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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning church. What a joy it is to be with you today. And I want to start off this morning by saying thanks. Thanks for how you prayed, worshiped listened, invited and celbrated easter with us last week.
It was such a joy to celebrate the reserction of Jesus with you in that way. Over the next few weeks we are going to look at the lives of the disciples post easter. we are going to look at how the reserectoin completely transformed their lives.
Ultimently this morning we are going to look at the implications of the resurection
and that’s important. Because it’s something we all have in common. If Jesus is really alive we must ask the question how do I live in light of this?
Maybe it’s a tension we feel because we celbrate easter with such passion and such vigor. but sometimes if we are honest we don’t know what to do the next week. Sometimes it can be a bit of a let down if we aren’t careful.
but I want to suggest to you that the resurection was anything but a let down for the disciples. This even would forever change the way the lived, worked, played, lead thier famlies and so much more
a few things happens once Jesus comes out of the grave that have been pretty significant in church history
the first is found in
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
In your bibles over this text you proably have the words the great commission and this statment would be the driving force for how the early church would opporate. But something that is clear once we get to the book of acts is they were never suppose to do this along.
This next significant text about lving the transformed life is found in
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
this is the great promise this is the answer to how in the world were these men who whre so ordaniner in many ways going to make disciples? I mean just short time before Jesus said these words these guys were fleeing the Lord. And all of a sudden he gives them a mission.
Go and make disiciples
Be my witnesses
but as I’ve already said they were never suppose to do this alone. They were going to be empowered by the spirit of the living GOd. This was the only way they were going to be able to carry out the task of making disciples.
and the Lord is teaching an important truth that when reading the book of acts is evident
The spirit is impressive
and Discipleship without the power of the spirit is impossible.
and the proof is in who these guys where before the spirit of god rested on them and who they were after
and as we look at acts 2 what we see is the first disciplemaking effort in the book of acts
Lets read
And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
acts
Acts 2:
And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
“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— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,
“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
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?” 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. 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.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Pray
This scene is truly increadible. Just a few weeks ago in our I am series we see peter....everytime he opens his mouth he seems to be saying the wrong thing. We see a boldness in private but cowardness in public. but all of a sudden the spirit of God falls on Peter and it says
He was standing with the 11 and he lifted his voice
Right away we see that when we are transformed by the gospel their is a boldness that comes with that. A boldness to share this lifechaning truth about Jesus. Probably one that never existed before.
We have seen peter with a speech
we’ve seen him question the Lord
we have seen him walk on water only to sink into it
We have seen him make empty promises
we have seen him with the sword
we have seen him hide and deny
and know we are told by luke Peter....this same guy know stands with the 11 and He lifts up his voice.
It begs the question: How is that even possible?
It’s only possible when someone encouraters the resurrected Christ and is filled with his spirit that’s it
Even before peter begins to speak the people gathered there that day questioned what was happening? They thought possibly Peter and the other disciples are drunk…but Peter makes it clear it’s nine in the morning. We haven’t had anything to drink. No this is what has been told throughout the ages.
It’s interesting becasue the first thing we see about Peters message is it was simple. he didn’t try an answer questions they weren’t asking he cuts right to the heart. He listens to what the crowd was asking and begins to simply answer.
the is a beauty in the simplicty of gospel message. and that’s something we shall see thoughout his message
but not only was it simple....it was satureted with Scriputure. Peter understood that the word of God was going to bring the change that the people needed in their own lives. He begins to answer thier questions by quoting the prophet Joel.
The group who was gathered in Jerusalm that day were some of the most religious people on the face of the earth at this time. and what Peter says is everything you have been studying, everything you have been waiting for everything that was told to us in the past is being fullfilled right before your eyes
Not only had Joel prophsied about this moment but even Christ had in
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” ()
“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” ()
With the coming of the Spirit came the Spirit’s indwelling, baptizing, sealing, and filling. This was something new—something wonderful and dynamic! Joel’s prophecy told of the dawn of this wonderful age.
and scipture is all throughout peters gospel presentation. Not only does he qoute joel he qoutes david in verse 25-28
For David says concerning him,
“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
See peter understands the importance of Gods word as he shares the gospel. Not only is it simple, not only is it satureted with scripture his message is all about Jesus
“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— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Acts 2:36
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
There is no mistaken the point of his presentation. He is not just waitng everyone to be a better person. He isn’t challenging them to keep the law better.
No peter understands all that produces is people who are still slaves to thier sin, people who are still in bondage, people who are still hopeless.
These were some of the most relgious peole you could find. So peter wasn’t offering them more religion. He was offering them JESUS.
He was giving them good news. He was helping them understand that everything that has happen into the OT. Culmties in the Life, death and resurection of Christ.
and that the good news he brings can completly transfomr there lives. He is helping them understand that thier lives are suppose to be all about Jesus from this point forward.
Basically he says this is what Jesus has done for you....and I love it because in verse 37 they ask another quetions.
What shall we do? They start by asking what does what we are seeing mean? He answers that....He does that in an awesome way. Know that they understand and there hearts where being transformed they want to know what should we do?
Peter makes it pratical.
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?”
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.
He doesn’t add things to the gospel. he doesn’t put extra requirments on the people. He doesn’t tell them to completly clean up everything in thier lives, make sacrifices, be better neighbors and then the gospel is for you. No he says turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. and then you will expirence what your soul needs the most....forgivness. He gives them the most relevent message he could have.
Up to that point the people had to live in fear, wondering how they would keep the law and be made right with God. Know Peter says God has made himself known to us through Jesus Christ. And becasue of what Jesus has done you can be forgien, you can have hope, and his spirit will live in you.
and that message is still relevant today.
see there is an expecation in scriputre that when we repent from our sin and bleive the gospel that we will be disciplmakers.
and friends I want you to understand this, that is impossible without the power of the spirit of God. but like peter we are to be people who live in such a way that when given the oppurtnity to speak the gospel
some call this missional living it’s sort of a trending buzz word floating around christian ciricles and does do a good job equipping us to understand what Jesus meant when he said we would be his witness in acts 1:8
so whether we call it missonal living, or disciplmaking, or just being his witness the reality is that if we have been transformed by the gospel we should be people that speak the gospel often.
First that should be done in our homes. We must continue to remind ourselves the truth of the gospel.
IT’s what Paul would later talk about in Romans
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
what a powerful verse, verse 16 is often the focus but look at what he says in verse 17
the gospel is from faith…it’s a past tense idea, but it is also for faith. It’s for today.
For years I knew the gospel was nesscary for my salvaiton but then after I got saved I kept trying to live for the approval of God. But then through some faithful teaching, prayer and reading Gods word I realized I have been approved by God, the gospel says I am complete in Christ, that I have bene made right with God, that I am his son, and those were truths I need to remember everyday.
so I need to speak the good news about Jesus to myself daily but also to my family. I must continue to share good news with my wife and my kids....because if I am not careful specifically with my kids....I will tell them life is all about Jesus but then I will preach to them the gospel of performism.
Make great grades
Be the athelete I want you to be
never mess up
and I can make them feel a guilt and shame that’s not good news
but when I tell my daughters they are loved, they are treasured, that they are valuable to God. That He sent Jesus to die on the cross for them becasue he knew they couldn’t be perfect
there is an amazent and a goodness in there response.
and as I am doing this in my home, it will hopefully be a pattern that I carry out into the places I live and go.
that I will speak the gospel as I go.
and when I do this/we do this I have to reconginze that thier is wisdom in peters pattern
first I need to make sure to keep ti simple.
I need to not try to answer every question they could ever have....and I need to find out what questions they do have and be ready to answer that.
That is a lot easier when I don’t view people as projects but I view them as peole and image bearers....when I view them as people dearly loved by God. One of the best things I have learned about speaking the gospel into peoples lives over the last few years is this.
listen better. slow down....pause.
If you had an hour with someone, and you would ask great questions and you would listen for 55 mins....I guartnee you you would have the best 5 min gosepl presenation ever. Why? Becasue you would actually know the deep longins of a persons heart and you would be able to share with them how Jesus really does meet those longings.
becasue here is the opposite approach. Walk in....drop the gospel on someone…answer questions they aren’t asking and hope we can make it 5 mins....and that is horryfiying. but when it’s a way of life. When it’s natural. When people are people we keep it simple.
but in the simplicty of our message we also have to share scriputre. IN order to share scritupre we have to know it, spend time in it, memorize it, and ask for the spirits help in recalling it. becasue really Gods word is going to bring the change that’s neeced. we aren’t smart enough, crafty enough. persuive enough to change anyones heart.
like i’ve been
but the word of GOd like it did in acts 2 can cut right to the heart and begin to bring the change people need.
next we have to make sure our message is all about Jesus. Probably something i’ve been guilty of in the past is thinking....man maybe if I tell someone what the word says about the way they should live thier lives, or get them to agree with me on my point of view on a controviesla issue, or get them to be a better nieghbor....then their lives will be better and then they will see the light.
but the opposite is true. My message has to be Jesus.
that’s what paul says in
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
but to often we went the external change before the internal change....that’s why we make our message about anything else. But when we give them Jesus then the internal change can take place first
the change our friends, our family, our nieghboorhoods the most.
and I think what we will see is that when we make it simple, when we share scirputre and it’s all about Jesus we will be sharing the most pratical and relevent message we could share today.
we will be speaking life into a place where there has been so much death and hopeless for to long.
and when we are transformed by the gospel we will speak the gospel.
and we will long for that transformation to take place in the lives of others.
next week as we look at the rest of acts 2 we are going to look at living the gospel out might look like but as we conclude today let me give you this story.
6 years ago we moved into a house off taylor road that we built. When buidling it we built it with some intentiotlly that the floor plan would be open with dreams and hopes to have people over. and we were convinced pretty early on in the process in living in our niehgboorhood that God had placed us their to make a difference for him.
that it wasn’t just about having a home to live in, a place to rest....but that we would be a gospel witness in our nieghboorhood and it would be a place of rest for anyone who came.
I was hoping to fly under the rader a little....sometimes when people find out what I do they shut down....side note I was sucesfful until one day I was driving home and theres my face on a billboard....and I was like there goes that)walmart for effect)
in that process we did what most homeowners do
bought a grill that was too expensive.
backyard
wind grill feel down and toatlly destryoed
realized we weren’t going to be able to grill in the backyard
BUT I LOVE TO GRILL
so we went to the front yard
2 thoughts. One the grill won’t fall down the hill in the backyard
and might meet my nieghboors
MAN I could have never imagined what that one simple thing has done for oppurtunites to speak the gospel in my nieghboorhood.
intailly people would drive by slow down stare at me. I might see them on a walk somewhere or in the store and they be like oh yeah you are grill guy
guess that was my superhero name
but it moved from that. to people coming over to sit and talk with me while I grill and so much more
it’s giving us so many awesome oppurtunites to speak the gospel where we live
and listen it doesn’t have to be grilling in the front yard....but for us it’s giving us an opportuinty to know and love the people God has placed in our nieghboordhood.
some other ideas might be going and getting your haircut at the same place
going to the same coffee shop
lingering a little longer in the drive way when you get home.
invinting someone who doens’t know how good Jesus is to dinner at your home
and so many other things.
but here is the truth
what Jesus said about making disiciples is impossible on our own
but the spirit is impressive
it’s what you will come to learn as you go and make disciples.
and it’s what we will learn if we truly are a disciple of Jesus.
2 groups of people this morning
1 your like the people who heard peters message that day. You didn’t realize how loved you were, how jesus died for you, rose for you and wants to live in you
and you are wondeirng what’s next.
repent(turn from your sin) and follow the Lord
in a moment we will have an inviation I’d love for you to come and talk to one of our pastors about what that might look like
and the second group....you have heard the gospel and respondeding
so just a simple question how are you doing in speaking the gospel and making disicples?
Maybe you are doing great…the Lord has giving you some increadible oppurtinites and you are being faithful in those. Keep follow Jesus as he leads you
maybe you aren’t.....maybe you haven’t been looking for the oppurtinies....maybe you have some but haven’t shared the good news yet.
You know what even the early church struggling doing this correctly at times. My encouragement to you today is that if you aren’t doing this realize that you are missing out on some of the greatest expierences as a christian. and ask for Gods help and grace to start doing this.
realize that you have the same power that raised christ from the dead, the same power scene in pentacost living in you.
beging trusting in that power and asking the Lord to use you to speak good news to people
let’s pray.