PONDERING... What Is Coming From Your Lips? Part 3 (Act 2:22-41)

VIDEO

What Is Coming Out of Your Lips? Part 3 (AM Sermon Notes)

GIST: Speak of the reality of both Jesus’ sovereignty and our responsibility; point to Jesus as the divine Messiah; call individuals to repentance, and let Him do the saving!

SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:22-41

This morning, we’re going to continuing looking at Acts 2. We’re still considering the events of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the early Church, and we’re looking at the implications these events have for how we should be living and, maybe more specifically, what we should be saying. Last Sunday morning, we had a super long gist statement and noted that God’s Word unites a broken world, and it’s meant to be heard by everyone, so we should live in such a way that people notice God in our lives, and use our lips to speak His Word! Then, last Sunday evening, we had a more condensed gist as we looked at the first part of Peter’s sermon here, the first Christian Sermon after Jesus’ ascension, and zeroed in on speaking with boldness because God’s Word is worthy, inerrant, urgent, and life-changing. This morning, we’re coming to the bulk of that sermon. However, since it is a fairly hefty passage, we’re going to divide up the reading a bit here and take the passages as we come to them. Let’s open, then, by looking at verses 22-24 and verse 36 to get a good feel for the point of this message.

22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-- 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it… 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

There is a lot in this first Christian sermon, and we’re going to try to walk through as much as possible. However, there are at least three major truths that I want us to be able to take away this morning, and that’s our gist: Speak of the reality of both Jesus’ sovereignty and our responsibility; point to Jesus as the divine Messiah; call individuals to repentance, and let Him do the saving!

I. SPEAK OF THE REALITY OF BOTH JESUS’ SOVEREIGNTY & OUR RESPONSIBILITY (22-24)

Jesus is Real. This message starts by making this observation which was not being called into question at the time. Unlike today, no one doubted the reality of Jesus’ existence. Why? Because they had seen Him, and they had seen what He did. We need to remember this. These are eye-witness accounts! So Peter doesn’t have to spend much time here. What he does instead is move into how Jesus did these things, which points to this truth→

God is Sovereign. Look at the first parts of verses 22-24 again: “22...Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-- 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God…24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (emphases added). God worked through Jesus during His life here on earth to point clearly to who He was and why He came. Even His enemies could not deny His miracles. However, it was not only His life, but also His death and resurrection that were part of God’s plan. Jesus came to die. His purpose was to defeat sin in this way. He didn’t come to earth and work with what He was given. He knew exactly what He was doing. That’s why verse 24 says, ‘God raise Him up because anything else was not possible’. Though He did not have to die for us, He chose to and would fulfill that purpose!

So, this points to the wonderful sovereignty of God. He is in 100% control! Oh, praise the Lord! Within this same passage, as is often the case in Scripture, we also see→

We Are Responsible For Our Sins. These two truths are not at odds, or at least, that’s not how the Bible presents them! Is God sovereign; is He in control of all things? YES! Our we still responsible for our sinful actions? YES! Look at the whole of verse 23 again, “23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Here’s the deal: though He uses our sins to further His plans, we are no less responsible for those sins. This might seem like a paradox, but just because we struggle to wrap our minds around it doesn’t make it untrue. This is God’s design, and we must be faithful in proclaiming both sides! God is sovereign. Nothing is outside of His control! You are responsible for your sins, but God is completely capable of forgiving you of them because in His sovereignty, Jesus took your place.

Likewise, we should→

II. POINT TO JESUS AS THE DIVINE MESSIAH (25-36)

Scripture Fulfillment Points To Jesus as Divine Messiah! (25-31) Peter gives us a pattern for preaching here: just lay open God’s Word! He quotes from Psalm 16, a psalm we covered this summer actually, and then applies it to Jesus. “25 For David says concerning him, "'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' 29 "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.”

We don’t have to break this down too much, because that is exactly what Peter does here. Basically, he’s making two major points:

1. David wasn’t talking about himself; he was pointing to the Messiah, the Christ. David died. In his death, he did experience this promise because he is now in Heaven. However, he was used by God to write these words pointing to something bigger than him. There would be someone from the line of David who would be the ultimate fulfillment of these verses: the Messiah. Remember, Peter is talking to a Jewish audience here. They were looking for this Messiah. They wanted Him to come. So Peter tells them→

2. Jesus is this Messiah! He not only died, but rose! He was crucified, but He didn’t stay in the grave. He came to defeat sin and make this promise of Heaven possible for all who believe... and He did. He is the Messiah you have been looking for, and→

Our Personal Witness Attests To The Same! (32-33) Look at these next two verses, “32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.” Again, there are two points here:

1. We have seen both His resurrection and ascension! Remember, how they were called to be witnesses? That’s exactly what Peter is doing. He starts by saying, “Look, God’s Word told us this would happen.” Then, he says, “And we saw it with our own eyes!” Then, he proceeds to explain what everyone else had just seen happen in this awesome display of God’s power where people from all these difference languages were hearing God proclaimed at the same time. →

2. All of this you’re seeing now is His promise to pour out the Holy Spirit. This wasn’t something the disciples were doing in their own strength. This wasn’t magic. This wasn’t some crazy outworking of intoxication either (like some of them supposed)! This was the Holy Spirit working in their lives to proclaim Jesus!

And This Has A Universal Application! (34-36) Look at the next couple verses, “34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool."' 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” David, great king that he was, did not ascend to Heaven like this, but he said the Messiah would. JESUS IS THAT MESSIAH & HE IS LORD! He is God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Remember, they had been looking for a Messiah, but they had wanted one that would re-establish the physical kingdom of Israel. Peter tells them that this Messiah is not just another David, but God Himself which points to something much bigger than a physical kingdom.

So, Peter uses Scripture to point to Jesus as God and Savior! We should be doing the same. And, in so doing, we should then→

III. CALL TO REPENTANCE & LET HIM DO THE SAVING! (37-41)

The first thing we see here is that→

The People Responded To The Gospel. (37) Look at verse 37, “37 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?” They were cut to the heart. This is exactly what Hebrews tells us God’s Word will do! “12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13). These people responded because they were convicted by His Word. This is a beautiful reminder. Jesus uses His Word to change hearts. Again, we should just be faithful in proclaiming that! It is HIS WORD that has the power to save, not ours.

So Peter Called Them To Be Saved. (38) As soon as they respond, Peter points them to their need. Look at the next verse here, “38 And Peter said to them, "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.” There are a few points to note in this call.

1. Turn to Jesus. Peter calls them first to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus. This is the saving part. He...is the saving part! Turn from sin to Jesus. He’s Lord and Messiah. Give Him your life and be saved. Then→

2. Confess Publicly. Baptism is pointing to the reality of the circumstances; it isn’t part of the saving process. It is a chance to publicly proclaim the change Jesus has privately made!

3. Be Forgiven. This is the first result of salvation. Our relationship with God is restored through Jesus. Though dead in our sins and enemies of God by nature, we are made alive and adopted as children through His forgiving, His atonement.

4. Be Transformed By This Gift! This is also a result. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit changes you and impacts those around you!

This Truth Is For Everyone, So He Kept Proclaiming It! (39-40) Look at verses 39-40, “39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” This truth is for all who call on His name! We talked about that a some length the last two weeks, but lets just make this observation again. Salvation is not for the ones we deem worthy, but for all people in whom Jesus works. Which means, this message must be proclaimed to everyone!

This is the summary of all that Peter said, but we know he kept on explaining these truths, calling people to save themselves not by their own merits, but by being saved by Jesus! And...that is exactly what happened!

This Salvation Is Because Jesus Moved! (41) “41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” 3000 were saved and baptized that day! God used His Gospel to change lives!

TAKEAWAYS

1. Speak of the reality of Jesus’ sovereignty and our responsibility. It’s not healthy to down play either. We must trust in God’s complete sovereignty while also realizing our responsibility for our actions.

2. Point to Jesus as the divine Messiah. We’re still looking for a savior today! We still want someone to come in and rescue us. So, we still need to point to Scripture, share our personal witnesses, and tell others the universal truth that Jesus is this SAVIOR!

3. Call individuals to repentance. Don’t sugarcoat sin. It’s not helping anyone. We must be compassionately honest. Also, don’t be a “one-hit-wonder”! ☺️ Share the gospel...again, and again, and again!

4. And let Him do the saving! We can’t try to save the world in our own strength.

PONDERING... What Is Coming Out Of Your Lips? Part 2 (Acts 2:14-21)

VIDEO

What Is Coming Out Of Your Lips? Part 2 (PM Lesson Outline)

GIST: Speak with boldness because God’s Word is worthy, inerrant, urgent, and life-changing!

SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:14-21

Tonight, we’re going to take a quick look at the beginning of what is often referred to as the “first Christian sermon.”

“14 But 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, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

I want to look at this under four points tonight. I know, last week we got spoiled with two two-pointers ☺️, but don’t worry, we’ll move through these relatively quickly. In what could be taken as the introduction to this first-sermon, we see that Peter spoke, as should we, with boldness because God’s Word is worthy, inerrant, urgent, and life-changing! (←And that’s the gist for tonight☺️).

I. Worthy (14)

God’s Word Is Worth Listening To. We need to remember this. The apostles didn’t go out proclaiming themselves and promoting their thoughts. They spoke with boldness because their message was not their own, but God’s! I know we can fall into a sense of timidity because we don’t want to be seen a “shoving our message down people’s throats”. However, we need to keep this in mind. Though we should go out in compassion with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15), we should nonetheless always proclaim the truth because we’re not just carrying “causally important information”. Think of it like this. If you were given information from the President about impending doom and were task with carrying this information to the world, would you be timid about sharing it? This is God’s Word, which is→

II. Inerrant (15-16)

This Isn’t Nonsensical, But The Fulfillment of Scripture. The skeptics thought they were drunk, Peter says, “No, this isn’t silliness; this is Scripture!” He immediately takes them to God’s Word. Why? Because it is trustworthy! Here, we’re told that what they just witnessed is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. And that prophecy points to this message being→

III. Urgent (17-20)

These Are The Last Days. When people ask if we’re living in the last days, we need to respond with, “yes!” The time between the ascension of Jesus and His return is the “last days”. This passage points to that. Let’s break down some of the imagery here→

Pouring out of the Spirit. This refers to “new movement on earth”, not “new to the earth”. The Holy Spirit has always been because He is God. There is not and will not be a time when He ceases to be omnipresent. What this pouring out of the Spirit marks is a change in how the Spirit is working on earth. His presence and equipping are now poured out on all who believe and not limited to a priestly line in the earthly sense. And that is what we see expressed in the next few words, as well.

Prophecies. These are more about proclaiming than predicting most of the time, and that is what is being talked about here. In this context, the 120 were prophesying about the wonderful works of God. They were proclaiming Jesus! The key here is→ it’s everybody! Men, women, young, old, slave, and free. The reference to dreams and visions expresses the same general idea: everyone can commune with God!

Signs. Then there are some parts that are a little less clear. Specifically, verses 19-20. There have always been many signs of God’s majesty. Pentecost itself was a sign. However, some of this sounds very reminiscent of the language of Revelation and seems to be pointing to the “already, not yet” paradigm. That is, God’s kingdom has already come on earth, but it is not yet fully realized as it will be when Jesus returns.

So, this is pointing to the whole message as an urgent one. Jesus has established His kingdom and the The Day of the Lord is coming! Be ready! Which is what the last point is about. This message is→

IV. Life-Changing! (21)

Everyone Who Calls On The Name Of The Lord WILL Be Saved! This is the Gospel! We are sinners deserving Hell, but Jesus willing came and took our punishment, if we call on Him giving Him our lives, we WILL be saved!

TAKEAWAY

1. Speak with boldness because God’s Word is worthy, inerrant, urgent, and life-changing!

PONDERING... What Is Coming Out Of Your Lips? Part 1 (Acts 2:1-16)

VIDEO

What Is Coming Out Of Your Lips? Part 1 (AM Sermon Notes)

GIST: God’s Word unites a broken world, and it’s meant to be heard by everyone, so live in such a way that people notice God in your life, and use your lips to speak His Word!

SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:1-15, 21

This morning we’re coming to Acts 2. If you’ve been around church long, you’re probably familiar with this passage. The end is often cited in conversations about what church-life should be like since this could be considered the earliest recording of Church (big “C”) activity after the ascension of Jesus. In fact, in verse 41 we read that 3,000 people were saved on this day! That’s incredible! We’ll get to that portion soon enough, but this morning we’re going to focus in on what led up to this.

These events take place on Pentecost which is one of the three major Jewish feast celebrations (the other two being Passover and the Feast of Booths). It was a harvest celebration that took place about 50 days after Passover and drew huge crowds to Jerusalem. Jesus was crucified during Passover, then rose again and taught the disciples for 40 days, then ascended into Heaven. That means this all took place somewhere between a week to ten days after His ascension. Let’s start by looking at those first 16 verses, and I’ll throw in verse 21 for good measure, as well☺️.

“1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians--we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13 But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine." 14 But 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, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ... 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

I wanted to include verse 21 in our reading this morning even though it technically falls in the passage we’re addressing tonight, because it’s an awesome summary of this opening passage. If you don’t hear anything else I say, please remember this, this passage and our lives are all about the world coming to know Jesus!

Since speaking seems to be the theme of these verses, I do want to focus on that this morning and look at why, how, and what they are speaking. Then, we’ll take some applications for ourselves, which is our gist: God’s Word unites a broken world, and it’s meant to be heard by everyone, so live in such a way that people notice God in your life, and use your lips to speak His Word! (Yeah, we went from a three word gist last week to a four-clauser...☺️.)

I. WHY ARE THEY SPEAKING? (1-4)

This Is Holy Spirit Empowerment. For the last two weeks, we’ve been talking about the Holy Spirit empowering believers to serve God. Therefore, I know I’m running the risk of sounding redundant here. Nonetheless, we so desperately need to remember this. We’re not facing this life in our own strength! I live in the same world you do and am bombarded by the same messages. Self-empowerment is everywhere. And while I wholeheartedly believe we should live life confidently, that confidence needs to come from our identity in Jesus Christ, not because of any personal abilities. Maybe you don’t struggle with this, but I know I do, and I see so many of my students at school crumble because they’re trying so hard to conquer this world on their own...and they can’t. They’re tired and defeated. But God’s Word tells us that we are “...conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37, emphasis added). We’re not conquerors through ourselves, but through Him! Just a verse before that Paul points out that, for Jesus’ sake we are "36... being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered” (Romans 8:36). It is in that context, we’re told that we are more than conquerors through Him, “38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)! Amen!

Therefore, I think it’s worth pointing out, even at the risk of redundancy, that this is the product of Holy Spirit empowerment! And this passage is clear about this being the Holy Spirit. We’re given two pictures here. Luke describes something like wind and something like fire. Keep in mind, he’s just using human words to best express what was happening. This was not wind and fire, but the Holy Spirit moving. Remember in John 3 when Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, and He says the Holy Spirit moves like the wind: you don’t see Him, but you see what He’s done? (John 3:7-8). We have a picture of that here. They couldn’t see anything, but heard something like a rushing wind coming from Heaven and surrounding them.

Then, they have something like tongues of fire rest on them resulting in the miraculous proclaiming of the Gospel (which we’re coming to shortly☺). This points to God’s movement, too! Throughout Scripture, fire is used to describe God’s purifying presence. Think about the burning bush, or the fire that consumes Elijah’s offering when he’s standing up against the prophets of Baal, or the fire that came down on Mount Sinai before giving the 10 commandments (Exodus 19). We have the same picture here: an amazing display of God’s powerful purifying presence!

So, this is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We also see→

This Is A Specific Equipping. Now, don’t misunderstand me here. The Holy Spirit works in the lives of every believer. We are all empowered by Him as we go out to share the Gospel with the world. However, this is also a specific fulfillment of a promise made to the apostles in John 16:13-15, “13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” Have you ever wondered how the apostles went from missing the point so often, even up until the very day of Jesus’ ascension, to being bold proclaimers of the truth and to being used by God to pen the New Testament? Here’s your answer. The Holy Spirit specifically equipped them and made everything finally click! Praise the Lord, for it is through this equipping that we have the gift of God’s trustworthy and inerrant Word!

So, they are speaking empowered by the Holy Spirit and specifically equipped to proclaim the Truth. So→

II. HOW ARE THEY SPEAKING? (4-11)

All Languages Points To All People! Again, if you’ve been around church long, you will also know that this passage can sometimes be a point of contention, as well meaning people debate the implications of the disciples speaking in tongues here. I would be more than willing to sit down with any of you afterwards and discuss the finer points of those implications if what I say here is not sufficient. However, let me just make these two quick observations.

1. This is not a universal proof of salvation. While this sign is used to point a multitude to the salvation of Jesus, this same sign will not accompany all salvations. There are just a few similar instances in the New Testament of it being used to confirm that the Gospel is being spread to parts of the world that, honestly, most Jewish believers would not have thought possible. However, speaking in tongues like this does not accompany all salvations in the New Testament, nor will it today.

Now, I only take time to point this out because majoring on this issue can often lead to missing the real purpose of this sign. This is not a universal proof of salvation. However→

2. This is a sign of God’s salvation extending to the entire world! There is a reason the masses were spelled out for us here. These groups represented all the major areas where Jewish people were dispersed at this time, and what we’re given is a sort of anti-tower-of-Babel. In Genesis, we’re told that people came together to build the Tower of Babel because of their sin. They wanted to show off their strength, their power, and build a tower that reach even up to Heaven. They wanted to be “on level” with God. Therefore, God punishes them, puts an end to this nonsense, and causes them all to speak different languages, so they can no longer understand each other, causing the building project to cease. Here, we have the opposite. God unites the people by using the disciples to speak to each of their heart languages with the message of salvation. Sin divides. God unites...because we were made to be with Him...together!

So rather than pointing to a specific proof of salvation, this is pointing to the fact that salvation is for ALL nations. This rings back to the commission we addressed last week and reminds us this message isn’t just for people “like us”. Oh, please let that sink into our hearts! The Gospel is meant to be heard by EVERYBODY!

So, they are speaking empowered by the Holy Spirit and specifically equipped to proclaim the Truth, and this points to a message which is meant to be heard universally! So→  

III. What Are They Speaking? (11-15, 21-24)

They Are Proclaiming The Mighty Works of God (11). What did these people hear in their own heart languages? Well, verse 11 tells us, “11b...we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." The disciples weren’t crafting clever motivational-speeches. They were proclaiming all that God had done! Central to this? →

They Are Sharing Jesus’ Gospel (21-24)! Look at verses 12-13, “12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13 But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine." People were perplex, and some were immediately skeptical. Nonetheless, Peter stands up. The one who had so often gotten it wrong. The one who just two months ago had denied Christ. This Peter stands up empowered by the Holy Spirit and proclaims these words. “14 ..."Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.” He knows they’re skeptical, so he makes a joke about it. But the message He’s calling them to hear is no joke. We’ll be looking at his sermon more in the next two services, but let’s just read verses 21-24 before we close this morning, “21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' 22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-- 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

They proclaimed the Gospel because people need to hear the glorious Truth of Jesus. I love Alistair Begg’s observation on this, “Our motivation for evangelism isn’t guilt, but God’s glory, His worthiness!” They didn’t go out proclaiming because they felt some kind of unwanted obligation, but rather because “12… there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)!

TAKEAWAYS

1. God’s Word unites a broken world.

-He is the way. This world is hurting, and the only answer is Jesus. Sin divides us. In fact, it tears us apart. Just yesterday, Jedidiah was talking to me about time-travel (it’s something we do ☺️), and he said if he could go back in time and change just one thing, he would go back to the Garden of Eden. Now, we know this was part of God’s plan, but he hit the nail on the head. You want to fix the world’s problems, destroy sin. And that is precisely what Jesus died and rose to do!

2. And...it’s meant to be heard by everyone.

-Go to everyone. Not just the people you would like to share the Gospel with, or the ones that are easy to approach, or the...white middle-class protestants.

-Speak their language. This requires actually getting to know them. Be aware of the culture in which they live and the baggage they carry with them. Know their hearts, so you can speak the universal, life-changing truth of JESUS to them.

3. So... live in such a way that people notice God in your life.

-Pentecost is unrepeatable, but God’s movement in your life should still be evident!

4. And→ use your lips to speak His Word!

-Disbelief doesn’t dull His sword! (Begg) His Word still speaks and is still sharp and still cuts to the heart, even if people stop believing in it! God is not a fairy. He is the almighty creator of the universe!