ACTS: The outpouring of the Holy Spirit

 Repent and be baptized. 

 

Although this might just seem like a lesson in theology or a remembering of what we believe, it has the potential of a life changing opportunity for each one of us. As we think about the meaning of repenting and being baptized, we have the opportunity of reliving our original step of faith in Jesus. As we remember what He has done for us, we can once again embrace the whole truth of our sin and our forgiveness in the work of our Lord. We should not read about repentance without remembering that we need to repent everyday of our lives. And we should not read about baptism or watch a person being baptized without again making the commitment we experienced the day we were baptized; I desire to lay myself completely at the feet of Jesus and vow to honor and follow Him the remainder of my life. This moment becomes a commitment to change from my selfish ways to His selfless ways. It only takes a few seconds; it does not require a long time. A nod of the head, a smile, an acknowledgement that Jesus is still Lord, whatever form it takes for us in that moment, becomes a life changing experience. 

 

I bless you in the name of Jesus, with new life daily, a life full of forgiveness and a life overflowing with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. 

 

Our Sins will be Forgiven

 

Peter, here in the book of Acts, tells the listeners that baptism in the name of Jesus will bring to them forgiveness of their sins. Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He accomplished our redemption, paid the price for all of our sins. This allows us the freedom to move forward in the faith and confidence that we no longer need to live with the guilt of our past. Paul says in his letter to the Colossians, “We were dead in our sin and Jesus brought us to life by forgiving all of our sins. He actually took all of the decrees that had been levied against us because of our sin and canceled the debt we owe. He took them out of the way of our knowing God and nailed them to the cross. (Colossians 2:13,14) Our sins have been forgiven, our guilt has no place except to turn our thoughts back to Jesus and His loving mercy.  Paul says in Romans, “Therefore those of us who are in Christ Jesus no longer have to live in condemnation.” (Romans 8:1) 

 

One of the most difficult realizations in the Christian faith is for the individual to truly apply this belief. When I realize I have sinned or become aware that something I have been doing for years has really not been okay but would be considered a sin in the Church, I want to feel guilty. If I let that guilt build up in my life, then my eyes become blind to the truth that Jesus died for my sin. If I know that He died for my sin but forget that He also died for my individual sins I might easily become discouraged, wonder if I will ever be able to get it right, and want to give up on my faith. This scenario happens so often in the lives of Christians, it must be a pattern that Satan has found that works to discourage Christians in their walk with Christ. If we continue to live in our discouragement, we fail to enjoy the abundant life that Jesus has offered to us, and Satan has gained a small victory. Jesus wants the opposite of that for us, He desires us to walk in the abundance of life, knowing at all times that we are forgiven fully. 

 

I want you to understand the depth of what Jesus has given us in forgiving our sins. When He died on the cross, He died for all the sins of mankind. There is nothing you can do in your life that has not already been forgiven by Jesus’ death on the cross. He did not die for all your sins that you committed before you gave your life to Him, and then you have to worry about the sins you commit after that point, He died for them all. So, when you realize you have committed a sin recently, you can be sure that a simple confession, reminds you of the forgiveness that Jesus accomplished for you so many years ago. Likewise, when you become aware of things you have been doing for years, but only recently realized it was a sin, that too has already been forgiven and only requires you talking to God about it, and the forgiveness is appropriated into your life. There is no reason to live with guilt. When you feel guilty, which is a normal reaction to the awareness of sin in your life, all you need to do is confess your sin to God and remember that in Jesus your sins are forgiven. 

 

If it would help you to have some passages of Scripture you can turn to when you need God’s assurance of forgiveness, these are some of the readings I would use on Sunday mornings during the confession time at church. 2 Chronicles 7:14,15; Psalm 32: 3-5; Psalm 51:1-13; Psalm 103:10-14; Isaiah 1:18; Isaiah 53:4-6; Isaiah 55:6,7; Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 1:9-13; John 3:16; Romans 3:23-24; Romans 5:6-9; Romans 8:1-4; Romans 8: 33-39; 2 Corinthians 4:14-15; Ephesians 1:7,8; Ephesians 2:4-10; Colossians 2:13,14; Titus 2:11-14; Titus 3:4-8; Hebrews 9:23-28; 1 John 1:8,9; 1 John 2:1-3; 1 John 4:9-11;

 

And You Will Be Filled with the Gift of God’s Holy Spirit

 

Early in chapter one, we had the discussion of what it means to have the power of the Holy Spirit in our life. Peter connects baptism with both forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. “You will be filled with the Holy Spirit.” We need the Holy Spirit because He gives us power to believe, to love the unlovely, to become selfless in our dealings, to know the mysteries of God, and to comfort or bring peace and hope to others. In the context of Acts 2:38; we also see the Holy Spirit is a seal of our inheritance and the Holy Spirit becomes the strength we need to become witnesses of Jesus. 

 

God has given this world salvation. By definition, salvation removes us from the kingdom of darkness and sin and transfers us into the kingdom of Jesus, the kingdom of light. Practically speaking, we now have the opportunity to look forward to living eternally with Jesus in heaven. And because it is a gift, it means we cannot do anything to earn it other than believe that it is ours. 

 

But there is no proof that there is anything beyond this life, except the evidence of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Otherwise, we would not have any way of knowing that what we have been taught is at all real. Seeing the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives becomes for us a seal, an assurance, a guarantee from God that what He has offered to us in Jesus is truly happening. Without the evidence of the Holy Spirit, there is not much else to help us know Jesus is the Messiah. 

 

Teach Them to Do All that I Commanded You 

 

The Holy Spirit brings us the strength and confidence we need to change our ways to the ways of Jesus and to tell the world about Him. Whether we call it the faith to believe enough to talk about our beliefs, or we have the confidence to stand up to our opposition and speak the truth, or we even talk about the strength to say the words to others that we believe Jesus to be the Messiah of the World, each of these words, faith, confidence, strength, are evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work within us. 

 

And Peter reminds the crowd that this promise, of the coming Holy Spirit, is not just for that first day of Pentecost, but for successive generations to come. Not only did the disciples experience the pouring out of the power on that first Pentecost day, but many have experienced it down through the ages. As the first converts to Jesus stood listening to Peter that morning, they could begin to imagine that this message and power would spread easily from Jerusalem to Samaria and even to the ends of the world. They probably had little awareness that Peter’s words prophesied a future that extended for thousands of years to come.  

 

Every person throughout history who has had the Lord God call them to faith in Christ has also felt the touch of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Did they always feel something happen, or did they always recognize the power when it came? Probably not. But God has been faithful to His word through Peter and touched people throughout history with this magnificent power to not only change their hearts toward faith, but to guide them to live in such a way that others wanted to imitate them as well. Whether you witness to Jesus by your actions or your words, in all cases, others see something in you worthy of copying, you are bearing witness to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 

 

Peter apparently continued to talk with the crowd, testifying to all the things he had seen and heard about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the new life in Christ that was happening in the disciples and would happen in any and all who would begin to believe and then be baptized. To this end he exhorted the people to change from their current belief structure, to rethink the things they were being taught from the crooked generation in which they lived and turn to the truth. Faith in Jesus, according to Peter and this proclamation is the only hope of salvation, of forgiveness, and of the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon a person.

 

Keep in mind that this salvation, forgiveness, and power is not just for you to experience and hang on to. It is a gift for you to share with others around you. Let me encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to have free reign in your life. Allow Him to plant ideas into your head so that you actually go out to do good things for others rather than just thinking about what is safe and good for yourself. You have been saved so that you can then be free to go serve others. Someone once used the analogy of beggars, you being one beggar who has found the bread of eternal life, the bread of truth in life, and you need to go help the other beggars to find that bread for themselves. If you were truly hungry and you had found an unlimited source of food, you would definitely go out to find others who were hungry and lead them to the stash of food that would help them become nourished and strong.

 

We have found that spiritual bread in Jesus and we need to share it with the whole world. 

 

Having All Things in Common

 

43 Awe was over the whole group and they were seeing many signs and wonders take place through the apostles. 44 Everyone who believed were spending time together and shared everything that was theirs. 45 They even began to sell their property and possessions so they would have more to share with the people who had need. 46 Each day they would gather in the temple and ate together in the various different houses. Their hearts were filled with gladness, sincerity, and 47 praise. The people who saw the life they lived looked upon them in a positive way. And Jesus was adding to this group of believers each and every day as new people saw the love and wanted to believe. 

 

I do wish the church of today could fully understand this next paragraph of Luke’s words as he continues to write about the early church. They devoted themselves totally to this new cause of following the teachings of Jesus. They began to think of their new life as going to school with a purpose. They sat at the feet of the Apostles and learned everything they could about this Jesus, His resurrection, and His teachings about how they should live. Jesus not only had taught these disciples during the three years He walked on earth with them, but He took them aside after His resurrection and helped them learn how the Old Testament passages predicted all that had just happened in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. 

 

These disciples and the new converts began to make a lot of new friends. If their old friends would not come to the party, they found new friends who did. This was a great time of fellowship, getting to know others with whom they had at least one thing in common, faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Those who received the word of Peter were continually devoting themselves to following Jesus. We see later in the book of Acts how they chose to have all things in common, sharing freely with other Christians whatever was needed so that no one lacked anything. 

 

Think about it, they had just stepped away from mainstream Judaism by believing that Jesus was the Messiah. They were quickly becoming outcasts from their society, whether they lived in Jerusalem or were from out of town. If from out of town, they would go home with a different perspective on life, it they chose to go home at all. They now had a new group to call family who they would work together with as they witnessed to the world about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 

 

Luke tells us that besides being a family of friends who could not get enough of the teachings of the Apostles and the fellowship of their new friends, they also spent much time together eating all their meals and remembering the final supper of Jesus with His disciples. Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus said to the disciples, “Whenever you eat this bread.” He might well have meant, any time we sit down to eat a meal, it is time for us to stop and remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us so that we could have our salvation. 

 

The daily routine seemed to take this new group of followers into the temple for prayer on a regular basis. Informally, I am sure they gathered as well in times of praise, intercession for their neighbors and friends, and seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit in the midst of growing persecution. It might be good for all of us to take a look at the regular activities of these new followers of Jesus and compare them to our regular activities. What things could we change in our life to more closely match the activities of the early church? In what ways can we spend more time learning from Bible instruction, spending time in prayer and praise, spending time with others in fellowship, eating meals and remembering the sacrifice Jesus made, and witnessing to the community around us about the wonder of knowing Jesus.

 

Which raises a question. Why do people join churches today? I think it has to do with what they see the people of God doing within the church. They see something different in the lives of their neighbors and friends, find out that they go to church, and ask to tag along to see if all Christians are the same way. It is possible in the mind of the person who is seeking answers to believe that Jesus might make a difference in people’s lives and if they see that difference in the life of more than just their friend, they might stay at this church because it seems that people hear are making a difference. 

 

All of the wonderful programs of evangelism, sharing the good news of Jesus with the world, have found that the most successful way of leading others to Christ is still the one-on-one sharing of a friend to a friend. This happens as we live our lives with the help of the Holy Spirit and people notice the changes taking place in our lives. We are becoming more loving, more joyful, kinder, gentler, and on the list goes. The Holy Spirit is producing fruit in our lives and people around us are enjoy that fruit and starting to follow Jesus as well. 

Pastor Edd