Good morning once again. I'm
glad to be here. I hope you are. I have several
pastor friends that just got along in age and then they decided
to retire. That's not my motive. I'm getting
along in years, but I don't plan on retiring. I just love what
I'm doing. I love the folks that God gave
me. And you know, every once in a while, the Lord gives me
an opportunity to talk to someone about the great grace of God,
not from here. I have a couple of young men
that I've been talking to, and both of them, if you would remember
in prayer, I told them, and I hate to do this, but I was bragging
on myself. I asked them both to do something. Go to sermon audio. Go over to
the side over here and pull down speaker. Type my name in and
listen to a couple of sermons. That's all I've asked him to
do. So if you'd pray for those young men, they're both without
Christ, without God, and without hope in this world. And we find
out that the only way that anybody is ever going to be saved, they
must hear the truth of the gospel. It's essential. Well, we have
passed a milestone in the book of Acts. we have got to chapter
six. So if you would look with me
to chapter six of the book of Acts, we're gonna spend some
time here in this chapter, and it is a little different than
what we've been dealing with. They're in the previous five
chapters, but they're the same as in the background, and we
have to bring that up, and that is Christ and Him crucified.
Why do we have the record mentioned in Acts chapter six? for God's
glory and our good. It's recorded for us here in
2025. It's recorded for us. If we say
it was recorded for those folks 500 years ago, we are missing
a point. It's recorded for those who shall
be here in 200 or 500 years, if the Lord should tarry. So
it's here on purpose, it's the word of God. And it tells us
in Acts chapter six there, and I'd like to read verse one, Acts
chapter six and verse one, and spend some time here on this
wonderful subject that is brought up about servants. This is a
chapter about servants. And we read here in Acts chapter
six, and in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied. Now I want to stop there for
just a moment and go over the very thought of the number of
disciples. What does it say there? When
the number of disciples was multiplied, when the number of disciples
in this body grew, when there was an effective work of the
Holy Spirit. we find out that these people
just did not come over here to this church and join it because
it was popular. You know, it was very unpopular
to be part of this body. We're going to find out that
people that were part of this body are going to be arrested
by the religious leaders of the day. One of them is found in
this very chapter. Stephen is going to be arrested
for preaching the gospel. So it's not a popular place.
We're going to find out that the only way that these people
would ever come and have this said about them that they multiplied
is that there's a work of God going on in that place. And we
pray for that work every day. We pray for it in our own hearts.
We pray for it in the hearts of our family. We pray for it
in neighbors and strangers even, that God would be purposed to
give them the gospel and save them by his free and sovereign
grace. So we have here it multiplied.
Now there's a servant. I'd like you to keep your finger
right there for a moment. We'll be right back, but would
you turn with me over to the book of Acts chapter 22. In Acts
chapter 22, We have the Apostle Paul, Saul
of Tarsus, is recounting what God had done for him to make
him one that was a multitude or multiplied there. He could
count himself in that host, as God's people can count themselves
in that host today. that God worked a work of grace
and multiplied the disciples. Now, we may not have seen it
into such great numbers as we find here, but I'll tell you,
God's people rejoice when one of the lost sheep of the house
of Israel is found by the word of God and God Almighty, and
they are brought to the fold. They are regenerated by the power
of God. The church rejoices in even one
that is saved by the grace of God. Now, I don't rejoice in
making a decision. I don't rejoice in coming forward. I don't rejoice in signing a
card. That's all the practice in my religion. It's behind me. You know what's important today?
The new birth. That's what's important. And
people say, what is that? Well, they're identifying themselves
as not knowing. So let's say a few words here
in the book of Acts, chapter 22, as Saul of Tarsus has been
brought to his knees by the almighty power of God. I have to say that
Saul of Tarsus was not going down to Damascus, as one old
preacher said, to a prayer meeting. He's not going down there for
a revival meeting. He's not going down there to
hear the word of God. He hates the word of God and
he hates the God of the word. Now he's very religious and he
counts a God, very important in his life, but it's a little
G God, a God of his imagination, a God of his creation, a God
of the creation of all of those high priests and so forth during
that period of time. But here in chapter 22, we find
that he has added to the number. His part of that was multiplied. And here in the book of Acts
chapter 22, and we want to read verses 13 and 14. Now, the rest
of it is so good, he recounts what God had done for him. The
whole trail is marked by God. From his very birth, and you
know what? His parents' very births, and
his grandparents' very births. and his great-grandparents' very
birth, all the way back to Benjamin, he could trace his line. And
if you can make it to Benjamin, you can make it to Noah. And if you can make it to Noah,
you can make it to Adam. And that's where Paul, Saul of
Tarsus, began the problem that he was in, that was in the fall
of Adam in the Garden of Eden. So here, something must happen
if anybody is ever going to look to Christ for goodness, look
to Christ for salvation, look to Christ for any benefit. And
it is here in Acts chapter 22, there is a man that came to him
by the name of Ananias. It tells us verse 12, one Ananias,
a devout man, according to the law, having a good report of
all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me. and stood and said
to me." Now, this is the first time in Saul's life that anybody that knew something
about the gospel ever called him brother. Did you notice that? Brother Saul. Now, how did he
know that? God appeared unto him before
he ever got over it. He said, there's a man over there
that I've just saved by the grace of God, and you're gonna go over
there and you're gonna address him in these kind terms. Brother
Saul, never before had anybody said that about him with regard
to the gospel. Anybody that had ever said that
to him before was because out of fear, because he had power
over a lot of people to destroy them, given to him by the high
priest. So it says here, brother Saul received thy sight, and
the same hour I looked up upon him. Now notice verse 14. This is what the disciples are
going to say here in the book of Acts chapter 6 too. It may
not be in the text. It may not be in the writing,
but this is exactly the same thing that every gospel preacher
is ever gonna preach. And this is how come there is
a multitude being saved in the city of Jerusalem at this time.
God's work. Now there's been some faithful
preachers. but they will immediately state this work is of God. I've only been the thrower out
of seed. The work is of God. The increases
of God. Oh, right. Notice what he said
to him in verse 14. Ananias said to Saul of Tarsus,
brother Saul, the God of our fathers. What? hath chosen thee. First thing a preacher brings
to his attention is you've been chosen. We have so many people
saying, I chose Jesus. You couldn't have on your own. It's an impossibility. If you
did choose Jesus, you chose another Jesus because this Jesus must
first of all choose you. That's the truth of the gospel.
It must be God down. When I was working, I didn't
like my orders coming from top down. I liked them from coming
this way. But you know, when we get to
the gospel, when we get to the service of God, it's always top
down. from him to us. So he says here,
the God of our fathers has chosen thee that thou shouldest know
his will. Isn't it wonderful that when
God saves his people, he reveals unto them some of his will. Now we may not know it all, but
he reveals unto us some of his will. And his will is for us
to come to Christ. His will is for us to bow before
him. His will is for us to bow as
we read over there in the book of Philippians that every knee
shall bow and every tongue shall confess. Isn't it a wonderful
that because of Christ Jesus the Lord, we're given the privilege
of calling on him and bowing before him and thanking him for
the great work of salvation. I don't believe there was a day
in Saul of Tarsus' life and later as the Apostle Paul, he was not
thankful for grace. And the same is true for every
believer, thankful for grace, not one thing. Did I contribute
to this? Except as the old preacher said,
my sin. And how rotten is that? He said
there, that thou shouldest know his will and see. Did you notice that? And see
that just one thing. and shouldest hear the voice
of his mouth?" Just look at that. There's an outline right there.
There's miles of preaching right in that one verse of scripture
when this man, chosen of God, to go over to a man chosen of
God, he said, he's chosen you, the God of our fathers has chosen
you, that thou shouldest know his will. see the just one and
should hear the voice of his mouth. What a blessing. Well,
we have a whole bunch of people over in Acts chapter 6 that have
had that happen. They've been multiplied. The
gospel has gone out and they were multiplied. It's not because
they did something that they're multiplied. I have to ask this
question every time I visit with someone, how much did you have
to do with your salvation and with your first birth? Let's
put it that way. And we always find the answer. They know the
answer. You and I all know the answer, how much we contributed
to our first birth. None. Do you think God's going
to be any less involved in our second birth when it is so much
more effectual and gracious? All right. Going back to the
book of Acts chapter 6, if you would, Acts chapter 6. In Acts
chapter 6, we have an issue. In Acts chapter 5, it opened
up with an issue. Did you remember that? We have
Ananias and Sapphira. First thing, right out after
the day of Pentecost, and after the healing of that man on the
way to the temple, here we have Ananias and Sapphira come up
with a scheme on their own, and God judged it openly. And great
fear came upon the church, that's what it says. Well here, In this
chapter 6, we also have an issue come up, and it tells us here
in the book of Acts chapter 6 that in those days when the number
of the multitudes was multiplied, there arose a murmuring. Now
that word murmuring means dissatisfaction. It means to talk about something
and never bringing it to the point, never bringing it out,
never taking care of it. It's always in the background.
I remember hearing a story a preacher told me when I was growing up
that a young pastor was invited out to lunch. And he got over
there and the only person that answered the door was a young
boy. And he said, nothing else to say, what are we having today?
And he says, we're having buzzard. Buzzard. He said, yeah, how do
you know that? He says, oh, my parents says
we're having the old buzzard over. Well, that's not what we're talking
about. There was a murmuring. You know, it is so plain in the
scripture that if you have an issue with a brother or sister,
You have felt slighted, offended. You have had a problem with them.
The Bible is so clear on what to do. And it's found in the
book of Matthew. Go to your brother or sister
alone. Don't mention it to anyone else. Take care of it appropriately.
And nine times out of 10, or maybe I should say 9.9 times
out of 10, it's taken care of instantly. That's God's prescription for
how to deal with it. Well, in this chapter, there's
a murmuring, and there's a murmuring between Grecians against the
Hebrews. Now, if you read a little bit
about this under commentary, you'll find out that there were
Grecian Jews and Hebrew Jews, and there was a disagreement
among some of them because some of their widows were being neglected
in their food allotment. That's what the rest of that
means. So we have a problem that has arisen, and the disciples,
the 12 apostles, have been given by Almighty God the prescription
on how to deal with this. The first thing is don't stop
preaching the gospel. In fact, the opposite is true. You are going to choose out some
people that know the gospel. Now, I've been in churches where,
and they called them deacons, they were ordained deacons. You
know, the most important thing, qualification that was, they
knew some business, how to deal business. or they had a good
business, they had a psychology degree, they had a sociology
degree, they knew how to deal with people. And yet we find
in the scriptures, this is the number one qualification about
these servants. And this is any servant and every
servant that's in the church must know Christ. All right, let's look at this.
The 12 called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said,
it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve
tables. That's a pretty clear statement. We have a calling
and that is preparing the preaching of the gospel. Wherefore brethren,
look ye out among you seven men of honest report. Now that word
means honest reporters. Seven men of honest report. Doesn't
mean that they have someone saying, well, this is a good guy. It
means that they are honest reporters about the gospel. They're not
gonna step back and say something about Jesus Christ that is not
true. They're not gonna say, well,
this whole mess should have been taken care of in another way.
They're not gonna say, you know, the devil's got into our church.
They're gonna say this, preaching the gospel is the only answer
for all the problems that we are ever faced with in our life. I do not have to preach on all
the sins that I can enumerate, because when we come to that
serious point that all people are sinners by nature, by practice
and choice, that covers every sin we can imagine. And you know,
some of us, we have imagined sins that nobody else can imagine.
but God has taken care of that in the preaching of the gospel.
So he says, look you out, seven men of honest report, full of
the Holy Ghost and wisdom. What a statement these apostles
make with regards to this, that they must have these qualifications. You know, these are the qualifications
for just the normal church member. These are the qualifications
for servants. This is the qualifications for pastors. This is the qualification
for missionaries. This is the qualification for
anybody that is ever going to serve God. There is no difference
between these seven that were going to be chosen than anybody
else in that body, except they were appointed by the church
to do some things for the church. It says they were seven men of
honest report. They knew the gospel and they
knew that the gospel was essential. And you know, we're going to
find out in just a few verses that one of these men that was
selected, Stephen, He's out preaching the gospel. And guess what? We're gonna find out about another
man. Who is one of these men? His name is Philip. And he's
the one that's down there in the backside of the desert, visiting
with an Ethiopian eunuch. This is the kind of people that
God has ordained to be servants. You know, we find out to be a
true servant of God, there are at least three essentials. A
true servant of God, a deacon. Now it's interesting in the Bible,
in our translation, my translation, it calls it an office of a deacon.
And there's a Greek word for office, but it's not used in
those two verses of scripture. There's no such thing as an office
of a deacon. There are deacons and deaconesses,
but the office is not there. There is a word for office, but
it's not found in that passage of scripture in the book of Timothy.
So it was created because there was already an office at the
time of the translation, and we can't do away with people
that we already have an office. But the word is deacon, and that
means servant. Now, everybody that God ever
saves is a servant of the Most High God, whether male or female,
bond or free. Anybody that God ever saves is
His servant. And you know what? We find out
that every servant of Christ is a willing servant. He has
brought us to a willingness to serve Him. We may have fussed
and fought about it before he saved us, but after he saves
us, we're willing servants of the Most High God. And that's
what's here. There are three things that must
be for true servants, for true deacons and deaconesses. We don't
have the office of a deacon here. We have a lot of deacons and
we have a lot of deaconesses. They're servants and God has
given them the responsibility of taking care of the business
that he's given them. Well, number one, would you turn
with me to the book of Ephesians? Here is the, this must happen
before we can be servants. In the book of Ephesians chapter
one, verse 13, In whom ye also trusted, what,
after that ye heard the word of truth. Now that sentence takes
out all the chaff. because it brings up the very
essential need that we hear, the word of truth. Now, what
was the word of truth that Ananias brought to the apostle Paul?
God's chosen you. We find out the word of truth
is God chose the people before the foundation of the world.
The word of truth is God had an interest in saving some people
before they were ever created. God had in his great work of
grace, he had names written down in the Lamb's book of life before
there was anybody born. He's had an interest and a love
for his people before the foundation of the world. He has chosen a
people before the foundation of the world. And you know what?
Nobody but those people will ever get interested in the gospel.
Why doesn't my brother be interested? Well, if he leaves this world
in the condition he is right now, he is where the Pope just
said nobody is. Did you just hear that? The Pope
said, there's nobody in hell, I'm quite sure of that, or I'm
glad for it. Well, you know what? He doesn't
know what he's talking about. Because if my brother leaves
this world without Christ, without the gospel, if he goes out of
this world without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, he
will be in hell. He's a sinner without salvation,
and that's why people go to hell. It's not for rejecting God, we
did that in Adam, but it's for being a sinner. All right, so
we must have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise. So what is the fruit of this great work
of God? Belief. The religious world says
you have to believe and then he will save you. The gospel
says you must be saved and then you will believe. And you know,
I'm gonna have to take the word of God on this subject. I practiced
the other for years, but I'm gonna have to take the word of
God. He saves his people from their sins, and then they believe. It's the fruit of salvation. Hear the word of the truth, the
gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that you believed,
you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. And what does
that mean? God saves you. You cannot be lost. It is secure, it is handled by
God. You know, I look and been studying
about the Apostle Peter, what a rascal he was. We have some
record about him, we just don't want written about ourselves,
do we? My goodness, we were just looking yesterday with this young
man I've been visiting with, three times he denied the Lord.
And the last time he denied the Lord, he got serious about it
and swore I don't know him. What did Jesus Christ do when
he first met him after the resurrection? He said, peace. I'm not a historian at Holiness
Against You. I've taken care of all this sin.
Now, Peter was ashamed of what he had done. He went out and
wept bitterly, and we may be ashamed of what we've done, but
it doesn't change our relationship with God one iota, because he
has loved us with an everlasting love, and it is a love that is
100% all the time and does not fluctuate. It's a straight line
love that God has for us. Have you ever thought about our
love? It's a crooked line. Yeah, I love my mother, and then
she'd get after me, and I'd go, oh my goodness. We know that
feeling, but what God has for his people is an absolute, straight
line, eternal, everlasting love. So all his people are set free. Now we are called on to come
before him and confess our sins, but I'll tell you this, if you
miss one of them, God doesn't check it off, say, well, you're
third rate now. I don't have time. in my day to confess my
all my sin because every second it is. Some of the worst times
I have is standing right there when Brother Lauren is praying.
And I'm in church listening to a prayer and my mind is gone. Some other things, some other
happening, some other place. I'm just thankful that God doesn't
check that off and say, well, You've slipped a bit here, and
if you keep going, well, let's look at the second thing you
must have in order to be one of the servants. Over in the book of John, would
you turn with me to the book of John? To be a servant, a deacon,
to be a servant of God, to be a deaconess of God, to be a servitus,
of God. Here we read the first thing,
we must have heard the word of truth. And in John chapter 6
and verse 45, we have this. John chapter 6 and verse 45.
Now when they came back with those seven men of honest report,
every one of these men had these qualifications. There was no
exception. The requirement was some people
who knew the gospel. Some people God had witnessed
to by his spirit. Some people that God had raised
from the spiritual dead by his almighty power. These folks were
going to be the servants in that church, just like the 12 apostles
were servants in that church. In the book of John chapter six
and verse 45, it is written in the prophets, and they shall
all be taught of God. Now that's an essential. We must
be taught of God. We must be taught the scriptures
by God. We must be taught the truth about God. And God is going
to get involved in that. If he's ever going to save us,
we're going to be taught of God. Now thank God he sends along
a preacher. And that preacher has some truth
about the gospel. But when it comes to the essentials,
we must be taught of God. And if we're taught of God, we're
convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the truth. What is it going to say here?
Every man shall be taught of God. Every man, therefore, that
has heard and has learned of the Father. Now, what happens
to them? They come to Christ. It is written in the prophets
that they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard and hath learned of the father cometh unto me. Not that any man has seen the
father save he which is of God and he hath seen the father.
So every person that God ever saves, he's going to be taught
of God. He's going to have the gospel
given to him. He's going to be taught of God. And when we're taught
of God, We will come to Christ. What will we say when someone
says, what's your hope? Jesus Christ and Him crucified. What do you rest on? Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. What are you going to plead when
you get before God? Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son
hath not life. So here we go. You must have
heard. Those guys, seven guys, the apostles,
everybody saved in that church, everybody that were in that multitude
had to have heard the gospel. And God is faithful to take the
gospel. where he has lost sheep. Every
one of those folks, God had taught something, taught the truth about
Christ, that he is not just a man, he's the God man. He's not just
a good example, he is the savior of his people. They shall call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
This is what God teaches us about God, that he is the absolute
and only savior. He is the way, the truth, and
the life. You know, if we go back to the
book of Genesis, we find out that all that Adam knew before
the fall, he lost in the fall. He couldn't figure out the truth,
he couldn't figure out the way, and he couldn't figure out the
life. All had to go and be supplied
to him now after the fall. Well, the next one that we have
to go to is found in the book of John chapter three. John chapter
three, verse three. The best way I can describe this event is the result of this
event. There's so much about the new
birth I can't explain. I just can't diagram. I can't
come up with the right words. I can't get my hands around it.
I can't get my head around it. All I know is what Jesus said
here in John chapter three, verse three, Jesus answered and said
unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And if you drop down
to verse five, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man
be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God. So there's an essentialness about the new birth. You must
be born again. But to wrap my hands around all
that that entails is beyond me. But I do know the result of this. You quit arguing with God about
his word. When he says, I chose you in
Christ before the foundation of the world, you know what those
seven men of honest report said? Yea and amen. You know what the
apostle said? Yes, that's the truth. Left to
myself, Matthew said, I would have continued as a collector
of taxes and I would have worked long enough to retire. And then
I went down on the Mediterranean and bought me a house. But when
God intervened, he says, follow me. He followed him without resistance
because the power of God to call his people out of darkness to
his marvelous light is insurmountable, awesome, beyond compare. His call rings true. Can you remember your mother
calling you? My mother could call. I could be a mile away.
I could hear her. I knew I needed to get home.
Well, just think about God magnifying that by 10 billion billions.
He can get to us wherever we are. So we must be born again.
So we must have heard the gospel. We must have been taught of God. And if we're taught of God, we'll
come to Christ. We must be born again. There
is an essentialness there. We must have that spiritual given
to us. And this same thought is found
over in the book of 1 Peter 1. Would you turn there with me?
1 Peter 1, verse 23. We read this also. In the Old
Testament, as we mentioned, we often find circumcision of the
heart. We find in Ezekiel a number of
times, it says, I'll give you a new heart, same thing. Old
Testament reference about it. New Testament, we find so often,
you must be born again, you must have regeneration. Here in the
book of 1 Peter 1, verse 23, being born again, Now notice the next two words,
three words, four words, not of corruptible seed. Now, all
we have is corruptible seed. Therefore, we can't get there
from here. Our belief is corrupted. Our
faith is corrupted. It's terrible. The fall is terrible.
The older you get, and if you know Christ, you'll find out
it's worse than I thought. It's just worse than you thought.
It just multiplies. Now, it's not just the pain that
our bodies have and the feelings that we have, but our thoughts
and the intents of our heart. If God was not reigning us in,
what would we be? Well, here he says, you being
born again, not a corruptible seed. We can't have the flesh
involved in our new birth. It must be spiritual. It must
be from God. Everything we have, every fruit
of the spirit, love is corrupted in us. We don't have good faith. It's corruptible faith. It's
corruptible love. It's corruptible patience. It's
corruptible, corruptible. Everything is corruptible from
our standpoint. Thank God he gives us his gift
of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
and those things. That's a gift of God that he
gives his people. So being born again, not a corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, that's spiritual, being given seed that's
incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth
forever. So as we look at those seven
that are going to be called out of the whole host of those multiplied
there in Jerusalem at that time, They are a representative of
everyone that God has ever saved since the time of Adam. They had to hear the word. They had to be taught of God. And when they're taught of God,
there is no escape except coming to Christ. And they must be born
again. That is essential. So as we look
at these seven, let's go back to the book of Acts, if you would. Acts chapter seven, excuse me,
chapter six. The 12 apostles, I just want
to make a note here, Matthias is one of them. And some people
said, well, he wasn't the 12th one. Paul was, Saul was. Well,
he's not even here, but we do have 12. Called a multitude of
the disciples unto them and said, it is not reason that we should
leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren,
look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the
Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
So they must have these qualifications. It's not just because they're
a good business head. It's not just because they can
deal with people easily. And it's not because they have
restaurant skills. They're going to be serving some
widows some food. Having a restaurant skill doesn't mean anything here.
Having the love of God given to them. But we will give ourselves,
verse four, continually to prayer and the ministry of the word.
And that's essential because these folks are going to come
hear them. The same pleased the whole multitude. And they chose
Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. My goodness,
what qualifications that was required and given. And they
chose Philip, and Procorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Paramenius,
and Nicholas, and a proselyte of Antioch. I think it was Robert
Hawker said, not one of these names is Hebrew. They're all
Greek. We need some help with the Greek
widows. So God chose seven men of honest
report with a Greek background so they could talk to the widows.
What do you need? How can we help you? And they
were willing to do that. And then it says in verse six,
whom they said before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they
laid hands, laid their hands on them. I had that happen once. I had a bunch of preachers gathered
for an ordination service, and they came around and they laid
their hands on my head and said a few words, and I was ordained. Guess what? I didn't even know
the gospel. It meant nothing. It meant nothing. When you don't know the gospel,
it doesn't matter how many people of high report put their hands
on you and pray. There is no salvation in that. Now these apostles, these 12
apostles, when they did that, they just ratified the choice
of the church. God calls somebody into the ministry,
and if God moves them somewhere to preach the gospel somewhere,
and the people that they're gonna preach the gospel says, we want
you, They're just simply recognizing the ordination that God has already
given. He's the only one that can ordain
anybody to eternal life. He's the only one that can ordain
anybody to service. He's the only one that can ordain
anybody to the ministry. He's the only one that can ordain
anybody to be a servant of the Most High God. Now the results
of this, Verse seven, we've already had in verse one a great multitude
of folks. Verse seven, and the word of
God increased. Why? Because we have seven more
men preaching the gospel. Men of honest report, full of
the Holy Ghost. Seven more men preaching the
gospel. What's the best way to quell a problem? The gospel. The word was increased, the number
of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great
company of priests were obedient to the faith. In the very next
verse, we're gonna have Stephen arrested and taken before a bunch
of those folks. Can you imagine what was going
through that council's mind when they saw a whole bunch of their
group saying, we've been wrong all along? What we've been hearing
over here is the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ
Jesus. He has caused me to hear the
gospel. He has caused me to be taught
of God and he has taught me the new birth is an act of God and
I'm born again. I'm going over there where I
can get some food. And a bunch of those priests
left the priesthood and went over there. I'm thankful that
God still calls people out of our natural priesthood, our natural
inclination to do what we want to do and express our will and
our free will, and he takes us out of that nonsense and gives
us Christ, and we say, hallelujah. I'm free at last, free at last. Great God almighty, I'm free
at last. Brother Mike.