Peter preached his first sermon and probably every one thereafter opportunistically. He didn’t prepare an outline or rehearse his main points. His research was done day by day, week after week, attending synagogue and prayer service, walking with Jesus even before Jesus came as a man, calling Peter from his fishing nets. (Matthew 4:18-20) Peter knew the Word of God before Jesus appeared on the scene. (John 1:1,14) How else would he have recognized Jesus as Messiah, the Son of the living God? (Matthew 16:15)
We know Peter kept up this spiritual practice even after Jesus’s resurrection and ascension because Luke records in the Acts of the Apostles the account of Peter and John attending an afternoon prayer service. On one occasion, a man crippled from birth sits begging by the Beautiful Gate. Seeing his faith to be healed, Peter calls him to rise in the name of Jesus. Immediately the man is made whole. Muscles never used before this moment that should have been atrophied allowed him to walk and leap and praise God! As those in the Temple that day began to recognize the man, they rushed out, surrounding Peter and John.
“Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd.
“People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this?
And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?”
Acts of the Apostles 3:12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/act.3.12.NLT
“Not to us, O Lord,
not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.”
Psalms 115:1 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.115.1.NLT
““God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.
Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand.
And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.
So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!
Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.””
Acts of the Apostles 2:32-33, 36-39 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/act.2.32-39.NLT
“In every generation, what ultimately distinguishes the true from the false among God’s people, the blessed from the cursed, is faithfulness or unfaithfulness to the Word of God.”
For The Love Of God: Day 185 • Devotional (The Gospel Coalition)
https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/786/day/185?segment=0
““Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today.
Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.
Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.
Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors.
He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him.”
Deuteronomy 8:1-3, 6 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/deu.8.6.NLT
“But don’t just listen to God’s word.
You must do what it says.
Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”
James 1:22, 25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.22-25.NLT
We know God in the exact same way as Peter. God has given us His revealed Word in His Son and by the apostles and prophets. His Word has endured every attempt to discredit or destroy it and it will always remain.
“Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven.”
Psalms 119:89 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.119.89.NLT
Jesus said, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come.
I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets.
No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.
So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.
But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-19 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.5.18.NLT
“Through Christ you have come to trust in God.
And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.
Love each other deeply with all your heart.
For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end.
Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.”
1 Peter 1:21-25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.1.25.NLT
As believers, what do we do now?
“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT
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