Leftovers - Acts 2:22-39

Happy Monday, we're back. Took a week off.

Thanks for bearing with us. But off of confirmation Sunday,

we just thought it was a good time to take a yeah, take a

respite as it was. So we're back in the book of

Acts, though, Chapter 2. You walked us through Peter's

sermon yesterday on just this big sort of first, first

momentous event in the multiplication of the church

here. The we have Pentecost and the

Holy Spirit descends and and then the world thinks they're

crazy, really. You know, it's cool to be at

this point early on in the book of Acts just because you you get

to see Peter and he is just as we all know, the guy who's going

to put his foot in his mouth from time to time.

But man, we see a refinement here, and we see probably a

level of education and speaking coming out of him and biblical

citation that nobody would have thought.

So yeah, it's super fun to be in this text yesterday and to be

able to walk through some of that stuff.

But yeah, here we are. I'm excited to dig a little bit

deeper. Yeah.

And Peter throughout the Gospels, like we have this

picture of Peter just the the brash, kind of impulsive, quick

to that he's not slow to anger. Like don't be too quick to

listen. Like he's he's fast to anger,

always talking, like. And now we have even in the

first couple chapters of Acts, we talked about the choosing of

the 12th apostle, like even however that played out, whether

whether it was what God had drawn up or not, like he was

using Scripture to inform the decision right back in reference

that in chapter 1, he's back here in chapter 2, quoting,

quoting Old Testament, speaking words of Jesus like he's, he's

sourcing himself and the, and the preaching and his teaching

in the proper thing seemingly right.

And we didn't have time to get into all this yesterday, but

Peter has become quite the theologian.

I mean, yeah, he's he's all over the map with his stuff.

And if I can't remember if I said it yesterday or not, but

here in in Acts chapter 2 and and his sermon that he's giving,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

it's Joel, it's Psalm 110 and it's Psalm 60 or 16, eight

through 11. And so I mean, like, yeah, this

guy is all over the place. He's citing Scripture.

And even, you know, some scholars will say, wow, he was

the first one to ever interpret that that way.

Speaking specifically about like Psalm 16, eight through 11.

So it's really cool. It's fun and it's an important

model to see we we say it frequently, I think, but even us

on this podcast or or Sunday morning sermons certainly like

they're not they're not our words right where it's it's not

it's not our truth that we're making out of God's word and

Peter's illustrating that here too.

He's saying no, we we believe that these words are divinely

inspired. Yes, penned my penned down by

men, but inspired by the Holy Spirit, inspired by God, the

word of God and we and there's power in that for what it is.

We don't even the power isn't brought out by how eloquently we

we teach or explain it. He's he's proclaiming the truth

of the word and there's power in that, even if it wasn't

unpacked, there's power in it to connect with human minds and,

and to understand even the truth of God's word plainly as it is,

even if it's not thoroughly explained.

He goes further than that and, and explains it and tries to

give him the OK, so this is then what you shall do.

But yeah, so just an, an early illustration of that too.

You know what? We're leaning on the word of God

as we preach and teach, as we proclaim, as we share the

gospel. Yeah, there's part of our

experience in it, too, that the world then thinks you're crazy

for. Thinks, thinks you're drunk on

too much wine for having this spiritual experience and this

indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But beyond that, it's simply the

power of the truth of God's Word, and that's what he's

leaning on here, and that's what we have to lean on moving

forward. To Yeah, it's interesting that

you say it that way. You.

I'm just thinking about this for the first time, so forgive me

because I'm just, I know I might just go off the rails here, but

consider the fact. OK, so going back to the

beginning of this chapter where everybody, as we mentioned,

presupposes they're drunk. Well, I, I actually, I feel like

that's a fairly apartment description of what's happening.

And then even Peter sermon that, you know, again, we're looking

specifically, or we looked at specifically 22 through 39.

But here's the thing for anybody who's ever drank a little bit

too much and then you look back the next day, you're like, I

can't believe I did that. I can't believe I said that.

I can't believe, blah, blah, blah.

And here's the thing, I I almost wonder if Peter and the other

apostles, like they look back, you know, later that night after

he preaches this sermon or the next day and they go, Peter, I

can't believe you said that. Like, where did that come from?

Like that was amazing. And Peter's like, yeah, I can't

believe I said that either. And so I mean, I do think that

like in in the most positive way possible, you know, that

indwelling of the Holy Spirit, it can make us, you know, it can

help us do and say things that like we're like, no way did I

really say that? And I'll be really honest.

And this is not like a please don't hear this as any kind of

bragging, but like, you know, like I do think that God still

really fills people with the Holy Spirit today.

So there are definitely been times I've come off stage and

like the notes were gone, baby, like I and, and I come off and

let's just like, Oh man, I really, I really like that that

you said that. And I said, did I say that?

And she's like, yeah, you did. You didn't.

You don't remember saying that. I was like, I don't know what I

said. Like I just, I just had the very

good sense that what I was saying was very true, but I

couldn't tell you what I said specifically.

Yeah, and I think there's, I think that's a part of it too,

the words. And that's how we know they're

not our words even sometimes like even with what we had

planned to say. I've I've had that too, where I

just in the moment, even looking at the verses that I've been

studying for the sermon all week.

Sometimes when they're on the screen in the sanctuary, another

thought screams through that just I don't, I don't know it

again, it didn't come from me. It was it was gifted to me to

then have to discern whether or not to let that out or not.

But yeah, that's we, we're seeing how the Holy Spirit works

and that that's, that's interesting that the next day

sort of can't believe you said that the Holy Spirit hangover

that was happening amongst the apostles the next the next day

after this, yeah. Holy Spirit hangover, there we

go. So there we go.

Yeah. All right, before we dive deeper

into that, a little levity, we got a lot of feedback and and

reviews for our topic last time on What do you?

Oh my goodness. Conversations flowing

apparently, and people considering the the merits of

time travel or teleportation based on bodily functions.

So we're going to double down on that and come back to that

because we're not, we're not above that here.

We're still, we're still silly men who laugh at funny fart

jokes and things. So yeah.

Or would you rather today is would you rather have to fart

loudly every time you have a serious conversation or have to

burp after every kiss? Oh, no.

Oh, no, Sir. I like before pre show you

initially just put it straight out there like is my so this

question really is for us. Is your wife suffering all of

the time or just never kissing you that that maybe results in

never kissing you If this is the if this is the outcome or are

you just like embarrassing yourself in front of people that

are in like vulnerable, serious needing your help moments?

OK, so let me let me ask a clarifying question here just

for my sake and the audience's sake as you answer this

question. But like, OK, how fast does the

burp happen after the kiss? Is it like OK the second I pull

away? It's soon as you disengage.

It's like, no, like she's not going to be able to avoid that

mess. There's there is breath.

She she's she's breathing your burp.

She she is breathing your burp, unless I mean, I if she's quick

and turns away, maybe, but like I think, oh, she's in your burp

cloud. The other so bad.

The other part of it is terrible.

I feel like serious conversation is a little, I don't know,

undefined like what what merits a serious conversation?

I think we can. I think we.

Can have a decent sense of it, but like if I'm I don't know if

my if my wife and I are planning our budget for the month, is

that a serious conversation like.

Honey, we only have $44.00 till the end of the week.

We can only buy groceries. We're not going out and then

just you drop a bomb of smell everywhere.

But I I mean, like even it doesn't have to be like a

serious graven conversation. Like it's just that's a, it's

not a funny conversation. It's that's a serious kind of

you're planning out your money for the month.

Like is that, is that what's happening?

I feel like it doesn't have to be like crestfallen, terrible

news or anything. Like you're just.

But but now it is terrible news like.

Well, that's worse. Pastor Matt, I came in to tell

you that my dear, sweet grandma who I lived with, she raised me.

She's died, right? And I need you to do the

funeral. What I'm saying, we have like we

have. And then you.

You're even spots. Is just like.

Right. Well, even the other side of

that planning planning I I had funeral in the past couple weeks

and I've also had like wedding planning in the so like both

sides of that also. Is that not a serious

conversation? Planning a wedding talking about

that and I'm I have to let one RIP in the middle of that like

that's. Welcome to your joyous day.

Oh my gosh, I'm I'm like sweating over here.

I can't. My eyes are watering.

I'm sweating. This is too much.

See this This question really was built for people like me.

Right. But it comes, it comes down to

it comes down to the wife thing. Could I know?

Could the wives adapt and do and do we want to put them in that

position of of having to deal with that for the rest of their

lives? The thing is, I feel like.

I feel like if I it's the last show we'll ever do, we'll we'll

both be found. Well, it's only the last one.

If they listen this week, if they listen to it, it's the last

one, right? No, but like, that's OK.

I think if I can just clarify, I think really the heart of the

question is make your wife miserable or you are personally

embarrassed and other people are embarrassed by you.

Which one? Yes, yes, that is.

If we can like get it down to. Its part of the question.

Oh my gosh. Yeah.

The other part of this is how often, how often do you already

just burp after, after you kiss like this?

Like like is. Is this changing a whole lot?

I mean, I don't, I'm not, I'm not chugging, you know, 7UP and

then kissing my wife and then like, you know, that's probably

not happening, but still. And and what?

And what if the roles were reversed?

Like whatever. See, that's maybe even a better

way to do it because now I can like, OK.

How would you feel could we tolerate our wives if if they

had to burp? Just belching on our faces.

I think I could live with it, but I think that's also maybe

how men and women are different. I'm not sure that they could

live with. It Yeah, yeah, You know what,

Thank you for putting it that way, 'cause I think I can

actually answer like, yeah, I don't, you know, I wouldn't want

my wife, you know, ripping every single time she has to have a

serious conversation with somebody.

She would she would never talk again.

So like for her sake and you know, I can, I can, I can take

that, especially if. That's an interesting point,

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, especially if she's like,

you know, and and yes, you brush her teeth, use Listerine,

whatever, try and make it pleasant.

Carried breath mints, I don't care.

So we yes, and I think I would agree, we would take, we would

take it on the chin, yes, for the wives to avoid.

That therefore. If the question was reversed but

I don't OK therefore. Therefore, if they my therefore

is you've, you know, you love me enough to just deal with this

too. You're it's not going to be your

favorite thing unless it becomes your favorite thing.

It should be really weird. That's a whole different weird

scenario. That's your favorite thing.

What I mean there's. A thing for everything.

Counseling with you guys. Pretty soon I'm going to be

farting all the way through it. There's a thing for dude, but I

mean, there's a thing for everything.

There's probably some people who are really into burps.

That's so. Weird, don't you think about?

I mean, isn't there? I mean, come on, if there are

people who are like, Oh my gosh, like I I'd love looking at feet

pictures. That's super strange, like.

Where are we right now? I don't know.

But but there has to be a thing that some people probably like

the sound of burps. Do you think I'm you know what

my search history is about to get weird because I'm going to

look that up right now. Do people like?

Are people attracted to? Burps yeah, yeah, that's what

I'm going to look up right now. What attracted to?

So while you're doing that, though, unpack and we, wow, we,

I didn't think we could spend more time on this than we did

last week, but. What did you find?

Oh no, I've Yep, Yep, it's a real thing.

Oh my, it's 100% a real thing. What, what if?

Oh no, what if my wife is one of those people who's like, doesn't

know and she just doesn't know it yet?

You've never burped in front of your wife.

I mean, yeah, OK. But you've never unpacked as to

whether I've never unpacked if that was like, I've never

unpacked if that was the reason that like she's like so

attracted to me, you know all. Right.

And we've lost the remaining 3 listeners who didn't turn it off

5 minutes ago and now they're all gone.

All right. OK, OK, so to your point,

though, of like we would, I feel like I would if if sure wife

came to Emily came to me and this was a scenario.

Yes, OK, I would deal with burp kisses the rest of my life to

save you this embarrassment. I'm not sure she would say the

same thing. I'm I'm I think she might be

like, no, you you got to deal with this in your life.

I'm not, I'm not putting up with burp kisses.

You say burp kisses is so dumb you're.

Such a child, Oh my goodness. I can't.

I can't. I'm turning into my mother.

I I laugh, I laugh and I just start crying all.

Right. So I, I actually think, I think

I would have to, I think I would just have to be the farting

pastor like. You're going to be the farting

pastor. I think I would have to do that.

I don't think I could put my wife through it.

OK, Yeah, well, I'm. Sorry congregation, you can go

to Chris for all your serious conversation.

See, and I won't burp in your face.

I'll just burp in my wife's face.

It's fine. So we're split.

It's been a while since we were split on one of these I think,

but. We are split.

Yeah, for, I don't know, I think that's where I got to land so.

That's it. Fart loudly every time you have

a serious conversation, or burp after every kiss.

That's now you know. Now you know where we land on

it. So, you know, and that is so

much more important to know than any political ideologies or

anything else. That's the stuff you really want

to know about your past so. All right, we're going to take a

quick break, let Chris regroup here, and we're going to dunk

back into some more on Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

We'll be right back. All right, if you are somehow

still with us after and during that conversation, we're going

to dive back into Acts chapter 2 here.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Peter's sermon after Pentecost here, Chris outlined a lot of

things for us yesterday, but some main things to consider in

your sermon yesterday were God's plans already accounting for

evil? You mentioned it's it.

It's what, It's the material. He has to work with sinful

people, right? Yep, save for Jesus Christ, you

know, we just, we just, I don't know, that's, that's tough

material to work with. You're like, you know, I would

like to do more and I would like to let them help me do more, but

they're just sometimes so bad at this, you know, and, and, and I

wonder, I'm sure God doesn't think that way because we get to

be his children and he loves us dearly.

However, yeah, when you only have flawed material to work

with, you're probably pulling some strings.

And I think the things that we see God do on a daily basis

still, like he's seriously pulling some strings.

It is really not us. It is the work of the Holy

Spirit. It is his moving in and amongst

us that really gets the job done.

Yep, and that's really where he starts here.

We we've mentioned already the the drunkenness with too much

wine, but that's where where you were the passage you were

preaching on yesterday. Peter's explaining like he he's

he's trying to make sense of. Hey, no, they're they weren't,

they weren't drunk. We aren't, we aren't drunk on

wine. We are drunk on the Holy Spirit.

But this is like, this is how it played out and this is the

significance of it. And, and what he says is the the

spirit, the conclusion we get is the spirit empowers people to

prophecy. And what does that's, that's

really Luke's conclusion in describing this.

And what? What is?

What does that encompass? For, yeah.

And actually there's. So there's a scholar, William J

Larkin junior, and he gives this interesting thing that actually

even for me helped create like a better understanding of this

word because I think like prophecy and prophecy like we

get we get certain ideas built around that are like, Oh, I'm

predicting the future and I'm this magical being.

But really he says it like this prophecy for Luke encompasses

spirit filled speaking in other languages.

So speaking in tongues, predictive discourse.

OK, so that's where we kind of get that idea of like, oh, I'm

saying something that's going to happen.

But he also says a proclamatory witness.

Yeah, that's awesome. Because you know what?

That's that's how Peter starts this thing.

He's just proclaiming. He's just witnessing.

And you mentioned it before the show.

You're like, he's just kind of recounting what happened.

You know, he's like, this is what happened.

And I mean, you know. So here's the thing.

I think especially based on what Larkin says, you can go so far

as to say that when a person is speaking about Jesus Christ and

what he's done for us, and you're speaking truth and maybe

even you're speaking a little bit out of your depth and, and,

and outside of your realm of typical courage, man, you better

be aware that the Holy Spirit's working in you right now, right?

And so like I, yeah, I love that he puts those three things in

that that prophecy category. And and it's important that they

are all there together. I don't know that he's listening

them in measures of significance necessarily.

I don't think it's all it's all the same realm of prophecy and

prophesying. And a lot of times that

proclamatory witness, proclamatory proclamation, I

don't know. I don't know why I'm having

such. Trouble.

That's a weird. Proclamation Proclamatory.

Wow, OK, clamatory. I don't know, English is a weird

language anyway, that's I don't know that we often think of that

just simply speaking about God's word or simply speaking God's

word. I don't know that we consider

that prophecy often enough and that the opening words to the

passage you preached on yesterday, Peter, just men of

Israel hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man

attested to you by God with mighty works.

This Jesus delivered up to others in the definite plan and

knowledge of God. You're crucified by the hands of

of lawless men and God raised him up like this is recent

history. This happened like.

Weeks ago, 40 some days prior, yeah.

So this this is something that we would maybe assume they knew,

but Peter didn't assume that. Peter assumed they had to hear

the beginning of the story, the the beginning details.

So even us at times if, if it's if it's neighbors or like, do do

you know what they know about Jesus or, or do you assume that

they well, yeah, they probably know what Easter and Christmas

are about. So like they I don't know.

I, I, I think, I think we maybe gloss over that or, or assume

too much where it, whereas those simple things are still

glorifying to God, they're, they're still edifying to God in

declaring them and proclaiming them to people.

And that's lumped in, in the, in this, in this prophecy, of

course, of course, we, I think we more readily think of

prophecy as like, yeah, predicting the future, telling

of something that's going to happen more the supernatural

ability to to speak in tongues or, or communicate in other

languages. I think we see those two aspects

of prophecy far less. So we maybe think that prophecy

doesn't happen. It is these simple things.

It is these word of God, truth of God things.

And, and Peter's showing us that here.

Yeah. And I, I want to pick up on what

you said just for like, very practical purposes for us

because I did not have a chance to get into this yesterday.

But like, man, you are absolutely right.

Let's stop assuming that people already have a biblical

narrative in their lives. I mean, you know, it's research

already has been telling us for years that we are the most

biblically illiterate generation that has ever existed inside the

United States. That's just a fact.

And so like, man, yeah, if I invite my neighbor or, or

whatever to a Christmas service or an Easter service, I

shouldn't necessarily know, assume that they understand the

Easter or the Christmas story because if they show up to

church on Christmas Eve, because they're like, Oh yeah, it's

Christmas, I should probably go. And it seems like a nice thing

to do, man. They're probably going to hear

something that they didn't realize was real or true, you

know? And so I mean, like, yeah, we we

should not. But it's not that we're not

thinking highly of the people that we're trying to give the

gospel to. They're not unintelligent

because they don't know these things.

They just don't know them. And it's, it's OK to like, start

the way Peter started and just give them, you know, the the

news reel at first. This is what it is.

This is what happened. And we say that as an

imperative. This is it.

Like, it's not opinion, it's not fact.

This is world history. This is it.

And and so out of that he he goes into this invitation to

repent again, repent just doing doing an about face doing this

180 in your life's orientation, attaching yourself to Jesus,

turning from sin that you have a you have a note from John Stott

here, another New Testament scholar.

Repentance and faith involve each other.

The turn from sin being impossible without the turn to

God and vice versa. We've talked about this report

like sin problem, bad habit, whatever it is, we're going to

replace it with something right. It might be another bad habit.

It might be a different sin or a different bad relationship or a

different thing. This perfect picture of

repentance is is replacing those weights and sins, those things

pulling you away from God and turning true God.

That's what needs to replace those things.

So he's making this call, this appeal to these people and we

see we see at the end there is there is response, there is.

I can't remember if you got to verse 41 yesterday, but the.

No, not quite. Is those who received his word

were baptized and they were added that day about 3000 souls

to their numbers like there is this turning this power within

this and it's why we proclaim the gospel.

It's why it may be redundant for your regular church goes you

probably do hear almost every week that we do layout Jesus

Christ came to die and rose from the grave and defeated sin,

death in the grave. And it's for you.

Well, there are maybe people in our midst that don't hear that.

And those that are in our midst maybe need to be reminded of it

every week too, because that's the that's the crux of this.

That's our everyday, every week battle is turning from sin and

replacing with God turning from sin and replacing with God.

So. Yeah, we should never, we should

never get over the core message of the gospel.

So one of the things again, when I was, when I was a little bit

earlier in my career, I did assume, Oh, and this is super

naive. I actually feel embarrassed

saying it out loud, but I, but I, I did kind of assume like,

Hey, you're in this church. You probably have this life

saving relationship with Jesus. Little did I know that as I

really honestly got to know people like, no, they're there

because that's what you do culturally in that place.

They're there because their spouse makes them.

They're there because it gives them some level of social

influence, you know, and it's just like, Oh my gosh, when I

realized that I, I promised myself there would never be a

Sunday that goes by where I'm preaching where you're not

hearing Jesus Christ crucified, like outright, you know, And so

as one preacher put it like, I need to say essentially the same

thing every week. I just need to think of 10,000

different ways to say it, you know?

And so I just, it's so important.

So, yeah, we should not assume that just because people might

culturally look like Christians because they're upholding a

certain standard of morality or whatever.

Like, no, that doesn't that doesn't mean you have a

relationship with Jesus. And having a relationship with

Jesus means that, man, I am actively repenting day by day

because I'm seeing the ways that I've fallen short.

But I'm also not like down in the dumps because I actively

know that the gospel has saved me, that his blood has been

spilled for me and therefore I am free.

Yeah, and that's the truth that we need to remind ourselves and

and live in from Samuel Davies has this interesting thought on

repentance because there's there's ways that you can talk

about and kind of twist these words from Peter of like

repentance and baptism being necessary, like rituals or or

conditions to go through for salvation.

And and this is where it gets a little weird because.

It does. They're good there.

There are. There are good things there.

There is power in in repentance. In fact, it's necessary to, to

come to faith, repent and be baptized is is declared and we

do believe there's, there's spiritual outpouring power in

the act of baptism. Absolutely.

But Samuel Davies has this thought on, on both these

things. I'm not, I'm, I'm not, I'm just

trying to frame that. So it's not like necessary.

We don't, we don't have things that are legalistic like that

that we must engage with in order to merit salvation.

It's by grace alone through faith alone and Christ alone.

Like that's, that's what it is. The thief on the cross wasn't

baptized and certainly is in heaven.

That's right, we have we have that juxtaposition too.

But anyway, the question that Samuel Davies answers here is

the question is not shall I repent?

For that is beyond a doubt. But the question is, shall I

repent now when it may save me, or shall I put it off to the

eternal world when my repentance will be my punishment?

Whoa. That's a mic drop, man.

I don't, you know. Yeah, I I didn't.

That's the question and urgency that Peter is.

He didn't say those words. Those aren't Peter's words, but

that's basically the message that Peter repent and be

baptized is repent now. The Kingdom of God is at hand

and hell with fire and brimstone is a real thing like so that's

what Davies is putting out is is there this response to this call

to repent and be baptized now in this life, or is it going to be

taken out of your flesh in eternal hell like that and

that's your repentance? That's it's so, so I saw that

before the sermon and I was just like, man, that is so hard

hitting. I just, I don't know.

I mean, I, I know how I could recover as a public speaker from

saying that, you know, like you can recover with the gospel,

like, but that is so heavy. And that's, and it's such a good

quote. And he's right.

He's right. Like we, we have a choice now,

now or later. It's going to happen one way or

another. And so yeah, I just love that

quote. I think it's great.

But like I. But it brings back the necessity

of the gospel, like you were saying that that weekly this

needs to be in there. If I'm, if I'm telling about

God's word and yes, there's law and gospel, but that's how we we

know we need the gospel because of the heaviness of the law,

right? And so that even goes into kind

of your next point that you talked about yesterday in the

sermon having having that weekly commitment to having the gospel

in there. God's plans are multi

generational. You said like, and that's the

trick of it. That's the trick of even this

proclamatory witness of we don't always see the results and fruit

of that, but we're called to be faithful in declaring it because

because as you, as you pointed out, we don't know.

We don't know the ripple effect. We don't know the all the lives

touched necessarily in that moment or down the road or even

in another lifetime that we're not even going to see.

Maybe there's an individual on Sunday who went home to their

kid and they never came back to church here even, but but went

home to their kids and raised their kids up and they moved

somewhere else and went to a church and their kids had kids

who grew up knowing the truth of Jesus Christ.

Like we God's playing the long game even in and beyond your

life. I think you did a good job of,

of like highlighting that yesterday.

But that's, that's the faithfulness to the gospel that

we're called to because if we hold to that, that's the thing

that has power to move and change lives.

It's not us. So we need to be faithful to the

thing that has the power. So good.

I mean, I just, yeah, it's, it's a as you talk about that man.

And even just, it's such a big deal, you know, when I became a

Christian, as I think most of us, when you're early on, you're

just kind of excited about learning new things and you're

like, man, I feel I feel different now.

And that feels really good. But The thing is, as you grow in

faith and maturity and you, as you examine God's Word and you

let that just kind of settle in and help shape who you are, your

priorities tend to change. And I think that's absolutely

been the case for me and other Christians I know.

And so like, you know, coming upon these verses and seeing

God's multi generational plans that, you know, Peter picks up

on through Joel and through David and through himself and

what's going to happen after him.

And it's just like, man, I, I really think that like I would

love to have a life where even in even like, if it's generation

or two later, like it's, it is OK.

It is OK if, if you don't remember my name, because as

long as like, man, the people who I told Jesus about are still

telling people about Jesus, who still tell people about Jesus.

Like, that's amazing. Like that means that my life

really did have an impact on the world.

And I, I think that's so many of what like I didn't get in, I

didn't have time to talk about this yesterday, but I think it's

an interesting illustrative point.

Like athletes, modern day athletes are always talking

about, oh, legacy, legacy, legacy.

And they're all, you know, I'm going to hit, I'm going to have

this many points and people are going to think about me forever.

And it's like, man, that's so selfish.

Like, so you're saying in your life, what really matters to you

is that, you know, if we go on for another 300 years, people

are still saying, oh, well, that guy 300 years ago who we can

watch footage of, like, Yep, he still has the most points.

Whoop Dee Doo dah. Like that's the big deal for

your entire lifespan. Come on, man.

Like, I love, I love sports as much as anybody, but like,

there's got to be more to life than just hitting home runs and

breaking records, right? Like, what about actually

authentically taking someone's life and by the gospel, turning

them in entirely different direction, which turns their

family tree in entirely different direction?

That's important. That's what I want to do.

That's legacy impact. That's, that's what Peter's

going after here too. Is is generations turning around

this this last days sort of thing that is being prophesied

in Joel. There's power that's moving that

is that is hinting at this being the last days in the Kingdom of

God being at hand, being fulfilled in the Holy Spirit and

the promised Holy Spirit here. And and it's all again, just

pointing back screaming about Jesus that the resurrection,

that the power within that, that he has conquered death, which

again is still I don't, I can't get can't quite put myself in

the mindset that they maybe have.

Like, I feel like with the way just technology and life has

evolved, progressed, been made, been made better.

Like I feel like it's more feasible now maybe for us to

like think that someone could be brought back from the dead.

Does that make sense? Like, oh, like I think that I

think that message would have had a lot more gravity then then

it doesn't. It's still a significant thing

off. We haven't brought anyone back

from the dead. And when we do in science

fiction, they're brought back to zombies.

And it's not the same or or or or or a half person of what they

were. It's not it's not the same

thing. Like I think that's I think

that's the right that we generally landed on in science

fiction is like, even if we bring them back, it's not going

to be the person that it was before.

But so either way, I'm not sure why that pops into my head.

I couldn't. I couldn't.

Let that you're letting the intrusive thoughts win.

Normally that's my deal. That is a bad intrusive thought.

But either way, just just the significance of that.

I think we say it so readily now that he conquered sin and death

in the grave, but that was that was a significant that like

that's crazy. Hey, actually pause for a second

because do you think, do you think we only say that because

we are so often times surrounded by Christians?

If you went and said a phrase like that in like the middle of

Chicago or New York City or any other major metropolitan area

where religion has lost its, you know, coolness and like decades

ago. That would be crazy, yeah.

Like I, I think you know what? And maybe we need to reframe our

stuff because as I was listening to you, I was like, I mean,

sure, I hear that all the time, but I'm a pastor who lives and,

you know, who lives amongst mostly Christians because that's

who we hang out with most of the time.

So like, man, maybe we do just need to do Peter's thing and

just be like, you know what? I'm you don't know this and I'm

going to tell you about. It I'm going to tell you all

about it and I'm going to start at the beginning.

So actually, man, that you know what?

But it starts with the crazy that's.

What I'm saying it starts with the.

Crazy. That would have been a wild that

you're right, it still is a wild thing to declare.

But I know it's interesting that he kind of pushes back on them

thinking that he's crazy by saying a very crazy thing.

So yeah. Yeah, or at least just if not

crazy, of course, because so many of them witnessed it.

Just remarkably difficult to wrap your head around.

But it's also interesting, as much as things change, they also

stay the same. He's speaking to in the rest of

this passage, a corrupt generation that is heading for

disaster. Well, we still have that right.

Like we still, we still feel that in in society that we have

a every generation since then, right?

Has still been corrupt, right? It's still just heading the

wrong way, still needs repentance, replacing the bad

things with God. And yeah, so this invitation

from Peter is, is again, just because of the resurrection,

because of the significance, the craziness that he was able to to

overcome death. This is why, and you repent and

be baptized and enter into this power, You enter into this,

'cause this is now an identity that you are, I mean, you are a

Christian, right? You are now a follower of

Christ, follower of the crazy guy who conquered death and the

grave. And you're embracing Jesus's way

instead casting away the way of the world and embracing Jesus's

way. Yep.

And we, you know, guys, we're not going to do that perfectly.

It's it's not going to work out that way.

But as we faithfully in repentance and through the Holy

Spirit walk with Jesus day in and day out, you are going to

see changes in your life. You know, sometimes you're

probably going to see some people, some new people come in

and you're going to see others probably walk away if you really

stick to this message of the Gospel.

But ultimately, again, like we know that God is in control.

He's even in control of the evil things that happen, as we

clearly learn here in the tension of this text.

But like God's, God's got you. And so I mean, I, I hope that

like coming out of yesterday and even listening today and maybe

other Christian things, you're listening to a reading.

I hope you do want to live like a different life.

I hope you know you want to live kind of a multiplying life where

it's not about you and it's not even necessarily about the next

generation down. It's still thinking very, very

big picture of the way that God thinks because then man, we, we

are potentially capable of doing something really remarkable.

Going back to this this death thing, because Peter also harps

on this. Remember, we're talking about

the word and the Old Testament of the things that he's was

declaring and recounting and and telling them that maybe some of

them had heard in in scriptures or or had this record of the Old

Testament, but David would have still been like major

figurehead. Oh, absolutely.

These people's minds and he goes on and in verses 25 to 2829 to

kind of declare, OK, and this is different.

David died. David is in fact still dead and

this man Jesus is not he's he's set himself apart.

And in fact these words in Psalm 16, which maybe you're familiar

with church or or early Christians, people who don't

know Christ yet. David wasn't in fact talking

about himself. He was talking about the one

that would come, the one that it did come and has risen from the

dead. And so if if you have David, if

you're a person here today who has David on this high pedestal,

well, this Jesus is the greater than it is, is the more than.

So whatever you think about David, readjust your opinion.

And this Jesus guy, he's the one you actually want to go after.

Yeah, it's it's so cool to watch this warrior king, Prophet David

is all of the above. It's interesting to watch him

look at his own life and then continue to look forward and

say, wow, the Lord said to my Lord, by the way, that's Psalm

110 one, and that's not 25. That's, you know, the other spot

in Acts where he's quoting. But but anyway, yeah, his use of

David's life and how David perceives the coming Messiah and

that David can clearly see that man, this life that I'm living,

although it is great in a lot of ways, and God has given me a ton

of responsibility and he's put me over this nation.

Yeah, there's still one bigger and better and more important

because he will save us from there.

Like there's, there's someone bigger coming.

And I get to be a part of that. Like I get to be in that line

because God's God has promised me I'm in that line.

But like, he's still my Lord, and he's coming.

Yeah. So we have just kind of the rest

of that's in Acts chapter 2, verses 34 and 35 that you're

Acts 2:34

talking about there. But Peter is referencing these

familiar words of David, Psalm 16 and Psalm 110.

Just just pointing out he's not talking about it.

Even David, this guy that you have highly exalted and think

well of, he wasn't talking about himself.

He was talking about the one that is to come and now has

come. And I'm here to tell you this is

what happened and and we see the results of that there there was

just by simple proclamation, proclamatory witness that Peter

at this point is not speaking in tongues.

He is not foretelling of of future.

He's just spitting truth balls right like and and this is the

response we see 3000 added to their numbered that were that

were saved that day. It's cool.

It's it's an awesome result. And and this is kind of what we

were talking about last time, though, the wondering if they

acted out of turn. They were told to wait for the

promised Holy Spirit and they were like, OK, but we got a

roster spot to fill. So we got it.

We got to get the 12th guy in here and what that is may have

been fine. They weren't moving with the

spirit at that point. Now the Spirit is poured out,

Peter's inspired, filled with the truth of God's Word.

And oh, my goodness, the Spirit moves right like this.

This is the this kind of supercharged Holy Spirit that

that we've been talking about for the past couple weeks.

This is the result because of Peter's faithfulness, because of

the the prophecy contained within these words, even in his

proclamatory witness here of the truth of God.

And this is the result. God's glorified lives are

changed, eternal, like generations are changed at this

point, right? Because.

Yeah, 3000, that's like. Oh my gosh.

There were probably weren't even 300 Christians at at this point.

Maybe. I think, I think earlier we get

that there's about 120 Jesus followers who are sticking

around after he ascends or after he dies, but we go from 120 to

like around 3000. We're talking 2030 times in a

day. And then just again, we talked

about this yesterday, but imagine just do the multi, just

do the math, do the multiplying. Those 3000 people went home,

told their families, raise their kids this way.

Those then went and you know, again, like we said yesterday,

do the math, it exponentially multiplies.

And here we are 2000 years later and there's billions of people

who have been saved. Why?

Because through God's Holy Spirit, Peter speaks up and

changes the world and others do the same thing inside that first

generation of Christianity. And here we are.

It's so crazy. Think about it.

You know what? I don't think we think about

this enough, but it's really cool.

There's this game called like is I'm going to go off the rails A.

Little bit. Oh boy.

There's this game called 7° of Kevin Bacon, right, Right.

You know the game. Well, for those who don't, it's

it's pretty, it's pretty quick to explain.

Basically, can I get to Kevin Bacon through seven different

people? I know that he might know, that

we might mutually know. And the idea is that everybody

knows Kevin Bacon within 7°. Well, you know what's really

cool though? And I know it's been 2000 years,

but like man, we have a Direct Line to Peter and the apostles

as we proclaim the name of Jesus Christ, as we believe.

Think about it. There's somebody a generation

before us who believed and spoke truth and before them and before

them and before them. And you can walk it all the way

back to Peter in this day. If you believe in Jesus Christ

today, walk yourself right back to Pentecost because you got to

be there. That day affected you today, and

that's a cool thing to think about.

Yeah, that's awesome. That's and that's where we're

going to leave it today. So it's yeah, you recovered well

from the from the earlier. I just needed a moment.

I was sweaty. It was weird.

So no church be encouraged in that the the generations that

have come before you and have passed down, even if it wasn't

in your family directly, there was someone before you that

proclaimed truth and spoke truth into your life.

And here you are on this multi generational plan ready to

ripple effect and and have impact on eternity for

generations to come. You're filled with the same

spirit that that's the power of the spirit that does the

changing. We just have to be faithful to

the word of God in it. So be encouraged in that today.

Thanks for hanging out with us. We'll be back next week with

some more leftovers. See you.