Let's take our Bibles and turn
to the book of Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19. Let's pray together. Our Father, we ask you this evening for a blessing by Your Spirit
upon the preaching of Your Gospel. Lord, we ask that You would teach
us of Yourself in the person of Your blessed Son. Lord, may we worship in spirit
and truth. May our hearts be made glad. Lord, truly we ask, help us. Help us to worship. Help us to
hear. Help us to see. Help us to be
glad. For Christ's sake. Amen. The Apostle Paul We looked at the beginning of
chapter 19. He met with a group of disciples and he asked them some questions based on obviously something
that he had detected that was wrong. We looked at that few services. He asked them in verse 2, Have
you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? We looked at that
one question right there on one of the services. I thought that
was a good question. Have you received the Holy Ghost? They gave him an answer. Their
answer appears as though that they had never heard of the Holy
Ghost, but that's not The answer they gave him, actually what
they were saying was, we have no evidence that we're aware
of that the Spirit of God has ever done anything for us. That's
the bottom line. I think that's a real honest
answer. I think it's Ralph Barnard that said, God doesn't send honest
men to hell. You know, men that are honest.
They're made honest before God. And he asked them in verse 3,
unto what then were you baptized? And they said, unto John's baptism.
And we looked at the baptism of John. What was that? What
did it deal with? Paul preached to them and said
in verse 4 that they should believe on him which hath come after
him. That is, on Christ Jesus. The
Scripture says when they heard that, They had been baptized
by John the Baptist in the baptism of John. After they heard that,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. A man or a
woman that has been regenerated by the grace of God, called out
of darkness, is commanded to be baptized. That is not an optional thing.
That is a commandment. The Lord said, Go in all the
world. Don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed. God's people
are not ashamed of Christ. They'll confess Him. They were baptized. Paul laid
hands on them, and the Spirit of God came on them, and they
spake with tongues, and there was an evidence, that evidence
that was common during that period of time. You know, at Pentecost,
that was the first time that happened. They spoke in languages
That that tongue's right there. As I've said before, it's not
that tongue's that unintelligible language that men say. They practice
that. Now, you think I'm kidding. I'm
not kidding. I know people that have actually
done it, and they were they were schooled in how to do that. how to actually do it. Now, some
of you here may know that for a fact. I'm telling you, I know
it for a fact. I knew someone that was actually
schooled in how to do that gibberish. This is talking here. Now, this is a real miracle.
I can do that. Give me a little time. I could,
you know. But this is to be able to preach. They speak with Languages
that they'd never learned. These guys were of one country
and they spoke a certain language. I speak. I told a man one time
he was from London. And I told him, I said, I speak
English and you speak English. He said, no, you speak. He said,
I speak. He said he did. He said, I speak
English. He said, you speak American.
And I probably speak Southern, but I speak what I know. And they spoke what they know. But they spoke after the Spirit
of God came and confirmed that God had truly done something
for them. They spoke in a known language that was not known to
them. Whatever language they spoke,
they spoke a miracle. They could speak in a language
that they had never learned before. Someone else knew that language,
but they didn't previously. He prophesied. There's about
12 of them. Well, after that, the Scripture
says in verse 8, this is where we'll begin. He, that is Paul,
went into the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three
months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom
of God. Now, it was Paul's custom. You know, the first thing I notice
about this is the miracle of God's grace. Think about how
many times Paul has been persecuted and run out of town, thrown in
the Philippian jailer and beaten and on and on. And he's still
there. That's a miracle of God's grace.
But a man or a woman is still there. He doesn't come to a point
where he just says, this is just not worth it anymore. He went
into the synagogue. He went to the Jews first, and
he preached to those who made claim. That was Paul's custom,
to go to the place, to the synagogue, where those that said, I believe
this Bible, cover to cover, I believe that. That's where Paul went.
That's where he started. He started there in the synagogue
of the Jews. You know, Paul was a preacher
that was a chosen vessel. That's what the Lord said in
Acts 9 and 15. He told Ananias, he said, I want
you to go and there's a Saul of Tarsus there. And Ananias
told him, he said, we've heard about this man. And he's been
kind of wreaking some havoc among the believers. And the Lord told
him, ìHeís a chosen vessel unto Me.î Boy, thereís a miracle of
Godís grace that God didnít bring anybody down. God bring me down
and bring you down. He can bring anyone down and
Heís pleased to do so. He brought down a Saul of Tarsus,
a high and mighty, arrogant man. Paul was a chosen vessel. to preach to Jew and Gentiles.
You know, when the Jews at Corinth posed themselves in blaspheme,
Paul told them, he said, your blood be on your own heads, I'm
going to the Gentiles in that place. Because later, he went
back and preached to Jews in other places. Why? Because God has not forsaken
Israel. He said, not those that He foreknew.
Has God cast away the Jews? Not those He's everlastingly
loved. Paul, he'd go to the Jews, and they'd get mad at him, and
they'd run him out, and they'd beat him. They'd do something
to him. They'd blaspheme. They wouldn't say a good word
about the God that he preached and loved, the Christ that saved
him by grace. And Paul would leave and go somewhere
else and go right back to the synagogues. Why? Because God
has a people. Why do we continue to preach?
God has a people. We're doing what we know to do.
He went to the synagogue and He spoke boldly. He was frank
and confident. That's what that means. He spoke
boldly. He didn't beat around the bush.
He wasn't afraid to tell them the truth. He spoke freely. He knew that his message was
from God. He knew that this message was
vital to the calling out of God's sheep, God's elect. There was
no other message that Paul would preach. He wasn't trying to connive
anybody to do anything. No gimmicks. That's why, by the
grace of God, that we don't have any gimmicks here. What do we have? Tell you what
we have for children and what we have for adults and what we
have for the, you know, all in between. The gospel of free grace. You say, well, but I don't know. You know, some of these little
ones right here. I don't know. I don't know if they're going
to understand. You keep them under the sound of the gospel.
And if God's pleased in due season, they'll hear. How old was Samuel
when God called him out of darkness? I don't know, but he's a young
fellow, this young boy. Just keep him there. Who knows? Peradventure, that's what Paul
said, peradventure, perhaps God might be pleased. Paul, he spake
boldly, not ashamed of the one who had borne his guilt, not
ashamed of the one who has made sin for him whose righteousness
was imputed to Paul, he spake boldly, and the Scripture says
he disputed, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom
of God. He preached thoroughly, disputing
the things, persuading the things concerning. Paul knew that he
could not actually persuade. It says disputing and persuading. Attempting and striving. I'm convinced of this. There
is no way in the world that I can speak actually to the heart of
a man or a woman. I can speak the truth. I can pray for the Lord to bless
it. I can ask God's blessing and
worship. upon a congregation for all of
us. I need this. You need this. All
of us need this. I want to, but I cannot speak
powerfully to the heart. Why? Because I'm a man. I just... Salvation is of the
Lord. But I tell you what I can do.
I can be honest. I can strive to be honest. To be frank and bold. and truthful
concerning the things of God Almighty. Paul would go into
these synagogues and he would converse with the attendants
there, the Jews there, concerning the Scriptures and their need
to believe. I can tell you this, repent,
but I can't give you a new heart, but I can be truthful with you.
Strive to be truthful. But he spake boldly, the Scripture
says. You know, isn't it amazing that
the Scripture sets forth that a man would have to be bold,
frank, concerning the news that is so wonderful? Isn't it amazing
that a man would have to be, this word, bold, concerning saving
grace? Hope for a sinner. Salvation
by the compassion, grace, and mercy of Almighty God. Isn't
it an amazing thing that God would have to give boldness? But where boldness is needed,
God grants boldness. You would think people would
be so willing to hear this, they'd just be knocking the door down
to hear the truth of God's grace. Not so. God must send and sustain
a man and give that man boldness in the day of God's power. We're placed by the good pleasure
of Almighty God in harm's way. Now, the Scripture says in Matthew
10, 16, Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.
Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. You know,
I thought about that scripture. You know, sometimes I'll read
something like that, and I thought, I've read that. I've read that
before. You know, be wise as serpents. I thought, I wonder, wise as a serpent. I mean, I
kind of, I guess I understand that. But you know, I got to
thinking, I was out in front of the creek. I was out in front
of the house the other day. And a little creek runs in front
of the house and rocks all over the place. And if you go out
there and you turn over a rock, especially if it's hot, you're
liable to find a snake out there. They're out there. Believe me.
Now, I'm not trying to instigate them or anything like this. You
know, when you look under a rock, you know what that snake is actually
trying, well he's staying out of the sun, I know that, but
basically he's not looking for trouble. Now there's some, I
realize this, they ain't going to back up from trouble, but
now these little old snakes out there in front of the house,
you know, they're just water snakes. You know, I haven't seen
any that I think is poisonous, but I mean to me they're all
cobras, you know, to me. I don't like the food. You know,
they're snakes. But I'm not looking for trouble. And they're not
either. That's as wise as a serpent. Self-preservation. That's what
they're trying to do. They're camouflaged and they're
not looking for trouble. A believer's not looking for
trouble. Man, I'm not trying to pick a fight with you. I'm
really not. I'm not trying to... Just knowingly,
Bob, I don't want to try to make you mad or make you... I don't.
But I will say this. I don't want to back up from
the truth either. I'm not going to do that. Wise as a serpent
and harmless as a dove. Avoid craftiness. Just maintain your innocence
and your integrity. That's what the Lord... I'm sending
you forth. As sheep in the midst of wolves,
be you therefore wise as serpents. Strive to avoid traps. You know,
don't try to put yourself in a situation where you absolutely,
because of your arrogance, don't do that. But be truthful. Be bold. Matthew 10, 18 says,
You should be brought before governors and kings for my sake
for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they
deliver you up, take no fault how or what you shall speak,
for it should be given you in that same hour what you should
speak. For it is not you that speak, but the spirit of your
father which speaketh in you. That's an amazing thing. God
will speak. Maintain your integrity. Don't
be ashamed of the gospel. Paul went and he spoke boldly
three months disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom
of God. Now, concerning the kingdom of
God. That's what he was disputing
and persuading the things concerning. The kingdom of God. Now, this
subject The gospel of the kingdom. That's how Matthew 4.23 relates
it. The gospel of the kingdom. It's
a message that is proclaimed by Paul boldly concerning the
absolute subjection and allegiance to Christ. That's what he's talking
about. If there's a kingdom, as I said
last Sunday, then there's a king. King, that is, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and He rules in that Kingdom. So, I realize that a
lot of people may speak of the Kingdom of God. They talk about
it in the great by and by, and they talk about it like one of
these days when we're going to all be in the Kingdom. As if,
somehow, God is going to absolutely show just indiscriminate mercy
to everybody just because either they They did the best they could,
or they got older. I don't know. You know, I used
to think that people got better because they were older, you
know. Not the way I see me. Not the way I see myself. But
they speak of somehow. But Paul, he's speaking of disputing
concerning the kingdom of God. The first time the kingdom of
God was mentioned, In the Scriptures, I looked it up, Matthew 6, 33.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and
all these things shall be added unto you. The heart of that statement,
the kingdom of God. I know that the kingdom of God
is the church. I know that. I know that that's
His kingdom. I understand that. But let me
tell you something, it's more down to earth, if I can say it
like that, then that. I'll tell you what it is. It's
the rule. It's the rule of God. The rule of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Kingdom of God. Paul's message was the reign,
the sovereignty of God Almighty in the heart of His people. That's
what he preached. He disputed with them concerning
God's sovereignty and God Almighty ruling and reigning in the heart
of His people. See, they didn't want to hear
that. That's the evidence of life. The Lord Jesus Christ said in
John 10, 27, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they
follow Me. Now listen, let me tell you.
God's sheep, regenerated by the power of the Spirit of God, hear
the voice of Christ as the gospel is preached. They hear Him. Somebody says, you mean you actually
hear verbally? I mean, you know, audibly, the
voice of Christ? No. But I'll tell you this, they
hear Him in their heart. They hear Him. And He speaks
to them, and they speak back. He talks to them. He said, My
sheep hear My voice. Here's His voice right here.
These are His words. This is His gospel. These are
His Scriptures. And He speaks. And when the truth
is proclaimed, a believer says, I hear Him. And I know Him. And I follow Him. By grace, By
the power of God, they've got spiritual ears. The hearing ear
and the seeing eye, it's of the Lord. Someone might say, I don't
understand that. If God ever gives you an ear
to hear, you will. You'll hear. You'll follow. He knows them and they know Him.
Well, verse 9, But when divers were hardened, and believe not,
but spake evil of that way before the multitude. He departed from
them and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school
of one Tyrannus." Well, the Scripture says Paul had been three months
disputing, persuading of the sovereignty of God. He preached
God Almighty, the ruling, reigning God in the heart of his people,
who, as David said, God's in the heavens doing whatsoever
he's pleased. He rules. The Scripture says
after three months, many of them, divers, were hardened. Do you know the first time, turn
to Exodus 4.21, the first time that hardened, Exodus 4.21, first
time that the If the Scripture ever relates that anyone was
hardened was Pharaoh. Exodus 4 verse 21. The Scripture
says, And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return
into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh,
which I have put in thine hand, but I will harden his heart,
that he shall not let the people go." You know, there have been
a lot of disrespectful things said about that Scripture right
there. And men will read that and they
will say, you know what? That's just a little bit too
dogmatic to me. That's a little bit too hard.
That's a little bit The Scripture says that God said, I will harden
his heart. Boy, you know, you raise your
voice before God Almighty and in your heart question what God
says He has the right to do. Paul dealt with this in Romans
9. He says, Hath the potter the
right to make one vessel under honor and another under dishonor.
Can I not do with my own as I will? Turn over to Exodus 8.15. It
says there that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. Look at Exodus
8.15. But when Pharaoh saw that there
was respite, he hardened his heart and hearkened not unto
them as the Lord had said. You know, hardening of a man's
heart by Almighty God, as I've said before, comes right down
to this. God leaves a man alone. Just leave him alone. And the
scriptural terminology for that is God hardened his heart. And a man will eventually manifest
that he has hardened his heart. And the Lord said, I did it. I did it. Now, my question is
this. Does God have the right to do
whatsoever He wants to do? Do you know that? The Scripture
says in verse 9, when divers were hardened, three evidences,
three evidences. And I'm going to say it like
this. Three evidences. If a man dies, and the reason
I'm going to say this is because I don't know. I don't know who
are God's elect. I don't know. And you don't either. We may have an indication of
some that might be right now. But do you know what's going
to tell he that endures to the end? You say, well, now, I know some
people right now that I know, and there ain't no doubt in my
mind that they're believers. Well, he that endures to the
end is going to be saved. If a man endures to the end,
he'll endure to the end because God kept him. He was kept by
the power of God. through faith. But three things
that I can tell you out of this verse of Scripture right here.
If a man leaves this world with these attitudes, I can say
that man's heart was left to himself. The Scripture says when
divers were hardened, number one, they believed not. You know,
If a man leaves this world with a heart that does not need Christ,
then that man, I can tell you this, left with a hardened heart. Now, every man, every woman is
born in unbelief. I know that. And we manifest,
and we all, all of us, as not a person in here, that has always
been converted. Anytime somebody says, I've always
been a Christian, I say, well, that's a little bit too long.
Now, you hadn't always been a Christian. No. You may have always been
one of the sheep. You may have been a lost sheep. You may have always been one
of God's elect. But you hadn't always been a
believer. But these divers were hardened and they believed not. What must I do? Paul says, What
is the evidence of salvation? That's what he asked him. What
is the evidence of salvation? Paul said, Believe. Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. Here was it. What first evidence?
They believed not. Man dies in unbelief. I can tell
you this. God left him to himself. If a
man dies believing not the gospel of free grace, I mean, the devils,
I think I've dealt with that, you know, sufficiently. The devils
believe. The devils have a mental understanding,
Chuck. They know who he is. They know
who he is. But that they look to him and trust him and believe
that his blood was shed for them. That's what he's talking about,
Brother Scott. To believe that God Almighty was their substitute
and put away their guilt? No, they don't believe that.
A man can believe with a mental understanding. Devils can believe.
But it takes the power of Almighty God to give men a new heart,
to believe from the heart and to trust and have a need of Christ.
Secondly, they spake evil of that way. You know, the Lord
asked this question, what think ye of Christ? When we say they
speak evil of that way, you know the Lord said, I am the way.
So it's speaking evil. That's what they did. There are
many that stand in pulpits and sit in pews that speak of Jesus
Christ and use the name of Jesus Christ. But their understanding
of Jesus Christ is one that came to make salvation possible. One
that loves everybody, they say. He loves everybody. And He died
for everybody. And He wants to save everybody,
but He can't unless you let Him. I'm going to tell you something.
That's speaking evil of the way. And it's also to speak evil of
the way is when you hear of the sovereignty of God Almighty to
send His Son into this world as the substitute for God's elect
that He laid down His life only for the sheep. How many did Christ
die for? All that the Father gave Him.
How many shall He actually call to Himself? All that the Father
chose in Him before the foundation of the world. How many are going
to be saved? All that God has elected. unto salvation." We are bound
to give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
the Spirit of God setting you apart, sanctification of the
Spirit, and belief of the truth. They spoke evil of the way. And
the third thing that I realize is if God has left a man or woman
to Himself, God will eventually remove that candlestick from
that place. He departed from them. That's a very sobering thought,
but it's a very real thought. I haven't been around long enough
to really speak as personally aware As some that I know, I'm
sure Brother Scott could tell me of some places, but I know
of a few places where at one time that the gospel of free
grace was clearly, boldly, faithfully, faithfully, faithfully preached. And not anymore. Why? Is it not preached anymore? Because God was pleased to remove
it. And when God Almighty is pleased
to remove it, there's not one thing in the world that anybody
can do to drum it back up. If God is pleased to remove the
candlestick from this community, Let me tell you something. You
can get all the pastors you want and you can do all the try everything
that you possibly can do. If the Lord. Doesn't build and
keep the house for the Scott, those that labor, labor in vain. I'm telling you, we're here tonight
by the grace of God. By the grace of God. The Scripture
says Paul departed from them because the Lord led him to.
They preached to him. They made fun of him. They were
hardened. They didn't believe him. They
spake evil of the way, and God left them to themselves. Men can go through the motions. left to himself as his heart
said to be hardened. They spoke evil of the way. And
he left and he went to a place and started preaching in a school
of one Tyrannus, the Scripture says. It is a mark of God's will
and purpose and sovereignty. when God moves the candlestick. I'm thankful that we're here. And this, after he went to the
school of one Tyrannus in verse 10, he continued by the space
of two years, so that all that dwelt in Asia heard the word
of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. Now, here's the gospel,
the means of God's salvation sent to this part of the world. And the Scripture says all of
them All that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus. Jews and Greeks, some may be
heartened. The gospel has been preached
faithfully here. I can tell you that. I know it
has. I know it has been preached here
for over fifty years. I know it has. I see the evidence
of it. I see the evidence of God's grace
and mercy. Some were hardened. Some were
left to themselves, but some of them hurt. Two blessed years in the grand
scope of eternity. You know, I've looked at that
verse of Scripture again today, and I thought to myself, that
little phrase, and this continued by the space of two years. I
thought, my goodness, what mercy there was for two years in that
place. You think about this. What if
the Lord would have been pleased to have raised up, say, concerning
this congregation? I find it very easy to use this
congregation as an example because I'm familiar with us. What if
God had blessed this community for two years and had called
out some believers, some sheep, out of a two-year period? I can
tell you that in the grand scheme, the grand scope of eternity,
the greatest thing that could have been said about Katy, West
Virginia, is that for two years the gospel was there. That would
have been two years longer than most places. That would have
been grace. from God Almighty and the way
that those that heard spake against God and God's message, God's
Christ, how did God reveal those that were His in mercy and those
that opposed themselves and those that weren't? How did God reveal
that? Last two verses and we'll stop.
Verse 11 and 12. It says, God wrought special
miracles by the hands of Paul so that from his body were brought
unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons and the diseases departed
from them and the evil spirits went out from them. Here's what
happened here. God sent a preacher and he was
there preaching for two years. I'm sorry, three months, three
months. He was there for three months and he preached the rule
of God, the rule of Christ, the sovereignty of God. And the Scripture
says they were hardened. They didn't believe it. They
spake evil of the way and the multitude and God moved them. God took them out. Oh, and they,
I don't doubt for one second, they justified themselves and
they talked about Paul and they put him down. He talked about
what a nut he was and all this stuff he was preaching and all
this kind of stuff, you know. And the Scripture says that he
went over to a place called Tyrannus, a school. A man, Tyrannus, that's
all we know about him. He was a vessel of God's choosing
and mercy to his elect to have Paul stay right there and preach
to them. And the Scripture says that Paul stayed there for two
years. to the point that all that dwelt
in Asia heard the Word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
Now, did God call them all out? We're not told. But they heard
the Gospel. I'll tell you this based on other
Scripture. If they heard the Gospel and refused it, it'll
be worse on them. It'll be more tolerable for Sodom
and Gomorrah than it will be for them. The worst, worst way
in the world. To leave this world. The worst
way to leave this world is to have heard the gospel and refused
it. The worst way. That's the worst. I mean, to
leave this world without believing. Is there a worse way? Yeah. It's
to have left this world and heard. More tolerable. That's from the
words of the Master. Well, the Scripture says that
the Lord did something. to prove and to confirm. What
he did, it says, God wrought special miracles. That special there, it means
uncommon or peculiar only to. Here's what he's saying. The
only one that has ever been performed by God was Paul. Now, let me tell you something.
These people that's going to say they got a special prayer
clause and special little anointed handkerchiefs and all this kind
of stuff, what they'll do is they'll say, well, you know,
the Lord is the same today, yesterday, today and forever. He changes
not. And if he did it then, he does
it now. Well, that sounds good. That
sounds that, you know, that, you know, and just keep talking
and eventually you'll get people to send you money and, you know,
just keep it up. It's coming. But that word special
right there, distinguish this. I'm telling you, that word means
peculiar only to. God wrought special miracles
by the hands of Paul. I know that a lot of people today
And what it is is they're trying to rule people through fear,
trying to dazzle them is what they're trying to do. You know,
miracle workers, that's what they say they are. But of the signs and wonders
that were performed by the apostles, I'll make a statement about that
as we're closing. Let me tell you what the Scripture
says. concerning signs and wonders. Mark 16, 17 and 18. These signs
shall follow them that believe. In my name they'll cast out devils,
speak with new tongues, take up servants. If they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on
the sick and they shall recover. Now, these signs and wonders
wrought by God for the confirmation of the gospel that was being
preached. When the apostles were preaching,
there was no book of Acts. There was no book of Galatians.
There was no book of 1st and 2nd Timothy, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians,
and Titus. There was no book. They were
preaching. These letters were written. What
was the confirmation that God sent to confirm that what these
men were saying were from Him by signs and wonders. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
12, 12. 2 Corinthians 12, 12. 2 Corinthians 12, 12, truly the
signs of an apostle were wrought among
you in all patience and in signs and wonders and mighty deeds."
Now my question to you is this. Who were given the signs and
wonders to confirm the message that what they were preaching
was of God? Well, it says truly the signs of an apostle. They were 12. Judas was not one
of them. Paul was. There was 11 men that
God had called faithful. One of them was a devil. God
allowed a devil to walk in the midst of them for good pleasure
of God in the pointing out of the Lord Jesus Christ to the
Romans. And he was delivered into the hands of men for the
redemption of his people. The signs of an apostle were
wrought. Now, turn to Hebrews. two, three. Now, I'm just I'm going to make
a proof something here. I've made a statement once or
twice here. I'm telling you, when people
start telling you these signs and wonders and healings, you
know, they'll come up. It's the sister so-and-so. And
she's had this, you know, this aching in her back. And now she
says she doesn't feel nothing anymore. How do you know? How do you know? Why don't you
get you some strychnine or whatever poison or whatever and drink
it? And let me see now. I want to see now if you really
are a miracle worker. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 3. How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the
Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard? Now, the
word him is added, but actually it's those that
heard. It is right concerning him. God also bearing witness, it
says them, and that word is added to make the Scripture clear. God also bearing them witness
both with signs and wonders and divers miracles and gifts of
the Holy Ghost according to His will. And look lastly at Acts
5.12. Acts 5.12. Acts 5.12. And by the hands of
the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the
people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. At the hands of the apostles.
I want you to go through your Bible and find how many times
in the epistles that were written, how many times you find that
these signs and wonders continued. And get back with me. God Almighty called out some
apostles. And the Lord Jesus Christ was
confirmed, the Scripture says, by signs and wonders. This is
the Christ. He walked on water. He took five
loaves and two fish. He raised the dead. God confirmed
Him with signs and wonders. And the Lord Jesus Christ sent
His apostles into this world, and He confirmed them, those
that heard Him. And He sent them into this world.
He said, You go preach the gospel. You baptize. And they were confirmed
by signs and wonders. Now what do we do today? We preach
the gospel. This book, these scriptures are
written. And we have a more sure testimony. It's this scripture right here.
What do you need? A sign and a wonder? No. Signs are for those that believe
not. Tongues. That's what the Scripture says.
Tongues are for those. But preaching is for those that
believe. The Scripture says that God wrought
a peculiar, only to Paul, miracle at His hands. He took some handkerchiefs,
sent them out, and Almighty God healed some folks. Men, Jews, whoever they were,
they were hardened against that message. And God confirmed Paul
to be preaching the truth. Do you know how God confirms
true preachers today? You think about this. How do
you know that men are preaching the truth? The Apostle Paul,
the Apostle Paul, that Almighty God moved upon in power, made
this statement. Under the inspiration, before
men could say, well, but Paul was just a man. All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. It's God breathed. Men of old
wrote, Carl, as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. So for
goodness sakes, don't ever let anybody tell you, well, this
book, this was written by men. No, it wasn't. Men's hands may
have been the instrument, but this is the Word of God. It's
God's Word. How do you know? Now that we
have the fullness of these Scriptures, what confirmation do we have
that men are preaching The truth of God. The Apostle Paul, under
the inspiration of the Spirit of God, says, if we are an angel
from heaven, preach any other message unto you than that which
we've preached. Let him be anathema. How do we
know? I'll tell you what it is. They
preach according to the gospel of free grace. That is the confirmation. How do you know that a man's
preaching the truth? He preaches the truth. And Paul
said, I'm not ashamed of it. That's the power of God unto
salvation. May Almighty God be pleased to
bless these words to our heart for His sake and for our good.