For Everyone Everywhere [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. The treasure has arrived and is much better than any of us ever imagine. The great, terrible, wonderful day of the Lord has arrived, and the promise of a descendant of David on the throne has been fulfilled.

That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series Unlimited, as presented at Rinaldo Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I'm going to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries.

As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special author. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Now, more on this later in the program. But right now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. It's fascinating that Peter, Peter was the preacher of the Pentecost message, the first Christian sermon. Peter, and I say that because remember, Peter's the one who denied Jesus three times.

In fact, the third time that he denied Jesus, as we read about in Matthew 26, the third time after he denied him, most scholars think he cursed him. After a little while, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, certainly you are two or one of them, for your accent betrays you. And then Peter began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not know the man.

The language scholars says would be like Peter saying, I don't know the blank, blank man. When the heat was on, Peter was afraid. He was a coward. What had changed was so remarkable that he would be the boldest person in Jerusalem that day.

Remember, beloved, and if you're considering Christianity and wonder how could I ever think that it was historically real, all it would have taken to stifle this movement, all it would have taken to stop Christianity would be to produce the dead body of Jesus because the entire message was built upon the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Boldness had come because Peter knew that Jesus was alive. And now that the Holy Spirit had come and filled him, he became courageous.

Cowards do not propagate a lie that will bring them no benefit. He was full of the Holy Spirit. And let's just observe this. This made Peter prodigiously wise. He knew what was happening more than any of the religious leaders, more than any of the scholars. Here's an uneducated fisherman who is the wisest person because he's seen into the Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn't detract from your mind. The Holy Spirit heightens the intellect. Now, here's what's fascinating about this first Christian sermon, in addition to the fact that's being preached by Peter himself, who had denied Jesus and now is so wise. This sermon, the first Christian sermon, it sounds strange to say it, but it's a message about Judgment Day.

No one thinks of good news when they think of Judgment Day. We just think of being caught in something or feeling ashamed. When I was in fifth grade, I was always the kid who conformed and always tried to make the good grades and be a nice kid. I was that guy. I was more likely to be the teacher's pet than I was rebellious, so you could count on me not to be messing things up. I had a friend, Bruce, who he liked to cut up.

Not a bad kid, but he just liked to cut up. One of the things that would happen on the last day of school in elementary school is that people would try to hide things in their backpack and do little pranks and stuff on the last day or on the way home. My big evil was I'd hidden a squirt gun in my backpack. Bruce had convinced me of it.

I blame him. So we're getting on the bus, and lo and behold, the last day of fifth grade, they decided they were going to search our backpacks to make sure we didn't have any pranks in there. So there it was, my fifth grade teacher, and she opened it up, and there I had a squirt gun. It was one thing she looked at Bruce, and she was like, well, I expect him to have something, but she just looked at me with this look of just terrible disappointment like, Alan, you were the only one I could count on to not do something like this, and here you are, even you, Alan. I remember just that look. I think that for most of my life, I thought of judgment day like that. It's like, okay, you can still get on the bus. Judgment's like, okay, you can still go to heaven, but it's a little bit this idea that God's going to open up your backpack, and he's going to look around, and he's going to find more than one squirt gun in there. It's sort of the idea that all the things you've ever done wrong or thought wrong or said wrong, it's going to be put up on a big screen.

Everybody's going to see it, and your fifth-grade teacher will be there and your grandmother and mother and maybe Billy Graham standing there also, but be assured of this. Beloved, be assured of this, for the Christian judgment day is the best day of your life. This is what John wrote in his little epistle in 1 John 4. By this love is perfected with us, so that we may, listen to this, have confidence for the day of judgment. Have confidence, have confidence, have confidence.

Why? Because as He is, as Jesus is, as Jesus is loved by the Father, as Jesus is exalted, as Jesus is secure in heaven, as He is, so also are we in this world. Don't get me wrong. For those who reject Christ, for those who want to be far away from God, judgment day, ultimate judgment day, is the day that you get what you want, for that's what hell is, is ultimate separation from God. But this, this that Peter is saying is absolutely revolutionary, all about the foretelling of this all about the foretelling of this great day of the Lord. The great day of the Lord was spoken about many instances of it in the Old Testament.

Let me give you a couple of those. First, just in Malachi, here's a forecast, a prophecy of the day of the Lord. The day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant, all the evildoers will be stubble. That day is coming, the day that is coming shall set them ablaze.

Notice the fire imagery. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings, and you shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

That's an example for Malachi. Now let's go over to Joel, because this is going to lead us right into the text that Peter repeats in his first sermon for the Christian church. The Pentecost sermon is built from this prophecy from Joel, which we pick up reading at verse one.

Blow a trumpet in Zion, sound an alarm on my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. So Joel is saying in chapter two, I'm describing here the day of the Lord, the day the Lord's coming, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, fire. There's the image of fire again, devires before them, and behind them a flame burns, continues to the imagery of the flaming presence of God. And then we pick up reading at verse 10.

The earthquakes, there's that image of shaking, earthquakes before them, the heavens tremble, the sun, the moon are darkened, the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great. He who executes his word is powerful, for the day of the Lord is great and very awesome.

Who can endure it? Also includes a specially crafted blessing for the month from Pastor Alan. As Pastor Alan explains in his new book, The Power to Bless, which releases February 2nd and is available from Amazon for pre-order now, blessing is a biblically based faith vision over your life.

God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful and multiply. Blessing isn't the reward for your productivity, it's the fuel for it. The 2021 blessing wall calendar gives you space to write down all your important appointments and make plans for a wonderful new year. And most importantly, each time you see the beautiful image for the month, your heart will be strengthened by the empowering blessing statement from Pastor Alan. This year, don't just organize your life, bless your life with the 2021 blessing calendar. It is our gift to you when you make a donation this month to Allen Wright Ministries. Contact us today and start your year out right by the power of blessing. Call us at 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860 or come to our website, pastorallen.org.

Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Allen Wright. Now we're going to jump forward here to verse 28 and this is what Peter quotes. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions. We pause here to say the promise of the day of the Lord from Joel includes the promise that not only is there judgment against wickedness, but there's a great flourishing for the people of God. The sun shall be turned to darkness, the moon to blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

And even on the male and female sermons of those days, I'll pour out my spirit and I'll show wonders in the heavens and the earth and blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, the moon to blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord. So there's essentials of the day of the Lord.

The day of the Lord is a day in which you can think of images of wind and fire and shaking and that evil is judged and overthrown decisively, that God is exalted on high and the people of God flourish in a whole new way. That's what was anticipated on the day of the Lord. So what happened at Pentecost?

Well, what happened at Pentecost is there was wind and fire and shaking, but in a different way. And sin and wickedness were judged, but in a much greater way. It wasn't just that God came and judged Caesar or Herod. No, God had judged all of sin at the cross. So everything that makes the good news good is that for anyone who believes and trust in the saving work of Jesus, your sin has already been judged and the judgment fell on the Son of God by his own set purpose and plan.

He took that penalty for you. So judgment has come. And what it means is that justice has arrived and justice, when you trust in Christ, is now on your side because the merits of Christ have been credited to you. It means that the devil was exposed and judged and condemned and defeated. It means that God is holy and just and righteous in blessing your life. It means that it's not only something that God can do, it's something that God is righteous in doing in blessing your life.

It means that everyone everywhere who accepts the free gift of Christ will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. It means this beloved, it means that the day of the Lord has come that God is now in charge. There's no more waiting for some future time for the kingdom to come.

The kingdom has arrived. The people of God don't just have an assurance of forgiveness, but now are connected with God, intimate with God, empowered by God, indwelt by God, being used by God. I'm saying is that the long expected day of the Lord has arrived. There will be another day of the Lord in the future, a final consummation of the work of Christ. But the decisive day of judgment, the decisive day of the exaltation of Christ, the decisive day of the infilling of the people of God, what Peter realized is this is that of which Joel spoke.

This is that very thing. And what he realized, therefore, is that the promise that we had is being fulfilled in a bigger way than we'd ever imagined. And part of the bigness of that fulfillment of the promise was that the promise that David's descendant would be on the throne had also come to pass. Let me take you back to 2 Samuel 7, 2 Samuel 7, where God makes this promise to David and said, I will raise up your offspring after you and I will establish his kingdom. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. My steadfast love will not depart from him. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.

Your throne shall be established forever. It's a promise to David. And so what Peter says in his sermon back to Acts chapter 2 is that this has been fulfilled. He says at verse 22, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst. This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your holy one see corruption. People had always thought, well, oh, David was speaking there in that Psalm about himself that you won't let me die.

That's not what he was saying at all. Instead, he was saying, you have made known to me the pass of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence. He's speaking here prophetically of Jesus. Brothers, I may say to you with confidence, this is Peter, about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried in his tomb is with us this day, knowing that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on the throne.

He foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his disciples and his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up. And of that, we are all witnesses being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit.

He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. See, what Peter is saying is that the day of the Lord is here and the descendant of David is on the throne. He's Jesus. He is the son of David. He is enthroned on high. It's not a reign that is just meant for Jerusalem. It's not a reign that's just for Judea or Israel.

Anyone, anywhere can be part of this kingdom. You see what Peter's saying? He's saying the treasure has arrived and is much better than any of us ever imagine. The great, terrible, wonderful day of the Lord has arrived and the promise of a descendant of David on the throne has been fulfilled.

It's bigger, it's better, it's more wonderful and awesome than we'd ever dreamt of. And with joy and passion and love and possibly tears, Peter exclaims that this is the gospel there on that Pentecost day. And the people are just quickened by the Spirit and they say, what shall we do? Verse 37 of Acts chapter 2, they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do? And they were looking for what are the new rules? What are the new religion? What is the way that we're supposed to act now? What do we do? That's what religion always wants to know.

What do I have to do? But Peter answered them at verse 38, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They wanted to know what do we have to do? And what Peter told them is that you simply need to repent and be baptized, repent. It is a beautiful word, metanoeo is how we transliterate that from the Greek into English.

And it comes from the prefix meta, which means change or beyond and nous, which is the Greek word for mind. So literally repent means to change your mind. What do we do with this? Change your way of thinking. Quit thinking that the day of the Lord's in the distance. Quit thinking that God is just going to limit his rule to a descendant of David on a physical throne in Jerusalem.

Expand your mind, change your way of thinking. And then he says to be baptized. To be baptized is not a legalistic law. It is a picture of being immersed. It is a picture of being submerged into the grace of God. To be baptized is to say, I cannot wash myself, but I'm going to allow myself to be so thoroughly identified with Christ in his death and resurrection that it will be symbolized in the washing of the water and the going underwater and coming up.

That's the picture of the water. It's not something you do to yourself. Instead, it is an immersion into the love of God. What shall we do with this incredible information that the day of the Lord has come and that the descendant of David is on his throne, what shall we do?

Just change your way of thinking. Quit postponing all the richness of the glory of God to some future time and welcome him here now and be immersed, identified with Christ. And when you do, Peter said, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts chapter 2 verse 39, some of the greatest news the world has ever heard. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Where is God?

Well, he's not missing. Peter is saying he's here. He's moving in these people, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, people of every different kind of language and color of skin. We're all here assembled in his name. And we have come to discover the day of the Lord and the exaltation of Jesus Christ. If you've never said yes to the saving work of Jesus, I can give you this promise.

There's nothing in your life that excludes you. Anyone, anywhere can be saved. And the infilling of the Spirit of God is for everyone, everywhere. For the power of God has come at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus present with us here now. Where's God? He's in the heart of every single believer.

And that's the gospel. Ministries has produced a beautiful, inspiring wall calendar with you in mind. Each month not only depicts the month in a heart stirring image, but also includes a specially crafted blessing for the month from Pastor Alan. As Pastor Alan explains in his new book, The Power to Bless, which releases February 2nd and is available from Amazon for pre-order now, blessing is a biblically based faith vision over your life. God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful and multiply. Blessing isn't the reward for your productivity.

It's the fuel for it. The 2021 blessing wall calendar gives you space to write down all your important appointments and make plans for a wonderful new year. And most importantly, each time you see the beautiful image for the month, your heart will be strengthened by the empowering blessing statement from Pastor Alan. This year, don't just organize your life, bless your life with the 2021 blessing calendar. It is our gift to you when you make a donation this month to Allen Wright Ministries. Contact us today and start your year out right by the power of blessing. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Back here with Pastor Alan in the studio and the kingdom is at hand.

There is hope and certainly good news here. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Daniel, proves that Jesus is all that he said he was, that he is at the right hand of God, that sin has been paid for, that the tyranny of the devil has ended, and that we who are in Christ are assured that we are going to be with God forever. So in that sense, what Peter was saying is the day of the Lord has come. Is there going to be another day of the Lord when Jesus comes again? Absolutely. But don't postpone everything as if, oh, let's just wait and get snatched out of here and one day Jesus is coming. No, right now, here, now, we can know for sure we reign with Christ and one day we'll reign with him in full glory in a new heaven and a new earth. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.