The first Spirit Filled Sermon

Acts 2:14–21 CSB

Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy. I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Joel 2:28–32 CSB

After this I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions. I will even pour out my Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days. I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord promised, among the survivors the Lord calls.

What Luke has described in verses 1–13 Peter now explains. The extraordinary phenomenon of Spirit-filled believers declaring God’s wonders in foreign languages is the fulfilment of Joel’s prediction that God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh. Peter’s exposition is similar to what in the Dead Sea Scrolls is called a ‘pesher’ or ‘interpretation’ of an Old Testament passage in the light of its fulfilment. So Peter introduces his sermon with the words ‘this is that’ ‘this’ which his hearers have witnessed is ‘that’ which Joel foretold; he deliberately changes Joel’s ‘afterwards’ (as the time when the Spirit will be poured out) to ‘in the last days’ in order to emphasize that with the Spirit’s coming the last days have come; and he applies the passage to Jesus, so that ‘the Lord’ who brings salvation is no longer Yahweh who shelters survivors on Mount Zion, but Jesus who saves from sin and judgment everyone who calls on his name It is the unanimous conviction of the New Testament authors that Jesus inaugurated the last days or Messianic age, and that the final proof of this was the outpouring of the Spirit, since this was the Old Testament promise of promises for the end-time[1]

Peter, standing up with the eleven: Peter stood and preached to the crowd as a representative of the whole group of apostles.

b. Raised his voice: There was a remarkable change in Peter. He had courage and boldness that was a complete contrast to his denials of Jesus before being filled with the Holy Spirit. I absolutely love this story of Peter. I don't know if it's because Peter is so much like me or I'm so much like Peter or if it just shows the raw humanness that we a lot of times try to act like we don't have. And I do believe I relate to it in all of those ways but I believe I love it the most because Jesus saw that humanness Jesus knew as the creator that we all have that humanness about us and despite the humanness or you could say in spite of our humanness the Holy Spirit changes that about us. Doesn't take it away from us but enables us in spite of our human sinful nature. So just 50 days ago literally 50 days ago if you want to close your eyes and picture it Peter is denying Jesus he's denying his Lord his master his savior his friend his rabbi. The cock crows and Peter goes out and weeps bitterly it's literally peter's rock bottom but see Jesus told Peter that he was going to be the rock that his church was built on see Peter at that moment had head knowledge he had been taught but Jesus for three years he had all the head knowledge that he needed but he didn't have the Holy Spirit living in him yet. So Fast forward to the day of Pentecost and it's been 40 days spent with the resurrected Jesus and then another 10 days spent with the 120 in the upper room praying and fasting and reading the Old Testament scriptures and seeking the face of God in early in the morning we have the Holy Spirit fall on the 120 in the upper room like a mighty rushing wind and it feels the 120 like they've never been filled before and here we are Peter stands up with a raised voice he stands up as a new man. Luke wrote this down Peter stood up with the 11 they all stood up together to say we're not drunk we're full of the Holy Spirit and as we're going to see Peter is a changed man he has the boldness of the spirit he has the authority that Christ gave them with the Great Commission and he's a different man because he's been walking in obedience to God he's been fellowshipping with the 120 and he's been praying also with the 120 and now he's filled with the Holy Spirit and church this is me and you also we come to Jesus broken we come to Jesus have living a life of denial we come to Jesus unworthy and completely lost in our humanness but just like the beauty of this story with Peter when we come to Jesus and we surrender all and we hit our knees and we cry out to God and his Holy Spirit fills us now we're new people we're new creatures we're new creations we we're filled with the Holy Spirit and now we're ready to stand up with a raised voice and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

On the Day of Pentecost Peter didn’t teach as the rabbis in his day usually did, who gathered disciples around them, sat down, and instructed them and any others who might listen. Instead, Peter proclaimed the truth like a herald or messenger or forerunner.

ii. This remarkable sermon had no preparation behind it – it was spontaneously given. Peter didn’t wake up that morning knowing he would preach to thousands, and that thousands would embrace Jesus in response. Yet we could say that this was a well-prepared sermon; it was prepared by Peter’s prior life with God and relationship with Jesus. It flowed spontaneously out of that life, and out of a mind that thought and believed deeply. This is another beautiful aspect of the Peter story that relates directly to us. Our life prior to Christ and then surrender to Christ is a testimony it's a sermon and God can use it if you are open and ready to allowing him to use it. You say you feel like you're not prepared we feel like we're not capable of teaching the Sunday school class or preaching or being a greeter or just putting your arm around somebody and praying for him and the truth and the fact of the matter is is that we're not capable and we're not prepared but with Jesus and the Holy Spirit were now prepared we're now in enabled we're now capable not because of my power not because of my abilities but because of the Holy Spirit power and the Holy Spirit abilities at work in me. So Peter such a beautiful example of us.

- Baseball team volunteers story-how our lives prepares us to be used by God.

- . For these are not drunk: Peter deflected the mocking criticism that the disciples were drunk. To bring up a point from last week's message the very first thing they were met with was opposition. The church in its very infancy was first met with opposition people who are sneering and laughing and scoffing and saying they're drunk but remember that the spirit still moves even though people were scoffing and God's business was still done that day and so we can sit here every week in church and some do and they scoff and they sneer and they criticized this and they criticized that and all the time God is at work all around them. His Holy Spirit is moving the people who are truly trying to serve God and hear from God be a blessing to others because of God are doing so by the power of God in spite of the ones who are criticizing and have a problem with this and have a problem with that and just like the day of Pentecost the opposition was there they were sneering they were laughing they were saying there a bunch of drunks at 9:00 o'clock in the morning but God was moving and I guess what I'm trying to say is pay attention to what's going on around you seek the face of God daily but seek the face of God also when you come in here, come in here to praise God not to worry about what song they're singing how loud they sing it and what key they sing it in come in here to praise God in every key come in here to praise God during every song come in here to hear something from God through every message and know that God's work is being done whether you're one of the ones who are a part of it or not his work is being done his name is being proclaimed his Holy Spirit is moving.

In that day it was unthinkable that people would be so drunk so early in the day (about 9:00 in the morning).

Commentator Adam Clarke says that most Jews devout or not did not eat or drink until after the third hour of the day, because that was the time for prayer, and they would only eat after their business with God was accomplished. What this tells me is that the Holy Spirit fell on them during the time the Jewish people set aside for prayer every morning. So what that tells me is that yes I can pray throughout the day and yes I can read a verse here and there throughout the day but I need to set a time to meet with God to be serious about my set time with God because God sent his Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost during the time at which every Jewish person considered to be a time spent with God.