In the 7th, 16th chapter of the Book
of Acts, I read just a few verses.
Verse 25, this is the account of a
moving, of a living God who did something
that only God can do.
And I love to read this chapter again
and again and again, because we are dead
sure come to the place now when man's
best isn't getting the job done.
Our best service is failing, looks like now.
Our best consecration isn't enough now.
This is a time the psalmist had in
mind when he said, It is time for
thee to work, O God, for they have
made void thy law.
This is the hour when nothing can save
us from any direction you want to talk
about except an intervention of a God that
the Bible talks about who can do that
which would get the attention of people today.
When nobody's interested in eternal things, only
God is the answer for this hour.
And here we encourage ourselves as we read
again into an old, old time where a
sovereign God, and by a sovereign God we
simply mean not a God who's an absent
monarch, who created a world and people it
and gave us some rules and hoped we'd
stumble along and do the best we could.
But when we mention the word sovereign God,
we mean a living God.
The greatest illustration of what we mean by
the word sovereign God is the sermon Jonathan
Edwards preached on the center and the hands
of an angel God when he so preached
that men actually believed that God held them
in his hand.
And that's where he does hold men.
He said that God could just drop them
into the pan.
Now you can get that word sovereign in
your head and use it as a club,
but if you get it in your heart,
God knows it's the need of the hour.
That's the human being be conscious of the
fact that they're in the hands not of
a creed or a machine but a living
God who gives them the very breath they
breathe.
Now this generation don't know anything about that
kind of a God, do we?
And yet at one time he intervened in
verse 25, Paul and Silas got put in
jail.
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and
sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard
them.
And suddenly there was a great earthquake so
that the foundations of the prison were shaken
and immediately all the doors were open and
everyone's bands were loose.
And the keeper of the prison awaking out
of his sleep and seeing the prison doors
open, he drew out his sword and would
have killed himself supposing that the prisoners had
been fled.
But Paul cried with a loud voice saying,
Do thyself no harm, we're all here.
Then the jailer called for a light and
sprang in and King Trembling fell down before
Paul and Silas and brought them out and
said, Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy
house.
Beginning in verse 16 of this chapter, we're
introduced to some Christians who were witnessing and
then went to praying and were introduced to
a living, miracle-working God and it resulted
in a trembling sinner screaming for light as
to how he could be saved.
We could reproduce these characters.
I say that not blasphemously.
In any church that's as far as a
half an inch from hell, we could have
a measure of glory and blessing and revival
that would spread to bring living water on
parched hearts all about.
As I said this morning, it's been 226
years since revival has come to America.
We desperately need it.
Apart from the return of the Lord, we
desperately need God to come on the scene
until men would become conscious that they are
in the hands of a living God.
And I think the pattern, since God always
uses means, is brought out in this chapter.
First, we've got some Christians witnessing.
A fellow by the name of Paul and
Silas are going around and a little girl
possessed of powers of divination and tool of
the devil.
She followed these men, verse 17, and she
paid them a tremendous compliment.
These men are the servants of the Most
High God which show unto us the way
of salvation.
These men were engaged in the best business
between the eternities.
I've been preaching quite a while, and I
resign from the ministry about every Monday or
at least every time I close a meeting.
Don't do it publicly.
But I don't know I'm living in a
world where everything else is important except to
find the way of salvation.
And I'm sometimes tempted, I really am, to
go into the improvement business.
We could just improve the lot of mankind.
That'd be good, wouldn't it?
Or we get into politics.
This nation of ours is rotten governmental and
political in every other way.
I said, well, I believe I'll go into
that sort of boring in me.
I trained to be a lawyer, for God's
sake.
But Paul and Silas were going about in
this city of Philippi sticking to just one
thing.
They thought it was the most important thing
that any human being ever be called upon
to consider.
And this little demon-possessed girl said, Let
these be the servants of the Most High
God who do show unto us the way
of salvation.
And she just followed him around until Paul
got tired of it.
He turned and rebuked the demon on her
and set her free.
And that's where he got in trouble.
Oh, that's the kind of trouble I wish
we could get in again.
We get in so much trouble trying to
do something that isn't the main thing.
But wouldn't it be Christ, blessed of God,
if he'd anointed a preacher and a church
together and we'd get in trouble with the
spirit of this ungodly age because we were
pressing with Holy Spirit power the way of
salvation.
Paul and Silas got in trouble with this
little girl's masters because the demon was gone.
She couldn't look into the future now and
make money for them.
So they went to the powers that be.
And the next thing you know, Paul and
Silas got arrested.
Beat hashed to death.
Put Pete Putnam's stocks way down in the
cell of prison.
And there they are in jail for the
simple reason they'd been going about showing people
the way of salvation.
But say, Brother Mark, they got in trouble
with casting the demon out of that girl.
But blessed God, Satan's got to be locked
before sinners can be loosed.
That's right.
That's the part of it.
The power of hell's got to be backed
up before the glory of the living Christ
will be revealed.
It's always that way.
And there isn't an issue before God's people
now.
Why it's so fascinating and so challenging and
so all-important as to learn how not
to split hairs over doctrine or anything else
but to build upon the forces of hell
and get on the offensive and quit tucking
our tail and turning this generation over to
the demons of hell.
Yes, sir, they cast this demon out.
It's always been true that everything God's done,
He's done by the word of command.
He speaks, and a world is created.
He speaks, and He hangs out the Son.
He speaks, and He divides the land and
its water.
He speaks, and the man with a widowed
hand is able to stretch it forth.
He speaks, and a dead lasher has come
from the grave.
And God told God's people to begin to
speak the word of command in the name,
in the power, in the authority of the
living Lord.
Come to take our stand and occupy some
territory for King Jesus and spit ambit into
the devil's face and tell him to go
back to hell where it belongs.
That we're going to occupy some land and
capture some men and lock the jaws of
hell and bind the power of Satan.
And that's how salvation comes to men.
That's right.
And they got in jail.
They got in jail.
There are two people, most of us nice
church members.
We're nice.
We wouldn't hurt a flea.
We're the nicest folks you'll ever see.
We got our doctrine all straight and it's
ossified and dead and it's killed us and
everybody we've touched.
Amen.
And we got all our convictions.
We got pockets full of convictions.
Got this pocket full of this kind and
this full of this kind and this full
of this kind.
And we're out here trying to wish our
convictions off on people and that ain't even
nice, much less Christian.
That's right.
And we don't know much about a living
God or a personal devil.
It's because we've been so nice we haven't
been invading Satan's territory.
Amen.
Did you know, ladies and gentlemen, the whole
generation of people grown up, grown up, we
don't even have church doors.
We've lost them.
We can't catch them.
We've got to separate it.
We can't catch men with a cap holding
a labyrinth rope.
And we need to get involved.
You've been criticizing these colored people having those
demonstrations.
I think they're going at it wrong, but
they're getting involved, brother.
You've been criticizing these beatnik students out at
University of California at Berkeley that have been
telling the governor and the faculty and everybody
else how to go.
Well, they're all wrong, you say.
I know, but they're getting involved in the
issues of this day.
You've been criticizing the communists that have taken
over a third of the world in a
little while, you know.
Well, brother, they've got the most flaming religion
this side of eternity and they're getting involved.
I stand here before you and I can
tell you the greatest evangelistic force in America
now is a Roman Catholic priest.
You go to your hospitals on Sunday morning
and you can't get down the corridors of
prominent Catholic businessmen passing out tracts.
And next time you see a priest walking
down the street, he's got a scuttle of
coal and a loaf of bread and he's
heading down some back alley to do what
he calls evangelism, to keep somebody from freezing
to death and starving in the name of
the church.
What you talking about, brother Mark?
I'm talking about it's time that we woke
up to the fact that we hadn't rolled
up our sleeves and got out here in
the thick of the battle and got involved
in our day.
That's what I'm talking about.
Don't you get mad at me that this
world don't give a hoot if you are
sound on doctrine?
Does it?
They don't care.
But if you get involved in what's eating
up the souls and bodies of men today,
you'll find out there's a living God and
you'll find out there's a personal devil.
These witnessing Christians, they just had to go
pray in it.
I don't know what it'd take to get
old Ralph Barnes and Paul Kirkman and you
folks to pray, but I guess if we
got involved and got about half our ribs
caved in and all our teeth knocked out,
we might either tuck our tails and quit
or we'd learn how to intercede at the
throne of God.
Oh, this generation going to hell and it's
tickling and jet airplanes.
We don't know how to intercede at the
throne of grace.
I want you to hear my message on
sinful praying.
I'm going to tear up your little old
prayer and God knows it's a disgrace and
we got to get to where God could
still be God and listen to us to
when we pray.
I'm for your passing out circles.
God bless you.
I'm for your lip testimony.
God bless you.
But ain't none of it going to do
much good now and you just well face
it.
We are up against a praying situation now.
That's right.
You tell me one thing we could do
now that would make a dent on the
anti-Christian climate in spitting distance of this
little church house.
It can't be done.
This is pleading time for the saints of
God to learn how to wrestle with the
powers of hell and lock the devil's jaws
and loose the power of God.
But old Paul and Silas they put them
in jail and they began to pray and
sing songs.
I think old Paul said well I guess
we better get in touch with the headquarters.
Looks like we're sort of a mess down
here and he got on the telephone ring
ring he rang number one of the end
of the line and said this is the
living Lord talking and Paul said this is
Paul and Silas your bond slaves and we're
down here in Philippi and we got our
feet in the stock and our backs are
bleeding they beat us about half to death
and we're cold and hungry and lonesome and
kind of got the blues just a little
bit and we thought we better report to
headquarters.
And Jesus said well how come you got
down there in jail, Paul?
Well he said we were going up down
the city showing men the way of salvation
they all got religion but they don't know
how to go to glory and we're showing
them the way and said in order to
do it we had to cast out a
demon and loose a little girl and the
masters reported us and they beat us and
put us in jail and Jesus said well
just hold the phone I'll be right down
and pretty soon bless God he intervened now
Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to
God and the prisoners heard them pray and
heard them praise God but they felt it
when God came on the scene Paul didn't
bring an earthquake the living Lord did Silas
didn't bring an earthquake the living Lord brought
the earthquake they did the praying they did
the praising they did the witnessing and God
Almighty did the confirming that's right oh, oh
boy that's what we want I'll fight you
to get a good doctrinal base I will
but I'll fight you if you always want
to think that that's it brother that's just
something to stand on to resist the devil
and proclaim Christ to invade a heathen world
with the demand that men and women give
a listen to the claims of Almighty God
for the son of His love to die
with the authority of the Holy Ghost come
down from heaven sweeping over your soul listen,
listen it was God that brought the earthquake
and men felt something when God came on
the scene a miracle working God a gospel
confirming God I'm crying to God as I
grow older I didn't need the Lord much
when I was 30 years old I thought
I could make it alright but I'm 62
I'm not as old as I hoped to
be but I'm older than I was 30
years ago and as the years creep in
on me and I won't be here forever
oh my soul how hungry I'm getting how
desperate I'm getting for the confirming work of
Almighty God on the preaching of the gospel
in my day I'm so tired of preaching
nice little sermons that people enjoy and it
doesn't disturb anybody I'm so tired of being
alone as if God Almighty had gone off
on a fishing trip and left it with
us Brother Kirkman, I'm so tired of preaching
the gospel of the grace of God that
shuts me up to God doing something for
Him when I haven't got God doing something
for them as I preach I'm hungry for
the confirming work of God Almighty and old
Paul and Silas they witnessed and they prayed
and they sang praises to God and then
they got in touch with the headquarters and
the headquarters didn't fold its arms and say
well, Bud, you've gotten a mess by yourself,
get out the best you can no, sir
God sent an earthquake and He rattled the
locks off of the doors and the prisoners
were gone and the soldiers because they thought
God was gone and Paul and Silas said
no, we're here and this old center this
old center felt God felt God you don't
learn salvation you catch it you feel it,
brother that's right we can explain God's alive
this generation not paying any attention to us
this generation needs an earthquake God's going to
send an earthquake going to start in our
churches going to shake us up going to
turn us inside out peel us gut put
salt in our wounds break our hearts and
set us on fire to invade this generation
with the claims of Jesus Christ we can't
do it we've witnessed we can pray we
can praise God until God begins to answer
and sends His bolts of lightning to split
the hearts of men and confront men with
Jesus Christ now this miracle working God got
something done you know what He did?
He got the attention of that jailor he
came running out about half scared to death
and he said what must I do to
be saved?
he's ready he's ready men's hearts have to
be prepared before they'll ever ask that question
oh, aren't you sort of tired of witnessing
nobody paying any attention to you I'm tired
of preaching nothing much happened I'll tell you
that right now I ain't preaching down to
nobody but you've asked me a pill you
sick bastard and I appreciate you asking the
stage would play out I have revival and
I haven't taken an engagement for a long
time you can close it in the night
but I've honored you I honor the pastor
I'd love to see some people get in
this thing and pray down and weep down
and sob down and act up until somebody
would begin to listen to the gospel of
the glory of God this old trembling sinner
bless God you didn't have to slip up
on his blind side you just had to
get out of the way he's undone happened
to him God shook him God shook him
he is ready he is ready for the
civil war down the state of Georgia is
having a revival meeting the colored people slaves
on one of the big plantations down in
Georgia and the white owner the boss one
night he decided to go down attend the
meeting a few minutes see if the slaves
were behaving themselves he stood on the fringe
of the crowd listened to the old colored
preacher preach and the old colored preacher didn't
know much but what he knew was so
he's preaching hell hot and eternity long and
judgment sure and Christ the only hope but
he is the hopeless sinner and the next
day the white man was going across the
plantation ran into old Sambo Sambo was sort
of the straw boss of all of the
colored people on the plantation and the white
man stopped old Sambo and said Sambo I
was down to the meeting last night Sambo
said yes sir boss man we see you
down there we're sure glad to have you
with us he said you know you got
quite a preacher down there he said yes
sir boss man said he preaches the gospel
without fail or favor and declared the whole
council of God and the white man said
you know Sambo said I listened to that
preacher a little while last night and he
scared me he said I've been so busy
running this plantation making a living keeping you
colored people straight I never had thought much
about where I'd go when I die but
according to what your preacher said when I
die I'm going to go right straight to
hell Sambo said yes sir boss that's exactly
where you'd go well he said you know
I never had thought about it but he
said it bothered me some night last night
and I couldn't go to sleep very well
he said Sambo he said I know you
you're my friend he said I want to
ask you something Sambo said ask away he
said could you tell me how I could
get God almighty to save me not send
me to hell Sambo said yes sir boss
man I can sure tell you well he
said I wish you would well he said
boss man you see that hog pen right
over there he said you go over to
that hog pen and you climb up on
that rail fence and you climb over and
get over in the northeast corner where the
hogs got their wallow and you get out
on your knees in that wallow and close
your eyes and that's got to have mercy
on your soul for Jesus sake and said
he's liable to do it and the boss
man gave him a little curse and said
ah Sambo I didn't want you to jump
up and he walked away but that night
strange that drawn he decided he better go
down and see if the colored people behave
in themselves and he stood again and listened
to the old preacher preach and that night
he went home and he tossed and tossed
and tossed on his bed and he had
a terrible time and the next day he
met old Sambo again and said Sambo back
down here you preached here last night I
said yes sir that's the answer to the
pressure those colored people have been praying you
go and get under the sound of the
gospel maybe God will save your soul he
said Sambo he said I couldn't sleep a
wink last night I said I'm scared I'm
afraid I'm going to die and go to
hell he said Sambo don't joke me today
he said joke me yes but don't joke
me today can you tell me how I
can get God almighty to save me and
not send me to hell don't joke me
Sambo and Sambo said boss I can't tell
you he said you see that hog pen
he said you go over there that hog
pen you climb over the rail tracks and
you go over there and get in the
north east corner where the hogs got their
water and you get on your knees close
your eyes and ask God to have mercy
on your soul and save you for Jesus
sake he said he's liable to do it
and the boss man gave him an oath
and went away again but that night he
decided he better go back and see if
the colored people behaved themselves and so he
did and he listened to more of the
sermon that night and after it was over
he went to his room and he tossed
and tossed and he got up and he
tried to pray and he didn't know how
and he tried to read the bible and
it was a closed book and the poor
old fellow was in a terrible terrible shape
and at three o'clock in the morning
he got up and got a lantern put
his trousers on his shirt tail tucked in
his hat on YAY knocked on old Sambo's
cat door Sambo all bleary eyed and sleepy
came out and said Boss man what on
earth you doing this your time of the
night and he said Sambo said I'm desperate
he said I can't sleep and I can't
pray and I don't know what to do
and I feel like I'm going to slip
into hell before morning and he said I've
asked you to tell me if God would
save me and you've joked with me and
Sambo please don't joke with me tonight tell
me how I can get God to save
me and not send me to hell Sambo
said Boss man I gotta tell you that
you go that that that whole bit and
you climb over the rail fence and you
get over there in the north east corner
where the hogs got their wallet and you
get out on your knees and close your
eyes and ask God to have mercy on
you and save you and pray for Jesus
sake said he's liable to do it and
the white man just started walking toward the
hog pit and old Sambo got in his
trousers right quick and followed him and the
white man got over there and he stepped
over the old rail the old rail fence
and straddled it and started down and got
his right foot on the last rail just
before he got in the mud and old
Sambo said Boss man wait just a minute
he said did you ask your God to
do that and the white man said I
don't see a better sense on earth I
don't know why a man got in that
hog pit for God to save but said
I don't want to be saved I don't
want to go to hell and I asked
him that's all you'll tell me and that's
what I'm going to do and he started
to step down and old Sambo said wait
just a minute boss man you don't have
to actually do it just got to be
willing to just got to be willing to
oh if men were willing it's
so easy and that's what we want to
see here and that's what we want to
hear the men and women willing to be
saved by the foolishness of proclaiming a man
hanging on a cross God taking him out
of the grave putting him on the throne
turning the destined of men over to him
blood stained enthroned the living Lord of glory
my people shall be willing in the day
of his power and yet it challenged my
heart and yours to be in the place
where God will listen to us keeping all
the glory to himself he'll come and send
an earthquake get the attention of men and
women in your day and mine let us
bow our heads