Day of Pentecost and Healing - part 1

by Michael C. Garrett

Owensboro Church of Jesus Christ

Hello everybody, welcome to Owensboro, Kentucky. Welcome to the Owensboro Church of Jesus Christ. My name is Michael C. Garrett. I’m glad you’re here. Today is the second day of what we call “Pentecost Weekend.” Yesterday was a weekly church service – every seventh-day of the week. But today is an annual holy day. And it is commemorated in very vivid terms in the early chapters of the Book of Acts. And I’ll go over this a little later to talk about it. And, today's sermon will probably be entitled “The Day of Pentecost And Healing.” I guess you could say, the Day of Pentecost and miracles. The Day of Pentecost – very special day. It was the day in which the Spirit of God was poured out upon the followers of Jesus Christ in mass. Now, up to the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God did reside in a few people – in the Old Testament chronicles. But not too often. We know that King David was allowed to have God’s Spirit. He said in Psalm 51 – “Please do not take Your Spirit from me.” That very powerful psalm where he was so remorseful for some of the deeds of his life. And he was praying that God does not take His Spirit away from him. And, God did not. But David did have a rough row to hoe because of his misdeeds and calculations.

Anyway, on the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God became available to many people. And, ever since then, the Spirit of God has been available to many people and many different types of people and in many different locations and lands and languages. Not everyone avails themselves to it. And sadly – in all probability – most people DO NOT avail themselves of the possibility of having a little bit of the mind of Jesus Christ living within them. And that’s what the Spirit of God is – it’s the mind of Christ living in you. And, as He said, our body is the tabernacle of His Spirit. That is if you have come to a certain degree of knowledge, and you have come to a certain degree of repentance. Repentance is not a one-time thing. Repentance is something that probably has to take place in one form or another every day. Because being flesh and blood we’re just prone to make mistakes. As I often say – we say the things we shouldn’t say, we do the things we shouldn’t do, we think thoughts which we probably should not think. And all of these are sort of spiritual messes that need to be cleaned up. But we do have an Advocate – our Savior Jesus Christ – waiting to listen to our prayers and our requests for forgiveness. And we are told that He will forgive.

AVOID NEGATIVITY

Before we move on, let’s turn the Book of 1st John. This is a beautiful passage and an extremely important passage in the life of anyone who is wanting to follow Jesus Christ. Now, there’s a whole lot of people walking around on the face of the earth who never heard the name, Jesus Christ. And there are even more people walking around on the face of the earth who really don’t seem to care. I mean, it’s meaningless to them. And I guess what I’m saying isn’t going to be very important to those people. I guess I’m trying to find people who want to learn about Jesus Christ. We call ourselves the Owensboro Church – because we’re located in Owensboro, Kentucky. The Church of Jesus Christ. That’s to whom we look! 1st John 1:3 – “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, …” – now John – a very close personal friend of Jesus Christ, and a cousin, by blood. He said, we’ve seen these things and what we saw and what we heard we are declaring them – we are sharing them with all of you who are reading this. “…that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship [our common bond – the link which holds all of together] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4) And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” – joy is a part of the Christian experience.

We had a sermon yesterday which was sort of a “heavy” sermon. Had a lot of very sad things to talk about and dire things to talk about. And yet, we, who understand the truth of God do not have to live in perpetual sadness. We should live our lives with a sense of joy, a sense of fulfillment, and happiness, and contentment. And, I will say that if there are aspects to your life which are pulling you down, dragging you down, like an anchor that’s just hard to move and you really can’t reach that level of fulfillment that you wish you could – 1) look to Jesus, 2) the best that you can extricate yourself from those situations which pull you down, which pull you back and hold you back, which hold you in a state of bondage. Now, some things you’re sort of stuck with – I mean family members. Things happen to family members which inevitably will affect you – either on the good side or the bad side, the sad way. And it’s hard to totally divorce yourself from family. And yet, I have family members that I have chosen just not to be around very much. It’s not that I don’t love them, but they are a drag to me. They pull me down. They hold me back. They push me down. And I don’t want to be around that. I have a hat at home which I had created, it says – AVOID NEGATIVITY. I think I wore it here one time a few months ago. If it’s possible, remove from your life from those issues and those aspects of negativity. So that “your joy may be full.” And, as far as negativity, we talked about this in an article two or three weeks ago – remove those things which you think about which are negative. I’ve often told people – many people enter into the truth of God, and it’s new and it’s fresh, and it’s refreshing. And yet, they travel with these suitcases, this baggage from their past. And they never let the baggage go! When truly, if you have entered into a contract with Jesus Christ – to renew your life; to start over; to become a new person in Christ – you ought to take those bags of worry, those bags of anger, those bags of frustration, and all the other negative emotions and just throw them away! Get rid of them! But I know of so many people who – they’re trying to enter into the Body of Christ and be a part of the fellowship with Christ – and yet they still carry this baggage. Abraham Lincoln had a phrase in the Gettysburg Address – a new birth of freedom. And really, entering into that contract with Jesus Christ is an opportunity for you to have “a new birth of freedom.” Get rid of the junk! Get rid of the baggage – throw it away! And if you have to – avoid it. And you may say, “Well, they’re my friends,” or “They’re my family!” Well, apparently not a very healthy family. Not a very good place to hang out. Avoid negativity. And if that means staying away from people who pull you down and push you down and drag you down and drag you through the mud, it’s not worth it. Because your life is supposed to be “our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, that your joy may be full.” Spiritual joy and actual joy – not just fake joy.

“God is light”

Verse 5 – “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” – I think about this young man we talked about just yesterday – the shooter – down at Santa Fe, Texas. A young 17-year old lad who was a student at the school. And I have heard reports - allegedly - talking to his classmates – his schoolmates – that he loved to dress in black. And that the day he entered the school – allegedly – he was wearing a black trench-coat. Now, folks, I’ve been in Texas during this time of the year, and I don’t know what the temperature was – but I guarantee you down south of Houston it was probably 95-99 degrees. Why would anybody be wearing a trench-coat!? When the temperature is so very hot!? Doesn’t that sort of catch you off guard!? Shouldn’t somebody have seen the child walking around and go – that’s not right, somethings wrong there!? But anyway, in his trench-coat he had his shotgun and he had his revolver, he had his homemade pipe bombs, or rather things that looked like pipe bombs. But the thing is – he loved the color of black. Darkness. So often, people who gravitate to that clothing style are not living in the light of God Almighty and Jesus Christ. Their life is not full of brightness – it’s full of darkness. He was known to wear this shirt – a black t-shirt – which read on the front “Born to Kill.” Wouldn’t that sort of catch your attention!? “Why is this strange young man walking around with a t-shirt that says, “Born to Kill”? Somebody – a parent, a school official, law enforcement, school counselor – SOMEBODY should have said – what’s going on with this guy!? Maybe we need to tap into his Facebook and see what he’s talking about!? And what he was talking about, apparently, was the fact that he wanted to shoot up and MURDER people! I mean, it was all out there – it was all there to be seen! If people would have just opened their eyes and looked! But people who live in darkness do not have fellowship with Jesus Christ - and with the ideas and with the ideals of the Bible and of God Almighty and Jesus Christ. Verse 6 – “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7) But if we walk in the light as [God Almighty and Jesus Christ] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, …” – a shared common purpose, a shared bond. “…and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” – so here we get to the importance of Jesus Christ and what He did as a human being!

You know just about 50 days ago we were talking about the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. And the Passover is that event in God’s holy day calendar, which represents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ – His shed blood. His broken body. That’s what we’ve been talking about ever since then! You know, for about two months we’ve been talking about this one subject. And once again – “if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood [the cleansing, saving] of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Verse 8 – “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” - if you say, “Well, I’m just so wonderful,” and I’ve heard people say this! There are a couple of ladies that I got to be around a lot of the time. And I never heard one of them come close to admitting that they had said or thought or done something for which they need to apologize. And yet folks, they did a lot of things for which they should have apologized. But in their heart, they believed they were perfect.

I have met people who claim to be a part of the Body of Christ – who have looked me straight in the eye – and said, “I have nothing for which to be forgiven.” They said, “I don’t know what to repent of because I’ve never done anything wrong.” Well, how self-deluded are you!? “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Here’s one place to start – for those of you who think you’re perfect and wonderful and everything that comes out of your mouth is just tip-top, couldn’t be better; and every thought of your heart is just wonderful and clean and pure and righteous and so on and so on – if you want a reality check someday get out a piece of paper and one side start writing down the attributes of God Almighty and Jesus Christ. The Creators of the universe, all knowing, all powerful, all wisdom, the ability to create, the ability to heal, the ability to resurrect life! And on the other side of the paper, list what you’ve done lately. Yeah, do it. Compared to God Almighty and Jesus Christ all of us – at our very best we’re told in the Book of Isaiah – we’re nothing more than filthy rags. King David at times referred to himself as a worm. Just on that standard – how can you get puffed up about yourself!? Just by the fact of who you are and what you are, you absolutely have no room to boast or to brag about anything. Because, until you are given the gift of eternal life until you are granted access and admittance into the very Family of GOD – which is what all of us have before us; the possibility. Now, the churches of this world do not teach this. They do not teach it because they do not know it and they do not understand it. The churches of this world – about the best you could get out of what they say – is someday you fly off to Heaven. Now, they can’t tell you where Heaven is. I mean they have no idea where it is. They can’t pinpoint it anywhere. And all of a sudden you’re just gonna float around on a cloud playing the harp. And maybe if you’re lucky – maybe someday way afar off – God the Father and or Jesus Christ might look upon you! A gaze from God. And as they tell the story – I guess you’re supposed to be like a little puppy to get so excited that his Master sees him, he starts wagging his tail and pissing on himself. You’ve seen little puppies do that. Well, folks, that’s not what it’s all about!

Somewhere down the road – not too far from now (I don’t know when) five, ten, fifteen, whatever it is it is, I don’t know, God Almighty and Jesus Christ know – the end-time of this human age will come upon us. Horrible events will befall us. We’ve talked about some of those yesterday, just some of them. The Bible is filled with information about the Day of the LORD! The day of the LORD’s visitation upon this earth! The most dramatic, horrifying, frightening, period in human history! That’s not that far away. We have a chance to avoid those calamities. And then it talks about in the Book of Revelation seven seals – which is an outline of some events – and then it talks about seven trumpets. Another outline of future events.

ETERNAL LIFE IN THE FAMILY OF GOD!

And with the blowing of the SEVENTH TRUMP those people – living and dead – whose names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, those people will be restored to LIFE! And, not just physical life, they will be restored to eternal spiritual life! In the same existence as Jesus Christ is now. Not overcoming Jesus, but being in the same Family! I was born a Garrett - my mother Dorothy Garrett, my father Tom Garrett. Eventually, I grew up, but I never overtook my mother and my father in terms of importance or prestige. But I was a member of that family – a full-fledged member. And I got to live where they lived. And I got to participate in the same activities they got to participate. I got to live on a level plane, just like they did. Well, that’s what God the Father and Jesus Christ are offering to all of you! But not a human existence – an eternal spiritual existence! ETERNAL LIFE IN THE FAMILY OF GOD! The Bible offers you and me an opportunity to live eternally on the level of the Family of GOD! The churches of this world do not teach that! They don’t come anywhere near that! And I would imagine some of them would call it sacrilege and heresy. And, “How dare you say you’re on an equal footing with GOD!” Well, only because GOD will grant us that possibility. That’s what the Bible offers you! That’s what the Plan of God offers you! But in order to be a part of that, you must have regular interaction with Jesus Christ – the MASTER of the universe - and Jesus Christ your Savior, and Jesus Christ the soon-coming King of kings and Lord of lords! And if you do that now your life can be filled with joy.

Verse 9 – here’s the good part of the story. “If we confess our sins, …” – our faults, our flaws, our weaknesses – “…He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Again, this is not a one-time deal! This is not just right before you go into the baptismal pool, and you say, “Dear Father, dear Brother forgive me!” This is not even a yearly thing – like the Passover – the Lord’s Supper! Whatever you want to call it – it doesn’t make any difference. When you go in there and take the symbols of the shed blood and the broken body – the wine and the unleavened bread – you are sort of re-upping your contract with Jesus Christ. And you’re saying once again, freshly, “I need Your forgiveness. I need You to be a part of my life!” I hope those words I just wrote are a part of your thinking every day that you live! I hope that some point during the day you say to Jesus Christ, “You are everything! And I am nothing!” “You hold all power, all might, all majesty! And compared to You, I’m nothing but some little grub. I need you every day – every moment – in everything I do and every thought I have! Please, dear Brother be with me. And forgive me. Please forgive me. I need Your grace to make it through. All I have is You! I’m at Your mercy!” Those are the words of a song entitled, “Please Forgive Me” - made famous by the Crabb Family. A family group that actually grew up right here in Davis County Kentucky. That song was written by their father. One of the greatest songs ever written – because it sums up the way our relationship with Jesus Christ should be. “I need Your grace to make it through. All I have is You! I’m at Your mercy!”

However, verse 10 – “If we say that we have not sinned, …” – and again, I have met people who have that attitude and I’ve even heard the words come out of their mouth. “…we make [Jesus Christ] a liar, and His word [and His truth, and His blessing, and His forgiveness, and His mercy] is not [with] us. Chapter 2, verse 1 – “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if ANYONE sins, we have an Advocate [just like a defense attorney] with the Father, …” – and His name is JESUS CHRIST “…the righteous. 2) And He Himself is the [ATONEMENT] propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours only but also for the [sins of] the whole world. 3) Now by this, we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” – as Jesus said in the Book of John, ‘If you love Me keep My commandments.’ Or, as I have often said, change the word love to loyalty. ‘If you’re loyal to Me keep My commandments.’ And when you are openly not keeping the commandments of God, you are demonstrating openly – for the whole world to see including God Almighty and Jesus Christ – that you are not loyal to Jesus Christ! Verse 4 – “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5) But whosoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him [or her]. By this, we know that we are in Him. 6) He who says he abides in [Jesus Christ] ought himself [or herself] also to walk just as He walked.” Just powerful words! And these are words we need to think about on a regular basis! This section of the Bible should be a regular place you go to. And, it’s a place I often go to talk about to all of you, because it’s so IMPORTANT!

the spiritual House of Israel

Now, getting back to the Day of Pentecost. If you would, turn back to the Book of Leviticus. Leviticus 23 – the one chapter in the Bible that contains, lists in order all of God’s holy days – annual holy days. Now, they’re talked about in many other places, but this is like your best outline of the annual holy days of God. Notice the beginning – “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2) ‘Speak to the children of Israel, …’” – remember, the word Israel, if you break it down means “who is like God.” 1 That’s what that word means. And so if you want to be like God, you will consider yourself someone who wants to be a part of spiritual Israel. Now maybe you’re from a nation which is not genetically from the tribes of Israel. Well, it doesn’t make any difference, because we’re not talking about – really – DNA. We’re talking about your heart – your attitude, your mind, your approach. If you want to be accounted in that number – “Oh Lord, when the saints come marching in! I want to be in that number!” That’s what I’m talking about! If you want to be considered to become an eternal member of the Family of GOD – forever - if that’s your attitude, then you are! Despite your DNA. You are in the environment of the spiritual House of Israel.

‘Speak unto these people that want to be with Me, “’…’ and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, …’” – holy gathering. Official church service – if you want to put it that way. “…’ these are My feasts.’” Then in verse 3 - “’ Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation [a church day]. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. 4) These are the feasts of the LORD, …’” – even, official church gatherings. “…’ which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.’” – that’s why we’re talking about this right now because the day is the Day of Pentecost in the year 2019. And if you skip forward it talks about Passover, and it talks about the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And then, verse 10 – and I don’t want to spend a whole lot of time talking about this, but back in those days of the Levitical Priesthood it says, “’ Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.’” Now, many times the Day of Pentecost is called the Feast of the Firstfruits. And this passage right here helps lend credence to that, and other places. Verse 11 – “’ He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, …’” – so the priest was supposed to gather a bunch of wheat, barley, or whatever they were growing, sort of tie it into a bundle. And, he was supposed to go out and ‘wave’ this bundle of wheat, barley, oats, whatever the grain was. Verse 12 – “…’ wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD.’” – and then some real technical stuff. Meat and drink offerings, but notice verse 15 – this is what I wanted to get to. “’And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, …’” – alright, what he’s talking about – in the Days of Unleavened Bread (and they fall in different days) the first Sabbath during that one-week period you are to count ‘from the morrow after the Sabbath.’ So, since the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, and the ‘morrow after the Sabbath’ is the first day of the week – which this culture calls Sunday. Sunday – in our culture – actually goes back to a time when
pagan heathens worshiped the sun. Have you thought about that!? Well, it’s something to think about! I know certain religious groups they get all warm and fuzzy when they say the word Sunday. And they don’t really realize with this worshipful reverential mentality – when they say it that way – that they are really paying homage to sun worship. And I’m not talking about laying out in the sun and getting a suntan, I’m actually talking about where you actually worship the sun as a god. And all the pagans did that in one form or another. So, you’re counting from the first day of the week. And it says, “…’ Seven Sabbaths shall be completed.’” – seven weeks. Well, 7 x 7 = 49. Plus one day is 50 days. And the Feast of Pentecost should always be celebrated on what this culture calls Sunday.

Verse 16 – “’ Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; …’” And the word Penta-cost – if you go back and study the language it actually has some Greek origin to it. Penta, meaning fifty. And, cost, which is a derivation of ‘to count.’ Count fifty-fifty count. Penta-count – Penta-cost. That’s where the word comes from.

Now, I heard something at dinner last night that… if I was a cow, I would have dropped the cud out of my mouth! I was told there’s a group that keeps Pentecost on a Tuesday! 2 What are you thinking!? Obviously, you’re not reading your Bible! Or, you’re not putting your glasses on when you read the Bible! Because it’s just as clear as can be that it’s fifty days from a Saturday. Which puts you on a Sunday. And nowhere close to a Tuesday!

And I know those that do that if they were to read this would say, “Well, I don’t understand a thing he says.” Which all I can say is – Put your glasses on and read what it says! And quit following some ding-a-ling who is now in the grave and you are literally worshiping the ideas of a human being instead of worshiping the words of Jesus Christ and God Almighty! And that’s what I think about that!

If you would turn to the Book of Acts. Acts 20 – now, this is America and we have freedom of religion. You have the freedom to follow the Word of God and its advice, and you have the freedom to walk away from the Word of God. And so for all of you who want to do these odd and bizarre things you have the right in our country to deceive yourself and to shut yourself off from the possibility of someday having eternal life. So, congratulations. Live your life with freedom – but understand – you’re wrong! You’re just dead flat wrong!

the holy days of God have always been in effect

Now, the Book of Leviticus contains all of God’s holy days in order – gives the thumbnail sketch about everything. But, let’s look in the Book of Acts 20 – talking about the travels of Paul. Verse 1 – “After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and departed to go to Macedonia.” – which is a part of what we now call Greece. Verse 2 – “Now when he had gone over that region and encouraged them with many words, he came to Greece [what they called Greece] 3) and stayed three months. And when the [Jewish people] plotted against him …” – the Jewish leaders hated Paul with a passion. And they hated him for two reasons – 1) He was preaching powerfully the Message of Jesus Christ and His truth. 2) Also, more intensely, because once upon a time Paul (the former Saul) had been one of them. He was probably on the pathway to someday - in his middle to later life - of becoming the great high priest himself. Paul came from amongst all of these temple elite. And then, through a miracle – provided by Jesus Christ – he was just smacked down to the earth. Literally almost. Blinded. And eventually shown – he heard the voice of Jesus Christ – ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me!?’ That would get your attention! And eventually, his sight was restored. Although keep in mind – Paul always had trouble with his eyesight. In one epistle he says, ‘See what large letters I’m writing.’ I’ve never thought about this before – but there’s a possibility that Paul might have had trouble with his eyesight because Jesus Christ never wanted him to forget that there was a time in his life where he was persecuting Jesus Christ and the followers of Jesus Christ. And Jesus used blindness to get his attention! And maybe Jesus never did fully restore his sight – as a reminder at one time “Paul, you were a foolish man and I don’t want you to ever forget what you were doing and how wrong you were, and how opposite of how I wanted you to be.” I’ve never thought of that before, but that is a possibility. Verse 4 – “And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia – also Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. 5) These men, going ahead, waited for us at Troas. 6) But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, …” – now, this is decades after the human life, the human death, and the spiritual resurrection of Jesus Christ. Decades later! And Paul and the other disciples are still keeping the holy days of God as listed in part in Leviticus 23.

I say this because there are always people who are trying to explain away the truth of God. And why do they try and explain it away!? Because their church isn’t following the precepts and prescriptions set forth in the Bible! And they’ve got to come up with a reason why they’re not following the Book. And so they will say things like – “Well, in the New Covenant those ancient holy days no longer apply.” W R O N G! The holy days of God have been in effect from the creation of the world. They’ve always been there. The holy days have nothing to do with the abolishment of the Old Covenant. Just like the Ten Commandments. The basic set of God’s principles. They were in effect long before the Old Covenant was in effect. And long after the Old Covenant was dissolved and deceased. The Ten Commandments are still in effect! (Be sure to watch our 20-part series – The Eternal Relevancy of the Ten Commandments). The Ten Commandments have always been in effect! Will always be in effect! The holy days of God have always been in effect! And for the most part, they will always be in effect in the future. I think with the return of Jesus Christ there may be some modification. Think about this – Feast of Trumpets looks forward to the blowing of the seventh trump, the return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the saints. Well, after this happens the Feast of Trumpets will have a little different meaning. It won’t be something we’re looking forward to, it’s something that has already happened. And so I imagine they’ll be some modification on how it is taught and understood and celebrated.

the Feast of Pentecost was kept

However, right here – ‘the Days of Unleavened Bread.’ The Apostle Paul and the disciples were keeping the holy days of God. “…and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.” Now, this part of the story I wanted to add because it’s such a great story. Verse 7 – “Now on the first day of the week, …” – and I will add here – if you have a King James English, notice that the word day is in italics. 3 How many see that!? Italics means this word was not in the original manuscript – but the King James VI and I boys of 1611 added that word. It doesn’t mean the first day of the week, it just means ‘the beginning of the week.’ “…when the disciples came together to break bread, …” – meaning they had a meal. It’s not signifying a church service. Now, some church groups try to use this as a verse to legitimize having Sunday church. And what they say is, “Well see, it’s the first day of the week and they’re breaking bread.” Well, folks, ‘breaking bread’ is just another fancy word for a shared meal. Just keep that in mind. “…Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.” – now all I can say is – “You go, Paul!” And for all of you church groups who think you’re sermon shouldn’t be more than thirty-minutes – you see, the Apostle Paul, he didn’t have that problem! He talked all through supper on to midnight! Verse 8 – “There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together.” – meaning, it was probably a two-story affair. Verse 9 – “And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, …” – think about it – this young man became famous. He’ll be known for all eternity as the guy who fell asleep when Paul was preaching. And the young man fell asleep just like falling asleep on your toilet. No one would ever do that. And he bound off his chair being in a deep sleep “and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.” – so there was a bottom floor, and maybe two or three levels above. And he pitched forward and did a half-gainer right on his head. Killed him. Probably broke his neck!? Crushed his skull. He’s dead! Verse 10 – “But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him …” – and obviously – it doesn’t say – he was praying to Jesus Christ – “Don’t let this young man die because I was preaching till midnight.” And then he says, “’ Do not trouble yourselves, for his life [has been restored].’ 11) Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, …” – now get this, Paul started at supper time went till midnight, the young man dies and then is brought back to life, and Paul talks all night long. Never missing a beat except to help the young man who had died. Verse 12 – “And they brought the young man [who is now alive], and they were [very much] comforted.” – what would you think if your minister was talking to you and you’re half asleep and all of a sudden somebody drops dead and the minister brings them back to life!? That would get your attention – wouldn’t it!? It might make you think – I better listen to the guy because I think he knows what he’s talking about! Well, they had that same type of exuberance, happiness, and joy. ‘They were much comforted.’ Verse 13 – “ Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board; for so he had given orders, intending himself to go on foot.” – so he was going to get on a ship which would have ended the conversation, but Paul decided to walk some twenty miles. He could go on a ship and go around this peninsula, or he could just walk across on the land. He decided to walk the twenty miles. Now, twenty miles at three miles per hour – that’s another seven hours. And I’m sure the whole time Paul kept talking. Teaching them the truth of God. Teaching them about the Kingdom of God. Teaching them about Jesus Christ. Verse 14 – “And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15) We sailed from there, and the next day came opposite Chios. The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium. The next day we came to Miletus.” – so they made a lot of stops. And back in those days, ships didn’t get way out in the middle of the ocean, they normally sailed so that they could see land because they used the landmarks to tell them where they were. Verse 16 – For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, …” – which was a church group he probably started. “…so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost.” This entire schedule that Paul is taking is aimed at the idea of having him be in Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost. Why!? Because Paul obviously wanted to keep this annual holy day – which was still in effect – it had never been removed, had never been done away. And he wanted to keep it in Jerusalem.

Well, the story continues, and to quickly tell you, verse 25 – “And indeed, now that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God, …” – did Paul spend his time talking about right-wing politics!? No. Did Paul waste his time talking about “the Romans”!? No. Did Paul waste his time talking about left-leaning politics!? No. What did he do – he spent his time ‘preaching the Kingdom of God.’ And he told them, “you will see my face no more.” Paul knew that he had an appointment to eventually end up in Rome, where he would confer directly with the Emperor. And what happened to Paul we’re not exactly sure. Some Catholic mythology says that he died in the big arena, the Colosseum, at the teeth and claws of lions – I don’t know. We don’t know – the Bible doesn’t tell us. If you want to believe Catholic mythology, you may. I’m dubious, but I absolutely do not know. Verse 26 – “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.” – what did he mean by that!? Paul was directly involved – back when he was Saul, in the persecution; doing the bidding of the Jewish temple – of the members of the Body of Christ. And even many of them being led to their deaths. We know that from Scripture. I think Paul spent most of his life feeling deeply ashamed and embarrassed as to what he had done. And at this point – and here he’s on the final stage of his life and he knew it – he now says, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am [pure] …” Paul had finally come to the point where he let go of all of the baggage he had been carrying with him – the guilt and the shame. He says, ‘I am now forgiven.’ And he knew it and understood it – from “the blood of all men.” Verse 27 – “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” – ‘all the teaching that I received from God and Jesus.’ Verse 28 – “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, …” – or ministers, preachers, elders – whatever word you want to use. “…to [feed] the Church of God [the Body of Christ] which He purchased with His own blood.” – one more time reminding us that Jesus Christ is the basis of everything!

‘grievous wolves’ came in among us

Verse 29 – “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” – what is he saying!? He’s saying that there are people out there that when they get the chance – especially when a leader who had led a certain group has died – that there would be people who would try to get their hooks into the congregations and take people away from what they had once known and make them followers of these new guys. These ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing.’

Verse 30 – “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31) Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn every one night and day [and even at times begging you with tears].” – Paul knew this was gonna happen! He’s doing everything he can to warn the people – and still, it happened. What’s the lesson for all of us to learn!?

In the history of church organizations of which I have known about – I know for sure that on a couple of occasions leaders attempting to do the Work of God, not perfect. But who among us is? They attempted in the limited scope of their knowledge tried to teach the people the truth of God. But after their deaths ‘grievous wolves’ entered in among those congregations ‘not sparing the flock, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.’ – and even now we have church “leaders” who instead of teaching the truth of God – the truth of Jesus Christ and the truth of the Kingdom of God, of the New Covenant and the resurrection to come – what do they talk about!? Far Right Wing politics! The organization which was once led by GTA has totally and completely changed in the nature of their business. GTA would talk about Jesus Christ! However, the new leader of that organization will not! GTA would talk about the grandeur of God and His creation, the truth of the Bible and was very eloquent in how he did it. And all the new leader does is talk about far Right Wing politics. Paul said it would happen! “For I know this, that after my departure …” Well, congratulations you ‘grievous wolf,’ you will actually someday have a footnote in a future Book of Acts – how you perverted the teachings of your father to serve your own extremely carnal interests – far Right Wing politics. Congratulations.

‘speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God’

Again, if you would turn to the early part of the Book of Acts. And to just get a full background and lead-up to what is happening – “The former [treatise] …” – meaning the Book of Luke – “…I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” – now, the actual scribe of the Book of Acts is the Apostle Luke. Some people call the Book of Luke Luke I, and the Book of Acts Luke II. Verse 2 – “until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3) to whom He also presented Himself alive after His [passion or His torture] …” – I hate that word passion. There’s just something about it that bothers me. It actually was His torture. “…by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days …” – and what did He talk about, what did Jesus talk about!? Now if you think about it – if Jesus wanted to He could have gone ranting and raving about the horrible nature of the Roman government. Because they literally tortured Him to death! And I guess He could have gone on and on talking about the evil’s of the temple elite because they’re the ones that created the whole mess! But what did Jesus Christ talk about!? “…speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” Right Wing politics!? No. Left Wing politics!? No. Politics in general!? No. Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of God!

Real quick – put your thumb or a marker there – and turn to the end of the Book of Acts. Acts 28:23 – I am one of those who believes that in the future – upon the return of Jesus Christ – the Book of Acts will expand. 4 Many, many, more chapters will be added. Because the story isn’t fully told is it!? I mean, we have getting near the end of the first century, and then all the information and all the history and all the personalities and all the things that happened we don’t really know about. But I think in the future Jesus Christ will make sure that more chapters are added to the Book of Acts – remember, the Acts of the Apostles is what it’s called. “So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, …” – speaking of the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul is under what we would call “house arrest” awaiting his appearance before Emperor Nero, with a type of a trial and maybe torture, maybe an execution, maybe he was freed, maybe he escaped – we just don’t know that part of the story for sure. “…to whom …” – now this is Paul, near the end of his life or his public ministry. And what was Paul talking about!? Politics!? No. Did he waste his time talking about the temple elite!? No. What did he do!? “…he explained and solemnly testified of the Kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses [that’s the first five Books of the Bible] and the Prophets [Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the so-called “minor” prophets] from morning till evening.” – I’ll give you one thing, Paul knew how to talk, and he loved doing I just hope that you all can appreciate that Michael C. is in a similar way – somewhat – long-winded. But that’s a good company to be in as far as I’m concerned. Verse 24 – “And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.” – just like now. Some people will read this and say, “Well, you know, there’s something about that that I want to learn more about!” And there are some people who go, “Naw, I don’t want to hear that!” Alright, nothing I can do about it. But you do so to your own peril. Verse 25 – “So when they did not agree among themselves, …” – there were some, they got together, maybe they went outside and started talking, and discussing, and some people said, “Well, I’m just not gonna listen to that!” Maybe some said, “Not a thing he said did I understand.” That’s fine. It will all come out in the wash – as they say. “…they departed after Paul had said one word: ‘The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, 26) saying, ‘Go to this people and say: ‘Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; …” – does that remind you of anybody!? “…’ And seeing you will see, and not perceive; …’” – ‘I don’t understand a thing he’s saying!’ Verse 27 – “’ For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing. And their eyes they have closed, Lest [possibly] they should understand with their hearts and [should be converted], So that I should heal them.’” – heal their ears and heal their eyes spiritually speaking. Verse 28 – “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, …” – it’s for EVERYONE NOW! Not just Israel. EVERYBODY! And that some of those Gentiles will indeed hear it! Verse 29 – “And when he had said these words, the Jews departed …” – isn’t it interesting that the one person of whom I have alluded, I was told yesterday that what he listens to – that he spends a lot of time speaking in Hebrew. Did I hear that correctly!? Isn’t it interesting!? That people who want to gravitate to Jewish ideas will not hear the truth of God! It didn’t happen back then in the day of Paul, and I guess it’s still not happening today. “…and had a great dispute among themselves. 30) Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, …” – and again, what did he do!? This is the final sentence in the Book of Acts. Verse 31 – “preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.”

Now, like I’ve said before, I was one time down in the bailiwick of this one person of whom I have alluded back on March 2013, and I gave a sermon entitled Look To Jesus Not Moses. And I was never invited back! “Look to Jesus” made me a pariah with the leader of that organization and his sycophants. Because they did not want to hear about ‘the Kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ.’ Isn’t it interesting!?

Be sure to WATCH this God-inspired sermon by Michael C.

Garrett proclaiming and warning the 'lost sheep of spiritual Israel' not to look towards

 the Old Covenant, but to look toward the New Covenant -Look To Jesus

NOT MOSES!

‘you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit’

Well, if you would turn back to Acts 1:3 – where Jesus Christ is with His disciples for forty days off and on, and what did He do!? He spoke about the things ‘pertaining to the Kingdom of God.’ Do you see a theme here!? The true servants of Jesus Christ talk about the Kingdom of God, talk about Jesus Christ. And if you’re minister is talking about politics be it Left Wing or Right Wing politics, or all the rest of the goofiness of this world, you’re probably in the wrong place. But that’s for you to decide. Verse 4 – “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me.’” – Jesus spoke about the Father quite often. Verse 5 – “’ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” – about ten days down the road they would have the Spirit of God poured out upon them. Verse 6 – “Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’” – now you see the disciples – the apostles – and the followers of Jesus they were thinking politically much of the time they were with Him. They thought Jesus Christ was going to lead an uprising and overtake the Romans and establish a second version of the kingdom of Israel. And that was never the purpose of Jesus Christ when He came here as a human being. But it will be the goal of Jesus Christ when He returns to this earth! He will establish the Kingdom of God. And in doing so He will bring much glory and honor to Israel and all human beings who want to worship Him. Verse 7 – “And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own [power]. 8) But you [soon] shall receive power [after] the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’” 9) Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, …” – He was lifted up, rose up, and He just simply disappeared in the fog of a cloud. Verse 10 – “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven …” - the sky – that’s all that word heaven there means. Most of the places in the Bible the word heaven means the atmosphere – the sky. “…as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel.” – now, I don’t mean to upset you ladies, but angelic beings we are told look like men.

What did I see in the news a few days ago!? Some strange photograph – sort of on top of a truck – and everyone who saw the photograph just knew that they had captured the image of an angel. And it sort of had wings. Angels don’t have wings. Archangels do! But normal, everyday, work-a-day angels just look like human beings. We are told in the Bible that there have been times where possibly you and I have interacted with angels not even knowing that they were angelic. Maybe they were there to help us, or to protect us – maybe we didn’t even know we were in danger. And yet they were there. And you know in our culture angels are pictured as little babies with wings and little bows and arrows. And again, our culture – it just screws up the truth of God! Every time you turn around!

Here, the angelic beings appeared as two men appearing in white apparel. And what did these two angelic beings say!? Verse 11 – “…’ Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into [the sky]? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into [the sky], will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into [the sky].’” – and we know that someday Jesus Christ once again will have His feet to sit upon the Mount of Olives. And I just hope and pray that many of you out there – many of the people reading this – are there to witness that! I hope that I am granted that wish. Verse 12 – “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey [a fairly short walk]. 13) And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.” – that Judas is who we know of as Jude, who wrote the Book of Jude. And that James here is the one who wrote the Book of James, who was a brother to Jesus. Verse 14 – “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women …” – the ladies who were devout followers of Jesus. “…and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers [and sisters].” – now you Catholic folks out there, you may not know it but your official church teaching is that Jesus didn’t have any brothers or sisters. But your Bible says something different. I guess you have to decide who you’re gonna believe. Are you gonna believe your priest or your bishop, or your pope, or are you gonna believe your Bible and are you gonna believe the words of the apostles!? As for me – the argument has settled. I believe the Bible! And, Jesus Christ had sisters and brothers – born to Mary after Him. Now, most of them had nothing to do with Him – they didn’t believe in Him. It’s like the idea – a prophet has no honor in his own country. But after all the things that happened, and they knew that He had died and been tortured to death, and then they knew He had been resurrected, they too – reluctantly – became believers. And two of the brothers ended up writing Books in the Bible! James and Jude. Verse 15 – “And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), …” – now get this – Jesus Christ, who had performed just about every kind of miracle you could imagine, healed dozens and hundreds, and thousands – of all types of diseases – raised people from the dead, fed thousands upon thousands from a few crumbs. And after all of those miracles His congregation – His true group of followers – numbered about one hundred and twenty. Which means a lot of people are very hard-headed. And will simply not follow the truth. Verse 16 – “’ Men and brethren, this Scripture [needs] to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.” – the traitor Judas. Verse 17 – “for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.’” – and for 3½ years he had been among all of them. Verse 18 – “(Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.” – remember he had committed suicide by hanging himself. Verse 19 – “And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood). Verse 20 – “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his [bishopric].’” – he held the office of a bishop. 5 ‘Let another take …’ Now, those are pretty obscure verses – (a combination of Psalm 69:25 and 109:8). And somehow they were inspired to take those verses and come up with the idea – they had to come up with another disciple. Verse 21 – “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22) beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must [be ordained to] become a witness …” – remember, an apostle is someone who had been with Jesus and someone who had seen Him. They were eyewitnesses. As the Apostle Paul was later on. The Apostle Paul spent parts of 3 to 3½ years being taught by Jesus Himself in the deserts of Arabia. And so Paul called himself an apostle. But there are people all the time – even in the history of the organizations of which I know something about – who want to rise up and call themselves an apostle. Are they proclaiming that they have spent time with Jesus!? They probably haven’t, but maybe if they think they have the need to see a mental doctor – because they’re a little off. Verse 23 – “And they proposed two …” – they nominated two. “…Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed, Justus, and Matthias. 24) And they prayed and said, ‘You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25) to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.’ 26) And they cast their lots, …” – I’ve heard people say that it might have even been what we might call dice. But they sort of put that before God and said, “Show us which one You want.” And, however, they did it – bingo. Matthias was the one chosen. “…And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” – the thing is we don’t hear much about him anymore. But he had some role to play. And he will be a king over one of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Kingdom of God.

So, let’s end it here, and pick up chapter 2 in part 2 – with the events of the Day of Pentecost. The official “birthday” of the New Testament Church. The day on which God Almighty and Jesus Christ poured out Their Spirit on hundreds of people – eventually thousands of people! The day in which the NEW COVENANT was fully and completely in effect! A day of miracles! And one of the greatest miracles was a healing that took place through the auspices of Peter and John. Those are some of the things I’ll be talking about next time as we complete this story.

I thank all of you for being with us and I hope you read till the end. I ask and pray that God Almighty and Jesus Christ will bless everyone who has read this article. And I hope you come back and read this article more than once. I hope you go and read more of our article’s. I hope you will make a commitment to read future article’s. I really do. And I hope they’re meaningful to you and helpful in some way. And I ask that God Almighty and Jesus Christ bless and protect you. And people who are reading this who need physical help, physical strength, physical healing, I hope and pray that dear Jesus You will provide that to them. Because You are indeed FOREVER! You’re the same Being, with the same power, as when you walked this earth as a human being. And the same power as You went up to sit at the right-hand side of God the Father – You still have all the power! Please help us! We’re human. We’re very fragile. And at times we can be very weak and subject to maladies. Please help us! So, to all of you – thank you – and we ask and pray that Jesus Christ will look over you. We give thanks for you. We give thanks for the sermon and the information therein. In the name of Jesus, we do pray this. And until next time – goodbye my friends.

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1 The text of Genesis etymologizes the name with the root śarah "to rule, contend, have power, prevail over.” שׂ רה śarah "to contend, have power, contend with, persist, exert oneself, persevere" (Strong's Concordance H8323) שׂרַָר śarar "to be or act as prince, rule, contend, have power, prevail over, reign, govern" (Strong's Concordance 8280). modern suggestions read the el as the subject, for a translation of "El/God rules/judges/struggles", Hamilton 1995, p. 334. "El fights/struggles". Wenham 1994, pp. 296–97. The Jewish Study Bible of Oxford University Press says on page 68 "The scientific etymology of Israel is uncertain, a good guess being '[The God] El rules.'"

2 Whit Tuesday is the Christian holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost Monday, the third day of the week beginning on Pentecost. Lucchese, Kathryn M. and Rylander ,Cathy "Folk like me: The read-aloud book of saints," Morehouse Publishing, 2008, page 43. Known as the "Third Day of the Trinity."

3 The Codex Sinaiticus, written in the middle of the fourth century translates this verse: “But on the first of the week, when we came together to break bread, Paul discoursed to them, about to depart on the morrow, and continued his speech till midnight.” – Acts 20:7.

4 In fact, all the Books of the New Testament (except for the Book of James) ends with the word “Amen.” Meaning an expression of certainty or ‘let it be so,’ or ‘thus it shall be.’

5 …referring to an office of apostle in Acts, and the office of overseer or bishop in local church … office of bishop. The Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Strong James. Zondervan. 2001, #1984, pg.1611.

Be sure to read our 7-part series: Christ In You (Unleavened Bread - 2017)