Sermon Tone Analysis

We Lift Up the Lord Jesus Christ!

Acts 2:25-32

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - June 16, 2013

*In the January, 2002 issue of "World Magazine," Melvin Newland read the story of a church in New York City.

From the early 1900's through the 1960's this church was a powerful witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

They had more than a thousand active members.

But by 2002, their number had dwindled to about 120.

*Why?

-- Well, in recent years their emphasis switched from presenting the gospel to helping the homeless.

They set up soup kitchens in the church building, and began massive feeding programs for those in need.

That was a good thing to do.

But, at this church, prayers were never offered in the soup kitchens, nor was the name of Jesus ever mentioned, because they were concerned that someone might be offended.

*Melvin gave this explanation of the church's decline: "Turning away from Christ's command to preach the gospel, they made no effort to communicate the good news of a Savior who forgives sins, changes lives, and frees us from the bondage of our sins.

The result was that the same people came through their lines year after year with no improvement, no change for good taking place in their lives.

The church was feeding their bodies, but starving, their souls.

And now the church itself is almost dead."

(1)

*God forbid that we would ever go down that road!

We are here in Caldwell Parish to lift up the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost helps us see why.

1. First: We lift up the Lord, because Jesus can foresee the future.

*We see this truth in vs. 25, as Peter continues his sermon, and here, Peter began to quote David from Psalm 16: "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken."

*Here David was speaking as a prophet.

Peter made this clear starting down in vs. 29:

29.

"Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

30.

Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,

31.

he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption."

*Inspired by the Holy Spirit, King David wrote these prophetic words a thousand years before Christ was born.

Think about that.

From the beginning, God promised that His Messiah would come.

Even in Genesis 3, God told about the one who would crush the Serpent's head.

And all of those prophecies are going to come true.

One source I looked at lists 351 Old Testament prophecies that have already been fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

*And by the grace of God, King David got to write some of those prophecies.

David was able to get a glimpse of the future, but only because the Lord can see all of the future!

As God says in Isaiah 46:9-10:

9. "Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,

10.

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.'"

*I like the story about the preacher who was made announcements at the end of a service.

One day he said: "The class on prophecy has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances."

(2) We can't see the future, but God can!

So "the Bible bases its reputation on its ability to predict the future."

(3)

*We lift up the Lord, because Jesus can foresee the future.

2. And because He put full faith in His Father.

*This is another truth in vs. 25, where David quoted the Savior saying: "I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken."

Psalm 16:8 put it this way: "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved."

*That word "set" means deliberate, intentional looking at the Lord.

We should keep looking at the Lord both day and night, in every situation.

That is the way Jesus trusted in our Heavenly Father.

He put full faith in His Heavenly Father.

*And that is why in vs. 25-28, Jesus could say that the Father:

25. . . is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken;

26.

therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh will also rest in hope,

27. because You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

28.

You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of joy in Your presence.'

*In other words: "Father, I am relying on You.

I am rejoicing in You.

I am resting in You!"

And by going through all that He went through Jesus proved that we can also rely on God.

Jesus proved that we can fully trust in the promises of God.

And we must.

*Life is far more fragile than we usually realize.

And if we live long enough, we will have to let go of our health, our home, our family and our friends.

Why does God let life happen like that?

One reason why is because God wants us to see that He has to be number one in our lives.

He also wants us to learn that we can trust Him in every situation.

*I often think back to our good family friend, Mary Parker.

She was greatly blessed in life.

Mary and her husband Jimmy met during World War II.

He was in the Army and she was a Navy WAVE.

I am not sure how they met.

Maybe it was at the USO.

And they were married on the last day of the war in 1945.

*When Jimmy passed away, they had been happily married for 52 years.

Mary taught school for over 20 years.

She had two daughters.

Mary and Jimmy had five grandchildren.

They also had some wonderful friends, including my Mom and Dad.

*The Parkers lived in a nice house with a pool in back.

They spent many wonderful summer vacations at the beach and on the lake.

But in the last months of Mary Parker's life, most of those things were gone, and she was locked in a fierce battle with lung cancer.

*I have always remembered something she told me a few months before she died.

Mary was living in an assisted-living complex, and that day she was sitting in one of those lift-recliners.

Mary had a big TV tray in front of her.

And while I was there, she moved her hands around the outside edges of that TV tray, as she said, "This is my world."

*Mary had lost almost everything this world has to offer.

But she still had everything she needed, because she had Jesus!

Mary assured me that she was trusting in the Lord, and that she was ready to go to Heaven.

She said, "I'm looking forward to it."

And every time I talked to her, over and over again she talked about how good God had been to her.

*She was trusting in the Lord.

She was being like Jesus.

And we lift up the Lord, because Jesus put full faith in His Heavenly Father.

3. We also lift up the Lord, because He went the distance to deliver us.

*Jesus went all the way from Heaven to hell for our sake!

Verses 26&27 record a great testimony from the Lord.

There Jesus spoke about His death, and said:

26.

therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh will also rest in hope,

27. because You will not leave my soul in Hades (or hell), nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

*Jesus went all the way to hell.