00:00:00.000 - 00:00:25.840

[ Music ] ♪ Oh, let me see thee ♪ ♪ And oh, let me find ♪ ♪ Spirit of God ♪

00:00:25.840 - 00:00:53.240

♪ Be still upon my heart ♪ ♪ Fading from earth blue ♪ ♪ All its courses blue ♪ ♪ Soon to my weakness ♪

00:00:53.240 - 00:01:27.520

♪ My fears gone wrong ♪ ♪ And may we love thee as I love you ♪ ♪ And teach me to feel that ♪ ♪ Thou art always mine ♪

00:01:29.660 - 00:02:06.820

Teach me to struggle of the soul to bear, to check the rising death of rebel soul. ♪ Teach me the patient ♪ ♪ Of all our sad prayer ♪

00:02:06.820 - 00:02:38.820

♪ Spirit of God ♪ ♪ Please set upon my heart ♪ ♪ Living from heaven through ♪ ♪ All his trials yet through ♪

00:02:38.820 - 00:03:02.440

♪ True to the weakness ♪ ♪ Mighty as the Lord ♪ ♪ And keep me lonely ♪ ♪ As I long to go ♪

00:03:02.440 - 00:03:47.500

- Amen. We can continue our sermon series based on the Book of Acts. Those of you who have Bibles, may turn to Acts, the second chapter, the thirty-eighth verse.

00:03:47.500 - 00:04:29.000

This will serve as the basis of this message. "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, the subject of the message, receiving the Holy Spirit, receiving the Holy Spirit.

00:04:29.000 - 00:05:14.680

The words of our text are part of Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost. Within the Christian tradition, we think of the sermon as occurring in a worship setting. On this particular occasion, Peter is the preacher. The Spirit descends like a mighty rushing wind, and Peter stands up to preach.

00:05:14.680 - 00:05:44.640

The Spirit gives witness. God's people constitute the witnessing community. Every sermon is a witness. It is witnessing to God's action, what God has done for the redemption of his people.

00:05:44.640 - 00:06:15.340

can be no witness without the Spirit. After the Spirit comes, Peter stands up to preach. After the Spirit descends like a mighty wind, after the Spirit rests upon believers like cloven tongues of fire.

00:06:15.340 - 00:06:36.820

It is in the course of their communication with one another through the Spirit that Peter stands up to preach. Preaching is proclaiming. The preacher is a herald of the eternal word.

00:06:36.820 - 00:06:52.980

He's a messenger. He is to say what God has told him to say. In this sense, the preacher is a prophet. The prophet says, "The Lord told me to tell you."

00:06:52.980 - 00:07:34.160

Although the words are encouched in human language and they take the form of the cultural idiom, they are the means of conveying the Word of the Lord. Sometimes this Word may come to us in broken English or some other language. it may be proclaimed with eloquence, at other times it may be proclaimed with stammering

00:07:34.160 - 00:08:24.460

tongue, but nevertheless when the Spirit gives utterance and when it is what God has revealed, it is the word of the Lord. through preaching is a declaration. The preacher does not debate, he proclaims. He does not apologize for what he has to say. The preacher delivers the word. He utters divine truth.

00:08:24.460 - 00:08:49.920

And as we notice the sermon which Peter delivers on this occasion, the first thing we notice about it here is it is a testimony of Scripture. Christian preaching is based on the testimony of Scripture. What the prophet has foretold is fulfilled.

00:08:49.920 - 00:09:14.440

What you have read in the word is a reality in your midst. Peter says to them that what the prophet Joel predicted has come to pass. The spirit of God is among us. God has poured out his spirit.

00:09:14.440 - 00:09:49.640

His Spirit is with us, in us, comforting us, and leading us. God promised to perform mighty acts among his people through his Spirit. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, but how shall they call on him whom they have not heard and how can they hear without a preacher. Peter is

00:09:49.640 - 00:10:30.620

the preacher. He's the vessel God uses on this occasion. The Spirit does the preaching. He proclaims as the Spirit gives utterance. Peter tells the story of the birth, the life, the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter declares with ringing certainty, "Let all the house of Israel know that God hath

00:10:30.620 - 00:11:19.620

made the same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Those words express the gospel, that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. In fact, that is said to be the first creed of the church if you think of the church as having a creed. Jesus Christ is Lord. That was the theme of the Baptist World Alliance held in Rio de Janeiro in 1960. Jesus Christ

00:11:19.620 - 00:12:04.700

is Lord, is Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord. And Peter says here in the first sermon that this same Jesus that you have crucified that God raised up and has made him, God made him, Lord and Christ. Lord and Christ. This man Jesus is Lord. He's master of every human condition. He's Lord. Every human ailment he's able to control because Jesus is

00:12:04.700 - 00:12:39.340

is Lord. He's the master of every human conflict, so there is no conflict that you may have or that I may have that Jesus Christ cannot control. He's Lord. And we think of this man, Jesus, this man, Jesus, which means that he identifies with our humanity. You know, sometimes me want to eliminate I said you know so well you know I'm not no angel well I

00:12:39.340 - 00:13:08.180

hope the gospel is that Jesus Christ became as one of us that's the gospel and he lived as one of us in every way and he triumphs over every human condition he's Lord he He demonstrates his lordship by his existence on this earth. He's Lord.

00:13:08.180 - 00:13:24.140

Our loneliness-- sometimes life can get so lonely. But in the midst of all of the loneliness, Jesus experienced this human loneliness, and he's Lord. Sometimes we misunderstood.

00:13:24.140 - 00:13:48.560

We have such a difficult time of trying make others understand us even within the small family circle sometimes it's so difficult. But he's Lord when it, because Jesus was misunderstood even by his own mother, by his own brothers and sisters, he knows what that's like so he's Lord of that, he triumphs even in the

00:13:48.560 - 00:14:29.020

midst of all of that. He's Lord. He demonstrates his personal supremacy over every human condition. And not only that, he experiences the pain of hell. So when we go through hell on this earth, we have the consolation of knowing that Jesus, As we, Jesus himself as our model, as our dynamic model in every way, he experiences

00:14:29.020 - 00:15:11.060

all of the hellishness that we can think of. We see Jesus experiencing that when we understand the sufferings of the cross. God hath made him Lord, and his Lordship is recognized through his resurrection and his ascension, His exaltation, His reception of the Spirit, His bestowal of the Spirit upon

00:15:11.060 - 00:15:45.060

His disciples after the resurrection. All this shows that Jesus is Lord. God made Him Lord, this man Jesus, who entered history at a particular time, that this man who lived some thirty and three years in our midst who dwelt among us, that this man and all that he did and all that he represents, that Jesus Christ is Lord.

00:15:45.060 - 00:16:04.540

But he says, "He hath made him Lord and Christ." He made him Lord, Master, Ruler, and Christ. As Christ, he fulfills the hope. The Jewish people had long looked for the coming of the Messiah, the anointed of God

00:16:04.540 - 00:16:31.900

that had been the hope that the nation entertained all through the centuries. They looked for the Messiah, but here is the word that Jesus is Lord and Christ. He is the one who fulfills all of our hopes. The hopes that are meaningful are fulfilled in Him.

00:16:31.900 - 00:17:05.260

awaited expectations of humankind. Fervent dreams of humanity are realized in Him, why as Christ, He provides that atonement, that atonement, He unites estranged humanity with the Father. The children who are separated from the Father, the children who are somehow alienated from the eternal law, made at one through him.

00:17:05.260 - 00:17:23.540

He is the mediator. He is the Christ of God. God has made him Lord and Christ. As Lord, he has crowned humanity.

00:17:23.540 - 00:17:40.300

And as Christ, he has vindicated holiness. As Lord, He is the living sacrifice. As Christ, He is the victorious Redeemer. As Lord, He has fellowship with humanity.

00:17:40.300 - 00:17:53.420

He is among us. He's one of us. And as Christ, He is one who has power with God. God has made Him Lord and Christ.

00:17:53.420 - 00:18:28.260

And that is the gospel. Well that's good news when we accept him in our lives as Lord and Christ. When he hovers over our cities, over our communities as he looked over the city of Jerusalem as Lord and Christ as he rules in our world as Lord and Christ.

00:18:28.260 - 00:19:06.980

So this is the word that's declared, that's the sermon, that's the kerygma, that's the declaration that's that's the proclamation that Jesus Christ is Lord God has made him Lord and Christ now after the sermon what then well the invitation is extended. Who believes the report? The hearers ask what shall we do?

00:19:06.980 - 00:19:37.300

And the answer is repent. There are some people who who hear sermons and they talk about how many sermons they have heard but what has it done to their lives, what has been the effect, that's the important thing. What has the sermon done for me, what has it done in the life of the hearer? And the answer

00:19:37.300 - 00:20:01.400

concerning what must we do is repent, in other words change. Repentance has to do with godly sorrow, to be sorry for one's sins, in other words, Lord I haven't done as I ought to have done, I'm sorry. I have taken your substance and I have gone into a far country and I've wasted it with

00:20:01.400 - 00:20:21.880

rotten living. I have sinned against heaven and against you. I'm sorry." That's not only a feeling of godly sorrow, but repentance involves changed actions.

00:20:21.880 - 00:20:32.720

I'm willing now just to be one of your hired servants. I'm willing to act differently. I'm not that rebellious boy that I was when I left home. I'm different now.

00:20:32.720 - 00:20:55.680

I'm sorry. And I'm willing if you'll just accept me to be just one of your hired servants. So it involves faith, it involves commitment. Commitment means the giving of yourself.

00:20:55.680 - 00:21:29.320

Just as you are, as we sing, just as I am, the gift of self, here I am, Father, to be used in any way you want me used what will you have me do? Well Peter says repent, believe, have faith, and be baptized. Be immersed in the Spirit of God. Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness

00:21:29.320 - 00:22:01.120

of your sins and receive the gift of the Spirit. You see those are the conditions, repentance, faith, obedience, changed spirit, feeling godless sorrow, committing oneself to the Lord and being obedient to His Word, all of that's involved in conversion.

00:22:01.120 - 00:22:13.180

The person has a changed course, he changes his ways, going in one direction and he changes and goes in another. And when you do this, Peter says,

00:22:13.180 - 00:22:27.600

you also receive the gift of the Spirit. The gift of the Spirit. You know, water baptism, as much as we emphasize it as Baptists, is not the key to receiving the Spirit.

00:22:28.620 - 00:22:49.740

repentance and a believing heart provide the necessary preparation. They that gladly received his word were baptized. Those that received it, they received the gift of God's spirit. And Pentecost in the Christian community is receiving God's spirit.

00:22:49.740 - 00:23:24.780

Pentecost is a harvest festival, a feast of the spirit that results in the harvest of souls into the kingdom of God, receive the Spirit. Oh God gives His Spirit so freely. His Spirit is available to all who will receive His Spirit. That's the mystery of our history. As the people of God, that's the mystery of our history, that something has occurred in

00:23:24.780 - 00:23:43.220

our life that has enabled us to receive the gift. And believe me when I tell you it is a gift of God's Spirit. Gift. That's the mystery of our history.

00:23:43.220 - 00:24:17.380

else but the Spirit, the Holy Spirit that God somehow sends into our lives and pours it out. He pours it into us. That's the mystery. Who has seen the wind? We talk about the wind of the Spirit. Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I but But when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by.

00:24:17.380 - 00:24:31.660

You don't really see the spirit, not with the natural eye, but you see the results of the spirit. Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I.

00:24:31.660 - 00:25:00.660

But when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by. Somehow the actions of those who receive the Spirit are different. And you can tell by the trees that the wind is blowing. And what we need in our lives is the wind of the Spirit.

00:25:00.660 - 00:25:14.660

We need the wind to blow upon us. We need the wind to blow in our homes. We need the wind to blow on our jobs. We need the wind to blow here in Ebenezer.

00:25:14.660 - 00:25:27.660

We need the wind to blow. We need the wind. And another sign of the Spirit is the fire, because it warms up the cold hearts.

00:25:27.660 - 00:25:45.200

And we need fire. We need fire. We need fire to warm us up in our relationship to God. We need fire to warm us in our relationship to each other.

00:25:45.200 - 00:26:11.580

We need fire. We need the Spirit. And the wonderful thing about it is the Spirit is available, but we do not receive it unless we meet God's condition, repentance, faith, obedience. Nicodemus says to Jesus, "You talk

00:26:11.580 - 00:26:39.660

about this new birth, but how can it be? Am I to enter into my mother's womb again?" I said, "Nicodemus, you don't really understand this. Here you are, a teacher, you're a theologian, you're a leader, you're a professor of theology, a leader in your nation, and you don't really understand this because this is of the Spirit. It's a mystery, but it's a mystery through

00:26:39.660 - 00:27:02.380

which God enables us to write a new history. For it's a new self that is at work when you receive the Spirit. You write a new history. You know, usually many students think of history as being something dull, something so uninteresting, you know, to read about what happened thousands

00:27:02.380 - 00:27:12.140

and thousands of years ago. Well, I'm really interested in that. Many of them say it doesn't seem to come alive. But I remember having an instructor

00:27:12.140 - 00:27:24.220

when I was in the seventh grade who made history come alive for me. He made it live in my life, and I sort of fell in love with history, you know.

00:27:24.220 - 00:27:30.060

Wherever he would see me, He lived in my neighborhood. Wherever he would see me sometimes in the grocery store, he would ask me, Marvin, what about so and so?

00:27:30.060 - 00:27:38.220

When did Balboa discover the Pacific? When did such and such a thing happen? I'd answer, in the grocery store. Wherever he met me on the street.

00:27:38.220 - 00:27:54.700

He somehow made it alive and identified with it and really what God calls upon us to do is to receive his spirit in order that we might write a new history.

00:27:54.700 - 00:28:05.600

That's what the book of Acts is all about. It's the acts of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles. God wants to act in our lives.

00:28:05.600 - 00:28:18.020

He wants to do that. He wants this church to come alive and somehow in coming alive, turn this community upside down.

00:28:18.020 - 00:28:42.740

God wants that to happen. But it can only happen through his spirit. And when that happens, what really occurs is that we are able, through this experience of the Spirit, to go back to that which is old, that which is all past, and we're able

00:28:42.740 - 00:29:03.680

to take a journey back to that, and we make the past contemporary in our lives. Sure, Jesus came upon this earth 2,000 years ago almost. He lived, he died, we've never seen him in the flesh. But through the spirit, through the spirit

00:29:03.680 - 00:29:15.880

that we can somehow identify with his life, that life that was lived 2,000 years ago, through the spirit you can say I met him. It becomes contemporary, say I know him,

00:29:15.880 - 00:29:36.900

I know he's alive now. Because he lives in my life and I walk with him, I talk with him, and he heals my wounds just as he healed those years ago. That's what it means, a new spirit, a new you, a new life.

00:29:36.900 - 00:30:08.700

His spirit gives us a new worldview and we have new eyes, new feet, quick on errands of mercy and new hands performing ministries of helpfulness. As we come now to the invitation, that's not something that we just read about in the first history of the Christian church that Luke wrote in the book of Acts years ago.

00:30:08.700 - 00:30:27.280

It's something that needs to be contemporary in the lives of us all. It's real. It's something that God does for us through Jesus Christ. It's real.

00:30:27.280 - 00:30:47.220

It's something that you can really know. You know it for yourself. can tell it wherever you go because it's changed the course of your life. Receiving the Holy Spirit is something that that occurs because somewhere along

00:30:47.220 - 00:31:13.260

life's way we met Jesus and he spoke peace to our soul. You can meet him this morning his spirit is present. The invitation is extended now for you to commit your way into the Lord. Say, "Lord, I've strayed, but I want to come back. I want you to take control of my life. I want you to guide me in the way that I

00:31:13.260 - 00:32:08.660

should go and comfort me in the midst of the raging seas of life. We invite you to come now because it's real." Oh, how well do I remember how I doubted day by day, For I did not know for certain that my sins were washed away.

00:32:12.660 - 00:33:31.160

When the Spirit tried to tell me, I would not the truth receive. I endeavor to be happy and to make myself believe. But it's real, it's real -- oh, I know it's real. Praise God, the doubts are settled, for I know, I know it's real.

00:33:34.160 - 00:34:41.840

But at last I tired of living such a life of fear and doubt. For I wanted God to give me something I would know about. So the truth would make me happy, and the light would clearly shine, and the spirit It gave assurance that I'm his and he is mine.

00:34:41.840 - 00:34:51.840

[BLANK_AUDIO]