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
a. Why I believe – D. James Kennedy
b. Jesus, Who is He by Tim LaHaye
c. The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
B. And though I can make you all knowledgeable, You Must Know This
1. Jesus was and is the Son of God, v.13 God has glorified his son
a. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,…John 3:16 – there is none other like Him!
b. He was born of a virgin, Matt 1:18-23
c. He lived a sinless life, Heb 4:15
2. And beyond that, This Son of God died for sin,
a. 1 Cor. 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
b. It as Isaiah who stated, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; Isa 53:5
c. And Peter followed with Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,… 1Peter 2:24
3. Peter wanted these religious sinners to know that they had killed the Son of God, the Holy One, the Just One, and the Prince of Life!
C. And we need to know that Each and Everyone of Us is a sinner
1. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Rom 3:23
2. And because of our sin we will die, For the wages of sin is death; Rom 6:23
3. Romans 5:12 brings these two facts together when it states, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
4. However Christ died for our sin, In Romans 5:8 Paul writes But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
You need to know this about God, but that is not all, for you also need to know
II. JESUS WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, Acts 3:15-18 …whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. [16] And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. [17] And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. [18] But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
A. God Raise Jesus From the Dead
1. It was prophesied, Psalm 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
2. It came to be as seen in Matthew 28:5-7 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. [6] He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. [7] And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead;
B. The Resurrected Jesus was Seen of Witnesses
1. Appearance to Mary Magdalene, Mk 16:9
2. Two disciples on the road, Mk 16:12
3. To the disciples without Thomas, to the disciples with Thomas
4. To more than 500 at His ascension, 1 Cor 15:6
C. Now I know what some may be thinking
1. They were drunk or on drugs - All of them at different times and places?
2. They were delirious with grief, again all of them at different times in different places with the same vision?
3. They lied. Many might lie for gain – but would they maintain their lies even unto death – torturous death?
D. There is more than enough proof that Jesus was who he said He was - the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world, was crucified, and raised from the dead. You have the knowledge but that is not enough!
III. WE MUST KNOW GOD – JESUS IS OUR SAVIOR IF WE WILL REPENT OF OUR SIN AND CALL ON HIM TO SAVE US, Acts 3:19-20 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; [20] And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
A. Dr. Philip Schaff, historian and professor at Yale University said, “Infidels are seldom convinced by arguments; for the springs of unbelief are in the heart rather than in the head.”**
1. In other words, its not that the head can’t believe it is that the heart won’t believe.
2. Jeremiah wrote, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer 17:9
3. And the writer of Hebrews warns us, Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. Hebrews 3:12
4. Beyond this the Scriptures tell us in 2 Cor. 4:4-6, that it is the god of this world (that) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. [5] For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. [6] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
B. This morning if you will take the head knowledge of Jesus that was placed before you and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart you can come to know Jesus as Savior and God intimately.
1. But understand you must:
a. Repent 2 Cor. 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
b. Believe by faith, Eph. 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.
- Your salvation is not by works, not by what you do, but by grace (that means getting something you don’t deserve – free) through faith in what God has already done!
c. Accept God’s free gift by asking and receiving it,
1) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 6:23
2) And Paul wrote, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [11] For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. [12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. [13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10:9-13
2. If you truly believe with all your heart, by faith, God will save you and you will have your sins forgiven, eternal life and the blessings of peace and joy right now.
a. The Apostle John wrote, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:13
b. Would you believe today?
C. Those who have accepted Jesus as Savior have their lives changed, 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
1. They produce the fruit of the Spirit found in Gal 5:22-23
2. And they have good works, as well. (Eph 2:10)
3. This becomes the evidence of knowing God – Is there evidence that you know God?
CONCLUSION: In closing I ask
A. Oh, Church Do You Know God?
1. A life that is built on faith, having repented of sin, and asked Jesus Christ to save you, will lead to a fruitful life showing a genuine walk with the Lord!
2. Can He be seen in You?
3. Can others testify to that fact?
B. Much of the confusion in our society today is being caused by religious people who simply do not know God and go about in their own righteousness trying to make others think they do.
- I don’t understand why someone would try to make others believe something they don’t believe, but it happens!
- Is that someone you?
C. In Acts 3:26 Peter speaking to that unbelieving religious crowd that day said, Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
1. Today he is speaking to us
2. To that one who may be here and does not know God, wouldn’t you love to turn from your iniquities and be blessed by God today?
D. This morning you can not only know about God – you can KNOW God!
* Kennedy, D. J. (1999). Why I believe. W. Publishing Group. Nashville, TN.
(pp. 106-108)
** Kennedy, D. J. (1999). Why I believe. W. Publishing Group. Nashville, TN.
(pp. 104)
