Transcription
Baptism is baptism is done for the forgiveness of sins. Acts 2:38. Baptism is done to save us. First Peter 3:21; Acts 2:40; Mark 16:16. Baptism is done to wash away our sins. Acts 22:16. Baptism is done to be reborn to new life. John 3:5; Romans 6:3-6. Baptism is done to clothe ourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:26 and 27.
Hallelujah! [Applause] Amen. It is a delight to be here at this youth conference. Amen. [Music] Typically, on the first night of a conference, of which I have been in many of them, it just seems like it takes a little bit of time to get everybody together and the service to finally take off. But this thing has already taken off. We are, it's ripe and ready for the Holy Ghost to work. [Music] Amen.
I want to just make a couple of quick statements because [Music] there's a lot of wonderful things going on around the world. The Bible teaches us where sin does abound, grace does much more abound. I'm not nearly concerned about what the devil is doing, is what God is doing. I'm not even worried about what the devil is doing, no, because God's in control. Amen. Just give me a couple of minutes. We were invited last September to go to a conference in Africa, the, the nation of Zambia. And we were invited to a denominational conference. This was not a conference that preached the truth as we preach it. And they asked us to come for one reason, and that was to preach on the Godhead and the plan of salvation as found in Acts 2:38.
Hallelujah! After, after three nights, three days of hours of teaching and preaching, we baptized over 125 in the name of Jesus Christ. And out of that, we have been getting consistent reports since that time. Uh, people that were there, preachers that were there, going back to their nations in South Africa, baptizing people in Jesus' name. Even to this past Saturday, I got a text from our bishop in Malawi that he had baptized 31 brand new ones in Jesus' name. Past couple of days, I've gotten a, a text from our preacher, a pastor in Uganda. Uh, he just had a Bible study with eight Trinitarian pastors. Two of them received the gift of the Holy Ghost in the prayer meeting. And he's getting ready to baptize all, later a day or so later, he baptized a pastor, his wife is into our family, and leaders in his church. I'm just telling you, in the midst of all of the craziness of our world, God is on the move. Amen.
I was in the nation of India in November and February of this year. In February, I met with between 25 and 30 pastors, of which most of them had never received the gift of the Holy Ghost. We had eight of them get the Holy Ghost in our day sessions. Amen. And a total of 38 receive the Holy Ghost in those three days of services. Amen. The head of the works there, just this past week, the past couple of days, sent me a text and he said, "I got to tell you about a marvelous miracle God has just done for us." He had given me a set of prints to a new building that he wants to build, a headquarters building for the works there. It was a dream of his, a desire to see this accomplished. And so I took the prints and brought him back. I told him we'd pray about it, would see how God would open the door to accomplish that. And so he totally showed me the property. In fact, we had our night services on the property where he's going to build the building. And the reason he had the property is because a Hindu man had gotten very sick. And after he had gotten sick, they called Pastor Boca. And he came and prayed for him. God healed the Hindu man, and he donated the property for the new building. Just a few days ago, this same Hindu man, his son got the coronavirus and was very sick. They called Pastor Boca again and said, "Come and pray." He said, "If God heals me, I am going to give a special donation to help build the church." Amen. He, God touched him. He came out of his condition, and he just gave them just a few dollars, under $22,000 to build the church building. Hallelujah! This just happened on Friday. This is what Wednesday. This just happened on Saturday. I'm just telling you, don't worry about what the devil's doing. Get keyed into what God is doing. Get focused on what the Holy Ghost is doing. Hallelujah! Amen.
Amen. I want to read tonight from the book of Second Kings, chapter 13, and I am going to start reading at verse number 14. Second Kings 13 and verse 14. "Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thy hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it. And Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then he, Elisha, said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in effect until thou have consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite the ground. And he smote thrice and stayed. The man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hast consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice."
I don't know when I have struggled with a title for a message as I have this one. I know what I feel the Holy Ghost wants me to preach tonight, but I have struggled with the title. And I realize that what I'm going to use as a title is not new, but it really expresses the burden that I feel tonight. And that is simply this: If you're going to talk the talk, then walk the walk. Hallelujah! If you're going to talk the talk, then walk the walk. Would you clap your hands and give God praise one more time? This is a youth conference, so I'm preaching to the young people tonight. If you adults get anything out of it, fine, but I am focusing on the younger generation tonight. And everybody shout, "Amen!" God bless you. You may be seated.
I'm not going to take a lot of time tonight building a foundation for this message. Suffice it to say that Elijah, the great prophet, had been succeeded by Elisha, who followed in his footsteps and continued the revival that Elijah had set in motion. It was really not about Elisha being greater than his predecessor, or even as great as Elijah, but it was all about Elisha finishing the work that Elijah had begun. To the young people tonight, I want to tell you that it's not about you being greater than your spiritual fathers, but it's all about you picking up the baton and saying, "We can do this!" All right? We can do this. When there is a relay race and one starts with the baton in his hand, the man carrying the baton is not looking for someone who is standing around waiting on someone to give them a baton to run with, but he's looking for someone who is already pacing him in preparation for the handoff. [Applause] He's looking for somebody who's already running. I want to know tonight, at this Apostolic Youth Conference, do we have any young people in the house tonight that'll say, "I'm running! I'm running! I'm running!" Hallelujah!
I have to tell you tonight, and please forgive me, but allow me to preach what I feel in the Holy Ghost, but we have too many young preachers who are standing around grousing as to why their pastor won't give them any pulpit time. But when it comes to Saturday morning outreach, teaching, home Bible studies, helping in the bus ministry, work days of the church, they're nowhere to be found. I'm not throwing young preachers under the bus tonight, but I'm telling you, the world is your pulpit. Start running! I said, start running! You've already got a pulpit. The world is your pulpit. Your neighborhood is your pulpit. Your job is your pulpit. Your family is your pulpit. [Applause] [Music] Hallelujah! Quit waiting on somebody to give you a baton. Start running! I said, start running! Hallelujah!
David killed a lion, he killed a bear, and he killed a giant while he was doing what his daddy told him to do. Amen. Too many tonight are looking for a lion, they're looking for a bear, they're looking for a giant. But David didn't go looking for a lion. He was looking for a lamb to save. [Applause] I said, he was looking for a lamb to save. His job was to save the lambs. And in the process of saving the lambs, he killed a lion. In the process of saving a lamb, he killed a bear. [Applause] Yes, sir. Hallelujah! He killed a giant because he was on the battlefield checking on his brothers. He wasn't looking for a giant to kill. His daddy said, "Go check on your brothers." And when you get interested in your brother and your sister and their spiritual welfare, and you're there to help back them up on the battlefield, your help to encourage them, then God will give you a chance to kill your Goliath. But make up your mind. Make up your mind. I'm called to save lambs. I'm called. I'm proud to save my brother. I'm called to save my sister. Hallelujah! Let me tell you where lions can be found. When you're up out saving the lambs and the sheepfold, get out there with the baton in your hand and start running. [Music] [Applause] Amen.
When you go back to our text, the prophet, the preacher is sick unto death. The young king Joash comes to visit him. There are some things about this young king that are admirable, to which I will give him great credit tonight. Number one, he was told to take a bow and arrows, and he did. He was told to put his hands on the bow, and he did. He was told to open the windows eastward, and he did. He was told to shoot an arrow, and he did. He was obedient. He meant simply that he was obedient. And because he was obedient, he was given a promise. The promise was the arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria. For thou shalt smite the Syrians in effect until thou have consumed them. Can I preach to another generation of Pentecostals here tonight that you can never go wrong by being obedient to God, to your pastor, to your prophet? Hallelujah! When you have a submissive spirit, there are blessings that are going to come your way. There are victories that you can have in your life. I never find a scripture where rebellion ever won a victory, but obedience has won more victories in the word of God. When you are obedient to God, He gives you the power to be victorious. When you are obedient to His word, He gives you the prophet of God said, "Take up the bow." And so when he put the bow in his hands, as I read to you here tonight, Elisha placed his hands upon the young king's hands. Amen. He did that because it becomes an example to us that if you, as a young person, will allow your pastor, your prophet, your preacher to put his hands upon your hands, to put his hands upon your life, Hallelujah! Can I tell some young people tonight that the fingerprints of your pastor ought to be upon every area of your life? The fingerprints of your pastor ought to be on your consecration. The fingerprints of your pastor ought to be on your education. The fingerprints of your pastor ought to be on your plans for marriage. The fingerprints of your pastor ought to be on every aspect of your life. [Applause] Hallelujah! You say, "Why, preacher?" Because if you let the man of God put his fingers on your hands and give you direction and show you the direction to shoot your arrow, the Holy Ghost will back you up, and you'll see the victories in your life that you desire to see. You'll see the glory, you'll get the anointing, things will happen in your life that will happen under no other circumstance.
However, the next event was the real test. The next thing that happened was the real test. The prophet said, "Take the remaining arrows and smite the ground." He did, but he stopped at only three times. This is when I note in scripture that Elisha became very angry. I am convinced that there's a reason why that the prophet of God became very angry. There was a reason. I don't know if that means that I, I got to preach until all three bottles are gone or not, but we might be here a while. [Applause] Hallelujah! There's a reason why that the man of God became angry. It's because when the young king came into the room, he made a statement, and that statement was, "O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." You see, those were not new words to Elisha. That was not a new statement that was being brought up by another generation. They were the exact same words that Elisha spoke when Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. And I believe that it stirred some deep memories in the heart of the old prophet of God because, you see, you understand that those words brought back an occasion in his life. It brought back a time in his life that, that he followed the prophet of God until God gave to him the double portion of his spirit. And what I am convinced is simply this: that Elisha, in his mind, was saying, "I've heard those words before. Pre-, young king, you know what to say. You can talk the talk, but I want to know whether or not you're willing to walk the walk. I want to know, can you back up what you say? Can you back up what you're talking about?" I'm telling you, I feel the Holy Ghost in this place here tonight. I just want everybody listening on Holy Ghost Radio, and if you're watching on Facebook, you would just have to be here to feel the anointing that's in this place, to feel the very special touch of God that is upon this youth conference already.
You see, when you go back to Second Kings, chapter number two, this is where Elisha spoke those words. But it all came as a result of the fact that when God would take Elijah up into heaven, that the Bible said they went from a place called Gilgal. This was the place where the stones were set up as a memorial of where Israel crossed over into Canaan. And Elijah looked at Elisha and said, "Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel." I got a feeling Elisha looked around and said, "Gilgal is a past experience for Israel. This represents nothing more than the memories of what God has done. I cannot be content to live with the memories of old. I cannot be content to live with the memories of yesteryear." I got a feeling Elijah said, "Bethel is not enough for me. Bethel is not enough." [Applause] Hallelujah! I looked around this camp tonight, and it brought back some memories of my younger years as a teenager, as a 16-year-old preacher in camp meetings under tents and under open-air tabernacles. And the one thing I rejoiced over was this: that while it may be 2020, the same power of Almighty God that I experienced 50 years ago as a young preacher is here tonight. It's in this place. I've got a feeling that some young people are saying, "Don't sell me a memory. Don't sell me a past revival ghost." Hallelujah! Come on, young people, sit by your grandma's side and let her tell you about the revivals of old, but get up from there and go to a prayer room and say, "I'm not living in Gilgal. I want a revival today. I want a Holy Ghost move today. I want my own experience in God today." [Applause] [Applause]
Elijah said, "Your, Elijah, stay here. The Lord's called me to Bethel." And Elijah said, "Oh no, I'm not staying in Gilgal. Wherever you go, I'm going." And they went down to Bethel. They got down to Bethel, and the sons of the prophets started putting pressure on him. Sons of the prophets saying, "You know, you ought to accept the fact that his days of preaching are over. Amen. It's going to be a bygone era. It ain't gonna happen like it used to happen." And Elijah said, "Now, Elisha, you heard what they said. You heard what they're telling you. The Lord sent me to Jericho. But you stay here in Bethel." And he looked around, and they got to thinking about a man named Jacob, who saw a ladder that was set between earth and the glory world, and he started thinking about the beauty of angels ascending and descending. But something inside of Elisha said, "I'm not staying in Bethel. I'm not remaining. Amen. I don't want Jacob's experience. I want my own experience. I don't want Jacob's angels. I don't want Jacob's ladder. I want my own ladder. I want my own ladder. I want my own revival. I want my own experience." Elijah said, "Not so. Wherever you go, I'll go." And they went down to Jericho. And when they got to Jericho, even Elisha again, and the sons of the prophets. There's always somebody gonna sit around and tell you, "It's over. There's always somebody on the sideline telling you, 'It ain't worth the price. It ain't worth what it's going to cost. You're making yourself look like a fool. You're making yourself look crazy.'" Hallelujah! You're following a preacher that's gonna be gone from you, and you're gonna be left high and dry. Oh, Hallelujah! Come on, you just need to thumb your nose at all of the naysayers and all the negative Nellies, and you need to rise up in your local congregation and say, "We're gonna have revival in our church." We're [Applause] Come on now. We're not abandoning revival to the devil. We're not abandoning revival to the unbelievers. We're not abandoning revival to the naysayers. [Music]
So he said, he said, "Elisha, stay here at Jericho." And Elijah looked around and said, "If I remember correctly, this is where Jacob, or, or Joshua met the angel outside the wall, and he found out what it was gonna take, what it was gonna take to bring the wall down." Hallelujah! Oh, yeah. He got, he got to thinking in his mind about those walls falling and the mighty victory. And he could have just said, "You know what? Maybe I ought to be just content with Jericho. Maybe I'll just be content with where the walls fell." But something arose in him. He looked at the sons of the prophets, waved on goodbye, and he looked at the prophet of God and said, "Where you go, I'm gonna go." Hallelujah! Said, "I've been sent over Jordan." And so they got to the Jordan. They crossed over Jordan. And when they got on the other side, Elijah looked at Elisha and said, "Ask what I shall do for you before I'm taken away from you." And Elijah said, "Amen. I'm going to add a little something here, but I'm not taken away from the word of God." He looked at Elijah and said, "I don't want the Gilgal experience, and I don't want the Bethel experience, and I don't want the Jericho experience. I want a double portion of your spirit." [Applause] Hallelujah! I want a double portion. In other words, I want my own experience. I don't want to go around telling everybody what God did for Jacob. I don't want to go around telling everybody what God did for Israel. I want to go around telling everybody what God did, said Joshua, Jericho. I want to go tell people what God's done for me. I want to tell them that I've got revival in my spirit. I've got revival in my heart. You know, I just said, "I'll tell you what, Elisha, you've asked the hard thing." But he said, "If you see me when I go away, Hallelujah! In other words, if you'll have the tenacity, if you'll have the determination to follow me until it's over with, until the Lord takes me away, he said, 'If you've got it, he said, 'you'll have what you need.'" And so it was that Elisha followed Elijah until the Lord took him away in a whirlwind. And whenever Elisha saw it, he cried, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." Oh, Hallelujah! What are you saying with the mouth? I'm telling you that this is the reason why that Elisha, the prophet of God, became angry. He became angry because whenever this young king just merely smote the floor three times with the arrows, he did not see the tenacity. He did not see the determination in the next generation that was in his [Applause] generation. Hallelujah! He didn't see in that next generation a doggone determination that said, "Whatever it takes, I'm going to get my double portion." Amen. Whatever it is. Now, I feel like saying a few things right now. I hope you can handle it. Oh, Hallelujah! Is it possible tonight that the young king had an attitude at that point that said, "Okay, I will humor the prophet. I'll humor the preacher, and I'll just hit the ground three times." Amen. In other words, I'll, I'll do what he said. I'll humor him, and I'll make him think I'm being sincere. I'll make him think that I'm being determined. I got a question I want to ask some young people here tonight in this house. Are you just humoring your pastor with half-hearted worship? With half-hearted consecration? I figured it'd get quiet. [Music] Come on. Are you doing just enough to make your pastor think everything's all right? Have you got your real motive covered up? Oh, Hallelujah! Are you doing just barely enough to get by, or is there something inside of you that says, "I can talk the talking, and I can walk the walk"? Hallelujah! Whatever it takes, I gotta have revival. Whatever it takes in 2020, we got to see a Holy Ghost breakthrough. Whatever it takes, we got to tear down our own Jericho walls. Whatever it takes, we need to get our own ladder toward heaven. [Applause] Hallelujah! The world doesn't need a bunch of Pentecostal divas. Oh, Hallelujah! The world doesn't need a bunch of Pentecostal divas, male or female. I'm sorry tonight, but we've got far too many young people in Pentecost who dream of becoming an IG influencer of other young people. But you need to get a double portion of the power of God. You need to quit taking some of your selfies and start talking about Jesus. You need to quit posting some of your own. Come on now. The world has seen enough of your face. They need to see the face of Jesus Christ. They need to see the healer. They need to see the miracle worker. They need to see the devil chaser. Figure this. Oh, Hallelujah! Come on now. I'm feeling the Holy Ghost tonight. The world doesn't need a bunch of half-hearted Pentecostals who are just humoring their pastor and making everybody think that they're sincere. The world needs a generation of young people that have got a double portion of the power of God. Young people, you listen to this preacher. I've been preaching over 50 years, and I'm telling you, you can have the greatest revival that any generation has ever known. Hallelujah! The world doesn't need more protesters, they need more preachers. The world doesn't need more rioters, they need more revivalists. Well, Hallelujah! They may not like what we're doing here tonight, but at least we're not burning down buildings, losing storms, and killing people. Hallelujah! I'm trying to tell you tonight that we know the right words to say, but do we have what it takes to have total victory? The prophet of God lifted this young man and said, "You should have smitten the ground many more times. You should not have just done it three times. You should have smitten," he said, "five or six times." But because of that, you are only going to smite Syria three times. I want to tell you, oh, Hallelujah! I want to tell you what half-hearted humoring the preacher lifestyles get you. It gets you limited victory. It gets you limited victory. You won't hold sell victory. You own victory that turns your world upside down. You are victory changes. Amen. You see, the real test comes when you are told what to do, but not how long or how much to do it. I don't think y'all heard what I just said. I said, the real test comes when you're told what to do, but not how long to do it or how much to do it. Huh? The real test comes when you're told to clap your hands, but not how long to clap your hands. The real test comes when you're told to shout with the voice of triumph. [Music] [Music] Feel some young people about to take up the baton. Amen.
Now, I got one verse and a few statements, and now I'm done. Amen. Psalm 78:9: "The children of Ephraim being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battle." Hallelujah! They had what it takes to fight. They had what it took to go to war. I said, they had what it took. They knew Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." We have a generation of young people, amen, because of Hope Corps, amen, because of Bible Question, and because of other efforts, that you are more educated in the word of God. You are more thoroughly trained in the things of the spirit than any generation prior to you. I'm telling you, because of experience, Hallelujah! You're armed, and you're carrying bows. Yes, yes, yes. But the Bible tells us to the children of Ephraim, for they were armed, and though they were carrying bows, though they were prepared, though they had what it took, it wasn't that they just turned back. It was when they turned back, they turned back in the day of battle. They turned back in the day when they were needed the most. And I'm telling the younger generation, we need you more than ever before. We need your shout out. We need your consecration. [Music] Hallelujah! I grew up in a generation where we had consecration services, where the Holy Ghost would work, conviction would fall, and young men would yield themselves to the power of the ministry. You hear this preacher tonight. We need young men tonight in this house that will say, "Yes, Lord." We need some young men that will seek God. I surrender to the call. I'm willing when everybody else is eating pizza, I'll go to the house of God. [Music] When everybody else is running the streets. [Music] Hallelujah! I'm telling you tonight, you know the talk. You know the talk. You know you can spell out the standards. You can quote Acts 2:38. You can scream, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one." You've got it down pat. What I want to know tonight is, do we have anybody making up their mind from this night forward, "I'm walking the walk. I'm not going to give half-hearted worship. I'm not going to give half-hearted praise. I'm not going to humor my pastor." Hallelujah! When they come looking for me, they're gonna find me in the prayer room. When they come looking for me, they're gonna find me in the aisle shouting. [Music] Time to play games. This is not a recreation room, it's a battlefield. Shout out, people! [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh, until the Holy Ghost. [Music] Oh. [Music] [Music] [Music] Is. [Music] [Music] [Music] The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." [Music] [Applause] [Music] Thank you. [Music] "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths." Baptism then, what? Baptism is a burial in water for accountable beings, into the remission of sins, for salvation, to get into Christ, to become a new creature, to get into the one body. Then walk in the new life. Study and grow. Become a servant of righteousness. Keep self pure. Be an example. Have faith in God. Follow Jesus. Put first things first. Resist temptation. Be faithful and be fruitful. You.