How Do I Move Past My Biggest Mistakes? | Acts 4:1-22 | Daran Hodges

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♪ I know my Father's good place, good place ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father's good place ♪ ♪ Good place, good place ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father's good place ♪ ♪ Good place, good place ♪ ♪ Good place, good place ♪ ♪ Good place, good place ♪ Thank you for your plans for our life, Lord. Let's lift this up together. ♪ I could sing your name for all my life ♪ ♪ And still find more to love each time ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name of all my lives ♪ ♪ It's sweeter every time that I call on you ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry home and home ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, you're worthy of us ♪ ♪ You have been the friends who've never left ♪ ♪ And I won't forget your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name of all my lives ♪ ♪ It's so much sweeter ♪ ♪ It's sweeter every time that I call on you ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry home and home ♪

♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name, I know ♪ ♪ There is no other name, Jesus, you're worthy of us ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name, Jesus, you're worthy of us ♪ ♪ Oh, in the name of Jesus, just speak the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, we lift your name, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ So we sing, Jesus, your name is like the morning light ♪ ♪ The one that darkens day and night ♪ ♪ The resurrection and the light, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Your name can save, your name can heal ♪ ♪ Your name can make the storm be still ♪ ♪ It never fail, it never will, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, the bread of life, broken for us ♪ ♪ The wounded and the worthy one ♪ ♪ The first, the last, the still to come, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, the King, the one who will, the great, the Lord ♪ ♪ Forever reign the name above all other names ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ That gives all the glory, Jesus, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name that gives all the glory ♪ ♪ We sing Jesus, Jesus be the name Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name that gives all the glory, Jesus Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name that gives all the glory, oh oh oh oh oh ♪

♪ The crown to the Lord, Jesus above it all, oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh, Jesus, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Power in your name, so much power in your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ We sing Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh, Jesus be the name, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ That gives all the glory, there's healing, there's healing in your name, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ There's healing in your name, there's healing in your name, we believe it today, there's healing in your name, it makes me cry holy holy ♪ ♪ There's freedom in your name, so much freedom, freedom in your name, there's freedom in your name, it makes me cry holy holy holy ♪ ♪ There's salvation, there's salvation in your name, salvation in your name, salvation in your name, it makes me cry holy holy holy holy ♪ ♪ It makes me cry, there's salvation, there's salvation in your name, salvation in your name, salvation in your name, it makes me cry holy holy ♪ ♪ Won't Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name that gets all the glories ♪ This is great news that we're singing about. Can we just give God praise together today? It's true what we're singing about and gathered on Father's Day. We'll celebrate again here in a moment. But before we just jump into the time together today, I just want to remind you that their dad's in the room, but we came to worship a perfect Heavenly Father. We've got a perfect Heavenly Father. It's great news. Praise God for his love. And for many of us, we had a great earthly representation of a father. And for me, like it can, Darren Senior is my dad, like I have a, I have a good lens by which to understand, but that's not true for, that's not true for everybody. And while we were singing, I was just thinking about the message that I sing about God's word and what he would, what he would want to do. And I really believe that, that this service today is a service, a message through God's word of restoration for somebody. That maybe this is a difficult day and you mustered up the courage to, to be here in person or maybe, and it's okay. Maybe you're watching online today because it's a difficult day to conceptualize that you have a Heavenly Father. I want you to know my prayer for you today is that you'd see your Heavenly Father rightly. He gives us good gifts. He's got good plans, just like we're singing about. So I want us to pray, make ourselves available to him as we jump into his word.

Father, we thank you for your love. That your mercies are new every morning. Thank you for your love. your patience. Thank you for pursuing us. Father, thank you for restoration. Man, that we get to gather, Lord, today as imperfect people to worship a perfect God. But we are welcome here by your grace. That's why we say everyone's welcome. So I pray you'd renew us today. We hear right from you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Come on one more time. Let's say thank you, God, that we get to be here. Happy Father's Day to the dads. So good to see you. Man, I want to say thank you for being here today on Father's Day. Excited to jump right back into this journey that we're on through the book of Acts Together. Hey, if you were here with us last week, you'll remember we got to hear about Moonwalker from Pastor Dwan getting healed and such a powerful word on restoration. I've been thinking about moles all week long. Is anybody with me on that? I've just been thinking about moles. I'm pretty sure it was about restoration, but I've been thinking about the mole game. I'll share more about my lawn here in just a moment. But man, I just want to introduce myself and share the most important news first. If we've never met, my name is Darren. I have the honor of serving on the team here as campus pastor. And man, it's such a joy. As some of you know, our family has grown. This is an updated picture of the fam and my wife, Julie. And thank you. Praise God. They're here right now. And man, Julie is such a gift, such a blessing, such a great teammate. And this is our three-year-old son in the photo, Shepard, who Nashville campus, you need to understand, he officially graduated swim lessons this week for the dads in the room. It's a miracle. It's a big week in the life of a toddler is to get them to go to five consecutive days of swim lessons. He absolutely crushed it. And can he swim? Shoot me an email. I'll let you know about that. That's our new baby girl, baby Kit Lane Hodges. She's five weeks old, which means have I showered in five weeks or slept through the night in five weeks? Well, for the dads in the room, you know the answer to that question. But man, they're the most important people in my life. And I'm turning into that person. I'm turning into that parent, that family oriented person who just kind of can't help but talk about my family. Like I annoy people with pictures and videos of my family. I'm that guy at Costco that like an old lady can look

at me weird. And I'm like, she must want to see a picture of my kids. She's like, I just needed to get in the freezer section. I annoy people with my family. I love them. I mean, have you ever had something in your life, news in your life, something that's going on in your world? That's so exciting that you can't help but talk about it. I think for some in this 11 o'clock service, it's world cup. Now, listen, I know we're in America. I know you're cheering for USA, but can we be honest? Like who do we, who do we got? We got, we got France, Spain, Argentina, Brazil. Yeah, I know. I know. I know. I know. I understand. I understand. And good luck. But anything's possible with Jesus. And good luck. Maybe you just got that job and maybe there was something that you were praying for and hoping for, and you got to call your loved one, maybe your fiance or maybe, maybe it's for you, it's your dad and let them know that you got the job. Even before you leave that last round interview, they offered you the job. It's so exciting that you got to tell somebody. Maybe you recently went on a first date and you're trying to act chill about it, but you just got to call your bestie and let her know how it went. It's this news that you can't hold in. Maybe you bought that house or maybe you sold that house. Welcome to middle Tennessee. Maybe your kid hit one over the fence. You got to tell somebody, maybe you just got engaged. Maybe your daughter took her first steps. What's going on in your world that you are so excited about that you can't hold it in? I mean, what is the best news that you got going? Like, my family's one version of that for me, but the truth is I'm also like that with my lawn. And last week, Pastor Duan showed us the dream lawn. For accountability's sake, I want to show you my real lawn. This is a picture of my backyard. Quick education moment. Let me nerd out on this for a second. If you don't know about grass, this is tall fescue, and I need to give a shout out to Luke at Dickens Turf and Landscape for hooking me up with this kind of grass. I see the weeds that are in this picture, and one of the staff members of Dickens is in this service. I'm sorry about the weeds that you see in this grass. I'm working on it. But man, I can't help but show you pictures of my grass, and here's what I know. You didn't ask me to show you pictures of my grass, and you definitely don't have to. to ask me to talk about my family. I mean, these are two things that I love so much. And here's what I've learned, is that you don't have to force people

to talk about the things they love most. Like, you don't have to twist people's arms to talk about things they truly love, things most central to their hearts. The things most central in our lives flow naturally from our hearts and from our minds. Which leads us to a question before we get to chapter four of Acts today, which is this, is what flows from you? Like, what is it that you can't help but talk about? What gets you excited? What wakes you up in the morning? If I were to call your spouse and your coworkers and say, what is this person about? What would they say? What comes out of you when you're under pressure? I mean, this is a lens by which we're gonna examine chapter four of Acts today. And we're gonna get to explore this through Peter and John, two of the disciples, the followers of Christ, the men that walked with Jesus and are now leading out the early church movement. And we're gonna see something so beautiful. I got love of all the disciples that we're looking at that today we'll look at Peter and John. You wanna know why? It's because you know who Peter is. I get to talk about Peter so much when I'm up here. Peter's often known for public failure. Peter was the one that walked on water and sank.

You remember? Maybe you're newer to all this. Here's where you might know Peter, is that just a handful of weeks from the story that we're covering in Acts chapter four today, as Luke wrote it, just a handful of weeks before that, Peter was the one that denied Jesus. Remember, Jesus gets seized and Jesus gets brought before the power structure of the world and gets sentenced to death in the courtroom. And while that's happening, Peter is over to the side and he denies Christ three times. But today, in the text today, we're gonna see a profoundly different response from Peter, like a supernatural response. And so the question today is if God can do what we're about to see in Peter, then what can he do through you and me? And how would he wanna do that? And we're gonna make ourselves available to that today. Before we get to the text, I wanna invite you to pray with me. We'll jump in. Father, I just wanna acknowledge who it is that we're talking about. So I wanna say thank you for this word, a living word of God. I thank you that the same power that was in Peter in this moment

and in John in this moment is available to us even now. And I do, I wanna circle back. I specifically pray for anybody in this place today that would feel like they've already messed it up, feel like the best days are behind them, feel like they need to backtrack and change some things. I pray, Lord, you would invade that part of that person's story even now, that you'd do it in this room and you would do it through this camera, that your word would come alive. I pray you'd protect us from me, that your word would be illuminated, you would be lifted up, and you'd make us more like you today. Pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen, if you brought your Bible as you're turning to Acts chapter four, I wanna make sure we're grasping the weight of what we're headed into. These disciples are seized and arrested by the power structure of the day, the Sanhedrin brought before them. Here's what's happening. The Sanhedrin recognizes the reality of Christ and doesn't know what to do with it. And so what the Sanhedrin seeks out to do is to silence the disciples, to get them to sort of hush, to be quiet about the move of God

that's happening in the world. And we're gonna see a vastly different response from Peter and John in light of that. And I love that they're rolling together. Like it wasn't uncommon that Peter and John rolled together. I mean, we saw them run to the tomb together. We saw them prepare Passover together. I just think it's a massive opportunity for us to explore today, the restoration, the redemption of Peter in this moment that we find in the text. And here's why, it's because Peter knew something about this courtroom. Like Peter had been around it before. Peter had walked with Christ and watched Jesus get arrested and brought before, in many ways, the same space. I mean, think Judge Judah, like the same courtroom as Jesus had been to. And not at the center in the courtroom, but Peter was there, was in the courtyard. And this was a place that would have held some of his greatest regret. And if you've walked with Jesus for a while, you'll know this is true. Like, isn't it funny how God will make you revisit things? God will make you revisit places and people, situations and circumstances, conversations. Maybe it's a geographical location, not to shame you, but to restore you.

This is what's happening in Peter's life. Listen, this wasn't just a courtroom to Peter. This was the area that held his greatest regret. greatest regret and things he would have longed to have changed having denied Christ three times and then had been restored. There were memories here that he wished he could have erased, conversations that he wished he could have changed, things that he wished he could have done differently. And isn't that true for you and me? I mean, don't you, maybe it's me, have areas in your life where you do things differently, words you'd take back, conversations you would have differently. I mean, failures that maybe even nobody knew about. This was one of those moments that Peter was in. Peter found himself in a place that he would not have been comfortable being in because of the shame of his past. And I love that John is there with him. And you wanna know why? It's because John knew. I mean, John knew about Peter's greatest failure. John was there in the denial moment, but John had also been there when Peter was restored. And John doesn't say a lot, but John is there. And here's what matters, is that John knew Peter at his worst

and stands with him in restoration. Question for you, do you have a John? I mean, do you have somebody in your life that knows the worst part of you and chooses to stand with you in restoration? I wanna tell you, that's one thing I pray as campus pastor for our church is that this can be a John for you, a place where you find a group of people or a person who will stand with you in restoration. I mean, we desire to stand with restored people. John doesn't have a lot to say, but he's there with Peter in this moment. Such a powerful picture. John knew that transformation was possible. John probably would have said everyone's welcome because nobody's perfect. And with Jesus, anything is possible. And where did that transformation come from? What changed in Peter's life between the courtyard where Peter denied Christ three times? To bystanders, to servants, even to a little girl. I mean, that was just a handful of weeks ago. What changed between that moment and this moment where we're about to see Peter stand supernaturally bold and courageous talking about his God, what happened? Well, Jesus happened. I mean, Jesus changed everything. See, Jesus came and he lived a perfect life and Jesus laid that life down and died

and Jesus rose again and Jesus restored Peter after the denial and Jesus commissions Peter to lead even as an imperfect person by the power of God. Jesus ascends and the Holy Spirit comes and everything changes. That's what leads to this moment that we find in Acts chapter four. See, at the end of chapter three, we saw the lame man get healed, 11 o'clock. Anybody remember his name from Pastor Dwan last week? Who was listening? Come on, y'all. Somebody said it. It was Moonwalker, Wendell, you know. I was gonna moonwalk, but I just walked so bad. I'm not gonna even try that right now. Moonwalker, after 40 years of being lame, was healed and in front of people. So something that couldn't happen, happened. I mean, this supernatural miracle takes place which caused a fuss, it caused a crowd and Peter starts preaching to the crowd. The Sanhedrin doesn't like what's happening and so they seize Peter and John and that's where we're picking up in the story today. Let's look at this together. Starting in verse one of chapter four. This is the word of God. Says, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John

while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and because it was evening, they put him in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed. So the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000. The next day, the rulers and elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, so was Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest's family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them. Now, what power or what name did you do this? And so here we are in the text. First thing I want us to see today is Peter and John finding themselves under pressure for their faith. And you need to know when you make a decision to follow Jesus, expect pressure. I mean, please don't expect a light and easy life. A yoke can be easy, but a life won't always be. Like expect pressure when you decide to follow Jesus. It was author John Stodd and it's got this book called The Message of Acts. And he notes that opposition and resistance often directly follow a move of God. Listen, Peter and John weren't arrested because they were ineffective at their jobs. Peter and John weren't arrested

because they were far too effective at their jobs, because they were ineffective at their jobs. They were ineffective at their jobs. that following Christ brings resistance. And the Sanhedrin doesn't like this. They were ineffective at their jobs. Look at verse seven. They were ineffective at their jobs. It says, they have Peter and John brought before them and began to question them. By what power or what name did you do this? And question for you, what is it that the Sanhedrin is upset about? I mean, did you notice this? Sanhedrin's not upset about the miracle. Sanhedrin's not upset that a lame man was healed or charitable things are happening in the world or good is coming to the earth. It's not that. What is it that they're upset about? We read it in verse two. Look at this. It says, they were greatly disturbed, the Sanhedrin, because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. Why was this a problem for the Sanhedrin? Why were the miracles not the problem or the good things that were happening the problem? Well, the risen Christ would mean that they had been wrong just a handful of weeks ago,

where they condemned and sentenced Jesus to death for being wrong about the things that he had claimed. See, a risen Christ means that Christ is king, that he was right about everything that he said he was, which would mean that they weren't in power. To mean that there was a different king that they would have to worship. This would have to change everything about their life. Listen, the Sanhedrin was waking up to the reality that Jesus, the gospel message, can't be moderately important in our life. Now, Macias Lewis said it this way. He said, Christianity, if false, is of no importance. And if true, of infinite importance, the only thing this news can't be is moderately important. Meaning the only thing that the news of Jesus, the invitation of the gospel can't be to you and to me is moderately important. This is what the Sanhedrin was waking up to in the text today. That they were gonna have to figure out what to do with Jesus. And so they made these decisions and put Peter and John back in a position where they were really familiar with, which is under pressure. And we see a vastly different response in Peter this time around. And that's what excites me. I mean, let's be honest.

The last time that Peter was around this environment, Peter fumbled the ball. Like Peter dropped the ball. Peter really publicly failed and Jesus restored him by his grace. But this time we'll see Peter stand strong when he's under pressure. See, pressure has a way of revealing what's inside of us. Like pressure doesn't cause what's inside of us. It wasn't in the past the pressure that caused Peter to be afraid. And today it's not gonna be the pressure of the present that causes Peter to find boldness. Pressure just reveals what's inside of us. If you wanna know what's inside of something, supply a little pressure to it and you'll find out. If you wanna know what's inside of someone, apply a little pressure to them and you'll find out. See, pressure has a way of revealing what's inside of us. And come on, dad, it's Father's Day. I'll be honest. You're gonna tell me we don't know something about pressure. I mean, maybe for you it's marital pressure or it's work pressure. Maybe it's financial pressure or it's medical pressure. Maybe it's parental pressure, pressure to keep it all together. Pressure to keep everybody happy in life. Keep everything going in the right track. Or maybe it's pressure to be successful.

Pressure to be enough. Maybe you're a young dad and it feels like pressure to prove to yourself that you are who they said you are. And Peter is under pressure in this moment today. And pressure reveals what's inside of him. I love this in the text today, that yes, it's a miracle that the lame man stood up, it's a miracle that the lame man stood up. I was praying about this. I really believe for us the miracle today is not that the lame man stood up, but it's that Peter, it's that Peter stood up. Like that we have a written account of Peter standing firm in his faith. I believe that is the miracle today by God's grace and what happened in Peter. How did this happen? Check out verse eight. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers and elders of the people, if we're being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel, it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. So the second thing I want you to see is that. Pressure reveals what fills you. It's moments like this, it's moments of pressure in our life that reveal what fills us, and we are filled by the things that we're near to. Like we're filled by the things that we spend time around, the things we allow into our hearts and minds, the people that we surround ourselves with. Pressure reveals what fills you. This is great news today, because it's not really about you. See, Peter was able to boldly stand before the Sanhedrin, not because he had equipped himself enough or been to enough leadership conferences or read enough books or gone and hid in some closet and been like, I am brave, I am strong. He hadn't self-convinced himself. Okay, Peter didn't need self-confidence anymore because Peter had confidence in the spirit of God. And it's important that we know today it would be a mistake for us to leave this word thinking that we need Peter's confidence. Listen, we don't need Peter's confidence, we need Peter's helper. It's the power and the presence of God,

the spirit of God alive in Peter's life that empowers him in this moment to have the boldness. Not that he was equipped enough or self-confident enough, but Peter had spirit confidence. Peter's confidence was in the spirit of God. It revealed what naturally filled Peter, the presence and the power of God, because what occupies your heart will naturally flow from your mouth. So what filled Peter? The presence of God, the Holy Spirit of God. And what flowed from Peter? Jesus, the gospel message, because what fills your heart will naturally flow out of your mouth. He was filled by the Holy Spirit by spending time with Jesus. And this is what the Sanhedrin notices about him in the text, look at verse 13. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus. Isn't that a good Bible verse today? Honestly, I just wanna preach verse 13 for a minute. I was thinking about it this morning. If the city of Nashville decided to come take an audit of our church, the men of our church, I'd love to go first and be a known for a guy

that's an ordinary unschooled person who had been with Jesus. Like that the power of Peter comes from Jesus. This isn't a message about Peter and his courage. This is a message about the restoration power of our King. The Sanhedrin looks at him and the only thing that they can see in him is Christ in him. So what happened to Peter? What changed in Peter? Peter spent time with Jesus. Peter got alone with God. Peter places faith and his trust in Jesus. Did you know that God wants to spend time with you? Like it's important to note in the text today that Jesus had ascended. Jesus had sent the Holy Spirit, meaning Peter was operating in the same presence with God, abiding with God in the same way that you and I are invited to abide with God today. What this means is that the power that we see in Peter in the text today is not just reserved for the disciples or the early apostles or those that knew Jesus in person. That means that's the invitation for you and for me is that we too can be with God. And so what does it mean to be with God? What does it mean to be with Jesus? That's what verse 13 said. They had been with Jesus. You want to know what we have today?

We've got the living word of God. Like many of us carried it in today. Sits in my backpack and sometimes it sits in my passenger seat. This is the living word of God. This 66 different books compiled from 40 different authors over the course of 1500 years placed together in a unified story that God loves us and is pursuing relationship with his people. Talking about being with Jesus, this is the same Jesus that came and dwelt among us, was born into this world. And they said, what should we call him? And they said, Emmanuel, God with us. Listen, this isn't a rule book. This is a love story of God pursuing relationship with you. Here's what I'm saying. We can be with Jesus in his word. Question I hear a lot. How do I hear from God? I've got questions for God. Start here, just ask him. You can be with Jesus in his word. 2 Timothy 3.16, which says this, it says, all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting and for training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Listen, everything you need is in here.

We can be with Jesus in His word. Did you know we can be with Jesus in prayer, just like Peter and John? Makes me think of something, our group's director here in Nashville, Spence, this is one of my teammates here, says, he says, when we read Scripture, we see more of God, but when we pray, we see more like God. I'm gonna remind you today, prayer is not informing God of your schedule in your life, telling Him things He doesn't know. Prayer is a conversation, inviting Him into what He's already doing in your life, learning how to abide, how to remain in Him, staying near to Him, staying connected with Him. We can be with Jesus in prayer. How is all this possible? Well, we can be with Jesus through the Holy Spirit, through the same power that's alive in Peter, the same power that we read about in verse eight, where it says Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, is an invitation for you and me right now, today. We can be with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. What that means is that we can learn to remain in Him, to stay close with Him. It's John 15, five, it says this, it says, I am the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit, but apart from me, you can do nothing. That's a message about abiding.

And I believe that's what we see in Peter's life, is that we saw him deny Christ, and now we're seeing him stand firm for Christ. I believe that it was his disconnection from the Father that allowed him to deny Him, but now it's his abiding in Him that's allowing him to stand firm in the faith. What changed about Peter? Peter got alone with God. Peter spent time with Jesus. It changed everything about his life. That's the invitation of faith for you and me today. Here's the reality, is that this is the invitation for everyone. Maybe one of the biggest burdens of this job is that you know that the invitation is for everyone, and you also know that not everyone says yes. And we see that in the text today. See how the Sanhedrin responds to the reality of Jesus in this last section we'll cover today. Picking up in verse 14. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, that's Moonwalker, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin, and they conferred together. What are we gonna do with these men, they asked. Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it.

But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name. Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, which is right in God's eyes, to listen to you or to listen to him? You judges, as for us, we cannot help speaking about what we've seen and heard. After further threats, they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over 40 years old. I love stories like this. I love that transformation like this is possible today. I love how we're seeing Peter stand firm in the faith. Leads me to the third and final thing I want us to see today, which is this, is that the more time you spend with Jesus, the more you become like Jesus. That the secret to life with God is spending time with him, is remaining with him. See, that's what the Sanhedrin saw in Peter and John when they examined them. That's why today's message can't be a try harder text or a do better text, but it has to be a come closer text to remain in me, to remain in our father. This can't be a message about manufacturing boldness.

This has to be a message about protecting proximity, of protecting the cave, the quiet place with God. My dad, as I was mentioning at the jump, I'm gonna show a picture of my family and talk about my family because I love my family. I'll tell you one thing I'm taking away from fatherhood from the message today is that I wanna protect proximity with my father, because any good thing he can do in me and through me comes from him. from him, but I also wanna protect my proximity with my family. And if I can encourage you today, I wanna encourage you to stay close to your family, to protect your proximity to your wife and your kids, to love them, show up for them, take care of them, pray for them. I mean, relationships aren't built overnight. How much more true is that for us with our heavenly father? Now I wanna encourage you, if the time you spend with him is one hour a week on a Sunday, it's gonna take a long time. I'm also aware today that for some of us, our earthly father didn't help us have a lens, a good lens for who our heavenly father is. So I wanna tell you a little bit about him. Your heavenly father, he loves you. He pursues you, he's near to you, he shows up for you, he provides for you, he cares, he cares about you. Scripture says he prays for you.

Scripture says he has good plans for you. I mean, that's our heavenly father. And the word today can't be that we're supposed to manufacture this courage or this boldness to earn our way to him, this can't be a do better message, this has to be a come closer message, to learn how to receive his love. He loves you, learn how to spend time with him, to be with him, to talk to him. He loves when you talk to him, he loves listening. It's for us, it's learning how to obey him, to be with his people, experience life with people that love him too. It's to hear his voice, follow his lead, follow his prompt because people that spend time with Jesus become more like Jesus. Imitation today is not to try harder or do better, it's to come closer. See, Peter and John, they had come close. The leaders of the Sanhedrin acknowledged the reality of the risen Christ and they ran further, which is the saddest reality of our text today because it would cost them everything. And so my question today is not if we're willing to be more bold, my question for us today is will you move toward Jesus? Like will you take a step toward a father that loves you the most? Would you even maybe, would you step into receiving his love? Would you receive again his love?

Would you be reminded today, you're not working to earn his love? Would you take an inhale through a song to recognize his mercies are new every morning? Would you believe for restoration like Peter? Would you allow him to redeem the parts of your past that you don't know what to do with? Would you forgive yourself for things he died on the cross for? Would you step into restoration, into newness of life? If that's you today, I'd love the opportunity to pray for you, let's pray together. Lord, I thank you for the gospel message, which is that we can't earn our way to your love. That we can't come to a church service at a church and respond a correct way to then deserve or earn your favor. Grace is unmerited favor, which is the best news. It's because none of us deserve to know what it feels like to walk in restoration, boldly proclaiming the good news of Jesus like Peter is today. And yet, that's the invitation for every single one of us. So I pray you'd minister to us, Holy Spirit, that you would illuminate things and areas and conversations and people and places that maybe you'd wanna redeem, restore. I pray we would take one song to remain in you, to abide in you. abide with you, spend time with you, I pray we'd hear from you, be made aware of how much

it is that you love us. Thank you for being everything we've ever longed for in a dad. Thank you for courage today, for anyone who'd need to do business with God, if they'd find the boldness to come tell somebody on prayer team, I need to be made right with God. Thank you, we're never more than a prayer away from you, and so help us worship you in response, in Jesus' name we pray, amen, amen, I want to invite you to stand, worship together. He is the only name that saves, and is worthy of all praise, I have a king, with dominion over death, he holds the key, yeah In his holy, blessed hands, he is the healing wound that has crushed the serpent's head, a resurrection grave, I am I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you healer risen and reigning in power, something comes out of the grave Every time I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you savior worthy of glory forever, something comes out of the grave Every time I call your name, chains break, dry bones awake Every time I call your name, the gates of hell shake Every time I call your name, chains break, dry bones awake Every time I call your name, the gates of hell shake Every time I call your name, deathly's come alive deathly's come alive in the name of Jesus deathly's come alive, deathly's come alive, deathly's come alive in the name of Jesus I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you healer risen in reigning power something comes out of the grave every time I call you Jesus I call you, I call you, bringer worthy of glory forever something comes out of the grave every time I call your name