Untitled Sermon (23)

Acts 2:14–15 NIV

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!

        Church, on the day of Pentecost, God sent us the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit! There’s a powerthat comes along with that Spirit that enables us to become the person God created us to be! It enables us to STAND UP with boldness and witness to people who need Jesus.

That same Spirit allows me…

To STAND UP in the midst of the enemy.

That same Spirit has the Power to Break The Chains that have been holding me back.

It has the power to Guide Me Out Of The Prison Satan has had me bound in, and leads me to freedom

Church, that same Spirit helps me Stand Up In Submission to God while the enemy is attacking

And that same Holy Spirit of God enables us to have Victory Over The Enemy!

And that same Spirit Lives In Each One Of Us who has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.

I don’t know about you but that excites me!

In Acts, Chapter 2, God sends us the precious gift of the Holy Spirit like a mighty, rushing wind!

We all know how specific God is when he does things, so a little fun fact…Pentecost means 50 and it was exactly 50 days after Jesus rose from the grave that He sent the Holy Spirit. So, if you think about it, it was just over a month and a half from Peter hitting his rock bottom.

        He denied Jesus three times and then cursed. But Peter had Godly sorrow that made him sad that he had wronged God and it led to his repentance.

After spending an additional 40 days with Jesus and 10 days in prayer, he was a changed man. Around 9:00 AM on the day of Pentecost, Jesusmade good on His promise and sent the Holy Spirit that entered them, and just like Jesus said in Acts, Chapter 1, verse 8; But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth!

So now it says in Chapter 2, verse 14 Peter

STOOD UP

with the eleven; the same Peter that followed Jesus from a safe distance less than two months ago is now Standing Up!

The same Peter that emphatically denied Jesus three times is now Standing Up.

The same Peter who cursed and swore…then remembering what Jesus said…went out and wept bitterly is now Standing Up!

I don’t know about you but I think they put this one sentence in there because when Peter Stood Up, it meant so much more than just standing up.

I believe that Luke, as he was writing this story, remembered

Peter Standing Up as a new man;

He remembered Peter Standing Up redeemed,

Standing Up boldly,

Standing Up as a man changed by Jesus.

You see all it says is that Peter stood up with the eleven, but what it means is so much more than those five words.

It means that God calls us as unqualified sinners but He transforms us into qualified disciples of Jesus.

It means that even though we have been around Jesus for a bit of time, we may still find ourselves denying him, but if we repent, then He’s all the more willing to help us Stand Up!

What that means is when you pray and fast and spend time with Jesus and build that Spirit that’s living in you, then you too can Stand Up, and once you Stand Up with the Spirit of God, you will speak with a raised voice proclaimingthe Word of the Lord!

And that stubborn fisherman named Simon became Peter the Rock that the church was built on and once he Stood Up, he preached the Word of God and 3,000 people got saved and baptized!

Church It’s Time To STAND UP. It’s time we STAND UP boldly as children of God and testify that…

Just like Peter, I was stubborn when Jesus found me.

Just like Peter I have struggled with thinking and living carnally.

And just like Peter I’ve acted like I didn’t know Jesus at times.

But just like Peter, Jesus sent that Holy Spirit to sanctify me holy…enabling me to STAND UP as a disciple of Christ… enabling me to STAND UP as a redeemed son of God.

AND CHURCH IT’S TIME WE STAND UP.

The people in the world are laughing and scoffing and saying we’re crazy, but when we Stand Up and allow the Holy Spirit to use us, those people get to see and hear how a man named Jesus can take you from fearfully standing downto boldly Standing Up.

Church we all have A Stand Up Moment! Let this morning be your stand up moment!

Maybe you feel like you’re still trapped in a prison, maybe there’s some chainsyou are wrapped in…or, you are surrounded by the enemy. I think more people feel this way than we think, but I’ve got good news for you. You don’t have to stay this way!

Peter does not defend Pentecost by saying, “I know it feels powerful.” He says, “This is what the Word said.”

That is critical.

The Church is not simply a people of spiritual experience. We are a people of Spirit and Word. The Spirit who fills the Church is the same Spirit who inspired the Scripture. So Peter interprets the moment through the Bible.

That keeps us from two dangers:

One danger is dead orthodoxy: having correct words with no fire.

The other danger is unanchored emotionalism: having fire with no biblical foundation.

Acts 2 refuses both. The Church is Spirit-filled and Scripture-shaped and the  Scripture tells us that the  “Truth will Set You Free “believers cannot grow, witness, transform their minds, or learn God’s character apart from continuing in the Word.

The Holy Spirit will never give the Church an identity that contradicts the Holy Scripture.

For individual Christians, this means my truest self is not discovered by looking inward first. My truest self is discovered by hearing what God has spoken.

I am not who shame says I am. I am not who culture says I am. I am not who my past says I am. I am who God says I am in Christ. And Christ says I’m Redeemed. Rejuvenated. A victor. More than a conqueror. overcomer. A child of God. Born again. I'm a new creation. Forgiven. Set free. Chosen. Adopted into God's family. I am God's workmanship. I've been created to do good works. I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I am holy and dearly loved. I am a Saint. and set apart for God. I am washed, sanctified and justified. I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. I'm filled with the Spirit of God. I'm led by the Spirit of God. I'm sealed by the promised Holy Spirit of God. I'm dead to sin and alive to God. I am crucified with Christ and Christ lives in me. I am raised with Christ. I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. I am a citizen of heaven. I am an air of God. I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. I am part of a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. I am called out of darkness and into His wonderful light. I am an ambassador for Christ. I am a witness empowered by the Holy Spirit. I am the salt of the earth. I am the light of the world. I am a branch connected to the true vine. I am a brother of Jesus. I am loved with an everlasting love. I love with an eternal love. I'm kept by the power of God. I am never separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus. I'm not who Sin said I was. I am not who Shame said I was. I am not who my past said I was. I am a child of God, redeemed by the blood of God, filled with the Spirit of God, joined with Christ, and made an heir of the Kingdom.

Church, I want you to see one more beautiful detail before we close. Peter says, “These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning.” In the Jewish way of marking time, that was the third hour of the day. That was a known hour of prayer, and the early church continued this rhythm of prayer at the third, sixth, and ninth hours. We see this later when Peter and John go to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer, and Peter goes up on the rooftop to pray at the sixth hour.

Now don’t miss this: according to Mark’s Gospel, Jesus was crucified at the third hour. Darkness covered the land at the sixth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out and yielded up His spirit. The hours of prayer became marked by the work of redemption. The third hour was marked by the cross, and now in Acts 2, the third hour is marked by Pentecost. The same Jesus who ascended the cross at the third hour sent His Spirit at the third hour.

That means the Spirit who filled Peter was not disconnected from the Savior who died for Peter. The grace of Jesus and the gift of the Spirit are not two separate blessings. The One who died for us is the One who fills us. The One who forgave us is the One who empowers us. The One who took our shame on the cross is the One who now gives us our identity in the Spirit.

So when Peter stood up at the third hour, he was standing in the grace of the crucified Christ and the power of the risen Christ. He was not standing in Simon’s old identity. He was standing in Peter’s new identity. He was standing as a man forgiven by Jesus, restored by Jesus, filled by Jesus, and sent by Jesus.

And Church, that is what identity in Christ means.

It means the cross has dealt with who you used to be, and the Spirit now empowers who God has called you to become.

So you do not have to stay chained to your old name. You do not have to stay buried under shame. You do not have to keep answering to the identity sin gave you. Jesus did not die on the cross and send the Holy Spirit so you could remain the same person with a little religion added to your life. He died and rose again so you could become new.

At the third hour, Jesus was lifted up on a cross. At the third hour, the Spirit came down in power. And at the third hour, Peter stood up as a new man.

So maybe this is your third-hour moment.

Maybe this is the moment where you stop letting your past preach louder than Jesus. Maybe this is the moment where you stop standing at a distance and start standing in your identity. Maybe this is the moment where you say, “I am not who I was. I am not what I did. I am not what held me. I am not what broke me. I am in Christ.”

The same Jesus who forgave Peter can forgive you. The same Jesus who restored Peter can restore you. The same Spirit who filled Peter can fill you. And the same grace that helped Peter stand up can help you stand up today.

Church, it is time to stand up.

Stand up as a child of God. Stand up as a new creation. Stand up as one redeemed by the blood. Stand up as one filled with the Spirit. Stand up as one whose identity is no longer in Adam, sin, shame, addiction, failure, or fear.

Stand up in Christ.

Because if Jesus went to the cross for you, rose from the grave for you, ascended to the Father for you, and poured out His Spirit for you, then your old identity does not get the final word.

Jesus does.