Stir Up the Gift of the Holy Spirit

Well, brethren, traditionally, for the last several years, the Tulsa congregation has sponsored a campout on Memorial Day weekend. At our campouts, we traditionally have a campfire. And I'm going to have a chance to go to Wyoming in about a month now to the Wyoming Wind River Range. It's a beautiful range. I haven't... I've been by it. I've never been in it. So I'm looking forward to getting in it. And I'm sure we'll have a campfire every night because it's probably going to be rather cool up in the mountains. Although I don't know exactly what the weather will be like. We'll be there in July, so we could get just about anything, I guess, that time of year. But likely we'll have a campfire, and we always do it in Memorial Day weekend. In the evenings, we build a campfire. Now, in order to keep the campfire burning, it needs to be carefully watched and maintained. If it's neglected for too long, what's going to happen? First, it will begin to die down and will continue to grow less and less vibrant and less warm. It will give off less and less light and less and less heat. If someone comes along and adds fuel, if they add more dry wood to the fire, then it will be revitalized and will continue to give light, warmth, and heat. Even if we just stir it up, the fire will be revitalized and will burn more strongly for a time. I'm sure you've experienced that, where you just stirred it up and it burned hotter for a while. But if the campfire is further neglected, it will give off less and less heat. It will give off less light and warmth, until eventually it will be quenched and will eventually go completely out.

Sometimes there are embers there. You think it's out, but it's really not out. You just have to stir it up and you find that it's really not out. You can add fuel to it and it perks back up. Now, if someone comes along and pours water on the campfire, it's obviously going to be affected by the water. If it is a strong fire, then it may survive the water. But if there's too much water, it will be quenched and again may go out altogether. The same thing is true if someone comes along and throws sand or dirt on the fire. The sand won't burn and it too will quench the fire. Well, why all this talk about a campfire on this Sabbath before the Feast of Pentecost? Well, you probably have an idea of where I'm headed with this. Well, it's because in the Bible it uses the analogy of the Holy Spirit. It uses also fire. We too must not neglect the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, or God's Spirit can eventually be quenched. It can even be taken away by God if we neglect it so much. Once alive and vibrant spiritually, we can become spiritually ineffective if we don't add fuel to the fire on a continual basis. We can even die spiritually if we do not stir up the Spirit of God that's in us. God's Spirit is all-powerful and we feeble human beings here today may actually have the very power of God's Spirit actively working in our lives. That's the greatest gift of all, the gift of God's Holy Spirit. To have God's Spirit dwelling in you, motivating you, guiding you. Nothing is greater. Nothing is more powerful than having God's Spirit working in you. But if we neglect to stir up the gift of God's Spirit that dwells in us, it will certainly affect our lives. Our lives will be diminished in great ways. If it's neglected long enough, as I said, the Holy Spirit can even be quenched and God can even take it from us. So today on this Sabbath before the day of Pentecost, I'd like to remind you and encourage you to stir up the gift of God's Spirit that is in you. So if you like titles, you can call this, Stirring Up the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a very important topic as we go into Pentecost. Hopefully I'm not going to steal anyone's thunder that will be speaking tomorrow. There are other things to talk about. Hopefully Mr. Martins doesn't already have a sermon prepared in this very vein. If so, you'll have things to do tonight. Probably not. He probably has other things on his mind. Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 1, and let's consider what the Apostle Paul says to a young minister. 1 Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy chapter 1. Alright, let's find 1 Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 3. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 3. Paul says, 1 Paul says, Deciring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. Am I in the right place. I'm in 1 Timothy. No wonder that didn't sound right! Did I tell you to go to 1 Timothy? Let's go to 2 Timothy and try that over. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 3. Yeah, this is a lot better. Not that the first part wasn't okay, but this is more to the point.

So, Timothy was a third generation Christian, his grandmother Lois, his mother Eunice, and he himself. Therefore, I remind you that they were Christians. They may have been part of the true faith, but not yet Christian, because Christ no telling how far the grandmother Lois went back, but may have even been before Christ was born. Verse 6, Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you, through the laying on of my hands.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So clearly, Paul is telling Timothy he's reminding him that he must stir up the gift of God, which is in you. Just because a person is given the Holy Spirit doesn't mean that that spirit is going to continue strong in them unless they stir it up. So it's important that you are stirring up the spirit of God, and frankly, you need to be doing it on a daily basis and not neglecting the Holy Spirit that's in you.

So that's what we're going to be talking about today, stirring up the gift of God's Spirit. I took a look at a few commentaries in regard to this particular verse, verse 6, that talks about stirring up the spirit of God. Clark's commentary says, The gift which Timothy had received was the Holy Spirit, and through him a particular power to preach and defend the truth.

This gift is represented here under the notion of a fire, which if it be not frequently stirred up and fresh fuel added to it, will go out. This is the precise idea which the Apostle had in his mind. Hence the term that he uses, the Greek term, which signifies to stir up the fire, to add fresh fuel to it. So that's what the Greek words signify. From this it plainly appears that if Timothy had not continued to be a daily worker with God, he would have received the grace of God in vain. We too can receive the grace of God in vain if we don't stir up the Spirit of God in us.

Gil's commentary says this, Wherefore the Apostle puts him in mind to stir it up, there is in the word used a metaphor taken from coals of fire covered with ashes, as if almost extinct, and need to be blown up into a flame. Arabic version renders it that you kindle the fire of the gift of God, which is in you.

And then Jameson, Fawcett, and Brown say this about the term translated stir up. It literally means to rekindle, to revive the spark of, the opposite of quench or extinguish. Paul does not doubt the existence of real faith in Timothy, but he desires it to be put into active exercise. So it's just an encouragement. He was encouraging Timothy because he realizes that all human beings have the same battle. We all have to stir up the Spirit of God that God gives us. It's not enough to receive God's Spirit.

We have to utilize God's Spirit. One last time in Robertson's word pictures, this phrase that you stir up, it says basically it brings to mind the bellows for kindling or rekindling, to stir into flame, to keep blazing, continuous action, present time. So it is a present tense that it's talking about to continuously keep the Spirit of God stirred up within you.

In Romans 8, verse 14, it talks about being led by the Spirit of God. If we are being led by the Spirit of God, then we are stirring up the Spirit of God in us. But we have to be led by the Spirit of God. Let's go to Romans 8. Romans 8, verse 14. Romans 8, verse 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. So we have to be led by the Spirit of God if we are truly the sons of God.

If we allow the Spirit of God to go dormant in our lives and we're not being led by the Spirit of God, then we are in danger of no longer being the sons of God, the children of God. In Acts 1, it talks about the power that comes from the Holy Spirit. It's vital that we stir up the Spirit of God because there is tremendous power in God's Spirit.

But it does need to be stirred up within us. You're familiar with this verse, chapter 1 of the book of Acts, verse 8. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Of course, it's talking about the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was to be given on the day of Pentecost. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Today we're playing a video by Gary Antion about being a witness.

This particular verse talks about the Holy Spirit receiving power from the Holy Spirit to use as witnesses. That's part of stirring up the Spirit of God is, are you truly a witness for Jesus Christ? We need to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. We should certainly not be ashamed of what we believe. Why we believe it? We should be very grateful for our calling, and we should be willing to share it with people that are at all interested.

Sometimes, you know, we have to be quiet when they're not interested. But if they're interested, then by all means be a witness of God's way of life. There is power in the Holy Spirit, and we stir up the Spirit of God when we witness to people about Jesus Christ and God's plan of salvation. One of the most exciting things about being a minister, quite frankly, is to be able to visit new people, to go sit down with them in their homes, answer their questions, and talk about the truth that is just brand new to them.

They're very excited, and it's just really thrilling. It's really the greatest high that I've ever had as a person. You know, I haven't done drugs, but if I had, I'm sure they would not compare to the high that I get from speaking the truth in love to people that want to hear it. It really is a tremendous blessing and a wonderful opportunity. I haven't had that opportunity as much as I would like, so I'm hoping that we'll have more new people that become a part of the church in the days ahead.

So this word power in verse 8 is an interesting word. It's a Greek word, dunamis, D-U-N-A-M-I-S. You shall receive power. Dunamis, which means force or miraculous power. Force or miraculous power. It is derived from the word dunamis, D-U-N-A-M-A-I, which means to be able. To be able. So it's talking about using the Holy Spirit as a miraculous power and force in your life so that you may accomplish something worthwhile.

Actually, the English word dynamo is received, is derived from this Greek word dunamis. It is a powerful word. You've heard of someone say, this guy is a human dynamo. I mean, he's just full of energy. He's just nonstop like the ever, what is it, the ever ready battery bunny. You know what I'm talking about? The bunny that keeps on ticking or whatever. You know what I'm talking about.

Just like a dynamo, like a generator that just generates energy. It is a powerful word, dynamo. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be called a spiritual dynamo? This guy is a spiritual dynamo. This woman, she's a spiritual dynamo. She just, you know, just God's Spirit is filling her and him and they really are out doing the work of God. Let's go to Acts 2, and I would think that this may be covered tomorrow, which is fine.

We need repetition anyway. Acts 2, verse 1, When the day of Pentecost had 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. Now my wife and I felt a little bit like that when we were in our fraidy hole. You know, all the tornadoes that were blowing through. We were in a shelter. Our neighbor has a shelter right across the road. We were in there with 14 other people, my wife and I.

There were 16 of us in there, and there were four dogs. So you can imagine the dynamics in that shelter. Thankfully, we didn't have to be in there very long. It did not, you know, do any great damage at all. We didn't get to see the tornado. It wasn't, it was up in the sky. No one really saw it, but evidently there were some out there. We just, they just didn't get close, which was fine with us. So they were there on the day of Pentecost. They heard a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Then there appeared to them divided tongues as a fire. Again, we see this use of the word fire in reference to the Holy Spirit. As a fire and one sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. So miraculous things were happening. Happening the day of Pentecost had fully come. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. There was tremendous power that was given on the day of Pentecost.

In fact, if we go to verse 37, this is after Peter was pouring his heart out in a powerful sermon to the brethren there about Jesus Christ and about the fact that they had been a part of his crucifixion, that they had participated in his death. Verse 37, Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. The Holy Spirit was convicting them of sin. They knew that they had sinned by being a part of that mob that put Jesus Christ to death.

When they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are far off as many as the Lord our God will call the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Now notice the power that comes through the Holy Spirit. Verse 40, And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. Now that would have been an exciting day in God's church. Undoubtedly, three thousand people were added, were baptized, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship.

So they kept the commandments of God, they kept the doctrines that they had learned from the Ten Commandments and in the Old Testament. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. So they were united in prayer, they were united in fellowship, one with another. In doctrine, they were united in all these things. Then fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

So there was tremendous power that was being poured out at that time through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God was allowing the apostles to heal people immediately. People were being healed instantly, demons were being cast out instantly. Tremendous power from the Holy Spirit. So there were wonders, there were signs, there were things going on. People were taking notice. Now remember when Christ was on the earth, as many as 10,000 people came to hear Christ teach. So no doubt His doctrine, His teaching was powerful, but He also healed everyone who came to Him.

People were coming from far and wide. 10,000 people were a lot of people back in those days. A lot of the villages were only small villages. The cities were probably only a couple thousand people.

So we're talking about 10,000 people feeding the 5,000. There were probably a minimum of 10,000. That was 5,000 men. So there were probably 15,000 or more that were there. So that's a lot of people that were coming. I mean, Christ was getting a following. People were coming from far and wide to hear what this carpenter had to say. Probably more importantly, to see Him heal, to see the power of the Holy Spirit actively working in Him. Now in Acts chapter 3, we read another account here of tremendous power through the Holy Spirit. Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

It's about three o'clock in the afternoon, and a certain man lain from his mother's womb. Now he was about 40 years old. We read later. About 40 years old, a certain man lain from his mother's womb. So he'd been lame his entire life. And he was carried who may lay daily at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple. So he was getting donations, getting help.

Verse 3, this man who's seen Peter and John about to go into the temple asked for alms. Now I've always really loved this story, and you probably have as well. Fixing his eyes on him with John, Peter said, look at us. So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them, you know, a small donation. Then Peter said, silver and gold, I do not have. See, that's not where it's at. Silver and gold, that's material, physical, it's temporary, it doesn't last.

It's not all that powerful. It's just money. Silver and gold, I do not have, but what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Now that's powerful. If you've been crippled all your life, 40 years, his parents may still have been alive. You know, their son crippled for 40 years. People carrying him everywhere he had to go. They didn't have fancy wheelchairs and things like they do today.

You know, this man was carried around. Peter said, I don't have silver and gold, but what I have, I give you. Stand up and walk. No wonder people came from far and wide. With that kind of power, just imagine what would happen.

If we had that kind of power right now in the Church of God, everyone would know about us. Everyone would know about us. I mean, word spreads like wildfire when this kind of power is being exemplified. So it's no wonder that God hasn't poured out that kind of power yet. It's not time. Now I've seen miraculous power through the Holy Spirit. You know, I don't know if I told any of you this story or not. There was a man that I was counseling, visiting with quite regularly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He was a little younger than I am. Well, maybe 10 years younger. So anyway, he had some significant health issues. There was no question in my mind that he had demonic issues. He had some major problems. Well, he tried to commit suicide by lying down in his garage all night long with the car running. And many gallons of gas were burnt that night with him lying down by the exhaust pipe.

Miraculously, he survived that night. He was taken to the hospital and he was completely in a coma. You know, he was, you know, he was just out of it. You know, he was there. I went and visited him a number of days. I don't remember how long he was in now, but I know I was in there a number of times.

I prayed. I fasted about this, anointed him. The doctors had said that this man would be a vegetable if he ever did regain consciousness. He had a, I forget what the carbon monoxide level was in his blood, very high. I saw that man come out of the coma and he was in better health afterwards than I had ever seen him before. He had a sore throat, a very, very sore throat. So I know God's power is still in the church today and some of you probably know of miraculous events like that. I mean, they're not everyday occurrences necessarily. You know, they happen. So the power of God is the same.

Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We serve the same Christ. The power is there. It's just the timing evidently is, it just would bring so much notoriety that God's plan is not designed to have that kind of miraculous power for hundreds of years. That's not the way it was designed. Now I'm hoping that we will see a return of that power in the last days.

And I think there's some indication that that will occur. I mean, people don't know us now, but if ever that kind of power is poured out, I guarantee they'll know who we are. So it's something to think about, it's something to consider. So that man rose up and walked, verse 7, and he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked, and entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God.

Now here's a man who had never gotten on his feet before. From his mother's womb he was crippled. Now he's leaping, walking, praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Miraculous events occurring. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the beautiful gate of the temple. Day after day they saw this man, crippled, unable to walk, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Now what happens next? Do you remember the story? Well that's when Peter and John got arrested. See, when things, when miraculous things like that happen, people get jealous. People become envious. You know, the same thing would happen today.

You know, if that kind of power was being displayed, it would bring persecution upon the Church of God. So that's what, that's exactly what happened. Peter and John were arrested in chapter 4. Verse 3 and 4, it says, they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5,000.

So the Church was growing rapidly, around 5,000, as far as the men. And then if we drop down to verse 8, then Peter, oh, they asked him, he went before Annas the High Priest, K.I.F.S. John, Alexander, they were all there. The family, the High Priest, and they asked by what power or by what name have you done this?

See, they were concerned. They weren't all thrilled that this man was healed. Now, they should have been absolutely dumbfounded. They should have been full of love and praise for this miracle that took place, no matter whose name it was done in. The proof was in the pudding, so to speak. The power was there. So they asked by what power or by what name have you done this?

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for a good deed, done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands here before you whole. Now, when we start to tell people that we are raising people up and healing people in the name of Jesus Christ, not everyone's going to, you know, they're not going to be too excited about that kind of power being displayed in this puny little group, United Church of God or, you know, any other church of God that God is working with and using in this way.

This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone, nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.

And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. I mean, what are you going to say when a man is healed miraculously like this? But when they had commanded them to go outside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, What shall we do to these men? Now, see, we're going to run into the same problem in the future.

We're going to run into men who are envious, who are jealous, who are led by not the Spirit of God, but by the Spirit of Satan the Devil. And they're going to oppose everything that we do. What shall we do to these men? For indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them as evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further among the people.

See the attitude of these men? So that it doesn't spread among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name. So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them and let them go, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.

Now they wanted to squelch. They wanted to quench the Holy Spirit. That's what these men wanted to do. But God obviously was working through Peter and John, the apostles at this time. And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preached Christ boldly. He did not shrink back. He knew he would be in trouble, but he knew the power of God, and he was not afraid. Now, the Peter that had denied Christ, just a couple months earlier, he had denied Christ. And he lied, he cussed. This man was transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. He knew what he had done, he repented of what he had done, and the Holy Spirit came upon him and filled him with power.

Let's go to Acts 7, as we continue seeing the power of God in the early church, the Spirit of God. Acts 7, verse 51. We're all familiar with his account, but it's a very inspiring account about Stephen. Stephen was the first martyr. Stephen was taken to task for what he believed. He was called upon the carpet, so to speak, as well. He says in verse 51, and this is after speaking the truth about the history of God, starting with the call of Abraham and going on, Stephen had been accused of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Stephen was a faithful man of God, he was filled with the Spirit of God, and he says in verse 51, You stiff-nacked and uncircumcised in heart and ears.

You always resist the Holy Spirit, as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.

Now we know that the prophets that God sent, they were persecuted. Elijah was persecuted, Isaiah, all of them, Elisha, Jeremiah was thrown in a dungeon. They were persecuted, and of course, he's making a point here. You're no different from your relatives. Now they persecuted the prophets that came before Jesus Christ. You put him to death. You put the Son of God to death. Verse 54, When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. Now these were the religious leaders of the day, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. The Spirit of God was empowering him. He was seeing this vision. And he said, Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears and ran at him with one accord, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with his sin. Basically, he was saying, Father, forgive them. They know not what they're doing. The same attitude that Jesus Christ had when he was being persecuted, when he was being crucified. And, brethren, that's the kind of attitude that we're going to have to have. In the days ahead, if we're alive at the return of Christ, we are going to go through some of these same things that we're reading about today. There will be persecution. We will have to stand up and be counted. We will have to be faithful. We will have to show that we believe in Jesus Christ and him crucified, that he is the Savior of the world, that he is the Messiah.

And we're going to have to be willing to die if we happen to be alive just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. And, regardless, we need to be willing to die right now as the people of God. With the Spirit of God dwelling in us, we need to have that strength and that power.

So, again, a very powerful example of a man filled with the Spirit of God. That's the kind of strength that we're going to need and that we're going to have to have. So, do you have the same boldness? Do you have the same faith? Do you have the same courage that Stephen had, that Peter had, that John had? Do you have the same faith, the same courage? Are you filled with God's Spirit? In Acts 9. Now, by the way, I just read that Saul was there. Now, you know who this Saul is, right? This Saul was the Apostle Paul.

Not yet called by God. Not yet, but very shortly. Saul persecuted the church. It talks about that in Chapter 8, but it also talks about how he was struck down on the road to Damascus, and how he was baptized, and how he received the Holy Spirit.

We see a man completely transformed by the Holy Spirit. A man who was consenting to the death of Stephen, dragging people out of their homes, people of God, having them killed. He was completely transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. If we've been baptized, if we truly repented, had hands laid upon us, we received the Spirit of God. God's Spirit is dwelling in you. The power of God is in you. You have to stir up the Spirit of God in you. It must not lay dormant. You must stir it up, and you must do it constantly. Every day, in fact, 24 hours a day, your job is to stir up the Spirit. Stir it up. Keep it active.

I'm going to give a sermon tomorrow that I'm going to talk about. The acronym YES, Y-E-S, yielding exclusively to the Spirit. Yielding exclusively to the Spirit. We have to say yes to God's Spirit. We have to yield exclusively to the Spirit of God. We need to be doing that on a continual, consistent basis. The Scripture talks about praying without ceasing. It's talking about an attitude. It's talking about a frame of mind. We need to learn to pray without ceasing. To have that kind of an attitude, a prayerful attitude and approach, as we go about our day, not allowing the world to distract us and to steal some of God's Spirit away from us, the power of God's Spirit. So it's important that we learn to yield exclusively to the Spirit of God.

In Acts 9, verse 31, and we're skipping over a very powerful example of Paul, but I've mentioned it. You can go back and read it later if you want, but you see the Spirit of God certainly transforming Saul into the Apostle Paul. In Acts 9, verse 31, "...then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace and were edified." You know, God was blessing them.

I mean, that's a miracle in itself. For the church to have peace, God had to put His protection and blessing on the people. You know, God had to be there protecting them. Yes, He allowed persecution, but He also protected them, and there was peace. The churches throughout all Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace and were edified. "...then walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied." Now, it came to pass as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Liddah.

In another place, it talks about the shadow of Peter, how even the shadow was healing people as he passed through. I mean, that's how powerful God was working. So, he's here in Liddah. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus the Christ, heals you. Arise and make your bed. Then he arose immediately. He came out of that bed immediately. He made the bed. This man for eight years had been paralyzed. He was instantly healed and had the strength instantly to get up.

If you'd laid there for eight years, you wouldn't normally have the strength. You wouldn't be able to... I mean, you just couldn't do it. But this was a total miracle. He arose and he made his bed. So all who dwelt at Liddah and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. And then it talks about Tabitha. At Japa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorkus. This woman is full of good works and charitable deeds, which she did. But it happened in those days she became sick and she died.

When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Liddah was near Japa and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to an upper room. And all the widows stood by him, weeping. No doubt they had been praying for this woman they loved, this Dorkus, showing the tunics and garments which Dorkus had made while she was with them.

But Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Now here was a woman who was dead. She was resurrected instantly. She stood up. She sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up. And when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Japa and many believed on the Lord.

So it was that he stayed many days in Japa with Simon and Tanner. And then it goes on into the calling of Cornelius, the Gentile. I mean, there was tremendous power that was being poured out upon the early church. The power of the Holy Spirit was working dynamically, dynamically in a tremendous way. But of course, we have to realize that it wasn't too long before all the apostles were martyred. They were all martyred eventually. The power of the Holy Spirit did not continue in that way.

It was there for a time. It was there for a reason. We are to take heed from what we read in the Bible. But that power did not continue in that way forever. And those men, those apostles, were eventually martyred, except for John. John lived to a ripe old age, and many of them lived to a fairly...

I don't know how old they were, but some lived longer than others, but they all were martyred except John. God allowed persecution. He did not revive the power that he had given to the original apostles to work miracles and to heal all diseases and afflictions. There came a time when that power was no longer there.

And a time of darkness descended upon the Church of God. Centuries and centuries of darkness. Not to say that there weren't a few miracles with the true people of God. No doubt there were. But the power of the Holy Spirit was not being poured out in the same manner as it had been in the early Church. After the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. For a time, it was poured out miraculously, but a time of darkness descended upon the Church of God.

Now, in this modern era, we've seen God's Church revived to some degree. Some of us have been around a long time. Many people recall back in the sixties, thousands and thousands of people were called, and God was working through Herbert Armstrong's powerful preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the truth of God.

There were some miracles as well. But not like the power in the early Church. It was never poured out like that.

Mr. Armstrong began preaching the truth in the thirties. There was never the same power that we read about in the book of Acts. But there was power in preaching and in the Word. And God has a plan. God was calling people. We've marched on many years since that time. Many people have gone by the wayside along the way to many people that were a part of the Church of God, no longer attend the Church of God. Whether they ever had the Holy Spirit or if they quenched the Spirit, if God took the Spirit away, only God knows the answers to all those questions. Thankfully, he's the one in charge. He's the judge. He knows all of that. And he has a plan that he's working out.

I have no doubt that God's plan is moving forward. God is not surprised. God is not shocked. God knows human nature. He knows people. He knows the end before the beginning. The end from the beginning. You know what I'm talking about. He knows.

So, a time of darkness had descended upon the Church of God. We saw a bit of a revival in this day and age. We've seen ups and downs in the Church, haven't we? We're continuing to see ups and downs. The point I want to make to you today is that you have God's Spirit in you. God has called you. He's chosen you. You are among the firstfruits.

You have been called out. You have been chosen. Not because you're so good-looking. Not because of any physical attributes. God in His grace called you. He called me. And I guess He had to call somebody. And I don't know that there was any other particular reason other than God had to use somebody, so He used a motley crew. The Bible says that He called the weak and the foolish out of the world, so that the mighty would be confounded. So, the point I want to bring out to you is that you do need to stir up the Spirit of God in you. And there is greater power when we do that.

Some miracles have occurred.

Exactly why God intervened when I prayed for this man. And if I had anything to do with it at all, I don't know. I don't know. I'm glad that I was a part of it. I'm glad that I saw this happen. As far as I know, that man is still alive today. I don't know if he's going to church anywhere. It's been 17, 18 years or so. We've lost contact. We've lost touch.

But in my mind, there was a miracle that occurred. The power of God's Spirit was active.

In Ephesians 4, it talks about the importance of not grieving the Spirit of God.

We need to be careful that we don't grieve God's Holy Spirit. It is possible to grieve the Spirit of God. And I'm afraid many people have done this. I know I have, at times you have. You've grieved the Holy Spirit because you have not always been vigilant. You have not always been faithful each and every day of your life, every second of your life. You've let down. So it is possible to grieve the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 4, verse 25.

Therefore, putting away lying... He's talking to the people at Ephesus. They were human beings, many of them Gentiles. Undoubtedly, there were also some Jews, but there were lots of Gentiles. And Paul's instruction to the church at Ephesus was to put away lying. There may have been some of that going on.

Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. He's talking about how we treat each other. You shouldn't be lying to anyone, let alone lying to your own church members. You know, for we are members of one another.

He says, Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath. You might be angry, but get over it quickly. Don't hold that anger. Don't be angry toward one another. Dispense of that anger. Don't let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Satan the devil, who was active and alive in the lives of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, who persecuted Peter and John and those who healed people miraculously at the time of the early church, Satan the devil is still around as well. He says, Don't give place to the devil, that him who stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. So Paul is instructing them in basic things. Don't steal from one another. Get out and work. Put in a good day's work. Be a faithful person. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. Be careful what you say and how you say it.

He says, Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. You and I are sealed for the day of redemption. We're sealed until Christ's return.

That's when we will be redeemed. If we're alive, we will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. We will be changed to spirit. We will see Christ. We will be like him. We'll see him at his return. We're going to meet him in the air. We're going to be like him. If we're dead, then we will actually rise first to meet Christ in the air. And those who are alive will be changed instantly into spirit. So that is the day of redemption for us. And he's saying, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. It's the Holy Spirit that seals us. As long as you have God's Spirit dwelling in you at your death or at the return of Christ, you will be in the kingdom of God forever. You will live forever. You will be a part of the first fruits because you've been sealed by the Holy Spirit.

You've been sanctified and set apart by the Holy Spirit. The gift of God that he gave you when you accepted Christ as your Savior, when you repented of your sins, when you turned your life around and dedicated yourself to God. So the Holy Spirit is there. It's sealing you to the day of redemption. But do not grieve the Holy Spirit.

Notice what we do when we grieve the Holy Spirit. Notice in context, verse 31. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you. This is daily stuff, isn't it? This is daily stuff. Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking.

Satan's going to try to attempt this every day to be angry people, to be filled with malice, to be hateful people, to speak evil of one another, to gossip about one another. This is what Satan's going to do on a continual basis. He's going to try to attempt this to live his way of life instead of God's way of life.

So he said, let all of this be put away from you with all malice. Now, we've just kept the Days of Unleavened Bread. 50 days ago, during the Days of Unleavened Bread, we started counting up to Pentecost. Hopefully, you've been walking in the Spirit since Passover. Hopefully, you've been stirring up the Spirit of God.

These 50 days that lead up to tomorrow.

These days tie in together. The Days of Unleavened Bread picture putting sin out. That's what it's talking about here. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Put all of that out of your life. You're to become unleavened.

Remember, Christ is the Unleavened Bread that comes down from Heaven. We know that God is love, and that's what we are to become. We are to become love. We are not to become like Satan the Devil. Notice verse 32, And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Brethren, it is a shame what took place in the Church of God recently. The split that happened in the Church of God is a shameful disgrace. There's no other way to look at it. It was a disgrace. It was shameful. It shouldn't have happened.

Perhaps we all had a part to play in it, though, in some way or another. I don't know if you were on the Internet angrily responding and stirring people up. I don't know what all we did, but perhaps we did something. We all need to repent if we did do anything that contributed to this split that went on in the Church.

That's not the way we're to live our lives. We're to walk together in unity.

I know the ministry has to take the blame for it because it was the ministry that was leading the way. God is the judge. God deals with all of these men. We sit back in faith knowing that God will take care of it. I was never tempted to leave because I believed that God was in charge, that God would sort it out. I just needed to keep on doing what the Scripture tells me to do. We're going to have to continue to do this as time goes on. But we need to stop quenching the Spirit of God. In little daily things that we do, we have to continually be on guard. There was a lot of quenching of the Spirit going on in the last few years. There was a lot of quenching of the Spirit going on. It didn't have to end up the way it did.

But Satan is powerful, and he will tempt the saints of God. He is an accuser of the brethren.

So grieve not the Spirit of God. Let's go to 1 Thessalonians 5, where it talks about quench not the Spirit of God. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 16.

1 Thessalonians 5.

Verse 16. Rejoice always. Now, this is good advice. Rejoice always. Be happy people. God is a God of love. He is a God of joy. We have so much to be thankful for, so much to be grateful about. This should be our overall walk in life. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. It's God's will that you be rejoicing, that you be a praying people, and that you be a thankful people. Do not quench the Spirit. Don't quench the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God produces fruit, right? You know what the fruit is? Love, joy, peace, patience, long suffering, gentleness, kindness, self-control, faithfulness. This is the fruit of God's Spirit. Whenever we're doing anything that's contrary to those fruits of the Spirit, we are quenching the Spirit of God. If you're not producing joy, if you're not producing love, if you're not producing self-control, if you're not producing patience, you are in the process of quenching the Spirit. You are not stirring up the Spirit of God. You stir up the Spirit of God by doing the things of God, by being faithful and obedient, by keeping the commandments, by living by every word of God. That's how you stir up the Spirit of God. It happens daily, moment by moment. You make choices throughout your day. You make hundreds of choices. What are you going to think about? What are you going to put into your mind? How are you going to use your time? Hundreds of choices every day long, all day long. Do not quench the Spirit of God. It says, do not despise prophecies. There are prophecies in the Bible that, you know, obviously, they're true. They're going to come to pass. We need to know the Bible. We need to know what God says in the Bible, about the prophecies of the Bible, so that we can be more aware of what's happening around us. Verse 21, test all things and hold fast what is good. You have to test all things and hang on to what's good and abstain from every form of evil. Every form of evil. Don't quench the Spirit, but abstain from everything that's evil. Pull away from all things that are evil. Do not make provision for your flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. We have to be vigilant. We have to be active. Praying, studying the Bible each and every day of our lives. If you're not doing that, then you're going to be quenching the Spirit of God. Because you need to do it every day. You need to read the Bible. You need to pray. And on occasion, you need to fast. Because fasting is a very powerful spiritual tool. These are things that we need to do to stir up the Spirit of God. To keep from quenching the Spirit of God in us. So, brethren, we grieve the Spirit by sinning. We grieve the Spirit by neglecting to be faithful. In our spiritual devotion to God and Christ. When we neglect our prayers, our Bible study, our fasting, our meditation. When we neglect good works. When we get lazy. And we don't pride ourselves to serve and to help others. We're not stirring up the Spirit of God. We're actually beginning to quench the Spirit of God.

You know, the Scripture says a lot about this topic. There are a number of other Scriptures that we can go through. But I've taken about all the time I need to today. We are to be lights to the world. We're to keep the fires burning. We're to keep the Holy Spirit active. We're to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ. We can't be ambassadors if we're quenching the Spirit of God.

If we understand how God's Spirit works in us, and if we yield to it, then we will be led by the power of God. But if we resist the lead of God's Spirit, it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit. And if we continually grieve God's Spirit, we may altogether quench God's Spirit. And eventually, God may elect to take His Spirit away. Remember David, after he had sinned with Bathsheba in the Psalm of repentance, he prayed, God, don't take your Holy Spirit from me. He knew that he was in danger because of his sins. He knew that repentance was a requirement. He had to repent of those sins. He had to stop sinning, and he had to embrace God, and he had to stir up the Spirit of God that was in him. That's what he was doing. When he was down there praying, he was stirring up the Spirit of God. That's what we all need to do on a daily basis. We need to stir up God's Spirit. God won't take His Spirit away from us if we have that kind of an attitude. If we want to do His will, if we find ourselves weak, then we have to get down on our knees and pray for strength.

But that's stirring up the Spirit of God. And that's what we have to do on a daily basis. We're all in this together. We all fight the same fight. There is a crown of life that awaits each and every one of us. A crown of eternal life. A crown of righteousness. One of the most frustrating things in my life is when I sin. When I'm not righteous.

I know the difference between right and wrong. God's revealed it to me. When I sin, I know it. For the most part, there may be some hidden things that I've blinded from seeing. But when I see a sin in me, I want it out. I don't want to continue that way. As long as we have that kind of an attitude and approach, we're going to be alright, but we mustn't take it for granted.

We can't take our spiritual lives for granted. So, brethren, God's Spirit is extremely powerful. We've seen that in the scriptures that we've covered today. It is a wonderful gift that God gives His children. But God's Spirit must be stirred up. It must be exercised. And we must yield to the Spirit of God. We must allow the Spirit of God to lead us and to guide us.

Where we're eventually going to quench the Spirit of God, you are becoming a new creation because of the power of God's Spirit working in you. God's Spirit will lead, but you must follow. So, brethren, stir up the Spirit of God that is in you. Stir up the Spirit of God. Hopefully, this is a good lead-in to what you'll hear tomorrow on the Day of Pentecost.