WEBVTT 00:00:04.169 --> 00:00:06.349 This evening we are continuing in this series 00:00:06.349 --> 00:00:11.589 of some things hard to understand. Peter said 00:00:11.589 --> 00:00:14.390 at the conclusion of his second epistle that 00:00:14.390 --> 00:00:17.370 Paul had written some things hard to understand. 00:00:18.109 --> 00:00:20.850 Now Peter himself was guilty of that, I think, 00:00:20.929 --> 00:00:22.989 because he wrote some things that are difficult 00:00:22.989 --> 00:00:26.429 for me to understand. And you have shared with 00:00:26.429 --> 00:00:28.589 me some of the verses in the New Testament that 00:00:28.589 --> 00:00:32.450 have been a difficulty for some of you to interpret 00:00:32.450 --> 00:00:36.130 and understand. As I examined those suggestions 00:00:36.130 --> 00:00:39.170 from you, it seems as though some of them fell 00:00:39.170 --> 00:00:42.810 into groupings. And tonight we're going to take 00:00:42.810 --> 00:00:47.609 a group of the verses that you have asked about. 00:00:48.090 --> 00:00:50.869 They are verses that deal with the matter of 00:00:50.869 --> 00:00:54.090 the charismatic movement. And the title of the 00:00:54.090 --> 00:00:56.649 message is Charismatics, the True and the False. 00:00:57.630 --> 00:01:01.530 I want to hasten to say before I begin that I 00:01:01.530 --> 00:01:05.170 have no desire to... with anyone on this subject, 00:01:05.290 --> 00:01:10.310 nor do I want to offend or to hurt anyone who 00:01:10.310 --> 00:01:14.829 may be of a different conviction about this than 00:01:14.829 --> 00:01:18.250 myself. But I do believe that it's important 00:01:18.250 --> 00:01:23.349 that we gain a biblical perspective on this phenomenon 00:01:23.349 --> 00:01:27.510 which is so prevalent in so very many churches. 00:01:28.230 --> 00:01:30.390 There are those who say, well, there's so much 00:01:30.390 --> 00:01:35.519 being done that it must be of God. Others say, 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:40.519 I think we're heading for a new Pentecost. Some 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:42.659 say, I don't think we should criticize what's 00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:45.540 going on because we may accidentally or unknowingly 00:01:45.540 --> 00:01:51.340 fight against what God is doing. It is true that 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:54.260 there are many things going on. There are many 00:01:54.260 --> 00:01:57.060 claims that are being made. There is a mushrooming 00:01:57.060 --> 00:02:00.500 involvement within the charismatic movement. 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:05.180 This is promoted to, I think, some degree. by 00:02:05.180 --> 00:02:07.640 the very many programs that are on television 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:13.620 that are of a charismatic nature. The leaders 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:16.979 of these programs are often very excited type 00:02:16.979 --> 00:02:21.080 personalities, dynamic people, and they are ones 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:25.780 who easily persuade and easily draw people after 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:29.039 them. I believe that the growth of the charismatic 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:33.069 movement is due in part to... The fact that there 00:02:33.069 --> 00:02:37.650 are many Christians who are defeated or immature, 00:02:37.810 --> 00:02:42.289 and because of this, they long to find victory. 00:02:43.729 --> 00:02:47.250 They long to find some answer for growth in their 00:02:47.250 --> 00:02:51.750 lives. They perhaps belong to churches which 00:02:51.750 --> 00:02:55.930 are cold in their love, deficient in their spiritual 00:02:55.930 --> 00:03:01.060 power, or dead in their orthodoxy. And as a result 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:03.460 of that, they long to find a fellowship of people 00:03:03.460 --> 00:03:06.900 where there is a genuine love and a hunger for 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:11.199 God, where there is a warm fellowship and a desire 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:14.400 for a meaningful relationship with the Lord. 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:20.319 I think, too, that our whole society is predisposing 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:24.039 people toward this kind of teaching because our 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:27.699 society is more and more, it seems, feelings 00:03:27.699 --> 00:03:34.560 -oriented. Truth and right are measured by what 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:37.919 feels good. This is the result of the philosophy 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:42.759 of existentialism, which has pervaded our culture. 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:47.060 It is vital for us who know and love the Lord 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:50.159 Jesus Christ and who believe the Word of God 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:54.419 to understand what the Bible says regarding this 00:03:54.419 --> 00:03:57.639 phenomenon called the charismatic movement. To 00:03:57.639 --> 00:03:59.960 be sure, in 30 minutes or so, we're not going 00:03:59.960 --> 00:04:02.419 to say everything that could be said regarding 00:04:02.419 --> 00:04:05.500 this movement and what the Bible has to say. 00:04:06.060 --> 00:04:09.439 My desire is to say enough at least that you'll 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:13.139 understand where we as a church are, and perhaps 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:15.759 it will prick your mind or stimulate you to do 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:19.639 your own studying regarding it. It is easy for 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:23.079 us to get lost in the fog of all that is being 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:27.430 claimed and said these days. Therefore, we need 00:04:27.430 --> 00:04:30.389 the light of God's Word to give us an infallible 00:04:30.389 --> 00:04:34.889 direction as to what is of God and what may not 00:04:34.889 --> 00:04:38.350 be of God. The first thing I'd like for us to 00:04:38.350 --> 00:04:41.290 do is to get an understanding, a biblical understanding 00:04:41.290 --> 00:04:44.550 of the term charismatic. What does that mean? 00:04:45.910 --> 00:04:48.949 The English word comes from actually two Greek 00:04:48.949 --> 00:04:54.000 words, charisma and charismata. Both of these 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.899 Greek words are rooted in another basic root 00:04:56.899 --> 00:05:02.639 word called charis or grace. The charisma or 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:07.160 charismata in the Greek refer to grace gifts, 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:12.860 that which is given by grace. Thus you can see 00:05:12.860 --> 00:05:16.360 where the name charismatic comes from. It is 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:20.480 referring to those gifts, spiritual gifts, given 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:24.420 by the grace of God. Now we see this term used 00:05:24.420 --> 00:05:27.120 a number of times in the New Testament. I would 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:30.560 ask you to turn first to Romans chapter 12 and 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:34.560 verse 6. You'll not see it in the English. You'll 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:37.379 have to take my word for it if you don't have 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:40.639 a Greek New Testament. That here is the word 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:50.459 charisma. Romans chapter 12 and verse 6. He says, 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:57.699 And since we have gifts, charisma, that differ 00:05:57.699 --> 00:06:01.959 according to the grace given to us, let us exercise 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:05.680 them accordingly. And so very clearly the subject 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:10.899 here is the spiritual gifts that God gives to 00:06:10.899 --> 00:06:14.620 us graciously. These are not gifts that we somehow 00:06:14.620 --> 00:06:19.329 work for or deserve. but they are special spirit 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:23.069 -given abilities, seven of them listed here in 00:06:23.069 --> 00:06:26.850 this context, which God gives to His people for 00:06:26.850 --> 00:06:30.329 exercise and ministry within the local church, 00:06:30.410 --> 00:06:34.750 the body of Christ. We see the term used again, 00:06:34.790 --> 00:06:37.370 in fact, several times in the book of 1 Corinthians. 00:06:38.550 --> 00:06:43.250 1 Corinthians 1, verse 7. The apostle says to 00:06:43.250 --> 00:06:49.709 these believers in Corinth, You are not lacking 00:06:49.709 --> 00:06:54.550 in any charisma, awaiting eagerly the revelation 00:06:54.550 --> 00:06:58.550 of our Lord Jesus Christ. So he tells them that 00:06:58.550 --> 00:07:00.290 they are not lacking in any of the spiritual 00:07:00.290 --> 00:07:03.389 gifts, and to be sure that was true. They were 00:07:03.389 --> 00:07:06.430 being exercised in the church to the point of 00:07:06.430 --> 00:07:11.269 even abuse. And then in chapter 12 of this same 00:07:11.269 --> 00:07:13.569 book, the word is used several times. I'm not 00:07:13.569 --> 00:07:15.589 going to take the time now to look at those. 00:07:16.189 --> 00:07:19.649 but the references are verses 4, 9, 28, and 31 00:07:19.649 --> 00:07:25.649 of chapter 12. In 1 Timothy 4 .14, 2 Timothy 00:07:25.649 --> 00:07:29.649 1 .6, again, the same Greek word is used from 00:07:29.649 --> 00:07:32.829 where we get the word charismatic. It is used 00:07:32.829 --> 00:07:36.329 a final time, I believe, in 1 Peter chapter 4, 00:07:36.389 --> 00:07:41.589 and I will ask you to turn there. 1 Peter chapter 00:07:41.589 --> 00:07:48.709 4 and verse 10. He says, as each one has received 00:07:48.709 --> 00:07:54.430 a special gift, a charisma, employ it in serving 00:07:54.430 --> 00:07:57.930 one another as good stewards of the manifold 00:07:57.930 --> 00:08:04.129 grace of God. It is clear from what is said in 00:08:04.129 --> 00:08:07.230 verse 10 that every person who is a believer 00:08:07.230 --> 00:08:14.529 in Jesus Christ has some of these gifts. There 00:08:14.529 --> 00:08:18.589 is absolutely no exception to that. He says, 00:08:18.790 --> 00:08:25.550 each one has received a special gift. Therefore, 00:08:25.709 --> 00:08:28.610 it is proper for us to say that all believers 00:08:28.610 --> 00:08:34.629 are charismatic. We're not charismatic in the 00:08:34.629 --> 00:08:37.049 narrow sense of the way that term is used today 00:08:37.049 --> 00:08:41.179 in some circles. But we are all charismatic because 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:44.000 all of us who are believers in Jesus Christ possess 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.320 charismata, spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit, 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:54.980 by grace, has invested in us. It is also important 00:08:54.980 --> 00:08:58.399 for us to note that nowhere are we told to seek 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:02.779 any of the gifts as individuals. Indeed, when 00:09:02.779 --> 00:09:05.679 they are spoken of, they are always spoken of. 00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:11.139 as having been given to us. Not something that 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:16.360 we get as believers after we're saved, but something 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:18.399 that has been given. For example, this verse 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:23.500 we're looking at. Each one has received. Not 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:26.500 each one should receive or should seek a special 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:29.940 gift, but it's something that has taken place 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:33.980 already in our past. And any time you find spiritual 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:36.970 gifts spoken of, They're always spoken of in 00:09:36.970 --> 00:09:39.350 that sense as something that we already possess, 00:09:39.470 --> 00:09:43.750 not something that we are to seek. Ah, yes, somebody 00:09:43.750 --> 00:09:48.429 says. But doesn't it say somewhere in the Bible 00:09:48.429 --> 00:09:55.610 that we are to seek the best gifts or the greater 00:09:55.610 --> 00:09:58.769 gifts, something like that? Well, let's turn 00:09:58.769 --> 00:10:07.230 to that passage, 1 Corinthians chapter 12. After 00:10:07.230 --> 00:10:10.990 talking about the gifts, and he's certainly not 00:10:10.990 --> 00:10:13.250 finished, but he's given an overview in chapter 00:10:13.250 --> 00:10:22.450 12. He says in verse 31, earnestly desire the 00:10:22.450 --> 00:10:27.370 greater gifts. In other words, the ones listed 00:10:27.370 --> 00:10:31.830 first in the list he has just given in the previous 00:10:31.830 --> 00:10:37.179 verses. Ones like prophecy. which he is going 00:10:37.179 --> 00:10:40.679 to talk about in chapter 14, prophecy which is 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:44.299 an equivalent to preaching the Word of God, expounding 00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:47.919 the Word of God. He says, earnestly desire the 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:50.379 greater gifts. So there aren't we told to earnestly 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:55.440 seek and to desire the greater gifts. Well, if 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.320 you look at the context here, the Apostle Paul 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:00.820 is not telling individuals as individuals to 00:11:00.820 --> 00:11:03.519 seek the greater gifts. but he is talking to 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:06.100 that church that already possesses all the gifts, 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:09.779 and he is saying to them as a church, rather 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:13.000 than emphasizing and seeking out the lesser of 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:16.100 the gifts, tongues in particular in their case, 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:19.779 he says, you as a church seek out and earnestly 00:11:19.779 --> 00:11:24.440 desire the greater of the gifts. He is saying 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:27.220 to them as a church, not as individual people 00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:29.940 within the church, that they are to emphasize. 00:11:45.230 --> 00:11:51.509 I would call your attention to a verse earlier 00:11:51.509 --> 00:11:55.210 in this same chapter, verse 11, where it says 00:11:55.210 --> 00:11:58.909 regarding the Holy Spirit that He distributes 00:11:58.909 --> 00:12:05.929 to each... believer individually just as he wills. 00:12:06.509 --> 00:12:09.850 In other words, it is not my prerogative as a 00:12:09.850 --> 00:12:13.789 Christian to say, I want this gift and that gift. 00:12:15.970 --> 00:12:19.710 The gifts that I possess are given to me sovereignly 00:12:19.710 --> 00:12:24.110 by the Holy Spirit. I am nowhere commanded to 00:12:24.110 --> 00:12:30.049 seek gifts of the Spirit. The Spirit of God gives 00:12:30.049 --> 00:12:32.629 me those gifts at the moment that I'm saved. 00:12:32.850 --> 00:12:37.490 He does it sovereignly by His choice. He knows 00:12:37.490 --> 00:12:42.149 my personality. He knows my background. He knows 00:12:42.149 --> 00:12:45.470 my natural talents. And He gives me spiritual 00:12:45.470 --> 00:12:48.769 gifts that mesh together and fit together with 00:12:48.769 --> 00:12:55.230 the kind of person that He has made me. And so 00:12:55.230 --> 00:12:57.350 don't be pressured into thinking that there are 00:12:57.350 --> 00:12:59.529 certain spiritual gifts that you should seek. 00:13:00.350 --> 00:13:03.370 Nowhere are we commanded to seek spiritual gifts. 00:13:03.830 --> 00:13:07.610 The Holy Spirit gives them sovereignly by His 00:13:07.610 --> 00:13:16.509 own choice. Now there may be an experience such 00:13:16.509 --> 00:13:20.460 as I've heard some describe. in which later on 00:13:20.460 --> 00:13:23.220 in their Christian life, they begin to develop 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:26.679 an ability, a spirit -given ability that they've 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:31.960 not seen before. That does not necessarily mean 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:34.759 that they have suddenly received a new gift. 00:13:35.860 --> 00:13:38.500 But what has happened is that suddenly that gift 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:41.879 that has been dormant in them since the time 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:46.299 of their new birth has suddenly now begun to 00:13:46.299 --> 00:13:50.649 be developed. and exercised in ministry, but 00:13:50.649 --> 00:13:56.490 its presence has been there all along. Now there 00:13:56.490 --> 00:13:58.789 are some statements that are frequently heard 00:13:58.789 --> 00:14:03.230 from certain charismatic leaders, and I think 00:14:03.230 --> 00:14:07.509 that we must be fair to say that it is difficult 00:14:07.509 --> 00:14:12.409 to generalize regarding what the charismatics 00:14:12.409 --> 00:14:16.940 teach because there are a variety of teachings 00:14:16.940 --> 00:14:22.759 under that large umbrella. Some of them would 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:26.419 be closer to what we believe than others of them. 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:33.460 But I'm going to select four commonly heard teachings 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:37.460 among the charismatics, and I'd like for us to 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:41.220 examine these in the light of the Word of God 00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:45.990 to find out if they are true or false. Now, it 00:14:45.990 --> 00:14:48.149 really makes no difference what I may think about 00:14:48.149 --> 00:14:52.110 them or what I have experienced. I must look 00:14:52.110 --> 00:14:56.230 at what is claimed or what is taught through 00:14:56.230 --> 00:15:02.190 the lens of God's infallible Word. I must trust 00:15:02.190 --> 00:15:05.210 Him to give me the right perspective and focus 00:15:05.210 --> 00:15:08.350 upon this teaching so that I can see it clearly. 00:15:10.990 --> 00:15:15.169 One teaching is this. that there is a baptism 00:15:15.169 --> 00:15:22.210 in or of the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation. 00:15:23.250 --> 00:15:28.169 And we are told that we should seek that baptism 00:15:28.169 --> 00:15:32.450 in the Holy Spirit. One of those who teaches 00:15:32.450 --> 00:15:36.289 this is a television evangelist by the name of 00:15:36.289 --> 00:15:40.129 Jimmy Swaggart. I have here an article which 00:15:40.129 --> 00:15:46.809 is in some... spots an amazing article. And Mr. 00:15:48.330 --> 00:15:52.110 Swaggart says this, for example. It's titled, 00:15:52.190 --> 00:15:56.190 The Baptism in the Holy Ghost. There is controversy 00:15:56.190 --> 00:15:59.690 today as to whether one receives the Holy Spirit 00:15:59.690 --> 00:16:02.809 at the moment of conversion. Actually, the only 00:16:02.809 --> 00:16:05.850 proper answer to this question is yes and no. 00:16:08.490 --> 00:16:11.090 The activities of the Holy Spirit are many. He 00:16:11.090 --> 00:16:13.070 is a comforter, He is a leader, He is a teacher, 00:16:13.129 --> 00:16:14.889 He is a communicator, He is a guide, He is director 00:16:14.889 --> 00:16:19.230 of all God's activities on earth today. So, when 00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:21.330 the sinner comes to the moment of salvation, 00:16:21.570 --> 00:16:26.549 certainly he has received the Holy Spirit within 00:16:26.549 --> 00:16:30.490 the context of having been influenced by Him. 00:16:32.190 --> 00:16:34.850 So, in that sense, he's received the Holy Spirit, 00:16:34.929 --> 00:16:37.529 says Mr. Swigert. He's been influenced by the 00:16:37.529 --> 00:16:40.950 Holy Spirit. However, to assume that contact 00:16:40.950 --> 00:16:45.049 with the Holy Spirit is the same as immersion 00:16:45.049 --> 00:16:50.110 in or partaking of can lead to erroneous doctrine. 00:16:51.330 --> 00:16:53.750 This can handicap a Christian in his efforts 00:16:53.750 --> 00:16:56.070 to walk fully in harmony with the wishes of God. 00:16:56.669 --> 00:16:59.389 Unfortunately, not every believer has the baptism 00:16:59.389 --> 00:17:02.409 in the Holy Spirit, even though every believer 00:17:02.409 --> 00:17:07.599 can have it if he desires it. Salvation and the 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:11.660 baptism in the Holy Spirit are two separate and 00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:15.180 distinct experiences. In the article, he goes 00:17:15.180 --> 00:17:18.279 on to argue from his perspective as to why there 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:24.339 is a subsequent experience after salvation called 00:17:24.339 --> 00:17:28.519 the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and that we are 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:31.420 to seek that. Now, the interesting thing about 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:33.500 this whole matter of the baptism in the Holy 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:37.000 Spirit is this. that never once do you find a 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.980 single word of command in the New Testament to 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:45.119 seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Not once. 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:51.779 When there is a word regarding it, it is a word 00:17:51.779 --> 00:17:55.240 of instruction to the disciples to wait for it 00:17:55.240 --> 00:18:01.119 in Jerusalem until it came. Now we find this 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:03.420 in Acts chapter 1. I'd like you to turn there 00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:19.710 and look with me. Acts chapter 1. We have here 00:18:19.710 --> 00:18:22.710 the record of the Lord Jesus' last comments to 00:18:22.710 --> 00:18:25.289 the disciples before he ascended back to heaven. 00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:30.849 In verse 4, And gathering them together, he commanded 00:18:30.849 --> 00:18:35.710 them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for 00:18:35.710 --> 00:18:39.170 what the Father had promised, which he said, 00:18:39.230 --> 00:18:43.279 You heard from me. For John baptized with water, 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:46.240 but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:50.960 not many days from now. And so there we do have 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:54.240 a command relating to the baptism of the Spirit, 00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:57.200 and it was that they were to wait in Jerusalem 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:01.900 until they would experience it. And of course, 00:19:01.900 --> 00:19:04.839 that is exactly what they did. They waited those 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:07.240 ten days from His ascension until the day of 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:12.359 Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit came. The Holy 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:15.819 Spirit came on the day of Pentecost to begin 00:19:15.819 --> 00:19:20.660 His New Testament ministry and to indwell believers 00:19:20.660 --> 00:19:27.819 and to baptize believers spiritually. You see, 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:31.640 the baptism of the Holy Spirit in a biblical 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:35.980 context is the work of the Holy Spirit placing 00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:40.160 us into the body of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:44.480 12. And I'd like you to turn over there and look 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:46.619 at that a moment. Keep your finger here and ask 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:49.460 because we're coming back. But 1 Corinthians 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:54.160 12, 13 is such a key passage relating to this. 00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:58.839 The Apostle Paul could well have said to us here, 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:01.960 you must seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 00:20:02.019 --> 00:20:04.240 After all, he's talking about spiritual gifts. 00:20:04.380 --> 00:20:06.339 He's talking about the work of the Holy Spirit. 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:08.779 Certainly if we were to seek it, he would have 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:10.839 said something at this point, but he says nothing 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:14.559 regarding our seeking it. He says rather in verse 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:19.599 13, 1 Corinthians 12, For by one Spirit we were 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:27.039 all baptized into one body. That, my friend, 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:30.220 is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is the 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:33.119 Holy Spirit baptizing us, immersing us, placing 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:38.599 us into the body. The church, universal, uniting 00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:42.079 us to Jesus Christ, identifying us with Him. 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:45.700 And notice it says, we were. That is the aorist 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:47.640 tense in the Greek. It's hard to relate that 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:49.960 to English, but what it means is it happened 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:54.099 once and for all, never to be repeated. And it 00:20:54.099 --> 00:20:57.599 says we were all baptized. Not some, not those 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:00.000 who sought it, not a few who were spiritual, 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:03.819 but we were all baptized by the Holy Spirit. 00:21:04.250 --> 00:21:12.410 He says, since Pentecost, this baptism of the 00:21:12.410 --> 00:21:14.930 Holy Spirit has been spoken of as an accomplished 00:21:14.930 --> 00:21:19.569 fact. Not something that we're to wait for, not 00:21:19.569 --> 00:21:22.250 something we're to plead for, but something that 00:21:22.250 --> 00:21:25.829 happened to us. Well, you say, I wasn't there 00:21:25.829 --> 00:21:29.289 at Pentecost. No, we weren't literally there, 00:21:29.450 --> 00:21:35.049 but spiritually we were there. The moment that 00:21:35.049 --> 00:21:38.789 you and I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, at 00:21:38.789 --> 00:21:43.630 that instant, we are placed into the body of 00:21:43.630 --> 00:21:46.569 Jesus Christ. It is not something that we experience. 00:21:46.630 --> 00:21:49.789 We don't feel it happening to us. We may even 00:21:49.789 --> 00:21:52.990 be ignorant of it. But it nonetheless happens 00:21:52.990 --> 00:21:55.829 at that very moment that we are saved. We are 00:21:55.829 --> 00:21:58.230 at that moment united with what the Holy Spirit 00:21:58.230 --> 00:22:01.890 began, gave birth to on the day of Pentecost. 00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:06.619 It is a work of the Holy Spirit which is simultaneous 00:22:06.619 --> 00:22:12.240 with saving faith in Jesus Christ. It gives us 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:15.700 a new association. And so this teaching that 00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:18.140 there is a baptism of the Holy Spirit, that we 00:22:18.140 --> 00:22:23.140 are to seek subsequent to salvation, is a false 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:27.220 teaching in the light of the Word of God. A second 00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:30.240 teaching that is heard is that the sign of the 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:34.029 baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. 00:22:34.950 --> 00:22:39.009 All should, therefore, seek to speak in tongues. 00:22:39.950 --> 00:22:44.210 And again, Mr. Swaggart emphasizes this in this 00:22:44.210 --> 00:23:04.049 article. He says, received the Holy Ghost. It 00:23:04.049 --> 00:23:06.869 is certainly not the only evidence, but we believe 00:23:06.869 --> 00:23:09.049 it is the initial evidence. In other words, unless 00:23:09.049 --> 00:23:12.250 you've had that experience, he says, you have 00:23:12.250 --> 00:23:15.529 not been baptized in the Holy Ghost. We believe 00:23:15.529 --> 00:23:18.410 and teach that any preacher, teacher, or church 00:23:18.410 --> 00:23:21.069 which does not acknowledge and proclaim the mighty 00:23:21.069 --> 00:23:24.289 baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of 00:23:24.289 --> 00:23:27.630 speaking in other tongues is remiss in their 00:23:27.630 --> 00:23:30.609 teaching. and will spiritually weaken those who 00:23:30.609 --> 00:23:34.130 depend on them for guidance. Sending a Christian 00:23:34.130 --> 00:23:39.269 into the world without the Holy Spirit is tantamount 00:23:39.269 --> 00:23:41.990 to sending a soldier into battle without a weapon. 00:23:42.869 --> 00:23:46.309 And so he is clearly saying in this article that 00:23:46.309 --> 00:23:48.849 we do not have the Holy Spirit, we do not possess 00:23:48.849 --> 00:23:51.990 the Holy Spirit, until we come to that subsequent 00:23:51.990 --> 00:23:55.730 work that he calls the baptism. And when we get 00:23:55.730 --> 00:24:03.240 that baptism, we will. Now, the supposed basis 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:05.440 for this teaching, again, is in the book of Acts. 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:07.180 And you will remember that several weeks ago, 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:11.339 I said that we must be careful of basing a doctrine 00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:14.740 solely upon what the book of Acts teaches. The 00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:17.839 book of Acts is a transitional book. It is a 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:20.599 book that spans the gap between the old and the 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:25.839 new, between Israel as a nation and the church 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:29.970 as God's new people. in this age because of it 00:24:29.970 --> 00:24:33.869 is a transitional book before we base a doctrine 00:24:33.869 --> 00:24:36.470 on a verse from the book of acts we must be sure 00:24:36.470 --> 00:24:38.690 that it's consistent with the rest of what the 00:24:38.690 --> 00:24:41.769 new testament teaches for the new testament is 00:24:41.769 --> 00:24:47.109 a progressive revelation well here in acts chapter 00:24:47.109 --> 00:24:49.309 2 it says when the day of pentecost had come 00:24:49.309 --> 00:24:52.329 they were all together in one place and suddenly 00:24:52.329 --> 00:24:55.359 there came from heaven a noise like a violent 00:24:55.359 --> 00:24:58.279 rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where 00:24:58.279 --> 00:25:01.119 they were sitting. There appeared to them tongues 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:04.839 as of fire, distributing themselves, and they 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:08.099 rested on each one of them. And they were all 00:25:08.099 --> 00:25:10.380 filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:13.039 with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:17.140 utterance. Now we really should note that it's 00:25:17.140 --> 00:25:19.380 at least interesting that the term baptism in 00:25:19.380 --> 00:25:22.059 the Holy Spirit has not been used in Acts chapter 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:26.799 2. The word is filling here. But we must quick 00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:29.799 also point out that this is the fulfillment of 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:32.920 the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus had 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:36.740 prophesied. On this occasion, there was some 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:41.359 phenomena that took place. There was the sound 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:45.019 of this mighty rushing wind, the tornadic type 00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:48.940 sound. There was the appearance of tongues of 00:25:48.940 --> 00:25:51.779 fire that was above the heads of each of the 00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:54.519 disciples. And they were given then the ability 00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:58.200 to speak in what are called glossolalia, these 00:25:58.200 --> 00:26:01.279 other tongues. Now, what are these? Well, the 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:03.819 context here, and I pointed this out just recently, 00:26:03.900 --> 00:26:05.259 so I'm not going to take time to look at the 00:26:05.259 --> 00:26:08.000 verses in detail, but the context here clearly 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:10.720 says that these were foreign languages which 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:13.279 they had not learned. They were not speaking 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:15.619 in some kind of an angelic or heavenly language 00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:19.480 here, but they were speaking in dialects. which 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:21.960 were understood by the people gathered there 00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:24.180 in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost from 00:26:24.180 --> 00:26:26.799 all over the world. They marveled that they heard 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:28.859 these disciples speaking in their languages. 00:26:29.099 --> 00:26:31.579 The disciples had never studied those languages. 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:34.920 They were common and ordinary, and we could say 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:37.799 in the right sense, even ignorant, unlearned 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:40.480 men. And yet they were speaking in these many 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:44.000 multiplied languages, a miracle produced by the 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:48.829 Holy Spirit, a miracle of known languages. And 00:26:48.829 --> 00:26:51.230 so we are told, now that's what happened on Pentecost 00:26:51.230 --> 00:26:54.990 and what we need today is a new Pentecost. What 00:26:54.990 --> 00:26:57.930 we need today is a new Pentecost to take place. 00:26:59.230 --> 00:27:02.529 May I say to you that we can no more repeat Pentecost 00:27:02.529 --> 00:27:07.029 than we can repeat the cross of Calvary. The 00:27:07.029 --> 00:27:10.690 work of Pentecost is as much a once for all work 00:27:10.690 --> 00:27:14.289 of God as the work of Jesus Christ on the cross 00:27:14.289 --> 00:27:20.329 and at the empty tomb. What happened on that 00:27:20.329 --> 00:27:26.349 day was a very special thing. And there were 00:27:26.349 --> 00:27:30.849 parts of this that were repeated again. Now remember 00:27:30.849 --> 00:27:33.450 that it's totally Jews at this point who are 00:27:33.450 --> 00:27:37.509 believing in Christ as a result of the preaching 00:27:37.509 --> 00:27:41.089 of these apostles in tongues. It is a totally 00:27:41.089 --> 00:27:45.549 Jewish church at this point. But God's purpose 00:27:45.549 --> 00:27:48.400 was for it to broaden out to the Gentiles. And 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:50.400 that begins to happen as we move over in Acts 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:54.359 to chapter 8. It first goes to those who were 00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:57.099 half -breeds, half -Jew, half -Gentile, the Samaritans. 00:27:58.380 --> 00:28:00.559 Now the gospel went to them. Many of them were 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:05.500 believing, being saved. And it says in verse 00:28:05.500 --> 00:28:08.880 14 of Acts 8, Now when the apostles in Jerusalem 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:12.420 heard, that Samaria had received the word of 00:28:12.420 --> 00:28:14.759 God, they sent Peter and John who came down and 00:28:14.759 --> 00:28:17.480 prayed for them that they might receive the Holy 00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:20.420 Spirit. You say, well, they believed and yet 00:28:20.420 --> 00:28:22.599 they had not received the Holy Spirit yet. That 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:26.019 is true. That is true in this particular case. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:29.359 Now, why was it that God did not give them the 00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:32.660 Holy Spirit the moment that they believed? Why 00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:35.599 were these apostles from Jerusalem necessary? 00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:39.339 having to be present for them to receive the 00:28:39.339 --> 00:28:42.720 Holy Spirit. You see, it was absolutely vital 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:47.000 to provide for the unity of that infant church, 00:28:47.240 --> 00:28:50.079 else there likely would have been a Jewish church 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:53.539 and a Samaritan church. But God wanted to emphasize 00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:55.700 to these Samaritans that what they had received 00:28:55.700 --> 00:28:59.619 was actually from the Jews. As Jesus told that 00:28:59.619 --> 00:29:01.900 woman of Samaria in John chapter 4, salvation 00:29:01.900 --> 00:29:05.990 is of the Jews. And so it was essential that 00:29:05.990 --> 00:29:08.750 someone from Jerusalem come down and that those 00:29:08.750 --> 00:29:11.250 Samaritans understand that what they were going 00:29:11.250 --> 00:29:14.089 to experience was actually the same thing that 00:29:14.089 --> 00:29:16.509 had happened in Jerusalem. And it was important 00:29:16.509 --> 00:29:19.750 for the Jews in Jerusalem to know that too. And 00:29:19.750 --> 00:29:22.849 so what happened? Well, it says he had not yet 00:29:22.849 --> 00:29:24.630 fallen upon any of them. They had simply been 00:29:24.630 --> 00:29:27.049 baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. But it 00:29:27.049 --> 00:29:29.049 says then they began laying their hands on them 00:29:29.049 --> 00:29:31.579 and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. Notice 00:29:31.579 --> 00:29:33.500 it does not say that there were any tongues involved 00:29:33.500 --> 00:29:38.039 in this. To say that there were tongues here 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:40.039 is to argue from silence, and that's a weak thing 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:44.819 to do forever. We should never argue from silence. 00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:48.359 It simply says that they did receive the Holy 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:50.839 Spirit at this point, but it says nothing about 00:29:50.839 --> 00:29:54.279 the supernatural phenomena that took place at 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:57.519 Pentecost. Now turn over to chapter 10. And here 00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:01.149 we see the first full -blooded Gentile. being 00:30:01.149 --> 00:30:04.569 saved and brought into the body of Christ. His 00:30:04.569 --> 00:30:09.109 name was Cornelius. In chapter 10, verse 44, 00:30:09.509 --> 00:30:13.029 Peter has preached to this man, and by the way, 00:30:13.029 --> 00:30:14.769 he is acquainted with the Jews' religion. He's 00:30:14.769 --> 00:30:18.849 a God -fearing Gentile, but he's not saved. He's 00:30:18.849 --> 00:30:21.609 a full -blooded Gentile. So Peter comes in to 00:30:21.609 --> 00:30:24.289 preach the gospel to him. He does it. And right 00:30:24.289 --> 00:30:26.130 in the middle of his sermon, imagine this, he 00:30:26.130 --> 00:30:28.970 didn't even get to the invitation. An amazing 00:30:28.970 --> 00:30:31.920 thing happened. While he was still speaking these 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:35.420 words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who 00:30:35.420 --> 00:30:37.200 were listening to the message. What was happening? 00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:39.640 As Peter was preaching, they were responding 00:30:39.640 --> 00:30:43.500 in faith. They didn't need just as I am with 00:30:43.500 --> 00:30:46.059 four verses at the end of a sermon. They were 00:30:46.059 --> 00:30:48.579 responding immediately as he was preaching the 00:30:48.579 --> 00:30:51.460 gospel to them. And as they responded in faith, 00:30:51.539 --> 00:30:55.619 immediately they were saved and the Holy Spirit 00:30:55.619 --> 00:30:58.640 fell upon them. Notice there is not subsequence 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:01.970 here. There is not a second work. But immediately 00:31:01.970 --> 00:31:05.829 the Holy Spirit came upon them. And it says all 00:31:05.829 --> 00:31:08.029 the circumcised believers, that is the Jews who 00:31:08.029 --> 00:31:10.250 had come with Peter, were amazed because the 00:31:10.250 --> 00:31:12.190 gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon 00:31:12.190 --> 00:31:15.769 the Gentiles also. They were hearing them speaking 00:31:15.769 --> 00:31:19.150 with tongues and exalting God. And so on this 00:31:19.150 --> 00:31:21.609 occasion there was that phenomenon of tongues. 00:31:22.569 --> 00:31:25.859 Now why did God cause it to happen here? Well, 00:31:25.880 --> 00:31:28.140 I think the answer is clear, that he wanted again 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:33.000 the Jews in Jerusalem who hated Gentiles to understand 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:35.380 that what was happening among the Gentiles was 00:31:35.380 --> 00:31:38.920 fully 100 % of God, that they were just as much 00:31:38.920 --> 00:31:41.279 a part of the church, that they belonged to Jesus 00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:43.660 Christ as much as the Jews, and that without 00:31:43.660 --> 00:31:48.180 becoming Jews first, but being circumcised. And 00:31:48.180 --> 00:31:50.460 so he demonstrated this by giving them the Holy 00:31:50.460 --> 00:31:54.059 Spirit and the speaking in tongues. Not the fire, 00:31:54.220 --> 00:31:56.880 not the sound of the wind, but that evidence 00:31:56.880 --> 00:32:01.079 of the speaking in other tongues. Now, there's 00:32:01.079 --> 00:32:02.799 only one other time in the book of Acts when 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:05.579 tongues are mentioned. In all the people who 00:32:05.579 --> 00:32:08.359 are saved in Paul's missionary journeys, only 00:32:08.359 --> 00:32:11.859 one time do we find tongues ever mentioned. And 00:32:11.859 --> 00:32:14.779 again, it has a Jewish connection. Chapter 19 00:32:14.779 --> 00:32:21.930 of Acts. I'm hurrying, folks. Believe me. Verse 00:32:21.930 --> 00:32:24.390 1, And it came about that while Apollos was at 00:32:24.390 --> 00:32:27.089 Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper 00:32:27.089 --> 00:32:29.549 country, came to Ephesus and found some disciples. 00:32:30.670 --> 00:32:33.849 It does not say believers. It does not say Christians, 00:32:34.009 --> 00:32:36.569 but they were disciples. And we'll find out in 00:32:36.569 --> 00:32:39.289 a moment whose disciples. He said to them, Did 00:32:39.289 --> 00:32:41.930 you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? 00:32:43.529 --> 00:32:47.829 Now why did he ask them that question? Because 00:32:47.829 --> 00:32:49.930 he knew that when a person believed, they should 00:32:49.930 --> 00:32:55.470 receive the Holy Spirit at that moment. Not something 00:32:55.470 --> 00:32:59.930 they wait for, seek, pray for. He says, when 00:32:59.930 --> 00:33:02.009 you believed, did you receive the Holy Spirit? 00:33:02.150 --> 00:33:04.750 And they said, no, we've not even heard whether 00:33:04.750 --> 00:33:09.710 there is a Holy Spirit. And he said to them, 00:33:09.710 --> 00:33:12.970 into what then were you baptized? And here they 00:33:12.970 --> 00:33:16.440 tell who their leader was. They said, into John's 00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:20.140 baptism. So who were these Jews? They were men 00:33:20.140 --> 00:33:23.480 who had heard about John's proclamation, John 00:33:23.480 --> 00:33:26.460 the Baptist's proclamation about the coming Messiah, 00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:29.019 but they had not to this point ever heard about 00:33:29.019 --> 00:33:33.940 Jesus Christ. Their hearts were prepared. They 00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:36.119 had heard about the baptism unto repentance, 00:33:36.380 --> 00:33:40.160 which John taught, but they had never been saved. 00:33:40.299 --> 00:33:44.240 These were not saved men at all. wonderfully 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:46.380 prepared, but they had never heard the gospel 00:33:46.380 --> 00:33:52.019 yet. And so Paul said to them, John's baptized 00:33:52.019 --> 00:33:57.900 with the baptism of repentance, telling the people 00:33:57.900 --> 00:34:01.000 to believe in him who was coming after him, and 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:04.279 that is Jesus. Now Luke undoubtedly condenses 00:34:04.279 --> 00:34:07.359 what Paul said. So he began to tell them about 00:34:07.359 --> 00:34:10.420 Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:13.260 in the name of the Lord Jesus. Water baptism. 00:34:13.380 --> 00:34:15.139 Why were they water baptized? Because they had 00:34:15.139 --> 00:34:17.659 believed in him. And it says, when Paul had laid 00:34:17.659 --> 00:34:20.500 his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on 00:34:20.500 --> 00:34:23.219 them and they began speaking with tongues and 00:34:23.219 --> 00:34:26.940 prophesying. So Paul prayed for them. He laid 00:34:26.940 --> 00:34:29.139 hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 00:34:29.239 --> 00:34:33.159 Now why? The answer is that here were Jews who 00:34:33.159 --> 00:34:36.380 once again needed to understand that what was 00:34:36.380 --> 00:34:38.739 taking place to them was related right back to 00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:43.710 Jerusalem to the day of Pentecost. They were 00:34:43.710 --> 00:34:47.530 not to start a new movement that was called the 00:34:47.530 --> 00:34:49.710 disciples of John the Baptist who loved Jesus. 00:34:51.449 --> 00:34:54.329 They were to lay aside their old discipleship 00:34:54.329 --> 00:34:56.829 and their old leader, and they were now to be 00:34:56.829 --> 00:34:59.309 a part of what the Holy Spirit had begun on the 00:34:59.309 --> 00:35:02.130 day of Pentecost, and what they experienced on 00:35:02.130 --> 00:35:08.780 this occasion was the evidence of that. And so 00:35:08.780 --> 00:35:12.019 we see here the only four occasions after Acts 00:35:12.019 --> 00:35:15.579 2 when tongues are mentioned, or three occasions 00:35:15.579 --> 00:35:20.119 rather. Now the teaching is the sign of the baptism 00:35:20.119 --> 00:35:22.099 of the Spirit is speaking in tongues and all 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:25.860 should speak in tongues. Would you turn over 00:35:25.860 --> 00:35:27.739 to 1 Corinthians chapter 12 a minute and look 00:35:27.739 --> 00:35:33.440 at verse 30? Paul is talking about two people 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:39.860 here who were all baptized by the Spirit. Verse 00:35:39.860 --> 00:35:46.519 13. Down in verse 30, he says, All do not have 00:35:46.519 --> 00:35:51.300 gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak 00:35:51.300 --> 00:35:55.840 with tongues, do they? Do you see the point there? 00:35:57.800 --> 00:35:59.900 Here are people who have been baptized with the 00:35:59.900 --> 00:36:02.760 Holy Spirit, but Paul writes to them and he says, 00:36:02.820 --> 00:36:04.920 You're not all speaking with tongues, are you? 00:36:04.960 --> 00:36:07.599 And the rhetorical answer is no. That is the 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:10.539 accepted answer. As he writes that, they were 00:36:10.539 --> 00:36:13.480 not all speaking in tongues. Some of them were, 00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:16.619 legitimately, though they were abusing the gift. 00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:19.820 But tongues was a legitimate gift for that church. 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:23.099 But not all of them were. And therefore, in the 00:36:23.099 --> 00:36:26.000 basis of what the Word of God says, this teaching 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:28.500 that all should speak with tongues as a sign 00:36:28.500 --> 00:36:32.860 of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is false. Remember 00:36:32.860 --> 00:36:38.030 that tongues was a sign gift. And it was a sign 00:36:38.030 --> 00:36:41.610 not to believers, but according to chapter 14, 00:36:41.869 --> 00:36:45.889 verses 21 and 22, it was a sign primarily to 00:36:45.889 --> 00:36:49.530 the Jews, unbelieving Jews, national Israel, 00:36:49.829 --> 00:36:53.809 that judgment was coming. Judgment was coming 00:36:53.809 --> 00:36:56.909 upon them as a nation. And they would not hear 00:36:56.909 --> 00:36:59.530 the clearly spoken word of God and accept their 00:36:59.530 --> 00:37:02.760 Messiah. Therefore God was giving them this phenomenon 00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:05.860 in which they were hearing people speak in languages 00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:09.400 they did not understand. And that was a sign 00:37:09.400 --> 00:37:11.659 to them of judgment, just as happened back in 00:37:11.659 --> 00:37:18.159 the day of Isaiah. There's a third teaching of 00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:20.760 some charismatics, and that is that direct revelation 00:37:20.760 --> 00:37:24.840 is still given by God to believers. And this 00:37:24.840 --> 00:37:28.710 revelation is given through tongues. through 00:37:28.710 --> 00:37:30.829 interpretation of tongues, which really go together, 00:37:30.889 --> 00:37:33.989 the two of them, by words of knowledge and wisdom, 00:37:34.190 --> 00:37:38.289 by prophecies, and by what are called rhemas. 00:37:41.210 --> 00:37:44.130 I occasionally tune in to a television broadcast 00:37:44.130 --> 00:37:46.769 in which some people pray for the sick and get 00:37:46.769 --> 00:37:49.550 words of knowledge as to who is being healed. 00:37:49.650 --> 00:37:53.090 Maybe you have seen that as well. At least they 00:37:53.090 --> 00:37:56.630 call that words of knowledge. As best as we understand 00:37:56.630 --> 00:37:59.170 what the words of knowledge and wisdom were in 00:37:59.170 --> 00:38:01.670 the Old Testament, it is not related to what 00:38:01.670 --> 00:38:04.510 is called today by some people the words of knowledge. 00:38:05.210 --> 00:38:07.429 As a matter of fact, what takes place there on 00:38:07.429 --> 00:38:10.269 television could be done by somebody who doesn't 00:38:10.269 --> 00:38:13.190 even claim to have the words of knowledge. But 00:38:13.190 --> 00:38:15.309 when you are telecasting to multiplied millions 00:38:15.309 --> 00:38:17.269 of people and you are saying, now there's somebody 00:38:17.269 --> 00:38:19.210 out there who's being healed of this and that, 00:38:19.789 --> 00:38:21.449 Somewhere out there, you're going to find somebody 00:38:21.449 --> 00:38:23.250 who suddenly had some kind of an experience, 00:38:23.389 --> 00:38:24.570 and he's going to call in and say, hey, that 00:38:24.570 --> 00:38:28.250 was me. And God gave you that information about 00:38:28.250 --> 00:38:31.369 me, didn't he? When in fact, that may not have 00:38:31.369 --> 00:38:34.650 been the case at all. But simply the mathematical 00:38:34.650 --> 00:38:38.690 likelihood of that happening has taken place. 00:38:40.389 --> 00:38:44.570 I think that perhaps this third teaching that 00:38:44.570 --> 00:38:48.170 I've mentioned is the most dangerous aspect of 00:38:48.170 --> 00:38:50.719 the charismatic movement. That is that God is 00:38:50.719 --> 00:38:54.000 still giving revelation today. I remember seeing 00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:57.820 a magazine produced by an organization headed 00:38:57.820 --> 00:39:01.320 by one Kenneth Copeland, in the front of which, 00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:07.079 Thus saith the Lord. And then he gave the prophecy 00:39:07.079 --> 00:39:10.139 that God gave to him to give. And he was claiming 00:39:10.139 --> 00:39:13.039 that what was said there was just as fully inspired 00:39:13.039 --> 00:39:19.900 as Isaiah and Matthew and 2 Timothy. That he 00:39:19.900 --> 00:39:22.739 was receiving the word of God and delivering 00:39:22.739 --> 00:39:25.920 it to people today. That is an exceptionally 00:39:25.920 --> 00:39:29.380 dangerous thing. And it totally undermines the 00:39:29.380 --> 00:39:33.920 authority of God's infallible word. Is the gate 00:39:33.920 --> 00:39:37.880 still open to doctrine? We believe not, but cults 00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:40.599 believe it's still open. That's why the Mormons 00:39:40.599 --> 00:39:44.679 have their Book of Mormon. That's why other cults 00:39:44.679 --> 00:39:47.519 have their additional writings from their founders. 00:39:48.349 --> 00:39:50.750 For these, you see, are additional revelations 00:39:50.750 --> 00:39:54.469 given by God. Once we open the door to say that 00:39:54.469 --> 00:39:56.769 there are additional revelations from God today, 00:39:56.849 --> 00:40:00.650 there is no stopping it. It is the releasing 00:40:00.650 --> 00:40:04.630 of a flood that then cannot be contained. At 00:40:04.630 --> 00:40:06.909 the conclusion of the book of Revelation, chapter 00:40:06.909 --> 00:40:12.210 22, verses 18 and 19, God says through John that 00:40:12.210 --> 00:40:15.269 we are not to add to or to take from the writings 00:40:15.269 --> 00:40:18.599 of this book. And because of its unique location 00:40:18.599 --> 00:40:20.699 in the Bible and the fact that it's the last 00:40:20.699 --> 00:40:23.920 of the inspired writings coming about in 90 A 00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:26.900 .D., we believe and are convinced that what is 00:40:26.900 --> 00:40:29.139 said there refers not only to the revelation 00:40:29.139 --> 00:40:32.239 of Jesus Christ that John wrote, but to the whole 00:40:32.239 --> 00:40:38.780 of the 66 books. I remember getting a letter 00:40:38.780 --> 00:40:43.260 from a friend of mine who was in a church that 00:40:43.260 --> 00:40:49.119 I pastored. And this was after I came here to 00:40:49.119 --> 00:40:54.679 Roseville. And he said, the Spirit has revealed 00:40:54.679 --> 00:40:59.500 to me why you really left the church in Kentucky. 00:41:00.639 --> 00:41:04.920 Well, I was quite interested in that. And he 00:41:04.920 --> 00:41:08.159 went on to say, the Spirit has told me that the 00:41:08.159 --> 00:41:11.400 real reason that you left the church in Kentucky 00:41:11.400 --> 00:41:17.329 is because of fear. You were afraid of cancer 00:41:17.329 --> 00:41:22.010 of the throat, and that caused you to leave that 00:41:22.010 --> 00:41:26.809 church. Now, God is my witness. Not once had 00:41:26.809 --> 00:41:30.050 the fear of cancer of the throat entered my mind 00:41:30.050 --> 00:41:32.530 in making the decision to leave that church. 00:41:34.369 --> 00:41:36.269 It might have been in my mind since his letter. 00:41:40.269 --> 00:41:42.510 And I wrote back and I said, dear Rick, you know, 00:41:42.510 --> 00:41:44.869 I appreciate your concern for me, but I said, 00:41:44.869 --> 00:41:47.190 some spirit may have told you that, but it wasn't 00:41:47.190 --> 00:41:55.550 the spirit of God. You see, when we open the 00:41:55.550 --> 00:41:57.630 door to say, well, God is communicating directly 00:41:57.630 --> 00:42:01.829 to me, giving me new revelation, new rhemas, 00:42:01.909 --> 00:42:04.630 and that is one of the key words, new rhemas, 00:42:04.630 --> 00:42:08.409 R -H -E -M -A -S, a transliteration of a Greek 00:42:08.409 --> 00:42:11.530 word. When we say that God is doing that, then 00:42:11.530 --> 00:42:15.010 there is no stopping to what God may say. And 00:42:15.010 --> 00:42:18.170 how are we to know who to believe? There's an 00:42:18.170 --> 00:42:19.730 acquaintance of mine here in the Twin Cities 00:42:19.730 --> 00:42:22.030 who is a charismatic, and we got into a discussion 00:42:22.030 --> 00:42:24.909 on a certain occasion regarding this matter of 00:42:24.909 --> 00:42:28.929 God giving Ramos. And I said, well, what about 00:42:28.929 --> 00:42:30.750 the final authority of the Bible? And he says, 00:42:30.849 --> 00:42:32.869 well, we believe the Bible is the final authority. 00:42:33.710 --> 00:42:36.289 You see, when we get our prophecies and we get 00:42:36.289 --> 00:42:39.219 our Ramos from God, he said, then we go to the 00:42:39.219 --> 00:42:43.340 Bible to find out which of our rhemas are infallible. 00:42:44.940 --> 00:42:46.739 And I said, well, that's very interesting that 00:42:46.739 --> 00:42:48.800 that means that God is giving you rhemas that 00:42:48.800 --> 00:42:51.440 are not infallible. In other words, God is giving 00:42:51.440 --> 00:42:55.079 revelation that is fallible. Is that right? Well, 00:42:55.179 --> 00:43:00.239 we got on to a different subject then. I believe 00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:06.300 that we must reject as... being true, this teaching 00:43:06.300 --> 00:43:09.059 that God is still giving revelation today. God 00:43:09.059 --> 00:43:12.139 has given His revelation. It is completed. It 00:43:12.139 --> 00:43:14.739 is the truth, the faith, the body of doctrine 00:43:14.739 --> 00:43:17.960 once for all delivered to the saints here. And 00:43:17.960 --> 00:43:19.559 then the final teaching I'm going to point out 00:43:19.559 --> 00:43:22.760 tonight is that the gifts of healings are still 00:43:22.760 --> 00:43:26.480 being given to individuals today. That it's never 00:43:26.480 --> 00:43:29.960 God's will for a believer to be sick. For a believer 00:43:29.960 --> 00:43:33.059 to be sick shows lack of faith. I got a real 00:43:33.059 --> 00:43:35.139 chuckle out of a certain television personality 00:43:35.139 --> 00:43:38.039 in one of these shows a few weeks ago. She had 00:43:38.039 --> 00:43:40.880 been sick for about a whole week with the same 00:43:40.880 --> 00:43:43.159 kind of affliction I've had here the last week 00:43:43.159 --> 00:43:47.219 and a half or so with the flu. And she was just 00:43:47.219 --> 00:43:50.619 getting back to the telecast, and then she began 00:43:50.619 --> 00:43:52.659 to talk to people out there in television land 00:43:52.659 --> 00:43:55.619 who had this, and she was reprimanding them if 00:43:55.619 --> 00:43:57.699 they were sick because they should have more 00:43:57.699 --> 00:44:00.019 faith than that. And I thought, well, dear lady, 00:44:00.119 --> 00:44:01.760 what have you been doing for the last week and 00:44:01.760 --> 00:44:04.280 a half, taking your medicine? Where's your faith? 00:44:07.300 --> 00:44:10.780 Is it true that sickness only comes because we 00:44:10.780 --> 00:44:12.980 have lack of faith, that it's never God's will 00:44:12.980 --> 00:44:17.780 for us to be sick? Absolutely not. In fact, I 00:44:17.780 --> 00:44:19.940 think that is a cruel and insidious teaching 00:44:19.940 --> 00:44:23.840 that preys upon people who in some cases are 00:44:23.840 --> 00:44:28.320 terminally ill. and who are looking for something, 00:44:28.420 --> 00:44:30.420 and then someone comes along with this teaching, 00:44:30.500 --> 00:44:32.159 and so they say, well, I've got to get faith 00:44:32.159 --> 00:44:36.400 together, and then they don't get healed, and 00:44:36.400 --> 00:44:42.079 they are distraught. It leads to not only disillusionment, 00:44:42.079 --> 00:44:48.559 but to, I think, a dangerous introspection of 00:44:48.559 --> 00:44:51.179 oneself. Is it ever God's will for a person to 00:44:51.179 --> 00:44:54.519 be sick? Yes, it is. Job was sick by the will 00:44:54.519 --> 00:44:58.059 of God. Paul, whatever the thorn in the flesh 00:44:58.059 --> 00:45:01.159 was, was sick by the will of God. He never got 00:45:01.159 --> 00:45:04.659 rid of that. Paul, if he had the gift of healings, 00:45:04.659 --> 00:45:07.659 did not heal Timothy, but rather commanded him 00:45:07.659 --> 00:45:11.980 to take certain medicinal steps for his healing. 00:45:13.380 --> 00:45:15.719 Furthermore, if we look at the gifts of healings 00:45:15.719 --> 00:45:18.820 in the New Testament, we realize that when a 00:45:18.820 --> 00:45:21.440 person exercised that gift in the New Testament, 00:45:21.579 --> 00:45:27.679 there was always a healing. And it did not necessarily 00:45:27.679 --> 00:45:30.360 depend upon the faith of the one who was being 00:45:30.360 --> 00:45:33.920 healed. There were not healing lines in which 00:45:33.920 --> 00:45:35.860 people came up and some were healed and some 00:45:35.860 --> 00:45:39.039 weren't. But when a person was healed, he was 00:45:39.039 --> 00:45:41.400 healed and that permanently, not just until the 00:45:41.400 --> 00:45:43.340 person got off the stage and got off the emotional 00:45:43.340 --> 00:45:48.860 kick. The healings were definite. They were permanent. 00:45:50.400 --> 00:45:54.150 They were verifiable. Now for all the claims 00:45:54.150 --> 00:45:56.550 of healings that we hear about today and all 00:45:56.550 --> 00:45:59.610 the television interviews that we see and all 00:45:59.610 --> 00:46:03.489 the books that are written, it would be interesting 00:46:03.489 --> 00:46:09.150 to know the real stories a little bit later after 00:46:09.150 --> 00:46:11.710 those interviews and after those testimonies.