I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn back with me to the book of Acts chapter
2. Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. When the Spirit of God moved
in power, upon some preachers on the day of Pentecost. They began to do something that
was marvelous and that amazed and confounded and caused doubt
in the minds of many people that were there. The scripture says that They
were amazed and marveled in verse 7 of chapter 2. They said one
to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in
our own language wherein we were born? What did they hear? Well, the
Scripture says in verse 11, the wonderful works of God. Verse 12 says that they were
all amazed and were in doubt, saying one to another, ìWhat
meaneth this?î Others, mocking, said, ìThese men are full of
new wine.î Now I want you to notice something. What were these
men preaching? They were preaching the Gospel.
They were preaching the Gospel. I don't know what passage they
were from out of the Old Testament. I don't know where they were
coming from, but I know this, they were hearing the wonderful
works of God. Not the works of men, but they
were hearing the works of God. But I want you to notice the
effect that it had on those that heard. They were amazed. They wondered. They were in doubt. They said, ìWhat does all this
mean?î Some of them mocked, said, ìThese guys are drunk.î What was the message and what
was the effect? It was the gospel. What was the
effect? Well, it caused them some anxiety. They were perplexed. But the
Spirit of God, though He was not pleased to reveal to us what
exactly was said, they were preaching the wonderful works of God. Now
in verse 22, He is pleased to reveal to us exactly what was
said by Peter. I want us to look for just a
few minutes at a Pentecostal message. Now, this is a message. Now, I'm going to read this whole
message that Peter preached. I'm going to read the whole message
that he preached. I read it. I read it through. I read the
whole message. John, it took me 1 minute and
48 seconds. I timed it. Peter preached a message and
it was less than two minutes long. A Pentecostal message. Here was the message that was
preached. Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth,
the man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and
signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves
also know Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain. whom God hath raised up, having
loose the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning
him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on
my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my
heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad, moreover also my flesh,
shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to seek corruption.
Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make
me full of joy with thy countenance." Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he's both dead and
buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore,
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath,
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would
raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He, seeing this before,
spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not
left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore,
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed
forth this which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended
into the heavens, but he saith himself the Lord, saying unto
my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy
footstool. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus,
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." That was his
message. Preached on the day of Pentecost,
a message that lasted less than two minutes. What did he say? You men of Israel, that are standing
under the sound of my voice today, hear these words. If God Almighty
blesses that command to the hearts of people, they are going to
hear. Jesus of Nazareth, a man, a true
man, made of a woman, made under the law, made in the likeness
of sinful flesh, yet without sin, Jesus of Nazareth, a man,
but not merely a man, a man approved of God, a man exposed by God,
a man declared by God. How? among you by miracles and
wonders and signs which God did by Him in the midst of you, as
ye yourselves also know." You know this, Peter said. You know
that what I'm saying is so. You saw the miracles. You saw
Him take two fish and five loaves of bread and break them, bless them, feed 5,000 men, women and children.
You saw Him give sight to the blind. You saw Him heal lepers. Many of you saw Him walk on the
water. You know this is so. A man approved
of God. What Peter was saying is, here's
God in the flesh, manifest in evidence by miracles that you
cannot refute. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. He was delivered, Peter
said. He was delivered by Judas in
the garden. Him being delivered. Judas was
an instrument in the hands of Almighty God. He was delivered.
He was delivered by these Jews to Pilate. Peter said Him being delivered
by the determinant, by the appointed counsel and foreknowledge of
God. How comforting it is for us to realize that Almighty God
is the One who worketh all things after the counsel of His own
will, before the foundation of the world. Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit engaged in that everlasting covenant of grace for the accomplishment
of the salvation of God's people. You know that. Christ Jesus,
who everlastingly stood as the surety, stood to answer the great
Judah himself. Remember Judah? He told his dad,
He came to Benjamin, his little brother, and he said, I'm going
to stand for him. I'll be surety for him. If I
don't bring him back, you can just blame me for the rest of
my life. Blame me forever. If I don't bring him back, he
has stood as the surety. He has stood as the one who would
answer. And then according to God's everlasting
covenant of grace, he was delivered by the determinant counsel and
foreknowledge of God, according to God's will, according to God's
purpose. He who came into this world to
seek and save that which was lost, His people are going to
save His people. Call His name Jesus. He'll save
His people from their sins. He said, this one delivered by
the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God You've taken. You took Him. You've taken and
by wicked hands have crucified and slain. That's what Peter
was telling them. He said, Christ Jesus laid down
His life for the sheep according to the determinate counsel of
Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. paid their debt
to God's law and put away their sins by the shedding of His own
blood in their stead. He truly died. Jesus of Nazareth, a man, a man,
laid down His life, shed His blood, the just for the unjust,
all according to God's purpose and God's will and God's counsel. And you're a rebel. You're a
rebel against God. The Spirit of God then, through
Peter, revealed that the Lord Jesus Christ truly died. Verse 24, Whom God hath raised
up, He was buried, His soul ascended into thy hands, Father. I commend
my spirit." He laid down his life. He died. He died. Three days in that grave. The Spirit of God reveals through
the preaching of Peter, but God raised him up having loosed the
pains of death because it was not possible, wasn't possible
that he should be holding of it. God released him. You have a man die, a man without
Christ. What possibility do you think
that man has of being released from the pains and the penalty
of death, eternal death? What do you think the possibility
is? None. No possibility that he'll ever
be released. The way He died is the way He's
going to spend eternity. But for the Lord Jesus Christ,
Peter said, the Father raised Him up having loosed the pains
of death because it wasn't possible. Why was it not possible? The pains of death being held
in the cords of death, He could not hold Christ because justice
had been satisfied. The offering of His body was
given once and for all. His blood answered to every demand
for justice and righteousness. He obeyed God. He was made sin. He died under the penalty of
God's law that was due every one of God's elect. And when
he died, he was laid in that grave, and three days later,
the debt's paid, the law is satisfied, justice is put away toward all
for whom Christ died. Not possible to stay there. Not
possible God raised him up. That message of the resurrection
was that very message that the Jews greatly sought to stifle. Put a guard. Put a stone. Put
a stone on that tomb and you put a guard there. Oh, they'll
try to come steal him away. Don't let him get out of there. Let him stay there. That truth,
you see, of the resurrection had been promised. Look in Psalms
16, Psalms 16, 8 to 11. They had these Scriptures, Psalms
16. These Jews had read this Scripture
before. These were the Scriptures that they said they believed.
Psalm 16, look at verse 8, I have set the Lord always before me,
because He is at my right hand. I shall not be moved, therefore
my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices. My flesh also shall
rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt
show me the path of life, in thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures
forevermore." Now, what did Peter do while he was preaching that
message that was two minutes long? He said that. Look at verse
25 to 28. He said, for David, back in the
Psalms, he's quoting the Psalms, "...speaketh concerning him,
I foresaw the Lord always before my face. He is on my right hand,
and I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover, also my flesh shall
rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer. Thine holy one, to see corruption,
thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make
me full of joy with thy countenance." What he did was, he said, I'm
telling you, these scriptures that you read, They foretold
that the Messiah, the Lord of glory, that God was going to
raise Him, He was going to be resurrected. That may present a problem for
them if He comes out of that ground. This is what God had
said, but it wasn't possible. It wasn't possible that He should
be holding. He died. Our penalty put away. He satisfied God. And then, mercifully,
the Spirit of God reveals through the Apostle Peter. See, they'd
love to apply that verse of Scripture to David. If that could be talking
about David, that was a psalm. David wrote that psalm. That's
talking about David, they'd say. But then the Spirit of God reveals
something through Peter. And he preaches it to them. And
he said, this wasn't talking about David. Look at verse 29. Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he's both dead and
buried. His sepulcher is with us unto
this day. We can go and find his sepulcher.
We know where his sepulcher is. He's still there. Wasn't talking
about David. Therefore, being a prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit
of his loins, the one that would come through the natural lineage
of his loins, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, according
to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on His throne. And he, that is David, seeing
this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ. That's what he was
saying. David wasn't talking about himself. He was talking
about the Lord Jesus. He was talking about the Messiah,
that his soul was not left in hell. Neither his flesh did see
corruption. David's body is corrupted. David's going to be raised like
other believers will. He's going to be changed. But
he said, David was speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he
said in verse 32, This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we're
all witnesses. And therefore, now that the Lord's
raised him up, since the Lord's raised him up, therefore, being
by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father
the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which
ye now see and hear." The Lord has ascended into heaven, Peter
said, and God the Father now has sent forth the promise of
the Holy Spirit, which you see and you hear. David has not ascended
into the heavens. But he saith himself, the Lord
said unto my Lord, Jehovah said unto the Lord Jesus Christ, sit
thou on my right hand until I make thy fold, thy footstools." Oh,
I'm telling you, Peter preached a message that was so simple
and it's expounding. But all the might that Almighty
God pleased to bless that message with. The scripture sets forth
that verse 37 and here's the Pentecostal repentance. That
was a Pentecostal message. He preached the gospel of Christ
and here's what happened. Verse 37, now when they heard
this, they were pricked in their heart. and said unto Peter, to
the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Previously, they had heard the
mighty works of God. That's what Scripture says. How
is it that we hear in all of these different men preaching?
They're Galileans, and they're preaching the mighty works of
God. were hearing the gospel preached,
what was the effect that it had on them? Well, they were amazed. Boy,
that's an amazing thing. These guys are Galileans and
look, they're preaching in Mead. That's an amazing thing. Some
doubted. They were confounded. They were
perplexed. Some of them mocked, said, these
men are drunk. But the effect that it had upon
them went no further. But Peter stood up and preached
a message, two minutes long, and the Spirit of God blessed
it. What did Peter say that was really
any different than what the context of any gospel message that we
preach today. What's the difference? He proclaimed
the Lord to be God's Messiah. He died for our sins according
to the Scriptures. He was buried. He was raised.
He's ascended, sitting on the right hand of the Father. The
difference was the Spirit of God moved in power. And the Scripture
says, when they heard that, they were pricked in their heart.
You know, the gospel can be heard and with the mind. We can give
acknowledgement to it. You know what I believe that
is? I believe that's the mighty works of God. I believe that's
the truth. And that message have no effect
on us whatsoever. But if Almighty God comes in
power, and gives a man, gives a woman ears to hear and a heart
to understand, something marvelous happened. They were pierced through
with conviction. They heard with understanding
that Christ had come to save His people. That's what they
heard. They heard that He was delivered
by the determinate counsel of God, by God's purpose. And they heard that he had satisfied
God by shedding his own blood and dying to finish the work
of redemption. And they heard now that he was
in heaven, seated at the right hand of God until God made all
his foes, his footstool. His foot was going to be on everyone
in rebellion against him. And these were the ones that
just 50 days ago, many of which about a month and a half before,
cried, crucify him. You crucify him. And Pilate said,
you want me to crucify your king? We don't have a king but Caesar. This man's a charlatan, claims
to be somebody, he's a heretic, that's all he is. Crucify him. Give us Barabbas. Kill this guy. Kill this guy. What's the significance
of that? He said, therefore, back in verse 36,
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus Whom you crucify. Whom you crucify. The one that you crucify, both
Lord and Christ. And the scripture says, when
they heard that, they were pricked in their heart. Pentecostal conviction, or true
conviction by the Spirit of God. The first thing that you're going
to see in true conviction is that God's going to reveal to
a man, to a woman, what they are. You're a rebel against God. You're a sinner. You are a true
rebel in every sense of the word. And you have absolutely no ability
to do anything about it. took the Lord of Glory, and you
crucified Him. And He's at the right hand of
God right now. And He's seated right there. He's going to be
there until God makes every one of His foes to be His footstool.
Men and brethren, what shall we do? Oh, but how wonderful
it is to behold the grace of God. Surely, The Spirit of God
had wrought a work of mercy upon these hearers. God did something
for them. You know, it is the most refreshing
thing to see or to hear a man or a woman confess what they
are by nature. And to hear them to shun, all
like Paul the Apostle did concerning himself when he was sold of Tarsus.
All these things that he did, and I was born on the right day
in the right family, and I was a Hebrew, and I was this and
that. Concerning the law, I was blameless, you know. But when
all those things, by the grace of God, became dung to him, all
of those works of self-righteousness that he counted not anymore to
be anything more than loss, dung, that's what he said. He said,
oh, that I might know Him, that I might be found in Him, that
God would show mercy to this sinner for Christ's sake. When
they heard that, they said, men, I like this, men and brethren,
you know, when God does something for a sinner, makes them see
the mercy of God in Christ, those that they once despised, preachers
that they hated, Preaches that they wish would die. Wish they
didn't have to fool with you anymore. What a sweet title it
is. Brethren. Brethren. That's what
Abraham told Lot. He said, Lot, we're brethren.
Ain't no squabbles with us. We're men and brethren. What
are we going to do? We're rebels against God. We
crucified the Lord of glory. We heard you say it, Peter, but
the Spirit of God revealed it to me." And they were pricked
in their heart. Their hearts were broken. And
what did the Spirit of God instruct Peter to say? Verse 38, And Peter
said unto them, Repent, think differently, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission
of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Repent. Change your mind. Now here's
something that you and I have absolutely no ability to do. Can a leopard change his spots? Can the Ethiopian change his
skin? No, and you can't change your
heart either, but God can. And with that command came the
power from Almighty God and made them willing in that day, in
the day of His power. What did He say? What are we
going to do? Men, brethren, what are we going
to do? He said, turn from your thoughts Turn from your thoughts
of justifying yourself before God by self-righteous works. You want to see the evidence
of true repentance? I'm not talking about going to
picture shows and wearing this, that and the other and dancing
and smoking and drinking and cussing and stuff. Lord will teach a man to think
differently on how God justifies a sinner. True repentance is evidenced
when a man or a woman knows salvations of the Lord and not by works
of righteousness that I have done. True repentance There's
a change of mind because there's a new mind imparted. There's
a change of heart because there's a new heart imparted. There's
a change of masters because there's a new master that is enthroned. And I am no longer the master. Christ is all. What are we going
to do? Repent. Change your mind. And God must grant repentance.
God gives repentance. And what's the evidence of it?
What do we do in evidence of it? He said, be baptized. Be baptized. Not for salvation. Think about this. If you're baptized in order to
be saved, is that not works? If I believe that water saves
me, that water is my Savior. That's my idol. That's my God. Water. Water. What are we going
to do? Repent and confess the Lord. How? In the Lord's way, in baptism. My heart is for Him and with
Him, for He lives within me. God shows mercy by granting mercy. Repent, be baptized. We're baptized
for or because of the remission. That's what He said. Let me read
this so you can understand it. Repent and be baptized, every
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. because the Lord has
remitted your sins." That word for there is not in order to
be. It is because of. And you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost Himself
is the gift. Repentance and baptism, Almighty
God sets forth as being the evidence of regeneration. For this promise
is unto you. Isn't that a word of mercy? God has promised to you and to your children. What is
that significance? Let His blood be upon us and
upon our children. You crucify Him. We'll take the
blame, our kids will too. For the promise is unto you and
to your children and to you all that are far off, even as many
as the Lord our God shall call, shall summon in power and in
mercy and in grace. This word of comfort was given
to them because these awakened souls remembered well their guilt
of crucifying the Lord of glory. That's what Peter just told them.
He said, you with wicked hands have taken and crucified. All
that statement that His blood be on us and on our kids, what
are we going to do? Repent. Well, what happened? In closing, verse 41 through
the end there, here it is, a Pentecostal walk, a Pentecostal message,
Pentecostal repentance. And now what was the evidence
that God had done something for them? Then they that gladly received
His Word were baptized. And the same day there were added
unto them about 3,000 souls. You know, I read that, and the
Lord's hand is not shortened that He can't save. Almighty
God can bless a message, pour out His Spirit and save. Peter
preached a message that was less than two minutes long, and God
saved 3,000 people. Oh, the power of God. That's
what I'm talking about when I say this. I can prepare and I can
seek the Lord's face and seek the Lord's message and write
down some notes. But I know this, if the Spirit
of God doesn't move in power to bless those words, it'll just
be a biblical message and some will be amazed and some will
wonder and some will doubt and some will mock. But if God blesses
it, What will happen? Well, they gladly received His
Word. Oh, I'm so thankful that God
would give me a heart to believe Him. And they were obedient. They were baptized. The Lord
added unto them 3,000. They continued, look at this,
steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and in fellowship, breaking
of bread in prayers. Oh, where the Lord put them openly
manifesting His mercy to them, called them out, revealed them
to be who He said they were, lively stones. The Lord building
together, outwardly constructing His church, that which He had
eternally purposed. They continued steadfastly in
the Apostles' doctrine. Is that necessary? Well, I can tell you this, if
a man or a woman doesn't stay, what does Scripture say? They
went out from us because they were not of us. For if they had
been of us, surely they would have remained. But they went
out that it might be made manifest that they didn't know God. They
continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. A believer's
got to hear the gospel. They got to hear the gospel.
And they continued steadfastly in fellowship, breaking of bread. They were together. God's people
are with God's people. That's where they want to be.
They're sheep. They're sheep. And fear, that is respect. It
came upon every soul. Many wonders and signs were done
by the apostles. And all that believed were together,
had all things common, sold their possessions and goods and parted
them to all men as every man had need. And they, continuing
daily with one accord in the temple, breaking bread house
to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness
of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And
the Lord continued to bless the Word. He continued to bless the
message. The Lord, the Lord, the Lord
added to the church daily. Such as should be saved. All
those that Almighty God had everlastingly loved and chosen in Christ those
for whom the Lord laid down His life, those that the Lord powerfully
predestinated, caused their destination to come to this place, to Jerusalem,
had heard the message, continued to be preached, preached and
preached, and they stayed steadfast. What are they going to hear?
Tell us about the Lord again. Tell us about the Lord. Tell
us where He is. Tell us what He's doing right
now, interceding, that He ever liveth to make intercession for
us. Tell us again what He's done. Tell us when He's coming back.
Tell me that. Tell me one more time how He
loved me before the foundation of the world, chose me. Tell me that one more time. That's
what a believer wants to hear. Bless the message and add it
to the church daily. Such as should be saved. Lord, bless the word to our hearts
for Christ's sake. Amen.