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So Acts chapter number two, just jumping right into it here. We've got of course in verse one Where he mentions the day of Pentecost and when the day of Pentecost was fully come They were all with one accord in one place and that's a word you only find a few times in Acts and in 1st Corinthians That word Pentecost so you might kind of wonder what that's about, but really Without going deep into it all it all it means you know Penta Pentecost Just means the 50th basically is what that means and you get the reason why they're calling that is because it's the it's They were to count You know, it's the 50th day after the the the feast that they were they had, you know prior So I don't want to get real into that. It's kind of a little complicated But basically if you remember for the 16th month of Nisan, which is the second day of the Passover They were to complete seven Sabbaths and they were had to have seven complete weeks and then so that's 49 days And then the feast was held on the 50th day So that's where you get Pentecost. That's why they call that. So enough of that I don't want to get hung up on verse 1 we got a long ways to go here but that's why they call it that but moving on here it says in verse 2 and Suddenly they can't there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting So if you remember they're in the upper room they're gathered together after Christ's ascension that we saw last week and they're sitting there and they're waiting and praying upon the filling the Holy Spirit as Was promised to them by Christ and It says there in verse 3 and there appeared unto them clove and tongues like as fire and it sat upon each of them Okay So you've got these clove and tongues that are showing up and I don't know if it's sitting on them like on top of their Head or if it's kind of enveloping them, you know, it might be more that kind of when it's saying that it sat Upon them. Maybe it's meaning it's kind of enveloping them and we're taught that would kind of go back to You know what John the Baptist preached that Christ would baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire So some people say this is a fulfillment of that Where he said hey Jesus is gonna come he's gonna baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire And I think it's a very legitimate Interpretation I could see that I've heard other interpretations But you know, it seems to fit here because you have this clove and tongue like as of fire So it's not exactly like it's not a fire literally But it's enveloping them it's a key whether it's sitting up top them or it's enveloping them either way It's a pretty amazing sight, you know that that's quite the prayer meaning to be a part of and Appears these clove and tongues and it sat set upon each of them in verse 4 and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost Began to speak with with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance So, you know, we might not get to experience everything that we see in the book of Acts You know, we're not gonna obviously have these Miraculous things like the the righty, you know, the rushing wind that comes in and the and the the clove and tongues of fire appearing But you know what is available to us is the filling of the Holy Ghost. That is something that is available to us That's why we're commanded to be filled with the Holy Ghost and to not be drunken with wine We're in his excess, you know, we were to be filled with the Spirit We were to ask for the filling of the Holy Spirit and God will give it to us You know, that's something that we have a great That's something that we have a great advantage, you know, if you think about it, you know The Old Testament Saints the Holy Spirit came upon them, but it did not fill them They did not have the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit They didn't have the the the filling of the Spirit as God gave it to them You know, that's something that we have beginning here in the New Testament Church that's available to every believer And that's something that we need in our lives. We need to make sure That we are we are full of the Holy Ghost, you know, that's something we have to seek obviously There's the sealing of the Holy Ghost, but then the filling of the Holy Ghost are two separate things. So It's one thing to be sealed But if you want that filling that's something we're actually going to have to seek Through prayer and through not grieving and quenching the Spirit as we're warned right to not grieve the Spirit Neither are we to quench the Spirit when God is moving and working our lives and we should go with that Not against it, you know if we work against the Holy Ghost against what we know to be right against What we know God wants us to do. Well, we can't really count on the fact that we're going to be filled with the Holy Ghost Okay But let's keep moving along here. It says in verse five and they're dwelling at Jerusalem Jews devout men out of every nation under heaven Okay, so these are important details when we get into this Uh the teaching about tongues here, obviously, this is a go-to passage When people want to preach this false doctrine or misinterpretation of tongues, obviously tongues is a biblical doctrine It's something that takes place However today it's been very misconstrued and and taught to be something other than what's taught in the bible By people like the pentecostals the charismaniacs and others they take this doctrine of speaking in tongues And they teach something that's completely Uh, just off the wall, you know, they're they're babbling and making sounds everyone in the room probably knows what i'm talking about Where they'll you know, say they're speaking in tongues and they're not speaking any language whatsoever You know, they're saying just just whatever comes to mind, right? But I should have bought a honda, you know As the joke goes right they're saying all kinds of goofy things But when we actually turn to the passage, I remember this is one of the first things I got straighten out on when I when I Got saved i'd heard about tongues. I wasn't into it or anything, but I i'd wondered about it You know, I knew other people that had that that promoted this false sense this false doctrine around tongues and when someone just turned me into the passage was just like oh It's that simple. I mean the bible just is so clear about what tongues is and was it what it isn't It's it's not uh, it's not a complicated issue at all But it's just amazing to me how many people have this wrong in these pentecostal churches and other places And and obviously a big part of that is because they're unsaved and the natural man Receiveth not the things of the spirit of god neither can know them for they're spiritually discerned, right? So when you have unsaved people trying to go to the word of god and get something out of a lot of times That's why they end up with false doctrine. And yes, you know a lot of these pentecostals the vast majority of them are unsaved Because they believe in things like losing your salvation or having to be baptized and we'll address that later You know like many other people they believe they they always add works through their salvation And we know that salvation is by grace and it does not have works But notice the details here, I mean as you read through you get a sense of you know, why this was taking place one You know the day of pentecost was very important to the jewish nation because that was one of the three Feasts where all men were to come and appear before the lord. So you have You know this huge gathering of jews so, you know, god's timing is perfect, right? It's impeccable, right? God decided to send the spirit on this particular day He got the you know, the the church together the apostles together disciples together and filled them with the holy spirit And gave them this gift of speaking in tongues on this particular day, right? It's a very strategic move on god's part because you have all of these, you know Jews from every quarter of the of the world are showing up As they were commanded to do So they're there and and uh that you know, that's why we see some of these details in verse five and they were dwelling At jerusalem jews development out of every nation under heaven So there's people from every part of the world that are going to hear the preaching of peter They're going to see these great miracles. I mean, it's it's really uh, you know, it's not a minor detail right And one because of the fact that it shows us You know what it means to speak in tongues Okay, because they're speaking in different languages as we'll see in here in a minute But also it's not a minor detail because of the fact that it shows us, you know God's timing is perfect and because god knows what he's doing when it comes to building his church He's saying hey, you know, we're gonna it's a very key moment right in the new testament church. Let's get everybody together So that this will spread like wildfire Throughout the world because these people are going to go back and talk about what they saw Well, how was pentecost you should have been there, right? So it goes on it says and there was dwelling at jerusalem jews development out of every nation under heaven Now when this was noised abroad the multitude came together and were confounded because that every man heard them speak an unknown heavenly language They heard them speak and just nonsense just gibberish that you know is the the angelic tongue, right? They're speaking with the tongues of angels and we'll address that in a minute, too Right. No, that's not what it says. It's very clear They heard them speaking every man in his own language. That's the miracle, right? Is that they were they were coming from all these different parts of the world all these different nations. They weren't all speaking hebrew Okay, they're all speaking different languages from whatever part of the world they were in And they're there and they're hearing You know every man in their own language Amazing miracle, you know and i'm getting a little bit ahead of myself But wouldn't that be great if that were something that was still available us today You know, the mexico mondays would get filled up around here, you know if we just said hey, you know I don't speak spanish, but if I just go to mexico monday Go down to mexico down to rocky point. As soon as I get there i'm going to speak Speak it in spanish, right? No, that's not how it works though, this was a very special Gift that was given to the early church and we'll see that here in a minute And they were all amazed and verse seven and marveled saying one to another behold. Are we not all these which speak? Galileans, right? It's like these guys aren't from every corner of nation of the world. They're all galileans You know, these are all guys from the same area that speak a particular language And now here we are hearing them everyone in our own tongue, okay And how we hear in verse eight and how here we every man in our own tongue Where in where we're born and he lists, you know, they list like over a dozen different nationalities or different regions here Where these people were from right the parthians the means the illamites the dwellers in mesopotamia and so on and so forth He lists all these things and they speak in our tongues the wonderful works of god verse 11 And they were all amazed and were in doubt saying once another what meaneth this so they're trying to comprehend this miracle What's this about because this is a very new thing And then of course others were there it says in verse 13 that mocking said These men are full of new wine. So they're saying oh, they're drunk, right? and I I was uh Kind of get a kick out of peter's response, right? He says in verse 14, but peter standing up with the 11 lifted up his voice And said of them you men of judia and all you that dwell at jerusalem be this known unto you And hearken unto my words for these are not drunken as you suppose Seeing it as about the third hour of the day. It's like these guys aren't a bunch of day drinkers up here You know, there's not a bunch of drunks You know, it's kind of it's like well, they're not drunk because it's the midday, right? So I for some reason always kind of strikes me as odd he's like what's you know, who's drinking in the midday? All right He's drinking at all is what he should say. These aren't you know, these are christians, you know, we don't we don't drink Anyway, uh, so he's saying hey, you know, they're not drunk, right? And again, you know we see from this passage is very clear that tongues You know are are a very particular Miracle that surrounds it right? It's a very specific miracle that time. It's not this mysterious thing It's not what it's been misconstrued to mean today. Okay First of all, let's point out the fact again that when they this happened they cloven tongues were appeared upon them Now that's not happening in these pentecostal churches There might be a lot of tongue talking quote-unquote going on there might be a lot of you know Shaking and moving around the floor, but there are no cloven tongues of fire appearing. It's funny how you know, they'll say Oh, yeah, we're speaking in tongues. It's like yeah, but where's the mighty rushing wind? You know, where's the cloven tongues if I always doesn't do that anymore. Yeah, he doesn't do any of it anymore None of that is available to the church anymore And again, the tongues are understood in an earthly language that made very clear sense, you know We'll take the time to remind us but in exodus and deuteronomy We see again if you remember that during there's three feasts that they were to all appear before the lord This was a very specific time. You have all these different people from different Backgrounds speaking in different tongues and when it's using that word tongues, you know in the bible that just simply means You know to say that someone has speaks in a certain tongue. You're saying they're a distinct people group, right? You know if An example would be a revelation 11. I'll just read to you says and there were people And they have the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see there talking about the two witnesses Dead bodies. So he's saying everyone from every nation and kindred and tongue, right? And you'll often see that in the scripture nations kindreds tongues, right? And the word, you know When you're talking about their tongues talking about their their language, right their langua, right? You're talking about the tongue You're talking about a people group, right? It's kind of distinctive of where they're from right? It kind of helps describe You know a nationality so to speak or an ethnicity, okay For example, if I were to say, oh, you know, you say well describe this person to me, you know If I was trying to describe somebody to you and I said, oh he's a spanish speaker You're probably you're gonna probably think about somebody who's hispanic, you know, oh, I know that's like You know quasi unwoke or whatever today, but that's you know, that's probably what most people are gonna think Oh, well, he you know, he's this he's that he's a spanish speaker. You're gonna probably think of a certain ethnicity, right? If I say they speak this language Right if I say oh they speak spanish. You're not gonna think of some Lily white canadian from you know You know quebec or something they speak french up there, right? You're gonna you know, so you can see how in the bible the word tongue is associated with ethnicities people groups And that's why when they're speaking in tongues, they're speaking in that language. I know it's not that complex, but you know, that's out there The other thing i'll point out if you would go to mark 16 go to mark 16 and when you get there Keep something in mark 16. We're going to come back But tongues were a special gift you say, okay. All right, great. I get it tongues were speaking in a certain language You know, but is that still available today? You know, i'm spending a lot of time trying to learn another language It'd be great to you know Scrap the duolingo app get rid of the pimsleur and to be able to just rely upon this gift that we see here You know if that's what it is. Why can't I just Get that today. Well, this is a very Tongues were a special gift I believe as well as others that we'll see here in a minute That have gone that are no longer something that we can do anymore This is something that you'll see again in acts chapter 10 When peter goes and preaches to cornelius the holy spirit falls upon them and they're and them being uh, you know the greeks them being uh gentiles, right And then it says and the jews that believed were amazed because they spake with other tongues, right? And it was a sign to those jews to peter and the other jews who believed That the gentiles were also Accepted. Okay. So that was a point of tongues, you know, that was a sign that was given to the early church that was a sign that was given to the apostolic church as a as a Means of you know validation to validate, you know, that these people are saved, you know, this is it was a special gift Okay, it's not something that we can still do today. So don't get your hopes up You know keep doing the duolingo keep hitting the language learning programs you're going to have to keep putting in the hard work if you want to learn a language we can't just Say well, I heard what deacon said on that thursday night service That's an actual language and i'm just going to pray for the gift of tongues. It's not available to us anymore Maybe god will give you Understanding and ability and willpower and all that and patience to to do the work to learn another language the motivation, you know Uh, that's a possibility but god's not just going to miraculously take over like he did here And just give us this ability to speak in other languages it's a very and when you start to think about how that might have played out it gets interesting like But we've got to move along here, but you're there in mark 16. Look at verse 17. So tongues are a very special gift, right? It says and these signs shall follow them that believe of course This is jesus, you know giving the great commission right going to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature And these signs shall follow them that believe in my name they shall cast out devils they shall speak with new tongues Meaning tongues languages. They did not previously know And they shall take up serpents And if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover, okay? Now here's the thing about this You know, these are all signs that were given to if you want to call it the apostolic church or the early church Whatever you want to call it. Okay, the church in peter's day that that that you know, the the beginning of the church, right? the first church You know, these are signs that all these signs were given to them, right? And it's interesting today how people only want to pick out one or two of these, right? And they only say oh we can still speak in tongues though, you know where we can still heal people You know, but they they cherry pick here, don't they? And you can kind of see why Because some of these are pretty Some of these other signs here are pretty you know far out and this is some You know daredevil stuff if I could use that word, right? things like taking up serpents now, I know we have some Crazy backwood baptists out there that still take this, you know, and they often get bit, right? They'll get bit some preach some snake handling preacher will get bit and be like, oh, I didn't have the faith It's like it's no it's because that's not It's not something for you, you know, I mean they have people that can charm cobras They're not christians. You know what I mean? They have guys that out there that'll handle snakes You know, my dad used to milk Baby rattlesnakes as a you know at a tourist trap in south dakota But that wasn't because he was invoking matthew 16 here right And we see some of these things play out obviously we see all this these miracles play out in the book of acts you know, i'm not going to go through it all right now, but It's just i'm pointing out the fact that a lot of people say oh tongues is a thing for the church Okay. Well, what about picking up serpents? Well, isn't that one of the gifts that was given to them as well? Let's you know if you're speaking in this in this angelic tongue, you know Maybe you should start a pest control business here in southern arizona getting rid of these diamondbacks and other things, you know That's the guy I want to go hiking with You know, I and I believe me I could there's people in church that I know that have had some close calls with snakes and other things People have been bit it's like well, you know, why didn't you what matthew 16 buddy? What's your problem? You know get down to that mexico monday speak that new tongue And you know while you're there clear out some snakes So there's one and if they drink any deadly thing Oh, you're going to speak in tongues, you know when you're done handling that serpent. Let me pour you a glass of battery acid Because I want to see that miracle next I want to see you down the deadly thing, you know, here's some bleach. Here's some clorox Well, I mean, come on, I mean, right Let's get these pentecostals. I mean anyone can speak in the new in these tongues. I want to see something You know, they're speaking in tongues at all these pentecostal churches, but where's the snake handling? Where's the poison drinking? Uh, well, uh, You know, they don't want to do that Yeah But they'll go for the laying the hands on the sick, right then you this is where you have your You know kenneth copeland's and who's the guy that's hitting everybody with the jacket? Huh John haggin, I don't think it's hey What was it? Benny hen, right Benny, hen's just slaying the spirit, right? Now I would like to see that guy drink some battery acid And not because I want to see him, you know recover Because he's a false prophet and i'd like to see you go straight to hell there. I said it You can't cherry pick your signs your pentecostals, you know, you can't say oh, you know tongues is for us Laying on the hands and healing the sick that's for us. It's the whole thing, right? That's what jesus said. It's all of it. Okay So you say well, what's the deal there? Well that just shows, you know to me It just seems like that's just showing us that these were special signs You know as at the beginning of the church to validate it after christ's departure right that they would have A means of of validating, you know, the church to other people that people say no, this is real. There's something going on here. Okay But if you would go to first corinthians chapter 13 again keep something there in mark 16, we'll come back in a minute You know first corinthians, you know, I guess i'll just read to you no go to first corinthians chapter 13 You know some people will uh Say no speaking with tongues means speaking You know with an angelic language, right and they'll maybe turn to first corinthians chapter 13 And instead of verse one though. I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity. I become a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol, right he's saying if I So they'll say see there he's speaking with tongues of men and of angels now That's not the point paul is making in first corinthians 13 What he's emphasizing is charity, you know love You know, we all have probably had a grandmother who had first corinthians 13 In needlework hanging up somewhere in her home, right? That's a very famous verse very beautiful chapter, you know, rightly so About charity, right and that's how charity suffereth long and envietnot is not puffed up, right? But they'll turn to this and say oh see he's talking about you know I speak with the tongues of men and of angels right And he's saying though I speak he's not saying I speak right so Just right there on the surface, but also the fact that angel in the bible could just mean messenger Right, for example in revelation chapter two and three chapters two and three you have The angel the church of sardis and thyatira and laodicea and so on and so forth. You have all these You know, you know right under the church the angel the church of such and such, you know Just go read revelation chapter two and three. He calls the the angel he's talking about, you know messenger The preacher right the orator perhaps the leader, right? So paul is saying in first corinthians 13, you know might be able to speak well Yeah, I might be able to speak like a very, you know a man and and and like an angel a very well spoken Poetic, you know, it's not saying though. I speak in an unknown Heavenly language that nobody knows Because if that were the case, you know, it really wouldn't fit with the rest of the sentence I become a sounding brass or tinkling assembly saying look I want to speak with the understanding I want to I want to speak and be understood. I'd rather speak five words with the understanding It'd be better to speak and be understood Okay, so if he's speaking Like an angel In some language that nobody on earth knows what profits it nothing, right? So you know Tongues is a gift that is ceased. Okay, so we've disproved that it's some whacked out, you know Mumbo jumbo that the pentecostals want to use but also we're proving tonight that it's something that doesn't exist for us today Just as much as drinking poison And laying hands on healing the sick You say no healing the sick's a real thing, you know, then why don't the benny hint types go down to the hospital? How compliant the only time you see them healing anybody Is when there's a bunch of people to put money in an offering plate, okay It's because these things have ceased All right. In fact look at verse eight of first corinthians 13 It says charity faileth, but whether they be prophecies they shall fail Whether there be tongues they shall cease and saying these things are all going to go away Whether they be knowledge it shall vanish away for we know in part and we prophesy in part But when that which is perfect has come then that which is in part shall be done away And there's you know, some theories about what he's referring to here and I believe you know personally that he's referring to the word of god You know, they had the tongues and the prophesying and that knowledge that was given through that those means Until the new testament was finished being written. Okay, that one which is perfect has come Then that which is in part shall be done away. Okay, and we got to move along. I don't want to get hung up on that Let's move along here from this topic because you know there's a lot in acts chapter two and i'm trying to get through the whole thing tonight, but Let's go to verse 16 go back there So, you know, obviously sometimes these wednesday night cert or thursday night services They're going to kind of go in different directions, you know, but that's just the nature Of the chapter, right? So we're dealing with tongues here in the beginning And then peter afterwards, you know, they're mocking and saying oh these guys are drunk. He's saying no, it's they're not drunk. They're you know It's the third hour of the day they're not sitting around we're not we haven't been up here drinking, you know, this is something special And he stands up and he says but this is that verse 16 which was spoken by the prophet Joel And it shall come to pass in the last days saith god I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh and on your sons and your sons and your daughter shall prophesy and your men Young men shall see visions And your old men shall dream dreams And on my servants and on my hand means will I pour out in those days of my spirit and they shall prophesy And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath blood and fire and vapor of smoke They shall be turned The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and notable day of the lord Come when it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved So this is another thing that a lot of the karismaniacs like to latch onto When it comes to this thing of visions, right? And getting a vision, you know, i've heard them say things like this. Oh i've got a vision from the lord, you know I just envisioned You know so and so You know wrapped in light and they'll pray for them or something. I've heard things like this, right? They they have these visions that come to them from god, right and they'll base it on stuff like this but what's interesting about this passage, especially when you consider when he's quoting Joel 2 You know verse 27 and he's and and peter when he quotes it says and it shall come to pass in the last days But if you go back and read it in Joel It says it shall come to pass afterward. Okay but when peter Recites it here. He says in the last days, okay Now whether or not why peter did that whether he knew exactly why he did that. I don't know but you know All scripture is given by inspiration of god, right? So there's a reason why it's changed. I believe that peter said it that way in the last days, right? And when you start to think about it You can kind of see an overview of the last days In this passage from Joel what he kind of describes, okay as time goes on because Not everything in this that he's quoted from Joel 2 has come has come to pass, right? I mean have you seen the blood and fire and vapor of smoke? Have you seen the uh, The the sun turned into darkness and the moon and blood. No, that's something that comes At the lord's return, you know the god's wrath that's something that's happening With the sixth seal right being open that's something that's yet to come that's not something That we've seen today Okay So you can see in this passage that it's kind of Some things are coming to pass when peter's saying it some things are yet to come to pass I believe are coming to pass in our day. And then there's some things that are yet to come to pass In the last days because the last days is not you say how long is the last days? Well, it's starting here and we're still in it Last days, I believe is a is a referring to that time period from the day of pentecost at this point Unto the return of christ, you know, we are in the last days Okay You say well, it doesn't feel like the last days it seems like it's been going on a long time Yeah, but there's a lot there's been there's more time that has come to pass before this right You know, there's been thousands of years that have come before that and now here we are in these last days You know and to god it's very quick right a thousand years as as one day right and one day as a thousand years Well, let's kind of look at this again With that in mind, you know this idea that you know, this is kind of describing You know a time span of the last days and there's certain things that are coming to pass, right? Verse 17 and she'll come to pass in the last day say if 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 These are things that you see happen in the book of acts Peter has a visions other has a vision, you know others have visions There you have uh, the the uh, the daughters of people prophesying. Okay, these things happen in the book of acts So I believe you know verse 17 is referring to If it's right to call it that you know that early apostolic church that that first church in peter's day That first generation church, okay, that's kind of verse 17 Verse 18 and on my servants and my handmaids. I'll pour out my spirit in those days Of my spirit and they shall prophesy, you know, I would apply that to the time that we're living in You know that you say what's the prophesying there? Well prophesying is really just preaching, you know Kind of sometimes depends on context, you know, it could be a foretelling of the future, right? Which was a sign that was given to them, you know, but like paul or yeah Paul said in first corinthians 13 it shall cease, you know, the prophecies shall cease So with the prophesying in verse 18, you know that could refer to more of a preaching right that's taking place And that's something that's going on today I mean we have servants we have The handmaidens and the servants that god fills with the spirit and they go out and they prophesy they preach the gospel You know, we have men that get up and preach, okay So that's us I believe, you know, we kind of fit in there and then of course verse 19 Those are the things that are yet to come The wonders in heaven the signs on earth and so on and so forth But notice the last verse and it shall come to pass verse 21 That whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord Shall be saved, right? That's something that's kind of going on throughout this whole time period called the last days That's the point of it all right people get real hung up sometimes about Signs and wonders and miracles and all these things that were going on in acts But you know the most important thing the greatest work any of us could do is preach the gospel the greatest miracle Is that people will call upon the name of lord and be saved? It's a miracle each and every time it happens You know, i'm not going to say that it still surprises me that I get saved But it still certainly puts a smile on my face when I go in and preach the gospel. I'm not shocked Oh, I can't believe someone actually believes this but you know what? It's still an amazing thing You know to see god working In people's hearts to see the word of god work in someone's heart to just go out and knock on a door Just something as simple as that Offer to preach the gospel to somebody and they'll say yes and they'll listen and just preach a simple gospel message to them And they believe it You know that it's it's a it's a beautiful simple miracle People today they get so caught up in all these other things You know, but here's what it's all about whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved That's what's going on in the last days That's the work that we're here to do So you kind of see that they're the events of the last days The apostolic church the prophecies and visions that were given to them the book of acts The ministry of the church in verse 18 preaching the gospel and the power of the holy ghost Verses 19 and 20 talks referring more to the return of christ that which is yet to come Those are descriptive events that are unfulfilled but verse 21 is that overarching theme or purpose of The church in the last days to preach the gospel so that whoever may Whoever will may come let's move along here in verse 22. It says he 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 you yourselves also know He's saying you saw what jesus did You know and you saw all the miracles that he did, okay Him being delivered by the determinate council and for knowledge 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 holding of it for david speaking concerning him Excuse me 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 So he's referring to the fact that david even prophesied of the resurrection of christ Verse 27 because thou will not leave my soul in hell neither thou thy self that suffer thy holy one to see corruption Saying look, you know that jesus was approved of god because the miracles that he did That and we're here to tell you that he has fulfilled what david has spoken before That he would not suffer his holy one to see corruption that he did not leave his soul in hell, okay And of course he goes on He continues to quote quote him verse 29 men and brethren Let me speak freely speak unto you of the patriarch david that he is both dead and buried saying david said these things about his soul not being left in hell that he You know that he would be resurrected that he had this hope of being raised again, but you know what david is still dead, right? His sepulcher is with us unto this day therefore being a prophet And knowing that god has sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins according the flesh He would raise up christ to sit on his throne. He's saying david wasn't referring to himself But of the fruit of his loins the seed which is christ, okay that he would raise him up to sit on his throne verse 31 he david seeing this Christ's resurrection before spake of the resurrection of christ That his soul was not left in hell neither did his flesh see corruption This jesus hath god raised up where of we are all witnesses, okay? So obviously, you know the the the the one of the major doctrines that we derive out of this is the fact that jesus went to hell And i'm sure probably most people in the room have heard this, okay? Now the first time I heard it, you know, I I didn't I won't say it came as a shock to me But it was something I didn't know it sounds like oh, I didn't know that But as soon as I heard it was like the tongues thing, right? I was like, oh well, it's right there You know and and people fight this today even in baptist churches and people get way bent out of shape over this for some reason They they want to say i've heard even heard baptists say that this is blasphemy suggest That jesus soul went to hell But the bible says that he tasted death for every man and what is death? To be it's being it's the second death Which is the lake of fire? He tasted death for every man. He became sin for us. What's the punishment for sin going to hell? Right. He paid that part of the price and people get real Goofy when they want to start saying well, it's the blood that saves not hell. It's actually the whole thing It's the it's the death burial and resurrection of christ that saves and faith in it, of course, right? You can't start splicing these things which one is it it's both it's all of it, okay And it's just as plain as the nose on your face what the bible says He's seeing this before spake of the resurrection of christ that his soul was not left in hell Neither did his flesh seek corruption Here's you know, if you got if if you have if you're worried about being left somewhere you have to be there right It'd be like one of your kids came and say hey don't leave me at the mall We're not going to the mall. I know But don't leave me there Okay You know, you'd you'd worry you'd say you need to go take a nap, you know, check out their nutrition Maybe get a psychologist not just getting right It's nonsensical. It doesn't make any sense to sit there and say don't leave me somewhere when you're not there You know if my wife came to me tonight after service say hey don't leave me at church That would make sense because we're at church Right. I know this is really complicated, right? But some people choke on this and they just want to deny it And they I don't know what their motives are for wanting to deny this You'll throw out things like oh, it's that's a catholic doctrine. Yeah, catholics teach that Well, the catholics teach a lot of other things that are biblical Should we throw out the virgin birth? They're kind of big on that You know, they got a lot of other things right, okay Because it's why why is it that you know, the unsaved catholic can figure this out because it's that plane It's just that on the surface of the bible It's just right there It's just understanding basic grammar. He was not left in hell meaning he went to hell, okay? And jesus went to hell, you know, that's what the bible clearly teaches and he did that as a part of our payment For sin, he's he tasted death for every man. Okay. He suffered for us Now if you would go over to uh, matthew chapter 12 Yeah, matthew 12. We'll get it in jesus's own words, right? matthew 12 jesus quotes jonah, right and he says himself that i'm going to be in the heart of the earth, right? Verse 39 matthew chapter 12 verse 39, but he answered and said to them An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of the prophet jonas Oh, well, what's the sign of the prophet jonas for us don't jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly So the shell the son of man be three days and three nights In the heart of the earth you're saying oh he's just talking about the fact that he went to the grave and came back jesus specifically said the heart of the earth The heart of the earth now a sepulcher on the surface of the earth is not the heart of the earth is it You know, I know they don't have things like basements here You know me and anyone else from you know, uh, you know other regions of the country are probably familiar with this concept But in other parts of the country, they have these things called basements I'm speaking to the locals here. They don't know what i'm talking about And they actually can have you can have a whole separate story in your home beneath the first floor The ground floor, uh, which is it? Right first war gone for debates rages on right point is you can have a basement, right? Now would you say the basement's the heart of the earth? We might like to say that, you know We're deep in the heart of the earth, you know eight feet underneath the surface. No How far do you think they really dug that sepulcher? Probably not that deep They they weren't you know, they weren't backing up a caterpillar You know, uh big old excavator And that was that was getting hand dug there was no dynamite They weren't blasting down. They weren't drilling, right? So you're going to tell me the sepulcher is the heart of the earth. And what did jesus say? The heart of the earth the core of the earth, right? That's what he said So that lines up doesn't it that his soul was not left in hell because the bible teaches us that hell Is in the earth, right? That's where it's at Yeah Well, you know what think about it what how do you describe hell What are some of the descriptions of hell, you know the smoke of their torment the fire, right? They're being tormented in this flame As the rich man said right i'm tormented in this flame And what do they tell us is in the heart of the earth in the core? liquid fire, right So this is you know, it's it's real simple or excuse me real simple But it's a simple fact that christ went there and paid for our sins in in hell That was part of that sacrifice that he made You know, and this is also pictured and if you would go to first samuel chapter 2 i'll move along quickly through this point This is also pictured in the burnt sacrifice I mean think about all the burnt sacrifices they had to make Like what's the purpose behind that and god's just like well, I don't know how else to get rid of these animals You know, I know you're going to slay them and shed their blood but now we got to do something with the body You know, you guys can only eat so much You know, what do we get let's burn it And not only that since I don't know how to get rid of this body. Let's let's build a very elaborate altar to burn it upon with a bunch of brass and Grading, you know how hard it is to like burn an entire animal? You know how much just constant heat you have to keep that's it doesn't I can't imagine it's that easy to burn bloody flesh, you know, it's like You know that that's difficult It's obviously part of that is there's a picture there of the burnt sacrifice of christ Even abraham when he told you know, uh isaac my son. God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering And we would say oh, yeah, the lamb is referring to christ That's a picture of jesus the lamb slain before the foundation of the world, right? But what did abraham say a lamb for a burnt offering? So if jesus says that offering when did he become the burnt offering When he went to hell I mean it's to me it just all kind of clicks jonas David You know peter just flat out saying it, you know, pretty much quoting david Abraham saying it back in genesis There's just all these illusions and just flat out statements of the fact that Christ was going to be a burnt offering You know, that's not talking about the fact that when he was here on earth, he got a little too much sun It's not the fact he went to hell, okay And i've heard people object to that and say well what about the burnt offering what it's a picture of christ going to hell so Well, here's the thing brother The reason why they did that Is because the priest had to eat that meat And god wanted to give his priests a barbecue Right, i've heard you say that's ridiculous. I've heard people say it with that accent I'm not just making that i'm not just saying that accent for no reason. Will you see brother that that actions for a reason? The reason why he burnt the burnt the sacrifice so the priest could eat it But here's the thing if you read the old testament it's not it's not You and again, that's so ridiculous just on the surface before even going to the scripture God's making a big deal about burnt sacrifices So the priests can you know, it's more malleable for them. So it's more appealing to them. Is that is really God's like let's build this, you know ornate altar Let's get all this wood and do all these things with the ash carrying it out and all these things around the burnt offering Just so the priests can have a barbecue So they can eat it in their preferred, you know delivery system You know just on the surface that's kind of like, you know, you're out to lunch, you know pun intended But if you read you know in the old testament It's not god's not really overly concerned with us understanding what exactly the priest ate But if you read through the old testament you look for it. You'll notice That the priest actually ate sodden or boiled flesh they did not eat off the altar Now some people have that misconception that the priest took from directly from the altar and ate charred flesh. They didn't that was god's Once that hit the altar that was his okay And you'll see this in places like i'll just remind you very quickly in leviticus chapter 6 And this is why it's important to read these things you say what's the point of reading leviticus and numbers? So when somebody gets up and says the stumping as foolish as what I just said You'll remember this and go actually I remember reading in leviticus. I remember reading in numbers those books that you know People have to make themselves read That the priests actually ate sodden or boiled flesh leviticus. I'll just read to you chapter 6 verse 28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken talking about the priests when they were eating There's their portion of the sacrifice in the holy place, right? They were to go in there and eat it but the earthen vessel wherein their portion was eaten wherein it was sodden Meaning boiled right shall be broken Okay And if it be sodden in a brazen pot It shall be scoured and rinsed in water. So right there. It's telling you that the priest ate sodden flesh Okay, which is the complete opposite of fire Boiling water and fire are two different elements at work. Okay And again in numbers chapter 6 verse 19 the priest shall be taken shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram And one 11 cake out of the basket and one way unleavened wafer Now look at first samuel chapter 2 verse 12, this is a very familiar passage But we can see here that this is something that the priest did. Okay And this is some people might read this and misunderstand it and think oh they were supposed to be eating roast flesh That's that's not what's going on here Priests were doing the opposite now the sons of eli Were sons of belial, okay, so right there there's your first clue whatever these guys are doing they're the sun They're probably not a good example to follow You know hafnai and finneas were sons of belial, okay They knew not the lord. So let's not look to them for an example of how to think. Oh, this is how priests did things Okay Look them how as a bad example, right? They knew not the lord verse 13 and the priest's custom with the people was Now that's real important. Don't just gloss over that the priest custom doesn't say now as they did as the lord commanded them Now as it is written in the law No, it says the priest custom with the people. This is something they were doing It doesn't necessarily mean That that's something they should be doing the bible's just telling what they were doing. Okay And again, that's a very important principle to always keep in mind when reading your bible every time you get a chance I'm going to reiterate it because it's where people get confused a lot Some things in the bible are descriptive and some things are prescriptive Some things are a statement. Some things are a story right Not everything everybody did in the bible is something we should do. Otherwise, we'd all be committing adultery and hanging ourselves All right, because people in the bible did that Right, we'd be committing murder You know, there's incest in the bible There's all these horrific things that take place in the scripture that doesn't mean we should do them It just says this is what these people did. Okay, and this is another one of these examples the priest's custom was With the people was that when any man offered sacrifice the priest servant came While the flesh was in seething right now, what does seething mean? It could it be That they you know because remember the the people that offered they got a portion of the sacrifice to go and eat themselves The priest got a portion and then the rest, you know, then the god's portion was put upon the altar Right, so they're seething their portion It doesn't seem to me That there was any particular way they had to make this but they were seething it and the priest servant came as their custom was With the flesh hook of three teeth in his hand and he struck into the pan or the kettle or the cauldron or the pot However, they were cooking it all that the flesh brought up the priest took for himself So they're not only eating their portion, but then they're going and taking the portion that belonged on the people right I mean, how would you like it if I just showed up your house? And just you know open the fridge and just say well, this is my portion, you know god the man of god Well, i'm a man i'm the man of god here and I just come and just take a bite out of your taco You know, you're gonna be upset right and upset these people Okay, because they're taking above and beyond that which was already theirs They're not taking off the altar. They're going to the people with the flesh hook And striking and pulling it and they're eating it verse fist Excuse me verse 15 Also before they burn the fat the priest servant came and said to the man that sacrificed give flesh to roast for the priest He's saying look we if they're taking off the altar. Why does he have to demand it? If they're already going to roast flesh on that, why does he have to come and say well give us some to roast Right. Why don't they just go to the altar? No, they won't take from the altar, but they're going to come take from the people And i'm just again i'm just dispelling this whole objection to Oh, the only reason that we have burnt sacrifices for the priest that could eat it You know as an objection to christ going to hell, okay The bible says the complete opposite that the flood that that the priest actually ate sod and flesh not roast Because notice he says also before they burn the fat verse 15 The priest servant came and said to the man that sacrificed give flesh to roast for the priest He will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw And if any man has said unto him let him not fail to burn the fat presently and take as much as I sold to Zareth then he would answer him and say nay, but thou thou shall give it me now And if I if not, I will take it by force. He's saying I don't want the sodden flesh the boiled flesh I want raw flesh for us to go and roast And you know, that's why verse 17 comes about wherefore the sin of the young man was very great before the lord For men abhorred the offering of the lord, right? They meaning they didn't it's like they don't want to go to church They don't want to go make that sacrifice because they don't like how they're being treated They don't like what's going on with the sacrifices, right? They don't like You know the fact that they're coming And basically strong arming them and taking you know more taking their portion upon the portion that they've already been given and roasting it So again, that was all to just kind of explain, you know dispel that objection that you know The purpose of the burnt sacrifice Was so that you know, the priests could have a barbecue You know, the bible says that they were to eat sodden flesh Now were they able to have a barbecue outside, you know on their day off or whatever probably, you know I would probably want to after if that was my job to sit there and smell roasting flesh all day You know, I can't even walk by like, you know, sometimes the burger king joint kicks on, you know, they're flame broiled Yeah, right, right the the smoke comes out, you know and it wafts across the city you're just kind of You know, you want to follow your nose Right, but you know, they weren't eating it in in from the altar. They weren't doing that. I don't believe that Let's move along the story. We got to wrap this up, uh going back to acts chapter number two Peter is carrying on here and he's saying Verse 32 this jesus hath god raised up where if we are all witnesses therefore being by the right hand of god exalted have received Of the father the promise of the holy ghost he hath shed forth this which he's now seen here He's talking about this is the fulfillment of the joel's prophecy The pouring out of the spirit, right? And so on and so forth verse 34 for david is not ascended into the heavens But he saith himself the lord sent unto my lord Uh lord, excuse me sent unto my lord sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool Therefore let all the house of israel know assuredly That god hath made that same jesus whom he crucified both lord and christ I'm trying i'm going to point this out later in acts, but i'll point it out now Is who is being blamed for the crucifixion of christ? Is it the romans? It's the jews right and that's why the jews don't like the new testament. They have a big problem with this, right? Because they get blamed squarely For the murder of christ for slaying christ, but you know, that's what peter says. We'll see later That's what paul says explicitly that they were to blame Although it was literally the romans that did it. It was the jews that caused it to come to pass I've got to point that out. Uh, let's go ahead here verse 37. Now these jews they had the right attitude, right? They didn't cry out. Oh, you know, we're gonna get our adl lawyers on here. This is the anti-defamation league, you know was instantly formed right No when they heard this they were pricked in their heart And said unto peter the rest of the apostles men and brethren. What shall we do? You know, they they were wanting to get right with god Right. I mean imagine being told that you know, you are responsible for the death of christ and you know, obviously The crucifixion itself is what's being laid specifically upon them But in a sense, you know, we all kind of play a part In the fact that christ was crucified because why did he do that? To save us from our sins You know Our iniquities were laid upon him You know If if there were just one sinner on the earth christ would have still come and died for them, right? So obviously the crucifixion itself is being pinned on this group of people at that particular time right But in a sense, you know, everyone Is responsible for that because we're all sinners, right? And that's you know, really what we want to see with people when we go out soul winning, you know Not that it has to be there but you know You would hope that when people hear about the crucifixion when they hear about the fact that they're a sinner and christ died for them That they would have a similar reaction that they would be pricked in their heart And they would ask what should we do? You know, what do we do about this? Verse 38 then peter said and then repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ for the remission of Sins and you receive the gift of the holy ghost But this is the promise unto you and to your children Until all that are far off even as many as the lord god shall call And with many other words did he testify and exhort saying save yourselves from this untoward generation So he's not being very you know This isn't a crowd pleasing message that he's delivering but it's really one of the greatest Sermons that have ever been preached right with great effect First 41 then gladly they that received his word were baptized in the same day were added unto them about three thousand souls now Let's back up to 38 and deal with that phrase there Peter said of them repent and be baptized every one of you So you can see where chapter two you have a lot of false doctrine that is pulled out of this right and other passages They'll say see you have to be baptized to be saved That's what peter preached repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of sins Right and they'll say things like that, you know, then there's a whole false doctrine surrounding repentance and what that means today, right? But really the repentance here simply means and if you would go to matthew 21 verse 31 repentance is simply means to to believe right? Isn't that what peter's trying to get them to do here? Because really what's he blaming them for the crucifixion of christ Is that something you can back up and redo? Oh got that wrong. Let's fix that. No that already happened You know murder is not one of those things you can you know make right? You know, once once that happens that happens right how are you gonna repent of that you know, you don't do it again But you know, what's done is done So what he's trying to get them to understand is that that you know Stop rejecting christ and believe on him repent and be baptized believe that's what the repentance that he's referring to is They're not feel sorry for what you did right one that wouldn't make any sense because they were already pricked in their heart And now they're asking what they should do. Well feel bad we do We're pricked in our heart we feel bad we'll feel worse repent how you know, you need to feel more better Right, you need to feel worse. It's not enough right who's gonna be the gate who's gonna gauge how bad you should feel before you can get saved You know and this is this is another thing that's getting preached out there With these holiness types and others where they want to make you know, you can't get saved and you've you feel bad enough long enough I mean good night. They used to have the mourners bench you come sit in church every service on this wooden bench up front and We'll see how sorry you really feel before and then maybe you can get saved. It's ridiculous But obviously the repentance here is just dealing with going from rejecting christ to accepting christ to believing on christ, right? Look at matthew 21 verse 31. We are verily saying to you that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of god before you So jesus saying hey, you know These pharisees the publicans and harlots are going on into heaven and you're not You know a bunch of thieves and whores are going to heaven and you're not that's what he's telling the pharisees A bunch of unholy people living a very ungodly life doing very wicked things are going to heaven Why are the why do they get to go because of their clean living Why do they get to go because of their clean living because of how they straighten out their life No, he tells us in verse 32 for john came unto you in the way of righteousness and you believed him not What's the problem that they have here? Is it that they're not holy enough? No, it's because they didn't believe john the preaching of john the baptist But the publicans and the harlots believed him and he sent it he repented not afterward that you might believe him So the repentance that needs to take place is going from unbelief to belief to believing the gospel, okay Because the thing is none of us is good enough to begin with All have come short of the glory of god You can't you know, you can't feel bad enough to undo how on you know, how our sinfulness that's just that doesn't make any sense You know belief is all that is required here. You say well, what about repent and be baptized? You know baptism is not necessary for salvation. I told you to keep something matthew 16 go back there Because this is another verse that they'll use the church of christ types You'll run into them and say oh got to be baptized. It's not enough to believe you got to be baptized too You know just think about how insulting that must be Why are you in heaven because I got wet Because somebody dunked me in water You know And let me you know pun intended once more that's a shallow You know, uh salvation To get dunked And you look at matthew chapter 16 verse 15 and he said go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved And that's where a lot of these church of christ types like to stop in verse 16. They'll read half the verse They know that first half like the back of their hand He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. What now? Well read the rest of the verse but he that believeth not shall be damned right Like in john 3 he that believeth Is is uh is not condemned But he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of god whosoever believeth right He that believeth hath everlasting life You know, it's all it takes is belief What damns a person here in matthew in mark 16 It's a lack of belief. Is it a lack of baptism that gets them damned? It's a lack of belief, right? Because here's the thing belief plus anything equals salvation And people I say this to people they'll kind of get they'll get a little confused for a second But think about just just think about the wording here. Okay If I believe in chew bubble gum I'll be saved Is that a true statement? At first you may be like well no because you're trying to add bubble gum chewing to salvation But it is true, isn't it? If I believe because if I what's the one thing that's required for salvation? faith Right, it's not of works. Otherwise faith is no more faith Okay, it's one or the other it's not both. It's not a little bit of faith a little bit of works It's faith or works. You're saved by grace through faith and that not of works Not by works of righteousness which we have done but by his mercy he saved us right it's it's not works it can't be So as long as i've got the element that is required i'm saved If I believe and play monopoly I shall be saved. Is that a true statement? Yes If I believe and eat a ham sandwich if I believe and do a backflip I'm glad backflips aren't required I'm glad backflips aren't required Because it ain't happening This big boy ain't getting that no way front flip Fall down Yes, right Flace plant I could do that No backflip, right? So is the is the statement whosoever shall believe and be baptized shall be saved. Is that a true statement? Yeah But what if I believe and I don't get baptized Yes What if I just get baptized will I be saved no because I didn't do the and I and I understand that this is easy for us to To comprehend but you know some people still they struggle with that. That's one of these verses that people come to you About they'll come to you with mark 16 and say, you know, I read this the other day and it confused me Either I believe it then it's baptized shall be saved And it's like the answer is right there in the latter half of the verse But he that believes not shall be damned. The only thing that damns you is is A lack of belief so you can see how peter What he's saying is correct and it's not a proof text for baptismal, you know salvation Peter said on them repent and be baptized Isn't that something in there asking? What should we do? Repent believe and be baptized. Isn't that what we tell people to do? Yeah They'll get saved you need to believe on christ And you need to be baptized And you need to be added to the church we believe people should do all those things, don't we? Listen, I believe that people should get saved get baptized and get in church Because that's what's the model here they should not forsake the assembling of themselves together as the manner of some is They should be in church that's something we're commanded to do as christians, okay Okay But do you have to go to church to be saved do you have to be baptized be saved? No, the only thing is repent believe Okay, and i'm out of time i'll wrap up, uh, maybe sunday night the rest of this chapter But there's a lot of great doctrine right here in just this one chapter, you know about Christ, you know his his resurrection the fact that he suffered for us in hell, you know that you say what's the point of that? You know, well that should You know move us, you know, like man christ not only did he die for my sins Not only did he come here But he even suffered hell think about that Christ has suffered more than in hell than you ever will That's an amazing thought To think about that's how much christ loves us I mean, there's a lot of things, you know, he's a man of sorrow. He's acquainted with grief There's a lot of things that he we can he can we can sympathize with one another us in christ He knows what it's like to be weary in the flesh. He knows what it's like You know the fact that we're tempted and you know, he knows what it's like to have You know life on this earth. He's familiar with it. He's he's acquainted with grief. He knows what loss and mourning is He knows about all these things You know, we can't really sympathize with him when it comes to going to hell And we never will praise god Because the fact that he not just did that but he did all of it Right, and that's what we want to share with other people The gospel now do we have to share the fact with people that christ went to hell for them to get saved? No, in fact, I don't some people do i'm not against it you know, but that's it's you know, the The gospel is the death barrel and resurrection of christ, you know, if you've got that you you're preaching the gospel But it is something that the bible teaches you know, it's something that rather than just sitting around trying to split hairs or You know, uh Condemn other people as a heretic for believing, you know, it ought to move us It's a very moving thought to think that christ died for us and suffered in hell for us It ought to prick us in our hearts, you know and cause us to want to You know do what these jews did, you know join the church and serve god fervently. Let's go ahead and have a closing word prayer