THE TIMES OF REFRESHING

MARCH 20, 2022 STUDY NOTES ACTS 3:19-21 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE TIMES OF REFRESHING INTRODUCTION Peter had shown the Jews their mistake, they had denied and rejected Jesus their Messiah The Messiah had been clearly presented by the OT prophets, and by the earthly ministry of Jesus Peter used OT scripture to show them their guilt, now he tells them what they must do Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Praise God that Peter could say, “therefore,” he is telling us that there is an answer to their sin and guilt Likewise, there is an answer to all-of our failures in life, it is the “Grace of God,” which we must accept Peter has brought before them their indictment of sin, now he begins the invitation time, a decision time Following the first sermon of Peter after the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Jews had a question, Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Peter immediately answered, Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, Peter again instructs them to “repent,” throughout Acts we find repentance being taught (Acts 8:22; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20) We covered the Biblical truth of repentance when we studied Acts 2:38, study those notes It is important that we understand the necessity of repentance unto salvation, it is a scriptural truth Many today do not believe that repentance is necessary in a salvation experience They teach that salvation is a faith only experience unto salvation, a faith without repentance salvation According to scripture “repentance” is important and is within saving faith (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Lk. 5:32; Mark 6:12; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Titus 2:12) You cannot separate repentance and faith, they are two aspects of the same truth Faith without repentance is not scriptural faith, saving faith involves real repentance “Repentance” is a Biblical truth that must be preached today, in our day of “easy belief salvation” Which has resulted in people changing their Sunday schedule, but there is no change of a daily lifestyle A repent and believe salvation experience is a change of heart, mind, and will, a complete change of life Peter presents repentance as a true conversion experience, “repent and be converted” To be “converted” means to experience a change, a direction of life change, a purpose of life change The change begins by turning to God, to turn to God you must turn your life over to Jesus, receive Jesus As Christians we must preach Jesus before the lost will believe in Jesus, Act 11:20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. They preached Jesus and a great number believed in Jesus, Act 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. “And turned” is the same word translated “be converted” in Acts 3:19 To be “converted” is to make a turn in your life, you turn unto the Lord, 1Th 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; (“You turned” is the same word as “be converted”) They turned to God in faith and the whole direction of their life was changed When you repent, exercise faith in Jesus, and experience conversion, “your sins will be blotted out” Page 1 of 5 Your sins will literally, completely, be wiped away, Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; “May be blotted out” means that Jesus removes our sins, takes them away, they are extinguished Our sins are “blotted out” through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary, Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: What is the meaning of, “When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord?” “When” is often translated with the meaning of “in order that,” or “for the purpose that” That “the times of refreshing shall come,” can only be as a-result of the Person and Work of Jesus “Refreshing” literally means relief, relaxation, revival, like a fresh breath of air to relieve pressure “The time of refreshing” can only be experienced through Christ, a personal experience with Jesus It is “from the presence of the Lord,” that which we can experience because Jesus came to the earth Because Jesus went to the cross, arose from the grave, ascended to the Father, and sent the Holy Spirit We experience “refreshing times” through faith and repentance unto salvation and being cleansed of sin Jesus promised rest for those that would come to Him, Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (“Rest” is an “inner tranquility that allows us to be at peace with God and self) Which can only be experienced in the presence of Jesus, our experience when we come to Jesus Our salvation is a “time of refreshing” in the presence of Jesus Every individual Christian can live a refreshing life through Jesus, Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. The present ministry of the Holy Spirit within the believer is a “time of refreshing,” Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; “Another Comforter” means “another of equal quality,” one like unto Jesus Himself The presence of the Holy Spirit living in us is the experience of living in “the presence” of Jesus Christian’s experience “the times of refreshing” within our salvation experience and the Spirit within us There will be a future “time of refreshing” when Christ returns, known as the “Millennium” (Rev. 20) There are different views among theologians concerning the Millennium The “Amillennial View” teaches that there will be no future Millennium, the “A” means “no” Their view states that there will be no future literal reign of Christ upon the earth for 1,000 years They believe that the Millennium is being spiritually fulfilled during this present age, the Church Age They spiritualize the book of Revelation or view it as past-history, Revelation events are not literal events The “Postmillennial View” teaches that Christ will return after the Millennium, “Post” means after The age of righteousness and peace will come as a-result of the present preaching of the Gospel The NT Church will usher in the Kingdom by fulfilling the “Great Commission,” Matthew 28:18-20 Their order of events is preaching the gospel; the Millennium; the return of Christ; a general resurrection; (the dead will all be raised at the same time) a general judgment of all people; then the eternal state The “Premillennial View,” “Pre” means before, Jesus will return to the earth before the Millennium The Bible, OT and NT, clearly teaches the “Premillennial View,” Christ must return to the earth Christ will return to the earth and establish an earthly Kingdom of peace and righteousness Christ will defeat Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, all world empires, and all evil Christ will then reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords for 1,000 years, which is a literal time-period Some theologians deny a literal future time-period of 1,000 years, they attempt to spiritualize it It will be a time of spiritual refreshment, but it will also be a literal 1,000 year “time of refreshing” The term “1,000 years” is found 6 times in Revelation 20:1-7, which means, a literal 1,000 year period “The times of refreshing” can be called the “Age of Redemption” which Jesus Christ accomplishes Redemption in Christ is past, present, and future, we are saved, we are being saved, and eternally saved God sent Jesus to fulfill the plan of redemption, which requires the 1st and 2nd coming of Jesus Christ Page 2 of 5 Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: The verse literally says, “He will send Jesus the Christ,” God must send Jesus God sent Jesus to the earth for a purpose, to fulfill God’s will for sinful and lost mankind God sent Jesus to the earth, there are many references referring to His first coming, Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Which Jesus identified in His high priestly prayer, Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Which Jesus confirmed to His disciples, Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. Peter assures us that God will once again send Jesus to the earth, “and He shall send Jesus” Our assurance is found in God’s Word, “which before was preached unto you” Which means it has all been announced, preached, and proclaimed before or ahead of time According to Scripture, the Second Coming of Jesus is an important subject, which we must believe According to the number of references to His return it is of utmost importance to our daily life Why does the Bible so often refer to the Second Coming? What is the most important truth for us today related to the return of Christ? If knowing “when” He was coming was of utmost importance, He would have told us “when” Instead, He said, Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (What did Jesus mean by “watch therefore?”) To “watch” means to wake up and pay attention, telling us to be prepared for the return of Christ The Christian must be spiritually alert at all-times and always paying attention to the Bible Our preparation for the return of Christ is to read and study the Bible, learn, and live the Bible It is easy to learn the Biblical emphasis related to the Second Coming of Christ It is not knowing “when” He is coming or “what” He is going to do when He returns We are to study and learn of the events related to the return of Christ presented in scripture But throughout scripture the most important truth related to His return is “Live for Him Today” The message that the NT is revealing is, “Live for Jesus today, for He is coming one day” If we really believe that Jesus is going to come back, we will live according to Biblical instructions The truth of Christ return should be a tremendous influence upon our daily life Our daily life will reveal that we believe in the return of Christ, 1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. A pure life today is a “time of refreshing,” resulting in a more meaningful future “time of refreshing” 2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. The purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ is not to determine whether one is saved or lost Only those who are saved will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ The judgment will be according to the things done in the body, determining the good and the bad “Good” means that which is acceptable, works that were according to God’s will “Bad” does not mean evil, but that which is worthless or unacceptable, out of God’s will Rewards will be received for the faithful deeds done according to the will of God, 1Co 3:14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. (A refreshing time) There will not be a loss of salvation, but there can be a loss of rewards, 1Co 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (which is not so refreshing) Jesus is presently seated at the right hand of God, but one day He will stand to receive the scroll The “Seven Sealed Scroll” which is in the “Hand of God,” Rev 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him Page 3 of 5 that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. The “Seven Sealed Scroll” reveals the events that Christ must fulfill before the Millennium can occur The fulfillment of those events is also known as “the times of restitution of all things” Act 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Heaven received Jesus at the time of His ascension, Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Jesus said He must ascend to the Father before the Holy Spirit would be sent Before the Spirit could come it was necessary for Jesus to go away, Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. Before Jesus ascended the Jews had a question, Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? It is understandable why they ask Jesus the question concerning Israel and the kingdom There are many promises in the OT to Israel, promising them a future kingdom, Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. The nation of Israel would be restored, and their Messiah would reign on the throne of David The times of refreshing, which Peter now describes as “the times of restitution of all things” “Restitution” means to return something to its original state, which the word “new” also identifies, 2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. “New” does not refer to something that has never existed, but to the renewing of that which existed There will be new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, a refreshing time Which also includes our personal state of future glory, Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. That which all of creation is waiting for, Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Which Jesus identified as the “regeneration,” Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Peter identifies it as “the times of restitution of all things,” all-of the original things of God First there will be the 1,000 year Millennial reign of Christ and then the New Heavens and the New Earth Which the prophets of God have foretold, God spoke “by the mouth of all His holy prophets” Which refers to the unconditional covenants of God with the nation of Israel, all will be fulfilled Just as sure as “the world began,” it began because Christ is the Creator of all things, Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. “The times of restitution of all things” will occur because Jesus Christ will return “What a Day That Will Be” Listen to the song Page 4 of 5 Page 5 of 5