Today's scripture reading comes from Acts chapter four. Acts chapter four. However, we will begin our reading in verse 16. Just double checking here. Oh, I already lost it. There we go. That's nice. 14, 15. Verse 16. But before we begin the reading of today's passage, I want to recall what has led us up to chapter four of the book of Acts. Two weeks ago, Seth preached about how a couple of the apostles healed a lame man as a way to prepare for a gospel message. That healing was not an end in of itself, it was a sign. It signified that the Spirit had come and that the time to believe in the gospel was now. Last week, Prashant picked up where Seth left off, showing how this healing led to the proclamation of the gospel. Peter stood in Solomon's portico and delivered a sermon. Now, if you're not familiar with the term portico, it refers to a massive covered porch. But it isn't your Mississippi folk band front porch music kind of porch. This is a grand structure that is about 300 yards long and 100 yards wide with a roof supported by strong pillars. To put that in perspective, that's roughly the length of three football fields and it is twice as wide. This is where people would gather to hear teaching. At first, it might seem strange that people would assemble in such a large space just to hear teaching. But remember, this is before the church age. At that time, if a Jew wanted to hear scripture taught, they either went to the synagogue or they went to the temple. The temple, in particular, was where Jews came for sacrificial offerings and during major religious festivals. It was packed. Here's the key point. When Peter preached this sermon at Solomon's Portico, the temple was packed. A lot of people were there. If we recall, the Jews were there for Pentecost. When we think of Pentecost, we often think of the coming of the Holy Spirit. But the Jews weren't there for that reason. They were there for the festival. The term Pentecost comes from the Greek word to mean 50th. It was the Jewish festival celebrated 50 days after the Passover, commemorating the time when Moses received the Ten Commandments. Now, the Book of Acts doesn't tell us exactly how much time passed between Pentecost and this moment here when Peter preached at Solomon's portico, but the text suggests that it wasn't that long thereafter. Whether it was for a day or a few days, Peter and John returned to the temple many times returned to the temple while many of the same people were still there. Many Jews who had traveled from outside of the city for Pentecost were likely to still be present. And, as Acts 3.1 tells us, Peter and John arrived there at 3 p.m., the time of afternoon prayer, a peak hour for temple activity. Luke is making it clear they went back at a time when the temple would be bustling with people. In short, Peter and John returned to the temple shortly after Pentecost, when the crowds were still present at the temple. They healed a lame man, not by their own power, but by the power of God. to prepare the proclamation of the gospel. The people, astonished, gathered around them in Solomon's portico, where Peter boldly proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ. And this is where our reading begins today. We will begin by reading Peter's sermon for context, but our primary focus will be on what happened immediately after the sermon in chapters four, verses one to 12. We will start in chapter three, verse 16. But before we do that, let's begin by asking the Lord for help in a word of prayer. Father God, thank you for delivering these blessed saints here at Grace tonight to this church. I thank you for their safe delivery here. I pray for the accident that I saw coming over here. I pray that, I don't know what happened, I don't know the details, but I pray that those people are safe and that this could be a wake-up call, that life is finite, that they need to turn to you, God. And I pray that they will soon hear from an evangelist or a preacher so that they can know clearly what the gospel is. I pray for the blessed saints who are here today as we're coming to hear your word preached today. I pray that as I read these words, these are not merely my own words, but these are the words that come directly out of your text. And I pray that they could be encouraged to know what happens after the gospel has been preached, how men respond both positively and negatively, and what we are to do even after we have proclaimed the gospel to certain individuals at a certain time. I pray that as those who are here today may not know the gospel, that today could be the day of salvation, that they can recognize who's the cornerstone of the church, the cornerstone of your word, God, and that cornerstone is Jesus Christ. I pray all of these things in Christ's name, amen. Once again, we'll begin reading in verse 16 of chapter three. And his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. And the faith that is now through Jesus has given man this perfect health in the presence of you all. And now, brothers, I know that you have acted in ignorance, as also did your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out. that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to the prophet shall be destroyed from the people, and all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel, and those who came after him also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets, and the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, and in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. God, having raised up his serpent, sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. And here begins our primary passage in verse one of chapter four. And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. and they arrested them and put them into custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came about 5,000. On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who and all who were the highly priestly family. And when they had set them in their midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name do you do this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and the elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, By what means this man has been healed? Let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given amongst men by which we must be saved. The grass withers, the flower flays, but the word of our God and Lord stands forever. Amen. The outline for today's sermon can be broken down into two points. Two points. The aftermath of the gospel proclamation leads to a response. And two, the aftermath of gospel proclamation calls for ongoing proclamation. Point number one, the aftermath of gospel proclamation leads to a response. This is found in verses one to four, verses one to four. The aftermath of gospel proclamation leads to a response. It will either lead to a positive response or a negative response. There are varying degrees of positivity and negativity. In our text, we only get two examples. we will get a response of hostility and belief. If you look down in verses one through three, we see that Peter was speaking to the crowds. Certain officials from the temple came to arrest him and John, specifically the priest, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees. Now, let us pause to think about this for a moment. Why would the priest, the captain, and the Sadducees want Peter and John arrested? This is a rhetorical question, you don't have to answer. Why would the priest, the captain, and the Sadducees want Peter and John arrested? For the priest, the answer is clear. If Jesus truly rose from the dead to forgive sinners, then their entire role as mediators of sacrifice would no longer be needed. Peter and John were essentially telling the crowds, because Jesus has come, you no longer need to go to be the priest. You don't have a job. For the Sadducees, the problem was different. While they didn't serve an official role in the temple, they were powerful religious elites known for rejecting the afterlife and the resurrection of the dead. And what were Peter and John preaching? that Jesus was raised from the dead and that he offers resurrection to those who believe. The very message they despised was now being proclaimed boldly in the temple. For the captain of the temple guard, the issue was one of order and control. As the head of the temple police, his job was to maintain peace in the temple courts. So imagine his reaction when he hears Peter and John publicly proclaiming that a. Sins are forgiven in Jesus' name, which implies a sacrificial system was no longer necessary, and b. Eternal life and resurrection are found through faith in Christ Jesus, which challenges the existing religious order. To the captain, this sounded like a disruption, and disruption meant disorder. So he, along with the priest and the Sadducees, moved quickly to silence Peter and John. Now this silencing, as one commentator pointed out, was done in the hope that it might sober them up and to give them a warning. Well, they all have their reasons. The question that we would have is this, were they justified in arresting Peter and John? Were they justified in arresting Peter and John? Some of us might be tempted to say, well, they were not justified, but it was for the greater good of the gospel. So it does not matter if they're causing just a little bit of a stir. We must be careful with such a line of thinking. Peter and John are not coming to the temple as a couple of righteous vigilantes. They came under the authority of Jesus Christ as apostles, as those who had been given divine authority when Jesus said, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. They weren't preaching in a place that they had no right to be in. They were in the temple, God's house, preaching the gospel to God's people. And here's the hard truth. Anyone who rejects the gospel is not truly God's people. So what the priest, the captain, and the Sadducees thought was a righteous act, arresting these men to preserve religious order, was actually an act of rebellion against God himself. They weren't protecting the faith. They were opposing the truth of that faith. I remember when I worked at a restaurant in Fondren. During that time, the Supreme Court was either discussing or had already overturned Roe v. Wade. I don't recall exactly if it was before or after. That doesn't matter to the point that I'm trying to make here. But right down the road, as you know, down there in Fondren, there was an abortion clinic. And outside of the abortion clinic, from both sides, there were protesters. There were protesters arguing for their reasons why they thought it was justified, whether or not we should get rid of abortion or whether or not we should keep abortion. One side argued that abortion should remain legal because women have an inherent right to their own bodies. The other side argued that abortion should be abolished because it is the murder of the unborn. For years, even before the Supreme Court ruling, this debate continued. But there was a key difference. One side actually had legal protection. The pro-abortion side. Excuse me. Yeah, the pro-abortion side. When abolitionists came to protest against abortion, some people in the community saw them as disruptive and said, these guys are causing disorder. We should call the police on them. And they did. The police were called on them. But if those protesters had a legal permit, there was nothing that the police could do, nor should they have done it in most cases. Because regardless of how the community perceived them, the truth remained, murder is wrong in the eyes of God. So even if the community saw them as troublemakers, those abolitionists were standing for the truth, holding to a standard not of their own, but God's standard. Now, of course, this is not a one-to-one comparison. The abolitionist protesters were not apostles called by God, nor were they standing in the temple court preaching the gospel to the Jews. They weren't proclaiming salvation in Christ. They were calling for a legislative standard based on God's moral law. But here's the connection. When they proclaimed the truth, those within the community reacted with hostility. Just like we see here in Acts 4. Christian, when you proclaim the gospel, you will face hostility. This passage assures us that there will always be those who oppose the message of Christ. And if they had the power to do so, they would lock you up, just like they did the apostles, in hopes of silencing that very gospel. But let this truth settle in your hearts. Hostility is inevitable. For now, we are simply recognizing the reality of opposition. In my next points, we will look on how to respond for when it comes. But before we move on, let us remember what Jesus said. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother. Briefly, let me speak to the non-believers who may be joining us in this assembly today. Perhaps you've thought in your life, I wish these Christians would stop talking about the gospel. They should just keep it in their churches and amongst themselves. Let me tell you this. If these Christians kept it to themselves, you would have no hope of knowing what could save you from your sins. You would have no hope. But God, being rich in his grace and mercy, has called his church to proclaim the gospel. It is of good news to you that these Christians won't stop talking about the gospel. Your hearing of the gospel time and time again is a reminder that you are in great need of a great Savior. Your sin is a rebellion against God and you need to turn away from that sin. Cling onto the God who could forgive you of that sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. The Christ who was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect life, died and resurrected on the third day. From there, he spent time with his disciples before ascending to the heavens to be on the right-hand side of the Father. Non-believing friend, I can assure you of this, I will never stop proclaiming what I have just told you. I will never stop proclaiming what I've just told you. I will forever proclaim that Jesus Christ and what he has done for me. I plead with you, repent and believe in the gospel. Not just any repentance, not just any belief, but a godly repentance and a godly belief. Pray unto him that you want to give your life to him now before it is too late. The kingdom of God is at hand. Now, others will respond positively. Others will respond with belief. And we can find this found in verse four. In verse four, it says, but many of those who had heard the word believed. And the number of men came to about 5,000. You'll see the arrest of Peter and John was not in vain. Despite the opposition, many in the crowd heard the word and believed. And the number of men who came to faith grew to about 5,000. As I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon, the temple was packed because of the Jewish festival. It was packed. There were a lot of people there. And there were a lot of people there to hear the word. And some people heard the word and received it. Now, scripture doesn't give us all the details about what happened next with these people, but based on Acts chapter 2, we can assume that not only did they repent and believe in the gospel, but they probably submitted to Christian baptism and eventually found themselves in a church. That's not the point that Luke is trying to get here. He's not trying to get into the weeds of these people's lives. He's trying to show that the gospel message is still being effective. It didn't matter that they were being sent to a prison cell for the night. Despite the priests, the captain, and the Sadducees trying to stop the gospel, God's message did not fall on deaf ears. 5,000 of his people responded on that very day. Right now, I think of the persecution happening in the many of the nations that we actually pray for on Wednesday nights. Some of these places are brutal towards Christians. Their homes are burned. Their bank accounts are seized. They are beaten, imprisoned, and sometimes even killed for their faith. But no matter how fierce the persecution is, God's mission will never fail. God's mission will never fail. God will gather his people. Think about it. The God who created the cosmos, the God who flooded the earth, the God who gave a child to an older woman, the God who split the Red Sea, the God who brought down walls with a trumpet blast, the God who brought forth the Messiah from a virgin's womb. Do you think that a few frustrated men were going to stop his gospel from being spread? Absolutely not. God's mission will not fail because it's his mission. Christian, you may never, you may never see the fruits of your labor. You may never see if your children come to saving faith. You may never see if your neighbor repents and believes in the gospel. You may never see the impact of your witness, but take heart in this, Christian. God will save whom he desires to save. This truth does not give you a pass to remain silent. You still have a responsibility to proclaim the gospel, but it should fill you with confidence to keep sharing it, no matter the outcome. No matter what comes your way, God will gather his sheep. A boss may fire you for sharing the gospel, but some may still come unto saving faith. Your children may live in a rebellion as they grow and live in your home, but their hearts may still be changed. Even if America collapses and you're arrested for your proclamation, there will still be those who will believe because it's God's mission and God will make sure that his people come unto him. Michael McClellan has an amazing illustration to this point. He says, on Broad Street in Oxford, England, there's a small brick memorial set into the street. It is known as the Martyr's Cross. and marks the place where in October 1555, the Protestants Bishop Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were burnt at the stake during their great persecution of Queen Mary. They were two of the several hundreds of Protestants who died in those awful years. As they were being consumed by the flames, it may have seemed that the light of the gospel itself was being extinguished in England. The next year, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, suffered the same fate. As they died, these men could not see the future. It was not for them to see the days of the spiritual life under Queen Elizabeth, the reformation of the universities, and the recovery of the gospel preaching in the pulpits throughout the parishes in England. They cannot see the great London Synod in the middle of the 17th century that would produce confessions of faith, including our own, the Second London Baptist Confession. They saw none of these things. Yet, as he was being burned alive, in some of the most famous words in English history, Vladimir exhorted Ridley. He said, be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, and I trust shall never be put out. So speaks the man of God who knows the Lord and trust in his wise and good providence. The word of the Lord will get to the people that God wants it to get to. Proclaim the gospel because some will respond and believe. This brings me to the second point of my sermon. The second point of my sermon, the aftermath of the gospel calls for ongoing proclamation. The aftermath of the gospel calls for ongoing proclamation. This is found in verses five to 12. Look down to verse 5, the next day Peter and John were brought before the religious authorities to be questioned. If you read in verse 5, on the next day the rulers and elders and the scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were on the high priestly family. In verse 6, we see several names listed. A first century Jew would have immediately recognized these names. This is the high priest and everybody immediately in their family. But Luke clarifies their significance for us. What a convenience. I'm reading this 2,000 years later. These were the high priest and the family of the high priest, the most powerful religious figures in Israel. Simply put, the high priest was the supreme religious leader of the Israelites. And that might be an oversimplification, but I'm trying to get to a point here. Now, these high-ranking religious leaders have gathered to interrogate the apostles. What was their concern? They wanted to know by what authority Peter and John had done these things. Most immediately, the healing of the lame man. But remember, the healing led directly to the proclamation of the gospel. So now, the gospel has been proclaimed. Some have rejected it. Some have believed it. When the gospel has been proclaimed, a response has been given. What do we do then? We keep proclaiming the gospel. And that's precisely what we see Peter doing here in this passage. If you go down to verses 10 to 12, you'll see that Peter is still proclaiming the gospel. The proclamation of the gospel did not end at Pentecost. It did not end at Solomon's portico. And this moment is not the last time Peter will preach it either. Even when Luke shifts the focus from Peter to Paul, Peter continues to proclaim the gospel. Now, while this goes beyond the scope of today's sermon, let me say this. The way Acts ends tells us something significant. The gospel is to be continually spread to all the nations. Let's read verses 10 to 12 once again. Let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead by him, this man standing before you well, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders which has become the cornerstone, and there is salvation by no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given amongst men by which we must be saved." A proclamation of the gospel again after the gospel has already been proclaimed. Amen. The gospel message does not stop being preached just because we saw a little bit of success or a little bit of failure. In fact, I think these words are too simplistic. When people deny the gospel, you have not failed. When people deny the gospel, you have not failed. And when people accepted the gospel, you have not succeeded. It is not your success to be had. It's God's success. God is the one saving His people. You are only the messenger. When someone rejects the gospel, that is their failure for not recognizing who the Lord is. When you fail to share the gospel, and I want to be clear here, there is a time and a place for everything. So I do think there are specific times in which you should preach the gospel. Because the church has been entrusted to preach the gospel. Yes, we are all gifted differently, and this is the way in which we do share the gospel. Some are gifted to serve the physical needs of the church, that's why we have deacons. Some are gifted to preaching and the teaching of the word, that's why we have pastors. Some are gifted in evangelism, and others in encouragement. But here's the point, your failure to share the gospel is when you don't do your part in the body of Christ that you've been assigned to. So how do we continue to share the gospel? Fortunately, this passage actually shows us two ways in which we can do that. First, by relying on the Spirit. We find this in verse eight, by relying on the Spirit that's found in verse eight. Let us go back to verse eight again. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, After Peter was questioned, Luke makes something clear. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. This tells us something important. Peter's response was not given in his own strength. It was a Spirit-filled response. This text reminds us that Peter was able to proclaim the truth with boldness because the Spirit dwelt within him. Ever since Pentecost, the Spirit had been working through Peter, empowering him to speak. And I believe, by inference, that Peter was actively relying on the Spirit in this very moment. Several months ago, a friend of mine told me that his pastor always prayed before answering questions from his congregants. And that really stuck with me. As someone considering the pastorate, I took it as wise counsel because if I wanted to be a pastor, I will need to rely on the Spirit. And let me be clear, I don't mean this in a theoretical sense. I really mean to rely on the Spirit. A pastor who does not rely on the Spirit has one of two problems. Either he needs to repent, or he doesn't even have the Spirit to begin with. How can a pastor answer deep theological questions if he's never even considered the heart problem? A person may ask one thing, but deep down their heart is asking something else. A man in his own strength cannot see the heart of another man, but God can. God knows the hearts of every man, the righteous and the unrighteous alike. A pastor must consistently ask for the Spirit's aid in counseling, teaching, and guiding the flock. But here's the thing, Christian, you also need the Spirit's help. even though you're not called to a higher office within the church, you have the Spirit dwelling within you. When you share the gospel with the lost, when you speak to your children about Christ, when you wrestle with your own doubts, are you asking the Spirit for help? Are you relying on your own knowledge, your own theology? Or are you relying on Bible trivia? And all of these things are helpful and they're useful tools to be had, but do not forget this, dear Christian, that it was the Spirit who inspired the Word of God to begin with. And this is the same Spirit who dwells within you. It is able to work in the hearts of those who hear. Pray that the Lord helps you with these things. Seek the Spirit for help. Rely on Him. Proclaim the gospel with confidence, knowing that it is not your own wisdom or your own efforts that changes the hearts of man, but by the power of the Spirit of God. And this is the second thing in verse 11, verse 11, a second way in which we can continue to proclaim the gospel, and that's by using the Word of God. In verse 11 it says this, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. You will see that Peter is not merely or even really at all speaking with human philosophy. He's speaking from the very word of God to make his point. He's making a reference to Psalm 118.22 that says the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." That is a profound psalm, profound. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is a rich passage, and Peter uses it to make a direct accusation against the religious leaders of his time. Think about the context in which Peter is speaking. He is telling them that they are the builders, the ones who have constructed Israel's religious system, yet they have rejected the very one that it was built upon in the first place. The prophecies, the sacrificial systems, the kings, all of it pointed to Jesus. The entire Old Testament was about him, and yet these men rejected the one person who it all pointed to. What Peter is doing here is significant. He's telling the religious leaders that despite their claims, they have rejected the Old Testament itself. They say hold on to it, but they cannot truly hold on to it if they've denied the cornerstone, who is Jesus Christ. And it's not just a problem for religious leaders of Peter's day, we see the same thing today. So many people claim to be Christians, yet they reject the Christ that the Bible is all about. They may even quote beautiful scripture passages to build up their ideologies, but if what they teach is not aligned with Christ, what's the point? How often do we see people posting Bible verses out of context on social media to justify their worldview? How many times do we hear people twisting scripture to support something that is completely opposed to Christ? That is not a cornerstone that they are standing on. They are standing on sand. And unless they repent, they will have to answer to God, not only for lying, but for taking his name in vain. Because when somebody misuses the Word of God, they're not simply misunderstanding Scripture. They're claiming that God has spoken something that He has not spoken. And that is a dangerous thing. If you're one of those people, I implore you today to repent. You do not know the cornerstone that keeps the Word together. Now, I must acknowledge here, you are not like the builders, you're not the religious leaders who are building up Israel's system, but you're no less guilty than they are. But here's the good news. Here's the good news today. Today can be the day of salvation. You can know that the Lord Jesus Christ repents and believes in the gospel like I've already stated. And when you do that, you can know the cornerstone from which all of scripture points to. Now to the Christian. This is a great opportunity for me to remind you what this word is saying. Know your Bible. Become intimate with this Bible. Read it daily. Study it daily. We don't have an explicit command from within the scripture, thou shall read the word of God every single minute of every single day. But as any pastor will tell you, read your Bible every day. It is great, profound wisdom. Peter, even though he's being filled with the Spirit, think about his entire life leading up to this point. He was raised in a Jewish society where they read the Word every single day. And he could just quote these things off the top of his head. And then he spent years with Jesus, who was the Word himself, who told him what all of these things meant. And now Jesus, who's being filled with the Spirit, knowing the entire Old Testament pretty much off the top of his head, is saying it back to these people so he could proclaim the Word of God unto them. Recently, I talked with a beloved family member of mine who said, when I try to read the Bible, I don't understand it. And I wanted to respond to them so dearly, then read it more. Read it more. God, God will not let your labors in reading this word go into vain, because his word is life-giving. So, in conclusion, the aftermath of gospel proclamation will have us recognize two things, that people will respond, but it also tells us to continue proclaiming the gospel. Let us pray. Father God, thank you for allowing us to gather and recognizing your word I pray that we could recognize the duty and the mission that must be done as we are proclaiming the gospel at hand. I pray that the saints are edified. I pray that today they could feast upon the word and be nourished for the week ahead. I pray for the others. here today who are not Christians, those who are in attendance and are merely listening, I pray that today could be the day of salvation, that they could hear that the gospel will continue to be proclaimed not only by a man such as I, but also by preachers like those who are within our congregation, and other Christians who are also filled with the Spirit, that they could rely on that, and they can see that they too can have that great helper indeed, the Holy Spirit, and they can see what a great joy it is to have that gospel. I pray all of these things in Christ's name. Amen.