A Sermon for a New Era Part 3 - Acts 2:37-41

3:31And he takes Jesus, this obscure individual, and through the proclamation of who he is and what he did, he puts him on the world scene and forces every nation to deal with him, starting with the Jews. He is the man of history. Whether you worship him or oppose him, Christ takes the center stage of humanity. And Peter began the proclamation of Christ here in Acts 2, that literally puts Christ at the center of history's stage. In fact, I read an article recently. CNN put out the middle part of last year, talking about the largest and most dangerous gathering of all of al-Qaeda in years. And there was a lot of that happened in that, but one of the things, the Second in command in Al-Qaeda stood up and said, We must eliminate the cross. And the bearer of the cross is America. So we have enemies that want to destroy us because of our association with the cross.

4:49How faint it may be in these days, yet, whether you're friend or foe, Jesus is at the center. He impacts us even now. Think about this. If his death and physical removal of the earth has impacted lives, changed empires, and continues to be the dividing point and the unifying element of so many today, how much more do you think his return to earth and his coronation will impact the lives and the individuals of nations? He's gone. And look at what's happened and the impact he's had. What do you think it's going to be when he comes? Well, Peter's audience, the men of Israel who killed Jesus, knew exactly what this meant. And that's why they say in verse 37: Now, when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brethren, what shall we do? Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for this promise is for you and your children. And for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself. And with many other words, he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. So then those who had received his word were baptized, and that day they were added about 3,000 souls.

6:24I want you to see three fruits of a Holy Spirit-driven ministry so that you will recognize and welcome his ministry in your own life. Three fruits of a truly Holy Spirit-driven ministry. And we have it in our text this morning. I'm going to cover it under three headings: conviction, direction, and reception. Conviction, direction, and reception. You know, in my travels around this great planet, I have seen a lot of breathtaking scenes in the beauty of nature, in God's creation.

7:03Witnessed the Aurora Borealis, beautiful. I remember the Russian white nights on the Baltic Sea. Beautiful. The Pacific Northwest and the ever-green forested mountains and volcanoes, breathtaking. I've seen the crystal clear waters and pristine beaches of the Virgin Islands. There is a beauty in the southlands, the Blue Ridge Mountains, seeing the California coastlines. Beautiful, the fall colors of our northern states, spectacular. I've been speechless as I looked across the Montana horizon and saw the dry wheat fields at harvest time surrounded by these beautiful snow-capped mountains.

8:00But of all these, perhaps the most breathtaking beauty is one I want to share with you, but not just right now. I want to save it. I'm going to come back to it. Because I find in this passage such a superior, breathtaking beauty that I want to call your attention to. First, let's walk through this. First fruit of a Holy Spirit-driven ministry, conviction. Look at verse 37, conviction. Now, when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? What shall we do? Now, when they heard this, this refers back to everything Peter had just said, everything that would have been in the whole content of his sermon, but specifically the last stinging emphasis of the previous verse. Look at verse 36. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him blessed. Both Lord and Christ, this Jesus, whom you crucified.

9:06That stung them, okay? That pierced them, literally stabbed them in the heart. They felt a sting. You see, the conviction of the Holy Spirit is described as a sharp, a sudden, and penetrating pain into the heart and soul of man, and it shattered their peace. It disturbed them. It unsettled their spirit. It deeply troubled them. And that's what led to the question: what shall we do? What shall we do? You see, conviction by the Spirit unsettles, it disturbs, it awakens something, it ushers in a new reality, and it compels an individual to seek a remedy.

10:02You see, conviction of the Holy Spirit awakens knowledge of guilt, and it leads a person to realize that he or she is unable to remove their own guilt. And it brings a person to realize they need help. Just as hunger, right? When you get hungry, you know it's time to eat, right? You won't go eating if you don't have that reminder. Well, so just as hunger reminds us to eat, so Holy Spirit conviction reminds us to go to God. We have a need to go to Him, and He awakens that need through the convicting work of His Holy Spirit. So, when the Holy Spirit begins to minister to a person, there will be a conviction of sin.

10:52He awakens a problem within the heart that is restless until it finds its solution in God and God alone. So, God-awakened guilt is a good thing. We need to be careful of suppressing that or arguing it away or medicating it away. You see, the same question in Luke 3 was put to John the Baptist: What shall we do? If you'll remember, in Luke 3, verse 7, I'll just read you a portion of it. So, he began saying to the crowds, John the Baptist, who were going out to be baptized him, you brood of vipers. That's a nice way to start a dialogue, right? Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father, for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Indeed, the axe is already laid at the root of the tree. You get the picture?

11:53We put that axe up there, it's about to come down. So, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown. Into the fire. This is John's message. And then the crowds came up to him and were questioning him, saying, Then what shall we do? And he would answer and say to them, The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none. And he who has food is to do likewise. This is a fruit keeping with repentance. And then there were some tax collectors. And they also came to him to be baptized. And they said to him, Teacher, what shall we do?

12:29And he said to them, Collect more than what you have been ordered to do. That's what repentance, keeping with repentance, looked like to the tax collector. And then some soldiers were questioning him, saying, And what about us? What shall we do? And he said to them, Do not take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely and be content with your wages. These are fruits keeping with repentance. Now, think for a moment about the guilt and anguish that Peter's audience was experiencing at that moment. Take your mind back there. The realization Peter had just laid the guilt of crucifying their Messiah at their feet. You led the world in crucifying the Messiah. Now think about them. First of all, there had been dashed hopes. Their hopes would have been dashed, right? They realized that they had executed their Messiah. All of their individual and national hopes were upon him. And instead of welcoming him, they crucified him and they handed him over to their most bitter enemies.

13:37Wow. Tragic loss of hope. Everything you would hope would be is now dashed. I can remember reading a story. I've seen a couple stories like this. This tragic illustration of a spouse losing their spouse on their honeymoon. And you can think about the life that's been planned, and then all of a sudden death by catastrophe on a honeymoon. Talk about dashed hopes. Well, this is far more severe even than that. This was their hope for their nation. Right there in their midst. They crucified him. So they had dashed hopes, but they also had a tormenting guilt. They were guilty. It was bad enough that Christ had to be crucified, but they had done it themselves.

14:33A greater sin could not be imagined than killing their Messiah by crucifixion. And Peter drives it home. You crucified. You are responsible. A greater sin. Can you imagine a greater sin than this? Than killing somebody by crucifixion? The brutality? The hatred, everything, it was as brutal as could be. And the guilt tormented. But then there was also, add to this, a debilitating fear, a debilitating fear. Peter was testifying to them that Jesus, who they had crucified, is now alive. He has been resurrected, and he now sits at the right hand of the Father. And he quoted to them Psalm 110 that says, Sit here until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. They knew who they were. You could not be a more categorically, a more defined enemy than they were.

15:48I mean, who could be classified as a greater enemy? And then there's another anguish that Peter's audience would have been dealing with, and that is that agonizing dread that you can't go back and undo what's been done. Many of you experienced that. You know what I'm talking about. They knew they could not go back and undo what they had done. And there is a kind of dread that comes about because you can't go back. What's done is done.

16:23You have to live with your past, but you cannot go back and change it. You have to live with the consequences, and you can't change it. It and they, guilty of the most heinous crime, a crime that cannot be undone, they were guilty. And Peter called them to account. Now, keep in mind, as he quoted Joel chapter 2, in order to call upon the name of the Lord, one has to know two things: he has to know what the name of the Lord is, and he has to know he needs to be saved. Right? If you don't know you need to be saved, you won't look for salvation. And that is the convicting work of the Spirit to convict you so that you know you need a Savior. You know, one of the elements of eternal judgment is an awakened and angry conscience against yourself. A self-hatred.

17:24That when God's law and justice is revealed, you say, you're right. And I am guilty for violating it. I am guilty of suppressing it. I am guilty, guilty of shutting you out of my life. And if I had been there, I easily would have been part of that mob that shut you out of our world. But eternal judgment is an awakened, angry conscience against yourself, a self-hatred that rises out of a guilt, a fear, and a dread with no hope of being rescued.

18:00Because you know God's frown is forever upon you. That is part and one dimension of the eternal judgment. And unless Jesus, make sure you understand that, unless Jesus intervened in the lives of Peter's audience that day, they would have been confined to such eternal punishment. They would have realized he is the Messiah. And they would have had to live eternally, knowing that they rejected him in the most brutal way. And that when God placed him in their hands, they revealed what was in their heart in the most graphic manner, rejection with an exclamation point. And this would have been their eternity. But Jesus did intervene. And it began with the convicting work of the Holy Spirit through a Holy Spirit-inspired message by a person much like you and me.

19:04You see, we're not called to convict people of sin. Understand that. We cannot. We're called to proclaim truth. And the first work of the Holy Spirit, when he is involved, will be Holy Spirit conviction, conviction of sin, and a realization of the need for a Savior. Second thing, second fruit of a Holy Spirit-driven ministry is direction. It's a direction, clear direction. Look at verse 37. Brethren, what shall we do? And in verse 38, Peter tells them: Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of the Lord 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 for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself. And with many other words, he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. There are three imperative commands in these three verses, in 38 through 40. The first is repent. You see it there? Repent. And it's an active verb. Repent. You be repenting. Or repent. Active. You cause the action. The second is be baptized. You see it there? And that is a passive verb. Something has to be done to you. Be baptized. And then in verse 40, there's the third imperative command, which is be saved. And it is also a passive verb. Something that has to be done to you. So repent, be baptized, and be saved. And the clear direction given by the Holy Spirit through Peter involves these three words. These are the imperative commands. And everything else hangs. On these. The first, we'll just look at each one of them. First, repent, active verb. The word for repentance is metanoia. From the word meta, we get the word change and noeo, mind or understanding, change understanding, change your understanding. It's kind of a will be a way you could put it in the vernacular, I guess.

21:26And as it stands in the New Testament, it always speaks of a change of purpose, specifically a turning from sin. Have a change in your understanding about Christ and have a change in your relationship with Him. And let me just say, as a side note, as many people start getting into the theology behind repentance and belief and trying to dice them up and to square all this with Scripture and try to bring in everything and put systems in, there's this tendency sometimes to try to separate repentance from faith and say, let's talk about repentance and let's talk about faith. But I don't think it's a good idea to separate repentance from faith or vice versa, separate faith from repentance. It's all part of one process. They're joined. I like the way Berkhoff writes it. True repentance never exists except in conjunction with faith. Well, on the other hand, Wherever there is true faith, there is also real repentance. The two cannot be separated. They are simply complementary parts of the same process. In other words, to say, where there is a measure of faith, there will be a measure of repentance. Where there is a measure of true repentance, there will be a measure of true faith. So don't get too complicated and start trying to slice that up because it will get very complicated and you will find yourself off track of the scriptural exhortation and revelation about this process of being born from above or being renewed, regenerated. Oh, same thing. But this is the message. This is the message that John the Baptist had preached. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This was the message of Jesus in Mark 1:14. Remember, after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God, saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. And those are present actives, imperatives. Be repenting, be believing. That is the response. So when John was taken into custody, Jesus continued the message of repentance. When Jesus was taken up into heaven, the apostles continued the message. So we see with Peter. And when the apostles passed on, their disciples continued. Continued the message, and so forth, as Jesus promised would happen in Luke 24, 47, that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations beginning from Jerusalem. We're part of something, part of a Holy Spirit-inspired message. Repent.

24:27And in context, think about what Peter is saying to these men who had just crucified Christ or had been party to or guilty of some way. The text doesn't say to what degree they played in the role, but Peter clearly holds them responsible, and they knew it. So, in context, if you think about it, what Jesus is saying is: look, what Peter is saying to them is, you need to change your understanding about Christ, and you need to do so on what is written about Christ, and you need to change your relationship to him. That is what he's calling him to do. Understand who Christ is, understand what you did, and change your relationship. Change your understanding and your relationship with him.

25:14This is what repentance looks like. Strong. You see the polar opposites to which he's calling them to. In fact, this is fundamentally what man does not want to do. In Revelation 9:20, after God is dealing with the very stubbornness. Rebellious world, there's these plagues, and there are many who were not killed by the plagues, but they did not repent of the works of their hands, so not as to worship demons and the idols of gold and silver and the brass and the stone and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. Then again, in Revelation 16:9, this drama continues. Men were scorched with fierce heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give him glory. This is the stubbornness of the heart. And friends, be very careful of not changing your path, of setting this message aside. You need a change in your understanding about Christ, and you need a change in your relationship with him, one of following, going to, rather than one of going away. So that's the direction he gives. The first imperative is to repent. The second is to be baptized. Look at that. And I want you to be mindful that these verbs are taken together. Repent and be baptized. In fact, a literal Greek reading probably is better to read it like this. You repent and you be baptized, each of you upon the basis of the name of Jesus Christ. So that's the you repent. Repent and be baptized, each of you. Some might get the sense that the being baptized, repent and then each of you be baptized. No, it's repent and be baptized, each of you. The idea of baptism, what does it mean? Whoosh! To be momentarily immersed in water. Many of the practices of purification involving pots and cups, it was an immersion. Of course, they applied this to the whole body. And historically, there were entire bodies had to be immersed for purification. Historically, and even common today in Orthodox Judaism, immersion.

27:49In fact, Plato uses the word to refer to soak. He's using it in a figurative sense, to soak in wine. But anyway, the idea, soaked, taking it in. But notice the emphasis is upon the name again. Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus. Who is the name of Jesus? Jesus is the one who is pouring this out. And Joel had spoken about that this will happen at the end of the days, in the last days. This is going to come about. God, Yahweh, is going to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh.

28:30On all mankind. And then Peter, towards the end, says, Let me tell you, look at this. In verse 33, he says, Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he, Jesus, has poured forth which this which you both see and hear. In other words, their direct link. Yahweh, Jesus, is pouring this forth. That's the name. Be baptized in his name. Big call. But Peter also makes a link between Joel's statement: everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved, and being baptized in his name. What does calling upon the name of the Lord look like? Repentance and being baptized in his name. That's the outward expression in this context, for sure. Why baptized? Why did Peter call them to that? Well, first of all, that's what Jesus commanded them. He said in Matthew 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And just think in the context of the radical change that Peter was calling these men to make. Wow, a departure from being identified with those who rejected Christ to those who follow him and follow him publicly. These men had. Would be this would come at a very high price.

30:04I don't think we get the understanding of the depth of what is involved in repentance. We are to completely change allegiances and identify with our new allegiance. And where there is a reluctance to change allegiances or to identify with the new allegiance, you've got to be really got to question: is this really a Holy Spirit work that has taken place? Because Peter calls them to a radical change of life, an identification with the one that was just crucified in their community.

30:47Pretty radical. What a manifestation of repentance. From one extreme to the other. There's not going to be any secret disciples. Peter doesn't give them that option. Remember in Matthew 10, 32, everyone who confesses me before men, Jesus says, I will confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. For these men to obey Jesus, this, I mean, to obey Peter's words, a repentance would take place. A radical change of understanding who Jesus is.

31:30And a radical change in relationship to him. You are the king. You are the Messiah. And we now turn to you. Formerly, we saw you as something else deserving of death. But now we see you for who you really are, and we are changing our allegiances. And we are not ashamed to make that public. What a change. This change only happens by the work of the Holy Spirit. We can't bring this about. We may be able to whip somebody into shape or whatever, or try to guilt-trip them into or coerce them into something, but a change like this is what the Holy Spirit is about. Their change would result in a radical change with their culture. And listen, that's what repentance always is: it's a call to align with Christ and a radical adjustment of your relationship to your culture. So there's the direction: repent, be baptized. Then there's the third imperative, and there be saved. Look at verse 40. And with many other words, he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, be saved from this perverse generation. So with many other words, you know what? Luke hasn't given us the whole sermon. It only takes us a few minutes to read it, right? He gives us a synopsis or this summary of Peter's sermon.

33:00It took a lot longer than it takes us to read it. Probably took a lot longer than it took me to preach it over these three Sundays. I mean, there was some duration. Notice that he kept on, he solemnly testified with many other words, and he kept on exhorting him. This was a lengthy endeavor. Be saved. Be saved. It's a general action. Be saved. And it's passive. So he says, be saved. Well, what does that look like? Well, that is also linked to what he's just said: to repent and be baptized. That's the specific action. So be saved. How do you be saved? By repenting and putting your faith and trust in Christ.

33:42By repentance and being baptized in his name. Specific here. So be saved means to be rescued, to be brought out safely. What do they need to be saved by? Look back. Look back. Be saved from this perverse generation. The word is scoliosis. We get the word scoliosis, crooked, perverse, bent. And the idea here is evil and unrighteous. That's what's in view here. Perverse. Be saved from this crooked and bent and evil generation. Come out. Be saved from them. In fact, one has to wonder if Peter actually has Deuteronomy 32, 5 in mind when he's actually quoting this in the Psalms. Of Moses. Go back if you have time to spend some time reading that today and look at what Moses says. And he's speaking about this nation in Deuteronomy 32:5. And he says, They have acted corruptly toward him. They are not his children because of their defect, but are a perverse and crooked generation. And so Peter is saying, Be saved from this generation. Why do you need to be saved? They just crucified the Messiah. And according to Psalm 1:10, Jesus will return and put his enemies under his feet. So be saved. Come out from them. How does one come out from them? How does one come safely out from them? By repenting and being baptized in the name of Jesus. That was their way out.

35:22They could stay where they are and wait for Scripture to meet its fulfillment in their life, or they could see the danger, believe God's word, turn to Christ, and come out and escape the judgment. While we're here, I just want to make a couple of thoughts on baptism here. There's a lot more in-depth we could go here. But number one, immersion is in view. Immersion is the most appropriate mode of baptism simply because the Greek word means immersion.

36:00But also, it's the only mode that symbolizes the burial and the resurrection of our Lord. Second thing about baptism by immersion: that is God's sign of identification with his son. Believers' baptism, not the sprinkling. That is not believers' baptism. If you've been baptized as an infant, that is not believer's baptism. And the call to you today is to be baptized in his name. That is God's sign, his sign of identification with his son. And I share this with some people. So, yes, you need to be baptized. If you haven't been baptized by immersion, you need to do so. People say, well, I've been baptized as an infant. Isn't that good enough? And I find them very reluctant to come out and to give that up as if being baptized in the name of a church is more important than being baptized in the name of Christ.

37:02It is the first act of obedience. See, the call to Christ is not only the call to salvation, but also the call to obedience. And the first public act of obedience is baptism in the name of Christ. And this goes on throughout Acts. After the 3,000 souls converted, they were baptized. In chapter 8, after the Ethiopian believed in Christ, Christ. He stopped so he could be baptized. And after Paul received back his sight, he was baptized. Chapter 9. When Cornelius and his household were saved, guess what? They were baptized. It's the closest association with conversion. There isn't another sign out there that is closer to conversion. Baptism. In fact, some people ask me why I do not typically give a traditional invitation. And my answer is because, first of all, there were some logistic things that I don't have a personal problem with invitations. If they're done in the right place, the right time, and all that. But more fundamentally, that's not the call that the Bible has to new believers. The public act isn't walking an aisle. The public act is going through the waters of baptism, being baptized in his name. And let it be known today, that is what I'm calling you to do today. If you have not been baptized, you need to be. If you are a believer in Christ, if you have repented of your sins, you need to obey him. Your allegiance is now to him, and this is the public act that God has ordained that would indicate, identify you with Christ.

38:53Do not be ashamed of him. Be baptized in his name. But look at the Promises that are associated with this. We're going to back up a little. I think you thought I was going to leave something out, right? Look at the back of verse 38. Look at the promises. Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself. There are details. Repent and be baptized. Best word for that preposition there is on the basis of your forgiveness of sins. Peter is not talking about baptismal regeneration here, nor does the book of Acts teach it. In fact, if you turn over to Acts 10, 47, you don't need to turn there. I'll read it. But after Cornelius' household had come to saving faith and they had received the Holy Spirit, Peter says, This, Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did. Can he? In other words, in Acts 10, the belief, Holy Spirit, and then they were baptized. And in fact, in chapter 11, verse 8, 18, looking back on this, they call this the repentance to life, that God granted these Gentiles the repentance to life. So God grants repentance.

40:32And certainly, in the context, just like there was something that the tax collectors had to do to express genuine repentance, just as the soldiers had to do, certain things that they had to do to express genuine repentance, so in this context, these had to be baptized. And so should we. Not because it saves, but because we have been saved and we have a new allegiance, and we want that allegiance to be public and we want to be obedient to Him.

41:07You will receive the gift. Gift refers to that which is free and unmerited. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Details. Then there's the extent. Look at that. Look back. The promise is for you and for your children and as many who are far off. Basically, everybody who God will call, God will call. And you see Jesus sitting on the throne, calling. Peter knew this call. John 15, 16, you remembered the words of Jesus. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain. You see, the call to repent, the call to be baptized and be saved is the way God calls.

42:00Are you being called by God today? Let me tell you what it would look like. There will be people in your life that are exhorting you to turn away from your sin. Do you know anybody in your life right now that is telling you to turn away from your sin and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ? Do you know anybody in there in this room that might be doing that? This is what it looks like. God will bring people in your life who will exhort you to turn away from your sin and to be baptized in his name. This is what it looks like. So, three fruits of a Holy Spirit-driven ministry: conviction, direction, and third, there is a reception, a God-ordained, inspired reception. Look at this. Look at verse 41. So, then those who had received his word were baptized, and that day they were added about 3,000 souls. Now, notice who were baptized? Those who had received Peter's word, literally welcomed it, welcomed it. It's really a beautiful picture here. Many of Jesus' words, and sayings, and exhortations all have their material manifestation right here. Remember, Jesus was preaching, repenting, and believing. What does that look like? Looks like this: being baptized in his name. What does being born from above look like in John 3? This is it.

43:30This response, this first generation of Jewish believers. Remember, he often talked about internalizing the truth of Christ. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. What does that look like? This is it. In Mark 4:20, he talks about the seed that was sown on the good soil. And they hear the word and accept it, and they bear fruit 30, 60, and 100 fold. This is what the soil that receives the word, this is what it looks like when you put it all in on display. What does this really look like? It looks like men who had crucified Christ now are being baptized in his name and following him. That's what this looks like. That's what the truth implanted does. And notice, just, if you also notice, there were 3,000 of them that internalized the truth that day.

44:32And look at the change that happened to them. Let me just read this to you. This is the change. Now, keep in mind, these were guys who played their role in crucifying him. In verse 42, they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of all, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles, and all those who had believed were together and had all. Things in common, and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing with them all things as one might have need. Day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. What a change. What a change. Formerly, they had hated Christ, even contributing to his crucifixion. Listen, no sin could be darker. Okay, get that in your head. And yet, when you look on these pages, no repentance can be more glorious than these.

45:53And you look upon this Jewish nation, this wonderful, tragic, stubborn, magnificent, rebellious, sinful, and mysterious people. They led the world in the darkest sin, brutally crucifying the true king of the earth, but they also led the world in true repentance. They have shown us the Father's heart, who is full of grace, mercy, and goodness. Through them, God gave us the law. And they broke it. Through them, God gave us the Messiah and they crucified him. And through them, they gave us the gospel and showed us how to obey it.

46:45Will you learn from these? What does this say about us? No sin is too dark. Will you turn to the Christ and follow him? Listen, Christ, get this picture. Here is Christ ascended. And he calls these people to himself and they come. What does this say about you and me? I don't care what your background is. I don't care what your sin. No sin is too dark. If he can forgive them, he can forgive you. Will you repent? Will you change your allegiance and turn to him? The beauty of this whole scene is breathtaking. It is a breathtaking beauty, unlike few in Scripture. And we might be inclined to move right through it without realizing that this is one of the most glorious scenes in Scripture. I mentioned to you earlier that I tell you about what I think is one of the most beautiful scenes that I have witnessed in all of God's creation. And it happens to be the sunrise over the Psalm. de Cristo mountain ranges in my home in northern New Mexico. I remember as I was in high school and earlier and in college, I would have to run a bread route every morning, or at least five days a week, and I would have to get up very, very early in the morning, and I would have to leave the mountain on which I lived, and I would have to descend down into the Rio Grande Valley several thousands of feet. And I would go down in the deepest darkness of night. And then my day would start there. But as the day came, and I'd pick up the bread that I needed to deliver to all the different restaurants, and something would happen over those hours. I would see the sunrise and the pre-sunrise coming over the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. And it would start with these deep purple colors. And even then, as I would witness these, I would see this beauty across the sky, and I would be reminded that he was bruised for my iniquity.

49:12And I can remember, because I remember I needed to be bruised for what I had done. And it seems like the whole mountain range was speaking about my bruised Christ. And that was where the beginning of the light would come: his bruising. And then as Got closer to the sunrise, those deep purples would turn into a crimson red that would shine like the glory. That it's no wonder that the Spanish explorers named the mountain raidens the Sangre de Cristos, which means the blood of Christ. The whole sky would be crimson red. And first it would start with a sliver, and then a spot, and then a place, and then the whole sky would just be crimson red, as if to speak of my Lord first the blood, the crown, the lashing, and the pouring out, his blood shed for all. And then those reds would give way to the yellows, and the yellows would give way to a brilliant and glorious gold. And I can remember just days on days. I loved this time of the day. And I can remember just running around between the restaurants, delivering the bread, just being so excited about the sunrise. And I remember on one particular occasion, it was so glorious. It had reached this golden glory in the sky. And I came into one of these little restaurants where I served, where there was this restaurant owner who was about as immoral and cantankerous and foul-mouthed, stubborn. Goat, if there ever was one, this was him. And I went in there saying, Man, you wouldn't believe the beautiful sunrise. You need to go see that. Stop what you're doing. He goes, It's ugly.

51:15And it kind of caused a scene in the kitchen. Everyone stopped, and his wife looked at me and kind of rolled her eyes. And I said, No, just go to the front of your front of the restaurant. You can look out the windows. I mean, it is glorious. And you're back here holed up in this little kitchen cooking things. Come out and see the glory of God that's written all over the sky out there. It's ugly. And I don't need any no-count breadman coming in here telling me I need to stop my work and get out there and witness what's going on.

51:49That was kind of him. But then in the same breath, he'd say, Now, what do you want for breakfast? He'd always give me a free breakfast. We had this strange relationship. But I tell you, as I sit and ponder the glorious, breathtaking beauty of our Lord, it surpasses anything in creation. And if you get this scene, let this scene sink in your head. Here is Jesus ascended into heaven, seated with all power and all authority. And he sends his Holy Spirit, encourages his disciples.

52:30Where's the first place he sends them? To the people who had crucified him. You get the glory of our Lord. Those who crucified him. And if he will go to them, I promise you, he is going to you. Respond to him in repentance and faith. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning. We thank you for your great grace. We thank you for revealing to us Jesus Christ. Help us to respond, align ourselves with him, the most glorious, the most beautiful, how wonderful you are. Give us eyes, grant us the repentance that leads to life. Do whatever we need to do. Help us to respond to you.

53:25In Jesus' name. Amen.