scripture reading in Acts chapter 2. We read Acts chapter 2 verses 1 to 13, and I want us to just focus on verses 1 to 4 this morning, so that we'll be looking at the coming of the promise of the Father. The coming of the promise of the Father. Remember, we're looking at a prayer meeting, the church prayer meeting. And this morning, we're going to continue with that as we look at the coming of the promise of the Father. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in Luke 24, and there in verse 49, we've seen that, he had said to his disciples just before his ascension into heaven, he'd said to them, Behold, that is in Luke 24, 49. Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. And in obedience to the command of our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the disciples on their return, indeed from the place of the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, on their return to Jerusalem, They went and met in the upper room, and they continued in prayer together. We read in Acts chapter 1, and there in verses 13 and 14 of Acts chapter 1, and when they had entered, they went up into the upper room, where they were staying, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus, and Simon, the zealot, and Judas, the son of James. Verse 14, this all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the woman and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. So in obedience, they continued in prayer. as they waited, as they tarried for the promise of the Father. They continued faithfully. And so we read in chapter 2 of Acts, and there in verse 1, that on the day of Pentecost, they were all with one accord in one place. Again, the same expression that we read in Acts 1.14. So they continued, as it were, faithfully with one accord in prayer, waiting for the promise. And so when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. They didn't just meet that morning. From the day of the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, when they got back, they made it a habit. It was constant for the church to gather together. They met together, regularly praying. And on this day, the day of Pentecost, they were together with one accord, praying, seeking the face of the Lord, waiting for the fulfillment of his promise. And so as we look at the coming of the promise of the Father, I want us to consider, one, the timing of the coming. Secondly, I want us to look at the manner of the coming. And then thirdly, the result of the coming of the promise of the Father. So the timing of His coming, the timing of His coming, the promise of the Father, and that is the God, the Holy Spirit, the timing of His coming. The first thing we notice here is that it was after the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord has ascended. It already ascended. And in John 7, verse 39, if you remember there, in John 7, 39, we are told very clearly, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. He'd not ascended. So the promise, the Holy Spirit was not yet given fully. Now he has ascended. So it was after the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. And one thing we need to notice here is Christ's life is our imputed righteousness, as we're hearing in the adult Sunday school even this morning. It is out of his work, his life, his obedience, both passive and indeed active obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is imputed as our righteousness. The death of our Lord Jesus Christ brings pardon for us as believers. It is through the atonement, his death on the cross, that we are forgiven, we are pardoned. His resurrection confirms to us again the justification that we're hearing in the other Sunday school this morning. If he had died and remained there, we would never have been justified. But having been raised from the dead, it confirms once and for all that his atonement was accepted by the Father and it has fulfilled and completed the work that it was meant to accomplish even on the cross. So through the resurrection where justification is conferred on us, His ascension yields to us then His Holy Spirit. For it was after His ascension, having ascended, Then he said he will send the Holy Spirit. And not only the Holy Spirit, but those spiritual gifts which edify his body, the church. So he sent the Holy Spirit with all those gifts that are given to his own, which help to edify his body. even the church. And that's why we read, for example, in Ephesians chapter 4 and there in verse 8 of Ephesians chapter 4, the scripture tells us through the apostle Paul, wherefore he says, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. He gave gifts unto men. And that's what has happened. It was after the ascension. That's the timing. And then secondly, we notice here that it was at Pentecost, and Pentecost is the 50th day after the Passover. Remember, it was at the Passover, around the Passover, that our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. The Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, had said, no, we don't want anything like this to happen around this time, because there will be people from all over the place in Jerusalem. We don't want a revolt, a riot in our hands. But that was their preference. God's timing was different. It happened at the Passover, because Christ is our Passover. They didn't want it to happen at that time, but because that was God's time, it happened at that particular time, the Passover. So 50th day after the Passover, at this time we have what is referred to as the Feast of the Harvest. Fist of Harvest, Leviticus 23, verses 10 and 16. Or sometimes it's referred to as the Fist of Weeks in, for example, Leviticus 28 and verse 26, which is the Fist of the First Fruits. Fist of the First Fruits. And when you think of it very carefully, at the Passover, the Lord Jesus Christ, if you like, was there at that point in time. crucified. Here at the Feast of Harvest, he is raised from the dead. The Feast of Harvest is one of the three annual feasts for which the nation is required, especially all the male in the nation, are required to come to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices. This particular one is one of the three. And at this particular one, they are required to come to Jerusalem and to offer their wave offering from the harvest. Their wave offering. Leviticus 23, and there in verse 11. So that for our Lord Jesus Christ, turns out then, very simply, from the word of God, that the Passover was for Christ, if you like, a sowing time, as he was buried. For him, it was a sowing time. But Pentecost was the time of reaping. The fields, remember, that were ripe. When he sat upon the well of Jacob, and there when his disciples had come back with food, and he said he had food to eat which they did not know of, he was there with the Samaritan woman. He looked up and he said, the fields are ripe. And shortly after that, he is crucified. And then here, while he is sitting upon the throne of glory, not on the well of Jacob, on the throne of glory, we have the reaping. For it was at Pentecost that 3,000 were added to the church in one go. The sowing and the Passover, the reaping, when he sits upon the throne of his glory, there sends his spirit, so that the spirit came at Pentecost, because it was, as we have seen, not many days from now, the Lord Jesus Christ had said, and this was 10 days after his ascension, not many days, he has said to them in Acts 1 verse 5, not many days from now, he says, you will receive the promise, and 10 days later, They received the promise. And this feast, the Feast of Harvest, was the most crowded of all the three feasts, the three annual feasts that men were required to come to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord. So that it was the feast at which you had the most people gathered in Jerusalem. And it was at this time, at this time, that the Spirit of God came and was poured, if you like, upon the church, upon those who believe. But you notice also that they were all with one accord in one place, we are told. In Acts chapter 2 verse 1, when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. It was while they were with one accord, there was no apathy, There were no prejudices amongst them, no divisions, no false doctrines if you like. They were all of one mind, one accord, one mind together. And not one of them was missing, all together. They were all together because the prayer meeting was for each and every one of them. They were all together with one mind. with one accord, seeking the Lord in obedience to his command and his promise. And it was at this time, not one missing, they were all united in earnest in prayer, earnest in supplication, earnest in expectation. The Holy Spirit is given and he comes to them. But you notice also at this time, finally, perhaps the most important thing when it comes to the timing of the coming of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of promise came in God's chosen and God's appointed time. God's set time, not man's. They were faithful. Tarihiye, all of you, all of you met together, and all of them met together, and all of them kept praying. All of them kept waiting. At God's time, at God's time, he gave the spirit. The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 102, and there in verse 13 of Psalm 102, Psalm 102, verse 13, you will arise and have mercy on Zion for the time to favor her. Yes, the set time has come. And when that set time had come, the time that was set by God himself, he gave the spirit. And in Habakkuk chapter 3, and there in verse 2 of Habakkuk chapter 3, we read again, for the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it, because it will surely come. It will not tarry. At God's set time, God's appointed time, the Spirit will come, and He came. Secondly then, let's consider the manner of the coming of the promise of the Father, the manner in which the Holy Spirit was given. The coming of the Spirit, we are told, was sudden. The coming of the Spirit was sudden. It was sudden, meaning at a moment when He was not, as it were, expected. For they did not know when He would come. So His coming was sudden. And the real work of revival is always, and usually, a sudden thing. When the people of God come together in obedience to the word of God and the call of God, and they meet together, and they seek his face, and they pray, and ask God to fulfill his promise for them, then suddenly, at a time that they do not expect, suddenly, God gives the spirit, and he gives to those who are faithful, faithful to his word. He gives the spirit to them at such a time when they do not expect. Suddenly, he comes. For we read, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, in Acts chapter two, verse one, they were all with one accord in one place, verse two, and suddenly, suddenly, he comes. And I just want to use one illustration here. In New England, in the 18th century, there was New England revival, that's in the United States. Jonathan Edwards was preaching. And what Jonathan Edwards was actually doing is he was reading his sermon, holding it holding the script close to his eyes because he was short-sighted. So he had it close to his eyes so that he could see and read his sermon. So it was not that kind of preaching, if you like, that lent itself to all kinds of manner of gestures and movements and excitement and things. No, he had to hold his sermon very close to his eyes and read. That was how he did it. There was nothing in him that would suggest any kind of revival or bring about, as people think, you have to be, I don't know, gym gym, active, moving, boxing the air or whatever. No. He was holding his son. He was reading. He held it to his face because that was how he could see his notes. That was how he could read. And he was preaching from the text, Deuteronomy 32, 35, their feet shall slide in due time. That's what he was preaching from. Deuteronomy 32, 35. And then we're told the spirit suddenly came down and people began to tremble and cry out in conviction. There was nothing he did to suggest anything. He did not, as it were, try to make people or whip people into some kind of frenzy or anything. No, he was reading his sermon. And then the spirit comes. And suddenly they were trembling. And there was conviction of sin. and the awakening began and it spread throughout that region and went far beyond and thousands, thousands were added to the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that nobody, not even Jonathan Edwards could take the glory, nobody. It was sudden, at God's time, and at the time least expected, and not by the preaching of some charismatic preacher. No. This close reading pastor, it was during his reading of his sermon that God honored his people with the mighty visitation of the spirit of the living God and thousands were added to the church of our Lord Jesus Christ and then we continue to read here in Acts chapter 2 and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a Russian mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a Russian mighty wind. And I want you to note this from the beginning and understand. It was not a wind. It was not the wind blowing inside where they were meeting. No, it was a sound as of a Russian mighty wind. They heard the sound. And it sounded like a Russian mighty wind. There was no wind there. but it sounded like a Russian mighty wind. It was as of. It was not a Russian mighty wind that came in. It was as of a mighty Russian wind. That was how the sound sounded to their ear. That was what they heard. The sound teaches us very important things. First and foremost, that God's spirit comes not to be concealed in our hearts. You ask somebody about his Christian faith and he say, oh no, that's a private matter, it's between me and God. Oh, is that so? How did you get to know? How did you become a Christian? If everybody had kept it to himself, you would never have become a Christian. No, it's meant to be shared. And the sound came because God's spirit will come And the word of God is not to be concealed in the heart alone, but to be heard in all the world as the voice of God. So he came, and he sounded like this mighty Russian wind, so that not only those in the hall meeting, but all around could hear the sound. They heard the sound. God's word goes swiftly. And it goes like a rushing mighty wind from the Lord Jesus Christ because the Lord Jesus Christ will build his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. These are symbols that we are looking at, telling us of what the word of God does. And that's why Spurgeon says concerning the gospel, that the gospel does not need you, it does not need me. All we need to do is to set the gospel free, set the word of God free. He said, just as a lion does not need help from anybody in the jungle, the word of God needs no help from any of us. It is like a lion. He goes and it accomplished that which God has purposed it to accomplish. He says the gospel does not need you just as a lion does not need the help of anybody in the jungle. He goes, he is the king of the jungle and he captures and he takes what he wants. He said the word of God is mighty. It doesn't need weaklings like us. He goes in the power of the one who has spoken it and accomplishes that for which God has purposed it, and it goes swiftly like a mighty Russian wind. And we read here that it filled the whole house where they were sitting so that the sound was pervasive. It filled every nook and cranny. No part of the house was untouched. Indeed, even those outside heard it, and they It goes and it fills everywhere and every part. And when the Spirit comes, the Spirit of God never confines Himself to the church. Oh, His influence is felt and noticed everywhere in that community. All will know. Yes, His saving influence may not affect all, but all will know. Whenever there is revival, when the Spirit of God comes, everybody around knows. He does not restrict himself only to the church. No, all those in that community will know that God is moving, that God is working. Yes, his saving work may not affect all those who are outside, but some will be saved. But all will know that God is at work. But the stubborn, those who are not of the Lord, of course, they will keep resisting. They will have nothing to do with it. Like those who were here, some said at the end, oh, they are full of wine. Others were saying, well, this is strange. God must be doing something wonderful here. Oh, no, they are full of wine. They are drunk. That's what's happening. So there will be always those who will criticize, who will say it is wine, it is not of God. But yes, the whole place was filled and everybody around felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. And then we are told here in verse three, then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire and one sat upon each of them. Again, remember, Tongues as of fire, not fire itself. Tongues as of fire. The symbol is fire. They were not burnt. They looked like fire, remember. So a mass of flame, if you like, floats into the room and it divides itself and it rests upon each and every one of the disciples present. Not only the apostles, remember they were around 120 disciples at this point in time and they were all meeting together. And then this fire like tongues appear and they sit. It's like we're there. I'm looking at you. I'm seeing a tongue of fire on your head and you're looking at me. Of course you cannot see your own, but you are seeing mine. And they were all like that. Each and every one of them. Remember Moses and the burning bush in Exodus chapter three. He saw the bush burning, but the bush was not consumed, he said. And so he turned aside to see what was going on in this place. But he saw fire, but nothing was burning. The bush was not being consumed. It was something of the presence of the holiness of God, because the spirit of holiness had come, and he had come in And that signifies the spirit as the spirit of burning. When he comes, he burns the coldness out of each and every one of his own. He melts the heart of stone because he is truly the spirit of burning. And that ultimately will always lead to a flaming enthusiasm in every true believer. When the Holy Spirit comes at times of revival and He acts in His believers, those who know Him, there is renewed enthusiasm which is flaming for all to see. There is a fervent love, a burning zeal to be out there working and serving the true and the living God. And there is a transformation of the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. All true believers become, as it were, like fiery disciples for the Lord Jesus, because they are on fire for Christ and Christ alone. And this is what was happening at this point in time. This is the manner of the coming of the Spirit. Finally, the result of His coming. The result of the coming of the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit. The symbols only point to the reality. Those were symbols. The sound was symbolic of the working of the spirit. The flame was symbolic of the working of the spirit. Now we come to the reality. And in verse four, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. They all were filled with the Holy Spirit. Filled. How many of them were filled? Not one. Not two, not three, not some, all. All were filled with the Holy Spirit. And that means they were all taken possession of by the Spirit of the living God. Because the Spirit of God was imparted to them. And He took possession of all their faculties. Every aspect of their being, He took absolute control. Look at chapter four. And in verse 8 of Acts chapter 4, we read again there, verse 8, Acts chapter 4. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, having been taken possession of by the Holy Spirit, he began, as it were, to speak. In verse 31 of the same Acts chapter 4, we read again. And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they spoke the word of God with boldness. They spoke the word of God with boldness. Now in the Old Testament period, when the Holy Spirit came, He descended on a man at a special time for a special mission. When the Lord calls, he anoints, and the Spirit comes upon such a one, so that the Spirit takes possession of him, as it were, at that particular time, for the particular task that the Lord has given to him. But now, it's different. The Spirit comes upon all, and he comes to abide forever. John chapter 14. And there, remember, in verse 16 of John, chapter 14, the Lord Jesus says, and I will pray the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he may abide with you forever. He's come to stay forever, not just for a small period of time, for one single task given at that point in time, but to abide with them forever. And we're told, they began to speak with other tongues. And we know these other tongues were languages that were understood by all the pilgrims who were gathered in Jerusalem at this time. Remember, they had all come for the Feast of Offering, the Feast of Harvest. They were all there. Most of them, of course, Jews who were in different parts, and born in different parts of the then known world. But they had come on this pilgrimage because they were mostly Jews. But there were proselytes among them also, that is, converted Gentiles who had converted to Judaism. They also had come. So there were people. And many of these Jews spoke languages of the places where they were born. And so they came. And there, while they were there together, the disciples were given this wonderful ability to speak in this other tongue so that all understood, all the pilgrims heard. All the pilgrims understood what was being said. Look at Acts chapter two verse six. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and they were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Every one of them heard them speak in his own language. And you know the amazing thing about this miracle? It's more than the fact that they were able to speak other languages and people were able to hear them. No. They all spoke other languages at the same time, and everybody heard clearly the word of God preached to them in their own language. There was no confusion. If we stand here, just 10 of us, we stand here and each one of us starts speaking in a different language, nobody will understand us. it will be like a marketplace. There will be confusion. You will get nothing. Here we are over 120 people speaking in different languages and everybody heard his language and he got the message and the message was very clear to him because they all heard We are told there's people speaking in these different languages and what were they talking about? We're told they were talking about the wonderful works of God. Acts chapter 2 there and verse 11. Having given us the list of all those languages and people who were there, Christians, Arabs, we hear them speaking in our own tongues. the wonderful works of God. They heard the gospel preached. They heard it clearly. And they understood it was the gospel. It was the wonderful works of God. And every one of them understood. Every one of them got it. Now the essence of this, everything that is going on here is, see Peter's quotation. Peter quotes from Joel. It quotes from Joel chapter 2 verses 28 to 32. That's the quotation we have in verses 16 to 21 of Acts chapter 2. 16 to 21. And that quotation implies that the filling of the Spirit, this filling of the Holy Spirit is for all who will believe in the Lord. Because that was the promise that was given. That at the time of this refreshing, the Spirit will be given to all. and all will hear the word of God. From Acts chapter 2 verse 16, that's where he begins to quote the prophecy of Joel. And it shall come to pass, he said, but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my men servants and on my maidservant, men, women, old, young, all they will hear. I will pour out my spirit in those days. and they shall prophesy. And here we see the Spirit coming, coming in power to abide on all those who believe. In John chapter 7, there in verse 39 of John chapter 7, But this He spoke, that is the Lord Jesus, concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him will receive. All those who believe in him will receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. And if you look at 1 Corinthians chapter 12, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and there in verse 13 of 1 Corinthians 12, verse 13, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, for by one spirit, We were all baptized into the body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. By one spirit, all believers are baptized together, and they become one body. And you notice here that the essence of Pentecost was the giving of the spirit to equip men. to speak, as we heard, the wonderful works of God. And here they spoke them in different languages, so that everybody who was present heard and understood the wonderful works of God. And we know the result of that. And that, given of the spirit at Pentecost, if you like, was a prophecy. Because it prophesied of the time when men out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, Revelation 5, 9, will praise the Lord. It was pointing to that time. It was showing the fulfillment of that promise. When all, not only Jews, but Gentiles from every tribe, from every tongue, from every people, from every nation, will now praise the Lord. Because the Spirit, the one Spirit that will be given, will unite as it were. all the people of God. And the ultimate result at this point in time was the sermon that was preached by the Apostle Peter. And he preached it, we're told, in the power of the Holy Spirit. And the people were pricked in the heart. Acts 2, 37. They were pricked in the heart. They were pained in the heart. That's what it says. They were pricked at this point in the heart, and then they began to cry out, men and brethren, what shall we do? And wherever the spirit of God is at work, there will be a repentance. There will be people coming to faith. When the Spirit of God comes in his power to work, people will be convicted. There will be conviction of sin. People will begin to repent. There will be repentance. Faith will be exercised in our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And there will be an outward confession of this faith, as it were, in baptism. And this was what happened. 3,000. were added, 3,000 were baptized, and they were added to the Church of the Living God. And it's always important to note this. When the Spirit is at work, there will be conviction. There will be the confession of the sin. That is repentance. There will be faith, and there will be baptism. And this always happens where the Spirit of God works in the life of a sinner. Let me conclude by making two quick applications. They came in obedience to the word of the Lord Jesus. Tari, wait here in Jerusalem. Don't go anywhere. Here in Jerusalem. And in obedience, they waited. You see, after the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter did something. He said to the disciples, I go fishing. And they followed him, and they ran into trouble. The Lord said this time, just wait, sit, wait, pray, pray, ask, don't do anything, pray. In obedience, they came. It's not natural. We like to do, that's why many people prefer activity to truly serving and worshiping the Lord. It's easier to move around doing things. No, he said, wait, pray, seek me and wait for my promise. When the time comes, it will happen. They waited in obedience. And I want you to understand this. There were there among them the apostles. The apostles were there. We had the 70 evangelists who were sent in Luke 10, who were sent out. And they went, and they came back, and they said, even demons were subject to us in your name, they told the Lord. They were all there. They did not lack education or experience because they had been for three years in the college of Christ. They had been in the college of our Lord Jesus Christ for at least three years. They had learned from the Lord Jesus Christ. And look at this. They had all necessary practical experience under the tutorship of our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. They had the perfect wisdom as their teacher. It was our Lord. He was their teacher. Much less eloquence. If you wanted eloquence of perfection, it was Christ. He was their teacher. He was their principal. He was the one who was in charge. He was their instructor. Do you want immaculate perfection as example? That is Christ. He was their perfect example. There could be no other. Yet, they must not do anything But wait. They must tarry. Wait for him. Don't go ahead. You must do nothing without him and without his consent. Wait in Jerusalem until power is given to you from on high by the spirit of promise. You have the experience. You have the knowledge. You've been there. I sent you. You did it. Don't count on that. Wait for Him. Then when He comes, you may go in the power of the Spirit and do that which I've asked you to do. Don't seek to do anything in your power, in your strength, in your ability, in your gifts, whatever they may be. Wait. And each one of them had to wait, including the apostles and all the 70 evangelists. They all had to wait. And surely if it is so with them, we must never depend on our abilities, on our powers, on our ideas, on the things that we think we know. We must wait for him and we must wait together. Wait together with one accord, praying together as the people of God, not as isolated individuals. The Apostle Paul never went on a solo mission without the blessing of his sending church. He didn't say, I'm an apostle, I don't need your permission, I'll go and do what I want to do, no. He was set apart by the church, he was sent by the church. And he always returned and gave report to the church. He never did anything on his own, even as an apostle. of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we need to learn from that. We are to come together with one accord, one mind, and seek God's face and do what He will have us do, not what we want to do in our might and in our ability. Secondly, are you hindering the coming of the Spirit? Is there any bitterness or temper in you that is causing problems? Is there any lack of love in you that is dividing the church and causing problems within the church and grieving, as it were, the spirit and stopping him from coming and descending among these people? Do you faithfully join with all the members to pray for God to revive his work here and in every place where he sees it fit to? Are you faithful in coming like they were all together with one accord? Do you come and join with all together in one accord and pray and seek the Lord so that by his spirit he might move and revive his work and build his church? Do you pray with great expectation because you know you are serving a great God? When we meet together, when we pray, are we genuinely expectant? Do we expect God to perform and to fulfill his promise? Or are we in any way doubting, causing the spirit not to come? Let us as a church humble ourselves under God, because we need to do that. If God is to move and to do his work, he has told us how he will do it and how he does it. We need to humble ourselves under God. We need to come together under God, gird our minds, gird our loins, as it were, and earnestly pray and expect God to come as we wait in patience and great expectation. That's what we must do. And concerning those who hurt Peter, we read in verse 37, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? What shall we do? They heard something. in the preaching of the word of God, in the preaching of the gospel. And what they heard cut their hearts. It wounded their hearts. That's what it means. It affected their innermost being, causing, as it were, a wound which they could by no means heal themselves. They could never heal it. And so they called. And they asked, what shall we do? And that was when Peter said to them, repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now what Peter said to them then, the Spirit of God is saying to each and every one of us again now, and he's saying it afresh. And nobody and nothing can heal that wound that the Spirit brings about when he cuts us in the heart. Only the spirit himself can heal it. We must come to Christ and ask him for the healing. And he will lay and rub the healing balm upon our hearts when the spirit comes and he will grant us healing. And then we will repent. And then we will be baptized. Then we'll be added to his church. And then we will celebrate the best Christmas ever in our lives because we will do it with meaning. We'll do it because we know why we are doing it. because we know whom we have believed and we are persuaded that he is able. And when that happens to us, Christmas will take a different note. May the Lord help us and speak to us and help us to do the right thing even now for Christ's sake.