KNOW THIS (Closed captioned)

[Please rise] for the reading of this morning's Sermon Text recorded for us by Luke in the Book of Acts, where we read from Chapter 4, beginning with Verse 8: THEN PETER, FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT SAID TO THEM: "RULERS AND ELDERS OF THE PEOPLE! IF WE ARE BEING CALLED TO ACCOUNT TODAY FOR AN ACT OF KINDNESS SHOWN TO A CRIPPLE AND ARE ASKED HOW HE WAS HEALED, THEN KNOW THIS, YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE IN [ALL THE PEOPLE OF] ISRAEL: IT IS BY THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, WHOM YOU CRUCIFIED BUT WHOM GOD RAISED FROM THE DEAD, THAT THIS MAN STANDS BEFORE YOU COMPLETELY HEALED HE IS " 'THE STONE YOU BUILDERS REJECTED, WHICH HAS BECOME THE CAPSTONE.' SALVATION IS FOUND IN NO ONE ELSE, FOR THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN TO MEN BY WHICH WE MUST BE SAVED." Let us pray: This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Amen. [Text taken from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, 1973, 1978, 1984, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers] Dear Followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: There were so many things that occurred on that first Easter Sunday. If we look at the events that happened in the lives of the disciples, it is almost mind-boggling the roller coaster of emotions that those men and women were on. Those women who went to the tomb carrying 75 pounds of spices, to embalm Jesus' body concerned and worried how they were even going to get in. And then to find that the stone had been rolled away and Jesus' body wasn't there. But then to see the angels that were there and an angel who spoke with them and told them not to be afraid! The fear ... the joy ... the amazement. Mary herself attacking whom she thinks is the gardener that has taken Jesus' body, only to find out minutes later that it is her Lord and Savior Himself. The joy ... the amazement! The disciples themselves running to the tomb to find out what was going on. To see with their own eyes what had happened. Those disciples that were on their way to Emmaus who were discussing with each other all of the things that had happened in just a matter of seven days. All of the news from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem to the whole suffering and death and then their departure. Only to have someone come and stand among them to teach them this is what had to happen. And when they begged that man to sit down with them and eat and stay with them and He broke the bread and they realized it was Jesus Himself! What JOY must have filled their lives from the depression that they had and Jesus then disappeared. And they got up and went back to Jerusalem. Because they had news to tell. There were things that were happening. And they were gathered together, those disciples, in that locked room and Jesus comes and stands in the middle of them. Because they were afraid. There was terror of what the Jews were going to do to them and Jesus Himself comes to them and says: Peace. Peace be with you. Look. Here I am. I have flesh and bones. I am alive. And if you don't believe Me by what you see and what you can touch, give Me something to eat. And they had joy and amazement. All of this emotional turmoil must have been draining for the disciples. But yet, Jesus coming to them said: Now you are going to go into action. This isn't the end. This is the beginning. And I am going to send you out. You people are going to be My witnesses. You are the ones who are going to go and tell what you have seen. Tell what you know about. Proclaim Jesus Christ once you receive the Holy Spirit and that power from God the Father Himself. And in our sermon text for this morning, we see Peter acting with that power. We see Peter standing before the ruling council of the Jews. No longer afraid are the disciples. No longer locked in a room, but they are out doing what God told them to do. They are telling the news of Jesus Christ. They healed a crippled man by the power of God and they got in trouble for it. But Peter stands before that ruling council, before those elders of the church, and doesn't back down. He has no fear. He said: If you people think that you have brought us here because we did an act of kindness, because we healed someone ... you KNOW THIS and you better pay attention to it. Because it wasn't us. It has nothing to do with us as the disciples. It has everything to do with Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And KNOW THIS: He is the One who was crucified. He is the One who was raised from the dead, and His is the ONLY name by which people will be saved. The strength, and the power that the Holy Spirit supplies in the life of a believer is tremendous and transforming. And you and I have that Spirit. You and I have that same Spirit of God working with us and working within us. And yet, you and I like those disciples, sometimes in our lives can get so overwhelmed with what is going on. So overwhelmed with the events of our lives, and the fears that we have, and the joys that we have, and the things that pile on, time after time after time. And all of that amazement in our life. But yet, God comes to us as well. And He says: Peace be with you. And get the message that you, you are the people who are to go out and tell. You are the people who have the message. You know what God did. And you have the power of the Spirit to go out and share that knowledge. To tell others in the world to KNOW THIS. To KNOW Jesus Christ of Nazareth ... who is our Lord and He is our Savior. Who has accomplished EVERYTHING for us. Just like He told the disciples that He was there to fulfill all of the Old Testament; the prophets, the Law; He kept those things perfectly. Even from our Psalm this morning: "THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CAPSTONE." [PSALM 118:22] The stone that got placed at the top of the arch. The stone that took all of the pressure from all of the stones leading up to it. To hold it in place. To keep it solid. To keep it steady. Because if it cracked or it had a flaw, or it had a weakness, the arch would fall. But Christ didn't have any weakness. He didn't have any flaw. He had the strength of God and He carried out God's will. And people rejected Him. The Jews rejected Him and they crucified Him. Jesus was crucified by the Jews, through the power of Pilate, but by the will of God. As the payment for our sins. As the payment to wash away our sins. And you know this. This is so important to your life because you know you can't hide your sins. You can't make them go away. You can't erase them. How often in our life aren't we troubled by those things that we do because they come back to us. In different form. In different ways. People don't forget the things that we've said. Or the things that we've done. No matter how many years pass between the event and today. We can't erase it. We can't get our way into heaven. It is only through Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins that they have been removed from us. And we know that. And that is our faith. And that makes a difference in our life. The Apostle John wrote that means that we're not going to sin because we live in the life of God. We no longer live in that darkness of sin. If we say we're not sinful, we're liars. We're making God out to be something less than what He is and His sacrifice meant nothing. We know how great that sacrifice was. And we know what it means to us. So in thanks for all that God has done, we live in that forgiveness. We go back to Him for that comfort and then we know how to comfort those who sin against us. How to speak to each other without grudges, without resentment. Without making them jump through some hoops that God didn't make us jump through. To simply and from the heart say: You are forgiven. Christ died for your sins. Christ forgives you. I forgive you. Know this. Know this because it is such a change in perspective in our lives. We are not perfect. Christ was! We are forgiven, each of us for every one of our shortcomings, and every one of our faults. And, therefore, we rejoice! We rejoice that Christ was crucified. We also rejoice that God raised Him from the dead. That God did not allow Him to stay in that tomb, but put that sacrifice and said: This is the atonement that I sent. It is the atonement that I was looking for. And I will raise My Son from the dead to prove that it was acceptable. He will conquer death and He will bring life, eternal life, to those who believe in Him. KNOW THIS! And we do. It IS our comfort in life that knowing that our eternity is secure and it is taken care of. That doesn't mean that we are going to struggle with it and be frightened of death at some time. But we come back to the knowledge that God has said. He didn't say our life as Christians was going to be easy and we were going to lay our head on a feather pillow in a featherbed and pass peacefully in our sleep. He said we are going to die. And for some of us that's going to be painful, and for some of us it may hurt. And for some of us it may be long and drawn out, and for others of us it may be quick. And that's a sobering thought. But the reality is and the truth is, that does not matter in comparison to what happens when the soul separates from the body and goes to be with Christ. Where there is ALL perfection and ALL glory to be with God for all eternity does not compare at all ... to anything in this life. But our human nature wants to make it all about here. And I'M in control of my life. And I am the one who determines what makes my life fit to live or someone else's life fit to live and I have the right and authority to take that life into my hands if I do it lovingly and mercifully. And only God has that right. He gave us life. He will take that life from us in His time. And we rejoice that He gives to us eternal life because of His Son. And that knowledge calms our fears. That knowledge keeps us steady in the days when it looks like it's going to be long and difficult. But we know God still loves us. We KNOW THIS. And that's what we need to share with people ... to give THEM comfort. To give THEM hope for what is in the future and be able to stand at the bedside of our family members or our church members and strengthen them at that moment of death. Coming with strong words of encouragement from Christ, with love and understanding. Reminding them their sins are forgiven and heaven is theirs. That God has prepared a place for them and He's coming to take them to be with Him. To strengthen that faith in those days when it is going to be severely tested. So that they will KNOW the comfort of Jesus Christ. Because there is no other name. There is no other way to salvation other than through Jesus Christ. other than through Jesus Christ. That statement has such power and such weight for us. It is our motivation and it is our strength. We're not playing games here. We're not just trying to make a better world. We're not just trying to keep people in line. We are bringing people the salvation of Jesus Christ. The forgiveness of sins ... eternal life in His name. There is no other option. There is no other way. Do you know that? Do you trust that? Because sometimes I think our human nature gets dulled to that fact. There must be some other way. God's gonna kinda be loving. All of this stuff really doesn't matter. It does. Because faith in Jesus Christ IS what saves. And those people that you know who don't know that are not saved. Those people who believe in something OTHER than Jesus Christ are not saved. And we have that knowledge. And back to the fact that we have the power. We have the power of the Holy Spirit. And no one is denying, even from Irene this morning, that sometimes that's scary. Sometimes that makes us nervous. Sometimes that makes it difficult. But what other option do we have? We who have the knowledge, we who know Jesus Christ ... what's our option? what's our option? There isn't. There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we are saved. And thank God He has shared that knowledge with us. Thank God we KNOW THIS. Now let us show our appreciation as we tell others to KNOW THIS as well. Amen. Let us rise. Now may the peace of God which goes beyond all of our understanding keep your hearts and your minds and especially your lives in the one true faith unto life everlasting. Amen.