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I would ask you this morning to take your Bibles and turn to the Book of Acts, chapter three. Acts chapter three. We return once again to Luke's marvelous historical account of the early church. Unfortunately, it is a book that is seldom studied by many Christians. In fact, a number of you have said you have really never studied the Book of Acts, and some even said we were a bit leery about it, fearing that it would be somewhat boring. Well, hopefully that's not been the case. I know for many of you, you have indicated that you've gleaned many practical truths from our study thus far, even some great doctrinal truths. It's been enriching and might I also just remind you that God has told us in his Word that all Scripture is inspired by God, and all of it is profitable. It is profitable for teaching and for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, and so on, and certainly this would include the Book of Acts.

Now we want to go back to a very fascinating scene. Let me give you the context before we look at the text before us this morning. Many very devout Jewish men had gathered into the city of Jerusalem from many different countries, and they had witnessed the miracles of Pentecost. A little bit of time has now lapsed. Some of them are no doubt still there, but certainly the city is still a buzz with all that has gone on. They have heard Peter's shocking sermon that testified to the reality of Jesus being the Messiah. They had also been confronted with the fact that they were guilty of murdering him. Many have believed now in the Lord Jesus Christ - over 3000 people - and Peter and John have now gone to the temple, and they have publicly, miraculously, and in the name of Jesus healed a man that was lame from birth, and many, many people saw it, and this man also went into the temple with them, and he is jumping around and shouting and glorifying God, and the place is absolutely electric. And now that God has sovereignly summoned a group of people to hear his servants speak the word. Peter addresses this awestruck crowd, and he begins to hammer home the truth of what they have done and the truth of the gospel of grace. And as always, what we will see is some, albeit a few, will repent. Most will not.

Now, having said that, let's get a running start once again here in Acts chapter three. We're actually going to look at verses 17 through 26 today, but I want to begin at verse 12, so that we get the flow once again of the context. Acts three, verse 12,

"But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, 'Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us as if by our own power or piety, we had made him walk?

"'The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered up and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

""But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

"'but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dea, a fact to which we are witnesses.

"'And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

"'And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.

"'But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled.

"'Repent, therefore, and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

"'and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,

''whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

"'Moses said, "The Lord God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed in everything He says to you.

"'"And it and it shall be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people."

"'And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward also announced these days.

"'It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

"' For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.'"

I've divided this section of Scripture into three categories that I hope will help you comprehend these amazing truths. We will first see the constant of Bible prophecy, secondly, we will see the cleansing of repentance, and thirdly, we will see the certainty of the messianic kingdom. I trust this study will prove to be enriching to your souls.

First, let's notice the constant of Bible prophecy. The word "constant," the idea of something that is fixed, that is immovable. Bible prophecy is like the rock of Gibraltar; it cannot be moved. It is unassailable, it is unalterable, and we're going to see that here in this text. But first, notice what he says here in verse 17: that "you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers di." In other words, though what you did was wicked beyond imagination, and though you are guilty, and though you will certainly pay the consequences for your wickedness, lest you repent, we realize that what you did was done in ignorance. You know, the Lord Jesus even said this when he was hanging on the cross. He asked the Father in Luke 23:34, "Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Indeed, the things of God are foolishness to those who do not know Christ, to the natural man. Just try discussing the truths of Scripture with somebody that does not know Christ, and very quickly you will see them look at you as if you are some knuckle-dragging Neanderthal that needs to be living in a cave eating raw meat. They think you are an absolute moron, like the unbelieving world today. The people of that day were too ignorant to even know they were ignorant. Yet ignorance is no excuse. Try pleading ignorance in a court of law and see how far you get.

But this was the pattern of the Jews down through history, and God knew this would be their response. And it's important for you to remember that this was no surprise to God. The rejection of the Messiah did not cause God to say, "Oh my, what am I going to do here? I better quickly come up with a plan B. My, look what they have done." Peter has already told us in chapter two, verse 23, "'This Man,'" referring to Christ, "'was delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.'" So God's saving purposes are always concealed, even in calamity. For indeed, He has ordained them for His glorious purposes. And now again, Peter reminds them that their national rejection was all part of his plan - all part of God's plan - predicted with great precision by the Old Testament prophets.

Now, notice this in verse 18, "'But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophet, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled.'" Herein, beloved, is the constant of Bible prophecy, as I would like to phrase it; again, Bible prophecy is fixed. It is immutable. It is unchangeable. It is unalterable. It is a Gibraltar of truth, absolutely unassailable. To put it in our vernacular, you can take it to the bank. It's going to happen because God has said it would, and again, Bible prophecy should not be some fanciful allegory or some meaningless spiritualization. That's anybody's guess as to what it says, but it is to be interpreted in a literal way, in a grammatical sense, where we understand even the historical context. We should never come to any passage of Scripture and somehow spiritualize a text unless there's some compelling reason in the context to do so.

In the Old Testament, Christ's death is clearly pictured. We see it in many, many passages. Certainly, Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, and in Zechariah 12, and so on. In fact, even all of the Levitical sacrifices - all of the rites and rituals pointed to a suffering Savior - pointed to a lamb that would someday need to be slain for the forgiveness of sins. And it's incredible to me to think that God not only knew the evil that the Jews would do, but he ordained it for his glorious purposes, and to think that he has recorded so many of his plans right here in his Word for us to read and to understand, to comprehend. What an amazing thought, beloved! How we should cherish this Word, all of the Word, even the 1/3 plus that is prophetic. For even the prophetic word is sure; it is certain; it is fixed; it is a Gibraltar of certainty that gives to us an anchor for our soul and for the hope that we have in all that God has promised.

So, therein is the constant of Bible prophecy, but Peter does not stop here. He goes on to offer great hope to these people who must have been standing there with their mouths hanging open as they heard this man speak to them. Notice what he says in verse 19: "Repent, therefore, and return, that your sins may be wiped away.'" Now you must understand that this was nothing new to the Jews. Repentance was a common theme amongst the Old Testament prophets, and there are many, many examples that we could use to defend that particular statement. But let me give you one that I know would be ringing in the ears of the Jews even that day, and perhaps you would like to take a moment and turn with me to another passage of Scripture. Hold your finger there in Acts three, but turn to Luke chapter three, and here we read of the ministry of John the Baptist. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets. And in Luke three, beginning in verse three, we read that, "He came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." Now, again, keep in mind that this has just occurred a few years earlier, so they were familiar with John's preaching of repentance, a baptism of repentance. Baptism being a symbolic rite that demonstrated an internal reality. Baptism never saved anyone, but it is a symbol of something that has happened internally; a symbol of repentance and cleansing that has taken place. And John used as his text Isaiah chapter 40 verses three through five.

Now, what I want you to catch here again is that Peter's message of repentance was nothing new. They had heard it before through the Old Testament prophets, through Isaiah, even through John the Baptist. And notice what Luke records here regarding John's usage of Isaiah 40 verses three through five, and I want us to look at this in light of the concept of repentance. The middle of verse four, we read, "'The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.'" Now, beloved, you must understand this is a reference to the notion of repentance. You see, John the Baptist was the herald of the king, and it was common in those days for a messenger, a forerunner, to go before a monarch to tell everybody that the king is coming. And what they would do -   in fact, they still do this today, we saw this even in Africa - they would clean up the roads, get rid of all the debris, fill in the potholes, make everything look really nice for the king to come. And John the Baptist, therefore, was saying to the people, "The Messiah is coming, prepare the highway to your heart, because salvation comes only to hearts that have been prepared through repentance." And notice the metaphorical language used to describe genuine repentance for the forgiveness of sins. In verse five, we read, "Every ravine shall be filled up." In other words, all the ditches, all of the canyons of your heart, where you hide the filth and the debris of your lusts; where you hide all of your rebellion, all of the deep, dark, low places in your imagination where you love to go frequently to enjoy secret sin-all of that stuff's got to be filled in. It's got to be covered up. It's got to be buried forever in repentance. This is how you make ready the way of the Lord and make his path straight to your heart for salvation. Beloved, I would ask you as we study this: Does this describe your repentance?

He goes on and he says, "'Every mountain and hill shall be brought low.'" It's interesting, he goes from low to high, the high places of self-exaltation, those mountain peaks and pyramids of pride, those mountaintops we like to erect for ourselves to draw attention to ourselves. It gives us a sense of power and prestige and self-righteousness. You see, he's saying all of this has to be leveled, all of this has to be brought low completely through humble repentance. He says, and, "The crooked shall become straight." Literally, all of the twisted, perverse, warped, deceitful, corrupt beliefs and attitudes and habits and pleasures in your life, all of those things have to be straightened out by genuine repentance. And he says, "And the rough roads smooth." In other words, clear away all of the debris in your life, all of the trash, fill up all of the potholes of temptation, if you will, that cause you to stumble. Bottom line, he's saying you have got to deal aggressively with every aspect of your life if you want the King of Glory to come into your heart. And the key is repentance. And when you do, verse six, "all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Literally in the Hebrew, as recorded in Isaiah 40 verse five, it says, "Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together."

And the glory of God is in His salvation, among other things, but especially in His salvation. In fact, the glory of God was revealed in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is revealed in his salvation of sinners. There is only one kind of heart, dear friends, that the King will enter in - one that has been prepared by repentance. When, in brokenness of heart, a man confesses the wretchedness of his condition, when he sees his sin, and he sees the Savior, and he turns from his sin deliberately unto God in repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, as an important footnote, ultimately, we know that it is God that grants repentance that leads to life (Acts 11:18). Repentance is not merely an act of the human will, some independent act that we do apart from the regenerating work of the Spirit of God. In fact, Paul tells us in Second Timothy 2:25 that God "grants repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth." It's interesting, isn't it? While sinners are commanded to repent, and unless they do, they will perish, according to Luke 13:3,  it is ultimately God who invites man to repent, who energizes his brokenness over his sin, who convicts man of his sin and the horrors of the wrath to come, and provides the way of repentance. So Peter's call to repent was nothing new. That was always the theme of the Old Testament prophets. And I might add that it should be the theme of our evangelism as well. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ in His great commission in Luke 24:46 says, "Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the third day." And by the way, this is great for us to remember when we tell people about the gospel. When we try to evangelize, they must understand the facts. They must believe the facts about Christ in order to be saved, as Jesus said that Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day. But He goes on to say what we should add to this, in verse 47, "...and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." So naturally, this was the theme of Peter's inspired message to the Jews that day.

Now back to Acts three, "Repent,"verse 19, "therefore, and return that your sins may be wiped away." Now the problem with the Jews of that day, as with many people today, they didn't think they needed to repent. They thought they looked pretty good. I want to digress for just a moment because I see this problem today. We've seen it down through the history of redemption. One of the most obvious evidences of apostasy in contemporary evangelicalism today is the gross distortion of the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially with respect to this notion of repentance. When you turn on your television and you hear men and some women who call themselves pastors, who are really nothing more than showmen and entrepreneurs. You will not hear them call people to repentance. In fact, the entrepreneurs of today will tell you that, "Oh my! That is far too offensive. That is far too offensive to say to seekers." And unfortunately, they falsely assume that unbelievers seek the truth, which is clearly not biblical. And so, rather than speaking a gospel of repentance, they give you kind of a gospel light, and you know that whole thing. We've talked about that before, and of course, that is great to attract crowds. It's great to sell books. I would also challenge you: you pick up any of the bestsellers of the last oh 10 years in Christian bookstores. Pick up any of them, and you will not find one of them that gives you a biblical understanding of repentance and calls people to the same. You'll just not see it. But this type of message is great for attracting large crowds. It's just the right tone to have when you're having a spiritual conversation at Starbucks over a cup of latte, whatever that is.

Well, while this kind of reasoning sells, it also damns, my friends. Evangelism today bears little resemblance to the gospel presentations of Jesus and the apostles, and the same could be said of most sermons. And what's interesting, the real problem is not so much what is said today, but what is left out. All of this ultimately flows from the poison well of bad theology, that basically assumes that if we just package the gospel in the right way, with the right type of bow and bells and whistles, and the right lights with the right music, then people will absolutely find it irresistible. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Well, as a result of this kind of evangelism, there are people today who call themselves Christians who know nothing about the truth of their spiritual condition. They have no understanding of being spiritually dead, they have no understanding of the subject of sin and how it controls them and and of Satan. They have no concept of being under the wrath of God. Oh my! You certainly don't want to talk about that. You lose your crowd real quick, right? They have no comprehension that they need to cry out for a mercy that is undeserved. They have no understanding of, therefore, of grace. And I know of many Christians - I've read some of their books - who do not believe in the Trinity. They do not believe in judgment. They do not believe in the resurrection. They do not believe in the wrath of God, they do not believe in hell, and on and on it goes. And many of these people, therefore, have no understanding of the most crucial element of the gospel, namely repentance. My friends, please hear this: without repentance, there is no salvation. The word "repent" in the original language essentially means to change one's mind and purpose, and to turn from one direction and to go in another. It is not reformation. It is not some resolution that "Boy, I'm just going to turn over a new leaf and I'm going to do things a whole lot better starting tomorrow." It is not contrition. It is not just merely feeling sorry for yourself or sorry for something that you've done and the results that have come about because of it, but it is a voluntary change, empowered by the Spirit of God; a change in a sinner by which he turns from sin towards God. One that is also accompanied by a great fear of God. One that causes a person to plead, as the publican did, for mercy. It involves the entire man. True repentance involves the intellect, where a person has an understanding of the truth about his sin and the Savior.

It also involves a person's emotional aspect, where emotionally a person will have a profound hatred for their sin and all of the things that they pursued, all of the things that they did that dishonored God, all of the things that they have done that have brought reproach upon themselves, and they will also have a love for the truth, and a fear of God, and a longing to be reconciled. It will also require the volitional part of a man, where a person will make a decisive commitment to begin to change the very purpose and direction of their life-a deliberate decision, as well, to seek pardon from a holy God.

I want to remind you of yet another text that I want us to look at briefly, and normally I wouldn't take the time to do this, but I feel it's important today as we digress just one more time from Peter's sermon. Look at Second Corinthians chapter seven. Second Corinthians chapter seven, brief context. Remember, Paul has confronted the Corinthians because of their sin, and God has graciously brought conviction, and they have repented. And here we gain some additional insights into the nature of genuine repentance. In Second Corinthians seven, beginning in verse nine, he says, "I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful..."in other words, not merely because you had some superficial regret that you were embarrassed, that you kind of felt bad about what you did, that you got caught; not some mere resentment over doing something stupid or something wrong, not not merely a sense of disappointment of self pity, but rather he says, "...but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance." Again, in the original language, the word "repentance" means to make a decisive and radical change of mind and attitude that completely changes the direction of your life. He was saying, "I'm really glad that you were made sorrowful to the point of all of that." And notice what else he says in verse nine, "...for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God." In other words, God was in this massive change in your will and in your purpose and in your heart, and what has happened pleases Him.

Verse 10, "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation." In other words, folks, in genuine repentance, there will never be a sense of, "Well, boy, you know I wish I hadn't have done that. You know now I'm kind of changing my mind, and I think the direction I decided to go really wasn't the one that I needed to go. And I think I'm going to go back in the direction." No! You're not going to see that with genuine repentance. You'll see it all the time with a false repentance. In fact, those who do regret never truly repented.

In verse 10, he goes on and he says, "...but the sorrow of the world produces death." We all know that. We've all seen that. There are people apart from Christ who are so overcome with guilt and the disillusionment of life that they begin to slowly kill themselves with alcohol and drugs and prescription drugs and all manner of things. Some people even commit suicide.

Verse 11, he says, "'For behold, what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you." In other words, there will be an earnestness in genuine repentance. There will be a solemn sincerity about true repentance. There will be an eagerness, an aggressiveness, a seriousness. You're not going to hear any of this idea in genuine repentance of just kind of repeating some nice little prayer. It's going to be so much more than that; nor will there be some attitude of, "Well, okay, I, you know, I guess if I need to do that, I'll do it." Nor will you hear an attitude that says, "Well, yeah, I guess I have made some mistakes in my life, ha ha." But there will be an earnestness, an earnestness that will be very much like the plaintive confession of David found in Psalm 51, beginning in verse one, where he said,

"'Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions.

"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins.

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

"Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak and blameless when Thou dost judge."

You see, folks, that's genuine repentance. As I think about it, Peter also knew genuine repentance. Remember, even after he denied the Lord three times, the cock crowed, and the text says that he went out and he wept bitterly. Paul goes on here in Second Corinthians seven. He also says, "...what vindication of yourselves..." In other words, in true repentance, there will be a desire to go back and to make things right. Isn't that a precious thing? I've seen that in some of you. There will be a desire to somehow clear your name and to establish a new name, even for yourself, certainly a name that ultimately glorifies God.

He adds to this, "...what indignation..." in other words, what loathing over your sin, what a resentment you will have over your past life, over your rebellion. Beloved, in genuine repentance, there will be a sense of of anger over the ways that you have so violated the law of God, the way that you have offended a holy God, the way that you have brought such reproach upon yourself and your family, and the way that you've wasted your life, and the way that you have sinned against others. He says, "...what fear..." In other words, there will also be a fear of God, a profound reverential awe of the lover of our soul, and the desire to honor Him with all of our life. "What longing..." he says. In other words, there will be a passion for sweet fellowship with God and his people. "What zeal..." he adds-a zeal to deny yourself and to please God at all cost. "What avenging of wrong!" He adds, finally, referring to a commitment to do what is right and to make things right, even as little Zacchaeus did, when he was confronted with his sin, and he wanted to go back, remember, and make right all those people he had defrauded? There will be a passion to be reconciled with those with whom you have sinned, and with those whom you have sinned with. Dear friends, this is the stuff of genuine repentance that leads to salvation, and this is crucial in evangelism. And again, I ask you: Does this describe your life?

 There are two reasons why people refuse to repent. Very simple. One is they love their sin. Two, they don't see their sin. And certainly this was true of the Jews in Peter's audience. And sadly, I fear that it is true with some people within the sound of my voice.

Now back to Peter's sermon. Notice the marvelous reward for repentance. He says again in verse 19, "Repent, therefore, and return." The word "return" was a common New Testament term that described a turning one's whole life to God. "Repent and return, that your sins may be wiped away." Oh, this was wonderful news to those Jews who were truly under conviction that day. "Wiped away" was a phrase that they would be very familiar with. It alluded to wiping ink off of a document in their day. You see, unlike modern ink that will penetrate our paper, in their day, the ink would just remain on the surface of the papyrus or the vellum that they would use, and therefore you could take a wet rag or even a little spittle on your finger, and you could wipe off the ink, kind of like we would have on a dry erase board. Well, this is what God does with the sins of those who repent. He wipes them away. Isn't that a precious thought? This is what Paul had in mind as well in Colossians 2:14 He says there God has "...canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Beloved, herein is the cleansing of repentance - a gift of grace beyond our ability to even comprehend.

But there's yet another amazing truth in this section of Peter's sermon. Another truth that was repeated over and over again by the prophets; yet another glorious benefit of genuine repentance, and that is thirdly the certainty of the messianic kingdom. Notice in verse 19, he says, "Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away." Now, catch this, "in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." Ah, dear friends, here's where my heart begins to race. Here's where my adrenaline begins to really get me going inside. "Times of refreshing" - that's a reference to the millennial kingdom that the Lord will establish when he returns again, spoken by the prophets all through the Old Testament by Jesus by the apostles. That time when the earth will be renovated, returned again to Edenic splendor; a time when the world will be refreshed by peace and righteousness, and the restoration of all things, described in great detail by the prophets. A time where we will return with the Lord and reign for 1000 years. Jesus described it in Matthew 19:28 as the regeneration, when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne. Yes, Peter is saying, "You rejected your Messiah. He came unto you and you rejected Him. You wanted nothing to do with Him. He came to offer you the promised kingdom, but because of your rejection, this earthly kingdom has been postponed. But those who repent will someday experience it - this glorious age - promised by the Old Testament prophets, promised by Jesus Himself."

Notice, He says in verse 19, "...in order that times of refreshing may come." "Times - "kairos" in the original language - it's a term that means "a pre-established date," "a predetermined fixed time," "a specific date." In fact, in Acts 1:7, Jesus used the same term when he answered the disciples. Remember, they were questioning him about the specifics of his return when he would somehow establish his kingdom and all of these things. And Jesus said, "It is not for you to know times." There it is again, or epochs "which the Father has fixed by His own authority." I get excited when I think about this. I've got a little black book at home, my little day timer. I'm not as sophisticated as some of you with all those little gadgets that you can scroll and do all that type of thing. I've got this little black book, and if it doesn't exist in that little black book, it basically doesn't exist. You know how that works, and when I think about it, that's what God has here. He has a fixed date when the Lord will return, not only to snatch away his church in the rapture, but then to return again his second time, and establish his millennial kingdom - "the times of refreshing"; it is a fixed time.

And notice these times of refreshing come, verse 19, "from the presence of the Lord." That's referring to the the second coming when the Lord comes again and reveals himself in all of his glory. And again, may I remind you of biblical eschatology? We are waiting now for the great snatching away of the church - the rapture of the church, the end of the church age - and at the end of seven years of tribulation, the Lord will return, and we know that a remnant of ethnic Jews will be saved during that time of tribulation. In fact, 144,000 male Jews. It's interesting to see how God predicts all of these things that are even being promised here in Peter's sermon. All of these Jewish men will be missionaries during that time, and all that is left of Israel after the cataclysmic judgments of the time of tribulation of that day, all that is left will be saved. In fact, Romans 11:25 tells us that now there is a "partial hardening that's happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." In other words, until the church is taken away, till all of that is over, "and thus all Israel will be saved, just as it is written..." now, catch this, "the deliverer will come from Zion." Isn't it interesting? The Lamb came from Nazareth, but the Lion is coming from Zion. Amazing to think that this glorious day, when the Lord Jesus Christ will be exalted upon the earth, awaits all who repent, and it is a fixed day.

Peter continues with these incredible thoughts and this theme of the millennial kingdom - the promised kingdom - verse 20, he says, "and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,..." and indeed, when Israel repents and acknowledges Jesus as their Messiah, he will return. That will happen at the end of the of the tribulation. He will return as the conquering King. Zechariah describes this scene in graphic detail in 12 verse 10 as a day when He will "pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced and they will mourn." A heart-rending lament over their former rejection of the Messiah. and he goes on here. Indeed, Christ is the one appointed for you, and Peter is affirming that God is not finished with His covenant people, as some in our Christian circles would have us believe. God is not finished with the Jew. Christ is the one "appointed for you," verse 21, "whom heaven must receive." That's a reference to the ascension of Christ. Christ has now ascended. He says, "...until..." Christ has been received, "...until the period of restoration of all things." Again, a reference to the millennial kingdom, about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from the ancient time.

Then he gives some examples they would certainly be familiar with. Verse 22, he says, "Moses said..."again, remember, very important, Moses was extremely important to the Jews. He was the first and the foremost of all of the prophets. Here's what Moses said, "'The Lord God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed in everything He says to you.'" An obvious reference to Jesus. And then in verse 23, Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18:19 where Moses warned, "'And it shall be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'" A sobering warning to those obstinate people who had a history of rejecting their prophets. And again, imagine the look on their faces by now. For some, for a few, there had to be tears of mourning coming down from their eyes, flowing down their cheeks onto the ground, while others, certainly the most of them, would be gritting their teeth in absolute contempt over what they are hearing.

Verse 24, he says, "'And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days.'" And indeed, you will remember that even Samuel established David as king, and he spoke often of the eternal kingdom and king who would eventually reign over the whole earth. In fact, in Second Samuel seven, we read where God speaks through his prophet to David - through Samuel to David - and makes that wonderful covenant with him. In verse 16, he says, "And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever. Your throne shall be established forever." A promise fulfilled, partially in Jesus Christ, David's greater son, according to Hebrews 1:8, and the kingdom, the eternal kingdom, yet to be fulfilled.

Verse 25, Peter goes on and says, "'It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed."'" Indeed, that blessing is still available to all who repent, genuinely repent. The blessing of forgiveness through repentance, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who came through the seed of Abraham.

Then in verse 26, he says, "'For you first, God raised up His servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.'" Once again, a reference to the indispensable element of salvation - repentance. Friends, what an incredible tapestry we have here! And all through this tapestry of mercy and grace, we see a thread woven through it - the thread of the need for repentance for salvation.

Now, as we close this morning, I challenge you to think with me very carefully for a moment. This would have been a perfect place for Peter to say, "Sorry, Jews, you guys blew it. You're out. The Gentile church is in. The church has replaced Israel." Would have been the perfect place to say this; perfect place for him to say there will be no kingdom. In fact, we're living in the kingdom now. This, of course, is the thinking of many Christians, many of whom I love, maybe some of you, that we're living in the kingdom now - Amillennialism, there's no kingdom, we're kind of living in it now - it's a spiritual kingdom. This would have been a perfect place for Peter to preach Amillennialism and replacement theology. That the church has replaced Israel. A perfect place for him to say sorry, "God is finished with you. You blew it. The kingdom promises are hereby canceled. The Davidic dynasty-it's over. Forget about what was said in the Old Testament. The nation of Israel is permanently abolished. Ethnic Jews will now be permanently just blended into the Gentile church; there will be no times of refreshing as promised. There will be no restoration of all things, no Messiah reigning in glory on a throne in Jerusalem. You see, now all of that is just spiritual symbolism and metaphor. Sorry, God warned you guys. You brought it on yourselves. You did not live up to your end of the bargain of grace, so your election is canceled."

Instead, dear friends, this is so obvious, he is affirming the fact that all of God's covenant promises are still in effect. They haven't been abrogated. They're not canceled. He's saying "Christ is appointed for you. Grace is still available. He came as he promised, and you must give heed to him. You must repent, or you will perish. He is going to come again. All the prophets have announced these days. He will return, and he's going to bring times of refreshing and restoration of all things, just as the prophets promised." Beloved, don't be deceived by a position that is nowhere mentioned in the Bible. Again, there are no passages that say that the church has permanently replaced Israel, and that all of the promises that were given to them are now being fulfilled spiritually in the church and in heaven. This is a grievous error. Yet it's a very popular one, and I would submit to you that such a view rejects the clear meaning, the plain sense of Scripture, preferring instead some kind of a tortured exegesis to avoid the obvious. I believe that this type of a position violates the very essence of the doctrine of election, the doctrine of grace, the doctrine of the grace of God that accomplishes all of his purposes in his people. I believe that this impugns his very character because it implies that somehow God has reneged on his Abrahamic, Davidic, and new covenants; that he's reneged on his promise of electing a chosen people. That somehow the unilateral and unconditional and irreversible covenants are something other than what they so obviously are, and I also believe that this implies that the revelation that God has given us in Scripture concerning a literal earthly kingdom was disingenuous. What are we to say that God was just teasing in the Old Testament, or that he changed his mind? That what Jesus and the apostles taught, even in the New Testament, really isn't true? Are you going to spiritualize all that away? I can't do that.

And I believe also it robs God of His glory. For I cannot imagine a more glorious display of his glory than seeing the Lord Jesus Christ return to this earth as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and every knee bowing. Can you imagine that day when all of the...just think of this: If the Lord came, and now all of the Muslims and the Hindus and the Buddhists and the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses, all of the Hollywood perverts, all of the rap and hip hop vulgarians, all of the ACLU, the militant homosexuals, all of the wingnuts of wickedness in this world - imagine all of them seeing that Jesus indeed is Lord. You see, I believe in the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ, and when you try to spiritualize all that away, and tell me we're living in the kingdom now, I don't buy that. That's not what the Bible teaches. Peter is saying, "You Jews are sons of the covenant. These promises still belong to you - and though you crucified your Messiah, though you are now temporarily displaced as the custodians of truth, and now that responsibility is temporarily transferred to the Gentile church until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and until all Israel is saved (Romans 11:25) - even though all of that is true, the kingdom promises are still yours. And beloved, they belong to all of us, even those of us in the church age, because we will return with him when he comes again at his second coming. Remember, at the rapture of the church, he comes for his saints. At the second coming, he comes with his saints and establishes his kingdom. Of course, the key to all of this is repentance, as he says to them, you must turn from your wicked ways. Beloved, God has not abandoned his chosen people, Israel. "My elect," he calls them. We're told in Romans 11:2, God has not rejected his people, "whom He foreknew."

Well, I challenge each of you this morning to examine your own repentance. Is it genuine, or is it fake? Has it produced the fruits of godliness in your life? Are you walking in a different direction? Do you long to glorify God in your life? Do you have a hungering and a thirsting for righteousness? Is repentance an ongoing pattern in your heart and in your life? Well, if it's real, these marvelous promises are yours, dear friend. May all of us as believers find strength in the constant of Bible prophecy. May we find joy in the cleansing of repentance, and may we find an ecstatic, exciting hope in the certainty of the messianic kingdom. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for these glorious truths that you have given to us. To give us not only understanding but to somehow anchor our hope in the Gibraltar of your Word. Lord, how we long to see you face to face. Give us a passion to be preachers of the gospel, and Lord, may we be committed to emphasizing that most crucial aspect in salvation, the need for genuine repentance and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who died for our sins and was raised the third day. Lord, minister to every heart as only you can do. I ask in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen.