The Promise Is For You!

In Acts 2, Peter gives his first sermon after the crowd had witnessed the fulfilling of the Holy Spirit in the world and in verses 37 through 40 he proclaims, "Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself. And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation!"

I'm sure that if I had been at this event, I would have probably "wet my pants," especially if I were without understanding as most of these people were. Even though it was one of the most precious gifts given to us by our Father in heaven, it had to be somewhat traumatic. With so many different sects of people there, so many different dialects, different understandings and languages; it had to be both spectacular and frightening. I counted at least eighteen different "countrymen" there to witness as God laid the Holy Spirit upon some of these people.

Peter recognizes this and raises his voice to declare from the prophet Joel: "And it shall be in the last days, God says, that I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; Even upon My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy. And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Joel 2:28-32).

Peter continues in verses 22 to 24 saying, "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know -- this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. And God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power."

Now I realize that there is more "text" here than I usually offer up, but it is very important for us to understand Peter in the context of the first passage. "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off..."

And the last verse of chapter 2 declares, "And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved." He was adding day by day, those who would call on the name of the Lord. They received the gift of the Holy Spirit which was offered to each of us when we came to Christ as well. Peter is offering the best advise ever given when he suggests that they repent and be baptised, for the forgiveness of their sins. This is where we are today as well. There are lots and lots of things going on in the world today that we just do not understand and we are probably never going to truly understand them in light of this world. Only when we have entered into eternal life, might we understand the significance of these events, however, will it really matter then? I myself was reminded just late last week that the disease that was found in me, is rearing it's ugly head once again, but in light of eternity, does it really matter?

I only care to number myself with those like Peter and John, Paul and the other disciples who believe that repentance matters more than anything happening now or every to happen in this world.

I think back to January 28, 1985 (I remember what class I was in when the announcement came), President Reagen stood before the country and made this comment about the shuttle disaster just a few minutes off the launch pad. He said "They slipped through the surly bonds of heaven to touch the face of God." I'm sure that our President at the time was not even aware of how profound a statement it was that he made. For a day will come when you and I, those of us who have trusted our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ will slip through the bonds of heaven and earth, and we will "see" Jesus, face to face.

Now if you can't get excited about that prospect, I'm supposing that your "exciter" is broken!

Dave