Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful
that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah,
either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all,
would you pray for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people
like yourself? The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian,
we really, I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the
Bible, they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will do
what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a non-Christian
checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't hesitate to send us
questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the types of things
that you're really struggling with. So God bless.
Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would bring this part of your Word to us. Bring it deep into
our hearts. And Father, in the context of the gospel, bring this, your Word, into our hearts,
so that your Word will rule in our hearts, that it'll form our hearts, and that we will live lives,
Father, that are free, and that bring you glory. And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son,
and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated. I don't have a lot of people that I know that are Jewish,
or at least that might have more people that I know that are Jewish. I just don't know that they're
Jewish, just as lots of people might know Christians and not realize that they're a Christian.
But for those that I do know are Jewish, as I've bumped into them over the last few days,
I've made a point of going up to them and asking how they're doing. I ask them how their family and
friends are doing, if their family and friends are safe. And then I tell them if there's anything I
or my church can do to help you, just to let me know, or let your rabbi know if you have a rabbi,
and we'd be glad to do what we could to help you at this time. And they've all been very
appreciative. One person that I talked to this week, she's an older woman, and she uses a walker,
and she's a real character. And she shared, she said, I really appreciate that. I know you're a
Christian, and I really appreciate that you would say that to me. And then she said, you know,
many of my friends, I guess around her own age, were very frightened. And then she burst into this
big smile, and she said, but I just feel like I have to tell everybody I meet that I'm Jewish.
And I just sort of completely defy those types of fears. And she's a real character.
You know, in the providence of God, as you know, it's very rare that I would sort of switch my sermon
to talk about something which is quite contemporary. And I'm not doing that this week. But in the
providence of God, the text that we're going to look at today is actually very relevant to what's
going on right now in the world and in Canada. Because, in fact, what I can tell you is if you
had brought a Jewish friend to church today, I only had Josiah read the first 10 verses. We're
going to look at the first, all 26 verses in chapter 3. And if they had been sitting beside
you, your Jewish friend, when they come to certain verses, you would have felt your Jewish friend stiffen.
And you would have felt them, you would just feel that all of a sudden, they went from just sort of
being relaxed to being very tense. Because in fact, in this text of scripture that we're going to use,
are one of the main texts that people who call themselves Christians throughout the centuries
when they wanted to kill Jewish people, have used as a justification to kill Jewish people.
It's in the text that we're going to look at today. And so when they hear, if we had a Jewish
friend with us and they, that you hear these things, they would, you, they would just noticeably get very,
very tense. And given that in Canada, we have people yelling, from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,
which is very unambiguously a call for the death of Jewish people.
And the erasing of the Jewish nation.
It is exactly that.
So it's very telling. It's very providential that we will look at a text that seems to support what some
Christians, or who call themselves Christians, have done throughout the centuries when they've
initiated a violent, murderous tax on Jewish people.
So let's walk towards this. And we're going to look at Acts chapter 3. And actually, Acts chapter 3 and 4 are really,
in a sense, one story in four parts. And today, we're just going to look at chapter 3, the first two parts.
And then next week, we'll look at the rest of the story, parts 3 and 4. And it's actually very,
very ironic, or I didn't say it's ironic. It's actually very telling that this text that has been used by
Christians to justify murderous actions towards Jewish people actually begins with a remarkable healing.
But I'm just going to say something here. Any person who calls themselves a Christian,
who hates Jewish people, doesn't know the Bible.
They are completely,
I'm not exaggerating,
they are completely and utterly
ignorant of the Bible.
But unfortunately, that has happened
much in the past. Anyway, let's look at it.
So here, chapter 3,
what's happened, we're reading an ancient history,
eyewitness history of Jesus,
I mean, sorry, not Jesus, an ancient eyewitness
history, written by an eyewitness
and based on eyewitness
testimony of sort of the first 30-ish
years of the Jesus movement.
It begins in Jerusalem, it will end
in Rome. And so it is
really, literally, a Jesus movement
that starts to encircle
the empire and ends
right in the very center of the empire.
And
Jesus has died
and risen from the dead, and
50 days later, the Holy Spirit falls.
We Christians now
call it the day of Pentecost.
And then, right after that
happens, Peter preaches the first
Christian sermon, and then we get
a bit of a summary of the early church.
And now we have this next story.
And we don't know exactly how late it is,
they don't give enough specific time markers,
but probably within a couple of days
or a couple of weeks, this next story
happens, and here's how it goes.
Now, Peter and John, that's two
of the apostles, were going up to the temple
at the hour of prayer, the ninth
hour, which sort of is three-ish.
So at three-ish,
they went up to the temple to pray.
And a man
lame from birth was being
carried,
sorry, I have to move my notes.
A man
lame from birth was being carried,
whom they laid daily at the gate
of the temple, that is called
the Beautiful Gate, to ask
alms of those entering the
temple. And asking for alms, I mean,
he was asking for money, he was a beggar.
Now, just pause here for a second.
This is a very important
and very contemporary
little image, this picture that we're getting.
In the original language,
it actually says something
very poetic.
Like, I don't know actually why they don't
just translate it more poetic.
And it says at the beginning
that he was lame from birth.
It actually says,
lame from his mother's womb.
Which is actually quite beautiful.
Lame from his mother's womb.
And the other thing about this story
is that in many ways,
this is a story that couldn't happen
in very many places
other than Jerusalem.
And that's because
the custom of the ancient world
was that if they had seen a baby
come out of the womb
and be born,
and there's obviously something
massively deformed
about his ankle and his feet.
And they would look at it
and they would know
that there's just something
massively deformed
about his feet and his ankle.
He's never going to be able to walk.
In the pagan world,
they would have taken that baby
and they would have taken him
to a wilderness area
and left him there to die.
But what we call our Old Testament
and our Jewish friends
call it the Tanakh
forbids that.
And so the Jewish parents
would have kept the baby
and loved the baby.
And of course,
it would have been
a great strain on them.
He would not be able to work.
So he goes to his regular place
to beg.
For those of us
who are downtown a fair bit
and have regular patterns,
one of the things
you'll often notice
is that there's regulars.
Like, you know,
like you go to that certain spot
and you know that
there's going to be
the same one or two
or three different people
who beg at that corner
all the time.
They're regulars.
I make it a point
of trying to befriend
the regulars,
at least give them
the dignity of treating them
like a human being.
And occasionally
buying them coffee
or maybe a piece of pizza
or something like that.
But so this fellow,
who's nameless,
has been not ever able
to walk
and he's a regular
at the temple.
It's going to become
more and more clear.
And by the way,
we're going to discover
in the second half
of the story
in chapter four
that he's over 40.
So he's been lame
for a long time.
He's over 40.
So verse three,
what happens?
So Peter and John
about to go
into the temple,
sorry,
seeing Peter and John
about to go
into the temple,
the beggar
asked to receive
some money.
And Peter directed
his gaze at the man
as did John
and he said,
look at us.
Now this guy,
he's probably all
getting hopeful.
Like maybe this is going
to be like a lot of money.
Look at us.
And so the beggar
fixed his attention
on them,
verse five,
expecting to receive
something from them.
But Peter said,
I have no silver and gold.
And his heart would have,
oh,
I have no silver or gold.
I'm not going to get
a lot of money.
But Peter continues,
but what I do have,
I give to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth,
rise up and walk.
And Peter takes the man
by the right hand
and starts to help him up.
And immediately
the man's feet
and ankles
were made strong.
And leaping up,
he stood
and began to walk
and entered the temple
with them,
walking and leaping
and praising God.
Now,
actually,
we'll keep going
for the next few verses.
And all the people
saw him walking
and praising God
and recognized him
as the one who sat
at the beautiful gate
of the temple
asking for alms.
And they were all filled
with wonder and amazement
at what had happened
to the man.
Now,
it's not a surprise
that many people,
not only in our modern world,
but especially over the last
150 or 180 years,
one of the reasons
they would say
that what I'm reading
isn't an ancient eyewitness history
is they would say
it can't be an ancient eyewitness history
because we know
that things like this
don't happen,
that science and medicine
have proven
that things like this
don't happen.
And so,
therefore,
what you're seeing
is a little bit of like
Aesop's fables
or stories about
the great pumpkin
or Santa Claus
or the Easter bunny.
It's some type of a metaphor
or a nice story
to try to inspire
some types of thoughts
amongst you.
Now,
I just want to
mention it very briefly
and I'm going to probably,
you've heard me talk about this
more in some of my earlier sermons
and I'll probably come back to it
in a later sermon,
but just a couple of things
about this.
The first thing is
everything about this book
shows that they're trying,
that they believe
they're writing history.
There's nothing in it,
there's nothing
in the original language,
everything about it,
all of the historical tie-ins
that you'll see.
Like,
as we go through
the book of Acts,
scholars will be able to say,
we know that this happened
in the year 49,
we know that this happened
in the year 51
because the book
has so many constant references
to things known
in the ancient world
and so it's,
and there's been other studies
to show that even things
like the titles
that they get
for the Roman officials
and the use of names,
that everything about it
points that this was
an historical book written,
they're claiming
that this actually happened.
I mean,
that's the bottom line.
They're not claiming
that this is metaphor
or poetry
or just a fable.
They're claiming
this actually all really happened.
And the second thing is,
and this is where
I don't have time
to go into it,
but in fact,
science and medicine
by its very nature
can't disprove
that this happened.
Science can say
that there's no science,
they can't come up
with a scientific reason
for it happening,
but as it's going
to be very obvious,
Peter's not claiming
that there's a scientific
reason for it happening.
He's claiming
it's a miracle.
And science,
by its very nature,
can never disprove
miracles.
In fact,
the only thing
that science and medicine
can do
is increase the wow.
So now,
you know,
probably the only thing
they could see
because of the clothes
he would have been wearing
is his ankles
and his feet.
But the wow is
that we now know
that if you'd lifted him up,
that you would have seen
from his buttocks down
that he had next to no muscle
and we would know
that because he's never
been able to walk,
he had next to no bone density
and his tendons
and his ligaments
would have been
basically atrophied
and he would have
no muscle memory
or knowledge
about how to walk.
So we would look at that
and say,
that's a wow.
Like,
God didn't just sort of
fix his ankles
and his feet.
He built muscle
and tendon
and ligament
and bone
and muscle memory
and all of that
so that he could go
from doing this.
Like,
that just increases
the wow.
I'm not saying
it proves that
the miracle happened,
but I'm just saying
that's what the very claim
of the book is
that it happened.
And by the way,
all of this
is very downstream.
One of the reasons
I believe in miracles
is because I believe
the historical evidence
is very good
that Jesus really
rose from the dead.
And if Jesus really
rose from the dead,
then there's miracles.
Like,
that's not impossible
to believe
that God would do miracles.
And then the third thing
is that actually
what the skeptic
doesn't understand
is on one level
he is correct.
There is a profound
metaphor here
that's going to be
developed throughout
the epistles
and throughout
the book of Acts.
And the profound metaphor
is that one of the ways
to understand
what salvation is,
when Jesus saves you,
when he makes you
right with God,
one of the ways
to understand that
is this shows you
that it's a healing.
Salvation is to be
healed by God.
He heals
your relationship
with himself.
Part of the reason,
not part of the reason,
the reason we die
is that because our soul
has been in rebellion
against God,
then our soul,
in a sense,
is not properly
attached to our body
and our body
withers and then dies
and our soul
and our bodies
go their separate ways
and the body dies.
And so what salvation is
is a profound healing
of who you are,
a healing that goes on
into eternity.
So there is, in fact,
a very profound metaphor there,
but there's no metaphor
unless it happened.
I can't say to you,
give your life to Christ
and you will begin
to experience
a profound healing
that goes into
all of eternity
if Jesus didn't actually
rise from the dead
and if miracles
like this don't happen,
then there's no metaphor
whatsoever.
There's just foolishness.
But you might say,
well, okay, George,
that's all very,
very interesting,
but I don't see anything
about this which is
anti-Semitic.
Well, that comes next
because what's going
to happen next
is Peter explains
what's just happened
and its significance.
So let's look at
how he explains it.
It begins at verse 11.
Well, the man clung
to Peter and John
and all the people
utterly astounded
ran together to them
in the portico
called Solomon's
and when Peter saw it,
he sees it,
there's a crowd,
he addressed the people.
Now, note what he does.
The very first thing
he does is very important
and it fits with as well
that there's a claim
of a miracle.
He says,
Men of Israel,
why do you wonder at this
or why do you stare at us
as though by our own power
or piety
we have made him walk?
So very clearly,
right up front,
he says,
listen,
it has nothing to do
with how holy we are,
it has nothing to do
with anything we've done.
We haven't discussed,
it's not like they've gone
back in a time machine,
you know,
from up in the future
and they have some ray
that can heal.
No, no,
it has nothing to do with us.
That's the very first thing
they claim.
Well, what does?
Well, here's how he begins
to explain
the meaning
and the significance
of what's just happened.
Verse 13,
the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers,
glorified his servant,
Jesus,
uh-oh,
whom you
delivered over
and denied
in the presence
of Pilate
when Pilate
had decided
to release him.
But you
denied
the holy
and righteous one
and asked
for a murder
to be granted
to you
and you
killed
the author
of life
whom God
raised
from the dead.
To this
we are
witnesses.
And your Jewish
friend
stiffens.
The cry
of people
claiming to be
Christians
who wanted
to murder Jews
throughout the centuries
is said,
you killed
Jesus.
You killed
Jesus.
And maybe
if your Jewish
friend is with you
this morning
and they're
shocked
at what I just
read
and they'd be
even more shocked
and said,
good grief,
they get it
from the Bible.
Like they can't
just say this is
some other type
of cultural thing
that's come up
or some later
church teaching.
Like they get it
right from the Bible.
It's written in the Bible.
You killed.
You killed
Jesus.
From the river
to the sea
Palestine
will be free.
You killed
Jesus.
Now
let's
also be clear
it's actually
very hard
for us
in our
cultural moment
to understand
what's going on
in the text.
There's
a significant
part of what's
going on
in our culture
right now
that in fact
would make it
obvious
that the right
way to read
this text
is that when
I spoke to
the elderly woman
this week
who is Jewish
that rather
than comforting
her
and telling
her of my
support
and my willingness
to help her
in any way
I could
there's
a basic
way of
understanding
moral world
and relations
between peoples
today
which would
say that
in fact
the obvious
thing
for me
to say
to her
is not
I'll help
you and
support
you
but you
killed
Jesus
what do
I mean
see one
of the
things
is in
this
the way
it's been
used by
anti-Semites
throughout the
years
is that
literally
when I
meet that
elderly
Jewish
woman
or I
meet
another
one of
my
Jewish
friends
that
it really
is as if
they killed
Jesus
I mean
even though
they've
lived
2,000
years
after
there's
no possible
way
they could
be
responsible
for
killing
Jesus
but
they're
Jewish
and
that's
part of
what it
means to
be
Jewish
that
they
have
that
stain
upon
them
that
can
never
in a
sense
be
removed
you
you see
we live
in a
cultural
moment
and whether
it's
the
bureaucracy
the
courts
public
schools
universities
the
media
we live
in an
age
which
increasingly
thinks
in terms
of
group
responsibilities
some
of
you
here
have
immigrated
to
the
country
in
the
last
very
short
period
of
time
but
if
you
are
white
it's
as
if
you
are
responsible
for
what
happened
to
the
native
people
200
years
ago
and it
goes on
with other
people
groups
that's
the way
we're
taught
to
think
that's
the way
we're
taught
to
understand
moral
issues
it's
directly
analogous
to
anti-Semitism
I mean
the
motivation
behind it
is to
seek
justice
and all
of that
and I'm
not denying
that there's
often very
good
motivations
for thinking
in those
categories
but
increasingly
in our
culture
that's
how we're
taught
to
think
and so
if
you've
been
taught
to
think
in terms
of
racial
categories
and
other
types
of
categories
whether
it be
categories
connected
to
gender
or
sexuality
or
religion
or
ableism
or
anything
like
that
if
you're
taught
to
think
in
categories
and
you
see
a
thing
like
that
then
all
of a
sudden
it
makes
sense
that
that's
how
Christians
would
maybe
understand
the
issue
and
it
gets
all
complicated
because
the
whole
thing
ends
up
getting
very
complicated
with
who's
up
and
who's
down
and
how
you
parse
it
and
how
you
manage
it
but
in
some
ways
increasingly
in our
culture
it makes
it the
natural
way
to
read
this
text
part
of the
problem
with
this
way
of
thinking
is
that
there's
no
hope
there's
no
hope
the
more
we
think
in
categories
so
that
it
would
be
just
as
if
I
was
to
say
to
every
English
person
that
I
met
that
you're
directly
responsible
for
the
killing
of
my
ancestors
in
Ireland
during
the
potato
famine
if
an
Australian
we
have
an
Australian
in
our
congregation
he
was
to
meet
an
English
person
he
could
say
you're
directly
responsible
for
sending
my
forebearers
to
Australia
well
there's
nowhere
to go
with
that
there's
only
unending
recrimination
and guilt
and this
is not
what the
Bible
is saying
here
by the
way
actually
what you
see
here
is the
ground
work
and the
framework
for
moral
clarity
and
hope
profound
hope
when I
said
earlier
that
anybody
who
is
anti-Semitic
is
ignorant
of the
Bible
you'll
see in
a moment
why
because
if they
were just
to read
not only
the mere
fact that
this is
explaining
the
healing
should
make
them
wonder
whether
this
is in
fact
the
right
way
to
read
the
text
and
the
next
few
verses
will
definitely
bring
it
in
but
here's
the
thing
about
the
text
what
Peter
is
doing
here
is
actually
a
moment
of
very
courageous
moral
clarity
the
part
which
we're
going to
look at
next
week
is
that
after
this
speech
Peter
is
arrested
for
what
he
says
he's
arrested
for
what
he
says
because
and
what
if you
go back
and you
read
the rest
of the
book
of
Acts
and
if
you
read
the
other
epistles
all
of
which
take
place
after
the
book
of
Acts
what
you'll
see
is
they
never
say
this
again
why
do
they
never
say
it
again
because
the
Bible
teaches
that
you
are
responsible
for
your
own
moral
actions
there's
some
nuances
here
obviously
which
if I
was
doing
a
sermon
just
on
that
I
would
talk
a
little
bit
about
some
of
the
nuances
but
fundamentally
the
Bible
has
the
message
that
Josiah
is
responsible
for
Josiah's
sins
he
is
great
grandfathers
Josiah
is
responsible
for
his
own
sin
George
is
responsible
for
his
own
sin
Diane
is
responsible
for
her
own
sin
and
she
is
not
responsible
for
the
sins
of
her
forebears
she's
just
not
responsible
for
them
that's
the
biblical
message
and so
Peter
says
this
why
does
Peter
say
this
because
he's
literally
standing
in front
of
people
who
actually
did
do
this
and
that
takes
great
courage
you're
a tiny
little
we all
know
how much
courage
it takes
if you're
you know
you go
to you
know
those
you go
to workplace
things
to express
views
and all
that type
of thing
and share
and you
know
that if
you're
the one
person
who disagrees
with everybody
in the room
you can't
say what
you actually
think
it takes
a very
weird
type of
person
who can
do
that
somebody
who's
sort of
socially
awkward
who can
actually be
the one
person
in the room
to say
against what
everybody
else
is saying
you know
God
love them
you know
God
raises up
socially
awkward
people
I used
to have
a guy
in the
congregation
and if
he's
listening
to this
this is
a positive
thing
about it
he was
that guy
who could
go to
a secular
university
and speak
to like
a thousand
people
950
of them
all let's
say
completely
and utterly
in favor
of these
you know
of abortion
and all
of that
type of
thing
and he
would be
the guy
who'd
stand up
and tell
them
they're
all
wrong
he's
that type
of odd
guy
now by
the way
he's an
odd
guy
I discovered
like you
don't want
him on
your
committee
why
because
he just
he doesn't
pick up
social cues
but he
was used
powerfully
by God
right
so this
is Peter
says that
to them
but you
go on
and you
read the
rest of
the book
of Acts
and when
Peter's
talking to
Jewish
people
in you
know
Berea
or
Thessalonica
or Corinth
he doesn't
say you
killed the
Jews
because they
didn't
he doesn't
say that
to them
you go
back in
the epistles
and they
talk about
Jerusalem
they don't
say you
killed
no they
don't
because they
didn't
do it
and so
you see
here
that
in fact
you begin
to see
how beautiful
this text
is and
how much
our culture
needs it
because we
need moral
clarity
as human
beings
we fundamentally
need moral
clarity
and if you
think in
group categories
you will
never come
to moral
clarity
you will
only be
lost in
a fog
of moral
confusion
and so
here
first of
all we
see that
Peter has
moral clarity
has great
courage
he says
this to
them
but the
next parts
are even
more important
because here's
the thing
you can
never have
moral clarity
without hope
there can
be no
moral clarity
without hope
of forgiveness
of reconciliation
if you don't
have that
hope
you're never
going to
have moral
clarity
you just
have
defending
your position
and pushing
back
oh yeah
you say
I did
that
well you
did this
that's
what happens
it doesn't
create any
type of
peace
without hope
and that's
what the
rest of
the text
shows so
beautifully
begin with
verse 16
and his
name
by faith
in his
name
has made
this man
strong
whom you
see and
know
and the
faith
that is
through
Jesus
has given
this man
the perfect
health
in the
presence
of you
all
and as I
said
in a sense
health
as we'll
see
if you go
back and read
the epistles
and if you go
back and read
the gospels
health is often
an image that
Jesus uses
of salvation
but here's
where the hope
comes in
verse 17
and following
and now
brothers
I know
that you
acted in
ignorance
as did
also your
rulers
now just
pause
the Bible
here is
making a
biblical
distinction
it does
acknowledge
that sometimes
you are
ignorant of
a wrong
thing you've
done
and in a
sense it
lessens the
punishment
but it
never erases
responsibility
it never
erases
responsibility
so he
acknowledges
that they
obviously
didn't
literally
think
I mean
when they
call him
the holy
and righteous
one
those are
means
they're saying
he's
God
author of
life
that's
God
right
and then
verse 18
we see
this here
but what
God foretold
by the mouth
of all the
prophets
that as
Christ would
suffer
he thus
fulfilled
he's partially
saying you
should have
actually been
aware of
this
because it's
so clearly
seen in
the scriptures
but here's
the hope
repent
just pause
here for a
second
before we
go any
further
see in
our day
and age
we'd say
you've
done that
you're
responsible
for it
that guilt
is with
you forever
you will
always be
tarnished
and stained
by it
it will
always be
with you
and if
I'm the
person on
the other
end of
that
because of
my sexuality
or my
age
or my
ethnicity
like what
can I do
with that
and if
Peter
are going
to say
repent
you just
need to
spend the
rest of
your life
feeling terrible
about what's
happened
and accepting
responsibility
for it
and making
reparations
about it
and accepting
when you get
punished for the
wrong things
that were done
by your
forebears
and that's
how the
modern world
speaks
but listen
again
what he
says here
in verse
19
repent
and turn
back
that your
sins
may be
blotted
out
in the
ancient world
the ink
that they
used
had no
acid in
it
so it
just
rested
on the
top
of
what they
were
writing
on
and it
meant
that if
you wanted
to erase
it
you just
needed a
damp
cloth
and it
would
completely
remove
what was
written
and that
that's
the image
all of the
things
all the
accusations
against you
all of the
things that
you've done
wrong
the true
ones
repent
verse 19
and turn
back that
your sins
may be
blotted
out
and further
the times
of refreshing
may come
from the
presence of
the Lord
and then
thirdly
that he
may send
the Christ
appointed
for you
Jesus
whom heaven
must receive
until the
time for
restoring
all things
about which
God spoke
by the mouth
of his
holy prophets
long ago
these are
the people
who killed
Jesus
and Peter
has been
taught by
Jesus
and Peter
knows something
about the
need for
forgiveness
because Peter
knows that
he denied
Jesus too
and that he
really should
have known
better because
Jesus even
warned him
he was going
to do this
and Peter
in his
pride denied
that he
was going
to deny
Jesus
but Peter
denied
Jesus
he knows
something
about what
is needed
and he
knows that
in shame
and embarrassment
and in lacking
of courage
he hid
while Jesus
was being
crucified
he went
and hid
when Jesus
was being
crucified
he was not
brave
there is
nothing
noble
about him
he knows
how desperately
he needs
forgiveness
and he's
speaking to
the people
who actually
have killed
Jesus
and he's
been taught
by Jesus
and he says
you know
what Jesus
heart is
for you
like why
did Jesus
die
not that
you will
feel crappy
and guilty
for the rest
of your life
and feel as if
there is a
stain and a
shame on you
that you can
never get away
from
that you will
suffer for
for the rest
of your life
and no matter
what you'd
suffer
you deserve
to suffer
that
no he says
repent
the things
you've done
wrong will
be completely
and utterly
removed
from your
record
God will
send refreshment
to you
reference to
the Holy Spirit
what a wonderful
way to understand
the coming of
the Holy Spirit
a refreshment
that comes to
you
and then
Jesus himself
will come
to you
he will be
with you
he is
for you
you will
be in him
he will
be in you
he will
walk
with you
now I
have hope
now I
have hope
when I
have hope
I can begin
to have
moral clarity
I mean
moral clarity
is always
hard
because we're
selfish
and have
envy
and all
that stuff
and I'm
not denying
it
we can
begin
to have
hope
we can
look at
our lives
and we
can accept
the wrong
that we've
done
and maybe
look at
the wrong
we've
done
and ask
God to
give us
wisdom
about the
wrong
we've
done
and
there's
hope
there's
hope
to look
there's
hope
to grow
there's
hope
to forgive
there's
hope
to maybe
be
reconciled
there's
hope
that even
if we're
not
reconciled
that we
know that
God has
forgiven us
and that we
can move
forward
with life
it's going
to tell you
a little bit
later on
that another
2,000 people
become Christians
because you
see one of
the deepest
needs that
a human
being has
is to
know that
they've
been forgiven
by their
creator
the true
and living
God
and forgiveness
is a type
of deep
healing
forgiveness
is a type
of deep
healing
nobody
could read
this text
and think
it justifies
hurting any
Jewish person
that we
know
invite you
to stand
I know
that
Owen's
going to
get up
and he's
going to
lead us
in some
intercessions
I want
to do
two prayers
for us
at this
time
last week
I prayed
about the
terrible
situation
in Israel
in many
ways
in every
way
it's only
gotten
worse
we've
seen
more
and more
people
in our
streets
of our
cities
and our
country
urging
the death
of our
Jewish
neighbors
and the
nation
of Israel
and I
prayed
about it
and I
prayed
alright
but it's
hard to
pray
without
sounding
like you
have moral
compromise
or both
side
and so
I wrote
a prayer
because I
wanted to
try to get
it as
close to
right as
I could
and I'm
not saying
this is
perfect
it's not
the scripture
but I'm
going to
pray first
about the
situation
that's going
on in our
culture
and then I'm
going to
pray for us
in light of
this sermon
and by the
way
if you
can ask
me how
you can
let me
know
it would be
very funny
if I said
give me some
feedback and
I got really
defensive after
the sermon
I just
talked about
how knowing
you're repentant
allows you to
move towards
moral clarity
I would be
very hypocritical
of me
but let me
know how
it is
and I
might have
it as part
of our
prayers of
the people
over the
coming weeks
so I'm
going to
pray this
prayer first
and then I'll
pray more
directly in
light of the
sermon
let us pray
almighty
god
we pray
for the
defeat
and the
end
of
hamas
please
comfort
and protect
our
jewish
neighbors
grant
our
political
leaders
moral
clarity
and
courage
please
bring to
repentance
all in
our
community
who are
calling for
the end
of israel
and the
death
of jewish
people
we pray
for great
unity
and boldness
for your
church
in israel
especially
for
palestinian
and jewish
christians
and we
ask this
in jesus
name
amen
father
um
we
we are
so grateful
for your
word
for its
wisdom
and its
power
and we
are so
grateful
father
for jesus
that when
he looks
at us
when you
looked at
us
you didn't
weigh our
merits
you pardon
our
offenses
we give
you thanks
and praise
that when
we accept
christ as
savior and
lord
that this
is the
the first
step of
a great
and eternal
healing
that that
jesus brings
to us
that our
sins are
washed away
that the
holy spirit
comes to
us to
refresh us
and that
christ
himself
will walk
with us
we ask
lord
that you
help the
gospel to
become more
and more
real to
our hearts
that we
might know
that we
are forgiven
and that
your forgiveness
is completely
and utterly
rock solid
assured
so that we
might have
the courage
to look at
the things
in our own
life that we
have done
that are wrong
the things
that we should
have done
that we
didn't
the things
that we
did do
that we
shouldn't
have
that you
would grant
us father
security
in christ
to look at
it honestly
that we might
amend our
lives
that we might
make amendment
where we have
to make
amendment
where we might
apologize
where we have
to apologize
that we might
call out for
you to live
in a way
which honors
people and
brings glory
to you and
is good for
us and we
ask these
things in the
name of
jesus your
son and our
savior amen
but ask them
for
this
we
that we
are
uh
we
how
can
help