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.
Let's just bow our heads in prayer, just before we open God's Word. Father, we are Canadian Christians,
and sometimes, Father, we're very Canadian, and sometimes, Father, we're very Christian,
and we often get them confused. Father, the text before us is good news from you,
but it is good news that troubles many Canadians. We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would work
a work of healing in our hearts, that we might love this good news, that we might trust it,
that we might be willing to share it, and that you would use us, Father, so that many would come
to a saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, Father, we ask that you would do this gentle but
powerful work in our lives today, and we ask this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Please be seated.
Just setting my timer, not checking Instagram or anything like that, just setting the timer.
So I know that some people will be watching this service downstream, and they didn't hear any of
the other service, and so what I'd like to do is I want to read that the passage that we're going to
be looking at today is very un-Canadian and makes Canadians squirm. What Victor read just earlier,
at sort of the very center of the text, is we read,
Now, as I said, this is a very un-Canadian text, and if you're here and you're maybe outside of the
Christian faith or you're trying to figure out whether you'll stay within the Christian faith,
or if you're watching this and you're just trying to figure things out, a lot of Christians feel a
little bit uncomfortable with a text like this. So let's walk towards it. We're going to look at the
text. It's in the Bible, but we're going to look at it sort of in the whole context. And by the way,
just so you know, the context doesn't mean that we can undermine the text. The context is going to make
the text even more precious and even more important. So we're not looking at the context so we can go,
Oh, okay, we don't have to care about. No, no, no, no. When you look at the context, the verse becomes even
more important and even more precious. So let's look. It begins Acts chapter 4, verse 1. And what we're doing
is the book of Acts is an ancient eyewitness-based history of the early Jesus movement.
It was probably written in the mid-60s. If you go on Wikipedia and Google when Luke was written,
they're going to tell you that it was written like 80s or 90s. There's actually no evidence at all that
the text was written that late. All of the evidence is that the text was written sort of when I'm
describing it, which is in the mid-60s. So it's been written. It's describing the first 30 years or so
of the Jesus movement. And Luke, as a historian, is telling you true stories. But he's, of course,
selecting. He can't tell everything that happened throughout the Mediterranean over 30 years.
And so in the flow of the book, we don't have a precise time marker here. But it's probably,
I don't know, a couple of weeks, maybe a month or so after Pentecost. And so the other way to look
at it is it's maybe somewhere between three to four months after the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus. And the story is taking place in Jerusalem. And what we just looked at last week, the part just
before this, is that Peter and James go to the temple to pray. And on their way, they see a regular
beggar, a beggar who's sort of a local, a guy who begs there all the time. And he's been crippled from
birth. And they heal him. In the name of Jesus, he gets healed. He stands up. He walks around and
draws a huge crowd. And then Peter gives an impromptu speech. He's filled with the Holy Spirit,
gives an impromptu speech. And now the story takes place immediately as the speech is coming to an end.
And here's what happens. Chapter 4, verse 1.
And as they, that's Peter and John, 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. And they arrested them and put them in custody until
the next day, for it was already evening. But note this. But many of those who had heard the word
believed. And the number of the men came to about 5,000. We don't really know why he only counts
men in this case. It could just be that in the ancient world, it's a bit of a mark of strength,
either in terms of religious strength to set up synagogues or military strength.
But that means if there's 5,000 men, if you include then children and women, there's well over 10,000
people who've become Christians, who've come to believe that Jesus actually did rise from the dead,
and he is the Savior. And this is in Jerusalem, and this is in the city where that entire thing,
as we're going to see in a moment, could have been put to death if they just showed the body.
You know, one of the things I'll say time and time and time again, and it's because it's true,
is that most Canadians don't look at the evidence for the resurrection. If they did, they would be
shocked at how the best explanation for how the Jesus movement gets going and is underway is found in
this text. Now, many Canadians will say, you know, well, those people were a bit primitive. They
didn't understand science and stuff like that. It's actually, unlike us, the Jewish people had two
reasons why they didn't think the resurrection happened. We only have one. So the ancient people
back then, they would have had the same reason that we do. They would have had unbroken human
experience. We would try to mistakenly call it things like scientific laws. Scientific laws just
express regularities. That's actually basically just what they do. These things regularly happen.
And so we would just have, they would say in the ancient world that they had unbroken human
experience that what happens after death is decomposition of the body, not resurrection.
They have unbroken human experience, and they have face-to-face experience with this.
We often don't see death because, you know, funeral homes handle it and all of that type of stuff.
But the Jewish people in the day had two, another reason why they didn't believe that the resurrection
of Jesus was possible. It depends on which denomination you're part of. If you were part of the Sadducees,
you would say, well, not only do we have unbroken human experience that Jesus didn't rise from the dead,
that dead people don't rise. The second thing is that the Bible teaches us that there is no such
thing as resurrection. That's the Sadducees. If you were in a different denomination, they have a different
few, and they would just say, the Bible teaches that when the resurrection happens, everybody gets
resurrected at the same time. So why would people have been uncurious about the fact that the grave
was empty? They would just say, hey, listen, you say that Jesus rose from the dead and you see him,
but if that's the case, then why is it that two weeks ago your Aunt Sarah, she died? Why is it that a
month ago, you know, your Uncle Moishe, he died? He didn't come back to life. So therefore,
the resurrection is impossible. The Bible tells us that. That's what they would think.
And that's one of the things why, if you'll notice, if you now go back and you read the book of Acts,
you'll see that when Peter and others talk about the resurrection of Jewish people, they'll always
bring in Bible texts to help show them that they've misread the Bible, that in fact the Bible points
to the fact that the Messiah would die and rise from the dead. But a bit of an aside. What happened
in this story here right now? Remember the whole thing begins, a man's healed, there's a speech,
Peter and John say it's because of Jesus that the man is healed, and now they're arrested. So what we
actually see here, it's a very helpful thing to remember. What that Peter and John are experiencing
is what most of the world experiences today, and what most human beings have experienced throughout
history, which is, you get arrested if you annoy the powerful. Like, just be very honest,
if you were in Gaza under Hamas, they don't care about what's legal. I mean, if they have laws,
the laws are completely and utterly empty. If you annoy Hamas, you get arrested. It's as simple as
that. And that's how it's been throughout most of human history, and it's still true for most of
the world cultures today. It's still basically true in Canada that you can't get arrested just
because you annoy powerful people. But some of us have come from countries where we know that's just
what happens. You annoy the powerful people, you get arrested. So Peter and John haven't done anything
wrong, but they've annoyed the powerful people. And so even though there's this wonderful miracle,
they get arrested, and they spend the night in jail. So what happens next? Well, verse 5.
On the next day, their rulers, their 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. And when they had set them, that is Peter and John, in their midst, they inquired,
by what power or by what name did you do this? Now, I just sort of have to pause for a second.
Peter and John are two lower working class, uneducated guys. I mean, they might have known
how to read. They probably did know how to read. But they were basically fundamentally uneducated.
Most people in the ancient world at that time were not educated. And the language that he has used
is to describe what we now know of as the Sanhedrin. And so there were 71 people. So Peter and John are
crammed into a relatively small room. There's 71 people made up of the educational and wealth elite
of the country. And the Sanhedrin met in a semicircle. So literally, Peter and John are in the middle of
this semicircle, 71 people plus guards and secretaries and scribes. And Peter and John are in the middle.
They've just spent a night in jail. And one of the things which they would have been very, very conscious
of is that these are the very same men who three or four months earlier sentenced Jesus to death.
And that's where they are. They're surrounded by the powerful. And these are the same guys that's
charged, had Jesus put to death. And Jesus was innocent. He was not guilty of any crime.
Now, so one of the things that's very helpful for you when you're reading a biblical narrative is to ask
yourself a question. For those of you who are watching and you're maybe not familiar with the Bible,
you don't know that this is a bit of a problem that Christians who know the Bible very well can start to have.
And the problem is this. We're so familiar with the story, some of us, that we just assume that everything
that happens is necessary, but it's not necessary. Imagine for a moment, not knowing what's going to happen next,
we got to go back in time. We were able to speak Aramaic and speak to Peter and John. What advice would we give them?
Like, what advice would we give them?
Let's say it was me. A similar type of situation.
Probably some of you would be shaking your head and saying, you know that Sinclair,
he should have known that if he said that in the temple, they're going to arrest him.
Like, that was a bit foolish on George's part, don't you think?
And probably many of you would have said, yeah, it's a little bit foolish.
You know, he should have had a lawyer with him.
And so if you got a chance to be with me just before I went out, you might say, you know, George,
don't lie, but why don't you put a little bit of, figure out if there's a way to have some oil on troubled
waters, like, you know, to maybe just dampen the fire, like, don't get people excited.
You wouldn't say this to me because I'm ancient of days.
You know, John was probably only about 15, and Peter was maybe 30-ish.
And so you might say to them, you know, John, listen, you have years ahead of you.
Peter, you have years ahead of you.
Peter, you have a wife and kids.
John, you'd like to have a wife and kids.
Like, this isn't a time to do something that's going to get you into further trouble.
That's probably what we'd say.
Maybe not, but my guess is that's what we tell them to do.
That would be our advice.
So what do Peter and John do?
Well, let's look.
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,
and by what means this man has been healed,
let it be known but 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.
This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
It's an Old Testament reference.
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.
In other words, we would have counseled them to do something and they would have ignored us.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit and they were very, very, very bold.
Now, I'm going to talk about this text,
but what I want to do is I want to look at what happens after it,
because actually what happens after it helps us to understand the text better
and helps us to understand why we have problems.
Some Christians have problems with this text.
When I say that, I mean,
no well-trained Christian is going to publicly say they have problems with it.
The problems come when we live it in Canada.
Not what we'd say in church, but when we're outside of church.
That's when we start to have problems with texts like this.
If we're honest with ourselves, we can have problems with it.
So let's see what happens,
because actually what happens next helps us to understand the text.
And one of the things which is so brilliant about what goes on in the text
is we all know that in Canada there's a very growing number of nuns,
not like nuns in a religious order,
but nuns, N-O-N-E.
They'd say that they have no religious affiliation whatsoever.
And it's very commonplace to critique religion.
And what you're seeing in this story is a very profound critique of religion
that would outstory whatever a nun would tell you
about why they don't believe in any type of religion or spirituality.
There's a very profound critique of religion in this text.
So see how it works.
Verse 13.
Now when they saw the...
Actually it already comes the mere fact that they've arrested them.
Because you see, if you think about it,
like...
And this would probably be what the average Canadian would say about religion.
They'd say they're just hypocrites.
They're just giving you their opinions.
It's just about power.
It's just about trying to get other people to do what you want.
They give themselves a pass.
It makes them feel better about themselves than other people.
And in this story, you'd think that the Jewish leaders would like God to show up.
Like you'd think they'd like that.
Like they're in the God showing up business.
And now God shows up.
Like you'd think that if this was in modern day and age,
they'd be hoping that hopefully they'd say,
going around saying,
I hope a couple of you got this on camera.
On video.
So we can put it on our webpage.
And so we can put it on X.
Used to be called Twitter.
And we can put it on Instagram and TikTok.
And hopefully it'll go viral.
And everybody will want to come.
That's what they'd be hoping.
But instead, they want to shut them up.
Right?
Well, look what happens.
Verse 13.
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.
But by the way, you know,
one of the reasons many people in our culture
dismiss the evidence of the apostles and Luke
is because we think they're uneducated common men.
I mean, good grief, they didn't even have flush toilets.
Definitely didn't have an iPhone.
We all know that flush toilets and iPhones
are a sign of profound intelligence and wisdom.
And, but we dismiss them
because we think they're uneducated in common.
They don't know science.
Verse 14.
But seeing the man who had been 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?
For that a notable sign has been performed through them
as evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and we cannot deny it.
But in order that it may spread no further among the people,
let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.
So they called them together.
They called them and charged them not to speak
or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
And just sort of pause there for a second.
Now, as I said, you know, to many,
I mean, it might very well be
that a person who would describe themselves as a nun
who's given up on religion and spirituality,
who's articulated why religion and spirituality
isn't good and valid.
They might look at this story and go,
that's actually pretty surprising,
although it sort of contradicts
there's no other name under Jesus to be saved.
But here's the thing.
What this Bible text reveals to us is a profound human problem.
And the profound human problem is this,
that you and I often confuse calculating
how something affects our power or prestige.
and we confuse that with thinking
about whether it's true or right or just.
It's a very common human problem.
So we get some information
and we start to calculate
how this situation or this information or this idea,
how this will affect my power, my prestige,
my reputation, my place.
I calculate that.
But I think I'm thinking
about whether it's true or right.
It's a very, very common human problem.
We don't recognize that we actually aren't thinking,
we're just calculating.
And that's a human problem.
It happens to Christians.
Why do Christians get uncomfortable
with the statement,
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?
We get uncomfortable with it,
not because we think about the text,
whether it's true or false,
but because we calculate
how that text being revealed
will affect our power,
our prestige,
our influence,
our place in work
and in our community.
We don't sort of think about it
and say,
well, actually, that's true, isn't it?
You know, I guess it's really true
and it's right
and it's good news
so I should do something about it.
No, we think about
what would it be like
if our neighbors found this out?
What would it be like
if our coworkers found this out?
Like, what would it be like
if our parents found out
that this is what we believe and think?
And then we do the calculation
and it's not going to help our power,
it's not going to help our prestige,
it's not going to help us in society,
so we are silent.
We've engaged in calculation,
not thinking.
It's a human problem.
See, one of the reasons,
there's lots of reasons
why I,
the more I learn about Christianity,
the more I learn about the Bible,
the more I learn about Jesus,
the more I love it
and the more I believe it's true
and the more I believe it's good news.
And you know one of the things
which is so brilliantly illustrated
in this short story?
No religion,
no philosophy,
no spirituality,
no system of human thought
is able to capture the wretchedness
and the glory of human beings
like Christianity does.
And this story brilliantly captures that.
You see, that's the fact the matter is,
is that the fact the matter is
that there's something wretched
about human beings
and there's also something
very glorious about human beings.
And Christianity doesn't say
that human beings are only wretched
and it doesn't say
that human beings are only glorious.
It says,
it has this profound message
that there's something
that human beings
are this mixture
of wretchedness and glory.
This, by the way,
was discovered,
this idea was discovered
in the lining of Blaise Pascal's coat
after he died.
And it goes back to the 1600s.
So what do I mean?
Well, surely,
isn't it part of the wretchedness
of human beings
that we can't even recognize
that we don't think sometimes
that all we're doing
is calculating our own advantage
and we don't even recognize
that we're not thinking
about whether something
is true or good
or just or beautiful or moral?
Like, that surely shows
something wretched
about human beings
that we can't even see
that about ourselves.
We can maybe often see it
in other people,
but we can't see it
in ourselves.
And we would all want to say
that if we went back in time,
we wouldn't be like Caiaphas
and these guys,
that we would want
to celebrate the miracle,
but the fact of the matter is
is that there is something
in human beings
which is broken,
which is wretched,
which causes all sorts of trouble.
What goes on in the world
that causes trouble
all of the time?
So why is it that people
don't want to say in Canada
something strong about Hamas?
They're doing electoral politics.
They're thinking about
how it's going to affect
their electoral chances.
And they think that thinking
about that,
calculating what's going
to help them is thinking.
But it's not.
There's something wretched
about human beings.
On the other hand,
there's something glorious
about human beings.
And it's perfectly seen
in the text.
A 15-year-old,
working-class,
uneducated kid
and a 30-something,
uneducated,
working-class guy
stand in front
of the intellectual
and religious
and cultural
and political
and financial elite.
And they give
a clear,
unambiguous testimony
to the truth.
And that's glorious.
I mean, we'd all say,
make me more and more
like Peter and John,
not just about this,
but about everything.
And make me less
and less like them.
And we see both
of these things
about human beings
in the same story
with the gospel
in the center.
You see,
because only the gospel
helps us to see that
and only the gospel.
It's only if you've grasped
that there is salvation
in no one else.
There's no salvation in me.
There's no salvation
in my accomplishments.
There's no salvation in me
because of my economic status
or my class
or my culture
or because I'm a victim
or because I'm able
to beat other people up.
There is salvation
in no one else
for there is no other name
under heaven
given among men
by which we must be saved.
I'm saved by what Jesus
has done for me.
And God has vindicated this
by raising Jesus
from the dead.
What could be
a more electrifying sign
that there is a God
that does exist
who loves you
than the resurrection
from the dead?
what's a more electrifying
sign than that?
And we need that salvation.
Why?
Because there's something
wretched about me.
There's something wretched
about me
and broken and crooked
and in every human being.
And it's only as I start
to have the security
of knowing
that I actually
can be made right
with the living God
my creator
my sustainer
the one who is sovereign
over all of history
and the entire universe
who will bring all things
to the end
that he determines
when that end should be
in such a way
and who will judge
the living and the dead.
And it's only as I have
the security
that I have been made right
with him
not because of anything
that I have done
but because of what
Jesus has done for me.
And he does that for me
knowing my wretchedness
and still he does it for me
and when I put my faith
and trust in Christ
I am made right with God
that I start to have
the type of security
as that truth
becomes more real to me
that I start to have
the security
that I can look
and say you know what
that thing that was going on
in my denomination
that thing that was going on
in my church
that thing that's going on
with my family
that way that I'm thinking
about my kids
that way that I'm thinking
about my wife
that way that I'm thinking
about my neighbors
that way that I'm thinking
about politics
you know really what I'm doing
is I'm not actually
trying to think what's right
and what's good
and what's beautiful
and true and trust
really I'm just calculating
whether it's going to make me
look good
or give me more power
or help me to keep my position
and I don't trust
that if these things happen
that I'll
God can have some other
good thing for me
and you know
it's only as the gospel
becomes more real to our heart
that we can start
to look at these things
and it's only as the stories
like this
the stories like this form us
see the fact of the matter is
is in the story
I am both Caiaphas
and those guys
and I am Peter and John
it's not been that
I've always had my life
just calculating
see that's what's so wrong
about most philosophies
and it's not like
I've always been like
Peter and John
no I've done both
in my life
so have you
only the gospel
makes it clear
that you have a glory
about you
because you are made
in the image of God
you're not a result
of accident
God designed you
and he made you
something to be
something glorious
and there's something
about human beings
that can be so glorious
that God
the son of God
could take human flesh
into himself
there is a profound glory
about being a human being
but there's also
something deeply wretched
because I want to be
like God
and there's something
in me fundamentally
crooked and bent
and broken
that I cannot fix myself
and only the gospel
makes that clear
only the gospel
is the key
that fits that
so let's look back
there is no
there is salvation
in no one else
for there is no other name
under heaven
given among men
by which we must be saved
and we look at it
and we say okay
George
you've maybe convicted me
that I look at texts
like that
and I don't want
to live like this
and talk like this
and think like this
and pray like this
and spend our church's
budget like this
because I feel a bit
uncomfortable about that
and how it's going
to make me feel
but maybe I should look
and see how it's true
George
you do realize
that a text like this
most Canadians
find it deeply offensive
they think it's foolish
they think it's arrogant
they think it shows
that you're uneducated
they think it encourages
violence
and we go on
and on
well I mean
the first thing
about it is
Peter and John
knew there were
lots of other
religions and gods
I mean they saw
the Romans all the time
they weren't ignorant
of that
and when they're saying
to the Sanhedrin
and there is salvation
in no one else
for there's no other name
under heaven
given among men
by which we must be saved
they were challenging
them and their authority
well you see
the problem we have
with it
is that our culture
has formed us
to believe that
statements like this
aren't real
they're not true
they're a statement
of personal preference
they're a statement
of a taste
and so it's alright
if we have a preference
for something
or a taste for something
or something that gives us
peace or security
but as long as we keep
that very private
then people will maybe
be alright with us
but as soon as it becomes
public in such a way
that our faith
is going to affect
how we think about
medically assisted dying
how it affects
how we think about abortion
how we think about sexuality
how we think about
the transgender issue
at that point in time
our culture gets
very very very uncomfortable
and in fact
increasingly wants
to persecute us
because we
our personal
type of thing
we think
is not just personal
but is leading us
to these ways
that Canadians think
well
in fact actually
most Canadians
haven't actually thought
whether their positions
on these things
are true or false
they've done a calculation
and so
that's a problematic thing
for us
but you see
what Peter and John
are saying is
we all saw Jesus
die by crucifixion
on the cross
and every single one of you
all of you who are out
out there
you know that Jesus
said he was going to die
a particular way
and he said he was going to
rise from the dead
and Peter and John
can say listen
we didn't think Jesus
was going to rise
from the dead either
we thought it was all over
when he died on the cross
and we were hiding
and in fear
and there was
no one more surprised
than us
when on the third day
we went to the grave
and found out
that the grave was empty
and that the grave clothes
were still there
there was no one more surprised
than us
and we can tell you
we've seen Jesus alive
and we've eaten with him
and we've touched him
and we've smelt him
we know he's alive
and listen for you guys
you want to disagree with it
well show us the body
and you can't find the body
you can't find the body
because it really happened
see the fact of the matter is
that if we think
that statements
like there's salvation
and if we think
that there is salvation
and no one else
for there is no other name
under heaven
given among men
by which we must be saved
if we just think
that that's a type of statement
about our preference
our aesthetics
something that just gives me
personal hope
if that's all we think it is
then of course it's arrogant
and foolish
but Paul is saying
this is just as real
as the Rockies
it's as real as the Atlantic Ocean
or the Pacific Ocean
it's as real
as the Grand Canyon
it's as real
as income tax
and as your bank balance
it's as real
as all of that
that's what they're claiming
and now if you're claiming that
then you've got to think about it
because if we think about it
for a second
if for instance
it was announced today
that some group of
some group of doctors
doctors in Kenya
have found a cure
for Alzheimer's
and for a variety of reasons
you can't get that cure
anywhere else
but it's now been documented
you can get a cure
from Alzheimer's
you can't get it in Manhattan
you can't get it in Singapore
you can't get it in Ottawa
you can only get it
if you go to Nairobi
and you can only get
that's the only treatment
that saves it
we wouldn't think
that was arrogant
if it worked
if it's real
it's not arrogant
doesn't matter
you can't say
well it can't possibly be true
because I have my own cures
for Alzheimer's
you do?
no you don't
that's ridiculous
if it was to be announced today
that there was a place
in Sri Lanka
where cancer can be cured
and it's the only place
you can go
and if it's real
and if it's real news
it would be understood
as good news
because it's true
and you wouldn't say
well it can't be a cure there
because I don't know
because it's from Sri Lanka
because it didn't come
from Oxford
or Cambridge
or from the University of Toronto
or because the Supreme Court
of Canada
doesn't agree with it
that would all be viewed
as being completely
and utterly ridiculous
and nonsense
if it's true
and the claim
of Peter and John
is that Jesus really
did rise from the dead
and he did it
because God sent him
so that you could have salvation
and be made right with him
and he proved
that this is not just a fantasy
by raising him from the dead
and it's real
it's as real
as the Rockies
as the Atlantic
as the Pacific
as the moon
and the sun
and the stars
and it's good news
it's news to you
that today
you can be made right
with God
and you can live your life
from the rest of your life
on today
and into eternity
made right with God
God knows every single thing
about you
and still he loved you
and loves you
and sent his son
to die for you
and you receive that
empty handed by faith
and when you receive it
empty handed by faith
he really comes in
and he really saves you
you know the end
of your story
the end of your story
isn't had Alzheimer's
or died poor
or died friendless
or died without children
the end of your story
is made right with God
and come in to live
with him for eternity
and it can begin today
if you put your faith
and trust in Christ
that's unbelievably good news
for us
we need to live
we need to do some honest work
with God
and ask that God
would help us to live
as if this matters
and pray as if this matters
that's what we need
to learn how to do
I want to encourage you
just as I bring this
to a close
I'll be up front with you
and you guys know this
I don't have the gift
of an evangelist
I tell people the gospel
but I'm not
you know
Bishop Charlie
used to be the diocesan bishop
he was that guy
who could sit
go on a plane
and by the end of the plane
lead somebody to Christ
like he was that guy
but God doesn't tell everybody
give that gift to everybody
but he does give to everybody
that we have an obligation
to pray for our loved ones
why?
because it's true
there is salvation
in no other name
other than Christ
there's no other salvation
other than in Christ
no other salvation
but there is
the wonderful news
is there is salvation
and we need to pray about it
and pray for our loved ones
and our family
and our friend
and pray for opportunities
to bear witness to Jesus
and don't worry about
being an evangelist
what we just need to think about
is the fact that
God has called us
to plant seeds
and to place pebbles
in people's shoes
that's what he's called us to do
you know
as I think back
to how I became a Christian
there's different seeds
that came into my life
that began to make me think
that maybe Christianity
was true
and there began to be
it's as if almost
there was like a
you know how you get a pebble
in your shoe
and you can't
you maybe try to walk on it
a little bit
because it's sort of irritating
and then you maybe hope
it moves out of the way
and then eventually
you have to try to take
the pebble out of your shoe
well that's what happened to me
I started to have
these little pebbles
in my shoe
about Christianity
that made me think about it
and we're just called
to bear witness to Jesus
in simple ways
it might be something
just as simple
as when people ask you
on Monday
what you did on Sunday
you said
well I did what I normally do
I go to church
on Sunday morning
and then you know
I did this and that
and people might go after
like you went to church
like people still do that
like in Canada
in Ottawa
people go to church
and then they might say
to each other
he seems normal
like that's really weird
like that's a weird thing to do
but you know what
that's putting a seed
or a stone
a pebble
that they have to think about
in their shoe
it might just be
that you have some opportunity
I'll just share one thing
in closing
I was sharing
on Monday
there's a fellow
that I know
he knows I'm a pastor
and he was complaining
about the fact
that the woman
he's going to be marrying
and this man
is a very very
very hard working man
he's become a very
successful business person
and the woman
he's going to marry
she has a teenage son
and the teenage son
doesn't care about working
and the teenage son
had said to
this fellow
who's going to become
his stepdad
what's the point of working
you just work
and you work
and then you die
like what's the point
of working
and so I almost
said his name
so this fellow
we'll call him Bob
he said you know
I don't know
I don't know what to say to him
like I sort of know
what to say to him
but I don't know
what to say to him
what do you say to him
I'd say two things to him
and unlike you
one of those things
I think would be something
you would say as well
but unlike you
you don't have the second thing
to say
and by the way
this is somebody
was praying for me
at this time
because I'm not that clever
I had had my second cup of coffee
which means I had sort of
three quarters of my brain
working
but
and he said
well what do you say to him
and I'd say
well I'd say to him
that
I'd say to him
that especially for men
work matters
that you get your dignity
and self-worth
and a sense of accomplishment
from working
and that it matters
it matters just to how
you understand yourself
as a person
it gives you dignity
and
and I said
you'd probably say
something like that
and he said
yeah actually
I would say that
I agree with what
Ronald Reagan said
the best welfare treatment
the best welfare program
in the world
is a job
and
that there is something about it
the dignity of work
and I said
but you see
what I'd also say
that you can't say
is this
that
he's right
that you die
and you lose everything
and unless there's a meaning
to your life
and a meaning to work
that goes beyond death
it all just comes crashing down
and it's like
it's worth nothing
and
he said
well I was hoping
you'd give me better advice
but he said it with a big smile
he said
yeah you know
yeah yeah
you know
he sort of knows
because we've talked about
some of those things before
now did I convert him
no I didn't convert him
hopefully I planted
a bit of a seed
maybe a bit of a stone
that
you know
because I also know
that he does think
a little bit about
the meaning of his life
and having all that money
anyway
friends
I just want to really
encourage you
yes it can be
very difficult
and awkward
to reveal to people
that you
that you're a Christian
I'm very Canadian
I know it
but God has placed you
in your situation
God has placed you
in your job
he's placed you
in your neighborhood
he's placed you
to be a regular
at that Tim Hortons
or that Starbucks
or that restaurant
he's placed you there
for a reason
and part of that reason
is that you will pray
that people come
to a saving faith
in Jesus
and he's placed you there
with a purpose
that maybe at some point
in time
an opportunity will come
that you can just
bear witness to Jesus
in some very simple way
or maybe invite them
to church
or invite them
to look at the Bible
together or something
and God is the one
who's in control
and he uses ordinary people
like you and me
but one of the things
which is so important
is we need to know
at a very
we need to know
that it's true
it's good news
it's unembarrassed news
to know
to know that there is
salvation in no one else
for there is no other name
under heaven
given among men
by which we must be saved
but the important thing
is to know
there is a name
you can be saved
there is a name
just one
not 53
not 175
just one
but there is one
one way to be made
right with your creator
and to begin to be made
right on this side
of the grave
and made right
in a way
that goes into
all of eternity
I invite you to stand
please stand
bow our heads
father if
there are any here
or watching
who have not yet
come to know Jesus
I ask father
your holy spirit
would move in their minds
and their hearts
and even at this moment
lead them
to call out to Jesus
that Jesus would become
their savior
and their lord
and I ask father
that you would do
that work in their hearts
to move them
to call out
to Jesus
to be their savior
and lord
and father
for us
help us father
to
to know
that you love us
and care for us
and that the good news
is good
and it's
good news
and put it on our hearts
father
to pray for our friends
and our neighbors
and family members
who do not yet know
Jesus as savior
and lord
and help us
to pray for them
and father
in your kindness
help us to recognize
those opportunities
those open doors
that you will give us
to bear witness
to Jesus
and help us father
to have the courage
to do that
and we ask these things
in the name of Jesus
your son
and our savior
amen