A People Prepared: The Gift of the Spirit

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0:00Okay, so this is week six of our eight-week sermon series on Acts 1 and 2, A People Prepared. We're in the middle of Acts 2, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the preparation through that, and we're unpacking the meaning of this, the impact of this, what it means for us, for them, and what it means for us today. So let's be reminded again about the themes that we've been looking at, drawing out of Acts. These themes really are found throughout the book of Acts.

0:26It's the kingdom of God is our place, it's where we live. The promise of redemption is the story that we are living in, the narrative that we are brought into, and the reign of Christ. Jesus is our present ruler, even though he is exalted and physically not on the earth. He is spiritually with us, and he is reigning and ruling. Now, as far as we're almost finished with Acts 1 and 2, we're going to have a one-week break. Next week is our last sermon for this series. We're going to have one-week break, and then I'm going to preach a little bit more in Acts for just a few weeks, and then we're going to have a special Advent sermon series after that. So just a little update. Okay, so like I promised, I've got a lot of distinct memories about visiting the dentist when I was a kid. Going to the dentist is never something that kids like to do, right? It's not something that adults like to do. Some adults avoid it when they shouldn't. My dentist when I was a kid, there was a carrot, and the carrot was this big treasure chest that was at the end of the hallway outside of the examination rooms where you would go and you'd open it up, and there was all these like dime store little toys, trinkets and things, the kind of things that you would give out to friends of your kids at a kid's birthday party or something. And the reward for getting through the visit was going to that treasure chest and opening it up and picking through and finding something that you wanted. Well, one particular dentist visit, I think I was about eight. I don't remember how old

2:19I was, but I do remember that I really did not want to be there. I had made up my mind I was going to make this the worst experience I could for the dentist, and I was going to be the most uncooperative I possibly could because I just did not. I was unhappy that I was at the dentist. I did not want to be there. And I succeeded in my ambition. I wouldn't open my mouth. I kept turning away from the dentist. I wouldn't do anything that he said. I wouldn't do anything the hygienist wanted me to do. I wouldn't let them inspect or floss or clean or do anything. I was a real pill, let me tell you. I was a pill.

3:07And finally, the dentist gave up. He called my mom in from the waiting room. And he said to him, he said to her, I can't do this. Like, I can't work under these conditions, basically. You're going to have to bring him back when he's willing to cooperate. I so remember that moment. And I was a little shocked, to be honest. Like, my plan worked. It worked. I can't believe it actually worked. Kids, please don't do this. Okay? This is not an endorsement.

3:49I could tell that the dentist and the hygienist were really frustrated. They were, I mean, wouldn't you be? I would be if I had a kid like me and I was a dentist. But I could certainly see that my mom was livid. My mom was madder. She was mad as a hornet. Madder than both the dentists and the hygienists put together. She was, I see some moms nodding their head. She was so angry. But then what did I do? When we were left to that room, back towards the waiting room, I veered over, right over to the treasure chest. And I opened that thing up, started rummaging around. Boy, I thought my mom was already mad. When she saw me do that, she was just incredulous with anger. You think, you think you're getting a reward after you acted today? I, I was either really bold or just really stupid or both. It hadn't even occurred to me. That was not part of my plan. I'm going to be bad. And then I'm going to go over to the treasure chest just to show them. It didn't even occur to me. I just walked right over. Oh boy, that was not a fun car ride home. My mom was laid into me. She was so mad.

5:25You think, how could you think you were going to get a reward after you acted today? And she was right. You know, we don't like giving gifts to the undeserving, do we? Especially the people who have hurt us or wronged us or embarrassed us like I did to my mom or inconvenienced us like I did to my mom. I can think of times when I had a gift for someone, maybe it was their birthday or something, but before they, I, before I could give it to them, they did something mean to me or something that ticked me off. Now I wasn't too excited to give them that gift anymore. There's a part of us that thinks that gifts are for the deserving. On some level you have to deserve it just, even just a little bit, even if it's your birthday. And then in our stubbornness and our pride and our stinginess, we are confronted with the amazing grace of God who gives gifts to the absolutely undeserving, to people who did way worse than what I did in the dentist chair, way worse. People who had utterly rejected him. He turns around and he offers them a gift. He opens up that treasure chest and he gives them a gift. This is about the grace of God today. Peter had just preached a sermon to people in Jerusalem saying, this is my little recap for the last few weeks. He preached a sermon to people in Jerusalem saying, this Jesus that you crucified is now both Lord and Christ. That's the one sentence summary of his sermon. What you're seeing here, the Holy Spirit being poured out, this proves that the one that you crucified is both Lord and Christ. And then Peter turns right around and offers

7:32them a gift. How amazing. How astounding. Let's turn to Acts 2 and let's see what happens here. Amen. This is the word of God for us today. It comes to you with God's authority and it comes to you with God's offer of mercy, forgiveness, new life. Do you have ears to hear? If you don't pray for them, ask God to open up your ears, to soften your heart. Let's all do that together. Let's come with humble hearts, with open ears, asking God to work and be at work in us because he comes to us now.

8:17Confronting us with his word. Confronting us with his word. Encouraging us with his word. Starting in verse 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, 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 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.

9:12So those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. Let's pray. Lord God, come to us again. Condescends to us, Lord. We are ordinary people, clay vessels. Lord, we have nothing to offer you that would impress you. We come to you open-handed with need, Lord, and we ask you please to fill it. Fill it now by the word going forth, Lord, in the power of your spirit. Going forth to change us, to renew us, to sanctify us, Lord. Bring us into conformity with your word. Help us to hear it and respond. Do amazing new work in us that we, if it's beyond what we ask or imagine. Work that glorifies you, work that is for our good.

10:10And Lord, please remember us in our weakness. And we know that you do. Come to us now. Give us, each one of us in this room, exactly what we need. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The gift of the Spirit. We talked about the power of the Spirit, the source of the Spirit, the sign of the Spirit. Now here's the gift of the Spirit. I want to be clear as we start. Put it out of your mind that this passage is for people out there and not for people in here. The truths of this passage is for every person, okay? This tells us about becoming a Christian and being a Christian, both.

11:08For coming into the kingdom and for living in the kingdom. This passage opens up to us and reveals to us the fundamental dynamic of a healthy relationship with God. What is at the heart of a relationship with God? How does it begin? How does it continue? How does it flourish? We see it here in this passage. Okay, so I've got two sections for us today. How we receive the gift and what the gift includes. So first thing, how do we receive this gift? According to Peter, the first step is this, repent. Repent. His sermon had one main point. The supernatural event at Pentecost of the Holy Spirit being poured out shows that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. Lord, He is fully God. Christ, He is the deliverer, the promised Savior. And it's the same Jesus that the people in the crowd knew of, had met, had seen work miracles. The same Jesus that they had demanded that Pilate crucify. He is both Lord and Christ. When they heard this, they were listening and they react. They were cut to the heart.

12:23They were convicted. Their guilt has been, has hit home. This is a good sign. This is not a self-esteem problem. This is a good sign. It isn't popular to say this, but feeling guilty is the healthy response after doing something wrong. That's the way it's supposed to work. We were made in God's image. That means He gave us a conscience, a moral compass to discern right from wrong. But that conscience can become seared. If we sin persistently, we will feel less and less guilty. The Bible tells us that and our own experience tells us that. Jesus said that one thing the Spirit would do, it would bring conviction for sin for wrongdoing. Did you know this? Look at what Jesus said. He's talking about the Holy Spirit here. He said, the next slide. He said, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit is not there only for the good feelings in you, that warm, fuzzy feeling. The Holy Spirit also comes to bring conviction of sin.

13:59If you feel conviction of sin, that's a good sign. The Holy Spirit can unsear a conscience and can make someone who has never before felt convicted about the wrongdoing feel convicted. That's what he does. The Spirit has done that here in Acts 2. I don't know whether these people were convicted about demanding Jesus, an innocent man, be crucified before this moment. But they are now. The Holy Spirit is moving and working among them. They're cut to the heart. But pay attention to this. Conviction alone is not enough. If it were, Peter would not say what he does in verse 38. The people ask, brothers, what shall we do? And Peter does not say, now you're good. You don't have to do anything. No, what does he say?

14:56Repent. Conviction is just the beginning. Repent. Now that is a charged word, right? It has baggage. It's triggering. Maybe for some of you more than others. When most people hear someone say repent, a Christian say repent, someone standing up like me, standing up here in a pulpit, saying repent, the first thought is something along this line, oh, you think you're better than me? And sometimes that's true. Sometimes it's true that people who say repent are doing it out of self-righteousness.

15:47Listen, we don't have to concern ourselves right here and right now with all of the intent and motives of other people when they say repent, okay? Because the command to repent comes to you from God. And he is better than you. And he's better than me. So let's understand what God means when he says repent. Forget about what people might mean, what's going on in their heart and their minds. Let's just think about what God means. Let's hear now why we need to repent and how we should respond to it.

16:23In the kingdom of God, the call to repent is the very first thing. It's an invitation to turn around. The Greek word translated repent literally means a change of mind. But it's not just form a new opinion. It's not like I used to hate pistachio ice cream and now I like it. It's not that kind of change of mind. It means change your mind so thoroughly that it changes your direction. Change your mind so thoroughly that it changes your direction. But repentance is not just like making a U-turn in your car or clicking undo on your computer. Peter calls the people to repent for your sins, he says. Repent of your sins. Sin is not a mere mistake. It's not like turning right when you meant to go left. Sin is not even a violation of some written code out there.

17:28Sins are moral offenses against a personal God. Moral offenses against a personal God. For Peter's audience, their particular sin was clear. It was obvious. He named it. You sent Jesus to be crucified. What about us? We weren't there. We didn't do that. We might say, okay, that's their problem. I didn't do that. Well, be careful because we weren't in Jerusalem at that time, but we are just as culpable as they are. To understand the extent of our sin and why God tells us to repent, all of us, not just these people in Jerusalem, we need to ask this, what does God deserve? What do you think God deserves?

18:26I'm here to tell you, God is great, greater than we can fathom. He is mighty. He is holy, far holier than we even can understand, and glorious beyond comprehension. Now, many people, many people on earth would say that. They would say, yeah, I agree. There is a God and He's great. He's greater than I am. But they say it talking about like a great restaurant. Yeah, that restaurant has got outstanding service and food. I just don't feel like going there. It's great in theory, but I don't want to go there tonight or maybe ever. Here's the thing. God is not worthy of our devotion in theory, but in practice. He is owed our devotion. He is owed it. It's not just if you want to give it, then that He's the right person that should get it. He is owed it. An infinitely glorious God deserves every single drop of our praise and our allegiance. All of it. This is why He commands us to love Him with all of our heart and all of our mind and all of our spirit and all of our strength.

20:00All of it, God says, it's all mine. I deserve all of it. And He says it, and He's not lying. He's not being selfish. He's not being arrogant. He is telling the truth. It is all mine, He says. It is not a suggestion. To give Him anything less than He deserves or to give any part of it to another, that's what sin is. And so none of us give God what He deserves, right? Is there a person here now who can raise their hand and say, yes, I think that I've done it. Not me. Not me.

20:44We regularly resist His will, ignore His commands. We don't love Him with our whole selves. And we haven't even gotten to the part about loving our neighbor as ourselves. Because we don't do that either, do we? The weight of our sin is not measured by what other people have done. And at least I didn't do that. The weight of our sin is not based on or measured on how much of it gets exposed to other people. The weight of our sin is not even determined based on how much it hurts people.

21:20The weight of our sin is measured by the glory of God. And according to that, we have all rebelled. We have all rejected Him. And this is not the cool kind of rebellion. This is the wicked kind.

21:38We were not born innocent. We were born as God's enemies. Our natural state is saying, God, I want to be ruler instead of you. It doesn't matter how put together your life is or how nice you are to other people. That's the natural state of your heart. I want to rule God. That's why we must repent. This is an urgent matter. This is why Peter continued to exhort them, saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation. He's not talking about the people of the ancient Near East.

22:14He's talking about everyone in the present age who believes that they can ignore God or pay Him lip service and get away with it. God will not be mocked. He will judge on the day of the Lord.

22:34Now listen, we flinch and we bristle in equal measures when we're told to repent, either because we suspect the motives of the person saying it aren't good and aren't holy, or because we just don't like to hear that. We flinch and we bristle when we hear repent, but we shouldn't. And I'm about to tell you why. Because the word repent coming to you in the name of Jesus is the first crack of daylight in this bleak picture of our sin. It's the very first ray of sunshine into your life. Because the call repentance means that salvation isn't here. Salvation is coming. This is God's invitation to life. It's the beginning of the good news. You know, there was always bad news. There didn't have to be any good news. But because of the grace of God, there is good news. And it comes to you whenever someone says to you, in the name of Jesus, repent. That is the first ray of sunshine, the first crack, shining light into the darkness.

23:59We shouldn't bristle when we hear repent. We ought to rejoice. We ought to say, hallelujah, thank you, that I can repent. That the Lord would allow me to repent. Were it not for his grace and his mercy, there would be no call to repentance. Grace is available. That's what it means. That's how you should feel when you hear the word repent. That's how you should feel when it comes to you from the pages of scripture. That's how it feels when it should come to you from me standing here in the pulpit. That's how it should feel when a brother or sister in Christ comes to you and says, I'm here to call you to repentance. Let your response be, hallelujah, Lord. That you have, by your grace, allowed me to repent and turn away from my sin and turn towards you. This is evidence of your grace.

25:09When we minimize our sin or excuse it or blame others or close our ears when we hear the word repent, we are diminishing the joy of our salvation, friends. Repentance is taking the path that our flesh resists, the path of life that only God has opened up. It's responding to the spirit's conviction by acknowledging our sin with remorse, with sorrow, and turning away from it and turning towards God. Repent. It's good news. And here's the second thing. Step one is repent. Step two is make that repentance visible. Peter says, be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ.

26:04This is a declaration of faith. The name of Jesus is significant because he is the object of our faith. It's not faith in ourselves. We're not baptized in our name. We don't take a pledge for our own steadfastness and courage and willpower. It's him. He is the object of our salvation. He is the one that we are now aligned with and submitted to. We must admit, I need a substitute and Jesus is that substitute. He is my savior. Faith in him is the compliment to repentance. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. There is no true repentance without faith in Jesus, and there is no true faith in Jesus without repentance. Now, repentance and faith can be present without baptism. The thief on the cross proved that to us. He wasn't baptized, but Jesus assured him, today you'll be with me in paradise. So why does Peter mention baptism here? Well, for the people that he's talking to, this is an outward sign of an inward change. It's a sign and a seal of the covenant of grace of God's saving initiative, the one who came with the message of repentance, the one who made that repentance fruitful. Baptism makes our new identity visible. It's saying, I'm one of God's people. I'm part of his community. Listen, people should be able to tell that you are changed, that you are repentant, right?

27:50This is not merely an inward thing. Me and God know that I'm repentant. The thief on the cross wasn't baptized, but I tell you the truth, he demonstrated repentance because he rebuked the other thief that was reviling Jesus. And he pleaded to Jesus and said, Jesus, remember me. That was his outward fruit that showed that he was truly repentant. He demonstrated change. What about you, friends? How are you demonstrating lately, recently, this week, that you are repentant, that you were living in repentance? Peter says, this is for every one of you. There's no exceptions. There's no passes given just because you're near someone who repents. We all must repent and show signs that this repentance is happening in our life. A healthy tree bears fruit. This is how life with God begins, and this is how it continues. When Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, the very first thesis said this. When the Lord and Master Jesus Christ said repent, he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance. He wrote that because the church had forgotten, let us never forget, let us never forget that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance. Don't let repentance be a dirty word in your ears. It is a good word. It is a word of grace for you. Now let me talk about what the gift includes. This section is shorter. The first thing that this gift includes is peace with God. Peter's key word here is forgiveness. What you receive when you put your

30:09trust in Christ, when you repent of your sins, it's not a piece of paper saying that your record has been expunged. It is reconciliation with your with your creator, with your father, with the one who formed you and who holds all of your days. Once we were alienated from him and all we could expect is his wrath and judgment, which is what we deserved. But now in Christ, our sins are not held against us. This is remarkable news for us. And think about how it felt to these people that Peter was talking to.

30:44This is grace at the highest level. Fifty three days earlier, they had shouted to Pilate, let him be crucified. Pilate washed his hands and he said, I am innocent of this man's blood. See to it yourselves. And the scriptures tell us all the people answered his blood be on us and on our children. But now look at what Peter tells them. The promise is for you and for your children. They took responsibility for Christ's blood and Peter's offers offers them the promise of forgiveness in his blood. That is amazing. And he's calling them back way back to when God said to Abraham, I will establish my covenant, an eternal covenant to be with, to be God to you, God to you and to your offspring after you. To be God to you and to your offspring. That's the promise.

31:53That's the good news. Peace with God. That's the gift. And it's for everyone whom the Lord, our God calls to himself. You're not being called in and invited to a book, to a mission statement or a philosophy. This is reconciliation. A living relationship with the living God. Listen, if you have not done this, if you don't have this relationship in your life, the relationship with God, I know there is a part of you that wants it, that feels the estrangement and wants to resolve it. Nothing that you can do, no amount of pleasure on this earth, no amount of accomplishments on this earth will ever make that feeling go away. That feeling of, I am distant and estranged and not in good standing with the one who made me. The one who made everything. You can't make that feeling go away with pleasure, with accomplishments, but you can be reconciled to God through Christ. And if you have this relationship, please remember, this is the most important relationship in your life. The relationship you have with your spouse, with your kids, with your friends, with yourself, none of those are as important. And this gift includes new life. Peter says you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

33:493,000 people here are saved in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. And what's interesting is that there's no mention of them speaking in foreign languages. In fact, Acts doesn't even mention the whole speaking of foreign languages much past this, even though the Holy Spirit comes time after time. The gift of the Holy Spirit, it's not so much about some supernatural ability like a superpower. The primary gift of the Holy Spirit is spiritual rebirth, to be born again. This is not just a fresh start. This is the beginning of a whole new self, made in the image of Christ and alive in Christ because of his resurrection.

34:41If that has happened to you, then the age to come, the one that I talked about a couple weeks ago, that the Spirit being poured out signifies the age to come that has now come in this present age, that new age has begun not just around you, but also in you, in your innermost being. This is what it means to be indwelt with the Holy Spirit and joined to the risen Christ. Eternal life is not a prize that we are waiting for someday. It has begun now. I believe this because I, because God tells us and I believe him. I believe it because I see it and because I have experienced it every day, every week, every month. I experienced that wrestling match that I know you do too, between the old self and the new self.

35:42But the fact that that wrestling match is happening means that the Spirit is working. And the fact that as time goes on, the new self begins to win more of those matches means that the Spirit has victory and has more power than my old self. This is the new life I'm talking about. I don't have enough time to give God glory and credit for all the ways that he has brought new life in me. Me, a very ordinary person, full of sin. He has brought things strange and foreign to this person. Things that are not part of my natural self. Who else can I credit but God when I ever put someone ahead of me? Who else is that but God, right? Who else is it but God when I hold my tongue when I get angry? What else is it but the Spirit when I admit my sin and I repent and I come to him?

36:51When I bear a burden without complaining? I know that's not me because the me I was born with would complain every time or would demand that people notice or something. If it weren't for the Spirit, I wouldn't resist temptation. I wouldn't speak truth and love. I wouldn't ever delight in God or listen to him or turn from the many idols that I tend to chase after. Oh, and there are so many things that I, that's in me that still need to be reformed and renewed. The list is long. I don't have time for that either. But even there, even for those things, I have hope. Not because of my flesh, but because of the Spirit that brings new life. Because I trust that he who began a good work in me will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.

37:55If the Spirit is in you, then you have that same hope. This new life has begun. Don't ever think that you will always be a prisoner to whatever it tempts you, that you will always give in. There is hope for change. Don't ever think that these character defects that you know in yourself and you know so well that that's just who I am. No, Christian, don't say that. Look at Christ and remember the Spirit who is bringing alive in you the new self.

38:34This is the gift of the Holy Spirit in you. Keep praying, keep at it, keep following and believe that the Spirit, he who dwells in you, is stronger than he who is in the world and stronger than your old self. This promise, Peter says, is for all who are far off. Not just geographically far off, but those who appear to our eyes to be really far away from the kingdom of God. This is good news to people who might be considered unsavable, lost causes. The gospel calls to them saying, you too can receive this gift. Your life can become new. Do not limit the power of God. No one is beyond his reach. Not these people in Jerusalem. Not our neighbors. Not our family. Not even you and me.