Declaration of Dependence - Isaiah 1; Acts 2

2:36That was a great saying back then, but I see that our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness is being taken away from us many times right before our eyes. Just open the newspaper, open your iPads, open your computers, look at the headlines. Another comment: this is directly addressed to the king. The history of the present king of Great Britain. Is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. The kingdom of England was recognized as a tyrannical ruler over the ocean to the United States, and our people said, We don't want that anymore. We don't want a tyrannous ruler.

3:25So it says to prove this, let the facts be submitted to a candid world. And they list several facts. I'll go through a few of them. One of these facts, one of the reasons that we declared our independence is that he, the king, has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their office and the amount of their payment for their salaries. In other words, the king rules the judges. The judges rule the people.

3:52Another one, it says this, he, the king, has kept among us in times of peace standing armies without the consent of the legislature. They had their armies over here ruling our people at the behest of the king. And so we said, no more, king. We don't want this anymore. We don't want you ruling our lives, telling us what to do. And we see that in our nation today. We say, God, we don't want to have anything to do with you. We declare our independence from you. There are so many similarities in this document from what we see going on today. Another one, for imposing taxes on us without our consent. Those tax dollars didn't necessarily stay in our land. They went to the king's pocket to do his thing. For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses. They were taken to court for things that they had not done. Another one, for taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments. And then they list several of them here. And I'll just mention one more. He has abdicated government here by declaring us, or by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us. The armies are in the land. They don't want it anymore. They want to be freed from the king.

5:21A couple more comments. In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned our redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, and I love this statement here, just think about this as I read it. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant as unfit to be the ruler of the people. We see that happening in our own land today. We, therefore, the representatives of this United States of America in general. General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, they're appealing to God for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the name of and by the authority of the good people of these colonies solemnly publish and declare. Here's what they declare: that these United Colonies are and of right ought to be free, independent states. They are to be absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved and establish a commerce to do all other acts and things which independent states may have a right to do.

6:42As strong as this language sounds and as harshly as the signers of this document were punished for it, this is not the greatest declaration of independence that any nation has ever issued. It's not. We see it in human history, Adam and Eve. Eve was deceived. She picked the fruit. She ate it when she knew she wasn't supposed to. Adam, along with her, rebelled against God. God gave him a direct order, do not eat from this tree. And he rebelled. He declared his independence. Every human being except for Jesus Christ has declared our independence against God. Israel and Judah, Israel declared their independence and they were taken away by a An enemy nation, Judah, and Isaiah 1 is right in the throes of battles coming against them, nations coming against them because they have rebelled against God.

7:44And for you and me, it's time to end our declaration of independence against God. It's time to declare our dependence on Him, on our Redeemer. That is what we are called to do. So, this document signed 240 years ago has meaning for us today because we can see the dangerous effects of rebelling against God's authority in our lives. Today, you're going to see two declarations of independence, two declarations, actually, one of independence and one of dependence in a whole new way. You see, rebellion against God leads to eternal judgment, but your declaration of dependence on him leads to eternal life, and that's what this whole message is about. We're going to look at the bad news first. We're going to look at Judah and how they were decimated as a nation because they high-handedly rejected God. But then we're going to look at those who crucified Jesus Himself and what happened in their lives when they surrendered to the very one they killed. So, today I want to consider two scenes, two scenes. First, is that of independence on God, that of independence or short. We say from God, and the second scene is that of dependence on God.

9:05There's two ways to look at this. We're going to look at rebellion's result. That's Israel, or should I say Judah. And then we're going to look at admonitions, admonishment. Admonitions, or should I say admissions admonishment? Excuse me, admissions admonishment. In other words, we need to repent of our sin. We need to admit our sin. Well, our first scene is a declaration of independence from God, a declaration far more severe than that of the United States, from the Great Britain, Great British king, the king in the UK. In the UK, this is much more scandalous. This last week, we saw the Brexit whole upheaval going on.

9:45The people of the UK said we're done with the EU, and so they declared their own independence, and it's going to cause some great problems, but it's nothing, nothing like the independence that Judah declared. I ask you to turn to Deuteronomy 5, to Deuteronomy 5, and I just want to start this out and talk about integrity. When you hear that word integrity, what comes to your mind? Integrity. Integrity simply means keeping your word. It means doing what you say you're going to do. It means that people can trust you, that what you say is something you're going to keep. Once you break a promise, you're less inclined to be trusted from there on out. Well, Israel made a commitment. Said, we are people of integrity. They made a commitment to Moses and to God, and they said, They said to God, they said to Moses, whatever God wants us to do, we will do.

10:42You ever break a promise? You ever had promises broken against you, and how harshly the sensation, the feel from that is? It's irritating when somebody says, I will, I've got your back, I'm going to cover you, and then they run the other direction. That's what's going on here. Join with me in Deuteronomy 5, verses 27 through 28. I just want to look at this to put it in perspective: Deuteronomy 5:27, the people said to Moses, and here it is, Go near and hear all that the Lord your God says, then speak to us all that the Lord our God speaks to you. And here it is, and here's what they say to Moses: You say this to God, and we will hear and do it.

11:29They said, Whatever God says to you, we will hear it and will do it. They made a commitment. Moms and dads, wouldn't you like to hear your children say, Whatever you say, mom and dad, I will do for the rest of my lifetime without question. Wouldn't that be great? This is what Israel says to God: We will do whatever you say. And in verse 28, Moses says to the people in verse 28, quote, The Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me. Moses is saying this to the people. And the Lord said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. They have committed to God. They have declared their dependence on God. And God said that's a good thing. He heard it. Do you know that when you make a commitment to the Lord and to other people, the text is clear. He hears you. He hears you. And he expects you to keep that commitment. Be careful what commitments you make.

12:42Verse 29, God says, Oh, oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever. Drop down to verse 32. Since they declared their dependence on the Lord, he encourages them to keep it. When you and I tell others that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, we are proclaiming that we trust in him and we will live for him. And when you proclaim that and act completely contrary to it, your story doesn't fit your actions, your proclamation. And verse 32. So you shall observe today. Do just as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. Jesus wants you hot or cold. He wants you firmly against him or he wants you firmly with him, but he doesn't want you lukewarm. No offense straddling. Verse 33: You shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord, the land which you will possess. Well, so how'd they do? They made a commitment, right? How'd they do? What does their land look like now?

14:14It didn't go well. For the next 800 years, the nation experienced cycles of dependence on God, along with cycles of severe rebelliousness against God. Think Brexit to the extreme. These people are putting their thumb in God's face and saying, forget it, we're not with you, God. It seems that the more God blessed them, the more they revolted against him. They liked the good stuff that he gave, but they continued to revolt against them, thinking that they were the ones who gave the things that they had.

14:48As we enter into Isaiah, we find ourselves inserted right in the middle of a lawsuit. This is a lawsuit. This is court language that we're going to read here in verses 18. Through 20, it's a lawsuit. Let's go to Isaiah 1. Isaiah chapter 1. About 2,700 years ago, God summoned the nation of Judah to appear in his court. And there's a reason that he summoned them to be there. We need to listen to this carefully because as we rebel against God in our lifetimes, there are going to be times when we will experience much the same thing. You see, Judah was extremely, it was an extremely wealthy nation. And as a result of their opulence, they judged God, their creator, their provider, and their ultimate redeemer, not necessary. They broke their vows to do whatever he says, and they declared their independence on him. So he hauls them to court, and he puts an end to their rebellion in an effort to put an end to their rebellion. So in verses 2 through 15, God levels charges against Judah for their declaration of independence. Let me just focus on a few of these things as we move on. In verse 2, it says, Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth, for the Lord speaks. Sons I have reared. These are his children. I've brought them up, but they've revolted against me. He invokes the heavens and the earth to hear. Why would he do that? This is poetic language. It's poetic language. And so he's saying, heavens and earth, listen to what I'm saying. In other words, he's saying, everybody, listen to what I'm saying. Have to say here. God talks to the heavens and the earth. He personifies them as if they are people. There's a sense of urgency. God is calling the masses to declare their dependence upon him. We see this same thing in Psalm 19, verses 1 and 2. You don't have to go there, but Psalm 19, verses 1 and 2 talks about the heavens. David writes these words. The heavens are telling of the glory of God. Look, if you want to know who God is, you go outside at night, you look up, there's the glory of God, he made it. And so he's saying, the heavens declare the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the works of his hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. He's telling the heavens and the earth to speak to the people in figurative language that God is telling them they have revolted against him. They've declared their independence. That word, revolt, is the same word used in Isaiah 128, same chapter as forsake.

17:38We might say they divorced God. They wanted nothing to do with him. These people, these are the people who simply ignore what God says, and they rebel. They revolt against him. This was their 4th of July every single day. That was their lives. They celebrated their independence from God. They wanted nothing to do with him. In this context, Text, God is telling them that he is handing them over to their ways. He's handing them over to their ways, as if to say, You want to be independent from me, then independent from me you shall be.

18:14You want to have nothing good that is mine, then nothing that is good of mine you shall have. He's handing them over to 100% of their rejection that they may enjoy nothing about him whatsoever. Reminds me of Romans 1. Romans 1. You don't have to turn there. I'll just read a couple of places in Romans 1. Romans 1.18. This is judgment, and this is God handing the people over. And Paul writes in 1.18 in Romans, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. They've revolted against him. And so he hands them over to their ways. And in Romans 1.24, therefore, God gave them over to the lusts of their flesh, of their hearts, to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. They said, God, we don't want anything to do with you. And God says, fine, I'll give you over to everything you want that has nothing to do with me. And as a result, you will suffer for it. And that's what Judah faces here. Romans 1.28, Paul says this, and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, he gave them over to a depraved mind to Do those things which are not proper. This is where our nation is heading, ladies and gentlemen. A depraved mind. What does that mean? It means that they had gone so far from the Lord, so far from God, and done things that were repugnant in God's sight that they no longer understood the difference between right and wrong. And that is a depraved mind. All the wrong that they do think is normal, and God hands them over to more of it. And so, when we see that our nation is tumbling down a hill and we're upset about this and we pray for it, we see that God is handing this nation over to the devices of their own heart. He's giving them what they want.

20:09When you see your children rebelling against you at a very young age, if you don't fix it early, if you don't disciple them and mentor them early, it will get worse unless God intervenes and shows them to trust in Him. Isaiah 1, chapter 1, verse 3, it continues. It gets worse. He says, an ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master's manger. But Israel does not know. My people do not understand. What is he talking about here? He's painting a picture. This is flowery language. He says, an ox, a cow, a bull doesn't know his owner.

20:48Excuse me, does know his owner. What he's saying here is, Judah, you don't even know me. You don't even know the one who created the ox. You don't know the one who created you. A donkey, its master. Manger, he says, even a donkey knows where to go find the food that the owner puts out. But he says, Judah, you don't even know me that gives you food, that gives you the very next heartbeat in your chest, that gives you the blood that flows through your veins to give you life.

21:20He says, My people don't understand. My people are worse than cows, worse than donkeys. He says, Alas, in verse 4, alas, sinful nation. I'm going to stop there. This is a fascinating word. Alas, sinful nation. In the Hebrew language, he uses a word that he uses for Gentiles. He doesn't use any word that identifies them as his people. In this case, he says, You're the Gentiles. You are my chosen people, yes, but you act like Gentiles. I'll refer to you as Gentiles. You want to act like you don't know me? I'll treat you like you don't know me. And so he refers to them as Gentiles. Alas, sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly. They have abandoned the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They've turned away from him.

22:14And he's handing them over to the devices of their hearts. They can no longer tell the difference between right and wrong. So God gives them more of the wrong that they seek after. This was a nation in verse 5 that was stricken by enemy nations. The land around them had been devastated, and they're the only ones left in Jerusalem. And he says in verse 5, where will you be stricken again? Where's the next war? Where's the next skirmish? The next battle, as you continue in your rebellion. He says, The whole head is sick. All your leadership is sick, those that are left alive.

22:53Your leadership is sick. The whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot, even to the head, there is nothing sound in it, only bruises and welts and raw wounds, not pressed out nor softened or bandaged. There was nobody to take care of them. The doctors weren't there. This is a nation that had rebelled against God so severely that he removed his hand of protection and he allowed the other nations to come in and deal with them. They're battered and bruised from head to toe. Attacking armies have destroyed their land that God gifted to them.

23:29They said, God, we don't want you. Fine, you don't get the land. As we see in Isaiah 1:7, Judah can only watch as their cities go up in flames. Judah can only stand back because there's no fire department to help them. Strangers devour their food and they look on as the enemy armies come in and they take their crops and they consume them. And there's nothing they can do about it. Look, tell your kids that sin has consequences.

24:01Teach your kids. Israel committed to teaching their kids to doing whatever God said, and now they're facing the consequences for rejecting him. Israel, excuse me, Judah had no reason to be shocked about what was happening to their nation. When you declare your independence from God, when you revolt against his word, don't thrust your finger in his face and get upset with him when bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to people because they high-handedly reject God. 700 years earlier, Moses warned the nation that if they declared their independence from God, there would be catastrophic consequences. Where did he give them this warning? You don't have to turn there. I'm just going to mention a few things about it. But if you want to look at it later, Leviticus chapter 26, verses 14 and following, he specifically lays out what's going to happen to them when they declare their independence from God. The first one is terror. Do you see that happening in Isaiah 1? Terror? There's another one. Their enemies will eat from their harvested land. These are comments that are made 700 years before the event.

25:17God will set his face against them. He'll give them all of what they want, and none of him. Drought and disease will consume them. Animals, get this, animals will kill their kids. Children and their livestock. It gets worse. Their enemies will annihilate them. Out of desperation, this is where it gets really bad. I talk about not telling the difference between right and wrong. Watch what these people did: they ate the carcasses of their own children. That's how bad it got. Because they revolted against God. And they'll be exiled to other nations. Israel's gone. Judah's next. About roughly 120 days, years after this writing in Isaiah 1, they were deported. And they were in an enemy nation. They didn't have their land. And God took them out. God gave them over to the devices. He gave them over to the decisions of their heart. Verse 8: He says, The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a watchman's hut in a cucumber sealed, in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. Well, what does that mean? A watchman's hut in a cucumber field. Can you picture this? Their land is devastated. There's a little guard shack out in the middle of this pasture, acre after acre after acre that was supposed to protect the cucumber field, and all they got is this little shack to protect them. It means nothing. This former military superpower is a shell of its former self because they declared their independence. Their ability to defend themselves is about as effective. As a night guard in a no-gun zone, a gun-free zone. Get the word picture? They have no defense.

27:11There was a time when our family got to go to Fort Knox, or at least not to Fort Knox, but we got to go to the surrounding parts of Fort Knox because you can't get in. We guard our gold, our wealth, better than we guard human beings, better than life. I think you can get as close as a half a mile to the entrance. And even if you could get past that, you would have to get past guards. You'd have to get past weaponry. You'd have to get past fences, razor wire. You could see it from a distance. And we protect this. And I would compare it to, in our situation, if we were to be judged like this, you could compare it to a little Cub Scout, a little 10-year-old boy, defending Fort Knox with this Cub Scout knife. That's this cucumber hunt.

27:55They can't even defend themselves because they've rejected God. He says in verse 9, unless the Lord of hosts, unless the Lord of the armies had left us a few survivors, we would be like Sodom. Yikes. We would be like Gomorrah. Verse 10, he says, hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. He's calling Israel, excuse me, Judah, Sodom. He's equating them to Sodom and Gomorrah. Give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah.

28:31Not much different than Sodom and Gomorrah. You want to know why Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed? There's more to it than just Acts 19, where a bunch of homosexual men tried to rape other men. That was a part of it, sure. But in Ezekiel 16, verses 48 through 50, we see there's more to it. The people weren't supporting those in their own society who couldn't feed themselves. They weren't taking care of the widows and the children. And so God judged them. And He's saying to Judah, You're no different than them. You've revolted against me, and you're not even taking care of my people. The only difference between Jerusalem and Sodom and Gomorrah has nothing to do with their behavior. Both of them were evil. It has everything to do with God's grace. Sodom and Gomorrah didn't have survivors. Judah did.

29:23That's God's grace. Severely judged for their wrongdoing. And then he launches into the next several verses about multiplied sacrifices and burnt offerings. He takes no pleasure in the blood of bulls and goats. He talks about appearing before him and trampling on my courts in verse 12. He says, Bring your worthless offerings to me, bring your incense to me no longer. It's an abomination to me. He talks about their religious festivities. He talks about in our culture they're going to church, they're taking part in the Lord's Supper, but they have. Nothing to do with me. They're having new moon sacrifices. They're doing all this religious stuff, but he says, stop it.

30:09I don't want your actions. I want your heart. I want your repentant soul. He says in verse 15, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. That's significant, isn't it? God won't even hear their prayers. Why? Because they're guilty. Their hands are covered with blood. And so he gives them some advice here. In Isaiah 1:16 through 17, God gives them eight action items to follow to get back on track, eight of them. You can see it right in the text. It's so clear. They're all verbs. He says, wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove the evil from your deeds from my sight. Stop doing what you're doing. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. It's about discipleship. It's about parents teaching their kids. It's about the church teaching their kids. He says, learn to do good. Seek justice. Follow the law.

31:20Reprove the ruthless. Don't let the ruthless, don't let the lawless get away with what they're doing like you're doing now. He says, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Plead for people who aren't able to take care of themselves. It's your responsibility. Verse 18. Verse 18, he says, Come now, let us reason together. And I can imagine he probably said it with a very soft voice with a lot of pause. Come now, Judah, let us reason together. This is the kind of language that is used in a lawsuit.

32:02God is taking Judah to court. Judah's Declaration of Independence from God is epic. It's nothing like the Declaration of Independence that we signed into place 240 years ago. Nothing like it. So epic that God hauls them into court. I likened this to a little bit of my own life. When I was a child, my dad was a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective. Interesting. It didn't scare me a bit. As a little eight-year-old guy, I saw no problem with running around the neighborhood with rocks, throwing them through the windows. I started my life of crime.

32:46His badge didn't scare me a bit. Nice shiny star on his chest. The handcuffs on his belt, no big deal. The baton he carried, who cares? The 38 revolver didn't stop me from breaking windows. I tell you what stopped my crime wave, though. A ride to my dad's office, better known as the county jail, in his buddy's black and white car. As an eight-year-old, I was pretty nervous about that. My judgment was at hand, and I was going to see my dad, along with his friends, delivering me to him. The cops helped me understand my vandalism. The cops helped me understand my revolt against my father. And in that car, I had a long time to think about it, such that I would remember it so clearly now. I had two choices, the officer said to me: My choice was to agree to stop breaking windows and go home and love my family and them love on me, or my choice was to rebel and to remain in jail.

33:50I'm so glad as an eight-year-old I made the right choice. That's just a very small picture of this court case that's going on with God and Judah. You're going to see that God puts the cookies on the lower shelf that they can understand what he's talking about in this court. There's no legalese going on here. It's just a word picture. In fact, it's a poem, this Isaiah 1:18 through 20. Trent Butler, an author, puts it this way: this poetry in verses 18 through 20, this is poetry, and it's painted. This poetry painted God and his judgment on a canvas of the people's minds such that they would know. Never forget it.

34:33The kind of poetry in verses 18 through 20 appeals to people's emotions. He says, Come now, let us reason together. Let's think about this together. And it's not like it was a banter back and forth with an attorney saying, Well, yeah, but they didn't understand. No, it's just one person. It's God. He's the judge. He's the prosecuting attorney. And he's the jury. And he uses this language to help them to understand. Verse 18, he says, Come now. Let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet, though your sins are as scarlet, think the word like or think the word resemble. Though your sins resemble scarlet, they will be white as snow. Think like snow.

35:25Sins can't be turned from scarlet into white. Think of the language. This is poetry. He's saying to the people, Though you are sinners and though you have rejected me, I can turn you into a new people. Though they're red like crimson, he will make them white like wool. They will resemble white like wool, though some think that this is a rhetorical language here. If you look at the text, it could be rhetorical language. He could be saying, though your sins are as scarlet, They will be white like snow. Really? Is that possible? Though they are red like crimson, they'll be white like wool. This is a court case, and God is saying to them, Do you really think this can happen? It's not the sins he's going to change, it's the people he's going to change. But there's something that the people have to do to get that change. And it's in verse 19. In verse 9, 19, there has to be a change of the heart. The heart is the target. He's after the person, after the people. Here's the end game. Here's the main point for Judah and for you and for me. It's then verse 19. If you consent and obey, you'll eat the best of the land. You see your enemies devouring everything about you. You see your enemies deporting your children, taking them away through their own new religious teachings.

36:56He says, stop declaring your independence. Start declaring your dependence on me, and then I'll give you the best of the land to eat. And it's not just land, it's the land. It's the love for God and the love for people, but there's another option here, much like the officers gave me. You don't want to stop breaking windows? Let's have another option. But if you refuse and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword. That word devour is the same Hebrew word as the word eat, but it's intensified because it's more than just eat. There's a devouring that the enemies will bring on this nation. They'll be deported. They'll be killed. And then the court case ends. He doesn't ask for interaction. He doesn't ask for defense. It just closes out. Look at verse 20. Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. There's no gavel. God walks out of the courtroom. They have two choices: eat or be eaten.

37:54The people dug in their heels. They dug their heels into the ground, and so God removed them from the land. As I said, about 120 years later, roughly, they were removed. They were deported to Babylon. What about you? Do you sense there's times in your life when you're wandering? Maybe you're wandering somewhat now? That maybe God has deported you in your life, and that maybe you're struggling with things that you don't want to be struggling with because perhaps you're not in his word. You're not trusting in what he's said. You haven't declared your independence, or excuse me, your dependence fully on him.

38:33He wants your heart, your heart is the target. He wants your dependence on him. When life is tough, when depression hits, when you don't know what decisions to make or what to do, consult his word. He wants you to stop running. He wants you to trust in him. Life will get more devastating if you don't. We see proof here with Judah, but God's promises remain. Intact with Judah. He'll raise up a prophet like Moses, we read in the Old Testament, who will speak God's word to his people. God made a promise in Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 18, and he says, I will raise up another prophet like you, Moses, and he will have my words in his mouth. He will speak my words to the people, those things that I command them. And it shall be that whoever will not listen to my words, which he shall speak, he's talking about Jesus, in my name I will myself require it of him. He's talking about a prophet way back in Deuteronomy 18, 18, several hundred years before Jesus. Jesus comes. He is that prophet. And that passage, Deuteronomy 18, 18 is referenced several times in the New Testament. So I say this is about Jesus. God will send Jesus to seek and to save those rebellious ones, those who have declared their independence on God, yet they simply will turn from their declaration of independence and place their souls in the care of his hands. So let's engage this thought a little bit. You see, there's a second scene that I talked about, a second scene of independence and dependence. The second scene admonishes you to declare your dependence on God. In this case, declare your dependence on Jesus Christ. Let's go over to Acts chapter 2 to pick up an event that took place many, many years after Isaiah. This is the time of the church, when the church was founded after Jesus had been resurrected. We're in Acts chapter 2. We're looking at verse 22.

40:58Much like God's court case against Judah in Isaiah, Peter calls to order another trial for those guilty of killing Jesus himself. He calls them into a court and he tells them to come up with a verdict on their own. Peter preaches a message that starts with rebellion's result and finishes with an admonishment to admit their rebellion against the Lord. Debbie and I raised our kids at an early age, very young age, to make wise decisions. I mentioned before, we had a rule in our home. It was first-time obedience. If you wanted to rebel against us after hearing our directions the first time, there would be consequences. And so they knew to listen the first time. God wants us to have first-time obedience.

41:51He wants us to depend on him. We wanted to train our kids' consciences to warn them. At a very young age, so that when they got into their teenage years, in their 20s and 30s, their consciences were developed based on the truth of God's word. They could make biblically sound decisions. I'm not saying we got it out right all the time. Our kids have made plenty of mistakes, but we trained him at an early age to make wise decisions.

42:21Peter's message drives Jesus' killers to admit that what they'd done and to back up their confession with a public statement. He wanted them to admit what they'd done and to back it up with a public statement that they would throw themselves at the feet of Christ, the one whom they killed. So, starting in verse 22, he says, Men of Israel, listen to these words. By the way, when he says this, men of Israel, these are the words of an evangelist. This is how an evangelist talks. He addresses them very specifically. 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 yourselves know. He says, You were there, men of Israel, you killers of Jesus. You saw the miracles, you saw the signs, you saw the wonders. You know what happened. Verse 23, this man, Jesus, delivered over by the predetermined plan of God and the foreknowledge of God, you, can you see him pointing his fingers? You nailed him. To the cross, you who saw him do these miracles, you who know he's raised from the dead, you nailed him to the cross by godless men and put him to death.

43:43But God, in verse 24, but God raised him up again. Can you imagine hearing that? He implicates them for the murder of none other than the long-awaited Messiah. And he says, But God, God raised him up again. This is the gospel. This is the resurrection that we're talking about here. The resurrection is part of the gospel. It's part of the good news. You killed him, but God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible to be held by its power.

44:22This should come as no surprise that God raised him up from the dead. These men couldn't argue the facts. The tomb was empty. The stone was rolled away. They made up some lame lies, but the truth is they were lies, and they knew that the body wasn't there. Now they must be reconciled to God for their crime. They've been caught. What are they going to do? Are they going to admit it? Or are they going to dig in deeper? Are they going to rebel further? You put them to death.

44:51It was impossible for him to be held there in his power. It was impossible. Why was it impossible? Just a few things that. Jesus would say. You don't have to turn there, as I said, John 11, 25. I'll just read it. John 11, 25. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection. I am the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies. He said that long before they crucified him, long before. In John chapter 2, verses 18 through 22, we've talked about this before. They said, show us a sign as to why you can clear this temple out of animals and people, flip over tables of the money changers. And he says, look, you kill this temple, and I'll raise it up on the third day. They thought he was talking about the building, but he rose it up on the third day so that on the third day, when it happened, the disciples remembered what he said. In Luke chapter 24, verse 26, Luke 24, 36, excuse me, 46. He said to them, Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise again on the third day. And so they're eyewitness of this. They see it going on.

46:00And we see a poem that takes place. David says of him, I saw the Lord in my presence in verse 25. He was at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exalted. Moreover, my flesh was also, excuse me, my flesh also will live in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you allow your holy one to undergo decay. You have made known these things and your ways of life. You will make me full of gladness. With your presence. And he says 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. What he's saying here is that this psalm that David wrote is not about David. It's about the Messiah. It's about Jesus who rose from the dead. And he's saying, you know, this for sure. He's not here. It's not about King David.

46:57He's gone. Jesus is still alive. He quotes Psalm 16 to bring home this news. Wants to be clear. In verse 33. Verse 33. He says, 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. All that you're seeing here today on this founding of the church day, all these things that you're seeing, he says in verse 34, for it was not David who ascended into heaven, but the Lord himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

47:45He's saying, God said to my master, my master being Jesus, David says, God says to my master, says David, sit at my right hand. Jesus is David's master. Even though they were born so far apart. In verse 36, therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has raised him from the dead, both Lord and excuse me, try that again, 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.

48:24They're in this trial. They can't argue with this evangelist's presentation of the truth. He says, God made him both Lord and Christ. Both. If he's not both, he's neither. Notice in the text here, who makes Jesus Lord and Christ? Who makes Jesus Lord and Savior? The people? You ever hear the statement, Did you make Jesus Lord and Savior of your life? God made him Lord and Savior. He is Lord and Savior. The fact is that we need to declare our dependence on the fact that he is Lord. He is our Master, and He is our Savior. There is no other. God does this, not people. People are simply called to submit to Christ as their Lord and Savior because that is who the Father made him to be.

49:18Isn't that interesting? So if you hear this, if you were one of those people, what would you say? How would you address this? What would you say? In verse 37, now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? If you heard somebody say that, what shall we do now? We're convicted. Your case is sound. We're guilty. What shall we do? And it's a very simple statement. In verse 38.

49:59In verse 38, Peter says to them, Invite Jesus into your heart. Walk down an aisle at the church and kneel and rededicate yourself for the 150th time. Listen to Christian music. Pray. Do religious things. And God says, I hate your new moon Sabbaths. I hate your celebrations. He doesn't say that at all, does he? What direction does he give? Peter said to them, Repent, each of you, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you who receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They're guilty before the Supreme Court, and they're waiting for judgment to come upon them. But no, it's an offer of forgiveness.

50:50Have you sinned? Have you done something that is so awful, so worse than what they did, that you think that God could never forgive you? He says, repent. Repent and believe. Be baptized. Repent. Repentance is the necessary ingredients for salvation. One ingredient was believe in the resurrection. Second, repentance. It simply means to renounce your declaration of independence from God and embrace your declaration of dependence on him. Repentance is when you cease from rebelling against him and embrace everything that's good about him from his perspective. Jesus repeatedly urged repentance in Matthew chapter 4, verse 17. At the very beginning of his ministry, the text tells us that from that point forward, Jesus kept telling them to repent.

51:49It's necessary for salvation. In Luke 13, 3, Luke 13, 3, it says, I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Repentance is necessary for salvation. There are those who will tell you it's not. I'm here to say from the scriptures that it is necessary. In Acts chapter 3, verse 19, he says, Therefore, repent and return so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Repentance is necessary. What about baptism? You see, okay, I'm ready. I see there's a baptismal behind you. I want to be saved right now. I want to jump in. I want to get. This is over with. And you think that just because you've dunked yourself in the water, somebody's dunked you in the water, that you're good to go, you're entering the pearly gates. What does this mean? What's he talking about here? You see, baptism is an outward profession of an inward change.

52:47You've repented. You've called on Christ. He's your Lord and your Savior, and you've bowed to Him as just that. And so, repentance, you've done that. Baptism is now telling the world that I am a changed person. I have surrendered my life away from my management and placed it into the management of God's hands. And so it's a public profession. Those who have been baptized or sprinkled or dipped or something before their salvation in Christ, let me tell you something. That wasn't baptism.

53:18Baptism comes as a result of your public profession of faith, of an inward change. And so you're constrained not to hold back, but to tell a group of people how God has brought you to Himself. That is the gospel. And I love this in verse 39. For the promise is for you and your children. Let's put this in perspective. These are the people who were responsible for crucifying Jesus. And when they stood before Pilate and they had a choice between Barabbas, a criminal, to be released to them, or Jesus, they claimed they wanted Jesus crucified. Pilate didn't want to do it, he washed his hands of the situation. He says, This blood is not on me, but they said, His blood is on us and our children.

54:07Let's read this again, verse 39. For the promise is for you and your children. They pronounced the blood guiltiness of Jesus' death on their children. God is not only offering forgiveness to them, but to their children, and for all who are far off, all the way as far as Bryan College Station, Texas. As many as the Lord will call to himself. And with many other words, he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. Verse 41. So then those who had received the word were baptized. How many?

54:48That day, about 3,000 souls were added. Amongst them were those who were responsible for killing Jesus. Judah was Brexit to the extreme, but Jesus' killers repented. Jesus' killers rejected their declaration of independence. They repented, and they declared their dependence on Christ. They repented. Christ forgave them. If you've repented and trusted in Christ, you're going to see them in heaven. Isn't that an amazing thing? They didn't have to, when they asked the question, what do we do? They didn't have to jump through hoops.

55:36They didn't have to do a bunch of stuff. They needed to repent. They needed to be baptized. They needed to be baptized before their church, their people, so that they could declare the truth. Rebellion against Jesus Christ leads to eternal judgment. But your declaration of dependence on him leads to eternal life. This is the gospel. We've looked at it this morning. There's a gospel that includes the resurrection. Do you believe he rose from the dead? The tomb was empty. They couldn't argue with it. He'd performed miracles. He'd healed the people. They saw it. They heard the messages and they repented. And they came to Christ. If you haven't done that, what's holding you back?

56:22I beg you, in the name of Christ Jesus, place your life in his trust. Otherwise, it will get far worse. I promise you that. We saw that with Judah. Father, we thank you. We thank you that though we declared our independence from you, though Ephesians 2 tells us that we were once dead in our sins and transgressions, you made us alive in Christ. By grace we are saved, not of works, not even dipped in water. We are those who have gone before, as a matter of that result of that perfection. To say to the world, I reject the world and I depend on Christ. I declare my dependence on him. So, Lord, for any who do not know him this morning, I pray that even now, that even where they're sitting, that they would repent and that they would trust in you, and that as a result of that, they would want to be baptized to declare their faith to their friends, their neighbors, and their families. Lord, we're grateful for this nation. It's been a great ride for 200 years, but it's getting difficult, Father. The church grows under persecution, and we have years ahead of us of severe trials. I pray, Lord, that you would give us the strength. I pray that you would raise up from amongst this body men and women who will go out with the gospel no matter the danger, cost, or consequences, that we'd be sold out for Christ.

57:53Thank you that we can declare our dependence on you in Christ's name. Amen. Amen.