Peter's First Sermon

INTRODUCTION

Good Morning - My name is … we are working our way through the book of Acts

Today we will be in , Looking at Peter’s first sermon

While you find in your bibles...

Announcement: Church Lunch and Vision

Time to meet other families

Time to hear about where we are headed together as a church

Open in Prayer with the big idea in mind

Big Idea of Acts: The gospel will be proclaimed among all peoples through witnesses empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Big idea Today: The proclamation of the gospel to all nations is mocked by some but Peter declares his confidence in God’s sovereign work as revealed through Scripture for repentance and salvation.

BACKGROUND

Setting the Scene

Jesus has commanded his followers to stay in Jerusalem until they receive power from the Holy Spirit to be witnesses to all nations.

The disciples, about 120 in all, were in Jerusalem together, waiting and praying together.

2:1 “When the day of Pentecost arrived...”

50 days after Passover

Passover is when Israel celebrates God saving them from slavery in Egypt by way of the 10th and final plague ().

Angel of death would come and kill the firstborn male from every household

Israel was commanded to take sacrifice a male lamb without any blemishes or faults. They were commanded to take the blood and apply it to the doorposts of their home.

They were commanded to then keep this as a regular feast to the Lord.

Jesus, called the perfect Lamb of God, was crucified on the Passover. The final sacrifice and covering for our sins.

Pentecost is (a week of weeks). It is sometimes called the Feast of Weeks, It was also known as the Feast of Firstfruits (), the Feast of Harvest ()

At the time of Jesus, Jews believed that Pentecost was also when the law was given at Mount Sinai. During which time you might remember that the Israelites made a golden calf to lead them because Moses was taking too long.

In judgement, 3,000 people were killed ().

:22calls this the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering.

The unfolding Story

The Day of pentecost has arrived, a time to celebrate the harvest, the ingathering of the Lord

God fulfills his promise to the disciples to fill them with the Holy Spirit. The promise of his presence and power as we talked about last week.

Some people were amazed while others looked on and mocked them, saying they were drunk because God supernaturally empowered all the disciples to speak in previously unknown languages of all the people present so that they heard the mighty works of God in their own language.

Now Peter is about to stand up and preach his first sermon. 30% of the Book of Acts is sermons. I encourage you to follow along as I read the entirety of his message that is recorded.

Besides some of the interesting cultural facts I want to see the big questions that are being answered:

With a multitude of nationalities present - Who does God save? Am I on the inside or outside?

How does God save us? And can we have confidence?

How should we respond to these truths?

READ

Quick Side-Note: DEMONSTRATED PATTERN of expository preaching, reading a passage from the bible and then expanding our understanding of that passage. This is

Big idea Today: The proclamation of the gospel is mocked by some but Peter declares his confidence in God’s sovereign work as revealed through Scripture for repentance and salvation.

PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL TO ALL PEOPLES

The Prophet Joel: was written around 586 BC. The “day of the Lord” is a dominant theme. This refers to judgement upon the nations and God’s intervention in response to cries of repentance.

“And in the last days...” from then till Jesus returns in the same way he ascended into heaven. Who does God save? On whom does he pour out his spirit?

Sons & Daughters shall prophecy (men and women, generations)

Young & Old will see visions and dream, dreams (across ages)

Male and Female Servants shall prophecy (status doesn’t matter)

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved!

This is significant and easily taken for granted. It is easy to say Amen but...

The World Seeks to Divide us:

Generational Divide (Baby Boomers, , Millennials, Gen Z)

Well in my day...., they are lazy, hard working, etc.

Differences or Divisions! We are different but our differences don’t have to divide us

Age Divisions

Gender Divisions

Status Divisions (Wealth)

Ethnic Divisions (Is one nationality better than another, are all arabs terrorists, etc)

People everywhere, look for differences so they are either made to feel superior or inferior to someone else.

God destroys these divisions while celebrating our differences from the beginning. In the Harvest of First-fruits as God adds 3,000 people to the church in one day - he adds people across all these lines of division.

Numerous memories have popped up on Facebook from our time overseas

Yesterday, Kirsten mentioned how one of her favorite memories from Chad was worshipping with Chadians.

Difference - in setting and sound

Unity - in worship of Jesus and celebrating the Lord’s table together.

“Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (v. 21) and receive the spirit of God (v. 17) that will cause them to prophecy (v.17, 18)

JOHN PIPER: “We must not think of prophecy mainly as prediction, though it is true that those who are closest to God will know best what he is likely to do next. Nor should we think of it as the fulfillment of a special office. Prophecy, as it is used here I think, is primarily verbalizing the great things you have seen of God for the sake of "upbuilding and encouragement and consolation," as Paul says in .”

Purpose of the Holy Spirit is to Glorify Jesus Through Our Witness

This is in keeping with “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 ends of the earth.

This is was we see happened as the people heard the disciples miraculously proclaiming the mighty works of God.

CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S SOVEREIGN WORK AS REVEALED THROUGH SCRIPTURE

HEAR THESE WORDS:

Jesus of Nazareth - attested by God with mighty works and wonders and signs

This Jesus - was crucified and killed according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God

God raised Jesus from the dead

SIDE NOTE:

“This Jesus , delivered up according to the definite and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men”

God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility

Here we see the definite sovereignty of God

And the guilt

CONFIDENCE / CERTAINTY:

“That you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught”

“I say to you with confidence...”

David died and you can visit his tomb

David was speaking about Jesus, not himself

“Let the house of Israel therefore know with certainty that God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Is there really cause for certainty and confidence?

ILLUSTRATION

There’s this great Calvin and Hobbes comic strip that shows a giant snowball on one side of a sea-saw with Calvin jumping on the other side. The snowball ends up crashing down on Calvin, burying his head in the snow. He mutters, “I meant to do that.” To which Hobbes responds, “Then is worked very well.”

How do you reduce humiliation after this go horribly wrong? Claim that you did it on purpose.

CONFIDENCE ROOTED IN SCRIPTURE

God wasn’t caught off-guard and he didn’t need to spin bad news in his favor

Peter says that he has confidence and certainty because

Jesus’ death and resurrection was part of God’s definite plan

According to his foreknowledge and purpose

Joel was written 600 years before Jesus

And King David wrote these words quoted 1,000 years before Jesus.

Big idea Today: The proclamation of the gospel to all nations is mocked by some but Peter declares his confidence in God’s sovereign work as revealed through Scripture for repentance and salvation.

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND?

Cut to the Heart

The people hearing Peter’s message may have been part of the crowd that cried out for Jesus to be crucified

“Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification”

We crucified Jesus - your sins, my sins

God raised Jesus to life so that by faith in Jesus, we could be declared innocent before God

Repent

Turn to God, Trust on Jesus

What are you trusting in

Do you see yourself as guilty before a holy God in need of a Savior or do you consider yourself innocent?

Repentance is an acknowledgement that we are guilty, we turn away from excuses and away from ourselves and our guilt, and turn toward Jesus.

Trust on Jesus, his sacrifice, his salvation

Be Baptized

Outward action reflecting the internal reality of faith

Faith is personal - Baptism is public

Faith saves - baptisms shows that we are saved

If you have trusted in Jesus and you’ve never been baptised - be baptized. This is an act of obedience to Jesus’ commands.

To the believer, our confidence in God should produce a supernatural condition in us. Notice I say a supernatural condition, meaning we don’t always feel this way but it should be our desire in light of the mighty works of God.

Acts 2:25–28 ESV

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.’

Not shaken

heart is glad

tongue rejoice (words on my lips are praise)

Not abandoned / God is present

Full of gladness

This is our reality. This is our truth

Big idea Today: The proclamation of the gospel to all nations is mocked by some but Peter declares his confidence in God’s sovereign work as revealed through Scripture for repentance and salvation.

WHAT YOU MUST DO

WHY YOU CANT DO IT

HOW HE DID IT

HOW, THROUGH HIM, YOU CAN DO IT