A Promise Is Kept

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

EX: Jesus kept His promise by sending the Spirit

During His ministry, He promised several times to send the Holy Spirit.

It began with John the Baptist:

Luke 3:16 NKJV

John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Jesus also spoke of this day:

John 7:37–39 NKJV

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Spirit arrived in a mighty way

Signs:

Sound from heaven

Rushing wind

Tongues of Flame

Filled with the Holy Spirit

spoke in other tongues

tongues- languages

Acts 2:9–11 NKJV

Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

This sign was a gift of communication

It was human languages to allow people from around the Empire to hear the gospel in their own language.

AP: The Spirit is still present and active in our lives:

Jesus warned of a day when the world would hate us because they hated Him. To comfort the Disciples, he said:

John 15:26–27 NKJV

“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Jesus continues in chapter 16

John 16:5–15 NKJV

“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

The Holy Spirit indwells us and seals us until the resurrection.

He gives us:

fruit (Gal 5) which transforms our character

gifts which equip us to serve Him and minister in His church.

The Crowd Thinks Up

Acts 2:5–13 NKJV

And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

EX: The crowd thinks up an explanation

Human wisdom

funny isn't it?

They come up with a natural explanation:

these guys are drunk!

Now, In my years of EMS, I have seen several suspected of being intoxicated, and all the time, I never heard them speak a new language.

They slurred a lot, but not suddenly speak a new language

To top that off, none of them ever had a flame on top of their head!

Standing in the midst of the Holy City on a feast day where the devout have gathered, they never pause to consider that God may be doing something!

AP: We are often misunderstood by the world

Our devotion to God is called fantacism

In the last 8 years, we have seen several times that those of us who trust God's word, have been compared to terrorists.

Since we dare believe there is a GOD, and He has and is speaking to us makes us different.

Our desire to help them see the truth is condemned as judgement

We preach Jesus to them

We attempt to Rescue them

We call on them to Repent

They stay stop judging me.

Our Love for them is viewed as hate.

We should be walking in love

Jesus loves the lost He is seeking.

They interpret any disagreement as hating them.

Peter Speaks Up

Acts 2:14–39 NKJV

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.’ “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

EX: Peter preaches the gospel to the crowd

Focused their attention:

shot down their "drunk" theory

Offered an explanation:

Prophesy was fulfilled:

quoted Joel (17-21)

God had told His people of this day

They shouldn't have been surprised.

Got to the point:

He preached Jesus

Verified by God through signs and wonders 22

Crucified 23

Resurrected as the Scripture says

Called for Repentance

Acts 2:38–39 NKJV

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

AP: We share the same message:

Jesus:

God in the flesh

Died for our sins

Raised by God

Coming again

1. Trust Him

Put your faith in him and him alone

Nothing else is sufficient!

Faith in Christ and His work alone

2. Repent-

John MacArthur said, "This refers to a change of mind and purpose that turns an individual from sin to God (1Th 1:9). Such change involves more than fearing the consequences of God’s judgment. Genuine repentance knows that the evil of sin must be forsaken and the person and work of Christ totally and singularly embraced

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ac 2:38). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Turn and follow Him

The Empowered Church Grows

Acts 2:40–47 NKJV

And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

EX: The Lord added many to the church

Jesus had promised to build His church

Here He adds 3000 to the 120.

With the power of Spirit, they were able to Grow

Notice what occured in v 42

The saved were baptized

They continued:

doctrine- The apostles teaching

fellowship- partnership and sharing with each other

Breaking of bread- The Lord's supper

prayers- Spending time with the Lord

Unity

AP: Jesus is still building

In every local church, Jesus is at work building

Let us dedicate ourselves like the first church in Jerusalem did

doctrine

fellowship

Breaking of bread

prayers

Conclusion:

We have looked today at an amazing day in Church History.

Craft Baptist Church is a descendant of that first church.

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