.jpg)
And in so doing, our hearts remain our own. Even for those strong of will, who abstain
from evil by the sheer force of their will in action; their hearts remain
unplowed fields, still chained to the desires for sin, even if overcome by
abstention, still longing for what they should not long for. We remain addicts to sin, no matter where we
are in our self-proscribed 12-step-programs for treating our sins. We rely upon Jesus so seldomly to truly rid
us of sin, we have little exposure to that method, little testimony of it,
little witness to it. Instead, we have a
long history of warring against sin on our own, and ultimately failing. Still addicted to what we cannot change; the
desires in us to still want evil. What
we really know about Jesus is from what we hear in sermons, and what we read in
scripture, and these days what we see in films or other dramatic
interpretations of these events like in “the Chosen” TV series. All of our knowledge is “about” Jesus, little
of our knowledge is personal to us, and truly meaningful in how we live our
lives being made free from the desire to sin, because we do not ask Jesus for
that, nor expect it if we ask.
Thus our hearts are last great mission field that must be
truly sown by the Holy Spirit, creating in us a longing to let our sins go,
putting them in the hands of Jesus for more than just forgiveness but to be
eliminated from our thinking and our desire, thus freed from our action by His nature
that becomes our own, not by struggle of our will. For so long we have preached a message about
the soon coming of our Lord, the return of Jesus to take us home. And for so long, the Lord has delayed His
return. His delay has been one of love,
hoping to harvest as many as can be harvested.
And each time we have preached His return with urgency and urgency has
not yielded to fruition, even those in the church have turned aside from that
message and decided it is not as real as we thought. Those who have sought to find signs of the
end have found them, yet still the Lord does not return. Those who have sought exact dates of the
Lord’s return have been bitterly disappointed.
And we wonder why the delay, why the disappointment? All the while seeking a salvation that would
tolerate and excuse the sins of our hearts.
His delay in returning is because there is one mission field
left, the one of our hearts. To live in
heaven, we need to be transformed to the total absence of sin, holding on to
none of it. So many of us cling to the
one cherished sin we refuse to yield up, hoping God will somehow just wink at
our weakness. But God wants us to free us
from the pain and death of our sins, not leave us to continue to suffer within
them. So He delays His coming hoping to
see the fields of our hearts truly sown, planted, and reaping a harvest
centered upon the transformative love of Jesus Christ. But the time for that is now. The aspiration of repeating the Day of
Pentecost in our lives is no longer just a passing whimsy but a desperate need
in order to truly make us ready for His soon coming. It is time to seek righteousness and discover
the only way of finding it. It is time
to seek perfection and realize it has always been possible, not in our own
strength but in the strength of Jesus Christ and His transformation of who we
are down to the core. Luke recorded the
sermon of Peter upon the Day of Pentecost, but that sermon was not meant for
that audience. It was meant for this
one, for you, and for me; for the purpose of these last days.
Peter mounts a defense for what some of Jews were
questioning about the miracles seen on the Day of Pentecost in his day. But Peter also speaks to us directly listen
as Luke records picking up in verse 16 saying … “But this is that which was spoken by
the prophet Joel; [verse 17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith
God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all
flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men
shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: [verse 18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out
in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:” The last days Joel referred to were never so
needed as they are today. We war against
atheism that would deny us purpose and meaning.
We war against humanism that would entice us to believe “intentions” are
the pathway of self-realization. We war
against the delays of His return to dull our faith and reduce Jesus to
historical stories, not experiential life changing transformation in the here
and now. Christianity has all but given
up on the notion of perfection, as we have too long relied upon self to achieve
it, and failed. It is our hearts that
need revival, and more reformation. It is
now which has become our last days. And
so our need is greater now than it has ever been.
Joel speaks to that need.
Peter correctly points out how God longs to pour our His Spirit upon ALL
FLESH, yet we have too long choked off the access point of our hearts from that
very experience. But what would happen
if we restricted God no longer? What
would happen if we longed for the very thing Joel describes, and Peter
recounts. What would happen if we
literally begged for this? Are we ready
to beg for it? I am. My need is so great of these events my heart
breaks for it, and my soul aches for it.
I have seen my need and I know how great it is. I am certain that if I continue to rely upon
me to achieve perfection, then my perfection is ever to remain out of reach. If
I am to be saved from myself, only my Savior Jesus Christ can save me. The Lord has granted me vision to see beyond
into what is happening beyond the realms of human sight. I see what God longs to do. He only awaits a group of believers who also
long to receive it. “Your” sons and “your”
daughters will prophesy. “Your”
children, not the children of strangers, but your own. Are you ready for that? Will you hear the word of God they utter, or
will you close yourself off to it, affirming the age old adage the prophet
receives no glory in his own home. Your
young men will see visions. Your old men
will dream dreams. On MY servants AND on
MY handmaidens will I pour out MY Spirit and they will prophesy says our
God. God describes a group of believers
beyond any particular church who are ready and longing to receive this
outpouring. Has there ever been more
need of these than there is today?
Luke continues in verse 19 saying … “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth
beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [verse 20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:” These signs in the earth have already been in
our history. They could repeat
themselves again if the Lord desires, but they are only hallmarks to point us
back to readiness. Not because we make
ourselves ready, but that we would allow the Holy Spirit to make us ready. God is looking for all of us. God is longing for as many of us as will turn
our hearts back to Him and long for Him in return. Now!
During the time in our history when the ministry for this earth has
changed. We have moved from a period of
investigative judgment to one of the final sealing of the people of God. The investigation is over. All that remains is to know who will allow
the Lord to seal them before He returns.
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the oil we have long sought, and
the delays are finally coming to an end.
But because we have heard this message before will we ignore it
now? Will we treat it like just another
boy crying wolf? Or will we take it to
heart, to our hearts.
Luke continues in verse 21 saying … “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of
the Lord shall be saved.” There
it is. There is the simple message of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To call upon
“His” name. For that is the only “name”
of God we are certain exists in our knowledge.
Time for our prayers to become of singular nature, to ask forgiveness,
and beg for the Holy Spirit if begging is what it takes. Let us not face the end of all things on our
own. Let us face it armed with the Holy
Spirit, and transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. Devoid of sin, not just in action, but in
desire, motive, even thought. That is
the kind of transformation that has always been possible, and is possible
still. If you have not found it yet,
then join me as we pray in earnest for it, for the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. Let us be of one accord, in this
one thing, once more. Let us shed our
denominational labels and cling to the one thing that unites us in Jesus
Christ, and in the power of His Spirit to bring us into alignment with
Him. Along the way we will find the
truth in His Word that has been there eluding us all the while. We will come to know what He wants us to
know. But I submit there will be no
revelation of truth while our eyes are dimmed by a refusal to follow, or while
we cling to the notion it is our will that will somehow save us.
Luke continues as Peter continues his sermon in verse 22
saying … “Ye men of Israel, 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: [verse 23] Him, being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken,
and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: [verse 24] Whom God hath
raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that
he should be holden of it.” Peter
here gives a summary of the gospel word that has the power to save, to save
even you from the desire to sin, let alone from the actions of sin. Peter then goes back to the scriptures of his
day to once again give argument for Jesus Christ. He does not throw away the Old Testament, but
instead embraces the truth of the Old Testament to prove out Jesus Christ,
referring back to Joel, and now moving back even farther to David.
Luke continues in verse 25 saying … “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: [verse 26] Therefore did my heart rejoice, and
my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: [verse 27] Because thou
wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see
corruption. [verse 28] Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt
make me full of joy with thy countenance. [verse 29] Men and
brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both
dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. [verse 30] Therefore
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of
the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit
on his throne; [verse 31] He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ,
that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.” Peter outlines how David foretold of Jesus
Christ and His resurrection. David in
this sense was more than patriarch, he was a prophet.
Luke continues in verse 32 saying … “This Jesus hath God raised
up, whereof we all are witnesses. [verse 33] Therefore being by the right hand
of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. [verse 34] For David is
not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord,
Sit thou on my right hand, [verse 35] Until I make thy foes thy
footstool. [verse 36] Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that
God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Peter again uses the same texts Jesus used
when confronted by Pharisees who asked Him by what authority He spoke in the
Temple. Jesus uses this same story of
David’s prophesy for which the Pharisees had no answer how to explain it. But Peter does. Now in retrospect Peter is able to use the
exact same passages from the author David and the words of Christ to point out
how they point to Jesus as the fulfillment of these passages. And Peter again points out that all the
servants of Jesus there, bare witness to these events from ministry, to
crucifixion, to resurrection, to ascension.
And in all of this the singular goal of the Holy Spirit is
achieved. Jesus planted the seeds. Peter becomes a vessel along with all the
others in that place. And the word is
spread across the hearts of every person there.
It is undeniable. And its impact
and effects unmistakable. This is what
God wants for you and I in the here and now.
Luke continues in verse 37 saying … “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? [verse 38] 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. [verse 39] 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. [verse 40] And with many
other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this
untoward generation. [verse 41] Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand
souls.”
This sermon of Peter was meant for you, not just them as some
sort of history lesson. The effect of
the Holy Spirit was “prick them in their hearts”, that is the recognition of
our sins, and our guilt in embracing our sins.
That is the first thing the Holy Spirit does, convict us of what we need
to lose. And you will notice it is the
heart that is the mechanism, or the field if you will, through which the Holy
Spirit enters. They respond as I hope
you and I do asking – what shall we do?.
The answer is “repent”. Then be
baptized literally every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins. Notice not just
forgiveness of sins (that is implied), but for the remission or the removal of
sins from your life, from your hands and feet, mind and heart. That is the work of transformation only Jesus
promises to perform within you. And we
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit promised to each and all of us tp accomplish
that work. For the promise is UNTO YOU,
and to YOUR children, to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our
God SHALL CALL. That call is going out
right now. That call goes out in this
text, but more importantly it goes out to your heart from the same Jesus you
know so much about. They gladly received
his words and were baptized and that same day 3000 souls were added to his
kingdom.
But more importantly than that precious harvest back then,
is the harvest of one more, of you, of me.
Let us turn our hearts towards Jesus, let us too repent of our sins, of
who we have become, and seek His baptism by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Let us be transformed not by what we think to
do, or try to do, but by the power of His love to make us new, here and
now. In mind and heart let us allow the
Holy Spirit to make us One with our God and Lord Jesus Christ. For it is only Jesus that has ever made us
this offer, this promise. There is no
other way to the Father but through Jesus Christ. And the power of the Holy Spirit is meant to
make the gospel of Jesus Christ real in our hearts and minds, and be one with
us as we face the end of all things. Only
then will our actions flow from our hearts, aligned with God, one with Him in
the redemptive ministry to our world in these last few hours. The nature of the ministry for our world has
changed. It has entered its final stage. What will you do with what time you have
left? As for me and my house, clinging to
the name and grace of Jesus Christ, we will serve the Lord …
No comments:
Post a Comment