“SAVE YOURSELVES FROM THIS WICKED GENERATION!”
Acts 2:36-41
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Louie and his wife were listening to the radio when they heard the weather report: "A snow emergency has been declared. You must park your cars on the odd-numbered side of the street." So Louie got up and moved his car.
2. Two days later -- same thing. "A snow emergency has been declared," blared the radio. "Park your cars on the even-numbered side of the street." Louie got up and did what he was told.
3. Three days later: "There will be a foot of snow today. Park your cars on the..." and then the power went out. "What should I do?" a confused Louie asked his wife.
4. "This time," his wife said, "why don't you just leave the car in the garage?"
B. TEXT
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 2:36-41
C. SITUATION & TITLE
1. We see here two wonderful effects of the outpouring of the Spirit: Peter spoke with a power he’d never had before and we see the Spirit’s influence upon the hearers. They are pricked in their hearts; they’re startled, convinced, and driven to serious examination of their relationship to God.
2. The title of this message is “Save Yourselves from this Wicked Generation!”
I. THE CHOICE OF CHANGE
A. WE CAN STAY AS WE ARE or be changed.
1. You’re good people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stand some improvement. Many Christians live in a backslidden state, living below the level of Christian life they’re capable of living.
2. Most Christians expect little, ask little, receive little, and are content with little! God doesn’t want us to choose the minimum, but to shoot for the maximum! Come on Church! Step over the line! Get out of the boat; Jesus is calling you walk on some water! WE NEED REVIVING!
B. “REVIVAL” DEFINED
1. To “REVIVE” = “to live again; to rise from the dead; an awakening of God’s people; a stirring of the Spirit of God.”
2. Revivals have altered nations. A revival would impact your family, your schools, your government, everything! Do you want climate change? Revival will even change the climate! (Revival took Israel from a drought to rain & prosperity.)
3. Leonard Ravenhill said, “The CHURCH – when we get HUMBLE enough, LOW enough, DESPERATE enough, HUNGRY enough, CONCERNED enough, PASSIONATE enough, BROKEN enough, CLEAN enough, and PRAYERFUL enough – then God will send revival from Heaven.” [from, “Sodom Had No Bible.”]
C. ARE YOU A CANDIDATE FOR REVIVAL?
1. NO ONE CAN GET YOUR REVIVAL FOR YOU. God has made each of us a free moral agent; we each choose for ourselves. I can’t get revival for you. You can’t get revival for me.
2. You must decide if you want revival for yourself. If you sit back and wait, you’ll never get it. If you’re waiting on someone to package it just right and put it in your lap, it’ll never happen.
3. If you’re waiting on your pastor to bring revival to you, you’ll be waiting forever. We have to get it for ourselves.
4. HUMOR
a. A fire occurred in a church. Fire trucks arrived with sirens wailing. Firemen began dousing the blaze.
b. The minister recognized one of the men, “Hello Jim! I haven’t seen you at church for a long time!”
c. “Well,” said Jim, struggling with the hose, “It’s been a long time since there’s been a fire here at the church!” [God’s waiting on YOU to desire revival!]
II. HOW CONVICTION CAME?
A. CONVICTION OF SIN
1. VERSE 37 says they "were pricked in their hearts." The Word of God was so powerful that it pierced their souls. It’s not enough that it enlightens our minds, it must touch our inner beings.
2. Next, they had SORROW FOR SIN. PETER PUT THEIR SINS BEFORE THEM. “You murdered the Messiah!” In our own eyes, we see ourselves as innocent. We think our motives are good and that most of our actions are honorable. But we don’t realize we’re looking through colored glasses – seeing things from a false lens.
3. God’s vision reveals our true wicked, selfish hearts – that YOU & I – have often lied, cursed, stole, blasphemed, murdered, committed adultery & coveted. You say, “Pastor, I’ve never done that!”
4. But have you THOUGHT about it? Thinking is the same as DOING IT! “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” Mt. 5:28. Anger = murder, Mt. 5:21-22.
5. WE’RE ALL INNOCENT in our own eyes. An artist painted a picture of a boy looking up at his dad as a bird lay dead at his feet. His open, palms-up hands accompanied the caption, "It wasn't me daddy." But the audience sees the boy's back, and in his back pocket, is a sling shot! [God sees our hearts!]
B. ILLUSTRATION
1. A small country church had a rich man, for years, who was its leading elder. The congregation was looking for a new Pastor, and this elder interviewed each candidate. One fine born-again candidate preached his sermon on “Repentance.”
2. Afterward the elder said, “I don’t like it that you called our people sinners!” The minister said, “Are you a Christian, sir?” “Of course I’m a Christian!” he said. “Then you were a sinner and sought Christ for salvation” the minister said.
3. “Oh, no. I never was a sinner,” the elder said. “Well, sir,” said the minister, “it’s impossible for you to be a Christian then, because it was sinners that Jesus came to save!” [Knights New Illus., p. 544]
4. The people asked Peter, “What shall we do?” Peter told them 3 things:
III. PETER’S 3 SOLUTIONS TO SIN
A. REPENT: 4 CHARAC. OF TRUE REPENTANCE
1. True Repentance has SORROW for SIN. The Holy Spirit makes us feel how GOD FEELS about our sin. When we realize we’ve hurt God, it makes us sad, and we regret that we hurt Him!
2. Next is a CHANGE OF MIND (Gr. “metanoia”), which is reflected in a change of behavior. If behavior doesn’t change, we haven’t experienced repentance.
3. Third is BELIEVING FAITH. WE change FROM SIN, TO FAITH IN JESUS, AS OUR SAVIOR.
4. 4th, true repentance ends in TRANSFORMATION of the old sinner INTO A NEW PERSON. Like the Prodigal son: when he hit bottom and was at the brink of death -- he "died out" to himself and all his old plans and desires. Then the new obedient son rose in his place.
B. WATER BAPTISM. Water baptism doesn’t save you, but it’s the next step – it reflects commitment, testimony, & obedience to the command of Jesus.
C. RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. God wants us to have an EXPERIENTIAL FAITH. Revival is the restoring of God's presence to His people. We shouldn’t be afraid of the Holy Spirit!
2. HUMOR. Don Simms recently overheard his young nephew reassure his sister, “You don't have to be afraid of the Holy Ghost. He's just God with a sheet over His head.” (Readers Digest)
3. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit gave the Early Church AND THE CHURCH OF TODAY, 4 things:
a. POWER to live the Christian life: “I will put my Spirit in you and enable you to live by My laws, and you’ll obey My rules” Ezek. 36:27, GW.
b. COURAGE to speak. Acts 4:31 says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly.”
c. Ability TO THINK GOD’S THOUGHTS. Luke 24:45 says, “Then [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” See Isa. 55:9.
d. TEACHES US TO PRAY. “Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for...but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us” Rom. 8:26.
4. If the Early Church needed the fullness of the Spirit in the beginning, then why would we think we don’t need that fullness in the Last Days? The sign of being filled with the Spirit is speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:6).
5. Paul pointed out the folly of thinking we don’t need the same anointing; “Having begun in the Spirit, will you now be perfected by the flesh?” Gal. 3:3.
D. WE NEED A GOD WHO INCITES OUR WONDER
1. A few years ago, Angela and went to Niagara Falls for a vacation. I’d always heard it was a beautiful, but I kept thinking, “It’s a waterfall, what’s the big deal?”
2. When we got there, I was in awe. What I saw just took my breath away. No picture or words can capture its beauty.
3. But, I noticed something odd -- the workers around it didn’t seem awed by it. They actually ignored it!
4. Then it hit me … they’d become so familiar with the Falls that it had become commonplace to them. It had lost its attraction, its wonder. It was just there. Nothing special.
5. “God Save Us! May we never become that way toward You! May Jesus never become common, so familiar that He fails to inspire awe in us.”
6. “God, rip the callouses off our hearts! Take the blinders off our eyes! Let us see Your grandeur again and give You the love & diligence we had at first!”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Going Deeper
1. A small company in the early days of gold mining in South Africa sank shaft after shaft in different locations, finding only a small amount of gold in each shaft. Ultimately, the prospectors discovered that all they needed to have done was to go deeper in each shaft, for as they did so, they found gold in abundance.
2. If you haven’t found gold in your Christian life, could it be you need to dig a little deeper?
B. WHY PETER SAID “SAVE YOURSELVES!” “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “SAVE YOURSELVES FROM THIS CORRUPT GENERATION!” Acts 2:40. WHY? Was Peter’s generation really worse than our own? No! In our day we parade our sin in public and celebrate them! Then why was Peter so worried?
1. WE ARE IN DANGER. Every unforgiven sinner stands in the most grave danger – until they get under the safety of the Blood! Death is not the end. Peter was referring to Hell. What does Hell look like?
- fire
-unquenchable fire
-the lake of fire
- the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth
-eternal punishment
-the wrath to come
- torments
-condemnation
- woe
-a fiery furnace
-the lake of burning sulfur
-everlasting contempt
-darkness
-exclusion
-damnation
-retribution
-the second death
2. THE BIGGEST GAMBLE. Given all the warnings about hell (Jesus spoke more about Hell than He did about Heaven), if we don’t act on this then we’re betting our eternity that Christianity is a lie. If you’re a gambler, this is the biggest gamble you’ll ever make. Are you willing to risk your eternal soul that Jesus was wrong? What if you’re wrong?
3. PRAYER
