Acts chapter number 2, and of course before we get into the verse, we are in one of the most misused and misapplied verses in all of scripture. As far as people going to hell on a verse, they probably went to hell in Acts chapter 2 and verse 38 more than anywhere. And so when I say some of these things, if I kind of I try to keep my feelings out of preaching, but y'all, it's hard to. We're human. But I've got relatives whom I love and people I've spoken to over the years and things, and they don't know how to rightly divide. And one thing that I'm trying to teach You is how to rightly divide your Bible so that it's not that we think, hey, we know more than someone else. It's not about that. It's that we want to be able to help them with the Word of God so they know where they're at and what Bible verse is directed toward them and what Bible verses are not directed toward them. Y'all, there's so much stuff. in the Bible that's there for you to profit from, that's not for you to get doctrinally. You know, you get over there in Genesis and He tells them, okay, you can eat all these fruits and everything. And they get these fruits from the trees and they're not supposed to eat meat. Then later on, after the fall, they're eating meat. I mean, that's just one change. You got Noah was supposed to build ark. We don't have to build ark. Well, you got people fighting giants. We're not fighting giants today. You see these changes along through. So as you're reading the Bible, yes, that whole Bible is there for you and you can learn from the whole Bible. And I read every bit of the Bible. But at the same time, if you don't know where you're at in the dispensation of the grace of God, you will put yourself under bondage. There are some people who will not eat bacon because they're putting themselves back under the law. And the Apostle Paul said, he told Timothy over there, he said, there are people who are desiring to be teachers of the law and they do not know whereof they affirm or what they say because they're trying to pull things from another dispensation and put it down on you as doctrine. In Galatians, you read the whole book of Galatians, he said, who hath bewitched you? Because he's saying, hey, you're going back under the bondage of the law. You've been saved by grace through faith. Why are you going back under the bondage of the law? So you've got all these things in the Bible, and so that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to learn where we are. And when you get to Acts chapter number 2, as we've learned, we've creeped through this chapter, this is Peter preaching. He is a Jew. He is a minister to the circumcision, and Jews are of the circumcision. Pentecost is a Jewish feast day. So all the whole thing is Jewish to start with. Now I was going to save this for last, but I made a note in my Bible, and I'm going to go ahead and say it right now, because I've got several study Bibles at the house, and probably too many, but I like to look at different things and see what this man says about it, and what this other man says about it. And I've got the Ryrie Study Bible and the Schofield, and a lot of these men even call their self-right dividers, and they say, that the body of Christ began at Pentecost but no one knew it. Well if they say the body of Christ began in Acts chapter number 2 but nobody knew it, does that not tell you it's a mystery and a secret? And the thing is, if it's a mystery of a secret, it's not revealed, and if God hasn't dispensed it, it's not a dispensation. See, look, I'm saying that, I'm trying to make sure I'm reading it directly from my notes so that you get it. God has to dispense something, dispense a grace, before it becomes a dispensation. And even they, their own self admit, and they say, well it was there, just no one knew about it. Well, that means it's a mystery. That means it's a secret. And God did not dispense that grace that He's dispensed to the Apostle Paul. So the dispensation of the grace of God has not started in Acts chapter number 2. So Acts chapter number 2 is not your mail. It's not doctrinally to you. When you read that, if God didn't dispense His grace at Pentecost, it's not our pattern for today. Acts chapter number 2, verse number 38, is not the gospel of the grace of God. He is preaching to the nation of Israel that they must repent as a nation because they said, He said, or the Jewish nation there, the ones that believe, said, men and brethren, He said, what must we do? Alright, now why did they say that? As a nation, the Jewish nation according to their law was supposed to repent as a nation. I go back to that to say this. Today, how is someone saved today? You say, what must I do to be saved? Now here's how you keep people out of bondage. I cannot take Israel's mail and Israel's directions and put that down on you doctrinally because that is not required of you. So if I put something down on you that's not required of you, you know what's going to happen? That's going to put you in bondage. You know what you're going to find out later on in this chapter over here? This is stuff they don't want to talk about. They're having all things common. They're pooling all their goods together and you know what, it's a form of communism and Karl Marx got upset about that thing because he knew very little Bible but he saw that part and he tried to make that communistic system out of verses like this and you know what happened? It don't work because It only worked at this time period. You've got to understand, they are on a time scale. 483 years of Daniel. You remember when we studied Daniel chapter 9? He said, 490 years are determined upon thy people Israel, not us. So when you get to the cross, 483 years of those 490 years, have transpired. But he said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. So the Lord gave them a year of grace right in here in this early period to repent and receive that message, that message of repentance. So Peter's preaching that along this time. And by the time you do the math right here, and by the time you get to the stoning of Stephen, they blaspheme the Holy Ghost right here, and the nation of Israel falls in the book of Acts records the diminishing of Israel as they reject more and more and more. And you know what you have here? The Apostle Paul gets called out in Acts chapter number 9 and the Lord reveals him a new message, which is the message of grace. And you know what he says? You are saved by grace through faith alone. No works. You don't have to sell what you have. You don't have to do all those things that was under the law. We're saved by grace through faith. And you know what he says? Not of works, lest any man should boast. You can't do one thing to earn your salvation. You can't do one thing to keep your salvation. That'd be spitting in the face of Jesus Christ when He said, all you have to do is receive it by grace through faith. And they say, well what about over here in Acts 2? Okay, again, Peter is preaching to the little flock of Israel. And you know what he's saying? He's saying, here in just a minute, we're going to read it. I've got to get some of this reading off the top. You know what He's saying there? Be saved from this untoward generation. You know what He's doing? The Lord Jesus said He'd come to divide in Luke chapter 12 verse 51. You know, people say, we know Jesus Christ, peace on earth, goodwill toward men, you know. Jesus said He came to divide. You know what's going to happen? He's going to divide believers from unbelievers before He brings peace on earth. Peace on earth is not going to be here till the Lord Jesus Christ comes back. After the rapture of the body of Christ is going to happen, you're going to have seven years of tribulation and it won't be peace on earth till the Lord Jesus Christ comes back and sets up His rule and reign on earth, literally, at the end of the tribulation period. That's when peace on earth happens. People talk about December, you know, peace on earth and stuff. You know what's amazing to me? When you study peace in the Bible, righteousness always precedes peace. You don't get peace unless you have righteousness. You know how we have peace in our hearts today? By the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Man, I'm just going to tell you, just about anybody you meet today, and myself included, we're all crazy as a loon bat. Well, you're dealing with this flesh every day. You got these fleshly thoughts going around. And I tell you, the only way I can have peace in my heart knowing, man, because sometimes you ever said, would a saved man say that? You ever done something one day, just had a bad day, and you know what? Your flesh didn't get saved, your soul got saved. So you know what happens? Your flesh still sins every single day. And the Spirit on the inside of you is saying, that is not how I want you to behave. And that conviction comes in there. But you know what? You're still saved. What's that? The righteousness of Jesus Christ that He gave you Once you put your faith and trust in the gospel of the grace of God, He gave you that. That gives me peace of heart even though turmoil is going on all around me. But you know what? As far as this world getting peace, they won't get peace on this earth until the righteous reign of the Lord Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning from a literal throne up there in Jerusalem. That has to do with...that's a completely different program. That's a prophetic program. In our dispensation, you know what he said, evil men and seducers are worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. You know what the good news is? Hey, I'm saved and I know where I'm going, but this world is going to get worse and worse. People talk about You know, better and better. If we get this administration, it's going to be better. It don't matter which world empire you study. You know what that empire did? It just got away from God. And the more it got away from God, it got worse and worse and worse until it fell. You know what happens? Nations forget God and they fall. You know what happens? People forget God. You know, a haughty spirit goes before a fall. But you know what? Thank the Lord, I may fall, but I'm not going to fall out of the grace of God. Why? Because I'm in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for that. So when you're reading Acts 2, I need you to know where you're at. When He said in Acts 2 verse number 38, remember, they said, men and brethren, they said, what shall we do? What? In light of the fact that they crucified their Messiah. The cross is being preached by Peter is bad news because Peter don't know what Paul has revealed to us. Peter don't know at this point right here. Peter does not know what we know today. All he knows is the kingdom program, a physical, literal, visible reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's saying, if you will repent as a nation, all these prophecies can come to pass. Alright, so then he says, they say, what will we do? Well, you know this isn't the gospel of the grace of God. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Now I like to run little references to you. You say, well, that's how they received it in this program. I don't argue with anybody. You know, you get somebody's God and they say, well, the Greek word means something. You don't speak Greek. I tell them right quick, you don't speak Greek. You don't know anybody that speaks Greek. So you know what you do? You just tell them, okay, Peter was preaching to the nation Israel. That's not my direction. You know how I receive the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit? Let me give you one reference. Galatians chapter 3. is so many. But you know the Bible doesn't contradict, but there are different administrations and different ways God deals with people throughout time. And in Galatians 3 verse 14, the Bible, speaking to us Gentiles, said that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might, watch this, receive Same word used, but just we receive it. Watch this. The promise of the Spirit, how? Through faith. Y'all, that should be just as clear as you can be right there. He says you receive it through faith. Let me give you one more. Look at Galatians chapter three, verse number two. It says, this only would I learn of you, received ye the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith. What did he say? He said, did you receive it by works of the law? He's talking to Galatians who they're trying to put them back under the law because under the law program they had a different way that they received it. Okay, well here we are. He's saying, you're not under the law program, so how do you receive the Spirit? By faith. All you have to do is put your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, what He did on the cross. And I don't care who likes it and who don't like it. Somebody says, well they're not serving enough and they're not doing so and so. That's up to God. Do you know somebody can get saved? It's a gift. They do with it whatever they want to, and you know what? That's up to the Lord to judge that. If He wants to, whenever the judgment seat of Christ happens, their sin is already judged on Calvary. So whenever they get up there, and if they didn't do anything, guess what? They may have wood, hay, and stubble. But you know what? They're still there. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, as far as the judgment seat of Christ, they might be saved, yet so as by fire. You know what that means? That means some people are going to get up there and their works are going to burn up. but they still just as saved as they can be. That's amazing, isn't it? You know what that is? That's called a free gift, Romans chapter 5, over and over and over. You know what some people don't like about that thing is because some people are serving out of the wrong motive and they get mad and they say, well, I've been doing all this. I've been going to church every Sunday, every Wednesday. I've been reading my Bible and I've been giving money and I've been doing all this stuff and so and so ain't doing nothing. They still say, well, that's up to the Lord. If the Lord decided to give the gift that it's His salvation anyway, what does it matter what they do with the gift? If you gave somebody something that's their gift, okay, well no strings attached. You know what a lot of people don't like about salvation by grace through faith? It's no strings attached. If you want to do something with it, do something with it. If you don't want to do something with it, that's up to you. But you know what you'll find out? The more you love the Lord Jesus Christ and the more you walk with Him, the more you want to do for Him because you love Him. You know what? I don't want my wife doing anything for me. Fixing me a cup of coffee or making me a meal or anything else because I made her do it. I want her to do it because she loves me. You imagine being in a relationship with somebody and you making them do all this. Making them do... And that's what kind of God the Calvinists got. They got a God that's making them do all this stuff. You know, before the world ever began and before time ever began, they're making them do all this stuff. That's not God. God'll give you salvation and gives you a free will choice and says, hey, here's salvation, and if you wanna do something with it, it's up to you. If you wanna have gold, silver, and precious stones, it's gonna be up to you. He puts it completely in your hands. You know, you got this special class of people now. They think, well, they've got all these gifts, and I got this, and God gave me this and that. Let me tell you something. If you want something, you go study for it, and God gives you air to breathe, and God gives you eyesight and stuff like that right there. But let me tell you something, as far as God, no respect of persons, people have to apply themselves. See, they get this old, you know, you got people nowadays that make out like they're better than everybody else, and that's not right. God gives you the free gift of salvation. Okay, if you want to apply yourself, the Bible says, study to show thyself approved unto God, not unto men. A workman need not be ashamed, rightly divided in the word of truth. Okay, if you want to learn the Bible, God is not going to supernaturally throw the Bible in your mind. But you know what? It says study. You know what he tells the kingdom people there who are looking to go into the time of Daniel's 70th week? They're looking at going into the end of time. He said, you don't have to meditate on what you're going to say. He said, God will give it to you in Luke chapter 12. Now that's a different program. Why? Because you've got to understand, in early Acts, the reason why they got baptized with the Holy Ghost for power. We get baptized into Christ by the Spirit, and it's a spiritual thing, and we operate by faith and not by sight. They had things by sight. Why? They saw a rushing mighty wind come in there, tongues of cloveness fire, and people said, all these... Why? The Jews require a sign. Alright, so they got a different program going on right there. You don't have that. They were looking to go into the end of time and it was put on hold for our current dispensation. So that's why they're having all things in common. You see this message we're reading, what I'm trying to show you, this stuff is so important because so many, so many people are led astray by somebody saying, hey, I'm reading Bible to you. All right, people say, okay, well, I'm seeing Bible. But what they don't tell you is it's not for you, it's not your directions for today. So all kind of people say, well, I just believe the Bible, okay. Well, I give them that, they believe the Bible. But the Bible didn't stop in Acts 2, verse 38. The Bible kept going. And the Apostle Paul got saved and he got the dispensation of the grace of God and he says you're saved by grace through faith. So it's not that the Bible contradicts, it's that God was using Simon Peter as a minister to a prophetic program and the prophecy program has been put on hold for the dispensation of the grace of God. And when we're raptured out of here, he'll pick right back up and finish out Daniel's 70th week and they'll go into the kingdom. I hope kind of that helps a little bit because I'll tell y'all something. When you get into this Bible, I'm fascinated by it. Why? Because once you ever get that, you can believe the Bible where it's at and nothing needs to be changed. Just believe it where it's at to who it's talking to. And man, that's like I get over at Hebrews. You know, you get some of these people and you get to witnessing to them and stuff. Well, what about Hebrews 6? I believe it's just like it's written to who it's talking to. I'm not a Hebrew. That's all it is. They say, well, if they fall away, okay, I'm not going to fall away. I can't fall away. All I can do is fall into Jesus Christ. It's amazing. You have to understand over and over the doctrine of eternal security is being attacked over and over and over. And once you're saved, you're saved. And you are not on the same things that the program of Israel has because they have a completely different thing than you have. You are sealed with the Holy Spirit of God. You gotta know that. Now, you get in this thing and he says, Be baptized every one of you for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift the Holy Ghost watch this for the promise is Unto you and to your children and to all that are far off even as many as the Lord our God shall call Man, I hate to interrupt things. I'm burning up up here. Is everybody all right out there? I'm talking about, I'm cooking. All right, now let me show you this thing about the promise. All right, so if y'all will, we're gonna look at this thing about the promise. Look at Romans chapter nine. This is your apostle, he's explaining something about the promise. Now once you see something, Once you start learning right division, you ought to know where I'm going once I show you something about a promise. We are not part of the covenants and promises of the nation of Israel. So when you read Acts 2 and you're trying to witness to somebody and you get this verse right here and it talks about the promise is unto you. Well, you know that it's not speaking to us. We're Gentiles. We're not Jews. Okay, so that's another indicator that it's not directly to us. So it says the promise. Romans chapter 9 verse number 4 says, Who are Israelites, so we are not Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, watch this, and the promises. That's Israelites. Okay, now let me show you something else. I'll show you where I'm going with this promise there. Look at Ephesians chapter 2. Familiar verse and then I'll give you something else that should help you when you're witnessing to somebody. Ephesians chapter 2, just to remind you who the promises are to. Because he said over there, for the promise is unto you and your children to all that are far off, even as many as our Lord shall call. Now, Ephesians 2, look at verse number 12. The apostle Paul says that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth. See, there's that commonwealth of Israel. We're not a commonwealth. That's why they had all things common over there in Acts 2. We're not a commonwealth. Watch this. Of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. Watch this, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. That far off in Acts chapter 2 ain't got nothing to do with us. because the Jews were scattered far off and they come together on the day of Pentecost. So he's calling out those scattered Jews that had been scattered all over out of that untoward generation. Okay, so let me show you another thing about that promise. So we're not part of Israel's covenants of promise. Look at Ephesians. While you're in Ephesians, look at Ephesians chapter 3 verse number 6. This is neat to me. We don't have to have Israel's promise. A lot of times people want to steal Israel's promises and stuff. Look, I don't have to have their stuff. We got something better, man. I don't want the power that they got on the day of Pentecost to be able to do all those things for what we have in Christ and all the spiritual blessings we have. Ephesians chapter 3 verse number 6 says, It says, "...that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs unto the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ." How? By the gospel. That's a completely different thing. Look, what's the gospel? Peter's not preaching Jesus Christ was died and He buried and rose again. That's the gospel which Paul preached, 1 Corinthians 15. He says we're partakers of the promise by the gospel. Peter, over in Acts 2, he's preaching a message that was a continuation of John the Baptist's message, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sin. You have the remission of sin. Not only that, you're redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Romans 10. The moment you place your faith and trust in the finished work of Christ, you're redeemed right then. So you've got a different thing. I'm showing you over and over. Acts 2. When you're dealing with people who are having trouble with that thing, that's not your message. Let me show you another thing about the promise. I'm going to give you enough ammunition to help you. Look if you will. We're going to go backward. Look at Galatians chapter 3. Galatians is a very, very important place here. Galatians chapter 3. And I'm going to read three verses there. Galatians 3 verse number 14. Again, I read it earlier. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise. Remember that promise? How do we get in on it? Watch this. "...of the Spirit through faith." Watch Galatians 3 verse 22. It says, "...but the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." Watch Galatians 3 verse 29. It says, "...and if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." What's he teaching in Galatians? We don't have Israel's covenants and promises, so how can we get in on the promise? He's saying Abraham, before the giving of the law, how did Abraham get into it? Abraham had faith. So how in the world could a Gentile, who is not part of the covenants and promises of the nation of Israel, how can we get in on it? By faith. He's saying, that's the only way because it's against the law. Israel had the law. Israel had the covenants. Israel had the promise. So how am I, a Gentile, who's far off from God, how am I going to get in on it? He's saying, Abraham's an example. And he said, Abraham had faith. You have faith and God imputes the righteousness of Jesus Christ to you by faith. That's how we get the promise. So you know what? We don't need what they had over in Acts chapter 2. I've got something I just get by simple faith. And you know what? The Bible teaches you faith is not a work. It says in Romans 4-5, but to him that worketh not, but believeth. on him that justifieth ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." You know what that means? Worketh not, but believeth. That means belief is separated from works. Belief is not a work. The Father looks down and He sees faith is not of works. He said, all they have to do is put faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and His blood atonement on the cross and He says, I'll give you the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a free gift. That's how come children can understand it. Oftentimes children can get saved before a grown person can, somebody over 16. Do you know, I don't know this, but this is what statisticians, I think that's the proper word, people who do statistics, they say that most people get saved from age 16 and down. Because by the time most people get to the age of 16, they done heard so much stuff and they think they can do something. You know, I don't know what it is, but you start getting older, man. You start getting aches in your bones, and your feet start hurting. You start having to go to the doctor, and stuff like that. And you start realizing you can't do near as much as you thought you could when you was younger. A lot of times, that's how I come. 16, from about 16 to 35, they don't hardly get saved. And then after 35, you start seeing people get saved. They realize, you know what, I'm not as tough as I thought I was. I'm not as good as I thought I was. I need some grace. I better trust the grace of God. But there's a period of time there where you think you're really something. And you know what? It takes humility to come to the Lord and say, Lord, I have nothing to offer you. I can't do anything. If I get anything, it's going to be by grace. And the Lord says, that's what I want right there. The Lord will save you if you come to Him by grace thinking, look, I can't do anything to get saved. And once I get saved, I can't do enough good works to keep it. I'm telling you, I couldn't keep my salvation for three seconds. You read some of this stuff in Paul's epistle. You know what Paul says? That which is not of faith is sin. How many things? That which is not of faith. Okay, what's faith? Faith is placing your trust in what God said. How many decisions do you make in your life that's not according to what the Word of God said? We sin a whole lot more than we think we do. You've got some of these people and they say, you know, I'm keeping it. Okay, which is not as faith as sin. How many times this week, just ask them, say, how many times this week did you make decisions that weren't based on the Word of God? That you sinned that many times and more than you think you did. You know what? Thank God we've got a God that's keeping us. I thank God I'm in the Lord Jesus Christ because I tell you something, the more I study this Bible, the more I realize I don't know. I've had to come to some stuff just this week and realize, well, ain't that right, brother? Well, I was wrong again. Hey, I'm telling you. The thing is you get to reading, y'all. And you know what the problem is? We jump around and we miss the context. And we say, well, I know it. And it's almost like you write it off like you know it. And then you start back on that chapter and you say, I don't know what I was thinking about when I didn't read... Did I not read the first four verses or something? Have you ever done something like that in the Bible and said, I must have just been blanked out. And then once you see it, you can't unsee it. So thank God He gives us grace. Alright, there's some rabbits right there. So there's the promise. Now I want you to know that you've got that promise through faith. Back in Acts 2 where it says, "...and to your children Now what you have is those children there. Let me give you a quick reference because I can't go to Isaiah 54, 13 or Joel 2, 28. We don't have time. Look at Acts 3, verse 25. Here's a quick reference to the children. It says, "...Ye are the children of the prophets and of the covenant." See, we don't have covenants and promises. Ephesians 2.12, Which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, and turning away every one of you from his iniquities. So he's talking to these children that are children of the prophets and of the covenants. That's not us. Okay? Now back to this thing in verse 39, And to all that are far off, Let me give you the reference to the far off because they are going to try to run you to Ephesians 2 and that's not the reference. Look at Daniel chapter 9. I love how the Bible goes straight together. As long as you keep the prophecy program separated from the mystery program, you won't have any trouble. Daniel chapter 9. Daniel 9. And when you read Daniel, man, you ought to go back and read Daniel 9 sometime. This whole thing about how Daniel's been praying and the Lord shows him about the 70 weeks that are determined upon Israel and all these things. We're not a part of that. The prophecy concerning Israel has nothing to do with the church, the body of Christ. This church right here is what is known as the Messianic Church because the Lord said He'd build His church based on Peter's confession. He said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of God. That's the confession. He's going to build that thing on. But with us, Paul builds on the foundation of Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, Romans 16.25, and that has to do with these grace doctrines we're teaching you. Y'all, they knew nothing of what we know about today. If you would have told a Jew that you were saved by grace through faith and without works, he would have looked at you and told you you were crazy as a loon. Why? Because they had to go by the law. The Lord's teaching that law. He's teaching these commandments and stuff. In the whole circumcision, they had that thing. So you've got something that they did not have. And man, I tell you something, I thank God for every time I read through that thing. You read through the gospels and you see if you can do all that stuff they had to do. Well that's like with them going to the temple. We don't have a temple to go to. You know what the Bible says about you? You are the temple. Ain't that a blessing? People say, well I wouldn't do this in church so and so. The Bible says your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. So you've got to keep that thing straight. Look at Daniel chapter 9. Look at verse number 7. It says, "...O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel that are near." See, there were some Jews that are near. And watch this. Here's your reference. and that are far off." That's what he's talking about in Acts chapter 2. Through all the countries where thou hast driven them because of their trespasses that they have trespassed against thee. So you think about this message. Here's The Apostle Peter, he's preaching in Acts 2, he said they were gathered, Jews and Elamites and all these, Mesopotamia, from Mesopotamia and Egypt and Libya and all these places, they were all scattered and they had come together for the day of Pentecost and he's preaching to those who were far off. Why? Because they were all scattered because of their iniquities. And here they are gathering together because if the nation would repent as a nation, he's saying all these things that Daniel had prophesied about, all these things were in line to be in their fulfillment. And he could have fulfilled all those things. They would have went right into Daniel's 70th week and the Lord would have carried them right through it. And you know what? The Gentiles, according to prophecy, the Gentiles would have come to the Lord through the Jewish nation, through the Jew. because they're going to one of these days. I'll close out with this right here and we'll get more into it next time with more time. But look at Zechariah, the book of Zechariah. And chapter 12, Zechariah chapter 12. So when he's telling them to repent, you've got to understand that yeah, a few of them repented on this time and in early Acts, but as a nation they stoned Stephen. He was full of the Holy Ghost and they stoned him. And so the Lord went to the Gentiles. But one of these days, y'all, I'm telling you, Cordon, if you see this thing on the chart, one of these days, the rapture of the body of Christ is going to happen. And he's going to go back to daily, he's going to finish out their time scale of Daniel's 70 weeks. So the last seven years are going to be fulfilled in this time of great tribulation right here, a time of tribulation. And you know what's going to happen? At the end of that thing, the nation of Israel is going to repent as a nation. And this right here, what Zechariah says is really going to come to pass. He was preaching repent as a nation here. It didn't happen. So all these things are put up. We're living in a pause of Daniel's timeline. That's what you're living in. He just put it on pause for the dispensation we're living in. And he's going to press play after the rapture. And at the end of that tribulation period, Zechariah chapter 12, look at verse number 10. It says this, "...and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem..." That's not us. "...the Spirit of grace and of supplication, and they shall look upon me..." That's the Lord Jesus Christ. This is prophetic. whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as in the mourning of had a dremen, I almost couldn't pronounce that word, in the valley of Megidion. And the land shall mourn every family apart, the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart, and the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart. All these families, all, verse 14, all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. And you know what's gonna happen? The Lord's gonna set up that kingdom according to that prophetic plan, and the whole nation, the Bible said a nation will be born in a day. The whole nation is going to get right and He's going to set up that kingdom, that prophesied millennial kingdom and they're going to have a thousand year millennial reign. And you know what you're going to have? The body of Christ, like I said, we will have already went through the judgment seat of Christ and we will be ruling of the heavens. and they'll rule according to prophecy on earth, and you'll have your positions. I'm sitting here looking at people that say, if you're saved here tonight, you've got a position in the heavens, and that's what's prophesied according to you. That's what the Apostle Paul tells you. You're going to have crowns, and there's no telling what you're going to be doing. That's like looking at y'all right now. All I can see is your flesh body. But you know what? The Lord can see you out there. You know He says you're already seated with Him in the heavens, Ephesians chapter 2. See, the Lord, He's sitting outside of time. See, we're bound by time in these bodies. God is sitting outside of time and He can see where you're going to be a thousand years from now. You know, there's examples of it even in the Old Testament. You remember, I'm trying to close, but man I've had some time to read it. Man, it's a blessing. You remember, y'all go back home and read about Gideon. And Gideon's about to go in and God knows he's going to be a deliverer and everything. And he comes up to Gideon, scared to death, and he said, Thou mighty man of valor. Man, that just puts chills on the mind. Get in sin. Why are you calling me in? He said, I'm the least in my family and all this stuff. Why are you calling me in? Because he knew what he was going to be. You know what? The Lord knows what you're going to be a thousand years from now. Once you see who you are in Christ, that's how you start walking with the Lord more. It's you realizing, hey, I can reckon myself dead to sin. People say, what do I need to do to get better, turn over a new leaf? And they got all these little step programs you do. None of them work. Once you start realizing that you are in Christ, you're going to live for eternity. He's worthy to be served because you love Him. You'll start serving because you want to, not because somebody is forcing you to. It changes your whole perspective. God's not going to break your car down. God's not going to break your water heater. Bad stuff didn't happen to you because this so-and-so, so-and-so. Bad things happen because you're living in a sin-cursed earth. These bodies are prone to sin and sin carries consequences. But God's not up there with a lightning bolt trying to beat you up. Don't let preachers tell you that thing. God, you've already got spiritual blessings in heavenly places and you serve Him out of love because you want to. It'll change everything you do. When you walk out of here, if you've got that mentality, you're gonna serve God because you love Him, not because He's gonna force you to. You know what that'll do? That'll help you each and every day to serve Him in the right motive. It changes everything. I hope that's a help to you.