Shall we turn to the Book of Acts,
chapter 1, as we begin our study in
the history of the early church.
Luke, the author of the Book of Acts,
a companion of Paul the Apostle, who was
author also of the Gospel according to Luke,
wrote these two treatises to a friend, Theophilus.
Theophilus is a Greek name.
It's a name that has a beautiful meaning.
The name means lover of God.
There are some who believe that it was
not a man at all, but just the
epistle, I mean the Gospel and the Book
of Acts were just addressed to the lovers
of God, whoever you may be.
There are other traditions that say that Theophilus
was actually Luke's master, that in those days
physicians were slaves and usually the slave of
a wealthy patron, so that Luke's master was
Theophilus and he released Luke to be with
Paul in the missionary journeys and thus Luke
is writing back to his former master.
That is an early tradition of the church,
but it is of course impossible to prove
like so many of the traditions.
There are also those who believe that when
Paul was in Troas and he received a
vision of a man calling unto him saying,
come over to Macedonia and help us, that
that man in Paul's vision was none other
than Luke.
For the first one that Paul really met
when he came to Macedonia was Luke.
And as we are in the Book of
Acts, you find that when we get to
that portion of the Book of Acts, Luke
begins to write more in the first person
rather than the third person.
So it is evidently at this particular point
in the Acts of the Apostles that Luke
became a companion of Paul and began the
journey with him and he began to use
the pronouns we and us instead of they
and them and so forth.
So that this is no doubt where Luke
became a participant and an eyewitness of those
things that were happening from this point on.
And we will point that out to you
when we get to that point.
So he begins the Acts of the Apostles
by tying it with the Gospel according to
Luke.
And it is interesting that the very last
thing that Luke records in his Gospel is
the very first thing he records in the
Acts of the Apostles.
We find the Gospel of Luke closing as
Jesus is telling his disciples to wait in
Jerusalem until they be endued with power from
on high.
And then Jesus ascended up into heaven.
And so he closes the Gospel.
So in opening the Acts of the Apostles,
he writes the former treatise that is the
Gospel according to Luke.
Have I written unto you, O Theophilus, of
all that Jesus began both to do and
teach.
And the key word is began.
The Gospel according to Luke is not the
full story of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
It's only the beginning of the ministry of
Jesus Christ.
Jesus continues to minister to the needs of
people.
Jesus continues to heal the sick.
Jesus continues to raise the dead.
Jesus continues to minister his love and his
Gospel to the world.
Only now he is ministering through those disciples
who have been anointed with his Holy Spirit.
But the ministry of Christ is continuing basically
is the premise that Luke takes in the
Acts of the Apostles.
So the former treatise of all that Jesus
began both to do and to teach.
Now, because of that, the Acts of the
Apostles is an unfinished book in that the
Lord today continues to work through the lives
of those who have dedicated themselves to be
the instruments of God.
To be led and guided and anointed by
his Holy Spirit to continue the ministry of
Jesus in the world today.
Now, God has ordained that his work should
be accomplished through human instruments.
I do not say that it must be
accomplished.
God can use angelic beings for his work
and there will come a time during the
book of Revelation when God will use angels
to proclaim his Gospel to people all over
the world.
Revelation chapter 14, the first angel flying through
the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel.
But at the present time, God has chosen
to use human instruments as imperfect as they
may be.
Yet that's what God has ordained to use.
And the exciting thing about that is that
God will use me and God will use
you.
So many times we're begging off, oh Lord,
I can't speak.
I've never been able to speak before or
even now, Lord, as Moses tried to beg
off of the call of God.
Jeremiah said, Lord, I'm just a kid.
No one's going to listen to me.
And we all have our excuses why we
can't be used, don't we?
We all know the reasons why God couldn't
use us.
One time as the Lord was calling a
prophet to do his work, he said, Lord,
send whoever you want.
Lord said, yeah, I've called you.
Lord, good idea, send whoever you want.
And so often we're in that position.
Lord, send by the hand of whomsoever you
will.
Anybody but me, Lord.
And yet God has ordained to use us.
Now each of us can show our own
imperfections.
Each of us can point out our own
inabilities.
And all of us can find an excuse
why God wouldn't want to use me.
But yet God has chosen to use you.
That through your life, he might reveal himself
to a needy world.
You wonder when God has such instruments to
use, how he ever got the job done,
don't you?
Until the day in which he was taken
up after that he, through the Holy Spirit,
had given commandments to the apostles whom he
had chosen.
So that is what he ended the Gospel
of Luke with, the day that Jesus was
taken up after he had told the apostles
to wait for the endowment of power.
To whom he also, that is the apostles,
he also showed himself alive to them after
his passion or death by many infallible proofs.
It is difficult to deny the fact of
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I was amused as well as annoyed and
irritated by an article I read in the
Santa Ana Register this last Saturday of the
creation science and evolutionary theories being presented in
the county schools.
How that this one professor said that he
teaches a science class and thus they deal
only in facts and they don't have any
place for theories because science is based upon
fact and creation is based upon religious superstitions
and it takes a lot of faith to
believe the religious theories where when you are
dealing with facts you can just accept them.
And I thought very interesting.
In that science class they taught me it
was a fact that the world was four
billion years old and now today they are
teaching it's a fact that the world is
12 billion years old and it wasn't that
long ago that I went to school.
It is interesting to me that the Bible
has never needed to be revised and updated
to meet the current data that men have
discovered.
And yet if you would take my high
school science textbooks today and try to teach
a science class from them, you would find
that many of the things that were taught
as scientific fact when I was in high
school are no longer recognized as scientific fact.
The simple cell protoplasm is no longer a
simple cell but extremely complex.
So if there is any fact that can
be attested to in history, it is the
fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead.
We have a jurisprudence system that is based
upon the testimony of witnesses.
And if a man is accused of a
crime and there are people who witnessed that
crime while it was being committed and they
are brought to the stand and they swear
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing
but the truth, so help them God.
And in their questioning, their being questioned, they
affirm that I saw that man in the
bank on May the 23rd.
I saw him pull out a gun from
his coat.
I heard him demand that all of the
money be given to him.
I saw him as he left the bank.
I saw him as the officer apprehended him
outside.
And if you can get three or four
witnesses to point to that man and will
keep their testimony under cross-examination, that man
is a judge to be guilty.
He is the one that did it.
We have two or three witnesses that are
testifying the same story about that man.
And he is then accepted as fact that
he is the one who perpetrated the crime
and is guilty.
You've got witnesses who have sworn to tell
the truth that are verifying.
Now, after the death of Jesus, when he
rose again, he appeared unto many different people
who gave sworn testimony that they saw him,
that they talked to him, that he appeared
to them in various places under different circumstances
and for a period of 40 days was
visiting with them.
And at one time, up to as many
as 500 people who were gathered at one
place, he appeared.
Now, it's difficult to just cast aside or
deny the witness of these people.
To do so is to discredit our whole
jurisprudence system.
But not only that, these men who testified
that they saw the risen Lord, that they
talked with him, that they ate with him,
they, all of them with the exception of
one, met violent deaths at the hands of
other people because of their affirming that the
story they told was true.
Now, you talk about a witness sworn to
tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but
the truth.
If a person's life was threatened because of
that witness and it was a lie, at
least one of them would have broken under
the pressure and would have confessed to the
entire hoax.
He showed himself alive after his passion by
many infallible proofs.
Being seen of them for 40 days, speaking
to them of the things pertaining to the
Kingdom of God.
Now, sometimes we fault the disciples because of
their questions of the timing of the Kingdom
of God, but let it be remembered that
the Kingdom of God was the favorite subject
of Jesus Christ.
He was always talking about the Kingdom of
God, and it is a great hope that
he was planting in the hearts of all
men.
Things are not always going to continue corrupted
as they are.
The world is not going to go forever
under the power of darkness, under the bondage
of evil.
God is going to one day establish his
Kingdom upon the earth of righteousness, joy, and
peace, and Jesus shall reign where'er the
sun doth her successive journeys run, and his
Kingdom will extend from shore to shore.
And that day will be the most glorious
day the world has ever seen, as sickness
and suffering and pain will be abolished in
his Kingdom.
As sin and greed and these things that
have made the world such an intolerable place
will be abolished in his Kingdom.
Godless commercialism, the exploitation of man, all of
these things abolished in his glorious Kingdom when
he reigns.
No wonder the disciples were anxious to get
it on.
I'm anxious to get it on.
I'm anxious for his Kingdom to come, and
Jesus told us when we pray, really the
first petition is, Thy Kingdom come, thy will
be done in earth as it is in
heaven.
And it is a right kind of a
desire that we should all have.
I desire the Kingdom of God.
And so he was talking to them during
this forty days of the Kingdom.
And being assembled together with them, he commanded
them that they should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
So he said, Now look, wait here in
Jerusalem until you receive the promise of the
Father.
This promise that he is referring to is
no doubt the promise in Joel, where the
Lord promised, and it shall come to pass
in the latter days, saith the Lord, that
I will pour out my spirit upon all
flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall dream dreams, your
old men shall see visions, and upon my
servants and my handmaidens, the other way around,
your young men see visions, old men dream
dreams, because I'm dreaming.
And that's how I always remember that one.
And upon my servants and handmaidens will I
pour out of my spirit, saith the Lord.
The promise of the Father.
The day is going to come when God
is going to pour out his spirit upon
all flesh, all of the believers.
They will each one receive that dynamic from
God.
For John, he said, truly baptized with water,
but you will be baptized with the Holy
Spirit not many days from now.
Now, the idea of baptism was that of
immersion, the baptizo.
John baptized with water, submerged the people in
water.
You're going to be submerged in the Holy
Spirit not many days.
Now, when they therefore were come together, they
asked of him, saying, Lord, will you at
this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
When's it going to be, Lord?
When is the time for this restoration?
And Jesus is talking to them now not
about the kingdom, but about the power that
they are going to receive for service.
And so he brushes aside their question, saying
unto them, it is not for you to
know the times or the seasons which the
Father has put in his own power.
It's not for you to know now they
lived constantly in the anticipation of the immediate
setting up of the kingdom during the entire
lifetime of Jesus.
They were expecting him at any moment to
go into the phone booth and come out
as the Savior of the world and show
his power and demonstrate and to overthrow the
governments of the world and to establish God's
kingdom upon the earth.
And they were waiting daily for this change
to transpire.
And whenever Jesus would talk about going to
Jerusalem and being turned over into the hands
of sinful man, crucified and all, oh, no,
Lord, no, no, you don't understand the kingdom,
Lord.
Be that far from thee.
And when Jesus died on the cross, they
were greatly disappointed.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus,
so sad.
Hey, fellas, how come you're so sad as
you're walking along?
What do you mean?
You must be a stranger around here if
you don't know the things that have been
happening lately in Jerusalem.
What things?
Oh, a fellow by the name of Jesus
of Nazareth.
Oh, man, it was mighty in power and
wisdom.
The anointing of God was upon his life.
And we had hoped that in him was
the deliverance of Israel.
But they crucified him.
We had hoped.
He's dead.
Now he's risen.
And he's saying in a few days, fellas,
you're going to receive the promise of the
father.
Oh, what promise?
The promise of the establishing of the kingdom.
You see, it was legitimate that they should.
Oh, is this it, Lord?
All right.
Is this the time you're going to set
up your kingdom now?
No, it's not for you to know those
times that the father is appointed or that
the father has in his own power.
But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you.
Now, here, the Greek preposition hippie is used
to signify a new relationship that they were
to have with the Holy Spirit.
In the gospel, according to John, chapter 14,
as Jesus is there promising to send the
Holy Spirit, he said, I will not leave
you comfortless.
I will come to you.
And he said, and I will pray the
father and he will send to you another
comforter, even the spirit of truth whom the
world cannot receive because it seeth him not
neither knows him, but you know him for
he dwells with you, Para, and he shall
be in you.
Same Greek prepositions are as ours.
Only they spell it in instead of I
am twofold relationship there in John.
He is with you, Para, but he's going
to be dwelling in you.
But now Jesus said, you're going to receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
The Greek preposition hippie, which is translated in
different texts throughout the new Testament as upon
or over, or I like it overflows because
in the seventh chapter of the gospel, according
to John on the last day, the great
day of the feast, when Jesus stood there
on the temple mountain, cried to the people,
if any man thirst, let him come unto
me and drink.
And he who drinks of the water that
I give out of his innermost being, there
will gush torrents of living water.
John said this spake, he of the spirit,
which was not yet given, which they who
believed on him should receive.
What did he speak of the spirit?
That it would be like a torrent of
living water flowing out.
So I like when the spirit overflows you
upon you or over you or overflows from
you.
So the threefold relationship.
He is with you prior to your conversion.
He is the one who causes you to
realize that you are a sinner.
He is the one who points to Jesus
Christ as the answer, as he convinces the
world of sin of righteousness and of judgment.
The moment you open your life and heart
to Jesus Christ and invite him to come
in the Holy spirit comes and begins to
indwell.
You, he shall be in you.
Know you not that you are not your
own.
You've been bought with a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body and your
spirit, which are his.
And know you not that your body is
the temple of the Holy spirit, which is
in you.
Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess,
but be filled or be being filled with
the spirit.
But now here is a third relationship.
This is a empowering experience.
You will receive the dunamis, the dynamics when
the Holy spirit has come hippy upon you
or over you, or when there is that
overflow from you and ye shall be witnesses
unto me.
And so the dynamic to be a witness
for Jesus Christ.
It is interesting that the word witness in
Greek is the word Martis from which we
get our word martyr.
And in Greek, it does mean martyr.
So that witness a witness is one who
not only proclaims what he believes, he lives
what he believes.
He is what he believes.
And he believes it so strongly that if
necessary, he'll die for what he believes.
That's how strong is his belief.
He's a Martis.
You can't stop him.
He's not afraid to die for what he
believes.
And so you remember when Paul was on
his way back to Jerusalem and Agabus came
down to Caesarea and he took Paul's girdle
and tied himself up.
And he said, so is the man who
owns this girdle to be bound when he
gets to Jerusalem.
And Paul's friends all began to weep and
say, Oh, Paul, don't go.
Don't go.
And he says, what do you mean by
these tears?
I think you're going to dissuade me.
You think I'm worried about being bound.
I'm ready to die.
He was a Martis.
I'm ready to die.
So that being put to death for your
faith did not make you a martyr because
you were a martyr.
You were put to death because you were
a witness because you believed it so strong.
So it did not make you a bit.
And this had only proved what you were.
You were a witness all along.
If you hadn't been a Martis, you would
never have gone to your death.
You would have recanted.
You would have you said, Oh, wait, wait,
hold on.
Let's change course here.
I think that I may have made a
mistake.
You know, you say, well, he wasn't a
Martis.
It's the same thing.
You know, stealing a horse doesn't make you
a horse thief.
It only proves that you were no one
steals a horse unless he's a horse thief.
So stealing it doesn't make you a horse
thief.
It only proves that you were a horse
thief all along.
If you weren't a horse thief, you could
have never stolen a horse.
So being martyred only proves what you were
a witness, a Martis, and you will be
witnesses.
And isn't it interesting that most of them
were martyred witnesses unto me.
Now the witness was to be both in
Jerusalem and in all of Judea.
The witness began right at home.
It's the hardest place, isn't it?
It's to start right at home in Jerusalem.
And then the area around Jerusalem, the area
of Judea.
And then it was to spread on up
into Samaria.
And then it was to go out into
the uttermost parts of the world.
And as we study the book of Acts,
we will see this very progression, how that
the witness began in Jerusalem.
We'll get that in the next chapter.
And then we'll see how it began to
spread out throughout Judea.
And then Philip went up into Samaria.
And then finally Paul and Barnabas are called
to go into the uttermost parts of the
world.
And so the witness spread through the anointing
and through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Now, when he had spoken these things, while
they beheld, he was taken up and a
cloud received him out of their sight.
So this is the final promise made by
Jesus to his disciples.
This is it.
The final words prior to his ascension.
Of course, later he came and talked to
Paul and others, but prior to his ascension,
this is his final word.
And upon this, when he had spoken these
things, while they were watching him, he was
taken up and a cloud received him out
of their sight.
And while they were looking steadfastly toward heaven,
as he went up, behold, there were two
men who stood by them in white apparel.
We assume they were angels, which also said,
ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing
up into heaven?
This same Jesus, which is taken up from
you into heaven, shall so come in light
manner as you have seen him go into
heaven.
So they saw him as he ascended up
into heaven.
And they will behold him when he comes
again.
Behold, every behold, the Lord cometh with ten
thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon
the earth.
And then unto him who loved us and
gave himself for us, and who has made
us unto our God, kings and priests, and
we shall reign with him upon the earth.
Behold, the Lord cometh and every eye shall
see him.
And they also who pierced him shall mourn.
So the Lord's coming, every eye shall see
him.
The Jehovah Witnesses say that he has already
come, but it was a secret coming.
And even as it was only the disciples
that saw him go, it was only the
disciples of the Jehovah Witnesses who saw him
return.
But Jesus said, if they say unto you,
he's come in secret and gone into a
secret chamber, don't believe it.
So you have your choice to believe Jesus
or them.
This same Jesus, which has taken up from
you into heaven shall so come in light
manner as you've seen him go into heaven.
Now there's a very interesting verse in third
John.
And in this particular verse in third John,
and you might turn to it because it's
one that is important to remember.
Would you believe second John?
But if you're at third John, you can't
be far from second John.
Verse seven for many deceivers are entered into
the world who confess not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh.
That unfortunately is a poor translation of the
Greek for this participle is in the present
tense and should be translated is coming in
the flesh.
Those who would deny that Jesus Christ is
coming in the flesh.
What does John say of them?
They are a deceiver and an antichrist.
Look to yourselves that we lose not those
things which we have wrought, but that we
receive a full reward for whosoever transgresses and
abides not in the doctrine of Christ has
not God.
He that abides in the doctrine of Christ,
he has both the father and the son.
And if they're coming into your door on
Saturday morning and bring not this doctrine, receive
him not into your house and neither bid
him goodbye.
For he that bids him goodbye is a
partaker of his evil deeds.
Ask them one question, is Jesus coming in
the flesh?
Just ask them that question.
And if they say no, just remember what
John warned you and what John told you.
If any confess not that Jesus Christ is
coming in the flesh.
You remember when he was with the and
he said, here, give me something to eat.
He said, you know, spirits don't eat.
Touch me.
See, it's me.
So the same Jesus is coming again in
the same manner in which they saw him
go into heaven.
And I, for one, believe that that coming
is very soon.
Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the Mount
called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem, a Sabbath
day's journey, about two thirds of a mile.
And when they were come in, they went
up into an upper room where their abode,
both Peter and James and John and Andrew
and Philip and Thomas and Bartholomew and Matthew,
James, the son of Alphaeus and Simon, and
Judas, the brother of James.
And these all continue with one accord in
prayer and supplication with the women and Mary,
the mother of Jesus.
And with his brothers, this is the first
men, or this is the last mention rather
of Mary, the mother of Jesus at this
point.
And from this point on, there is no
further mention of her in the acts of
the apostles or in the epistles, no mention
of her death or have her miraculous ascension
into heaven without death.
Nothing is mentioned in the scripture.
It's silent.
His brethren would be a reference probably to
James and to Jude and to those other
brothers who were sons of Joseph and Mary,
the upper room.
There are some that say it is the
same upper room in which Jesus had the
last supper with his disciples.
And yet there are others who hold to
this upper room being a room in the
temple precincts where the early church met.
Take your choice.
And in those days, Peter stood up in
the midst of the disciples and said the
number of their names together were about 120.
Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have
been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit by the
mouth of David spake before concerning Jesus, which
was a guide to those who took Jesus.
Now, here again, Peter still in the same
impetuous self, you know, they're they're waiting in
prayer and supplication.
And Peter stands up and says, fellas, there's
a scripture that's got to be fulfilled.
And, you know, he's going to move ahead.
Let's let's get the program going.
Let's cast lots and find out, you know,
who's going to take Judas's place.
I do feel that Peter was again in
the flesh manifesting that impetuous nature that was
his.
And I think that the future history of
the church in the book of Acts points
this out.
I am interested in Peter's understanding of the
scriptures, how that he is quoting from so
many places in the Old Testament.
And Peter does manifest a very great understanding
of the Old Testament scriptures, which is a
point in his favor.
Notice that Peter ascribes to the Holy Spirit
those things that David wrote so that all
scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Not part of the scriptures, because if you
tell me that part of the scriptures are
given by inspiration of God, then I must
ask you what parts are by inspiration and
what parts are not by inspiration.
And then you are then the authority who
tells me what part I can believe and
what part I can't believe.
And the minute God is no longer the
authority, but you're the authority, I'm in trouble.
So beware of those who say, well, you
can't believe all of the scriptures.
The scriptures themselves say all scripture is given
by inspiration of God.
And here, Luke in writing of what Peter
was saying, declares that David was actually the
spokesman for the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit
by the mouth of David spake concerning Judas,
for he was numbered with us.
He was one of the 12.
He had obtained a part of this ministry,
but now this man purchased a field with
the reward of iniquity and falling headlong.
He purchased the field with the reward that
potter's field, as the prophecy of Zechariah 11th
chapter declared and falling headlong.
He burst asunder in the midst and all
of his bowels gushed out.
Now there are those who find a discrepancy
in the scriptures because in one of the
gospels, we are told that when Judas came
back and tried to return the money and
they said, Hey, it's your problem.
We can't take it and put it back
in the temple treasury.
It's blood money that he threw it there
on the floor of the temple.
And he went out and hung himself.
So now here, Peter tells us that he
fell headlong and just popped.
And there are those who imagine a discrepancy,
very simple.
He went up into the tree to hang
himself, tied the rope around his neck and
tied it to the limb and jumped.
And the force of the fall either snapped
the rope or his head.
And he fell on down into the canyon.
And just as he said it here, it
was known to all of the dwellers at
Jerusalem in so much as the field is
called in their tongue, Al-Saddamah, that is
to say the field of blood.
For it is written in the book of
Psalms, let his habitation be desolate and let
no man dwell therein and his bishopric let
another take.
Now, in reality, he's quoting from two different
Psalms here from Psalm 69, 25, and he
puts it together with Psalm 109, eight and
putting the two together.
He finds these prophecies concerning Judas.
Wherefore, of these men now here, as they're
looking for someone to take Judas's place to
be an apostle, here are the qualifications that
they look for in that time.
Wherefore, of these men, which have accompanied with
us all the time that the Lord Jesus
went in and out among us.
Now you remember there were many disciples, many
disciples of which Jesus chose 10 to be
apostles.
And the word apostle means one who was
sent out or chose 12 to be apostles.
So he sent out the 12, uh, a
number of human government.
So we only have 11.
We need one to take Judas's place, but
we need one who has been with us
all the while from the beginning with Jesus,
from the time that he was baptized by
John until the day that he was taken
up from us.
Must one be ordained to be a witness
of what of his resurrection.
So these are the requirements they were looking
for.
Someone who'd been around the whole while from
the time of John's baptism to the Ascension
and one who saw the risen Lord and
thus could bear fact of the resurrection, their
testimony to the fact.
Now, Paul, the apostle later in asserting the
fact that he was an apostle said, have
I not seen the risen Christ?
So evidently that was one of the requirements
of apostleship.
Someone asked me, are there apostles today?
Well, I don't know.
I, um, don't think that there are in
the same sense as there were in the
new Testament.
Surely there's none today that can bear witness
to the resurrection as they did.
Now they appointed to Joseph called Barth of
us, who was surname justice and Matthews.
And they prayed and said, thou Lord, which
knows the hearts of all men show whether
of these two that you have chosen.
I think that we often make this mistake
of giving the Lord two choices, both wrong
limiting God.
You see, we're so prone to do this.
Obviously, Paul was God's choice.
Peter was just impetuous and jumping the gun
and saying, Hey, we got to do something,
you know, got to help God out.
You know, one's missing and we got to
fill him in.
And yet God, which one of these two
do you want?
And giving God the two choices that he
may take part of this ministry and apostleship
from which Judas by the transgression fell that
he might go to his own place.
And so they gave forth their lots an
interesting way by which they sought to determine
the will of God.
Let's throw dice, find out what God's will
is here.
It's interesting to me, the various ways that
people have devised to discern the will of
God.
Now, in the Old Testament times, they had
an interesting way of coming to the priest.
Who would inquire of the Lord for them
through the urn and the Thuman, the lights
and perfections.
Now, just what this urn and Thuman were,
we don't know.
I'm sure that they were not the colored
glasses that Joseph Smith found with the golden
tablets, the magic glasses that when you put
them on, you could suddenly read the Greek
or the hieroglyphic writing.
There are those who say that the urn
and the Thuman were actually a black and
a white stone that was worn in a
pouch on the chest of the priest.
And so they would pray and ask the
Lord a particular question.
You remember that David was asking the Lord
definite questions.
Lord, shall we go out against the Philistines?
The answer was no.
So again, the next day, Lord, shall we
go out against the Philistines?
The answer was yes.
When shall we go?
You know, and they would ask specific questions
and the Lord would direct them through the
urn and the Thuman.
And they say that the priest, they would
pray, seek God, the priest would reach in
and pull out one of the two stones.
If it was the white stone, it was
a yes answer.
If it was a no, then it would
be the black stone that he would pull
out.
And some even say that we get the
term black ball from this urn and Thuman
actually back in the original, that it is
a no vote against a particular project or
idea.
So just what the Thuman actually were, we
don't know.
But during the Old Testament period, they did
use a method of casting lots to determine
the will of God.
And so here the disciples are picking up
on this same thing as they are throwing
the dice to see which of the two
fellows that God had chosen to replace Judas
Iscariot.
The lot fell on Matthias.
He was numbered with the 11.
Now who in the world is Matthias?
No one ever heard of him before or
since.
So it'll be interesting to meet Matthias and
find out who he is and what he
did.
But I think from the subsequent history, it's
obvious to assume that God chose Paul as
an apostle.
Paul declares it himself.
Now, this is the last time we ever
read of them seeking to discern the will
of God by the casting of lots or
by a chance kind of a thing.
I know a fellow today who in seeking
to discern the will of the Lord will
pray, ask the Lord a question, and he'll
have 10 pennies in his pocket.
And as he's praying, he'll take the pennies
with eyes closed and put them down on
the table.
And if they all come up heads, it's
a yes.
Not an interesting thing.
Every once in a while, they all come
up heads and that's pretty good odds.
So, um, yet we don't find any pattern
for this after the Holy Spirit was given.
You see, once the Holy Spirit came upon
the church, then the Holy Spirit began to
speak to them and direct them.
And the Holy Spirit said, separate unto me,
Paul and Barnabas for the ministry where I've
called them and the Holy Spirit sent them
for.
So we find the church now more directly
guided by the Holy Spirit.
Once the Holy Spirit came, this business of
throwing dice to find out the will of
God was set aside.
Now, when the day of Pentecost, this would
be the feast day following the Passover at
which Jesus was crucified.
And 50 days after the Passover, the second
major Jewish feast, the Feast of Pentecost, or
the Feast of Engathering.
This is, of course, the time that they
would gather the winter wheat, the winter grains
that had been sown in the early part
of June.
They're ready for harvest.
And the Feast of Pentecost was marked by
their taking a portion of their field and
harvesting it, tying the wheat in the sheaves,
bringing them in and offering them before the
Lord as a wave offering, as the priest
would take the sheaves and wave them before
the Lord and offer them before the Lord
as the first fruits unto God.
God, to you belongs the first fruit.
There's a harvest that is coming in, but
this Lord is the first fruit.
It belongs to you.
And they would give to God the first
fruits of the increase of their land at
the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of
Engathering.
And as was the custom in all of
the Jewish feasts, there would be people that
had gathered, Jews that had gathered from all
over the world to celebrate these feasts.
And so the day of Pentecost, the feast
had come, and the disciples were with one
accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven
as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like
as a fire, and it sat upon each
of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak with other tongues
as the Spirit gave them the ability or
as the Spirit prompted their speech or as
King James, the Spirit gave them utterance, but
better as the Spirit gave them the ability
or prompted their speech.
Now we notice certain phenomena accompanying the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit.
There was a sound from heaven like a
rushing mighty wind that filled all of the
house there where they were sitting.
And notice they were sitting.
It doesn't matter if you're sitting, standing, or
whatever.
It is not the physical position.
I am tired of trying to formulate God.
I think that God defies any formulation by
man.
But people are always trying to put together
a formula, and I guess it's only natural.
You know, when you pray for someone and
they're healed, you try to think, now how
did I pray?
You know, what did I do?
You know, and you know, something happened here.
Oh, that's great.
You know, now how did I do it?
You know, and you're immediately wanting to formulate
it.
What did I say?
Magic words, magic movements, or whatever.
But God defies being formulated by man.
And so they were sitting in this particular
case.
And there appeared unto them these cloven tongues
like fire, and it was above or upon
each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit.
And in this case, began to speak Glossielia,
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them the
ability, and was prompting their speech.
Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews who
were devout men out of every nation under
heaven.
And now when this was noised abroad, what
was noised abroad?
Maybe the sound of the wind.
And the people heard this whistling sound like
a hurricane or something coming out of the
house.
They came running to see what in the
world was this noise coming out of the
house.
The multitude came together and were confounded because
every man heard them speak in his own
dialectus, in his own language or dialect.
And they were all amazed and marveled, saying
one to another, Behold, are not all of
these which speak Galileans?
How is it that we hear every man
in our own dialect when we were born?
And the Parthians, the Medes, the Elamites, the
dwellers of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia,
Pergium, Pamphylia, in Egypt and parts of Libya,
and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Greeks
and Arabians, we do hear them speak in
our dialectus, the languages, the wonderful works of
God.
Now notice that when they understood the languages,
these people were not preaching sermons in these
languages, nor was their speaking addressed to men,
but it was addressed to God as they
were proclaiming the wonderful works of God.
Somewhere along the line, the Pentecostal churches have
gotten a mistaken notion that God often speaks
to the church through tongues and interpretation of
tongues.
That is not scriptural.
In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul says if a
man speaks in an unknown tongue, he is
not speaking to man, albeit in the spirit,
he is speaking to God divine mysteries or
secrets.
And thus he tells them that if in
church a person speaks in an unknown tongue,
that he should pray that they might interpret.
And if there is no interpreter, then he
should not speak, but keep silent and speak
unto himself and unto God.
For if he gets up and speaks in
an unknown tongue in a service and no
one interprets, how is the person who doesn't
understand what he is saying going to say
yes and amen at his giving of thanks?
Not at the message that God had for
the church, but at his giving of thanks
in that he does not understand what he's
saying.
Indeed, you do bless God well.
It's a good way to praise the Lord,
but not in church where the people don't
understand what you're saying.
So still and always, whenever tongues were understood
or when Paul teaches on the subject, never
once is there an instance in the scripture
where God spoke to men through tongues and
interpretation.
Uh, the closest thing would be in the
book of Daniel when the writing on the
wall, uh, was interpreted by Daniel, but that
was not tongues and interpretation.
And God was giving a message to the
pagan King Belshazzar.
So when a man speaks in an unknown
tongue, according to the scripture, he's speaking to
God, divine secrets.
Men do not understand him.
It's not addressed to man.
It isn't necessary that man understands him.
He is conversing with God in a special
language that God has given him.
And so they were praising God or they
were glorifying God.
They were declaring the wonderful works of God
in the various languages.
And of course this amazed the people and
they were in doubt saying one to another,
what meaneth this notice they have a question.
What does this mean?
Or what meaneth this and others mocking said,
Hey, they've just found some good wine.
But Peter standing up with the 11 lifted
up his voice and said unto them, ye
men of Judea and all of you that
are dwelling at Jerusalem, be this known unto
you and listen to my words for these
are not drunken as you suppose in that
it is only the third hour of the
day.
It's only nine o'clock in the morning
too early to be drunk.
Now, what was their question?
What meaneth this?
And Peter's message is first of all addressed
to their question.
And I think that's important that messages answer
the questions that are in the minds of
the people.
I think there's a lot of preaching that
is so totally irrelevant to anything.
Well, thanks for the information.
I really didn't need it.
And I don't understand what it is after
I've got it, but, uh, but he was
addressing the question.
What meaneth this?
And his answer is this is that which
was spoken by the prophet Joel.
And he began to give them a scriptural
basis for the phenomena they had just observed.
And let me say, I think that this
is vitally important.
I think that you are on dangerous ground
when you are seeking spiritual phenomena for which
you can give no scriptural basis, because whenever
you get into the area of spiritual phenomena,
people are going to ask questions.
What is this?
And if you are practicing some kind of
spiritual phenomena for which you cannot give a
solid scriptural basis, you're in big trouble.
As far as I'm concerned, I am not
interested in any kind of phenomena for which
I cannot give solid scriptural basis.
And I think that it is very irresponsible
for evangelists or whoever to promote spiritual phenomena
without scriptural foundation.
So Peter leads them right to the word
of God.
This is that which was spoken by the
prophet Joel.
And now notice how Peter quotes from the
prophet Joel.
You see, he had a good working knowledge
of the word of God.
And I point that out in order that
I might point out to you the characteristics
of the men that God used and will
be following this as we go through the
acts.
But one of the first characteristics that we
find of the men that God uses is
that they are men of prayer.
Peter and the others were waiting daily in
prayer and in supplication.
You remember now the men that God uses
are men of the word, a second quality
that God is looking for.
Peter had a good working knowledge of the
word of God.
He's able to quote from the Psalms, remote
little songs, songs that aren't apt to catch
your attention.
And yet he is quoting from them, putting
them together, making sense out of them.
Now, as this phenomena is taking place and
they're saying, what means this?
And he said, this is that which was
spoken of by the prophet Joel and it
shall come to pass in the last days,
saith the Lord.
I will pour out my spirit upon all
flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesy.
And your young men shall see visions and
your old men should dream dreams.
And upon my servants and handmaidens, where I'll
pour out in those days of my spirit
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heaven
above and signs in the earth beneath and
blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
And the sun shall be turned into darkness
and the moon into blood before the great
notable day of the Lord come.
And it shall come to pass that whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved.
Quoting out of Joel chapter two.
And what does he quote?
The promise of God to send the Holy
Spirit upon the world.
Now notice that in context, this promise was
for the last days and Peter or Joel
actually carries it right on up to the
second coming of Jesus Christ through the great
tribulation period, right into the second coming.
I will show wonders in the heaven above
signs in the earth beneath blood, fire, vapor
of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, the
moon into blood things of the great tribulation
period before the great and notable day, the
day of the coming again of Jesus Christ,
the great notable day of the Lord come
and it shall come to pass that whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved.
So the empowering of the Holy Spirit was
not limited to just a short period of
church history, but is to continue throughout the
church history, right into the coming again of
Jesus Christ, the great notable day of the
Lord.
And it is wrong to try to put
the limitations upon the experience of being empowered
by the spirit of God.
Several years ago, our older daughter came home
from a prayer meeting and we were sitting
and sharing with her and she was telling
us how that at that prayer meeting, God's
spirit came upon her and she began to
prophesy by the spirit of God and what
a beautiful and exhilarating experience it was for
her to just speak forth God's word under
the anointing of the spirit.
Our son, Jeff, who we were having problems
with at that time, who was in high
school at that time, I turned to him
and said, well, son, the Bible says your
sons and daughters shall prophesy.
Now that my daughter is prophesying, when are
you going to start prophesying?
And he quickly, without any hesitation said, when
are you going to start having dreams?
Smart kid.
Now he is going to expound on the
scripture.
He gives now the text and now the
exposition.
Ye men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus
of Nazareth, identifying who he's talking about because
there were many named Joshua.
And so he is Joshua of Nazareth so
that they know exactly who he's talking about.
And here's what he says of him.
First of all, he was a man approved
of God among you.
The word approved is literally proved to be
of God among you.
How was he proved to be of God?
By the miracles and the wonders and the
signs which God did by him in the
midst of you, as you yourself also know.
So he was proved to be of God.
Now Jesus said, look, believe me or else
believe me for the very works sake.
And Jesus often called upon his works as
the proof of his origin and of his
authority and of his ministry, of his identity.
Believe me that I am in the father
and the father in me or else believe
me for the very works sake.
And so here Peter is pointing out that
the works that Jesus did attested to the
fact that he was proved to be of
God from God.
Remember, they said no man can do these
works except God is with him, but he
goes on to say him being delivered by
the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God.
You have taken him by wicked hands of
crucified and slain.
Now notice that as Peter talks about the
cross, he's not speaking of some horrible, tragic
accident that happened, but in referring to the
cross, he is talking about it as God's
predetermined counsel and foreknowledge.
Now it could not be any other way
because the cross was prophesied in the Old
Testament and the very fact that there are
prophecies of the cross, death on the cross,
Psalm 22, Isaiah 52 lifted up a term
used for crucifixion and his death prophesied in
Isaiah 53.
There can be no other conclusion, but what
the death of Jesus Christ on the cross
was planned by God long before Jesus ever
came into the world.
And thus it is manifestly wrong to try
to blame the Jews or to try to
blame the Romans or anybody else for the
cross.
It was something that God had predetermined by
his own foreknowledge, a method by which he
might manifest the extent of his love for
lost man.
And so as he refers to the cross,
he talks about God's predetermined counsel and thus
the scripture speaks of Christ crucified from the
foundations of the world.
Before man ever sinned, God had in mind
to send his son to redeem man from
his sin and thus to manifest God's love
for sinning man.
All a part of God's predetermined plan, his
foreknowledge.
And so Peter isn't really laying the blame
on them.
You with your wicked hands did it, but
it was all a part of God's predetermined
plan.
But then he declares, and this is the
central part of his message, whom God hath
raised up.
Remember, they were looking for someone who could
bear witness of the resurrection and the message
of the church.
The central message of the church is always
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It was not possible that death could hold
him.
It's the message of the church today.
And wherever the church denies this message, it
has ceased to be a church.
It is the central hope of man that
we have to proclaim the man that Jesus
rose from the dead.
Peter said, thank God that we've been begotten
again unto a living hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead whom God
hath raised up, having loosed the pains of
death because it was not possible that he
could be held by it.
Why wasn't it possible?
Because the scripture not only prophesied his death,
but it also prophesied his resurrection.
And because God had predicted or prophesied it
in advance, it had to happen.
It was not possible that he could be
held by death.
For David speaking concerning him said, I foresaw
the Lord always before my face, for he
is on my right hand, that I should
not be moved.
Therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue
was glad.
Moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope
because you will not leave my soul in
hell, neither will you allow the Holy One
to seek corruption.
Thou hast made known to me the ways
of life.
Thou shalt make me full of joy with
your countenance.
And so again, he is quoting from the
scriptures.
Notice how he just, you know, has the
capacity of just quoting God's word.
It was something that was really there in
his heart.
And the men that God uses are men
who have hid that word away in their
heart.
They have a ready access ability to just
quote from God's word.
Now Peter is going to expound on this
text.
He said, men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the Patriarch David, that
he's both dead and buried.
His sepulcher is with us unto this day.
Now there is today on Mount Zion, a
little room where you may go where there
is a very ornate sepulcher that they call
the tomb of David.
I don't know if David was buried there,
but at the time that Peter was talking,
David's sepulcher was still around.
Now, David being a prophet and knowing that
God had sworn with an oath to him
that of the fruit of his loins, according
to the flesh, he would raise up the
Messiah to sit on his throne.
David knew that God promised that the Messiah
would come through him.
That's when David said, Lord, what can I
say?
You know, I was nothing.
You took me from the sheep from falling
after sheep.
You made me the king of your people.
You've done so much for me.
And now you speak of the days to
come.
Oh God, what can I say?
David was overwhelmed by the goodness and the
grace of God.
And that's always a beautiful experience to have.
You ever had that?
You just totally wiped out by God's goodness
and God's grace.
I love those experiences where I just totally
wiped out by the grace of God.
Oh, you can't say anything.
You just have to just sit there and
enjoy it.
I have to pull off the road.
It's dangerous to drive in those conditions.
Now, David was a prophet.
He knew that God had promised that the
Messiah would come through him.
And he seeing this before was speaking of
the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was
not left in hell.
Neither did his flesh see corruption.
Now, when Jesus died, he descended into hell
and he preached to those souls that were
in prison.
Now you remember Isaiah 61, a part of
the prophecy of Christ would be that he
would open the doors to those that are
bound and free those from prison.
Set at liberty those that are captive.
And so Jesus descended into hell.
Because prior to the death of Christ, it
was not possible that the Old Testament saints
could enter into the full glory of God's
presence.
The Old Testament sacrifices could not put away
their sins.
All they could do was cover their sins
as they spoke of a better sacrifice that
was to come, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
So these men all died in faith, not
having received the promise, God having reserved a
better thing for us, that they without us
could have come into the perfected state.
So when Jesus died, he descended into hell,
preached to those souls that were in prison.
But according to Paul in Ephesians chapter four,
when he ascended, he led the captives from
their captivity.
He who has ascended is the same one
who first of all descended into the lower
parts of the earth.
You remember when they were asking Jesus for
a sign and he said, no sign will
be given to it.
You accept the sign of the prophet Jonah,
whereas Jonah was three days and three nights
in the belly of the whale.
So shall the son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of
the earth.
He descended into hell and those who were
waiting with Abraham for the promises of God
to be fulfilled.
He preached to them the glorious victory of
the cross.
The sacrifice has been made.
It is now complete.
And he who has sent has ascended is
the same one who first of all descended.
And when he ascended, he led the captives
from their captivity, freed them.
So death and hell was partially emptied at
that point.
Two resurrections, the just to everlasting righteousness and
the unjust to everlasting condemnation.
That resurrection has not yet taken place.
It will not take place until the end
of the thousand year reign of Christ upon
the earth.
Now this Jesus hath God raised up whereof
we are all witnesses.
We've all seen it.
We've all seen him.
Therefore, now you see, he comes back now
to the resurrection.
Notice this is the central part of the
message.
When he he's talking, he gives you a
certain, he throws out basic facts about Jesus.
He is a man proved to be a
God among you by the signs and miracles,
which he brought whom you, according to God's
predetermined counsel for knowledge with your winged hands
of crucified and slain.
But God raised him from the dead because
it wasn't possible that he could be held.
But now when he gets to the central
message, he expounds on it.
He goes back, he gives scriptural basis and,
and he's talking about the resurrection and all
and shows that it is a biblical concept.
And then he says, again, coming back to
this point, this Jesus hath God raised up
and we are witnesses of that fact.
Therefore, now he's going to continue his message
concerning Jesus of Nazareth.
Therefore he is exalted at the right hand
of God.
So Jesus today is in an exalted position
there at the right hand of God in
the throne of glory.
And having received of the father, the promise,
and it shall come to pass in those
days, sayeth the Lord, I will pour out
my spirit and having received of the father,
the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath
shed forth this.
Now he's back to the question again.
What meaneth this?
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit that they
were observing and having ascended to the father,
being there at the right hand, exalted, he
received from the father, the promise, and he
has shed forth this, which you now see
in here.
There was visible the tongues of fire and
audible evidence of the outpouring of the spirit
as they were glorifying God in these languages.
For David is not ascended into the heavens.
He had not yet ascended into heavens, but
he saith himself, the Lord said unto my
Lord, sit thou on my right hand until
I make thy foes thy footstool.
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus
whom you have crucified, both Lord and Messiah.
Now the Bible tells us that there is
coming a day when every knee shall bow
and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ
is the Lord.
And Peter is laying it straight on the
line.
This Jesus, you better know that God has
made him both the Lord and he is
the Messiah.
Now, when they heard this, and this is
the first message of the church centered on
the theme of the resurrection.
Now, when they heard this, they were pricked
in their heart and said unto Peter and
to the rest of the apostles, men and
brethren, what shall we do?
Aware of their guilt, made aware by the
conviction of the spirit.
Then Peter said unto them, join the church,
pay your tithes, keep this ministry going, brother.
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
Spirit.
Now, literally in the Greek, he said, repent
and be baptized.
Every one of you in to the name
of Jesus Christ, which is an interesting point
to make into the name of Jesus Christ,
into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
There are those who they call Jesus only
who make a big, uh, to do over
baptismal formula and say, if you were baptized
in the name of the father, son, and
Holy spirit, you weren't really baptized.
That baptism doesn't count.
And so the only baptism that counts is
the baptism in Jesus name.
Uh, but it isn't actually in Jesus name.
It is in to Jesus name, into the
very relationship with him, into the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
And ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy spirit for the promise, what promise, the
promise that God made to pour out his
spirit upon all flesh.
Who is it for?
It's for you and it's for your children
and to all that are far off, even
as many as the Lord, our God shall
call no mention of just being good for
the apostolic period, but on down through the
church ages, as many as the Lord, our
God shall call.
And men with many other words, he did
testify and exhort saying, save yourself from this
untoward generation.
Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized.
And the same day there were added unto
them about 3000 souls.
So you've got the beginning of the church
growth program, rapid church growth program.
Suddenly they've increased manifestly.
Now this is important.
What was the early church function?
What were they doing?
They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and
fellowship and in breaking of bread and in
prayers.
These were the four institutions of the early
church.
First of all, the apostles doctrine, the study
of the word of God.
Secondly, the fellowship, the Koinonia, a very interesting
Greek word.
Its implications are beyond translation into English, but
this coming together, interrelating, becoming a part of
each other, a strong bond and tie and,
and communion and commonness and, and fellowship breaking
of bread, the symbol of that interrelationship and
prayers.
A lot of things the church does today
that aren't listed here.
And I think a lot of the things
that the church does today are extraneous and
super silliest.
And we do well to let them die
a natural death instead of trying to keep
them alive by artificial means.
And fear came upon every soul and many
wonders and signs were done by the apostles
and all that believed were together and had
all things Koinonia in common.
And many of them sold their possessions and
their goods.
And they parted them to all men as
every man had a need.
There was a, uh, early communism in a
good sense in the church prompted by love.
Those that had were selling in order that
they might distribute to those that did not
have that they might be able to help
them.
And they continuing daily with one accord in
the temple and breaking bread from house to
house.
So the church actually began in both the
fellowship in the temple, but also in the
home fellowships, breaking bread from house to house.
They did eat their meat with gladness and
singleness of heart.
Now, what was the result as they were
praising God and having favor with all the
people, the Lord added to the church daily,
such as should be saved.
You see, when the church was what was
what God wanted the church to be, then
God did for the church, what he was
wanting to do.
Today, the church is spending all of its
efforts in church growth programs, how to increase
our attendance, studying psychology and sociology and making
demographic studies of communities and determining what will
appeal to the people of this particular community.
What type of an advertising program will be
most effective taking polls and census and putting
everything together so that we can have a
church growth program, because we want to add
so many members to our church and you
can get professionals to come in and do
all of these studies.
And for a fee, they will go ahead
and develop your whole program.
There are other professionals that come in and
set up a whole financial program for us.
And they will for 10 percent of the
take, they will set up the whole program
of how to take you.
And many churches hire these professionals for the
church growth or the fundraising programs.
The early church didn't know anything of that.
They weren't very sophisticated and they hadn't been
to seminary, so all they could do is
what they knew to do, just get together
and study the word and pray and fellowship,
break bread.
And the Lord added daily to the church
such as should be saved.
It was a natural, spontaneous growth as the
Lord added to the church.
Oh, times are different.
Why?
Has God changed?
No.
God's hand is not short that he cannot
save, neither is his ear heavy.
But we are no longer relying upon God.
We're no longer relying upon the Holy Spirit.
We've sought man's devices and man's ways and
we've forsaken the word of God and we've
gone to entertaining programs and we've tried to
attract the people by this lavish program of
entertainment.
Come and be entertained.
See the tallest Christmas tree in the world.
See Elijah ascend directly into the clouds.
And oh, what a trap that is.
There was this particular church that every Christmas
was putting on, you know, the spectacular program.
And the problem is when you draw people
to that, you got to get more spectacular
every year.
And so, you know, they had the living
Christmas tree.
Come and see the living Christmas tree.
And of course, all of them, you know,
they're in the shape of a Christmas tree
singing the carols.
Well, the next year it had to be
a bigger Christmas tree, you know, than the
year before because it's got to be the
best, you know, the greatest living Christmas tree
ever, you know, different costumes and different little
gimmicks and gadgets.
And finally, as they were developing this Christmas
tree, living Christmas tree year by year, they
had just about run out of ideas.
When someone had an idea of taking and
putting a live angel at the top of
the Christmas tree and they would let him
out of the ceiling.
And as a Christmas tree is formed, he
would come out of the ceiling and would
be there at the top of the Christmas
tree, the live angel.
Well, something happened to the gears and as
they were letting him down, he got suspended
in midair over the auditorium and he began
swinging around and around and the angel began
to cry out, get me down from here.
And he got up so upset.
This is true.
He got up so upset he began to
curse.
Someone stop this damn thing from swinging, you
know.
And he got so sick from spinning, he
began to throw up.
May that be the fate of all of
man's endeavors and programs so that we'll learn
to rely upon God and the power of
his Holy Spirit to build the church and
to do his work.
This promise is unto you and to your
children and to those that are afar off.
Even as many as the Lord our God
shall call, ye shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you and you'll
become a witness.
The gift of God's Holy Spirit is for
you tonight.
I pray that each of us might be
open to God to receive whatever it is
that God may wish to impart to us,
that we might become whatever God would have
us to be, that we might indeed be
his witness of his love in this world
in which we live today.
And so may God bless you as you
go forth to bear witness of Jesus Christ
and may your life show forth the works
of God that he has wrought in you
in his name.