Acts 19:1-7, “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 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. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve.”
Reasons we don’t receive!
Act 2:39, “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
Need to Hear!
Rom 10:13-17, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Fear!
2Ti 1:6-7, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Comforts and Teaches us!
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Intercedes for us!
Rom 8:26, “likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Makes a way!
Rom 8:8-11, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Desire!
Matthew 5:6 promises, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Conforming to the world, its not really a new thing, it’s been happening from the onset of the church and even before, Galatians 1:6, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:”
The world can twist, refute, dilute, delete, and compromise the Word of God in pretty much any matter including salvation!
Jude 3-4, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” On this Pentecost Sunday let us contend for the “Faith”.
There are not many ways to get to heaven as many Hollywood personalities have claimed as well as some biblically ignorant churches, Oprah Winfrey says this, “Well, I am a Christian who believes that there are certainly many more paths to God other than Christianity” Steve Harvey also believes this.
What’s worse is that an ever-increasing number of church goers believe that your good works will get you into heaven. According to a Christian post article from September 2022, over a third of senior pastors believe, “good people” can earn their way to heaven.
Psalms 14:1-3, “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Your “good” works cannot get you into heaven!
If we had multiple choices to make heaven, I would think the Apostles would have been witness to that, Acts 2:1-4, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
This attracted a crowd questioning what was happening in which the Apostle Peter stands up to explain this phenomenon in verse 21 he says, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Peter doesn’t stop there but continues on talking of Jesus and the resurrection which then brings us to the question that we all need to come to in our life, when we realize we were sinners that needed a Savior, Acts 2:37, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
This is where we should see an option lists if there are other ways to salvation, Acts 2:38-42, “then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 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 afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
We can find this same formula in Acts chapters 8,10, and 19 which is the only formula to fulfill the Born-Again experience in the Gospel of John.
The book of Acts of the Apostles is the only NT book that gives us the history of the birth of the church. The “Epistles” to follow, literally, “letters” contain topics that the author which often carried an admonition to turn away from sinful things with instructions about how to live a life as a believer in Christ.
These are written to “saints” example, Galatians 1:1-5, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Galatians 1:9, “As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
We will not conform to the world’s standards in doctrine and especially when it comes to what the Word of God tells us when it comes to salvation!
Promises made, promises kept used to be the saying, not so much anymore!
A promise is an assurance similar to a vow or a pledge where one will do, give, or arrange something, undertake, or declare that an event will happen. A promise is sacred and verbal commitment that isn’t to be broken.
We all of unfortunately been the victim of a broken promise and try as we may, have been guilty of breaking a promise sadly. It used to be that “your word is your bond”.
There is someone who will always keep His promise, Titus 1:1-2, “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”
Let’s look at the greatest promise ever made in the History of mankind that came about by a major mess up at the very beginning of mankind.
The man Adam was created with the best of everything with only one instruction to not do something which was to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 3:1-3, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
There were several consequence of this disobedience to God and first was to the serpent, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”
With that comes the first promise from God of a redeemer one day, Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Throughout the entire Old Testament, we have the hope that this Messiah would be appearing soon. But for 4000 years as man waited even though having many miracles are recorded this miracle was not fulfilled.
It has been said that we have over 300 prophecies about that birth, life, and death of the Messiah and the book of Isaiah is the clearest about what to look for about the promise.
A virgin; Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
The Name; Isaiah 9:6-7, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
His lineage; Jeremiah 23:5-6, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
A forerunner; Isaiah 40:3-4, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:”
The promises of the place of the birth of Jesus is also mentioned in Micah 5:2, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
So when were these promises fulfilled?
Mark 1:1-4, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”
Luke 1:26-33, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
Luke 2:1-7, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
So, with all these promises and more how could the nation of Israel miss the coming of the Lord?
The promises of God didn’t end with the birth of the Messiah, for each of us are given a promise if we are willing to accept it, Acts 2:38-39, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 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 afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
Our lord also promises in no matter what situation you are in that you will never be alone, Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
We also have the promise that Jesus is going to come back for us, John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
This place is going to be the most wonderful place and beyond our imaginations, Revelations 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Jesus Christ is and will always be the GREATEST PROMISE
James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
We are in the midst of Christmas season 2020 as kids all over the world are making out their Christmas lists. I remember when we were kids, we couldn’t wait for when the Sears and JCPenney’s catalogues would be delivered and we would go through them over and over again to mark the things we were hoping for.
I’m sure everyone reading this can remember that one special Christmas or if you were fortunate several Christmas’s that you got the gift that you had dreamed of. You can probably also remember some of the gifts you didn’t ask for as well.
That gift you would probably qualify as the “Best Gift” and you may even smile when you think of that gift or may have it even today.
Acts 20:35, “I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” I personally believe this is true when you have the opportunity to give to someone who could never repay you or if you can do it anonymously. But to be honest, I do like to be the recipient of gifts, and at Christmas we remember the “Best Gift” mankind has ever received.
John 4:10, “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Because of this gift of God becoming flesh, dwelling among us, suffering, being crucified, His resurrection, and finally ascension we have another promise we receive. Acts 2:38-39,”Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 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 afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
The gift of life that we have been blessed with is truly something to be grateful of, but eternal life that we get through faith in Christ is by far the, “Best Gift”! Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
My Thoughts about Revival 