The Kerygma

Thank you, Ellen, and thank you, Agnes, for sharing that for us.

Last week was fun.

Got to hear Joyce and just the stuff that they do.

Again, I said she's not a superhero.

She's just a simple person who said a simple yes

That ended up doing supernatural things.

And that's all of us here.

That's all of us here.

Whether you're called to the Congo,

or whether you're called to Admiralty,

or whether you're called to Aberdeen,

it really doesn't matter.

The question really is,

are you saying yes to God?

But let me just give you one quick warning now

when it comes to that.

Please don't do any of those things

out of the goodness of your own heart.

Don't do it because you just want to be a good person.

Hey, I just want to do this because I got money.

They don't.

I got time.

They don't.

I got skills.

They don't.

Let me just help you because I'm better than you.

Don't do it out of the goodness of your own heart.

Does anyone remember?

Last week I asked Joyce,

what was the secret to doing all of this?

And it was her last point.

Does anyone remember what the secret was?

Yes, cue on.

Falling in love with God.

Don't do it out of the goodness of your own heart.

Do it because you are deeply loved.

And there is a love that's inside you

that you can't help but express out.

That you can't help but have it overflow

into the different settings that God is calling you to.

The question really is,

how do you get that love?

There was a quote that she quoted

that I'll paraphrase now by a guy called Paul Washer.

And it was this,

a passion for souls comes from a passion for Christ.

A passion for mission comes from a passion for Christ.

If you don't have a passion for Christ,

you don't really have a passion for anything.

And so all of this has to come from that place of love.

The question I have for us today is,

how do we have that love?

How do we get to that place

where we are truly in knowledge of that kind of love?

And really it comes down to one thing,

the gospel.

The gospel.

Who grew up in the church here?

Just put your hand up if you grew up in the church.

You will, well I hope, I think,

you will know what the gospel means.

I usually like to pick on Gabs.

I want to carry on with that trend right here.

Gabs, if I asked you what the,

how you would define the gospel

in just one sentence or two,

what would you say?

Yeah.

I put him on the spot to do that.

And one, I know because I know that he can.

But two, really, we all should be able to do that.

If someone goes to us and says,

what's the good news?

Would you be able to say it?

We are more broken than we actually understand,

but we're actually far more loved.

That's so similar to what Keller says.

That we are far worse than we ever imagined,

but far more loved than we ever dare dream.

There's something about that that is so important

when it comes to what the gospel is in your own heart.

Keep on, what's the gospel for you?

What's the good news for you?

The story of the creator of the universe

coming down to die.

Of course, ever the director,

there's a story.

That's what it is.

We're real people with real problems

in need of a real savior.

And that is the gospel.

We've been going through the book of Acts.

If you look at the book of Acts,

actually a third of it is speeches.

It's actually people explaining what the gospel is.

Whether it's Peter,

which is what we're going to go through today,

or whether it's Paul,

or whether it's Stephen,

just before he gets killed,

there is a speech that is delivered.

St. Francis of Assisi was the one who said,

preach the gospel at all times,

use words when necessary,

to the effect of,

hey, we should be preaching the gospel with our lives.

It should be just the way we live.

And so a lot of us Christians,

especially the ones who are a little bit more scared

and cautious,

we'll be like,

oh, well, I'll just preach the gospel

just with the way I live.

And that's enough.

And I can tell you here,

actually, that's not,

if I was just to add that,

and someone else added this,

it wasn't me,

preach the gospel at all times,

use words when necessary,

and it is always necessary.

How good are we at actually using our words

to communicate what the gospel is?

And I'm not talking about

standing in front of a group of people,

talking for 30, 40 minutes on a sermon.

I'm not talking about that.

I'm saying,

can you,

in two sentences or less,

tell people why the good news is the good news

and why it's changed your life?

That is essential

because we're in a time and a place

where there is a deep, deep need for that.

And you see Peter here doing that.

Just to recap,

just to rewind your mind of what has happened.

The day of Pentecost happened.

Boom,

a reversal of the Tower of Babel.

Boom,

a reversal of the law coming.

Now the Spirit comes

and it's not just on one person.

It's not just on Moses.

It's on everyone.

And they start speaking

all these different languages.

Any language you can think of,

anything under the earth,

they're speaking it

and you're like,

wow,

the people there are like,

whoa,

what's going on here?

What's the commotion?

What's the chaos?

The Holy Spirit has come upon them.

Actually,

it's interesting.

The crowd,

when they spill out of the upper room

onto the streets,

the crowd are just like,

what is going on?

And the words that are used

to describe them

in Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

are,

they're astonished,

they're bewildered,

they're perplexed,

they're amazed,

they mock.

These guys must be drunk.

And it's at that point,

Peter,

impulsive,

uneducated,

Peter,

the one who betrayed,

who said to Jesus

in front of everyone,

God,

where Jesus,

wherever you go,

I will go.

And then 10 minutes later,

gets scared when a little girl

asks him,

aren't you with Jesus?

And he's like,

no,

no,

that wasn't me.

That Peter,

that Peter who gets restored

by Jesus by the fireplace,

stands up and explains

to the people,

hey,

these guys aren't drunk,

it's 9 o'clock in the morning.

Something else has happened.

Today

is the birthday

of the church.

Today,

there is no turning back.

And then he explains,

and he gives this speech.

And it's interesting,

these people go from mocking

and being perplexed

and being astonished

to suddenly being cut to the heart

is Acts 2.37.

What did he say?

And I'll tell you,

as we were worshipping there,

I was praying,

I was like,

God,

don't let me say anything

that you aren't saying here.

I'm going to treat these next,

this next time here,

what we're about to read,

what I'm about to open up

as just the words of God

that led people

from being perplexed

and mocking

to being cut to the heart.

And I'm going to ask Julian

to come up to read it for us.

Can I invite you to stand

for the word of the Lord?

But Peter,

standing with the eleven,

lifted up his voice

and addressed them,

Men of Judea

and all who dwell in Jerusalem,

let this be known to you

and give ear to my words.

For these people are not drunk,

as you suppose,

since it is only

the third hour of the day.

But this is what was uttered

through the prophet Joel.

And in the last days

it shall be,

God declares,

that I will pour out

my spirit on all flesh

and your sons

and your daughters

shall prophesy

and your young men

shall see visions

and your old men

shall dream dreams

even on my male servants

and female servants.

In those days,

I will pour out my spirit

and they shall prophesy.

And I will show wonders

in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire

and vapor of smoke.

The sun shall be turned

to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the day of the Lord comes,

the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass

that everyone who calls

upon the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

Men of Israel,

hear these words,

Jesus of Nazareth,

a man attested to you

by God with mighty works

and wonders and signs

that God did through him

in your midst,

as you yourselves know.

This Jesus delivered up

according to the definite plan

and foreknowledge of God,

you crucified and killed

by the hands of lawless men.

God raised him up,

loosing the pangs of death

because it was not possible

for him to be held by it.

For David says concerning him,

I saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand,

that I may not be shaken.

Therefore my heart was glad

and my tongue rejoiced.

My flesh also will dwell in hope,

for you will not abandon

my soul to Hades

or let your Holy One

see corruption.

You have made known to me

the paths of life.

You will make me full of gladness

with your presence.

Brothers, I may say to you

with confidence

about the patriarch David

that he both died

and was buried

and his tomb is with us

to this day.

Being therefore a prophet

and knowing that God

had sworn with an oath to him

that he would set

one of his descendants

on his throne,

he foresaw

and spoke about

the resurrection of the Christ,

that he was not abandoned

to Hades

nor did his flesh

see corruption.

This Jesus God raised up

and of that

we all are witnesses.

Being therefore exalted

at the right hand of God

and having received

from the Father

the promise of the Holy Spirit,

he was poured out

this that you yourselves

are seeing and hearing.

For David did not ascend

into the heavens,

but he himself says,

the Lord said to my Lord,

sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

your footstool.

Let all the house of Israel

therefore know for certain

that God has made him

both Lord and Christ,

this Jesus whom you crucified.

Now when they heard this,

they were cut to the heart

and said to Peter

and the rest of the apostles,

brothers,

what shall we do?

And Peter said to them,

repent and be baptized

every one of you

in the name of Jesus Christ

for the forgiveness

of your sins

and you will receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you

and for your children

and for all who are far off,

every one whom the Lord

our God calls to himself.

And with many other words,

he bore witness

and continued to exhort them,

saying,

save yourselves

from this crooked generation.

So those who received

his word were baptized

and there were added that day

about 3,000 souls.

This is the word of the Lord.

Please take a seat.

Thank you, Julian.

Holy Spirit,

we are eager to hear from you.

Not my words.

In the same spirit

that spoke through Peter,

be the same spirit

that speaks here.

You know our hearts.

You know our thoughts.

You know our context.

You know the anxieties we have,

the pride that we have.

So Holy Spirit,

would you speak today

to my friends,

to my brothers and sisters.

It's in your name we pray.

Amen.

Peter stands up

and he just displays this courage.

He's able to articulate

something that causes

3,000 people

to be just cut to the heart.

What was it that he actually showed?

It was the gospel.

People,

this sermon today

is on a sermon

and we're just going to go

through the sermon.

It's called the Kerygma.

It's called the simplest

proclamation of the gospel

and I hope that as we come

away from here,

you and I

will all be able to

at least in two,

three sentences

be able to share

what the gospel actually is

and I'll show you

some of the different parts

of the gospel

here that we can see.

I remember so clearly,

I don't know if Hank remembers,

Hank,

we had lunch

maybe a few months back

a half year ago

and Hank,

by the way,

is the chairman

of the deacons board

so when Agnes comes up

to the stage,

you know it's something important.

If there's ever a day

that Hank has to come up

and say something,

that's going to be

a really serious,

very important conversation

to have.

But there's one thing

that actually,

I don't even know

if he remembers

that he said.

He was like,

I just have a prayer

and I hope

that our pastors

and our leaders

in the church

have a deeper understanding

of the gospel.

I don't know if you,

do you remember

saying that?

You're like,

sure,

give me credit for that.

And I was struck

and I was like,

what if,

what if as pastors,

what if as leaders

didn't truly have

an understanding

of what the gospel is

in the very depths

of our heart?

I'll tell you

what it looks like

if people don't have

a true understanding

of the gospel,

you hold on to bitterness

longer than you should.

You find it hard

to forgive people.

You still gossip,

you still compare.

Because you don't truly

understand the gospel.

And so here we see

he explains

what is the kerygman.

I want to show

a couple parts.

We won't go through

verse by verse

because we only have

till 1230.

So the first thing

he does here is

he brings the history

into the present.

He brings history

into the present.

He's saying,

hey guys,

what just happened,

what is happening

isn't because

we've been just drinking

all night

and we were playing

board games

and then we were

playing poker

and then we all

got a little bit excited

and now we're coming out

and it's all a little bit crazy.

We're not making this up.

It's not like,

oh,

we had a great worship time

upstairs in that room

and now we're coming out

and we're going to

start something

because it was just,

you should have been there.

It was so good.

It wasn't that.

He's saying,

hey guys,

this has been foretold

for a very,

very long time.

There are prophecies

from the Old Testament

and he knows his crowd.

He's talking to the Jews.

So he quotes scriptures

that they would have known

and he said,

hey,

you've grown up

learning about these things

and it's finally happening.

This is it.

You remember the prophet Joel, guys?

Remember what he said

in chapter two?

This is it.

It's happening.

Joel foresaw

that the Spirit

will be poured on all people

and that everyone

who calls on the name

of the Lord

will be saved.

Do you realize

how big those two things are

for the Jewish people

who actually were

a very inward-looking group?

They were very proud-looking

group.

They were a group

that were very hurt

and oppressed

for so many years

that everything for them

was,

they were the chosen people

but they didn't feel chosen.

And so they,

so for them to say,

hey,

the Spirit's going to pour out

on all people

and everyone

who calls on the name

of the Lord

will be saved.

He's saying,

hey,

we're not making this up.

This has been brewing

for a very long time.

He's saying,

these prophecies

are now happening today.

And then he goes

and talks about David.

He talks about David

in Psalm 16.

He talks about David

in Psalm 110.

He's saying,

you know David,

the man after God's own heart.

King David,

the greatest king Israel

has ever known.

Do you know that David

wasn't talking about himself?

David was talking about this day.

So he was bringing the history

into the present

and he was trying to explain

to people in their context.

Reminds me of Paul

in Acts 17

when he goes to Athens

and he speaks to them

in their context.

and he goes,

hey,

I know how you guys think.

I know what you guys know

and I'm here to point you

to Jesus.

I'm reminded that Jesus himself

was multilingual.

He spoke Aramaic

and Hebrew and Greek

and he would choose

to speak to the people

in a language

that they would understand.

The question for us

is in Hong Kong,

I mean,

don't you think

it's actually interesting

and weird

that you are here

in Hong Kong

and there is a

Chinese looking person

speaking to you

in English

about the gospel.

That would not have happened

were it not for this day.

Pentecost coming

and the effects

that that had

on just the history

of the world.

And so Peter stands up

and brings the history

into the present

and says,

hey,

we're not making this up.

Something else

I find interesting,

he's speaking,

being spirit-filled here

but he uses scripture.

It reminds me

that as I was on my journey

going,

God,

I want to hear you.

Do you have that?

God,

I want to hear your voice.

I want to hear more of you.

I found the moment

I started reading more scripture,

knowing more scripture,

memorizing more scripture,

that scripture club

is still alive and well.

Thank you,

Paul,

for leading us in that.

The more I found

myself memorizing scripture,

the more I found

I could hear from God.

So I'll encourage you,

if you're wondering,

oh God,

I want to hear from God,

these people seem

to be hearing from God,

then just get into scripture

because they would be aligned

because it's the same

because it's his word.

And so you see Peter

being filled with the spirit.

I'm not even sure

he knows what he's saying

at this point.

He's just,

it just comes out of his mouth

and what comes out?

Scripture.

What comes out is saying,

making sense of the present

by looking at the history.

Something else he does

is he brings clarity

because people,

no doubt,

are confused

because you've got this person

over here speaking this language

and this guy over here

speaking Hakka

and this guy here

speaking Pudhuwa

and then suddenly

he's going to be like,

what is going on?

And he's saying,

hey guys,

calm down.

It's okay.

We bring clarity

into the situation.

It makes me think,

those of us who hold

the good news,

who are bearers of the gospel,

do we bring clarity

to any situation

that exists

in this context

that we have here?

We have colleagues,

we have friends,

we have family

who are confused,

who are hurt,

who are broken.

I don't know why

that's happening.

I don't understand

why that is happening

in the world right now.

Can we bring clarity

into those situations?

Can we speak truth

into those situations?

Can we help people

understand what's happening

in the world

by pointing them

to Jesus?

C.S. Lewis was the one

who said,

I believe in Christianity

like I believe in the sun,

not only because I see it,

but because by it

I see everything else.

You and I,

I'm absolutely sure

that you and I

are surrounded by people

who are confused,

who are angry

about the world,

who are confused

about themselves.

Do we

have the knowledge

of God

and the spirit

of God

and the mindset

to be able to speak

into their situation

and go,

hey,

this is why it's happening.

This is why you're feeling

maybe this way.

Again,

with humility,

we're not saying

that we know everything,

but then point them

to Jesus.

Point them

to clarity.

Can we do that?

And so he really

points them to,

and it's really

quite simple.

So if you're sat there

going,

well,

James,

I can't preach this

and I've never

done a talk before,

I've never been able

to share the gospel

before,

but it really,

as long as you say

that simple yes,

then you'll say,

there's a favorite story

that I've been reading

this last week

and it's in John 9

about the guy

who was born blind

and then he gets healed

and then he sees,

which is quite appropriate

given what we shared

last week from Joyce,

and he sees and then,

this is this whole commotion

in chapter 9.

First his neighbors go,

is he the guy?

We've seen this guy before,

he's been blind

for the whole of his life,

why is he looking around at us?

That's creepy,

that's weird.

And then they take him

to the Pharisees

and the Pharisees are like,

why are you seeing?

Why would this happen

on the Sabbath?

Let's ignore the fact

that now your life

has changed forever

and that you can actually see us.

We're more concerned

that someone did it

on the Sabbath.

And then they go

to his family,

do you remember

they go to his parents?

And his parents are like,

well,

they know what's happening here

and they're like,

hey,

yep,

that is our son.

And yes,

correct,

he didn't see before

and you don't know

the challenges we've lived

as a family

but now he is of age

and now he does see.

But then they say,

hey,

just ask him.

Just ask him.

And it's funny

because the way

he responds to them

when they keep chasing him down

is actually quite comical.

It's actually quite true.

And he's like,

why do you keep asking me

questions about this guy?

Do you want to believe in him?

Do you want to follow him?

So this guy

who's blind

who doesn't,

obviously he's never read

scripture,

who doesn't know anything yet.

He says the most profound things

and he's like,

look,

I don't know who he is.

I don't know what

all the commotion is

with you guys.

I'll tell you this though.

I was blind

but now I see.

And then he meets Jesus

and he just follows him.

I don't know

if it's that hard.

When we set out

to go,

hey,

we're going to share

the good news,

I don't know

if it needs to be

that hard.

I think it's just like

that song that we sang,

thank you Jesus

for the blood,

that actually,

I was here

and then I met him

and now I'm here.

It has to be

a personal experience

but when the spirit

fills you

and you start knowing

the word of God,

I believe the words

will flow out of your mouth.

You look at Paul

talks about in 1 Corinthians,

he said it's not lofty

speech or wisdom.

You're not here

to try and debate

with your family member

or to debate

with your friend

or your colleague

and talk to them

about apologetics

which actually,

there is a space

for that

and this summer

we're going to go through

some of the tough questions

about the faith

such as if there was

a good God

then why is there evil

in this world?

Then let's equip ourselves,

brackets by the way,

AI is of great help.

If you have,

my friend who came here

last week

and he said,

he's just been going

through these questions

with his wife

who's not quite a believer yet

and he was like,

my biggest gift

to my wife

was to sign up

for ChatGPT Plus

and then she asks ChatGPT questions

and of course,

I was like,

well how do you know

that it's always right?

He's like,

it knows more than I do.

But the point is,

are we even willing

to be prepared?

Because actually,

there are simple ways

for us to learn

and to equip ourselves

to be able to share

the gospel

in a simple,

succinct way

that is piercing.

And I wanted to present

to us two very simple things

that Peter is doing here

that maybe we can take.

When we present the gospel,

I want you to remember

two things,

there are two S's.

One is sin

and the other is a saviour.

That's it.

Because if you can point

to these two things,

we're on the right track

and let the Holy Spirit

and let the Word of God

fill in the rest for you.

But if you can communicate across,

there are two things here,

friend,

family member,

sin,

and a saviour,

I think we're in the right place.

Verse 22,

if you're going to follow along

with me here,

it says this,

Men of Israel,

hear these words,

Jesus of Nazareth,

a man attested to you.

Another version is attributed to you.

So given to you by God

with mighty works

and wonders and signs

that God did through him

in your midst,

as you yourselves know,

this Jesus,

delivered up according

to the definite plan

and foreknowledge of God,

you crucified and killed

by the hands of lawless men.

So he introduces Jesus.

He says,

when you talk about the gospel,

you can't avoid Jesus.

When you talk about sin

and the saviour,

it has to involve Jesus.

Jesus is the beginning

and the end.

So make sure when you're talking

about these things,

you talk about these,

you talk about all of it

through the lens

in the context of Jesus

and he introduces Jesus

and he says,

hey,

you know Jesus.

He was given to you by God.

He was with you

and here's your problem.

You crucified him.

You did this.

What is he doing?

He's presenting to them

their sin.

He's presenting to them

the crime

that they've committed.

Now,

these people sat there

that may not have been,

hey,

I didn't crucify him.

But that's the point.

They're saying,

actually,

every time you choose

to not trust God,

every time you choose

to not follow him,

to follow the way,

that is sin.

And really,

when we're talking

about the gospel,

it starts with the ownership

of actually,

what have we done here?

The awareness

and acknowledgement

of our own sin.

We have to.

That concern

that Hank had of,

do we truly understand

what the gospel is?

I think it starts with,

do we truly understand

how wretched we are?

Do we truly understand

how broken we are?

It has to start there.

And there's some people

who,

oh,

well,

I don't know

about this whole singing.

I don't know

about this whole worship.

Well,

then the question is,

do you truly

actually know the gospel?

Because that's important.

The journey

of the Christian faith

as you mature

is that you realize

that when you sin,

it's not that you

are breaking the rules,

it's that you are

breaking God's heart.

There is a difference.

Because when you truly

understand the gospel,

that man,

what I did

is actually breaking

God's heart

and not just the rules.

It's not just my actions,

but it's my thoughts.

That it's a relationship

that he's after.

That's when you start

to understand.

That's the first step

to being cut to the heart.

That's the first step

in falling in love

with God

is actually just knowing

where you're at.

Knowing your own sin.

And we talked about this

a couple months ago

when we were going through

the spiritual disciplines

and confession was one of them.

It starts with us

being able to articulate

what it is

that we're struggling with.

When was the last time

you were able to articulate

your sin?

The last time

you gave in to temptation,

were you able to articulate

actually why it is?

Not just to feel bad

for what you've done,

but to realize

the deepest thing,

the reason for why

you got there.

I fell into this temptation

not just because

I was being,

oh, it might be

an issue of procrastination.

It might be an issue

of loneliness.

It might be an issue

of going,

God, I don't actually trust

that you have

my best interests at heart.

There's one quote

that said,

actually sin,

really what it is

is that you don't believe

that God wants you

to be happy.

That's where the sin is.

How are we able

when we throw ourselves

into work,

when we throw ourselves

into trying to climb up

the ladder

to get the achievements

that we want,

how able are we

to say actually

my sin is actually

I am seeking

the approval of man.

I am still trying

to prove to my dad

that I am worth it.

When you're trying

to get power,

when you're trying

to get that promotion

so you can exhort

authority over people,

can you actually,

are you able

to articulate

that my sin

is that I need

to be in control?

Can we get

to that point

where we actually

know what our

sin is

and why we have

that sin?

I think that's

the first step.

I think we have

to be able to,

if we want to

understand the good news,

we have to be able

to understand

the bad news.

That's why the good

news is good.

Because if not,

if you're sad

that yeah,

I don't know,

well that's because

my beloved brother,

let me introduce

you to the bad news.

You think you're doing

well,

you think you're

doing alright,

but the truth is

we're not.

That's the beginning.

But the sin of man

does not trump

the sovereignty of God.

Verse 23,

it says this,

this Jesus delivered up

according to the

definite plan

and foreknowledge of God,

you crucified

and killed him.

Since the fall,

there has been

this plan of redemption.

Since the fall,

when Adam and Eve

turned their backs

on him and said,

God,

I don't know

if you truly know

what is best for us.

So we're going to eat

that apple

and we're going to go

because I think

we're just going to

take this matter

into our own hands,

thank you.

I think we're going

to do what's best for us.

Since that moment,

God has been orchestrating

this plan to bring

his children back

to him.

All of this sits

under the sovereignty

of God

and all the way

from the Old Testament

it talks about the sacrifices

that priests would have to give

and now you have

someone who's the

great high priest

who's greater than Moses,

Jesus who pays

that sacrifice.

So because even though

we all fall short

of the glory of God,

we are now all

justified freely

by his grace

as a gift.

This is the finale.

This is the climax.

You were messed up.

You were broken.

You were wretched.

You were blind.

You were lost.

But Jesus came.

But Jesus came to save you

because despite your sin,

God is still in control.

Despite your sin,

God is still in control.

Verse 24,

God raised him up,

loosing the pangs of death.

I can imagine

there's a but here.

But God,

you crucified him.

You did this.

But God raised him up.

It reminds me of Ephesians 2

when he says,

you were dead in your trespasses

and sins.

You were following this world

and you were heading down

this path that would lead

to destruction.

But, but, but God,

being rich in mercy

because of the great love

that he had for you,

saved you.

To understand the gospel,

to understand the good news,

we have to be able

to articulate

and understand the bad news

and then understand

God's intervention.

But God raised him up,

loosing the pangs of death

because it was not possible

for him to be held by it.

And then he goes into this passage

where he quotes David.

Where he goes to the Old Testament,

goes to history

and goes,

this is what it is.

You guys respect David.

You guys love David.

But let me tell you about David.

David's dead.

His tomb's just down there.

You thought David

may have been talking

about himself

that he would never die

but David did die

and now his tomb is there

but I'll tell you about

someone who did die

but then came back to life again

is what he said.

And he's saying,

hey, it's not about David.

It's about Jesus.

And then he points to proof.

He's saying,

I'm stood here

because I'm a witness.

What am I a witness to?

That someone died

and rose again

and there is an empty tomb

to prove it.

This reminds me

of 1 Corinthians 15

about the resurrection

I think that Flo just read.

When Paul says,

he said,

this is the only important thing.

If you forget everything else

I say today,

if you forget everything else

this Bible says,

1 Corinthians 15,

Jesus died

and now he lives.

And there is a tomb

to prove it.

And for thousands of years

they've tried to disprove it

and yet they can't.

The empty tomb remains.

They say someone stole the body.

Who stole the body?

Did the disciples steal the body?

Because maybe they were just so sad

about Jesus.

Maybe they stole it

and created a whole story

but then why were they willing

to die for it?

Well maybe the Pharisees

stole the body

because they thought

something like Christianity

would be born and happen.

Well when it started

to gain momentum

why didn't they bring

the body back out?

Well maybe it was the Romans.

Well do you know

what would happen

to those Roman guards

because they didn't do their job

and they didn't look

after that body?

It doesn't make sense.

We're sat here

this Chinese man

English speaking man

speaking to you in Hong Kong

about the gospel.

This is here

right now

is because that tomb

is empty.

And that message

has been passed

through generations

through countries

through continents

that someone defied the grave.

and Peter's saying

it wasn't David.

We're not making this up

we're witnesses

and anyway

if we're going to make up

a story in that time

we wouldn't use

the first witness

to be a woman

because in this context

they're not trusted in court

so if we're to make up

a story

we wouldn't use her

but yet this is the truth

this is how it happened.

The resurrection

is what he points to.

And then he says

well look

David also

did not ascend

verse 34

David did not ascend

into the heavens

for he himself says

the Lord said to my Lord

sit at my right hand.

He's saying

David did not fly

into the sky

but Jesus did

and we are all witnesses.

So he goes to history

he goes to proof

he talks about sin

and he points to the Savior.

All of this hinges on

who Jesus Christ is

and the fact that

he is alive.

And this last verse

of his speech

let all the house

of Israel

therefore know

for certain

that God has made him

both Lord and Christ

this Jesus

whom you crucified.

Again just to hammer home

you did this.

This was our sin

that put him

on the cross.

That last sentence

I can imagine

Jesus

Peter is probably

getting pretty loud.

You can't imagine

him say that

without conviction.

Let all the house

of Israel

therefore know

for certain

that God

has made him

both Lord

and Christ

this Jesus

whom you crucified.

The Christ

means Messiah

which means

the anointed one

which means

the Savior.

But I want to focus

just a little bit

on Lord

because Jesus

is the Savior

from our sin

and he did die

for our sins

because the wages

of sin is death.

But then he resurrected

and what does he say

when he's resurrected?

He says

now all authority

in heaven

on earth

has been given to me.

He is now

not just Savior

he is Lord.

This would have been

we skim over that now

because we're like

yeah of course

Jesus is Lord

and we see crosses

everywhere

and it's cool.

Can you understand

what he said

at that time

when Caesar

was supposed

to be Lord?

Let's not skim over

for that

that he said

that now

Jesus

is Lord.

Did you know

that people died

for that fact there?

It's one thing

that Jesus

is your Savior

it's another thing

that Jesus

is your Lord.

What does that mean?

It means that

he is now King

he is in control

of your life.

If we're honest

with ourselves

Jesus we love

that he's our Savior

he saved us

when we were drowning

but do we believe

that he is Lord?

If someone was

to come into your life

and observe

the way you lived

and just took notes

for a whole week

would they come up

with a summary

that Jesus

is your Lord?

If AI

was to listen

to everything

that you said

every conversation

that you had

every meeting

that you had

and was to summarize

this person

or these conversations

would it summarize

that this person

believes that Jesus

is Lord?

That's a different thing.

When we present

the gospel

we talk about sin

the bad news

we talk about

the good news

that there is

a Savior

but then we also

have to mention

that he is now

Lord.

C.S. Lewis

was the one

who said

Jesus is either

a lunatic

or a liar

or he's Lord

and if he's

Lord of your life

that means he

that means you do

what he says.

Jesus says

when he was there

he was like

well you guys

call me Lord

but you don't

do anything I say

so I'm not really Lord.

Is he

your Lord?

I think that

is the straw

that breaks

the camel's back

and suddenly

they're like

oh my goodness

I get my sin

because I'm

surrounded by it

I love the fact

that someone's

saving me

but now he's

Lord

that means

I have to

give up everything

and follow him

that means I have to

say yes to anything

that he says

because he is

Lord

and then they say

now

verse 37

and now when they

heard this

they were cut

to the heart

see when you're

filled with the

spirit

and when you

understand the

word of God

and when you

understand the

gospel

first thing it

does is it

changes your

mind

and then it

changes and

drops down into

your heart

and then it

changes your

heart

and after that

it changes

your life

that's the

Lord piece

and they're

cut to the

heart

and they go

brothers

what shall

we do

they're not

saying hey

is there a

Bible study

that I can

go to

is there a

life group

that I can

go to

is there a

prayer meeting

that I can

show up to

is there a

Bible reading

devotional plan

on you

version that

I can

follow

when they

say brothers

what shall

we do

it's one

of desperation

it's saying

okay I

acknowledge I

have messed

up I

acknowledge that

I'm a

sinner

oh my

goodness

Jesus did

save me

and now

he's Lord

he's sat

here what

do I need

to do

to follow

him

is what

they're

saying

has the

gospel

stayed in

well actually

has the

gospel even

gone into

your ears

have you had

the gospel

told to

you before

that you

are falling

short of

the glory

of God

that you

on your

current path

are heading

down a

road of

destruction

and you

might say

well I'm

doing it

I don't

know about

this whole

Lord stuff

to you I

say well

when you

make yourself

the center

of your

own life

actually just

look around

this world

as people

make themselves

the center

of their

own life

when they

act on

any and

every desire

that they

have

themselves

how's that

working out

how's the

contentment

there

how's the

peace

that you

start to

realize

life is

not just

about

myself

life is

just not

about me

satisfying

the desires

of my

own heart

I've

satisfied

them for

a little

bit and

then it

starts to

wane and

then I'm

in the

same place

again

but Jesus

says if you

make me

Lord if you

follow me

if you

make me

your shepherd

I will give

you life

and life

to the

fool

the thief

make me

Lord

I'm not

going to

Lord over

you I

want to

lift you

up so

you can

live a

life

that is

worth

living

but you

must

follow me

you must

take up

your cross

and follow

me you

must count

the cost

is what

Joyce was

talking about

last week

and there

is a

cost

every good

thing has

a cost

but there

is something

of ultimate

value

do we

truly

understand

that

and then

Peter

responds to

their

question

and he

says

repent

turn around

stop doing

what you're

doing

go the

other way

because that

way leads

to a dead

end

repent

he says

two things

repent

and be

baptized

when you

baptize

basically

you are

identifying

with Christ's

death

and his

resurrection

and you

are dying

to yourself

and now

it is no

longer you

who live

but Christ

who lives

inside you

now long

it is not

old

the old

has gone

but the

new

has come

you are

a new

creation

you are

baptized

there is a

public

declaration of

faith

is what

he's saying

publicly

declare

that you

acknowledge

your sin

that you

know who

your saviour

is and

now from

this moment

onwards you

are following

him

repent

stop

change

direction

and commit

is what

he's saying

and if you

do that