Well, I think the encouragement goes two ways.
We've been very encouraged to be here.
! We're so thankful to be able to worship with you this morning.
And you may not know this, but we pray for the ministry of this church back home at Grace and Peace pretty regularly.
In fact, we walked in and immediately we recognized this room from the Knowlton's newsletters.
And so we're thankful for the privilege to be able to be here with you.
Last night with the international dinner was an amazing encouragement.
We were able to hear fantastic music last night as well, a piece from Bach.
It was a delight.
And so I'm going to read from Acts 2 in just a moment, Acts 2, 36 through 47.
But before I do, I mean, it's so good to be here in a beautiful city like this.
You know, I'm a Presbyterian minister.
I've been a Presbyterian minister for 17 years.
We're a Presbyterian church, which means that we have a – we're indebted to the churches here in this country.
And I don't know – hopefully you hear this when Americans come, especially from Presbyterian churches.
But it bears – it's worth repeating that we're thankful for the ties that bind us, not just historically, but we truly are by the Holy Spirit family.
We're going to read about the Spirit's work here in Acts 2, verses 36 through 47.
And then I will pray.
This is the Apostle Peter speaking at Pentecost.
Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this.
God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Messiah.
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles,
Brothers, what shall we do?
And Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, all whom the Lord our God will call.
With many other words, he warned them and he pleaded with them,
Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.
And those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
And everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
All the believers were together and had everything in common.
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.
They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Let's pray and ask God's help.
Father, we thank you that you have preserved your word for us for these thousands of years.
And we thank you that they are not mere words, they are your very words.
And we ask, Holy Spirit, that you would breathe life into them.
And that you would convict us where we need to be convicted.
That you would comfort us where we need to be comforted.
That you would dig out for us ears to hear and give us eyes to see the crucified and risen Christ.
We pray this in his name.
Amen.
One of the things that you're struck by when you visit a new town, a new country immediately is that you are not certain at any moment where anything is, where you're going.
We're glued to our phones, those of us who have service, trying to figure out where are we going.
And it occurs to me, we long for certainty, don't we?
Not just for where we're going, where we are.
We long for certainty relationally.
We long for certainty for the future.
We long for certainty in so many ways.
And it is, it's elusive.
Ever elusive.
We're not certain of many things, are we?
And in this passage, when Peter is speaking at Pentecost, this great, famous sermon, early sermon of the Christian church,
Peter tells his audience that there is something that they can be certain of, though it goes through great grief.
And he wants them to know that there is certainty in their grief so that he might give them a certainty, something they don't even know to look for.
There's a certainty in their grief when he says, know for certain that Jesus is God's anointed.
He is his Lord and Christ, and you killed him.
You murdered him.
He gives them this certainty that pierces their heart so that they might have another certainty that is rooted in the grace of God that is greater,
more powerful, more powerful, more stronger than their sin.
And so that's what I want to talk about this morning, that there is an amazing scene here where the apostle Peter is been,
he's preaching with power.
The Holy Spirit falls on God's people, and he wants them to know with certainty that they're sinners before God
so that they might have certainty in the grace of God.
The Spirit who changes who we are changes our relationship with Jesus.
And if we're going to hear anything this morning, it is that Christianity isn't just about what we do.
It's not merely what we believe.
But it is an experience that God has given us his Spirit, changes who we are,
that we might have a new relationship with God's Lord and Christ.
This is incredible news for us.
It was incredible news for the original audience, for Peter.
And here's what Peter says.
He says, even though Jesus' crucifixion was part of God's plan,
your part in it is devastating.
God is not surprised by what has happened.
God has orchestrated everything, and yet the part that you played in it when you murdered Jesus is devastating.
He says in verse 36,
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this.
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.
Know for certain that the embodiment of righteousness and perfection,
the embodiment of God's love, walked in your presence.
And you didn't recognize the embodiment of righteousness and perfection
when he walked in your presence and when he spoke and you rejected him.
What do you do when you realize you've been wrong on this kind of level?
For those of us who had the privilege of hearing, you know, a piece of Bach last night,
imagine sort of walking into a room where that is happening and saying,
I'd rather have a conversation right now.
Who wants to play a game?
Imagine hearing that and not being struck with,
we need to be quiet and we need to soak this in and appreciate what this is.
Some of us might even be moved to tears by the majesty of what we heard.
Imagine hearing it and saying,
there's nothing memorable about this at all.
As tragic as this response would be,
it pales in comparison to the human response of seeing righteousness
and perfection and love embodied and rejecting him.
How could this have happened?
You know, this doesn't happen in a vacuum.
And sometimes I think it's easy for some of us to think,
had I been there, I would have been different.
We would not have been different.
You know, the Bible famously says that all of creation proclaims the glory of God.
Even blustery days like we've had proclaim the glory of God,
the power of God.
Blue skies proclaim the glory of God.
Psalm 19 says,
day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge
that there is something of our God that we can know.
There is something of his glory we can be certain of.
When we look out at this world that he has spoken into existence,
it proclaims his glory.
But because you and I have fallen short of this glory,
God's word to us in creation doesn't merely speak glory,
it also proclaims to us that we are accountable to the God who has made us.
Paul tells us in Romans 1, he says,
for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men
who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
And so when we look out, you know, at God's creation,
we, our group, we hiked up Arthur's seat,
and we got to see a beautiful picture of your city.
When you look out and you see,
from a higher vantage point,
you get to see God's creation
and what we have done in it,
we get to remind ourselves like how small we are.
We feel it, don't we?
But sometimes with that feeling of our finitude,
there's a haunting feeling that comes with that.
Sometimes we feel it when we put our heads on our pillow at night,
and we feel deep in our bones,
we are in need of grace.
There is something that is wrong with us,
and God intends to meet us with every need with his grace.
But my point is,
if we suppress this truth in unrighteousness
when God speaks to us in creation,
as all humans do,
the logical conclusion of that
is that we would suppress and reject
God's embodied word
when he comes and he walks in our midst.
And so all of us
are more in common,
have more in common with those who rejected Jesus
than we would like to admit.
What happens when you realize
that you've been wrong to this degree?
You see, what Peter is saying is
rejecting Jesus is more significant
than we think that it is,
and it's more violent than we think it is
as well.
And so often,
when we're confronted with our sin,
we justify it to ourselves,
don't we?
Well, no, no, you misunderstood me.
That's not what I meant.
You misheard me.
That's not what I meant.
The problem here is with you.
It's not with what I have done.
Or you don't know what they did to me first,
and so of course I would respond this way.
We justify our sin.
But not here.
Peter's original audience,
they cannot justify themselves.
The evidence is irrefutable.
Instead, we read that they were cut to the heart.
When the people heard this,
they were cut to the heart
and said to Peter and the other apostles,
Brothers, what shall we do?
There's a question for us reading this text today.
How do we know if the Holy Spirit is at work in our life?
How do we know if he is present in our life?
And one sign, there are many,
one sign is that our sin grieves us.
That we aren't just grieved by the sins of others.
That we realize the problem isn't just out there,
but it's in here.
That when we are confronted again
by the Spirit's conviction,
there is a grief that accompanies it.
You know, this grief isn't always felt
with the same intensity.
We have seasons of winter and spring in our own hearts.
But a common Christian experience
is that we feel a grief
when confronted with our sin.
There are two different kinds of grief.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians,
there is a godly grief
and a worldly grief.
He says godly grief leads to eternal life.
Worldly grief leads to death.
What's the difference?
I'll share two examples from my life.
Both are embarrassing.
From a previous season of my life,
it was not uncommon in my late teens,
early 20s,
to overindulge with alcohol.
And there were two times
where I really felt particularly grieved
by my behavior.
And once, before I was a Christian,
before I had been converted,
had a regenerate heart,
I was at a party in college
and had overindulged
and proclaimed my love, basically,
for this young woman who was there
in front of others very loudly
and obnoxiously.
It was unacceptable.
And I woke up the next morning
utterly grieved by my behavior.
It had nothing to do with the sin
against a holy God.
It had everything to do with
I've ruined my reputation.
I've embarrassed myself.
I've made a fool of myself.
I was grieved by how I had acted,
but it had nothing to do with sin
or a holy God.
And then a few years later,
as a Christian,
a similar experience happened.
I overindulged,
and this was on purpose,
and I woke up the next morning
deeply grieved,
but it was a very different sort of grief,
though outwardly it looked the exact same.
How could I have done this
against a holy God?
And I was grieved by those
that I had been around.
I have not modeled that the grace of Jesus
is powerful,
and that following Him is worth our lives.
I've sinned against God in this way,
and I am grieved.
And so outwardly,
you have two very similar expressions,
though inwardly a very different matter
is happening altogether.
The common Christian experience
is to feel grief over our sin,
but that grief stems from primarily
sinning against a holy God
who has been kind to us
in sending His Messiah, Jesus.
And that's what's happening
in this passage.
They're grieved.
And they're wondering,
what do we do, Peter,
with our sin against this Jesus?
What do we do?
We have murdered the one
who is the embodiment of righteousness
and holiness and perfection.
What do we do with that?
And Peter says,
turn to the one you have sinned against.
It's utterly counterintuitive.
How do we flee from our guilt?
You have to turn to
the one you've sinned against.
You must lean on His promises.
You must lean on the one
that you have rejected,
for He is gracious to sinners.
And see, the grief that we find
in Acts chapter 2,
it leads to repentance.
And the repentance that we find here
is far more than just a mere
outward change in behavior.
More than changing their behavior,
their relationship with Jesus
has been fundamentally changed.
We are not rejecting Him.
We're not suppressing
what He has to say.
We want to be identified with Him.
We want to turn to Him
and be marked by Him.
Repentance in the Bible
is a combination of three things.
We see this in our shorter catechism.
It is marked by hatred of sin.
But it is marked by
an understanding,
an acknowledgement,
an apprehension of the love
and the mercy of God in Jesus.
Only then can we endeavor
after new obedience.
We must hate our sin,
but that alone is not enough.
we must see more than our hatred for sin.
A reception of the mercy
and the grace
and the love of Jesus.
And it is love
and it is mercy from Jesus
that transforms our hearts
and changes our motivations
far more powerfully,
compellingly,
than guilt alone.
And then we strive
after new obedience.
You know,
Christians are forced regularly
to face our own sinfulness.
It doesn't go away,
unfortunately,
when we become Christians,
does it?
The Holy Spirit continues
to expose our hearts
and our motivations
that are contrary to His.
And the goal is never
for us to see
how badly we can feel
over our sin
as if that was the goal.
Just understand how bad you are.
Just understand
that you messed up again.
Just understand
that you're not
who you were meant to be.
That's not the goal.
Repentance will always
remain incomplete
if the dominant word
that we hear from God
isn't grace and mercy.
This is why Peter says
in verse 38,
repent and be baptized.
Every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness
of your sins
and you will receive
the Holy Spirit.
You have to know
that the cleansing blood
of Jesus symbolized
in baptism,
it washes you,
it cleanses you,
in such a way
that Jesus' life,
death,
and resurrection
no longer is merely
a marker of our guilt.
It is a marker
of our acceptance
with God.
True repentance
can only be born
out of God's grace.
Otherwise,
it is not repentance.
Conviction is a good thing,
but it is meant
to be temporary
and it serves its purpose
only in so far
as it drives us back
to the cross of Jesus.
Conviction is a good thing
so far as it drives us
to the mercy
and grace of Jesus.
And once it has done that,
it has served its purpose.
In verse 39,
he says,
For the promise
is for you
and your children,
for all who are far off,
whom the Lord,
our God,
will call.
I won't belabor
this point,
but again,
what we see,
if this passage
is the culmination
of so many
Old Testament promises
that God will pour out
his Holy Spirit
on his people,
we also see
the fulfillment
that God has been
making promises
ever since Abraham.
I will bless
the world
through you
and your family.
And here at Pentecost,
they're seeing,
Peter is saying,
God is going to bless
the world
through you
and your family
as you receive
this Holy Spirit
and you go out
in your lives
carrying this promise
with you.
And so he says,
save yourself.
My translation says
from this crooked generation,
what is this corrupt generation?
What does it mean?
It means that the refuge
offered to us in Jesus
is as real for us
and our families
as the refuge
that God offered Noah
and his family
in the ark.
That when we flee to Jesus,
there is a rescue
and a protection
in a world
that is corrupt
and yet we are left
in this world.
How does this work?
What does this look like?
We're rescued
from a kingdom
and rebellion
against God
and yet we get
to remain
to serve
in this world.
You see,
for the Christian,
the Holy Spirit
changes the way
that we look
at everything.
It changes the way
we look at our relationships.
It changes the way
that we look
at our families,
our work,
everything.
Everything now
is seen in light
of Jesus
and the healing
that he brings.
And so we see
in verse 41,
those who accepted
his message
were baptized
and about 3,000
were added
to their number
that day.
their lives
were changed
and not just
changed
as individuals,
they're brought
into a community,
the church,
together.
The common
Christian experience
is a humbling one
where we see
our need
for a savior
and yet we also
see that we cannot
and must not
go about life
all on our own
anymore.
in God's kindness
he has given us
a community,
his body,
the church.
And so we see
this is why
they devote themselves
to the apostles'
teaching
and to fellowship,
to breaking of bread,
and to prayer.
They commit themselves
to immersing
themselves
in the good gifts
that God
has given us
that show us
what to do
with our guilty
consciences.
when our consciences
are stung again,
when we are pierced
again and anew
by the sin
that we continue
to see in our life,
God has called
a people
to devote ourselves,
to immerse ourselves
in the ways
that God has promised
to meet us
and shape our minds.
The apostles'
teaching,
of course,
is the New Testament.
We're given
the scriptures
to be reminded
that it's not all
law,
do this
and thou shalt
not do this,
but grace
for those
who cannot
do this perfectly.
We're reminded
again and again
as we immerse
ourselves
in the scriptures
together
that God
has done for us
what we cannot
do for ourselves.
And we're called
to immerse ourselves
in prayer
with God's people,
to adore the God
who has graciously
forgiven us
of our sins
and we ask him
to make us
more like him.
And we immerse
ourselves in
the breaking
of bread,
the Lord's Supper,
where we get
to see again
and again
that Jesus'
body broken
on a cross
points to more
than our guilt.
It does point
to that.
He must die
for our sin.
But it points
to our forgiveness
and the grace
that we receive.
And we cannot
hear this message
one time
or two times
or three times.
We have to hear it
again and again
and not just
as individuals,
as a body,
as a church.
All of this
happens in Acts
in the context
of fellowship.
Here's the other
thing I think
that we might
not notice
immediately
from this passage.
It's easy,
I think,
sometimes to hear
this and think,
okay,
here's what I've
got to do.
I've got to read
the scriptures
and I've got to pray
and I've got
to take
the Lord's Supper
and, oh,
I need to do
that with people
and not see
that these are
gifts from God.
And it's not
just a gift,
it's not just
a checklist,
it's a gift
because there
is more pain
in this life
than just the
conviction of sin,
isn't there?
I mean,
we feel pain
and misery
all the time
and some of that
is a hardship
that just comes
with our work
life.
We go to work
and things
don't work
the way that
we think they
should.
We're not
treated as
fairly as we
want and there
is a pain
that is there.
Or relationally,
there is pain
that the
relationships
that should be
the easiest
for us
sometimes feel
like they're
the hardest.
Maybe you've
asked for the
good gift of
children in your
life and then
they come and
you're not sure
how to raise
them.
Am I messing
them up?
Life is hard.
And we are
people filled
with anxiety
and at times
depression.
Life in this
fallen world
is hard.
And then there
are medical
diagnoses
where we get
the devastating
news that it's
cancer or
Alzheimer's or
somebody you
know and love
is taken from
you too early
and they pass
away from this
life.
Life in this
fallen world
is hard.
God.
And when we
read that the
early church
had they shared
their possessions
together.
It's more than
possessions.
They shared
their lives
together.
And why?
Because when you
live life together
sometimes people
are up here.
Life is going
well and the
paycheck is coming
in and sometimes
you live life
down here and
you go to a
funeral again.
and God has
given us a
people together
saturated in
this good news
so that we have
people to come
alongside of us
and say you
cannot pray for
yourself today but
I can pray for
you.
And you don't
know how to
pay for your
bill this month
but we can come
alongside you.
And then when you
are in another
place in life and
that person is
down well we
have one another.
And so what God
has given us in
the church is not
just a checklist of
things that we're
supposed to do.
It is grace for
all of our wounds
and we need one
another because none
of us is ever able
to face all of life
at the same time.
We need help to
rejoice and we
need help to
grieve.
And we need help
to come alongside
one another when we
need to bring a
meal for somebody
who doesn't have
one or isn't in
the situation or
position to prepare
it for themselves.
God has given
us a body to
come alongside of
us when we feel
the wounds of
life in a fallen
world that might
not flow directly
from conviction of
sin and yet it is
still a mark of
just life in a
world that doesn't
function the way
that it is supposed
to.
We ought not to
fall into the
trap that the
early church was
particularly better at
this than we were.
As if they were
forgiven and all
went well right
after that.
Two chapters after
this two church
members are punished
severely because they
make a mockery of
sharing life together.
In 1 Corinthians
Paul tells us that
you Christians
sometimes forget
the rich are
exploiting the
poor.
We need the
gospel again to
remind us our
sinfulness continues
to run deep but
God's grace triumphs
over that and we
need each other to
embody that together
to see that in one
another.
It's a good gift for
us and lastly and
most briefly probably
it's a good gift for
the watching world.
When we live life
together when the
gospel meets us and
transforms us as a
body as individuals
surely but also as a
body what we find in
this passage is that
the watching world
will they marvel.
Verse 46
every day they the
church continued to
meet together in the
temple courts they
broke bread in their
homes they ate
together with glad
and sincere hearts
praising God and
enjoying the favor of
all the people and
the Lord added to
their number daily
those who were being
saved.
The gospel renews us
to live the lives that
we were created to
live.
It renews us and when
we begin to live that
life out together
somebody will notice.
How did you get through
that season?
How did you pick
yourself up?
How did you put
yourself through it?
I didn't.
God was gracious to me.
He met me in my
church community.
And they might think
that we are crazy for
the things that we
believe.
But we might also find
that they long for the
community that we find
when a community is
being shaped by the
love and mercy of
Jesus.
because a community
that is being shaped
by the love and the
mercy of Jesus finds
itself becoming more
merciful and loving
itself.
Meeting the needs of
others.
And the part of all of
us that looks around
and sees the glory of
God in creation but
then also feels like
there's something wrong
with me.
I'm accountable to this
God.
that part of us is
drawn powerfully to
seeing the body of
Christ living life
together.
Why do people love
like that?
Well, Jesus has loved
us.
The mark of love, the
mark of those who have
received great love is
that they become loving
themselves.
And this is good news
for us and it is good
news for the world
around us.
Let's pray and ask God
to help us live in
light of that now.
Amen.