Sermon Tone Analysis

Church was born

It was early in the morning and the lambs were being led to the Temple to be sacrificed for the coming Passover which celebrates the night when the first borns in Egypt were killed and Israel was freed from bondage to Egypt.

At the same time Jesus, the lamb of God, was being led down the via delarosa with His cross, to be sacrificed for our sins and to free us from bondage to sin.

He died, but three days later He rose from the dead.

For the next forty days Jesus continued to show himself to his followers and speak of the things of God.

Then Jesus spoke to his followers for the last time, giving them His final instructions.

He said go to Jerusalem and wait there for the Holy Spirit, then be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and throughout the whole earth.

And when he had said that he was lifted up into heaven, and disappeared behind a cloud.

So His followers gathered in Jerusalem, probably in the upper room, 120 of them, waiting, praying until the Feast of Weeks.

That’s right, the feast of weeks.

This feast was originally a feast in which Israel showed gratitude to God for the first fruits of the harvest.

It comes 50 days after the Passover and is also known as Pentecost.

So there they are, 120 people, in a room, waiting, praying, until, on the day of Pentecost, when a noise like a violent, rushing wind filled the house.

And what looked like flames of fire rested upon each person, and they began speaking in languages other than their own.

The Holy Spirit */had/* come and had baptized each of them just as Jesus said.

And the church was born.

The first fruits of the harvest on that feast of weeks, Pentecost.

But that’s not all!

The Bible says that the sound was so great that others from the town came to check out what was happening.

And some foreign visitors were surprised to hear the disciples speaking in their own languages, speaking of God’s mighty works.

But the people who gathered couldn’t explain what they were seeing or hearing.

Some were and were asking, “What does this mean?” and wanted to know more.

While others dismissed the whole thing concluding that these people must be drunk!

But Peter silenced the crowd and explained they were witnessing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that the Old Testament prophets had predicted (Acts 2:16–21; cf.

Joel 2:28–32).

And he went on to say in Acts 2:22 “Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this /Man/, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put /Him /to death.

24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

Then Peter ended with this… 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now the people responded with hearts pierced the core… 37 “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter /said /to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 “For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.”

And on that day the Lord did call some people.

3000 people.

3000 people gave their lives to Christ on that day!

And the church began to grow.

Not because of any programs they had…but because God was at work through them, just like He is working today through you, if you are willing.

And looking on through the book of Acts we see the progress reports again and again…

Acts 2:47 And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 6:7 So the word of God spread.

The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace.

It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in awe of the Lord.

Acts 12:24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread.

Acts 16:5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

And so it goes.

Declaration

But we shouldn’t be surprised by this.

Jesus predicted that his church would be established and that nothing would stand in it’s way.

Lets take a step backwards in time and look at Jesus’ declaration.

Turn to Matt 16:13-18 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked.

“Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

A Blessing

And with that great confession by Peter Jesus blessed him with these words…Matt 16:17 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

A New Name

Then Peter received a new name from Jesus…Matt 16:18 18 And I tell you that you are Peter (Petros meaning stone or small rock), In effect, Jesus was saying that Peter you with that confession you show yourself to be strong, like a rock.

Way to go!

A Declaration

Jesus then makes this dramatic declaration…and on this rock I will build my church, Now here Jesus uses a different word for rock.

Not Petros, but Petra which means large rock or bed rock.

This word is used in Matt for the rock that a tomb was carved out.

Jesus was not now speaking of Peter or He would have used Petros.

Rather Jesus was referring either to Himself or to the statement Peter made, You are the Christ, the son of the living God!  Jesus was saying, upon this /rock-like truth/ I will build my church.

And that truth is recognizing that Jesus is God in the Flesh.

That He came, died in our place, for our sins, and rose again.

That in Him we have victory over Satan and sin.

That in Him we have everything we need for life and godliness.

That in Him we have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

That in Him we have a gracious and merciful heavenly Father whom we can come to freely and without fear.

And that in Him we have everlasting life.

That’s the truth.

That’s what Jesus was saying.

Then Looking further at this verse Jesus says, on this rock */I/* will build */my/* Church.

Now I hate to break it to you, but PCC is not your church, it’s not my church, it’s not the elders church, it’s not even Jim’s church.

Only one person can claim ownership to this church and that is Jesus Christ.

And He doesn’t need to consult Jim or me or the board or you regarding His plans.

Because the church is His.

He alone is the owner no how much we fight it or deny it.

Let’s look even closer…Jesus says, I will */build/* my church…We saw in Acts how the church grew and grew and in fact it is growing today.

His church growth program will not stop until Jesus comes again for his church.

The Bible paints the picture of Jesus as the Groom and the church as the bride.

I love what Swindoll says, Jesus is probably the only groom who wants his bride to get bigger before the wedding!

But the bride */is/* getting heavier every year, waiting for the groom to come.

She’s enlarging her size.

Every day she’s getting bigger and bigger, waiting for His arrival.

And the Groom will one day come and say to His bride, “You’re mine.

Come on home with me.”

But until then He remains in the building process.

A Prediction

And finally in Matt 16:18 we have a prediction.

“and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Maybe you feel the impact of the church slipping away.

With the popularity of the philosophy of tolerance, the willful killing of thousands of unborn babies every year, Christian churches willing to rationalize the clear teaching of Scripture in regard to homosexuality and on it goes.

Will Christianity ever die out?

Will the Muslims and the Mormons master the world?

Will the world succumb to secularism and science?

Will there one day be no more church?

Jesus says, if all the wicked forces were unleashed from the open gates of hell, the Church would not be hindered in its growth.

Nothing could ever destroy the Church.