HomeARC ML 1383
ACTS1-10! DFO 1383 TSC, 14/5/67
--Historic Battle Plans for the Revolution for Jesus 16 years ago!:
1. (FAITH PRAYS: YOU LOVED US ENOUGH TO DIE FOR US, LORD JESUS. Help us not to get so entangled with the affairs of this life that we forget to thank You! Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your Word--that You've given us a Yardstick by which we can measure all things, & a Guidebook, Lord, that we can know the way which You'd have us go.
2. (LORD JESUS, WE REALLY ASK THAT YOU WOULD FORGIVE US FOR ALL OF OUR SINS & OUR SHORTCOMINGS--they're so many! Lord, You know the worst about us; but You love us the most, & we thank You for it! We pray, Lord, that every mind would be humbled before You, to want to sit at Your feet & learn of You.
3. (HELP NOT ONE PERSON TO HAVE ANY KIND OF A REBELLIOUS SPIRIT, but help us all to be of one mind--the mind of Christ. Because if we're not all in one accord & in one mind, then Your Spirit can't move as freely. We want to hear from You, out of Your Word, so open our minds & help our understanding.
4. (ENLIGHTEN OUR MINDS, LORD JESUS, THROUGH THE WORD! If we want faith, Lord, faith comes by hearing the Word of God! Increase our faith today, through Your Word. Jesus, we pray that You would bring us all into one mind & one Spirit. In Jesus' name!)
5. (ALL SING:)
"DID WE IN OUR OWN STRENGTH CONFIDE,
OUR STRIVING WOULD BE LOSING.
Were not the Right Man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask Who this may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He,
Lord Sabbaoth His Name,
From Age to Age the same,
And He must win the battle!"
PTL!
6. WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE TASTE OF OUR THEME SONG, of what the Lord has been giving us. We cannot strive & wrest in our own strength--we must look to the Lord, & He must win the battle! It's a battle song, written by a real warrior of the Faith--Martin Luther, one man against the World! When it seemed the whole World was against him, he didn't worry about it--God was on his side, so he knew he was going to win, amen? If God's on your side, why worry? PTL!
7. HE MUST WIN THE BATTLE--SO WHY WORRY? You can't win it by your own striving, struggling & working! You're never going to persuade people just by argument. You have to trust the Lord! You do your part & God has to do the rest, which is virtually everything! All you are is a channel.
8. THIS IS SUNDAY, MAY 14TH, 1967. AND WE'RE STILL ON THE RANCH, still preparing to do whatever God wants us to do! I thought that, due to the problems which confront us all, a little study of the way they handled some of these problems in other days would be helpful to you. So let's turn to Acts, the first chapter, & see how they did it.
9. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE FIRST CHAPTER WAS CHRIST'S COMMANDMENT! What was it? "Tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on High!" (1:4,5.) Did they obey? Did they tarry? (Faith: Yes!) Where? (F: In Jerusalem.) Why? (F: Because Christ had commanded them to!)
10. AND HE HAD A PROMISE TO GO WITH THAT COMMANDMENT, like He does with nearly all commandments; every promise has a condition! If they kept the commandment, what would happen? What is truly the key verse of the whole Book of Acts? Acts 1:8!
11. "BUT YE SHALL RECEIVE POWER AFTER THAT THE HOLY GHOST IS COME UPON YOU: & YE SHALL BE WITNESSES UNTO ME!" PTL! They were to start right there at home & go to the uttermost parts of the Earth.
12. WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE HE TOLD THEM TO WAIT IN JERUSALEM? Why didn't they wait out in the country some place? Why didn't they wait up in Samaria? For one thing, that's where they were at the time. They were right outside the walls of Jerusalem when He gave them this commandment--on the Mount of Olives. Evidently the disciples must have been living in an upper room--"with the women" (1:14)--sort of communal living. Pretty close family life, all these men & women living in one room together!--Tsk, tsk!
13. THEY WERE FASTING & PRAYING & SERVING THE LORD. 14th verse, "And they continued with one accord in prayer & supplication". All told there were how many? 120! Wow! That's quite a few people in one upper room! It says, "There abode they...with the women!" Because they obeyed what happened? (Family: Do you mean because they prayed what happened?) Because they obeyed, not just because they prayed!
14. GOD HAD A REASON & A PURPOSE FOR HAVING IT IN JERUSALEM. Because, 2nd chapter, 1st verse, "When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." They were united in mind & heart & spirit! If we're not going to be united in mind & heart & spirit, we'll miss the blessing!
15. WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST? WHAT WAS THE DAY OF PENTECOST? It was the 50th day after Passover, the Feast of the Firstfruits, or the Harvest Feast--the Ingathering Feast. Was this the first time they'd ever celebrated it? Did they do this particularly because the Holy Ghost was going to be poured out? (Family: No!)
16. IT WAS A REGULAR JEWISH FEAST DAY THEY'D BEEN CELEBRATING FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS! What they'd been celebrating for so many hundreds of years was now about to happen!--The fulfilment of the foreshadowing of this feast! It was called Pentecost long before there was anything Pentecostal!
17. NOT EVERYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT IS CALLED PENTECOSTAL, & most people don't even know what the feast means! It means harvesting! It stands for a feast that meant harvesting! Of course, the actual word meant the 50th day after Passover; "pente" meaning having to do with five, or 5x10=50.
18. DID IT JUST HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT THAT ON THAT DAY THE LORD POURED OUT HIS SPIRIT? Why did He have them meet in Jerusalem? Why did He have them stay there together in one accord?--Just for the pouring out of the Spirit? Couldn't He have poured out His Spirit just as well on the 120 some place else?
19. (FAMILY: HE HAD THEM THERE FOR A WITNESS!) Exactly! He had them there that, when the explosion came, they might win many souls! That was the main purpose of the day of Pentecost! Not just the mighty signs & wonders & the supernatural manifestations, which most people seem to think was the main purpose of the power. The Holy Spirit manifestations were only a means to an end!
20. WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT HAPPENED THAT DAY? It was not just the pouring out of the Spirit, but it was what? You'll find it in the 41st verse of the 2nd chapter. Read it! ("Then they that gladly received His Word were baptised: & the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls.")
21. 3,000 SOULS WERE SAVED! THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST!--Not the pouring out of the Spirit, believe it or not, although that was essential for it! The one cannot do without the other. Just the pouring out of the Spirit without any salvations, wouldn't have amounted to a hill of beans! It would have meant just that a few people had a good time in the Lord, chatted in tongues, & went home from church & said, "My, didn't we have wonderful fellowship this morning! What a great meeting & a pretty good crowd, too!--120!"
22. MOST CHURCHES WOULD HAVE BEEN SATISFIED WITH THAT! "We had a marvellous outpouring of the Spirit this morning! Had a great message, too, from Evangelist Peter!" They'd have gone home, as most of them do today, perfectly satisfied! In fact, they'd have been overjoyed to have had such an outpouring & missed the point entirely of what the blessing was for & what the outpouring was for & what the power was for & what they were there for!
23. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE CHURCH IS DOING TODAY!--It's forgotten what it's here for! They've forgotten what they're doing! Playing around with the power like a bunch of little kids playing with dynamite! Having a good time with the Lord!--And not a soul saved!
24. THE GREATEST, MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT HAPPENED THAT MORNING WAS NOT THE OUTPOURING OF THE POWER, & a lot of people babbling in tongues! It was not all that prayer, but it was the end result!--What they accomplished, as an absolutely inalterable effect of that prayer & that praise & that outpouring & that power! That was the final aim & goal of the whole affair, as far as God was concerned! -- Souls saved!
25. ACTS 2:41 IS THE MOST IMPORTANT VERSE IN THE 2ND CHAPTER!--Not Acts Two:Four, but Acts Two:Four-One, amen? Well, they apparently got the point, PTL! We have a wonderful sermon in here by Peter: It was kind of an explanation to the hearers of what was going on, so that they could understand. Through the preaching of the Gospel to the big crowd that the miracle attracted, they had tremendous results! So why did they meet in Jerusalem? The Lord told them to, & now you begin to see God's reason for it!
26. WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE ALL THESE PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THE 9TH & 10TH VERSES WERE THERE? Because there was a big feast day & there were a lot of visitors in town. People came from all over the World, Jews did, for these famous feasts. You say, "Oh, God's not interested in crowds; He's just interested in the Spirit!" Well, He doesn't mind crowds if He can get a lot of folks saved! Amen?
27. TO GIVE THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH A REAL SEND-OFF & TO GET'M REALLY ROLLING, HE LET'M PREACH A COUPLE OF SERMONS THAT GOT ABOUT 8,000 SOULS SAVED! Now today, preachers preach maybe 8,000 sermons & get a couple of souls saved! That wasn't all that happened on the day of Pentecost, what else happened?
28. WHAT ABOUT THE SUPERNATURAL MANIFESTATIONS IN THE FIRST THREE VERSES? What do you think about that? They say that this is the pattern & this is the way it first happened. So if you want to say that people always have to receive the Holy Ghost the same way, according to Acts 2:4,
29. HOW ELSE WOULD YOU HAVE TO RECEIVE THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST, besides speaking with other tongues? You'd also have to have a couple of other things that happened at the same time! What were they? "A sound as of a mighty rushing wind & as it were cloven tongues of fire sitting upon each one of them."--To get the Baptism according to Acts 2, not just Acts 2:4! Why do people want to just pick out one little verse & emphasise that one alone!
30. WHY NOT GET THE BAPTISM ACCORDING TO THE WHOLE CHAPTER OF ACTS 2? Let's get enough power to get some souls saved! Let's have a lot of supernatural manifestations! Let's have a sound as of a mighty rushing wind & as of cloven tongues of fire sitting upon each one of them!
31. DENOMINATIONALISM HAS CUT & DRIED IT DOWN, BOILED IT DOWN TO HALF A VERSE--that this is all they think's necessary. And so this is all they have! This is why they've dried up & petered out & wound up with nothing but a bunch of beautiful buildings & a lot of dead churches! The buildings were dead to begin with; but the churches, the people themselves, have died out spiritually, because that's all they're after!
32. THEY'VE TAKEN ONE-HALF OF A VERSE OUT OF THE WHOLE BOOK OF ACTS, & BASED THEIR WHOLE RELIGION ON IT! What about the rest of the Book of Acts? What about the 1st chapter, in which they obeyed, & were of one accord in one place? They must have been sharing material blessings a lot, too, because they were all living in one room! Think of that!
33. NOWADAYS U.S. CHRISTIANS DRIVE HOME IN CARS FIT FOR PRESIDENTS, TO PALATIAL MANSIONS FIT FOR KINGS! And go back to nice big jobs with plenty of money fit for the rich! And they are rich & increased in goods & have need of nothing--they have arrived! "We've got a nice big building now, a pretty service, & a big crowd! We've got lots of money, fine cars, fine homes, fine jobs! We're saved, & at least we believe in the Baptism of the Holy Ghost & healing, even if we don't practise it! So, we are indeed the people--we have arrived! So what if nobody gets saved! We don't need any more people; we've got enough!"
34. 40 YEARS AGO THEY GOT SAVED, & THEY'RE STILL THERE & THEIR CHILDREN & THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN! "And we're growing just by the process of, you know the name of the game, multiplication! We don't have to win souls--let's just have big families & multiply physically!"
35. THE APOSTLES OF OLD WERE NOT SATISFIED WITH JUST THAT! Peter had to get up & spoil it all by preaching a long sermon & giving an invitation & having a baptismal service & kind of embarrassing 3,000 people by getting them saved! "Now, you should handle them with kid gloves! You shouldn't put'm on the spot or press them for a decision! You've got to just woo'm gradually, over the years, until they sort of gradually become a Christian", they say.
36. SOME SAY, "THEY WEREN'T REALLY SPEAKING IN ANYTHING SUPERNATURAL; THESE WERE ALL LANGUAGES THAT THESE BOYS KNEW!" Why were they amazed & did they all marvel, if it was obvious that they already knew those languages? It was obviously a miracle, or people wouldn't have come running! That's why the great crowd came!
37. (FAITH: SOMEBODY TOLD ME THAT EVERY PLACE IT MENTIONS RECEIVING THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ACTS, IT TALKS ABOUT THEM RECEIVING THE GIFT OF TONGUES.) No! You'd better read the Book of Acts instead of depending on others! That's the trouble with people in the churches today: They go by what somebody told them, instead of reading it for themselves! Of the five initial baptisms, which they go by, in only three out of the five is tongues mentioned!
38. JESUS SAID, "YE SHALL RECEIVE POWER!" I don't care whether you receive tongues, or what you receive, as long as you receive power for witnessing!--That's the principal purpose! If you get enough power to make you blast off your launch pad & get out & do something for Christ, then I don't care whether you speak in tongues or you don't! I know young folks that witnessed with power long before they ever spoke with tongues!
39. PEOPLE CAN GET A LONG WAYS FROM THE TRUTH WHEN THEY DON'T FOLLOW THE WORD! Jesus said the Holy Spirit was power for witnessing! When they got that power the first time, they witnessed & they got the results that the Lord said it was for: 3,000 souls saved! PTL!
40. PETER PREACHED A GOOD SERMON, THAT THIS WAS THE LAST DAYS. When did the Last Days begin? They began with the first coming of Christ. When will the Last Days end? More or less, with His second coming. So we've been in the Last Days for a couple of thousand years now.
41. "THEY'VE SAID THAT JESUS IS COMING FOR 2,000 YEARS & HE HASN'T COME YET, SO WHY WORRY?" But they must be worried, or they wouldn't be thinking that way! They must think it's something to worry about, in case He did come, so they must not be ready to meet Him!
42. THE 42ND VERSE TELLS US WHAT THE FOUR NECESSARY THINGS FOR NEW CHRISTIANS ARE: "Doctrine"--good teaching. It's funny the Lord puts that first! How come He didn't put prayer first? "Fellowship"--if the Church has gone overboard on any one of these things, it's fellowship! They go to church & they have fellowship a few minutes on Sunday morning, then they go back & live to themselves all the rest of the week--you call that fellowship?
43. YOU LIVE TOGETHER FOR SEVERAL MONTHS, THEN YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT FELLOWSHIP IS: a bunch of fellows in the same ship! Then you know what "breaking bread" is! You know what it is to share your food, your material blessings. And 4th, "prayer". What were the results? "Fear, wonders, signs" (2:43) & in the 44th verse,
44. "AND ALL THAT BELIEVED WERE TOGETHER, & HAD ALL THINGS COMMON"--they shared all things! That sounds like Communism! The only time when true communism can ever exist is under the influence of the Holy Spirit, in love & patience with each other--where you're willing to give the food out of your mouth so that they can eat too! "And sold their possessions & goods, & parted them to all men, as every man had need."
45. "FROM EACH ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY, UNTO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS NEED!"--Karl Marx's theory! I'll tell you where the Devil got it--right out of the Bible! He'd just as soon have people live up to the Christian principles, as long as they kick God out & make the Devil their god! If he can evolve a system which will sound like brotherly love, sharing all things, working together & dying for a cause--like Communism--as long as they leave Jesus out, why, he's happy!
46. AFTER THE DAY OF PENTECOST GOT THE RESULTS THE LORD INTENDED, THE APOSTLES BEGAN TO REALLY GO TO WORK. (2:46): "And they, continuing daily"--oh, it must have meant to say just on Sunday, huh? No, "daily with one accord in the temple". That's fine! It was in the temple, where it belongs! No, "And breaking bread from house to house!"
47. WELL, THEY DIDN'T CONFINE IT TO THE TEMPLE AFTER ALL! They went "house to house, & did eat their meat with gladness & singleness of heart, praising God, & having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church daily"--Sunday?--"such as should be saved." (2:46,47.) How in the World could He add to the Church daily, if they only went to church on Sunday? "Praising God"--not griping & complaining! They praised the Lord & just kept on doing what they were supposed to do, & God blessed them!
48. "NOW PETER & JOHN WENT UP"--separately? In their own separate ways, whenever they felt like it? How did they go? "Together!" (3:1.) How did Jesus send them out? Two by two! Why? "One can chase a thousand, two can put ten thousand to flight." "If one falls", the Scriptures say, "the other will lift him up." "How can two walk together, except they be agreed?" "And if any two of you shall agree on Earth as touching anything they shall ask of the Father, it shall be done." "Where two or more are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them." (Deut.32:30; Ecc.4:10; Amos 3:3; Mt.18:19,20.)
49. GOD ISN'T PARTIAL TO NUMBERS, BUT HE LIKES CO-OPERATION! HE LIKES YOU TO WORK TOGETHER! "Let brotherly love continue." "Above all have fervent love one toward another." "Love thy neighbour as thyself." (Heb.13:1; 1Pe.4:8; Mt.22:39.) Some people just want to serve God; forget about the neighbours, "I'm not going to take orders from anybody but the Lord! I'm not going to work with anybody but God!"--And even God leaves them, because they can't work with anybody else! People that can't work with anybody else, usually can't work with God either!
50. THEN CAME ONE OF GOD'S GREAT SET-UPS: This lame man, sitting by the temple gate. Pentecost was the first set-up God designed to get the Word out to a lot of people. Now He picks another which is going to get it out to even more!
51. HE PICKS SOMEBODY THAT PEOPLE HAD SEEN DAY AFTER DAY AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE!--Everybody in town knew he was a lame man & a beggar. Along came Peter & John, & what happened? "Sorry bud, we're broke! We haven't got any money for beggars, but we'll pray for you! If you'll trust the Lord & us, God will give you something better than money!" (3:6.)
52. SO A GREAT MIRACLE HAPPENED--THE MAN IS HEALED, & the people were filled with wonder! (3:10.) When Peter saw it, he left the temple & kept them wondering?--No! They were wondering what was going on & Peter was ready to tell them! (3:12.) He took advantage of the opportunity to preach'm a sermon, like he did on the day of Pentecost. So here came another wonderful opportunity for the Word, & what was the result?
53. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS NOT THE MAN'S HEALING, BUT THAT PETER SAW THE OPPORTUNITY TO WITNESS & PREACH THE GOSPEL! He preached them a pretty stiff sermon, & what happened? (Family: 5,000 were saved!) Yes, but what happened after that? They got tossed in jail for their trouble! We're in the 4th chapter, 3rd verse. Verse 4,
54. "HOWBEIT MANY OF THEM WHICH HEARD THE WORD BELIEVED!" You mean they believed these two guys the cops came & arrested? Apparently 5,000 people were so thrilled, that they didn't care whether they went to jail or not!--They believed!
55. WAS THE REASON FOR ALL THIS & WHY PETER COULD PREACH SUCH GOOD SERMONS, BECAUSE HE HAD SUCH A GOOD EDUCATION? I was in Florida where a man exploded over the idea of his daughter quitting High School & going to serve the Lord with the Team. He said, "You know all the disciples & those that worked for the Lord were all highly educated men!" Well, that's odd, because the 13th verse says,
56. "NOW WHEN THEY SAW THE BOLDNESS OF PETER & JOHN, & PERCEIVED THAT THEY WERE"--WHAT?--Highly educated & learned men? Isn't this what the Church believes today! Surely it must be a misquotation or mistranslation here, because it says, "they were unlearned & ignorant man!" He had to insult'm by saying they were not only uneducated, but they were downright stupid--"ignorant"! Must be some mistake!
57. SURELY GOD WOULD HAVE PICKED THE BEST EDUCATED & THE MOST LEARNED, whom the World, therefore, could admire & respect! I'll tell you what happens to that kind of people: When they get done with their seven or eight years of theological education, the Devil & the World just laugh up their sleeve & say, "Ha, ha, ha! Now they are one of us! There's no difference between them & us!"
58. THEY HAVE WORSHIPPED EDUCATION! THEY HAVE WASTED MANY YEARS IN MUCH LEARNING & THE STUDY OF BOOKS. "Of the writing of books, there is no end & much study is a weariness of the flesh." (Ecc.12:12.) "Now we have persuaded them to follow us & do it our way, & now their most fruitful years & most zealous, youthful, teenage years are over!"
59. HE'S FINALLY MADE THEM ONE OF HIS OWN! NO POWER, NO MIRACLES, NO SIGNS, NO GOSPEL, NO SALVATIONS, NO WITNESSING, NO FIRE, NO NOTHING!--But a lot of dry education, dry as cracker dust ten miles from a glass of water! No wonder the average person goes out of church on Sunday morning & heaves a sigh of relief! "Thank God that's over! I've done my duty, my suffering for God this week: I've sat through another dry dead sermon!" The preacher's educated himself completely beyond the people!
60. DID YOU KNOW THAT THE INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT OF THE AVERAGE AMERICAN TODAY IS THAT OF A 12-YEAR-OLD CHILD! Or about a 6th grader! That's about as far as most people get. So their ministers go on year after year of education, until they've got five or ten times as much education. They can talk big words & big deep thoughts so far beyond the average person that they minister to, that the people can't even understand what they're talking about! Like dear brother Metzger of the little Negro mission told us, "What good would it do me to go to seminary? What good would education do me? I minister daily to people who can't even read or write!"
61. THEY WERE BOLD, DESPITE THE FACT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY EDUCATION. They just went ahead & witnessed anyhow, & they had tremendous power! It was obvious they had been with Jesus: They had the Master's power to do the Master's work!
62. THE PEOPLE THAT OBSERVED THEM COULDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW COME THEY HAD SO MUCH COURAGE & so much nerve & so much boldness! "They perceived that they had been with Jesus." They knew what Jesus taught, they knew how Jesus practised--they knew Jesus! They didn't have anything else but Jesus & boldness, but they really got results!
63. "BEHOLDING THE MAN WHICH WAS HEALED". Where do you suppose your converts are going to stand?--With your enemies? "Standing with them, they could say nothing against it." 4th chapter, 14th verse. There was the proof, what could they say against it? The men were so bold & had such power of Jesus & had such proof of the power standing by their side! What was their final analysis? 16th verse, "We cannot deny it. We just can't deny it, we can't fight it!"--said their enemies!
64. THEY'VE BEEN WITH JESUS! THEY HAVEN'T GOT ANY EDUCATION, BUT THEY'RE BOLD! They're not doing it our way, but they're getting results! No denominational approval, but Jesus' approval! Unorthodox methods, but they got results!
65. THE FIRST CRISIS OF THE CHURCH WAS PETER & JOHN GOT TOSSED INTO JAIL. What type of a crisis was it? It was an outside attack--persecution. But the Lord won the victory, in spite of the Devil! What was the result of this crisis? Why did He allow them to get tossed into jail? Why couldn't He have spared them from that ignominious defeat & that terrible shame & reproach?
66. 31ST VERSE, "THEY PRAYED, & THE PLACE WAS SHAKEN WHERE THEY WERE ASSEMBLED TOGETHER; & THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST; & they spake the Word of God with"--timidity? (Family: No!) Were they scared stiff now because they had been told not to speak in this Name any more, & not to preach Christ? "It says to obey every ordinance of man, so we can't have those street meetings any more--we don't have a permit!" You can use a lot of Scriptures to support your lack of faith, if you want to! But no, they obeyed Jesus!
67. THERE WAS ONE LAW THE APOSTLES SEEMED TO HAVE A LOT OF TROUBLE OBEYING & GREAT SUCCESS IN DEFYING & GREAT BLESSING IN BREAKING! What was it? Any law that prohibited their witnessing! Any law against their winning souls! Any law against their preaching the Word! They just broke'm right & left, & got tossed in jail time & again, & beaten & everything else for it!
68. THEY PAID NO ATTENTION TO THE LAWS THAT SAID THEY COULDN'T WITNESS! They paid no attention to the laws that said they couldn't believe in God for salvation! "You must believe in Caesar, he's the god, he's the Emperor! Don't preach the Gospel any more, or we're going to toss you to the lions or string you up on a pole & set fire to you!" You mean you are encouraging people to break the law? Yes! If it's to obey God! Amen? They said, "You judge & see which is better--to obey you or God? We'll obey God! When you start telling us not to preach, then we've got to obey God!"
69. GOD HAD A MARVELLOUS PLAN FOR HIS CHURCH, DIDN'T HE?--THIS BOOK OF ACTS!--A blueprint for the Church! This is the pattern for missions! This is the way the Church ought to be & the way it ought to act & the way it ought to build & spread & evangelise! This is a pattern, an example! That's why it was an unfinished book--it's still going on!
70. YOU ARE APOSTLES TODAY! AMEN? KEEP ON KEEPING ON! God had a spiritual pattern for them: Prayer, praise, study, teaching, discipline, doctrine & witnessing activity. But, "what shall we eat & what shall we drink & wherewithal shall we be clothed?" There's one little problem, disciples: You've all quit your jobs & you've all quit school & you're out on your ear, what are you going to do for a living? What are you going to eat? Where are you going to sleep? What are you going to wear?
71. DO YOU THINK GOD HAS A FINANCIAL PLAN FOR THE CHURCH? HE SURE HAS! We've already mentioned it in the 2nd chapter, 44th & 45th verses, "all that believed were together, & had all things common" or shared! They lived together, they shared together; & those that had possessions sold them & shared them with the others, as every man had need.
72. "FROM EACH ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY"--WHATEVER HE HAD--"UNTO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS NEED"--WHATEVER HE NEEDED! That was God's financial plan for the Church! "Oh", you say, "that just happened then!" Well, He goes over it again in the 4th chapter, "they spoke the Word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart & one soul." There's perfect unity of Spirit!
73. "NEITHER SAID ANY OF THEM THAT OUGHT OF THE THINGS WHICH HE POSSESSED WAS HIS OWN!" You've got to have one heart & one soul to share like that! "But they had all things common. (v.31 & 32.) They shared all things! And what was the result? "With great power gave the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: & great grace was upon them all." (v.33.) They had power & they had grace!
74. IF YOU CAN SHARE WITH OTHERS, YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF GRACE & GOD WILL GIVE YOU A LOT OF POWER! Amen? If you don't care about your possessions, as long as they're used the by Lord! What was the result, economically, for the Church? "Neither was there any among them that lacked!" (v.34.) They may not have had all they wanted, but none of them lacked anything he needed!
75. "FOR AS MANY AS WERE POSSESSORS"--THE "HAVES"--"OF LANDS OR HOUSES, SOLD THEM"--they got rid of their possessions. "And brought the prices of the things that were sold, & laid them at the Apostles' feet: & distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." (v.35.) If they laid them down at the Apostles' feet, leaders of the Church, who do you suppose handled the finances at this time?
76. THE APOSTLES DISTRIBUTED IT ACCORDING TO EVERY MAN'S NEED! "From each according to his ability, unto each according to his need." Nice little Communist philosophy, stolen from the Church! Of course, the Church no longer practises it! They would be happy to give it to the Communists--let the Communists do the selling & the sharing! The only difference is: Then the Christians said, "What I've got is yours & I'm going to give it to you!" The Communists say, "What you've got is mine & I'm going to take it away from you!" Get the difference?
77. ONE IS VOLUNTARY & THE OTHER IS VIOLENT! One is of your own accord, 'cause you're of one Spirit; & the other is because you want to get what the other guy's got, & you take it away from him! (Family: The Communists have the Early Church method & they're getting the Early Church results!) They are practising it, in a way, & as a result, they're sweeping the World!
78. DO YOU THINK IT'S SCRIPTURAL TO SHARE? Was that a good method? Did it get results? It sure did get results! The Early Church managed to survive with everybody quitting their jobs & going out witnessing, & continuing steadfastly in prayer & in the Apostles' doctrine, & in fellowship & breaking of bread--sharing their food together! It didn't sound like they had much time to go to work at 8 o'clock every morning! They did what? Acts 5:42!
79. "DAILY IN THE TEMPLE, & IN EVERY HOUSE, THEY CEASED NOT TO TEACH & PREACH!" They never quit! They just kept on preaching all the time! According to Matthew 6, Jesus' advice was that they couldn't very well serve both. They couldn't very well earn a living & preach the Gospel at the same time! They couldn't very well go to school & get a big education & work for Jesus spreading the Gospel at the same time!
80. PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO EDUCATION USUALLY WORSHIP IT! People who've had it, like my brother, don't think too much of it! He got himself educated plumb out of a job--got so much education people didn't even want to hire him, 'cause they'd have to pay him too much! What good does it do him? I asked him one day, "What are you slaving away like this for? Why do you want these degrees?" In the early days, he used to say, "Oh, education's great!" But after I had proven that I was getting along pretty good in the Lord's Work without an education, or without much, he knew he couldn't change me any more; & he began to recognise the futility of it all!
81. NOW OF COURSE, IF YOU JUST WANT A JOB TO MAKE MONEY, & HAVE A CAR & A HOME & a family & settle down to the same rut that 99 out of 100 people are in, & not stand out from the crowd, why, just go the way of all flesh--get yourself a nice education! Get yourself a degree & go into the same pattern as everybody else, & that's that!
82. THE EARLY CHURCH DIDN'T ABIDE BY THE PRESENT-DAY CHURCH PATTERN of building a nice beautiful building on the corner--so they can separate their worship from their home & they won't have to bring God into the house. Now they keep the Gospel within the four walls of the church without having to bring it home, to their job or school or house! Now they leave God at church & separate the disciples from the Lord, & they all go every man to his own tent & his own house!
83. THEY LIVE FOR THEMSELVES & THEIR OWN FAMILIES & THEIR OWN JOB & THEIR OWN HOMES! They do no sharing, no dwelling together! It doesn't take any grace to live apart from each other! Of course, they have a terrible time living with even their own families, as a result. Because they don't have any grace, the families break up, & the husband & the wife break up, the children scatter, & the church frequently breaks up in a fight!
84. THEY'RE NOT FELLOWSHIPPING! THEY JUST COME TO CHURCH, MEET A LITTLE WHILE ON SUNDAY, & GO BACK THEIR OWN SEPARATE WAYS! But not so in the Early Church! They lived together & shared together & had all things common together. Those that had anything, the "haves", got rid of it & shared it with the "have-nots"!
85. IT'S RIGHT HERE IN THE BIBLE: THIS WAS GOD'S PLAN & IT WORKED! 33rd verse, "They had great power & they gave witness, & great grace". That's the way the Early Church operated & it worked!
86. OF COURSE, THEY SAY, "YES, BUT THAT WOULDN'T WORK TODAY! THINGS ARE DIFFERENT TODAY!" Why? People are still people, aren't they? Jesus is still Jesus, isn't He? And the job is just the same, isn't it? Then what's the matter with the plan God gave? People just don't want to do it, that's all! The only reason they call it old-fashioned is because they like the new-fashioned idea of just being selfish & living for themselves!
87. IF ANYONE WOULD DO AS THE EARLY CHURCH DID, & just share their homes & their food & their things, they could live together like the Early Church, & they'd have power like the Early Church--great grace, power, in witnessing & results! Of course, that would cause a lot of persecution!
88. THE SECOND CRISIS OF THE CHURCH HAPPENED AS A RESULT, IN SOME WAYS, OF THIS VERY PRINCIPLE! Chapter 5, a couple of people wanted to get the glory & the credit that everybody else was getting for forsaking everything they had. They wanted to make it look like they were giving up everything too. No doubt there was a certain amount of glory in it. There must have been, or Ananias & Sapphira wouldn't have dared to try to deceive the people & the Lord into thinking that they were giving up everything too.
89. IT LOOKS AS IF IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE CONDITIONS OF JOINING THE CHURCH IN THAT DAY--that they had to give up everything! Maybe they were just trying to join without paying their dues! What do people usually have to do in order to really come out & serve the Lord? Forsake all!
90. IF YOU HAVEN'T FORSAKEN ALL YET, YOU HAVEN'T PASSED ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TESTS! God will probably jerk the rug out from under you one of these days--where you don't have anything, or where you've got to make that choice!
91. ANANIAS & SAPPHIRA THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO GET AWAY WITH PRETENDING TO FORSAKE ALL, when they really hadn't! And God slapped them down real quick! He didn't want any deceivers, any liars, any people pretending to forsake all--like the Church people today!
92. I'VE WALKED INTO THEIR HOUSES & THEY'VE SAID, "GOD GAVE ME THIS HOME. It belongs to the Lord!" I'm tempted to say, "Then why isn't God using it!" "This fine car I have, God gave it to me. It belongs to the Lord!" Then why isn't the Lord using it! They're not feeding the poor or anything else. They seem to have the idea they can have their cake & eat it too!--Give it to God & still enjoy it! Well, that's what Ananias & Sapphira thought they were going to do with it: They were going to keep back part of the price & enjoy it!
93. IT'S A WONDER A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T DROP DEAD IN THE CHURCHES TODAY! About the only reason they don't is: I guess God is so sick & disgusted with them that He doesn't even feel like spanking them--they don't even belong to Him! But He slapped them down in a hurry then, & they dropped dead--because they were trying to lie to the Holy Ghost! Now we don't know whether they dropped dead out of plain fear or they were scared to death or God killed them. But, "fear came upon all the Church, & upon as many as heard these things!" Chapter 5:11.
94. IT SURE STRUCK FEAR & TERROR INTO THE HEARTS OF THE CHURCH & THE PEOPLE AROUND, SO THAT "NO MAN AFTER THAT DURST JOIN HIMSELF UNTO THEM"! (v.13.) Nobody got the idea of his own free will & accord that, "Boy, this is a great plan, this communistic share-the-wealth plan! Here I'm broke & out of a job, & look at all those rich people taking care of all those poor people & feeding them. That's great! I think I'll join this outfit!"
95. BUT WHEN ANANIAS & SAPPHIRA DROPPED DEAD, THEY THOUGHT CAREFULLY: "I can't do this unless I'm really one of them!" "No man durst join himself to them."--But Who added unto the Church? "The Lord added to the Church!" (v.14.) (Family: Dad, what do you think they did about taxes?)
96. THEY PUT EVERYTHING INTO THE COMMON FUND, WHICH THE APOSTLES ADMINISTERED, & IF THEY HAD ANY TAXES TO PAY, I GUESS THE APOSTLES PAID'M! In Jesus' time, they did it the same way. The tax collector came around & wanted the money, & Jesus said go ahead & pay'm. Peter didn't have it, so the Lord said go out & catch a fish--& there it was! Funny way of paying taxes--have the fish pay the taxes for you!
97. THE SECOND CRISIS OF THE CHURCH--ANANIAS & SAPPHIRA--WAS WHAT KIND OF A CRISIS? It was an inside attack, & what was the attack? It was hypocrisy, right? The first crisis was persecution; the second crisis was hypocrisy. What was the remedy of the first crisis, persecution? They had a lot of prayer & bolder witnessing, & the result was more souls! In this case, great fear on the Church was the remedy, & strict discipline!
98. THIS IS SOMETHING THE CHURCH DOESN'T WANT TODAY--DISCIPLINE! They want to go their own way & tell the pastor what to do. But strict discipline brought results, & the Lord added multitudes! What was the final result? More souls! Every time more souls! Whether it was the day of Pentecost, or the healing of a crippled man, or Ananias & Sapphira dropping dead, or persecution, or getting thrown in jail, or whatever--more souls!
99. GOD SAW TO IT THAT, IN SOME WAY, IT FINALLY WOUND UP WITH MORE SOULS GETTING SAVED! That sure is an odd way of doing it! But today, just having nice churches & nice pretty sermons & services is the way souls are supposed to get saved! They got saved in a lot of funny ways way back in the Apostles' days! They had a lot of peculiar happenings, but they got results! Some don't like our methods, they don't like our means, they don't like our unorthodox measures, but they can't deny the fact that it gets results!
100. THEY HAIL'M TO JAIL AGAIN, & say, "You've filled Jerusalem with your doctrine!"--28th verse. Well, wasn't that exactly what they were trying to do? Now they're getting criticised for it! So they tell'm, "We've got to obey God rather than man!" They were brought to trial before the judges & the judges start criticising them. So they turn around & they give the judges the works! "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, Whom ye slew & hanged on a tree!" (5:30.)
101. THE BEST KIND OF A DEFENSE IS WHAT?--AN OFFENSE! You turn around & give them the works! If they hail you before the judge, before the police, ask, "Are you saved? Are you a Christian? Do you know the Lord? Why aren't you so-&-so?" You ask them, put them on the spot. You're God's officer, how about it? The best defense is an offense! In fact, you'll never win just by defending yourself! Put them on the run! Put them on the defensive!
102. GOD USUALLY RAISES UP A FRIEND SOMEWHERE, in some odd places--maybe on the panel of judges, maybe in the court. He did in this case--Gamaliel was there, a wise man, a great teacher. He wasn't actually taking sides, but he was trying to make the judges be fair. He said, "We've had a lot of rabble-rousers that caused a lot of trouble, but they always came to nought." 38th verse,
103. "IF THIS COUNSEL OR THIS WORK BE OF MEN, IT WILL COME TO NOUGHT: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God!"--"You'd better leave them alone! You can't lose, if you just leave them alone! If it's just of man it will come to nought, like all the rest of those guys; but if it's of God, you'd better watch out!"--A very wise man!
104. SO THE JUDGES TOOK HIS ADVICE, called the Apostles & beat'm up--they just had to get a little satisfaction! "And when they had beaten them, they commanded them they should not speak in the Name of Jesus, & let them go." (5:40.) And they went out crying & saying, "Lord, how come You let us be so mistreated!" Is that what they did? (Family: No! They rejoiced!)
105. "THEY DEPARTED FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE COUNCIL, REJOICING THAT THEY WERE COUNTED WORTHY TO SUFFER SHAME FOR HIS NAME!" (5:41.) Have you ever had that feeling after an arrest, after getting thrown out of a church, after getting bawled out, or socked?--Did you rejoice that you were counted worthy to suffer for the Lord? PTL!
106. SO THE DEVIL COULDN'T LICK'M ON THAT ONE! In fact, the end result of that was that famous 42nd verse: "Daily in the temple, & in every house, they ceased not to teach & preach Jesus Christ!" The Devil tried to defeat'm by these crises, but every time it worked out to the good instead!
107. THEN CAME THE THIRD CRISIS OF THE CHURCH: MURMURING! (Chap.6) Another kind of attack. The Devil found out in the first attack, the outside attack of persecution, he couldn't lick'm, so he tried two inside attacks. One was hypocrisy & the next one was murmuring!--Complaining, griping, belly-aching! You mean that's an attack of the Devil?
108. THE BEST THING TO DO IS GET IT OUT IN THE OPEN, DEAL WITH IT, & THEY DID. They called the multitude of the disciples unto them, & they said, 3rd verse, "Look ye out"--you take care of it! Indigenuity!
109. THE INDIGENOUS CHURCH IS WHAT?--SELF-GOVERNING, SELF-SUPPORTING & SELF-PROPAGATING! Every army's got to have some organisation, leadership, followership, distribution, all done in decency & in order, right? The Twelve were Apostles or elders, the leaders, & their major responsibility was spiritual, to be overseers of the spiritual welfare of the Church. That was their major job--teaching & prayer.
110. SO THEY PICKED SOME MEN, GOOD BUSINESSMEN, WHO EVIDENTLY KNEW HOW TO HANDLE BUSINESS AFFAIRS, TO TAKE CARE OF THE MATERIAL AFFAIRS OF THE CHURCH! They were called deacons. The difference between elders & deacons is: The elders are the spiritual leaders of the Church, deacons the material leaders.
111. SOME OF THESE GUYS THEY PICKED FOR DEACONS TURNED OUT TO BE PRETTY GOOD ELDERS in the long run! They turned out to have such power & such blessing that the Lord turned them into evangelists--like Philip & Stephen! They were nothing but guys that were handling the food distribution, the cooking & waiting on tables! So there's some hope for you, if you follow the Lord in even the least of these!
112. THEY LAID HANDS ON THEM, PRAYED FOR THEM, & COMMITTED UNTO THEM THIS MATERIAL, ECONOMIC WORK OF THE CHURCH--& it was a big job! There were thousands of people now who had joined the Church!--Not the building, they'd joined the group, they'd joined the Team. They all had to be fed. They had to organise the cooking, the distribution of the food & everything. Big job, right? It takes a real administrator!
113. STEPHEN & PHILIP HAD SPIRITUAL TALENT & ABILITY, & THEY MINISTERED SPIRITUALLY AS WELL. Stephen preaches his famous sermon in the 7th chapter--the most marvellous short history of Israel you'd find in the whole Bible, outside of one of the Psalms!--Wonderful 7th chapter! He finally said the magic words at the end of his sermon. He got along 50 verses pretty well--they'd listened--but when he got to verse 51, "Ye stiffnecked & uncircumcised in hearts & ears!"
114. "LISTEN BROTHER STEPHEN, NO WELL-TRAINED, WELL-EDUCATED MINISTER WILL GO AROUND DELIBERATELY INSULTING & SAYING UNKIND THINGS TO THE AUDIENCE!--Because you're going to lose'm if you do!" In this case, they even lost the preacher! "Ye stiffnecked & uncircumcised in heart & ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye! Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers & the murderers!"
115. HE SAID, "YOUR FATHERS KILLED THE PROPHETS, WHO PREDICTED THAT JESUS WAS COMING, & NOW YOU'VE KILLED HIM PERSONALLY!--You even killed Him!" "Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, & have not kept it!" (v.53.) Whew! That was it! He had had it! "Now you've done the worst of all! You've turned around & you've told us that we don't keep the Law, when we're shining examples of the Law!
116. "WE ARE PERFECTIONISTS: WE GO TO CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY, WE TITHE. We're perfect shining examples of what Christians ought to be! And now you tell us that we are not Christians, we have not prayed, we have not kept the Law? You've had it! We've listened to this sermon long enough!
117. "THIS GUY'S OF THE DEVIL! HE SAYS WE'RE NOT GOOD! WE'RE NOT EVEN GOD'S PEOPLE! We don't even keep the Law! Pass me some rocks quick, & let me toss'm! We'll get rid of him fast! He's exposing us, he's telling people the truth!" "Ye do make the law of God of none effect by your tradition!" (Mt.15:6.) And so they got rid of him quick!
118. THAT'S ONE CONGREGATION THAT WHEN HE PREACHED THEM THE TRUTH, & gave them what they needed instead of what they wanted, they got rid of the preacher in a hurry!--Right on the spot, with the nearest rocks! In fact, they were so angry at being exposed before the whole public, that they rushed on him & bit him!
119. "THEY GNASHED ON HIM WITH THEIR TEETH!" They actually bit him, like dogs yapping in the marketplace! Like mad hounds, they rushed up & bit him!--And stoned him to death! But, praise God, He had a glorious death! "They were cut to the heart...but he, being full of the Holy Ghost saw the glory of God!" (7:54 & 55.) Hallelujah!
120. YOU DO GOD'S WILL & BE BOLD & PREACH THE TRUTH & IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU, YOU SHALL SEE THE GLORY OF GOD! Hallelujah! Amen? In spite of persecution, have you seen God work? Have you seen Him do miracles in lives? Have you seen the glory of God, in spite of the criticism, the lies & the scandal?
121. WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THIS DEATH? DID HE DIE IN VAIN? NO! THERE WAS A YOUNG MAN STANDING THERE, holding the coats for the guys that threw the rocks, who saw the way he died, & it ate on him & ate on him! He kept kicking against his conscience & against conviction, he couldn't get over the way Stephen died! He got so mad, he kept trying to kill them off! He tried to throw them all in prison! He tried to run around & keep so busy, as he thought, serving the Lord, that he couldn't listen to the Lord! He kicked against the pricks & he resisted the Holy Spirit!
122. BUT GOD HAD MERCY ON HIM--JESUS APPEARED TO HIM & SAUL WAS GLORIOUSLY SAVED! "That these shall not have died in vain!"--& Stephen certainly didn't die in vain--he was a great example! That was the next crisis, again an outside attack--persecution--& the result was the Church was scattered, 8th chapter, 1st verse, "throughout the regions".
123. PHILIP WENT DOWN & HAD A BIG REVIVAL. A guy tried to buy the power of the Holy Ghost & got rebuked for it! (8:8-20.) Some people try to do that nowadays, "If you'll give me $100, I'll pray you a great prayer of deliverance! You give me $1000 & you're in for sure!" Some people go around selling the power of the Holy Ghost & healing!
124. PHILIP OBEYED THE LORD: RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS BIG REVIVAL, GOD TOLD HIM TO GET UP & GO OUT & WITNESS TO JUST ONE GUY! (8:27.) "Now what do you mean, Lord? I'm getting to be a big evangelist, when I was nothing but a table-waiter before! And here's my big opportunity! What do You mean You want me to go down & start hitchhiking rides just for the sake of one coloured guy!" But it turned out he was a pretty important fellow!
125. THE ETHIOPIAN HAPPENED TO BE A TREASURER, THE FIRST MAN IN THE KINGDOM under Candace, the Ethiopian Queen! Do you know what the result of that was?: One of the oldest, most ancient Christian churches in the World today--the Coptic Church of North Africa, one of the oldest forms of Christianity! Of course, it's got a lot of ritualism & formalism now, 2000 years later!
126. BUT IT SHOWS THEY GOT THE GOSPEL, & IT SHOWS THE ETHIOPIAN TOOK IT BACK TO 'M! He was a faithful witness, amen? Praise God! Because he preached to him not the weather, not politics, not social righteousness, or civil rights--but he preached Jesus! Amen? He got him saved, & baptised him in the nearby water. (8:35-38.)
127. SINCE HE TOOK A LITTLE TIME OUT FROM HIS IMPORTANT REVIVAL WORK, & IT TOOK QUITE A BIT OF TIME TO GO HITCHHIKING IN THOSE DAYS, God gave him a little ride by extraterrestrial transportation! (8:39 & 40.) The Spirit caught him away & he found himself someplace else--at Azotus. If you start out hitchhiking to win souls, God may give you quite a ride--a supernatural ride! PTL!
128. SAUL, "BREATHING OUT SLAUGHTER", TRIES TO KICK AGAINST THE PRICKS, BUT IS FINALLY, WONDERFULLY SAVED!--In that 9th chapter. And as a result, many people get saved. He witnesses & witnesses like a house on fire! Souls were saved & miracles were performed!
129. IN THE 10TH CHAPTER, WE HAVE ANOTHER PROBLEM: PREJUDICE, TRADITION! The Church was already getting in a rut! All these new Gentiles were being saved & they weren't getting circumcised! They were eating the wrong kind of meat & they weren't observing the Sabbath. It got the Church all upset, so they had to have a big convention about it.
130. THEY FINALLY HAD TO COME TO AGREEMENT THOUGH, thank the Lord! The Holy Spirit got all this worked out, & they finally had to confess, "Well, how can we deny them membership in the Church if they've already been saved, baptised & filled with the Holy Ghost, & God is using them!
131. "THEY'RE PREACHING THE GOSPEL & PERFORMING MIRACLES. Look what God is doing with them!" Now the Church had to admit them. They had to get rid of a lot of their prejudices & their traditions to follow the Lord! Praise God! Amen?
132. (1983: WELL, PTL! THAT'S STILL JUST AS GOOD NOW AS IT WAS BACK IN 1967!--16 years ago when we first got started with our little team of a dozen--"Teens for Christ"!--Amen?--A year before we even went to California & started the "Light Club" for the Hippies!--And nearly three years before we were on the TSC Ranch in Texas!
133. (GOD'S WORD IS STILL JUST AS GOOD TODAY AS IT WAS 2000 YEARS AGO!--It still works if we obey!--And we did! This kind of preaching started the Jesus Revolution that has now gone into all the World (100 countries!) & is preaching the Gospel to billions on 1200 radio & TV stations, through Newspapers, Magazines, Books, 260 million pages of lit & 30,000 Members of 116 nationalities who've won over 1-1/2 million souls to Jesus!--What are you doing for Jesus?--TYJ! PTL! GBAKYAMYAB!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
