said
he did.
We've got better grounds for believing it.
We don't believe all those things because the
Bible said he did we believe them because
the Bible said he would.
I've come to do your will, O God
all that has been written of me in
the volume of the book.
That's the Old Testament.
The only Bible that the Lord Jesus ever
held in his hand.
The only Bible for years that was available
to the early church.
You and I have a bonus, it's called
the New Testament and the New Testament simply
says the Lord Jesus did what the Bible
said he would.
You see that's why you're only on safe
ground when your Lord Jesus, the living word
is the substance of the shadow given to
us in the written word.
There's no dichotomy between Christ as the living
word and the scriptures as the written word
because both are gospel and you cannot detach
the one from the other.
Well, these were some of the things that
the Lord Jesus was discussing with Moses and
Elijah.
Must have been a fantastic Bible conference.
Way back through the Old Testament scriptures discussing
those things that foreshadowed that death that he
was going to accomplish.
Where he would be born, the kind of
life that he had lived.
That he, the man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief according to the prophecy and gospel
of Isaiah 53 wounded for our transgressions and
bruised for our iniquities the cost of our
peace with God laid on him by his
stripes we're healed.
Psalm 22, my God my God, why hast
thou forsaken me, the Lord Jesus from the
cross not the despairing cry of a man
who snapped at the last moment, broke under
the strain, never.
Quoting the first verse of the 22nd Psalm
that he might alert his disciples as to
what was going on in so many words
he says, why don't you look it up
in Psalm 22 then you'll see what's happening
but they didn't look it up, so they
ran away.
They pierced my hands and my feet, they
look and stare upon me my tongue cleaves
to my jaws in the blistering heat of
the midday sun and amazingly enough, Psalm 22
they gamble for my clothes as Roman soldiers
later were to cast lots for his vestment,
incredible, written in the year 1087 BC more
than a millennium before the Lord Jesus was
ever born and these were the things that
they were discussing in the Mount of Transfiguration
I say, supposing it had been truly possible
to invite the Lord Jesus in person to
come and address you this missions conference and
he accepted the invitation and he said I'm
going to bring Moses and Elijah to conduct
missionary seminars do you think this place would
be big enough?
the airport at Calvary in Edmonton wouldn't begin
to accommodate all the plans they'd be stacking
747s in bundles of 10 everybody would be
here if you could make it known all
over the world that Jesus Christ in person
supported by Moses in person, Elijah in person
no kidding, they're going to be there would
you have wanted to be here?
everybody would be here all the news media
would take this place just to take care
of them I'd be there and you might
well have imagined that Peter, James and John
up there in the presence of a glorified
Lord Jesus and of Moses and Elijah would
have been sitting on the edge of their
rock just gazing at the speakers fearful lest
that they should drop one last word which
you'd be wrong they were fast asleep can
you imagine that?
verse 31, Luke chapter 9 they appeared in
glory, they spake of his decease which he
should accomplish at Jerusalem and Peter and they
that were with him were heavy with sleep
why did they go to sleep?
well it was so terribly boring I mean
if you don't want the cross and see
no sense in it and don't believe in
the resurrection everything you see that the Lord
Jesus with Moses and Elijah were discussing would
have gone way over their heads so they
did what most people do under those circumstances
bravely try to stay awake for the first
few moments and then nestle as comfortably as
you may in the corner of the pew
and have a quiet doze hoping that you'll
wake up before the benediction and preferably after
the offering they were fast asleep it doesn't
indicate even that they tried to stay awake
you know I like to shake hands personally
with folks and get to know them a
little more intimately than you can from the
vantage point of a platform it's more difficult
in a place like this, there are so
many X's and so many people but you
know over the more than half a century
in which it's been my privilege just to
share Christ with countless people all over the
world in some 60 different countries I've shaken
hands with tens of thousands of people I
mean what I don't know about hands is
hardly worth knowing, I'm a connoisseur I mean
there are fat ones, thin ones, wet ones,
dry ones bony ones, arthritic ones, warty ones
every kind of hand, I know the lot,
I collect them sometimes you get something in
your hand and you're not quite sure what
it is it's wet and slimy and doesn't
have any bones so far as you can
detect, it's like a wet fish and you
don't know what to do with it I
don't know whether to throw it out of
the window, stick it in my pocket or
hand it back ever had a hand like
that?
and usually behind or above a hand like
that there's a sweet evangelical smile that says
thank you for your lovely message and then
they say this, but I like the simple
gospel and what they mean by that is
I like somebody to tell me what I
already know and explain what I already understand
because then I don't have to think you
see because sometimes I sits and thinks and
sometimes I just sits and when I go
to church or a missionary conference, I sit
well they went to sleep it says, listen
to this, verse 32 when they were awake
they saw his glory they didn't even know
the Lord Jesus was transfigured until they woke
up and they saw the two men that
stood with him they didn't even know Moses
and Elijah were on the program I don't
know why they woke up or what woke
them up maybe Moses dropped his hymn book
but they woke up and it's very embarrassing
when you wake up and you ought not
to be asleep but here's a tip if
you do go to sleep and doze when
you should be awake the moment you wake
up make absolutely certain everybody knows that you're
awake that you're totally alert in other words
draw attention to yourself and the best way
to do that is make a contribution say
something but be very careful because when you
wake up sometimes you forget where you are
and in the prayer meeting you might say
grace you know thinking you're still having breakfast
and you know that's what happened to Peter
he woke up, felt somewhat embarrassed and it
says it came to pass, verse 33 as
they departed from him Peter said to the
Lord Jesus master it's good for us to
be him man what a conference, I wouldn't
have missed this for anything this was out
of this world that's where he was he
says asleep?
I wasn't asleep, I was meditating I was
praying for the preacher you know you can
snore sometimes when you're praying and then he
said this, can you imagine this let us
make thee three tabernacles one for you and
one for Moses and one for Elijah what
utter nonsense he said a little tent for
you Lord Jesus a little tent for Moses
and a little tent for Elijah he wanted
to turn the whole thing into a sort
of trailer park and perpetuate perpetuate the experience
why did he say it?
tells you at the end of verse 33
not knowing what he said say what's the
best thing to do if you don't know
what you're going to say keep your mouth
shut that's why the Lord Jesus you see
Matthew 16, Matthew 17 place them under that
total prohibition look at it just quickly back
in the 17th chapter there of Matthew behold
there appeared unto them verse 3 Moses and
Elijah talking with the Lord Jesus then answered
Peter and said to Jesus Lord it's good
for us to be here if thou wilt
let us make here three tabernacles one for
you, one for Moses, one for Elijah and
while he spake behold a bright cloud overshadowed
them and behold a voice out of the
cloud which said this is my beloved son
and whatever anybody else may think or say
in him I am well pleased hear
ye him don't listen to Peter he's got
nothing to say worth saying hear ye him
well something happened to Peter quite obviously something
must have happened to Peter because we've read
that being released though beaten by their accusers
daily in the temple and from house to
house they ceased not to teach and preach
that Jesus was the Christ the very thing
the Lord Jesus forbade them to do in
Matthew 16 and Matthew 17 how is it
that they could do in Acts chapter 5
what they were forbidden to do in Matthew
16 how did they get out of Matthew
16 into Acts chapter 5 resurrection in
these last few moments and they've got to
be a very few moments turn to the
first the second of Peter's two epistles and
you'd hardly credit that this is the same
man but I trust that with that backdrop
you'll understand more deeply the significance of what
he has to say 16th verse, first chapter
of the second epistle of Peter for we
have not followed cunningly devised fables when we
made known unto you the power and coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty for he received from God
the Father honour and glory when there came
such a voice to him from the excellent
glory this, this is my beloved son in
whom I am well pleased and said he,
verse 18 this voice which came from heaven
we heard when we were with him in
the holy mount but what Peter goes on
to say in so many words is this
though that was psychedelic, exotic, soul stirring it
remained then utterly unmeaningful but now we have
a more sure word of prophecy where unto
you do well that you take heed as
unto a light that shineth in a dark
place until the day dawn and the day
star arise in your hearts knowing this first
that no prophecy of the scriptures of any
private interpretation nobody has a corner on the
market the prophecy came not in old time
by the will of man holy men of
God spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost what Peter is saying is this
exciting as were the many experiences that we
witnessed when the Lord Jesus was with us
on earth we saw him heal the sick
we saw him make the blind see and
the lame walk we saw him raise Lazarus
from the dead we were with him in
the mount we had overwhelming experiences that were
exotic and exciting but we never understood why
God sent his son until he risen from
the dead opened our understanding that we might
understand the scriptures and then when finally he
opened our understanding we saw that the written
word found its glorious fulfillment in our Lord
Jesus as the living word they dubbed our
tale and when we saw him to be
the substance of the shadow then finally both
the Bible and Jesus made sense we have
a more sure word of prophecy Peter in
so many words is saying this truth doctrine
never ever comes from experience but truth must
always be that from which experience derives experience
to be healthy, wholesome, safe must come from
that revealed mind of God breathed of the
Holy Spirit as holy men of God were
moved, impelled by God the Holy Ghost to
give us that faith now once delivered Peter's
got a new Bible that makes sense and
he recognizes that these are those scriptures that
testify of him that coming to him we
might have life that life that derived from
his atoning death and his triumphant resurrection so
Peter learned two things in the first of
his two epistles and the first chapter, just
flick back the page for a moment verse
18, for as much as you know that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things like
silver and gold nor things that silver and
gold can buy from your vain conversation behavior
received simply by tradition from your fathers but
with the precious blood of Christ as of
a lamb without blemish and without spot this
is Peter Peter who when he was confronted
by the Lord Jesus with the messianic purpose
that he should go to Jerusalem and there
die at the hands of wicked men said,
not so Lord and stood between him and
that cross this is the same Peter that
something must have happened who verily, verse 20,
he goes on to say was foreordained before
the foundation of the world manifest in these
last times for you who by him now
do believe in God that raised him from
the dead a man who didn't want the
cross who when the women came and said
he's alive said, idle tales, we buried him
something's happened to Peter he's discovered that redemption,
reconciliation to God between a guilty sinner and
his holy maker demanded the precious shed blood
of God's dear son not as the death
of a martyr but as one who was
verily foreordained before ever the world was who
is the lamb slain before the foundation of
the world he is the redemptive regenerative purpose
of God that was fashioned in the heart
of God before ever this tiny planet was
thrown into space nor man created to walk
on it redeemed redeemed that's the first thing
that Peter discovered but not only that in
the 23rd verse being born again not of
corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word
of God that lives and abides forever that
word that was in the beginning with God
and was God and by whom all things
were made the creative deity without whom not
anything was made that was made and in
whom alone is that life which is the
light of man the living everlasting word and
this is the word the latter part of
the last verse, the 25th of that chapter
which by the gospel is preached unto you
you see Peter's discovered where it's at in
the shed blood of an unblemished lamb God's
dear son the lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world that he
by that redemptive act might precipitate that regenerative
purpose that we being born again might become
the recipients received from above of his resurrection
life be added to the Lord he puts
it this way I wonder if you've noticed
this verse it's the third of the same
first chapter by his boundless mercy we have
been born again to an ever living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead born anew into an inheritance which is
beyond the reach of change and decay what
does he say?
redeemed through the precious shed blood of a
lamb verily foreordained before ever the world was
but born again by his resurrection from the
dead Peter's learned that we need not only
what he did because of what we've done
we need who he is to take the
place of what we are but to say
I'm redeemed is not the same thing as
saying I'm born again to say I'm born
again is not the same thing as saying
I am redeemed mind you they're simultaneous ever
since Pentecost simultaneous in time you cannot be
redeemed without being born again and nobody was
ever born again who was not redeemed but
because you cannot detach the one from the
other you mustn't confuse the one for the
other for in order that we might be
redeemed he had to die for us then
but in order that we may be born
again he's got to live in us now
well if it's his death by which I
am redeemed and it's his life within me
by the gift to me of his Holy
Spirit whereby I'm regenerated, born again how can
they be the same thing?
one demanded his death for me the other
demands his life in me because he gave
himself for me then only that he might
give himself to me now and suddenly Peter
discovers the dynamic of the Christian life the
fist behind the punch that which he was
first to receive on the day of Pentecost
when in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ
he with 119 others in that day that
the church was born and the body presented
to the son the risen Lord Jesus came
to take up residence within his redeemed humanity
and there was a new Peter born from
above whose humanity available to the Lord Jesus
was now to clothe his divine activity as
one of those through whom as we are
now today the Lord Jesus would continue to
teach and continue to do the things that
he began to do and began to teach
what a marvelous thing it is to be
a Christian not just to know that your
sins are forgiven because his precious blood was
shed God's incarnate son but that we have
been quickened raised from the dead has been
restored to us that life that was lost
in Adam added to the Lord so that
he might give himself to us share his
life with us and live that life through
us I wonder if you're living in the
good of your salvation not clinging to an
old rugged cross and dreaming of somebody who
then gave his life for you and then
with eschatological nostalgia waiting for the day when
he'll come and get you out of this
mess that isn't the gospel the message of
the early church was that this Jesus whom
they crucified by whose precious blood we are
reconciled to a holy God and without whose
death we would be lost and damned he,
God raised from the dead that he might
dwell within us and share his life with
us and live that life through us and
so all that he is we've got we
can't have more and we need never enjoy
less for to me to live is Christ
I'm a Christian I'm a Christian you see
there are so many who only know the
one who died for them but don't live
in the power of the one who rose
again to live within them that was the
controversy that Paul had with the Galatians as
he records it for us in the third
chapter he says, oh foolish Galatians whose bewitched
you you began a brand new light by
the gift to you of God the Holy
Spirit through whom the risen Lord Jesus takes
up residence within your humanity and yet in
spite of that you ignore his presence and
try to be made perfect in the flesh
embarking with no little sincerity trying to be
made perfect upon that which is an exercise
in futility because there's only one person capable
of living the Christian life and that is
the one who gave himself for you as
your incarnate creator that risen from the dead
he might give himself to you as your
living Lord can you imagine going down the
road and you see a lady with her
head under the hood obviously in trouble and
out of the kindness of your heart you
stop and say madam, can I help and
she says, this thing won't go so kindly
you get into the front seat you switch
on and as you half imagine there's no
gas in the tank so you say, madam,
would you take your head from under the
hood I'll tell you exactly why this thing
won't go it doesn't have what it takes
and put the hood down and I've got
a rope in my trunk I'll tow you
to the nearest gas station and you do
for there came a day when the sinless
son of God made sin for us at
Calvary paid a debt he did not owe
because we owed that debt we could not
pay but why have you paid that debt
she did not owe that debt she could
not pay well to fill her tank and
give her what it takes to get home
while she's profuse in her thanks you bid
farewell, you climb into your car you're just
about to drive off when as a last
gesture of goodwill you wheel down the window
and stick your head out to wave goodbye
and you discover that that lady is pushing
the car home with a full tank so
what would you say to her I know
what I'd say I would say, excuse me
madam I'd like to get my amplified New
Testament and out of the first verse of
the third chapter of the epistle to the
Galatians I'd say, oh you poor, silly, thoughtless,
unreflecting and senseless woman now that's the amplified
New Testament first verse, third of Galatians amplified,
not exaggerated just putting into clear English language
the solid substance of what was given in
the original you poor, silly, thoughtless, unreflecting, senseless
Galatians can you be that dumb are you
so foolish and so senseless and so silly
having begun your new life spiritually with the
Holy Spirit are you now reaching perfection by
dependence on the flesh pushing a car with
a full tank remember what Peter discovered that
the Lord Jesus went to Calvary that there
he might pay that debt he did not
owe because we owed that debt we could
not pay but he did it that he
being risen from the dead might come and
reinvade our humanity and fill the tank and
give us by virtue of who he is,
living where he does God, the creator within
man, the creature, what it takes to get
home fantastic so how about getting on board
switch on put your foot in the gas
and go for a ride and discover that
no matter that no matter what the situation
that may arise under any circumstance of threat
or promise, opportunity or responsibility there's somebody who
has reconciled you to God taken up residence
within your humanity who as your creator redeemer
is never ever less than big enough then
you can say I don't deserve it but
I'm a Christian for to me to live
is Christ now let's pray we
thank you Lord Jesus for your incredible patience
with those who were your disciples then we
find it easy today to laugh at them
and yet in so doing we condemn ourselves
for we have two thousand years of history
to vindicate the truth in which all down
the centuries you've demonstrated that you are indeed
the Lamb of God that taketh away the
sin of the world that you are that
risen Lord who so gladly shares your deity
with our frail humanity we the human vehicles
of your divine activity given the incredible privilege
of being members of that body on earth
in which you still go out to seek
and save that which is lost forgive us
loving savior that so often we've tried to
do for you what only you can do
through us living a life for you that
only you can live in us we've pushed
the car with a full tank and some
of us are weary and tired grant that
we may learn the exhilaration of sharing your
life on earth on the way to heaven
become gloriously expendable in your glad service so
that in our presence others may demonstrably come
to know that you're alive again and that
you live in us some little boy or
girl with our hand feel your touch a
frightened woman lonely through our lips hear you
speak some frightened man crushed by his circumstance
running away from life may look into our
face and see you smile thank you dear
lord and in your own dear and precious
name amen you've been listening to a sermon
by Major Ian Thomas if you've been blessed
by this sermon you can find more sermons
by him and additional resources on this subject
at www.PathToPrayer.com again, if you've been
blessed by this sermon you can find more
sermons by Major Ian Thomas at www.PathToPrayer
.com as well as other resources