Peter Tan-Chi - Experience the True Gospel
Everyone, a quick refresher, what is the Book of Acts about? Can you sum it up in one sentence? Let me tell you. "Acts", everyone reads: Jesus Christ continued to work through the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles and their people. So this is the ongoing work of Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are all about Jesus and His life. The Book of Acts is about what Jesus did after he ascended to heaven. He worked in the lives of the apostles through the Holy Spirit. What is the key verse of Acts? If you are wondering where the key verse is, this is the key verse in Acts: Read Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea. All the earth and Samaria, to the ends of the earth.
Therefore, the key verse is the mission given to us by God, which is to bear His testimony. But He supplies you, and what He supplies is the Holy Spirit. He said, You will receive power. The Christian life is not difficult; it is supernatural and impossible. You need the Holy Spirit. You need to understand the Holy Spirit. The outline of Acts is based on Acts 1:8 You shall be my witnesses, beginning in Jerusalem, that is, those around you who are directly affected by you, throughout all Judea and Samaria, as you go Farther, beyond your sphere of influence, to the ends of the earth. Here is a synopsis of Acts, a quick look at it: Acts has 28 chapters, the first part is the birth of the church, the introduction of the Holy Spirit, the protagonist is Peter, from chapter 1 to chapter 8. Next came the church's expansion beyond Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria.
The main characters are Philip and Peter, Acts chapters 8 to 12. The last part of the book of Acts sees the church further expanding to the ends of the earth. Acts Chapters 13 to 28. But you'll notice that Acts has no ending, which is strange. As I've told you before, Acts is still being written by you and me today. It's the Holy Spirit who is working through His people. So let me say it again, "Acts" is not finished yet. If you read it, you will notice that it does not have an ending. It only talks about Paul. Do you know why? Because CCF is part of the Book of Acts, we are doing what God wants us to do, and if you want to know why we exist, we exist to make disciples, in our Jerusalem, throughout Judea, and throughout Satan. Mary, to the ends of the earth. This is why we are passionate about church planting.
This is the Book of Acts, so one day, when my life is over, when your life is over, when Jesus returns, Acts will be over. I pray that you will be a part of the Book of Acts. One day, when angels write the complete book of Acts, how will lives be transformed by you? Are you excited? There is a difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Indwelling occurs once and for all, at salvation. But the filling of the Holy Spirit happens day after day, every moment, and happens when you surrender and surrender. I surrender my life to Jesus every day. I don't ask the Holy Spirit to come into my life every day. He came in and promised never to leave me, but I surrender my life to the Holy Spirit every day, so it's moment by moment.
The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit comes into your life when you are saved, and you are baptized, and baptized into the church, the word baptism... you become part of the body of Christ, that's what the Bible tells us. But the filling of the Holy Spirit can happen at the same time. For many of us, for most of us, the filling of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit happen at the same time. The only problem is this: you don't allow yourself to be controlled by the Holy Spirit all the time, so sometimes in your life you may not please the Lord, and you don't give that back to the Lord, and that's why you need to understand. However, this can happen at the same time, and you have to consciously say: Lord Jesus, I lost my temper, I lost my temper, but now I am turning around again and surrendering my life to You, please take control. have you understood?
So that's the secret. The Bible tells us that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is by faith and is a gift from God. The filling of the Holy Spirit is exactly the same as by faith, and it is also a gift from God. So our series on Acts is called Truth Matters. If I ask you the following question, if you don't mind, could you define what it means to be a true Christian? According to your understanding, who are the true Christians? The second question is, how do I become a true Christian? The third question is, why should I be a Christian? Why should I believe what I believe? Hopefully, by the end of this morning, you'll be able to answer these questions. What does it mean to be a Christian? Do you want to know? Seriously, do you want to know? This is why truth matters.
How can you really be a Christian if you can't even define for yourself who a Christian is, so today I want to share with you, experience the true gospel, guys, please talk to me, experience the true gospel. In Acts, we're going to be talking about Acts 2 today, Acts 2, Part 1, which is Pentecost, remember? Entered the Holy Spirit. In Acts Chapter 2, Part 2, it is written that the first public sermon in history was delivered by an apostle. What was the first sermon about? What is the first message about? In short, what is the most important truth? That is what God wants the apostles to preach to the public through the Holy Spirit. If you can only preach one message to the public, about how to become a Christian, what will that message be? This is it.
Acts Chapter 2, the first sermon in history. Are you ready to listen? Do you want to know what the first sermon was? You will be surprised. The real gospel is about Jesus. It is all about Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection. You will find that this gospel is planned by God. The gospel is not invented by man. It comes from God. Also based on the Old Testament, you will learn things about the gospel, which leads to repentance, true transformation, and ultimately, true forgiveness and salvation. So, are you ready? So the gospel has the following components, component one is Jesus Christ at the center, and you're going to learn that today. 2. It was planned by God. The gospel comes from the heart of God and is not invented by man. 3. It brings repentance. The gospel without repentance, the salvation without repentance, has not been heard yet, it is impossible. 4. It promises you salvation.
So what's the news today? The real gospel, you have to understand the real gospel, and not just understand it, you have to experience it. What does the word gospel mean? Everyone? The word gospel comes from the Greek word, Ευαγγέλίο Ευαγγέλίο, which means, good news. So the gospel means good news, so the original meaning of the gospel is good news. So if you go to a funeral, there's what's called a eulogy. That comes from the Greek word, good news. So what's the good news? What's the really good news? What is the gospel? are you ready? Okay, what did I say? It's all about Jesus. What about Jesus? You will be surprised. You can say a lot of things about Jesus, a good man, a teacher, a good moral example, but you'd be surprised how the first sermon ever focused on who He was, Jesus the Messiah, His Death and resurrection, that's what matters most, what Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, is, his death and resurrection.
Let's read, Acts Chapter 2, after Peter quoted from the Book of Joel, he quoted from the Old Testament, and then he gave an explanation, please read: Acts 2:22 All you people of Israel, please Listen to these words: Jesus of Nazareth is the man God has testified to you, through whom God has done mighty powers, signs and wonders in you, as you yourselves know. Now what Peter is saying is to remind people, do you remember? Fifty days ago, two months ago, what did you do to Jesus? Do you remember Jesus? What did he do while he was alive? So the Bible wants you to know that the gospel is about Jesus of Nazareth, specifically this Jesus, whom God has confirmed to you, who is from God, who works mighty works, signs and wonders, you know Why? Because God wants people to know that Jesus is not an ordinary person. He is predestined by God and chosen by God to be the Messiah and Savior.
Let's continue reading: Acts 2:23 This man, please note, Jesus is 100% human, and at the same time, He is 100% God, and I will explain this later. This man was delivered up according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God; and you crucified him to death by the hands of foreigners. You need to understand now, the gospel, the story of Jesus, the plan of Jesus is predestined, God's predetermined plan and foreknowledge, please listen to me, Jesus Christ and the gospel message did not appear by chance. No one has ever forced God to send. Jesus came to die for us. No one has ever forced God to love us and provide a solution for our sins. No one can do that out of God's own love for you and me. The Bible tells us that before the foundation of the world, even before the creation of the world, God knew everything.
God knew that you and I would choose to disobey Him. God knew all of this. God had wonderful conversations with His son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They all Agreed: We need to do something to save humanity from sin, which is why in the book of Genesis, back in Genesis, there is a prophecy about Jesus, that he would be born of the seed of the woman, not of the man. Descendants, there are prophecies about how Jesus will bruise Satan's head and give Satan a fatal blow. As early as Genesis, God told the entire world that Abraham's descendants would become the Messiah, so God has already foretold that Abraham ,do you remember? He has two sons, who are they? Isaac and Ishmael. God said that it was Isaac who would be the ancestor of the Messiah. The seed of the Messiah would come from Isaac. Isaac had two sons, do you remember? who are they? Jacob and Esau. God said, not Esau, but Jacob. did you see it? Everything was planned by God.
How many sons did Jacob have? Twelve. But God said, (the Messiah) would come from Judah. How many children did Judah have? But God said, from whom will the Messiah come? ah! Genealogy of Judah, do you remember how many children Judah had? One of them was named Perez, then Jesse, and then Jesus would come from David, King David. This is very important, because for the Jews, they could never understand, how could the Messiah be crucified? To them, the promised Messiah was a conquering king who would destroy Roman power and who would restore Israel to greatness. This was their concern. And then Jesus came, was crucified, and, oh, because of the resurrection, that changed everything. But do you know?
The Bible tells us that this was predestined by God, and God foreknows it, and He holds us accountable for our actions. The Bible says, You crucified him by the hands of foreigners, and He holds us accountable, in other words. That being said, God is in complete control of everything, but we are responsible and you can never blame God, OK? In other words, when you sin, you can never say, God has destined me to sin, and you cannot use this as an excuse. Because God gave you free will, how does free will work with God's predestination and foreknowledge? How do you reconcile the two? Do you understand my question? If you have a headache, it's too early. The Bible tells us that God is in complete control of everything, doesn't it? Yes. The Bible also tells us that you are 100% responsible for your actions. This is the amazing wisdom of God, who alone can reconcile the two.
As my physics teacher said, parallel lines will eventually intersect at infinity. If the finite understand the infinite, you destroy the character of the infinite. That's what Ravi Zacharias said, but don't worry. Now let's look at the Bible, Acts 2:24 God raised him up, you see, the point of the good news is, you crucified him, but God... Read it everyone: God raised him up, the resurrection of Jesus. Relieved of the pain of death, because he could not be controlled by death in the first place. In other words, the resurrection of Christ is everything. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, how could He prove that He was the Messiah, the Son of God? So what did Peter do? He's now using the Old Testament to prove that this is something God planned, so he's now quoting the Bible.
The Bible in Jesus' day refers to the Old Testament, so he's quoting Psalm 16, this is Psalm 16, and he's quoting: I see the Lord before me always; for he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. This is David's sense of security. Therefore my heart rejoices, my spirit rejoices, and my body dwells in hope. Notice that he is quoting the Old Testament statement about David, For you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you cause your Holy One to see corruption. You have shown me the path of life, giving me fullness of joy in your presence. This is the wonderful thing about Bible prophecy, with its immediate fulfillment and long-term prophetic significance. Immediate fulfillment, David is talking about himself, David is saying, My eyes are always on you, Lord, but what Peter said does not apply to David, You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.
What David is saying is not referring to some supernatural being. David is saying, you will not allow my body to see decay. What is David talking about? Peter was a great Bible teacher, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he now explains, he now explains the Old Testament, and everybody, please read this explanation. Peter said: I can tell you clearly: Regarding the patriarch David, he not only died and was buried, but his tomb is still with us today. Many of you who have been to Israel, I used to take people to see David's tomb, and then I discovered that it was also a legend. I mean, no one knows for sure where David's tomb is, but two thousand years ago, Peter said, you know where the tomb is. But if you ask me today, where is this tomb, I can only say, somewhere over there, somewhere, somewhere over there.
Now let's read it, because he was a prophet. David was not only a king, but he was also a prophet, knowing that God had sworn to him that one of his descendants would rise up to sit on his throne. In 2 Samuel chapter 7, God promised David: I will raise up your descendants, and his throne will be established forever and ever. This is called the Davidic Covenant. So God gave David a promise. One day there will come from your descendants a man whose throne and kingdom will have no end. Who does this refer to? Jesus. So the Bible goes on to say: David also foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of Christ. Note that this does not refer to a Christ, the Messiah, saying: "He was not left in Hades; See no decay".
Now let's read together, the key verses, read together: This Jesus, God has resurrected him. We are all witnesses to this. You see, Christianity rises and falls on the fact of resurrection. If there is no resurrection, why would you believe that Jesus is the Messiah? So the Bible tells us, the gospel, what is the gospel? It's about Jesus, his death and resurrection. So let me outline this gospel for you now, based on 1 Corinthians 15, and let's read it together, brothers, I want you to understand the gospel; what is the true gospel? He now explains, This is the gospel which I preached to you, and which you also received, and in which you stand firm. So what is the gospel? are you ready? do you remember? I told you, what is the gospel all about? Jesus, His death and resurrection.
So here is a synopsis of the gospel, 1 Corinthians 15:3 For the most important protos of all that I preached to you, the most important thing that you need to hear, which I also received, read it now: Even Christ He died for our sins, as it is written. Do you know why? Because Christ's death was foretold in the Old Testament, He not only died, He died for our sins. Folks, what is the gospel? Christ died for our sins. Again, what is the gospel? Christ died for our sins. And he was buried, and rose again on the third day, according to what is written. So what is the gospel? Christ died for our sins and was resurrected on the third day according to the Bible. In other words, the resurrection of Christ was not an invention of the New Testament, nor was it invented by the apostles. It was all predicted in the Old Testament. Have you understood?
So what is the gospel? Again. The good news? Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Now if you want to be very specific, you say, Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Bible, He was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, according to the Bible. Do you want the long version or the short version? Long, hallelujah! To me, no matter which version, just make sure you say that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day, according to the Bible. Now to prove His resurrection, you guys come and listen to this testimony, He now says: 1 Corinthians 15:5 And He appeared to Cephas, do you understand? He appeared to Cephas. Who was Cephas? That's Peter.
Then he appeared to the twelve apostles, 6 and later appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still there today, although some have fallen asleep; in other words, Peter is saying, Paul is saying, resurrection is a... The truth is, the gospel is historical, not a fabricated story. Jesus died and rose again. How do you prove that He was resurrected? He appeared to Peter, He appeared to the disciples, He appeared to over 500 people, and some of them might be listening, and He said, some of them might be dead, but many of them are still alive, you know?
According to sociologists, legends cannot occur within the span of 50 to 200 years after an event. Legends are created 200 years after the event. The crazy gospels you hear prove this. Because the Da Vinci Code misleads people, and because many of the "Gospel of Thomas" and other gospels were written after A.D. 200, legends have sneaked in. But that's not the gospel, that's not what the Bible says. The Bible was written by contemporaries of Jesus during his lifetime and after his death. have you understood? So this is what Paul is saying, He is alive. Then he went on to say, 1 Corinthians 15:7-8 Later he appeared to Jacob. Who was this Jacob? He emphasized James, who later appeared to all the apostles, because James was the brother of Jesus and was not listed among the apostles. Josephus, a non-Christian historian, tells of James, the brother of Jesus, and how he became the leader of the church in Jerusalem.
So who is Josephus? Josephus was not a Christian. He was a Pharisee rabbi. He was a Jew, but he was good at recording history. The Roman government used him to write history. He said that James, the brother of Jesus, was stoned to death in Jerusalem, because he confesses his faith. Why? Because Jesus appeared to his brother. You must understand that James was not a believer at first, and none of Jesus' brothers believed in him. But after Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to them. Even the Book of Jude was written by Jesus' brother. The Bible tells us that when Paul stated his faith, he said: At the end it was shown to me, like one who was born before the time of birth.
Can I tell you why I believe the Bible? Because how can you convince someone like Paul? He was full of suspicion and originally a hater of Christians. How do you explain the changes in his life? Unless there is a resurrection. Now everyone, please read together: 1 Corinthians 15:14 If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain. This is true. Then he goes on to say, 1 Corinthians 15:17 If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is in vain. You are still in sin. So, ladies and gentlemen, do you understand now why I believe it? Because Jesus died and rose again. Do you know why I believe it? Because the evidence for the resurrection is so strong that it's even harder to believe that Jesus didn't rise from the dead, because some people have said that people are willing to die for religion, and if they think that's true, I say it again, people are willing to die for religion. Die for their faith, if they believe it is true. But no one would die for a religious belief they knew to be untrue.
I say it again, people are willing to die for a religious belief if they believe it to be true. But no one would die for religious beliefs they knew to be false. You see, the skeptics say that the disciples fabricated the resurrection. They say that the disciples fabricated the Bible to create a new religion in order to say that Jesus died and rose again. It 's stupid to say that, if you make up a religion like that, why do you have to suffer and die for it, lose your family, lose your life, endure all the suffering, for what? Unless it's true. You see, my friends, if Jesus wasn't real, I wouldn't follow Him. I wouldn't waste my time and my life telling you about Jesus. Honestly, I'd be wasting your life. But why would I? A follower of Jesus? Because it's true, Jesus died and rose again. Because He was resurrected, He proved to us that He is the Son of God. You cannot truly begin to follow Jesus until you have this faith.
Many people today do not understand, who are Christians? Why are they Christians? Because they don't understand the gospel. What is the gospel? Jesus died for my sins, and He rose again from the dead, proving that He is the Messiah, proving that He is the Christ, the Son of God. My friend, is the resurrection real? That was the bone of contention. I admit it to you: that's true. There is no other explanation. Why did the disciples all become martyrs? What is the original meaning of Martyr? witness. Why did they die? Because they believe it. So, my friend, Peter goes on to say, He not only rose from the dead. Acts 2:33 He is exalted at the right hand of God.
Not only did Jesus rise from the dead, He is now exalted. The Bible says that when the name of Jesus is heard, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. So we There is an exalted Savior who received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured out the Holy Spirit, just as you see and hear. Remember Acts Chapter 2? The wind, the fire, it wasn't fire, it looked like fire, the Holy Spirit fell on everyone, do you remember that incident? They heard the wind, and then it came down like fire, and what did they begin to say? Dialect, intelligible language. There is this manifestation. Peter is saying, that's it! Jesus sent His Holy Spirit, and then the Bible tells us that He again quoted from the Old Testament to show us what it meant for Jesus to be exalted.
Acts 2:34-35 David did not ascend to heaven, but he said to himself: This is wonderful. He is quoting from Psalms. Do you understand? Psalm 110, if you look at the Bible, Psalm 110 is also prophetic. He was quoting Psalm 16, and now he's quoting Psalm 110 verse 1. The Lord said to our Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool". He used this verse to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Why? Please pay attention to the wording here, Lord, the LORD, capital LORD, what does it mean? Yahweh. That's God's name. The LORD, Yahweh, to my LORD, capital LORD, Yahweh to my Yahweh, my God, to the Jews, that is heresy, because they believe in one God.
You know, the Jews had a hard time becoming followers of Jesus because Jesus was considered God, He was God, the second person of the Trinity, so it was hard for them, you know? Jesus used the exact same scripture to prove to the Pharisees that He was the Son of God. Can I show you how Jesus did it? Okay, let me show you. Matthew 22:41-42 As the Pharisees gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: "What do you think about the Christ? Whose descendant is he"? Wow, they knew the prophecy. The Pharisees said, "A son of David". Yes! Jesus said: Right! Then Jesus said: How is it then that David, in the Spirit, called him Lord and said, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet'? It means complete victory.
How is that possible? Do you know what the Pharisees did? In Filippine means, can I answer? OK, so the Bible tells us that since David calls him Lord, how can he be a son of David? "How could the Messiah be the Son of David? Ah! You know the Bible tells us that none of them could answer a word. No one could answer. From that day on, no one dared to ask him anything again. Jesus The Son of God, Amen? Yes. He was worshiped in the past, and He is worshiped now. Do you worship Jesus today? My friend, Acts 2:36 Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for sure: God has Make him Lord and Christ".
This is the same Jesus you crucified. Here's the point: Jesus not only died and rose again, but what was He? Lord and Christ, Christ is a title, Messiah, Anointed King, and you nailed Him to the cross. You know when they heard this, the Bible tells us, this true gospel pierced their hearts. Acts 2:37: When the crowd heard this, they were heartbroken and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what must we do?” You see, the true gospel will help you realize that Jesus is not just He is a Savior, He is Lord, He is King. Our problem today is that we do not understand the gospel. We want a Savior but not a Master. Peter said: He is the Lord and the Christ. And you crucified Him.
You know, I realize, when you hear the true gospel and you see the work of the Holy Spirit, you're convicted. For many of us, we are very good at judging others. When we hear a piece of information, ah! This suits that person. You hear God speak, ah! This is for my husband. ah! This is for my wife. Can I tell you, if you understand the true gospel, you stop looking at other people and you start looking at yourself, and it will cut you deep in the heart: I am a sinner. I have sinned against God. That's what makes sin so serious, you see, if you just sin against people, that's one thing. But once you realize that you and I have sinned against the One who loves us, and He's not only the One who loves you, He's the Lord, He's the Christ, can I tell you what sin is, sin is rebellion against God, the sin is to defy God and say, Lord, I don't care about you, the sin is very serious. Because it's disrespecting God, it's disrespecting God, it's disrespecting God, it's disrespecting Jesus, and that's why most people don't understand the power of the gospel, because they don't realize who Jesus is, the Christ, my friend, this is you Need to learn.
You see, what is the testimony of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit? I give you a secret, share the good news of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, and leave it to God. I learned this from Campus Crusade. Ladies and gentlemen, when I share about Jesus, I talk about Jesus, but I don't force people to change because I believe it's God's job to change people's hearts, like today, many of you are listening, and now some of you will respond, Some people don't, that's God's responsibility, because the Bible tells us, John 16:8 He (the Holy Spirit) came to convict the world of sin. The Holy Spirit is the one who tells us what is right and what is wrong. It is the Spirit of God at work. Do you know what Peter said? They asked Peter: What should we do?
Do you want to know how to become a Christian? Let me show you how. After you hear the gospel, here's what you have to do: Peter said to them (everyone read): “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will receive The gift of the Holy Spirit. Heed this command: Repent! You and I want salvation today without repentance. Today we want eternal life and forgiveness of sins without repentance. You want a Savior, not a Master. My friend, that is impossible. Repentance is the foundation, and a gospel that cannot produce repentance is not the gospel. It is called a false gospel. There are many false gospels today. You can go to heaven without changing your life. As long as you believe in Jesus, it doesn't matter how you live. Yes, those are false gospels.
The real gospel is that Jesus is Lord, He died on the cross for your sins, He loves you, He rose from the dead, and because of His resurrection, you now have the power of the Holy Spirit can change you in your heart, that's why He can say: Repent! My friend, what does the word repent mean? Repent comes from this Greek word, metanoia, from two words, meta, noia, Meta, think back, later, you change, Noia, think, change your mind, real repentance is a change in your thinking, which brings about a change in behavior. You may be convicted of sin and not repent, for example, you may hear a article, you realize, wow, fornication is wrong, I feel so bad, I'm destroying my home, premarital sex is wrong, but that's just conviction, not repentance. What is repentance? Lord Oh, I hurt you and you loved me, I would forsake it. Many people experience condemnation without repentance. Today I'm going to ask someone from CCF to share with you what repentance really means. If you don't mind, Let's welcome Brent.
Praise God! Praise God! What does it mean to repent? Change your thinking and you begin to realize that Jesus is not just a Savior. Jesus is not your servant who you call when you are in trouble. Jesus is the Lord and the King of kings. He loves you and is for you. The one who died, every time you sin, you are disobeying the King of kings, and that's a serious sin, and that's what she found, Jesus, the one who loves me, he died for me. So look at my example, what is repentance? At one point, I was walking this path, away from God, PTC this guy was taking charge of his life, I wanted to do what I wanted to do, and when I wanted to do it, I was going to do it no matter what. Then I learned about the gospel and why I was a sinner. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God convicted my heart of sin. I knew I was a sinner. I asked myself: What can I do? Then the Lord reminded me: Come to Jesus. I surrendered my life to Jesus. You see, my direction has changed.
Now I follow Jesus. Does this mean that I will never sin again? No! Does this mean I will never make another mistake again? No! But what's the difference? The direction of my life has changed. I am now committed to pleasing God. You see, I am no longer the same person I used to be. I am not yet who I am meant to be. I am still on the road to becoming who God wants me to be. When I repented and gave my life to Jesus, He did something in my heart. He changed my desires. To be honest, I don't like the things I used to like now, and I'm still tempted, but something happened in my life that only God can do, just like Brent did when she committed her life to To Jesus, she was saved, from drug addiction, from incest, my friend, apart from the grace of God, apart from the gospel, how can you change? So you have to understand the gospel. The gospel is all about God and His love for you. But you need to do something, you need to respond, you don't become a robot, you need to admit, pierce your heart, I have sinned against God, before you admit that you are a sinner, why do you need to turn to Jesus?
And then I remembered a story about Frederick II, who was King of Prussia, and he visited a Berlin prison, and he noticed that when he went to the prison, all the prisoners were bothering him, I'm not guilty, I'm not guilty, Your Majesty, I am not guilty, but he saw a man next to him, lonely and depressed, and he went over to talk to that man: Why are you in prison? Your Majesty, it's because of armed robbery. Do you admit your guilt? Yes, Your Majesty, I am guilty and I deserve to be punished. When the king heard this, he issued an order. He told the soldiers: This man, he is guilty, release him from prison! I don't want him to lead all these innocent people into trouble! If you still don't understand this story, wake up! It's already afternoon! You see, all of us are pretending to be innocent, how can you be forgiven? If you don't admit that you are a sinner.
Years ago, I came to the Lord, and I told Him, I was sinful, and after I gave my life to Jesus, He did something, a surgical life change, and I was no longer The person I used to be, I no longer like the things I used to like, I am not yet who I should be, but I am becoming who God wants me to be. That, my friends, is repentance. Without repentance, you cannot have salvation. So what is the gospel? The real gospel is: Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day, proving that He is the Son of God and the Savior. What does He want me to do? How do I become a Christian? Peter made it very clear, the gospel is very clear. Peter said: Acts 2:38 Repent, and let every one be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Friend, what is baptism? Baptism in the New Testament is the first act after repentance. Why? Because baptism is a picture of you dying to your old self in the water, and then you come out of the water with new life in Christ. But baptism is a picture of repentance. You let your old life die and now you have a new life. See that? We don't understand repentance.
A story comes to mind, whether it's true or not, but it gets the point across. In this story, a man lost his wallet. A few days later he found the wallet. Someone wrote him a note and put it in the wallet. Sir, when I found your wallet and took your money, I felt Deeply guilty, so I gave your wallet back, and some of your money. If my guilt deepened, I would give back more money. My friend, is that repentance? no. Oh God! Fornication is wrong and it has messed up my life. I will only do it once a month. This is crazy. Repentance is: Lord! This is wrong, I don't have the power, I don't know how to live a holy life, but Lord, I feel sick and tired, I am a sinner, I want to change, I repent. My friend, if that's true, I guarantee one thing, God will bring you victory, because He is alive, He is in your heart, the Holy Spirit is in your heart, and He will change you, amen?
This morning, someone came to pray, and she told us what had happened, and while we were fasting and praying, she felt so sick and tired of her life, especially her smoking, her drinking, and she said, Lord, if you were Really, I really want to change. Do you know what she told us? When she got up the next morning she no longer felt the desire. You see, only God can do this, right? I know some of you are struggling, you are struggling. You know why? You don't understand the gospel yet. The good news is this: Jesus died and rose again. He's alive, and when you ask Him into your heart, He will come into your heart, and He will change you. That's the Christian life, it's Christ in us, amen?
My friends, do not be ambiguous about this verse: Acts 2:38 Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. This is not to say that baptism equals forgiveness of sins. The word eis, that is a Greek word that can be translated as "for" or "because". I suggest it be translated like this: Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for you. sins are forgiven. That is the appropriate translation, where is my proof? I would love to teach you how to interpret the Bible. You are to look at other passages on the same subject, and you are to exegete the Scriptures, explaining them in clear passages, the former being perhaps the explanation of the latter. There is a clear passage here, Acts 10:43 How do we receive forgiveness of sins? Everyone, please read: All the prophets testify for Jesus: All who believe in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name.
So how are we forgiven? When you believe the gospel, that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and that He rose from the dead, and if you believe that He died for you, and that He rose again, that He is God, there is forgiveness of sins, then please note, so what about being baptized? Peter himself speaks again in the same chapter, and he now explains, Acts 10:47-48 Indeed, who can withhold the baptism of water from them? These people received the Holy Spirit just like us. Please note that you were baptized after the Holy Spirit entered your heart. So when did the Holy Spirit enter your heart? When you believe. So baptism always comes after believing (the gospel). This is why in CCF we do not advocate infant baptism, because infant baptism is completely meaningless. They don't even understand that baptism is an act of obedience. It is an act to show: Lord, I Repent of my sins and I want to identify with you. This is why you must understand what it means to be baptized.
Romans 6:3 Don't you understand that everyone who is baptized into Christ Jesus was baptized into his death? So when we are baptized in CCF, we immerse you under the water, baptized into His death, and then when you come out of the water, so, we are buried with Him through baptism into death, just like Christ through Like the resurrection of the dead with the glory of the Father. So that we too can walk in a new way of life. What does it mean when you come out of the water? new life. It is no longer me, but Christ. Did you see it? To repent is to say: It is no longer me, but Christ. That's the gospel, it's wonderful.
My friend, some of you remember him, Nelson Reid? Nelson Reid was my father-in-law, my son married Jenny, her father was Nelson Reid, Nelson Reid was addicted to drugs growing up, and he was a very bad young man. He worked in a store, but he stole things from the store, which were sporting goods, and then he met Jesus. When he met Jesus, he Knowing that what he did was wrong, he realized that I was wrong, repented, and changed. He went to his boss and said: Boss, I want you to know that I have been stealing from you. Here is part of it. Products, these things are very expensive, leather gloves, baseball bats, ski equipment, very expensive things, the boss said: I forgive you, but there are consequences, I can no longer hire you, you know What did Nelson say? Sir, I understand, I will pay back any penny I stole from you, it's called restitution, repentance.
My friend, Nelson Reid, paid back everything he stole from his company. That's the true meaning of the gospel. The gospel brings genuine repentance. It's not salvation without transformation, my friend. That's a joke, so don't kid yourself, okay? Praise God, then who gives you the power to repent? Who gave you this power? Holy Spirit. He summarized the message: Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. In other words, the gospel is God calling you, God calling me, come back to me! I died for you, I love you, the gospel is all about Jesus, it comes from God, and He calls you. What must you do? You have to do something. Acts 2:40 And Peter solemnly testified and exhorted them with many other words, and Peter kept saying, "Be saved from this twisted age".
You see the gospel is all about grace, but you need to do something The thing, you need to make a decision, he tells you, how to become a Christian, how do you become a Christian? Believe (the gospel), get baptized in the name of Jesus, and then you have forgiveness of sins, and guess what happens? How do you become a Christian? You have to believe, Acts 2:41 So those who received his word... you accepted it, you trusted Him, and then you were baptized. How many people were baptized? Three thousand people. Imagine what they did now on that day? Next week I will tell you about these life-changing testimonies, about 3,000 people, the Holy Spirit entered their lives, but they did not speak in tongues, there was no wind, there was no fire, but there was life transformation, just like you today, God will Come into your hearts. You stay quiet where you are, and if you repent, He comes in, He begins to change you, and you will see the change in these 3,000 people, next week, you want to know? In the meantime, has God spoken to you?
Let's bow our heads. I want to ask the elders and pastors to come forward and pray for you. Do you know why? I know some of you need to repent, some of you need to come talk to someone, and I know God has spoken to you, and if God has spoken to you, and you need to repent, I want you to do something later, when When we sing, you come forward, we will have leaders, we will have pastors, pray for you, and as your heads are bowed, you bow your heads, how many of you can honestly say that God has spoken to you? You finally understand the gospel, you want to experience the power of the gospel, you want to experience true repentance, then please raise your hands, praise God.
There are many of you, praise God, I want you to come forward, those Those who raised their hands, those who wanted to come forward, there are many of you, remember? When the Holy Spirit speaks to you, you need to respond, and on that day, 3,000 people responded. I know God is speaking to many of you today. Your heart has been touched. Don't rebel against God. When God calls you, come forward and they will pray for you. We don't do this every Sunday, but this Sunday, the Lord led me to do something special. Praise God! Those of you who need to come forward, you have to come forward. Those of you who have raised your hands, come forward.
Father God in heaven, I thank you that your Holy Spirit is alive. Jesus, you are alive. You rose from the dead. You see the hearts of everyone here. Lord, we need you. We need your strength. To help us truly repent of our sins. In our own strength we cannot do it because we are weak. Lord Jesus, I thank you for the truth of the gospel, the gospel of grace, the gospel of salvation. We are saved because of you, Jesus. Now I pray for others who are struggling, wherever they are, please minister to them as they humbly come forward for prayer, Lord, some of us have to be baptized, and they know all this and haven't been baptized yet, Lord. Ah, let them also come forward and remind them that they too are baptized. In the name of Jesus, Amen! Amen!