Transcription
Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Oh, heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. How are you? Heat. Heat. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Cornerstone Baptist Church. Invite you to stand and turn to him. 372. 372. And we're going to sing our chorus for the month of March. Once for all. We'll sing just the chorus. We'll sing it through twice. 372. Once for all sinner, receive it once for all. Brother, believe it. Great. The cross the burdens will fall. Christ hath redeemed us once for all. Once for all sinner believe it once for all other believe it. Cling to the cross and will fall. Christ hath redeemed us once for all. Please be seated.
Good morning and welcome to Cornerstone today. This is the day the Lord has made and we can rejoice and be glad in it. And uh we can rejoice and be glad in our God this morning. We're excited to meet together with you and exalt the name of our savior together. If you're our guest this morning, we're especially grateful that you're here with us. And uh these gentlemen have a connection card. If you'd be willing to just slip up your hand, take that this morning, fill it out, and then return it to us before you leave today, that'd be a blessing, just to get to know you a little bit. And uh we'll we're going to spend some time in God's word today. And if you need a Bible, then uh we we have one that we'd love to give to you, just our gift to you. Just slip your hand up. Want you to be able to follow along. If you need one of those cards, just slip your hand up and our guys will find you. keep waving at them until they see you. But we're thankful for everyone that's here this morning.
We begin our services here at Cornerstone on a Sunday morning with what we call a call to worship to orient us to why we're here. And so this morning, we're going to be in Psalm 10. Psalm 10. And our task this year, we are answering the question, who is God? And the scripture answers that question very clearly for us. We don't have to come up with the answer. But we do have to believe what's written about him. And that's our choice. But God has been gracious enough to give us the knowledge of who he is. And he begins, we begin with his word again this morning. Psalm 10. The psalm begins with a question. Two questions emphasizing what is going to be presented in the psalm. Verse one, it says, "Why stand thou a far off, O Lord? Why hideest thou thyself in times of trouble?" Have you ever asked a question similar in your own heart? God, where are you? Doesn't seem that you're active. How can you let that happen? Why is this happening? Well, guess what? We're you're not alone because the psalmist is asking the question as well. We are not alone when we ask that question.
The psalmist then begins to observe some things. Verse number two, the wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. Let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous whom the Lord uphoreth. The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous. Thy judgments are far above, out of his sight. and s for all his enemies he puffth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud. Under his tongue is mischief and vanity. He siteth in the lurking places of the villages, in the secret places that he murder the innocent. His eyes are privy set against the poor. He lith and wait secretly as a lion in his den. He lith and wait to catch the poor. He doth catch the poor when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth and humbled himself that the poor may fall by his strong ones. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face, he will never see it.
The psalmist asks the question, God, where are you? I see all of this and you see a lot better than I do. Where are you? Why do you seem so far? Why do you seem like you're hiding when trouble is so abundant? In the section, we read about the wicked and they've elevated themselves. You read in verse two the word pride. You read the word boasteth in verse three. Pride again in four. And and he puffth at his enemies in verse five. These wicked have no desire for God. God doesn't even enter their thinking. They don't even see the judgments of God. The wicked, they've targeted the poor over and over. Verse two, verse 8, verse 9, verse 10, and they've become so confident that there is none in their mind that can move them. They believe that you're not paying attention, God. you don't. They believe you're not watching and they believe they're going to get away with whatever they decide.
And so the psalmist verse number 12, he says, "Arise, O Lord, oh God, lift up thine hand. Forget not the humble. Wherefore do the wicked condemn God? He hath said in his heart, thou wil not require it. Thou hast seen it, for thou beholdest mischief in spite to require it with thy hand. The poor committh himself unto thee. Thou art the helper of the fatherless. Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man. Seek out his wickedness till thou find none." We read that first section and it describes injustice. The psalmist can see it. He says, "God, this isn't right. What's happening?" And then he appeals to God in verse 12 through verse 15. God, you've seen the works of the wicked. I know you have. You know their heart. You know that they don't believe and they don't even believe you're paying that you are paying attention. But God, the poor, they're depending on you. The fatherless are depending on your help. God, you have to stop the wicked. You've got to stop all the injustice.
There's something we can learn about God from this psalm. Who is he? Well, God is aware of the injustice. Verse number 16. The Lord is king forever and ever. The heathen are perished out of his land. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble, and thou will prepare their heart. Thou will cause thine ear to hear, to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. The Lord is king forever and ever. This is a very simple way to look at that. He wins. He wins. He's the king forever. And in his kingdom, there will be no injustice. Who is God? Well, God is aware of all injustice and there will be none in his kingdom.
So, what does that mean to us? Because that's when we learn something about God, it's not just for knowledge, but it should affect us. So, how does that knowledge affect us? Well, this morning I just want to make an application. And you know, we often notice things that are not right outside of us and we cry out to God to do something. God, don't overlook the wickedness that even I can see. But how often do we look within our own heart and notice things are not right and we cry out to God and say, "God, don't overlook that wickedness either. You know, if I'm honest, I'm not much different than the description that we read in verses 2 through 11 because there's still wickedness in my life. And as much as I want God to deal with the wickedness outside of me, am I willing to let him deal with the wickedness inside of me? Am I willing to say, "God, break the arm of the wicked, God." If necessary, break me because you are God. How could a holy God allow injustice in his kingdom? He can't. He won't. And we as his followers, part of his kingdom, ought to be willing to say, "All right, Lord, if there's anything in me, reveal it. Don't overlook it."
So this morning as we bow in the very presence of God, the music begins to play. I would ask us to consider our own heart. Don't look out there. Don't look to your neighbor. Look in your own heart. God, don't overlook the wickedness in me. Our heavenly father, we are thankful again today for the opportunity to meet together. Thank you for your word, Lord. Sometimes when we read it, Lord, it hurts. But God, help us to remember that you are working in us. Lord, when you confront us with your word, it's not meant to hurt us, but to help us to humble us. And so, God, I pray that you'd help us to realize that today. And God, if there is anything within the hearts of your people this morning, Lord, that would hinder fellowship with you, Lord, I pray that we would be humble enough to get it right. Lord, don't overlook it. Lord, do what's necessary to make us more like Jesus today. And Lord, help us to be willing to allow that process to happen. And Lord, you've already declared that that's what we will be one day, conformed to the image of your precious son, the Lord Jesus. Lord, may we submit to that process even this morning. Bless our pastor as he preaches the word of God to us. Lord, I pray that your ears would be, Lord, that you would that you would be pleased with what you hear as we sing, as we offer praise to you. But then Lord, may you be glorified and exalted as we bow you before you in worship. May your name be praised today here at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Jesus name. Amen.
Invite you to stand and turn to 624. 624. We're going to sing a song most of us know. Count your many blessings. A great mindset to have. 624. Count your blessings. When the pot life spills you are tempest lost. When a boomer scourish thinking all is lost. Count your many blessings. Name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your blessings. See what God hath done. Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your many blessings. See what God has done. Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the crossing heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings. Every doubt will fly. And you will be singing as the days go by. Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your blessings. See what God hath done. Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your many blessings. See what God have done. When you look at heavens with the land and gold, thank God Christ hath promised you his wealth untold. Count your many blessings money cannot buy. Your reward in heaven know your home on high. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God have done. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God have done. So amid the conflict, whether great or small, do not be discouraged. God is over all. Count your many blessings angels will attend. Help and comfort give you to your jour. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God have done. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God have done. Good singing.
Turn over to 406. 406. Praise God. He leads us along. 406. God leads us along in shading green pastures so rich and so sweet. God leads his dear children along. Where the waterers cool flow ways the weery ones feet. God leads his dear children along. Some through the water, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood. come through great sorrow. But God gives a song in the night season and all the day long. Sometimes on the mountain where the sun shines so bright, God leads his dear children along. Sometimes in the valley in darkest of night, God leads his dear children along. Some through the water, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood. come through great sorrow, but God gives a song in the night season and all the day long. Though sorrows befall us and Satan oppose, God leads his dear children along. Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our fools. God leads his dear children along. Some through the water, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood. come through grace are God gives a song in the nice season and all the day long. Sing it out on that last. Away from the mire and away from the clay. God leads his dear children along. Away up in glory eternity day. God leads his dear children along. Some through the water, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood, some through great sorrow. But God gives a song in the night season and all the day long. Amen. Please be seated.
The father looks toward the horizon. He's hoping that his son will top the hill. It's been so very long since his wer son's been home. But his father's love keeps him hoping still. That the easy on his son as a young boy would lead his wondering heart back home again. Though all the world has gi up, his father never can. He knows the endless working of God's hand. And as long as there is God, there is forgiveness and healing for each life to a heart. There's victory over sin and broken hearts and depend. There is still hope as long as there is God. The father overlooks this of people. He's hoping that the hardened heart will leave. It's been so very long since his wayward child. But our father's love keeps him working still. And if we call has led you into bondage, the cry of prosper every day. won't take your place at the father's side today. And as long as there is God, there is forgiveness and healing for each life to aart. There's victory over sin and broken hearts and demand. There is still hope. As long as there is God, there's victory over sin. And broken hearts and hopes in there is still hope. As long as there is God, there is hope. Amen.
Invite you to stand one last time as the choir makes their way off the platform this morning. If you if you have children ages four to six, they can leave at this time for an optional service or they may stay, whichever is preferable. Let's turn to 428. 428 in your hymn books and ask the question and answer it. Does Jesus care? 428. Does Jesus care when my heart is paid dirty for birth and song? As the burdens press and the cares distress and the way grows weary and long. Oh yes, he cares. I know he cares. His heart is touched of my grief. When the days are weary, along my dreary, I know my Savior cares. Does Jesus care when my way is dark with a nameless dread and fear? As the daylights fade into deep night shades, does he care enough to be near? Oh yes, he cares. I know he cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days grow weary, the long night we know my Savior cares. Does Jesus care when I've tried and failed to resist some tempation strong? When for mighty deep grief I find no relief, though my tears flow all night long. Oh yes, he cares. I know he cares. His heart is touched with my grief. Though the days are weary, the long night we know my Savior cares. Does Jesus care when I've said goodbye to the dearest on earth to me? And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks. Is it hot to him? Does he see? Oh yes, he cares. I know he cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. Amen. You may be seated.
One day I heard a preacher preach. He said, "This world you're going to leave. And when we die, we'll either go to heaven above or hell below. I'm out. My heart, confessed my sin, invited Jesus to come in. The Savior turned me from the flames. And with a word, he locked the gates. He locked the gates. He locked the gates of hell behind me. And then he threw And then he threw the keys away. Threw the keys away. He locked the gates. He locked the gates. will give him glory. There'll never come a day I'll have to enter such a place. For the day that I got saved, he locked the gates. And now I live a life so free, knowing Jesus, he lives in me. And when I fail, I plead the blood. Alive and well is still enough. And when the devil comes my way and says, "In hell, for sin I'll pay." I point him to that rugged hill. I said, "Thanks to Jesus, I never will." He locked the gates. He locked the gates of hell behind me. And then he threw And then he threw the keys away. The keys away. He locked the gates. He locked the gates. So give him glory. There'll never come a day. Enter such a place for the day that I got saved. He locked the gates. He locked the gates. He locked the gates of hell behind me. And then he threw And then he threw the keys away. threw the keys away. He locked the gate. He locked the gate. So give him glory. There'll never come a day to enter such a place. For the day that I got saved became that very day he locked the gates. He locked the gates. Amen.
Take your Bibles if you would turn to the book of Acts in chapter number two. Acts in chapter number two. And uh super excited for what the Lord's doing here at Cornerstone. And don't normally do announcements on Sunday morning other than what's in your bulletin, but uh we have an exciting uh update for the building tonight. So if you want to come be a part of that uh that would be a blessing at 5:30. Acts chapter number two. We are making our way through the book of Acts on Sunday morning and uh last Sunday we made it up to verse uh number 21. And uh but I want to begin reading in verse number 14 and read down here to verse number uh 38. So if you stand together with me please for the reading of God's word. Acts in chapter number two beginning in verse number 14. The Bible says, "But Peter standing up with the 11 lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judea and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you and hearken to my words. For these are not drunken as ye suppose, saying it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which is spoken of the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, sayaeth the Lord, sayeth God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see vi visions, and your old men shall dream dreams, and on my servants, and on my handmaidadens. I will pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know him being delivered by the determinate counsel, and fornowledge of God ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should beholden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I forsaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore, did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. Moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope, because thou will not leave my soul in hell, neither will thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou hast shall make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his supplr is with us unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath hath God raised up whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore being at the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which we now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself, "The Lord said unto my Lord, thou shalt sit on my right hand, until uh I make thy foes thy foottool." Therefore, let the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ." Now when they heard this, they were pricricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Lord, I pray that you'd help us, Lord, as we look at this portion of scripture. Lord, we want to understand it as it was presented on that day. And understanding it as it was presented on that day, then we can subject ourselves to the scripture so we can understand it properly. So that we can apply it to our life on this day, Lord. That we might learn and that we might be challenged, Lord, to as Peter preaches in this passage, who Jesus is. Lord, we thank you so much for your goodness to us in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you. And you may be seated.
Last week, I made the illustration of you kind of have to be in the know to know what we're talking about. And part of this going through the book of Acts is to to bring people into that know. It's not something that I've created or something that I conjured up or or by the way, if any preacher tells you that he's found something that no one else has ever found, run from that guy. We want to preach the word of God. And here we have the unique opportunity to really give commentary on a message being preached. And uh what a wonderful job that Peter does as he begins to preach this. We made our way down through part of his message in verse number 14. And as he be was quoting the book of Joel that for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord and Joel says shall be delivered. And here he says shall be saved. He demonstrated there are signs and wonders that are coming on that great day of the Lord. And we were introduced to signs and wonders by the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And darkness and the sun was blotted out and the and the moon turned to blood and smoke and fire and all this was happening in prospect on that day anticipating that coming day. And if you remember, it's really the totality of the message is not just Peter preaching about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, but the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, which allows him to be in the position to judge all the world. Sometimes people struggle with the judgment of God in the scriptures. Like, does he have the right to judge? If I can just give you two easy thoughts, there's one person more than any other person that has the right to play God. You know who it is? God. God has the right to play God. Not only that, if God has the right and authority to judge a man, then he has the right and authority to judge every man. He has that right. And so he's telling them Joel, the prophecy of Joel is not just the excitement about the spirit coming and and this miracle taking place, but it also is about the chaff being burned up. And and the reason that the message of Christ is of such importance is because not only is salvation is available, but there is a judgment that is coming.
Now what he's going to do, he's going to turn to the audience that he's at and he's going to convince them. He's going to use pretty incredible evidence. He's going to use some anecdotal evidence of what their personal eyes has seen. But then he's also going to use some scriptural evidence to prove that what has happened here is pretty remarkable. That this man Jesus has been risen from the dead according to the scriptures. This man Jesus has been risen from the dead according to the scriptures. But he's also going to prove that this man Jesus is ascended and at the right hand of the father, which proves that he is not just a man. He is the Lord God. And so he gives this two-part message. It's good counsel to preachers. He only has two points. I'm sure it was really long though. I'm sure it was long. And he says, "He is risen, which proves that he is Messiah. and he has ascended at the right hand of the father which proves that he is lord. But it's important for us to understand like well I I already believe that he's Messiah. I already believe that he's lord. Well I I mentioned this a couple weeks ago on on Wednesday night. Sometimes sometimes we have a hold of our beliefs but our beliefs don't have a hold of us. And one of the ways to make sure that happens is to is to steal man. is to is to solidify why do we believe this? Is this just my church's opinion? Is this just Christianity's opinion? Or is this true according to the scriptures? If it's not true according to the scriptures, then it's just some guy's opinion.
So he says in verse 21, he says this, "And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." This is an incredible claim. You can be saved. And now he's going to give them the evidence that will create this movement in their heart where they're going to ask this question. What shall we do? Sometimes we are so concerned with telling people how to get saved. But what really needs to happen is we give them the gospel to the place where inside of them there's this compulsion that they say, "What must I do? What must I do to be saved?" So he begins in verse number 22 and we see his art audience. Ye men of Israel hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among whom by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you as yourselves also know. He says this Jesus he did miraculous things. Right? This is not something he's like and he did it in front of you. We're talking to these eyewitnesses. You remember when Nicodemus uh came to Jesus by night in John chapter number three and he says, "We know that thou are a man come from God because no man can do these things lest he come from God." Peter's just leaning into that. You saw him do these things. You You remember when Jesus healed the man that had the withered hand on the Sabbath? Nobody questioned the legitimacy of the miracle. You know what they questioned? Is he allowed to do a miracle on the Sabbath, right? He's saying, "You saw signs and wonders." This this is anecdotal to them, but this is pretty important because they were the ones that saw it. You saw signs and wonders. This is the one that I'm going to present to you. You saw that God did it by him. Verse 23. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel, and fornowledge of God, ye have taken, by wicked hands and have crucified and slain. Man, you should circle that verse because here's what it says. God determined that this would happen. The Bible says before the foundation of the world, Christ was slain. But at the same time, they were guilty of choosing to do it. God determined. He he gives us these words. He says in verse number 23, he says uh by this and the determinate counsel and fornowledge of God. This was going to happen. This was not just for knowledge. This was determinative knowledge. It was going to happen. And at the same time, you took him and you slayed him and you crucified him. gives us this idea of the great sovereignty of God and at the same time the culpable responsibility of the choice of man. Can those things happen at the same time? Oh man, what a great God. What a great God that can have determinate knowledge and fornowledge but it does not impose upon the choice of man. So he says here's what happened. God determined this would happen by his knowledge. He knew what would happen. But you did it. You are still guilty of it. He laid his life down, but you're still guilty of taking it. He said this happened at the same time.
Then verse 24, whom God hath raised up, having loosened the panges of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. the the verbiage that is used here has this idea of this word pangs has the idea of a lady who's pregnant and there begins to be labor pains. Right? We we have eight children and we've been in the hospital numerous times. There's a couple times that the doctor was late, wasn't there yet, and the nurses say the most crazy thing in the world. You're just gonna have to wave. Don't start pushing. You're just gonna have to wait. And all moms across the world go, "Okay, no problem. You want me to come back next week? Schedule next month? What What do you want?" No, no, no. We understand what they're saying. I mean, nurses are capable and they want that doctor to be there and and they're saying that just in that sense of the smallest temporary reality because as those pains increase, you think she's going to hold that baby in Yeah, she doesn't want to hold even if she wanted to hold that baby. You think she's going to hold that baby in? No. And there's sometimes it takes longer than others and sometimes it's complicated and sometimes it's easy. Everybody has a story. But here's the reality. Baby's coming. Baby's coming. How many times have a doctor or a nurse or husband heard this? I don't want to do this. I quit. I changed my mind. Sorry. Baby is coming. You cannot hold that baby in. This is the language that is used for Jesus Christ. When he died and he died and he's put into the grave, death could not hold him. Amen, man. He is coming out of the grave. That's the language that he uses here as he says, man, this is what is taking place. God raised him up having loosened the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. This is going to happen. You're like, well, this resurrection can't be true. It can't be true because it's NOT POSSIBLE FOR SOMEBODY to be raised from the dead. Peter's like, "You got the language wrong." It wasn't possible for him to stay dead. Wasn't possible. It resurrection's impossible. It's never happened this way. Yeah. It means it's pretty special, isn't it? So, this is what he uses. He gives this emotional anecdotal argument that you saw the signs and wonders. God knew it was going to happen. You're complicit in it. And as he died and was laid in that tomb, God said, "He's coming out of the grave. Nothing you can do about it. Nothing you can do about it." You can imagine them saying, "Yeah, yeah, but yeah, but." And so now he's going to get and prove it according to the scriptures.
Look what he says. Verse number 25. For David speaketh concerning him. The hymn in that verse is Christ. You can put that in. For David speaketh concerning Christ. I foraw the Lord always before my face. For he is on my right hand that I should not be moved. Now, sometimes we read that and we're like, "He just must be bringing up David because David's important to them." No, no. It's not so much that it is David and and and it's significant, but it's David's the one that said it. And this is very important. When we get into the New Testament and we see something like it is written or David said or Elijah said, Jeremiah said, what should we probably do? Go back and look where he said it. Okay? Okay. So, take your Bibles and turn back to Psalm 16. Psalm 16 is a messianic psalm. It is the psalm that Peter is using to prove that God raised Jesus from the dead. Oh, let me let me let me restate it. This is a psalm that Peter uses to prove that the Messiah would be raised from the dead, right? He's going to prove that the Messiah would be raised from the dead. So, when they're looking for a Messiah, they're looking for somebody who was put into death, but not left in death. Then, he's going to connect the dots to Jesus. So, look what it says in Psalm 16. David is writing this psalm and he says, "Preserve me, oh God, for in thee do I put my trust, oh my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, thou art my Lord. My goodness extend not to thee." I just love that. My soul said, "Thou unto the Lord, thou art my Lord, but the saints are in the earth, and the excellent to whom is all thy delight. Their sorrows be multiplied. They hasten to another God. They drink offering of blood. I will not offer nor take their names to my lips. I'm not going to serve some other god. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup and my maintenance. Uh, maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places. Yay, have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord who hath given me counsel. My reigns also instruct me in the night season. Like, is this talking about Jesus? Right. Oh man, can can you imagine Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and he's wrestling and praying? If it be possible, let this cup pass from me, but not my will, but thy will be done. That the father give him counsel. That the father say, "This cup is not passing from you." You're going forward. My will will be accomplished. He's quoting this. And then he says there in verse number nine, "Therefore, my heart is glad." Uh, verse eight, I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. You're like, hold on a second. Hold on a second. How can this be talking about Jesus? How can Jesus set the Lord before him and at his right hand? You know what that reminds me of? That reminds me of the Trinity. That God Elohim, he is the determiner. He is the authority. He is the father. and he is determining the path that would be taken and Christ who is going to implement that path and always obey the will of the father and be obedient to him and then the holy spirit who will come and give him portion and will come alongside of him and will minister to him he'll minister to him throughout h his earthly ministry and this is the picture of how Jesus traveled to the earth following and obeying the father and walking in fellowship with the holy spirit he says because of this I'm in a right position I shall not be moved. So he says this in verse number nine, therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope. When you see flesh there, you need to talk about Jesus as a person who's living on the earth. My flesh shall rest in hope. The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that Jesus looked on and for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame. He says, "For thou will not leave my soul in hell, neither will thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption." The word for hell here, shol, is is the idea of the word of the grave. this place. And we even go to the New Testament and the book of Luke and we see that the rich man went to hell, a place of torment. But Lazarus went to this place in shield, this place in Hades, this place of resting in Abraham's bosom. This is this place of death. And so he says this, "You're not going to leave me dead. You're not going to leave me in the grave, and you'll not suffer thy holy one to see corruption." When we hear the word corruption, you know what we think about? We think about somebody that's messed up, right? They've been corrupted. We think about somebody who was running a business and all of a sudden they started cheating and and their business led to corruption and now there's charges and they're and they're guilty. That's not what this word corruption here is talking about. You know, this is corruption talking about it's talking about decay. According to Jewish tradition, this corruption would start on the third day. It started on the third day. That's why when Jesus came to Martha and Mary and Lazarus had been in the grave four days, you know what she said? Lord, he stinkketh corruption has set in. So, not only do we see that this Messiah is one who will die and go to hell, the grave, but also he will not be there long enough to start incorruption. Paul will say it this way in Acts 13 that his flesh will not be in corruption. That his flesh will not be So we're looking we're looking for a Messiah that's going to die and then before the fourth day is raised again. That's what we're looking for according to the Psalms. And then he says, "For thou will show me the paths of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there is pleasure forever more. So not only do we see this Messiah die and he's going to be not left there, he's going to be returned before corruption. And where is he going to end up? At the right hand of the father.
So let's go back to Acts and see how Peter uses this psalm. Look what it says in Acts. He says this about what David says. He says, "Therefore, David speaketh concerning him." Verse 25, "I saw the Lord always before me, before my face, for he is on my right hand. I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. Moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope, because thou will not leave my soul in hell. Neither will thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption." You see how Peter just quoted it, right? He just quoted it. Then he says this in verse 28, "Thou hast made known unto me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance." So he's referencing the psalm. This is this what a good preacher does. He starts with the text. He gives the text. Now watch him explain the text. Look what it says in this next verse. As he begins, he reads the text and he looks back up at him. He says, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his supplr is with us unto this day." Here's what he's saying. Okay, guys, did you hear me read this psalm about that this Messiah, this one, this one is going to go to hell and then he's going to be raised up from hell before corruption and then he's going to be in the presence of the father. And he says, "Let me tell you about David. David's dead." And guess what? We still have a supplr. What does that mean about David's body? It's in corruption. It has decayed. It's decayed. This is very practical message. He says, "Hey, Psalm 16 can't be talking about David because David is dead and his body's still in the grave." So he says that can't be who he's talking about.
So he says this verse number 30, "Therefore being a prophet, who's being a prophet? David is being a prophet. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath unto him that one uh that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne." Like how do we know that? Take your Bibles and turn to the book of Second Samuel. 2 Samuel. Let me put it this way. Peter thought it was important that the people that he was trying to convince that he would convince them according to the scriptures. So if we're here today and I'm trying to convince you, how should I do it? According to the scriptures. 2 Samuel chapter number seven. This is in this Davidic covenant that God is giving this covenant to David. And he begins, he says in verse number 12, 2 Samuel and verse number 12, "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers." Everybody know what it means to sleep with your fathers. David is going to die. He says, "When thy days are filled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom." Whose kingdom is he going to establish? One from the seed of David. Okay? And when he establishes his kingdom, look what he says. I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasen him with a rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men. But my mercy shall not depart away from him. I took it from Saul whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee. Thy throne shall be established forever. One of the seed of David, one of the seed of David would God says, "I'll be his father and he'll be my son." You know what will be required of him? Perfection. Perfection will be required of him. He says, "That one, I'll set up his kingdom. And he's going to sit on the throne of David." So Peter's telling to these these learned men of the Jews, he says, according to Psalms, somebody's going to have to die and be raised again before corruption comes. And that same one is going to be in the presence of God at the right hand of the father. And here's what David said. David knew that he would die. And being a prophet, he said, "My seed is going to come and he'll sit on the throne."
So go back to Acts chapter 2 and look what it says. Therefore, being a prophet, verse number 30, and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that the fruit of his loins according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ. We hear that Christ like, how do you know Christ? He'll he'll raise up the anointed one. He'll raise up the Messiah. He'll raise up the one who is going to be fulfilled from Psalm 16 and the one that is promised in 2 Samuel. We know him as Christ, but his title is also the Christ. So he says he's going to sit on the throne. Verse 31, he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we are all witnesses. Man, look at look how he ties the knots to puts the the what's the things. Yeah. Yeah. He draws him a picture. I got so many words in my brain the words I want don't come out. Isn't it interesting here that we we uh from our religious context often just simply use synonymously the concept of Christ and Jesus. But here, Christ is the anointed one. He's the Messiah. And he says, "Here's what David said. David, bring a prophet." He saw it ahead of time. He said that there's coming an anointed one, a Christ, a Messiah who would follow the Father and he would have the Lord before him and at his right hand. He would not be moved, but then his soul would go to hell, would go to the grave, would go to shil, and then he would be brought back before corruption set in. And he will ultimately be set at the right hand of the father. And David knew it would be of his loins, of his seed, that would be one
That would call him Father, and He would call him son. And He says, "And that one has come." And you know who it is? It's Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jesus Christ called the Father, Father. And the Father said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased." He's declaring this claim that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah who would taste death for every man. But He would not stay in the grave. He would be resurrected before corruption of His flesh set in. And wouldn't you know, we're only 50 days back from the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Peter says this, "Everything that David said, it just happened. It just happened." Who'd it happen to? It happened to that guy who did all the signs and wonders. It happened to the one who spake with such authority. He is the one that, according to the scriptures, would die and be risen again and now be at the right hand of the Father. So He claims that Jesus, this man Jesus, was raised by Christ, proving according to the scriptures He is THE MESSIAH.
"Like, preacher, I already believed all that." Well, praise the Lord. I'm glad you do. But can I tell you, you need to understand it's true not just because you believe it. It's true because it is foretold by Christ. It has been laid out by Christ and the Father. And now it has been fulfilled by Christ and the Father. And Peter, on this day, can take the text of the Jewish people and say, "Let me show it to you. Let me show it to you." And He explains that this man is the Christ.
But He doesn't stop there. Look what He says. He says, "We're all witnesses." Verse number 33, He does what any good preacher says. He says, "Therefore, therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He has shed forth this which you do now see and hear. For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself, 'The Lord said unto the Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool.'" He quotes another psalm. He quotes Psalm 110. Would you turn to Psalm 110? I could tell you it's there, but I want you to see it.
Look what it says in Psalm 110. You got to understand this is pretty remarkable language. Psalm 110. Look at what the claim is. Not just that this man Christ or man Jesus is the Anointed One, the Christ, but more than that. It says in Psalm 110, verse number one, "The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool."
Now, can you understand what He's saying? Do we know who the Lord is? Did the Jews know who the Lord was? Yeah. And the Lord said to my Lord, the Lord, the Father said to the Son, "Sit now at my right hand." Hey friend, you know why He could sit down? In the Old Testament, we're going through Leviticus on Sunday night. Tonight's the peace offering. Can't wait. And the priests would go in in the tabernacle, in the temple, in the holy place, and in the most holy place, no chairs. No chairs at all. You know why? Because the sacrifices were never done. They were never done. Daily they'd go to the brazen altar. Daily they'd go to the holy place and they'd light the altar at the incense and they eat of the table of showbread and they'd light the wicks of the menorah. And then once a year, on Yom Kippur, the high priest would go into the most holy place and he would take the blood of the bullock for himself, and then they take the blood of the goat and then put it on upon the horns of the altar, and then he'd come out again, and he'd come out again, and they'd say, "Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord." But he couldn't sit down. You know why? He ain't done. Not done. You ever see those guys that sit down at work? You know what they're saying? "I'm done. Done." The work's not done.
But oh friend, when Christ died upon the cross and offered Himself as a sacrifice, the blood of Christ is sufficient for the remission of the sins of the whole world. And then He took that blood and presented it to the Father. He told Mary, He said, "Not yet. I've not gone to the Father yet." And He went and He presented that flood, that blood in the tabernacle of heaven. And He presented upon the altar of God. And the Lord says to my Lord, "Sit. We're done. It's finished."
But the cool part that David is saying to these Jewish men, that this Anointed One, this man that God has raised from the dead, is the Lord God in the presence of the Father. He said He is the Lord God. "Sit thou at my right hand." My friend, one day He's going to get up. He's going to come back. You know why He'll have authority? Because He is the Lord God.
He says in the passage, "Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye crucified both Lord and Christ. He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One that died for the sins of the world, was placed in hell, and before corruption set in, He was risen from the grave by the knowledge of God. And He is now not just risen from the grave." You're like, "Why did Jesus have to ascend? Why did He have to go? Why couldn't He just stay here? He's going to live forever. Why couldn't He just stay here forever?" Can I just tell you why? He's God and He has a throne.
And so after He sacrificed Himself as the Christ, was risen again, and met with His disciples and said, "Now you're going to carry on my work," He ascended to the Father, and He was there at the Father and sat down at the right hand. And Peter says, "Hey, here's what you need to know, men of Israel. This One you crucified, God hath made Him Lord and Christ."
"This is who I'm declaring to you. This is who you have crucified. This is who you're guilty before." And so they say in verse number 37, "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do? What shall we do?' You're saying we're guilty before the Anointed One, the risen One, the Christ Messiah, and guilty before the Lord. What shall we do?"
Hey, can I help you? Can I help you? As much as they loved their Jewish heritage, you know what they knew that day? Their Jewish heritage could not deliver them. Their religion could not deliver them. All of their activities, religious activities, and their fastings and their fastings and all the stuff that they would engage in could not deliver them because they were guilty before the Lord and the Christ. And so the only thing they could say is, "What shall we do?"
It's totally different sometimes, and maybe sometimes we get church wrong. Can we admit sometimes we get church wrong? In my brain, sometimes I get church wrong. I think this, okay, when they come today, I'm going to tell them what to do. I'm going to tell them what to do. And if they do it, everything's going to be okay. Here's what Peter did. He took the word of God and he preached Christ, and they were convicted in their hearts and they couldn't help but ask, "What shall we do?"
Hey friend, that's when you know you're ready for the response. "What shall we do?" I can't go, I can't go away from here without an answer. "What shall we do?" Here's what Peter says, and we'll expound upon this next week. Then Peter said unto them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Every one of you."
Hey, Jesus Christ, He came, but He came for every single one. He didn't come to save a nation. He came to save individuals. The Bible's going to tell us 3,000 are going to respond. 3,000. In our brain, we're like, "What? 3,000? That's crazy." Now, remember, we're at Pentecost. The population of Jerusalem would greatly be inflated at this time. And often they would say almost two million people would be making their way in from Passover to Pentecost.
And here Peter is. We think of church like this way. Everybody sat together and they sang some songs and then they took an offering, you know, and we don't even take an offering. There's a box outside. Please give to the Lord. Okay. And we we we and then afterwards we're like, "We're going to have baptism." In fact, we're about to show a video of baptism this morning, and we're going to have baptism. There's a line of 3,000 guys lined up, and Peter's like, "Okay, next. Okay, baptize." No, no. You know where they're at? They're at the temple. All around the temple are these places. They're called mikvahs. They're baptistries. They have a set of steps going down the right side and a set of steps going down the left side. And on a normal sacrifice, they would bring that lamb, and that lamb would be given to an observer. And the observer would watch the one bringing the sacrifice to go down into the bottom of that water. And then he would immerse himself. And it demonstrated that I'm putting all my sin upon the sacrifice. There's nothing left of me. It's all going on him. And he would come back up, and he would go back up the other side, take that sacrifice and go and take that and put his hand upon the lamb and slay the lamb as a sacrifice.
And here's what Peter said. You need to repent and believe. And believe in what? THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST, the risen Christ, the Lord Christ. And so when you go down that mikvah, man, I'm going, and it's not something, nothing between me and that lamb. There's nothing between me and the Lamb of God, which is Jesus Christ. "Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." And there, I can imagine in my brain, these apostles, there's 12 of them, and they're divided out, and the others that are part of that church, and they're going over and they're telling the normal Jewish observer, "Would you mind stepping out of the way here for a minute, please? We've got some business to do." And they would stand there and they'd watch that new believer go down and say, "Man, I put my faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ." And they would immerse themselves to demonstrate, like He was buried, I was buried, but I came back up, like He was risen, I am risen. And then he'd come up, and he says, "This is the demonstration of the remission of sins because you put your faith and trust in Christ. And look, you demonstrated it by baptism." 3,000 all day long. There's these new believers. That little lamb they brought to Jerusalem didn't die that day because that day they put their faith in the Lamb.
Peter says, "Repent and be baptized." Like, what a great sermon, Preacher Peter, preached. Can I tell you, men are still living, men are still breathing, and the sacrifice of Christ is still sufficient.
There's really only two positions you can be in. One, you can be in the position where you're guilty of your sins before Christ, and Christ died for you, and He rose again, proving His victory, and He offers you salvation and forgiveness and remission of sins. But you must ask, "What must we do? What must we do?" And just like Peter said on that day, "Repent. Believe. Demonstrate that belief through baptism. Prove it through baptism. Your sins shall be remitted."
"That preacher, I already know I'm a Christian. I've already been forgiven." Praise the Lord. "I already demonstrated it by the picture of baptism." Praise the Lord. That's a blessing. Can I tell you, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and the fact that He's still at the right hand of the Father, is the greatest truth and greatest fact that any believer could ever know. And it still should be making believers feel and say, "What must I do?" Yeah. "What must I do?" For salvation? But "What must I do?" What can I do to serve the One who saved me?
Sometimes we get so callous at the foundational facts of the scripture. We come to church and we leave church and never ask the One who saved us, "What must I do?" Can I tell you, then all you've got is religion. And the scripture, the word here, it spit a dagger into their heart and said, "No, what must I do?" Somehow we've sold some sort of Christianity that is not an all-in Christianity. Can I tell you, there is no part-time Christianity? There is no "I'll give Jesus my Sundays" Christianity. The only response to anyone that hears and knows the truth that He is the Lord and Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father is, "What must I do?" And the reason that the world can overlook Christianity so much is because Christians have stopped asking their Lord and Savior, "What must I do?" If we won't ask it, why would they ever ask it?
And so Peter preaches on that day. I'm telling you, he just keeps on going. It's awesome. Can't wait to get to the next part next week, but you know, I want people to come back. So, we're going to stop that.
What a powerful day that was. But can I say, can I tell you, the Jesus that Peter preached on that day is still at the right hand of the Father on this day. He is still the Lord and Christ. He is still the means of remission of sins. And He's still the One that we should heed. Peter said on that day, "Ye men of Israel," but I say on this day, "People of Cornerstone Baptist Church, He is the Lord and the Christ. Submit yourself to Him."
Lord, I pray that You'd help us, that You would do a work in our heart, that the power of the word of God and the moving of the Holy Spirit would compel us, would confront us to ask, "Lord, what must I do?" Lord, maybe there's some here today that they need to ask that question so that they can know how to receive remission of sins, forgiveness of sins, justification before their God. Maybe they don't know if they died today where they'd spend eternity, and they need to be compelled to ask, "What must I do?" And Lord, no doubt there are Christians that are here today that hearing this truth that they already believe, but that that belief, what they believe will get a hold of them. And so that they would be compelled to ask, "What must I do?" I pray that You'd help us as a piano plays this morning. Just like on that day, there was a time of response. On this day, there's a time of response. You can come to the altar or right there in your seat. Just like the call was for every one of you, so the call in this day is for every one of you. If you need Christ as your Savior, you need to come let somebody take the Bible and show you how you can know that He is your Savior and your God. If you're a believer, man, you need to be asking, "Lord, what do You want me to do? How do You want me to live? How do You want me to serve You? How do You want me to obey You? You're my God. You're my Lord. You died for me. You rose again for me. You are presently at the right hand of the Father making intercession for me. What must I do?" Amen.
Would you look this way? There's going to be a video of the baptism from this morning. We'd like to celebrate that with them. And so guys, if you go ahead and play that video and find Brooke and Lindsay today, tell them congratulations. And so we're excited about that this morning.
Hey guys, we're super excited for baptism this morning. We have Lindsay and Brooke. And Lindsay, you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Yes. And she was saved at 11 and she's baptizing as part of membership. And Brooke, you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, and she was saved as a kid and now ready for baptism. So, we're super excited about that. And so we're going to pray, and Gavin's going to pray for us this morning.
Father God, thank You so much for the gathering here just to celebrate what is a step of faith. We already believe that salvation has occurred, Lord, and this is just the acting out of that salvation according to Your word. We thank You so much for this privilege of everyone getting to be here and to see this. Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Amen. Okay. Come on in. All right. Come on. Like I mentioned, it's a little silly. And so you'll just grab my wrist. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your Savior? I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. Buried in the likeness of death, raised in the likeness of resurrection. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your Savior? Yes. I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Buried in the likeness of death, raised in the likeness of resurrection. Praise the Lord. Thank you guys. Action.
Hey guys, we're super excited for baptism this morning. We have Lind. Let's pray. Father, I just want to thank You, God, for how good You are. Lord, thank You for the baptisms today. Thank You for the message. Lord, I just couldn't help but think of Paul's words in Ephesians where he's talking about the great blessings that we have in Christ. And one of those blessings, Lord, is that He says specifically that we get to know the mystery of the will of God. And Lord, there's people out there who are guessing. They're trying to figure out what You want. They're trying to figure out who You are. Lord, are You angry? Are You only condemning? Are You all these different things that people will try to figure out, Lord, and they're all wrong because they don't have the truth. But Lord, as those of us who know Christ, who have the Holy Spirit, Lord, we get to sit back and we get to see the grand mystery that You have established before the world began. And we get to rejoice, Lord, because we are a part of that story. We are part of that mystery. Lord, we want to praise You for how good You are. And if there is someone today, Lord, who has not bowed the knee, Lord, who has not accepted You as Savior, Lord, they are too part of that story. Every man must stand before You, whether being welcomed into heaven, Lord, or in judgment. So Lord, I pray that You would do Your work. And God, if there is someone who needs to accept You today, that they would not put it off. May the rest of us live with confidence asking the question that that pastor posed to us today. Lord, what would You have me to do? Lord, give us safety as we go our separate ways in Jesus' name. Amen.