Is it any surprise that a month or so later? 3,000 people believe. The Message Preached By Peter. And the church is created. Is it any surprise that by the time you get to Acts chapter 6, you read, and a great many of the priests believed.
They abandoned the temple system. Why? They knew God had spoken. They knew when Jesus died, it's as if all of creation testified that He was, in fact, the Creator. What does it mean to truly live and die well?
In his final moments on the cross, Jesus declared, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. But what does this powerful statement reveal about life, death, and eternity? In this message, Stephen Davey teaches how Jesus' ultimate act of trust in the Father. shows believers the path to peace. It gives confidence and hope.
Whether you've wondered about what happens after death or how to live with assurance, this message provides life-changing answers. Here's Stephen with a message called The Only Way to Live and Die. Here's Steven. Several years ago, I read a secular article which talked about people's sense of confidence. Uh beyond the grave.
One man interviewed on the subject was a 67-year-old man who had faithfully donated to the Red Cross, what ended up being more than 100 pints of blood. over the course of his adult years, When he was asked why he did it, what was his ultimate motivation? He said it all had to do with getting into heaven. He admitted this. He said, when the final whistle blows, And St.
Peter asked me. What did you do that gets you into heaven? I'm going to be able to say, I gave over 100 pints of blood. That ought to get me in. You know, I couldn't help but think that this man was sincere.
The problem is he's trusting In the wrong blood. The Apostle Peter said that we are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. That includes his life-giving sacrifice, everything that he did on the crosswork on our behalf. And that is what we trust. Peter describes him as that spotless, unblemished.
Layoff. Jesus paid the price. for our salvation.
Now, we've been standing near Calvary, Gogatha, the place of the skull, for several weeks together, that wooden altar where Jesus is delivering these amazing seven Statements as he's sacrificed as the final Lamb of God. Let's go back up the hill. One author calls it Skull Hill. And listen in. As the Lord makes his seventh And final declaration: I invite you to turn in your gospel account of Luke to chapter 23.
Verse forty six Luke tells us. Then Jesus calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. With that he dies. Three hours of darkness now have lifted. Sin has been born in the sacrificed body.
The shed blood of the Lamb, he's been separated from God the Father, having become sin for us. And then he makes these final three statements: I'm thirsty, it is finished, and now this one at the moment of his death. Frankly, nobody could have lived long. having been beaten like Jesus. His body has been lacerated into ribbons of flesh.
His face Swollen. his brow pierced with thorns, His hands and feet nailed with spikes, to wooden beams, excruciating pain, But don't miss this deeper understanding. Jesus did not die because he was crucified. Jesus died because the demands of justice were satisfied. He'd finished the work.
And now he could give up his life. In fact, he had said to his disciples months earlier: nobody is going to take my life from me. I voluntarily lay my life down. of my own accord. John chapter 10 verse 18.
The cross, beloved, did not finish Jesus off. Jesus finished off The work of salvation while on the cross, according to the plan. Jesus told his disciples that the Son of Man would be betrayed. Into the hands of men. Matthew 17, 23.
Jesus had had predicted that he would be betrayed into the hands of Sinners. Matthew 26, 45. In the Garden of Gethsemane, just hours earlier, Jesus woke up his disciples and said, I am about to be delivered into the hands of sinful men. Luke 24, verse 7. But now, look.
Look at the difference. Father, into your heaven. Hands. I commit my spirit. Matthew's gospel tells us that Jesus shouted that again.
He had shouted to Telesti. And now he shouted this final declaration of victory. Jesus is no longer a captive, in any sense of the word, in the hands of sinners. He's not in the hands of demons, he's not in the hands of Satan. He announces his absolute Certainty and safety in the hands of his father.
By the way, this demonstrates for us our own future. Our own transition. From earth to heaven. Jesus is illustrating incredible truths about life after. Death.
This is the believer's confidence. Future. There's this immediate transition from earth. You see, when you die, You're not going to hang around the graveyard. Until somebody lights a candle.
You're not going to hang around and scare the neighborhood kids on Halloween, even though you want to. Nobody floats around until somebody solves their murder. And then they're released into, you know. this mystical spirit world.
Now the Bible says To the believer, the same thing Jesus is illustrating here: to be absent from the body is to beware. Present with the Lord. 1 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 3.
Now we're not sure. How that transition takes place from earth to heaven. I'd love a few verses or maybe a chapter or two on some of those details. We're not sure how the Spirit is chauffeured to glory. My wife and I were talking about that this week.
What are we going to see? First? Or are you going to stop and be stunned at those pearly gates? Are we going to look at our reflection in the golden streets? Are we going to be amazed at those angels and brilliant white?
How long is it going to take? to get to the fathers. Throne We don't know. What we do know is that death is nothing more Then a doorway. And that door opens, and our spirit, that immaterial part of who we really are.
Leaves that body that's now, as it were, gone asleep. It's lying as if it's asleep. It's going to go back to dust. But we are more alive. that ever.
in the fathers How? Do you remember the dying thief? We studied that. He's given that promise by Jesus. Today You'll be with me in paradise, the garden of the king.
Jesus is then saying that he expects to be with the father. upon the moment of his death, and so we too. know that to be absent from the body at death is to be present. with the Lord.
Now, all that said, is there anything. In the text, is there anything in the crucifixion scene that provides a sign that this is indeed true, that this is a validation of the crosswork of Christ for our salvation, that nothing stands in our way today? We can call His Father our Father by faith. In Him, the Son of God. Did God the Father and God the Spirit do something?
Miraculous. to validate that it was all true. Glad you asked. Yes, there are three different Different miracles. That takes place that are often overlooked, some more than others.
Matthew's gospel fills in the blanks for us. I'm now reading from Matthew chapter 27. And verse 50. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. And behold, Matthew says, look at this: the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
That news is going to get out rather quickly. This is an incredible sign, a powerful sign and statement from God.
Now, in order to get the picture, you've actually got to go back to the beginning in Genesis chapter 3, where Adam and Eve are exiled from paradise, from the garden, where they walked with the king. in that garden.
Now they're exiled because of sin. God evidently teaches them a lot more than is recorded, but we know that God sacrificed that first animal on their behalf, and they're covered with the skins of these animals. He's evidently teaching them because they're going to continue this process for many, many years, we're told, even with Cain and Abel. Who will bring their offerings. And now, that first sacrifice, of course, pointed toward the final sacrifice of the Lamb of God that we've been studying.
Now, when God exiled. Adam and Eve from the garden. We're told in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 24 that God stationed cherubim with flaming swords to keep Adam and Eve and any of their extended family over time, over hundreds of years, back into the garden.
Now we're not told how long the cherubim guarded the gate as it were of Eden. Evangelical scholars take literally the timing of Genesis record. That would mean that for about 1,600 years, more than likely, they guarded that until the global flood in the days of Noah, recorded in chapter 7, wiped mankind off the face of the earth. And Genesis describes how those floodwaters reshaped the topography of the planet, carving those massive canyons and creating and filling the oceans of the world. The flood effectively removed any last remnant.
Of that Garden of Eden. And with that, of course, the cherubim would no longer be needed guarding that place any longer. But don't miss the fact that humanity never quite gets over. Those cherubim that guarded access, that basically said, keep out. Stay away.
No more intimate fellowship, as it were, with God. In fact, it seems that God, very clear that God didn't want mankind to forget either. 900 years after the flood, God gives Moses Detailed directions for building the tabernacle. It includes all of the That large altar for animal sacrifices in the courtyard, a holy place inside the tabernacle for instruments like a table of showbread and incense. Then God gave the details for this massive veil that was to be hung, blocking access.
Into the holy place where the presence of God resided. And God instructed Moses to have this curtain woven, embroidered with the figures. of cherubim. They are effectively guarding Stay out. You can't get close.
Centuries later, when Solomon built the temple, Then, when the temple was reconstructed, the days of Herod, Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, describes for us that veil. He says it was 60 feet high, between 30 and 60 feet. It was high. He describes it as woven with strands of blue and purple and scarlet. and patterned into the fabric Josephus describes.
were hundreds and hundreds. of cherubim. Joseph has described the fabric of the veil as three inches. Thick.
Now, only one man was allowed to go past that veil into the Holy of Holies, and only once a year the high priest would enter that sacred place. Representing the presence of God and offer the sacrificial blood of an animal on behalf of the nation. But now the death of Christ. That massive veil. Rips from the top.
all the way down to the bottom. There's no scaffolding in sight. You know, no priest is up there, you know, on a 30-foot ladder with scissors. This is the hand of God. This is a miracle that says.
Come on in. No longer guarded by cherubim, you can have a relationship access. To me, I love the way Ralph Davis writes: this ripped veil signified termination. Temple is no longer needed. You're now the temple of God, I inhabit you, beloved.
He writes this ripped veil also signified inauguration. There's something brand new. I would agree. You can now enter boldly into the presence of God. anytime you'd like.
In fact, a writer of Hebrews puts it with Glorious perfection, having therefore, brethren, Boldness. How about that? To enter into the holiest place. By the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us. Note this.
Through the veil. That is to say His flesh. His flesh represented that which now allows us access. Matthew describes it in chapter 27, and in verse 51, behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Matthew writes it was torn.
That original word means to split, to rip. to divide. This is not a clean cut with some heavenly pair of scissors in a nice straight line. It was ripped apart. And evidently, in order to carry on the tradition of religious leaders, ignore this staggering miracle.
And they evidently got a construction crew together to get some scaffolding. Let's get somebody up there to put it back together. Can you imagine how much duct tape it's going to take? to make it work. They do something.
Because they carry on. and try to ignore that something miraculous has happened.
Now God makes it a little difficult. Because of this second miracle. Matthew goes on to write further in verse 51: And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. In other words, this this earthquake is so strong That granite in the ground is splintering. Open.
Psalm chapter 18, David writes of God's anger with mankind that. cause the earth to reel and to To rock. for the mountains to tremble and quake because of his fear. Yeah. This is going to happen again, by the way, during the tribulation period when the wrath of God is poured out on the human race.
Revelation chapter 6 and verse 12, He's going to send this massive. The Greek text uses the word mega. Earthquake. These are all pictures of the displeasure. and wrath of God.
It reminds me of the warning to the unbelieving world in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 31. You're not committing your life into the hands of the Father. But let me tell you, he writes, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Father. of the living God. The unbelieving world today doesn't understand the trouble they're in with God.
It's our mission to warn them of coming judgment, inviting them to Jesus for safety. They're in deep trouble. David wrote in Psalm chapter 7: God is angry with the wicked every day. Paul writes in Romans chapter 2, he's storing up his wrath that will eventually pour forth. And the church today seems to be telling the unbelieving world: there, there, you're just fine.
God's going to be nice. No, his fury will pour out, for they have defied the Son of God. You want to commit your hands? Your spirit into the hands of the Father now? or into his hands When his fury pours Fourth.
Let me tell you, the world doesn't stand a chance. Before this holy God, it doesn't have a prayer. Except one. A prayer of faith. In the dying Lamb of God.
Can you imagine though, try to re-enter this scene? How chaotic it must have been. Darkness has covered the earth for three hours. You have the veil ripped now. In two, you've got this earthquake that is violently shuttering the earth.
That isn't all. There's a third miracle. And this is a positive one, but it still stuns Jerusalem. Matthew goes on to write. In verse 52, the tombs also were opened.
and many bodies of the saints. Who had died were raised. These are Old Testament believers, not all of them, but a few of them, many of them. And coming out of the tombs, After his resurrection, they went into the holy city, which is Jerusalem, and appeared to many. At this point, I would have said, okay.
I give in. I surrender. Imagine darkness. The veil was ripped? An earthquake?
And now dead people are coming out of their tombs and entering Jerusalem. Proving that Jesus is, in fact, the resurrection. I would love to have a few verses on the reaction of people in Jerusalem. You know, as these people who had recently died suddenly showed up. Can you imagine somebody knocking on your door?
You open the door. What in the world? I was at your funeral a year ago. Their answer would have been, well, here's what's happening. I'm here to testify.
Because that's what they did. That Jesus, who was crucified, truly is the Messiah. He has power over death. And the grave. He is, in fact, the resurrection and the life, and I'm showing up here.
as living Proof. Is it any surprise that a month or so later 3,000 people in Jerusalem believe. the message preached by Peter. and the church has created. Is it any surprise that by the time you get to Acts chapter 6, you read, and a great many of the priests.
believed. That means they They left their job. They're pensions. They abandoned the temple system. Why?
Well, they knew. There wasn't enough duct tape in Jerusalem to keep the fact of that Mysterious hand. From being believed. They knew all about the cry of Jesus. They knew God had spoken.
They knew when Jesus died, it's as if all of creation testified that He was in fact the Creator. The Son of God. You know, when I think about this seventh and final statement from the Lord, I can't help but think that Jesus. really modeled what it meant to live. In a relationship with God the Father.
Jesus Jesus lived this way. In fact, in his final message to the disciples, John 14 through 16, we call it the final discourse. He mentions His father Forty-five times. In his high priestly prayer in John chapter 17, he prays to his. Father, half dozen more.
This is the way to live. What is Christianity? It begins with saying something like, Father, into your hands I commit my sin. What's the Christian life? The Christian life, well, here it is.
Father, into your Hands, I commit. My day. The word commit, by the way, is a wonderful Greek word that means to deposit something you treasure. carries the idea of trust. It implies surrender.
Father, Into your hands I entrust, I deposit. Everything about my life. The Christian life is simply getting out of bed in the morning and saying, Father, into your hands, I commit my chores, my Plans, my spouse, my children, my needs, my.
Sorrows, my joys, my hope for the day, my troubles. My anxieties, Father, I'm placing them in your hands because you said you care. For me.
So here you go. Let me add to that, this is not only the way to live. This is the way to die. Father, into your hands. I commit.
My spirit. What a way to die. You know, I found believers to this day who can. sing hymns of The faith. uh often without remembering your name.
or their own, but they can remember These great hymns that they learned as children. These lyrics come back to their minds. and their hearts. And I've been by the bedside of some, and that's what comes out. And I think.
That's the way to die. I remember being in the hospital room many years ago. Standing at the bedside of an elderly man who'd served on our church maintenance crew for several years. He'd been in the hospital. For quite some time, his body was beginning to shut down, no more food or water.
was needed. The doctor had informed his wife that death was Imminent. And my wife and I and our family had known him and his wife for many years, and I'd come to say farewell. I stood there for a little bit talking to the soon-to-be widow about Elements in the funeral service she'd like and is honored. And then I left them alone together.
I knew this would be their last evening together. But That night the nurses would tell us later. They heard singing. From his room. And as he lay there, He was unconscious.
But he was singing. The hallelujah chorus. That's not exactly the easiest hymn to pick from the hymnal. And all the nurses kind of crowded in. And listened and And then he revived.
Completely. No sign of illnesses. A week or so, he's back at work. We nicknamed him Lazarus. Several years later, illnesses returned.
And I went to see him a few days before his passing. And I said to him, you know, instead of singing the hallelujah chorus. You're probably going to soon hear The hallelujah chorus. Whose lyrics come from Revelation 5 as the elect sing around the throne. The glory of God.
But I told them Because of your faith in Christ and his sacrifice for you, you know you're. You're going to be transmitted into the hands. of your Heavenly Father. And he moved his mouth and whispered I know. Last words I heard.
I know. Let me tell you. That's how you want to die. Since we don't know the date.
Well This is how you want to live. Father? into your hands. I commit. My day.
And then know that eventually one day you will be able to essentially say Father, into your hands I deposit my Bye. Spirit. My Life. Evermore. That was Stephen Davey, and this is Wisdom for the Heart.
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