The Roots | Acts 2:14-41

Welcome to Sermons from the Way Church KC, a community of listening saints in Kansas City, following the way of Jesus and pushing back darkness together.

Okay, good morning.

Now is the time to read uh scripture, so if you will please stand in reverence of God's word.

Um Zach's got us covering a couple thousand years of history here, so settle in.

Here we go.

Um this comes from Acts 2, verses 14 through 41.

Acts 2:14–41

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them.

Let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.

For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.

And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams, even on my male servants and female servants.

In those days I will pour out my spirit, and they shall prophesy.

And I will show wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth below, blood and fire, and vapor of smoke.

The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

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, loosing the pangs 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 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 say to you with confidence about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried in 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 the 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 heaven, but he says himself, 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 in 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 words were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

That's the word of the Lord.

You may be seated.

Amen.

Yeah, you can clap for Teresa.

You can clap for the Word of God.

Teresa texted me this morning and she said, Hey, what scriptures are am I reading today?

And I said, Well, it's a lengthy passage.

And there's no one I would want to read a lengthy passage more than Teresa.

Yes.

So if we haven't gotten the chance to meet yet, my name is Zach.

I'm the pastor here at the Way Church KC.

And we exist to follow the way of Jesus and push back darkness together.

I say that every week.

But that's what we do.

That's our mission.

And that's what we're trying to walk out together as a church family.

If this is your first time here, if you've um been visiting a few weeks, we're glad you're here.

You are welcome here.

There is a family that you can be a part of here.

And that's what I really love about this church is that it is like you hear so many churches, church plants saying that phraseology, like, oh, we're a family.

But I really believe that that's what God is doing here.

Um I've seen it come to pass in my own life through trials, through momentous occasions, through all the good, the bad, and the ugly of just people walking with us and being a shoulder to lean on, a shoulder to cry on, and a uh voice to celebrate with.

Um so it's it's a fun thing.

So yeah, join up with us.

That's all that to say.

That's what I mean.

Um so this morning we're gonna continue in our series through the book of Acts.

Um today we'll be in Acts chapter 2, verses 14 through 21.

Acts 2:14–21

So if you've got your Bible, you can go ahead and open it to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Um, if you don't have a Bible, we'd love to give one to you right outside of the sanctuary doors.

Um we have Bibles for you to have, for you to mark up, for you to highlight, all that fun stuff.

Um also, if you want to uh take notes on your digital device, there are some stickers on the chairs in front of you.

You can tap your phone to that and you can pull up our fillable sermon notes on there.

Um but enough about that.

Um what we're doing as we look at the book of Acts, we're we're looking at this book through the lens of it being our church planting playbook.

My hope is that this book, that it deeply impacts us as a church family as we learn to live by the spirit and follow the way.

That's the theme of this entire sermon series through Acts.

Living by the Spirit and following the way.

What we're gonna see this morning is the powerful moment where Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost.

Peter preaches at Pentecost.

That's a tongue twister.

Say that ten times fast.

But last week we saw the Holy Spirit fall, and today we see Peter stand.

The same Peter who cowered before a servant girl, who denied Jesus Christ three times, now stands boldly before thousands, proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord.

And what happens here is nothing less than the birth of the early church.

That's why I've titled this morning's message as The Roots.

The roots.

Because Acts chapter 2, verses 14 through 21 show us the roots of the early church, the roots of our faith, the roots of this movement that we call the way.

Acts 2:14–21

Roots that are planted in the power of the Holy Spirit, that are watered by the proclamation of the risen Christ, and roots that are still bearing fruit today.

The roots of a Holy Spirit-empowered movement that would sweep across the world and that is still changing lives today.

Family, what happens here in the text that we're looking at, it shapes the next 2,000 plus years.

Here's our big idea this morning.

Our big idea.

The church grows and thrives when believers empowered by the Holy Spirit boldly proclaim the message of Jesus Christ to the world.

The church grows and thrives when believers who are empowered by the Holy Spirit boldly proclaim the message of Jesus Christ to the world.

With that, there's four things that we're going to look at that that Peter said, that Peter did as he preached at Pentecost.

They are one, he proclaimed with prophecy.

Two, he centered on Christ's resurrection.

Third, he declared Jesus as Lord.

And fourth, he through the Holy Spirit ignited revival by conviction.

I'll pray and then let's dig in.

Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us here today.

Thank you for the extremely hot weather outside, Lord, so that we can be grateful for AC, that we can be grateful for the fall, this new season that is coming, Lord.

God, I praise you for the work that you're doing within this church.

Lord, I pray that you can make each of us to look more and more like your son Jesus.

God, I pray that we can embody this book of Acts early church, that we can be a group of people, a body of believers who are living this out.

Holy Spirit, come.

God, thank you for sending your son Jesus.

We love you.

We praise you.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

So point number one this morning is proclaiming with prophecy.

Proclaiming with prophecy.

Acts chapter two, verse fourteen and fifteen.

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them.

For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

So picture this.

You are the leader of this group.

There are thousands present as the Spirit falls in Acts, beginning of Acts chapter 2, and tongues of fire are spoken.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And some believe in the authenticity of what God is doing, yet some are doubting what is going on.

This leader then stands up to give a message, to give explanation to what they've just witnessed.

What I really think is that this is the keynote address of the book of Acts.

Peter, I think, is showing us that Pentecost is God's keynote message for the early church.

The Spirit has arrived, the kingdom is alive, and the power is available.

He says, hey, they're not drunk like you suppose.

It's only the third hour of the day.

Peter, he stands up and boldly addresses the crowd.

So how does Peter go about his message?

Well, to put it simply, he uses Scripture.

Scripture is his anchor.

And therefore, Scripture should be our anchor too.

He points to Old Testament prophecy as being fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

And we know this.

We talk about this often that all of Scripture, all of the Old Testament, it all points to the redemptive story of Jesus Christ.

All scripture is interconnected, telling one story about the one person, Jesus Christ.

Significantly, Peter, he quotes Joel chapter 2, verses 28 through 32.

Joel 2:28–32

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel, and in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams, even on my male servants and female servants, in those days I will pour out my spirit, and they shall prophesy, and I will show wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth below, blood and fire, and vapor of smoke, the sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

So what what this does, what this quotation of Joel does, what Peter is doing here is he is proclaiming with prophecy in order to confirm the authenticity of the move of the Spirit that they had just witnessed.

The falling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

He is interpreting the events that had transpired with Scripture.

But significantly, there's one slight change from Joel chapter 2, verse 28 through 32, and Peter's quotation here.

Joel 2:28–32

There's one slight difference.

Peter says, in the last days.

Joel, in contrast, says afterward.

So what Peter is doing here is he is reframing Joel's afterward to show that this prophecy has now begun to be fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

He is underscoring that what they are witnessing is the dawning of a new age.

They are now living in the beginning of the last days.

And the truth for us, family, is that so are we.

This is an already and not yet reality.

The Spirit has been poured out, but the fullness of the fulfillment of this prophecy awaits Christ's return.

Joel's prophecy is partially fulfilled at Pentecost and fully fulfilled at Christ's second coming.

So I think that there's a few things that we can pull from this quotation here.

First, the Spirit is promised.

All who have called on the name of Jesus Christ have the power of the indwelling Spirit.

Second, we see that the gifts of the Spirit are promised.

Just from this quotation in Joel, we see prophecy, visions, dreams, wonders in heavens, and signs on earth.

All of these, I This is my daughter yawning.

That's hilarious.

All of these, I believe, still active today as we too live in this new age.

Thirdly, what we see is a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-generational community.

It's promised.

This is a democratization of the spirit.

Sons and daughters, young and old, male and female, even slaves.

All, all receiving the gift of the Spirit.

There's no hierarchy, there's no exclusion, Jews and Gentiles alike, welcomed in.

Fourth, we see that salvation is promised.

All these things we're just pulling from this quotation in Joel.

And it shall verse 21, verse 21 of Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Everyone.

When we share the gospel, it is scripture, not cleverness, not having the crazy light show, not manufacturing a move of the spirit, not being able to quote the greatest theologian.

It's none of that.

It is scripture that is the anchor.

Scripture is our anchor.

I think that Peter shows us here how to share the gospel.

We start with scripture.

We start with the living word of God.

So, family, we should anchor our words in God's promises.

We should utilize the gifts of the Spirit, but we should anchor all of it in Scripture and in proclaiming Jesus Christ.

Like I said, family, we too live in the last days.

And what I believe is that the Holy Spirit equips all believers.

Not just pastors, not just ministry leaders, not just worship pastors, not just worship leaders, not just, you know, somebody who's in vocational ministry, but all believers to be witnesses.

All of us who have called on the name of Jesus are equipped and indwelled with the Holy Spirit.

But here's the thing: the Spirit does not come in a vacuum.

No, the Spirit comes to point us to Jesus.

If prophecy shows us the fulfillment of the promise, then the resurrection shows us the proof.

The Spirit testifies not to himself, but to Jesus Christ, who was crucified and raised.

So Peter, he moves from Joel's prophecy, then to David's Psalms.

And he centers everything on the resurrection of Jesus.

Bringing us to point number two.

Centering on Christ's resurrection.

Centering on Christ's resurrection.

Acts chapter 2, verse 22 through 24.

Acts 2:22–24

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, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

So here Peter starts by highlighting Jesus Christ's life, Jesus Christ's death, and his resurrection.

Just in terms of Christ's life, the text says it was attested to God with mighty works, wonders, signs that God did through him.

This Jesus, he performed healings, he performed miracles, all of it, everything that he did in his earthly ministry attested to God and attested to the authenticity and the validity of this Jesus Christ.

Peter also mentions Christ's death.

Says that Jesus was delivered up according to God's plan, crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

And the Trinity, the triune God, was in agreement with this.

Like it wasn't like God sending his son Jesus to some, you know, like heavenly sort of abuse situation.

No, like they were in agreement.

It was a willing thing that Christ went to the cross and died for our sins.

But here's the thing Jesus could not be held by death because he owed death nothing.

He was perfectly sinless, perfectly righteous.

So Peter leads here with Christ's life and death, and then ultimately what he does is centers his message on Jesus Christ's resurrection.

The text says that God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death.

Literally, this means the birth pains of death.

Death could not hold Jesus.

His resurrection was inevitable.

One commentator that I read while studying notes this without the resurrection, the Spirit's coming makes no sense.

But with it, the Spirit testifies to the risen Christ.

With this, with the resurrection, Psalm 16, 10 is fulfilled.

You will not abandon my soul to Hades.

The resurrection, it wasn't just a bold religious claim.

It was the defining counterclaim against Rome's power.

Rome crucified rebels, right?

They crucified Jesus and many other rebels, but God raised Jesus Christ, vindicating him as king.

Think about it this way for a little illustration.

You can cover a seed with soil, but you can't keep it from sprouting.

That's what death tried to do with Jesus.

But the grave became a womb.

The grave was the roots that we now live in today.

The resurrection is the heart of the gospel, yes, but the resurrection is not just the heart of the gospel, it is the power for mission.

The resurrection, it vindicates and confirms Jesus Christ's identity.

His miracles and teachings were not just simply good works.

They were divine signs pointing to his sonship.

The resurrection Was God's yes and amen to all of Jesus' claims.

But the resurrection, there's more to it.

It secures our justification.

We are placed into right standing before God, before a holy and just God, because of Christ's resurrection.

Without the resurrection, the cross would be meaningless.

With it though, with it though, forgiveness is guaranteed.

And with this guarantee, the resurrection, it inaugurates new creation.

What happened to Jesus' body is a preview of what will happen to ours.

The empty tomb is not just history, it is our destiny, family.

The resurrection also, it shapes how we should do mission, Crystal.

It empowers mission because it means that death does not win, that fear does not win, that failure does not win, but that Jesus Christ wins.

Amen.

And because he lives, we live.

And because we live, we can proclaim without fear.

Paul, he he then Peter, he then closes this section by tying the resurrection to God's covenant with David.

The Davidic king would not see corruption.

Verse 25 of Acts 2.

For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hands 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.

Notice what Peter's doing here.

He's not just quoting King David randomly.

He's showing that David himself was pointing forward to Christ.

David knew that he would die.

But God had sworn to him in 2 Samuel 7 that one of his descendants would reign forever.

Peter says that that descendant is Jesus, and the resurrection proves it.

I think that there's three kind of covenant promises that we see fulfilled by this quotation here, that we see fulfilled in Christ's resurrection.

First, we see that the Lord's presence sustains.

David says, and Peter quotes, I saw the Lord always before me.

David expresses unshakable confidence.

But how did David see the Lord always before him?

What we see is that this is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who always trusted the Father, who God the Father was always before him, even to the point of death.

And because Jesus was not abandoned, we too can face suffering, knowing that God is with us.

Secondly, we see that the Lord's resurrection, it secures hope.

Peter quotes David saying, You will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your holy one see corruption.

David's body did see corruption, right?

He fell into grave sin.

He did die an earthly death.

His tomb was still with him, right?

And his tomb was still with the people of this day.

But Jesus Christ, his body never decayed.

The grave could not hold him.

Which means that death will not hold us either.

Family, resurrection hope flows from the covenant that God made with David, now fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, we see that the Lord's presence satisfies.

Again, Peter quotes David You make known to me the paths of life.

You will make me full of gladness with your presence.

The resurrection, it doesn't just give us survival.

No, it gives us joy.

The goal of resurrection is communion with God.

Christ's resurrection, it secures for us not only eternal life, but eternal delight in Christ's presence.

Not only eternal life, but eternal delight.

What we should see, guys, is that the resurrection, it's not an afterthought, but it is the heart of God's redemptive plan.

It is the heart of God's covenant plan.

All the way back into the Old Testament.

Every promise to David, throne, forever kingdom, eternal joy, finds its yes in the risen Christ.

So when we talk about the resurrection, when we center our lives on the resurrection, when we center our speech on the resurrection, we're not just saying Jesus came back from the dead.

We're saying that God keeps his covenant promises, that God keeps his redemptive plan.

We're saying the kingdom is secure because the king that we serve cannot die.

So what's the application for us is we center our mission on Christ's resurrection.

I think it's this evangelism, it centers not on advice.

Not on advice for living, for good moral living, but on the historical events of Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

We don't proclaim a moral code like so many other religions.

We proclaim a risen king.

And it's out of relationship with that risen king that we then live morally.

So, family, if Jesus has been raised, which I believe, which I think a lot of us believe as well, the question then becomes what does that mean now?

What does that mean now, August 17th, 2025?

What does it mean now?

Well, family, resurrection isn't just an event in the past.

It is the foundation of Christ's authority today.

If he is alive, then he reigns.

If he is alive, then he reigns.

And that's exactly where Peter takes us next.

Jesus is not only risen, he's not only the risen King, Jesus Christ is Lord.

That brings us to point number three, declaring Jesus as Lord.

Peter in his sermon declares Jesus as Lord.

Acts chapter 2, verse 29.

Acts 2:29

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 his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the 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's 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.

So here, Peter, he first points to the evidence, then he points to Christ's Lordship.

The evidence?

Well, Peter, he boldly contrasts David.

David is dead and buried, Jesus is risen and reigning.

And I just think that this is crazy.

I don't have this in my notes, but like talking about David.

Being therefore a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of Christ.

David foresaw, through prophetic vision, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

They lived in different time periods.

And I can get going.

We can talk about some different thoughts and interpretations on the Psalms that are really cool, but that's another story for another day.

But yeah, it's really cool.

Anywho, let's talk about Christ's Lordship.

Lordship.

Psalm 110.1 is the key.

This is the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament.

And it's used to declare Christ's exaltation.

This is significant.

Because it says that it's not David, but Jesus who is exalted to God's right hand.

This isn't this idea of like adoptionism that God made Jesus Lord as if he wasn't before.

No, Jesus was Lord from the beginning of time.

Rather, what this is is the public enthronement of what was always so, what was always true.

And here's the thing about like kings, queens, leaders, every king and queen, every leader throughout history, when they die, their authority ends.

Their authority ends that day that they're put into the ground.

But when Jesus Christ died, his authority had only just begun.

What we see is that Jesus is both Lord and Messiah.

He's both Lord, the Greek word kurios, which signifies his divine authority.

And he's also the Christos, the Messiah, David's promised king.

We've talked a little bit about the history and the historical context of Acts, but just to highlight a couple things, to call Jesus Lord in Jerusalem during this time, it was dangerous.

Lord was Caesar's title.

So this declaration, what Peter's preaching here, it was explosive.

It was politically explosive.

To say Jesus is Lord was to say that Caesar is not.

And that's the thing.

I think we we lose some of this in our Western Christianity.

Because like what we see embodied in this text is that the gospel, it's not just private spirituality.

It is a public announcement that Jesus is the world's rightful king, that Jesus is Lord of your life.

And I think that this should also reframe how we think about allegiance.

The reality is that everyone, everyone in here bows to someone or something.

Whether it is self, to culture, to a relationship, to politics, to idols, to money, to sports, to hobbies, whatever it is for you, you bow to someone or something.

The question is not, do you have a Lord?

The question is who or what is Lord of your life?

Hear this, family.

The resurrection without Christ's Lordship is incomplete.

If Jesus rose but is not Lord of your life, then he's just a miracle worker.

But if he is risen, if he is reigning, which we said we believed, then he is the king who demands our complete worship and obedience.

And this is like a bold step.

Declaring Jesus as Lord means that He is the right, He has the right to command every area of your life.

You are in submission to Him in every area of your life.

Your time, your money, your sexuality, your priorities, your relationships, your ambitions.

Christianity, it's not an accessory, it is total allegiance.

So let me ask you again, who or what is on the throne of your life?

Because if Jesus Christ is truly Lord of your life, then every rival must fall.

I can't not encourage you, like in my heart of hearts, to make Christ Lord of your life.

Family, I think that your life depends on it.

I think your eternal life depends on it.

And not only that, I think that this church depends on it.

I think the global church depends on it, and I think that this local church expression depends on it as well.

So think about it this way: who or what is on the throne of our church's life?

My hope is that it's King Jesus, that Jesus is Lord of this church, that we are living as though the reality is true, which it is, that Jesus Christ is Lord over this church.

It's a very real reality, but we often don't live like it, right?

But hear this the church flourishes when it bows to Christ's authority.

I don't know if this is gonna flow here, but I saw this thing that I want to share with you guys real quick.

So this is a question on prayer, on dependence on the Holy Spirit, on Christ's lordship that's posed by Francis Schaeffer.

And I think this is a harsh challenge to the church today.

Not just our church, but to the churches in the Western world.

Here's the quote: Supposing we had awakened today to find everything concerning the Holy Spirit and prayer removed from the Bible, what difference would it make, practically, between the way we worked yesterday and the way we would work today and tomorrow?

What difference would it make in the majority of Christians' practical work and plans?

Isn't much work done by human talent, energy, and clever ideas?

Where does the supernatural power of God have a real place?

I think that so often we can operate in a way that if with the Holy Spirit and prayer were to disappear from the Bible, our lives wouldn't look much different.

And that's a harsh reality, and that is a reality that is not true if Jesus is Lord over our lives.

So is Christ Lord of your life?

Is Christ Lord of the church?

Yes and amen.

Family, may we be a body filled with people who are declaring Jesus Christ as Lord and bowing to his rightful authority?

What happens when you hear that Jesus is Lord preached?

Well, what happened in Acts 2 when the crowd heard Peter declare Jesus as Lord, they didn't just shrug it off.

We have an option, we can shrug it off.

They didn't yawn.

We can yawn and say, I've heard this story of Jesus before.

They didn't say, interesting sermon.

No, they were pierced to the heart.

When Jesus is proclaimed as Lord, it demands a response.

And I think that that's what we see in this final movement in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

The revival ignites by conviction.

We see Peter igniting revival by conviction.

We see the Holy Spirit through, we see Peter through the power of the Holy Spirit igniting revival by conviction.

Acts 2 37.

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.

So let's land the plane.

What is the result of Peter's preaching at Pentecost?

Well, the text shows us simply that they were cut to the heart.

This conveys the idea of being pierced deeply, like a sharp blade.

And what this is, is spirit wrought conviction.

One commentator calls this covenantal repentance, a call to turn from unfaithfulness to the new covenant head, Christ Jesus.

The people ask, what do we do?

We've been pierced to the heart, now what do we do?

And maybe today you're asking that same thing.

Maybe Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, has pierced your heart.

Maybe the word of God has pierced your heart.

What do we do?

I think that the answer that Peter gave is the same answer that we have for us today.

Repent and be baptized.

Repent and be baptized.

Repentance, it means a decisive turning.

Turning from one way of life to another.

It's not just sorrow.

It's not just like, hey God, I'm sorry, I did that thing again that I promised I wouldn't do.

No, it's turning from that thing to a new way of life.

And we see just a little math problem for you.

Repent plus be baptized equals forgiveness and the Spirit.

That's what the text shows us.

Baptism, it's a sign of death and resurrection and allegiance to Christ's name.

This echoes Joel 2.32 that we looked at at the beginning of this sermon.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

We also see this blurb, the promises for you, your children, and those who are far off.

This is rooted in Old Testament covenant language.

Immediate meaning, the Jews are scattered.

The ultimate meaning, Gentiles are included.

Repent and be baptized.

Baptism in this setting, it was radical.

Like I think today in our Western world, we've lost the impact of public declaration, right?

Baptism was a public declaration of a believer's newfound life in Christ.

In their day and age, public declaration, it meant risk of rejection.

It meant persecution.

It even meant at times loss of livelihood.

Yet, yet, 3,000 responded.

3,000 responded.

3,000 are saved.

This is the inverse of Exodus 33, 28, where 3,000 died after the golden calf.

Remember, we talked about this last week.

Pentecost is the new Sinai.

The Spirit replaces the law, life replaces death.

And notice the order here.

We see proclamation, we see conviction, we see response, and we see transformation.

I think and I believe that like true revival, it always follows this pattern, both in the individual life of the believer and within the corporate body.

Proclamation, the word of God is proclaimed.

You are convicted, you are pierced to your heart by the Spirit, you respond, and you're transformed.

This is like revival we're reading about in this book, in the Bible.

And this revival is not just about numbers, it was about depth.

These 3,000, they weren't making a casual decision.

They were staking their lives.

They were staking their families' lives.

They were staking their futures on Jesus Christ.

They were betting everything on this man who is fully God.

Conviction, it's the evidence of grace.

When you feel cut to the heart, that's God's mercy pulling you back from destruction.

Anybody been close to destruction before?

Amen.

Anybody had the Holy Spirit convict them and pull them away from that destruction?

Is it scary?

Would you say it's scary?

Well, can I present to you that it's far scarier to feel nothing at all?

It's far scarier to feel no conviction at all, family.

Today the Spirit still cuts two hearts with his word.

The same spirit who pierced that Jerusalem crowd is here in this room.

Pressing the gospel into your hearts, confronting your sin and calling you to surrender.

Let me put it another way, just to be plain and frank with you, if that's okay.

You thank you, Crystal.

You cannot encounter the Lordship of Christ and remain neutral.

You cannot encounter the Lordship of Jesus Christ and remain neutral.

Peter Sermon, it forced a response then and it forces a response now.

Either you repent and bow to the Lord Jesus, or you resist and rebel.

You can't stay in the middle, right?

What is a river?

There ain't no fencing.

The devil owns the fence.

River said that, not me.

It's a good word though.

So, friends, have you been cut to the heart?

Maybe today, maybe in the past, maybe God is cutting your heart right now.

My hope is that you have.

Because revival begins with spirit-pierced repentance.

Not emotional hype, not manufacturing a move of the Holy Spirit, but by spirit-pierced repentance.

So for us, what we must do is pray for God to pierce our hearts.

Not just our minds.

The Spirit convicts, we respond, and the church multiplies.

The Spirit convicts, but there's a response that we must make.

Humans must respond.

Built into the gospel message is a call to action.

So I'll go ahead and invite Ashton up to close us in song.

And just a couple of things as we we close.

Just to paint with a broad stroke.

The roots of the church are not strategy, they're not charisma, they're not programs, they are spirit-empowered proclamation, they are resurrection-centered preaching, they are bold confession of Jesus as Lord, and they're repentance-driven revival.

The same spirit who fell at Pentecost dwells within you.

You believe that?

The same spirit who fell at Pentecost dwells within you.

The same Christ who rose reigns over you.

The same call that echoed through Jerusalem now echoes in this room.

Repent.

Believe.

Proclaim.

Don't miss this, guys.

The crowd that day could have walked away unchanged.

But they were cut to the heart and they responded in faith.

3,000 lives were transformed.

What about you?

Will you allow the Holy Spirit to cut you to the heart today?

The reality is there's nothing that I can say to cut you to the heart.

There's nothing that anybody in this room can say to you to cut you to the heart.

It is only, it is only the work of the Spirit.

And I don't know about you guys, but I can't read these words and not be cut to the heart.

I cannot hear the gospel message and not be cut to the heart.

And what I'm repentant for today looks vastly different than what I was repentant for 10 years ago.

But God's still piercing my heart, cutting me to the heart.

Through his word, through Holy Spirit wrought conviction.

So will you call on the name of the Lord?

Maybe for the first time.

Maybe for the first time in your life, will you call on the name of the Lord and be saved?

Church, the word for us today is let's get back to our roots.

Let's get back to our roots.

Let's be a people who live spirit-filled, Christ-centered, repentance-driven lives that shake the world.

Because Pentecost was not the end of the story.

It was the beginning in a sense.

And church, God is still writing this story through us, through you.

And I think an appropriate way for us to close today is to take some time to repent.

I think that that's the obvious response here today as we read this text.

Whatever, whatever it may be in your life that you need to repent from.

It could be some hidden sin in your life.

It could be that you you spoke to your spouse in a less than loving way.

It could be some like hidden pride.

It could be hard-heartedness.

It could be that you went and looked at that website that you promised yourself you wouldn't.

Could be that you got high again.

Whatever that may be, you know it.

The Lord knows it.

Whatever that may be, now is your time to repent.

You can stay in your seat and pray to God.

You can go kneel somewhere in the room.

The space is ours.

You can come to the altar and kneel before the throne.

Confessing your sins before Jesus, your Lord.

Thanking Jesus Christ for dying for those sins.

We'll also have a couple people, Glenn and Teresa, who will be up here on the sides to pray with you.

Maybe it's like, hey, I need some prayer today.

I need some prayer from a brother or sister.

What I believe is like there's power when you bring your sins, your hurts, your hangups to the light by sharing it with a brother or sister.

There's no judgment in this place, just the love of Christ.

So, Glenn Teresa, you guys can go ahead and come up here.

Like I said, the altar's open, the room is yours.

My only encouragement is that you take this time to truly and honestly repent.

Here's our call to action.

Will you proclaim Christ?

Will you live under his lordship?

Will you repent where the Spirit convicts?

It's time we get back to our roots.

I'll pray.

Ashton will close us.

And while she sings, take some time to repent, to turn from one way of life to another.

Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us here today to sit under your word.

Lord, I pray that today you've moved me out of the way and made your words clear.

I pray that your Holy Spirit would convict us, would pierce our hearts, and bring us to a place of repentance.

I pray that as we repent, that it would glorify you.

You're so good to us.

You were so kind.

You were so loving.

Thank you for sending your son Jesus to die for our sins.

What love is this?

God, we love you.

Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to convict us.

Amen.

Thanks for listening.

Join us Sundays at 10 30 a.m.

in the Rosedale neighborhood of Kansas City.

Or find us anytime at the wakeac.church.