Let's take a seat. Open your Bibles to the book of
Acts chapter 2. We'll finish Acts 2 on Sunday
morning. This is Part 2 and we're looking
at Peter's sermon because I did a fair bit of lead up, but I
want to look at the first sermon ever preached under the
anointing of the Holy Spirit apart from Jesus obviously in in
the New Testament. So we serve from verse 14.
Let's jump straight into it. But Peter standing up with the
11 raised his voice and said to him and of Judea and all who
dwell in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you.
Heed my words. Listen up Peter Sirius, for
these are not drunk. As they'd witnessed the cloven
fire upon the 120 disciples. They'd witnessed and heard the
Galileans speaking in foreign languages, beautiful languages
that they were not cognizant with, but people in the crowd
who'd travelled 3 days to a week.
The feast of Pentecost was the most attended of all the feasts
and and people were hearing these Galileans speak in their
own language, in their own dialect that says in the Greek
of the majesty, the wonders of God.
And Peter is now explaining what has happened.
And someone said, well, they're just drunk.
And Peter says, hey, you people don't think they're drunk.
He he deals with them as you suppose it's only 9:00 AM in the
morning. But this is that the King James
says, I said, I think it says it's best.
This is that which was spoken on the by the prophet Joel.
And now Peter, because the sermon should have, should have
scripture shouldn't be just about, oh, let me tell you a
story, you know, and then I'll tell you another story.
They called skyscraper sermons. You know why?
Because they're story after story after story after story
verse 17 and he quotes Joel and shall come to pass in the last
days. So Peter saying we are in the
last days. Then John in one John says we're
in the last hour of the last days.
That's 2000 years ago. So how how far are we advanced
in the last of the last days of the last hour minutes?
He says I'll pour out my spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters shall prophecy that word.
Prophecy isn't not like oh, let me tell you what's going to
happen now prophecy here is they will proclaim and speak the word
of God each time you hear like tonight as I teach from the word
of God. It's prophecy.
It's proclaiming the word of God.
Prophecy is not all 4th telling. This is what's going to happen.
Prophecy here in this context is they will speak the gospel, they
will speak the word of God. Your young men shall see
visions. And now this is where I come
into it. Your old men shall dream dreams.
And all my menservants and my maidservants, I will pour out my
spirit in in those days and they shall prophecy.
I will show wonders in heaven, above signs in the earth,
beneath blood and fire and vapour of smoke.
The sun shall be turned Into Darkness and the moon into
blood. Where?
Where have we heard those words before?
Matthew 24, Jesus says last days Book of Revelation.
So Peter is saying not only is this happening today, but these
are the events that are going to happen in the future.
So we're we're actually dealing with the time after Christ's
death. Peter's in and now we're looking
at time in our future during what's called the tribulation,
the moon in the blood, how far before the coming of the Great
Northern day of the Lord, the second coming of Christ.
And it shall come to pass that during the tribulation context
here, whoever calls on the name of the Lord and many people will
get saved in the tribulation. Can you imagine, man?
You've been told, been told, been told, your friends
witnessed to you, told you about the rapture, then they
disappeared, and then they told you about the Antichrist, and
then we got this guy in charge. The events of the world.
Then you see the peace treaty being signed by Israel.
Israel rebuilds the temple. You become, my gosh, all that I
was told it's happening. Most people come to call on
Christ and be saved. The trouble is, during the
Tribulation period, your salvation will be also your
death. Peter quickly dismisses the
mockers. He deals with the the bullheads
in the crowd. John's prophecy, as I said in
context, is really looking more so at the time of the great
Tribulation and into the second coming of Jesus Christ.
People said that these disciples were drunk and we touched on
that on Sunday. No, though under the power of
the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Holy Spirit is what self
control. And also they spoke as the Holy
Spirit gave them utterance. So when we see churches where
people are raging and carrying on, I'm sorry now.
I'm not sorry. It's not biblical.
It's it's terrible. It's terrible now.
So Peter says prophecy is looking to what's going to
happen, and he's talking about it's the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. It's going to happen during the
Tribulation period as well. But Keith, didn't you say, like,
doesn't the Bible say in the Second Thessalonians that when
the church has gone, that which is restrained is no longer
there? Yeah, the church in that way.
But the Holy Spirit, it's still going to be up on earth because
it's through the Holy Spirit. People come to know Christ
because he convicts of sin, brings us to salvation.
It's the work of God that you and I are saved.
We had nothing to do with our salvation except accept it.
And it was the convicting work of the Holy Spirit that brought
us to this point. So note this, Therefore, the
empowering of the Holy Spirit falling on this day, the day of
Pentecost, and the associated gifts.
Pastor Israel dealt with them in detail when we went through 1
Corinthians, especially chapter 1213 or 14.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit that came on the day of
Pentecost are not limited just to the day of Pentecost.
Yes, the cloven fire, the rushing wind that day, but the
gifts will continue on through our church history because there
are people that say, well, you know, people, those happy
clappers, those charis maniacs that believe the gifts, you
know, all this stuff that all stopped with the disciples.
Well, the Bible says, no, it didn't because it's going to go
on. The the prophecy of Joel says
this continues on into the into the great tribulation throughout
church history, right on to the second coming of Jesus Christ,
when we won't need those gifts after that.
The fact that the power of the Holy Spirit will be experienced
in the last days indicates that those who say the gifts ceased
with the apostles are biblically incorrect.
So now Peter, he's explained what this is.
This is that prophet Joel, He's explained what that is, and now
the central part of his sermon, which is should be the central
part of every sermon, he talks about Jesus Christ.
Now Peter preaches Jesus Christ after he's explained to the
gathered crowd what they had witnessed with the wind, the
cloven fires, the Speaking of languages, dialect foreign to
the Galilean disciples. He says this is the power from
on high. The first sermon, anointed by
the Holy Spirit, is centred on the person of Jesus Christ.
They should tell us what we should do from then on.
Peter identifies Jesus as being Jesus from Nazareth.
It's very important. Jesus was a common name back at
the time of Christ. Jesus is remembered the Greek
name of the Hebrew name Yahshua, and every Tom, Dick and Harry
was Yahshua and in the Greek they were Jesus.
Secondly, Peter brings proof of who Jesus is.
He is the Messiah, so he says the Jesus that I'm going to tell
you about is Jesus, that Jesus from Nazareth, the Rabbi you all
know about, remember. And secondly, I want to give you
proof of who that Jesus is. I'm going to tell you He's
speaking to Jews. He's the Messiah.
Men of Israel, verse 22, hear these words.
Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you.
How? By miracles, wonders, signs
which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves
also know. So the crowd there had witnessed
the events that Jesus had done, him being delivered by the
determined purpose and foreknowledge of who God.
John 316 For God so loved the world.
What did he do? He gave his only begotten Son.
For unto us a child is given, unto us a son is given, a child
is born, a son is given, Isaiah said.
And so him being delivered by the determined purpose and
foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have
crucified and put to death. Well, this is a tough audience
and he's bringing a tough message, isn't he?
Imagine he's talking to the people and he's saying the
Messiah, the Jewish Messiah you're all longing for, looking
for. It was him.
And he died on the cross because God the Father planned it that
way. You're involved in that, and
you're the ones that put him to death through the Romans by the
signs and wonders and miracles that Jesus did of which they
were witnesses. In John chapter 10, the
religious leaders came to Jesus. In verse 24, the Jews surrounded
him and said to him, How long do you keep us in doubt?
If you're the Christ, if you're the Messiah, tell us plainly.
Jesus answered them. I told you, you do not believe
the works that I do in my father's name.
They bear witness of me. All the things that I've done,
feeding of the 5000, the 1510 thousand, the raising of the
dead Lazarus, all these events walking on the water.
You've heard all about these things.
They, they witness of who I am. But you do not believe.
Be why didn't and why didn't they believe John 1026 because
you are not of my sheep, as I said to you.
Now Thirdly, the way that Jesus died, invented by the Persians,
polished up by the Romans, crucifixion.
Peter says this was God's plan for Christ his Son, the Lamb of
God, the Messiah, before the foundations of the earth were
laid. Paul picks this very point up in
one Corinthians chapter 15 verse 3.
Paul says, For I delivered to you first of all that which I
also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures, and that he was buried, and then he rose again
the third day according to the Scriptures.
Remember Jesus walking with the two on the road to Emmaus, he
says basically said you, you, you foolish people, all these
things that occurred, they're in and he gave them the Bible
study. This is them.
You know, it's the greatest thing.
I, I, I tell you again, I've said it many times before, but
when I was a young boy, Easter was the most difficult period of
my life. I broke down over Easter.
I would weep as a kid on on my own in in my bedroom as a little
kid because I couldn't understand why Jesus was killed
and why no one helped him. Why, why was he treated?
Why why didn't anyone come to his to his aid?
And then I found out the reason that he died.
He died voluntarily. He was led as a lamb to the
slaughter. He had enough word.
He let them LED away. Peter tried to bring out the
sword, cut off the ear, tried to kill the guy arresting him.
Peter put the sword away. This is, This is why I'm here.
This is why Christmas we just celebrated, why that little baby
was born. He was born to die.
God became a man to die. Peter says this is that man.
Peter then moves to the very heart of the gospel.
What's the heart of the gospel? The resurrection.
It was not possible that death
could hold Jesus. Why Acts chapter 2 verse 24,
whom God raised up having loosed the pains of death, because it
was not possible that he should be held by it.
Because God had said Jesus would rise from the dead the third day
God's word is going to stand. I love that.
Because Jesus says he's coming back.
Jesus said he's coming back from me.
You and I tonight need to have the same confidence and
assurance in the word of God. We we ought to have no questions
about it, no doubts about it. Does the Bible say go away,
please, sorry. As I gotten older, I know I need
to be tolerant, but I'm less tolerant when when there are
things of the word of God that if you're a believer, this is
the word of God. I am the Lord thy God.
I change not, and we need to have no doubts that what it says
is going to happen. No doubts when God says
something, He means it, and it will come to pass.
The rapture is going to happen. The tribulation is going to fall
upon this earth. What does it mean?
The pains of death having loosed the pains of death.
In the Greek language, this term is to bind with cords until it
hurts. What Peter is saying here is
here the cords of death tried to hold Jesus in the grave,
couldn't, Nothing could hold him.
Nothing could hold Jesus in the grave at this moment, as Peter
is talking about the resurrection.
And there were many Jews who are influenced, Hellenistic Jews,
influenced by Greek philosophy. At this moment in the crowd, the
Greek philosophers, their minds switched off.
He's lost me. I'm out of here talking about
resurrection. Come back.
No. So then Peter, does he come into
an argument? So, oh, no, you're wrong, I'm
right. You're wrong.
Scripture. And so he says verse 25, Peter
gives them biblical evidence for the teaching of the resurrection
for David King David says concerning Jesus, I foresaw the
Lord always before my face for he is at my right hand that I
may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoice, my
tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will
rest in hope for you will not leave my soul.
Peter is talking about not himself.
We'll see. He's talking about Jesus his
resurrection. He's not saying Dave's not
saying my soul won't be in in, in Hades won't be held there,
no, nor will you allow your holy One to see corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life.
You will make me full of joy in your presence.
Men and brethman, let me speak freely to you of the Patriarch
David who is referenced that he is both dead and buried and
where the upper room is. And we go to the upper room in
old Jerusalem. And just down from the upper
room we go walk down a little ways about sort of like where
the the the car park out of car park is.
And there is David's tomb. He can go in there and visit
David's soon even today. And he says, let me speak freely
to you of the Patriarch David as Peter does that he is both dead
and buried and his tomb is with us to his day.
His point to where the tomb is not far from the upper room.
Therefore, David, being a prophet, and knowing that God
had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of His body
would come the Messiah according to the flesh, he would raise up
the Christ to sit on His throne. He, foreseeing this, spoke
concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul Jesus
was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
We've seen Him therefore being exalted to the right hand of God
and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy
Spirit, he poured out this on which you now see in here.
See how he's relating this to what's happening?
Because we saw Jesus resurrected, He's we saw him
ascend. We now know he's at the right
hand of the Father because David said that's where he's going to
be seated at the right hand of his Father.
And because he's gone, he said, when I go, I will send another
comforter just like me. For David did not ascend into
the heavens. No, Jesus did.
But he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right
hand. Who said at the right hand?
Jesus, after he's finished the sacrifice.
Sacrifice to end all sacrifices. The man sat down.
Till I make your enemies your footstool.
The Greek word for hell is hades.
It means the grave and a place of torment.
The Hebrew word is sheol, and in Luke 16 we're told what it's
like. This place, remember, there was
a rich man on one side who held him.
Abraham, remember, on the other side was, yeah, sorry, Lazarus
was held by Abraham, Paradise. And on the other side was the
rich man. And between, remember, the rich
man said, can you just send just a little bit of water?
I'm thirsty. Funny how he's thirsty.
And Abrams, we can't cross too late.
One side was paradise. One side was torment.
Remember, like the rich guy said, oh, can you send someone
back? Tell someone I don't want my
brothers coming here. And Isaiah 61 one the prophet
Isaiah said the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the
Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor that's
poor in spirit. He has sent me to heal the
broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives.
Who are the captives? In Ephesians chapter 4 it tells
us, and when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive
and gave gifts to men. Now this he ascended, what does
it mean? But that He also first descended
into the lower parts of the earth.
And so where Abraham was holding Lazarus is empty on the other
side. The rich man's still there and
it's been filled up every day for those who reject Jesus
Christ, the thief on the cross. He where was taken with Jesus to
paradise. Jesus said to him, I surely I
say to you today you will be with me in paradise.
Luke 2343. So David, the writer of Psalm
16, which Peter unloads on this Jewish crowd proof of the
resurrection of who Jesus is. David is dead and buried and has
been at that time that Peter preaches, about 1000 years dead.
His tomb. As I said, we visit in Jerusalem
near the upper room. Peter would be pointing to it
because it's not far from the upper room.
So Peter says David was a prophet.
God had promised to raise up from David's seed the Messiah.
That's why he's coming back to Jerusalem to sit on David's
throne and that Jesus would be resurrected.
Nothing could hold him. Jesus had then ascended into
heaven to take his place at the right hand of the Father.
David prophesied all that and this same Jesus, Peter says
because he's relating it to all that's happened.
It's he who promised the gift that you see the power, that you
see the Holy Spirit to come. Because back in John 1416, Jesus
had said, I will pray the Father.
He will give you another helper that he may abide with you
forever. So the crowd had witnessed all
this now. So this crowd is pretty savvy.
I know about Jesus of Nazareth. Rabbi come from Nazareth and
went down to Capernaum. He's been there.
He lived in the Galilean, and then he was a Caiaphas.
Remember, he was arrested. Remember, he wrote in Palm
Sunday, you know, and the crowd cried out.
And then he was crucified because we were there.
We cried out, crucifying, crucifying.
And then we heard the tomb was empty.
Now the disciples have tell us they've seen him.
Now the falling of the Holy Spirit.
So all this evidence, evidence, evidence is banking up to all
this massive crowd who had seen the cloven fire, the rushing
wind, heard the rushing wind, and Peter's speaking boldly.
Now what? What happens to them?
They're convicted by the Holy Spirit.
Why? Because he's at work.
Now. Verse 36 Therefore, when you see
a therefore you ask what's there for based on all that Peters
just said, let all the House of Israel know assuredly that God
has made this Jesus and he's told them was Jesus whom you
crucified both Lord and Messiah, both God and Messiah.
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said
to Peter and the rest of the apostles men and brethren, what
shall we do in Acts chapter 16 we'll hear a a gaoler say what
must I do to be saved? You know what I like about this.
We don't see it enough is that people wanting to get saved.
Everyone thinks they're saved, Everyone thinks they're saved.
Everyone thinks they're right with God.
It needs the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.
And when, when he convicts, there's an action men and
brethren, what shall we do then Peter said to them, here's the
answer of what to do. Repent.
Let everyone of you then be baptised in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins and then you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit that you've seen and heard today for
the promise. And here's the wonder of it all,
Mums, dads, grandparents, the promise is to you and to your
children and to all who are far off.
Now we live in Secret Harbour, West St That's about as far off
from Jerusalem as you can get. As many as the Lord our God will
call. Note that as many as the Lord
our God will call. John 10.
My sheep hear my voice. The church today.
And can you see what? Where the churches we're playing
church. Yeah, we've lost.
We've lost our way. The compass bearing has no
needle on it because it should point to repentance in the
gospel. Just keep repentance to gospel.
The church today needs a gospel that what pierces the hearts of
the hearers that that impacts you.
Not a soft gospel, not a seeker friendly gospel, not another
gospel which is in Second Corinthians.
But each time you and I sit under the word of God, we should
sense His Holiness and our frowness and our thankfulness
that Christ has done this for us.
Repent is the answer to what shall we do?
So when you're witnessing to someone and talk about come to
our church, we have a great band, you know, we have great
programmes, we have a marriage counselling class, we have a
good Sunday school. Repent.
When I talk to people about, you know, they come from
counselling. So often the first thing I deal
with is the main thing is what's your relationship with Christ?
And then I'll ask, because they go, well, I think, are you
reading your Bible? No.
Are you praying? No.
And then they wonder why they're at this place of where they're
lost. You can go to church to still be
lost because here it says repent and be baptised.
Because I'm not. No, you need to be baptised.
Well, well, the thief wasn't baptised.
Absolutely it wasn't. But if he had a choice, if he
could have got down on the cross, he would have got
baptised pretty hard. We got nails in you.
Because baptism is the next step.
I want to be baptised. Why?
Because it signifies a change. It's telling the world I, I am a
Christian. I, the old me, we're going to
walk in the water and we're having a funeral and the new me
we're coming out is showing you a new birth, a new walk, a new
life, a new direction, a burial, a birth and a change of
ownership. The devil doesn't own me
anymore. Verse 40 and with many other
words, Peter testified and exhorted them saying be saved
from this perverse generation. Generation was perverse back
then. We think it's perverse today and
notice this and this what breaks my heart then those doesn't say
and everyone got saved. You notice that we kind of think
error or error, it was just 3000 people and all the 3000 got
saved. No, they didn't because verse 41
says then those who gladly received His word were baptised
and that day about 3000 souls were added to them.
And so there were people there that heard all this information
and said, Nah, you see, that's why when we stand before Christ,
the second resurrection, not us, but people stand.
You have no excuse. You're cooked.
It's not a judgement, the second resurrection, the great white
throne judgement. It's a sentencing because you're
guilty. Romans 3, you'll utter not a
word. Peter says be saved from this
perverse generation. The word perverse, interesting,
Greek scolios, scoliosis, crooked, wicked.
And what you and I see in the world today is we don't see
evolution, do we? Funny, we've still got monkeys,
haven't we? How come those monkeys haven't
just kicked on? Well, the next step.
Why are all the monkeys gone? But what we do see, sadly, is
devolution. We're acting more like animals.
When the planes flew into the Twin Towers, Ruth Graham Lotz
spoke and she said, you, you, you wonder why our children are
lost. And you tell them not to act
like animals. But they go to school and are
educated and told that they are but animals.
Those who gladly received the word.
Not everybody was sighted.