The Evidence of the Deity of Christ Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Evidence of the Deity of Christ Part 2. He will be reading out of Acts 2:22-36.

There is no great religion in this world where their leader has proclaimed that they have risen from the dead like Jesus Christ. And I want you to note that Jesus did not just give the proof of his resurrection, he prophesied the proof.

Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders and I welcome you to the Hope Worth Having Radio program. We are excited to be with you today. Thank you for tuning in and being a part of our program today. We’re going to be back in the Book of Acts chapter 2 and we’re continuing our study in verses 22 through 36.

We’re learning about the evidence of the deity of Christ and so I hope that you are taking notes, being equipped, and being able to communicate to your family and your friends why you believe in Jesus Christ.

Let’s begin our study. My job is to preach Jesus unto you this morning and as I do that, your response is between you and God. If you walk away and say I hate Jesus, that’s between you and Jesus, that’s on you, not me.

If you walk away and say I love Jesus, it’s on you, not me because it’s your personal response to God. But what I want you to see is Peter is making this great case and he is doing it by helping them to see that Christ as he lived before them, he performed miracles.

Now what are the purpose of miracles? Write these three things down because so many believers are misled about this miracle stuff and they are kind of caught off guard. I want you to understand why Jesus performed miracles.

I want you to understand why the apostles performed miracles. The first reason is to substantiate the messenger to validate that the messenger is truly from God. The working of miracles was a confirmation of the coming of the Messiah and that Jesus is the fulfillment of all that was prophesied, all that was proclaimed by the prophets, that he truly is the Messiah.

Remember Nicodemus, he came to Jesus by night. You remember in the Gospel of John chapter three, he said to Jesus, we know you’re sent from God. We know you’re sent from God. How do you know that Nicodemus?

Because of all the signs, miracles, and wonder. Nicodemus is like, yeah, we know you’re sent from God because there’s something unique. The second purpose of miracles is to substantiate the message. It’s not just to substantiate the messenger, but the message God never sent out a special messenger without giving them the power necessary to prove that the message is from heaven.

A supernatural proposition is required to have supernatural proof. This was something that was turning the heads of the Jewish religion, turning everything upside down on its head, if you will, and it was helping them to see that even though God was working in a new way, the Old Covenant was coming to a close, and the initiation of the New Covenant was upon the people, and the pouring of the Spirit was upon those who believe in Christ.

It was to substantiate the message to all. The signs and the wonders were needed to confirm that the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ was true. The third reason or purpose of miracles is to demonstrate the power of the glory of God.

It is to demonstrate the power and the glory of God. We see this attitude in the life of our Savior, as you look at John chapter 11 verse 40. It was as the master raised Lazarus to life. It was for the glory of God.

Nicodemus understood it was for the glory of God, and that is that every one of us as we experience the miracles of God, we know it is for His glory. It is not for our glory, but it is for His glory, but also that people might see the manifestation of the power and the authority of God.

Please remember, that as Jesus performed miracles, He demonstrated that He had authority over diseases. As He healed people of their ailments, some of them were born with these ailments, and some of them perhaps experienced accidents, or they had diseases in their life, There was no answer in the medical community for their disease, but Jesus came along and He healed them, demonstrating that He has authority over all diseases.

He has authority over demons. You remember the man who was out on an island and he lived in the graveyards and he was filled with legions of demons. And that when Jesus asked him to identify himself, the demon spoke up and said that his name was Legion.

Probably referring to the fact that there were multitudes of demons living in this one individual. I want you to know that the demonic world is a real world. And that if you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can be possessed of a demon.

Amen. There are times you and I watch the news or we read about stories and we say how in the world. Could anybody ever do that? Let me tell you how they could do that. They are possessed by the devil.

There is a demon within them that is leading them to do things that are even unnatural to a world that does not believe in Christ. We wonder about all this craziness that is going on. There are demonic forces and principalities.

The Bible teaches us that are orchestrating and they are working even with political and world leaders to bring about the demise of the kingdom of God. But you be encouraged because Jesus said the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.

The church will not stop. They may get rid of our physical buildings. They may take our property and they may get rid of our PowerPoint. But I’ll tell you one thing. They’ll never get rid of the Word of God.

They’ll never get rid of the prayer of God’s people. They’ll never get rid of the Holy Spirit that works in and through us and around us. The church will march on in whatever form that it needs to. Jesus told us the gates of hell shall not prevail.

Amen. Go ahead. Go ahead. Now, Jesus not only has authority over diseases and demons, but he has authority over death. You see what distinguishes the miracles and the signs and the wonders of Christ is unlike the charlatans that are just playing on your emotions and your hope.

Jesus stepped in, interrupted funerals, and raised the dead. Jesus not only stepped in the middle of a funeral procession and raised a little girl from death, but four days after. The funeral service.

Four days after the memorial service, Jesus showed up at Lazarus’ tomb. His family thought he was incredibly late, but I tell you, God is never late when he shows up, amen? He’s never late. And he raised the dead.

He raised Lazarus to life. You see, now why would God do that? To show that he has authority, whether it’s early, imminent, in the moment of death, or it is several days after death, God has authority over death.

And to cap it all off as if to say, well, anybody could do that, or perhaps they weren’t Jesus, who suffered death Himself as He was bearing the sins of mankind upon Him, the Bible teaches us that three days later He rose again.

Three days after death He rose again. Again some skeptics may question it, but let me give you this. The Bible says, as we just read in Acts chapter 1, that He walked on this earth 40 days after His death.

The apostle Paul said he was seen by over 500 people. The Bible says that wherever there are two or three witnesses, let every word be established. That is when we have two or three witnesses, then we can discover what the truth is.

The truth is that God always works in such a magnanimous way, and He always is overflowing, and He always does more than what is ever required, and our cup is always running over, and surely His goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life.

That this God, this great Savior did more than what any court would ever require, and He had over 500 witnesses say, yep, I met Jesus after His resurrection. And so I want you to understand that He has authority over death and that this is the life of our Savior.

This is what the apostle was saying, the apostle Peter in verse 22 of Acts chapter 2, as he is teaching us about the life of Christ and His miracles, His wonders, and His signs that He had done among the people.

Then I want you to see the death of Christ, for not only is the life of Christ the evidence of His deity, but His death, as we know in verse 23. You say, Pastor, if you keep going at this rate, we’re never going to get through this sermon.

Hang in there, okay, we’re going to fast track. Verse 23, Him referring to Christ, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God. you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death.

Jesus’ death is a matter of God’s sovereign plan. I want you to note that in the Bible, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, the death of Christ was already planned out in eternity past within the trying Godhead.

The plan was that He would come and that He would live a sinless life among us. He would prove the authenticity of His messiahship and Lordship and His message of salvation to repent and believe in Christ.

In this place, all that would be authenticated by His miracles and wonders would continue in this sovereign plan that would escalate to the point of His death on the cross. The Bible teaches us in Romans 5a that God commended His love towards us, or He proved it.

He demonstrated it in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Just put your name there. Christ died for you. Jesus Christ died for you. And the thought of the fact that He would do this willingly, obediently, that this was not some kind of a reckless religious leader who had kind of everything, got to the point where He finally just died on a cruel cross.

But rather this was preplanned in the sovereignty of God that He had chosen that the way that He would redeem mankind, that He would rescue us from our sins, is that He would send us a Savior who would live a sinless life as already stated.

But He would die on that cross and on that cross suspended between heaven and earth the sins, every sin you committed, every sin that you thought, every sin that you had in your attitudes or your motives was placed upon Christ.

And rather than you and I being punished for our sins, Jesus Christ was punished for our sins. Jesus gave up His life for your salvation. The Bible teaches us in Romans 8:32 that He spared not His own Son, referring to God the Father, but delivered Him up for us all.

How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Do you think that God would withhold what is necessary and good in your life when He has already demonstrated His love towards you by sending His only begotten Son to the cross?

Do you doubt that the goodness and grace of God will follow you wherever you might go? Do you doubt that God loves you if you do, my friends, look to the cross. Our identity is in our relationship with Christ.

Our meaning and purpose is found in our relationship with Christ. And when we come to the foot of the cross, that’s where we find forgiveness. That’s where we find grace. That’s where we find hope. And that’s why we continue to see that there is victory in Jesus Christ.

And we cannot glory in the philosophies of this world. We cannot glory in the wisdom of mankind, but rather we glory in the cross. Because that’s where our redemption is. Each one of us was born in sin.

You don’t become a sinner. You’re born a sinner. And if you doubt that, just have children. And that’s how simple theology is. Sometimes people say, I got to read this book or that book, and I just tell them to have some children, and you’ll understand the simpleness of mankind.

You don’t train children to have a meltdown at Walmart. You don’t train them to be selfish. You don’t train them. There aren’t any seminars to train our children who go out onto the playground out here and all the playground drama that goes on out there.

You just wouldn’t believe it. Sally wouldn’t talk to Sue. You know what I’m saying? Billy hit Johnny. Okay. Now I have my own personal opinions on how to deal with that but it would not be politically correct and I’d probably send the entire ministry into a tailspin.

But anyway, we’re sinners, guilty before God. But there is one, his name is Jesus, who will acquit us of all of those charges against us. If we will repent and believe in Jesus Christ. Can God’s people say amen?

Yes. The third thing, we’re tracking well because I only have four points. So the third is the resurrection of Christ. What is the evidence that Christ is truly sent from God? Peter teaches the people that it’s the life of Christ, it’s the death of Christ, it’s the resurrection of Christ.

Look at verse 24 of this text, whom God raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it. So the resurrection of Christ is a poignant evidence that Christ is truly sent from God.

Now in verses 25 through 28, Peter is referencing the Old Testament. He is pointing out that when David died, his body did decay. But yet the Bible says that it would not decay. But it is referring to the seed of David, which would be Jesus Christ and Jesus’ body never did.

So I want you to note again in verse 25, for David says concerning him, referring to Christ, 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 or hell, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption or decay.

You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy in your presence. So this is a prophetic reference to the seed of David, and that is Jesus Christ. Paul taught us in the book of Romans that he is the seed of David.

The gospel writers Matthew and Luke show us the lineage of Christ that he truly came from Abraham and David, the lineage that was prophesied. This is just more, more evidence that he truly is. of the Messiah.

God proved by many infallible proofs to verify that Christ triumphed over death was real. There is no religious leader who has authenticated his message by rising from the dead. There are many religious leaders who have claimed to be God, to be sent from God, to be the Savior, to be the Messiah, to be Jesus.

And even today there are charlatans who continue to proclaim that they are the one, but not one of them, has ever risen from the dead. There is no great religion in this world where their leader has proclaimed that they have risen like Jesus Christ.

And I want you to note that Jesus did not just give the proof of his resurrection, he prophesied the proof. He said in Matthew 1240, for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

And of course, he would go on to teach his disciples about his resurrection. As promised, God did not abandon Christ in the grave. On the cross Jesus cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me as God, if you will, in a metaphorical way turned his back upon the Son of God?

Could not look upon the sin that was upon his Son, who was bearing it for you and me, that at that moment Jesus experienced all the loneliness, all the cruelty, and all the pain. The punishment of hell for you and me.

The worst thing about hell is not the fire, that is true. And the worst thing about hell is not the gnashing of teeth, and that is true. And the worst thing about hell is not the emotional, mental, and physical torment of those who have rejected God and refused to believe Him.

And that is true, my friends. But the worst thing about hell is the absence of God Almighty. It is the absence of His love, it is the absence of His grace, it is the absence of His mercy, it is the absence of His goodness in your life.

And on the cross, Jesus experiences the absence of the presence of God Almighty. And why did he do it for you so that you could have eternal life so that you could live with him in the constant presence of God forever and ever?

But in that grave, the father being pleased with the sacrifice of the son, he did not abandon our savior in the grave. Three days later, he lifted him up out of that grave through the power of the Spirit of God, that same power of that Spirit that will lift each one of us who believe in Christ out of the grave.

For his resurrection, I’m talking about Jesus’ resurrection, which is my resurrection. It is your resurrection. What you see fully displayed in the life of Christ the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ is what awaits all who believe in Christ.

That is why we have so much hope. It is this resurrection that infuses within us a strength and a hopefulness that helps us to carry on in the midst of the trials and tribulations of this world. The scientist Henry Morris said this about the resurrection of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity.

If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God, and the Christian faith is absolute truth. What is before you? It is the evidence that Christ is the Messiah, that he is God.

And the question before you is, will you believe? Will you turn your back on this world and embrace Jesus Christ as your Lord Jesus Christ? And Savior, will you trust Him as the one who paid the penalty for your sins?

Or will you continue to be religious and try to pay for your own sins? Will you be the one who keeps trying to improve your life through behavioral modification? Will you be the one who tries to be a better moral person, only to find it’s a dead end and the only way that you can be a new person is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ?

The final evidence that Peter gives in this sermon is the exaltation of Christ. Verse 33, he says, 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.

Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection. after he had already given the instructions to the apostles and connected the dots and helped them to understand how they were to establish and build upon the church of the foundation being Christ himself that after those 40 days, Jesus dramatically ascended into heaven And the Bible teaches us he is seated in heaven at the right hand of God Father Mark 16 19 says so then after the Lord had spoken unto them He was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God Here’s what I want you to see.

I Want you to see this the Bible is teaching us here that Jesus is sitting on the throne of his father David Look at verse 34 for David did not ascend into the heavens But he himself says the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand Till I make your enemies your footstool.

You see it wasn’t David that would be resurrected It wasn’t David that would sit at the right hand of the Father But it was the seed of David which would be found in Jesus Christ who would live a sinless life And he would die on the cross and he would be resurrected and finally ascended to sit at the right hand of the father When the angels announced the birth of Christ Luke 1 32 the angels said he will be great and Will be called the son of the highest and the Lord God he will give him the throne of his father David What you are seeing is the succession of the throne of David.

It is a spiritual Kingdom the Davidic throne is Reestablished in the ascension of Jesus Christ The risen Christ sits next to God the Father. And what makes that so special is not only is the Davidic throne, but it is the seat of honor.

It is the place of honor to sit at the right hand of the Father. And Jesus promises us that He will be on that throne till all of His enemies become His footstool, which simply means until all His enemies are overthrown.

And you say, why is God waiting? I’ll tell you why. Not only for souls to be saved, because He’s not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But that all His enemies might be destroyed.

Those who mock God, those who reject God, those who make fun of God, I’m telling you the day is coming, because our God is faithful. He is faithful to His promise. And let me tell you something, church.

He is faithful to the promises of Israel. In Amos 9 -11, he said, on that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages. I will raise it up from its ruins and rebuild it as the days of old.

There is coming a day when the spiritual kingdom will once again become a physical kingdom. People say, pastor, why do you believe in the return of Christ on this earth? Why do you believe in the tribulation period?

Why do you believe in the millennial kingdom? Because the finality and the fulfillment of all the promises that were given to Israel have not culminated yet, but one day they will culminate, and you and I will rule and reign with Jesus Christ, and we will rejoice as we live in this utopia kingdom where there is no sin, there is no sorrow, there is no sadness, and yes, there’ll be no COVID -19 in the millennial kingdom.

Can God’s people say amen? Yes, Jesus forever reigns with his Father, and he will one day come back, and since that hour that he was exalted and ascended into heaven at the right hand of the Father, I leave you with this church.

He has given each one of us as believers a conquering spirit of life that reigns. Within our hearts, and it is in our hearts that we are victorious because we have faith in Jesus Christ. So church, do not walk out of here discouraged.

Do not be defeated by the enemies of God. Head up, walk in victory for the Lord Jesus Christ. The miracles of Jesus Christ are the miracles of Jesus Christ. And in this case, we’re performed that we might believe that he is the Son of God.

of God. The greatest miracle was his resurrection. Jesus rose from the grave. It’s one thing for Jesus to raise others, but when death came to him and he died on that cross three days later, he came out of that tomb and he died to take care of our sins.

He came out of that grave to take care of our future and to give us hope and a promise that is found in Jesus Christ himself. So I hope that your heart is being encouraged and strengthened as you walk in your faith each and every day and that you see the significance of the resurrection leading to the understanding of the deity of our Savior.

Now make sure that you check out our YouTube channel because we’re on YouTube and so if you just go to YouTube, hit the search button and type in Hope Worth Having and there are interviews, there are…

training sessions, teaching sessions, and even some little shorts, just a minute or two devotions, and you can take advantage of all that and help you in your walk in Christ. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.