If you will, turn back with me
now to Acts chapter two. I'm going to use verse 39 as
my text and my subject, and I've titled
this The Gospel of Promise, of promise. This day, as I said unto you earlier, was
the first day. This is the opening address to
the church in the gospel age. From the coming of our Lord,
it marked what he calls the last days. You see that over and over
and over. In the last days, in the last
days. What's he talking about? He's
talking about from the time of Christ's birth to the end of
the world. We're living in the last days. In the last days. And this day
of Pentecost marked the promise of the Holy Ghost that Christ
said would come. He would come. And he says here in verse 39,
this promise is unto you, it's unto your children, and it's
unto them that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call. The gospel is the gospel of promise. Promise time and again, he tells
us that. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. That's God's promise. That's
his promise. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. That's God's promise. If you
continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed, and
you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
That's a promise. And then he tells us this, Abraham
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded
that what God had promised, he was able also to perform. A promise is of little value
if the one promising is unable to keep the promise. Think about
what I'm saying. The religion of this world has
a savior that promises salvation but cannot always produce it. Is that right? He said, I love you. But I'm
going to quit loving you if this, if that, if this. No, that's
not how God declares his love. That's not how he does it at
all. God has written over and over
in the scriptures that he has chosen a people in his son, in
his son, before the foundation of the world, chosen a people.
He calls them his church, he calls them his elect, he calls
them sons of Jacob, he calls them sons of promise, he calls
us heirs, heirs of God, join heirs with Christ. Calls them his bride. But it all comes down to the
same thing. It's his elect. It's those chosen
of God in Christ before the foundation of the world. And all of these promises, his
son has made the surety of all that he's purposed to give to
us. What's a surety? Well, he's gonna make sure all
the blessings of the covenant go to whom they were sent and
actually come to be. All these promises. And every
promise of God in him is sure. It's sure, there's nothing iffy
about it. It's sure. Paul wrote to the
church at Corinth and he said in 2 Corinthians 1.19, you can
jot that down and read it when you get home. I'll quote it for
you. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was preached among you by us, Even by me, Paul said, and
Silvanus and Timotheus was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. What's he talking about? Well,
here it is, verse 20. For all the promises of God in
him are yea and amen. What's that mean? I mean, so
be it. They're sure. Not one promise is gonna fail.
Not one for whom Christ undertook and become their surety will
die in their sins. He's gonna save every one of
them. Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. I have three things I want us
to see in this opening address to the Gospel Age. I want us
to see what is the promise that Peter's talking about here. And
then secondly, to consider to whom this promise is given. And
then lastly, to consider why this promise is given. So let's
begin here. What is the promise? Well, the
promise has to do with Jesus Christ. If you, I read most of
the chapter to you, it was all about Christ. Everything that
I had to say was about Christ. It's about Christ the Lord. Let
all the house of Israel know assuredly, verse 36, that God
hath made that same Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and
Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is the promised
Messiah. He's the promised Christ. He's
the promised Redeemer. Everything God has for chosen
sinners is pinned to him. If you have Christ, you have
everything God has for chosen sinners. And if you have not
Christ, you have not life. That's what John said. He that
hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. Whatever else he hath, he don't
have life. To know him is to have eternal
life. John said, we know that the Son
of God hath come and given to us an understanding that we may
know Him that's true, and that we're in Him that's true, even
in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God, now listen,
and eternal life. To know Him is to have eternal
life. To come to Him is the very heart
of faith. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, he said. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. He told them that he had to go
away, and he said, you know where I'm going, and you know the way. He told them that. He taught
them that. And they said, we don't know
where you're going. And how can we know the way? Christ said,
I am the way. Huh? I am the way. I am the truth. And I am the
life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. But you say Peter's talking here
about the gift of the Holy Ghost. Yes, he is. But his presence
here is because of our Lord's presence there. You see that? That's the significant thing.
Christ died and rose the third day and ascended into glory.
He's seated at the right hand of God. He says in John 16, 7,
I tell you the truth. It's expedient for you that I
go away, For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto
you, but if I depart, I'll send him unto you. Howbeit, when he,
the Spirit of truth, is come, he'll guide you into all truth,
for he shall not speak of himself." Uh-oh. Boy, there it goes out
the window, Pentecostalism. There it goes, right out the
door. He's not going to speak of himself. He's not going to
magnify himself. He's not going to speak of himself.
Everything's not going to be centered around him. He shall not speak of himself,
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, he shall
glorify me. For he shall receive of mine
and show it unto you, the evidence of the presence of the Holy Ghost
in the church is not tongues, it's not healing, it's not immunity
to poison, and it's not future prophecy. Well, what is it? It's the gospel of Jesus Christ. You have no evidence that the
Spirit of God resides in you if you're ignorant of Christ. That's what He does. He brings
to you the knowledge of Christ. He takes what I'm saying to you
and applies it to your mind and heart. He brings it home. He does for you what you can't
do for yourself. It's knowledge and understanding
of Christ. The Spirit is called in 1 Peter
1 11, the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit of Christ, he's talking
about these Old Testament prophets. They didn't know to whom or at
what time these things that the Spirit of Christ which was in
them did testify. When they were moved by the Holy
Ghost, and that's how they wrote, they were moved with the Spirit
of Christ. But they go home. Christ was
given the Spirit without measure as the God-man. And what is attached to this
promise? Remission of sins. Remission of sins. Though this
man is through this man, he tells us over in Acts chapter 13, he's
preaching to those at Antioch, Paul is. And he said, through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Reconciliation, he said, and
all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus
Christ. Reconciled in the body of His
flesh through death to present us holy, unblameable, unreprovable
in His sight. Pulled free justification by
Christ, by His righteousness, God sent forth His Son to be
the propitiation, a propitiation through faith in His blood. to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that he
might be both just and justifier. He's just in the justification
of all them that believe. What about peace with God? He
says Christ is our peace. We don't have any peace apart
from Christ. He made the peace. Adoption? When the fullness of
the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. That's why He came. God hath predestinated us, He
tells us in Ephesians 1, 5, unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. Eternal life, we know that the
Son of God came, giving to us an understanding. What do these things have to
do with Christ and those to whom the promise is given? A new birth. He tells us in John 1, he was
in the world, he made the world. But he was in the world, and
the world received him not. He came unto his own. Who's that? The Jews, his own people, his
own city, his own temple. He came unto his own, and his
own received him not. But a few did. And to those that received him,
how come they did and nobody else did? To them gave he power
to become the sons of God who were born, not of the will of
the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God, but of God. Jesus Christ has everything to
do with the new birth. Led to repentance, he said, the
goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. Where is that
goodness that's in Christ? None good but God, that's what
he told that rich young ruler when he came to him and said,
good masters, he said, why callest thou me good? Ain't none good
but God. We're given a new mind and a
new heart brought to submission to Christ. We're going to bow
to Christ. I know people get the idea, well
salvation's by grace and so if I receive that, if I accept that,
then I'm all fixed up and good and I'll just take my little
insurance policy and put it up and go on with my life. No, that
ain't how it works. That ain't how it works. First thing you're gonna do is
bow at the feet of King Jesus. That's what you're gonna do.
You're gonna submit yourself to him. Paul tells us over in
Romans chapter six, he said, no you not, to whom you obey,
his servant you are, to whom you obey. Oh, but he said, I thank God
for you. You have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
which was delivered you. And now you made free from sin. You bowed to him. You can't talk
about coming into a kingdom and then rebelling against the king. That ain't gonna work. Christ
is king in his kingdom. The kingdom is there because
of the king. Without the king, there's no
kingdom, right? He king. His coronation, he entered
into glory. God put the crown on him, said,
sit here at my right hand. till I make all thine enemies
thy footstool. He can't. And there's one issue
that believers and unbelievers are gonna come to face in that
day. They're all gonna confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. Every one of them. Every knee's gonna bow, every
tongue's gonna confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. He's Lord. We're brought to submission in
Christ. We're given comfort by the Spirit of Christ, given comfort
in trials and joy and sorrows and patience and tribulations. And what about perseverance?
Perseverance in faith. He said, if any man draw back,
my soul shall have no pleasure in him. but you're not of them
that draw back. You're unto them that believe
to the saving of the soul. How come? Because you're kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation, that's why. You
persevere because he preserves. They go together. And this is, I'm talking about
perseverance and faith in an ungodly world. He gives us power
to become sons of God. And then secondly, let's see
who is to be recipient of this gospel promise. Acts 2.39 said
the promise is unto you. Unto who? Unto who? Was he looking one guy in the
face and saying the promise of God is unto you? No. No, he's
looking at those assembled before him. And he's saying the promise
of God is unto you, unto you. All those assembled before him. He's not talking about those
who ignore it, discard it, cut it out of their minds and hearts.
He told those Jews on this day, he said, this is the stone that
you builders said it not. You said it got no place in our
temple. But God made this same stone
that you rejected, the chief cornerstone of his temple. This promise is always given
by a messenger of God to those gathered of God to hear him. Read Romans chapter 10, see what
it says. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. But how you gonna call on him
in whom you have not believed? And how you gonna believe in
him of whom you have not heard? And how you gonna hear without
a preacher? And how's he gonna preach if God don't send him? It's always given by a messenger
of God to those gathered of God to hear him. As many, he tells us, that the
Lord our God shall call. Oh, you say, I wish my brother or sister or mom or
dad was here to hear that message. If it was for them, they wouldn't
be. They'd be here. They'd be here. They're not here.
Well, who's this message for? It's for you. You see what he's
saying? This promise is unto you. Unto
you. God has from the beginning, Paul
said, chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. Now watch. Wherefore he called
you by our gospel. And now what they say? 2 Thessalonians
2, 13 and 14. The promise Peter declared is
unto you. Unto you gathered in this assembly
at this time. It's not for them who are not
here, it's for you. It's for you. And then secondly,
it's to your children. Not to them who are somewhere
else, but to them who are seated here. Them that you see to it. are
here to sit under the hearing of the gospel. I can't begin to tell you how
important it is to keep your children under the sound of the
gospel. God may not save them. There's
no guarantee that he's gonna save them, but I can guarantee
you this, apart from this gospel, they're not gonna be saved. Philippian jailer that very night
assembled his whole house to hear God's messengers preach.
He dug every slave, every servant, the cook, all of them. He got
them all out of bed. This is all going on after midnight. And he begged those men that
he had been in charge to keep in that prison, he begged them
to preach to him. And they did. You know what God
did? He saved that whole house. Ever
a servant, ever a cook, they were all baptized the same night. I tell you, whatever's missing
in our generation, I crave it as I read through the scriptures.
You know, we talk about baptism and we'll mull it over in our
minds for about 10 or 15 years, and well, I guess it's time now,
maybe I oughta be, These people, he made them baptize his whole
house at three o'clock in the morning. That Ethiopian eunuch,
when Philip preached to him the gospel, the first sign of water
he saw, he said, what does hinder me from being baptized? Well,
he said, do you believe? He said, I believe with my whole
heart. Come on. He went down in the water and
he was baptized. And what about this? Christ came
down that path. John said, behold, the Lamb of
God taketh away the sin of the world. Here he comes. Here he
comes. And Christ said, I come to be
baptized, John, all my soul. He said, I ain't worthy. I ain't
worthy to unloose your sandals. He said, suffer it to be so now. Suffer it to be so. Sound necessary to me if the
Son of God submitted to us. Is there some reason why I shouldn't? Solomon said, train up a child
in the way he should go, and when he's old, he will not depart
from it. That doesn't mean he's gonna
be saved, but he'll know better than to depart from that way. God has ordained means to save
his elect. Do not ignore them. I warn you,
don't ignore them. Don't set them aside. Don't take
them for granted. It's the highest privilege on
earth to gather in this place this morning and hear this gospel
preached. The promise is first to you and
then secondly to your children and thirdly to all that are far
off. Who's that? What's that mean,
a far off? It means four things. First of
all, he's talking about intellectually. This world is far off from knowing
God. I was religious, I went to church,
I participated in church activities. I did all those things and didn't
know God. Didn't know God. Intellectually,
I was ignorant. ignorant of God. In 1 Corinthians 6, 9, and 10,
Paul warns us about rank immorality, telling us that, and that's the
second thing, we're far from him morally, not just intellectually,
but morally. Far from him. And he warns us
He tells us that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom
of God. Be not deceived, he said, neither fornicators, idolaters,
adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves, of mankind, thieves,
covetous, drunkards, revilers, nor extortioners. None of these
are going to inherit the kingdom of God. But now watch this. Such were some of you. Huh? Oh, my son, such. or some of
you, but you're washed. You're sanctified, you're justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Don't ever attempt to cut off
a hearer and take the promise away from anyone based on their
past. I'm warning you, don't do it,
don't do it. God's promise is unto them who
are far off. Intellectually, morally, thirdly,
geographically. Geographically. He said, go into
all the world and preach my gospel. Because I've got some that are
far off. Not everybody, God said, gonna dwell in Jerusalem. Go
there first, he said, preach the gospel. To the Jew first.
But also to the Gentiles. Why? Because God has a people
out of every tribe, people, nation, and tongue under heaven. That's
why. We got a group of people listening
to us in Australia. That's about as far away as you
can get, isn't it? That's on the other side of the world. There's a small group in England
listens to us. Canada. Italy, Spain, Netherlands,
Nigeria, Kazakhstan, wherever that is, South Korea, India,
Singapore, Mexico, 606 listeners this month from all these places. This gospel is to them who are
far off geographically. Who knows where they are? And
then fourthly, chronologically, into the Jew first. Do you know
that up until the last days nobody knew God was going to save Gentiles?
They thought the only people on the top side of God's earth
going to be saved were Jews. Jews. You had to become a Jew
to be saved. He said it was part of his of
a mystery that he kept secret since the foundation of the world,
Gentiles. And that's the way I look at
it chronologically if we're talking about this little church right
here. My duty is to this church first, but also out there. He has a people of our own. Monday
I'm going down to Lake Charles, Louisiana. Haven't seen anybody
from this little group in 45 years. And they came up to our
conference last year and heard those men preach and called me
the other day and asked me if I'd be willing to come down and
preach to them. To this congregation first and
then to wherever the Holy Ghost is pleased to take me. And when I think about this,
I think how far off we were in anti-Christ religion. How blind,
how ignorant, how deceived. But now Paul said, ye who were
sometimes afar off were made nigh by the blood of Christ. And then here's the third thing
I want you to think about this morning. Why is this promise
given? Look back with me at Acts chapter
two. I want you to read this for yourself. In verse 40 of our text. Acts chapter two, verse 40. And
with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, save
yourselves from this untoward generation. The most powerful influence in
this world, other than the spirit of Christ, is antichrist religion. It's more powerful than government.
Fact is, antichrist religion is the power behind government. It's what influences government. Whole nations submit to it. Is that right? Go to Italy and
try to find a Baptist. We're all Catholic, how come?
That's the national religion, Catholicism. Whole nations submit to it. When
Paul warns us about being drawn away or being spoiled, he says,
after the tradition of men, after the rudiments, what's that? the
basic principles of this world. The rudiments of the world are
the fundamental principles they live by. When God warned Israel, he warned
them about ungodly nations, didn't he? He said, don't take no wives
over there. Don't go over there, you're gonna get in trouble.
Why would he say that? Because they don't know God.
They don't know God. When Christ talked to his disciples
about hatred, what did he say? He said, if the world hates you,
you know it hated me first. Who hated him? The world. The
world. The natural man. Who's that? That's anybody who don't know
God. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God, for there is foolishness unto him. Why? Why is God's way
so contrary and so foolish to natural man? Because of what
he thinks he knows, and because of what this world has taught
him. That's why. Paul said they walk in a vanity
of their minds, having their understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that's
in them because of the blindness of their heart. Peter calls them
an untoward generation because that's the direction in which
they move. Away from God, not toward him. Away from truth, not toward him. Away from mercy and grace, not
toward him. away from Christ and not toward
him. Our Lord said, you search the
scriptures. He's talking to these Jews. Because
in them you think you have eternal life. And they are they that
testify of me. Now watch this. But you will
not come to me that you might have life. Where you gonna come
to? You searching through the scriptures,
where you gonna come to? What's this natural man gonna
come to? He gonna come to a priesthood. I couldn't tell you how many
religions are on this earth right now that have a priesthood. That have honored those ceremonies. They tweaked them a little, changed
them around a little bit, but they still have them. It's an untoward generation and
it influences all that condone it. Do you know that it's considered
a crime by almost everybody for a man to say anything about religion? People who don't go to church,
people who don't have a hope, drunks in a bar, they'll defend
you over your remarks against religion. Isn't that something? That's
the influence of the Antichrist religion. There's only one way to save
yourselves from this untoward generation, and that's to turn
from it and confess your faith in Christ, and that's exactly
what Peter told them to do. The promise of Christ and the
Spirit who makes it effectual is given because God is purposed
to save a people for His glory, the glory of His name, and save
them He has and shall. Who is it to? It's to you. It's to your children. And to
them who are far off. Why? That they might be saved
from this untoward generation. How is it given? By the preaching
of the gospel, the powerful working of the Holy Ghost. And what are
the results of it? Verse 41. Then they that gladly
received his word, see it there in Acts chapter two, verse 41. Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized and the same day were added unto them
about 3,000 souls. Well, what'd they do? Verse 42. They continued steadfast
in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in the breaking
of bread and in prayer. Are you thirsty? Are you tired,
weary, tired of chasing after false hopes and tired of following
after things that just lead you in deeper into your sin? Are
you tired? Are you thirsty? Anybody thirsty? He said, come unto me and drink. Whosoever will, let him take
of the water of life freely. Are you willing? Then come to
him. Don't move a muscle, but come.
come to Christ. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead. Every promise of God absolutely
sure and fast in Him. Why won't we come to Him? Because
we're blind, ignorant, dead in trespasses and sin. Everything
God has in this man, in this man. And he took that man and
secured him in his own right hand. And he, all those chosen
in him, he gonna save. And you know what? They all gonna
hear. Every one of them. They all gonna believe. They
all gonna repent. And they all gonna be raised
at the last day. And they gonna be with him. All
right, thank you.