Transcription
Praise tonight, aren't you thankful for its faithfulness?
God, praise God. It's good to be in the house. Thank you for the presence that we feel. So thankful for the Holy Ghost that's being poured out. Amen. Thankful for what took place on Sunday. What a great day we had together when celebrating the power of the Holy Ghost. Praise God.
I want you to grab your Bibles tonight. We're going to turn our attention to the book of Acts. I'm going to continue on to this study that we've been doing, studying on the ministry of. Every one of us has an important part to play in the revival that God gives to the church.
Acts chapter number 2, verse number 41. "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Verse 42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."
Jesus, I love you. Now, thank you for your word tonight, and I thank you for all your wonderful people. Pray you to know me as I teach, and don't you people receive the word of God. And everybody said, "In Jesus' name." Clap your hands one more time and give the, give the Lord praise.
Tonight, Acts chapter 2, verse 42. It said, "they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship." The Greek word translated fellowship in Acts chapter 2, verse 42 is Koinonia. You've heard me talk about that word before. But Koinonia is not just slapping backs and hugging necks or saying, "Glad to see you, brother or sister." It's not just going out for a hamburger after church on Sunday. That may be our idea of fellowship, but it was not the apostles' idea of fellowship.
While these acts and recreation, the depth rooted in the word Koinonia that is used in the Bible, a local church with nothing more than shallow socializing as a substitute for fellowship will never be bound together in unity by the divine strength of love in action. The more unified the body of Christ, the closer we will approach becoming everything that the Lord has ordained the church to become. That's why the enemy fights the unity of the church so much. Because if we're unified, anything is possible. If we are together, we can accomplish anything that God wants us to accomplish. And so, the more unified we become as the body of Christ, the closer we will approach becoming everything that the Lord has ordained this church to become.
Tell you, we talk about the oneness of God. We talk about the oneness of God in theology, but I want you to understand tonight, the oneness of His body is important to God. I said, the oneness of His body is important to God. Matter of fact, John wrote in John chapter 4 and verse number 12, "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us." Love, love is the energizing force that binds the people of God together in unity.
So many people, so many of us have accepted a depth of fellowship in our churches far below God's original intent. What we accept as fellowship is really only socializing and is powerless to produce the kind of increase the scriptures promise is our inheritance. Just as members of a human body are connected to one another at a joint, the members of the body of Christ are joined together through their relationships with one another. If I am the hand and you are the forearm, I am going to care for you because I am connected to the body at the joint you and I share. You got to get this. If I'm the hand, you're the forearm, or vice versa, I'm going to take care of you because we are connected to the body at the joint that we share. Similarly, the joints of the body of Christ are the relationships between the members. I'm not going to jeopardize my relationship with you if we are both members of the same body. Our relationship may be the very joint that is holding me to the body. The more we understand this concept, the more we will appreciate how dependent we truly are on one another.
There is no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. There is no such thing as as just somebody that does it all by themselves. You hear me tonight? When you were born into the church, you became a part of the body of Christ, and we are all in this thing together. Amen. We've got to realize that we are dependent one on another. I need you, and you need me, and we all need one another.
In addition to the joints connecting members to the body, they also connect members together to create usefulness. The forearm will not give up on the hand saying, "Hand, I don't need you anymore," because the forearm is useless if the wrist ends with only enough. When the hand and the forearm and the upper arm and the shoulder all work together in harmony with the brain telling them what to do, what great buildings can be built and what marvelous works can be accomplished. But we all need one another. We are all connected together in the body of Christ. And so, if the body of Christ is to be strong, we must live together and interact as a community under one hand, coming together in one body, finding our place and building our joints strong. Amen. Binding them together with the ligaments of love and do our part for the good of the whole body, that the church will grow strong in size as well as in demonstration of the spirit of love and power of Jesus Christ.
You know, proclaiming the oneness of God, preaching baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and the necessity of the Holy Ghost baptism evidenced by speaking in other tongues, I must never cease in this church. We must never compromise on any of our standards of holiness, and we must never quit warning others. Amen. About the coming of the Lord or the eternal damnation of the lost. Amen. We must continue to preach these truths with all the fire and power the Holy Ghost will provide because these are the principles of the doctrine of Christ that form our sure foundation. But like the early church, you've got to understand, we must continue steadfastly in the apostles' fellowship. We don't just continue steadfastly in the doctrine, but we've got to continue steadfastly in the apostles' fellowship because both are necessary keys.
I, I mentioned it last Tuesday night. I wonder how many people God has allowed to come to this church, be baptized in Jesus' name, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, but they didn't make it because we never connected with them the way that we needed to connect with them. We just expect the doctrine to do all the work. And I'm going to tell you, the doctrine works. Amen. But you've got to connect them not only to Apostolic Doctrine. There's going to be Apostolic structure, which is the fellowship, the togetherness, the uniting of the church. We've got to make preparations for taking care of the multitudes that Jesus is bringing into this church. I mean, we pray 39 people through to the Holy Ghost on Sunday morning. Sunday night, baptized 20. Since January 1st, we baptized 361 people in the name of Jesus Christ. But that's why I'm teaching about the ministry of the Saints because we have to realize. Amen. We must prepare to take care of the multitudes of people that Jesus is bringing into this church. And it's more than one or two or three or four people can handle. We need the Saints to come together and say, "I am a part of the ministry. I've got a job to do. I've got an obligation to connect and work and help the people that God is bringing."
The solid Apostolic structure which encourages true fellowship has to be set in place. The early church was able to work and dwell together in close accord because they understood fellowship. They not only practiced oneness doctrine, they lived oneness structure. Their fellowship made strong by the love of God, produced the apostolic unity through which God was able to do great works. I said, "Why are you talking about unity?" I'm going to tell you, if you don't have unity, you've got trouble. Let me just explain something to you tonight. Hell and its demonic forces are not fighting one another. Let me break it down. Lust is not fighting bitterness, and alcohol is not fighting envy. They are fighting us. Amen. They are fighting the church. They are trying to prevent what God wants to take place. And the Bible tells us very emphatically that a house divided against itself cannot stand. So we've got to be on the same team. We've got to be pulling one for another. Amen. It's not this side against that side, and this one against that one. No, we must be united because hell is united.
But why do you think so many churches have cliques, have groups in opposition to one another? Thank God it's not that way here. But why do you think some churches, on this side, can't get along with those on that side? I'll tell you why, because that's how the devil fights the church. Because the devil understands, a house divided against itself cannot stand. And so, if he can create schisms, and he can create divisions, and he can create all kinds of cliques and groups of opposition, that is hell's way of stopping the church. Hear me. Before the Holy Ghost was ever poured out, the Bible tells us in Acts chapter 1, verse number 14, "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication." They were with one accord before the Holy Ghost was poured out. Then when the Holy Ghost descended, it was because they were all with one accord and in one place. "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." But you know why it happened? Because they were all with one accord. They were all on the same team. They were all reaching for the same thing.
After the church, this is the importance of unity. After the church was born, there was at least three thousand one hundred and twenty members. The Bible tells us in Acts 2, verse 46, "They continued daily," here it is again, "with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness." That's oneness, singleness of heart. They were together. They were on the same side. The apostolic church has got to realize there is such power that comes when we are in one accord. When we realize we're not against each other, we're for each other. When we realize they're not against me, they're for me. The Bible tells us, if one can put a thousand to flight, two can put ten thousand to flight, and it just grows exponentially. That, my brothers and sisters, is apostolic arithmetic, and that is what happens when the church gets in one accord.
So they continued, it continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. And the result of their unity, coupled with their church and home meetings, was that the Lord added to the church daily. I mean, everybody wanted to become a part of the church because it was the, it was the thing that was happening. I mean, they got to seeing what was going on. They got to see and how everybody loved each other and how everybody got along with one another, and there wasn't any prejudice, and there wasn't any racism, and all of that been washed away. Amen. At the foot of the cross. And this Holy Ghost made you love your brothers and love your sisters. And they said, "My God, that's what I want. I want to become a part of that." You hear me? In 2023, our world is being ripped apart by all kinds of foolishness, by racism and class, different classes, and all kind of other things, and who's got this and who's got that. But I'm here to tell you, that's why the church has got to rise up and let the church be the church, and people realize. Amen. All of that is washed out at the foot of the cross, and the power of the Holy Ghost will make you love everybody.
I'll tell you, amen. If you've got the Holy Ghost, you ought to love folks. I'm going to tell you, I, I get myself in trouble because I, I tell everybody I love them, and I mean it. The other day, brother, gone garage on the phone with a businessman, you know where I'm headed. We got done the conversation. Before I hung up, I said, "I love you." I realized, "Oh God, I never even checked up." I just acted like I meant to say it. You got the Holy Ghost, you ought to love everybody. I don't care who they are. I don't care where they come from. I don't care if they got money or they don't have money. Hey, man, if you've got the Holy Ghost, you've got the love of God on the inside of you.
Holy Ghost will make you love folks. Oh, the result of the unity of the church and their coming together at church and their meeting in home meetings was that the Lord added to the church daily. In addition, the early believers understood that unity gave them strength as a body and prevailing power with God. What do you mean, Pastor? Well, when threatened by the religious establishment of that day for preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us in Acts 4:24 that they lifted up their voice to God with one accord. Here they are, they're coming under threats, they're coming under all kind of persecution from, from religious circles, but the people of God came together, and the Bible said they lifted up their voice unto God with one accord. And after this unified, oneness prayer meeting, the Bible tells us just a few verses later in Acts 4:31, "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul." So they realized that their unity gave them strength as a body and prevailing power with God.
What fellowship? What revival? This, this was not communism. This was apostolic fellowship. And and even when the apostles disagreed, and sometimes you'll disagree, even when the apostles disagreed, they always remembered the strength that they had together. Watch. In Acts chapter 15, the Bible tells us that they had a very heated dispute over which parts of the law applied to the Gentiles. And the apostolic elders wrote in Acts 15:25, "It seemed good unto us." Here they are, they just, they just had a coming together, they just had a heated argument, if you will, but here it is, when it's all over, it said, "It seemed good unto us being assembled with one accord." So even when they disagreed, they came together and said, "Before we leave this thing, we're going to be in unity. Before we leave this thing, we're going to be speaking the same thing." Oh, the devil doesn't want that to happen. The devil, the devil wants us to be so divided, wants us to be fighting and spewing junk. Amen. But we've got to understand. Amen. We have power. Amen. We have power and strength as a party and prevailing power with God when we are united.
Unity was also important to the psalmist David when he wrote in Psalm 133, verse 1 and 2. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head." Listen, anointing is connected to unity. An anointing is what we need if we're going to reach our world with the gospel. If I can get some help on the music, please. If we're going to reach our world, we've got to be in, we've got to be anointed. And if we're going to be anointed, we've got to be united.
Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church, Philippians chapter 2, verse number 2. He said, "Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." Let me, let me tell you what he's saying. He's talking to his saints. He's talking to his church that he has established. And he said, "If you want to make me happy, if you want to make me happy, be like-minded, have the same love, be of one accord, and of one mind." I want to tell you something, there ain't nothing to make a pastor anymore happy. Amen. Than everybody pulling for the same thing and everybody loving one another. And that's what Paul was saying. If you want to make me happy, be like-minded, have the same love, be of one accord, of one mind. These are the attributes that the New Testament church must possess. Paul admonished the church in Ephesus in Ephesians chapter 4. Said, "To endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." Then he said in verse 4, "There is one body."
Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 2, and you stand with me. This is my last scripture. Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 2, Amplified Bible reads it this way, "holding fast to the Head, that's Jesus, from whom the entire body or church supplied and knit together by means of its joints or by means of its relationships and ligaments or love grows with growth that is from God." What are you saying, Pastor? I'm saying clearly, the unity of the church is the key to anointing into worldwide revival, and fellowship is the key to unity. That's why, that's why I've been talking, teaching these last four weeks on the ministry of the Saints, everybody getting on the same page and everybody fellowshipping one with another, because that's how the early church was established, and that's what caused the early church to grow. That's what caused the Lord to add to the church daily, such as should be saved. When God's people came together, they were of one mind, and they were of one accord. I need you, and you need me, we all need one another. And that's what we're doing here at Apostolic Lighthouse Church. We're reaching this world. We're reaching our communities, our city, our neighborhoods with the love of Jesus Christ because they see it in work within each and every one of us.
Just a mixing a little course. We're going to close this. But as we, as we close, I want us to lift up our hands and I want us to sing this course together.