Sermon Audio

Throughout history, man has come up with many different answers to the most important question in the universe. "How can I be right and righteous when I stand before my creator?" That is the question the crowd will ask Peter and the Apostles in Acts 2:37-41. After the Spirit came at Pentecost, Peter preached a sermon explaining what has happened and why it has happened. His message is that because Jesus is the Messiah, has risen from the grave, and is exalted at the right hand of the Father, He has poured out the Spirit in fulfillment of God’s promises. However, there is a troubling refrain repeated throughout Peter’s address to the Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem. He continually reminds them, "you killed Him," and "you crucified Him."

As the Spirit convicts them of their sin, they come to realize their desperate and hopeless position. Finally understanding the most crucial problem of all humanity, the crowd cries out, "Brothers what shall we do?" How this question is answered will reverberate through all eternity. Sunday, we will look at how Peter, moved by the Spirit, answers this question. His answer (in v.38) is one of the most debated passages in Scripture as several different groups build whole theologies based upon it.

Esau's genealogy reveals blessing after blessing from a worldly perspective

The Spirit has been poured out on the disciples and the spectacle of their testimony has drawn an enormous crowd in Jerusalem. Peter stands to explain this to the crowd and gives a powerful gospel sermon. Last week we heard him explain that this is the fulfillment of Joel’s “last days” prophecy when the Spirit would be poured out on all God’s people. As we begin in v.22, Peter will now explain why this is happening. He will explain why the Spirit has been poured out on this Pentecost feast? His answer is simple – because Jesus of Nazareth is God’s Messiah who was crucified, raised from the dead, and is now enthroned at the right hand of the Father.

The coming of the Spirit is a witness to Jesus’ exaltation and his fulfilling the covenant promises of His people. The Spirit has come in testimony that Jesus is Lord and salvation is found in no other name. Likewise, the Spirit empowers those united with Christ to be His witnesses.

Acts 2:22-36 is one of the most masterful sermons in all of Scripture which presents the glories of the exalted Jesus, glorified and reigning upon the throne. Yet it is also one of the most pointed as Peter shows us the difference between how God the Father sees His messiah and how His people viewed Him. Peter leads His hearers to the main conclusion saying, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:36) Sunday we will ask, “What have we done with this Jesus?”

As chapter 2 opens, we see the inauguration of a new era. The Spirit’s coming marks the fulfillment of God’s new covenant promise to indwell His people. Because Jesus has come, died to pay for sin, risen from the grave, and has been exalted to the right hand of the Father - God Himself has made his dwelling place within His people and by His Spirit, He makes us witnesses for His name. This incredible beginning of the church shows us that God is still advancing His kingdom in our world and He is faithful to His promises. Now - every single gospel-believer, from the least to the greatest, is imbued with power from on High. By the gospel, every Christian is a temple of the living God, born again to be His priests, His prophets, and His ambassadors as we bear witness to the gospel in the power of His Spirit.

The fledgling church waits in Jerusalem for the promise to be poured out. As they wait, they prepared themselves to be His witnesses so they would be ready when the time came.

Israel is a changed man, but there is still a little Jacob inside of Israel as he meets Esau after 20 years

In Acts, we will see the church stand against opposition and persecution, but Acts gives us a unique view of how the church moved from Jerusalem to the far reaches of the Roman empire. Acts shows us the church on mission. And Acts has no definitive ending. The last verse in the book shows Paul under house arrest in Rome, preaching unhindered to all that came to him. It is meant to be an unfinished story because it is also our story - it is our mission that continues today.

Through the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit will light (or reignite) our fire for evangelism and discipleship and we examine the work of Jesus - by the Holy Spirit - through the Apostles. They were given power to be His witnesses to the far reaches of the earth - and so are we today. Our study through Acts will be an examination of the foundation upon which the church was built and grew - but it will also be an examination of the beginnings of the mission that we are still called to today.