May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Holy Word.
Let's turn to the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2, and we'll
read verses 36, 37, and 38. The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter
2, and reading verses 36, 37, and 38. Let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard this, they
were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest
of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 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. Well I'm sure we're all aware
that that was spoken on the day of Pentecost And I thought I
would just read a statement to you about Pentecost and how it
occurred. The Jewish feast of Pentecost
was primarily a thanksgiving for the first fruits of the wheat
harvest, but it was later associated with a remembrance of the law
given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Church's transformation
of the Jewish feast to a Christian festival was thus related to
the belief that the gift of the Holy Spirit to the followers
of Jesus was the first fruits of a new dispensation. that fulfilled
and succeeded the old dispensation of the law, 50 days from the
day of the Passover. So that's quite a short little
statement about Pentecost, which I hope might be useful to the
young people, but all of us really. So we're very thankful to have
this account in the Acts of the Apostles. which speaks so clearly
of that wonderful occasion. And it really was a wonderful
occasion, and what it meant was the promise was fulfilled, which
we can read of in the prophecy of Joel. And what a wonderful
blessing again to realise that God's Word, the prophecies in
God's Word are fulfilled, will be fulfilled, and we can be thankful
today that they have been. And no doubt there are those
which we know are yet to be fulfilled, especially with regard to the
end of all things on this earth. And we should be very aware of
that fact that this world won't last forever. And there are many
signs, I believe, in the world today that we're hastening towards
that time when time will be no more. I believe the Scriptures speak
very clearly that the ancient Jewish nation will be blessed. And it's interesting that apparently
in the present time there are many Jews returning from all
parts of the world to Jerusalem. And as the people of God we should
watch these things and be concerned as to what they portray. And
again, as I sometimes mention, there are many volcanoes which
are erupting in the world today, far more than there have been. And again, this may be a sign
of the times, and we should therefore not just think, well, things
are going to carry on always as they always have been, because
quite clearly, they will not. and we need to be aware of that.
Well, this day of Pentecost had been foretold by the prophet
Joel, and they waited for it a few centuries, and now it had
come to pass in a most amazing way. And of course, the Lord
greatly blessed this occasion. As we know, there were 3,000
that followed and believed on that occasion. and how wonderful
it was. Now, it's important to realise
the effect of Peter's message. He stood up, as he often did,
and spoke great truths to the people. And here we've read just
a sentence really of some of those words and how these words
had a wonderful effect upon the people. This is what he said,
therefore, he'd spoken about what had occurred previously,
therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that
means to understand without any doubt that God hath made that
same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Well, that was a very simple
and a very profound statement and how important it was. And
we can bless God that it didn't just fall to the ground, but
it had a gracious effect upon all those people that were listening
to these words of the Apostle. And it would be good if such
words had a wonderful effect upon us today, to realise that
this is so true in a physical sense. The Jews had, of course,
crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, but we should not forget that
it's because of our sins that Jesus was crucified. If there'd been no sin, there'd
be no need for Christ to have suffered, no need for Christ
to have died and given his life as a sacrifice for sin. But you see how needful it was
and how willing was Jesus to die that we fellow sinners might
live. It's a grand and glorious statement. And so here we have Peter speaking
in these words to the people and telling them quite clearly,
all the house of Israel, and remember if we are God's people,
we are part of the house of Israel. So we are numbered. amongst these
people that the Apostle is really addressing. Therefore, let all
the House of Israel know assuredly, I think that's a wonderful statement,
so that we're not in any doubt that this is true. And it would
be wonderful if the Holy Spirit convinces each one of us of this
great fact, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, ye have crucified, that was the statement, wasn't
it, that had such an effect. And really, the whole Church
of God, the whole company of Israel, have caused, did cause,
the Lord Jesus to be crucified. What a mercy that the Holy Spirit
attended this word with power from on high. So it didn't just
fall to the ground as mere words. It touched the people's hearts. And we're told now, when they
heard this, they heard these words of Peter, they were listening. They heard the words. And what was the result? We're
told they were pricked in their heart. That means the words that
Peter spoke had an effect. It made them realize and ask,
perhaps, themselves the question, is it me? Is it me? Well, it was. And of course,
it was. true of all the Church of God,
all of us, if we are God's people, we're the cause of the blessed
Saviour passing through that great tribulation of being crucified
upon that cross at Calvary. And so these people were pricked
in their hearts and they said to Peter, who'd obviously brought
this message to them. And they said to him and to the
rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? They were guilty. So are we. Guilty of causing the death of
the Lord Jesus. And therefore they were convicted
in their hearts And that's why they came and said, men and brethren,
what shall we do? They wanted to know. They realized they were guilty. They didn't want it just to pass
away. They wanted to know what they
should do. And it's wonderful if even today,
as you and I recognize, that we're guilty. We caused the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we come and we say, men and
brethren, what shall I do? What shall I do? Well, Peter
answered them very clearly. The word of God is clear. So
simple, so clear, and so powerful. The response that Peter gave
was this, repent 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. This was a concise statement
that Peter spoke to the multitude it wasn't difficult for them
to understand and yet down through the ages how many people have
read it how many people have discounted it as irrelevant to
them or perhaps they think they can just take part of it and
not all of it But the word that Peter spoke is clear and it's
conclusive. And we shouldn't think it's irrelevant.
We should think it is relevant to each one of us. And to realize
that every one of us needs to repent. What does that mean?
That means we should be truly sorry that we caused the Lord
Jesus Christ to be crucified because of the sin that we've
done. That's the reason. And we shouldn't
think, well, I think there's many people worse than me. That
is irrelevant. The fact is that you and I are
indeed sinners because one sin is a sin, The smallest sin, what
we might consider to be small, is enough to cause this situation. And therefore, to realise, under
the influence of the Holy Spirit, which it was on this occasion,
and my friends, the power of God has not diminished. Because God uses his word, his
truth, to condemn us. What a blessing, therefore, if
as we read the word of God, it takes hold of us and we realise
Just like it was in the case of Nathan the prophet when he
came to David and told David that parable of the new lamb
and David was very upset and annoyed and What happened Nathan
said very simply thou art the man And that's good when the
Holy Spirit Convinces us that we're the guilty ones and that
we've caused Jesus to be crucified, that we caused him to die upon
that cross at Calvary. How often do we really think
of it like that? We often think it's an historical
case, which it is, of course, and therefore it doesn't have
relevance to us today. But it does. And it's important,
therefore, that the Holy Spirit does indeed convince us, as the
Holy Spirit did when the apostles spoke those words. It convicted
them and convinced them of what they were, what they'd done and
how important it is for you and me today to also realise that
we are sinners and because of our sin we've caused the Lord
Jesus Christ to be crucified upon the cross at Calvary. Now, this is not just a negative
statement. This brings with it a very positive
statement. Peter said unto them, repent
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins. That's clear, isn't it? He then
says, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost
speaks to us and shows to us that that great sacrifice upon
Calvary was done to take away our sins. That's the wonderful
gift of the Holy Ghost. And how wonderful to realize
that through the mercy of God it applies to you and applies
to me. For the Apostle goes on to say,
for the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that
are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. So what a wonderful blessing
for us today if God in his mercy and love calls us. That means speaks to us. That means perhaps makes us spiritually
alive. Indeed, as the Apostle uses the
words when he wrote to the Ephesians, and knew, hath he quickened,
that means made alive. There we were, going on in our
life, unconcerned really about the reality of the truth of God's
Word. And yet here we see was that
clear word spoken by Peter, which had such a wonderful effect upon
the people, and how good it is if God's Word, and only God's
Word, has an effect upon our hearts, upon our soul, so that
we are concerned and we do desire to recognize that we are guilty. We can't pass it off and think,
well, I don't think really I have to worry about that. I don't
think it's very important. It is. And it's very important,
quite simply, because you and I don't know how long we've got
to live on this earth. One thing we do know is that
will be a day when we shall no longer be alive on this earth. And then the great question is,
would it then be well with us? Will we be then with Christ,
which is far better? And what a mercy there for today.
The Word of God tells us, today, if you will hear my voice, harden
not your hearts. That's very gracious, isn't it,
of God, to speak words like that. He doesn't say, well, you can
wait till tomorrow. You can wait a few more days.
You can wait a few more years. He doesn't say that at all. He
says, today, if you will hear my voice, harden not your hearts. That means to disobey God. And that means to ignore God's
word. What a blessing. Therefore, if
God comes and makes us willing the day of his power. You see,
when the Lord speaks, it's with power. Sometimes we expect great
blessings. Sometimes we expect amazing things
to occur in our life. Well, we shouldn't really expect
that. I suppose in one sense it is
an amazing thing, but perhaps not in the terminology that we
expect. And we have a good example in
the Word of God to encourage us. And that was the case of
Elijah. He'd run away from Jezebel and
he was fearful of what she might do to him. And he came to a cave,
I think it was Mount Sinai, and he went into the cave and then
he came to the edge of the cave because he expected God to speak
to him. Well, God did speak to him, but
not in the way that he expected. There was an earthquake, a great
earthquake. Didn't mean anything to him,
didn't affect him. There was thunder and lightning. Didn't
have any effect upon him. And then we're told there was
a still small voice. What we're told is this, to despise
not the day of small things. little that a righteous man hath
is better than that of many wicked. And therefore remember that perhaps
we're looking for some great appearance, some wonderful thing.
We want perhaps to have an experience of like the Apostle Paul did
on the Damascus road. Well, we may not have that at
all. It may be just like it was with Lydia, that other outstanding
example where we're told the Lord opened her heart to receive
the words of the Apostle. Well, how good that would be
if the Lord opens our hearts to receive the simple words that
we have before us here this morning. Very straightforward, isn't it?
Repent, says the Lord. That means to be sorry for our
sins. And it follows on, and be baptised,
every one of you. It doesn't say, well, some of
you can be baptised. People seem to ignore it and
think it doesn't apply. And they make the excuse, and
they say, well, it's not essential for salvation. We know it's not
essential for salvation, but it is the answer of a good conscience
and it is obeying the Word of God. And here we have this statement,
repent and be baptized, every one of you. in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins. You see, it's following the wonderful
example of the Saviour, following Jesus Christ. And every one of
you, not just some of you, 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. The answer of a good conscience. My friends, that's the gift of
the Holy Ghost. The answer of a good conscience.
Comfort. You may be like a ship on an
ocean, a stormy ocean. tossed about in your mind and
yet you see here we have this gracious and encouraging word
that the Lord speaks for the promise God's promises this is
God's promise wonderful isn't it God speaks, God speaks a promise
and God keeps his promise. God doesn't speak in vain. And
so here we have this promise for the remission of sins and
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That should be
an amazing comfort to us all to realize we have a faithful
God, a God who speaks and he fulfills the words that he speaks. And so never doubt God's word. Never doubt God's words. Men
may speak, and you can't rely upon it. But you can rely upon
the word of God. And therefore, the apostle goes
on to say, for the promise is unto you and to your children
and to all that are far off even as many as the Lord our God shall
call. And again, it's good really just
to stop and ponder and ask ourselves the question, has God called
me? Has God called me? And what's our response to that?
We may have ignored God's call. We may not have wanted to hear
God's call. We may not have wanted to do
what God speaks to us. And yet, here is this wonderful
statement that promises unto you and to your children and
to all that are far off. That may be in a physical way. It may be in a spiritual way. Wonderful, isn't it, to think
that we have a compassionate God who gives us such an encouragement
as this. You may feel to be far off. You're not too far for God. For
all that are far off, everyone, even as many as the Lord our
God shall call. So if you do feel far off, You needn't despair. No, there's hope, and it's a
good hope, for those who are called, even if you feel they're
far off, to hear this gracious and wonderful Word of God. And the apostle went on to say,
didn't he, and with many other words did he testify and exhort
saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Well, today we live in an untoward
generation. There's no doubt about that.
And so the Lord says, save yourselves from this untoward generation. Well, what a mercy when the Holy
Spirit applies his word to our hearts. Because when God applies
his word to our hearts, it has an effect. And the effect is
that we don't forget it. We don't cast it aside. Because
when God speaks, God uses an illustration, it's like a rock
and the writing being written on the rock with an iron pen. That means obviously it makes
an indent in the rock and therefore it can't be erased, even though
there are storms and winds and perhaps hail and snow, it doesn't
get erased. And that's true with the word
of God to the souls of his people. Yes, what a mercy then, if it
doesn't get erased. That's when God calls us, and
speaks to us, and encouraged us. And this account is really
very encouraging. It goes on, it says, then they
gladly received his word. The Church of God gladly receive
God's word, a word of encouragement, a word of direction, a word of
guidance, a word of blessing, his word. How humbling it is
when you and I realize God has spoken. God has spoken to me. I never expected it. I never
deserved it. And yet God has looked down and come to me. You see, God
knows what word to speak to you and what word to speak to me. Men don't realise, don't know,
but God does because God knows all about us. He knows the path that we're
walking because He has ordained it. And because of that, he brings
his word to suit our situation. And how wonderful it is to be
blessed and to realise the Lord hasn't cast us off. He's looked upon us in our lowest
state. He's remembered us. and blessed
us. And so how good it is to have
a kind and gracious and merciful God. And it's amazing to think
that Almighty God, the Creator of all things, comes to us, unworthy sinners
of the earth, and does that for us. which we could not do for
ourselves. It speaks to our hearts. And so we're told then on this
account there was some really wonderful outcome, wasn't there?
And we're told then They that gladly received his word were
baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three
thousand souls. An amazing outpouring of the
Spirit of God. Now, we worship the same God
today. We're told, I am the Lord, I
change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob, are not consumed and
we should be very thankful for that and we should bless God
for it. And so here we have this amazing
account really on this day of Pentecost in the Acts of the
Apostles. God's very gracious to give us
the details and that we're able to read being encouraged by. And so today may we ponder this
account and may it have a truly good effect in our lives and
cause us perhaps to consider our ways and to turn unto the
Lord and be blessed with this wonderful and gracious favour
of repenting and perhaps The wrong way we've gone to realise
we've ignored God, but we're thankful to know and to believe
that we have a God whose mercy endureth forever. Can we not
then thank and praise God for that wonderful truth? Well, may
God instruct us and bless his word to us. Amen.