Sunday Evening Worship Service

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4 and we're going to read verses 4-6. And you can remain seated. Ephesians 4 4-6. A familiar verse of scripture to all of us. And we're going to kind of break it down a little bit. It states, "There is one body." This is the Apostle Paul writing. There is one body and one spirit even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord. Everybody say one Lord. >> One Lord. >> That was good. One faith. >> One faith >> and one baptism. >> One. >> All right. One God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. And I'll take my title from that passage. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Let's pray over this sermon. Heavenly Father, we thank you this evening. We thank you for your continuous work uh through Congregation of Knoxville, through your people. Lord, as your word goes out tonight, Lord, let somebody need seek their need to be baptized in your name if they haven't been. Lord, let somebody see their need to continue to seek uh for your spirit in their life. Lord, be alive as we know you are in this house. move up and down the aisles, fill and heal your servants. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. And amen. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Paul wrote these words from a prison cell. Though chains could not restrain his revelation, he was writing to a church surrounded by competing religions, rival gods, philosophical systems, and empirical claims. Not much different than when we look around at our world today. Ephesus knew many temples, many priests, many mysteries, many names. Yet Paul lifted his voice above the noise of the ancient world and declared that the church is not built upon many lords. The church is not built upon many faiths. The church is not built upon many baptisms. What a deep concept. And I deduced that from his previous statement of one Lord, one faith, one baptism. It's almost as if to interpret this, he was stating that there's one. This passage is not a poetic appeal, not merely a poetic appeal for people to get along. He, the Apostle Paul, was not sitting in the dark shadows of a dungeon, uh, you know, working on poetry. It's not a doctrinal declaration concerning the foundation of unity, though it does bring unity. And anytime anytime we talk about Christian doctrine, church doctrine, I find it appropriate to start with the intro paragraph of my grandfather's book, common questions concerning the apostolic doctrine because there is a specific spirit that you need to have uh when you talk about doctrine. It's not something that should bring about ugly attitudes for a lack of better terms. He wrote, "May doctrine not become a sword with which we wound, but let it be a cohesive commodity of Christianity which provokes us to study." Anything that provokes us to study and get deeper into the word of God, I would uh I would think is a good thing. till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So it is not my intentions and it's not my aspiration to come across as arrogant or smart eloic in anything I present concerning church doctrine the belief of the apostles. But at the same time, I I do want to be firm enough to get the point across to let you know that I also do not have the latitude nor the flexibility to do theological gymnastics to tell you something other than what the word of God says. So, can we meet right right there? Okay. Paul begins the chapter by beseeching believers to walk worthy of their calling. Pastors preached to this us this morning about this with humility, patience, love, spiritual unity. Then he explains why that unity is possible. We are one because God is one. We belong to one body. We are filled by one spirit. We possess one hope. We confess one Lord. We embrace one faith and we enter this through one baptism. And when Paul says one Lord, he is speaking undoubtedly unequivocally of Jesus Christ. When he says one faith, he is speaking of the apostolic gospel centered in Jesus Christ. And apostolic means like the apostles. Certainly that's the name on our church or if the fire department gets called or something that's the location and that's why how why we describe oursel as that. We're we're called that. But what apostolic means it is aspiring to live and and do like the apostles. That's not some inclusive or exclusive uh term that we use or some kind of secret code or some membership card that you have to fill out in order to if if you're a believer in Christianity, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, it would be my hope that everyone aspires to be apostolic. Okay? Even in modern church creeds, it says one holy and apostolic church. You'll see a lot of Catholic churches or Eastern Orthodox churches with that name apostolic in it. It's a a term that means like the apostles. And furthermore, and we'll get to this a little bit later, we're apostolic Pentecostal, meaning that we believe that the experience that took place on the day of Pentecost has not diminished. And that same power and that same experience can still take place in 2026 specifically even here tonight. Okay, every we we know that's what that means. Okay, but if you didn't, that's why we're called that. Okay, when he says one baptism, he is speaking of baptism into Jesus Christ in the saving name of the Lord Jesus. And that is why we baptize in Jesus' name. We baptize in Jesus' name because Jesus is the one Lord. Because the apostles preached one faith. The New Testament presents one baptism. Paul's declaration in Ephesians is inseparable from another declaration and I touched on this a few months ago in our midweek that he was when he was writing to Timothy and he said and without controversy. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. He makes that statement without controversy, which is beautiful because as I mentioned all the the uh social and economic uh stuff context that Paul was dealing with in his day, it's not much different than today. Okay? And uh everywhere you go, there's controversy, right? I mean, back in the days of Twitter before X, it might have been Pastor Nate or somebody I know, they put the beautiful quote up from Charles Spurgeon, and it stated, "A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't." And that's that's good. And I commented underneath it. I said, "You should see my iPad. And I tagged the Bible app and somebody on there, I don't even I kind of know who they were and I had some stuff to go back at them that had been an ad hominemum attack, but I didn't do that. But they lit me up in like two or three tweets and I was like, and it's one of those things where like you go back and you see the note. I was like, whoa, this guy is out of control. So again, I responded back and I said, "Uh, well, Moses had a tablet, but he broke his." I thought that would end it. Like, are you going to argue with a guy who says that? I get back online and this guy doubles and triples down. And I I believe in the word of God and the I know the power of, you know, missionaries with having the the word of God and the the Bible in their hand. Like, I I get all that. I wasn't being disrespectful. And then I comment made one more comment and I said, "I promise you my papyrus scrolls are wellwn." To which he said, "You're just a young punk." And I was like, "Man, it's controversial. I mean, who would have thought having the the Bible on your iPad was controversial?" Man, there's another story bishop used to tell. This preacher became the pastor of a church and in his first couple weeks there he rearranged the platform a little bit and oh buddy this caused a stir. You know I think one woman came up to him and said that's where my mama used to play the piano and you moved it over to the other side. You know stuff like that. And just one thing after another this guy's coming in here and making all of these changes. So this this preacher called now pastor called another pastor friend up who we would seek counsel after and he called him and explained to him the situation and the other pastor told him he said what you need to do is stop whining and you need to recognize and realize that you're the pastor of that church and you need to have a vertebral column or a backbone like a crowbar and you need to go into that place and you let them know who's boss. You're the pastor. So this this made him feel pretty good. He got off the phone feeling pretty good. And this was on Saturday night. So he went to church that next morning just with a little extra pep in his step, tie tied a little tighter, I suppose. And I mean he let him he let loose and let him have it. Well, he got home that afternoon and that mentor pastor called him and said, "Hey, I'm just checking in with you, my brother. I wanted to see how everything went. Did you did you let him have it? Did you tell him who was boss?" And he said, "I sure did." And we only lost three people. And he said, "Well, sometimes that takes place, but now you've laid the foundation and now that congregation knows whose boss and whose word is the final say." And he said, 'Well, who were the three people? Were they pretty influential? Was it a big hit? And he said, 'Well, it was me, my wife, and daughter. Controversy everywhere you go. But Paul did not utter when he wrote these words. He said without controversy. He did not say, well, you know, some theologians are divided. Some scholars have altering opinions or perhaps he didn't say without debate. He didn't say without confusion. He didn't say without certainty. He didn't say without contradiction. The early church was absolutely convinced of one overwhelming truth. God was manifest in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. >> Amen. And when the Bible uses the term mystery, a lot of times this gets misinterpreted and some some other alternate doctrines are interpretations of the word of God. I'll set it like that. Sometimes this word is relied upon when you get to a point where the revelation of Jesus and God becomes too difficult to explain. Now am I standing here tonight posturing myself as knowing the deep things of God and understanding how he reveals himself to people? Heavens heavens know. However, the Apostle Paul says without controversy, God was manifest in the flesh. And when you look at that word mystery, the Greek word for mystery is mysterium. This is the derivation of this term. It refers to something once hidden but is now revealed. The veil has been turned back. This this is in THE APOSTLE PAUL is referring to all of the Old Testament prophecies, all of the messianic language when God revealed himself from Genesis to Malachi and he calls him refers to himself as Jehovah Gyra, Jehovah Ni, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Rafa. Uh God is healing. The the I am the God is peace. GOD WILL PROVIDE ALL OF THESE CHARACTERISTICS, ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT UNFOLDING EVENTS, ALL OF THESE revelations of how God reveals himself TO HIS PEOPLE BECOME SUMMED up into one name, into one person, Jesus Christ. And this IS WHAT THE APOSTLE IS TALKING ABOUT WITHOUT CONTROVERSY. This man, Jesus Christ, IS GOD manifest in THE FLESH. AND IT'S NOT UP FOR DEBATE. THERE'S NOT AN ALTERING VIEW. THERE'S NOT A DIFFERING THEOLOGICAL CONCLUSION. >> God was manifest in the flesh. The mystery was not that God could never be understood. The secret has been disclosed. The mystery was that God had now made himself known in Jesus Christ. The invisible became visible. The c the eternal inner time. The creator clothed himself in creation. The central proclamation of Christianity is not merely that God sent help. It wouldn't be much of a sacrifice, would it? If he sent help. It's not merely that God just sent a prophet. Other religions preach and teach in the belief in Jesus that he was a good man and that he was a good prophet. And there are some that get kind of giddy about that. That's another sermon for another. Okay, keep it's not merely that God sent a righteous man. The scandal and glory of THE GOSPEL IS THIS. GOD himself stepped into humanity. >> Paul said, "For in him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily." >> Jesus Christ is the visible revelation of the invisible God. Therefore, the name of Jesus is not an incidental detail of our salvation. IT IS THE REVEALED SAVING NAME of the one God who came to redeem us. Peter Stoner, mathematician and astronomer, famously illustrated the probability of one person fulfilling only eight selected prophecies by chance is about one hund one in 100 quadrillion. That's a one with 17 zeros behind it. The only entity that can count that high is Congress as they're looking at our national debt. But Jesus, the word of God, HE FULFILLED OVER 200 MORE PROPHECIES. Peter Stoner said the uh to give a little more imagery to this, imagine covering the state of Texas knee deep in silver dollars. Anybody driven over the state of Texas? Brother Bryant? Yeah, that's a big big state, right? You can you can drive a couple days and still be in Texas. If you covered THE WHOLE STATE OF Texas in silver dollars and you marked one of them with a Sharpie and you sent a blindfolded man out to find that one, that's about one in 17, one in 100 quadrillion, the 17 zeros behind it. So you're saying there's a chance. No, this possibility lives right outside the gated community of impossible. If Jesus was merely a man, the prophecies would have fallen unfulfilled. But he was not merely a man. He was God in flesh. He was on the throne when he was in the manger. He was on the throne when he was on the cross. He was on the throne when he was in the tomb. And the Bible, the the WORD OF GOD IS NOT TWO disconnected books stitched together in an awkward manner. The Old Testament and New Testament form one divine story, one unfolding revelation of God's redemptive plan. From Genesis to Revelation, scripture points toward one central truth. God himself would come to save humanity. And that's why the New Testament is saturated with the prophecies from the Old Testament. Again and again, the apostles reiterated. They reached back into antiquity. They reached back to the messianic language of the prophets and declared this is that Paul goes on in that verse to list a few more contributions and confirmations that would take place. The prophets foretold of the incarnation and Isaiah declared for example behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Matthew the gospel of Matthew directly uses this term virgin which is derived from the Greek word parthonos which brings about the imagery of the parthonon in Greece. the virgin goddess. But he's using this language to let the reader know that Mary conceived as a VIRGIN BECAUSE THIS WAS SUPERNATURAL. This was a miracle. I I've been in circles before where there are people that confess to the virgin birth and believe in that miracle, but they discount miracles of the Old Testament or discount that miracles can take place today. And they almost, not almost, they put a hierarchy on the supernatural where there's not a hierarchy on the supernatural. You know, unless it's a miracle taking place in your situation, then it seems a little bit more greater than something else that he's done. But you you know what I mean? And the the WHOLE PREFACE OF THIS is if if you can believe in the supernatural virgin birth, THEN THERE'S NO OTHER MIRACLE OFF THE TABLE. 2,000 years later, YOU CAN SAY, "GOD, HEAL MY BODY. GOD, MAKE A WAY WHEN there is no way." We our faith can be built. And yes, we we sing that song about if you'd never do anything else. And I'll confess to you, I sing that with a little bit of false humility because uh there's some a lot of times when I'm praying, I don't really pray like that. I don't know about you. I DON'T SAY, "OH, GOD, IF YOU EVER DO ANYTHING ELSE, uh you're still great." And you know, I wish that was my spirit all the time, BUT I'M USUALLY LIKE, "GOD, I NEED YOU TO DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW." AND I KNOW YOU CAN. And just a little transparency there. But this word comes meaning virgin. AND THE BIRTH OF CHRIST WAS HEAVEN entering into humanity without inheriting Adam's corruption. It's important. Isaiah revealed the identity of the Messiah. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. The eternal God assumed humanity in Bethlehem. Isaiah then unfolds a series of divine titles. Wonderful counselor, the mighty God. This title is unambiguous. He calls him the mighty God. He doesn't say one of the mighty gods. And we might sing it like that sometimes. What a mighty one of the mighty gods we serve. The M Isaiah does not present the Messiah as merely empowered by God. He doesn't present him as delegated by God. He doesn't send him as a a a a diplomat of God or Jehovah Jr. He doesn't send him as one coexistent co-eternal omnipotent God. Didn't contract out another coexistent co-eternal omnipotent God to do his bidding. Isaiah did not identify Jesus as a second divine person alongside the father. He revealed that the promised son would be the mighty God and the everlasting father. And the father is fully revealed IN CHRIST BECAUSE ALL of the fullness of the godhead dwells bodily in him as we read earlier. Thus Jesus could say, "I and my father are he that hath seen me hath seen the >> Christ is the visible revelation of the invisible God." Maybe y'all should let me direct the choir somehow. That'd be a train wreck. THE PRINCE OF PEACE. Christ established peace not through militaristic force but through atonement through the cross reconciliation between God and humanity became possible. Paul tells us the incarnation as the revelation of one God. The New Testament consistently presents Jesus Christ as the embodiment of the one God of Israel. John opens his gospel with some profound theological precision. He says, "In the beginning was the word. The word was with God and the word was God." Then in verse 14 of the first chapter, he declares that the word was made flesh >> and dwelt among us. The logos did not merely appear human. The logos became the word became flesh. And the reason the apostle is using this language as I mentioned at the onset of the competing beliefs at that time and gnosticism and gnostic theology which denied that God truly came in material flesh. This was a philosophical concept in antiquity and specifically ancient Greece and and Rome. This was influenced by Plato. The Gnostics viewed matter as inherently corrupt and therefore rejected the bodily incarnation and resurrection of Christ. So their their rejection of Christ was from a whole different standpoint than what we might even think of the rejection of Christ in modern day. Their philosophical view was that there's no way that this dude could be God manifest in flesh because all matter is corrupt. The apostles opposed this forcefully because Christianity is not merely spiritual abstraction. It is divine embodiment. John emphasized that Thomas and we like to beat Thomas up a lot when we preach and he deserves it sometimes. But it says that he touched the side of Jesus. This was the glorified body of Jesus. If you were going to have a glorified body, I think I would make it without the scars and the corruption of this world. But Jesus didn't do that, which is a whole other sermon. even in his glorified body. That was proof of the suffering he had undergone which lets us know about our testimony. But he tells Thomas to touch feel and then he says you believe because you see me because you can touch me. Blessed are those who don't see or touch yet still believe. And then the next thing he and this is when they really knew it was Jesus. Yeah, we can touch him. We can see him. Yeah, he walked through the wall. But then Jesus says, "Do you have anything to eat?" Then they're like, "Of course, this is Jesus. He's asking us if we have anything to eat." Do you really think the glorified body of Jesus needed nutritional sustenance of this world? No. He he wanted to commune and fellowship with his believers in a very dark time in their life. And that's what he aspires to do with us. The incarnation and resurrection were tangible realities. God truly entered human existence. Number four, the significance of pericletosis. One of the most profound theological insights in the gospel of John is found in this Greek word. Jesus used this word in John's gospel to describe the Holy Spirit. He said, "I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter." John 14:16. The Greek word translated comforter is pericletos. The term carries rich meaning advocate which we we understand helper intercessor one called alongside and that's what that's what we think about what we when we think about the Holy Ghost the Holy Spirit that that advocate and even in our in our praise team songs and a lot of times in our pre that the helper the the advocate the the one who leads and guides walks alongside yet what makes this extraordinary is that John uses this the same Greek word for Jesus Christ himself almost as if when John was writing that he understood this to be the same person the one God we have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous The word translated advocate is again pericletos. John applies the same divine mediatorial language to both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit because in this theology in John's theology the ministry of Christ continues through the spirit after the ascension. Jesus said I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. And the gospel of John was not even being he was not even being an apologist for uh later doctrines that would that would come about. He was just writing in his interpretation of the understanding of he and the disciples in the early church. Of course they're one. The spirit is not a replacement for Christ. The spirit is the continuing presence of Christ among his people. This is why Paul could say the Lord is that spirit. Theologically, the spirit mediates the presence of the ascended Christ to the church. The same God revealed in Jesus Christ now indwells believers through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost. Paul declared that Christ was justified in the spirit. At Calvary, divine justice and divine mercy converged. Romans 3 explains that Christ became the propitiation for humanity sin. This Greek word used hysterion, the Greek word for propitiation in Romans 3:25 is the same word used in the Septuagen for the mercy seat at top the ark of the covenant. Under the old covenant, blood was sprinkled upon the mercy to signify atonement. And under the new covenant, Christ himself became the mercy seat. And I want you to know tonight and I know that First Apostolic Church on Pleasant Ridge Road knows this and they've been preaching it for 60 70 years. That part of the apostolic doctrine, a significant part, the essential core doctrine of the apostles is that we serve a God who brings about mercy. He can give you grace. He can give you mercy. UH HE SAID IT'S NEW EVERY MORNING WHEN YOU REPENT of your sins. He still forgives. WE'RE A CHURCH BODY THAT BELIEVES IN GRACE. WE'RE A CHURCH BODY THAT BELIEVES IN MERCY. OH, I WANT TO HEAR APOSTOLIC DOCTRINE. WELL, PREACH TO ME ABOUT GRACE. PREACH TO ME ABOUT MERCY. I REMEMBER BISHOP PREACHING SERMON AFTER SERMON. HE'D CALL IT GOD'S TWO SHAGGY sheep dogs. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the DAYS OF MY LIFE. NO MATTER HOW FAR GONE OR HOW FAR AWAY FROM GOD YOU THINK YOU ARE, THERE'S TWO SHAGGY SHEEP DOGS ON YOUR HEEL. MERCY AND GRACE. AND AT ANY TIME YOU CAN TURN YOUR LIFE OVER TO JESUS and he's GOING TO REDEEM YOU. HE'S going to pour out his mercy upon you. That's apostolic doctrine. The cross is therefore both revelation and reconciliation. Angelic validation, the testimony of heaven. Throughout the redemptive history, angels functioned as agents and witnesses of divine activity. The angel Gabriel announced Christ's conception. Angelic hosts worshiped at his birth. Angels ministered to him after the temptation. They strengthened him in Gethsemane. They proclaimed his resurrection. They witnessed his ascension. Heaven's a pretty good uh testimony to have on heaven testified of him. The angels recognized that Jesus earthly ministry was the manifestation of God's eternal salvific plan. The last two he preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the world. The apostolic message is chrisioccentric. It means it's centered around Jesus Christ. The church did not merely proclaim ethical reform or religious philosophy. Yes, the word of God has some tremendous wisdom, financial management, uh interpersonal uh relationship advice, uh uh ways that you can be uh more industrial uh with your time. All of these things are excellent. We preach about them all. I preached about it last week. But the central gospel message is not about ethical reform. It's not about religious philosophy. It's about the proclamation of Jesus Christ. Acts records the expansion of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. Jewish believers received the spirit. Samaritans received the spirit. Gentiles received the spirit. This fulfilled the universal scope of the incarnation. The God manifest in Christ came not merely for Israel, but for all humanity. Jesus is for every single person. And as Pastor McCoy preached about this morning, don't you count anyone out. DON'T YOU LOOK DOWN YOUR NOSE AT ANYONE. Jesus died. JESUS DIED FOR THEM. >> LASTLY, he was received up into glory. Christ's ascension was not simply his departure. It was divine enthronement. And the ministry of Jesus continues through his body in the earth. The one who was manifest in the flesh is the Lord. The angel said, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." Jesus means Jehovah has become salvation. That is why the apostles were not casual about the name. Healing came through the name. Devils were cast out in the name. Salvation was preached in the name. Prayer was offered in the name. BAPTISM WAS administered in the name. In a court of law, an attorney does not argue a case in a vacuum. He or she appeals to precedent previous judicial rulings that establish the legal standard by which the present case should be decided. President is the accumulated judicial record of how the law has already been interpreted and implied. It does not merely offer an opinion. It provides the pattern that guides the court's judgment. In much the same way, when we ask, well, how should baptism be administered? WE DO NOT BEGIN with later traditions, theological theories or alleged ecumenical gatherings. We look to biblical precedent. Every recorded apostolic baptism after the resurrection was administered in the name of Jesus Christ. This is not my opinion. THE BIBLICAL PRECEDENT ESTABLISHED BY THE APOSTLES under the direction of the Holy Ghost and interpreting the commission of Jesus is consistently Jesus name baptism. I would therefore conclude that precedent becomes the pattern for the church today. I believe if I confess that this is the infallible inspired word of God that this would be the precedent that I look to as to determine how one should be baptized. Jesus taught in Luke 24:47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. Notice the divine order. Repentance, remission of sins in in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. Jesus established both the message and the starting point. Repentance and remission of sins would be preached in his name and begin at Jerusalem. Then Acts two brings us to Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Ghost HAS BEEN POURED OUT. The multitude is convicted and cries. AND WE SEE THIS QUESTION ASKED TO ONE OF THE DISCIPLES, PETER the rock, the guy that he gave the keys of the kingdom to just emphasize a little. The question is presented. Men and brethren, what shall we do? Peter Acts 2:38 repent. That's where that mercy and grace be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and unto your children and to all that are far off. And as even as many as the Lord our God shall call. I believe that he's still calling people. I believe that the Holy Ghost is still moving. I believe in baptism in the name of Jesus. Peter stood in Jerusalem and preached exactly what Jesus commanded. And sometimes you'll hear, "Well, WHAT ABOUT Matthew 28:19? What about Matthew 28:19?" Some people say, "Well, I I'm just going to take the words of Jesus. I mean, it's written in red for goodness sake. Mine's actually in blue. I'm getting to that point. You should see my iPad. I'm going to take the words of Jesus. Well, when you state that, you're actually setting up a very flawed argument. You're first off, by all technicality, it's not Jesus words. It's Matthew's eyewitness account to what Jesus said. Now, am I implying that that that those are not what Jesus? No, no, no, no. What what I am saying is if you start that line of argument, you're setting up that, you know, Matthew's gospel has some kind of paramount truth as opposed to Mark, Luke, John, Apostle Paul. Does that make sense? And then when we get to the book of Acts, I don't find a scripture where men and brethren, what shall we do? And then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus. And right when he gets to that point, we don't we don't read that. Matthew says, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Peter, get you to the side. Now, Peter, you know, if you're going to criticize somebody, you give them some compliments first. Peter, I love how you tied in Joel, you know, to the beginning of this sermon. That was a chef's kiss. That was a that was a beautiful touch to to really uh get the heart of the of the of the Jewish people assembled there to together initially. Yeah, that was great how you tied in Joel at the beginning. But remember what Jesus said baptizing them in the name of the father and the how that was interpreted. No, no, no, no. There there's no there was no disagreement between the disciples. They they they understand there was one Lord, one faith, one one baptism. They were in a 100% unity. That baptism would be administered in the name of the of the one who died for their sins, who rose from the grave. Samaritans. Acts 8:16. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them. Only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Gentiles. Acts 10:48. And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then he prayed to them to Terry certain days. Cornelius and his HOUSEHOLD HAD ALREADY RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST. THEY SPOKE WITH TONGUES AND MAGNIFIED GOD. Yet Peter did not conclude that water baptism was unnecessary. He commanded them STILL. IT'S GREAT THAT YOU HAVE THE HOLY GHOST. IT'S GREAT THAT YOU HAD THAT VISITATION, BUT YOU HAVE TO GO DOWN IN THE name of Jesus. OH, IT'S THAT IMPORTANT. IT'S NOT JUST A PUBLIC DISPLAY OF YOUR PRO CONFESSION. YOU GOT TO GO DOWN IN THAT SAVING NAME. MUSICIANS COME. ACTS 19, THE APOSTLE PAUL, HE SAID UNTO THEM, UNTO WHAT THEN WERE YE BAPTIZED? AND THEY SAID under John under John's baptism which is great. But then said Paul John verely baptized with the baptism of repentance saying unto the people that they should believe on him which should come after him that is on Christ Jesus. When they heard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul WHO WROTE APPROXIMATELY 28% OF THE New Testament. You might ascribe some other passages TO HIM. THE APOSTLE PAUL WHO CONTRIBUTED AROUND 13 EPISTLES TO THE NEW TESTAMENT REBAPTIZED THE people in THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BECAUSE IT WAS THAT IMPORTANT. HE DIDN'T SET IT ASIDE FOR ANOTHER DAY. HE DIDN'T SAY, "HEY, LET'S ALL GET TOGETHER ON THIS SPECIFIC TIME." IN FACT, HE BAPTIZED THEM RIGHT THEN AND THERE. >> THESE WERE PEOPLE OF FAITH. THESE WERE GOOD PEOPLE. THESE WERE DEVOUT BELIEVERS. PLEASE UNDERSTAND MY HEART THAT I SEEK NOT TO BE DIVISIVE. THESE WERE PEOPLE OF FAITH. THEY HAD ALREADY THEY HAD ALREADY SUBMITTED TO JOHN'S BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE. BUT WHEN CLEARER REVELATION CAME, THEY RESPONDED WITH OBEDIENCE. PAUL DIDN'T SAY YOUR SINCERITY is enough. HE HE DIDN'T SAY ALL baptisms are essentially THE SAME. NO, NO, NO. PAUL ASKED THEM, "UNTO, what were ye then baptized?" WHY DID HE ASK THAT? WHY WOULD HE ASK SUCH A QUESTION IF BAPTISM DOES NOT MATTER? WHY WOULD HE REBAPTIZE THEM IF THE name is not that important? He taught them Jesus. AND WHEN HE HEARD THIS, when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Jesus taught. Peter obeyed. The Samaritans were baptized. THE GENTILES WERE COMMANDED. PAUL REBAPTIZED FROM JERUSALEM TO ALL NATIONS. THE APOSTOLIC PRECEDENT remains consistent. ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM. ACTS 4:10 TELLS US, "NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER, FOR THERE IS NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED." PETER DID NOT SAY JESUS WAS ONE HELPFUL NAME AMONG MANY. HE DECLARED THAT THERE IS NO OTHER NAME FOR SALVATION. THAT NAME IS JESUS. YOU GOT TO GO DOWN IN THAT SAVING NAME. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BAPTIZED IN THAT NAME OF JESUS, I INVITE YOU. I IMPLORE YOU TO DO IT TONIGHT. WE HAVE WATER. WHAT DOES HINDER YOU? Remain standing. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Romans 6 says that we are baptized into Jesus Christ and into his death. We are buried with him in baptism by death so that we may rise and walk in newness of life. We do not descend into water trusting our own righteousness. We go down trusting his death, his burial, his resurrection in his name. Historical reference works have also acknowledged the early prominence of baptism in Jesus. Hastings encyclopedia of religion and ethics notes that the earliest known baptismal formula was in the name of the Lord Jesus. Cany's encyclopedia of religion states that early Christians baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus would later practice developing differently. The new Shaw Herszog religious encyclopedia observes the New Testament knows only one baptism in the name of Jesus. Hastings dictionary of the Bible further states, "One could conclude that the original form of words was into the name of Jesus Christ. Baptism into the name of the in the to the name of the trinity was a later development. These reference work reference works are not scripture nor do they determine doctrine. Our authority is not an encyclopedia, a church council or a historical tradition. Our authority is the word of God. The controversy did not exist in heaven. The controversy did not exist among the apostles. The controversy came later when men attempted to explain what scripture had already made plain. Jews were baptized in Jesus' name. Samaritans were baptized in Jesus' name. Gentiles were baptized in Jesus' name. Disciples of John were rebaptized in the name Jesus' name. Different people, different regions, different backgrounds, one faith, one Lord, one baptism. my faith grows. When I identify with that name that I've been baptized in, that name that gets placed upon my life, and I mentioned this a few weeks ago, I almost feel like the disciples when they were brought before the court and they, pardoning my paraphrasing, this man here is made is is whole and he's healed. What in the world? What are you What are you guys doing? And they say, if the reason you're calling me here today is because this man was healed in the name of Jesus Christ, then I plead 100% guilty. In divinity school, they were really nice about it, but they often would refer to my prescribed doctrine as heresy. Man, I'm a heretic. Ouch. They said it so nice with a smile, it's hard to know what to say back. Well, give me a hug. And they would sometimes refer to a lot of different labels of Unitarian Monarchianism. You know, you got to say it little uppy and they say, "Well, a lot of people would prescribe you as Jesus only." Jesus only. That's an insult. That's a proverbial dig. That's what you're going to attack me with is being called Jesus only. I said, "Guilty. I'm Jesus everything. This is what THIS GOSPEL IS ABOUT. IT'S ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. AND I JUST wonder I WONDER IF THERE'S ANYBODY ELSE OUT THERE WITH ALL THE WITNESSES SURROUNDED IN THE WORLD WITH EVERY PIERCE SURROUNDED. COULD YOU lift your hands AND SAY, "I'M GUILTY OF BAPTIZING IN that name. I'M GUILTY OF CALLING OUT THAT NAME IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR WHEN I NEED HIM to show up. I'M GUILTY OF BELIEVING, OH, WHEN I SAY JESUS, THAT miracles can take place. Oh, I'm guilty of thinking THAT WHEN I SAY THAT NAME OF JESUS, ADDICTIONS CAN BE HEALED. OH, I'M GUILTY OF WHEN I HEAR THAT NAME, JESUS, IT MAKES ME RUN A LITTLE BIT. IT MAKES ME SHOUT, "OH, I'M GUILTY." OH, IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE GUILTY IN THIS HOUSE? IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE GUILTY? OH, IF YOU'RE GUILTY, WHY DON'T YOU STEP FORWARD TONIGHT? OH, I'M GUILTY OF BELIEVING IN THAT NAME. I'M GUILTY OF BAPTIZING in that name. I'm guilty of praying IN THAT NAME. OH, IF YOU'RE GUILTY TONIGHT, why don't you lift your hands and say, "Jesus, I thank you. Jesus, you're my everything. Jesus, you're my savior. Jesus, you can bring healing. Jesus, you can make a way when there is no way. Oh Jesus, your name is great. I magnify your great name. You're the mighty God. You're the mighty God. It's all in him. Yes. God has exalted him. Exalted him. Exalt in him. The mighty God is Jesus and exalted him. >> He is the man of God with us. Jehovah, Lord of hosts, the omniresent spirit who fills the universe. He advocates, the high priest, the lamb for sinner's sake. The author of redemption. Oh, glory to his name. I know it's allus. It's allus. The promise of God. It's all in him. >> I know it's all >> It's all in Jesus. >> Yes, it's all >> It's all in Jesus. The mighty God is Jesus and it's all in him. >> All right, pastor preached to us this morning. Am I going to be a spectator or a participator? Oh, I can put a nice sermon talking about our doctrine. We can explain it and we can understand it and we can do it in the right spirit, but we can still come off as like Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane and just just take things by force and just cut off the ear of a guard instead of adhering to the power that is available to us that he gives us. So, at this time, let's use some application of God's word. If you need healing in your body, why don't you lift your hands across this house? If you need God to make a way in a situation, why don't you lift your hands? Now, we're going TO PRAY IN THAT NAME THAT'S HIGH AND LIFTED up above every name. We've talked about it. We've studied scriptures about it. We call ourselves Jesus name. Now's the time to put it into practice. Are you ready? Let's pray in that name right now and just see what he can do. Mighty God, we stand here in 2026 unashamed of your great name. We proclaim the name of Jesus. Right now, I declare healing over those that are ill. In the name of Jesus, I declare PEACE IN THE LIFE OF those who are troubled in their mind. In the name of Jesus. Oh, would you say that name? OH, I DECLARE RECONCILIATION. I declare peace. I declare relationships to be restored in the name of Jesus. I declare safety. I declare hope for the brokenhearted right now in the name of Jesus. Oh, I don't come before your throne with words of eloquence, but I say Jesus, Jesus, make a way. Jesus, do a word. Jesus, speaking your spirit to me right now, Jesus Jesus the mighty God is so happy. He's our God for whom we've waited. We'll be the glad we prayed of Israel recreated when Jesus comes again. Oh, he will come and save us. Our king and priest to be born for in him dwells our fullness and lord of all is he. I know it all. >> It's all in Jesus. It's all >> It's all in Jesus. The fullness of the Godhead. It's all in him. >> It's all in Jesus. >> It's all in Jesus. Somebody is Jesus. >> Sing it again. >> I'm going to have one more prayer. Before I do, I want to cut all music and everything cuz sometimes sometimes we we listen to the music and listen to the singing instead of focusing on our focusing on our needs. Is there anyone in the house that would like to be baptized in the name of Jesus? I'm guilty of not asking every time every time I step to the podium, is there anybody that would like to be baptized in that name of Jesus, that great and saving name. As we close tonight, I want to pray over our Second Harvest food distribution Friday. Yes. Yes. We're going to give out food. We're going to give out supplies. But the whole goal of that is is that somebody it might open a door, get their foot in for THEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO THEIR LIFE WHEN THEY TURN IT OVER to Jesus Christ and he begins to work. SO I WANT EVERY MUSICIAN, ALL THE TECHNICAL STAFF, EVERY SINGER, I WANT US TO PRAY ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, ONE VOICE GOING UP TO HEAVEN TO THE ONE GOD FOR OVER our second harvest food bank distribution on Friday. Let's pray at this time. Heavenly Father, as we lift our voices, God, FOR A LONG TIME, WE'VE HAD A MISSION FIELD OF APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN SCHOOL AND ALL KIND OF DIFFERENT MINISTRIES COMING OUT OF FIRST APOSTOLIC CHURCH. AND LORD, WE REAP THE HARVEST FROM THOSE. AND YES, WE'RE STILL PLANTING. GOD, IF WE'VE BEEN GIVEN THIS NEW OPPORTUNITY WITH SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK, LORD, WE ASK FOR YOUR SPIRIT OF ANOINTING TO BE UPON IT. LORD, WITH EVERY HANDSHAKE, WITH EVERY CONVERSATION, WITH EVERY DISTRIBUTION, LORD, WE ASK THAT IT BE A DOOR TO SOMEONE TO STEP THROUGH, THAT THEY GO DOWN IN YOUR NAME, THAT THEY REPENT OF THEIR SINS, THAT YOU FILL THEM WITH YOUR SPIRIT. LORD, AS WE HEARD THE WORD THIS MORNING, THIS IS WHERE YOU CALLED US TO BE. OH, THE DEMOGRAPHICS HAVE CHANGED, THE COMMUNITY HAS CHANGED. THANK GOD. THANK YOU FOR MORE SOULS. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US MORE SOULS IN BECAUSE WE ARE ALL YOUR CHILDREN. WE ALL ARE IDENTIFIED BY YOUR CREATION. AND LORD, IT IS OUR GOAL AND ASPIRATION THAT EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL TAKE ON YOUR GREAT NAME BECAUSE THERE'S POWER IN YOUR NAME. THAT IS THE SAVING NAME. THERE'S RESTORATION AND HEALING IN YOUR NAME. AND AS ONE CHURCH BODY TONIGHT, WE LIFT UP THIS PRAYER TO HEAVEN knowing knowing that you're going to do a mighty work. If you believe that, why don't you give the Lord a great big hand clap? >> Hallelujah. be here Wednesday night for worship in the word. Greet your brothers and sisters in Jesus name. Shake hands and be friendly.