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[0:00] Let's begin our worship singing in Psalm 95. Psalm number 95 in the Scottish Psalter, that's on page 357. The tune is Lingam, verses 1 to 6.

[0:14] O come, let us sing to the Lord. Come, let us everyone a joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation. Let us before his presence come with praise and thankful voice.

[0:25] Let us sing psalms to him with grace and make a joyful noise. Verses 1 to 6, and if you're able to stand, please stand for the singing. A joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation, of our salvation, of our salvation, of our salvation.

[1:17] Let us before his presence come with praise and thankful voice.

[1:29] Let us sing psalms to him with praise and make a joyful noise. Let us sing psalms to him with praise and make a joyful noise.

[1:47] And make a joyful noise. For God a great, God a great King, above all God's He is, above all God's He is.

[2:14] The strength of His, above all God's He is.

[2:44] hymn I am magnified. For God's Jesus, above all God's He is. Before His, above all God's He is on earth. For God's He is a great King of His, above all God's He is.

[2:59] His hands, it's for my worship here, it's for my worship here, it's for my worship here.

[3:15] O come, let us worship him, let us bow down with all, let us bow down with all, and on our knees before the Lord.

[3:40] O come, let us bow down with all, let us bow down with all, let us bow down with all.

[4:00] Let's now join together in prayer. Our prayer at this point is for the young folks in the Sunday School and tweenies especially. So let's join together in prayer. Lord our God, we give thanks that you have reminded us and taught us in these great words we have sung, that you are our God and our King, that you are worthy of all our worship, that you are the one who has created us and brought us into being and sustains us, keeps us from day to day.

[4:29] We thank you today that we are here together in relation to the gospel, to the worship of your name. Help us to be, as we were singing, a people who draw near to God, to give him thanks, to call upon his name, to receive our strength from you.

[4:48] Blessed today we pray, our young people, we give thanks for them and we give thanks that they are assured they belong to the congregation and are valuable to us. We give thanks, Lord, especially that they are precious in your eyes.

[5:02] We pray that your blessing will be with them today. And as they receive teaching from your word, help them, we pray, to take this into their own hearts and enable them to act accordingly and live in accordance with your truth.

[5:17] And keep them as well in the world, O Lord, from all that is harmful. Shield them about, we pray, with your own protective care. And give them from day to day to know that you are their God and their King also.

[5:34] So bless them now, we pray, and help them in all that they do in school and in their time of holiday to reflect upon God and to think upon him and to realize the preciousness of knowing him and of placing their trust in him.

[5:49] Hear us now, we pray, and pardon our sin for Jesus' sake. Amen. Okay, today I'm going to ask you to remember 3, 2, 1.

[6:03] Do you think I'll remember that? 3, 2, 1. Quite easy to remember. What do I mean remembering 3, 2, 1? Well, 3 days, 2 events, and 1 person.

[6:20] Can anybody think of what the 3 days might be? The 3 days are the 3 days from the time that Jesus was crucified until he rose from the dead 3 days after that.

[6:36] 3 important days. Probably the 3 most important days in the whole history of the world or of mankind. Because in these 3 days, the Son of God, Jesus, gave himself to die on the cross for our sins.

[6:55] The middle day, nothing happened, but his body was still in the tomb. And then on the 3rd day, he rose again from the dead, conquering death.

[7:07] And so went afterwards back to heaven to God's right hand. 3 important days. And the things that happened on these 3 important days are also important events.

[7:22] So 3 important days, but 2 important events. Firstly, his death on the cross. And then secondly, his resurrection arising from the dead.

[7:38] 2 important events. 2 important events during these 3 important days. His death on the cross was the death that was due to us for our sins.

[7:53] But he took our sins and he died that death. And after he had died, his body was placed in the sepulcher.

[8:04] And the death of Jesus is presented in the Bible to us as so, so important. Because by his death and then his resurrection afterwards, we come to be saved.

[8:19] When we come to trust in him, all that he did by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave, all that he did, all that that means, the salvation that that obtained for us, becomes ours as we trust in him.

[8:36] So the 2 important events, the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. You'll find in the Gospels a description of how the disciples, Peter and John especially, went to where he had been buried.

[8:53] And his body wasn't there. And 2 angels were there. And they were told that he had risen from the dead. And he met with them afterwards, sometime later, and with others.

[9:08] Because he was now alive. And that is the most important event along with his death in the history of the world. Three important days. Two important events.

[9:21] One important person. Because it's all about Jesus. It's all about Jesus. This Bible is all about Jesus.

[9:34] The Lord describes God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, ourselves, the creation, so many, many things. But Jesus really is the main figure in it.

[9:45] The Savior who came to save us as sinners. 3-2-1. If I ask you tomorrow, 3-2-1, do you think you'll remember what 3-2-1 means?

[9:59] I know you will. Three days. Two events. One person. Okay. We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together.

[10:09] Let's say the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[10:21] Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

[10:32] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. We're going to sing again now to God's praise this time. It's in Psalm 40.

[10:43] Sing Psalms in Psalm 40, verses 1-5. The tune is Walton. I waited long upon the Lord. He heard my cry and turned to me.

[10:56] He raised me from the slimy pit. And from the mire he pulled me free. He set my feet on solid rock, a place to stand both firm and broad. He put a new song in my mouth.

[11:08] A joyful hymn of praise to God. Verses 1-5 of Psalm 40. I waited long upon the Lord. I waited long upon the Lord. He heard my cry and turned to me.

[11:36] He raised me from the slimy pit. And from the mire he pulled me free.

[11:53] He set my feet on solid rock, a place to stand both firm and broad.

[12:11] He put a new song in my mouth. And from the mire he put a new song in my mouth. And from the mire he puts a new song in my mouth.

[12:24] And from the mire he put a new song in my mouth. to God. Then he will live with godly fear, and on the Lord alone rely.

[12:45] Blessed are they who trust the Lord, who shone the proud and lost the light.

[13:03] The wonders you have done, O Lord, how many and how great they are.

[13:19] Your plans, what else are far beyond our how to number or declare.

[13:35] Let's turn now to read God's word. We find that today in Acts chapter 4, book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 4.

[13:50] We're going to read verses 1 to 22. This is just following on the account we have of Peter and John and some of the ways in which they addressed the people.

[14:10] So at chapter 4 at the beginning, as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

[14:26] And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

[14:40] On the next day, the rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high priestly family.

[14:52] And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name did you do this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well.

[15:30] This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

[15:46] Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

[15:59] But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, What shall we do with these men?

[16:13] For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.

[16:30] So they called them, and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

[16:49] And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

[17:08] Amen. May God follow with this blessing that reading of his word. Let's again call upon his name in prayer. Our gracious God, we give thanks for the assurance that your word gives us of your own resurrection from the dead, that you preside over all things for your church and the happenings of this world.

[17:34] We thank you today, Lord, that we are gathered to worship you. We would not be here without the desire to worship you. We pray that that desire, Lord, may find its fruition in another knowledge of you in our hearts, another experience of your spirit applying your word to us.

[17:54] Lord, we pray today that as we gather here, so you would come to meet with us. We thank you that you indwell your people by your Holy Spirit.

[18:05] We pray that we may know that you are here in our midst. We ask for your blessing. We pray for your blessing. But we know that without your blessing, O Lord, the purpose of our gathering will not be fulfilled.

[18:19] Even though we could find ourselves following matter and form in our worship and in our gathering, it is your spirit alone that quickens us. It is your spirit alone that applies your word savingly to us.

[18:33] We pray to you today that that spirit will actually be manifested in our midst and active in our own experience. We ask your blessing today, Lord, upon all the gatherings of your people, wherever they be.

[18:48] We thank you today that there are many, many people throughout the world who gather as we do on this Lord's Day, a day that reminds us, O Lord, and teaches us of your own resurrection from the dead, not only at this time of year, but every Lord's Day that passes, every Lord's Day that we come to experience, is one that reminds us of the resurrection of our Lord from the dead.

[19:14] And we do thank you today, Lord, for this reminder once again, as we gather here today, that we come before you to give thanks for the risen Jesus, for the Christ who died and rose from the dead, and from the way that in being made acceptable to yourself in all, that he did as his Father in heaven.

[19:34] So we too are gathered, Lord, under all that he has obtained, and pray and plead these things in your presence for our acceptance also.

[19:45] We ask your blessing to be with us here as a congregation. We pray that all our activities, Lord, in association with the life of the congregation may go on being blessed by you.

[19:57] We thank you for every encouragement that you give us, that your work is going on amongst us, that your Spirit is active, that your people are engaged in the work of the Gospel, that there are others who are interested, Lord, in the Gospel and in all that it has to say to them.

[20:13] We pray today that for each one of us, your Word may be alive and vibrant in our experience, that we may know it, Lord, as your Word, piercing into the inmost parts of our souls and giving us to further our knowledge of you and giving us especially to rejoice in your salvation, to rejoice in the victory that you have achieved in your triumph over sin and over death.

[20:39] So bless, we pray, each and every aspect of the congregation's life, every home, every family, every individual. We commend ourselves, Lord, to you today and ask that you would richly bless us even beyond what we are able to ask or even think.

[20:56] Remember those of our number today who cannot be with us, those at home through illness or old age, we pray for them. We thank you for the facility of livestream by which they and others are able to partake of this time of worship.

[21:12] We pray that you would be with them, Lord, in their circumstances. We pray for those who are receiving treatment at this time. We ask that you would be pleased to bless that to them and bless them under it.

[21:24] We pray that you would bless those who are anticipating treatment or surgery in days to come. We ask, Lord, that you would be with them also to give them the calmness of heart and of mind that would trust in yourself and realize that all things do work together for good to those who love the Lord, who are called according to His purpose.

[21:46] We pray too, O Lord, for those who at this time are anxious over loved ones, those who have difficulties of mental health, difficult to do with addictions, other things that cause anxiety among families, those who have bereavement and sorrow to contend with, the loss of loved ones.

[22:08] We commend them all to you today and ask, O Lord, as we come together here that we would remember them constantly, for we know that there are so many in the world who have problems greater than our own.

[22:21] We pray for those today, Lord, who watch over loved ones injured in hospital. We pray again for William Graham as he spends time in recovery.

[22:33] Lord, we pray that your good hand will be upon him today and that the slight improvements that he has shown over the past week will themselves be an indication, Lord, that your hand is upon him.

[22:45] We pray that your good hand will lead him to further health and strength, be with Morag and with the family at this anxious time for them and with all in the wider family as well.

[22:56] We ask, O gracious God, that you be pleased to lay your healing touch upon him, be near to him in his soul as well. Lord, we thank you that even when outwardly there may be little sign or only a small sign of consciousness, yet, Lord, we know that you are able to reach into our inmost soul.

[23:18] So we pray for him and for his family and commend them to you and all other families today who have experiences like this and who we know may not belong to us as a congregation, and yet we know of them and we know of them in our community.

[23:32] We pray for them again today. Bless us as a nation. Bless us in these tumultuous times. We ask for your own blessing, Lord, for those in government over us.

[23:44] We pray that you would lead them in your ways. Help them to value and to live by your truths, your commands, your promises. We long for the day, Lord, when we will see a movement of that kind in our nation.

[23:58] We pray to you as the God who is able to do this and turn us again into your ways. So be with us now throughout the day, we pray. Hear us now and pardon our sins and cleanse us for Jesus' sake.

[24:11] Amen. We'll sing once more before we turn back to this passage of Scripture in the book of Acts. We'll sing in Psalm 68 in the Scottish Psalter, verses 18 to 20 to the tune Covenanters.

[24:27] And in the book of Acts and Ephesians, it's made clear to us that these words are prophetic of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, as he has ascended up on high and led captivity.

[25:02] In other words, has overcome sin and death and left them vanquished. So we'll sing these four verses. Thou hast, O Lord, most glorious. Ascended upon high and in triumph, victorious and captive, captive, captive, captive, captive, captive, captive, captive, captive, captive, captive, and in triumph, victorious, and captive, captive, captive, thou hast received it for men, for such a child to rebel, in the book of Acts.

[26:17] In the book of Acts, the Lord is the Lord, in the midst of them I dwell. In the midst of them I dwell.

[26:30] In the midst of them I dwell. In the midst of them I dwell.

[26:49] Let's feed the Lord to his true trust, of our salvation God.

[27:00] Who live with his benefit, as well as he has seen the Lord.

[27:12] As well as he has seen the Lord. As well as he has seen the Lord.

[27:23] Who live with his benefit, as well as he has seen the Lord.

[27:35] He of salvation is our God, who is our God most strong.

[27:47] And unto God the Lord from death, the issues to belong.

[27:57] The issues to belong. The issues to belong.

[28:08] And unto God the Lord from death, the issues to belong.

[28:26] Let's turn now to Acts chapter 4, where we read a short time ago. And let's read again from verse 8. Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well.

[29:01] This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

[29:23] Prejudice always blinds people to some aspects of reality, even to the most important things that we should know.

[29:35] Prejudice always has that effect. It closes minds. Minds not prepared to think of any other possibilities, but that which prejudice thinks of as the only important thing.

[29:50] And you can see that here in this chapter. You can see here in verse 9, for example, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you.

[30:06] In other words, Peter is really saying, what is the sense in you focusing on what you're focusing on to these Sadducees and the priests and the captain, the rulers there, the spiritual rulers at the time?

[30:18] What is the sense in focusing with your objections to what we're doing when you can see for yourselves that a good deed, a good deed, a deed which really is a holy deed, to a crippled man, a man who really was in dire need of such a thing, of such help being given to him, what is the sense in just ignoring that, in just putting that to the side and focusing instead on your objections to us and to the Lord and the gospel that we preach.

[30:56] They should have rejoiced that this man who had been crippled and is now restored, that they should have rejoiced that this was indeed the case now with him.

[31:10] Instead, they're finding fault with James, with Peter and John and the other disciples. They're finding fault with them for what they're doing.

[31:20] Now, they knew, fine, when they were asking this question, who has actually given you the power? In verse 7, by what power or by what name did you do this?

[31:31] They knew very well by what name they were doing this because you go back to the beginning of the chapter, as they were speaking, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

[31:49] They well knew by what name they were doing this. They well knew the nature of the message that they were giving, that it was about Jesus and about the resurrection.

[32:01] And yet, they are so prejudiced against these men and against Jesus that this is what they're focusing on. And Peter responds, and it's interesting and important, the beginning of verse 8 there, that you see the description, Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them.

[32:20] Peter was not giving his own opinion. Peter was not doing anything less than speaking in the name of God and by the Spirit of God. And so, what he said to them here was something that had come from the Holy Spirit's indwelling of his person.

[32:39] And therefore, added even more significance to it. And two things I want to take from this passage briefly today about Jesus.

[32:51] First of all, here is Jesus the powerful Savior. And secondly, here is Jesus the only Savior. Jesus the powerful Savior.

[33:03] Jesus the only Savior. Now, they see, they had asked them here in verse 7, by what name, by what power, or by what name do you do this? And Peter in his reply, let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel, by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, by him, this man is standing before you well.

[33:27] Now, the name is something that goes back to the Old Testament. because the name of God was associated with the character, with the attributes, with the ability of God.

[33:42] You go back away to, for example, to Exodus, chapter 34 of Exodus. Remember God revealing himself there to Moses. And when, especially in verses 5 to 7, we read that the Lord came down in the presence of Moses.

[34:00] The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And that explains to us what is meant by proclaiming the name of the Lord by God himself.

[34:13] The Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty and so on.

[34:35] In other words, what is happening there is God is actually unfolding for Moses the contents of his name, what his name signifies, what his name is actually to be understood as containing, what God's character is like, what God's attribute is like, what God is like.

[34:53] And you take that with you into Acts, the name of Jesus. And as you read through these early chapters of Acts, you'll find that sometimes all it says is that, for example, they were accounted worthy themselves, they saw themselves worthy of suffering for the name.

[35:10] Because the name is really identical with Jesus who is identical with God. And here is the name of Jesus, the name that really means exactly the same as what it means in the Old Testament, the name of God, the contents of the name of God, the attributes of God.

[35:29] Remember in John chapter 1, for example, speaking about the way in which Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world. He came to his own, but his own did not receive him.

[35:42] But to those who did receive him, to them he gave the authority, the power, the authority, to become or be known as the children of God.

[35:53] to all those who believed in his name. In his name. Who took him to be what he himself claimed to be.

[36:04] Who saw in him, in his characteristics and character and attributes, the very God who is the Savior of his people. And this is what Peter is presenting to them here in this incident in Acts chapter 4.

[36:19] You see the same thing in chapter 3. You go back to verse 16 of chapter 3. His name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong whom you see and know.

[36:34] And the faith that is through Jesus has given this man this perfect health in the presence of you all. You see the way the name again is a feature there. And his name.

[36:45] By faith in his name. But there's the extra, the added detail there. By faith in his name. Which of course is such an important addition. It's not just the fact of knowing who Jesus is, but knowing Jesus for yourself that brings you in to experience the benefits of all that he has done by his death and resurrection.

[37:09] Faith in his name. You see he's saying we're looking at the power of Jesus. Jesus the powerful Savior. Savior. But you only come to experience the power of Jesus for yourself when you place your faith and your confidence and your trust in him.

[37:24] When you come to believe in his name. When you receive him as he's offered in the gospel. When you actually say this is the Savior I need. This is the Savior I want.

[37:35] This is the Savior that I require. This Savior who has all of these attributes and characteristics. This must be my Savior too. who believe in his name.

[37:49] Who believe in him. By him, Peter says, this man is standing before you well. But then he went on to add to that whom you crucified.

[38:02] This Jesus of Nazareth. You see he's describing him with all of these words. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In other words, he's saying the very same historical figure that you knew prior to his crucifixion.

[38:16] This Jesus of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him, this man is standing before you well.

[38:30] What a lot, Peter packs into that one statement. the name of Jesus, the characteristics of God, the historical figure of Jesus, the actual person who lived as Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, who rose from the dead, or whom God raised from the dead.

[38:54] In other words, God set his own imprimatur or acceptance on him, his mark of acceptance, and raising him from the dead. Remember, the resurrection of Jesus is itself an indication of God's full acceptance of the death he died on the cross.

[39:13] And God is really saying by the resurrection of Christ from the dead, by raising his son from the dead, everything that that cross has done, everything that happened on that cross, has covered all of my requirements as God with respect to sin.

[39:31] And so he is now raised from the dead and set him at his own right hand. This Jesus, he says, by him is this man standing before you whole or healed.

[39:49] You see, this is the emphasis of the gospel. The very one who died on the cross, the very one who came as Jesus of Nazareth to live amongst us human beings, the very one who was raised from the dead by God the Father.

[40:08] He is the Savior. He is the powerful one. He is the one who has the ability to change lives, to turn things around. The one who is despised because of his death on the cross.

[40:26] It's the very one that did this is what Peter is saying. And that's why really the language he's using is a language that is really setting before these people, you know, it's as if he was saying, you know, it's remarkable that when you know what this man has been and is now, this crippled man, and when you know that's by the message that we present of Jesus of Nazareth that he has done this, it's remarkable that you're still so prejudiced in your views, that you're still against him and against the idea of resurrection.

[41:05] Jesus, the powerful Savior, do you know him for yourself today? Has he come into your experience as the powerful Savior?

[41:24] Have you been rescued from your sins? Have your sins been dealt with in the sense in which the cross of Christ has particularly been taken by you as God's answer for your sins?

[41:39] Has this Christ who died today come to live in your life? Have you come to place your faith in his name? is your trust in this name that carries all the characteristics and the attributes of God so as to rescue us from our sins?

[42:00] Are we today saved through faith in the name of Jesus? The powerful Savior.

[42:12] That's one thing to be able to say, I know he's the powerful Savior Savior from what I find written in the Bible, from what other people tell me. But friend, you have to be able to say as I have to be able to say, he is my powerful Savior.

[42:31] He's a powerful Savior to me also. So Jesus, the powerful Savior, and secondly, Jesus, the only Savior. Peter went on that this Jesus, in verse 11, is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

[43:00] Now he speaks here of the cornerstone, and that's going back to the Old Testament too, as you know, back to the likes of Psalm 118, where it's mentioned as the cornerstone that the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner.

[43:14] In fact, you'll find in Matthew chapter 21, you'll find a reference to that on the part of Jesus himself, who obviously saw himself as the fulfillment of the cornerstone of the spiritual temple, as he's there in the parable of the tenants, and in Matthew 21, you come to verse 42, Jesus said to them, have you never read in the Scriptures?

[43:39] The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and marvelous in our eyes, and so on. So there is Jesus obviously presenting himself as the fulfillment of that great prophecy.

[43:52] And what is the cornerstone? Well, the cornerstone literally is the chief foundation stone of a building, especially in those days. And not only is it the chief foundation stone that takes a lot of the strain of the building, but it also, it's the stone that sets the angle of the walls that follow out from it, if you like.

[44:16] The stone had to be a perfect shape, perfectly angled, so that every other stone that was then set in relation to it would actually have a proper straight line or be in the right direction.

[44:28] So the cornerstone is the vital stone in the building. It's not the stone at the top of an arch, as some people think it might be. It's actually a stone set in the foundation, takes some of the strain, a lot of the strain, but it also sets the angles for the building.

[44:43] In other words, Jesus, as he is the cornerstone spiritually of the spiritual temple, the angles of our lives are set by that. The direction of your life is set by that.

[44:55] The direction of the church of God, as it's founded upon Jesus, founded upon that foundation, as it is really related to that foundation stone. He is the vital angle setter, if you like, for your life, the direction setter for your life and for the life of his people.

[45:18] And of course, the Jews were waiting for that fulfillment. They knew the Messiah, the promised Messiah, was coming, that he was coming into the world, that it was going to happen in the history of humanity.

[45:35] But they rejected Jesus as their Messiah. They're still waiting for their Messiah, most of the Jewish people are, who have that religious attitude to life.

[45:53] He has been set as the cornerstone through his death and resurrection. The cornerstone was set by God through the incarnation, the God Son taking our humanity, and then his death and his resurrection and his ascension, but especially his death and his resurrection.

[46:14] These are the means by which the stone was set, by which he was set as the cornerstone in the building. That's where the offense is. Who's going to accept somebody who was crucified on the cross?

[46:27] Somebody who couldn't save himself as it was put at the time? How can he be the Savior of sinners? How can he be almighty? How can he be the one that has power over death?

[46:39] Well, of course, you're going to come to appreciate that when you really believe in him and trust in him and get to know him and realize his power in your own life, that that is exactly who he is. The death and resurrection and exaltation of Jesus, the cornerstone of God's spiritual temple, what a tragedy that they rejected having examined him, as they did literally before he was crucified.

[47:11] We have no other king but Caesar. having examined him, they came to the conclusion, no, he's not for us. He doesn't meet with our expectations, with our measurements of the cornerstone.

[47:29] And so, crucify him. Crucify him. What a great tragedy that was for them at the time.

[47:40] What a great tragedy that that's still happening in our world. That this Jesus presented in the gospel, this cross of Christ, this death of Christ, this resurrection from the dead, is so much not only put aside but often ridiculed as being absolutely ridiculous nonsense.

[48:03] Who can possibly believe in such a thing as foundational for the development of human life and human expectations? You see, that's the tragedy that human beings like you and I, and most of us probably did the same until we came by God's grace to know the truth for ourselves.

[48:26] The very one who meets all our need is the one that we choose to reject. This very one, that's what Peter is getting at.

[48:38] This Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him is this man standing before you well.

[48:49] This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, but has become the cornerstone. Whether they like it or not, that's really what has happened. And that's what the gospel is saying to us today.

[49:01] It doesn't matter how many millions of people in the world think otherwise. He is the cornerstone. He is the foundation of hopes for human beings. He is the foundation of our salvation, of our redemption.

[49:15] Nothing's going to change that. And even if the likes of you and I go on refusing him, it's not going to change who he is, what he has done, what he is for, why he's important.

[49:29] And he goes on to say, there is salvation in no one else. And Peter is being so emphatic in what he says.

[49:43] He's the stone that was rejected by you. There is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

[49:57] saved. And the word saved, as you find it there in verse 12, is exactly the same word as you find in verse 9, for healed.

[50:09] And you'll find that often in the Gospels that some of the miracles that Jesus did actually include an emphasis on being made whole. Being made whole.

[50:20] For example, you find a woman with the hemorrhage of blood where you find Matthew chapter 9, verse 22, and the other accounts of it as well. You'll find this is what Jesus said to her.

[50:32] Your faith has made you whole. Literally. It may be not always translated that way, but that's exactly what this word means. To be saved, you see, means to have your whole person brought under the provision that Christ has made of salvation so that ultimately, if you think of it ultimately in heaven, that is what human beings in heaven in their state of resurrection and glory will be.

[51:00] They will be whole. They will be entire. Mentally, spiritually, physically, they will be perfect.

[51:11] They will be saved. All the vestiges of sin, of death, will have gone.

[51:24] That's what Jesus came into the world for. To make us whole. To put together what we, by our sin, fragmented and tore apart.

[51:39] And He came into the world to mend this. To fix this. To make us whole. To be the kind of human beings that God created us for.

[51:59] Salvation, you see, really restores everything. It restores everything we lost in our sin against God.

[52:09] restores our righteousness. Restores our perfect holiness ultimately. Restores our relationship with God. Our relationship to God's requirements.

[52:21] Everything that we require is restored in Christ. Go your way, He said to the woman. Your faith has made you whole.

[52:35] Salvation is making you whole, entire. the very thing that we need. And there is no other name given amongst men whereby we must be saved.

[52:50] You see the name, the word name is used again there. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. In other words, he's really, Peter is really making his point again forcibly and emphatically.

[53:05] there is no one else that has these attributes that Jesus has. Nobody else has the name that he has because he is God. Nobody but God has that name, has these attributes, these qualities.

[53:19] No other name is given under heaven amongst men. It's all in him. Muhammad doesn't have it.

[53:30] Buddha doesn't have it. Hindu gods don't have it. The Christ of liberal theologians doesn't have it. Secularism doesn't have it.

[53:43] Atheism doesn't have it. It's nowhere else. It's all here in the person of Jesus. There is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved.

[54:02] You know, I think we've lost in our nation and even through the church, in a wider sense at least, we've lost something of the dishonor that's done to Jesus when any alternatives are placed along with him as the means to salvation.

[54:23] It's a dishonor to the name of Jesus. It's an honor to the reputation of Jesus. It's a dishonor to the person of Jesus. It's an honor to the work of Jesus, to the death and to the resurrection of Jesus, to even suggest that there could be a semblance of qualification on the part of anyone or anything else but him.

[54:47] And actually, you and I are doing the same when we refuse to accept him and bow in obedience to his authority. That's really just going back into yourself, trusting in yourself.

[55:04] today, if you and I are rejecting Jesus, we are dishonoring him.

[55:16] We're dishonoring his name. We're saying, I know that this is what the Bible tells me about him and I wouldn't say it's untrue but, but, but, please don't dishonor Christ, dishonor his cross, dishonor his resurrection by refusing to receive him into your life as your Savior too.

[55:45] Because there is no other. And to have any other is to dishonor him, the only Savior who exists. And you see, finally, by whom we must be saved.

[56:02] Doesn't say might be saved. Doesn't say could be saved. It says by whom we must be saved. You see, being saved is an indispensable thing for us.

[56:17] And because being saved or salvation is indispensable for human beings like you and I, therefore the call of the gospel is in the imperative. It's in the way of a, yes, it's an invitation of course, but it's also an invitation in the form of a command.

[56:36] Repent. Believe. Come to me. Because salvation is indispensable for us. How can we think of it as anything else?

[56:50] Therefore, today, friend, today, make Jesus the powerful Savior, your Savior. Make Jesus the only Savior, your Savior.

[57:06] By trusting in Him, by receiving Him, by acknowledging Him as the one who has the right to control your life, by receiving Him as the Savior of sinners, by confessing your sins, by trusting in Him, by taking Him at His word, or in the simplest language, believing in His name.

[57:35] Let's pray. Amen. Amen. Lord, our gracious God, we pray today that through faith in Your name we too may know the freedom with which Christ makes us free.

[57:52] We may know the righteousness that He died to achieve for His people. We may know that acceptance with You, our God and Father in heaven, so that we come into Your presence as those who are no longer regarded as guilty before You, but freed and washed from our sins.

[58:11] We ask, O Lord, that through this day Jesus may be precious to us more and more, and may it be so for us as life goes by, that His preciousness increases in our estimation and our commitment to Him likewise.

[58:28] So bless us now we pray and receive our worship, cleansing all that is of sin in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's now conclude our service singing in Psalm 118, 118 from verse 19, that's on the Sing Psalms version, page 156, tune as Heron Gate, singing verses 19 to 26.

[59:00] Throw wide the gates of righteousness, I'll enter, and give thanks to God. This is the gate of God through which the righteous come before the Lord. You answered me, I will give thanks.

[59:13] Salvation comes from you alone. The stone the builders had refused has now become the cornerstone. Verses 19 to 26.

[59:23] To 26. Throw wide the gates of righteousness, I'll enter, and give thanks to God.

[59:46] This is the gate the gate of God, through which the righteous come before the Lord.

[60:03] You answer me, I will give thanks. salvation comes from you alone.

[60:21] The stone the builders have defused, has now become the cornerstone.

[60:37] known. The Lord himself has come of this, and is a marvel in her sight.

[60:56] This is the day the Lord has made. In let us take great delight.

[61:14] Save us, O Lord, we humbly pray. O Lord, we may grant us success.

[61:31] He's blessed to count in God's faith in you from the Lord has we blessed.

[61:50] I'll go to the door to my right here after the benediction. Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore.

[62:03] Amen. be blessed Lord Lord for this day for a good opportunity.

[62:16] Thank you.