Series: Being a voice (a study of Acts chapters 1-4)
Text: Acts 2:12-41
If you are to be a voice for God there has to come a day when you stand up, raise your voice and address the crowd. As we shall see from our text for today its important that when we raise our voice we speak with a voice of clarity. Clarity means the quality of being clear. Its no use being an unclear voice for God. God is not the author of confusion. We need to be a voice of clarity rather than a voice of confusion. We really only become a voice of clarity when we speak to the questions people are really asking.Let me explain what I mean. If you have chapter or section headings in your Bible then you may see that the heading for Acts Chapter 2:12-41 is more than likely "Peter address the crowd". But a better heading might be this; "Peter address the crowd's questions". It really is just as much a Q&A session as it is a sermon. The entire sermon is Peter responding to two questions. Question one is V12 "Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "what does this mean?" and Question two; found in v37 "when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles "Brothers what shall we do?" What does this mean and what must we do! People are looking for meaning and purpose in their lives. Left to themselves they may not get the answers they are looking for.
So how does Peter go about addressing the questions people had? First of all he pointed people away from making fun of them and to scripture. If you want to sober people up to the reality of God you have to show them your experience is found in scripture. Peter did not begin with an opinion he had; instead he began with scripture. Being a voice of clarity is about pointing people to scripture. You and I cannot say it better than how the bible says it. Its clear that in order to be a voice for God we need to both know our culture and our Bible.
So how do you get to know your bible better? By reading the Bible with the same two questions in mind. What does the text mean and how do I apply it to my life. Often we read the Bible with answers in mind rather than questions in mind. Notice that Peter also point people to Jesus. When people have questions we can point people to Jesus. Now Peter was not the first person to think of this. Even in the Old Testament when King David had questions where did God lead him for answers. Yes! To Jesus. David was given a revelation of the coming of Jesus.Everything would be answered in Jesus. Therefore David could rejoice and be glad. The reality is that we know more about Jesus than David did. We have more clarity than David.
People need to look again at who Jesus is. We live in a culture where people have rejected Jesus as the answer to their questions. Peter reminded people of who Jesus really is. When God is about to do a miracle He does it through Jesus. And the more Peter lifted up the real Jesus the more people were cut to the heart. This lead to their second question. "What shall we do"? Well Peter knew what they were to do. "Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." Repent! Change your mind about Jesus. Change your mind about your sins.
In the last days God will pour out both his Spirit and His wrath. God would much prefer to pour out His Spirit rather than His wrath. God will treat people the same way they treated Jesus. To those who receive Jesus God will pour our His Spirit. To those who reject Jesus.im God will pour out his wrath. The choice is ours. It really is that clear.
