Acts Chapter 13 (2009)

That's a wonderful attitude to actually have.

Is regardless of what you're going through, that you can actually hold your head up high and say, hallelujah, anyhow.

And of course we know hallelujah.

That's a uh that's an interesting word in the Bible.

It comes not from a word, but actually from a phrase.

And uh the phrase is the highest praises be to God.

That's what the phrase is.

It's an Aramaic, the translation of a phrase, the highest praises be to God.

And of course, and of course we know, uh, that is, we often make reference to uh everything the Bible says, I think in Psalms 150, that everything that has breath, let it praise the Lord.

And of course, we we reference that uh, how does a dog, how does a cat, uh, how does a rat praise the Lord?

Uh when that cat meowing is praising the Lord, it's doing what God created to do.

When a dog is barking, he's praising the Lord, he's doing what the Lord created to do.

When a dog starts meowing and a cat start barking, things are out of order, aren't they?

But when everything is functioning as the Lord desired, then that's praising the Lord.

And of course, when they say hallelujah, that's the highest praise.

And that's something that the animals can't do.

It takes a redeemed man to actually humble himself under the mighty hand of God, as the Bible says.

I think he makes that statement.

Oh, that is in 1 Peter chapter 5, he said, humble yourself therefore under the what?

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

The mighty hand of God.

And what would he do?

He would exalt you, how that is in due time.

But what is he making reference to?

Not just out of the condition, and we all need to be exalted out of the condition that we're in, but he would actually exalt us to the point or to the place where we can actually see that the Lord actually, his train fills the temple.

You're gonna find that, just like Noah did in the ark.

When he built that ark, the Bible gave us uh, that is a record.

It was built with three stories, a lower, a middle, and an upper story, but it only had one window.

And it wasn't on the first floor, it wasn't on the second, that window was only on the third floor, and yet it wasn't in the walls.

The window was actually put on the roof of that building, it was put in the ceiling.

And it lets you know the only way that you're gonna actually see God in spite of all the destructions, you got to actually look up and see the Lord.

Uh, David said, I will lift my eyes unto the hill from whence coming my help.

And then he answered that.

He said, My help coming from the Lord, which made that is heaven and earth.

And those are wonderful promises that we actually have from the Lord that he would actually lift us up.

Regardless of what we're encountering, uh, regardless of what we're feeling, we can actually lift up.

I'm sorry.

Okay.

Okay.

We can actually lift our heart and our eyes into the Lord.

I like to uh not let the time get away.

I know we're trying to, God give us grace to finish this wonderful book of Acts.

And Acts is an interesting book.

When you read when you open your Bible under the New Testament, and uh of course this is where we're living, we're actually living under the grace of dispensation.

The first books of the Bible and the New Testament we know is I can't hear us.

Gospel, what are they?

Luke and John.

That's the gospel.

Uh that is the gospel that Jesus Christ actually taught.

And though you read Matthew's, Mark, Luke, and John under the book of uh under the uh the New Testament, Matthew's, Mark, Luke, and John was actually written under the old covenant.

The New Testament or the New Covenant or the New Agreement between God and mankind did not actually begin until the day of Pentecost.

When Jesus Christ, when Jesus Christ was born, he was born, as the Bible said, under the law.

When he lived this life, what law is that?

That's the law that God had given uh Moses to give to the nation of Israel.

That is, all those Ten Commandments and all those uh statutes and covenants.

Oh, that was the law of Moses, or as it was given to uh Moses by God on Mount Sinai.

And so Jesus lived this life 33 and one-half years under the law of Moses.

He said, I come not to destroy the law, but I come to do what?

To fulfill it.

And so he lived under the law of Moses.

He lived under the law.

And uh and of course we can see as he lived under that law of Moses, he actually showed you the law was just a schoolmaster, as uh Paul makes his statement in Galatia to bring us to bring us to Christ.

It was a shadow.

It wasn't a very image of the thing, it was just a picture and a type.

Under the law of Moses, they offered sacrifices, but all of those sacrifices, whether it was a burnt offering, whether it's a wave offering, whether it's a peace offering, whether it's a sin offering, all of those sacrifices point toward Christ.

They all are fulfilled in Christ.

When they actually took a lamb, that lamb had to be without spot, it had to be without wrinkle, it had to be without blemish, and they offer that lamb up for the sacrifices of their sins.

In other words, that lamb died in their stead.

Well, of course, that pictured Christ.

When John the Baptist actually saw him on the river banks of Jordan, he said, Behold the Lamb of God.

Well, that was Jesus Christ.

He was the real Lamb of God, he was the one that was undefiled, he was the one that was sinless, he was the one that was harmless, uh, that was the one that had a meek and a mild spirit.

And so John looked at him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.

And so all of those are pictures, those are types.

And as you begin to look in the Old Testament, and I want to get to this wonderful book of Acts, but let's bring our minds up.

Because thank God, I'm so glad that Jesus Christ fulfilled the law.

Otherwise, you and I, we would still be bringing sacrifices, we'll still be bringing turtle doves, heat goats, and pitchers, and pigeons to uh uh that is uh to die in our stead for those wonderful, uh I'm sorry, for the sins that we had had committed, that we could receive the wonderful grace that the Lord had bestowed, but it was in Christ.

And wonderful pictures you can see in the Old Testament under the law of Moses.

When a man sin a sin, and of course that happened daily, but when a man sinned a sin, he actually would bring his sacrifice to the priest, and the priest is a mediator between God and man.

And what he would do, he would actually take his hand, lay his hand on the head of that sacrifice, on the head of that lamb, or the head of that goat.

And then he would actually lay his hand, and then by putting his hand on the animal's head, uh, that animal was actually receiving the imputation of that man's sin.

And then that animal had to be uh killed, it had to be slayed.

The Bible said, without the shedding of blood, there was what?

No remission of sins.

And so that animal had to die in man's stead.

That all the way back to the garden, when Adam died, I'm sorry, when Adam sinned, when he actually sinned, the Bible said the wages of sin is death.

And of course, when Adam died, I'm died, when Adam sinned, uh the consequences or the imputation of uh the uh sentence of that would have been death.

But God was so gracious, he allowed an animal to actually take his place.

And that's why the Bible said God covered him with skin.

He imputed those sins to an animal that Adam had a chance to continue to live long enough to procreate.

Aren't you glad about that?

And we would have been stumped out.

We would have been stumped out.

Uh but the Bible said it wasn't possible.

Get this.

He said it wasn't possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

It was just a type and a picture until Christ came.

And then of course we can see, I'm trying to get to the book of Acts, but I'm trying to bring us back up from the fall of Adam.

Uh, listen, we all, everyone is a product of your environment.

We are a product of our environment.

And uh we're not sinners uh because we sin.

That's not why you're a sinner.

No, you sin because you're a sinner.

Sin is not what makes you a sinner.

The fact that you sin is because it's what we are.

Uh, as I said about the dog, he barked to cat me out.

There's something in our nature that we're self-willed, we're stubborn, we're obstinate, but thank God the Lord doesn't impute our sins right away.

He gives us a chance to get that right.

He gives us a chance that the blood of Jesus Christ could be applied, could cover our sins until we can work out our salvation with what?

Fear and trembling.

And so uh, if I have shortcomings in my life, I can't have the attitude where I don't want to go to church because I'm not right.

No, when I'm not right, that's when I need to come to God's people.

When I have shortcomings, that's why I need to come here.

Uh, when my heart is overwhelmed, my spirit isn't right, my attitude isn't right, my conduct isn't right.

Brother, I need to get to the house of the Lord.

I need more mercy.

I need the blood of Christ to actually cover me until I can mortify the deeds of this body, that I can overcome this nature that I got from Adam.

And of course, we can see uh when Jesus Christ came, and I'm I'm I'm stay with me, I'm trying to bring this up.

When he actually came, he didn't come to everybody, but it was through the nation of Israel.

It was the Jesus Christ said in the fourth chapter of John that salvation is of the Jews.

It was of the nation of Israel that was to be the people.

Uh, as Brother Hinks said, Sunday, didn't a wonderful job, Sunday.

He actually pointed that out.

I thought he did a wonderful job when he was on his feet.

Uh, but it was the nation of Israel uh that was to be the lighthouse of this world.

It was the late the nation of Israel to whom God had given laws, his statutes, and his commandments.

Not that they could look down on everyone else and call them dogs and outcasts, but they could actually show people or other nations by the life they live and the fact that they had an atonement for their sins, brother, that there's a loving God in heaven that's concerned about fallen man.

And until you've actually known the loving hand that actually reaches down to the fallen man, and you don't know anything until you've known the love of God, God and his love.

And so, uh, when you saw Jesus Christ, that's what you saw was the love of God.

You saw the love of God manifested.

What do you mean?

God so loved man, that is, mankind, the souls of men that was in the earth, that he gave not a pigeon, not a turtle dove, uh, not a lamb or a ram, but he gave his only begotten son.

Here is one that was harmless and undefiled.

Here is one that was unpolluted.

And thank God, aren't you so glad that the Bible said that he became a sin sacrifice for us all?

He became an acceptable sacrifice, that I don't have to die.

He died in my stead.

That is, I don't have to die for my sins.

I have a chance to be justified by faith.

If I can believe that what Jesus Christ did in my stead, where dying is concerned, and paying the sacrifice, then the righteousness can be imputed to me until I get it right.

Righteousness can be imputed to me until I'm made right.

And the Bible said, He that doeth righteousness, he's right.

And so here's Jesus.

And let me back up a little bit with a picture and type, and that's just bring this on up to his ministry and get back into the book of Acts before time evades us.

And so, uh, remember this wonderful picture in the Old Testament?

Do you remember how they would actually take two goats?

They would take two goats, and they would actually bring those goats outside the camp where the priest would come, and then the priest would actually lay his hands, uh, that is on a goat, and uh, brother, he will kill that goat.

He would kill that goat.

He would take that goat's blood and put it on the other goat and drive him out into the wilderness.

Do you remember that wonderful picture?

Then there's another picture how he would take two birds.

He would take two birds, he will kill one bird, drain the blood, and dip the living bird in that blood of the dead bird and a basin and turn that blood loot, that bird loose and let him fly away.

Well, those uh those men that understand why would God have them to do that?

Why kill a bird, put his blood in a basin and dip a living bird in it and turn the bird loose?

Why take two goats, kill one goat, sprinkle the blood on the other goat, and send him out into the wilderness?

Well, brother, that's a picture of what Christ did for us.

He was the bird.

He was the bird that shed his blood.

We were the bird that is that was dipped in that blood and was turned loose.

Our soul was able to go free to escape death.

Uh, we was the goat.

We was the one, uh, brother, that actually was taken out.

And uh the other one died and our was dead, and that blood was put on us and we was turned loose.

Aren't you glad about that?

And so when Jesus Christ, when he actually came, he came to that nation of people to whom you notice it's a Jewish book.

Uh all uh that is 66 books in this Bible, all 1,169 chapters, it's all written by Jews.

Jesus Christ said, Salvation is of the Jews.

For 2,000 years, for 2,000 years, he said, I stretch forth my hand to a stiff neck and a gain-sand people.

That is the nation of Israel, but that still was his people.

That was the people to whom God had given the lively ordinances.

That was the people that God had given his commandments, his statues.

And so when he came, he came that is through that lineage.

Mary was a Jew.

Uh, that is his biological mother.

He didn't have a biological father, he was conceived of the Holy Ghost.

And so he came through that little Jewish woman's uh womb, and he was born of a woman.

I'm glad about that.

The Bible said he didn't take on him the nature, what is this, Hebrews?

Uh someone give me a uh give me on the board.

Let me kind of run a little fast to redeem time.

Uh the Bible said he didn't take upon him the nature of angels, but he was made of the seed of what?

Abraham.

And so here he is.

He came down, Abraham was the first Jew.

He came down through the lintage.

He came down through the lintage of Abraham.

He came down through uh, that is the tribe of Judah.

He came down through the family of David.

And the Bible keeps, as you get closer to the New Testament, he starts out broad, Sister Pam.

He starts out broad.

And it says, uh, write these scriptures down.

I'm gonna kind of go a little fast here, but uh, I want us to see salvation as we begin to look into this wonderful book.

The book of Acts is a critical book.

It is what actually joins uh uh uh the last of the law of Moses, which is Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, into the implementation of the New Testament laws, those epistles that you're reading.

Uh that book of Acts uh it's a link, uh it's a bridge uh uh between the Old Testament and the New.

And so we can see here in Genesis 3.16, stay with me here.

Uh write these things down.

I need to get to the book of Acts, but I got to bring us up.

And uh we can begin to see after, let's go back to the garden, after the fall of Adam.

After the fall of Adam.

Look at the curse that God had actually put on mankind.

Uh, he put on Adam, first of all.

Uh he put told Adam, that is, brother, no longer will that ground yield his strength to him, but it's going to yield thorns and thistles.

And so he had to actually tilt the ground by the sweat of his face.

And then he cursed the woman.

Her affection will be toward her husband, he shall have the rule.

Um, can we say that together?

Affection shall be toward her husband, he shall have the what?

You know, they don't believe that today.

They don't believe that a man should have the rule over you, but that's the Bible.

And don't get angry with Brother Brown.

Don't get angry with the body of Christ.

Get angry with God.

That's a law that he put in the earth.

Uh he said, Affection shall be toward her husband, he shall have the rule over him.

But then listen to this.

Think, listen, listen to this.

But he told this woman this.

A matter of fact, let's read it.

Genesis 3.16.

Let's kind of go through this real quick, and we can actually appreciate the wonderful book of Acts when we get there.

All of the Old Testament is actually pointing toward the New.

Everything that you read in the Old Testament is pointing toward uh the New Testament.

And the book of Genesis, and what does Genesis mean?

That word means beginning.

This is the beginning of the inhabitable parts of the earth as we know it.

This is the beginning of the human race as we know it.

Uh, this is the beginning of the restoration of the earth as we know it.

It's not the beginning of the earth.

Uh no, God formed the earth thousands and millions of years before you actually begin to read it in verse 2.

But nevertheless, uh, let's go to Genesis uh 3.

Here's the Lord cursing the woman.

Um cursing the let's keep curse the woman in verse 13.

But go to verse, uh I'm sorry, verse 14, verse 15, go to verse 15 for the sake of time.

Read it for me, Brother Michael, please help me out.

Genesis 3.15.

He said, and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.

It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Okay, here it is.

He said, I put enmity between uh thee, that's the serpent, and the woman.

And listen to this uh between thy seed and her seed.

What is the seed of the woman?

The seed of the woman is a man, a mankind.

The fruit of the woman's wound is another child, but then there's a seed of the serpent.

Uh there is a corner, there's a corner mind, there's a corner system.

Uh there is that which is against God.

And see, the seed of that the seed of that serpent was going to actually bruise Christ's heel.

It did that on Calvary.

It actually bruised his heel.

It put him to death.

But he said the seed of the woman, which is Jesus Christ, he was going to bruise that serpent's head.

And listen, you hit me on the heel, you hurt me.

But brother, if I bruise your head, if I crush your head, that's a fatal blow.

And that's what Jesus Christ did to Carnell.

That's what he did to the serpent on the cross.

He actually bruised his head.

He gave him a fatal blow.

Aren't you glad about that?

That he actually overcame death, hell, and the grave.

But that's the first prophecy about Christ and his coming.

That's the first prophecy.

And then, of course, uh, and we can go right on down, and so you can see, uh, trying to get us to Christ, because it's important.

You have to see him from the beginning.

You have to see him in every book of the Bible, brother Upton.

That's critical.

And so here's the introduction of the first prophecy of Christ's coming.

And so we see he's not going to come of the of a that is of a lamb, a natural lamb.

He's not going to come off the beast of the field of the foul air, but he's going to come through the seed of the woman.

Well, that means he's going to come through the human race.

That's what that means.

But that's pretty broad, isn't it?

That's pretty broad.

Well, the Lord gets a little more narrow as you keep reading.

And so they got all the families of the earth.

Well, who's going to be the seed of that woman?

Where is that trite that deliverance going to come from?

I think you get to the 12th chapter of Genesis.

Go to 12 and 3.

I think he began to narrow it down a little bit closer than that.

Uh now it's not just the uh uh the human race he's coming down through, but now he actually narrows it down to a certain people.

Uh brother Michael, uh Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Now he's going to show, he's going to be to the seed of Abraham.

That means the nation of Israel.

Verse 1 and 2.

He said, Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee.

This is Abram.

While he was yet a Gentile, the Lord called him out and will change his name from Abram to Abraham.

Keep reading.

He said, And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing.

Listen to this.

Listen to this.

That's another wonderful promise.

He said, And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee, and in thee, that is, in his seed, shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Well, that's another prophecy about the Messiah.

And so it started out with the human race, and now it's coming down through a certain family, that is, through the descendants of Abraham.

So he's narrowing down.

But Abraham had a son by the name of Isaac.

Isaac and Isaac had a son named Jacob.

And Jacob had 12 sons.

But God said that it was going to come through the seed of Abraham.

So now there's 12 sons.

So how do which one of those tribes?

Well, as you keep reading the Bible, it gets narrower than that.

And so first it's going to be of the human race, it's going to be of the family of Abraham.

But Abraham's descendants was 12 sons.

The great grandsons was 12.

And so he narrows them down to a tribe, doesn't it?

What is that?

Genesis 49?

Give me 49 and 10.

Keep going through Genesis.

And he gets narrower than that.

But we headed to the book of Acts.

So stay with me here.

And there was 12 sons.

Jacob's name was changed from Jacob to Israel, and he actually had 12 sons.

And verse 3, I won't read all of it, but uh well, look at verse 1.

Here is Jacob about to die, Genesis 49 and 1.

And Jacob called unto, I'm sorry, Jacob called unto his sons and said, Gather yourself together that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

And gather yourself together and hear you sons of Jacob.

That's who he was.

His name was Jacob, and hearken unto Israel.

God changed Jacob's name from Jacob to Israel.

And so that became the family's name.

Israel, your father.

And of course he had twelve sons.

The first son was rejected.

Verse 3.

Reuben, that's the firstborn.

You are my firstborn, my might and the excellency of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

You the firstborn.

That was like the law of Moses.

But look at verse 4.

He said, But you was what?

Unstable as water.

So he was rejected.

Verse 5.

And then here come the second and the third son.

He said, Simeon, that's the second son, and Levi, that was the third.

He said, brothers, cruelty, I'm sorry, instruments of cruelty are what?

In the habitation.

They was rejected.

They was rejected.

Look at verse 7.

It shows you how you rejected.

Cursed be the anger, for it was fierce, and the wrath, for it was cruel, and I will divide them in Jacob.

That's why you see Levi, those tribes of, I'm sorry, the tribe of Levi was scattered in the 12 tribes.

They were scattered.

That was a curse.

I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

And so you can see verse 3, Reuben was rejected.

Verse 5, Simeon and Levi was rejected.

And now here's the fourth son, verse 8.

He said, Judah, uh uh.

He said, Judah, thou are he whom what?

Well, how would they praise Judah?

By praising Jesus Christ.

He will come down through that particular family.

Jesus Christ was of the family of Judah.

He was of the tribe of Judah.

So when you praising Jesus, that's that's down through Judah.

He said, Thou he whom thy brother shall praise, thy hand shall be in the neck of thy enemies, and thy father's children, that's all the rest of Israel, they're gonna bow down before thee, and they will.

He said, Judah, here he is, he's a lion's wep.

Well, that's a picture.

What's a lion?

A lion, brother, is an animal that actually rules.

It's an animal that's the king of the jungle.

And so he said, Judah, look what he is.

Thank God he's a lion's wep.

He said, from the prey.

What do you mean from the prey?

That's from the cross.

My son, thou art gone up.

He scooped down.

That is Judah.

That's Christ and Judah.

He looked he's scooped down.

He's couched as a lion.

In the Old Testament, he's just a picture and a type.

He's scooped down as an old lion.

Who shall rouse him up?

Verse 10 is the keto.

Look at this wonderful scripture in verse 10.

He said, The sepulchre shall what?

It shall not depart.

A sepulchre is what the king uses the rule with.

It's not going to depart from Judah.

That is through Christ.

Nor the law give from between his feet until who?

Shallow.

That's Jesus Christ.

That's another name for Christ.

Until Shalo come.

And unto him that is Shallow, which is a pitching type of Christ, that's the forename of Christ, shall the gathering of the people, that's the people of God, be.

Thank God.

Aren't you glad about that?

And so you can see that wonderful prophecy.

It's coming down through the human race.

It's coming down through the family of Abraham.

It's coming down through the triumph of Judah.

But it doesn't stop there.

The pictures keep getting narrower and narrow as you get down to the uh to the actual fulfillment of that.

We know that in uh uh give me that scripture over there, Brother Michael, in Deuteronomy, when he says about Moses.

Moses was a great leader.

He was a great man, uh, that is in the nation of Israel.

He was the one who gave them the law.

Uh that's it, 1815, thereabout.

But look what Moses said.

Deuteronomy 1815.

He said, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet.

Listen to this.

And see, here, do you remember how that when they when the uh when John the Baptist went out to baptize, and the Pharisees sent him and say, sent the uh uh uh ambassadors and said, You go ask John the Baptist, who is he?

Is he the is he the Christ?

Is he uh the prophet?

What do you mean the prophet, the one that Moses talked about?

There was a lot of prophets, but but look what Moses said.

He said, A prophet like unto me, like a prophet unto me, like unto me, from thy brethren is the Lord's gonna raise up.

Let's read that.

He said, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him shall ye hearken.

Go ahead.

What happened, brother?

Mike, read the next verse.

He said, According to all that thou desirest of the Lord, thy God and Herod in the day of the assemblies.

That's good enough.

Okay, so he's gonna be a prophet like unto Moses.

Do you remember how Moses was actually brought out of Egypt?

Do you remember how Moses, well, that's what Jesus Christ was actually brought out of Egypt.

Remember when Moses was born, how actually there was a commandment to kill all of the male childs?

Do you remember when Jesus Christ was born?

How they gave a commandment to kill all of the man child?

And brother, that Moses was a picture of Christ.

He was the head of Israel.

And that's why the nation of Israel is called the body of Moses.

Well, see, in the New Testament, when it starts on the day of Pentecost, we're called the body of Christ because Christ is our head.

Am I making sense to you?

And so we can see here he is, brother, he's going to be a prophet like unto Moses.

And then we can see he's going to actually come down through the family of David.

And so we know what race of what race is coming through, the human race.

We know what family is coming down through.

He's going to come through the nation of Israel, the descendants of Abraham.

We know what tribe he's going to come, it's down through the tribe of Judah.

We know he's a picture and a type by Moses.

And then, of course, he's going to actually choose the family because Judah had many, he had many offsprings, but he's going to come down through the family of David.

Down through the family of David.

And he's called the sure mercies of David.

That's what he is.

When you saw Jesus Christ, he was said, uh, Jesus, thou son of David, he was going to come down through that family.

Uh, can we find that prophecy in the Old Testament before we go to the New?

Can someone help me?

Uh, let me locate this prophecy.

Your Bible student, give me a hand here.

Let me get it.

It's in it's in the Bible three times that I can think of.

It's in uh Samuel, it's in Kings, it's in Chronicles.

Let me get it here.

I'm sorry.

Oh.

Let me get it here.

Give me give me uh Isaiah chapter 11 now.

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

Let's do eleven and two.

That I'll show it right there.

And then we'll go to the New Testament.

I want to succeed because you're gonna see the preaching of these apostles, and this is very critical because as those apostles preach, they was preaching first to the Jews.

And then as the Jews rejected this gospel, that's how it came out to the Gentiles.

Uh, give me Isaiah 11.

There shall come a rod out of the stem of Jesse, a root shall brought grow out of his branch.

He said, uh, and there shall come a foreign.

Write these scriptures down.

A rod out of the stem of Jesse.

Okay, who was Jesse?

That was David's father.

Keep reading.

He said, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

Okay, it's still showing you down through the lintge of David.

It's showing you down through the lynches of David.

And so now let's go over to the New Testament real quick.

I want to walk us through this uh real softly.

Let's go to Matthews.

Matter of fact, as we go to Matthews, let's go to the uh first chapter.

That's the first book of the New Testament.

Though the New Testament itself wasn't implemented.

This is the gospel according to Matthew.

Are we there?

Verse 1.

Matthew chapter 1, verse 1.

Matthew 1:1

He said, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ.

Here's the generation.

That is, it's giving you his pedigree, it's giving you his background, it's giving you his family tree.

Look what he calls him.

The what?

The son of David.

The what?

The son of Abraham.

The son of Abraham.

And see, that's important.

So we see what family he was going to come down through.

So here we can see this wonderful Messiah.

But here's the sad thing about it.

Here's the thing that's so sad.

Is that actually, look at John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

And we want to make sure the Lord help us not to fulfill these scriptures, but look at chapter 1 of John.

And I often think about this, and we often reference it, and we often quote it because we want to make sure when the Lord comes, even in our lives, we can see Him.

Here he is.

John chapter 1, verse 1.

John 1:1

Let's start right there.

Are we there?

In the beginning was the what?

The Word, and the Word was.

And the Word was.

There He is.

There He is.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things was made by Him.

What Him?

Not God, but the Word.

And without Him was not anything made that was made.

In Him was life, and the life was the There He is.

And the light, that's the light of men.

It shineth in darkness.

That's talking about in the midst of the people.

And the darkness comprehended it not.

My God, isn't that a sad story?

Look at verse 10.

He said, He that is the Word, the light, he was in the world.

He walked on this earth.

He was in the world, and the world was made by him.

And the world did what?

It didn't recognize him.

It did not even know who he really was.

He came unto his own.

That's the Jewish nation, his own people.

He came to his own.

That is the seed of Abraham, the family of David.

He came to his own, and his own, they received them not.

But thank God for this 12th verse.

But as many as receive him, get this, to them gave he power to become the even to them that.

And it's a shame after walking on this earth for 33 and a half years, brother Rom, he only had 120 faithful followers.

But brother, that wasn't just any 120.

That was 120 sticks of dynamite.

That was 120 kegs of TNT that actually blew this unknown, this ungodly world, brother to Scizereen.

It hadn't been the same since.

Do you know how they reckon time?

They call it AD and B C.

It's before Christ and after Christ.

I can't pronounce AD, but it's Latin for after Christ.

Even the secular world reckoned times by the birth of Christ.

Brother, everything centered around Christ.

That is one man who walked on this earth.

But brother, he walked on this earth as a man.

But thank God he was a man that was conceived of the Holy Ghost.

He was the Son of God.

And as he gathered up materials to build the New Testament church, everybody didn't hear him.

Everybody couldn't recognize him.

Everybody didn't receive him.

But as many as did receive him, thank God that was 120 initially, to them gave he what?

Power to become the sons of God.

And so here he is after he taught for 30 for I'm sorry, for three and one half years, as he pounded those people's ears with the good word of God, those men's eyes was illuminated.

That is as much as it could be without the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

He told them upon the end of his days, he said, These works which I do, these and greater works shall you do.

What greater works?

They were going to actually launch or establish that New Testament church.

And so here he is.

He's been mortared.

He'd been put to death.

He was crucified.

He was put into the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

He resurrected.

He tabernacled after his resurrection for 40 days on the earth.

And the last thing he told his disciples, he said, Listen, you listen to this.

You tarot.

You word tarot means wait.

You wait in Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high.

Don't go out and try to preach this gospel.

Don't go out and try to proclaim the things that you have heard and you understand.

You haven't not yet received the power.

And so they asked them, I'm in Acts.

Let's go to Acts 1.

But we're trying to get to the 13th chapter, but we want to make sure we can appreciate what we're reading.

Because this Bible, as you read it, it's not just history, but brother, it's a revelation in the history.

As you see how that New Testament church operated, starting from the day of Pentecost, here's the pattern of how the body of Jesus Christ or the Church of the Living God is to operate even in the hour in which we live.

Acts 1.

Here's wonderful key verses.

You just can't get around these verses.

And some scripts, some Bibles use the word Holy Spirit.

Some Bible use the word Holy Ghost.

It's synonymous.

I remember Sister Pam uh being a great intellect.

She had a hard time saying Holy Ghost.

Everything was the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit.

I say, yes, ma'am, it's the Holy Spirit.

But it still was the Holy Ghost.

Ghost doesn't sound too dignified, does it?

Well, we don't we don't believe in spooks.

When we say ghost, the word ghost and spirit is just the same, it's a synonymous term.

It's a synonymous term.

The Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost is interchangeable.

It's the same one.

And so here, uh these disciples, they want to know, okay, are you going to restore it?

But the Ram had the one hard time knowing whether or not Israel was the kingdom of God.

Was Israel the kingdom of God?

Well look at verse uh look at uh verse four.

Are you there with me?

He's saying, and being summoned together with them, that is, with that hundred and twenty, namely the twelve apostles, uh commanded eleven at this time, because Judas had been uh had betrayed them and actually been put to death, command that they should not do what?

But wait for the promise of the Father.

Look what he calls the Holy Ghost, the promise of the Father, which he said, You have heard of me.

For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with uh Holy Spirit.

No, it says Holy Ghost.

With the Holy Ghost, not men in days hence.

Verse 6 is a good verse for you, brother Rom.

This is free.

But when they was therefore come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Let's snatch that out the Bible.

Maybe that's a misprint.

No, that's not a misprint.

Will you restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Okay.

And then he said unto them, look what he told them.

It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own power.

Verse 8 is a pivotal verse.

But you shall receive what?

Do you remember how he said, As many as receive him, to them gave he.

That happened on the day of Pentecost.

That's the day they receive the Holy Ghost.

And when you receive power to become the sons of God, it's the day that you receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

That is your uh power or your endow endowment with power to become the sons of God.

What do you mean become the sons?

I thought we all are the sons of God.

Absolutely not.

We're all of the creation of God, and that's a difference.

We all are the creation of God.

We have to become the sons of God.

Uh, what do you mean, a son?

When I look like my father, when I have my father's value system, when I have my father's morals and standards, then I'm his son.

Prior to that, I'm just his offspring.

I and that's the difference.

Uh the Jews.

The Jews was the descendants of Abraham, but they weren't the children, because they rejected, they rejected the things that Abraham did.

And so a biological son cannot necessarily reflect his father.

When you do that, you're not uh you're not uh an honor, but you're a dishonor to your father.

I'm gonna let you see this in just a minute.

Listen to this.

Um verse eight.

But you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is what?

And you shall be witnesses only then unto me, both in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaritas until the and so there they were.

There they were.

They actually they watched the one in whom had taught them for three and one half years.

They watched this man crucified, put into the grave, resurrected, and they thought, surely at this time, now they can take over.

But he said, No, you wait in Jerusalem.

You still don't have the power.

And of course, in chapter 2, brother, as they actually had gathered together in one place and on one accord, then the Bible said, Suddenly there came a sound, or two and one, from heaven as a rush of mighty wind filled all the house where they were sitting.

Here's the birth of the New Testament church.

Now, this is what we're trying to trace.

Now, here's these people receiving power to become the sons of God, to literally become the sons of God.

And there is a difference.

I wanted to clarify that.

There is a difference.

Uh hold your places here in Acts.

We're going to get right into the 13th chapter.

But go back to John, the 8th chapter.

I don't like to say things without butting it down, lest you think we're just talking.

Uh look at 8 and uh 33.

8 and 32.

8 and 31.

Are we there?

Here's Jesus talking to the Jews.

Remember, he came to his own in his own.

Now, here's a wonderful key you want to get.

Hold on to this.

Verse 31.

Then said Jesus to those who?

Jews is a synonym for Israel, sons of Jacob, Hebrews, those are all synonymous terms.

The reason they call them Jews is because they came out of the land of Judah.

Judaism is the religion.

Judah is the country, and Jews is the people.

Are Hebrews or Israelites or sons of Jacob?

They're all synonymous terms.

And so here, uh Jesus said unto those Jews, and he was a Jew, which believed on him, if you get this, if you do what?

If you continue my word, then are ye my disciple indeed.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set.

No, not set, and the truth shall set.

No, it's not sick, it shall what?

Set me free.

You set me free out of prison.

You can set me free.

But if you if I'm a thief and I got caught and you put me in prison, you can set me free.

But if I'm a thief, guess what I'm gonna do?

But if you help me to overcome that, now you'd have made me free.

You can turn me out of prison and I still won't steal.

I can't steal in prison because I might be in consolidatory finement.

So I'm just you just set me free when I've done my time, but you didn't make me free.

I'm still bound by that same roguish spirit.

And so Jesus Christ didn't set us free, He made us free.

There's a difference.

Now, listen to verse 33.

Then they answered him, We be what?

We the Jews.

They came, they was the sentence of Abraham.

We be Abraham's seeds.

We was never in a bondage to any man.

How says thou, You shall make me free?

They couldn't understand.

He was talking spiritually.

Verse 34.

Jesus answered them, Verily, verily I say unto you, Whoso committed what?

Sin is the when I say make you free, I mean make you free from that, I can't help it.

I can't help this.

Make you free from sin that has ruled over your life.

And they was thinking he was talking naturally.

Now, verse uh 5.

He said, And the servant, when you're a servant, he said, a servant up, verse 35, and the servant abided not in the house forever.

Are you there with me?

The servant abided not in the house forever.

Do you know that all through the Old Testament?

Do you know what all those righteous men were?

They were called servants of God.

They had not received the baptism of the, are you all warm?

They were not, they had not received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, Sister Michelle.

Therefore, the best they could be were servants.

They were the servants of God.

But look, we want to serve the Lord, but brother, we in this for sonship.

We want to be the sons of God.

Why?

Here's the difference.

Verse 35.

The servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son does what?

He abide forever.

And if you, if the son therefore should make you free, you shall be free indeed.

Now look at verse 37.

He's gonna, now he've taught them a valuable lesson.

Now he's gonna address for us them being the natural posterity of Abraham.

That's not what a son is.

Listen.

He said, I know that you are what?

Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you.

I speak that which I've seen with my father, and you do that which you have seen with your father.

Now they're upset.

They say, wait a minute, you throwing off on us.

They stirred.

So you know they're done, they say, Well, wait a minute.

We know that Mary was conceived with you before you was even born.

Before uh Joseph ever married her.

So you for their concern, he was conceived out of witlock, and therefore he was uh out of fornication.

So they're gonna throw off on him.

Look what they say in the next verse.

Verse 41.

No, I'm sorry.

39.

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father.

Listen to this.

Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the what?

He said, But you seek to kill me.

Now he just told him they were the seed of Abraham.

And they weren't the children of Abraham, they just was the seed.

The ones that was the churren was the one who did what Abraham did.

Now that's my children.

The rest is just the seed.

Brother, we're not here to be just the creation of God.

We want to be the sons of God.

But let's read down a little bit further.

I'm going to show you how people get in the spirit.

Verse 40.

But now you seek to kill me a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God.

This did not Abraham.

Verse 41.

You do the deeds of your father.

Well, your father was talking about the flesh, the devil.

Then they said unto him, throwing off on him, We be what?

They throwing off on him.

But see, they got him wrong.

He said, We have one father, even God.

Verse 42.

Jesus said unto them, If God were your father, you would love me.

For I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself, but he that sent me.

Why do you do not understand my speech?

He's talking spirit.

You know why you can't hear me?

Even because you cannot hear my word.

Verse 44, here is an ugly verse.

If there's ever been an ugly verse in the Bible, here is an ugly verse, and Jesus said it.

Read this verse with me.

Ye say it with me.

Ye are of your father the what?

Say that again.

Ye are of your father the.

Brother now, that'll make a man mad.

But when you do the works of the devil, guess who's your father?

Tear it out your Bible.

That one makes me mad.

But you can tear it out.

But it's the more just like it.

My God.

Then he goes on.

On to say, listen, he addresses that.

The lust of your father you would do.

He was a murderer, where?

All the way back to the Garden of Eden.

When Adam sinned, he killed all mankind.

And aborted not in the truth.

That was the commandment God gave him, because there's no truth in him.

When he speak a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the what?

And the father of it.

And so here you can see he promised these men he would give them the power to become the sons of God.

And that happened on the day of Pentecost.

Now, and that's the launching of the birth of the New Testament church.

Now we're going to pick up where we left off.

And so we can see the birth of the church in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Then we can see how they implemented the teachings of Christ.

Started in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

We can see Peter began to preach the door.

3,000 people heard it, and they were added to the church.

We can see how he goes on, brother Elton, how he suffered shame, ridicule for preaching Christ.

They didn't compromise.

We can see as we go on how those men, they operated in an apostolic order.

There were 12 principal apostles.

There was others that was added, but there was only 12 foundational apostles.

There will never be another one.

There'll never be 12 more.

There was only 12 foundational apostles.

And he says in uh what is that?

Ephesians 2 and 20, we'll built upon the what?

Foundation of the apostles.

That's the 12 originals, and Jesus Christ himself being uh and so everything in the New Testament is in divine order.

That's why there had to be 12.

When Judas Iscariot uh betrayed the Lord and he went out and hung himself, brother, that was another opponent.

It was Matthias in his place before the New Testament church was launched.

Everything by God is divine order.

If it's of God, it's in divine order.

If it's of man, brother, it's gonna be concocted.

It's gonna have woolly ideals.

It's gonna have principles of men.

It's gonna have that which pleases the flesh, but brother, if it's not from heaven, it's still not divine.

It might be in order, but if it's not God's order, it's not divine order, and you won't get divine results.

You absolutely will not.

And so here, uh let's go to the 13th chapter now of the book of Acts.

You thought I was gonna get that, didn't you?

Are you gleaming as we go through these things?

You know, we're not here just to read the verses, but we're trying to squeeze the oil out of these berries.

We're trying to illuminate understanding.

You have to get a background, your mind has to be pulled in.

You have to have a foundation of what you're reading.

Uh, what's the history?

What is it addressing?

Why is it addressing?

Why are these things written?

They're not just words on the page.

You can't just take a verse or chap up the Bible and inject and uh erect it out of the Bible.

You can't do that.

What's the setting?

What does it mean?

If you do that, you'll end up just like religion out there, with a book that's been slaughtered and uh butchered and uh uh organized and used out of context, and it will not yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

There must be understanding, there must be knowledge, there must be wisdom, and it all comes out of the good word of God if you have an understanding of it.

And that's the purpose of the ministry is to illuminate, is to enlighten your understanding.

Uh here we can begin to see uh in the 13th chapter now.

Are we familiar with all the background?

We need no more background.

Here's this church.

It was first a Jewish church uh in Jerusalem, Brother Elton.

It continued that way.

A Jewish church continued in its zenith, uh, that is for three and a half years.

Once they stoned Stephen, uh the Lord actually from that point took the pathon from the Jews and made a trans uh a transition and it was given over to the Gentiles.

Why did he do that?

Jesus Christ himself, he gave a wonderful parable about a husbandman which had a fig tree.

And he dug around that fig tree and it just didn't bear fruit.

He said, Listen, let me, and the husband said, Why leave that tree in the ground?

He said, Cut it down.

And so the uh the caretaker, which was Christ, he said, Leave it alone.

Let me dun around it for three years.

He said, if it bear fruit, well.

If not, after that, cut it down.

And so Jesus Christ, he worked and he dug around the tree.

That is Israel, and brother, they just couldn't get it.

They just received it, get it, refused to get it.

And so in the 23rd chapter of Matthews, when he came to Jerusalem, the Bible said how he wept.

He looked over Jerusalem, he spread forth his hands, he said, Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, he said, how often I would have gather you together, even as the hen does his chickens under his roof.

He said, But you would not let me.

Which of the prophets, he said, have you not stolen?

Which one?

He said, From Abel right on down to Zacharias, brother they slew every righteous man that was sent, and they slew every prophet.

He said, Listen, he said, now in your house, that's the house of Israel, it's left until you desolate.

All because she knew not the hour of your visitation.

And so they, when they rejected Christ, he said, Listen, I'm not going to judge you, but your church, they're going to be your judge.

And so they put Christ to death.

They weren't destroyed then.

But brother, when he set that New Testament church up, and when they killed an overcomer, a righteous man in that kingdom, then they judged themselves unworthy.

They was actually cut off.

And so then the Patahon went to the Gentiles.

And so here, brother, the church in Antioch, which is a Gentile church, it becomes a sinner.

No longer Jerusalem.

You won't see Jerusalem as a sinner any longer, but that was a Gentile church in Antioch.

And so here, uh, this great transition takes place.

Now look at chapter 13, verse 1.

Are you there with me?

He said, Now there was in the church, here's God's people, that was in at Antioch, what?

Certain prophets and teachers.

This is interesting because it did name apostles.

There was no apostle in Antioch.

This church was established without an apostle.

Well, how can that be?

How can you have a church without an apostle?

You don't need an apostle, you need someone that's doing the work of an apostle.

Someone that God is using as an apostle.

And just like he told Timothy, do the work of an evangelist.

Not that he was an evangelist, but God gave him the grace to fulfill that office, Brother Michael.

You can, I was talking to Brother Michael, you can fulfill an office and not have a gift.

Did you know that?

Well, certainly you can.

Just like the office we just mentioned that scripture, the office of an evangelist.

Timothy was an evangelist, he was a teacher.

He wasn't an evangelist, he was a pastor.

But he said, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill that office because there's no gifted man in that office at this time.

And just like a man can be a pastor.

You can actually pastor church and not have the gift of a pastor.

You in that office because there is no pastor there.

But when God raises up a pastor, you'll recognize, okay, here's a man with that gift.

Let me fulfill my office now.

A wonderful example we've made mentioned was Brother Hank.

Brother Hank is a wonderful brother.

It took him 60 years before he realized, brother, his gift is not inside of this local assembly.

It's a gift of an evangelist.

An evangelist gift won't work at home, it's to go out.

It's a mobile gift.

And so here's a church that was well established.

It was rooted and grounded in the truth without an apostle ever laying eyes on it.

When those men got there, they marveled of the grace that had been extended to that church.

Just a little bit of this.

We're going to read this 13th chapter.

We're going to get into it.

But go to the uh, for the sake of time, I don't want to go too far.

Go to the 11th chapter.

11 and 19.

This is the book of Acts.

Are you are you there?

Help me out, Brother Michael.

Acts 11 and 19.

He said, Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled as far as Phenus and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to none only none but the unto the Jews only.

Here is the great persecution that happened in Jerusalem, and it scattered those disciples.

But all they would preach to was just the Jews.

Verse 20.

He said, and some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which when they were come to Antioch.

Here's the first introduction of this people, this church that was in Antioch.

They spake unto the Grecians.

The Grecians is a synonym for Gentiles.

Preaching the Lord Jesus.

Okay, here are some people when they first began to preach to Gentiles outside of Stephen, outside of Cornelius.

Now watch this.

He said, and the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord.

That's Gentiles.

Keep reading.

Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem.

Okay, that's the Jews.

And they sent forward Barnabas.

He was not an apostle at that time.

He will later on grow to become one, but he was not yet an apostle.

At this time, he was just another minister, a brother, a servant.

He said, and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch.

Now watch what happened in verse 23.

He said, who when he came and had seen the grace of God.

Seen the grace of God.

Here's a church that was somebody, Sister Michelle, planted that church.

Somebody established doctrine.

Somebody groomed up men.

But brother, it wasn't Peter, it wasn't James, it wasn't John, it wasn't in those apostles.

It was somebody who did the work of an apostle in that area.

And the apostles still hadn't gone there.

They sent Bonabus.

And when he got there, here was a church that was well established.

The grace of God was upon that people.

Can you see that?

Can you see that?

Now keep reading.

He said, who when he came and had seen the grace of God was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

Brother, they were doing a good work.

It's nothing he can say about that.

Now he picks this chapter this church back up in the 13th chapter.

Now let's go to the 13th chapter, and we can squeeze the oil out of this.

My God, it's a wonderful chapter.

Let's read it again now, Brother Michael.

He said, Now there were in the church that was at Antioch, certain prophets.

Say this, read with me.

Who was there?

Prophets and what?

Teachers.

And teachers.

Didn't say anything about evangelists, didn't say anything about pastors, didn't say anything about apostles.

So who was pastoring the church?

It was one of these teachers.

It was one of these prophets.

He said, as Barnabas and Simeon, that is called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene and Mannion, which had been brought up with Hera the Tetrar, and Saul.

Okay, so at this time, Barnabas's name and Saul, and yet he didn't call him apostles.

So at this time, Paul was still yet just a teacher.

Barnabas was just teaching.

No one there was claiming to be an apostle.

No one there had to uh they had the office of an apostle, but the gift was there.

The gift was resident, but it hadn't yet uh uh fulfilled itself because no one was in that office.

Am I making any sense?

You understand between the gift and office?

A gift is a is is a calling of God.

That's something God empowers you to do.

The office is when you fulfill the gift.

Um for instance, a man.

Every man has the potential to be a father.

He has the potential to be a father.

But when you beget children, then you're a father.

Now you're actually in that office.

Am I making any sense to you?

But the potential is there, but it hadn't come into fruition yet.

A woman may have the potential to become a mother.

You have just by being a female.

You have preventure, you know, if you don't have any problems, medically speaking, you have the potential to become a mother.

But when you bear children, now you're actually in that office.

Can you able to follow that?

And so here's men that had gifts.

They were apostles.

You don't really change a gift.

The gift was already in Paul, it was already in Bonhomme to being apostles, but they weren't operating in that office.

They operated in the office of teachers, and that was prophets.

Let's keep reading.

And as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said.

When he said minister to the Lord, that's just something talking about praying, seeking the Lord's face, talking to the Lord, uh, trying to get the heartbeat of God, trying to get a hearing with the Lord.

That's what he means by minister, it means serving.

They're trying to find the mind of God.

And he said, and he used the word praying here.

They said, Minister to the Lord and fasted.

He said, The Holy Ghost said, Separate me, Barnabas, and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them.

Now he called them to be apostles, and now they're finna go into the office.

But how did the Holy Ghost say that?

Do you think they heard a voice come out of air?

How did the Holy Ghost say it?

He said it through those prophets.

He said that was the Holy Ghost and those prophets talking.

And so those men no doubt felt it.

They believed it, but there had to be confirmation.

And so here's these brothers who are teachers and prophets.

No doubt the Bible said the Holy Ghost said, Separate, that is me, Paul, Abonabus, and Saul for the work whereunto I've called them.

And so here's the confirmation.

Here's the confirmation of those men calling to go out and establish church.

That's what an apostle does.

The word apostle means one sent.

They're sent to name Christ where he has not yet been named.

I don't mean the way religion names them, I mean the way that the Bible names them.

The name don't mean saying the word, it means his doctrine, his spirit, his mannerism.

And uh that's what an apostle does.

He goes out and establish a people who have not yet heard of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You may have heard a denominational gospel, you may have heard of a sectarian gospel, but is it the gospel of Jesus Christ?

And a man has to be sent to proclaim that.

And so here he is, uh verse 3.

And when they had fasted and prayed, he don't use the word minister here, now he used the word prayed.

When they had fasted and prayed, who's today?

That's the teachers, that's the prophets.

When they had fasted and praised, they laid their hands on them and did what?

That's called brother Lelaying on of hands of the Presbyter.

It's confirming that God has not only ordained these men and anointed these men, but now the ministry is also saying we're standing behind this.

We can't deny that this is God.

And so here these men are ordained by the Presbyter or the elders of the ministry to go out.

And so when those men went out, brother, they had the backing of God.

The ministry had laid hands on them.

And that's a wonderful doctrine, the Bible, laying on of hands.

And brother, that is a critical doctrine.

That's divine order.

These men then just take it upon themselves, but brother, they wasn't just saying, The Lord, call me.

It was confirmed by the Presbytery that God was in that.

And so here they go.

Here they go.

Here are these two men.

Now they head out.

Verse 4.

So being, so they said, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost.

By the Holy Ghost.

That's the Holy Ghost that was in that ministry that confirmed it.

Departed unto Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

And when they at they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they had also John to their minister.

And this is an important verse.

Even though the transition had been made, Sister Pam, to the Gentiles, the Bible says, Paul makes this statement, and it's true, this gospel is to the Jew first, and then to the Greek.

And so every time they went to the city, they first gave it to the Jews.

Well, how does it apply to us on this end?

The first people you try to testify to is people who've already been converted.

You try to first give it to people whom already have a relationship with the Lord.

When they reject it, you give it to the uh those in the hedges and the highways.

You compel other men to come into the kingdom.

Uh it's good to see, and I'm gonna say this with the depths of my heart.

It's good to see Jamie.

That's my air conditioning man.

My air-conditioned subcontractor.

He came working on a house, Brother Russell's house, and I brought him over to my house to examine some things, and I tell you the Lord sent him.

And uh instead of taking care of the air conditioning business, guess what we were doing?

Talking about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Well, this is a non-religious man.

And see, I I had testified after I heard your message uh two Sundays ago, my heart's been stirred.

I haven't been the same.

It didn't fall in the street of filling the heart of a man.

I'm sure others also.

But uh immediately, that was Sunday, Grace and I went to work.

What I went to Pete God's people first, people whom already been converted, already had the Holy Ghost.

Uh, we worked with them for hours.

Gave them a chance.

Well, when they didn't hear it, my prayer said, Well, Lord, send me to somebody who wants to be saved.

And so I went to the Jews first, spiritually speaking.

I went to the religious, brother Elton.

They didn't hear it.

And along come a Cornelius.

Along come somebody who's not religious, but looking for the Lord.

Reading his Bible.

What you told me, read it every day.

Looking for something from God.

That was my prayer.

Lord, bring me into contact.

I try to give it to you, Jews.

I try to give it to your people, but they're doing in spite of the spirit of grace.

Promising to come, promising they're interested.

Well, you don't, you don't, when you don't show up, am I discouraged?

No, I'm discouraged for you.

Don't discourage me.

I want to find somebody who's gonna value this.

Somebody wants to hear the gospel.

But it's always, always try to give it to somebody who's converted first.

Somebody who may already uh have a relationship with the Lord.

But if they reject it, go get somebody who don't have religion on it.

They'll hear it.

God has people that's looking for him.

You don't cast, man, I don't cast my pearl before swine.

You can't give that which is holy to dogs.

This is valuable.

But let's keep reading.

Turn the air off.

Come on, Brother Michael.

He said, and when he had gone through the Isle of Paphas and found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar Jesus.

When they say they, who's he talking about?

Barnabas.

And Saul.

Remember that.

Okay, keep reading, Brother Michael.

He said, which was.

Oh, by the way, that's an interesting term.

Verse 6.

When they had gone, I'm sorry, go to the part where he said they found a false prophet, a Jew, named what?

Bar Jesus.

Now, Jesus was a very common name.

It's called, uh we pronounce it Joshua, Yeshua, but it's a very common name.

When you see the word Bar B-A-R-O, that means son of.

And so this man's son, this man's uh father was named Jesus.

Like it's Bar Salmon.

That's that's just Peter's father's name.

Bar Jonah, thank you, Brother Michael.

And so Peter's father's name was Jonah.

They didn't have last names.

They'll call you by your name, and then he'll call you uh Bar, whoever your father, that's how they identified you.

Are you following me?

Does it make sense to you?

And so you see that word bar, B-A-R.

That just means son of.

His this man's father was named Jesus, but that's not Jesus Christ.

That's another Jesus.

I'm glad it's capital, that's small J there, too.

But that doesn't mean much.

Keep reading, Brother Michael.

He said, which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man who called for Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear the word of God.

Now here is a man who wanted to hear the word of God, but this religious guy by the name of Bar Jesus, he said that he was some great prophet.

Look at verse 8.

He said, But Ilamus, the sorcerer, for so is his name by interpretation, withstood.

On the line that word withstood.

On the line that word.

That's an interesting word.

That word withstand, resist, and oppose, is the same word as blaspheme.

Underline it.

They withstood.

They withstood them.

How they withstand them?

Brother, they oppose what Saul and Bonabas were preaching, and the things that they were preaching, that wasn't so much Saul and Bonabas.

Who was that?

That was God.

They was blaspheming against the Holy Ghost.

They were sent by the Holy Ghost, they was ordained by the Holy Ghost.

It was sanctioned by the Holy Ghost.

And when they withstood those men, you wasn't withstanding those men, you was withstanding the Holy Ghost.

Underline that word.

You're going to see it some more quite a bit.

Go ahead.

He says, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

Now here's Saul.

He hadn't been seasoned yet.

This is he's just gone, he's just gone out into the ministry, Brother Elton.

He probably like I was in my youth.

He was raw.

Watch what happened.

He said, then Saul, who is also called Paul.

Saul is the Jewish name.

Because he's going out to the Gentiles, he used a Gentile name.

The Gentile name for Saul is what?

It's Paul.

And so you'll see him being called Paul.

This is the introduction of it, but you're going to see him start being called Paul.

It's the same person as Saul of Tartus.

He's the same man.

But the Gentile rendering of that is Paul.

And since he's talking to Gentiles, he'd be known as by his Gentile name, which is Paul.

He said, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.

Brother, listen to this, man.

He didn't try to convert this religious blasphemer.

Look what he did.

He said, and said, Oh, full of all subtility.

Oh no, Brother Mike, that's not it.

He said, Oh, full of all subtility and what?

Mischief.

Oh, mischief.

The mochavel of the what?

Isn't that what Jesus said?

He said, the mochild of the devil.

The enemy of all righteousness.

Well, thou not cease to pervert the Right ways of the Lord?

Now look at the curse.

And now and behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.

That is to you repent.

And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness, and he went about seeking what?

My God, brother.

My God.

You caught Saul, brother, right at the gate.

You caught him fresh.

He hadn't learned yet, brother, how to be, uh what the Bible said.

He must be long-suffering, brother Mike.

Uh uh not given to strife, no striker, no brawler.

Brother, he was fresh.

I remember when I remember when I first when the Lord first opened my eyes.

Brother, I think you remember me there.

My God.

I'm glad the Lord had tempered me.

I look back and I can see a trail of destruction.

I can see people use the word of God and beat them into oblivious.

Some of them are still running.

They see me coming and head the other way.

I heard about you, bro.

I bet you're going to Walmart right now.

People start starting hitting the back.

Well, that's that's a mistake that a youth makes in his zeal.

It's not malicious.

I don't think Saul was malicious.

Brother, this man wanted to see this deputy converted to the Lord and hear somebody blaspheming.

He was blaspheming.

Let's keep reading.

He said, and now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.

And immediately there fell on him a midst and a darkness, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

We read that, huh?

Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed in the doctor.

Oh, I bet he did believe.

Being astonished at his what?

At the doctrine of the Lord.

The doctrine means that word doctrine means basic teaching.

Underline that word.

You need doctrine.

Without a doctrine, you're not nailed down.

You're a loose shingle on the roof.

It's not hearing it, it's having a doctrine in your heart.

The doctrine of resurrection of the dead, land on of hands, eternal judgment, faith toward God, uh, baptism.

Those things have to be under your fifth rail.

You have to not be familiar with it, but know it.

You have to understand repentance from dead works.

Faith toward God.

The doctrine of baptisms with an S on it.

Laying on of hands.

Without those doctrines, you're not knelt down.

I may think I am, but let a time of testing come.

If I can't see laying on of hands, brother, I'll bring my sacrifice upon every high hill and every green tree.

I wouldn't know where to worship.

I can get mad, get my ball and bat, and go home.

You know why I'm not knelt down.

I don't see laying on of hands.

I can't see the place where the Lord put me, brother, that's where, that's where I bring my sacrifice.

Well the Lord establishes name, that's where I bring my sacrifice.

When I can't see the doctrine of baptism, brother, I don't see the necessity to be baptized in water, not just uh by someone calling the name of the Lord, but somebody who's doing it in the name of the Lord.

And so doctrines is critical, it's essential.

You'll see that word repetitively.

But let's keep moving.

He said, now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphas, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

That's interesting.

You want to underline Bible up, huh?

John, this is John Mark.

This is the one that wrote the Gospel of Mark.

He was young.

He wasn't yet ready, brother, to endure the hardness that a minister would endure.

He had zeal, but brother, he didn't have enough doctrine nailed down in him.

He couldn't see it.

So he went back to Jerusalem.

We're going to read about him some more in a few chapters.

Come on, brother Mark.

He said, but when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Poseidon and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.

Here we go.

Now let's follow this.

This is going to get real interesting as we close this chapter out.

I know we got a few verses to go, but it's going to go fast.

Fast in a seatbelt.

Here they are again.

They go to another city, and the first place they go again is to the Jews.

It's to the people who've already had a relationship with the Lord.

It's to the Jew first and then to the Gentiles.

Now watch this.

He said, and after reading the law and the prophets, the rulers of the Jews sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

Talking to Paul and Bonabas.

Evidently, when they went to this Jewish synagogue, they didn't go in, brother, and are proclaimed to do anything.

They wouldn't sit.

And the ruler of the synagogue thought they were just more Jews.

They didn't realize those were apostles.

They say, If you have any words of exhortation, say on.

Worst mistake they ever made.

He said, then Paul stood up.

Here we go.

Don't use the word Saul no more.

Who's he called?

Paul.

Brother, here's Brother Michael.

Here they're coming in through the windows as a thief.

This is where the scripture is being fulfilled.

They came in undetected.

They didn't realize that these men, brother, had actually been taught the doctrine of Christ.

That these men had received the Holy Ghost.

That these men had a gift of apostle resident in them.

And when they open their mouth, watch what comes out.

Then Paul stood up and beckoning with his hand, said, Listen to this.

Men of Israel and ye that fear God, give audience.

Listen.

He said first he addresses to everybody.

Men of Israel, then he said, And ye that fear God, that's an important add-on.

Now watch.

Watch and start preaching.

He said, The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt.

And with a high arm brought he them out of it.

What he did first, he takes the Jew and remind them that they were slaves in Egypt for 400 years.

And God brought them out.

Now they can they can give ear to that, they can agree with that, they know that.

When he brought them out of Egypt, they went through the wilderness for 40 years.

They can identify with that.

And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Shana, he divided their land to them by lot.

Well, everybody knows how he gave them the land of the Hittites, the Amakites, the Persia, right?

All those Jews were familiar with that.

They saying, Amen.

He said, and after that he gave unto them judges about the space of 450 years until Samuel the prophet.

Well, they all knew that Saul was uh Samuel was the prophet, and he had he anointed uh Saul to be king.

Well, man, they're saying, Yeah, this guy knows his Bible.

He knows his history.

Say on, man, we with you.

Keep reading.

He said, and afterward they desired a king, and God gave unto them Saul, the son of Sis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of 40 years.

Brother, they agreeing with that.

That's right.

You're right.

But listen, here's a key word, too.

Notice that God gave, look, look, look at that word gave.

God gave them Saul.

That's a difference.

God can give you what you asked for.

But see, he raised up David.

You can desire somebody to be over you, and God can give you that.

But God can raise up somebody.

That's something altogether different.

You'll see that.

He said, and when he had removed them, he raised them up.

God removed, he gave them Saul and he removed them.

How did he remove them?

He killed them.

He had them killed.

Then he raised up David.

He raised up to them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of who?

We read some of that, didn't we?

A man after my which fulfilled all my will.

Of this man's seed, according to his promise, have God according to his promise raised unto Israel, that's the nation, a Savior.

Then he tells you who he is, Jesus.

He said, and when John, that's John the Baptist here now, had first preached before his coming, before Christ came, the baptism of what?

Repentance.

That's the baptism of water to all the people of Israel.

That's who he preached to, verse 25.

And when and as John fulfilled his what?

His course.

His course.

He went as far as his ability had allowed him.

He ran his course.

Look what happened.

When he had fulfilled his course, he said, Who do you think I am?

I am not he.

I'm not the prophet.

I'm not the Messiah.

I'm not that one.

But behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.

Now, see, these Jews weren't familiar with that part of the gospel.

They was with them up to talking about David.

But now he's giving to something they didn't know.

Follow this closely.

Follow this closely.

Here's the gospel.

Can you see how he starts in the Old Testament?

Can you see how he brings them up?

If I'm going to be in a Baptist assembly, I'm going to talk about water baptism and try to bring you into the Holy Ghost baptism.

When you're talking to people, start off with what they know.

And you bring them up.

You can't disanown what they know.

You can start there and bring.

That's what he did.

This is a skill.

Brother, this is the Holy Ghost.

He's getting an audience and now he's trying to lead them on softly.

If he can.

Now, listen to this.

One coming after me whose shoes of his feet I'm not worthy to loose.

Talking about Christ.

Verse 26.

Now, Paul, he shifts gears.

Now he's finna hit up the mountain.

He said, Men and brethren, children of the stock of who?

And whosoever among you fear God, to you is the word of dissalvation sent.

I'm trying to get you saved.

Verse 27.

For they that dwell at Jerusalem and their rulers, that's the Jews back in Jerusalem, he said, because they knew him not.

Remember how we read that he came to his in his own.

He said, Because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets.

They read the prophets every Sabbath, but they didn't know Christ was in every book.

Didn't you read Genesis?

Didn't you read what God said in the garden?

Did you not read Genesis, what he said about of Abraham's seed?

All the nations of the earth is gonna be blessed.

Did you not read he said of the tribe of Judah?

He said, Uh, the septic shall not depart from Judah, the law give him between his feet until Shalom come.

Did you not read that?

They read it, but they couldn't understand it.

If they understood that, they would have recognized Jesus.

But let's keep reading.

They called him the son of David.

Don't you know that he prophesied that he was going to be the son of David?

They said that he came out of Egypt.

Remember how that uh Joseph took his son to Egypt?

He called him out.

It knew all the scripture, Brother Mike, but they couldn't tie him together.

They couldn't tie him together.

They was blind as abats.

They couldn't see a thing.

Reading the Bible and can't see is awful.

The path of life, the light shining in darkness, and they what?

Comprehend it not.

The path of light and they're still walking in darkness.

You know what is happening right now?

To read this Bible and not be able to see is a sad thing.

It's a sad thing.

Did you enjoy that message, Sunday?

That's a man whose eyes is open.

Brother, when from the time he got on his feet, he didn't get up telling you fairy tales.

He didn't get up telling you old wise fables.

He didn't get up talking about a bunch of nothing.

From the time he got on his feet, he got right into the word of God.

Of course, he quoted a lot more than he read, but brother, he was ministering life.

That was the word.

Then he swears the oil out of those scriptures.

Made me want to be saved all over again.

That's life.

And so here's Paul.

Here's Paul.

Listen to this man, brother.

He's trying to bring him.

Look at verse 27 again.

Let me pick up the speed.

Listen.

He said, for they that dwell in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they knew him not, that is, they didn't recognize him, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them with them, the scriptures, and what?

And condemning him.

And though they found no cause of death in him, that is Christ, yet desired they polyp that he should do what?

And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, that is, of Jesus, how they was going to crucify him, they're going to hate him without a cause, they took him down from the tree and laid him in the sepulchre.

He said, But God, read this with me, verse 30, but God raised what?

From from the dead.

And he was seen of seen many days of them which came from him from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Who are you witnesses unto the people?

Remember, he said, You shall be witnesses?

The many days is forty.

But Paul is he's bringing them up.

He said, verse 32.

Now look at the gospel.

Look at him preaching.

He said, and we declare unto you glad tidings.

Glad tidings is good news.

Good news is called the gospel.

They was declaring the