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,
Introduction
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
Unity of the Church
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.
Confession 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.
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
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.
God the Sovereign Orchestrator
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.
Prayer of the Church
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,
Two Grounds of Confidence Under Persecution
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
Divine Blessing Given to the Church
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.
Persecution as Seed of Gospel Advance
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.
Heirs of the Persecuted Church
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.
Application
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.
Closing Prayer
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.