HealingStrong's Around the Word

Episode 77 - The Acts Series: Power To Speak When You Are Scared (Acts: 2: 14-47)

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We watch Peter move from fear to fearless clarity as he stands up after Pentecost and ties Joel, David, and the resurrection of Jesus into one urgent message. We sit with the crowd’s question, “What shall we do?”, and trace how repentance, baptism, and Spirit-filled community become the beginning of the church. 

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Peter Finds Bold Authority

SPEAKER_00

Peter's really bold now. He went from a few days ago cowering in the corners. He's got some authority now. Why do you think he's got that authority?

SPEAKER_01

It's that what had just happened. Yes, what? Authority. Authority gave him power. Right. Literally says you have power to speak when you're scared, courage to do things when you don't feel like you can, and to have knowledge about things that are beyond

Welcome And Acts 2 Reading

SPEAKER_01

you. Hi friends, my name is Cheryl, and you're listening to Healing Strong's Around the Word. We're friends sitting around the table who love God's Word and we love talking about it. Each episode, you'll hear us reading a Bible passage out loud. And then we are discussing it right then and there and what we're learning from it. Today, we are reading Acts chapter 2, verses 14 through 47. So go ahead and join us around the Word.

SPEAKER_00

Verse 14. Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed the crowd. Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you. Listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose it's only nine in the morning. No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. That describes me up.

SPEAKER_01

It's only nine in the morning, guys. Come on, they're not drunk, you

Joel’s Promise Of The Spirit

SPEAKER_01

know. But yeah, this is happening right after Pentecost or the gift of the Holy Spirit coming upon them.

SPEAKER_00

Well, it's all part, I mean, just because we have a page break in our Bible doesn't mean there's a break in time. Peter says, no, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. So we know that the disciples studied the scriptures and they studied what the prophets had said. They were schooled in their teaching. Very important that we know our scriptures, know our prophecies, know um the Old Testament. This verse you're about to read was just quoted at church today.

SPEAKER_01

And this is a very popular verse that we hear.

SPEAKER_00

It uh comes from the book of Joel. In the last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

SPEAKER_01

And that's even today. I mean, many people believe we are in the last days, like truly, and I know they were talking about it back in Joel's days and Peter's day, and now ours, but we really do have some prophetic things going on right now. And we are not prophecy, we are not prophecy gurus, but there's a lot of crazy stuff going on, not just wars and rumors of wars, but like fulfillment of prophecy. The the nation of Israel alone being a nation again is a prophetic thing that has happened in our life. Well, I wasn't alive then, but neither were y'all. No, no, no. But I mean But my mom was. We could possibly, that that was a that was a time stamp right there in the prophetic timeline when that happened. And so it could be very well that we are in the generation that will see Jesus come back.

SPEAKER_00

Here's some good news. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days and they will prophesy. In other words, any old person may be given words of prophecy. You don't have to be a leader in the church. Yeah, servants. Servants, if you're a servant, you've probably got a better chance of being given a prophecy from the Lord. He likes servants. Verse 19: I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

Blood Moons And Eclipse Wonder

SPEAKER_01

I think that's why all those lunar eclipses were like the blood moons were such a big deal. And they always are. I mean, because that's on the uh the the calendar. It's a big it was a big deal back then for the ancient folks. It's still I have have y'all ever seen a lunar eclipse, by the way. It's a pretty cool sight. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. What about a solar eclipse? A total, a total of the one. Not 99%.

SPEAKER_00

When I was in college, it was 1982 or three. And you were talking about the day. I think it was 83.

SPEAKER_01

I was in school, and I remember we were not allowed to go outside because they were afraid of it. We're going to fry our retinas.

SPEAKER_02

Well, we had to look, we had to look through a little box that had a tiny hole in it. That was a way we were last.

SPEAKER_01

That was the big one in North America until we had that one that happened back in 2017. And then we had the one in 2024. And I literally saw both of them in total eclipse. And I when I say I've never seen anything so cool with my eyeballs, it's that because I could take off the little glasses and look at the sun straight like it was. And it literally made it like dusk suddenly. And it was so when people say, Yeah, I saw it so cool, it was 98%. I'm like, dude, you have no clue. There's a vast difference between 99% and a of complete. So if you ever find, and this for the listener too, if you ever find an opportunity to get yourself to where it's total for an eclipse, you will not be.

SPEAKER_00

So where were you in 24?

SPEAKER_01

24, I was in Dallas, Texas. I actually had a trip that I was bummed because I wanted to be somewhere where the uh where it was going to be total, but I had had like a work trip I had to go to, and then I found out it was in the path of totality in Fort Worth, Texas. So there you go. That's cool.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

Everyone Who Calls Is Saved

SPEAKER_00

Okay. And verse 21, we're continuing Joel's prophecy. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

SPEAKER_01

Everyone. It doesn't say just some people.

SPEAKER_00

Everyone. You you got to call on him. Right.

SPEAKER_02

That doesn't take a lot of effort. Well it sounds like it not it doesn't, but there's still some people that feel like they are so far they can't do it.

SPEAKER_01

Right, right. Or they think they're not either interested enough or they're not interested.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Why do I need to? I think we have a lot of that now is we're not interested. There's many more things on this in this kingdom, this earthly kingdom, that attracts them and eats up their time, most of which is on a device in their hand. And they don't see a need to call on the name of the Lord. But if they do call on the name of the Lord, Joel prophesied, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Hallelujah.

Jesus Raised And Scriptures Fulfilled

SPEAKER_00

Verse 22, fellow Israelites, listen to this. Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge. And you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God.

SPEAKER_01

But God. How many times have we talked about that?

SPEAKER_00

But God whole lives, but God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

SPEAKER_01

Wow. Well, is it that's a that's a lot right there. So these are people that had seen a lot of them he's saying that you had seen this, what had happened.

SPEAKER_00

Peter's really bold now. He was, he went from a few days ago cowering in the corners, right? He's got some authority now. Why do you think he's got that authority?

SPEAKER_01

It's that what had just the Holy Spirit. Yes, the anointing. What? Authority. Authority gave him power. Right. Literally says you will have power, power to speak when you're scared, right? Courage to do things when you don't feel like you can. Right. And and to have knowledge about things that are beyond you.

SPEAKER_00

And before it seems like Peter never said the right thing. Right? He always put his foot in his mouth. Yeah. He is speaking.

SPEAKER_01

Well, he's a rock now. He's literally Petra, Peter, the rock. He's no longer Simon, truly no longer Simon. I don't think we I could be wrong, maybe. I don't know if he's ever called Simon again, actually, in Acts. It'd be very interesting as we're reading through to see do we ever see the name Simon again, or is he truly Peter from this part, like point on? Right.

SPEAKER_00

And then verse 25, David had said about him being Jesus, I saw the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand and I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead. You will not let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence.

SPEAKER_01

Again, he's not, I mean, it's not like he's pulling out the scroll, rolling it out, and starting to uh quote scripture here. He's memorized it. It's good to memorize for the days we do need it. Right. And to be able to pay it forward, to give it back to other people. He's, I mean, he's literally getting knowledge. Whoa, two and two, uh I can understand now. This is what David said about Jesus. Right. I need to tell these people about this too, because they definitely believed what David said, or if it was in their holy Torah, then he's connecting the dots for them right now. Right. In a way they can understand. Right. The Holy Spirit does that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And and Jesus said beforehand, it's good that I'm going away because I will send you the helper, the advocate, and he will live in us, and he will give us knowledge and guidance and counsel. I love it.

SPEAKER_00

I love it. Holy Spirit's awesome. And it just made me think you hear folks sometimes these days, some even pastors focus on the New Testament, the New Testament. And I've even heard it said, you know, we're in the new covenant now. Right. Like dismissing the replacement. Yeah, the Old Testament. That's the craziest thing. Jesus used the Old Testament all the time. And now here we are in the beginning of the church. And Peter is anointed with the Holy Spirit. And what is he doing? He's talking about the Old Prophets. He's talking about the Psalms. Right. Um, that's Old Testament. It's still all God's word. It's God's word. Fellow Israelites, Peter continues, I can tell you confidently. See, he's got all that confidence now. Yeah. That the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him and on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

SPEAKER_01

Well, he's making a very good point that I've heard other people say, like, think of any of these prophets. They all have a grave. They're all buried. They're all, you know, they did not, they were not risen from the dead. Right. And I love the thought that Jesus isn't in a in a tomb decaying, like the risen savior.

SPEAKER_00

The leaders of other religions today have tombs. Yes. They're dead as a doornail. Ours is not. That's what makes them different than just a prophet. Yeah. Right. Very different. Right. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, The Lord said to my The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The Lord said to my Lord. David's Lord said to his Lord, David did not ascend to heaven. He was buried too. He was a man. And yet he said, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore let all Israel be assured of this. God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

SPEAKER_01

Wow, that I'm surprised that didn't just like start a riot right then and there. It may have I don't know. We may have to look and see what, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I think a lot of them probably still did think this guy's crazy. Oh no, they're blasphemy and yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I'm sure.

Cut To The Heart Response

SPEAKER_01

I'm sure. Uh verse 37, when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, brothers, what shall we do? Even in church today, the pastor uh was talking about how when God was calling, he went to a sermon and it was like 2,000 people there, but he felt like the preacher was speaking directly to him. And actually the preacher was saying some stuff like, There is one man here in this audience that um you just recently saw a miracle from God. And if you don't make a decision to follow Christ today, you never will. And he said it literally was like uh God had or had put a spear and stuck it through his heart, you know, which I'm like, that's crazy to see cut to the heart right there, because that's exactly what he described. So he found himself raising his hand and he went forward. And that was like 45 years ago, and he's now a preacher with multiple uh campuses around the world. And it's just crazy to know when God calls you, and when the Holy Spirit is calling it that tugging in your heart, you may try to ignore it for a while, but you know, you know when you're being cut to the heart, you know it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and I think what what is said here too in verse 37 the Holy Spirit demands a response. When you feel the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit comes to you, you you can't deny it. You have to respond some sort of way. You either accept it or you reject it. It makes me think of I guess there at the crucifixion, there was Jesus in the middle, and there was a decision to be made. And there were two other people there. One accepted him, and the other rejected him. And I think all of humankind comes to that point where we look at Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God the Father, and we either say, I accept you and I believe you, or I do not believe you and I reject you. But it demands a response. You can't ignore it. So, brothers or sisters, what shall we do?

SPEAKER_01

There's a question for you, listener, too. What shall you do? Is God calling you? Is God speaking to you? Is God cutting your heart? It says clearly, as we heard earlier, all you have to do is call out, call on his name, and you will be saved. That's in verse 21. Then it goes on, Peter replied, this is in verse 38 Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. I love that he says for those who are far off, too.

SPEAKER_00

It's the people that are not there today. And and girls, we weren't there that day. Right. We were far off.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yeah, that's right. Yeah, very far off.

SPEAKER_00

Very far off, far to God. We're not very far from God's perspective, but far off for all whom the Lord our God will call. And and we got clear instructions because the Holy Spirit's speaking through Peter at this point in time. Repent, which is turn, do something different.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I think the church these days, and certainly myself, I'll admit, um, we don't emphasize that enough. There there must be repentance. We must turn. I mean, that's the first message in the book of John. Right. Repent.

SPEAKER_02

And it just means really turn to God away from the way ungodly, yeah, ungodly living, lawlessness is what Jesus said. Go in your own way.

SPEAKER_00

Right. Repent and be baptized. Every one of you. Did he add did he say anything about if you're of a certain race, if you're of a certain gender, of your if you're of a certain nation? Because even the servants, remember, that's right.

SPEAKER_02

He said, every one of you, and there's all kinds of people. Male or female. And the name Jesus, Hebrew Yeshua means salvation. So you're calling out salvation when you call out a salvation. Save me.

SPEAKER_00

Wow, I didn't know that. God saved me. It's got lots of meanings. You know, back in Isaiah, when he the prophecy was uh it'll be a child, uh, and you shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us. Lots of names. But salvation comes in the name of Jesus Christ. What's it say in verse 40? Verse 40, with many other words, he warned them and he pleaded with them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.

Three Thousand And A New Turning

SPEAKER_02

So there is a that was another thing that the 3,000, they were on the day when Moses was given and the wind and this rumbling and the people were scared. They uh God actually tells Moses, go down, they've made a calf, a golden calf. And he uh descends and sees that yes, they've made this calf. They go in and kill three thousand.

SPEAKER_01

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02

And now three thousand.

SPEAKER_01

Wow. Wow.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. They they turn to idols and lawlessness, and now he's turning them to the true turning them to the true, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Their true self-the anointed one. Yes, Jesus, the anointed one. Yes, Jesus Christ. Following the idols, everything that that always leads to death. Yep. Following Christ leads to life. So cool.

The First Church Shared Life

SPEAKER_01

Um, verse 42. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. Makes you wonder what these many were, like what they were doing at that point. Because this sounds a little bit like an epilogue, right? Well, we'll learn uh about some of it later. Yeah. About the cloth. Again, he's writing Theophilus. We forget that this is a letter that Luke is writing via Theophilus because he's seen this stuff. Right. So I love that he made a point to get Peter's sermon straight, like what Peter has said, you know. So before you could record it, he's probably writing things straight. Hey, Peter, again, what what were those verses that you were quoting? So um, verse 43 everyone was filled with awe, many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continue to meet together in the temple courts. Oh, they're meeting in the temple courts. Hey, notice now that they were they were Jewish. They were still Jewish. Yes, but now they're not hanging out in a room hiding. They're too many people. Yeah, yeah. They're openly like doing stuff in the temple courts, which again, you probably had the Pharisees, the chief priests and stuff were probably like, what are y'all doing here?

SPEAKER_00

Right. Well, 3,000 people. That's hard to contain at that point. That's a lot of people, and that's a lot of boldness.

SPEAKER_01

They broke bread in their homes and ate together. So these are this is the start of some of these home churches, literally. Ecclesias. Ecclesias, and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. What do you think he means by that? The favor of all the people.

SPEAKER_02

Well, they were doing such good things, the people thought it was great.

SPEAKER_01

They're all in one accord again. They're living in love and and enjoying life service high on life. I mean, if people literally think they're drunk because they're they're so just just the Holy Spirit is just brought them so much joy. Right. You know, they are in favor in a way. Right. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. So this is the beginning of the church. This is literally the church age when this happens. Uh uh it's just starting with some people that receive the Holy Spirit and they can't contain. Message. They have to tell the good news, the gospel, the good news of what God has done for them and what Jesus has done. That gospel is still the same today for us. And it demands a response.

SPEAKER_00

Are you going to accept it or reject it? Makes all the difference in this world and that world to come.

Testimony Plus Rating And Support

SPEAKER_01

That looks like that's a wrap on Acts chapter two. I hope you enjoyed the discussion that we had today. And thanks so much for listening to Healing Strong's Around the Word. Before we go, I want to share a testimony from Sue that really reflects the heart of what happens in this Healing Strong community when people get around the Word. It could be anyone's story and maybe even yours. Sue said, there's a group of us from several states who meet up on UVersion each day to learn and grow and draw closer to Jesus. We found your studies and are loving them. Thank you for bringing the Bible stories to life. We are digging deep through your challenging writings. Thank you for your investment in this way. Sue, I gotta say, you just made my day with that sweet word of encouragement. It just warms my heart to see that. And if this episode encouraged you in any way, would you take a moment to leave a five-star rating and a review? It helps more people find our conversation here on this podcast. And if you like to come alongside the mission, you can become a monthly hope giver with a donation of any amount at healingstrong.org. As you head back into your week, remember this you are seen, you are loved, and your story is still being written. So remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.