1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,360 Welcome everyone. It's good to be here with you 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:07,720 today. We have a wonderful crowd, as 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:12,720 has been mentioned, and we have visitors that are among us and 4 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,840 we're grateful for that too. We have some faces in the 5 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,080 audience we haven't seen in a little while and it's good to 6 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:22,840 see you back with us today. I have personally enjoyed very 7 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:27,680 much worshipping with you so far, and it is my honor to speak 8 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:34,080 concerning the Word of God, and I'm very pleased and excited to 9 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:36,800 talk about the subject that we want to talk about this morning. 10 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,520 As you can see on the screen, we've been building up to it. 11 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,760 We've been getting to it in this series, but this morning, as 12 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:50,000 we've entitled our remarks, it is simply Jesus Ascends to 13 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,080 Heaven. As an introductory text, we go 14 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:58,000 to the Acts chapter 1 and verse 9 where the Bible says now when 15 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,520 he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up in 16 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,080 a cloud, received him out of their sight. 17 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,280 Now we've come to the end of the 40 days. 18 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:12,760 Remember, this series was the 40 days from the time that the Lord 19 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,280 was risen from the dead on that Sunday morning on that 20 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,120 resurrection Sunday to the time that he ascended to his Father. 21 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,280 And that is in Acts chapter 1. And we're going to get to that. 22 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:25,560 And I'm just going to say right now, there's a whole lot we got 23 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:27,960 to talk about before we get to the ascension. 24 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:32,840 The ascension will be the climax and the conclusion of this 25 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:38,880 sermon today and this series. OK, Jesus ascends to heaven. 26 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,600 Just briefly though, about the 40 days, interesting. 27 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,760 In the book of Acts chapter 1, and just prior to the verses 28 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,680 we're going to talk about today, it is the only place in all the 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,720 New Testament that records the actual duration of time that 30 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,760 Jesus spent with his disciples after the resurrection. 31 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,120 It's the only place that we say 40 days or find 40 days. 32 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,040 I'm going to say this briefly because we discussed this in 33 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:09,479 detail in several lessons ago. I'm going to be brief about the 34 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:14,680 significance of 40 in the Bible, significance of 40 days, 35 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:20,000 significance of 40 years. Notice 40 days or years in the 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:25,960 Bible signify the period of testing, trial, purification, 37 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:31,120 and preparation leading to a new beginning, transformation, or 38 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,840 significant divine action. We could sum it up like this. 39 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:39,800 In general, 40 days marked a time period of change. 40 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,920 A time period of change and we noticed some examples. 41 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,280 How about the flood? God caused it to rain for 40 42 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,520 days on the earth. How about when God gave the law 43 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,000 Moses on Mount Sinai? How about Jonah that preached to 44 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,800 Nineveh and said yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 45 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,600 How about after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist to 46 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,960 fulfill all righteousness. Then he was in the wilderness 47 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,440 and he fasted and for 40 days the Bible says he was tempted by 48 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:14,960 the devil. And we know about the three 49 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:19,440 temptations and maybe there were others not recorded, but 40 days 50 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:23,560 and finally the post resurrection 40 days that we 51 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:29,000 have discussed in our series. And in those forty days Jesus 52 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,800 appeared to his disciples during those days after his 53 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,520 resurrection and before his ascension. 54 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:40,240 It was a time of confirming his victory and equipping them for 55 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,000 their mission. From a theological standpoint, 56 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,800 we might say that these time periods marked a significant 57 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:52,920 transition of change from one state or task to another, and a 58 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:57,240 preparation for a new life or for a new purpose. 59 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,840 How about God's divine action and all that? 60 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:04,200 40 day periods are often associated with direct divine 61 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:09,520 action, obviously by God, or a major divine event such as the 62 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,600 giving of the law or the confirmation of the 63 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:15,320 resurrection. OK. 64 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:20,200 As I said before a few lessons ago though, OK, sometimes a 65 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:28,120 number is just a number. And remember this, we spend too 66 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,760 much time sometimes on numerology or the significance 67 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,040 of numbers. I'm not even going to get into 68 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,600 any of that. That is beyond my level of 69 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,040 whatever I wanted to say expertise, but that makes me 70 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:42,240 sound like I'm an expert in anything else. 71 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,960 I'm not doing that, OK? It's beyond. 72 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:50,160 I don't understand all that. Maybe others do, but I do know 73 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,280 this. Sometimes a number in the Bible 74 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:56,680 is just a number, just like the number 40. 75 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,760 I think 40 is just a #2. What makes 40 significant in 76 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:07,120 Bible history is it was a time that God just chose to 77 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:11,800 accomplish a specific purpose. That is undeniable. 78 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,520 All right, we know and I've said over and over again in this 79 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:21,000 series, there were 10 post resurrection appearances by 80 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:26,960 Jesus. 5 actually happened on Resurrection Sunday, one week 81 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,440 later in the upper room with the 11. 82 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,200 Thomas is then present too. Jesus met them there. 83 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,560 Another post resurrection appearance happened at some 84 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,720 point of unspecified time later on the Sea of Galilee where 85 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:48,120 there were 7 disciples fishing and Jesus has breakfast with 86 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:50,360 them and then Jesus restores Peter. 87 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:55,800 Then at some unspecified time later, Jesus meets in Galilee 88 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,800 again, and he meets with the 11 on a mountain somewhere, and he 89 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,960 gave the Great Commission, and that was the last lesson that we 90 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,440 gave in our series. Now, according to First 91 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:11,600 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 6, which we'll not get into, we 92 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:16,000 find that in a place that is unknown, Jesus appeared before 93 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,960 more than 500. That's also an appearance of 94 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,640 Jesus in this 40 days. What else? 95 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,480 First Corinthians 15 and seven, at some point in time, at some 96 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,680 place, He appeared before James as well. 97 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:35,360 Now, beyond the 40 days, there was one other time, and it's 98 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,600 several years later, and it's in Acts Chapter 9 when Paul was on 99 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,680 the Damascus road and Jesus appeared before him too. 100 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,840 We're talking about the 40 days. And now we come to the end of 101 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:50,440 the 40 days. That brings us to Acts chapter 102 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:56,680 1, and the place is Jerusalem. I'm going to notice with you the 103 00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:58,960 significance, please, of Jerusalem. 104 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:05,120 Remember this, the Bible, the whole Bible, the Old Testament, 105 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:11,640 and the New Testament is about Jesus, and the things that were 106 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:17,080 foretold in the Old Testament pointed not only to Jesus, but 107 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,840 it also pointed to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. 108 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,880 It pointed to the time when Jesus would establish his 109 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:29,280 Kingdom, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, going all the way back 110 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:32,680 to the Old Testament. So with regards to that, how 111 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:34,760 about Jerusalem? What is the significance? 112 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:38,640 Isaiah the prophet a long time ago In Isaiah chapter 2 and 113 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:43,320 verse 3, the Bible says this. Many people shall come and say, 114 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,920 come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the 115 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:51,240 House of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, and 116 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,240 He shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth 117 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,840 the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 118 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,520 All right. By the way, Zion, which is Zion, 119 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,640 Zoe put it like this. Zion was the chief spot in 120 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:12,200 Jerusalem after the Babylonians had taken away all of its chief 121 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,880 men and dismantled the city of Jerusalem. 122 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,640 What is the point here? Look on the screen, please. 123 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:23,160 Prophesied by Isaiah that the law, and that's the law of 124 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:29,440 Christ and the Word, that's the word of the Lord, would come out 125 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,080 of Jerusalem. That is another way of saying 126 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,200 this. It is the gospel. 127 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:43,440 The gospel of Jesus Christ would come forth out of Jerusalem or 128 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,240 from Jerusalem. OK, saying all of that, that 129 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,160 brings us to Acts chapter 1 and verse #4 please. 130 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:55,440 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not 131 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,120 to depart from Jerusalem again, prophesied in Isaiah. 132 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,080 It's going to be in Jerusalem. But there's so much more. 133 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,240 What about what Jesus had already said to them? 134 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,600 Remember that Jesus said in Luke chapter 24 and verse 47. 135 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:13,000 This was before this. He said that repentance and 136 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,960 remission of sins should be preached in His name to all 137 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:22,880 nations, beginning at Jerusalem. In other words, Christianity is 138 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:26,520 to have its beginning at Jerusalem. 139 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,520 Now, we're going to talk about a few things here, OK? 140 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:33,920 And I'm going to ask you really closely. 141 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:38,680 I'm going to ask you to tune in, OK? 142 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:44,000 We're going to talk about some things now that don't apply to 143 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:48,320 us today, and we're going to talk about some things that do 144 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,320 apply to us today. Why is that significant? 145 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,560 Because sometimes people misunderstand and they think 146 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:58,400 what is not applicable today is applicable today. 147 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:00,600 We want to just notice what that is and have a better 148 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,080 understanding. So I just asked you, please stay 149 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,760 with me. Remember, who is Jesus speaking 150 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:11,200 to when he said he commanded them not to depart from 151 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,600 Jerusalem? He's talking to the apostles, 152 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:19,880 He's talking to the 11. Why is there 11? 153 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,560 Because Judas Iscariot had already hanged himself. 154 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,600 And guess what, Matthias, which is our next lesson. 155 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,160 Matthias wasn't added to the 11 yet. 156 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:33,840 OK, so there's 11. Jesus is speaking to the 11. 157 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:38,040 So then in the in verses four and five, notice, and being 158 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:43,920 assembled together with them the apostles, he commanded them, the 159 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,720 apostles not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the 160 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,400 promise of the Father, which he said, You have heard from me. 161 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,960 For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized 162 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,480 with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 163 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:05,040 Notice these two phrases #1 he said to them, The apostles wait 164 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,440 for the promise of the Father. That's number one. 165 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,960 Then he clarifies what the promise of the Father is. 166 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:16,800 He said you will be baptized the apostles with the Holy Spirit 167 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:22,680 not many days from now. Notice please. 168 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:29,600 This baptism of the Holy Spirit was promised in Luke chapter 3 169 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,080 and verse 16. John the Baptist said this. 170 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:39,640 John answered saying to all, I indeed baptize you with water. 171 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,400 Little side note here. He was not saying that water 172 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:45,400 baptism in the future is not significant. 173 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:51,040 What he was saying is I have baptized you with water and that 174 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:56,920 was the baptism of repentance before Jesus died on the cross. 175 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:03,680 But then he says that one mightier than I am is coming, 176 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,560 whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. 177 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:11,840 In other words, the one that's following me is so much greater 178 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,680 than I am, I can't even latch His own sandal. 179 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:21,760 That's how great Jesus is. Then he says he will baptize you 180 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:26,880 with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 181 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:32,920 I got to tell you first of all #1 and I'm going to prove this 182 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,720 number one baptism of the Holy Spirit that we are speaking 183 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:44,080 about only occurred 2 times in all of history. 184 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,640 It happened in Acts chapter 2, and it happened in Acts chapter 185 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:54,040 10, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 186 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:57,440 It happened in Acts chapter 2 in Jerusalem. 187 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,640 It happened in Acts chapter 10 with the household of Cornelius. 188 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,120 But in each one of those two cases, notice, please. 189 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:12,480 The baptism with the Holy Spirit served as a sign of the imminent 190 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:18,160 availability of the Kingdom of heaven to the Jews in Acts 2 and 191 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:20,880 to the Gentiles in Acts 10. And I don't know about you. 192 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:23,000 I'm so thankful for that because guess what? 193 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,440 I'm a Gentile. So are you. 194 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:34,560 I am so thankful that that sign was given when Peter was there 195 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:38,880 to preach to the household of Cornelius, to let the Jews know 196 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,880 the faithful Jews that were converted to Christ, Christians 197 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,320 to know that God had accepted the Gentiles too. 198 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:49,680 And it came in the form of the baptism of the Holy Spirit only 199 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:52,120 happened twice. And by the way, baptism of the 200 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:56,240 Holy Spirit, miraculous baptism of the Holy Spirit only happened 201 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,000 twice for sign for those reasons. 202 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:04,880 OK, but have you ever heard somebody say, I'll tell you 203 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:06,760 what, you can be baptized in water all you want to. 204 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,880 I want to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 205 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:18,840 Man, I've heard that my whole life when a person says I want 206 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:24,560 to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire, their 207 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:26,360 meaning and they and they mean well. 208 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:31,000 But what they mean is they want something that is of some great 209 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:36,720 experience, almost like a recharging inside of them from 210 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,520 the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way of some special way. 211 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:46,240 My question is, what does it actually mean to be baptized 212 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:51,040 with fire that John the Baptist said in the previous slide? 213 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:54,800 Let's talk about that baptism with fire. 214 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:59,080 There's a numbering a number of interpretations by scholars as 215 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:02,000 to what baptism with fire actually is. 216 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:07,640 Some say that baptism with fire speaks of the cloven tongues as 217 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:12,680 of as of fire in Acts chapter 2 and verse 3, when the Kingdom 218 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,480 was born and the disposed apostles received the baptism of 219 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,160 the Holy Spirit. And some people believe that the 220 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:23,520 cloven tongues was the fire that John the Baptist was talking 221 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:25,720 about. Here's the problem. 222 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:32,520 Baptism, the word baptized or baptism means to immerse or 223 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:36,240 submerge. It means to totally envelope. 224 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:40,640 It means to overtake. But in Acts chapter 2, when the 225 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:45,200 Kingdom came, it says that cloven tongues get this, They 226 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:51,840 weren't immersed in it. It says it sat on each of them. 227 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,040 What were the tongues? The tongues were languages. 228 00:15:55,160 --> 00:16:00,000 They were normative languages, a language they never studied, but 229 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,600 they were able to speak, so it can't be that. 230 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:05,800 What else? Here's another interpretation. 231 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,240 Some people believe that fire represents the purifying power 232 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:12,360 of the Spirit. And the reason for that, by the 233 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:18,080 way, is that fire purifies. It does fire purifies. 234 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:23,000 OK, here's the problem. Nowhere in the New Testament 235 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:28,040 does it say is the word fire connected to the Holy Spirit in 236 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:32,520 no place for the purpose of the purifying of a Sinner? 237 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,480 Nowhere. So that can't be. 238 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:42,280 How about #3 This is one of the most popular ones today, that we 239 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,280 get a common idea from this today, and that is that fire 240 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,680 represents the fiery trials of a Christian. 241 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,640 Have you ever heard somebody say, man, it's like a 242 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:57,360 quarterback that's a rookie and he gets thrown in there because 243 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:00,200 the veteran's hurt and he's got no experience? 244 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,160 What does people say? It's baptism by fire. 245 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,280 In other words, throw him in there and he's going to have to 246 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:11,760 undergo and go through this difficult challenge unprepared. 247 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,760 What about this concept about fire representing the fiery 248 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:19,640 trials of the Christian? What does the Bible say about 249 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:23,480 the trials of a Christian? It says the trying of your faith 250 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:24,760 works. Patience. 251 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,720 Let patience have it's perfect work, right? 252 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:29,160 In other words, it's a good thing. 253 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,800 And then it says when the trial of your faith happens to you and 254 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,600 you persevere, get to the outside and the other side of 255 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:41,280 that, what happens that is better than gold? 256 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,800 Sounds like a good thing, right? See what we do in our life is we 257 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:50,560 try to avoid the trial, remove the trial, get the trial out of 258 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:54,440 my way instead of praying to God and asking for strength to get 259 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,920 through it, not realizing how good we can be on the other 260 00:17:57,920 --> 00:17:59,240 side. Why am I saying all that? 261 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:03,000 What I'm saying is trials in the Bible, in the New Testament, are 262 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,840 described as good and of our benefit. 263 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:14,400 But context, context, context. Luke chapter 3, John the Baptist 264 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:19,120 in a prior verse and verse 16 and in the ones following it 265 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:25,400 verse 9 and verse 17, fire is represented as a destructive 266 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:30,000 force, a bad thing. So what John the Baptist was 267 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,280 saying when he says baptism with fire, he wasn't talking about a 268 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,560 good thing at all. He was talking about a very bad 269 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:37,200 thing. He was talking about something 270 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,800 that was destructive. So I must conclude what he's 271 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:46,400 talking about is fire refers to the coming judgement upon the 272 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:52,440 wicked and disobedient. That's what he was talking 273 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,400 about. So when somebody says that they 274 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:01,120 want to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire, do 275 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:05,040 not realize what they're saying. You can't be baptized with the 276 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:09,280 miraculous Holy Spirit. Only happened twice. 277 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,720 Acts 2, Acts 10 as a sign to show that God accepts the Jews 278 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:19,480 and the Gentiles and one body in that beautiful a sign, and you 279 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:21,360 don't want to be baptized by fire. 280 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:25,120 It's a form of judgement. But let me give you some more 281 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:28,480 proof about that. It's referring to condemnation. 282 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:32,000 Thayer said it this way. Baptism with fire means to 283 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,720 overwhelm with fire those who are disobedient and do not 284 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:39,720 repent and to subject them to the terrible penalty of hell. 285 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:44,240 That sounds horrible. My question is then then why did 286 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:50,480 John the Baptist make this prediction when he had an 287 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:54,800 audience of people in Luke 3 and he said some of you will be 288 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:59,000 baptized with the Holy Spirit and some of you will be baptized 289 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,320 with fire. Why did he do it simply? 290 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:06,200 Zora said it this way when John predicted the baptism of the 291 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:09,760 Holy Spirit and fire. He was talking to a mixed 292 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:13,960 multitude, which included some people that were going to 293 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:19,520 inevitably reject Jesus and they would die in their sin and 294 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,480 finally be cast into the lake of fire. 295 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:23,840 Why is that, Friends? I'm saying from the bottom of my 296 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:25,640 heart, you can't go to heaven without Jesus. 297 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:31,200 You just can't. And John the Baptist knew that 298 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:33,880 some of the people that were there in the audience, Jewish 299 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:39,720 people, would reject Jesus and be lost baptism by fire. 300 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:45,040 Then in this mixed multitude, in this audience, there were also 301 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:50,480 others who were destined to become apostles chosen by Jesus 302 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:54,760 and should therefore receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 303 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:02,120 Again, some people say because Jesus says John truly baptized 304 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:04,560 you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit 305 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,760 not many days hence and or many days from now. 306 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,120 The O King James says not many days hence, and because John the 307 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:14,200 Baptist said that and so on, that water baptism is not 308 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,040 significant. That's not true. 309 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:22,360 Case after case after case after case in every conversion story 310 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:26,880 in the New Testament was all about being baptized in water 311 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:31,760 for the remission of sins. OK, now I'm done with that part. 312 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:39,280 Now I'm going to really ask you to TuneIn, and I'm going to ask 313 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:43,080 you to do something for me. I'm going to ask you to lay 314 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:48,720 aside any preconceived idea that you may already have regarding 315 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:55,640 the Holy Spirit and regarding the connection between baptism 316 00:21:56,360 --> 00:22:00,080 and the Holy Spirit. I'm going to ask you just to set 317 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,840 it aside and let's look at the Scriptures just for a moment. 318 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:07,760 And the reason that I do that is I want to tell you something. 319 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:14,960 I have studied this in great detail and I think when you 320 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:19,440 study a subject that may be controversial or a subject that 321 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:23,560 may have differing opinions, it's very important to do so 322 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,400 with an open mind. And when I say open mind, I 323 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:28,040 don't mean so open your brain falls out. 324 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,640 I don't mean that. That's not what I mean because 325 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:33,040 the Bible appeals to our intellect. 326 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:34,160 That's not what I'm talking about. 327 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,880 What I'm talking about is this. As JW Mcgarvey one time said, he 328 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,720 said when wish is father to the thought. 329 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,840 In other words, when you want something to be a certain way in 330 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:50,240 advance before you study it, then it makes exegesis big word 331 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:54,280 for understanding the Bible. It makes understanding the Bible 332 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,240 like water off a duck's back. You're not going to get it. 333 00:22:57,320 --> 00:22:59,160 So let's just look to the Scriptures, please. 334 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:03,240 What about this? What about the gift of the Holy 335 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,640 Spirit? What about the gift of the Holy 336 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,040 Spirit in Acts chapter 2 and verse 38? 337 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:18,080 Acts 238 Then Peter said to them, repent and let everyone of 338 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:23,400 you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 339 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:28,120 of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 340 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:33,320 What a beautiful passage. In this passage we have two 341 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:36,880 commands and we have two blessings. 342 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:49,000 Here's the commands #1 repent #2 be baptized. 2 commands, Repent 343 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:52,800 and be baptized. Guess what? 344 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:59,640 Then there's two blessings. You get remission of sins, and 345 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:02,280 you get the gift of the Holy Spirit. 346 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:10,520 My question is this, who's going to receive remission of sins and 347 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,200 who's going to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? 348 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:18,320 Simply put, those that repent and are baptized. 349 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:20,880 Now, I think everybody agrees with that. 350 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:26,080 I don't think anybody has a problem with that, regardless of 351 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,760 what a person's position is regarding the Holy Spirit. 352 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,560 My question is this though, what's the gift? 353 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:39,480 What is it? That's a pretty good gift, The 354 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:41,480 gift of the Holy Spirit. What's the gift? 355 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:45,200 Some people say, well it's salvation. 356 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,040 Some people say, well it's salvation. 357 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:54,160 But it also more than that, it is all spiritual blessings in 358 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:58,200 Christ. In other words, it's the gift 359 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:05,520 that comes from the Holy Spirit. That's position #1 and my 360 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:12,640 brothers and sisters in Christ and my friends, I have held that 361 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:21,000 position most of my life. But in study of it, I'm going to 362 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,360 ask. I'm going to ask the question, 363 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:27,960 is the gift of the Holy Spirit? Is it salvation? 364 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,320 My answer and please stay with me. 365 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:42,120 No Why? Because when a person repents 366 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:47,640 and is baptized, he is not automatically assured of eternal 367 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:52,080 life or salvation. Obedience to the Gospel, which 368 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:56,760 is being baptized for their business sins, simply allows one 369 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:02,320 to run the Christian race. You start on the path, it does 370 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:07,600 not guarantee the reward. In other words, you don't just 371 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:09,320 get baptized. And Mr. says they could do 372 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:11,000 whatever you want. There's more included. 373 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:19,280 The outcome of salvation depends on the faithfulness of the 374 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,560 individual. Give you Bible, I don't have 375 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:25,240 time to give you all of it. I'm going to give you 1 passage. 376 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:30,760 James 5/19/20 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from 377 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:36,120 the truth, what does that say? It says it's possible to wander 378 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,200 from the truth. So you start your path as a 379 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:40,880 Christian. But, and there might have been 380 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:43,880 people in our life and all of our life, we have a period of 381 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:45,720 time in our life where maybe we wandered. 382 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:48,720 Maybe by the way, you know what we wandered even though we 383 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:51,440 didn't stop assembling. Oh, we kept coming to church, 384 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,040 but our heart was far from God. Guess what we did? 385 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:59,920 We wandered from the truth. Just because a person is sitting 386 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,840 in the audience doesn't mean they're good with God, right? 387 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:10,920 Notice if anyone wanders from the truth and somebody turns him 388 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:16,520 back, let him know that he who turns a Sinner from the error of 389 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:20,920 his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of 390 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:23,600 sins. OK, somebody might say, wait a 391 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,840 minute. Isn't salvation by grace? 392 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,840 And isn't salvation a gift? Because that's what grace is, 393 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,400 it's unmerited favor, a gift that you didn't deserve? 394 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:44,080 Yes, But Galatians 5 and four says it's possible to fall from 395 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:49,920 grace. OK, we can fall from grace. 396 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:56,440 So I don't believe this is gift of the Holy Spirit is salvation. 397 00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:59,920 Let's go further. Fair says it this way. 398 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:04,520 As we look at the question here, what is the gift? 399 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:09,200 A gift? It is a a pexigenical. 400 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:11,640 That's a terrible, terribly, terribly big word. 401 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:16,000 Let me explain what it is. It is a a pexigenical expression 402 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,520 of the things given. What does that fancy phrase 403 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:19,800 mean? It means this. 404 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:21,600 That's what I like too, by the way. 405 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:23,920 I don't like big words. I just tell you what they mean. 406 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:27,760 That's why I don't quote. I, I try to try to sound out 407 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,680 Greek words because I'm probably going to say them wrong unless I 408 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:32,960 go on the app. I didn't study Greek, but I 409 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:34,120 might. I got those apps that tell you 410 00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:36,280 how to pronounce. I can do a little of that, but 411 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:38,200 for the most part, you know, people, they don't want to know 412 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:40,560 how to pronounce the Greek word. They want to know what it means. 413 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:44,120 So I'm going to give you what it means. 414 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:47,600 A pexigenical, the word actually means. 415 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:52,120 It's used to further clarify or explain the subject under 416 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:55,440 consideration. May I ask your question? 417 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,320 The gift of the Holy Spirit, What's the subject? 418 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,120 The Holy Spirit, that's the subject. 419 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:08,520 So the word gift is a word that's used to clarify the 420 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,400 subject that's under consideration. 421 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:17,480 So therefore in Acts 238, according to WE vine the gift of 422 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:22,520 the Holy Spirit, that clause is apexigentical with the gift 423 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:37,050 being the Holy Spirit himself. So the word gift is added to 424 00:29:37,050 --> 00:29:45,520 clarify what the Holy Spirit is. It is a gift. 425 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:55,680 JW Mcgarvey said it this way. This expression means the Holy 426 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,800 Spirit's a gift and the reference is to the Holy Spirit 427 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:06,560 who indwells the Christian in a non miraculous way and without 428 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:10,400 which we are not of Christ. You know, if somebody says the 429 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,960 phrase indwelling, a non miraculous indwelling, that's 430 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:17,000 not a new phrase. That's not a new concept. 431 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,160 That's not a really good new catch phrase. 432 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:24,800 Everybody believes, regardless of how you believe the Holy 433 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:27,200 Spirit indwells, everybody believes that he does so in a 434 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:30,320 non miraculous way. But JW Magwami actually said 435 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,200 that. I don't know, ancient times ago 436 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:37,160 nothing. That phrase is not new. 437 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:42,320 He said the Holy Spirit is the gift and the reference is to the 438 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,840 Holy Spirit who indwells the Christian in a non miraculous 439 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:49,920 way and without which we are not of Christ. 440 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:56,440 Bruce said it this way, the gift of the Spirit is the Spirit 441 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:00,600 himself bestowed by the Father through the Messiah. 442 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:05,160 One more Reese. So the thing received therefore 443 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:10,400 by baptized believers is the indwelling presence of the Holy 444 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:12,640 Spirit. And again, I'm saying this 445 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:19,680 obviously non miraculous, obviously not in a way that is 446 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:22,080 by the direct operation of the Holy Spirit. 447 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,240 We don't get new revelation from the Holy Spirit. 448 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:29,400 And may I just say also, we don't get new revelation from 449 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,560 the Holy Spirit directly. That's not in the Word of God. 450 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:35,760 I'll just say that that's true. We've been given all things that 451 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:37,840 pertain to life and godliness. That's true. 452 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:45,080 But the gift of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit himself given 453 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:50,920 to baptized believers. OK, with regards to how the 454 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,640 Spirit indwells, I know there's a number of different positions 455 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:56,240 and I'm not here to argue that point. 456 00:31:57,640 --> 00:31:59,280 I'm going to tell you what I used to believe. 457 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:07,880 I used to believe that the Holy Spirit only indwell to the word 458 00:32:13,330 --> 00:32:21,170 because the Bible says the Holy Spirit indwells and it also says 459 00:32:21,170 --> 00:32:25,570 the word indwells. That's true, it does. 460 00:32:27,770 --> 00:32:31,890 It also shows that the Holy Spirit reveals himself through 461 00:32:31,890 --> 00:32:36,600 the Word and because of all the passages that are connected to 462 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,640 the Holy Spirit and also the passages that are similar 463 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:44,400 connected to the Word. So because of that, my position 464 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:47,840 as the position of a lot of people was that the Holy Spirit 465 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:51,440 only only indwelled through the Word. 466 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:57,680 I'm not going to debate that. I will say this though. 467 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,800 May I suggest the following about the Word and about this 468 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:06,600 gift. Remember this in Acts 238 they 469 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:09,600 were told to repent and be baptized, every one of them in 470 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:12,840 the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and they 471 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:14,520 would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 472 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:22,280 Notice in Acts 241 on the day of Pentecost, those that repented 473 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:30,320 and were baptized had already received gladly the Word before 474 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:35,200 they were ever baptized. Romans 116 For I'm not ashamed 475 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,520 of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and 476 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,040 salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew 1st, and 477 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:43,600 also to the Gentile. The Word of God is quick and 478 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:45,360 powerful and sharper than any sword. 479 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:48,560 It is absolutely that which leads us to Jesus Christ. 480 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:53,160 Absolutely. But it seems to me that the gift 481 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,680 of the Holy Spirit is something separate. 482 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,920 How about this in verse 40? Then we're encouraged to be 483 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:06,680 saved with what many other words before they were saved. 484 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:13,679 So the conclusion that I have to draw is that one may have the 485 00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:20,840 word of God and not have the gift of the Holy Spirit. 486 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:27,520 So again, I'll just sum it up. And the gift I believe is the 487 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:32,639 Holy Spirit Himself who comes to dwell in the heart of every 488 00:34:32,639 --> 00:34:35,199 Christian. And regardless of how a person 489 00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:38,880 believes, he indwells. It is undeniable that the Holy 490 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:43,679 Spirit does indwell. Romans 8 and verse 9. 491 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:47,440 But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the 492 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:56,159 Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the 493 00:34:56,159 --> 00:35:02,880 Spirit of Christ, he is not his. Here's another one, Acts 5 and 494 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:05,400 32. And we are his witnesses to 495 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:08,560 these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit. 496 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:13,480 Notice, please, whom God has given doesn't give, and sound 497 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:19,000 like a gift has given to those who obey Him. 498 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,480 Sounds like a gift to me. One more passage. 499 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,800 First Corinthians 619 Or do you not know that your body is the 500 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,760 temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, 501 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:37,320 and you are not your own? OK, Now remember this please, 502 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:41,360 when I talk about that and we're moving on now, I'm not talking 503 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:43,160 about any kind of miraculous anything. 504 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,200 I'm not talking about anything like that whatsoever. 505 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,080 I'm talking about the indwelling of the Spirit of God that's 506 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:52,680 given as a gift to Christians, baptized believers. 507 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:56,160 Remember there were two specific commands, repent and be 508 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:59,960 baptized, and two blessings, remission of sins and the gift 509 00:35:59,960 --> 00:36:01,760 of the Holy Spirit. Let's move on. 510 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:06,440 Then we come to verse 6 of Acts chapter 1. 511 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:10,960 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him saying 512 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:16,520 Lord notice will you at this time restore the Kingdom to 513 00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:18,560 Israel. That's the new King James. 514 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:22,520 In the old King James it says restore again. 515 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:26,000 You have the language there is they missed it. 516 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:29,440 And I got to tell you, I don't want to be disrespectful to the 517 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,520 Lord, but if there was any, if there was ever a time for an eye 518 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:36,720 roll, it might have been. Now you want to talk about they 519 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:41,520 didn't get it, all the preaching of Jesus and they said, are you 520 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:45,240 going to restore meaning this, the Kingdom of Israel exists. 521 00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:49,840 Are you going to restore it? Restore the Kingdom of Israel? 522 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:55,440 No wonder they needed the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the 523 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:58,200 miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit to guide them to preach 524 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,160 the gospel of Christ because they didn't have a clue. 525 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:05,480 Oh, they needed that. They were expecting Israel to 526 00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:08,160 return to its former state. And I'm going to tell you 527 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,440 something right now. It doesn't matter if you're a 528 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:13,600 Jewish person today, you are not the people of God. 529 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:17,560 It doesn't matter if you're a Gentile. 530 00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:21,320 By the way, a Jewish person is not the people of God outside of 531 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:23,920 Christ. A Gentile is not the people of 532 00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:27,440 God outside of Christ, but a Jew and a Gentile is the people of 533 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:31,920 God in Christ can't go to him without Jesus, right? 534 00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:38,600 OK, so any kind of refurbishing of Israel is not going to 535 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:42,520 happen. The Kingdom did not exist when 536 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:45,440 this question was asked by the apostles in Acts One. 537 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:49,080 JW Mcgarvey said it this way. This Kingdom could not be 538 00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:52,040 inaugurated until the king was crowned in heaven. 539 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,560 This occurred after the ascension and his first 540 00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:59,040 administrative act on the earth was that of sending the Holy 541 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:03,400 Spirit upon the apostles on Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. 542 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:07,640 OK, here's the Lord's response. He said it's not for you to know 543 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:09,840 the times of the seasons that the Father has put in his own 544 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:13,240 power. But then he said this. 545 00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:18,880 But you, the apostles, shall receive power when the Holy 546 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:23,040 Spirit has come upon you, the apostles. 547 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:27,520 That's the miraculous part. You're going to get it. 548 00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:31,440 Not Frank Broncado, not Chris Osborne, not Terry, not anybody. 549 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:38,160 Today, the apostles and the apostles only we do not receive 550 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:41,880 the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We do not receive miraculous 551 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:45,520 gifts of the Holy Spirit today. We simply have the indwelling 552 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:49,920 presence of the Holy Spirit when the when we receive the gift at 553 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,520 baptism. Now miracles have ceased. 554 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:54,440 I'll be very brief about this. Got to give you a couple 555 00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:57,640 passages. Miracles today have ceased. 556 00:38:57,640 --> 00:38:59,600 First Corinthians 13, beginning in verse 8. 557 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:04,040 Love never fails, but whether there are prophecies, they will 558 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:05,880 fail. Where there are tongues, this is 559 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,680 miraculous tongues, this is miraculous prophecy. 560 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:12,000 In other words, something revealed by God directly going 561 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,040 to cease. Whether there's miraculous 562 00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:17,640 knowledge that came directly from God going to stop, it's 563 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,480 going to banish away. For we know in part and we 564 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:23,360 prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect 565 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:26,480 is come, then that which is in part would be done away. 566 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:29,480 Some people say this. Well, that which is perfect is 567 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:32,080 come as Jesus. So in other words, miracles 568 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:35,120 going to exist all the way to the end of time till Jesus comes 569 00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:40,440 back doesn't say that. It doesn't say when that who is 570 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,520 perfect has come. It says when that which is 571 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:46,280 perfect has come. If I can figure out what that 572 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:48,200 is, and I know exactly when miracles stopped. 573 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:59,120 James 125 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and 574 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:03,000 continues in it. And is not a forgetful hearer, 575 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:06,160 but a doer of the work. This one will be blessed in his 576 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:10,040 deed. So the perfect law of liberty is 577 00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:12,320 what? It's the Word of God. 578 00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:16,240 When the Word of God was completed, there was no more 579 00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:18,960 need for miracles. Now I'm not saying God does not 580 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:21,000 providentially care for us, take care of us. 581 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:24,760 I didn't say that talking about miracles and the direct 582 00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:28,040 operation miraculously of the Holy Spirit that is done away 583 00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:34,400 with. OK, now Jesus says you, the 584 00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:37,240 apostles, would receive power when the Holy Spirit's come upon 585 00:40:37,240 --> 00:40:39,960 you, and what else? You're going to be witnesses to 586 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:45,560 me in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the end of the 587 00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:47,040 earth. Interesting about this. 588 00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:48,520 This is a small map, I'm sorry about that. 589 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:53,320 But if you look at this, Jubea is the southern part of 590 00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:58,280 Palestine, which also included the capital city of Jerusalem. 591 00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:03,720 The northern portion of Palestine was where Samaria was. 592 00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:08,160 What Jesus says is when you receive power, which is the 593 00:41:08,240 --> 00:41:11,360 baptism of the Holy Spirit, it's going to guide you into all 594 00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:15,000 truth and you're going to be witnesses to me Where it's going 595 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,600 to be in all Judea, not just Jerusalem, Jerusalem first day 596 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:22,040 of Pentecost, but also in Judea, all of Judea. 597 00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:27,160 And we find historically it travelled N to Palestine, north 598 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:32,520 of Palestine, all the way to Samaria when great persecution 599 00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:34,880 fell upon the church in Jerusalem. 600 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:40,800 Acts chapter 8 in verse one. Now Saul was consenting to his 601 00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:44,280 death. At that time a great persecution 602 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:47,920 arose from the against the church which was at Jerusalem, 603 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,120 and they were all scattered throughout all the regions of 604 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:54,440 Judea and Samaria except the apostles. 605 00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:57,480 Do you know something from that beginning? 606 00:41:58,440 --> 00:42:06,680 The gospel went to the whole world in about 30 years before 607 00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:10,400 the destruction of Jerusalem, by the way, which was predicted by 608 00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:13,960 Jesus, the gospel would go forth to the world. 609 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:18,280 Those apostles, the Bible says, literally turned the world 610 00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:22,720 upside down. And they didn't have airplanes. 611 00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:28,880 They didn't have ships like we have today, not like we have. 612 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:36,960 They didn't have cars. They had samples, Chariots, 613 00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:40,440 horses, and I got to tell you, if the Lord will, as I leave on 614 00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:43,000 Tuesday morning to go to Cincinnati, OH, across the 615 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:45,440 country and hold a meeting, I start preaching on Wednesday 616 00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:48,960 night. You know me, I love horses, I 617 00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:50,440 ride horses. I'm all about horses. 618 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:52,000 I don't want to ride my horse to Cincinnati. 619 00:42:52,000 --> 00:43:00,640 I'm going to tell you something. If in primitive measures, they 620 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:06,440 took the gospel to the world in less than 30 years, think about 621 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:10,840 what we can do. But the fire of the gospels got 622 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:14,800 to burn deep inside. You got to have something to say 623 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:16,120 and the burning desire to say it. 624 00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:18,560 And I'm not just talking about out in the world. 625 00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:19,440 I'm talking about your neighbors. 626 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:21,080 I'm talking about your friends. I'm talking about people who 627 00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:24,720 come in contact with. I'm talking about taking the 628 00:43:24,720 --> 00:43:28,120 gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. 629 00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:34,240 Our podcast is now in 110 countries. 630 00:43:34,240 --> 00:43:39,120 Can you imagine in the digital age that we have in the form of 631 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:42,520 communication that we have, how we can take the gospel and 632 00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:44,640 stretch it out so far? Wow. 633 00:43:46,240 --> 00:43:50,720 Here's the climax now in verse 9, all this stuff is said. 634 00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:55,040 All these promises are given. And then when he had spoken 635 00:43:55,040 --> 00:43:59,840 these things while they watched, notice he was taken up. 636 00:44:01,720 --> 00:44:03,680 I've tried to picture this so many times. 637 00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:07,920 Remember how many times Jesus would come and appear and then 638 00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:09,160 he would vanish out of their sight? 639 00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:15,360 Is that what happened? Alexander Campbell wrote this. 640 00:44:15,360 --> 00:44:18,440 I thought it was interesting. The phrase was taken up 641 00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:23,160 indicates the commencement, not the completion of his ascent. 642 00:44:24,120 --> 00:44:27,200 In other words, he, it appears from the terminology here 643 00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:32,280 employed gradually and with great dignity, ascended not as a 644 00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:36,760 flash of lightning nor as a meteor passes away, but slowly 645 00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:41,760 and with majesty that they might clearly perceive and be assured 646 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:43,640 of his return to his native heaven. 647 00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:47,680 Wow, you imagine all of a sudden he's talking. 648 00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:50,520 He gives them the last answer, He gives them the last command, 649 00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:54,520 and then all of a sudden majestically just starts going 650 00:44:54,520 --> 00:45:00,120 up and they're standing there just looking amazing. 651 00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:05,000 In fact, the next verse, while they look steadfastly toward 652 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:08,920 heaven as he went up, behold, 2 men stood by them in white. 653 00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:13,040 A paraphraseology there of messengers or angels. 654 00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:19,160 Then they said, who also said, Man of Galilee, why do you stand 655 00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:22,640 gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus who was taken up 656 00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:26,120 from you into heaven will so come in life manner as you see 657 00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:30,800 him go into heaven. I'm going to tell you something. 658 00:45:30,800 --> 00:45:35,360 What a great assurance. He's coming back. 659 00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:40,240 Our brother prayed for the Lord to come back. 660 00:45:43,600 --> 00:45:50,000 We want the Lord to come back. In fact, the only reason why we 661 00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:54,040 should ever want the Lord to delay, you know it's coming. 662 00:45:54,960 --> 00:46:01,320 There's only one reason is to give people time, to give people 663 00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:03,520 time that have good honest hearts to come to Jesus or 664 00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:05,520 people that have drifted away from the Lord to come back to 665 00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:10,400 Jesus. Otherwise, we all look for this 666 00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:11,840 great day. It's coming. 667 00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:17,200 So you know, here's the point and I want you to ask yourself 668 00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:20,320 the question, not out loud, just to yourself, and I'm finished. 669 00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:22,920 Our lesson is over. Just ask yourself this question. 670 00:46:24,640 --> 00:46:27,920 Jesus ascended to his Father in the clouds. 671 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:32,280 The angels of those messengers of God said he's coming back in 672 00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:35,040 the same way that he left with the clouds. 673 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:45,000 Just privately to yourself. Ask this question, MI ready. 674 00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:50,640 That's all. Am I ready? 675 00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:55,400 If you're not ready, this is how you get ready. 676 00:46:57,000 --> 00:46:59,320 We never close the time. We don't extend invitation 677 00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:00,480 because it's important to get ready. 678 00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:08,400 The steps to become a Christian are very simple. 679 00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:12,240 You got to hear the word of God in Romans 10/17. 680 00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:15,560 We've done that today. So faith comes by hearing and 681 00:47:15,560 --> 00:47:18,320 hearing by the word of God. But then there's more, you got 682 00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:20,320 to believe with all your heart. Hebrews 11 and 6. 683 00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:23,800 Without faith it's impossible to please Him, for he who comes to 684 00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:26,360 God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those 685 00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:31,480 who diligently seek Him. Then there's more, you got to 686 00:47:31,480 --> 00:47:33,280 repent of your sins. All that means I got to make a 687 00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:34,320 change. I've been going in One 688 00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:35,720 Direction. I need to stop doing that and 689 00:47:35,720 --> 00:47:38,360 going in another direction. Acts 17 and 30 Truly, these 690 00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:40,840 times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all 691 00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:45,160 men everywhere to repent. Then what person has to be 692 00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:47,560 willing to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? 693 00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:50,720 Acts 837 that Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, 694 00:47:50,720 --> 00:47:53,360 you may. And he answered and said, I 695 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:56,640 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 696 00:47:56,880 --> 00:47:59,680 These are steps that point toward salvation. 697 00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:03,360 But the plan of salvation is to be baptized as we read in Acts 698 00:48:03,360 --> 00:48:08,920 238 for the remission of sins. Jesus said in Mark 1616, he who 699 00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:12,600 believes in his baptized will be saved, but he who does not 700 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:16,800 believe will be condemned. One final passage about the act 701 00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:20,680 of baptism saving US. First Peter 321 The like figure 702 00:48:20,680 --> 00:48:25,280 where the even baptism does also now save us. 703 00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:28,440 Not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of 704 00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:31,760 a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus 705 00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:33,640 Christ. If you've never taken those 706 00:48:33,640 --> 00:48:35,760 steps of obedience, we would love to assist you in that 707 00:48:35,760 --> 00:48:38,120 today. Maybe you have, maybe there's 708 00:48:38,120 --> 00:48:39,840 just something in your life you need to correct. 709 00:48:39,840 --> 00:48:42,920 They just do it. Repent of it, confess it. 710 00:48:42,920 --> 00:48:44,800 We'll pray with you and for you and God will forgive and 711 00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:46,320 restore. If you want to be the class, 712 00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:48,240 come forward while we stand while we stand.