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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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Call on the name of the Lord and you shall be saved. Now, what does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? It's not just some magical potion that you, if you just say, Lord, you're saved. But calling on the name of the Lord is calling on who the Lord is, what he represents, what his name encompasses. Do you know the Lord? Do you know the one who you're calling on? Do you know the one who is your savior?

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When you're facing a tough spot, it's natural to reach out to someone you trust, someone who can lend a hand and guide you through the mess. That reliable person is often just what you need to turn things around. Similarly, in tough moments, you might find yourself reaching out to God for a little guidance. But how often do you take the time to know and trust God? Today, Pastor Carl invites you to establish a relationship with Jesus. Embrace that curiosity to learn more about your Creator. And now, here's Pastor Carl.

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The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they came out and they were speaking in different languages, and people were hearing the wonderful works of God. We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. And verse 12 said, So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, What could this mean? Verse 13, others mocked, and they said they are full of new lime. So you have two kinds of people that were out in the audience that heard this miracle. And there were people that, wow, this is obviously from God, but I don't understand it. I want to know more, but it's it's a I've never seen anything, never heard anything like this before. Then you had a whole nother group of people that just mocked it. This what is this? This is a mess. They're just drunk. Now, what kind of person are you is probably the question we should ask. And in in the book of Matthew, Jesus talks about this first group that that is open to the things of God, even though we understand that we don't understand it all. We've got a lot of questions, but we're open and we're saying, Lord, teach me. In Matthew chapter 18, the disciples came to him and they asked, Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus called a little child to him, and he said it in the midst of him, and he said, Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. We have this pride about ourselves. We want to figure things out, we want to know how things work. And if we can't figure it out, then there's something wrong with us. And Jesus is saying, No, you need to be converted. You can't figure everything out. You need to recognize that you need my help. And that's why I've come. So convert and trust in Jesus like a little child would trust in their parents. Why do I do this? Because my dad tells me to, and because my dad loves me and my dad provides for me, and it's and it's good. Jesus says, We want, I want you to do the same thing with me because you're going to be great in the kingdom of heaven if you humble yourself in this world. It's not about you, it's about Jesus and the work that Jesus wants to do. And are we willing to be a part of what he's doing by laying aside our own intellect, laying aside our own desires, laying aside our own I figured it all out type thing. I surrender. I want to know you more. The only way I can know you more, Lord, is to surrender to you and say, have your way with me, because I realize I can't do this. And I realize I don't understand it. And I want to understand more. I want you to teach me. But if I think I know it all, then I'm not going to learn anything. Which brings us to the mockers, which Peter describes in 2 Peter chapter 3. He talks about these scoffers that would come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts. They're not walking seeking after God's wisdom. They're seeking after their own desires, their own motivation, their own wisdom and intellect in their heads. They're walking after their own lusts. They don't care what other people have to say. They don't care what God has to say. They've got it all figured out. And they're mocking. Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. And you hear an argument like that, you go, well, yeah, I guess you're kind of right. The idea is you're saying Jesus is coming back. Well, they've been saying Jesus is coming back since the beginning of creation. And what's happened? Nothing's happened. So I don't think he's coming back. So I'm going to live my own life the way I'm going to live it. And I'm showing you that I'm right because he ain't come back yet. You hear that mocking, condescending tone? Well, what's the truth about this? Things have changed since the beginning of creation, haven't they? Do you remember the story of Noah and the Ark? That was a time of judgment against an unbelieving world. That happened since the creation. And just like Noah and the Ark happened as God warned that it would happen, so Jesus will return again someday. In fact, he did come. He came to pay for the sin of the world so that the judgment would not have to come. But the judgment is coming because people have not accepted that gift of grace. And so, the message is Jesus is coming. Things have not always been the same since the creation. And if you really want to seek the truth, you need to stop scoffing and start paying attention. So those are kind of the description of the two groups that we saw here at the beginning of Acts chapter 2 that saw this miracle and they didn't know what to make of it. Neither group knew what knew what to make of it. One mocked it, and one wanted to know more. And then Peter now stands up and gives the greatest sermon he ever gave under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Verse 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised up his voice and said to them, Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and heed my words, for since for these are not drunk as you suppose, since it's only the third hour of the day. Right out of the right out of the shoot, Peter's saying, Look, it's not that these guys are drunk, because they're not drunk. It's only nine o'clock in the morning. They don't even open the bars yet. How can these people be drunk? Just right away using logic and saying, these are not drunk. But I tell you what it is that's going on. Verse 16, this is what was spoken of by the prophet Joel. And then he goes and begins to quote from the prophecy of Joel in the Old Testament. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, and on my men servants and on my maidservants I will pour out my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. They shall declare the wonderful works of God. So Peter, he's saying, They're not drunk. This is the power of God. And this is the power of God that was prophesied in the Old Testament. We did a study on the book of Joel, and I would encourage you to go back and look at it on our website, ccwainesville.com. If you go up to Bible Studies, I'm doing it here in my head. And here's a drop-down menu, Old Testament, drop down to Joel. And then I think there are two messages there, but they're powerful messages. Not only for that time, because it was written during a time where judgment was imminent. The Assyrians were going to come and take over. Um, but some people in Jerusalem apparently they they they repented and things turned and and and what what the locusts ate, the Lord brought back and restored. Just a great message. Judgment is coming. If you want to avert judgment, what do you do? You repent, you turn back to God because he desires for us to turn back to him. And that's that's part of the message. But then Joel starts to look and and discover or describe the end times. The end times. And Peter is saying, we are in the end times now. And basically, the end times began when the church was born. The end times began when Jesus, in his first coming, returned and ascended into heaven, awaiting his second coming, which will be at the end of the end times. So at the beginning of the end times, some of the things that Joel would prophesy would happen is that the Spirit of God would be poured out on all flesh. That doesn't mean every single person would be filled with the Holy Spirit, but it would mean that men and women, boys and girls, Jews, Gentiles, Gentiles from all corners of the earth, people from all of those groups would be filled with the Holy Spirit. People from all those groups would hear the gospel, would accept the Lord, would be changed and would be filled with the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit would use this to prophesy to people. Now in the Old Testament, the the Holy Spirit would come and and sit upon people, like anoint the king or anoint the prophet. And when the king spoke, it was like the words of God that were spoken. Of course, that wasn't 100% right, but but that's how the Lord worked with the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. And you recognized it. And now he's speaking to Jewish going to be Jewish believers here in Jerusalem with the leadership of Jerusalem in town for the Pentecost celebration already. And all of a sudden, Peter is saying this Holy Spirit is being poured out on all flesh, not just the important people, not just the kings, not just the prophets, not just the appointed Levites for that position or whoever it was. But now anybody who came to faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus could use them in powerful ways with the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish his purposes. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesize. Your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. God would bring people into a closer relationship with them. He would give them revelation from the word on how to apply these things. And he would give him words, powerful words like Peter had to declare these wonderful works of God to the people. And the people would be changed. On my men's servants and my maidservants, it's not just the king, but the king's servants would be filled with the Holy Spirit as well. I will pour out my flesh in those days, and they shall prophesy. They shall declare the truth. They shall stand firm and boldly and say, This is the truth of the gospel. This is the Messiah that we've been waiting for. And he continues. And then he quotes toward the end of Joel, where Joel talks about the end of the end times. I will show wonders in heavens above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor and smoke, the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. During this time of the end times, we call it, from the beginning which you see now, people in Jerusalem, to the very end when the sun is made dark and the moon is made blood, and the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. This time is a new age. It's the age of the church, it's the age of grace, it's the age of the gospel, it's the age of the power of the Holy Spirit. And it's starting today, Peter is saying. And it's going to go all the way. Jesus, he came, he died, and he rose again. And he's coming back again. And between now and then, we've got a job to do, and we've got the power to do it because here it's not these guys that are drunk, these guys are filled with the Holy Spirit. And I'm able to say these things in the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter is saying. What are you going to do about it? And in this age of grace, the way you're made right with God is by calling on the name of the Lord. When you call upon the name of the Lord, you shall be saved. Saved from what? Saved from the Lord. Saved from the Lord. Saved from the Lord's wrath. Saved from your sin. Saved from death. From sin, from suffering. Call on the name of the Lord and you shall be saved. Now, what does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? It's not just some magical potion that you, if you just say, Lord, you're saved. But calling on the name of the Lord is calling on who the Lord is, what he represents, what his name encompasses. Do you know the Lord? Do you know the one who you're calling on? Do you know the one who is your Savior? And Peter says, you've got to know who this Jesus is. Because he has the power of salvation. And you call on him, call on his name, everything that he represents, then you find salvation. But if you call on just some Jesus that does not match up with the God of the Bible, that is not a Jesus that can save you. You need to know the Lord and call upon his name, and you shall be saved. There is hope in that. Verse 22 men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. Jesus was appointed by God Himself because indeed he was God. He became man. And as a man, he subjected himself, he humbled himself, he surrendered himself to God the Father, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, God used him to attest to who he was. Jesus is the Messiah, and you know it because you've seen it. Verse 23. Him being delivered by the determined purposes and foreknowledge of God. Let's pause on that. This was part of God's plan. It was God's plan for the Son to take on the wrath of God for the sin of the world. This was part of the plan. However, you have taken by lawless hands and have crucified and put him to death. God knew that he would be crucified and put to death. Right? God knew it. God planned it. It was part of that plan. But like he talks about Judas, woe to the one through whom that happens. Judas made a choice. God knew God that Judas would make that choice and it it had to be made. But God did not force Judas to do it. And now Peter is talking to this crowd. You are the ones that cried out, crucify him, crucified him, you put him on the tree. And then you know, we need to realize that we put Jesus on the tree. We cried out, crucified him. It was our sin that put him there. If we hadn't sinned, there would be no need for him to be there. And yet, in the midst of all this, when we put it together with the grace of God, we realize that he willingly did that. He willingly put himself on the cross to take upon our sin, to become sin on our behalf, so that we could become the righteousness of God. But we can't say that we didn't put him there, because we did. We did put him there. And that should do something to us. Verse 24, whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. You could not keep him down. No matter how bad your sin was, no matter how loud you cried out, crucified him, the death could not hold him down, that the grave could not hold him down. He rose again. And today he sits on the right hand of God the Father, Almighty in heaven. Verse 25. Now Jesus is called the Son of David, which is a messianic uh title. And now Peter begins to compare Jesus with David. Verse 25, for David says concerning him, David in the Old Testament, hundred years before hundreds of years before, prophesied. These are words that Jesus would would say or Jesus would feel while he was on the cross. I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is at my right hand that I might not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope, for you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life, you will make me full of joy in your presence. This is a picture of the Son praising his Father in heaven, because as a man Jesus surrendered himself and became a man, and yet completely trusted and followed after God the Father. And in that, he realized that he was going to lay down his life, but he wouldn't be stuck in that grave. His body would not see corruption. He would come to life again in his presence, in the presence of the Father would be fullness of joy. For the joy that laid before him, Christ endured the cross. The joy that he looked forward to is not only being re um brought together again with the Father, but being brought together with his create creation, mankind. Because the sin would be taken care of. And he did not stay in the grave. And then Peter goes on to explain it a little bit. Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried. His tomb is with us to this day. So he wasn't talking about himself, he was talking as if the words of Jesus. Jesus did not stay in the grave. David did, and his bones are still here. Therefore, verse 30 being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that one of the one of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. Peter saying, David knew that through his line the Messiah would come. And David again is not speaking about himself in this psalm, but he's speaking about the Messiah. Verse 31. He foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus has God raised up, of which we are all witnesses, therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you now see and hear. Jesus said, I must go so that the helper will come. The helper is the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Father. So when Jesus resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven, he received the Holy Spirit from the Father, and he sent the Holy Spirit to earth to birth the church. And Peter is saying, all that was all part of the plan, and that's what you're seeing today. You're seeing the power of God, the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit come upon him. It's the promise of the Father. And he's here and now and working in our midst. David talked about it. David's dead. David was talking about the Messiah. The Messiah is alive. And the Messiah has sent the Holy Spirit. And that's why I'm able to speak before you right now without putting a foot in my mouth. You go back and you look at the life of Peter in the in the Gospels. And uh he's always making mistakes. He's he's always thinking and oh well, he's always speaking and then thinking afterwards, right? He's a totally different man. And he acknowledges it's not him, it's the power of the Holy Spirit changing him and giving him the power to speak these words. And then in verse 34, for David did not ascend into heaven, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore, let all of the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. This is bad news and it's good news at the same time. This was part of God's plan, but part of God's plan was answering the problem of our sin. And the problem of our sin is what put him on the cross. And yet he's alive. And because he's alive, that means something for you. Now, this this quote again that he he's quoting from David is something that uh Jesus also quoted with uh some of the Pharisees, and I'd like to revisit that. Matthew chapter 22, beginning at verse 41. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? And they said to him, the son of David. So they understood by the prophecies of the Old Testament that the Messiah would come through the line of David. He's the son of David.

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You're listening to Come On Up with Pastor Carl from the Mountain Cross. We hope you enjoyed the message, learned something new, and felt the Holy Spirit speak into your life. We believe the Word of God is powerful and active and can transform lives for eternity. That's why we teach directly from the Bible. And we will continue our study through the Book of Acts next time. If you enjoy the simple teaching through the Word here on Come On Up, would you let others know about it? Share us with your family and friends. Tell them to listen on the radio or on their favorite podcast app. Subscribe for more Bible teaching, share in your social media feeds, and leave a review to get the word out. We're always grateful for new listeners, especially those who want to grow in the word. 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 Sunday mornings at 10 at the Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville. Learn more about us at themountaincross.com. If you're not local to Western North Carolina, we encourage you to check out a Bible-teaching church near you. It's essential to gather with other believers to navigate this topsy turvy world together. Where Jesus is preached, there's hope for today and for the future. Thanks for listening. Come on up to the mountain with 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.