WEBVTT 00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:03.450 Today you and I are going to have another one 00:00:03.450 --> 00:00:08.269 of those good heart -to -heart talks. Some of 00:00:08.269 --> 00:00:13.910 that good, old -fashioned Missouri cornbread. 00:00:15.929 --> 00:00:21.850 But instead of talking about cornbread, we're 00:00:21.850 --> 00:00:27.449 going to talk a minute about iced tea. Now this 00:00:27.449 --> 00:00:31.239 may seem strange to you, But I'm going to confess 00:00:31.239 --> 00:00:38.280 something. When I was a kid, so far as I was 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:41.700 concerned, the most wonderful thing in the world 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:47.439 was iced tea. Oh, we didn't have Coca -Cola and 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:52.320 squirt and all the stuff that kids have today. 00:00:53.619 --> 00:00:58.259 But iced tea. I remember the very first time. 00:00:58.890 --> 00:01:02.509 that I ever had iced tea. Aunt Belle's house. 00:01:02.689 --> 00:01:07.609 Oh, Aunt Belle was always up on everything. Anything 00:01:07.609 --> 00:01:11.750 that was first in Kansas City, Aunt Belle always 00:01:11.750 --> 00:01:16.329 had it in that little country town of Elma, Missouri. 00:01:17.269 --> 00:01:22.370 Before we ever had iced tea in Joe Kuhlman's 00:01:22.370 --> 00:01:26.310 house in Concordia, Aunt Belle had it in Elma. 00:01:27.310 --> 00:01:30.909 But you could be dead sure that Emma Kuhlman 00:01:30.909 --> 00:01:35.450 had it the next day after her sister Belle had 00:01:35.450 --> 00:01:40.290 it on Sunday for the big Sunday dinner. Well, 00:01:40.290 --> 00:01:45.530 sir, and it was a great day when Mama made iced 00:01:45.530 --> 00:01:51.150 tea. And I watched her show. I can see that Lipton 00:01:51.150 --> 00:01:55.790 box now. I know exactly what it looked like then. 00:01:55.890 --> 00:01:58.849 Exactly. I was thrilled when Papa brought it 00:01:58.849 --> 00:02:01.609 home from the grocery store and Mama got out 00:02:01.609 --> 00:02:07.290 the big earthen crock. And I watched her do it. 00:02:08.090 --> 00:02:12.169 Then she would take some out of the box and then 00:02:12.169 --> 00:02:18.669 she would pour hot water on it. I watched. Then 00:02:18.669 --> 00:02:26.150 she put the plate on top of the earthen crock. 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:33.379 Well, sir, one day Mama wasn't home, and I thought, 00:02:33.379 --> 00:02:35.139 this is the day when I'm going to get all the 00:02:35.139 --> 00:02:39.520 iced tea I want. Oh, I remember my excitement. 00:02:39.860 --> 00:02:43.780 I remember, and I thought, if a little was so 00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:47.659 good, think how much better a whole lot would 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:51.280 be. I can remember just as though it was its 00:02:51.280 --> 00:03:00.620 very hour. emptied it completely into the earthen 00:03:00.620 --> 00:03:04.759 crock. I boiled the water exactly the way Mama 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:12.259 did it. And then I poured it on the tea. I took 00:03:12.259 --> 00:03:18.879 the same plate and put it on top to cover it 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:26.379 up. Well, sir, I waited and I waited and... I 00:03:26.379 --> 00:03:31.680 waited, and after a while, I took the plate off. 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:37.360 But I declare it didn't look like it was supposed 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:42.939 to look. I did what Mama did. I took the strainer 00:03:42.939 --> 00:03:47.379 and poured it through the strainer into a pitcher. 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:54.699 It was still black. I kept adding water. I added 00:03:54.699 --> 00:04:01.319 water. I continued to add water until I had every 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:07.180 cooking utensil we had full of iced tea. I get 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:10.400 so much iced tea. I'll tell you if you won't 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:13.259 tell anybody else. Don't you dare tell anybody 00:04:13.259 --> 00:04:17.360 else. I remember taking those cooking utensils 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:21.949 over to Mrs. Sage Harna next door neighbor. I 00:04:21.949 --> 00:04:25.769 took a big pot of iced tea, this awful looking 00:04:25.769 --> 00:04:28.170 stuff. I had to get rid of it. I had to do something 00:04:28.170 --> 00:04:30.870 with it. Took it over to Mrs. Petring to this 00:04:30.870 --> 00:04:33.430 day, yet I don't know what they thought. And 00:04:33.430 --> 00:04:36.269 I said, oh, would you like some nice iced tea? 00:04:36.310 --> 00:04:40.269 Because I had to keep filling these cooking utensils. 00:04:40.290 --> 00:04:44.670 I didn't dare pour any of this iced tea out. 00:04:44.910 --> 00:04:48.110 And I had to have the utensils back to refill 00:04:48.110 --> 00:04:50.990 them again. It was the worst mess you ever saw 00:04:50.990 --> 00:04:54.250 in your whole life. I had given iced tea to everybody 00:04:54.250 --> 00:04:58.509 in the neighborhood and still something was wrong 00:04:58.509 --> 00:05:04.550 with it. It wasn't right. You want to know why? 00:05:06.589 --> 00:05:13.930 Because I had not read the directions. I was 00:05:13.930 --> 00:05:19.050 too little to read. I didn't know you had to 00:05:19.050 --> 00:05:24.709 follow directions. And because I had not read 00:05:24.709 --> 00:05:31.129 the directions, because I was too young to read, 00:05:31.209 --> 00:05:36.189 I had made a mess of something that could have 00:05:36.189 --> 00:05:43.529 been very wonderful had I read the directions. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:52.199 We need to stop and read the directions. Common 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:58.899 sense and the rule of the word should always 00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:04.579 be the guide of the spirit -filled life. Know 00:06:04.579 --> 00:06:11.980 that. I'm going to repeat it. Common sense and 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:19.329 the rule of the word. The Word of God should 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:22.970 always be the guide of the Spirit -filled life. 00:06:23.750 --> 00:06:28.389 And there are thousands of God's precious children 00:06:28.389 --> 00:06:31.529 sincere. Oh, don't you dare doubt their sincerity. 00:06:31.910 --> 00:06:36.230 Don't you dare. I would not for one minute doubt 00:06:36.230 --> 00:06:42.899 their absolute sincerity. But... They have not 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:49.019 stopped long enough to read the directions. They 00:06:49.019 --> 00:06:54.759 have not stopped long enough to study the rule 00:06:54.759 --> 00:07:01.480 of the word. And because they are not reading 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:04.500 the directions, and because they are not following 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:09.120 the rule of the word, they're bringing a reproach 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:12.439 on something that's very wonderful. That's very 00:07:12.439 --> 00:07:17.100 delectable. Something that is very precious. 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:25.019 Consider something. There are two things that 00:07:25.019 --> 00:07:29.920 we need to ask ourselves regarding this glorious 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:33.420 experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:07:33.740 --> 00:07:36.339 And remember something at the very outset. There 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:40.439 isn't a person living this very hour. who's more 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:44.420 sold on the person of the Holy Spirit. There 00:07:44.420 --> 00:07:47.759 is no one living this very hour who believes 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:52.680 more in that wonderful Pentecostal experience 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:59.560 of being filled with the Spirit. I believe in 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:03.540 that Upper Room experience. I believe in the 00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:06.759 baptism with the Holy Spirit with every atom 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:15.470 of my being. Know that. But I still contend that 00:08:15.470 --> 00:08:23.589 we need to follow the rule of the word. Two questions. 00:08:26.009 --> 00:08:33.669 Is this to the edification of the church? Is 00:08:33.669 --> 00:08:38.539 that which I am? doing with this wonderful experience? 00:08:40.899 --> 00:08:47.480 To the edification of the church. Am I using 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:53.159 this experience to the salvation of souls? Just 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:58.019 ask those two questions. One can always tell 00:08:58.019 --> 00:09:03.779 the genuine from the counterfeit. By this. That 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:09.000 which is of the spirit, will bear the stamp of 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:16.179 spirit -empowered soul winning. Sometimes I think 00:09:16.179 --> 00:09:19.320 that we're using this wonderful experience, this 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:24.100 precious experience, for everything else except 00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:29.200 soul winning. I'll be very frank with you. I 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:34.129 do not know whether it's out of habit. I do not 00:09:34.129 --> 00:09:37.309 know whether it's because of lack of teaching. 00:09:38.970 --> 00:09:40.769 But there's something I'm very frank to tell 00:09:40.769 --> 00:09:43.370 you that I've gotten to the place where I almost 00:09:43.370 --> 00:09:49.889 resent it. When I see two brethren shaking hands, 00:09:50.049 --> 00:09:52.330 and I'm talking about brethren in the spirit, 00:09:52.509 --> 00:09:56.850 shaking hands, and the first thing that one will 00:09:56.850 --> 00:10:05.309 say, well, God, have you spoken in tongues? A 00:10:05.309 --> 00:10:09.450 two women meeting. I'm talking about two women, 00:10:09.590 --> 00:10:15.090 God's precious children. I'm talking about men 00:10:15.090 --> 00:10:19.049 and women in the spirit. And they'll say, well, 00:10:19.250 --> 00:10:23.570 it's so nice to see you, God bless you. Have 00:10:23.570 --> 00:10:31.590 you spoken in tongues? It'll be a great... for 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:36.549 the Pentecostal movement. It'll be a great day 00:10:36.549 --> 00:10:41.129 for brethren in the Lord when we can shake hands 00:10:41.129 --> 00:10:48.870 and have as our first desire to know how many 00:10:48.870 --> 00:10:54.289 souls have you won to the Lord Jesus Christ this 00:10:54.289 --> 00:10:59.169 week. When you can shake the hand as a spirit 00:10:59.169 --> 00:11:03.649 -filled person, of another spirit -filled person, 00:11:03.809 --> 00:11:08.210 clasp that hand in holy Christian love and say, 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:12.710 God bless you, Frank. How many souls did you 00:11:12.710 --> 00:11:20.129 win to the Lord today? God bless you, Bill. Who 00:11:20.129 --> 00:11:22.190 did you bring the Lord Jesus Christ this week? 00:11:23.450 --> 00:11:26.769 Uh -huh. Do you know what I'm talking about? 00:11:28.149 --> 00:11:36.590 Sometimes... I think there are thousands of God's 00:11:36.590 --> 00:11:39.909 precious spirit -filled men and women who have 00:11:39.909 --> 00:11:46.490 never left the upper room. Never. You were still 00:11:46.490 --> 00:11:49.610 in the upper room. Do you want to know something? 00:11:49.750 --> 00:11:56.909 If the 120 had stayed in the upper room... Jerusalem 00:11:56.909 --> 00:11:59.629 never would have been shaken by the power of 00:11:59.629 --> 00:12:05.870 God if the 120 had stayed in the upper room. 00:12:07.830 --> 00:12:11.730 The 3 ,000 would never have been brought to the 00:12:11.730 --> 00:12:16.610 saving knowledge of Jesus Christ under the anointing 00:12:16.610 --> 00:12:20.750 of the Holy Spirit as he took the tongue of Peter 00:12:20.750 --> 00:12:25.659 and used it for his glory. Had they stayed in 00:12:25.659 --> 00:12:29.360 the upper room, 5 ,000 never would have been 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:36.379 added to the church in one day. Do you understand 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:40.460 what I'm talking about? I'm talking to somebody 00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:45.220 right now who has never gotten out of the upper 00:12:45.220 --> 00:12:50.360 room. You're still there. Oh, it's glorious. 00:12:52.769 --> 00:12:57.389 One of these days, Peter, one of these days, 00:12:57.470 --> 00:13:00.730 John, is going to describe to us in person exactly 00:13:00.730 --> 00:13:03.850 what happened in that upper room. It was wonderful. 00:13:04.789 --> 00:13:07.730 Me thinks they should like to have stayed there 00:13:07.730 --> 00:13:11.690 the rest of their lives. Like Reverend Mr. Shaw 00:13:11.690 --> 00:13:14.769 said, and he's very frank to say, the very first 00:13:14.769 --> 00:13:17.350 time he went down on the power of God, sat on 00:13:17.350 --> 00:13:19.889 his back on the platform of Carnegie Auditorium 00:13:19.889 --> 00:13:24.399 here in Pittsburgh. this precious Presbyterian 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:28.879 minister, so hungry for spiritual things, so 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:33.039 dry spiritually. He said, I was just going through 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:37.159 one of those dry runs in my ministry. The very 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:38.759 first time the power of God went through his 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:43.919 body and he fell prostrate on the floor, the 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:46.500 first time he had ever felt the power of the 00:13:46.500 --> 00:13:57.600 Holy Spirit, There forever. And me thinks that 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:00.720 those in the upper room would have liked to have 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:02.659 stayed there. But there was something they had 00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:06.940 to do. The upper room experience was for a purpose. 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:12.139 Not to continue in the spiritual picnic. Not 00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:16.200 to just continue in the upper room. But they 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:21.159 were filled, equipped with power for a purpose. 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:29.019 And you see the fulfillment of that purpose as 00:14:29.019 --> 00:14:33.620 they left the upper room, going out to witness 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:37.299 for the Lord Jesus Christ under the anointing 00:14:37.299 --> 00:14:41.639 and the power of the Holy Spirit. Sure. You know, 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:44.960 I was thinking the other morning, and it was 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:49.919 early in the morning, it was very early, of that 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:54.379 wonderful experience. that Peter, James, and 00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:59.759 John had on the Mount of Transfiguration. How 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:03.960 often I have more or less relived it with them. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:11.580 Oh, think of the thrill of suddenly beholding 00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:17.279 Jesus transfigured before their very eyes. Suddenly, 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:28.639 to be looking upon Moses. And Moses and Elijah 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:33.539 did not appear to them just in spirit. They recognized 00:15:33.539 --> 00:15:38.580 Moses. They recognized Elijah. They knew immediately 00:15:38.580 --> 00:15:45.179 upon whose body they were looking. They were 00:15:45.179 --> 00:15:50.120 there. Behold, there appeared unto them Moses 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:53.710 and Elijah. talking with him, that was Jesus. 00:15:54.509 --> 00:16:00.870 And in his excitement, this glorious ecstasy, 00:16:01.289 --> 00:16:05.190 Peter was just carried away. Oh, he said, let's 00:16:05.190 --> 00:16:07.149 stay here forever. How can we keep them here 00:16:07.149 --> 00:16:09.730 forever? This is so wonderful. Please, I don't 00:16:09.730 --> 00:16:13.970 want this to ever pass from me. And in his excitement, 00:16:13.990 --> 00:16:16.230 he said to Jesus, oh Lord, it's so good for us 00:16:16.230 --> 00:16:21.320 to be here. If thou wilt, let us here build three 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:25.320 tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses and 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:29.940 one for Elijah. And then if we build these three 00:16:29.940 --> 00:16:32.980 tabernacles, then we can have a Mount of Transfiguration 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:39.440 forever, you know. Oh, I can't. Peter was so 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:44.039 charmed. He was so delighted with this blessing. 00:16:44.909 --> 00:16:49.429 and the glory of what he was seeing. No wonder 00:16:49.429 --> 00:16:55.090 he never wanted it to leave. But I'll tell you 00:16:55.090 --> 00:16:59.029 something. Read a little further down in the 00:16:59.029 --> 00:17:04.490 same chapter, and you'll see Jesus leading the 00:17:04.490 --> 00:17:08.990 group of three disciples down the edge of the 00:17:08.990 --> 00:17:14.359 cliff. You'll see him... leading them down to 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:20.039 the multitudes of hungry, needy, sin -ridden 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:26.640 souls in the valley below. The very first one 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:32.940 they meet is the man with the epileptic son. 00:17:34.099 --> 00:17:40.690 Yeah? Mm -hmm. They're down there, beloved. They're 00:17:40.690 --> 00:17:45.190 down there in the valley, hungry for the word 00:17:45.190 --> 00:17:50.990 of everlasting life. Thank God for the Mount 00:17:50.990 --> 00:17:56.349 of Transfiguration. But Peter and James and John 00:17:56.349 --> 00:18:03.269 were not to stay there. They were to come down 00:18:03.269 --> 00:18:09.859 into the valley where they could help. Men and 00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:15.400 women. I thank my God for the upper room experience. 00:18:15.700 --> 00:18:19.359 I thank my God for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:23.880 Would it not for that, one would be sent forth 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:27.819 as a soldier without a sword, a lamp without 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:37.579 oil, a lamp without a flame. I thank my God. 00:18:37.589 --> 00:18:41.210 God for the power of the Holy Spirit, that glorious 00:18:41.210 --> 00:18:45.990 experience when one is equipped with power for 00:18:45.990 --> 00:18:51.950 service. But as surely as Peter, James, and John 00:18:51.950 --> 00:18:58.829 were not to stay on the Mount of Transfiguration, 00:18:58.990 --> 00:19:04.650 but were led down by the Savior into the valley 00:19:04.650 --> 00:19:10.470 below give to others the bread of everlasting 00:19:10.470 --> 00:19:17.470 life, so surely are you and I to come out of 00:19:17.470 --> 00:19:23.029 the upper room and give to others that which 00:19:23.029 --> 00:19:32.349 we have experienced. No. As long as you stay 00:19:32.349 --> 00:19:36.269 in the upper room, you're not giving forth the 00:19:36.269 --> 00:19:44.900 word. to somebody else. Today, my friend, remember 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:52.940 that upper room experience was to equip you for 00:19:52.940 --> 00:19:57.299 powerful service, and there is no greater service 00:19:57.299 --> 00:20:00.799 than leading men and women to the Lord Jesus 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:05.440 Christ. My brother, as I shake your hand, let 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:10.910 me ask you, How many souls have you won to the 00:20:10.910 --> 00:20:15.470 Lord since your upper room experience?