Sermons

The Church Triumphant
Acts 2:14–26

Book of Acts chapter 2, please find it and keep it open. We're in a series entitled: "That Old-Time Religion." We’ve already said if it’s not working today maybe we ought look at something old that was working so we need to go all the way back to the first church in order to find the pattern for a New Testament church.

We can find it in the book of Acts. We said that these people, so long ago, did so much with so little, and we do so little with so much. Yet I believe this is going to be the year of a great breakthrough for us.   
Can you believe that with me?
We have not begun to see what God can do, and what God will do through us and with us, when we're committed totally to Him. A holy church—a New Testament church, a church on fire filled with the Holy Spirit is a mighty instrument in the hand of a Holy God.

I’ve said God has a plan, a process and part of that process is how to move from a Temple model to a Church model. Before Christ the temple had been the center of life for the Jewish people. There God’s people read scriptures, prayed, encouraged each other, and worshipped God. 

The building was carefully constructed and ornately decorated. It was the place where heaven and earth met. The Holy of Holies was the inner sanctum where the Shekinah Glory of God dwelled. 

But when Jesus died on the cross the thick veil isolating the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom. The presence of God was unleashed and available to all who believe. Then at Pentecost an amazing and dramatic thing happened; those who believed in Jesus became the place where heaven and earth met. 

Later Paul explained that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor.6:19) Freed from a place, all believers and all gatherings of believers have become the place where heaven and earth meet. 

Now all believers are priests who love, serve, and worship God in all they say and do. Evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry (service), and worship were to be the functions of an effective Spirit-empowered church. 

Acts 2:14–42 is the sermon of Peter on the day of Pentecost. It is strategically important because it is the first Christian sermon ever preached. And thus, it sets for us a pattern of preaching that carries down even for our own preaching today. 

I have read that the number one fear that people have is the fear of speaking in public. It ranks ahead of the fear of death! The fear of speaking in public would increase if a person knew that he would be speaking to a hostile audience. Add to that, the audience is not just a small group, but at least five to ten thousand hostile people, and you must address them without a public address system!

To make matters worse, you have made a fool out of yourself just weeks before in such a manner that many in your audience would have heard about it. And, you have no time to prepare your message. The opportunity presents itself and you’re on—without any notes!

Such was the situation facing Peter on the Day of Pentecost. It was to this Jewish crowd in the city of Jerusalem, where Jesus had been killed just over seven weeks ago, that Peter delivered the sermon that launched the church. In terms of results—about 3,000 got saved that day—it was one of the greatest sermons ever preached.

Let’s pray:  Father God, I pray in Jesus' name that You will make us like that first church in Jerusalem. Teach us, oh God; help us. In Jesus' holy name, amen. 

In many churches, the church life and the pattern of the Holy Spirit moving in the church is bogged down because men are lost in all kinds of foolishness that it’s secondary to the power of preaching the word of God. 

When Paul told Timothy what to do about his ministry, he said it as simply as you can say it. He said, “Timothy, preach the Word. Preach the Word.” The book of Acts is a record of apostolic preaching. 

You can go from this chapter right on out to the end of the book of Acts and you’ll find that the priority in the church was the preaching of the Word. 

Now it’s important to have Bible studies, Sunday Schools. It’s important to have home groups. It’s important to have a lot of things. But nothing supplants the preaching of the Word. Preaching is characteristic of Christianity. 

In the ministry of Jesus, the Bible says that Jesus came preaching. In Luke 4: 16, “He came to Nazareth and as His custom Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day and stood up to read. And it was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Isaiah and when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He hath anointed Me to preach.” “To preach the gospel to the poor. He had sent Me to heal the broken-hearted. To preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and He closed the book and gave it to the minister and sat down.” 

The priority of Jesus Christ repeated three times and the prophecy of Isaiah was that He came to preach. Jesus boldly preached. His preaching was powerful. His preaching was urgent. Preaching involves the gospel proclamation, and it also involves theological instruction.

I want our church to be a New Testament church, a triumphant church. I believe that today God is giving, one more time, us a chance. The world is looking on. They're wondering, Do we, indeed, know something? Do we indeed have the answer?

The world has tried everything, and nothing is working. And nothing will work because you can't make a good omelet out of bad eggs no matter how you try. The only answer—and I mean it with all of my heart—is found right here, in this book.

I want us to see the message that Simon Peter preached on that day of Pentecost, at the birthday of the Church. Listen to it. Here's the way he begins: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words;"—that's the way he began—"hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it for David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope" (Acts 2:22-26).

When Peter got up to preach on the day of Pentecost, he did not preach philosophy; he did not preach world events unless they related to the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter set the standard for us all, and he preached a Christ-centered message.

For example, he spoke of the manner of Jesus' life. Look in verse 22; the Bible says, "A man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you."

That is, Jesus Christ lived among men. And, when He had finished living here, on this Earth, He could look every man in the eye and say, "Who can accuse Me of any sin?" I wouldn't ask my friends that, much less my enemies, but the Lord Jesus did.

Someone wrote these words: "Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He (Jesus) is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader in the column of progress." And then, this person eloquently said, "I am far within the mark, when I say that of all of the armies that ever marched, and all of the navies that were ever built, and all of the parliaments that ever have sat, and all of the kings that have ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon this Earth as powerfully as that one solitary life: Jesus of Nazareth."

So, Peter preached on the manner of His life (verse 22). And then, in verse 23, he preached on the meaning of His death: "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." Notice what Peter said. Peter said, "It was God's plan, but men did it (the Crucifixion)."

Jesus died by divine plan. The Bible makes it plain that Jesus was not a martyr. The Bible says that He died by the "foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). The death of Jesus Christ on the cross for my sins and your sins was planned from eternity.

And what is the meaning of His death? It is substitution. Jesus Christ is the way. He died for us, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. Sin had to be paid for; and therefore, God, from eternity, planned that there would be a substitute.

And may I say to you, your sin will be pardoned in Christ, or it will be punished in Hell, but it will never be overlooked? Some people say, "Well, God is too good to punish sin." You've got it backward. He's too good not to punish sin. God is a righteous and a Holy God. He's the judge of the universe.

They say, in a court of law, when a guilty man is acquitted, the judge is condemned. If a judge knowingly, willingly, deliberately, lets a criminal go free, he becomes a criminal. If God were to let sin go unpunished, God would topple from His throne of holiness. But God knew that sin must be punished, yet He loved the sinner. And so, God let His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, die a substitutionary death on the cross.

Then, Peter preached the miracle of His resurrection in verse 24: "Whom God hath raised up, being loosed of the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." 

There were those who said, "We're going to kill Him. We're gonna put Him in the grave, and we're gonna be rid of Him." But the corpse has outlived the pallbearers. It's not possible that death could hold the Lord of Life.

What is the ingredient of a New Testament church? It is Christ-centered preaching: His life; the meaning of His death; the miracle of His resurrection; and the majesty of His reign; Peter's not finished yet. Look in verse 36, He says, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Who is the head of the Church? It's not the pastor, it's Jesus Christ; He is the sovereign Lord of this church.

Folks talk about making Jesus Lord; they're too late! He already is. He is Lord and Christ! He's risen from the dead. He has ascended. And, one day, He's coming back again. Every church is to be a Christ-centered church that is preaching a sinless Savior who died a substitutionary death, who came up out of that grave, literally, bodily, actually.

Second thing, it has a converted membership. Continue to read in verse 37: "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized"—now, watch it—"the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Three thousand people were converted in one day—.

A New Testament church should have a converted membership. So many churches today are like glorified country clubs with a steeple on top. But the purpose of the Church is to get men, women, boys, and girls saved. And, let me show you how it happens.

First, they were convicted by the Lord. Look in verse 37: "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart." Who did that? The Holy Spirit of God. Anything I can talk you into somebody else can talk you out of. I can preach truth, but only the Holy Spirit can impart truth.

And, when Peter was up there preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God just stabbed them right in their heart. They were convicted by the Lord, and they were converted to the Lord. Look in verse 38: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent." And, they said, "What must we do?" And, Peter said, "Repent." The word repent is a Greek word that means "to change your mind, a change of mind."

So many times, when we say repent, we think of repentance from sin. But it means to change your mind about sin, about self, and about God. Don't see God as the enemy; see God as the friend. Don't see yourself as sufficient; see yourself as insufficient. See sin for what it is and change your mind about sin.

Why didn't Peter say, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?" Why did he say, "Repent?" because repentance and faith are heads and tails of the same coin. You can't turn from sin without turning to Christ. You can't turn to Christ without turning from sin.

Convicted by the Lord, converted to the Lord, a confession of the Lord. Verse 38: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." You're convicted; you're converted; and you confess Christ.

Some say they love the Lord Jesus Christ, and they're not ashamed of the Lord Jesus. Well, Jesus said, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).

Here's what makes a New Testament church: First of all, convicted by the Lord; then, converted to the Lord; then, a confession of the Lord—now, containment with the Lord. That is, the Lord comes inside of us. Look in verse 38. And he says here, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

You contain the Lord. The gift of the Holy Ghost is not something the Holy Ghost gives you; it is the Holy Ghost that God gives to you. When you get saved, you don't just believe some thing; you receive Someone. Salvation is not getting men out of Earth into Heaven; it is getting God out of Heaven back into men. You receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I want to ask, does God live in you? If not, you're not a Christian. The Bible says, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9).

Next there's a continuing for the Lord. Look, in verses 41, 42; "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly." They continued. Some walk down the aisle, and join some church, and say, "Now, that's done; that's over with." They don't live for God. They don't love God. They don't serve God. They've never been saved.

There are so many people who are counting on their church membership to get them to Heaven. Folks come to their funeral and say, "Well, he was a member of this church. He was a member of that church." So what? Are you continuing with the Lord? You're not saved because you continue; you continue because you are saved.

A lot of these people—they remind me of an Alka-Seltzer. You baptize 'em; you put 'em in water. They fizzle a little while and then disappear. The faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the first. Never saved.

What is a New Testament church? Convicted by the Lord—they were pricked in their hearts. Converted to the Lord—they repented. Confession of the Lord—they were baptized. Containment with the Lord—they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. A continuance for the Lord—they continued! Give us people like that, and we will make an impact on this city and on the world for Christ.

Look in verse 42; "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine." Do you know what that is? That's indoctrination; that is Bible teaching. All great churches are Bible-centered. They continued in the apostles' doctrine. Do you know what the apostles' doctrine is? The New Testament. They continued in that indoctrination. That was part of their ministry.

Look in verse 42 of this same chapter; the Bible says, "They continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship." Fellowship, that's edifying one another. It's the word koinonia—"to edify one another." These days are so rotten and so vile. You can't even watch television. You can't pick up a magazine. You can't walk down the street without having your spiritual sensibilities wounded. The name of Jesus Christ is mixed in the muck, and filth, and slime of society.

We need a church where you can come, and fellowship, and grow together. The Bible says we are not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).

So, what is the ministry? First of all, indoctrination; secondly, edification; thirdly, adoration—that is, praising the Lord God. Look, if you will, again in verse 42: "they continued... in... fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." The breaking of bread, refers to the Lord's Supper. The prayers belong to the worship part of the church. As we worship the Lord, we adore the Lord Jesus Christ. "There's a sweet Spirit in this place!" Adoration—that's a part.

One last thing makes a New Testament church, a continual multiplication. Look in verses 46, 47: "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people"—now, watch—"And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."

There's nothing wrong with a church that's not a big church. But, my dear friend, there's something wrong with a church that's not a growing church, if it's surrounded by lost people.

The church is to multiply. Let look, turn to Acts 1, verse 15. "And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty.)" They started out with twelve, and the twelve got to be a hundred-and- twenty. Now, look in Acts 2:41, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."  Now, you've got three thousand plus a hundred-and-twenty—that's 3,120. And the church hadn't been going but a day.

And then, look, if you will, in Acts 2:47: "[And they were] Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:47). How many was that? We don't know, but more were added every day.

Then, look in Acts 4:4: "Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand." Now, you've got five thousand men plus their families, maybe twenty thousand. Plus the 3,120 we had—that's 23,120. Plus those who were added daily—we don't know how many that is. Then, look, if you will, in Acts 5:28: they had "filled Jerusalem with [their] doctrine." I mean, the entire city, now, is saturated with their doctrine.

Then look, in Acts 6:7. And, there, it says, "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly." I mean, they've already got twenty-five thousand. And then, they filled the city. And then, the Bible says it multiplies.

D.H. Carroll, who was the founder of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said that this church had a membership of sixty-five thousand in less than six months. J. Campbell Morgan said, "No, it was more like two hundred-and-fifty-thousand members that were added in six months."

You ask, "Pastor, how big is big enough?" God has given us a challenge to preach the gospel to every creature. Tell them about Jesus! Bring them to Christ!

I believe the church needs to be a righteous influence in the world and should not silence itself from the growing animosity but instead should respond in the manner Peter did here on the day of Pentecost, speaking the truth in love.

As Christians, we need to look for opportunities to share our faith with people who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Paul said I come to understand them so I can share with them, Peter said we are to be ready to speak to anyone concerning why we live a Christian life.

If we listen, people will always open a door, even ever so slight, to allow us to slip in with the truth of Jesus.

The early church began to experience the rain of the Spirit, and we today continue to draw from that powerful experience as we allow the Holy Spirit to continue to move in our lives.

The first coming of Christ ushered in the last days. This is the day of God’s redemptive plans for mankind; the last days of His plan, for there will be no more opportunity past these days. The last days began two thousand years ago and continue today. During this time, God provided a way for us, for Gentiles to receive salvation as well as the Jews. 

1 John 2:18 says, Children, it is the last hour. Paul wrote in Hebrews in these last days (God) has spoken to us in His Son. The final fulfillment of this prophesy in Joel is to be completed in the coming of the millennial kingdom. The Day of Pentecost was the beginning of what God has planned for these last days. Pentecost Opens the Door for Everyone.

A Christ-centered message, a converted membership, a constant ministry, and a continual multiplication. And, to that reason, to that purpose, for God's glory and by His grace, we dedicate this church. And God's people say amen! 

 When Voices Of Hope Evangelistic Team is ministering in Word and Song, their Fire Choir will sing several songs and then lead the Congregation in singing. Since that isn't possible on-line, please click here and may you be blessed by the song, "He Abides."