Where Is It?

Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Mmm.

Old songwriter said it pretty well in that old song, He Abides.

I'm rejoicing night and day as I walk the narrow way.

Amen?

The comforter abides with me.

Welcome to Pentecost Sunday.

Hallelujah.

Doesn't mean a whole lot to a lot of people around the world, but it does to some of us.

Amen?

Scares a few folks, but I remember when I was old enough to understand it scared me

too when the Holy Ghost began to move.

But soon I found a friend indeed.

My comforter.

My guide.

My convictor.

Amen?

To have your Bibles turned with me, of course, today, let's look at Acts 2.

Let's begin at verse 14.

As you're turning there, remember the entirety of our church family who are grieving and

dealing with the process of grief and loss.

Let me just tell you, you've done wonderful, church, reaching out and just letting folks

know that you love them and appreciating them and praying for them.

So just continue to do that.

A note to my mind.

Remember, Brother Tony Hernandez, he had to go in for surgery this morning, haven't gotten

a report on that just yet.

So continue to remember Brother Tony.

Remember, Al Wood as well.

He's taking some serious falls and he needs a touch from the Lord.

Amen?

Amen.

Acts chapter 2, verse 14 reads, but Peter standing up with the eleven lifted up his

Acts 2:14

voice and he said unto them, you men of Judea and all you that dwell at Jerusalem, be this

known unto you and hearken to my words.

For these are not drunken as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon

all flesh.

Your sons, your daughters, they shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions and your

old men shall dream dreams.

And all my servants and all my handmaids, I will pour out in those days of my spirit

and they shall prophesy.

I want to preach to us this morning with the help of the Lord on a simple thought.

Kindly spinning off that 16th verse where Peter said this is that, I just want to ask

this question, well then where is it?

Well where is it?

So you can tell by the title I need some help this morning.

Amen?

I'll pray for you if you'll pray for me.

Father I love you.

So grateful, so thankful for the opportunity to worship you in spirit and truth today.

And Lord as we are in your house to do so, we ask God that you continue to pour out of

your blessing on each of us.

Let that sweet anointing, that sweet wonderful, wonderful touch of the Holy Ghost be with

us today.

Touch your people, may we hear, touch me as I am your voice today.

Help me Lord to speak that which is pleasing to you and edifying to the body.

To you be praised forever in Christ's name.

And the church said, ask your neighbor, well where is it?

Some of you may know the name John Wimber who he was a member of the righteous brothers

band back in the day.

Some of you remember the day.

He was a product of a parachurch movement, the Vineyard Church back in the early days

of the charismatic movement.

He met Christ in a dramatic way in his salvation and he began reading the New Testament beginning

with the gospels and then on to the book of Acts as he follows in sequence.

He was excited about what he was reading.

But when he went to a church, he was very dismayed, disillusioned, disappointed if you

will.

The polite and tidy service was over exactly on time, didn't go past 12.

Wimber looked at some of the people around him and he said, I like this one, I read it,

it just stirred me good.

When are you going to do the stuff?

They said what stuff?

He said you know the stuff.

He'd been reading about miraculous conversions, healings, deliverance, miracles that took

place in the early church recorded in the book of Acts.

But instead of signs and wonders, he saw no sign of anything that would make him wonder

at all except the deadness of the ritual he had just sat through.

Isn't it odd that new converts that God just saves and then they begin to get in the word

and they begin just to read the word and they begin to take the word for what the word declares

and then when they may show up at church, well he's asking the same question, well where

is it?

I just, can you not just see a brand new Christian who no telling at the life that he led before

his conversion being radically converted, saved, might have been from reading the Gideon

Bible, I don't know.

But he was saved, radically delivered, changed, transformed and that zeal began to consume

him and he begins to read the word and he makes his way through the gospels.

He makes his way through Luke where he takes him at the beginning to the manger, right?

Too many have been to the manger but yet they've stopped before the upper room.

They haven't made their way all the way through the process.

They made their way from the manger to Calvary but they've stopped at Calvary and don't even

live in the power of the resurrection.

Because you've got to make your way past Bethlehem and past Calvary and past the borrowed tomb

that's now empty and you've got to keep on traveling.

You've got to keep progressing forward.

Now pastor, can I not get to heaven without going forward?

Well, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

You got Jesus, you've been forgiven and you're living an upright life, he and you and you're

abiding in him.

That's the criteria for heaven.

Hello Jesus is the criteria for heaven.

But it's like getting ice cream.

If they offer you two scoops for the price of one, why would you stop with one?

We have an offering of more scoops than just one.

Now one is good but two is better if it's chocolate chip.

So we have a man converted, he shows up at church and he won't know where the stuff is

at.

He won't see somebody saved, he won't see a devil run out of church.

Hello, I've read about this, I could just see this full of zeal new convert thinking

that I am ready to see the power of God at work in somebody else's life like it has been

in my life.

He's delivered me, he set me free, he saved me and I'm ready to see it but no, he shows

up at a place of so-called worship and all he encounters is a dead ritualistic service,

people kicking the box and calling it church but he wanted to know.

I'm glad he had enough nerve to ask me, well when are you going to do the stuff?

I'm ready.

I'm ready to see some stuff done.

Amen, I'm ready if Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and declared this is that, I'm

ready to say where is that at today in our local churches.

I believe that God is still desiring and longing to pour out the power of his Pentecostal blessing

afresh and anew.

Amen as he did at the early church and continues to do today all around the world.

I don't know if you realize this or not but 27% of the Christian denominations around

the world are Pentecostal, 27%.

That's somewhere around 600 million, are you hearing me?

600 million people are Pentecostal believers.

Amen, believe in the power of Pentecost, believe in the pouring out of Acts chapter 2 and 27%

Acts 2 · chapter mention

which is 8% of the world's population.

We're gaining ground honey.

They've tried their way for a long time and right now the Pentecostal movement is the

fastest growing movement in Christendom today.

Why?

Because people are tired of the ritualistic church that they went through and seen and

they're wanting to know, well where is it at?

Where is it?

If that was it then where is it?

600 million people are finding themselves around the world on a weekend known as Pentecost

Sunday and they are believers in the power of the promise of Pentecost and the infilling

and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost that would empower them to live a victorious life.

Honey it's my two scoops and I got a three scoop.

I'm so glad the old timey testimony, I'm glad I'm saved, sanctified and filled with the

Holy Ghost and fire.

Hallelujah.

Why?

Because I'm a part of that 600 million around the world but I'm not just a believer.

I'm a full blown Pentecostal practicing person.

Hallelujah.

I am a practicing Pentecostal.

What does that mean?

The power of the Holy Ghost resides in me and when he moves over me I'll have the glossary

move out of me.

What is that pastor?

I'll speak with tongues as the spirit gives me utterance.

Hallelujah.

He enables me, he empowers me, he emboldens me that I am the church of the day and when

somebody comes in here I don't want them to stop when it's over and say well where is

it?

When are you going to do the stuff?

Honey I'm ready to do the stuff from the opening prayer to the closing amen.

Hallelujah.

This world has seen enough of formalized religion.

Don't get me wrong.

I'm a fan of structure because God is a God who does things in decency and in order.

I'm not a fan of the wildfire.

I'm a fan of the real fire because when the real fire begins to burn I never did worry

about false fire springing up because when the real fire is burning it'll consume the

false stuff and it'll fall by the way.

Hallelujah.

So where do we begin?

We begin with the promise of Pentecost itself.

Now we celebrate the manger, we celebrate the birth of Christ, we celebrate the life

of Christ, we celebrate even the death of Christ.

We celebrate to a great deal the resurrection of Christ.

But in Christendom today we have kindly left off right there.

After Easter we fail to continue our celebrations.

40 days after the resurrection the church world needs to celebrate the ascension of

the Lord back to glory to take his rightful place at the throne.

But we blow right by the ascension and we just took it for granted.

And what we cannot fail to take hold of and celebrate today is the birth of the church

on the day of Pentecost when it was fully come.

Hallelujah.

Acts chapter 2 there was a sound from heaven and a rushing mighty wind began to blow.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Are you here with me this morning?

They begin to blow.

There was 120 believers in the upper room.

They are awaiting, awaiting the promise.

And you and I have got to understand that God fulfilled his promise.

The promise was made.

I read it to you out of Acts 2 in our text but it comes from Joel chapter 2 when he would

Joel 2 · chapter mention

declare and it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out of my spirit upon all

flesh your sons, your daughters will prophesy your old men shall dream dreams your young

men shall see visions and also upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour

out of my spirit.

These are the last days that the apostle Paul proclaimed what we are living in and there's

an outpouring even so now it's still going on around the world.

Joel made this promise 700 odd years before the birth of the Messiah but God had already

had it written in glory.

When the fullness of time came Christ was born.

When the fullness of time came Christ died.

When the fullness of time came on the third day he rose again from the dead.

When the fullness of time came 40 days after showing himself and teaching and ministering

to the disciples 40 days he ascended.

In Acts chapter 1 we see a picture of that ascension when Jesus would come down these

Acts 1 · chapter mention

angels were standing by the disciples as Jesus was with them and he just begins to leave

their presence.

I can see them begin to talk and in conversation and then all of a sudden they're tilting their

heads back and Jesus is low and behold he's lifting up and elevated before them and they

just stood there with mouths open wide as he ascended back from whence he came and while

they're standing there with their mouths open and eyes in wonder the angel said to them

you men of Galilee why stand ye here gazing?

This same Jesus in like manner he's going to come again.

You got a work to do why?

Because the eighth chapter of the book begins to tell us, eighth verse first chapter you

shall be witness of me after that the power of the Holy Ghost is come upon you.

Don't just stand here get busy.

You have somewhere to be.

Joel made the promise Joel wasn't alone in making his promise.

Jesus in Matthew 3 and 11 we see John the Baptist making testimony at his baptism.

I indeed baptize you with water but he that comes after me is mightier than I am and he

shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with the fire.

John 7 37 and 8 on that last day of the feast the great day of the feast Jesus stood and

cried if any man thirsts let him come unto me and let him drink and he that believeth

on me as the scripture has said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water and

in parentheses we see this statement but thus he spoke of the spirit which they that believed

on him shall receive for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.

40 days of glorification at the ascension he has now been glorified and we see further

in Luke 24 on this day about day 38 or 39.

He leads his disciples out to a little place called Bethany and he begins to tell them

he said I want you to go and tarry into Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high

because there is where the promise is going to meet you.

In verse 50 he raises his hands and he blesses them at a little town called Bethany.

Now they had a decision to make.

They were either going to have to be contented with Bethany's blessing or they were going

to have to make their way toward Jerusalem's promise.

You're either going to be a one scoop or a two scoop.

Come on somebody and there they stood with a decision to be made.

A hundred and twenty of them decided they were going to be two scoop people and they

made their way to Jerusalem and they made their way into an upper room and there they

prayed for the next ten days and as they are in prayer getting things in alignment, Judas

had to be replaced.

They replaced him and all of a sudden something begins to happen.

They all got in one mind and one accord and when they got in one mind and began to pray

for the same identical thing, oh Lord send the power just now.

Oh Lord send the power just now.

They're praying for the fulfillment of the promise that Jesus had just made them ten

days prior and before his ascension he told them if you will go and tarry then the Holy

Ghost will come.

Oh it's important to know this today because Jesus said greater works than I do shall

you do but you can't do them until I go to the Father and when I get to the Father he's

going to dispatch and the Holy Ghost is coming back your way and he's going to empower you

to do greater things than I have done.

Where is it?

Verse 39 of Acts chapter 2, Peter the apostle declares under the anointing for the promises

Acts 2 · chapter mention

unto you and to your children to all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our

God shall call.

Now early on, it was early on that the move of sensationism started.

What does that mean pastor?

Well even today people preach and proclaim that the apostles were the only one that got

it and it died with them when they died.

Well honey I got bad news for somebody.

There was 12 of them and that leave 100 and what to help me do the math.

How many?

Anyway there's 108 we'll go with that.

I'm doing the math.

I don't do math while I'm preaching brother George.

You were supposed to help me right there like that and you dropped me.

You just left me hanging.

I'm pretty good with numbers but not that quick when I'm preaching.

Somebody miss spoke.

There's 108 other folks who were not apostles in that room that spilled out into the streets

of Jerusalem so that everybody in town thought they were just having a drunken party.

But it was an emboldened Peter with a Holy Ghost.

You know who he the guy that ran off and left Jesus hanging.

The guy who was at a distance and standing by the enemy's fire barrel warming his hands

and cussing the preacher.

Come on.

He was over there.

No bless God I'm not one of them.

And three times he denies him but all of a sudden after a reprieve after a resurrection

after a 40 day visitation after an ascension after a 10 day prayer meeting.

My God when the power fell out on him and the promise in field him when they came out

to see who is this and what are you doing.

They're just a bunch of drunken people and he stood up and girded up his loins and began

to declare to them the glorious truth.

These men are not drunk as she supposed because this is that that was spoken by the prophet

Joel.

Now the Sadducees and the Pharisees and the high council and the high priest they all

know who the prophet Joel was.

They knew what he was talking about.

How do we hear these Galileans speaking in our own language.

Are these not all Galilee.

How do they know all the languages of the Mesopotamia region.

Why.

Because the Holy Ghost is wisdom and knowledge and understanding and he filled them until

they spilled out into the street.

The promise had been released.

The promise had been fulfilled.

He stood up said no but this is that.

And here it is.

Then he set forth the preaching the gospel calling the hypocrite a hypocrite and murderers

murderers but he preached to them Jesus and repentance for their sins.

I don't know how many finger pointers got saved that day but I do know this.

Three thousand did.

Hello.

Three thousand were saved.

So many think that it's at this first century that the Holy Spirit just leaves the scene.

The interpreter's dictionary of the Bible quote through the centuries glossalia which

is tongue speech has frequently reappeared among Christian groups.

Dr. Philip Schaff the speaking of tongues was not confined to the day of Pentecost.

This gift perpetuated itself.

We find it still in the second and the third century.

The first Bible dictionary this phenomenon was common in the Christian movement as latest

or Tillian and Araneus.

It has been the seemingly inevitable consequence of an all extended season of revival.

The Catholic biblical encyclopedia.

Come on now in regard to the perpetuation of these charisma's.

It may be said that although they were manifested more frequently in the infant church and the

first few centuries they have never been completely lacking in the church glossalia was a rare

was a true charisma of the Holy Spirit that comes from your Catholic encyclopedia.

There are Pentecostal Catholics in this world full of the power of the Holy Ghost.

Jesus believing empowered and filled Catholic believers full of the Holy Ghost and fire.

Oh we don't have the corner market on this thing.

The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church quote similar phenomena are constantly met

with in religious revivals.

One of the early church fathers origins said this to these promises are added strange fanatical

and quiet into unintelligible words of which no rational person can find the meaning.

Saint Augustine said this he said for there behooved to be that be token of the Holy Spirit

people don't even talk like that anymore.

For there behooved to be that be token of the Holy Spirit in all tongues to show that

the gospel of God was to run through all tongues over the whole earth.

You don't think God was going to leave anybody out do you?

He needed somebody bold enough to go to where they are and if that's in the early days of

the church of God in the early days after spurling when we began a mission movement

one of the things that people realized that they were ready to go on a mission field the

Holy Ghost would give them a language and they would go to wherever that country was

and they would begin to preach under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and let the world know that

Jesus is the Christ.

The Holy Ghost is sin that he would testify of Jesus and the Lordship of the Christ.

See you just thought it was you could get goose bumps and shout.

I almost guarantee you to shout service this morning.

Sister Barbara just wouldn't stand still long enough she came into service this morning

with three cicadas attached to her.

I grabbed one and carried it and threw it out the back door and then I heard her and

Sister Donna Engel come shouting in there running out she had two more on and I thought

who needs a squirrel all I need is a bucket full of cicada.

We can have Holy Ghost meeting today at least we'd have some shouting and screaming going

on and somebody would leave here not wondering when you gonna do the stuff we could at least

get a little stuff going on couldn't we?

I didn't know she could pick her feet up that high.

Doing all this trying to get that thing off.

Theologian of the fourth century said they spoke with string tongues and not those of

their native land and the wonder was great.

A language spoken by those who had not learned it.

Leo the great a pope a former pope said this in the fifth century let the minds of the

faithful rejoice and that the sign of his presence which appeared in the likeness of

fire is still perpetuated in his work and gift.

The encyclopedia Britannica the miracle of utterance of reoccurred among the mediant

friars of the 13th century in modern times speaking in tongues was an occasional occurrence

listen to this and Roman Catholicism Anglicanism Lutheranism and more established Christian

denominations this is just how far we've moved it wasn't so in the early days Luther had

the Holy Ghost.

Come on somebody even Calvin talked about John Calvin even talked about people speaking

in tongues in his day and his move and it goes on John Wesley my lord the father of

Methodism who's rolling over and doing somersaults in his grave to look at their life's work

and what he wore those thousands of miles on horseback for being divided and took down

a dark road but here is what I'm trying to say the Holy Ghost has shown up in every century

since the first century and he showed up here this morning so let it be written let it be

recorded that they have spoken other tongues at the Hopewell Church of God oh my lord let

history record he's still alive and well.

So you've come too late to tell me that the Holy Ghost is gone too late I'm sorry we've

got Catholic folk testifying of tongue speech we got popes recorded talking about tongue

speech and fire come on huh come too late to tell me matter of fact you were really

showed up late after the night that I encountered the Holy Ghost for myself I know it wasn't

me hello I was as scared as I was when I saw him move on others at the very first time

when I began to seek him out remember the Holy Ghost is not it the third person of the

Trinity that's who he is amen you can make him mad you can grieve him you can hurt his

feelings yeah he has all those as an anisophorus if he won't show up and give a count who's

that that's folks who lied to the Holy Ghost about an offering of all things they were

struck dead right there they didn't even get out of the sanctuary right there carried out

the power we move through from a promise to the power there's power in Pentecost it's

a dunamis power that that word dunamis is where we get our English word dynamite but

you see dunamis power is not even out it's not even dynamite I mean it's seen dynamite

ever see it up close in person explode and the damage it can cause thing about dynamite

is once you set the fuse and it goes off and it goes bang it's over so dynamite is really

not a good definition of dunamis because dunamis power is a is a power that implodes it just

keeps folding in on itself in other words you get more bang for your buck it just keeps

unfolding it never weakens it's never over it's never finished it's never completed this

this dunamis power that is in our life leads us to the exclusive where the grace of God

and the power of God is able to move and equip us how do you think some of you are sitting

in the sanctuary this morning because of that unfolding that dunamis power that's in your

life you should be buried up with your head in a pillow somewhere overwhelmed with grief

but the amazing grace and the power of the spirit that enables you to arise it's cause

you to make your way into a house of worship so that the power of God is able to sustain

you yes you weep tears yes you cry but joy comes in the morning hallelujah why because

we we don't weep for no reason we don't weep without hope we have a hope and why we weep

and we mourn it's until we meet them again it amazes me as I watched you come in the

church this morning knowing having walked with most of you through this last nine days and

how much I've depended on the power of the Holy Ghost to keep me going and to see you

here I know it's not ideal I know you're not a hundred percent but I pray that you're closer

to a hundred percent when you leave than when you came in hallelujah I pray that the healing

power of the Holy Ghost touches and moves upon you and empowers you and emboldens you

that you stand a little taller and put your shoulders back a little further let the tears

roll wipe them but let the joy of the Lord empower you and the wonderful comforting presence

of the Holy Ghost be with you that's what Jesus said he's gonna send another comforter

that comforter paraclete one who comes along and stands beside but it's greater than that

he don't just stand beside you he wraps his arms around you while he's standing there

he embraces you he will strengthen you this another one like unto the previous who was

the previous the Messiah himself he's gonna send you another one just like me y'all ain't

gonna make me have to preach that the Holy Ghost powers us to be sustained Peter stands

lifts his voice and said to him and all that dwells Jerusalem be this known to you listen

to what I'm telling you this is that and then Luke begins to record all that that meant

the power of Pentecost revealed as early as chapter 3 Peter and John are making their

way toward the temple at the hour of prayer and as they go through the church gate there's

a lame man laying there begging on and he fastened his eyes upon them getting rattles

cut silver and gold have a number let me tell you what I've got for you I got some of that

stuff you don't know where it is here it is in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise

up and walk a few days earlier Peter wouldn't have been saying that but something had come

over him it was the power from on high that was just continually repeating itself strengthening

itself just recharging in him recharge him every attack he was recharged every time they

chained him up a gate was open hey the power of Pentecost Paul would put it this way in

1st Corinthians 2 4 & 5 and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of

man's wisdom but in demonstration of the spirit and a power that your faith should not stand

in the wisdom of men but in the power of God how do you think he preached all night and

the old boy fell asleep in the window fell out dead in the street what happened Paul

goes down they didn't call 9-1-1 he rang on a prayer bell hello and the old boy that fell

asleep y'all think I'm long-winded on Sunday you would never last under Paul's preaching

you wouldn't make it but I'm not Paul either he goes down to raise as a dead man up the

power of the Holy Spirit the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to witness the purpose of the

Holy Spirit in the life of the believers that we be emboldened to witness it's not that

we can boast as some of the Corinthians were doing about our tongue speech right just like

they had the communion all out of line and all out of order and he had to align them

up on that they were they were just partying down that's what they were doing and knowing

that some of their brothers and sisters that were coming into the fellowship weren't even

able to get the bread he rebuked them and aligned them for that he realigned them in

the purpose of the Holy Ghost in their life though I speak 10,000 words without love it's

a sounding brass and a tingling cymbal I can do all these things and if I don't have love

driving it it's meaningless my lord I almost said I've heard devils for the last 40 years

speaking tongues the devil will inspire too folks you ever you ever hear someone speaking

in tongues and instead of that warm peaceful feeling you get that hair stand up on the

back of your neck and you feel cold all over you thinking that ain't right hello anybody

ever say that hmm and I mean and you don't even claim to be one of them super spiritual

people you just still think that ain't right I've heard the Holy Ghost before and I don't

think that was it don't think the devil won't try to mimic and to imitate if he can appear

as an angel of light don't think he won't try to misuse one of the misused gifts of

scripture because we fail to understand the purpose of the promise to begin with it's

all tied up in a nice little package of when he was poured out the feast of tabernacles

the feast of pentacles 50 days after that that first harvest we bring in that it's about

harvest are you here to me it's about being empowered to witness for the harvest God in

heaven didn't just stick his finger on the mountain say here's a good day to pour him

out no it fulfilled all the sequences the tops and shadows were fulfilled in the reality

of the promises that's okay you'll get it later clap when you hear it at home when he

gets you to start clapping somebody say what's wrong with you say well I just got it don't

come see the stuff and they may get it it's about transformation the purpose of the spirit

is about transformation in order that we may reach the harvest and after that the Holy

Ghost has come upon you you shall be witnesses unto me it's not so that we shout that's a

byproduct why do you shout when well I've had people ask me well why do people fall

out the floor and when you pray for them I was well the only way I can explain that to

you I've seen a few cricks putting next heavy-handed preachers I don't know they make it think

it makes them look better or what the more they can get the floor I don't know if you'll

notice I just barely touch you most times with one finger because if you go down when

you leave here you go saying who touched me you won't leave her saying my lord that preacher

was rough on me the only way to explain it that I've been able to come up with is when

the supernatural touches the natural something gives and it's not the super it's the natural

when my god when the finger of heaven touches the creation of the earth the earth begins

to give way to the touch of the finger of heaven and this old earth and clay vessel

when the glorious hand of God reaches down and touches I get wheat need sometimes I get

wobbly sometimes I fall forward sometimes I fell backwards don't ask me why that's

the only reason I've been able to deduce in my 50 almost eight years in this I've seen

people come walking for prayer and be in front of them and just do this and they fall nose

first in the carpet let me tell you when people fall nose first it's not a CD CD is preacher

and evangelist talk for courtesy drops preachers where you at can I get a man yeah I've had

people I quit laying hands on I'm gonna I say we'll see what happens this morning I'm

not touching I've been in this thing a long time you know I'm saying and I'm thinking

every week I'm like I got I know you've not prayed that much this week I'm not a fan I

saw one CD go through a drum cage one time and it was a mess there's nothing any more

comical than a Pentecostal church gonna ride I'm feeling awful nostalgic right now since

we've lost it we might as well just keep going and a preacher friend of mine took a running

fit and inside the church the back wall was brick one inch and a half goose egg and blood

later I'm thinking no no no because I've seen the days when the altars were full and there

were no catchers and when the Holy Ghost moves you don't have to worry about indecency unless

you're indecent when you get down there you don't have to worry about that I've seen them

hit the floor heads bounce like basketballs I've seen it the skirt tails right around

the ankles tucked in like mom and put them to bed lay there and the Holy Ghost just minister

to people they get up you don't hear man what happened no you get up and they're sobbing

and wiping these tears why because they've been in the presence of the Holy Ghost Holy

Ghost moved on I can't explain all the phenomena of it I give up trying to explain it all but

I do know this he is real and he is available hallelujah well I don't think we have to worry

a whole lot about what we used to be labeled as holy rollers we've all got too much dignity

to roll anymore that's what they used to call us back today why Holy Ghost we want people

they'd run the aisles when there wasn't room to run when they put them in the floor they

just roll when I was a kid it was a dangerous thing to be a spectator in a Pentecostal service

you didn't get within two rows to watch I've been smacked and everything else then the

spirit I wasn't no guarantee of protection over a innocent bystander one of them found

you preaching tonight brother Terry you can pick it back up the power of Pentecost when

it moves upon humanity when the Holy Ghost touches you it's best for us not to quench

him to hold back to resist him but to let him have his way with us I assure you he is

a gentleman he will not embarrass you no more than you've embarrassed yourself when you

were in the world and some of you were flat-out fools I've heard some of your testimonies

so what I want to know is where some of that other ad in here the more we pray and get

in one mind and one accord in the agreement that we need him moving in our faculty today

we need the Holy Ghost to have total reign in our hearts and lives yielded use me Lord

we should sing that little course if you can use anything Lord use me take my hands my

feet if you can use anything Lord use me why because we need witnesses tongues is a sign

to unbelievers that's the reason Paul said I didn't come to you with the enticing words

of men wisdom and if anybody could spin a tongue twister Paul could have he could really

baffle people's mind with his knowledge and understanding of the scripture but that wasn't

why he come he said I've come in the power and in the demonstration what demonstration

there's a demonic damsel following around for days and he has enough and he turns around

and rebukes it and cast it out that's the demonstration the dead are raised he himself

stoned left for dead comes up out of the pile of the rocks to go further to preach the gospel

left for dead in the sea come on beaten three times thirty nine save one demonstration of

the power of the spirit if the apostle Paul went through that what do you think we're

going to have to go through but you can do it why because greater is he that's in you

than he that's in this world then there's the privilege of Pentecost I'm gonna close

stay with me I'm gonna finish with this one there's the privilege of Pentecost the freedom

the advantage the benefit the opportunity to receive Pentecost Rick Kurchoff says this

when God sends forth the spirit amazing things happen barriers are broken communities are

formed opposites are reconciled unity is established disease is cured addiction is broken cities

are renewed races are reconciled hope is established people are blessed church happens today the

spirit of God is present and we're gonna have church and we have had some church this morning

so be ready get ready God's up to something and here we see discouraged folks cheer up

dishonest folks fess up sour folks sweeten up closed folk open up where you at brother

in gossipers I like this one of my favorites shut up conflicted folks makeup you got a

problem in the house go to each other don't come tell me your problem go to each other

and if you can't get it right then come see me that's the way the book tells us to take

care of our situation but so many times we skip step one and want to go plum to three

actually four ostracized put them back out in the world sleeping folk wake up lukewarm

folk fire up dry bones shake up pew potatoes stand up but most of all Christ the Savior

of all the world is lifted up amen the power and the purpose and the privilege of Pentecost

father I love you today and how you use the foolishness of preaching to reach and to save

the lost baffles my mind Lord without a doubt we all know that I didn't come in here with

enticing words of men's wisdom but the power and the demonstration of your sweet Holy Spirit

sinners confess up and look up redemptions draw near you today the redeeming grace of

God the Holy Ghost is our convictor what do you mean pastor he convicts he makes us aware

of our guiltiness aware of the sins that we have transgressed against God and each other

he's our convictor but he's also our escort escort yes he takes you right to Calvary

right to Jesus for cleansing forgiving and renewing if you're here this morning and you

do not know Jesus Christ and free pardon of your sin you don't have to leave here lost

if you're here today and you were ever one time closer to God than you are right now

and you've just turned and walked away back to doing your own thing back out into the

world forsaking your love of him back slider come home you have an escort to the King of

Kings you have an escort to the Lord of Lords he will cleanse you he will forgive you anybody

want to come forward today he's able he's able he's able he's able so pastor I'm saved

but I sure have a desire for the Holy Ghost if that's you come on down we're going to

pray with him pray for you because he's still baptizing today he's still filling people

with his wonderful power and presence does that overflow you say pastor I've got the

Holy Ghost but I need a little more boldness to be that witness I tell you what that should

empty every other seat here today because it's my desire for you to have that desire

because we won't fill this house over and over until we get emboldened to witness amen

come stand in this altar let's pray together that we may be emboldened witnesses.