Sermon

The Powerful Gospel

February 28, 2021 Grace Evangelical Church Newcastle - Sermons

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Men of Israel, hear these words.
Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst.
As you yourselves know, this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,
you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
God raised him up, loosened the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
But David says concerning him,
I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced.
My flesh also will dwell in hope, for you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life.
You will make me full of gladness with your presence.
Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried,
and his tomb is with us to this day.
Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on the throne,
he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses.
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,
he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
Brothers, what shall we do?
And Peter said to them,
Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins,
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off,
everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.
And with many other words he bore witness, and continued to exhort them, saying,
Save yourselves from this crooked generation.
So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
And all came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
And they were selling their possessions and belongings, and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
And day by day, attending the temple together, and breaking bread in their homes,
they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.
And the Lord added their number day by day, those who were being saved.
Amen.
What do you expect to happen when you speak the gospel of Jesus to family or friends?
Let me just leave that on the table for a second and tell you a story.
Years ago, Alice and I were house parents at a girls' boarding school in Armadale.
Years ago.
Years ago.
And one day, a tiny, a really tiny year eight girl challenged me to a fight, which I thought was hilarious.
Years ago.
Years ago.
She put cushions on the floor in the middle of this public area.
And there was a lot of people around, a lot of other girls around.
She put cushions on the floor, apparently for me to land on, which I thought was even more hilarious.
She then gave me the first option of grabbing her, which I resisted to start with, but eventually she insisted.
So I reached out to pick her up.
The next thing I know, I was flat on my back, on the floor, gasping for air because I'd missed the cushions.
Now, it all happened in a second, literally.
And I still to this day don't exactly know how it happened, but it happened.
Things didn't turn out as expected because she had a secret and powerful weapon at her disposal.
She was actually skilled in the art of judo, which would have been helpful for me to have known beforehand.
But since then, I've learned that if you only bully people, you can't even assume to pick on small people these days.
So back to the question.
What do you expect to happen when you speak the gospel of Jesus to your friends, family, workmates?
Do you believe that the gospel of Jesus is powerful?
That's the title of my sermon this morning.
But do you believe that?
That it's powerful, that Jesus is unstoppable in his mission of saving those, all those he died for some nearly 2,000 years ago.
Do you believe that in 2021, Jesus continues to build his church, gathering one by one those people in time and space, those people he died for?
From every tribe and nation in our world.
Now, I think we might be tempted to think that in actual fact, when you look around the world, the cause of Christ is actually going backwards.
And that Jesus has actually been squeezed out of his own world.
Of course, the problem there is that we cannot see the world at a glance.
We don't know, really, essentially, what's happening in every part around the world.
But when we do inquire, and it's quite easy to inquire, when we do inquire, the evidence is actually beyond dispute.
Daily, countless hundreds, thousands of people are being confronted and renewed by the gospel of Jesus around our world.
Daily, people are being added to the church.
The local church.
New local church families are forming.
And that's often in spite of the most ruthless, violent attempts of governments and nations and authorities to crack down and rid themselves of the gospel of Jesus.
Friends, that's why we're doing this series on Acts of the Apostles called The Unstuffable Jesus.
We want each of you to be excited, to be confident, to be expectant.
That when we speak the gospel of Jesus, we are doing the work of Messiah.
With the secret weapon of God's word applied by the Holy Spirit, bringing joy and light and life.
To people otherwise wandering and lost in darkness.
That's what the series is about.
So let's jump into the text this morning.
And just a little bit of recapping from the last two or three weeks.
The radically fulfilled promises which dominate Luke's early chapters.
Which emphasize the unstoppable salvation work of Jesus.
Even though he's now operating from heaven.
The harvest has begun and is continuing and is unstoppable.
Because Jesus is unstoppable.
In chapter 1, verses 1 to 11.
The apostles were promised the secret weapon.
Which would make them effective witnesses.
Which would make them effective kingdom builders for Jesus.
And that promise was the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And his enabling power.
And in chapter 2, verses 1 to 21.
We saw last week.
That that promise is delivered in a mind-blowing moment.
Together with, the verses there, that together with clear instruction by Peter.
As to how do you understand what had just been experienced.
And witnessed by everyone.
A large crowd.
We're not left to guess how do you understand the coming of the Spirit.
We're told in detail.
And then Peter also helps us understand that the fulfillment of that immediate promise.
Needs to be understood itself in a bigger promise.
The bigger promise of God's salvation.
Made hundreds of years earlier through the prophet Joel.
Where God said, I will act to re-establish my rule.
I will save my people by delivering them from their sin.
And from the guilt of their sin.
By dealing with their sin.
I'll change them from the inside out.
By my spirit.
I'll give them proper understanding of me.
Says the Lord.
I'll enable them by my spirit.
To live obediently in my service.
And to my glory.
God's promise has just been radically delivered.
And as Dave said last week.
The Lord of the harvest has begun.
His harvest.
Now in the verses that are before me this morning.
I think that what Luke's doing is just given us two illustrations.
Of radically changed situations.
Radically changed people.
And a radically changed community.
Illustrations of what happens when the Lord is busy in his harvest.
What happens when we speak the gospel of Jesus.
What an incredible scene.
We have here as we jump into verse 22 now.
We got a group of about 120 believers.
Including the apostles.
No doubt.
Absolutely stunned.
As they spoke fluently in languages.
Not known to them.
Only minutes earlier.
We got a huge crowd.
Well in excess of 3,000.
We can just sense them milling around.
In amazement.
And at that moment.
We see the radically new face.
Of Peter.
No longer hiding in the shadows.
Or denying association with Jesus.
Peter steps up.
And confronts this large.
And I'm going to suggest in a moment.
Hostile crowd.
It's a crowd of religious Jews.
Both locals.
And those who traveled hundreds of kilometers.
In commitment to the religious observances.
Of special days and feasts.
This particular one.
That they have Pentecost.
Now the crowd therefore.
Each of them would have prided themselves.
In being God's special people.
They were so fanatical.
In trying to protect the name of God.
Protect Jewish religion.
That just remember six weeks early.
50 days earlier.
They had banded together.
To effect.
The murder of Jesus.
Why?
Because he had criticized.
Because he had criticized.
Their religious efforts.
Saying that sacrifices.
And praying.
And celebrating religious festivals.
Would never please God.
Or get them to heaven.
No longer hiding.
No longer impetuous.
Or no longer making grand statements.
About himself.
That we knew of Peter.
From the gospel account of Jesus.
Here.
Peter.
Very deliberately.
Steps up.
Calls for quiet.
Urges people to listen carefully.
To what he's about to say.
And then what does he do?
He talks to them about Jesus.
The very guy.
That in their anger.
They had set aside the law.
To get rid of.
Just six weeks earlier.
They would have expected.
No doubt.
To hear Peter say.
More about what they had just experienced.
But what do they get?
They get an extended talk.
About Jesus.
As I say.
The very person they thought they were rid of.
Even more confronting.
Peter is telling these hostile.
Religious people.
That they were wrong.
Wrong about God.
And the basis of acceptance with them.
Wrong about Jesus.
And the basis on which they murdered him.
And in factly.
Wrong in their religious beliefs generally.
And.
Actually at odds with God.
And.
And.
My friends.
I would suggest to you this morning.
Given what we know of Peter.
From the gospel accounts.
And what we see of Peter here.
There is no question at all.
That Peter has been empowered.
By the Holy Spirit.
As he emphasis.
Emphasizes.
The thing he does.
The things he does.
He does in his talk.
First of the one is that Jesus.
Can't be ignored.
Now picking up in verses 22 through to.
25 there.
Peter.
Just gives a summary.
Obviously on the one hand.
Peter is saying Jesus was really human.
He was a carpenter's son.
From Nazareth.
Yes his birth was surrounded with suspicion.
And yes.
Says Peter.
He's really telling the crowd that yes.
Jesus was so ordinary.
That the Jews were convinced.
He couldn't possibly be God's Messiah.
God's Messiah would not be ordinary.
That was their conclusion.
Jesus had to go.
But equally obvious.
Says Peter.
That Jesus was God.
Everything he didn't say.
Says Peter to this massive crowd.
Demonstrated.
Not only that he was from God.
And had God's full support and approval.
But that he was one with God.
Because he was doing things that only God could do.
And the most compelling evidence of this.
Peter continues.
Is in his resurrection.
He experienced death like other humans.
But death could not hold him.
Because he was God.
And Peter's point here.
Is that that also proves he was Messiah.
Jesus was the Messiah.
God's King and Savior.
The one King David anticipated.
And he quotes from King David.
Verse 25 through to 30.
King David anticipated.
This moment.
Hundreds of years earlier.
Peter's clear.
It couldn't have been.
David couldn't have been speaking about himself.
Because David's grave is still there.
David's still in the grave.
He must have been.
Anticipating God's Messiah.
And this moment has come now.
Says Peter.
You've got to understand.
What Peter was saying to this crowd.
Every single point he was making here.
Was the very stuff.
That would have riled them.
He took a resurrection of Jesus.
To talk about them being wrong.
To use King David's name.
To prove that Jesus was something.
I mean this was stuff.
This was dangerous stuff.
Radical stuff that Peter was taking on with this crowd.
And the second point then gets worse.
Jesus' death was not what it seemed.
The crowd had condemned and killed Jesus.
Now as they did that.
They were claiming to be the servants of God.
Claiming to act to protect God's name.
From the madman.
As they saw Jesus to be.
In actual fact.
Says Peter.
Not only did you illegally.
And violently kill Jesus.
But you did so.
Because of your stubborn unbelief.
And rejection of both Jesus.
And teaching.
But says Peter.
Here's the rub for you guys.
God's verdict.
Was totally different to your verdict.
God's verdict about Jesus.
Was totally different to yours.
And even more amazing.
Peter says to the crowd.
You know what?
You're evil.
And that's the only way I can describe it.
Says Peter to the crowd.
Your evil.
Was actually woven into God's.
Big picture plan of salvation.
God used that moment of evil.
For your good.
For your benefit.
And the benefit of mankind.
And so God.
Verse 22 and verse.
32 and 33.
God restores Jesus.
To his rightful position.
Of honor.
As king and lord of the world.
And now also.
As savior of the world.
God.
Now again.
Put yourself into the situation.
And feel how provocative.
Those statements would have been.
To that Jewish.
Religious crowd.
The third point.
Peter makes.
Is that you can't honor God.
While rejecting Jesus.
The force of God's verdict.
On Jesus.
Verse 36.
Cannot be challenged.
Let me read the verse to you again.
Let all the house of Israel.
Therefore.
Know for certain.
What?
That God has made him.
That is Jesus.
Both Lord and Christ.
Or Messiah.
Or Savior.
This Jesus.
Whom you crucified.
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I've stood before some hostile crowds in my day, but nothing compared to that, I don't think.
The equation is simple, says Peter.
You cannot put a wage between God and Jesus.
You cannot say on the one hand, I serve the Lord, like you Jewish religious people do,
but not bow before Jesus and recognize him as Savior and Lord.
God's instrument of salvation.
You just cannot do it.
That's what you guys have tried to do, Peter says to the crowd, but you cannot do it.
It is what Jesus does for you in his death that makes you acceptable to God.
That's why the two cannot be separated.
You cannot be acceptable to God by your religious efforts.
You can only be acceptable to God through Jesus.
So if you want to come to God, you come through Jesus.
That's Peter's point here.
That's Peter's logic.
You come to God through Jesus, not your own efforts, not your own goodness, not your own religious performance.
Now, given the sort of straight talk that Peter delivers to this crowd, we would expect a massive response, wouldn't we?
And we get a massive response from the crowd, but I don't think it's the one we'd normally expect.
We might well expect the crowd to surge forward and in their anger and hatred and do to Peter what they did to Jesus just 50 days earlier.
Rip them apart.
Get rid of him.
Because he's saying all the things that Jesus said.
And in fact, he's bringing to mind again that Jesus they thought they'd finally got themselves rid of.
So I think we would expect a large, massive response from the crowd.
But the response we get here is not the one we expect.
It's a very surprising response.
Because there is something sweeps through the crowd.
But it's an overpowering conviction of sin and guilt before God.
So last week, when the Spirit arrived, there was amazement, there was excitement, and there was some crude humor.
Oh, they're just drunk.
And that was happening in response to the arrival of God's Spirit.
But now, we can sense a quietness settling on this crowd.
A soberness settling on this crowd.
Self-reflection.
Self-reflection.
And indeed, the awful realization that they had got it so wrong in respect of God, in respect of Jesus, and in respect of their salvation.
Before, as religious Jews, they were convinced that their acceptance before God was based on their own goodness and religious actions.
They were convinced that they'd done God a favor in killing Jesus.
But now, now they could see that instead of serving the Lord, they had arrogantly acted as if they were the Lord.
Now, there was this sickening realization that they stood alone and guilty before the Lord God of the universe.
Unable to plead ignorance.
Unable to plead anything that would lessen their guilt.
Unable to.
Unable to.
And this sudden new realization breaks them and prompts nothing else but a urgent plea for help.
Unable to plead anything that would lessen their guilt.
How can we escape God's anger at our behavior?
How can we escape?
In verse 38, Peter immediately tells them the way ahead.
Repent.
What is repentance?
Well, basically it's a total change of attitude and thinking,
which results in totally different behavior.
These folk in this crowd needed to change their attitude to themselves,
to Jesus, and to God.
They needed to listen to God's word and take it seriously,
understanding that they rightly deserved God's judgment in spite of all their religious efforts.
They needed to look to Jesus to deal with their sin and make them acceptable to God.
They needed to give up their autonomy and start living under the rule of King Jesus.
And more than that, Peter says they need to demonstrate the reality of their opinions in baptism.
Baptism.
Now, this would have been a really, really big thing for these religious Jews.
Because baptism was only used when you were bringing Gentiles into the Jewish faith.
So baptism to these religious Jews would have been a humiliating admission of being wrong.
Would have been a humiliating admission of new association with Jesus,
whom they had just killed as a criminal a few weeks earlier.
This was a total turnaround for these people.
The amazing result of that repentance,
the amazing result of true repentance for even murderous sinners,
verse 38,
complete forgiveness.
In a moment,
their situation was turned around.
One minute,
cowering under the wrath of God,
realizing they could never pay the penalty their rebellion against God deserved,
and their actions had reinforced.
The next minute,
enjoying God's promise
that guilt and judgment
is totally wiped
and replaced with full acceptance.
Family relationship with them,
which is confirmed and guaranteed
by God's Spirit taking up residence in them.
Friends,
I fear I've done a disservice to this beautiful passage,
because it's a picture that we're meant to be sucked into and soaking.
What a turnaround
for more than 3,000 people that day.
Just think about it.
Peter takes on a crowd
whipped into frenzy by spectacular events.
And in response,
he simply tells them the story
of Jesus.
Who he is
and what he has done.
And how God views him now.
And that message alone,
and it's a simple message,
that message alone,
by the power of God's Spirit,
debolished,
debolished lifetime unbelief
for some 3,000 people.
Solemn converted,
changing their attitudes and actions forever.
What a moment.
What an example or illustration
of the Lord of the harvest,
busy in the harvest.
But there's more.
Verses 42 to 47.
There's a radically changed community.
That's another illustration
of the power of the Holy Spirit
applied to the unstoppable salvation work
of the Lord Jesus.
A radically changed community
of all-in commitment
emerges.
Now I'm not going to dig into this at all.
I'm just going to race through it
very quickly.
They devoted themselves
to the apostles' teaching
and fellowship.
To the breaking of bread
and the prayers.
And awe
came upon every soul.
And many wonders and signs
were being done
through the apostles.
And all who believed
were together
and had all things in common.
They were selling
their possessions
and belongings
and distributing
the proceeds to all
as any had need.
And day by day
attending the temple together
and breaking bread
in their homes
they received their food
with glad
and generous hearts
praising God
and having favor
with all the people.
And the Lord
added to their number
day by day
those who were being saved.
a radically changed
community
of all-in commitment.
Totally committed
to soaking themselves
in God's word.
Hearing
learning
being shaped
being matured
by that word.
Totally committed
to church
worship
fellowship
prayer.
You see
they sensed
they were part
of a new
community
a new
resurrection
community
a new
community
of Jesus
and his
saved people.
They wanted
to be among
a community
of people
who likewise
delighted in Jesus
and who
owed
everything
to Jesus.
Who honored
and served
Jesus.
They wanted
to be around
people like that
and in community
with them.
they knew
they needed
each other
in the daily
struggle
to be like
Jesus
and to
witness for him.
And they were
totally committed
to demonstrated
reality.
They were
totally committed
to showing
the changing
power of the
gospel
to those
around them.
And you can
just see it
there in those
verses
that they've
been demonstrably
moved from
the attitude
of me
my
mine
possessiveness
I've got
my resources
and they're
mine.
My time
my energy
my money
my possessions
demonstrably
changed
to lives
characterized
by other
person
centeredness.
What do
you need?
What do I
have that I
can use
for your
benefit?
What
blessing
has the
Lord given
me that I
can share
with glad
heart and
praising the
Lord with
you?
Not a
sense of
loss
but a
sense of
privilege.
And this
gospel
shaped
community
was
incredibly
attractive
to their
wider
community.
People
were looking
in on
them
trying to
work out
what was
going on
in this
new
community
as it
was
formed.
They loved
what they
could see.
They may
not
initially
have
realized
they
needed
Jesus
who was
at the
heart of
this
community
but they
sure
knew
they
wanted
to see
something
and experience
something
of this
new
community.
They wanted
to be
part of
a community
where it
wasn't
possessive,
it wasn't
self-centered,
where it
was all
in,
where it
was caring
and loving
and supportive.
People
want that
in our
dysfunctional,
disconnected
world.
And as
they come
into that
community,
then we're
told here
that eventually
they understood
why the
community was
like that
and what
was at the
basis of
that community
and ultimately
they came
to Jesus
themselves.
the Lord
added to
their number
day by
day.
People who
were drawn
into this
community for
whatever reason
first drawn
into it but
ultimately the
point is that
they were swept
into the
kingdom,
drawn into
the community,
swept into
the kingdom
as they
found a
fresh start
in Jesus.
back to
where I
started.
Friends,
what a
wonderful,
what wonderful
illustrations
of what
happens when
we speak
the gospel
of Jesus.
Lives are
renewed in
an instant.
so what
will break
down,
what do you
think will
break down
the lifetime
unbelief and
religious thinking
of your family
members,
your workmates
and people you
intersect with
on any given
day?
Perhaps we
feel uneasy
about telling
people they're
sinful.
No.
we feel
uneasy telling
people that
their goodness
won't win
acceptance with
God.
We might not
feel it easier
about telling
them about
God's wrath.
Perhaps it
sounds primitive,
barbaric.
Perhaps we
just fear the
response.
But here's the
point of Acts

Acts 2 chapter mention
chapter 2 and
if you don't
hear anything
else this
morning,
take this
sentence away
with you.
The message
of Acts

Acts 2 chapter mention
chapter 2 is
that an
ordinary
person,
remember Peter
was really
ordinary,
an ordinary
person speaking
the extraordinary
message about
Jesus,
can with the
spirit's enabling
reduce the
religious fanatic
or the loud
mouthed cynic
or the totally
disinterested
family member,
friend or
neighbor,
and bring
them to
repentance and
sweep them
into the
kingdom.
start, I
said, what
do you
expect when
you speak
the gospel
of Jesus?
My last
word is,
having looked
at Acts

Acts 2 chapter mention
chapter 2,
what will
you expect
this week
when you
speak the
gospel of
Jesus?
Jesus.
Let me pray.
Lord, we
thank you for
your generosity
to us in
recording
wonderful
examples and
illustrations like
this, both
which teach
us of
how you
operate in
your world,
but also
model it to
us, Lord.
Forgive us
if we've
given up
having
expectation
people
respond
when we
speak the
gospel of
Jesus.
Forgive us,
Lord, if
we've
actually formed
the only
expectation
that people
will reject
it.
Lord, give
us new
hearts,
new desires
to gossip
the gospel
in our
everyday affairs,
trusting that
you will do
what only
you will do
by your
spirit.
Break down
rejection and
unbelief and
sweep our
friends and
family members
and workmates
into the
kingdom.
Lord,
demonstrate
your power to
us, we pray.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.