Reliving Pentecost: The Conviction Account

RELIVING PENTECOST: THE CONVICTION ACCOUNT

THEME: RESPONSING TO THE CONVICTION OF OUR SINS.
TEXT: ACTS 2:36-41
Year ago there was a large controversy over a movie. The fighting was intensive. The movie was called the “Passion of the Christ.” There were numerous charges against the movie. Some of the charges included that it was inaccurate, it was too brutal and bloody, and that it was too graphic. These charges will small compare to the fire storm over whether the movie was anti-Semitic. For those who are not familiar with the politically correct term, this means that the movie was accused of being against the Jews. The Jews were arguing that the movie pictured them as the one’s who killed Christ. The Jews were arguing that it was not the Jewish nation that were responsible for the death of Jesus, but rather it was the Roman nation, and hence the Gentiles who were guilty. This debate went back and forth numerous times of accusing and defending each party of the guilt and responsibility over the killing of Jesus Christ. The fingers were pointed, the arguments were given, and the responsibility was denied. No one wanted to take responsibility for the death of Jesus Christ. The producer of the movie was being interviewed. His name was Mel Gibson. Mel Gibson does not seem to be the religious authority in the world. But he did speak some truth in this interview. As the interviewer was pressing Gibson on who killed Jesus. The interview was looking to stir up more strive and debate. The interviewer was looking for more headlines for the local papers. The interviewer asked who really killed Jesus Christ. Mel Gibson stated, “You did, I did, and everyone killed the Lord by their own sins. Everyone’s sins put Jesus on the Cross. The interviewer went to the next question.
This is the point of the cross of Jesus. This is the point that Peter comes to in his lesson on the day of Pentecost. Peter has been empowered with the Holy Spirit to declare Jesus as the Christ. He mentions the prophecies, he mentions his perfect life, and he mentions Christ’s glory. He mentions that Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God. But now Peter gets to the conclusion of his message. He gets to the you and me section of this sermon. He gets to the powerful point of the lesson. He gets to what you need to do about what you have done. He gets to the sin, the real issue. He gets to your heart. Peter states with a bold voice in Acts 2:36 “"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ-- this Jesus whom you crucified." Hearts through the audience were convicted, they burned inside. They were guilty, they were wrong, they killed the Son of God. They cried out for his blood. His death is their entire fault. They rejected, they murdered, and they sinned. The people on Pentecost were convicted.
Maybe you have never felt this level of conviction before. Hopefully you have felt convicted before. It is the burn in the heart where you know, you see, your sin for the first time. It is the moment you realize that you are wrong. You have sinned.
Anthony Campolo recalls a deeply moving incident that happened in a Christian junior high camp where he served. One of the campers, a boy with spastic paralysis, was the object of heartless ridicule. When he would