Bro Gary Sunday PM 4/24/11

Bro Gary Sunday PM 4/24/11

Luke wrote the book of Acts.

Act 1:1  The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

Act 1:2  Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

Act 1:3  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, there is no new truth, but there are depths of understanding that we haven’t reached yet.

Act 1:4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

Act 1:5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

The infallible truths of the gospels:  Jesus went back to the truth that John the Baptist had preached.  John preached all he knew and that is all we can do too, is preach all we know.  John said, “There cometh one after me that is mightier than I and He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire.”

The Holy Ghost does many things but one thing that we know He does is burns up dross.  Where ever we are, we can allow things to be dropped on us and allow things to load us down.  We can be loaded down with the dross of perplexities.  We live in perplexing times.  Paul said to the Corinthians that there will be times that they would be perplexed.  Don’t let this load you down and keep you from going forward.  

Jesus emphasized.  (What a great man Jesus was!)  He said, John taught.  (John was short lived but was a man for God.  He stirred up lots of boundaries.)  John baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Act 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Even in this time People want to know if Jesus is coming back to set up a literal kingdom.  He is not.  His kingdom is not of the world.

Act 1:7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

A lot of the necessity of us receiving the power of the Holy Ghost is us recognizing that we need it and that we are willing to pay the price to get it.  

The other day I realized that the battery is going bad in the Karen’s Highlander.  A battery is expensive but  it is either pay the price and have a battery that will start the car or hope that someone will come along with the jumper cables to help her start her car every time that she needs to.  

We cannot be hoping that someone will come along and put the jumper cables on us all the time.  There is all the power in the Holy Ghost that we need.  Whatever it is going to cost you or me to get the Holy Ghost, to keep Him, to have Him, and to use Him, let us pay the price.  Whatever it is going to cost any of us, we’ve seen enough foolish virgins let us not make up anymore.

The Holy Ghost gives us power to be a witness at home and to the uttermost parts of the earth.  We must first have the power right where we are.  We’re not going to have the goods somewhere else if we don’t have it right here where we are.

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

The only way that it is going to happen is through the power of the Holy Ghost.  We need to love each other and God and we do, yet we need to be more than a conqueror.  We need to be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost.

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

This is past literal vision.  God enlighten the eyes of my understanding.  In the Revelation, Jesus says, “anointing your eyes with eye salve.” (Revelation 3:18)

There is great hope of his calling.  There is great treasure!

Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

All the power of the resurrected Christ, the Holy Ghost, and the word of God is available to us.  We can either position ourselves to receive it or to never have it.

Act 4:31  And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Act 4:32  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; but they had all things common.

Act 4:33  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

The Holy Ghost unites us and gives us power in the Word of God.  We’re not wanting to get on any hobby horses.  There are so many wonderful things in the Word of God there is no reason to get off on any wild goose chases.

I don’t know where we’re headed economically but I want to be headed spiritually so that everything that we have is yielded to God for the furtherance of the gospel.  I want to have the attitude and spirit that everything that I know and learn, I preach and teach.  

We want to have it real that not only do we want to empty our soul and everything that God teaches give back to the saints, but we want to have everything that God gives yielded to Him so that if there is a need we are willing to give to the saints.  Sometimes people have something difficult that they are going through.  If this is the case, then find a saint that is full of the Holy Ghost and lay it all out on the table.  They can help us see it from another angle.

With having power there is the cost of giving, giving of our time and substance.  There will be times when we want to give more than our tithes and offerings.  Also there will be times when we need grace for someone else to help us along.

I know that tomb was empty because I was in a tomb and I couldn’t get myself out.  My parents and friends couldn’t get me out.  Thank God we serve a God that when the saints pray, stones are rolled away.  Lives in sin are convicted and they have an opportunity to choose life.  

The man that wrote the song, “Send the Power Down”, has in one of the verses the thought of unfailing grace.  There is a reason that this is part of his testimony.  Unless we are filled with the Holy Ghost, we’ll going to fail of the grace of God.