Dreaming Dreams and Seeing Visions

Acts 2:17-21

“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 vapour 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.”[1]

T

he text for the sermon was found in the prophecy of Joel. The message, delivered centuries after Joel had penned his prophetic words, was effective beyond anything the preacher could have imagined. The preacher was a fisherman; and curious Jews formed his audience. In fact, the sermon had an impact far beyond anything experienced to this day. The fulfillment of the prophecy is, for the most part, yet future. However, part of the text speaks of what should be the vision for every church.

The Sermon was a Model for Biblical Preaching — Reading this sermon, I note that it is a model for preaching. Perhaps that should not be surprising since it was the first sermon preached during the church age—the “Last Days.”

Unlike sermons in this day, it is a complex sermon. Today, expository sermons usually present no more than three points as the preacher seeks to open the text and make application to the listeners. However, this is quite brief in comparison to the sermons of the great Puritan preachers. Spurgeon’s sermons usually had at least four points, and the sermons of Puritan divines that preceded him, such as Jonathan Edwards, would present ten or more points as they developed the message. In an earlier day, people were able to listen, balancing multiple thoughts as the message was developed.

Peter, however, did not have three points or four points; rather, he presented many points. He did not have one text; he had three separate texts. One text was not enough! He began his sermon by quoting Joel 2:28-32. Then, he shifted attention to Psalm 16:8-11, before concluding with an exposition of Psalm 110:1. Homiletics instructors today discourage preachers from speaking from multiple texts, and with good reason. However, Peter was not educated in modern rhetorical technique, and, to appropriate a legal concept, the result speaks for itself (res ipsa loquitur).

As an aside of considerable significance, I note that we are not more intelligent than were those who preceded us. If anything, our ability to comprehend what is being said, our capacity to integrate intellectually as part of the community of faith is greatly diminished when compared to previous generations. Though we are more technologically advanced, I suggest that we are less able to communicate, to understand one another or to think logically. We bounce our feelings off one another, gauging veracity of what is communicated by how we feel. However, the Word of God will challenge us to think and to work to comprehend what God is saying.

I do want to focus on the message Peter preached that day in more detail. Undoubtedly, the message deserves more than a cursory look. None of us has seen the Spirit move in such power that three thousand people are converted as result of one sermon. We get excited when even a few people who have mulled the teachings of the Word for months or even years at last confess Christ. Perhaps we have been fortunate enough to be present when the Spirit of God moved in great power to turn a few score people to faith. However, to see 3,000 people saved is something we have never seen. We can see that the sermon was centred on the Bible. It focused attention on Jesus the Messiah. The preacher was fearless in his presentation. And the sermon was reasonable.

The Sermon was Saturated with Scripture. Peter not only provides exposition of the Scriptures, but he cites the Scriptures! Luke’s account of the sermon Peter preached requires 23 verses of this chapter of Acts. Of those 23 verses, twelve quote Old Testament texts, two are introductory, eight are expositional, and one is application. The ratio of Scripture to exposition is about one to one. Perhaps the quotation of Scripture is slightly more extensive than is the exposition of the Word of God. This is unusual, especially when we compare Peter’s sermon to preaching today.

We tend not to tolerate so many Scripture quotations today, complaining if the preacher reads too many verses of the Bible or cites too many biblical references. This is because, in the main, our generation is biblically illiterate! Few people are sufficiently conversant with the Word of God to make the connection when a verse is quoted; we need someone to explain what is being said. Consequently, we are uncomfortable when too much Scripture is read. In fact, we are not always aware when the preacher is quoting Scripture if he fails to identify his quotation as coming from the Bible!

However, Peter was speaking in the midst of a society that was familiar with Scripture, and therefore he could quote the texts and they would know immediately the references he was making. What is important for us to understand is that if an Apostle of Christ found it wise to cite Scripture, permitting the Spirit of God to work through what He had caused to be written, then we are well advised to similarly appeal to the Word of God, trusting that God will still speak through His Word. What is important is what God does with His Word, and not what we say about the Word.

Let me make a specific application so no one misses the point. When we are speaking of what we long to see in the future and where we imagine the church should go we are responsible to ensure that our vision is centred on the Bible. We have been so indoctrinated into the contemporary worldview that we imagine that what is important is to market the Gospel much as we would market motor oil or hamburgers. We are convinced that taking a poll to see what people think of us would be beneficial. Therefore, the method becomes more important than the message. The result justifies the means. However, God’s view of us is based upon our fidelity to the Word of God.

The Sermon Focused on Jesus as the Messiah. After providing a biblical explanation of the phenomenon of disciples of the Risen Lord declaring the glories of God in the native tongues of those hearing them speak, Peter moved quickly to the important issue of pointing people to Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Because Peter was controlled by the Holy Spirit, he naturally spoke of Jesus. This is precisely what Jesus promised when He said, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” [John 15:26]. The Spirit of God will always direct us to speak about Jesus, witnessing to His grace and of His power to save. Jesus also promised, “[The Holy Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” [John 16:14].

Spirit-empowered preaching inevitably points men and women to Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Spirit-motivated witnesses speak of Jesus as Lord and Saviour, calling lost sinners to turn around and believe the message of life. It does no good to tell dead sinners to be good or to learn the teachings of Jesus. Instead, they must hear the message of life and believe that Christ died for our sins, and that God raised Him from the dead for our justification. The tragedy is that this message is required more than ever even in the churches of our day because we have for so long replaced the call for repentance and faith with the ethical teachings of Jesus.

In just a few short verses, Peter manages to pack in a wealth of information concerning the Son of God. He speaks of the evidence that He is the Messiah, noting that God certified His ministry while He was in the flesh. He reminded those listening of the crucifixion of Jesus, His burial, and he testified to His resurrection. He then spoke of the ascension of the Christ and His present ministry in Heaven.

If we are Spirit-filled, our speech will reflect Jesus as Lord. When one is filled with the Spirit, that one will want to know the will of Christ and also to do that divine will. The Spirit-filled child of God will not act timidly to suggest what makes them feel good, but rather, they will speak boldly urging listeners to do the will of God, honouring the cause of Christ. Consequently, when we speak of our desires for the church, we will be less concerned with where we think things should go than we are with what Christ desires, if we are Spirit-filled.

James Montgomery Boice, in a sermon based on this second chapter of Acts, contrasted the preaching of this day with the preaching of the Apostle Peter. His observation is valuable for us as we consider the message Peter preached. Boice wrote, “I cannot help but reflect on the sad state of so much Christian preaching and witnessing in our time. The problem with our preaching today is that it is so man-centered. Sometimes this is centered on the preacher. The minister will tell cute stories, often about himself or his children. Sometimes the preaching is centered on the hearers. It speaks to ‘felt needs.’ There is a certain sense in which that may be quite proper, of course. It is possible to reach people by speaking to their felt needs. But much preaching never gets beyond that. It is psychological or sociological in emphasis. It looks to the polls and asks, ‘What produces the maximum results? What best builds a big congregation?’ That may succeed as the world measures success. You can build a big congregation by the same technique you use to build a big corporation or market hamburgers. But that is quite different from doing the work of God.”[2]

The Preacher was Fearless. If the preacher is hired by the congregation, then he had better do what the bosses say. If, however, God has appointed him, he is responsible to speak fearlessly, knowing that He must give an answer for his ministry to the One who appointed him. Peter was speaking in Jerusalem. Jesus had been crucified in this city, and it is quite likely that many of the same people that demanded His death were present that day as Peter and the other disciples preached Christ.

The religious leaders had often attended the preaching of Jesus seeking to catch him in an error. They did not want to learn, they wanted to criticise. I would imagine that Peter knew that they would just as surely kill him if they could find fault with what he said. Peter had been present when the events Luke recorded happened. “The scribes and the Pharisees began to press [Jesus] hard and to provoke Him to speak about many things, lying in wait for Him, to catch Him in something He might say” [Luke 11:53, 54].

On another occasion, Jesus was similarly accosted by the religious leaders. “The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, ‘Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?’ But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, ‘Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’ He said to them, ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marvelling at his answer they became silent” [Luke 20:19-26].

It is tiring to have a “truth squad” present each time one speaks, trying to find fault with what is said, though the critics never hear what is taught. Nevertheless, the man of God, established on the Word of God and led by the Spirit of God, must speak fearlessly. And so must each of us, if we will honour the Lord Jesus.

The Sermon was Reasonable. Peter did not rely on eloquence to sway the crowd that gathered that day. He presented the Word and appealed to those who listened to rationally review the facts. That is what we seek to do whenever we preach the Word of God. I really care very little whether the congregation is entertained, but I do care very much that the people are challenged to think and that they are engaged by reason.

Of course, the message of Christ and the call of the Master are reasonable. Faith is not a leap in the dark, and walking by faith is not a faltering, hesitant stumbling through the darkness. Faith is walking confidently with One who conquered death and now gives life. Faith knows that we have received the wisdom of God in the Word of God, and knowing that as long as we obey that Word, we will enjoy the presence of God.

The Sermon Defined “the Last Days” — All that Peter has to say is based upon the prophecy of Joel. In that prophecy, Joel testified that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh in the last days. What Are the Last Days? The passage Peter cites implies that “the last days” (plural) extend from one point in time, when God would pour out His Spirit, to a second point in time that is identified as “the day of the Lord.” Therefore, in order to understand Peter’s sermon we will need to identify these two points of time—“the last days” and “the day of the Lord.”

In effect, Peter was testifying that “the last days” had then officially begun. Remember the phenomena that first attracted the people to where the disciples were. “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” [Acts 2:1-4].

Unquestionably, these are astonishing events that had to have had a great impact on all who were present in Jerusalem that day. Such phenomena are unobserved since that time. Luke continues his narrative by informing the reader that the city was filled with people who had come in obedience to the Law of Moses in order to observe the Feast of Weeks. Drawn by what sounded like a great windstorm, the inhabitants of the city rushed together where the disciples were declaring the mighty works of God.

The Word of God states that all these people heard them speaking, and it further informs us that each one heard in his or her own native language. What the people heard were not mere sounds, gibberish without meaning, but rather they clearly heard the disciples declaring the power and might of the Living God. It is no wonder that all who heard the disciples on that day were bewildered, amazed and astonished, wondering what was happening. At this point, however, Peter seized the opportunity to declare pointedly the message the Spirit was giving.

As we have already seen, Peter began the sermon by quoting a portion of the prophecy of Joel. If you recall the prophecy of Joel, it is a dark message warning of the “Day of the Lord.” This is that day when Christ comes to judge wickedness. However, what was not necessarily apparent to the people of that day, and perhaps is not apparent even to us in this day, is that “the last days” began with Pentecost. Peter identifies the outpouring of the Spirit as the initiation of the last days. In other words, we are now in “the last days.” Whenever we encounter that term in the New Testament, we should know that it is referring to events that we may encounter in our day.

Writing to Timothy, Paul warned of difficult times that lay ahead in the last days. “Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth” [2 Timothy 3:1-7].

The character of the age is revealed in attitudes exposing people as increasingly self-centred, self-absorbed, focused on feelings instead of determined to do what pleases God. Paul speaks of an era when the desire for pleasure will supersede love for God. Increasingly, people in the last days will treat God as a convenience to be invoked when the going gets tough. They will have the appearance of godliness, but deny the power of righteousness. Religion will be strapped on like a peg leg; and though it will get those strapping it on around, it will have no vitality. Increasingly, the last days will be characterised by people that are led by their emotions, and society will be progressively feminised as men forsake their role as leaders in the home.

James also speaks of the character of the “last days.” Listen to his warning. “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you” [James 5:1-6].

According to James, the last days will be characterised by people who esteem the bottom line more than they do character. The age will be more and more an age in which financial worth trumps righteousness and ethics. Even among the professed people of God, wealth will count for more than will commitment to godliness. The age will be exploitive of the poor as people increasingly trust in accumulated wealth instead of depending upon God’s presence. The last days will be identified by luxury, ultimately leading to a general attitude of self-indulgence. This characteristic will grow, continuing throughout the Tribulation period as the world grows ever richer under the Antichrist, until at last God judges the economic kingdom of the Beast [see Revelation 18:9-20].

As I review the characteristics of the “last days,” I point to one other writer of Holy Writ who spoke of the last days. Peter, in his second missive, warned against the increasing tendency of people rejecting the Word of God in the last days. “Scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God” [2 Peter 3:3-5].

The age will increasingly reject the Word of God as authoritative, as mankind grows increasingly focused on satisfying immediate wants. If I could be so bold as to make a prediction of the tenor that will be increasingly apparent, even among the professed churches of our Lord. We will see arguments for redefining marriage accepted among the churches. We will seek peace at any cost, not wanting to stand on conviction. We will reject what we consider to be the harsh demands of Scripture as we seek out preachers who make us feel good about ourselves. Affirming one another will take precedence over building one another in the Faith. Increasingly, churches will approve of questionable ethical practises believing such changes hold great promise for their betterment; the people of God will sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the temporary. All the while, professing Christians will grow cynical about obedience to God.

The last days are growing increasingly wicked. Wickedness does not always appear evil, especially when we have become familiar with what is wicked. Complacency, taking care of number one, or taking pride in who I am does not sound evil. In fact, most of us at various times have embraced precisely these concepts to justify our attitudes and actions. However, when “self” begins to push aside obedience to the will of God, and when our own longing for ease of life precludes performing the hard tasks God has assigned, we have become evil. When we value relationship with our friends and family more than we value approval of the Lord, we are acting wickedly.

The last days will conclude with “the Day of the Lord.” Permit me to provide a reminder that is gravely neglected in this day—Jesus will soon call His people out of the world. The next great event on God’s timetable is the removal of Christ’s people out of the world. The Word of God promises, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” [1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17].

After the Rapture, the Great Tribulation will begin, during which time God will send frightful judgements on all the inhabitants of the earth. For seven years, God will call mankind to account as history moves toward the awesome Day of the Lord. These are the events that Peter, citing Joel, spoke of as “wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below.” At last, Jesus will return to earth to destroy the Antichrist, to judge mankind who has lived in wantonness, to incarcerate Satan for a thousand years, and to reign over all the earth throughout the Millennium.

The Sermon Identified the Spirit-Energised Vision for the Last Days — Though the last days will be increasingly wicked, all is not dark. The last verse of our text declares, “It shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Throughout the last days, God is calling out a people as His own possession. This is the work entrusted to the people of God throughout these last days. We Christians are to be soul-winners, discipling men and women to Christ the Lord.

Discipleship begins with winning the lost to faith in the Living Son of God. Every church, and each Christian within a biblical congregation, must have a vision of what they are doing on the earth. Without question, the biblical vision that is given to each church is winning the lost for the glory of the Saviour. I am unapologetic in stating that the vision of the church must be to glorify Christ the Lord through discipling the lost, through bringing many sons to glory [see Hebrews 2:10].

Today, there are multiple voices clamouring for a hearing, each presenting a vision for the church. Among those voices are people who contend that we must become activists for a multiplicity of causes, some good and others less good. However, we can march ourselves to death and dishonour God because we never fulfil His purpose. Undoubtedly, we should be concerned about social causes, and we should be good people in the midst of a fallen world. However, if we fail to win the lost while we feed the hungry, we simply consign people to hell on a full stomach. If all we accomplish is a noisy march for one cause or another, we dishonour God because we have ignored His command and chosen to pursue our own agenda instead.

Currently, many churches are jumping on a new bandwagon to combat global warming. While we are to be good stewards of the earth, and while we are to be responsible with all that God has entrusted to us, we know that ultimately this earth cannot be saved. The physical universe is under condemnation as result of the fall of our first parents. When we begin to worship the earth, we have ceased to be obedient to the vision given by the Spirit of God. This is one of the great problems with evangelical Christians being caught up in the media-driven hysteria over global warming. Frankly, the universe will die a heat death, and mankind is the cause in that ultimately he calls down the judgement of God because of his sinfulness. Let’s win the lost, therefore!

In a similar manner, a church can become so focused on worship that it neglects winning the lost. Worship is a good thing, but worship that fails to bring the lost to faith dishonours God. Much that parades as worship seeks only to entertain and create an atmosphere that makes people feel good as the worshippers use the techniques of the world in a vain effort to fulfil the command of God. Worship that depends solely on emotion ultimately degenerates into mere emotionalism. All worship must be biblically based, leading to the salvation of souls and the building up of the church. If all we have when we leave the assembly of the congregation is a good feeling about what we have done, we have dishonoured the Lord we profess to worship.

Other visions argue that we must advance missions, especially if “missions” is somewhere other than where we happen to be. I certainly believe in missions, but until a congregation wins the lost where it is, it will never effectively secure a base from which to launch missionary advance. In His final words to the disciples, Jesus made this clear. He said, “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 in Samaria, and to the end of the earth” [Acts 1:8]. The witness to Christ as Lord begins in Jerusalem. When that base is secured, disciples are to continue throughout the world.

There is inherently in the heart of fallen man a desire to do anything except the will of God. Consequently, each of us struggles to do the will of God, manufacturing at any given time multiple excuses why we disobey His command or redefining what we are doing in a futile attempt to make it appear that we have embraced the heavenly vision. I fear that fewer and fewer of our churches proclaim the message of life in the Son of God to sinners. Many opt instead to drop hints and to appeal to the emotion of listeners in hope that sinners may take the hint and “accept Jesus.” Our language betrays an unconscious attempt to soften the message that we must confess Jesus as Lord and believe that He died because of our sin and was raised for our justification.

The only appropriate vision for a congregation that will honour Christ the Lord is to seek to honour the Lord Jesus through bringing many people to faith in Him. We must have a vision of holding fast to the Word of God, declaring the whole counsel of God and building up believers in this most Holy Faith. Every activity must be intimately tied to winning the lost and saving as many as possible.

It is in that spirit of desiring the salvation of all who listen today that I appeal once again for all to believe this message of life. The Word of God is quite clear in declaring, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believing in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness; and with the mouth, one confesses, resulting in salvation.” It is as we receive the reign of Christ over our lives that we are brought to the point of faith, and faith results in life for us. This is the reason the Word of God promises that, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” [Romans 10:9, 10, 13].

Worship, but worship the Living, Reigning Son of God who redeems the lost. Serve, but serve in the strength of Him who died because of your sin and was raised for your justification. Advance His cause through supporting missions, but support those missionary enterprises that declare the lost condition of all mankind and the mercy of Christ the Lord. Preach, but preach hell hot, eternity long, sin black and the grace of God sweet for all who will receive it. May God give us a vision worthy of His Name. Amen.

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[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers, 2001. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] James Montgomery Boice, Acts: An Expositional Commentary (Baker, Grand Rapids, MI 1997), 52