"A Simple Presentation into The Book of ACTS" - Chapter #3 (Part 2) - Bro. John "Ernie" Perez

A crowd hears Peter preach, feels the cut of conviction, and asks the most important question a human can ask: What shall we do? From that moment in Acts 2 to the miracle at the temple gate in Acts 3, we follow the apostolic pattern that refuses shortcuts and embraces transformation. Faith begins the journey, but the right response to grace is repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the promised gift of the Holy Spirit—the times of refreshing the prophets foresaw.

Bro. Ernie unpacks ACTS Chapter 3 is this second part as to why the name of Jesus is not a slogan but authority. A man lame from birth stands, leaps, and worships, and Peter will not accept credit. Faith in His name made this man whole. That same name carries power for healing, freedom from habits, and bold witness today. We connect the scriptural dots—from Luke’s commission to preach repentance and remission in His name, to John’s call to believe on His name, to Isaiah’s promise of refreshing and rest—showing how the Bible’s single thread runs from covenant to Christ to church.

Along the way, we get practical. Repentance is not an event but a life posture. Disciples are not fans who attend; they follow daily, walk the highway of holiness, and keep their hearts soft to the Spirit. Understanding opens as we seek God’s will. Miracles do not belong to personalities; they belong to Jesus. The church is invited to believe, obey, and speak His name with trust, leaving the outcomes to God. If you’re ready to move from checkbox faith to a living, Spirit-filled walk, this conversation will show you the way marks.

Subscribe, share this episode with someone hungry for clarity, and leave a review with your biggest question or insight. Your voice helps more seekers find the good news—and step into the refreshing Jesus promised. (Recorded on 9.8.2025)

Ways to Give at www.m3mi.org...Thank you for your seed!  :)

Transcript

Framing Acts And The Core Message

SPEAKER_01 1:02

And back there is Sister Sandy McClendon. How are y'all?

unknown 1:06

We're fine.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

We're all good today. We're all good today. So we're continuing our study on the simple presentation of the Book of Acts that Brother Ernie has been doing for us. Um, and we're about to continue with uh chapter three. But I want to, while we're on the podcast, what can you say up through chapter three is probably the one message you would want somebody to take thus far. Now we want to encourage everybody to go back and there's an intro, chapter one, there's three parts of chapter of chapter two. We've got two and three parts of chapter three going on, a synopsis that we just did last week. So we want everybody to go and get caught up there. Um, but then as we continue on, what would you say is the the main message um that Luke is trying to portray as we go into this these chapters?

Conviction After Peter’s Sermon

SPEAKER_00 2:02

There's so many wonderful, exciting things that are happening there. I'm supposing, uh, because I hadn't really thought about it like that before, Diana, but I'm um supposing it's got to be what happens in Acts chapter 2 after Peter gets through preaching all about um what you're seeing here, speaking in tongues, uh people looking like they're drunk. This is all Joel's prophecy being fulfilled, how he brings that forth, and then he turns around and he he keeps talking, and then he gets into the resurrection of Jesus, and he's quoting from the Psalms saying, and this proves that Jesus rose from the dead. So what happened, the people believed. They believed everything Peter said, not the whole crowd, but there was a large group that believed everything Peter said. And I want you to notice what happens when they believed. In Acts chapter 2, uh Peter closes out his very first sermon. Therefore, with verse 36, Acts chapter 2, verse 36, therefore, let out all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that seem Jesus whom you have crucified, Lord in Christ. And verse 37 is so pivotal, it is a fulcrum, as it were. It says, Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? They had come to believe all the preaching that Peter had been giving was correct. And it made them understand we crucified the Messiah, we murdered the Son of God. Worse than that, he was Lord and Christ. So not and no not only was he the Messiah, he was a representation of God Almighty. And they're they're processing this, yeah, and so they're talking among themselves, and and they finally say to uh Peter and the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? That is a cry. I don't think they whispered it. Yeah, they realized who they had crucified, who they had murdered. So when they said, Men and brethren, what shall we do? It it wasn't like uh some some TV personality asking a question, you know, of a celebrity. So when did this happen? No. This was panic in their souls.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Yeah. And so I I can hear them if they weren't shouting, they were moaning, they were groaning, they were in my ear, in my mind, they were stressed. They believed, but they didn't know what to do with that faith. They only believed that Jesus died and rose from the dead. So we need to be careful telling people, if you believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, then you're born again. That's that's a misquote of the teaching in Romans. Yeah, that's from Romans 10, and it's an accurate statement, but the way it's taught rules out Romans 5, 6, 7, 8. And so you get to thinking you just say these words.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

Repeat after me.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

Repeat after me, raise your hand. Yeah, you know, and yeah, but Peter didn't say any of that on the day of Pentecost. And you won't find Paul in the book of Acts ever saying anything like that. Yeah, the call is if you believe, you repent.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Because when they said that, verse 38, Peter said unto them, repent. Look, conviction God brings on you. The right response to grace is repentance. It's not men's works, it is the right response to God's grace. Water baptism, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. Water baptism isn't men's works, it's instituted by God, it is obedience to his command. And then the promise is you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Um, some people, so it seems to me, uh you baptize them in Jesus' name and they come up out of the water, they're so excited they're speaking in tongues. Their heart is open. Some people before they even get baptized, then there's people who struggle for months or years. I've met them. One guy told me, if I'd have known it was this easy 50 years ago, I would have done it then. Can you imagine such a statement?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Yeah.

Repentance Over Ritual And Slogans

SPEAKER_00 6:52

But it's because they're not understanding, God's responsibility is to give the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He provides the evidence of speaking in other tongues. People don't do it and shouldn't be judging themselves by it. What they should be doing is thank the Lord. Didn't say some will, some won't. Yeah. He said to the whole crowd, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And because our mentality is confused with teaching like some will, some won't, or that was only for that day and time. And so, and another one, people think they have to get good enough to get the Holy Ghost. Once you have a repentant heart, you have faith, you're a candidate to be filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. But they'll think, well, I still smoke. Well, you know what? God wants you to defeat that. But once you repent, you're ready. Well, if that's true, ain't a Christian in the world.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

Ain't nobody gonna get it.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Yeah, because those disciples could have never had it. You know, those apostles could have never had it.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

It's that if you don't respond to the Holy Ghost, you're in trouble. Right. When he provokes you to repentance, if you ignore that, his voice gets weaker and weaker because your hearing gets more and more dull. Yeah. And then you begin to license sin instead of being convicted over sin. You know, I I got friends, I'm not saying that this is what we should do, but I've got friends in church. I've seen friends who, uh, as far as I was concerned, they stayed in habits that they really needed to get rid of. But I noticed them. They're serious in their commitment. They're people who are in the altar in repentance, they're they're doing everything they know to do. They just have different battles. If your battle is more on the surface, everybody sees it. Yeah. And you can get the idea that, well, God's not going to do this, or God's don't do that to yourself. Where sin did abound, grace did much more abound. Uh repentance is the most powerful prayer in the world, as far as I'm concerned. And it's not an event, it's a lifetime experience. Salvation's more than event, it is an experience you step into. And Isaiah prophesied and called it the highway of holiness. That means it's a journey.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

A journey. Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

It's your your salvation, then prophetically speaking, from Isaiah, it's a journey.

unknown 9:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

From this life to the next, traveling the highway of holiness, and all along the way, you have to battle your own carnal nature. You have to battle the influences of the world, you have to battle the influences of Satan. So then, how do I stay in a right frame of mind? I keep a repentant frame of mind. Lord Jesus, make me sensitive to your voice so that when I say the wrong thing, when I do the wrong thing, if I don't feel it then, well, maybe that evening, but somewhere in my life, I become aware. Gosh, I dropped my watermelon right there, God. I I oh Lord, help me get better. We don't think of some habits we have as being sinful, but if they pull you away from the time you need to spend with the Lord, the time you have need to spend with your family, the time you need to spend in your employment, if they're pulling you away from responsibilities, you know it is God's wholesome plan for you to meet those responsibilities. That habit doesn't have to be listed as a sin, it just has to become between you and God.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

And then we need to pray about that and get rid of it. Can can everybody give me an amen? I know we're not in church.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

All right. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

I'm sorry, I got carried away.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

We're on the journey, we're on the journey. So we're gonna continue with uh chapter three of the book of Acts, and we're gonna start our video in just a moment.

Lifelong Repentance And Grace

Launching Acts 3: The Lame Man Healed

Faith In Jesus’ Name Not Personal Holiness

Scripture Chain: John, Luke, Mark On The Name

Ignorance, Prophecy, And Fulfillment

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Okay, so we go, we'll get squared up here in just a moment, and we'll be started. So in Acts chapter three, um, we're gonna get started in just a moment. We'll begin reading at verse 16. We've already uh discussed the fact that Peter and John were on their way to the temple at the hour of prayer. The Hebrew culture uh has uh three hours of prayer a day, morning, afternoon, and evening. And uh they were on their way, so it looks like the saints of the living God, the disciples of Jesus, were still practicing this prayer, and they went to the temple daily, those who could. And on the way there, they they saw a man who'd been lame ever since he was born. He was it was well known who he was, he was lame in his ankles, he was always begging. Don't know how many times Jesus passed him, don't know how many times the apostles passed him before. But this time they saw him and said to him, Look at us. And when when he looked at them, expecting to receive some money, Peter, who is much more bold than I am, sticks himself out there and says, Uh, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he grabs him by the hand and lifts him up. I've I've prayed for people with broken bones and seen them healed, but I've never grabbed somebody from a wheelchair and stood them up. You know, but Peter might as well have been picking them up out of a wheelchair or a walker, and they go into the temple. The man's been there for 40 years, walking, leaping, and praising God. So this was not a calm event. Walking and leaping, jumping up and down in the temple, praising God. And Peter, right away, is is as he and John see the situation, you're not going to give us credit for this. This happened in the name of Jesus. Faith in the name of Jesus, the evoking of the name of Jesus, uh, made this man whole. They would not allow themselves to be idolized. Look, this is a mistake we make, church. Because somebody in your in your uh church service lays hands on someone and that person gets healed, then everybody says, Well, we need to bring that preacher back. We need to idolize it, start idolizing that preacher. Listen to me. That preacher doesn't want to be an idol, ought not want to be an idol. The important thing is Jesus made the healing, and whether the evangelist comes through or not should not have any impact upon the degree of miracles that happen in a church. Certain evangelists seem to have a demonstration of faith like that. Great, praise God. But don't let it be that when they're not with you, that you're not having the demonstration of faith. We don't want to give men and women reputations that don't belong to them. Peter said, We didn't do this. We have no holiness to get this done. There's no holiness in me that would cause this. Faith in the name of Jesus made this happen, made this man whole. And then we get down to uh verse 16, and I'm gonna start reading there. Verse 16. All right. And his name, through faith in his name, that is Jesus, has made this man whole, whom ye see and know. Yea, the faith which is by him had given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But these things which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto me of your brethren, like unto me, I'm sorry, shall raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant with which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his son Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. And we'll stop there. That's the end of that chapter, but it's not the end of this story. So we're just gonna cover the rest of this story, and we get into chapter four. The story will continue. Okay? So let's go back to verse 16. Peter plainly declares, and his name, through faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. This man has been completely, totally healed in the name of Jesus. And you know, there are so many prophecies about that. I I decided I would just give you one quote from Jesus in John chapter 14, verse 14. Jesus is uh this is the night of the Last Supper. This is conversation about that time. And uh, one of the things he says is in verse 14 if ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. We are supposed to evoke, utter, speak the name of Jesus into our situations. It is legal tender in the kingdom of God. The name of Jesus is like a declaration that is sent from heaven, like the king's edict that is tacked up on the wall, but it's tacked upon the heart of the church. Also look at Luke 24. Turn with me to Luke chapter 24, and I'm gonna read verses 46 through 47. The last words of Jesus, according to the research done by Luke and put in his gospel before he writes the book of Acts. And he said unto them, that's Jesus, thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his, the word is name, in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. We are supposed to evoke, we are supposed to pronounce the name of Jesus over situations. It's not woofy dust. There's power in that name because God designated it to be so. And we do not want to ignore or try to erase what God has declared. Look at Mark chapter 16. You're really familiar with this if you've been going through this study with us. Mark chapter 16, beginning with verse 17 and 18. Jesus saying, and these signs shall follow them that believe, not the 11 of you, not the 12 of you, not the 14 or 15 of you, them that believe. In my name, what is that name? Jesus. In my name, they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents. If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Listen, we need to be yielded enough to God that we're seeing a lot more of this in the church today. We know it happens, we hear testimonies of it. Some of us have seen it, but we're not seeing enough of it, at least in my spirit, says, because we're not really believing it enough. We're worried, I'll call out the name of Jesus and something won't happen. We're not believing. We can be better because Christ, the hope of glory, is in us to help us to grow and to become according to his will. Look at John chapter 1. The Gospel of Saint John, chapter 1. John's my favorite gospel. John chapter 1, we get to verse 12. What does John write about Jesus? But as many as received him, receive too. Receive Christ means to acknowledge his teachings and his preaching is correct and live by them, not to just say, Yeah, I met him. That's not receiving him. Receiving him is adjusting our life to who he is. As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. So then if I don't believe there's power in the name of Jesus, there's some changes in my life that are not going to take place because it takes divine intervention for these habits to be defeated, and for other good habits to replace them and fill that void. Everybody say amen. Turn to John chapter 3. Everybody knows John 3.16, and we should, but that's part of an entire conversation. You keep going down, you get to verse 18. Jesus says to Nicodemus, He that believeth on him, who is him? Jesus, is not condemned because I'm sorry, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. Why? Because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. So when you say John 3.16, we all quote that, but we don't tell someone, you need to understand there's power in the name of Jesus and believe it from now on. They're not believing as the scripture has said. We're taking one scripture out of context, and it's a beautiful scripture, it's true, but you have to see everything that it's tied to. It's not a stand-alone scripture. The Bible isn't like that. It's one thread from Genesis to Revelation to confirm what we are to believe and how we are to live. And we we all we have a weakness. We'll cherry-pick scriptures that we like. We we have to rise above that. We can only do that if Jesus helps us. Everybody say amen. So then we get to the book of Acts, chapter 3. We'll go back to now to verse 17. All right. Peter's still preaching, and now, brethren, I want that through ignorance you did it, as did also your rulers. I know. The Pharisees, the scribes, the Sanhedrin, the Sadducees did not properly interpret Scripture. In their ignorance, they went by men's tradition. Jesus told them many times, You have exchanged the tradition of men for the Word of God. That's why they couldn't recognize him when they saw him. They had begun giving it their own personal interpretations rather than waiting for God to give guidance. Now, the people were ignorant of the scriptures, and the very scriptures they study, but all the prophets have spoken about Jesus. That's been fulfilled. You were just in Luke chapter 24. I know I'm bouncing you around a lot, but I want you to see that this book of Acts is fulfilling Scripture. Scripture that came before. Luke 24, verse 44. Jesus again speaking unto the disciples, and he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms. And I'm going to throw one more verse on you, 45. Look what Luke writes there. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scripture. Things were different from that point on. Revelation, illumination, epiphany, whatever you want to call it, divine intervention took place so they could understand the scripture. Verse 19. Listen, I'm sorry, verse 18, but those things which were written I'm getting old. Got it. Verse 19, repent ye therefore. This is what he preaching in Acts 2.38, when they said, What do we do with our faith? Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. So repentance and being converted does not take care of your sins being blotted out. That's the same thing he said in Acts chapter 2, verse 38. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, blotted out, erased, remitted, gotten rid of. There's so much more to teach about why water baptism does this, but I'll I'll point you to Acts chapter 22. I'll point you there. To where Paul is testifying about what happened when God struck him down on the road to Damascus. He became a repentant soul, he became an obedient soul, he did what God told him. Go into the city of Damascus, you're gonna stay there, you're gonna wait, man's gonna come, lay hands on you, you're gonna receive your sight. Look at what he says. And you Acts 22, Paul is testifying. Verse 14, he's talking about his conversion. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee. This is Ananias talking to Paul, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth, for thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. Verse 16. Ananias is asking Paul, and now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins. If your sins were removed by your own repentance, you don't need the blood of Jesus. But here, calling on the name of the Lord brings. In the power of the blood of Jesus, the water and the blood is a theme from Genesis on. It's like the blood of Jesus is like a bar of soap. It's great. But you don't just leave yourself soaked up. The priest, if they did not wash at the labor, God said, if you don't wash before the sacrifice and after the sacrifice, I will kill you. What is the object lesson, God? Don't buy past the water. Solomon made it the labor a sea. You remember it set upon twelve bulls? And the priests washed themselves in it, bathed in it. And later in history, you will find that the Jews built mikfash everywhere. They were pools where they went for ritual cleansing. They were very familiar before John the Baptist came along. Read the book of Leviticus. They were very familiar with water as a cleansing. And at the end of the day, the person who offered this sacrifice had to go and bathe themselves in water. Or else the process, the experience, wasn't completed. Be careful. I don't mean to speak ill of anyone's faith, but be careful. When you are following Jesus, look for the apostolic pattern. The church fathers were great people, but they weren't the apostles. Look for the apostolic pattern and see it in the book of Acts. All right. So then we have the times of refreshing. What is that all about? Turn to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 28. Isaiah's prophesying, and in the middle of his prophecy, he says this. Verse 11. For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. Whom? God. God will speak to the people. How? With stammering lips and another tongue. Verse 12 to whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing, yet they would not hear. What did Peter preach to them? They needed the times of refreshing will come when you repent and you have your sins blotted out, baptized in the name of Jesus, the times of refreshing will come, the baptism of the Holy Ghost. If this is not the same exact gospel as is preached in Acts 2.38, then we have to erase Paul's statement to the Ephesian church that there's one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, one God and Father who is above all through all and in you all. There's only one gospel. He told the Galatian church, if somebody comes preaching to you another gospel, don't receive it. God is not confused. The Jews are not confused. Peter's not confused. The gospel is consistent. Look at the gospel of Saint John, chapter 7. John chapter 7, and we're going to read uh verses 38 and 39. Well, I'll read 37 through 39. Jesus, in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried. This means it was a loud voice, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Drink what? He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not glorified yet. And when the Holy Ghost was poured out with the sound of a rushing mighty wind, tongues of fire, and the next thing, they spoke in other tongues. And Peter's now preaching that that is the time of refreshing. He's pulling Isaiah's prophecy. How does he know to do this? It's by the unction of the Holy Ghost, because in Luke 24, Luke writes, then Jesus opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures. Lord help us. We need you to help us understand. John chapter 4. Everybody knows a story about uh John at uh uh Jesus at the well with the woman, right? All right, so that's where we're at. We're at John chapter 4. Look at verses 10 through 14. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee what?

unknown 35:31

Living water.

Repent, Be Converted, And Remission

Water And Blood: Baptism Pattern

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Living water. In the Old Testament, it's living waters, but you should run that reference and see what you learn out of that. Let God guide you. It's great for somebody to talk to you, but that's no substitute for you getting your Bible out and saying, Jesus, guide me, Lord, guide me, let me learn what your word has to say. All right, and then I'm gonna read all the way to 14. And the woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep, from whence hast thou then that living water? I'm telling you, run that Old Testament reference. Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drunk thereof himself and his children and his cattle. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water, the water from the well, shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. Oh, it's refreshing forever. But the water that I give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Go to look at one more Old Testament scripture, Isaiah twelve. Go to Isaiah twelve. Isaiah chapter twelve. I'm gonna read the first four verses. And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee. Though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me. Behold, God is my salvation. Is Jesus our salvation? That's a powerful statement. He's more than the Son of God, He's the revelation of God Himself. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid, for Jehovah is my strength and my song. He is also become my salvation. Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name, the name of Jesus, is exalted. And we've been through Acts 2 and 4 plenty of times, right? They spoke with tongues as the Spirit of God gave them the utterance. So we'll go back then to Acts chapter 3. And now we're going to look at verse 20. And he, that is Jesus, he shall, or the Lord, shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you. Jesus is gonna come again. Jesus is already gone, but if you get ready for him, if you'll repent, have your sins blotted out, receive the refreshing, you'll be ready for when he comes again, because he's coming again. Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. So, you know, there's Zechariah chapter 14. Verses three through five. I thought I had a sticker on here, but give me just a moment. Zechariah chapter fourteen. And we're going to read verses three and five. Three through five. Okay, here we go. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle, and his feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and on the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half toward the south, and ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal. Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled before from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and the Lord my God shall come and all the saints with thee. Christ is coming back. One time he's gonna come back and put his feet on the ground and the world's gonna shake up. Another time he's gonna come back and split the eastern sky first. Now, you look at Acts 1 and 11. The first angelic visitation, right? After Jesus has ascended. An angel appeared to them. Well, verse Acts verse 1, 10 and 11. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also 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. Come, Jesus, come. I want you to come back, Lord. Jesus is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 15. You remember I talked to you before how pivotal the book of Acts is, how things from the Old Testament and from the letters written to the churches swing back to the book of Acts. Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 15. Moses says, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him you shall hearken. You ain't been listening to me, but you're gonna listen to the next one. There's one that's coming like I came. Look, they both escaped death as babies, Moses and Jesus. These are just a few of the things you need to run these references down. Exodus 1, 15 through Exodus 2 and 10. Moses escaped death as a baby. Matthew chapter 2, verses 14 through 15. Jesus escapes death while he's still a child, while he's still a babe, less than two years old. They both fasted 40 days and 40 nights. Exodus 34 and 28. Matthew 4, 1 and 2. They both control the sea. Exodus 14 and 21, Matthew 8 and 26. Here's a powerful thing. Look at verse 23. It's scary. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. Listen, you can reject Jesus so many times till he just looks at you and says, Okay. And prophetically, that teaching is exemplified when God says to Noah, My spirit will not always strive with man. And Noah was 120 years building the ark, and they had 120 years of him being a preacher of righteousness, but they never did get right. Destruction for those who do not. All the prophets. 24, yea, all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, that's who you are, and of the covenant which God made with our father Abraham, that covenant was for your sake, and in thy seed shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed. Jesus is that seed. And we are all blessed through him. Unto you first, Jesus was sent, because you're the bloodline of Abraham, but not unto you only, unto you first, and turning every one of you away from his sins. If we are going to say that we're going to follow God without living a repentant life, we're fooling ourselves. It came to the Jew first, Romans 1:16, Romans 2, 9 through 10. You're the descendants of Abraham, the seed is Christ. Genesis 12, 1 through 3, and Galatians 3 and 16. So I know I gave you a lot of scriptures there, but this is why these lessons can sometimes be time-consuming. I want you to see that God is thorough. And the scripture is in harmony in Jesus' name. Thank you for your undivided attention.

SPEAKER_01 45:40

Praise God for that. You know, the question that I would ask is if if God can open the understanding when he wants to open the understanding, why doesn't he just open the understanding?

SPEAKER_00 45:54

I will give you my take on that because you're not the only person who've ever had that question. Okay, that's common, really. Don't so don't feel bad. Um it seems that God doesn't do certain things until we desire it. Has everything to do with our will. God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden. Adam and Eve had to choose not to eat of the tree. That was their God had to give them choice in his mind. We we only know this because he paints the picture of us, because nobody can read the mind of God. Right. Will. Repentance is the breaking of will. You know, a real good picture of that would be Jacob is on his way back. He's gonna meet Esau again, he's gonna patch things up. He's he's left his uncle, he's got his own uh sheep and cattle and camels and donkeys, and he's wealthy and he's on his way back, and he meets with the angel of the Lord at night. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:01

Wrestles.

SPEAKER_00 47:02

And he wrestles with him, and God cripples him. Yeah, and there's an old black preacher that said, When Esau and Jacob met up, his imagination, he said, Esau looked at him and said, You robbed me, God made you pay for it, and he broke your leg, didn't he? But Jacob said, No, he broke my will. To serve God, our will has to be broken. Not my will, but thine be done. You want your understanding opened? Seek his will. That's how God opens your understanding when you are seeking his will. Um, I can recall times. Uh, one night I I did that thing where you drop my Bible, it opens. I put my finger on the scripture blind like that. I read it, I closed it, I dropped it, did it again. It was in the New Testament this time, and it confirmed the scripture I read in the Old Testament. Wow. And I did that for like 35 or 45 minutes. And the rush of the Spirit of God that I felt. And other times when I've been studying the Word, when it's like it's just as if I had jumped up, done three Pentecostal flips in the Pentecostal whirly bird for half an hour. But I never did. I was just sitting there in front of the word of God. Same wonderful spirit.

unknown 48:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:33

How it manifests doesn't always have to be in the physical. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's in revelation.

unknown 48:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:41

Sometimes it's in illumination of scripture. So, above all, enjoy reading the Bible.

SPEAKER_01 48:50

Yeah, we do. That's why we that's why we encourage people with simple discipleship, because um, it's essential. It's essential to develop that that closeness, that oneness with who you carry. You know, it's just like, why do you want to go to heaven if you don't even know who lives there? You know, people want to go, but they have no relationship, and you can't have relationship without the word. You just can't.

Times Of Refreshing And The Spirit

SPEAKER_00 49:17

A disciple doesn't follow the rabbi once a week. The disciple went with their rabbi every day. Yeah, they went where the rabbi went. Yeah. They saw what the rabbi saw. After a while, they began to do what the rabbi did, and then when he turned them aloose, the rabbi was replicated in them. A disciple. We desire to become the replication of Jesus in this world. Yes, yes. So is that you know, Christianity is not a twice-a-week relationship with God. No, I went to church on Sunday, I'm a disciple. No, you're a good person. And we're thankful that you have a conscience toward God. But if you're gonna be a disciple, you're with Jesus every day.

SPEAKER_01 50:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:08

And we we all, I know I'm no longer there. I'm retired, I'm on disability. But if if you think you're gonna get through life without leaning on Jesus, without trusting in Jesus, without anticipating Jesus, giving you divine direction, there's gonna be a lot of things you're never gonna see. You're never gonna see the miracles. Other people are gonna testify to you about miracles, and you'll be excited. Man, I wish I'd seen that. Be his disciple.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Right.

SPEAKER_00 50:40

Because then you're going where he goes, seeing what he does and eventually doing what he's taught you to do.

unknown 50:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:49

So a disciple is not, it's not like a baseball fan. I went to every game. Did you swing the bat?

unknown 50:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:56

No? Why? Because you're a fan.

SPEAKER_01 50:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:00

A disciple is that rookie out there in the field. Is that kid going to practice every day? Yeah. Studying the game daily to become that pro. He's a disciple of baseball.

SPEAKER_01 51:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:14

Isn't Jesus worth much more than baseball or football or basketball?

SPEAKER_01 51:21

I think he mentioned that one time. You said there's a, and we actually did a Bible study one time where it was called uh Going from a Fan to a Follower.

SPEAKER_00 51:31

That wasn't mine. That was Pastor Mark's, and it was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 51:34

Yeah, yeah. We actually did a study on it one time there is about not being a fan but becoming a follower. So um that's awesome. Yeah. There's just so much, there's just so much meat in this study of the book of Acts, but we're gonna have to go. Um, and we'll be back next time. Again, if you haven't already watched or listened to the intro, chapter one, chapter two, three three chapter twos, and then there's three chapter threes now. And so um go and just if you've done it, do it again there because there's just so much more that you're gonna grab every time you go in there, there's just much more. And go and look up those verses, pause it, you know. Yes, now that it's recorded, you can pause it, go look up all these chapters and verses of the old testament that just that just confirms everything that that happened.

SPEAKER_00 52:31

From my perspective, yeah, if you're leaning on me to give you full and complete revelation of God's word, you're missing out. Yeah, I'm trying to point you toward the Holy Ghost, toward the Spirit of the Living God, who gives full revelation.

SPEAKER_01 52:46

Yeah, and I think that's so important when we're studying, involve the Holy Spirit. Ask him to come and bring revelation, to bring give you his wisdom, give you his understanding, and to bring revelation. We pray that all the time. Because without his help, um, it's just gonna, you're gonna get tired, you're gonna go to sleep. You know, if I try to just sit down and read the Bible and I don't ask the Holy Spirit to to be there with me to give me wisdom, I can go to sleep every time. I mean, I'm like, uh, because it just it can be boring. But when he begins to enlighten it and he, you know, you involve him in it, then boy, he just eliminates it. Like you say, I love you use the term elimination because to me that's that's all about what the Holy Spirit's all about. All right, so we gotta go. Um, thank you guys for being here, everyone. And uh, we will be together again soon. So we always say this, let's all say it together. Go show some love, show some compassion, give mercy Jesus today. Hey STU family. If you've enjoyed this podcast today, would you please like, follow, and share our podcast link? We would love to hear your feedback in your podcast topic suggestions.