Wednesday Night Bible Study

praise the lord everyone praise the lord everyone we greet you tonight in that wonderful name of the lord jesus christ the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved a scripture that uh came to my mind acts 26 24 as he thus spake for himself festus said with a loud voice paul thou art beside thyself much learning doth make thee mad but he said i'm not mad most noble festus but speak forth the words of truth and soberness and what reminded me of this as he was giving his testimony about his conversion and his experience festus the political leader he just i imagined him standing to his feet but he shouted with a loud voice paul much learning has made thee mad um i feel when i look around and i see all that god has done for us and the great people of god um i can't i can't contain myself i'm tempted to yell with a loud voice i'm excited about what the lord has just mentioned it just came to my mind pastor brother ellard when we moved into this building we didn't have anything but the opa set we had in the little event center and the brother eller whose parents said incidentally they came and sing for us many years ago the elders did such a great job but brother elder set up his pa set and and kept us in sound until we got our sound ordered and installed and good to see brother and sister elder here tonight and then today we met with the businessman and and i couldn't contain myself telling him about our pastoral staff i just couldn't i just had to brag on them tell them about my son and his wife and my my grandson my grandson-in-law and and what a great church so i i guess i can't say much learning has made me mad but i will say this when the disciples saw what jesus did he said they were reminded of the scripture that the zeal of his house has eaten him up and that's the way i feel the zeal of this work right here is eating me up i can't contain myself i have to i have to tell them about it and um i think you feel the same way what a great great work of god we have going here in our church family and i also want to say that next wednesday night now i'm appealing for all the folks that got out of a habit of going to church during this pandemic to get you back in the habit of coming to the house of god now it's a summer month in this daylight and folks have a problem driving at night you i think you're going to have a pretty much daylight for quite a while now and let's get back in the habit of being here on wednesday night and uh instead of teaching we've changed our format somewhat and instead of having a sunday school lesson on sunday morning we have a bible lesson on wednesday night and um i'm threatening to give away goldfish to get your old folks to come i might want to be be giving away something else i don't know some blood uh some iron tablets or something like that but anyway i'd i'd like to see all of you here on wednesday night as we study the word of god there's nothing more important than to study god's word and that's so so extremely important a week from tonight next wednesday night next wednesday sister mccool and i will be observing and celebrating our 65th wedding anniversary i believe yes uh and it's been 60 65 wonderful years and everybody i can capture and have them i've sung to my doctor and the everybody else about the wonderful lady that when she turned 80 and the i believe i said sunday night we'd been married 64 years at 65 this coming wednesday and um what a graduation we had sunday uh we everything we do we say that that's the best we've had well we've never had a better one than this last sunday night brother derek daniel he he touched my heart listen if we ever get to the place that we can't choke up we can't be touched you're getting too far away from the lord that's right because uh jesus wept the bible to the shortest verse in the bible jesus wept and there's times that our hearts are touched and i was so mightily touched sunday night with the the graduation of our and i didn't realize this that was our 43rd graduating class and that we'd graduated over 300 students and that that is so gratifying and so so wonderful now bishop mccool didn't do this there's no way i could have without you the saints of god i want you to understand that and when we have a graduation we ought to pack this place out because everybody needs to come and see what your prayers and your finances and your faithfulness has done for the work of god think about that over 300 graduates and sister daniel uh she's the the second uh principal and she's done such offend and the first person was only a couple of three years whatever but anyway she and her family brother derek literally has been here all of his life he was literally born in this church we established a nursery for him and had a teacher and i think that was the only student because we didn't take infants but sister daniel was uh expecting derek and when derek was born we had like we because we just couldn't do without her and brother derek has been here his entire life and there's no words to express what a great person he is his dad was and well here i go again the zeal of your house has eaten you up the zeal of god's house it stirs me when i think of all that god has done mama how precious and how wonderful if you flip a coin you have a 50 chance of guessing whether it'll be heads or tails if you play rock paper scissors you have a 33 chance of guessing the right response if you guess a number between 1 and 100 you have a 1 chance of guessing the right number but let us make it more difficult to guess the right answer cover the state of texas knee deep in silver dollars all 268 597 square miles mark one of those silver dollars with a sharpie and ask a blindfolded man or woman to find the marked silver dollar on the first try the possibility of that happening lives just outside the gated neighborhood of impossible according to peter stoner retired chairman of mathematics and astronomy at pasadena college that outcome would be the probability of jesus fulfilling just eight old testament prophecies about himself by chance a probability of one and one hundredth quartillion that number is one with 17 zeros to follow the prophets predicted jesus would be born of a virgin in bethlehem from the line of abraham and from the tribe of judah he would be called emmanuel spend the the season in egypt and follow a forerunner over 200 more prophecies predicted his incarnation birth life death and resurrection if jesus was just a man those prophecies would have fallen unfulfilled but he was not just a man he was god in flesh and he was on the throne even when he was in the manger on the cross or in the tomb aren't you glad you know this man called jesus our lesson tonight is entitled without controversy without knowledge you don't find many things that's without controversy without argument but notice this the focus thought jesus identity identified is with jesus identity is without controversy in the apostolic church there's one thing about it his identity is not in question among the apostolic people we know who he is and the zeal of that knowledge eats us up to think about how wonderful it is the focus verse first timothy 3 16 and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness god was manifest in the flesh notice what that says god was manifest in the flesh justified in the spirit seen of the angels preaching to the gentiles believed on in the world and received up into glory isaiah 7 14 therefore the lord isaiah is prophesying thus therefore the lord himself shall give you a sign behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name emmanuel a virgin conceiving whoever heard of such a thing never had it ever been done in the history of the world and yet isaiah centuries before it came to pass prophesied that this was going to come to pass he says in isaiah 9 6 for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor the mighty god the everlasting father the prince of peace without controversy great is the mystery of godliness it's a great mystery of godless but it's no mystery to we who have the revelation of the oneness of the godhead first timothy 3 14 through 16 these things write i unto thee hoping to come unto thee shortly but if i tarry along that thou mayest know how thou ought us to behave thyself in the house of god which is the church of the living god and the pillar and ground of the truth and without controversy again and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness god was manifest in the flesh justified in the spirit scene of angels preached unto the gentiles believed on in the world the mystery of the godhead of first timothy 3 16 we just read the old testament prophets predicted his incarnation as we've already read in isaiah 7 14 therefore the lord himself shall give you a sign behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name emmanuel isaiah declared a virgin would conceive and bear a son matthew connected this prophecy to jesus in matthew chapter 1 starting at verse 18. now the birth of jesus christ was on this wise when as his mother mary was espoused to joseph before they came together she was found with child of the holy ghost then joseph her husband being a just man and not willing to make her a public example was minded to put her away privately now in those days adultery was punishable by death he could have this a spouse wife they were engaged and for her to be found with child it wasn't his he had every right according to the society of that day to have her stoned to death but him being a just man a kind man was willing to quietly put her away and not make a big deal out of this fact that his espoused wife his fiancee was with child but while he fought on these things behold the angel of the lord appeared unto him in a dream saying joseph thou son of david fear not to take unto thee mary thy wife but that which is conceived in her is of the holy ghost never been heard of in all of history at all time a woman to become pregnant without having any dealings with a man and yet she was expecting a child and she was a virgin and the angel said that she shall bring forth a son and thou shall call his name jesus for he shall save his people from their sins now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of by of the lord by the prophets saying behold a virgin shall be with child now we're reading from matthew and matthew is quoting the prophets behold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name emmanuel which being interpreted is god with us now that did not say god is with us it said god with us as i thought on that you know we all say god was sure with us last wednesday night oh god was with us such and such that means that he was watching over us and protecting us but the bible said his name would be called immanuel which being to his god with us god is not god is he is god with us that means he is alive he's real and he is god with us going back to the knee deep in silver dollars brother welch d.l welsh that is uh sister uh kelly's uh great uncle or great great uncle i preached for him many times in fact i lived in pensacola for some period of time and uh he he would have this expression about uh fellows trying to prove the trinity said it's like a a blind man in a blind blindfold in a dark room looking for an item that isn't in there and you don't get much more difficult than that a blind man in the dark room uh looking for a black cat that ain't end i believe that was the way it went and he would debate this with other with other preachers well let me tell you something god with us the mathematician that came up with those fantastic odds the fact that all these things centuries before had been prophesied came to pass to the letter because god said it and what god said it's going to come to pass i said what god said it's going to to come to pass man don't always keep his word president lyndon johnson promised american citizens in 1964 we are not about to send american boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what the asian boys ought to do be doing for themselves the following year president johnson approved the deployment of american troops into vietnam the president had broken his promise in the election in 1968 president johnson decided not to run for reelection republican president richard elect richard nixon ran on the campaign promise to stop sending troops to vietnam nixon claimed he had a secret plan to end the war in december 1969 roughly 11 months after taking office president nixon initiated the first draft lottery since world war ii the president had broken his promise in april 1975 the last american troops evacuated to vietnam following the fall of saigon broken promises that left the scars on the hearts of the american people in contrast today we're going to discuss the fact that god cannot lie when god makes a promise you can believe it's going to come to pass let every man be lie be a lawyer but let god's word be true he said it and that sentence it praise the give the lord a hand clap a virgin shall be with child shall bring forth the son or they shall call his name emmanuel which being interpreted is god with us then jesus being raised from the dead as the angel of the lord had bitten him and took unto him his wife beg your pardon then joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the lord had bid in him and took unto him his wife and knew or not until she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called his name jesus it's recorded that mary jesus virgin mother gave birth to the son of god the bible said it would happen centuries before it came to pass and no doubt many folks were skeptical and and did not criticize it said it could never happen but he said it and in god's own time it came to pass isaiah 9-6 for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder his name shall be called wonderful counselor mighty god the everlasting father the prince of peace truly the name of jesus is wonderful philippians 2 9-11 says wherefore god also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and excuse me things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father the bible in fatica said there's one lord one faith and one baptism one god and father of all who is above all the thrall and in you all and i've got news for you that one lord's name is jesus and we know who he is well he said he would be the the his name would be a counselor well he is the counselor through the holy spirit and i want to tell you something if you've got a if you've got a counselor like him you you've got a winning team and john 14 26 said but the comforter which is the holy ghost whom the father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever i have said unto you now jesus was talking to his disciples in the 14th chapter of saint john and he tells them that the he wasn't going to be with him always but he's going to give him another comforter but he goes on to say he wasn't he was with them but he was going to be within them this god man this this man jesus who was as much god as if he wasn't man as much man as if he wasn't god he promised him that he was going away but it was not going to leave them without a comforter i will not leave your covers i will come to you and he did come to us as the holy ghost on the day of pentecost peace i leave with you my peace i give unto you not as the world giveth give unto you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid this son of god will also be the mighty god who possesses all the power and authority of god in matthew 28 18 jesus said jesus came and spake unto him saying all power is given unto me in heaven and earth this child would also be the everlasting father now in isaiah 9 6 he said unto us a child was born unto us the son of given the government should be upon his shoulders his name is because wonderful counselor the mighty god the everlasting father he was not the everlasting son but he was the everlasting father adam clark has comments on the fact are upon the the idea of jesus being the eternal son of god and he calls it absurd he calls it a dangerous doctrine and it tells just how impossible that could could be for him to be the everlasting son well he's never called the everlasting son except by preachers preachers call call him the everlasting son he's not the everlasting son he's the everlasting father he came to this world manifest in the flesh to become a man so he could put on a tent a body that he could lay down and die for us and now that he's going to give up that flesh and going back to the spirit and return on the day of pentecost as the holy ghost i am with you but i shall be in you and today he's not setting you in a bodily form by by you but he is in every heart that has a holy ghost he filled your life that's why we're so excited about the great mystery of godliness give him another handclap well jesus what have you got to say about the subject well in john 10 and 30 he said i and my father are one finally this child and son would be the prince of peace which indicates that his rule and leadership would be characterized by peace instead of war jesus identity was without controversy in the early church the one god of the old testament was made flesh in the person of jesus christ in the new testament the one god of the old testament was the jesus christ of the the new and saint john 1 14 and the well let's go with saint john chapter 1 verse 1. in the beginning was the word the word was with god and the word was god the same was in the beginning with god all things were made by him and without him there was not anything made that was made and in him was life and the life was the light of men then now remember what he just said john said in in john 1 in the beginning was the word the word was with god and the word was god then in verse 14 he said and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us now that was made flesh was a tent a tabernacle a temporary dwelling is what it's really meaning a temporary the word which was god who made all things and all things were made by him that word was made flesh god took upon him a fleshly body a tent a temporary dwelling that god could dwell in that fleshly body that he can lay that body down for our sins and though he knew no sin he became sin for us oh hallelujah you'll have to excuse me i i i can't here i go uh the zeal of the world is eating me up john 16 and 7 nevertheless i tell you the truth it's expedient for you that i go away it's it's it's important that now he'd already told them and the 14th chapter said john so that's not your heart but trouble you believe in and god believe also name my father's house of many mansions one also would have told you and but now then he told him he wasn't going away wasn't going to leave them and now then he's telling him he's going to leave them how do we reconcile this seemingly contradiction jesus said nevertheless i tell you the truth it's expedient for you that i go away for if i go not away the comforter will not no why is that pray tell why did he have to leave for the holy ghost to come i tell a lot of a little earthy carnal story but it resonates with me because i experienced it when i was a little boy back in the country we didn't have very much christmas uh kids gets more on saturday now than we did all year long we might get a a sock with an orange and apple in it and if some some little toy we was very privileged of course here we go again we like to brag about how poor we were you know like the politicians that all was born in a log cabin they built with their own hands and we'd brag about how poor we were but anyway uh uh uh when when christmas time would come uh we'd be we're looking for old santa claus today and uh sure enough about uh all about time for santa claus to come our bells would start ringing and lingling in here old santa claus would come in with a red suit and a beard and he had and he would pass out the stuff and and then he would disappear and as i got a little bit older i got to noticing before santa claus would get there my daddy would somehow disappear would have something to have somewhere to go you know he's had to and then when daddy came back oh daddy you missed him you bet you missed santa claus santa claus was here and then i got to notice that santa claus was wearing my daddy's boots my daddy's shoes and i began to put it together that uh wait a minute daddy can't be here when santa claus is here huh some country singer wrote and recorded a song years ago i saw mama kissing santa claus you got to put that together well i began to put it together that daddy and santa claus couldn't be there at the same time because he was one and the same just in a different garb just in a different suit of clothes i want to tell you jesus said it's expedient for you that i go away because if i don't go away the holy ghost is not going to come but notice then what he said for if i go another way the comforter will not come unto you but if i depart i will send him unto you say john 14 16 and i will pray the father and he shall give you another covenant wait a minute here he is here he is in saint john 16 7 i will send him unto you and john 14 16 i'll pray the father that he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever now as you begin to put these scriptures together and you begin to see what's how it's uh culminating and coming together that this one great god that created the heavens and the earth that he he created a plan to bring us back to god when we had lost in adam and now then he came in the form of a man and now then he's got to go back to the holy spirit going back to heaven and then he comes back as the holy spirit and fills us with the holy ghost but the comforter which is the holy ghost whom the father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever i have said unto you john 15 26 but when the comforters come whom i will send unto you from the father even the spirit of truth which proceedeth from the father he shall testify of me this is where the the world gets it mixed up because matthew 28 19 speaks of baptizing them in the name of the father and the son of the holy ghost well father is not a name that's a title son is not a name it's a title holy ghost is not a name it is a title i'm a father i'm a son i'm a husband i'm an uncle i'm a grandpa but those are not those are my titles that's that's what i am and when jesus said go get therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the father he didn't say repeat my words but he said baptize them in the name of the father now i've signed my name many a time throughout the years uh something delivered we we need the pastor's signature we need the i didn't sign the document p-a-s-t-o-r i signed the name of the pastor signed a document today that said uh the signature i didn't write signature down i i broke my name now when jesus said go get therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the father you've got to find out what the father's name is jesus said i am come in my father's name if another would come in his own name you would receive now jesus came in his father's name now we've already read the angel told joseph thou shall call his name the son's name is jesus and if the son's name is jesus the bible said he received his name by inheritance if he inherited his name who did he inherited it from did he hear it from thomas did he inherit it from bartholomew did he heard it from no he inherited it from his father mark's name is makuu we gave him anyway and can you guess what his father's name is now the son's name was jesus and i'm in my father's name and we just read where jesus said i will send the comfort of the holy ghost in my name that's where they get it all mixed up and that's why the apostles when they came on they began to baptize not one time not one time in the lids of the bible did anybody ever baptize anyone using the words father son and holy ghost the only way the new testament preachers baptized after the day of pentecost was in the name of jesus when in the the acts 2 38 when they said men and brother what shall we do then peter said to them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ for the remission of now you are being baptized in the name of the father son holy ghost when you're baptized in jesus name but if you say the words father son holy ghost you're not baptizing in their name you're just repeating those words nevertheless i tell you the truth it's expected of you that i go away if i go not away the comforter will not come at you but if i depart i'll send them to you my little children these things right behind you that you send up if any man's sin we have an advocate with the father jesus christ the righteous jesus and the holy spirit following jesus ascension were the same jesus was god manifest in the flesh in john chapter 20 24-29 after the crucifixion of the resurrection of jesus the the apostles found them a secret place where evidently they were frightened for their own safety and jesus just came right through the wall and appeared to them but the bible said thomas was not with them thomas was not there i wonder where it was i've said that a lot of time where was thomas he wasn't there and but then he after jesus had appeared thomas arrived on the scene and for eight days he had to listen to the other disciples of their apostles tell about jesus appearing before them and thomas said i don't believe you i will not believe until i see with my own eyes until i've thrust my hand in his side and feel the wound inside i will not believe after eight days thomas was with them and jesus came appearing through a solid wall again and he walks right up to thomas and he said thomas behold my hands flush forth your hand and put it in my side and let's find out the details but thomas one of the twelve corneliumus was not with them when jesus came the other disciples therefore said unto him we've seen the lord but he said to them except i shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and thrust my hand into his side i will not believe after eight days again his disciples were within and thomas with them then came jesus the doors being shut and stood in the midst and said peace be unto you then said he to thomas reach heather thy finger and behold my hands and reach hither thy hand and thrusted into my side and be not faithless but believing thomas what do you think about it now what do you got to say about it now and thomas answered and said unto him my lord and my god who is jesus he's my lord and my god thomas made a proclamation and was not denied was not refuted was not contradicted when he said my lord and my god jesus said unto him thomas because thou has seen be those believe blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed jesus was justified in the spirit romans 3 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in christ jesus whom god has set forth to be of appreciation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of god to declare i say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believes in jesus then the bible said he was seen of angels that was matthew or rather first timothy 3 16 is the basis for our study tonight he was seen of angels well and luke 1 30-33 the angel gabriel announced the birth of christ to mary now this was prophesied by isaiah in isaiah 9 and 6 centuries before and now then gabriel announces the birth of christ the angelic host praised god as the result of jesus birth and luke 2 13-14 and also behold herod could carry out his plan before herod could carry out his plan to kill infant babies and angels an angel warned joseph to take his family to egypt matthew 3 13-20. again he was seen of angels angels ministered to him after jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and was tempted by satan according to matthew 4 11 angels appeared to jesus and ministered to him now back to the knee deep in silver dollars all of these things that was prophesied centuries before are now coming to pass exactly the way he said that it was going to be look at this while jesus prayed in the garden of gethsemane shortly before his capture an angel was present to give jesus strength according to luke 22 43 an angel rolled the stone away from the tomb of jesus and announced jesus resurrection in matthew 28 1 2 5 and 6. when jesus ascended into heaven two angels were witness to his ascension this thrills me when what we're reading now we're reading the fulfillment of a prophecy that had to be god for all of these things to fall in place and to be brought to pass now peter stoner the retired mathematician teacher when he said that that's the tremendous odds what was they called it the possibility that's happening lives just outside the gated neighborhood of impossible according to peter stoner retired chairman of the mathematics and astronomy at pasadena college city college that outcome would be the proble probability of jesus fulfilling just eight old testament prophecies about himself think about that one and 100 trillion but yet it came to pass because god don't lie because god said it yeah and it's going to come to pass if god said it he preached to the gentiles acts 15 and the apostles and the elders came together for to consider this matter they was debating over about the gentiles becoming a part of the church and when there had been much disputing peter rose up and said unto them man and brethren you know how that a good while ago god made choice among us that the gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel that the gentiles and god which knoweth the hearts bear them witness giving them the holy ghost even as he did unto us you will remember in the in the 10th chapter of acts when the household cornelius when that cornelius got so close to god he he saw an angel an angel says send to jump and get peter and he'll tell you words where you and your your family can be saved the city got peter and while peter yes fake now peter got six jews to come with him because in those days if you would if you preach the gentiles you would you'd be called on the carpet because they had no dealings with one another but the bible said while peter yet spake the holy ghost fell all that heard the word and they of the circumcision that meant the jews and then the circumcision which believed were astonished because that on the gentiles also was poured out the gift of the holy ghost for because for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify god then answered peter i imagine this in my he looks around to these six jews these six witnesses and he said can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the holy ghost as well as we now we're talking about the plan of salvation in the 10th chapter of acts and can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the holy ghost as well as we and he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the lord and then they prayed him to terror with him certain days now of course we know what the name of the lord is the name of the lord is jesus when on the road to damascus from paul was knocked down and a great light shine from heaven he said lord who art thou who are you lord well we let the lord tell you who he is and the lord said i am jesus i don't know about you but it just thrills me when i've been see it all come together so so so beautiful how how beautiful how beautiful it is something comes to my mind right now a little illustration down the hall of the event center uh down toward the school wing there is a picture of the church it's a picture of first apostolic church it's just a great picture of the church but if you get to looking closely the picture of the church is made up of families in the church you'll look at that sometimes look at it you have to look at it begins to come together and all these families together that the photographers and the people that that publish it it it it makes a picture of the church when you begin to put all the attributes of god together when you begin with all that then you begin to see that god had come together that there's just one god and his name one and that one name is jesus now in the 19th chapter of acts we're talking about the holy ghost and water baptism in the 19th chapter of acts paul having pastor of the upper coast came to ephesus and finding certain disciples he said to them have you received the holy ghost since you believe they said we've not so much heard were there be holy ghosts well he said unto what then were you baptized is it important that you be baptized a certain way unto what then were you baptized and they said under john's baptism well he said john betterly baptized with the baptism of repentance saying unto the people that they should believe on him which should come after him which was christ jesus when they heard this they were baptized in the name of the lord jesus paul laid his hands on them they received the holy ghost to spake in tongues and prophesied now in the eighth chapter of acts acts 8 and 12 that philip went down to samaria and he preached to them and when he preached that they were baptized in the name of jesus but then when the apostles which of jerusalem heard that samaria had received the word of god now we're talking about gentiles now when they gen when the apostles said jerusalem heard that samaria had received the word of god they sent unto them peter and john who when they were come down pray for them that they might receive the holy ghost for as yet he was fallen upon none of them only they were baptized in the name of the lord jesus [Music] he preached unto the gentiles at the end of the book of acts luke presents paul spending two years preaching the gospel in rome the heart of the empire acts 28 13 31 acts marks a progression between two cities and two worlds it began in the jewish world and concluded in the heart of the roman world surely this is the testimony to jesus who was believed on in the world would you stand your feet with me please acts 4 acts 1 4-11 and being assembled together with them commanded them that they should not depart from jerusalem but wait for the promise of the father which saith thee you've heard of me john truly baptized with water but this ye shall be baptized with the holy ghost not many days hence and when they therefore were come together they asked of him saying lord without this time restored the kingdom of israel and he said to them it's not for you to know the time of the seasons which the father has put his own power but ye shall receive power after the holy ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me both in jerusalem all judea and then samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth and when he had thus spoken these things while they beheld he was taken up and the cloud received him out of their sight and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel which said unto them you men of galilee why stand ye gazing up into the heaven this same jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him going to heaven that's the one thing that hasn't been fulfilled yet but i'm looking for it any day i'm looking for any day this same jesus that you see go away is going to return in like manner as you see him go away that's why i'm rejoicing that's why i'm living every day in expectation whether i go by way of the resurrection or whether i go by way of the rapture i'm looking for jesus to come would you let your hands and love you right now father we do thank you tonight for the blessed word of god we're thankful that's the the love of god has been manifest to us you you left the throne of glory and became a man like we lonely creatures that you might give your life that we could be saved we thank you for god i pray that you let this word sink deep into the hearts of men and women god bring us back at our next appointed service in jesus name we pray amen and amen you're dismissed in the name of the lord