Grace for all our wounds

Well, I think the encouragement goes two ways.

We've been very encouraged to be here.

! We're so thankful to be able to worship with you this morning.

And you may not know this, but we pray for the ministry of this church back home at Grace and Peace pretty regularly.

In fact, we walked in and immediately we recognized this room from the Knowlton's newsletters.

And so we're thankful for the privilege to be able to be here with you.

Last night with the international dinner was an amazing encouragement.

We were able to hear fantastic music last night as well, a piece from Bach.

It was a delight.

And so I'm going to read from Acts 2 in just a moment, Acts 2, 36 through 47.

But before I do, I mean, it's so good to be here in a beautiful city like this.

You know, I'm a Presbyterian minister.

I've been a Presbyterian minister for 17 years.

We're a Presbyterian church, which means that we have a – we're indebted to the churches here in this country.

And I don't know – hopefully you hear this when Americans come, especially from Presbyterian churches.

But it bears – it's worth repeating that we're thankful for the ties that bind us, not just historically, but we truly are by the Holy Spirit family.

We're going to read about the Spirit's work here in Acts 2, verses 36 through 47.

Acts 2:36–47

And then I will pray.

This is the Apostle Peter speaking at Pentecost.

Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this.

God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles,

Brothers, what shall we do?

And Peter replied, 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.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, all whom the Lord our God will call.

With many other words, he warned them and he pleaded with them,

Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.

And those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

And everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

All the believers were together and had everything in common.

They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Let's pray and ask God's help.

Father, we thank you that you have preserved your word for us for these thousands of years.

And we thank you that they are not mere words, they are your very words.

And we ask, Holy Spirit, that you would breathe life into them.

And that you would convict us where we need to be convicted.

That you would comfort us where we need to be comforted.

That you would dig out for us ears to hear and give us eyes to see the crucified and risen Christ.

We pray this in his name.

Amen.

One of the things that you're struck by when you visit a new town, a new country immediately is that you are not certain at any moment where anything is, where you're going.

We're glued to our phones, those of us who have service, trying to figure out where are we going.

And it occurs to me, we long for certainty, don't we?

Not just for where we're going, where we are.

We long for certainty relationally.

We long for certainty for the future.

We long for certainty in so many ways.

And it is, it's elusive.

Ever elusive.

We're not certain of many things, are we?

And in this passage, when Peter is speaking at Pentecost, this great, famous sermon, early sermon of the Christian church,

Peter tells his audience that there is something that they can be certain of, though it goes through great grief.

And he wants them to know that there is certainty in their grief so that he might give them a certainty, something they don't even know to look for.

There's a certainty in their grief when he says, know for certain that Jesus is God's anointed.

He is his Lord and Christ, and you killed him.

You murdered him.

He gives them this certainty that pierces their heart so that they might have another certainty that is rooted in the grace of God that is greater,

more powerful, more powerful, more stronger than their sin.

And so that's what I want to talk about this morning, that there is an amazing scene here where the apostle Peter is been,

he's preaching with power.

The Holy Spirit falls on God's people, and he wants them to know with certainty that they're sinners before God

so that they might have certainty in the grace of God.

The Spirit who changes who we are changes our relationship with Jesus.

And if we're going to hear anything this morning, it is that Christianity isn't just about what we do.

It's not merely what we believe.

But it is an experience that God has given us his Spirit, changes who we are,

that we might have a new relationship with God's Lord and Christ.

This is incredible news for us.

It was incredible news for the original audience, for Peter.

And here's what Peter says.

He says, even though Jesus' crucifixion was part of God's plan,

your part in it is devastating.

God is not surprised by what has happened.

God has orchestrated everything, and yet the part that you played in it when you murdered Jesus is devastating.

He says in verse 36,

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this.

God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

Know for certain that the embodiment of righteousness and perfection,

the embodiment of God's love, walked in your presence.

And you didn't recognize the embodiment of righteousness and perfection

when he walked in your presence and when he spoke and you rejected him.

What do you do when you realize you've been wrong on this kind of level?

For those of us who had the privilege of hearing, you know, a piece of Bach last night,

imagine sort of walking into a room where that is happening and saying,

I'd rather have a conversation right now.

Who wants to play a game?

Imagine hearing that and not being struck with,

we need to be quiet and we need to soak this in and appreciate what this is.

Some of us might even be moved to tears by the majesty of what we heard.

Imagine hearing it and saying,

there's nothing memorable about this at all.

As tragic as this response would be,

it pales in comparison to the human response of seeing righteousness

and perfection and love embodied and rejecting him.

How could this have happened?

You know, this doesn't happen in a vacuum.

And sometimes I think it's easy for some of us to think,

had I been there, I would have been different.

We would not have been different.

You know, the Bible famously says that all of creation proclaims the glory of God.

Even blustery days like we've had proclaim the glory of God,

the power of God.

Blue skies proclaim the glory of God.

Psalm 19 says,

day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge

that there is something of our God that we can know.

There is something of his glory we can be certain of.

When we look out at this world that he has spoken into existence,

it proclaims his glory.

But because you and I have fallen short of this glory,

God's word to us in creation doesn't merely speak glory,

it also proclaims to us that we are accountable to the God who has made us.

Paul tells us in Romans 1, he says,

for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven

against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men

who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

And so when we look out, you know, at God's creation,

we, our group, we hiked up Arthur's seat,

and we got to see a beautiful picture of your city.

When you look out and you see,

from a higher vantage point,

you get to see God's creation

and what we have done in it,

we get to remind ourselves like how small we are.

We feel it, don't we?

But sometimes with that feeling of our finitude,

there's a haunting feeling that comes with that.

Sometimes we feel it when we put our heads on our pillow at night,

and we feel deep in our bones,

we are in need of grace.

There is something that is wrong with us,

and God intends to meet us with every need with his grace.

But my point is,

if we suppress this truth in unrighteousness

when God speaks to us in creation,

as all humans do,

the logical conclusion of that

is that we would suppress and reject

God's embodied word

when he comes and he walks in our midst.

And so all of us

are more in common,

have more in common with those who rejected Jesus

than we would like to admit.

What happens when you realize

that you've been wrong to this degree?

You see, what Peter is saying is

rejecting Jesus is more significant

than we think that it is,

and it's more violent than we think it is

as well.

And so often,

when we're confronted with our sin,

we justify it to ourselves,

don't we?

Well, no, no, you misunderstood me.

That's not what I meant.

You misheard me.

That's not what I meant.

The problem here is with you.

It's not with what I have done.

Or you don't know what they did to me first,

and so of course I would respond this way.

We justify our sin.

But not here.

Peter's original audience,

they cannot justify themselves.

The evidence is irrefutable.

Instead, we read that they were cut to the heart.

When the people heard this,

they were cut to the heart

and said to Peter and the other apostles,

Brothers, what shall we do?

There's a question for us reading this text today.

How do we know if the Holy Spirit is at work in our life?

How do we know if he is present in our life?

And one sign, there are many,

one sign is that our sin grieves us.

That we aren't just grieved by the sins of others.

That we realize the problem isn't just out there,

but it's in here.

That when we are confronted again

by the Spirit's conviction,

there is a grief that accompanies it.

You know, this grief isn't always felt

with the same intensity.

We have seasons of winter and spring in our own hearts.

But a common Christian experience

is that we feel a grief

when confronted with our sin.

There are two different kinds of grief.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians,

there is a godly grief

and a worldly grief.

He says godly grief leads to eternal life.

Worldly grief leads to death.

What's the difference?

I'll share two examples from my life.

Both are embarrassing.

From a previous season of my life,

it was not uncommon in my late teens,

early 20s,

to overindulge with alcohol.

And there were two times

where I really felt particularly grieved

by my behavior.

And once, before I was a Christian,

before I had been converted,

had a regenerate heart,

I was at a party in college

and had overindulged

and proclaimed my love, basically,

for this young woman who was there

in front of others very loudly

and obnoxiously.

It was unacceptable.

And I woke up the next morning

utterly grieved by my behavior.

It had nothing to do with the sin

against a holy God.

It had everything to do with

I've ruined my reputation.

I've embarrassed myself.

I've made a fool of myself.

I was grieved by how I had acted,

but it had nothing to do with sin

or a holy God.

And then a few years later,

as a Christian,

a similar experience happened.

I overindulged,

and this was on purpose,

and I woke up the next morning

deeply grieved,

but it was a very different sort of grief,

though outwardly it looked the exact same.

How could I have done this

against a holy God?

And I was grieved by those

that I had been around.

I have not modeled that the grace of Jesus

is powerful,

and that following Him is worth our lives.

I've sinned against God in this way,

and I am grieved.

And so outwardly,

you have two very similar expressions,

though inwardly a very different matter

is happening altogether.

The common Christian experience

is to feel grief over our sin,

but that grief stems from primarily

sinning against a holy God

who has been kind to us

in sending His Messiah, Jesus.

And that's what's happening

in this passage.

They're grieved.

And they're wondering,

what do we do, Peter,

with our sin against this Jesus?

What do we do?

We have murdered the one

who is the embodiment of righteousness

and holiness and perfection.

What do we do with that?

And Peter says,

turn to the one you have sinned against.

It's utterly counterintuitive.

How do we flee from our guilt?

You have to turn to

the one you've sinned against.

You must lean on His promises.

You must lean on the one

that you have rejected,

for He is gracious to sinners.

And see, the grief that we find

in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

it leads to repentance.

And the repentance that we find here

is far more than just a mere

outward change in behavior.

More than changing their behavior,

their relationship with Jesus

has been fundamentally changed.

We are not rejecting Him.

We're not suppressing

what He has to say.

We want to be identified with Him.

We want to turn to Him

and be marked by Him.

Repentance in the Bible

is a combination of three things.

We see this in our shorter catechism.

It is marked by hatred of sin.

But it is marked by

an understanding,

an acknowledgement,

an apprehension of the love

and the mercy of God in Jesus.

Only then can we endeavor

after new obedience.

We must hate our sin,

but that alone is not enough.

we must see more than our hatred for sin.

A reception of the mercy

and the grace

and the love of Jesus.

And it is love

and it is mercy from Jesus

that transforms our hearts

and changes our motivations

far more powerfully,

compellingly,

than guilt alone.

And then we strive

after new obedience.

You know,

Christians are forced regularly

to face our own sinfulness.

It doesn't go away,

unfortunately,

when we become Christians,

does it?

The Holy Spirit continues

to expose our hearts

and our motivations

that are contrary to His.

And the goal is never

for us to see

how badly we can feel

over our sin

as if that was the goal.

Just understand how bad you are.

Just understand

that you messed up again.

Just understand

that you're not

who you were meant to be.

That's not the goal.

Repentance will always

remain incomplete

if the dominant word

that we hear from God

isn't grace and mercy.

This is why Peter says

in verse 38,

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 Holy Spirit.

You have to know

that the cleansing blood

of Jesus symbolized

in baptism,

it washes you,

it cleanses you,

in such a way

that Jesus' life,

death,

and resurrection

no longer is merely

a marker of our guilt.

It is a marker

of our acceptance

with God.

True repentance

can only be born

out of God's grace.

Otherwise,

it is not repentance.

Conviction is a good thing,

but it is meant

to be temporary

and it serves its purpose

only in so far

as it drives us back

to the cross of Jesus.

Conviction is a good thing

so far as it drives us

to the mercy

and grace of Jesus.

And once it has done that,

it has served its purpose.

In verse 39,

he says,

For the promise

is for you

and your children,

for all who are far off,

whom the Lord,

our God,

will call.

I won't belabor

this point,

but again,

what we see,

if this passage

is the culmination

of so many

Old Testament promises

that God will pour out

his Holy Spirit

on his people,

we also see

the fulfillment

that God has been

making promises

ever since Abraham.

I will bless

the world

through you

and your family.

And here at Pentecost,

they're seeing,

Peter is saying,

God is going to bless

the world

through you

and your family

as you receive

this Holy Spirit

and you go out

in your lives

carrying this promise

with you.

And so he says,

save yourself.

My translation says

from this crooked generation,

what is this corrupt generation?

What does it mean?

It means that the refuge

offered to us in Jesus

is as real for us

and our families

as the refuge

that God offered Noah

and his family

in the ark.

That when we flee to Jesus,

there is a rescue

and a protection

in a world

that is corrupt

and yet we are left

in this world.

How does this work?

What does this look like?

We're rescued

from a kingdom

and rebellion

against God

and yet we get

to remain

to serve

in this world.

You see,

for the Christian,

the Holy Spirit

changes the way

that we look

at everything.

It changes the way

we look at our relationships.

It changes the way

that we look

at our families,

our work,

everything.

Everything now

is seen in light

of Jesus

and the healing

that he brings.

And so we see

in verse 41,

those who accepted

his message

were baptized

and about 3,000

were added

to their number

that day.

their lives

were changed

and not just

changed

as individuals,

they're brought

into a community,

the church,

together.

The common

Christian experience

is a humbling one

where we see

our need

for a savior

and yet we also

see that we cannot

and must not

go about life

all on our own

anymore.

in God's kindness

he has given us

a community,

his body,

the church.

And so we see

this is why

they devote themselves

to the apostles'

teaching

and to fellowship,

to breaking of bread,

and to prayer.

They commit themselves

to immersing

themselves

in the good gifts

that God

has given us

that show us

what to do

with our guilty

consciences.

when our consciences

are stung again,

when we are pierced

again and anew

by the sin

that we continue

to see in our life,

God has called

a people

to devote ourselves,

to immerse ourselves

in the ways

that God has promised

to meet us

and shape our minds.

The apostles'

teaching,

of course,

is the New Testament.

We're given

the scriptures

to be reminded

that it's not all

law,

do this

and thou shalt

not do this,

but grace

for those

who cannot

do this perfectly.

We're reminded

again and again

as we immerse

ourselves

in the scriptures

together

that God

has done for us

what we cannot

do for ourselves.

And we're called

to immerse ourselves

in prayer

with God's people,

to adore the God

who has graciously

forgiven us

of our sins

and we ask him

to make us

more like him.

And we immerse

ourselves in

the breaking

of bread,

the Lord's Supper,

where we get

to see again

and again

that Jesus'

body broken

on a cross

points to more

than our guilt.

It does point

to that.

He must die

for our sin.

But it points

to our forgiveness

and the grace

that we receive.

And we cannot

hear this message

one time

or two times

or three times.

We have to hear it

again and again

and not just

as individuals,

as a body,

as a church.

All of this

happens in Acts

in the context

of fellowship.

Here's the other

thing I think

that we might

not notice

immediately

from this passage.

It's easy,

I think,

sometimes to hear

this and think,

okay,

here's what I've

got to do.

I've got to read

the scriptures

and I've got to pray

and I've got

to take

the Lord's Supper

and, oh,

I need to do

that with people

and not see

that these are

gifts from God.

And it's not

just a gift,

it's not just

a checklist,

it's a gift

because there

is more pain

in this life

than just the

conviction of sin,

isn't there?

I mean,

we feel pain

and misery

all the time

and some of that

is a hardship

that just comes

with our work

life.

We go to work

and things

don't work

the way that

we think they

should.

We're not

treated as

fairly as we

want and there

is a pain

that is there.

Or relationally,

there is pain

that the

relationships

that should be

the easiest

for us

sometimes feel

like they're

the hardest.

Maybe you've

asked for the

good gift of

children in your

life and then

they come and

you're not sure

how to raise

them.

Am I messing

them up?

Life is hard.

And we are

people filled

with anxiety

and at times

depression.

Life in this

fallen world

is hard.

And then there

are medical

diagnoses

where we get

the devastating

news that it's

cancer or

Alzheimer's or

somebody you

know and love

is taken from

you too early

and they pass

away from this

life.

Life in this

fallen world

is hard.

God.

And when we

read that the

early church

had they shared

their possessions

together.

It's more than

possessions.

They shared

their lives

together.

And why?

Because when you

live life together

sometimes people

are up here.

Life is going

well and the

paycheck is coming

in and sometimes

you live life

down here and

you go to a

funeral again.

and God has

given us a

people together

saturated in

this good news

so that we have

people to come

alongside of us

and say you

cannot pray for

yourself today but

I can pray for

you.

And you don't

know how to

pay for your

bill this month

but we can come

alongside you.

And then when you

are in another

place in life and

that person is

down well we

have one another.

And so what God

has given us in

the church is not

just a checklist of

things that we're

supposed to do.

It is grace for

all of our wounds

and we need one

another because none

of us is ever able

to face all of life

at the same time.

We need help to

rejoice and we

need help to

grieve.

And we need help

to come alongside

one another when we

need to bring a

meal for somebody

who doesn't have

one or isn't in

the situation or

position to prepare

it for themselves.

God has given

us a body to

come alongside of

us when we feel

the wounds of

life in a fallen

world that might

not flow directly

from conviction of

sin and yet it is

still a mark of

just life in a

world that doesn't

function the way

that it is supposed

to.

We ought not to

fall into the

trap that the

early church was

particularly better at

this than we were.

As if they were

forgiven and all

went well right

after that.

Two chapters after

this two church

members are punished

severely because they

make a mockery of

sharing life together.

In 1 Corinthians

Paul tells us that

you Christians

sometimes forget

the rich are

exploiting the

poor.

We need the

gospel again to

remind us our

sinfulness continues

to run deep but

God's grace triumphs

over that and we

need each other to

embody that together

to see that in one

another.

It's a good gift for

us and lastly and

most briefly probably

it's a good gift for

the watching world.

When we live life

together when the

gospel meets us and

transforms us as a

body as individuals

surely but also as a

body what we find in

this passage is that

the watching world

will they marvel.

Verse 46

every day they the

church continued to

meet together in the

temple courts they

broke bread in their

homes they ate

together with glad

and sincere hearts

praising God and

enjoying the favor of

all the people and

the Lord added to

their number daily

those who were being

saved.

The gospel renews us

to live the lives that

we were created to

live.

It renews us and when

we begin to live that

life out together

somebody will notice.

How did you get through

that season?

How did you pick

yourself up?

How did you put

yourself through it?

I didn't.

I didn't.

God was gracious to me.

He met me in my

church community.

And they might think

that we are crazy for

the things that we

believe.

But we might also find

that they long for the

community that we find

when a community is

being shaped by the

love and mercy of

Jesus.

because a community

that is being shaped

by the love and the

mercy of Jesus finds

itself becoming more

merciful and loving

itself.

Meeting the needs of

others.

And the part of all of

us that looks around

and sees the glory of

God in creation but

then also feels like

there's something wrong

with me.

I'm accountable to this

God.

that part of us is

drawn powerfully to

seeing the body of

Christ living life

together.

Why do people love

like that?

Well, Jesus has loved

us.

The mark of love, the

mark of those who have

received great love is

that they become loving

themselves.

And this is good news

for us and it is good

news for the world

around us.

Let's pray and ask God

to help us live in

light of that now.

Amen.