I invite you to turn with me this evening to the book of Acts once again. Acts chapter number two. Acts chapter number two. Acts chapter number two. And we will read this evening from verses 22 through verse 36. Acts 2 verses 22 to 36. Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands have crucified and put to death, whom God raised up, having loose the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. 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. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope, For you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy in your presence. 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. 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, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore, Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. What is Christianity all about? What is at the heart of our faith? Well, I hope we all know that it's not just a what that is at the heart of our faith, but who. Christianity is about Jesus. On Monday, which might seem like a strange day to have a service, on Monday, March 25th of 1861, Charles Haddon Spurgeon preached the first message that would be proclaimed in the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Now at this time in London, the Metropolitan Tabernacle had been built to accommodate the crowds that were coming to hear the preaching of Charles Spurgeon and the numbers that were joining the church, they needed a new building. And such was the hunger for the preached word there that this building that was built was at that time the largest place of worship that had been built to that point in time. Interestingly enough, God had blessed Spurgeon in amazing ways even in his young age. Spurgeon was not even 30 years old when the Metropolitan Tabernacle was opened. He had already been preaching for many years prior to that. But in that opening sermon, the first sermon that he would preach in that house of worship, Spurgeon said these words. He said these words in the introduction to the sermon, the first sermon that would be preached in that building. He said, I would propose and oh, may the Lord grant us grace to carry out that proposition from which no Christian can dissent, I would propose that the subject of the ministry of this house, as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshipers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ. I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist, although I claim to be rather a Calvinist according to Calvin than after the modern debased fashion. I do not hesitate to take the name of the Baptist. You have there, and he pointed at this point to the baptistry, substantial evidence that I am not ashamed of the ordinance of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if I am asked to say what is my creed, I think I must reply, it is Jesus Christ. My venerable predecessor, Dr. Gill, has left a body of divinity." And what he meant there, what he was talking about was the writings of John Gill, who had been a preacher that had preceded Spurgeon in years gone by and that ministry. He had written extensively on many subjects, including he had written a body of divinity, which was a book of theology, essentially. So that's what he's talking about. My venerable predecessor, Dr. Gill, has left a body of divinity, admirable and excellent in its way. But the body of divinity to which I would pin and bind myself forever, God helping me is not his system of divinity or any other human treatise but Jesus Christ, who is the sum and substance of the gospel, who is in himself all theology, the incarnation of every precious truth, the all-glorious personal embodiment of the way, the truth, and the life. I wonder if the truth that grips Spurgeon's heart grips ours today, that Jesus is the sum and substance of Christianity. He is the sum and substance of the gospel. Do we see Jesus for who he really is? Over the years, many sermons have been preached to Christian churches. This is the very first one. This is the day on which God will bring to pass the birth of the church. This is the first sermon of the Christian church. And what is the message of this message? Well, the message is Jesus Christ. Once again, to find our place here, Peter is preaching to a group of people who have gathered and are wowed by the manifestations of the Spirit being poured out. They have heard the sound of the mighty rushing wind and come to see what's going on. And there they find these believers speaking in languages that they have not heard, declaring the wonderful works of God. And so the people that come are amazed. How is it that these people who haven't learned these languages can speak these languages? And not just languages, but our own dialects. Some weren't just confused, they were antagonistic and said, well, these are just a bunch of drunks. Peter stands up full of the Holy Spirit and begins to preach. He begins to preach and tells them that this is actually what was spoken of in the Old Testament, that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, that this pouring out would be for all believers. He also pointed to the fact that There is a day coming in which judgment would fall on those who do not believe. But he ended the first section of his sermon quoting Joel by saying, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. He is answering the question that is on people's minds, what could this mean? The answer to what is going on here is Jesus Christ. Now, they've gathered to, they've been attracted by the work of the Spirit going on in these believers, among these believers. And you might expect that if this is what drew people, that Peter would then take the time to make his main point the Holy Spirit. But that is not what Peter does. Peter's message, like the Holy Spirit's ministry, points to Jesus rather than the Spirit. Jesus is the answer to the questions that they have about what is happening, and Jesus is the answer to the deepest questions and needs of the human heart. Peter has this message for his hearers. They must call on the name of the Lord. Who is the Lord upon whom they must call in order to be saved? It is the risen and ascended Jesus. The Christ whom they have rejected and crucified is the one that they must call on to be saved. And it is this risen and ascended Jesus who has poured out his spirit on this day of Pentecost. What Peter is telling these people is that they must call upon Jesus. But if they're gonna call upon Jesus to be saved, they must know who Jesus is. Peter, in the verses that we have read just now, is pointing people to the fact that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. He is Lord. He is the Son of God. And He is Christ. He is the Messiah. He wants people to know who Jesus is so that they will then repent of their sins and call upon his name. There really are, if I could divide it this way, the three main points of this message, and probably there are many main points, but three main points. First, the life of Jesus reveals that he is Lord and Christ. Second, the death and resurrection of Jesus reveals that he is Lord and Christ. And third, the ascension of Jesus reveals that he is Lord and Christ. So let's look at these in turn. Look with me at the text, chapter two and verse 22. The life of Jesus reveals that he is Lord and Christ. Peter in verse 21 has just said, whosoever calls in the name of the Lord shall be saved, and then he immediately transitions to speak of the Lord upon whom they must call. Look at verse 22. Men of Israel hear these words. Men of Israel listen to these words. This is the second time that Peter has said something along these lines in this sermon. In verse 14, he has told them to heed his words. Now he says, listen to my words, hear these words. This is important for them to grasp. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know. Peter begins by pointing them to the life of Jesus. And in particular, he points to those miraculous things that were a part of Jesus' life. He indicates that the miracles that Jesus did, and he did many miracles, no one did miracles like Jesus. You look back in the Old Testament and the greatest Elijah, And then later, Elisha, the number of miracles that they did were less than the number of miracles that Jesus did that we know about. John indicates that there were probably far more than the Spirit has seen fit to record for us. Jesus' life was marked by the miraculous. But God was at work doing these miracles through Jesus. And why was he doing this? Well, the miracles that Jesus did were God's signs pointing to who Jesus really was. You see, in the Old Testament, the Old Testament had prophesied and predicted that the Messiah would do the miraculous. So then when Jesus is born and then later begins his public ministry and that ministry is marked by the miraculous, this is God saying, this is my beloved son. This is the Messiah. You must listen to him. The miracles were not done simply for their own sake. The miracles were not done just to put on a show. The miracles were signs that pointed to the identity of Jesus. Yes, they showed God's grace to those who received them, certainly they did. But God was doing something to point people to who Jesus really, truly is. In other words, as you looked at the life of Jesus, you knew that something miraculous was happening. the religious leaders that conspired against Jesus and opposed him at every step, they knew that Jesus did the miraculous. For those of you that were with us in our study of John, you remember what they said, they could not deny that the miraculous had been done. But what they said was things like, he is casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons. They could not deny that Jesus was doing the miraculous, but rather than accepting the obvious, that Jesus was doing these things by the hand of God and the power of the Spirit of God, as the Son of God. Instead of admitting and accepting all of that, which would have essentially told them, you must trust in him, In their unbelief, they denied and suppressed what they knew, and instead said that Jesus did this under the power of Satan. Peter stands up, and the first point that he has to say about Jesus' life is, you all know the miraculous things Jesus did. These were God's stamp of approval on Jesus. These were God's signs saying, this is my son. This is the Christ. The life of Jesus reveals that he is Lord and Christ. But second, the death and resurrection of Jesus reveal that he is Lord and Christ. Look at verse 23 with me. Him, that is Jesus, being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God. You have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death." Peter then points to the death of Jesus. He tells his hearers that Jesus died in God's determined counsel or his determined purpose and foreknowledge. In other words, this was God's plan. We can look into the Old Testament and see very obvious prophetic passages that speak of God's plan regarding Messiah. We think, for example, the most obvious is the ending of Isaiah chapter 52, and then all of Isaiah chapter 53 speaks to the life and death of the Messiah. Take a moment with me and turn back to Isaiah 53. Just so again, this is reinforced in our minds. Isaiah chapter 53. We could start our reading in chapter 52 verse 13, but let me just point out some passages from Isaiah 53. Look at verse four. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Look down with me at verse nine. He made his grave with the wicked. Look with me at verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall prolong his days. The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. And as if that were not clear enough, that Messiah would die paying for the sins of others. Look at the verse 12. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul unto death. He was numbered with the transgressors, and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Jesus died in God's determined plan and purpose. Why did he die? He was numbered with the transgressors. He was wounded for our iniquities. Friends, in God's plan and purpose, it was not just that Jesus would die. That is true. But there's a why Jesus would die. In God's plan and purpose, Jesus would be put to death on the cross, paying for the sin of the world. Jesus was that Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world. Indeed, we can go to other Old Testament passages that speak of the death of Messiah. Turn with me to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9. As God gives Daniel a vision of the future through the angel Gabriel, he says this, verse 26, and after 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. What does that mean? To be cut off means to be executed, to be taken from the land of the living. The Messiah would suffer the death penalty, but not for himself. He would die for the sin of his people. Indeed, we could go all the way back to Genesis chapter three and see, in Genesis chapter three and 15, God's first declaration, if you will, of the gospel, where he said that the seed of woman would crush the serpent's head. You see, Jesus died in God's plan and purpose. It was God's plan and purpose that Jesus would die, and it was God's plan and purpose why Jesus would die. And even as I proclaim that to you, I wonder if you have embraced the truth of that, that Jesus died would be numbered with the transgressors, that Jesus would die not for himself, he would be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. I have only pointed to three passages in the Old Testament, but we could go, book by book and see how they spoke and looked forward to Jesus. In fact, the whole Levitical system of sacrifices would point forward to Jesus. This was God's determined plan and counsel. Not just that Jesus would die, but why Jesus would die. But back in Acts chapter two, having given the divine side of it, look where Peter goes next. You have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. In the very same action, we see God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. We cannot look at the death of Jesus and say, well, It doesn't really matter because God planned that anyways. It may be mysterious to us, but we must land where the scripture lands. God in his sovereignty may use the sinful actions of men to accomplish his purpose, but that does not mean that God tempts people with evil and that God himself is evil. does not mean that any more than an author who uses a negative or evil character to, in the end, point out a truth is evil. Here's God's sovereign purpose, delivered up by God, delivered by his determined counsel and foreknowledge, his purpose. Here's the sinful actions of men. taken by lawless hands, crucified and slain. The greatest sin to have ever happened on this earth. The greatest injustice ever done is the murder of the Son of God. Sometimes at church we sing the hymn, Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? And some of you might remember that hymn. Peter is speaking to people who literally and physically were there when they crucified the Lord. In fact, the people to whom he is speaking, many of them no doubt joined their voices in crying out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him! And Peter points to God's purpose in Jesus' death, but he also points to their sin and responsibility. If we are to truly understand the cross of Christ, as someone has once said, we must understand that it was not, before we understand that it was something that was done for us, there's a sense in which we must understand that it was something done by us. Why did Jesus go to the cross? Who killed Jesus? We could give many answers to that. We could say God and his sovereignty delivered him up. We could say that the Jewish nation handed him over. We could say that the Roman soldiers nailed him to the cross. But we must also see our own guilt and complicity in this. He was wounded for our transgressions and he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. You see, Jesus went to the cross because of us. And so we think of that hymn, Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? There is a sense in which though we were not physically present, there's a sense in which our sins nailed him to that cross. The death of Jesus reveals that he is Lord and Christ. In the Old Testament, God's plan and purpose clearly indicated that Messiah would die. It clearly indicated that Messiah was not just a man, but God, and we'll get to that in more detail in just a moment. It's the death and the resurrection, though, that reveals to us that he is Lord and Christ. Look with me at verse 24. Whom God raised up. God delivered him up, and then God raised him up. He delivered him up to death. They took him, crucified him with wicked hands, with lawless hands. They put him to death, but God raised him up, having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it. Not only does the death of Jesus point to his identity, but the resurrection of Jesus points to his identity. It was not possible that he should be held by it. Why was it not possible that he should be held by it? Well, number one, it wasn't possible that he should be held by it because the Prince of Life could not be held under the power of death. Second, why he could not be held by it, is because the Old Testament scriptures had prophesied that Messiah would not be held by death, that he would rise from the grave, that he would experience resurrection. Once again, if you would turn back with me and we'll look again very quickly at Isaiah 53. I should have had you Hold your finger there in Isaiah 53, but look again with me at Isaiah chapter 53. In verse 10, I think we see this. It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. You make his soul an offering for sin. Clearly speaking of Jesus dying for sinners and their sin. But notice what it says right after speaking of the death of Messiah. he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. How is it possible that he would see his seed and prolong his days if he died as an offering for sin? How is that even possible? It's possible because of resurrection. Why was it not possible that Jesus would be held by it? Because the Prince of Life could not be held by death. It was not possible that he could be held by it because the Old Testament scriptures prophesied his resurrection and the scripture cannot be broken. By the way, Jesus himself foretold his own death and resurrection, did he not? We remember repeatedly in the book of Mark how Jesus spoke of his death and his resurrection. Jesus speaks the truth as the way, the truth, and the life, and his word cannot be broken. But there's also another deeper theological reason why it was not possible that he should be held by death, and that is this. Jesus, in his death, had accomplished propitiation. He had, by his death, There's this amazing dynamic in the death of Christ that in his dying and resurrection, there's a sense in which that resurrection becomes like a womb that gives new life, through which he gives new life to us. Jesus as the firstborn from the dead is the one who will then give life to all who have placed their faith and trust in him. And so it was not possible that Jesus should be held by death. And once again, if we look at the rest of scripture, this is entirely in keeping with the identity of Jesus. Paul in Romans would tell us that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. But Peter points his hearers to an Old Testament passage. He points his hearers who more than likely were very familiar with the Old Testament scriptures He points them to Psalm 16 and verses eight to 11. In Israel's history, there was no ruler like David. And there was no leader that was held in higher regard in terms of a king or a monarch than David. Every other king was compared to David. Even Solomon, the son of David, Though he was great, and though he was incredibly rich, and though he did incredible things, made incredible things in Jerusalem and the rest of Israel, even he, in the minds of the Jewish people, was to be compared to his father David. David was, if you will, the height of the monarchy in Israel. And so, Peter points them to David's words in Psalm 16, Verses 8 to 11, we read that earlier. I foresaw the Lord always before my face. He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in Hades, as the King James would say it, in hell, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy in your presence. We read this Psalm, Psalm 16, and it in part does speak of the experience of David at the hands of wicked men. But there is a deeper reality that is going on in that passage. And there are parts of that Psalm that cannot apply to David. And this is what Peter draws our attention to. He tells us as he continues, Verse 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. All right, so he states a very obvious point. At that time, everyone in Jerusalem knew where the tomb of David was. We don't know where it is today. They knew back then where it was. It was a place that was held in reverence there in Jerusalem. So he says, listen, we all know that David is dead and buried, we can all go visit his tomb, you know about that. Verse 30, therefore being a prophet, so David is not only a king, he's a prophet, God spoke his truth through him, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn an oath to him of the fruit of his body according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. In saying this, that David knew that God had sworn an oath that he would raise up the Christ from David's descendants to sit on his throne, Peter is reminding his hearers of 2 Samuel chapter seven. In 2 Samuel chapter seven, God promised a house, a kingdom to David. Some of you might remember the circumstances. David wanted to build a house for God. This would come, and God would say, no, you don't need to build a house for me, David. Your son will build a house for me. But I will build a house for you. That David's dynasty would continue forever. that God would, through David, bring the Messiah who was to sit upon the throne. The only way that David's descendants could reign forever is if God's kingdom came and the Messiah sat upon that throne, and David understood that. So, verse 31, he foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption." So David foresaw that one of his descendants would be Messiah. But how could his descendant be a Messiah if he died? Well, it could only happen if he also rose from the dead. And in Psalm 16, David spoke prophetically of Christ. That Christ would not be left in the grave. His soul would not be left in Hades, in hell. Nor would his flesh see corruption. We understand what corruption is. It's decay. Jesus' body did not suffer decay. He rose triumphant over death. Verse 32, what Peter does then is he draws this together and he says, this Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. So Peter's building this case. Jesus is the Lord upon whom they must call. He is the Messiah, but they have rejected and crucified him. The one that they rejected and crucified is the one that is risen and they must believe in him. The life of Jesus points to the fact that he is Lord and Messiah. The death and resurrection of Jesus points to the fact that Jesus is Lord and Messiah. But then there's another point, and that is this, the ascension of Jesus. reveals that He is Lord and Christ, that He is Lord and Messiah. Look with me at verse 33. They've been wondering, what is the meaning of all this? All the phenomenon of Pentecost, people speaking in other languages, the sound of a mighty rushing wind, what is the meaning of this? Here is the meaning of it. The ascended Christ has poured out his spirit. How could Jesus pour out the spirit of God? He can do this if he is Lord and Christ. Once again, Peter turns to the words of David. This time he turns to Psalm 110. And he quotes from Psalm 110 in verse one, verse 34, for David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. So David has not died and been resurrected, and David has not risen and ascended into heaven, but who has? Jesus has. David did not have the right to sit at the right hand of God, to sit at the right hand, the hand of power. He did not have that right. Only Jesus, the Son of God, God the Son, has the right to share the throne of God. He is the ascended Lord. He is the one who is seated there at the right hand of the Father, and he is seated there until all his enemies are made his footstool. He can't be David. David's dead, his body is still in the tomb. David is not ascended into heaven, but Christ is. And here then, Peter draws it all together. By the way, Psalm 110 verse one is the same passage that Jesus quoted to quiet the religious hypocrites in his time. And he would ask them, If David said, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool, how could David's son be David's Lord? How could the Christ, who is David's son, also be David's Lord? Of course, that mystery is resolved in Jesus, the descendant of David, yet the Son of God. the one who is born of a virgin, the eternal word of God, and fleshed as man, the one who is both God and man, uniting God and man together. That's the answer to that dilemma. And here's where Peter goes with this. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, know without doubt, that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, there's that element of guilt again, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Some have gotten hung up on this statement that God has made Jesus Lord and Christ, as though this was not something that Jesus actually was. Well, we know that Jesus was Lord and Christ before his ascension. Jesus' entire ministry, as we have noted, pointed to the fact that he is Lord in Christ. His death and his resurrection pointed to the fact that he is Lord in Christ. I think that John Stott's words on this are helpful. He says, it's not that Jesus became Lord in Christ only at the time of his ascension, for he was and claimed to be both throughout his public ministry. It is rather that now God exalted him to be in reality and in power what he already was by right. What is at the heart of our faith is Jesus. He is Lord and Christ. And everything about him and his ministry points to who he is. And everything about our faith should point to who he is. Christianity is about the centrality of Christ. He is at the center. It is about the supremacy of Christ. He is above all things, and by him all things consist, Paul told the Colossians. And it is about the sufficiency of Christ. If Christ is Lord and Messiah and Savior, we need no other. His sacrifice is sufficient to pay for our sins. His resurrection is triumphant over death and we who have trusted in Him will one day rise with Him. How then can we apply this in our ongoing life as a church and as Christians? Well, I think three things at least. One is identification. It is vital that we know and believe who Jesus is. The church fails and falls when it has dim or murky or obscure views of who Jesus is. If you look at cults, they go astray in a few ways. It's the same with every cult, but cults go astray about the identity of Jesus. You think of the Jehovah's Witnesses. They go astray about the identity of Jesus. They say that he was the first created being by God. The Mormons go astray about Jesus. They believe that he was one of many sons of Elohim, that he was the one that Elohim chose to be the savior of this world. And we could go on and on and on. Cults go astray when they do not hold fast to the doctrine of Christ. This is why John said, if someone doesn't abide in the doctrine of Christ, you don't bid them Godspeed, you don't have fellowship with them. We need to know who Jesus is and hold fast to that truth. I wonder, If we spend so much time thinking about other things, thinking about programs, thinking about other things that are good, focusing our mental energy on all kinds of things and yet fail to contemplate the reality of the identity of Jesus, hold fast to the truth that Jesus is Lord and Christ. I think that another application of this is exaltation. Peter preaches the first sermon of the Christian church. This will be the birth of the church. On this day, 3,000 people will be saved and added to the church. This is the birth of the church. And Peter focuses on Jesus. Jesus is at the heart of the scriptures and Jesus ought to be at the heart of our faith. Even when we pursue different ministries. Jesus should be central in each of those ministries. Choir, Jesus should be central in that ministry. Wednesday night Bible study, Jesus should be at the heart of that ministry. Tuesday night kids club, Jesus should be at the heart of that ministry. Friday youth group, Jesus should be at the heart of that ministry. Sunday morning, Sunday school hour, Jesus should be at the heart of that ministry. Sunday morning preaching, Jesus should be at the heart of that ministry. Sunday evening preaching, Jesus should be at the heart of that ministry. And I'm not saying that we never say anything except for this is who Jesus is, but every subject that we speak is vitally connected with Jesus Christ and we need to see it that way. Not just within the church, but within our own lives, Jesus ought to be at the center He ought to be the hub around which everything turns. So this is so important for our identification. For identification, we need to know and believe who Jesus is. It's so vital for exaltation. Jesus must be at the center and we must exalt him above everything else. And we must view everything else through Christ and him crucified. Third, proclamation. It is vital that we preach Jesus. There are many subjects in scripture. Everything that God says is worth saying. It's worth proclaiming. But as we proclaim what the word of God says, and as I preach, and I do not shun to declare what God's counsel, the whole counsel of God, I don't shun to declare that to you, but as I preach that, I must preach Christ. The church goes astray when it becomes some place that dispenses good advice, that goes into extended series that give five ways you can do this, six ways you can do that, and doesn't think about things in light of Christ. We need to preach Jesus. When the word is proclaimed, we must see how this relates to our Christian faith. We must preach Jesus for the sake of our own faith, but we must preach and proclaim as in witnessing Jesus for the sake of the salvation of the world. Later in the book of Acts, we will see in chapter four that the apostles will say, neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. So we must proclaim Jesus. We must proclaim Christ. And so, What's Christianity all about? It's about Jesus. We need to know who Jesus is. We need to exalt Jesus because of who he is, and we need to proclaim Jesus for who he is. May God give us, as individual Christians and as the church, Hennerdale Road Baptist Church, the grace to proclaim, exalt, and know Jesus, our Lord and Savior and Messiah.