Savage Street Church of Christ

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02052017itfinallyhappenedacts2donruhl

It Finally Happened 

The Lord’s plan for man was now in man’s hand.

Acts 2

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • February 5, In the year of our Lord, 2017

Song Leader and Song Suggestions: Larry Amberg – No suggestions

Prelude: 

1. Acts 2 shows the zenith of history or the hub of the Bible, because  
   1. God planned from eternity the day that Luke recorded in Acts 2.
   2. Israel’s purpose as a nation waited for that day,
      1. although the nation did not know it.
      2. God used 12 men to change the world.
2. Fifty-one days before the events of Acts 2, 
   1. the Jewish leaders and people through the Romans, crucified Jesus.
      1. However, His crucifixion had a profound affect upon all who saw it.
      2. Luke 23 shows the affect upon one Roman and the whole crowd,
         
         47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!” 48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned (Luke 23.47–48).
         
   2. God let their guilt simmer in the hearts of the Jews for over 7 weeks.
   3. Then something wonderful happened.

Persuasion: 

1. Acts 2.1–4 | The Harvest of the World Had Begun
   
   1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
   
   1. Jesus had instructed His disciples,
      
      8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1.8).
      
      1. The 12 waited in Jerusalem.
      2. They knew something would happen, but not the how or the when.
   2. Since they had to cover a great deal of land,
      1. they could not waste time learning new languages, or rely on translators.
      2. The Lord was ready for His message to go to everyone.
   3. Therefore, the apostles needed help, and
      1. the Lord Jesus baptized them in the Holy Spirit,
      2. enabling them to speak languages they had never spoken before.
2. Acts 2.5–13 | What Was that Sound?
   
   5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
   
   1. Truly these were intelligible human languages, because
      1. the men could understand what the apostles said
      2. as they spoke of the wonderful works of God.
   2. Imagine thousands of Jews
      1. hearing a mighty wind from heaven entering a house.
      2. They run to the house.
         1. In the rush to get there,
         2. these Jews who represented many language groups,
            1. heard some preachers speaking a language they did not know.
            2. Thus, it just sounded like gibberish to them.
               1. Rather than finding out what was happening,
               2. some of the Jews mocked the apostles as drunk.
3. Acts 2.14–21 | Witnessing the Fulfillment of Prophecy
   
   14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

   17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
   That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
   Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
   Your young men shall see visions,
   Your old men shall dream dreams.
   18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
   I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
   And they shall prophesy.
   19 I will show wonders in heaven above
   And signs in the earth beneath:
   Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
   20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
   And the moon into blood,
   Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
   21 And it shall come to pass
   That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
   Shall be saved.’”
   

   1. It was only 9:00 AM, too early for drunkenness.
   2. Peter informed them that they witnessed the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy!
      1. That generation had already witnessed
      2. the fulfillment of between 200–300 prophecies.
   3. They, hence we, were living in the last days,
      1. indicated by this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, for
      2. the great and notable day of the Lord had arrived,
         1. bringing salvation to anyone,
         2. who calls on the name of the Lord!
4. Acts 2.22–32 | You Killed the Christ, God Raised Him from the Dead 
   1. God made His approval of Jesus obvious,
      
      22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
      
      1. God approved of Jesus by miracles, wonders, and signs through Him.
      2. The Jews made their disapproval of Jesus obvious,
         1. employing the lawless hands of the Romans
         2. to crucify the Man whom God had given clear evidence was His Son.
      3. However, God overcame death,
         1. raising Jesus up, because
         2. God created life and allowed death into the world.
            1. With that power God overturned
            2. their evil work by raising Jesus from the dead.
      4. Death could not hold Him since He holds the keys of death and Hades.
   2. David Prophesied of Christ’s Resurrection
      
      25 For David says concerning Him:

      ‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face,
      For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
      26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
      Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
      27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
      Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
      28 You have made known to me the ways of life;
      You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

      29 Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.”
      

      1. David was, and still is, in his tomb.
         1. They knew it, and they knew no one had taken the body.
         2. Therefore, Psalm 16 was not about David.
      2. Jesus was not in His tomb, and
         1. they knew it to be true, because
         2. the Jewish leaders started rumors to explain the empty tomb.
      3. Peter offered the apostles as witnesses of the resurrection.
         1. The Jews knew it could be the only explanation,
            1. along with the “miracles, wonders, and signs which God”
            2. had already done through Jesus in their midst.
         2. Where Was Jesus?
5. Acts 2.33–36 | Jesus Sits at the Right Hand of God 
   1. Peter revealed the location of Jesus,
      
      33 “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
      
      1. If Jesus was not in the tomb, where was He?
      2. David himself had revealed in another Psalm where the Christ would be.
   2. From Psalm 110, Peter said,
      
      34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

      ‘The LORD said to my Lord,
      “Sit at My right hand,
      35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’
      

      1. That being true, and they now realized that they could not deny it,
      2. what did that make Jesus?
   3. God has made His declaration of Jesus clear,
      
      36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2.22–36).
      
      1. The Jews declared Jesus a fake, worthy of death.
      2. The Father declared Jesus Lord and Christ, worthy of the throne of heaven.
   4. What do you think that did to those Jews?
      1. They saw that Jesus was the Lord of whom they read in the Hebrew Bible.
      2. They believed that He fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah.
         1. However—now this is big—they had crucified Him!
         2. What did that do to them?
6. Acts 2.37 | Heart Piercing Words
   
   37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
   
   1. These people had been taught the word of God all their lives.
      1. Israel was not a nation like America where people celebrate secularism.
      2. It was a religious society, run by the Hebrew Scriptures.
   2. These devout men knew that God’s wrath was upon them.
      1. They knew that they had done something far worse
      2. than what any previous generation had done!
7. Acts 2.38–40 | Wonderful Words of Life
   
   38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”
   
   1. For what did those people cry out?
      1. They wanted to be free of the wrath of God.
      2. They wanted their sin forgiven.
   2. Peter told them to do two things:
      1. Repent, and
      2. be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
         1. Notice in whose name they were to be baptized.
         2. God and Jesus were willing to forget what had just happened.
   3. If they repented and were baptized, they would receive two things:
      1. Forgiveness, and
      2. the gift of the Holy Spirit.
   4. Verse 39 shows that what Peter said in verse 38 also applies to you.
8. Acts 2.41–43 | They Received the Good News
   
   41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
   
   1. Remember their desperation.
      1. They were ready to accept whatever Peter said.
      2. They were done arguing with the Lord.
         1. They were ready to quit being themselves and
         2. to start being what God wanted them to be.
   2. Rather than continuing to argue with the Lord,
      1. they continued learning from His disciples,
      2. they continued fellowshipping,
      3. they continued breaking bread (the Lord’s Supper), and
      4. they continued praying.
9. Acts 2.44–47 | Did They Repent?
   
   44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
   
   1. Rather than demanding someone’s death,
      1. they shared things,
      2. gave to those in need,
      3. ate together, and
      4. praised God.
   2. Now you, “be saved from this perverse generation.”