Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200023S
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people. 01:09 Hello and a great big welcome to each and every one of you. 01:11 Praise the Lord. Welcome to 3ABN. 01:13 You know, we're talking about family worship, 01:15 and we're talking about family. 01:16 Praise God for that. 01:18 You know, we're gonna have a real exciting subject 01:20 and I believe one that you're going to enjoy. 01:22 So we don't want you to go anywhere. 01:24 We're going to be talking about primitive godliness. 01:27 Now what does it really mean 01:28 if you think about primitive godliness? 01:30 So I want you to be thinking about that. 01:31 And what is it? 01:33 Do we really need primitive godliness? 01:34 Do we want to go back there? 01:35 Do we want to find out from the Word of God, 01:37 what primitive godliness is all about? 01:39 Well, I do because I believe it's very necessary 01:41 for those of us 01:43 who are living in this hour of earths' history. 01:44 So again, we're glad you've joined us today. 01:47 Honey, I'm gonna ask you, 01:48 we've got a nice panel here with us today. 01:50 They're not really guests, our family, isn't that right? 01:52 That you might just introduce them to us. 01:54 Would you do that? 01:56 Okay. All right. 01:57 To my left, this is the first time 01:59 that Terry Gene has been with us. 02:00 Terry, Elder Terry Gene Shelton. 02:03 He is an elder, I said the older that he gets, 02:06 the older we become, it's kind of hurtful, 02:09 but at the same time... 02:10 So you're the elders, right? 02:12 Well, not ordained as, well, he was but not me. 02:15 Sure. 02:16 Of course, but anyway, Terry, it's such a blessing. 02:19 Terry is just, he can sing, he can preach, he can teach. 02:24 Tell us something about yourself, Terry, 02:26 what do you do? 02:28 Well, I for the past five years, 02:30 I work in a small hospital in this area 02:32 in the IT department, 02:34 and I'm an elder 02:36 at the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:38 and fill in wherever necessary, 02:40 wherever I'm asked to do so. 02:42 And I'm happy to be a part of the church family. 02:44 Amen. 02:46 And for years you were also lay pastor too, didn't you? 02:48 I served as a lay pastor 02:50 at the West Frankfort Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:52 for five years. 02:54 And that was interesting experience for me. 02:57 I loved every minute of it. 02:59 And at some point, we just felt like 03:01 it was time to do something a little different. 03:03 And so just serving as an elder for now. 03:06 Yes, amen. Amen. 03:07 And to my right is our brother in Christ, 03:10 Pastor John Dinzey. 03:12 Always a blessing to have you. 03:14 We were hoping to have your beautiful wife with you. 03:16 One of these days we're going to get her. 03:18 You know... That's very sweet. 03:19 We'll be both together. Yes, yes. 03:22 We love Tita. 03:23 You know, she is just such a blessing. 03:25 And I know she's been really busy 03:27 cooking for a lot of people here lately. 03:29 She is a fabulous cook. 03:31 Do a lot of things. Yes. 03:32 And, John, I'm almost afraid to ask what you do 03:34 because this could go on and on. 03:35 It could be our whole program if you told us what you do. 03:39 Well, the Lord has blessed me with the opportunity 03:42 to be the general manager 03:43 of the 3ABN Latino network for 3ABN. 03:47 And it's God doing great things, 03:51 reaching people. 03:52 And great transformations that God is doing. 03:56 Amen. 03:57 I know you have a lot of wonderful stories, 03:59 miracle stories about South America, 04:03 different places you have been 04:04 and how the Lord is just opening up, 04:06 His Spirit is working and moving and it's exciting. 04:09 I always get excited to hear your stories. 04:11 Amen. Praise the Lord. Anyway. 04:13 That's exciting. And who are you? 04:15 I am Chris Shelton, your wife. 04:17 Yes. All right. Yes. 04:19 Yeah, well, I've been introducing. 04:20 I'm Kenny Shelton, right, so husband and wife team. 04:23 It's good to do, we team up, 04:25 you know, to get this message out to the world. 04:27 And I'd like to say that we're just very excited 04:30 to be here with you again this Sabbath. 04:33 And I really appreciate 04:34 so many of you going on social media 04:36 and telling us how much you really enjoy 04:39 the family worships here at 3ABN. 04:41 It's a blessing to hear from you. 04:43 Amen. 04:44 Well, you know, we need to have prayer. 04:46 You know, can't study the Word of God without prayer. 04:47 And so, we're gonna invite you those who are at home, 04:50 you know, you can kneel if you want to, 04:51 you can close your eyes, you can pray, 04:53 but get with you some things down to write with 04:55 because I think we're gonna cover some things 04:57 that one might be new to you, 04:58 but it might just be a reminder, 05:00 but you want to make sure you put these things down. 05:02 So we always go to the Lord in prayer 05:04 and ask for the power of the Holy Spirit. 05:05 Honey, would you pray for us today? 05:07 Oh, absolutely. Let's bow our head. 05:09 Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we come to You humbly today, 05:13 asking that everything that is said, 05:15 everything that is written, 05:18 read and done and presented here today 05:21 will be by the unction of the Holy Spirit. 05:24 Father, You said many years ago, 05:26 we just need to show up. 05:27 Yes. 05:28 And as long as Your Spirit takes complete control 05:31 of our minds and heart, 05:32 people will not see us but they will hear and see You. 05:36 And that's what's important. 05:37 So, Father, we turn everything over to you right now, 05:40 we ask that You'll use these humble vessels 05:43 as Your vessels of honor, 05:45 that You will speak in and through us now 05:46 and that the people will hear spiritually, see spiritually, 05:50 which you would have them to hear and see. 05:52 Prepare us all for the days ahead. 05:54 We pray in Jesus' name. 05:57 Amen. Amen. 05:58 Praise the Lord. 05:59 In our outline, we have again, 06:01 primitive godliness is our subject. 06:03 And I think was mentioned just before we went on the air, 06:06 it's pretty heavy subject. 06:07 It's a real heavy subject, it deserves some time. 06:10 So it's not how fast we go with what we're learning 06:13 as we're studying and reading this passage of scripture so. 06:16 Well, I want you to take your Bible 06:18 and turn to Acts Chapter 2, just get ready 06:19 because we got a little reading we want to do here 06:22 that I believe that sets the stage 06:23 for what's going on here. 06:25 And it's pretty good, long paragraph, Honey, 06:27 but I'd like for you to start out by reading that. 06:28 Okay. 06:29 And when you get done, 06:31 Brother Terry is going to read a little bit 06:32 and then we're going to go over 06:33 and look at some passage of scripture. 06:35 And Brother John's gonna start that. 06:36 So we've kind of got it lined out here, 06:38 so just read, shall we? 06:39 Okay, absolutely. 06:41 It feels as if we're experiencing 06:43 a bit of the Dark Ages all over again. 06:46 It is difficult to discern truth from error 06:49 in nearly every facet of our lives. 06:52 Winds of strife are blowing from every direction 06:55 and being played out in our media outlets, 06:58 in our cities, our streets, 07:00 our homes and, brothers and sisters, 07:02 even in our churches, should we wear a mask or not? 07:06 Is there a COVID, cure for COVID-19 07:09 that the authorities are refusing to tell us 07:11 and to give us. 07:12 Who's right in the rhetoric 07:14 between the Democrats and the Republicans? 07:16 Which church is the true church, 07:19 represented by the woman clothed with the sun 07:22 and standing upon the moon 07:24 with a garland of 12 stars upon her head? 07:27 We read that in Revelation 12:1. 07:31 Which day is the Lord's Day? 07:33 Are the dead really dead? 07:35 Or has God called them home to glory 07:38 to be part of His angel chorus? 07:40 Is sprinkling water over a baby true baptism? 07:44 How do we know that we're living 07:46 in the last days of this world's history? 07:48 Are their loved ones who are lost, 07:51 continually burning in hell, 07:52 somewhere in the center of this earth? 07:55 There are many voices, brothers and sisters, 07:58 raise, shouting many different answers 08:01 to these questions that I just read. 08:03 But as a seeker of truth, there should... 08:08 Where should we search to find answers? 08:11 Is there really a moral absolute 08:15 that we may stake even our life upon? 08:18 What's happened to morality in our country as a whole? 08:22 And most importantly, 08:24 what's happened to morality in our churches? 08:28 Brother Terry? 08:29 Yeah, so you want me to continue here? 08:31 Yes, please. 08:32 Primitive godliness is our theme and topic 08:35 for this family worship. 08:37 The definition of primitive means relating to denoting 08:41 or preserving the character of an early age 08:45 in the historical development of something. 08:48 And thus, 08:49 since we're referencing primitive godliness, 08:52 it only makes sense that rather than understanding 08:55 what this phrase means 08:56 by examining our churches today, 08:58 it would be best that we go back in Scripture, 09:01 and see how God set up the church 09:04 and what it was like in its purest form. 09:07 And the only place we know to look 09:11 would be in the scriptures beginning in the upper room, 09:13 where we find Christ's disciples, 09:15 along with other believers, 09:17 awaiting and praying there for the promised comforter, 09:21 after Christ's ascension back to heaven 09:22 to be with His Father, 09:24 and to become our mediator and high priest. 09:27 Oh, you talk about exciting, isn't it? 09:29 That's getting exciting to think about 09:30 they were there in the upper room 09:31 waiting for something to take place. 09:33 And then therefore we transfer them 09:35 to Acts Chapter 2, 09:37 talking about primitive godliness, aren't we? 09:38 Well, they were waiting because they... 09:40 the one that they loved, 09:43 the Son of God that they believed in 09:46 had just gone back to heaven, but He had promised, 09:48 He said, "I got to go, because if I don't go, 09:52 I can't send you the comforter." 09:53 So they were waiting and praying. 09:55 It kind of reminds us of today 09:58 because are we not waiting 09:59 and praying for Christ's Second Coming, 10:02 you know, so here we're kind of finding 10:04 a correlation between Acts 2 10:06 and what we're going through now. 10:07 Yeah, well, John, how about, 10:09 maybe read the first three verses or so 10:10 and then talk about them a little bit. 10:12 And we can throw it around and see 10:13 what the Holy Spirit's giving you. 10:16 Acts 2:1, 10:17 "And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, 10:22 they were all with one accord in one place. 10:25 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, 10:28 as of a rushing mighty wind, 10:31 and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 10:35 And there appeared unto them 10:37 cloven tongues like as of fire, 10:40 and it one sat upon each of them." 10:42 Wow! 10:45 That's pretty powerful, isn't it? 10:46 That's pretty powerful. 10:48 Yeah. 10:50 Any comments you have what you read there so far? 10:51 Well, you know, this is a wonderful time 10:55 when they were in this upper room 11:00 and humbling themselves before God. 11:02 I believe this was one of the key 11:04 for the preparation for the Holy Spirit 11:06 to be poured upon them, 11:07 humbling themselves before God, confessing their sins. 11:10 And if there was any variance between them 11:13 making reconciliation. 11:16 You will remember that before Jesus was crucified, 11:20 they were arguing, 11:22 I'm going to be in the biggest seat, 11:23 I'm going to be in higher seat and back and forth. 11:27 And the experience of the crucifixion of Christ 11:29 had an impact upon them. 11:31 The resurrection, when they saw Him 11:33 had an impact upon them. 11:35 They began to see a better picture 11:38 of the purpose of Christ, 11:41 and connect the dots 11:42 to understand that He was the sacrifice 11:46 that made possible 11:48 cleansing from sin and salvation. 11:50 And now the promise of the Holy Spirit. 11:51 They humbled themselves. 11:53 And this is a key for us, to humble ourselves before God, 11:57 and repent of our sins 12:00 and give ourselves entirely to Him. 12:02 Basically, they emptied themselves of self. 12:05 Yes. Yes. 12:06 Yes. Yeah. 12:08 But you talked about beautiful point, 12:09 because again, how can the Spirit of God 12:11 be poured out upon people 12:13 who have not committed their life to Christ 12:15 trying to get, 12:16 you know, by the grace of God get rid of sin in their life. 12:19 And we realize this was the early rain. 12:20 We talk about the early and the latter rain. 12:23 But we're also told 12:24 that we can have glimpses of that. 12:26 And just a few years ago we were in Manila. 12:30 And we were in the conference president's office, 12:33 and we were praying diligently about the airways, 12:39 you know, 3ABN had been there for many years. 12:42 And there was some questions 12:44 about what needed to continue over there 12:46 and so on and so forth. 12:48 And we had a group, we had a couple other people, 12:51 and we were there doing evangelistic series 12:53 for a month in different churches. 12:55 And so, while we were there in his office, 12:58 we all knelt for prayer. 13:01 And with eyes closed, 13:03 and just humbly pouring out our hearts, 13:06 as to the direction 13:07 that God wanted this conference, 13:10 these people to go, 13:12 all of a sudden, we heard the door blow open. 13:18 We felt a wind come past us. 13:22 And all of us were just in awe like what happened, 13:25 I didn't open my eyes. 13:26 I don't know that anyone opened their eyes. 13:29 And as soon as we were done, we looked at Pastor Mannes, 13:33 I believe is his name. 13:35 He was the conference president at the time. 13:38 And we said, 13:39 "Do you think your secretary opened the door." 13:41 But when you go out, 13:42 even if you open there's not any wind, 13:45 it's not outside, it's just her office. 13:48 And so, she hadn't opened the door. 13:51 It was the Holy Spirit that came 13:53 and many prayers were answered that day. 13:55 We didn't know about it till later. 13:56 But you know, God is like a mush, 13:59 rushing mighty wind. 14:01 And that, you know, cloven tongues of fire 14:04 which sat upon them just signifying 14:07 that the Holy Spirit is anointing 14:08 each and every one. 14:10 It's powerful, 14:11 because we want to have an anointment. 14:13 We want to be anointed by the power of God. 14:16 And just exactly like you said, 14:18 we need to humble ourselves 14:20 and to be searching our own minds 14:23 and our own thoughts 14:26 to see if there be any wicked way in us 14:29 that we need to cleanse and repent. 14:32 You know what these disciples of Jesus experienced was really 14:36 what he had prayed for in John 17. 14:38 Remember when he said, I looked it up here. " 14:40 I do not pray for these alone, 14:41 but also for those who will believe in Me 14:43 through their word, 14:45 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, 14:49 and I in You." 14:51 That He wanted, 14:52 Jesus wanted His followers to be one, 14:54 and if you look 14:56 at the so-called Christian Church 14:58 on planet earth today, 14:59 we are so divided in so many different areas 15:02 and even within our own movement, 15:04 the Seventh-day Adventist people, 15:06 really there are factions and things 15:09 and whatever and we ask ourselves, 15:11 why don't we see the Spirit of God moving 15:12 more upon the people of God. 15:15 And we're saying, because we're not one, 15:17 we're not unified in the way that God wants us to be, 15:20 so that He can pour out His Spirit 15:21 in a greater measure. 15:23 And, you know, it's not to bring 15:25 honor and glory to any one of us, 15:27 it's to glorify Him 15:28 that He wishes to pour His Spirit upon us, 15:31 so that we may do things in His name and for His glory. 15:34 Amen. 15:35 You know, he just did a sermon for 3ABN, 15:37 The Worship Hour, 15:38 and some of the texts that I was typing up for him 15:41 and this is and other references, 15:46 some from Spirit of Prophecy. 15:48 She makes it very clear 15:49 had we lived fully 15:52 the Reformation that God had given us 15:54 and how the Bible is written for us, 15:57 we would still have that primitive godliness. 15:59 We would still see 16:01 more miracles happening in our church. 16:03 So you know, God is given this church reformed movements 16:08 for a purpose, 16:10 because he knows that we need to be reformed. 16:12 My step dad always said, 16:14 and some of you may remember, I've said it before. 16:16 He said, "If we don't give up the dross now, 16:19 it will be burned off of us." 16:21 And so we have to go back, we need to study, 16:24 you know, so many people right now, 16:26 they're throwing the scriptures out. 16:27 I asked a question earlier, 16:29 is there any moral absolute 16:30 that we can stake our life upon? 16:32 And we believe that that is the Word of God. 16:35 I don't think anyone of us here would disagree with that. 16:38 But many people have, 16:40 because this nation has gone another way. 16:43 Many churches have gone another way. 16:45 They're accepting principles 16:47 that go directly against God's Word. 16:49 And so, years ago, 16:51 we saw a pastor online 16:52 that took a Bible and threw it across, 16:54 said it's irrelevant anymore. 16:57 So now they're coming up with new Bibles 17:00 that fit different lifestyles, but yet God has given us, 17:05 He's preserved this through so many... 17:08 People lost their lives preserving this. 17:11 I mean, don't we have to? 17:12 Don't we have to recognize first that we need to change? 17:14 Yes. 17:16 But when you say change, it's like, 17:18 there's some kind of armor that goes up 17:20 sometime with people. 17:21 It seems like there's, there's opposition that comes. 17:23 There is. 17:24 It's the opposition of the enemy. 17:26 But rather than changing the Word 17:27 to fit our lifestyle, 17:29 my whole point is, 17:30 we need to live up to the Word of God. 17:32 And that doesn't mean it's not going to cut, 17:34 doesn't mean it's not going to hurt 17:35 'cause it does. 17:37 It really does. 17:38 I praise God that He's been so merciful 17:40 and patient with me. 17:43 Because there's been times and I'm just like, how's that? 17:45 I can't do that, you know. 17:47 But He waits and He waits, 17:49 and He keeps calling and He keeps working. 17:50 That little song, 17:52 He's still working on me though. 17:53 He want to make me what are to be. 17:55 And I'm sure He still is. 17:57 And I praise God for that. Amen. 17:58 But again, we have to recognize that we need to change. 18:02 And then we, you talk about going back to the God 18:05 and confessing our sins. 18:07 You know, we are His witnesses. 18:08 And I think this whole thing, 18:10 there's a foundation that was laid there 18:11 in Luke 24:45-47, 18:16 which is saying same thing 18:17 that we've been talking about here. 18:18 I'm just going to read, it says, 18:20 "Then opened he their understanding, 18:21 that they might understand the scriptures, 18:24 And they said unto him, Thus it is written, 18:26 and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, 18:29 and rise from the dead the third day." 18:32 And then verse 47, 18:34 "And that repentance and remission of sins 18:36 should be preached in his name among," what? 18:39 "All nations, beginning at Jerusalem." 18:41 Now why Jerusalem? 18:44 That's kind of where He began His works, 18:46 He began His work there, 18:47 and He knows it's going to bring it 18:49 to a conclusion, He wants to, he said, 18:50 we start right there. 18:51 And then He goes right here, "And behold," 18:53 notice this, "ye are My," what? 18:55 "Witnesses of these things. 18:57 And behold, I send the promise of my Father, " 18:59 that we are talking about, promise of what? 19:00 The Holy Spirit He was going to send upon you. 19:04 "But tarry you in the city of Jerusalem 19:06 until you be endowed with," what? 19:09 Power from on High. Stay there. 19:11 He said, "If you stay there, right? 19:13 And if you're confessing your sins, you notice this, 19:15 what it's talking about, 19:17 weren't you're My witnesses here, 19:18 and you need to make sure 19:20 repentance and remission of sin, 19:21 you stay there, 19:22 and I'm going to send you the promise of the Holy Spirit. 19:25 I'm so glad you mentioned repentance, 19:27 because I was thinking that word 19:28 just when you started to read it. 19:30 You know, even I was studying about repentances 19:32 earlier this week. 19:34 And repentance is even something 19:35 that comes from God. 19:37 Amen. 19:38 You know, that the natural man cannot even come to God, 19:41 we can't even recognize that we need a change 19:43 without the Holy Spirit 19:45 convicting us and showing us, you know. 19:47 Unfortunately, there are many people today 19:48 who are saying no, no, no, I'm not interested. 19:50 But praise God, there are a few, 19:52 there are a few who say, "Man, I need a change. 19:55 I need a new touch. 19:56 I need a brand new walk with You every day." 19:59 And God gives us that repentance. 20:00 I love that God always takes the first step. 20:03 I love that. Amen. Amen. 20:05 That was, that's part of what took place at Pentecost. 20:09 You see, we read that the Holy Spirit came in 20:12 like a rushing mighty wind. 20:13 But the Holy Spirit was working prior 20:16 to the falling of the Holy Spirit 20:19 in the measure that it did 20:20 in the early rain upon the disciples. 20:24 The Holy Spirit was working, 20:25 that's who led them to repentance. 20:27 That's who led them to confess their sins. 20:30 And so, it was, the Holy Spirit had been working all along 20:33 to lead them to this experience, 20:36 to be prepared 20:38 for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 20:42 So God does take the first step. 20:43 Right. 20:45 The Holy Spirit was in operation 20:46 and working all out 20:47 before it was really poured out at Pentecost, 20:52 from the very beginning of time, isn't that right? 20:53 That's right. 20:55 You know, no one can come to God 20:56 without this Holy Spirit working in the heart 20:57 and giving them the call. 20:59 He said, I've called you and how wonderful that is. 21:02 Okay, any other thing you want to add 21:03 on three verses? 21:05 The one thing is about fire, right? 21:07 Sometimes people are afraid 21:08 to talk about cloven tongues like fire. 21:11 Now what does that really mean, cloven tongues like fire? 21:15 I just thought 21:17 it meant that they were anointed 21:18 with the Holy Spirit that He was working. 21:20 Okay. 21:21 Yeah, as fire is sometime that's used, 21:23 associated with divinity, right? 21:26 Absolutely here, 21:27 but it denotes something like that you have 21:30 what they saw was this kind of like 21:32 almost a lump or a form of fire. 21:35 And out of that fire, 21:37 jump as it were little bits of fire 21:40 like a tongue, shoot on each one. 21:44 And that was given 21:45 and when that was given and received 21:47 and falling on council about, it stayed with them. 21:50 See, it's a problem today, 21:52 we need the power of the Holy Spirit, 21:53 but it needs to stay with us. 21:55 Yes. 21:56 And that means, fire means you need, 21:58 there has to, always say somebody, 21:59 there's fire in your belly. 22:01 You know, for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 22:02 You got to poke it, right? 22:04 You got to poke it and feed it every day 22:05 to keep that fire going. 22:06 Yes, very good. 22:08 I want to use the illustration of camping, you know. 22:11 And if you go camping and you build your campfire, 22:13 if you don't do anything with that, 22:15 what happens to it in the morning? 22:16 It's all gone. Right. 22:17 You got to keep pulling. 22:19 The spiritual life is like that. 22:20 You have to feed it every day. 22:22 You have to stir it. Yes. 22:23 You have to, you know, dig around there a little bit, 22:25 and sometimes food and whatever. 22:27 You got to continue to feed that. 22:29 So that our spiritual life can grow every day. 22:31 So what is he saying, feed it, 22:33 is I'm saying I'm going to go over physical fire. 22:36 And I'm getting me another log. 22:37 And I'm putting it on there. 22:39 As a Christian, we've got to go what? 22:41 Into the Word every day, right, 22:43 and begin to read that 22:44 and it becomes fire inside of us 22:46 that purifies us and leads us to Jesus Christ. 22:49 Amen. That's just exciting to me. 22:51 It's very exciting. 22:52 Very good point. I love it. 22:54 Because, you know, if I don't study 22:56 just three days, 22:57 I can tell a difference in my mind, 22:59 you know, but we have to, 23:01 and we were told very clearly 23:02 that it's only those 23:04 who are partaking of the Word of God 23:05 on a daily basis, 23:06 that are going to be able to stand in the days 23:09 that are soon coming upon everyone of us. 23:12 So that's very powerful. 23:13 I love that, feed the fire, stir that up. 23:16 Brother John, didn't seem like when we read this 23:18 in Acts Chapter 2. 23:20 There's a lot of miracles taking place. 23:22 There's a lot of supernatural things 23:25 that are happening 23:27 that we don't see so much today. 23:30 You know, the food for thought is, 23:32 why isn't it? 23:33 And again, we're talking about the church 23:36 set up here in our lesson 23:37 the way that Christ would have our church be today. 23:41 And what it took to set it up. 23:43 Could we be lacking something today 23:46 and again it's not trying to criticize or condemn, 23:48 but is there something lacking, 23:50 because many time we don't see 23:51 some of these things taking place within. 23:54 It is true we don't see a lot of this 23:57 that we read in the scriptures. 23:59 It occurs, but one of the problems is, 24:04 I believe is, I'm going to say twofold, 24:06 but there may be more. 24:08 There's an issue of humility 24:10 and giving God the praise and the glory. 24:13 You remember when Peter, 24:15 God used Peter to heal the paralytic, 24:18 and people were looking at them like, "Wow, you've done this." 24:22 And he says, "Why are you looking at us 24:23 like we did this by our own power?" 24:26 And he gave the honor and glory to God. 24:29 And so, it is a very difficult thing 24:32 for people to give honor and glory to God 24:35 and they know God deserves the glory. 24:37 That's right. 24:38 Today, 24:39 imagine if the Lord worked a miracle 24:41 through Pastor Kenny Shelton. 24:44 And it started to get out in the social media. 24:46 Everybody is, you know, there's that temptation to say, 24:50 "Oh, yes, I must be really something." 24:52 For the human being to be able to be surrendered 24:56 and in full surrender to God and humility say, 25:00 "No, no, no, God has done this. 25:02 God has done this." 25:03 And I was just talking to someone yesterday 25:06 about the experience that they have. 25:09 Her husband is in the hospital, Brother, Matthew Andrew, 25:12 and the testimony that he has been giving. 25:19 The people in the hospital are just amazed, 25:22 they are blessed by his testimony. 25:25 And so, he said, 25:27 "Oh, no, it's the Lord. It's the Lord." 25:30 And when we understand that, 25:31 the Lord deserves the glory, 25:33 we're opening the way for the Lord 25:35 to be able to do more. 25:36 Yes, good. 25:38 As more and more, 25:39 and God is just waiting anxiously, 25:42 I wanna say, waiting anxiously for us to say, 25:46 I am yours, Lord, all glory be to Your name. 25:49 He's anxiously waiting. 25:50 Because He says, like, Brother Terry, 25:52 ye are My witnesses. 25:54 You know, and we can't be like, 25:56 you know, stand there like say 25:57 try and take the praise and we do that a lot. 25:58 We tells somebody, oh, praise God, good job, 26:00 you're doing this or this in the ministry, 26:02 this and that. 26:03 Listen, God's name should always be elevated 26:05 and lifted up, 26:06 because there can be probably no good thing 26:09 in any of us. 26:10 And I always say, if you ever see any good thing, 26:12 it can't be me. 26:14 It must be that which lives within 26:15 and that's from any other. 26:16 So give Him the praise. 26:18 And again, that opens the door 26:19 for the Holy Spirit to begin to work 26:21 so that we might behold Him, the Lamb of God, 26:24 not mankind. 26:26 And this is a prerequisite, 26:27 was it not for the primitive church? 26:29 That's right. 26:30 I have been studying a little bit this week 26:32 on the subject of Laodicea. 26:35 And, you know, one thing I see is that, 26:38 you know, we have our, 26:39 in our churches we have little mission stories, 26:42 and you open up and read the mission stories 26:43 about amazing things that happen in other countries, 26:46 you know, and you say, 26:47 "Man, why don't we see that in our country, you know?" 26:50 It's because we're in such a state, 26:52 we're in such a rich and increase with goods 26:55 and have need of nothing, 26:56 and now I've not done a lot of world traveling, 26:59 very little in fact, 27:00 but from what I have seen people in other countries, 27:03 they don't have what we have as far as material blessings, 27:06 but they have a desire for God and for godly things. 27:10 And you see God working in these areas 27:13 where seemingly people have nothing else. 27:16 But, sadly here in our country, 27:18 we are rich and increased with goods 27:20 and have need of nothing, 27:21 you know, just as a general people. 27:24 And that may be part of the reason 27:26 why we don't see the movement of God 27:29 and the workings of God in our country 27:31 and in our culture, 27:32 is because some of us have taken it out. 27:35 We don't really need that. 27:36 We're doing just fine on our own. 27:38 But you know what? 27:39 So we're not trying to discredit, 27:40 Hun, you might talk about this, too. 27:42 We're not trying to say 27:43 that God is not working miracles today. 27:45 None of us are saying. 27:46 God is doing, 27:48 I'm talking about some great things, 27:49 but He's gonna do greater things. 27:51 Well, I wanna make that clear. 27:52 We've got to make that clear that God's still on the throne, 27:54 that God's still working miracles. 27:57 3ABN gets letters 27:58 about the hundreds and thousands. 27:59 We get letters, saying that how their life has changed. 28:02 And that's still the God 28:03 that did the change, in fact He could do it today. 28:04 I was thinking about miracles. 28:06 I wanna share a couple of them, 28:07 you know, because we're also told that 28:09 that the Holy Spirit which we didn't realize this, 28:12 is like an electrical current. 28:14 And there was a lady that was cleaning our church 28:17 and she would never touch. 28:20 You've been in there where you see Jesus' hands, 28:22 the nail print hands, 28:23 she would never touch that picture. 28:25 And she began to ask questions, 28:27 you know, and she said, "What do you believe?" 28:28 I said, "Basically, what the Bible teaches." 28:30 So she would go to our secretary, 28:32 and we didn't even realize it. 28:34 And she would say, "You know, do you have anything 28:35 I can take home 28:37 that I can study, I can listen to." 28:38 So she began to study and listen to it. 28:40 And several months after she had been there, 28:42 she thought, you know, 28:44 I really need to dust this picture. 28:48 She reached up, touched the picture. 28:50 And she felt this electrical current 28:52 go through her body. 28:54 She dropped to her knees, and she heard the voice say, 28:58 "Kara, this is where I want you to be." 29:03 And then we were in... 29:05 Where were we, Pastor? 29:06 We were in Orlando for the winter camp meeting 29:09 a few years ago, is that we were? 29:10 Do you remember the city? 29:11 I don't remember the city. It was. 29:13 Yes, I didn't go there, but I do know. 29:14 Yes, it was Florida. 29:15 Well, before he was to get up and speak. 29:18 You know, Shelley walked by and she says, 29:20 "You know, I feel like I need to pray with you guys." 29:22 So we had prayer with Shelley. 29:24 And then Pastor John came by and he came back and said, 29:28 "I just feel like 29:29 I need to have prayer with you." 29:31 And we were all, you know, each time we would hold hands. 29:33 Well, when Pastor John prayed, 29:36 Pastor Kenny didn't say anything at the time 29:38 until Pastor John left. 29:40 He said, "When he was praying, 29:42 I felt this electrical power going up my arm. 29:46 Well they had put his power pack on. 29:48 During that sermon, 29:51 they kept hearing these and it was disturbing to me 29:54 because I work a lot with production. 29:56 So it was disturbing, 29:57 we kept hearing this electrical, 29:59 you know, break and the sound 30:01 and, but a lot of people that were there never heard it. 30:05 I never told that to anybody, 30:07 but they never heard it because I asked him, 30:08 I said, "I'm so sorry about that." 30:10 But they never heard it. 30:11 At the end of that which was not on camera, 30:14 people came up to the altar, they were crying, 30:17 they fell on their face. 30:19 It was powerful. There was no explanation. 30:22 They came out. 30:23 And he stood in one place, 30:25 they changed his power pack, kept doing it. 30:26 And they said, "We don't have any." 30:28 They cannot change 30:29 while we're doing the live programming, 30:30 they were crawling back there and back here, 30:33 trying to change and try to say 30:34 that must be the equipment. 30:36 They couldn't find anything that was wrong but there was... 30:40 Because you feel 30:42 the electrical movement or something. 30:43 We went back and we talked to Pastor John and Angie 30:46 and we could all just sense that that was the power of God. 30:49 Now, those are just a couple stories. 30:52 But God's Spirit is still working. 30:54 He still wants to be poured out. 30:56 He's waiting as I mentioned earlier, 30:57 He's waiting on His people. 30:59 And praise God, He's working with us, 31:01 you know, to do that to get us ready. 31:03 I would like to mention another factor. 31:05 I'm sorry to interrupt you, 31:06 I don't know if you want to say. 31:07 Another factor that is keeping more miracles 31:11 from taking place is really unbelief. 31:13 Oh, yes. 31:14 In Matthew 13, there's the story of Jesus. 31:16 He went to his hometown, 31:18 and He was reading the scriptures. 31:20 And He told parables and the people were amazed. 31:23 And the Bible says, well, I have it right here. 31:26 I looked it up. 31:28 It says, Matthew 13:58, 31:33 "Now he did not so many mighty miracles there 31:36 because of their unbelief." 31:38 So unbelief can keep God from doing miracles 31:44 because the people won't believe. 31:45 And they will attribute what has happened 31:47 to something else other than God. 31:49 Something, oh, it's the science. 31:51 It's, oh, he was already well, 31:53 you know, he really wasn't sick. 31:55 He really wasn't blind, something. 31:57 But unbelief 31:59 keeps these blessings from coming. 32:02 Amen. I got a story. 32:04 I got to share the story, you know. 32:06 This is something that happened to me and my family 32:08 just a few weeks ago. 32:09 My wife and I were raising her granddaughter, 32:13 she lives with us and she's 14. 32:15 And her name is Hannah, 32:17 and Hannah decided that she wants to go 32:19 to one of the Adventist academies, 32:21 Sunnydale Academy. 32:22 And so we went to visit the facility 32:24 and met all the people and it's just wonderful. 32:27 And, you know, and I really like to come here 32:29 and they said, "Well, we would love to have Hannah, 32:32 except there's one problem. 32:33 Currently, the girls' dorm is full. 32:36 And we don't have any beds available." 32:38 And we said, "Okay, 32:39 we're gonna go home and start praying." 32:41 There you go. So we just started praying. 32:42 And even my 14 year old, 32:44 you know, she just prayed every day, 32:45 prayed every day, about a week, 32:47 I think it's about 10 days later, 32:49 I got an email from the administrator there, 32:52 and she says, 32:54 "Tell Hannah, she can do her happy dance. 32:56 A room has opened up and we love to have her come." 33:00 Now, for us from my wife and I, 33:03 you know, we've seen prayers answered before, 33:05 and it's a wonderful thing. 33:06 But when someone young sees a prayer answered 33:09 that they had been praying for, 33:11 talk about a life changing experience 33:15 for someone young like her. 33:16 And I told her, I said, "Don't ever forget this 33:19 that God heard your prayer, 33:21 and He answered your prayer." 33:22 Even at 14 years old, you know, it feels like she, 33:25 you know, maybe don't know as God 33:27 as much as she wants to or whatever. 33:28 God heard your prayer, and He answered your prayer 33:31 because He has your best interest at heart. 33:34 And He wants to see you go there. 33:35 So God does answer prayers, 33:37 even of our young people 33:38 when they're prayed in faith believing. 33:41 Amen. Amen. 33:42 Yes. 33:44 I know there's been many times that I've prayed, 33:46 Lord, help Thou my unbelief. 33:48 Yes. Yeah. 33:49 You know, because it, 33:50 sometimes it's difficult 33:52 to have the belief that we need to, 33:54 but that also is a gift of the Holy Spirit. 33:59 We're not going to get 34:00 you know, very far in this lesson, 34:02 I can tell already, 34:03 because we just don't have time. 34:04 We haven't even got to our first question. 34:06 But, you know, 34:07 we can't base our faith on miracles. 34:12 You know, the Bible says, 34:13 we're to worship God in spirit and in truth. 34:16 So it has to line up with the truth. 34:18 So everything that we study, we're gonna find out later, 34:22 maybe not today, but we're gonna find out. 34:24 We've got to check everything by the Word of God 34:27 to know whether it be the Spirit of God 34:29 or the spirit of enemy, 34:31 of the enemy that is just counterfeit, 34:33 counterfeiting, 34:36 you know, God's miracle working power. 34:38 And you see prayer is a very important part, 34:40 that's where it's at in Luke 11:13. 34:45 This is what, so I'll come back to confession. 34:48 You know, we're talking about unbelief. 34:50 We're talking about repentance. 34:51 All this is very important 34:53 to be the kind of church that God wants us to be. 34:55 Again, we have to be praying for all these things. 34:57 Notice what it says in verse 13 there of Luke 11. 34:59 And it says, "If you then, being evil, 35:02 know how to give good gifts unto your children: 35:05 how much more 35:06 shall your heavenly Father give," what? 35:09 With the Holy, notice, 35:10 "The Holy spirit to them that ask him? 35:12 Amen. 35:13 So sometime we have not 35:15 because we, because we ask not. 35:17 I mean, it's a very simple thing 35:18 we have not because we haven't. 35:19 Here Jesus said to, 35:21 you know, talking about disciples beforehand. 35:22 You go and you tarry in Jerusalem. 35:24 You know, continue the work that I was doing there, 35:27 and you stay there for 10 days. 35:28 What if they stayed, 35:30 you know, nine days sounds sufficient. 35:31 A week sounds good. 35:32 Seven days would be enough. It's perfect number. 35:35 But what if, 35:36 any other than what He said would it have worked? 35:39 That's a good question. 35:40 Now you're talking about obedience. 35:41 That's right. Uh-huh. 35:43 Is that part of the church or primitive godliness? 35:46 Would it being obedient to God's Word? 35:47 It is. 35:48 And coming to the point 35:50 that we experienced this primitive godliness 35:52 is for the salvation of souls. 35:54 They were to tarry there, 35:56 because God wishes that all would be saved, 35:59 that none would lose eternal life. 36:01 So the longer they were there, 36:03 the more power that they had in the name of God. 36:06 More souls were brought into and what was it? 36:09 They said what? Three thousand in one day. 36:10 Three thousand in one day. Yeah. 36:12 You talking about baptism. 36:13 And when we say baptism, sometime we're afraid, 36:15 Adventist sometime were afraid of this thing, 36:17 a little term we got, baptism of the Holy Spirit. 36:21 People go ooh. 36:22 I don't know why. 36:23 We need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit power. 36:27 It's a must, if not only the early rain, 36:31 but the latter rain. 36:32 Right? 36:34 The time of trouble that's coming on God's people. 36:36 We need the Holy Spirit of the Living God 36:39 to come in a special way 36:41 that begins to root out all the evilness 36:43 and dirtiness inside of us and the sin 36:46 and give us that victory 36:47 to where the latter rain can fall on me. 36:49 I say it all the time, 36:51 and I think we should and if I'm wrong, 36:52 somebody needs to correct me. 36:54 That the Holy Spirit, the latter rain, 36:55 I hear people all the time, 36:57 and I think you do too when you travel. 36:58 We're praying for the latter rain. 37:00 We want the latter rain to fall. 37:02 That's good prayer. 37:03 But remember, in order for the Holy Spirit, 37:05 the latter rain experience to fall upon God's children, 37:07 each one of individually, sin has to go from the life. 37:10 The Holy Spirit latter rain cannot fall on a person 37:12 with one unconfessed sin. 37:16 You see, Holy Spirit, remember, 37:17 latter rain that equips people 37:19 to go through the time of trouble, 37:21 time of Jacob's trouble. 37:22 Live in the sight of the holy God, 37:24 right without sin. 37:26 So we have to make sure that we are, 37:28 what we're talking about here ready for the Holy Spirit 37:31 and the latter rain form to come 37:33 and descend upon God's people. 37:34 Are we ready in heart, mind and soul? 37:36 Maybe I suppose 37:37 that's good thing maybe, Pastor? 37:38 David said, "If I regard iniquity 37:40 in my heart, 37:41 the Lord will not hear me." 37:44 I mean that's pretty heavy duty. 37:45 I think it's heavy duty stuff. 37:47 You know, a lot of people and many of you at home 37:49 may be feeling, yeah, but I have this problem. 37:53 I know it's not right. 37:55 But I just can't seem to give it up. 37:56 The good news is, 37:58 we can go to God and we can say, 38:00 Lord, please give me the strength. 38:03 Lord, convict me of this. Help me to turn away. 38:06 He will honor that, 38:07 but we just need to present it to Him. 38:10 Because there's a lot of times that, 38:11 that we have pet sins, as it were, 38:14 that we really don't want to let go of, 38:16 but we know we want to in order to draw closer to God. 38:20 So even that is a gift of the Holy Spirit, 38:23 if we but ask. 38:25 You said earlier, we have not because we ask not. 38:27 We need to present those things to the Lord 38:30 so that He can bring in the proper conviction, 38:33 the proper conversion, 38:34 and give us the strength to let it go. 38:37 Amen. Praise the Lord. 38:38 Amen. 38:39 Yeah, I don't know if you guys see and I see 38:41 and here's as I read this right here, 38:42 you can see the prophecies. 38:44 And we'll get to that a little more 38:46 as we go on prophecies of Joel Chapter 2 coming alive, 38:49 not only for that time, 38:50 but for us and the last day church 38:53 to think about this work ending up greater, 38:56 more abundance, however you want to say it, 38:59 more souls for the kingdom of God 39:00 than one that was at Pentecost. 39:02 I look at Pentecost, I just get addled. 39:04 Whoo, boy, what a time to be involved in, 39:06 that's so exciting. 39:07 God's work is going to end up far greater than that, 39:10 more power of the Holy Spirit. 39:12 And we'll talk more as we go, 39:13 because this will involve and we won't read it now, 39:15 Revelation 18:1. 39:18 We've got to get into that 39:19 where that fourth angel comes down. 39:20 So anyway, maybe we get back 39:22 and we read verses what, 4, 5 and 6? 39:24 Well, are you gonna read the whole thing? 39:26 Are you gonna read the whole thing 39:27 or just what we have here, 39:28 because I've got 4 and then I jumped to 16 and 17, 39:31 so do you want? 39:33 You go ahead and just read 4. I don't know here, folks. 39:34 I need here a few comments on it. 39:35 Okay. All right. 39:38 "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, 39:40 and began to speak with other tongues 39:43 as a Spirit gave them utterance." 39:45 Now then, we're going to jump from 4 down to 16. 39:48 But this is that which was spoken up 39:50 by the Prophet Joel 39:52 which Pastor Kenny just told us. 39:53 17, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, " 39:58 which when we study Bible prophecy, 40:00 we realized that that's where we are. 40:02 "Saith God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, 40:07 and your sons and your daughters 40:08 shall prophesy, 40:10 and your young men shall see visions, 40:12 and your old men shall dream dreams." 40:15 Praise God. 40:16 He said, "He will never leave us, 40:18 He'll never forsake us. 40:20 We need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 40:23 in order to pass through the time of trouble 40:25 that is just before us. 40:27 Wow. Amen. 40:28 There's a lot of stuff to unpack in those minutes. 40:30 Yeah. 40:31 Stewart said, that takes the rest of the time 40:33 and several other hours to unpack 40:34 because they said, 40:36 they were filled with the Holy Ghost 40:37 that must have... 40:38 That's a fact. 40:40 Something happened, 40:41 as they prayed for and they long for 40:42 and they met in the room confessing their sins 40:45 and shortcomings and problems that they have, 40:48 you know, that the Holy Spirit filled them up, 40:50 and they begin to speak with these, 40:52 we're talking about other tongues. 40:54 Do we leave it at that and just say, 40:56 "Well, let's move on, 40:57 or do we look in to address the other tongues?" 41:00 Well, we brought it up just a few minutes ago 41:02 with Pastor John. 41:03 They began to speak in other languages, 41:05 because there were 41:07 a lot of people there in Jerusalem, 41:09 and they needed those languages 41:11 in order to reach those people. 41:13 Now you have an awesome gift, you're bilingual. 41:16 But I can tell you 41:17 when I was working in San Salvador, 41:20 and in Dominican Republic, 41:21 I can't tell you 41:23 how many times I'm sitting there 41:24 crying and praying, 41:26 and trying my very best and saying, 41:29 Lord, give me that gift of tongues. 41:30 I wanted to be able to minister in a different language. 41:34 They needed it. 41:36 Apparently, I didn't need it at that time, 41:38 but God gave us interpreters. 41:40 But when you need it, 41:41 and God says 41:43 that the people need it for salvation, He will give it. 41:46 Yes. He will give it. 41:47 Will give another example of that too, 41:49 because I know you've got something in your heart, 41:50 you want to share right now. 41:52 After you share, I'll give you an example 41:53 of what the pastor's gone through. 41:55 Well, God is not limited in any way. 41:58 If we prepare our hearts and our minds and like I said, 42:02 surrender to Him. 42:04 The gift that is needed, God will give it. 42:07 And the circumstances 42:11 that we prepare the way for the Lord to work. 42:14 God directs us, helps us to understand 42:16 that we need to humble ourselves, 42:18 and He will show us things 42:19 that we need to confess and say, Lord, 42:22 and we have to be willing to confess those things 42:27 and put those things aside. 42:29 This is what you read in Isaiah Chapter 1 42:30 when you get to verse 16. 42:32 God tells us, put away the evil you're doing, 42:35 you know, and invites us, though your sins be as scarlet, 42:40 they shall be white as wool, 42:42 though they be red like crimson, 42:44 they shall be white as snow. 42:46 God invites us. 42:47 And yes, there are some people. 42:50 I've talked to some people 42:52 that they say they speak in tongues. 42:55 And I said, "Do you understand what you're talking about?" 42:59 And he says, "No, I don't." 43:01 And we talked a little bit about the... 43:03 What God did on the day of Pentecost 43:05 that they were speaking languages 43:07 that were understood by others. 43:09 Yes. 43:10 And there's some confusion 43:11 when you get to the book 1 Corinthians 43:13 where it's talking about 43:14 the speaking in tongues and they... 43:16 So anyway, as we talked, 43:17 he began to understand these things. 43:19 And he said, sometime later he came, 43:24 he says, "You know, I'm beginning to wonder 43:26 if I should be doing this." 43:28 Because he says, it just comes out. 43:32 Yes, it says, 43:33 as the Holy Spirit gives them utterance, 43:35 the Holy Spirit is in control in Pentecost, 43:39 and we read in Acts Chapter 2, 43:41 but there are people manufacturing 43:44 what they call the gift in tongue. 43:45 How do I know? 43:46 Because I have talked to many people. 43:48 And they said, 43:49 "If you don't know how to do this, 43:52 they can teach you how to speak in tongues." 43:54 And that's not something 43:56 you should have to teach someone, 43:58 the Holy Spirit brings this power. 44:00 So in Acts Chapter 2, if I looked at you, and I say, 44:04 "Do you have the gift of tongues 44:07 that Acts Chapter 2 talks about? 44:09 We're just isolating down here now. 44:10 Would you say yes or no? 44:13 Well, yes. Would you say yes or no? 44:15 Yes. Yes. 44:16 Good. 44:18 Yeah, we shouldn't be ashamed at 44:19 because it's another language 44:20 that you're speaking, ain't right? 44:22 That's what it is. 44:24 And part of the confusion 44:25 that Paul addresses would be like, 44:26 you come into our church, 44:28 and you spoke to us in Spanish or you prayed in Spanish, 44:31 you got up and prophesied, 44:32 we wouldn't have any idea what you were talking about. 44:35 You know, I might pick one a word or two, 44:38 just from experience, 44:39 but I wouldn't be able to understand. 44:41 Years ago and maybe you can help me 44:42 with this story. 44:44 He was preaching in California at an Adventist Church. 44:47 And there was a man there, he was like oriental descent. 44:52 I think he's from India. Oh, India. 44:54 Okay, but he didn't speak any English 44:57 and after he got done with the message, 45:00 he enters in, translator came up. 45:03 And he began to speak in his native tongue 45:06 to pastor Kenny. 45:08 And the translator, 45:09 he had no idea and he's looking at the trends. 45:11 I don't know what he's talking about. 45:13 He said, he's thanking you 45:16 for dynamically preaching that message 45:18 in his native tongue. 45:22 And he spoke in English. 45:23 He said, you have a perfect dialect. 45:26 I didn't understand a word of it. 45:28 That's another day. He heard. 45:30 Yes. Yes. 45:31 Because he came there, he wanted to hear. 45:34 And God answered that prayer. 45:35 And he was trying to come back to me, said, 45:37 I have no idea what he's talking about. 45:39 I have heard this happening before. 45:41 Yes, it's a blessing. 45:42 God does this miracle. 45:44 And so, again, if the gift is needed, 45:47 God will make it happen. 45:48 Amen. 45:50 For the salvation, people don't always... 45:54 God does not do things to entertain people. 45:56 God does not do things to show off. 45:59 When God does something, there's a purpose behind it. 46:03 And it is to give Him to, for the Lord to be glorified, 46:07 and for God's children to be benefit by it. 46:10 That's right. 46:12 And that's why I started to say they don't realize many times 46:14 how much God loves them, 46:17 in order to give them these experiences. 46:19 He loves them so much, 46:21 He's willing to pull them out of the fire as it were 46:24 to do anything and everything to save them. 46:27 Yes. It's a blessing. 46:29 Brother Terry, I like you to turn to Acts Chapter, 46:32 I think it's 1:8, 46:33 and then talk a little bit about this, 46:35 because there was a purpose here 46:37 we're talking about of the baptism 46:39 is to prepare us for something, 46:41 baptism of the Holy Spirit. 46:43 It's not just, well, you have the gift, 46:44 you can do this and that. 46:46 There was a purpose. 46:48 And I think Acts Chapter 1, I believe it's verse 8, 46:51 tells us the purpose 46:52 of the baptism of the Holy Spirit 46:54 and why we desperately need it today. 46:57 Jesus speaking here, and He says, 46:59 "But you shall receive power 47:01 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 47:03 And you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, 47:07 and in all Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 47:11 Yeah. Yes. 47:13 We talk about ministering in your backyard, 47:17 you know, and sometimes we've heard 47:19 people say, "Oh, I wish I could go to India. 47:22 I wish I could go to Africa. I wish I could. 47:24 And as someone once said, 47:26 "There's a ministry right there in your neighborhood." 47:27 Yes there is. Yes. 47:29 If you will engage in it. 47:30 And if you will ask for the Spirit of God 47:32 to come upon you 47:34 and give you the words to speak to your neighbors, 47:36 your friends, your family, in your own church. 47:38 But yes, like you said, you shall receive power, 47:41 the power must come first 47:44 before we can accomplish anything in God's name. 47:46 Now, there's a lot of people out there 47:48 who claim to be doing a lot of things in God's name. 47:51 But as we, as we read through the scriptures, 47:53 we can see 47:54 that signs and wonders can be counterfeited. 47:57 Yes. And it does happen. 47:59 And so we need to understand Isaiah 8:20, 48:02 to the law and to the testimony, 48:03 they speak not according to this word, 48:05 it's because there is no light in them. 48:07 So when Jesus said, you shall receive power, 48:11 and then you will be witnesses to right here, 48:16 and then it opens up a little farther, 48:18 and it opens up a little farther. 48:20 And now God has sent His people into every corner of the earth. 48:22 Praise God. 48:23 For the purpose of his work, isn't that right? 48:27 For the gospel to go out, there's a purpose for this. 48:30 God is not willing that any should perish, 48:32 but then all should come to repentance. 48:35 To go without the Holy Spirit, 48:37 you know, I heard one man say one time, 48:39 and he did a lot of evangelism. 48:42 I couldn't hardly take it, I'll just be honest about it. 48:44 You know, he kind of got, because he did a lot. 48:46 And I talked to him about it. 48:48 And he said, 48:49 I said, "You know, the Lord's really blessing. 48:50 You see a lot of people take their stand 48:52 and they're baptized." 48:53 He said, "Yes, I've learned this." 48:54 He was from another country, but he said, 48:56 "You know, I've learned this, this is a way that it works." 48:58 He said, "It's about, it's 95% of my effort 49:01 and 5% Holy Spirit." 49:03 I said, "I reject that." 49:04 Yeah, absolutely reject that. Yeah. 49:07 I mean, how sad, not everybody feels that way, 49:10 but I was just shocked, addled, 49:15 because really, I don't know 49:16 how we can fit in that equation. 49:17 Do you? 49:19 I mean even to say, if you reversed it, 49:21 95 Holy Spirit and 5 for me. 49:23 No! 49:24 We show up. 49:27 That's what I promised God many years ago, 49:28 I don't have a good brain. 49:30 He says, "Yeah, I know that." 49:31 I can't speak like other people. 49:32 He said, "I know that too." 49:34 I'm not very smart. "I know that too." 49:35 I don't have the schooling. 49:36 I'm not been to school of the prophets. 49:38 "I know that to. 49:39 What I want you to do is to show up. 49:41 You be faithful and show up 49:42 and I'll give you what you need when it's needed." 49:45 Amen. 49:46 But again, it was almost to me was, 49:48 but don't dare show up 49:50 unless you've done your homework. 49:52 Don't dare show up until you have prepared 49:55 the very best you can 49:56 for what you're going to be giving. 49:58 And then I will do the rest. 50:00 I will do the converting, I will do the convicting, 50:02 I will do the changing. Yes. 50:05 So I learned that at a very early age. 50:07 So I see a heart and a life change right now, 50:09 somebody say oh, this is good, right? 50:10 Just passes over my mind. 50:12 I know who's doing it and He continues to do it. 50:15 And I praise God for that. That's awesome. 50:17 So I may encourage people, show up, right? 50:20 Show up what, Terry? 50:22 Prepared. Prepared. 50:23 He just said something very important to that 50:26 I think all of the body of Christ 50:28 needs to remind themselves of 50:30 or maybe they don't realize it. 50:32 But a lot of times new children 50:34 as it were coming to the church, 50:36 they're new babes in the truth. 50:38 And many members think 50:40 that it is their duty to change them. 50:42 You know, Jesus says, "Come as you are, 50:45 but it's the Holy Spirit that changes. 50:47 You know, as they begin to study and to read the Word, 50:51 God will do that changes, 50:53 not us that's supposed to do it. 50:54 We're to present the truth, yes. 50:56 We're not to hold back. 50:58 You know, she says many times, 51:00 when I say she, 51:01 I'm talking about Spirit of Prophecy, Mrs. White, 51:03 who says that, 51:04 that too often the ministers hold back, 51:07 that we're to say 51:08 what God has laid upon their heart, 51:11 and then that word will cut, that word will divide, 51:15 it will divide their dross from that sinner. 51:19 Anything, I'm thinking as I read. 51:23 Anything less than giving 51:25 what God has impressed us to give, 51:29 it's not acceptable to God. 51:30 You know, lots of time 51:32 we don't want to approach certain issues 51:33 because it might upset a certain few. 51:36 You know, we don't want to say this, 51:37 because we want the church 51:39 where everything peace and quiet and safety 51:40 and just everybody get along. 51:42 And again, somebody say, 51:44 "Well, can't you present it in a little different way? 51:47 You know, or can't you do it a little easier? 51:48 Can't you do it like Jesus?" 51:50 I said, "Look what Jesus did." 51:51 Can you do it like John the Baptist? 51:52 I said, "Look how John the Baptist?" 51:54 He said, "All you pit vipers, you snakes, 51:55 you poisonous snakes." 51:57 That's right. 51:58 So yes, there's always a different way, 52:00 but the way and I could be wrong, 52:02 but the way 52:03 that the Holy Spirit impresses you to do it 52:05 may not be, it's still a truth, we don't change truth. 52:08 Well, you do it may be different than the way 52:09 that the Holy Spirit impresses me 52:10 may be different. 52:12 You may be different than you. 52:13 But that's okay, isn't that right? 52:15 We become, so what does it say, one we all unity in one, 52:18 but what does that mean, we're all talking just alike, 52:20 we're all presenting message the same way? 52:22 We're all part of the body. 52:24 Part of the body and we present the truth 52:26 I think in a uniform way. 52:28 But everybody is different. 52:30 Look at the personalities of the disciples 52:31 and so, you know, He had some of them who, 52:34 you know, if things wouldn't go their way, 52:36 Lord, can we put fire around on him, 52:38 burn him up, you know. 52:39 And you had others that are, 52:40 you know, don't really have much to say. 52:42 You have one that's jump out. 52:44 The only thing he's ever recorded to doing 52:46 is bringing people to Jesus, 52:47 you know, which is a wonderful thing. 52:49 He didn't hardly do anything else, 52:51 according to what we see. 52:52 But had the disciples had different gifts, 52:55 different abilities, 52:57 you know, as someone once said, 52:59 you know, oh, poor, Peter, you know, he's one who sank. 53:02 He's the only one who stepped out of the boat, you know. 53:05 That's true. That's true. 53:06 Yeah. That's right. 53:07 That's true. That's right. 53:09 So those guys had different talents, 53:12 different abilities, different personalities, 53:14 and even whenever, 53:17 after the Pentecost experience, 53:19 did Peter, did his attitude change 53:22 as far as his personality? 53:24 No, he was still a hard hitter man, 53:26 and he gave them the message that they needed to hear. 53:28 He wasn't, you know, nice and soft spoken and everything, 53:31 but God used the personality of Peter 53:35 to preach in a way 53:37 that cut men to their heart 53:39 and brought them to repentance 53:41 and you know, but then you have John, 53:43 John's the beloved. 53:44 You know, he's the one who's always 53:45 you know, close to Jesus 53:47 and kind of loving on Him and everything 53:48 and, but look at some of the writings 53:50 that we have that we're still reading today 53:52 of these guys. 53:54 So the gifts and callings of God, 53:57 what is it, are without repentance? 53:59 And God gives liberally to all. 54:02 He gives us different talents and abilities 54:05 all to be used in His service. 54:07 Amen. You ever had tency? 54:08 I have tency sometime pick up the sword 54:10 and start chopping some ears off, 54:12 you know, He had disciples, right? 54:14 I mean, not that's what you really want to do, 54:17 but that you have that tendency right quick, 54:18 you know, was it, who was it, 54:21 John and Peter were Sons of Thunder? 54:23 Sons of Thunder, 54:25 that must mean they're making some noise somewhere. 54:27 James and John. James and John. Thank you. 54:28 Yeah, James and john, Sons of Thunder. 54:31 That's not always the way you approach it, 54:32 I understand. 54:33 But there's times when the Holy Spirit, 54:36 you know, my uncle used to say, when he's a little bit, 54:39 when he thought he need to do something, my uncle, he said, 54:41 it's righteous indignation. 54:44 Righteous indignation. 54:45 I don't know if you ever feel that 54:46 in your heart and life sometime? 54:48 You know, I would like to say this. 54:49 I see the time is escaping us. Oh, yeah. 54:51 When we go to... 54:53 What you read in Joel Chapter 2, 54:55 what brought to my mind is something that in verse 17, 54:59 he says that, 55:00 "It shall come to pass in the last day," 55:01 he said, "God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." 55:03 Yes. 55:04 "And your sons and your daughters 55:06 should prophesy 55:07 and your young men shall see visions 55:08 and your old men shall dream dreams." 55:10 You know, it's not saying, 55:11 I'm going to pour out my Holy Spirit on the pastors, 55:15 on the elders of the church. 55:17 No, God is going to pour out His Spirit upon us, all of us, 55:20 all that are willing, and empty themselves of self, 55:26 will be able to receive the Holy Spirit, 55:28 thus prepare ourselves for this great blessing. 55:31 Oh, boy. 55:33 Imagine pouring out His Spirit on individuals, 55:38 I say, like me, 55:39 what an awesome, awesome thing to think about. 55:43 He's saying today to us here, 55:45 I want to pour out My Spirit on you. 55:47 I want you to be more than you think 55:49 you can be in Me. 55:50 Have you ever prepared a sermon and you got up there 55:52 and you said, "Lord, 55:53 this is not going to touch anybody. 55:55 This is not going to do any good." 55:56 And then after the sermon, 55:58 you know, I've experienced this myself, 55:59 and people come to me and say, 56:00 "Man, I really needed to hear that. 56:02 Praise God for that message today." 56:03 And I said, "Man, 56:04 that's the Holy Spirit right there." 56:06 Because I didn't really have any confidence 56:07 in what I had on paper here. 56:09 But the spirit intervened 56:11 and he impressed upon the people 56:12 what they needed to hear. 56:13 Amen. Amen. 56:15 Did you ever hear somebody say, 56:16 "Well, how'd that go today when you preach the message?" 56:18 My wife does it once, "Well, how'd it go?" 56:19 She wasn't there. 56:21 You know, and I said, "I don't really know." 56:22 You know, did judge it like, how did it go? 56:24 Well, all I know is she said 56:27 that my word will not return void. 56:29 And I know He's going to take 56:31 from the honest heart and mind that presents the truth. 56:34 He's going to take the mess that I always make, 56:37 always make. 56:38 And I know I'm going to make a mess, 56:40 I don't intend to, I just do. 56:41 But I know he's going to take that mess 56:42 and he's going to make sure, 56:44 Terry, here's what he needs to. 56:45 You need to, what you need to, what you do, what I need. 56:49 He's going to straighten it all out, isn't that wonderful? 56:50 Amen. Yes. That's part of the Holy Spirit. 56:52 We're talking about primitive godliness. 56:54 That's what we need in our church right now, 56:55 do we not? 56:56 Yes. 56:58 We probably should pray about, we've got what, 56:59 30 seconds or so, so quick prayer. 57:02 Pastor John, how about you, 57:03 just pray for the outpouring 57:04 of the Holy Spirit right now please. 57:06 Our loving and wonderful Heavenly Father. 57:09 We thank You that it is not on anything 57:14 that You are limiting Yourself. 57:17 You are waiting for us, 57:18 anxiously waiting for us to surrender to You, 57:22 that You may pour out Your Holy Spirit. 57:24 Help us to listen to Your voice, 57:26 to repent and be converted 57:29 to receive the blessing 57:31 of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 57:33 in Jesus' name we ask, amen. 57:35 Amen. |
Revised 2020-10-04