14 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 words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: 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 yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,
“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
POINTS OF INTEREST
- When Peter and the 11 disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, they started to spread the Gospel courageously and without fear. They achieved this by relying on the Holy Spirit, by which this reminds us that people are brought to God to be truly reborn and baptized with the help of the Holy Spirit. With the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples spoke the truth, without reservation, about the prophecy of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and God’s perfect plan of salvation as written in the Old Testament.
- Verse 14 to 21 is telling us that before the day of the Lord comes, He will show His wonders and powers, and pour out His Spirit onto His people. And the sons and daughters shall prophesy, the young shall see visions, the old shall dream dreams—so that many will see these wonders and come to God. They will call upon the name of the Lord and God has promised to save them. We can see that God is an omnipotent God, and everything in Him is possible. God so loves the world and He is doing wonders and all that He possibly can to save all.
- Verse 37 to 38 mentions a question: “What shall we do?” God spoke through Peter saying “Repent, believe in Jesus, be baptised. And your sins will be forgiven, and you will receive the Holy Spirit.” This is the promise of God, it is God who calls us back to Him, to save us from this deceived world.
submitted by Li Qiang
PRAYING IN FAITH
For Yourself
Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill us, and so that we may a deeper understanding of God’s Word, and to proactively live everyday fully depending on Him with His strength and gifts.
For your five
Ask God to touch your five’s hearts so that they can repent and be baptized in Jesus Christ’s name. Pray that they will seek God to have their sins forgiven and that will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For our Church
Pray for the Holy Spirit to set our church aflame with passion and pray that we live out as God’s people as described in Acts. Pray for the church to have the courage to spread the Gospel like the disciples, without fear.