Back over to Acts chapter 5. Our text, it begins in verse
12. And we're coming off of this
horrible, sad account we just read. This man and this woman,
Ananias and Sapphira, they both dropped dead at the command of
Peter. And my heading at the top of
my page tells us why. Mine says, the hypocrisy of Ananias
and Sapphira, his wife. They were hypocrites. It says in verse 3, they lied
to the Holy Ghost. They did not truly believe. This is an interesting fact.
You will never In the Word of God, you'll never find the word
hypocrite attached to a drunk or a harlot or any other sinner
committing any other sin. Every single time it is attached
to religion. Every single time. Going through
the motions with no true heart of belief. And God gave us this account
as a warning that he will not tolerate unbelief. And just a
minute ago, we had a scripture reading in my study, and Brother
Brandon prayed that where two or three are gathered, the Lord
said he would be in the midst. And I thought, I hope I am one
of the two or three. I pray that I am one of the two
or three. Because our Lord will not tolerate
unbelief. Well, in this text tonight, a
phrase jumped out at me. I was reading this and one particular
phrase jumped out at me. And it's in verse 14. It says,
And believers were the more added to the Lord. I like that. They were added to the Lord.
That's what I want to be. I want to be added to the Lord.
Look over at chapter 2 verse 47. It says, Praising God and having
favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved. And that means the same thing.
Same exact thing. They were added to God's church.
They were added to His elect, such as should be saved. But saying it like it does over
in chapter 5, it shows us that we have a very
clear and specific name. Ananias and Sapphira, bless their
heart, they were just added to the church for a while. They
were among the church for a while. They were one of them. I need to be added to the Lord.
You know that? I need to be added to the Lord. Well, we're going to work our
way toward that. Look at verse 12. It says, And by the hands
of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the
people. And then right there after the
word people, we have a parenthesis. And that parenthesis goes all
the way to the end of verse 14. So let's read verse 12 and then
skip to verse 15, okay? It says, and by the hand of the
apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people
insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets and
laid them on beds and couches that at the least the shadow
of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also
a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing
sick folks and them which were vexed with unclean spirits, and
they were healed every one." God gave his apostles special
gifts. He gave them special gifts to
prove these men are my men. These men are sent by me. They're
here on my behalf. These men have my word and they
have my authority. The Lord himself said, come unto
me and I'll give you rest. I'll give you rest. And all who
came to him were healed. Every single one who came to
the Lord were healed. Every one. Well, he says, you
come to the place where I have chosen to put my name there.
my spirit there, my message there, my servant there. You come to
that place with a true heart, believing on the God of the messenger,
believing on the God of the message, and you will be healed. You'll
be healed. These people, they were physically
healed, and that's to represent a spiritual healing that we all
need. They were so sick They couldn't come on their own. They
had to be brought. And that's me. I am so sick.
I am so sick. We sing these songs, we read
scripture, and we pray, and it helps me so much. The piano playing
beforehand, it helps me so much to get out of the world for just
a second. I know it's strange because I've
been in that study, reading this Bible all day long. And yet,
I'm in the world. And I've got to come out of it. And I need His Spirit. I need His Word. I am so sick,
I cannot bring myself. His Spirit has got to bring me.
His Spirit has to bring me tonight. His Spirit is going to have to
bring me tomorrow. That's the only way I'm going to come. But
if I'm brought, if I am brought, if I'm brought to see the shadow,
they came just so that maybe the shadow of Peter might pass
on them. If I'm brought to see the shadow
of good things to come, you know why all that was given to Peter?
Why that shadow? It healed him. It healed everyone. This word and these types and
these pictures, that shadow of Peter, it all happened and this
was all written to point us to good things to come. Every bit
of it. Good things are coming. Healing
is coming to everyone. Every single one who's brought
to see Christ. Well, if I see that, I'm gonna
be healed. If the Lord will reveal that to me, I'm gonna be healed.
Not one sinner in need. And this is so comforting to
me. Because as I sit here in the
world begging, Lord, I'm about to have to stand up and preach.
I'm in need. Not one sinner who was in need
left unhealed. Not a one. Not one. So verse 12 says, by the hands
of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the
people. By the hands of the apostles,
not by the apostles. We have a tendency, our flesh
has a tendency to glorify these precious men. Man, I love Peter,
but Peter didn't do this. This was by the hands of the
apostles. It was by God using the apostles
in God's own ministry. This is not Gabe Stoniker's ministry,
and it's not our ministry. It is our ministry, but it's
not. This is God's ministry, and I thank God for that. May
we never forget, in the work of God, the work is of God. The work is of God. Man gets
a glory for nothing, nothing, not one thing. Turn over to chapter
19, Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19 verse 11 says, and
God wrought special miracles. by the hands of Paul. God did
it. God did it. The works of God
are the works of God. A man is just a pawn. I cannot
tell you how glad I am for that. A man is just a pawn. That's
it. So God did this work. God brought these signs and wonders
and I would like for this congregation
to to take special note of this. Okay? God wrought these signs
and wonders, and God answered their prayer. He answered their
prayer. Look at chapter 4, verse 29. This is their prayer. It says, And now, Lord, behold
their threatenings, and grant unto thy servants that with all
boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand
to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy
holy child Jesus. That's what they prayed for.
God answered their prayer. He answered their prayer. That
was a big thing to pray for. Lord stretch forth thine hand
to heal that signs and wonders may be done in your name and
give us boldness to speak your word. That was a bold prayer
and God answered it. Now I want to show you something
in Isaiah chapter 7. Go over to Isaiah 7. Isaiah 7 verse 1 says, And it
came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of
Uzziah, king of Judah, that reasoned the king of Syria, and Pekah
the son of Ramaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem
to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it
was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate
with Ephraim. and his heart was moved. And
the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood, are moved
with the wind. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah,
Go forth now to meet Ahaz. And the Lord told Isaiah to tell
this man Ahaz some things. All right, now look at the end
of chapter 7, verse 9. Look at the end of verse 9. It
says, If you will not believe, Surely ye shall not be established. My margin says, do you not believe? It is because you're not stable.
All right, verse 10. Moreover, the Lord spake again
unto Ahaz saying, ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God. Ask it either
in the depth or in the height above. I have a margin right
there and it says, make thy petition deep. You see that? If you have a margin there, make
that petition deep. Verse 12, but Ahaz said, I will
not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And Isaiah said, hear
ye now, O house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary
men, but will you weary my God also? Isaiah said, do you really
think you're going to weary God by asking something that is too
hard for Him? There are some things in this
life that we don't ask for because we believe they're impossible. There are some people that we
think are too hard for God to save. You know that? And we don't
call for them. You heard that story of the man
who came into the pastor's study and said, I'll never despair
since God saved so and so. And the pastor said, I'll never
despair since God saved me. If God saved me, God can save
any person on the face of this earth. He said, make that petition
deep. But Ahaz, he wouldn't do it.
So the Lord said in verse 14, he said, therefore the Lord himself
shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive. You think anything is impossible
for God? Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and you're going to call his name God with us. Let's all start asking the Lord
to work mightily here. All right? Let's ask Him to send His Spirit
liberally here. Elisha, whenever Elijah was taken
up, and he prayed for a double portion of the Spirit. That's
a good thing to pray for. Let's pray that the Lord would
make His mercy great here and save souls. It's not about
numbers. We don't need people added to
this church. If we get a whole bunch of people added to this
church, we're going to have a whole bunch of problems. But if God
would add a whole bunch of people to the Lord, He'd be different. And He can. Let's start asking
deep things. Deep things. I hope this encourages
me to pray with faith. Pray with faith. Lord, if You're
willing, You're able. You're able. Go back with me
over to Acts chapter 5. Verse 12 says, And by the hands
of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the
people, and they were all with one accord. They had one heart,
one mind, one spirit, one faith. Ananias and Sapphira just died,
and they loved them. I know they did. Yet they all
said, It is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. No matter what, it is the Lord. Let Him do what seemeth Him good.
They were all with one accord, one spirit, one faith. It says,
in Solomon's porch, in the temple, they were all gathered together
like the Lord told His people to do. Assemble yourselves together. Verse 13, and of the rest, unbelievers,
and of the rest doth no man join himself to them. but the people
magnified them. Now these were true believers,
and true believers don't magnify God's preachers. We love them. We do love them, but we don't
magnify them. They were not magnifying Peter
and the rest of the apostles. There's a reference right here
to chapter 4 verse 21. It says, Acts 4 verse 21 says,
So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding
nothing how they might punish them because of the people. For
all men glorified God for that which was done. That's who they
were magnifying. And I love men like Brother Henry.
I love that man. I can't tell you how much I love
that man. But I love him because of what God has done through
him, what God purposed to do. I love him because of the God
he preaches. And I love him too, but I don't magnify him, magnify
his God. Well, Acts 5 verse 14, it says,
And believers were the more added to the Lord. Lord, add us to
you. Add us to you. Every one of us
in this room needs to be added to Him. Every single one of us. Not just church. Him. Not just the membership role.
Him. Not just the committees. Not
just the job titles. Not just the nursery schedule
or the mowing schedule or the cleaning schedule. Him. Him. What does it mean to be added
to the Lord? What does that mean? What are
we added to? I have a few scriptures that
I think will encourage us. They'll be an encouragement to
us. If God adds us to the Lord, what are we being added to? If God adds us to Christ, what
are we being added to? Turn with me over to John chapter
1. We're just going to go through a few scriptures and see what
we're going to be added to. John 1 verse 4. In him was life. If we're added to him, we're
added to life. I love that story in Pilgrim's Progress. If you've
ever read that book, Pilgrim, he realizes he has got to leave
the city he's in. He's got to leave everybody and
his family and his friends are all telling him, why are you
leaving? Don't go. You're a fool. And he runs out of the city with
his fingers in his ears crying life, life, eternal life. If we are added to the Lord,
we're added to life. You know that? In Him we live
and move and have our being. How can I be added to life? Go over to Romans 6. Romans 6 verse 4 says, Therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life. If I'm going to be added to life,
I have got to first be added to his death. And if I'm going to be added
to His death, God has got to add me to Him. I've got to be
added to Him. I've got to die in Him. If He
does, if God adds us to Christ, look at Romans 8, verse 17. It
says, than heirs. Heirs of God and
joint heirs with Christ. If we've been added to the Lord,
then we have been added to the family of God. That overwhelmed
me because we have not just been added to heaven. We're not just
inside the gate. We're in the family of God. We
get to sit at His table. We get to commune with Him. That's amazing. How is all that possible? Christ,
if you're added to the Lord, you are added to the family of
God. Go over to Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2 verse 9 says, For in him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now let's see if we can
get our hearts and our minds and our souls around that. If
we have been added to the Lord We have been added to the fullness
of the Godhead. What does that even mean? I don't
know. But I know it's wonderful. The
fullness of the Godhead. That cannot be described, comprehended. One of these days, I guess we'll
experience it. The fullness of the Godhead.
Look at Colossians chapter 3 verse 4. It says, When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory. If we've been added to the Lord,
we've been added to His glory. We've been added to the glory
of God, the glory of the Lord. We've been added to His praise.
We've been added to His splendor, the glory of God the Father in
the face of Jesus Christ. If we've been added to the Lord,
we're added to the glory of God. And I'm a vile creature. I'm
a wicked worm who's going to be added to the glory of God.
This one's my favorite. Go with me to 1 Thessalonians
4. 1 Thessalonians 4, look at verse
13. But I would not have you be ignorant,
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not,
even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in
Jesus, will God bring with Him. When the Lord returns, when the
trump sounds, and the clouds roll back, and the King of Kings
descends, every loved believer, every loved one is coming with
Him. Can you imagine what that's going
to be like to see Him in the air? All right, now then it says
in verse 15, for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
that we which are alive, those who haven't died on this earth
yet, and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent
them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and
with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first,
then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall
we ever be with the Lord. If we have been added to the
Lord, we have been added to the appearing." We want to be there. Either we're coming with Him,
or we're going to meet Him all in the air. But if we've been
added to the Lord, we're going to be added to that glorious
appearing. Now that glorious appearing to
us is a horrible appearing to those who have not been added
to the Lord. Judgment's right behind it. Oh, I pray God will add us to
the Lord. 2 Timothy chapter 2. Look at 2
Timothy chapter 2. 2nd Timothy 2, look at verse
12. If we suffer, we shall also reign
with Him. I don't understand that, but
if we are added to the Lord, we are added to His reign. I
don't even have anything to say about that. I don't know what
that means. We've been made a joint heir. We've been freely given all things. As He is, so are we. We've got
to be added to the Lord, you know that? We must be added to
the Lord, because if God adds us to Christ, beloved, it doth
not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when He
shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as
He is. We'll be just like Him. If we
are added to Him, we're going to be just like Him. I cannot
wait. I just cannot wait. Lord, please
add us to Christ. I need Jesus Christ. I don't
need anything but Jesus Christ. come the end of this whole thing,
I just need Jesus Christ. If I'm added to the Lord, I'm
added to everything. Everything. What a wonderful
thing. All right, let's stand together.