^{Acts 3:19}Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

Like faith, repentance is not confined to the beginning of the Christian life.  Like faith, repentance is to continue throughout our lives as growing attitudes and awareness of heart.  Consider the Beatitudes; the first three are:

• Blessed are the poor in spirit…The essential admission that we have come to the end of ourselves and are in need of God’s help and care to fully develop as people.
• Blessed are those who mourn…As we are honest about our defects of character there will be grief, or repentance, for our condition as well as for the injustice that grips our world.
• Blessed are the meek…Grieving over sin and suffering develops in us in a humble learning posture (disciple means learner).

Like faith and repentance, the Beatitudes are not a one-time deal.  As we cycle through the Beatitudes we grow deeper in Christ and our faith.  This seems counter intuitive to many people, but it is actually the unlikely route to true and lasting joy — and what Dr. Luke is pointing to when he speaks of “times of refreshing.”

The following is from Continual Repentance, in The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust), pgs 136-137.

O God of Grace,

You have imputed my sin to my substitute, and have imputed his righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe, decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness.

I need to repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness; I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for you always justify the ungodly; I am always going into the far country, and always returning home as a prodigal, always saying, “Father, forgive me,” and you are always bringing forth the best robe. [See Luke 15:11-32, the Prodigal Sons.]

Every morning let me wear it, every evening return in it, go out to the day’s work in it, be married in it, be wound in death in it, stand before the great white throne in it, enter heaven in it shining as the sun.

Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness, the exceeding wonder of grace.

I.     INTRO

A.   What is the mission of God? (Missio Dei) Prologue

1.     God’s mission:  To uphold and display the glory of His name for the joy of His people.

^{Ps 16:11}You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

2.     God has chosen to glorify Himself by creating a people who delight in Him and receive the kingdom of God — and out of that delight respond in joyful and responsive obedience (duty) to participate in extending the kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

3.     The mission of God is woven throughout the tapestry of Scripture. The 2 primary agents of God’s mission are Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

• The outworking of God’s mission is stated clearly in Matthew 28:19-20:  In full dependence on the person and work of Jesus Christ we are commanded to “go” in both submission to and the power of the Holy Spirit – to proclaim the gospel to all nations.
• The unfolding of God’s mission begins in Acts – and more specifically in Acts 2…

II.    BODY

A.   Today we are going to walk through Acts 2 and consider 4 principle doctrines that shape and build the church…

1.     God shapes and builds the church through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

2.     God shapes and builds the church through the unfolding of the Gospel.

3.     God shapes and builds the church through calling people to respond to the Gospel.

4.     God shapes and builds the church through calling people into a Christ Confessing Covenant Community.

B.    The 4 Principle Doctrines That Shape & Build the Church

1.     God shapes and build the church through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit – Acts 2:1-4

^{Acts 1:5,8}John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.

^2:1When the day of Pentecost[1] had come, they were all together in one place.

²And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

³And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.

⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

1)     The Holy Spirit is to be respected, honored, and worshipped as God, the Third Person of the Trinity.

2)    The Holy Spirit has come to glorify the Son who in turn came to glorify the Father.

3)     The Holy Spirit empowers [dunamis], or baptizes (completely engulfed), believers for Christ-centered witness and service.

4)    The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

5)     Through the proclamation of the gospel, the Holy Spirit persuades people to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord.

6)     The Holy Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith, bringing about the new birth and dwelling within regenerate[2] people.

7)    The Holy Spirit is the active agent in our sanctification[3] and seeks to produce the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22-23) in us as we are renewed and conformed to the image of Christ.

8)    The Holy Spirit will lead the church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word – the Bible.

2.     God shapes and builds the church through the unfolding of the Gospel.

^2:36Therefore [Peter’s summarizing] let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified.

1)    Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news is revealed in the Christ Event (His birth, ministry, life, death, resurrection and ascension).

• Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the gospel.
• His resurrection is the power of the gospel.
• His ascension is the glory of the gospel.

2)    Christ’s death is a substitutionary [substitute] and propitiatory[4] [satisfying] sacrifice to God for our sins.

3)    The Christ Event demonstrates God’s mysterious love and reveals God’s amazing grace. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and humankind. There is no other name by which humanity must be saved.

4)    Pastor and author, Tim Keller reminds us the Gospel is not advice, it is news.  It is the ultimate Good News.  Sunday morning is not primary the place to give advice… Gospel-driven change is rooted in remembrance. We are to remind one another primarily of what Christ Jesus has done, not what we must do.

3.     God shapes and build the church through calling people to respond to the Gospel.

 ³⁷Now 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?”

³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you bebaptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

1)    The proper response to the gospel is repentance and baptism.

• Repentance – Turning away from self-as-god-and-king and making God our kingdom – whereby we enter his kingdom.  Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life.
• Water baptism — A visual and symbolic demonstration of a person’s union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It signifies that his former way of life has been put to death and vividly depicts a person’s release from the mastery of sin.

2)    This response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in the free and unconditional calling of God for His own pleasure and glory.

3)    Salvation, the free gift of God, is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, for the glory of God alone.

4)    Anyone turning from sin in repentance and looking to Christ and His substitutionary death receives the gift of eternal life and is declared righteous by God as a free gift.

5)    The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. He is justified and fully accepted by God. Through Christ’s atonement for sin an individual is reconciled to God as Father and becomes His child. The believer is forgiven the debt of his sin and, via the miracle of regeneration, liberated from the law of sin and death into the freedom of God’s Spirit.

4.     God shapes and builds the church through calling people into a Christ Confessing Covenant Community.

⁴²They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

⁴³Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

 ⁴⁴And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;

⁴⁵and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

⁴⁶Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

1)    God, through the Christ Event and the unleashing of the Holy Spirit creates the Church, calling sinners out of the world system (corrupt cosmos) into the fellowship of Christ’s Body.

2)    Through the life and power of the Holy Spirit, God guides and preserves that new redeemed humanity. The Church is not a religious institution or denomination. Rather, the Church universal [or, Catholic] is made up of those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel.

3)    The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It also exists to serve Him by faithfully doing His will in the earth.

4)    The gospel makes us passionate for community.  Why?  Because God is a passionately relational being.  God is the Triune God – Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

5)    The early Christians were passionate about their life together.  They didn’t fit community into the margins of their busy lives; they reorganized their lives around community.

6)    At the heart of Christian community is the teaching of the Scriptures, a deep fellowship, remembering and celebrating the finished work of Christ through the breaking of bread, and passionate prayer.

• Teaching/Equipping — Eph 4:12
• Fellowship (koinonia) — a holy alliance of love one for another.  To break off a piece of yourself (the REAL you) and share it.
• The breaking of bread — The Lord’s Supper is to be observed only by those who have become genuine followers of Christ and symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf, and we partake with an attitude of faith and self-examination.
• Prayer — Last week Acts 1:14… “continually devoting themselves to prayer” Our English translations certainly do not do justice to this volatile Greek word.  We can define HOMTHUMADON as: To be together, to become unified with a passionate fierceness and indignation – it’s a crying out for God’s purpose and order to be established.

7)    John Calvin said the chief responsibility of the Church is to make the invisible Kingdom visible – by who we are and what we do.

8)    In the context of the local church, God’s people receive the opportunity to fully engage their God-given gifts and holy passions in His service for the purpose of serving one another AND to “seek the welfare of the city” (Jer 29:7).

III. CONCLUSION

A.   Review

1.     God shapes and builds the church through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

2.     God shapes and builds the church through the unfolding of the Gospel.

3.     God shapes and builds the church through calling people to respond to the Gospel.

4.     God shapes and builds the church through calling people into a Christ Confessing Covenant Community.

B.    God shaped mission:  The Father sent the Son, the Son sent the Holy Spirit sends you!

This Sunday (May 22nd) we will continue our series from the book of Acts.  We will be looking at Acts 2.  The title of the sermon is “Gospel Shaped Mission.”  The prologue, or backstory, to this passage is for us to consider the ultimate mission of God.  Here is a snippet for Sunday…

I would suggest the ultimate mission of God is to uphold and display the glory of His name for the joy of His people.

The mission of God is woven throughout the tapestry of Scripture. The primary agents of God’s mission are Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

1. The outworking of God’s mission is stated clearly in Matthew 28: 19-20:  In full dependence on the person and work of Jesus Christ we are commanded to “go” in both submission to and the power of the Holy Spirit – and lead all nations (panta ta ethne – all peoples, or ethnic groups) and all creation to that universal worship and joy that the book of Revelation speaks of.
2. The unfolding of that mission begins in Acts – and more specifically in Acts 2

We can see the mission of God in God’s interaction with Moses.  What is the cry of Moses’ heart? The glory of God (v. 18).  What is God’s passion and delight?  To proclaim His name before us (v. 19).

 ¹²Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’

¹³“Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight Consider too, that this nation is Your people.”

¹⁴And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.

¹⁶“For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”

¹⁷The LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”

¹⁸Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”

¹⁹And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”

²⁰But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”

Hope to see you on Sunday…

“…As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When can I go and meet with God?”    Psalm 42:1b, 2

A.   The goal of the Christian life is not to do more, be more loving, or joyful, or obedient – or even to try and be good.  The goal of the Christian life is Jesus Christ himself – to grow an intimate, passionate, dynamic relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

B.  Seeking God First

The heart of our ministry is to the Lord.  Everything we are, have, and do comes from our intimacy with Christ. If we aren’t proactively seeking him to find out who he is and what he’s doing, we labor in vain.  Seeking God in worship and prayer is the most vital thing we do.

Only God can meet our deepest needs.  If we aren’t seeking him consistently (as a life­style), making time to seek him regularly, we’ll begin to look to others to meet our needs, and eventually be frustrated. (Contemporary idolatry: looking for ultimate joy and satisfaction in anything other other than God.)

C. Personal Devotional Time

1.   Begin the day before by getting enough sleep to be sufficiently refreshed for commun­ing with the Lord.

2.   Find a quiet and undisturbed place where you can be alone and without interruption.

3.   Begin by focusing on the Lord, and inviting the Holy Spirit to come to lead you in fellowship and intimacy.  You may want to use the acrostic A.C.T.S., which stands for a progression of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  (Helpful hint:  Have a separate pad of paper and pen available to record “to do” list items as they come to mind.  Writing them down will help you clear your mind and refocus your attention on God – and you’ll get more accomplished during the day as well!)

4.   Whether you read consecutively through each book the Bible or read topically, read the Bible devotionally, asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you and draw you after him (Song of Songs 1:4a).  Reading 3-4 chapters a day will take you through the Bible in a year.

5.   Or/and, use the Lord’s Prayer (actually the model prayer template) as a guide…

Our Father in heaven, we honor Your holy name. . .

Prayer is to begin with upward acknowledgment of God’s glory, wonder, majesty, and grace.  Worship the Lord!  Tell God how won­derful he is, thank him for all he has done, is doing, and will do in your life and the life of your family.  Pray and sing prayers of adoration to our heavenly Father.  Invite the Holy Spirit to come and teach you how to better worship the Father!

We ask that Your kingdom will come now. . .

Theologian George Ladd wrote concerning the kingdom of God that, “we live in the presence of the future.”  The Christ Event (Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension) established the kingdom of God on the earth, while Christ’s Second Coming will be the consummation of the kingdom of God on earth.  We have the great privilege of living between the two!  Pray for his righteousness, peace, joy, and power to be manifest in your life today (Romans 14:17).  Ask for his rule to be extend­ed in, and through you, your home, your church, your city, etc.

May Your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. . .

Pray God’s revealed will back to him!  In other words, pray back to God what you know to be his will.  Pray for workers to be raised up for the fields which are white, for leaders of the nation, the state, for the needs of SBF; pray for the church to be filled with the presence and power of God; look up Scripture concerning prayer pray them!  Pray back to God what he has shown you is his will concerning you, your family, our church.  Pray for him to reveal his will in matters that are unclear to you – pray specifical­ly.  Pray for wis­dom.

Give us this day our daily bread…

Petition God concerning your needs.  Specifically define them, ask God for them, and trust him to provide the resources you need, giving thanks for his mercy and provi­sion.  Remember to include Jesus’ entreaty – “yet not my will, but Your will be done” (Luke 22:42).

Forgive us our sins, just as we have for­given those who sin against us…

Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal those sins that you committed, in thought, lust, atti­tude, in words spoken, mo­tives of the heart, actions, lack of doing good when you knew to do it, etc.  Ask for specific forgiveness for each revealed item, then give thanks that as you confess your sins God is faithful and just to forgive them!  Then ask God to show you if you hold resentment or unforgiveness towards anyone.  Pray for the willingness to forgive – from the heart.  (Take time to meditate on the mercy and forgiveness of God, worshiping Him for the sacrifice of Christ that cleanses us.)

Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one…

Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you so you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh; pray for God to guard you from the things that tempt you, and to be strong on your behalf when the enemy attacks you.  Thank God that he that is in you is greater than the enemy, that you are his child, his friend, clothed in his armor, that in your weakness his strength is your resource.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.  Amen

This is not about us, this is about him.

6.   Write down a verse from your reading that was especially helpful, consider it throughout the day, praying it back to God.  Try to think of it often enough to have memorized it by the end of the day.

7.   Stay in touch!  Throughout the day talk to the Lord – casually as a friend, seeking him as you go, asking for wisdom, asking for his perspective, direction, etc.  When you veer off course, ask for immediate forgiveness.  Look for the Lord in the day, try to see what he’s doing and respond to his promp­tings, asking him to teach you as you go.

8.   If you’re married, after praying alone, pray to­gether for things you especially want to agree about: your family, children, marriage, work situa­tion, needs of the day, etc., or just worship together.  Pray for one another.  Pray for healing when your spouse is sick.

9.   If you have children – or if the grandkids are spending the night, have a brief prayer with them before they leave for school, or before their day begins.  After dinner, take time (5-15 minutes) to read a few verses, dialoging about them (not lecturing) with the children, using relevant examples.  Pray for each one before they go to sleep.