WEBVTT 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:03.439 Well, would you all rise for the reading of the word? 00:00:04.959 --> 00:00:08.160 This Jeff guy keeps making me stand up all the time. 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:20.160 In Acts chapter two, the Bible says this When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:33.200 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting, and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:39.200 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:57.759 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven, and at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language, and they were amazed and astonished, saying, Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:21.840 And how is it that we hear, each one of us in our own native language, Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Fergia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:28.239 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, What does this mean? 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:30.560 Church, this is the word of the Lord. 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:37.920 You may be seated. 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:40.319 I'm always afraid. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:52.319 I'm learning, okay? 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:53.519 I'm learning. 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:57.599 I want to invite you this morning to do something. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:02.000 I um who brought a Bible with you to church today? 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:03.359 Amen. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.959 Who brought a Bible on your phone or iPad? 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:07.760 Amen. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:08.240 Okay. 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:09.199 That counts. 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:11.199 Okay, you should have raised your hand the first time. 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:11.680 Okay. 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:25.439 If you did not bring a Bible, either a real one or on your phone or iPad, then I want you to pick up a Bible in the seat back in front of you and open to Acts chapter 2. 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:31.439 We're going to be there for the remainder of the sermon, and I want you to start to become familiar. 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:40.400 I mean, I remember back before they had Bibles on the phones and all these things, that I had to actually open Bibles and flip pages, and I would find cool things in them and I would highlight them. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:55.439 And then later when I'd be sharing with somebody or talking about something, I would be telling them about it and I would picture the color of highlight and the area it was on the page, and then I'm like, well, let me show you, and I can open right to it because I remembered right where it was in my Bible. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:02.400 And I want us to get back to that: a familiarity with the Bible, a familiarity with the word, that we know our way around it. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:10.479 And so if you would, please open your Bibles in paper or in digital versions to the book of Acts, chapter two. 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:14.080 And we're in a series that we started last week called Acts. 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.000 The story continues. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:24.080 And uh we're what we're doing is both Sundays and Thursday mornings, we're working our way through the book of Acts. 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:31.680 And so Sunday mornings we, you know, we we walk through chapter by chapter, and then Thursdays we slow down, we go a little deeper, we dig a little deeper. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:41.759 And what we're we're finding as we go through is that this book is really about the continuation of the ministry of Jesus. 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:46.240 You know, we often think that Jesus' ministry stopped when he resurrected and he ascended. 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:51.039 He gave instructions to the apostles, and then that now is the ministry of the church. 00:03:51.120 --> 00:04:03.919 But the fact is, this ministry, this book is really the record of how God continued to work, how Jesus continued to work on the earth after his ascension. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:20.720 And so last Sunday we opened the book of Acts and we saw that Jesus had his last conversation on earth with his disciples, and he told them, I want you to go to Jerusalem and I want you to wait for the Holy Spirit. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:22.639 Okay, I don't want you to go anywhere. 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:23.680 I want you to wait. 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:35.360 Just wait for the power, wait for the presence, wait for God, the Holy Spirit, to come to you, and then you're gonna receive power and you're gonna be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth. 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:39.920 Okay, and the the uh the apostles were asking all kinds of questions, and he's like, no, no, no, no, no. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.000 Wait, okay, wait in Jerusalem. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:46.160 Thursday, we we went a little deeper and we looked at the ascension. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:05:01.360 We looked at it from the the angle of the disciples who were standing there when Jesus went up into heaven in a cloud, took him up into glory, and then we looked at it from the other side, from Daniel chapter 7, as Jesus arrives before the throne, okay? 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:06.639 And he's presented before the throne and he receives a kingdom and dominion and authority, okay? 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:10.879 And we saw uh in depth on Thursday how that works. 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:20.560 And now we start today, chapter two, and where we are right now is that Jesus has already given his disciples the final instructions, okay? 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:26.800 They stood staring up into heaven for a while, and an angel finally had to come over and say, Hey guys, what are you doing? 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:28.800 Get to Jerusalem like he told you to do, okay? 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:36.879 And so they went to Jerusalem, they're there, and what they're doing is they're being obedient to the Lord. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:39.680 Okay, Jesus had said, wait in Jerusalem, and so they're waiting. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:43.600 In chapter one, in the end of chapter one, it tells us they were devoting themselves to prayer. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:48.480 They were all gathered together in one place, they're devoting themselves to prayer. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:52.480 And this went on for 10 days after Jesus' ascension. 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:57.279 Okay, so during this time, the disciples are unified in their focus and in their desires. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:04.079 They're unified in their affections, they're unified in their purpose, they're unified in their obedience to Jesus. 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:05.439 And they're waiting. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:10.639 They're devoting themselves to prayer, they're expectant for the fulfillment of God's promise on them. 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:18.879 And as I read this, I was thinking, this is such a beautiful picture of what the posture of the church should just be always. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:33.920 Just focused, focused, not on each other, not focused on our agendas, not focused on infighting, not focused on gossip or chisme if you speak Spanish, not focused on any other thing, just focused on Jesus. 00:06:34.240 --> 00:07:00.160 United in our love for Jesus, united in our obedience to him, united in our desire to see his mission for us, his church, fulfilled on the earth, and watching for his leading, watching for his purpose, watching for his promise, watching for his hand, watching for his guidance, watching for those opportunities that he's gonna bring across our path to share the hope of Christ with people. 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:05.600 This was the posture of those disciples, and they waited this way for ten days. 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:22.160 And in verse one, it says, When the days of the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting, and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:28.639 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:38.959 And so we see in this passage right here the result of their obedience and of their patience and of their devotion and of their unity, Church. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:42.959 The Spirit comes, and he comes in power. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:49.360 And it says they hear a sound from heaven, like a mighty rushing wind, and it fills the entire house. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:55.759 And so this is actually an audible sound that they heard when the Spirit came in this instance. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:01.120 And it's actually really interesting that the Holy Spirit came in this way, honestly. 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:05.040 Because that word for wind there is the word pneuma. 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:09.040 It's the name, the word that we get the word pneumonia from. 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:13.519 We get the word pneumatic tools from, it's the word pneuma, and that word means wind. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:16.240 It means breath, it means spirit. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:22.959 There's a Hebrew version of that word too, called ruach, and it means the same thing: wind and breath and spirit, okay? 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:30.560 And so if you read that passage in that way, it says, suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing pneuma. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:41.840 And it filled the entire house where they were sitting, and tongues of fire appeared on them, and they were all filled with the holy pneuma, and they began to speak in other tongues as the pneuma gave them utterance. 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:54.639 This is the same wind, the same breath, the same spirit that God breathed into the mouth, into the nostrils of the man of dust in the Garden of Eden that brought physical life. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:09:06.879 And this is that same force, that same power, that same person, the same presence, now, not bringing physical life, but spiritual life and power to the followers of Jesus. 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:18.559 And in verse 3, it says, And divided tongues of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:23.759 And so the Spirit came and he filled these believers, bringing spiritual life and power. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.759 And they spontaneously began speaking in other languages. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:31.200 Like you hear some of the saints in here saying, Uh-oh, what's he gonna say now? 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:41.600 And what's happening here is that the Spirit is choosing in this moment to give these believers the ability to speak in languages that they have never learned. 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:51.679 This is not some kind of magical gift of hearing that they just were babbling and someone else was hearing them and it just translated into their ears in whatever language they spoke. 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:53.120 This was languages. 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:57.120 This was a gift of speaking in another language that they did not know. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:02.559 And verse 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:09.759 And at this sound, the multitude came together, and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:14.799 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:28.399 How is it that they that we hear each one of us in his own native language, Parthians and Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontius, Asia, Fergia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya, Cyrene, visitors from Rome? 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:29.679 This is a long list. 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:33.759 We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:39.519 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to each other, What does this mean? 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:46.879 And so at some point, the disciples must have walked outside. 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:53.200 You know, the Spirit comes and he fills them with his presence, he fills them with the power. 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:56.799 There's this sound of a mighty rushing wind filling the whole house. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:10:59.840 Okay, and they begin speaking in other languages. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:02.480 They must have just stood up and walked outside. 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:09.440 They probably got excited, you know, and they're they're speaking, they're probably shouting and they're excited, and the presence of God Himself has filled them. 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:14.320 They're shouting loudly, they're probably proclaiming, like, oh my gosh, what's going on? 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:18.480 But it says they're proclaiming the mighty works of God for all to hear. 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:22.960 This is the people from all around the area come running when they hear the sound. 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:27.360 And I don't know if he's talking about the sound of the wind, or if he's talking about the sound of the languages. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:28.399 I mean, I don't know. 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:30.879 But it must have been a big sound. 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:33.679 They come running and they're like, What? 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:35.279 What is going on? 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:37.759 What is happening here? 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:40.240 Aren't these people Galileans? 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:43.120 You know, what are they doing speaking in my language? 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:45.440 And in your language, in your language. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:47.200 It's like you understand them, right? 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:50.240 Like, what how is this happening? 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:55.440 We all hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:12:06.639 And it's one thing to know that they're just randomly receiving, you know, the ability to speak in languages that they didn't know, but but but it's telling us what they were saying. 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:10.240 It says they were telling the mighty works of God. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:17.600 In other words, they're preaching the gospel, they're proclaiming Jesus, they are glorifying the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:18.320 You know why? 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:22.960 Because they had received power, and now they were witnesses. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:42.399 In verse 8 of chapter 1, Jesus had told them, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth, and the moment the Spirit came, it began. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:52.960 They became his witnesses, empowered by his presence, by his spirit to proclaim with their lives and their words the mighty works of God. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:55.759 And I love the question they ask. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:57.840 What does this mean? 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:24.080 The Apostle Peter, the one who's about to answer this question, he tells us in 1 Peter chapter 3, he tells us this sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready at all times to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is within you, and do so with gentleness and respect. 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:35.200 Church, this is the question that every follower of Christ should be longing to hear from their friends, from their family members, from their co-workers, from their children. 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:43.759 But often Christians we like to lead with our words. 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:51.360 We like to preach at our neighbors and our friends and our coworkers and our children. 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:57.440 We like to shame them and berate them and we like to scold them and we like to give them a three-point sermon every time we see them. 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:03.919 We like to define our whole relationship with them around what we think their relationship with God might be. 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:12.879 But what our friends and our family and our neighbors and our co-workers and our children need the most from us is to see the real Jesus in us. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:26.159 They want to see how God has changed us, how he's made us better people, how he's made us more loving and forgiving and patient and kind and joyful and peaceful. 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:35.279 They want to see his goodness in us, they want to see his faithfulness in our lives, they want to see Jesus in our gentleness and in our self-control. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:38.399 And maybe that's what they're waiting for, you know? 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:47.679 Maybe they're waiting to see Jesus in us before they ask us a reason for the hope that is within us. 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:49.200 I mean, they gotta see hope, right? 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:52.159 They're gonna ask about hope, they gotta see hope. 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:57.200 How could you be so peaceful through that diagnosis? 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:03.600 How could you be so kind to that rude person? 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:11.679 How is it that you could be so gracious even when someone else offended you like that? 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:24.799 And when they finally see that in us and they ask the question, we gotta remember what he said. 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:28.240 Do so with gentleness and respect. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:35.200 Tell them with gentleness, humbleness, and respect. 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:36.080 Amen. 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:40.960 Verse 13, but others mocking said they're filled with new wine. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:43.440 In other words, ah, they're just drunk. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:46.320 There's nothing good going on here. 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:48.399 That ain't God, they're just drunk. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:54.000 It's amazing how there's always someone like this, isn't there? 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:57.360 I'm on social media, you know, and it's like nonstop. 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:03.120 If I put a three-minute Bible study on YouTube, I'm in the Gospel of John right now. 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:08.080 If I put a three-minute Bible study on YouTube, inevitably there's gonna be somebody. 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:10.559 Give me, ah, your fairy tale God. 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:13.840 Oh, your faith is so cute. 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:16.559 You know, they always got some smart aleck comment to say. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:18.799 And it used to bug me when I was a new Christian. 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:34.399 I would spend, like when I was first learning the Bible, I would spend hours on chat rooms because back then it was AOL and you had to dial up on your computer, and it was like 47 minutes later, you're actually online, right? 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:40.080 And I would get on AOL, there's these chat rooms, and there's always like Christians and atheists, and they're just arguing with each other. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:42.960 So I was like, ooh, you know, I'm gonna get them. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:44.879 How dare you say that? 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:50.399 At this point in my life, I couldn't, I could not care less. 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:52.720 I'm 50 years old, man. 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:57.759 I know who I am, and I know who Jesus is. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:01.759 I know what I've seen, and I know what he's done in my life. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:04.079 I've lived my faith in Jesus. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:06.799 I'm fully aware of everything he's done for me. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:09.119 I'm fully aware of everything he's done through me. 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:23.200 I'm fully aware of everything he's done for me, despite me, and how he's walked with me through some of the deepest and darkest and most painful valleys in my life, and showed me clearly that he was right there. 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:26.880 That he would never let me go. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:33.920 I remember being in those places and how he held me up and how he made me strong. 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.680 In the middle of what would otherwise have crushed me. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:46.720 I've seen God open doors for me when there was absolutely no way. 00:17:47.440 --> 00:18:01.279 I felt his love as he's picked me up out of my mistakes and despite flaws, and I felt nothing from him but love and grace and mercy and forgiveness. 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:31.200 And when the Holy Spirit came upon me, I was an absolute knucklehead, just drifting through life, playing around with sin, just whatever, floating along, and then I met Jesus, and he came like a fire, and he lit something inside of me, and I was changed. 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:35.920 I couldn't get enough of his word, I couldn't get enough of his people. 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:38.960 I wanted to please him, I wanted to tell the world about him. 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:45.759 I would go down to the Huntington Beach Pier, I get a stack of tracks and try to pass them out, you know, and everybody's just like throwing them on the ground. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:46.319 What is that? 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:47.359 I don't want that. 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:52.720 You finally somebody stopped, and they the guy's like, okay, man, all right, what's this about? 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:56.000 And I had no idea what to say. 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:00.880 Because I didn't know anything, but I loved Jesus and I wanted to tell people about him. 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:03.599 I think I even cussed actually in that interaction. 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:06.480 I was very fresh, okay. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:25.920 When I look back, I can see clearly that God has walked with me every day of my life, when I was obeying him and when I wasn't, when I knew him and way before I ever knew him, he was walking with me every moment. 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:29.920 And even when I was unfaithful, God never was unfaithful. 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:37.519 And all of it led to this moment right now when he knew I'd be standing right up here in front of you and preaching his word. 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:39.920 God knows. 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:47.440 He knows us, and we hear his voice, and he calls us by name, and we respond, and we're his. 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:53.519 And we come to him and we we become his, we realize we were always his. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:18.960 That I haven't lived and seen and felt and known the God that I know. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.599 Verse 14. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:26.559 After the guys say, Hey, they're just drunk, don't worry about them. 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:33.440 Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you. 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:35.119 Give ear to my words. 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:39.599 For these people are not drunk as you suppose, since it's only the third hour of the day. 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:42.480 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel. 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:48.480 And in my last days, in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:59.759 Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, even on my male and female servants in those days I will pour out my spirit, and they shall prophesy. 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:05.920 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:12.880 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:19.839 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:29.440 Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:33.759 And so Peter stands up with the eleven. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:39.519 So the apostles are standing up, okay, and he's speaking to Jews and he begins to preach. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:44.799 And he's speaking to people who know the word, they've heard the scriptures, they know the prophets. 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:48.480 And he stands up and he says, They're not drunk. 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:50.720 And he begins to preach with power. 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:59.680 This same Peter, who was always putting his foot in his mouth, the one that got rebuked by Jesus right after saying, You're the Christ, and he's like, flesh and blood hasn't shown you, this is. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.559 Peter, and he's like, you know, oh, that's not you, Lord. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:03.519 You don't have to go to the cross. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:05.279 And Jesus says, Get behind me, Satan. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:06.160 That one. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:15.920 The same Peter who in the Garden of Gethsemane, when they came to arrest Jesus, pulls out his sword and cuts off the ear of the servant of the high priest. 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:19.759 The same Peter who denied Jesus three times. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:24.960 The same Peter who had told the other disciple, the apostles, after Jesus died. 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:26.880 I'm going fishing. 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:38.240 The same Peter who was part of that crew that was asking, Hey Lord, are you going to set your kingdom up now on the earth and raise national Israel to prominence again? 00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:40.160 Because he didn't know what was going on. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:43.200 He's not confused anymore. 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:44.480 He's filled with power. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:46.400 He's filled with the presence of the Lord. 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:48.480 He's empowered to become a witness. 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:51.599 And he begins to testify to them of who Jesus truly is. 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:54.160 And he tells them, Jesus is the Christ. 00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:55.200 He's the Messiah. 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:57.279 He's the one the prophets foretold. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:59.440 He tells them, You crucified him. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:07.039 You crucified the Lord of glory, but God raised him up because it was not possible for death to hold him. 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:11.920 And he says, We're all witnesses to this. 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:16.319 All of us, the 120 people standing here, all of us are witnesses to it. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:27.359 And this thing you see happening with the Spirit poured on us, and we're all speaking different languages, yeah, Jesus poured that out too when he sent his Holy Spirit to us. 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:36.400 And in verse 37, he tells them, Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus who you crucified. 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:44.319 It says, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do? 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:49.839 It says they were cut to the heart. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:56.160 And this right here is why Jesus told them to wait. 00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:06.720 Because in and of himself, Peter didn't have this kind of power in him to preach a message to these people that would penetrate their hearts and cut them to the heart. 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:15.039 What Peter needed before he could preach that message was he needed the presence of God Himself. 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:18.559 Because where God's presence is, his power is. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:22.160 Where God's presence is, his power is, church. 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:26.960 Where God's presence is, his power is. 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:28.480 I like it. 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:30.400 You guys are talking today. 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:31.279 Amen. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:40.000 And so he's working in Peter, but check this out, he's also working in those who saw and heard him, isn't he? 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:57.839 This is an interesting thing to think about that every time the gospel is shared, whether it's from the pulpit, whether it's over coffee or over breakfast, or while you're on the job site, whenever the gospel is preached, God is working on both sides of the conversation. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:08.319 He's working in and on and through the one who's the witness, and he's also working in and on those who see and hear what's being shared. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:11.839 And so they asked the apostles, brothers, what shall we do? 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:14.880 Peter said to them, Repent. 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:18.319 He said, Repent and be baptized. 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:26.079 Every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. 00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:30.960 And when you do, you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:38.559 For the promise is for you, and it's for your children, and it's for all who are far off. 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:41.680 Everyone who the Lord our God calls to himself. 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:46.319 And I just gotta ask you: do you feel his call on you? 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:54.960 As you sit here today, do you feel the call of the Lord upon you? 00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:01.599 Do you feel the mark he's placed on you and said, This one is mine? 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:11.200 And so those who received his word were baptized. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:15.759 And there were added to that day about 3,000 souls. 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:22.000 Last week Jesus said, wait, don't go anywhere, just wait. 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:24.000 Don't try to go fulfill the mission without me. 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:25.440 Don't try to go do a bunch of things. 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:27.440 Don't try to come up with a bunch of ideas. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:29.359 Don't brainstorm. 00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:31.200 Don't don't idea map. 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:32.319 Don't do any of it. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:32.880 Just wait. 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:33.759 Just go and wait. 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:36.559 Wait in Jerusalem for the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:41.359 He's gonna come when you're gonna receive power, and then you can be my witnesses. 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:53.279 And the Holy Spirit comes because they were obedient, they were focused, they were united, they were in prayer, and 3,000 souls come in. 00:26:54.160 --> 00:27:00.880 If you asked a thousand people, you'd probably get a thousand different reasons for why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:04.880 But the answer is right there. 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:11.279 You receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you'll be my witnesses. 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:15.440 Why did he give his spirit, church? 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:37.279 He didn't give us his spirit for prophecy, he didn't give us his spirit for healing, he didn't give us his spirit for tongues, he didn't give us his spirit for words of knowledge and wisdom, he didn't give us his spirit for casting out demons, and he didn't even give us his spirit for preaching. 00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:41.759 He gave us his spirit that we might be his witnesses. 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:51.440 And though all of those gifts are good things, then God the Holy Spirit can and will do whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do it, and I'm all for it, by the way. 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:58.079 The primary purpose of the giving of his spirit to the church was to empower her for witness. 00:27:58.160 --> 00:28:07.519 And if you read the last part of the chapter, which we're not going to go through the whole thing, you'll see that they didn't just instantly go out and all become missionaries and evangelists, did they? 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:19.119 They stayed in their homes, they stayed in their neighborhoods, they went to temple, they went to work, they were friendly with their neighbors, they gathered together in each other's homes, they devoted themselves, it says, to the apostles' teaching. 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:20.880 We call that the New Testament. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:23.119 You have it open in your lap right now. 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:30.319 They devoted themselves to fellowship, hanging out with other Christians, to the breaking of bread, which is eating together, and to prayer. 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:35.279 So notice they didn't stop praying after Pentecost, after they received it, huh? 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:38.960 They kept praying, they kept devoting themselves to prayer. 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:52.319 And so these ordinary people who just happened to be filled with an extraordinary God went about their regular lives, empowered by God's Spirit to be witnesses. 00:28:52.400 --> 00:29:00.319 And the Bible ends by saying, this this passage ends by saying, The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:03.039 Who added to their number? 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:04.960 The Lord. 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:06.480 And what were they doing? 00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:15.200 They were devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.480 Father, we love you and we thank you for your word. 00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:33.039 I pray, Lord, that you minister to our hearts today, that the word was planted, that it was received, God, and that it will bear fruit in our lives, and our hearts, in our lives, and our families, in our homes, and our workplaces. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:39.200 God, I pray that your word would bear fruit in us, that there would be a harvest 30, 60, and a hundredfold. 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:41.680 We love you and we praise you. 00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:44.240 We thank you in Jesus' name. 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:45.039 Amen.