[0:00] Bibles. It's on page 1093 of the Red Bibles, if you have one of those. And it'll probably help to have it open in front of you, because seeing it will help keep things in perspective as we trek through a rather lengthy passage. We're not going to read it to start, but let me tell you a story to sort of frame our time here. And some of you have heard this, but it's worth repeating.
[0:26] A rabbi was walking home from the synagogue one night, and he was doing what rabbis do. He was meditating on the Torah, the Pentateuch. So he was walking home, and he was walking and meditating, and walking and meditating, and eventually he got so caught up in what he was doing that he walked right past the door of his house. And eventually he ended up walking right into a Roman outpost, and Romans and Jews never got along. So he walks into a Roman outpost, and the Roman soldier who's on duty that night comes out and says to him in a very hostile voice, who are you, and why are you here? And the rabbi is scared at first, startled and put off even. But eventually, in a moment of strength, he gains his composure, and he answers the soldier with his own question. He says, how much are you paid to ask those questions? And the Roman soldier, in no less hostile a voice, says, two denarii a day, Jew? What's it to you? And the rabbi says to him, I'll pay you double. I'll pay you double if you come and you stand outside my house, and every morning when I wake up, you ask me those two questions.
[1:59] Who are you, and why are you here? And it's those two questions, very significant and important questions for us to ask. Those two questions that are going to frame our time today as we look at Acts chapter 2. Who are we, and why are we here? Who are we as a church, and why are we here in Aberdeen?
[2:28] Each of us comes to church. This is true of everyone. Whether you've been here before or are here for one of your first times, each of us comes to church with conceptions, our own conceived notions of what church is about, and our misconceptions of what we think it's about or what we see it being. And today as we look at Acts chapter 2, we're looking not at our conceptions or our misconceptions of the church, but of God's conception of the church, of what he thinks it is.
[3:08] Would you pray with me that God would grant us understanding of his word this morning? Heavenly Father, we know, Lord, that we are incredibly self-centered beings, and that this changes how we look at the world, and it changes how we read your book. And when we come to it, we're taken back by how much the picture it paints is not centered on us.
[3:37] And rather than stand under it as our authority, we find ourselves questioning it, and questioning its very foundations, because it's uncomfortable not to be at the center of it all.
[3:52] So we acknowledge today, Lord, that we cannot hear even what it has to say to us if you do not quiet our hearts first. Would you speak to us as we come to your holy word? Teach us full obedience and cause our faith to rise. Speak and renew our minds to grasp the heights of your plans for us as a church, as one's welcomed in through Jesus, to be part of his body, to shine his light into the darkness of our world.
[4:32] Speak to us till your church is built, and the earth is filled with your glory. And it's in his name that we pray. Amen. And amen.
[4:43] In a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement, a man, Martin Luther King, walked to a podium in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial. And for 17 minutes, he called a nation to return to its roots, to live out the racial equality that its founding documents professed, and to end the discrimination that had been so recurrent in its past. It probably wouldn't have been too much different from the speeches that rang out over this united kingdom. But in some ways, it remains unique. I have a dream, Martin Luther King said, that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream, he said, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream. You know, dreams are funny.
[6:26] We often wake from them and wonder whether or not they were real, don't we? They're cast in the world we know so that when we wake at night or return from our daydreams, we can wonder whether they were more than just a vision of what might be, but are actually a vision of what could be, and maybe even a vision of what should be. So today we're going to look at God's dream for his church, God's dream for what we might be as a church in Aberdeen, in Scotland, in the United Kingdom, in the world.
[7:06] We'll look at a picture of what was and find there a vision of what we hope to be, of what we might be, of what we should be. And as we look at this picture of the formation of the church, the establishment of the church in Acts chapter 2, we're going to see four characteristics linked together like a chain.
[7:29] Four characteristics of who we are supposed to be as we live out God's dream for his church in this city and the surrounding shire. So the first characteristic in this dream of God's is that we would be a people in whom God dwells. Look at verse 1 of our passage. It says, when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Pentecost was a Jewish feast, a harvest feast, which happened 50 days, 50 penta, 50 days after the feasts of firstfruits. Harvests back then came in in two phases. Firstfruits would mark the beginning of the harvest, a smaller crop, foreshadowing the fuller crop still to come. So that by Pentecost, by 50 days later, the harvest was ripe for the picking. And 2,000 years ago, 50 days before these disciples, these 120 disciples were gathered together, 50 days before on the feast of firstfruits, Jesus was raised from the dead.
[8:41] He was buried on what was called Passover, but raised on the feast of firstfruits. We're told elsewhere that he was raised the firstfruits of those who had fallen asleep. Raised from the dead as the firstfruits. This was pointing back to this harvest, a foreshadow of a greater harvest yet to come. But on top of being a harvest feast, Pentecost was coordinated on the Jewish calendar with the celebration of the day the Israelites, God's people, arrived at Mount Sinai after being freed from slavery to the Egyptians, when God made them his very own and gave them his law, his way, that they might live before him. Pentecost was a celebration of the harvest, but it was also a celebration of that day. God descended in thunder and lightning, in thick smoke and fire on the mountain where he met his people. Here, when the day of Pentecost came, 50 days after Jesus was raised from the dead, they were told all gathered in one place, these 120 disciples, they were all gathered to celebrate the feast. But maybe they were thinking that there'd be more to celebrate than just the harvest. As one guy put it, God hadn't missed a holiday yet. Jesus was buried. He was buried on Passover. He was raised on firstfruits. He went back to be with his
[10:17] Father in heaven. Maybe, maybe on the feast of Pentecost, 50 days later, maybe he would return to take up the throne as the visible king of creation. God hadn't missed a holiday yet. So what will he do with this one? And verse 2 says, suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. And you can imagine the tenseness in the room, a wind from heaven blowing through. And the hearts begin to race and their palms are sweating. And they're not knowing exactly what was going to happen. And verse 3 says, they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were filled with God's presence. And I wonder if it dawned on them what was taking place. I wonder if some of them began to put the pieces together in their minds and were able for the first time to see the picture that the puzzle made. Jesus had said that one was coming who would, in his stead, be their comforter, the guide to guide and protect and awaken his people. And it happens now. When they were celebrating the day that God had given them the law, God's ways, the day that God made his people his own, the day they celebrated when he said he would dwell with them and be their God and they would be his people. Now the Spirit comes to write God's ways on their hearts. To dwell no longer on this mount, or that mountain, or in a tent like he used to, or in a temple like every other God dwell, but now to dwell in each of them. That he might be their God and they might be his people renewed.
[12:30] You see, God has a dream for his church. A vision he intends to see fulfilled in everyone who's decided to follow his son, Jesus. That they would be a people in whom God dwells, that through them his presence would be mediated to the watching world. That in them, the world would see him as king.
[12:58] Humanity can no longer go to meet God in a temple, or a building made by hands. If the world shows up here in this building on any other day of the week, and the people of God are not here, they will not meet God. They might, if they come in, they might find a leaky roof, but they will not meet God. If they want to meet the creator, they have to meet him now in the church. The people in whom God now dwells, as he's never dwelt before.
[13:40] You know, I often find myself thinking about what it means to be a church, and maybe you don't think those things. I think those things. I find myself thinking of what it means to be a church, and I think of how we serve the world around us in the name of God, and how we come together to know God, and how we come to worship before God. But most of the time, my thoughts of God are of a God out there.
[14:10] Distant, untouchable, beyond my grasp. I rarely think of the God in here. It may slip out every once in a while if I'm in a conversation, I talk about, oh, the day I invited God into my heart. But I rarely think of God in me. I almost never think of the God who's taken up and made his home in me. And yet, this is really the point, isn't it? This is the point as to why there is hope in the midst of a broken world. I have a God in me, changing me, and growing me, and making me his own, overcoming the darkness, and cleaning house. And his dwelling in me is no longer based on my keeping the law, because that's exactly why he's in there. Because I don't. And he's bringing me into conformity to the law, to God's ways to live that out. And as he lives in me, I become the meeting place for my friends, for my family, and my neighbors to encounter him in the flesh and blood of a real life. As he lives in you, you become the mediator of God's presence to those around you.
[15:34] Does that just flatten you? That's unbelievable. What God, anywhere, anywhere, you cannot name a God else, wise, who's taken it upon himself to dwell so closely with his people that they are changed from the inside out, to bear with them as they are transformed, so that they become living stones in the temple. He is now constructing of his people. Who but God in Christ has made his dwelling in our hearts? You cannot name one.
[16:15] A while back, Catherine and I, we got attached to a weight loss show that aired on ABC in America, American Broadcasting Company. But unlike other weight loss shows where each episode covers a week or a month in the participants' lives, each episode in this series would show one person's life for 360 60 days. And I remember watching one episode where the participant began. He began at around 600 pounds.
[16:50] And each episode would start with this trainer showing up in this person's life. Unannounced, total surprise, when some of them were on the edge of death.
[17:03] And this trainer wouldn't just give him some hints. He wouldn't just show him some exercises to do. This trainer would move in with them. And over three months, this guy, this 600 pound guy, would lose something like 150 pounds, 200 pounds. It's incredible what happens when the one with the answers moves in and sets up shop in the life of the one who has all the problems.
[17:35] But after three months, this trainer would move out. And for the next three months, what ended up happening invariably was whoever this was suffering with this weight loss, they would lose over the next three months 15, maybe 20 pounds. 150 pounds the first three months. 15, 20 pounds the next three.
[17:59] And it got me thinking. Got me thinking about how amazing it is that our God doesn't just move in for three months to get us going, but moves in and makes himself at home and stays and changes us. And as he dwells in us, he uses us to change others.
[18:26] The vision is that we would be a people in whom God dwells. But his dwelling in us is linked to a second characteristic. Our being a people in whom God dwells makes us a people through whom God speaks.
[18:40] Our second characteristic, that we would be a people through whom God speaks. Look at what happens when the Spirit fills his people. Verse 4 says that they began to speak in other tongues and other languages as the Spirit enabled them. Now they were staying in Jerusalem for this feast, God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked, are these not, are not all of these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues. How is it that we hear? Amazed and perplexed, it says, they asked one another, what does this mean? Some, however, made fun of them. They have had too much wine.
[19:59] But listen to how Peter interprets what is happening. Then Peter, again, one of Jesus' closest followers, stood up with the eleven, so there's twelve of them standing up as the spokesmen, and he raised his voice and addressed the crowd, fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, because now this is starting to draw a crowd. Fellow Jews and all who live here, let me explain this to you. Listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning, and even for fishermen, that's early. These men are not drunk. No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. This fulfills what God promised through Joel when he wrote. In the days, in the last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. They'll speak for me.
[21:01] Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord comes, that coming day when God will have his way, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The spirit is poured out, and from the lips of those on whom he rests are proclaimed the wonders of God, mighty works that God had wrought through all history. It's an amazing account, isn't it? I mean, what do you think of that? The spirit comes down and fills them, and they start speaking, and everyone around them from all corners of the world hears what they're saying in their own languages. What do you think of that? It's incredible. A bunch of redneck fishermen from Boondock, Galilee, end up being linguistic savants.
[22:22] But you have to see, wait a minute. What's so incredible about that? I mean, if this is true, if it's true, if we were just to take it, that God just filled these people, if God's got something to say, Rosetta Stone's not going to have any better way of teaching them how to say it in whatever language.
[22:49] In whatever language they need to say it. You see, it's not so much that they're speaking in their language or any other language. The point is what they're speaking.
[23:02] The central piece is what they're saying. Sure, there's something about how when God comes down and takes back his people and moves in with them, the clocks are turned back on all the boundaries that have separated humanity from itself.
[23:16] Even language. But even more significantly, when God dwells in his people, all they can do is to declare his mighty works.
[23:29] The vision for us as a church is that we would be a people through whom God speaks. Through whom the world would hear of our Redeemer's wondrous works.
[23:44] There's an old depiction in Mark Twain's, of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Do you know those names?
[23:54] Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Huckleberry Finn was an orphan, and in the eyes of most of the people who knew him, or even knew of him, he was a brash young man, a hoodlum, compared to the townspeople.
[24:11] He was a hoodlum. But in the eyes of his younger companion, Tom, Huck was a god. So, what do you think Tom would be talking about at school?
[24:27] Or around the dinner table when he's being scrubbed by his aunt after dinner in the tub? Or even when the teacher pulls a whip on him? What do you think Tom was saying?
[24:39] Tom was saying, something gripped Tom. Something grabbed hold of him. And all Tom could say, that's not what Tom, that's not what Huck thinks. That's not what my buddy Huck tells me.
[24:51] All the time. No matter what. What the situation was. You know, there's something in life, though. There's something in life, though, even more captivating, that grips us, that can hold us.
[25:04] Even more significant than Huckleberry Finn. And when God gets a hold, a hold of every nook of our lives, we're transformed.
[25:18] And in some ways, we grow up. And in some ways, we go back to being little kids. And you know, we're talking to our friends. And we say, can I tell you what God did? And they start talking about something else.
[25:31] Oh, that's great. But can I tell you who God is? And they start talking about something else. Yeah, okay. But can I tell you about God? And what he's done? And who he is?
[25:44] See, in some ways, the people of God, when they're gripped by God, they turn into little kids. And they can't help. At every point. It's not something they need to try to do.
[25:56] It's not something they need to force themselves to do. It's something they can't help doing. When God comes in, God speaks through them.
[26:09] But God just doesn't speak anything through us. There's a lot of wondrous works that he could speak of. His making the world, or his bringing forth the first dawn, or his sustaining creation by the power of his word.
[26:22] But more than this, when he comes in, the gospel comes out. It's not his creation of the world. It's his recreation of it.
[26:33] It's not his light dawning on the universe. It's his light dawning on the brokenness of the world. As a people through whom God speaks, we become a people by whom God is glorified.
[26:50] Our third characteristic, that we would be a people by whom God is glorified. Not just for who he is, but for what he's done.
[27:02] And it all comes back to Jesus. Listen to how Peter directs attention to Jesus. And what God has done through Jesus.
[27:13] Look in verse 22. He says, This man was handed over to you according to God's set purpose and foreknowledge.
[27:38] And you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him on a cross. But God raised him from the dead.
[27:50] Freeing him from the agony of death. Because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him, not in Psalm 16.
[28:02] I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices.
[28:13] My body also will live in hope. Because you will not abandon me to the grave. Nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
[28:24] You have made known to me, David says, the paths of life. You will fill me with the joy of your presence. Brothers, Peter says, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David who wrote these words died and was buried.
[28:46] And his tomb is here to this day. Don't you just love that? David wasn't talking about himself, boys. That is, he was talking about another.
[28:57] Because David's tomb is right just down the road. But he was a prophet. And knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on the throne.
[29:11] Seeing what was ahead, he, David, spoke of the resurrection of the Christ. That he was not abandoned to the grave. Nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life.
[29:23] And we are all witnesses of the fact. Do you hear what God has done? Do you hear what God has done?
[29:35] He's opened the way back to himself. That all who call on the name of this Lord will be saved.
[29:46] We all, every one of us, have platformed ourselves as the God of our own little world.
[29:59] We've all done it. I've done it. My kids have done it. Everyone does it. We make ourselves our own gods. If there's a center of the universe, we all pin it very, very close to home.
[30:15] And it's not right. And it's not right because I didn't make the world. And quite frankly, the way the world is going, I don't have it in myself to remake it and save it from itself.
[30:28] Aletheia may cry out for us to come get her when she's tipped upside down. But she can't come cry to me when she says that the world's tipped upside down.
[30:39] If there's anyone who's big enough to be the center of the universe, it's the one who made it and can remake it.
[30:54] And who happens to be the only one nobody wants to acknowledge as that answer. But instead of sending lightning bolts down at us, he sent his son.
[31:09] He's made a way for the world to come back to him. And he's done it through Jesus. He planned from before the creation of the world that Christ would die at the hands of sinful men.
[31:22] And they could have been our hands. To bear the punishment of death that we deserved. So that we...
[31:37] Because we never gave God what only he deserved. But Jesus didn't stay dead, did he? No, God raised him up, we're told.
[31:49] And through him, through Jesus, he has provided the means of salvation by which the world might be saved. Of this fact, Peter says, we are all witnesses. You see, when God comes in, the gospel comes out.
[32:05] I have a brother in the faith back in the States whose church is... He was just talking about it the other day. His church is on the brink of being ripped apart, ripped into.
[32:18] A number of months ago, a woman began attending that church. And as she continued to come, she began to talk of her anointing as a prophetess.
[32:29] It's something you have to watch out for in this world. People who claim to be prophets and prophetesses. To speak for God. But all that ever comes out of their mouth is only about themselves.
[32:43] And only about the power that they want to grab. How they want to twist people's arms. When God comes in and God speaks, what comes out is God's words.
[32:58] And God's agenda. And not our agenda. And not what I want. But what he wants. He comes in to dwell within us.
[33:10] So that we might be a people through whom he speaks. By whom he is glorified. As we speak the gospel. What God has done in Jesus. And providing a way back to himself.
[33:24] To the world around us. You know, at the beginning of Tom and Huck's adventures. All Tom could speak about was Huck this and Huck that. But by the end of the story.
[33:35] Huck and Tom had worked themselves into such a predicament. That it wasn't a matter of skipping school anymore. Or just going fishing for them.
[33:46] They had gotten in bad with some pretty powerful thieves. And now it wasn't just fishing and skipping school. It was their lives that were at risk. And at the end of this particular account.
[34:00] Of the adventures of Huckleberry Finn. And Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain pens how in a moment of absolute selflessness.
[34:12] Huck stepped in. And saved Tom's life. At the risk of his own. And from that day forward. Tom wasn't going around just saying.
[34:24] Huck this and Huck that. And look what Huck did and all this. He was saying no on that day. Huck saved me. And people would talk about what.
[34:37] No on that day. Guess what happened to me. You might say he's a hoodlum. You might look at him as a brash young man. On that day. He saved me.
[34:47] And when God comes in. We don't just become a people anymore. Who talk about this work or that work. Or this something that God did.
[34:59] Or way back when. We talk about. No. On that day. When Christ went to that cross. Look what God did. And he did it for me.
[35:09] And he did it for you. You become a people through whom. God is glorified. Having experienced his grace in Jesus. We tell it in every corner of our little worlds.
[35:23] But Peter finishes up his sermon. Look at verse 33. Exalted to the right hand of God. He has received from the Father. The promised Holy Spirit. And has poured out what you now see and hear.
[35:34] For David did not ascend to heaven. But yet he said. And here's the other quote from the Psalms. From Psalm 110. The Lord said to my Lord. Sit at my right hand.
[35:45] Until I make your enemies. A footstool for your feet. Therefore let all Israel be assured of this. God has made this Jesus. Whom you crucified.
[35:56] Both Lord and Christ. He has made him both Lord and Christ. When the Spirit comes and fills his people. Peter explains that this isn't like other times.
[36:08] God's Spirit came and rested on individuals in the past. You read through the Bible. And you find other times. When the Spirit suddenly rushed upon someone.
[36:19] And they won a battle. Or they broke the chains of injustice. Or they put to shame the godless. By defeating an army. At a thousand to one odds. But it's not the same as this.
[36:32] God's Spirit has always been the means. Of accomplishing his purposes. But now. The Spirit is poured out by Jesus himself.
[36:42] Who has conquered death. And reigns over all. As both Lord and Christ. The Spirit is poured out now. As a seal of his kingship.
[36:53] To make for himself. A people over whom God reigns. This is the final characteristic. In God's dream for his church.
[37:04] That we would be a people. Over whom God reigns. As we become a people. In whom God dwells. We are empowered as a people. Through whom God speaks.
[37:15] Centrally proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. That we might be a people. By whom God is glorified. As we live under his lordship. And we become a people.
[37:27] Over whom God reigns. As we become a people. In whom God dwells. We become a people. Over whom God reigns.
[37:38] Listen to what happens. When the people hear. This from Peter's lips. Verse 37. When the people heard this. They were cut to the heart. And said to Peter. And the other apostles.
[37:49] Brothers. What shall we do? Isn't that a great question? We've got to start. Asking ourselves this more in life. There's always.
[37:59] There's always something to do. Especially when you come face to face. With the things of God. What shall we do? And Peter replied. Repent.
[38:12] Repent. Turn around. From going your own way. And making like you're the center of the universe. And be baptized every one of you. In the name of Jesus Christ.
[38:23] For the forgiveness of your sins. And you too. Will receive. The gift. Of the Holy Spirit. When you repent. What you're saying is.
[38:33] God. I can't do it. I can't rule my own life. I don't deserve to. And I'm quite incapable. Of doing it anyway. I've tried.
[38:44] And I've failed. Would you come. And take. My throne. Would you come. And take back. Your throne. And when you do that.
[38:57] The same. Spirit. That prompted. The message. That you've heard. Comes. And fills you. To become a part. Of that same. Kingdom.
[39:07] Family. You become. A person. Yourself. A part of. A people. Over whom. God reigns. In Jesus. As the Lord of your life. And his spirit.
[39:18] Makes. His home. In you. And watch out. Because if God comes in. And you become a people. A person. In whom God dwells. Being a person.
[39:32] Through whom God speaks. And by whom God is glorified. And through whom God changes the world. Isn't very far behind. But listen to the message.
[39:42] Remember Martin Luther King's dream. Remember what he called his nation back to. The end of racial discrimination. And the equality of all mankind. Listen to Peter's words. He says in verse 39.
[39:55] Repent and be baptized for. The promise is for you. And your children. And for all who are far off. For all whom the Lord. Our God will.
[40:07] Call. Not just who call on him. But who he calls. And you know. Discrimination. And segregation.
[40:18] And hate crimes. And bigotry. They're part of who we are. In this broken world. Ever since mankind first decided to rule their own lives.
[40:32] The unity of the human race has been ruptured. If everyone wants to be king or queen. There's nothing to do but to draw the battle lines.
[40:43] Because when everyone's a king. No one's a king. And they call that anarchy. But in Christ.
[40:53] In Jesus. When he reigns as the sole king of his world. What men like Martin Luther King. Have dreamed about. As possibility.
[41:05] Becomes reality. And in the church. We become a foreshadow of things. We're still waiting for. As every barrier imaginable.
[41:17] Within our community. Is broken down. Where there's no distinction. Between races. And cultures. Ethnicities. And economic backgrounds. And even language.
[41:29] Does not impede. Our unity. May it not impede. Our unity. The final link in this chain. That we would be a people.
[41:39] Over whom God reigns. Made up of those. From every tribe. And nation. And tongue. Under the kingship of Christ. Verse 40 finishes it up.
[41:51] With many other words. He warned them. And he pleaded with them. Save yourselves. From this corrupt generation. But Pentecost celebrated. The giving of the law.
[42:02] When God made for himself. A people with whom he dwelt. Here the spirit comes. To write that law. Write God's way. On their hearts. To remake a people.
[42:13] In whom God dwells. But Pentecost was also. A celebration of the harvest. Celebrating the harvest. That the first fruits. Foreshadowed.
[42:24] Verse 41 says. Those who accepted. Peter's message. Were baptized. And about 3,000. Were added to their number. That day. Here the harvest.
[42:34] Was foreshadowed. By the first fruits. Of the resurrection. Of Christ. From the dead. And the full harvest. Full reaping in.
[42:46] Of the harvest. Begins with 3,000. Raised from death. To life. As they receive. The message. Of the gospel. And are baptized. In the name of Jesus. And it's safe to say.
[42:58] That before this. They really hadn't. Ever been alive before. Because before Jesus. There is nothing really. To life. Verse 42.
[43:09] Describes. This fledgling community. They devoted themselves. To the apostles teaching. To the fellowship. To the breaking of bread. And to prayer. You see the. The corporate dynamic. Of what we're saved into.
[43:19] It's just. It's not about. Us. It's about who. Who we become. As a community of faith. We're meant for something. Greater than just ourselves. Verse 43 says. Everyone was filled.
[43:30] With awe. And many wonders. And God continued. To work his wonders. And miraculous signs. Were done. By the apostles. All the believers. Were together. And they. Had everything in common.
[43:42] Selling their possessions. And goods. They gave to anyone. As he had need. You know. In the same. In the same passage. In the Old Testament. Where this. Harvest feast. The feast of first fruit. And Pentecost.
[43:53] Is described. As a celebration. It's described. As a celebration. Of God's. Provision. And one of the last. Instructions. One of the last.
[44:05] Instructions. Wrapped up. With Pentecost. Was that people. When they were harvesting. Their fields. Would not reap. All the way. To the border. That they would leave.
[44:16] Some of. Of their field. Left. Unreaped. And that the. The. That they would leave. Some of them. Of the corner. You know.
[44:27] They would cut. The corner off. And they would leave. Some of it. As an expression. That they didn't. Make the wheat grow. And they didn't. They weren't the ones.
[44:38] Who brought it. Or any of that. But also. An expression. That. Because God. Provided it. It's a reflection.
[44:48] Of the grace. That we've. Felt. That we've. Experienced. We didn't make. The barley grow. We didn't make. The wheat grow. And are not. Plowing. The edges.
[44:58] Of our fields. Turn. In turn. Provides. For the poor. Among us. It's pretty. It's pretty. Easy. To tell. Who's experienced. The grace of God.
[45:08] Isn't it? The stingy. Person. Who. Who. Builds. Themselves. A castle. Where. Where all this is mine. And you stay out there.
[45:20] It doesn't look like. They've experienced. Much. Grace. In their lives. Just a whole lot. Of working hard. For what I've got. And what I'm keeping. It doesn't look like.
[45:33] They. They see much. Of their daily bread. As a. As a. As a gift. From a loving God. How tightly. Is the question. How tightly. Do you plow your fields?
[45:45] Do you get right up to the edge? Get those corners clean? How much is left. In the corner of your life? Where's the expression.
[45:57] Of grace. That you felt something. God's done something. In your life. And this. This reflects that. As I. Provide for the poor. In this way. Or. Give of myself.
[46:09] Or. Recognize that. Of this. I am only a steward. Is there anything. That reflects grace. In our lives.
[46:21] God has a dream. For his church. God has a dream. For this. Church. Here in Aberdeen. And in this picture. Of the church's. Beginnings. We can see. God. Mount the podium.
[46:32] Of his world. I have a dream. God says. That today. My church. Would rise up. And live out. The experience.
[46:43] Of my grace. I have a dream. God says. That today. On the streets. Even here. In Aberdeen. Those who were born. Into the slavery. Of their own selfishness.
[46:55] Would become a people. In whom I dwell. I have a dream. That my people. Will become a people. Through whom I speak. And by whom. I am glorified.
[47:05] I have. A dream. I have a dream. That today. May those from Scotland. And England. France. And America. Columbia. And Nigeria. Malaysia. And Peru.
[47:17] From poor. And rich. From high class. And low. Would be able. To sit down. Together. At the table. Of brotherhood. And fellowship. Around the work.
[47:28] Of Jesus. I have a dream. That in my church. Would be seen. A people. Once sweltering. With injustices. Transformed.
[47:39] Into an oasis. Of freedom. Under the lordship. Of my son. I have a dream. That they. Through the color. Of their skin. In the community.
[47:51] Of their faith. Would display. The content. Of my character. And the contentment. Of their transformed. Hearts. I have.
[48:02] A dream. Every day. We're told. They continued. To meet together. In the temple courts. They broke bread. In their homes. And they ate together. With glad.
[48:13] And sincere hearts. Praising God. And enjoying. The favor. Of all the people. And the lord. Added. To their number. Daily. Those who were being.
[48:25] Saved. May it be so. With us. Fulfilling. God's dream. For his church. As the people. Of God. In Christ. May I.
[48:38] Pray for us. Lord. It is our prayer. That we would be. Aligned. With you. And your son.
[48:48] To seek. And to save. The lost. Give us. The grace. To expend. Ourselves. For the sake. Of your kingdom. Its expansion.
[49:00] In breath. And depth. To be. Your people. In whom you dwell. And through whom you speak. By whom you are glorified. And over whom you reign.
[49:12] For your glory. And for the good of the world. Amen. We're going to sing from that second psalm that Peter referred to.
[49:25] It's Psalm 110. It's Psalm 110. In sing psalms. You can find it on page 149 and 150 in the blue books. We're going to sing verses 1 to 4 to the tune of Carlisle.
[49:39] Psalm 110 happens to be the most often quoted psalm in the New Testament. Usually with its first verse being quoted.
[49:49] Just like Peter did. Speaking of the eternal king. Who for Peter had already come in Jesus. But listen to what else it says of this king as we sing.
[50:02] Psalm 110 verses 1 to 4. We'll stand and sing. Psalm 110 verses 1 to 5.
[50:35] Psalm 110 verses 1 to 5.
[51:05] Psalm 110 verses 1 to 5.
[51:35] With solemn purpose for. Just like Melchizedek.
[51:46] You are a priest forevermore. Did you hear that?
[51:58] Did you hear what the psalmist says of this eternal king? The king to come is not only a king. He is also a priest. And this would have been the first for the people of God.
[52:11] To have a priest king. But when you think about it. But when you think about it. Nothing less of a king. Nothing less than a kingly priest.
[52:22] Or a priestly king. Or whatever you want to say. Nothing less than one who is both king and priest. Would do. Somehow it all makes sense.
[52:32] That we would need one who is both Lord and Christ. To come and make all things of our broken world right again.
[52:43] Listen to what the psalmist says in the following three verses. And this is from our Psalter. He says, The Lord's at your right hand. You want to come.
[52:55] There he will ever stay. He on his day of wrath will crush the kings who bar his way. The nations he will judge. The dead in heaps will lie.
[53:07] The mighty of the earth he'll crush. All who his rule defy. But there is a brook beside the way. His thirst will satisfy.
[53:17] And thus refresh this king. Will with joy lift up his head on high. To that king we look. As our kingly priest. As you go this week.
[53:29] May God's dream for his church no longer remain a possibility. But may it become a reality through King Jesus. Amen.