Psalm 16:1-11  (NIV)  ¹ Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.

² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”  ³ I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”  ⁴ Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.  I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.

⁵ Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.  ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.  ⁷ I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  ⁸ I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, ¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.  ¹¹ You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

The passage today is Peter explaining why we should follow Jesus in a sermon within a sermon.

Acts 2:12-39 (NIV)

¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.  ¹⁵ These men are not drunk, as you suppose.  It’s only nine in the morning!  ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.  ¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.  ¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 
²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.  ²¹ And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

²² “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  ²³ This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing his to the cross.  ²⁴ But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  ²⁵ David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  ²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, ²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.  ²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

²⁹ “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.  ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.  ³¹ Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.  ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.  ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.  ³⁴ For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand ³⁵ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’  

³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Peter replied, “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 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord your God will call.”

As Peter answers the accusation that the disciples are drunk, he pivots to talk about Jesus.  Why people should follow Jesus.  Why Jesus becomes important, and if Jesus is who He claims to be.  Then what do we do about that?

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus, and how do we become a follower of Jesus?  There are four key elements: mind, grace, heart, and life.

Verse 36 is about mind and grace.  Verse 37 is about heart and life.

Therefore, let all of Israel be amazed of this: “God has made this Jesus, who you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Psalm 16 and 110 David is talking and pointing to Jesus.

Peter is making the biblical basis for Jesus in verse 32, “Jesus was raised from the dead and we all witnesses of the fact.”

Peter is appealing to the intellect of the people.

Peter uses what they know to orient them toward Jesus.  This is what you believe, and so it would make sense for you to believe in Jesus.  David was pointing to Jesus, if you believe this and believe it is true, then Jesus is the One Jew all the people have been waiting for.

Peter also gives an eyewitness of the events in Jesus’ life.  Christianity is not a mystical theory about how to live one’s life.

Instead, it is the culmination of God’s interaction with humanity, which starts with Adam and Eve, went on to Abraham and Moses and finds God came Himself.

Salvation is through grace; it is not about what people do in order to save themselves.  Instead, what Jesus has done on their behalf.

Peter looks back to David and the prophet Job; they are pointing to Jesus.  Paul calls Jesus the second Adam.  Jesus lived the life Adam intended to live and yet didn’t because of disobedience.  Adam’s death becomes our reality, however, Jesus’ life becomes our potential, if we are willing to have Jesus rule our lives.

Remember the stories: David fighting Goliath, Moses striking the rock, the Passover lambs in Egypt.

These are stories of grace.  God wants Israel to do specific things, but they are disobedient and God gave Israel grace until they were so immoral He had to deal with the consequences of the disobedience.

The Bible in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is about the story of grace, how God has made good in the repairing the broken relationships between us and God.

You see the listeners were broken, cut to the heart.  “Broken, what should I do?”

Jesus isn’t a method of self-improvement, or to have a better life or a hobby.  Christianity demands your life.  When we decide to follow Jesus, we are putting ourselves under the power and authority of Jesus, this may be the first time a person submitted to authority.

A point we all need to know is we recognize that our sin is personal, it is ours and needs to be acknowledged and to ask for forgiveness.

We need to view our sin as if we are letting our best friend down or break the heart of a friend.  This is how we need to view and understand our sin, in the relationship to Jesus.

By sinning we are breaking the heart of the one who has given us everything, this is what the Bible is describing to us.

God still loves us in spite of us turning away from Him.

God went to the Cross for us, He took our sins on Himself, sacrificed His death to sanctify us in God’s presence.

Repenting leads to a new freedom, new family, and the church and a new power through the Holy Spirit.

Peter tells the disciples, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off; this is for all people.”

Jesus is bringing all people into His family; God’s grace is for all people.

God bless.  Allow Jesus to cut your heart, then allow Him to renew your life, then we will find our potential with our new family and life.