What is the Gospel

Good morning, in the name of Jesus. I greet you in his name. I'd like to this morning talk about something continuing on what we've been talking about the last couple of months.

I've been preaching on the Kingdom of God. We looked at how Paul explained the Kingdom of God being righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. And so a personal walk with God.

And secondly, we looked at how the Kingdom of God was a society. And how the Church is part of the Kingdom of God and how we operate at the Church. And today I'd like to do a little more further investigation.

Today's going to be more of a Bible study and less of a sermon. We're going to look at a lot of verses. I only have a page and a half of notes.

But most of it's all verses. So you're going to get really used to finding places. We're actually just going to look at about eight sermons from the book of Acts.

And the goal here is to define what is the Gospel according to the Bible. Now I thought it would be interesting to do an experiment. I want everybody to take one minute.

Close your eyes. And as you're closing your eyes I'm going to ask you a question. And I want you to think for one minute.

And then we'll get some answers from you. What is the Gospel? If you were to define the Gospel. If you were on the streets and somebody said to you, what is the Gospel? How would you explain it? Take one minute.

Think about it. I don't know if that was a minute but we'll stop there. So who would like to give me in this experiment.

Who would like to be brave enough to give me your definition. Or at least what you think it could be. Now if we get done and I didn't say your exact definition.

Don't feel chided. Because we're all a product of what we were raised with. So what just comes to your mind? The good news of Jesus making the way.

Amen. Jesus making the way. The account of his birth and life on earth.

I was going to say the good news of Jesus. Birth. And life.

Mine said Jesus. Jesus the Messiah has come. As King.

How do you spell Messiah? Like that? That's close enough. Next person. Next person.

No more brave volunteers. We need to have one more. Good news.

So it'll be great news when we don't have to wear masks anymore. And we call that the gospel. Okay so let's get a bible definition of this.

And a lot of those are really good. But let's go to the bible. And let's look at.

A while ago somebody. Brother Dromahorter wrote an email out to a bunch of brothers. And he said what is the gospel? And he said.

Some want to narrow it down to just these events. What is it? And that got me thinking. So I started reading through the whole book of Acts.

Asking that question. What was the gospel? Everybody turn to Mark 16. And we're going to see what Jesus said to his apostles.

When he left earth. Okay. Mark 16.

This is after he died. We'll go in verse 14. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven.

As they sat at meat and upbraided them. With their unbelief and hardness of heart. Because they believed not them.

Which had seen him after he was risen. And he said to them. Go ye into all the world.

And preach the gospel. To every preacher. Okay so when the apostles first start off.

They have been commissioned. To go and preach. Whatever this is.

The gospel to every preacher. Now if we were to look in the book of Acts. It's the Acts of the apostles.

It's what they preached. And what they did. The very first start of the church.

Wouldn't that be a great place to go to define. What's the gospel. So what we're going to do this morning is do that.

We're going to look at eight sermons. In Acts. The sermon of Pentecost.

When Peter preached. We're going to look at Peter. When he healed the lame man at the temple.

He preached some there. We're going to look at Peter and the apostles. When they were grabbed by those Sadducees.

And told them they could not preach anymore. And they gave some responses back to the council. We're going to look at Paul.

Right after he was converted. We're going to look at Peter. When he preached to Cornelius.

Then we're going to look at Paul. When he was in Antioch. He went into the synagogue and he preached to the Jews there.

And then we're going to look at Paul. When he was in Athens. He preached to Gentiles there.

And he had some things to say there. And then lastly we're going to look at Paul preaching to King Agrippa. Eight different times we see preaching.

These are what stood out to me. Preaching through the book of. Or reading through the book of Acts.

To define the gospel. Now before we go there. Let's get a little bit.

With the understanding of the word. The word gospel. As you said.

Means good news. It comes from. It's a compound word in Greek.

One word and another word made up together. And it says. One is you.

Which means well or good. And the other is. Or however you pronounce that.

We get our word angel. Which also means a messenger. Unto the angels of the church of Ephesus.

Or the angel. Or it could be translated unto the messenger. Which is at the church in Ephesus.

So the two words put together. Is a good messenger. Good messenger.

And so. There's a verb form of that. And a noun form of that.

We'll see that through the book of Acts. And we'll point that out. So let's start off with.

What was the focus of the. Of the gospel. And why is this important for us.

First of all. Well I think it's good that we understand. What the gospel is.

For witnessing to others. When we're explaining. I think it's also good that we understand.

What the gospel is for our own selves. I remember my wife. She told me this morning.

That when she was young. She never knew for sure. If she was a Christian.

Because she'd pray a prayer. To be saved. And then she never felt much different.

And so she thought. I must not have prayed the right prayer. So she'd go again.

And pray another prayer. And she didn't feel any different. So she'd say.

I must not have prayed it right. I must not have meant it. So she'd go and pray it again.

And all the while. She was looking for some kind of experience. Some kind of something.

I remember back in the Baptist church. We would go to doors. And knock on the doors and say.

If you were to die tonight. Are you 100% sure you'd be in heaven? Now this is how we would explain the gospel. And if somebody said.

Well I don't know. Then we would say. Let's read some verses.

You need to say with your mouth. And believe in your heart. That Jesus is risen from the dead.

And he can be saved. And you can now be 100% sure. Nothing you can do can ever take away your salvation.

Is that the gospel? Is that what Peter and Paul. And the rest of the apostles preached? Did they go around saying. If you were to die tonight.

Are you 100% sure you'd be in heaven? Well let's see. Let's look at what their focus was. And then from there.

We can assure our hearts where we stand with God. And we will know how to properly. Preach when we go out.

And explain the good news to people. So what was the focus? Let's start off. The first focus I saw.

And I think Dennis said it. Was this word right here. Messiah.

Now that word is Christ. In Greek it's Christos. Or something like that.

How many of you think that Jesus Christ. Christ was his last name. Like Jeremy King.

Okay I'm here to correct you on that. It wasn't Christ as his last name. His Christ would.

If you said Jesus the Christ. Would be better. Or the Messiah.

The anointed one. Christos means anointed one. It was the same word used.

When you would anoint a priest. And he was now able to do his duty. Because he was anointed.

He was appointed for a job. He could go in and do sacrifices. And it said the anointed priest.

Could do this. The same thing we saw with kings in the Old Testament. They were anointed to be a king.

God had promised from long back. In the Old Testament. In fact let's turn there.

Everybody turn to 1 Samuel. Now. You know we're going through.

Revelation. And we see these things. And we think how can that be.

How can that be literal. And sometimes they're not. I mean let's look at.

Sorry 2 Samuel. If I said it first I'm sorry. 2 Samuel chapter 7. Verse 12.

And I believe this is. Yeah this is Nathan. The prophet coming to David.

And he's saying. When my days are fulfilled. Verse 12.

And thou shalt sleep with thy fathers. I will set up thy seed after thee. Which shall proceed out of thy bowels.

And I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

I will be his father. And he shall be my son. If he commit any iniquity.

I will chasten him with the rod of men. With the stripes of the children of men. But my mercies shall not depart away from him.

As I took it from Saul. Whom I put away before thee. And thy house and thy kingdom.

Shall be established forever before thee. Thy throne shall be established forever. According to all these words.

And according to all the vision. Did Nathan speak unto David. Now anybody here.

What do you think. Who does that sound like he's talking about. Just off the cuff.

Jesus. The first time I read that. I thought that sounds like Solomon.

He says he's going to come out of your loins. He's going to set up a kingdom. He says if he ever sins.

I'll chasten him. I thought surely that can't be talking about Jesus. But now turn to Acts chapter 2. One of the first sermons we have.

At Pentecost. Right after they spoke in tongues. They had the clothes.

And a fire over their head. They came out. People were wondering what was wrong with them.

And they started to preach. Acts chapter 2. And verse 30. Let's go in 29.

Men and brethren. Let me freely speak unto you. This is Peter.

Of the patriarch David. That he is both dead and buried. And his sepulcher is with us.

Unto this day. Therefore being a prophet. And knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him.

That of the fruit of his loins. According to the flesh. He would raise up Christ.

To sit on his throne. Okay. Right there.

Peter took an Old Testament prophecy. That seemed a little construed. And he applied it to Jesus.

He said God promised. That he would raise up. Somebody from your own seed.

And put him on a throne. And so this idea of a Messiah. A promised one.

An anointed one. Was coming. One of these days.

God was going to raise up somebody. He told Moses. I will raise up a prophet from among you.

Him you shall listen to. He told David. I will raise up from your own seed.

And I will make him a son to me. And I will establish his kingdom forever. So the first thing.

Was their focus. Was that he was. We will just put.

So what was the focus of the word. And how they perceived the gospel. I will put the first word.

As Christ. Or a Messiah. Anointed one.

Let's see this a couple more times. Let's turn to Acts. Right there.

In the same chapter. Verse 36. Therefore.

Let all the house of Israel know assuredly. That God hath made that same Jesus. Whom you have crucified.

Both. Lord. We will talk about this later.

What Lord is. And Christ. So Jesus was made by God.

Christ. As in the anointed one. And God had done this.

And this is what they were preaching. Let's turn to Acts 13. Acts 13.

Was Paul at Antioch. In the synagogue. And verse 23.

He is talking about. I found David the son of Jesse. A man for my own heart.

Which fulfilled all my will. Verse 23. Of this man see David.

Hath God according to his promise. Raised unto Israel a Savior. Jesus.

He has raised unto Israel a Savior. There is his promise. He had promised to raise up somebody.

Okay. And then Acts 13. 32.

Just a little bit down the way. And we declare unto you glad tidings. Or the same word good news.

How that the promise. Which was made unto the father. God has fulfilled.

The same unto their children. In that he has raised up Jesus again. Okay.

So clearly part of the focus. Of the gospel. Is that God had a promise.

And he chose and anointed somebody. And his name was Jesus. And that's why he is called the Christ.

So whenever you see Christ. Think of the promised one. Like if I told everybody.

If everybody is good. After this I am going to bring you all out. Ice cream bars.

Glenn would be happy. Wish I would have. Then you would all be thinking all the way through.

When is the promise going to come right. So when you see the Christ. It's like the promise.

The one that was anointed. The one that God had promised all along. Okay what's the second focus.

Of the gospel. The second focus. Is that he is God's son.

Now we. I don't think we quite understand that. And I think the reason.

I was thinking about this this morning. Is. We don't come from a familistic society.

We come from a very individualistic society. If you think about it. It's very normal for a child.

To be raised up in a home in America. And choose exactly. The opposite profession of his father.

And. Think differently. And.

Maybe even not receive anything from his father. But in the days of Israel. When these things were written.

It was very normal. I was thinking about how it's much like where Timothy works. You know Timothy works for the crops.

They have. Four or five boys. And this land.

Has been in their name. And Leland's father. You know probably.

I don't know much history behind it. But just imagine if I'm wrong. Because you guys probably know better than me.

But he probably owned some land and passed that down to Leland. And then Leland now is passing that down to all his sons. And his sons.

Most of them all live right there along the road. And you know they all. They're all part of the enterprise.

And Timothy told me one time. I don't know if I have much of a future there. Because think about it.

There's four sons or five. Whatever he has. So you know.

They have a lot more to the air. Right. And I think this is more of the concept of a son.

What the son of God was. When he said I'm the son of God. In fact.

We're kind of programmed to think. We need to go out and make people believe that Jesus is God. We've got to talk about the Trinity.

But yet. If you're honest. And just read through the Gospels.

And read through the book of Acts. You actually rarely see that as pushed. As much as the son of God.

Jesus. I remember watching years ago. A video of Jesus.

In the book of John. It was just a whole thing of the book of John played out. And.

I came out of that thinking. It's crazy how much Jesus. Was trying to push.

That they would believe that he was the son of God. It just came out so clearly. That that was his message.

Let's look at this a little bit. And get an idea. Acts chapter three.

So this is going to be the sermon. Peter at the temple. After healing the lame man.

Let's see what he says there. Acts 3 13. The God of Abraham.

And of Isaac. And of Jacob. The God of our fathers.

Imagine Peter preaching this. Hath glorified his son. Jesus.

Whom you have delivered up. And denied him in the presence of Pilate. And basically killed.

He's saying his son. You killed his son. Turn to Acts chapter three.

Verse 26. Unto you first. Having raised up his son Jesus.

Sent him to bless you. And turning away everyone from his iniquities. So he's once again.

Referencing the sonship of Jesus. Of God. The father.

Turn to Acts chapter nine. This is the sermon. Right after actually Paul was converted.

Talking about what he was going to do with his life. And he goes to the synagogue. It says straight way.

This is after he was. He had the road to Damascus. He couldn't see.

He was prayed for by Ananias. And it says in straight way. He preached what? Christ.

Or as we just talked about. The anointed one. The promised one.

Christ in the synagogue. He is the son of God. You see that importance.

That he was the son of God. 13. Let's jump to chapter 13.

Which is Paul and Ananias. 13 verse. 33.

33. We'll pick it up in verse 32. So you can see very clearly.

In the way they approached the gospel. It was about. Him being the anointed.

And him being the son. Now let's think about how important. The son of God was.

If you remember. The Ethiopian eunuch. For example.

He was sitting there reading the book. And I think it was Isaiah. And Philip came along and said.

Can I explain that to you? And he started explaining to him. And he said. His eyes were open.

And he said. Here's water. What hinders me to be baptized? And the next verse says.

If you believe that Jesus is God. No. If you believe that Jesus died for your sin.

No. If you believe that Jesus is the son of God. You see that importance.

And he said. I believe. And then he was baptized.

So Jesus being the son of God. Is very important. And we can see that throughout Jesus' ministry.

If you remember Satan. He said. What did he ask him in the temptation? If you're the son of God.

He was trying to get him to doubt that. If you're the son of God. Make this happen.

The demon said. Jesus. Son of God.

Simon. He said. Who do you say? Who do you say I am? Jesus asked Simon Peter.

And he said. You are the Christ. And then he said.

The son of the living God. You see those put together. You are the Christ.

The anointed one. The promised one. And then he says.

The son of the living God. Over and over. If you look this up.

And you reference this. You'll see. In fact one point.

Jesus was. This is how important it was. At one point.

They picked up stones to kill Jesus. And he said. Why are you stoning me? Because I said.

I'm the son of God. And then he went on to talk. But you can see in their minds.

When he said. I'm the son of God to the Jews. They didn't like that message.

They didn't like hearing God had a son. And I think. I think this is about authority.

We sometimes wonder. Why did Jesus come as the son. And not the father.

Well if you think about it. It's an interesting study. To think about how much.

The gospel. And how much God is about authority. Think about Jesus.

He is not equal to God in one place. And that is authority. Men and women are not equal to each other.

In one place. And that is authority. The authority structure in God's mind.

Is super important. Same with children and parents. The list goes on.

And so this son of God. Puts him in proper. Respect to his father.

But yet. He was equal with God. Because Philippians says.

He made himself of no reproach. He emptied himself. He didn't think it was a wicked thought.

To be equal with God. But he emptied himself. And so in the same way.

Jesus was here. He came all the way down. To the death of the cross.

But then. He came back up. And it says.

But God is highly exalted him. He humbled himself. To what he was here.

And we are going to talk about this highly exalted. A little bit more. God is now highly exalted him.

For what he did. Because he took his father's authority. And did with what he said.

So he is the son of God. Now three. What was the third focus.

Of the gospel. And I am just going to use it. In this one word.

Lord. Once again authority. Let's look at this.

And to be honest. This word. I am encompassing.

Four more words. Or three more words after it. But I will just use Lord.

To encompass it all. The first one. Let's go back to Acts chapter two.

The day of Pentecost. Verse thirty six. We read it a minute ago.

But it says. In chapter two. Verse thirty six.

Therefore. Let all the house of Israel know. That God hath made that same Jesus.

Whom you have crucified. Both Lord and Christ. So he has made him the anointed one.

But he has also made him Lord. Now this word Lord. Is meaning someone.

Which has power. So God has given him. Not just he is my son.

But I have given him. Some sort of power in his life. Some sort of.

Master ship. Over the top of somebody. Someone who has power.

Of deciding a master. Is a title of honor. Expressive of respect.

And reverence. With which servants greet their master. And the title is given to in the scriptures.

God. And the Messiah. So he has not just made him the Messiah.

The promised one. He has not just made him the son. But he has also made him someone of authority.

And that is what people need to grasp. That is what needs to be seen. It is not just about you.

And your sin. And you getting to go to heaven. That is a very me centered gospel.

When we think about it. Though. It is true.

That Jesus died for your sin. It is true. God so loved the world.

But was that the focus. Was that the top of the hill. If you might say the center.

Of what the gospel is about. And if you read through. All of those sermons.

You will see that this was the focus. And we will continue on. We are going to get to where you play into this.

The third thing was Lord. He has made him Lord. And then secondly.

We will put a subheading here. He has made him Prince. Turn to Acts chapter 3. This is Peter at the temple.

Verse 15. I think we just read that. But you denied the Holy One.

Verse 14. He is talking to the Jews. And the just.

Actually he is talking to the Sadducees. You denied the Holy One. And the just.

And desired a murderer to be granted to you. And killed the Prince of Life. Whom God hath raised from the dead.

He is the Prince of Life. Chapter 5. Verse 31. Let's go to 29.

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said. We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus.

Whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted. With his right hand.

To be a Prince. And a Savior. For to give repentance to Israel.

And forgiveness of sins. A Prince. This comes from two words.

It comes from a word meaning. Primary. Chief.

Leader. It's the same word. In Revelation.

He is the Captain of our salvation. You know that verse. He is the Captain of our salvation.

That's the word. The same Greek word. Prince.

He is the Chief Leader of our salvation. So he has made him a Lord. And he has made him a Prince.

And. He has made him a Judge. Turn to Acts 10.

10.42 And he commanded. This is the apostles telling us. What Jesus Christ commanded to preach.

He commanded us to preach to the people. And to testify that it is. He.

Which was ordained of God. Jesus which was made a Messiah. Of God.

To be the what? Judge. Of the living and the dead. So Jesus is also.

Not just a Lord or Prince. But he is a Judge. Somebody we all have to give an account to.

God has given him authority to judge us. You can imagine a man with a sword. Ready to judge.

In fact. There is a prophecy saying. If you will hear his words.

It says some good thing. But it says if not. You will be destroyed.

And. I think we preach a lot about that in this church. That Jesus has judgment.

I think we get the idea. 17.31 Acts 17.31 on Mars Hill. He is talking to these Gentiles there.

And he says. Verse 30. And the times of ignorance God has winked at.

But now he commands all men. Everywhere to repent. Because he has appointed a day.

God has appointed a day. In which he will judge the world in righteousness. By what? By that man whom he hath made a Messiah.

Or ordained. And so we see that he was made a Judge. Clearly.

Now the last one I will put here. This was a little harder to find in the book of Acts. But I still want to put it.

Because I want to put it. King. He is a King.

And. The reason why I put that is because. First of all Jesus himself said.

When he was standing in front of Pilate. Pilate said. Are you a King? And Jesus said.

You have answered right. I am a King. And then later in Acts chapter 17.

I think we are close. Jump to 17. Verse 7. This is the Jews were all stirred up.

With envy. And they were angry. And they said this.

Verse 7. Whom Jason has received. He has received these Christians. And all these do contrary to the decrees of Caesar.

They do opposite of what Caesar says. Why? Because they say that there is another King. One Jesus.

So see the Christians were going around saying. We serve Jesus. We don't serve Caesar.

And so Caesar tells us to do this. And it is contrary to what. What Jesus has told us.

We will not do what he said. We will not pinch. And put incense on the offering.

And say that Caesar is Lord. And so. Christianity was a very political.

Anti. Anti the current culture. Of their day.

So he was a Lord. A Prince. A Judge.

And a King. And this is what I see as the focus. Of the Gospel.

The main focus. When you see this. Is that it is about who? I think Glenn you said it.

It is about Jesus. In fact. There is about 10 verses in Acts.

It says. And they preach Jesus. Which is very interesting.

Because the word preach there. Is the same Greek word for Gospel. They Gospelitize Jesus.

That is what the Gospel is about. Now this of course is. Very deep into who Jesus is.

But the Gospel is really. You could just say. It is about Jesus.

And now there are some things. We get from knowing Jesus. And we are going to talk about that in a minute.

But the Gospel is about Jesus. And who he is. He is the promised one.

He is God's Son. And he is somebody in authority. He is a Lord.

He is a Prince. He is a Judge. He is a King.

So what is the proof of the Gospel? When you go around making these claims. And you say all this about this guy. You have got to prove it to people.

Why do you believe this? What was the proof in their day? So I will put here. This was the focus. So what was the proof? Let's turn to Acts 3. What did they preach as the proof of the Gospel? I wouldn't say it is the focus.

But it is the proof. To prove who Jesus is. Acts 3.15 He says.

We already read this a little bit. He says. You killed the Prince of Life.

Whom God has raised from the dead. Whereof we are witnesses. Ok.

The proof of the Gospel. We will look at a couple more verses here. First of all.

Is the Resurrection. That is how the Resurrection comes in. It is not.

You are starting to see this me focused. There is a song. I have heard my children playing.

It is about the cross. It is about my sin. It goes on and on about me.

It is true. The Resurrection was to prove. Let's prove that right now.

Acts 13.30 Ok. We will pick it up in verse 29. They are going over the story of Jesus dying.

And when they had fulfilled all that was written of Him. They took Him down from the tree. And they laid Him in a sepulcher.

But God raised Him from the dead. And He was seen many days of them. Which came up from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Who are His witnesses unto the people. They witnessed Him. Raising.

Being raised from the dead. And they are proving that this is true. Acts 13.33 A little bit further down.

We will pick it up in verse 32. And we declare unto you the glad tidings. How the promise which was made unto the fathers.

God has fulfilled the same unto us. Their children. How? In that He hath raised up Jesus again.

So see the proof. That God has fulfilled the promise. Is because of the resurrection.

Acts 17.31 Paul at Athens. Mars Hill. Verse 31.

Verse 32. He commanded all men never to repent. Verse 31.

Because He has appointed a day. In which He will judge the world. In righteousness by that man.

Whom He hath ordained. Whereby He hath given assurance unto all men. In that He raised Him from the dead.

You see that? He has given assurance. To all men that this is true. Because why? Because God raised Him from the dead.

So see the resurrection. Is proof. That Jesus is this.

Okay. Now what else is proof. That they preached.

Acts chapter 2. Back to the Pentecost. Sermon. Sermon.

Somebody read chapter 2. Verse 22 for me. 2.22 You men of Israel. Hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth. A man approved of God among you. By miracles and wonders and signs.

Which God did by Him. In the midst of you. As ye yourselves also know.

Okay. So. Miracles.

Wonders. And signs. One more passage.

Acts 10.38 Somebody read that for me. 10.38 How God appointed Jesus of Nazareth. With the Holy Spirit.

And with power. He went about doing good. And healing all who were oppressed.

Oppressed by the devil. For God was with him. Okay.

So. Healing. God was with him.

He had power. So the second proof. That God was with him.

And this is all true. Is miracles. Wonders.

And signs. So then. What's the response of the gospel.

What should be the response. What are the requirements of the gospel. Well I'll start about fear I guess.

And I'm going to put the first one. As fear. Can somebody read Acts 10.35 for me.

But in every nation. He that fears him. The mark of righteousness.

Is accepted with him. Okay. Can you read the part about fear again.

Because I now missed it. But in every nation. He that fears him.

He that fears him. Okay. Acts 13.

Back to Athens. Sorry Antioch. Acts 13.

16. Then Paul stood up. Beckoning with his hands.

Men of Israel and ye that fear God. Give audience. He's saying.

You out there that fear God. Listen I'm going to tell you about Jesus. Because people who don't fear God.

They fear man or could care less about the gospel. Verse 26. Men and brethren.

Children of the stock of Abram. And whoever among you feareth God. Okay so we clearly see.

That one of the first responses. First we see who Jesus is. Then we see the proof.

One of the first responses in your heart. Your heart needs to be feared. You need to fear God.

You need to see that he is a judge. And that God. The maker of this earth.

And you and me. Has appointed him as such. The second response.

Should be. To seek. Acts 17.

Verse 27. Acts 17. 27.

27. That they should seek the Lord. If happily they might feel after him.

And find him. Though he be not far. From every one of us.

What an interesting picture. You're in the dark. And you're trying to find something.

And you're feeling. And you find it. And you're happy you found it.

That's the idea. The second response is you should seek. Now Jesus did say.

He who seeks will find. But I think there's a balance to this. Some people want to make it so simple.

That if you just say this little prayer. You just do this little thing. You're saved.

But that doesn't require seeking. That doesn't require calling out for mercy. You know.

There's passages in the Bible that says. He sought it with tears. And never found repentance.

So I do like some of the denominations out there. Who say pray it through brother. Pray it through.

At the same time. There's got to be faith. You know you got to believe in the promises of God.

And that he says if you seek you will find. I don't know that I could easily say either one. All the way to either extreme.

But there's got to be seeking involved. There's got to be a brokenness. And a hunger.

What's the third thing? There's got to be repentance. Repentance means to turn. In fact Jesus said this.

He said. To the people of his day. He said unless you repent.

Like they did in the days of Jonah. You will be damned. I'm quoting it pretty much like that.

But he used the word repent. If you simply go back to Jonah. And read what they said.

It says. And when God saw that they turned from their evil works. God repented of his evil.

That's all repentance means. Turning from your own. Selfish desires and ways.

Let's look at this quickly. Acts chapter 3. Back to Peter at the temple. After he healed the layman.

Verse 19. They just say it plain out. Repent ye therefore and be converted.

After they preach this whole sermon about who Jesus is. His proof. The response they say repent.

And be converted. This is the idea. Remember when Peter was standing there.

And he said. He denied Jesus. But Jesus had told him earlier.

When you are converted. Strengthen your brethren. Converted is repentance.

Converted is realizing you had done wrong. It bringing sorrow. Godly sorrow to your heart.

And you crying out to God for mercy over it. Like Peter did. And so.

Repent and be converted. Let's look at chapter 17. Back to Paul in Athens.

Verse 30. 17 verse 30. And at the times of ignorance God winked at.

But now he commands all men. Everywhere. To repent.

Part of the gospel. It's a universal term now. Since the day it started.

Is repentance. And. Why some denominations would have the audacity.

To think that repentance is not required anymore. Which I've heard. Is beyond me.

In fact if you turn to chapter 26. We're going to hear Paul himself. Tell you about.

What he felt about repentance. He's talking to King of Gripa. This is toward the end of Paul's ministry.

He's been jailed. He's been. He's brought out.

In front of this king. And he gives a short sermon to the king. And he says.

Wherefore King of Gripa I was not. Sorry verse 19. I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.

But showed first unto them a Damascus and Jerusalem. And throughout all the coasts of Judea. And then to the Gentiles.

Jews and Gentiles. This is what I preached he said. That they should repent.

And turn to God. And then he goes on to say. And do works that are fit for repentance.

I don't know why this. In some of the denominations I was part of. This is so clear.

Paul was preaching to the Gentiles. That they should repent. And that they should do works.

Meet for repentance. I don't have the time to go into. All of the reasons.

Why they wouldn't want repentance. But the last. One more is believe.

And we can find that in. Chapter 10. Peter talking to Cornelius.

And verse. 43. We read this 42.

About he commanded us to preach. That he was made the judge. 43.

He goes on to say. According to Cornelius. To him give all the prophets witness.

That through his name. Jesus name. Whoever believeth in him.

Shall receive remission. Or forgiveness of sins. Whoever believeth in him.

Chapter 13. Verse 39. We'll pick up in verse 38.

Be it known unto you therefore. Paul in Antioch in the synagogue. Be it known unto you therefore.

Men and brothers. That through this man is preached unto you. The forgiveness of sin.

And by him all that believe. Are justified from all things. From which you could not be justified.

By the law of Moses. Those who believe. Are now justified.

And there were some things when you were back. Under the law of Moses. You could never be forgiven for these things.

But now with Jesus you can be forgiven. By belief. So belief is a. Integral part of this.

For the sake of time. Can one of you guys read chapter 3. Verse 22. Somebody else take 5. Verse 32.

3. 22. 5. 32. 7. 37.

Anybody got it? 3. 22. 3. 22. For Moses truly said unto the fathers.

A prophet shall the Lord your God. Raise up unto you of your brethren. Like unto me.

Him ye shall hear. And all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. Anybody has 5. 31.

Him you shall hear. 32. And we are witnesses to these things.

And so is the Holy Spirit. Whom God has given to those who obey him. God gives his spirit to those who obey him.

7. 37. Moses said unto the children of Israel. A prophet shall the Lord your God.

Rise up unto you of your brethren. Like unto me. Him shall ye hear.

Now this is one sticky point. In the evangelistic world. That they don't like this part.

But it's part of the gospel. Hearing and obeying. What Jesus said.

It's part of what they preached. He said I taught the Gentiles. Obedience.

Here we see twice. The prophecies about God raising him up. Him you shall hear.

God gives his spirit to them that obey him. And so the last point. Is baptism.

Somebody chapter 2 verse 38. Can you read chapter 2 verse 38. Somebody else chapter 10 verse 48.

238. And Peter said to them. Repent and be baptized.

Every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ. For the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Repent and be baptized. 1038. And he commanded them to be baptized.

In the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. And that was Cornelius.

He commanded them to be baptized. And there might be something I missed. But I see it starts with fear.

A seeking. A returning from your ways. A believing in these things.

That Jesus is these things. And obeying him. As your Lord, Prince, Judge and King.

And then a baptism into this covenant. Okay. And then the last thing is.

What is the gift. And this is what so much of Christianity focuses on. As it's me centered.

When we go to the door and we say. If you were to die tonight. Are you sure you're in heaven.

You see where we're jumping to. We're jumping to the gift. Like we're not even talking about this.

And that's why we get people into the church. Who are shallow. Or even not even Christians.

Because they're over here looking at this. They don't know anything about this. Okay.

So what is the gift. Number 1. We have 5 minutes. I need some help.

Chapter 2. Verse 32 and 33. Chapter 2. Verse 32 and 33. And somebody else.

Chapter 3. Verse 20. Okay. You got that one.

He's got 32 and 33 of chapter 2. I can do it. Thank you. This Jesus God raised up.

And of that we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God. Having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit.

He has poured out. This. That you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

Okay. And also verse 38. I'll just read it here.

He says. Then Peter said repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ. For the remission of sins.

That you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Bob can you read the next one. It was chapter 320.

320. 320. 19 fits in there too.

Okay. Go for it. 19.

Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be watered out. For the times of your repression shall come to the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ with you.

Did you hear that? If you repent. He will send Jesus. It's such an interesting concept.

Jesus and the Holy Spirit are somehow different. But somehow they're the same too. Because it says.

And he, speaking of Jesus, became a life giving spirit. He shall send Jesus. And so.

This concept. When you repent and you do these things. He's going to send Jesus to you.

Or we could also say. He will send the Holy Spirit. The times of refreshing.

What were some of the other terms? The Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost. Okay.

So that's one of the gifts. Right now. Right here and now.

You can have Jesus. The Holy Spirit. You can have a time of refreshing.

A renewal in your life. What's the second gift? Somebody I need to look up. Acts 2.38. From the day of Pentecost.

And then somebody else look up 5.31. Okay. Thank you. And somebody look up chapter 13.

Verse 38. Thank you. Okay.

2.38. Anybody? Okay. Go for it. Repent.

And be baptized every one of you. In the name of Jesus Christ. For the remission of sins.

And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And that passage said remission of sins. Okay.

The next person. Acts 5.31. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be Prince and Savior. To give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

Okay. 13.38. Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins.

Okay. And that's not a little thing. Let's not keep that somehow.

But we need to keep it in perspective. This is the gift to the response once you see the proof of the focus of the gospel. Okay.

And then lastly. No. Okay.

Lastly, I need a couple more verses. 3.26. Who can look up 3.26? Got it. Okay.

I need somebody to look up 26.18. Got it. I need somebody to look up verse 23 also of that chapter. Dennis, why don't you just do 18 and 23.

Okay. 3.26. What's that? You Trevor? Unto you, first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, send him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. Okay.

Dennis? To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins in a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Verse 23. That the Christ must suffer and that by being the first to rise from the dead he will proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.

Okay. That's a lot of stuff. But I'll just put it right here.

He came to bless you, to turn you from sin, to turn you from darkness to light, to turn you from the power of Satan to God and give you light. That's power in your life. And last, and this is where this is where we go to the last one.

Right? Somebody look up the one verse, Acts 26.33. Not that it's nothing, but it's just interesting in perspective. 26.23. Got it. Please read it.

That the Christ must suffer and that being the first to rise from the dead he will proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles. Maybe another verse? Talks about inheritance. You said 23? Yeah, I might have gotten it written on.

Okay. 24. And as he was saying these things in his defense, fastest with a loud voice, Paul, you are out of your mind.

Your great learning is driving you out of your mind. Okay, sorry. That's... I'm looking for where it says... Okay, it's in verse... Read verse 20, sorry.

18 through... Just do 18, sorry. Verse 18. To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. Okay, I think in ESV it says a place. In the King James it says an inheritance among them which are sanctified.

That's heaven. And that's a real thing. I mean, Romans says he saved us from wrath to come.

It's a real thing. But this is... These are the things that are the gift. And notice how much of it is actually right here at now.

Walking with the King now. There is an inheritance. There is heaven.

But this is what the gospel was focused on. And Paul called this at the end of his ministry, chapter 20. Everybody turn there.

We have two more verses and we'll be done. 20 verse 24. He says this.

But none of these things move me, neither count my life dear to me, so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And then he goes on and says, He among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God. See, this could be called the gospel of the grace of God.

This could be called the gospel of the kingdom. And this is what they were preaching. When Jesus said go into all the world and preach the gospel.

They were preaching that Jesus was the promised one. He was a son to God, which means he has relationship with God and he's a... He is a... He is part of God, not just a human. They also preached that he was somebody in authority to be reckoned with.

They gave proof. They asked for response. And there was a gift that came with it.

Now, turn to Romans chapter 1 and we'll close with this verse. It's interesting now that we see all of that. Now let's just read 1 through 5 of chapter 1. And notice how Paul explains it.

And notice in these 5 verses all the things that are present. It's all summarized. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel, that's what we've been talking about, of God, which he had promised.

There's the Christ. He had promised the four times by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his Son, right there, Jesus Christ, there's the Christ, the anointed one, our Lord. You see how it's all there? Going on.

Which was made of the seed of David, there's the promise again, according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God. But watch, look what it puts on there. With power.

See, that's this whole little process right here. He was the Son of God before he came to earth. But then he came according to his Father's command and the Father has highly exalted him now.

He's now the Son of God with power. He's the Son of God with authority. He's the Son of God that has been appointed into this position.

According to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection, there's the proof, from the dead, by whom we have seen, received grace. You see all that? There's the gift. By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for what? Obedience.

Right there. Obedience to the faith among all nations for his name. So the goal of this was to simply relook at what the word gospel means and to align our lives with it.

You know, you say, I pledge allegiance to the flag. Do you pledge allegiance to Jesus? You know, and it's not just a one-time thing. Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 15.

He said, he said this, Brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and wherein you stand, you're standing in this gospel, by which you are saved. And this is the Greek word present tense. You're being saved by the gospel.

If you keep in mind, or if you hold fast what was preached to you. So this isn't just a one-time thing. This whole thing is an ongoing thing in your life.

Do you wake up every day pledging allegiance to Jesus and saying, I'm going to do these things, obviously you can't be baptized over and over, but I'm going to do these things? And are these your focuses? Because this is what the apostles seem to focus that I see. Instead of this idea that I prayed a prayer one time and I don't seem to have any fruit in my life. That's not what the apostles seem to preach.

Thank you for your time and God bless you.