Acts 2:36-47 & Genesis 1:1-3
6 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call." 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The Message
Intro
Peter was bring’n it that day of Pentecost. Last week we heard how the disciples of Jesus were gathered in a room in Jerusalem when suddenly there was a great roar followed by tongues of fire that settled on each of them. This Spirit enabled each of them to speak in other languages, which they began to use to ‘speak God’s deeds of power.’ Speaking God’s deeds of power in a multitude of languages pricked the ears of the Pentecost pilgrims in Jerusalem that morning to the point that they gathered around these disciples to hear more what they were saying. At some point in this gathering, Peter arose and began to preach. He began to bring a message from God for the people. Last week we looked at the beginning of that message, while this morning we are going to look at the effects.
[Acts 2:36-47]
“Therefore,” Peter concludes, “let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” According to the former pastor of University Presbyterian Church, Earl Palmer, a good sermon is simply one in which the people encounter Jesus. If such is the case, then Peter preached a good sermon. His final line declares the identity of Jesus as both Lord and Christ.
We can see that this encounter with Jesus was powerful as the crowds responded in a manner that every minister longs for. They asked, “Brothers, what must we do?” If this is true, if this Jesus you speak of is both Lord and Messiah, master and savior, God and deliverer, then what does that mean for us? What shall we do? And what does Peter say? Does Peter unfold a laundry list of tasks for the people to accomplish? Well, I’m glad you asked, first we need someone to clean up this room we’ve been praying in. Second, we need someone who can cook… No. Does Peter unroll a list of commandments? Well, okay where do we start? Thou shalt not swear. Thou shalt not drink too much. Thou shalt not think unclean thoughts. Or perhaps one might have thought Peter would have given the people some great quest. On the top of Mt. Sinai there are shards of broken rock. You must travel through the desert and climb this mountain, find those rocks and return them here. No, Peter does none of these things. Rather what he says is fairly simple. He says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…”
Three commands, not 613 as the Pharisees would have said. Not even 10 as Moses said, but 3; repent, be baptized and receive. I could spend the entire sermon talking about the first of these directions; repent. I could also easily spend the entire summer speaking about the second of these commands; be baptized. But this morning, in the spirit of Pentecost, I want to focus on the third of these commands; receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The gift
Have you ever received a gift that really liked but you never used? Do you know what I mean by this question? Have you ever received something that you at first thought was really cool then put it away and then forgot you even had it?
A couple of summers ago we were in Tennessee and I was at my brother’s house where he was showing me some of the stuff he’d been working on in his basement shop. One of my brother’s hobbies is restoring old firearms. When we were kids he used to be so into westerns that he’d make pistols out of wood and paint them til they looked close to real. He was showing me some of the stuff he’d worked on when he came to this long narrow stick of wood. “Oh yeah,’ he said, “I’ve been making these too, it’s a long bow.” He held it up and sure enough it was a bow that he’d cut and carved and sanded into a long bow. “Wanna shoot it?” “Of course,” I said. So we spent the next hour firing arrows at one of his stuffed dear figures in his backyard. It was a blast. When it was time to go, he held out the bow to me and said, “Here, you can have it.” I was flabbergasted. He’d spent countless hours honing this bow and here he was going to give it to me? Despite repeated refusals he eventually prevailed upon me and I found myself the proud owner of a handcrafted long-bow. Much of the flight home I spent thinking of the things I could do with this long-bow. I could turn my backyard into an archery range where I’d learn to shoot with great accuracy. As the kids got older I could teach them to use the bow. I could even use it as an outreach tool and bring it over to the park and let kids learn to shoot it. And maybe, if I got really good with it, I could even use it to hunt for small game. With a little hard work I’d become the William Tell of the northwest.
My brother gave me that gift 5 summers ago. Since that time, do you know how many times I’ve taken it out to shoot? Once. One time. Oh I had great intentions, but all the little barriers started to seem big. I needed to get some arrows, but the store I was at didn’t carry them, so I forgot about it. Later when I remembered, I got some practice arrows, but then when I got the bow out to shoot, the arrows were so cheap that the tips broke off with one use. I put the bow away, promising to get some better arrows, but there it remains, in its case in the shed; an incredible but unappreciated and unused gift. Have you ever received a gift that you really liked but rarely used?
The Holy Spirit
Apparently people liked the gift of Peter’s message as 3000 people took Peter up on it. 3000 people in one day, can you imagine? 3000 people repented. 3000 people were baptized. 3000 people received the gift of the Holy Spirit. What a great thing. But is this where the story ended? No, just the opposite, we are just in the 2nd of 27 chapters in the book of Acts. Instead of an ending, this is the beginning. Here we see the people receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What we read in the rest of the book is how they chose to use this gift of the Holy Spirit, and I dare say that they used this gift much better than I used the gift my brother gave me. Thanks be to God for that.
Repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. Of these three one might think that the third would be the easiest. Receiving things is easy right? All you have to do is take it. As it turns out, receiving requires some work as well. It requires some work, but it is good work.
Devotion
Immediately after reading about the 3000 we read that the people ‘Devoted themselves…” Devoted, what do you think of when you hear this word? The greek word is proskarterew and literally means to persevere or endure towards. The word makes me think of Olympic athletes who commit themselves towards the goal of winning the gold. But to be an Olympic athlete, devotion is not enough. I could devote myself to winning the gold in the 100m sprint, but can assure you there is absolutely no way that I’d ever make the team. No, to make the team you need not only devotion, you need the talent. You need the gift of speed. Devotion doesn’t create the gift. Rather, devotion allows the gift to live. Having received the gift of the Holy Spirit, how did those first believers allow it life? “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Four devotions for freeing the Spirit. Four ways to nurture the gift of God’s Spirit. Are you interested in nurturing the gift of Holy Spirit? If so, then we might do well to look briefly at these four devotions.
The Apostles Teaching
They devoted themselves to the apostles teachings. The word apostle means ‘one who is sent,’ or ‘a messenger.’ To be sent, there must be someone who did the sending. To be a messenger, one must have a message. In this case, Peter and the other disciples were sent by Jesus to proclaim the good news of Jesus; Lord and Christ. They did this in a fashion similar to Jesus, they taught. Jesus was always teaching. He used the story of a farmer and seeds to teach about the word of God. He used a man born blind to teach about the power and glory of God. He used the prophets to teach about his purpose for coming. Most of the gospels are the teachings of Jesus and who was it that Jesus was teaching those things to? These very disciples who were now doing what? Teaching.
When it says they devoted themselves to the apostles teachings I’d be willing to wager that the bulk of those teachings started something like, “One day we were walking with Jesus when…” Or, “I remember one time Jesus gathered us on a hilltop and said “Blessed are the poor…” The apostles teachings were simply retelling of Jesus’ teachings in the context of a new community.
The Fellowship
They devoted themselves to the apostles teachings and to the fellowship. Its likely you know the Greek word for fellowship, koinonia. At its root this word means common. When I took greek in seminary, we were learning koine greek, or common greek. It is from the word common that of course we get the word community. In fact, community occurs where people have things in common that lead to unity. In such light, the people devoted themselves to koinonia mean that they devoted themselves to having things in common.
I was talking with the walkers; a group of ladies I often see walking around Manitou Park and they told me they’d been getting together to walk for over 20 years. Can you believe that? They joked that the walking was just an excuse to do the talking. When I asked if they run out of things to say, they laughed and replied it was just the opposite. The more they talk, the more they have to talk about. Isn’t this an odd truth? You’d think the people you’d have more to talk about with were those who you hadn’t seen or those who you didn’t even know because you’d have so much information they didn’t have. But just the opposite is true. The more we talk with people, the more we have to talk about. So, when it says they devoted themselves to the fellowship, Luke is saying they devoted themselves to having things in common.
The breaking of bread
This devotion likely has two meanings. The first is likely a reference to sharing meals with one another. This goes well with the devotion to fellowship. If you just eat one meal a month with your family, its likely you’ll have little to say. Eat a meal every evening together and its likely the table will be filled with conversation. Food has a way of opening our hearts and eyes to one another. Two weeks ago, Harlan preached on the road to Emmaus in which Jesus broke the bread and ‘the eyes of the disciples were opened.’ Which leads to the second meaning of ‘breaking bread.’ It also referred to the sacrament of communion.
One of the things I remember from my Church History class was that the early believers were sometimes picked out because they showed up for work in the mornings with wine on their breath. This was not because they were alcoholics, rather it was because they would meet early in the morning to break the bread and share the cup of communion before going to work. They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread.
Prayer
Finally, they devoted themselves to prayer. Prayer is the glue of the church. Prayer is the water of the body; without we are just skin and bones. Prayer is the oil of the engine, without it all the gears will grind to a halt. Prayer is the invitation of the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit, Jesus’ spirit to come and dwell in our hearts, in our minds, in our hands. We won’t get very far in our quest to use the gift of the Holy Spirit without prayer.
Bicycle
How did the disciples receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? They devoted themselves to the apostles teachings and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. How about us? Is this gift of God’s spirit tucked away in one of our closets or do we take it with us everyday?
Last summer we were in Oregon with our friends. They had a bicycle at the place we were staying and Janie wanted to learn how to ride without training wheels so we went out a couple of times and tried, but I just couldn’t get her to get it. However, our friends were so kind that they gave Janie the bike as a gift. So, we loaded it up in the van and drove it all the way home. We unloaded the van, put the bike in the shed and there it sat and sat and sat and sat for over 7 months until my parents showed up. One afternoon we decided to take the kids for a walk and the kids decided they wanted to ride their bikes. I warned Dad that I’d tried to help Janie ride, but I just couldn’t get her to do it. But we took the bikes out anyway. Janie was mostly content to keep her feet on the ground and push, but my Dad wasn’t content with this. He knew the joy of really riding a bike and he wanted her to have that joy. So what did he do? He proceeded to walk along with her, hold the back of the bike and encourage her to try. And what did Janie do? She failed. Over and over again, she’d tip over. But for some reason, because it was my dad, she persevered. She devoted herself to allowing Dad to teach her to ride the bike. Lo and behold would you believe that right up there on the water ditch trail, dad let go of the seat, Janie pedaled and pedaled and pedaled for at least 20 feet before putting her feet down at which point she shouted, “I did it.” And after that, as the saying goes, “It was just like learning how to ride a bike, you never forget.”
The way out…
Brothers and sisters, we’ve been given a great gift in the Holy Spirit, but what have we done with it? Does it sit in the shed collecting dust? Or do we sit upon it and experience the joy of the ride? If we want the second, let us, like our ancestors be devoted people; devoted to the teachings, devoted to the fellowship, devoted to the breaking of bread and devoted to prayer.
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