Last week we spoke about the powerful manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the new believers. The Spirit came down like a mighty rushing wind, filling the room, and filling them personally. That powerful filling overflowed into the streets below as people from every nation heard the words of the wonderful works of God in their own languages. The people wanted to know what this meant and Peter in his very first sermon let them know that these signs and wonders were all part of God's prophetic plan for the last days.
What was shocking is when Peter said, “Jesus, the one you had rejected and crucified, is the very one God raised from the dead and confirmed is both Lord and Messiah.” This was an incredibly bold statement by Peter. How did the crowd react to this statement? How would you have reacted? Let’s look at how they responded.
Acts 2:37-41
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
What happened here? Peter spoke with such urgency, such conviction that when they heard his words something unexpected happened. They were:
1. Pierced to the heart
The eyes of their hearts were opened to what they had done, and Peter’s words deeply convicted them. The word pierced means: to pierce all the way down, i.e. deeply (thoroughly) pained; "emotionally pierced through"; psychologically pricked, they were emotionally stunned.
The idea of this word in the Greek is that those who were listening were at first in a spiritual stupor, their hearts were numb to the reality of what they had done but Peter’s Spirit-filled words pierced through their calloused hearts and exposed their actions. They were pierced through when they realized that they were complicit in the greatest of crimes against God and there was no way to reverse it. They were guilty of murdering the Messiah, the Son of God and when they realized it, they were emotionally stunned - convicted, broken, crushed, and undone. When they realized what they had done the first question they asked Peter was, “what shall we do?” Normally when a preacher finishes the message, he finishes with a challenge of what the Scriptures are calling us to do. How interesting it is that when Peter finishes his first sermon the people are so convicted, so cut to the heart they ask him, “what should we do?”
Peter replies again with such urgency and with hope for anyone who would listen: “Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.” Peter didn’t pile a list of ethical demands that they had to fulfill before they could be saved and baptized.” The message was simply, “Repent and be baptized.” Repent in the OT talks about genuine sorrow for the wrong that you have done and involves an alteration of attitude towards God. In the NT, repentance means a radical reorientation of life with respect to Jesus. What was the radical reorientation?
The Jews had seen Jesus as someone claiming deity and deserving of death, so they crucified Him. But once the Spirit opened their eyes, they saw Him for Who He is, the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. When they heard the powerful words of Peter and the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ, they understood that the One they had rejected is the only One who could save them from judgment. They repented and were baptized (an outward testimony of an inward reality) identifying with Jesus death burial and resurrection. They turned from their old belief system and way of thinking in a...
2. Radical response
The people had a complete paradigm shift in the way they thought about Jesus, made a decision to believe in Him as their Savior, and to change the source and direction of their lives. As practicing Jews for generations and generations, this was radical. We do not know how many were there but we know that 3,000 responded, believed in Christ as the Messiah, and were baptized. 3,000 were added to the Kingdom that day but many more heard the gospel.
It made me think George Whitefield, a 18th century preacher from England. The mainline churches rejected him because at the time they were very liberal, and he preached the truth. So what did he do? He went out and preached in the fields. On one occasion he went to preach to a group of coal miners who were considered the most wicked and vile people in society. He stood on a small hill about 100 yards from them and yelled out, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." As they heard him, they came closer. Then he talked about Jesus who was a friend of publicans and sinners and didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. He spoke of the cross and the love of God and noticed tears were coming from the eyes of these coal miners. The account talked about their tears being like white gutters running down their charcoal blackened faces. As Whitefield preached, he saw more and more broken by the love of God. The next day 2,000 miners came and the next 10,000. God saved them out of what Peter called a perverse, stubborn, rebellious generation - people who were not faithful to Him (Ps 78:8).
Think about the power of sharing the Gospel, how it can pierce through the hardest heart and change a person's life. When a person responds to God, it changes their entire trajectory in life and eternal destiny. God’s love is so powerful and so compelling. As a church we went out for evangelism yesterday and Petrina and Barb talked to an atheist as they were handing out invitations to church in the park. After engaging with him about what he believed and what they believed, he told them he would like to come. Richmond, Rita, and I also spoke to an atheist who was afraid of death and the Lord opened that door to speak about the hope we have in Jesus. The Holy Spirit had prepared those people to hear the gospel.
As Christians, when we read or listen to God’s word, His Spirit will speak to our hearts and minds. He will strengthen, comfort, encourage, and direct us. He will gently correct and challenge us. I can say from experience, there are times when the Holy Spirit will pierce my heart in areas, I didn’t realize had become calloused, familiar, exposing areas of selfishness, neglect, compromise, causing myself and others pain, heartache, and sadness. My question is: How sensitive are we to the Holy Spirit's voice? What do we do when we know He is really speaking to us about a specific area He wants to deliver us from or change? Some condemn themselves; others avoid, deny, or bury it through busyness. But carrying that thing around, the thing that is between you and God can become quite a heavy burden over time because it grieves the Holy Spirit.
Why is repentance so important? Because a change of thinking, leads to a change of attitude, leads to a change of feeling, leads to a change of values, that leads to a change in the way we live. Repentance sounds like a harsh word, but it simply means turning away from one thing and toward the only One who can deliver us.
These unbelievers had been so pierced to the heart, that as they turned their hearts, minds, and lives to Jesus they were radically changed. They believed, were forgiven, and were baptized. Their eternal destiny was changed forever but there was still a lot of work that needed to be done which would take time. Jesus purchased us with His own blood, we belong to Him now and He is going to renovate each room in our hearts little by little. Turning to Jesus was the first step of their journey, learning to walk with Him would be the next. So what did these new believers do? What was the next radical response?
Let's read Acts 2:42-47
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all the believers were together and had all things in common; 45 and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
They devoted themselves to the teaching of Jesus.
People devote themselves to all kinds of things, all kinds of new truths and fads and can be fanatical at times, but these believers were so changed they devoted themselves to the Word of God and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching. What did that look like? We might picture the early believers having a crash course on theology and biblical precepts. Because there are so many false ideas and ideologies circulating in the world, they wanted to know the truth. And so do we. What was the apostle’s teaching? The apostles’ teaching or doctrine might be more accurately described as that which the apostles learned directly from the Lord Jesus Himself in the years, they were trained by Him. Before He ascended Jesus commissioned the disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded.
Sadly, much of today's Christianity is only skin deep, people are easily influenced by the Zeitgeist of the age, blending other religious worldviews with Christianity, and diluting the Gospel. That’s why it's important that we as a church study and get to know the whole counsel of God, the Old and New Testament.
This is what the apostles were doing. They taught the people God’s words and ways. They prepared them to walk in their new life. What comes to your mind when you think about some of Jesus’ teachings that would be considered radical compared to what the world is teaching today? They not only wanted to learn the word, but
they also wanted to do life together.
They had a Radical Response to Fellowship
In a world that prizes individuality the Apostles stressed the need for fellowship. The word fellowship comes from the Greek word koinonia which means sharing things in common. All believers were now focused on Jesus being the King - in that way true fellowship was being lived out. They all had the Holy Spirit in common. The early Christians shared life together. While everyone had private lives, they were not disconnected from the lives of other believers. The concern of one was the concern of all.
Fellowship was around listening to Word and in the breaking of the bread (or sharing in meals as the NLT puts it) so that the division between poor and rich, common and nobility was done away with. Sharing a meal was something intimate. Christianity is not supposed to be a religion, it is a family gathering where God is our Father; it is a kingdom in which Jesus is our King. As communion was celebrated during the meetings, Jesus’ death and resurrection was constantly being held in remembrance as the new believers expressed their relationship to the Lord. Fellowship is vital for the life and health of every believer and we as a church try to provide many opportunities for this to happen. They learned together, ate together and, here, they prayed together. They engaged in:
Radical Prayer
As new converts they were getting more and more involved in the lives of their brothers and sisters in Christ through prayer. Their prayer life increased (prayers for the Church, believers, family members). When they gathered together a deep sense of awe came over them. (The KJV puts it: and fear came upon every soul.) We read throughout the Scriptures that whenever people met God or even angels who are sent by God, a deep sense of awe, a reverent fear came over them - for example: Moses’ meeting God on mount Sinai; when Gabriel came to Mary; Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration; John seeing the Lord Jesus in the Book of Revelation. In 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 the apostle Paul described the reaction of newcomers to the church when they were convicted. “Wow, what is going on in this place?! God is here!” The presence of God in the company of the believers was so tangible that people were left in awe.
We also read that the apostles were continually doing many signs and wonders. God gave the apostles the gift to perform miracles and signs to confirm the Gospel message so that people could see that they were really sent by the Lord. They learned the Word together, spent time together, prayed together and shared what they had with each other. This brings us to the 4th response:
Radical Generosity
We live in a day where greed prevails. Yet when we read about these believers, they shared everything they had with each other. Most Christians were from the poorer class of society. Jesus said that it was the poor who heard Him gladly and that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Why? Because their riches gave them a sense of security and significance. But many of the wealthy who came to faith in Christ gave to those who were lacking, and therefore displayed a living faith.
How can we apply this into our modern age?
Honestly, everything we have belongs to God. We are only stewards. But we want to be faithful stewards of the things God gives us. Now we ask: “What does the Lord want me to do with His money, how does He want me to invest it?” The Lord gives us so many opportunities to be generous. While we don't have starving brothers and sisters here in Austria, there are believers all over the world who are very poor or are persecuted. (Our church has had the privilege of supporting Christians who are reaching the lost in Ukraine. Also, there are many Christian organizations which support believers in desperate circumstances, for example Open Doors, Mercy Ship, Heaven's Family, and others.)
We read that the Christians sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. Contrary to communism, where the government forcibly takes the property of people to distribute to other people, the Christians gave voluntarily to their siblings in Christ who were in need. They didn’t need to be forced to, they did it from the heart because of the radical transformation in their lives. Everyone was taken care of and no one lacked. Out of this overflow there was an...
Intimacy and Openness about their faith
They worshiped together at the temple each day, they met in homes for the Lord’s supper and shared their meals with great joy and generosity. The new believers met in the Temple in a larger gathering to be a witness to others who were there. They also got together in homes in smaller groups, to be able to spend more time with each other personally, to pray for and encourage one another. For us, we have life groups for fellowship during the week, not just on Sundays. We have a prayer group every other Friday evening. We pray for the needs of people in the church. We have men’s breakfasts and women’s Bible studies where you can meet and have fellowship with other Christians other than on Sundays. What is amazing is that their radical responses became...
Obvious to others
The early Church was overflowing with praises to God. The lifestyle of the early Christians fascinated people. Outwardly they looked like everyone else, but there was a great change from within. They were clearly a different kind of people - God’s people. The fulfillment of God’s promise to restore His kingdom was beginning to take shape in the lives of His people in the Church. They were having favor with all the people. I find that walking with Jesus has opened doors for me to share the gospel in my workplace. There was an instance where a group of us were eating dinner together after church and a complete stranger was fascinated by our fellowship and the good time with each other and said: “You're all so international and you guys seem so excited.” Then someone from our group pointed to Jesus as our main reason for being together and the stranger was given an invitation to come to church.
We read that the Lord added to the Church those who were being saved. The community of believers was like a glowing city on a hill which could not be hidden. People who were drawn by God were attracted to His Church.
What can we take away from this? Even though we are not the early church we are a maturing church, and we want to grow in these areas of learning from the Word, prayer, fellowship, generosity, encouragement, intimacy with Jesus and living for Him in this world. John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” My question is: What is hindering me from partaking in these areas? Am I open for correction from the Holy Spirit and other believers so that I can live in a way that brings Him glory? What areas am I challenged to grow in? How can I contribute to the growth of our local church?
Just like they gathered in the Temple to praise and worship the Lord and just like the filling of the Holy Spirit overflowed into the streets on Pentecost, next Sunday we are having church in the park. We want to take the same overflow of Christ's life outside of these walls to make the life of Jesus obvious to others.
