[0:00] Can we resume the public worship of God by singing Psalm 43? Psalm 43, and we're going to sing the whole psalm.
[0:20] Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation. From the unjust and crafty man, O be thou my salvation. For thou, the God, art of my strength, why thrust thou me thee through?
[0:37] For the enemy's oppression, why do I mourning go? For send thy light forth on thy truth, let them be guides to me, and bring me to thine holy hill, even where thy dwellings be.
[0:50] Then will I to God's altar go, to God my chiefest joy. Yea, God, my God, thy name to praise my harp I will employ.
[1:04] Why art thou then cast down my soul? What should discourage thee? And why with vexing thoughts art thou disquieted in me?
[1:16] Still trust in God, for whom to praise, good cause I yet shall have. He of my countenance is the health, my God that doth me save.
[1:28] The whole of Psalm 43 to God's praise. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation.
[1:53] O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation. O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation. O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation.
[2:11] For thou that was art of my strength, why you nourish my soul?
[2:23] O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation. O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation. Oh, and plead my God.
[2:34] O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation.高ly nation. Why do I work in home? Oh, send thy lies or fuck thy truth.
[2:54] Let them be judged to me I'll bring me to thy holy heaven Even when I dwell with thee Then will I do not so long to go To God my cheapest joy If God, my God, I need to press My power, my will, and my voice Why are you, my grace?
[3:59] How strong my soul What should discourage me?
[4:11] And why with this His thoughts are done He's quieted in me Still trusting God For heaven to which Could cause thy edge and love Be your white hand And says the hand My God, that God is here Let us pray together in prayer Let us pray Heavenly blessed God
[5:11] It has often been the prayer Of your people Throughout the generations That you would send forth Your light and your truth That they would be guides to us And how much we need Your truth To be effective in our lives That our footsteps would follow A true course And that course would be That which leads to life everlasting We acknowledge in your presence Our total dependence upon The God of heaven and earth If there is any doubt in our mind We pray that you would expunge it That you would remove it And that you would give to us That certainty Marked out by a life living
[6:13] In its light We pray for your blessing To be imparted to us Not for any reason Found within ourselves But for the glory Of your great name And we bless you And thank you That you are jealous Of that glory You will not give it to another And that means for us That you have not left As to our own devices In any meaningful way Especially with regard To the salvation of our soul How often we speak rashly And we speak of what we have done Or what we had a part in As far as the instrumentality Even of our faith And yet it is so true
[7:13] That we cannot even Do that without The spirit of God Working That in us We pray for your Light to shine Upon All areas Of darkness In our Understanding With regard To the way That you work And the way That you have worked In the lives Of your people Here in this world That you would remind us Even by presenting To us The truth As it speaks Of others Who came To faith And who came To live out That faith In the world That is openly Hostile To all that is Of God We ask that you would Bless your people This evening Here in this place And every other location That they are met together To worship Your great name We pray for those
[8:13] Who are unable To be with us Who are Members of the congregation Who formerly Attended Diligently Upon the means of grace And they were That very thing To them The means By which The grace of God Was brought into being That it was sustained That it was nourished And that it was Even increased You want us To increase In grace And in the knowledge Of our Lord And Saviour Jesus Christ And they Enjoy the liberty That the gospel Affords your own people We bless you And thank you For those Who join with us In worship Who are still Uncertain About their own Relationship With Christ If it's certainty That is needed Granted to them That they may find
[9:14] Their feet Fillingly placed On ground That is unshakable If it is anything Other than what You have provided For us We pray That it would Tremble beneath Their feet And that they Would fear For their very soul Lest they believe Something that is Not true For any who are Shamelessly Indifferent To the blessings Of the gospel We pray That you would Remind them Of the Accountability Of every soul To the God Who has given That soul To us And that each And every one Of us Will answer To you On that Great day Whenever that Day will come It will come With a great Shout With a trumpet Sound Reminding us That there is One to whom All must be Summoned O Lord
[10:16] Hear our prayers Not only On our own Behalf But on behalf Of those Who do not Pray for Themselves We pray for Those who are Unwell Pray for Their healing For their Recovery And where that Is not possible That grace Would accompany Them Even in the Valley of the Shadow That you would Sanctify Illness To them To the end That they would Know to look To the great Physician The one who is All able to Minister to Body and soul Remember those That we know Of that are Unwell in Hospital at This time Those who Are confined To care Homes Those who Are in the Hospice We pray for Your guiding Hand to be On those Responsible For their Care We seek Your blessing On the Grieving And the Sorrowful
[11:17] Again We see Evidences That Remind us Of our Own Final Destiny Even as You speak To us Through The death Of others Reminding us Each one That here We have No continuing City Your word Testifies To the truth That you May come At an hour When we do Not expect It and so It proves For sin And we Pray Lord That you Would remind Us of the Need that There is To pay Earnest Heed To Making Ready And to Make ready In the Only way That readiness Is possible Sanctify the Truth In this Proclamation This evening In the Congregations Of our Islands Our nation And beyond Pray for Our own Presbytery Congregations That are Presently Vacant We ask
[12:18] That you Would provide Pastors For them Who have The ear Of God Who speak The truth Of God And who Seek to Elevate Christ Above all Else We ask Lord that You would Give the Spirit of Prayer To your People To ensure That There would Be a Steady Supply Of Evangelistic And Reformed And God Fearing Preachers Of the Truth Those who Would seek To set Christ Before Men and Women Before Anything Else We remember Before you The various Parts of the World That are Dependent Upon Missionary Activities Of the Church Even Even our Own Nation Are the Same Those Coming From Elsewhere To To present Christ To those Who are Blind Those Who are Deaf
[13:19] Those Who are Dumb Those Who are Incapable Of Recognizing The Truth As It Applies To Themselves We Bless You And Thank You For all Who were Instrumental In bringing To our Own Attention The Truth Of The Gospel Preachers No Longer In This World Servants Who Saw To Witness To The Truth At Every Opportunity We Bless You And Thank You For Their Testimony We Pray Then Your Blessing Upon The Needs Of This World Remembering The Nations That Are At War The Peoples That Are Oppressed The Ravished And The Ravaged Those Who Have Great Evils Perpetrated Against Them We Ask Lord That You Would Restore Justice To Lands That
[14:20] Are Govern By Dictators That You Would Guide The Hands Of Those Who Bring Good To The Place Where It Is Most Needed Hear Our Prayers Guard Us Keep Us And Protect Us The Short Time That We Together That The Spirit Of The Most High God Would Be Present In Our Midst And Not Be Driven Excluded Or In Any Way Detered From Bringing The Word To Bear Upon Our Own Hearts Forgive Us Every Sin In Jesus Name Amen We're Going to Sing from Psalm 119 From the Beginning of The Psalm This first Section Of the Psalm Psalm 119 From the Beginning Blessed Are
[15:20] They That Undefiled And Straight Are In The Way Who In The Lord's Most Holy Law Do Walk And Do Not Stray Blessed Are They Who To Observe The Statutes Are Inclined And Who Do Seek The Living God With Their Whole Heart And Mind Such In His Ways Do Walk And They Do In In In In In Thou Hast Commanded Us To Keep Thy Precepts Carefully Oh That The Statutes To Observe Thou Wouldst My Ways Direct Then Shall I Not Be Shamed When I Thy Precepts All Respect Then With Integrity Of Heart Thee Will I Praise And Bless When I The Judgment All Have Learned Of Thy Pure Righteousness That I Will Keep Thy Statutes All Firmly Resolved Have I For Do Not Then Most Gracious God Forsake Me Utterly This
[16:20] Section Of Psalm 119 From The Beginning Blessed Are They That Undefiled And Straight Are In The Way Blessed Blessed Are They That Undefined And Straight In The Way Who In The Lord's Most Holy Lord To Walk Time Who Am Half And who to see the living God with humble heart and mind?
[17:26] Such endless ways to walk away, to know when it was He.
[17:41] The past from the wilderness to me, Thy grace sets carefully.
[17:55] O that Thou start to soon observe, Thou rules my wish, Thou aid.
[18:11] Then shall I long be shamed, when I, Thy peace and soul respawn.
[18:27] Then with integrity of heart, be with Thy grace and grace.
[18:42] When I, Your judgment, saw the land of Thy pure righteousness.
[18:59] But I will keep Thy status quo, when we resolve.
[19:11] Now I, O Jerusalem, then, most gracious God, forsake me utterly.
[19:32] I'm going to read a portion of the scripture from the New Testament scriptures, the book of Acts. And we're going to read from chapter 10.
[19:45] Book of Acts, chapter 10. Reading from the beginning. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band.
[20:06] A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision, evidently, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
[20:27] And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
[20:39] And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose son's name is Peter. He lodges with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.
[20:52] He shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually.
[21:10] And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and threw nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour.
[21:28] And he became very hungry, and would have eaten. But while they made ready, he fell into a trance. And so heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet, knit at the four corners, and left down to the earth.
[21:48] Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill, and eat.
[22:01] But Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
[22:18] This was done thrice, and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, Behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, and called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
[22:49] While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.
[23:04] Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius, and said, Behold, I am he whom you seek. What is the cause wherefore ye are come?
[23:16] And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of a good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.
[23:38] Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
[23:50] And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea, and Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
[24:06] But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up, I myself also am a man. And as he talked with them, he went in and found many that were come together.
[24:20] And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation.
[24:32] But God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for.
[24:47] I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me. And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thy name's at hand in remembrance in the sight of God.
[25:11] Send therefore to drop, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon, a paneth by the seaside, who when he cometh shall speak unto thee.
[25:25] Immediately therefore I sent to thee, and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
[25:41] Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him.
[25:58] The word which God sent unto the children of Israel preaching peace by Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. That word I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.
[26:19] And so on. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of this word and to his name be the praise. We are going to sing now Psalm 26.
[26:33] Psalm 26 from the beginning to verse 8. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity.
[26:44] I trusted also in the Lord. Sly therefore shall not die. Examine me and do me prove. Try heart and reigns, O God, for thy love is before mine eyes, thy truth's path I have trod.
[27:01] With persons vain I have not sat, nor with dissemblers gone. The assembly of ill men I hate, to sit with such I shun.
[27:13] Mine hands in innocence, O Lord, I'll wash and purify. So to thine holy altar go and compass it will I, that I with voice of thanksgiving may publish and declare and tell of all thy mighty works that great and wondrous are.
[27:32] The habitation of thy house, Lord, I have loved it well. Yea, in that place I do do not where doth thine honour dwell. and so on.
[27:44] You can sing verses 1 to 8 to Psalm 26. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked what he tell of them.
[28:18] What he, shum, or die. Excelem hacerlo and hear me through Thy heart and reigns, O God.
[28:41] For Thy unvisting before my eyes Thy truth as I have told.
[28:58] With persons they may not consent a great December song the sentry of the Lamb I need to sit with such I shun.
[29:30] My hands are in the sense of I am always unburied so true to Thy holy undergo a cup of sin will I that I will voice of fast giving in a bridge and equate and tell O Lord how in mighty words that gave a wondrous hour.
[30:37] the heart the heart of thy love Lord Lord God God is well in the face I do the light where God and thy Lord are in all earth I would like us to turn to Paul's epistle to the Galatians chapter 2 Galatians chapter 2 and we can read at verse 11 but when Peter was come to Antioch with student to the face because he was to be blamed for before that certain came from James he did eat and he did eat and he did not eat with the Gentiles but when they were come he withdrew and separated himself fearing them which were of the circumcision and the other Jews dissembled likewise with him in so much that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation but when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel I said unto Peter before them all if thou being a Jew liveest after the manner of Gentiles and not as do the Jews why compelst thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews and so on if you remember last Lord's day evening the last portion that we read of verse 9 we read there that James Cephas and John who seemed to be pillars perceived the grace that was given unto me they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship that we should go into the heathen and they unto the circumcision we see how these men who are apostles who have a senior position within the church of the New Testament that they acknowledge and recognize that Paul is the preacher of the gospel and the gospel that he preaches is a genuine gospel and they seem as some call it to commission him to go out to preach the same gospel to others but his role is to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and they identify themselves as those who will take that same gospel and preach it to the Jews and that seems plain enough so it is more than a shock to discover what we read this evening how shortly after at Antioch
[34:29] Paul and Peter appear to be at loggerheads Joseph Pippa, one of the commentators says that here we have a showdown as it were between these two apostles we read Acts chapter 10 to help us understand something of where Peter is coming from and we can begin by highlighting the significance of that in order to help us understand what goes on between Paul and Peter these two apostles we also need to be reminded of the fact that although they are at odds one with the other it seems plain from what we read in Acts 10 and indeed from what we read here that Peter had wholeheartedly embraced the teachings that God had given to him when he came and instructed him by way of an angel regarding the practices that he was now able to embrace as a Jew saved by grace no longer bound by the practices that were ensnaring his nation and that is what it was to them, a snare because if they had strictly adhered to the practices that God had ordained and that were scriptural then things might not have been as bad for them but what seems plain from the history of the Jewish nation is that they added to God's word and they introduced many practices that were man made and man ordained and man centred the brother and God glorify but we read that Peter embraced the teaching that God gave to him and released him from that bondage then we have to ask the question if that is the case how then did he go back to that?
[36:58] what was it that made him go back? to what? he appeared to have left behind and then fourthly what it meant to him to go back and what it meant to others as well because being an apostle it meant that what he did was something that was noted by others and followed by others as is clearly the case here well we all know that Paul and Peter were both apostles we know that they were converted to Christianity from Judaism and that they were leading figures in the early church if you want to see how important they were just read the book of Acts and while it is not exclusively the case the first half of the book of Acts refers to the apostle Peter what he did, what he said, what he said and so on and so forth and in the latter part of it attention focuses on the person of Paul what he did, what he experienced, what he said and where he went so clearly these two men are very important in the development of the church of the New Testament so when they appear to all intents and purposes to be in conflict then something has clearly gone wrong we know that from our reading that it is the practice of the Jew to exercise caution in the relationships that they have with others outside of their faith we have many glaring examples in the life of the Lord Jesus for example he was often challenged by the Pharisees and the scribes because of his interaction with those who were not of the faith they were critical of him eating with those who were sinners sinners and who were outside as it were what that meant to them was if they were Gentiles then he wasn't to consort with them and if they were possibly Jews who had backslidden or who had gone outside of their faith they were equally condemnatory because of that because they considered any interaction with them would yield the stain and pollution of sin that would prevent them from fulfilling their calling as God's people and carrying out whatever duties that were theirs within the worship of God they were very critical and they were always ready to be critical of anybody that they saw who broke these religious regulations that they held in such high stock and we know that Paul was one such and that Peter in all likelihood would have a similar understanding of the need for ceremonial cleanliness
[41:01] now as we saw from Acts 10 Peter received a special revelation from God that showed him that he was to be liberated from the shackles of what Jesus had clearly brought to an end through his death on the cross he had fulfilled all righteousness and the necessity he wasn't talking about the moral law the moral law was still something that they were bound by but the ceremonial law was something that had been fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ being offered for sin and everything connected with it including the need for circumcision and Paul already refers to that as we saw last week in verse 3 neither Titus who was with me being a Greek was compelled to be circumcised and that because of false brethren and a ways brought in who came privily to aspire to the liberty which we have in Christ Jesus that they might bring us into bondage clearly this was something that was on the mind of Paul that these Judaizers were at work in the church seeking to undermine the liberty that Christ had secured on the cross now without going into that in any great detail that is what lies behind the encounter that we read about here
[42:56] Peter is somebody who has been released from the bondage of the ceremonial law and God is the one who has set him free God who has shown him you know almost there are so many things about this account that makes you wonder you know when the Lord speaks to Peter you can almost see the old Peter challenging what he is being told because the angel has come to him with a message from God and I think he understands that quite clearly there came a voice to him rise Peter kill and eat this response to that is not so Lord for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean the old Peter is there as he was with the Lord when the Lord spoke to him and told him what needed to happen or what he was about to do and Peter would say not so far be it from you Lord that that would happen you can't say no and Lord in the same breath but it seems that Peter has not quite got over that but despite that he is convinced and he embraces the truth for himself and we know that he embraces the truth that was conveyed to him it is it is impressed upon him threefold so he understands exactly what is being said and he appreciates the meaning of what is being told to him and we can see it in the first instance in the way that he accompanies the servants of Cornelius now Cornelius was a Gentile he was a Roman and you might think that he was a proselyte a convert to the Jewish faith but it is not generally believed that he was a proselyte because a proselyte because a proselyte although he embraces Judaism he also embraces the doctrines that require him to undergo circumcision which is the sign and symbol of of truly belonging to the Jewish faith and as far as is understood that was not true about Cornelius he was a man devoted to God who followed the ways of the teachings of the scripture he was renowned for that but he is not recognised as a Jew and because he is not a Jew he is a Gentile and those that serve him are Gentiles and yet Peter freely goes with them and accompanies them to Cornelius and after going to Cornelius he sits with them and eats with them and fellowships with them and all of that would be against his better judgement if he was still convinced of the need for them to be seclusive keeping himself away from those who would prevent them from worshipping God as he should but not only that we can confirm it by reading how Paul describes him here because when we read what Paul is saying to Peter
[46:58] in verse 12 read verse 11 and 12 when Peter was come to Antioch we stood him to the face because he was to be blamed he was guilty and what was he guilty of?
[47:14] for before that certain came from James he did eat with the Gentiles he already did that this was something that he did do and he was known for doing until such time as these men who purported to come from James and who challenged Peter in what he was doing and there again is the on the one side you see the Peter of old the one who responds to a word from God albeit by way of angelic messengers and yet here rather than the bold and the brash and the brave and the ready to enter into action stations he submissively backtracks when these men come to him rather than resist them he submits to what they say and in the Greek the language that is describing how he behaves suggests that he was shamefacedly doing what he did he was doing it knowingly and being embarrassed by what he was doing and yet he did it and yet he did it now it doesn't it almost makes you think that there's something something here that we can't quite follow we can't quite understand what was it that made Peter so wishy-washy at this point why was he not as strong in his convictions why was he not as sure and as certain as he was on other occasions what happened to Peter had he suffered a change of heart well no he hadn't he was convinced of what God showed him showed him in fact in Acts 11 the following chapter to the one that we read he is challenged there by by Judaizers and asks why is he conserting with Gentiles and he tells them this is why
[49:37] God has told me God has revealed this truth to me God and he and he tells them word for word the revelation that God gave to him but I think that places an emphasis on what he believed he was convinced of what God had showed him and he he also adds to that that those that that he spoke to that were Gentiles many of them were converted and many of them received the Holy Spirit and he delighted in telling these Judaizers that God was working in the lives not just of Jews but of those who were not of the Jewish nation so what was it that went wrong?
[50:31] why was he behaving this way? well the word that is used by Paul is this or within this section is this that he he withdrew and separated himself fearing them which were of the circumcision and the other Jews dissembled likewise with him the other Jews dissembled likewise with him in other words Peter dissembled the other dissembled with him what does that word dissembled mean?
[51:11] what is it? what's the the most recognisable meaning of that word? and it seems that what he did he did hypocritically he did it even though he knew what he was doing was wrong he understood that the path that he was on was not the path that he should be on he was making a pretense in the face of those who were challenging him and making him behave in this way and doing something that goes against the grain as it were was something that was highlighted by the apostle not only does he play the hypocrite he causes others to do the same because they follow his example and I think this is what what really makes Paul challenge Peter because we can't forget what we've already seen about the apostle Paul and how he is being attacked for the gospel that he is preaching and accused of preaching a gospel that is no gospel and the very people who are responsible for that accusation are the very same people or ones like them who are now coming to bring pressure to bear upon Peter and Peter is yielding to that pressure you know remember earlier Paul says that that he resists the pressure that was brought to bear on him that that he doesn't wear it he doesn't accept it but
[53:21] Peter on the other hand does and this is what is so so this is one of the things that is so annoying to the apostle Paul that you have to remember I think if there are you might be thinking well what what are we going to learn from this surely if we're doing a study like this we need to learn something from it it's all very interesting going into the history of the early church but what if we we don't have anything to learn from that well I think there are several things that we should be able to discern from what is happening here first and foremost we have two apostles two two servants of God two called by God to minister the gospel one to the Gentiles one to the Jews and there is no questioning their calling there is no questioning the content of their gospel and yet for all the elevated position that God has given to them within the church they are able to get things wrong they are able to lose sight of what is right and when that happens even momentarily it could have drastic consequences for the cause that they are leading and this is what is getting to Paul to Paul he is seeing Peter here and he is as he described him earlier on he is one of these leaders of the church one of these figureheads one of these people that the church look up to and here he clearly gets it wrong and not only is that something that has calamitous results for Peter if he is allowed to go on in that but it also has devastating results in the experience of those who follow in his footsteps those who follow his example you know very often we hear about sports stars and TV stars and we are told these are the role models that are held up to our children and I say to myself well what a role model but whatever you make of what these people are or not we know that we know that Peter and Paul were raised up by God at a very critical time in the experience of the world let alone the Middle East at a very critical point in the proclamation of the Gospel message and here is one person and he has lost sight of what God had revealed to him and what God had said was important that Paul is not just annoyed he is not just angry he is somebody who says this must not go on and he doesn't do it privately he doesn't do it in a corner he doesn't do it where nobody will hear him and you'd think well Paul
[56:55] I think you are going too far here I think you should be a little bit sensitive I think you should watch remember who you are talking to he is singing to you he was called to the faith he walked with Christ as a disciple surely you should treat him with a bit of respect but he says I withstood him to the face because he was to be blamed and he knew and he knew that if this was left without being challenged it would cause great harm to the cause of Christ and for that reason he couldn't let it lie he couldn't let it pass if we apply that to ourselves then we need to understand that sometimes it is important that where there is wrong done by any person to leave it unchallenged and challenged is to acquiesce in the right that is done you know if you think about these people if they had been allowed to persevere in their conviction of
[58:22] Peter that what he was doing was should be left that he should really insist on the circumcision of all Christian converts from Judaism or all Gentiles who were converted the Jewish converts would be already circumcised but these ones who came from the Gentile religion should not only be circumcised as an outward sign of or symbol of their their faith but also that they submit to all the other aspects of the ceremonial law that they felt they needed to apply whatever they are and what a scalp Peter would have been what a notch on the belt that Peter would have been if they had been allowed to get their way the verse 14 they are a direct challenge to Peter's behaviour when I saw that they walk not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel
[59:28] I said unto Peter before them all if thou being a Jew liveest after the manner of Gentiles and not as do the Jews why do you ask others why do you compel others the Gentiles to live as Jews it's a very direct question it's a very pertinent question that Peter had no answer for now what we need to remember and remind ourselves of there are occasions this is a unique occasion this is a seminal encounter between the two men that were going to be so much at the heart of the spreading of the gospel but that doesn't mean that we can't see in the way Paul deals with his brother Peter didn't stop being a brother Paul didn't see Peter as an enemy
[60:34] Paul didn't see Peter as somebody who should be despised or cast aside no he saw him as somebody who needed to be who needed to be admonished who needed to be told that what they were doing was wrong Joseph Pippa I mentioned already he puts it very neatly within the Christian church at all times there is a need for brotherly admonition and that requires for a Christian brother to speak to a brother and emphasis falling on speak to not speak about to others to speak directly to that person if there is something that needs to be spoken about if there is a wrong that needs to be righted do you think Peter was comfortable at this point most certainly not do you think Paul was comfortable at this point well where does comfort come into it what we need to understand and what we learn from what Peter did following on from this is that he and we must have teachable spirits we must be open to have our behaviour challenged if that behaviour needs to be challenged and if our instinct is to react and to react negatively then we should question our instinct at very least we should be able to consider what we have been told and what we have been challenged on in order to discover is this really the case the thing about Peter is he knew fine well even though even though
[63:00] Paul had to bring this truth to his attention he already knew that he was in the wrong he was behaving uncharacteristically if you like he was going against going against the light that he had and why does that happen what is it that makes that happen we're not sure who these people are I'm not sure anyway who they were it says that they were from James I doubt if they were official representative of James they might have said they were but I don't think they had any official locusts because if they did they were wrong and James would have been wrong and James from his writings has no time for what they were teaching or wanting others to believe but it's the willingness to bend to such pressure and we live in a society that's exerting pressure upon us always remember that you try and get your head around this woke culture that we're in and you're told what's right and very little is right and you're told what's wrong and very much is wrong and it's never wrong to deny God it's never wrong to refuse to believe in God but it's always wrong if you challenge a person about that and that's the situation we find ourselves in if you as a Christian if that's what you are declare your mind on the truth of God and if the truth of God is what you're standing on and you challenge a person's behaviour because their behaviour contradicts the truth a person can say
[65:06] I don't believe the truth I don't believe your truth I'm offended by your attitude to me you have no right to challenge my behaviour on the basis of what you say is true and the consequences of that are becoming more and more dire by the day and you should be aware of it and understand where the trajectory is heading well if Peter were geared to these pressures Paul saw where that was going to go Paul saw that the church would have been under the influence of people who were eroding the freedoms that Christ shed blood for and bringing into bondage those that he had liberated he had liberated dire consequences and because of the consequences
[66:13] Paul had to speak out well may God help us understand something let us pray O Lord O God I acknowledge that your word is something that reminds us of how easily we can be swayed by the pressures that are brought to bear upon us because sometimes the majority might be speaking out against what very few purport to believe in and yet what our number if your word is the truth and the truth is what we look to we pray that your blessing would be upon your own word and that we would be able to defend it at all costs hear our prayers forgive our sins in Jesus name Amen we close in Psalm 86 Psalm 86 and at verse 9 to verse 12
[67:21] Psalm 86 and verse 9 all nations whom thou madest shall come and worship reverently before thy face and they O Lord shall glorify because thou art exceeding great and works by thee are done which are to be admired and thou art God thyself alone teach me thy way and in thy truth O Lord then walk will I unite my heart that I thy name may fear continually O Lord my God with all my heart to thee I will give praise and I the glory will ascribe ascribe unto thy name always all nations whom thou madest shall come and worship reverently all nations whom thou madest shall come and worship reverently all nations whom thy Hearest
[68:25] Oh through sovereign according Leeонец whom thou purest that The lost Christ and the glory will in thy nation God bless you.
[69:05] God bless you.
[69:35] God bless you. God bless you. O Lord, my God with all my heart to thee I will give praise.
[69:53] And I, the glory of the Lord, my God with all my heart to thee I will give praise.
[70:11] Amen. May grace, mercy, and peace be upon the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all now and always. Amen.