1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,120 or contact us at mylibertybaptist.org or just 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,760 look us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,280 Let's take our Bibles. We'll be in Acts chapter 4 8 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:34,040 tonight. Acts chapter 4 and verse #23 And 9 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,640 we'll read from verse 23 down to 35. 10 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:45,760 Acts chapter 4, verse 23, verse 23. 11 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,280 The Bible says. And being let go, they went to 12 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:53,360 their own company, and reported all, all that the chief priests 13 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,080 and elders had said unto them. And when they had heard that, 14 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,280 they lifted up their voice to God with 1 accord, and said, 15 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:06,480 Lord, thou art God, which has made heaven and earth, and the 16 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:10,480 sea, and all that in there them is. 17 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:17,280 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hath said, hath said, Why 18 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,880 did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 19 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,800 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered 20 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,760 together against the Lord and against His Christ. 21 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,680 For a truth against thy thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast 22 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,520 anointed. Both Herod and Pontius Pilate 23 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:43,080 with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together 24 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,240 for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined 25 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:52,240 before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their 26 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:58,040 threatenance, and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness 27 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,920 they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to 28 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,680 heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy 29 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:11,080 holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the 30 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:15,160 place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they 31 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,120 were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word 32 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,760 of God with boldness. And a multitude of them that 33 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:25,920 believed were of 1 heart and one, and of one soul. 34 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:30,400 Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he 35 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:36,400 possessed was his own, but they had all things common, and with 36 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,320 great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of 37 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,920 the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 38 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:50,440 Neither was there any among them that lacked for as many as were 39 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,760 possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the 40 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,880 prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the 41 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,000 apostles. Feed and just, and distribute 42 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,520 and distribution. I'm sorry, distribution was made 43 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,920 unto every man according as he had need. 44 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:10,960 I want to preach this evening really quickly on the title. 45 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,920 That's my crowd, that's my crowd. 46 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,440 Let's pray. Father in Heaven, Lord, we come 47 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,480 before you again wanting to praise you and thank you for all 48 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,440 that you've done for us. Thank you for salvation. 49 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,920 Thank you for your unconditional love and your mercy and your 50 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:32,800 grace that you bestow upon us. Thank you for your 51 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,680 long-suffering. We don't deserve anything that 52 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,240 you have done. You are such a great God, a good 53 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,560 God towards us and we fail you daily. 54 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:43,120 I just ask you that you be with us tonight. 55 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,240 Your word says where there are two or three gathered in your in 56 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,280 Your name, there you are in the midst of them. 57 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,320 And what I just ask you that you speak to our hearts through the 58 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:53,800 preaching and teaching of Your Word. 59 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,640 Encourage us, challenge us, and change us. 60 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:58,560 In Your name we pray. Amen. 61 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:03,240 Imagine being part of a church that is growing by the leaps and 62 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,760 bounds. A church where 3000 are saved at 63 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:13,440 one service and another 5000 are saved at another service. 64 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:18,320 Imagine being part of. I know that gives all people 65 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:20,839 that are introverts anxiety, right? 66 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:25,520 Yeah. Imagine being a part of a church 67 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,720 where the extraordinary is normal and miracles are a part 68 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:34,440 of everyday life. Imagine being part of a church 69 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:39,200 that's witnessing God, answers, answer and prayer immediately, 70 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:44,720 where all the members love one another, where the power of God 71 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:50,880 is evidence, and where Jesus Christ is truly the centerpiece 72 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:56,360 of everything that happens. Imagine a church where everyone 73 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:01,120 is in love with the Lord. If if I could find a church like 74 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,920 that today, I would say that's my crowd. 75 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,800 Well, an early church in Jerusalem that we just read 76 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,280 about when you when we read the book of Acts. 77 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:14,600 The early church there in Jerusalem was just that. 78 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:19,520 They enjoyed miraculous displays of the presence and and power of 79 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,920 God on a daily basis. They saw people getting saved in 80 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,280 abundance. They were living in a day when 81 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:33,440 the extraordinary Mary was the order of that day and but all 82 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:39,640 wasn't sunshine and roses. When you go all out for Jesus, 83 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:45,080 the lost and religious crowd, they're not going to like it 84 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:49,280 very much. So it was for this people, for 85 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:52,360 these people here. After a lame man was healed at 86 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:56,200 the beautiful gate of the temple, the people of Jerusalem 87 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,160 really began to listen to the message of the apostles. 88 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:05,280 When, when this happened, you know, the religious crowd here, 89 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:09,200 the religious elite, they had arrested John and Peter and they 90 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:13,440 threw them in prison, you know, and then brought them before the 91 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,520 Sanhedrin for trial. And at this trial, John and 92 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:23,120 Peter preached the gospel. The Sanhedrin then issued an 93 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,160 order forbidden them to from preaching in the name of Jesus 94 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:31,840 any longer and let them leave. And when that meeting was over, 95 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:37,120 those two disciples returned to the place where the church was 96 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,640 gathered. And no doubt that church when, 97 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:44,800 when, when John and Peter were in prison, no doubt that church 98 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,160 was praying for John and Peter, you know, And so they had 99 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:52,200 returned there where they were praying, where the church was 100 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,280 gathered and praying for their leaders. 101 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,920 And when John and Peter told the folks at the church what 102 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:02,480 happened, what you know, what was going on, what transpired, 103 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:07,480 instead of the church, instead of the crowd being upset, 104 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:12,800 instead of them being fearful, a worship service broke out. 105 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:16,000 That's what we just, that's what we read about. 106 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:21,120 A worship service broke out instead of them being upset and 107 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,480 fearful. I would like for us to look at 108 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:29,080 these events that we read moments ago and see how these 109 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:33,640 people conducted themselves in the midst of persecution, in the 110 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:38,200 midst of persecution. And as we see them respond to 111 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,720 this situation, we're given a glimpse of their heart and we 112 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:50,200 can see why the hand of the Lord was so active in their midst, in 113 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,080 their midst. First of all, they want us to 114 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,120 see, number one, that they are a worshipping crowd. 115 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,280 They are a worshipping crowd. When we look back at verse 24 116 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:05,680 through 31, the Bible says. And when they heard that, they 117 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,720 lifted up their voices to God with 1 accord. 118 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,400 So it wasn't just some people that were worshipping, it was 119 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,880 the entire body of Christ that was there. 120 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,040 It was everyone that was there. They lifted up their voice with 121 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:24,880 1 accord and said, Lord, thou art God, which hath made heaven 122 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:31,040 and earth and the sea, and all that, that in them is who by the 123 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,440 mouth of thy servant. David hast said, Why did the 124 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,360 heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 125 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,039 The kings of the earth stood up in verse 26, and the rulers were 126 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:45,320 gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ, for 127 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:49,840 a truth against thy holy child Jesus in verse 27, whom thou 128 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,840 hast anointed. Both Herod and Pontius Pilate 129 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:55,920 with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered 130 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,800 together. For to do whatsoever thy hand 131 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,840 and thy counsel determined before to be done. 132 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,120 And now Lord, behold their threatenings grant unto thy 133 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:09,760 servants with all the boldness they may speak thy word by 134 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:13,240 stretching forth thine hand to heal and the signs and that the 135 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,440 signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child 136 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,920 Jesus. And verse 31 I love verse 31. 137 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:23,000 So they're talking to the Lord, they're worshiping him, and in 138 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:29,880 verse 31 says, and when they had prayed, the place was was shaken 139 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:31,680 where they were assembled together. 140 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:34,040 Can you just pitch that in your mind? 141 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,480 Can you picture that if we were gathered when we were gathered 142 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,400 this morning or this evening, that when we were praying that 143 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,960 all of a sudden the place started to shake? 144 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:49,480 Now, if we lived in California, that would, that would, that 145 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,760 would be normal because everybody would think, oh, it's 146 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,600 just an earthquake, you know, you know, But you know, if you 147 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:00,320 know these people here, the Bible says that, you know, the 148 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:03,520 place was shaken together and they were all filled with the 149 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,680 Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness. 150 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:09,880 They were a worshipping crowd. When these early Christians 151 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:14,240 heard the reports of the apostles, they didn't react with 152 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,920 fear and they didn't react with trembling. 153 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,960 They did not seek for a place to hide in fear. 154 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:26,280 Instead, they turned their hearts to Lord, to the Lord, to 155 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:28,520 worship. That's what they did. 156 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,680 They worship. You know when you know, when 157 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:37,920 things you know you know were turning for the worst. 158 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:43,080 Persecution was coming to them and you know, they decided to 159 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,640 worship. They worshiped the God and with 160 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:51,280 their presence they were present there in verse 24. 161 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,880 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God 162 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,160 with 1 accord. They were there and present. 163 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,280 It wasn't that some of the church was gathered together in 164 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:06,600 the building and some were not. Now, if you're sick, if you're, 165 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:08,640 you know, in the hospital, that's one thing. 166 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:13,120 But if you are healthy and able to be in church, you ought to be 167 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:15,800 in church. You ought to be in church. 168 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:20,440 And in this early church here they were together and they were 169 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,920 worshipping with their presence. When it came time for them to 170 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:28,840 meet, they, you know, they didn't have to go round people 171 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,080 up and hunt people down or entice people to come. 172 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:36,440 Now, if you, you know, you know, if you remember, I've told you 173 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:40,120 my testimony before. You know, in the past, I'm a bus 174 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:44,280 kid, you know, and I, you know, I started going to church, you 175 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:49,960 know, I went to church the last day of VBS and I was in, you 176 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,120 know, I went to church for a piece of bubble gum. 177 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,120 I wanted to church. I wanted to get something from 178 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:00,880 them in order for me to grace their, grace them with my 179 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:05,000 presence at church. And so I was like, what are you 180 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,320 going to give me if I go to your church? 181 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,680 And I got a Bubblicious bubble gum. 182 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:15,040 I did. And then, you know, and so then 183 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:16,640 they asked me if you're going to. 184 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,240 So after I went that first time and I got my bubble gum, they 185 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:21,720 asked are we going to come back next week? 186 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:23,360 And I was like, only if you're going to give me something. 187 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:29,320 And literally I was, I started going to church and I was going 188 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,160 to church because I was getting tangible. 189 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:37,080 I was getting things from them. Bubble gum, whether it's bubble 190 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:41,400 gum, candy or whatever. That was my motivation to go to 191 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:45,440 church at the beginning. And it was today, too. 192 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:49,040 No, I'm just kidding. Just seeing if you're paying 193 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,760 attention. No, you know, I I stopped that 194 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,120 last week. No, you know, So what? 195 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,760 One, one year Was it for Christmas? 196 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:05,840 My so my 40th, right? Yeah, my 40th birthday, you 197 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:10,800 know, a couple years ago, you know, Susanna Samantha's, you 198 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:17,040 know, sister, you know, bought me a a bucket of bubble issues 199 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:22,520 bubble gum for my birthday. And, and and she brought that, 200 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,560 you know, so and that that's just showed me or somebody does 201 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:29,280 listen in teen stars go class, you know, and so she bought 202 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,640 bought that as a gift and that was hilarious and I loved it. 203 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,880 But, you know, so this early church here, they were a 204 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:38,440 worshipping crowd. They worshipped with their 205 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,720 presence. They were in their place when it 206 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:45,920 when it came time to worship. We all realize that there are 207 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:50,920 times when, when it's necessary for people to miss church again, 208 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:55,080 if you're sick or if you're, you know, we, we want, you know, our 209 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:56,800 pastor mentions this all the time. 210 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,080 You know, we, you know, if you're a police officer, a 211 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:04,040 doctor, you know, EMTEMS, whatever. 212 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,480 We want those people to work. We don't want those people to 213 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:12,840 have like if you, if you have an an emergency on Sunday, you 214 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,640 don't want to call 911 and then tell you, I'm sorry, we're all 215 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:18,840 off today, you know, come back tomorrow. 216 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:21,800 And so it's necessary. I get it. 217 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,280 You know, we have people in our church, you know, we have 218 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,560 several police officers, you know, and in our church and that 219 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,480 day when they can't be there on a Sunday because of their 220 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:34,400 schedule and that's fine. Yeah, well, we get it. 221 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,080 We understand that, you know, if that's the job that God 222 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,680 provided, you know, to you, we understand that, however. 223 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:46,360 But you know, there are some people who have who have got and 224 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:49,360 they've become really good at making every excuse that they 225 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:54,200 can to miss church. They've become really good at 226 00:14:54,200 --> 00:15:02,160 it, you know, and you know, oh, you know, my cat died and I 227 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:03,920 can't go to church. I've heard that before. 228 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:06,440 Well, didn't your cat die last week too? 229 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,080 You know, I've heard, you know, I've heard people, you know, 230 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:14,480 make excuses of why they can't go to church and then they 231 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,200 forget the excuse that they had mentioned the previous week. 232 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:20,200 And it's the same one the next week, you know. 233 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:23,800 And so, and I know that's not any of you guys because you're 234 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,240 here tonight and we're, I'm praising the Lord that you're 235 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:31,880 here, you know, and that you're here worshipping God in this 236 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:37,360 place, you know, And so, you know, if the problem is the 237 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,880 preacher, then I would suggest, you know, you tell someone and 238 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:42,400 maybe God will send you somebody else. 239 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:43,960 But the problem isn't your preacher. 240 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:49,040 You know, the problem isn't, you know, and you know, the problem 241 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:53,120 is probably a little closer to our, you know, to home, which is 242 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:56,600 our own heart. If we're trying to miss church 243 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:01,760 and get out of church, you know more than you know, if we don't 244 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,360 want to be there, let me let me take it back. 245 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,000 COVID, we all remember COVID when COVID started, right? 246 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,640 You know, I know this happened in our church and I'm sure I 247 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:15,080 know it happened in other churches. 248 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,440 But people that were looking for excuses to get in to stop going 249 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:23,680 to church, they found their excuse when COVID started and 250 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,120 they stopped going. But yet those same people who 251 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,000 would say I'm not going to church anymore because of COVID 252 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:31,920 and I'm not making light of COVID at all. 253 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:34,440 But people who would say that I'm not going to go to church 254 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,880 because of COVID will still go to the grocery store on Monday 255 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:43,640 morning, went with a larger crowd and and be and be there. 256 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:45,920 It's not stopping them from going to the grocery store. 257 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,120 It's not stopping them from going to a sporting event or 258 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,120 going going anywhere else at all. 259 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:56,360 Neither should it stop us from being in the House of God and 260 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:01,680 worshiping Him. I heard someone say this. 261 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:05,560 I don't remember who but I had it written down in one of my 262 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,400 bibles. Don't wait until the hearse 263 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:14,160 hauls you to church. Don't wait until the hearse 264 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,800 hauls you to church. If you do, you will go 265 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:20,920 regardless of the weather that day. 266 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,280 There's going to be beautiful flowers there, but guess what? 267 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,720 You won't be able to enjoy them. The pastor will say some good 268 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,720 things about you, but you're not going to be able to hear them. 269 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,960 There will be beautiful music, but you won't be able to enjoy 270 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:36,920 it. There'll be heartfelt prayers, 271 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:39,600 but you won't, but they won't touch your heart. 272 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,920 There will be friends and relatives there, but you won't 273 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,760 be able to see them and worship with them. 274 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:51,200 You will go. You will go no matter how many 275 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,840 hypocrites are there. You will go no matter how much 276 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,880 you are needed at home. You won't be concerned about 277 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:03,880 whether you're dressed right. After that final trip, you'll 278 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,800 never have to decide whether to go to church or not. 279 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,760 So don't wait until the hearse takes or hearse takes you. 280 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:15,960 You'll never get another chance. And why not decide that as long 281 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:20,640 as you're living and breathing, as long, as long, as long as God 282 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:24,000 gives you the ability, as long as you're healthy, why not 283 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:30,520 decide I will be at church, I will worship the Lord, you know, 284 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,920 and I will be there. And so that present crowd is my 285 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,160 crowd. They were worshiped, you know, 286 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:39,600 they were a worshiping crowd. They worshiped with their 287 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:42,760 praises. Verse 24 through 28, we won't 288 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,560 read it again for time's sake, but when you read verse 24 289 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,800 through 20. 8. Their worship begin in these in 290 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:52,480 these verses here it included an element of praise. 291 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:57,000 They begin their prayer by calling on the Lord and blessing 292 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,800 his name. They praise you know they praise 293 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:05,600 God for who he is and what he and what he did and you know and 294 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:10,040 by the way, these are the you know the very same reasons that 295 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:16,560 lead that led them to praising the Lord and and are still a 296 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,320 true as true today for you and I. 297 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:23,600 We should praise God for his person and verse 24 they said 298 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:29,920 again with 1 accord, Lord, thou art God, which has made heaven 299 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:35,760 and earth and the sea and all that in them is so they praise 300 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,760 they praise God for his person. They begin by praising him for 301 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:41,440 who he is. Who is he? 302 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,160 He's God. That is a very reason that you 303 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,600 and I should praise God and that our praise should never cease 304 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:52,160 for Him. Every St. of God you know should 305 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:57,520 take the time to praise Him for who He is and for the attributes 306 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:00,760 that make Him God. What is His attributes? 307 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:05,280 He's holy should praise Him for His Holiness. 308 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,800 We should praise God for His grace. 309 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,920 We've all experienced the grace of God in our life, right? 310 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:16,280 And we experience it every day. We should thank God for his 311 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,600 grace and praise him for his grace. 312 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:20,760 We should praise him for his glory. 313 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:26,800 We should praise God, you know, for, for hope and all that God 314 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:32,720 gives us, you know, is ample reasons for you and I to praise 315 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:40,000 his lovely name. When you read the book of Song 316 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,880 of Solomon, you know that the reaction of the bride in Song of 317 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:48,040 Solomon, you know, she tried to describe the love of her life 318 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,200 and she finally concluded it with saying that he is 319 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:56,960 altogether lovely. Everything about him caused her 320 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:01,960 to praise Him. So what it is with our God, He 321 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:06,440 is altogether lovely. He is God, he is holy, he's 322 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,880 righteous. You know, he is the truth, He's 323 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,200 the life, He's the way. Everything about him should 324 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:19,680 drive us to praise him. Verse 25 to 27, you know the, 325 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,920 you know these people in the early church, you know in 326 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:27,120 Jerusalem here they were praising God for his provision. 327 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,760 The these verses recount the hatred that of the world towards 328 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:36,640 Jesus and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for their sins, for 329 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,000 the sins of the world. They praise God for his gift. 330 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:44,400 If there was ever a valid reason there praise God. 331 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,160 If there ever was a valid reason, it is the death of 332 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,200 Christ on the cross for our sins. 333 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:55,400 That's a valid reason. The fact that he took our place, 334 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,000 the fact that you know he took your place, He died for you, 335 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:02,840 paid for your sins, He was buried and he rose again, that 336 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,720 should give you ample reason. If you can't think of anything 337 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,960 else, anything, any other reason to praise Him, you should praise 338 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,720 God for what He did for you, for sending his Son to die in the 339 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,560 cross to pay for your sins and arise from the grave. 340 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:19,320 And we serve a holy, righteous and a living God. 341 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:25,000 This this evening, when I think that my sins are gone, when I 342 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,640 think that I have been forgiven, when I think that I have a home 343 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,960 in heaven, when I think that God is my Father, Jesus is my elder 344 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:39,120 brother, and the Holy Spirit is my indwelling comforter. 345 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:43,120 When I think of the price that he had paid and the love that he 346 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:47,360 had showed to you, to me and to you, when I think of that, of 347 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:51,320 the gift that he gave, I cannot help or praise the his holy 348 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:55,920 name. I cannot help it there. 349 00:22:55,960 --> 00:23:00,000 There is still a valid place for praise in the House of God. 350 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,880 Church service does not have to be dead and silent. 351 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:10,160 We can praise God. Yeah, we can praise and we can 352 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:11,120 shout. Amen. 353 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:13,840 We can shout Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. 354 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,000 If you don't want to shout, ladies, you can wave our hands 355 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:21,960 as long as it's clean, you know, But we can praise the Lord in 356 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:26,240 church. I've been in churches that have 357 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:31,920 been better than a doornail. I've been in church where, you 358 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,720 know, where the, you know, the congregational singing. 359 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,640 It's like, does anyone actually believe the words that they're 360 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,680 singing? Yeah, there's, you know, there's 361 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:47,640 no, you know, you know, there's no, it doesn't seem like that 362 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,280 they believe it, that they're, that they're actually know that 363 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,040 they're saved and on their way to heaven. 364 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:54,000 It doesn't seem like that at all. 365 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,040 But thankfully, it's not this place. 366 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:01,560 Many people don't like it. But our God is still worthy of 367 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:06,200 all of our praise, all of our honor and glory that he can 368 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:08,320 that, yeah, that we can offer to him. 369 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,720 Praise is not an option in the Bible. 370 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,840 When we look it up and we study praise and praise in the Bible, 371 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:18,480 it's not an option. God doesn't say if you want to 372 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:22,400 praise me, you can. It's actually command and we 373 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:26,640 don't have time to look at the verses, but Hebrews 1315, Psalm 374 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:32,520 47, verse one, Psalm 5, verse 11, Isaiah chapter 12 and verse 375 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:39,240 6 are some verses where where it tells us young that praise is a 376 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:44,400 command. God saves us from a dead spirit 377 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:48,120 in the House of God. When we have such a glorious, 378 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:53,920 glorious God in the midst of his church, there's praise for God's 379 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,360 power. We find out in verse 28. 380 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:03,840 They mentioned in verse 28 for to do whatsoever thy hand, thy 381 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:07,360 hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. 382 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:09,680 And so they're praising God for his power. 383 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,040 They mentioned God's hand. This is a reference to his great 384 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:18,160 power here, to His ability to exert supernatural power to 385 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:21,640 accomplish His will. May I say that God has not 386 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:25,640 changed at all this evening. He is still the He is still the 387 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:31,240 same today as he ever has been, and he's, he still has all power 388 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:36,440 that is in heaven and in earth. He is still the God who is able 389 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:40,320 to do that which is exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can 390 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,360 ask or think. He is still the great I am. 391 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:48,760 He is still God and he is worthy of our praise. 392 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:52,800 He's worthy of it. How many mountains has God moved 393 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:57,520 for you and I? How many mountains, how many 394 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:02,120 times has God, you know, moved and helped in your life? 395 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:06,800 When you're down and depressed and you're, you got worries, you 396 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,360 got cares, you got, you know, trials going on. 397 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,640 How many times has God showed up and moved those mountains for 398 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,000 you and helped you carry you through those through those 399 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,640 tough times? How many times have you seen God 400 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:25,160 do the impossible? How many times you know, has He 401 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:28,760 moved and answered prayer for you and for me? 402 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,280 Don't you? And I think that He's worthy of 403 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:34,320 our praise. He's worthy of it. 404 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:39,120 I do that. That praising crowd is my crowd. 405 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:46,720 If we don't praise Him, be careful about criticizing those 406 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:56,360 that do. You know, when every church has 407 00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:00,640 some people that are like this, that they don't praise God when 408 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:02,360 they're in church. They like, I mean, they won't 409 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:06,480 sing, you know, they won't sing in the congregations. 410 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:10,560 They're there, their body is there, but their mind and spirit 411 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:12,440 may be somewhere else. Every church has. 412 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:15,640 Yeah. And, and if you don't have 413 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,960 somebody like that, you will find somebody one day because 414 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:20,840 they, they they find churches like this. 415 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,880 Yeah, Yeah. And and they and they're there, 416 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:28,760 but don't be that person. You know, if you're not praising 417 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:31,800 him, be careful of criticizing those who do. 418 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,320 Yeah. After all, they have more Bible 419 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:40,520 for their actions than you do than you do for yours. 420 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,440 When you're praising, when you're praising God and you're 421 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:48,800 worshiping him, you have more Bible for your action than 422 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:50,720 people that are not praising God. 423 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:55,120 They praise God for their for God's Providence in verse 28 as 424 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:58,240 well. They took time to praise God for 425 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,240 his Providence. That is, they praised him that 426 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:05,520 in the death of Jesus things worked out just as he had 427 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,680 planned them to do. Jesus didn't just say, hey, I'm 428 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:12,480 going to die in the cross, pay for your sins was buried and I'm 429 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,520 going to be buried. I'm going to be, you know, for 430 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:16,760 three days and then I will rise again. 431 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:19,520 He didn't just speak it with his mouth. 432 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,760 He proved it with his action. He proved it. 433 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:27,880 And you know, and so, you know, you know, this early church, 434 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:32,000 they realized that, you know, what he said he was going to do 435 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,360 actually happened. And they thank God that he is in 436 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:39,480 control of all of their lives. And what a lesson it is for you 437 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:41,680 and I. If we really believe that God's 438 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:43,560 in control, then why not praise him? 439 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,520 If we really believe, why not praise Him? 440 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,880 Why not praise him for, for all of life, even the parts that we 441 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,160 don't like in life, even the parts that are hard to 442 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:01,240 understand in life. We under, you know, if we really 443 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:07,640 believe that he, you know, that he is who he says he is, then we 444 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:12,360 can thank Him that even in the middle of our difficulty, things 445 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,200 are going according to the plan of God. 446 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:22,440 Let me remind you that regardless of what comes your 447 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:27,680 way in life, if you're saved, God's behind it. 448 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,800 Romans 828, you know, talks about, you know, for all things 449 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,520 work together for good to them that believe God. 450 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:36,760 And I'm paraphrasing that. Yeah. 451 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:38,840 And so if we're saved, we're child of God. 452 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:42,240 It doesn't matter what comes in our life. 453 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:45,560 You know, God's there. You know, he's it's going to 454 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:50,080 work out and he's going to you know, he's going before you and 455 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:55,400 I to make victory possible. He deserves praise for his great 456 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,640 control, for his control of our life. 457 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:00,960 You know, and so they're praising crowd. 458 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:04,800 They worshipped with their prayers in verse 29 and 30. 459 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,520 You know this the early church here after they praised him, you 460 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,360 know from verse 24 through 28, they, you know, they prayed and 461 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:17,240 you know they worshipped when prayer, they began asking God 462 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:20,560 for some specific things related to their situation. 463 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:22,360 They prayed for God's investigation. 464 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:27,160 In verse 29, they, they say, Lord, behold their threatenings 465 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:31,800 and grant unto us the unto thy servants, that with all boldness 466 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:36,560 they may speak thy word. And so they did not condemn. 467 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:42,800 They did not condemn those that you know, you know, that were 468 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:45,160 against the church, against them. 469 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,440 They didn't condemn them. They merely asked God to take 470 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:51,320 notice. After all, they knew that God 471 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,800 already knew their situation, but they reminded him 472 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:59,000 nonetheless. This is what the Lord wants to 473 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:03,920 wants to do with our perplexing situations in life. 474 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:10,200 He does not want us to worry. I know it's easier said than 475 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,960 done, but He wants us to bring our madness to Him in prayer. 476 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:23,000 That's what He wants us to do. We have all these things that 477 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,840 are going on in life and I know their struggles in life and all 478 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:32,680 of our struggles are different. But instead of worrying, instead 479 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,080 of, and again, I know it's easier and said and said than 480 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:40,560 done for some people, But instead of us worrying and 481 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,760 fretting over it, we have a God in heaven who can hear and 482 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,440 answer our prayers. We have a God in heaven who can 483 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:51,840 help us and guide us and give us wisdom and take care of us. 484 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:57,560 If we go to Him in prayer, He knows our needs already. 485 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:00,720 Our prayers are merely demonstrating the fact that we 486 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,600 know that He knows and that we believe that He'll take care of 487 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,600 us. They prayed for God's in 488 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:11,480 feeling, you know, they prayed for the feeling of the, of the 489 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,840 Holy Spirit so that they might boldly proclaim his message. 490 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:17,520 They wanted the power of God in their lives. 491 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:22,600 Notice that they took the, they took the place of servants, you 492 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,120 know, literally slaves before God. 493 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:30,520 They bowed humbly and asked God to take them and to use them for 494 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:34,680 His glory. This is the kind of praying that 495 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:39,200 we need in church today. We need to be actively seeking 496 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:43,080 and asking God to visit upon our church with His supernatural 497 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,200 power. We need His power to witness. 498 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:50,480 We need His power to worship. We need His power to preach. 499 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,920 We need His power to carry out the gospel to the ends of this 500 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:58,360 world. We need Him to get the job done. 501 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:02,040 You know, because we cannot do it by ourselves. 502 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:05,360 The Lord builds the church, not you and I. 503 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:11,920 We need His power. We need His power, and we need 504 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:16,520 to pray for God's power to be upon His church and to be upon 505 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:20,080 His people church. How often are we praying, 506 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:24,920 actively praying for God to have his, for God's power to be upon 507 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:28,080 Liberty Baptist Church and upon Pastor Rivero. 508 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:32,000 How often are we praying? That should be a daily thing for 509 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:36,000 every member of this church. It should be something that we 510 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:40,880 that we're all doing on a daily basis, praying that God will 511 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:45,080 have his power upon this place and that God will use Pastor 512 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:49,840 Rivero and use the people of this church to spread the 513 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:53,680 gospel, you know, to people in the neighbor here in Easton, in 514 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:56,840 the neighboring towns. They prayed for God's 515 00:33:56,840 --> 00:34:00,800 intervention in verse 30. They ended their prayer by 516 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,000 asking God to get personally involved in their situation. 517 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:07,080 Look at verse 30. By stretching forth thine hand 518 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:12,239 to heal and that the signs and wonders may be done by the name 519 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:16,159 of thy holy child Jesus. They're asking God to get 520 00:34:16,159 --> 00:34:22,239 involved, to get involved, you know, personally get involved in 521 00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:25,360 their situation. They wanted him to demonstrate 522 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:29,520 his approval of the church by manifesting his power through 523 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:32,280 the church. They merely prayed that God will 524 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:37,000 show up and show out in the midst in the in the midst of the 525 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:41,400 people. It's a valid object of prayer in 526 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:45,360 in our times as well. This is a valid object we need 527 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:50,199 to pray for that God will do the miraculous and the midst of his 528 00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:54,520 church. Once again, we need that when I 529 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:58,840 was younger and you may have heard me a few times and you 530 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:02,840 know, when I pray when I was younger, I, I, one of my 531 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:07,360 teachers and I just got in the habit of doing it. 532 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:13,480 He, he made a habit, he said of he would always pray, whether 533 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:20,040 it's silently or out loud that God will change him, that he 534 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:23,160 would leave different than the way that he came in. 535 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:29,920 He said, God, I don't want to go to church today and not learn 536 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:31,760 anything. I don't want to go. 537 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:34,720 I don't want to leave the same way that I came in. 538 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,240 And so he made a habit to pray that you know, and, and beg God, 539 00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:45,200 God help me to leave different than the way that I came in. 540 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,080 And so you may have heard me pray that from time, you know, 541 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:53,440 you know when I pray and you know, and that stuck with me as 542 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:56,960 a young person. And I want and I still to this 543 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:01,120 day, I want that desire to always to be changed to be 544 00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:04,920 closer to God, to leave different whether whether I'm at 545 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:08,360 my home church at Lifeline Baptist Church or if you know, 546 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:10,800 or even if I'm preaching at other places. 547 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,480 I want to leave different than the way I came in. 548 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:19,000 I want to be closer to God. That's you know, so this early 549 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:23,440 church here, you know, they they asked God for God to get 550 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:29,640 involved to, you know, to have his hand to stretch forth thy 551 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:34,000 hand to heal. We need to pray that God would 552 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,200 do again the miraculous in the midst of his church once again, 553 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:38,880 I'm not referring to some people. 554 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:46,480 I'm not referring to some people who are or who are blame, maybe 555 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:49,440 blaming God for things. I'm referring to an old 556 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:53,560 fashioned movement of God amongst people in which their 557 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:57,640 hearts are stirred and to love Him more, their lives are 558 00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:02,880 changed and made holy and the strings of their tongues are 559 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,840 loosed to praising God and praying to Him and telling the 560 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:11,840 lost all about Him. We should be, you know, we, we 561 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:15,480 have, you know, we teach the younger kids, let's talk about 562 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:20,120 Jesus, that song, right? How often are we talking about 563 00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:23,880 Jesus? How often adults are we telling 564 00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:28,560 other people and praising him? You know, you know, to, to our 565 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:32,080 coworkers, you know, to our lost family members. 566 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:36,280 We need God to we need his intervention in our day. 567 00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:39,520 We not, we, let's not be afraid to ask him to help us. 568 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:44,080 He will answer Nothing honors God as much as he. 569 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:49,200 Nothing honors God as much you know as does the prayer of 570 00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:52,640 faith. They worshipped with power. 571 00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:56,200 It wasn't an ordinary church service here. 572 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:00,080 They worshipped with power. As soon as they finished their 573 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:05,280 praying to God, they experienced an immediate answer to their to 574 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:09,000 their prayers. As verse 31 says is you know 575 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,760 when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were 576 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:15,360 assembled together. The place was shaken when the 577 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:17,440 Lord shows up. It cannot be hidden. 578 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:20,600 It cannot be hidden when God shows up. 579 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:24,360 He turned their prayer meeting upside down. 580 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:27,680 In other words, things got different really fast. 581 00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:32,240 And you know when God is in a service and when he's not in the 582 00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:34,480 service. When God's in the service, 583 00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:37,120 things cannot remain calm and collected. 584 00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:40,960 When God shows up, the Spirit begins to move through a place 585 00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:44,360 and now in the plate, that place will be shaken for the glory of 586 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:46,880 God. We need God to shake us these 587 00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:49,120 days. We need Him to move in our 588 00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:54,000 church services so that things are not run-of-the-mill and our 589 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:59,280 world needs to know that God is alive and that He's in the midst 590 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:04,360 of His people. Many, many would not like a real 591 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:07,920 move of God, and that's evident by the number of dead churches 592 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:10,840 that are around, even in the New England area. 593 00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:17,840 However, I say God, pour on all of us Your glory, your power. 594 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:20,440 Give us your power. Give us your presence. 595 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:25,400 Move in such a way to shake this place that people would worship 596 00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:28,400 you once again, that people would worship you. 597 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:35,360 This worshiping crowd, you know, that's my type of crowd here. 598 00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:40,120 It's my This place was shaken. Yeah. 599 00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:43,520 The place was saturated when the Lord moved in. 600 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:47,240 Those who were looking for something got and they got it. 601 00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:51,840 Verse 30, verse 31, you know, says and when they had prayed, 602 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:55,440 the place was shaken, they were assembled together and they were 603 00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:58,600 all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God 604 00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:02,360 with boldness. So everybody who everybody that 605 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:05,240 was there. Everybody got something. 606 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:11,800 Could you imagine, you know, what would happen in our homes 607 00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:17,120 and our communities if every member, if every member of the 608 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:18,760 church was filled with the Holy Ghost? 609 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:23,880 Not, not only, you know, would we be shaken, but the world 610 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:27,960 around us would be shaken too. We would see people come to, you 611 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:31,400 know, come to the saving, you know, faith of Christ. 612 00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:34,840 We would see differences being made in people's lives. 613 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:37,160 You know, the churches would be filled. 614 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:40,760 And you know, if, you know, if everyone was filled with the 615 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:44,120 Holy Ghost, it's a worshipping crowd. 616 00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:50,240 They worshipped with power, but they were also a working crowd. 617 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:53,800 They were a working crowd. Verse 32. 618 00:40:53,800 --> 00:41:00,080 And I got a hasten point #1 was my biggest point #2 There were 619 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:02,440 working crowd. Verse 32 says, in the multitude 620 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:07,440 of them that believed were of 1 heart and of one soul, neither 621 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:11,680 said any of them that ought of the things which He possessed of 622 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:14,680 His own, but they had all things common. 623 00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:19,000 Drop down to verse 34. Neither was there any among them 624 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:22,040 that lacked. For as many as were possessors 625 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:26,320 of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the 626 00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:29,840 things that were sold, and they laid them down at the apostles 627 00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:34,440 feet, and distribution was made unto every man according as he 628 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:37,560 that had need. So these verses make it clear 629 00:41:37,720 --> 00:41:40,640 that the early church, they were a busy bunch of people. 630 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:45,120 They were busy, they were active in the Lord's work, and they 631 00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:49,040 were active in the lives of the Lord's people. 632 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:53,600 And doing what they did, they set out, they set a good example 633 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:57,640 for the Church of our day, you know, the reason for their work, 634 00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:00,760 you know, in verse 32, you know says in the multitude of them 635 00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:06,080 that believed were of 1 heart and of one soul, you know. 636 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:12,280 And so the reason this verse gives us 2 reasons for their 637 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:15,640 doing of what they did. They shared a common love. 638 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:19,560 The Bible says that they were of 1 heart. 639 00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:24,720 They had a common love here. This is that is that they had a 640 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:29,160 love for one another that could not be explained in human terms. 641 00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:32,640 And as a result, they worked on behalf of their brothers in 642 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:35,080 Christ. This kind of love when it's 643 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:39,360 present and when it's real is a supernatural work of God in our 644 00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:42,680 hearts. When he saves us, he gives us 645 00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:47,560 the ability, gives you an eye, the ability to allow him to love 646 00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:54,880 through US for us to allow him to love through US the love of 647 00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:57,440 the Saints that you know, the love the Saints have for one 648 00:42:57,440 --> 00:43:01,600 another. It's is impossible to understand 649 00:43:01,600 --> 00:43:05,600 or to explain. However, when we say when we, 650 00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:11,720 when Jesus is the, you know, you know, when we're saved and Jesus 651 00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:17,200 is the presence, you know, you know, and, and in our lives, 652 00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:19,920 it's a powerful witness to the world. 653 00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:23,200 And it's because of Jesus that you and I could love one 654 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:26,360 another. It's because I know it's hard. 655 00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:33,720 People are difficult. People may be weird from time to 656 00:43:33,720 --> 00:43:37,200 time. And I know it's difficult. 657 00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:40,840 People get on our nerves. Church members get on our 658 00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:44,040 nerves, Right. Yeah, you know, like if they sit 659 00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:46,840 in your seat at church and it's like, you know, people, like, 660 00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:51,760 you know, it happens, you know, and, you know, and, and yeah, I 661 00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:56,480 know some people make it really hard to love them, right. 662 00:43:57,080 --> 00:43:59,440 Some people do. God's help. 663 00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:05,440 Nothing shall be impossible. And, you know, and so we can 664 00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:09,360 love one another. We can love people. 665 00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:12,280 And they shared a common life. Yeah. 666 00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:16,600 What made this possible is that within each of their heart, 667 00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:21,240 within each of them, they bet, you know, they had the same 668 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:24,840 heartbeat. That is the, you know, the Bible 669 00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:30,240 says that they were of one soul. This means that one life filled 670 00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:34,200 each of them. You know, you know, you know 671 00:44:34,400 --> 00:44:37,880 that one life filled each if them, each of them. 672 00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:41,160 And they were not. They were not in this thing 673 00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:44,200 alone and they knew it. So when one person hurt, they 674 00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:48,240 hurt. If one person had a need, they 675 00:44:48,240 --> 00:44:50,000 did what they could to fill that need. 676 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,680 If one person was sad, they helped that person. 677 00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:57,640 When we are, when we who are saved, the life of Christ comes 678 00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:00,520 into us. That same life that lives in me 679 00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:02,200 and lives in you. We are. 680 00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:05,640 We are of 1 Lord, we have one soul. 681 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:10,480 That is why when again, if you have a need, if there's a member 682 00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:13,400 in your church that has a need and you're able to meet that 683 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:17,000 need as a brother in Christ or sister in Christ, you should 684 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:19,880 meet that need. And if somebody's hurt, we 685 00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:22,520 should hurt with them. We should, you know, And if 686 00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:24,760 somebody. And when we're happy, we should 687 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:26,840 be happy. Other people should be happy. 688 00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:30,760 And when, when God blesses you, we should all rejoice that God 689 00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:33,360 is blessing you. God, you know, you may not have 690 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:36,760 the blessings of God right now in your life, but you have said, 691 00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:39,960 God bless somebody else. We should praise the Lord for 692 00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:42,920 that. Yeah. 693 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:46,080 So this church, they were a working crowd. 694 00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:50,120 They, they were servants. Verse 34 through 35 talks about 695 00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:52,640 their work. They were unselfish in an 696 00:45:52,640 --> 00:45:54,680 expression of their love for one another. 697 00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:59,240 They demonstrated by working, by selling all that they had. 698 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:03,920 You know, they were servants. And you and I need to be of a, 699 00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:13,160 of a servant's heart as well as we serve in the church #3 Not 700 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:16,040 only was it a working crowd, but they were a witnessing crowd. 701 00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:20,120 They were a witnessing crowd. Look back at verse 33. 702 00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:26,480 The Bible says, and with great power gave the apostles witness 703 00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:31,920 of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon 704 00:46:32,040 --> 00:46:35,000 them all. They were a witnessing crowd. 705 00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:38,720 This verse tells us that these people were not quiet about 706 00:46:38,720 --> 00:46:42,320 their faith. They were bold in their witness 707 00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:47,360 and they were not ashamed of that of what they had or who 708 00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:51,160 they were in Christ. You and I, we should be a 709 00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:54,600 witness in crowd. We shouldn't be ashamed that 710 00:46:54,600 --> 00:46:57,920 we're on our way to heaven, that we know that Jesus as our 711 00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:00,400 Savior. Let me give you 2 quick thoughts 712 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:03,160 about the witness of these believers. 713 00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:05,520 They witnessed in the power of God. 714 00:47:05,680 --> 00:47:10,080 When the when these apostles went forth bearing the message 715 00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:14,880 of Jesus, He went with them bearing witness to their 716 00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:17,920 message. He placed His power on them and 717 00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:21,000 enabled them to witness for His glory. 718 00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:27,960 We as individuals in the church as a whole, as a whole, it is as 719 00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:31,840 it should be. Then we will be able to count on 720 00:47:31,840 --> 00:47:34,680 God's power and our witness as well. 721 00:47:36,160 --> 00:47:41,440 The reason thousands were being saved in the early church wasn't 722 00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:45,240 because of their ability. It wasn't because they were 723 00:47:45,240 --> 00:47:49,600 special people. Reason why thousands were being 724 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:53,800 saved wasn't because they had the they had the largest worship 725 00:47:54,320 --> 00:47:58,280 choir. It wasn't because of that, you 726 00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:02,560 know, it wasn't the quality of the preaching or the glory 727 00:48:02,560 --> 00:48:05,520 again, of their servants. Thousands were being saved 728 00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:08,280 because they were operating under the power of God. 729 00:48:09,480 --> 00:48:14,000 We need that power today. We need God's power in our 730 00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:19,640 churches today and all that the powers, the powers available to 731 00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:23,520 us if we claim it by faith and Acts chapter one, verse 8 and 732 00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:28,640 may we pay the price to get the church where the church ought to 733 00:48:28,640 --> 00:48:31,480 be. May we pray until we until he 734 00:48:31,480 --> 00:48:36,400 fills and fills us and pours us out for his glory. 735 00:48:36,640 --> 00:48:41,680 May we get to the place as a church and as individuals that 736 00:48:41,680 --> 00:48:44,400 the power, power of Christ may rest upon us. 737 00:48:44,600 --> 00:48:48,080 We need that more than we need anything else in our day. 738 00:48:48,720 --> 00:48:52,320 They witnessed the the provision of His grace. 739 00:48:52,880 --> 00:48:56,600 The Bible tells us that great grace was upon them all. 740 00:48:57,200 --> 00:49:02,240 The word grace means favor. It may mean you know favor. 741 00:49:03,320 --> 00:49:09,360 You know, you know, with people. This was the case in Acts 247. 742 00:49:09,520 --> 00:49:13,320 Or it may mean that they found favor with God and he blessed 743 00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:17,040 them accordingly. I'm inclined to lean towards the 744 00:49:17,040 --> 00:49:19,600 latter explanation of this passage. 745 00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:24,520 If that is true, then they went forth under the grace of God and 746 00:49:24,520 --> 00:49:29,480 were aided of Him, and they as they witnessed His plan of 747 00:49:29,480 --> 00:49:32,760 salvation. In other words, God helped them 748 00:49:32,760 --> 00:49:35,280 to get the job done for His glory. 749 00:49:36,520 --> 00:49:42,480 God help them for His glory. He gave them the grace to preach 750 00:49:42,480 --> 00:49:48,240 the gospel and tell the lost of the lost and dying world about a 751 00:49:48,280 --> 00:49:52,880 Savior. May we seek Him for that same 752 00:49:52,880 --> 00:49:57,240 grace to go out and tell this world about a Savior who loves 753 00:49:57,320 --> 00:50:01,280 them. May we not fear about rejection 754 00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:06,120 or ridicule, but may we have the grace to tell them about the 755 00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:10,720 bloody bloody cross and the empty tomb so that we might 756 00:50:10,720 --> 00:50:13,920 fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus. 757 00:50:14,240 --> 00:50:18,840 May we have the courage to stand up and and be counted amongst 758 00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:22,080 those who are washed in the blood and different because of 759 00:50:22,080 --> 00:50:24,200 the saving almighty power of God. 760 00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:28,320 May we not be ashamed of Him, and may we declare the true 761 00:50:28,320 --> 00:50:34,040 Gospel and trust Him to save sinners, not for our sake, but 762 00:50:34,040 --> 00:50:37,360 for His sake. The witnessing crowd is my 763 00:50:37,360 --> 00:50:40,240 crowd. Are you a part of that crowd 764 00:50:40,240 --> 00:50:44,240 today? If you're saved, if you're part 765 00:50:44,240 --> 00:50:49,200 of this church, then you are. If not, you need to come to 766 00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:55,560 Jesus to be saved, and he will save you, you and you know, and 767 00:50:55,560 --> 00:50:58,800 then you can be a part of this church and you can be part of a 768 00:50:58,800 --> 00:51:02,600 worshipping crowd, a working crowd, and a witnessing crowd, 769 00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:07,480 all for God's glory. Thank you for listening to the 770 00:51:07,480 --> 00:51:10,080 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 771 00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:13,680 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 772 00:51:13,680 --> 00:51:16,840 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 773 00:51:16,960 --> 00:51:21,720 info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday 774 00:51:21,920 --> 00:51:25,600 at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA. 775 00:51:25,880 --> 00:51:28,680 May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.