Takeaway: Verse 39
This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away — all who have been called by the Lord our God.
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Transcription:
Welcome to The Bible for Busy People. I’m Erica Parkerson. This is the place where we meet up to read half a chapter of God’s Word together and remember how loved we are. Jesus extends an amazing invitation to us in the Bible. He says, come to me and I WILL give you rest. This is us RSVPing: Yes!! to that invitation. So, take a deep breath and let’s get started.
Today’s episode is called, “I Love You 3000.” More on that in a moment. Last time we were in the middle of Peter’s passionate sermon. Here we are in the book of Acts, chapter two. The Holy Spirit has just come upon the people and Peter is preaching.
Before we dive back into that sermon, let’s say a prayer and give our time to the Lord. Father, we just come to you in the name of Jesus. We choose peace over busyness today. Would you open our eyes and our hearts to what you want us to see and understand in your word this moment in Jesus’ name, amen.
Okay, so here we are, Acts, chapter two. We’re gonna pick it up in Peter’s sermon in verse 22. “‘People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.'”
You know, someday you and I are gonna be released from the horrors of death because of Jesus, and I praise him for that. “‘King David said this about him'”, about Jesus, “‘I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’ Dear brothers,'” Peter is still preaching, “‘think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.
“‘God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. For David himself, never ascended into heaven, yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit in the place of honor at my right hand, until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.’
“‘So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!’ Peter’s words pierced their hearts.” Another translation says the people were cut to the heart. “And they said to him, and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’.” Here’s our takeaway verse, “‘This promise is to you, to your children and to those far away, all who have been called by the Lord our God.’ Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation!’ Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day about 3000 in all.”
3000 people found hope in Jesus Christ as Peter preached that day. Maybe you’re familiar with the Avengers movies? You know, Tony Stark, in one of the last movies would tuck in his daughter. Mr. Ironman. And he would say, I love you tons to her, and she would respond back, I love you 3000! And that is such a beautiful scene to imagine in your life. God loves you 3000! 2000 pounds is a ton, 3000 is more. God loves you in a limitless way. It’s what Peter was preaching about. He came to die for you. If you had been the only one, he would’ve come and died. Now that’s love. I can’t wait till next time to hang out with you again.
Thank you so much for listening to the Bible for Busy People. If you need prayer or you’re ready to go a little deeper in your faith, we’ve posted some resources for you in our show notes. We’d love for you to share this podcast with a friend and leave us a review. It helps us reach even more people with the hope of Jesus. This podcast is part of Purposely, a podcast network designed with practical podcasts to help you find and live in God’s purpose for your life. Find more podcasts that will recharge you at onpurposely.com.
