Eager To Tell! Series

EAGER TO TELL!

Acts 2:37-40

S: Witness

Th: Freed to Minister

Pr: WE ARE TO EAGERLY INVITE A RESPONSE TO JESUS.

?: Why?

KW: Needs

TS: We will find in our study of Acts 2:37-40 four needs that each person has that demonstrate why we need to invite people to know Jesus.

The _____ need that each person has is…

I. COMPASSION

II. COUNSELOR

III. CONTRITION

IV. COMMITMENT

RMBC 16 September 01 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Notebook: Ask (thin and beautiful)

While on maternity leave, a woman from an office brought in her new bundle of joy. She also had her seven-year-old son with her. Everyone gathered around the baby, and the little boy asked, "Mommy, can I have some money to buy a soda?" "What do you say?" she asked. Respect-fully, the boy replied, "You’re thin and beautiful." The woman reached in her purse and gave her son the money.

Do you see what our lesson here is?

It is…

Don’t be afraid to ask!

For you may never get what you want or desire, if you don’t ask.

Hold on to that thought for a while…

TRANSITION:

We have come to the third week of our discipleship month.

Our theme this month is “Freed to Minister.”

And the lesson we have been trying to get across is that…

1. Since we have the Holy Spirit in us, we are free to serve others.

In the message last week, Peter served and ministered to the people around him by telling the truth.

Opening the Old Testament, Peter showed how the events surrounding the life of Jesus fulfilled that which had been predicted by Joel and by David.

Jesus had been crucified by the Jews and Romans, but in triumph, He had risen from the dead.

His body could not see decay, and His soul could not go into hell.

God had not only raised Jesus from the dead, but He exalted Him by giving Jesus the name above every other name, making Him both Lord and Christ.

And this same risen and exalted Lord was even now pouring out His Spirit on all flesh, evident in the fact that Peter himself was prophesying from the pages of Scripture about the mighty works of God in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And since Christ had been raised and exalted, He will return to earth in judgement.

The cosmic signs which had occurred when Jesus had died upon the cross seven weeks earlier—darkness at midday and a great earthquake—will again be evident when Jesus returns to earth in judgement on the last day.

But not only does Pentecost start God’s clock running toward the end of time since the last days begin with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost is also the beginning of the great age of salvation.

It is the age that is characterized by God’s promise that “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

In what really is the key point of the Pentecost sermon, “calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved,” stands as perhaps the most important fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.

Not only was this a fulfillment of that promised to Joel, but David, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Zephaniah had also foretold of this day.

Everything that happened was in direct fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of a great age of salvation to begin when the long awaited Messiah appeared.

So, this was the essence of Peter’s message as we have studied so far.

And there is an important application we must understand up to this point…and it is this…just like Peter…

2. We can proclaim the truth.

We have good news.

It is not something to hide.

It is a message to proclaim.

For it is a message of joy.

It is a message of hope.

It is a message of love.

But…

3. We sometimes back away from telling the truth.

For example…

ILL Notebook: Testimony (oldest go first)

Several women, each trying to one-up the other, appeared in court, each accusing the others of causing the trouble they were having in the apartment building where they lived. The judge, with Solomon-like wisdom decreed, "Okay, I’m ready to hear the evidence...I’ll hear the oldest first." The case was dismissed for lack of testimony.

Perhaps giving away your age is not your problem, but what is it that keeps you from proclaiming the good news?

Are you worried about your reputation?

Are you concerned that you will be rejected?

Are you more interested in staying politically correct?

But we must face a truth today…it is too simple perhaps…and it is this…

A question must be asked so a response can be made.

And this is so true of our faith.

4. WE ARE TO EAGERLY INVITE A RESPONSE TO JESUS.