Acts 2:14-36 Peter Addresses the Crowd (Psalm 16:1–11; Joel 2:28–32)
“Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.
David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell in hope, because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’
Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.
Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’ Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”
Acts 2:37-41 Three Thousand Believe
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
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. This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.” Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.”
Well, Peter has gone from being a stammering fisherman with a thick Galilean accent to a gifted preacher, all because of the Holy Spirit. Peter gives an eloquent message about Jesus’ death and resurrection, quoting Scripture he might not have thought of since memorizing it as a child.
Peter presents the facts about Jesus, facts that most of the people of Jerusalem already know because they have witnessed these events. Then Peter moves on to quote David’s prophecies about Jesus, ending with the assertion, “Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”
Three thousand people come under conviction, becoming Jesus followers and being baptized on the spot. And these facts emphasize something else. No matter how eloquently someone preaches, the Holy Spirit is still the One who moves in people’s hearts. Veteran preachers can testify that sometimes they have offered sermons that were well written and well delivered, only for people to simply sit there. On the other hand, sometimes preachers have felt they were having an off day, only for people to come under conviction and rush to the altar to repent as soon as they were given the opportunity. What makes the difference? The Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 21:1 says that “The king’s heart is as a water course in the hand of the Lord, and He turns it where He wills.” When people’s hearts are prepared, God will always work in them. That day of Pentecost, most of the people in Peter’s audience were believers hungry for God to do something wonderful. And God did.
I once heard the testimony of a Christian lawyer from Atlanta who had spent much of his life as an agnostic, sneering at anyone with faith. This man had a neighbor who was a pastor and who kept inviting this man to his church. Finally, the lawyer decided to attend a church service just to placate his neighbor. That particular Sunday, there were a number of people giving testimonies as part of a Lay Witness Mission. The lawyer sat through most of the testimonies unmoved until an insurance salesman spoke about his experiences with Jesus. The lawyer said, “I am a professional speaker, and I have heard arguments by some of the finest lawyers in the country. As that insurance man was speaking, I knew two things: I knew he was not a professional speaker, but I also knew that whatever Power had gotten hold of him had transformed his life. I hungered for that same transformation, and that day I accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord.”
When Peter preached, everyone could see the power of God working through him. It’s likely that Peter’s very shortcomings made his testimony absolutely convincing. God can do the same thing for us, if we will only ask Him to send the Holy Spirit to empower us to be His witnesses.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to have hearts prepared for Your Holy Spirit to work. Please take absolute control of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment