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 37 to 38. So the
Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 and reading verses 37 to 38.
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, we know, as we read in
this chapter, the beginning said, and when the day of Pentecost
was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And you may wonder really what Pentecost means and what was
the feast that they kept? Well, let me just read you a
definition of that. 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 Ghost to the followers of
Jesus was the first fruits of a new dispensation that fulfilled
and succeeded the old dispensation of the law. Well I hope that's
helpful because otherwise the name Pentecost doesn't really
mean anything to us today. But just to realise, and perhaps
the very last part of that statement, 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. Well, I hope that all of us can
rejoice today in the wonderful blessing that God has granted
to the Church, which was evidenced so wonderfully and so powerfully
on that day of Pentecost. It was a most amazing occurrence. And of course, the effects of
it still continue today, for which I trust we're very thankful. And it's good to realise that
the Lord in his great goodness and providence granted that such
statements should be recorded. Of course, we've noted that first
of all what happened was the Holy Spirit descended upon the
assembly the assembly of these people and what a mercy it was
because initially there would have been at least the disciples
but then we're told now when this was noised abroad the multitude
came together and were confounded because every man heard them
speak in his own language. Well, we can understand, can't
we, how they were confounded. And there was indeed a great
multitude that came together. And as they were together, and
they came, as we read, from so many different parts, different
nationalities, and yet most of them were Jewish people, and
they came together. And then Peter standing up because
what happened? They mocked. These people did
mock. And people still mock today.
They still mock the truth of God. They don't want to believe
in the great truth of God. And what a mercy it is if the
grace of God enables you and me to believe the great truth
of God. And so they were amazed and were
in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Well, Peter,
standing up with eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them,
Ye men of Judah, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known
unto you, and hearken to my words. But these are not drunken, as
you suppose, seeing that it is but the third hour of the day.
And as I already said, that was probably about nine o'clock in
the morning. But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet
Joel. And again, it's good, isn't it,
to recognise that there were those wonderful prophecies in
the Old Testament, hundreds of years ago, were fulfilled. And this was prophesied. And
now this has been fulfilled. And now we can read a record
of it, of what actually happened on that occasion. And what a
great blessing it was. Because as Peter says, what Joel
said, it shall come to pass. It's good, isn't it, to know
that what God has promised does come to pass. Never underestimate
the truth of God. Never think that those things
recorded in the Word of God are just there for no reason. They are there for a divine purpose. And those things which are prophesied
have and will come to pass. And how confirming it is to us
today to be able to realize they do come to pass and they will
come to pass and we deal with the same Almighty God that was
there on that day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended
in such a glorious and powerful way and so as Peter says and
it shall come to pass in that day in the last day saith God
I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh Your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions.
Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my
handmaidens, I will pour out in those days of my spirit. And they shall prophesy. And
I will show wonders in heaven above. and signs in the earth
beneath, blood and fire and vapour and smoke. Well, we won't go
through it verse by verse, but just to recognise that Peter
here declared to them these great truths. And of course, he came
down and reminded them of David, what David had said, and he said,
men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you. of the Patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is
with us under this day. So that was a fact, they knew
that, they knew that David was dead, but they also knew what
was recorded in the Psalms, the record of what David had been
able to say, and the words that God gave him to say, and what
a wonderful truth it was. And what did they do? They pointed
to Christ. They pointed to the Saviour,
to his death, to his life, to his resurrection, to his intercession. It's all pointed there in the
Psalms that David was able to write and then he comes and he
tells us He wanted to freely speak of them, and he says, 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 witnesses. You see, Peter was a witness.
He'd seen the risen Saviour. The apostles were witnesses.
They'd seen the risen Saviour. He was therefore able to declare
very clearly that these things were true. And he says, For David
is not ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord
said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand until I make thy
foes thy footstool. And that's a glorious truth.
to realise that our Saviour, our intercessor, the Lord Jesus
Christ, still today is seated on the right hand of the Father
in glory to intercede for you and me in our prayers. Again,
just to remind you, we as unworthy sinners cannot approach directly
unto our Father in heaven because he cannot look upon sin, and
we are sinners, but he sees us Christ. He sees us forgiven and
we are accepted in the Beloved and so he comes and says, therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly. That's a good statement
and it's good for us to be assured of the truth of God's Word, to
be assured of of the prophecies of God's Word, to be assured
of the things which are revealed to us. And so he says, Therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Peter was bold. Peter didn't beat about the bush.
Peter was direct and he told them where the guilt lay and
therefore he comes and tells them very clearly that God hath
made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and
Christ. Now then we see the blessed work
of the Holy Spirit. And my friends, the blessed work
of the Holy Spirit is not diminished. Blessed be God. The work of the
Holy Spirit, still today, is powerful, as it was on that wonderful
day of Pentecost. And therefore, we read now, when
they heard this, they heard what Peter had spoken, They heard
the words. Did the words just enter into
their mind and just fade away and go away? No, we're told this. Now when they heard this, they
were pricked in their heart. It had a real effect upon their
spirit, upon their souls, upon their heart. It wasn't something
trivial, something that just stuck in their mind and didn't
go any further. It affected their heart. There was a spiritual awakening. They were pricked in their heart. Well, you know, a prick, whatever
it can be, it might be a thorn or some sharp instrument, but
if that is inserted in our flesh, we know it's occurred, don't
we? You know, you just even... a thorn from a rose bush, you
know it's pricked you, alright? There's no doubt about it, and
you want to get rid of it if you can, if it's gone into your
flesh. You don't want to keep it there, because while it's
there, it's painful. And so we have this illustration
about pricking. Pricking in their heart. Well
what a great blessing it is if you and me today have been blessed
with the amazing work of the Holy Spirit. The amazing work
of Almighty God in our heart which has pricked us, has made
us aware of something which we didn't know before. we may have
known something of the things of God in our head but here was
a dramatic change and it's wonderful that God still works today in
the same dramatic way to cause his word to enter in to our heart
and it's like a prick some things happened some things had an effect
and so the Apostle Peter was able to to speak these great
truths so the effect upon the people was that they were pricked
in their heart because of the words of Peter and also we're
told the rest of the Apostles he was if you might say the leader
But the other apostles were also part of this work. They were
all blessed and they were all able to declare the great truths
of the Gospel. And the great truths of the Gospel
penetrated into the hearts of the people. What a blessing it
is if the truths of the Gospel enter into our heart. And of
course the great truth of the Gospel is centred in you and
me being convinced by this spirit that you and I have sinned against
God that we've disobeyed his commands we've disobeyed his
precepts and we're guilty before this great and holy God what
a blessing that is if the work of the Spirit of God has convinced
us in our heart This is the great truth. It's not just something
which has gone into our head. It's affected our heart. That
means it's affected our life. It's affected our spirit. It's changed us from perhaps
being someone who's just carried on day by day, careless, happy
with the poor things of this world, by the blessed work. the powerful
work of the Holy Spirit which has entered into our heart and
caused us to consider our ways. Now what was the effect upon
these people? What happened to them? What did
they do? We're told. He cried out, men and brethren,
what shall we do? That's the effect of the wonderful
work of the Spirit of God. It wasn't just on the day of
Pentecost. It really is the glorious work
of God, through the Holy Spirit, which comes into the heart of
every true believer. And may we indeed test the reality
of our religion and it's always good to examine ourselves as
to whether we are in the faith or not not to just make some
vague assumption but to realise by the grace of God the free
unmerited favour of God that the Holy Spirit has pricked our
hearts and caused us to cry to God what must I do to be saved. I'm a lost and ruined sinner. I'm guilty before a holy God. I've offended that great God
and I have caused the death of the Saviour and I have caused
the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. That's what the Apostle Peter
and the Apostles directed the people to recognise, that it
was their guilt that had caused the Saviour to be crucified upon
the cross at Calvary. Well, what a mercy, what an amazing
blessing, if the Holy Spirit reveals to us that it's our sin which was the reason that Jesus
died. Because our sins have to be removed. And you and I cannot remove them
ourselves. We have no ability. We're helpless. But to think that none less than
the Almighty Son of God took upon Himself this great and glorious
commission to come into this sinful world and to stand in
our place and to bear the punishment instead. Well, my friends, it'll
be a great day of blessing if the
Holy Spirit convinces us of this great truth. That was the great
truth that convinced this great array of people from so many
countries. They were pricked in their hearts. It had a real effect upon them. And they wanted to know what
they should do. What must we do? It wasn't something
trivial. you see it was a very real cry
what shall we do? what shall we do? well I wonder
whether you and I understand that that concern, that situation
blessing if the Holy Spirit and it is only the work of the Holy
Spirit can convince us of our need and bring us desperately
before God to ask this question what shall I do? what shall I
do? I'm guilty before a holy God
oh what a blessing it is to realise the work of the Holy Spirit still
goes on today and it's a powerful work and bless God you and I
may try perhaps to resist it, but we will not be successful
if we are one of the blessed family of God. We will be convicted
of our situation. We will cry out, what shall I
do? Peter responded. He responded,
And may the Holy Spirit respond to us today and tell us, as it
was in those days, he says, repent and be baptised, every one of
you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. You know, it's very similar words,
isn't it? To the words of the Lord Jesus
when he started his glorious ministry. Yes, after he'd been
baptised. We're told this in the Gospel
of Mark in the first chapter, verse 15. This is what he said. The time is fulfilled and the
Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye and believe the Gospel. That's not a complicated statement,
is it? And it's so significant. The
Lord Jesus spoke many words which are recorded in the Word of God,
but these are the first words which were recorded of Him, directing
this great statement. Repent ye. Direct. It's a personal statement
to all of us. Repent ye and believe the Gospel. Now, you see, both of these statements
are essential, are essential. Now, you won't ever come there
unless you've been convinced, as these people were, of their
condition, of their sin, that it was through their sin that
they'd caused the Lord Jesus Christ to die. was their sin. Therefore they cried out, what
shall we do? See the truth of the gospel,
the reality is very simple. And it's a great blessing if
you and I know the wonderful work of God in our
heart. Because it's caused a change. It's caused a concern. It's not
something that we just acknowledge in our mind and then forget about. You won't be able to forget about
the work of the Holy Spirit. Because the work of the Holy
Spirit is indelibly printed in our heart. The scripture has
a wonderful illustration, and it's this. It's inscribed with
an iron pen in the rock. See, that can't be erased. And
when the Holy Spirit convinces us of our situation, you won't
be able to erase it. You'll need God to come and show
you that He indeed has taken away your sin. That He's paid
the punishment necessary, He's paid the debt. It's been dissolved,
it's been wholly washed away in the precious blood of the
Redeemer. And suddenly, before our very
eyes, the whole plan of salvation opens up like it did on this
occasion. Here were all these people assembled
together. The Holy Spirit descended on
these apostles. They preached with powerful and
high. It had an effect upon the people. And so the cry was, men and brethren,
what shall we do? And the answer was also given.
They weren't left in limbo. They weren't left in a vacuum.
No, the answer was clearly spelled out. 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
gift of eternal life. There's no greater gift, my friends,
that you and I can receive, the gift of eternal life, because
it's what it says, it's eternal. It's not something which is going
to fade away. God has given us, He gives us
this new life, this new birth, which will never be removed.
And through that, we're a new creature. And through that, by God's grace, we shall be found
with the Saviour, in glory forever. To be able to then thank and
praise Him for His great salvation. And my friends, it is a great
salvation, isn't it? To think that the Lord Jesus
Christ, Almighty God, co-equal with the Father, co-equal with
the Holy Spirit, was so willing because he loved us so much to
come into this sinful world to save our souls what a God we
have what a compassionate God what a merciful God what a gracious
God and so here Peter was able to give this statement to them
repent And be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ. You see, baptism follows repentance. Repentance indeed is the gift
of God. And to be baptised is to confess
and to certify that we have been blessed, that we have repented,
and that our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood
and righteousness. It's the outward evidence of
the inward faith given by Almighty God. And what a mercy then it
is to realise that through His grace we receive the remission
of sins. We all need to have our sins
remitted. You and I can't do it. Don't
forget that. But blessed be God, the Saviour
has. He's died, he's finished the
work that his Father gave him to do. He's paid the price to
redeem our souls. It's a wonderful statement, I'll
have to make it you know. Redeemed with the precious blood
of Christ. And also another line which I
often state, which is the hymn writer when he says, invaluable
blood. It's a blood which you and I
cannot calculate the value of, because it frees us from eternity
in hell, delivers us from the wrath to come, gives us a passport
into heaven. And so he tells us, for the promise
is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off,
even as many as the Lord our God shall call. That's the qualification. It's as many as the Lord our
God shall call. And again, therefore, it's a
great blessing if you and I can examine ourselves and to discover
God, Almighty God, has called us. He's called us to cry out,
what shall we do? He's called us to repent. He's called us to be baptized
and to follow the gracious and glorious example of the Saviour. And he goes on and with many
other words did he testify and exhort saying, save yourselves
from this untoward generation. And here we have a wonderful
statement. Then they that gladly received his word. Well, I wonder
whether you and I have gladly received these great and wonderful
gospel truths. It's good news from a far country. There's many things to disappoint
us and make us sad. But my friends, here's something
indeed, which is really wonderful. And so he says, and as the Lord
our God shall call And with many other words did he testify, and
exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized." You
know, it was a natural reaction. Today we seem to live in a different
scene. It's a very simple, Command,
isn't it? And it's something which a true
believer should want to do, should love to do, should desire to
do, because it brings honour and glory to God. Oh, and many
other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves
from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received
his word were baptised, And the same day there were added unto
them about three thousand souls. What a day it was! What a day
it was! And what happened? And they continued steadfastly
in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of
bread and in prayers. you see breaking the bread signifies
the Lord's Supper there was a continuance there was a steadfast following
oh my friends may we pray earnestly for such blessings to be known and felt in the day
and age in which we live. We have a God who is able. We have a God who is willing.
We have a God who with nothing is too hard. We read an account like this.
It's a wonderful testimony of God's love and God's mercy and
God's grace to the Church of God. It would be wonderful if indeed
you and I can be amongst those who truly, gladly receive this
Word and rejoice in it, so that we can be truly thankful
that such an account is recorded for our benefit and for God's
honour and glory. Well, now, we read, now, when
they heard this, and you and I have 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. Amen.