Proclaiming good news in our community Pt. 4

Introduction

Good morning LaFayette Baptist Family. It is great to be here with you all this Lord’s day morning. What a wonderful and treasured time this is together, getting to sing Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs together and learn from the Word together. Please go ahead and get our your Bible’s Our scripture today will be from the Book of Acts , specifically from Acts 2:37-41. Acts 2:37-41, please go ahead and turn their in your Bible’s. As usual, the scripture will be on the screen for us in a few moments, but please have it open so that you can follow along.

So, I’m sure you have noticed something lately. I bet you notice every day, probably every time you step outside or every time you look out the window. Do you remember, how just a few weeks ago, every time you opened a door to go outside you would brace yourself for the impact of cold air? Remember how two weeks ago, you stepped outside, braced yourself for cold air, but it didn’t happen and you thought “Oh, that’s very nice.” Then, if you’re like me, you noticed two other things, that all seem to proclaim one thing, that Winter is on it’s way out (but will probably make a rude appearance a few times) and that spring is on it’s way in. These things are of course the birds coming back and leaf buds coming up on the trees, the bushes, and other plants. They all declare this thing and we rejoice, that spring is almost here. As the little things in nature proclaim the good news of spring, we too are to proclaim Good news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those near us, which is once again our sermon title and main idea, Proclaiming the Good News in Your Community.

Scripture

If you would all please rise for the reading of God’s Word today. The words to the scripture will be on the screen, please read along with me as we are reading. When I am done I will say “this is The Word of The Lord” if you will all please respond with “Thanks be to God.” First, let’s pray.

Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us in this place. May our eyes, our, ears, our hearts be opened to whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today. Take every distraction that we may have, weather it be physically or mentally and make it go away as far as it can, because we want to know You more that we can love and understand You more. Help us to understand the urgency in the mission and commission that You have given us, to go and make more disciples. Help us to understand and love others and one another that we couldn’t help but do this. Help us be all about Your glory, and not about ourselves or our desires. Make our hearts more about You and less and about me. May your glorious kingdom be furthered, and we ask that we would have some small part in this. It’s in these things that I ask, and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and Precious name that I pray, Amen. Acts 2, starting in 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?” 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. 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.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. This is the Word of The Lord (Thanks be to God), thank you, please be seated.

Context

This week, we are jumping back into our min-series- within a series of Proclaiming Good News in Your Community in the book of Acts. This will be the last of this installment of the “mini-series.” In case you missed last week, we took a back step and looked at one the prophecies of Joel that was related to a major point that we have been driving at in our mini-series, this is of course people’s need for God and the redemption that only He can provide, and is happy to provide to us, calling us back to Him time and time again.

Since it has been a week, let me recap for you where we last were in Peter’s Sermon and give you some context. At this point, we are still on the day of Pentecost and the Gift, the Promise from the Father ( The Holy Spirit). Had just descended upon Peter and company and they were uttering phrases of praise and testimony to God from other languages, AKA speaking in tongues that those in the audience could understand. This day was happening on a festival day, so Jerusalem, where this was happening, was filled with Jews from all over who came for the festival. So, Peter and the rest were addressing a crowd that was a mixed audience, some that were listening intently on Peter’s words and some were listening and mocking them, saying that the apostles must have been drunk. With that, remember that people to mock others when they are uncomfortable, and many in the crowd that day should have been uncomfortable, because they were getting to witness and very powerful moment in which God’s presence would have been clearly perceived. So, some mocked and some believed.

So far, Peter has quoted several and interpreted (so preached) from several places in the Old Testament, including Psalms of David and the Prophet Joel. Now, Peter was moving into a new portion of his sermon, so that it The Word could applied to the listeners and their lives.

Back specifically to week before last, The first point we looked at week before last, the first reason we proclaim the good news is that Jesus is Alive; that as God, is not possible for Him die and remain dead, He came back after willfully being sacrificed on the cross to redeem us from our lost and sinful state. The next reason we proclaim the good new is because Jesus is exalted, He sits and currently is sitting at His right and proper place, at the right hand of God the Father and sent the Holy Spirit that He may be further exalted. The next reason we looked at was that Jesus is Lord, which means that He has domain and authority over all things and all peoples, weather they like it or not. The last we reason we looked at on we proclaim the good news in Because Jesus is the Christ, meaning He was the anointed one, the one that God foretold us long before that He was coming and redeem all of mankind that turns towards Him from sin. So, with those reasons in mind, I want you understand these truths about The Gospel from our text today.

Message

The first truth to understand is that The Gospel of Jesus Strikes Deep

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?”

We begin with Peter having given the brunt of his sermon. This led to the audience giving an appropriate response and reaction. It says here that they (the crowd) were cut here to the heart. So, what does that mean. As we know, the heart in our language can mean a few different things. In this instance, it means “the inner self, your thoughts, feelings, and mind.” So, this message rocked their world….. Once again, what was this message? It was The Christ (the Holy one of Israel) had come and that forgiveness of sins and perfect atonement was available. That though, doesn’t cut to the heart, what struck them the to heart? It is that they (The Israelites, the Jews, the Jewish leaders and Priests, and Rome had knowingly murdered Him. So, it was their sin that put The King of Glory, Jesus Christ the righteous on the cross and gave to Him a brutal and criminal’s death. So, devout Jews, you killed your savior! Ouch….. That is something that would cut a person right at the heart.

For us, it is much the same, and we can make the same claim. Because of our sin, our sinful nature and individual sins, our own rebellion against God that we, you, I participated in that required the death of Jesus Christ. Remember a few weeks ago, we touched on this. I also want to draw your attention to a hymn, and it should be on the slides right now, called How deep the Father’s Love for us. In the second verse of this Hymn it says: “Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders; Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life- I know that it is finished. Wow and oh my. Say that with me, It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished……. Did you feel that? Did you feel how that hurt and you didn’t want to admit it? That’s much like Israelites felt in that moment, and it’s a truth we need to understand. Our sin is one of the reasons Jesus had to die.

Hearing and feeling this strong emotion, the Israelites cry out with an appropriate response, and one that every believer in Jesus Christ had to make at one time or another. This response, was “What we should we do?” “What should I do?” Here we can see clearly that The gospel of Jesus Christ cuts and strikes us deeply. It goes deep and lives and motivates us into action, some of which Peter will address in the verse following, but know and understand this truth, that the gospel hit’s us hard, right where it hurts in our pride and self-reliance. In turn and as we surrender to The Power and Glory of God and His gospel, it should move and motivate us to share/proclaim Good news in our community and those closest to us.

Another truth to understand about the gospel is that: The Gospel of Jesus is for Many

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. 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.”

Peter continues, and remember their question. What should we do? “Their question had a ring of desperation about it (cf. Acts 16:30). If the Jews had crucified their Messiah and He was now exalted, what was left for them to do? What could and must they do?”[1]The answer is given here, 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. 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.” So, what is this first part “repent” and what does it entail? To repent is a very serious thing, it is and should be a continual and frequent part of every Christian’s life who is truly endeavoring to pursue God. This process begins in the way that cuts us deep, just as we spoke about. It starts with understanding, admitting, and confessing that you have sinned, that you are a sinner and wrongs need to be made right. It then moves into a confession to and prayer to God for forgiveness of that sins, which then turns into making any wrong you have done right. Then and this is a big part of it, turning from it (meaning adjusting your life/how you think/how you act) so that it won’t be done again and turning towards God to help you with that. So, not doing it again. This is an action, repentance, that requires a true and authentic relationship with God that only believers have with Him.

Then, Peter goes on, that you must be Baptized for the forgiveness of sins. So, this is was clearly a believers Baptism, as only believers can truly repent. 1st repent then be baptized, keep in mind the audience were not believers, or at least they are becoming very new believers…. Baptism, is a serious matter also that is not to be taken lightly, as in and of itself is testimony of your faith in Christ, but is also a first outward sign of your lifelong obedience to Him, as it was command from Christ to be baptized. Which we see in the great commission, in Matthew 28; that disciples (or followers) of Christ are to be baptized in His name. So, after the people in the audience repent and take the first steps of being a believer, then they will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit too. We get to experience this gift as well, and I can say to you with confidence that if you have entered a true repentance and a true believers baptism, than you have the gift of the Holy Spirit as well and you can rely on Him to help You pursue God in all things.

Look at Peter’s next statement. He called this a promise, something that could not be broken, God doesn’t come back on His promises as all to often us humans are prone to. And this promise was for a great many people, for everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. So, who are those people? We can never know, I can never look at unsaved person and perceive if God will save them, but I do know that God has called us to share His Gospel, His good news with that person regardless of who they are and how we feel about them. Understand that truth, that the gospel is for many people, and because we don’t know who that “many” is, our Lord, Master, Savior, and God desires us to be his mouth pieces and sow the seeds of faith, which is sharing the Gospel with others that they can do something. That brings us to our next point, and that is to respond.

The next point to understand about the gospel is: The Gospel of Jesus requires a response.

40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Now, I want to be clear here, what I do not mean is that you should expect a Yes, No, or Maybe answer from that person at that time. When you proclaim the good news, when you evangelize, you must be in frequent prayer that you are in tune with leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit. If He calls you to have an answer, then yes, ask for the answer, but the majority of the times He probably won’t; because that person is not yet ready to confess faith or doesn’t understand enough to even really understand what you are talking about. Here is an example, last week for one my classes, I had to write a paper based on the 55 evangelistic conversations that are in the Bible. Of these 55, 25 responded with a yes, there were a few “nos” and the rest (27, so most) of the cases in the Bible, it is unknown what became of that person. We should expect and be open to the same thing when we share the gospel with others, we should be open to the “Yes” the “No” the “maybe” and the “I’ll think about it, and the you probably won’t know what happens.”

So, I don’t mean push for an answer necessarily right there, what I mean is that to be believer in Jesus, to be a follower of Christ, to be a Christian, you have a response that is required of you and it is one that you and you alone are responsible. That answer is, Yes, Lord, I believe and I repent of my former ways. A relationship with God as an individual thing, not a group thing as it had been with Jews previously. Just because your mom or your dad or your grandparents were Christians, does not mean that You are a Christian. You become a Christian when you submit to the Lordship of Jesus, repent of your sins, and earnestly endeavor to follow Christ for the rest of your life. Peter warned these people, save yourself from this crooked generation, and so should our message be to others. Save yourselves, and put your faith in God instead of yourself or others. Many in the audience heard and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ that day. They received the word, repented, and were Baptized as a sign of submission, and in that day 3,000 people become believers and their eternal souls were saved. Why, was this? Because Peter, the apostles, and other disciples were brave enough, to follow Christ’s instructions and Proclaim testimonies and share the good news with those that were physically closest to them. Remember, they were in Jerusalem at the time, and this sermon happened in Jerusalem. Just a few moments after the founding of The Christian Church, they went out and shared Jesus with others. As they did, so are we to do; not in our own power, but in the power and reliance on God to empower us to do so.

Conclusion

Beloved brothers and sisters hear and know this today, understand these truths about the Gospel of Jesus Christ when you go and share the good news with your community and those closest to you. Yes, I know it is scary and seems hard. That’s because in our own power, it is; butGod empowers and moves us to do so. Are you scared, maybe just a little bit frightened to do so? Good, then you are just the kind of person that God is looking to use. Because it’s not about our glory, it’s all about HIS GLORY. So, remember these 3 truths, that The Gospel of Jesus Strikes Deep, and can cut deep like a very sharp two edge sword. It affects and moves us, sometimes that looks ugly in the moment, but that’s ok because it is all for your good. Understand that The Gospel of Jesus is for Many, we don’t know and cannot know who is in that “many” all we know is that the safest bet for us to share with those “many” is to share with “all.” We need to share the gospel with everyone, regardless of who they are and what we think about them. Lastly, understand that The Gospel of Jesus requires a response, everyone is personally responsible for having a relationship with Jesus. Your faith heritage and who you are in this world holds no sway on your personal relationship with God. Understand these things as you go Proclaiming Good News in Your Community to God’s glory and His alone.

With all of that being said, I would be remised if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

Let’s conclude. Brothers and sisters, I love you all. If you need someone to talk to or prayer, I will be up here during our last song together. I would love to listen and pray for you. Let’s Pray, Father God, you are great and mighty and great to behold. You grace and majesty knows no bounds, which is truly astounding considering the among of Grace I need, because I am such a sinner. We thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us individually and collectively. Move us in ways that would make us more committed disciples of You. Help us as we go out, help us to consider and apply this message to our lives. Help us keep deep in our hearts, but not just for the sake of keeping it to ourselves, but also for the sake of sharing it and You with others. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray. Amen.

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[1]Toussaint, Stanley D. “Acts.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2, Victor Books, 1985, p. 359.