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Turn in your Bibles to Acts 4. Acts 4. This morning we looked 
at Psalm 2. That wonderful coronation psalm 
or kingship psalm. Psalm of the coming Messiah King. The fact that there are those 
who are engaged in an arrogant rebellion against God and against 
His Christ, that they seek to cast away His cords from them 
and to break His bonds in pieces. We noted that there was a divine 
response to that in that psalm. That God sits in the heavens 
and He laughs. He is unfazed. He is undaunted 
and unmoved by those who would seek to rebel against Him. He 
holds them in derision, in scorn, in mockery. And his answer to 
those who cry out, let us break his bonds and pieces and cast 
away his cords from us, is that he has set his king on his holy 
hill of Zion. Then he gives a warning. Well, 
we're going to look at that psalm, Psalm 2, applied within the life 
and times of the New Testament church in our Bibles. historical 
application of that song to the current climate, to the current 
goings on following the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. So we're going to read in Acts 
chapter four. We'll begin reading at verse 
twenty three, but just to let you know what's been going on 
up to this point in chapter four, Peter has actually back to Acts 
chapter three. Peter had just healed a man. And following that healing, following 
that miracle, he preaches Christ Jesus. He specifies or he points 
to the fact that all of the Old Testament prophets pointed forward 
to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who would die for the 
sins of his people, who would rise again the next day and who 
would ascend to the majesty on high. And he brings that message 
to a close in verse 26. To you first, God, having raised 
up his servant Jesus. This is verse 26 of chapter three, 
sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from your 
iniquities. Well, the Jews in his hearing, 
his audience of Jews, did not like this particular message 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, verse 3 of chapter 4, 
they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next 
day, for it was already evening. Peter and John, the rulers of 
the Jews, lay hands on them and they imprisoned them. Well, in 
the context of that imprisonment, Peter responds, verse 10, of 
Acts chapter 4. Let it be known to 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, 
by him this man stands here before you whole, the man whom Peter 
had healed. Verse 11, this is the stone which 
was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. 
Nor is there salvation in any other. For there is no other 
name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. And of course, the Jews did not 
like that either. And in verse 15, we see something 
that goes on behind closed doors. When they had commanded them 
to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 
saying, what shall we do to these men? For indeed, that a notable 
miracle has been done through them is evident. to all who dwell 
in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no 
further among the people, let us severely threaten them that 
from now on they speak to no man in this name." And they bring 
this decision to Peter and John, but Peter and John respond in 
verse 20. For we cannot but speak the things 
which we have seen and heard. And then they're released from 
prison and they return to their fellow Christians. And we read 
this, picking up in verse 23 and finishing at verse 31. And 
being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all 
that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they 
heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord 
and said. Lord, you are God who made heaven 
and earth and the sea and all that is in them, who by the mouth 
of your servant David have said, why did the nations rage and 
the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their 
stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and 
against his Christ. For 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. 
to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before 
to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats 
and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak 
your word by stretching out your hand to heal and that signs and 
wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus. 
And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled 
together was shaken. And they were all filled with 
the Holy Spirit. And they spoke the Word of God 
with boldness. Amen. Well, let's pray again 
to our great God. Heavenly Father, we would ask 
that you be with us again in the preaching of your word, that 
you would be near to us, Lord God. We know from the Holy Scriptures 
that our Lord Jesus Christ walks among his lampstands, that he 
is in his churches and he is blessing his churches, commending 
the good and condemning the bad. And we pray that we would be 
engaging ourselves in an exercise of right and proper worship. 
And we do pray, Lord God, that you would be well pleased with 
our worship today as it comes through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 
And we would just ask now that you'd be with us, that again, 
all that we do, all that is spoken, and all that is engaged in would 
be done to the praise of the name of our glorious triune God. 
And it's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen. Well, like I said, 
here in this historical account by the author of Acts, Luke, 
we have an appropriation or an application of Psalm 2 to the 
events going on in the midst of these particular Christians. 
And we're going to note four things with regards to this particular 
narrative that we have, Acts 4, 23 to 31. First off, the unity 
of the church. The unity of the church. Secondly, 
the confession of the church. Thirdly, the petition of the 
church. And then fourthly, the divine 
blessings given to the church. So first off, notice the unity 
of the church after Peter and John are let go by those who 
kept them captive, they return to their companions and they 
report to all the chief priests and elders what the chief priests 
and elders had said to them. Now notice verse 24. So when 
they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord 
and said, Then they begin this prayer that cites Psalm 2. We 
need to notice here the unity of the church. It was not the 
case that these individual congregants were about discord. They did 
not take an individualistic approach to their religion, to their Christianity. They are, as the text said, with 
one accord. We saw this previously. We didn't 
this morning or today, but we have seen this previously in 
the Acts narrative, in Acts chapter 2 at verse 46. So continuing 
daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from 
house to house They ate their food with gladness and simplicity 
of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And 
the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. You see, a church is not simply 
a gathering together of individuals, though we are individuals. and 
we gather together, it is the case that we are not to be individualistic 
about our own proclivities, about our own fancies, about our own 
things. We are to be in one accord, with 
one accord. We are to be unified. If we are 
not, then most certainly we would be then marked by discord and 
that would not be unto the advancement of the kingdom of King Jesus. In fact, it is the case that 
Christians are to be often reminded to be unified in the things of 
Christ Jesus. This is what the Apostle Paul 
does in his letter to the Philippian church. He says, only let your 
conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, Church and Philippi, 
so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear 
of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit, with one 
mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Because 
we are so easily sidetracked or pulled away by our own individual 
problems and our own life issues, we can very easily not be about 
this one accord aspect of Christianity. We are not to be individuals 
who come in and then leave. We are to be individuals that 
are part of a body, a body of believers that are to be unified, 
who are to be unified in the things of the glorious gospel 
of the blessed God. And notice, it is the case that 
not only are we to be unified, but as a church, we are to pray. We're to be a church that is 
unified, and in that, it should take on the form of what Paul 
exhorts that unification onto in the gospel of our God. We're unified for the faith of 
the gospel. We are also to pray. Now, it's 
not the case that all of the congregation of the church, every 
single member, raised their voices and they said this prayer in 
unison. That's not the point of the text. That would be very 
difficult, and you'd have to have perfect timing. And it would 
probably be a little frustrating hearing all of these voices sort 
of praying it. Well, maybe not, because we sing 
hymns at the same time, and it sounds beautiful. But the point 
is not that every single congregant was praying this prayer at the 
same time, but rather they were unified in their thrust of allegiance 
to Christ in the things of what they're proclaiming and confessing. 
And no doubt, one of them was leading the congregation here 
and praying. And this leading and praying 
was marked by congregational unity. Very important that a 
church is marked by that, because if a church is not marked by 
that, then she is not rightly exercising her role as a church 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're to be about unification 
for the things of the gospel. And you don't need to turn there, 
but I'll just expand upon what Paul continues to say to the 
Philippian church, Philippians 2, 1 and following. Therefore, 
if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, 
if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill 
my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of 
one accord, of one mind." It is vital that the Church is marked 
by that aspect for healthy proclamation of Jesus Christ and testifying 
to the legitimacy of the Christian religion. So the unity of the 
church. Secondly, the confession of the 
church. Notice, I believe, there's a threefold confession here that 
the church is rendering by way of prayer. First off, God the 
Creator. Lord, You are God, verse 24b, 
who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. See, this isn't, again, as we 
noted this morning, David, the author of Psalm 2, writes, he 
who is in the heavens shall laugh. We know that that isn't just 
David writing things. That's David specifying a characteristic 
of God or something true of the Lord God Almighty. That declaration 
of His sovereignty, he who is in the heavens, He's not like 
the gods of the nations who are who are comprised of silver and 
gold and things made from the wood of trees, but rather he 
is the sovereign God of heaven and earth. He's in the heavens 
and he does whatever he pleases. The same thing is going on here. 
Lord, you are God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all 
that is in them. That's where the Bible starts 
with God as creator. The Bible doesn't start arguing 
for the veracity of Christianity or for the legitimacy of theism. It starts by declaring that the 
God of the Holy Scriptures created the world and all that is in 
them. And that that is what the church confesses with regards 
to the only God, the living and true God, the God whom we worship. He is our creator. He made the 
heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them. And 
in doing that, we identify again that we worship the living and 
true God and not the God of the heathen. We worship the God who 
sits in the heavens, the God who even made the heavens, the 
earth and the sea and all that is in them. This aspect of the 
living and true God is always, not always, but very often in 
the Old Testament, set against the gods of the nations. You 
see, we don't worship a god who is the man-fish of the Philistines. They bow down to a statue comprised 
of a half-man, half-fish figure. Dagon, you can read of that in 
the Old Testament accounts in Judges and in 1 and 2 Samuel. 
We don't worship a God who isn't the man-fish. That's ridiculous. We worship the God who made the 
heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 
We don't bow down to things manufactured by the hands of sinners. We don't 
bow down to gold and silver statues. We don't bow down to little figurines 
carved out of trees, trees that God himself made. No, we bow 
down to the God of heaven and earth who made the earth and 
the sea and all that is in them. The church in their confession 
acknowledges and glories in God the creator. And this is something 
that Paul does when he is speaking to those Athenian contemplators. He speaks concerning God. He 
gives to all life, breath and all things. In him we live and 
move and have our being. That's the confession of the 
Apostle Paul, bringing to bear the reality of a living and true 
God before those pagan idolaters. Secondly, under the confession 
of the Church, the Church recognizes, acknowledges and glories in God 
the Revealer. God the Revealer. Notice the 
language continues in verse 25. Lord, you are God, who by the 
mouth of your servant David have said. You see, it's an amazing 
and a glorious thing, and it's an act of great condescension 
that the God who fixed the stars in place condescended to reveal 
to us his will, his nature, his glory, and his plan, his purpose 
in Christ Jesus. Just the very fact that we have 
a Bible to hold in our hands and to read from is a testament 
to the great condescending mercy of God. If we did not have a 
Bible, if we did not have the word of God, we would be dead 
in our trespasses and in our sins. You see, because God in 
creation has left us with enough information to be damned. We 
know that there is a God, but because of our ethical problem, 
deadness and trespasses and sins, we will always rebel against 
that revelation. But he has given us his word. He has given us the 66 books 
of the Old and New Testaments that we might have a testimony 
concerning our blessed Redeemer, and that by the Spirit we might 
believe in the Christ to whom the scriptures point. But again, 
it must be seen as a great act of condescension that we have 
our Bibles. One man has called the scripture, 
and this is a great description of what the scriptures are, considering 
God's condescension as revealer. The scriptures are the record, 
the interpretation and the expression of God's self-disclosure. God has revealed himself to us 
and in that it is amazing. that ought to knock us off of 
our feet. Because if we know who we are 
and where we came from as Christians, that rock whence we were hewn, 
the hole of the pit from which we were digged, we ought to marvel 
in the fact that God saw it fitting to reveal Christ to us in the 
scriptures. And we ought to bow down and 
worship him for that. God reveals himself in many ways. This is speaking to God's special 
revelation. God reveals himself generally 
in creation. God reveals himself specifically 
in the Holy Scriptures. Robert Raymond, in his systematic 
theology, actually acknowledges under those two general umbrellas 
Four ways in which God reveals himself. God reveals himself 
generally in creation and providence. He reveals himself propositionally, 
that is by truth statements in the holy scriptures. He reveals 
himself personally in the incarnation. God was manifested in the flesh. He reveals himself savingly by 
the Holy Spirit, doing that work upon our hearts in his appointed 
and accepted time, calling us from darkness and into his marvelous 
light. And here it speaks of God's revealing 
himself in the holy scriptures. We need to remember that the 
scriptures are not just a dusty tome of antiquated prophecies, 
but rather the scriptures are divinely inspired, given by God 
in that loving condescension for our benefit and for His glory. 
We obviously know well those Scriptures that point to the 
fact that Scripture is inspired. 2 Timothy 3.16 All Scripture 
is God breathed. It is the nature of Scripture 
that it is inspired. That's what some of the translations 
render. All Scripture is inspired by God. But again, as Pastor 
Butler has said previously, that doesn't mean that men were just 
somehow inspired by divine things to pen holy Scriptures, but rather, 
By divine superintendence, the men of Holy Scripture were carried 
along by the Holy Spirit to write what we have in the Old and New 
Testaments. So God is a creator and God is 
a revealer. And the fact that we have divine 
inspiration, the fact that or just the fact that God has given 
to us a revelation of his will and the revelation of his purpose 
in Christ Jesus is to serve as a great confidence. In fact, 
these saints. Had they not had the Holy Scriptures, they would 
not have been able to take great comfort from Psalm 2. They were 
given Psalm 2, so now they have great comfort. Yes, the nation's 
rage. Yes, the people's plot, a vain 
thing against our Lord and against His Christ. But in response to 
that, Psalm 2, the Lord has set his king on his holy hill of 
Zion. And so the saints can gain much 
comfort from what God has revealed in the holy scriptures. Thirdly, 
God is the sovereign orchestrator. God is the sovereign orchestrator. Again, we're looking at the confession 
of the church. They confess God as creator. 
They confess God as revealer. and now they confess God as sovereign 
orchestrator. Notice verse 27 and 28. For 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. Now note, to do whatever your 
hand and your purpose determined before to be done. You see, this 
is one of the reasons why the Lord God, or it could be written 
of Him, that he who sits in the heavens shall laugh. You'll remember 
that we read from Psalm 37. The wicked plots against the 
just and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at 
him, for he sees that his day is coming. The Lord God has by 
his hand and by his purpose determined before what was to be done. That 
is why it is such folly for the rulers of the nations, for the 
peoples of the nations to conspire against him and against his Christ. The church confesses the sovereign 
orchestration or the fact that God is the sovereign orchestrator 
to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before 
to be done. The church rests upon the unabridged, 
unchallenged, absolute sovereignty of God, and they gain much comfort 
from that. Throughout the scriptures, the 
church is resolved and resigned and abandoned to the fact that 
God is the one who sits in the heavens and does whatever he 
pleases. Whatever he pleases, he does 
in the heavens and in all deep places, another psalm speaks 
concerning the Lord our God. Not only is God sovereign in 
his rule over his creation, not only is he sovereign over the 
affairs of men generally, but he is sovereign in the realm 
of salvation also. And that is a doctrine that we 
ought to vigorously defend with apologetic strength. God is sovereign 
in creation. God is sovereign in providence. 
God is sovereign in redemption. Of His own will, He brought us 
forth by the Word of Truth. The church here confesses the 
sovereign will and control of God specifically as it concerns 
the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is what they're speaking 
of when they use this statement, to do whatever your hand and 
your purpose determined before to be done. The crucifixion of 
our Lord Jesus Christ and the conspirators gather together 
to ensure that this Jesus, who they did not want to rule over 
them, would be put to death. Acts 3, verse 18, we get the 
same thing. This is when Peter had already 
been preaching in Solomon's portico concerning Jesus Christ after 
healing the lame man. Verse 17 of chapter 3, Yet now, 
brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also 
your rulers. But those things which God foretold 
by the mouth of all His prophets that the Christ would suffer, 
He has thus fulfilled. It's not speaking of Christ fulfilling 
what the prophets spoke of, though He did. This is speaking of God 
fulfilling what He revealed to the prophets about Christ. Notice 
the language. God foretold by the mouth of 
all his prophets that the Christ would suffer. He has thus fulfilled. God has fulfilled his divine 
and eternal purpose in Christ Jesus. You see, that's another 
thing that we ought to draw great comfort from. The history of 
humanity isn't the story of humanity just going about its autonomous 
business. It isn't the case, again, that 
God has set the earth on the shelf like a wound clock and 
now it's going about, the earth revolves, the earth revolves 
and things just happen. God had an eternal purpose in 
Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. And all creation 
and all history is centered around that orbital center, the Lord 
Jesus Christ and the eternal plan of redemption in Him. That's 
what is brought out in Acts chapter 2 as we move backwards in the 
narrative of Acts. Verse 22 of Acts 2, the fact 
that God has an eternal purpose in Christ Jesus. Men of Israel, 
hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you 
by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in 
your midst, as you yourselves also know. Note now, verse 23, 
him being delivered by the determined purpose and for knowledge of 
God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put 
to death. Both Herod and Pontius Pilate 
with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel were gathered together 
according to divine purpose and mandate and decree. And the confessors 
of the church, the congregants of the church rather, confessed 
this and they gained great comfort and great resolve from that declaration. First Peter, we don't have to 
turn there, but First Peter also brings out this reality, and 
it's in the context of gaining great comfort in the redemption 
wrought by Jesus Christ. Speaking of Jesus, it says that 
he was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but 
was manifested in these last times. For you, Jesus Christ 
was delivered up, yes, by wicked hands to be put to death, to 
be crucified. But this happened according to 
the almighty hand of Jehovah and his almighty purpose, which 
was determined before the foundation of the world. Again, the church 
confesses the sovereignty of the divine orchestrator and they 
gain much comfort from that. Thirdly, again, we had the unity 
of the church, the confession of the church, that God is creator, 
that God is revealer, that God is sovereign orchestrator. Thirdly, 
the prayer of the church. Now, this is all being confessed. 
This is all taking place within the context of their prayer. 
But notice now the movement of Acts chapter four comes to a 
petition that they render to God most high. Verse twenty nine. 
Now, Lord, look on their threats and grant to your servants that 
with all boldness they may speak your word by stretching out your 
hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done through the 
name of your holy servant, Jesus." See what they don't do here. 
It's important to note what they don't do. They've confessed the 
reality that there are threats against them, the persecutions 
of the enemies of God brought upon them. But they don't say, 
now, God, get us out of here. They don't say, now, God, save 
us, bring us out of this place of persecution and venom and 
vitriol. No, they say, with all boldness, 
let us speak your word. Look upon their threats, God, 
as the one who sits in the heavens and laughs, as the one who holds 
them in derision, the ones who rage, the ones who plot vain 
things, and grant us the strength that we might proclaim Christ 
and Him crucified. You see, they don't fret and 
they don't engage or entertain anxiety because things are going 
crazy and because they're being persecuted. They realized and 
they knew, and Christians ought to know, that when suffering 
comes, it is because Christ has so ordained it and so brought 
it. I know we know nothing of that, 
and I know it's easy for us to say, it's easy for me to say 
from a pulpit where in, you know, not so long I can go home and 
eat some chicken in the peace of my own home. But it is the 
case that Christians, if they are undergoing persecution, they 
are to bless the name of the God who sends it. Isn't that 
the confession? Isn't that the exhortation, the 
acknowledgment of Paul and Philippians? You can turn there. I noted Philippians 
1.27. But again, the language of Paul 
in Philippians 1.28 and 29. See, there are two things within 
the context of the church being persecuted. Two things that we 
are to confidently rest upon. And those two things are this, 
the certainty of the doom of the wicked and the certainty 
of the prosperity of the just. Those are two things that the 
persecuted church is to rest upon with great confidence. Verse 
28, after we read about them striving together for the faith 
of the Gospel, And not in any way, verse 28, terrified by your 
adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition. You see, 
when these were praying, look upon their threats, Lord God, 
they would know the reality that those who are adversaries of 
the Lord Most High are most certainly the recipients of perdition. 
They're most certainly the recipients of condemnation and judgment. Notice it continues. but to you 
of salvation, and that from God. The fact that you are being persecuted 
is manifest testimony to the fact that you are saved, and 
you are saved by the triune God. Verse 29, for to you it has been 
granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but 
also to suffer for His sake. We've noted this before. We are 
not just as Christians to be resigned to the inevitability 
of suffering and trial, but rather we are to rejoice in it because 
it has been graciously given to us for Christ's sake. And so Acts 4, they can pray 
that prayer, look upon their threats, Lord God, and they don't 
have to say, take us out of here. They can say, give us all boldness 
that we may speak. your word. So again, they know 
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ confesses the glory of 
their creator, their revealer and their sovereign orchestrator. 
And they rest upon that and pray that they might have boldness 
to speak the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then lastly, 
the divine blessing given to the church. the divine blessing 
given to the church. Notice, after we see the account 
of this prayer rendered by the unified church that contains 
the confession of their great God, verse 31, and when they 
had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken 
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke 
the word of God with boldness. The prayer was answered. Divine 
blessing comes upon the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed 
are they who put their trust in Him. It's no mistake that 
we have this church citing Psalm 2, quoting and praying Psalm 
2, a psalm that ends with, blessed are those who put their trust 
in Him. And then we have the narrative that they were blessed 
putting their trust in Him. It's striking and it's clear 
and it's genius. The authors of Holy Scripture, 
ultimately, it's divine superintendents. But the authors of Holy Scripture 
aren't just willy nilly playing around with a pen. They, by divine 
inspiration, know that this is a historical and canonical fulfillment 
of Psalm 2. We see that quite clearly. The 
nation's rage. Historically, that is fulfilled. And ultimately, that's fulfilled 
in the fact that Herod And Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and the 
people of Israel gathered together to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet that is not the end of 
this Christ. Why? Because God, in the resurrection 
and in the ascension, sets that selfsame Christ upon the holy 
hill of Zion. And that same king and that same 
Christ rules. and rules with great vigor. He 
dashes them to pieces like a potter's vessel if they are His adversaries, 
if they are His enemies. But those who are not, those 
who rest upon the confession of this great God, are given 
the blessing because they put their trust in Him. It's a wonderful 
language. It brings out the presence of 
the Lord God and His blessing upon them. The place where they 
were assembled together was shaken. And they were all filled with 
the Holy Spirit. And they spoke the Word. with 
boldness. We see this borne out as we trace 
the book of Acts. This fact that those who are 
Christ's earthly representatives, his ambassadors, his heralds, 
for the case of the king, in the case of the country of heaven, 
are persecuted. Yet that persecution is the seed 
of more growth for the church. So one of the old church fathers, 
I believe, said, the blood of Christians is the seed of the 
church. You see, when a Christian got 
his head locked off in first century Judea or Asia Minor, 
yes, that was a horrible tragedy in that human sense. But it was 
the impetus for the glorious gospel of the blessed God to 
advance beyond the borders of that particular geography. We 
see that in the case of Stephen, don't we? It was a horrible, 
murderous death, Stephen's death was. We don't take that away 
from the narrative. We don't steal that from the 
narrative. It's a horrible murder. But what happens in following 
the murder of Stephen? What happens when godly Stephen, 
our great brother, has massive rocks thrown and hewn at his 
head to crush it and kill him? We see this. At that time, verse 
1 of Acts 8, Great persecution arose against the church, which 
was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the 
regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout 
men carried Stephen to his burial and made a great lamentation 
over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of 
the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, 
committing them to prison." Now, if we just stopped reading there, 
we might say, well, what are you talking about? How is the 
blood of Christians the seed of the church? Well, verse 4, 
therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the 
Word. Those who were scattered didn't 
just hide in the rocks and the trees and say, woe is me. They 
were scattered and they went everywhere preaching the Word. 
And that's how we follow the book of Acts. Stephen's martyrdom 
was the impetus for the gospel of Jesus Christ to go beyond 
the borders of Jerusalem. It goes into Judea and all Samaria, 
and then it goes to the uttermost parts of the earth. And everywhere 
it goes, yes, there is persecution. Yes, people die. Yes, people 
are martyred. But it keeps going. And we, Chilliwackians 
and Abbotsfordians and Langley folk, We are the blessed beneficiaries 
of that advancement of the gospel throughout time and throughout 
history. You see, when we look at the history of Christianity, 
yes, there's blood. Yes, there's doctrinal problems. 
Yes, there's reformation. There's all of these things. 
But what do we see as the general scope, but the advance of the 
gospel from Jerusalem Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts 
of the earth, Asia Minor, the Roman Empire, and now North America, 
South America, Eastern Asia, Australia. There's Christians 
everywhere. And that is owned to the seed 
aspect of that propagation of the gospel, which took place 
in Acts chapter four or partially in Acts chapter four, a small 
gathering of believers. praying to their thrice holy 
God that they would look upon the threats of their persecutors 
and that he would grant them boldness to proclaim this Jesus. 
It's wonderful as we look back, we are the inheritors of the 
prayers of our brethren. We are the inheritors of the 
prayers and the persecutions and the sufferings of Christians 
throughout the ages. Christ's gospel and Christ's 
church and Christ's kingdom is growing. It is an eschatology 
of hope for the Christian church. As we look upon history, we don't 
see woe. We don't see travail. We don't 
see loss. But rather, we see hope. And 
as we read the pages of Holy Scripture, we see the advancement 
of the kingdom. I've noted this many times before, 
but I think it bears repeating. There was that ambassador from 
Britain, I think, to the United States who was within earshot 
of mockery, earshot of unbelievers who were mocking the Christian 
faith and mocking missionary endeavors beyond the borders 
of Britain or wherever they were at. They were mocking the advancement 
of the gospel and the spread of it. And he stands up in their 
midst and he says to them, he says, I challenge any skeptic 
to find one 10 square miles spot on this planet where they can 
educate their children, where womanhood is honored, where old 
age is revered, where the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ has 
not gone first to prepare the way. And I encourage that unbeliever, 
that adversary of Christ, to emigrate there and there proclaim 
their unbelief. Why? Because you can't find such 
a place. There is no place. There is no 
ten square mile plot on the earth where all of those things are 
true. Again, old age is revered. We 
don't put to death our old people because they're created in the 
image of God. We don't put to death our children, 
or where we educate our children rather, where you can educate 
your children, where womanhood is honored. There are places 
in the world where womanhood is not honored. There are places 
in the world where you cannot educate your children except 
for indoctrination into Islam or whatever the case might be. 
The advancement of the kingdom of King Jesus, the one who was 
set upon the holy hill of God's Zion, is going and it is moving 
forward. And the pages of Acts bear that 
out. And the promise of Psalm 22 bears 
that out. The kingdom of the One put to death upon the cross 
will branch out and spread out upon the seas and to all the 
nations of the world. And again, we are the blessed 
beneficiaries of that reality. We can look back to Acts 4, to 
this place where these companions of John and Peter were gathered 
together. These Christians praying to their 
God that they might have boldness. We can look back to them and 
we can see our blessed ancestors. We are now the beneficiaries 
of the fact that God blesses his people, that God blesses 
those who trust in him, that God conquers those who rage against 
him, that God conquers those who plot vain things against 
him, who seek to tear down his law, to tear down those moral 
cords. God has victory. Christ has victory. And we ought to rejoice in that. 
Christians in the 21st century, we have much to rejoice in. And 
we need to look to the pages of scripture and rejoice in those 
things. God, our creator. God, our revealer. God, the sovereign orchestrator. 
We don't say, woe is me, because God, according to his purpose, 
conducts and accomplishes all things according to the counsel 
of his most holy and wise will. We have a glorious God who has 
ordained all things, who upholds all things, and who in the fullness 
of the times sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the 
law to redeem us who are under its curse. If you're here tonight 
and you own that Savior, praise God. Praise God. You can rejoice 
as our brothers of old rejoiced when they were persecuted. They 
praised God that they were able to suffer for the name of Christ. 
But if you're here and you don't know this Savior, you need to 
know that you are the one who will acknowledge him in that 
great and terrible day when he is covered with your blood. We 
pray that that would not be the case for you. We pray that you 
would acknowledge him when he is covered with his own blood, 
given at the cross of Calvary for the salvation of sinners. 
And we pray that you'd find blessing and peace in all spiritual blessings 
in that same Savior. Let's pray. God, we thank you 
for this time in your holy word. We thank you for worship. We 
thank you for preaching. We thank you for your word given 
to us and your loving condescension so that we might gain from it, 
that we might be found in Christ Jesus. And we ask, Lord God, 
that you would help us to be such as those saints from so 
long ago. who acknowledged, who confessed 
You as Creator, as Sovereign and Divine Revealer, and as the 
Sovereign Orchestrator. We pray that we would rest upon 
those things as our hopes, as our comforts, and as those things 
that give us courage. And we pray that we would live 
each and every day glorying in Christ Jesus, our Redeemer, and 
that we might, like these saints, have boldness to proclaim His 
Word to our generation. Lord God, that we might have 
boldness in all the things that we require to speak to those 
who are dead in their trespasses and in their sins, those who 
rage against the Lord and against His Christ, that they might bend 
a knee in saving faith, that they might be found resting in 
peace under the great umbrella of the amazing and sovereign 
and free grace of a triune God. We just ask that you go with 
us now. Go with each and every one of these before me. Help 
them to live out this week to the praise of Your name. Give 
them all those spiritual blessings that they so desperately need 
in order to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of Your glorious 
Gospel. We pray in Christ's precious 
name, Amen.