1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:05,160 We're here to have friends with us this 2 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:07,460 morning who were not with us previously this 3 00:00:07,460 --> 00:00:07,880 week. 4 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:11,120 We just say that during the last week 5 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:13,740 we were studying some in the Book of 6 00:00:13,740 --> 00:00:16,820 the Acts, and I had thought perhaps that 7 00:00:16,820 --> 00:00:19,100 I would do something else this week, but 8 00:00:19,100 --> 00:00:23,780 it just seems impossible to pull myself away 9 00:00:23,780 --> 00:00:25,620 from this wonderful Book of the Acts. 10 00:00:26,220 --> 00:00:27,580 So I'm going to ask you to turn, 11 00:00:27,580 --> 00:00:30,580 please, to chapter 5 of the Book of 12 00:00:30,580 --> 00:00:31,100 the Acts. 13 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:36,080 You know, of course, that this is the 14 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:37,580 inspired Church history. 15 00:00:38,900 --> 00:00:41,600 Every man who attempts to write the history 16 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,760 of the Church must, of necessity, consult this 17 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,040 first Church history book which we have included 18 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,460 in the New Testament in this Book of 19 00:00:51,460 --> 00:00:55,120 the Acts, beginning at chapter 5, verse 29. 20 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,360 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and 21 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,040 said, We ought to obey God rather than 22 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:03,400 men. 23 00:01:04,340 --> 00:01:06,880 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, 24 00:01:07,140 --> 00:01:10,000 whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 25 00:01:11,020 --> 00:01:13,400 Him hath God exalted with his right hand 26 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,340 to be a prince and a savior, for 27 00:01:16,340 --> 00:01:19,020 to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of 28 00:01:19,020 --> 00:01:19,420 sins. 29 00:01:20,500 --> 00:01:23,100 And we are his witnesses of these things, 30 00:01:23,820 --> 00:01:27,040 and so also is the Holy Ghost, whom 31 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,960 God hath given to them that obey him. 32 00:01:32,900 --> 00:01:35,080 One cannot read this Book of the Acts 33 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,460 without being impressed with the courage of these 34 00:01:38,460 --> 00:01:39,480 older Christians. 35 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,760 There seems to have not been one coward 36 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:43,380 among them. 37 00:01:44,180 --> 00:01:46,160 Perhaps the nearest we would come to that 38 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,820 would be a man or boy called John 39 00:01:48,820 --> 00:01:51,660 Mark, who in the later chapters of this 40 00:01:51,660 --> 00:01:54,120 book returned from the work and went back 41 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:54,800 to Jerusalem. 42 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:57,520 There has been a good deal of conjecture 43 00:01:57,520 --> 00:01:59,440 as to why John Mark left the work. 44 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:02,480 Some thought maybe he left it because the 45 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:03,740 going was pretty hard. 46 00:02:04,580 --> 00:02:07,940 He was with a veteran like Paul, who 47 00:02:07,940 --> 00:02:12,260 apparently took all kinds of hardship and thrived 48 00:02:12,260 --> 00:02:12,760 under it. 49 00:02:13,740 --> 00:02:16,820 Others again have suggested that maybe John had 50 00:02:16,820 --> 00:02:19,700 a sweetheart back in Jerusalem and he just 51 00:02:19,700 --> 00:02:22,580 could not stay away too long, and so 52 00:02:22,580 --> 00:02:24,300 he decided he would go back again. 53 00:02:25,180 --> 00:02:26,700 But we are glad to note in the 54 00:02:26,700 --> 00:02:29,660 later writings of Paul that once again he 55 00:02:29,660 --> 00:02:32,280 looked upon John Mark as a faithful and 56 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:34,260 profitable servant of the Lord. 57 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:36,540 He said, Bring Mark with you, for he 58 00:02:36,540 --> 00:02:38,860 is profitable to me for the ministry. 59 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,580 Probably with this one exception, we could say 60 00:02:42,580 --> 00:02:44,460 all of the characters that are brought before 61 00:02:44,460 --> 00:02:46,980 us in the book of Acts are courageous 62 00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:47,540 men. 63 00:02:48,380 --> 00:02:49,980 In the first part of this book, Peter 64 00:02:49,980 --> 00:02:50,620 is prominent. 65 00:02:51,060 --> 00:02:53,020 In the second part of the book, Paul 66 00:02:53,020 --> 00:02:53,600 is prominent. 67 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:56,440 But this morning we want to talk about 68 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,880 Peter and those who were immediately associated with 69 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:00,120 him. 70 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:02,860 They had been in prison before this for 71 00:03:02,860 --> 00:03:05,540 their preaching, and once again they are thrown 72 00:03:05,540 --> 00:03:08,260 into prison, and now they are called upon 73 00:03:08,260 --> 00:03:12,060 to give answer to those who had thrown 74 00:03:12,060 --> 00:03:12,760 them into prison. 75 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:15,840 And if there was any such thing as 76 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,900 a Shakespeare in the days of Peter, for 77 00:03:18,900 --> 00:03:20,740 I believe it was Shakespeare who gave us 78 00:03:20,740 --> 00:03:24,600 that wonderful aphorism that brevity is the soul 79 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:25,020 of wit. 80 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:27,560 And here is a man who in less 81 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,680 than sixty words gives to us what I 82 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,780 think is one of the choice sermons or 83 00:03:32,780 --> 00:03:33,560 sermonettes. 84 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:35,560 I do not like the word sermonette altogether. 85 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,640 My friend Herbert Lockyer in England has kind 86 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:40,880 of spoiled it for me. 87 00:03:41,020 --> 00:03:43,440 He said these sermonettes are preached by preacherettes 88 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,280 to Christianettes, and he did not like that. 89 00:03:48,060 --> 00:03:50,240 But we do have here a wonderful little 90 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,240 sermonette of less than sixty words in the 91 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,740 original language preached by this man Peter, given 92 00:03:57,740 --> 00:04:01,620 in response to the accusations which were leveled 93 00:04:01,620 --> 00:04:05,360 against him because he preached Jesus Christ and 94 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:05,980 him crucified. 95 00:04:07,260 --> 00:04:08,920 You will notice in the opening verse of 96 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,660 our lesson this morning, the first thing that 97 00:04:11,660 --> 00:04:14,280 Peter expresses here is the fact that he 98 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:18,019 just simply cannot do otherwise, because he says 99 00:04:18,019 --> 00:04:21,640 we ought or we must, as another translation 100 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:26,040 puts it, we must obey God rather than 101 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:26,360 men. 102 00:04:27,420 --> 00:04:28,940 Here is a man who had the courage 103 00:04:28,940 --> 00:04:29,820 of his convictions. 104 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,260 It did not make any difference how high 105 00:04:32,260 --> 00:04:35,660 the office was which these men occupied, how 106 00:04:35,660 --> 00:04:39,360 glorious their titles might be, how wonderful their 107 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:41,560 financial remuneration might be. 108 00:04:42,100 --> 00:04:44,460 Peter has none of this in mind, quite 109 00:04:44,460 --> 00:04:47,840 different from his present-day successor so-called. 110 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:50,880 But he is here to tell us that 111 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:52,300 he is to obey God. 112 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:54,840 And I rather like the word ought as 113 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:56,700 we have it in our King James Version, 114 00:04:57,380 --> 00:04:59,680 for I understand that our word ought is 115 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,320 a contraction of two words. 116 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:03,700 We owe it. 117 00:05:04,060 --> 00:05:07,900 We owe it to obey God rather than 118 00:05:07,900 --> 00:05:08,240 men. 119 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:10,660 And here is a great word for any 120 00:05:10,660 --> 00:05:12,180 one of us who would witness for the 121 00:05:12,180 --> 00:05:12,860 Lord Jesus. 122 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:14,940 It is not a question only of a 123 00:05:14,940 --> 00:05:17,220 man who stands up in the public platform 124 00:05:17,220 --> 00:05:20,000 as a recognized minister of the word of 125 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,620 God, but this is something which we believe 126 00:05:23,620 --> 00:05:26,700 applies to every true believer in the Lord 127 00:05:26,700 --> 00:05:27,100 Jesus. 128 00:05:27,860 --> 00:05:30,060 He needs to remember that he is subject 129 00:05:30,060 --> 00:05:33,020 to one authority only, and this is a 130 00:05:33,020 --> 00:05:33,940 tremendous thing. 131 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:37,500 It takes one sometimes to places where he 132 00:05:37,500 --> 00:05:39,900 did not think of going otherwise, but he 133 00:05:39,900 --> 00:05:42,080 goes because he is under authority. 134 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:44,460 And this is the thing that needs to 135 00:05:44,460 --> 00:05:46,220 be stressed in a day like this. 136 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,280 You know, people are rebelling against authority, and 137 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:53,460 they are choosing whatever laws they think they 138 00:05:53,460 --> 00:05:56,080 would like to obey, and they wind up 139 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:57,320 by obeying none of them. 140 00:05:58,020 --> 00:05:59,600 But this is the idea today. 141 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,440 And not only that, but we seem to 142 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,540 have a repetition of the early days of 143 00:06:04,540 --> 00:06:07,220 the Church in the opposition which there is 144 00:06:07,220 --> 00:06:09,120 to Christians in particular. 145 00:06:10,420 --> 00:06:12,180 You find as you look into some of 146 00:06:12,180 --> 00:06:13,760 these things that are going on in the 147 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,420 world today, men and women are being put 148 00:06:17,420 --> 00:06:19,680 to death not simply because they are Americans. 149 00:06:20,100 --> 00:06:22,180 It is true that the American is hated 150 00:06:22,180 --> 00:06:24,840 in many places in the world today, and 151 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:27,480 I have been made painfully conscious of that 152 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:30,260 myself in my travels around the world. 153 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,360 And some of this hatred, I think, is 154 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,600 perhaps well-earned, well-deserved, because we have 155 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:42,160 been, shall I say, rather obnoxious in some 156 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,960 places, so much so that sometimes one was 157 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,460 almost ashamed to recognize fellow Americans by the 158 00:06:48,460 --> 00:06:52,520 way they behaved in foreign countries, the spectacle 159 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:53,900 that they made of themselves. 160 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,660 But today I find that the opposition is 161 00:06:57,660 --> 00:07:00,900 not so much against a particular nationality as 162 00:07:00,900 --> 00:07:03,120 it is against a person who believes in 163 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:03,920 the Lord Jesus. 164 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:05,820 And you know it is not so many 165 00:07:05,820 --> 00:07:09,020 days ago since the report came to us 166 00:07:09,020 --> 00:07:13,100 over the radio about six missionaries being put 167 00:07:13,100 --> 00:07:16,800 to death in Vietnam, missionaries connected with the 168 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,180 Christian and Missionary Alliance, and how many others 169 00:07:20,180 --> 00:07:22,340 may have been done to death of the 170 00:07:22,340 --> 00:07:25,240 believers in Vietnam, this is a question which 171 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,360 probably will only be answered at the judgment 172 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:28,200 seat of Christ. 173 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,100 And as I have reminded you in a 174 00:07:31,100 --> 00:07:34,780 previous talk last week, a report that came 175 00:07:34,780 --> 00:07:38,320 out of West China years ago, issued by 176 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:40,660 the United States Press Agency, which of course 177 00:07:40,660 --> 00:07:43,600 is not a religious agency at all, telling 178 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:47,680 us of 175,000 Chinese put to death 179 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:49,600 for no other reason except that they believed 180 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:50,880 in the Lord Jesus Christ. 181 00:07:51,380 --> 00:07:53,640 And as one who is connected with the 182 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:56,220 old China Inland Mission, now known as the 183 00:07:56,220 --> 00:07:59,620 Overseas Missionary Fellowship, we have reason to believe 184 00:07:59,620 --> 00:08:04,100 from sources that we cannot name in particular 185 00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:06,760 this morning, we have reason to believe that 186 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,840 there are somewhere between two and three millions 187 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,500 of Chinese that have been put to death 188 00:08:12,500 --> 00:08:14,800 for no other reason except that they believe 189 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:15,540 in the Lord Jesus. 190 00:08:16,300 --> 00:08:17,980 So that we are beginning to see a 191 00:08:17,980 --> 00:08:20,320 repetition of these early days of the Church. 192 00:08:21,060 --> 00:08:22,800 And the statement which we made last week 193 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,580 I think is well supported, that there have 194 00:08:25,580 --> 00:08:27,700 been more martyrs to the Christian faith in 195 00:08:27,700 --> 00:08:30,600 this twentieth century than in all the previous 196 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:31,679 nineteen centuries. 197 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:34,159 And the thing isn't going to get any 198 00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:34,400 better. 199 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,460 And the question is, how shall we behave 200 00:08:37,460 --> 00:08:38,659 under such circumstances? 201 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:40,960 I believe the scripture which we have just 202 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:42,679 read this morning is the answer to that 203 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:43,120 question. 204 00:08:44,380 --> 00:08:46,780 You know, to me it's remarkable how relevant 205 00:08:46,780 --> 00:08:50,260 and how meaningful the scripture becomes when you 206 00:08:50,260 --> 00:08:52,220 look at it in the light, shall we 207 00:08:52,220 --> 00:08:53,880 say, even of present day events. 208 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:56,940 And here is a man who begins by 209 00:08:56,940 --> 00:09:02,700 telling his captors, his enemies, we ought to 210 00:09:02,700 --> 00:09:05,360 obey God rather than men. 211 00:09:06,180 --> 00:09:07,820 That's where he starts. 212 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:10,520 Well then the second thing he brings forth 213 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:12,440 is that this God is none other than 214 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:13,520 the God of their fathers. 215 00:09:14,580 --> 00:09:16,340 It wasn't as if he was bringing some 216 00:09:16,340 --> 00:09:17,760 strange God to them. 217 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:19,900 But you notice he says in verse thirty, 218 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:21,580 the God of our fathers. 219 00:09:22,220 --> 00:09:25,520 Because his audience was probably largely made up 220 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:26,340 of Jews. 221 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:28,380 As a matter of fact, those who had 222 00:09:28,380 --> 00:09:30,660 put him and his fellow apostles in prison 223 00:09:30,660 --> 00:09:31,620 were Jews. 224 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,640 The Sadducees, to be sure, but they were 225 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:36,660 Jews nevertheless. 226 00:09:37,340 --> 00:09:38,160 High priests. 227 00:09:39,020 --> 00:09:40,460 And so he could speak to them about 228 00:09:40,460 --> 00:09:43,060 the God of our fathers, which of course 229 00:09:43,060 --> 00:09:44,900 would be what he called them in the 230 00:09:44,900 --> 00:09:46,160 third chapter of this book. 231 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:49,000 The God of our father Abraham with Isaac 232 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:49,580 and Jacob. 233 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,120 Yes, the God of our fathers. 234 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:55,420 Here is something that this one has done. 235 00:09:56,060 --> 00:09:57,060 And what has he done? 236 00:09:57,620 --> 00:10:00,540 He has raised up Jesus. 237 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,120 Now this does not refer to the resurrection 238 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,100 of the Lord Jesus here. 239 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,020 This refers to his being brought into prominence. 240 00:10:09,660 --> 00:10:12,480 We have this same expression used right in 241 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:14,100 the same book of the Acts in connection 242 00:10:14,100 --> 00:10:17,120 with David, whom God raised up. 243 00:10:17,180 --> 00:10:18,860 He put him into a place of prominence. 244 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:21,240 And in the ninth chapter of Romans we 245 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,980 have the same word used of Pharaoh, where 246 00:10:23,980 --> 00:10:26,260 God says to Pharaoh, For this cause have 247 00:10:26,260 --> 00:10:28,780 I raised thee up, that I might show 248 00:10:28,780 --> 00:10:30,000 my power in thee. 249 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:34,000 And so God raises up a man called 250 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,800 Jesus, whom we've been looking at in his 251 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:39,080 varied characters in the early chapters of this 252 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:39,420 book. 253 00:10:40,020 --> 00:10:41,520 In the first chapter we saw him as 254 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:42,860 the man who was taken up. 255 00:10:42,860 --> 00:10:44,920 The man who is seated at the right 256 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:47,020 hand of the majesty of the heavens today, 257 00:10:47,700 --> 00:10:49,960 ever living to make intercession for us. 258 00:10:50,460 --> 00:10:52,140 Then in chapter 2 we saw him as 259 00:10:52,140 --> 00:10:55,920 the man approved or accredited of God with 260 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,540 miracles and wonders and signs. 261 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,720 In chapter 3 we saw him there as 262 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,480 the prince of life, whom they had put 263 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:05,560 to death and so on. 264 00:11:05,700 --> 00:11:08,040 Chapter 4, we saw him as the stone 265 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:11,080 which had been disallowed by the builders become 266 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:12,040 the head of the corner. 267 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:14,540 Oh, the varied ways in which the Spirit 268 00:11:14,540 --> 00:11:17,560 of God brings our Lord Jesus Christ before 269 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:17,960 us. 270 00:11:18,380 --> 00:11:21,240 But here he is, the man Jesus, whom 271 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,160 God has raised up with his right hand. 272 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:26,520 God has exalted him with his right hand 273 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:27,600 to be a prince and a savior. 274 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:29,060 And what did they do with him? 275 00:11:30,700 --> 00:11:33,220 Oh, Peter doesn't pull his punches here for 276 00:11:33,220 --> 00:11:33,540 a minute. 277 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,000 He says, Whom ye slew and hanged on 278 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:38,440 a tree. 279 00:11:39,260 --> 00:11:40,100 Whom ye slew. 280 00:11:40,940 --> 00:11:42,800 You notice he doesn't try to shift this 281 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,580 blame off onto the Romans, as so many 282 00:11:45,580 --> 00:11:48,080 people are trying to do today, to be 283 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:52,660 sort of conciliatory toward a certain racial group. 284 00:11:53,140 --> 00:11:54,940 But Peter doesn't do anything of the kind, 285 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:57,660 even though he has a relationship with them. 286 00:11:58,300 --> 00:12:01,220 He says, Whom ye slew and hanged on 287 00:12:01,220 --> 00:12:01,600 a tree. 288 00:12:02,940 --> 00:12:04,920 You know, it's interesting that Peter uses the 289 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:06,600 word tree here instead of cross. 290 00:12:08,460 --> 00:12:10,660 Paul uses the word cross usually. 291 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,340 There's only one place where Paul uses the 292 00:12:13,340 --> 00:12:15,080 word tree, and that's in the epistles of 293 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:18,120 the Galatians, where of course he refers back 294 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:19,920 to a passage in the book of Deuteronomy 295 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,100 where he says, Whosoever hangs on a tree 296 00:12:23,100 --> 00:12:24,640 is cursed. 297 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:27,360 But Peter was using the word which was 298 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,360 common among them for this mode of execution, 299 00:12:31,140 --> 00:12:31,580 a tree. 300 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:34,500 But we have two words for tree in 301 00:12:34,500 --> 00:12:36,540 the original language of the New Testament. 302 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,400 We have a word dendron, which some of 303 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:42,980 you will recognize a part of the word 304 00:12:42,980 --> 00:12:48,000 rhododendron, that beautiful shrub that grows in so 305 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:49,860 much in the eastern part of our country 306 00:12:49,860 --> 00:12:52,520 here, and which we enjoy so much. 307 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,020 Well, dendron is the Greek word for a 308 00:12:55,020 --> 00:12:57,440 living tree, a tree that's growing. 309 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,980 But we have another word, zilon, which means 310 00:13:01,980 --> 00:13:03,580 a tree that's been cut down. 311 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,180 And yet remarkably, this is the word which 312 00:13:08,180 --> 00:13:10,120 is used in the book of Revelation for 313 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:11,560 the tree of life. 314 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:15,020 In both the second chapter of Revelation and 315 00:13:15,020 --> 00:13:17,660 in the 22nd chapter of Revelation, this is 316 00:13:17,660 --> 00:13:19,160 the word which is used for the tree 317 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:21,620 of life, a tree which has been cut 318 00:13:21,620 --> 00:13:22,020 down. 319 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:25,180 How suggestive this is, isn't it, of our 320 00:13:25,180 --> 00:13:27,860 Lord Jesus Christ, the one who was cut 321 00:13:27,860 --> 00:13:31,360 down, but who has now become the tree 322 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:34,300 of life to you and to me, of 323 00:13:34,300 --> 00:13:36,240 whom that tree of life way back in 324 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:37,780 the Garden of Eden was a picture. 325 00:13:38,940 --> 00:13:41,160 And the Lord Jesus speaks of himself again 326 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,660 and again in the New Testament as the 327 00:13:43,660 --> 00:13:44,140 life. 328 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:46,340 In him was life, and the life was 329 00:13:46,340 --> 00:13:47,100 the light of men. 330 00:13:47,540 --> 00:13:49,280 I am the way, the truth, and the 331 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:50,120 life, says he. 332 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:53,180 Yes, he is the life. 333 00:13:53,460 --> 00:13:54,500 He's the living one. 334 00:13:55,220 --> 00:13:56,960 And yet they slew him and hanged him 335 00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:57,620 on a tree. 336 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:00,640 Suggestive, I say, that they should hang him 337 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:03,080 on that which is going to speak so 338 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,700 eloquently of him as the one who died 339 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:08,120 and rose again. 340 00:14:08,940 --> 00:14:12,380 I think there's something really designed about these 341 00:14:12,380 --> 00:14:13,580 choice of words. 342 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,740 I'm such a firm believer in the verbal 343 00:14:16,740 --> 00:14:20,120 inspiration of Scripture that the selection of every 344 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,440 word here has meaning for me. 345 00:14:23,060 --> 00:14:24,840 The fact that there were two words from 346 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:26,980 which he might have chosen, and he might 347 00:14:26,980 --> 00:14:28,960 have chosen the word dendron instead of the 348 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:30,380 word zilon, but he didn't. 349 00:14:30,980 --> 00:14:33,580 He chose the word which the Holy Spirit 350 00:14:33,580 --> 00:14:34,740 wanted to put here. 351 00:14:35,700 --> 00:14:38,100 And this does not minimize for one moment, 352 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,680 dear friends, the fact that this is known 353 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:42,100 elsewhere as the cross. 354 00:14:42,900 --> 00:14:46,080 This is what Peter is preaching, Christ and 355 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:47,160 him crucified. 356 00:14:48,220 --> 00:14:51,120 To the Jews, a stumbling block, and to 357 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:52,860 the Greeks, foolishness. 358 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:55,980 But unto us who are saved, it's the 359 00:14:55,980 --> 00:14:57,800 power of God. 360 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,500 I know people sometimes say, oh, you mustn't 361 00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:03,040 talk about that horrible thing. 362 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,280 It doesn't fit in our present philosophy of 363 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:06,620 life. 364 00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:09,660 But, dear friends, it fits in the word 365 00:15:09,660 --> 00:15:10,200 of God. 366 00:15:11,180 --> 00:15:13,420 And this is fundamental to our Christian faith. 367 00:15:14,180 --> 00:15:15,800 And so, as I said a few minutes 368 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:19,180 ago, Peter here, in this very brief sermon, 369 00:15:20,020 --> 00:15:23,560 bringing out this wonderful fact of Christ crucified, 370 00:15:23,820 --> 00:15:26,380 whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 371 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,040 But says somebody, yes, but you know, this 372 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:33,140 is 1968, and that occurred way back there 373 00:15:33,140 --> 00:15:36,060 nearly 20 centuries ago, and now you want 374 00:15:36,060 --> 00:15:37,940 me to admit that I had a part 375 00:15:37,940 --> 00:15:38,400 in that? 376 00:15:40,700 --> 00:15:42,900 Well, I have an illustration which I think 377 00:15:42,900 --> 00:15:43,840 will make that clear. 378 00:15:45,140 --> 00:15:47,300 You know, I wasn't living in this country 379 00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:53,420 in 1776, when 13 colonies were built against 380 00:15:53,420 --> 00:15:55,260 His Majesty King George III. 381 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:56,980 I wasn't around then. 382 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:00,880 But I was born in these United States 383 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:03,720 many years after that revolt against King George 384 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:04,140 III. 385 00:16:05,940 --> 00:16:07,580 And as I grew up and read the 386 00:16:07,580 --> 00:16:12,420 story of that revolution, I had opportunity to 387 00:16:12,420 --> 00:16:16,420 take sides with the other party. 388 00:16:16,940 --> 00:16:19,620 In fact, I have lived eight consecutive years 389 00:16:19,620 --> 00:16:23,000 under the British flag, long enough to have 390 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,140 qualified as a citizen. 391 00:16:26,340 --> 00:16:29,120 I've not only lived in Canada, I have 392 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:30,020 lived in New Zealand. 393 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:32,500 I've spent some time in England itself. 394 00:16:33,860 --> 00:16:38,240 I've lived there long enough to have requested 395 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:39,820 citizenship in these countries. 396 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:44,660 Three years in New Zealand, welcomed by them 397 00:16:44,660 --> 00:16:45,440 in New Zealand. 398 00:16:45,980 --> 00:16:47,340 They never held it against me. 399 00:16:47,780 --> 00:16:49,120 I had an American passport. 400 00:16:49,740 --> 00:16:51,220 And you know, if they'd known history, they 401 00:16:51,220 --> 00:16:53,040 could have said, so you're one of those 402 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,300 that rebelled against His Majesty King George III 403 00:16:56,300 --> 00:16:57,700 in 1776. 404 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,160 And you'd say, well, I wasn't there, but 405 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,300 I'm siding with it just the same. 406 00:17:02,420 --> 00:17:02,600 See? 407 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,660 My dear friend, you didn't have to be 408 00:17:05,660 --> 00:17:09,540 present 1900 years ago to be guilty of 409 00:17:09,540 --> 00:17:09,859 this. 410 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:12,420 The question is, where do you stand this 411 00:17:12,420 --> 00:17:12,760 morning? 412 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,599 Are you taking sides with those who declared 413 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:20,240 themselves and said, away with him, away with 414 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:21,400 him, crucify him? 415 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:23,319 You might just as well have been there. 416 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:27,339 It's just as serious as that. 417 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,180 These things have not changed, dear friend. 418 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:33,200 The line is clearly drawn in the word 419 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,340 of God, we're either for or against. 420 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,400 And so this morning, let me press this 421 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:39,500 upon you, dear friend. 422 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:41,460 If you're not a believer in the Lord 423 00:17:41,460 --> 00:17:43,960 Jesus Christ, you're on the side of those 424 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,000 who said 1900 years ago, away with him, 425 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:49,000 crucify him. 426 00:17:49,900 --> 00:17:51,820 In other words, you would have stood charge 427 00:17:51,820 --> 00:17:53,740 as if Saint Peter himself were standing here 428 00:17:53,740 --> 00:17:56,440 this morning and saying, and ye slew him 429 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:57,600 and hanged him on a tree. 430 00:17:58,140 --> 00:17:59,380 Just as direct as that. 431 00:18:01,910 --> 00:18:04,910 But now, what does God do about it? 432 00:18:06,470 --> 00:18:08,510 They thought they had him secure. 433 00:18:09,930 --> 00:18:13,150 Yes, they thought they had him dead, he's 434 00:18:13,150 --> 00:18:15,590 gone, he's buried. 435 00:18:16,570 --> 00:18:18,130 They even went so far to put a 436 00:18:18,130 --> 00:18:22,210 seal on his tombstone there, the great big 437 00:18:22,210 --> 00:18:24,330 round stone that rolled in front of the 438 00:18:24,330 --> 00:18:24,670 door. 439 00:18:25,390 --> 00:18:27,370 As some of us have seen, there's a 440 00:18:27,370 --> 00:18:29,730 groove in front of the tomb which we 441 00:18:29,730 --> 00:18:31,530 claim was the tomb where our Lord lay. 442 00:18:32,350 --> 00:18:34,670 And in this groove where they rolled a 443 00:18:34,670 --> 00:18:36,670 great big stone which had one flat side 444 00:18:36,670 --> 00:18:38,850 on it, and once rolled into position, it 445 00:18:38,850 --> 00:18:40,610 was very difficult to move it out again. 446 00:18:41,290 --> 00:18:43,530 That's why the women said, who shall roll 447 00:18:43,530 --> 00:18:44,530 us away the stone? 448 00:18:45,070 --> 00:18:46,550 But in addition to the weight of the 449 00:18:46,550 --> 00:18:49,470 stone, there was the seal, and there was 450 00:18:49,470 --> 00:18:50,610 the watch of soldiers. 451 00:18:51,790 --> 00:18:56,150 The stone, the seal, the soldiers, they keep 452 00:18:56,150 --> 00:18:57,930 him there till that resurrection morning. 453 00:18:58,510 --> 00:18:59,850 When he said he was going to rise 454 00:18:59,850 --> 00:19:01,770 again, they'd break the seal, roll the stone 455 00:19:01,770 --> 00:19:03,670 back and say, there he is! 456 00:19:04,030 --> 00:19:05,130 But he wasn't. 457 00:19:10,750 --> 00:19:13,550 Friends, I admit to you that the empty 458 00:19:13,550 --> 00:19:15,910 tomb is what people call negative evidence. 459 00:19:17,050 --> 00:19:19,430 But there was plenty of positive evidence in 460 00:19:19,430 --> 00:19:20,310 the tomb as well. 461 00:19:21,090 --> 00:19:22,770 Everything was in perfect order. 462 00:19:23,990 --> 00:19:26,170 The grave clothes was there, the napkin that 463 00:19:26,170 --> 00:19:27,650 was about his head lying in a place 464 00:19:27,650 --> 00:19:29,210 by itself, all folded up. 465 00:19:30,410 --> 00:19:33,130 And you know that's significant too, because the 466 00:19:33,130 --> 00:19:35,250 word for napkin is the word for a 467 00:19:35,250 --> 00:19:35,970 sweat cloth. 468 00:19:36,670 --> 00:19:38,230 As much as to say the Lord had 469 00:19:38,230 --> 00:19:40,310 finished his work, he'd mopped his brow, he 470 00:19:40,310 --> 00:19:42,490 wrapped up the cloth and laid it aside. 471 00:19:42,970 --> 00:19:44,550 It is finished. 472 00:19:46,430 --> 00:19:48,690 Oh, this is a tremendous word, friends. 473 00:19:49,370 --> 00:19:50,510 It is finished! 474 00:19:51,630 --> 00:19:54,010 I tried one time to impress this on 475 00:19:54,010 --> 00:19:55,670 a man with whom I was working. 476 00:19:56,670 --> 00:19:59,630 I was in charge of the engineering department 477 00:19:59,630 --> 00:20:02,450 in this particular firm, and I came into 478 00:20:02,450 --> 00:20:05,410 contact with the machinists out on the floor 479 00:20:05,410 --> 00:20:07,930 who were making the things which I had 480 00:20:07,930 --> 00:20:10,810 designed on the drafting board. 481 00:20:11,870 --> 00:20:13,410 I talked to one of these men so 482 00:20:13,410 --> 00:20:15,790 frequently about the finished work of the Lord 483 00:20:15,790 --> 00:20:17,510 Jesus, there was nothing left to do. 484 00:20:18,190 --> 00:20:20,430 This man would admit, oh yes, Jesus did 485 00:20:20,430 --> 00:20:21,810 a wonderful thing when he died on the 486 00:20:21,810 --> 00:20:24,010 cross, but you know I've got to do 487 00:20:24,010 --> 00:20:24,590 my part. 488 00:20:26,650 --> 00:20:28,270 So one day he told me, he came 489 00:20:28,270 --> 00:20:30,390 in the office, he said, Mr. Armerding, I've 490 00:20:30,390 --> 00:20:31,770 got a piece of work ready for you 491 00:20:31,770 --> 00:20:32,390 to inspect. 492 00:20:33,090 --> 00:20:34,570 I said, I'll be right out, John. 493 00:20:36,490 --> 00:20:39,490 Got out there and had the blueprint, looked 494 00:20:39,490 --> 00:20:41,990 over this piece of work, it was beautiful. 495 00:20:42,850 --> 00:20:45,670 From a mechanic's standpoint, it was admirable. 496 00:20:46,590 --> 00:20:47,850 I stood there and looked at this piece 497 00:20:47,850 --> 00:20:49,750 of work, I took all the measuring instruments, 498 00:20:49,890 --> 00:20:52,570 the calipers and whatnot, and measured it all, 499 00:20:52,670 --> 00:20:55,330 and it was just right up to scratch. 500 00:20:56,170 --> 00:20:59,430 We used to measure things within the one 501 00:20:59,430 --> 00:21:02,830 thousandth part of an inch, and he had 502 00:21:02,830 --> 00:21:07,290 carefully made his piece of machinery just exactly 503 00:21:07,290 --> 00:21:07,650 right. 504 00:21:08,670 --> 00:21:10,350 He was waiting for me to put my 505 00:21:10,350 --> 00:21:13,470 initial CA on the little paper inspected. 506 00:21:14,750 --> 00:21:17,890 I said, John, get me a two-pound 507 00:21:17,890 --> 00:21:18,190 hammer. 508 00:21:19,930 --> 00:21:21,910 He got a hammer out, a ball-peen 509 00:21:21,910 --> 00:21:22,870 hammer, two pounds. 510 00:21:23,570 --> 00:21:25,250 Let me have a cold chisel, John. 511 00:21:25,830 --> 00:21:26,950 He got a cold chisel. 512 00:21:28,170 --> 00:21:30,230 I held the cold chisel over this piece 513 00:21:30,230 --> 00:21:32,170 of work and the two-pound hammer. 514 00:21:32,370 --> 00:21:33,330 He said, hey, what are you going to 515 00:21:33,330 --> 00:21:33,690 do? 516 00:21:34,010 --> 00:21:35,530 I said, I'm going to finish it. 517 00:21:38,150 --> 00:21:40,110 He says, it is finished. 518 00:21:41,570 --> 00:21:45,030 I said, John, you've refused to believe that 519 00:21:45,030 --> 00:21:46,470 about the work that is finished. 520 00:21:48,270 --> 00:21:50,230 I said, but John, what would happen now 521 00:21:50,230 --> 00:21:51,110 if I was to do this? 522 00:21:51,350 --> 00:21:53,150 He said, you would finish it then. 523 00:21:55,300 --> 00:21:57,240 Yes, I say, and if you were to 524 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,180 do anything to the work of Christ, that's 525 00:21:59,180 --> 00:22:00,600 exactly what would happen. 526 00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:01,560 You'd spoil it. 527 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,140 Oh, friends, God has put his seal on 528 00:22:06,140 --> 00:22:07,400 the work of the Lord Jesus. 529 00:22:07,940 --> 00:22:09,120 It's right here in this text. 530 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:10,080 Look at it, please. 531 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,360 In verse 31, him hath God exalted. 532 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:15,700 Oh, I love that word. 533 00:22:16,220 --> 00:22:17,800 He not only raised him from the dead, 534 00:22:17,860 --> 00:22:18,900 but he exalted him. 535 00:22:19,460 --> 00:22:21,560 And Peter's careful to tell us about this. 536 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:24,380 Peter doesn't very often go beyond the resurrection 537 00:22:24,380 --> 00:22:26,400 of the Lord Jesus in his presentation of 538 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:28,380 Christ, but he does on this occasion. 539 00:22:29,100 --> 00:22:30,880 He says he's exalted him to be a 540 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:32,980 prince and a savior. 541 00:22:34,420 --> 00:22:37,200 You know, this is bringing two wonderful things 542 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:37,640 together. 543 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:40,180 As the prince, we think of him as 544 00:22:40,180 --> 00:22:41,580 the originator of life. 545 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:44,140 This word is only used four times in 546 00:22:44,140 --> 00:22:46,680 the New Testament, and every time it's used, 547 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:47,980 it's used of the Lord Jesus. 548 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:49,920 Twice in the book of the Acts, and 549 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,240 twice in the epistle to the Hebrews. 550 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:54,500 And it not only means a prince in 551 00:22:54,500 --> 00:22:57,020 the sense of a place of dignity in 552 00:22:57,020 --> 00:23:00,280 the line, but it means that he's the 553 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:04,400 originator of life, the originator of life. 554 00:23:05,540 --> 00:23:08,140 He's the one who brought everything into being, 555 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:10,260 the originator of the old creation as well 556 00:23:10,260 --> 00:23:10,880 as of the new. 557 00:23:11,500 --> 00:23:14,080 All of that is included in the original 558 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:15,500 word he translated, prince. 559 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,880 But when you talk about a savior, you 560 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:21,620 talk about one who came down from this 561 00:23:21,620 --> 00:23:25,680 high position and went down low, so low, 562 00:23:29,090 --> 00:23:30,950 that as we were reading, hearing read this 563 00:23:30,950 --> 00:23:34,590 morning in an earlier meeting, I'm a worm 564 00:23:34,590 --> 00:23:37,170 and no man. 565 00:23:39,410 --> 00:23:43,550 The reproach of men and despised of the 566 00:23:43,550 --> 00:23:46,110 people to be a savior. 567 00:23:47,470 --> 00:23:51,070 Oh, friends, this word savior has taken on 568 00:23:51,070 --> 00:23:54,030 dignity, I know, with you and me as 569 00:23:54,030 --> 00:23:56,990 Christians, but oh, what it cost the Lord 570 00:23:56,990 --> 00:24:00,050 Jesus to take this name, a savior. 571 00:24:01,230 --> 00:24:03,830 This is the first time he's introduced in 572 00:24:03,830 --> 00:24:06,110 exactly this way, in this combination, in this 573 00:24:06,110 --> 00:24:08,410 book of the Acts, a savior. 574 00:24:10,050 --> 00:24:11,690 Yes, this is the name which was given 575 00:24:11,690 --> 00:24:12,990 to him when he was born. 576 00:24:13,650 --> 00:24:14,490 You remember? 577 00:24:15,190 --> 00:24:16,890 Unto you was born this day in the 578 00:24:16,890 --> 00:24:20,290 city of David a savior who is Christ 579 00:24:20,290 --> 00:24:20,790 the Lord. 580 00:24:22,010 --> 00:24:22,310 This is he. 581 00:24:23,030 --> 00:24:25,330 Don't use that term lightly, dear friends. 582 00:24:25,890 --> 00:24:27,450 It cost him too much. 583 00:24:29,390 --> 00:24:31,550 A savior, a prince and a savior. 584 00:24:31,650 --> 00:24:34,390 Now, this prince and savior is giving three 585 00:24:34,390 --> 00:24:35,990 gifts, and I want to talk about these 586 00:24:35,990 --> 00:24:38,230 three gifts in the minutes that remain of 587 00:24:38,230 --> 00:24:38,970 my time. 588 00:24:39,730 --> 00:24:41,750 The first gift is repentance. 589 00:24:41,750 --> 00:24:42,930 You notice that? 590 00:24:44,210 --> 00:24:46,710 He says to give repentance to Israel. 591 00:24:47,830 --> 00:24:48,930 What is repentance? 592 00:24:51,580 --> 00:24:53,840 I heard a definition some years ago which 593 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:55,060 has stuck with me. 594 00:24:56,140 --> 00:24:58,220 I know we get the usual definition that 595 00:24:58,220 --> 00:25:02,220 repentance is a change of mind, and literally 596 00:25:02,220 --> 00:25:03,120 that is so. 597 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:06,480 But I think I have a better definition 598 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:07,020 this morning. 599 00:25:07,020 --> 00:25:09,000 In fact, it's more of an exposition than 600 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:09,880 it is a definition. 601 00:25:11,420 --> 00:25:16,720 It's this, that repentance is taking sides with 602 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:20,000 God against yourself. 603 00:25:22,810 --> 00:25:24,090 Think about it. 604 00:25:25,350 --> 00:25:30,150 Repentance is taking sides with God against yourself. 605 00:25:32,070 --> 00:25:34,730 The prodigal son furnishes us with a pretty 606 00:25:34,730 --> 00:25:35,590 good illustration. 607 00:25:36,210 --> 00:25:39,010 First of what is not repentance, and then 608 00:25:39,010 --> 00:25:39,570 what is. 609 00:25:41,190 --> 00:25:43,570 You know, as long as the prodigal could 610 00:25:43,570 --> 00:25:45,670 say, Father, I've sinned against heaven, and in 611 00:25:45,670 --> 00:25:46,990 thy sight I'm no more worthy to be 612 00:25:46,990 --> 00:25:48,430 called thy son, make me as one of 613 00:25:48,430 --> 00:25:49,530 thy hired servants. 614 00:25:50,210 --> 00:25:51,650 He hasn't reached bottom yet. 615 00:25:54,220 --> 00:25:56,000 A lot of people think he's reached the 616 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:56,520 turning point. 617 00:25:56,620 --> 00:25:57,380 No, he hasn't. 618 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,140 As long as you talk about being made 619 00:26:00,140 --> 00:26:02,240 a hired servant, you can still work for 620 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:03,020 what you're going to get. 621 00:26:03,980 --> 00:26:05,320 No, he hasn't reached the bottom. 622 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:08,340 But when he was in his father's arms 623 00:26:08,340 --> 00:26:10,720 and his father's kisses were rained upon his 624 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:12,360 neck, then what did he say? 625 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:17,060 Father, I've sinned against heaven, and in thy 626 00:26:17,060 --> 00:26:21,180 sight I'm no more worthy to be called 627 00:26:21,180 --> 00:26:22,540 thy son, period. 628 00:26:25,780 --> 00:26:27,060 There it is. 629 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:29,980 No talk now about hired servants. 630 00:26:31,300 --> 00:26:34,540 Repentance, taking sides with God against yourself. 631 00:26:35,260 --> 00:26:38,960 If God says I'm a sinful, undone sinner, 632 00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:41,280 a man who can not save himself, I 633 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:42,660 take sides with him. 634 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:46,300 And I say everything that he would pour 635 00:26:46,300 --> 00:26:48,040 out in his wrath upon a sinner, I 636 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:48,900 would deserve it. 637 00:26:49,180 --> 00:26:50,360 I take sides with him. 638 00:26:52,330 --> 00:26:54,090 But this brings me to the second gift 639 00:26:54,090 --> 00:26:54,450 here. 640 00:26:55,950 --> 00:26:58,710 You notice this second gift, and forgiveness of 641 00:26:58,710 --> 00:26:59,050 sins. 642 00:27:01,220 --> 00:27:02,280 That's a great gift. 643 00:27:02,820 --> 00:27:03,920 And it's a gift. 644 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:06,620 It isn't something you work for. 645 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:07,400 It isn't a reward. 646 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:09,340 It isn't wages. 647 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,780 If you want wages, we've got a verse 648 00:27:13,780 --> 00:27:14,340 for that. 649 00:27:15,140 --> 00:27:16,880 The wages of sin is death. 650 00:27:18,420 --> 00:27:20,340 I remember standing in an open-air meeting 651 00:27:20,340 --> 00:27:22,120 in St. Louis many years ago. 652 00:27:23,500 --> 00:27:24,900 A dear friend of mine, who is now 653 00:27:24,900 --> 00:27:26,460 in glory, was conducting the meeting. 654 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:30,560 And he was very faithful in his presentation 655 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:32,140 of the gospel and also the need of 656 00:27:32,140 --> 00:27:33,800 men, that they were sinners who needed to 657 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:34,400 be saved. 658 00:27:35,580 --> 00:27:37,340 And he had a heckler in the crowd 659 00:27:37,340 --> 00:27:41,680 who said, well, he said, if the wages 660 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,300 of sin is death, what's hell for? 661 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:51,660 I thought to myself, that'll take some doing 662 00:27:51,660 --> 00:27:52,560 to answer that one. 663 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,200 But my friend was equal to it. 664 00:27:56,060 --> 00:27:58,480 He said, the wages of sin is death, 665 00:28:02,010 --> 00:28:04,270 and hell's a place to spend your wages. 666 00:28:08,460 --> 00:28:09,780 I've never forgotten that. 667 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:13,520 Think about it. 668 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:16,780 But now in praise of this, God gives 669 00:28:16,780 --> 00:28:20,040 me, not as wages, not as something I've 670 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:21,440 earned, but as a gift. 671 00:28:22,500 --> 00:28:24,740 And you know, once again, this word forgiveness 672 00:28:24,740 --> 00:28:25,680 is a big word. 673 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:27,260 We use it so easily. 674 00:28:29,180 --> 00:28:31,400 We think we've forgiven somebody when we say, 675 00:28:31,540 --> 00:28:33,080 oh, let's forget it, but we talk about 676 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:33,560 it nevertheless. 677 00:28:34,740 --> 00:28:35,840 That's not forgiveness. 678 00:28:37,020 --> 00:28:37,840 That's not forgiveness. 679 00:28:39,100 --> 00:28:42,120 When God forgives, He also forgets, dear friends. 680 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:45,220 He says, their sins and iniquities will I 681 00:28:45,220 --> 00:28:46,440 remember no more. 682 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:48,600 That's the way God forgives. 683 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:51,840 But what does the word forgive really mean? 684 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,140 Well, in both the language of the Old 685 00:28:54,140 --> 00:28:56,620 Testament as well as the New, it really 686 00:28:56,620 --> 00:29:02,040 means to take away, put somewhere else. 687 00:29:04,310 --> 00:29:06,750 And when God forgives your sin and mine, 688 00:29:06,850 --> 00:29:10,970 He takes those sins of mine, He took 689 00:29:10,970 --> 00:29:13,690 them and He laid them on His beloved 690 00:29:13,690 --> 00:29:14,230 Son. 691 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:18,660 That's what forgiveness implies. 692 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:20,720 That's what it includes. 693 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,400 God taking my sins that I deserve to 694 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,080 answer for and to die for, He takes 695 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,040 them and puts them on His beloved Son. 696 00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:33,520 And He bore them as if they were 697 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:34,100 His own. 698 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:36,920 Oh, some of the language of the Psalms 699 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,120 can't be understood in any other way. 700 00:29:40,340 --> 00:29:42,160 For example, when our Lord talks about His 701 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,140 iniquities in Psalm 40, what's He doing there? 702 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,260 He's certainly not talking about His own sins, 703 00:29:47,300 --> 00:29:48,000 for He had none. 704 00:29:48,900 --> 00:29:51,900 He's talking about yours and mine that He 705 00:29:51,900 --> 00:29:52,800 took to Himself. 706 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,080 He bore our sins in His own body 707 00:29:58,080 --> 00:29:58,740 on the tree. 708 00:29:59,020 --> 00:30:01,580 And we've pointed out repeatedly that when they 709 00:30:01,580 --> 00:30:05,220 put an accusation over His head, they didn't 710 00:30:05,220 --> 00:30:06,960 accuse Him of breaking any one of the 711 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:07,800 Ten Commandments. 712 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:10,380 They didn't accuse Him of going back on 713 00:30:10,380 --> 00:30:11,800 something He said in the Sermon on the 714 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:12,020 Mount. 715 00:30:13,220 --> 00:30:14,980 The only thing they could put over His 716 00:30:14,980 --> 00:30:17,720 head was, This is Jesus of Nazareth, the 717 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:18,640 King of the Jews. 718 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:21,900 Not one sin could they lay to His 719 00:30:21,900 --> 00:30:22,340 charge. 720 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:24,820 Which of you says He convinced me of 721 00:30:24,820 --> 00:30:25,140 sin? 722 00:30:27,180 --> 00:30:29,200 In Him is no sin, He did no 723 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:30,420 sin, He knew no sin. 724 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,400 But He bore our sins in His own 725 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:35,060 body on the tree. 726 00:30:35,060 --> 00:30:37,440 And God, in forgiving them, takes them from 727 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:41,000 Me and puts them on Him. 728 00:30:42,100 --> 00:30:43,580 And He bore them for Me. 729 00:30:44,700 --> 00:30:46,940 All of this is involved in this word 730 00:30:46,940 --> 00:30:47,420 forgiveness. 731 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:50,600 Friend, I ask you solemnly in the presence 732 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:54,480 of God this morning, I'd just like to 733 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:56,740 assume that everybody in this chapel this morning 734 00:30:56,740 --> 00:30:58,960 is a born-again believer in the Lord 735 00:30:58,960 --> 00:30:59,400 Jesus. 736 00:31:00,700 --> 00:31:03,540 But you know, sometimes happens we have one 737 00:31:03,540 --> 00:31:07,080 guest present or more, who have never known 738 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:08,980 what this means to trust Christ as a 739 00:31:08,980 --> 00:31:09,720 personal Savior. 740 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:13,020 You know, we just long for you to 741 00:31:13,020 --> 00:31:14,000 have this same blessing. 742 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:17,640 We're not here, dear friend, to try to 743 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:19,880 uncover something of your past and make you 744 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:21,400 feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. 745 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,500 We're here to point to you, point you 746 00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:26,300 to one who can take everything that you'd 747 00:31:26,300 --> 00:31:28,820 be ashamed of in a coming day and 748 00:31:28,820 --> 00:31:30,420 take it away and take it away forever, 749 00:31:31,380 --> 00:31:33,420 washed away in His precious blood. 750 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:34,820 That's it. 751 00:31:35,860 --> 00:31:39,180 That's how God can forgive, because His righteousness 752 00:31:39,180 --> 00:31:43,260 and holiness have been perfectly satisfied in the 753 00:31:43,260 --> 00:31:44,460 sacrifice of Christ. 754 00:31:45,540 --> 00:31:47,720 There was no simply passing over things at 755 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:48,180 the cross. 756 00:31:48,580 --> 00:31:50,980 Everything was dealt with in a righteous way. 757 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,800 And so God now gives Him the privilege 758 00:31:55,800 --> 00:32:00,060 from the throne to give repentance and forgiveness 759 00:32:00,060 --> 00:32:00,800 of sins. 760 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:02,080 This is a gift. 761 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:04,460 But there's a third gift here. 762 00:32:05,700 --> 00:32:07,380 You notice as we come down in this 763 00:32:07,380 --> 00:32:09,720 thirty-second verse, we are His witnesses of 764 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:11,440 these things, and so also of the Holy 765 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,280 Ghost whom God has given to them that 766 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:14,900 obey Him. 767 00:32:15,620 --> 00:32:17,640 You know, this is remarkable too, isn't it? 768 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,760 That those whom God has forgiven in His 769 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:23,360 marvelous grace on the basis of what Christ 770 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:26,600 did at the cross of Calvary, now God 771 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:27,780 gives them a gift. 772 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:30,940 And this is not something special to a 773 00:32:30,940 --> 00:32:33,540 certain particular group of people who've gone through 774 00:32:33,540 --> 00:32:35,240 some remarkable experience. 775 00:32:35,780 --> 00:32:38,300 This is the birthright of every true child 776 00:32:38,300 --> 00:32:38,940 of God. 777 00:32:40,220 --> 00:32:41,800 For if any man have not the Spirit 778 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:43,780 of Christ, he's none of His. 779 00:32:44,780 --> 00:32:46,420 If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus 780 00:32:46,420 --> 00:32:48,800 this morning, you have the Holy Spirit. 781 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:50,340 You have Him. 782 00:32:50,340 --> 00:32:52,060 He's God's gift to you. 783 00:32:53,740 --> 00:32:55,600 He's come to take up His residence in 784 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:56,160 your body. 785 00:32:57,060 --> 00:32:59,020 Our bodies are the temples of the Holy 786 00:32:59,020 --> 00:32:59,480 Ghost. 787 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:04,400 Oh, friends, if we realize this more, we'd 788 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,080 have no difficulty with rules and regulations as 789 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:08,600 to what we could do and couldn't do. 790 00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:12,800 Do you think, dear friends, if I was 791 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:14,640 fully conscious of the presence of the Holy 792 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:16,720 Spirit within that I would go to some 793 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:18,920 place over which even I would have a 794 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:19,560 question mark? 795 00:33:19,780 --> 00:33:21,480 Or do something over which I would put 796 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:22,200 a question mark? 797 00:33:22,300 --> 00:33:22,760 Oh, no. 798 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,320 Not if I believe in the indwelling of 799 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:27,140 the Holy Spirit. 800 00:33:28,780 --> 00:33:31,380 And the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that 801 00:33:31,380 --> 00:33:31,760 what? 802 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:33,440 That we're the children of God. 803 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:36,540 And how remarkable this is as we travel 804 00:33:36,540 --> 00:33:38,980 around the world to find those who, like 805 00:33:38,980 --> 00:33:40,400 ourselves, born of the Spirit. 806 00:33:41,820 --> 00:33:44,820 We find a kinship that is superior to 807 00:33:44,820 --> 00:33:46,400 any national kinship. 808 00:33:46,580 --> 00:33:49,300 Anything that you can mention today is the 809 00:33:49,300 --> 00:33:52,680 kinship of those who've trusted the Lord Jesus 810 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:53,740 Christ as a Savior. 811 00:33:54,900 --> 00:34:00,020 In 1938, after a month's visit in Palestine 812 00:34:00,020 --> 00:34:03,220 and Egypt, we came to England. 813 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:06,960 I came to England, and I went over 814 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:09,520 to the continent to visit in Germany with 815 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:11,800 some of my relatives whom I had never 816 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:12,139 met. 817 00:34:14,699 --> 00:34:16,380 They lived in the north part of Germany 818 00:34:16,380 --> 00:34:18,679 in the city of Rostock and Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 819 00:34:20,870 --> 00:34:22,929 And in the course of our conversation, they 820 00:34:22,929 --> 00:34:24,630 said to me, Well, Carl, where have you 821 00:34:24,630 --> 00:34:24,969 been? 822 00:34:25,090 --> 00:34:26,110 Where have you been traveling? 823 00:34:26,570 --> 00:34:28,909 Well, I said, We lived in New Zealand 824 00:34:28,909 --> 00:34:29,949 for three years. 825 00:34:30,090 --> 00:34:31,650 We came by Australia. 826 00:34:31,850 --> 00:34:32,730 We ministered there. 827 00:34:32,889 --> 00:34:33,949 We stopped in Ceylon. 828 00:34:35,010 --> 00:34:38,550 And we came to Arabia, Aden. 829 00:34:39,590 --> 00:34:42,630 And then we came up to Egypt at 830 00:34:42,630 --> 00:34:43,210 Port Said. 831 00:34:44,330 --> 00:34:46,590 And we got off the steamer there, and 832 00:34:46,590 --> 00:34:50,670 we spent a delightful time in Egypt looking 833 00:34:50,670 --> 00:34:51,190 around. 834 00:34:51,449 --> 00:34:54,110 And then I said, From Egypt, we took 835 00:34:54,110 --> 00:34:56,410 the train through Qantar, and we came up 836 00:34:56,410 --> 00:34:59,430 to Lydda, and changed trains, and came up 837 00:34:59,430 --> 00:35:00,030 to Jerusalem. 838 00:35:01,670 --> 00:35:03,670 And who did you stay with in Jerusalem? 839 00:35:03,930 --> 00:35:05,430 Well, I said, We stayed with some of 840 00:35:05,430 --> 00:35:05,870 the brethren. 841 00:35:08,470 --> 00:35:10,370 And this, in German, sounded as though they 842 00:35:10,370 --> 00:35:13,270 were my flesh-and-blood brothers, you know. 843 00:35:14,770 --> 00:35:15,370 It's a breeder. 844 00:35:17,030 --> 00:35:18,830 I said, They didn't know that you had 845 00:35:18,830 --> 00:35:19,930 brothers in Jerusalem. 846 00:35:21,590 --> 00:35:23,970 And mentioning my father, they said, Well, Uncle 847 00:35:23,970 --> 00:35:25,690 Ernst must have been a wonderful man to 848 00:35:25,690 --> 00:35:28,210 have such a big family, to have children 849 00:35:28,210 --> 00:35:28,810 in Jerusalem. 850 00:35:30,710 --> 00:35:31,510 I said, No. 851 00:35:32,170 --> 00:35:34,230 I said, They were not my earthly father's 852 00:35:34,230 --> 00:35:34,470 children. 853 00:35:34,590 --> 00:35:36,410 They were my heavenly father's children. 854 00:35:38,270 --> 00:35:41,770 And they had never heard of such a 855 00:35:41,770 --> 00:35:43,070 wonderful relationship. 856 00:35:45,450 --> 00:35:46,910 Friends, this is wonderful. 857 00:35:48,030 --> 00:35:51,410 It is wonderful to think that we are 858 00:35:51,410 --> 00:35:55,530 the family of God today, born again. 859 00:35:55,690 --> 00:35:57,590 Every true believer in the Lord Jesus, no 860 00:35:57,590 --> 00:36:00,130 matter what the color of his skin, no 861 00:36:00,130 --> 00:36:02,210 matter what the language he speaks, no matter 862 00:36:02,210 --> 00:36:05,230 what his racial origin, if he's born again, 863 00:36:06,610 --> 00:36:08,110 we're one with him in the body of 864 00:36:08,110 --> 00:36:10,710 Christ, the family of God. 865 00:36:11,490 --> 00:36:14,390 This, dear friends, some of the things linked 866 00:36:14,390 --> 00:36:17,190 with these three gifts, oh, if you don't 867 00:36:17,190 --> 00:36:19,390 get anything else out of this fifth chapter 868 00:36:19,390 --> 00:36:22,130 today, I hope you'll get this. 869 00:36:22,130 --> 00:36:25,010 First of all, that these men were subject 870 00:36:25,010 --> 00:36:26,730 to an authority that was divine. 871 00:36:27,610 --> 00:36:29,970 Secondly, that they came to present a person, 872 00:36:30,550 --> 00:36:31,850 the Lord Jesus Christ. 873 00:36:32,350 --> 00:36:34,870 And thirdly, to show what he's done for 874 00:36:34,870 --> 00:36:39,630 us in giving us repentance, forgiveness of sins, 875 00:36:40,190 --> 00:36:41,810 and the Holy Spirit. 876 00:36:43,110 --> 00:36:45,090 Friends, all of these things are based on 877 00:36:45,090 --> 00:36:45,650 the word of God. 878 00:36:45,710 --> 00:36:47,310 And no matter what the attacks on this 879 00:36:47,310 --> 00:36:50,190 old book this morning, we thank God that 880 00:36:50,190 --> 00:36:51,670 these truths remain. 881 00:36:52,350 --> 00:36:53,030 There they are. 882 00:36:53,770 --> 00:36:55,750 I've believed them now for more than three 883 00:36:55,750 --> 00:36:56,550 score years. 884 00:36:57,610 --> 00:36:59,390 I'm getting pretty close to the four score 885 00:36:59,390 --> 00:37:00,170 mark now. 886 00:37:01,190 --> 00:37:03,970 And friends, the more I see of it, 887 00:37:04,490 --> 00:37:06,030 the more precious it becomes. 888 00:37:06,790 --> 00:37:09,510 Instead of losing my faith, it's getting stronger 889 00:37:09,510 --> 00:37:10,130 and stronger. 890 00:37:10,590 --> 00:37:13,150 This old book, which our brother Willie held 891 00:37:13,150 --> 00:37:14,970 up for you a little earlier this morning, 892 00:37:15,630 --> 00:37:19,190 this old book, the word of God, more 893 00:37:19,190 --> 00:37:21,230 precious to me today even than the night 894 00:37:21,230 --> 00:37:22,970 when I first came to know the Lord 895 00:37:22,970 --> 00:37:24,270 Jesus as my Savior. 896 00:37:25,490 --> 00:37:27,390 In keeping with this, I'm going to have 897 00:37:27,390 --> 00:37:30,070 you sing a grand old hymn of the 898 00:37:30,070 --> 00:37:32,750 faith, written by a man who knew what 899 00:37:32,750 --> 00:37:34,350 it meant to suffer for Christ's sake. 900 00:37:34,930 --> 00:37:37,350 Hymn number 254. 901 00:37:39,350 --> 00:37:39,870 254. 902 00:37:40,690 --> 00:37:43,250 And those of you of Teutonic origin will 903 00:37:43,250 --> 00:37:45,690 remember, I'm festivur his undergut. 904 00:37:46,350 --> 00:37:49,650 A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark 905 00:37:49,650 --> 00:37:52,030 never failing, our helper he amid the floods 906 00:37:52,030 --> 00:37:53,530 of mortal ills prevailing. 907 00:37:54,350 --> 00:37:56,490 For still our ancient foe doth seek to 908 00:37:56,490 --> 00:37:57,470 work us woe. 909 00:37:58,290 --> 00:38:00,870 His craft and power are great, and armed 910 00:38:00,870 --> 00:38:01,830 with cruel hate. 911 00:38:02,770 --> 00:38:05,590 On earth is not his equal, but as 912 00:38:05,590 --> 00:38:06,650 the hymn goes on, we'll see. 913 00:38:06,750 --> 00:38:08,070 Number 254. 914 00:38:08,110 --> 00:38:09,470 You can't sing this sitting down. 915 00:38:09,550 --> 00:38:10,510 You have to stand up. 916 00:38:11,470 --> 00:38:12,430 254.