THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT
PROGRAM AIR DATE: 5-27-18
LESSON TITLE: “DAY OF PENTECOST”
WELCOME
TODAY WE ARE BLESSED WITH A WONDERFUL GIFT FROM GOD, THE BIBLE. THIS BOOK IS GOD'S LIVING WORD. IN ITS PAGES, WE ARE TOLD “FOR THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND POWERFUL AND SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD.” IT IS IN THIS BOOK OF BOOKS THAT WE FIND THE ANSWERS TO ALL OF MAN'S QUESTIONS AND NEEDS. THIS MORNING YOUR AREA CHURCHES OF CHRIST WELCOME YOU TO A PROGRAM COMMITTED TO THAT PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY AS WE PRESENT THE LIVING WORD. NOW HERE IS YOUR HOST, RAY SULLINS.WE ARE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU WITH US TODAY FOR THE LIVING WORD PROGRAM. WHAT A WONDROUS LORD’S DAY MORNING IT IS.
AS ALWAYS IT IS AN HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO HAVE YOU WITH US. WE ARE THANKFUL YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO JOIN US AS WE COMMIT THIS TIME TO THE THINGS OF GOD. IT IS OUR HOPE AND PRAYER THIS MORNING THAT WE MAY EACH PARTICIPATE AND DO OUR PART TO MAKE THIS TIME ACCEPTABLE BEFORE HIM AND ACCORDING TO HIS WORD. NOW LET’S BEGIN BY TALKING TO GOD THROUGH PRAYER!
PRAYER: OUR GOD AND FATHER IN HEAVEN, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS DAY AND THE GREAT BLESSINGS OF LIFE, THE PRIVILEGE THAT WE HAVE TO SERVE YOU AND EVEN TO BE CALLED YOUR CHILDREN. AND FATHER, HELP US THIS DAY AND EVERY DAY TO SHINE AS LIGHTS IN THIS WORLD THAT OTHERS MIGHT KNOW YOU THROUGH US AND ULTIMATELY WE MIGHT ALL STRIVE FOR THAT DAY WHEN WE WILL BE JUDGED AND RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE. FATHER, WE ALSO ARE EVER MINDFUL OF THE PRIVILEGE THAT WE HAVE TO WORSHIP AND THEREFORE HELP US THIS DAY IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH TO GIVE YOUR VERY BEST. IN JESUS NAME WE PRAY AMEN.
OUR FIRST SONG THIS MORNING REMINDS US OF JUST HOW GREAT AND WONDROUS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST IS AND OF ALL THE GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE FOR US. SO, WON’T YOU JOIN IN WITH THE CONGREGATION AT THIS TIME AS WE SING TOGETHER, “SING HALLELUJAH TO THE LORD.”
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
WHENEVER WE GO TO BUY A NEW HOUSE, CAR, FURNITURE, OR VIRTUALLY ANYTHING, THE FIRST THING WE LOOK AT IS THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE! THEN WE IMMEDIATELY BEGIN TO CONSIDER THE QUALITY OR THE WORKMANSHIP THAT WAS PUT INTO MAKING THE ITEM. IF WE SEE OR FIND A LOT OF FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS IN THE ITEM, WE GENERALLY WILL BE LESS LIKELY TO BUY IT OR EVEN WANT IT.
HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED THAT YOU AND I AS FOLLOWERS OF GOD, SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE TO THOSE WHO ARE IN THIS WORLD? WASN’T IT PAUL THAT SAID, “FOR WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS FOR GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD PREPARED BEFOREHAND THAT WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM,” EPHESIANS 2:10. YOU SEE, WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP, CREATED BY HIM.
SO, WHAT DOES THIS TELL US ABOUT THOSE WHO LIVE AROUND US AND SEE WHAT WE DO AND SAY. IT IS THROUGH OUR ACTIONS AND WORDS THAT OUR WORKMANSHIP IS SEEN BY THE WORLD. WHEN OTHERS HEAR WHAT WE SAY OR SEE WHAT WE DO, THEN THEY KNOW THAT WE ARE EITHER A PERFECT CREATION MADE BY THE WORKMAN, GOD HIMSELF OR AN IMPERFECT CREATION, NOT SHOWING FORTH THE GLORY OF HE WHO MADE US.
I ALSO LOVE WHAT IS SAID HERE ABOUT WHY WE ARE CREATED: FOR GOOD WORKS. DO YOU REALIZE THAT THE VERY REASON WE ARE MADE BY GOD AND LIKE HIM, IS TO DO HIS WILL. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT GOD PLANNED FROM THE BEGINNING, THAT YOU AND I WOULD FOLLOW HIM BY DOING HIS WILL UNTO GOOD WORKS.
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF CHRIST WE CAN PRESENT TO THIS WORLD IF WE ALLOW OUR WORKMANSHIP TO BE SEEN AS SPOTLESS, JUST AS THE ONE WHO HAS MADE US. WHAT TYPE OF WORKMANSHIP DO YOU SHOW FORTH FOR YOUR GOD?
A FINAL VERSE I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION IS FOUND IN PSALMS 139:14. THERE DAVID THE PSALMIST SAID, “I WILL PRAISE YOU, FOR I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE; MARVELOUS ARE YOUR WORKS, AND THAT MY SOUL KNOWS VERY WELL.” IN A FEW MINUTES OUR NEXT SONG WILL DEAL WITH THESE VERY SAME IDEAS, AS WE THINK TO CHRIST THE CREATOR, WHO HAS MADE US SO WONDERFULLY AND DONE SO MUCH FOR US.
WELL, ITS ALMOST TIME TO BEGIN OUR MAIN STUDY FROM GOD’S WORD. THIS MORNING WE WILL BEGIN A NEW SERIES OF STUDY WHICH IS ENTITLED, “WHAT SHALL WE DO?” THIS SERIES IS FOCUSED ON THE GREAT STORIES OF CONVERSION IN THE BOOK OF ACTS! TODAY WE WILL CONSIDER THE DAY OF “PENTECOST” IN ACTS 2. SO, PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US THIS MORNING AND IN A FEW MINUTES I WILL RETURN WITH THIS STUDY FROM GOD’S WORD. THE NAME OF OUR NEXT HYMN IS, “GOD IS LOVE.”
LESSON
RAY SULLINS
WE'RE SO THANKFUL YOU'VE CONTINUED WITH US TODAY AS WE NOW BEGIN A NEW SERIES OF STUDY, A SERIES OF STUDY THAT REALLY ASKS A QUESTION. AND CERTAINLY QUESTIONS ARE IMPORTANT AND SOMETHING THAT AFFECTS ALL OF OUR LIVES. WHEN WE'RE VERY YOUNG AND AS WE GROW UP ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO WHEN WE ARE CHILDREN IS WE ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS. AND IN FACT, SOME KIDS ALMOST DRIVE YOU CRAZY BECAUSE THEY'LL KEEP ASKING YOU SO MANY QUESTIONS AND SOMETIMES IT'S THE SAME QUESTION OVER AND OVER. AND AS WE GET INTO SCHOOL, WE BEGIN TO ASK QUESTIONS OF OUR TEACHERS AND AS WE MAY BE GO OUT AND WE BEGIN TO SEE THE WORLD AND WE WANT TO LEARN AND SOAK UP THAT KNOWLEDGE WE BEGIN TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THOSE WHO MIGHT BE TEACHING US OR WHO CAN HELP US TO UNDERSTAND CERTAIN TYPES OF OCCUPATIONS OR CERTAIN TYPES OF WORKS OR THINGS THAT INTEREST US OR EVEN THINGS PERTAINING TO HISTORY OR THE WORLD OR EVEN THE UNIVERSE AND CERTAINLY ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ARE SOMETHING THAT WE THIRST FOR BECAUSE KNOWLEDGE IS SOMETHING THAT HELPS US, NOT ONLY TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING, BUT ALSO AN ABILITY TO ACT. AND THEREFORE, TO BE THOSE WHO HAVE SOMEWHAT POWER OVER OUR OWN DESTINIES WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE'RE ABOUT AND WHAT WE'LL DO AND REALLY WHAT WE TRULY WILL KNOW. AND SO THEREFORE, AS WE THINK ABOUT THAT EVEN IN THE BIBLE, THERE WERE MANY TIMES QUESTIONS EVEN FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE BIBLE WE SEE QUESTIONS ASKED NOT ONLY BY GOD BUT BY THE PEOPLE OF GOD, THOSE CREATED OF GOD. AND THEN EVEN AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEW TESTAMENT WE SEE OVER AND OVER AGAIN QUESTIONS ASKED BY THE MANY INDIVIDUALS WHO NEED TO KNOW SOMETHING PERTAINING TO SALVATION.
BUT IF THERE'S ONE QUESTION THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION THAT WE MIGHT EVER ASK, WHETHER IT BE OF A PHYSICAL OR A SPIRITUAL NATURE, IT IS THAT QUESTION: WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? BUT EVEN MORE THAN THAT WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? AND WE KNOW EVEN IN THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS THERE ARE SEVERAL TIMES THAT INDIVIDUALS ASKED THAT QUESTION. I'M REMINDED OF THERE OF ONE WHO IS REFERRED TO AS A RICH, YOUNG RULER. AND WHEN HE CAME TO JESUS AND ADDRESSES JESUS, NOT ONLY AS THE TEACHER BUT THE TEACHER, NOTICE WHAT HE ASKS HIM. HE SAID, ‘WHAT SHALL I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?’ YOU SEE, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT EVEN THIS YOUNG MAN COULD UNDERSTAND OR THE GREATEST ANSWER THAT HE COULD HAVE TO ANY QUESTION OF LIFE, WITH ALL THE WEALTH THAT HE HAD, AND ALL THE EDUCATION THAT HE HAD WAS SIMPLE. WHAT MUST I DO TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE? HOW CAN I BE SAVED ETERNALLY? AND EVEN AFTER THE CHURCH IS ESTABLISHED, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION THAT YOU MIGHT EVER ASK ME BECAUSE, IT NOT ONLY AFFECTS YOU NOW IN THIS LIFE, BUT IT AFFECTS YOUR ETERNAL DESTINY IS THAT SAME QUESTION: WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? OR WHAT MUST I DO TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?
SO BECAUSE OF THAT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO NOW FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS IS TO LOOK WITHIN THE BOOK OF ACTS. AND THE BOOK OF ACTS IS USUALLY REFERRED TO AS THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES BECAUSE IT IS THE BOOK THAT DEALS WITH THE LIFE OF THE APOSTLES WHO WERE GIVEN THE FULL MEASURE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AFTER JESUS HAD LEFT THE EARTH. AND IT SHOWS US HOW AFTER JESUS LEFT THE EARTH AND HE ESTABLISHED HIS KINGDOM THAT IT IS ESTABLISHED THERE IN ACTS CHAPTER 2 AND WHAT WE BEGAN TO SEE IS THAT PEOPLE ARE BEING ADDED TO THE CHURCH OR THAT KINGDOM ON A DAILY BASIS. AND THE CHURCH IS GROWING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS. AND SO THE MAIN QUESTION THAT THE APOSTLES AND EARLY DISCIPLES OF THAT DAY BEGAN TO ASK AND TO ANSWER IS: WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? PEOPLE WANTED TO FOLLOW JESUS, THE ONE WHO HAD JUST DIED AND ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH, PURCHASED IT WITH HIS BLOOD (ACTS CHAPTER 20 VERSE 28) AND THEY WANTED TO BE IN THAT KINGDOM THAT HAD BEEN PROPHESIZED AND PROMISED AND BEGAN TO ASK THAT QUESTION. AND THE APOSTLES AND OTHER FAITHFUL OF GOD ANSWERED THAT QUESTION BASED ON WHAT IT IS THAT GOD HAD COMMANDED. THEREFORE, WE CAN LOOK AT THE ANSWER THAT WAS GIVEN BY THEM, THOSE INSPIRED AND LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO EVEN HAD THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. WE CAN LOOK AT HOW THEY ANSWERED THE QUESTION AND WE CAN LOOK AT THE EXAMPLES OF WHAT PEOPLE DID WHEN THEY RESPONDED TO THE ANSWER OF THAT QUESTION. AND WE CAN FIND OUT WHAT WE THEN SHOULD DO. IF THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE TOLD, IF THIS IS WHAT THEY DID AFTER THE CHURCH HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED, AND THIS IS HOW THEY BECAME CHRISTIANS....WOULD IT NOT THEN ALSO CERTAINLY MAKE SENSE THAT WE WOULD DO THE SAME SINCE WE ARE STILL IN THE SAME AGE, THE CHRISTIAN AGE, AND WE HAVE BEEN REALLY PURCHASED BY THE SAME SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST? WELL CERTAINLY IT WOULD!
AND SO TODAY WE BEGAN THERE IN ACTS CHAPTER 2 WITH PERHAPS EVEN THE MOST FAMILIAR OF ALL THE CONVERSION ACCOUNTS THERE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. BUT EVEN SPECIFICALLY IN THE BOOK OF ACTS BECAUSE IT IS HERE THAT MOST RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS AND COMMENTATORS WOULD BELIEVE THAT THE CHURCH, THE KINGDOM, BEGAN AND WAS ESTABLISHED. AND THE REASON THEY BELIEVE THAT IS BECAUSE THE THINGS THAT ARE FULFILLED ON THAT DAY ACCORDING TO PROPHECY OR THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY WHEN THAT KINGDOM WAS TO BE ESTABLISHED, NOT ONLY THE TIMEFRAME AND PERIOD, BUT ALSO THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS ESTABLISHED AS WELL AS THE ACTIVITIES THAT SURROUNDED IT INCLUDING THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE POWER FROM ON HIGH. EVEN ON THE GOSPEL PERIOD, THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS AS THEY WERE RECORDING THE LIFE OF CHRIST, EVEN JOHN AND JESUS AND OTHERS SPOKE OF THINGS THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN THAT DAY AND THAT MANY WOULD NOT TASTE OF DEATH UNTIL THE KINGDOM OF GOD CAME WITH POWER. AND THAT'S WHAT WE SEE ACTS CHAPTER 1. THEM WAITING THERE IN JERUSALEM. WHO? THE APOSTLES. AND THEN IN CHAPTER 2 WHAT DO WE FIND? THEY RECEIVE THAT POWER AND THEY ALL BEGAN TO SPEAK IN TONGUES. BUT PERHAPS WHAT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING AS ALL HAVE GATHERED FOR THIS JEWISH FEAST OF PENTECOST, WHAT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING IS THE MESSAGE THAT PETER GAVE. THE FIRST GOSPEL SERMON AFTER THE DEATH OF CHRIST AND THE FIRST GOSPEL SERMON IN WHICH PEOPLE NOW ARE GOING TO BE TOLD WHAT TO DO AND THEN WOULD BE ADDED, AS THIS TEXT WILL SAY, TO THE CHURCH OR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. AND SO AS HE PREACHES WHAT DOES HE REMIND THEM OF? PROPHECY, HE GOES BACK TO THE OLD TESTAMENT. AND WHAT DOES HE TELL THEM? HE SAYS, ‘I WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU JEWS, I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE GUILTY OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST! AND THE ONE THAT YOU HAVE JUST KILLED,’ AS WE SEE THERE IN VERSES 36 AND 37, ‘THAT GOD HAD MADE THIS ONE LORD AND CHRIST. THE VERY MESSIAH IS THE ONE YOU JUST KILLED ON THE CROSS, THE ONE YOU HAVE JUST PUT IN THE GRAVE, THE ONE WHO HAS JUST RESURRECTED.’ AND WHAT WAS THEIR REACTION? ‘OH, WE DON'T BELIEVE IT. THAT IS JUST A BUNCH OF JUNK. THAT'S CRAZY. HUH -UH.’ THEIR REACTION IS THEY WERE CUT TO THE HEART. THEY WERE CUT BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTOOD, ‘OH NO! WE JUST KILLED THE VERY ONE SENT TO SAVE OUR SOULS. NOW WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?’ AND THEY UNDERSTAND THIS BECAUSE THEY SAW THE POWER OF GOD ON THEM AND THEY SPOKE IN LANGUAGES THAT THEY COULD NOT HAVE KNOWN WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE POWER OF GOD THROUGH THEM.
AND SO WHAT IS THE NEXT THING THAT HAPPENS? THEY ASKED THE QUESTION. LOOK AT VERSE 37. THE CROWD CRIES OUT AND THEY ASKED PETER AND THE OTHERS, “‘MEN AND BRETHREN, WHAT SHALL WE DO?’” AS THEIR HEARTS ARE CUT, AS THEY ARE PIERCED, CERTAINLY WHEN WE WOULD MAYBE BE PIERCED IN THE HEART OR CUT, WOULD WE NOT IN AGONY OR IN ANGUISH OR MAYBE IN A CRYING OUT WAY SAY, ‘WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? HOW CAN I FIX THIS PROBLEM?’ WELL YOU SEE, THAT'S WHAT THEY DO. WHAT MUST WE DO? ‘YES, WE ARE GUILTY OF WHAT YOU SAY. WE HAVE KILLED THE SON OF GOD. WE WERE CRYING OUT WITH THE LEADERS OF THE JEWS, ‘CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!’ WE MOCKED HIM AND SPAT AT HIM AS HE WAS ON THE CROSS. BUT NOW WE BELIEVE! NOW WE UNDERSTAND. WE SAW WHAT HAPPENED THE MOMENT HE DIED AND WHAT TOOK PLACE ON THE EARTH. WE SAW THE POWER. WE SEE THE POWER OF GOD IN YOU. WHATT MUST WE DO TO OVERCOME THIS SIN?’ AND REALLY ISN'T THAT WHAT THE QUESTION IS ALL ABOUT? SIN. ISN'T THAT THE PLAGUE THAT SEPARATES US FROM GOD? THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING WHAT GOD WANTS? SIN, THAT'S BEEN THE PLIGHT OF MAN FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. SIN, AND NOW WHAT MUST I DO? HOW CAN I BE SAVED? I'VE GOT TO OVERCOME SIN. AND THEIR SIN IS THEY HAVE KILLED THE SON OF GOD.
AND SO NOW WHAT IS THE ANSWER THAT PETER GIVES THEM? PETER AND THE OTHERS AS THEY ARE SHOWING THIS POWER OF GOD WHAT DID THEY SAY? OH, JUMP OVER A BROOMSTICK. OH, JUST SAY YOU LOVE JESUS AND THAT'S ENOUGH. NO, NONE OF THOSE THINGS! THE THINGS THAT THEY ARE TOLD ARE OBVIOUS AND THUS REPEATED THROUGHOUT THIS BOOK THAT ALREADY WERE PROPHESIED AND BEING PRACTICED BY JOHN THE IMMERSER AND JESUS WHEN THEY WOULD SAY REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED. BUT NOTICE NOW WHAT PETER SAYS IN VERSE 38. HE SAYS, “‘REPENT!’” THAT MEANS ACKNOWLEDGE SIN AND TURN ALL THE WAY AWAY FROM IT! BECAUSE SIN HAS NO PLACE IN THE CHILD OF GOD! YOU KNOW THAT. I KNOW THAT. YOU CAN'T CONTINUE IN SIN AND BE FAITHFUL TO GOD. “‘REPENT!’” BUT NOT ONLY REPENT, “‘AND LET EVERY ONE OF YOU BE BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.’”
WHY BAPTISM? WELL, BECAUSE IT IS IN BAPTISM THAT WE MEET THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. THAT'S WHAT ANANIAS TOLD PAUL IN ACTS CHAPTER 22 VERSE 16, “‘WHY ARE YOU WAITING? ARISE AND BE BAPTIZED AND WASH AWAY YOUR SINS.’” THAT'S WHAT ROMANS CHAPTER 6 TELLS US. THAT AS WE DIE AND WE ARE BURIED, AS JESUS DIED AND WAS BURIED, WE LEAVE THE OLD MAN IN THE GRAVE. AND WHEN WE COME OUT OF THE WATERY GRAVE OF BAPTISM WE ARE RESURRECTED AS THE NEW CREATION AS JESUS RESURRECTED ON THE THIRD DAY. YOU SEE THE SYMBOLISM? THE BEAUTY OF BAPTISM? HE SAYS REPENT AND EQUALLY IN CONJUNCTION BE BAPTIZED. THOSE THINGS ARE BOTH REQUIRED. NO WONDER JESUS, WHEN HE WAS LEAVING THE EARTH IN MARK CHAPTER 16 VERSES 15 AND 16, SAID, “‘GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOSPEL.’” AND HE TOLD THEM TO DO WHAT? HE THAT BELIEVES AND IS BAPTIZED WILL BE SAVED. YOU SEE THE THINGS THAT ARE NEEDED? AND THEN EVEN TIES BAPTISM TO REMISSION OF SINS, THE WASHING AWAY OF SINS BECAUSE IT SAYS LET EVERYONE OF YOU BE BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS. WHAT WAS REPENTANCE GOING TO DO? IT WAS GOING TO CAUSE THEM TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN. AND WHAT WAS BAPTISM GOING TO DO? IT WAS GOING TO CALL THEM TO BE WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS FIGURATIVELY SO THAT THEY MIGHT WHAT? SO THAT THEY MIGHT, AS IT STATES HERE, BE THOSE WHO HAVE WHAT? WHO HAVE HAD THEIR SINS REMITTED, FORGIVEN. AND THEN HE EVEN SAYS, AND AGAIN CONJUNCTION, ANOTHER THING “‘YOU RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.’” AND CERTAINLY IN THAT DAY THEY RECEIVED THAT GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! AND CERTAINLY WE RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! NOT THE GIFTS, THE MIRACULOUS, BUT THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. THAT GOD WITHIN US. HE'S ON HIS THRONE IN OUR HEART, HE RULES THE TEMPLE, THE BODY THAT HE HAS GIVEN US THAT WE NOW DWELL IN.
WHAT IS ALSO BEAUTIFUL ABOUT WHAT TAKES PLACE HERE IS WE KNOW THAT THEY BELIEVE. WE KNOW THEY CAN CONFESS THE NAME OF JESUS THEY'RE DOING THAT IN THEIR ACTIONS. THEY CUT TO THE HEART. THEY SAID WHAT DO THEY DO? WE DO BELIEVE. WE KNOW THAT THEY REPENTED. WE KNOW THAT THEY WERE BAPTIZED BECAUSE WHEN YOU DROP DOWN TO VERSE 41 IT SAYS, AND “THOSE WHO GLADLY RECEIVED THE WORD WERE BAPTIZED.” WELL, DID THEY CONFESS? YES THEY CONFESSED. DID THEY REPENT? YES. THEY DID ALL THE OTHER THINGS TOO BUT WHAT IS IT AGAIN REITERATE? THEY WERE BAPTIZED. THEY WERE IMMERSED IN WATER TO SEAL THE ACTION OF FAITH THAT PROVES TO GOD AND PROVES TO OTHERS THAT YOU'RE WILLING TO GO THROUGH WHAT GOD COMMANDS TO BE ADDED BY HIM TO THE CHURCH. AND THEN IT SAYS 3000 SOULS WERE ADDED TO THE CHURCH THAT DAY. YOU THINK THERE WERE A FEW THAT BELIEVED? THERE WERE MANY THAT BELIEVED. BUT THEN ALSO NOTICE WITH ME DOWN IN VERSE 47 AFTER IT TELLS US THAT THEY CONTINUED IN THE APOSTLES DOCTRINES THAT THEY CONTINUED DAILY WITH ONE ANOTHER, THAT THEY HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON, THEY HELPED EACH OTHER. THEY SHOWED LOVE ONE TO ANOTHER AS GOD WOULD HAVE THEM VERSE 47 SAYS, “PRAISING GOD AND HAVING FAVOR WITH ALL THE PEOPLE. AND THE LORD ADDED TO THE CHURCH DAILY THOSE THAT WERE BEING SAVED.” SO THOSE THAT WERE BEING SAVED WERE BEING ADDED TO THE WHAT? THE CHURCH. AND HOW ARE THEY BEING ADDED TO THE CHURCH? BY THE LORD. AND WHEN THE LORD TOLD THEM TO DO WHAT MUST WE DO AND THEY WERE TOLD TO REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED.
SO LET ME ASK YOU QUESTION: WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TODAY IF YOU WANT THE LORD TO ADD YOU TO HIS CHURCH? THE SAME THING THEY DID. THIS MESSAGE IS WRITTEN TO YOU OR TO ANY WHO WOULD BE FAITHFUL, ANY WHO WOULD DESIRE REMISSION OF SINS. ANY WHO WANT THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THAT SAME COMMAND AS YOU CRY OUT WHAT MUST I DO TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE? THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE AND CLEAR! REPENT AND LET EVERYONE OF YOU BE BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS AND YOU'LL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND THEN AS YOU'VE DONE THOSE THINGS BY FAITH THAT GOD COMMANDS HE AND HE ALONE WHO HAS POWER WILL ADD YOU THE CHURCH. SEARCH YOUR SOUL TODAY AND CONSIDER WHETHER YOU HAVE DONE TRULY WHAT GOD COMMANDS TO BE ADDED TO THE CHURCH. IF NOT THE GREAT NEWS IS EVEN TODAY, EVEN THIS HOUR, YOU CAN SORT THINGS OUT. YOU CAN BE BAPTIZED PROPERLY HAVING REPENTED AND CONFESSED THE NAME OF JESUS AND YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF IN A SAME CONDITION NOT BECAUSE OF MAN OR DENOMINATION TO THE WORLD BUT BECAUSE OF GOD AND HIS POWER THE ONE ALONE WHO DIED FOR YOU. SUBMIT FULLY TO HIM. HAVE YOU BEEN SAVED? HAVE YOU OBEYED THE GOSPEL? ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH? IF NOT CORRECT THOSE THINGS TODAY AND MAKE YOURSELF RIGHT WITH GOD!
CLOSING COMMENTS
AGAIN, LET ME THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING TO BE WITH US THIS MORNING. I HOPE WE ALL HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGED THROUGH OUR TIME SPENT TOGETHER. PLEASE REMEMBER, YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US EVERY SUNDAY MORNING AT 7:30, AS WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO THIS SERVICE OF GOD.
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HOW EXCITING IT IS TO SEE THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED IN ACTS 2 AND TO LEARN HOW THOSE ON THAT DAY OBEY THE SAVING GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. MAY WE ALL SUBMIT TO THESE SAME TRUTHS AND TO THIS SAME GOSPEL TODAY!