Acts 2:14-41

Illustration

Christmas lists

How do we feel when we get something we truly wanted versus something we kinda wanted but kinda didn’t

V 14-21 (Finds Common Ground)

Joel 2:28-32

There is a massive plague of locusts that has threatened Israel

God is using it to show that the day of the Lord is coming and will grow stronger and stronger

But right after this, there is a call that one day the day of the Lord will draw near and the spirit will be poured out onto his people

Peter quotes this passage as an illustration to those who are in the audience who hear his message that this is a prime example that this passage was to be fulfilled in Pentecost

It is not merely a skeptical calling, but is rather a clear illustration of God delivering on his promises

The audience would have clearly understood this passage once peter had started quoting it

“You are bearing witness to the very days we have been praying for for centuries”

V 22-28 (Tells them about Christ)

Psalm 16:8-11

Peter again quotes one of the core heroes of the faith

He draws a very clear picture of who Jesus is

he was one who said and did miraculous things that the crowd would’ve known

He was delivered to death as God had originally planned for him to be

Death Physically could not hold him. It was an impossibility

We care because God has done what he had promised David

we are not abandoned to death or left to our own devices, but praise be to God that we are now his

He has final dominion over death and we have a way to be reunited in relationship with him

V 29-36 (Tells them about the Supremacy of Christ)

David was a larger than life character in the Jewish faith

Man after God’s own heart, defeated Goliath, 2nd king of Israel, wrote most of the Psalms

Peter, looking over this audience who held David to such a high place, says that he has no comparison to Christ

David is dead, Christ is alive

Christ has been raised up and seated at the right hand of God the father. He is far superior to any person or thing we are able to follow

When you look at Christ, there is no comparison. Whether it’s someone you think you want to be like, someone you admire, or even someone you lean on spiritually or have great respect for spiritually

David is a phenomenal example of so many things. It wasn’t wrong for this crowd to admire him

But if they held him in such high esteem, how much greater should Jesus be?

It all hinges on the very idea that Christ is not dead. If someone has this much admiration for another who has stayed dead, how much greater should the admiration be for someone who is alive?

He concludes it leaving absolutely no doubt about this

“the man you crucified is the messiah you prayed for”

V 37-41 (Invitation to Response)

Okay what do we do with this?

Peter gives the core components of being saved:

Repent and believe

Baptism

Clarification: Baptism is not a means of salvation. We are not saved because we are baptized, but the other way around

Baptism is a public declaration of that internal transformation that has happened

At ACC we believe that baptism is not needed for salvation but is evidence of it

3000 people that day repented and were added to the church

Peter preaches this incredible sermon through the authority of the spirit

The church has begun. People are coming to know the saving faith that comes with Christ because of the clarity with which he has preached