Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I’m sure we’ve all had the experience that something we hear or see simply stuns us so powerfully we are left speechless! Our brains struggle to comprehend it. Our emotions run wild trying to figure out how to react. Our souls wrestle with trying to understand what it means for us! That is exactly what we’ve been looking at, in our last few ‘WWJ’ editions, as we’ve been in Jerusalem, about 2000 years ago, for the Jewish Pentecost festival known as “Shavuot”. The event is recorded for us in Acts 2.
Yesterday we watched and listened as the disciple Peter, in all his bold brashness, stood up and explained to the crowd the meaning of the miracles they had experienced. What miracles? Wind like a tornado; fire lighting on the heads of about 120 of Jesus’ friends; and then those people speaking languages they didn’t know but languages well understood by the people who had come to Jerusalem from far away for Pentecost.
We’ve looked at the amazing, remarkable statements Peter proclaimed in his explanation, and yesterday we concluded our time with the most amazing, stunning statement of all: “Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!” (Acts 2:36)
The crowd of Jews was breathless. As I told you yesterday, I believe they waited for some outrageous act of God to strike Peter dead on the spot, perhaps a lightning bolt, or the ground opening and swallowing Peter alive, (Numbers 16:31) or maybe even leprosy suddenly appearing on Peter as it did on King Uzziah when he violated the Temple. (2 Chron. 26:19) Why? Because Peter had declared Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah!
It was unthinkable. It was blasphemy, unless it was true! Minutes passed and nothing happened. Peter stared at the people and they stared back. When it was obvious God was not going to punish Peter, the people of course were left to conclude that he might be right! So Luke describes their response this way: “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do’? (Acts 2:37) Do you see the double miracle my friends?
Peter had been miraculously anointed by the Holy Spirit of God to proclaim very powerful, spiritual truth in a convincing way, even though Peter was no theological professor or even a theology student! Peter was a fisherman who’d spent several months with Jesus and was now filled with the power of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit had filled Peter’s mind with great spiritual knowledge and guided him in declaring such radical, powerful spiritual truth in such a convincing way that it overwhelmed the Jewish crowd listening. But the Holy Spirit did another miracle simultaneously, do you see it?
These Jews listening experienced deep spiritual conviction by the Holy Spirit. They were challenged to consider that Peter may be telling the truth, even though it was very hard for them to believe. Furthermore the Holy Spirit moved them to action, they responded in desperation seeking God’s help and answers! This my friends is vital for us to see and understand: The miracle of salvation from our sin bondage and sin condemnation begins right here, with the deep conviction that without God’s help we are hopelessly enslaved to our suffocating, self-destroying sin, and furthermore we are destined to an eternity of “Perish“…eternal separation from God, which is the consequence of living in rebellion against God! (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9)
Furthermore, our salvation depends upon our recognition of God’s truth that there is NO other option. No other means of escape from our sin bondage or eternity in hell. Jesus Christ is God’s ONLY provision for deliverance from sin and eternity in heaven rather than hell. (John 14:6; 17:4) It may not seem fair, you might want to work to earn your salvation or pay for it. Or you may want to search for another path, but God has made it very clear: God has provided only one way for human beings to have a sin forgiven relationship with Holy God: Jesus Christ! The death of Jesus is payment in full for our sinful rebellion. But His payment is applied by God to our sin ONLY through our repentance of our sin and our full trust in God mercy, His justice and His acceptance of Jesus’ death as payment in full. It’s God’s ONLY provision!
The people held their breath, their minds raced back and forth between these mind blowing God truths they have heard Peter proclaim. Their emotions ran the full gamut of shame, guilt, anger with themselves, anger with those who had deceived them, and profound gratitude to God for His patience with them, His mercy. They realized, as you and I should, that God has every right to simply stop giving us breath in our lungs or stop our hearts from beating for we have used the life God had given us to live in rebellion against God!
In their case, they had actually participated in killing the living HOPE God had sent to them, Jesus! That is why they cried out “What shall we do?”
Now consider this important question: When in your lifetime have you experienced the deep conviction by the Holy Spirit regarding your rebellion against God and you’ve done the same thing? You cried out to God in desperation, asking for God’s help? God’s help, God’s rescue begins there, in our recognition of our helplessness and our inescapable condemnation. You see my friends, as long as we make excuses for ourselves, or refuse to acknowledge our sin guilt, or minimize our sin as insignificant, or try to find some other way, the death of Jesus is meaningless to us! Did you get that?
Now I think we need to pause and ponder right here, and tomorrow we’ll look at Peter’s response. For today please consider what work the Holy Spirit has been doing in you and me and all humanity, to bring us to a place that we finally acknowledge our need for God’s rescue. And please consider how hard humanity works to refuse or escape God’s conviction of sin in our lives! What excuses have you and I made? To what extreme have we gone to escape God’s conviction?
No song today… just honest reflection! What will God say to you and me as we reflect deeply on our life journeys, our rebellion against God, our willingness to consider the truths Peter proclaimed and I’ve explained? And I’ll see you here tomorrow!
Today’s Scripture: Acts 2:36,37.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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