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Wednesday Night, August 23, 2023 

Continued series through the book of Acts, verse by verse. 

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“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them the ability.” (Acts 2:4)

The problem in the church is called tongues. It’s not a problem with God, just with people. Many make too much of tongues while many don’t even believe they exist because the phenomena has passed away altogether.  I explained this in a previous study. Check it out; it’s called The Passing.

There is much confusion over this issue and it has divided the church for over a century now. I say a century because between the writings of Saint Augustine (354 - 430 AD) and the Azusa Street Awakening (1906) the church as a whole did not even deal with it. They believed the practice passed away with the apostles. Today some Pentecostals and Charismatics make it too important. The UPC for example teaches that you cannot go to heaven unless you first speak in tongues because tongues is the proof you have the Holy Spirit. Others believe that tongues are either a psychological thing or a demonic manifestation, nothing of God about it at all. In this chapter we will deal with this important subject.

First I want to tell you to RELAX. You may be a Christian and never be filled with the Spirit or speak in tongues and still be forgiven and go to heaven when you die. You will never be pressured to do anything you are not comfortable with or believe anything you don’t want to believe or do anything you don’t want to do. No pressure! That’s God’s way. We are told, “As many as received Him…” You may ask someone to lay hands on you for the fullness of the Spirit and the manifestation of tongues, but you still need to receive from God.

But at least consider that you might be missing a lot: a lot of gifts from God that He has for you. Don’t be afraid. We’re not going to try to force you to do anything. We are not going to manipulate you in any way or try to teach you how to speak in tongues. Nobody in the Bible ever taught others how to speak in tongues. We’re going to preach the word and lay hands on those who want that, but you don’t have to participate in anything you don’t want to. You don’t have to be afraid of tongues/languages because they were invented and given to men from God (Genesis 11). Here in Acts 2 He gives them again, only this time not to confuse people but to help them understand the gospel and “hear the wonderful works of God.” Tongues show the universality of the gospel and add a powerful supernatural element to the preaching of it.

You won’t be considered some sort of 2nd class citizen in the kingdom or in our church. Remember, In Essentials we have Unity, in Non-Essential we have Liberty, in All Things we have Love.

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Did the baptism with the Spirit accompanied by supernatural power, signs and gifts pass away with the death of the apostles or the completion of the Bible? This lesson will seek to answer this question.

Actually, the two events go together. Some assume the inspired New Testament Scriptures were written by members of the 12 apostles, so it would stand to reason that when the apostles all died the Bible would be complete. But the truth is, the man who wrote more of the N.T. than anyone else was not even an apostle. Luke was a Gentile! And nobody knows who wrote the long book of Hebrews. James was not written by an apostle. It was written by the half-brother of Jesus who was not converted until after Jesus’ resurrection.

When did the apostles die? Nobody knows for sure. So when was the N.T. complete? Again, nobody knows for sure. The best guess is around 1500 A.D. when a reformer named Erasmus went around the Mediterranean world collecting the various manuscripts from the different churches. Even then Martin Luther, the main reformer, didn’t even believe James was inspired and didn’t want it included in the canon.

So, the question is mute because nobody knows when the Bible was canonized or when the apostles died, plus they certainly didn’t write all the N.T.

People surmise that the gifts died out when all the apostles died and the reason behind this belief is “the apostles did all the signs, healings, and miracles.” Several verses seem to teach this. Nobody would go blatantly against the Bible; they just pick certain verses to believe and teach to the neglect of other verses. Acts 2:43 says, “The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.” Of course, no one would deny the apostles did miraculous things. Who would expect anything different?

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“On the Day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” Acts 2:1-4

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You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

I previously gave this word of prophetic hope and I hope you have been putting it into practice. What you expect, you will experience; unless of course you are doing something that frustrates the grace of God, like knowingly sinning against your own conscience and/or the law of God. The grace of God always brings good because there is nothing bad in grace, and “grace came by Jesus Christ.” (Jn.1:14)

Expectation bringing manifestation is shown throughout the Bible. Check out Hebrews 11. Abraham expected he and Isaac would come back from the mountain of sacrifice and they did. The woman with the issue of blood expected that when she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be healed and she was. The centurion expected his servant to be healed when Jesus spoke the word and that servant was healed. What you expect you will experience. What are you expecting from the Lord? Expectation is the same thing as faith. “This is the confidence we have in Him: if we ask anything according to His will we know that He hears us. And if we know that He hears us we know that we have the petitions we have asked of Him.” (1Jn.5:14-15) 

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Stay Connected with Grace Church!

Dive deeper into sermon notes and see how Christ is moving in our community by visiting our website: https://sites.google.com/view/gracehouseclinton/sermons

If you feel led to support our ministry, you can give securely here: https://give.tithe.ly/?formId=674824c2-5d42-11ee-90fc-1260ab546d11

Thank you for being part of our ministry! #GraceChurch #FaithInAction #terrysimpson #terry #simpson #clintonar #sermons #pastor #ministry #discipleship

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7/23/2023 Sunday Morning. Acts series continued...

“To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Acts 1:3

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7/23/2023 Sunday Evening with Rick Griffith

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July 16, 2023, Sunday morning

“The Promise”

Behold I am sending forth The Promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:44-53)

Because the modern church has somehow lost the necessity of our participation in the mission of Christ, I thought it good to return to the days of yesteryear where the church took the call to service as an integral part of their call to salvation, when the “Follow Me” of Jesus included the “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mt.4:19) We have over six billion people on the planet who are lost and on their way to hell, who have never known the wonders of the forgiveness of sins and being remade into the likeness of Christ. What better place to start to recover the purpose of the Christian and the church than going back to the beginning of the church.

Luke wrote two books in the New Testament; both are history books. He wrote more of the N.T. than any other writer. He wrote the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. The second book follows the first in chronological order. So, to introduce the beginning of Acts we must look at the end of Luke.

The theme of this passage is The Promise. The gospel was complete: Jesus had fulfilled all the Scriptures concerning His death and resurrection (v.44-48). The only thing left was the goal of this gospel which is called by Jesus here “The Promise.”

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Wednesday, July 12, 2023. 

Fellow Workers for the Kingdom

“Be sure to carry out the ministry the Lord gave you.”  (Colossians 4:7-18)

The Kingdom of God is the theme of all of Jesus’ parables and thus His teachings. How often did He say, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?” It is also the theme of the entire Bible, at least since the call of Abraham in Genesis 12. God’s kingdom is His reign over creation to bring about the revelation of His glory through man. His reign doesn’t mean His control. No king controls things or people. Jesus is the king of the kingdom but there are enemies and rebels in His kingdom. Satan, demons and people are some of those enemies who seek to keep the kingdom of God from coming to earth as it is in heaven where there are no enemies. The rulers in His kingdom are saved people who have believed in Jesus and repented of their sins. These are the very ones who join Him in the work of His kingdom. They are workers building the kingdom. “We are God’s fellow workers” (1Cor.3:9) helping Him build His church.

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