Fortified by Prayer (Part B)

You gotta worry about, you know, your wife, your fiancé your mom your dad your uncles you love your family understand what you love your family more than Christ. You know where the S comes with a high payment. Well, at the first and second coming of Christ, the world's opposition is organized and official and it is pointless. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston because the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of acts. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching today. Pastor Rick will continue teaching through the book of acts chapter 4 and his message called fortified prayer. Isaiah 43 verse 25 I even I am he blots out your transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins. So if you got this guilt on you. You're doing all the remembering you're the one all my sins though I denied the Lord three times, all I just can't all get behind the gate. You're free. The gate is open, but you won't come out will you and God says you gotta take the first step you have to take the first full step. When I learned to walk hi Irons hi steel is two things I had to take a step and it had to be a full step.

Not one of little baby steps and it was liberated. Oh, I was told as we know, when you walk to sticks. Step out there and you are the step out and make it across the U.you know you have nobody to blame but anyway God uses save sinners with their past failures and that's what were seeing in Peter this morning, Christ died to save sinners lawbreakers breakers of God's law. We got that what he rose not only to demonstrate his power to save them, but to use them. And this is why the apostles keep preaching the resurrection everywhere they go, and we should too. It's not outdated well you know when the preacher resurrection so much, why don't we think the world understands it. Resurrection is an ultimatum you believe he died and got up when he wasn't revived and Lazarus was revived, he was resurrected he was. Not to say when he got now we look at the 23rd verse, keeping in mind this is that Peter got past his guilt was being used by God and in verse 23 and being let go. They went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them, so this time they released they won't always be this way. This time they avoided a beat down it will not always be this way. Maybe that's the case with you. Maybe you've had a beat down what it might not be that way. Maybe you avoided one will. Maybe you want avoided. Next time God is no less God's will is gracious, is no less good. His word is no less trustworthy regardless of what you experience God is God and he's not applying for the job's already established cut to the last verse I want to read this morning because it's appropriate. Now the Psalm is Psalm 119 celebrating God's word saying how magnificent God's word is even though God's word is not a magic want to take away all our problems in the Psalmist says trouble and anguish have overtaken me yet. Your commandments are my delight. I still love you word God, trouble and anguish, pain is in my life but I still love you and I love your word. This is the pattern we have from Scripture, so these two apostles Peter and John are released from jail this time they don't go straight home.

I think I would've gone home, I would've gone home to get something to eat because jail food could not, then I would've gone to sleep well shower first. Krista jail dungeon like what they go instead to church to the assembly. These men were going to fortify themselves through prayer. They were going to get with other believers. And that's what we are seeing them doing the Holy Spirit is preserve this record for us to say this is how it can be done.

And there they delivered the. The praise report to the believers. We stood up in front of these get look. The guys at Peterson opposite look is whether you assume you going to obey God or not we're going to obey God. Peter knew these guys were they killed his lord he witnessed this. There was not like well you know these guys. You know might be good, they might know they were evil men. They were masterminds of the crucifixion in Peter, standing up to them and they go on the tell all the way all of the believers that there live in Jerusalem at the time they knew this so they share this amazing victory in spite of the opposition and the threats verse 24 so when they heard that that is the other disciples they raised their voice to God with one accord, and said Lord your God made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them that Greek word for accord is a compound Greek word, it means that they had a shared passion. They were passionate about this. They didn't just say, wow, that's just wonderful news. What times the café open, though they were into this emotionally as well as spiritually raising their voices together, praising God again. They knew what those Christ hating men were capable of. They knew them as the masterminds of the cross, but they stood their ground. Nonetheless, that's what we're looking at Peter does not say well okay look, they don't want us preaching anymore. So we better not do it goes the other direction but to do this, he's gotta get with God and he gets with God's people to get with God determine determine to further the gospel, building themselves up in prayer with the assembly and said this is what they were saying in their prayer Lord your God made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in straight to the first verse of the Bible is where they go in the beginning God created God created from nothing. God created no one can do that they boast about creating things in the laboratory able to using other created things to do.

It none of them are going with the uncreated abilities abilities to create from from nothing that belongs to God word of God in prayer. They always go together.

Where is that in the Bible John chapter 15 verse seven. If you abide in me and my word, my words plural abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. If my word is in you. If you're sticking with my word, which it has my will, within it when you pray when you ask their inseparable what characterized these first Christians. Jesus name number one there very clear about that.

There was nothing in a while. I'm a Christian wasn't me. What is it mean to be a Christian.

It means I love Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior. He died for me.

I am a sinner I should go to hell for breaking his law but he saved me from that judgment he was crucified on my behalf and he rose again. Prayer characterized the resurrection preaching the resurrection Scripture we going to come to that. They're all about the word.

These people what is wrong with them from hell's perspective that's what's wrong with them. There into the word of God is that this emotional Christianity, will I know the plan of salvation. Therefore, get out of my face you can't tell me anything else is not enough God and just say here's my plan of salvation. You need anything more over 30,000 chapters in this verses in the Scripture there for us to avail ourselves of gloves. The last time. Maybe you've been in the profit mail or Zephaniah Zechariah and you go back to adhesive boy. Why am I wind and I'm not one and I watch that silly show. I should've been reading this. This is with me, not by might not by power but by my Spirit, says the Lord. When Zechariah says that what about in Zechariah 3 when he says take those filthy garments off my man Joshua and adorn him with clean garments. Satan standing there accusing and it is this anything that he did that gossip I forgiven him. The Bible, God's word. Anyway, back to this verse here with the talk about the sovereignty and the creator the creating of God, not the creating web God's creative creative ability.

They never saw God. Anything less then God is you have to define that to someone believers because their definition of God is not matching the Scripture there, God is not always sovereign. Look at the gods of the Greeks and the Romans they were. They were just humans sending human beings on steroids. They had all of this muscle and power, but they were vindictive. They were hateful. They were murderous liars sneaks every sinful attribute the pagan gods had even in India live gods that you know of God's of murder well.

No Christian has biblical permission to believe the devil made false science of species evolution.

You have no permission. As a Christian to believe that somehow we have evolved from one species into another and I would go so far that even as an unbeliever, you have no right to be that dumb.

You just have no right you're up to something scientist that one evolution to be the truth are up to something and it tipped their hand when they say will the theory of evolution which they tried to extract from it now you say will show me the missing link.

Why can't whites missing never was.

It's not missing okay. You know the things about how searching Mars. We found water on Mars.

I hope that you want to impress me with that. Find a milkshake on Mars that would really be impressive. What is this not in on the system. Another anyway and is gotta be vanilla so verse 25, who by the mouth of your servant David said, why did the nations rage and the people plot vain things. This is so much here a croissant to is about the sun being turned on, but by those of the result of his creation use of Psalm chapter 2 in here typically verse one acknowledges that the world will oppose the plan of God and the son of God, the Messiah, the anointed one that's with that Psalm is all about.

We hear the voices of God of man of the son and the Holy Spirit all in that one song to all and that single Psalm Psalm two its original context, shows the crowning of the son of God is the ultimate descendent of David, God will end human rule and the Messiah will rule over the earth with the rod of iron. This is going to happen. Moses knew it even. And Moses was so far. So me how many years away from it was Moses and yet he knew that God rules and it ends. Of course at Armageddon at Calvary the world crucified Christ but at the end of Armageddon. Christ crushes the world and so we read in first Corinthians that beautiful verse then comes the end, and this could've an abrupt then comes the end right there. He could stop right there just for a moment to pause and then continue when he delivers the kingdom of God the father when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

He delivers the kingdom he puts an end to it. It's God's kingdom and that is the Godhead, the church. The church is supposed to be militant now we have an attitude against sin.

What it will just weedy nonchalant about it. All of the death and horror that it causes the church is supposed to be militant against sin aggressive against sin go into the world preach Christ all the creatures that doesn't mean the parties in the mice and things like that but when Christ comes the church will be triumphant and were going to be there to see that you mad just thinking if I could scalped tickets for it, but that would, like disqualify me from being there. Anyway, why did the nations rage and the people plot vain things well of their plotting and their rage directed against Christ. But his something this is something very special about the song down through the centuries. This passage sat silent in the Psalms.

What it did. The Jews understood it to be a messianic Psalm, but that's as far as they could go with that.

Even the prophets.

They could go no further than that. It awaited application. No man knew, to whom it applied until Jesus of Nazareth shows up in his ministry and now his followers. They make the connection.

Not until the Holy Spirit told the Christians who are now telling the world that this is Jesus Christ and the nations rage against him and the people plot vain things bank of the neck in a work against the Christ, the world hates their maker without a cause.

Why do you hate God. Why is so bitter misty atheists. And again, I strongly believe all atheists believe in God but the God of their thinking is the God that there bitter against and we are supposed to help them to come out of that saying, tell me about your God.

I mentioned earlier the world that you know they may then their definition of God is not biblical. Usually we have to say listen. Our God is not like the God of man-made thoughts. Jesus said this when the Pharisees who he was talking about how the Pharisees were rejecting him and he says with this happened, that the word might be fulfilled which is written in the law. They hated me without a cause. Go up to some ice.

When he cries, what is he ever done to you, except maybe make you feel guilty for doing mean things to others, or even to yourself. The rabbis call the.

The law defense of the law, it protected you in blocks you from entering into things that would do you harm.

This is still true of God's law when he prohibits something he is trying to protect us with people don't believe it because they get away with sin in one lifetime. They think that therefore it is somehow acceptable throughout the great tribulation. God will give mankind a chance even in the midst of the great tribulation to repent, but most will opt out and they would demonstrate their refusal to subject themselves to Christ through blasphemy. Revelation 16 and men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who has power over these plagues and they did not repent and give him glory. So they double down in their stubbornness. It was pointless. It was irrational. This was sin will do once it's embraced Revelation again. Chapter 16 verse 21 and great hell fell from heaven upon men, each hailstone about the weight of 75 pounds. Men blasphemed God because the plague of the hail, since the plague was exceedingly great bitter against God hating him for being God for exercising his right to be God. He has no right to judge me. Oh yes he does its prerogative of God to judge sinners and anybody else you'd be ones to judge. Verse 26 now when I was still would go talking about Psalm two, which applies to Jesus Christ and the world's hatred of him which the apostles were dealing with at this point.

Verse 26 the kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers were gathered together against Yahweh and against his Messiah is anointed Christ in the Greek Messiah for the Hebrew anointed in the English the whole world endorsed Calvary. Release and representation, Luke, chapter 23 an inscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. This is the king of the Jews or the Greeks. They were the ones that gave the Romans there really there. Their newfound culture. The Romans took the gods of the Greeks need to rename them and claim them as their own juice was now Jupiter, for example, an they've greatly admired the Greeks illegally copied them, but that was the culture grew. The Greeks represent the culture, then the Latin which the government to this day you go to some courthouses that got Latin inscribed on it is like this and usually it says they'll translate would most of them say you think you will find justice in here is what he put in Latin. They don't want you to know what they're up to. Now granted there are good judges they really are about 30 but no there there good judges, but there are a lot of bad within the system is just a you know sinners just gone wild. Anyhow, of course, than the Hebrew representing religion without God's Messiah without the Christ. And that's what the Hebrew religion became the Judaism that we understand in the Scripture, and today is the Old Testament without its fulfillment. They've missed it and we talk about how difficult it would be for someone to come along now and say I am the Messiah, because you goods that you do. How are you going to prove your from the tribe of David Yuki. The records of gone and then if you could prove your from the tribe of David, how you going to do a zero down to being from the house of David from the tribe of Judah to the tribe of this oath, they've missed it.

That is the rationale that you would think all alone, which stir them to reevaluate what you know when you're up against the believer. Often times you're up against the network. It's not just one. Their belief system. It's their family. Also, many times, or their culture. If you're witnessing to or for me witnessing to Roman Catholics, Irish Roman Catholics, mainly in New York. It was up against the family, they they were concerned with their family would think if they became a believer in the Bible and no longer a follower of the Pope and the magisterium and that was a hurdle and I tell them that I said I know you got you got a worry about, you know, your wife, your or your fiancé or your mom your dad your uncles you love your family understand that. But if you love your family more than Christ. You know, worthy of Christ as comes with a high payment. Well, at the first and second coming of Christ, the world's opposition is organized and official and it is pointless when he first came the first coming. It was organized it was official and it was pointless and that will be the way it Armageddon to just he won't stand for so the psalmist saw the kingdoms of men opposed to the kingdom of heaven, and he saw the doom verse 27 were truly against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together, man against God.

This part here for truly against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed Peter and that was not Peter none else. All the believers as part of what was going on when they gathered together for prayer and they begin to speak the word in and praise the Lord and hears the speaking of the words according Scripture because they knew Scripture this holy servant, Paul says let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. This is the spirit of humility very difficult to be humble, to what I say humble. I mean, mindful of who you are in the presence of God when you've got things picking at you couldn't might be other people could be yourself, telling yourself you know where is that line between, you know, confidence and arrogance and things like that. Well the believer sorts these things out through the word of God.

Paul says being in the form of God, nobody else can that apply to put Christ you can't say that about Michael the Archangel, who, being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a willing servant coming in the likeness of men seated Greek in the Greek the servant. The bondservant is really slave is just like that slave but but the context the usage of it is connected to that Jewish bondslave because what made a bondslave, a bondslave versus just a slave is one was willing and the other was not one was enslaved and the other was a bondslave and Christ was willing and so when when the Christians here in verse 27. For truly against your holy servant. This this is connecting to everything.

Isaiah was saying about my servant once when his holy servant comes the messianic Psalms.

Of course, if the going to reach the Gentiles the going to have to learn to shave some of the Jewish culture down in their presentation and really none of them could do it well, except Paul and Barnabas, and then the others.

Of course you know would learn from that. But it was just what a task to be raised up in such a strict religious culture not not not a condemnation but to then reach those outside of without losing the essential points and being able to dismiss not only the nonessentials but the detours the unimportant thing move you've been listening to cross reference radio daily radio ministry pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast. Today's teaching is available free of charge at our website.

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