Global Warming -- Carbon Remissions -- Acts 2

Introduction
Global Warming has become such a hot button issue. It has divided people politically and scientifically. The once pristine and popular Weather Channel has even come under some fire for the individual views on the topic.
As I read this past week, I found that I was personally responsible for Global warming.
There was an article by Patrick Sawer in the London Telegraph entitled, “Fat People Blamed for Global Warming”
As if they didn’t already have enough problems on their hands fat people are now being blamed for global warming. British scientists say they use up more fuel to transport them around and the amount of food they eat requires more energy to produce than that consumed by those on smaller diets. According to a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine this adds to food shortages and higher energy prices.

Describing the Biblical Text
This is one of the Bible’s most significant texts.
It is the description of the creation of the New Testament church.
The day of Pentecost in about AD 33 marked the beginning of what we would call a new dispensation in the history of God’s revelation with Man.
The Holy Spirit was poured out to be a permanent part of the life of Faith.
He was given to regenerate men and women, to give faith, and to bring repentance.
This is a primary characteristic of the New Covenant in the blood and the body of Christ.
He left that the comforter or the Spirit of Truth might come.

Narrate the Contextual application
Now, as we look at His coming, we see the world beginning to heat up.
The church is born and it is rapidly catching fire and in the first century alone, much of the civilized world will be aware of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Global warming of a spiritual nature is occurring and the entire world is going to be changed.
The early church sought God and His spirit and as the Spirit moved, the church submitted, people were changed and lives were renewed for Christ.

Life Application (thesis)
We are people of an independent spirit aren’t we?
These people in the early church were people that were moved by some very significant events.
They were moved by the resurrection of Jesus.
They were moved by his teaching before he ascended.
They were moved by the great commission.
Now we see them moved by an incredible work of God.
It is a work of God that was never duplicated but it was repeated in less significant ways in the book of Acts.
When was the last time we were truly moved by something?

When we are placing all that we are on the shoulders of God, we can know what it means to be moved by God.
Relying on God means that we trust His spirit to do His work in our lives and in this church.
It means that we are giving God control.
In our church and in our lives, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to see people get saved and grow in the Lord.

SO WHAT!! (Outline)
Every time there is a so called crisis, people come up with initiatives.
Global warming is no different.
Except is our case these initiatives are designed to cause global warming that the world would set on fire for Christ.
The first initiative is God’s initiative.
God takes the initiative in moving people to Himself.
As we think about the disciples that are gathered here, we need to remember what they were told to do.
They were told to do nothing.
Wait in Jerusalem until you are endued with power.
All they had to d was sit there and just wait for the Lord to send His power to them.

I want to tell you, that is hard for me. No one hates to take the kids to the orthodontist more than I do because I hate to sit in the waiting room. I really get round the bend with myself when I don’t bring a book or a palm pilot or borrow a Gameboy from the kids.
And, what really makes the idea of waiting so really cool was that they were waiting on the power of God.
They were waiting on the movement of God.
Isaiah 43 tells us something like that it says, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

It is really neat how waiting on the Lord strengthens us.
It builds us up because we are working under His power and not our own.
We see in Acts 2, God taking the initiative.
He is refreshing his covenant in a new and miraculous way.
But, it is a way that demonstrates His power.
Look at verse 2.
The sound of the rush, the sight of the fiery tongues, the languages of the people were signs of the power of God.
I want us to see particularly the languages that the people were speaking.
This was not some super secret sanctified spirit languages.
These were the tongues of the people who were there.
This was Jewish feast day and there were people gathered from everywhere to celebrate Pentecost.
There were people from both the ancient near east and modern day Europe.
Yet they were hearing people testify of the Lord in their own language from people who did not speak their language.
God was doing what he always does and that is break down the barriers to those who are to come to Him.
The language barrier was now eroded opening the door for the Sermon that Peter would preach.

We have to remember that as depraved beings, we are incapable of coming to the knowledge of God in Christ without God’s regenerating work through His Spirit.
So God breaks down the barriers to us coming to Him by coming to us.
This is what he did in eternity past when he knew and loved us and what he did in his electing work.
He has removed the natural man through His Spirit and the heart of stone that was ours when we were dead in our trespasses and sins was replaced by a heart of flesh given to us in regeneration enabling us to understand Christ and the gospel.
The breaking down of the language barrier is just a way here that God has initiated moving His people to Himself.

Our second initiative is found here also.
God testifies of His Son through His people and His word.
Don’t you love it when your plans work out?
I love to make plans for something and then see the plans I have made come together.
What is really cool is that when God makes plans they always come together just the way he desires.
The trouble is that we don’t always see things the way that God does.
The sermon that Peter preaches from verse 14-36 is all about the plans of God.
17-21 shows us God’s plan to pour out His spirit as fulfilled at Pentecost.
22-36 was about the plan of God to redeem His people through Jesus.

God’s plans include us too.
They include us teaching His word and telling His world about Jesus.
Peter was used on the day of Pentecost but He was not used in any manner that would be considered any greater than what God could or would do through us.
The great commission only has one command but it has three prongs.
Why does a milking stool have three legs? The cow has the udder one.
Picture in your mind a milking stool. The stool has a platform or a seat. Yet that seat is supported by 3 legs.
Think of the great commission that way.
The seat is the command to make disciples and the legs are the support for the seat.
The first leg is going. Our minds should be disciple focused as we go asbout the affairs of just living life.
As you go, make disciples.
The second leg is sharing the gospel. Baptizing is the equivalent in the great commission.
People are baptized who have demonstrated their conversion which is in Christ Jesus hence the gospel is necessarily preached leading to baptism.

I want to hold that third leg for just a minute.
So we see here that God ordained the means of salvation.
Verse 22 tells us this: Men of Israel, listen to these words: 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— 23this Man, delivered over 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.
What are we doing to see that God’s plan is fulfilled here right where we are?
What are we doing to make the Great commission a reality here?

Now back to our third lag for that milking stool and our third initiative this morning.
When Carbon units have their sin remitted, the church must initiate their growth.
This simply means that we as the church should be teaching people how to live for Jesus.
In verse 42, we see that the church continued in several things, the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer.
These are those things that Jesus called teaching whatever I commanded you when He gave the Great Commission.
If we are disciple making Church, then we will initiate teaching that will endeavor to make disciples grow.
Warming the globe though the power of the Gospel is what we are commanded to do.
God is taking the initiative in our salvation and we need to take the initiative to be faithful in preaching, teaching and going.
We can set the world on fire starting right here in High Point.