BUT GOD…..
I once listened to a sermon by a noted Pastor/Theologian that really stuck with me. His whole message was based on his contention that these two words, “but God…” were among the two most important words in the Bible.
I just lost my job…what am I going to do…but God….
My spouse was just diagnosed with cancer…but God…
I am lost, hopeless, a doomed sinner heading for eternal Hell…but God…
Our sermon last Sunday centered on the Apostle Peter’s powerful message on the day of Pentecost following his infilling of the Holy Spirit.
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a Man [a]attested to you by God with [b]miracles and wonders and [c]signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of [d]godless men and put Him to death. 24 [e]But God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the [f]agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held [g]in its power.
It’s amazing to note the change in character of Peter and the disciples following the resurrection of Jesus, coupled with the illumination and power provided through the Holy Spirit on that day. That little group of 11 basically uneducated men went from a whimpering, fearful, goalless group hiding behind closed doors to boldly proclaiming the Messiahship of Jesus and the good news of the salvation He provided. Miraculously, without the internet or even a loudspeaker, 3,000 souls were saved that day from one simple sermon powered by the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t just because a man was resurrected!
Remember a few weeks ago Pastor Shawn’s message was about the rich man and Lazarus. While in Hell, the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers about their impending doom if they don’t repent. Abraham replies that the rich man’s brothers have Moses and the prophets (God’s Word). If they don’t believe them, they won’t believe a man resurrected from the dead. But the resurrection Peter was referring to wasn’t just a man resurrected from the dead. This was the Lord, Jesus Christ…the long-awaited Messiah…the Godman. His resurrection was proof positive that God the Father had accepted His Son’s sacrifice and the path to the Kingdom of God was opened. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit that day illuminated the minds of the elect to understand and accept this good news.
This wasn’t new information that Peter and the disciples just received on the day of Pentecost. The “data” wasn’t new, but the totality and implications were made much clearer. Remember in Luke 9 Jesus asks His disciples, …’but who do you say I am?” Peter responded, “You are the Christ”. Peter (speaking for the disciples) knew that Jesus was Deity but didn’t fully understand His mission. This confession didn’t come from Peter’s logic…it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. Christ’s mission became clear after His resurrection and Illumination of the Holy Spirit.
However, the drama of redemption was made manifest even way before Peter’s confession. Often considered the fifth gospel, the prophet Isaiah wrote some 740 years before the birth of Christ and provided incredible details regarding the events of the Messiah’s life and even more so to some extent than the gospels, the spiritual implications of His life. Consider the following words from the Isaiah 53:
He has no stately form or majesty
That we would look at Him,
Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him.
3 He was despised and abandoned by men,
A man of [b]great pain and familiar with sickness;
And like one from whom people hide their faces,
He was despised, and we had no regard for Him.
4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore,
And our pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by God, and humiliated.
5 But He was [c]pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
The punishment for our [d]well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To [e]fall on Him.
Clearly, man is without excuse…we are all doomed…BUT GOD!!!
Mark Packer
Church Elder