The Church Testified
The Church: Then & Now - Acts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Welcome
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to church. We are blessed to have you all here with us this morning.
This morning we continue in our study series, The Church: Then & Now, a study of the Book of Acts.
We started with the ascension of Jesus and looked what happened as the disciples waited, when the Holy Spirit arrived and they all began speaking in the known languages of the other Jews who gathered.
While the church was not spreading into the known world at this point (it had really just gotten started), this empowering of the Spirit helped to setup the foundation of a church that would grow beyond a sect of Judaism and beyond Jerusalem itself into a church that would reach all corners of the globe.
It was immediately after this that we pick up in our text with a sermon given by Peter to those who had gathered. It’s important to note that Peter is addressing Jews in Jerusalem here. He’s not speaking in tongues here. That happened prior, but he’s bringing a clear message to the gathering in Aramaic, which was the common language that all shared throughout the world. Hebrew was the language of the Jewish faith. Greek was the language of education. And Aramaic was the common language of the people. It was used in business transaction and in public gatherings so everyone understood what was being said.
We’ll read the first section together in Acts 2:14 and following...
14 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. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 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. 18 I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy. 19 I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
[pray]
Jerusalem was an important city on a great highway running north to south. It connected Europe and Asia with Egypt and the African continent. As we said there were people gathered from all over the world at this event.
Peter’s message was from a Jew to a Jewish audience on a Jewish holy day about the resurrection of their Jewish Messiah who had recently been crucified by the leaders of the Jewish faith.
We don’t know exactly where this event took place. It refers early in the chapter to the sound of the wind filling the house (it could have been the same upper room where they had the Lord’s Supper) where they were staying. However, further events seem to indicate that they have moved into a public location, which could have been the temple. We do know that many people began to gather as Peter began to proclaim the Good News.
I. Peter Told Them What Happened - The Spirit Came
I. Peter Told Them What Happened - The Spirit Came
Peter had a ready response to the claims that those who were speaking in tongues were drunk. He addressed the gathering...
14 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. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning.
Now this is one of the clues that makes us think that this gathering was taking place in the temple. Nine in the morning was a customary hour for prayer. It was called the “third hour” after sunrise (6am). They would gather at the temple for prayer and afterward they would eat and drink wine in the “fourth hour.” Especially during a solemn feast day like Pentecost, much of the celebration would take place late in the day. It would be unusual for someone to be drunk during the prayer time at the temple.
Peter understood what was happening and was not confused by the events that had taken place. However, he wanted those present to understand what was happening. The disciples had been told to expect the Spirit and it wasn’t difficult for Peter to remember the promise made by the prophet Joel.
Joel called the people of Israel to repentance, a common theme in Old Testament prophecy. This prophecy was given after a plague of locusts had ravaged the crops and left them with a severe famine, which was a time of hunger and economic upheaval.
This prophecy promised restoration and that the Jews would indeed persevere to experience the messianic age, the so-called Day of the Lord, which was when the Spirit of the Lord would be poured out on the people of Israel.
Let’s read the passage in Joel...
28 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. 29 I will even pour out my Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days.
Peter used the prophet’s words to make the case here that the Spirit of the Lord had been poured out on those who had been speaking in known languages. He was making a connection here with Joel that the messianic age had arrived and he was about to connect that directly with the resurrection of Christ.
Peter said “in the last days” which applies to us today. Believe Zit or not, what John Polhill wrote is true, “We are living in the final days of God’s saving history.”
Peter reminded those gathered that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This is an important point. to remember. While we here at FBC Pharr may be a church that speaks multiple languages, we may be a church interprets and translates languages at times. We are not necessarily a church that speaks in tongues. It is important for us to make sure that everybody understands what is being said. When we forget to do that, we leave people out.
While we may not be a church that prophesies, we are definitely a church that brings God’s message to people and you may hear me at times speaking a prophetic message to the church, which means that I hold this church accountable to recognize God’s work around us and to get involved in responding to his message.
Hear me right, there’s a difference between being prophetic and being a prophet.
But whatever we do or don’t do in regards to speaking in tongues or prophesying, for as long as I stand and preach the word of the Lord in this church, this church will know that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
The prophet then went on to talk about the signs in the heavens...
30 I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
The inclusion of this passage sometimes is perplexing to us. We have no record of any heavenly signs at Pentecost on the day the Spirit arrived. Are they to be considered future signs that we should expect prior to the second coming? Or was peter including them so that he could get to the salvation verse 32?
I consider this language to be forward looking to Christ’s return. This is almost certainly the case as the text seems to connect it to “the great and terrible day of the Lord,” which is a phrase that we see throughout prophetic scripture (Isaiah, Malachi, Joel, Ezekiel, Amos). The phrase refers to a day when God’s judgment will come on the earth and there will be great destruction and terror among the people of the earth. This Day of the Lord promises to bring clouds and darkness and gloom on the earth as the sun and moon are obscured.
However, as dreadful and terrible as the Day of the Lord might be, any who call on the name of Jesus will still have a chance at salvation.
32 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.
Peter’s entire message to this point has been to get to a point where he can spread a message of hope and salvation. This marks the theme of his message, which is to remind them that they have the opportunity to call upon the name of their Messiah, Christ Jesus, and confess him as their Lord, and to receive His salvation.
II. Peter Told Them Their Messiah Had Come
II. Peter Told Them Their Messiah Had Come
It was important to Peter that he tell the gathering about Jesus. He told them who he was, what he had done, what they had done to him and what his significance was.
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know. 23 Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. 24 God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death.
This section of Peter’s address highlighted the Incarnation of Christ (which is that Jesus, a human man, was also God, the eternal Second Person of the Trinity). It included the Crucifixion of Christ (explaining that Jesus’ death at the hands of the Jewish leaders was a part of God’s purpose and foreordained). He also spoke of the Resurrection of Christ (explaining to them that the very thing that their religious leaders refused to believe had come to pass when Christ rose again, overcoming the very grip of death).
Peter continued by recalling two Psalms that were fulfilled by Christ. The first is Psalm 16:8-11 ...
25 For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me in Hades or allow your holy one to see decay. 28 You have revealed the paths of life to me; you will fill me with gladness in your presence.
Peter quoted this passage to remind his listeners that the grave continued to hold the remains of their great forefather, David, who was buried and they could still point to his tomb. Peter was revealing to them that the grave could not hold Christ and his body would never decay in a grave.
29 “Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne.
This oath Peter mentions recognizes that David was a prophet of the Lord, which was an assertion of scholars during that time, even if we don’t agree with that assertion today. However, this is a connection to the messianic prophecy that would put one of David’s descendants on the throne. Peter connects Jesus’ resurrection to the davidic psalm in verse 31...
31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.
Peter makes the clear claim that Christ was resurrected and then moves to his glorification.
32 “God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. 33 Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’
This last part is a recitation from Psalm 110:1, which provides a scriptural connection with Christ’s exaltation at the right hand of God. Peter wraps up this section by affirming Jesus as Christ, the Messiah...
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
We’re going to pick up the remainder of Peter’s message next week. But there are a few things I’d like for you to consider as we move to the Lord’s Table to celebrate the memory of our Lord.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This was a very Jewish message and riddled with Old Testament scripture and references. But I don’t want you to miss the relevance to us as we study this today.
The simple takeaway for us today is that we have the same Christ, the one who redeems us and saves us from our sins by bringing us into a forgiving relationship with God the Father.
Next week I’m going to tell you what Peter’s call to action was for his sermon. Actually I’m going to tell you this week and then I’ll explain it further next week...
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Peter was imploring the unbelieving listeners to repent and be baptized. Now we know that baptism doesn’t save you. That’s not what he was saying. He was saying that they should turn from their sins and call on the name of Jesus Christ for salvation.
A few verses later Luke recorded these words, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” And I tell you the same.
We live in a time that is perverse and twisted.
We live in a time when what is wrong seems right and what is right seems wrong in the eyes of the world.
We live in a time when our children are being led astray by the people we trust to teach them and guide them.
I tell you this morning,
if you have never trusted on the name of Jesus Christ to put your trust in him.
if you have never called him Lord of your life, then turn to him.
if you are living in sin, repent and turn from your sin.
if you have never walked through the waters of baptism, then be baptized.
I invite you to turn to Christ and make him your Lord.
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The Lord’s Table
The Lord’s Table
We now move to the Lord’s Table as we remember the sacrifice and the salvific work that Christ completed on the cross. As we do regularly, we come to the table reflecting upon his sacrifice and we remember the reason that He made that sacrifice.
This is an appropriate time to reflect on your readiness and upon your personal condition before God.
[pause]
I know that a few of you come from a tradition of closed communion, which means that only members of the church are allowed to participate in communion. But here at FBC Pharr, we practice open communion. That means that we leave the decision to participate or not participate up to you.
If you are a Christian, who believes in Jesus Christ, and have taken him as your Savior and your Lord, we invite you to participate with us, if you feel it is appropriate.
Scripture teaches us that if there is any sin in your life or conflict with your brother or sister that might keep you from participating in this meal, then do not participate. If this is the case with you or if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please allow the bread and the cup to pass and do not participate.
If this is you, please do not feel guilty or compelled to participate. There is no judgment or condemnation here. However, if this is you, please seek one of us out to get answers to questions that you might have or to correct some things in your life. We are here to serve you.
[pause]
Jesus came to this world to open the doors of Heaven to us by taking our say sin upon Himself and provide a way that we might enter into the presence of Almighty God.
[distribute the elements / pray / send out the deacons]
You’ll notice that you have two cups, one inside the other. The bread is in the bottom cup. You can gently separate the two cups.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
This is the body of our Lord, Jesus Christ, take it and eat in remembrance of His body broken for for us.
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
This is the blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Take it and drink in remembrance of His blood poured out for us.
For by eating this bread and drinking this cup, we join together in proclaiming the Lord’s life, death, and resurrection until His return to us.
Doxology
Doxology
Praise God from Whom
All blessings flow
Praise Him all
Creatures here below
Praise Him above
Ye heavenly host
Praise Father Son
and Holy Ghost,
Amen