Article

 Jack Ferrell - August, 2024

Acts 2:1-6 — And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

We must let Him have access in every thing that we do. If we want to see the numerical and spiritual growth we desire; if we want to see deliverance; if we want to see revival: we have to let Him have access to our lives. For years we have prayed for growth in our church and in the youth department. We have prayed for lost loved ones to be saved and brought into the fold. We pray for revival in our spirit to bring in the lost sheep. Let me encourage you, KEEP PRESSING FORWARD. We don't know what God has in store for us but what I do know is that it's perfect and it will come in His timing. But until that unknown day comes, we must make sure that we are where we need to be with the Lord so we're not taken by surprise. 

For me to get the point across, let’s look back in the previous chapter.

Pentecost

The apostles had seen Jesus resurrected from the dead and He spent 40 days with them. I'm sure they were ready to start the commission He had given them, but he told them to go to Jerusalem and wait. As Jesus ascended back into heaven, it says that they looked steadfastly as he went up. While they were watching, there were 2 angels standing next to them and they said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." When we stand gazing, the thought of the Lord's return should quicken and awaken us. So, the disciples had experienced all of this and it still took around 10 days before they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Why did it take so long? I'm sure they were ready to receive the baptism, but was it the appointed time for Him to give the baptism?

There was a celebration that went on in Jerusalem called The Feast of Weeks. This celebration, also known as Pentecost (which means 50), took place 50 days after the Passover. Jews from all over the world came to Jerusalem to take part in this celebration. It was God's plan to give them this gift during this specific time. Because of this, the people from many cultures heard their own tongue and they were drawn in to the message they were hearing. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (v. 41)

But before all of this happened on Pentecost, they had to make sure that their house was in order. Christ established the Church in Mark 3 with 12 Jews to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. But with the fall of Judas, they only had 11. They knew the importance of having 12, so they had to bring another in. They prayed for the lord to search the hearts of Justus and Matthias, to show them which one he had chosen to replace Judas. It says that they cast their lots and the lot fell on Matthias. So, they had to make sure that there was nothing keeping them from receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. They kept praying until they were all in one accord and unified. When the time was right and they were ready, God moved and did what he said he would do. For us to receive that old time religion, we must be found doing our part.

Self-Examination

A couple of weeks ago, I sent Brother Todd McDonald something I had been working on for him to proofread and check if I should add or change anything. The topic of the conversation was “how do we help someone pray through to sanctification?”, and we talked about how we should always lead the seeker to self-examination.

We must self-examine ourselves to be sure that God is not waiting on us to move, so that He can move. We need to make sure that nothing is holding us back. Like I said before, we have prayed for certain things for years and I'm sure we wonder if God even hears our cries, but I'm telling you: He does! He's never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread. Keep pressing on and keep praying in faith! He will answer!

Moses and Pharaoh

While I was preparing for this message, the Lord kept reminding me of the story of Moses and Pharaoh. God came to Moses in a burning bush, and after Moses gives every excuse to not be a part of the plan, he goes. After he accepts the job and God gives him the plan, God tries to kill him because he was not following His law. After he makes things right with the help of his wife, he goes to Egypt. After confronting Pharaoh to let God's people go,  he says No and his heart was hardened. This doesn't surprise Moses because God told him in the burning bush that he was going to harden his heart. 

Why was God going to send Moses to lead his people out of Egypt and harden the heart of the one man that was keeping them there? They were God's Chosen people! They had been worked, beaten, starved, and even killed by the Egyptians; they were ready to leave! So, why did God keep hardening the heart of Pharaoh? He was trying to make a point. The 10 plagues weren't just a punishment to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, he was showing his sovereignty to His people, the Egyptians, and to Pharaoh. Every plague that was sent by God went against an Egyptian god. God had to do this to eliminate any doubt in the heart of His people and the Egyptians.

Just like he did with the Prophet Elijah when he went against the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18: He eliminated all doubt by adding water to the altar; and when the fire from heaven came down, there was no question on who the one true God was. 

You may be asking: why do we not instantly receive what we ask of God when we know we're ready to receive it? Because God's timing is perfect and his plan for you will greatly affect others. He will wait for the right moment and the right reason so you can have the right testimony to share with the right person. 

Closing

In closing, I want to share with you the magnitude of God's power, and how He is capable to do all things so long as we are obedient to Him. His timing is perfect, His plan is perfect, and we must walk in obedience to Him. Our walk can't just be at church or during worship time: our walk is especially at home during our personal time. Are we allowing God more access into our lives? Are we seeking for more of Him at home, or just on Sundays and Wednesdays? He has offered us unlimited access to Him; but, are we allowing Him more access to us?

Ezekiel 37:1-14 — The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

How far are we willing to go? There had to be a body there before the breath of life could come in. The body had to be prepared in order for it to be used effectively. How are we preparing ourselves for the Lord's use? 

"I will be their God and they will be my people." (v. 23, 27)

How far are we willing to go to be His people?