Acts Chapter 8

A Sunday.

We certainly appreciate her presence.

And she asked that we have Bible study because she had some questions.

And I make her to I made her to understand that we do Bible study according to New Testament pattern of house to house.

Except once every month we come together corporately.

But because we're now going over the book of Acts, the first several chapters, 10, 11 chapters, we would do corporately, and this is probably about our eighth or ninth week.

Less more than that.

It must be our tenth week because we're now in the eighth chapter.

After which we'll go back to the home meetings.

Homes are broken up into uh zones or areas.

When you receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, now you have enough power to actually do what's right, to begin to learn righteousness and walk upright.

But even that's not enough until we're until we actually become the righteousness of God in Christ.

And that is that we have to be made like him, talk like him, think like him until we become uh made in his image, as he is in the image of his father.

And nothing could provide that.

There were many covenants.

Uh the first covenant God made that we can point toward is a covenant that, well, I won't talk about the Adamic covenant.

I'll talk about the covenant God made with uh Noah.

That covenant was very simple: that he would not destroy the world again, uh, that is, with water.

And so that was a documented covenant.

But that covenant couldn't produce life.

It was a reassurance that destruction was not come every time it rained.

And every covenant had a signal, had a sign, and that was a rainbow.

But then he made another covenant with Abraham, uh, that he would, in him that is in his seed.

That's not the nation of Israel.

That seed was Christ, as Paul tells us in Galatians.

Uh, that seed is Christ.

And but in his seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed.

Uh, in thy seed shall all uh nations be blessed.

And of course, it's it began with uh Isaac, and Isaac shall thy seed be called.

And that covenant was in effect, but it couldn't produce eternal life until God uh brought on to the scene a man by the name of Moses.

And Moses gave Israel his laws of God, statutes, precepts, enter into a covenant.

Uh, once all the laws was written, uh, I'm sorry, was read, the book, uh, and the people say, We'll do, or I do, uh, anonym was slain, the blood was caught.

And Moses sprinkled the blood on first the book and then on the people.

And by that blood he said, I enjoin you, or I engage you, I espouse you.

Uh that is to Jehovah.

Of course, they broke the covenant, disannuled the vow until God openly gave a bill of divorce me and put it away.

But that was another covenant, and this is the greatest of them all.

I did believe other ones, as they say, uh the Vedic covenant, but none of those covenants could bring life.

And so when Christ came on the scene, he did just this, he proclaimed life.

He said, I have come to thief.

He's coming not but for the steal, kill, and destroy, but I am come, uh, John 10 and 10.

I'm coming that you might have life and then have it more abundant.

Life, and he explained what life is it's to know God.

I'll get that from this on one over in John chapter 17, those first two verses.

John 17 · chapter mention

This is life, that thou may know thee, the only true and living God.

And before Christ came on the scene, you knew of God, but you didn't really know him.

You didn't really know him, or you just knew of him.

I think as the psalmist says, one place, like he made his ways known to Moses, his acts, to the church of Israel.

So they knew his acts, but they did not know God.

That's a big difference.

That's a tremendous difference.

And so Christ come that he may give you and I a right to the tree of life, that we may know God, not just know about him and know it, but know him.

And this covenant is called an everlasting covenant because it can produce what no other covenant could.

It can produce everlasting life, immortality.

And for three and one half years, uh Christ came to, and this is something that you'll never hear in the religious world, the church world, but the first time he came, he did not come to the world, he came only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Uh, that's the reason because when he came, he came under the law.

Uh, he lived under the law, he was put to death under the law, he even resurrected under the law of Moses.

He ascended back to his father under the law of Moses.

The law of Christ of the New Testament church didn't begin until the day of Pentecost.

This is when the new covenant was established.

This is when the blood was supplied to the hearts of his people, hence a new covenant.

And uh, if I may, what he did for three and a half years was gather the materials for which this New Testament church could be built and established.

It had to be a sure foundation, and it wasn't built with uh traditions and rituals, idealized, ideology, and theologies of men, uh, but it was built first with uh pride stone, uh a chief cornerstone, uh, a precious stone, and that stone with Christ, and even Christ Himself, he told the religious leader of his days, well, this is a stone that was rejected of you builders, uh, but it's the Lord's stone, the marvelous in our eyes.

And so the reason we're studying, I'll give you a little backdrop and bring you up.

We have a little time because the eighth chapter is pretty short.

And I said this at the very beginning, if you've been on this uh on this journey uh for some 12 weeks consecutive.

I'm sorry, 10, 11 weeks consecutively, because this is the most consequential book uh that you will read.

It is the activity of the actions of the apostles, uh, the actions of the first century church, its birth, well his inauguration, its birth and its disbursement.

Uh, it doesn't cover the fall, but it does cover the operation when it was in his zenith, uh, when it was in the order in which Christ had established.

And Christ himself was able to confirm the word with signs and wonder.

There was no confusion.

Well, there was always going to be confusion, we're not among the leadership.

And these men was just.

As David said, he that ruleth in the kingdom of men must be just, ruling in the fear that is of the Lord.

And you could see that uh in their judgment and implementation of the word of God is without hypocrisy, without respect of persons.

I'm so happy about that.

But let me uh uh let me establish a couple of truths that may be a little strange for some of the newer people.

I do appreciate uh the newer saints, and I'll try to be more gentle than normal so that I don't offend anyone.

I made a statement, maybe I should verify that first.

Um get me Matthew chapter 10.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

When Jesus first came, he didn't come to everybody, he only came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Even when his disciples were with him and he was taking their uh their tutorship, he told them not to go into the ways uh of any house of the Gentile or the Samaritan, but go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

There's a reason for that, because that was his covenant people at that time, until he will give up, go to the fourth and final.

Let's just look at a couple of passages, and I don't want to lose too much time, but the book of Acts uh it is the implementation of this kingdom of heaven.

And I'm gonna use that term because that's what that's what Matthew is using quite a bit.

He doesn't call it the kingdom of God, he calls it a kingdom of heaven, and which is the kingdom of God, means a heavenly kingdom.

It's not an earthly kingdom, it's not a natural kingdom, it's not a carnal kingdom, it is a heavenly kingdom.

Uh heavenly means spiritual.

Man, to become a citizen, well, you and I have to be a spiritual.

You you can't join this kingdom, you have to be born into it, a born from above, a born from heaven.

Uh, it's translating the King James, born again.

But that again simply means if you look at the translation, from above above, that is from heaven, from God.

The first time I was born, that was Dorothan Leroy Brown uh coming together.

Uh, but when I was born from heaven, it came from God only, uh, through his wonderful son by the uh the spirit of life or the spirit of the uh of uh life, which is the spirit of God of the Holy Ghost.

Let's go first.

I don't want to go too far, and I want to uh on this because it's not the subject, it's imperative that you see the order of God and what brought us up to this point.

Um look at look at Matthew chapter 10, and these are essential verses because when Christ came, he first he came to his own, John 1.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

He came to his own, that's his own people that he was in covenant relationship with the nation of Israel.

He came to his own, and his own received him not, but as many as did receive him, to them he gave the power, which is the baptism of the Holy Ghost, to become the sons of God, which was born not of flesh and not of will, but of God.

And so uh let's look at this fifth verse, and I'll start here, and I'll pick up the pace so time does not escape us.

These twelve, and the twelve he's making reference to are the ones he named apostles.

This twelve was brought out of the eighty-two.

Uh, there were seven disciples, plus the twelve.

The twelve was eighty-two, he chose those.

And then, of course, these twelve, Jesus sent forth and commanded them.

Watch this terminology, very careful, go not in the ways of the nations or the heathens.

Uh, the word gentile just simply means everyone that was not in a covenant relationship.

It's not just the sins of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because you could be a Gentile once you was uh a proselyte, once you were circumcised, you enter into that covenant.

But he's and the one that's not in that covenant was called Gentiles, well, not in the way of the Gentiles.

And this is another key.

And into any city of the Samaritans.

I want you to, I want you to note that.

I'll put a line in the line.

Gentiles and Samaritans.

He could go to neither one of those.

So there's three different segments you'll see here.

Uh, you see the Gentiles, which is just nations, of people who are not in covenant relationship with God.

The Samaritans are people.

You was taught, I was taught, but it's not accurate, that they was half Jews, they're not half Jews.

Samaritans are displaced Gentiles who was put in the land of Israel in place of the uh ten tribes that God scattered out of his sight.

Uh, and then they say, go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

So there's your three Gentiles, Samaritans, and house of Israel or Israelite.

And so you can see these three groups.

But long as Christ was ministering, he didn't allow his apostles to teach Gentiles nor teach Samaritans.

Not that some people didn't get some good things, but they didn't get the words to eternal life.

They did not.

Uh for instance, in the uh 15th chapter of the book of Matthews, a Syrophanesian woman, her daughter was ill.

Christ healed it, but that's just the crown which fell from the master's table.

Uh, there was a in the eighth chapter of the book of Matthews, uh, there's a centurion whose servant was sick, and Jesus spoke the word and healed it, but that was just crumbs.

That was not eternal life.

When they come to the word of God and understanding, they did not get that.

But if you go to the fourth chapter of the book of John, Jesus did go through Samaritan on his way, uh, that is to Galilee.

And what he did teach them was show them that he was the Messiah.

But if they wanted to get eternal life, they would have to go down to Jerusalem and hear the ones to whom he gave the keys to the kingdom.

And that was Peter.

And you'll see that as we get into the book of Acts.

Uh I think I will uh I think I'll stop there.

And so let's go to the book of Luke.

And I'm just gonna do a quick review uh because we do have newer people uh and first-time people, and so I want to go to a pace that you can follow.

And by the way, we are a uh spirit-led, uh, but we are a word-fed people.

Our emphasis is on what the word of God teaches, not something superficial, uh, something uh insignificant.

Uh, with all you're getting, get understanding.

Wisdom is the principal thing.

With all you're getting, get comprehension, uh, get light, get illumination, which is understanding.

And so here, this is coming after Jesus Christ had come to the close of his days, after he came to the end of his life, and after he resurrected, the first thing that he did, go to the 24th chapter.

Uh he concerned himself with the welfare of those people uh to whom he had been working with and teaching for three and a half years.

He didn't want them to be discouraged, he didn't want them to be dismayed, so he showed himself to them.

Uh look at the 23rd chapter real quick.

Go down to the if I may, uh well, that's gonna take too long.

Go to the 24th chapter.

I'm sorry, forgive me.

And now here he is.

There's two men on the masses royals, and uh, if we may verse 13.

And behold, two of them, the two of these are not two of the twelve apostles, this is two of the seventy.

The seventy is oftentimes overlooked, but they're quite significant.

The 12 is those which Jesus gave the name apostles in the sixth chapter of the book of Luke, I think it's the 20th verse, he named them apostles.

Uh, but here in this 24th chapter, two of the 70 I was somewhat dismayed.

Uh, verse 13.

And behold, two of them, that's of the seventh disciples, went the same day to a village called Emes, which was in Jerusalem, about threescore for long.

And as they walked together, as they talked together of all these things which has happened, it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

And watch this.

This is pretty intriguing.

And their eyes was holy, that is, they really couldn't see who he was, that they should not know him.

He said unto them, What manner of communications are these that you have one to another as you walk and are sad?

Wow.

And so as they began to commune, then he began to open the word of God to them.

Uh, verse, as they began to tell them the things that had happened, verse 25, then Jesus rebuked them.

He said unto them, Oh fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, or not Christ to have suffered these things that you just talked about, and to enter into his glory.

And this is a revelation, because if Christ doesn't open our eyes, we'll never see what the word of God is really saying.

And so this is what Christ began to do because he didn't want them discouraged.

And beginning at Moses, that's the law of Moses, and all the prophets, that's Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Z, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them and all the scriptures, the things concerning himself, showing the pictures and types in the old covenant was all foreshadowed of Christ.

He opened their understanding.

And then, of course, uh, verse 31 for the sake of time, and their eyes was open.

Well, it's not talking about their eyelids, it's the eyes of their understanding.

And if the Lord doesn't touch our eyes, we can't see the things of God.

And the eyes was open, and they knew him.

Now they understood, and he vanished out of the sight.

Wow.

And so he encouraged them.

Uh and then, of course, he goes to the 12.

It's the reason I'm giving you this.

Just bear with me for a moment.

And now he, well, 11, because one Judas Iscariot had missed out with God, and so uh they went back and told him the 12 that 11 that Jesus risen, verse 34.

The Lord is written in these and it's appeared unto Simon.

And of course, they appeared.

And watch this in verse 36.

And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst.

He didn't come through the door, he appeared and said unto them, peace be unto you.

But they were frightened and uh terrified and affrighted, supposedly they had seen a spirit.

The word spirit is the same word that's translated ghost, because they knew he was crucified.

They knew that he was put into the tomb, and they knew it had been three nights and three days later.

And he said unto them, Why are you troubled?

And why do thoughts arise in your heart?

I'm not a ghost.

So he let him see, behold my hands and my feet.

Remember, they drove the nail through his hand and through his feet.

You can see the holes that it is I myself.

Hand on me.

Go ahead and handle me.

For a spirit that is a ghost, have not flesh and bones.

Notice he didn't say flesh and blood, as you see me have, because he didn't resurrect with flesh and blood.

He resurrected with flesh and bone.

The whole purpose of blood is to give life.

And the life that he was living was by the spirit.

He had a glorified body, which could appear and disappear.

It was flesh and bone, but it didn't have blood.

Uh, every glorified body would be without blood.

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither can corruption inherit incorruption.

These are just points.

And uh, when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and feet.

Wow.

And so they still didn't believe.

And while they believed not for joy, they was happy to wonder.

Watch what he did.

He said unto them, Have you here any meat?

They gave him a piece of broad fish and a honeycomb.

He took it and ate, he ate it before them.

Now they understand this is not a vision.

I'm watching this man, I've held on this man, this man is consuming honey, this man is consuming fish, so he's not a ghost, and this is not a vision.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things that is pertaining to himself must be fulfilled, which was written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me.

And these are the three aspects of the old covenant was the law of Moses, his prophets, and the Psalms.

This is, well, I'll keep reading, I won't get too much further.

Now I'm gonna read this off for a point, a very point, because this, the same one who wrote this book of Luke, very eloquent, very detailed, very methodical, is the same writer who wrote the book of Acts.

As a matter of fact, it's a continuation of the book of Luke, where he leaves off here, he picks up in the book of Acts.

Watch this now.

Verse 45.

And these you want to remember these verses as long as you're top side of the earth, because this is how we get illumination.

Then open he their understanding, which is the same thing he did earlier when he opened their eyes.

That's the eyes of their understanding.

He opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures.

That is all of the old covenant.

Those things was written all the time, but it was hidden from them, as it is to anyone until the Lord illuminates our understanding.

You don't get this in the seminary, we don't get this with a slab root and a pencil.

God is not a brain, you can't figure him out, he's not a mind, he's not more, he's not an intellect, he's much bigger than that.

So here we go.

He opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures and said unto them, thus it is written, that is, in the law of Moses and the prophets, and in the Psalms, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, the third day.

And that repentance, repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name among all nations.

I'm giving this for a reason, beginning at Jerusalem.

This is where the trumpet was first blown.

This is where the sound went out, was in Jerusalem.

And he did not want them to go anywhere else, because Jerusalem was the capital of Judea and the Jewish people who was in a covenant relationship.

It's where he had put his name, is where his order and his laws and his precepts was advocated, is where the priest who kept knowledge uh was able to proclaim it.

Listen, and behold, The word means look.

I want you to underline this.

I send the promise of my father.

The promise of his father was his gift of the Holy Ghost.

We'll read that later.

I send the promise of my father upon you.

It's going to happen.

I'm going to endure you with this power.

But tarot, the word tarot means wait ye.

Don't go anywhere.

Don't preach to one soul.

Even though you know I've resurrected, you can't bear witness until you receive this wonderful gift.

Even when you heard my teaching, your eyes have been opened.

You have to wait till you endure with power from on high.

But tarot, wait in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power, that is, from on high.

My God.

And by the point I want to make also is that while they were waiting, they gathered together, they slept in a room that was called the upper room.

120 people was not in the upper room.

This is where the 11 stayed, or where they went three times a day was into the temple.

Solomon's porch, as you and I have uh discussed.

Or watching you'll see this.

Uh verse 52.

And they worship him and return to Jerusalem with joy.

Watch 50 53, it's very important.

And were continually in the temple.

You want to underline that praising and blessing God.

Amen.

So by day they went to the temple.

By night, the 11 stayed in an upper room.

That's nothing uh contrary to this, it's not difficult to understand, except religion taught us something quite different.

Now, if I may, if you go to the book of Acts, it's real, I won't go through all of it.

I'm just giving you enough the new people that you'll understand what we've come to understand.

And so you can lock in with us.

And so here we are.

Acts is the activities or the actions of the apostles.

This is how uh the kingdom of God was governed.

This is the woman, which is the church who was clothed with the sun.

That's the understanding of Christ's teaching.

The moon, a lesser light of the law of Moses, was under her feet.

Uh, but on her head was a crown of twelve stars.

That was the government of that New Testament church.

And so here it is.

Uh, verse one, I am mindful of the times, just bear with me.

Uh, the former thesis, that's the epistle, that's a letter he wrote.

That's the book of Luke, which you just read some excerpts from.

The former thesis have I made O Theopolis.

Theopolis means beloved of the Lord.

And so I can call you Theopolis.

You're the beloved of the Lord.

Matter of fact, we reference one another as his beloved.

And this is what the word means.

O Theopolis.

Was he right unto a man or was he right unto a people?

Well, if he was writing to a man, why are you and I reading it?

He's writing to the dear people of God.

This is metaphorically.

Uh, of all that Jesus, I want you to underline this if you haven't already, of all that Jesus began, began both to do and to teach.

Why do you say begun?

Because he didn't finish it.

He we went over this.

He was cut off in the midst of the week.

He didn't finish his week.

The apostles, the last week of years, not week of days, which is a seven year span of time.

It was the seventh week of Daniel.

This is the end of Israel's time to be in favor with God.

He was put to death in the midst of the week.

He only ministered for three and a half years.

It was the apostles, as we read in Isaiah 53, who declared his generation, finished that week out.

And so Jesus Christ ministered for three and a half weeks.

And the New Testament church, uh, the teaching of the apostles was to the Jews only for three and a half years until they stoned Stephen.

At that point, the court was over, it was found unworthy, and they were sentenced to annihilation or destruction.

And that sentence was executed in 70 AD.

A little bit of information for some of the new ones, but just bear with me here for a moment.

Okay, both which he began to do and to teach until the day which he was taken up, that after he watched this, everything Christ did, it was through the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.

It's the same word.

He gave commandments unto the apostle.

What did he tell him?

He told him the same thing that you read in Luke 24.

Don't leave until you be induced with power from on high.

Verse 4, where to emphasize that.

Being summed together with them, commanded they should not depart from Jerusalem.

This is the same Luke.

He's picking up where he left off, but wait for the promise of the Father.

What was the promise?

Which he said, You have heard of me.

Now he's going to tell you what it is.

Verse 5.

For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence or many days from now.

Wow.

The promise of the Father is the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

I will come back to that a little bit later.

And it's nothing new.

He said with uh with steming lips and another tongue, will he speak to this people?

That people is this people was Israel.

Yet for all that they will not believe.

It's prophesied redundantly.

He was given them a new heart.

He would take away the stony heart.

But let's just keep reading.

Okay.

And so he made this promise.

And they want to know because he hadn't received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, so they can only see things natural.

They couldn't see things spiritual.

So here it is.

And when they was therefore come together, they asked him, This is resurrected Christ.

Lord, would thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

He could have told them no, but they would have backslid.

No, he's not going to restore the kingdom to Israel.

He's going to get an elect out of that, and then the rest will be judged.

He's going to take the precious from the vile.

He's going to take the wheat and put it into the gorner, which is the New Testament church.

Everything that rejected his teaching and the sound of these apostles was nothing but chaff to be burnt in 70 AD.

But listen, he didn't put it that way because they weren't ready yet.

He said unto them, it's not for you to know the times or the season which the Father has put in his own power, but you shall receive power.

He emphasized it again.

After that, the Holy Ghost has come upon you.

And listen to this: it's only after that, then you shall be witnesses unto me.

Watch this order, both in Jerusalem and in all of Judea.

Judea is the whole country of uh of the Jews, and in Samarita after the Jews.

This is the order Jerusalem first, the Jews first, the Samaritans, and then the Gentiles.

He said, in all of Judea, that's the countryside, and in Samaritan.

Then after that, the uttermost parts of the earth.

You will see in this book, just as Christ gave the order, is how it would be fulfilled.

It was no breaking in or going out, it would be in just that order.

And so, 50 days after the Passover, Jesus was the Passover, he died for our sins.

He was the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.

50 days after was called the first fruits that came in unto God.

The first fruits naturally was the uh the offering from the fields, whether it was wheat, whether it was uh barley, uh it was offered unto God.

The first fruits unto God was the first overcomers, and they came in first in the New Testament church.

And so it was 50 days, it was a religious day that all Israel had to keep.

Every male child, every male who was uh 30 years old had to go to Jerusalem three times a year for Pentecost, for Passover, and for end gathering.

Okay, and so they went.

I won't go through chapter one any further.

It was 11 because Judas Iscariot had betrayed the Lord and he hung himself, and of course the rope broke and he fell and all of his gust gushed out.

Kind of graphic, but that's what happened.

But what's important for you and I, let me walk us through it.

And so these people came together uh to celebrate Pentecost.

And when that day was in full effect, Jewish Day starts in the evening.

The evening, the morning was the first day.

At sunset at six o'clock, starts the beginning of another day.

If any of you were seven day of Ventance, you would know that on sunset on a Friday starts the Sabbath, and they have that correct.

And so it started at six o'clock the priest preceding evening.

But when he said it was fully come, now it's daytime.

And if you can begin to see chapter two, and when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were with all according to one place.

Let's just walk us up to it.

And this was something special that God had ordained from the time he implemented the law of Moses, 2000 years.

This was in God's foreordained plan.

I do believe in predestination.

Some things God has predetermined.

That's predestination.

As you and I, as individuals, that's up to us.

We have choices.

He made you free will agent.

There's no individual that is preordained for life or death.

It's the path that you travel.

It's going to bring you to eternal life or it's going to bring you to damnation.

Okay.

When it was fully come, then here comes this great manaphor that Christ told what happened.

A sudden sound came from heaven.

I'm not going to read the verse 2.

I will go through it, so I need to pick up the pace.

Uh, there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind.

And then there appeared unto them clothing.

The word clothing means two.

Clothing tongue as a fire.

The fire represents the presence of God, just real quickly.

Like when uh Moses, in the third chapter of Exodus, he saw a bush that was burning and wasn't consumed.

And that bush was burning, but it wasn't consumed because it wasn't a natural fire.

That fire was just the presence of God.

And he led the nation of Israel in the wilderness by night as a pill of fire, showing that God was with them, even in the dark times.

That was the presence of fire, is the presence of God.

Okay.

And this is what this clothing tongue is too.

And so they were able to speak with the tongue of men, but then there is also the tongue of angels.

There's two different types of tongues in the Bible.

Tongue of man is the intellect of man, and the tongue of angels is a heavenly language.

Paul says in the 14th chapter that no man's understanding.

But let's just keep moving.

And so it peered upon each of them, and they began to speak in, it tells you what type of tongues, other tongues, not unknown tongues, but other tongues, as the Spirit of God gave them other.

Why other tongues?

Because there was people gathered from all nations in the Mediterranean area, the people being Jews, of course, to celebrate Passover and to celebrate Pentecost.

And so they were already there.

And they were there on Solomon's porch, there was their celebration, which is part of the temple, they were there celebrating the feast day.

And they watched these people began to speak in tongues.

And though they came from various nations, each one could hear someone speaking in their native language where they were born.

And they came from different nations.

It was baffling.

And so they began to do what carnal people do, some of them anyway, began to mark and say, These men are full of new wine.

But Peter standing with the 11, 11 didn't stand with Peter, as often misquoted.

Peter standing with the 11, showing that was a oneness.

He was not their leader.

He was first among equals.

Peter was not their leader.

The Lord was their leader.

He was first among equals.

Each time they named the apostles, go back and read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Peter is always named first.

It's because he was a little more bodacious, more outspoken.

Even that had to be broken when he had the Lord thrice.

He became more humble.

But he was not their leader.

He was the first among equals.

But anyway, then they were equals.

And so Peter standing with the 11.

I'll let you read that so you keep it in his proper context.

Verse 14.

Not the 11 standing with Peter, he began to say, You men of Jerusalem, you that dwell here, that is, be it known unto you, these men are not drunk.

It's just the third hour of the day.

It's 9 o'clock in the morning.

Nightclubs are not even open.

Ballroom is not open.

This is that which you read about over a thousand years ago.

This is that which was spoken by the prophet Job.

And in the last days, I want to underline that.

The last days of Israel.

There's many last days in the Bible.

That's the last days before the flood.

That was the last days before God took the nation of Israel into captivity to Babylon.

There's many last days.

That's the last days of this church dispensation.

So when you see last day, what last days is he making reference to?

This is the last days of the house of Israel being in favor with God.

This is the last three and a half years.

This is the end.

John the Baptist, he's a preach.

I don't want to preach.

I just want to write these scriptures down.

Um Matthew chapter 3, verse 11.

Matthew 3:11

Oh John the Baptist said, now is the acts laid to the root of the trees.

Pharisees, Sadducees, these different denominations.

And every tree that's in that does not bring forth fruit is hewn or cut down and cast into the fire.

That fire was 78D when God's going to burn them with an unquenchable fire.

All the wheat of those people who are bearing fruit is going to put them into his corner, the New Testament church.

And everything that wouldn't go in for the nation of Israel was shack.

He said, which will be burnt with unquenchable fire.

I want you to read that at your devotional time.

We can't read every verse tonight, but I'll give them to you according to you.

You write them down.

Okay.

And so uh he began to I'll let you read this key verse.

This needs to be understood.

Verse 17.

This is the, well, verse 16.

This is Peter saying, This is that was spoken by the prophet Job a thousand years earlier.

It shall come to pass in the last days.

That's the last days of Israel, being in favor with God before he eternally judged them.

Said, God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, not just the priest when he's prophesying, not just the prophet when he's prophesying, not just Samson when he's doing exports, not just Elijah when he outran Elijah's uh chariots.

No, upon all flesh.

Uh-huh.

Listen to this.

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.

That means to speak by the inspiration of the Almighty.

Sons and daughters can do that.

Your young men can see vision.

They can see things that God is doing and yet to do.

Your old men shall dream dreams.

And so on my hand, on my servants, on my handmaiden, I will pour out in those days of my spirit.

And so he let them know this is that which God had promised.

When he began to proclaim the message of the kingdom, telling them how that a man and woman can find favor with God.

He gave them their pedigree.

In verse 2037, just going over this real briefly, they was pricked in their hearts when they heard this message.

Pricked means convicted.

They said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brother, what shall we do?

What do you mean do?

To do to get it right with God.

Here is a simple plan of salvation.

Acts 2 38.

This is a simple plan of salvation, which has to be explained in greater detail, but here is in a nutshell.

Then Peter said unto them, Oh, by the way, I will finish tonight.

Don't get concerned.

Do you remember in the 16th chapter, Matthew's around the 18th verse, when Jesus told Peter, I give thee the keys of the kingdom.

The keys is the keys of understanding, which you read in Luke chapter 11, verse 22.

Luke 11:22

Write these verses down, put them on chat for them.

It's called the keys of understanding.

Once Peter was endowed with power from on high, he understood these keys.

And so you'll see this is how the Jews get in.

Who let them in?

Peter did.

Remember, he gave the keys to Peter.

And so that's not the verse when he said, I give you the keys of the kingdom.

And so he took the keys and he unlocked it on the day of Pentecost.

Go down a few more verses.

He let the Jews in.

And then you'll see again when he goes down to the Samaritans.

It was only Peter who could let the people receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost and let the Jews in.

And then he goes down to the uh 12th chapter.

I'm sorry, to the 10th chapter, book of Acts.

You see again Peter is using the keys to let all nations in.

It started the same order Christ told him.

It was the Jews, the Samaritans, then the Gentiles.

He had the keys.

I'm making sense to you.

Did you get that verse from me?

Let me get it for you.

Matthew's chapter uh 16.

It's on there, right?

It's on there.

I can't see it, but thank you.

Matthew 16, 19.

1619.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Okay, so I want you to see.

Here's Peter.

First time he using these keys, he's unlocking the doors to the kingdom of heaven and letting these Jews in first, because it was the Jews first.

Then Peter said unto them, What then?

It was just the Jews.

Repent.

This is how you get into the kingdom.

Repent don't mean apologizing.

Repent means to be godly sorrow and turning 180 degrees.

But you have to bring forth fruits meet for repentance.

There has to be corresponding actions.

So he said, repent and be baptized.

This is water baptism.

Every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.

Somebody say Peter got excited.

He didn't say Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

No, he didn't get excited.

They've been baptizing for three and a half years during Jesus' ministry.

You read John chapter 4, verse 1, 2, and 3.

John 4:1

Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus baptized not, but his disciples.

Talking about his apostles, they baptize.

And everyone be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.

And it's going to show you something.

Being baptized in water is not receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost, because that's a different step.

His three steps.

One, repent.

Two, be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus.

Why?

For the remission of sin.

That's two.

And then there's another and here.

And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

That is, it's three different steps.

Then he calls the Holy Ghost, verse 29, a promise again.

For the promise, what promise?

The Holy Ghost is unto you, Jews, Israel, and to all that are far off.

To you and to your children, all that are far off, that's the Gentile, as many as the Lord our God shall call.

And you can begin to see things began to happen.

Verse 41, they that gladly received his work was baptized, that is, in water, and there was added them 3,000 souls.

They received water and holy ghosts.

I'll show you that in a moment.

So that's chapter 2.

And chapter 3.

I'm gonna go through this.

And John, Peter and John went to the gate called Beautiful.

Or the Solomon's gone to the temple as they always did at the hour of prayer, performed the great miracle.

A man who was lame at his uh laid at the gate called beautiful, lame from his mother's feet, had laid there many days.

Peter spoke life, said, because the man expecting to receive some kind of gift.

Peter says, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have given unto thee in the name of Jesus, rise up and walk.

Immediately a man received strength in his ankle bones.

He stood up, he leaped and went into the temple and rejoicing.

People ran to him because they seen him at the gate for many days, thousands of people.

And he was holding unto Peter and John.

And Peter said, Why are you looking so earnestly upon us by our own power, as if by our own power we made this man whole?

But being known unto you by the name of Jesus, does this man stand here whole?

I want you to watch two things.

One, these men never brought glory to themselves.

Everything they did, they pointed to Christ.

They gave Christ the glory.

And Christ Himself always gave his father the glory.

So anytime a man tells you, look what I've done, look what I built, you're not of God.

That's nothing but raw flesh.

You have to put your name up and say how great you are and wear titles.

Jesus said, You recall no man followers.

What is that?

Matthew chapter 23.

Matthew 23 · chapter mention

You don't call a man rabbi.

You shouldn't call people real.

You are all brethens.

Brothers should be sufficient.

That's another subject.

But I want you to watch the order of these men, uh, watch their state of mind, their state of being.

Let's keep going.

I need to speed this up.

And so they were at the temple when these things happened, and the priests and the denomination of that day.

Was upset in chapter 4, verse 2.

They were grieved that they taught to people and preached through Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

Then they laid hands on them, not with oil.

They grabbed and confiscated and put them in prison.

But it was too late.

Verse 4, many of them which heard the word believe, and the number of men was about 5,000.

So 3,000 was added, now 5,000.

You can see the church began to increase dramatically.

Then, of course, they want to know by what name, what power you've done this.

When you get down to the ninth verse of verse 8, uh, then Peter filled the Holy Ghost, said, You, rulers of the peoples and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of a good deed done to an important man, look, be it known unto you and to all you know, want you he's talking to.

Be it known unto you and to all the people of Israel.

Underline that no Samaritans, no Gentiles.

It's only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

This is why he's preaching on the temple, because Gentiles weren't permitted here, not on Solomon's porch.

Women could come, Jews could come, but no Gentiles, no Samaritans.

We'll get to that in a moment.

And so Peter is ministering exclusively to the nation of Israel because it's still at the end of their day.

Do you remember in the 15th chapter of the book of Matthews, a Syrophanesian woman whose daughter was healed?

And uh she begged the disciples.

And she even begged Christ.

And the disciples told Christ, Won't you send her away?

She's troubling us.

And so he stopped and said, Bring her.

When this woman came, he said, It's not fit to take the children, the bread.

That's the children of Israel, and give it to dogs.

The dogs was Gentiles because they worship anything.

And she didn't argue with him.

She said, Yeah, Lord.

But even the dogs get the crowns would fall from the master's table.

When Jesus looked at this woman, her faith, a humbless of heart, he said, Be it unto you according to your faith.

And so what did he do?

Oh my god, I'm about to cut off.

Oh hear me, one second.

He healed Saraphanesian woman child.

And the reason I'm pointing that out, that's nothing but crumbs.

Healing, being blessed, that's crumbs.

Until you can sit at the master's table and eat the good word of God, you're selling for crumbs.

A blessing will not give you immortality.

People have been healed and still lost their soul.

What saves your soul is an understanding and an implementation of the word of God.

Until you get that, you might be happy, you might be blessed, but you're not eternally saved.

I still see some people on here.

Uh Lexis, did you not hear me plainly tell you?

If you caught it, you should have your camera on.

I need you to, everyone, please turn your camera on.

Uh, brother Jacob, brother Sean, I'm gonna need you to regulate this.

I need everyone who has the ability to turn your camera, unless you're working.

There's 74 people.

I would like to see 74 faces, if I could.

That's more people than someone has two people on one advice.

We need participation.

We do everything orderly.

And so here's the point.

By the way, others can't labor, others can't be burdening you ease.

Uh the same sacrifice others make, which is not a great sacrifice, to be here with their face on, everyone has to partake.

Uh, including you, brother Brandon Julie.

Unless you're at work, sir, I like to see your face.

You know, I'm not beyond uh uh talking to people directly.

If you can't hear me uh corporately, then I'll talk to you individually.

Okay, here we go.

They threatened those men and told him not to preach or teach no more in that man.

But this wasn't the same Peter who denied the Lord three times.

He denied the Lord three times, some 50 days earlier, 60 days earlier.

But this is a whole nother Peter.

He had been endued with power from on high, he had received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and was walking according to these precepts.

And the Bible said the righteous as bold as a lion, which means we don't have wrap in our blood.

That's what the word is to give you.

When it coupled with the Spirit of God, you have do the most.

That's where you get the word dynamite from.

It's translated here power, but you have due the most.

You have enough power not to be afraid or ashamed of the gospel.

It's the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believeth.

And so I'm gonna tell you like this if you don't have it, you should seek it.

I'll listen as uh Brother Arnold was saying here tonight.

When you received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, he's not the same.

But let's keep moving.

And so uh let's go to the fifth chapter.

I want to walk up to where we stopped.

And so they were very uh enraged and they threatened these men.

But I won't go through all of it, but you watch what these men did when they was threatened.

They didn't go home and tell mama, they didn't go home and tell Uncle Joe, they went to their own company.

Uh people who had received the same baptism, the same teaching.

Um look at verse 23, 4 and 23.

And being let go, they went to their own company.

Their own company was people of like precious faith.

And so when the people of God is in trouble, we go to our own company.

We solicit the prayers of the saints.

Uh, we may use other means, but our confidence is in God and that somebody can touch heaven, and heaven will respond.

And anyway, the being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the chief priest and the elder had said unto them, how they threatened them.

And verse uh 24.

And when they had heard that, that's the rest of the people, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and they began to pray.

And God answered that prayer.

He answered that prayer, verse 31.

And when they had praised the place, when they had prayed, the place was shaken, or they was assembled together.

This is Solomon's porch again.

I can let you see that.

And they was filled, saturated with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Wow.

With boldness.

I won't go through all of this.

You get some of the previous teachings.

I want to get us where we stopped.

And so now this New Testament church is in full operation.

This is a white, I was asked about that.

I did clarify, this was a white or a pure judgment.

A pure judgment without Adam is called a white throne judgment.

This is the judgment seat of Christ.

It's his ministry holding court.

How do you hold court by speaking the truth in love without partiality, not having an agenda without having an emotive?

Remember what Jesus told the religious leaders of his day?

He said, I'm not gonna judge you, but your children, talking about the apostles and the prophets, they're gonna be your judge.

And they were judged, they were holding court.

Uh he says again, what is that?

Matthew 28.

Is that that's not 28?

Someone get it from me.

Uh, you which have followed me in the regeneration, it is 2819, I think it is.

You which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on his throne.

That's Christ ascending going back to heaven.

You shall sit on 12 thrones, not physical, but position of authority, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.

And this is what the first century church had was a white throne judgment.

These men were contending for the truth.

They loved the people of God to try to get into their hearts, and there was no punctuality.

Everyone was held to the same standard.

And so I won't take the time to read it.

You should be familiar with it.

Verse 33.

And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

And I want you to get this turn.

This is it's it's two greats there.

Great power, and then there was great grace was upon them all.

Great power.

That's the power to do right, to live upright, to hold a standard.

And it brings great grace.

There's no great grace without great power.

You have to do it.

We have to do right.

It's not learning right, it's to do right.

It's no dive a weights.

We all have to partake a life.

Um but anyway, let's go on.

Something happened here, which caused some big problem.

The next verse.

Neither was there any among them that lacked.

For as many as possessors of houses, oh my God, I'm running out of time.

As many were possessors of land and houses, sold them, bought the price of the things that were sold, because as I mentioned before, if you were a Jew, and these were all Jews.

Once you confess Christ, the Pharisees had and Sadducees already made a decree that if you confess Christ, you were to be put out of the synagogue.

Once you were put out the synagogue, you was considered excommunicated.

They would, nobody would buy your hardwares, your ultra-cultural, your sheep.

You couldn't be hired to do carpentry.

You had no way to make a living.

So it brought great poverty.

But these people didn't have to despair because they were suffering for the name of Christ.

They had all things common, and many as possessed of house and land solar.

They laid them down at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made as every man had need.

Wow.

Verse chapter 5, verse 1.

But there was a certain man, you know, the story named Ananias.

He had a wife named Sapphira, and he pretended he was one of them.

Mistake.

He didn't realize quit was in session.

He had a piece of land and he sold it.

He conspired with his wife to not do as everyone else, not to lay it down at the apostles' feet.

He only brought part of it.

Nobody would know it, only he and his wife, so he thought.

And so Peter asked him, he said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to God?

Well, you hadn't lied unto me.

I let you read it.

Because what was it was speaking to was representation, representative of God.

And when he spoke, those men gave up the ghost.

That man died.

Everything that wasn't right was being not going to be judged, it was judged.

And I'm getting too deep on this, but I need to let you read this as I introduce it.

Verse 3.

Verse 2, they kept back part of the price after they sold you, verse 1.

His wife also being partakers of privilege to it, brought a certain part and laid at the apostles' feet, everyone else given it all.

Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan?

I'd like to underline Satan here.

Why has he filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and kept back part of the price?

Why would it remain what is not your own?

Was it not your own?

And after it was so, was it not in your own power?

Why has thou conceived this thing in thy heart?

Well, in verse 3, he said, it was Satan.

Who was it?

Was it Satan or was it a man?

The word Satan means accuser, adversary.

And your biggest adversary you face sits right between your eardrums.

You are your worst Satan.

You are your worst enemy.

The way we think, our will, our thoughts, our justification of not doing right.

Lord, help us to overcome that.

Here we go.

And when Ananias verse 5, hearing these things, hearing these words, felt I only gave up the ghost or the spirit of life.

And of course, his wife came in a few hours later.

They didn't have a cell phone.

Nobody called them.

She didn't get the bullet.

They didn't what ask her.

Nobody told her.

So she came in trying to fulfill the same lie, and she dropped dead.

But that's a key verse, verse 11.

And great fear came upon all the church, and as many as heard these things.

So people did not join themselves.

They got from wrong with these people.

They didn't play church with them.

But verse 14 said there was more believers added to the church, both women and men.

Now the church began to multiply.

Chapter 6.

Bear with me here.

Remember, it's still at Jerusalem.

They're still at the temple because they had not fulfilled the last week.

It's coming to a close.

And then you get to chapter 6.

I point this out and I'm going to move faster.

In those days, what days?

The last week of Daniel.

His last three and a half years.

When the number of disciples, these are disciplined followers of Christ, was multiplied.

There came a mummering of the Grecians.

The Grecians are not Gentiles.

These are Jewish people who had been uh Hellenistic lized.

They were speaking Greek.

They came from Greek cities.

But they're in Jerusalem, but their widows are being neglected.

They weren't being taken care of.

And so they began to mumber.

The news came to the apostles, and the apostles got all the people together and said, it's not fit that we should leave the word of God and prayer to serve tables.

He's talking to that ministry, which no doubt had to be hundreds at this time, but that's thousands of people.

He said, Look out among you and choose, choose you seven men of honor's report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we can put over this matter.

But we ourselves, we're going to continue in prayer and ministering the word.

And so they chose seven.

These men were not deacons.

These were seven gifted men.

These were seven elders.

And you'll see that.

And they gave uh that is, uh they set forth these men, and you'll see the doctrine of land on hands.

They laid their hands on these men, that is, to ordain them into this work, to his office.

Verse five names the men.

Verse six tells you they set them before the apostles.

And when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

That means they ordained them to handle this charge in particular.

Here we go.

And so now the church is multiplying.

But when you go on, something happened.

One of those men they named was called Stephen in verse number nine.

And this man was full of faith, he was full of the word of God, and he was contesting with those Jews who didn't believe in Christ.

But they couldn't stop, they couldn't overcome, they couldn't gain, say, the wisdom of which he spake, his ability to use the Bible, the Old Testament, and show them Christ.

And he didn't like this.

And so what they did, they dragged him into a council.

And uh look at verse 12, real quick.

And when they stirred up the people and the elders and the stribe came upon him and caught him, and they put him, brought him into the council.

That's the Sanhedrin councils.

They set up fall witness and said, This man, he ceases not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and against the law.

The holy place was talking about the temple, this holy place.

Because Jesus told him the day was going to come, as he said in Matthew chapter 24, there will not be left one stone upon another that should not all be thrown down.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

And so when he was saying that, they said, You blasphemed against this temple.

And then they say against the law of Moses, because he told them the law of Moses can make nothing perfect, but the teaching of Christ did.

And so they brought him before the council.

And uh in verse 24, we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth, talking about our Savior, shall destroy this place, and he did in 70 AD, like he said would, and changed the customs which he did, which Moses delivered unto us.

And when he looked at this man and they said in the council, looking steadfastly on him, he saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

We went over chapter 7.

In chapter 7, he walks them down through their pedigree.

He gives them the whole essence of God calling their father Abraham, how they got into Egypt, how that God raised up a delivered by the name of Moses.

He happened to be a lawgiver and brought them out.

He gave them their whole pedigree.

And then as he was talking, look what he says, and he provokes them to great anger.

He made this statement.

Verse 51.

He said, You stiff neck, and the same thing can be said to this religious world today.

Stiffneck means stubborn, and uncircumcising heart means you still have too much flesh on your carnal minds.

Circumcised is putting away the filth of the flesh.

And so the heart, which is your mind, has to be circumcised.

We can't be so selfish.

It can't be about me in minds and eyes.

Here we go.

Listen to this.

He's talking to them.

You stiff neck and uncertainty, stiff neck, stubborn, and uncircumcised in heart and ear.

You do always resist the Holy Ghost, as your father did, back in the wilderness, all through the law of Moses and the prophets.

So do you.

Which of the prophets have not your father persecuted?

Look at you.

And they have slain them, which showed before.

That is, and even the old covenant, and now the preaching of the prophet, the coming of the just one, of whom you, you Jews, you have now been the betrayers and murderers.

You received the law of Moses by the disposition of angels.

Angels mean messengers.

The messengers was Moses and Aaron, and have not kept it.

When they heard these things, they was cut to the heart.

I mean they were pricked.

But rather than repent, they gashed upon them with their teeth.

What do you mean, gash?

They grind their teeth.

They got angry rather than become broken.

And he, that is, Stephen, being full of the Holy Ghost, he looked up steadfast, and the Lord opened his eyes and all the way into heaven.

He saw the glory of God in Jesus standing.

I don't know how somebody can say Jesus and God is the same, because he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.

Wow.

He wasn't standing on the right hand of himself, he was standing on the right hand of his father and said, Behold, I see a heaven opens, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.

Of course, they couldn't take that.

They ran up on him, took him outside, and stoned him to death.

And when he fell to sleep, he gave up the ghost.

He was the first overcomer.

Chapter 8.

Here is where we want to get tonight.

And I'm going to make it.

No, you think I'm not, but I will.

And Saul, I want you to remember this man, Saul.

In verse 58, when they stoned him, the witness lays down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

I want you to remember him.

And they stoned Stephen, which is one of the seven.

You're going to see Stephen, and then you're going to see another one in this eighth chapter called Philip.

Again, these were gifted men.

They were not deacons.

There is no deacon in the sixth chapter of the book of Acts.

That's not deacons.

Let me make that plain.

Okay, but here we go.

Then Paul was Saul was consenting unto his death.

And at that time, I want you to get this on the line.

There was a great persecution against the church.

I'm going to tell you why.

When they stoned Stephen, that was the end of their time of grace and mercy.

God was through with Israel.

Now it's nothing left but execution of his judgment.

No longer could they go to the temple.

Read this carefully.

At that time there was a great persecution against the church, which was at Jerusalem.

And they were all scattered abroad throughout the region.

Remember what Jesus said?

In Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaritan.

So now they're going to the other areas.

The only ones who didn't leave was the apostles.

And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation, his weeping and crying over him, because this man was righteous.

He had a congregation of people.

He was a leader.

I can show you that.

These men were all leaders of home meetings.

They went to the temple to hear the apostles preach, and then they continued the apostles' doctrine and breaking bread from house to house, which is what pattern we're patterning after, while we have house meetings during Bible studies.

As for Saul, he made havoc.

Wow.

That means he wrecked, he ravaged the church, entered into every house.

That's not everybody's house, that's every house where there was a congregation.

And hauling men and women, everybody that was in there and committed them to prison for what?

Because they believed the gospel.

Therefore they were scattered abroad.

They that were scattered abroad went everywhere, preaching the word.

Up to that time, for the first three and a half years, they did not keep the commandment to preach the gospel to every creature.

They preached only to the house of Israel.

When the persecution arose, then they scattered.

And when they did, they preached.

Remember Jerusalem.

Judea, we just read that now.

Verse 5.

Then Philip went down to the city.

Can we is this where we stopped?

Eight or nine?

I can't hear us.

Someone please tell me where we stopped last week.

We we ended before chapter seven.

We haven't done chapter eight.

Chapter eight, one through four.

One through four.

Okay.

Okay, well, good.

This is essential now.

And Philip, he's one of the seven.

He went down to the city of Samarita and underlined this and preached Christ to them.

He was not a food, a ministrator.

He was a minister and making sure that everyone was treated fairly at what he was called to do by the apostles.

These are ministers, elders.

And then the people, watch this real carefully.

And the people with one accord gave heed to those things which Philip did speak.

Why?

Because God was working with them, confirming his word with signs and wonders.

Philip, Stephen, these seven men was all part of the 70, which was with Christ for three and a half years.

They knew his teaching, they knew his ways.

They weren't part of the apostles.

They didn't have that bishopric, but they was a part of Christ's extended ministry.

So here they are doing what they were taught.

And the Lord worked with them.

What is it?

Mark chapter 16, read this, chapter 16, verse 16, 17, 18.

Mark 16 · chapter mention

He was working with them, confirming his word with signs and wonders.

This is what you're seeing.

When they saw, hearing, and seeing the miracle which he did, for unclean spirits, verse 7, crying out with loud voices, came out of many that was possessed with them, unclean spirit, mental illnesses.

And many was take what Paul said were that was lame, they was healed.

And there was great joy in the city.

But watch this there was a certain man named Simon, which before Philip came and preached Christ, which before a time in the same city used sorcery.

That word is witchcraft.

By the way, most preachers use witchcraft when you don't even know it.

When they're harmonizing, uh when they're giving you rhymes, when they give you everything but the word of God, they're bewitching you.

You falling in love with their personality, their charismaticness, but that can't give you life.

That's called sorcery.

That's called bewitching you.

They turn the collars on back, they slur their essence.

That's just entertainment that does nothing for the soul.

Well, I'm not bewitched, brother Brown.

Did you call him real?

Well, you was bewitched.

Did you call him bishop?

You was bewitched.

Monsignor, then you was bewitched.

That's your brother.

But he insists on being called something better than that or greater than that, because he's saying he himself is some great one.

You see him right here in this book.

Listen, verse 9.

But there was a certain man named Simon, which before in the same city, that's Samaritan now, used sorcery and bewitched the people.

That's what preachers do, giving out that himself was some great one.

That's why you have to want to be called doctor, a rev, like you're somebody great.

No, you're my brother.

I will not call you anything else.

I refuse to.

We're not permitted to.

Not according to the scriptures.

Okay, here we go.

And to whom verse Hebrew Witch in verse 10, to whom they all, every one of the Samaritans, they gave he from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

Look at that.

This is the bishop.

This is the apostle.

A man had to tell you what he is, he's probably not that.

If I have to tell you that I'm the head of my house, then I'm probably not the head of my house.

If I got to tell you who I am, then I'm probably not.

If I be it, I don't have to say it.

A peach tree never hang a sign I'll say, I'm a peach tree.

It just bears peaches.

Same thing for a fig tree.

You don't have to say it, just do it.

Let's keep reading, reading.

And to him they had regard because of a long time he says it again, he had bewitched them with sorcery.

Why is he repeating this?

He's confirming it.

But when they, that's these Samaritans, believe Philip preaching the kingdom, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, want you to get this, they were baptized, both men and women.

But that's the difference.

Being baptized with water is not being baptized in the Holy Ghost.

And then Simon himself, he believed, and he was baptized.

So guess God can say he's my lying preacher, he's a hypocrite.

And he continued with Philip and he wondered, he marveled what the word wonder mean, beholding the miracles and the signs which was done.

These men didn't just start doing miracles, by the way.

They did miracles before Christ was even crucified.

You go back and read the 10th chapter of the book of Luke, you'll see he did he did miracles, did 17, not just the 12.

And so this is nothing new for Philip.

He'd been doing this for uh three and a half years of Christ's ministry, three and a half years of the time that uh God had given the Jews, for seven years he's been doing this.

So listen, now when the apostles, I want to get to this, which was at Jerusalem, had heard that Samaritan had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John.

Why did Peter have to go?

Because he was the one who had to open the doors for these people to come in, as well as the Jews.

Who?

That's Peter and John.

When they was come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost.

Well, I thought you had the Holy Ghost when you got baptized in water.

The Baptist lied to you.

That's not the truth.

This is two different, distinct events.

Watch this.

For as yet he, talking about the Holy Ghost, for as yet he was falling upon none of them.

What?

None of them, no exception, only they was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

So don't tell me Peter got excited in Acts chapter 2.38 because Peter didn't baptize them here.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Philip did.

And he baptized them in the same order that he always had been baptizing while Christ was yet living.

They baptized you in his name.

Because that's his covenant that you enter into.

When my wife got married, her last name was Manuel.

She didn't change the name from Manuel to Green.

She didn't change the last name from Manuel to Smith, Emmanuel to Jones.

No.

Her last name went from Manuel to Brown.

She's in my name.

And when you come into Christ and you're baptized, you're not baptized in the name of the Father.

That's no body name, Father.

That's a title.

He didn't baptize you in the name of the Son.

That's no body name, son.

That's a title of the name of the Holy Ghost.

Those are three prepositional phrases pointing back to the preposition which is name.

Didn't say names s.

He said name singular of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Ghost.

All name is one.

Okay.

Who?

Verse 15, when they was come, Peter and John prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost.

In verse 17, then laid there their hands on them.

They had already been baptized with water, and they received the Holy Ghost.

This is important.

This is the only place that it doesn't explicitly state that when someone received the Holy Ghost, they spake in other tongues.

This is the only place, but something did manifest that was absolutely undeniable.

I'm going to tell you why.

This man, Simon, who was baptized, who followed Philip, his heart never did change.

He still was in it for glory and for money.

Watch this.

And when Simon, that's Simon the preacher or the sorcerer, by the way, I can show you in the book of Revelation, what's that, chapter 21?

He called preachers sorcerers because they bewitch people.

And people are so gullible.

You don't go to church meetings to be hyped in sight.

You go to give God the glory, the honor, and you go to learn and to increase in knowledge and understanding.

But let's keep reading.

When Simon saw that through the land of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money.

He wouldn't have offered them money unless he saw some undeniable evidence that these people have received something that he hadn't received.

He wanted to buy this power.

Didn't say here they spoke with tongues.

It's the only place it didn't say it, but it did show you that was undeniable, irrefutable, uncontestable manifestations.

And every place else it shows you what the manifestation was.

It was speaking in other tongues or in tongues as the Spirit of God gave utterance.

So here he offered money saying, Give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost.

So he saw something.

He saw something.

Peter looked at this man.

He said, Unto you thine money, you perish with you.

You can't buy this because thou hast thought the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Wow.

Wow.

I say, wow.

One second.

Somebody.

Okay, I'm sorry.

Look what he says.

What he didn't understand is that he just judged himself unworthy.

Watch this.

Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter.

You'll never have part of this ministry.

For thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

But do repent, therefore, of this thy wickedness, and pray God that perhaps the thought of your heart might be forgiven thee.

Look at this next statement.

For I perceive this is discerning.

The word perceive means that you discern that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.

My God.

Iniquity means lawlessness.

You're bitter because you want something that you can't have.

My God.

I watched people who don't have the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

I was one of them myself.

We made mockery of people who would uh speak in tongues or we call them holy rollers.

Well, I was a kid, I'm glad God didn't lay it to my charge.

Most people who do that is because they themselves don't have the gift.

And rather than humble themselves and seek after it, they was trying to tell you it's not necessary that you got it when you received water baptism.

Let's show you that's not the truth.

Let's keep reading.

Then answering Peter, which by the way, Peter never did pray for him, then answered Simon and said, Pray you to the Lord for me, that none of these things which thou hast spoken come upon me.

But they didn't.

And they, Peter and John, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem and they preached in many villages of the Samaritan.

So now you see the gospel, go to Samaritan.

Who was in it?

Who was there to the Jews?

Peter.

Who went down to Samaritan?

Peter.

Until the doors is open to each one of these segments.

You could not receive the Holy Ghost until Peter unlocked the door.

And now it's open to all men.

Let's keep reading.

And uh I got time, I'm gonna finish this up.

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Peter saying, Arise, go toward the south of the way they go down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is theirs.

Of course, I'll just quote the rest of it to you.

He went down, and as he did, there was a man.

This man was coming back from Jerusalem because he went there to keep the feast days.

So he was an Ethiopian, he was uh a follower of the law of Moses.

I can tell you how they got there, it came there through Solomon, the queen of Sheba, is what brought back the Jewish faith.

Uh I won't go any further on that, that's all of course.

And so this man was dedicated, but he was an Ethiopian.

And so the Lord, the Lord angel, told Philip, you can read it here in this eighth chapter, go down and join yourself to that chariot.

And when he went there, he could hear the man reading the book of Isaiah, the fifth or third chapter.

He was led as a sheep before his sheep before his shot is dumb, is dumb, so he opened out his mouth.

He was taken from prison from judgment.

He's speaking out loud.

And so Philip asked me, Do you understand what you're reading?

I want you to listen to his answer.

I want every one of you to hear this.

His response was, How can I accept some man guide me?

You can read the Bible till your eyeballs fall out of your head, but until some God called God sent ministry help you to comprehend it, you'll never get it.

I'll let you read this.

What verse do I want?

I'm sorry.

He said, How can I accept some man Verse 30?

Verse thank you.

Read it for me, Brother Michael, please.

I'm getting my forces getting uh searched.

Acts 9.

Verse 29 and 30, please, real quick.

Acts 8 and uh 29.

Then the spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot.

And Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet he says, and said, Understand thou what thou readest?

Verse 31.

And he said, How can I except some man guide me?

And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

The essence here is everybody has to be taught.

Even Jesus Christ Himself.

He said, I was taught, or he was taught of his father.

And Jesus taught the 12 and the 17.

Everybody has to be, and you're no greater than your teacher.

If you sit upon a dumb teacher, what can you be but dumb?

If you sit up on an ignorant teacher, then what you are ignorant.

If you sit up on a religious teacher, you can only learn to be religious.

You can't see light and darkness.

In the light shall you see light.

That's what the that's what the prophet said.

And so, uh verse 25, 35, Philip opened his mouth and began to say scripture and preached unto him Jesus.

When you say Jesus, you mean the teachings of Jesus.

And then once, I'm gonna show you how deep he got, how far he went.

He did teach them uh Acts 2.38, repent, be baptized.

I know that, because look at this.

And when they went on their way, he came to a certain water.

And the eunuch said, See, here is water.

What do hinder me to be baptized?

Well, what do you mean?

He had to be baptized because he was a eunuch.

He had to be converted to Judaism, which required baptism.

But no, he wanted to be baptized into Christ.

He wanted to be baptized under this message.

And so Philip explained, I had explained that to him.

Philip said, If thou believeest with all thy heart, thou mayest.

He answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is not God, but is the Son of God.

And he commanded the chariot to stand still.

That's what they were riding in.

And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he that is Philip, baptized him.

Now he didn't receive the Holy Ghost, but he would.

After the Gentiles was able to get into the kingdom through Philip, uh through Peter's opening the door to them.

But let's go on.

Then the spirit caught away Philip.

How do you mean catch him away?

Did he rapture him?

No.

He was in the spirit of the Lord, and he went to another place until he went down to Samaritan.

We'll keep reading it.

Uh Caesarea, I'm sorry.

And the spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more.

And he went on his way rejoicing.

That is the eunuch.

But Philip, when he finished passing through all those cities, he didn't stop till he came to Caesarea, and that's where he stayed.

We have two more chapters, verse 9, chapter 9, and chapter 10.

Time is for a spin.

I try to stop at 9.

I did finish the eighth chapter, took a little time to do a little backdrop.

Write down your questions.

I did see a hand before I dismissed.

It was your hand, Brother Shelby.

I did see it, unless it was by mistake.

It was by mistake, sir.

Okay.

Does anyone have any questions whatsoever?

No questions?

Are you sure?

If there's no questions, brother LJ Brown.

I'll give it back to you, sir.

Yes, go ahead, sir.

I didn't see your hand, forgive me.

You won't you must be on another screen.

Go over to you.

Go ahead.

I can't I can't find you.

Go ahead.

Oh you'll come up when you start speaking.

You still muted, sir.

I'm sorry.

So Brother Brown.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

We can hear you well.

Yes, I uh actually did have a question.

Um and just for um my understanding here and uh where you ended up in chapter eight.

I won't I won't be too long.

Um I know uh Philip, as you said, was one of the ministers of the early church.

Can you hear me?

Yes, perfectly clear.

Uh so he Philip was a minister of the early church, and I totally agree with you.

He didn't have a uh a title here of a bishop or deacon or anything like that.

He was a minister, uh chosen of the apostles, and um he had a work he did in Samaria here, uh, as you were reading, and when he approached the Ethiopian eunuch, um he um did what he was supposed to be supposed to have done, and that was to preach Christ um and to baptize uh the uh individual, but uh it never said he laid hands on him, and this individual received the Holy Ghost.

So um I was asking this question because it looked like he um uh got a message to Jerusalem uh that these apostles was to come down and to um uh lay hands on this group of people after he uh preached to them.

And uh I believe uh they believe they received the Holy Ghost.

So my question is is do we have to have an apostle today um in the gentile era in in the church of um on the body of Christ, um have to have an apostle um in the church that they may have to lay hands on the individual to receive the Holy Ghost.

Now I know the Holy Ghost, like you said in Acts 2, it was poured out uh on the day of Pentecost.

But as we were reading here, um when Philip uh went down there to Samaria, he did not uh lay hands on them.

He was a minister, but it took the twelve, I believe if I'm reading that right, um, to come down and they received the Holy Ghost.

So to Do we still need an apostle in the church?

Let me explain two things.

Sure.

It wasn't the twelve that went down to Samaritan.

It was only John, Peter and John.

And the reason that they went out by two, because Jesus Christ trained them to go out by two.

Any man left to himself is a dangerous man.

And so if you read it carefully, when the apostles heard, they sent Peter and John.

Peter was the one that's most necessary because he was the one that was charged with uh uh opening the doors to the Jews and to the Samaritans and to the Gentiles.

And once the door is open, anyone is free to come.

That's what a key does, it unlocks doors.

And this was the key to allow these people come into the kingdom of heaven.

It was given to Peter.

And so once the Jews uh received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, they didn't need another apostle or anybody.

The door was open to anyone who wanted to receive it.

Of you as a Jew, once the door was open to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans, you didn't need another apostle.

Anyone could receive the door was open.

And the same thing when you get to the tenth chapter of the book of Acts.

And say that's all.

That's nothing else left.

The Jews, that is Jerusalem and Judea, that's the Jews, the Samaritans, and then the Gentiles.

The Gentiles, the other nations.

There is nothing else left.

And so there's no tarent for the Holy Ghost, and you don't need an apostle.

The word apostle means one cent, by the way.

Let's gonna get a little bit ahead, but we'll get into it a couple of weeks.

If you go to the 11th chapter of the book of Acts, you're gonna see that men went down uh to Antioch.

It names them.

Go to 11.

This is I don't want to take much time, but 11 and 19.

Someone reads that, uh, 19 and 20.

And when they were scattered, some people went as far as Antioch.

But when he got to Antioch, they established a church.

And when the apostles heard that there was a church established in Antioch, they sent down Barnabas.

When he got there, he saw the grace of God that was with that church.

So then no apostle went down there and established that church.

Uh sitting on the same man that you sat under, he taught that.

That's erroneous.

Uh that's to make himself some great one.

He was being Simon the sorcerer on us.

And he was a great one in the earth.

But that's not the truth.

That's not Bible.

Sorry, it's not complicated.

You said you listened to us on whatever meeting you did.

You know what I teach, book, chapter, verse.

And if it's not in the Bible, it can sound good, feel good, but if it ain't Bible, it ain't right.

I don't care who says it.

I'm sorry.

That's just not the truth.

When they went to Antioch, somebody, one of these men who was there from the day of Pentecost, it names them first in the uh in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Men from Antioch was there on the day of Pentecost.

Then the next time you see these men from Antioch is in the 11th chapter, the 19th verse.

I'll read it.

Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that goes all the way back to chapter 8, upon the persecution that arose about Stephen.

They traveled as far as Penis, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching a word to none other but to the Jews only.

But then something else happened, verse 20.

And some of them was men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they was come to Antioch, they speak to the Grecians.

That's talking about Gentiles now, and preaching the Lord Jesus.

And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

So you can begin to see just from this.

You can see from this that men went down to Antioch who weren't apostles.

And no apostle had to go down and pray for them and receive the Holy Ghost, because there's only Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles.

And the eighth chapter, the Samaritans come in.

The second chapter, the Jews came in.

The tenth chapter, the Gentiles came in.

You're reading the 11th chapter.

So all people was welcome.

They didn't need an apostle to come down in Antioch.

And by the way, Antioch was the largest city in the Roman Empire, second only to Rome.

And it became the largest church, uh, the most successful church, uh, surpassed even Jerusalem because it was going to be destroyed in 70 AD.

And yet no apostle went down there.

Well, you say Paul went, Paul went there as a teacher and a prophet.

He wasn't called an apostle to get to the 14th chapter of the book of Acts.

And he was sent out by those brethren that ministered that was there in Antioch.

So, no, sir, you don't need an apostle to do nothing.

What you need is a God called God sent ministry.

Apostle is an office, it's not a it's not a Lord, it's not a king.

I know what we've been taught, and I hate to tell you this, he was just erroneous in this, whether willfully or unintentional.

He shouldn't have done that.

He marked the minds of people, and people thought that without him you couldn't be saved.

I never believed that it's not Bible.

Okay, sir.

Good good answer, good answer.

Good, very good answer, Brother Brown.

Um and um the way you answer it is it's definitely uh book, chapter, and verse, and that's uh that's all I look to to uh lead me by is um the chapter, uh the spirit and um and uh God's will.

So um everything I heard you speak on today, um it's enlightening.

Uh I just want to say before you close out, um this is the greatest message uh on the face of this earth.

Um and uh I still believe that, and I'm that's what I'm gonna follow.

The message you got it, I'll follow.

Uh you divert, I go away.

I'm going with you, sir.

We're all gonna we're gonna go with you.

Amen.

Love all of you.

I really do appreciate every one of you, sister Kim.

Next week, uh, by the grace of God, when we see you again, we like to hear your your your uh your testimony.

Uh everybody has one.

Uh always intrigued to hear it.

Uh and I'm sorry, uh the brother who's with you again, who's sitting to your left.

Oh, thanks, Brother Roland.

Oh, hello.

Brother Rowland, I heard that you heard the message, got baptized in water, and received the Holy Ghost.

So you received the Holy Ghost and then got baptized in water.

Oh, at that time, friend, yeah.

Yes, God bless you, sir.

Thanks.

Um, I did have one question.

Um, if you didn't have time.

Go ahead, sir.

Well, it's a really short one.

Is being against the law of Moses is being against Christ.

Is being against the law of Moses being against Christ?

Um, because that was one of the things that was mentioned.

Um, I forgot which verse, but it was like the law of Moses, um, um, and a couple of other um things that was entwined in that verse was three components.

I'll answer you with one verse.

Oh, it was the law of Moses, the prophets, and Psalms.

Well in Luke, I think he's brother.

I think he's talking about in Luke the last chapter, I believe.

Yeah, I don't know if it was a specific verse, but it was something that was said and let me explain it.

Let me explain it to you real briefly.

As I said earlier, Christ was born under the law of Moses.

Uh that's why he had to be circumcised the eighth day.

He lived his whole life under the law of Moses.

That's why he told the uh that's why he told the lepers, that's why he told the uh the man in the gazarine to go offer to Moses, go offer to your priest the thing that's required of Moses.

He was living under the law of Moses.

Uh, the New Testament church didn't begin to the day of Pentecost.

And once the day of Pentecost starts, the law of Moses has been fulfilled.

It was uh to be done away with.

Uh, I'll let you I'll let you read it because I don't want you to think I said it.

I don't want you to think I said it.

Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 3 real quick.

2 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

Uh just two real verse, two verses won't take away.

Um I was giving trying to condense it.

Look what Paul calls it.

Verse 6.

Just real quick.

Who is talking about God has made us able ministers of the New Testament, not the old.

He said of the New Testament, not of the letter.

That's talking about the law of Moses that was in letter, but of the spirit.

For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Think what we call the law of Moses.

If the ministration of death, that's the law of Moses, written in engraving.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, brother Brother Brown.

He's not um he's not that fast in the in the scriptures.

So if you can give him a little bit more time to get there, he uh he's just getting there now.

Um it's in let me let me do this.

Let me dismiss the class.

Sure.

Let me dismiss the class and uh you and I we got all night.

Sure, absolutely.

Okay, definitely, brother Brown.

I thank you.

No, you stay no, you stay on.

You you stay on.

Okay.

Uh let it dear beloved, we'll let them uh uh prepare themselves for work tomorrow and do the things that's necessary in this life to uh fulfill that charge.

Brother Kennedy Patton, you don't have no job, sir.

You may not be retarded, but you retired, so you stay on here.

Uh we got all night.

Uh as for you, as for you people who are making bricks without straw, uh we're gonna let you go fulfill your task.

Brother L Jim, you can dismiss us, the three of us.

Uh, we're going to stay on so uh we can have a uh some liberty and time.

It's gonna take time to make sure I'm not just talking and help them to to see what we're saying more clearly.

Anyone else who wants to stay on, you're free to stay on.

Brother LJ.

Yes, sir.

I was texting Sean to stop the recording.

But okay.

Um appreciate you all.

I don't have any announcements.

Uh so God bless you all.

Have a great night.