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Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

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Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

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It's about what God, Jesus particularly, had commissioned them to do. And that was to go forth and declare that Christ came to die for sinners. He died, he was buried, and he rose again. And if you repent and turn to Him and accept Jesus, then you'll find new life and forgiveness and remission of your sin. That's our message.

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At times, folks might find themselves a bit puzzled when it comes to understanding the gospel. They often share misguided ideas and end up being tagged as false teachers. Today, Pastor Carl dives into the heart of the gospel, sharing its true essence with you. Jesus arrived in the world with a profound purpose to sacrifice himself for your sins. He conquered death, cleansed your sins, and came back to life. Now, all it takes is a little faith in Jesus, and you'll find yourself saved from eternal damnation. And now, here's Pastor Carl.

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Luke recorded it. Why do we believe it? Because there were hundreds of disciples there that watched this happen. And it happened. And the angels said, He's coming back. And they know because they hang out with them, right? So Jesus is coming back. Are you ready? And even more so, Jesus is coming back. Are we about doing the Father's business? Are we getting the gospel out? That's the question. Verse 12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath-day journey. A Sabbath-day journey is less than a half a mile, so it's not very far. After that, it's considered work. So a Sabbath day journey is a little less than a half a mile, and so it wasn't that far. And verse 13, and when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying. Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus, Simon, Simon the zealot, and Judas the son of James. These, and wait a minute, how many do you count there? You got Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Simon, and Judas, the son of James. I count eleven. Who's missing? Judas Iscariot. And we'll talk more about him in just a little bit. So those are the guys that were there, along with verse 14. These all continued with one accord and in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. So the women that were with them were probably wives of a lot of the disciples. There were also women that had been with Jesus and the disciples to minister to them, people like Mary Magdalene that were with them, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, along with his brothers. So, yes, Jesus was the firstborn of Mary, and Mary had a few more children. And so there are a lot of half-brothers and sisters of Jesus. And it's interesting because here they are, they're sold out about their brother now. But just as the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, they really didn't seem to like him growing up. And when he got into his ministry, they never really bought into it. They never really followed him until he died and rose again. And then their eyes were opened and they started following Jesus. Now, one of the stories, Mark in chapter 3, verses 31 through 36, it kind of shows this about his mother and his brothers. Well, let me just read it to you. Then his brothers and his mother came standing outside, and they sent to him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting around him, and they said to him, Look, your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you. But he answered them and he said, Who is my mother and who are my brothers? And he looked around in a circle at those who sat with him and said, Here are my mother and my brothers, for whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and my mother, pointing out that relationship with the Lord and with his people is closer than blood. Closer than even a brother situation. And these brothers, after this, you know, after the Lord came, after he died and rose again, they came to an understanding of who he really was. And they began to serve him. And they became even closer, you know, in a way, because now they're part of the family of God. Pretty neat. And Mark, by the way, Mark is an interesting fellow. He's a young man that watched a lot of these things happen. And some commentators believe that his family owned the upper room in which the disciples met in and prayed in and did all these things. And so he was a witness of all these things as well. And that's where a lot of his gospel comes from. Just a little side note there. And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples. Altogether, the number of names were about a hundred and twenty. So there are about a hundred and twenty in that room. And Peter is moving into this position of leadership. He's standing up before them. And he says in verse 16 Men and brethren, this scripture had to be fulfilled when the Holy Spirit spoke before the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus, for he was murdered with us and obtained a part in this ministry. So apparently, Peter had been reading through the Psalms, and the Lord made something clear to him about some things that are written here that they also apply to this situation with Judas. Now, this first part that he's quoting from is probably a paraphrase of Psalm 41, verse 9, which reads, Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. So he's making a point that says, Okay, this was about Judas. And at this point, Luke goes and adds a little more commentary to what happened to Judas. Now, this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his entrails gushed out. And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Akildama, which is field of blood. Now, of course, Luke is a doctor, and he's very detailed, and so he said, basically, Judas tried to hang himself, but he failed, and he fell on his head and his innards gushed out. And he died in this field. And if you look at other accounts, you see that you remember that Jesus had told and during the Last Supper, had told Judas to go and do what he needs to do and do it quickly. So Judas left and he went to go speak to the religious leaders. And he said, Hey, I could get you connected with Jesus, but it'll cost you 30 pieces of silver. So they gave him 30 pieces of silver. And after supper, as the disciples went up to the garden of Gethsemane to pray, Judas came and brought a mob with him and the religious leaders in order to betray the Lord. And he came up to the Lord and he says, and he pointed him out with a kiss. And the Lord says, Friend, you betray me with a kiss. And I don't that there's been a lot of you know theories about what was going on in Judas's mind. Some believe that Judas was just trying to push Jesus over the edge so that he would indeed get this kingdom thing started and to destroy the Roman government and to set up his kingdom here on earth. And all he needed was just a little nudge to do it. And it didn't happen. Instead, he was arrested and he was crucified on the cross. Now the one that theoretically he was thinking was going to rule and reign is dead in a grave. And he thought he really messed up. He has betrayed the Messiah. And instead of turning to Messiah to find forgiveness, he thought there was no hope for him, so he went and killed himself. But before he killed himself, he took the 30 pieces of silver and he went back to the religious leaders. And he said, Take the money back. And they said, No, we ain't taking your money, that's blood money. And he threw it down at their feet and he left and he hung himself. And they went ahead and they took that money that he he threw back at them and they used it to buy the field in which he hung himself in. And if you look in the prophecy of Zechariah, you see an interesting description of that whole scene and that that particular place would not be inhabited. And as we go on, um Peter is quoting some of this. In verse 20, he says, For it is written in the book of Psalms, let his dwelling place be desolate, and let no one live in it. That actually comes from Psalm 69, 25, and also from that prophecy of Zechariah. It would be desolate, it would become a graveyard, no one would live there. And let another take his office, which is another psalm that Peter ran into, which was Psalm 109, verse 8. And so with these things, he puts it together and says, I believe the Lord is calling us to replace Judas. 21. Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to the day when he was taken up from us, one of these must be a witness with us of his resurrection. We need to replace Judas, and you know, he needs to have some qualifications. This person needs to be one that was with us from the baptism of John. And there were a lot of disciples that had followed him through those three years, and there were a few that followed the whole time that weren't part of the twelve. And there were a couple that they nominated. Verse 23, and they proposed two, Joseph, called Bar Sabbath, and who was surnamed Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, You, O Lord, you know the hearts of all. Show us which of these you have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Jesus by transgression fell, that he might go in his own place. So they had been gathered. They'd been praising God and praying together after the ascension, just waiting on this promise of the Holy Spirit to come. So they were, they knew how to pray. They were praying, and they and they took what Peter said, and they said, Okay, let's pray about it. These are the two guys, Lord, who do you want to take? And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Now, they did something that they did in the Old Testament to determine the Lord's will, and that was casting lots. I don't think there's any other instance in the New Testament after receiving the Holy Spirit that they would use lots to determine the Lord's will. But from what they knew from Scripture, this is how they did it, and the Lord seemed to honor it and show them the direction that they needed to take. So Matthias became the replacement for Judas. Now, chapter 2, verse 1. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Now, this is not, as those jokes go, like a bunch of circus clowns trying to push themselves into a bug. They weren't trying to get into a Honda, you know, but they were in one accord. They were in agreement. That's what accord means. It's an agreement. And uh so they were they were waiting and they were in one accord. They were doing what God told them to do, and they were in agreement about it, they were excited about it. And suddenly, verse 2, there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting, and there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And this is that event that Jesus said would happen, that the power of God would come upon them, and it appeared as divided flames of fire that looked like tongues. And remember, one of the definitions of fire is the power of God. The opening song that we sang it says, Lord, let your fire fall down. Let your fire come upon us, fire that refines us, fire that empowers us to do your work. This is the Holy Spirit that came upon them, and the fire looked like a tongue, tongues of fire on top of their head, which is interesting. And then they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues the words of God. The Lord gave them the words to speak, and in a supernatural way, he gave them words to speak in other languages so that they could proclaim the gospel to the nations. An amazing thing, isn't it? And again, it's about what God, Jesus particularly, had commissioned them to do, and that was to go forth and declare that Christ came to die for sinners. He died, he was buried, and he rose again. And if you repent and turn to Him and accept Jesus, then you'll find new life and forgiveness and remission of your sin. That's our message. But we need the Holy Spirit's power in order to proclaim it in a way that people understand it and are changed. Now, verse 5. After this they opened the doors and they seemed to go out into the public. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitudes came together and were confused because everyone had heard them speak in their own language. I don't know if they heard the sound of the mighty rushing wind, and then they saw the disciples come out, and then they heard them speaking in their own language. I don't know how that progressed, but it was a scene like no other scene that they've ever experienced before. This was different. This was crazy. Verse 7 said, Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born? They're saying, hey, these guys are from Galilee. They're not really known for their linguistic styles and their accents and their study of foreign languages. These are fishermen who were practically unschooled, but they were good at what they did, but they're speaking in my dialect. Not only are they speaking Southern, but they're speaking North Carolina Southern. Not only are they speaking North Carolina Southern, but they're speaking Western North Carolina Southern. Not only are they speaking Western North Carolina Southern, but they're speaking Haywood County Southern. And not only are they speaking Haywood County Southern, but they're speaking Caruso-ish. And is that not true? Even in Caruso, they speak a little bit differently than the rest of Hall County. And everybody that heard heard the gospel, heard the marvelous works of God in their own language, in their own dialect. It was amazing. The crowd goes on to say Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontius, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs, we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. These tongues that they're speaking and these foreign languages that are coming out are all declaring the wonderful works of God and giving praise to God. Verse 12, so they were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, Whatever could this mean? Others mocked and saying, They're full of new wine. Now, when God works in our midst and does an amazing thing, it often causes us to say, Wow, what is this about? Wow, what's going on? And the Lord wants us to have that wonder within us, right? He wants us to come and to seek him. Ask, seek, and knock, and it'll be open to you. You want to learn more about it? I've got more to show you, the Lord says. So come and see what I have for you. But there are others in the midst too that just say, Oh, this is a bunch of malarkey. These people are just drunk. And next we'll we'll listen to the sermon that Peter gave under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Peter, who was suffered from foot and mouth disease, gave this just amazingly powerful, elegant, and great sermon because the Lord empowered him to do it. And you've got to come back next week to hear it. But I didn't want to end on this note that just said, they're full of new wine. They're just drunk. I want to go back to a passage that we studied in Ephesians, where the Apostle Paul clarified that we're not to be drunk with wine, but we're to be filled with the Spirit of God. Ephesians chapter 5, starting at verse 15. And why? We need to see then that he walked circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the times because the days are evil. We live in evil times. So we need to be aware of what's going on around us. We need to be aware of what's going on in our own hearts. We need to be aware of what the Lord is doing around us. We need to not waste time, but redeem time because time is running out. And I think this message is ever more applicable to us today than it's ever been. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Don't try to justify the things that you do in your life because you think it's good and it's all right. You need to be seeking after God and seeking what His will is. And do not be drunk with wine. Don't fill up your flesh. Don't give in to its desires because it's dissipation, it's rebellion against God. But be filled with the Holy Spirit of God, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. When we're filled with the Holy Spirit, it changes our focus to the goodness of God. And the goodness of God is part of that gospel message that we need to share. Why does somebody want to come to Jesus if all that he is is somebody who's going to punish them? Jesus is wonderful. Jesus is glorious. In fact, he loved the world so much that he became a man and he died on the cross. He identified with us because there was none of us that could do the job of taking care of the sin problem. And he could. And he rose again and he sent the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out and to give us a new life and a new hope and a new purpose. Do you want to be part of that? May the Lord fill us anew with his spirit and give us that excitement for the truth. Yes, it's it's a big, it's a strong, nasty battle because we're fighting against sin. Sin that we're born into. And it's offensive to say you're a sinner. There's nothing good within you. What do you mean there's nothing good within me? I do all these great things. And Jesus even talks about folks that come to heaven and they say, Lord, Lord, look at all these great things that we did in your name. We fed the poor, we healed the sick, we did all these great things. We built hospitals and bridges and roads, and it was great. We made computers and cell phones, we made life easier for everybody. It was great. What did the Lord say? Get away from me. I never knew you. Jesus wants that relationship with us. And that relationship is what empowers us to do the works of God that are wonderful, that are attractive to others to come into the kingdom. Lord Jesus, what an amazing story from the book of Acts. History, it's it's real. This is what happened. And this is how you started the church, and this is how you intend to grow the church. And Lord, we recognize that we need the power of the Holy Spirit. We may have come to faith in you and may have received the Holy Spirit as a down payment for our salvation. This Holy Spirit that brings us conviction and teaches us from the word. But we need that power of God in order to go forward and to do the things that you've called us to do and to see fruit in the ministry, to see people coming to faith in Jesus Christ and truly be changed from the inside out. So, Lord, we ask once again that you would fill us with your Holy Spirit, that you would baptize us anew with the fire from above, the power of the Holy Spirit, so that you would be glorified and we would be blessed to say the least, and that others would come to know you as a result. We thank you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.

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You've been listening to Come On Up, featuring the teaching of Pastor Carl of the Mountain Cross. We're currently in the book of Acts, which chronicles the miracles and ministries of believers after Jesus had died and was resurrected. It documents the growth of the early church and how the apostles shared the gospel far and wide. There was significant persecution, and 10 of the 12 disciples, other than John and Judas, were martyred. Would you be willing to die for your faith? That's a tough question. But many believers through the centuries have laid down their lives for Christ. What does Jesus mean to you? Has he changed your life? That's our prayer for you, and we hope our simple teaching through the Word of God encourages you to grow strong in the Lord and His grace. If this radio ministry has blessed you, would you consider helping us reach others? Your gift of any size helps keep this radio ministry on the air. Simply visit themountaincross.comslash donate and give what you can. That's themountaincross.comslash donate and thanks in advance. Come on up comes to you from the Mountain Cross, a group of believers in Jesus who seek to grow in faith by simply teaching the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We meet Sundays at the Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville beginning at 10. If you're in the area, we'd love to have you worship with us. Hope to see you soon. Thanks for listening and join us again next time as we seek to learn more from the Lord through His Word. Come On Up is sponsored by the Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.