June 16, 2025 • 28 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A
little later in the program, we'll tell you how you
can get a copy of doctor Graham's book Angels. But first,
here's the message. The message.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Take God's word and turn with me to the second
chapter of Acts. The Holy Spirit poured out on the
day of Pentecost resulted in men and women proclaiming the
wonderful works of God, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And in the midst of this conversation and communication of
(00:43):
the message of Christ, one man stood up and gave
the first sermon, the inaugural message of the Church. And
when we read this message in Acts chapter two, delivered
by the Big Fishermen and Simon Peter, we're taken by
the heart of this message and the simplicity of this message,
(01:07):
and yet the powerful effect, the dramatic effect and impact
of this simple message. Jesus says, it is the message
that changed the world. It is the message that changed
my life. It is the message that has changed the
lives of countless men and women throughout the ages, and
(01:30):
this very day, in the context, in the atmosphere of
the work and witness of the Holy Spirit, one man
delivered the message, but it was the voice of the church,
praying and praising God together that accomplish the goal. When
you read this message in Acts, chapter two is just
(01:51):
twenty two verses. Of course, what we have in these
twenty two verses comprising this sermon is really a summary
that the Spirit of God has given us of the
message declared that day. And the message that we hear
in this passage of scripture is God conceived. It is
(02:11):
full of the Scripture, it is full of God's spirit.
It is Christ centered, and it is spirit control. And
it brought the congregation listening that day face to face
with the Living Lord. So looking at verse fourteen, chapter
(02:32):
two of Acts, but Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted
up his voice and addressed them, men of Judea and
all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you,
and give ear to my works. For these men are
not drunk, as you suppose, since it's only.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
The third hour of the day.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
You see those who were speaking the wonderful works of
God in the languages of the nations, who had gathered
around on the day of Pentecouse, we're accused now of
being drunken.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
But they were not drunk.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Except that they had a drink at Joel's place. Joel,
the Prophet had prophesied the coming of the Holy Spirit,
and that is what is happening. He said in verse sixteen.
This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
And then verse twenty one.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
And he shall come to pass that everyone who calls
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Men
of Israel, hear these words verse twenty two. 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. As you yourself know this, Jesus delivered up
according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. You
(03:45):
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.
Then skipped out and look at verse thirty seven. Now
when they heard this, they were cut to the heart
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers,
(04:06):
what shall we do. And Peter said to them, repent
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, and you
will received the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the
promises for you and for your children, and for all
who are afar off, everyone whom the Lord our God
(04:26):
calls to himself. And with many other words, he bore
witness and continued to exhort them, saying, save yourselves from
this crooked generation. Note what happened in verse forty one.
So those who received his word were baptized, and there
were added that day about three thousand souls. Simon Peter
(04:50):
took a text from the Word of God. He proclaimed
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God activated
in the lives of God's people and their witness then
connected with those who.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Heard, and on the very first day of the church,
three thousand souls were born into the Kingdom of God.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
This message, like all Gospel messages, like all messages that
are effective and successful in reaching the hero is very simple.
You don't have to go down deep and stay down
long and come up dry in order to be successful. No,
proclaim the message of Christ and all of its content,
(05:32):
and know that the Gospel and its power will change lives,
whether it is in your public witness, as I am
sharing Christ publicly right now, or it is in your
personal witness, because remember this, the message was delivered in
the context of all of the believers spreading out into
the streets and sharing the message of Christ. So coming
(05:54):
together is this personal witness and now this public message
of hope, as Peter is.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Drawing the net.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I know many of us have fears concerning sharing our faith.
But if you understand the message that God has given you,
you can be effective and used by God in proclaiming
the gospel.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
And if you will do these things that Simon.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Peter did that we all can do, you can be
effective in communicating the message to the world. And the
message is simply this. It is the explaining of the scriptures.
It is the exaltation of the Savior, and it is
the exhortation to the sinner. And let's look at that
briefly today. First there is the explaining of the scriptures.
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That's what this man did on that day. Of course,
this is the same man who melted like butter on
a hot day before the Cross of Christ. He denied
Christ three times. Simon Peter, who was often so bold
in his faith, was a weakling when it came to standing.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Up for Christ to the cross.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
But now this same man, full of the Holy Spirit
in all of his humanity. God did not change this
man in terms of his personality, but used his personality
and transformed his life from the inside out. And now
he is not a coward. He is a courageous witness
of the Gospel. He's not whipping out, he's standing up.
(07:22):
And he says, men of Israel, listen unto me. I
love the authority that we see in his voice. I
love the passion and the heart that we see as
this man shares. And this message is just full of
God's word. It has both content and intent. It is powerful,
it is practical, it is personal, and it is persuasive.
(07:42):
You know, real preaching is truth shared through personality. It
is truth through personality, and it is aimed at the heart.
It goes for the heart and not just the head.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
And with all of his.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Energy, he pressed the truth home that Jesus is Lord,
and that every person can know Christ and can be
saved by receiving the Lord Jesus, repenting of their sin
and believing in him. This should always be the passion
of the man of God. This should always be the
passion of the preacher of the gospel, not to impress
(08:17):
people with our eloquence, not to entertain people with our theatrics,
not to persuade people with our human personality, but to
simply courageously, boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, because
in that message hope is given. There is the humanity
of this preacher as he delivers the scriptures. And then
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there's the spirituality of this preacher, because remember he's now
anointed and appointed for this moment. There's fire, there's conviction,
there's power in what is said. And remember this is
all done in the context and the atmosphere of prayer.
God's people had waited as Jesus had instructed them, those
one hundred and twenty who gather in an upstairs room,
(09:01):
and the spirit of God came, and they were full
of God's spirit. So Peter was not alone when he
stood that day. He stood in the midst of the
other disciples. He stood on the wings of believing prayer.
He was the voice of the praying church. So, moving
from scripture to scripture, as you read these words, it
(09:21):
is chalk full of the word of God.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
He is simply explaining the scriptures.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
There's no doubt here regarding the infallibility and the inheransy
of the Word of God, the validity of miracles, the
deity of Christ, the need for people, all people.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Everywhere, to be saved.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Several days previous, Simon Peter had drawn a sword in
the garden of Gethsemine to defend Christ. He failed miserably
in that case and was rebuked by the Lord Jesus.
But now he bears a sword of a different kind.
He now stands full of the spirit and is bearing
the sword of the Spirit, which is.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
The Word of God.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
And you know, it's not great preaching that God blesses,
but it is a great witness to Jesus, that God blesses.
And may our witness be of Christ. May our witness
be of Jesus himself. And that brings us to the
second point, really of this message. And this ought to
be included in all of our witnesses, as we are
(10:23):
explaining the scriptures and as we are exalting the Savior.
As you read this message, it is a Jesus filled message.
He speaks of a recognizable savior. Look at verse twenty two.
Men of Israel. Hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a
man attested to you by God with mighty works and
(10:45):
wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst.
As you yourself know, the word attested there means proven
or demonstrated, attested to you by God. God said of
his own son and his baptism, this is my beloved son,
(11:09):
in whom I am well pleased. He is the fulfillment
of prophecy. And what Peter does is to make a
case for Christ. And he says, Jesus, his miraculous life
is demonstrable. You can know it, you can see it.
He is living proof of who he is. You see,
(11:32):
the Christian faith, unlike any of the world religions, is
totally dependent upon one person, Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message.
The message in his book Angels, Doctor Graham takes you
through scripture to explore how angels serve, protect and point
us to the power of our Savior. We want to
send you this powerful book today to thank you for
your generous gift to help PowerPoint end this current year
(12:03):
of ministry on June thirtieth, as strong as possible. This
is so important. A two hundred thousand dollars matching grant
has been offered by generous friends, which means every dollar
you give through June thirtieth will be doubled. Call one
eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. That's
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
(12:26):
You can also text the word angels to five nine
seven eight nine. Don't let stress rob you of peace.
It is possible to break the destructive grip of stress
on your life and enjoy the peace and abundance God
desires for you. That's what doctor Graham helps you do
in his booklet Breaking Free from Stress. We want to
send you a digital download of Breaking Free from Stress
(12:47):
when you sign up for email updates from PowerPoint Today.
Just go to PowerPoint dot org slash stress and sign
up today. Now let's get back to today's message.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
The message the miracle life of Jesus, his virgin birth,
his virtuous life, his vicarious death upon the cross, his
victorious resurrection, and his visible return.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
It is all about him.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
And of course, when he came and walked upon the earth,
he attested to his deity by size and wonders and miracles.
He demonstrated power over disease, and over death and over darkness.
The miracle working power of Jesus Christ is still active today.
We have seen the miracle hand of God in our lives,
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most personally, most deeply, the.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Miracle of the new life, the do birth in Christ.
But our God is still alive, and our God, the.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Lord Jesus, is still performing miracles in people's lives today.
You said I don't believe in miracles, then explain the
life of Jesus Christ. There's no explanation of his life
life apart from his miracles. And these who watched and
listened that day, they knew it was true. They had
seen the miracles. They had seen him heal the sick.
(14:10):
They had seen him touch the leper and make the
leper clean. They had known of his raising Lazarus from
the dead. As you yourselves know, you must come face
to face with the reality of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
That he lived a miracle life. No one ever lived
(14:32):
like this one. But not only is he a recognizable savior,
but he is a rejected savior.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
And Peter took the message.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Right to the cross, and he pointed a long figure
in the faces of those who were listening there that day,
those who participated in the very death and crucifixion of Jesus,
and said, you have crucified the Lord of Glory.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
You did it, he said, God planned it.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Don't ever think that the cross was just an accident
or an afterthought in the mind of God. No, the
lamb of God, the Lord Jesus, was slain before the
foundation of the world. This was God's plan from the
very beginning, so it was foreplanned. It was ordained by
God himself. The Lord laid on him the iniquity of
us all but know that Jesus was not a victim.
(15:24):
He delivered his life. He offered his life. He said,
greater love hath no man than this, but that a
man laid down his life for his friend.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
He laid down his life. But thank God it was
at the.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
End of the story, because then he speaks of a
risen savior.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Verse twenty four.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
God raised him up, loosening the pangs of death, because
it was not possible for him.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
To be held by it.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
You say a resurrection is impossible, No, it is impossible for.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Death to hold the Lord of Glory Jesus.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Is alive, and that is the heart of the Christian message.
That is the hope of what we share. If Christ
is still in the grave, we have no message. But
because he lives, because Christ is Lord, we have a
message of everlasting life.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
He is alive, and that's.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
The gospel, the death, the burial, the resurrection of Christ.
And we're not preaching the gospel until we deliver that message.
But not only a rejected Christ, arisen Christ, a recognizable savior,
but a reigning Savior. Because in this passage he goes
on to say verse thirty two, this Jesus God raised up,
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and of that we are all witnesses, being therefore exalted
at the right hand of God, and having received from
the promise of the Father the Holy Spirit, he has
poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Christ
is alive.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
He is raining.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Angels adore him, the saints are worshiping him. Hurl your
accusations at him, blaspheing his name, deny him.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
But you cannot stop him. Because he is Lord.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
He is unchangeable, he is unstoppable because he is raining.
That's why the scripture says that one day every knee
will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of God. Well, Peter gets
to the close of this message, and that is exhorting
the sinner. When they came running up and said, cut
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to the heart, the Bible says they were cut to
the heart word which means stabbed to the heart. It
just ripped them wide open. And they said, what shall
we do? And Peter said, repent and believe, repent and
be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. There was conviction
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of sin, conviction of sin. And where there is a
true witness of the Gospel and true conversion, there will
all ways be conviction. And the instrument of conviction is
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has come, according to
John sixteen, to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.
And when Jesus is preached, when the Gospel is delivered,
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people come face to face with their own sin in
view of a cross of God's love. There was conviction
of sin. There was conversion of life. Three things have
to take place.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
There are three.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Marks that identify a converted person. One is repentance. Conversion
means repentance. The word repentance means that you are going
in one direction. Your back is towards God. You're walking
away from God, living your own life, doing your own thing.
And then you come face to face with Christ and
his claim upon your life. You come face to face
with your own sin and the judgment of God against
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sin in your life, and you repent of your sin,
which means you turn around, you do an about face,
and now you are following Christ. You are walking towards God.
You are living in the forgiveness of sin and in
the power of Jesus Christ. And repentance is the missing
word in the contemporary church.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
And yet Jesus.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Said, unless you repent, you will all perish. So there
is conviction of sin. There is conversion of life through repentance,
and then remission, which is the forgiveness of sin. That's
what remission is, the forgiveness of sin through personal faith
in Jesus Christ. In the shed blood of Christ which
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cleanses us, we are saved. It's unfortunate that some use
Acts chapter two, verse thirty eight to teach that baptism
somehow saves. Peter never mentioned baptism and his other message
as being the same reading instrument of God.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Water.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Baptism does not save, nor does it help to say save.
You say, well, why does it say? Then repent and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus,
for the forgiveness of your sin. That little word for
there is a Greek preposition, a small preposition ei s ice.
It is translated in various ways in the New Testament
in on at by with for or because.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Of that was fast? Was it it? And in this case,
no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
It means because of be baptized in lieu of because
of the forgiveness of sins, because Christ has cleansed you.
It is the blood of Christ, God's Son that cleanses
us from every sin, and baptism in water signifies that
and symbolizes that wonderful truth.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
You say, how do you know that? Read the rest
of the New Testament.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
The New Testament does not teach baptismal regeneration, in other words,
that baptism saves or helps to say no Christ in
Christ alone. When it says baptized for the remission of sin,
we use it in the same way in.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
The English language. The word four.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
If you read a poster on the wall that says
man wanted for murder, You don't go and apply for
the job. No, you know that four in that case
means because of and so the remission of sins we
are forgiven. And baptism then is the outward sign invisible
symbol of that inner cleansing. And then simultaneous with repentance
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and remission of sin is regeneration or receiving the gift
of the Holy Spirit. No one is converted apart from
the incoming and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I'd
like to say more about that, especially the fact that
when the Holy Spirit is in us and regenerates us,
that is the confidence that we have in Christ. He
is the witness of God's Spirit in us. And that
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is why we can say we know that we know
that we know that Christ is living in us. So
there is the conviction of sin, there's the conversion of life,
and then there's the confession of faith. For on that
day they confess Christ best as Lord and Savior and
met a costly act of commitment. These Jews who heard
the Gospel that day publicly followed Christ. It was obedience
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to God's son and allegiance to God's church, they were
added that day verse forty one. Added that day to
the believers were three thousand on the first day the
message changed lives.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
And then verse.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Forty seven, look at it that the people were praising
God and having favor with all the people, and the
Lord added to the number to their number day by.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Day those who were being saved. Do a little math
with me.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
In Acts Chapter one, one hundred and twenty believers were
in the upper room pray. The Spirit came down and
the church went out sharing Christ. So in Acts chapter two,
verse forty one, three thousand were added when the gospel
was first preached. Then in Acts two, verse forty seven,
we just read it people were added to the church daily.
Their witness was in the streets, that in the temple,
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and from house to house, and every day evangelism was
taking place.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
And then in Acts.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Chapter four and verse four we read again that four
thousand men, no doubt others were added, the women, the
children who came to Christ. But noted where the four
thousand men who were added In Acts chapter four, the
church is now growing at an unprecedented pace.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Acts Chapter five, verse twenty eight. The church has filled
the entire city with the Gospel.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
They were accused of filling the city with this message
of Jesus Christ. They captured the hearts of the people
in that city with a message of Christ. And then
in Acts chapter six and verse seven, the church multiplied greatly.
Now they've moved from addition to multiplication, and ultimately, in
describing the church in Jerusalem, it was known as a
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multitude of people who believe. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands
of people came into the Kingdom of God with this
simple message.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Jesus says.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message.
The message. On June thirtieth, we will close our books
on another year of ministry, and it's critical we end strong.
That's why generous friends have stepped forward with a two
hundred thousand dollars matching grant, which means every dollar you
give by June thirtieth will be doubled. Your gift to
(24:18):
help meet this grant in full is so important. We'll
send you doctor Graham's powerful book Angels. It's our special
gift and thank you to you. This encouraging book reveals
what Scripture says about God's messengers and how their presence
reminds us that Heaven is always near. Request your copy
when you call and give today call one eight hundred
(24:39):
seven ninety five four six two seven. That's one eight
hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. You can
also text the word angels to five nine seven eight nine,
And don't forget to visit Jack Graham dot org where
you can shop our East store, give a gift online,
or sign up for doctor Graham's free daily email devotional.
(25:00):
Our website again is Jack Graham dot org. And also
be sure to sign up for doctor Graham's podcast Bible
in a Year pastor what is your PowerPoint for Today?
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Well, there's really so much we can learn from this
man's life. Peter was a man that was certainly acquainted
with fear. The night before Christ was crucified, he had
been so frightened that he wouldn't even associate with Jesus,
and he denied the Lord three times. Yet in Peter's
first sermon in Acts chapter two, we see a different man.
We now see a courageous Peter, a man empowered. We
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see a man who we can truly say of him,
he is as bold as a lion. Peter was known
in the past as being brash, but now he is
bold for the Lord, and the same courage, empowerment, and
boldness that we see in his life can be the courage,
the empowerment, and the boldness that we can have in
our lives because of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Is true.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
When Peter shared the good news of g Jesus, he
relied upon the work and the witness of the Spirit
in him, not on his oratorical skills or the powers
of his persuasion. And when he spoke, he aimed at
the heart, not at the head. And then it's also
important to remember that when Peter shared with people, he
was practical, he was down to earth. He proclaimed the facts,
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and with the force of the Gospel he delivered on
the message. And then, thirdly, when Peter preached, he was personal.
He met people where they were, and he professed that
Jesus was Lord. And the last thing is when Peter
spoke and shared his faith in the Lord Jesus, full
of the Holy Spirit, he was persuasive with passion. He
proclaimed that everyone, all people, must repent and receive Jesus
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as Lord and Savior. And as a result, many many
people were moved by the Spirit working through Peter and
they came to faith in Christ. It's my prayer as
you look at the example of this bold believer today,
that you will realize the tremendous potential that you have
have to touch people at the point of their need
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Allow the Spirit of
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God to fill you and flood your life and overflow.
Be a bold witness for Christ. Bowl is a lion
to proclaim the good news that Jesus saves.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
And that is today's power Point. Remember when you give
a gift of ten dollars or more to PowerPoint, we'll
send you doctor Graham's book Angels as our thanks. Call
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
That's one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
You can also text the word Angels to five nine
(27:39):
seven eight nine and join us again next time as
doctor Graham brings a message about how you can tap
into the work of Jesus through your church. That's next
time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham
is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A
little later in the program, we'll tell you how you
can get a copy of doctor Graham's book Angels. But first,
here's the message. The message.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Take God's word and turn with me to the second
chapter of Acts. The Holy Spirit poured out on the
day of Pentecost resulted in men and women proclaiming the
wonderful works of God, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And in the midst of this conversation and communication of
(00:43):
the message of Christ, one man stood up and gave
the first sermon, the inaugural message of the Church. And
when we read this message in Acts chapter two, delivered
by the Big Fishermen and Simon Peter, we're taken by
the heart of this message and the simplicity of this message,
(01:07):
and yet the powerful effect, the dramatic effect and impact
of this simple message. Jesus says, it is the message
that changed the world. It is the message that changed
my life. It is the message that has changed the
lives of countless men and women throughout the ages, and
(01:30):
this very day, in the context, in the atmosphere of
the work and witness of the Holy Spirit, one man
delivered the message, but it was the voice of the church,
praying and praising God together that accomplish the goal. When
you read this message in Acts, chapter two is just
(01:51):
twenty two verses. Of course, what we have in these
twenty two verses comprising this sermon is really a summary
that the Spirit of God has given us of the
message declared that day. And the message that we hear
in this passage of scripture is God conceived. It is
(02:11):
full of the Scripture, it is full of God's spirit.
It is Christ centered, and it is spirit control. And
it brought the congregation listening that day face to face
with the Living Lord. So looking at verse fourteen, chapter
(02:32):
two of Acts, but Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted
up his voice and addressed them, men of Judea and
all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you,
and give ear to my works. For these men are
not drunk, as you suppose, since it's only.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
The third hour of the day.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
You see those who were speaking the wonderful works of
God in the languages of the nations, who had gathered
around on the day of Pentecouse, we're accused now of
being drunken.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
But they were not drunk.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Except that they had a drink at Joel's place. Joel,
the Prophet had prophesied the coming of the Holy Spirit,
and that is what is happening. He said in verse sixteen.
This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
And then verse twenty one.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
And he shall come to pass that everyone who calls
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Men
of Israel, hear these words verse twenty two. 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. As you yourself know this, Jesus delivered up
according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. You
(03:45):
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.
Then skipped out and look at verse thirty seven. Now
when they heard this, they were cut to the heart
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers,
(04:06):
what shall we do. And Peter said to them, repent
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, and you
will received the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the
promises for you and for your children, and for all
who are afar off, everyone whom the Lord our God
(04:26):
calls to himself. And with many other words, he bore
witness and continued to exhort them, saying, save yourselves from
this crooked generation. Note what happened in verse forty one.
So those who received his word were baptized, and there
were added that day about three thousand souls. Simon Peter
(04:50):
took a text from the Word of God. He proclaimed
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God activated
in the lives of God's people and their witness then
connected with those who.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Heard, and on the very first day of the church,
three thousand souls were born into the Kingdom of God.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
This message, like all Gospel messages, like all messages that
are effective and successful in reaching the hero is very simple.
You don't have to go down deep and stay down
long and come up dry in order to be successful. No,
proclaim the message of Christ and all of its content,
(05:32):
and know that the Gospel and its power will change lives,
whether it is in your public witness, as I am
sharing Christ publicly right now, or it is in your
personal witness, because remember this, the message was delivered in
the context of all of the believers spreading out into
the streets and sharing the message of Christ. So coming
(05:54):
together is this personal witness and now this public message
of hope, as Peter is.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Drawing the net.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I know many of us have fears concerning sharing our faith.
But if you understand the message that God has given you,
you can be effective and used by God in proclaiming
the gospel.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
And if you will do these things that Simon.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Peter did that we all can do, you can be
effective in communicating the message to the world. And the
message is simply this. It is the explaining of the scriptures.
It is the exaltation of the Savior, and it is
the exhortation to the sinner. And let's look at that
briefly today. First there is the explaining of the scriptures.
(06:43):
That's what this man did on that day. Of course,
this is the same man who melted like butter on
a hot day before the Cross of Christ. He denied
Christ three times. Simon Peter, who was often so bold
in his faith, was a weakling when it came to standing.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Up for Christ to the cross.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
But now this same man, full of the Holy Spirit
in all of his humanity. God did not change this
man in terms of his personality, but used his personality
and transformed his life from the inside out. And now
he is not a coward. He is a courageous witness
of the Gospel. He's not whipping out, he's standing up.
(07:22):
And he says, men of Israel, listen unto me. I
love the authority that we see in his voice. I
love the passion and the heart that we see as
this man shares. And this message is just full of
God's word. It has both content and intent. It is powerful,
it is practical, it is personal, and it is persuasive.
(07:42):
You know, real preaching is truth shared through personality. It
is truth through personality, and it is aimed at the heart.
It goes for the heart and not just the head.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
And with all of his.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Energy, he pressed the truth home that Jesus is Lord,
and that every person can know Christ and can be
saved by receiving the Lord Jesus, repenting of their sin
and believing in him. This should always be the passion
of the man of God. This should always be the
passion of the preacher of the gospel, not to impress
(08:17):
people with our eloquence, not to entertain people with our theatrics,
not to persuade people with our human personality, but to
simply courageously, boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, because
in that message hope is given. There is the humanity
of this preacher as he delivers the scriptures. And then
(08:39):
there's the spirituality of this preacher, because remember he's now
anointed and appointed for this moment. There's fire, there's conviction,
there's power in what is said. And remember this is
all done in the context and the atmosphere of prayer.
God's people had waited as Jesus had instructed them, those
one hundred and twenty who gather in an upstairs room,
(09:01):
and the spirit of God came, and they were full
of God's spirit. So Peter was not alone when he
stood that day. He stood in the midst of the
other disciples. He stood on the wings of believing prayer.
He was the voice of the praying church. So, moving
from scripture to scripture, as you read these words, it
(09:21):
is chalk full of the word of God.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
He is simply explaining the scriptures.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
There's no doubt here regarding the infallibility and the inheransy
of the Word of God, the validity of miracles, the
deity of Christ, the need for people, all people.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Everywhere, to be saved.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Several days previous, Simon Peter had drawn a sword in
the garden of Gethsemine to defend Christ. He failed miserably
in that case and was rebuked by the Lord Jesus.
But now he bears a sword of a different kind.
He now stands full of the spirit and is bearing
the sword of the Spirit, which is.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
The Word of God.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
And you know, it's not great preaching that God blesses,
but it is a great witness to Jesus, that God blesses.
And may our witness be of Christ. May our witness
be of Jesus himself. And that brings us to the
second point, really of this message. And this ought to
be included in all of our witnesses, as we are
(10:23):
explaining the scriptures and as we are exalting the Savior.
As you read this message, it is a Jesus filled message.
He speaks of a recognizable savior. Look at verse twenty two.
Men of Israel. Hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a
man attested to you by God with mighty works and
(10:45):
wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst.
As you yourself know, the word attested there means proven
or demonstrated, attested to you by God. God said of
his own son and his baptism, this is my beloved son,
(11:09):
in whom I am well pleased. He is the fulfillment
of prophecy. And what Peter does is to make a
case for Christ. And he says, Jesus, his miraculous life
is demonstrable. You can know it, you can see it.
He is living proof of who he is. You see,
(11:32):
the Christian faith, unlike any of the world religions, is
totally dependent upon one person, Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message.
The message in his book Angels, Doctor Graham takes you
through scripture to explore how angels serve, protect and point
us to the power of our Savior. We want to
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(12:03):
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Just go to PowerPoint dot org slash stress and sign
up today. Now let's get back to today's message.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
The message the miracle life of Jesus, his virgin birth,
his virtuous life, his vicarious death upon the cross, his
victorious resurrection, and his visible return.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
It is all about him.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
And of course, when he came and walked upon the earth,
he attested to his deity by size and wonders and miracles.
He demonstrated power over disease, and over death and over darkness.
The miracle working power of Jesus Christ is still active today.
We have seen the miracle hand of God in our lives,
(13:40):
most personally, most deeply, the.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Miracle of the new life, the do birth in Christ.
But our God is still alive, and our God, the.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Lord Jesus, is still performing miracles in people's lives today.
You said I don't believe in miracles, then explain the
life of Jesus Christ. There's no explanation of his life
life apart from his miracles. And these who watched and
listened that day, they knew it was true. They had
seen the miracles. They had seen him heal the sick.
(14:10):
They had seen him touch the leper and make the
leper clean. They had known of his raising Lazarus from
the dead. As you yourselves know, you must come face
to face with the reality of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
That he lived a miracle life. No one ever lived
(14:32):
like this one. But not only is he a recognizable savior,
but he is a rejected savior.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
And Peter took the message.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Right to the cross, and he pointed a long figure
in the faces of those who were listening there that day,
those who participated in the very death and crucifixion of Jesus,
and said, you have crucified the Lord of Glory.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
You did it, he said, God planned it.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Don't ever think that the cross was just an accident
or an afterthought in the mind of God. No, the
lamb of God, the Lord Jesus, was slain before the
foundation of the world. This was God's plan from the
very beginning, so it was foreplanned. It was ordained by
God himself. The Lord laid on him the iniquity of
us all but know that Jesus was not a victim.
(15:24):
He delivered his life. He offered his life. He said,
greater love hath no man than this, but that a
man laid down his life for his friend.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
He laid down his life. But thank God it was
at the.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
End of the story, because then he speaks of a
risen savior.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Verse twenty four.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
God raised him up, loosening the pangs of death, because
it was not possible for him.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
To be held by it.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
You say a resurrection is impossible, No, it is impossible for.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Death to hold the Lord of Glory Jesus.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Is alive, and that is the heart of the Christian message.
That is the hope of what we share. If Christ
is still in the grave, we have no message. But
because he lives, because Christ is Lord, we have a
message of everlasting life.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
He is alive, and that's.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
The gospel, the death, the burial, the resurrection of Christ.
And we're not preaching the gospel until we deliver that message.
But not only a rejected Christ, arisen Christ, a recognizable savior,
but a reigning Savior. Because in this passage he goes
on to say verse thirty two, this Jesus God raised up,
(16:43):
and of that we are all witnesses, being therefore exalted
at the right hand of God, and having received from
the promise of the Father the Holy Spirit, he has
poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Christ
is alive.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
He is raining.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Angels adore him, the saints are worshiping him. Hurl your
accusations at him, blaspheing his name, deny him.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
But you cannot stop him. Because he is Lord.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
He is unchangeable, he is unstoppable because he is raining.
That's why the scripture says that one day every knee
will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of God. Well, Peter gets
to the close of this message, and that is exhorting
the sinner. When they came running up and said, cut
(17:41):
to the heart, the Bible says they were cut to
the heart word which means stabbed to the heart. It
just ripped them wide open. And they said, what shall
we do? And Peter said, repent and believe, repent and
be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. There was conviction
(18:03):
of sin, conviction of sin. And where there is a
true witness of the Gospel and true conversion, there will
all ways be conviction. And the instrument of conviction is
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has come, according to
John sixteen, to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.
And when Jesus is preached, when the Gospel is delivered,
(18:27):
people come face to face with their own sin in
view of a cross of God's love. There was conviction
of sin. There was conversion of life. Three things have
to take place.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
There are three.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Marks that identify a converted person. One is repentance. Conversion
means repentance. The word repentance means that you are going
in one direction. Your back is towards God. You're walking
away from God, living your own life, doing your own thing.
And then you come face to face with Christ and
his claim upon your life. You come face to face
with your own sin and the judgment of God against
(19:00):
sin in your life, and you repent of your sin,
which means you turn around, you do an about face,
and now you are following Christ. You are walking towards God.
You are living in the forgiveness of sin and in
the power of Jesus Christ. And repentance is the missing
word in the contemporary church.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
And yet Jesus.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Said, unless you repent, you will all perish. So there
is conviction of sin. There is conversion of life through repentance,
and then remission, which is the forgiveness of sin. That's
what remission is, the forgiveness of sin through personal faith
in Jesus Christ. In the shed blood of Christ which
(19:43):
cleanses us, we are saved. It's unfortunate that some use
Acts chapter two, verse thirty eight to teach that baptism
somehow saves. Peter never mentioned baptism and his other message
as being the same reading instrument of God.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Water.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Baptism does not save, nor does it help to say save.
You say, well, why does it say? Then repent and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus,
for the forgiveness of your sin. That little word for
there is a Greek preposition, a small preposition ei s ice.
It is translated in various ways in the New Testament
in on at by with for or because.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Of that was fast? Was it it? And in this case,
no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
It means because of be baptized in lieu of because
of the forgiveness of sins, because Christ has cleansed you.
It is the blood of Christ, God's Son that cleanses
us from every sin, and baptism in water signifies that
and symbolizes that wonderful truth.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
You say, how do you know that? Read the rest
of the New Testament.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
The New Testament does not teach baptismal regeneration, in other words,
that baptism saves or helps to say no Christ in
Christ alone. When it says baptized for the remission of sin,
we use it in the same way in.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
The English language. The word four.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
If you read a poster on the wall that says
man wanted for murder, You don't go and apply for
the job. No, you know that four in that case
means because of and so the remission of sins we
are forgiven. And baptism then is the outward sign invisible
symbol of that inner cleansing. And then simultaneous with repentance
(21:27):
and remission of sin is regeneration or receiving the gift
of the Holy Spirit. No one is converted apart from
the incoming and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I'd
like to say more about that, especially the fact that
when the Holy Spirit is in us and regenerates us,
that is the confidence that we have in Christ. He
is the witness of God's Spirit in us. And that
(21:48):
is why we can say we know that we know
that we know that Christ is living in us. So
there is the conviction of sin, there's the conversion of life,
and then there's the confession of faith. For on that
day they confess Christ best as Lord and Savior and
met a costly act of commitment. These Jews who heard
the Gospel that day publicly followed Christ. It was obedience
(22:10):
to God's son and allegiance to God's church, they were
added that day verse forty one. Added that day to
the believers were three thousand on the first day the
message changed lives.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
And then verse.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Forty seven, look at it that the people were praising
God and having favor with all the people, and the
Lord added to the number to their number day by.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Day those who were being saved. Do a little math
with me.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
In Acts Chapter one, one hundred and twenty believers were
in the upper room pray. The Spirit came down and
the church went out sharing Christ. So in Acts chapter two,
verse forty one, three thousand were added when the gospel
was first preached. Then in Acts two, verse forty seven,
we just read it people were added to the church daily.
Their witness was in the streets, that in the temple,
(22:58):
and from house to house, and every day evangelism was
taking place.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
And then in Acts.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Chapter four and verse four we read again that four
thousand men, no doubt others were added, the women, the
children who came to Christ. But noted where the four
thousand men who were added In Acts chapter four, the
church is now growing at an unprecedented pace.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Acts Chapter five, verse twenty eight. The church has filled
the entire city with the Gospel.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
They were accused of filling the city with this message
of Jesus Christ. They captured the hearts of the people
in that city with a message of Christ. And then
in Acts chapter six and verse seven, the church multiplied greatly.
Now they've moved from addition to multiplication, and ultimately, in
describing the church in Jerusalem, it was known as a
(23:44):
multitude of people who believe. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands
of people came into the Kingdom of God with this
simple message.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Jesus says.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message.
The message. On June thirtieth, we will close our books
on another year of ministry, and it's critical we end strong.
That's why generous friends have stepped forward with a two
hundred thousand dollars matching grant, which means every dollar you
give by June thirtieth will be doubled. Your gift to
(24:18):
help meet this grant in full is so important. We'll
send you doctor Graham's powerful book Angels. It's our special
gift and thank you to you. This encouraging book reveals
what Scripture says about God's messengers and how their presence
reminds us that Heaven is always near. Request your copy
when you call and give today call one eight hundred
(24:39):
seven ninety five four six two seven. That's one eight
hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. You can
also text the word angels to five nine seven eight nine,
And don't forget to visit Jack Graham dot org where
you can shop our East store, give a gift online,
or sign up for doctor Graham's free daily email devotional.
(25:00):
Our website again is Jack Graham dot org. And also
be sure to sign up for doctor Graham's podcast Bible
in a Year pastor what is your PowerPoint for Today?
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Well, there's really so much we can learn from this
man's life. Peter was a man that was certainly acquainted
with fear. The night before Christ was crucified, he had
been so frightened that he wouldn't even associate with Jesus,
and he denied the Lord three times. Yet in Peter's
first sermon in Acts chapter two, we see a different man.
We now see a courageous Peter, a man empowered. We
(25:35):
see a man who we can truly say of him,
he is as bold as a lion. Peter was known
in the past as being brash, but now he is
bold for the Lord, and the same courage, empowerment, and
boldness that we see in his life can be the courage,
the empowerment, and the boldness that we can have in
our lives because of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Is true.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
When Peter shared the good news of g Jesus, he
relied upon the work and the witness of the Spirit
in him, not on his oratorical skills or the powers
of his persuasion. And when he spoke, he aimed at
the heart, not at the head. And then it's also
important to remember that when Peter shared with people, he
was practical, he was down to earth. He proclaimed the facts,
(26:20):
and with the force of the Gospel he delivered on
the message. And then, thirdly, when Peter preached, he was personal.
He met people where they were, and he professed that
Jesus was Lord. And the last thing is when Peter
spoke and shared his faith in the Lord Jesus, full
of the Holy Spirit, he was persuasive with passion. He
proclaimed that everyone, all people, must repent and receive Jesus
(26:44):
as Lord and Savior. And as a result, many many
people were moved by the Spirit working through Peter and
they came to faith in Christ. It's my prayer as
you look at the example of this bold believer today,
that you will realize the tremendous potential that you have
have to touch people at the point of their need
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Allow the Spirit of
(27:06):
God to fill you and flood your life and overflow.
Be a bold witness for Christ. Bowl is a lion
to proclaim the good news that Jesus saves.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
And that is today's power Point. Remember when you give
a gift of ten dollars or more to PowerPoint, we'll
send you doctor Graham's book Angels as our thanks. Call
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
That's one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
You can also text the word Angels to five nine
(27:39):
seven eight nine and join us again next time as
doctor Graham brings a message about how you can tap
into the work of Jesus through your church. That's next
time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham
is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
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