God Launches His Plan

Introduction

Last week, we started a new series through the New Testament book of Acts that we are calling “Unhindered.” We talked about how God has always had a plan to call a people to Himself and use them to share the life-giving message of His grace with the world. We are calling this series “Unhindered” because the book of Acts shows that as God’s people go out in the power of the Holy Spirit, the gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be hindered from doing what God intends it to do.

As we continue in our series, we are going to look at a sermon that I’ve titled, “God launches His plan.” We will see how God launched the church into the world to take the gospel to those who need to hear it.

[PRAYER]

God shows up

Acts 2:1–4 CSB

When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

As chapter 2 opens up, it is the day of Pentecost. This is a major celebration in the Jewish religion as it celebrates the end of the harvest . It was instituted back in . This was one of the pilgrimage festivals that called for Jews to travel to Jerusalem - Passover, Pentecost, and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). Pentecost would take place 50 days after the Passover. You might remember that Jesus was crucified at the time of Passover.

The city of Jerusalem was filled with people from all over the world for this Feast of Pentecost. The disciples are seen doing exactly what Jesus had told them to do - they were waiting and praying. Jesus had told them that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit and then they were to go and be His witnesses.

This is a key point that should not be overlooked. When we are obedient to what the Lord tells us to do, it creates an open path for us to experience the fullness of what He is going to do. What the Lord tells us to do at times is not fun or glamorous, but we still should be obedient because it is a part of His plan. He is working something within us through that obedience that will be unleashed as He reveals His plan.

In verse 2, we see God showing up in a mighty way. God fills the house the disciples were meeting in with His presence. This is a similar picture of when He filled the temple with His glory in . The people saw what appeared to be “tongues like flames of fire” come down and rest on each of the disciples. This was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit filling the Christians at this time.

Notice who all the “tongues of fire” fell on: each one of them. This was not something just for the apostles. The Holy Spirit filled every man, woman, and child that was there and had placed their faith in Jesus Christ. The same is true today. God places the Holy Spirit within each person that comes to faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is given to every Christian because God wants to use each and every Christian in some way as a part of His plan. You may not be called by God to stand before crowds and share Jesus in a sermon, but He might be wanting you to walk next door and share the gospel with your neighbor… with the student who sits next to you in math class… with the person who works beside you each day.

In , we see that God enables the Christians at this moment the ability to speak in other languages that they did not know previously. This is not an on-going thing all the time. As God places the Holy Spirit within your life, He may have something else for you to do rather than speaking in other languages. For this group here in , this was the tool needed at the moment - remember, there were people from all over the world in Jerusalem for Pentecost.

The crowd misunderstood

Acts 2:5–13 CSB

Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”

As it happens many times, those who do not follow God misunderstand what God is doing here. The crowds couldn’t understand how these Galileans who had never been to their countries were able to speak their language fluently. The only explanation they could come up with is that these Galilean Christians were drunk. Really? I know that alcohol can mess with a person’s speech and make them say things they wouldn’t normally say, but to enable them to speak a new language fluently? That does not happen.

Really? I know that alcohol can mess with a person’s speech and make them say things they wouldn’t normally say, but to enable them to speak a new language fluently? That does not happen.

There are many in this life that will try to explain away the best they can the works of God. They sometimes sound like Will Smith in the movie, “Men in Black”, talking about it was some swamp gas that reacted with something in the atmosphere.

As God created all of the laws of nature, He is also able to bend those laws to accomplish His purposes. We call these instances miracles.

I’m sure that we could have many of you share and testify to times when God showed up in a miraculous way and people just didn’t understand it. God is able to do whatever He pleases at any time He pleases. But much like today, the crowds who heard the rumblings of what God was doing did not understand it.

In steps Peter with an explanation

In , the apostle of Jesus who has been known to have “foot-in-mouth disease” steps forward full of the Holy Spirit and explains to the crowds what is going on. He tells the people that these Christians are not drunk but are actually a part of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy in the Old Testament. God had said that He would pour out the Holy Spirit on His people and mighty things would happen. That is what is going on here.

In verses 22-36, Peter begins to share the gospel plain and simple. He explains that Jesus Christ was not just another man but the very Son of God and the Messiah - the One who would pay for our sins and make us right with God. He would also share about how Jesus rose from the grave to give us a new life in Him.

Peter ends this sermon of sorts with a powerful closing.

Acts 2:36 CSB

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

Noticed that Peter put the blame of Jesus’ death on the crowd - he said, “whom you crucified.” This is one of the most important statements in all of human history. Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection were not just events of historical past. They happened in the first place because of our sins. Anyone who has ever sinned holds some of the blame for Jesus’ crucifixion.

Illustration: Rembrandt’s “Raising of the Cross” - Rembrandt painted a depiction of Jesus being crucified and painted himself in the work as one who was helping to raise the cross.

We must all comes to the reality that Jesus died our death… for our sins. This was the message that Peter left with the crowd.

The crowd responds

As with any time that the gospel is shared, we see a response is made.

Acts 2:37-

Acts 2:37–41 CSB

When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each 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, as many as the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

You cannot hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and remain the same. You will either be broken over your sin and receive the gift of God’s grace, or your heart will be hardened towards the things of God. Either way, the message of the gospel will not leave you at the same place you it found you.

The crowds were “pierced to the heart” when they heard the message. They asked Peter what they should do, and Peter clearly shares with them what they should do: repent and be baptized.

These are two sides of the same coin.

The repent part has to do with the inward work that the Holy Spirit does in our lives. He convicts us of our sin and gives us the strength to turn from it and turn to Christ. Without that part, nothing really changes in a person’s life. You can have tears and an emotional experience, but if you are not turning from your sin and turning to Jesus then nothing really happened.

The baptism part has to do with the outward sign reflecting what has happened within. There is nothing magical about the baptism waters. They do not wash away sin - only the blood of Jesus can do that. Baptism is a picture given to us to share with the world what we believe. We believe that Jesus came, died, and rose again. We believe that this same Jesus, as we turn to Him, lays to rest our old sinful life and raises us to live a new life. Baptism was then and is now a means of identification. It shows that you align yourself under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

In verse 39, Peter shares that this promise is for anyone and everyone who will come and receive it. It is not for the good only… it is not for the ones who have it together… it is for them and the ones that are broken and have made a mess of things. This promise - the gospel of Jesus - is extended to anyone who will come and receive it. That was true in and that is still true today.

We see that in that about 3,000 decided to take God at His word for the first time that day. They confessed their sins to God… they put their faith in Jesus Christ alone… they were baptized… and they joined the other followers of Jesus to be part of what God was doing. Some of you may be at that point yourself. You are hearing this gospel of Jesus Christ and know that this is what you need. Can I tell you that it’s open for you. In a moment, we will give you an opportunity to talk with someone about receiving this gift that God has for you through Jesus.

The Church moves forward

Acts 2:42–47 CSB

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Sometimes, we are tempted to think that just making that decision to come to Jesus and give Him our life is all that we need to do. Trusting in the fact that Jesus is who He said He was and receiving Him as our Lord and Savior is how we are made right with God alone. But that one decision will lead to others as well.

We see in these verses that all who had become followers of Christ began to do life differently. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings (the Word of God), to the fellowship (they began to do life with one another), breaking of bread (Lord’s Supper and other meals), and prayer (daily making sure they were tapped into the power source God had given them for this new life).

Becoming a Christian is so much more than just saying a prayer. It is becoming part of a family - the family of God. Are you living as part of the family of God or have you pushed that to the fringes of your life? Remember, we said that the church is God’s plan.

We see this first church doing what God was calling them to do. The result is clearly stated at the end of ...

Acts 2:47 CSB

praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Notice people weren’t coming to faith in Jesus just on Sundays. It was an everyday thing. The Christian life that God is calling His church to is an every day deal. Wouldn’t you love to hear about people coming to faith in Christ here in Fulton every single day? It has happened in other places… it can happen here.

Wouldn’t