Church Conference Talk 2

[0:00] After this session we go to lunch, so I don't want us to be late. You'd be helpful to take that away, thanks. So I don't want us to be late, but that is a great and huge chapter that we need to deal with.

[0:14] But on the other hand, I also want to tell you something of less significance, but still of great importance. This is a great still at any price. It's an interesting book. It's not written like most books.

[0:28] It just is different. It's just stories of people who knew Chapa. Hands up those who ever heard him, by the way, here. Yeah, ask those people.

[0:39] There was actually no one quite like him, was there? He just was a one-off. He was my daughter Ruth's godfather. He had lots of grandchildren, one goddaughter, and that was our daughter Ruth.

[0:51] And she writes, our kids adored him. In many ways he became like a grandfather figure to them. We often went to Hazlehurst Gallery Cafe in Guimere for lunch with him. He had Joshua, our eldest son, over to his place to eat cupcakes, play cribbage, and chat.

[1:11] He often rang and chatted about how the kids were going and what he could pray for concerning them. Hands up those who know what cribbage is. Yes, yes, yes, old folks.

[1:22] It's a game that grandparents to each their grandchildren. It's a card game and it's really good for teaching your grandchildren cribbage. You need to learn it before you become a grandfather or grandmother.

[1:35] But that was Chapo sitting up there playing cribbage with... But Ruth also... Ruth also... And the book is just full of incidents like that. Of just people. It talks about Hannah.

[1:48] My friend Chapo, that was his name. When I was four or three... This is my granddaughter Hannah writing. When I was three or four, I used to go to a cafe. He always played in the backyard of a cafe.

[2:00] I would hide behind a rock and he would walk around leaning on his walking stick, calling out, Where are you? And I'd give my hiding place away by responding, Here I am.

[2:11] And he always let me do colouring in at the cafe. He was a Christian. He always let me smile. He always made me smile. One day he died. My heart was broken.

[2:28] Hannah's brother died. Some times later. He was 17 when he died. And she spoke and she said to him when he was dying, That you'll be up there with cafe man.

[2:49] And his mother Ruth said, Do you mean Chapo? Yes, said Hannah. That's his name. I couldn't remember. But Nathan is in heaven with him now. Nathan chatted with me at length about what he wanted at a funeral and Thanksgiving.

[3:04] His two main things he wanted were for singing to be loud like it was at Chapo's Thanksgiving. It's a book that is full of stories of a man who magnificently was used by God for the benefits of people.

[3:22] It's a book, as you can see in all kinds of places, is going to really affect your emotions. And that's what's so beautiful. Because we are such emotional creatures.

[3:34] God creates us emotional. And when you read of Chapo, you'll hear the heart of a gospel preacher. And the impacts he had on so many people, including my grandchildren, to which I'm always greatly benefit.

[3:51] In his old age, he used to ring me once a week. It was a short conversation. He'd say, what do you want me to pray about? He'd tell me a joke. I'd tell him a joke.

[4:02] And then he'd hang up. And I never knew which part of the week it would happen. The phone would go. I'd pick it up. And Chapo would tell me his joke.

[4:13] What do you want me to pray for? Good. See you. Hang up. And that was Chapo. But he did that for me for about 20 years. He was a special man.

[4:26] I'd commend the book. At that price, unbelievable. Actually, there's nothing. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

[4:37] And it's a con, actually. You'll take the book away for nothing. But having read it, your life will be changed. That's the price you'll pay.

[4:48] Beware. Okay. Talk number two is found on page five. The Exalted Christ Pours Out His Spirit. Talk number two. And we start with Pentecostalism.

[5:03] Pentecostalism is a world phenomenon. I'm going to have to move very quickly to get through this. And the singers need to be ready because it'll be a short time. By the way, at the end. By the way, that tune that we sang, All Creatures Cry.

[5:17] That tune is really much better to sing to Psalm 117. Isaac Watts wrote it for Psalm 117. And that's Francis of Assisi. I prefer Psalm 117.

[5:28] And Isaac Watts, if you look it up. It really works to that psalm that we read about. We studied last night, for those of you who won't hear. But look up Isaac Watts and see if we sing it before the weekend's out.

[5:40] It's the same tune. But he said it. Okay. Pentecostalism is a worldwide phenomenon. I mean, even our Prime Minister, or one of our Prime Ministers was Pentecostal.

[5:55] It started about 100 years ago. And it separated out from mainstream Christianity because they said you had to speak in tongues to be a Christian. And so it was seen as a cult.

[6:05] But in the 1950s and 60s, it came back as a form called Neo-Pentecostalism. Trying to revive dead churches at the height of the atheistic, materialistic, scientific world.

[6:19] This arose in the churches to try and revive the churches in the mainstream churches. Carrying the Pentecostal label gave them a problem, so they changed it to charismatic.

[6:29] In the 1980s and 90s, they then separated out again from the mainstream churches. Wrote off those that hadn't become charismatic. And they set up their own new churches in all kinds of vineyard churches.

[6:46] Came in the 1990s. The Hillsong churches. You know the ones in Brisbane. I don't know the names. Have you got Hillsong here? Yeah, well, there you go. That's the kind of church that came. And they then connected back to the old Pentecostal four-square churches that were there at the beginning of the 20th century.

[7:02] In the 1990s, there came a third wave of the charismatic movement, the Pentecostal movement. Because some of the arguments, especially of John Stott in a book called Fullness and...

[7:22] Sorry? Baptism and Fullness. Had persuaded them that the kind of teachings that they had developed were not right. But yet they still wanted all the miracles, experiences and experientialism.

[7:34] And so we came with a third wave, which was the vineyard movement. And John Wimber was the leader of it as a particular group with power evangelism and so forth.

[7:47] And it just... It keeps changing in its emphasis. And yet it always remains the same. It keeps changing as to what's the latest thing.

[8:00] It was speaking in tongues. It was then healings. It was then power evangelism. Then we had the Toronto blessing, where the spirit would come and make everybody laugh.

[8:10] And they'd be giggling and laughing and falling on the floor in uncontrollable humour. And then there was the prosperity religion. And now, as I've heard today, the new apostolic reformation, the NAR.

[8:24] You can know an NAR church. That's a narc church, as in narcotics, because it drops your brains out completely. So, it just moves on in different expressions, one after another.

[8:38] And they last five to ten years. And then a new way of expressing the spirit comes. However, they're always the same. Because they claim it's the ministry that we non-charismatics, non-Pentecostals, have forgotten.

[8:53] Namely the ministry of the spirit. That you've got to experience in the present. And so, they actually have two mission fields. One, evangelising non-Christians to become Christians.

[9:06] Two, evangelising non-charismatics to become charismatics. And that means that you can never work with them. See, I can work with a Presbyterian, because a Presbyterian doesn't really want me to be a Presbyterian.

[9:19] You know, mucking up their wonderful system. That would be terrible. I can work with Anglicans, because, well, you can believe anything and be an Anglican. I can work with a Baptist, because, by and large, you know, they'd say they'd prefer me to be baptised by full immersion.

[9:34] But you can't really work with charismatics and Pentecostals, because they think you are unspiritual. You have the spirit of God, but you really are unspiritual. And so, they insist on you having this greater experience.

[9:49] That continues to be the same. And therefore, it becomes divisive. Of course, if they're right, then those of us who reject it are divisive.

[10:00] There's your problem. Well, let's turn to the day of Pentecost, because it's about Pentecost. It's about Pentecostalism. They take that very name. And actually see what Luke records for us here in the book of Acts.

[10:12] Firstly, there's a little bit of preparing for Pentecost in Luke chapter 24. Remember, Luke wrote Luke's Gospel and the book of Acts.

[10:24] The book of Acts is the second volume of Luke's Gospel. And if you go back to Luke 24, Jesus is in the upper room with the disciples in verse 44. Luke 24, verse 44.

[10:35] And then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets of the Psalms must be fulfilled.

[10:46] Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, Thus it is written about the Christ, that he should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.

[10:58] And that repentance and forgiveness of sin should be proclaimed in his name to all nations. Not just Israel, the nations. Beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

[11:11] Behold, I'm sending the promise of my father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. Then come across to Acts chapter 1.

[11:22] Acts chapter 1. Where Jesus again in his resurrection is being spoken of. And pick it up in verse 4. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father, which he said you heard from me.

[11:39] For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Not many days. Not many days from now. So the baptism of the Spirit hasn't happened yet.

[11:52] That's going to happen on the day of Pentecost. The baptism of the Spirit hasn't happened. John said it was going to happen. I baptize with water, but the one coming after me will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

[12:03] Jesus says it's going to happen very soon now. And then he goes on. If you pick it up just a few verses later, verse 6. So when they came together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

[12:17] And he said to them, it's not for you to know the times or seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

[12:29] And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on him, he was lifted up and a cloud took him from their sight.

[12:46] So the baptism of the Spirit is coming and with his coming, the apostles are going to be empowered to witness in the face of opposition.

[12:58] See, when it says power to witness, what do you expect? Miracles? Well, the great miracle is that men who are very simple and very plain, Galilean fishermen, are going to speak with boldness against the authorities of the day, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.

[13:17] Over and again, you'll find in the book of Acts, the great miracle is being bold. Are you scared to evangelise? Of course you are, if you're a normal human being. The apostle Paul was scared.

[13:29] He asked for prayers for boldness. But the Holy Spirit gives boldness to people to speak up because he is the witness and we witness in the face of opposition.

[13:40] Now, at that time, Israel had been scattered across the Mediterranean world in what was called the dispersion, the judgment of God on the nation. The nation had been conquered by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, and then the Greeks, the Seleucids, the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, the Ptolemies, and then the Romans.

[13:59] So, for a long period of time, around about 800 years, they'd been knocked up and bashed around by people and lived under oppression and the oppression they were living at the time was the Romans.

[14:10] But they'd also been scattered across all the nations around the battle and there were more Jews living outside of Palestine than living in Palestine. In fact, there were more Jews in Alexandria than there were in Jerusalem.

[14:24] It was, it was, the people had been scattered all over the world. They're like the Armenians. Have we got any Armenians here in this group? Anyone with Armenian families? No, that's surprising.

[14:34] All over the world because there was a genocide during the First World War from Turkey and the Armenians were all kicked out of Turkey and they're all over the world now. It's just part of, you'll meet Armenians, their name always ends I-A-N.

[14:48] You'll meet them all over the world because they're scattered. Well, the Jews were scattered all over the world. They had a homeland. Jerusalem was there but it was a minority thing.

[15:00] Now, more Jews living outside meant that many of them lost their language. You see, one of the ways of conquering people is to insist on your language being spoken by them.

[15:12] So we came into Australia and we taught the Aborigines and the Indigenous Australians to speak English and we repressed their languages because as they speak English then they start taking on our culture and our ways.

[15:26] And, you know, my friends, if this talk was given to you in Japanese, what would that tell you? They won the Second World War.

[15:37] Yes, that's right. There's more English spoken in Japan than there's Japanese spoken in Australia. He who wins oppresses by forcing on assimilation and the key part of assimilation is language.

[15:53] And so, after a few generations, the Jews in the world no longer spoke Hebrew. In fact, in the second century BC, 170 or so years before Christ, the whole Old Testament was translated into Greek and more people read that than read the Hebrew Bible because they didn't know Hebrew but they knew Greek.

[16:14] Greek was the language of the whole Mediterranean world. Like, English is the language of the world today. And so, you had the Bible translated 150 more years before Jesus came.

[16:26] And so, losing their language was one of the ways of forced assimilation. Now, these pious Jews, the godly ones, kept on going back to Jerusalem.

[16:37] They kept on trying to keep the feasts, especially like a feast of the Pentecost, the harvest festival, as it was. And they, these godly ones, heard the disciples speaking in their national languages, not in Hebrew.

[16:55] And the language which for them was their first language, which wasn't Hebrew, they heard them. Notice how many places are mentioned in Acts 2. They're far more than you need to know, really.

[17:06] There's a long list of all these different places and you think, get on with it, get on with it, Luke. You don't need to know where they all are. But what he's saying is, from all over the world, the nations that had conquered Israel had people living in Jerusalem at that time and they all heard this message coming, not in Hebrew, but in their native languages.

[17:32] So, what's more, you look at verse 11, verse 11, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.

[17:47] There's absolutely no doubt that the miracle of the Galileans speaking in tongues was one of speaking in the language of the hearer. It wasn't speaking in ecstatic utterances, it was speaking in real languages, the languages of the hearers.

[18:04] But what was happening? Notice verse 16, we read that Peter explained it because the men didn't understand what was happening. Clearly, they weren't Australians because they said, oh, these men must be drunk at 9am and Australians would never get drunk that early in the morning.

[18:24] And they're saying, no, no, it's not drunkenness, that's not what it is, let me tell you what it is. It's what Joel talked about, Joel prophesied about the salvation of God overturning the terrible locust years that Israel was suffering at that time and that the people who had oppressed us will themselves be oppressed and the people who have forced us to talk in their language will now have to listen in our language.

[18:53] Right? That's the nature of oppression. That the people who kept living by faith in God's word, they'd be justified when the kingdom of God comes, when the spirit of God comes to the peoples, when the nations that conquered and oppressed Israel would themselves be conquered and would be oppressed and Israel would be saved.

[19:16] This, says Peter, is the last days. Interesting, when you look up Joel 2, he doesn't say the last days, he said after this. But Peter says this is the after this.

[19:28] Peter adapts Joel to the situation that he's in. He said, no, this is the last days. This is it. This is when the moon turns to blood, the sun loses its shine.

[19:38] This is the end of the world. This is the judgment of the world. This is the salvation of God's people. This is the coming of the spirit. This is the day of the Lord that Joel was talking about. What Peter said was happening.

[19:53] The coming of the kingdom of God was the judgment at the end of the world. But, but, that doesn't seem to make sense, does it?

[20:05] I mean, the sun didn't lose its shine. The moon didn't turn to blood. So, Peter explains what it all means in his sermon. So, his immediate address of the situation is verses 14 to 21, but then he starts his sermon in verse 22.

[20:26] Men of Israel, hear this. And here is where Peter tells you what it's all about, really. Verse 22, men of Israel, hear these words.

[20:37] Here's the explanation of the coming of the spirit. Here's the explanations of the nations being judged in their own language and the Jews from the nations being saved.

[20:47] Here's his explanation. Men of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth. That's what it's all about. It's all about Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth. You know about that man. He was a good man.

[20:58] He went and did all kinds. He was God's man. God did wonderful things through him. Jesus of Nazareth, the man that was murdered 50 days ago by a sinful, evil man, was actually killed according to the very plan and purpose of God.

[21:16] Verse 23, it's an extraordinary verse. This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

[21:30] If ever there's a verse on the sovereignty of God, that's it, isn't it? God's plan was Jesus' murder by evil people. God used evil people to bring about his perfect plan.

[21:44] It's an extraordinary verse, that one, isn't it? But Jesus of Nazareth, his death was the plan of God. Now that's strange. Why did God have evil men kill his servants?

[22:02] Because God raised him up to conquer death, for death couldn't hold him. Do you remember King David?

[22:13] Of course I remember King David. I mean, that's like saying, do you remember Don Bradman? You know, the greatest that ever was, King David was the greatest king they ever had. If you don't follow cricket, blessings upon you.

[22:24] I'm sorry you've missed that illustration and I'm sorry you've missed the game too, but never mind. Remember King David? He was the greatest of the kings. And by the way, very simple.

[22:35] You know, we lived around 2000 AD, David lived 1000 BC. You don't have to remember many dates, but you've got a hand of me. That's the easiest one to remember, isn't it? Yeah? 1000, David, 2000, you.

[22:49] Well, David lived there 3000 years ago and he prophesied about this in Psalm 16 and that's what you have there in verses 25 through to 28 is a bit of Psalm 16.

[23:03] David wasn't talking about himself because he's dead and buried. In fact, his grave's just up around the corner. You know where David's grave is. We could all go and have a look. You could actually dig it up. You could check it out.

[23:14] David's still down there. David was talking about his descendant, the Christ, the Messiah, that Christ would not see corruption in the grave but would be raised to life again.

[23:29] So verse 31, verse 31 is the argument there. He foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades nor did his flesh see corruption.

[23:46] If you want to look for the Messiah, look for the one who rises from the dead because that's what David said the Messiah will do. And now we come to the kind of point of the sermon that's being reached in verse 32.

[24:00] This Jesus, God raised up and of that we are all witnesses. David's son is to be the Messiah.

[24:12] David said the Messiah will rise from the dead. Jesus was killed by evil pen according to the plan and purpose of God but Jesus has risen from the dead.

[24:24] Well, the one who rises from the dead, that's the Messiah and that's why he was killed so it's to rise from the dead. Therefore, Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the world ruler.

[24:35] Jesus is the king. Jesus is the greater David that was to come. But what's this got to do with the Holy Spirit coming? I mean, we started off back in verses 1 to 4 with the disciples filled with the Spirit speaking to the Jews of the dispersion about the wonderful deeds of God in the languages of their oppressors.

[24:58] Peter said it's the sign of the fulfillment of Joel the judgment day of the Lord has come. But then he seems to go off on this sermon, this talk about Jesus and his crucifixion and his resurrection.

[25:12] I mean, I get what he's saying but what's the logic? What's the connection between Jesus' resurrection and the giving of the Spirit about the proclamation of God's deeds in languages?

[25:26] Jesus. Now, do you like doing jigsaw puzzles? I like doing jigsaw puzzles especially when they've only got about 30 pieces. But Helen loves them.

[25:39] She likes the 1,000 piece ones that sit in our lounge room for some time. One of our daughters used to always take one piece and hide it and wait till all 999 were none and we'd vacuumed all the house and everything else to try and find the other one and then she would come and claim victory and put the last one in.

[26:00] Yes. Sin is something that's inherited through the father's line. That's right. So, however, you like jigsaw puzzles you see.

[26:17] When you missed a piece, the picture, especially if it's a key piece, the picture doesn't make sense. And most of us have missed out on one of the key bits of the Bible's teaching.

[26:30] You may not have but most have, I find. It's a fascinating little piece that when you have it, it makes sense of all kinds of things in the Bible. You know all the other bits but the full picture doesn't come clean until this piece comes in.

[26:47] And it makes sense of Peter's sermons when you get it too. You see, the little piece that most people miss out on is that the resurrection in Jewish thinking, in Old Testament thinking, the resurrection is about the judgment at the end of the world.

[27:06] The resurrection. Not a resurrection, the resurrection. Listen to Luke chapter 14. That's verse 13.

[27:17] But when you give a banquet, said Jesus, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

[27:32] In the end day, in the judgment, you'll be paid. But how does he describe the end day, the end of the world? He calls it the resurrection of the righteous. Or go back to John chapter 11 where Lazarus dies.

[27:47] You know, he has two sisters, Martha and Mary. And when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him. But Mary stayed at home. Lord, said Martha to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died.

[28:01] But I know that even now, God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. You see, from the Jewish mind, from the Old Testament thinking, the Jewish way of thinking, when Jesus said, your brother will rise again, she understood him to mean, he'll go to heaven in the judgment day.

[28:25] He'll rise again when the resurrection happens. He'll be in the resurrection. And so she says, Martha, I know he'll rise again. Martha answered him, I know he'll rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

[28:39] And so Jesus, that's not much help. You know, if you'd been here, he wouldn't have died. He did die. And now you're saying, don't worry, he'll go to heaven at the end. And you say, yeah, but you should have been here to stop him dying.

[28:54] Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live and even though he die and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

[29:06] Do you believe this? And then the pennies drop. Yes, she replied, I believe that you are the Messiah, the son of God who comes into the world.

[29:18] See, it's a funny thing. I am the resurrection is a very funny thing to say, isn't it? But he's saying, I am the end of the world. I am the judge of the living and the dead. I am.

[29:29] The judgment at the end of the world has come. It's standing right in front of you, Martha. I'm not talking about Lazarus rising up in the last day. I'm talking about Lazarus is going to rise because of me.

[29:42] I am the resurrection at the end of the world. I am the judge of the living and the dead. It's not about a man rising from the dead. Now, it's about a man.

[29:54] It's about the judgment at the end of the world. Have you ever wondered about the disciples and how thick they are? I'm giving you a little theme here, aren't I? At the end of Mark chapter 8, Jesus said he'll be rejected and Peter says you are the Christ and then Jesus starts to teach them that he is going to be rejected and killed on the third day rise again.

[30:17] And Peter objects, no, no, this won't happen to you. What's Pete's problem? Jesus says I'm going away for a long weekend and then I'm coming back.

[30:30] Yeah, I'll be rejected, I'll die, but I'll be rising on the third day. Why didn't Peter say, well, gee, it's going to be hard for you, but I'm glad you're coming back. Why didn't he ever believe Jesus was going to rise on the third day?

[30:45] Well, it's because the third day is the day of salvation, is the day, the number three means the end of the world, it's the judgment, it's the salvation day. That's why when Jesus said I'm going to rise on the third day, he was saying I'm going to heaven at the end of the world.

[31:00] What Peter didn't understand was the end of the world was now. When this happens, this is the end of the world, this is the judgment of the world, this is when the prince of power will be thrown away and will be defeated, this is the moment.

[31:15] See, he didn't, he didn't get it, he didn't understand it, he didn't realise that with the coming of Jesus the end of the world was about to start and that when Jesus rises from the grave, the kingdom of God comes.

[31:29] But here he is now on the day of Pentecost and now he does know that Jesus has risen from the dead and more than that he's ascended to heaven and now the spirit is coming to open his mind and understand what the scriptures were all about because that's what Jesus was doing in the 50 days between his resurrection and his ascension and so now Peter has the jigsaw piece puzzle that he didn't have before.

[31:55] He now knows that the resurrection, the day of the Lord, is in the person of Jesus coming from the tomb, popping out of Joseph's tomb.

[32:06] See, he didn't know the fact of the resurrection. Your problem and mine is we don't know the meaning of the resurrection. See, we know the fact Jesus rose from the dead but what does it mean he rose from the dead?

[32:20] I don't know if you've heard gospel preachers preach this way but they preach about your sin, they preach about the way that Jesus died on the cross, turning aside the wrath of God, calling out it is finished so we are fully forgiven and by the way he rose from the dead.

[32:35] That last little bit is a kind of tack on, you know, he came back and so repent and believe but the resurrection plays very little part in our logic.

[32:47] That's because we don't understand the meaning of the resurrection. The meaning of the resurrection is the end of the world has started, the kingdom of God has come, the judgment on the world has commenced. That's what is being meant by the resurrection and so Peter, his jigsaw puzzle missing was the fact that Jesus would actually come back to life.

[33:08] Our piece is we don't know what it means when he does and so we miss the point of what happens. Come back to verse 32. You know, God raised this Jesus, God raised, sorry, this Jesus God raised up and of that we're all witnesses.

[33:27] Right? And he goes on, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from him the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit. Oh, here we go, the promise of the Holy Spirit. He's poured out this thing that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

[33:42] The judgment of the salvation of the world that Joel was talking about has started. The resurrection of Jesus pouring out his spirit is the new age, is what we're seeing.

[33:55] The coming of the Spirit shows who Jesus is, who can send the Spirit of God? Which man can send the Spirit of God? That Jesus is the anointed one, Jesus is the king, sitting at the right hand of God.

[34:10] He can send the Spirit of God for he is the Messiah. So the coming of the Spirit demonstrates who Jesus really is. And so he continues on in the argument quoting from Psalm 110 in verse 34.

[34:27] For David, he didn't ascend into heaven, but he said, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

[34:38] Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus, whom you crucified.

[34:50] David is not the Messiah, but Jesus is. And in his resurrection, all God's enemies are now to be conquered.

[35:02] And folks, the man you crucified, God has made both Lord and Christ. Talk about being on the wrong side of history. You can't get it much further wrong, can you, than kill the saviour of the world.

[35:18] And so we read in verse 37, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do? And Peter replied, repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of the Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit because the promise is to you and to all those who are far off.

[35:42] See, in the day of the Lord, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Forgiveness will come for your sins and the gift of new life and the Spirit will be yours.

[35:56] See, friends, the day of Pentecost is not about speaking in tongues. What was important about the speaking in tongues was it was the reversal of the judgment.

[36:12] What was important about the speaking in tongues was what they said back there in verse 11, 12, they said the mighty works of God in raising Jesus from the tomb, conquering Satan, bringing forgiveness, starting the judgment at the end of the world, bringing the resurrection.

[36:36] That's what really mattered. See, the day of Pentecost is the gospel of God. For it's all about the Lord Jesus and his resurrection.

[36:48] And so the sermon is not about the Holy Spirit. The sermon is about Jesus giving the Holy Spirit because that shows who Jesus is. That shows where he is.

[36:59] That shows he is the conqueror. That shows liberation, forgiveness is available, new life can start. That's what it's about, it's about Jesus. Well, that's not surprising because if you remember what we saw before morning tea, what did Jesus say the coming of the Holy Spirit was about, it was about him.

[37:17] He's going to teach you everything that I've taught you. He's going to be a witness to me. He's going to guide you into all the truth that is about me. When he comes he'll convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment because sin because they don't know about me.

[37:32] Righteousness because I am righteous and vindicated. Judgment because the evil one has been conquered. The Holy Spirit doesn't come to talk about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to talk about Jesus.

[37:44] Jesus and his arrival demonstrates Jesus and his victory. But you've got to understand the resurrection to understand that bit. Let me help you with a quick illustration.

[38:00] Now I haven't got time. Go to Romans 1. Go to Romans 1. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.

[38:14] Here's the gospel of God. It's not two ways to live, it's the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets by the Holy Scriptures. And what's the gospel about?

[38:25] Concerning his son. What about his son? Who was descended from David according to the flesh, had to be descended of David to be the Messiah, and was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.

[38:48] Jesus Christ our Lord. You see the importance of the resurrection in the gospel? It's not an afterthought, it's not a tack on. Central to the gospel's understanding is the resurrection because that's the judgment at the end of the world.

[39:03] You need forgiveness if you come to the judgment at the end of the world, don't you? Well that's good because he died on the cross so he shall be forgiven. But central to the gospel is the resurrection. It's the end of the world.

[39:14] It's come. The new age has arrived. And the evidence of it is, well the man descended from David, that man has risen from the dead and poured out the spirit.

[39:27] That's the sign that the kingdom of God has come. And that's what the gospel is about. It's about the coming of the kingdom of God, which Jesus brought by his death and resurrection, which brings judgment of God's enemies and salvation on his friends, which brings forgiveness of sins and the outpouring of God's spirit for you.

[39:49] If you haven't got the resurrection clear, the day of Pentecost doesn't quite make sense. You get the resurrection clear, the day of Pentecost is what it's all about. It's about Jesus.

[39:59] Jesus. But the one thing it's not really about is speaking in tongues. I mean, it happened, but it happened to show that the oppressors have now been beaten.

[40:15] Because those who are oppressed have now been liberated. That's what that's about. It's not about now you've all got to go and start speaking in gibberish. That's a completely different thing.

[40:26] It's about Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.