God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of John Wilton. We'll take a copy of the Bible, God's Word, this morning and turn with me to the Book of Acts in the New Testament, Chapter 2, the Book of Acts and Chapter 2. It is so good to be part of the family of God together and to be among friends. But you know, we're going to God's Word and we're asking ourselves, what is it that God can teach us about ourselves and about His church?
We want to know how we should live. You see, right here in the pages of this book, God has got everything that we need in order to be able to live full and meaningful lives, to be productive people. And God tells us about His church and so our series is entitled, Going Back to the Future. At the coming of the Holy Spirit, after Jesus died and He rose from the grave, the Bible says that He ascended, He went up into heaven to be with God in heaven. When He did so, He promised that He would send His Holy Spirit down to earth to come and be with us. And in Acts, Chapter 2, it's called Pentecost. That is when the Spirit of God came. And in fact, we're going to be reading about the coming of the Spirit of God quite repeatedly throughout the Book of Acts. The Book of Acts is the story of the acts and activities of the coming of the Holy Spirit. We're going to read how that the Holy Spirit came down among the Samaritan people.
The Jews thought the Samaritans could never get the Holy Spirit and come to know Jesus the same way as we do. We're going to read how He came down upon the people in the town called Ephesus. And we're going to discover there what happened during that particular period of time. And here in Acts, Chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit came down, everybody there, all of them, everyone began to speak with other tongues, other languages.
And all those who were there understood exactly about the Gospel because they heard the Gospel presented in their own language. And people wanted to know what in the world is going on. I mean, what is this all about? Well, today I'm going to be speaking to you on the subject, something good to tell a friend. Something good to tell a friend.
And in Acts, Chapter 2, and from verse 14 through 21, Peter explains to the people what in the world was going on at Pentecost. And he said, listen, friends, I've got something good to tell you today. It's not what you think. It's not a bunch of madmen here. And I also want you to know they're not drunk.
As some of you say, they drunk. It's only nine o'clock in the morning. I want you to know exactly what is going on and what is going on is the best news I could share with friends like you. And I want you to know about it. Well, let's read together. Acts, Chapter 2, and verse 14. Then Peter stood up with the eleven. How many disciples were there, by the way, who Jesus selected? There were 12 of them, weren't there? So Peter now is representing them. Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice and preached to the crowd.
This is what he said. Fellow Jews, and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you. Listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose.
It is only nine in the morning. No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel, who said, and he quotes Joel, In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. They will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth below. Blood, fire, and billows of smoke. By the way, you have to go to the book of Revelation to read about all of this.
I'm going to explain it to you in a minute. And the moon turned to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.
May the Lord write that word on our hearts. I want to share something good with you this morning. The world sometimes can be so filled with bad news. In fact, I was sort of tempted, I didn't quite do it, to bring in a whole lot of newspapers this morning. And I read the newspaper every day. Every day I read the newspaper because I believe it's important.
I watch the news as often as I can, almost every day, because I want to know what's going on in the world. Much of what we see in the world today is bad news. I mean, we hear about the fighting going on in Kashmir. We see about starvation in Africa.
We read about crime on our streets. We read about marriages breaking apart. We read about turmoil and all these kinds of things, of course, there are good things, but we read a lot of bad news.
In fact, some of these people were no different to what we are today. When they saw what was happening at Pentecost, they said it must be bad, they got to be drunk. And so they mocked them and they said these men are drunk, this is bad news.
And I mean, they immediately tried to put bad news on everything. Listen folks, listen to me, some have come here today and your life has been a whole string of bad news. I mean, you've gotten into trouble, you're out of sorts with your family and your friends, you're running around in a circle and I tell you, you're hurting today and you're looking for answers. Maybe there was a time when you tasted, you know what's right. And yet you've got off track and your heart deep down inside and you're looking and you're crying out for somebody, somewhere to help you.
Maybe there's a big masquerade going on in your life right now. And maybe today you're here and you're saying, just tell me some good news. Well, I've got some good news to share with you today. Number one, number one, this is what Peter taught us by what he did and by what he said. Good news number one, preaching is not out of date. I like that, don't you? Now hold on a minute folks, this is great news for me by the way.
In fact, I'm quite relieved about it. Good news number one, Peter stood up. Now I'm going to say to you that Peter, I think if a straw poll was to be taken, Peter would have been elected the pastor of the group.
In fact, he was. Do you know that every time his name is mentioned, Peter's name always comes up first. I think Peter was the pastor, he was the shepherd, he was definitely the preacher. And the Bible says here when all of this happened at Pentecost, Peter went back to explaining the good news by virtue of preaching. You ever had someone say to you, oh come on, I don't need to go to church. Now folks, let me tell you something. I've heard people say to me, I can hear God and meet God everywhere.
So can I. Number one place I can meet God outside of church, on the golf court, no question about it. Anybody want to put me to the test, I'm available. Number two place where I can meet God, in a fishing boat, guaranteed. Anyone want to put me to the test, I'll tell you, I'll meet God and a fishing boat.
Number three, on a Caribbean island in my own place, on the beach, with nothing but beach, guaranteed. I'll tell you, put me there, I'll meet God. And folks, you can meet God anywhere and everywhere because God is everywhere. But listen to me, the Bible tells us that the primary means by which the good news about Jesus Christ is shared with men and women and boys and girls is through the act of preaching. Now, I've heard people say, well, I don't need to go to church.
You do, because if you don't, you're going to miss out on what God has given to us as the means by which people come to hear the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ. You can go through the book of Acts, you're going to find that they just kept on preaching in chapter five and chapter eight. You can go into chapter nine and read about the preaching of the apostle Paul, who preached all the way through until his very death.
He never stopped. Go and look at the life of the Lord Jesus. Matthew 4, 17, Jesus began to preach. Mark chapter one, verse 14, he said, I'm going to preach the gospel. Luke chapter 10, verse 43, he said, I must be about the business of preaching. In Matthew 10, 7, he said, as you go, preach and teach about me, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Mark 16 and 15, he said, go into all the world and preach.
I think Paul understood that. First Corinthians chapter one and verse 17, he said, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but rather to preach the gospel. God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. Why did he call it the foolishness of the message preached?
Well, number one, I think it's the foolishness of the preacher who preaches the message. I bet some of you have sat there already and said, what is the matter with that bloke, you know? I mean, what's he doing up there?
If someone were to drive by right now, we would open the doors on the main street, someone would have come by, they'd look in here and say, goodness me, there is a maniac there. I mean, look at that man standing up there. Why is he moving around? Why is he so excited? Why is he waving his hands? Why does he speak up like this?
Why is he so intent on what he's doing? It's foolishness to those who don't know Jesus Christ. But it's not only the foolishness of the man and the method that he uses in order to preach, it's the foolishness of the message itself. I mean, can you imagine anything more ridiculous than telling people to believe in somebody who went to a Roman cross and was willing to die upon that cross and didn't even open his mouth in his own defense? I mean, can you believe something so foolish as to say that the Son of God himself was willing to die upon a cross? That is the foolishness of the message preached.
But listen to me, friends, God tells us that that is still the primary means by which you and I come to know Jesus Christ. You can go back to the Reformation. They preached Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin.
I mean, it went on and on. What about the Puritans? What about the Great Awakening from Jonathan Edwards to George Whitefield and to John and Charles Wesley?
Going to the 19th century, the 1900 D.R. Moody, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, on and on, the list goes down. Preaching has never stopped. God says it is by virtue of preaching.
I've got some good news this morning. Preaching is not out of date. Folks, listen to me. There is a mad scramble going on in America today to eliminate and eradicate and erase preaching in the church.
You know that there are churches springing up even as we speak today who say, listen, we don't need preaching anymore. We're just going to sit around in small little circles and talk to each other and say nice things and hum. Have you ever sat and hummed? Hum, hum, hum. I mean, they'll just sit there and hum and every now and again tickle each other's earlobes and say, you got the feeling, brother? No, I don't got the feeling. Oh, we got to try that sometime.
Just sit around. I'd love to just do a little humming, you know, on the choir. But seriously, folks, listen, there is no substitute for preaching. Listen to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. He said, my preaching is a demonstration of the Spirit of God and of His power.
That's the kerygma, the message preached. It is the good news of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I've got some good news for you today. And friend, I want you to know that what Jesus Christ has done for me, He'll do the same thing for you. That's why I'm so glad that we're here today. That's what it means to be a family together. We believe that Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
He is the one who makes all the difference. Good news number two. Write this down. Many people still have convictions.
I love this. If you go here into this passage in verse 14, you're going to read about conviction. And from that moment on, you're going to understand Peter and the apostles and the New Testament church. They had real conviction, folks. Listen, we are living in a day and age today where all we want to do is compromise. Have you noticed that? It is becoming politically incorrect in America to have convictions about anything.
It's no longer popular. And do you know, my friends, people will openly mock those and others who have any kind of standard or conviction by which they live. I hear people say from time to time and you read it, it's implied, it's in debates, it's in the political scene. Listen, you don't need to have convictions as long as you appeal to everybody. Don't ever, don't be dogmatic.
I mean, I've heard people say there's nothing worse than somebody who's just so dogmatic and narrow minded and think that they've got a corner on the market of everything. I think everything goes. Doesn't matter what happens. Doesn't matter what you do or how you do it or where you believe or how you exercise your belief or what you put in your body or what you don't. Everybody's just got to kind of be one kind of melting pot and everything's okay.
After all, we're Americans and we've all got our rights. I want to tell you if there's anything that Peter taught us in this passage, folks, and that we know to be true is that there are many people who still have convictions. Now, friends, I want you to know as your pastor today that I've got convictions.
I'm weak in a lot of areas. But I'm going to tell you that I've got convictions. I believe what I'm saying to you today.
I just believe that with all my heart. I've got convictions about God, about who God is. I've got convictions about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
I'm absolutely convinced. I've got convictions about the Word of God, about the Bible. I don't believe this is just a good book.
I don't believe that this is something that you just kind of take out and read every now and again for inspiration. I don't believe that this Word contains the Word of God. I believe it is the Word of God. And I stand upon it. I am convicted about it. I am convinced in my heart that I've got nothing to say outside of God's Word. I've got convictions, my friends, about life, about where we came from. I've got convictions in my heart about death, where I'm going.
I know that the Bible says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I'm convicted about that. I know that in my heart. I know that because I've given my heart to Jesus. And I know that because you've given your heart to Jesus that together we are going to be transported by the angels to be seated at the feast table of the King.
And while I'm waiting, I'm convinced, I'm convicted that God has given to me His abundant life. I'm convicted about marriage. I believe in marriage, folks.
I'm not going to apologize to you today. I believe in that. I tell you, I've got the most beautiful wife in the world.
And I'm more in love with my wife today and she with me than the day we married 24 years ago. I believe in marriage. I believe in families. I believe in holding hands and ordering pizza and watching Duke get beaten on television. Take that back.
Take that back. I believe, folks, I believe in riding bicycles. I believe in making popcorn and going on youth retreats.
I believe in being around friends and family and loved ones. I believe that marriage works. I know that marriage is a struggle. I believe that God brings marriages back together again, don't you? I believe that God picks up the broken hearted and He heals all those wounds. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe that God answers prayer.
I believe that God is still on His throne. I believe in our little boys and girls. I believe in that.
I believe it's important to give them boomerangs in Sunday school. I believe in that, folks. I do. I believe in our teenagers. Listen, we've got the most incredible group of young people you'll find. I believe in our young people. I believe in our college students. I believe I've got convictions.
I believe that God is using them. I'm convicted in my heart about what God is doing in our single adults. Let me tell you something, folks. I thought our single adults were special.
I thought they were special. But I didn't know what had gone on there until Sal Barone left the singles and went to senior adults. And I've watched the behavior of our single adults in this church without a minister praying for us as we are seeking a senior single adult minister. And I'm going to tell you something, folks. If I was convinced in my heart about the preciousness of our single adults, it's nothing compared to what I feel about these people now.
I am convinced in my heart that God is moving. I want to tell you something today, folks. There are still some people who have convictions. There are some people here today who are hurting. There's some people here today who haven't been to church for a long time.
There are some teenagers here today. Your life has gone into a mess. You've got involved in everything. You're hurting. You may be here today and you feel as though everybody's looking at you.
You may be someone. Your parents have been praying for you. Your friends have been praying for you. Your wife has been praying for you.
You've been on the road. I am convicted in my heart that you are here for a reason and that Jesus Christ loves you. I am convinced in my heart. It goes right down deep within my heart and my soul. I tell you, there are some people who have still got convictions, folks.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Don't be concerned about all the junk that's going on in the world today. There is hope and there is meaning.
There is meaning and purpose in life and it's found right here in the Word of God. I've got some good news to share with you, with my friends today. I don't know what it was that was going through Peter's mind. It seems to me all this kind of turmoil at Pentecost. People speaking in other languages, all the noise associated with it, all the confusion and Peter stood up. And he shared good news.
You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton. Don't worry, he'll be back in just a minute to complete today's message. Something good to tell a friend, but he wants me to remind you that he would love to send you the email every day with a daily devotional. You can sign up on our website right now at tewonline.org. It's at the bottom of the first page, the daily encouraging word. Receive an email phonically or a hard copy if you'd prefer.
That's all online at tewonline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Number one, preaching is not out of date.
No, sir. Number two, some people still have convictions. Number three, we are living in the last days. Now that's good news.
Write it down. We are living in the last days. I just wanted to share just some good news with you this morning, if you'll beg my pardon. We are living in the last days.
Now why do I say that? Well, right there in verse 17, quoting the prophet Joel, Peter says, In these last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit. Well, when are the last days? Well, you can discover, the Bible tells us when the last days are.
Did you know that? I wonder if there's anybody here this morning, don't raise your hand. I wonder if there's anybody who's wondered if we are in the last days. Some of us did at Y2K. And then we discovered that Y2K means none other than yield to the King. We ask ourselves, are we living in the last days? Well, yes we are.
I'm glad to tell you that. Isaiah chapter 53, the Bible points to a Messiah who would come as a suffering servant to die for the sin of mankind. But then you go back into Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6, teaches us that the Messiah would come back to set up his kingdom. Alright, all watch me here.
Watch me here for a minute. Jesus comes into Bethlehem of Judea. He's born. That's the first coming of the Messiah when Jesus was born in Bethlehem's manger. When he was born, the Bible tells us that the coming of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem, immediately ushered in the last days. You're going to say to me, now wait a minute, pastor, you're telling me we've been in the last days for 2,000 years?
Exactly right. We are in the last days. Everything that the Bible says about the last days has been appropriate from the day that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem's manger. We are in the last days. How do we know this? Well, there are many passages. 1 Peter 1 verse 20, Christ has appeared to us in these last times for you.
In Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 2, God in times past spoke through the prophets, but now in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are living in the last days. I just had to share that with you. And folks, that's good news because it means we don't have to go around speculating anymore.
We don't have to concern ourselves. We need to just simply come to grips with what God is saying. Good news number four, number four, great things will happen during the last days.
I love this one now. Great things will happen during these last days. Bible tells us what they are.
Let me list some of them for you. Number one, during the last days, God will continue to speak. Now friends, let's have an Amen here this morning. Amen?
You know what that means? God is still speaking. God hasn't left. God hasn't shut down the communication. God hasn't said I'm leaving.
God hasn't gone anywhere. God is speaking to us. It's a promise. God is going to continue to speak to us. It's his promise.
Why? Because the Word says in the last days in verse 17 of our passage, God is present, continuous tense, continuing to speak to his people. Now here's what that means. Some of us here today have already shut God off. I wonder if there's anyone here this morning who shut God off already. Maybe you've been writing a note to somebody. You're distracted. Maybe you're thinking about a business decision. Maybe you're saying in your heart, I can't wait to get out of here.
Come on, 12 o'clock. Maybe you're thinking about dinner. Maybe you've got something else that's real and vital in your heart.
You're shutting off. Listen friend, don't shut God out because God wants to speak to you. God is speaking.
He's speaking to you right now. That's a promise of the Word of God. Great things are going to happen in these last days. Number two, his Spirit will be poured out on all people. Number three, no one needs to be left out.
That's the third thing about the great things that will happen. No one is left out. He says everyone who calls on his name, everyone. And number four, it is your choice. Choose you this day whom you will serve.
That's the decision we all have to choose who we're going to serve. Coming up next, as Dr. Don steps into the studio, would you open your heart to his most important 30 seconds of the day? Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. But today I repent of my sin and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.
This is exciting news. If you just prayed to receive Christ, Dr. Don wants you to have some free resources. If you'll call 866-899-WORD.
That's right, the resources Don wants you to have for free are available at 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org where you'll discover great resources like this. The Encouraging Word is having a summer book sale. Book prices will start at $6.
That's right, only $6. Visit us online at www.tewonline.org and click the Store tab located at the top of the page. We appreciate your support. The Encouraging Word is a viewer and listener supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. Our time's gone for today, but I hope you'll join us tomorrow for Dr. Wilton's message, Irrefutable Evidence. You can discover more online at www.tewonline.org.
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