Book of Acts - Ch. 3, Vs. 20-Ch. 4, Vs. 14 (01/19/2003)

Acts 3: Peter Preaches the Restoration of All Things

We take it up in Acts 3, verse 20, who is speaking here, the great orator, Peter. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you. David, how did Jesus, what caused him to come into the world, that's right.

Who is represented as being the author of it? Yes, the Father. The Father will send him. Now, Greg, what kind of a verb is shall send? It means it's going to happen, doesn't it? Did it happen? Jesus was sent into the world.

He continues to operate by what, Dennis? That's right. Everything he ever did while he was here on earth was done to please the Father. That meant it was by the Holy Spirit. 21. Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began.

Now, we have quite a bit in this verse. First of all, the heavens must receive. What does that mean, David? Heaven had to receive him. It must retain him also. Now we come to the word restitution. Greg, what does that mean?

Until the times of restitution of all things. You mean they're not already? Where are they then? All right, I want you to remember that. The whole cosmos is under a curse. It's operating less than 100 peak efficiency.

It's words like this that cause me to believe that the world will return to where it was in Genesis 1. 22. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me.

Him shall you hear in all things. Whatsoever he shall say unto you. What's it mean, Dennis, like unto me? Yes, Moses is saying like unto me. Help him out, Greg. Roger, unto me. Like unto me. God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me.

There it is. A mediator between God and man. This is the role Moses played. Now, David, and it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.

Now, David, and it shall come to pass that every soul. First of all, what does the soul mean? The word soul. That every living person which will not hear that prophet. Now, what's he mean? Turn to John 10, if you will, please.

And, Greg, read verse 3. Now, read verse 8. Verse 16. That's quite a powerful verse. It speaks of predestination. It speaks of you and I. Now, read verse 27. Now, in John 8. Turn over to there. And read verse 43.

47. Chapter 12, verse 39. And 40. Sounds almost unfair, doesn't it? That he has blinded the eyes of certain people. What if it were not like that, Dennis? What if everybody had an equal chance? What was that?

If everybody had an equal chance, he did that. But I'm asking, Roger, I'm asking, what if there had never been any restrictions on salvation? What would the world be like? The world would really be in a mess, wouldn't it?

Yes. If he had not chosen certain peoples. Yea, and all of the prophets from Samuel and those that followed after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Greg, what's these days?

Yes, it's right now. You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Dennis, how is it that in the seed of Abraham all the children of every nation and walk and color and everything is blessed?

All right. Greg? Well, let's get Roger to answer. So what has he got to do with everybody? Of everybody? All right. And the seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. All the kindred, all of the tribes, all of the nationalities of everything, his people are scattered among all of them.

And it's because of him that they are all blessed. Even the unsaved are blessed because Christ was here, not to the same extent as us. Unto you, first God, having raised up his son Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Now, why didn't it say that it was from his birth that he turned away everyone from their iniquities? Greg, why doesn't it say that? Something else tells you in that verse. Something else or I didn't hear it.

Unto you, first God, having raised up his son. It's his resurrection. Yes. In turning away, to turn away from him from allegiance to anyone. He's talking about turning away from Satan. Now we come to Acts 4.

The First Persecution of the Church

We'll get into this a little ways. And as they spake unto the people, the priests and captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them. Here's the first persecution of the church. Peter and John were persecuted.

Now was this because of what they were? Christian? David? Well, let me read it again. And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them. This is the first persecution of the church.

Peter and John were persecuted. Was it because of what they were? That's it. It wasn't so much what they were as what they were saying. Now can you imagine Peter preaching the gospel of Christ? He didn't talk real low.

He didn't whisper it. He spoke it out. Being grieved that they taught the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Peter never did fail to mention that, the resurrection. Being grieved means to be troubled, displeased, offended, pained, to be worked up.

Roger, the preachers and theologians along with the doctors from the seminaries are still distressed about us. You know what distresses them the most? Take a guess. Roger, what do you think distresses the theologians the most?

Take a guess. Greg. All right. That's all true. Greg, why do the doctors, the theologians, the big preachers, what is most distressing to them about us? That's it exactly. That anybody, that men without their equal education can understand and teach.

This bugs them. I don't know if they know it, but it does. We can decide the truth and error and further they say, this common man has no official right to teach. David, how much of it depends upon schooling?

Either have it or you don't have it. Also, they feel threatened because it is their congregation that they're teaching. Most of all, these are Sadducees. And it's sad, you see, that they didn't believe in the resurrection.

I cannot imagine anybody putting that doctrine forth. But I guess they do. Three, and they laid hands on them and put them in hold until the next day for it was now even tied. Now, here we have something exposing a ruling or a law.

What is it, David? It was more than that. It was an evening. It was night. The Jews didn't have any authority at night. Now, it was just one of their laws. I don't know. But they had to just lock them up.

They couldn't process the culprit during the night. Now, what does hold mean? H-O-L-D, Dennis. Right. A place where the prisoners are kept. What did you say? Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed, and the number of the men was about 5 ,000.

Can you imagine Peter reaching that number without any PA system? 5 ,000. In Romans 10, 17, turn over there, if you will, please, and read it, Greg. This verse proves that we do not possess the faith.

How does it prove that, Greg? It takes the word of God to bring it. It takes the gift of God to hear it. It takes the gift of God to understand it. Now, how much of that verse is totally of God? All of it.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that the rulers and elders and scribes, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of a high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

Now, do you suppose they just happened to come together? This John is not John that we know. This John is a certain man, a member of the Sanhedrin. By the way, is there anything today in this land that compares to the Sanhedrin, David?

That's it. Now, we see nepotism in this. So nepotism is not something new. Alexander and as many as were of his kindred, they knew these men, and they knew that they had not been to an institution of higher education, higher learning, such as they had.

Therefore, they could not speak with any authority. They were just ordinary, ignorant men that up until a short time ago were making their living by fishing something that anybody could do. And they turned to preaching Jesus resurrected.

Can you see why they were disturbed in their way of thinking? The graduates of seminaries today are enraged because the teaching of some present-day ignorant men, unquote, is contrary to their own. And they are too much in love with their own way of laying guilt on the congregation.

And to have somebody come along and not even mention that, that's wrong. Christianity is an educator of men. Is that true, Greg? Christianity is an educator of men. It teaches them to think. It stimulates the mind wherever it goes.

Well, you'd have to agree with the other also. Christianity is an educator of men. Christianity. It stimulates the mind wherever it goes. If you can attend a church service today and not come away thinking new thoughts and knowing that your mind has been stimulated, you've wasted your time.

I do hope that we do that here. Christianity teaches men to know, to instruct. It means to pile up in the mind the proper materials of knowledge. To educate is to lead out the mind, to develop it, develop its dormant facilities.

And when they had to set them in their midst, they asked, by what power or by what name have you done this? They're more interested in that than the fact the man was healed. By what power do such people as you do this healing?

By what power? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel, now what is this filling of the Holy Ghost? David, did God give him the words? Yes.

At that very instant, he didn't get them a day ahead or an hour ahead. It's while he was speaking. The grace that was in him developed itself. God actuates his instruments as the immediate occasion requires.

Now that's something that is not explainable. It happens. It still happens. It happened to Peter. This council was convinced that the lame man was healed. They couldn't argue that as much as they would like to, but they couldn't.

But they believed that it was done by some magic power, and as all such power of familiar spirits and all spells, charms, and so forth were unlawful, they probably hoped that they could prove it at the inquest, and then these men could be put to death.

This is why they inquired about the power. Peter, who just a short time ago denied Jesus, you remember that? When he denied him, is now filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks with all authority. He's gone from denying to speaking the very highest.

Thus proving the scripture in Matthew 10, 18. Turn over to that, Greg, 18 and 19, 20. Yes. Now explain that, Greg. You believe that? How many have experienced that? Nobody? Well, you have. You probably don't want to say so.

It still works today. Just as much as it did with Peter. Only today we try to prepare it, we try to write ahead of time, we try to put it all down so I can remember it. Verse 9. If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man by what means he is made whole and sound of body, be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole.

They didn't want to hear that. It's a very bold declaration on the part of Peter. But he felt he stood on good ground. The reality of the miracle was not questioned. They couldn't question the fact that the man was healed.

The only question was, how have you done this? And in whose name have you done this? What a beautiful opportunity this gave to Peter. He immediately answers, we have done it in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified.

This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby you must be saved.

By the rejection of Jesus, they had fulfilled one of their prophecies. Turn to Psalms 11 .22 and 23, Greg. Psalms 118 .22. So David knew about it, didn't he? Long years ago. And as one part of the prophecy is now fulfilled, I may rest assured that the other part is.

In Matthew 21 .43. Turn to that, Greg. Read 44. David, what does that verse mean? And it's appointed by the Heavenly Father. In Revelation 13 .8. Turn to that, Greg. Now, we have to back up a little bit.

And that all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. Who is the him? David. That's right. Now, I want you to notice whose names are not written. Meaning that every name is written someplace. Are not written from the foundation of the world.

Going back to that undefiable, undeniable beginning, which was not a beginning. Then John 6 .44, Greg. Dennis, what does the word draw mean? Roger, make it as forceful as you can. What does it mean? That's it.

To be drawn by an irresistible force. That's what we were. Now, we wanted to, not before, but after. After we were saved, the instant we were saved, we wanted to come to Jesus. We wanted to before, but not knowing how, it didn't bother me very much.

But to draw him, drag him, compel him to come. Very, very forceful. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. And they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.

The immediate influence of the Holy Spirit. This is what we have in Peter. The influence of the Holy Spirit. An ounce of experience is worth a ton of theology. It will free you from the fear of men. More is done by character than anything else.

There once was a man who had the wonderful gift of teaching. Two church members were discussing this man. One remarked, yes, I'll grant you, he is a good teacher. But just think what it could be if he had been to the seminary and schooled in the proper things that he was teaching.

The other person answered and said, what do you mean? He's now doing more than, better than any other graduate of that school. Why should he go to some higher education place to learn what he knows and does by his gift in God?

I'm not against seminaries, schools of higher education, but be very careful. 14, and beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. There was no way in which these rulers could refute the fact that this cripple was now standing, walking, running, leaping.

They just could not say that's not happening. The faces were speaking, the facts were speaking for themselves. If the doctrine is false, this man could not have been miraculously healed. If the man was miraculously healed, then the doctrine is true, and he was healed by the name of this man, Jesus of Nazareth.

I want to stop there. We'll go into 15 next week. All right, we have covered the first persecution. We're into the persecution. It gets rather interesting when they put them back in prison and they come to take them out.

We'll see what happens next week. Is there anything that anybody would like to say?

Yes. A greater portion of my life is a portion or part of accepting Jesus Christ as he is. One time I mentioned that because of that, I felt that because we are quickly fooled, realizing more of the signature that you talked about, if Christ had not brought us, if we were not healed, I would nearsay that not one of us would be able to inflict the force upon this earth.

That's true. I think he was dead in San Diego and was rejected. When he was crucified on the first day, he said he was a prophet. That's right. And we look at the world today as an example, as an example of a spiritual example.

When you were a child, my father was a child. He had a Bible that he taught in the courts. He said that not one third of us who live in the United States have not.

That's right. You made one statement back when we were unsaved that we were good people doing good things. Now we may have thought they were good, but we didn't know what good was until we were in Christ.

You're right, Roger. We see it. We see everything being destroyed. If we had a few Madeline O 'Harris in the world, I guess it would be destroyed faster. But if you read the Bible closely, he says this is what will happen.

Is there anything else? Roger, dismiss us, please.