Derby Family Ministry

Sermon on Acts 15:22-35

I preached on Acts 15:22-36 yesterday.

Here is a link to the video, I have uploaded it to Youtube and it is currently processing, but this is the link to the link: https://youtu.be/kT_99bc3RE4

Thank you and God Bless,

Jeremy Derby

The Good Person Test from Living Waters Ministry, they encourage to share freely: “Do you consider yourself to be a good person? Most people do. However, most of us differ as to the definition of “good.” The Bible says that God is good, and the Ten Commandments are His standard of goodness. So, we will look at God’s Law . . . With a tender conscience, ask yourself if you have obeyed the following:

You shall have no other gods before Me. (Have you always loved God above all else?)You shall not make yourself an idol. (Have you made a god in your mind that you’re more comfortable with, a god to suit yourself?)You shall not take God’s name in vain. (Have you ever used God’s holy Name as a cuss word?)Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.Honor your father and mother.You shall not murder. (God considers hatred to be as murder).You shall not commit adultery. (“Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart” Matthew 5:27-28; this also includes sex before marriage).You shall not steal. (Have you ever stolen anything? the value of the item is irrelevant).You shall not lie. (Have you lied even once? Including answering these questions).You shall not covet. (Have you ever jealously desired what belongs to others?)The Bible says that God will punish all murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, adulterers, etc. He will even judge our words and thoughts. On Judgment Day, will you be found to be guilty or innocent of breaking His commandments?

Perhaps you think that God is good, and will therefore overlook your sins. But it is His goodness that will make sure that murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, etc. receive justice. He would be a corrupt Judge if He turned a blind eye to injustice. Have you kept the Commandments?

The Bible says that the Law is perfect. It commands you to be perfect (Matthew 5:48). Are you perfect (in thought, word, and deed)? Will you make it to Heaven? You may say that you are still good, but God says you’re not (see Psalm 14:2-3). So one of you is lying, and the Scriptures tell us that it is impossible for God to lie. Remember that all liars will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8). God’s Law demands justice, and the penalty for sinning against Him is death and Hell. Listen carefully if you want to live.

God Himself made a way where His justice and His goodness could meet. We broke the Law, but He became a man to pay the fine. Jesus suffered and died on the cross to satisfy the Law. God can forgive us and grant us the gift of everlasting life! But you may still think that you can (from now on) keep the Ten Commandments. But isn’t it true that the best of us have lied, stolen, lusted, hated, failed to love God above all else, and failed to love our neighbor as ourselves?

How can we then, live a “good” life if we have already sinned against God? At best we are reformed liars and thieves . . . but still Lawbreakers. Think of it this way – would you sell one of your eyes for a million dollars? Would you sell both for $50 million? I’m sure you wouldn’t. Your eyes are priceless, yet they are merely the windows of your soul. What then must your life (soul) be worth? With these thoughts in mind, what would be a fair price to pay for everlasting life? It is utterly without price. Yet, if we trust in our own goodness to enter Heaven, we are saying to God, “I should enter Heaven because I have done good – I have earned my way in.”

Imagine if you wanted to give me a brand new (very expensive) car, but I said, “I can’t take it! I feel embarrassed receiving such a gift . . . here’s 10 cents for it.” I’m sure you would be very insulted by such a pathetic offer of payment. Besides, if I pay for it, it is no longer a gift, it’s a purchase . . . it’s mine by right.

When we talk of entering Heaven by being good, by trying to keep the Ten Commandments etc., we are tossing God 10 cents of “self-righteousness,” which is a terrible insult to Him, in the light of His sacrifice. The only thing we can do is humble ourselves, repent of our sins, and receive the gift by trusting Jesus Christ alone. Almighty God demonstrated how much He loves you when Jesus suffered for you on the cross. If you want to trust in your own goodness, then you are saying His agonizing death on the cross was in vain. The Bible says, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” You cannot earn a gift.

When Jesus said to “believe” on Him, He was saying we should have faith in Him, in the same way you would trust a parachute to save you when you jump from a plane. You don’t merely believe in the parachute – you put it on. Please don’t “jump” without Jesus. If you die in your sins there is no second chance. God will give you justice, and you will end up in Hell forever. Any troubles you have at present are dwarfed by the trouble you are in with your Creator. His wrath abides upon you (John 3:36). God doesn’t want you to go to Hell. Neither do you want to go there, so confess your sins to God right now, put your trust in Jesus to save you, and you will pass from death to life. Then read the Bible daily and obey what you read. (See John 14:21). Your obedience to God is the proof of your love. Have faith in God, He will never fail you.

Pray something like this:

“Dear God, today I turn away from all of my sins (name them). This day I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He is the only way for me to be saved. He is ‘The way, the truth, and the life.'” Please forgive me, change my heart, and grant me Your gift of everlasting life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.””

Search the Scriptures: Luke 1:57-80

“⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶²And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. ⁶⁴And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people
⁶⁹and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,
⁷⁰as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
⁷¹that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
⁷²to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
⁷⁴    that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
⁷⁵    in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
⁷⁶And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    in the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,
    whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
⁷⁹to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.”

This is a great prophesy presented by Zechariah. It’s amazing that he starts presenting God’s plan of the coming Messiah. Then it goes into the details of the purpose that Messiah has to save us from the enemy who hates us, to provide the mercy that was promised, to fulfill the holy covenant, the promise made to Abraham, and to serve Him without fear. This also presents the mission of John to be the prophet to prepare the way for Lord Jesus. Salvation provides forgiveness for our sins by the grace of God.

Search the Scriptures: Luke 1:39-56

“³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

⁴⁶And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
⁵⁰And his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.“

In this passage we begin to see more of character of Mary, and how she reacts as she is carrying the Lord Jesus within her. She arrises and travels by herself to visit her family Zechariah and Elizabeth. Its so amazing that John is filled with the Holy Spirit that he recognizes from within the womb, Jesus who is in marys womb. Elizabeth begins to exclaim how blessed Mary is in this situation and Mary begins to sing with joy. During this song she sings focusing on the Lord, how her spirit worships God, recognizes God as her savior, that she was chosen from all women through all generations for the blessing of carrying Jesus, that Jesus name is holy, that He is here about His mercy, that this is through strength, bring down the proud, brings down the mighty, exalts or brings up the, hungry be feed, rich swept away, that helps his servants, that is fulfilling what was spoken to Abraham for him and his offspring. So many characteristics of Jesus are outline in this one song that Mary sang. Jesus came in the most lowly of ways and in the most humble of settings. This song reveals Mary’s humility to serve God, as well as her understanding of who Christ was.

Search the Scriptures: Luke 1:26-38

“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

³⁵And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. ³⁶And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

Amazingly 6 months after the angel Gabriel was sent to Zechariah, he was sent to Mary in Nazareth, who was betrothed to Joseph. One of the most amazing aspects of this entire passage is that Mary conceives as a virgin and gives birth as a virgin, although many try to claim that this means just a young woman, the wording, especially in the original language and the context make it clear that she was someone who was a virgin, someone who had not lain with a man. It is so amazing that in this section of scripture Mary, as opposed to Zechariah, does not doubt what the Angel says, she is simply curious as to how it is to be and, she fully embraces with faith and humility to humbly serve as the mother of Jesus. One aspect that makes this so amazing is that Mary was in a culture that so frown on sex outside of marriage she knew that this burden would result in her being a social pariah for the rest of her life, but she did not care she simply embraced what the angel told her and accepted the mission that God had for her.

In verses 31 to 33 and 35 the following features of the person and mission of Jesus Christ are presented. That she would conceive and bear a son and name him Jesus, that he would be great, that he would be the Son of the Most High. For anyone else, this would have been a severely blasphemous statement. That he has the throne of David, reign over the house of Jacob forever, have no end to his kingdom, and that she would be conceived by the holy spirit, and the child would be holy, and the Son of God.

Search the Scriptures: Luke 1:1-25

“1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, ²just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, ³it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

⁵In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

⁸Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, ⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” ²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. ²²And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Luke 1:1-5, the author of the Gospel of Luke tells us that he is writing so that Theophilus would have certainty and faith. Luke 1: 5-7, Zechariah and Elizabeth were relatives of Mary, Zechariah was a priest, and this was all taking place during the time of Herod, king of Judea. Zechariah and Elizabeth were both advanced years, old, and had been trying to have children but without much success. Luke 1:8-17 Zechariah was selected to go into the temple and burn incense, and when he went in an angel appeared to him, and Zechariah was afraid but was told not to be scared, and that the Lord had heard his prayers and his wife would bear him a child. He is told that his child will turn many in Israel to the Lord, and make the people ready for the Lord. Luke 1:18-25 Zechariah responds that he is old and doesn’t know how this will be, and Gabriel told him these things have take place, and immediately Zechariah was mute.

From reading this passage of scripture we know that the mission of John was to make way and make the people ready to receive Jesus Christ as Lord. The greatness of John in this passage is that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to carry out his mission to prepare people for Christ, being the prophet of the Most High, by going before Christ and paving the way. The reason that Zechariah was made mute was that he did not believe the words of the angel Gabriel, sent from the Lord. Zechariah’s main reason was that he was focusing on the worldly aspect and what could be done by the power of man, rather than on God’s power. I know that often will try to limit what God is able to do, based on my own limited understanding of His power, and trying to do things by my own timing and strength. Both Zechariah and ourselves should focus on what God can do and who God is, and not try to bring everything into our own control and timing. The sources that Luke uses for his Gospel are the eyewitnesses and the ministers of the faith. These are 100% accurate, and he was focusing on the accuracy of the account because he wanted to ensure that Theophilus could have faith in what had happened.