Book of Acts (2009)

Louisiana with the people of God on this side of the tabernacle.

And I thought about it as I was actually out of town this weekend and enjoyed the wonderful, wonderful spirit I felt there in Ben Harbor, Michigan, and the wonderful people of God there.

And it's a it's a it's an admirable group of people to actually see their fervor, their commitment, their dedication to the things of God.

That was all inspiring, always is to see people striving, that is, for this penny of eternal life.

But I thought about how much the grace God has given me to be here in Shreva, Louisiana, on this side of the tabernacle.

And I'm just glad to be here.

I'm just elated to be here for what the Lord is doing.

I'm grateful for what he's doing in the earth.

It's wonderful to have a vision of that.

And of course, we want to be a part of that.

But it's good to know what the Lord is doing in South Louisiana.

They're in Michigan, they're surrounded with a lot of churches that's very close in Chicago and Detroit and Indiana and Ohio, all those local places.

A lot of churches probably within a hundred mile radius, there's dozens of body of Christ churches.

But when you come this far south, um to the southeast, that's not so uh that's not so um so much the case.

And to me, that's just even more of an occasion to be grateful that the Lord was gracious enough, he was gracious enough to actually have an open door where this gospel, uh, and that's what Jesus Christ said, this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, but for this gospel to reach even to us, I'm just so elated.

I'm just so grateful.

It didn't have to be so, but it was a great mercy of God.

And uh, of course, uh we're a people, and so we're always, regardless of where we are, uh what assembly we are, we're always looking back uh to that great group of people that actually came out on the day of Pentecost.

Uh that order, that government, that revelation that that 120 had uh was so clear, that vision was so clear that nothing could dim it.

Uh the revelation they had was so strong, uh, it could not be diluted as long as those 12 oxen was on the job.

Uh the Bible said uh where there is no oxen, and that's talking about a ministry, uh, the crib, that's a coin crib, is clean, I mean it's empty.

But much increase, he said, is by the strength of the oxen.

And of course, we know those 12 oxen was mighty to labor.

Uh it wasn't just any ox, but those men was handpicked by the master.

Uh they had one doctrine, they had one vision.

Uh they was taught by the one master of the assembly, that's Jesus Christ himself.

And as those oxen began to plow, they plowed first in that Jewish world.

Uh, and of course, the Bible said, so not, I think in Jeremiah, so not among thorns, so not among thorns, but break up the fallow ground.

And those mighty oxen was actually able, uh, that is to tread uh down every false doctrine, every woody ideal of man.

And they was able to plow up, uh, that is the hearts of men who was tender toward the things of God.

And of course, as they began to plow, they sowed the good word of God in their hearts.

And of course, it wasn't long before they began to actually reap a harvest.

You know, there's a difference between a harvest and fruits that's just ripe.

Uh, just naturally speaking, and uh the Bible said the invisible things is uh I love the I love the way he put that in Romans 1 and 20, how the invisible things, that's spiritual things, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his, that's God the Father, eternal power and Godhead, so that we, that's the people of God, are without excuse.

We can actually see the things of God by the spiritual uh things God has shown through pictures and types.

And if you ever watch a seed when it's sown into the ground, it doesn't immediately uh bear fruit.

It doesn't immediately bear fruit, but it will bear fruit.

Uh that's a great miracle, isn't it?

How you can actually take a dead seed and put it into dead ground and bring forth life.

You know, this word of God, this Bible, it's just uh ink on a page.

Uh but when the Lord actually began to plant that in a man's heart, and of course, as he began to worship, that's the sun, I mean, that's the rain.

As he began to pan after understanding, that's the sun, somehow that seed, the things that he had read, the things he have heard began to germinate in his heart.

And brother, life began to spring forth.

Life began to actually come forth.

And as those apostles sowed that Jewish world, it wasn't long till they actually began to reap a harvest.

Uh first it was just a fruit here, then there was a fruit there, but it wasn't long till they actually began to produce a crop.

And uh that's what the Lord's looking for on this end.

It's not just fruits being made ripe.

Uh there's never be there's never been a time when souls wasn't leaving out alive.

There's never been a time where men stop overcoming since Jesus Christ uh abolished death, is how uh Peter put, I'm sorry, uh Paul writes that to Timothy, doesn't it?

And uh Timothy, he said uh Jesus Christ has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

And so the gospel has never ceased to produce uh life and immortality, but a crop is something altogether different.

It's something altogether different.

And that early rain church produced a bump of crop, and the latter rain church will do likewise that'll actually produce produce a harvest of soul that has actually mature.

The Lord can actually put in his sickle, as he said in Revelation 14, what is it, 1415?

He said, put in that sickle for the heart and reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

It's R I P E is ripe.

And so you can see that was our early rain reaping, and there's going to be a latter rain reaping.

Aren't you glad about that?

And uh those apostles, they didn't waste time on a lot of things that was folly and distraction.

Uh they could not be sidetracked.

Those oxen had uh blinders on.

They wouldn't look to the right or to the left, but they kept their eyes on the prize.

And as you can begin to see, I just naturally speaking, when our ox began to work, uh, you actually, I'm from the country, I often say, and my father didn't have a true not my father, my grandfather, he didn't have a true oxen.

He had old milk cows, Sister Christine.

We would milk that cow.

And uh I milked it when I was a little kid.

I didn't think about milking a cow, but it looked like fun to me.

And my father, my grandfather would turn around in the evening and he'll put a plow on that cow.

A big, black, huge milk cow, and he'll plow up a garden with it.

That same cow that he milked, he plowed with it.

But as that, as that cow began to plow, he would put uh blinders on so that the cow wouldn't look to the right or to the left.

He could only go the way that that bit would permit him to go.

And uh that's the way those oxen were that came out on the day of Pentecost.

Those men didn't look toward the Pharisees and Sadducees, Essexines.

There was nothing in another field that they desired.

They only wanted to work for their master.

And uh thank God for that.

I'm so glad about that.

It wasn't contaminated.

They preached the unleavened, the unleavened word of God.

There was no yeast in it, nothing that puffed it up, uh, nothing that would actually appeal to the flesh.

But if you could actually eat it, thank God it brought it uh uh it brought life and immortality to light.

And so uh as we began to continue our endeavor to want to go through this wonderful book of Acts, this is all, uh how can I put it?

This is all the apostles used.

They didn't use anything but the word of God.

Uh they didn't come up with committees.

You won't find a commit in this Bible.

You will not find uh any association that's concocted by man.

Those apostles didn't use nothing but the unleavened word of God, nothing else.

They didn't add anything to it and didn't permit anything to be taken away.

And Jesus Christ himself, he gave us that wonderful truth.

He said uh uh He said, every idle word that a man shall speak, he should give an account of in the day of judgment.

Well, idle words is not just a conversation you have, but it's when you begin to speak.

Uh that is things that's supposed to produce life.

Uh you're talking to God's people or you're trying to sow seeds.

But brother, those are idle words.

Those are uh those are good cliches and those are are goodly words, but they don't produce life.

Somebody has to give an account for that.

You can't sow, uh that I don't want to get too far on that, but uh, you can't sow with diver seeds.

Uh that's why the Lord never permit, uh even in the Old Testament.

I think we had Deuteronomy 22.

He didn't permit you to plow with an ox and an ass.

God never permitted that.

Why?

Because an ox pitches a minister.

That's what the Bible teaches us.

Paul makes that statement.

And what is an ass?

That's a that's a beast of burden as well as an oxen, but an ass is stubborn.

He's resistant, he's self-willed.

And so you can't do much with an ass.

He'll just stop anytime he wants, he works if he wants to, and don't if he don't.

And so you couldn't plow plow with an ox and an ass.

And that's a picture of a New Testament minister.

Uh, that is, that's been made an oxen by the Lord.

You can't yoke up.

You can't yoke up with someone who's stubborn and obstinate to the things of God.

And you couldn't sow your seed with diverse seeds.

What's a diver seed?

Uh that's the word of God, and you mix it with the words of men.

That's diverse.

He said, Lest that vineyard, or lest thy field, I'm sorry, and that vineyard which you sow be the file.

And I'm glad that New Testament ministers, those oxens, thank God they plowed it up and they didn't sow it with nothing but the word of God.

Nothing but the word of God.

If you want New Testament results, you gotta have New Testament order.

If you want New Testament results, you have to have New Testament truth.

And if we uh that is if we imitate, uh imulate the things that we see out here in the religious world, then we'll get the same results.

We'll feel good.

Uh it'll become a social setting.

We'll go to church for social setting, but brother, and we may become good moral beings.

We may receive the Holy Ghost and we may learn how to live a clean life.

But brother, are we really coming to fruition?

Is our souls matured in the things of God?

Is this really?

Is this really becoming our life?

Or is it what we do when we have convenience time?

Do we go to church on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday because it's convenient?

Or can we actually attain to that revelation and that dedication a New Testament church had?

It wasn't a social setting.

They didn't go to church because it was convenient, but it was really their life.

This is actually what they live for.

It was just to be a part of what God was doing in that day and in that hour.

Are we there yet?

Lord, help us to get there.

I don't think we're there, but Lord help us to get there.

Help us to actually make this our life.

Uh, where actually when I wake up in the morning, uh, when I sleep at noon at night, uh, when I go through the day, my mind is on the things of God and is New Testament order.

And so we're a people, as we begin to look in this book, uh, we want to be honest.

The Bible calls it a woman's looking glass.

It's the perfect law of liberty.

Let's look in here and let's see how we measure up.

Uh the uh Paul makes a statement he says, they that compare themselves among themselves is not wise.

And we can do that.

We compare ourselves with the church next door and up the highway and down the highway, and maybe we can find some good attributes about ourselves and say, Well, we're looking pretty good.

But when we look into this perfect law of liberty, when I compare us to that book of Acts, I say, Lord, help us to come up higher.

We haven't made it yet, but I'd like for us to be honest enough.

I'd like for us to have enough integrity.

Uh the Lord help our unbelief.

Help us in the areas uh that is that uh we don't believe.

You know what it means not to believe?

It don't mean not to have mental consent.

Uh everybody believes certain things.

Everybody said, But I believe the Bible is true.

Well, if we believe it, then we'll do it.

There's no doubt about it.

That's one thing to have a mental consent.

It's something else to actually have a conviction based upon what you say is true.

If I was hungry, and if I was hungry, and uh I came to Brother Elton's house and he had a plate of beans and rice and smokes, and I say, My God, I hadn't eaten in seven, ten days.

I believe if I eat that, I wouldn't be any hungry, I wouldn't be hungry any longer.

I can sit there and look at it, and I can sit there and say, I believe it, I believe it.

But do you know I can lose my life staring at that food?

I have to actually eat it.

If I believe it, then I'll do it, won't I?

And uh that's a simple analogy, but even so with the word of God.

If we believe this is real, if we believe this is the truth, that that church that came out on the day of Pentecost, then brother, that's what we'll commit ourselves to.

Lord, help us to be like that.

We can't do it ourselves, it takes the grace of God.

They couldn't do it, it took the grace of God for them to do it.

But thank God, brother, I still believe the grace of God is sufficient.

If we can obtain to it, brother, if we if we resolve it in our hearts.

If we the Lord would not, absolutely would not, he would not reward uh uh lukewarmness, he would not reward uh uh lax of dazicalness, uh, he would not accept a lame sacrifice.

He said, offer that to your governors.

See where they accept that.

The Lord wants an acceptable sacrifice, he wants our absolute best.

And so sometimes it's not convenient, but do you know uh salvation wasn't made to be convenient?

As free as salvation is, and it's free, it was not cheap.

It caused Jesus Christ his life.

And not just a death.

But brother, he suffered an antagonizing death, uh, even the death of the cross.

And the reason he says even the death of the cross, he died too.

He died in the garden of Gethsemane, and that was great agony.

Brother, he's he bled before anybody touched him with the agony in which he prayed, seeing the separation from the Father.

And then, of course, he died a humiliating death on Gargotha's Hill.

But thank God, I'm glad the Bible says that he was crucified in a place of a skull.

In a place of a skull.

He died here before he died there.

And that's where you and I have to be crucified.

Right here in the place of a skull.

You know what's in your skull?

That's your mind.

That's my mind, that's our way of thinking.

And so here we are.

We're trying to be renewed by the good word of God.

And uh, I'm talking too much.

Let's get to the good word of God.

But uh I like to always, and I always say this, approach the things of God uh with a sincerity, with the realness, uh, with a sobriety.

Those things is necessary.

Uh, because it takes that to stir up, as Paul told Timothy, the gift of God that's in him, that is by the laying on of hands.

Well, that gift is talking about the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Uh, and so you have to stir that up.

How do you do it?

Just like those two men on the master's road as they begin to talk about the Lord and the things that had transpired.

The Bible says in Luke 24 how he joined himself.

And if we really want the Lord to touch us and help us, that's why we don't crack it up and and psych it up and pump it up.

Brother, we just try to get our minds right, don't we?

And that the Lord can actually join in with us and help us.

And so uh, I don't want to let this book get away from us.

Uh, where do we stop and ask?

Are there any questions thus far?

I know we've been moving uh through this book, and I don't know if I've allowed sufficient time to ask questions.

I do it pretty often at the end of a class, but I don't have a problem if there's something on your mind where this wonderful book is concerned.

It is important.

It is important, not that you hear words.

What's important is that your eyes, that's the eyes of your understanding, be anointed, or that is by the Holy Ghost, with ISAP, that you can actually see the things that's been freely given us of God.

And understanding the word of God.

You can't get this in a seminary.

You'll never get this in a Bible school.

This comes from the Lord mating with your mind, actually joining himself to your mind.

And see the mind, and we often say, that's just the gateway, that's just the mouth to your heart.

If the Lord doesn't touch your mind, thank God, brother, it'll never get in our heart.

I'm glad it takes the Lord to touch our minds, to actually let us see these things.

This is not intellectual, it goes far beyond that.

It goes far beyond that.

Brother, this is something that actually goes down into the very depths of a man, right under his fifth rib, brother.

That's the core, that's where your heart sits, uh, naturally speaking.

And that's a metaphor for our core of our thoughts, is our heart.

That's what he's talking about.

As the Bible says, as a man, I was using the scripture a little earlier talking to Brother Jeff, as a man thinking in his heart, but this vessel is just a muscle, it doesn't think, but the heart is a metaphor for the very core.

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

He said, out of the heart comes uh uh, what do you put it, evil communication, fornication, adulteress.

Out of your heart, that comes out of the very core of your thinking.

Thank God, brother, but we're in a place we can get our hearts fixed, aren't we?

We can actually get it fixed.

And so uh uh in the sixth chapter of Acts, where did we stop?

I'm so sorry.

The sixth, we didn't get very far, did we?

My goodness, that's kind of sad, isn't it?

Then again, maybe it's not.

Um let's pick it up here.

Uh I hate to start in the sixth verse that I can't remember the setting.

So if you bear with me a little bit, let's pick it up from the uh first verse real briefly, and we must we must redeem the time.

Do your young people have these tests still, is the test over?

Are you out for the uh what do they call spring break?

No, they're not, they're still going to school?

Okay, we'll be mindful of that.

Okay, here we go.

And the first verse, let's just kind of go through it real real briefly to bring it up to the sixth verse.

It's always important, it's always important anytime you approach the word of God, uh, that uh when you're trying to get an understanding.

It's one thing to read, it's and that's just gathering, that's gathering olives, olive things, olive trees.

The Bible talks about these two olive trees, the old and the new testament.

And of course, olive trees bear oliberis.

And oliberus is just uh it's just that.

It's just the fruit that comes off of those trees.

But those berries have to be squeezed, they have to be crushed to actually get the oil out, to actually get the oil out.

And those two uh trees, he tells us very plainly in Zachariah as well as Revelation, those are the two witnesses.

That's Christ and that's Moses that stand before the whole earth.

Those are the two olive trees.

The olive berries is the things that you see in the Old Testament and the New Testament, but then you have to actually squeeze those berries.

Somebody has to squeeze the berries to get the oil out.

And actually, that oil goes into the Bible, it says into that into that bowl, through the pipeline.

Well, that's the that's the ministry.

And and the bowl is actually the church, and it lights up and gives us all understanding.

And so we want to uh gather the berries, but those berries have to be squeezed.

We have to extract, we have to actually uh be able to uh to gather the oil, get some understanding of the things that we're reading.

And so uh if we pick it up in the first verse real briefly here, and let's read down to the uh sixth verse, please.

One of your brothers, help me.

Acts 6 and 1.

He said, In those days when the number of disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews.

I don't know if we clarified that, because if you get the wrong end of that term Grecian, you'd think he's talking about the Gentiles, but that's not what he's making reference to.

That term Grecian was making reference to all those saints.

And I'm using the word saints, but there was Jews who came out of other areas and was not indignant or not native to Jerusalem.

And they had all came together those three times a year.

And some people actually they just stayed there.

They realized here's where the Lord actually put his name.

And maybe they came from Creek, or maybe they come from Arabia, and they actually stayed right there to say, Well, I don't want to go back to Creek, I don't want to go back to Arabia.

The Lord is doing something right here in Jerusalem, in Judea.

This is where I'm gonna actually be.

I'm gonna stay right here.

And so they were called Grecians because they weren't native uh Hebrews.

When this church first was launched, and let me say this, and it's it's imperative that we understand it.

Jesus Christ had no idle words.

Uh He told those apostles this.

He said, Uh, you shall be witnesses unto me first where?

In Jerusalem.

And then where?

Judea, and then Samaritan, and in what?

Uttermost parts of the earth.

And that's how the gospel spread it.

It spread it in Jerusalem first.

It didn't go any further.

It actually took persecution to get this gospel out of Jerusalem.

Then it went out to Judea, and then of course that's still the Jews.

And then it went to Samaritan.

Now that's half Jews.

And Samaritans are half Jews and half Gentiles, and then ultimately it went out to the uttermost parts of the world, and that's how the Gentiles actually came in.

But the Jews, they had to first reject it.

They had to reject it.

It was given to them first.

Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

It's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believed.

He said to the what?

To the Jew first, to the Jew first, and then to the Greek.

That's a synonym for Gentiles.

And so it had to be given to them first.

And Paul makes the same statement in the 14th chapter of Romans.

I'm sorry, of Acts.

He said it was fit that the word of God talked to those Jews in the synagogue, it should first be preached to you.

But seeing you have judged yourselves, that's those Jews in the synagogue, because they didn't receive the word of God with all readiness of mind.

He said, Lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

And so until you actually get to the 10th chapter of the book of Acts, there is no Gentiles.

There is no Gentiles in the body of Christ.

It was all Jews.

It was all Jews.

And so you can see, I think it's what the eighth chapter is when it spreads out to the Samaritans.

And then the tenth chapter gets to the Jews.

And that's just the order of God.

It's how the Lord works.

He works in order.

He is an orderly God.

And of course, we don't like order.

We don't like anything that's going to confine us, or anything that's too rigid, or anything that's too compelling.

We want to be loose.

You know, it's just in our nature.

Especially being America.

We just want to flap in the wind.

Go where we want, do what we want, say what we want, act what we want, and all that's really nice.

But brother, we'll never be saved that way.

Do you know when the Lord brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt?

The Bible said he brought them out harness.

He brought them out harnessed.

When he gave them the law of Moses, that is at Mount Sinai, he gave them a tabernacle, but they could even they could even pitch anyway, their tent anywhere around that tabernacle.

Three tribes had to pitch to the east, and you had no choice if you wanted to.

Three to the south, three to the west, and three to the north.

And you say, Well, I don't like being on the north.

I don't Like over here.

Well, the Lord wasn't asking you, He wasn't taking votes on it.

Here's where your tribe pitch, here's where you abide.

And see, we don't like that in America.

Don't tell me what to do.

Don't constrain me like that.

Well, nobody can make you do anything.

Thank God I'm glad the Bible said, Whosoever will, and I'm glad I'm a whosoever will.

He said, Let him come.

Nobody can't make you come this way.

No one can make you see the things of God.

We have to be willing.

He has to be willing.

But he made a promise even in Isaiah.

He said, if you be willing, that's the first step.

And what?

Obedient.

Then you eat the good of the land.

Well, all they had was the hope of a resurrection.

The land that we could eat here in Canaan today is eternal life.

Our soul doesn't have to lose conscience if I'm first what?

Willing and then obedient.

So it's to the Jew first.

It's to the Jew first.

Now, Brother Michael, here these uh these Jews, I think we mentioned a little bit last week, we did, how that they was from out of uh Judea.

They wasn't in that area, and they was actually being elected.

There was partiality that did occur.

And they had a mummering, and that mummering was legitimate.

They had a legitimate gripe.

They really did.

And see, but I love the order.

Don't miss, don't hop over the order of this.

I love this.

I'm glad they mumbered.

You know why, Sister Amanda?

Because if they hadn't mumbered, I wouldn't have known how the New Testament church dealt with mummering.

If uh if they didn't have some problems, I wouldn't know how we should be how we should uh conclude our problems.

Here, listen, they didn't tell it to the apostles, sister uh Ellen.

They didn't tell it to the apostles, they mumbered.

Mumbered mean that you're telling someone about something they can't do anything about.

But somebody had enough God in them, somebody had enough understanding the things of God, they brought it to the ones who could do something about it.

When they heard those things, they didn't keep it to themselves.

They went straight to the apostle and they told him, Listen, uh, there is some mumming among these people.

Here is what they're saying.

And see, that's what the Bible says, let him that is taught, that's the people of God.

Communicate with him that teaches, that's the minister in what?

All good things.

And so there's an order in God.

There's an absolute order in God.

And so uh someone brought the report of this to the ones who could do something about it.

But why was they murmuring?

He says, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

Brother, that means brother, they weren't being uh fairly treated.

Uh that that wasn't uh remember how we read earlier how distribution was made as every man had need?

As every man had need?

Well, they all had the same need, but someone wasn't as well connected.

Someone was actually being elected, their needs were not being fulfilled completely.

And so what happened?

But I love this.

And see, you read from verse 1 to verse 2, but you have to wonder.

You have to wonder now what actually happened?

Well, someone had to communicate it.

He said, Then the what?

12.

Call the multitude of the disciples unto them.

And you have to get that correctly.

This was not a vote.

They didn't get everybody together, but they got a great host of multitudes of the disciples.

Oh, here's people who are spiritual in the kingdom.

Here's people who actually have a commitment, a dedication.

I'm sure when 3,000 being added and another 5,000, I don't think everybody there uh was necessary disciples, and that's why they worded this way.

But they got the multitude.

Here's the core of the uh of this assembly.

They got them together, and not everybody, but this is actually I can show you a little bit further.

He's actually talking about those Brother Michael uh who was actually in position of leadership.

They was in people, these are people who was esteemed.

Watch what he says.

He said, uh the twelve called the multitude of disciples unto them and said, It is not a reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.

Wherefore, brother.

Now here you go.

Wherefore what?

Brethren.

Brethren.

Usually, and not every case, but usually when you see that term brethren, he's talking to the ministry, or he's talking to those that are in leadership.

Brethren.

And this is who he's addressing.

He said, Wherefore, brethren, uh, look ye out.

Look ye out among you what?

Seven men.

Seven men.

In other words, here's people who no doubt had a measure.

Here's men that had a measure.

But a man's gift, it'll make room for him.

You don't have to ever promote yourself in the kingdom of God.

You don't have to desire to be anything but saved.

You don't have to.

If it's a peach seed, if it's a plum seed, if it's a pear seed, brother, just plant it.

That peach is going to bring up peaches, that I'm sorry, that peach seed is going to bring forth a tree that's going to produce those types of seeds.

Every seed produces after his own kind.

I don't have to desire, I wish I could sing.

I'll listen to me trying to start that song.

Well, I sound good to me, but I stopped and thought about it, man.

You know, you sound really bad.

I was telling Brother Michael, man, I sound awful.

But my heart was right, but it just didn't come out right.

I thought about what I really heard.

You can hear in your inner ear, but you can hear what you actually hear when you stop and think about it.

Man, that did sound a little bit rough.

But I'm not a singer.

And so for me to pretend a desire to be what I'm not is folly.

Just be what you are.

Just be what you are.

And uh that's what I love about the body of Christ.

You don't find men and women with apparicious appetite.

That's a dangerous thing in the in the kingdom of God.

That's a dangerous thing.

You have examples in the Bible who men who wanted to be somebody.

Haman wanted to be someone.

He wanted to be right next to the king.

Well, he ended up, what happened to him?

He sw he swung on that gallow, didn't he?

Uh, who's at Absalom?

He wanted to be somebody.

And what happened to him?

He ended up swinging by the head.

He ended up losing his life.

And who's that?

Uh, uh, Abathar?

Adonijah, brother.

He wanted to be somebody.

He ended up dying with his hands onto the altar, brother, and he wouldn't find that, he didn't find any mercy.

All because, brother, they wanted to be what they wasn't.

And so here he is.

Um he said, look, brethren, you look out among you seven men.

Here's the qualification of what?

Honest report.

Now he didn't make reference to without, but he was making reference to among those people.

Honest report, men of integrity, men of character.

And then, of course, he goes on to say, full of the Holy Ghost.

He doesn't mean baptized with it, he means sagerated, sagurated with the Holy Ghost.

When those men talked, when those men responded, you knew that God was with them.

They were just full of the Holy Ghost.

Full of the Holy Ghost.

And then he said, in what?

And that's always the qualification when you're dealing with God's people.

And here's the key.

He said, Whom we, well, whose do we?

The apostles, whom we may, here's key words.

Get these words, whom we may what?

A point over this business.

And when they were appointed by those apostles, that was the same authority as if God the Father told Jesus Christ to put these men in certain positions.

That authority was given from God to Jesus, from Jesus to the ministry.

He gave those men that authority.

He said, Whatsoever you bind on earth, I'll do what?

I'll bind it in heaven.

Whatsoever you loose on earth, I'll do what?

I'll say amen to you.

I'll back you up.

Why?

Because those men had the Holy Ghost.

That was not those men carnal mind talking, but that was the Spirit of God that was giving those men wisdom and how to move.

He said, Whom we may appoint over this business, but I love this.

But we will give ourselves.

We will give ourselves continually to what?

And to the and see here, and this is I remember my thoughts from last week and I ran out of time.

What gave those men the ideal or the thought to work that way?

Why do they do that?

Where do they get that from?

Did they find that in the Pharisees group, the Sadducees group?

Where did they get that from?

They got it out of the good word of God.

Those men were Bible students.

And they understood the things that uh God had actually given them uh even in the old covenant.

Even in the old covenant.

Let me give you the background so we don't lose too much time.

Do you remember when Moses brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt?

Do you remember that it was just him and Aaron?

God spoke to Moses, Moses spoke to Aaron, Aaron spoke to the people.

But often time, oftentimes there was just too many problems.

And Moses would actually go out early in the morning and he would sit there and try to judge between brother and brother all the cases.

And the work was just too heavy.

It was just too great for one man.

And so Moses began to tell God, he said, Lord, don't let me see my wretchedness.

In other words, don't let me become a complainer.

Don't let me become a whiner.

He said, If you're going to treat me thus, deal with me thus and kill me.

I don't want to see my wretchedness.

I don't want to see how miserable I can be.

And uh he said, I need help.

This is too much.

Can I bear all these people as a nursing father does a suckling child?

Can I bear them alone?

God looked upon Moses and he saw his great burden.

He said, This is what you do, Moses.

Look out and get 70 men.

Seventy men, chief men among the people.

And I'm gonna take the spirit that's upon you and I'm gonna put it on them.

Uh, and of course, I'm just trying to give you the background.

He did so, he did so, Brother Michael.

But see, that was just men helping Moses.

Now, they worked under the authority of Moses, but that still was not a ministry.

That was just men helping Moses.

But what God did, and I'm so glad he did, and this is a picture for the apostles, and this is why they did things in this order.

When uh Aaron and his son, which is the priest, as they officiated for all the people, uh, making atonement for their sacrifices, for their sins, and offering up their sacrifices, it was just too many.

The Bible said there was, what is it, 601,550 men that was 20 years old and older.

That's a lot of people.

601,550, that's a lot of people, and have just too much work.

And so what God told Moses to tell Aaron, he said, You take the tribe of Levi, and I'm gonna give them to Aaron and his sons for a gift.

I'm gonna give them to Aaron for a gift and his sons.

Now, of course, Aaron represents Jesus Christ.

Uh, he was the high priest.

The Bible said, For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.

And of course, Aaron's sons, by posterity, just being born of that lineage, then they became priests.

And his oldest son, the oldest son of each generation, was the uh was the high priest.

Thank you, brother LJ.

Well, what does that say to you and I?

Well, you had Jesus Christ, he was the high priest, he had no natural sons, but his posterity was those ministers.

Just like Paul says to Titus, my own son after the common faith to Timothy, my own son after the common faith.

Well, Paul was a eunuch, he didn't have any sons, but they were sons after the faith.

And so here's the apostle of our of our uh uh of our profession.

Here's our high priest, Jesus Christ, the Bible says, the righteous.

And of course, his sons was that ministry.

Are you making any sense to you?

Are you following me?

But it was too much for those ministers.

They had to have Levites, they had to have helps.

And so it was in them to have the authority to point to each man his burden.

Let's go to numbers.

I remember telling you to read it just for the sake of time.

I don't want to belabor this too much, but I'd like to let you see.

These men were so well read, the Holy Ghost brought all these things to their remembrance, and they understood how to work.

And let me tell you this, uh, just for the sake of time.

Levi, the son Levi, remember how that was uh 12 sons?

Do you remember how uh Jacob had 12 sons?

Jacob's name was changed from Jacob to what?

Israel.

Israel.

And the oldest son was always to be the high priest in the house.

That was all the way back from the garden.

Always was to be the high priest.

But when Jacob had 12 sons, but he had a problem with his sons.

The first son, Reuben, what did he do?

He defiled his father's bed.

And he said, You're unstable as water, you will not prevail.

His second son was uh who's that, uh, Simeon.

And the third one was who?

Was Levi.

But he said, cruelty is in your habitation.

And of course, when you look at the Leviticus priesthood, that's what you saw.

Cruelty is in their habitation.

Why?

Because they didn't have a love for the people of God.

That's not how they got into the ministry.

Just because they were of the natural seed of, that is, of uh Aaron, then they became uh high priests and those Levites, just because they were divine, they were born of the tribe of Levite, they became Levites.

But thank God, I'm so glad in the New Testament it doesn't come through your natural posterity.

Doesn't matter who your mother and your father is.

Has nothing to do with that.

It has nothing to do with that, but it has to do with the man's ability given to him of God.

I'm so glad it's that way.

But uh let's go to the book of Numbers real quick.

Am I going too fast?

I can't always tell when I'm running.

For the sake of time, and I don't want to uh, and all of it is good, but I don't have the time.

I don't have the time to believe it is too much.

Brother Michael, help me out here.

Let's pick it up uh and two and he numbered the nation of Israel.

He numbered the nation of Israel, but pick it up two and thirty-three.

Numbers two and thirty-three.

He said, and those were numbered even of the tribe of Ephraim.

Two and thirty-three.

He said, but the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel.

Okay, they was not even numbered.

Why?

I'm gonna tell you why.

Look at uh look at uh three, brother Michael, and well, start in the first verse real quick.

He said, These also are the generations of the Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spake with Moses in Mount Sinai.

Okay, who did the Lord speak with?

Moses.

Moses.

Moses.

And these are the names of the sons of Aaron, Nadab, the firstborn of Bahu, Eliezer, and Ithamar.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.

Okay, it always goes to the eldest one, but watch what happened.

He said that Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered strange fire before the Lord.

You remember that over in Leviticus, what is that, 10, when they offered that strange fire?

And you know, that's still happening today.

Men offering strange fire, something, brother, that didn't originate with God.

Now that's no such thing as uh gospel rap.

Oh, there's no such thing as content uh, what do they call it, contemporary gospel?

Brother, if that's not the spirit.

If can you see God sit?

Just stop and ask yourself this.

Stop and ask yourself this, Sister Michelle.

Can you see God sitting on the throne?

A book, a book, a book, a book, a book, a book, and then a throne.

Can you see that?

Stop and think about it sometime.

When you listen to what you're saying, listen to the spirit.

You say, but that's a drawing the people.

A book, a book, a book, a book, a book.

Can you see God?

Yeah.

I don't see that.

I don't see that.

Who are we supposed to be praising?

The Lord.

And if it's not in his spirit, do you think the Lord can lend himself to that?

My God.

Paul said, we'll sing with the spirit and with the what?

It's a spirit.

It's not just singing uh words.

The words may be good.

But brother, if that's spirit, if it stimulates the flush, it's not of God.

That's strange fire.

How do we get on that?

Let's keep going.

You said MC Hammer.

I'm sorry, I'm gonna MC Hammer.

Rapping gospel, doing splits, somersaults.

Christian rock.

Can you see that New Testament church having Christian rock?

Not even a clean spirit.

If it comes from the world, then how can it be clean?

If the world can enjoy it, then how can it be clean?

My Lord, that's strange fire.

Men whom God has actually touched, brother Michael, and giving them uh a heart for the people of God, no doubt even anointed.

But brother, when you go out into the world because you're trying to gather people, and you start bringing those things into the into the uh the temple of God, the hearts of God's people, you know what you're doing?

You offering up strange fire.

Let's keep reading.

He said, and they had no children, and Eliezor and Ithamar ministered in the breasts.

There you go.

There you go.

Now keep reading real fast.

I want you to get this, saints.

He said, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Listen to bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to God.

Unto him.

No.

They may minister to who?

Unto him.

What him?

Aaron.

The word minister means serve.

They're serving Aaron as Aaron served God or his people.

And so they were servants to the servant of God.

And that's what the Levi was.

You know when the Lord chose Levi?

Brother, when Moses was up on Mount Sinai, getting those commandments, getting those ordinance of God, Sister Michelle, and Aaron listened to the people and made a golden calf.

When Moses came down and he saw that calf, he grind that calf to powder.

Brother, he cast it in the water and made them drink.

And then he said, Everybody that's on the Lord's side, he said, let them step forward.

And the Bible said, the tribe of Levi, they stepped up.

He said, put every man on his sword and go in and out within the camp and slay every man his brother.

Every man who had a hand and making that golden calf, brother, even though he's your uncle, your cousin, he may be your son, he said, you put him to death.

Now Aaron thinks he got away, but he actually didn't.

Because he definitely was the corporate in it.

But brother, all of those people was actually who had a hand in it.

The Bible said 3,000 died.

But it was the tribe of Levi who stepped forth.

Right then, God made choice of the tribe of Levi.

And from then in the mind of God, now he's implemented it, it was no longer going to be the firstborn that was going to be the priest.

It was going to be Aaron's son.

It was no longer going to be the firstborn that was going to minister.

It was going to be the tribe of Levi.

He made choice right then.

And so he still had a priest.

He still had a priest.

And Aaron, by the way, was not going to enter into the promised land.

He was not going to enter into the promised land.

Brother, he was just, God was just bringing up Eliezer, his son.

Do you know God can judge me?

He can judge you.

And he may not execute the judgment for years to come.

Absolutely.

Lord can he can disconnect me.

And he can keep me here long enough to raise somebody else up.

God help me to do right.

I would hate to become that way, but God can do that.

And you can see that repetitively in the Bible.

You can see that repetitively.

That's why we have to be a people because the Bible said, because sentence against a what?

Evil work is not executed speedily.

It is fully set.

It is fully set in the heart of the sons of men to do what?

Mischief.

In other words, brother, I can lie a little, cheat a little, curse a little, dip a little, dab a little, and say, well, man, I get up and still feel anointed.

Well, I can.

But God can disconnect.

He can disconnect me and I'm still green for us.

See ever watch a tree when you cut a branch off it?

That branch doesn't turn brown the next morning.

But it's disconnected.

It's just a matter of time.

And God can judge me and not execute the judgment for years to come.

He may be raising somebody up.

And that's what he did with Aaron.

It was just not, a sentence was not executed what?

Speedily.

You ever went to court?

And the judge said guilty?

Guilty?

But he might not have to go to jail for four or five more days.

It's just not executed.

And God is like that.

So if I'm doing wrong, Sister Manna, let me fall on a rock and get it right.

I can't say because I'm not feeling the judgment of God, I've gotten away.

Absolutely not.

Israel thought that.

When they put Jesus to death, it was 40 years before Titus came in.

40 years.

They thought they had escaped.

God help us.

Okay.

But you know what you can do is get it right in that time, no brother.

We got a chance to get it right.

Okay, I'm sorry.

I don't know how I got on that.

Okay, listen.

He said that they may minister unto him.

Verse uh seven.

Listen to this.

And they, what day is that?

The tribe of Levi shall keep what?

Who's to his?

Aaron.

He's going to give them the charge.

And the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation to do the service of the what?

Tabernacle.

And so look at verse 9.

Thou shalt give the Levites unto who?

And to his what?

They are and look just for the sake of time.

Verse 12.

And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel in what?

That's the firstborn male.

Come on.

Now there you have it.

There you have it.

But let's go a little bit further so you can actually see it.

Look at verse 17.

Let's read, Brother Michael, please.

He said, and these were the sons of Levi by their names, Gershon, Kohat, Moriah.

These are the three, and I want you to get this.

This is important as we go on.

Aaron, Levi had three sons.

He had Gersh, Kohath, Gershem, and Moriah.

That's critical.

You'll see this as we go on.

It's vitally important.

You see that tabernacle on the wall?

The front of that tabernacle is where you see the uh the gates on the front.

That's the east.

And then that's what Aaron and his son ministered from.

They ministered from the east.

That pictures Jesus Christ and that New Testament.

A ministery.

They ministered from the east.

Where does the sunrise?

From the east.

That's the closest to the sun.

As the church began to fall away, it went from the east to the it went counterclockwise.

It went from the east to the what?

The clockwise.

I'm sorry, to the south.

And that's what Korhath ministered.

Korhath, when he pitched his tent when he pitched his tent, he had to be on the south side.

He couldn't go nowhere else lest he be put to death.

And then after him came Gersha.

Gersha pitched his tents on the west.

He had to serve from the west.

And Mariah pitched from the north.

That all represents something.

And each one of them had an insignet.

They all had insignet.

Those that pitched to the east, their insignia was that line.

You see that line on the east over there?

That pitches Jesus Christ.

He is the line of the tribe of Judah.

That New Testament church, that's what is, brother, it ministered under that insignia.

Everything they was done was by Christ.

But brother, as man, those apostles was put to death, first Christ, then his sons, the New Testament ministry, then man got in the saddle.

That's why Gersham, uh Kohath, he ministered from the south, and their insignia was the image of a man.

And then, of course, after that, when man gets in the saddle, the first thing he's gonna do is quit presenting himself a living sacrifice.

And so the church kept falling away.

It went all the way to the west.

And that's why you've seen a calf or you see an oxen, because men wasn't sacrificing it longer.

And then, of course, in Revelation chapter 12, he said it was given wings of the great eagle that it might actually fly into the wilderness.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

That's when that great system came up in 538 A.D., where we use the term, and I'll speak real plain here, of the church at Rome.

For 1260 years, or three and a half days, 42 months, brother she began to rule supreme.

But each one of them had to minister on their side of the tabernacle.

You couldn't go anywhere.

You couldn't go anywhere.

And let's let's read this.

And I hope I'm not giving this too broad, but I want you to appreciate Acts.

Those men understood exactly what they were doing.

It wasn't hitting and missing.

It wasn't some uh woolly ideals they came up with.

Uh they didn't have a committee and say, let's come up and do it this way.

Those men were Bible students, and God was able to touch their minds and give them a revelation of the good word of God, and they operated in that order.

Let's read a little bit further, Brother Michael.

Watch this, just real briefly.

Uh look at verse uh 25, Brother Michael.

He said, In the charge of the sons of Gershem, in the tabernacle of a congregation shall be the tabernacle of the tent.

The charge.

Underline that who gave them that charge?

Moses gave it to them.

Moses gave it to Aaron, and Aaron gave it to them.

He gave them their charge.

And he told them where they had to pitch, their tent.

They could not pitch anywhere.

Look at verse 23.

He said, The families of the Gershenites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.

You know why he said behind it?

Because the front was to the east.

And Gersh had to pitch behind it, that is on the west.

He had to be on the west.

He could go anywhere else.

He had to pitch on the west.

Brother Michael, go to verse 27.

He said, and Kohab was the family of the Amrites.

Okay, skip down, Brother Michael, to uh verse 28.

28.

He said, and the number of all the males from the month old and upward were 8,600, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.

The families of the sons of Kohaz shall pitch on the side of the south.

Koh and the pitch on the side of the south.

He couldn't go to the west.

If he might have wanted to, but that's not where he was instructed to work.

He had to work on the south.

That pitch is something.

And let's keep moving.

Okay, let's keep moving.

But even that, brother Michael, they was given a charge.

Verse 31.

He said, near charge shall be the ark and the table and the candlestick shall be.

Thank you.

The key word is charge.

The key word is charge.

Okay, Brother Michael.

And now go to uh verse uh 33.

He said, and of Moriah was.

Okay, here's Mariah, Brother Michael.

Here's Moriah.

Uh go to uh verse 36.

He said, none of the custody and charge of the sons of Mariah shall be the boards of the tabernacle.

Okay.

Now, Brother Michael, let's go down.

I'm trying not to labor this too far.

Are you following me?

Uh Brother Michael.

East.

That's the one.

38, thank you.

He said, but those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east.

Listen to it, say that again.

He said, but those encamp before the tabernacle toward the east.

I don't think I had enough volume in it.

Let's all read it.

Come on, let's read together.

But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even what?

Before the tabernacle of the congregation, where?

Eastward shall be who?

Moses.

Say it again, it shall be who?

Moses.

And who?

Aaron.

And who?

And his sons.

There you go.

Are you following me?

And only Aaron and his son could handle those holy vessels.

No one else could handle that.

No one else should be handling the word of God but Aaron and his son, Jesus Christ and the ministry.

No one else should be handling it.

If Kohat put his hands on those vessels, he had to be put to death.

That's why we don't believe, and I don't want to be offended, but that's why we don't believe in Sunday school.

Are you ordained to handle the word of God?

That's why we don't believe in everybody trying to teach.

Are you ordained to handle the word of God?

Are you authorized?

You say, but I helped the ministry.

Are you a chorbite?

Are you a Gershonite?

Are you, if you are, work on your side of the tabernacle?

Do what you appointed to do.

Religion does anything.

Everybody's a minister.

But is everybody ordained a hand of the word?

What about New Testament order?

You have to be given your charge.

How do you get on that?

But, brother, those apostles understood order perfectly.

They understood order divinely.

It wasn't everybody coming up with a good idea.

Everybody might want to help.

Everybody might want to help, but are you ordained to touch certain things?

Now let's read this.

And this is very critical.

This is very critical, Brother Michael.

He says this repeatedly, and I don't think God's just repeating himself.

Verse 41.

He said, And thou shalt take the Levites for me.

I am the Lord instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

And the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings of the Israelites.

Verse 45.

He said, Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

And he said this three times.

He repeats himself.

Why is he doing it?

It's a reason.

Verse 4, Brother Michael.

It said, This shall be the service of the sons of Koabh in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Now listen to this.

When the Lord was making the move, the priests, Aaron's sons, blew the trumpet.

When they blew the trumpet, the rest of the priests went into the holy place and the Holy of Holies, Brother Elton, and they covered up all those vessels.

Once those vessels were covered up, and Korhath wouldn't put his hands directly on the vessels, he was able to go in and take those vessels and carry them.

But if he looked on those vessels, if he touched those vessels uncovered, if he touched those vessels uncovered, he was to be put to death.

And Korhath, I'm sorry, and Gershem or Ryah, under no circumstances were they authorized to touch it.

Even if they were covered up.

What is that speaking to us?

What is that saying?

What is that talking about?

If you're a singer, if you're a musician, well, we can't.

I can't sing.

And Brother Michael sounds even worse than me.

Brother Jeff thinks he can sing, but some said he can't.

I can't hear enough, so I guess I had to get the benefit of the doubt.

Brother Elnad heard you, and my God, you're worse than Brother Michael.

Well, that's why you have Levites.

That's why you have helps.

But because you're in the band or because you sing, it don't mean you have authority to go out and start hailing God's people.

To start correcting and rebuking and reproving, to start counseling and directing their lives.

To start opening up this Bible and start trying to teach someone.

The things that you've been assured of, you can share that.

But when you start trying to teach and use her authority, look what Paul said.

I suffer not a woman to do what?

That's a metaphor.

If it's a physical woman, but he's even talking about the church.

Nor to use authority over or above the man.

That is the ministry.

Who authorized you to do what you're doing?

Let's keep reading.

Am I provoking you?

Because that New Testament ministry knew what they were doing.

When they ordained those men, when they ordained those men, they ordained those men as ministers, Brother Michael.

And you'll see that.

Those men had authority to handle the word of God.

They had authority to exercise authority over God's people.

That's where they were.

And they had helps.

Let's keep reading.

Brother Michael, where do we stop?

Go ahead and read it for me, please.

He said, and when the camp set it forth, Aaron shall come and his sons, and they shall take the water.

There you go.

Let's read this again.

When the camp set it forward, it's time to move, Aaron shall do what?

Shall come.

And who else?

Brother, every time the church made a move, whether it's, brother, every time coming out of the wilderness or every move it made, it has to be the ministry.

What if the people say, but I don't feel like moving?

You're too constraining, telling us to pitch our tent, take the tent down.

I don't feel like everybody didn't move.

Sister Judah, every time that tabernacle moved, everybody didn't go.

They say, I'm tired of the travel, I'm gonna stay right here.

I can go out the next morning and get some manna.

What they didn't know is that the manna was following the cloud.

And listen, Moses and Aaron was following the cloud, and that's where the manna was.

They got up the next morning and it wasn't no food.

The manna was gone.

You don't have to move on.

But you surely was starved, spiritually speaking.

Where are you gonna eat?

Where are you gonna eat?

I don't think you could talk to them stones out in the desert.

You couldn't eat.

That wasn't edible.

My God, let's keep reading.

And of course, you can see every move the Lord made.

That's why the Lord, he said he came leaping on mountain and doing what?

Mountains are major movements.

But as the Lord kept moving toward restoration, people say, I'm gonna pitch my tent right here.

And I don't want to be offensive here, but the bee church, they got water baptism and they pitched their tent right there.

John and Charles Wesley, they understood sanctification.

They pitched their tent right there.

And other brothers just kept, wonderful brothers with great truth, but brother, they got a truth and they pitched their tent right there.

But thank God, I hope we never get that way.

We're not satisfied until we cross over Jordan to the promised land.

We're not there yet.

We have to keep moving.

We can't be satisfied with where we are.

This is not it.

Our bones were bleach in the wilderness.

We're still in the wilderness.

We're coming up out of the wilderness, but we're not there yet.

Who is this coming up out of the wilderness?

We can't stop.

We can't stop.

This is not it.

This is not a restored ministry.

This is not a restored church.

This is not a restored dispensation.

This is not a church like the first that came out on the day of Pentecost.

It's not even in the earth yet.

But we're a people who's earnestly contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints.

We can't stop.

We can't stop.

Don't look at all the good and say, my God, we don't do this and we don't do that, and we we this.

Brother, if we don't finish our course, that doesn't mean anything.

Not a thing.

What reward do they get for coming out of Egypt and crossing the Red Sea?

If they didn't inherit, they didn't cross the Canaan land, what good did it do them?

If you died at Mount Sinai or you died at Kadash born there now, what difference does it make?

You still died.

You say, Well, I went on, I was baptized in water properly.

But if you don't overcome, you say, but I received the Holy Ghost, but if you don't overcome, but I became a good Bible student.

If you don't overcome, what difference does it make?

Brother, we got to cross over.

We got to keep going.

This is not it.

Let's follow the Lord.

My God.

Oh God.

Man, look at time.

We got away again.

Can I finish this?

At least let me finish this.

That's why I was hesitant last week.

I remember my thoughts and even opening this up.

But it's good that you might see it.

Look, watch this.

Watch this.

Uh, Brother Michael, go to verse 15 real quick.

He said, and when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the campus to set forward, after that, the sons of Koas.

Here's the key word.

What?

After that.

Say it again.

After that.

What should happen?

The sons of Koas shall come to bear it.

Brother, if the ministry, if someone walk in here with a micro dress on, halfway naked, if the ministry doesn't touch it, why would you say anything to her?

People come out of the world, that's all they know.

If we don't say nothing, you shouldn't say nothing.

If we can't, then you can assist us.

But if we're not touching, don't you touch it?

Do you think that you see something we don't see?

Because we don't say something you think we don't see?

Oh man, I don't know what's happening to the ministry.

They must don't see a little Mariah over there.

She spends the whole service throwing spitballs across the church.

They don't say nothing.

Now, if you see her throwing spitballs, I know you don't do that, sweetie.

But if if we don't, if we don't say anything about her throwing spitballs, you know what you ought to do?

Be praising the Lord.

Let her throw spitballs.

We see what you see.

You say, but can't Brother Brown, can't Brother Michael, Brother Jeff, Brother Elden, can't they post see this post saying over here suffering?

Well, if you see him, we see him.

It's a difference to know when to touch them and when not to.

The Lord might be burning something out of a person.

We see it.

We're aware of it.

We're not oblivious.

I think we still don't talk in terms of the Lord, aren't we, brothers?

Okay, now Brother Michael.

I'm sorry, keep reading.

They shall bury, get this.

Uh uh after it's been covered up.

The sons of Kohath shall come to do what?

But get this, but they what?

Shall not touch.

Say it again, but they what?

Shall not touch.

Lest they lest they die.

Boy, that's a revelation to have.

When you put your hands on something you shouldn't, it's gonna kill you.

It has the potentials to kill you.

You have to be authorized to touch certain things.

Let's keep reading.

Verse, brother, I'm sorry, keep reading.

He said, These things are the burden of the soul.

They're the burden.

But who gave them the burden?

Aaron did.

Aaron did.

Um, verse 17.

He said, And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites.

You need them from among the Levites.

You need them.

But verse 19.

But thus do unto them that they may live and not die.

Say it again, that they may what?

Live and not die.

Keep reading.

When they approach unto the most holy things, Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them.

And do what?

And appoint them.

What?

Everyone to his what?

To his service.

And to his what?

To his burden.

Aaron did that.

You don't go beyond.

You don't take up any burden upon yourself.

Religion does anything.

They can't see order.

But brother, New Testament order didn't operate that way.

Those apostles pointed those men their burden.

They appointed those men their charge.

And they was authorized to do what they was doing.

They was authorized.

I'm going to stop for the sake of time because this is almost endless.

You can't hardly exhaust it.

But I'll give you this.

This is free.

When I was a little boy, you'd say put this in your pipe and smoke it.

We don't smoke.

But uh, chew on this.

And the 16th chapter of the book of Numbers.

And the 16th chapter on the book of Numbers.

Korhath, who's that?

Nadab and who's that?

Korhath and who?

Look at that for a minute, Brother Michael.

And a Bahu, thank you.

Coron, Dathan Abiram.

Korah was a he was of the family of Korhath, brother Elton.

You know what he did?

Looked over at Moses.

He said, Moses, you take too much upon yourself.

Aren't we all the servants of God?

Haven't God spoken about all of us?

Moses looked over at him and said, You take too much upon you, you sons of Kohath.

Now, first of all, Kohath, brother Aaron, brother Michael, he was a son of Kohath, he was in that family.

But Nadab and Abion was Reubenites.

They didn't even have anything to do with it.

They was, listen, they was way, they were of the tribe of Levi of Reuben, which wasn't even Levites.

And they had the audacity, they had the audacity to try to charge Moses.

Kohath was out of order, but brother, these two was way out of order.

Way out of order.

Let me read just a little bit of that.

What kept that New Testament church, brother glorious, brother Micah?

They kept the order of God.

And let me tell you this: it wasn't legalistic.

It wasn't overbearing.

It was safe.

Verse 1 and 2, real quick, Brother Micah.

Verse 3.

First three verses.

He said, Now Korah, the son of Isa, the son of Kohath.

There you go.

The son of who?

The son of Levi and Datham and Abiram.

Uh no, no, the son of Levi.

That's one person, Korah.

Yeah.

He was the son of Kohath, the son of Levi.

He was in not the ministry, but he was in Leviticus priesthood.

But keep reading.

He said, and they arose up.

No, no, Dathan and Abiram, these two others.

The sons of Eliab and An the son of Pelah, sons of Reuben.

They were the sons of what?

Reuben.

What did they do?

They took men.

What men?

They took men of renown, men of influence.

Brother Michael.

He said, and they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation.

Remember last week we talked about that word rose up?

That's in every one of us, the potentials to rise up.

That's insurrection.

That is insurrection.

That is to rise up against delegated authority or divine authority.

That's in every one of us.

Every one of us can be an insurrector.

Every one of us can rise up.

But what people can't see, and you're going to see this in the New Testament repetitively, what people couldn't see when they rose up against Moses, they wouldn't rise up against Moses.

They was rising up against God.

And in the New Testament, when they rose up, they didn't rise up against James and John and Peter and Paul.

They was rising up against God.

And if the ministry is in order, when someone rises up, you're not rising up against Brother Brown.

I don't get offended when somebody says anything to me.

My prayer is God be merciful.

I have seen very few times that it gets away.

I know the Lord, if I don't say anything, I say, Lord, be merciful, I know the Lord will require it of you.

He absolutely will.

You know, if you say, well, he's just a man, that I am.

I'm just a man.

But here's the difference.

I'm a man that God put here.

And whoever's in my stead, he'll just be a man, but he's a man that God put there.

And to rise up against whoever it is, it's not me.

It's the position or it's the office or it's the authority.

Absolutely.

It could be whoever.

And so when you rise up, you're rising up against God.

They thought they were rising up against Moses.

Look.

And they rose up before Moses and certain of the church of Israel.

They had some backing.

200 and what?

Famous in the assembly.

Everybody knew them.

They was what?

And they gathered themselves together against what?

And against Aaron.

That's God's ministry.

And said unto them, You take too much upon you.

You making all the decisions.

You telling us when to pitch the tent and when not to, and turn left and turn right.

Who do you think you are, Moses?

You take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation.

Everybody's the people of God.

Every one of them is the people of God, and the Lord is among them.

Wherefore then, lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord.

Brother Moses, Lord, have mercy.

Look at the next verse.

Then Moses heard, heard he did what?

Well, I mean, I'm sure Moses said, Wonder, Brother Michael, who brought you across the Red Sea?

Who brought the ten plagues down in Egypt?

Who took them, who took that that uh that that tree and threw into the bitter water and made.

The sweet who smoked a rock and water came out.

Have you lost your minds?

Can you see anything?

He fell on his face.

My God.

Look at verse 8.

Verse 89, Brother Mike.

I'm sorry.

And Moses said unto Kor, here, I pray you, ye sons of Levi.

Listen.

Seem it but a small thing unto you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Christian.

But the Lord done chose you.

He done chose you to work close to the ministry, Kohath.

He done put you in a position where you can serve the ministry.

Aren't you satisfied?

Are you not pleased?

You're not even a Levi.

I mean, you're not a son of Aaron, but he done brought you close.

Aren't you satisfied?

Look what he says.

He said to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them.

In other words, you can serve the people of God.

He done brought you near.

How do you do it?

By bringing you near to the ministry.

He brought you nearer to the priesthood.

He let you serve the people of God.

Verse 10.

And he hath brought thee near to him and thy brother, the sons of Levi, with thee.

He said, and seek ye the what?

Are you looking for the priesthood also?

There is a difference.

And brother, this is what I won't take the time and read all of this.

I won't take the time and read all of this.

But my God, I'll admonish everybody on the sound of my voice to read this.

The dangerous thing that you can do in the kingdom of God is not to keep New Testament order that's been presented.

To get out of order, to get out of order, to take more upon you than you ought to is a dangerous thing.

And brother, there is Moses couldn't stop the Lord from judging Korah.

He couldn't stop him from judging these men, no matter what he did.

He couldn't stop that.

You know what he did?

Let me go down real for the sake of time.

I said, look at uh verse 20, verse 19, real quick.

He said, and Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle.

Against who?

Moses and Aaron.

They got them an uh insurrection going.

And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation.

And the Lord spake unto Moses as Aaron sin, Separate yourselves.

Separate yourselves from what?

Among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

And the Lord from the destroyer all of Israel.

All of them.

And they, that's Moses and Aaron, fell upon their face and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin?

This is just choraliness, insurrection.

And will thou be wroth with all the congregation?

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get ye up from among the tabernacle of who?

When we tell someone that we note mark of this fellowship, we're telling you, brother, there's going to be a judgment from God.

Give them around them, lead them alone.

But that in religion, they never note anybody.

They never mark.

They never do anything goes.

Well, once you just love them, we just love them that they do right.

You're not loving.

What you're doing is licensing sin.

Just, well, you've got to show mercy.

That's the difference between mercy and charity.

That's the absolute difference.

We love everybody.

We love your soul, but we don't love nobody's sin.

We all got to repent.

Do I make myself?

Yes.

Yes, I make them.

And I have enough sense to get it right.

But don't become wicked.

What is wicked, Brother Brown?

Wicked is setting light for darkness and darkness for light.

Calling good evil and evil good.

When you re when you when I despise chastisement and correction, and I say that's harsh and that's mean, then I'm wicked.

If I license sin and I say, well, that's mercy, I'm wicked.

That's wicked.

Wicked, evil is just carnal.

Wicked is deception.

My God.

The safest thing you can be is save.

Be saved.

Amen.

But anyway, let's go on.

Listen.

Brother Michael.

Now look what happened in verse 28.

And verse 27.

And they gathered from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abyron.

They got up from every side.

But look what happened.

Nathan and Abyron came out and stood in the door of the tents.

And listen to this.

And their wives and their sons and their little ones.

Now, verse 28.

Now this is mercy.

Look like Moses is being harsh, but he's not.

And Moses said he couldn't stop the judgment of God.

And Moses said, ye shall know that the Lord has sent me to do what?

For I have not done them of my own mind.

I didn't conquer this up.

He said, Now if these men die, the common death of all men, or if they be visit after the visitation of all men, after you, if you can see their caucuses after they die, that's what he's saying, then the Lord has not sent me.

But if the Lord make a what?

And the earth open her mouth and do what?

Not just them and all that uh and they shall go down quick, the word means alive into the pit, then you shall understand that these men have what?

They provoked who?

Why rise up against Moses, against his ministry?

And verse 31.

And it came to pass that he has made an end of speaking all these words that the ground cave asunder that was under them, and the earth opened her mouth and did what?

Swallow them up.

Not just them and their and all the men that and not only that and all their what?

Look at verse 33.

Real quick.

They and all that appertained to them went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed up upon them, and they perished from among the congregation.

You say, Brother Brown, that doesn't happen.

Yes, it does.

Here's the earth right here.

And brother, I've seen it open up and swallow people alive.

Talking about the soul.

Speaking in tongues, brother Michael, and earth just swallowed them up.

Corner is a mud hut.

And it's nothing you can do.

What happened?

An earthquake got them.

This earth just opened up and swallowed them up.

Swallowed them up.

And they still speaking in tongues.

God, I'm glad I don't see that here with us yet.

I've seen it before, but Lord, keep that obey.

That's my prayer.

Is that we can be a people that and listen, this is ministers too.

It's not just the saints.

I've seen ministers rise up against the ministry.

Look what God did by my hands.

Don't feel that to be subject to nobody.

And my God.

I've seen the same thing happen from the least of the greatest.

God is no respecter person.

Absolutely not.

Let me read this and we'll conclude.

Try to bring it out.

Listen.

Then all of Israel that was round about them fled at the what?

I thought they were bagging them up.

Oh, they took off running, didn't they?

And they said, Lest the earth do what?

But brother, you can't escape judgment.

Verse 35.

And there came out a what?

Fire from the Lord and consumed uh, say it with me, the 250 men that offered incense because they wasn't authorized to do it.

They wasn't authorized to do it.

You would have three would have straightened up by then.

You would have thrown got a revelation, but that's not human nature.

They were straight for the rest of that day, Sister Betty.

But look what happened in verse 41.

But on the morrow, all the congregation of the children of Israel did what?

And against Aaron said, You killed the people of the Lord.

My God.

I won't read it.

I won't read it, but you read it.

I won't tell you about it.

That was more death to come.

But aren't you glad for New Testament order?

Aren't you glad we can live and not die?

And I'm glad I'm gonna get back.

Well, it took a long way around, anyway.

But uh in the sixth chapter, brother, you're gonna see that's the implementation of this, brother Elton.

And when men rose up against Stephen, when they rose up against Philip, when they rose up against those men that was appointed, those men faced certain death.

They absolutely did.

Amen.

I made myself clear.

I I know I talk a lot, I use a lot of words, but I don't know how else to communicate.

But time is far, far spent, and my Lord, we're gonna get through the book of Acts, aren't we?

But are you getting it?

That's what's important.

Okay, I'm gonna stop.

Time is so far spent.