14Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd:
Friends and everyone else living in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I have to say! 15You are wrong to think that these people are drunk. After all, it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16But this is what God had the prophet Joel say,
17"When the last days come, I will give my Spirit to everyone. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. 18In those days I will give my Spirit to my servants, both men and women, and they will prophesy. 19I will work miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below. There will be blood and fire and clouds of smoke. 20The sun will turn dark and the moon will be as red as blood before the great and wonderful day of the Lord appears. 21Then the Lord will save everyone who asks for his help."
22Now, listen to what I have to say about Jesus from Nazareth. God proved that he sent Jesus to you by having him work miracles, wonders, and signs. All of you know this. 23God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. 24But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power. 25What David said are really the words of Jesus,
"I always see the Lord near me, and I will not be afraid with him at my right side. 26Because of this, my heart will be glad, my words will be joyful, and I will live in hope. 27The Lord won't leave me in the grave. I am his holy one, and he won't let my body decay. 28He has shown me the path to life, and he makes me glad by being near me."
29My friends, it is right for me to speak to you about our ancestor David. He died and was buried, and his tomb is still here. 30But David was a prophet, and he knew that God had made a promise he would not break. He had told David that someone from his own family would someday be king.
31David knew this would happen, and so he told us that Christ would be raised to life. He said that God would not leave him in the grave or let his body decay. 32All of us can tell you that God has raised Jesus to life!
33Jesus was taken up to sit at the right side [b] of God, and he was given the Holy Spirit, just as the Father had promised. Jesus is also the one who has given the Spirit to us, and that is what you are now seeing and hearing. 34David didn't go up to heaven. So he wasn't talking about himself when he said, "The Lord told my Lord to sit at his right side, 35until he made my Lord's enemies into a footstool for him." 36Everyone in Israel should then know for certain that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, even though you put him to death on a cross.
37When the people heard this, they were very upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, "Friends, what shall we do?"
38Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit. 39This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live."
40Peter told them many other things as well. Then he said, "I beg you to save yourselves from what will happen to all these evil people." 41On that day about three thousand believed his message and were baptized. 42They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread [c] and prayed together.
I like Peter's explanation..."you're wrong...we're not drunk".
Then, he immediately credited the source. “This is what God had the prophet Joel say: "When the last days come, I will give my Spirit to everyone". Neither God nor Peter wanted this phenomenon to be recorded in history as evidence of “El Nino”. This was, unmistakably, God.
God isn’t into ostentatious displays of power…for power’s sake. This was leading somewhere. I think we know where. When all the pieces were in place…the power, the disciples, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ…a context was created that was undeniably clear:
It’s all about Jesus…
And then…another power…more amazing than natural authority over wind and fire showed up. 3,000 people believed and were saved and baptized. This doesn’t happen without some help. God just demonstrated his power over the human spirit.
And we know it was God. As precise as Peter was, I've read this sermon several times and it's not particularly compelling to me. In fact, it feels more like a lecture. He's wasn't exactly Ravi Zacharias. But that wasn’t the point. Paul says in Romans "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation." When the Holy Spirit does stuff the results are inexplicable.
So here's the first practical evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence in Peter's life. The listeners were convicted. They asked Peter and the other apostles, "Friends, what shall we do?" How does this constitute evidence? Simple...Jesus told us in John 14 that the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. Here we have it.
So, we learn that when we allow the Holy Spirit free reign in our lives profound things happen. Not only does nature bow to the Holy Spirit, but so does the human heart. I want it. I pray for it. It doesn't always happen. That’s hardly the Spirit's fault. He can only work with what I give him.
It's a choice we make every day.
Live boldly out there today...
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