Words Carry Weight

Words carry weight number six in the Acts series. So what you wanna do is hopefully go back and listen to number one, number two, number three, because they all seem to flow together and they'll actually make a lot more sense when you begin to put it all together. But I wanna just start with this statement.

The reason most people speak against the Bible is because the Bible speaks against them. That's what's happening in our culture. That's what's going on.

They don't like that it's convicting them. And words carry weight, what I'm talking about is Peter's sermon. We're gonna go right in to the very, how cool is this? The very first recorded sermon after the day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit came upon the church, this is the first recorded sermon.

Guys, that's pretty cool. When we know exactly, let's see how they would preach. Were they woke or did they wake people up? Well, we're gonna find out, but I like this quote from D. Martin Lloyd-Jones.

Preaching, like what Peter's doing, what we're gonna look at is a transaction where the people are given the mind of God through the written word. That's important. You're not getting the mind of God from me, from my opinion.

If I ever say things like that, just go find another church. My job is what he goes on to say, explained by a faithful preacher. People are dealing with the living God and they must never approach the subject in a cavalier manner as if his very existence were up for debate.

He goes on to say that theology is coming through a man, or actually preaching is coming through a man on fire for God. That's exactly what we're gonna look at here. So let's look at the first sermon.

And guys, you can probably let the worship team know too, we do have the seats reserved in the back in case they were looking for seats. We have that whole row, two rows reserved for them. So Acts chapter two.

And if you don't know what was in chapter one, well, you have to listen to the message. But I'll give you a snapshot. They chose the 12th disciple that I believe was probably, they were just moving quickly and they didn't wait for Jesus to choose Paul.

And then also the Holy Spirit came upon a prayer meeting where there were 10, 100, no, 120 in the 10 days, day of Pentecost, 10 days after Jesus' ascension. They're waiting in the supper room. They're praying, they're in unity, and then the Holy Spirit comes upon them.

And they basically change from, you know, believe, you know, kind of, I saw Jesus' miracles, we're here to wait, we're kind of fearful, but now they have the Holy Spirit upon them and they change the world. They basically change the world, write the Bible, bring the message of the gospel everywhere. And not to confuse you more because I wanna talk about this later, but the Bible in the New Testament gives three prepositions for the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is alongside of you, P-A-R-A, He comes alongside of you, and He's also in you, E-N, He's in you. But then there's a very interesting word, which I'm glad they use it. The preposition is E-P-I, epi.

It's when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. For example, and I talked about this, I had the Holy Spirit in me in my 20s, but He definitely was not upon me because I live for myself. I was quenching and grieving the Spirit, didn't really have a love for God's Word, I was convicted, I'd say I was a Christian, but that's, guys, that's the difference maker.

That's the difference maker. Do you genuinely have the rivers of living water flowing out of you? And that's not my opinion, that's what Jesus said. If you believe on Me, as the Scriptures say, out of your innermost being is going to flow rivers of living water.

So, the living water has fallen on the church, and as a result, how many of you remember what happened when the Holy Spirit came upon them? They actually did something pretty interesting. They began to speak in tongues. So what it is, it's an unknown language to the person saying it, but a known language to people of different ethnicities.

Do I quite understand the gift? No, I don't know anybody who quite understands it, but if God created Mars and Jupiter and the Earth, I'm pretty sure He can speak through us to a people group or another language. And that's what it really is, correct? If I were to say, Padre Nuestro de Cancio, santificado sea tu hombre, venga en nuestro reino, hágase tu voluntad, hacia la tetera, comencie lo Padre Nuestro de cada día de anos hoy. What is that? Spanish.

Okay, now most of you are like, what about if I gave the whole sermon in that? It would be so ineffective. That's why Paul said, do not do that in the church. I'd rather just speak five words that people understand, but there is a use for it, and we'll cover that in the future.

But it gives a message that God puts on the heart to different ethnic groups or different nationalities. They heard the wonderful praises of God and people that didn't even understand what they were saying. And so that's what happened.

The people were not too, well, some were receptive, but the mockers came out. Isn't it interesting, any time God moves in a powerful way that's outside of our box, we get a little uncomfortable. Like, ah, that's not, you know, we become, we begin to mock.

And Red in the Heavens, we'll be talking about it probably Wednesday night, maybe not Wednesday, but some of the other nights, where every genuine move of God, and I've studied them, a lot of them, you know, Wells in Ireland and America and Europe, every single time there was always a word spoken against them. George Whitefield had his mockers. Jonathan Edwards had his mockers.

John Wesley had his mockers. Duncan Campbell had his mockers. Because what happens is, many times too, a church will get jealous because why isn't that happening at our church? So instead of saying, well, praise God, instead, they have to mock.

They have to put down. Now, there are some things that need to be called out, correct? That's why as an elder board, as an elder team, we talk about certain things, we make decisions, and if something is wrong or is in error, if somebody, for example, stood up and started speaking in tongues and interrupted me, I would have to correct them. It's not pretty, but it has to be done.

They don't control the service. The leadership team controls the spiritual health and environment of the service. Doesn't mean we do things perfectly, but we'd rather err on the side of honoring God.

And he's not the author of confusion. Paul even said, if they come in, they're gonna think you're out of your mind. So anytime a church service is gonna look like we're out of our mind, we might wanna really rule that in a little bit and take a closer look at it.

But anytime God genuinely moves, for example, I've been in, I'm not gonna share all my stories again, because you've been coming a while, you've heard them, but where I've been in services, where the first service will just flow into the second, right, I mean, sometimes I couldn't preach and just the altars fall in the worship. I mean, when you feel, it's not just goosebumps. God gave us feelings for a reason.

And you can just feel the weight in the God's breaking people. It's beautiful. Every single time that happens, people mock or leave the church.

I can't believe Pastor Shane allowed that. I'd be like, well, whoopie to God, that would happen more often. Look at the fruit.

Look at the fruit. Men who would never be up here are up here, weeping, crying before God, restoring their marriages. Prodigal sons, wayward daughters, women up confessing, and that's a beautiful thing.

See, we've drifted so far from the New Testament church. Now, anything that might resemble the New Testament church is mocked and criticized. And so Peter, he stood up with the 11, praise God, some people were with him.

And I like this, he did not back down. See, there's this view out there that Christians should be passive and docile and a doormat and just turn the other cheek. Now, we are to turn the other cheek, correct? In the right context.

Did you know, this is so interesting, I love this. When Jesus was slapped, He did not turn the other cheek. What did He do? Why have you slapped me? What evil have I done? He confronted.

So turning the other cheek is erring on the side of grace. Erring, hey, I'm not gonna get the last word, I'm gonna err on the side of grace. Hey, I'm gonna just not, you know, you err on that side.

But at some point when the pushback becomes so great and they're degrading marriage, they're mocking God's Word, they're hurting children. Hey, guys, you just drew a new line in the sand. I have to say something, I have to do something.

So Peter, he said, hold on, hold on. He stood up and he raised his voice. And he said, men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let it be known to you and heed my words, for these are not drunk as you suppose since it's only the third hour of the day, I believe still nine in the morning or so.

They're not drunk, so what's happening? He says, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. This fulfillment, probably, when was Joel writing? 600, 700 BC? 700 years later or so? Peter says, nope, the fulfillment is finally here. This is that which Joel spoke of.

But I do wanna say this, make sure your experience is grounded in the Word. You have an experience of God, is it grounded in the Word? Everything they experienced was grounded in the Word. He spoke with boldness and authority and truth.

Those are very important, even if you're loving, even if you're kind of mild-mannered, there still has to be boldness, authority in God's Word, and the truth. And then finally, since he made this comparison, I wanna share that. Obviously, alcohol never improves our walk with the Lord.

So many people are like, well, can I have this many? It doesn't improve your walk with the Lord, okay? Be very careful in this area, as Ephesians 5 said. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, which is a descent down, but be filled with the Spirit. So there's a choice to make.

Actually, that's why it's called spirits. It will affect you, not in the right spirit. That's why he said, reject that descent down, but instead, choose to be filled with the Spirit.

But Peter clarified, hey, they were not up early getting drunk, they were in an all-night prayer meeting getting filled. And then he continues, Acts 2, and it shall come to pass in the last days. Now, who's he quoting here? He's actually quoting what the prophet Joel, or Jo-el, whatever you wanna pronounce that.

He's quoting Joel here. And it shall come to pass in the last days. So we're still in the last days.

Some people are kinda confused about that. We don't, oh, aren't the last days a long time ago? Well, the last days, I believe, are certain segments of history. You know, you have a 2,000-year creation, you have a 2,000-year of Israel's redemption or history, and you have a 2,000-year church age that we're getting, obviously, pretty close to the end, I would say, if you look around.

Unless you're, I think it's post-millennial, believes that things will be getting better. There are different views. I've taught on all the different views in Revelation, so I'm not gonna hang out there.

But he's saying, it shall come to pass in the last days. God will pour, what a beautiful picture. God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh.

See, there's something amazing that happens when the Holy Spirit is in you versus when He comes upon you. And can you imagine just if they opened, you know, those dry town water parks, and you stand under, my kids like to stand under that big, I don't know what that is, 1,000-gallon, 500-gallon tank, and it just downpours. And that's the image, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.

When God's Spirit is poured out, it's incredible. And we often don't see it in times like this on a Sunday morning, if I can be honest with you. As much as we pray for it, as much as we want God to do that, and He's sovereign, it can happen.

But usually, it's when there's a process of seeking God. That's why we call it rend the heavens. That's our goal, to not be in a hurry and to pray.

And sometimes it takes petitioning and yearning. The old saints used to say, travail of the soul. When I travailed, God heard my prayers.

And usually the prayer meeting and time with God and seeking Him, and then that downpour follows. Very rarely will it happen on a Sunday morning because we're kind of in a hurry. Let's get the songs going, hope Shane doesn't go long.

I got a Home Depot errand to do later, my water line broke, the kitchen is a mess. And so we get just as much of God as we put into it. They were in a prayer meeting for 10 days.

They probably left, they did things, I don't know, but there was a seeking. There was a drawing towards God. And then often God will reward that pursuit.

He is a rewarder of those who, it could be me, but isn't that word diligent interesting? Because it does say, if you seek me, you will find me. And of course I broke down that word seek and what it means before many times. But here he's clear, he's a rewarder.

He rewards those who diligently seek Him. It's like that hitting concrete and you don't see it breaking, but you know, you're just gonna keep hitting. Men, you know what I'm talking about.

You're hitting, you're hitting and nothing's happening, but just keep hitting, keep hitting. Diligently seek Him. And I think it could be part of a test.

God says, how bad do you want it? How bad do you want it? Because you don't know how bad you want something until you pursue it wholeheartedly. And it's in that pursuit that those floodgates begin to open. God rewards, maybe some people a couple of days, a couple of weeks, there's no checklist, there's no formula, right? All we know is, and there have been people who experienced some powerful downpour of God's Spirit the same day they were converted.

Or the next day you can read the biography of Charles Finney or you can read lots of other biographies. I've recommended that book before, They Found the Secret. It's a 20 biographies of solid people, John Bunyan, Amy Carmichael, Adonijah Judson, John Wesley, who received a downpour sometimes years after conversion.

They were just a nominal Christian, kind of carnal. You know, they're just kind of going through the motions. You know, they're a Sunday church Christian, but then when they fully surrendered and begin to pursue God and seek God, that downpour came upon them.

Now we hear about them. If you want to do anything significant for God, it cannot be done in a lukewarm heart. It can't be done in a compromising, shallow heart that has a very, well, a walk with the Lord where He might say, strengthen what remains, repent, return to your first love because your fire's fading.

And it's so important to get back to that. Those people we look up to, don't we? We look up to certain Christian leaders who have come before us and certain people we know. And there's a fire of the Spirit in their soul.

That's what we look at. We don't look up to carnal Christians, even if they're 50 or 60. It's like, oh, that's sad.

And I have a lot of compassion for that. If you've noticed, I don't come across judgmental because I lived there for a long time, from like 13, 14 wrong influences in my life to about 29. I regret it, but I know God used it.

And I was as carnal as they come. You know, there's a conviction, you don't want to do this anymore, but sin feels a little too good. That's why I say, I'm not ready yet, Mom.

Stop praying for me. Son, you don't want to go to Vegas. Oh, yes I do.

And on my way home Sunday, I'm praying, Lord, I'm sorry, I can't keep doing this. Convicted, this is wrong. Year after year after year.

That's the definition of insanity. So it has to come a point where your, Lord, I'm sorry, becomes genuine repentance. When you truly want to change and remove those things from your life.

That's the only way you're going to see real progress in your heart. Because we can say trapped in sin, can't we? Let's be honest. Our flesh still likes sin.

I don't want to, my spirit groans against it, but there's something in me that wants to stop by Krispy Kreme and get a dozen donuts. And eat six on the way home and say I only picked up a half dozen. Right? There's something in me that does that.

I've mentioned this many times before and it's helped a lot of men over the years and I'm glad to be transparent, but even months will go by, months and months and months, and I could be somewhere and I see an ice cold beer and those triggers, like that looks, my flesh, see the spirit's dead to it, but the flesh is not dead to it. It still craves what it used to have and what it used to know. So sometimes some things vanish and it's gone, I mean, people praise God.

When I came to Christ, no more desire for drugs or anything or alcohol or nothing. But sometimes it's a fight. And although they might not struggle with that anymore, trust me, they struggle with something else.

And pride can be just as deadly. Often those who are the most prideful and judgmental, they've got a lot of secret sin going on. Those heresy hunter YouTube channels, I worry for those guys.

I worry about them because they're so good at picking people apart that their life's probably crumbling and falling from within, but they have to push back and they have to go and they have to sin sniff. It's part of our fallen nature. It's called pride and it's very damaging to our walk.

So God said, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. So if the Bible says it, why do we have a problem with this? Prophecy.

But if you're like me, conservative, right? Kind of charismatic with the seatbelt on. Real tight there. For me, clearly, the Bible teaches these things, so I can't say it doesn't, or I feel I'd be blaspheming the Holy Spirit and rejecting a good portion of God's Word.

But like many of you, I've seen enough weird stuff to last me the rest of my life. I've had people tell me things that just aren't true. My wife, we agreed not to tell you what it is.

It's not a huge deal. But something happened recently. A person had a dream years ago and they told me this dream, hey, God wants you to do this.

I'm like, I don't know about that. I don't think so. He goes, well, it's your choice to obey or not.

Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. Red flag. Big red flag.

But see how it'll trap you? It'll trap some immature believers. If it was younger, in my younger years, right when I came to the Lord, that might have jacked me up. Because you never follow a person's Word.

They're not the final authority. Now God might use them to help you. Anybody need a little help? Yeah? So that's what that is for.

It's to help, not to control you. It's designed for you to take it to the Lord, sift it out. And people who do this often also have to be very careful because let's say they were spot on.

I've seen this. They were spot on, correct? How did you know? This helped me so much. Now, you know, you walk a little taller.

I'm God's man, I'm God's woman. And this thought comes to you, you tell them, that's not God. That's you.

And pride. That's why this gift has a bad name. And that's why many churches abuse it because it's not just people just saying whatever they want.

You're saying what God has put on your heart to tell somebody? You better check yourself. And I would never say God told me to tell you. Personally, I would not say that.

And I believe with all my heart that nobody knows with absolute certainty, unless it's in His Word of Principle, that God told you to tell somebody something with 100% accuracy because we have the flesh mixed in there as well. We have our own motives, our own bias, our own opinions. It could be a great idea.

Like, man, I really sense this about someone. But how do I know that's God and not just a good idea, a compliment? And so it's a very interesting gift because I've had people, and in case they ever listen to this later, I don't want to put them down, but they just completely missed it about me, my life, our kids. It's like, it's silly.

Be careful. However, there have been other times where clearly God used this gift. It was so, and that's usually, it's precise.

It's like they're reading your mail. It's what you've been praying about. You need confirmation.

It really, whoa, Lord, you really used that in a powerful and profound way. In case you didn't hear it, when I told the story, many of you follow Mario Murillo. In 2003, I was in an event and he called me up from the back.

Nobody else he called up. And I didn't even know the man. But that week, in 2003, I remember me and Morgan, I'm like, the Holy Spirit had come upon me already.

I'm like writing my Bibles a mess, highlighting. I'm like, Morgan, this is what God's given. Like, this is gonna be bold.

I mean, this seems, people are gonna think I'm arrogant. I mean, this is like in your face, like that, you know, Tozer, Leonard Ravenhill. I'm like, this, golly, Lord, help my pride.

This is, what is going on in my heart, right? Because when it's a burning fire, burning in my heart, I'm weary of holding it back and I cannot. So we go to this thing. It was actually some healing type of crusade and kind of there to mock maybe, to be honest with you.

Because I, you know, you see all the guys on TV. But anyway, he called me up and I just posted on Facebook if you want to go and listen to it. But, and he said, young man, God is calling you to ministry.

And I'll never forget what he said. It's not arrogance, it's boldness. And God wants you to be bold.

Then he said, well, that was just coincidence. I don't think so. No, one person, exactly what we were praying about, exactly why I wasn't going to pursue the ministry.

So like this, this can't be, this is, I thought pastors like wore glasses and they smile all the time and they're monotone and they're just, you know, just quiet, quiet, quiet, quiet. So that's what it's for. And then he goes on to say, but there's a shell you need to break out of.

And I knew exactly what he was talking about because I was a people pleaser. You can't preach God's Word with authority and be a people pleaser. Hello, hello, it's impossible.

So just be careful. If I don't get through this whole sermon, I'll do it, I'll finish next Sunday because I don't want to rush it. This is so important because prophecy is a message from God.

It's a divinely inspired gift of communicating truth in a powerful way. So as we get into the study, we'll learn that some people, the Bible says there's a gift of prophecy or you'll be given a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge. And so God sometimes uses those things to help prompt us.

It's always helped motivate me. Another time, I know I've shared these before, but I hope it helps. I was in the back early morning worship and I had to say some hard things that morning.

I'm like, nope, Lord, I don't know if this is you or me because I don't know if this is anger. I don't know if this is you. No, no thanks.

I need to know if this is you. And some of you remember Marilyn Inos, remember her? Some of you, prayer warrior. She was right there like kneeling and I'm back there at six 30 in the morning and she gets up and she walks back over there and she goes, pastor, God just put on my heart to tell you, speak what he's put on your heart.

Do not hold back a word. And then she comes back up. Oh, coincidence.

Guys, come on. I could sit here and share story after story after story. But usually with this gift, the people they have reverence for God.

They're not just gonna throw things out there all the time and because sometimes they wanna impress you. They wanna act spiritual. So you have to be very, very careful in this area.

Open, but cautious. It doesn't control you, but it will give you some insight if you need that. Gotquestions.org said this about 1 Corinthians 14 and this is where it talks about prophecy.

Some people in the church thought they were getting a word directly from God, but they could have been wrong. It happens. You know what? Let me just bracket this for a minute.

Some of the most respected people I know, mainly females actually that have been to this church or don't go anymore, that have carried this, I would say they have this gift. There's been times where they missed it. Like just completely off.

So my encouragement would be to you or to anyone, be careful in this area. Be careful. Be careful.

Because there is prophecy foretelling, right? But also this word can mean foretelling. In other words, preaching God's Word. God puts a message on your heart based on His Word and you're prophesying.

That's what majority of the time, that's what it means. That they will speak God's Word with authority. As in the Old Testament, if a New Testament prophecy was contrary to sound doctrine, then the prophecy was to be rejected.

So we'll get into this a little bit more as we study 1 Corinthians here in the book of Acts. And in the book of Acts, when there are some prophetic words that come out, we'll reference this. But I wanna keep going on now.

Let me finish this here. So God says, "'I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. "'Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.'" That's why we believe women have every single role in the church, no restrictions at all, except in the position of elder, overseeing, usurping the authority of the man, being the spiritual leader in the church, where men sit underneath their authority.

We don't see any proof of that in Scripture. So we don't have women pastors, we don't use the word pastor, women pastor for that very reason. However, prophecy to everything, everything under the sun that the Scripture is clear about.

Again, looking to Scripture, then that's where we gauge our doctrine from. So, also, "'Your young men shall see visions.'" Oh, goodness gracious. "'And old men dream dreams.

"'And on my men servants,'' basically those who follow me, "'and on my maidservants, "'I will pour out My Spirit in those days, "'and they shall prophesy.'" Prophesy. I believe anybody filled mightily with the Holy Spirit will engage this gift of prophecy. It's basically just confronting that school board with boldness, or your neighbor, or a family.

There's something, it's not you, right? It's the Holy Spirit coming upon you to speak into that situation. This isn't like predicting something in the future, things like this. And this is what happened on the day of Pentecost.

This Holy Spirit came upon the church, and now they begin to prophesy, but also, they will see visions, and they will dream dreams. Do I still believe God uses those? Of course. I don't see how God would limit anything at all.

Because look at, even in the New Testament, obviously before the day of Pentecost, Joseph was warned in a dream. A couple times. Who else was warned in a dream? Three wise men were in a dream.

Daniel interpreted a dream. And so another area you have to be very careful on, or careful with, but I do believe in certain situations, God can give you that vision, or that you see something that God wants to do, or that dream, and it helps keep you on course. Again, based on biblical doctrine, based on your study of the Word of God, you're in the Word of God, you're praying.

These things can happen to where God will use it to steer you in the right direction. And again, I've given examples in past sermons. I don't want to do that now.

But also, young men, old men, men servants, maidservants, the Spirit is coming upon them. God's power coming upon God's messenger. And then Acts 2, we'll keep reading.

19, and I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be what? Saved.

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But it's interesting. He wasn't afraid to convict them.

He wasn't afraid to convict them. He's talking about the great coming and awesome day of the Lord. What that means is judgment.

Judgment is coming. And that's part of what happens when God's Spirit comes upon you. Often there's boldness to let people know there's judgment coming.

And you've heard me say this before, but I remember when I said, I think it was a few years ago, woe be to the school districts who promote sexual perversion and undermine the family. Woe be to the universities who mock God and teach students to do likewise. Woe be to the politicians who call evil good and good evil and have the blood of the innocent children on their hands.

Woe be to pastors and Christian leaders who encourage sin by their silence and who openly embrace apostasy. Woe be to the media who leads people astray by twisting the truth to promote a demonic agenda. Woe be to the film industry who bows to the whore of Babylon and the stench has reached the nostrils of God.

And woe be to the liberal churches who say that they love people, but they hate God's Word. There was a boldness to speak. He wasn't afraid to convict.

And that's what the Holy Spirit coming upon you, what you want, you might, you know, you want to be sensitive and you want to be gentle and loving, but also it will give you that boldness. The reason we're in the predicament we're in, in our nation is because we've been silent in a lot of areas. As soon as they should have tried, as soon as they tried this junk years ago, there should have been an outcry of prayer meetings and going, can you imagine just a parent showing up at a school board meeting like I mentioned a few weeks ago and saying, this is not gonna happen, we will fire each and every one of you? And you speak with boldness what God's Word says.

But what does it mean? The coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. Ellicott, a commentary I use, he said probably this was thought as a symbol of bloodshed and fire and smoke such that are involved in the capture and destruction of a city like Jerusalem, which as you know, that did happen in AD 70. However, Barnes says that notable day of the Lord here refers to that future time when God will manifest Himself in judgment.

And that's where I would lean towards believing and thinking. Also, I put it in yellow and red so you can't miss it. Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

So yes, you have this hard message. Man, God's Word is hard, judgment is hard, but then you have the remedy. You see the sickness, but you also have the remedy.

Whosoever turns to God, whosoever believes in the Gospel shall have eternal life. And then Acts continues. Men of Israel, hear these words.

Okay, they're speaking in tongues. People are hearing them talk about the goodness of God. Peter says, no, they're not drunk.

This is that which Joel spoke about. In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.

Your old men dream dreams and your young men see visions. And then he goes on to say, men of Israel, now that Joel is fulfilled, right? Hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, you saw the miracles, you saw the wonders, you saw the signs which God did through him.

As yourself also know. Peter reminded them of the miracles. Folks, it's always good to remember what God has done for you.

Anytime you get in that rut, anybody been in a rut? Every head should be shaking. Anytime we're in difficulty, we should remember what God has done through us. Because words carry weight.

Even weight to ourselves. Words carry weight. The words we say to ourselves, what we believe, what we think.

And so here he goes. Being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, in other words, God allowed this sacrifice to take place. Jesus for the shedding of His blood, for the remission of our sins.

He said, you have taken by lawless hands, you have crucified Him, you have put Him to death and God raised Him up having loose the pains of death because it was not possible that He should be held by it. And then He built His sermon on God's sovereignty. He built His sermon on God's sovereignty.

And He convicted them with the truth again. Because I'm telling you, crowds like this, I think they estimate 3,000 people were added to the church. They could be ruthless in this culture.

And He's just confronting and confronting, of course, in love, but He's telling them the truth. Basically, you put Christ on the cross. He reminded them that their actions could not stop God's purpose.

And then He goes on to say, for David said concerning Him, so this is interesting, He used Joel to show about what was happening the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down. Now He's going back to Psalms. He's gonna reference David where David actually says that about Jesus, your Holy One will not see corruption.

In other words, you're not gonna be buried in the grave where your body decays. The Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ will not see corruption. His body will not go to Sheol or one of these places where there was a holding.

And I'll talk about that in a minute. Yeah, Sheol was a Hebrew holding place. Hades was a Greek holding place.

But He said His body will not see corruption. David actually wrote about this, again, reminding them of the Scriptures. So don't be surprised if the tomb is empty.

His body is not there. David says concerning Him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad.

Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope. He used Scripture to build His case. He used Sheol.

He used Psalms. That's very important when you talk to people. It's okay to use Scripture.

Scripture to build your case. And I get sometimes irked a little bit. People say, well, don't, you know, with political things or other things, don't quote the Bible.

They won't take you seriously. Excuse me? Now, they have a point sometimes, you know, if you're in a debate and the Bible says, the Bible says, the Bible says. I mean, you can show through history.

You can show through how design. But at some point, it's okay to say, hey, the Scriptures say this, and then we believe this. And you use that authority of God's Word.

So He used the Scripture to build His case. Sovereignty is a solid foundation. May not be shaken.

He focused on God's sovereignty. How many of you know, or how many of you don't know what God's sovereignty is? Is there anybody here? I don't know if I need to explain it much. It basically means God's in control, you're not.

That's a quick definition. And I gave a sermon years ago on His sovereignty is my sanity. The only way to stay sane today is trusting in God's sovereignty.

This is why when we remove God from everything, this is why they can't figure out why are school shootings from, what was the first one, Columbine? When I was a kid, there was nothing. How, where are all these coming from? Oh, it must be the guns. No, it must be the heart.

The heart is wicked and deceitful. And so you remove God from everything, the schools, the courthouse, society, and you teach kids, hey, you came from monkeys. So you're just an animal.

You'll die and nothing, there's nothing to live for. There's no, I mean, we can get into a lot of the medication too, I believe. Some of it is playing a role in this.

But God's sovereignty, if we didn't have sovereignty, I'm so glad the Bible doesn't say, God asked them to repent, but didn't know how they would choose. Or here's what's gonna happen to the church in the future, but I don't know, and it could go either way. Can you imagine? His sovereignty is our sanity.

So he said, you will not leave my soul, talking about Jesus, you will not leave His soul in Hades, nor will you allow the Holy One, Jesus Christ, to see corruption, His body will not decay. You have made known to me the wages of life, you will make me full of joy in your presence. So just a quick lesson that'll be good for some of you.

Sheol is the place of the dead or the place of departed souls and spirits. This is why hell is a little confusing. In Hebrew, the Old Testament, they believe bodies will go to a holding place, kind of like a holding cell.

Anybody at LA County, Twin Towers, work down there? Okay, holding cell. Even we have some here at the local sheriff stations. That's not their final destination.

Hades is the Greek word for the same place. Both seem to be temporary. So when you hear Hades, Sheol, Gehenna, there's a couple different questions there.

Gehenna, then, is the New Testament, the final place of judgment. That's where the demons, humans that reject God, that's the final place they go, is hell. That's where Jesus said, where the worm does not die, fire's not quenched.

It was actually, the word comes from, I believe, one of the valleys there in Israel. It's where they just keep the trash burning all the time. It's a dump, it smells.

And He parallels it with that. But so He's saying, Jesus' body will not sit in Sheol or Hades, and He definitely won't go to Gehenna. Now, there was a big popular teaching years ago that said Jesus went down to hell, or went to hell, and we'll study it sometime, but basically, He goes down, it could be coming from heaven, coming to earth.

I don't really want to get into it now because I don't have the verse and we need to break it down. But basically, He didn't go to hell. He went and possibly, it sounds like, proclaimed that I have conquered hell, death, and the grave to the holding place there.

He led captives free. So it's very interesting there, but it is good to clarify that. The Lake of Fire, from GotQuestions, Lake of Fire is the final hell, the place of eternal punishment for all unrepentant rebels, angelic and human.

Those who have rejected Christ and are in a temporary abode of the dead in Hades shall have their final resting place in the Lake of Fire. Now, if I were to choose, that would probably not be a topic I would talk about this morning, but fortunately, I don't choose the Bible. The Bible chooses us.

We go through it scripture by scripture many times, and people say, oh man, that's heavy. Yeah, but look at the good news. Did you know you cannot really appreciate the good news of what Jesus did unless you see the bad news as the backdrop? The backdrop is eternal damnation, eternal separation, hell.

Jesus paid the price. All you have to do is repent and believe, and you're set free whosoever. So you really understand the good news when you understand the bad news.

And so it's just personal opinion. I think the church throughout America has got really weak in this area, and the picture they're painting of the good news is not really, people are like, yeah, I'll try Jesus out, man. He seems like a good guy.

He was one of those hippies back in the 2000 years ago. It sounds like love your neighbor. I really like that stuff.

And you just teach. Let's have a conversation. Let's not preach.

Let's get rid of the pulpit. Let's put up a couch. And just really dumb down the Gospel.

But the Gospel to be properly understood and embraced, you have to let people know what they're being saved from. But I like this part. You will make me full of joy in Your presence.

You will make me full of joy in Your presence. Joy comes from God showing you the way of life and you choosing it. And then he goes on to say in verse 29, men and brethren, let me speak freely to you about what David said.

He's been dead and buried, and his tomb is with us today. But being a prophet, knowing that God had swore with him an oath that the fruit of his body, Jesus Christ, he would raise up Christ to sit on the throne, he foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. So see, he's building a case here.

And then he goes right into the famous line that many of us love because it convicts people. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified. He called them out.

Can you imagine talking to everybody? You crucified Him. The reason we're speaking in tongues, the reason we're glorifying God, they're filled with the Spirit now. Jesus rose from the dead.

This is the fruit of that. You guys crucified Him. You put Him on the cross.

Can you imagine the conviction? And you won't hear this or feel conviction in a politically correct church which rejects God. Let's put up Isaiah and Jeremiah. This is what the people said.

Do not prophesy to us right things. Speak to us smooth things. I hear that too, you know.

Don't tell us hard things. Speak to us smooth things. And God judged the people for it.

And Jeremiah, I love that one too. God says the prophets falsify their prophecies. And the priests, they rule by their own power.

And my people love to have it so. Don't we as a culture, as a church, don't we love, well, I guess unless we're filled with the Spirit, carnal, we love smooth words. I just love church where I never am convicted.

I just love it there. And I've talked about this before. There's many mega churches that do incredible things.

I've got friends that are mega church pastors. But on the other side, a lot of them draw a lot of people because it tickles the ears. He tells me what I want to hear.

He tells me what I want to hear. I just become comfortable. I mean, they've got the smoke machines that are pretty cool.

Smoke come up, pastor's got skinny jeans, black leather jacket. And it's always positive, always encouraging, always uplifting. Thank God for those messages, right? We need that.

But if that's all you give, they're going to die spiritually. They're going to die spiritually. You can study it yourself.

Watch how quick you'll die, even quicker than fasting if you just eat white flour and water. Because your body's robbing all the nutrients to try to make up the lack. And you'll die much quicker than just fasting where the body slows down and takes just the right minerals and electrolytes and things like that.

Same things happen in church. They die spiritually if all they're being fed is the milk, the pleasantries. And that's why you'll see a lot of these people that just don't say anything that upsets.

I remember, I don't know the church name, but this last Easter, it was all over social media. I don't remember exactly what they didn't want to say, but they took all the stuff off of their Easter promotional material. Anything, maybe, I don't know if you, what was it? Yeah, the blood or something.

It was a very non-offensive marketing strategy. Now on one hand, yeah, you don't want to like the blood, you sinners, you're going to hell and passing out the, you know, if you want to, led by the Lord, you might want to season it with a little more grace and still speak the truth. Or sometimes you ever see those, I still remember now, when I was like seven, eight years old, you come across those little tracks with the little devil on the front and there's just a little book.

You're like, oh my goodness, this is scaring me to death. They had their point though, didn't they? Sometimes they'll wake us up. But they're so concerned with not offending the people.

Many times too, that's why with the elder team here, we decided we want to stay below our means financially. So we're not worried about, gosh, we're going to lose some people. There goes, I mean, some of these places have $20 million budgets a month.

You start getting bold, you start getting bold politically, and you'll lose some people. So tell us smooth things. Tell us smooth things.

Things we want to hear. I don't want to hear that conviction. And nothing has changed, has it? Now when they heard this, thank God, next slide, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart.

As we keep reading, we'll find out soon enough that that doesn't always happen. They want to cut out Paul's heart when he said the same thing. But in this case, they were cut to the heart.

So you have God's spirit moving, God's using Peter. He cuts them to the heart. And they said to Peter, what must we do to be saved? Whoa, isn't that incredible? But when people are cut to the heart, one of three things happen.

Maybe it's you here listening. They are tender. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

There's something about being tender. Blessed are the beggars, Jesus said. Tender.

Why is that so important? Because tender usually means teachable. Tender and teachable. Even if you're my age, you still better be teachable.

You say, I've never read the Bible, I know what it says, I've learned everything. No, you haven't. You haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg.

Humble, teachable, tender. Or you'll ponder it like many people do. That's actually the verse when Jesus said, many seek to enter the kingdom of heaven, but they don't enter.

You might read that and say, what? That makes no sense. Well, again, if you look up the word seek in the Greek language, what it actually means is to ponder or to contemplate. So many people, and I see this when I speak sometimes too, travel, they're like, hmm.

They'll come up, hmm. That was pretty interesting what you said. Hmm, I don't know though, I don't know.

I mean, I know there's a God and they ponder it. They ponder it till the day they die. And they still end up in the same place where people who reject it end up.

Listen, you can be sincerely wrong. You can be sincere and be sincerely wrong. Or the third group, what do they do? They get angry, don't they? They get so angry.

If you don't believe me, next time there's a LGBTQ parade, go down there with your Bible right here. Get a little soapbox. Stand on that and be smiling, full of love, no hate.

Just say, God, I love you guys so much. I wanna tell you the truth about this lifestyle. I don't think I'll see you again.

Isn't it true? They get, there's so much anger. Or when you confront a family member, they'll slam the door and they'll cuss you out. They get angry, angry, angry, because that's a work, that's a demonic work there that is rejecting the Gospel.

Again, words carry weight. He gave them a call to action, a call to respond. Then Peter said to them, repent.

Oh, I like when that does that, right? Pops on this point of repentance. And they let every, he said, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I think that cut out. Is that better? Okay. I don't wanna move past this word baptized because I just got in a conversation at the mall with somebody who, if you've heard me talk about before, it's called baptismal regeneration.

A Roman Catholic church taught it. Some of the church fathers early on taught it where you're not really saved until after you're baptized. And on my website, you can find an article I wrote on it.

Just put in the word baptism. I won't go into all that. Maybe I will in the future.

But there is a seriousness to it. He says, Peter said, repent. Oh, there it goes.

You gotta be careful with that. Repent, right? Change the way. And every one of you be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Back then, you were gonna lose a lot when you got baptized. It's a good way of checking your sincerity. Thrown out of the temple.

Loss of friends, loss of income. Also, personally, I think there's something dynamic that takes place. Maybe one pack baptism one day, but it's basically, it's also resembling down with the old, old man, up in the newness of life.

Something signifies that old man is dead. Baptism comes up in the new life. And we see the baptisms are very, so people, if you don't wanna, if people don't wanna get baptized, you have to, you gotta wonder what's going on.

And when I ask people that, as you know, the number one reason is I don't wanna get that serious. Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're already in the Lord's army if you're a true believer. You're gonna get serious.

This is a fight. This is spiritual warfare. I would really question the sincerity of your faith.

And that's why we have baptism after every single service on Sunday. So if you wanna get baptized, you've been waiting long enough, let us know. Let us know after the service.

We'll be in the prayer room. We would love to baptize you and for you to make that profession of faith and do it publicly. All right, I'm coming to an end here.

Again, words and actions carry weight. Our faith or lack of it affects others, doesn't it? If the mother is the first to become a Christian, there is only a 17% probability that everyone else in the household will follow. However, when the father is first, there is a 93% chance that the family will become Christian.

Guys, I don't know about you, but that's pretty serious. Even if the numbers aren't exactly perfect, I don't think we know it's exactly 93%, but it is when the father, the leader, why is that? Because God allowed the man to be the spiritual covering, the leader in the family, to lead the family in spiritual matters. And fathers, when you're lukewarm, your kids will often be lukewarm.

If you're critical, if you're a critical spirit, divisive, always arguing, you might know sound doctrine, you might have a degree in theology, but they'll be raised in a very unloving home and they will rebel. We need to own that. We need to repent of it.

Men that are also very controlling and dominating their families, that's not the Christian character that we're looking for. And just rest assured, I am not perfect. Ask my kids.

It's a struggle. But the difference is, are you teachable? Humble yourself and repent and improve. Or do you keep fighting? For example, in your heart right now, if you're ticked off at me, God's dealing with you in this area.

Guarantee it. Absolutely guarantee it. Because I said nothing out of anger, nothing out of frustration, nothing out of pride, it's just gospel truth.

That men, we've got to seriously look in the mirror and make some changes if that needs to happen. If a father does not go to church, even if his wife does, only one child in 50 will become a regular worshiper. If a father does go regularly, regardless of if the mom goes, two-thirds to three-quarters of their children will attend church as adults.

There's something about that person leading, right? Because if my dad doesn't want it, I don't want it. I'll never forget, when I was a little kid, we rented a church, it was a small church, way out on the east side, off J, I think, in like 25th East. And boy, it was always a fight in the car on the way there, because my dad did not want to go.

And often, he wouldn't go. And I'll never forget that. If he doesn't go, why do I have to go? And often, we'd stay home, usually when the Oklahoma Sooners were playing football, or any football game, or any Dodgers game, anything, any reason to stay home.

And I remember that, that impacted me, even as I got older. As I got older, because many of us, you know, we look up to our fathers, a lot of us do, that hardworking male figure, hero in your life, you know? And you get older, you're like, I don't need to go to church. That's for women.

That's for weak people. Remembering that example. Can you imagine if my dad became a Christian at a younger age, when I was a young kid? And then watching that example, of watching the Holy Spirit change his anger? Because I saw a lot of anger.

I saw doors ripped off hinges. I saw fist punched through doors, drywall. A lot of anger, that's how they did it in the 50s, 60s, wasn't it, correct? Anger, anger, anger.

Walking on eggshells. And that can only be tempered by the working of the Holy Spirit in your heart. It's the only way to get rid of anger.

You can't, I'll try better. Oh, I know I need to work on that. There's nothing you can do in your flesh.

The fruit of the Spirit has to be evident. It has to be coming out of you. You'll still struggle with it.

But the fruit of the Spirit will push out that anger. And a lot of our anger, let's be honest, is there's so many rabbit trails, I don't even know where to end this thing, but I'm going to in a minute. Anger is often a secondary emotion.

So if life is not about me, it's about others. Half my anger issues are over. Right? If it's about others or whatever you want, whatever your will is.

Anybody, you want to avoid traffic, angry during traffic, they call it road rage for a reason. And that anger, let me give you a tip, leave 10 minutes early. If you're going to the airport, an hour and a half early.

Get down there. It's not so relaxing to get down there, just have some lunch and just wait. And it's like, traffic.

You know when Malachi speaks, when Malachi spoke here, he said, he said, Shane, I don't know how in the world, how do you guys drive on the five and 405? No wonder you don't want to go to the airport. No wonder you don't want to go to LA. It's like crazy.

But I think it was a Monday morning when he was down there. But anyway, I'm going to close with this. You have three choices.

You have three choices this morning. Anger and hardness of heart. Anger and hardness of heart, right? Or you can ponder and you can procrastinate.

Or number three, you can become tender and you can change. Did you know this has to do with believers and unbelievers? If you're an unbeliever, you're hearing this later possibly. If there's anger and a hardness of heart, you need to repent of that.

Or if you're here pondering, procrastinating as an unbeliever, you need to make that decision. Hell is still filled with the procrastinator as well as the prideful. But I also want to just throw this out there.

Many of you have been pondering and procrastinating on fully surrendering your life to the work of the Holy Spirit. I know you. You're already making excuses why you can't come to many of the nights of rent in the heavens.

Because you don't want to rent your heart. Full surrender. Stop pondering it.

You're not going to be weird. You're going to be bold. You're not going to be weird.

You're going to change. It's very powerful. And then number three, or you can become tender and you can change.

Repentance is a change of heart. Listen guys, I want to share just a statement I wrote down. All week, I've been really pondering this.

How many of you, do you have little kids? Or you've had little kids? Or you have kids? Or grandchildren, of course? This really stood out this week. Your kids will stand alone before the Lord someday. Let that sink in.

My little Madison is going to stand before Almighty God someday. I mean that, tears, goosebumps. I don't know about you.

Grandchildren, whoever, they're not going to have mom or dad. They're not going to be able to call or ask. They're going to stand there alone before God Almighty.

And some of you need to make a decision today to father better, to mother better, to fully surrender your life to Christ and do all you can do. Because we are leaving an example to follow. Whether we like it or not, we're leaving an example to follow.

I didn't even get into a lot of statistics about how much more someone, a marriage is going to fall apart and they're going to get divorced if they see you getting a divorce. The statistics are alarming. The example we are leaving.

And some of you might say, Shane, it's too late. I've done too much damage. No, you haven't.

I've seen 45-year-old adults cry and weep and turn their lives over to God because they saw their 65-year-old dad or mom change their heart as well. So words carry weight either way. I believe there's life and death in the power of the tongue.

I truly believe you can kill people with your tongue. If you need to repent of whatever the Lord's showing you, I don't want to go down the list. Words carry weight, actions carry weight, but we can change those things today.

And the reason I get passionate about this, guys, I've talked and I've preached to tens of thousands of people over 24 years. Thousands of Christians I prayed for. And so many things falling apart in the church, marriages, families.

And often, many of those things can be corrected or could have been prevented had the people fully surrendered their life. And say, Lord, fill me. Fill me.

I don't have to be right in my marriage. I don't have to get the last word in. It's hard, isn't it? My wife texted me this morning.

I wanted to get the last word in, but no. I forgot my daughter, Gracie, at home. So she'll come to the second service.

Right, but she should have let me know. Humble yourself. I know it's a silly example, but magnify that to bigger examples.

Fully surrender. God, fill me with Your Spirit. Are your marriage issues? Your fights? Now and then, of course.

Hello? But all those things, Lord, it's for Your glory. Your finances, your jockeying for position at work. You're trying to be that tough guy.

All those things, Lord, whatever You want me to do. You just have the calmness and the joy of the Spirit. And I see it so many in thousands and thousands and thousands of Christians.

They are not filled with the Spirit. They're filled with the world. They're carnal, they're lukewarm.

And so my heart breaks, because I know that life. And it's not fun. Here's the thing, it's fun for a season.

It's fun for a season, but when that season's over, there's hell to pay.