A couple more chews from Sunday morning...video sermon post

 

Sermon #5 from the Acts of the Apostles and actually sermon #2 from Peter's first sermon on the Day of Pentecost.  The devout (reverent of God) Jewish men from every nation are in Jerusalem and gathered up after they heard the sound from heaven.  They also hear the mighty acts of God spoken in their own language and even dialect by a group from northern Israel.  The question from some of them is, "What does this mean?"  Peter stands up to give an explanation from the Scriptures of what is happening.  

He starts with the prophet Joel and explaining that what is happening is all part of God's plan.  He then moves to the Psalms and specifically the writings of King David.  King David is not writing about himself but the One who would come from his line promised by God in the Davidic Covenant.  The Messiah would come from King David's line but Peter helps us to see that David states that this Messiah's life would not result in body corruption (decay in the grave) but would sit at the right hand of God for a period of time until all was made right.  Peter's point is that the Messiah would rise from the dead according to the Scriptures and that Jesus, the One they crucified, rose from the dead.  They were witnesses of it and also His ascension.  

We focused this Sunday on what the crowd gathered needed to know about Jesus.  Peter focuses on Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ascension.  This is what our world needs to know about Jesus also.  I fear we spend to much time on making Jesus look like another "good guy" to follow rather than distinguishing that He is better than all those other "good guys."  They all have graves like King David's but Jesus' tomb is empty.  Why?  Because it is the very evidence that what He said was the truth and it also gives His followers the assurance of their very salvation.  We have what was said of the coming Messiah in the past that came to be.  We have what was said of Jesus the Messiah during His 1st coming that came to be.  Now we have what Jesus said of what is to come in the future and we have confidence that this will also be accomplished by the One who is ever faithful and true.

Acts 17:30-31 really details what we need to be sharing about our Jesus.

Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance,

God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,

because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness

through a Man whom He has appointed,

having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.

There is a judgment day coming and there is One who has been provided by God whose actions allow us to stand righteous before Him, the Almighty God.  What the Appointed One has done, has been done, and we need to respond to it.  The response that leads to a standing of righteousness is that of repentance, a turning to follow Him, a separation and release from what you were holding onto and following to grasp the hand of Jesus and go where He leads you to go.  All this is possible because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  This message needs to be strong among us and especially when we gather in corporate worship or in times of service to others in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.

There are so many blessings and benefits afforded to us as being followers of Christ but all those blessings and benefits are because of what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will complete on that "fixed day."  This is the message they need to hear.

Pastor Adam