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Bentley Baptist Church Sermons
The Holy Spirit and Our Witness
Acts 2:14-37 | Ps. Alex Huggett
Part of a series on the book of Acts
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Acts, chapter 2, verse 14, continuing on from Fletcher's message last week, the day of Pentecost. We're still in the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has been poured out, the 120 or so people who were we know about at least who had been praying in an upper room, speaking in tongues and prophesying bringing the word of God in all the different dialects that are present in Jerusalem at this time. Because this is a pilgrim period of time, and then we read it. We'll just go back to verse 12. 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. And Peter stood up with the 11, raised his voice and proclaimed to them fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you and pay attention to my words. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning. On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel and it will be in the last day, says God, that I will pour out my spirit on all people. Then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams. I will even pour out my spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women, and they will dream dreams. I will even pour out my spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women, and they will prophesy. I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and cloud of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Peter continues Fellow Israelites, listen to these words.
Speaker 1:This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God, with miracles, wonders and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know. Though he was delivered up according to God's determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death. For David says of him I saw the Lord ever before me, because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope because you will not abandon me in Hades or allow your Holy One to see decay. You have revealed the paths of life to me. You will fill me with gladness in your presence.
Speaker 1:Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David. He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah. He was not abandoned in Hades and his flesh did not experience decay. God has raised this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear, for it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself. Says the Lord declared to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore, let all of the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. And 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. Well, there's a lot in there, isn't there? As I was preparing, I thought of about five different sermons, but I'm not going to inflict them all on you this morning. I hope I only have one. But I'm not going to inflict them all on you this morning, I hope I only have one.
Speaker 1:When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church at the Feast of Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus' death, the first reactions of the crowd were perplexity on the one hand and ridicule on the other. What does this mean? Ah, they're drunk. Maybe you've come across both those reactions when you try to share the gospel or someone discovers you're a Christian. 20 years ago I sat with a young couple who had come to the church wanting their baby to be done, to be christened, and, being Baptist, said I couldn't do that. We sat down and talked about some options, but when I asked the father what his idea of God was so it was clearly mum who wanted to do this for cultural reasons. When I asked dad what his idea of God was, he drew a complete blank, couldn't tell me anything good or bad. And On the other hand, there are plenty of people who will be very happy to tell you what they think and particularly how evil religion is. When I told a doctor we were seeing can't even remember what for anymore and in the consult she asked what you do and I said I'm a pastor, and she seemed to think I needed to know what her opinion of religion was and how she'd been put off Christianity because of her experience back in South America.
Speaker 1:Now, look the way people describe their experience of religion. Sometimes you can't blame them for being a little hostile. But I suspect that for many people like this sneering crowd, their reaction comes more out of ignorance, or sometimes even bigotry, than woundedness. A lot of people just can't take seriously anyone who believes in the sky fairy or whatever slur they want to use about God. That's where this crowd begins, but by the end of it they're crying out to Peter what should we do? So how did the crowd move from ridicule to repentance so quickly? Well, remember that the crowd's initial response of perplexity or ridicule response of perplexity or ridicule. Their initial reaction to Peter's message was in response to the move of God among his people. They had seen something happening that they couldn't explain. The disciples were gathered together, probably praying, probably in the temple.
Speaker 1:At this stage, given the size of the crowd that came to see them when the Holy Spirit fell on them and the people heard their own languages being spoken by people who didn't normally speak them and declaring the gospel. So Pentecost was a pilgrim feast, so there would have been people from all over the world there, and the question Peter was answering in his sermon was what is this phenomenon that we're seeing? He was explaining to them what was going on. Now, for a crowd of faithful Jews and they were faithful because they were in Jerusalem on this pilgrim feast it would have been a long way for some of them from home. These people would have been steeped in the scriptures, and so Peter was able to quickly take them to the prophetic expectation that all of them would have had.
Speaker 1:The Jews were expecting the Spirit of God to be poured out on all of Israel on the Lord's Day, the last day, as the prophet Joel foretold, and this was the day Peter tells them. It's not the final day. They were expecting, and they weren't quite expecting it to happen like this, but Peter says the beginning of the end is near. Your expectations that you've been hoping for are being fulfilled. The Spirit was being poured out and you know, the Spirit is still being poured out, but, unlike Peter, we don't have a common heritage of Scripture with our culture.
Speaker 1:Like the young dad I spoke to all those years ago, most people are completely biblically illiterate. Some people think they know the Bible but they really don't, and so telling them about ancient prophecies, like Peter was able to do with his audience, probably isn't going to be very helpful, certainly not convincing. Isn't going to be very helpful, certainly not convincing. So what do we do when people ask us about what's happening among us and to us? Well, we need to build a bridge to that culture and to the events that were very current for Peter's audience, and that bridge is the story of Jesus, very current for Peter's audience, and that bridge is the story of Jesus. And as Peter unpacks his explanation of what's happening with this phenomenon of the Holy Spirit, he moves to Jesus, and the body of his message has four parts, very simply Jesus' life, jesus' death, jesus' exaltation, which includes his resurrection and ascension, and Jesus sending the Holy Spirit, which is what they're saying Now.
Speaker 1:Remember that, for those who were present, this sermon was very, very personal. Some of them may have seen Jesus' miracles, or they probably knew someone who had Many, would have been present when he was persecuted, because Pentecost happened a few weeks after Passover and these were both feasts. People came from all over to Jerusalem. For, of course, as I said, like the young dad I spoke to, nowadays we can't expect people to know about Jesus. He may be a complete mystery, he may just be a swear word. They might know a little bit, but you know, nearly everyone who encounters the story of Jesus at least likes the idea of him, even if they can't quite believe he's real or he did what the Bible says he did.
Speaker 1:Peter begins with the life of Jesus. This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders and signs, but then he quickly moves on to Jesus' death. Now it's noteworthy that he doesn't actually spend much time there. He says look, it's no accident that Jesus was killed. You guys did this through the Romans. Actually Remember personal? Some of these people may have been in the mob that was whipped up and asked for Jesus' crucifixion. But he says no, it was no accident. This was God's plan from the beginning. That's all he says about it.
Speaker 1:Kind of interesting that crucifixion of Jesus is one of the major components of the Gospels and of the rest of the New Testament, and even in the Old Testament alludes to it. Peter almost skips over it. He certainly skates over it. So why did Jesus have to die, if Peter's not going in depth into it? Well, if you've been around church for long, you probably have a ready answer, in that Jesus died for our sins so we can be forgiven, and that, of course, is absolutely true.
Speaker 1:Peter accuses the crowd of murdering Jesus, but the fact is we all put him on the cross because of our sins. Jesus died for our forgiveness. This is what we call the doctrine of the atonement that Jesus has covered our sins. But the atonement is a very many-faceted jewel, like a cut diamond, will have all the different faces on there. One is usually the biggest one. That is the atonement. But there's other aspects to it, and Peter wants to bring out a different aspect on this occasion.
Speaker 1:He moves on to the resurrection and by emphasizing the resurrection, peter is basically saying Jesus needed to die so God could raise him up. Why? Well, to prove that he was who he said he is Now. Now, that's not the only reason he did die for our forgiveness and other reason, but it's an important reason. Jesus said if I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself. He said I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except Listen to that again. No one comes to the Father God except through me, jesus.
Speaker 1:They're pretty outlandish claims that people still find offensive. You don't have to go far on the internet, or perhaps in conversation with friends, to find out how offensive that is. Do we mean to say that Jesus is the only way to God, the only way to heaven? Well, what about Islam? And faithful followers of Islam, or faithful followers of Hinduism or Buddhism or Judaism? Jesus was a Jew. You mean the Jews who don't follow Jesus as well don't go to heaven. Well, that's what Jesus said he's the only way to the Father.
Speaker 1:How can we say that? How can we be so narrow and so exclusive? People accuse us of being exclusive, and they're absolutely right. How can we do that? We can say that because Jesus is the only one who rose from the dead. If Jesus hadn't risen from the dead, christianity is just one other religion among many. Take it or leave it, go pick your religion, you like, but if Jesus rose from the dead, then, friends, everything changes If Jesus rose from the dead, god has vindicated him. God has vindicated him and Jesus is exalted to the place of power and authority and sits in the throne room of heaven. And if that's the case, I'm going all in on Jesus.
Speaker 1:There's one more reason that Jesus is risen Not just so that it proves he is who he said he is. It's so that, being exalted, he could send the Holy Spirit, he could pour out the Spirit, as Peter's audience had witnessed. Verse 33 says, therefore since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear Now. This is an immensely significant verse in helping us understand who Jesus is. Because if we go back to the prophecy in Joel in verse 17 or 18, we read it will be in the last days says God that I will pour out my spirit on all people. I will even pour out my spirit on my servants. In those days, who is going to pour out the spirit? God says he will do it. Who does Peter say has poured out the spirit, jesus? Well, which one is it? It's both, because Jesus is both. We come to the high point of Peter's sermon, in verse 36, and this is where he's been leading up. Let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified. There it is again. Poke the finger in there. This Jesus, both Lord and Messiah.
Speaker 1:Now the Greek word for Lord carries a lot of weight. It's loaded with meaning for the Jews. In the Old Testament, in the Hebrew, the covenant name, the special name the Hebrews had for God, was Yahweh. Your Bible probably has Lord in capital letters in there. That's often how it's signaled. The Jews considered it such a holy name they don't pronounce it. When they came to write the Greek version of the Old Testament, they used the Greek word kurios in place of Yahweh, just the ordinary old word for Lord.
Speaker 1:And then, when we come to the New Testament, we see these declarations that Jesus is Lord. Now you could skate over that and just say well, it just means master or the one we follow, or something like that. But in the context of both the Jewish scriptures and the way that the New Testament uses it and the claims that the apostles make and that Jesus made for himself, it's very clear. I think that this is more than just a title that's given to Jesus. This is more than just. Jesus is our Lord, as in a knight has a Lord that he follows and swore allegiance to. No, jesus is Lord, as in Jesus is Yahweh. Jesus is God.
Speaker 1:To say Jesus is Lord is to say he's divine and worthy of our worship. Let all of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, lord, and he's also made him Messiah. Now, messiah refers to God's promised ruler who would restore his people, israel, and rule over the world with righteousness. Jesus needed to live, die and rise again so he could become the one who he was destined to be Lord and Messiah. Now, I don't want you to hear me saying something I'm not actually saying.
Speaker 1:Peter is not saying that Jesus was a man who became God. The word for made here doesn't mean creating something new. It does mean doing a work, sometimes a new work, sometimes not. But see, this is where we come into the mystery of the Trinity sometimes a new work, sometimes not, but see, this is where we come into the mystery of the Trinity. From eternity, one God existed in three persons Father, son and Holy Spirit. But the man, jesus, didn't always exist.
Speaker 1:Jesus as a man, as a person, we know him, came into existence when the eternal Son of God had always existed, took on human flesh and became something different, one person with two natures human and divine Human, eternally divine, contingently human. Contingently meaning it depended on something else and through his life, death and resurrection, this God-man, jesus, was exalted. He was revealed to be Lord, to be God, which he had always been, as the eternal Son of God. And he became Messiah, the anointed one who would save his people, which is a promise God had made in the Old Testament. And that was the answer to the question the people were asking when they saw the Holy Spirit being poured out.
Speaker 1:What is going on here? It was the presence of the Spirit poured out by Jesus that proved the Lordship of Jesus and changed everything, changed history. Well, what does this mean for us? Two reflections come to mind. Two reflections come to mind, and the first one is, just as Peter goes along and sort of talks about Jesus, it's how do we introduce people to Jesus? As I said, for Peter's audience, his sermon was immediately relevant. He was talking about their shared experience. Jesus was a current topic. He had lived at the same time as these people and Peter was able to share from the Scriptures a shared religious heritage. How do we do it when people in our culture may not even know who Jesus is beyond a swear word? And the Bible is not just a different culture, it may as well be a different planet it's describing, but Jesus is still attractive. So we need to bridge the gap somehow. Now, back when people had some experience of church, there was a time when our culture considered itself broadly Christian. We could probably do this through an evangelistic sermon, like Billy Graham back in the 50s was responsible for bringing a significant percentage of our country to faith or maybe a pamphlet I don't know if some of you who are older used to go tracting, handing out little tracts with gospel messages in them. Well, now we have to go a bit more slowly. We have to give people time.
Speaker 1:I was in boarding school when I was in high school, spent two years there and spent a lot of time witnessing to friends. One friend in particular, and often I talk about characters from the Bible. I remember one night talking to him about Abraham. I don't know why I was talking about Abraham, we must have got there some reason. And and he said you know when you was started talking about this stuff, it was just weird and and some reason. And he said you know, when you started talking about this stuff it was just weird and made no sense, he said, but it's starting to make sense the more you talk about it. At the time I thought, huh, it all makes perfect sense to me. But he needed time to sit with the story and get to know it. We need to go slow and let people do a journey with the word.
Speaker 1:Now, given the Bible is so foreign to most people, this is going to be a bit counterintuitive. But one of the ways we can do this is by sitting down with people and reading the Bible with them. Just open it up with a friend, find a story about Jesus and read it together, discuss it, draw out of your friend any insights, what they're seeing, any questions. If they see a challenge or something in there, asking them what they're going to do about it, come back and and do it again. We call this actually the discovery bible method. What I love about the discovery bible method is you don't have to have a gospel presentation prepared. You don't have to be a bible expert or have lots of theological answers. You can just let the Word of God do the work and let God speak to them, but we've got to introduce people to Jesus. Do it slowly. Second thing is this passage challenges us with something that I think for many of us is going to be even more fundamental, given that most of us here going to be even more fundamental, given that most of us here are pretty familiar with the Bible ourselves.
Speaker 1:We build a bridge to Jesus, but what are we building the bridge from? You know, a bridge crosses from one side to the other. For Peter's audience, what Peter was building a bridge from was this thing that they had just witnessed, with all these people speaking in their own languages, but foreign languages to the speakers, building a bridge from there to Jesus. They were curious about this manifestation of the Spirit, and that's what Peter responded to. So what about us? Are people curious about anything among us? What are they curious about? What are we building the bridge from? Are we building a bridge to Jesus from stale religion that maybe sometimes for us feels like hard, dry work? It's almost like why would I bother building this bridge? Or are we building a bridge in response to the supernatural move of God that has people curious. That has people curious.
Speaker 1:Sometimes churches try to mimic this work of God, try to create something that looks like God, and sometimes they can do a good job. Maybe it's hype and cool music, smoke machines, maybe it's the mystique of beautiful liturgy, or maybe it's good works and social service. These things are all fine in themselves, but if the Holy Spirit isn't present, if the presence of God isn't evident, if the risen Jesus is not in it, what's even the point? Peter's crowd got curious because God was manifestly present in that first gathering, even if they misunderstood it, didn't know what was going on. What do people get curious about now? Church? Is God at work? Is the Spirit manifestly present? Well, look, he is present because God's people are present. But how much of his life and power do we see?
Speaker 1:You know, when we look at the history of revivals, we often don't find particularly attractive churches. They're not big, they're often poor. They're not necessarily powerful Probably not. But what distinguishes them is a hunger for God, people seeking him in prayer, and the Spirit breaks out and changes communities. So what about us? Are we hungry for God? Will we seek him so that he can manifest his Spirit among us and people can see the Lord Jesus, because it's about Jesus. Let's pray, father. We pray that you will give us a hunger for your presence and your power to be manifested among us. Move in and among us so that people get curious about what's happening in our lives. Maybe they'll be perplexed or maybe they'll be scornful, but let the Lordship of Jesus be seen in us and spur us on to declare your glorious plan In Jesus' name. It's not always probably often not going to look like the day of Pentecost. No-transcript.