Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/callanish/sermons/77901/peters-sermon-on-the-day-of-pentecost/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Your altar service this evening as we continue our worship of God on this day.! Thankful for his blessings to us through his word and by his spirit.! We're going to continue our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 95 in the Scottish Psalter. [0:16] Psalm 95. If you have the blue psalm books, it's page 357. We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 6. [0:27] O come, let us sing to the Lord. Come, let us, everyone, a joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation. Let us before his presence come with praise and thankful voice. Let us sing psalms to him with grace and make a joyful noise. [0:43] We'll sing from verse 1 to 6 to God's praise. O come, let us sing to the Lord. Come, let us, everyone, a joyful noise make to the rock. [1:13] Of our salvation. Let us before his presence come with grace and thankful voice. [1:37] Let us before his presence come with grace and make a joyful noise. Let us sing to him with grace and make a joyful noise. [1:55] Oh, let us sing to the Lord. Oh, let us sing to the Lord. The Lamb is king, above all Christ he is. [2:12] Yet on the earth, high in his hand, the strength of his is. [2:27] To whom the Savior see belongs, for he will save him away. [2:46] The dry love knows, so from his hands, it's for us worship him. [3:02] O come, now let us worship him, let us are jive with awe. [3:19] And God will reach before the Lord, and be in the righteous love. [3:35] Amen. Come, everyone, you say to us, to make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. [4:11] We thank you that our praise anew this evening is offered up to that rock. He was our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who came for sinners such as we are. [4:22] And as we sing through this psalm, we realise whose presence we are coming into. And we pray that that would humble us. To recognise that we call upon a God who is above all gods. [4:36] One who is the creator of the heavens and earth, and all that we see around us. One who has made all things for his glory. One who made us in your image. [4:48] And we thank you that as we come, we do so. Acknowledging these things. And thankful for who you are. For it reminds us that you have power over all things. [4:59] That the things that you made for you, they are in your hands. That we are in your hands. That it is in and through you that we live, move, and have our very being. And we acknowledge our dependence upon you too. [5:12] And the psalmist says that as we come in worship, we come on our knees before the Lord, our maker, to fall. And so humble us before you and you this evening. [5:23] Recognising, helping us to recognise that dependence upon you. That we have nothing in and of ourselves. That when we trust in you, that you give us assurance of all things. [5:37] Even as we reflected on this morning together. As we thought of the woman of Samaria. And how her life was so transformed. In meeting with Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. [5:50] We pray anew this evening that our lives will continue to be transformed. For that is your work in us. As we go on in this life. Our sanctification. [6:01] That we continue to be transformed by you. And made more like you. And although we so often feel that we are far from you. [6:11] We thank you that by your grace you draw us near to yourself. That you remind us that your everlasting arms are underneath to uphold us and to keep us. [6:23] And so help us to worship you in spirit and in truth this evening. That all we would do, we would do to your glory. The singing of your praise. The reading of your word. [6:34] Our prayers as we offer them up. Spoken and in the silence of our hearts. And as we come to meditate on your word. That you would guide us through it. And encourage us by it. [6:45] As we go into the week ahead, Lord. That we would be able to take your word with us. To apply it to our homes, our families and our everyday situations. That we would remember that you are God and there is no other. [6:58] And that we have that great hope in Jesus Christ. Help us to be your witnesses for Jesus. Help us to be that salt and light to all around us. [7:09] And that we would see your spirit working. So hear our prayers. Continue with us. And pardon us in all our sins. And as we ask all these things. In Jesus name. Amen. [7:24] We're going to sing again to God's praise. This time in Psalm 67. The first version of the Psalm. Page 300 of the Psalm books. The blue Psalm books. [7:36] The first version of Psalm 67. Psalm 67 is really a prayer. A prayer in itself. So that even as we sing these words. [7:48] It's really a prayer we're offering up to the Lord. That the Lord would indeed bless and pity us. Shine on us with thy face. That the earth thy way and nations all may know thy saving grace. [7:59] Let people praise thee Lord. Let people all thee praise. Oh let the nations be glad in songs that their voices raise. We'll sing the whole of this Psalm to God's praise. [8:12] For blessed are the nations. Shine on us with thy face. [8:26] Let people all thee praise. [8:40] Let people praise thee Lord. Let people all thee praise. [8:54] O where the nations give us In songs their voices raise Of justly people drag On earth, O nations, all Let people praise Thee, Lord, let them Praise Thee, Lord, with none small The earth, the fruit, shall yield Our God, God, let Him stand God, shall His best men [9:57] Shall live here And to earth, the most Well, we'll turn to read together God's word in the book of Acts, the Acts of the Apostles. We're going to read in chapter 2, taking up our reading at verse 14. [10:22] Acts chapter 2, taking up our reading at verse 14. We're going to read down to verse 42. [10:33] So as we take up our reading here in the second half of chapter 2, we already see in the beginning of this book how Jesus ascended up into heaven and how they were instructed to wait upon the Lord, to wait upon the comfort of the Holy Spirit coming. [10:56] And then that's what we have at the beginning of chapter 2, the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out. And then we take up our reading at verse 14, where Peter stands up in the midst of the crowd here then to proclaim to them what had just happened and what they were to do. [11:16] Acts chapter 2 at verse 14, let's hear the word of God. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words. [11:35] For these are not drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, and it shall come to pass in the last days, sayeth God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. [11:52] And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And all my servants and all my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. [12:08] And I will show wonders in heaven and above, and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come. [12:24] And it shall come to pass that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. [12:45] Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. And God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. [13:04] For David speaketh concerning him. I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. [13:14] Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. [13:31] Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy with my countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. [13:50] Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. [14:02] He, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that this soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. [14:14] This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. [14:33] For David is not ascended into the heavens. But he saith himself, Thy Lord, said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. [14:45] Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? [15:05] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. [15:17] For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. [15:34] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day were added unto them about three thousand souls. And so on. [15:44] May God bless that reading from his word. I will again engage in a word of prayer. Let's bow heads in prayer. Amen. Our Father in heaven, as we continue with your word open before us, we thank you for the very fact that we do have it. [16:05] And the word that we have been reading of here in the book of Acts, remind us just how it came to be, that through the pouring out of your spirit, through that day in Jerusalem, that day of Pentecost, when the spirit was poured out upon the church, and when your people began to proclaim the wonder of the gospel, beginning in Jerusalem and to Judea, and to all the ends of the earth, the word of God has gone forth. [16:34] And so we thank you that today, as we are gathered here, that this is where your word has come to us from. But above all, it has come from yourself, from your hand, from your will, and by your providence. [16:48] So that as we are gathered here today, we are gathered with that same desire and longing of your people of old, who gather together in prayer, awaiting you to come into their midst. [17:03] And we thank you that we have the promise of the Holy Spirit with us, even today, that when we are gathered in your name, that we have the promise of the Spirit in our midst. [17:14] And so help us to know that power with us and in us today. Help us to know it, not just for this moment together in worship, but as we go from here, and as we go into the week ahead, and in all our days, that we would know that your power dwells within us, through faith in Jesus Christ. [17:35] And we thank you that it is your Spirit that opens hearts to receive, and ears to hear. And we pray that we would all have that, even anew this evening, that you would help us to hear, and to receive, and to understand your word to us. [17:51] For it is a powerful word. And we thank you that we have that privilege of hearing it, as we have a privilege of being in a community, where it has been loved, and shared, and known for a generation. [18:07] And where we see, Lord, maybe a decline in our day, we thank you that your Spirit is still powerful, and active to work. And that is our longing, and as we sang in Psalm 67, the Lord, to bless and pity us, to shine on us with your face. [18:24] That we would know your power, in our midst in that way. bringing people to a knowledge of you, to a salvation found in Jesus Christ alone. And we thank you for every endeavour of the Gospel, as it goes out. [18:38] We thank you, even in our own communities, how we see and hear, of the different ways that your Gospel is proclaimed. We think of the busyness of this month, and so many different ways, of conferences going on, of the faith mission visiting, of people gathering, for praise and worship of you. [19:00] And we thank you for that, that there is that hunger. We thank you for the faith mission, as they visit, in Kinloch at this time. Thank you for the week they've already had, and pray for the week ahead of them. [19:13] And the many who gather there in the tent, evening by evening, hearing your word, and praising your name, we pray for a real pouring out of a blessing upon, all who come in, and go out from there. [19:25] We thank you for those, who come to deliver conferences, in their midst as well. We think of the Christian conference, coming up soon. We pray for that weekend, and for the speaker who will come. [19:39] We ask that you would bless them, encourage them, strengthen them, and use them Lord, in these days in their midst, to encourage, and to build up, people in their faith. [19:50] We thank you too, for the Presbyterian Praise Night, on Friday evening, for the many who gathered there, to sing praise to you. We rejoice in that, that we are able to, to sing praises to you, as our Lord, and as our God. [20:04] And we pray that, that spirit of praise, will go out, and continue with us, day by day, and week by week. That we your people, gather in your name, that they will delight, to sing praise to you. [20:17] And we do thank you, Lord, for communion, season as well. We thank you, for the blessings, that have been enjoyed, in the past, through these times. And Lord, we recognize, that communion, is not confined, to any one day, or one time. [20:33] But that we are to be, in communion with you, all days, and at all times. That we would have, that fellowship, among your people. That we would have, that encouragement, towards one another. Even as we remember, all that the Lord, has done for us. [20:47] Every Lord's day, we come, in the name of our Lord, and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the one who is risen, the one who ascended, into heaven, and the one, who will come again. [20:59] And we thank you, that all these things, are fulfilled, because he came, to go the way, of the cross, to lay down his life, for his people. And so help us, to always be, in remembrance, of these things, and to live our lives, accordingly. [21:13] Not just in the fact, that he has been, but indeed, that he will come again. And we do not know, the hour or the moment, that that will be. And may that, encourage us, and strengthen us, as well as convict us, and challenge us. [21:28] We thank you Lord, for this congregation, of your people here, to pray for them, in this time of vacancy, that you will lead them, and shepherd them, as your people. [21:38] We thank you, for that promise, that you are with them. And when we know that, Lord, we know that, we have all we need, in your presence with us. But we do pray Lord, that you will prepare, one to come, and be their minister. [21:52] We thank you for, Reverend Thomas Davis, and his role, as interim moderator. We pray for him, in his own congregation, next door in Carloway, and in all the other aspects, of his ministry, and work, throughout the denomination. [22:07] We pray that you will be, his help, and his strength, and that you will be able, to guide the people here, throughout these days, to know your will, and to delight in that. We do pray for, every home, and family here. [22:20] We just ask your blessing, on this community. We thank you for, the power of the gospel, that covers, your people, with your presence. And that is also able, to reach out, to the lost. [22:33] And we pray, that we would see, that power evidenced, young and old alike. We thank you for, all the young people, who are here, this morning, and here this evening, as well. [22:44] We do pray, for that generation, coming up. That they would know, days of your grace, and your mercy, and your peace. So we ask, Lord, that you will continue, with us, in all of these things. [22:55] That you would guide us, in our worship this evening, and help us, as we return to your word, and open it up, to know, your help, your guidance, in it. Hear our prayers. [23:05] Continue with us, and pardon us, in all our sins, as we ask all these things, in Jesus name. Amen. Before we turn back, to look at this passage, we'll sing again, to God's place, the words of Psalm 16, page 216, of the Blue Psalm books, Psalm 16. [23:27] And we're going to sing, from verse 7, down to the end, of the Psalm. And these are words, that are quoted, here in the book of Acts, chapter 2, in verse 25, of Acts chapter 2, it speaks of David, concerning what he saw, the Lord always, before my face, for he is at my right hand, while we see, these words are quoted, from Psalm 16. [23:52] And I bless the Lord, because he doth, by counsel me conduct, and in the seasons, of the night, my reins, do me instruct. Before me still, the Lord I said, sith it is so, that he doth ever stand, at my right hand, I shall not move it be. [24:09] We'll sing from verse 7, to the end of the Psalm, to God's praise. I bless the Lord, because he doth, by counsel me conduct, and in the seasons, of the night, my sins, to me in the sun. [24:44] Before me still the Lord has said, save this soul the king has ever done. [25:02] God's mighty life done. God's job are good to him. Because of this my heart is not a joy shall be expressed. [25:27] In my Lord beyond my gracious God with his rest. [25:43] Because my soul in will shall not be left by thee. [25:56] Nor will the kingdom thine holy one God love shall to sing. [26:11] Of will be show the path of life of Christ's is will door before the days shall die! [26:32] I die of the church ever born. Lord we can turn back to our reading in the book of Acts chapter 2 and we're going to look here at Peter's sermon beginning at verse 14 and running down to verse 40. [27:04] Peter's sermon here in Acts chapter 2 is on the day of Pentecost and maybe you are aware that today is actually the day of Pentecost in the sense of Pentecost being remembered as seven weeks after Easter Sunday so today marks a remembrance of the day of Pentecost and the day of Pentecost was of course when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church so Jesus had come into the world he had been crucified he had been buried and then on the third day he rose and 40 days after that he ascended up into heaven and then 50 days after he rose from the grave it was the day of the Spirit being poured out upon the church and here as we look at chapter 2 of Acts we find Peter in verse 14 standing up in the day of [28:04] Pentecost and proclaiming this message to the people now when we see and hear speeches today they come in a variety of different forms we can think of different occasions and different places that we hear speeches for example wedding speeches sometimes they make you laugh sometimes they make you cry sometimes they make you cringe they come in all different kinds of forms political speeches sometimes they make you sit up and take note other times they make you switch off and go to sleep but there are some speeches some speeches given that kind of remain with people for a long time afterwards powerful moments in the history of people where someone has taken the time to stand up very often in the midst of maybe a difficult situation and spoke in some powerful words [29:07] Martin Luther King in America of course spoke about the dream that he had and it was a powerful speech that in many ways was impacting America still to this day these words that he spoke our own nation during the second world wars Winston Churchill has many different recordings speeches that he made and the words that he used to encourage and to strengthen people in the midst of adversity two of the times that he spoke he said something like this we shall fight on the beaches we shall fight on the landing grounds we shall fight in the fields and in the streets we shall fight in the hills we shall never surrender he was there encouraging the people another occasion he said let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its common worth lasts for a thousand years men will say this was their finest hour he spoke so many different ways to encourage people to inspire people and powerful speeches can do that but the greatest speeches of all are the speeches where the [30:23] Lord is at the heart of it and here it's not just a speech we're looking at here of Peter he stands up to speak in their midst but it's more than a speech it's a sermon it's a sermon to the people as they were gathered here on the day of Pentecost following the spirit of God being poured out upon them and people were asking questions they were wondering what does all this mean what's it all about they had so many different ways of looking at it you see in verse 13 it says others mocking said these men are full of new wine in verse 12 they're talking about doubt what does this mean so there's all these kinds of questions going on here in the day of Pentecost there was amazement there was wonder but there was questions there was doubts there was mocking and that is where Peter that is the situation and setting in which he stands up they were waiting for this because the [31:31] Lord had instructed them in chapter one of Acts to wait until this day would come but then when it came it was a real awakening for the people and here from here the gospel then spread out to all ends of the earth ask yourself a question when did you hear the gospel for the first time who was it that maybe spoke to you of the gospel may have been a parent may have been a teacher or a Sunday school teacher that you can remember just speaking to you about the gospel someone somewhere along the way was the first person to mention the gospel to you but where did it come from how did it come to be here in our homes in our island in our nation well the root of it goes back to this day when Peter stood up on the day of [32:31] Pentecost when the spirit was poured out they had been told in chapter 1 you will be my witnesses beginning here in Jerusalem going to Judea and to all the ends of the earth the gospel was going to be proclaimed it was going to go out and that's why we're still hearing it to this day because the heart of Pentecost is mission it is mission it is the word of God being proclaimed and calling on people to turn to the Lord to trust the Lord and to repent of their sins and that's what's at the heart of this sermon that Peter proclaims mission through the word being proclaimed and the people living their lives out as a result so we're going to look at Peter's sermon here and the first thing we see about [33:31] Peter's sermon here is there's a real sense of purpose behind it what do you fear most in life what makes you afraid what are you scared of there can be lots of different things that we're scared of people are scared of spiders people are scared of heights people are scared of the dark people are scared of confined spaces there's lots of things that can make us afraid but one of the ones that we often maybe have in common especially in our own kind of culture where we're more reserved we're shy one of the biggest fears can be standing up to speak in public it's one of our great fears we're so nervous reserved shy standing up to speak in front of people is often something that leaves us trembling well put yourself into Peter's shoes here you think to yourself [34:34] Peter what a strong believer he was what a great preacher he was how he was so passionate and how he went out with the gospel but put yourself into Peter's shoes here in verse 14 Peter standing up with the eleven lifted up his voice Peter was always usually the first to speak he would often be so passionate he would often be so just reactive to certain situations but Peter's history well it was one that was marred in some ways because he had spoken so boldly he had spoken so boldly that he would never reject the Lord that he would never deny the Lord at the time of his crucifixion Peter had been so bold and said if everyone turns away from you I will not I will always be there but [35:37] Jesus had said to him before the cock crows you will deny me three times and what happened well Peter did deny knowing the Lord Jesus three times and it really cut him it cut him deep to think that he had rejected knowing the Lord at that moment of his crucifixion just before his crucifixion and yet the Lord had graciously restored him the Lord had told him to feed my sheep to feed my lambs if you love me Peter he said and Peter said yes Lord I love you and so now here in chapter two of Acts Peter stands once more to proclaim the gospel he's speaking in a crowd that is almost baying for blood it's a hostile crowd they're accusing them of being drunk they're saying this isn't real what we see happening amazed but there's doubts what does this mean so there's still a crowd that's hostile towards everything that's taking place here everything that [36:51] God is doing in their midst so there's still this hostility and Peter in the midst of hostility is standing once again to speak who is going to explain it who is going to make it clear what's happening Peter stands up not long after making a fool of himself he doesn't have time to prepare he's got no notes to rely on but he stands with purpose and how is he able to do it while the Lord is with him the spirit of the Lord is with him had he not spoken he would have been disobedient once again but he did speak Peter standing with the eleven lifted up his voice and said ye men ye men of Judea and all ye that dwell in Jerusalem be this known unto you and hearken to my words listen he is saying listen [37:54] I've got something important to tell you there's a real sense of purpose in what he's saying he spoke and he spoke a sermon that launched the gospel from Jerusalem out to all ends of the earth do we have that boldness to speak do we have that same sense of purpose that here we have something so valuable so precious the good news of Jesus Christ but do we have that sense of purpose that passion to speak that courage to speak we've not all been called to preach the word in the pulpit but we are called to be witnesses we are called to have a reason for the hope that we have within us we are called to be salt and light in this world we can be reserved we can be shy we can be fearful but we can also know that we have a precious word of God and that we have him with us we could say but [39:10] I've got nothing worthwhile to say we can often feel that I've got nothing to say I've got nothing to boast and I've got nothing to be proud of we don't of ourselves but what does Peter have here he doesn't boast about himself he doesn't speak about himself he speaks about God he speaks about what God has said he quotes from Joel he quotes from the book of Psalms so can we we can go and show the people here is the word of God here is what it says and he speaks about how Jesus had come in verse 22 he speaks of Jesus of Nazareth a man approved of God among you by his miracles but he was delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God he is speaking about Jesus what Jesus has come to do do we have anything worthwhile to say not of ourselves but we do of the gospel of Jesus [40:16] Christ so sometimes we can think I've got nothing to say we've got plenty we can say other times we think I say too much I'm just going to be quiet this time I'm not going to say anything but maybe by doing that you're keeping something from someone who has a burning question there's something they're longing to understand so it's important for us to discern how we should speak the bible tells us there's a time to speak and a time to be silent and knowing the difference is always so difficult but there's a difference between not speaking because we're afraid of what people might think and not speaking when we have something that we should be telling everyone and what you find here is that Peter he says he stands to speak in the power of God he's seeing the crowd around them but he stands up in their midst not afraid what people will think but just coming to speak the word of God [41:30] Colossians again Paul writing to Colossians in chapter 4 verse 5 and 6 he says be wise in the way you act towards outsiders make the most of every opportunity let your conversation be always full of grace seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone we are reminded in God's word that our conversations are to be full of grace seasoned with salt to give an answer to everyone we have a purpose as God's people we have a purpose the same as Peter to speak the truth of the word of God to speak it full of grace to pray that our conversations with people would bear fruit that we have these opportunities to speak to them to have purpose in all that we do so Peter had purpose he had denied the [42:36] Lord he had been terrified I'm sure but he had purpose and so do we the Lord gives us purpose in our life the second thing we see here is the proclamation that he makes as well as being afraid about speaking we can also have that problem but what am I going to say and just look at the way Peter addresses the crowd here and how he captures their attention almost straight away it's important to remember that it was this kind of hostile crowd that he was ministering to and it's important for us to know the people that we have around us it's important for us to know our audience as it were and I'm not just talking about the people we know within the congregation it's the people we know in our homes families our community and our workplaces and every setting that we find ourselves in to know and to get to know the people around us to see what makes them tick what kind of things are they thinking about what are they interested in what kind of conversations can I have that will relate to them well you notice here how Peter starts his conversation with them how he starts his sermon you see in verse 13 it said others were mocking and said these men are drunk well what's [44:12] Peter's response in the midst of this hostility well in verse 15 he says these are not drunken as you suppose seeing it is but the third hour of the day he uses something to just ease that tension and in some ways you can see it's a sense of humour people will ask you know should we use humour in preaching it's not a comedy act it's not a stand up comedian we come to listen to in the preacher but here you're given an example of how humour can be used just to ease the setting it is not these are not drunken as you suppose seeing it as but the third hour of the day what time was that well this morning we were thinking about the sixth hour of the day with the woman of Samaria that was midday so the third hour as they have their time system here is nine o'clock in the morning and Peter is saying come on it's nine o'clock in the morning these are not men who are drunk and so he kind of eases the tension there and for ourselves too we can just think of ways that eases us into the people that we're talking to so they will listen to the more serious message that we have to offer on the way over this evening I was listening to Alistair [45:42] Begg and if you listen to Alistair Begg you find quite often he's got a comment made at some point in the sermon where he gets a laugh from the congregation and it's almost because he knows his audience he knows maybe when they're starting to drift away so he puts something in there that just brings them back to listen and so you see that he says something that gets their attention and just makes them think of something different and they chuckle and then he's back to the serious message he keeps the audience engaged and that's what Peter does here as well he keeps them engaged in everything that he's saying whether it's using humour quoting scripture or delivering the serious nature of the message that he has and what Peter does once he has said this about these men are not drunk as you might suppose he then goes to bring them to the living water the living water again we thought of this morning with the woman of [46:46] Samaria that well that is rich with the gospel that well that is there for the salvation of people's souls so now they're listening now he's proclaiming the gospel and what does it say to ourselves today well it tells us to know our people and to know the word and to know the world and to trust the work of the Holy Spirit Charles Spurgeon he's often called the prince of preachers there was one Sunday and he felt he delivered a sermon that was so poor so poor that he actually said he felt ashamed of himself and he walked away from his church that day the metropolitan tabernacle in London and he wondered how anything good could come from that message when he arrived home he dropped to his knees and prayed [47:47] Lord God you can do something with nothing bless that poor sermon he just felt so despondent about the sermon he preached and so the next week he was preparing a sermon for the following Sunday to make up for what he called his previous failure and he thought he had prepared a great sermon he thought he had prepared a good sermon and he preached and he felt the better for that he preached a good sermon but this was just him looking at himself over the following weeks he was reminded that it is nothing of himself as people came to profess faith as people came to put their trust in the Lord it was said that 41 people who made a profession of faith came because of the sermon that he called a failure that he thought was rubbish the Lord blessed no one who came forward to profess faith made any mention of the sermon that he thought was great the Lord can use anything what we think is great is often poor what we think is poor the Lord can use and so [49:15] Spurgeon's experience reminds us we need the blessing of God on everything that we do that's Peter's experience in this sermon as Psalm 127 verse 1 says unless the Lord builds the house they labour in vain who build it we have to look to the Lord in all that we do but we can also remember that when we are weak he is strong that we have the Lord on our side you see in Psalm 127 it speaks about unless the Lord builds the house and we know that it is the Lord that is building his church but he also says the builders build in vain so he uses his people and he uses his people to this day so we need the Lord so [50:16] Peter's proclamation here is one that he sees the people he knows the people he has the audience there before him he gets their attention he leads them to the living water that is the word of God and proclaims to them the truth the truth of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ in verse 21 it says it shall come to pass that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved so there he's putting not just there's no humour there he's used that to get their attention but now he's speaking about the seriousness of the gospel that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved that's where he is taking them to so we have the purpose with which Peter is preaching we have the proclamation of what he's preaching and then we see finally the plan in which he's preaching and that's the plan of God down through all the generation [51:23] God's plan has always been to call people back to himself from the beginning of Genesis where you find Adam and Eve as they sinned and were cast out of the garden of Eden God's purpose and plan has been to call sinners to repentance you see it all the way through the scriptures you see it with Abram in Genesis 22 verse 16 by myself I have sworn says the Lord because you have done this and have not withheld your son this is when Abram was going to offer up Isaac but the Lord provided a lamb instead you have not withheld your son your only son I will indeed bless you and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves because you have obeyed my voice we're going to be the descendants of Abraham as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore [52:34] God would have his people but his people would wonder his people would sin his people would turn their back on him and then you find later on in the Old Testament in Zechariah 1 verse 3 this is what the Lord Almighty says return to me declares the Lord Almighty and I will return to you says the Lord Almighty so the Lord desires his people to come and it says in verse 21 it shall come to pass that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved God is calling a people back to himself and twice Peter says here listen carefully in verse 14 as we saw it there before hearken to my words it says at the end of verse 14 and then it says the same thing and says hear these words in verse 22 and so there's the importance of listening you have some preachers who are dynamic you have some preachers who can come across as a little dull but what's important is to listen to the word of God we can often put our dependence on the preacher how did the preacher get on today was the preacher good today it's a common question that I get when [54:13] I get home after preaching my wife will ask how did you get on so often I just want to ask well I don't know but how did you get on and I want to ask the congregation how did you get on in the sermon today not just were you listening to me but were you listening to the word of God and that's what Peter is saying here when he's telling them to listen he's telling them to listen keenly to hearken to these words because it is God's word the responsibility of a good sermon yes it lies in the preacher to prepare well and to preach as well as he possibly can but you have something to play you have a part to play in it as well how do you listen how do you prepare to come and hear the word of God do you pray that the Lord will open your heart do you pray that the Lord will give you ears to hear and a heart to understand the word of God [55:20] Peter's sermon here is full of God speaking but it's to a people who are to hear to a people who are to listen hearken to my word says the Lord and that's what you find in verse 37 when it says now when they heard this so they did listen they did listen now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles men and brethren what shall we do they listened and they asked what shall we do and they were given a response in verse 38 Peter said to them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you shall receive the Holy Spirit this promise is for you and for your children and for all who are afar off so you see there the importance of listening to the word of God hear it and respond to it because it is so important [56:43] Psalm 34 speaks of it in that way in verse 11 come here my children gather round and listen to my word and I will help you understand how you may fear the Lord so important we gather to listen to the word of God but we need to listen the writer Charles Swindle you may have heard of him or read some of his books well he tells a story about when he found himself just far too busy in life and he had far too many commitments in a short space of a few days and he was starting to get uptight starting to get nervous and tense and he says I was snapping at my wife and our children I was just rushing down my food at mealtimes I was feeling irritated at those unexpected interruptions through the day this is in a book called [57:44] Stress Fractors and he said before long things around our home started reflecting the pattern of my hurry up style it was becoming unbearable he was too busy he didn't have time for the important things and he said this I distinctly remember after supper one evening the words of our younger daughter Colleen she wanted to tell me something important that had happened to her in school that day and she began to hurriedly speak to me saying daddy I want to tell you something and I'll tell you really fast and that's when it just hit him he realised her frustration that everything was to be done in a hurry and he said honey you can tell me and you don't have to tell me really fast say it slowly in the midst of his busyness and his frustration he realised what was important but it was the answer of his daughter that really got to when he said say it slowly because his daughter then said this then listen slowly it's so important to listen listen to the word of [59:09] God listen slowly don't let it rush past you let it take it into your heart take it into your mind consider it listen to it slowly because there is this wonderful message to be heard of a loving and a gracious God who has given his own son that we might have life through him Peter came from being one who denied his Lord to having purpose in speaking on the day of Pentecost proclaiming the riches of the gospel of Jesus Christ because of the plan of God to save his people from their sins when the people heard this they asked the question what shall we do what will you do with the word of [60:12] God this evening repent be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins that means for us come and believe listen to the word of God receive it gladly with the joy of salvation that there is in Jesus Christ let us pray Lord our gracious God we do pray that you will help us to hear to listen to your word to listen slowly as even Charles Wendell's daughter said to him we ask Lord that you will just make your word take root in our hearts that as we go from here as we go into the week ahead that we will not just forget your word that we will not just wait until the next week until we hear it again but that we will be able to apply it to our hearts to our lives to acknowledge our sin to repent and to turn to you [61:21] Lord may you continue to bear fruit through your word a word that has been proclaimed here over many years we thank you for every sermon that has been proclaimed the sermons on the truth of our sin and yet a wonderful saviour so may your fruit come in these days may it be born out and young and old alike that people would praise the Lord as their saviour hear our prayers and go before us pardoning sin in Jesus name Amen we're going to conclude by singing in Psalm 138 on page 431 of the blue psalm book Psalm 138 we'll sing from verse 1 to verse 3 thee will I praise with all my heart I will sing praise to thee before the gods and worship will toward thy sanctuary we'll sing from verse 1 to 3 to God's praise thee thee will [62:31] I praise with all thy heart I will sing grace to thee before the cross come worship well toward thy sanctuary I'll praise thy name for thy truth and kindness of thy love for thou thy word magnify all thy name of love thou do'st me answer in the day when [63:42] I to thee did cry that thou my fainting soul will stand this bent and in worthy close with a benediction now may grace marshy and peace from God Father Son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forever we want Amen up [65:17] Thank you. [65:47] Thank you. [66:17] Thank you. [66:47] Thank you. [67:17] Thank you.