Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. Today, as we study the
book of Acts chapter 2 on the fulfillment of
the Holy Spirit's promise, we are studying the
loving presence of God. And we have to remember
that during this time, the apostles were awaiting
the coming of the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised.
And then later, the apostle Paul writes about
this and summarizes it with this reflection.
Will you read it out loud with me? We know how
dearly God loves us because He has given us the
Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
And this is a catalyst of transformation that
we were talking about earlier. It is the love
of God in our lives through the Holy Spirit that
changes everything. And when we are talking about
the Holy Spirit in our lives, what we are talking
about is that God desires for us to experience
His love and the freedom and the healing power
of His love in every part of our being. And that
begins when we say yes to Jesus. And at that
moment, the Bible says the Holy Spirit comes
to live in us. So if you're a follower of Jesus,
You have the Holy Spirit in you. Now you don't
need to pray for the Holy Spirit to come to you.
Now you need to pray for a growing intimacy with
the Holy Spirit that is already in you. And what
we discover is that to experience the love of
God in deeper parts of our beings, it doesn't
just require the catalyst of God's love in us,
but it also requires the right response from
us. And what is that response? What does it look
like? That is what the study will reveal to us.
So let's go to look, I mean to Acts chapter 2.
And it begins with the time in which, remember,
Jesus has already died at Passover. He has resurrected.
He has appeared to the apostles. And he has invited
them to stay there in Jerusalem and to remain
there until the Holy Spirit comes on them. He
had told them before, the Holy Spirit is with
you, but now he's going to be in you. So wait
for that promise. And 50 days after Passover
was the celebration of Pentecost. That was the
time in which people from all over the empire
would come to Jerusalem to celebrate. the fresh
fruit, the new fruit of the harvest. And as they
came in, people from all over the empire, this
city became just huge, populated by so many people
from all over the world. Imagine celebrating
the World Cup in Bangkok. Can you imagine what
it would feel like trying to get out of Sukhumvit
in the car? Filled with people everywhere. And
that is what Jerusalem had become in this moment.
And the apostles are there in Jerusalem, meeting
in this place, hiding from the authorities, and
praying and worshiping. And as they're in that
space, on the 50th day after Passover, the fulfillment
of the Holy Spirit's coming happened. And this
is what the Word of God says in Acts chapter
2. We're going to read the entire chapter. Because
this is the historical account of what happened
at the beginning. And this is what it says. On
the day of Pentecost, all the believers were
meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there
was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a
mighty windstorm. And it filled the house where
they were sitting. Then what looked like flames
or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each
of them. And everyone present was filled with
the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages
as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At
that time, there were devout Jews from every
nation living in Jerusalem. And when they heard
the loud noise, everyone came running. And they
were bewildered to hear their own languages being
spoken by the believers. They were completely
amazed. How can this be? They exclaimed. These
people are all from Galilee and yet we hear them
speaking in our own native language. And you
can imagine, because during that time, the Roman
Empire, you had people from all over. And they're
all coming to Jerusalem at that moment. And they
start hearing these guys from Galilee speaking
in their languages. The wonders, the good news
of God's love. And it tells us, no exaggeration.
It tells us here, here we are, Parthians. Medes,
Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia,
Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia,
Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene,
visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to
Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. Fifteen different
groups mentioned in this list. And all of them,
experiencing what was happening at the same time.
And we all hear these people speaking in our
own languages about the wonderful things God
has done. What were they hearing in their own
language? The wonderful things that God had done.
Because Jesus had just been crucified. He had
just resurrected. He has just ascended to heaven.
And now the Holy Spirit is empowering the apostles.
To share with the whole world. About the amazing
news of God's love. And they stood there amazed
and perplexed. What can this mean? They asked
to each other. Yet. Others in the crowd ridiculed
them, saying they're just drunk, that's all.
And at that moment, Peter is going to stand up,
and for the first time in human history, he's
going to preach the gospel. You might remember
that Jesus had told him earlier in his ministry
that he was going to give him the keys of the
kingdom. And now you have Peter opening the door
to the kingdom. Inviting people from all nations
to come and join the followers of Jesus. And
become people indwelled by the love of God through
the Holy Spirit. And now Peter is going to take
this moment to make that invitation very clear
and plain to all of these people. And this will
mark the beginning of the church. So this is
what Peter says. Peter stepped forward with the
11 other apostles and shouted to the crowd. Listen
carefully all of you. Fellow Jews and residents
of Jerusalem, make no mistake about this. These
people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming.
Nine o 'clock in the morning is much too early
for that. No, what you see was predicted long
ago by the prophet Joel. And now he's going to
quote. An old prophecy from a book in the Old
Testament called Joel. And this is what he said.
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my
spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters
will prophesy. Your young men will see visions.
And your old men will dream dreams. You won't
have to come to the temple in Jerusalem to experience
God. You will experience God's presence in you.
In those days, I will pour out my spirit even
on my servants, men and women alike. And they
will prophesy. And I will cause wonders in the
heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood
and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become
dark and the moon will turn blood red before
that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved. And with this, he finishes the
quotation of Joel. He's telling them, look, the
day was coming where God was going to give them
his spirit to all people. It didn't matter whether
you were young or old. It didn't matter whether
you were a man or a woman. It didn't matter.
Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be filled with God's love and be saved. Did it
matter where they came from? No. Did it matter
what they had done and how bad of a people they
were? No. Anyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved. And he continues. People
of Israel, listen. God publicly endorsed Jesus
the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders,
and signs through him, as you well know. But
God knew what would happen. And his prearranged
plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed.
With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed
him to a cross and you killed him. But God released
him from the horrors of death. And raised him
back to life. For death could not keep him in
its grip. King David said this about him. And
now he's going to quote another book, the book
of Psalms in the Old Testament, about these prophecies
about Jesus. And he's going to quote two times
the words of King David. Here he says, I see
that the Lord is always with me. I will not be
shaken for he is right beside me. No wonder my
heart is glad and my tongue shouts his praises.
My body rests in hope. For you will not leave
my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One
to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way
of life and you will fill me with the joy of
your presence. Dear brothers, think about this.
You can be sure that the patriarch David who
wrote this wasn't referring to himself. For he
died and was buried and in fact we have his tomb
right here among us in Jerusalem. No, he wasn't
talking about him. He was a prophet and he knew
God had promised with an oath that one day one
of David's own descendants would sit on his throne.
David was looking into the future. And speaking
about the Messiah's resurrection. He was saying
this. That God would not leave him among the
dead. Or allow his body to rot in the grave.
He was talking about Jesus. Not about himself.
And God raised Jesus from the dead. And we are
all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the
place of highest honor in heaven. At God's right
hand. And the father as he had promised. Gave
him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us. Just
as you see and hear today. For David himself
never ascended into heaven. Yet he said this.
And here is the second quote. The Lord said to
my Lord. Sit in the place of honor at my right
hand. Until I humble your enemies. Making them
a footstool under your feet. So let everyone
in Israel know. For certain. That God has made
this Jesus whom you crucified. To be both Lord
and Messiah. Peter's words. pierced their hearts.
And they said to him and to the other apostles,
Brothers, what should we do? Peter replied, Each
of you must repent of your sins, turn to God,
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins, and then you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is
not just to you, it's also to your children and
to those far away, all who have been called by
the Lord our God. Then Peter continued preaching
for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners,
save yourself from this crooked generation. Those
who believed what Peter said, were baptized and
added to the church that day about 3 ,000 in
all. All the believers devoted themselves to
the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and
to sharing in meals including the Lord's Supper
and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over
them all. And the apostles performed many miraculous
signs and wonders. And all the believers met
together in one place and shared everything they
had. They sold their property and possessions
and shared the money with those in need. And
they worshipped together at the temple each day,
met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared
their meals with great joy and generosity. All
this while praising God. And enjoying the goodwill.
Of all the people. Each day. The Lord added to
their fellowship. Those who were being saved.
And this. Is the end. Of the historical account.
Of the first. Humans. Who heard the good news
about God's love. Responded to him. And were
transformed. By the presence of the Holy Spirit
in their lives. And from that moment until today.
The invitation remains the same. God wants you
and I to experience. The presence and the power
of his love. Because his love is healing. His
life transforms. And his love has a name. The
Holy Spirit. Jesus promised him. It was fulfilled
at Pentecost. And the invitation remains today.
For you and for me. To grow in intimacy with
the Holy Spirit. So that his love. Will continue
to transform us and heal us. But God's love.
Is one part of the equation. He loves us. And
He has done everything in His power so that we
can now experience His love and walk in it. But
the other part of the equation is the response
of people to God's love. And that's why this
passage is so revealing. Because if you want
to grow in intimacy with God, if you want the
love of God, to heal deeper parts of your being,
then we have to understand what is the response
to God's love. And this is what Peter told the
first audience. If you want to receive the love
of God, the Holy Spirit in you, you will have
to first repent. You will repent and turn to
God and be baptized as a follower of Jesus. And
then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Repentance, as it turns out, is the response
of the heart that is willing to acknowledge that
I've been in the wrong. I've been in the wrong
about who you are, about who I am, and about
what life is about. I have been in the wrong.
I was mistaken. I was confused. I was misled.
And now I can see the truth. The truth about
who you are, about who I am, and about what life
is about. Repentance. Is that response that Peter
says we need to experience. And he is going to
guide these first Christians. I should say pre
-Christians. In answering these questions. And
you can see. That the first sign of this repentance
that he's talking to them about is a change of
mind about who Jesus is. Because all of us come
from a background where we did not know who Jesus
was. And at some point, when you hear what Jesus
had come to do on, he accomplished. This story
is so powerful that some people say it's just
too good to be true. It's too good to be true
that God loves me so much that He came down to
pay for my sins so that I can be forgiven. It's
too good to be true. And other people say, no,
this cannot be true. Jesus was just a good guy,
you know, a good teacher, but the son of God,
he died and resurrected. All that's just myth.
If you want to experience the love of God, you
will first have to experience a change of mind
about who Jesus is. And this first audience,
especially, were the ones Who crucified Jesus.
They thought Jesus was a fake. That deserved
to be killed. And now Peter tells them. Let everyone
in Israel know. For certain that God has made
this Jesus. Whom you crucified to be. Both Lord
and Messiah. Messiah means anointed one. And
it was the promise from the beginning that God
was going to send one in the future that was
going to be a descendant of King David from the
tribe of Judah, from the nation of Israel, to
become the savior of the world. He was going
to be born out of a virgin. And he was going
to become the one that would defeat Satan, sin,
and death. And one day he was going to establish
a new heaven and a new earth and establish a
new kingdom that was going to be the home of
righteousness. This being was the Messiah. And
now Peter says, Jesus is that Messiah. He is
the fulfillment of these promises. And you have
to accept and acknowledge that. And that is what
stopped many people from experiencing the love
of God in their lives. Not because God does not
love them, but because they refuse to repent
and to acknowledge that I have been wrong all
of my life. That's a hard thing to acknowledge.
But if it is the truth, wouldn't you care more
about truth? I was six years old when I heard
the good news about what Jesus had done. And
I felt compelled by the love of God. I remember
that I was with my father in my bedroom and I
went on my knees. After talking with him. And
I asked Jesus to save me. And I remember feeling.
Overwhelmed by two things. The realization that
I was a sinner. And the realization that how
much God loved me. And I remember that I was
just crying and crying and crying non -stop.
And my sister. Looked into the room and I remember
her asking. Why is Pablo crying so much? It was
a combination of conviction and joy. And awareness
of just God's love. And I realized. That that
was not just my experience. It's the experience
of many people who have come. To surrender their
lives to the Messiah. If you are here today.
And you are wrestling with accepting the fact
that Jesus is the Savior of the world. That He
is indeed what the Bible says. Then I'm here
to invite you. God is calling you to Him. He
wants you to experience His love. And the first
thing that you will have to do is to believe
and accept who Jesus is. Would you open your
heart to him? I would like to pause for a second.
There's a noise that I hear. Do you know what
that is? I don't want it to remain there in the
background and be distracting. You hear that?
Do we know where that is coming from? Is it outside
or is it in here? Okay. Good. Let's move to the
next part. Will you read this verse aloud with
me? So let everyone in Israel know for certain.
That God has made this Jesus. Whom you crucify.
To be both Lord and Messiah. Did you notice that
Jesus is described with two words? Not only Messiah.
Or what was the other word? Lord. He has been
given all authority on heaven and on earth. And
to experience God's love requires not only a
change of mind about who Jesus is, but about
how I relate to him. And what God wants you to
acknowledge is that Jesus is Lord, not just Savior.
What I mean... Is that there is a change of allegiance
that happens in which now I submit my life to
Jesus. I remember when I was in Mexico City serving
there in the church plant ministry that we had.
I got to meet a guy that was born in a Christian
family and he went to church since he was young.
And we met at a youth camp. Summer camp. And
as we were. Riding back home. In the car he was
telling me. His experience. Because it had been
a transformational experience. Completely for
him. To have attended that camp. Because he says
you know. I. Believed. That God loved me. And
I believed that Jesus had died for my sins. But
I reasoned. that if God loved me so much, I could
sin all I want because salvation at the end was
by grace. So that's what I did. I was dating
all these girls, having sex with all of them.
I was doing all this life, drinking, having fun.
I was doing all of these things while at the
same time going to church on Sundays. But it
had never occurred to me That Jesus was not my
Lord. Because that was not a category in my thought.
And for the first time in his life, I still remember
his name, Sergio. For the first time in his life,
he actually submitted his life to Lord Jesus.
And now he was able to really say, Jesus, you
are both Lord and Messiah. And his story is not
unique. I sat down with a teenager once who also
grew up in a Christian home. Who also said, I
believe in Jesus. And I asked him this question.
Have you ever? Repented. Of your sins. And he
looked at me. With big eyes. And after a few
seconds. He says. No. Never. Do you realize.
That the Bible says. That even demons. Evil spirits.
Acknowledge that Jesus. Is the Messiah. Satan
is not an atheist. The problem is not believing.
The problem is. Submitting. And repentance. Something
that demons and Satan and evil spirits don't
have. Is the response. To God's love. Is to acknowledge.
That I have been living my life in my own terms.
And I have not been entrusting my life. To your
love. And therefore I repent. Of being my own
Lord. And now I'm going to have only one Lord
in my life. And that is you. Lord. Jesus. And
this is something that God wants all of us to
experience. That's why Peter replies to the audience
at that moment and he says, each of you must
repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of your sins. Then you will receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit. Have you submitted to the
authority of Jesus? Is Jesus your Lord? If you
are thinking, well, God loves me and that's all
I care about. Nothing I do changes anything.
I'm saved by grace. Yes. Amen to that. But that
is not the issue. The issue is not whether God
loves you. It's whether you love God. And you
cannot love God without submission. Because Jesus
said, if you love me, you will obey me. And that
submission to Lord Jesus Is something that the
Holy Spirit will do in your life. And will start
transforming one area after the other. If you
repent. But the last part of the repentance.
Was the change of direction. He tells them. Not
only repent and turn to God, but you are going
to be baptized as a follower of Jesus. And what
is amazing is that when we celebrate baptisms,
we are symbolizing that I died to my old life,
and now I come alive to a new life driven by
love for God. Now I'm following Jesus until the
end. It's a change of direction. Before I was
going wherever the world took me. Wherever my
friends said. Whatever my feelings led me to.
And now. Repentance means. That I am a follower
of Jesus. And there is a change of direction
in my life. Because now. I'm living my life.
Not for myself. But for him. And this aspect.
It's an aspect in which you will have to trust
the love of God for you and submit to the love
of the Holy Spirit to lead you into that future
that you fear. Because that future that you fear,
if you are following the Lord, the Lord is already
there. There's nothing to fear when you are following
Jesus. But are you following Jesus? Or are you
just believing in his love, but not really trusting
him as to follow him? If you want to experience
the healing love of God in your life, you will
have to pay attention to what Peter told the
first audience. Repent. Acknowledge who Jesus
is. Submit to him as your Lord. And follow Him.
Because that is true repentance. And true repentance
means that now the love of God is going to be
filling every part of your being. And that's
the promise. Not just for them, but for you.
For me. For our children. For those who are far
away, anyone who has been called by God, invited
into this new life of following the Lord. So
now that you have heard the account of Acts 2,
the fulfillment of the coming of the Holy Spirit
into our lives, the beginning and the birth of
the church, now you know. The connection between
God's love. And our response as repentance. So
if you are feeling lost. What you need. Is Jesus.
So that you can experience. The Holy Spirit in
you. And the love of God in you. If you have
lost your feeling. What you need. Is a deeper
intimacy. With God. And to come to God. And let
the love of God through the Holy Spirit. Heal.
That deep wound of your soul. So whether you
feel lost. Or whether you've lost your feeling.
The answer is the same. Holy Spirit. Would you.
Invite. Today the Holy Spirit to. Encounter you.
And to grow in deeper intimacy with him. As you
follow Jesus. So I would like to conclude this
study. With these three questions. Because the
Holy Spirit is the love of God put in your heart.
And therefore I ask you. Have you repented? If
you've never repented of your sins. Now is the
time to repent before God. Because he wants to
forgive you. But you have to respond to his love
first. The second question. Is have you submitted
to Lord Jesus. Because he wants to embrace you.
But you have to submit to him first. If you never
have acknowledged Jesus as the Lord of your life.
Do that today. He will lead you. With intimacy.
With care. As a shepherd with the lamb. And finally.
Are you following him? Not just believing in
his love. But following him. Into the life that
he is calling you to. Because he wants to guide
you. But you have to respond to his love first.
By repentance. Lord, we say, Holy Fire, follow
us. We want your power. We say, living water,
run within. Bring change and transformation.
But Lord, what we hear today is very personal.
Because after we pray that and after we sing
that, you ask us back, do you really mean it?
Because it will require deep repentance on you.
So Lord, today let repentance reign. Flow through
this space. As you encounter us. Break. The walls
of unbelief. Break. The pride. Break the fear.
We submit to you. Lord Jesus. Let your love.
Empower us. In Jesus' name we pray. you will
find giving options on our website. And remember
to join us next week. God bless you.