Today you and I are going to have another one
of those good heart -to -heart talks. Some of
that good, old -fashioned Missouri cornbread.
But instead of talking about cornbread, we're
going to talk a minute about iced tea. Now this
may seem strange to you, But I'm going to confess
something. When I was a kid, so far as I was
concerned, the most wonderful thing in the world
was iced tea. Oh, we didn't have Coca -Cola and
squirt and all the stuff that kids have today.
But iced tea. I remember the very first time.
that I ever had iced tea. Aunt Belle's house.
Oh, Aunt Belle was always up on everything. Anything
that was first in Kansas City, Aunt Belle always
had it in that little country town of Elma, Missouri.
Before we ever had iced tea in Joe Kuhlman's
house in Concordia, Aunt Belle had it in Elma.
But you could be dead sure that Emma Kuhlman
had it the next day after her sister Belle had
it on Sunday for the big Sunday dinner. Well,
sir, and it was a great day when Mama made iced
tea. And I watched her show. I can see that Lipton
box now. I know exactly what it looked like then.
Exactly. I was thrilled when Papa brought it
home from the grocery store and Mama got out
the big earthen crock. And I watched her do it.
Then she would take some out of the box and then
she would pour hot water on it. I watched. Then
she put the plate on top of the earthen crock.
Well, sir, one day Mama wasn't home, and I thought,
this is the day when I'm going to get all the
iced tea I want. Oh, I remember my excitement.
I remember, and I thought, if a little was so
good, think how much better a whole lot would
be. I can remember just as though it was its
very hour. emptied it completely into the earthen
crock. I boiled the water exactly the way Mama
did it. And then I poured it on the tea. I took
the same plate and put it on top to cover it
up. Well, sir, I waited and I waited and... I
waited, and after a while, I took the plate off.
But I declare it didn't look like it was supposed
to look. I did what Mama did. I took the strainer
and poured it through the strainer into a pitcher.
It was still black. I kept adding water. I added
water. I continued to add water until I had every
cooking utensil we had full of iced tea. I get
so much iced tea. I'll tell you if you won't
tell anybody else. Don't you dare tell anybody
else. I remember taking those cooking utensils
over to Mrs. Sage Harna next door neighbor. I
took a big pot of iced tea, this awful looking
stuff. I had to get rid of it. I had to do something
with it. Took it over to Mrs. Petring to this
day, yet I don't know what they thought. And
I said, oh, would you like some nice iced tea?
Because I had to keep filling these cooking utensils.
I didn't dare pour any of this iced tea out.
And I had to have the utensils back to refill
them again. It was the worst mess you ever saw
in your whole life. I had given iced tea to everybody
in the neighborhood and still something was wrong
with it. It wasn't right. You want to know why?
Because I had not read the directions. I was
too little to read. I didn't know you had to
follow directions. And because I had not read
the directions, because I was too young to read,
I had made a mess of something that could have
been very wonderful had I read the directions.
We need to stop and read the directions. Common
sense and the rule of the word should always
be the guide of the spirit -filled life. Know
that. I'm going to repeat it. Common sense and
the rule of the word. The Word of God should
always be the guide of the Spirit -filled life.
And there are thousands of God's precious children
sincere. Oh, don't you dare doubt their sincerity.
Don't you dare. I would not for one minute doubt
their absolute sincerity. But... They have not
stopped long enough to read the directions. They
have not stopped long enough to study the rule
of the word. And because they are not reading
the directions, and because they are not following
the rule of the word, they're bringing a reproach
on something that's very wonderful. That's very
delectable. Something that is very precious.
Consider something. There are two things that
we need to ask ourselves regarding this glorious
experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
And remember something at the very outset. There
isn't a person living this very hour. who's more
sold on the person of the Holy Spirit. There
is no one living this very hour who believes
more in that wonderful Pentecostal experience
of being filled with the Spirit. I believe in
that Upper Room experience. I believe in the
baptism with the Holy Spirit with every atom
of my being. Know that. But I still contend that
we need to follow the rule of the word. Two questions.
Is this to the edification of the church? Is
that which I am? doing with this wonderful experience?
To the edification of the church. Am I using
this experience to the salvation of souls? Just
ask those two questions. One can always tell
the genuine from the counterfeit. By this. That
which is of the spirit, will bear the stamp of
spirit -empowered soul winning. Sometimes I think
that we're using this wonderful experience, this
precious experience, for everything else except
soul winning. I'll be very frank with you. I
do not know whether it's out of habit. I do not
know whether it's because of lack of teaching.
But there's something I'm very frank to tell
you that I've gotten to the place where I almost
resent it. When I see two brethren shaking hands,
and I'm talking about brethren in the spirit,
shaking hands, and the first thing that one will
say, well, God, have you spoken in tongues? A
two women meeting. I'm talking about two women,
God's precious children. I'm talking about men
and women in the spirit. And they'll say, well,
it's so nice to see you, God bless you. Have
you spoken in tongues? It'll be a great... for
the Pentecostal movement. It'll be a great day
for brethren in the Lord when we can shake hands
and have as our first desire to know how many
souls have you won to the Lord Jesus Christ this
week. When you can shake the hand as a spirit
-filled person, of another spirit -filled person,
clasp that hand in holy Christian love and say,
God bless you, Frank. How many souls did you
win to the Lord today? God bless you, Bill. Who
did you bring the Lord Jesus Christ this week?
Uh -huh. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Sometimes... I think there are thousands of God's
precious spirit -filled men and women who have
never left the upper room. Never. You were still
in the upper room. Do you want to know something?
If the 120 had stayed in the upper room... Jerusalem
never would have been shaken by the power of
God if the 120 had stayed in the upper room.
The 3 ,000 would never have been brought to the
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ under the anointing
of the Holy Spirit as he took the tongue of Peter
and used it for his glory. Had they stayed in
the upper room, 5 ,000 never would have been
added to the church in one day. Do you understand
what I'm talking about? I'm talking to somebody
right now who has never gotten out of the upper
room. You're still there. Oh, it's glorious.
One of these days, Peter, one of these days,
John, is going to describe to us in person exactly
what happened in that upper room. It was wonderful.
Me thinks they should like to have stayed there
the rest of their lives. Like Reverend Mr. Shaw
said, and he's very frank to say, the very first
time he went down on the power of God, sat on
his back on the platform of Carnegie Auditorium
here in Pittsburgh. this precious Presbyterian
minister, so hungry for spiritual things, so
dry spiritually. He said, I was just going through
one of those dry runs in my ministry. The very
first time the power of God went through his
body and he fell prostrate on the floor, the
first time he had ever felt the power of the
Holy Spirit, There forever. And me thinks that
those in the upper room would have liked to have
stayed there. But there was something they had
to do. The upper room experience was for a purpose.
Not to continue in the spiritual picnic. Not
to just continue in the upper room. But they
were filled, equipped with power for a purpose.
And you see the fulfillment of that purpose as
they left the upper room, going out to witness
for the Lord Jesus Christ under the anointing
and the power of the Holy Spirit. Sure. You know,
I was thinking the other morning, and it was
early in the morning, it was very early, of that
wonderful experience. that Peter, James, and
John had on the Mount of Transfiguration. How
often I have more or less relived it with them.
Oh, think of the thrill of suddenly beholding
Jesus transfigured before their very eyes. Suddenly,
to be looking upon Moses. And Moses and Elijah
did not appear to them just in spirit. They recognized
Moses. They recognized Elijah. They knew immediately
upon whose body they were looking. They were
there. Behold, there appeared unto them Moses
and Elijah. talking with him, that was Jesus.
And in his excitement, this glorious ecstasy,
Peter was just carried away. Oh, he said, let's
stay here forever. How can we keep them here
forever? This is so wonderful. Please, I don't
want this to ever pass from me. And in his excitement,
he said to Jesus, oh Lord, it's so good for us
to be here. If thou wilt, let us here build three
tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses and
one for Elijah. And then if we build these three
tabernacles, then we can have a Mount of Transfiguration
forever, you know. Oh, I can't. Peter was so
charmed. He was so delighted with this blessing.
and the glory of what he was seeing. No wonder
he never wanted it to leave. But I'll tell you
something. Read a little further down in the
same chapter, and you'll see Jesus leading the
group of three disciples down the edge of the
cliff. You'll see him... leading them down to
the multitudes of hungry, needy, sin -ridden
souls in the valley below. The very first one
they meet is the man with the epileptic son.
Yeah? Mm -hmm. They're down there, beloved. They're
down there in the valley, hungry for the word
of everlasting life. Thank God for the Mount
of Transfiguration. But Peter and James and John
were not to stay there. They were to come down
into the valley where they could help. Men and
women. I thank my God for the upper room experience.
I thank my God for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Would it not for that, one would be sent forth
as a soldier without a sword, a lamp without
oil, a lamp without a flame. I thank my God.
God for the power of the Holy Spirit, that glorious
experience when one is equipped with power for
service. But as surely as Peter, James, and John
were not to stay on the Mount of Transfiguration,
but were led down by the Savior into the valley
below give to others the bread of everlasting
life, so surely are you and I to come out of
the upper room and give to others that which
we have experienced. No. As long as you stay
in the upper room, you're not giving forth the
word. to somebody else. Today, my friend, remember
that upper room experience was to equip you for
powerful service, and there is no greater service
than leading men and women to the Lord Jesus
Christ. My brother, as I shake your hand, let
me ask you, How many souls have you won to the
Lord since your upper room experience?