[0:00]Amen. Amen. Thank you so much Pastor Brody and uh for this warm welcome. Uh it's always such a joy to be here. Um, you know, for the last 20 years, uh, I've had a chance to stand here once a a year, all right? And to share a message with Westwood. Uh, and so I'm always looking forward to this moment because it feels like coming home every single time. And uh Westwood is such a home, even when I'm so far away, uh, in so many places that I get to be around the world, and it's a joy to do that, uh, to carry the Gospel of Jesus to the nations. Yet I'm always looking forward to be back home, uh, to be right here at Westwood and uh to be connected in with this community that is so amazing and so wonderful. Uh there is something deep in the human soul, you know, there's something deep in the human soul that that longs to be home. You know, that longs to be home. Uh, I remember uh many years ago when I was a kid in my little village in Africa, many of you are familiar with my story. Um, I didn't grow up in Minnesota, even though I'm half Swedish and half Norwegian. Uh but I Yeah. Um, I I had left home, all right? Uh for the first time, I was five years old, I was going to visit my grandma, and I I left with a couple of my siblings, one, you know, one of them a little older than me. And uh where I was where I grew up, um, we didn't have public transportation or or cars, private cars, and so we had to walk. And my grandma lived about six miles away. So we started off early in the morning. Right? We were excited. We're going to go hang out with grandma, we're going to eat some chicken, and, you know, do whatever, and grandparents are always great, right? Um, and so for the first time, I was really looking forward to it. And so we left and they carried me and, you know, because I couldn't walk the whole way. Uh, it took us a whole day to get there. Uh, after about 8, 9 hours, we finally arrived, and it was in the evening, about 5. And then an hour later, this storm arose from from nowhere, the the clouds, you know, became dark, and it was this terrifying sense of, you know, I felt a threat in the atmosphere. And suddenly something inside of me shifted, and I was missing home. I was longing to be back home. My five-year-old heart was like, I just want to go home and be in the safe space where I truly belong. Now, two weeks ago, we had astronauts that left, um, our our Earth and were bound for the dark side of the moon. They blasted off, many of us were watching it on television, as they blasted off for the first time in 50 plus years to go back to the to the moon and experience the wonder of the galaxies. And yet, as they blasted off, their most memorable thing was not so much that they were out there and they shared great things about it, but that they actually longed for home. Listen to what one of them says. Christina Koch, she reflected, surrounded by the darkness of space, Earth felt like a life boat, fragile, precious, carrying everything that matters. Now, think about it. She's in space, but she's thinking about Earth. I mean, we are here, planted on this planet Earth. Uh but but she had longed, and for many months had prepared to go to the space, but now she's saying, while she's up there, she's enthralled by us, because that is where she felt planted. That's where she felt like she belonged. Another one of them, Commander Reid Wiseman, admitted, you just want to get back to your family and your friends. You see, you can travel thousands of miles into space, standing out of galaxies, experience the wonder of the universe, and yet something deep inside still says, I want to go home. I want to go home. You see, the Bible tells us and reminds us that in fact, all of us, we are longing to be back home. We are longing to belong. We are longing to be recognized. We are longing for a place where we truly and completely can identify. Yes, when we are in space, we long for Earth, but yet when we are on Earth, there is still something, there is also missing. And so some of us, we go searching for things. You know, maybe you seek for that a most amazing car, or you are trying to find that biggest house, that overlooks this beautiful lake, or you want to dwell in the mountains and experience the wonder of the glaciers, or maybe you want to travel to far off places and far off lands, experience the wonders of migration like we do in East Africa and different places, see the animals, the wild, the jungle. See, I come to America and I find people that are that are looking to be in the jungles of Africa. They want to go see the elephant and the lion and and the zebra and the giraffe and the rhino.
[6:08]They all want to come to America and experience what you have here. This tells us that there is something deeply missing in who we are, in our identity as humanity. Peter in the book of Acts chapter 2, he's preaching the gospel on the day of Pentecost. Something powerful had happened on that day. You see, the disciples had been with Jesus for three and a half years. And now, Jesus has been crucified, and Jesus has risen from the dead, and Jesus has ascended into heaven, but before he ascended, he told them, wait in Jerusalem, wait for a moment that is going to come and arrive. This moment is going to transform the rest of human society. At this moment that is going to unfold, is going to be a powerful moment that ushers in a new season and a new generation. It is going to unfold with power and authority. Now, at Westwood, I know that for over 8, 10, for about a year, actually, we we we were looking forward to this moment, right? When we get to receive a new Pastor. So we were praying, we were waiting, we were anticipating. We have been looking forward to a time, to a new season. And I'm here to tell you what, this is a new season. God is wanting to do something new and fresh and powerful in this season, right? And he's inviting us in. He's saying, I want you to come home. I want you to come close. I want you to be intimate with me and see what I'm about to do. Now on the day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit is poured out, because a new season has come, the disciples begin to speak in other languages and the people are enthralled by what is going on in Jerusalem. There is a whole crowd that is drawn in from all over the place. They had come from, you know, they were Medes and Emites and Pontians and Phrygians and the, you know, Thessalonians, I don't know how many nations were there. The Bible says there were many. And they had these disciples, because there was this mighty rushing wind and a fire that settled on them, and their hearts were burning with the message of the kingdom. They began to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus. And some people came to them and said, you know, are these people drunk or something? And so Peter knowing or seeing it is 9:00 AM in the morning just like right now. Uh you know, he's he's with these people and and then he begins to speak to them and he says this in uh Acts chapter 2 verse 16. He says, No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy. Now, let me pause there for a moment. Now, Peter says that this was predicted. This what you're seeing is that which was spoken about by the prophet Joel. And what the prophet Joel spoke about, he says in the last days. You see when Joel is standing and saying in the last days, he is by implication revealing that there were the first days. Is that correct? There were the first days. What happened during the first days? We find that in the book of Genesis, right? In Genesis, God creates the earth, and God establishes everything that we see in the universe. And then there is the crown jewel of creation called man. In Genesis 1:27 and 28, 29, God says, let us make man in our own image, in our own likeness. Let them have dominion over the Earth, over everything that we have established. And God sets them up in this beautiful garden called Eden. And he has trees, and he has animals, and he has everything. And he sets it all up, and he says, you are in charge. And in this place, Adam, Eve, they are at home with God. They are connected with God. Every day, they come, they wake up, they can hear the birds singing, they can hear the lion roaring, but it's not a roar that threatens. He's a roar that invites them in. It elicits the wonder of heaven. They can look at the sky and go, wow, God created all of that. Like our astronauts, they are enthralled by the wonder of the vastness of the universe. If you've ever been up at midnight or at 3:00 in the morning and the sky is clear and you you look up, he says, sometimes it's so beautiful, so many times I sometimes the Holy Spirit kind of stars in me and says, get up. You know, and I get up and I I walk outside on my deck and I can look up at the sky, and there is this beautiful array of the stars and the moon, and the wonder of it. And I cannot help it but say, how great thou art. But then in this moment, as they are in this place, beautiful place of home, you know, first of all, they the crown jewel of their being home is that every day, God comes and walks with them in the garden. Their heart is connected to the Father. They they can sense the presence and the goodness and the wonder of God. Each and every day of their lives, but then something happens in this garden. Guile enters their heart by way of a serpent, and he comes with lies and with deception. And he says, guys, I I think you are not having the very best. You could have more. There could be more. You know, I I think God is trying to hide something from you. And some of you may be here. The enemy has lied to you, that that God does not love you, that God does not care for you. That that you can ride by yourself. You can have the control over the steering wheel of your life. As we like to say here at Westwood, that that you are in charge and not any other. You don't want help from anybody else, because you cannot trust this God. You see, that is the lie that the enemy brought to Adam and Eve in the first days. And they got separated from the living God. They decided to go their own independent way. And God had to do something in order to cure the poison that the serpent had left in their lives. He had to excommunicate them from this place of perfection. And now they became wondrous. We, their descendants, we became wondrous, because we carried the poison of sin in our lives. But God did not just send them out. God sent them out with a promise of restoration. He said, you know what? Yes, I understand, son, daughter. I know there is the poison of sin in your life. But I am going to send the seed by way of the woman, and through that seed, he is going to crush the head of the serpent. He's going to demolish what the enemy has planted in your life. And you will be reconnected to me. You'll be reconnected. And so on the day of Pentecost, when Peter is saying, in the last days, I will pour out my spirit. God is saying, I will restore you. And he's saying, these last days have arrived. They are here. They are here in this moment. He says, your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. Where do you fall in this? Are you the sons, daughters, you know, old men, old women? I mean, we are all invited in. And and it covers all of us, that we shall prophesy, we shall see visions, we shall dream dreams. The dreams of God. Then he says, in those days, I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy. Now, I know some of you may be going, I don't prophesy.
[16:11]Right?
[16:15]In other words, you get to proclaim who God is over your life. You get to tell of our God. And then he says, I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the Earth below—blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Now, that is a powerful promise right there. God is promising that he will take out that venom from our lives. He will take out that wandering that we were commissioned to by fall by the fall by sin. He's going to take it out. And we will find our way home. We'll find our way back to where he wants us. Amen. That is going to bring us home, and you can say Amen to that. Those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Now, Peter continues on to preach and um and explain what is happening in verse 22 through 24. He says, People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene[d] by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. Not is what Peter is doing here. He's saying that Jesus is in fact a man. All right?
[18:03]He's a man. That's why he says it's Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus speaks of his human, you know, humanity. He's Jesus, and he's Nazarene from Nazareth. I've been to Nazareth in Israel, it's a real place. Some of you have been to Nazareth in Israel. He's saying Jesus the Nazarene. He's born in a place in space and time in history. He is a he's a he's a product of of of of history. He has he's ground in a real place of geography, and he's historical figure. But then he says, God publicly endorsed him by signs through him, by wonders, by miracles, through Jesus. And you know what? Jesus is here. He's doing signs and wonders and miracles, and he wants to move in your life and in your heart. Some of you before the end of today, maybe you're dealing with sicknesses in your life. Some of you are dealing with oppression, some of you are under, you know, torment. Jesus is able to set you free. God has endorsed him. And he continues to endorse him through signs and wonders and miracles. So Peter says, you know, listen, oh people. God has endorsed him through signs and wonders and miracles, because God intended to make him Lord over all. He intended to make him Lord over all. Is he the Lord of your life? Let's look at the next verses here, verse 32. You know, he says, um, God raised Jesus from the dead. You see, Jesus died on the cross. And he extended his hands out. He had come as a man, but now he had died on the cross, just like we do die. But then, you know, and he says, we are witnesses of this. So there were others that really witnessed this. And he says, but now he's exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. Then he goes on to talk about David, talking about, you know, his body is not going to decay. That God has endorsed who Jesus is by raising him from the dead. There are proofs that he stands out as the Son of God. In fact, that's why he talks about in verse 36. Um, you know, the Lord said to my Lord, Sit at the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet. So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah. Both Lord and Messiah. He's Lord, he's Messiah. He's the God man.
[21:26]That is what sets him apart. And because he's the God man, he's perfectly positioned to deliver the blow to the head of the serpent in your life.
[21:43]He's perfectly positioned to remove the stain of death. He's perfectly positioned to remove the poison of sin in our lives. Now, the Bible tells us in verse 37, these early disciples in the first century, when they heard this, the big question in their heart was, brothers, what should we do? What should we do? Yes, you've been coming to church. Yes, you've been every Sunday faithful, and you come and you sit here, and you participate. But yet in your heart, like these many brothers that were here in Jerusalem, having come from all over the place, you're wondering, what must I do? Why am I still feeling lost? Why do I still feel lonely? Why do I still feel depressed and anxious? Why can't I overcome my habits of sin? Well, Peter has an answer for you, in verse 38 and 39. You know, he says this, Peter replied, Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God. What does repentance mean? Repentance means that we take a 180 degree turn. We are facing this way away from God, and we find our way back to Jesus. We come to the cross of Jesus Christ, and we surrender our lives to him and say, Lord, I give up my own way. I surrender to you. I want you to be the Lord and God over my life. Peter says, repent. Repent. Turn away. Turn from the path of destruction. Find your way back home by way of the cross. This cross of Jesus connects heaven and Earth. Jesus has come as the one to reconcile us back to the Father. He has come as the one who reconciles us to our purpose, to our place home. And the Bible tells us that Jesus has also come to reconcile us one to another. Is there enmity in your life? Anger, rage, disconnect. I run across so many families now, you know, who are in big conflict. And it is part of the human nature, our fallenness. But the scriptures promises that things can be better. There is a foundation called the cross. And if we come to this place of the cross and invite Christ by repenting, we find our way home. Then Peter says, be baptized. You see, when we get baptized and immersed in the waters, we declare openly that we are sons and daughters of God. You see, there are no such thing as secret Christians. When we come to Christ, we declare it openly and publicly. Yes, I know there are places in the world, and I've been to many such places where, you know, many believers have to live quietly and, you know, kind of hold underground churches. They may be underground, but they are not secret about it. They are public about their faith. That's why they go through the waters of baptism. Here at Westwood, we baptize as a declaration that we have committed our faith, our heart to Jesus Christ. And Peter extends this invitation. He says, be baptized. And then he says, receive the Holy Spirit. Now, he continues on to talk about the three dimensions of this promise. He says the promise is for you. In other words, in this place right here, right now. It's not another time, it is today. It is right now. The promise is for you. And then he says it's for your children. Some of you have kids that don't know Christ, or you've never shared your faith with your sons and your daughters. Now I I've made a point, you know, my kids, I I we make sure that they know the gospel. And my son is here with me. You know, he he's given his life to Christ, right? And if you haven't shared the gospel of Jesus with your children, the Bible says, this is for your children. And it is you as the parent who has the best position, the best seat in the house to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them. Explain the gospel with them. Yes, I love our youth pastors and our kids pastors. But they only get them one day a week. But here you have all the time with them. Get them to embrace this promise of the kingdom of God. Let them know that God loves them and God cares for them, and that God has sent his salvation. Don't wait for somebody else to share Jesus with them. Be the one. And then he says, it's in fact for those who are far off. Those who are far off in distant places. Now, I take the gospel of Jesus to many places around the world. And some of you are sitting here wondering, you know, how how do I obey that great commission of Jesus? How do I get to take the gospel to the far off parts of the world? I have some exciting invitation for you. Maybe you're trying to figure out how to plan your summer. You know, God has a wonderful plan in place for you. And here it is. I have a short video that I want to share with you. Kenya is a country in Eastern Africa and uh it's an amazing, amazing nation. I was born here. Kenya became an independent country over 60 years ago. Prior to that, it had been a British colony and uh with that there has been a strong presence of the church here through the protestant missions that happened starting from over 100 years ago. As a result, majority of the people here identify as Christians, which is a wonderful thing. But we also have a significant presence of Muslims. We have uh people that are into animism or syncretism where they mix their Christian faith with traditional beliefs as well. Kisii and Nyamira counties, which are in the western part of the country, we are organizing a great mission there that will take place in July of 2026.
[29:35]We are praying that the church on the continent of Africa will equally be the epicenter for mission activities. So everything that we are doing here as we work with and for and through the church, we are praying that God continues to grow the capacity of the local church here in Kisii, across the country of Kenya, to see the gospel of Jesus Christ continue to go forth to the very ends of the Earth.
[30:09]20 years. And we've brought the gospel to millions of people around the world, but I've never taken the gospel back to Kenya. And so that's why I'm extending this invitation to you, uh taking this moment, this pause to invite you. In fact, in the comments, there's a, you know, a Shine Ministry team out there that is willing and ready to invite you to come along this July. We we want people to come and share the gospel with lost and lots of people as part of stepping into this invitation for those who are far off. Amen. And I have a QR code, you know, you can scan it, um, and and, you know, to learn more about what God is doing, and how you can be a part of it. But before I I finish this morning, you see, he says this invitation is for you. It is for you. It is for you to step in. It is for you to be a part of. It is for you to respond to. It is not for later. It is for you. Maybe you believe God exists, but you don't have a saving relationship with them. Or you attend church, as I said, but you have never surrendered your life to Christ. Or you've been searching all your life. You're you're you're going into, you know, research and trying to research different religions, and that is great. But you've never allowed yourself to be searched and to be brought in and be found by God. You're sitting here this morning, you may know about God, but don't know him personally. You respect Jesus. That's why you're here. But you don't follow him as Lord. Peter tells us, he is both Lord and Messiah. Or you have habits of of sin that you've been trying to get rid of through your own power and capacity. You see, this morning, it is an opportunity. There is an opportunity for you to surrender. I want to pray for you. I want to invite you in. And those of you at Bush Lake and West Anka, as you're listening this morning, I want to extend the same invitation to you. You've never given your life to Christ. In just a moment, we're going to pray together to receive Jesus. But right now I want us to stand, both at, you know, Bush Lake, West Anka, here in Chanhassen. If we can all rise to our feet, as you hear this story that Peter is explaining to us, the gospel of the kingdom. In your own heart, you recognize that you've never really made a commitment to him. We we, you know, as we begin and enter this new season that Peter is talking about, and we here at Westwood we are talking about. We want you to recognize that it begins by place coming to the place of the cross and surrender and saying, here I am, Lord. Be Messiah and be savior of my life. So, I'm going to ask us to bow our heads in prayer. And if that is you, you've never really acknowledged Jesus as your savior. Yes, you've done all the right things except allow Jesus to be Lord. This is your moment. I'm going to pray with you. But I want you to indicate by raising your hand right now. As a way of saying, yes, I want you, Jesus, in my heart. Yes, those of you raising your hand, just keep them up. Thank you. Keep them up. This is the time you're saying, you know, Jesus, I receive you as my savior. I want you in my heart as my Lord. Now, I want you to pray this with me. Say, dear Lord, Jesus, I acknowledge you as both Lord and Savior. I welcome you to forgive me, to cleanse me, to make me your child. I believe you're the Son of God. I receive you in my heart as my Lord and Savior. Now, those of you that prayed that prayer all over this room and in West Anka and Bush Lake, the Bible says that as many as received him, he gave them power to become sons and daughters of God, to become new creation. Now, before I sit down, I want to pray. Some of you have, you know, things and issues you're dealing with. We don't want you to leave here with those burdens. And so I, while we're still here all over the place, if you have an issue, physical issue. Some of you have back pain, body pain, body ache, ear aches, eye aches, you know, whatever aches there are. Jesus is able to minister to you today, or you're dealing with depression, anxiety, or oppression in your life. You know, the demonic world is real. And many of us have depression and anxiety are because it's coming from some of these places, the the the the demonic, and Jesus is able to deal with that. I'm not saying that all of you know, oppression and anxiety is from that, but I'm saying that Jesus has power this morning to set you free. So I want us to lift our faith in Christ. Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for your people today. That you will set them free from the burdens that they carry today, in the authority of the name of Jesus, as your scriptures remind us. Jesus was confirmed as Lord, and as Messiah, through signs, wonders, miracles. And we believe you today, that you may move in us and through us. And therefore, Lord, we command every oppressive spirit off your people today, in the authority of the name of Jesus. Be free in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
