Drunk in the Holy Spirit?

Let us turn to the book of Acts, chapter 2. As you will remember very well, whenever the Lord gives us permission and allows us, amid all the other things we do here in our preaching, we have been returning to the book of Acts and drawing from it themes that help us forge what we call that supernatural mindset, that Pentecostal, spiritually profound mindset that God wants us to have, based on his Word.

And here in chapter 2, verse 14, we pick up the story where we left off about two or three weeks ago, when we saw the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon those disciples who were gathered together, possibly in the upper room; some say that perhaps they were still in the temple that day and that it was not necessarily in the upper room.

If you read the text, it is not entirely clear about that, but since we have always said that it was in the upper room, why change now, right? Let us leave it that way: it was in the upper room. But it is possible that it was somewhere else as well.

Now, we saw how, in that passage, the elements of wind, tongues, and fire were part of what God wanted to express about how the ministry of the Holy Spirit would manifest itself in the lives of his people: a ministry of power, healing, supernatural manifestations, direct communication with God, and universal access for all believers to the gifts of the Holy Spirit—all these things. And now we pick up the story here in this passage, where Peter stands up and says:

“…he raised his voice and spoke to the crowd—and we are going to see where that crowd came from—and said to them, ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words, for these people you see here are not drunk, that is, they are not intoxicated, as you suppose, since it is the third hour of the day, nine in the morning. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: And in the last days, God says’—and now he quotes the Book of Joel—‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. And indeed, upon my male servants and my female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy. And I will give wonders above in heaven and signs below on earth: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Men of Israel…’ Then here he goes into…”

I am not going to read it all. Here he goes into a passage that speaks about the ministry of Jesus Christ, and I will touch on it a little later—the calling of Christ to be Messiah and to be Lord. And then, further on in verse 32—we are going to speed up the reading a little—it says:

“…This Jesus God raised up”—we are still in Peter’s sermon—“this Jesus God raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet…’”

And here is the absolute and certain conclusion: “…Therefore, let all the house of Israel know most assuredly that this Jesus, whom you crucified, God has made both Lord and Christ…”

May the Lord bless his holy Word. Amen. Amen. What happened here? We saw the following: the Holy Spirit is poured out, there is a roar that stirs the whole community, and a commotion arises around the disciples. The people come near. It is the day of an immense festival; it is a time when people from every country where Jews are scattered, from all the countries of the earth, have come to Jerusalem on pilgrimage precisely to celebrate that very important feast, the feast of the new fruits, of the new harvest, which was called Pentecost. It was a Jewish religious festival.

There are people from every nation. There is a roar. The people flock to the place where these people are having some very interesting manifestations. Suddenly these people begin to speak. Everyone knows that they are not educated people, they are not scholars, they have not studied languages, and yet they are speaking, with perfect accents, each of the different languages of the lands where these Jews live, and that is why they can recognize the languages of the lands where they live. And there is a great commotion. Then Peter, taking advantage of the opportunity to explain what is happening, stands up and begins the text we have just read.

And how does Peter begin his sermon? By the way, this is the first sermon recorded in the Bible and probably the first sermon preached under the new era, so to speak, of the Gospel, after Christ dies, rises again, and ascends to heaven. We might say that it is the first sermon of the Christian era. That is why this sermon is so important.

And then, look at the first thing Peter clarifies. He says: “…for these people are not drunk, they are not intoxicated, as you suppose…” What had happened here? One wonders why Peter feels compelled to make this his first clarification. The first thing he says is, “Gentlemen, these people are not drunk as you think.” I wonder—I tried to visualize what was happening there. There were probably some strange manifestations, because if all they had been doing was speaking in a very orderly manner, in sequence, one language after another, the people would have said, “Wow, this is something absolutely…” No, but they thought these people were drunk. Why? Because I think there were other manifestations among them. I imagine that some were…

Have you ever heard of someone who has been baptized in the Holy Spirit and has to be dragged away as though drunk? They laugh like crazy, they cannot coordinate their movements—drunk in the Holy Spirit. This is something that has happened a great deal in recent times as well. And do you know that some people are scandalized by them? And they say, “No, that cannot be from God, because God is a God of order.” Perhaps they were all glorifying God. It says that they prophesied; I think the Bible uses that to mean that they were exuberantly glorifying God. Some worshiped the Lord and said, “You are great, you are powerful.” Others said, “Christ Jesus, you have been sent to save humanity. Glory to God.”

Have you ever attended one of those Pentecostal services where everything just bursts loose, and everyone is worshiping the Lord and praising the Lord? The little chorus says, “Some sang, others prayed, but everyone praised the Lord.” There was a celebration at that moment. The Holy Spirit had descended, and when these Jews, with their routine, with their dead, dry religion, saw that exuberance, they thought, “No, these people have blown the fuses in their brains. They are crazy. They are intoxicated. They are drunk.” And Peter says, “No, gentlemen.”

Why is it that people who are not accustomed to discerning the Holy Spirit always think that those who have the Holy Spirit are drunk or out of order? Do you remember Eli the priest, when Hannah, weeping and pouring out her heart before God, was crying out for a son, and Eli said there, “Woman, put away your rum”? I do not think they had rum in those days, but whatever it was—your wine—control yourself; this is the house of God.

When people have no experience with the Holy Spirit, they often interpret the exuberance that comes through the visitation of the Spirit as drunkenness, as disorder. Do you remember Michal, David’s wife, when David, filled with the Spirit, takes off his clothes, is left in his underwear, and dances among the television and internet cameras and all that? And there is Michal, a king’s daughter, with her nose turned up, looking at her husband and saying, “What have I gotten myself into by marrying this man? He is crazy. Look at him there, dancing in front of the community as if he were some nobody.”

Why? Because people who have no experience in the Holy Spirit often do not understand, and when the Holy Spirit manifests himself, strange things sometimes happen. And I believe that every supernatural mindset—everyone experienced in the gifts of the Spirit—has to leave room for strange things. Listen to how I am saying it. Not everything will be perfectly orderly, with all the Coca-Cola bottles lined up, one in front of another. Sometimes there will be a little disorder. And I say that cautiously, because I am going to qualify it a little more so that the cows do not get out of the corral either.

But I do believe that we need to know that sometimes God does strange things when the Holy Spirit visits. It is as if the wires in the brain shift a little out of place, and there are some slightly strange manifestations. And we have to learn to discern these things.

So Peter clarifies for them, “Gentlemen, these people are not drunk. Look at the time; it is nine in the morning. The liquor stores are still closed,” he may have said. But he wanted to make that clear, because I believe we need to understand this. Yes, I believe in order; I believe in discipline; and I believe that not enough is preached about order in worship. And you know that many times you have seen me intervene to maintain order. Because I believe that when a church opens itself to the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, there must also be order, there must be coordination, there must be authority, there must be a referee who does not let the kids pull one another’s hair, because sometimes, amid the manifestation of the Spirit, people think this is, okay, like a goat without a law, as Gregory often says. No, there also has to be a balance.

I believe in both one thing and the other; there is a tension there that we have to maintain. But I believe that a person experienced in the Holy Spirit is not scandalized by most of the things he sees. Some people lose their fellowship over anything. A little sister begins to dance a little step there and right away—it is as though everything falls apart over anything. No, you have to say, “Hey, amen, amen. You keep doing your thing and do not worry.”

Now, having said that, I want to take this opportunity to say, brothers and sisters, that when you worship, you also have to be mindful of those around you. If you read 1 Corinthians, chapter 14, it is not as though you can say, “Well, I am having my own little party here, and as for everyone else over there, let them fend for themselves however they can, right? If they do not like it, that is their problem. I am here worshiping my God.” No, no. You must always be mindful of others. The apostle Paul says that because we are one body.

So if my worship is clashing too much with everything else, the Father understands—do not think he does not. He is not going to punish me because I held back a little in my worship out of consideration for the brothers and sisters. No; on the contrary, the Father will commend me because I am exercising mercy and compassion.

Many times, a church like ours receives many people from different backgrounds, and we have the internet, where thousands of people watch us. Seeing, through a two-dimensional camera, people whom you sometimes do not even know where they are, doing strange things, is not the same as when you know them, love them, and are part of them.

In other words, all these things have to be kept in balance in life. I say, brothers and sisters, look, if at some point during worship you feel that you have to let out a shout, I am not telling you not to do it, but go to the bathroom, run in there and put a towel in your mouth or something, or simply do it as unobtrusively as possible and express your worship—but also be considerate of those around you. There is a balance in life.

Now, I also believe that in a moment of exuberance, when we are all worshiping the Lord and glorifying him, how beautiful free praise to the Lord is—a new song—when worship is heard here in one way and over there in another, when someone kneels and some dance. That is the glory of God on earth. I also believe in freedom in worship. But the Word of the Lord also tells us to be considerate of one another.

What I seek is that balance, that tension. When you see me bringing order during a time of worship, do not say, “No, the pastor is a killjoy; the pastor quenches the Spirit.” No. See the pastor simply as having a pastoral heart and caring for all his sheep, not just one or two. And that is where I want God to lead us more and more.

I wanted to take advantage of that moment to get that off my chest, to remove that little thorn. And these are moments when we can instruct the church, because that is why Peter says here, “They are not intoxicated; they are not crazy. No, this is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.”

Now, where does Peter go to prove it? Where does Peter go to show that what is happening is from God? To the prophet Joel. He goes to the Word; he goes to the Bible that was available to them in their day, which was the Old Testament, what we call the Old Testament. And there Peter, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, finds a passage in the book of Joel, a famous passage which I am sure all those people had heard about in one way or another. And I even suspect that Jesus Christ himself—in fact, I believe that Jesus, while speaking to the disciples during his earthly ministry about the moving of the Holy Spirit, had told them, “When the Holy Spirit comes, what happens there will look like this.” It is based on what the prophet Joel had prophesied hundreds of years earlier.

Now, at this moment, Peter, wanting to explain it to the people and taking advantage of that opportunity, speaks to them about the book of Joel. And how important it is, brothers and sisters, for us to take advantage of opportunities to speak about God. These people were confused; there was confusion, there was commotion in the air, and Peter said, this is my opportunity to preach about Jesus, this is my opportunity to make people sensitive to the things of the Gospel.

Brothers and sisters, we have to be ready when God opens a door for us to walk through it. Perhaps at your workplace, perhaps in your neighborhood, you are going to have an opportunity at some point: someone will come with a marital problem, someone will ask you for a loan because they are out of work, someone is going through a health crisis, and those are precious moments when you can appropriately take advantage of the moment to say, you know what? All right, you need a loan; okay, here it is, but I would like to pray for you so that the Lord may bless your finances. May I pray for the Lord to get you a job? May I pray for you, that God may heal you or heal your child? And those are precious moments when we can… God opens doors, and we have to be ready.

What Samuel was saying—that there is now a crisis here in the city of Boston, with many young people killing one another—is a very difficult situation; there are many gangs, but these gangs, as he was saying, have no leadership; they are simply random gatherings of boys killing one another, and the police do not know how to deal with them. The schools are at their wits’ end and are saying to the church, look, do your job, go out into the streets, preach the Gospel. So we have to take advantage of those moments.

People’s crises are our opportunity. We are like the people who work at the funeral home. People’s crises are…. I think it is a little better for us than for them. But the idea is that what is sometimes a moment for society is a moment when the church can say, look, God has an answer. Christ can solve these problems, and therefore we have to seize the opportunity.

Peter takes advantage of that opportunity and says to them, look at what the prophet Joel says. Now, there is something very important here. That text from Joel, as I shared this morning, is a key text; it is a text that I would say is pregnant, so to speak. If we can turn for a moment to that book of Joel, I want to take advantage of this because, you know what? Pastor Fumio Taku, who came last Sunday—this Japanese brother—spoke to us about Israel, he spoke to us about the end times, and this very text from Joel is a text concerning a manifestation that would occur twice in history.

If you read the book of Joel, the prophet Joel says precisely that there. He says:

“… And afterward, verse 28, chapter 2:28, afterward I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also upon the male servants and the female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days…”

What are those days? Those days are the end times. Those days are times that are now drawing near and into which we are entering. The thing about this prophecy, as I say, is that it is fulfilled twice. Peter, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, discerned that Joel was speaking precisely about the time in which they—Peter and his disciples, and the people around them—were living. Peter tells them, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is what the prophet Joel originally said would happen: that God was going to pour out his Spirit in a general way upon all flesh.

What had happened before? The Holy Spirit had been something reserved only for people specially chosen by God: the prophets, who were anointed with oil; the kings, who had a very exalted mission to carry out and needed the Spirit of God, were anointed with oil; and the priests, who were consecrated with oil to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The rest of the nation had to fend for themselves as best they could; they did not have access to the Spirit. And God said, no, the day will come when I will pour out my Spirit. The truck driver will be able to receive my Spirit, and not only the high priest. The housewife who cooks and washes her dishes and cares for her family will receive the Holy Spirit. The doctor will receive him, but so will the laborer who works in construction. The secretary at her workplace will be able to receive the Holy Spirit. I will pour him out upon the elderly, but you know what? I will also pour him out upon the young. I will pour him out upon the lady of the house, but also upon the maid, the one who works for her. I will now give my Holy Spirit without measure, he says, and that is what happened at Pentecost.

When, in that new order made possible by Christ, God pours out his Holy Spirit, God opened the door so that any Christian could have access to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Say, glory to God.

Then Peter says, you know what? What you see here now is 120 people, but as we see later, he says that anyone who receives Christ as Lord and Savior will also be able to have access to this wonder that you see, because God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. I will do it, I will distribute it. It is like before: who could have a computer? Only someone with a lot of money. Who could have a car? Someone who was very rich. Nowadays anyone has a car, even if it is falling apart, but they have one—four wheels, a steering wheel, whatever—because it has become widespread. The same is true of a cell phone as well. A laptop used to be something very… only a very select group of people had one, and likewise… So God said, you know what? Nowadays, not only the great ones, not only the religious professionals, but everyone will be able to enjoy my Holy Spirit. And so that is why it says here—but you know what? Remember something: the original context of this chapter of Joel refers to the end times, the times in which we are living.

Look at what it says here: “… and I will pour out my Spirit in those days, verses 29 and 30, and I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke; the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and dreadful day of Jehovah comes; and everyone who calls upon the name of Jehovah shall be saved, for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be salvation.

You see, when the Holy Spirit is poured out at Pentecost, those signs do not occur. The sun does not grow dark, the moon does not cease to give its light, there is no blood and fire as it says here, there are no dreadful wonders; but the Bible says that in the end times—when it says here, in those days—yes, there will be.

Brothers and sisters, I tell you, I do not know whether it will be in your lifetime and mine; I believe it will, but we are going to see great manifestations in the heavens and on the earth. God will manifest his power in the cosmos, he will manifest it in the sea, he will manifest it on the earth. We already see manifestations of how the earth seems to be rebelling against humanity in so many different ways: earthquakes, immense cataclysms, strange things that are happening.

Hebrews chapter 12 says that in the end times God will shake the heavens and the earth. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. I even believe that what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico—this oil that they do not know how to stop completely—is part of those messages from God that have been coming. There is the unprecedented economic crisis that the world is experiencing and that this nation and so many countries on earth have experienced. September 11—all these things have been one cataclysm after another, one terrible thing after another, and everything seems to be accelerating, and these manifestations will continue to increase.

Now, in that time of great manifestations and cataclysms, there will also be a second visitation of the Holy Spirit. I believe that what occurred at Pentecost will pale in comparison with the final manifestation of this power of the Spirit. Because what Joel says here is that in the end times God will pour out his Spirit upon the nations. I believe that the church of Jesus Christ can look ahead, because I believe that the best times for the church of Christ lie ahead. I expect great manifestations of the power of God, great conversions, great manifestations of anointing upon the church, and we have to be longing for those times, asking the Lord, Lord, send your power, send your manifestation, because Christ will not come without that visitation of power taking place first.

Two things are going to happen: there will be great cataclysms, but also great anointing upon the earth. Millions of people, I believe, are going to come to know Jesus and will cry out to God. Now, there is also something interesting in this passage Peter uses, and it is… I want you to look at this as well, because it connects with what Pastor Fumio was saying. I believe that we, as Christians, have to pay very close attention to what is happening in Israel. How do we know that what God promised—that unprecedented visitation of his Holy Spirit—is still going to occur in this time upon the earth?

Look at what it says in chapter 3, verse 1. It says: “… for behold, in those days—that same time when the Holy Spirit will be poured out with great power upon the earth, as he was on the day of Pentecost—behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and there I will enter into judgment with them on account of my people and Israel, my inheritance, whom they scattered among the nations, and they divided up my land…”

You see what it says here: that visitation of the Holy Spirit in the end times, which occurred at Pentecost and which is said to take place in the last days, will be accompanied by a couple of things. Number one: the return of the Jews to their land. And also a great event in which God will gather all the nations. The Bible says that in the end times many nations will join together to go against Israel. Israel will find itself in the worst moment of its entire history—and bear in mind that Israel has gone through terrible times: the Babylonian captivity, exile, and many attacks—but the bitterest cup still awaits Israel precisely in these times.

Remember what Pastor Fumio said: that these Orthodox rabbis declared that we have entered times that closely resemble the war of Gog and Magog, which is a war spoken of in the Old Testament that will take place when many nations unite to go against Israel and attack it. Those nations will believe that they are doing so on their own initiative, but it will be God himself moving those nations, the enemies of his people, to bring them to a place. Some believe that it is the Valley of Megiddo. It is a valley; if you have traveled through the region of Israel, you will see that there is an immense valley, a very, very large place, which is the Valley of Megiddo, and the Word says that God will gather these nations there. These nations will go against Israel, and at the most terrible moment in its history, when there seems to be no way out, the Bible says that the Jews will cry out to Christ, to Jesus, and will recognize him as their Messiah. God will open their eyes, they will cry out to Jesus, and God will visit his people, and those nations will be completely destroyed.

God says that he will gather them in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and will judge them there. Why? Because, brothers and sisters, all these nations that have persecuted Israel, all these nations that have viciously attacked the Jewish people, that have persecuted the Hebrew people, and those nations that at the end of time will unleash their hatred and persecute Israel—God is keeping an account of what they owe, and one day God will say, well, now is the time to settle accounts. And he will gather them to put them on trial. That is why there are two things: God’s heart is passionately pro-Israel, brothers and sisters. Although Israel is a rebellious people and God punishes and disciplines them, God loves his people. Therefore, in this time in which we are living, these are the days.

Notice, how do we know that we are in those days? Because at that time I will bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem. What does that mean? The Jews will come again from all the nations, as they have done in recent decades. They will gather again. God will gather these nations.

God says that those nations scattered Israel among the nations and divided up my land. There is something very revealing there, and it is this, brothers and sisters: no one has the right to divide up the land of Israel; understand this. God gave every inch of that territory to his people, and God’s gifts are irrevocable. That land belongs to the people of God. God has not changed his intention concerning that land.

I say that not even the Jews themselves have the right to give away a little piece of that land in order to gain peace. Do you know what is also happening? There is a Palestinian people, and I believe they are excellent people; I have nothing against the Palestinian people, but neither can we say that Israel may commit one sin to cover up another sin. That is, those people need a place to live, but Israel cannot hand over land and make that Palestinian nation another separate nation, take Jerusalem as people want to do today, and divide Jerusalem, giving one part to the Palestinian Muslims and leaving the other part with the people of God, because that is the idea: that the eastern part of Jerusalem—I have been there; many Arabs live there in that part—would be divided off and given to a new Palestinian nation, while Israel would keep the other part.

Brothers and sisters, anyone who knows Israel knows that Israel is the size of Rhode Island, `smaller than New Jersey; it is only a little piece of land. These Jews have been driven out of every part of the world, have been persecuted, and have returned to their ancestral land, which God gave them, as we know from his Word. Those Jews have the right to have their land.

I do not know what is going to be done with the Palestinian people. I would say that they would have to become Israeli citizens, because that is actually what they are. Many Palestinians are Israeli citizens, but what happens is that the Palestinians want the destruction of Israel, and they want a separate nation, and they want to keep throwing bombs at Israel, and they do not recognize Israel as a nation. Israel cannot give them that land.

And men have wanted to divide up the land. Today the United States is asking Israel to give up part of Jerusalem, and that cannot be done. It says clearly here that God does not want his land divided. They divided my land and cast lots for my people. So we understand this, brothers and sisters: this time of which the Apostle Peter speaks here in Acts refers to two things—a very powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit that would occur in the time in which he lived, but also in our time; and in the last days there will also be another outpouring. The Bible speaks of the early rain and the latter rain. The early rain was the rain of the Holy Spirit that fell in the book of Acts. But there will be a latter rain at the end of time for the last great harvest of souls before Christ comes. And then, at that time, that visitation of the Holy Spirit, that latter rain of the Spirit, will be accompanied by a great harvest of souls, as there was on the day of Pentecost; the gathering of the people of Israel; a terrible attack against the Jewish nation; and a God who will rise up in power to defend his people, bring history to its consummation, and bring about Christ’s second coming and the completion of everything.

So we have to be aware of all these things in order to read the times in which these events are taking place. Now, I conclude with this. After the Apostle Peter declares all these things through verse 21, he directs his preaching toward one single thing and says, brothers and sisters, what you see here—this outpouring of the Holy Spirit that you are witnessing—is the result of a change that has taken place in the spiritual realm. God has taken that man whom you crucified, that prophet whom you saw performing signs and wonders; it says here in verse 22, among you through the miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. And Peter tells them: What you see, this new distribution of the Holy Spirit, is due to the fact that God took that man whom you crucified and who was handed over according to the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God.

Why is Peter saying this here? He is saying: Ultimately, you were not the ones who killed Jesus. It was God’s will for it to happen that way. God knew that this was going to happen, and it was God’s plan. The early church always said the same thing: Christ had to suffer, Jesus had to go to the cross, Jesus had to be buried. This was part of God’s plan. And then he says: You seized Jesus and killed him by the hands of lawless men, crucifying him. God raised that Jesus up once the pains of death had been removed from him, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.

What is Peter doing here? In a nutshell, he is giving the essence of the Gospel. When you preach the Gospel to someone, preach to them about the fact that God sent his Son because he loved humanity, and that God understood that there had to be a shedding of blood because the blood was what brought justification before God; it was the sacrifice that Christ made possible. Preach that Christ died on the cross for that person’s sins, that God raised him from the dead, and that God can now, through that Christ, give reconciliation to that person. That is the Gospel; that is what we have to preach. That is the foundation of the Gospel. That is all. You do not have to be overly sophisticated. Preach Christ in the flesh, preach Christ crucified, preach Christ risen, and preach Christ baptizing with the Holy Spirit. That is all. And then say to the person, “Would you like to receive that complete package for free?” Receive it now, and you have salvation.

Then, in verses 25 through 28, what he does is simply mention how the psalmist David said something prophetically about the resurrection of Jesus, which was to come. Then look at verse 32. Here Peter begins to bring his sermon in for a landing. He has taken them through a sequence of things. He has told them that the prophet Joel prophesied about this and spoke of what they were seeing there. He also speaks to us, saying, “This will also happen in the times in which you are living.” He spoke about how all of that was possible because Christ had been crucified and had risen from the dead.

Then look at verse 33: “…therefore, having been exalted by the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear…”

What you are seeing here, ladies and gentlemen, is happening because the Father gave the Son the authority to baptize with the Holy Spirit. What do we see here? The Trinity working in concert with one another. The Father has the right and absolute authority; he exalts his Son and says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” He gives the Son the authority; he transfers to the Son the authority to distribute the Holy Spirit upon those who believe in him, and then the Holy Spirit moves with power. The Trinity working so that humanity may be saved—perfect coordination.

If someone tells you that the Trinity does not exist, say to them, “Then what is happening here?” The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the three working for the edification of his church and the advancement of God’s purposes on earth.

And Peter tells them: What you are seeing is the result of all these things. He concludes with verse 36. I ask the musicians to come up here quickly, please. Verse 36. Peter concludes with a very, very serious declaration and says:

“…Therefore let all the house of Israel know with absolute certainty”—it was like a royal proclamation, like something almost governmental that was being declared there. God was giving one nation a notification that came from another nation, the heavenly nation. The Kingdom of God was telling the house of Israel: “Let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ…”

Hallelujah! And that, brothers and sisters, is what we have to do with humanity. We have to tell people—sister, do you simply want to come up and worship? Amen, come over here. I want to finish this; just a moment, because we do not have time to talk. Please sit down, brothers and sisters. Yes, thank you.

I would rather finish this here. Forgive me. But speaking of that, there is the importance of our maintaining a certain order. I want to conclude with this very essential message: when we tell people about the Gospel, we must conclude with one thing—the Father has made Jesus Lord; he has made him Savior. The Lord unites all things in his person. We come to Christ, and the first thing we do is recognize his lordship, recognize his authority, and recognize his rule over our lives. We proclaim him to humanity. We have to receive Christ; yes, he saves us, but he also becomes Lord, the ruler of our lives. He has made him Lord and has made him Christ. God placed that mantle of authority upon his Son, and we have to point humanity toward Jesus.

The next time I preach, I want to take the rest of this passage and show you how, in the mind of the Apostle Peter—or when he concludes his sermon—he joins three things together: accepting Christ as Lord and Savior, being baptized in water, and also receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. These three things are joined to one another, and as a church we must begin looking toward that: always telling people, “Yes, Jesus saves you; be baptized as well.” Baptism does not save us from sins, but it is something we have to do, something we should do. And seek the anointing of the Holy Spirit; seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is also an important part of the Christian experience.

So, brothers and sisters, meditate on these things. Understand that God has sent his Holy Spirit and that we are living in a very clear time. Let us watch Israel’s clock closely; let us pay close attention to what is happening there, because God has great things that he also wants to do through this nation.

Let us stand. We thank you, Lord. We thank you for your Word this afternoon, Lord. Thank you because you have sent Jesus to be the one who baptizes us with his Holy Spirit. Thank you because it was not only for a time 2,000 years ago, but the best portion, the best wine, is still reserved for this time.

The latter rain is still to come, Lord. And we want to be attentive to that visitation. We do not want to miss it, Lord. Allow our church to prepare itself for that great visitation of your Spirit, Lord, in the last days, of which Joel spoke and which you began two thousand years ago on the day of Pentecost.

And we also pray for the nation of Israel, Father, because this is the time when you are accelerating a parallel process there as well, bringing that people to their native land, while nations are also gradually rising up against your people. But thank you, Father, because you have already prepared that as well, and you are working in your church, here among us too, for a great harvest of souls, like the one that took place on the day of Pentecost. We too, Lord, want to be part of that harvest, as Peter was on that day of your visitation.

We bless you, Lord, this afternoon. We want your name to be glorified, Lord. Help us to have understanding; help us to love your nation, to love your people Israel, Lord. We ask your blessing upon that nation, just as we ask it upon this nation in which we also live, Father. We know that we are living in significant times, and we want to discern the times; we want to discern what you are doing and align ourselves with what you want us to do as your people, Father. We praise and glorify your name. Thank you, Lord Jesus. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Amen.