In this sermon, we explore the unique relationship between believers and the Holy Spirit that was established on the Day of Pentecost. This includes discussions on the miraculous speaking in tongues and the illuminating events of the day. Dr. McGee reminds listeners of the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work, from restraining evil to indwelling believers, and challenges us to yield to His guidance, discovering the transformative power that comes with true reliance on the Spirit.
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the Sunday Sermon on Through the Bible. In his message, The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost, Dr. J. Vernon McGee takes us to Acts chapter 2 to witness one of the most pivotal moments in history, the Day of Pentecost, the day the church was born. If you’ve ever wondered what really happened on that day and what it means for each of us, well, you’re in the right place. Dr. McGee reminds us that understanding the baptism of the Holy Spirit is essential for every believer. Sadly, much confusion and really even false teaching have surrounded this topic. But today, we’ll go straight to God’s Word and uncover the truth. and we’ll discover how the Holy Spirit’s ministry began at Pentecost and continues in the life of every Christian today. As we begin, let’s take a moment to pray and ask for God’s guidance. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word and for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit. And Lord, as we study, give each of us understanding and clarity and help us to see your truth, to recognize the power and presence of your Spirit in our lives. and then to surrender more fully to your will. May our time together strengthen our faith and draw us closer to you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Here’s the Sunday Sermon on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
SPEAKER 03 :
I want to read in your hearing tonight the verses from the second chapter of the book of Acts. We’ll read only a few verses. But this is a very important section. I wish this evening I had some way of impressing upon your heart of how important and how very impressive the events of this day really were. That it belongs in the category of the record of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. At Bethlehem, the second person of the Godhead became incarnate. On the day of Pentecost, the third person of the Godhead became incarnate. And both are tremendously significant. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven and 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. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these that speak Galileans? And then let me just drop down because I would like to pick up two or three verses down farther. Verse 13, I break in there. Others mocking said, these men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, ye men of Judea and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, Be this known unto you, and hearken to my words. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith the Lord, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. And your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens, I will pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in heaven above, signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, I want to break off our reading at that particular point. This evening, our subject is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the day of Pentecost. There are seven ministries of the Holy Spirit which are clearly identified in the New Testament, and there is a sharp delineation of each ministry in this age in which we live. Several of these ministries began on the day of Pentecost. Others received new meaning and emphasis at Pentecost. But all seven of these came into sharp focus and received special attention beginning with the day of Pentecost. And Christians should know about these seven ministries. I believe that one of the great difficulties of this hour and the thing that’s led multitudes into fanaticism and into heresy has been because of an ignorance of the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit in this age in which we live. Now, these seven ministries are divided like this. Two of them are ecumenical ministries. That is, they are worldwide. Five of those ministries are confined to believers only, to the church. I want tonight to briefly enumerate them and identify them. The first one of these ministries, and we take up the two now that apply to the world, the ecumenical ministries of the Holy Spirit. The first one is the ministry of restraining evil in the world. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in the second epistle, the second chapter, the seventh verse, He says, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now hindereth will hinder until he be taken out of the way. Now, I haven’t time tonight to go into an exegesis of that passage of Scripture, but I believe that A careful study of that will reveal that the one and the only one who can hinder in this world today evil is none other than the Holy Spirit of God. And that he is holding back evil in this age, the age of the church, and began that ministry at the day of Pentecost with a new emphasis. Now, it wasn’t new. You go back even to the very beginning, you will recall that before the flood, God said to Noah at that time, and the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for he is flesh. Now may I say to you that back in those days, the Spirit of God was holding back evil, because you see, evil was something new in this world, and the Spirit of God held it back. But man persisted with a fallen nature to go on and on, and the Spirit of God, as it were, held back. And apparently, until the day of Pentecost, he had permitted evil to manifest itself in a terrible way. But on the day of Pentecost, when he came to perform these other ministries, he entered into a ministry of restraining evil. And we are told that One of the things that will precipitate and produce the great tribulation period, and there are many forces that come to a focal point there that make that period such a period of intense suffering and make it the great tribulation. One of those things is the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit and restraining evil in this world, my beloved. You and I tonight have no notion how much we owe to the third person of the Godhead for restraining evil. There is another ministry which he performs that’s worldwide. It’s the ministry of convicting men of sin. The Lord Jesus said in John 16, verses 7 and 8, It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I go, I will send him unto you, and when he is come, he will reprove. That’s the weakest translation that could be made. The word is elenko, which is a legal term used 21 times in the trial of Socrates. It means convict. When he is come, he will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, of sin, because they believe not on me. of righteousness because I go to the Father and ye see me no more, of judgment because the Prince of this world is judged. And so the Spirit of God is in this world to convict the world. Now, may I say that that was not a new ministry for him in the world. You go back again to those early days of the human race, and you will find before the Tower of Babel, that man was following his conscience and evidently the Spirit of God was exercising a ministry of conviction upon man. But after the Tower of Babel, man went out on his own and the Spirit of God no longer convicted the world. But he’s in the world today to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and of judgment. That is a worldwide ministry of the Holy Spirit and everywhere the gospel goes, That is carried out. Now we move from that ecumenical ministry of the Holy Spirit to that which is confined to believers and to believers only. Five important ministries. Four of these are for all believers. There’s no believer excluded from these ministries at all. Then there’s one ministry. It’s different from all others. It’s one and the only one that there’s any command concerning. These other four take place the moment that a person accepts Christ. Those four ministries are never repeated. They never happen but once. It’s once for all. They rest only on one condition, and that’s faith in Christ. But the fifth ministry is a ministry that depends upon the individual. Now let me mention these. The first one of these is regeneration by the Holy Spirit. May I say to you that I personally believe that regeneration has been the work of the Holy Spirit in all ages and will be even after the church is removed. I agree with Dr. Rideout who says that regeneration is the common blessing of all dispensations. The Lord Jesus Christ, though, said to that man Nicodemus in a very special way, ye must be born again. Now, he didn’t tell him, carry in Jerusalem in order to be born again. He said to that man right here and there that very night, ye must be born again. I do not know this, but I believe that man that night was regenerated by the Spirit of God. I think that man that night was saved. I think this scriptural evidence for that. Now may I say to you this evening that’s the work of the Holy Spirit that takes place the moment you believe and you’re not told, you and I never told to do anything relative to the Spirit of God to bring this to pass. We’re told ye must be born again and But he also says, to as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become the sons of God. You and I have no action to take toward the Holy Spirit. We receive Christ as Savior, and the Holy Spirit regenerates. You don’t ask him to. He does that. Gracious alive, I didn’t ask to be born. Nobody consulted me about it when I came into the world. And I don’t think any of you had very much to do with it. You just got here. That was something you didn’t work out. And the new birth is something the Spirit of God performs when you take Christ as your Savior. Now, there is another ministry of the Holy Spirit which actually characterizes this age as it has no other age. It began with the day of Pentecost. And that is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Someone has said that this is the age of the Holy Spirit. And in the sense of indwelling and baptizing, that is true. Now, there are several scriptures that are very important. You remember Paul writing to the Romans long before he even touched on the subject of the Holy Spirit. In the fifth of Romans, he had to say this. He says, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given or who is given unto us. The Holy Spirit is given unto every believer. And he goes farther in the eighth chapter of Romans to put it like this. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he’s none of his. That’s very negative, is it not? And that’s very positive negative, if you ask me. Very positive negative. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he’s none of his. And Paul writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2 said, now we have received the Spirit which is of God. And look, he’s talking to Corinthians. He’s not through telling them about it. He says to them a little later on in 1 Corinthians 6, 19, what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? Now, if he’d said that to those very lofty Ephesians who were living on a very high plane, I’d understand it. But he said that to the carnal Corinthians. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? Every believer, doesn’t make any difference who he is, is indwelt. by the Spirit of God. And as one of the church fathers put it like this, as those men used to write in such strong terms, he said, Wretch, know ye not that you’re carrying God with you? Every believer in wealth by the Holy Spirit of God. Now the next ministry, the ministry we’re talking about is the baptizing process. ministry of the Holy Spirit. I come back to that in a moment, but let me just mention the other two. The other ministry is that of sealing. That’s performed for every believer. Paul said to the Ephesians in Ephesians 4.30, grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Now, will you notice How he wrote that. If I had been writing it, I’d said this. Be careful and don’t grieve the Holy Spirit or he’ll unseal you. Isn’t that the way you would have written it? He says it’s possible to grieve the Holy Spirit, but you can’t unseal the work of the Holy Spirit. When you’re unsealed, you’re sealed till the day of redemption. And the day of redemption is when the Spirit of God presents the body of believers, the church to Christ, and not one of them will be lost. He said, not one will be lost. That is the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit in sealing. Now, the one ministry, and that is the filling of the Holy Spirit. Not all are filled with the Spirit. That’s the only ministry that there’s any command concerning. Paul said to the Ephesians again, be not drunk with wine for any success, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. That’s the only command that’s given to you and me, a positive command relative to the Holy Spirit. You can’t find a passage that says, be baptized with the Holy Spirit. You can’t find a passage that says, be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Says ye must be born again, but doesn’t tell you to do anything relative to that, my beloved. And so this is the only ministry. I return to the baptizing ministry of the Holy Spirit. The classic passage, there are six doctrinal passages concerning the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. But this evening I refer to the one that evidently is the pivotal passage on this subject, and that’s 1 Corinthians 12, 13. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentile, bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. That is the peculiar and outstanding ministry of the Holy Spirit in this age, is his baptizing ministry. May I say to you tonight that the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit accomplishes more for the believer than any other ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now that began at Pentecost. We’re going to see that in just a moment. But I want us to look at this word baptizing. What do you mean when you say baptized by the Holy Spirit? May I say to you that I find today that the average Christian today has no notion what the baptizing ministry of the Holy Spirit really is. The root word of baptize is not baptizo. You hear so many people give that. The root word is babtoe. And it’s used only three times in the New Testament. It’s the root word, and it’ll be helpful to us here to understand what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is. The three passages in which it occurs are here. First of all, it occurs in the passage where the Lord Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus that died and went over to the other side. And you remember there that the rich man says, Let Lazarus dip his finger in water. And that word dip is baptos. Put it down in water. Now, he wasn’t anxious, let’s be very candid, to suck on the thumb of the poor man. What he wanted was water. Dip your finger in water and the finger would come in under the influence of the water and in fact would become a wet finger. The other passage in which it’s used is found yonder in the upper room in John 13, 26. Where our Lord, you remember when they wanted to know who was to betray him, and he said this. He says, when I take the salt and dip it, and then the one to whom I give it, he shall betray me. There again, the word is used. And it means this salt, let’s use our terminology, it’s dumped. You ever see anybody dunk a donut in coffee? Well, that’s the picture that’s here. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not being irreverent. Don’t misunderstand. That’s exactly it. You dip a donut in coffee, it becomes saturated with coffee. It comes under the influence of the coffee. And that’s where it’s used. Now it’s used again. Over in the 19th chapter of Revelation, and here in the 13th verse, Listen to this a little different way. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. His name is called the Word of God. Now, this one who comes forth has his vesture dipped in blood. It’s a bloody garment. Red, we’re told back in Isaiah. A garment that’s red. It’s made red. Why? Because it’s been put down in something red, which is blood here. It’s identified with what it’s been put in. Now, does that help you a little? Let me give you now a definition, two definitions, by the man that has studied baptism more than any man that’s ever lived on this earth. And that was Dr. James W. Dale. He divided baptism… Two kinds, real baptism, which is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and ritual baptism, which is by water, and which, as we’re going to see, is better set forth by immersion. Now, will you notice his definition? Whatever is capable of thoroughly changing the character, state, or condition of any object is capable of baptizing that object. and by such change of character, state, or condition does in fact baptize it. Now he adds this further definition which is a little simpler. To bring into complete subjection to an influence or to imbue with virtues. And Dr. Schaeffer has put it like this. One thing being brought under the transforming power or influence of another thing. And that’s what water baptism actually is. It’s to be put into the water, buried with Him, raised with Him. Now you will find that that’s used that way many places in the Word of God. Tonight I turn to one that a great many people think is very difficult. It’s over in 1 Corinthians 15, 29, and let me use this merely as an illustration tonight. Paul says here, “…else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead?” if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead, and why stand we in jeopardy every hour? Now, in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul’s talking about resurrection here. And he has talked about the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that it’s a fact in history, and that on the basis of that, he’s ordered his entire life. You see, Saul of Tarsus thought he was dead. And when he met him on the Damascus Road and said, Who art thou, Lord? And came to know the living Christ, from that day on, Paul was probably more conscious of the glorified, resurrected Christ than any man that’s ever lived on this earth. And so Paul says here that this one was raised from the dead. Now, somebody says, but he says you’re baptized here for the dead. Does that mean that living people today are to be baptized for people that are dead? May I say to you, he has no notion of talking about that at all. What Paul is saying is this. Paul says, when I came to Christ, I was buried with him. In baptism. I was buried with him. I was identified with him. When he died, I died. When he was buried, I was buried. I was identified with him. Baptized. Now he says, if he’s not raised from the dead, I’m the biggest fool you’ve ever seen going around through this life like a dead man. Why, he says, I am baptized as a dead man. And I’m baptized as a dead man because I was not only buried with him, but I’ve been raised with him in newness of life. And I’m identified with the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s not saying to be baptized in water for people that have died. He says, I am identified as a dead man. I am counted as a dead man. He had said to the Romans, reckon yourself to be dead. Indeed, understand. Now, Paul says, that’s exactly what I’ve done. Now, he says, can’t you see I’m the biggest fool in the world if Christ hasn’t been raised from the dead? If the dead rise not, then why should I act as a dead man? Why, I ought to adopt the philosophy, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow. You may die. But he says, not me. I have met the living Christ and I’m identified with him, baptized into him. Now, my beloved, The baptism of the Holy Spirit is that which takes a believer the moment that he trusts Christ and puts him in the body of Christ in such a way, and will you notice, I just turned back in Corinthians to the 12th chapter, and listen to him, for as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. Paul says that the church today is the body of Christ. Well, how in the world did I get that close to him? For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. The Holy Spirit came and took this poor lost sinner in Adam, condemned to die. And when he trusted Christ, he took him. out of Adam and joined him to the living Christ, my beloved. And when you say tonight, safe in the arms of Jesus, why in the world we save that song till somebody dies, I don’t know. Because actually, you’re not only safe in the arms of Jesus right now if you’re saved, but you’re safe as an arm of Jesus because you’re his body, baptized in this body. Now, when did the baptism begin? You’re baptized the moment you trust Christ. But when did this ministry begin? It began on the day of Pentecost. And I want to look at this very briefly now in closing. You will not find the baptism of the Holy Spirit so much as even suggested in the Old Testament. And may I say the closest thing that I think that you find to it is the word that Abigail, I think she’s, by the way, as a neglected woman of the Bible. My, what a wonderful person she was. She met David, beautiful woman, intelligent woman. And she met David, and David, that redheaded king, was on his way to kill her husband. And she met him, and one of the things she said to him was this, David, You were bound in the bundle of life with God. Isn’t that lovely? But that’s as far as the Old Testament could go. It’s wonderful to be just tied up in the same bundle with God. But, brother, after you untie the bundle, why, this part goes that direction, that part goes the other direction. But you see, when you’re put in his body, you can’t just break up the body of Christ. He has no mutilated body. It’s all intact. He’ll never even lose a little thing. And that’s the closest, though, that the Old Testament seems to have to this. It’s strictly in the New Testament, and it’s found in the Gospels. It’s there only as prophecy. It’s found in the book of Acts as history, and it’s found in the epistles as doctrine. Now, I want you to notice this. Two references back in the Gospels that mention the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it’s always future in the Gospels. I turn to the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, the 11th verse, and will you listen to this? John the Baptist speaking, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. But he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I’m not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Well, somebody says, but it says here, John the Baptist says here that he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. It’s interesting when the Lord Jesus in the book of Acts told him to wait in Jerusalem, I want to turn to that, Acts 1, 5. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Why didn’t he mention fire? Because, my friend, John the Baptist was a prophet. He did not separate the two comings of Christ. The Lord Jesus, at his first coming, instituted the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When he comes a second time, it will be the baptism of fire, for it’s that of judgment. But of course, tonight, every unsaved man is combustible, brother. And even science has found out this earth we live in is combustible. Go to pieces. And when he comes the next time, he’ll baptize with fire. It’s judgment. But when he came the first time, it was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But it was future, you see. He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Now, may I say, it’s in… The book of Acts that you find, the historical record, and I turn now to that. The day of Pentecost. And I want you to look at that. This is the historical record. Will you look at this first verse? And when the day of Pentecost was fully come. I used to think that when it says the day of Pentecost was fully come, that it meant the sun got pretty far up in the sky. It wasn’t just early in the morning, it was up in the day. May I say to you that when it says the day of Pentecost was fully come, it means simply this, that it was fulfilled. Everything that the day of Pentecost suggested in the Old Testament is now being fulfilled. It’s come to a conclusion. And it won’t be a second one. It’s fully come. Fully come, my beloved. Now you and I live in the day of the fullness of Pentecost. But there’s no repetition of Pentecost. Now will you notice? And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. Do you notice? It was not a rushing mighty wind, but it was as a rushing mighty wind. The Holy Spirit, when he came… made himself evident in two ways, to the eye gate and to the ear gate. To the ear gate, he was a rushing mighty wind, like a rushing mighty wind, but he was not that. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as a fire, was not fire, my beloved. And when anyone tells you this is the fulfillment of the baptism by fire, it’s nonsense. This is no fulfillment at all. It was not fire, it was like fire. like as a fire and it sat upon each of them and that was an appeal to the eye gate of man that the holy spirit had come now the lord said that they were to be baptized with the holy spirit but here is what i read and they were all filled with the holy ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance now may i say this and say it very kindly if tongues Wherefore today it has no connection with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It has a connection with the filling of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t say they were baptized and then spoke with other tongues. It says they were filled with the Holy Spirit and then spoke with other tongues. Baptism is not an experience. It hasn’t anything to do with a manifestation. That which joins the Jesus Christ. It’s the most wonderful ministry and it’s the basis on which the entire Christian life is lived, the holy life. It’s the basis on which service is rendered. But my friend, it’s not an experience. It’s not a physical manifestation. And that which was a physical manifestation came as a result of the filling of the Holy Spirit and not the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That’s something for the brethren to turn around for a while May I say to you, that’s very important, and I think very essential to see. Now, on the day of Pentecost, there was the tongues, not unknown tongues, but speaking in the tongues that men there in Jerusalem understood, and that’s the Bethlehem of the Holy Spirit. That’s not repeated. The star was never repeated at Bethlehem. It was a wonderful experience to have seen a star, but never repeated. And may I say to you, I think the shepherds would tell you, oh, it’s wonderful to see angels on a hillside at night. Only took place one time when he was born. These things only happen on the day of Pentecost. Now, somebody says to me, yeah, but what about that Samaritan revival? Now, I don’t have time to turn to that, nor do I have time to turn to Cornelius’ house, but I can say this much, that what you have taking place is the Samaritans being brought into the body of Christ, baptized into the body of Christ. It’s not a second Pentecost. It’s never repeated. It’s just the addition of Samaritans. For he said, you shall be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and under the outermost parts of the earth. And yonder in Cornelius’ house, the gospel went to the Gentiles. It’s an addition to the church, not a second Pentecost at all, my beloved. And tonight you and I live this side of that historical event known as the day of Pentecost when it fully came. You and I live in the light of it. We do not have to tarry. We do not have to wait. We are not historically in a position of living on both sides as these apostles lived. They therefore had to wait for the historical coming when the day of Pentecost was fully come. And tonight, my friend, you don’t have to wait. The Holy Spirit is tonight waiting for you. This business today that you’ve got to go through some great effort and make some great struggle, may I say to you, the Holy Spirit is waiting for you to do one thing, and that is yield. That’s all. You know, tonight, most of us will do anything in the world except this fellow that lives here. It’s mighty hard for him to bow out of the picture. and say, Holy Spirit, fill me and lead me. But that’s what you got to do and that’s all. You can come down here and groan and struggle the rest of the night at this altar, my friend. That won’t get you a thing until you yield. You yield to him. Henry Martin was a brilliant young student at Cambridge University. When he graduated, he graduated with honors, had one of the best minds they had ever had there. Many insurance companies offered him high position. Other companies tried to get this young man. He said, no, I feel that God’s called me to go to India and I’ve yielded my heart and life to him. That brilliant young man went out to India and it’s said that when Henry Martin landed on the coast of India, he looked into that impenetrable jungle and said, Now let me burn out for Christ. My friend, he actually did that. It was just a few short years. They took the broken body of that young man back to India, and he didn’t make it back to home. He died at sea, and they buried him. Seemed as if his life had been wasted, but he probably did more to open missions in India than any man that’s ever lived. What did he do? Only one thing. Yielding. Oh, tonight we’ll do anything except the one thing. Yield. Surrender. That’s what he said. I close with this. Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit? It’s important, you know. What I really mean is, have you been saved? Because if you have been saved, you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. That is, you’ve been identified with Christ. So much so that you’re part of his body tonight. And he could even say to Saul of Tarsus, why persecutest thou me?
SPEAKER 02 :
When you persecute one of mine, you persecute me.
SPEAKER 03 :
They’re me. Not good grammar, good theology. They are me. Part of me. Part of me. How did we become part of him? By the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A woman came to my home the other day, said she had to talk. She came and told a story. Brother, she ought to be back at bars tonight. And I said to her, what you were asking me for, I can’t do. I have no solution for the problems you have presented to me. But I have a solution for your problems. What you need is God. You need Christ as your Savior. She backed off and said, well, I’m going to try. And I said, that’s your trouble. You’ve tried. It’s got you to a place where you’re standing right at the jail door and it’s opening right before you. Why don’t you quit trying and start trusting?
SPEAKER 02 :
Why don’t you turn your life over to him and get joined to him?
SPEAKER 03 :
She says, well, I have thought about joining a church. Well, I said, for God’s sake, forget that. Don’t join a church until you get joined to him. And he’s waiting. This business tonight that You’ve got to do something to win God over. You’ve got to persuade him to come your way. My friend, what is it you could persuade him to do that he hasn’t already done for you? When he gave his son to die for you on the cross and he sent the Holy Spirit into the world and he’s in the world tonight to speak to your heart and speak to your life. Are you here tonight struggling, friend? You have tried this thing so much. so often, and you have blundered, you have fallen. I know that story. Oh, that’s an old story. Why don’t you tonight turn your life over to Him? Why don’t you trust Him? Don’t you think He’s good? Don’t you think He’s merciful? Don’t you think that he really meant business when he gave his son to die for you? Don’t you really think he wants to save you? He’s not asking you to do anything except to be willing to be saved. Just be willing to be saved. And tonight, Christian friend, you gritted your teeth and you clenched your fist and you resolved and said it’s going to be better tomorrow. And you’ve already been through many of those tomorrows. And they weren’t better, were they? You didn’t turn it over to him. You didn’t turn it over to him. You tried to do it in your own strength.
SPEAKER 01 :
Learn more about what it means to give your life to God and live in the power of the Holy Spirit in our app or at ttb.org when you click on How Can I Know God? Or call 1-865-BIBLE and we’ll mail you a few resources. Let’s close with this benediction from Jude 24 and 25. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
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All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.
SPEAKER 01 :
Join us each weekday for our five-year daily study through the whole Word of God. Check for times on this station or look for Through the Bible in your favorite podcast store and always at ttb.org.
