What We Believe - The Basics | Bro. Zach McGee

Welcome to the First Apostolic Church podcast.

Our church mission is to love as God loves showing compassion

every soul, thus winning those souls and equipping them to be

sent out to plant and to harvest.

Thank you for joining us today, and we hope that you are blessed

by today's podcast. It's the Lord church.

I just want to take a quick moment.

I just want to give honor to God tonight.

I give honor to my wife and my daughters and my amazing

parents. I see them here tonight.

I want to give honor to pastor and all of our ministry team for

the work they do in the Lord ministering to us.

It is it is a great thing to know that we can go to them when

we have questions to ask about the word when we need

encouragement. We can see see their own

worship. We can hear them pray and that's

always encouraged me and I just I really appreciate that and all

that they do and I don't have anyone scripture to start off

with here tonight. Actually, I just have a lot of

scripture. I'm I'm just going to read the

Bible to to all of you. Hopefully I won't, I won't feel

too long winded with that, but we'll, we'll see what happens.

My attention is tonight is just do a very basic Bible study on

some of the things that we believe here in the Apostolic

Church. The list of scriptures I have

though they are a lot that it's not an exhaustive list, but they

are a really good start. And tonight will hopefully for

most of us just feel like a a refresher course.

But for those who are newer or are guests or anyone just tuning

in online for the first time, hopefully it'll be a good

introduction to what some of the things that we believe.

And before we dive into the word, before we're seated, let's

just take a moment to pray. God, we love you, Lord.

God, we thank you for your presence in this place.

God, we thank you for the word that's about to come forth.

God, I pray helpless to hear and receive your word tonight.

God blood, do a good work in US, God, anoint my mind and my lips,

God, to speak the word that you would have me to speak, God,

Lord. God, we give you all the glory.

We give you all the praise God and we thank you tonight, Lord

in Jesus mighty name. We pray you can go ahead and be

seated. So to start off with, we believe

that there is one true God, just one God by himself.

Deuteronomy 64 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is 1 Lord.

James 219 Thou believeest that there is one God.

Thou doest well. The devils also believe, and

triple Ephesians 4/4 through six.

There is one body and one spirit, even as you are called

in one hope of your calling. 1 Lord. 1 Faith, one baptism, one

God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and

in you all. Back into the Old Testament,

Isaiah 43 verses 10 through 11. Ye are my witnesses, saith the

Isaiah 43:10–11

Lord and my servant, whom I have chosen, that ye may know and

believe me, and understand that I am he before me.

There was no God for it, neither shall there be after me.

I even I am the Lord, and beside me there is no savior.

It's a really big deal to declare that, especially when

you're looking back thousands of years ago in the Old Testament

days, even the New Testament days, surrounded by Romans in a

multiplicity of gods, it was the common thing to just believe in

many, many gods. If see a waterfall, there is a

God for that. If you think of love, there's a

God for that. If you think of whatever you're

thinking about there, there was believed to be a God for that

that was over that domain. But here we have the actual God

setting the record straight. I am God and I am God alone.

There wasn't someone before me because He's not temporary.

There's not going to be someone after me as He has no end.

He alone is the Lord. Isaiah 44 and six.

Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel and his Redeemer,

Redeemer the Lord of hosts. I am the 1st and I am the last,

and beside me there is no God. So here in the first Apostolic

Church, like almost every Christian Church, we believe

that there is one true God. We also believe that you must

have faith, but also with faith you must have works with that

faith. Now Hebrews 11/1 says now faith

is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not

seen. I read a quote that really that

I think really sums up faith well.

Faith is a reasonable assurance and what you have not seen

because we can be reasonably assured that there is indeed a

God and that he does indeed move in our lives.

Faith isn't simply blind, you know, it's we are are encouraged

to study the word to, to look out, to explore, to find things

out, to ask questions, because faith isn't simply blind, but it

is a reasonable assurance and the proof of all that we have

found that God really is there. He really is real.

He really is with us and in Hebrews 11/6.

But without faith, it is impossible to please him being

God. For he that cometh to God must

believe that He is. Because you're not going to come

to someone if you don't believe they're there, and that He is a

rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

You're just never going to find God if you don't believe He's

there. If you never believe someone's

going to catch you in a trust fall.

You're never going to fall, obviously so.

But coming to God with faith, we will find Him.

James 214 to 17, another aspect of faith beyond just believing

in him, starting with verse 14. What does it profit, my

brethren? Though a man say he hath faith,

it's awful. It's easy to say it's easy to

say I'm a Christian. It's easy to say you believe and

have not works. Can faith save him alone?

If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and

one of you say unto him, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and

filled, because it's easy to say that you know words.

Words come out of our mouths easily, notwithstanding you give

them not. Those things which are needful

to the body, what doth it profit?

Even so, faith, if it had not works, is dead.

Being alone because faith in God will always be proven by our

works as we obey Him. And it's not that we're trying

to work for our salvation here, it's that the fruit of faith is

works. The fruit of an apple tree is

apples. If it never produces fruit,

you're never going to get anything from it.

It's not doing what it's there to do.

God's intention for us is more than just believing in Him.

It is also using our gifts, our talents, our blessings to bless

and help others as well. Because the very nature of

faith, it is just to have actions matching your belief.

Otherwise it's really, really empty.

It's like someone who can brag until they have to try to prove

what they've been bragging about and then they can't.

It's so faith will have works following it.

And Proverbs 3/5 through six. Just another aspect of faith.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine

own understanding and all thy ways.

Acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Don't worry so much about the things around you, about the

things happening, about you know what?

What am I going to do? How am I going to do this?

What's going to happen? Have faith that we are in good

hands. Follow God when He is calling

you out, when He is calling you to share that testimony with

someone, He is calling you to give a little bit more to

someone to help them. Follow Him, whatever He is

calling you to do and have faith in His will and moving past

faith and my attention tonight is just hitting the tops of the

trees of some of these things. We could easily go more in depth

in every topic, but I'm just trying to hit the tops of the

trees so to speak here. We also believe in repenting of

our sins. Second, Peter 39 The Lord is not

slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is

long-suffering or patient to us. Word not willing that any should

perish, but that all should come to repentance and Psalms 51 two,

wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my

sin. Because repenting, being sorry

for your sin is not sorry that you got caught, that you sinned.

It's genuinely regretting your actions, what you have been

doing those things that kept you separated from God and desiring

to no longer do those things or have those things.

One thing my dad always told me is sorry means you're not going

to do it anymore, otherwise you're not sorry.

Repenting is making a genuine effort to stop doing that thing.

As Brother Mason has taught us many times, repenting can be

described as a 180 about face where you were walking in and

towards your sin. Just doing those things and then

in repentance you're setting it down and you're walking away

from it. So it's more than just saying

I'm sorry Lord, and doing those things.

It's the desire for that sin to be washed away, to be gone, to

no longer entertain those sins. Second Chronicles 714 If my

people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves,

and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways,

then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and

will heal, and will heal their land.

Acts 319 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins

may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come

from the presence of the Lord. It's hard to get someone clean

if they just stay in the mud. You can keep throwing water and

keep trying, but they're going to keep rolling in the mud until

they actually pull them get out of the mud.

They can't really get clean until we try to pull to get out

of our sin, to repent from it. It's hard for the sin to be

forgiven and washed away if we just keep picking it back up and

throwing it upon ourselves. And we do believe in a repenting

more than just once. Paul wrote that he dies daily.

In other words, he repents of his sins day because we die to

our sin, the sinful nature we want to have.

We want to be dead to that for it to no longer be there, no

longer be alive, no longer entertaining that.

So we need to die daily because just in daily life we get dirty

and have to take a shower again. Even so, sometimes we find

ourselves having to just repent of our sins every day because

all kinds of just little messy things we tend to get caught up

in. But there's a difference between

just messing up and purposely rolling around in the mud.

And we believe in getting up out of that mud and making every

effort that we can to not entertain sin.

And for anyone that's kind of over stresses or worries about

thing, you can't help the first thing that pops into your mind.

We are sinful by nature. We were born into.

We have some of us are natural born liars, some of us are

natural born haters. Some of us are natural born

thieves. And we can't help the natural

tendencies that there, but we can help what we do after that

first thought pops in. We can choose what we entertain

because repenting is choosing not to entertain it after it

pops in. You know you can't help if

someone attractive walks across your vision, but you can help

whether you turn your head to look again or what you do with

your thoughts afterwards. So as soon as you notice you're

starting to walk in kind of the wrong direction, immediately

repent and turn away from the wrong ways of thinking and

acting and talking. We also believe in baptism and

being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 2819 through 20. This is the words of Jesus.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the

name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Ghost, teaching

them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

And lo, I am with you all way, even to the end of the world.

Amen. And this is the words of Jesus

to His disciples right before He ascended up into heaven.

But to break down the sentence just through, if you were taking

a literature class, you want to break down this sentence, you

will find that name is singular, which means what's coming after

it is titles for the one name because Father is a title, Son

is a title, Holy Ghost is a title.

The name it is referring to is Jesus, as we're going to see

here in the book of Acts going to Acts 238 and 39.

This is 50 days later. Peter that says these words was

there at Matthew 2819, heard exactly what Jesus said, and

this is his words after delivering a message and he's

answering the crowd to what they should do.

Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized, everyone

of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the admission of

sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for the

promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are

far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

And the Bible never said he stopped calling, which is why

it's so relevant for us today. So fifty days after Matthew

2819, Peter is directly obeying the words that Jesus said to do

by telling people to be baptized in the name of the Father Son,

the Holy Ghost, which is Jesus, because Jesus Christ is the

fullness of God Incarnate. Acts 412.

Neither is no salvation in any other, for there's none other

name referring to the name of Jesus under heaven given among

men, whereby we must be saved. We baptize in Jesus name because

it is the only name that saves us and it's the only name we see

used by the early church throughout the entire book of

Acts. And that name is so powerful not

because the five letters Jesus, which is just an English

translation, but it is whose name it is that it is so

powerful. It is also why we pray in Jesus,

why we do all things in Jesus name.

But Acts 19, four through 5, then said Paul, John verily

baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the

people that they should believe on him which should come after

him, that is, on Christ Jesus. And when they heard this, they

were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Paul was speaking to disciples of John the Baptist.

They were. They had been baptized according

to John's baptism, which was the baptism of repentance taking

place before the crucifixion. Before all this message, all

these messages from Acts had gone forth and they are just now

hearing it for the first time. And so when they heard the need

to be baptized in Jesus name, they got re baptized in the name

of Jesus. Because just being baptized,

just getting wet, but being baptized in the name of Jesus,

you are taking on the name of Jesus and being grafted into the

family of God. When when dad married my mom and

he adopted me, my name went from Baker to McGee.

He put his name on me and so now I will inherit everything he

leaves behind as his son. Because maybe not by blood by by

every other way I am 100% his son.

Even so, we may not be natural born Jews after the family of

God, but by taking on the name of Jesus Christ and baptism we

are grafted into the family. We become inheritors along with

all the others, with all the rights and all the promises of

the entire word. And then reading again Acts 238.

Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized everyone

of you name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you

shall receive the gifted Holy Ghost.

Another purpose for baptism is the washing away of the sins we

repented of or another place in the Bible.

It is when we repent of our sins, it's like we crucify our

flesh, like Jesus was crucified on the cross.

And in baptism we are burying that sin like as Jesus was

buried in the grave, we bury that old dead body of sin and in

the name of Jesus, that only name that saves, that restores,

that heals, that has all power and authority.

So we believe there is one God, one single God, God by himself

that was before all things will be after all things for his

eternal. We believe in having faith God,

have faith in God. Otherwise none of this means

anything. We believe in having works with

that faith, works that matches what who we are claiming to be.

We believe in repenting of our sins.

We believe in being baptized in Jesus name, and we believe in

being filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost, with the

evidence of speaking in other tongues as a spirit gives the

utterance, not just babbling mindlessly.

Acts 1044 to 47. While Peter yet spake these

words, the Holy Ghost fell on all of them which heard the

word, and they of the circumcision, which would be the

Jews which believed, were astonished.

For there was a bit of a culture shock.

The Jews kind of believed all this was just for them, not for

us Gentiles. But lo and behold, here it is so

which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter,

because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of

the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with

tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter, can any man

forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have

received the Holy Ghost as well as we Acts 19 and six.

And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came

on them, and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

And we can all see there's not just one way to receive.

Some people got the Holy Ghost after hearing the words.

Some people got the Holy Ghost when someone prayed for them.

There's there's no one certain way to receive the Holy Ghost,

but with them speaking in tongues.

Again, speaking in tongues is not gibberish.

You're not just going to yada, yada, yada, yada or whatever.

It is a supernatural event of the Spirit of God taking control

of our tongues, causing us to speak praises or prophecies in a

language that we don't know. If you know Spanish, you're not

going to be speaking in tongues in Spanish.

The words you speak aren't going to really mean anything to you

because you're not going to know what they are.

You're not going to understand this language, but it will be a

proper language and it will be properly spoken.

So again, not just gibberish, you'll not just be making things

up. It will be properly spoken in

the right sentence structure for the language that the Holy Ghost

is speaking through you. And you know one reason God uses

tongues? Because there is a reason.

Everything is with purpose. The reason He uses tongues as a

sign of being filled with His Spirit, is because as humanity,

our tongues is the one thing we always fail to control

constantly. James 3 Three through 8.

Behold, we put bits in the horses mouths, that they may

obey us, and we turn about their whole body.

Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are

driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very

small helm. Whither so ever whithersoever

the governor listeth? Even so, the tongue is a little

member, just like the bit in the horse's mouth is small, just

like the rudder is small. Our tongue is small and boasteth

great things. Just like that rudder will move

a giant ship, the bit will move a giant horse that's much

stronger than we are. Our little tongue will boast and

move great things. And behold how great a matter a

litter little fire kindleth, and the tongue is a fire, a world of

iniquity. So is the tongue among our

members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire,

the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell.

For every kind of beast, and a birds, and a serpent, and a

things in the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind.

But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil full of

deadly poison. And for anyone who thinks you

got a really good hold on your tongue, just kind of look back

over the last couple years and think of how many times you wish

you would have stopped talking. But God uses speaking in tongues

as a sign of receiving His Spirit and shows us that He is

able to control that which we struggle the most with.

When we surrender to His Spirit, we find not only do we speak in

tongues, but every area of our lives will become more holy and

more in line with His will as we continue to submit to Him.

The key to it all is to surrender and let His Spirit

move. And I got to tell you, for

everyone who has yet to receive the Holy Ghost, there is nothing

like it. I still remember the first time

whenever I finally received the Holy Ghost.

I can live on that high forever and it is amazing, absolutely

amazing. There's nothing to compare to

that. But we also, because we believe

that, we believe that as we see the Holy Ghost, that is how you

get saved. At that moment you are saved.

You have believed, you have repented of your sins, you have

been baptized in Jesus name, you have received His Spirit.

You are saved from the sin you were once bound in.

But there is still life to live. We still have however many years

ahead of us, and we believe that in living life we ought to be

wholly and modest from the inside out, in our thoughts, in

our words and our actions, and in how we dress and how we

conduct ourselves. First Peter 29 But ye are a

chosen generation, a royal priesthood, which is actually a

really, really big deal. To be a priest was like the

highest thing you could be as an Israelite.

It was of great honor. And God is here calling all of

us a part of a royal priesthood. We are a holy nation, a peculiar

people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who

hath called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

The focus is on Him and not us because when we choose Him, when

we choose to believe Him, we choose to follow Him.

We are filled with His spirit. It's not about me, OK?

My wants need to take a back seat.

The way I feel needs to take a back seat and I need to put Him

first. Remember how I said earlier the

trust that we are in good hands. That means the way we feel it's

in good hands. What we struggle with, it's in

good hands. The calling may be hard.

It may even feel harsh sometimes, but like any good

drill Sergeant that moves his soldiers forward, he understands

the conditions may be harsh, but he understands that they can do

it, and his soldiers are the better for it because they know

they can trust their drill Sergeant.

They're in good hands. If he is calling them to push

harder, they know that they can do it, even if they don't feel

like it first. Peter, 115 to 16.

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all

manner of conversation, which that word doesn't just mean your

speech, although in your speech for sure it means in your

lifestyle, because it is written be ye holy.

For I am holy. And holy is being set apart.

It's not being like the world, the world that just entertains

their own fleshly desires and whatever whims they have.

No being holy is being set apart from that is being focused on.

The Lord has been focused on glorifying Him and letting Him

shine through US first. Peter 33 through four.

Whose adorning? Let it not be the that outward

adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold, or of

putting honor of apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the

heart, and that which is not corruptible, even the ornament

of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of

great price. Now these verses are specified

to wives, and there's nothing wrong with that.

It's not the meaning in any way. But these verses are good for

all believers because we need to let the nature of God inside of

us be what shines, not our outward appearance of flashy

clothes or hair or gaudy jewelry, gaudy watches.

We don't need to let the outward be so shiny and distracting like

like that crap from Moana. We're not trying to be like

that. We're not trying to be

showcasing ourselves. That doesn't mean go around

looking gross and plain and ugly and not not make yourself look

nice. It's not your focus is not your

outward glow. It is your inner glow.

In the first Corinthians 69 through 20.

We're finally at the last two verses.

What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost,

which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

For ye are bought with the price, that price being the

blood of Calvary. He laid down His life for us to

wash away our sin, to remove that state of separation,

because sin is more than just. Do this and don't do that, thou

shalt not, although it certainly involves that.

Sin is a wall, a barrier between you and God, because sin is

everything that He is not. Lying is such an atrocious sin

because it is against His nature.

God cannot lie because He is the truth.

It is impossible for Him to lie, and us lying is doing the exact

opposite of who He is, and that that is pushing Him away by our

own choice. We are pushing him away, pushing

ourselves further from him. You know that sin was just a

constant, permanent barrier because there's nothing to wash

the sin away. Because even if we kind of

stopped doing it, there was still the fact that if you look

at sin, his mother was still there.

It wasn't washed away. But when he died on the cross,

He was the perfect sacrifice to meet the demand for justice at

sin, because sin is atrocious. Sin is a slap in the face of the

most holy divine God, because as much as He is love, He is also

justice and righteousness and holiness and sin will and must

be judged. But He is a God of love.

He cannot just leave us in a state of separation.

He cannot just leave us to go with that judgment which will be

harsh. That judgment will be so at the

right time. He robed Himself in flesh to be

the perfect sacrifice to take that judgment upon himself so

that we can apply that blood to ourselves and have our sins and

our saying washed away so that when the judgment comes for that

sin, it's not coming for us because that sin is no longer

bound to us. We're not.

We're not in engrossed in that sin.

That is the price that was paid. He bought us with that price.

Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which

are gods. Listen, you can do whatever you

want to with our life. We have free will, but we must

if we are going to claim any of this, we're going to claim to be

Christian. We must glorify God from the

inside out, in our body and in our spirit, in our inner nature

and in our outward nature. We must glorify Him.

And yes, this scripture, the context of it is about not

fornicating, but it still covers every aspect of our lives.

We are the temple of the Holy Ghost and should seek to bring

Him glory rather than glory to our own selves as just serving

our own pleasures. Every time we mess up, repent

and get back up. Live your life to glorify God.

And there is of course, so much more that we could go over, so,

so much more. But I'm just want to hit the

tops of the trees on this cover, some of the basics about what we

believe here in the Apostolic Church.

And after this, if anyone has any questions, any one of us

here in leadership will be glad to help answer them.

The best things you can do are pray.

Absolutely pray. Try it.

I tried it for myself the 1st first time consistently when I

was 16 and I've never gone back. I decided my parents probably

weren't idiots and they didn't come to church just because they

had nothing better to do because they did give a good example to

me. I just didn't really want to

believe it. But at 16 is when I actually

really tried to apply it to my life.

I've never gone back. Best thing you do, pray.

Read the Word. Read it over and over.

Don't worry about understanding every single aspect of it.

You're not going to. So read it again.

Read it again as you grow up and mature in the faith and

naturally you will understand. Understand things better.

Come to church and hear the word of God.

It will help increase your understanding.

And ask questions. When you don't understand

something, you need to know the reason why.

Don't just go around wondering why.

Ask the question, why all this is just too important.

Don't think of it. Don't think it's too dumb of a

question that you should know. If you don't know, you don't

know, Ask and we will gladly help you.

We'll gladly make sure you understand the reasons why for

anything that we do or that we believe.

And that's that's all I have here for tonight.

Bishop, if you would, can you come out And if you have any

closing words and if you could just close us out in prayer

tonight. I told Bishop earlier none of us

would be here without him. And yes, if he had disobeyed the

Word with the calling of God, God could have called up

somebody else and maybe a lot of us would be here.

But he did step out in faith following the word, the calling

of God. And because of him, here we are

today. And I am just so grateful for my

Bishop. And I just want to say thank

you. And that's part of the reason I

just want you to come out close to service.

Maybe you don't have anything to add, but I just, I really value

your prayers. You have such an amazing heart

for people and you're so close to God.

You just, you're a great man of faith, a great example to all of

us. How can you add to the word of

God? Good job.

Amen. I'm glad that we know truth.

Amen. I'm glad there's only one God.

Wouldn't you hate to have to pray to three?

I mean, tell all three of them something.

I'm glad I can just tell one and he knows it, Amen.

Let's stay in tonight, Amen. So glad y'all came.

Glad that. Glad to have Terry, Sister

Rhonda with us tonight and Amen. That's a that's a great thing.

I feel like we're just back home, but that's all right.

It's good to have them, Amen. And Sister Sharon, it's sure

good to see you tonight, Amen. It's good to see you back in

here. Amen.

So let's, let's just pray together tonight.

Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for your service tonight,

God, for your spirit that's in this place, God.

We're thankful, Lord, for the word that is ever settled in

heaven. God, Lord Jesus, your word will

stand forever. Everything else may fall, God,

but the word will never fall. I asked you, Lord, to be with us

tonight. I pray God, you would go with us

to our different homes, abode. Bring us back God with victory.

Lord, Sunday morning in the name of Jesus, pray thee would touch

the sick and the afflicted. Lord, me and the broken hearted.

God I pray in Jesus name give us a good night tonight.

Lord, we pray in your holy name, Amen and Amen, you're dismissed.

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information about our services and activities, you can find us

on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with the username FACMC.

Again, that's FACMC. Thank you and have a blessed

day. You can.

Go to the.