Keys Of The Kingdom, The Mission Pt.13

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Pastor Scott

January 2, 2000 Sun PM

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I don’t know if any of you took any time this afternoon to read over some of the sermons of the book of Acts; but if you did, it has to be an exciting thing, encouraging to really understand how simple, and, yet, how powerful this Gospel message is that the Lord’s given to us. You don’t have to be a scholar to be able to affect somebody’s life for eternity. Just being able to, in love, share the things that you’ve seen and heard, the things that have become a reality to you. We don’t have to have had a Damascus Road experience - most of us have not - but just the reality of His presence.

This afternoon on - I don’t remember one of the channels, but it was the most in-depth secular presentation of the rapture that I’ve ever seen. I don’t remember which one of those channels it was on. It was - I don’t if was Learning Channel, one of those anyway that I normally like watching. It was interesting to see how it started - very, very Biblically oriented in its initiation, and then the conclusion was how perverted all the prophets are and how inaccurate and really based in human desire and perception prophesy is. It was a very interesting twist, like so many of the secular presentations do, but the first probably 60 percent of it was really outstanding. Then it ended up with guys like Koresh and Casey and a bunch of these guys and was mocking the prophets such as Isaiah and many of the Biblical prophets and saying that, of course, what’s been done is a message is spoken, and then people look for an answer or a fulfillment of that in a personality. They just so happened to choose this carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth, and tried to plug Him into all of the prophesies that had been spoken about Him earlier.

Well, let’s give them that. Let’s give them that argument. You still have to deal with the fact that He rose from the dead. Okay? We’re not going to give them - just for the sake of argument, we’re giving them that. That’s the center of this message - that Jesus is alive today. We don’t serve a Buddha. We don’t serve Krishna. We don’t serve Allah. We’re not interested in Mohammed or any of the other man-originated religions, but the simplicity of this man who came declaring that He was the Son of God, and it confirmed, by the power that He demonstrated, the life that He lived, and the fact that He is alive today and ever lives to make intercession for us. It’s a unique message; isn’t it? There’s no other like it.

Let’s go back to Chapter 2 of Acts. We talked this morning about the general mandate that was given to us, to go into all the world and preach this Gospel. It’s to be preached to every creature, to all nations. We saw that there was to be a teaching of the nations concerning this message that Jesus brought, a teaching that would make disciples and remind them of all the things that Jesus said and the necessity to obey. We saw that it was a Gospel of repentance, and we saw that it was a Gospel of power, one that was to have signs and wonders that followed it. After Jesus’ ascension and, of course, the disciples being told to go to Jerusalem and tarry and to wait for the promise from on high, told that they were to be bold witnesses to Him, watched Him ascend. What a time that would have been; amen? Think about that. How many of you think that, that would help your boldness factor a little bit, if you could have watched Jesus actually taken up in your midst and ascend into the clouds? We’d say, Yeah, that would have done it. No, it wouldn’t have. We have a more sure word; amen? Thank God for the signs and wonders. Thank God for the visitations. Thank God for the dreams and the visions and whatever else it is that we get to experience by God’s mercy and grace, but the power that you and I experience comes from our absolute trust of this more sure word of prophecy, this Word of God that each of us holds in our hands. We don’t look for an outside confirmation of the Word. The outside visitations have to be confirmed by the Word. Amen? As we pray, and let’s believe and ask God for power and for visitation and understanding of the presence of God in our lives, but let’s remember what our foundation is - this Gospel that we have that declared, prior to the event, these things concerning the ministry of Jesus.

In Acts Chapter 2 now, we find them being obedient, going and waiting for the promise. The promise manifests itself. Chapter 2 says, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." What do you think that one accord was all about? The fact that they were in one accord was that they were waiting for the promise. They all purposed to believe that there was going to be a visitation of God’s presence if they would tarry, if they would wait, if they would obey what Jesus told them to do: Go wait for the promise. One accord. The one accord was they all believed what Jesus said. We’re a people here this evening, and we have to determine whether we’re in one accord with what the Spirit of God’s saying to the church today concerning our representation of His lordship. Do we believe, in fact, that we are a generation that is responsible to reach possibly the last generation that will ever draw breath on this planet before the judgment of God?

To watch the secular intellects mock the judgment of God was a very interesting thing this afternoon. It strikes you in two different ways. It, first of all, really creates a compassion and a pity for their ignorance, and also a real dislike for their arrogance and their vaunting themselves against the knowledge of God. It makes you appreciate the judgment that God is going to manifest, himself, some day real soon; and every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

Here they are in one accord waiting for the promise. They didn’t know exactly what this day was going to bring them. They just knew that Jesus had spoken to them and said that they would be visited with power. The day of Pentecost manifests itself, the appearance of the Holy Spirit evidenced by these external evidences, "…a rushing mighty wind…" verse 2 says, "…cloven tongues like as of fire…" verse 3 says, that it came upon each of them. "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." They were all filled, and they all spoke. Now, we’re not going to get off on the initial evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Do your own study; I’ve done mine. I’ve studied it with as unbiased an approach¾ with an objectivity¾ for thirty years and am convinced, regardless of the fact that some would waiver, that there is an initial physical evidence that accompanies the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and that is speaking with other tongues. It may not be an exclusive initial physical evidence. There may be other initial physical evidences, but it is always accompanying by speaking in tongues. Why would this be? I believe it’s the whole purpose of this empowering, and that’s to make us bold witnesses. He that speaks in an unknown tongue, speaks not unto men but unto God, the Scripture says. With that comes an edification or a building up of our spirit man. This tells me for you and I to be a bold witness, we have to be refreshed in the Spirit. If our witness is going to be effective, it’s got to be spiritual ministry, not just something that we’ve known for so many years, and we can tell them the same passages from Romans that we’ve spoke to everybody else. It has to be a living stream of water flowing from our innermost being. I believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that refreshing, the Bible says, praying in the Spirit. That is the refreshing of God that causes us to be able to be bold witnesses of the Kingdom and representatives of the bride of Christ.

Some of you here this evening has been believers for a good period of time and have never really been filled with the Holy Spirit. You need to begin to believe right now that God would manifest the Spirit into your life tonight before we leave, and that there would be a desire to be filled with the presence and the power of God, to make you a more productive witness for the Kingdom of God. Begin to pray now, and expect God to visit you, as hands are laid upon you tonight, or even as Peter spoke, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. You might be filled with the Spirit while we’re speaking. These are some of the things that God has for us as the representatives of His church. This is the mission that we’ve been all ordained to accomplish.

It says as they were filled, verse 4, they begin to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance. Here’s the infilling, the empowering, of the Holy Spirit. We know the story, how this causes great upheaval within the city, and people are wondering what in the world is going on. It says in verse 7, "And they were all amazed and marvelled saying to one another, Behold, are not all of these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue…" We go down and he lists the Parthians, Medes, and all of the others that are referred to. They were amazed, verse 12 says, and were in doubt saying to one another, What meaneth this? Friend of mine, Carl Brumbock, wrote a great book What Meaneth This? - the title - on the history of the Assemblies of God. It was a question that was being asked at that particular time. Others mocked and said these guys are drunk. "But Peter, standing up with the eleven [who were filled] lifted up his voice [verse 14 says] and said unto them, [You need to listen to what I have to say,] For these [men] are not drunken...But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel…" He shows it as the interpretation of that prophesy.

Lot of people would tell us that there’s a latter rain ministry, and in this latter rain that, that is the fulfillment of Joel’s prophesy. Some say the latter rain began back in the early nineteen hundreds, and some talk about the Kansas City visitation, and others Azusa Street. Beloved, the fulfillment of Joel’s prophesy was on the day of Pentecost. It’s not a twentieth century phenomenon. The twentieth century phenomenon in America is just the continuation of the church and God’s visitation and this refreshing for our nation.

In the midst of this ministry in Jerusalem, Peter speaking in this boldness, tells them that this is that fulfillment and what the purpose of it is all about. Look at verse 21. He said, You need to understand. This is what’s so cool about prophesy. Notice that Joel’s prophesy goes on and talks about the sun turned to darkness, the moon to blood before that great notable day of the Lord. How many of you know that didn’t happen on that day? Prophesy’s so neat because what we see here with the introduction of the church and this age that we’re in, this has been an ongoing thing for two thousand years. Joel’s prophesy is being fulfilled and expressed through the church and waiting for, Matthew 24, the judgments that are going to come, that will bring about the actual time and space manifestation and fulfillment of all of these prophetic utterances.

Don’t try to lock God into any interpretations of Scripture that are limited by time, space, perception. People get into trouble by wanting to always apply these prophesies to just their generation. We do become guilty of looking and trying to find something. God has appointed the time. No man knows the day or the hour; but we’re in the age. Here we are looking around and discerning the times, and the one thing we do know is this: that we’re two thousand years closer than they were on this day of Pentecost. We do know that in this progressiveness, the fact that we are two thousand years into this, that iniquity is abounding. Oh, it’s always been manifest. The great atrocities of your Neros and your Hitlers, man’s inhumanity¾ or a better way of saying it, the fulfillment of depravity in our midst - the Idi Amins and the Maos. We’re living in a day when people think that God’s winking at these travesties, and they’re forgetting His justice.

He says, Israel, listen to me - verse 22 - I don’t want to get off course here - this is a the fulfillment of Joel’s prophesy, and you, if anyone, should understand it; but you don’t want to retain God in your knowledge. "Ye men of Israel , hear these words [Hear what I have to say to you, verse 22], Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs..." Now, I want you to see this. The Jews asked for something. What is it? A sign. And the Greeks what? Wisdom, knowledge. He said, There’s not any sign that’s going to be given you but that of the prophet Jonah. There’s only one sign you’re going to get, and that’s the fact that Jesus entered in to the bowels of the earth as Jonah did into the great fish. After three days, God’s going to raise Him again. He was approved in your midst. He did things that nobody else has ever done, healing those that were born blind, those that were born lame. He raised the dead. You’ve never seen it on this wise. They continually marveled at His power. He said, Here’s a man in your midst. You can’t deny it, and you know, there was not a denial of the miracles, anymore that there was denial of the great miracle that was manifest through Peter there on the lame man at Beautiful. They said, We can’t deny that a notable miracle’s been done. Let’s just beat them up and tell them not speak in His name anymore.

History cannot erase the effect that Jesus had in those short thirty-three years, in just His earthly ministry of signs and wonders. The evidence is irrefutable, but it’s not the sign. Peter said He was noted; He was note-worthy because of these things in your midst. He was solicited by heads of state to put on a demonstration; and yet He remained dumb in their midst; didn’t He? He wouldn’t cast His pearls before swine. Don’t you know that we have the power to kill you? He said, You don’t have any power but what’s given you of my Father. Are you a king? I’m a king, but my kingdom’s not of this world. We need to understand, then, that Jesus’ ministry was not one that was in obscurity. It was a ministry that was separate, not obscure. It manifested enough that all who needed to know knew why He had been sent and what His ability was in representing the throne of God. When Jesus would tell His disciples, don’t tell anybody what you saw. I think it’s very interesting. What usually happened after He said that? They would see something so cool, and He’d say, Don’t tell anybody what you saw, and then what would happen? We can’t help but speak what we’ve seen and heard. Today we’re trying to tell people, Get out and share Jesus, get out and share Jesus. You want to know why we have to do that? Because people aren’t seeing anything. People aren’t having personal visitations of God. People are not aware of the reality of His resurrected power in their own lives. They’re not excited about the change that’s occurring in their perspective, in their expectation, their hope of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus - not aware of life from the eternal perspective instead of the temporal. When you hang out with Jesus, you’re excited and have something to say.

The Scripture goes on and makes it clear to us that, as Peter’s boldly declaring this, as He said, He was approved of God in your midst, and "God did [these things] by him [verse 22 says] in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know. [And He was] …delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, [and you’ve taken Him] … and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." The one thing that I want you to see tonight as we’re understanding the mission that we’ve been called to: beloved, we always have to get back to the resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus is not raised from the dead, we of all men are most miserable. Amen? What a bunch of dummies we are. If Jesus isn’t raised from the dead - you know, I’ve heard people say, You know, well, whether there’s a heaven or not, and whether this is real or not, I’m so thankful that I live this kind of a life of peace and joy and whatever else. Not me. I want to tell you, man, I’m not stupid. I know what the laws of the jungle can produce. If Jesus isn’t alive, there would be a lot more people dead. I know what my flesh would do. I know what kind of person I am. I know that nothing would be withheld from me that I wanted to partake of. You say, "Well, I’m just not that way." I know; you would be a victim.

You have to understand that this reality of Jesus’ resurrection, the reality of regeneration, that a man’s wicked heart as wicked as that that I’m sharing with you can be changed, and that the appetites are supernaturally infused into us¾ an appetite for peace and love and the presence of God that isn’t there in unregenerated man. Oh, beloved, the resurrection is what Christianity rises or falls upon. If anybody can prove that Jesus is not risen, then Christianity is dead. Christianity has nothing to do with morality, with philosophy. It has to do with the reality of the person of the living God having expressed Himself in the flesh miraculously by virgin birth, lived a sinless life, died for us, so that we could vicariously assume his righteousness. Oh, beloved, and the destroying and the death of death through His resurrection.

When we’re out talking about Jesus, are we ever going to intellectually convince anybody that He’s risen? Read some good books on it. If you want one that you can - that really deals with all of the arguments from a strong intellectual scholarly perspective, and yet, very readable, you need to read Hal Lindsey, not Hal Lindsey - he was just on that program today - Josh McDowell’s book on The Resurrection Factor - tremendous book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, More Evidence. Yet, as it - as an apologist’s perspective, that’s not what’s going to convince anybody. That just edifies you. That just confirms what you know already to be truth by the Holy Spirit. Don’t think that you can bring those arguments and convince somebody. The knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection is the gift of grace to us. Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, Peter, but my Father. Yet, we present this Gospel, that to the natural mind is so ludicrous mind; the natural mind can’t comprehend it, but when you see somebody beginning to respond to the Gospel, you know something supernatural’s going. You’re not winning an argument. You’re being used as an instrument of God to infuse truth. How shall they hear without a preacher? Paul says.

This Gospel has its power when it’s upon the lips of a believer who speaks in appreciation of having partaken of this free gift. All I know is once I was blind, and now I see; praise God. Will you worship Him also; will you believe? It’s that simple. We’re called to go out and share the good things that God’s done for us, and how we believe that because He’s risen, we’ll be raised also. I Corinthians 15 becomes a reality to you. God’s raised Him, and verse 24 says, having loosed the pangs of death. You go down into verse 27, and he goes on, and he says, The prophesy concerning Him declares that "Because thou [He] wilt not leave my [His] soul in Hell, neither wilt thou [He] suffer thine [His] Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance." He talks about the necessity of the presence of God. Not only the expectation of Jesus in this resurrection, but in that, that is transferred into our hearts through that resurrection power, that same confidence that because He lives, we’re going to live also.

Verse 27 goes on and expresses itself clear down verse 33, and I want you to see 31 through 33 as an emphasis. It says, He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ. He’s continuing with the prophetic declaration of the resurrection of Christ. He said, "He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus, [verse 32] hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses." Very interesting thing; isn’t it? You remember I shared the other day, Look at all of the millions of people who have put their eternal souls on the line because a tax collector and a few fishermen saw Jesus after He was raised from the dead. You ever thought about it? You ever spent much time wandering who these witnesses were, how credible they really were? How viable is this eyewitness report?

Again, I don’t have time to go into it now. Read Josh Mc’Dowell’s book; it will encourage you in the confidence that we can have. His resurrection was not only upon the original foundation of the apostles and prophets, but five-hundred at one time seeing Him, the Scripture tells us. Five-hundred eyewitnesses. Now we’re beginning to build this thing a little bit. Not only the fact that they saw Him, but now they’re willing to suffer persecution for His name’s sake. This thing isn’t a hoax. People are willing to die and suffer. Now, we know people will die and suffer for a lie, but we’re beginning to build evidence - aren’t we? - of two or three witnesses. Not only their eyewitness, but the witness of them willing to die. If you and I get together, we’re going to perpetrate some kind of a hoax, we’ve got to understand, are we willing to suffer for this? Are we going to die for it? How bad do we want to fool these people? For the sake of argument, we’ll give the skeptics a little bit of that. How are they going to explain what happened in you two-thousand years later? Are these just philosophical changes that have been made, or are we a new creation? I’m presenting all of these questions to come down to the bottom line of this - it doesn’t have to be proved to anybody. We know in whom we believed, and we are persuaded - amen? - that what He’s promised and what we’ve committed unto Him, we will experience in that day.

This Gospel then that you and I are declaring isn’t one that has to bring with it persuasion, but it’s one that has to be shared in conviction. That was a long way getting there, wasn’t it? We don’t have to persuade anybody, but you have to be convinced in what you’re sharing. Do you believe? Is there evidence in your life of a hope? Is there evidence in your life of a transformation? Is there a willingness? You’re going to see that part of this mission of the church - you want to know what part of our mission is? It was shared very clearly with Paul. Part of our mission is to suffer for his name’s sake. There’s going to be persecution. There’s going to be affliction that’s going to come upon us. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers us out of them all. You’re going to see that one of the greatest things that was embraced by the disciples is that they were counted worthy to suffer for his name’s sake, amen? That’s part of the mission of the church. You’ll see it as we go on. There won’t be any suffering if there’s a diluted Gospel. Watch what goes on. We’re not only talking now about the fact that Jesus died and was raised again, "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear." This is what it’s all about. This is the expression of the resurrected Jesus. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. He always makes it personal, doesn’t He? The message always gets personal. Jesus died for your sin;. now what are you going to do with it? Who do you say that He is? The fact of the matter is, your sin crucified Him. You are without hope in this world. Your only hope is the finished work of Jesus Christ. Now, who do you say that He is? That begins to be the message that we’re carrying.

Acts 4 makes it very clear. You look over at Acts 4, and you remember the healing that took place in Chapter 3 of the lame man and the excitement that was going on in the temple site, and they said we got to do something about this; we’ve got to keep these people silent. Chapter 4, then, begins to be the first revealed persecution of the church. They sat them down to interview them, in verse 7, and they said, "...By what power, or by what name, have you done this [thing]? Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost... How many of you think Peter’s real happy for Pentecost? This is Peter, the guy that was chased around by little girls. Now he’s before the heads of state. People that can kill him, and he has no regard for his own personal reputation or safety because he’s filled with the Spirit. Your perspective will change when you’re filled with the Spirit. The things that hold you in power now,¾ the cares, the fears, the doubts, the intellectual arguments¾ all vanish when you’re truly filled with the Holy Spirit. Their power is broken over you.

It says that he, then, filled with the Spirit, filled with the Holy Ghost said, "Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day are examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; [we want you to know,] Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders [- Psalms 118, the prophesy concerning that] which is [He that’s] become the head of the corner. [You need to understand something, verse 12,] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Pretty bold declaration here in their midst. You killed Him; God raised Him from the dead. You’re guilty. God wants to deliver you, but there’s no other means. Those of you that stand now in this position of power, rulers of the Sanhedrin, those who dictate the great sacrifices, the feast days, those that are in charge of the brazen altar, those of you who understand clearly what the great lamps of the holy place and the incense and the shewbread is all about, that’s not the access to God. There’s only one name given by which you can be saved. It smites their hearts because their religion has to die.

I don’t believe it was their belief system that they were holding so precious. It was the benefits of it. This isn’t the common man. These are the elite. These are the guys who lose their power when they have to change what they profess to believe. These are the ones that run the seminaries and the universities and all of the research centers. These are the ones who oversee the great god of science, who in bowing their knees have to accept the revelation of Scripture as absolute truth and deny their limited perspective. The scientists, who with tongue in cheek, approach the Biblical declaration of creation and mock it, and yet have no answers themselves. The greatest scientists know that there is an affect called gravity, but don’t know what the source is, and we do. They think we’re stupid. The Scripture says in Colossians, By Him are all things held together; amen? That’s what gravity is. That’s what’s holding it all together. He’s the power of God. I can answer the question whether there’s water on the moon or not. The Bible tells us that. I don’t know if there’s enough to sustain life up there, but I know it got rained on. Scripture talks about it.

This is the God that we serve, and this is the power that we oppose. You see, the moment they begin to agree with this book, their secular god, their humanism, has to bow. The defense of Darwinism is insane, and they hold to it because of the power that it wields over the masses. So, when you go out and preach this Gospel, it’s not just an individual deciding whether he wants to make Jesus Lord or not; it’s individuals deciding whether they want to bring down all of the institutions that are reverenced by the masses. There’s a lot at stake when we’re sharing this Gospel. In the first century, it would cost men their inheritance, their lives. To be baptized in the name of Jesus in a Jewish family meant excommunication, didn’t it? Today all the heathens want to come and watch you be sprinkled. Oh, isn’t this great? Oh, look at their little white dress - squirt, squirt. We have Christmas plays, and the Pagans come to watch your little children portray the virgin birth, mocking Jesus in their daily lives and, yet, no consequence to those of us that believe. What’s caused this palatable embracing of Christianity by the world? It’s because they haven’t heard the true Gospel. It hasn’t been represented to them in the way that Peter brought it here, that causes people to want to rise up and kill you. It’s because we leave people comfortable without the guilt of the fact that they’re the ones that crucified Jesus, that you’re the enemy of God. If you reject Him, you’re His enemy. You’re either for Him or you’re against Him, you love Him or you hate Him. There is no neutral ground here. Our mission, beloved, is not to go win friends and influence people. It’s to bring a message that has the power, when embraced, to destroy the power of the gates of Hell and loose its captives. There is salvation in no other name, but there’s no other name under Heaven whereby men must be saved.

Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, perceiving they unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled, and they took knowledge of them, and they took knowledge of them that they had been to Harvard, that they had been to Dallas Theological Seminary, that they attended Calvary Temple. You know, the people that have attended this fellowship over the years, leaving in rebellion many of them, go into other assemblies and walk in as giants of the faith because of their knowledge? Knowledge puffs up.

Do you know that in times past that people in our congregation here, like when the radio stations used to have contests, they asked us not to call because we won everything? Did you know that? The Christian programs they’d have, you know, whoever can answer this question, you win a tape, or you win tickets to the concert, whatever; and we always won everything. The people here have a knowledge of God.

That’s not what this said. It said that they noted that they’d been with Jesus. I like that phrase. Their lives had been influenced by Jesus. They, beloved, were demonstrated in absolute dependence. They were speaking these words as men that knew, experientially, the resurrected power of Christ, who were themselves new creatures. It says they beheld the miracle, the man’s hand; they couldn’t say anything. Then the Scripture goes on, and you turn over to verse 16. Look at it. "Saying what shall we do to these men?" We can’t deny a notable miracle’s been done. "…for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done..." verse 16 tells us. What are we going to do? "...let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. [Let’s threaten them that they don’t speak in this name anymore, verse 17] And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. Ah, now we’re learning something. If what they don’t want us to do is speak about or teach the name of Jesus, then what should we be doing? - speaking about and teaching the name of Jesus. That’s what causes problems with these folks. We don’t do it to upset them. That’s not the motive. "Oh, eternal being of great benevolence…" .How many of you know you can get away with that in public? "Lord Jesus" makes people uncomfortable. "Eternal being of benevolence and mercy and grace and kindness, lover of all souls, offensive to none, we implore thee..." People don’t mind that kind of praying. "Father, we come in the name of Jesus, and we ask that you’d deliver these people from the power of sin and the lordship of Satan in their lives, and, Father, we thank you that the resurrection power of Jesus Christ is present to destroy sin, to bring into captivity the powers of darkness. We thank you, Jesus, for your love and your great power, your death, your resurrection. We thank you that there is power in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all of our…" People are getting uncomfortable because we’re talking about things like "devil" and "sin" and "blood" and "Jesus".

It’s a message that people are not comfortable with, and as Peter’s speaking here, look down if you would at verse 19. It says that having been commanded not to teach in His name, "But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." I want to emphasize it again, beloved, you will not be an effective witness if you don’t have an experience of God’s presence in your life. When is the last time you encountered the power and the presence of God that brought about transformation in you, in character and resolve? When you’re in his presence, you change. Every time you come into his presence, you’re not the same when you leave. It’s exciting to be able to go out and tell people what’s happening and the embracing of this sanctifying effect in our lives. The more you become sanctified, the greater expectation of being glorified. Sanctification is just a little taste of glorification. Thank God that at our greatest moment of sanctification, when you’ve embraced God and known Him most intimately, power, assurance can’t even be compared to the eternal state of our glorification. Take that and multiply it to infinity, and you haven’t even started to realize the benefits of glorification. The hope of glorification gets people excited, man. When you understand, I’m going to see Him; I’m going to be like Him. I will ever be with Him; praise God, and to reject Him will be eternal damnation, torment.

You know, the people that struggle with Hell, you know, and we’ve shared this before, but people say, "Well, I don’t know if I really believe that Hell is literal and that there will be literal fire there." Well, the fire may not be literal, but it will be real. It’ll be real in some realm in the spirit realm, and the one thing we know is this - that though it may not be literal in its reality, it will be greater than the literal in its torment, in its pain, and in the fact that it cannot be quenched. No one need go there. What are we doing to prevent it?

You can’t make anybody believe, and we’re not going to be able to do it by persuasion. What are we doing? What we should be doing is preparing ourselves as living epistles. Our expectation of God’s deliverance, our appreciation and joy and peace is what should be provoking them to jealousy. You see, that’s what caused¾ the embracing of this message is what caused the Jews to be provoked by the Gentiles. It was intended for the Jew first. They rejected it. Now, among the Gentiles there’s a remnant that have embraced it. We don’t, in arrogance, flaunt our sonship and our deliverance from sin’s power. We, in compassion, declare to them, "Man, we know, man, what you’re dealing with because we were there, but God’s not willing that any should perish. Here’s the message," and you share with them the simplistic message that we’ve been sharing with you this morning of God’s free gift. That Gospel, beloved, has the power to bring illumination. If they reject it, then they deserve Hell.

It doesn’t mean that we’re callused and not moved with compassion. It doesn’t mean that we’re not going to share with them again, but there can be no persuasion. This is the one thing I want to get across to us here: We’re not going to argue people into the Kingdom. The power is in the Gospel, the message. Who do you say? Well, today I say, He’s a prophet. Tomorrow I say He’s a good teacher and a good man. Today I’m in a bad mood, I think He’s a hoax. Tomorrow, don’t bug me, man, I don’t even want to talk about it and Boom! the light goes on, and we bow our knee, and in humility repent and acknowledge our sin and His lordship and rise a new creature. It was all the same message every time. Nobody can come that’s not drawn by Father. We don’t persuade; we just continue to share. "Who do you say Jesus is today?" "Don’t bug me." "Okay, you know, just thought I’d ask." and go down the road. Leave the garbage man alone; get the mailman and just freely share what we’ve freely received. Let me end with this for tonight.

Over to verses 21 and 23 - we can’t help but speak these things, "So when they had threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them…And being let go, they went [verse 23 says, and joined] to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God..." - declared His lordship. They prayed that God would manifest in their lives a boldness - look at verse 29. You want something to pray about? Lord, the world hates us; they’re threatening us "...grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, [and confirm it with signs following.] By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus [- and a people with an appetite to reach the lost experienced a visitation of God.] And when they had prayed, the place was shaken...they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness."

We as a people, beloved, need to pray and believe God to manifest in our midst this holy boldness. We need to understand the consequences to this kind of a boldness, and it’s going to be threatenings and persecutions and rejection. Verse 32 says, "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own...[and then, verse 33,] And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." You’ll never know greater grace than when you’re boldly declaring this Gospel message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You’ll never know a greater grace than when you’ve put yourself on the line to declare this to a threatening society because they need to be free. What they want for us is death. They want our rights removed. They want us to be silenced, and we want them to be free.

Father, grant it in our midst that signs and wonders would be done in the name of the holy child Jesus. Behold their threatenings, Lord, the society in which we live, those who are wanting to take away our rights to declare this Gospel because of their ignorance, because of their hatred of yours, and Father we ask you to behold their threatening and grant to us a people, Lord, a small segment of your church, a boldness to speak with conviction that we’ve never spoken with before, to know an anointing that we’ve never embraced before, to have a love for the lost that supersedes anything that we’ve ever experienced, that your great grace might come upon us. Help us to hunger and thirst for this visitation of your Spirit.

On the day of Pentecost they tarried, they waited, for many days. We don’t have to tarry any longer, but we do have to desire and hunger. There has to be a longing for this impartation of your power and presence that we could be bold witnesses. Jesus, our lives have lacked in the area of representing you, whether it be to family members, friends, coworkers, either fearful or just complacent and caught up with the cares of life, but we ask you to give us a fresh hunger for souls, a new perspective of the lost. Open our eyes to see the fields white, a remnant to be saved, a people to be observed, that they’ll say, "We believe God’s raised Jesus because of the one accord, the zeal, the dependence upon Jesus’ lordship, and the love that you have for one another. That’s not normal." It’s our heart’s cry. Grant it, Father, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As the brethren come, and Gary plays, we’re going to take some time at the Lord’s table. As we do, I want those of you who have never been filled with the Holy Spirit to begin to seek the Lord, and ask Him, "Father, I’m asking you to empower me tonight. I’m asking you to fill me with your Spirit tonight." John said, There’s one coming after me who’s greater than I am, and He’s going to baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Jesus is that baptizer. All you have to do is ask Him tonight to fill you with the Spirit, to make you a bold witness of his resurrection. The question asked (Acts 19:2), Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? We didn’t even know there was a Holy Ghost was the response. They laid hands on them, and they received. While Peter yet spoke, the Holy Spirit came upon them. In his testimony in Jerusalem, he said just like us, on the day of Pentecost. When you acknowledge the blood and the broken body of Jesus tonight, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be filled with the Holy Spirit.

As the Holy Spirit wells up inside of you as rivers of living water, the Scripture says, and they spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance. By faith, you just begin to speak; it doesn’t happen that the Spirit moves your mouth. You move your mouth; the Holy Spirit brings the words, but it has to be - not the mimicking of sounds. You’ll be conscious of whether you’re intellectually maneuvering your lips and mimicking sounds or whether there’s a flow of the Spirit from your innermost being. You’ll know the difference. It comes out of your being. It’s not out of your head. It’s out of your heart. That’s why you can pray in the Spirit when you’re driving down the road and still watch the traffic lights and be at communion with God and be conscious of everything that’s going on around you. That’s why you can pray without ceasing as the Spirit prays for us and through us, with groanings which cannot be uttered. We pray for the purpose of preparation. We pray to be like Him, to be empowered to represent Him.

Those of you who may have been filled with the Holy Spirit at one time, let me encourage you to be refilled, as they were in the fourth chapter. Let me encourage, you if you’ve lost this boldness and this excitement then maybe you’ve lost sight of the things that you’ve seen and heard, and there needs to be a refreshing, the stirring up of the gifts that are in us. It’s a reality. When’s the last time you cast a devil out of somebody or laid hands on the sick and seen them recover? Maybe there needs to be a refreshing. You see, it’s the mission of the church; it’s why we’re here.

As we take these emblems into our hands tonight, we say, "Lord, we acknowledge the finished work. We have no hope outside of you for our being. We acknowledge the promises of God in effect, and that we’ve become the recipients of everything that pertains to life and godliness." But if we’re going to eat these emblems tonight in faith, then let’s also recognize the responsibility we have of representing that that we say we believe. As the brethren serve, just hold these emblems, and we’ll partake together. Let’s sing this. Oh, thank you, Jesus. Oh, thank you, Jesus, for your mercy. Oh, we magnify you, Father, that we would declare the goodness. As Gary continues to play, just begin to pray now, and begin to allow the Lord to stir up that Spirit in you, and to fill you again with his power and his presence, that there would be an expectation, that you would speak boldly in the name of the holy child Jesus, words that would be irresistible, that Hell’s gates would burst open and captives freed because of the anointing, because of the presence.

As you begin to pray, even now in the Spirit, those of you who have been filled, those of you who are seeking tonight, just begin to ask Him, Father, Fill me, Jesus, fill me with your Spirit, and empower me, Lord, to represent you more effectively. Lord, I want to serve you in the power of your might. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Oh, Jesus, that we would bring forth glory to your name. Lord, that your Spirit would manifest in our lives, that power would evidence itself in the name of the holy child Jesus. Lord, that our lives would be examples of your resurrection power. Oh, Jesus. Jesus, when we don’t know how to pray as we ought, your Spirit prays through us, with groanings which cannot be uttered. Lord, we stand in need tonight of edification. Lord, there isn’t a sufficiency here. We need you, Lord. Lord, we’ve used up the reserves. We need to be refreshed. We need the filling, Lord, of renewal. This is the refreshing - praying in the Spirit. Are you weary, beloved? Are you weary? Has the walk become traditional? Has it become intellectual? Has it become habitual and not inspired? Are you excited in the mornings about Jesus and the opportunity to represent Him? Oh, Lord, refresh us in it. Father, refresh us in the great mission, as missionaries, the ambassadors of Christ. Lord, we live in a society that’s so hectic and so demanding of all of our time and energy.

Ronnie said that one of the things that stood out to him coming back after six months in Africa, is how insane our pace is. It’s not what God intended for us, beloved; and it’ll rob you of the eternal. The world system has its own values and its own methods, and we’ve got to say, "Enough. I will not be robbed of my time in His presence. I will not be robbed of the priority of representing the Kingdom of God. For me to live is Christ. The whole duty of man is to love God and keep His commandments. It won’t be taken. No man is going to steal my crown." Now, Father, how can we boldly share this if we’re exhausted in the cares of the temporal, if we’ve not been refreshed in the Spirit? Make it real, Father.

As we hold this bread and this cup, we say thank you, Jesus. Lord, this hour that we live in, this day of apostasy, the spirit of lawlessness that’s draining humanity, is vexing our spirit. We need to be refreshed. It has an effect, but greater is He that’s in us. We acknowledge the victory through this blood, and we acknowledge the finished work through this bread, that broken body. Lord, as we partake tonight with thanksgiving, we acknowledge the body broken that we might be healed. The body broken that this body might be the temple of the Holy Ghost. The body broken that we might yield these members as instruments to righteousness. The broken body, our victory, in Jesus’ name. Let’s partake together.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Lord, we thank you for the refreshing. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Without the shedding of blood, no remission of sin. We bring about a Gospel of good news, of repentance and remission of sins. This blood shed, taken into the eternal holy of holies, poured out before God, innocent, holy, just, full of life and power, acceptable to God, the appeasement factor initiated, and God says, "The innocent has paid; I declare you innocent, not guilty, free from sin’s power because of the blood of Jesus."

If you’ll walk in the light as He is in the light, you’ll have communion with Him, and his blood will cleanse you from all sin. We partake tonight the cleansing, the refreshing, the renewing of that that we experienced in regeneration. Renew it. Renew the expectancy; renew the fervency; bring the refreshing by your blood in Jesus name. Amen. Let’s partake. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Beyond ourselves, Lord, let this blood that we acknowledge having finished the work, manifest itself in us. Grant to us, Lord, the visitation of your Spirit and the power of God, to be bold witnesses of your death and your resurrection, Lord; that that we’ve embraced tonight, that that we’ve recognized, that you having come in the flesh died and living is this message, Father - irrefutable in the spirit realm where lives are changed. Even the devils believe and tremble. Only in the temporal, secular, intellectual realm are these trues denied. The spirit realm knows, the devil fears and trembles. Equip us, Lord, with the power of your Spirit in Jesus name.

Take a minute now, and just begin to rejoice. Take a moment, and those of you who have never been filled, be filled in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Be filled with the Holy Ghost in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, and receive the refreshing. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Oh, don’t walk out of here tonight without the gift from on high. In the name of Jesus, receive the power to be a witness to Him like you’ve never been before. Those of you that are filled with the Spirit, be renewed; be refreshed; stir up the gift. Oh, Lord, cause your name to be glorified in our midst. Oh, Jesus, forgive us, Lord, for losing sight of the eternal. Oh, God, that we’ve been so caught up in all of the things that are mundane, the secular, the temporal. Lord, refresh us with an eternal perspective. Lord, those of us that have become anxious, those of us, Lord, that have become complacent, apathetic, Lord, stir your people. Those at this moment that are not in that condition, help us, Lord, to lift up the hands that are hanging down. Help us, Lord. We’ve been there in our own lives. Help us to encourage those that are around us. None us are up all the time, beloved. Come to grips with it tonight. Where are you?

Let me ask you - can we walk in this world and not be vexed? We need our feet cleansed. We need the refreshing of the foot washing. You cannot be unaffected. There’s times of refreshing and cleansing as we study the Word, and we’re washed by the water of the Word, as we fall on our faces nightly in prayer, in the mornings in our devotions, and we recognize the responsibility that’s upon us. We just say, Lord, help me to adequately represent you. Lord, these things in the secular, they’re not eternal. They’re not why I’m going to work today. I’m going to bring a message. Our vocation is Christian.

Oh, Jesus, to fall on the rock. Lord, a brokenness in spirit, a meekness that would cause us to inherit. Father, that we would not become confident in our past accomplishments. That’s not what our confidence is in. Our confidence is not in our longevity or in our knowledge. Our confidence is that in this very moment we sense you in our hearts, and your Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God. We stand confident of the greater one in us. As we face this very moment by your presence, we are victorious.

Where are we tonight, having just eaten this bread and partaken of this cup, in our own minds and hearts? What’s dominating our thoughts at this moment and our expectations tomorrow? Is it the overwhelming load on our desk? Is it the expectancy of closing that new deal? Is it the after Christmas sales, or is it the fact that we’ve set aside this time tonight and embraced your Spirit and have been refreshed and tomorrow’s going to be an opportunity to share that that we’ve freely received? Father, open doors of utterance for us in the name of Jesus, and help us to confidently stand in the power of your presence, in the strength of your joy, in the excitement of the blessed hope and the glorification of our being. Come, Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Before you go, turn to somebody and say, "We’re His witnesses, praise God." Amen. Go in peace. God’s love go with you.