Acts 2 - A Promise Come to Reality
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Delivery room is one of the most exciting places on the planet.
A whole bunch of people walk into a room, and then someone shows up and didn’t even have to walk through the door!
After a long pregnancy and a lot of preparation, it was time for us to go to the hospital.
I really had no idea what to expect.
Never been a dad before
What if he comes out and doesn’t like me?
We were told we had about 4 hours left to go, and that seemed like it would take forever.
Hilary told me to go eat, because when she was finally able, she was going to devour whatever was in front of her and she didn’t want me in the way.
I went down to the cafeteria and took my time.
I came back up and I walked in the room and everyone looked at me and said, “Are you ready?” —- “For what?”
The long anticipation turned into ultra excitement!
I was the worst leg holder ever
I was jumping up and down, “He’s here! He’s here!”
All of our anticipation had become reality.
Context:
When Jesus was about to ascend, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the promised Holy Spirit came.
For about 10 days, they prayed in the upper room, anticipating the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Big Idea: A Promise Come to Reality
Big Idea: A Promise Come to Reality
How is the promise of Spirit made reality?
Stand to read
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.
Leader: This is God’s Word
Everyone: Thanks be to God.
Historical context
Devout Jews from all over the Roman Empire, different cultures and different languages were gathering in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost, aka the Festival of weeks
A festival seven weeks after Passover.
Post-barley harvest/ pre-wheat harvest.
This is sort of like Marti Gras.
The disciples are in the upper room praying and waiting for the Holy Spirit and it’s at this festival that the Holy Spirit shows up in miraculous fashion.
Tongues of fire begin resting on them and they begin to speak in known languages.
That’s like me preaching then begin using German and everyone goes, “He knows German?!” and all the German-speaking people hear the gospel in their native language.
Then the people outside begin hearing the mighty works of God and they’re wondering, how is this possible?
It’s possible because the promise Jesus gave the disciples is coming to reality.
How is this promise made reality?
(through) The fullness of the Spirit.
(through) The fullness of the Spirit.
No one is expecting to meet Jesus at Mardi Gras.
Church, what this shows us is that:
The Lord meets us where we are
The Lord meets us where we are
(physically and spiritually)
He came a grabbed me in a drunken suicide attempt.
I was not a morally upright person, though I could fool everyone into thinking I was.
I was selfish, angry, and felt alone.
I was not interested in following Him
I was not interested in submitting my life to who God was
But that’s when He came to me and woo’d me to Himself.
God meets us where we are.
Where were you when the Lord came and found you?
If you’re a Christian, at some point someone shared the gospel with you and you believed because the Holy Spirit revealed Jesus to you and filled you with His presence.
Where were you when He came to you?
Not a believer, I think you’re here in this place because the Lord has intention of running you down.
God does not demand that you clean yourself up before you come to Him!
The Spirit comes, fills the disciples, and then Peter stands up at Pentecost with thousands upon thousands of people and begins preaching the first Christian sermon.
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
This is 50-60 days after the crucifixion and resurrection.
Certainly not everyone hearing this sermon was in town during the crucifixion.
Peter makes it very personal though. “you crucified and killed”
Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ”
Gibson is featured in only one part of the movie.
It never shows his face.
The only thing you see is his hand with the hammer drawing back to strike the nail that went into Jesus’ hand.
What he’s trying to portray is that we all have a hand in this.
Gospel presentation
We all have a hand in the death of Jesus.
In our sin, we all have rebelled and sinned against God
That requires justice. That requires the law and wrath of God to be satisfied.
In ourselves, we would be cursed forever for our sin.
But God planned to provided us a sacrifice in Jesus Christ, who lived perfectly according to God’s law.
He was given up because we have all sinned and need a Savior!
Jesus was crucified on the cross, and His blood was shed instead of ours!
Jesus took your place!
When Peter says, “You killed Him,” he means it!
It was our sin that took Jesus to the cross and held Him there!
Jesus poured out His blood so that God could pour out mercy onto us!
But wait, Peter keeps preaching.
24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Jesus Christ was raise in power, defeating death, hell, and the grave!
Death came into a losing battle with Jesus!
He is still risen, He is alive, and death is defeated!?
God promised He would send us a Savior!
Peter points to King David and how He wrote of Jesus long before Jesus was ever born!
David foresaw the resurrection of Chrsit when He said, Psalm 16:10, Acts 2:27 “27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.”
Peter gives the emphatic: Acts 2:32 “32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.”
How is the promise made reality?
(through) The fullness of the gospel.
(through) The fullness of the gospel.
Jesus didn’t shed just a little bit of His blood, so we aren’t just a little bit forgiven.
To be 99% forgiven is to be unforgiven.
In Christ, those who believe are FULLY forgiven by God.
Peter ends his sermon with
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
What do we do with all of this?
This is exactly what the Jews asked.
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?”
My grandmother was one of the most Jesus-loving people I know
She was a Sunday school teacher and played guitar and sung like an angel.
She was one of those people who had the warmth of Jesus.
She was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer at 53 years old.
She was given a diagnosis—the doctor told her that something was wrong.
This type of news forces a response.
She would go through treatment, but her response was that she was going to trust the Lord.
Her response was that Jesus was her treasure, not this life.
For these guys at Pentecost, the Lord was meeting these men where they were and revealing to them, they have a sin issue, but there is hope.
And the Holy Spirit cut them to the heart and they were moved to respond.
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.”
How are we to respond to the call of the gospel?
We must believe the gospel and take a next step.
We must believe the gospel and take a next step.
At Graceland, we believe everyone has a next step to take.
Walk with Jesus for 4 minutes or 400 years, we all have a next step to take toward Jesus.
Perhaps you’ve put your faith in Jesus and want to profess it publically!
Your next step may be baptism!
Perhaps you’ve been coming for awhile and you need to get plugged in somewhere
We just launched two groups this past week! Join one!
Perhaps you need to get in the game and serve along side us.
Let’s start the conversation.
Or perhaps you’ve never truly put your faith in Jesus and you need to for the first time.
Jesus is ready to meet you, right now, where you are and save you by His grace.
You can be forgiven today totally by the crucified and resurrected Jesus.
Look what happened at Pentecost.
Pentecost was the delivery room of the church.
The disciples waited for the promised Holy Spirit and when when the wait was over what happened?
Peter preaches the gospel, the people respond.
41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Three thousand people that day were forgiven of their sins and took the next step.
Jesus didn’t shed just a little bit of His blood, so we aren’t just a little bit forgiven.
To be 99% forgiven is to be unforgiven.
In Christ, those who believe are FULLY forgiven by God.
Do you want to follow Jesus?
Grab me or someone with a lanyard and we’d love to pray with you and talk with you through that.