A New Era Dawns - [Acts 2:37-41]

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A new era was about to dawn, three years of his public ministry, the
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Lord Jesus Christ and his twelve disciples, they saw it all. They heard him teach with authority like no other.
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They saw the Lord command the wind and the sea to the point where they said,
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Who is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? They saw him rebuke and confront the
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Pharisees for their religious hypocrisy. They saw him forgive prostitutes.
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They saw him raise the dead, heal the demon -possessed, give sight to the blind and make the lame to walk.
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And in those intimate moments in the upper room, he told them,
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I'm going away. Going away. He said it is to your advantage that I'm going away.
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Because if I do not go away, the helper, the Holy Spirit, will not come to you.
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But if I go, I will send him to you. And he promised the disciples this, that the
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Holy Spirit would be with them forever. That he would be in them, the permanent indwelling of the
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Holy Spirit. A new era was about to dawn. And the new era did dawn on the day of Pentecost.
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If you would turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 2.
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A new era dawns in Acts chapter 2, beginning in verse 37.
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S. Lewis Johnson would say, take a concordance and look up the term
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Holy Spirit in the four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And apart from the
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Spirit's relation to the Lord and his future ministry, there's not much reference to the
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Holy Spirit in the Gospels. In the Gospel of Mark, actually, there's almost none. So he says it is justified to make the claim that in the
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Gospels we are not in the age of the Spirit yet. Acts chapter 2, beginning in verse 37.
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Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
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Brothers, what shall we do? 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.
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And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises for you and for your children and for all who are far off.
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Everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation.
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So those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about 3000 souls.
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To understand the book of Acts, you have to understand why the
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Greek Dr. Luke is writing. Turn to chapter one briefly with me. Chapter one, verse one.
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Luke, of course, is the writer of the third gospel, and he writes here in the first verse of chapter one of Acts.
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In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach.
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Stop there. So in the first book, the Gospel of Luke, he says to Theophilus that I just wrote all that Jesus began to do.
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He wrote of his earthly public ministry of his birth. Of course, Luke did of Christ's earthly public ministry of his crucifixion, of his resurrection, of his ascension.
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And Luke is telling Theophilus here that was just the beginning. It ain't over yet.
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How so? Verse eight. But you will receive power when the
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Holy Spirit has come upon you. Jesus's answer to the disciples question.
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Why could Luke write that in my first book, the gospel, I dealt with all that Jesus began to do?
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Because now Jesus is continuing through the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity.
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A new era begins, or as S. Lewis Johnson would say, the age of the spirit.
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The Holy Spirit, God eternal. He worked throughout the Old Testament, throughout the gospel.
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But here in the book of Acts, he has taken stage front and center.
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And in our text this morning in Acts chapter two, I want to give you eight words that flow out of the text as our outline.
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The first one, the character, the character.
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In other words, who is the messenger that God used? Look in chapter two, verse fourteen.
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But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them. Of all the characters that God chose, he chose
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Peter. What was he thinking? Really? Peter, the one who, after Jesus told the disciples that he was going to suffer at the hands of men, be crucified and be risen on the third day.
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The text in Matthew 16 says that Peter rebuked Jesus. And what did
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Jesus say to him? Get thee behind me, Satan. You're a hindrance to me because you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.
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Peter, really? The Peter who was walking on water and just began to sink? The Peter who said to Jesus, if all fall away,
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I will not. And he denied him three times.
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Why did he choose Peter of all the characters? Very simple. The book is typically known as the
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Acts of the Apostles. But a better thing would be the Acts of the
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Holy Spirit. Because God wanted to show that through this weak vessel, Peter, the power of the
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Holy Spirit had come upon him. And used him as God's chosen vessel. That ought to encourage you.
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This is the Peter who put the proverbial foot in his mouth. How many of you have done that? Second service, there are more liars than the first.
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Nobody raised their hand. He chose Peter to show the power of the
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Holy Spirit. That's why Paul wrote in Romans, how beautiful are the feet of those who do what?
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Bring good news. But not only do we see the character number two, we see the content.
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The content of his message. Notice in verse 37. Now, when they heard this.
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Stop there. What's the this that they heard? Verse 41 says. So those who received his word.
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What word did they receive? Let's look at the context. Verse 22 of our chapter.
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Peter says, 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.
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Peter is highlighting the three year public ministry of the incarnate Christ with mighty works and wonders and signs.
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Then in verse 23, he gets into the crucifixion. The text reads, this
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Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and for knowledge of God.
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You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. Peter is highlighting that the crucifixion of Jesus, which they were responsible for, was according first and foremost to the definite plan and sovereign knowledge.
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This for knowledge of God. God was sovereign in crucifying the
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Lord. That's why Isaiah the prophet said it was the will of the Lord to crush him.
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It was the father's will to crush the son. This was not plan B. This was plan A from the beginning.
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According to God's elect decree. And then from verses 24, actually through verse 32, all those verses,
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Peter focuses on the resurrection. And in quoting in verse 27 from King David, Psalm 16, for you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your
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Holy One see corruption. And then in verse 33, he says, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God.
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So he presents Jesus Christ, the incarnate Christ, his ministry, the crucified
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Christ, the resurrected Christ, the exalted Jesus Christ. And he reaches a climactic point that culminates in verse 36, which says, let all the house of Israel.
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Therefore, let all the house of Israel. Therefore, because of what
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Jesus did in his three year public ministry, let all the house of Israel. Therefore, because of his crucifixion, according to the eternal plan of God, let all the house of Israel.
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Therefore, because of his resurrection victory over death, sin and Satan, let all the house of Israel.
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Therefore, because he is exalted at the right hand of God, the father. Let all the house of Israel.
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Therefore, no, for certain, without a shadow of a doubt that God has made him both
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Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. If you were to study the book of Acts, the term savior to refer to Jesus is mentioned two times.
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The term Lord is mentioned 92 times. What does he mean when
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Peter says to his Jewish audience that God has made him both Lord and Christ? The Greek term for Lord Gideon simply means master.
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The root that it comes from has to do with ruling and dominion and power.
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And in the context of our passage, verses 34 and 35, Peter quotes from Psalm 110, where he says,
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The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.
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Psalm 110 was a messianic psalm of the king's rule and dominion.
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In that psalm, it talks about Jesus ruling with a mighty scepter. But above that,
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Peter is talking to them about the crucifixion of Christ and how they were guilty. Recall with me John's account in John 18.
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The mob was there. Give us Barabbas. Crucify Jesus. Pilate meets with Jesus.
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Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus says, My kingdom is not of this world.
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Pilate says, Oh, so you are a king. You say I'm a king. Pilate says,
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I have authority to release you or to crucify you.
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Jesus says, You would have no authority if it were not given to you from above.
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The issue is the authority of King Jesus. What Peter is saying here to the audience on the day of Pentecost in the power of the
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Holy Spirit, God has made him Jesus Lord. He is talking about the sovereignty and the supremacy of King Jesus.
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Sounds like a good title for a book, but he doesn't stop there.
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He has made him both Lord and Christ. Christ is the Greek term for the
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Hebrew Messiah, the anointed one, the one who was prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled all those prophecies.
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We don't have time. Well, actually, it's a second service. Maybe we do. Of all the prophecies, the
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Messiah fulfilled from where he was going to be born to how he was going to be born of a virgin.
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We can go into Isaiah and Micah and all the rest. This is what Peter was addressing to his Jewish audience, that God has made
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Jesus both Lord, master, sovereign and Christ, the
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Messiah, fulfilling all those prophecies. When Philip later on in the book of Acts was with the
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Ethiopian eunuch, Luke writes, then Philip opened his mouth and beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus.
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It's the gospel of his son. That is why Paul said in 2
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Corinthians 4, verse 5, for we do not preach ourselves by Jesus as Lord.
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That's the gospel. Jesus is Lord. Not only do we see the character of Peter and the content of his message here, but thirdly, we see the conviction that comes over the conviction that comes over his audience.
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Notice verse 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?
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They were cut to the heart. We're in the age of the spirit. The Holy Spirit who gave
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Peter this weak vessel, who denied Jesus the power to preach the gospel, this first sermon in church history, also was the one who was convicting them.
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The Greek term for conviction really literally means to convince. Peter was not the one who could convince them.
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It was the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus addressed the disciples in the upper room in John 16, he told them of the ministry of the
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Holy Spirit. He said he will come and convict, convince the world of what?
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Sin. He would convict them of sin. And how does the spirit do that?
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He does it through the scriptures, right? All scripture is breathed out by God, theopneustos, and is useful for teaching and rebuking, convicting.
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That is why even the writer of Hebrew says the word of God is what? Living and active, sharper than a double -edged sword, able to penetrate joints and marrow.
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It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. These people were cut to the heart because of the convicting work of the
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Holy Spirit. Look at our text in verse 23. Peter addresses them specifically.
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This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. You crucified.
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Verse 36. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both
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Lord and Christ this Jesus whom? You crucified. The bookends of his message is highlighting their sin in crucifying the
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Lord of glory. What's interesting here in this sermon on the day of Pentecost, though it is the age of the
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Spirit, so to speak, we see the triune work of God, the work of the Trinity. Notice with me first the work of the
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Father. The Father is the one who raised Jesus from the dead. Verse 24.
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God raised him up. Verse 32. This Jesus God raised up.
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Not only so, but the work of the Father is in verse 36 that God has made
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Jesus both Lord and Christ. That's the work of the Father. What about the son?
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The son is the central message of the gospel, as we already highlighted. It's Jesus, his life, his crucifixion, his resurrection, his exaltation.
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Therefore, he alone is Lord. And, of course, the work of the Holy Spirit in convicting the audience.
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Martin Lloyd -Jones puts it well. He says in his book Authentic Christianity.
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So we find here that these people underwent a complete change. How did it happen?
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It was not the preaching of Peter. If you read Peter's sermon, you see that he quotes scriptures, he develops certain arguments, quite right, logically sound.
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He makes his case, and you cannot contradict it. But Peter's sermon, read in cold print, does not account for the fact that something vital happened to 3 ,000 people.
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What accounts for that is the action of the Holy Spirit. The first thing the Holy Spirit does to people when he comes upon them is this, to make them think.
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What does the Spirit make us think about? Well, not first and foremost about ourselves.
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No, these people in Jerusalem were made to think about Jesus Christ. They were given the objective historical facts about this person.
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But as we see the conviction of the Holy Spirit, fourthly, we see the command of Peter, the command of Peter in response to their question.
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Their question arose from the convicting work of the Spirit where they asked him, Brothers, what shall we do?
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They were cut to the heart. What was Peter's response? He gives them a twofold command.
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The first one is repent, repent. It's consistent with what
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Dr. Luke wrote in Christ's great commission to the disciples in Luke 24, that repentance should be proclaimed to all nations beginning in Jerusalem.
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A .W. Tozer says, We have no basis to believe that we can come casually and sprightly to the
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Lord Jesus and say, I have come for some help, Lord Jesus. I understand that you are the
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Savior, so I'm going to believe and be saved, and then I'm going to turn away and think about the other matters of lordship and allegiance and obedience at some point in the future.
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Tozer continues, I warn you, you will not get help from him in that way, for the
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Lord will not save those whom he cannot command. End quote.
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The Lord will not save those he cannot command. He is the king, the
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Lord, the master. Let me give you some points to help you understand biblical repentance.
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Since this was the command of Peter. Number one, repentance must be the only response of the sinner when confronted with the lordship of Jesus Christ.
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Repentance must be the only response of the sinner when confronted with the lordship of Jesus Christ. Why many today don't call people to repentance is because they do not talk about the
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Lord Jesus. They talk about an anemic Jesus who's there to fulfill man's needs.
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That is not the Jesus of the Bible. Pastor John MacArthur, a few years back, when he got to visit some
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Eastern European countries in the Iron Curtain, he noticed a difference with the churches there versus the churches in America, amongst many other things, of course.
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Here in America, we talk about, are you a believer? There, they'll ask you, are you a repenter?
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He would hear testimony after testimony of the work of God that he did in people's lives of salvation, and they would refer to themselves not as believers, as repenters.
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Secondly, about repentance. Though repentance is a command, as we see clearly here, yet at the same time, it is a gift of God's sovereign grace.
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It's a command, but it's also a gift of God's sovereign grace. We know it's a command.
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Not only does Peter give it as a command here, but even Paul in Mars Hill, he says this in Acts 17.
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The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
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Yet it has to be a gift of God's sovereign grace because we are calling spiritually dead people.
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I was telling somebody recently, how dead is dead? To respond with repentance.
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That's why later on in the book of Acts, they said, when they heard these things, they fell silent, and they glorified
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God, saying, then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.
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Even Paul, writing to young pastor Timothy, his final letter, his swan song, he says to Timothy that God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading them to a knowledge of the truth.
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Thirdly, repentance is a change of mind. That's what the Greek word means, metana, a change of mind.
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A change of mind as to what? When these people heard Peter say, repent, metanoiste, what were they thinking about, the original audience?
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Well, they had a change of mind as to who and what could save them. They came from Judaism. A lot of them were religious.
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But remember, Jesus confronted the religious hypocrisy of his day. So they had to change their mind, repent as to who or what can save them.
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And that is what repentance is. It's repenting from false ways that you've embraced to save you.
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Your religious affiliation, it cannot save you. You must repent of that.
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Your baptism cannot save you. If you think it can, you must repent of that.
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Your being born into a Christian home cannot save you. If you think it can, you must repent of that.
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Your faithful church attendance cannot save you. If you think it can, you must repent of that.
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And your morality cannot save you. If you think it can, you must repent of that.
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Only Jesus can save you. But repentance is not only a change of mind as to who can save me, but it's a change of mind as to one's spiritual condition.
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They were confronted with their sin, the convicted work of the Holy Spirit. What is a person's spiritual condition apart from Christ?
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Lost, condemned, dead, darkened in their understanding, under the wrath of God.
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One must also change their mind as to who Jesus is. That is true repentance, that he alone is the
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Lord. And finally, repentance is a change of mind as to who is going to be on the throne of your life.
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King me, myself, and I, or King Jesus. Fourthly, repentance is a turning from sin and a turning to God.
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Vine, in his expository dictionary of New Testament words, writes, as Metania is used in the
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New Testament, it always speaks of a change of purpose and specifically a turning from sin.
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That is why Paul, in writing to the Thessalonians, says, how you turn to God from idols to serve the true and living
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God. And repentance finally results in a changed life.
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It results in a changed life. I was talking with a person recently, and they were telling me how, well, if somebody says they prayed the sinner's prayer, you have to take him at their word.
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You can't judge them. You don't know their heart. No, I don't. I don't know the core of the tree, but I know the fruit.
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My Lord said, you shall know them by their fruit. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit, and a good tree cannot bear bad fruit.
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Why did John the baptizer, more properly named, said, bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance?
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Why did the apostle Paul say that they should repent in Acts 26, verse 20, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with repentance?
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Was Paul proposing a works -based salvation? Absolutely not.
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That is the fruit of repentance. My favorite example is Zacchaeus. And every time I talk about Zacchaeus, as I've talked with my children,
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I'm tempted to sing the young children's song, but I will spare you as I did the first service. Zacchaeus comes down, goes up to the tree, sees
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Jesus. Jesus invites him to go to his home. What does Zacchaeus say? Luke 19, the same writer as the book of Acts, says that Zacchaeus said that he will get half his money to the poor, and whomever he's defrauded as a tax collector, he will repay them fourfold.
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The text says in Luke 19 that Jesus said, Today, today, salvation has come to this house.
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Now, how in the world could the Lord Jesus make such a pronouncement? Of course, he knows the heart, but from the fruit of his repentance, he can make a pronouncement of salvation.
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That is repentance. Martin Lloyd -Jones on repentance. Repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, that you are hell -bound.
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It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form.
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You renounce the world, whatever the cost, the world and its mind and outlook, as well as its practice, and you deny yourself and take up your cross and go after Christ.
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Your nearest and dearest in the whole world may call you a fool, or you say you have religious mania, you may have to suffer financially, but it makes no difference.
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That is repentance. But not only did he stop there, his invite to his audience, who was convicted, was not only repent and be baptized, that's the second command.
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Did not Jesus tell the disciples in Matthew 28, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.
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So he calls them to be baptized. The day he gives them the gospel message, the gospel of Jesus Christ, he asks for repentance and baptism.
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And as we've learned, the term baptism in the Greek does not always mean water immersion. We learned from Romans 6, the term baptizo means to be identified with.
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That as repenters, we are identified with Jesus on the cross, and we identify with him in his resurrection, co -crucifixion, co -resurrection,
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Romans 6. So what are you to do with that? You are to think. Somebody was listening last week.
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We learned from 1 Corinthians that it's an identification with Moses. But here in this passage, it actually means water immersion.
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Why baptism? What is baptism? Baptism, as we said, does not save. Baptism is obedience to the command of God.
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It's a public identification with Jesus Christ and with his church, declaring what
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God has done in saving that person. Of course, I would have you know that here at Bethlehem Bible Church, the waters of the baptismal are intentionally cold, and we do that to test your commitment to Jesus Christ.
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Those are the commands, repent and be baptized. Number five, what are the consequences? The consequences of repentance.
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There are two. Repent and be baptized, verse 38, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
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Well, there you have it. Forgiveness of sins comes as a result of baptism.
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It's right there in the text, right? Be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.
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I had heard recently, I guess maybe through a BBC announce, that the church office stapler was somehow missing.
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So if this morning in your bulletin we decided to put up a wanted poster and say so -and -so,
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I won't name names, so -and -so is wanted for stealing. Now, would that mean that we want this person in order for them to steal?
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Or because they have already stolen? Because they've already taken something. That's the sense here in the
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Greek. Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ because of, because you've already been forgiven of your sins.
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Psalm 103, verse 10, He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
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Aren't you glad for that? My personal favorite, Psalm 130, verses 3 and 4,
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If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness.
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Not only is there forgiveness of sins, but Peter says, for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the
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Holy Spirit. Verse 39, for the promise is for you. The promise that he is referring about is the
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Holy Spirit. Early in Acts chapter 1, Luke records, And while staying with them,
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Jesus ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said,
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You heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
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Verse 33 of our text in chapter 2, Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the
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Father the promise of the Holy Spirit. That was a promise that we mentioned earlier that Jesus highlighted in the
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Upper Room Discourse. And who is it for? First, it's for you and your children.
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Who is he talking to? Jews. Verse 5 of chapter 2, Now that we're dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.
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Verse 14, men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem. Verse 22, men of Israel.
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Verse 36, let all the house of Israel know. So it's first for the
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Jews, but it doesn't stop there. Peter says, for you and your children and for all who are far off.
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Who is he referring to there? Simply the Gentiles, the uncircumcised.
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Paul uses the same language in Ephesians 2, where he says, therefore, remember that at one time you
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Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision. You were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel.
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But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ.
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Doesn't this strike you that Peter says here in the opening sermon in church history that this forgiveness of sins and the promise of the
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Holy Spirit is first for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles. If I recall later on in the book of Acts.
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Now, some of the young people who I see here, I know you're going through acts in your Sunday school classes, aren't you not?
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So I might ask you a question in Acts chapter 10. Was it not Peter who had a difficulty with this when the
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Lord brought him the sheet from heaven? And he said, eat. And Peter said, oh, no, not anything unclean.
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God says what I have made clean. Go ahead and eat. And he brings the gospel to Cornelius. And then in Acts chapter 11, he goes to the leadership who criticize him because Peter was talking to a
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Gentile, an uncircumcised man. And then, of course, Peter tells them that as I began to speak, the
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Holy Spirit fell on them, the uncircumcised Gentiles, just as it did on us.
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The people rejoiced and said then to the Gentiles, also,
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God has granted repentance leading to life. Is this not the gospel?
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This is the unfolding of the book of Acts. You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, chapters one through seven, in Judea and Samaria, chapters eight through twelve, and to the ends of the earth, chapters 13 to the end.
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For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe first for the
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Jew, then for the Gentile. And that is what Peter is addressing here.
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But number six, he gives us the call, the call, the promise.
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Verse 39 is for you and for your children and for all who are far off. Everyone whom the
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Lord our God calls to whom? To himself. This is the divine call. This is not the call of the preacher,
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Peter, inviting people to repent. Peter was saying that everyone I'm calling to repent and turn to Christ, the
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Lord, the master, the king, that those people, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.
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Not just some people, not just a few, but everyone whom the Lord calls. Spurgeon put it best, what you say, can
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God make me become a Christian? I tell you, yes, for herein rests the power of the gospel.
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It does not ask your consent, but it gets it. It does not say, will you have it?
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But it makes you willing in the day of God's power. The gospel wants not your consent. It gets it.
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It knocks the enmity out of your heart. You say, I do not want to be saved. Christ says you shall be.
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He makes your will turn around and then you cry, Lord, save. Or I perish.
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The first sermon in church history. He's not only telling them what they are to do in terms of repenting and being baptized, but he's talking about the divine call.
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Jesus did this in John six. The people were coming to him with false motives as Jesus exposed them for their false motives.
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And he said, you're not coming to me because you saw a sign, but because you had your tummies filled. That's not the
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DSV. That's a diligent Edie's version. He said to them. All that the father gives to me will come to me.
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No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. That is why I said to you, no one can come to me unless it has been enabled to him by the father.
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And notice the call of God that we typically talk about is not in isolation here. Look at the context.
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He's talking about everyone Jew whom the Lord calls to himself will repent.
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Everyone Gentile uncircumcised whom the Lord calls to himself will repent.
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And number seven, we see the cry, the cry of the apostle Peter in verse 40, the cry in terms of his pleading with him.
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And with many other words, Luke says he bore witness, which he doesn't record here and continue to exhort them.
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What was his exhortation saying? Save yourself from this crooked generation. That's a phrase taken out of the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32.
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His Jewish audience knew that there were Jews. They used to sing that song of Moses in the
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Jewish synagogue worship services. Peter saying to them, save yourself, separate yourself from those unbelieving, unrepenting
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Jews, from those religious leaders who crucified him and want nothing to do with Jesus. Instead, in repentance, turn to the king.
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And finally, as we close, we see here number eight, the conversions, the conversions.
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Verse 41. So those who received his word were what?
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Repentant. Is that what the text says? Those who received his word were baptized.
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And they were added that day about 3000 souls. Why did the text not say repentant?
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That was the first command. Baptism follows after. Because in the early church.
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The evidence that the Christians had the apostles that somebody had repented. Was the public baptism.
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It was a public identification and separation from their old way of life. Identifying themselves with Jesus Christ.
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And it was an obedience to the Lord. So to be baptized was to have repented. That is why later in the book, as we mentioned earlier,
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Philip and Ethiopian eunuch. In Acts chapter eight, as they were going along the road, they came to some water.
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And the eunuch, not Philip, the eunuch said, see, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized?
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Why would it be the eunuch from Ethiopia? And not Philip, who took the initiative and say, hey,
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I need to get baptized. Because they knew in the early church he had repented. That's what he needed to do in obedience.
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The Philippian jail in Acts 16. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. And he was baptized at once.
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It wasn't like today. Well, you repented. Let's do a ten -year Bible study on water baptism.
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And let's determine if this is something we ought to do. This is how they knew these people had repented.
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Because of their baptism. And Luke finishes and says, there were added that day about 3 ,000 souls.
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So all those who received the word were 3 ,000. Can you imagine a baptism of 3 ,000?
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We had a few here the last few weeks. 3 ,000 souls. But I want you to notice how Luke phrases this.
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There were added that day. Who made the addition? Jump to verse 47.
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And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
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Luke is trying to highlight that salvation is the sovereign work of God. He's the one who adds to the church.
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Just as we close, follow with me in the book of Acts. I want to show you this. That the Lord adds those whom he calls.
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From verse 39. Look at chapter 4, verse 4. Chapter 4, verse 4.
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But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about 5 ,000.
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The Lord adds those whom he calls. Chapter 5, verse 14.
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And more than ever, believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
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The Lord adds those whom he calls. Chapter 6, verse 7.
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And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
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The Lord adds those whom he calls. Chapter 9, verse 31.
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So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up, and walking in the fear of the
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Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. The Lord adds those whom he calls.
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And finally, chapter 16, verse 5. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
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The Lord adds those whom he calls. What's the implication of Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost for us?
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First, for those who are believers, or shall I say repenters. For you repenters, number one, are you involved in evangelism?
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We have the high privilege as Peter to give the evangel, the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.
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When you give the gospel, do you highlight the lordship of Jesus Christ? Because only as you highlight the lordship of Jesus Christ will you need to ask people to do one thing, repent.
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For you repenters, why are you not obeying the
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Lord in believer's baptism? We'll even warm up the waters for you.
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For those who are unrepenting yet, I say to you as Peter said, repent.
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Turn to the only one who can save you and surrender to his lordship.
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At the end of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur met with one of the highly decorated admirals of the
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Imperial Japanese Army on the deck of the battleship Missouri. And the meeting was to signify peace treaty, a signing of an agreement that would end the then most bloodiest war ever,
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World War II. And as they came together to sign the documents, the
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Japanese admiral gave out his hand to shake General Douglas MacArthur. He refused to shake his hand.
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He kept his hand by his side and he looked sternly at the Japanese admiral and he said, Sir, your sword first, please surrender to the
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Lord Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the holy scriptures, the sacred writings, which are able to make us wise for salvation.
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We thank you that all scripture is breathed out by you and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting your righteousness.
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I pray, Father, that there is anyone here who has never repented and turned and surrendered to the
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Lord Jesus Christ, the king, that you would grant them that, help them to do that. And for those of us who have repented, we praise you for granting us that.
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Help us to be on fire and on passion to give the evangel to those who need it.
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And I pray for anyone here who may have not been following you in obedience and believer's baptism, that they would follow you in obedience, we pray in Christ's name.