Gift of Gifts

and even a little bit about his return someday.

But as we wrapped up Thursday evening, I got thinking,

not that I had the energy for it, but that it would have been nice to have a day six

and just talk a little bit about what happened after Jesus' ascension.

And so my message this morning is going to be focused a little bit on that.

There's something wonderful and amazing that God did after Jesus ascended into heaven.

So I went back and read that story this week.

And I didn't have time to make up slides for the scriptures,

so there are Bibles in front of you if you didn't bring yours.

We're going to be in Acts 2 this morning.

Acts 2.

So Jesus has died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

God has raised him back to life from the dead.

He's been appearing to many of his followers over a period of about 40 days.

And then, before their very eyes, Jesus was taken up into heaven.

And not long after that, maybe a week or so, comes the day of Pentecost.

It was a Jewish festival that happened every year.

And it was something that they were commanded to celebrate in the Old Testament.

And so Jesus has been taken up to heaven.

The disciples, they go back from the Mount of Olives after watching that into the city of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, and then comes Pentecost.

So you can just imagine the city of Jerusalem is filled with people.

All these people are coming from all over the world to celebrate this feast.

Let's read a little bit of the story in Acts 2.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Wow.

Can you imagine what that would have been like?

There they are sitting in this house all together.

And then all of a sudden, they hear the sound of a rushing wind inside the house.

So next time we get one of those super windy days here in Davidson,

which somehow it seems like we haven't had as many as last year, this year,

you can open all your windows and your doors and let that sound fill the house.

And maybe it was something like that.

Though it doesn't say that they were actually getting blown around.

It was just the sound of wind.

And as they're hearing this, they're looking around, and all of a sudden, they see something really strange.

Luke's description is kind of interesting.

The dividing of fiery tongues coming to rest or settle on each of them.

Now we're going to have to use your imagination a little bit here.

It wasn't actual fire.

No one was burned.

And it wasn't tongues like this kind of tongue.

Sometimes we even describe flames of fire as kind of licking up things as they move.

It's just kind of the way they move.

So use your imagination.

Something like fire licking out towards each of them and coming, Luke says,

to rest or settle on each one of them.

What a strange sight that must have been.

And all this is they're hearing the sound of rushing wind.

And Luke tells us what this is.

He says in verse 4,

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.

That's what this is.

God's Holy Spirit is coming down upon them and entering into them right here in this room.

We might think back to Jesus' baptism and how the Spirit came down from heaven upon him like a dove.

Well, it's similar here, but not a dove.

Like fiery tongues.

What an amazing thing it must have been to see that and even more to experience that.

And Luke tells us that there was a sign that went with this.

He says,

So this would have felt quite strange.

Just like with the prophets in the Old Testament,

when God poured out His Spirit on them,

many times they would just start speaking.

They were saying the things that God's Spirit was giving them to say.

Well, here, the apostles and the believers who are all gathered together in this room begin to do that all at the same time.

But interestingly, in this case, it's in a whole variety of languages.

All at the same time.

I tried to think of what this would sound like.

I'm imagining myself maybe in like a busy international airport with people just chattering away in all different languages.

And interestingly, this all seems to cause quite a stir in the neighborhood.

Luke tells us in verse 5,

Now there were staying in Jerusalem, God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment,

because each one heard their own language being spoken.

And utterly amazed, they asked,

Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans?

Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?

Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,

residents of Mesopotamia,

Judea and Cappadocia,

Pontus in Asia,

Phrygia and Pamphylia,

Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene,

visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism,

Cretans and Arabs.

We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues.

Amazed and perplexed,

they asked one another,

What does this mean?

Some, however,

made fun of them and said,

Ah, they've had too much wine.

So all of this causes quite the stir in the neighborhood.

Luke reminds us again that there are people from all over the world who have come to this festival.

At some point, the apostles and the believers seem to move outside,

and this whole crowd starts to gather.

They're hearing the apostles and the believers speaking in other languages.

And I love Luke's description.

He uses a few different words,

but bewildered,

utterly amazed.

Like, what's going on here?

Perplexed.

I mean, think about it.

Here's a group of at least,

probably,

well, we know for sure 11,

but probably some believers as well.

And from the midst of this group,

15 languages are being spoken at the same time.

At least 15,

if we count up all the people groups that are described here.

All speaking for God,

as God's Spirit gives them words to say.

I mean, can you imagine for a moment if you had a megaphone,

and you talked into it,

and out the other side came what you said,

in 15 different languages at the same time.

That's maybe a little bit of an analogy of what's happening here.

God is speaking,

and this group of people is like that megaphone,

and it's coming out in every language that's represented in the crowd there.

Some have suggested that the apostles were just speaking one language,

and that the people were all hearing it in their own.

But as I read it,

this isn't mainly a miracle of hearing.

This is a miracle of speaking.

It says in verse 4,

they spoke in other languages.

So it probably sounded like quite a racket.

No wonder people were so bewildered and perplexed.

No wonder they were amazed.

How is it that this bunch of Galileans

are able to speak 15 different languages all of a sudden?

And these are not all neighboring dialects.

I mean, you've got as far west as Rome,

as far east as Persia and Mesopotamia,

as far south as Egypt,

represented here.

And what were these apostles and believers saying

in all these different languages?

Verse 11,

we hear them declaring the wonders of God

in our own languages.

They were talking about the wonders of God.

It doesn't say exactly what wonders,

but maybe something like we were doing at VBS,

trying to highlight some of the big things about God

and what He has done.

Probably, most recently, about Jesus.

So this wasn't just a bunch of jibber-jabber

coming out of their mouths.

This was intelligible speech.

This was about God and His wonders.

And they realized, some of them,

that this was a sign.

They said,

what does this mean?

This is significant.

What's going on?

But not everybody felt that way.

There were those few

who were making fun of them.

Probably they were listening in

on all the other languages

they were hearing

and thinking,

whoa,

like,

these guys,

they've had a few too many drinks here.

I don't know what they were thinking.

This guy's doing his impersonation of the Romans.

This guy's doing an impersonation of the Egyptians.

Anyways,

Peter then stands up

and addresses the crowd.

Verse 14.

Then Peter stood up with the eleven,

raised his voice,

and addressed the crowd.

Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem,

let me explain this to you.

Listen carefully to what I say.

These people are not drunk,

as you suppose.

It's only nine in the morning.

No.

This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.

In the last days,

God says,

I will pour out my spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions.

Your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants,

both men and women,

I will pour out my spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

I will show wonders in the heavens above,

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness,

and the moon to blood,

before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

He quotes a fair bit of what Joel said,

the prophet,

long ago.

We're not going to get into all the details of that,

but let's focus for a minute on his main point.

Peter's main point here is,

listen guys,

what you're hearing and seeing in us today,

this is what God said would happen a long time ago.

It's the fulfillment of prophecy.

Long ago,

God promised that he would pour out his spirit on people.

And that's exactly what you're seeing happening right here,

right now,

with us.

It's by his spirit that we are speaking in these other languages

about the wonders of God.

And now that we've got that all cleared up,

let me tell you about Jesus.

I love the way Peter just rolls right into that.

Verse 22.

Fellow Israelites,

listen to this.

Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus of Nazareth

was a man accredited

by God

to you

by miracles,

wonders,

and signs

which God did among you

through him

as you yourselves know.

This man was handed over to you

by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge.

And you,

with the help of wicked men,

put him to death

by nailing him

to a cross.

But God

raised him from the dead,

freeing him from the agony of death

because it was impossible for death

to keep its hold

on him.

And he just keeps on going.

I love this.

By the spirit of God,

Peter

is

bald.

Just over a month ago,

he was cowering in fear.

He denied the Lord.

After

Jesus died,

he was

hiding behind locked doors

for fear of the religious leaders.

Now,

he is

proclaiming to the whole crowd,

probably the largest crowd

he's ever spoken to

with such boldness

and passion.

Let me tell you about Jesus.

The first thing he says

is that Jesus

was accredited

by God.

That man

from Nazareth

named Jesus,

he's

attested by God.

He's verified.

He's validated

by God.

To all of you.

In what way?

By miracles,

wonders,

and signs

which God

performed

through him.

As you know,

as you yourselves

know.

It's like he's saying,

you all know what I'm talking

about here.

You know

the things

that Jesus did.

Some of you

even witnessed

the things

that Jesus did.

Maybe some of you

even had a taste

of the bread

that he made

at the feeding

of the 5,000.

And Peter just

tells it like it is.

God himself

verified

and validated

this Jesus

of Nazareth

by the miracles

that God did

through him.

And what happened

with Jesus?

He says,

very pointedly,

you,

with the help

of wicked men,

put him to death

by nailing him

to a cross.

What a rebuke.

Peter's saying,

you put to death

the one

that God

attested to,

verified,

validated

as the Messiah.

But Peter

also says this

in verse 23.

He says,

this man

was handed

over to you

by God's

deliberate plan

and foreknowledge.

In other words,

God knew

that you would

do that

even before

you did it.

More than that,

it was part

of his

deliberate plan

Do you hear that?

He planned

that it would

go that way

before any

of it happened.

We might be

tempted sometimes

to look at

what happened

to Jesus

in that last

week before

he died

and think of

it as just

everything spinning

out of control

here.

And God's

plan to install

Jesus as the

king has been

foiled,

it's ruined.

No,

says Peter,

it's not.

This plan

was planned

all along.

God's

deliberate plan.

God is able

to bring about

his good

and perfect

purposes and

plans

even as

wicked men

do what

wicked men

do.

Verse 23

and 24

again.

You put him

to death

by nailing him

to the cross,

but God

raised him

from the dead.

God

said,

I love the

way that

Peter just

declares it.

He proclaims

it.

He doesn't

say,

I want to

suggest something

for your

consideration.

Jesus is

alive.

No,

he declares

it as fact,

but God

raised him

from the

dead.

dead.

You have

to know,

too,

that the

religious

leaders over

these past

50 days have

been working

very hard to

silence and

squelch anything

to do with

Jesus rising

from the

dead.

dead.

Well,

here Peter

just announces

it to the

whole crowd,

not only the

locals in

Jerusalem,

but everybody

who's come

from all over

the place

and gathered

for the

feast.

You can

almost see

the look

on the

religious

leaders'

faces.

Oh,

stop talking

about that

Jesus.

God

raised Jesus

of Nazareth

from the

dead,

says Peter.

And then

he goes

on and he

reminds them

of what David

said by the

spirit,

which foretold

that this

would happen.

We're not

going to go

into all the

details of

that in

the next

verses here

this morning.

But after

quoting from

that David's

psalm,

Peter comes

to say this

in verse 31.

He says,

Seeing what

was to come,

David spoke

of the

resurrection

of the

Messiah,

that he

was not

abandoned

to the

realm of

the dead,

nor did

his body

see decay.

God

has raised

this Jesus

to life,

and we

are all

witnesses

of it.

exalted

to the

right hand

of God,

he has

received

from the

Father

the

promised

Holy

Spirit,

and has

poured

out

what you

now see

and hear.

Yes.

I love

that.

He just

boldly

tells the

whole crowd

what he

has witnessed

in the past

50 days.

Jesus is

alive,

not just

me,

but all

of us

here are

witnesses

to it.

we saw

the empty

tomb,

we saw

and heard

the angels

there,

and we

saw Jesus

himself

alive

in the

flesh

over these

past

40 days.

We're

witnesses

to the

fact.

Not only

that,

he says,

but we

saw Jesus

exalted

to the

right hand

of God.

That word

exalted

means to

lift up,

that's

exactly

what the

apostles

and the

believers

who were

gathered

just a

few days

ago

saw.

They saw

Jesus

being lifted

up into

the sky

to heaven

by God.

And it

wasn't just a

change in

location.

Peter says

it was a

moment of

exaltation.

It was a

moment in

which God

installed him

as king

to the

highest

position

of

authority,

the right

hand of

God.

Verse 36,

he goes

on, he

says,

therefore,

let all

Israel be

assured of

this.

God has

made this

Jesus whom

you crucified,

both Lord

and Messiah,

or Lord

and Christ.

Christ.

It's

sometimes easy

to lose the

significance of

that word,

Christ.

But Christ

and Messiah,

they both

essentially mean

the same thing.

They mean

king.

As in

God's

specially

chosen and

anointed

king.

So what is

Peter saying

here?

He's telling

them that

God has

made this

Jesus of

Nazareth,

the same

one that

you put

to death.

He has

made him

to be

your new

king,

the king

of Israel.

Well,

how does

the crowd

respond to

this?

Verse 37,

when the

people heard

this,

they were

cut to

the heart

and said

to Peter

and the

other

apostles,

brothers,

what shall

we do?

Peter

responds,

repent,

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

promises for

you and

your children

and for

all who

are far

off,

for all

whom the

Lord our

God

will call.

What a

response.

Luke tells

us that the

people there

that day

were cut

to the

heart.

Peter's

words really

sunk in

deep.

Oh,

you mean

he is the

one.

We killed

him.

What have

we done?

What do we

do now?

The guilt

was setting

in.

Peter gives

him two

things to

do.

First,

he says

repent.

And here

it means

acknowledge

what you

have done.

Tell that

to God.

Confess it.

And ask

for his

forgiveness.

Some people

have wondered

why Peter

doesn't just

simply tell

him repent

and believe.

Well,

believing is

already in

the mix

here.

It's

included

here.

You can't

really come

to repent

sincerely in

your heart

and acknowledge

that you've

sinned against

God if you

don't believe.

Believing is

what happened

in that moment

when they were

cut to the

heart.

They believed

what Peter

was saying,

that they

had really

crucified the

king God

had chosen

for them,

that he

really rose

from the

dead,

that he

really had

been exalted

to the right

hand of God.

they already

believed.

Now Peter's

telling them

what else

they need

to do.

Now you

need to

repent.

You need

to acknowledge

what you

did to

God and

ask for

his

forgiveness.

You need

to be

baptized

in the

water,

in the

name of

the Lord,

Jesus.

Jesus.

And I

can tell

you,

in verse

38,

he says,

for the

forgiveness

of your

sins.

That's

sweet,

isn't it?

Peter's

saying,

if you

repent of

your sins

in Jesus'

name,

God will

forgive you.

Through

Christ,

God will

forgive you.

Can you

imagine how

that must

have felt

maybe to

someone in

the crowd

that day

who was

there shouting,

crucify him.

and then

now has

that

realization.

What have

we done?

God will

forgive you.

Isn't

God a

merciful and

gracious God?

But it

gets even

better than

this.

Forgiveness

is wonderful

and precious,

but God

has more

to give.

Verse

38,

repent and

be baptized

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, for

all whom

the Lord

our God

will call.

Do you

hear that?

God has a

very special

gift to

give to

those who

repent and

believe and

have their

sins forgiven.

the gift

is his

Holy Spirit.

What is

that?

Well, it

means that

God will

pour out

his Spirit

on you.

It means

that God

will give

of himself

to you.

That he

himself will

come to

be in

you and

live with

you.

So,

is this just

for the

Jewish people

of that

day?

No.

It's for

all whom

the Lord

will call,

says Peter.

Or we

look back

to verse

21.

Everyone who

calls on the

name of the

Lord will

be saved.

This gift

is for

everyone,

the gift

of God's

Spirit.

Spirit.

Most of

us here

this morning

have done

what Peter

said,

have repented,

have believed

in the

Lord Jesus.

Do you

know,

if you

have,

that you

have God's

Spirit,

God himself

living in

you?

Isn't

that amazing?

we may

not always

see or

feel his

presence,

but he

is there.

And he

is the

one who

is responsible

for so

much of

the good

that we

enjoy as

Christians.

The Bible

tells us

that he

produces all

kinds of

good things

in us.

The fruit

of the

Spirit,

love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness,

gentleness,

faithfulness,

self-control.

He guides

us.

He helps

us understand

what's true.

The Spirit

does so

much for

us, and

sometimes I

wonder if

we just

don't take

it for

granted.

He kind

of works

behind the

scenes in

us,

invisibly.

But maybe

you're here

and you

haven't done

that.

You haven't

felt cut

to the

heart about

your sins.

Maybe you've

never asked

God to

forgive you

of your

sins and

come to

that moment

and been

baptized.

Do you

know that

the gift of

the Holy

Spirit is

for you

too?

It's for

all who

the Lord

will call.

Do you

hear the

Lord calling

you this

morning?

Peter encourages

us to

call on

the Lord

and it's

an amazing

gift we

get.

Not only

forgiveness

of sins,

but God

himself to

come and

live in

us and

with us

forever.

And if

that's how

it is,

for those

who believe,

this changes

everything.

It doesn't

matter what

we're going

through.

If God

is with

us and

in us,

it doesn't

matter what

we're going

through.

It makes

all the

difference.

It tips the

balance of

the scales in

our favor for

everything.

it's a

wonderful gift

and thanks be

to God

for giving

of himself,

of his

spirit.

Let's

pray.

Father in

heaven, we

thank you for

this last

wonder of

wonders, gift

of gifts,

yourself.

Thank you

that we're not

left on our

own, that we

don't just get

forgiveness and

then we're on

our own, but

that you come

and live in

us.

I pray that we

would know

that reality

as a church.

I pray that we

would live in

that reality,

that we would

find strength

from you by

your spirit,

and that you

would lead us

in the days

ahead in this

world that we

live in.

I ask this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.