That was an excellent choice
of hymns, John. I didn't realize it. I asked
John to pick the hymns, except 268, I knew we'd have to sing
that. But he picked the hymns, an excellent choice. Worship
the King, I love the hymn. And then this one, I am thine, O Lord, I've heard
thy voice. But I long to rise in the arms of faith, be closer
drawn to thee. And it went on to say, consecrate me now to
thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine. I don't want
to forget this because the Lord has promised the people power. The Holy Ghost shall come upon
you in power. Now this is power. It takes the
power of God to consecrate us. to give us to Him and give ourselves
to Him. It says, let my soul look up
with a steadfast hope. That takes the power of God.
And my will be lost in Thine. That takes the power of God. And it goes on to talk about community
with Thee as friend with friend. That goes so well with this message. And he heard what she played
on the piano, Martin Luther's great hymn. Oh, man. Great. Good choice. I told Jeanette,
I told John, we could just sit here and listen to her play that
hymn all day. Prince of darkness, Graham, we
tremble not for him. His rage we can't endure. His
doom is sure. One little word's going to fail
him. Wonderful, wonderful. I have
worshipped already, I'm grateful. Acts chapter 1, the former treatise
Luke said I made of Theophilus. Who is Theophilus? We don't know,
so it doesn't matter, does it? His name means friend of God. So this is written
to all the friends of God. To make known, what? All that
our Lord began to do and teach. Till the day he was taken up.
We're going to see that four times. Taken up. Taken up. Taken
up. After that he, through the Holy Ghost, gave commandment
unto his apostles whom he had chosen. See, this is to his people. This is to his chosen ones. This
is to believers. Believers. Go back to Luke chapter
1, which Luke also wrote. He's not the author of it, but
he wrote down what the Lord told him to write. What did Luke write? Well, what did Matthew write?
What did Mark write? What did John write? What did
all the prophets write and the apostles write about him? It's
a hymn book. Okay, Luke 1, I love this. He says, For as much as many
have taken in hand to set forth an order, and many apostles a
declaration of those things which are most surely believed among
us. What things, Luke? Of all that
our Lord did and said. It's all about Him, isn't it?
Things most surely believe. Things of God, things of Christ,
things of salvation. In verse 2 he says, they delivered
them unto us which were from the beginning eyewitnesses. Ministers
of the Word. Eyewitnesses. Peter said that,
didn't he? He said we're eyewitnesses of
His majesty. He said we heard a voice from
heaven say, Thou art my beloved Son. But Peter went on to say
We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well to take
heed. That's the word of God. Because
holy men spake as they were moved of God. No scriptures of any
man's doing. So all of this was of Christ. In verse 3 he said, It seemed
good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from
the first. I believe Luke was probably one of those 70 sent
out. His name is not given there, but I think he was, because it
says he was there from the beginning. Someone said that they thought
Paul told Luke what to write the whole book of Luke. That'd
be fine. Or Acts. So, he said, I've had
perfect understanding. I was there from the first to
write in order, most excellent friend of God, that thou mightest
know these things are written, that you might know that these
things are certain. The certainty of those things. You sure? You sure about this? Not as sure as I'm standing here,
as sure as he's standing there. That's what this whole, go back
to Acts, this whole chapter is dealing with, this whole book,
talking about a living Lord. Okay? A living Lord. God's called that, the living
God. He's not a concept, not a doctrine,
not a theory, not a belief. He's a person, a sovereign person
God is, though He's a spirit. But Jesus Christ is a man, there's
a man in glory, a real man who lived on this earth, who died,
and here's the whole key. He rose again, proving who He
is. And He went back, He was taken
up, and went back and sat on the right hand of God, Scripture
said, the right hand of the majesty on high. And that's where He
is right now, reigning and ruling over, Barnard said, everything
that writhes or wriggles down to the hairs on your head. The world said, I don't believe
that. I do. Do you? How can you be sure? This is certain. It's certain He lives. You see, He revealed these things
to His disciples. He revealed Himself to His disciples.
Others didn't believe Him. They did. Why? He revealed Himself
to them. It's just so. He chose them,
and He showed Himself to them. Read with me now verses 1 through
4 again. Verse 3, it says, He showed Himself
alive after His passion, after the cross, by many infallible
proofs, seen of them forty days, speaking of things pertaining
to the Kingdom of God. He was on this earth for thirty-three
years. And nobody knew Him. God was
manifest in the flesh. Even His enemies said, nobody
can do what you do except God be with you. But nobody really
knew Him except those He chose and revealed Himself to. Okay? This is life eternal, that they
might know Thee, the only true God. Well, God's unseen. No man's
seen Him at any time. The only begotten Son had declared
Him. The only true God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent. This
is life eternal. This is what it means to live,
to know Him. What does that mean? Know about Him? No. Adam knew his wife Eve, and
the two became one. One in heart, one in mind, one
in soul, one in spirit, they became one, they were one. Everything,
they knew each other, they were intimately, they had a relationship,
they were intimate, husband and wife. This is what it means to
know Christ. He makes himself known to you. Through his word. And he reveals
himself to you. The song says, you ask me how
I know he lives? He lives in my heart. The world
says that's ridiculous. I don't believe that. No, you
don't. Until you're born again. Nicodemus said, how can these
things be? I don't understand. No, and you won't. Until you're
born again. Until Christ comes to you through
this gospel in power. You receive it not in word only,
but in power. Demonstration of the Spirit and
power. Preaching. This is what God uses when it's
in the Spirit and power. What's that Spirit doing? He
takes the things of Jesus Christ and shows them to you. So your eyes are open. Your ears
are open. Your heart is open. I know Him. You believe Him. You walk with Him. You talk to Him. He talked to
you? Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. How? Is that right? Hmm. Go through trials. How do you get through them?
He said, I'm with you. You can't. Only a person can
bring you through fiery trials, you know that? A real living,
loving Lord. See, that's the theme of all
of it, a living Lord. When Paul preached everywhere,
Paul preached everywhere. And every time he preached throughout
the book of Acts, he talked about the resurrection of Christ. The
resurrection of Christ. This proves who He is. Proves
who He is. When Paul preached the gospel
in Romans chapter 1, he said this. He said, I'm called to
be an apostle separated under the gospel of God. Sold out to
the gospel of God that He promised to pour by His prophet in the
Holy Scriptures concerning His Son. This is the gospel. Concerning
Jesus Christ, our Lord. which was made the seed of David
according to the flesh, a man that declared to be the Son of
God with power. What kind of power? All power,
Christ said, is given unto me. That's the last thing Christ
said before he was taken up. All power is given unto me in
heaven and earth. I'm going to shout that just
as loud as I can shout it. Oh, the world needs to hear this.
They're not. We are. That ought to give us
such peace, such comfort, such hope, such rest. This is going
to make us know the certainty of these things. Why? He lives! So he's declared to be the Son
of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness. Like old Daniel. You'll find
no fault in him. No man is without sin. There's
not a just man on earth that doeth good and sinneth not. Christ
did. Jesus of Nazareth did. And he
was a just man. Perfect. Nobody could find him.
Who is he then? It's God. And it goes on to say,
He's declared to be the Son of God with power, according to
the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. proves
who he is. I don't believe Mohammed is God's
prophet. Why? He's dead. He found his
bone. Go over there and dig him up.
I don't believe Buddha, that fat man. I don't believe him.
Oh, no. Let people sit cross-legged and
worship him. He's not God. He's dead. He'll
find his bone somewhere. Confucius, Mahatma Gandhi, name
one. Krishna, he's made up. Cow God
or Krishna, all these Hindu gods. I don't believe any of them.
I do believe Jesus Christ. Because you can look all you
want to and you're not going to find his bones. He came out. Because he's God. It's like the
high priest of old. John, I think, you brought it
up. All through the Old Testament
is the story of a high priest going into a... worshipping God
one way. The God of the Bible is worshipped
one way. A high priest, a blood sacrifice, and a mercy seat. And a high priest went in to
the holy of holies, not without blood, because that's what the
God of the Bible says he demands. The high priest would go in with
the blood of a lamb. spotless, without blemish, lamb,
firstborn. You know what this means. Do
you ever get tired of hearing it? He'd go into that Holy of Holies
within the veil, under the veil, you know, within the veil, with
that precious blood of that lamb, hoping that God would accept
that on behalf of these sinful, rebellious people. And he'd go in, he'd pour that
blood on that mercy seat. And if God accepts it, then the
high priest would come out. He'd come out of the veil and
he'd come out of the door of the temple with a big smile on
his face. And everybody would let out a
shout, accept it. See, that's Christ who was crucified,
the lamb slain, his blood shed, buried. Where'd he go? Within
the veil. into the Holy of Holies, not
with our blood, but with His own precious blood. Why? What
did He do? Obtain eternal redemption for
us. And He took that blood and poured
it over the mercy seat in heaven and glory to Him and the Father. The Scripture says God ripped
the veil in two. How do we know we're accepted?
How do we know God accepted that sacrifice Christ made? How do
we know He came out of the tomb? with a smile on his face. Who
did he appear to first? Mary Magdalene, the chief of
sinners, who had seven devils. Smile, Mary. Smile, Mary. God love you. How do you know? The blood. You believe the blood? You believe Christ is your only
hope? All your hope is salvation, Jesus Christ. Smile, Mary. That's a good thing. It all depends
on him living. And he lives and he reigns and
rules. And verse 3, I love this, says
he showed himself alive after his passion, after being crucified,
by many infallible proof. Has he shown himself to you alive
by many infallible proof? Has he? What kind of proof? The heavens declare His glory.
The firmament showed His handiwork. Day unto day utter His speech.
Night after night utter His knowledge. What? Christ is. The trees clap
their hand. The birds sing about Him. Everything. The grass you walk
on. The trees. The sky. It all speaks
of Him. And the greatest thing of all,
God has put In the tabernacle of the sky, a son. Every day. Can you go a day without thinking
of the Son of Righteousness? The Son of God. Patrick, the
world doesn't think about Him at all. They don't even believe
there is a God, and they sure don't believe Jesus Christ reigns
over all this. We do. Don't we? Why? You must be a Theophilus, friend
of God. You must be an Enoch. You walk
with God. A Noah. A Moab. You walk with
God. You talk with God, don't you? Hmm. He's shown herself by many
infallible proof creation. The greatest in providence? What
about providence, God's providence in your life? Do you see His
hand in your life? Oh my! We've all got a story,
don't we? We spend our lives as a tale
is told. And my story, I'm looking back
on my life, I see God, I don't see it all, but
I see how God spared me so many Amazing. It's amazing. And there's no other answer for
it, is there, Tracy? God did that. How'd I get through
that? I've told you before, most of
my childhood friends are dead. Died horrible deaths. That's a fact. Here I am. Why? Jesus Christ. Many infallible
proved providence. Oh, the greatest proof of all
is salvation. You're looking at a blind man,
a man who was once blind, now I see. A man who was once deaf,
and now I hear. A man who could not walk by faith,
would not come, could not come, here I came. You're looking at
somebody who was dead and trespassing in sin and loving it. Is that you? You're an infallible proof. You're
an infallible proof. You've been born again. Amazing. And did it for 40 days. He said
he was with them 40 days. 40 throughout the scriptures
is used a great deal. You know that? It's symbolic. It's significant. Moses was 40
years old when he saw the burning bush. And the children of Israel
wandered for 40 years in the wilderness. Moses was up on the
mountain receiving the law for 40 days. It rained on the earth
no less than 40 days, 49. Our Lord was tempted by Satan
for 40 days. Most of God's people go through
this world and live about 40 years in the faith. Right? That's just it. We live, we're
70, maybe 80, and God reveals Himself, and most of us, He reveals
Himself, and we walk by faith for 40 years in this wilderness. Now that's a miracle. That's
a miracle. That's a miracle. Many walk no
more with Him. Many went back and walked, they
didn't last four days. John. Earlene, Nancy, Ed, Jeanette,
they're all in their 80s. Well, Earlene, close, close to
that. How long have you been walking
with the Lord? Forty years? It's amazing. That takes the power of God. That takes the Holy Spirit of
God. That means there's a real person out here. Margaret, Deborah,
been here a long time. I want to know how it goes. Betty.
I want to know. A miracle. Forty days. Speaking
of them, things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. That's all
we do here. That's what the Lord did the
whole time He was with them. And they never got tired of it.
An unseen Kingdom. An unseen King. See, the things
that are seen are temporal. The things that are unseen are
eternal. What do you want to hear about this morning? What
does everybody want to hear about this morning? What did you come
to hear about? Things unseen? Eternal things? Really? Again? You want to hear
it again? Yes! Like the people at Pentecost,
you know, after they heard Christ crucified, risen, enthroned,
and they all got together and they told the disciples, would
you come back again next week? Preach the same thing. And he said, verse 4, they were
assembled together with them, commanded them that they should
not depart from Jerusalem, but wait, Wait. Go to Jerusalem and
wait for the promise of the Father that you've heard of me. I promised
you. Go there and wait. What'd they do? Where'd they
go? They went to Jerusalem and wait. The boy Thomas was there. He's not going to miss it now.
Thomas was there. I mentioned him by name. He's
not going to miss another gathering. What's our Lord tell us to do? Forsake not the seven of yourselves
together as the manner of some is, but exhort one another. And so much more as you see the
day approaching. What day? He's coming. I fully expect the Lord to come
when we're all meeting together. That's what He said. That's what
the angels said. This same Jesus shall so come
and like manners you've seen Him go. What were they doing?
Worshipping. Looking. Looking for him. That's what we're doing in this
history. This is the New Jerusalem. Not
United States of America. The church is New Jerusalem. Come down from heaven where we
meet. He says, go, be there, stay together
now, and I'll come be with you. And you'll behold my glory. And
you'll worship me. And they did. In verse 5, John
baptized with water, Christ said, you'll be baptized with a holy
goat. Verse 8, you'll receive power. That's what we talked
about. 1 Thessalonians, this is what
Paul wrote to the church there. He said, I know you're elect. I know you're elect. Paul, can
you see the names in the book? No. I can't. But this is how you know. If
your name's in the book, all right? Our gospel came unto you. Not this other gospel. There's
another gospel of a poor Jesus who can't... He's not Lord at
all. You've got to make Him Lord. Do you understand that that's
not the gospel? Do you understand that anybody believes that if
you have to let Jesus into your heart, that's another gospel?
Do you understand that? Do you? Do you really believe
that? Don't call His name Jesus if
He didn't save you. If He can't save you unless you
let Him, He didn't save you, did He? But now if He saved you
and came and just told you, I saved you, like Isaiah 43, John. I've
saved. He shall save. Who? His people. I can't stress that loud enough.
Our gospel came unto you, not in word only, not some little
silly dissertation, reading of a paper, or doctrine only, but
in power. What's the power of God? The
gospel is the power of God. The voice of the Lord comes in
power. What does it do? Blind see. Death here. The lame walk by faith. The dead are raised. The poor
have their gospel preached. Religious people renounce their
religion. Boy, that takes the power of
God, doesn't it? A man who's been a Methodist,
a Catholic for years, a staunch Catholic, and the gospel comes,
and they renounce it all. Like Abraham. It's all Paul, Saul of Tarsus. What's it going to take to save
that old religious self-righteous boy? Power. Whose power? Christ's power. And all he's
got to do is speak the word, doesn't he? Repent. Boy, you will. Come, you will. Believe, and
you will. And nobody will make you believe
otherwise. It's the power of God. The power of God. It came unto you in power, in
the Holy Ghost, and much assurance. Much assurance. Assurance about
what? This is what Luke said, that
you'll know the certainty of these things. Things most surely
believed among us. What things, Luke? When John
Newton died, he died in his 80s. Oh, don't you love John Newton?
He wrote Amazing Grace. That's all most people know about
John Newton. Boy, you ought to read his preaching. He came to his deathbed and he
said, two things I'm sure of. One is that I'm a sinner and
nothing at all. Secondly is, Jesus Christ is
my all and end all. He said, I'm a great sinner and
Jesus Christ is my great Savior. That's eternal life. That's a
miracle. A man on his deathbed, all he's
got to say is, I'm a sinner and Christ is my Savior. That's enough
to get you into glory. comes in a much assurance, you
see, what we're sure of is Him. Much assurance. And He went on
to say, you became followers of us and of the Lord, and you
suffered affliction, and you were examples, and from you sounded
out this gospel, and you turned from your idols to serve the
living and the true God. Now that takes a power. So that's the Holy Ghost in power. And it says, and I kept emphasizing
this, verse 9. Are you with me? Verse 9 says,
while he spoke these things, they beheld he was taken up.
Taken up. Verse 2 says he was taken up.
And these two men said in verse 11, they said, this same Jesus
is taken up. And the disciples down in verse
22 said, He was taken up. You read that with me? He's taken
up. Taken up. Who took Him up? God. When Christ came to this earth
as a babe, He didn't go to Jerusalem. He went to Bethlehem in a manger. hovered around him were just
some poor people, shepherds. Wise men, yeah, from the East,
they had come a long way to see this sight, led by a star. And then before that says, a
multitude of heavenly hosts shouted out. Who heard it? I mean, the
heavenly hosts shouted out. That Christ would be born. Who
heard it? Three wise men. Shepherds. Nobody has heard it.
And in this stall, here's what I'm trying to bring up. And in
this stall, in this manger where sheep feed, was the manna. What is it? Manna. This holy
thing. It's the Son of God. God manifesting the blood. And
in all he did, all his life, all he said and all he did, if
all he did and said was written, the world couldn't contain the
books he'd written. Glory, power. And then when he was received
up, the heavenly host took him down. He sat down at the right
hand of the man. So he was taken up. And you know
what? What everybody's doing in glory? They're taken up with
him. And that's how you know who He
revealed Himself here. We are taken up with Him. Does
that play on words? Taken up. Who are you taken up
with? You'll be taken up then with
Him to meet Him in the sky. And it says, you men of Galilee,
wait. Go back. Do what He said. Go to Jerusalem.
So they did. They returned. They came into
that upper room. You remember that upper room,
anybody? They're all together, verse 14,
what were they doing? There was one accord. One heart, one mind, worshiping
the Lord in prayer, calling on the Lord, supplication with the
women. With the women. What kind of
women? Former forlorn women. That's
all the Lord's Bride and Mary, the Virgin, and His Brethren. They were all taken up with Him. Oh, my. That's the best I can
do. All right, John.