Life is Great -- Pierced to the Heart -- Acts 2:37-41

Introduction
Most of you know that I like to shoot. I like to hunt and I like to see bullet holes in targets. It takes a several things to be a decent shot. First of all, you have got to be steady. I prefer to prop on something that is stable just so I can keep the gun steady but when I can’t, I use a certain breathing rhythm that enables me to be steady on my hand. Next, you got to be smooth. In other words, when you are ready to shoot, you can’t be herky jerky or yank back the trigger. Just a squeeze and the shot fires. The third thing you need to have is aim. You have to line up your eye with two sights on the barrel of the gun. You have got to keep your eye on the target and when you do that, it is sweet to see that bullet hit the mark.

Following Jesus is very much like that steady smooth and keeping your eye on one thing and that is Him.

Describing the Biblical Text
We are looking at the end of a sermon.
There is no invitation playing and yet there are people responding.
No one has made an altar call and we see people responding.
As a matter of fact, they are more than just responding they are down right under serious conviction.
The text tells us they were pierced to the heart.
This carries the connotation of a violent stabbing.
There is a difference between getting a shot and then being punctured by a nail.
As Peter preached this sermon, people’s hearts were shaken and they were ready to repent.
Peter’s response was simple.
Repent and be baptized.
We see an inner response and an out sign of that response.
Repentance is what we do after the Holy Spirit has regenerated our hearts and turned us toward Christ.
Repentance is the natural response to the salvation which has come and these people were pierced to the heart.
They were ripe for the turning that would take place in their lives.

Narrate the Contextual application
In this passage wed see something very basic to Christianity and it is something so basic that we can never lose sight of it.
People respond to the preaching of the gospel.
There were a bookoo of people in Jerusalem because of the Pentecost Feast
There were plenty of people to hear Peter’s sermon.
Peter made a cultural appeal and he made a spiritual appeal and people responded.
There were 3000 added on that day.
Can you imagine 3000 people coming to Christ at one time?
Can you imagine the baptismal service that it would take to accommodate all those baptisms?
Yowley!!

All that happened because the people came under conviction.
When was the last time any of us came under conviction for something?
When was the last time God moved us to the altar in a time of genuine repentance?
When have we seen people coming to Jesus in droves like in this passage?
Something very special happened to that crowd of people and you know what, we can seek that very same thing here.
I think if we are diligent to pray, we will see it happen here.
Revival could break out and people could get saved and people could simply love each other and we could be the growing vibrant fellowship of High Point.

Life Application (thesis)
Based on this text and what we see happening here, I want to challenge us to do something between now and October 19
We need to pray for the conviction of the Holy Spirit on our Revival services.

SO WHAT!! (Outline)
This means we will have two goals as we approach the meetings in two weeks.
The first goal is that we must make sure that our Revival is ALL ABOUT Jesus.
When I was a kid, I used to drink the coffee that my mom would fix for me and she only fixed it on the weekends when she cooked breakfast. She would always give me coffee that was about the color of a pair of khakis and that was so sweet you could put it on pancakes. When I got to High School, I started reading Louis L’amour books which are cowboy novels. In all those books, the hero would always drink coffee from a pot on a campfire and always drank his coffee black. He would throw the grounds on the ground, say something profound and either go to bed or ride away.
You know what I had to do. I had to start drinking black coffee. At first, yuck, now I don’t want it any other way unless it has been on the burner for several hours and is thick enough to paint chalkboards. Nothing but coffee in the cup is what I want.

Nothing but Jesus in the church is what we need.
If we look at the sermon that Peter Preaches here, we see Hi.
We see him talking about Jesus all through the sermon that he gives.
But, what else is there.
When we start diluting Jesus with other things, we begin to see the Gospel lose its effectiveness in the church and in the world we are trying to reach.
When we back our eyes up into the sermon of peter, we see him preaching Christ and Christ alone.

Even in the New Testament though, we see people trying to mix the message of Jesus with other stuff
The entire book of Colossians was written to keep the gospel pure as was Galatians.
Though they faced different pollutions, the idea is essentially the same.
The Gospel of John was written to keep the Gospel of Jesus from being diluted by the cult of knowledge or the Gnostics as we would see them called.
It is so easy to take our preferences or our traditions and to try to dilute the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them.
That is why almost every cult and every false religion has at its base a works based merit system for getting to heaven.

What about churches today?
I think we could probably find churches today that do not preach Christ alone in order to enter the kingdom.
What is funny is that they would deny it the whole time.
There are many churches that share the gospel in order to produce conformity.
So, if you believe in Jesus but then fail to conform to our standards, then your salvation is probably not legitimate.
Steve Taylor, a Christian Recording artist from the early 1980’s recorded a song called, “I Want to Be a Clone.”

I'd gone through so much other stuff that walking down the aisle was tough
But now I know it's not enough
I want to be a clone
I asked the Lord into my heart
They said that was the way to start but now you've got to play the part
I want to be a clone
Be a clone and kiss conviction goodnight
Cloneliness is next to Godliness, right?
I'm grateful that they show the way' cause I could never know the way to serve him on my own
I want to be a clone
They told me that I'd fall away unless I followed what they say
Who needs the Bible anyway?
I want to be a clone
Their language it was new to me but Christianese got through to me
Now I can speak it fluently
I want to be a clone

This is the same thing that Dude from Charlotte says on his radio network every day.
You have to have a church that conforms to his standards or you are not a Christian church.
His message is Jesus plus the right kind of music.
Just ask David Jeremiah.

So, we cannot let anything dilute or pollute the gospel message.
If we come here in two weeks looking for something other than Jesus, there isn’t any way that we can expect revival to come.

Another thing we need to consider is that we need to make sure that Jesus has made a difference in our lives to make a difference in the lives of others.
What do we mean when we say that Jesus has made a difference in our lives?
Does it mean that we have assumed a religious posture in front of friends and family?
Does it mean that we tithe?
Does it mean that we don’t swear at the driver in the little red car that just missed you when tried to change lanes and apply mascara?
It could mean that but in reality, it mans that you are living your life for one thing and one thing only and that is to glorify Jesus.

We have probably heard it1000 times.
It’s all about Jesus.
When we hear it, does it resonate with us?
I want us to consider this.
Just a simple, “Why am I here this morning?”
Our answer to that question will speak volumes.
Because I am supposed to be is a terrible answer.
It is the right thing to do is a terrible answer.
Because I always come is a horrible answer.
This has been my church for years is terrible.

There is only one answer.
Because I love Jesus so much that nothing could keep me away.
It is time for us to be on our knees bowed before our father in heaven begging for forgiveness for allowing something other than Jesus to reign in our lives.
We should probably do the same thing for our church.
Life is great if your life is in Christ, it is fantastic.
Jesus is all you need.
He is all you need for fulfillment, joy and peace.
Won’t you reach to Him this morning and say, Jesus you are all I want, you are all I need.
Today and forever, you are my life.