WEBVTT 00:00:00.970 --> 00:00:04.830 Howdy, hope you're doing good. This talk works 00:00:04.830 --> 00:00:08.689 with the prior talk on tongues from 1 Corinthians 00:00:08.689 --> 00:00:13.390 14. The title of this one is, Why Are You Following 00:00:13.390 --> 00:00:18.010 Jesus? And that's a little bit misleading. The 00:00:18.010 --> 00:00:21.750 title is a little misleading. It's really about 00:00:21.750 --> 00:00:24.969 tongues and the baptism of the Holy Spirit and 00:00:24.969 --> 00:00:30.000 some of the motivations behind that. That's going 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.060 to continue tomorrow in part two, so I hope you 00:00:36.060 --> 00:00:41.380 enjoy this. Also, we're still going to do the 00:00:41.380 --> 00:00:46.780 Stambaugh Auditorium bootleg, and it's just really 00:00:46.780 --> 00:00:50.659 rough sound. I'm working on it, and it's taking 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:55.659 a lot of time to get it. doable. So please keep 00:00:55.659 --> 00:00:59.399 me in prayer. And the David Verzelli, it turns 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:03.719 out it's going to be about 50 podcasts, all on 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:05.799 the Book of Daniel. We're going to do Book of 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:09.659 Daniel from beginning to end. And that one, I 00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:16.200 might even put one of those up to today. Okay, 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:19.620 there you go. Well, here's Catherine, and God 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:23.219 bless you. Have a great day. Given us something. 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:27.180 Do you know that the greatest miracles of God 00:01:27.180 --> 00:01:31.260 have not necessarily to do with the physical 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:37.980 life? That's right. I would not minimize the 00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:40.019 healing of the sick body for anything in the 00:01:40.019 --> 00:01:44.879 world. I too am just as thrilled as you are. 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:48.980 And we see the manifestation of God's power in 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:56.250 the healing of... these sick bodies. But such 00:01:56.250 --> 00:02:01.310 miracles as the healing of the deaf, such wonderful 00:02:01.310 --> 00:02:06.909 miracles as the healing of cancer and the healing 00:02:06.909 --> 00:02:11.310 of arthritis and other marvelous works, they're 00:02:11.310 --> 00:02:16.650 wonderful. They're thrilling. But they appeal 00:02:16.650 --> 00:02:21.699 to the natural man. arouse unusual attention 00:02:21.699 --> 00:02:28.900 because these are things that we can see. The 00:02:28.900 --> 00:02:34.280 natural man desires to hear, see, feel, and consequently 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:38.960 the spectacular has a wonderful fascination for 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:43.500 him. There's one reason why if you know anything 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:47.460 about this ministry at all and if you watch this 00:02:47.460 --> 00:02:51.189 ministry, We do everything in the world to keep 00:02:51.189 --> 00:02:58.050 away from the spectacular. Everything. To keep 00:02:58.050 --> 00:03:04.169 away from being spectacular. And you don't have 00:03:04.169 --> 00:03:09.389 to advertise the things of God, the things of 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:14.610 the Holy Spirit. But these wonderful miracles 00:03:14.610 --> 00:03:21.990 of physical life. as the healing of the blind 00:03:21.990 --> 00:03:26.789 and the loosening of limbs, the opening of ears, 00:03:27.069 --> 00:03:34.430 appeal to natural man and arouse unusual attention. 00:03:36.409 --> 00:03:43.270 They are spectacular in themselves. It excites 00:03:43.270 --> 00:03:48.139 a sense of wonder. It excites his sense of amazement 00:03:48.139 --> 00:03:51.639 and leads him to delight and rejoice in that 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:55.580 unusual manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Now, 00:03:55.620 --> 00:03:59.500 this condition is not only common today where 00:03:59.500 --> 00:04:03.099 the Lord is pouring out His Spirit in working 00:04:03.099 --> 00:04:06.699 miracles. But it was also true in the days of 00:04:06.699 --> 00:04:10.580 Jesus. And the same effect was produced then. 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:14.780 Because the people got their eyes upon the... 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:24.120 Things seem. You will remember the feeding of 00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:29.839 the 5 ,000 as given the word of God, sure as 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:33.699 from the very first lessons that we have in Sunday 00:04:33.699 --> 00:04:37.079 school. Ask any child who goes to Sunday school 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:40.139 about the feeding of the 5 ,000. It was wonderful. 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:45.699 The next day off, After the miracle in which 00:04:45.699 --> 00:04:49.819 he fed 5 ,000, the crowd continued to follow 00:04:49.819 --> 00:04:55.939 the Lord. Had one been standing on the side and 00:04:55.939 --> 00:04:59.180 had watched the crowd as they continued to follow 00:04:59.180 --> 00:05:05.759 Jesus the next day after he had fed them, one 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:10.319 would have said in one's heart, well, oh, they're 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.579 hungry for Jesus. They're hungry for the Spirit. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:20.339 Spiritual now. But were they? What was the motive? 00:05:21.660 --> 00:05:25.480 Every man, everyone has a motive for everything 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:28.660 that he does. There's a motive behind every action. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:34.600 You may not think so. In some of the things that 00:05:34.600 --> 00:05:38.240 you do, you may not acknowledge the fact that 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:40.720 you have a motive for having done those things. 00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:43.920 But we all have a motive for everything we do. 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:49.240 What was the motive in this crowd following Jesus 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:53.399 the second day after he had fed them? Was it 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.439 because of the intense hunger for God and the 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:59.819 seeking of life? Were they starving in their 00:05:59.819 --> 00:06:03.240 heart and longing for the bread of heaven? Not 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:13.810 at all. Jesus knows human nature. He knew human 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:16.810 nature then. He knew what was in their heart. 00:06:18.009 --> 00:06:23.430 He discerned their hearts. And knowing the human 00:06:23.430 --> 00:06:27.569 desire merely to want the things that would appeal 00:06:27.569 --> 00:06:31.810 to their physical being, we built them. And I 00:06:31.810 --> 00:06:35.069 give you the scripture. Jesus answered them and 00:06:35.069 --> 00:06:40.420 said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:46.319 me not because ye saw the miracles, but because 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:53.980 ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. You're 00:06:53.980 --> 00:06:57.040 following me for the loaves and the fishes. And 00:06:57.040 --> 00:06:59.240 there are folk who are still following Jesus 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:06.819 today for the loaves and the fishes. Hmm? What 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:15.279 do... I get out of this. Jesus said, labor not 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:21.879 for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:28.300 which endureth unto everlasting life. Let us 00:07:28.300 --> 00:07:31.360 not deceive ourselves. The fact that thousands 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:33.959 press their way to the scene of miracles is no 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:36.639 sign that they're hungry for God. Would the... 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:43.160 God they were. When the miracle fails to lead 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:46.300 one past the satisfaction of human hunger, physical 00:07:46.300 --> 00:07:48.579 relief, and does not bring them in touch with 00:07:48.579 --> 00:07:57.459 the bread of life, it has lost its purpose. Can 00:07:57.459 --> 00:08:02.740 you be just as thrilled with Jesus whether he 00:08:02.740 --> 00:08:07.350 heals you or not? Do you love him just this much? 00:08:08.990 --> 00:08:13.930 Whether your physical body is healed by divine 00:08:13.930 --> 00:08:20.589 power? You do not proposition Jesus by saying, 00:08:20.689 --> 00:08:25.990 if you will heal me, then I will follow you. 00:08:29.069 --> 00:08:34.919 No, ma 'am, it doesn't work like that. If you 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:38.879 can look up and say, Dear Jesus, whether you 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:46.299 heal me or not, I'll follow you. I'll love you 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:52.679 just as much with or without the healing. Why 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:56.659 are you following him? Let me ask you honestly. 00:08:56.779 --> 00:09:02.840 Let me just put it to you straight. Why are you 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:07.669 a Christian? Why have you chosen to follow Jesus? 00:09:10.230 --> 00:09:15.169 What is your motive in following the Lord Jesus 00:09:15.169 --> 00:09:22.490 Christ? Let's go a little further. Christ saw 00:09:22.490 --> 00:09:25.850 the frailty of the flesh and the tendency to 00:09:25.850 --> 00:09:29.899 rejoice in power. when it moved upon the natural 00:09:29.899 --> 00:09:33.360 and wrought signs and deliverances unusual and 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:37.980 marvelous. Therefore, he sought to lift their 00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:41.879 vision, to bring them into another realm where 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:45.759 they might witness and rejoice in miracles of 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:50.679 moral and spiritual value. That's why he speaks 00:09:50.679 --> 00:09:55.100 as he does in the 10th chapter of Luke. Read 00:09:55.100 --> 00:09:57.100 it. It's a familiar portion of the Word of God. 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:04.539 The 19th and the 20th verses. Behold, I give 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:08.539 unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions 00:10:08.539 --> 00:10:13.659 and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:20.840 shall by any means hurt you. Now just pause a 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:26.980 minute. that wonderful power that he gave unto 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:34.320 them. I give you power to tread on serpents and 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:39.220 scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:45.220 Now, of course, there have been those who have 00:10:45.220 --> 00:10:47.919 been completely fanatical when it has come to 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:53.120 this thing. You know, There's a difference between 00:10:53.120 --> 00:11:00.399 faith and presumption. And it's presumption to 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:05.279 go out and deliberately pick up a rattlesnake 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:10.620 and challenge God to keep that rattlesnake from 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:15.799 biting you. That's presumption. And yet there 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:18.399 have been those who have brought a reproach on 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:22.480 the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They'd been 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:27.759 fanatical. And it's folk like that who hurt the 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:34.179 gospel. And they literally picked up something 00:11:34.179 --> 00:11:38.639 harmful and then challenged God, presumed on 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:46.240 God's mercy, his power. They deserved to be bitten. 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:52.360 They were foolhardy. But I believe with every 00:11:52.360 --> 00:12:01.980 atom of my being that if I was in India and I 00:12:01.980 --> 00:12:07.519 had done everything in my own power for protection, 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:14.740 that God will keep me. How often I have thought 00:12:14.740 --> 00:12:20.179 at the close of a busy day, I wonder how near 00:12:20.179 --> 00:12:23.600 I came to danger. I wonder how near I came to 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:29.200 tragedy this day. And the angel of the Lord was 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:32.559 there to protect me, to keep me. Had you ever 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:35.940 thought of that? You and I will live and die 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:40.000 never knowing what great protection was given 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:43.820 us by the angel of the Lord. We didn't know it, 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:48.340 but God gave us that protection and he'll... 00:12:48.590 --> 00:12:51.409 Give us that protection when we're living in 00:12:51.409 --> 00:12:58.570 the center of His will. Now, go a little further. 00:12:59.629 --> 00:13:04.009 He said, I give you this wonderful power to tread 00:13:04.009 --> 00:13:07.590 on serpents and scorpions and over all the power 00:13:07.590 --> 00:13:12.549 of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means 00:13:12.549 --> 00:13:21.590 hurt you. Don't stop there. Keep on going. Notwithstanding, 00:13:21.710 --> 00:13:27.389 in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject 00:13:27.389 --> 00:13:32.990 unto you, but rather rejoice because your names 00:13:32.990 --> 00:13:42.230 are written in heaven. Oh, he said, sure. do 00:13:42.230 --> 00:13:45.870 have a reason for rejoicing in this great power 00:13:45.870 --> 00:13:49.730 that I've given unto you. It's divine power. 00:13:50.389 --> 00:13:57.110 It's divine protection. But don't become spiritually 00:13:57.110 --> 00:14:04.230 proud over the thing. Rejoice because your names 00:14:04.230 --> 00:14:09.549 are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Rejoice 00:14:09.549 --> 00:14:15.529 because you are an heir of God. Because you belong 00:14:15.529 --> 00:14:18.929 to him. Because you're children of the king. 00:14:19.870 --> 00:14:26.330 Because you're Christians. Human nature is strange, 00:14:26.570 --> 00:14:35.470 isn't it? I know. When it comes to the baptism 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:44.039 of the Holy Spirit, oh, I still say that we need 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:49.399 some good old -fashioned teaching when it comes 00:14:49.399 --> 00:14:54.360 to the things of the Holy Ghost. I believe in 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:56.240 the baptism of the Holy Spirit with all of my 00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:00.659 heart. You know that I do. I believe in that 00:15:00.659 --> 00:15:07.230 good old -fashioned Pentecostal experience. And 00:15:07.230 --> 00:15:09.710 I want the whole world to know that I'm just 00:15:09.710 --> 00:15:16.210 as Pentecostal as the Word of God. I'm not as 00:15:16.210 --> 00:15:20.289 Pentecostal as some fanatical Pentecostals are. 00:15:22.389 --> 00:15:27.509 I'm as Pentecostal as they were in the upper 00:15:27.509 --> 00:15:30.730 room. I'm as Pentecostal as they were in the 00:15:30.730 --> 00:15:40.240 early church. That's right. I believe in the 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:42.620 speaking in an unknown tongue. I have to because 00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:47.200 it's scripture. But you know, the amazing thing 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:55.039 is that for many, the thing about the baptism 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:59.659 of the Holy Spirit is the fact that they have 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:03.159 spoken in an unknown tongue and they rejoice 00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:10.539 over that more anything about this spiritual 00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:14.039 experience. They talk about it more than anything 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:19.720 else. They're constantly talking about the fact 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:22.559 that they have spoken in an unknown tongue. They 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:25.659 greet you with the question, have you spoken 00:16:25.659 --> 00:16:31.100 in an unknown tongue? Or perhaps the first reading 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:38.340 would be, I spoke in an unknown tongue. These 00:16:38.340 --> 00:16:46.000 are not the things to boast of. You see, again, 00:16:46.220 --> 00:16:54.120 this thing appeals to the natural, to man's senses. 00:16:55.720 --> 00:17:00.919 This appeals to his amazement and his wonderment. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:07.940 thing that we should rejoice about is the fact 00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:13.000 that the Holy Spirit has come into this tabernacle, 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:18.319 into this vessel of clay, this wonderful power 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:23.200 of the Trinity, and he has given us power for 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:27.160 service and that he makes Jesus more real to 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:36.990 us. And we should rejoice in the fact that the 00:17:36.990 --> 00:17:45.490 Holy Spirit magnifies Jesus and glorifies Jesus 00:17:45.490 --> 00:17:52.630 through these lives of ours. That's it. The fact 00:17:52.630 --> 00:17:55.230 that power was given to the Seventy to triumph 00:17:55.230 --> 00:17:59.289 over disease and over sickness was truly wonderful. 00:17:59.450 --> 00:18:04.660 It was divine. But to triumph over man's nature, 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:10.539 his sin, his moral condition, was more lasting. 00:18:12.740 --> 00:18:18.400 Even the sick, whom Christ healed, had to die 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:23.019 at last. We thrill over these miracles of healing, 00:18:23.160 --> 00:18:26.900 but sooner or later, each one of us is going 00:18:26.900 --> 00:18:29.579 to have to die. That's somebody who was so wonderfully 00:18:29.579 --> 00:18:32.960 healed of cancer, that was thrilling. But just 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:36.500 because they were healed of cancer doesn't mean 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:40.539 that they are now immune from all sickness and 00:18:40.539 --> 00:18:43.579 all disease. The day is going to have to come 00:18:43.579 --> 00:18:47.720 when they're going to die. They may not die that 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:53.019 thing from which they were healed, but we're 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:56.140 going to die. Even those who were healed during 00:18:56.140 --> 00:19:02.950 the ministry of Jesus had to die at last. a miracle 00:19:02.950 --> 00:19:07.529 upon the physical or natural plane is after all 00:19:07.529 --> 00:19:13.890 fleeting and vanishes but not so in the realm 00:19:13.890 --> 00:19:19.430 of the spirit the miracle wrought every time 00:19:19.430 --> 00:19:25.029 a soul is born again Or when God by His Spirit 00:19:25.029 --> 00:19:29.450 triumphs over the old creation and brings a trusting 00:19:29.450 --> 00:19:32.390 heart into a fuller realization of the divine 00:19:32.390 --> 00:19:39.710 life is lasting. It endures to the ages to come 00:19:39.710 --> 00:19:45.690 through all eternity. That's the reason I have 00:19:45.690 --> 00:19:49.230 said to you a... thousand times that the greatest 00:19:49.230 --> 00:19:52.769 miracle in the whole world is not the physical 00:19:52.769 --> 00:19:57.230 healing of the body, but the spiritual healing 00:19:57.230 --> 00:20:01.970 of the soul. To rejoice in the fact that God 00:20:01.970 --> 00:20:07.450 has touched my physical body and wrought a miracle 00:20:07.450 --> 00:20:12.250 is one thing, but to know that my name is written 00:20:12.250 --> 00:20:15.450 in the Lamb's Book of Life and that I was born 00:20:15.450 --> 00:20:24.309 of God is far greater. And it's just like that. 00:20:26.410 --> 00:20:32.690 Again we come back to that wonderful experience 00:20:32.690 --> 00:20:38.890 of having been filled with the Spirit. And I 00:20:38.890 --> 00:20:45.000 pray to God that each of you We'll have this 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.779 wonderful experience because it's a gift that 00:20:49.779 --> 00:20:53.400 God has given to his church. And if you've been 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:56.680 born again, if you are a member of his body, 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:00.299 whether you're Catholic or Protestant, this is 00:21:00.299 --> 00:21:06.460 a part of your inheritance. But the greatest 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:10.670 thing of this wonderful experience that we call 00:21:10.670 --> 00:21:13.549 the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or being filled 00:21:13.549 --> 00:21:18.730 with the Spirit, is not the fact that you spoke 00:21:18.730 --> 00:21:25.410 in an unknown tongue, but that in His tender 00:21:25.410 --> 00:21:31.849 mercy, as you did yield yourself unto Him. Think 00:21:31.849 --> 00:21:41.779 what this means. Think what it means. the holy 00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:48.420 spirit sealing that which you yielded unto him 00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:55.200 that he takes up his abode in the human body 00:21:55.200 --> 00:22:02.380 that he has come into this temple of clay and 00:22:02.380 --> 00:22:09.880 made it a holy thing a tabernacle through which 00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:19.140 he works and moves, using you as a vessel through 00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:29.119 which he magnifies and glorifies Jesus. And ye 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:33.700 shall receive power. After that, the Holy Ghost 00:22:33.700 --> 00:22:39.299 is come upon you. and ye shall be witnesses. 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:43.319 There is a responsibility with this glorious 00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:52.220 experience. It's much more, so much more than 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:57.420 speaking in an unknown tongue. And yet this is 00:22:57.420 --> 00:23:04.200 the thing that appeals to man's senses, his wonderment. 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:15.700 No, beloved. Rejoice not that the spirits are 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:22.140 subject unto you, but rather rejoice because 00:23:22.140 --> 00:23:31.740 your names are written in heaven. Father, I pray 00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:35.259 the Holy Spirit shall make the simple message 00:23:35.259 --> 00:23:39.920 real to hearts for Jesus' sake. Amen.