A Sermon for a New Era Part 2 - Acts 2:14-36

1:15And it has all the marks of a really great sermon. It has an introduction, it has a body, and it has a conclusion, has an exhortation, and what to do in response. Last time, we began looking at this sermon. And we looked at what I call the introduction. And that was just the first few verses, verses 14 through 16, really. And if you'll remember, I gave you three New Year's resolutions as suggestions. Three New Year resolutions to take out of this introduction to this incredible sermon. First of all, purpose to not miss the activity of God that is happening right in your midst.

1:59Second, purpose to not miss the activity of God that is happening in the world around you. And third, purpose to not miss the activity of God that is happening through Jesus Christ. Well, today I want to add another five suggestions to put on your New Year's resolution list. First, I want us to walk through this text. I want us to walk through what I call the body of Peter's sermon. And I want you to see the texts that he used and how he applied them to his original audience. And it'll give us an idea of how the New Testament authors and how the New Testament preachers use the Old Testament, what we call the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures, how they use the prophetic word in the proclamation of the gospel. And especially, just as a side note, I'm not going to be able to go near. Into the depth of these texts that I would like, not here, not in this format, but this is part of what we'll be doing in the young adults' Bible study during the Sunday school hour. We'll be looking at these texts in more depth. But for now, let's just walk through the body of this passage, and then afterwards, I want to add five more suggestions for your New Year's resolution list. Acts chapter 2, he quotes his main text is Joel chapter 2, verses 28 through 32. Just read verse 14. But Peter, taking his stand with the 11, raised his voice and declared to them, Men of Judea, and all that you, all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day, but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel. If you'll remember, Acts chapter 2, the day of Pentecost had come. There is a great sound from heaven, a great sound of a rushing wind filled the whole house, and this drew together a crowd of people. And then the crowd was hearing people speaking in their own language and declaring the mighty words of God, the mighty works of God in their own languages. So the Noise brought the crowd together, and this speaking bewildered the crowd, and it caused them in verse 12 to ask the question: what does this mean? What does this mean?

4:42And then, of course, the second question, I told you to circle this. Peter preaches his sermon, and then in verse 37, the crowd asks, What shall we do? And then he tells them what they should do. Upon those two questions hinge this whole sermon. What does this mean? What does all this prophetic utterances mean? And so Peter takes his stand. He says, They're not drunk, but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel. So he introduces his text. Very interesting. The very first time the gospel is proclaimed in the apostolic era from the lips of those men that God had selected for this task, they use Joel chapter 2.

5:31And there are three aspects of Joel that Peter says will occur in the last days. And it shall be in the last days. And then God says, and then he begins quoting Joel verbatim: that I will pour forth my spirit on all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams, even on my bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days. Days, pour forth my spirit, and they shall prophesy. The first aspect that's going to happen in the last days is an outpouring of God's Spirit. I will pour. I will pour. God is doing the action. I will pour. Now, if you come by my library, it's say 5 a.m. in the morning, and you knock on the door and you want in, you might still get some of my coffee. Okay, let me tell you, if you can picture in your mind's eye my coffee pot, this isn't it. Mine is silver. It's a lot more masculine than this. It doesn't have a pink flower on it.

6:41But if you come by at 5 a.m. in the morning into my library, you knock on the door and you want some of my coffee, guess what? I'll probably have some left at that time, and I'll be glad to share it with you. So you come in, and what I can do is I can take the coffee, you can hold out your cup, and I can pour it into your cup. Because it's my coffee. Somebody, I love good coffee, by the way. I love bad coffee, too. I love coffee, and it's one of my favorite things to do in the morning is to get up, enjoy time with the word, enjoy time with the Lord, and drink some out of my silver cup. Okay, you get the picture. I have authority over this coffee. It's my coffee. I can pour it to you and pour it in your cup.

7:30That is the action being described here. God says, I will pour. Literally, I will pour from the Spirit of me in the Greek. I will pour from the Spirit of Me. I will pour from my Spirit. And those, who is he going to pour it out? Upon all mankind. He will pour from the Spirit upon all mankind, literally all flesh. Now, what does all mankind here mean? Well, I think certainly all means Jew and Gentile. He's talking to a Jewish audience. They're hearing languages, Gentile languages, the mighty works of God being declared.

8:17But it's not just Jew and Gentile. Look at it, it's all classes, three classes of people: male, female, young, old, bondslaves, men slaves, women slaves, all mankind, all flesh. And the result of this pouring is that they shall prophesy. Notice it says it twice. It says it twice. Verse 17, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy. And then at the end of verse 18, and they shall prophesy. Now, if you notice, if you're observant, that at the end of verse 18, there's lowercase letters, and they shall prophesy. In other words, that isn't in the original Greek Septuagint.

9:02That this is something that Peter inserted there. Now you think about it, okay. In fact, the Western text has a problem with this. They want it to match exactly with the Septuagint. So what they do is they delete that phrase. So it is verbatim exactly what Joel quoted here. But the manuscript evidence seems to say, no, it's there. So how do you handle that? Some say, well, he didn't quote it exactly right. Well, he did quote it exactly right. He added this in. Now, think about it this: Peter probably doesn't have his Septuagint with him this day. He doesn't have a lot of notes with him when he goes up there and starts speaking. So he goes up there. He doesn't stand up there and say, now open your Septuagint 2, Joel chapter 2, I'm going to read to you. He goes from memory, doesn't he? Incredible how he quotes it verbatim. And then he adds, and they shall prophesy. In other words, think about it this. If I asked you to get up here and speak on John 3:16, you could get up here and speak. In fact, if you ask me to just let me take that, John, for God so loved the world, that includes you. Now that would probably be a little addition, right? A little inserting something to make my point, right? Well, that's what Peter does here. He's quoting it, and they shall prophesy. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy. Even on bondslaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour forth my spirit, and they shall prophesy. In other words, what are you looking at right now? You are seeing something with your own eyes. This is what Joel prophesied, and he's calling attention to it. And he does no violation to the text at all.

10:50We're going to look more into this in our Sunday school, so I'm looking forward to that to see how he uses this. But he is faithful to the text. They will proclaim. What does prophesy here mean? Well, they will, a lot of speculation on what all that, what all universe that encompasses. Well, certainly it means to proclaim and interpret divine revelation. But in verse 11, it makes it very clear, they are declaring the mighty deeds of God.

11:24Prophecy, declaring the mighty deeds of God. So the first thing that's going to happen in this last period of the last days is going to be this outpouring of God's Spirit. Second, from Joel, there's going to be these cosmic disturbances. Look at verse 19: and I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. God's action again: I will grant. There's going to be wonders in the sky above. There's going to be signs on the earth below. The result of these signs and these.

12:01Cosmic disturbances. The sun is going to be turned to darkness, the moon to blood. And what is the purpose of all this? To signal the day of the Lord. That great and glorious day. All these cosmic disturbances are going to happen before the great and glorious day. Last I heard the sun still gives its light. This great and glorious day of the Lord has not happened yet. It's great because its judgment is great. It's glorious because righteousness and justice will be ushered in and it will permanently reign.

12:38It's a day longed for throughout Israel's history, but the problem is they just, it's not going to be at all what they think it's going to be because they crucified their Messiah. The personality that is coming back is hostile to them in their unrepentant state. So there's going to be cosmic disturbances, but third, there's going to be this glorious or this generous invitation. Look at verse 21. Third aspect of this period of these last days. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And Peter stops Joel in mid-sentence. He says, you asked a question, what does all this mean? I'm going to tell you what it means from Joel.

13:27And then he stops Joel in mid-sentence because he Reaches his point. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. There is this generous invitation to be saved. And in Joel, the book is about the day of the Lord, the coming judgment day of the Lord, that great and dark day. But there is a message of hope. If you will call upon the name of the Lord, you will be saved. That is the message of Joel. Turn. Put your faith and trust. Call upon him. Call upon the name of the Lord. Peter picks that up, stays within the same vein as Joel. And he says, Look, everyone, look at the invitation list.

14:12It is for everyone, all mankind. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord. That's the invitation. Generous invitation to all. Notice the RSVP. How do you RSVP? Call upon the name of the Lord. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved from this great, and in Joel's context, terrible day of the Lord. So Peter's emphasis is upon the name of the Lord. What is his name? That's his emphasis. That's where he goes. You asked, what does this mean? It's about the name of the Lord. So in the last days, it's going to begin with this outpouring of God's Spirit. It's going to end with these cosmic disturbances shortly before the final day of the Lord. But in between, there is this. Generous invitation for all who will call upon the name of the Lord. That was Peter's text. Okay? Now I want you to see his exposition. His exposition is not exhaustive of this text. Notice how he gives five verses of text and only three verses of explanation. Now, if that was me up here, it would be a little different, right? As Brother Wilton has said, I can take a verse and talk for 45 minutes on it. So he doesn't give an exhaustive exposition of Joel chapter 2 like we might want to see or some academians would like to see. No, he gets right to the point and he answers their question and he says, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, and then he tells them what that name is. Look at verse 22. Men of Israel, after citing Joel, after reading his text, he says, men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs, which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourself know. He says, men of Israel, listen, let me tell you about Jesus of Nazareth.

16:18He was attested. God validated this man, Jesus Christ, in your midst. He validated him to you. He validated him to you with miracles and with wonders and with signs, and you yourself know it. That's what he said. You don't, they knew his miracles. In fact, Nicodemus said, We know you're from God. Nobody can do these things unless God is with him. He said, He was attested by God. And look at this. Here's the actual verb: you killed him. You killed. God attested him to you, and you killed him. Verse 23, this man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. It's interesting. It's this age-old question: who killed Jesus? Peter doesn't mince words. You did. Men of Israel, you killed him. You killed him by nailing him to the cross. That was your method.

17:25And you did so through the agency of godless men. You killed him through the hands of godless men. The Roman thugs are not innocent either. They were godless. Pilate knew he was innocent, and yet he put him to death anyway. So who killed Jesus? Well, it was the men of Israel who led the world in crucifying their Messiah. And it was the godless men of the Gentile nations that followed. But all this was God's plan. Look at it. He's saying, do not think, men of Israel, that you had power over your Messiah to such a capacity. No, this was predetermined by God. It was the predetermined plan. He would hand him over to you, and you would reject him with an exclamation point. And the world would know that you rejected your Messiah with an exclamation point. But God raised. Look back. Attested by God. You killed, but God raised. Verse 24, but God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for him to be held in its power. God raised him. You killed him. God raised him by putting an end to the agony of death because it was impossible for death to hold him. Now, why was it impossible for death to hold him? Well, Peter goes on to give two reasons, and he gives them based on two texts. So he brings in more scripture. And this time he does Psalm 16, verses 8 through 11. First text, look at, let me read it to you. Verse 29 of Acts chapter 2. For David says of him, I saw the Lord always in my presence. For he, by the way, circle all the pronouns here as we go through. You'll notice a distinct shift that takes place. For David says of him, I'll say, I saw of the Lord always in my presence, for he is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart was glad and my tongue exulted. Moreover, my flesh will also live in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow your holy one to undergo decay. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness in your presence. So in Psalm 16, David is rejoicing. Why is he rejoicing? Because he saw the Lord always before him, because the Lord was at his right hand, because the Lord would not abandon his soul to Hades, and the Lord had made known to him the ways of life. But at the basis of all this, the Lord will not allow his anointed one to undergo decay. That's David's reason for rejoicing. The question is, why would there even be a question about God's anointed one being threatened by decay? Where does decay happen? In the grave.

20:42In the grave. So Peter's point is that Psalm 16 cannot be speaking about David. David is not the anointed one. This is what he goes on to say in verse 29. Brethren, I may confidently say to you, Regarding the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. He's saying, it's not David. His body decayed. Go open the tomb. Anybody take any takers? They knew David had died. His body decayed.

21:22So he could not have been the anointed one spoken of in Psalm 16. But then he pulls out a second text, Psalm 132, 11. Look at verse 30 of Acts chapter 2, verse 30. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades nor did his flesh suffer decay. So when David is writing Psalm 16, he is mindful of God's promises. Perhaps the promise in 2 Samuel 7, 16 came to him, Your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever. Your throne shall be established forever.

22:14But certainly he knew that throne was going to be established forever, but also an individual would set upon that throne forever. And that's where he quotes Psalm 132, 11. The Lord has sworn to David a truth. From which he will not turn back. Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne. So David prophesied of the resurrection of Christ. That's what Peter is saying. He looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection. So why is it impossible for the grave to hold him? Number one, God had sworn, and number two, a true prophet, David, had prophesied. And scripture cannot be broken. So here's Peter's logic: David decayed. He's not the Messiah. Second, the Christ will be resurrected. And third, Jesus was resurrected. That's his logic. That's what he says in verse 32. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. David decayed. He's not God's anointed ruler of the nations. Christ will have to be resurrected because he will be in the grave. Jesus was in the grave. His body did not see decay. And up from the grave he came. This is the Messiah. That's Peter's message. And we are witnesses to this. It's as if David is saying, look for the one who will be raised from the dead. There is your Messiah. And Peter says, We have seen him.

24:01We know him. He is out of the grave. This is who the scriptures speak of. And there are no other candidates in history, by the way. So then he brings them to the answer to their question. What does this mean? They ask in verse 12. What does this mean? Verse 33. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this which you both see and hear. Saying, This is proof that Christ has been exalted. Remember, he said, Terry, stay here in Jerusalem, and you will receive power on high. And what is he saying? He's saying, Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, we watched him go up. And you know what? He took his seat at the right hand of the Father. And guess what? He has poured forth this which you have seen. What Joel said was Yahweh would pour forth. Peter is saying, Jesus has poured forth the Spirit. Now, listen, Jesus can't pour forth from God's Spirit unless what? He is God. And these little cups that we have, that these disciples have, we're containing, we're trying to hold in this incredible new spirit. Spirit. A spirit. That's what he gives. He gives of himself. I will pour forth from my spirit. So what is he saying? Jesus is Yahweh. You've been looking for God to pour out his spirit on all mankind, and here it is. He exalted. He was exalted. He ascended. He has gone into heaven, and he has poured forth this what you see.

25:59So what does this mean? It's proof that Jesus has been exalted. It's also proof, he goes on, that Jesus is David's Lord. Look at verse 37. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Now, if you go back to Joshua chapter 10 and look at verse 24, that is a picture of absolute subjugation. When Joshua brings these five kings out and he says, okay, guys, put your foot on their necks. It's a picture of complete subjugation. And that is where Christ is. It is not David who has ascended, but this one, Christ, Jesus, the Nazarene, who has taken his seat at the right hand of God until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. He is coming in victory.

26:59And then. The conclusion of his sermon. Look at there in verse 36. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. What does this mean? This means that, and get this, the whole house of Israel, make sure you all get this. You know what this means? That God has exalted Jesus, whom you crucified. It's the conclusion. You crucified your God-exalted Messiah. His name is Jesus, and we are witnesses to this fact. It's Peter's sermon. It's pretty powerful.

27:50In fact, in verse 37, I'm going to look at their response, but I'm going to look at that next time. I'm going to spend some time mining its truths, but just for now, they were stabbed in the heart. Literal reading. They were pierced to the heart. What shall we do? Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. In other words, he is saying, change your mind and change your relationship with the person of Jesus of Nazareth. That is what calling upon the name of the Lord looks like.

28:30Your mind and change your relationship about the Messiah whom you crucified. That's the message. That's how he tells them to respond. We're going to unpack that a little more next time. But with our time remaining, I want to give you those five New Year's resolutions that come out as a natural implication or consequence of Peter's sermon. Let's understand how we can take this message and put it into our 2015. This is the first record of the apostolic preaching of the cross. You may have heard the term kerygma or kerogma, and theologians use this to describe that oral gospel preached by the apostles. What was that oral message? This sermon was preached before any of the New Testament books were written.

29:30And this message, this oral message of the apostles shaped much of the writing. These components that come out of Peter's sermon shape the thinking of the New Testament. And it's often called the kerogma, like I said. I'll use that because it comes from the Greek word karuso. The verb karuso means to proclaim or to announce. The noun form, karugma, deals with the content of the proclamation. To karuso would be to proclaim. The karugma is the content of what was proclaimed. And this shapes the New Testament understanding and the apostles' creed and all that come out of this oral tradition of what they spoke. And there are at least five elements of what is called the karugma. First, it presented Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. First, it presented Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Second, it described him as God in human flesh. It described him as God in human flesh. The name of the Lord is Jesus.

30:47Third, it focused on his life and his work, and especially his death. Fourth, it spoke of his exaltation and second coming. And fifth, it declared man's guilt before God and that salvation was only through faith in him, and those who reject him as Lord and Savior would be eternally condemned. This constitutes at least five aspects of the apostolic preaching. And all five are in Peter's sermons here. So, what I want to do is give you five resolutions based upon the karugma. Okay, let me break it down. I want to give you five. Resolutions based upon these five elements of Peter's sermon so that you will know what God desires of you from 2015, what to put into practice, what to call upon Him for help to put into practice. Let me put it that way, because without His Spirit, you'll never do it. Five New Year's resolutions.

31:53First of all, as I said, the Apostles presented Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy, right? So, read your Old Testament. First, read your Old Testament. The apostles present Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, purpose to be more aware of the Hebrew scriptures. They point to Christ. Get to know them. And this will cause you to grow in your appreciation for the global picture of Christ's work and how you fit into it. In 2015, Brian, Texas. Read your Old Testament. Second, the Apostles presented Jesus as God in human flesh. So, the second New Year's resolution I could suggest to you: elevate your view of Jesus. The scripture has a very, very high view of Jesus. Elevate your view of Jesus. He is Yahweh. There is not another name on which a person can call. Upon and be saved.

33:03That's how exalted his name is. Something happened last week. I learned that the new president of Croatia was actually from my graduating high school class in 1986. She just took office last week. First lady, I think, that's ever been the president of Croatia. Very nice girl. I remember, except her hair was a lot browner, as I remember. Now it's very, very blonde. But I had this thought. As I watched this in the news, I thought, oh, neat, nice girl. I'm glad, you know, good for her. Then I had this thought: oh, this is great. If I am ever in Croatia and get detained and I need to make an appeal for help, I can go to the U.S. Embassy and say, I went to high school with your president. Let me through. I know that's a crazy thought, right? But you get the idea of there's nothing like having friends in high places, right? Oh, that my dad were the president of this great company, or if my grandfather had control of this country, or whatever. Oh, that I knew the president, right? Well, listen, we have a friend in a much higher place than any human friend or any human position possible. I mean, who can pour out From the Spirit of God, except God Himself. We have Him, we know Him.

34:41He reigns. Jesus is not some strange figure in history, He is the God of history. Elevate your view of Christ. Your God reigns if you are in Him. Oh, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer fellow, for sure. That should give you cause to have a very good 2015, no matter what happens. Live 2015 as if Jesus really does reign. Third apostolic message or aspect of the karagma focused on the death of Christ. You know, third resolution: let the reality of Jesus' death sink in. Let it sink in to your being, to the most internal, remotest, deepest part of your being. Let the reality of Jesus' death sink in.

35:46What does his death for his people imply? What does this imply for you on an individual level? Not only does the most highest name and sovereign in the universe Not only is he seated at the right hand, but he loves you to the point of giving himself so that you can have life in him. Let this sink in. And what does this imply for you as an individual? What does this imply for us as a church?

36:20You know, I don't think there's a father in this room that wouldn't give his life for just one of his children. I can't think of a more painful experience than to lose a child. And if such an exchange were possible, I guarantee you, I would rather go through a meat grinder than see one of my kids cut short in life. I want my kids to experience the blessings of this life. I want them to know what it's like to grow up in a loving home, to have friends, to fellowship, to enjoy brothers and sisters and family. I want them to know what it's like to fall in love with that special person that God has brought. I want them to know what it's like to get married, have children, go old, and see multiple generations. Or if God doesn't have that for them, whatever he has for them, I know would be good. And even the hardships in life, even the pains in life, I want them to experience. It gives them a bearing for heaven.

37:28I want them to experience it if they're. And if it came down to it, I can tell you I would happily go to a meat grinder as opposed to seeing one of my kids cut down and miss life. I also know that there is another father who would happily go to a cross and be crucified naked so that you could experience everything that he intends life to be in eternity. Do you see that? Jesus happily made that exchange. He wanted you to have life to its fullest.

38:18Think about the reality of his death. Let that sink in. Well, there's a fourth element of the apostles' preaching, and that is his second coming. Live expectantly in his second coming. It's a fourth resolution suggestion. Live expectantly of his second coming. Christ has been exalted. We know that now by faith. Pretty soon, all the world will know it by experience. We know it by faith. We have the advantage that we can live now in light of this truth. I love Psalm 110, and I can't wait till we unpack it more in Sunday school. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right. Hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The Lord will stretch forth you, strong, your strong scepter from Zion, saying, Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will volunteer freely in the day of your power, in holy array, from the womb of the dawn. Your youth are to you as the dew. Now, that's a pretty frightening army. Youth, strength, vigor, loving him as with all their hearts. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand. He will shatter the kings in the day of his wrath. He will judge among the nations. Listen, this world belongs to him.

39:50And soon, we know that by faith. Soon, this peasant from Galilee is going to be revealed to the world for who he is, King of kings, Lord of lords. And he will step onto the world seen in glorious power. And history, as we will know it, will come to an end. And the geopolitical realms of this world will be transformed. You and I will see him someday soon. Individuals, you will give an account. We will give an account to him.

40:26Live today as if you were standing before him. Sometimes I'm asked, why doesn't God remove all of the temptations that I'm going through? You know, I come to Christ. Why do I still have these temptations? Oh, I can just say this. Temptations give you a unique opportunity. You see, you have the opportunity to turn every temptation into an expression of love to Christ. Where else can it be measured? Will you love Him more than your own flesh? Live today as if you are in His presence and let each temptation, each perplexity, each difficulty, each heartache, each everything be an occasion for you to give an expression to this King of kings and Lord of Lords who is coming. Now's the time to make these expressions. Ask for His Spirit and bow the desires of your flesh to Him today as an expression of your faith, as an expression of your love, as an expression of your devotion to Him.

41:38Live expectantly. Fifth, be unashamed of the gospel. Be unashamed of the gospel. The fifth element of the Korogma is that man is guilty, and if he dies in that guilt, he will be eternally condemned. And the only means of salvation is Christ and Christ alone. You see, man is guilty. Man is a sinner. There is a root principle of sin in humanity. We are not one big happy family. We're a bunch of sinful creatures in sinful competition with one another. After all these years, we haven't learned to love one another, and we study war more now than we ever have.

42:25And God's eternal condemnation is upon sinners. Understand this, and don't be ashamed of this truth. It's part of the good news that He is not going to give this earth over to injustice, to tyrants, to immorality, to greed, to rebellion, or to false religion. That's part of the good news. And we also oftentimes throw it aside as bad news. No, God is righteous, and he's going to put an end to sin. That's good news. Man's only escape is through faith in him, faith in him alone.

43:01It's an exclusive claim, isn't it? One we almost cringe from. But one cannot have a hostile relationship with Jesus and a blessed relationship with the Father. That's the message of Scripture. You cannot have a hostile, indifferent relationship with Christ and expect a blessed relationship with the Father. He is the highest name, and there is no other name. So, do not be ashamed of this message. I know I have set my kids on a collision course with our culture. I teach him from the Bible.

43:44I've taught them from the word. And the word is exclusive. It makes exclusive claims, the one thing that this world does not like. And I realize that in teaching them, and it has caused me great concern that I have set them on collision with this world, but I can tell you this: it's a lot better to be on collision course with this society than it is to be on a collision course with Almighty God. Talk to Noah about that. He could have avoided the collision with his generation, but he would have collided with Almighty God. Do not be ashamed of this message. It is his message. The one who sits at the right hand of the Father, the one who joyfully gave up his life for us.

44:35It's his message. And because of all this, because of who reigns, I am optimistic for the new year. I am excited for what's going to happen on this planet. I'm not excited about the modern politicians. I don't think they're going to figure it all out, nor do I think that man is going to finally. Improve himself to where the world is a wonderful and beautiful and sinless place. No, I am excited. I am optimistic because the peasant from Galilee is King of kings and Lord of lords. That Jewish peasant reigns.

45:25And because of this, I can be excited about the future no matter what comes my way. Do you know him? The invitation is here for you today. Call upon his name. Change your mind and change your relationship with this Jesus, the Nazarene. Father, we thank you for this message that has reached us today. Thank you for preserving your word. Thank you for preserving the message. Thank you for your great grace. Father, help us all to call upon you as you desire us to. Father, if there's somebody here that does not know you, Father, I pray today that you would awaken. And Father, for those of us who have walked with you many years, Father, give us an exalted view of you. Let us not be ashamed. Let us be excited.

46:30For all that you have, for us as your people, what a joy, what a great privilege, and help us face the future in great anticipation. Thank you in Jesus' name.