Clarify the Gospel - Acts 2:14-38

Well, good morning, will you help me welcome all of our brave campuses that are worshiping with us today? Good to have all of you. Just want to add my words to this too. Make sure you're participating in our 21 days of prayer. If you didn't pick up a book on the way in, please pick up one on the way out. There are prompts, there's QR codes, we'll help you do this. Pick a friend, use your spouse, use your kids, have different people any day, but let's pray as a team. Let's pray as a church. Let's expect God to do some great things, amen. And with that, let's go before the Lord. Let's prepare our hearts for his living and his active word this morning. Will you pray with me? Our Father in heaven, we give you all the glory, all the honor and all the praise because you and you alone deserve it all. You're the God of the universe. We declare that, we've declared that in our songs and our prayers and Lord, we're about ready to hear from your living and active word. And we're so encouraged by that because we as a people believe that every time your word is faithfully and accurately proclaimed that you are speaking. So our prayer this morning is speak, Lord, for we are ready to hear. And so now for all those of you who have gathered who desire to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak directly to you, who will believe what he says and who will by faith put into practice what he shows you, will you agree with me very loudly by saying the word, amen, amen. When our kids were younger, one of the games they liked to play with their grandparents when we were having dinner with them was the game called telephone. Have you ever played that game before where one person makes up a story and then tells the person next to them, whispers it in their ear. They whisper it to the person next to them, the person next to them, the person next to

them, goes all the way around the table and then the person at the end has to say, here's the story and they tell the story. And it was always hilarious because I think my son always changed the story on purpose. But as the story went around, even when we tried to tell the truth, it always came out just a little bit different. It was never quite the same as the details that the first person had said that. When it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ, I believe the telephone game happens quite a bit. That when we hear from the word of God what the gospel is and then we begin to share it with others, what they receive may not be exactly what the word says. And as they pass it on, it may not actually be what the word says. And this can go on through a family, it can go on through a generation where some people think, I understand it, I've been told this, I get it. When in reality, they've just been told parts of the truth or not all of the truth and they're believing something that's false. In this series called Clarify the Call, we've been talking about how to clarify the mission. What is God's design for the world? What does he want us to be a part of? Then we talked about clarifying the foundation of what things we need to set in place in order to allow the Holy Spirit to have full reign in our life. Last week we talked about clarify the presence, when the Holy Spirit comes and the ministries that he does by regenerating us, indwelling us, filling us, sealing us, marking us, all the different ministries that lead to this, which is clarify the gospel. Because if those things are in alignment, one of the truths that happens when you're filled with the spirit is you can't help but tell other people about who Jesus is and what he's done for you. And this is so important. This is this message you need to hear. And I would encourage you, especially for those who have been in church for a period of years or decades that would say, I already know this, I would encourage you to listen

and make sure you're hearing the true message. And if you do have the true message and you do say, this is what I believe, then these would be five truths about the gospel that you should have when you go ahead and you share it with another. These are five truths that are so important and that's what we're gonna talk about this morning. And I would encourage you, if you have your Bible with you, open it up to Acts chapter two. We're gonna begin in verse 14 and go through verse 38 today. Acts chapter two, starting in verse 14. And as I mentioned, I'm gonna share five truths about the gospel in order to clarify it and how we can share this with others. Now, you'll remember at the end of last week, what had been going on was the Holy Spirit came upon them as Jesus had promised. Jesus said, I'm going to the Father. When I get there, I'll have him send you the Holy Spirit. The Father sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes and falls on these 120. And what happens is they begin proclaiming the excellencies of God in all these varieties of languages. And the reason we know it's languages is because there's people in Jerusalem from all the nations in the world that are listening to these mysteries being proclaimed in their own native tongue. And they're wondering, how in the world can this be? What is going on that's allowing us to hear God clearly in our own language when it's clear that these are from Galilee? They don't even have our dialect. They're not even from here. How can they do this? And they're saying, this is the Holy Spirit. And so there's all of this that's going on because some are saying, yeah.

That's the Holy Spirit, we're amazed at this. And others were mocking them saying, no, they've just been drinking sweet wine. They've just had new wine. They're drunk is really what's going on. And so here's what happens in verse 14. It says this, but Peter, taking his stand with the 11, raised his voice and declared to them, men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day. So when all the chaos is going on, what happens? Peter stands up and Peter begins to talk. Now, why is this important? Because you need to understand the first method of sharing the gospel is this, you need to stand with boldness. You need to stand with boldness. Now, what's the big deal about Peter standing up? Because in Jesus's earthly ministry, there is no one who is a bigger failure than Peter. Peter told Jesus on the night he was betrayed, even if all men fall away on account of you, I will never fall away. I'll even die if that's what's necessary. And Jesus told Peter this, Peter, I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. When they come to arrest Jesus, Peter takes his sword out, tries to cut off the head of a servant named Malchus,

misses him, cuts his ear off. Jesus reaches down, picks up the ear, puts it back on Malchus and immediately heals him and looks at Peter and rebukes him and say, he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. As Jesus is being let out and all the disciples scatter, Peter follows to see what the soldiers are gonna do with Jesus. And while they're around the campfire, not once, not twice, but three times as people start prodding him saying, you're one of them, you're with him, you know him. He denies it three different times and even calls down curses. And after the third time, guess what happens? Just like Jesus prophetically said, a rooster crows. He meets eyes with Jesus and Peter turns away and goes off weeping. I mean, in the time that he could have stood with Christ, in the time that he could have said, yeah, I'm one of his followers, do with me whatever you want he couldn't do it, why? Because he hadn't been filled with the Holy Spirit of God yet. He failed miserably just like Jesus said he was gonna fail miserably. But when Jesus rose from the dead, he went and restored Peter, they had breakfast together on the beach. You remember they ate fish. He asked Peter three times, do you love me?

It hurt Peter because he wanted to say yes. He's like, Lord, you know I love you even though I can't, all this. And he tells him three different times, feed my sheep, tend my lambs, feed my sheep. But here's what happens now. When the Holy Spirit comes upon Peter, this failure of a man, this one who was scared for his life, this one who had been in hiding for a period of days who didn't know what was gonna happen, the one who was afraid of the Romans, now what does he do? He stands up with the 11 and said, let me tell you what's going on. I'm not afraid anymore because the Holy Spirit of God is inside of me. And here's what he tells him. He tells him this very boldly. He says this, he's taking a stand with the 11 raised, men of Judea and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let it be known to you and give heed to my words for these men are not drunk as you suppose for it's only the third hour of the day. He says, it's only nine in the morning. Like it's 9 a.m. This is not what's happening. We are not drunk. He's standing with boldness. Now all throughout the Bible, the Bible tells us when we have the Holy Spirit

that God has not given you in 2 Timothy 1, 7, God has not given you a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, love and discipline or sound mind. That's what the Lord says. So you have to understand fear is a spirit. Fear is not a feeling, fear is not an emotion, it's a spirit. But when you have the spirit of God, you have a different spirit. You have a spirit of power, you have a spirit of love, you have a spirit of discipline. So you can choose to do the very things God wants you to do. Boldness is essential in the life of a believer. Even in Proverbs 28, 1, one of my favorite verses on boldness, it says the wicked flee when no one is pursuing but the righteous are as bold as a lion. It's boldness. Now let me be clear on boldness. Boldness, I'm not talking about being an extrovert. I'm not talking about being verbose. I'm not talking about being colloquial with your speech. I'm talking about standing firm on the truths of Jesus. You can be an introvert and you can be bold. You can whisper and you can be bold but we're called to stand with boldness. Even the Apostle Paul, who may be the greatest missionary theologian in the history of the church even to this day, when he was in prison and he was writing to the Ephesians,

he wrote them and after he told them to put on the full armor of God, he said, continue to pray. Pray for all the saints. And then in chapter six, verse 19, he says this, and pray on my behalf. So in other words, pray for me that utterance may. be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. So the Apostle Paul that gave his entire life that said for me to live as Christ, to die as gain, doesn't matter if you beat me, I'm still gonna proclaim. It doesn't matter if you imprison me, you can kill me and that's the goal of my faith. I'm not intimidated by any of you. What does he ask the Ephesian church to do? Would you please pray for me that I would have the utterance to say the right words and have the boldness with which to say it? Question, if the Apostle Paul was calling on the church to pray for boldness, how much more do we need to be praying for boldness in our own lives? Amen? I mean, boldness is essential if we're gonna share the gospel. Boldness is unapologetic. Boldness is this is the way, this is the truth, this is the life, I'm not going to apologize for that. And here's the truth. If the spirit fills you, fear can't define you.

If you have the spirit of God, it will be known to people that he lives inside of you and you never know when you're gonna have a chance to stand boldly for Christ. I didn't move to Denver until 2010, but some of you lived here on April 20th, 1999, when there was a school shooting at Columbine High School. And I read of a story even at the time and I was refreshing my memory on it this week of a 17-year-old girl named Rachel Joy Scott who was one of the first to be shot and killed in that horrible tragedy that day. And one of the questions she was asked by her killer was, do you believe in God? She said, yes. Later, it was said by her parents and others that had read her journals that she had written down, I'm not going to apologize for speaking the name of Jesus. If I have to sacrifice everything, I will. Amen? Amen. Amen. She had no idea on that day, 26 years ago, that that was gonna cost her her life. When you stand for boldness, you stand firm in what is the most essential thing on the planet and that's having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're gonna share the gospel, share it boldly. Share it like you actually believe it. Share it like you actually mean it.

Say it with conviction, amen? So stand with boldness. That's exactly what Peter's doing. And then do this, number two. Boldness without a foundation is just noise. So do this, share the scriptures. Share the scriptures. The first thing that Peter's gonna do is he's gonna take them to the scriptures. Notice this. He says, you know, it's only nine in the morning. It's only the third hour of the day, verse 16. But this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel. What's he gonna do? I'm gonna go right to the word. I'm gonna go right to the scriptures. They didn't have the New Testament. Hadn't been written yet. Acts 2 hadn't been written because Acts 2 was being unfolded as he was speaking. He went to Joel. And what does he say? And he says, it shall be in the last days, God says, that I will pour forth my spirit on all mankind and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see vision and your old men shall dream dreams. Even on my bond slaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of my spirit and they shall prophesy.

What's he saying? Couple things. Number one, he's going back to the scriptures and he's declaring we're in the last days. Jesus Christ made it to heaven. We know he made it to heaven because he promised to send the Holy Spirit. And guess what? The Holy Spirit has been sent. He's here and he's indwelling us. So he's going back to Joel and it says in the last days, I'm gonna pour forth my spirit. So number two is what he's telling him is he's explaining the outpouring of the spirit. Joel said it centuries earlier. I'm saying we're living in it. That's what you're seeing. Then number three, he's gonna give him a warning of the coming judgment of God. In verses 19 and 20, these are things that haven't happened yet, but he's warning them of what's gonna happen. He says, I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. He said before that great day of judgment, you're gonna see signs.

I'm warning you. The good gospel presentation warns people of coming judgment. And then fourth, he offers a way of salvation. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now notice this, when Peter is making his argument, where does he go? He goes right to the word of God. He goes right to the word. Listen, if Brave Church isn't where you attend for the rest of your life, please go to a church where they open the word of God and all their thoughts come from the word of God. If the pastor's preaching and it's not coming from the word of God, you don't need to listen to it because it's not gonna change your life. When you share the gospel, share the word, share the scriptures. These 66 books that make up one book from Genesis through Revelation, nobody in the history of the world has. ever been able to refute. Isaiah 40 verse eight says, the grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our Lord stands forever, amen. Not one jot or tittle of this law will ever go away. This book is eternal. This book is useful for, this book is God breathed,

it's useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy had its origin in the will of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Everything in this book reveals who Jesus Christ is. The written word reveals the living word. You cannot share too much scripture when you're sharing the gospel with people. Let this be your plumb line. Let this be your resource. Let this be what you're sharing. Certain gospel tracks do a good job at this. Other gospel tracks don't, they just tell stories. Use the word, use the word of God when you share the gospel, amen. Hebrews 4.12 says, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. It penetrates to divide both soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the attitudes and intentions of the heart. When this word is proclaimed, spoken, preached, read, God has a way of speaking into the depths of who you are. This book, as I've said many times, it's not just a book you read, this is a book that reads you. The author is still alive and part of the book. It's the only book you can read

where the author speaks to you about his book. I mean, it's awesome. The word of God is different than any other book, which is this, don't just preach. If you're a preacher, don't just preach what's trending, preach what's true. If you're sharing the gospel, share the truth. And I would say this to you as your pastor, if there's only one verse that you know of scripture, then use that verse. And if I could pick one verse for you, I would pick Romans 6, 23. Just memorize that, for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. If you only know that verse, I've shared the gospel of that verse with hundreds of people one-on-one. What? The wages of sin is death. What you earn for what you've done is death. You're gonna die. You're gonna face a holy God. You're gonna stand accountable to the holy God of the universe for all your sin. But the free gift, that's what a gift is. God wants to give you something. The free gift of God is what? It's eternal life. Where do I get it? In Christ Jesus through his death on the cross,

his resurrection from the dead. That's the gospel summed up, right? When you share the gospel, when you share truth, and there's so many places in this prayer journal you have for 21 days, every single day is a scripture that talks about the good news and the hope that you have in Jesus Christ. The more scripture you can share, the more powerful your witness is gonna be. Peter spent three and a half years directly with Jesus. They ate meals together. They probably slept in the same camping ground together. They laughed together. They cried together. He doesn't say, let me tell you about Jesus. I know him really, really well. Where does he go? He goes right to the word of God. He goes to Joel and says, this is what Joel said. This is what the word says. Go to the word, amen? So share the scriptures. Preach the scriptures. Why? Because these are unchangeable. I heard about some hikers out in Alaska that got lost as they were out going where they were going because such a huge snowstorm came in. It wiped out GPS. It wiped out all their landmarks.

The only way the rescue team could find them is they had to use a traditional old map and find out exactly where they were because GPS didn't work. Landmarks didn't work, nothing. They had to follow the map. Friends, this is your map. This word is the map. Follow this book. This book will lead you where you want to go, amen? And if the gospel is God's plan, the reason this is so important is we have to deal with the biggest problem that we have, and that's our sin, which leads us to point number three. If we stand with boldness and share the scriptures, then we need to exalt Christ's work. We need to exalt Christ's work. We need to exalt the person and the work of Jesus Christ. What does he say in verse 22? Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst just as you yourself know, this man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. What does he say? He goes, let me tell you about Jesus.

He's the God man. He's God in flesh. You know he's God in flesh because he did things here nobody else did. Not only did he fulfill the law and all the requirements that were met, but you saw what he did. He gave recovery of sight to the blind. He healed leprosy. He even raised people from the dead. You saw it all. You know who he is. And oh, by the way, even for those of us in this generation who say, oh, I don't know who he is. I never saw any of that. If with an open mind and you wanna be genuine and you go study the history of a person named Jesus Christ, there is overwhelming evidence to show that he lived where he lived. Even there were historians in the day that didn't believe in Jesus as their Messiah that still wrote about everything that he did. There's overwhelming evidence to show Jesus Christ is exactly who the scriptures proclaim him to be, okay? So what is he talking about? When it comes to sharing the gospel, can we please talk about Jesus? He's unlike anyone else who has ever lived. He's God in flesh. No other God has ever lived in flesh.

No other God has put on flesh. It means that Jesus, the second person in the Trinity, has always existed from eternity past. There's never a time he didn't exist. But 2,000 years ago, he put on flesh, came to this earth, demonstrated that he was God in flesh, and then did what? As a predetermined plan that God had, he died on the cross in your place for all your sin. That's the good news of the gospel. Jesus Christ paid for sin. Now, I know what some of you think. Why do we always have to talk about sin? Because it's your biggest problem. Most people don't think it's that big of a problem. Most people think when I tell people they're sinners, they're like, well, they know they're sinners. People, you don't know that you're sinners. You were born dead apart from Christ. You are known as a child of wrath. God is going to pour out his wrath on all mankind. Because not only is God loving, and not only is God kind, and not only is God merciful, but he's holy, and he's righteous, and he's just, and he's true. And because of his holiness, he has to punish sin. Well, where does sin reside? In sinners. So who does he punish? Sinners.

How long does he punish them? Eternally. What's your biggest problem? Your biggest problem is that you're born dead in your sins. Your biggest problem is that the wrath of God is on you. Your biggest problem is that you're blind to your sin, so you don't even see it, and you're offended when somebody tells you that you're a sinner. That's why the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. What do I need a person dying for my sins for? I'm a pretty good person. But if you know that you're gonna stand judgment before the God of the universe, and you're gonna stand there in your sin, and you're gonna hear the words, depart from me, you worker of iniquity, for I never knew you, you're gonna wonder how in the world can this be paid for? And the only payment for sin anywhere in the world is the Lord Jesus Christ. Why am I not Muslim? Because Muhammad and Allah can't pay for my sin. The 3,000 Hindu gods cannot pay for my sin. Confucius cannot pay for my sin. See, if you understand the gospel, whether you're in England or Israel or India or wherever you go, you preach the same message because you don't care about what their false gods are any more than you don't care about

what the false gods are in America, you proclaim Jesus Christ and him crucified, amen? That's the gospel. That's the gospel. I mean, all throughout the scriptures, this is like a first importance. I mean, Paul writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and here's what he says. In verses three and four, he says, for I delivered to you as of first importance, that's primary importance, what I also received. Here's what it is, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. How does he know that? Because the scriptures teach that. And that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. It's the word of God that teaches us about who Jesus is and what the gospel does. Christ died for sinners. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was pierced through for our iniquities. Peter says the same thing in 1 Peter 2, 24. It says that he himself, that's Christ, bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. For by his wounds, you were healed, amen? I mean, think about this. I wanna say this, because in church, I hear this a lot, especially from people who are younger.

They'll say stuff like this. Well, man, that was a great testimony that person had. I don't have a very good testimony. There's a lot of adults here that say, well, I don't really have a great testimony. Can I just tell you what your testimony is? Here's your testimony if you're saved. God loved you so much, he sent his son from heaven to earth who put on human skin. in flesh for you, not just for 33 years, but for all eternity, who fulfilled the law on your behalf because you couldn't do it, who demonstrated that he was God, who went to the cross and in your place, he died for all your sins. And when he died, he said, it is finished. You don't need to pay for your sin anymore. Second Corinthians 521 says, "'God made him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf "'so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.'" So on the cross, Jesus Christ took the sin of anyone who would ever believe and God treated Jesus Christ the way that your sin deserved. He punished Jesus for what you deserved and then turned around and looked at you and treated you just as if you'd never sinned. He was the substitutionary atonement. That's your testimony. Friends, your testimony is not,

I was once this and now I'm a little bit better. I was really, really bad and now I'm a lot better or I was kind of bad, but I wasn't really bad, but now I'm kind of better. That's like Oprah Winfrey stuff. That doesn't mean anything, right? The gospel is I was dead and I was a child of wrath and God sent his son who died in my place for all my sin and rose from the dead and gave me life. That's my testimony, amen? And that's what he's talking about here. Friends, if you have a testimony that you came to Christ at four, knowing that, it's a powerful testimony. Your testimony is not what you did or what you're doing. Your testimony is what God did and what he's doing. It's God who saved you. Don't ever apologize for that testimony. The sooner it happened in your life, the more glorious that is. You know, I mean, if you were like four and like, I think I stole a piece of gum one time, but I didn't know, who cares? If you came to the realization I was dead in my sin and I didn't wanna die in my sin and God gave me the faith to believe that Jesus died for me, it was awesome. Amen? Christ died for our sins. You know, in 1941 at Auschwitz prison camp,

there was a prisoner that escaped and in order to make a deal of that, the guards decided they were gonna put 10 other men to death. And so they separated 10 men and said, these men die. And there was one guy that said, my wife, my kids. And so there was a priest by the name of Maximilian Kolbe who stepped forward and said, I'll take his place. I'll die so he can live. And that's exactly what happened. Friends, that's what happened on the cross, but infinitely greater. Jesus Christ died so that you could live, not just in this world, but eternally with him. But the good news is the gospel doesn't just end in death, even though Jesus said, to telestai, it is finished. And I need to point this out just so that we understand this. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, do you remember what he said to the thief on the cross? When he said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He said, truly, truly, I say to you, today, you'll be with me where? In paradise. Where did Jesus go when he died? He went to heaven. He didn't go to hell and fight the devil for three days like it was some big battle.

He defeated him at the cross. If he went to hell, it was just to say, I won. And he went to heaven. That's it. Okay, there wasn't a battle. The battle was on the cross. You paid for all your sin on the cross. He went to heaven. But three days later, he rose from the dead in his resurrected body, which means this. Jesus is so humble. The second person of the Trinity put on flesh, not just for 33 years, but for all eternity so that you could have a relationship with him. If he ever stopped being God, your sins aren't forgiven. If he ever stopped being human, you and I have no relationship with him. He's the God man. That's why he's the only way. He's the only truth. He's the only life. Why? Because that's what the scripture teaches. Friends, I'm banking my entire eternity on the fact that Jesus is who he says he is, that he died in my place for all my sins, and that by grace through faith, I have a relationship with Jesus. He rose from the dead. He's alive.

He's the God of the universe, and he's sitting on his throne. Amen? That's who I believe in. That's what we're preaching here. That's what Peter was talking about. So notice what Peter goes on to say. He says, but God raised him. I'm in verse 24 of Acts 2. But God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for him to be held in its power. Now, it's interesting for me. If you talk to people, most people will tell you when they die, they're gonna go to heaven. Most people will tell you that. Here's a question. How are you gonna get there? If you can't raise yourself from the dead, how are you gonna get to heaven? The only way someone gets to heaven is if somebody raises them from the dead. Jesus Christ is the only one who was raised from the dead. Jesus Christ is the only one who has the power to raise people. people from the dead. So if you don't believe in Jesus, how are you getting to heaven? Jesus' resurrection from the dead

is how we're getting to heaven. First Corinthians 15, 17 says, "'For if Christ has not been raised, "'then we have no faith.'" Right? If Christ has not been raised, it's all foolishness. Matter of fact, I'm gonna quote it to you exactly because I'm paraphrasing. First Corinthians 15, 17 says it this way, "'And if Christ has not been raised, "'your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins.'" Worthless. I mean, if Jesus just died, hey, he died for your sins, good, where is he? Well, he's dead. Well, what good can a dead Lord do? But he's not dead. He's as alive as he's ever been. He conquered death. He rose from the dead. He gives people new life. It's life in Christ that takes you into the next life. And he's the only one that can do it. Who are you gonna put your faith in? Muhammad's dead. You can go to his grave. Confucius is dead. You can go to his grave. Buddha's dead. You can go to his grave.

Never been, it's probably a little bigger. But he's still dead. I've been to Israel, the two different places that theologians say he died. He's not there, he's risen. You won't find DNA samples of Jesus' decaying body because he never decayed. And that's why Peter's gonna go back and do what? He's gonna quote the scriptures again. In verses 25 and following, he's gonna quote David from the Psalms. For David says of him, I saw the Lord always in my presence, for he is at my right hand, so I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart was glad and my tongue exalted. Moreover, my flesh also will live in hope because you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to undergo decay. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence. Now he's gonna go on and explain that. What does he mean? He says, brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried and his tomb is with us to this day. So David's writing these words about the Holy One won't see decay. David's writing this word about the Holy One will not be abandoned to Sheol or hell. David's writing this, but hey, we have great confidence

because we know King David died. As a matter of fact, his tomb's right over here. We can go look at it, that's what he's saying. And so because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him an oath to seat one of his descendants on the throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay. He's saying David was speaking prophetically. God said someone from David's line would ultimately sit on the eternal throne. Jesus, if you go back through the genealogy and some of you say, why would you ever read the genealogy? This is why you read the genealogy in the Bible. In Matthew's gospel, it starts with the genealogy. You go right through all the people down to David all the way down to who? Jesus. He's in the genealogical line of David just like God said the Messiah would be. And guess what, his body did not decay. And his body was not abandoned to Hades because the moment he died, he went to paradise to be with his father, amen? That's who Jesus was talking about. So Peter, again, is using the word of God to declare what God was saying. He's saying David certainly wasn't talking about himself because David's dead.

David was talking about the Messiah and this Messiah is alive. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. In other words, Peter's like, we've seen him. We know he's alive. All of us have seen him. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but the Lord himself, who himself says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Who ascended? Who's at the right hand of God? Jesus. Who is the scripture talking about? Jesus, the promised Messiah, hundreds of years later was being spoken about in the Old Testament and it happened the exact way God said it was gonna happen, right? We use the scriptures and we teach the person and work of Jesus. It's his death, it's his very life that he lived. It's his death, his burial and his resurrection. That's what makes Christianity unique to any other religion in the world. You can study them all.

You can look at them. There's not one you will find that claims I'm God and I came here because I'm so holy, you can't get to me. Only Jesus makes that claim. Any other one than Jesus is a made up false claim and I promise you this and I'm pleading with you, you do not wanna die apart from knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior. You might think back on your life and say, I remember this. It's the worst day I ever lived. That day would be the best day you've ever had if you don't know Jesus, right? But if you do know Jesus, you can look back in your life and say, that was the best day, that was the best day. Friends, your best day's coming. You haven't lived your best day yet. You haven't lived your best life now. Your best life is on the way. Your best life is coming. The best life is Christ in you, the hope of glory when he comes and redeems you, amen? That's what we believe. That's the gospel. So when you share Jesus, most people will have smoke screens. Well, you don't really believe in a flood. I totally believe in a flood. You don't really believe God created the world

in six days, I do. You don't really believe. I believe all those things, but when I'm sharing the gospel, I'm like, we can talk about all those things, but let's see what you say about Jesus first. When you're sharing the gospel, make it about Jesus. Make them reject Jesus, right? Well, I believe in Jesus. He was a good man. He was a good prophet. He was way more than that. Good men and good prophets don't rise from the dead. Good men and good prophets don't claim that they're God. Good men and good prophets don't say, if you don't believe I'm dying for all your sin, you have no hope. That's not a good man. I mean, if I told you those things about me, you would think I'm a moron. You'd think I need to be locked. If I told you I'm God, and if you don't believe everything I am, you're going to, he's a lunatic. He's crazy. So he's either crazy, he's a liar, or he's what? He actually is the Lord he claims to be. I'm telling you, he's the Lord he claims to be, because that's what all the Bible talks about.

And because he's alive, I'm telling you, there's no doubt who's sitting on the throne of the universe, which leads me to point number four. When you're sharing the gospel, please do point number four. Please, please, please share point number four. People shy away from point number four, but no one in the Bible ever shies away from point number four. Please declare his lordship. He is the Lord. He's the Lord. Now listen to this, what Peter's going to go on to say. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now, what's he talking about? He was talking about the Jews of that day that had him crucified by the Romans, but who's he also talking about? He's talking about you. You crucified him. Why would God punish you? Because he's holding you in account for his son's death on the cross, because what put Jesus to death on the cross? Your sin. So that's what you're being held, that's what your sin has done. Your sin killed the Messiah, right? And if you're going to say,

well, I want nothing to do with him, then God will hold you accountable for your sin and will punish you. That's what the Bible says. And here's how God punishes. He will say these words, depart from me, you worker of iniquity. I never knew you. And you'll be cast into outer darkness where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. Make no mistake about it. Hell is not a place of fellowship. Hell is not a place where a bunch of people gather together. Hell is isolation. Getting together, that's a good thing. That's a gift. You don't have that. It's just physical, mental, emotional pain for the rest of your existence, which is forever because you have an eternal soul. That's why the things that we're talking about here are so important because yes, God is loving, but please declare his Lordship. Peter's like, this one you crucified is now both what? Lord and Christ. When did he become Lord? He's always been. In Luke chapter two, the verse we quote oftentimes at Christmas

when the angels are flying around and they're declaring to the people what they're seeing when the shepherds are looking up, what do they say in Luke chapter two? Verse 11, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a what? A Savior who is Christ the Lord. He was Lord at his birth. He was Lord before his birth. He's always been Lord. He will always be Lord. Please note that when you're sharing the gospel with people, he needs to be Lord. It's the Lord who saves. The word Savior is used about 39 times in the New Testament, Old Testament. The word Lord's used about 6,800 times. He's Lord, he's Lord, he's Lord. Please stop with the false gospel that says this. Well, I want him to be my Savior. I believe he died on the cross and rose from dead. I'm just not ready to make him Lord yet. You know who else believes that? The devil and all of his followers. The devil believes Jesus died on the cross. The devil believes Jesus rose from the dead. Devil will never bow his knee to Jesus Christ's Lordship. It's not knowing facts about what Jesus did. It's declaring his Lordship. It's like this, when you're driving a car,

you're in charge of the car. You're in charge of the speed. You're in charge when you put the brakes. You're in charge of the music. You're in charge. But if somebody else is driving. or you're in an Uber and you're in the backseat, they're in charge. Lordship means I'm putting you in charge. You get to run my life. Salvation happens when Jesus Christ becomes your Lord, not when you learn facts about Jesus. There are a lot of false converts in the church that think they're saved because they prayed a prayer and said, okay, I've gotten to the place where I believe Jesus died and I believe he rose, and so I'm just gonna pray about that. I'm not gonna change my life. There's no way I'm letting him rule over me. There's no way he's gonna be my Lord, but he can be my Savior if he wants to take me to heaven. Can I just tell you something? If you don't want Jesus to be the Lord of your life now, why would you ever wanna go to heaven when everybody there, the only reason they're there is because Jesus Christ is their Lord? It is a false gospel to believe he's my Savior, but I'm not ready to make him my Lord yet. All that means is I'm just not a Christian yet. I believe all the facts about it,

and I've been inoculated enough to think that I'm a Christian, and I speak enough Christianese, and I read enough in my Bible, and I go to enough religious services that I can talk it, but he's never been my Lord. When he becomes your Lord, that's when you're saved. It's the Lord who saves you. Declare his Lordship to people. Well, if I do that, not as many people are gonna wanna follow him. Yeah, that's right. Jesus said, anyone who wants to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, follow me. I need to be the Lord. Jesus didn't make these things where he tells people, hey, you know what, I know you don't wanna follow me, but just pray a prayer. Please, please, please ask me into your heart so you can get saved. No, I wanna be Lord, because that's who I am. And by the way, if you don't make him Lord now, you will when you see him. Because the Bible says that in the name of Jesus, every knee will bow in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So you might as well do it now, amen? And by the way, when he's Lord, because here's what the devil said, don't make him your Lord, he's gonna take away all your fun,

he's gonna take away all your fun, you're never gonna do this, you're gonna have to marry somebody ugly, you're gonna have to, you're never gonna have kids, you're gonna have a bad job, you're gonna be poor, broke. That's such a lie. Your best life is Christ in you now. He's the one who designed you, he's the one who created you, he's the one who knows you, he's the one who gifted you, he's the one who's leading you. Let him lead. Let him be the Lord of your life, amen? I mean, it's been said sometimes that if, you know, if Jesus isn't Lord of all, he's not Lord at all. Sometimes I'm cautious of saying that, even in my own life, because he's Lord of my whole life, but there's still things that God's growing me in and helping me through. So I wanna be careful when I say that. Will you allow him to be Lord of every area of your life? If you're like, no, he can't. Well then, why do you call him Lord? Jesus asked this question. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Like, why? I mean, if I'm your Lord, then do what I say. But if I'm not your Lord, you won't do what I say. I mean, it's your demonstration as to whether you believe it or not. Romans 10, nine says,

for if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts he was raised from the dead, you will be saved. And by the way, it's not lip service. Can we be clear on this? It's not that you just say, okay, he's Lord. I'm making him Lord. That's lip service. Because what does Jesus say in Matthew chapter seven, verse 21, Sermon on the Mount, as he's ending it, probably one of the most startling statements he makes. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. So just because you say, Lord, Lord, Lord, he's Lord, I'm praying Lord, it's, are you doing his will? Because if you're not doing his will, he's not Lord. So what's he say is gonna happen to people that give him lip service? He says, many, not a few, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, they're saying it again, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles? Lord, Lord, Lord, didn't we do all this stuff? You're my Lord, you're my Lord. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. I never knew you and here's how I know I never knew you

because I was never your Lord. I was never in charge of your life. You were always in charge of your life. You gave me lip services, Lord, but I wasn't your Lord. You were your own Lord. Your money was your own Lord. Your fun was your own Lord. You had different Lords. I wasn't your Lord because if I had been your Lord, you would have done what I wanted and you never wanted anything to do with me. So just naming it and saying it is not what it is, it's doing it. If Jesus is your Lord, it doesn't mean you'll do it perfectly, but you will grow in it increasingly, amen? Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And if this is true. then you need step number five. I mean, if we're really gonna stand boldly and we're gonna share the scripture and we're gonna exalt Christ person and work and we're gonna declare his lordship, then this is what you must do. You need to call for repentance. You need to call for repentance. Notice what happens in Acts two. It says this, 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? Hey, if this is true that we're on our way to hell, if this is true that Jesus is Lord in Christ, if this is true, God's holding us responsible for his death, if this is true, he's the only way to heaven, if this, like, what do we do? Like, get me out of here. That's when you know a person's ready to receive Christ. If you have to convince somebody to trust Christ, they're not ready. You don't need to beat them over the head. It has to be Holy Spirit conviction when they're in their heart saying, how could I not have this? I want this, I need this, I need Christ, I need his death, I need his resurrection, I need it. Then they're saying, what shall we do? Can I tell you what he doesn't say? Can I tell you what he's not gonna say? Just pray this magic prayer. Can I tell you what he's not gonna do? He's not gonna say, would you just ask Jesus into your heart and just keep living the same way you are? That's not what he's gonna say. What's the first word that's gonna come out of Peter's mouth, what do you think? Knowing the point that I'm making? Yeah, you got it. Notice what he says. Peter said to them, repent.

Well, who should repent? And each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What he's telling them is repent. Baptism is your next step, going public, that you're no longer what you were. Now you're somebody who's different. And when you repent, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit on the inside. Friends, there needs to be repentance. When John the Baptist came, what was his first sermon? Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. What was Jesus' first sermon? Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. What's Peter say here? Repent, be baptized, you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And some people read this like, well, that's just for the Jews, it wasn't for the Gentiles, that's not true. In Acts chapter 20, as Paul was talking, in verse 20 he said, I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable in teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of what? Repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is essential to salvation. Repentance means I've changed my mind as to who the Lord of my life is.

Second Corinthians 7.10 says it this way, for the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. Worldly sorrow, oh man, that makes me feel bad that you're talking like this, produces death. Godly sorrow says, I want out of this, I wanna repent. Now, some people will say repentance just means change your mind, that's what the Greek word means. But think about this, when you change your mind about something, everything changes. Let's say you're in high school this fall and you decide to go out for soccer and you've been on a team for about a week and you decide you're gonna change your mind. You're gonna quote, repent. You're gonna change your mind and say, you know what, I'm changing my mind. I wanna play football. I'm gonna play football this year. When do you actually become a football player? Do you become a football player when you just say that? I don't wanna play soccer anymore and you just go home and you don't do anything ever again? Or do you become a football player if you're like still gonna wear your soccer cleats and your shorts and your shirt and go sit on the hill and watch the football practice? Does that make you a football player?

Or what about if you just get other people with you and you organize some flag football games? Does that make you a football player? Because some people are like that. We're like, well, I don't wanna wear the pads. I don't wanna wear that uncomfortable shoulder pads or that helmet, but I'm a football player. No, here's when you become a football player. Here's when you change your mind. You tell your coach, I'm no longer in your camp anymore. I'm gonna play football. And then you go submit to the authority of the football coach and you're like, hey, winter practices, you tell me how to dress. You tell me when to be here. I'll do everything that you ask in the way that you ask because now I'm a football player. I'm done with soccer. I'm playing football, right? So translation in the gospel, when have you been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved son? It's when you believe Jesus Christ is Lord and you repent and you change your mind. I'm not living for me anymore. I'm coming under the authority of Jesus Christ and whatever he says, he's my Lord. He's my God. I'm doing things his way. Here's my question.

When did that happen for you? I'm not asking you when you prayed a prayer. I'm not asking when you felt God move in your heart. I'm not asking when you felt a tingle during a worship song. I'm not asking when you believe that Jesus died and rose. None of those things in and of themselves are important. When did you go from being in the kingdom of darkness? under the lordship of Satan and rebuked that, repented of that, turned from your sin and turned to Christ and said, Jesus, I want you to be the Lord of my life. I want you to take over, you got the driver's seat. I'll sit in the back, I'll sit in the back of the pickup. I don't even care where I am as long as you're driving my car. When did that happen? Because friends, that's what salvation is. That's what salvation is. And I guarantee you, not every person hearing my voice has been there and done that. Just because you walk into a church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going into a garage makes you a car. There has to be a transition. When did the Holy Spirit come into your life and change you and give you a desire to serve Christ? If it hasn't, make today your day. Bible says in Psalm 95, as well as Hebrews 3 and 4, if you hear the Lord's voice, do not harden your heart.

Friends, this is the eternity at stake. If God would show us a video of what happens every day when people die, you would be terrified when you see what happens to an unbeliever when they die. An unbeliever can die and 10,000 people can come to their funeral and speak great things about them, but that unbeliever doesn't care because they've just been cast into outer darkness awaiting the final judgment in the lake of fire. And there's nothing they can do to change their fate. So it's devastating. And I love you enough to tell you that because God loves you so much, that wasn't his design for you. He was willing to send his only begotten son, Jesus, to live what you couldn't live and to die and take the punishment you couldn't take so that you could live and experience him. It is a gift. It's the greatest gift in the world. And all you have to do is take it by saying, I'm done with my sin and I want Jesus to be my Lord. That's the gospel. And friends, if you already know that, this is how you share it. If you don't know that, would you please make today your day? Stand with boldness, share the scriptures, exalt Christ's work, declare his Lordship and call for repentance.

I'm telling you, it's the most important decision you'll ever make. So why do I have to talk about death all the time? Because it's the one guarantee in your life. I'm preparing you for that day because if we do have souls that are eternal, which we do, what takes place on that day will be more significant than anything you ever accomplish in this world. Here's the crave. Is Jesus your Lord? Is Jesus your Lord? Nobody can answer that question for you but you. And even if you're here today and say, well, I don't know. I don't know. It's kind of scary to know. Then why don't you just make it real? Like, Lord, I don't know that I've let you be my Lord, but today I want you to be my Lord. I'm not gonna call you out. I'm not gonna make you walk an aisle. I'm not gonna make you raise a hand. It's between you and Jesus, but I'm just gonna ask everybody to bow their head and close their eyes as we pray today. Our Father in heaven, we give you all the glory, honor, and praise for who you are. And Lord, we just heard from Acts chapter two,

the message that Peter preached in the first sermon in the history of the church. And we heard the points he was making. Lord, there's some here today that would say, I already know this. Lord, thanks for the reminder of how I'm supposed to share the gospel. But Lord, there are some who are hearing my voice who have never trusted you as their personal Lord and Savior. They may have been religious. They may have prayed some prayer. They may have jumped through some religious hoop, but there's never been a time in their life where they said, Jesus, please be the Lord of my life. If that's you here today, here's how you can pray. Lord Jesus, I'm done with my sin. I wanna turn from my sin and I wanna receive your gift of life. I want you to be my Lord. I want you to lead me. And I believe that I can have this because you died for me and took all my sin and you rose from the dead in victory. Come into my life, Lord Jesus. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and change me. Make me new. That's the desire of your heart this morning. You can pray that prayer at any time. The Bible promises,

if you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Lord, for those who have truly been converted here this morning, may they see evidences of it this week as they continue to desire to hunger for you and walk in your ways. And Lord, for those who have said, I'm not ready yet, Lord, would your Holy Spirit please go to work and convict them of sin, righteousness, and judgment all week long and continue to do that for the rest of their life until they have the opportunity to meet you face to face. Father, I pray for every single person who can hear my voice that they would make today the day of their salvation. There'd be no doubt about it and that you would change eternity for many. Lord, we give you praise, glory, and honor for all you do. We trust in you and trust in you alone completely. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen. Can we give God praise for his word this morning? Amen. I invite you to stand as we sing.