In Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit
has been poured out here on the Lord's people on the day of Pentecost. And of course, those that were
gathered, some mocked and said that these men were drunk. And
in verse 14, we find Peter standing up with the eleven And he lifts
up his voice and he says unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all
ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken
to my words. For these are not drunken, as
you suppose, seeing that it is but the third hour of the day.
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And then he quotes the prophet
Joel. And this will be primarily our text tonight, but we'll look
at the rest of the chapter along with it. This is what Joel prophesied,
verse 17. It shall come to pass in the
last days. Joel prophesied of what would
happen in the last days, but Joel used the word afterwards. He didn't use the words in the
last days, he used the word afterwards. And if you read the prophecy
of Joel at your leisure at home, you'll discover that what Joel
prophesied here came after some things that he prophesied that
the Lord would do in the person of his son in accomplishing salvation. So what Joel was prophesying
here when he said this would come in the days after the promised
Messiah had overcome the world, after the days that he had bought
the church with his own blood, after he had put away the sin
of every individual child of God, after he had risen and sat
down, the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost marked the fact
that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ the Lord was established. It
was established. Just as the rent veil was a visible
sign that the old covenant had fulfilled God's purpose and was
ended, even so the pouring out of the Holy Spirit was a visible
sign that Messiah, the Messiah, the King had overcome the world,
that He had established His kingdom, and that Jesus of Nazareth is
both Lord and Christ. If you look over there in Acts
chapter 2 and verse 36, here's the conclusion of Peter's message.
Here's what he's working up to, to declare. Therefore, having
said all these things that he'll say, he says, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. That's exactly
what the prophet Joel was prophesying when he said afterwards. That's
the first thing I want you to understand. That the last days
speak of the days in which Christ ascended to the throne and is
set on the right hand of God. And that his kingdom is established. We're not looking for a kingdom
that is to come. in the sense that the dispensationalists
are looking for a kingdom that's to come. Christ's kingdom is
made up of His people, of which He's the King. And His kingdom
is established. He's seated right now at the
right hand of God. That's exactly what the prophet
Joel was saying when he said, in the last days, when he said,
afterwards, after what Christ accomplished at Calvary, He's
going to do something else. And what He's doing here on the
day of Pentecost was to show that He indeed has risen and
has been made of God, both Lord and Christ. Fully declared. It's sort of like if you read
Isaiah chapter 53, and you hear all of the wonderful works that
Christ will accomplish, and then read Isaiah chapter 54, and then
you hear of His glory in bestowing His mercy and grace upon the
church. That's what Joel is prophesying
of. And that's why Peter begins with
this prophecy of Joel, is to say, this is that. This is the
fulfillment of what Joel was talking about, right here. Now,
secondly, I want you to see that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit
teaches us that salvation is of God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. It wasn't that the Holy Spirit
had not worked in those that were saved prior to Christ's
death. He had. We know that. Peter tells us
over in his epistle that the prophecy came not in old time
by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost. Joel spoke what he spoke because
he was moved by the Holy Ghost. Everyone that's ever been saved
had been saved the same way. God the Father purposed it. Christ
the Son has been the surety of His people from the foundation
of the world. He redeemed them, and the Spirit
of God calls them out. Because we're finite creatures,
creatures of time, it's hard for us to grasp that the Spirit
of God called out a people, even under the old covenant dispensation,
before Christ had yet shed His blood at Calvary. But He's eternal. These things were purposed before
the foundation of the world. But notice here in our text how
the Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and God the Son in
this covenant of grace, in the everlasting covenant of grace.
The prophecy says here in verse 17, it shall come to pass in
the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit. Verse
18 says, and on my servants and on my handmaidens, I will pour
out in those days of my spirit. The Holy Spirit's part in the
everlasting covenant is in perfect harmony with God the Father and
God the Son. That's why Peter began with this
prophecy. He ends up saying that very thing.
Look here in Acts 2 in verse 33. He says that God has raised
up Jesus. And he says, therefore, being
by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father
the promise of the Holy Ghost. There you have God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And having received of
God the Father the Holy Spirit, He, Christ, hath shed forth this
which you now see and hear. When you hear these men speaking
in your own language, the wonderful works of God, it's because God
has given all power over heaven and earth to Christ the Lord.
He is sovereign. He's the Lord. He's the King
Messiah. He's the King Savior. And He
has power over heaven and earth. And He, having received this
promise of the Father, He shed forth this which you now hear
and see. But notice here that these three in one are revealing
the oneness of God and His people through the resurrected Lord
and Christ. That's what the Lord said would
happen. In John 14, 16, if you want to look over there with
me. Here's what the Lord said when He was talking with His
disciples. He said, I will pray the Father. And He shall give
you another Comforter. Even as Christ is Comforter,
He says He'll give you another Comforter that He may abide with
you forever. And look down at verse 20 there.
He says, And at that day, in that great day, ye shall know
that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. How are
you going to know these things? How are you going to know these
things fully? Because God the Father God the
Son and God the Holy Spirit are one and we're revealing to you
in regenerated sinners that your life is hid with Christ in God. You're going to have a more full
manifestation of this and understanding of this than you've ever had.
That's what the Lord told His apostles and His disciples. And
the pouring out of the Holy Spirit manifests the necessity of the
Holy Spirit's work, the necessity of it. This shall be the covenant
I will make with the house of Israel, God said, after those
days, saith the Lord. After what days? after the days
when Christ has perfected a people forever. After He's risen and
seated, this is the covenant I'll make with the house of Israel
after those days. He said, I'll put my law not
on tablets of stone, not in a tabernacle made with hands, not in a holy
sanctuary someplace. I'm going to write it on their
inward parts. I'm going to write it in their
hearts and we'll be their God and they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every
man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all
know me. From the least of them unto the
greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity,
and I will remember their sin no more." You know, in Mark,
when the Lord was speaking to a group there one day, He said
this, He said, There be some of them that stand here, that
shall not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of
God come with power." On the day of Pentecost, the kingdom
of God was seen. It came with power. And there
were some standing there that mocked. And they didn't understand
what was going on. You know why they didn't understand
what was going on? This is the necessity of the
Holy Spirit's work. What did the Lord tell Nicodemus?
The Lord told Nicodemus, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except
a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Can't see it. Can't see the king. Can't see his kingdom. So it's
a necessity that the Holy Spirit be poured out. Thirdly, look
here, the fulfilling of this prophecy showed that the Lord,
the Christ, redeemed and elect people out of all nations. Verse 17, this is what God said,
I'll pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Now you know that
this does not mean all mankind. You know that. It means all God's
elect and not the people of any one physical nation. Salvation
is by grace. It's not by natural genealogy.
That's what's being manifested here. In John 1.11, the scripture
says, He came unto His own and His own received Him not. The
Lord came to the Israelite, that nation, that physical nation.
You know, He He named that nation Israel.
He told Abraham, way back in there, he told Abraham that he
was going to be a father of many nations. And he promised that
in the promised sea shall his people be redeemed and called
out. That seats Christ. And he named
Jacob Israel. God did. from whom the nation was born.
And they got their name from God. And he told Abraham back
then, they're going to go into bondage. They're going to be
a people that are going to be in bondage. Who put them there?
God did. And he told Abraham that before
it ever happened. And he said, they're going to
be in bondage. And I'm going to come to them and I'm going
to save them out of bondage. And He did that. And He saved
them out of bondage. Out of physical Egyptian bondage. And all of these things God said
He would do. But when He came to that nation
Israel, they didn't receive Him. Why? Why didn't they receive
Him? If it's by natural descendant,
being a natural descendant of Abraham, if it's by natural genealogy,
then why didn't they all receive Him? Because they aren't all
Israel which are of Israel. He said He came to His own, His
own received Him not, but as many as received Him, to them
gave He power. He gave them the power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God. For he said to Moses, I'll have
mercy on whom I'll have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
But here, in this text, we have a full proof of what God promised
Abraham when he said, I'll make you a father of many nations.
Haggai said the same thing. He spoke of Christ and he said
the desire of all nations shall come. He was speaking of Christ. He called Him the desire of all
nations. The desire of a people in all
nations. And this people is the world
which God so loved in John 3.16. This is that world. And notice
who they are. Verse 17. Their sons and their
daughters. Their young men and their old
men. Verse 18, And on My servants
and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My
Spirit. They may be servants and handmaidens
in this world. They may be the servants of kings
in this world. They may be the maids of some
heiress in this world. But God says, They're My servants
and they're My handmaidens. And this is done to those who
are sons and daughters, to those who are young and old, to those
who are servants and handmaidens. Why is that important? Why is
it important to understand that? I want you to look at 1 Corinthians
12 verse 12. as the body is one and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body being many are
one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether
we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one
spirit. In Galatians, Paul said, as many
of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. And there's neither Jew or Greek,
bond or free, male or female, for ye are all one in Christ
Jesus. And if you be Christ, then are
ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. What God said
He would do, it was not because of anything in you and I. It
was not because of any particular nation. country that people belong to.
It was not Jew or Gentile. It had nothing to do with their
class and being bond or free, rich or poor. It had nothing
to do with them being male or female. It had nothing to do
with them being under the law or being outside of the law and
never having known anything about the ceremonial law. It had nothing
to do with that. You know what it had to do with?
God having mercy on whom He would have mercy. God saving a people
whom He would save. But here's the joy of that. Because
it's not based on anything in us that He chose a people, we
can't fall away because of anything in us either. Salvation is by
grace in Christ, sure and unchangeable. It's not in you or me or in Our
children, some pay attention real well. Some look like they're
not paying attention. But if God arrests them, He may
arrest one that don't look like they're paying attention at all,
and the other one that's sitting up straight and listening to
every word, He may pass them by. It's God that has mercy. And that's what Peter's standing
up and saying here. The Lord has come and He's told
His apostles, His disciples, go into the world and be witnesses
unto Me in all the world, beginning at Jerusalem. But God brought
the world to them at Jerusalem. He brought over 15 different
people from over 15 different nations that were scattered abroad
to Jerusalem. And he gave his people languages,
an understanding of their languages that they had never even been
taught, and they preached the gospel to them. And what Peter's
standing up and saying is, these men are not drunk. What's happening
here is, number one, Christ's church has been baptized into
the Holy Ghost. And secondly, this is the fulfillment
of that which has been said in the Law and the Prophets. This
is that which of all people, Peter says, you should know.
You've heard these things. You've had the oracles of God.
You should understand what's taking place here. And notice what God says He shall
make His people do through the Holy Spirit. Verse 17, God says,
When I pour out of My Spirit upon flesh, your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy They'll testify. Your young men shall
see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. And all My servants and all My
handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit, and
they shall prophesy. Sons and daughters, young and
old, servants and handmaidens shall be witnesses unto Me. You
know how you can sum up this prophesying and these visions
and this dreaming of dreams? You know how you can sum it up?
They're going to declare salvations of the Lord. They're going to
have one message. One message. What was Peter's
message? What did Peter stand up here
and say? First of all, Peter says, the Lord Jesus is the man
that is approved of God. Look at verse 22. You men of
Israel, hear these words. This thing has come to pass.
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles
and wonders and signs which God did by Him in the midst of you
as you yourselves also know. This man is God's man. This is
the man that God has said is righteous, that He's delighted
with. God never said that about any
other man. He looked at Adam and his creation and said, it's
good. But this man, made under the law, made of a woman, proved himself to be perfectly
righteous. And he is approved of God. by
all the signs and wonders and miracles that He wrought among
us when He walked this earth." Peter said, this is Him. Peter's
speaking by this Holy Spirit that's been poured out. And the
reason this Spirit was poured out was for one reason, that
they might all have the same mind, and the same message, and
the same heart, and it be for the exaltation of Christ Jesus
the Lord. What else did Peter say here?
Peter preached the absolute sovereignty of God. Look here in verse 23.
He says, "...him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain." Everything we did in rejecting Him and nailing
Him to a cross, and I say we, I mean man, sinful man. Everything we did. in thinking
we were doing our own will, was fulfilling the will of God perfectly. That's sovereign omnipotence. That's an all-powerful, all-reigning,
all-ruling God. And that's who we serve. And
this Spirit's poured out that that might be the message that's
preached and declared. Look here in verse 24. He preached Christ satisfied
God with His one offering. How do you get that from verse
24? God hath raised him up and loosed the pains of death because
it was not possible that he should be holding of it. How was it
not possible that he should be held by the cords of death? There
was no sin in him. The wages of sin is death. There
was no sin in him. Death, he couldn't die. He laid
down his life voluntarily. He was made sin who knew no sin. And being made sin, he can die. The wages of sin is death. God
poured out His wrath on him and he died. But God raised him up
again because it wasn't possible that death could hold him. He's God. He's holy. And then
look here at what Peter preaches. And he uses Scripture here to
show that David, the patriarch David, he's not the king. This
is not an earthly kingdom we're looking for. That's the message. Christ's kingdom is a spiritual
kingdom. His kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. We're not looking
for some time when He's going to come back and establish an
earthly kingdom on this earth. You know what? God made His world,
His church, made up of His individual chosen people. And you know what
he's going to do? He purposed before the world
began that he was going to make all things new. That he was going
to do it in the person of his Son. And that by the Holy Spirit
he was going to accomplish it. And that's what he's going to
do. He's going to make a brand new heaven and earth. His church
is made new. It's restored. Jew and Gentile. under the old covenant. There
was a few Gentiles that were called out, but by and large
it was just Israelites. And there was a remnant of them.
But over the years, to show us what we are, left to ourselves,
the church degenerated. It just got worse and worse and
worse. Men corrupted the Word of God.
Went about worshiping God in their own manner, in their own
way. And now at this time, we're being told Christ has restored
the kingdom. It was until the time of Reformation. He's the Reformer. Christ our
Lord is the one who made all things new. He made His people
new. He made His church holy and spotless. And He bought the world. And
He's going to make every one of them new. And there will be
nothing that dwells therein but righteousness and holiness. And
it's not going to be a kingdom on this earth. His kingdom right
now exists. It's a spiritual kingdom. And
to see it, you have to be born in the Spirit. And you have to
worship Him in the Spirit. You have to enter it in the Spirit.
You see it in the Spirit. So he says here, and look here
with me, David speaketh concerning him, verse 25, David said, I
foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right
hand that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall
rest in hope Because thou won't leave my soul in hell neither
what thou suffer thine holy one to seek corruption Thou has made
known to me the ways of life. Thou shall make full make me
full of joy with that countenance Now Peter says this in verse
29 Everything that you just heard me quote from scripture Peter
says is not talking about David David wasn't saying those things.
David was a prophet speaking of that which Christ said. Look
in verse 29. Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried. His sepulcher is with us unto this day. His grave.
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with
an oath to him, that of the fruit of his lawns, according to the
flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne, he seeing
this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that Christ's soul
was not left in hell, neither Christ's flesh did see corruption.
That's the message. You see, the kingdom is not an
earthly kingdom. It's not, it's not, and that's
what, that's what national Israel, That's what carnal religion,
that's what men who've not been born of the Spirit of God, that's
what they're looking for. It's something that'll happen
on this earth. It happened on this earth. But
He's risen. And His kingdom's a spiritual
kingdom. And then he says, verse 32, This Jesus hath God raised
up, whereof we all are witnesses. We're doing exactly what Joel
said we would do. He said, your sons and your daughters,
he said, your young men, your old men, they're going to testify
of Me. The Lord told them before they
went to Jerusalem, He said, when the Spirit is poured out upon
you, you shall be witnesses unto Me. And that's exactly what He's
saying. We're all witnesses of these
things, He said. We see Him now. Peter is saying,
we see Him more fully than we ever saw Him before. Because
we have His Spirit. We have the mind of Christ. We
see now that the Kingdom, it's not something... You think Peter
looked back on that question they asked the Lord? Will you
at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel? Peter probably looked
back on that and thought, what a foolish statement. He did at
this time restore the kingdom, but it was nothing like what
even Peter and the others were looking for. It's a heavenly
kingdom. Zion is the mountain of the Lord. Jerusalem is the city of the
Lord. Not that place over in the Middle
East. It's the place where He dwells.
And that's the place, that's the city whose builder and maker
is God. That's the city that Abraham
looked for, that all the old fathers looked for. And then there's a word of warning
through the prophet Joel. God promised judgment upon all
sinners who reject the King of glory. This great warning comes
in God's judgment upon the nation of Israel because of their rejection
and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 19, he says, I'll
show wonders in heaven 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 come. There's a lot of symbolical language
used here. And I looked up that word, great
and notable day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is the day
of Jehovah who exists To try to limit that to one time
in one period is like trying to put a ocean in a thimble It
can't be done But this is a great and notable
day of the Lord It was a great notable day of the Lord when
he came and was born into this earth. I It was a great and notable
day when he worked miracles and signs and wonders as he walked
this earth. It was a great and notable day
when he went to the cross and laid down his life and the sun
refused to shine. The moon and the sun of which
he created and gives light bowed to him. And it was a great and notable
day in this day when He poured out the Spirit on these people,
the day of Pentecost. It was a great and notable day
70 years later when He destroyed
Jerusalem. It's a great and notable day
when He came to you and me in the power of the Holy Ghost and
revealed to us, in us, who He is and what He accomplished.
And everything that happened to Israel, that nation Israel,
happened to show every man, Jew or Gentile, the end of all those
who reject Christ the Lord. That's exactly, just as He used
Israel to show and typify what Christ would accomplish, He used
the nation Israel to show exactly what happens to those who don't
trust Him, who don't lay hold of Him by faith. And here's what
it basically comes down to is this. There can't be but one
King. There can't be but one Kingdom.
And the King is Christ Jesus, the Son of God. And His Kingdom
is not a national people, a physical people, a physical nation. Way
back when Israel rejected Samuel, They saw Samuel, and they said,
we want to have a king like the rest of the nations have. And
the Lord told Samuel, He said, they haven't rejected you, Samuel.
They've rejected Me. He's the king. Always been the
king. But they said, no, we don't want
a king like that. We want a king like the other
nations have. We want somebody to rule and
reign over us like what they have. And God said, they rejected Me.
When sinners reject an ambassador like Peter, they reject Christ.
When they reject Christ, they reject God. Who's going to be
the ruler? Who's going to be the king? Is
it going to be sinful man? Is it going to be God? The covenant of works couldn't
exist beside the everlasting covenant of grace. Salvation
is by grace, not of works. That covenant had to be done
away with. That's what we studied in Hebrews. Do you see how, as
I was looking at this message today and everything that's being
taught here in this message that Peter preached, I couldn't help
but just see just how closely connected it is with everything
we're learning in Hebrews. In fact, the next lesson in Hebrews
is, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those
days. And that's exactly what he's doing right here on the
Day of Pentecost. When God's Lamb brought satisfaction before
God, all other sacrifices had to cease. On the day of Pentecost, when
the Holy Spirit revealed that Christ's people were out of a
multitude of nations, it was evident that that one nation,
Israel, must be done away with, that grace might come upon His
people and all other nations. He's done with it. He's finished
with it. They trusted in ancestry, they
trusted in the law, they corrupted the Word of God, they rejected
Christ the King, and God rejected them. And it's an example of all sinners
in Adam who attempt to approach God any other way than by faith
in Christ Jesus the Lord. Look at Romans 9 with me. Romans
9 and verse 30. What shall we say then? That
the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have
attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of
faith. But Israel, which followed after
the law of righteousness, had the oracles of God, knew what
God said, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Why? Because they sought it not
by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled
at that stumbling stone. As it is written, Behold, I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense, and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Where is he laid? In Zion. Where is Peter saying
he is now? This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we are all witnesses. He is exalted at the right hand
of God. There is the stumbling stone
in Zion at the right hand of God. Look at Romans 10, 12. What does this teach us? There's no difference between
the Jew and the Greek. Not any difference. For the same
Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. God is rich
in mercy to those who call upon the name of the Lord. That's
what Peter is exhorting these folks at Jerusalem to do, to
call on the name of the Lord. And he's doing it by declaring
to them that this One whom we took and crucified with wicked
hands, God's raised Him up. He's the One of whom the patriarch
David spoke. He is both Christ and Lord. His
kingdom is spiritual. His kingdom is heavenly. And
He's brought judgment upon the nation of Israel. We've been
watching pillars of smoke rise from that nation all our lives. All our lives. Every time you
turn on the TV and you see wars raging in Israel, it ought to
remind us that God's kingdom is not of this world. He finished it. And whosoever
will call on Him shall be saved. Now, calling on the name of the Lord
is more than just saying His name. It has to do with seeing
your need of Him. It has to do with understanding
that this One to whom Peter preached is me and you. in ourselves. Do you believe you crucified
Christ? Do you believe that you rejected
Christ? We did. And we still would if
it weren't for the Spirit poured out But here's the promise. This
is a whosoever. Just like I said before, it doesn't
mean everybody without exception. It means, though, that it's open
to Jew and Gentile. There's a people out of every
nation under heaven. There's a people out of every
kindred, not just Abraham's natural seed, all kindreds. He's a Jew which is one inwardly.
Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter.
If you believe on Christ, if you trust Christ, then are you
Abraham, see? Then are you the true sons of
Abraham. Out of every people, all kinds
of people, rich and poor, young and old, in all walks of life, but we have to call on Him. We
have to call on Him. And we won't call on Him unless
we need a Savior. The problem today is people don't
need a Savior. People today feel as though the message that's preached today
makes it out to be that man is the one who's big and God is
dependent upon us to do something. That's not the case. Well, what happened? What was
the result on the day of Pentecost to this message? Look at verse
37. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart. and said unto Peter and to the
rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Oh, if we ever find out, if we
ever are pricked in the heart and find out how badly we need
righteousness, God won't have anything to do with anybody unless
we're righteous. The very righteousness of God. And He won't have anything to
do with anybody unless we've made the righteousness of God
in His Son. And here's what Peter said to
him, repent. That's a radical change. Repent. A man can't do it if
God hadn't granted him repentance. A man can't let go of his idols
if God hadn't granted him repentance to turn from them. A man can't
quit exalting himself if God hadn't given him a new heart
and repentance to turn from himself and own Christ as Lord. A man can't turn from his own
way and his own works and his own hoping in himself unless
God turns him to our one true hope. And be baptized, every
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ Own Him. Confess Him. Follow
Him in baptism. Because it's Jesus Christ who's
remitted our sins. He's the one that's put them
away. And He says, and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. They were pricked in their heart
because they had received the gift of the Holy Ghost. But He's
saying you'll receive the gift that the Holy Ghost gives. You
and I aren't going to receive, be able to speak in languages
we haven't learned. We're not going to be able to
heal people like those gifts they had in this age that we're
looking into here. But you know the gift of the
Holy Ghost that you and I receive? Peace. Joy. Consolation. comfort. And it's all summed up in our
King and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's all to us. And He says, for the promise
is unto you and to your children and to all that are far off.
That includes you and I who weren't born in the nation of Israel,
Gentiles. As many as are far off. I'm gonna
close here, but I want you to turn over and look with me at
a scripture, Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2. Paul is speaking to the Gentiles
here, and he says, remember, verse 11, that you being in time
past Gentiles in the flesh, according to the natural order of things,
you were called the uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision
in the flesh made by hands. In other words, the Jews looked
at you and said, you're not a people of God. And at that time you
were without Christ. You know what you are right now,
sitting here, if all your hope and all your confidence is not
in Christ alone by faith? You know what you are? Without
Christ. Without Him. Aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel. Strangers from the covenants
of promise. Having no hope. and without God
in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, these
were folks who had been called out, who were once dead in trespasses
and in sins, had their hearts pricked, and they had cried out,
men and brethren, what shall we do? And they believed on Christ. And here's what the Scripture
says, Now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off, are
made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who hath
made both one." Jew and Gentile, He made them one in Him. Neither
one of them exists anymore. You're either in Christ or you're
without Him. He's broken down the middle wall
of partition, having abolished in His flesh the enmity not just
towards one another and towards other nations, but towards God
Himself. Even the Law of Commandments
contained in ordinances. And He did it for the making
Himself of two, one new man. And He made peace, that He might
reconcile both, Jew and Gentile, unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby. And He came and preached peace
to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. And it's
through Him that we both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father." That's what Peter preached here on the day of Pentecost.
He said, this promise is to you and to your sons and your daughters
and to them that are far off the spiritual seed, those chosen
of God in Christ before the foundation of the world. As many as the
Lord our God shall call. I thought I had to call on Him.
If He calls you, you'll call on Him. If He calls you, you'll
call on Him. And with many other words Peter
did testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward
generation. Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized. And you know how many that day
were saved? In the same day there was added
unto them about three thousand souls." Three thousand souls. I wish that I could say that
more plainly. I wish I could say it in a way that it'd just be unmistakable
what I'm saying. But I know God can take stuttering
and stammering words and He can apply them as only He knows how
they need to be applied. And He can effectually call out
His people. And He will. And I'm grateful
for that. And I pray with all my heart
and soul. I don't pray for you just when
I'm standing here in this pulpit. I pray for you at home. I pray
for you morning, noon, and night. Earnestly asking God to have
his way with you. To arrest any and all who don't
know him. I ask you to pray for me and
to pray for my family and pray for my children. It's serious. This is serious
business. This is not games. This is not something we take or leave. This is life or death. The Lord Jesus Christ is exalted. He's King and He's the Savior. He is the Lord and Savior. Men who hated Him called Him
Jesus. His people call Him Lord. That's
what He is. And I pray that He'll make you
bow and call Him Lord. And what joy, what peace, what
a gift to have Him. All your joy and all your peace
and all your comfort So that whatever comes your way in this
life, you can rest in quiet assurance, knowing, persuaded without a
doubt, that He's doing all things well. That He's ruling His kingdom. And that He'll put down all those
that reject Him. And you know what we'll do in
that day? I know that some say that we
won't know each other in glory. When on the Mount of Transfiguration,
Peter knew who was standing there. Well, that would be so sad if
I see my loved ones cast out into outer darkness. Not when
you know him fully. Not when you rejoice in Him fully.
There will be applause that will go up for His righteous judgment,
because He's right and He's just. We might not get into that now,
but in that day we will. We'll rejoice. You can go to him. If you come
to me, I want you to. I want you to call me. I want
you to share your happiness and your sadness with me. And in
either case, if you come to me, my words to you gonna be pretty
much what I'm saying to you right here in this place. You know
why? Because We have a high priest, and I'm
not it. As bad as I want you to want
me and to love me and have a heart for me, I'm not the one that you need
a heart for. Christ is. And He's the one that
He gives His people a heart to delight in. He's the one you
go to and confess everything. He's the one that'll pour out
and minister to you. He may use an earthen vessel
like me, but He's the one doing it. And at any time, at all times,
we can go to Him. There'll be times when I'm not
available, but He's always available. There'll be times when I need
you and you're not available. But He's always available. I pray we would understand that. It'll cause us to love one another
more. It'll cause us to rejoice over one another more and be
more patient with one another and long to help one another. His family's a family. It's a
family. I miss my family right now. They're
in Virginia. But I'm with my family right
now. With them. Well, I hope that's been a blessing
to you.