Acts: The Message of the Holy Spirit

A few of your Bibles. I hope that you do, if you'll turn

with me to the to Luke Luke chapter two. We've been in a series

through the Book of Acts, and today we want to continue in that series.

Last Sunday we begin the first part of looking through Peter's Sermon at Pentecost,

and so Peter's Sermon at Pentecost at Luke chapter two. So there's kind

of three different parts if you will, to Luke's sermon, and today we're

looking at the second part. I know that you would like to eat lunch,

and so I decided that I would break this up in three sermons instead

of one. And so Luke chapter two, and we'll start in the second

part of Peter's sermon. We'll pick up in verse twenty two in just a

minute, so Luke chapter two, and we'll start in verse twenty two and

just a minute. You know, what you believe about Jesus is really foundational

to understanding of Christ and understanding your relationship with the Lord. What you believe

in Jesus is foundational for the Gospel, for Christianity itself. But there is

many popular beliefs about Jesus that's in our world today. M. George Barne

wrote an article twenty fifteen to outline five popular beliefs about Jesus. I want

to share those with you as we begin this morning. Five popular beliefs,

according to M. George Barnet about that Americans. What Americans believe about Jesus.

The first popular belief that Americans believe about Jesus is one The vast majority

of Americans believed Jesus was a real person. So more than a nine out

of ten adults say today that Jesus was a real person he actually lived.

Ninety two percent say that Jesus was a real person. The percentages earth though

changing earlier to that early older generations um it's high as ninety two percent,

but younger generations, like the millennials, only eighty seven percent of millennials believed

that Jesus actually lived. So but the first popular belief about Jesus among Americans

is that Jesus was a real person. The second popular belief about from Americans

about Jesus is that younger generations are increasingly less likely that believed to believe that

Jesus was actual God himself. Most Americans believe that that Jesus was divine,

but only six six out of ten believed that Jesus was God. You just

think about that. So ninety two percent believed that Jesus was an actual person,

but only fifty six percent of people believed that Jesus was actual God.

And again this is changing among generations. Fewer than half of millennials. Forty

eight percent of millennials believed that Jesus was actual God. It's interesting as George

Barne did this study, you can see the shift in general rations UM the

UM gen xers fifty five percent, but the older generations believe are more likely

to believe to Jesus U was God. The fifty eight percent of baby boomers

and UM sixty two percent of UM the generation before would believe that UM Jesus

was God. So you can see the trend from older generations to younger.

The younger people get or the father we go, if you will, UM,

the less likely people were to believe that Jesus was God. Their popular

belief is Americans are divided on whether Jesus was sinless. Americans UM are divided.

Fifty two percent UM believe that UM that Jesus was that Jesus was human,

but he committed sins like any other. Fifty two percent would say that

in America, So there's this again, you see this trajectory. Ninety two

percent will believe is God. Only U sixty percent would believe that he Um,

I mean, nine two percent believed that he was actual lived, he's

actually a person. Only a few two percent believes God. But then there's

questions of whether Jesus was sinless. Fourth popular belief is most Americans say that

have committed to Jesus or made a commitment to Jesus. Um. You see,

most we know understand the first step of Christianity, first step of becoming

a Christian is um as a commitment to Jesus. And six out of ten

Americans have said they take have taken that step, and that's an apportment commitment

for their life today. But again we see this changing among younger generations.

Millennials are much like less than much like um, much less likely than any

other group to say they've had a commitment a personal commitment with Jesus. For

forty six percent of millennials, fifty nine percent of Gen xers, sixty five

percent of Baby boomers, and seventy one percent of the older generation. So

again you see the trend in generations. It's becoming less and less likely or

less and less important to younger generations. And lastly, the fifth most popular

according to George Barna's article, is people are conflicted between Jesus and good deeds

as a way to heaven. We see some who would believe that confessing their

sins and it said to Jesus, Christ, your savior, will say sixty

three percent. But there are some who believe that doing good works is a

way to get into heaven. So I want to share that with you because

I think it's important that we understand as we come to this morning's message,

is why you believe about Jesus totally changes everything. It's foundational. It's to

who you are to what you believe. Is what you believe about Jesus.

As we come to this passage this morning, Peter's preaching a sermon. He's

preaching sermon after Pentecost. This is one of the script Scholars will say this

is one of the most theological sermons and all the New Testament. It's one

of the most important sermons and all the New Testament. And if it is

the most important, one of the most important messages that Peter ever preaches.

For Peter, one of the most important topics of that sermon is Jesus,

because Jesus is foundational and what you do with him and what you believe about

him, and so Peter outlines is today the ports of Jesus. Now,

once you remember, as we come to this past scripture as Pentecost, and

so fire scripture says, a sound like the wind came from heaven, right,

and it filled one hundred and twenty believers, and it spread like a

fire. The spirit had like a fire among all the believers, right.

And the Bible says that all of them spoke in tongues, and we know

tongues was a foreign language. So all of them spoke in a foreign language

that they did not know before then, and they spoke the things of God.

Right. And so we hear we understand from Pentecost when that happened,

that the Jews who were there at four Pentecost. Pentecost was a festival that

they took as Jews. Every year. There was three pilgrimages they were making

into Jerusalem, and this was one of the ones, and that was Pentecost.

It's fifty days actor Passover, they would celebrate Pentecost, that they came

to Jerusalem for that, probably a million or so in Jerusalem, and so

other Jews are gathered from all different places in Jerusalem. They hear this sound

of those Christians, those believers, those followers of Jesus, and what are

they doing? Well, they're all speaking in tongues that they do not know.

They're speaking in language that they did not know. They were speaking not

in their native tongue, but they were speaking in tongues of others. And

so that noise, and that brought the clamoring that all many, many Jews,

thousands upon thousands of Jews gathered around those believers, and they're asking the

questions. And we saw that in Acts chapter two. They're saying, how

can this be? What does that question? How can this be? How

can these gentiles who are known as gentile I mean not gentiles, these Galileans

not gentiles. These Galileans were understood as uneducated. How is these uneducated folks

speak in my native tongue? How are they speaking my language? They're not

they don't know these languages. How are they able to speak this? And

then the second question for the Jews were that gathered to discern what was happening

at Pentecost. The second question was how can this be? How can this

be? They're uneducated. The second question is what does this mean? What

does this mean? What is happening? And Peter stands up to answer these

questions, and the first part of this sermon last week is was that what

does this mean? It means that we're in the last days, when the

last days, the Holy Spirit has come, the Holy Spirit of promise is

come, and that is a sign that we are in the last days.

And now Peter stands up and gives a second meaning of what does this mean?

The second explanation of what does this mean? He stands up and he

declares the message of the Holy Spirit. What is the message of the Holy

Spirit? What is the Holy Spirit saying? What is he speaking? And

that is if you can believe that when they were speaking in these these these

foreign languages, they were speaking to things of Jesus. So what does this

mean? Well, if Peter stands up and he declares the message of Jesus,

you know what the message of Jesus is, the message the message of

the Holy Spirit is. Jesus is the Messiah And Jesus is Lord, very

civil message by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Messiah, and Jesus is

Lord. We stand together and let's read what the Holy Spirit's message is about

Jesus as starting verse twenty two. 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 is Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan, and for knowledge

of God. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God

raised him up and loosening the pains of death because it was not possible for

him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, I saw

the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand, that

I might not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue

rejoice. My flesh also dwelled 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, and you will make me full of

gladness with your presence. Brothers, I 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 to him an oath to him that he would set one of his

descendants his 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 what we have all witnesses are all our

witnesses, being therefore exalted up the right hand of God, and having received

from the Father of the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out

this that you yourself are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into

heavens, but he himself says the Lord, said to my Lord, set

up my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Let all the

house of Isual therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and

Christ. This Jesus whom you crucified. Let's pray together, Father, We

thank you Lord for this morning. We thank you Lord for this message.

Lord, We thank you for the message of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus

is the Messiah. Jesus is Lord. Lord, I pray today as people

will gathered together to hear your word today, I think I pray that we

would all consider what we will do with this Jesus. What do we believe

about this Jesus? And today we would not acknowledge the truth of your word,

the trustworthiness of your word that is without error, that is infallible,

and it is the authority for the source of our truth. And we're based

upon your word. Lord, I pray to day we would put our faith

in our trusts and a rhyth and savior today, and Lord, that faith

would bring about change in our life. That Lord, we will allow you

to have your will in your way in us. So Lord, we pray

that Lord for a movement of your word today in us and acceptance of your

truth and your trustworthiness of Jesus. And Lord, I pray we would consider

what we would do with Jesus, Lord lead us today. I pray,

Lord, I'm a sinner. Lord, I desperately need you today, said

Lord. I pray you'd cleanse me today from the top of my head,

that solds my feet, cleanse my heart of my speech. My mind,

Lord, that you might use me as your instrument. Lord, I pray

today that I would declare Lord, your word and your word along today,

and Lord, that you'd use your word to speak to the hearts of your

people today. And Lord, as folks are gathered together to get today to

hear your word, Lord, I pray that the Holy Spirit will bring upon

conviction, it will bring about response, and they would respond Lord to what

you say to them today. So Lord, lead us today through this message

through our time of worship today, and your name, we pray, Amen,

you may be seated says we come to this passive scripture again, I

on our reminds you. Last week Dodd was a New Testament scholar, and

he explained that Peter sermon, we see an outline. There's missionary speeches throughout

the Book of Acts, or as we walk through the Book of Acts,

you're going to see many speeches by missionaries like Paul and others two groups of

people. And we see these speeches and these speeches are common, they have

a common theme. And he outlined the pattern of these speeches and he says

all speeches include several different aspects. One was an age of fulfillment has come,

and secondly that it came through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Third the resurrection of exalted Jesus, and then fourth the sign of the

Holy Spirit of the Church's coming power. And then the messi age comes in

Jesus. And then lastly a call to repentance. So this morning, as

you see this message, you see it follows the same pattern. Last week

it showed the coming of the Holy Spirit. Today it explains that Jesus is

there, explains the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and that Jesus

is exalted. And so I want you to see that because it's very important

that you see this here because you will see it in the coming months or

the coming weeks and the coming months as we work through the Book of Acts.

Again, what was the message of the Holy Spirit? They're asking,

what, how can this be and what does this mean? Well, the

simple message of the Holy Spirit, Peter says, is this very simply,

Jesus first is the Messiah. Now you have to understand, as we come

to this passage of scripture, who is Peter talking to. He's talking of

thousands upon thousands of Jews who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah,

who had heard the things about Jesus, who had knowledge that Jesus had died

on the cross and were crucified, who had probably heard all kinds of sorts

of different speculations and thoughts and conspiracies that about Jesus, and had heard probably

that Jesus had rose from the dead, but they had not believed for themselves

that Jesus was the Lord, that Jesus was Messiah. It's Peter. They

are now hearing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They're hearing these believers who

are followers of this Jesus now speaking in their native tongues, and they're speaking

to things about Jesus, and they're asking what does this mean, And Peter

says to them, it means that the Holy Spirit has come and we are

in the last days. And it means first it's a message of the Holy

Spirit, is that Jesus is the Messiah. Because it's very important for these

these unbelieving Jews first and foundationally to accept that Jesus is this promised Messiah.

And so you can see this is what Peter does. This message. The

very first thing is what does this mean, listen what look at verse two.

Men of Israel hear these words. So again he's calling them attention.

It's very similar to the very beginning of verse fourteen. He says kind of

these same he's calling their attention. Hey, listen to me. This is

very important. He's calling them out, men of Israel. He's saying,

Jews, hear these words. And then listen to what he explains. Jesus

of Nazareth. He's identifying who this Jesus was by name, this is where

he comes from. And then he explains. And I think it's beautiful that

he has two messages of the Holy Spirit. One Jesus is Messiah. And

I want you to see what Peter does. Peter and this sermon explains he

kind of gives evidence. You know, if you're you're building a case,

you want to build a case on what is the evidence that this is true?

Right? You will do that. You know, you hear something,

You're trying to figure out whether something is true on Facebook, even though I

know you you know everything on facebook's true, right, like everything on the

news is true, and so so if you hear something, you you want

to verify whether it's right, right, whether it's true, and so how

do you do that? Well, Peter says, Okay, I know you've

heard different things. You've heard from your friends and your family. You've heard

it, okay, but let me tell you how you can be sure that

this is true. And the evidence by which Peter gives to these Jews that

Jesus is the Messiah is evidence that was given by God. Listen what he

says here, Jesus of Nazareth, a man, Listen to this attested to

you by what by God? He says to these Jews. Listen, God

has shown you this. How has God shown you this? And he gives

different evidences that God gave to these Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. The

first evidence here is in verse twenty two. A men that tested to you

by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in

your midst, as you yourself know, He says, Listen, you saw

that when Jesus came, he healed the blind, he healed the lame,

he walked on water, he rose Lazarus from the dead, he resurrected the

day the dead. You saw those things, the power by which he healed

the lame, he healed the blind, how he rose la. That power

that was in Jesus to do those signs of wonders was power that was given

to him by God. He didn't do that of his own strength. He

did that by God's power at work in him. Jews, today, Jesus

is Messiah, and the first evidence that Jesus was a messiah was a mighty

power and wonders of God that God gave him to do. Both in your

midst, I wonder today, as you are thinking about Jesus and you're thinking

about if Jesus is true, have you considered the power of Jesus. Have

you considered what God's words said about Jesus and the mighty works that he did,

and how God gave him the power to do those things. He was

and God gave evidence of Jesus through signs and warders. And then listen to

what he says in verse twenty three. He gives more evidence, and this

is Jesus. This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and for knowledge

of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. The

second evidence that God gave these Jews that Peter's reminding them of that God gave

first evidence of Jesus through signs and wonders, but secondly God gave evidence of

Jesus through his plans for Jesus's death. Could the imagery here this Jesus delivered

up according to the definite plan and for knowledge of God in this passage,

in this verse, we see something in theology that we understand as a sovereignty

of God. That's God's in control. This is God's plan. He's the

one who's acting out his plan. It's not that God is like seeing what

man is doing and saying hi, or seeing what Jesus is doing and seeing

what the Jesus says, Oh, oh, well, I didn't know they

were going to do that, then let me do this. He's not um

reactive. He is proactive. He is has a plan, and he's in

acting his plan. And that is called the sovereignty of God. He is

in control. This is part of God's plan from the very beginning, as

we saw in Genesis and part of the When and Adam and Eve. He

says, what the serpent will what m strike his heal, but he will

crush his head. So this is part of God's plan. From the very

beginning, even as far as the garden of Eden, that he would deliver

Jesus up. And so he says that we see sovereignty of God, but

we also see human responsibility. God is in control, but we are a

man responsible for our sins. And you see this in those passage You delivered

up according to the definite plan and for knowledge of God. But listen to

this, you crucified and killed by by hands of lawless men. It is

man who was involved and deliver in and crucify, crucifying Jesus. You see

in verse thirty six of this passage, he says, let all the house

of visual will therefore know and be certain that God has made them both Lord

and Christ. This Jesus and what and whom you crucified, see the sovereignty

of God and human responsibility. You see these terms being used definite here or

in another word that we would use or many other translations would use, would

be predetermined. That word definite or predetermined is only used eight times an entire

New Testament. It's used six times by Luke and Luke and in acts.

It understands this idea of God controlling the events that are tied to Jesus,

and that meant that God had a definite plan for Jesus's suffering and his crucifixion.

This idea for foreknowledge is very rare. It only used two times in

the entire New Testament, once here and once in First Peter one in two.

It gives the idea of God's divine perspective of nothing happens outside of God's

plan. It was God's plan that Jesus was going to suffer. It was

God's plan that he was going to deliver him up. But look a look

at what scripture says this Jesus delivered up according to the definite and foreknowledge of

God, and you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. The

idea of lawless here is is unrighteous. This is the idea of people who

are who are sinning against men who don't obey the law. That's the idea

of lawless there. We can we know understand from scripture that here that there's

kind of a combination of different people who are seeing as lawless here. Lawless

here is I'm definitely referring to the Jews. These are people who are He's

saying, listen, you have the law of God. You know the law

of God, you know truth. Your Jews, you have the tour,

you have access to the word of God, but you've not abeyed it.

You don't live by it, you don't follow it. You're living as though

you possess it. You're living as if it doesn't apply to you. And

therefore he declares the Jews, although you say you believe in God, and

although you say you follow God, you don't live according to your life.

Is care arise by a life that doesn't live according to the law of God.

You are lawless? Isn't that characterized people in our world today's I mean,

we looked at the study of by barn And by ninety a huge percent

of the people who say they make a personal commitment with Christ. But so

many of our world all day they say they believe in Jesus, that he

actually was a manor and believed that there is a God. So many lived

their life absent of his word, absent and obedience to his word. That

was the Jews as well. And he says I delivered them, delivered Jesus

up to lawless men. And that would characterize the people of the Jews.

But also to characterize Pilot inherit these were these were gentiles who didn't have God's

word. But what do they live like? They lived their lives absent of

God's word. They lived their life without following any kind of righteousness. And

here Peter's characterizing you and bringing them to other He's basically saying, there's there's

people who have God's word, but they don't live according to his word.

And there's people who don't have God's word and they don't live according to God's

law either. And both men unbelievers are people who believe there is a God.

Those who don't live according to the word of God are lawless in the

eyes of God. And here he says, here they gave them up to

you. And this is the evidence. I love this imagery that's in this

passage. He says, you crucified and killed at the hands of lawless men,

and God raised them up and loosened the pains of death because it was

not possible for him to be held by it. The word loosen the pains

of death is a word play in the Greek and in the Hebrew. The

idea is the pains of death is the idea of something um consuming something.

It gives them the idea of death. The pain of death is a painful

experience. It's kind of like birth. We use the term birth pains right,

the birth pains or the idea of birth pain right, and um,

you ask any lady who's had a baby, they would call it pain right

or pains. It's difficult. Right. In the imagery here is death is

seen as a painful experience. It's painful for those who are dying, and

it's painful for the loved ones who are watching. They're dying, right,

death pains and the imagery here the pains of death. Listen to the imagery.

God loosened the pains of death. You kind of look at the idea

of loosening, the ideas of the idea of rope kind of tying up something,

and the idea that death was coming to consume or tie up Jesus and

bring pain about him. That God, what loosened those pains? What death

could not tie down Jesus, It couldn't wrap him up. God has the

power over life and death, and death had no power over Jesus. God

loosened death's grip on Jesus. And He's given this as evidence right, helps

evidence through signs and wonders that Jesus is the Messiah, and it was evident

through God's plan for Jesus's death was evidence to the Jews that Jesus is the

Messiah. He could not be held by death. The third evidence that God

gave for Jesus was the evidence of the resurrection. Look at the passage of

scripture. Verse twenty four says God, God raised him up, loosened the

pains of death because it was not possible for him to be listened to the

imagery there to be held by it. And then verse twenty five Peter quotes

a psalm. And then this psalm, This is Psalm sixteen eight through eleven.

This was a psalm that the Jews would have known. So again,

what is he doing. He's quoting the word of God. He's trying to

say to them, Jews, you don't believe in Jesus. But the Holy

Spirit's messages today is that Jesus is the Messiah. And so what does he

do? He explains the evidence of Jesus thro through signs and wonders, the

evidence of Jesus through Jesus's death and God's plan for Jesus's death, and now

he gives the evidence of their resurrection. And he does so first and foremost

by what by quoting scripture. And there's a quote the scripture, Psalm sixteen

eight through eleven, and this is what he says. I saw the Lord

always before me, He's at my right hand, and that I might not

be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoice in lash.

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 path of life, and you will make me full of gladness with your

presence. This is David who writes this psalm in Psalm sixteen. We see

that because he Peter quotes David in just some minutes. Peter knows this is

David. The Jews would have known this. There's a few things that David

said in this psalm and in this and that are very important in relation to

the resurrection. Was that this was a promise that David said that God was

promising. And here's the promise that God gave David in Psalm sixteen that verse

twenty seven in particular, that you will not abandon my soul to Hades.

Hades there in the Greek was the equivalent to Sheol. Sheol in the Old

Testament was a place that the dead was gathered for judgment. So David says,

God, you promise me that you will not allow my soul. You

will not allow me. You will not abandon me to the place of the

dead, the place of the dead where they wait for judgment. God,

you will not abandon my soul to to that place to death. And listen

to what it says, even goes on further to quantify that, or give

another description, or let your Holy One see corruption. This holy one idea

is the idea of someone who's been sanctified by God. So David says,

God, you won't let me, who have been sanctified by you see corruption.

And again this idea is corruption is death, and will let my body

decay to death. Listen to what Peter gives this quote, and then Peter

explains this. He gives the evidence that this psalm that David gave, or

this prophecy that David gave, which Jesus, look what he says in verse

twenty nine, Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch

David, that he both died and was buried. What was the promise?

The promise was God, you would not let me go to the chio.

You will not let me die and be wait for judgment. You will not

let my body see corruption or die. That was the promise that David declared.

Peter begins here saying, this is what God's words said about from David,

and Peter says that promise was not for David. Why because David is

dead. David has a tune. Josephus was a Jewish historian, and he

writes things about things in New Testament times and things that we know about what

was happening at that day. It was understanding tradition that David died at a

cost, not at this Pentecost, but at the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost

again was a was one of the feasts that every Jews would make a pilgrimage

to Jerusalem two fifty days after Passover, and it's believed through tradition that David

died on the Sabbath at Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost. It also

believed Josephas told us that there were several throughout history, there are several people

who tried to break into David's tomb. It was believed that when you buried

someone, you buried them with riches and with treasure, and there were people

who tried to break into David's tomb to steal money from him from his tomb.

There was a high priest named John, and there was King Herod also

tried to do that, history tells us. Josephas says in his writings that

when Herod tried to break into David's tomb, that he was met with fire,

and fire can zoomed two of the guards. So, in trying to

break into David's tomb, fire consumed two of his guard and therefore he called

off the raid, or called off the trying to steal into David's tomb,

And so he stopped it. And because he stopped it, it was not

disturbed anymore. And as a result, Herod built a memorial to David's tomb,

and the memorial was built out of marble. And it's believed that when

Peter is saying this, giving this sermon, that all the Jews who had

been gathered together there that day thousands upon thousands of Jews. They would have

known what that marble memorial was. And it was just on the south hill

of Jerusalem, near the pool of Shaloon. So he's saying to them,

listen, and some David said that God, you want to abandon my soul

to shield David said, Lord, you won't let me see corruption. That

could not be for David, because they knew where the marble memorial was.

David was dead. And therefore Peter says in this passage, look at what

he says, brothers, I say this with confidence about the patriarch David,

that he both died and was buried. And listen to this, and his

tomb is with us today to this day. Verse thirty. 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 Jesus of Christ, that he was not abandoned the hades,

nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up that we are

all his witnesses. He says to those Jews, can't be David. David

is buried. He's in the tomb whom David was a prophet, and he

saw what God had promised that through through his David the Dividic line, another

king was coming and that king would not die nor he would see corruption.

And that coming king is Jesus. And Jesus fulfills the promise, the prophecy

of David. You see, Jesus was a promise, fulfillment of promise,

a fulfillment of promise, prophecy. But ALSOID want you to see for Peter.

Peter says in verse thirty two, this Jesus God raised up, and

of that we are all witnesses. So what's the message of Jesus. Jesus

is the Messiah. You know Jews that he's Messiah through signs and wonders,

you know, because of the God's plan for his death. And you know

Jews today that Jesus is the promise Messiah because he is fulfillment of prophecy.

And here we are his witnesses. Jesus is the Messiah. I think it's

really important for us to understand that and to believe that Jesus is not just

a mere man. Jesus was the Messiah. He did rise again. Thomas

Jefferson. Congress once gave Thomas Jefferson a special Bible. It's called the Thomas

Jefferson Bible. It was simply it was simply a copy of our Bible with

all the references to supernatural eliminate it. In Jefferson's making his selections from the

Bible, he could find himselves solely to just moral teachings of Jesus. In

the closing words of Jefferson's Bible were this, There they laid Jesus, and

they rolled a great stone to the mount of Specter and departed. She just

think about it that it was the last words of Jefferson's Bible. No supernatural,

thus just moral teaching. And therefore the closing words were there, they

lay Jesus, and they rolled a stone over the tomb, and they left.

Think about that for a minute. What if your Bible ended that way?

If he ended that way, that meant there's no resurrection. And without

any resurrection, without Messiah, there is no hope for you. Who will

die, you who will see corruption, and who will see sell you will

die, and you will wait for the judgment. And if your Bible ended

there, there's no hope for you. But the good news is today.

Our Bible doesn't end there. The truth is there was a man named Jesus,

and he was the Messiah, and he lived, He did the signs

and wonders that God gave him, He died according to God's plan, and

lastly he rose again. And today you have hope because of the promise Messiah.

I ask you today, do you believe in it? Or are you

like Thomas Jefferson, You look to Jesus as moral things for your life,

But he's not your lord. The second part of Peter's sermon today is not

the message of the Holy Spirit, was that Jesus is a Messiah. But

lastly, Jesus is Lord. Look at what the passage says. In verse

thirty two, Peter picks up and he says, this Jesus God Raise,

and we are all his witnesses, there being therefore exalted that the right hand

of God. And having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,

he has poured out that you yourself are seeing and hearing. For David

did not ascend into heavens, but he himself says, the Lord is that

my said the Lord to my Lord, said up my right hand, until

I make your enemies your footstool stool, let all the house of visual therefore

know for certain that God made him both What Lord in Christ, this is

Jesus in whom you crucified. What's the results of the resurrection? Here?

Peter says, Jesus is the one who was rose again. He's a wonder

fulfilled David's promise. He resurrected, and we he's a fulfillment of promise.

That's evidence for you and we are as witnesses were that's evidence that Jesus did

rise again. And what's the result of this resurrection. Peter really makes three

points in this section. Very first, Jesus was exalted through the right hand

of the Father. Look at the verse thirty three. He says, being

therefore exalted at the right hand of God. Because Jesus rose again and defeated

death, helen a grave, he now is sitting at the right hand of

the Father. As Peter quotes, and just so many quotes, some one

ten one that gives the imagery of the Lord as God, the Father saying

to my Lord, which is Jesus sit at my right hand? Peter says,

Jesus is a fulfillment of this promise. He's sitting at the right hand

of the Father. That means in theology and the imagery here that Jesus is

divine and he has the authority what on the throne of God. He's sitting

by the throne of God. He has power to exercise sovereign rule and control

and power. Therefore, what does that mean? If he is lord,

he has power to what the divine? Then therefore God, I mean Jesus

has the power to do the things of God. And then this pastor scripture,

what is one of the acts of which Jesus exercise, exercise his lordship

or his power as divine. Well, in this passage of scripture, listen

to what says, therefore God raised him up, that we are witnesses exalted

him at the right hand and having received from the Father the promise of the

Holy Spirit. The second part, for Peter, what's the result is that

he's sitting at the right hand of the Father. But secondly, he's received

the promise of only Spirit. It's the imagery that Jesus is the mediator between

God and man right and therefore he exercises authority of God and he's received the

promise of the Holy Spirit. And here's the next part of that. Because

he's received this promise holy Spirit from the Father, Jesus pours out this spirit.

Listen to what says in verse thirty three. Having received from the Father

of the promise only Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are

seeing and hearing. So what does it say, was the message only spirit?

MESSI is only spirit is Jesus is the Messiah, and Jesus is Lord.

And he's the one who's poured out the Holy Spirit on the believers that

you hear. He's the one who's commissioned the Holy Spirit to come. That

was the imagery of what we saw in chapter one. Wait for the Holy

Spirit. What go to Jerusalem and wait and I will watch send the Holy

Spirit upon you. Jesus was the one who sends the Holy Spirit. I

think it's important for you. You think about for you as you're sitting here

on Sunday morning, or you're sitting in a church service, or you're driving

down the road and you're listening to the radio and you feel the Holy Spirit

working in your life. Maybe it's through a devotion as you're reading devotion or

reading your Bible or Sunday morning service, you feel the Holy Spirit speak to

your heart, or you remember that time where you came under conviction and you

knew you were as a sinner and you felt the Holy Spirit working your life.

Do you understand, according to the Word of God, Jesus sent the

Holy Spirit upon you. He commissioned the Holy Spirit to work in your life.

It is one of the gifts of Jesus to you. Jesus has the

power to give the Holy Spirit. No one comes to the Father, it

said, why the one that God gives me? It's Jesus who sends the

Holy Spirit. He pour out his spirit upon you today. Can I tell

you today what you believe about Jesus's foundational Do you believe that Jesus is a

Messiah? And do you believe today that Jesus is Lord? And as Lord

he sends the Holy Spirit to work in your life. There was a story

of as I closed this morning, of a of a Jew. He was

a successful businessman. His name was Stan. One day he got a call

from his daughter. She was twenty. Her name was Judy, and he

felt so betrayed by her phone call. She came she was away at college,

and she called home to tell her Dad and Roma that she believed Jesus

was the Messiah. He felt so betrayed by her. There were Jews,

and I believe Jesus was the Messiah. So therefore, to prove his daughter

wrong, Stan and his wife and his daughter Anna went on a quest,

a quest for truth, and so they decided to end to work together to

find out this pursuit of whether Jesus was true. Um Stan and his wife

Ethel kind of got into a pretty contentious battle over this. A friction kind

of arose, and so they decided to study kind of independently on their own.

A few months later, Stan um opened um got an invitation to go

to her conference, a convention. It was the national Convocation of Messianic Jews.

He thought he would go and he would work convention and just like any

other business, and he would, but he would meet with anybody who he

could to help him with his quest. After a series of meetings, stand

A laid awake in his hotel room, and he realized he was at a

point of christis if the Bible was true, and he believed it was,

and he really believed that God was the God of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob

be I to believe, and he also believed that God's word was an inspired

word of God. But he really couldn't believe that Jesus, or couldn't quite

say that Jesus was the Messiah. One day he was struggling with this and

he asked his roommate to pray for him, and he simply just pray to

prayers that God gives stand peace resolve his inner conflict. The next morning,

Stand was at the table at breakfast. Someone asked Stand to pray. Stand

bowed his head and he said a prayer like this, praised be thou,

Oh Lord, God, King of the universe. I thank you for the

fellowship and friendship at the table, and I thank you for what we have

learned at this meeting. And I now ask you to bless this food.

And I do so in the name of Jesus the Messiah. For at that

moment everyone sat at the table in amazement that he just prayed. Suddenly the

table fell out and enjoy. They said, Stand, you're a believer,

and one by one they went up to Stand, hugged him and men he

cried for joy. Stan began to weep because he wasn't sure how his wife

would accept the news, so he decided to call her. He said,

Ethel, honey, it's me. He said, it's over. I've made

my decision. Jesus is the Messiah. There was a pause at the other

line, stay and held his breath. Suddenly his wife said softly, thank

God, it makes its unanimous. We all have been waiting for. You

should also received Christ as Messiah. What you believe about Jesus changes everything.

Do you believe the day he is the Messiah? Do you believe the day

he is? Lord? And today listen to me? Is he your Messiah?

Is he your savior? And lastly, is he your Lord? Would

you pray with me? Lord, we thank you for this morning, Thank

your Lord that today you are and the Messiah our Lord, and your word

declares that today. And Lord, I pray that we've grown today and the

truthfulness of your word and just what your word says about Jesus today. And

Lord, may these truths the Lord, may they settle on our hearts,

May we grasp me or may we hold to them. May they be foundational

to our beliefs. But Lord, may they not just be head knowledge.

But Lord, may the heart knowledge that not just you are the Messiah.

You are Lord, but God, you are ours Messiah, You are our

Lord. And I pray today that for people all over this room that they've

made the decision for themselves individually, will what will they do with this Jesus?

What do they believe about this Jesus and Lord today? If there's someone

today that's never received you as savior, Lord today, I pray there'd be

some just like stand today that would declare, Lord, you are my messiah.

Lord. You came and did signs and wonders. Lord, you came

and you died. Lord you came and rose again from me, And Lord

you are my Lord. You sent your holy spirit upon me to day to

draw me. Lord to yourself. Hey, Lord, our surrender Lord.

May you allow your may your spirit cleanse me, forgive me, change me

today? Father, Or pray there'd be people all over this room that were

surrender Lord to you Jesus today, Lord, we love you, We thank

you Lord for this day. Lead us in this time invitation. I pray,

Amen Jesus to