Acts II and XXX. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized in the same day. They were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly. In the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul. Many wonders and signs were done by the apostles, and all that believed were together, and had all things common. He sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, that eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added daily to the church such as should be saved. I want you to notice that little word they in three verses, verse forty-one and verse forty-two, and verse We'll have occasion to refer to that in a few minutes. Now in this chapter, I think this is about our seventh message on this chapter. We'll have one tonight on the subject of tongues that is getting right, though tonight is, that's right, on the subject of tongues. Just what are the facts? And then next Lord's Day, A week from tonight we'll conclude our studies by taking up that very important chapter where you have more said about tongues than any other chapter in the Bible in First Corinthians fourteen. We'll try to analyze every verse in that chapter so as to get things straight. For I do believe that the Lord's people need to be straight on the subject of the tongue. But this morning We want to speak upon the manifestations of the Spirit and the marvels of the people and also the man, Peter, and his message. We have in these four verses of the chapter, verses one to four, the day of Pentecost. There you have the emphasis on the day. Then you have the company that was gathered in the upper room, a hundred and twenty. Then you have the place. Then you have the sound, the mighty wind that was heard, and the light coming from the fire, and also the power that was apparent, the power of the Holy Spirit, and then the endowment of the Spirit upon those who were there, speaking of service, for it sat upon each of them. That was their endowment for service. Now, here you have all the members of the church, and I want to say this, all the members of the church, as far as we know, as far as we can see, all the members or Christians that were saved for the first seven years were Jews. Now, that's very clear, because when you come to Chapter Eight, you have Samaritans, and they were neither Jews nor Gentiles. In other words, they were half-breed. half Jew and half Samaritan. And when you come to also the unit of great authority that was coming home from Jerusalem where he'd gone up to worship, which proves that he was a proselyte to the Jewish religion, but he was an Ethiopian. And you don't have the gospel reaching the Gentiles, the pure Gentiles, if you come to Canadius in chapter ten. And if you look at the dates in your Bible, you'll find there's about seven or eight years between Pentecost and chapter ten, and all in between those who came to Christ as far as we know. We don't have any other evidence, but what they were Jews, converted Jews. But although they were Jews, I want to say this, it wasn't Judaism that they believed. They had come to know something else. they'd come to find Christ. In other words, it's Christianity that is emphasized and not Judaism. And the great difficulty of those days was this, that these Jews, when they found Christ, they were so steeped in the religion of their fathers, they had tremendous difficulty getting delivered from tradition and to see the pure light of Noonday Christianity. And this was why the Apostle Paul took such pains with them and was so patient. And also the book of Galatians goes into the detail of legalism associated with Judaism and liberty that's found in Christianity or in Christ that stand fast in the liberty where with Christ that made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. And although those days in the first Seven years of the church history were Jews. It was not Judaism that they believed, but Christianity. You notice the wind here, and I think the wind may symbolize the spiritual constitution of the church. Here's a multitude, and here there's a standing out in the field, and the strong wind blows. Well, they're all enveloped. They're more or less all covered by the wind. And when the Spirit came on that day, it certainly means that the Spirit of God embraced them all. It speaks of the Church's spiritual constitution. All one hundred and twenty were born into one condition, one body, the body of Christ. Now, as well as we get there, as we point out in an earlier message, a hundred and twenty people went up into the upper room, one person came down. You say, is that right? Well, one person in Christ came down. They were a hundred and twenty different individuals when they went up. But when they came down, they were one body in Christ. And you looked at them and you could say, There is Christ gone. because they had been by one spirit all baptized into one body. And from that day to now, every person who has been saved by the grace of God has been immersed into the body of Christ, which is his church. So it's nice that we get that clear in our minds. Then you have also the fire, speaking of the individual possession of the spirit by those individuals. The wind coming and representing, and it was the Spirit of God, speaks of the cementing together, the uniting together of the hundred and twenty people. Nevertheless, each individual had a portion for himself, and it speaks of the individual's possession of the Spirit, for he sat on each of them. That's a wonderful thing to know that when I accepted Christ, I was baptized into his body, And now I have a first portion, all my own, I can enjoy the Holy Spirit to my heart's content. And the tongues could speak of the universal commission of the church. Many tongues. There you have the universal commission of the church. Now there's a big difference between baptism and filling. You only have one baptism of the Spirit of your Bible. And going through the Acts, you have many fillings. One baptism, many fillings. That one baptism embraces every child of God from Pentecost until when Jesus comes. That one baptism embraces and includes them all. That's very clearly taught in your Bible. But Christians as individuals can be filled with a spirit. Here you have your position in Christ, and you have Christ's place in you. I am in Christ, making me one with all believers. But Christ is in me, for my own individual personal enjoyment. I am in Christ, there I have my security. Christ is in me, there I have the source of the power that I need, to live a Christ-like life. So there is quite a difference in these two points. Baptism of the Spirit and the filling of the Spirit. Now, baptism once for all. The Spirit can be something that is oft repeated and walked. You find these folks on the day of Pentecost being baptized for the Spirit, but after that, several times as we see, we'll see going through these chapters, they were filled with the Spirit. It's something that can be repeated, something that can be repeated. I hope we as Christians know something of it. Now when you're at home and you're not doing anything of any great significance or importance, you can go around the house and you can enjoy peace and security and be happy singing, making melody in your heart. But when you face service, when you face witnessing to someone else, when you face an audience, when you face a task, you need extra help. You get that little portion for yourself around the house. Your own personal enjoyment. But when you undertake to do something for God, you need additional help, you need additional power. That's where you find the Spirit's filling coming in for anointing and for service. And I trust that we can get those two points clearly in our minds. We might say, put it this way, that in connection with the baptism, you have the vessel is in the element. But in connection with the filling, the element is is in the vessel. You get the form. In connection with the baptism, it simply means the vessels are in the element. You have a great big tank of water. You could put a thousand little tiny vessels in that element of the water. But all those vessels, there they are immersed. They're all as one. beneath that water. There you have the vessels immersed in the water. But then when you take one of the vessels out, you have some of that element in the vessel, that individual vessel. I am in Christ that united me with all others. Christ is in me. When we're baptized by the Spirit, we're baptized into the element of the Spirit, when the Spirit of God is in my heart, the element is in me. The Spirit of God is in me as an individual. Baptism makes Christians, the filling of the Spirit makes us look like Christians. Now there's a big difference. Being baptized by the Spirit makes us Christians. God sees us in Christ. But you know the world has got to see us. and how it goes is by our being filled with the Spirit. There is the spiritual life of the child of God. And this is very important. The baptism makes us Christian, the baptism of the Spirit. But the filling of the Spirit makes us look like Christian. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, gentleness, faith. I think I mentioned a few years ago about the little girlie that came home, and she evidently was quite a thorn in the side of her young brother. And she came home and she said, what, you know what? What? I got a new heart tonight. She'd gone to a meeting, and she'd gone up and given her heart to the Lord. She said, I got a new heart tonight, he said, sure. She had a good point. She showed it. Now, she couldn't reach in there and pull out something tangible, said Eddie. The new life was something intangible. Something you can't see with the naked eye, or the eye of nature. Only can you see it in attitudes and actions. Let me see your heart. For unto the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. That's plainly thought in the Scriptures. Now you have the marvel of the people. We're not going to go into that tonight. It's in that today, this morning. We'll do that tonight. We'll go into the subject and the fact of tongues tonight. We hope you'll be back for that. But I want to get into the man and his message. Peter. Notice here that Peter lifted up his voice in verse fourteen. Here is dynamic, forceful, powerful Peter. What a difference from when he stood beside that fire? And a little maid came up and said to Peter, Thou art one of this man's disciples. Here's the mock. He quailed before a maid. He was afraid to acknowledge Christ before the girl. This is a different Peter. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up with a loud, dynamic voice. He lifted up his voice. He's not afraid here. He's got courage. Makes you wonder what changed Peter. I think the change took place on the seashore, and one of the mornings after Christ had risen from the dead. Peter had said to the other disciples, Christ was dead, or rather was before Christ. Peter didn't know Christ was risen from the dead, but Peter hadn't seen him. So after Christ had been crucified and buried, Peter said to God, let's go fishing. That's what they said. They said, we're going to go with you. Here's Peter setting a bad example. He was evidently a leader. He said, I've won a fish. That's the end of that. He followed this man for three and a half years. He thought he was the Messiah. But he's dead, buried. That's it. I'm going to close the door of the pass. If I've opened to the dead, I'm going back to my grave. for that man called me for the next. That's not there. A bad example for others went with him. But here is Peter, and he's a different man. He now, by the seashore, has met that one, till he knew, had been crucified and buried. They were out fishing. They tore it all night. They had caught nothing. I tell you they weren't in a very good mood. For putting out those big nets that they used at those times, and to pull them in again, and let them out, and pull them in again, and that water being cold, that big pile of nets on the boat, and they caught nothing. Now that's about the truest fish story you can give. They told all night, and caught nothing. And the Lord happened to be on the shore. They couldn't see through the morning haze who it was. He said, Let down your nets on the right side of the ship, and he shall find. Now, that could have touched off a big argument. Here are seven experienced fishermen, and here's an unidentified man on the shore telling them to let down the nets. and the inflows are great, multitude of fishes. They could have easily got it. And I hadn't got an argument going. What does he know about fishes? And here we've been throwing all around here. This area has been covered during the night. It's not going to think on what's the difference in the width of our hole. Pull in these nets and let them down about eight or ten feet away from that shore. But there was some authority in that voice. Let the nets down on the right side of the ship. They were on the wrong side. And he shall find. And here are these big, brawny fishermen. We don't have any evidence that they complain. And they get these nets, and they put them down on the right side, and they encode a great multitude of fish. The Lord commanded about every fish in that lake to make for that net. and they enclosed a great multitude of fishers. And John said, It's the Lord. Here is love. Love that leaned on Jesus' foot. Love that's quick to be kept. And John said, That's the Lord. And here's Peter. When he got that man, it's a wonder he didn't dive off the other side of the ship. For the last time you saw this man, just about the last time he denied him. And he let the others astray. He said, let's go fishing. I've given this whole thing up. No, no. The Lord's speaking, Peter, I called you from that business. And you went back to, can I not say to you one day, follow me and you let your father in the boats and the nets and you're following the sea. And you've gone back. When Peter heard John say, it is the Lord. There you have love detection. He died into the sea. Here you have love's energy. And he swam to shore and he and the Lord had a little chat that morning because the Lord had breakfast with him. You know, he can be independent. He didn't need all those fish they caught. When Peter got to shore, there was a fire and a few fish ready for breakfast. Where to get those fish? Well, he just planned to come up out of that lake. He didn't need all their fish. The Lord doesn't need all you guys. What I've got either, he can get along with us if he likes. He can be independent. But when Peter was there, he said the others, they came in pulling the net. They came and I'll tell you that was quite a job. But here is Peter. And Peter has a little conversation with the Lord on the shore that morning. I believe he is where Peter was restored. Peter was restored. How wonderful to be restored. Oh yes, we all know something of slipping at times. We need restoration. After this experience of us no more dumped in Peter's heart, I know that on that day and on this occasion, at Pentecost, Peter rising himself up in all of his full length of about six feet, four or five inches of strong, drawn infigion, putting himself up to his full height. He lifted up his voice. He says, Ye there, Peter. In other words, I've got a message for you. Here is brave, bold Peter. That's the man. His message. You know, Peter charged the message home to them, a message of awful guilt. In verse thirty-six. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly. that God have made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both were in Christ. Peter, don't you know that dangerous, to charge those people with the death of Jesus Christ? Peter wasn't afraid. And he addressed them. Well, they could have said, we didn't put the death of Romans for them. Yes, but you were behind the Romans. The Romans were carrying out what you wanted done. And Peter, he drives his message home. He charges them with their awful guilt of the death of Christ. Ye have crucified and slain the Lord of life and glory. Now I'll tell you, there was no beating around the book. And what we need today is men that will not beat around the bush. There's a message to turn. There's a message of authority, and we can't soft-pedal that message, or water it down or diluted it in any way at all. He also championed a new faith. He tells them here, began with a man approved of God in verse twenty-two. We didn't read that this morning. A man approved of God, Jesus of Nazareth. He speaks of his power in the miracles and wonders. He proved his person. He was crucified verse twenty-three. And verse thirty-six. And what do you say? And you did it. You did it. Here is Peter in fellowship of the Lord. Not the Peter who trailed before a girl, but Peter who was strong. He was in the spirit. He feared no man. And he delivers his message, a message of a crucified Lord. And he says, You did it. He laid the blame where blame belonged. You know, a man is to be judged by his opinion of the blood of Christ. He says, you shed his blood. You shed his blood. And over in Hebrews chapter ten, you read some very solemn words that I've quoted, I suppose, hundreds of times in my life and ministry. Paul says, he that despised Moses' law, dies without mercy. under two or three witnesses, of how much sore punishment supposed ye shall even thought worthy, who were throbbed under foot the blood of Christ. The countenance of the blood of the covenants of which he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and a despise unto the spirit of grace. You judge any man by his attitude about the blood of Christ. When I was in Carolina years ago, the pastor of the first church said this, He said, He had no more respect for the blood of Christ than if it were the blood of a hog. That came from the lips of a man who told as a preacher. Any man that talks like that has like thoughts of God, he has like thoughts of sin, he has like thoughts of atonement. and I'll judge a man on the basis of his thoughts, his attitude for the blood of Christ. Here is Victor, and he's accusing him of the blood. God says it's precious blood. God says it's sinless blood. But woe be unto any man or woman who calls it less. God says precious blood, sinless blood, and the very blood of God, the church which he purchased with his own blood. And we can't say too much of the blood of Christ. Any man that will be little of the blood of Christ, I belittle him. His statue shrinks in the measure he reduced the knowledge of that blood is the only thing satisfied God and Savior. And this is the point that Peter is driving home to the ruler of the Jews. Then he takes up the subject of Christ's resurrection and present life in verse thirty-six that we read. He has shed forth this too in verse thirty-three. He has shed forth the Holy Spirit. That's nice to know. He died goes again, he ascended, and says, Peter, he has shed forth the Holy Spirit. Christ was the one who set that spirit down on the day of Pentecost, and the Spirit could not come until Christ had gone up. And we read that in the Gospel. And that was the promise. So here is Peter, and he's challenging these rulers of the Jews, these scribes, and these Pharisees. And there's no quiver in his voice of timidity. Peter lifted up his voice. He presented the case. He drove home his point. Peter's challenge, and I'll tell you this, his challenge was to the most deep-seated presence. All that was ancient to those Jews, venerable, then to think of their fanatical Judaism. with its fearsome opposition. And Peter looked in the face of those men. He knew right well their deep settled convictions, their tradition. He knew their prejudices. He knew their hatred for the gospel he was now presenting. They displayed their hatred when they cried concerning Christ away with him. You know, a pious man would be no righteous. He knew the fearfulness of their persecution, and he had more to learn later on in the Acts about the terrible, fearsome persecution of these infuriated, angry leaders of the Jews. Peter wasn't afraid. He laid the truth on the line, and he said, You may. are responsible for the debt of Christ. That's the kind of preaching we need today. He would not cheapen his message for finances, for friends, or for foes. This truly, he was unconfirmed according to the academic standards of today. He had no college tie to wear. He spoke with no rhetoric or rhetorical finesse. No, he didn't. Just the plain, blunt truth that you would expect from a holy fisherman filled with the Holy Spirit of God. I would sooner listen to a man preached a day who had never gone to school in life. and he would stumble at it, the foolish drama. But if he talks about the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for him, who shed his blood for him, who saved him, who was keeping him, who was precious to him, more than life, and that same Jesus was from his back, to save him home to heaven, I sooner hear a ignorant man use spelling, poetry, and program or message and language than to hear the most sophisticated, educated man in the world, who gets up and uses a lot of language that's a way over the head of the audience. Like a lady who decided she was going to go to church, something got her worked up, but maybe she was leaving religion out of her life. And so she thought she had a Bible, and she hung it around the house and found it. And she went off to church with her Bible. This is about the first time in her married life she'd gone to church. Her husband was quite a surprise, and yet he was a little pleased. So when did she come back home? Well, he said, How is your life? Well, she said, Well, all right, but I took the long walk. He says, he took the wrong book, and he's with the Bible. Yeah, but you know, I should have taken the dictionary. Well, that's true. We need the Bible. And in the Bible is the simplest, yes, most faithful, most forceful of powerful language you can find. When Jesus Christ speaks of people being saved, he uses a little word, God, came, received. Think of John v. Sixteen. For God so loved the world that he gave his only God the Son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have at the last in life. Twenty-five words. And you don't have to stumble over one of them. Simple language. That's how simple salvation is. And that's what we need today, is the simple old-fashioned truth. And I'll tell you, it's plain enough and it's broad enough. God wants us to preach that message. Now think of the results of Peter's blood preaching. What do we read? Verse thirty-seven. they were pricked in their hearts and said, what shall we do? They were pricked in their hearts and said, what shall we do? That's the kind of results you get when you preach the word. People get pricked in their hearts. Why some congregation there, the preacher, pricked them in their hearts. They get inspired more time. that's too uncomfortable we don't like that kind of preaching ah but this is the fact that God gives to every one of his servants you preach my word simply and you preaching the power of the Spirit of God and the most courageous men will be great in their hearts and they'll say what shall we do they were conscious of their guilt what shall we do. Friend, I trust that you're asking that question this morning. You'll notice I drew your attention to that word day. Possibly two million people had gathered on this occasion as far as we can gather. Before that feast, they came together for the feast of weeks. And of course that culminated with the beasts of Pentecost. And these people had come possibly two million. And out of two million, three thousand souls were saved. When the law was given on Mount Sinai, three thousand souls were killed when the law was given. But when the gospel was preached, three thousand souls were saved, just the opposite. And here you have three thousand souls What did they do? They gladly received his word. That's what it tells you. And Lord, when Ephesians one thirteen, you read practically the same language, in whom he also trusted after that he heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that he believed he were sealed with that Holy Spirit of God. So they gladly received the word, that's the first thing. The second thing, they were baptized by the Spirit. The third thing, they continued steadfastly. In the Apostles' doctrine, they continued steadfastly. You know I like that. Here's proof of reality. They continued steadfastly. It showed that something real in them. Thus they continued, and their persecution was severe in those days, too. Not just an emotional excitement or mass hysteria breeding a Greek and sad crop or harvest of backsliders, which is often the case today. No, these people were really sick. I believe the three thousand that are referred to here of the three thousand that you find, not only in verse twenty-one, and they gladly received the word. Verse two, they continued steadfastly. Verse forty-six, they continued daily with one accord. The same crowd, three thousand. Every time you see them, there they are, right to the last one. And here you have the wheat separated from the chag. When people have been born again by the Spirit of God, it's a real work of the Spirit, but it's this one. They're going to continue standing up. When I've had people time and time again come up here and tell me they got saved, and I don't see them for a month or two months, I cross my fingers. I have a reason. Those who really get saved, they continue. very fast in the Apostles' doctrine and the other things we've got here. And I haven't time to go into them all. I'll just run over them. You can read them for yourself. The Apostles' doctrine. That's how all this is preserved for us in the New Testament. Let's Bible study. They continued in Bible study, the Apostles' doctrine. I say that embraces all the cardinal truths present-day Christianity and fellowship. That's the next thing. First they received the word gladly, second they received the Spirit, third they continued steadfastly, fourth what they continued in the Apostles' doctrine, then fellowship, the church family. There you have the church fellow family. The Holy Spirit produces this when all believe the same thing is false. If, for instance, he says that you all believe the same thing. You all speak the same thing. That's fellowship. What fellowship has light with darkness? What fellowship has a fundamentalist with a modernist? None at all. It's only when you agree. And if you husbands and wives agreed on any point, every point, you'd have sweet fellowship all your life. Slowly when we agree we're in full accord, you're going to have fellowship. When something comes in that divides that fellowship, splits it. One takes one view, one takes another. You don't have fellowship. But it's only when a group of Christians get together and they all believe the same thing. The Word of God is the guide. If they agree on any point, take a subject of baptism. If one person came here and he believed in immersion, which we all believe, as far as we knew, we had fellowship. Someone said, well, I believe in chlorine. Someone else said, I believe in sprinkler. Someone else said, I don't believe in baptism at all. You don't have fellowship. But when you all believe in baptism by immersion, you've got fellowship on that point. When you all believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, when you all believe in the virgin birth, when you all believe in the blood of tomen, when you all believe that once they say forever, when you all believe in the second coming of baptism, you've got fellowship. That's what it means. They continued in that fellowship, breaking of bread as the Lord suffered worship. Prayers, there's your prayer meeting. Unity, all things common. The day of forty-six, the same as day of thirty-one, the same group. Liberality, yes, they were liberal. They divided what they had among themselves. That's sacrificial giving. One accordness, with one accord, all in full agreement. One, and there's a joyfulness there. clothes of first forty-six, and they continued daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house to eat their meat with gladness and signals of heart, praising God and having favor with all men. Yes, here you have their testimony before God and their testimony before men. Praise in God, having favor with all men. And the Lord added to the church such as should over being saved. Here you have scriptural addition. The Lord added. Not only did he add to the universal church the body of Christ, he added to the local church. And if God doesn't add them, we don't want them. God has done through the answer. It's when we put on undue pressure and employ and use undue takes undue tricks to get people to join the church. Then you're going to have difficulty. But when you let God by his spirit, quickening his words, in human hearts, and he answered, then you're going to have harmony. You're going to have God's presence and God's blessings. And here you have gold, and our gospel level, the Lord added to the church, such as should we say. Now here's the result of Peter's plain preaching. I trust you can help by just more or less a representing of the sermon that Peter brings on the day of Passover. Shall we pray? Our Father in heaven, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come to be and ask thy blessing. May it please thee in sovereign grace to honor thy word and speak to hearts, oh, that there might be hearts here this morning pricked by the Holy Spirit. Father, there might be those who will cry out, what must I do? This will delight thee. Thine ear is sensitive to such a cry from a human heart. It makes heavenly joyce when men and women are crying out what must I do to be saved. O God, grant of someone, may this very morning be like the public. God, have mercy on me the sinner. Let it bless and edify thy people. This line of word we ask in the Lord Jesus' precious name. Amen. It'll be about seven or eight minutes of music before the beginning of the next message. Amen. One day while walking along my road were than no help could I see. There came to me Jesus who lifted my Lord, my Lord, and my Savior is here. I longed for a friend, but my Spirit for someone whose heart with compassion or foe. One day I met Jesus who lifted my load. Now there's no one like Jesus.