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Great preaching

Acts 2:14-37 (Pastor Heo)

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ” ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 22 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him: ” ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ” ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ‘ 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

What shall we do? (next time)

As we know, at Pentecost, the HS came down on all true believers to dwell in them forever. Pentecost was the 50th day after Jesus’ resurrection.

John 14, 15, 16 was the farewell sermon of Christ before his crucifixion. In each chapter, he mentioned the HS.

• 14:16 “I will ask the Father. He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.”
• 15:26 “When the Counselor comes, he will testify about me.”
• 16:7 “It is for your advantage that I’m going to heaven. Unless I go, the HS will not come. But if I go, I’ll send him to you.”

After resurrection, his first greeting was “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

In the opening, Jesus said, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the coming of the HS. John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the HS. (1:8) And you will receive power when the HS comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The HS came down with fire and wind and power and strength. HS = “The Spirit of Holiness”

With the coming of the HS, indwelling, baptizing, sealing, and filling the disciples – this is something new, wonderful, marvelous, dynamic. And they were filled with the HS.

The time is Pentecost, one of the biggest Jewish festivals. Because of this festival, so many people gathered in Jerusalem. Imagine this picture:

They were inside the upper room and filled with the HS – their hearts were burning with the fire of the HS. (Imagine if we were them – we would NEED to get outside.) And outside the building, so many other people were gathered together to celebrate the Pentecost festival.

They came

• from inside to outside,
• from the safety zone to the danger zone,
• from the church to the world –

in order to be priests and witnesses to the world.

Even though they were Galileans, and simple, they explained in words and language that the other (even non-natives) could understand. The people were amazed (but some mocked them and said, “They’ve had too much wine.”)

At this moment, Peter, the representative of the church stood up and spoke the first sermon of the early church. This may be Peter’s GREATEST sermon.

Imagine, just 50 days ago, Peter had done the greatest denial of Christ in history, but only 50 days later, he became the greatest preacher in the history of Christianity.

When Jesus first met Peter, he said, “You are Simon, son of John, but you will be called Peter.” (Peter = “rock”) – this is a strong foundation.

Today’s sermon is so great because of its place it occupies in the history of redemption. This is the inaugural sermon in the period of grace. And through this sermon 3,000 were added to the church that day.

Let me share 6 characteristics of this sermon. We also are listening to this sermon.

#1 Simple & Clear

This is not difficult to understand.

Peter first answered their question, then told them about Christ, third he enlisted their commitment.

The preacher should not assume intelligibility – we should fight for simplicity and clearness of our message so that they may come to Christ.

#2 Scriptural

Today, to us, what is the Word of God? The Bible. (Old and New testament) – but at that time, they only had the Old testament.

In this sermon of Peter, about half of this sermon is direct quotations from the OT.

v. 14-21

“14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel (2:28-32):

17 ” ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’“

v. 21 is a famous verse (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13, Acts 2:21)

In these passages,

• “in the last days” includes ALL the days between Jesus’ first and second coming.
• “prophesying” = not only the prediction of the future events, but also declaration of the nature and will and purpose of God.
  • Today, we are living in the Last Days. And preaching the gospel of Christ is prophesying.
• “Dreams and visions” = common means that God used to reveal himself to his people.
  • Today, our vision / dream is to be effective and powerful witnesses of Christ.

The second part (of Joel) is not yet happening on this day. Some of this passage is happening on Pentecost, and some will happen in the future, surrounding the second coming of Christ.

v. 19, 20 for example:

“19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.”

Another quotation from Psalm 16:8-11

v. 25-28

“25 David said about him: ” ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'”

This passage is almost identical to Psalm 16:8-11

Another v. 34-35 = direct quotation from Psalm 110:1 (this is THE MOST frequently quoted passage from the OT in the NT – and it was used to explain the relationship of Jesus to God)

v. 34-35

“34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ” ‘The Lord (Jehovah God) said to my Lord (Jesus): “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ‘”

Physically speaking, David was the father (great grandfather) of Jesus – he lived about 1,000 years before him. And yet, he confessed, “My Lord.” It is impossible to do so without the guidance of the HS. David was not only king, but also prophet.

This passage (Psalm 110:1) is the most frequently quoted in the NT.

In the throne of God, the greatest archangels are standing, ready to serve, ready to wait on God. But none are allowed to sit down at the right hand of God. So, this “sitting at the right hand of God” = equality + perfect completion of his task / mission. That’s why on the cross he said, “It is finished.”

Can you imagine, humanly speaking, Peter did not prepare this sermon in advance on the desk with notes. He was a fisherman, uneducated. But, Peter memorized most of the OT – he was filled with the Word of God. He knew Joel, and David’s Messianic Prophecies by heart.

In applying these to our daily lives:

To be powerful and effective witnesses of Christ:

1. Be filled with the HS
2. Be filled with the Word of God – with constant honest prayer

The fullness of the HS and the fullness of the Word of God cannot be separated, they must go together all the time.

• Eph 5:18 “Be filled with the HS, not wine.”
• Col 3:16 “Let your hearts be filled with the Word of Christ. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
• Eph 6 “Take the sword of the HS that is the Word of God.”

Please challenge yourself to memorize the Word of God, to keep it in your mind and your spirit.

#3 Christ-centered

• Joel’s prophecy points to Christ.
• David’s prophecy points to Christ.

This WHOLE sermon is filled with Jesus Christ. It begins and ends with Christ. The conclusion is all about Christ (v. 36)

v. 36

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

That’s why personally, whenever I stand to give a sermon, I do my best to FOCUS on Christ.

A sermon is the story of Jesus Christ.

v. 22 (Jesus’ incarnation)

“22 Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.”

v. 23 (Jesus’ crucifixion)

“23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.”

v. 24 (Jesus’ resurrection)

“24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”

v. 33 (Jesus’ ascension & exaltation)

“33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.”

This sermon is FULL of 3 things:

1. The HS
2. The Word of God
3. Jesus Christ

This is the sermon of all sermons – a great representation of how a sermon should be preached.

#4 Practical, relevant

It is practical, applicable, relevant, attention-grabbing even today (and especially then).

• It answers their first question: “What does this mean?” Peter begins by answering this question.
• And then he leads up to their final question.
  • Their final question: “Brothers, what should we do?” (next week)

#5 Convicting

I want to ask you honestly: almost every Sunday, are you listening and being convicted by my sermons?

v. 37

“When the people heard this, *they were cut to the heart* and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?””

While they were listening to this sermon, they were cut to the heart (convicted). We know the HS came down – and one of his main ministries is convicting.

John 16:8-11 “When the HS comes, he will convict in regard to sin (they don’t believe), in regard to righteousness (I’m going to heaven), in regard to judgment (the prince of this world now stands condemned already).”

Convicting is one of the main ministries of the HS. We must know that sermons are more than lectures, instructions, etc. This is not just giving and receiving knowledge in your brain. Rather, it is for convicting and changing your life – your heart, your attitude, etc – for growth to become more and more like Christ.

So, if you are not impacted, convicted by my sermon, then there is something wrong with you, or me, or both.

Whenever I prepare and preach, I pray for myself and I pray for you. Also you must pray for yourself, and also for me. Please pray for me. We are united.

Even though I’m speaking the sermon, I’m also listening to the sermon through the guidance of the HS.

#6 Faithful to the Mission

What is the final mission Christ left before his ascension? (Acts 1:8)

v. 32

“32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.”

Conclusion: v. 36

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Our conclusion: Jesus is our Savior, Lord, and King, and we are all witnesses of this fact. We are also all witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection.

We can say that Acts is the Gospel of the Resurrection.

We are witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection.

Without the resurrection of Christ, there are no more Christians, no more church, no more Christianity.

The fact of the resurrection of Christ should not be confined to only Easter Sunday. Actually, EVERY Sunday is the Lord’s Day and should be kept and remembered and celebrated as the resurrection of Christ.

If we are truly born-again Christians, don’t forget. We are living and working with the risen Lord.

God bless you. He is still alive. Do you feel this?

Let’s pray.