WEBVTT 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:04.080 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:08.960 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:10.400 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:15.039 Well, welcome to Awakening Church. 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:16.000 My name's Ryan. 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:19.120 We're absolutely thrilled to have you join us today. 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:22.480 We're actually in a series called Future Church. 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:28.399 And in this season and this year, we're really wrestling with, okay, what in the world does the future hold? 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:35.200 And then I think it's one of those things for us as we wrestle, okay, what does the future of the church look like? 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:39.280 Everything's been different and changed and online and in person. 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:44.159 And we really want to wrestle with this question: what is the future of the church? 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:51.600 And maybe a better question, actually a much better question, is this how do we return to God's design for his church? 00:00:51.840 --> 00:01:00.399 Like, how do we get back to God's heartbeat for what he intended for who we are to be as his people? 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:16.959 Now, to answer that question, uh, we actually have to go back to the first followers of Christ, the the early church, and discover who they are, what they were about, to for us to really understand who God has intended us to be. 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:20.480 And so we're diving in into the book of Acts. 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:23.599 If you missed it, last week we began uh Acts chapter one. 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:27.680 And Acts tells all about the beginning of the church. 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:29.200 Last week we left off with this. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:31.280 Jesus had risen from the grave. 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:37.439 He spent about 40 days in person with his disciples, teaching all about the kingdom of God. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:39.040 And he told them these two things. 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:43.280 Uh, wait for the gift of the Father, the promised Holy Spirit. 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:52.079 And when the gift of the Father, the Holy Spirit comes, then you'll be my witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to all the ends of the earth. 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:53.519 Wait and witness. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:56.480 And so this is what the disciples are doing. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:01.680 There's about 120 of them in Jerusalem, and they're waiting. 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:06.319 And they're they've been waiting for about 10 days now. 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:10.639 And we're we pick up the story of when the Holy Spirit arrives. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:17.680 And here's the question: what in the world happens when the Holy Spirit arrives on the scene? 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:22.479 And how exactly did the church begin? 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:25.759 If you got your Bibles, would you open up to Acts chapter two? 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.479 And we're gonna dive in together. 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:34.400 It begins this way, Acts 2, 1 says, When the day of Pentecost came, we'll talk more about that. 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:40.159 It's a Jewish festival where uh people from all over the Roman province came to celebrate. 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:42.479 They were all together in one place. 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:49.280 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house they were sitting in. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:56.560 They saw what seemed to be like tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each one of them. 00:02:56.719 --> 00:03:06.159 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, other language, as the Spirit enabled or empowered them. 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:11.199 Now, there were staying in Jerusalem, God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:11.599 Why? 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:12.879 Because it was Pentecost. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:13.840 They had traveled there. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:19.439 In fact, Jerusalem would have thousands and thousands of people in their city right now. 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:21.680 It'd be just packed to capacity. 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:30.240 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment because each one heard their own language being spoken. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:34.319 Utterly amazed, they asked, Aren't all those who are speaking Galileans? 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:37.360 And you're like, Well, how did they know they were Galileans? 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:40.639 Well, uh they had a deep accent. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:43.599 In fact, it's a little bit like, how do you know somebody's Texan? 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:45.360 And I can talk about it because I'm from Texas. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:48.879 Well, they have this southern drawl, they talk a little bit slower. 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:53.280 In fact, people look down on Galileans because of their accent. 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:55.599 It's like, aren't all these Galileans? 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:00.080 Then how is it that each of us are hearing them in our own native language? 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:07.360 And then you're gonna see Luke's emphasis on the gospel for all people, all nations, as he's gonna talk about those who are present. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:09.199 These are Jewish believers. 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:36.800 Uh, and he's gonna move from the eastern part to the western part of the Roman world, and he's gonna say uh that there are Parthians and Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and parts of Libya and Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both uh Jews and converts to Jusium, Cretans and Arabs. 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:37.920 And this is amazing. 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:42.399 We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongue. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:50.879 In fact, that verse has been one for me in a prayer at awakening where we say we exist to awaken this generation to new life in Christ. 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:59.439 And my prayer is that we declare the wonders of God in the next generation's language. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:00.399 So good. 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:06.319 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, what does this mean? 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:08.639 So, what happened when the Holy Spirit arrives? 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:10.800 How did the church began? 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:15.439 Well, the birth of the church began with the arrival of the Holy Spirit. 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:20.800 The Spirit of God showed up and everything changed. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:22.240 It didn't begin before that. 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:31.759 They're waiting in the upper room, 120 of them, and they're just going, like, okay, we're just in a holding pattern, waiting, like the airplane stuck up, just doing loops. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:38.480 And then the Holy Spirit arrives and they are on mission and stuff begins to happen. 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:40.240 Well, it said it was Pentecost. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:43.199 Let me give you a little background on what Pentecost is. 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:56.000 Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks, is Feast of Weeks because it happens seven weeks after Passover, or roughly about 50 days, or actually 50 total days. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:00.000 That's why they call it Pentecost for 50 days after Passover. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:10.720 At this annual celebration, Israel presented the first fruits of their wheat harvest to God, and it was considered one of three great pilgrim festivals for the Jewish people. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:15.120 And you just think about the imagery is this presenting of the first fruits. 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:24.079 And this is the first fruits of what God is doing in this new work and bringing redemption to human history. 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:28.639 But it even goes deeper than that, even more incredible than that. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:52.639 By the first century, uh, the Pentecost was also considered the anniversary of the giving of the law of Mount Sinai, when Moses went up onto the mount and received the Ten Commandments and the law, and God showed up in a pillar and fire, and it was this setting apart a people who would then be a blessing to all people and living under the law. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:57.199 And he's going, like, no, and today I'm setting apart a people by my spirit. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:04.800 You're no longer under the law, but by the spirit to bring the message of hope and life. 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:12.000 Well, the arrival of the Holy Spirit came in some pretty um incredible manifestation, didn't it? 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.399 It came with the wind and the fire. 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:18.720 The wind, you just like this rushing wind, like tornado that just ripped through. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:23.279 It caught the attention of the town, of the city of Jerusalem. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:30.800 And in the scripture, wind and fire are Old Testament imageries for the power and the presence of God. 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:36.959 In fact, the word spirit in Hebrew rule it means breath or wind. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:40.480 And in Greek, pneuma, it means wind or breath. 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:45.199 It's the spirit of God, and then fire all throughout the Old Testament. 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:47.680 We see for the presence of God. 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:53.600 You think about uh Moses and the burning bush, and God showed up to him in the burning bush. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:08:06.319 And then, like we just said, on Mount Sinai, uh the fire of God on the mountain, and then we see as God's leading the people of Israel through the wilderness and a pillar of fire. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:14.399 It is this moment of the visible manifestation of the power and the presence of God. 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:24.160 And I want to take a moment and just spend a few uh minutes just talking about something that's missed in the church. 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:30.800 Uh, because I think we either swing and we go, we're all about the spirit in the church, or we're not about the spirit at all. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:36.879 And we need the spirit of God if we're gonna be the church he intends us to be today. 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:44.559 And so let's talk for a second between the difference between the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:50.480 You remember Jesus in Acts chapter one said, wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:55.440 And then you also see right here that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:56.559 Well, what's the difference? 00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:08.720 And as we study scripture and understand the rest of the teaching of the New Testament, here's what we know: the baptism of the Holy Spirit is what happens the minute you believe and place your trust in Jesus. 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:11.519 You receive the Spirit of God. 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:18.960 In fact, our physical baptism, water baptism, is a picture of the spiritual reality of what's happening, that you have died. 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:22.559 That's the going under the water, and you have been raised to new life. 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:34.080 That the spirit comes inside of you, regenerates your dead life, and brings you spiritually to new life, new birth, indwells you, seals you by the spirit. 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:41.120 You is a deposit guaranteeing his return, and it is irrevocable by God. 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:50.000 That is the baptism, baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it just happens once, right at the moment you place your faith and trust in Christ. 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:53.200 And sometimes it's deeply experiential, other times it's not. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:10:00.480 In fact, we'll see that throughout uh Acts, that sometimes it comes with the sign of tongues, and other times it does not. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:04.240 And then you see also the filling of the Holy Spirit. 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:09.840 And so it is they're filled with the Holy Spirit, and they are speaking in tongues or other languages. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:20.240 The filling of the Holy Spirit is the moment, and we're actually commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 5.18, and do not be drunk with wine, uh, which leads to the botany. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:22.879 Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:30.159 It's not so much of how do I get more of the Holy Spirit, it's how does the Spirit get more of us. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:35.440 It is a yielded life of saying, you get to have more of me, more control. 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:38.879 Holy Spirit, all that I am is yours. 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:48.799 And when the Spirit has more control of us, we start living lives that look and do things more and more like Jesus. 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:58.559 And so there's this filling or empowering of the Holy Spirit, and that happens multiple, multiple times as you are through the life of a believer. 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:11.279 Well, the birth of the church, the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and you notice that it's for all people, and is and it was symbolized this new unity in the spirit, transcending racial, national, linguistic barriers. 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:12.960 I like how John Stott said it. 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:20.240 He said, as the body is without the breath, uh is a corpse, so the church without the spirit is dead. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:34.480 As we begin, listen, awakening, as we begin and start this, you know, this 2021 year and getting out of the corona pandemic, you know, Lord willing, as we're moving through this, we need the Spirit of God. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:36.320 It's not optional. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:40.480 As the body without the breath is a course, so the church without the spirit is dead. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:43.120 And I feel like as a church, we've been in a holding pattern, haven't you? 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:44.879 We all year long, we've been in a holding pattern. 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:46.799 And it says, wait for the Holy Spirit. 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:53.519 And as the Holy Spirit comes, it empowers us to live out a radically new life. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:57.840 You see, even as we begin, we have to understand this. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:00.080 And we get this as a church. 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:04.080 The church is not a place, but a spirit-filled people. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:10.080 The early followers didn't start with a location, although they were in Jerusalem. 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:15.679 It's not a building, it's not a location, but a spirit-filled people. 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:20.639 In fact, uh the word church in the Greek it's ekklesia. 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:27.919 It's a compound word, ek meaning out, ecclesia meaning called out, or and so it's the called out ones. 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:38.000 It's this whole idea that it's a people that are called out, a different type of people who are living by the Spirit of God. 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:48.720 And so let me ask you this question What difference do you think it would make if the Holy Spirit were withdrawn from your life or your community? 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:49.360 Okay? 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:51.120 I want you to wrestle with that. 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:59.440 What difference do you think it would make if the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from your life or your community? 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:06.480 And if it's if you honestly, not you nobody's checking your notes, nobody's looking on what your paper, what you're writing down or thinking. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:12.799 If you would say, you know, right, honestly, Ryan, I don't think it would make any difference. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:15.360 I want to challenge you two things. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:23.120 One, you're missing out on the Christian life, like the Spirit of God is what regenerates, brings new life. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:31.279 And and I want to challenge you, maybe you're just going through the motions of Christianity, but you've never truly given your life to Jesus. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:36.080 Because the minute you give your life to Jesus, the spirit comes inside of you. 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:45.200 Or for others, perhaps what has happened, and you'd say, No, there's been seasons where I've watched, man, God use and work in my life and He's changed my heart and all these. 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:50.240 But right now, through the pandemic, no, I wouldn't say that would make a big difference. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:52.720 And maybe you've quenched the spirit. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:58.960 Maybe through decisions you've made, like we we can actually grieve the Holy Spirit of God and we can quench his work. 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:05.600 And there's a freshness of yielding your life and saying, Holy Spirit, have my life, have control in me. 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.159 Show me anything in me that's not of you. 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:12.720 And I want you to move and work through me. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:23.039 Well, the birth of the church began with the arrival of this Holy Spirit, and then the Spirit empowered the apostles to preach uh the gospel. 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:29.840 Every time you see this filling of the Spirit is for the purpose of proclaiming this good news of Jesus Christ. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.399 Now, not everyone was thinking this was amazing about the apostles, right? 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:37.919 There uh there was a few kind of hecklers in the crowd, if you will. 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:43.120 And it says, some, however, made fun of them and said, They have had too much wine. 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.879 By the way, anytime you're gonna fall after Jesus, you're gonna get some hecklers. 00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:48.000 Don't worry about it. 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:52.960 Just begin to live for Jesus and not for the crowd or for others' approval. 00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:56.320 And then Peter, I love this, by the way. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:03.039 Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed the crowd. 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:07.279 Fellow Jews, all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain to you. 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:09.840 Uh, listen carefully to what I say. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:11.759 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:13.039 It's only nine in the morning. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:16.559 And Peter's about to give the very first sermon in the church. 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:19.440 And I love that the first sermon, he's like, Yeah, let me explain. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:20.480 Nobody's drunk. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:24.559 Uh, how that's a great way to start a sermon, by the way. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.080 But here's what's amazing Peter. 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:30.480 You remember Peter? 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:39.360 Peter, who is Matthew 16, you know, declared Jesus is the Messiah, and he's you know, it was just this great moment. 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.320 And then he said, I'll never, you know, forsake you. 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:49.759 And then later, not too far down the road, he denies Jesus three times. 00:15:51.200 --> 00:16:17.919 50 days ago from this moment, Peter denied Jesus and his greatest regret, his greatest failure, the thing that he felt like made him no longer usable by God, probably didn't even feel wanted, and Jesus takes time to reinstate him. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:21.759 Think about this the the denier now is the declarer. 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:29.279 See, 50 days ago from where from today is really right around New Year's Day for us. 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:39.759 And maybe you've gone through some things, maybe you've made some decisions, maybe some stuff has happened in your life or last year where you're going like, I'm used goods, nobody could use me, God doesn't want me. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:48.320 And and here's Peter, who who was a big failure, and now he is proclaiming the wonders of God. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:51.200 And so God says, I want to use you. 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:53.200 I want to use you. 00:16:53.759 --> 00:17:07.680 I want to use you by the Spirit to proclaim, and I'm gonna take your past when you surrender it to me, and it will be a powerful tool in my hands to bring many people to me. 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:09.680 If you'll come. 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:10.960 I love it. 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:11.680 So good. 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:19.279 Well, he goes on and explains what's happening that you know what they're seeing is this outpouring of the spirit, this prophecy in Joel 2. 00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:22.799 And then he says, Fellow Israelites, listen to this. 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:34.559 Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which uh God did among you through him as you yourself know. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.960 At first, he's starting off with Jesus isn't a legend, he's a historical. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:42.559 These people saw him, they saw the miracles. 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:48.160 This is happening right in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:54.000 This isn't happening hundreds of miles away, tell somebody telling a story about a distant land. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:59.200 And this isn't happening hundreds of years after somebody telling about a distant man. 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:06.000 This is happening in Jerusalem 50 days after his execution on the cross. 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:10.000 And he's saying, he's historical and he's not a legend. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:14.880 You have seen him, you knew him, you saw his works. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:29.680 And then he goes on to say, and through this man 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 a cross. 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:31.839 Jesus was crucified on the cross. 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:32.720 Everyone knew that. 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.519 And here's what's Peter saying: it wasn't an accident. 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:40.000 It wasn't an accident, it wasn't like, oh, oops, mistake. 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:59.680 Actually, it was part of God's plan to redeem all of human history by allowing his son to suffer and die on the cross, taking the full penalty and payment for all of our sin and guilt and shame on the cross once and for all for you and for me. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:02.960 It was no accident, it was part of God's plan. 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:08.559 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because why? 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:12.960 It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:18.240 The author of life, death cannot keep its hold on him. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:21.119 Not even death can hold him down. 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:26.720 And then he begins to share how Jesus was the fulfillment of these messianic prophecies. 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:32.480 And he says, God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:34.160 There's 120 of us. 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:35.680 Jesus spent 40 days. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:44.319 And in fact, we'll we we know that a little over 500 eyewitnesses in those 40 days saw the resurrected Jesus. 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:47.279 And he is now exalted to the right hand of God. 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:53.839 He ascended and received from the Father the pro exalted at the right hand of God. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:20:02.240 He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:15.279 The birth of the church, the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and then the preaching of the gospel. 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:19.440 Now notice what Peter says. 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:29.680 He says, when the people heard this, they were cut into the heart and said to Peter, What shall we do? 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.160 See, we saw and heard all that you said. 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:36.000 What do we do now? 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:46.559 And Peter says, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:56.960 The promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:04.000 And I want to take a moment and talk about this. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:06.799 Repent and be baptized. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:09.359 And he's talking about water baptism here. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:13.680 He's talking about this public identification into the community of God. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:20.000 It's not just going making this internal response, it's saying, I'm in. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:31.200 And he says, As you repent and turn to me, the forgiveness of your sins, and you'll receive the Holy Spirit. 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:37.279 And this is the invitation, not just for them today, but for us in this moment. 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:48.319 That the good news, the good news is you can have your sins forgiven, and you can receive a brand new life, a personal relationship with God. 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:52.160 But it begins with a word we don't talk a lot about repent. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:54.240 I want to take a moment and explain this. 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:59.759 Repentance simply means a change of mind that results in a change of action or direction. 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:02.960 Repentance is literally the understanding. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:05.359 I was going in a particular direction. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.839 I realized I was headed in the wrong way. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:08.559 Huh. 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:09.680 Understood that. 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:10.960 Now I have a choice. 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:15.039 I can continue to head in the wrong direction, or I repent. 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:17.039 I realize I'm headed in the wrong direction. 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:22.480 And so then I turn around and head in a brand new direction. 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:27.920 I like how Tony Evans talks about this. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:35.279 He says, repentance is the inner resolve and determination to turn from sin and return to fellowship with God. 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:36.960 See, this is the gospel. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:42.960 The gospel is this that God has done for you what I you could not do for yourself. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:48.960 He has taken our sin and our shame and our pain and has taken that on the cross. 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:50.319 And we have the choice. 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:53.759 We can turn from that life and turn to him. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:23:02.160 And the question for you, and the question for me, is will you turn? 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:06.319 I mean, do you do you want to experience like that forgiveness? 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:09.359 So many walk and live this life with shame. 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:10.880 Don't you? 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:14.079 You just have this voice not good enough. 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:15.920 You'll never be anything. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:17.599 You're screw up. 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:24.480 It says, therefore, there's no no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, fully forgiven. 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:40.640 Do you want to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit where you you you experience brand new life where you have a power, uh the same power that raised Christ from the dead, living in you to live out a life you cannot live on your own? 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:49.599 You want to have a personal relationship with Jesus with God, invited in. 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:57.599 Not based on anything you do or can do or will do, but based on what Jesus has done and accomplished on the cross. 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:02.720 And it says, I am going to turn from that and I'm going to turn to you. 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:08.640 That is the offer for you and for me. 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:11.200 Only Jesus offers salvation. 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:14.079 Everything else is an empty substitute. 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:16.480 Let me say it again. 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:19.039 Only Jesus offers salvation. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:21.440 Everything else is an empty substitute. 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:24.240 And the reality is, is we're all looking for something to save us. 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:25.359 Is it the vaccine? 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:26.559 Is it the government? 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:28.000 Is it your job? 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:29.680 Is it your spouse? 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:39.519 Is it the person that you're, you know, kind of interested in, your boyfriend or girlfriend, or an affair, or uh maybe uh your success or money? 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:41.759 But we're all looking to something to save us. 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:44.880 Only Jesus offers salvation. 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:50.319 And by the way, heaven must intervene in order to fix what's wrong with earth. 00:24:51.920 --> 00:25:00.400 And heaven intervened in the person of Jesus to fix what's wrong in us and in on our planets. 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:09.119 And so, the arrival of the church, the Holy Spirit, the preaching of the gospel, and church for us. 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:14.799 Here's the call the church is the carrier of the message of salvation. 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:19.119 What I just declared and what I was talking about, we are the carrier. 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:23.519 Last week we talked about every single person is a minister of the gospel of Jesus. 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:25.279 We are the carriers of this. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:36.880 We get to carry this good news that you can have freedom and life and hope and joy and power and in Christ Jesus, that you can have a relationship with the God of the universe. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:45.200 You don't have to go through this life on your own, and by the way, eternity for now and forevermore. 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:47.200 We get to carry that. 00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:53.680 And when the Spirit fills us, we begin to proclaim that to those around us. 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:56.240 See, your faith is personal. 00:25:56.480 --> 00:26:00.319 You get to have a personal relationship with your heavenly father. 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:02.559 However, it is not private. 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:06.400 It was never intended to be so. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:11.680 Birth of the church began with the arrival of the Holy Spirit. 00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:19.599 And the Spirit empowered the preaching of the gospel, and as a result, something amazing happened. 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:22.720 As a result, a new community formed. 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:26.640 A brand new community formed. 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:31.519 And listen to this, listen to the response that to Peter's first sermon. 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:32.799 I love this man. 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:34.720 This is his first sermon ever. 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:42.880 And it says, those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number. 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:48.000 See, the power isn't in the messenger, the power is in the message. 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:56.240 Romans would say it is that, you know, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:08.480 And God used that moment and Peter, this messenger, and 3,000, and all of a sudden, this 120 went to 3,120 people. 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:17.599 And then what you find in the book of Acts is you'll see these consistently uh summary statements about what's happening, how things are going. 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:18.880 And we have one here. 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:27.359 We have about eight of these throughout the book of Acts, and it's going to describe what the church was about when they began. 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:32.559 It's important for us as a new community, as we be dive back into community. 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:36.559 What are we to be about as the church? 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:44.480 And it says this it says they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:45.599 They devoted. 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:47.759 What are you devoted to? 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:53.680 Um devoted, you know, um, we're devoted to all sorts of things. 00:27:53.759 --> 00:28:01.200 We're devoted to Instagram, we're devoted to our Netflix shows, we're devoted um to, you know, our jobs, we're devoted to our families. 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:03.440 There's lots of good things we're devoted to. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:11.920 And it says they devoted themselves and they they had a tenacity and a passion that said, we're gonna get in and sit under the apostles' teaching. 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:14.799 We're we're coming Sunday, ready, ready to be fed. 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:20.240 We want to learn out of your word, and we're gonna dive into God's word on our own as well. 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:22.480 We're gonna be in fellowship. 00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:25.759 See, you're never meant to do this life on your own. 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:27.440 You're like, I'm tired of Zoom. 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:28.400 Me too. 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:31.440 And some of you have people you can do life with in person. 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:33.039 Wonderful, do that. 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:43.759 But fellowship, but not any kind of fellowship, Christ-centered fellowship, where you're encouraging one another in the spirit with one another. 00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:46.079 It's this fellowship. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:48.079 Are you in a group at awakening? 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:50.079 If not, get in a group. 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:52.640 It says the breaking of bread. 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:55.920 Friends, we've been doing virtual for a long time. 00:28:56.640 --> 00:29:01.039 And we need, as humans, we're created, we need the in-person. 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:07.359 If you have a social bubble, and most of you do, turn it into a spiritual bubble. 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:13.759 If you have a social bubble, there's a breaking of bread, and this is talking about celebrating communion, and it's much more than that. 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:17.839 There's just something the Bible's filled with uh talking about sharing a mill. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:28.559 And as we share a mill, we share hearts and we share lives, and then we begin to sharpen one another in our relationship with Jesus and to prayer. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:33.920 And I gotta be honest, in my life, I was just sharing with some buddies this morning. 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:35.920 I'm so distracted. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:44.559 I'll get up early to spend time with Jesus, and then I'll be checking like the COVID numbers, or I'll be checking, you know, uh something something online. 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:50.480 And just where we go, no, we want to have a conversation and relationship with our Heavenly Father. 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:58.160 Isn't it amazing that He listens to us and He moves, and wherever prayer focuses, the power of God falls, that we'd be a praying church. 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:03.680 And it says everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:07.680 That there's just like, God, you're on the move and we're seeing what you're doing. 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:11.680 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:14.480 There's a sense of unity by the spirit. 00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:19.039 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 00:30:19.519 --> 00:30:22.000 There was a generosity that marked them. 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:25.920 There wasn't like, hey, how do I get mine and how do I make sure I take care of mine? 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:27.519 It's like, I got extra. 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:28.880 Do you need help? 00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:31.519 And they just gave freely because why? 00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:34.720 All that they have they recognized was already God's. 00:30:34.880 --> 00:30:36.000 They've been saved. 00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:40.079 And it's like, man, I can't wait to share what I have with everyone else. 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:41.200 And it goes on. 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:45.279 Every day they continue to meet together in the temple courts. 00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:46.400 This is a daily thing. 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:50.720 This is why we say we want to be an everyday church, not just a Sunday church. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:52.640 This is this daily side. 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:59.839 They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God, enjoying the favor of all people. 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:06.000 And the Lord, and I love this line, the Lord added to their number daily those who are being saved. 00:31:06.160 --> 00:31:10.240 In my Bible, right here, it says it's a B hag, a big, hairy, audacious goal. 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:12.720 I wrote it in 2018. 00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:19.839 My prayer is that awakening church that the Lord would add to our number daily those who are being saved. 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:31.839 Like, like we'd be that kind of church that we'd see in the heart of Silicon Valley through this community, every single day, 365 people come to know Jesus. 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:35.200 Like 2021, we get to lean into this, we get to start. 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:35.519 How? 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:47.920 By the power of the Holy Spirit, those who are uh filled by the Spirit, proclaiming his word, and in a new kind of community that is winsome and drawing people to Jesus. 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:51.759 And so, I like how Philip Yancey said it. 00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:57.200 Our confused society battling needs a community of contrast, doesn't it? 00:31:57.599 --> 00:31:58.559 Let me say that again. 00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:08.640 Our confused society, and this is very confused, battling needs a community of contrast, a counterculture of ordinary pilgrims who insist on living a different way. 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:18.319 And we need, as the church, to live a different way and return to God's design for the church. 00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:24.640 You see, the church is not an event to consume, but a community to participate in. 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:26.640 It's not an event to consume. 00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:27.759 You know what? 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:34.960 I I turn on the TV, I click on the YouTube, I show up to the service, I get mine, and I go. 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:37.440 It was never intended to be that. 00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:39.279 It's a community. 00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:45.599 We, the ecclesia, the called out ones to participate. 00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:48.640 There's no spectators, there's nobody on the sideline. 00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:51.680 There's we're all a part of this together. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:59.359 That's why I so often throughout the New Testament, it talks about the body, that we're all connected to one another. 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:01.680 We're all apart. 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:07.359 This is how the church began. 00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:11.599 This is how we are to be today. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:16.400 Let me ask you, are you participating in the community of Jesus? 00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:18.880 If not, lean in. 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:23.039 Start, take a step forward today. 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:26.079 I want to close with what we did last week. 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:30.799 We closed with what the church is, and this is our working definition of the church. 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:42.240 The church is the spirit-empowered community of Jesus on mission to invite the entire world into new life in the kingdom of God. 00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:43.839 That's what we are. 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:47.599 The spirit-empowered community of Jesus. 00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:50.640 It's all about him, it's all because of him, it's all for him. 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:52.240 We are on mission. 00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:53.279 You are on mission. 00:33:53.359 --> 00:34:00.160 You are here for more than just making money and just getting by or having experiences or any of those other things. 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:05.039 You're on mission to invite the entire world into new life, into the kingdom of God. 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:10.000 And it begins with us, and it begins now with you and me. 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:17.280 And for some, you are going to step into the kingdom of God right now. 00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:23.360 As I've been speaking, the spirit's been stirring, and you're like, I need forgiveness. 00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:25.920 I long for wholeness. 00:34:26.559 --> 00:34:28.719 I want a relationship with God. 00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:33.920 I that spirit, that new life that you're talking about, I've never experienced that. 00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:35.920 I've been in church for years. 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:41.519 And today is the day where you repent, you turn from your old life and you turn to Jesus. 00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:44.480 And I'm simply going to pray and invite you to pray after me. 00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:48.800 And there's nothing magical about the prayer, it's just a conversation with God. 00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:57.679 And as you invite God into your life, the Spirit comes into your life and makes you new. 00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:04.079 And today, would you join the family of God, this new community, and pray after me? 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:13.599 Heavenly Father, today I recognize I need to turn from my life and my ways and turn to you. 00:35:13.679 --> 00:35:14.639 I repent. 00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:19.360 Would you please forgive me and make me new? 00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:28.159 I believe that Jesus came for me, that he died for me, and that he rose again to new life that I might have life. 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:33.519 Today I am making you the Lord of my life. 00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:36.400 I'm gonna follow you to the best of my ability. 00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:43.039 Holy Spirit, would you come in and seal me in this moment? 00:35:43.360 --> 00:35:46.079 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:35:47.840 --> 00:36:00.400 And the wonderful reality is in that moment you stepped into new life, and the Spirit of God now dwells inside of you, and heaven is rejoicing. 00:36:00.559 --> 00:36:05.280 And if you made that decision today to follow Jesus, would you let us know? 00:36:05.440 --> 00:36:09.920 Would you fill out a connection card or text uh the number? 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:17.920 But would you let us know so that we can celebrate with you and walk with you in this new life with Jesus? 00:36:19.119 --> 00:36:21.440 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:36:21.679 --> 00:36:26.639 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:36:26.880 --> 00:36:29.199 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:35.280 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.comslash card.