Friday Night Bible Study - Acts 2:16

Q: What does the Bible say about the last days?

The last days, as referenced in the Bible, especially in Acts 2:16-21, signify the period of fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy beginning with the coming of Christ. The concept of the last days in Scripture can often be misunderstood as referring solely to the end times. However, in the context of Acts 2:16-21, Peter refers to the last days as the culmination of the Old Testament age with the advent of Christ. This marks the closing of the period of the Old Testament as God pours out His Spirit, affirming that these are the 'last days' spoken of by the prophet Joel, which began at Pentecost and continue through the New Testament church age. It is essential to interpret the 'last days' in context to avoid misrepresentation of Scripture.

Q: How do we know the prophecy of Joel is true?

The fulfillment of Joel's prophecy is documented in Acts 2, where Peter clearly states that what the people witnessed was the outpouring of God's Spirit as foretold. In Acts 2:16-21, Peter explicitly cites Joel's prophecy to explain the miraculous events taking place at Pentecost. This act of the Holy Spirit's outpouring upon believers, resulting in speaking in tongues and prophesying, serves as a verification of God's word through the prophet Joel. The apostolic witness and the transformative work of the Spirit mark the fulfillment of Old Testament promises, thereby offering proof that God's prophecy is not only true but actively occurring in the establishment of the New Covenant. Thus, the ongoing ministry of the gospel evidences the validity of these prophecies.

Q: Why is understanding the role of the Holy Spirit important for Christians?

Understanding the role of the Holy Spirit is crucial for Christians as it empowers them for ministry and affirms Jesus Christ's lordship in their lives. The Holy Spirit plays a paramount role in the life of the believer and the church. As seen in Acts 2, the outpouring of the Spirit marked the beginning of the New Covenant ministry, empowering believers to proclaim the gospel and fulfill the Great Commission. Understanding this role helps Christians recognize that they are not only recipients of grace but also agents of God's power for evangelism and growth in holiness. The Spirit enables believers to understand Scripture, equips them to witness boldly, and seals them for salvation. Thus, the Holy Spirit's work is central to the Christian faith, reflecting the glory of Christ in the believer's life.

Q: What does the Bible mean by 'all flesh' in Acts 2?

'All flesh' refers to the inclusion of all nations, not every individual, signifying the promise of the Holy Spirit being poured out across ethnic groups. 'All flesh' in Acts 2 illustrates the expansive reach of the gospel to all nations and ethnicities, as prophesied by Joel. It denoted the breaking down of barriers between Jews and Gentiles, affirming that the outpouring of the Spirit encompasses diverse groups rather than every individual. This promise indicates God's desire for all people to have access to the gospel and be filled with the Spirit, initiating a paradigm shift from a solely Jewish-centric faith to a universal one. Hence, 'all flesh' represents the radical inclusivity of the New Covenant intended for believers from various backgrounds and cultures.

Q: How does Peter explain the significance of tongues in Acts 2?

Peter explains that the phenomenon of tongues at Pentecost is a sign of the Holy Spirit's work and serves as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. In Acts 2, the miraculous occurrence of speaking in tongues is presented by Peter as evidence of the Holy Spirit's fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. This sign indicates that God's Spirit is empowering His people for a new era of ministry, breaking through cultural and linguistic barriers to spread the gospel universally. Peter underscores that tongues serve not only as a miraculous display but also as a divine affirmation of the lordship of Jesus Christ. They are a sign for those who do not believe, urging them to acknowledge the truth of the gospel, while simultaneously helping believing nations recognize God's active work among them. This understanding positions tongues as both a spiritual gift and a crucial element of God's redemptive mission.

Acts chapter 2, and we are at
that pivotal point where the apostle Peter has stood up and
begun to explain for us what that phenomena was that was taking
place. And we are going to recap briefly
in your outline the area of Peter's privilege to preach, keys to
the kingdom, and make our way on through toward the fifth point,
which is where we were a bit last week. Let me just read a
portion here out of Acts chapter 2, and then we will come back. I'll start now at verse 16. But this is that which was spoken
by the prophet Joel, and it shall come to pass that in the last
days, said God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young
men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And
on my servants and on my handmaids will I pour out in those days
of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders
in the heavens above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and
fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood before that great and notable
day of the Lord shall come. And it shall come to pass that
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Now that is the first portion of Peter's inspired explanation
of the event that transpired when the 120 in the upper room
were filled with the Spirit of God and they spake with other
tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Peter, in verses 16
through 22, 21 rather, is telling us that prophecy is being fulfilled. And when we looked at this language
last week, what we noted was several things. Peter described,
according to Joel's words, that what was taking place in the
first century Constituted the last days Peter was describing
according to Joel's words that what was taking place in that
first century church at that Pentecost time Was considered
the last days you'll notice that it says According to verse 20
verse 16 But this is that which Joel spoke which was spoken by
Joel the prophet and it shall come to pass in the wet land
Last day said God so I want to just touch on that briefly because
there are those who would assert that the last days in the scriptures
are Always the last days that refer to the end of time in which
you and I are looking forward Looking towards the end of time
as we know it And if you fall prey to the assumption that last
days are always speaking to the days that are in front of us,
the future that is to come, you will misinterpret many passages
of scripture because the last days in the scriptures have to
always be understood in their context. And in this context,
as we have learned in biblical theology, and for many years,
the last days that Peter is speaking of, of which the prophet Joel
was speaking of some 500 years before Jesus, around 500 BC,
before Jesus, maybe a little bit longer, the last days are
not the last days as it were in the 21st century where you
and I are, but the last days of the Old Testament. the last
days of the Old Testament period. Now this is going to help you
understand the seriousness of the prophecy of Joel and the
seriousness of the New Testament ministry. The last days in this
context is referring to the closing out and consummation of the Old
Testament's purpose of Messiah coming into the world assuming
a human nature, dying for our sins, rising again the third
day and taking his seat in glory to rule over the new covenant
period, which we would call an age of grace or this New Testament
period. And the New Testament period
would assert or affirm that the Old Testament is now waxing old
and fading away. When we take a position that
we are operating in a new covenant or a new testament, we are affirming
and inferring that the old covenant has died or and is dying away. So the Hebrew writer puts it
this way in the eighth chapter of Hebrews, that which is old
is waxing old and ready to perish. speaking of the old covenant,
affirming and anticipating the entering in of the new covenant,
which new covenant was inaugurated and as it were brought into existence
by Christ's death and then his ascension to glory. So when Jude
says in the last days, he's actually affirming what Hebrews chapter
one, verse one says. God at sundry times and in many
ways spoke to our fathers through the prophets. But in these last
days, you remember that he has spoken to us in his son. So in your mind, as you work
through sound theology for us, the last days began when Jesus
appeared. at the appearing of Christ. In
fact, the Hebrew writer will tell us that, that he came at
the end of the age. Jesus appeared at the end of
the age. So the Old Testament was consummated
by Christ appearing, by his suffering, by his death. And the New Testament
was inaugurated by Christ's death and resurrection. This is the
new covenant in my blood, which was shed for you. This is what
the disciples celebrated on the last Passover, which also became
the first Lord's table. Our master ascended into heaven
40 days after he proved himself with many, many proofs. 10 days
later, Pentecost takes place in at Pentecost now, which is
where we are. There is an outpouring of the
spirit of God and a number of fulfillments of old Testament
passages have come into view of what you and I have spoken
about. And Peter now is explaining this phenomenon. Joel says in
the last days, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. So
let's briefly run through Portion of this as you have it in point
number two in your outline Peter privileged to preach Christ preach
Christ Keys to the kingdom you guys see that in your outline.
Well, that was the promise that Christ gave to Peter in Matthew
16 verse 18 19 and 20 I will give you the keys of the kingdom
and whatsoever you bind on earth will have also Already have been
bound in heaven and whatsoever you loose on earth will have
also been loosed in heaven you guys remember that and Peter
will affirm this in the He will affirm this in the 11th chapter
of the book of Acts when he tells his Jewish brethren, you guys
know that Christ appointed me to be the one by which the Gentiles
would enter into the kingdom of God. So he knew he had the
grand privilege of opening the doors to the Gentiles through
the preaching of the gospel. Now we will be wanting to slow
down as we work through these passages tonight to once again
grab the essential significance of what Peter is doing. Peter
is standing between a phenomena and that phenomena between which
Peter is standing. Peter is a mediator now, and
that phenomena is the phenomena of tongues. Peter is standing
in between that dealing with auditors that is those who are
listening to interpret to interpret what is taking place. Peter stands
between the phenomena of tongues which was one of three, uh, manifestations
of the presence of the spirit. Remember the wind and then the
tongues of fire and then the sound, the wind, the sound, and
then the tongues of fire. And then them uttering are prophesying
those three events that took place of which I said, you won't
see the wind again. That was a one-time act. You
won't see the fire again. That was a one-time act. What
you will see repeated. And we will be developing over
the next several weeks is the fact that the new Testament church
will be featured in its spreading of the gospel through the ministry
of prophecy, i.e., this gift of tongues that's taking place,
of which those 15 nations, which were Jews and proselytes who
had come to the feast at Pentecost, are now marveling at, as you
and I have discussed for the last couple of weeks, how here
we, every man, speak in his own language the wonderful works
of God. Peter stands up and says, this
is that which Joel, the prophet said should come. I am simply
saying to you that when Joel gave his prophecy, Joel did not
give his prophecy with regards to what would occur in the ends
of the world. As you and I are looking forward
to it. The prophecy is dealing with the end of the old Testament
age. the manifestation of the third person in his chief work
of evangelism through the church and the Lordship of Jesus Christ
as the one who is inaugurating the whole New Testament ministry
of which Peter now is going to be an initial and significant
player in explaining and as it were, opening the doors to the
Gentiles. Point A, prophecy fulfilled.
That's Joel chapter two, verses 28 through 32. Point B, all flesh
equaling every nation, not every single person. Did we talk about
that last week? The necessity of comprehending
that when the Bible uses the term all, you must always understand
that in its context and never in what we would call an absolute
sense. Never simply take the word all
in me and try to interpret it as or understand it as applying
to all in an absolute sense. It will always be in the context
of which it is speaking in this sense. It's not rational or logical
to believe that when it says, and he shall pour out his spirit
upon all flesh, that you and I would be thinking per capita,
individuals, and then that every individual in the world, but
he will pour out his spirit upon all flesh, meaning every nation. In this sense, the flesh represents
the nation, different ethnic groups, not just Israel, not
just Judaism, but now the Gentiles. And to help you understand when
you hear the term all flesh or all peoples, it is a terse statement
that simply means the different ethnic groups in the world. You
and I have understood and we worked through the argument that
the spirit of God was not given to every single human being.
Not every single human being is going to be born again. And
so what we never want to do is pour into the Scriptures our
assumptions or our flawed interpretations which we bought at the behest
of somebody else telling us something that does not correspond with
the whole tenor of Scripture. all flesh simply referring to,
it will spread beyond the regions of Jerusalem and Judea, and it
will touch nations all over the world, not only in the first
century, but throughout the subsequent generations, even to the point
where we are now. And if we were dealing with missiology,
if you and I were dealing with missions, and we kind of are,
as we are starting to work through evangelism and think through
that very seriously, a major expression of our own local church
as we think about missiology if you were to study missions
what you would understand is that there are multiple nations
all over the world who have yet to hear the gospel and Yearly,
they are growing and emerging and new ethnic groups are coming
into being who have not heard the gospel There are several
inferences to draw from that and implications as well. But
what we may simply say is that there is no time in human history,
either before Christ or after Christ, of which it can be said
that everyone in the world has heard the gospel. If you ever
hear anyone say that every human being has heard the gospel, simply
say that is not true. It cannot be true. It's just
not true. And so he says, all flesh. And
what verse 17 would simply do was to share with the people
who are marveling at this 120 persons who are filled with the
Spirit of God and thus are speaking in other languages as the Spirit
gave them utterances. They are seeing the anticipation
of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit given to these ethnic
groups that will go back to their own countries as we have learned
as far to the west of Rome, as far to the east of Babylon, as
far to the south as Africa. They will go back and let their
own people know Christ has come, Christ has died, Christ has risen. The gospel is here. and the gospel
will be spoken in their own language. No longer will they have to come
to Jerusalem. No longer will they have to become proselytes.
No longer will they have to learn Hebrew or learn Greek in order
to understand the gospel. They will know it in their own
language. This is the commission that God
given to the disciples. Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel. The second thing is a prophetic
ministry is given to every believer. This is the intent in the prophecy
of verse 17 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy
and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall
dream dreams and all my servants and all my handmaids will I what
pour out my spirit in those days and of my spirit and they shall
prophesy. This is something that we'll
deal with a little bit more down the line. I thought that I had
a set of outlines ready for you tonight. Apparently they were
not ready where we are going to deal with the issue of tongues.
Because as I said a couple of weeks ago, I think I said it
last week, it's actually an unavoidable issue when you start addressing
the book of Acts. because whether you understand
tongues in one sense or another, tongues become a featured element
in the book of Acts as an insignia that God has begun to do something
by which the gospel is spreading. And so we want to actually address
the controversy of tongues. We want to address the origin
of tongues. We want to address the history of tongues. We want
to address it from the standpoint of the book of Acts, as well
as the standpoint of first Corinthians. I hate to give that notice, But
I do want to say that, and we already have outlines for us.
They just didn't get delivered today. I would have given them
to you for you to study them through because I had 15 questions
that I raised and 15 questions that I began to answer. And I
want us to work through these very carefully, very logically,
so you can have a sound understanding as to the whole controversy.
Historically up to the present hour because I know a lot of
people just don't know what's going on with that issue Just
don't know and so we want to be able to do that So as we pass
through the book of Acts over the next year, so we will have
that matter settled We'll have it settled. But next Friday while
I'm thinking about it, we will have the second night of our
creation versus evolution conference and I want to encourage every
one of you to come and be here and And to be here on time, it's
at 7.30, so it's not at 8.30. And I want you to be zealous
to make it. Here is the issue. It's from
7.30 to 9.30. If you can make it, make it.
Because when it comes to being able to defend the scriptures
and to say what the scriptures say with a sense of confidence
and integrity, really one of the areas in which you and I
as Christians are wanting to be fairly clear and also qualified
is in the area of the argument of evolution versus creationism. You don't want to think that
you can live and die as a Christian and not be able to face the assailments
of the evolutionist, which fundamental premise undergirds every system
of thought in this present world right now. And it affects every
worldview. Every expression of life is presently
attacked in terms of a biblical worldview with the underpinning
of evolution. If evolution is true, then it
means the Bible is a complete lie. It is a complete lie. You won't be able to rationally
and consistently and with a coherent argument say that somehow evolution
may have validity and relevance. I don't really care. I'm not
trying to study it or learn it. I believe in Jesus. That won't
work. You won't be able to handle someone who will bring to the
table certain arguments for evolution. and then say to you, well, what
about this? And what about that? What about
the evidence? What about the species? What
about this? What about carbon? All of the kinds of things of
which even our young children are having to learn in school
today. You won't be able to argue against those things, refute
those things logically and rationally and effectively if you don't
have a sound working knowledge of how creation is inexorably
bound to the cross. You can't teach the cross and
not be clear on how to teach creation and not find yourself
susceptible to acquiescing to the cross being nothing but a
myth and a mere religious icon by which people on an emotional
level embrace, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the integrity
of creation. And we want to be able to do
that. So I really want our adults at Grace to be wise enough to
take advantage of those four days, Thursday, Friday, uh... and then saturday at three o'clock
thirty six you guys have the brochure you'll hear about it
on sunday and then sunday uh... sunday school will also have
uh... doctor molder dealing with this and you can read about him.
I'm going to actually be interviewing him on our Monday Lifeline show
for about 30 minutes if you want to listen. This will be of enormous
benefit to you, his capacity to demonstrate the farce of evolution
and demonstrate clearly how the Bible is both scientifically
and theologically consistent and coherent when it argues for
the truth claims of creation. I want you to know that particularly
for those of you who are part of our evangelism team, So when
we go out and start dealing with people, we can give them the
clear evidence of the rationale for why we believe that there
was a personal God who operated out of a personal power by which
he created this universe by divine fiat. and how rational it is
for us to accept the premise that he spoke this world into
existence and that everything in the present world actually,
when it's logically and rationally and carefully, even through scientific
evidence, affirms that proposition. Even down to the DNA and the
smallest molecules, they all affirm intelligence. the highest
level and we want to be able to demonstrate that so that we
can help people understand the deceptive nature of evolution
and the destructive nature of evolution for those of you who
want to be sound evangelists and sound witnesses you want
to be in these classes so when we when we consider it we consider
what Peter is saying in Acts chapter 2 verses 16 through 20
what we also dealt with was not only was he Speaking to the anticipation
of people groups from all over the world embracing the gospel,
but that men and women Who would be filled with the Spirit of
God would then be qualified to? prophesy the word prophesy our
prophecy our prophesying it to their two sides to that the word
prophecy is what said the word prophesy is our The who is saying
it when I prophesy or when you prophesy, that's what we are
doing. And what's proper, what the prophecy is, is what is said.
And fundamentally, all it means is to declare God's word, to
declare God's word. That will be something we will
make absolutely clear when we deal with a careful development
of the issue of tongues. What I want you to see in the
text is that Joel used this term twice in verse 17 and then he
used it again in verse 18. They shall prophesy. They shall
prophesy. They shall prophesy. And of course,
that's what the 120 in the upper room are doing right now. They
are prophesying, aren't they? They are declaring the word of
God, which is the privilege of every Christian. The Christian
that thinks he or she is that liberty to simply be a believer
and not qualified to tell men and women about Jesus has failed
to understand what it means to be a Christian. This is why the
gift was given universally. This is why all in the upper
room were in doubt with the gift. This is why Jesus spoke about
us waiting for the third person to empower us and qualify us
for this. What we also began to look at
As we look at point number three in the outline, is the sign and
precursor to the fall of the nation of Israel. This is what
I want to develop a little bit now as we get ready to move to
Peter's indictment of the leaders and then Christocentric interpretation
of the Psalms to affirm what Jesus said. Over in verse 19
through verse 20, we read, and I will show wonders in the heavens
above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor
of smoke. You guys see that, right? You
remember how we dealt with that last week? I called your attention
to the fact that when you think about signs and wonders, that
signs and wonders were not something that were to be done toward the
end of time. That is to say right before Jesus
would come again. as a symbol of the chaos in the
world, as a symbol of the powerful prophetic ministry of the church,
but that the signs and wonders that Joel is talking about here
were prolifically manifested in great detail the moment Jesus
was conceived of the Virgin Mary. As soon as Jesus was conceived
of the Virgin Mary, we are in sign and wonder territory. because
signs and wonders always accompany the presence of Messiah. The Lord enters into the womb
of Mary. Here's a sign. The angel speaks
with Mary. The angel speaks with Joseph.
The angel has already spoken with Elizabeth, has already spoken
with Zachariah. The angels are now appearing
and declaring what God is doing. And then as the child is conceived,
are born, we see the heavens open up, we hear the angels rejoicing,
we have revelation being poured out to the shepherds, and the
magi are coming from the east, and the star of the Lord is following
and standing over the household. Signs and wonders are taking
place on a magnificent level. And then in the process of our
Lord's ministry, John did not have the gift of signs and wonders
accompany him. The scriptures are very clear
in John chapter 7. John did no miracles. John was a forerunner. He was simply a voice who was
saying that Messiah is coming. I am a voice crying in the wilderness.
God did not give him a gift of miracles or wonders. All he did
was preach repentance. Prepare you the way, prepare
you the way for the Lord, make his path straight. And when Messiah
showed up, John pointed to him and said, behold, the Lamb of
God, which takes away the sin of the world. And at that very
point, we have the Father speaking from heaven. We have the Holy
Ghost descended. We have Messiah doing miracles,
miracles in abundance, healings, raising the dead, opening the
eyes of the blind, multiplying the fish, walking on water, stilling
the waters. Casting out demons. Listen, the
show was on. The show was on. No human being ever occupied
that level of anointing before or after. In the sense that there
was one man who controlled all of nature as he went about doing
his father's work. The disciples were richly blessed
to be in the presence of Emmanuel. As Emmanuel manifested his father's
power to all of Israel, all of Galilee, all of Capernaum for
three and a half years. Are you guys following me? And
I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs in the earth
beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. That last clause there
is going to get into the second aspect of what I call a two-edged
sword in the mouth of the prophet. a two-edged sword in the mouth
of the prophet. Because see, Jesus was a prophet. Like John
the Baptist was a prophet. And when prophets spoke, they
always had a sword with two edges on it. Repent, believe, be saved,
or perish. Repent, believe, be saved, or
perish. Because the prophets spoke as
God's lawyer to the people. Prophetic anointing always has
as a fundamental indictment upon the people of God for rebellion.
A person is not occupying the office of prophet without that
component being there. And this is why we have the imagery
of the signs in the earth, blood and fire and vapor of smoke,
blood and fire, vapor of smoke. What is that blood meaning? The
death of souls in a battle, in a conflict, fire and vapor of
smoke, referring to the destruction of the masses as a consequence
of conquest. You guys understand that, right?
So John the Baptist spoke concerning the Lord Jesus Christ when he
said in Matthew three, I am baptizing you with water, but there is
one who will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with what?
whose fan is in his hand, and he will purge his floor thoroughly. He will take the wheat and put
it in the barn, and the chaff shall be what? Burnt up. There's
a dichotomy then between the saving nature of the prophecy
and the damning nature of the prophecy. The saving nature of
prophecy and damning nature of prophecy. This is why we know
we don't have prophets today. Because prophets today, all they
do is preach peace, peace. You know that. The real prophets
of God, as Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 25, have always preached the
judgment of God. When you ever are under the anointing
or ministry or influence of a sound prophetic ministry, it will always
deal with you in terms of three things. The revelation of the
true nature of God. God is holy. God doesn't play. God's not a man like you and
I. God doesn't lie. God's just, God's righteous,
God will punish sin. That's Revelation. He's not like
us. See, all of the other gods of
the heathen are idols. Our God sits in the heavens as
a sovereign, holy deity. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. Is that the God you know? That's
the God I know. That's the God that saved me
at 19 years old when I thought I was the king of the universe.
And he knocked me down off my high horse and laid me low to
the ground. It showed me that he was sovereign.
Had me trembling in my boots at 19 years old, scared to death
of his holiness, of his holiness. And then he revealed his glory
to me in the person of his son, Jesus Christ. And he was overwhelmingly
compelling to me. I have never lost a sight of
his glory since. But I know God is holy, do you?
God, the God that we serve, the God of the Bible, is not the
God being preached in this present generation. Neither is he the
God that John preached or the God that Jesus preached or the
God that Peter is now preaching. You will notice that the anointing
is on Peter in such a way that he is speaking before all of
these folks when just a few days ago he ran from a little girl,
lied and blasphemed, said, I didn't know him. That's the difference
when the anointing comes. But there's a certain characteristic
in the spirit of prophecy when he actually operates in the life
of a person. and the spirit of prophecy never
plays with placates or caters to the flesh. Never, never. That's just not God's nature.
So the prophecy that's being set forth by Joel and being reaffirmed
by Peter is a two-edged sword. So point number three in our
outline, a sign and a precursor of the fall of national Israel. Let it be understood this way.
that as we work our way through the book of Acts, you're going
to find that national Israel is under trial. And they are
under trial because they have rejected the clear and explicit
testimony and overture of God's grace and mercy when God sent
his son, Jesus Christ. Remember that? So Jesus came
and Jesus stretched out his arms to his own people. And he said,
come on to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. And he proclaimed salvation in
his name and he extended mercy to them. But they rejected him
over and over and over again. And so he laid out parable after
parable after parable. And in Matthew 21, the parable
of the vineyard, which is where we are now, he told them. My
father who owns the vineyard, he sent the servants to go get
the wares of the vineyard from those of you who have the vineyard
lent out to you and you beat some, you persecuted others,
and then you kill some still. Finally, at the last, that's
our word eschaton again. Finally, in the end of the old
covenant age, he said, I will send my son. Surely they will
reverence him. This is satire in a prophetic
mode. When Jesus comes, they reject
him, but they know it's him inherent in the prophecy. This is the
heir. Come, let us kill him and we will seize the inheritance.
So in the spiritual dimension, we already know that we are dealing
with the forces of Satan over against the forces of God. And
at the center is the Lord Jesus Christ incarnate walking in the
humility of God's servant in order to redeem us. Thus, he
had to go to Calvary. but he let them know in Matthew
chapter 26, hereafter, see there's always a hereafter, shall you
see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power. So the
idea with that statement which was blasphemy to the rulers for
which they tore their garments and said, kill him, kill him,
was this, you haven't seen the last of me yet. And what's happening
in Acts chapter two is the first installment of that prophetic
promise. Christ is on his throne. He has
sent the third person. The third person is the immediate,
immediate presence and vicar and apostle of Jesus Christ.
He is working through his apostles and his apostles are now speaking
to the very rulers that thought they were done with Jesus. They
are not done with Jesus. by a long stretch. Are you guys
following what I'm saying? So now I want you to work through
this with me so that you can comprehend this. The portion of scripture of which
we are dealing with deals with the precursor in the fall. This
is Matthew 26, verse 24. Listen to how Stephan puts it
in Acts 7, verse 52 through 56. Go to Acts chapter 7. This will
help sum it up. Because by the time we get to
Acts chapter 7, we are well into the ministry of the apostles.
They have preached in Jerusalem, through Jerusalem, around Jerusalem,
and now Stephen is preaching. And here's what he says in Acts
chapter 7, verse 52 through 56, to the very same rulers. Listen.
Verse 56. Now I'm going to start at verse
54. And when they heard these things,
they were cut to the heart. That is, Stephen had proclaimed
to them throughout the whole history of Israel how that they
had continually rejected the prophets all the way back to
Moses And when they heard these things they were cut to the heart
and they gnashed upon him with their teeth But he being full
of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven now watch this saint
and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand
of God Who's orchestrating this event? Christ is. What event
is he orchestrating? He's orchestrating the prophetic
ministry of the preaching of the gospel to the Jewish rulers
whom he knows will reject that gospel, but they are being indicted
for having killed the Prince of Glory. Stephen will be the
first martyr of the New Testament church. But before he is martyred
by these same impetuous, hard-hearted rulers, Christ's words in Matthew
26 are affirmed. The heavens are opened up. Jesus
is seen sitting at the right hand of God. And in fact, he
stands up when his servant is martyred. Listen to the language
and behold, I see the heavens opened up and the son of man
standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with
a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one
accord. and cast him out of the city
and stoned him. The witnesses laid down their
clothes at the young man's feet, whose name is Saul. What's taking
place here? Israel is coming under the judgment
of the gospel because they are continually exercising a status
of unrepentance. Sign and precursor to the fall
of the nation of Israel. Signs and wonders in the heavens,
even in the earth, Messiah is come. Even in the book of Acts,
we are seeing signs and wonders, aren't we? Miracle upon miracle
upon miracle. We'll see this as we go to chapter
3 and as we go to chapter 4 and as we go to chapter 5, I'll remind
you that the apostles are now in due with the third person.
So they are going to do the same kind of miracles Jesus did. And
the earth is going to respond to them. There will be earthquakes.
There will be shakings. Very phenomenal things will take
place under the ministry of the apostles to let us know that
Jesus is on the throne. Israel is still under indictment
for the next 37 years. Miracles will take place. Judgments
will take place. So in the book of Acts, you have
the wind, you have the fire, you have the tongues, you will
have healings, and you will have judgments, won't you? Ananias
and Sapphira will fall down dead. Wicked men who want to turn the
grace of God into lasciviousness will be blinded, won't they?
The apostles will exercise divine authority. This is what is meant
when Jesus said in Luke 22, and I have appointed you a kingdom
and you will sit in just the 12 tribes of Israel. Peter is
judging the 12 tribes of Israel right now. He's sitting in judgment
over the 12 tribes of Israel. What also is taking place in
point number four? your outline is a sign of salvation
and judgment. Why? Why is the miracle of the
tongues that's taking place in Acts chapter 2 with the anticipation
of spreading to the four corners of the world and also the prophecy
of the lordship of Jesus Christ a sign of salvation and judgment
because as we stated last week God is now operating in a new
paradigm while an old paradigm is falling apart. Your outline,
a new cornerstone is placed. You guys see that? A new cornerstone
is placed. What do you mean a new cornerstone
is placed? Peter's getting ready to explain
that. But our master said it several times. He said it in
Matthew 21 and verse 42 in that parable that I gave you. Go there,
Matthew chapter 21, 42. This is where our master made
it very plain to them that you will reject me, but God's gonna
still make me the cornerstone. Matthew chapter 21, verse 38,
39. But when the husbandmen saw the
son, they said among themselves, this is the what? They knew it,
didn't they? Jesus told them plainly, you
know who I am, you know where I came from and you know where
I'm going But because the love of God is in you you must hate
me because my word doesn't abide in you He was straightforward,
wasn't he? He didn't cut any corners. He told them verse 39
and they caught him and cast him out the vineyard and slew
him This is speaking to Calvary and when the Lord therefore of
the vineyard cometh who is the Lord of the vineyard Christ.
I What will he do to those husbands? They said unto him, he will miserably
destroy those wicked men and will let out his vineyard unto
other husbands. They were prophesying out of
their own mouth, the stewardship of the kingdom taken from Jewry
and given to the Gentiles. They were prophesying out of
their own mouth, the destruction of the leadership of Israel for
their rejection of Messiah. Can you see that? which shall
render unto him the fruits thereof. See, they got caught up in the
prophecy. They got caught up in the parable, didn't they?
Just like in the days of King David, when King David was caught
up in that parable that Nathan gave, Nathan drew him in by a
parable, and the pathos got David, that little ewe lamb that that
wicked rich man took when he had all kinds of sheep that he
could have used to kill. Where is he? I'll kill him. Nathan
said, you the man. Remember that? You're the man. So what parables are designed
to do? Parables are designed to give you object lessons by
which you can think through an issue before you build a wall
to hide behind. That's what they're designed
to do. Destroy the natural in a inclination for self justification. So the truth is dressed up in
a parable that you have to work through because you're intrigued
and then you're trapped. And that's what's happening with
the rulers. And so here's what Jesus says in response. Watch
this. Did you never read in the scriptures the stone which the
builders rejected? Now, who are the builders? The
rulers? See, rulers in the church are
builders. I'm a builder. The elders are builders. They
are, you know, leading builders. And our job is to build the kingdom
of God, stone upon stone, brick upon brick. We are all living
stones in the temple of God, are we not? And so the church
is being built Precept upon precept, line upon line. Gospel here,
gospel there. Salvation here, salvation there.
Believer here, believer there. Through the ministry of the church.
But I am a builder, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3, God made
him a wise master builder. He was a chief architect. So
were all the apostles. But Jesus is the architect of
the architect. But he's also the foundation
of the church. And God laid him down as the
chief cornerstone of the new church. You can't build a sound
church without a cornerstone. And that cornerstone was Christ.
And this is where we get the interpretation now, ladies and
gentlemen, in Matthew 16, when Jesus said to the disciples,
who do men say that I am? And the disciples plainly said,
you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus said, upon
this, upon this rock will I build my church. The confession of
who I am. And it was the resurrection of
Christ, the ascension of Christ, the outpouring of the spirit
of Christ, by which now we are telling the world, as the apostles
did, that Jesus is Lord. This is what the old system is
struggling with. This is what Judaism is struggling
with. This is what the early rulers are struggling with. The
fact that the old building is about to crumble. I shared that
with you last week in Matthew 24, when the disciples were enamored
by all of the buildings that Herod had built around the temple,
Jesus says, look, this upon this temple, there won't be one stone
upon another that will be left in this building. It will be
completely leveled. The physical temple being a representation
of the temple of God, the footstool of God, the place of God. Those
under that Old Testament system had fallen prey very much like
what goes on in our present day churches, that God dwells in
temples. Made with hands. That somehow
God is bound by human systems. Orchestrated by men. That the
only way you can get to God is by denominationalism. Our churches
and their organizational structures. Are you guys hearing what I'm
saying? And so we fall into the same kind of pharisaical legalistic
externalities that the Old Testament system did. Missing the substance. In Jerusalem, they were worshiping
under the Old Testament system on the day of Pentecost, the
dry, empty ceremonialism of Pentecost. And right over against the temple
were 120 stones, which the Lord had chosen himself as the foundation
to the New Testament church, of which the Holy Ghost comes
and abides upon to sanctify them and qualify them to be the witness. Peter rises up himself, being
a stone now, opens his mouth to speak to the rulers to let
them know the Lord, by the way, has started a new thing. And
they were missing it. You guys understand what I'm
saying? This is what's taking place here. And this is what's
so critical about the text. The same has become the head
of the corner. This is the Lord's doing. And
it is marvelous in our eyes. And Peter, Go back to Acts chapter
2. Peter, under inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, is as eloquent and is as scholarly and is as clear
and is as concise as he has ever been, operating and functioning
under the anointing of the Spirit in his apostolic calling and
in his prophetic office. He's going to affirm the resurrection
of Christ, the capstone. He's going to affirm the establishing
of the gospel age. And he's going to affirm that
a new building has been established and its implications are dire
for the rulers in the church. Acts chapter two, going back
to Acts chapter two. Listen to what he says, because
this will transition us into the next line of thought for
the next 15 or 20 minutes or so. So when Peter quotes, the
prophecy of Joel, chapter two, he closes out by saying, the
sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before
that great and notable day of the Lord come. And I share with
you last week that when you read the phraseology, the sun darkened,
the moon turned into blood. Those are old Testament apocalyptic
phrases that prophets used referring to the destruction of nations.
because nations were viewed as whole societies and whole worlds
independent of other nations. And in fact, the language of
Israel very often was a comprehensive language or language that circumscribed
Israel as the only real existence, that there was no existence outside
of Israel. So in Isaiah 13, and as well as in Ezekiel chapter
32, as well as in Isaiah 14, you will read of God using the
apocalyptic language. And I think I just want to touch
on that a bit so that you guys can see that language. In the
book of Isaiah chapter 13, just go there briefly with me for
a moment, Isaiah 13. Listen to the language in Isaiah
13 concerning the destruction of Babylon. Now Babylon, In this
context is that small country near Persia in the Middle East
where we can identify Iraq and areas around that region, which
was far north from Israel. And here's what God says. I just
want you to see three passages to settle your thoughts on the
apocalyptic language. Now, I say that to ladies and
gentlemen, because if you have been one who has been confronted
with and exposed to a lot of end time prophecy, primarily
your premillennial dispensational theology and all of the books
that are written about what would happen in the end times. You
may have had your understanding of apocalyptic language obscured
because the emphasis in those eschatological systems are not
understanding the historic prophetic design. They use the language
to simply address and affirm the apocalyptic nature of destruction. So every time you read about
the sun being darkened and the moon not giving its light and
the stars falling from heaven, you're thinking a collapse of
the universe. Is that true? I'm thankful that
you're honest. Now you're under good teaching.
You can get that all straightened out. Well, we are using what
is called metaphor and hyperbole. metaphor for and hyperbole symbolism
about the dissembling and the destabilization and the falling
apart of the universe. It has never happened. The sun
has never darkened in the sense that it has totally darkened
as if it would never darken again. The moon has never darkened on
an actual sense. And the stars have not collapsed
and come to the earth. You and I understand a little
bit about science now, right? We know better than to fall prey
to a literalism on that level. It's symbolism about the collapse
of a kingdom. Are you following me? The collapse
of a kingdom. So Isaiah chapter 13 tells us,
in Isaiah chapter 13 verse 9 and 10 as God is going to punish
Babylon for its abuse of authority over Israel. Verse 1, the burden
of Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amos did see. Now we can read
verse 9 and 10. Are you there? Behold the day
of the Lord cometh cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to
lay the land desolate and he shall destroy the sinners thereof
out of it That's Babylon verse 10 for the stars of heaven and
the constellations thereof shall not give their light The Sun
shall be darkened and is going forth and the moon shall not
cause her light to shine. Do you see it? and I will punish
the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity
and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease and I will
lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. God is using apocalyptic
language yet he's talking about a local judgment. Now go with
me in your Bible to Ezekiel 32 so you can see how God talks
about Egypt that same way. Now, by the way, as we are dealing
with a little bit of a historic prophecy, which will play a major
role in our discussing and surveying the subject of tongues in the
future. There were two countries with which Israel, well, three
in all three of them actually received this kind of apocalyptic
judgment. There were three countries, two
primarily with which Israel stumbled significantly before God. The
first was Egypt. Israel seemed to always run to
Egypt for protection. And that's because as you and
I understand biblical theology, that the nation of Israel primarily
was born in Egypt. And so their native nature, their
comfort zone where they found most of their sense of stability
and upbringing was Egypt. And when God brought them out
of Egypt, which is a type of conversion and regeneration,
they were struggling always with their old nature, like you and
I do. And wanting to go back to Egypt
because they didn't know how to handle the journey through
the wilderness. Because a journey through the
wilderness requires you to depend upon God. This is where you and
I are. I don't care how well your life
is going right now, you are not in glory. I don't care how stable
your income is versus other people's. Listen, you are not in heaven.
We have not arrived in the quintessential promised land yet. We are still
making our excursion through this wilderness. I don't know
about you, but when I look out my window, I see cockatrices
and snakes. I see all kinds of vipers and
dragons. I see cactuses. I see dried up
things. I see death everywhere. I see
desert. I see very little water in the
world. This is not a plush, palatial world. This world is no friend
of grace either. I'm passing through a wilderness.
And thus we read in Revelation chapter 13, chapter 12 rather,
of the woman that was given two wings of a great eagle, that
she might fly into the wilderness and is there nourished for a
time, a times and a half a time from the presence of the serpent.
This is where you and I are in our historic journey. We are
passing through the wilderness. This is why you don't get no
satisfaction in the world. It never pleases aliens. It never pleases strangers. It never pleases pilgrims. Now, if this world can satisfy
you, you're not headed to glory. Am I making some sense? I'm a
pilgrim. I'm a stranger. I'm a traveler. I'm passing through. And my job
is to learn how to depend upon God enough not to be distracted
by the left or by the right and all the false phony allurements
that this pseudo Babylonian system is trying to attract me with.
As the Hebrew writer put it, they looked for a city whose
builder and maker was God. That's the way true believers
are. We're passing through. Don't listen nothing should stick
on you, but grace Nothing should stick on you, but grace. That's
the only thing you need from day to day the grace of God Am
I making some sense? Listen to it Ezekiel chapter
32 Ezekiel 32 God is dealing with the the idolatry of his
own people with regards to them Ezekiel 32 verse 7 and when I
shall put thee out speaking about Egypt Does verse two, son of
man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh, king of Egypt and saying
to him, you are like a young lion of the nations and you are
as a whale in the sea and you came forth with the rivers and
you troubled the waters with your feet and foulest the rivers
thereof. That's a metaphor for him being so strong and powerful
that he was able to penetrate into other nations, including
Israel and corrupt them with their idolatries. Verse seven,
and when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven and I
will make the stars thereof dark. And I will cover the sun with
a cloud and the moon shall not give us light see the language
And all the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over
the insect darkness upon thy your land saith the lord I will
also vex the hearts of many people When I shall bring thy destruction
among the nations in the countries Which you have not known and
he goes on with his indictment, which is what joel is doing.
Let's go back to our text Joel is saying the same thing concerning
national israel There's a real interesting interpretation that
can be yielded here. I got 15 more minutes so I can
work through the next line I'm going to deal with here. The
interpretation is this, that as the warning that the sun shall
be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great
and notable day shall come, that's verse 20 of our text, Peter is
now under inspiration warning the rulers. The interpretation
goes like this, presently in Israel, At this time, right after
Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, Israel has
light. The light that is present with
them is the light of the gospel. It is the light of the Spirit
of God. It is the light of Christ in
the gospel by the Spirit of God, listen to me, being proclaimed
by his apostles. They have light right now. And
that light will continue to shine and to emanate. It will shine
and emanate from chapter 2 all the way to chapter 28. And in
the process of the shining and emanation of that light, some
will see the light and be saved. Others will be continually blinded. But there will come a time, according
to Acts 13 and Acts 28, when Israel's light will go out. Since
you show yourselves worthy of eternal destruction lo we turn
to the Gentiles They will hear us and from that point all you
hear about Jewry is persecuting the Apostles Persecuting the
church killing the church and the beautiful thing about the
way the Apostle Paul closes out acts 28 He calls all the rulers
together of the Jews He says hey I'm going to tell you one
more time. This is what God has done in
his son, Jesus Christ. And this is what the prophet
Isaiah has plainly said. Well, half the prophet Isaiah
said, the Lord has poured upon you the spirit of sleep, the
spirit of slumber and deep sleep. For even though you have eyes,
you do not see. And even though you have ears,
you cannot hear. He had blinded you to the glory
of God in Christ. And that amounts, ladies and
gentlemen, to the sun going out and the moon being darkened.
And over Israel, there was darkness. This is how the book of Acts
closes. This is why for the last 2000 years, much of the gospel
has only penetrated Gentile countries up to our present. Are you guys
understanding what I'm saying? The apocalyptic language that
is part and parcel of the preaching of the gospel. It's true for
you and I too. The application is clear. Let me turn the corner
here while I have a few minutes with Peter's language. Peter,
ladies and gentlemen, is actually seeking to explain the phenomena
of the prophecy in the context of the languages that these 120
are speaking because there was a category of people here who
basically mocked what they heard because they were not allowed
to understand what was said. You guys understand that? Verse 13, and others mocking
said, these men are full of new wine. Got it? It was then that
Peter stood up with the 11, lifted his voice and said unto them,
you men of who? So in your outline under the
leaders of Israel are being judged by this event. Now we have our
framework for what we're going to discuss not next week, but
the week after for two weeks. We have a framework for the gift
of tongues. We have a framework for the gift
of tongues, which we will deal with historically, prophetically
and grammatically, theologically and redemptively. We have a framework
here. Peter is getting ready to explain
why it is that this phenomena occur and why the men that are
mocking are mocking because they are fulfilling Old Testament
scripture. So in your outline, we have the
seven points, A, B, C, D, E, F, G. And I want to start with
the first one. And this will simply be a proposition
given to be developed in two weeks. Tongues are a sign to
those that do not believe. That's the premise upon which
the gift is given. You must know that or you will
never Put any unity harmony or clarity between the book of acts
and what paul gives as major constraint In first corinthians
14 Tongues are a sign to those that do not believe You guys
got that that's what they are. I am quoting first corinthians
chapter 14 verse 21 and 22 Our original texas acts chapter 2
verse 14 and 15 Listen, the 15 nations who have heard the gospel
in their own languages, they're not struggling with the prophecy.
They're embracing it. They're rejoicing in it because
the prophecy is clear. It's also gospel. It's good news
to them, the wonderful works of God. The people that are struggling
with it are the same people who have always struggled with God's
revelation, the Jewish leaders. They struggle with Christ's words.
They came to Christ consistently saying tell us plainly if you
be the Messiah, you know what he said, I've been telling you
plainly But because you are not my sheep You don't hear my voice
That's where we are right now Are you guys following me? I've
been telling you plainly He that is of God here with me My text
is John 8 that I'm talking to you from So Jesus knew if you
were my sheep, you would hear my voice. Because when I speak
to my sheep, I speak clearly, pointedly, personally and powerfully
to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. Another they will not follow.
This is how you know you are a believer. You hear his voice.
He speaks to you. He calls you by name and you
follow him. That's how you know. And so the
apostle Peter is dealing with this one category. That's why
we have it in your outline. This one category, point number
B, only the Judeans could not understand. Only the Judeans
could not understand. Everybody else was getting the
revelation. Only these Judeans could not
understand. And that too will be explained by first Corinthians
chapter 14 verse 21 as well as Isaiah chapter 28 11 Let me see. I got just a few more minutes.
Let me run through these basic points the tongues of other men
Was a sign against them Acts 13 40 acts 28 17 through 21 acts
26 through 28 Let's go to acts 13 and watch this acts 13 This here is the turning point,
and I don't wanna develop this at all, really, because I am
looking forward to our excursion over the rest of the year. But
in Acts chapter 13, we have shifted from the ministry of Peter to
the ministry of Paul. Peter has done his work, Peter's
done. Peter opened the door to the
Gentiles with Cornelius and the Roman band. and Peter goes off
the scene. God raises up Paul now because
Paul is going to be the one brother whom God will enlarge his heart
and raise him above his own predilection and natural tendency to be ethnocentric. Who didn't understand what I
just said there so I can help you? I want to make sure you get it.
Okay, good. The problem with humanity that does not see the
glory of God is that we take way more stake and value in our
ethnicity than we do in the God who made of all nations one blood. And in virtually every Christian
church or denomination where the major ethnic group is represented,
the blindness of an ethnic superiority, blindness hinders them from seeing
the universality of the person and work of Jesus Christ and
the transcendent nature of a Christ who is no longer to be viewed
as a Jew. God had to take one man, the
apostle Paul, who was both a Jew as well as a Roman citizen with
enough learning and capacity to when once God illuminated
his mind to the transcendent Lord of glory who cannot be confined
to a barren by one ethnic group even though we are doing it today
even in the evangelical church of which you know I don't I don't
play along with that. I'm one of the one fellows on
the radio that never have and never will play along with some
type of dominant or as it were preferable ethnic Ideology with
regards to national Israel because you know what Paul taught us
in 2nd Corinthians 5 for which he was persecuted He said in
2nd Corinthians chapter 5 Around verse 15. He says even though
we have known the Lord Jesus Christ after the flesh. I Henceforth
from this point on we know no man after the flesh not even
Christ We don't even put stock in the ethnicity of Jesus. So
you hear this Jesus is a Jewish Messiah. That's irrelevant He's
the Messiah of all men He's the Savior of the world Am I making
some sense? That's why they killed him. That's
why they killed him because he would not allow his Jewish ethnicity
to have preference as he was doing ministry. That's why they
killed him. And that's why the Jewish rulers did not like Paul.
That's why the Jewish rulers did not like the preaching of
the Gentiles. Listen to what it says, a preaching of the Jews
to the Gentiles in Acts chapter 13, listen to the language verse
38, be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren that through
this man, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. That
man is Jesus. And by him, that is Christ, all that what? That's the universality of the
gospel that the Jews didn't like. All, because he's Lord of what?
All. All that believe are justified
from all things from which you could not be justified by the
what? If you relegate the law of Moses to insignificance, when
it comes to the conversion of sinners, You destroy the relevance
of the Jewish rulers as being the door by which the Gentiles
must enter into the kingdom of God. You take the keys away from
the men and you put it where it rightly belongs in the hand
of Christ. Christ becomes the one that opens
the door that allows sinners into salvation by faith alone
apart from words. Israel was threatened by the
gospel because the gospel made the law in terms of salvation
of non effect. Which means that the Gentiles
weren't circumcised. The Gentiles didn't have to go
through the ordinances. The Gentiles didn't have to keep
the Sabbath days. The Gentiles didn't have to watch
out for all of the fastidious rules that the Jews held to.
They could just jump right in and enjoy the free grace of God
merely by faith. Isn't that good news? Now watch
this. Watch the language. Watch how this works. Verse 40. This is what Paul said in chapter
13. And this is what he says in the last Chapter of the book
of Acts beware ye what? despisers Sorry, I'm verse verse
40 beware therefore lest that which comes upon you which is
spoken in the prophets behold ye despisers and Wonder and then
do what perish? Stop see they're beholding But
they're despising what they behold They're wondering Because the
works of Messiah produce wonder. They produce amazement. They
produce astonishment. But because of unbelief, they're
perishing. Are you guys following what I'm
saying? So the prophecy out of Isaiah, which Paul is here now
speaking, is warning the Jewish rulers that because you are continually
and repetitively rejecting the gospel, you're going to perish.
Now watch what it says. For I work a work in your days,
a work which you shall in no wise what? That's the problem
though a man declare it to you Who is the man that's declaring
it to him first? It was Messiah Then it was the Apostles then
it was the church declaring to the Jews that Jesus Christ is
Lord. They're not believing it It goes on to say and when the
Jews Were going out of the synagogue the Gentiles besought that the
words that these words might be preached unto them the next
Sabbath Somebody was happy about the gospel Now, when the congregation
was broken up many days later, the Jews and the religious proselytes
followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them
to continue in the grace of God. There was always a handful of
Jewish brethren who were God's elect. You gotta understand that.
And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together
to hear the Word of God. This was a revival service. But when the Jews saw the multitude,
they were filled with gladness. Can I tell you what the problem
was? It's the problem that has crept into the evangelical church
today. You know what it is? Humanism. Humanism is the foundation
to a me-centered theology, which makes everything about you. This
is the narcissism that has created the idolatry that dominates our
churches today. And the vast majority of people
that fill churches today, and they pack them, is because of
a doctrine of humanism that says it's all about you. Now should
a wave of the anointing pass through those idolatrous congregations
and the gospel be preached in power where people leave that
delusion of self-righteousness and getting from God what they
want and start following Jesus, you will find that the rulers
in those churches will hate you just like they hated Jesus in
the first century. Why? Because you will now have
dispelled the people from false notions that God exists to merely
bless you with every whim and capri of your own passions and
desires. The Jews were feeling very left
out here. Well, they were when Jesus was
there. And they certainly were when John was there. You notice
John the Baptist didn't ask them at one time. Can I preach in
your synagogue? Can I preach in your temple?
Neither did Jesus. He just preached. But when the
Jews saw the multitude, they were filled with envy and spake
against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting
in what? Then Paul and Barnabas waxed
bold and said, it was necessary that the word of God should first
have been spoken to you. But seeing you put it far from
you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. Lo, we turn
to the Gentiles. And he reinforces it with Old
Testament prophecy. For so hath the Lord commanded
us, saying, I have set you to be a light to the Gentiles, that
you should be salvation unto the ends of the earth. What text
is that? Isaiah chapter 60. Verse 1, of
which the Jews would love to say that's a passage about Judaism
having the capacity to make proselytes out of Gentiles. Why? Because
their hermeneutic makes it about them and not Christ. I will have
to pick this up in a couple of weeks, but I want you to understand
that what Peter is doing is now beginning to develop. Go with
me back to Acts chapter 2. What we have been teaching for
years, what Peter is about to do, As he demonstrates the presence
and anointing of the Spirit of God in his life is what we have
been saying for years. That the role of the Spirit of
God is to do but one thing, exalt Jesus Christ. That the objective
of the Spirit of God as he is to work as executor of the new
covenant in the lives of men and women is to work through
the church to proclaim, to teach, to preach and exalt Jesus Christ. that you are not a prophet of
God, a preacher of God, a servant of God, a teacher of God, with
the Spirit of God, if you are not preaching and teaching Jesus
Christ. For when He shall come, that
is the Spirit of truth, He shall take the things of mine and show
them to you. He will not exalt Himself. He
will not glorify Himself. He will not point to Himself.
He will only take the things of mine and manifest them to
you. That's the role of the Spirit
of God. John 5 39, you are searching the scriptures and in them you
think you have eternal life, but they are they which testify
of me. First Peter chapter 1 verse 10,
all the prophets from the beginning of time to this present hour
only spoke by the Spirit of Christ testifying to both his sufferings
and his glory. Revelation chapter 19 verse 10,
John fell prey to preacher worship when he was going to fall down
and worship the angel. And the angel said, do not fall
down and worship me. I am among your brethren and
those who hold to the testimony of Jesus for the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. How do you know you have the
spirit of prophecy? Because you teach and you preach
and you proclaim one person Jesus Christ the Lord if you don't
preach him if you don't teach him You don't have the Spirit
of God if you don't preach him if you don't teach him You don't
have the Spirit of God. This has been the issue for the
last 2,000 years and You can work through the text yourself
We won't get back here for about three or four weeks because we
will be dealing methodically and carefully with the issue
of tongues It will speak to the same issue but Peter is another
man right now. And his insight into the text
affirms very clearly that he's under the anointing. He's able
to take Psalms here and Psalms there and prophecies here and
prophecies there. And you know what his message
is? Jesus Christ, death, burial and resurrection. He is Lord
of all. Do you know how powerful that
message was that day? Are you ready? Those brethren
whom he had indicted for killing the Prince of Glory Said men
and brethren, what must we do to be saved? What must we do
to be safe see the trapped aren't they? They're forced to reckon
with the fulfillment of prophecy how it's centered in Christ,
even as He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes unto the Father but by me. If you do not believe that
I am He, you will die in your sins. Isn't that what He's saying? And so they're stuck, because
the Spirit of God has pierced their hearts, give them a blistering
revelation of the sin that they have committed in killing the
Prince of Life. And yet, watch this, the Prince
of Life appeals to them, to believe, only believe. They will be part
of that nucleus of the 3000 who get saved that day. But there
will be a whole host of Jews who will oppose the gospel throughout
the book of Acts. Let's pray. Father, thank you
for this time. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the truth
as it is in Christ. Thank you for helping us understand
and rightly divide what's taking place here. Lord, give us the
grace to both rest and prepare and look forward to next week's
conference and the study thereof. Bless Dr. Mulder with safe travels
and safe journeys here. Give him eloquence, give him
depth, clarity, and simplicity to help us understand the things
that have to do with the origin of life and how you have made
them so that our sons and our daughters can stand for the truth
as it is in Christ in this day, when so many lies and so many
myths and so many fables are being embraced without any sound
reason or rationale, help us to stand on the truth of your
word. As we go our way, give us traveling mercies, we pray
in Jesus name, amen. God bless you.

Friday Night Bible Study - Acts 2:16

What does the Bible say about the last days?

How do we know the prophecy of Joel is true?

Why is understanding the role of the Holy Spirit important for Christians?

What does the Bible mean by 'all flesh' in Acts 2?

How does Peter explain the significance of tongues in Acts 2?

Sermon Transcript

About Jesse Gistand

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Friday Night Bible Study - Acts 2:16

What does the Bible say about the last days?

How do we know the prophecy of Joel is true?

Why is understanding the role of the Holy Spirit important for Christians?

What does the Bible mean by 'all flesh' in Acts 2?

How does Peter explain the significance of tongues in Acts 2?

Sermon Transcript

About Jesse Gistand

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