The First Sermon (Acts 2:14-41)

When: April 29, 2001

Why: To show that the Holy Spirit gives us the ability, the boldness, and the message in proclaiming the Gospel.

Text: Acts 2:14-41

Introduction

"Spurgeon's Preacher's College had a tradition of giving students a text right on the spot and having them preach it to Mr. Spurgeon and the staff. On one particular day a student was given the subject of Zacchaeus. The student stood before them and said, 'Zacchaeus was of little stature; so am I. Zacchaeus was up a tree; so am I. Zacchaeus came down; so will I.' And he sat down. Smart man! He probably had a great career." [ Hughes, R. Kent, Preaching the Word: Acts- The Church Afire, (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books) 1998, c1996.]

This morning, we turn our attention to Peter's first sermon. In fact, it is the first sermon of the new Spirit-baptized church of Christ.

It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of people and talk about the most important things in the world- namely one's relationship with God. And the first time one does it, it can be a terrifying experience. The first time I remember preaching a message was at a rescue mission in Chicago when I was a student at Moody Bible Institute. They had this program that everyone was required to be in that was called Practical Christian Work. It was good thing- but it never easy and almost always scary. It changed every semester- a nursing home, teaching Sunday School, release time classes for hardened inner city children . . . and skid row rescue missions.

Our job at this particular rescue mission was to provide an Sunday evangelistic church service before the noontime meal. Our team provided the music- piano and specials- testimonies, sermons, the works. I volunteered first off to be the preacher- just to get it over with. I figured that if I got the hardest thing out to the way, I could cruise the rest of the semester.

That Sunday morning was a cold autumn morning. I remember the blended aroma alcohol, dirty clothes, and delicious hot food cooking. I remember there were about fifty derelicts impatiently waiting for us when we arrived. I remember everyone on our team hurrying to their places. The piano playing. Sitting on stage looking at unshaven faces. But I remember most of all how sweaty my hands were. And how hard my heart was pounding. And how my knees shook when we stood for a hymn.

Finally, I stood to deliver the first sermon I remember ever giving. Let me tell you, Spurgeon I am not. Peter I am not. I remember gripping the podium so hard my knuckles turned white. I remember my voice flutter and stammering. I remember reading all my notes because I kept forgetting what I was talking about. In fact, to this day, I have no recollection what my text was.

But I do remember the alter call! I feared that moment the most. I was taking it altogether to personally. What if no one responded? How would I feel? . . . Then as the final hymn of invitation was sung they began to come. First a couple. Then several more. Then a rush to the stage. Out of fifty gentlemen of the street in attendance, there must have been forty who responded.

I was elated. Praise God! I was a regular Billy Graham! . . . Until I discovered that those who came to the alter got to be the first the dinner line! There they were filing just as quickly toward the chicken and mashed potatoes!

Transition

We would agree, I think, that sharing Christ with others can be a very disconcerting experience. But I believe that the Holy Spirit gives each of us the ability, the boldness, and the message to proclaim the Gospel. Oh, not all us will be preachers. Certainly, none of us will ever be a Peter or a Spurgeon.

But God has given each one of us a mandate, a commission. A mandate or commission is a command, orders from a higher authority. As individuals in Christ, and as His church, we have been given marching orders which have not yet been revoked, repealed or retracted. Like the disciples, we need to fulfill this order. If we don't, we are insubordinate soldiers and disobedient children. And like the disciples, we are powerless to fulfill the commission- without the Holy Spirit's filling and power.

That Pentecost feast day, the Holy Spirit came upon the followers of Christ. He came to stay, as the promise fulfilled. He came to give the followers of Christ the ability, the boldness and the message in effectively proclaiming the Gospel.

Let's examine why this first sermon was so great. And discover principles we can expect the Holy Spirit to activate in our own lives so that we can strive, by His power, to fulfill the mandate we have been given.

The man

Peter was a changed man. We don't need to say much about this truth. It seems to be self-evident. Peter was the one singled out by Jesus as the one who would become the leader. And we know that there were times that he clearly rose to the occasion. But it was also obvious that he could be a blunderer. He seemed to be the most verbal with the biggest mouth. Perhaps that's why he always seemed to be sticking his foot in his mouth. And he was a traitor. He had denied Christ. Not just once, but three times.

Peter helps us to understand that God can, and does, use us all. It doesn't matter our past record, our failures, the compromises that have come into our lives. It doesn't matter if we have done things that we feel are too secret to share with others- as long as we have repented and we have Christ's forgiveness.

In fact, it seems that for Peter failures ultimately just made him more dependent on God. He recognized, confessed and repented of the sin in his life- and he became a vessel the Holy Spirit could fill, change and use. Peter kept his personality. He still was the leader, verbal and quick to act. But now, he was under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God. He was changed and changing.

We must emphasize and fully understand that Peter's effectiveness was not because of Peter; it was the Holy Spirit of God. God would never ask Peter to do or be anything without also providing the resources to do and be that what He wanted Peter to do and be. And He did. As the Holy Spirit- the very essence of the presence of God.

The message

1. Situation-sensitive
1. God had everyone's attention.
1. His children had been obedient, waiting. Now they were filled. There had been the sound of violent rushing wind. The flames scattering to come to rest on the head's of the 120 disciples. The communication- eloquent, clear, understood in each listener's native tongue.
2. 2:12, 13. Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
   Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."
2. Peter responded by addressing their immediate observations and reactions. It was attention getting and relevant.
1. 2:14 15. Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who are in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!
2. Some were genuinely perplexed. Others were mocking. Peter used their reactions as a starting point to establish the truth about and claims of Jesus Christ.
3. Peter didn't deny that this was unusual. He didn't gloss over what was happening. He did, though, eliminate the possibility that they were drunk. "What? Drunk? It's only 9:00 AM! We haven't even had the feast of Pentecost. And we wouldn't get drunk anyway until after the feast!"
3. God still works in our lives to get our attention - beauty of creation, answered prayer, tragic events which, due to our impotence, gives us no place to turn but to God. By His sovereignty, He works in the lives and circumstances of people we know and love- our relatives, our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors- in such a way as to establish bridges into their lives for the proclamation of the Gospel. He is at work getting our attention so that we can fulfill our need- the need of bringing glory to God by fulfilling the mandate that He has given us.
2. Spirit-motivated and empowered
1. "That's fine," you may think, "but I'm not the kind of person who can do that. I'm too timid. I don't know enough. I'd just screw things up. I'd hate to be responsible for someone not understanding the message because I couldn't properly explain the truth. They may go to hell on account of me." (Funny, fuzzy reasoning, isn't it. I've thought that illogical way before. I think maybe you have too. The illogical irony is that people may face a hopeless eternity because someone didn't tell them- not because someone tried and didn't personally feel they did an adequate job.)
2. The fact is that we can't do it. Even for the brightest, most mature Christian, the work is the Holy Spirit's. Without the Holy Spirit, we only offer empty words, devoid of life changing power.
3. Peter made it clear that the Holy Spirit was responsible for what was going on- this was something Spirit-motivated and Spirit-empowered. 2:16, 17. 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.
4. Peter gives complete credit to the Holy Spirit. He knows the Spirit is Jesus' promise and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy. He is establishing that this is a new phase in God's plan for the redemption of His creation. The Messiah was promised. The Messiah has come. The Holy Spirit is given. The church begins. The Messiah will return. Peter identifies that these are the "last days." They begin with the Holy Spirit as cited in Joel's prophesy, and end with the "great and glorious day of the Lord."
5. In the previous phase of God's working in the world, the Holy Spirit had come on God's servants and process for a specific season or task. That's why David prayed, Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me! (Psalm 51:11).
6. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit changed all that. In the Upper Room Jesus had promised a new way, a better way.
1. John 14:16, 17. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
2. John 16:7. ⁷ But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
7. Peter concludes this quote from Joel with the wonderful promise that motivates us in our quest to fulfill the mandate that we have been given: And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (2:21).
3. Scripturally-based
1. It's important to see that Peter freely used Scripture. Peter didn't know he was going to preach today. He hadn't spent extra time in preparation looking up Scripture. It was already a part of his life. His devout Jewish upbringing had familiarized him with the Scripture. In fact, he had, at some point memorized portions of it. And the Holy Spirit brought it back to mind to use at this moment.
2. 2 Timothy 3:16. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
3. Isn't the relationship here exciting? Pentecost. The promised Holy Spirit. The sudden sound of strong blowing wind. Spirit and wind being the same word. God's very breath blowing on them. Scripture- God-breathed.
4. This is why it is important for us to know the Scriptures. This is from the Holy Spirit and He uses it to accomplish His purposes.
1. Some of us feel very inadequate in the Scriptures.
2. This is why we study the Bible. This is why we memorize it in our service. This is why we go to Sunday School- to learn and apply it to our lives. This is why, though we may not know it all now- we make it a lifetime goal to increase in our knowledge and application of the God-breathed Scriptures.
5. The Holy Spirit takes the truth we have heard and stored in our hearts and He uses it as He empowers us in fulfilling the commission we have been given.
4. Christ-centered
1. Peter continues talking about Jesus. What he says in this incredible first sermon is about Christ.
2. In 2:22, Peter states that Jesus was "accredited by God" through His extraordinary signs and miracles. In 2:23, he establishes that it was God's purpose that He was crucified by them. In 2:24, he establishes that He was raised from the dead. In 2:25-28, he uses Scripture to show that this was prophesied and God was fulfilling what He said would happen. In 2:29-32, he establishes that Jesus fulfills all these things, He indeed is risen and they are witnesses to that fact. In 2:33, he explains that Jesus is at seated at the right hand of God the Father and what is happening now is the fulfillment of His promise to send the Holy Spirit. In 2:36, he drives it home with the central truth: Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
3. What people need to hear- those whom God has grabbed their attention- is about Jesus. We have a story to tell. It is a story that has touched our lives. We can tell the truth about Jesus and we can tell how He has touched our lives. We can tell the truth of Him revealed in Scripture. He is both Lord and Christ.
5. Person-relevant
1. 2:37. When the people heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do."
2. When it comes down to it, the Holy Spirit takes the message and applies it right to the heart of the listener. The work of the Spirit is also to convict. And in convicting, He is absolutely relevant to the deepest needs of the sinner.
3. When we meet our need to fulfill the mandate we have been given, the Holy Spirit sovereignly meets the deepest need of those He has brought into our lives- their need for Jesus Messiah-rule in their lives.
6. Response-oriented
1. 2:38 NET. Peter said to them, "Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
2. Peter called for a changed life. He called people to turn directions. If there had been sin, sin no more. And be baptized, showing with a physical sign the inward faith they had in the Messiah.
3. This verse has caused problems for many people. It seems to be saying that repentance and baptism together is what saves you. But when we interpret Scripture we must consider it in the context of Scripture as a whole. John MacArthur notes that ". . . no passage, when correctly interpreted, will teach something contradictory to the rest of Scripture." [MacArthur, John F., Acts: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press) 1996.]
4. And without doubt, Scripture as a whole teaches that we are saved from our sin by placing our faith in Jesus and what He has done for us by dying on the cross for our sin. It is an act of grace on His part, giving us something that we utterly do not deserve. And there is nothing that we could do to earn that gift of salvation.
5. MacArthur: "It is difficult for modern readers to grasp the magnitude of the change facing Peter's Jewish hearers. They were part of a unique community, with a rich cultural and religious history. Despite long years of subjugation to Rome, they were fiercely nationalistic. The nation had rejected Jesus as a blasphemer and executed Him. Now Peter calls on them to turn their back on all that and embrace Jesus as their Messiah.
6. "By calling on each of them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ Peter does not allow for any "secret disciples" (cf. Matt. 10:32–33). Baptism would mark a public break with Judaism and identification with Jesus Christ. Such a drastic public act would help weed out any conversions which were not genuine. In sharp contrast to many modern gospel presentations, Peter made accepting Christ difficult, not easy. By so doing, he followed the example of our Lord Himself (Luke 14:26–33; 18:18–27). Baptism was always in the name of Jesus Christ. That was the crucial identification, and the cost was high for such a confession." [MacArthur, John F., Acts: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press) 1996.]
7. The results? 2:40, 41. ⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
1. What incredible results for a first sermon, the first sermon of the new church!
2. 3,000 people! I've wondered how- and where- they baptized them all. If just the Twelve apostles baptized them, that would mean that they each baptized about 250 people that day.
3. And this wasn't some kind of easy-believism. This wasn't a group of people who knew the shortcut to the dinner line was through the alter call. There were individuals under the conviction of the Holy Spirit placing their faith in the transforming power of Almighty God.

Conclusion

You may not be a Peter. You may not be a Spurgeon. But you are a Bob. You are a Leonard. You are a Carolyn and a Carol. You are (name a number of people's names).

You may not be a Peter or a Spurgeon, but God has given each one of us a mandate, a commission. We do have a command, orders from a higher authority. As individuals in Christ, and as His church, we have been given marching orders which have not yet been revoked, repealed or retracted. Like the disciples, we do need to fulfill this order. If we don't apply ourselves to our marching orders by the Holy Spirit's power and God's grace, we are insubordinate soldiers and disobedient children. And like the disciples, we are powerless to fulfill the commission- without the Holy Spirit's filling and power.

That Pentecost feast day, the Holy Spirit came upon the followers of Christ. He came to stay, as the promise fulfilled. He came to give the followers of Christ the ability, the boldness and the message in effectively proclaiming the Gospel.

Prayer: Father, forgive us for our unbelief, for our lack of faith. Forgive us for clinging to our inhibitions rather than to you. We earnestly pray for you to fill us with your Holy Spirit. We expect you to answer our prayer for it is a prayer made in faith and it is a prayer you long to answer. Holy Spirit, give us a hunger for your Word and an ability through your Holy Spirit's presence to remember it and use it as you lead. Give us boldness that frees us to talk naturally, comfortably, and with conviction about Jesus. As you grabbed peoples' attention at Pentecost, get the attention of those in our lives whom you are leading to yourself. Give us people who are ready to hear and receive. And give us an anointed sense of urgency and need- we need you.