In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.“For truly, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,for of a truth in this city against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together,
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… and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. For truly, in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Amen. Just a brief prayer, an old Anglican prayer. Father, what we know not, teach us, what we have not give us, what we are not make us. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Well, I have actually been following what's been going on here at least the last couple of weeks so that I had some context into which I would come. And I know that you are in Romans chapter one. I hope that you know that because you are. And you also know that you have been purposefully delayed on the 16th verse for the last two weeks. And that is on account of the fact that Matt has been dealing with the unashamed testimony of Paul to the gospel of the Lord Jesus …
… of the earth, all the people in the world all bow down to him. He is sovereign over everything. The early church knew this. Did you catch that in Acts chapter 4 verse 23 through 31? When they came together to pray, here they are experiencing persecution and they come together and how do they address God? Do you remember? It said, sovereign Lord. Sovereign Lord. It's in verse 24. Sovereign Lord, they declared. The word literally means despot, despot, the one who has all authority and all dominion and all rule. And that was huge for them. When you're experiencing persecution, when your family is being threatened and you're experiencing attacks from different sides, it's good to look up and see that God is still in control, that he's still on the throne. And it's the same picture we see in Acts chapter 12. You've got the king, Herod, pitted against the true king, the king to whom all kings bow down. And you've got the power of King Herod and him having Peter put in prison and have James beheaded. …
… and God's entrance into it to deliver you from it. Now let's look at the text. This is Acts chapter 4 verses 27 and 28. Acts chapter 4, verse 27 and 28. Christians are praying about God's sovereignty over the death of Jesus and what's happening in Jerusalem at those times. And here's what they say, verse 27 of Acts 4. Truly in this city, there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. That's breathtaking. There are four centers of sin in this verse. Number one, Herod's sin of mocking Jesus, Luke 23. Number two, Pilate's sin of cowardice and expediency, delivering Jesus over to be crucified. Number three, the Gentile soldier's sin of cruelty and brutality, pressing a thorn crown down on Jesus' head and spitting in his face. And fourth, the center of sinning in the mob of Israel, crying, crucify him, crucify him. And the end verse 28 says about that greatest of all evil in the history of the world, the murder of the Son of God, whatever God's hand and God's plan had predestined to take place. So I say with no shame, no hesitancy of being contradicted, God planned and he predestined the most evil act in the history of the world without being evil. In fact, at that moment he was the most loving person in the …