Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 9/16/15

Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 9/16/15

The Holy Spirit in the Gospel Day.

Mat 3:1  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

Mat 3:2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mat 3:3  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Mat 3:4  And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

Mat 3:5  Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

Mat 3:6  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

The message of repentance did a great work.  It does a great work today; it causes men and women to be forgiven of their sins.

Mat 3:7  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Mat 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

Part of the message that John was teaching was to religious people.  It was to bring forth fruit meet for repentance. 

Mat 3:9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Mat 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

The humility of John the Baptist!  Clarke said that of the most humble things that an individual of that day could do was to pack someone’s shoes.  Whatever we can do to be humble in our heart that is the most important thing.  There is nothing in us that cries out against being humble, or against honoring one another.

It is wonderful that John baptized with the baptism of repentance.  He prophesied of Jesus coming, “The Greater One.”  Isn’t it wonderful to have that atmosphere about us that there is one greater than me?  Karen sings the song:

There is no one great among us
We are nothing on our own.

He shall: a promise that is sure.  He shall baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire.  Whenever we read Revelations dealing with the Laodicean church age which is our age, whenever we hear a message about it or feel the spirit of lukewarmness working on us, we cry out to God:  “God help me.  God help us.”

I am convinced tonight that the only way that we will not be lukewarm is that we are baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire.  There are unknown to us avenues that the enemy tries; he runs over us to get us to be lukewarm.  You don’t have to be lukewarm.

Mat 3:12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

The fan is in Christ’s hand.  We all realize that in the day that this scripture was written, the wheat was harvested by hand and was brought into a place and beat on the floor to get the kernels of the wheat out.  There were other things that were with the straw and the wheat.  There was dust, dirt, bark pieces, and tares brought in. 

God always has a plan to clean things up.  The fan is in Christ’s hand; that always thrills my heart.  The product that has been brought in and the wheat that is laying on the floor, they would use a tool and throw the wheat into the air and then they would fan it.  They would make all the wind that they could, using both hands, to blow the chaff away.

We are before God and we say, “God we don’t want chaff in our lives; we don’t want anything glued to us that you want to take off.  We want to be gathered into the garner with the wheat.”

The garner is a grainery.  We are gathered into a treasury.  That is the beloved Church of God.  We give ourselves willingly to Christ.  “Take both hands on your fan.  I want to be with the saints of God.  I don’t want to have the attitude, “Don’t try to take anything from me.”  I want all chaff to go.”

The wheat becomes pure in the thought of free from dust, chaff, particles, bugs, and whatever else.  We want it taken off.  The chaff is burned with unquenchable fire and we don’t want to be chaff.

Luk 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Before 1965 my father was hit with a tree on Cooper Peak.  It broke his back.  It was winter and we were without wood.  While we were gone to church, Jack Hermiston and Sam Palmer delivered a load of wood. 

On one Saturday my mother came and said, “Gary, your dad wants to have a talk with you.  I was just a boy.  I was an immature boy and had not been around very far.  I went in there and stood by his bed.  He said, “Son unless there is a miracle I am going to die.  I want you to take care of your mother.” 

That had to be fifty some years ago.  I will never forget it: the solemnness of my father who was wasting away.  He was as white as these walls and he was as skinny as Brother Lawson was when he came to us.  My father knew how to be really serious and how to not only drive a good point but then to seal it really well.

I listened and couldn’t help but be emotional.  I said, “I will do my best.”  He didn’t die that night and He didn’t die on Sunday and a turn started to take place. 

He could not walk, but he told my mother, “I want you to get the car to the edge of the steps and get me into it.  Then take me up to the hill.  He had several horses up there.  She loved Daddy so much that she got him into that car and he had to crawl. 

When she got him there he told her to help him to get out and leave him there and come back in an hour.  She left him there and all he could do was crawl.  He said, “I have to learn to walk.”  She came back and helped him to get into the car and drove close to the steps.  He crawled back to the bed of plywood and lay back down.

I don’t know how many times she did this and he tried to learn to walk.  It didn’t happen in a day.  One day my dad learned to walk.

We have all had individuals that trusted us.  We are not always able to do what they want us to do.  Gene called me one day and told me to come over because he had something to ask of me.  He asked a favor that I wasn’t able to do.  I am glad that he trusted me.  As far as I know that was the only favor I was not able to do for him.

Jesus knew that he could trust His disciples.  It is wonderful to know that He can trust us tonight.

He said, “Behold…”

Luk 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Dear church here in Paradise, this is where we are.  Jesus left us these words.  They are as weighty as they were just moments before He ascended to the Father.  “Behold: Get a hold of this.” 

As Dad told me, “Gary take care of your mother, I am going to die unless there is a miracle.”  Jesus said to the disciples, “Disciples take this.” 

They didn’t know what was going to happen.  He said, “I am leaving this with you.  I am going to send the promise of my Father unto you.”  This promise is as real tonight as it was the moment he spoke these words and as real as all the prophesies that were before.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

They were doing their best to do what Jesus had told them to do.  “Tarry until you be endued with power from on high.”  They were there.  They showed up.

Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

We thank God every time we come together and God fills this literal house.  We thank God for every time that we get to God and He fills our literal house.

Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

He shall teach you all things.  It is very often, before God can teach us anything, the wheat has to be thrown into the air and He has to take that fan.  There are particles attached, sometimes we have to just get over things.  “Someone said something that really hurt me.”  Sometimes we have to just let it go.

We have to get around the fan: “That part of you has to go.  You might like it but it is a big hindrance.  Get the fan.”

He shall bring all things to remembrance.  That scripture emphasizes the things in the Word of God.  Sometimes we get before God, I am on the step praying, and I don’t have this list.  I lift up my heart and say, God remember this request. 

God lays a burden on our heart and we wonder, “How long will I carry this.  Will He bring it back tomorrow?” 

There are requests that no one knows about but you.  They lay right in the center of your heart.  Sometimes you would almost fear, “What if I forget.  Maybe I should tell someone.”  You are like me on the step and God says, “Pray.”

The Holy Spirit is a marvelous, precious reminder of what God has already taught us.  He reminds us of those lessons that we learned in the first week and in the first month that we were saved.

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Shed: It is poured, emptied into vessels of honor. 

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

It helps our infirmities, helps us to know the burden of the Lord, and makes intercession for us.