Church, Do You Know God? Series

CHURCH, DO YOU KNOW GOD?

Acts 3:11-21

INTRODUCTION:

A. If you had to build a defense (in a court of law) for knowing God, what would you do?

1. Who would you call on as a character witness?

2. What fruit of the Spirit could you show evidence of?

3. What acts of selflessness and humility could be brought to light on your behalf?

4. What evidence would be found of a measure of grace, joy of spirit and love of people?

5. What defense would you site to justify your claim of knowing God?

B. A couple of weeks ago we looked at the healing of a lame beggar, and it appears that those who witnessed it did not see the evidence of Christ at work – or maybe they just did not know Him at all

1. This particular act of healing is the center of conversation for chap 3 &4.

2. Acts 3:11-21 we see the first, shall we say, fall out of the miracle.

3. The crippled man had been healed and the religious crowd did not even know how or, more importantly, by whom!

C. Let me read the first two verses for us right now Acts 3:11-12 And as the lame man which was healed, held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

1. The religious crowd just witnessed a miracle and evidently they looked to Peter and John as the one who had done it.

2. As I read our Scripture passage it amazed me, that it amazed them – they, of all people, should have realized the workings of God, but they did not.

3. They should have been the first to give God the glory, but they did not.

4. The reason for the confusion – they did not know God!

D. Church I ask you, “Do you know GOD?”

1. This religious crowd did not!

2. So let me preach Peters words and lets see if we can identify with these three things

a. Jesus Was Crucified For Our Sin

b. Jesus Was Raise From The Dead

c. Jesus is Our Savior if We Repent and Call on Him!

3. Please understand me this morning - my hope is not that you leave here with just a knowledge of God but with the confidence that you KNOW God!

PRAY

As Peter and John turned to the religious crowd of their day they wanted them, and us, to know and understand that to know God is to know

I. JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED FOR OUR SIN, Acts 3:12-15a And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? [13] The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. [14] But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; [15] And killed the Prince of life,… Peter wanted the crowd to know about Jesus.

A. Insufficient Knowledge – many just don’t know who Jesus is – they say

1. Jesus is a figment of a person’s imagination – not so

a. Secular personages & writers of the first century spoke of Him

b. Pontius Pilate (king) wrote to Tiberius Caesar of the miracles of Christ and then went on to tell him of how Herod, Archelaus, Philip, Annas & Caiaphas had sent this one to him to be judged and crucified. *

c. Thallus (a secular writer), in A. D. 52 wrote of the darkness during the crucifixion *

d. Tacitus (Roman historian) spoke of “Christus” the leaders of the sect known as “Christians” *

e. Josephus, a Jewish historian, speaks about “a great man” who the leaders of his people had put to death by Pontius Pilate *

2. Jesus existed but he was not just a good man, a good teacher, or a great political leader

a. Jesus Christ claimed to be God, told people He was God, and allowed people to worship Him as God

b. Jesus was either a liar, insane, or who He said He was “the Son of God!”

3. I don’t have time to make you all “Knowledgeable” about Jesus but you can read your Bible and find help in these books