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good morning to everyone welcome to free grace Baptist Church for any visitors out there with us this morning it's a joy to have you with us just one announcement before we begin our worship this morning the hospital ministry at heritage villages this afternoon some of you have been there before that's the one across the the highway there over by the the Cottonwood mall that's 2:30 p.m. at the Heritage Village there's usually a few hymns and then a 10-15 minute gospel message and then visiting with some of the folks there so if you're able to join if you're able to go there and to to sing and to take in the a little bit of preaching there and to administer to some of the folks there that would be excellent again that's 2:30 p.m. well you can turn in your Bibles with me then as we now move to the worship of our great triune God and psalm 46 will be our call to worship this morning psalm 46 the entirety of the psalm this is the word of god psalm 46 verse 1 - the chief musician a psalm of the sons of korah a song for a lamothe god is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble therefore we will not fear even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea though its waters roar and be troubled though the mountains shake with its swelling Sayla there is a river whose streams shall make glad the City of God the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved God shall help her just at the break of dawn the nation's raged the kingdom's were moved he uttered his voice the earth melted the Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge Sayla come behold the works of the Lord who has made desolations in the earth he makes Wars cease to the end of the earth he breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two he burns the chariot in the fire be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the nation's I will be exalted in the earth the Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge say 'la Amen let's stand and sing together as a church we're going to sing our first hymn which is 135 so if you'll stand with me will sing 135 together [Music] [Music] [Music] please be seated let's go to our God in prayer let's pray Heavenly Father we come to you now in prayer as the gathered saints of the Lord Jesus Christ to rejoice in our great God Father Son and Holy Spirit we do pray that you would help us now to hallow your name as we do pray each and every Lord's day God give us that measure of your spirit where our souls might be stirred now to a proper worship of our great God we pray that you would be honored and that you would once again be praised in the midst of this gathered assembly we thank you for our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ we rehearse that his blessed salvation we thank you that in the fullness of the times you did send forth your son born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those who were under the law and we rejoice again in those words of the Apostle Paul that this is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world sinners to save we know God that we are not saved by deeds of righteousness which we have done were not saved by our own works but we're saved solely and alone by virtue of the perfect work of Jesus Christ our Savior his perfect life of obedience rendered to your law in the place of all who believe in his name that bless death upon Calvary's cross wherein he bore in his own body the sins of his people upon that tree and we thank you that he rose again the third day that he ascended to your right hand and that all who looked to him in faith have everlasting life the forgiveness of sins and that righteousness not their own that avails with you even the righteousness of Christ Jesus the Lord we do pray that you'd help us to with warm hearts with joyful hearts and earnest and worship that we would sing your praises now reflecting on so great a gospel and so great a God and so glorious of Jesus Christ and we do pray that you would forgive us afresh of all of our sins we know that we have forgiveness in Jesus Christ the Lord and we pray that you would wash us afresh in that blood the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ which is perfect for the remission of sins and we do pray this day by your spirit you would bring forth dead sinners to life in Christ we think about the many Lord who need prayer for physical things a prayer for strength of spirit we think of Silvie Lord and a Fran with the the loss of both of their husbands we would pray Lord God that you would just strengthen these dear sisters we pray that you would give them in the midst of sorrow in the midst of affliction and in the midst of loss Lord we pray that you would comfort their hearts that you would be near to them we know that this is loss but we know Lord God that it is certainly gain to be in Christ Jesus to be found in him to have the comfort of the triune God of heaven and earth and we do pray Lord God that you would bring a comfort to their hearts that you would cause them to be resting upon you to be relying upon their God in these hours and we do pray as well for their family Lord God that you'd bring comfort to them in the midst of this loss we pray that you would comfort those who are yours that this would Lord God be an occasion whereby you could bring those who are not yours to salvation in Jesus Christ as people are faced with eternal things we do pray that you would convict those who are not yours by your grace and for your glory of their sins of a holy and a righteous God and of salvation through Jesus Christ we just pray Lord God that you would bring much good out of these losses in God that you would strengthen our dear sisters and strengthen those who are near and dear to those whom they have lost we do pray that you'd be with those Lord God who are unwell we ask that you'd strengthen those who are sick and injured and diseased as we pray each and every Lord's day for those who are afflicted with physical things we would just pray that you'd be with Karen we pray that you'd help her with these pains with these discomforts and as she has this as she looks to getting this surgery Lord the the gallbladder removed we just pray that you comfort her heart that you'd strengthen her and that you heal her in the midst of her suffering and that just caused her to rely on you and all things and we pray again for Dawn that you would strengthen this brother and in the midst of his ongoing troubles with with MS and and all the things associated with that Lord just comfort him and be near to him helped him in the midst of that affliction to be resting upon you and we just pray that you'd pour out much grace and mercy Lord God we would ask that you'd be with all those Lord who are suffering with physical things that list can very often be long we just pray that you'd be with each and every one of our dear brothers and sisters who struggle regularly with physical illness and disease just bless them and strengthen them I give them seasons of reprieve from pains and discomforts and we just pray that you would heal Lord God knowing that you are the Great Physician we pray that you'd bring much healing to those who are yours we would ask that you be with those who are pregnant Lord we rejoices we have throughout the years has seen many gifts that you've given to your people and in babies born and in young ones and we just pray Lord that you'd watch over those who are presently pregnant to strengthen them and help them be with the babies in the wounds just nourished them and we look forward Lord God to a time in the future when these are brought forth with great rejoicing so we do pray that you'd be with mothers as well and that you would encourage father's as they wait expectantly for these gifts to be brought forth we just pray that you would strengthen Lord God that you would uphold and that you would just give much grace to your people in the midst of pregnancy in the midst of illness in the midst of the struggling spiritually Lord as these are things that that your Saints can deal with on a daily and a weekly basis we pray that you would uphold your Saints that you would lift each and every one of us up in the inner man that we might rejoice in the forgiveness of sins and we would have that grace by your spirit where we might conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ be with your persecuted Church throughout the world we would ask God that you'd be with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus we ask that you would comfort their hearts be near to them in the midst of oppression and opposition and we pray that you would deal with those who persecute that you would save many bring them to the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and that you would deal with those who would remain in opposition we pray for the governments of the world as well as we're encouraged as we're admonished as we're commanded in Scripture to pray for Kings and those who are in authority we pray in this present day Lord for those who rule over we pray that they would do so in righteousness and in justice we would ask that you would cause those who are favoring wickedness and the in the the ranks of government and pushing pushing laws that are an abomination in your sight we pray that you would deal with them that you would even take them out of the way you would cause those who do rule to do so in a proper justice we pray unto this end again for the preaching of Jesus Christ the gospel of our Savior we pray that this would go out throughout the other parts of the world that your ministers and your missionaries would bring the message of hope and faith in Jesus Christ that they would bring a message that message of a holy God of the fact that all have sinned and have fallen short the glory of that God and of a perfect salvation in Jesus Christ and that by your grace many would believe in his name we pray for the Surrey church Lord we ask that you'd be with our brothers and sisters there strengthen them be near to them and we pray that you would just cause them to rejoice as they gather and to worship you in spirit and in truth we also pray for the the group in Vernon in the Vernon area we pray that you'd watch over them that you would encourage their hearts that you would be near to them and that you would give much grace as we seek to plant another Church we do pray God that you would just help us now in worship we pray that we would worship you in spirit and in truth we would ask God that you'd help us to cast off thoughts that would intrude upon a proper worship help us to be focused help us to be attentive help us to be earnest and worship and help us to rejoice in you our God we pray that you'd be with Pastor Butler as he preaches your word we pray each and every Lord's day God and we know because this is the case that you're preachers you're ministers of the gospel rests not upon their own wisdom and strength but upon that which God affords them as they enter these pulpits to to preach your word to us and we pray for that for pastor Butler strengthen him help him and be with us now Lord strengthen your saints and save sinners we pray that this exercise of worship would be done unto the praise of Father Son and Holy Spirit and that Jesus Christ the Lord would be exalted upon the praises of this gathered assembly we pray in his precious name Amen let's stand and sing again this time it'll be 253 to a familiar tune that's 253 let's stand and sing together [Music] Oh [Music] please be seated you turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke Luke chapter 9 as we read through the New Testament in our scripture readings were now at Luke 9 beginning in verse 21 Luke 9 21 and we'll read to verse 42 once again the word of God and he strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one saying the Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third day then he said to them if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me for whoever desires to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it for what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and is himself destroyed or lost for whoever is ashamed of me and my words of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his own glory and in his father's and of the Holy Angels but I tell you truly there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God and James excuse me now it came to pass about eight days after these sayings that he took Peter John and James and went up on the mountain to pray and as he prayed the appearance of his face was altered and his robe became white and glistening and behold two men talked with him who were Moses and Elijah who appeared in glory and spoke of his decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem but Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep and when they were fully awake they saw his glory the two men and the two men who stood with him then it happened as they were parting from him that Peter said to Jesus master it is good for us to be here and let us make three Tabernacles one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah not knowing what he said while he was saying this a cloud came and overshadowed them and they were feel fearful as they entered the cloud and a voice came out of the cloud saying this is my beloved son hear him when the voice had ceased Jesus was found alone but they kept quiet and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen now it happened on the next day when they had come down from the mountain that a great multitude met him suddenly a man from the multitude cried out saying teacher I implore you look on my son for he is my only child and behold a spirit seizes him and he suddenly cries out and it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth and it departs from him with great difficulty bruising him so I implored your disciples to cast it out but they could not then jesus answered and said o faithless and perverse generation how long shall I be with you and bear with you bring your son here and as he was still coming the demon threw him down and convulsed him then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit healed the child and gave him back to his father amen well among many things one of the important things that we read here the words that come from the cloud the father in verse 35 speaking these words and a voice came out of the cloud saying this is my beloved son hear him this brings together much of the Old Testaments testimony to the coming Christ who would come into this world sinners to save who would be God and man yet one Christ the Saviour of men and the one that would be heard the one that ought to be heard because of the message he brings because of the person he is because of the dignity of his office being the Messiah being the mediator and these words are absolutely vital for every generation this is my beloved son hear him if you're here today and you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ praise God you've heard the son you've heard the proclamation of his word you've heard the good word of the gospel that Jesus Saves and you've heard and you've believed and you rejoice in him but if you've if you're here this morning and you have not heard him you have not listened you have perhaps been the recipient of preaching over many years over many months you come in Sunday and Sunday out and you have not yet believed on this one who is glorious this one who is God and man yet one Christ the Saviour for sinners you've heard of this Jesus and yet you have not really heard him these words of the father coming out of the cloud come to you this is my beloved son hear him and hear him the preaching of the word will come to you in a short in a short moment pastor Butler will open up the Bible and preach to you and it is as if God Himself is speaking to you through his sent messenger you'll hear of Jesus you'll hear of sin and you'll hear of salvation for sinners you'll hear of a great God and don't don't shut your ears and stop up your ears but rather open hear the word of God proclaim here the Sun and bend a knee to the king of kings and the Lord of lords let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for your word we rejoice in the message of the Bible we thank you Lord God that you have made us those here who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you brought us forth from darkness to light by the power of your spirit and by the proclamation of your word we do pray for that again we pray for salvation today we pray God that an amazing and victorious grace through the preaching of the word and the power of the Holy Spirit you would bring forth sinners this morning from the deadness and the darkness of sin to life in light in Christ Jesus the Lord we pray that many today Lord God would hear him and that they would bend a knee and they would believe in Jesus Christ our Savior be with us now in worship Lord help us now to be attentive as we sing one more him and then as we engage in the preaching of the word we do pray that you would be with us that you would be honored and glorified that you would save sinners that you would strengthen your people and God that we would all give you praise we pray in Christ Jesus the Lord amen let's stand and sing and our final hymn is going to be 298 if we'll stand once more as a church and sing together 298 [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts Acts chapter 1 Acts chapter 1 we're going to introduce Acts today when you get a new book you typically read the introduction now there's not an introduction given to us to the book of Acts specifically but we want to try and call from other places in the New Testament concerning matters of authorship and the date it was written and why it was written it's always good for us to have that basic understanding before we begin the study of a book of the Bible so I want to read the first 11 verses in Acts chapter 1 the former account I made both Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up after he through the Holy Spirit had given Commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God and being assembled together with them he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the father which he said you have heard from me for John truly baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now therefore when they had come together they asked him saying Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel and he said to them it is not for you to know that no times or seasons which the father has put in his own authority but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth now when he had spoken these things while they watched he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel who also said men of Galilee why do you stand gazing up into heaven this same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven amen well let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word and we thank you for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fact that he not only lived he died he was raised and he ascended on high and we look forward to his coming again in glory to judge the living in the dead and our desire is that everyone here it would be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ on that day that all of us would know the forgiveness of sins that we would know the grace that you pour out upon sinners in the gospel and to this end we pray that your spirit would be at work in our midst here this morning she would bring conviction for sin to any and all who have not believed the gospel caused them to see their desperate plight before a holy God and caused them to see a glorious Savior that does save all those who come to the Father through him and forgive us now for all of our transgressions and our sins give us grace as we approach the study of this wonderful book that demonstrates the glory of Christ acting in and through his church and we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus amen well the book of Acts is a book of history it's certainly a historical account of the early church but it's Theological history so the way we approached our studies in the former prophets on Wednesday night the prophets are not just reporting on history they are giving us theology as well they are interpreting they are showing they are demonstrating how the unfolding of these particular events are as a result of God's sovereignty well the same is the case in the book of Acts its theological history and one introduction to the New Testament has made this observation it says the the book occurs or the book covers events occurring in Jerusalem Judea Samaria Syria Cyprus many cities in Asia Minor Macedonia Greece and the reader witnesses everything from preaching and miracles to jailbreaks and shipwrecks so it's a an exciting look at the early church now the span involved is only about 30 years from the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ to the imprisonment the first imprisonment of the Apostle Paul that's how the book ends with Paul in prison in Rome and he was imprisoned in about 80 6262 so just a 30-year span that much ground was covered that many peoples had come under the power of the Christian message it's a true description and display of the acts of the risen Lord Jesus now this word acts it might confuse us a bit in terms of how it's being used in this book Acts was applied to written works which describe the achievements of great man in this particular time and many have rightly observed it's not so much the Acts of the Apostles they are indeed the human instruments they are indeed the means but it's the acts of the Lord Christ he risen he ascended on high and he by the power of His Holy Spirit and by the word is accomplishing this great geographic expansion of the church he is accomplishing this great disciple making venture of the church he is accomplishing the building of his church which he promised in Matthew 16 again by spirit by word and through the agency or means of the Apostles so the Acts of the Apostles truly set forth to us the glory and the majesty and the excellence of our Lord Jesus well as I said I want to introduce this book today I'm gonna try to make it as interesting as possible I don't want you to get bogged down in a lot of details that make no sense but I think that each of the things that I'm going to set forward not because I developed this outline but I think they're most important when we come into the book of Acts important as believers as well to be able to give a defense of the book of Acts Luke wasn't an apostle Luke was not one of the twelve that Jesus had appointed to serve as an apostle and that Luke and Mark both wrote books of the Bible so it's important for us as believers to know how to respond to some who would say well your whole idea of of canonicity crumbles at the thought of a mark and alludes I want to look at first author and date secondly I want to look at purpose and outline and then thirdly and lend their on some of the major themes certainly we can't uncover all of the major themes but a few of them are necessary for us to understand but in the first place with reference to author and date the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were written by the same man so Luke is the author of the book of Acts the author of Luke and acts is the same now these two initially would go from place to place together was a single volume or two volume work called the history of Christian origins but in the second century it began to be separated because the four Gospels circulated among the churches as a collection or as a group and so acts became an independent book but it's still the second volume of Luke's work concerning the the work of the Lord Jesus Christ now the links between the two books notice here in acts 1 1 he says the former account I made the former account in this instance is the Book of Luke this is the latter account this is the second volume this is the the the description of what Jesus continues to do and teach notice the same recipient in both plots it's a man by the name of Theophilus in Luke 1 3 and here in acts 1 1 the same targeted man is Theophilus and that shows the link between the two books as well the thematic link notice in 1:1 here he says the former account I made oh Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach that's why I argue it's the acts of the risen Christ because Luke records what Jesus began both to do and teach acts continues to relate what Jesus does and teaches or it's he's not an absentee kid he hasn't gone on holiday he isn't away from the church he's enthroned at the right hand of the Father this is precisely Peters interpretation of the events of Pentecost the great deal or the great thing on the day of Pentecost was not the tongue speaking that was a means by which the glorious works of God were communicated but the gift of the Holy Spirit proved the presence of the Holy Spirit and Peter traces the real significance that Christ ascended on high is the one who has poured out the spirit upon you in fact in several places you'll see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit accompanied by tongue speaking in acts 2 in acts 8 in acts 10 and then again in acts 19 each of those instances are not designed to teach private Christians that you need to speak in tongue no they are significant in terms of the flow of the book and where the people of God are at in those particular instances the emphasis is upon corporate experience not individual practice if you take from acts two eight ten and nineteen the idea that I have to speak in tongues or I'm not saved you have missed it you have misunderstood the book if you listen to Pentecostals and charismatics who teach you that you must speak in tongues as an evidence of the Holy Spirit that just means they don't understand acts 2 acts 8 X 10 acts 19 now you'll say well that's a big assumption Butler to say that a whole group of people don't understand it they don't it is simply untrue that someone filled with the spirit will always manifest the gift of tongues that is false that is a means by which churches gain control over adherents do not submit to such nonsense the acts 2 acts 8 X 10 and acts 19 indicates that Christ is a throne enthroned at the right hand of the Father and that he is giving the gift of the Spirit again in a corporate sense happens first in Jerusalem in Samaria to the Gentiles and then the John the Baptist disciples in acts 19 but the three primary ones to 8 and 10 follow the outline of the book the Spirit will promote in you the reality that you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem Judea Samaria and to the ends of the earth so that's how we ought to understand the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in those particular instance or instances or cases as well you look at acts 1 and you look at Luke 1 the reference to John the Baptist immediately follows luke's prologue both instances and then the overlapping accounts of the Ascension of Jesus Christ in both Luke 24 and then again in Acts chapter 1 verses 8 to 11 so it is the case that Luke the beloved physician is the author of both Luke and acts and so it's good for us to try and get to know him a little bit because we're probably going to be spending some time with him now he was a historian Luke 1 1 to 4 tells us we're gonna look at that passage in a bit more detail in a moment but he was a historian he recorded historical events as I said 30 years here specifically from the time of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus to the first imprisonment of Paul in Rome so he was a historian he was also a physician fact you can turn to these passages he was a physician and a companion of Paul turn to Colossians 4 Colossians chapter 4 again getting to no use what we're doing here with Luke because it's helpful so that we can understand his book Colossians 4:14 Luke the beloved physician and demas greet you I think you can appreciate not only the dignity of Luke I mean it's not easy to be a physician and to be a historian of this caliber but the wisdom of Paul I mean here the Spirit comes to the church in Antioch in Acts chapter 13 and the Spirit says to the church I want you to separate for me Paul and Barnabas to missionary work and when we get there we'll notice the agency of the Spirit and the church involved in the enterprise and we'll also notice that the spirit has them separate Paul and Barnabus these were mature seasoned godly men in other words the church doesn't send its you know the worst of its ranks it sends the best of its ranks to engage in the missionary enterprise but when Paul goes on these missionary trips who does he assemble for his team Luke the beloved physician Paul's not a fool he is going to pray to God and trust in God and he's going to keep his powder dry he is going to trust in the power of God to preserve him and to keep him but he's going to use the means of a beloved physician now I'm not suggesting that's the only reason that Luke accompanied Paul they were close friends they were companions but it's certainly a good thing when you're close friends to be a physician and you're going into foreign places and eating foreign food and engaging in foreign customs at the threat of being foreign ly beaten and imprisoned and battered so Luke was a beloved physician he was a companion of Paul some argue that he was most likely a Gentile and I think there's a compelling argument for that and then specifically the author was a travelling companion of Paul during his missionary journeys you can turn back to the book of Acts it wasn't just Colossians if you're taking notes you can also write Philemon 24 and second Timothy 4:11 other places where Luca Lucas mentioned in the New Testament records but notice that the author was a travelling companion of Paul during his missionary journeys in other words there are what are called the we passages in the book of Acts notice in acts 16 acts 16 specifically at verse 10 now after he had seen the vision immediately we this is loke he is a part of this we he is accompanying Paul on these trips now after he had seen the vision immediately we sought to go to Macedonia concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them that we section continues till verse 17 and then notice in chapter 20 chapter 20 another we section chapter 20 verse 5 these men going ahead waited for us at Troas but we sailed away from Philip I after the days of unleavened bread and in five days join them at Troas where we stayed seven days this continues into chapter 21 which is absolutely crucial where is the event taking place in chapter 21 Paul goes to Jerusalem which indicates that Luke did in fact spend time in Israel Luke did thoroughly investigate he talked to eyewitnesses what he says in Luke 1 1 to 4 isn't just smoke he really did spend time with boots to the ground as we say speaking to people examining the evidence talking to eyewitnesses to compile the Gospel according to Luke and so we see these we sections the other one is in Luke I'm sorry Acts chapter 27 verse 1 on into Acts chapter 28 so when we look at this particular man as I said he's a beloved physician he's a companion of Paul but he's also a companion of Paul when Paul's engaged in missionary activity now how do we answer that the the statement well he wasn't an apostle and he wasn't he wasn't one of the original twelve that Jesus hand chose to be his servants in terms of ambassadorship to take the gospel out so the author was not an apostle but he was an apostolic man it's the language of tertulia and he was an early church father when he's writing about the Gospel writers he says of the Apostles therefore John and Matthew first instill faith into us while of apostolic man Luke and Mark renew it afterwards you see the church fathers recognize the apostolic D of Mark and of loot even though they weren't apostles they were apostolic man they had close contact with apostles everybody knows now if you don't you're gonna probably feel foolish so I should probably say this most people know that mark wrote at Peters request in many respects the Gospel of Mark is the gospel of Peter not the later Gnostic gospel of Peter but it was Peter that basically lectured I would argue from Matthew and Luke in Rome and Mark transcribed that and that became the Gospel of Mark so you see Peters influence upon mark you need to understand Paul's influence upon the Gospel of Luke most likely Paul in his first missionary journey he went with the Gospel of Matthew it had already been written it was already being used it was being widely distributed distributed and circulated Paul started preaching in Gentile audiences and so Paul says can we have Luke write a gospel that is according to Matthew that does jive with the truth of Jesus let's more tailored to a Gentile audience and that is precisely what happens Paul exercises a great deal of influence upon Luke in the composition of Luke's Gospel as well we see his close companionship with Paul so that as he's transcribing theological history we have to sweet we have to believe that Paul exercised a great deal of influence in this as well Krueger explains the criteria even if a document was not written directly by an apostle there would have been good reasons to think it more authoritative apostolic tradition again this might be boring to some but if you have never dealt with this particular issue you need to deal with it because as Christians we say we believe in what the Apostle said a thinking unconverted person says well mark and Luke weren't apostles how do you account for that how do you deal with that well I'm trying to explain that to you so you're not left going as so many Christians do brethren last week I think I said people were lazy if they didn't take time to study the doctor and the Trinity I felt bad about that later I thought you know these are great people I love them dearly I'd lay down my life for them I think you know I hope that they lay down their life for me I shouldn't be bending about that term lazy and then I thought you know what if they are lazy they probably needed to hear that so it's kind of how I went to sleep that night with the thought that God's going to deal with you know the good and he's gonna deal with the bad and all that but we need to understand not only the doctrine of the Trinity we need to understand canon and by canon I don't mean those big guns that shoot balls and you know people down Cannon and great means rule or standard and it's come to take on the the identification with the books of the Bible how do we know that Matthew Mark Luke and John belong in the Christian canon how do we know that the book of Revelation belongs in the Canon how do we know that James belongs in the book or in the Canon of Scripture you'll know that Martin Luther didn't like the book of James or he liked it but he didn't think it was he thought it was a right strong epistle so how do we argue for the inclusion of a book in the Canon and when it comes to mark and Luke nah nap apostles how do we argue that they were nevertheless apostolic men well Michael Krueger has done great work on this particular subject and I want to quote again he says we know that they it baura authoritative apostolic tradition if one it was written during the Apostolic age and thus was composed at a time when the Apostles were overseeing the transmission of their tradition this is important we're not arguing that every New Testament book was written by an apostle but we are arguing that every New Testament book is apostolic why because the Apostles were alive the Apostles made sure the Apostles would have never said yes include Luke alongside of Matthew if it wasn't legit they were alive and breathing and had to give their stamp of approval and most likely that's how mark came about Matthew was written Luke wrote Paul wanted to make sure that Luke Jive Peter preachers from Matthew and Luke and the notes produce mark that is contrary to some of Christian scholarship today but I think it makes the best sense of the data it's a lot more simple than we oftentimes think and the Apostles oversaw each of these books it's beautiful just like if somebody comes and preaches in this pulpit ultimately it's cams and mind responsibility they may not be pastors but they have pastoral Liberty at that particular point so we're responsible as to who stands behind this pulpit and the same with the Apostles they were responsible as what was included among the Canon of Scripture he goes on to say secondly it was written by someone who got his information directly from an apostle I've already seen that Luke was with Paul of course he got his information we know that mark was with Peter this explains for us this issue of apostolic T so the Apostles or the the books weren't necessarily written by apostles but they were apostolic books and intriguingly the early church recognized this Justin Martyr he wrote or he lived from AD 100 to 165 so not a long time after the fact and this again shows you this idea that you know someone created the Canon in the fourth century that it was a sort of a fruit of the Council of Nicaea it's simply incorrect the four Gospels very early thrust themselves upon the churches they couldn't mess up because they were taught preached circulated and people had access to that but Justin Martyr again ad 100 to 165 says for the Apostles in the memoirs composed by them which are called Gospels have thus delivered unto us what was enjoyed of unjoined upon them he knows that Luke and are not apostles but in this context he quotes Luke 22 19 what's that tell us I know that Luke's not an apostle but he has apostolic authority and he quotes Luke 22 19 as a result I Rheneas who live from ad 130 to 200 we have learned from none others the plan of our salvation then from those through whom the gospel has come down to us which they did at one time proclaim in public and at a later period by the will of God handed down to us in the scriptures to be the ground and pillar of our faith later on he says this Luke also the companion of Paul recorded in a book the gospel preached by him again we have very early church father testimony concerning these truths wasn't hatched at the time of the Reformation it wasn't hatched by the confessions of faith this has been the traditional approach to a past olicity since the inception of the church now go to Luke 1 because we've seen that the Gospel of Luke and acts are both written by Luke we have seen a bit about who Luke was I think it's good for us to understand something of his method his methodology how he approached his task because if Luke and acts are both from Luke whatever he writes in Luke 1 1 2 4 as to how he approaches his particular task in the gospel will certainly apply to the book of Acts right if I'm an author and I'm writing a two-volume set and I introduced that to volume set I ought to assume that that introduction applies to both volumes right makes sense so I think it's good for us to understand some of the things that Luke says concerning the way he went about his task the first place noticed that the events he records were complex this is important the advance he wrote recorded were accomplished notice in verse 1 of Luke 1 in as much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us you see there is this idea that Christianity is a feeling it's an emotion it's an idea really doesn't matter if it's true or not it's what it produces in the heart of the person that's hogwash it's fact its history these events occurred shared with you before when when the santiago's initially got to China remember that we got a prayer letter from them and Shirley had reported that it was an amazing thing to be with a bunch of Chinese people and and and talking to them about the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ and then thinking that it was just not this isn't true this isn't real this isn't happening and Shirley goes to the mat and she points to Bethlehem and she points to Jerusalem she points to the regions mentioned by Holy Scripture and these Chinese girls were blown away give me you mean it's true it it really happened it's not just an idea it's not just a concept it's not just some theory designed to make people feel good it's not just the the opium of the people as Marx says that that religion is these are real things and you need to come to grips with that this morning if you're not a believer in Jesus Christ and and I'm gonna end this morning by saying something that may not appear to be a major theme of the book of Acts but you need to consider it why did these men do what these men did as we move through Acts the jailbreaks we see are because of God's men in jail the shipwreck we see is because of God's man shipwrecked among others to be sure we'll see the people of God whipped we'll see the people of God stoned we'll see the people of God executed by the kings of their age why did they do this because they understood this most important truth God is a holy God God is holy God is majestic God is glorious God made this world God govern this world and God has redeemed as a lacked out of this world but that holy God is not to be trifled with the Apostles knew that they also knew that man is sinful that his heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked he knew that it or they knew that if they did not preach the truth the solution to the problem that man has sinners everywhere would die in their sins and transposes why did they do what they did because God's holy you're not and you need to hear the message of the Christian gospel if I could put it in a nutshell that's a major theme have you ever thought about that why would men that have a life leave that life and go to places where they lose their lives who does that who says for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain one who has come into contact with that Christ one who has by grace believed on him one who is willing to be fed to lions as a portal by which he enters into the presence of his master you know that's what happens later in the Roman Empire to Christians that's what will take place under Nero they will be persecuted they will be sport in the lions on the arena that call aciem brethren it wasn't where the Rams played it wasn't where you know hockey was played it was where Lions among other things ate our brethren why would they do that because they knew that God was holy they knew that man was sinful and that apart from the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified sinners will perish for eternity in hell that's why they did what they did and praise God Almighty they did you see the gospel move you see it transcend you see it go from place to place to place to place I can in 30 years what's the the complaint about the Apostles the men have turned the world upside down you take 12 men and fill them with the Holy Spirit and look what can happen what was it Queen Mary Mary Queen of Scots I fear the prayers of John Knox more than an army of 10,000 soldiers that's the God we serve that's why Luke does what he does this isn't some made-up so this isn't in the category of a fairy tale cam has pointed out before notice that the the introductions of books of the Bible doesn't say in a in a galaxy far far away doesn't say enough in a make-believe world with fairies and unicorns hard data and that hard data is crucial for each and every one of us to know because without that hard data we sinful men perish under a holy God notice as well and I'm taking this from dr. Davis the events were fascinating look at what he says in as much as Man II have taken in hand why I wouldn't many take an end probably a reference to mark probably a reference to Christians that were writing gospel tracts at the time but many have taken why because it's fascinating stuff its glorious stuff the message of a redeemer sent from heaven to live to die to be raised the third day in order to save his people from their sins that's fascinating isn't it if it's dull to you you've got problems if it's boring to you you've got problems I often say to my grandchildren when they walk into my office they say WOW Papa you have a lot of books all of them are about one book the most fascinating of books the most glorious book that contains the most glorious truth that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself the reality that we are dead in our trespasses and sins but God made us alive together with him the reality that this price like that serpent in the wilderness was lifted up so that all who look to him will live president that's fascinating stuff if you're bored in your Bible reading repent rush judy tells the story of a little boy that was sitting under lectionary readings in the book of Acts now election area is what the Church of England uses where they read a bit of scripture on the particular day and they were in the shipwreck portion in the book of Acts and the reading stopped before the disposition was found out the little boy says keep going we got a shipwreck we have tragedy we have disaster and you're gonna end I want relief rushed Judy's point there is what the Bible readers and believers and Christians who have been at it for a few years find that scene thrill and excitement don't stop keep going I need to know how it ends brethren it's a fascinating book that's why many have taken in hand to set in order these things thirdly the events were witnessed notice in verse 2 now Luke may have been an eyewitness of certain events himself verse 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the of the word delivered I'm sorry just as those who from the beginning where eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us so Luke may have been but he certainly acknowledges the fact that there were eyewitnesses to these things there were I think when we saw in the Gospel of Matthew Luke who witness the resurrection of the Lord Jesus certainly the women dead so if the Apostles did but even the guards dead this wasn't done you know in fairytale land I think the Mormons teach and I it's been a while since I've looked at Mormon theology but don't they teach that at the Ascension of Christ Jesus didn't go to heaven he went to America and there he dealt with the Native Americans and had this is that correct and Jesus childen in America for a while there's no historical record of that no eyewitness account there's a burning in the bosom bosom to account for that I know what you're burning in the bosom I want Luke's witnesses I want Luke I want an inspired Apostolic man to tell me what's happening here notice thirdly or fourthly the events were transmitted the events were transmitted the ministers of the word the Apostles delivered that word to others including Luke and they got the message out now this sort of introduction to Luke's Gospel their prologue to Luke's Gospel evidence is something to us at the book of Acts does in every historical book in the Bible does first comes redemptive act and then revelatory word other words God acts and then his designated appointees right the exodus occurs Moses reveals the resurrection occurs Matthew Mark Luke John right you see there's a pattern that the act occurs the Apostles write this message was transmitted notice as well the events were investigated by Luke in verse 3 it seemed good to me also having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first to write to you an orderly account most excellent Theophilus this means this idea of had perfect understanding it means to pay careful attention to something in a segment of time to follow a thing to follow a course of events to take note of you'd have been with his ink pen it is in his ear and his in his notepad at hand I was talking to people he pounded the pavement you see not only does the Spirit use Luke the Spirit uses Luke's methodology persons have rightly observed the the styles of the Apostolic manner different the way that Luke writes not in terms of he wrote Chinese and Paul writes Greek but even within Greek there's differences you must certainly observe a difference in the way that Romans reads and in the way that verse John reads you must see and observe that the Spirit of God utilized the men without destroying the men it's beautiful theme God made the men God prepared the men God called the men to himself and then God used the men as the men to accomplish his work in recording his word it's beautiful and Luke tells us his methodology notice as well the events were recorded specifically for a reason said I investigated this to write to you an orderly account most excellent Theophilus now notice in verse four that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed Christianity is it one religion out of many I mean I guess in the one sense it is but it's right there's a certainty about it the Apostles don't preach for probability the Apostles don't preach in the world of mites and maybes therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly Peter says on the day of Pentecost that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ it's a beautiful thing the Apostles don't just present information to try and dazzle you with their learning they want you to repent they want you to believe they want you to come to the Savior in whom there is salvation they want you to know the fullness and the freeness and the glory of God's forgiving grace they want you to know what it is to to have Christ not having a righteousness of your own which is from the law but but that which is from God through faith in Jesus Christ they're not just presenting data remember it is a presentation of data with a theological bent they want you to believe the gospel and be saved it's a beautiful wonderful thing Theophilus I want you to know a beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christianity is in fact true now the date of composition this is quick and easy it happened at the Ascension of Christ it's when he began and then the the end takes place in 1662 that's the in there some reason why there's you know 30 or 33 scholars debate on whether it was 80 30 or 33 I'm not here to to end that debate it was in that that sort of vicinity and so for that 30 year period Luke records probably while Paul is still in prison I take the date at ad 60 to 62 whenever Paul was in prison or perhaps toward the end of Paul's imprisonment because it is intriguing that if Luke had been released from prison Luke doesn't record that if Paul rather had been released from prison Luke doesn't tell us anything about the disposition of Paul it just ends with Paul in prison if he had been released then look more than likely would have recorded that reality so most likely Luke or Paul rather is still in prison while Luke writes also the destruction of Jerusalem happens when everybody with a resounding unison voice can say 8070 pastor Butler Kaz we spent so much time in the Olivet discourse well again if 8070 had occurred it certainly makes no evidence or gives no evidence in the book of Acts Jerusalem is still there the temples still there if it had been destroyed by Roman armies I'd like to think that Luke would have given us a glimpse of that so most likely it's written in the early 60s and as I said it covers the first three decades of the church terms of purpose and outline it is to do just that it is to report to us the Providence of God over his Christian Church in terms of the apostolic mission to extend the church it's simply the record of Christ exercising power from the right hand of the Father in the making of disciples and in the planting of local churches under the Providence and power of God Almighty Robert Harris says the primary purpose of Acts is to confirm the awfulest and others in the Christian faith by presenting a historical account of the triune God's special Providence over the early church Daniel Bach says the Acts of the Apostles highlights God's plan of salvation and how God established the new era that resulted from Jesus ministry death and resurrection now bark continues to lay forth an emphasis that we need to understand what is happening here and one of Luke's purposes is to show that this isn't new in other words what's happening in the book of Acts with this early church in this 30-year period is what was prophesied to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 in other words Christianity is not some odd duck spin on Old Testament scripture but it is the fulfillment of it it is the realization of it it is what was anticipated brought to fruition by God in other words Luke takes pains to show us that what's happening in the early church is consistent with the promises made to Abraham Isaac Jacob David all throughout redemptive history they find their terminus and who the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ this is why Paul can say that Christ is the yay and Amen all the promises of God are fulfilled in him and then we notice also Bach's language acts is about the expansion and triumph of the gospel as it penetrates the world from Jerusalem to Rome by means of God's guidance I prefer Providence and despite intense opposition intense opposition you'll see that as we move through this book I mean great people are getting destroyed and dealt with like they're they're thugs they're criminals they're terrible why because they're preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ the Lord you know what Acts also does in terms of purpose this is more practical I think in nature it serves as a great link or bridge between the Gospels and the epistles imagine if you didn't have Acts you'd finish Matthew Mark Luke and John this is assuming that no one's lazy and they read their Bibles and then you get to Roman's and you might scratch your melon and say where do these people come from how did get his wife I think that occurs to people and they're reading sort of the early portions of Genesis well where did these Christians in Rome come from who are these Galatians how did the gospel get to Ephesus how did it get to Philip I how did Colossae come into the pail of God's redemptive activity you see Acts tells us that it serves as the background a background for the epistles little words Jesus gives the Great Commission the Apostles obey Jesus and they plant churches Acts serves as that focal point or rather that Hendra a hinge upon which it turns we see and we move through redemptive history through the trajectory that Luke provides us in the book of Acts now real quickly the outline we're going to keep this very simple acts 1:8 and acts 9:15 outline the book for us kids you should learn how to outline because it'll help you in life I'm sure your parents have told you that I want to tell you again also learn your penmanship I find myself sacrificing time having to erase my terrible handwriting or my terrible penmanship I've thought about that before as a practical lesson for young people work on the way that you write I realize that you know in 20 years none of us Oliver right any more will type everything I'm sure we'll think it and it will be on the scrap I know what's gonna happen in 20 years but if you ever need to pick up a pen or a pencil take the time to write properly because you're only gonna save yourself time I'm either erasing or crossing out it's just not why is it's not good stewardship but with reference to this whole situation in terms of outlining it's a way to approach a big book and put it into a manageable size or put it into a manageable play way notice in acts 1 this is a geographical outline but I think it'll serve as well as we move through the book notice in acts 1 verse 8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth that's how the book flushes out Jerusalem is the center of focus in chapters 1 to 8 then we see the witness spread to Judea and Samaria chapters 8 to 12 with the calling of the Apostle Paul in acts 13 we see or the the dispatching of Paul in accidenti we see the gospel move to the end of the earth it's pretty helpful outline geographically it tells us what's happening in terms of the church they they first focus in on Jerusalem satisfying the prophetic statements in Isaiah 2 what do we learn in the latter days the nations will flow to Zion to be taught the law of the Lord it's no accident the Jerusalem is the place where the church begins but then they branch out they go from Jerusalem to Judea Samaria to the end of the earth and if you look at acts 9:15 it certainly highlights what's going to happen with Paul 9:15 the Lord said to him go for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name notice before Gentiles Kings and the children of Israel that's exactly what Paul does the focus is to the Gentiles in chapters 14 to 20 his witnesses to Kings in chapters 21 to 26 of governing authorities of his age and then the witness to the children of Israel it's punctuated in chapter 13 chapter 22 chapter 28 probably especially because the book ends with Paul in prison and Jews coming to him to be taught the kingdom of God now they reject it they resist it and Luke applies to us or for us the prophecy of Isaiah 6 but you see that's precisely what Paul does he doesn't play games it doesn't say well Lord I got other things going on he goes to Gentiles he goes to Kings and he goes to Jews so that's a brief introduction couple of major themes and then we'll close first the glory of God let's not miss that the Acts of the Apostles again it's not inspired the name of the title is not inspired when you really break it down there's only two apostles that we're really looking at in the book of Acts you've got Peter in the first section and you got Paul in the latter and I think FF Bruce is right with reference to Luke and Paul Paul is a hero to Luke Luke's a fan of Paul we move through acts the Paul sections you will notice that Paul is his hero and he should be everybody's Paul's a a great great man but when we speak of the Acts of the Apostles we were tempted to miss that the risen Christ were tempted to miss the Ascended Christ the Apostles are as means the Apostles may serve as agents but it's Christ who is building his church it's Christ who is accomplishing his his purpose is and it's not just the second person of the Trinity we see the glory of the Father what's the father do according the book of Acts he predetermined the very death of Jesus Christ as the means by which he'd same as people from their sins acts 2:23 what else does the father do the father raised up the son the father stations the son at his right hand the father is the one who has made these promises in the past to the to the patriarchs to Abraham Isaac and Jacob to David the father of the glory of the father is conspicuous in the book of Acts but we see the glory of the second person of the Trinity what does he do he's ascended on high he led captivity captive then he gives gifts to man from the right hand of the Father it's there that Christ is both Lord and Christ it's there that Christ rules over and reigns over his church it's there that Christ sends forth his church into the battlefield and he calls them to proclaim the truth to lay down their lives and their safety and their their freedom if necessary to present God's Word to needy sinners Christ is on display in the book of Acts he is a prince exalted to give repentance to Israel this Christ is the means by which sinners are forgiven of their sins this Christ is the one who who lived and he died and he was raised the 3rd day Christ is a focal point a major theme in the book of Acts but so is the Spirit factor you look at the book of Acts and you see the agency of the Spirit come to fruition I mean that's Peter's point and in Acts chapter 2 this is this is what Joel spoke of it's not that there was no spirit in the Old Testament when David is confessing his sins in Psalm 51 he says not thy Holy Spirit from me of course David had the spirit Samson had the spirit the people of God in the Old Covenant had the spirit but not like they had it on the day of Pentecost when God pours the spirit out in a beautifully glorious way to advance the cause of the church to advance the cause of Christ we'll see the spirits activity in a whole host of ways he is the the means by which the that the people of God have elders we have the the spirit is that the primary mover with reference to missions we just see the Spiritist as giving aid to Steven when he's being stoned to death so all three persons of the Godhead are on glorious display in the book of Acts and we need to observe that and appreciate that this isn't just a human movement this wasn't just some experiment that happened to turn out okay and defines uh I guess it all depends on how you define okay this was divine this was orchestrated by God this was put in place by the Lord and even the the suffering of God's people was part of that plan you ever considered in acts 5 when they are beaten and they lead from those who beat them rejoicing that's what the text says they were scourge I gotta say brethren if I was scourge I don't know that rejoicing would be my first order of business this is where I think God gives great grace in times of great need I'm getting scourge dimed thinking about you know aloe vera warm baths you know having my wife tend to mine that's what I'm thinking they get scourge and they are rejoicing why because they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name it's beautiful this is a divine movement this is of God it's not men and then as well we see the practice of the early church what does the church do when God adds to her number they continued steadfastly in apostolic doctrine in the breaking of bread and prayers and fellowship oh it's they worship God the way God tells them to the practice of the early church is conspicuously set forth but again we need to understand what is normative practice and what may have been extraordinary like these outpourings of the Spirit attended by the that the gift of tongues the the normative is what we need to follow those things that describe an extraordinary outpoint that doesn't necessarily mean it's to be duplicated by us you see just because something is described doesn't necessarily mean it's prescribed and I think interpreters mess up well it's in the book of Acts well David having committed adultery and murder is in the Bible too and him having been forgiven but I don't go thou and do likewise the emphasis in the book of Acts is not try to get the gift of tongues to get that reading out of it is to miss the point of the book of Acts so we'll need to make sure we understand the difference between the description and prescription something can be described that's not necessarily prescribed those things which are prescribed we need to be about apostolic doctrine breaking a bread fellowship and prayer and then the third major theme is the spread of the gospel the expansion of the church through a multitude of geographic regions Jerusalem Judea Samaria and to the end of the earth the end of the earth is represented here by Rome the fact that Paul ends up in Rome that's the end of the earth in that particular context it did accomplish the purpose for which God sent it now of course it doesn't stop it goes to every nation group or every tribe tongue people and nation it's supposed to go forth until Jesus returns again in glory to judge the living and the dead but in this context it had accomplished the purpose for which God had sent it notice the frequent use of progress reports we won't turn there but you can make a note and we'll observe them along the way 6 7 9 31 12 24 16 5 and 19 20 Luke gives us progress reports so the what are the Lord's Brad so the word of the Lord spread so the word of Lord spread and oftentimes it's in the midst of when there's persecution and trial what's the point even though the people of God are persecuted and tried the word of the Lord will spread oh if they imprison Paul the gospel is gonna end that's what he says in 2nd Timothy he doesn't say that but he says though I'm in Chains the Word of God has not chained 2nd Timothy is his second imprisonment when he ultimately is executed for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ twice Paul was in prison in Rome another time he was imprisoned in Caesarea there's Caesarea however you want to say it it's an amazing thing isn't it I mean this this accomplished rabbinic scholar conquered by saving grace and now on the run for his life being lowered out of a city in a basket Oh such indignity Paul you could hear why people would mock him why the detractors couldn't stand it he did things that were not dignified for a rabbinic scholar of his caliber he did it because Christ had saved him and he wanted to go out and testify concerning the gospel that's where I want to end the necessity of the Christian gospel though Luke doesn't say I'm writing these things because God is holy you're sinful and you need to repent I think it's underlying throughout it's intriguing you know you look as you study and prepare for an introduction again I hope this introduction has been at least somewhat interesting and has held your your attention but there's various authors of various books that write various introductions about different Bible books you're going to get the same response from Martin Luther here's how he says here's why he says Luke wrote he says it is to be noted that by this book st. Luke teaches the whole church to the end of the world the true chief point of Christian doctrine namely that we must all be justified only through faith in Jesus Christ without any addition of law or help from good works I say Amen acts to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for what for the remission of sins acts 5 remission of sins acts 10 to him all the witnesses all the prophets witness that whoever believes in his name will receive the forgiveness of sins same emphasis in chapter 13 Paul in a in the Jewish synagogue in pacinian antioch tells them that Christ can do what the law of Moses couldn't he cannot be justified in the keeping of the law of Moses not because there's anything wrong with the law of Moses but because there's everything wrong with your heart but what Christ does is he justifies the ungodly what Christ does is he brings forgiveness and a righteousness what Christ does is what the Old Covenant law couldn't doesn't mean the Old Covenant law was bad doesn't mean we get rid of it in terms of its normative use but it does mean we resist or reject the idea that somehow all I need is to be a better guy and I'll go to heaven if that's your thought this morning you are going to end up in hell please hear me and hear me clearly God is holy you are sinful and there's not enough good works in this world for you to accomplish to try to earn your way with God you have already failed miserably you deserve God's wrath and his curse right now and in the life to come everything is against you in terms of God the only means of freedom of help of salvation of hope is through Christ that's it so this is Luke's purpose that you believe in him that you look to him and that you receive by God's grace the forgiveness of sins and the righteousness that does avail with God well let us close an alert of Prayer our Father we thank you for the certainty of our religion we thank you that it's not a cunningly devised fables that it doesn't hold sway with myth or or start off in in a fairy tale language but godly men filled with the Holy Spirit wrote these things for our admonition for our encouragement for our instruction and I pray God that you'd give ears to hear to each and every one here and those who are not in Christ would by grace believe in him they would know the joy of being found in him that forgiveness of sins that is everywhere set forth in this book of Acts we ask that you would go with us now bless the hospital ministry give us grace to minister faithfully to the people there and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you you