Please join me in your Bibles to Acts 10, verses 44-48. Acts 10, 44-48. Now remember, the book of Acts focuses on the ministry of God the Holy Spirit through His people. So far in Acts, we have seen the start, the rise, and the spread of the church. And now here in chapter 10, the good news of Christ has spread, not just to the Jews, but to the Samaritans as well. And now, now to the Gentiles. And so the gospel has gone out from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth, just like Jesus had said in Acts 1.8. We're now looking at the ministry of Peter, remember? Peter was in Joppa when he went into a trance and had a vision that greatly perplexed him. God said, what God has cleansed you must not call common. And that didn't just deal with what you should eat, but with the church. And how the church will now be made up of both Jewish believers and Gentile believers, which is something new. Meanwhile, Cornelius, a Gentile from Caesarea, had a visit from an angel who told him to send for Peter, who will then tell him what he must do. So he sent some men to go to Joppa and get Peter, a journey of about 30 miles, which they did. And Peter made his way to Caesarea, better understanding his vision and realizing more and more that God is indeed preparing the way for Gentiles, non-Jews, to now be a part of the church. Peter met up with Cornelius who had a bunch of his friends and relatives there with him. They got all caught up on things, and then Peter preached, remember? He started out by saying that he now knows that God shows absolutely no partiality, but now the welcome mat for the gospel has been clearly put out for everyone, even Gentiles, and then Peter preached the gospel. He just laid it out, right? He laid it out. Jesus is Lord of all. He came here. He took on human flesh, 100% man and 100% God at the same time. He lived a perfect life. He died on a cross and He rose up from the dead. And because of who He is and because of what He did on that cross, all who believe will be saved from sin, from hell, and from wrath. See, Jesus became the believer's substitute for sin. Jesus took our sin onto himself and was punished for all that sin so that we who believe could be forgiven of all that sin and go to heaven instead of hell. And so Peter laid out the gospel. And look, even before we get to verse 44, the first truth to observe is that Cornelius and the others who were with him, they believed. That's clear, because verse 44 says that the Holy Spirit fell on them, and God doesn't give His Holy Spirit to non-believers. This is amazing, because I'm convinced that Peter wasn't done preaching. In verse 43, Peter mentions how the prophets of old witnessed about Christ, and I think Peter was going to talk about that, but he didn't get to. For as soon as Peter gave out the truth about Jesus and who He is and what He did and how He died and rose up from the dead and then how people are saved and forgiven by faith, by faith alone, that that's the moment they immediately believed and that's the moment they were saved. See, they heard all they needed to hear in order to be saved and they believed and they were immediately saved. Note that they didn't raise a hand while everyone else was bowing their heads. They didn't say a rote prayer, or they didn't sign a card, or they didn't have to walk the aisle to be saved. No, they simply believed, because that's how people are saved. Faith. Faith alone. And it can happen at any time. But you have to hear the truth first, right? I mean, you have to hear the truth. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And so to come to saving faith, you have to hear the Word of God, the truth of God, the Gospel of Christ. And once that happens, simple faith in Christ as Lord and Savior will indeed bring salvation to a lost soul. Not by being good, right? Being good has never saved anyone, for no one is good enough on their own for heaven. Not by being sincere. It's possible for people to be sincerely wrong. And being sincere but believing a lie will not save your soul. And not by giving money, or helping the poor, or going to church, or being religious. No, for none of those things can save you from the just wages of your sin that condemns you. Only Jesus Christ can save you. And look, He did all the work on the cross, and our call is to receive Him in repentant faith, and when that's done and it's real, saved. Note that saving faith is much more than just mere intellectual assent, but true saving faith results in spiritual fruit. Saving faith results in action. Saving faith reveals itself with love for God and for others. So true works at absolutely nothing to true salvation. Please understand that. But once a soul is truly saved, it shows. And so the truly saved, they love. The saved obey. The saved seek to worship God with their lives because love compels us to do so. And now a whole bunch of Gentiles, non-Jews, are saved. Isn't that awesome? I mean, put yourself in that situation. It's an amazing thing. Don't you love it when you see a soul come to saving faith in Christ? When you see a soul go from death to life, from hell to heaven, from being a child of wrath to being a beloved child of God? Don't you love that? It's the best thing ever. It's the greatest miracle of all. It's the best thing in the world to witness. And so I say, Lord, please give us more. Use us, Lord, to bring in the lost by the truckloads. Use us, Lord, to be the means that you use to rescue eternal souls from wrath. What an honor, what a privilege, what a blessing. And Peter was like, but I wasn't even done preaching. You guys should have heard what I had next. It was really, really good. But of course that didn't matter to Peter, not at all. I mean, all these souls that were lost have just been found. Amazing. Look what happened next, verses 44 through 48. When Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished. As many as came with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay for a few days. So here's second and really the first in our passage, the Holy Spirit fell. The Holy Spirit fell, what does that mean? The word fell means to fall upon, to press upon, to seize, to take possession of, and it's clearly talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Many call this the Gentile version of Pentecost, which refers back to what happened to the Jewish Christians in Acts 2. Before we get into that, it's important to understand who exactly is the Holy Spirit. The word holy is a giveaway because only God is truly holy, so the Holy Spirit is God, namely God the Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Our doctrinal statement says, we believe, teach, that there is but one living and true God, an infinite, all-knowing Spirit, perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, eternally existing in three persons, the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each equally deserving worship and obedience. So we worship, according to the Bible, one God who eternally exists in three distinct persons. And while that is hard for us to grasp, it's clearly a biblical truth. The Bible is very clear that the Father is God. John 17, 3, 1 Corinthians 8, 6, 2 Corinthians 1, 3, Ephesians 1, 3, 1 Peter 1, 3, on and on it goes. The Father is God. That isn't a problem for most. The Bible is also very clear that Jesus is God, and that's a problem for some, but it's a biblical truth. In Isaiah 9-6, Jesus is called the mighty God. John 1-1, the word Jesus was and is God. In John 20-28, Thomas called Jesus his Lord and his God. Acts 20-28 mentions the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. Who purchased us with his own blood? Jesus. Titus 2.13 tells us that Jesus is our great God and Savior. Hebrews 1.8 says that the Son is God. 2 Peter 1.1 says that Jesus is our God and Savior. In 1 John 5.20, Jesus is called the true God. I could go on and on, but the Bible is very clear that Jesus, the Son, is God. And then the Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit is God. Hebrews 9.14 tells us that the Holy Spirit is eternal, a divine attribute. Psalm 139.7-10 tells us that the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, another divine attribute. Luke 1.35 shows us that the Holy Spirit is omnipotent, another divine attribute. 1 Corinthians 2.10 tells us that the Holy Spirit is omniscient, yet another divine attribute. Psalm 103.30 ascribes creation to the Holy Spirit because He is God, the Creator. In 1 Corinthians 12, 4 through 6 it says, there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God who works all of them in all men. And so the Spirit, Lord, and God are used synonymously because they can be our one God, who eternally exists in three distinct persons. In Matthew 28, 19 through 20, it says, therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of God. Specifically, in the name of. the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, talking about God. In 2 Corinthians 13, 14, it says, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Once again, these three are used synonymously because they are the same, three in one, Jesus, God, Spirit. We can go on and on, but the Bible is clear. The Spirit is God, and that's important for us to understand. The Holy Spirit is not a force. The Holy Spirit is not an it. Please don't call the Holy Spirit it. Call him he, he's God. If he were an it, a force, a mere influence from within us, that's not really a big deal, but if he's a distinctive being, the third person of the Trinity, God the Spirit, which the Bible is very clear about, then overlooking him, robs God of the full love and adoration that He so rightly deserves from us as children. So I believe that it's of the highest importance in our spiritual growth that we know the Holy Spirit personally, that we know Him as a person, let alone that it's heresy to not believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, the Lord God Almighty. Why make a big deal out of this? It goes to the nature of God. A. W. Tozer said, the Holy Spirit has individuality. He is one being and not another. He has will and intellect. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and to see and to think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve, and rejoice. He's a person. So emphasizing the personhood of the Holy Spirit above the thought of him being a mere force is extremely important. He's God, and we should love him. See? He's God, and we should love him. He's doing great work. in us, even now, on our behalf. And here we find that just as the Holy Spirit baptized the Jewish believers back in Acts chapter 2, so is He now baptizing these first Gentile believers here in Acts 10 as He falls on them. So what this then is this falling on? What then is this baptism of the Holy Spirit? Simply put, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the one-time event that happens at conversion, where the Spirit places you into union with Christ and with other believers, and where He then resides inside of you until you arrive safely home in glory. That said, please remember that Acts is a very unique book, because Acts is a historical narrative of a time of great spiritual transition, and not everything that happened in Acts is normative for the church today. For example, in Acts 2, the people already believed, and then, The Holy Spirit baptized them and dwelt them. But note that it's not normative for people to be saved today without being baptized, without being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And so as we look at Acts, a distinction needs to be made between what is descriptive in Acts and what is prescriptive. But biblically, normatively, the moment we are saved, the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ. He saves us, and He indwells us done. That means that when someone asks, have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit? If you're a Christian, your answer is always yes. Because if your answer is no, you're really saying that you're not saved. See, normatively again, the Holy Spirit does four things for you the moment you come to Christ and you're saved. One, you're born again by the Spirit, John 3, 5. Two, you are then indwelt by the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6, 19-20. Three, you are baptized by the Spirit, immersed by the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12, 13. And then four, you're sealed by the Spirit, Ephesians 1, 13. Those four things happen when you trust Christ, and they are never repeated. These are all performed by the Holy Spirit in the life of the child of God, and they aren't related to any extraordinary emotional experiences. Now that leads to another question. Should I seek to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? No. Nowhere in the New Testament are believers told to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We're exhorted to be filled with the Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, to quench not the Spirit, and to make sure that we don't grieve the Holy Spirit. But nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Why not? Because if you're a Christian, you were already baptized with the Spirit the moment that you were saved. So you don't need to seek what you already have. One said, it's like ordering a meal and then discovering that dessert is included with the price. See, the baptism of the Spirit is part of what it means to come to Christ in the first place. So what's normative for us today is this, 1 Corinthians 12, 13. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of the one Spirit. And so all Christians are baptized, immersed, and dwelt by the Spirit when they are saved. People say, well, I'm saved, but I don't have the Spirit. That is impossible. That is impossible. Biblically, the saved all have the Spirit, and the unsaved do not have the Spirit. Why did the Holy Spirit come? He came to help us, to give us power, to live for the glory of God, because we couldn't live for the glory of God without Him indwelling us. That's a promise way back in Acts 1, right? You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Power, dunamis in the Greek, from which we get our English word dynamite, talking about divine power. Power to what? Power to live for the glory of God. To honor God, to witness for God, to fight sin, to be bold, to be strong, to arrive safely home. No way we could do that without His power, but with Him and His divine power in us, man, we can turn the world upside down. And look, every Christian has the same Spirit of God living inside of them, indwelling them. Picture it like this, and we've used this before, but it helps. An army is sitting down before a rock fort, and they intend to bash that fort down. So we might ask them, how? How are you going to do it? They point to a cannonball. But there's no power in a cannonball, right? I mean, it's heavy. It's really heavy. And even if all the men in the army pick up that cannonball and hurl that cannonball against the fort, it's not going to do any damage. They say, no, but look at the cannon. But there's no power in that cannon. A child can play on the cannon. A bird can sit on the cannon. I mean, it's a machine and nothing more. But they say, look at the powder. But again, there's no power in the powder. I mean, you can spill it all over you. You can rub it all around you. You can just wash it off, though. But think about this. This powerless powder and powerless ball are put into a powerless cannon, and look, one spark of fire enters it, and then that powder is a flash of lightning, and that ball is a thunderbolt that crashes into that rock fort and brings that rock fort down to the ground. So it is with us, the people of God. We are powerless, but the Spirit of God who lives in us is the fire that ignites us and gives us power for effective life and ministry, for overcoming, for enduring to the very end, for honoring Christ, truly honoring Christ with our fading lives. Power. Back in John 14 when Jesus was talking about what the Holy Spirit would do for believers, He calls the Holy Spirit the Helper. Interestingly, in John 14, 15, Jesus says, if you love me, keep my commandments. Immediately after that is when Jesus says, I'm gonna pray to the Father, and he's gonna give you another helper. In other words, once Jesus leaves, the Holy Spirit will come and fill that vacancy doing for his disciples all that he had done for them while he was with them on earth, but even more. Because the Holy Spirit will minister from within the Christian as Christ had ministered from without. Which is even better. It's much, much better. But look, why do you think Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit immediately after telling His disciples to keep His commandments? Because they can't keep His commandments without the Holy Spirit. The word helper is a Greek word, parakletos. The word literally means to call beside. And it's the Holy Spirit who is the one who comes beside us in our time of need. And basically, his role is to empower us, there's the word, and to help us passionately live out the Christian life until we make it safely home. Biblically, believers are upheld by the Spirit, they are strengthened by the Spirit, they are given boldness by the Spirit, they are helped in prayer by the Spirit, and they are aided and comforted in various and amazing ways because of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Now, the struggle with most Christians lies in the fact that We don't know what it would be like to be without the help of the Holy Spirit in our lives. For as long as we have been saved, He's lived inside of us as our helper. And even for those Christians who have quenched Him by sin, He's still there within us, and He's still helping us, and I think it's easy for us to become accustomed to Him in our lives. But, take Him away for a moment. And we would know immediately, but none of us would ever want that. But please note that just because you may not feel the Holy Spirit at work inside of you, that doesn't mean that He's not there and that's okay with Him. He's still doing His work, and that's what He cares about, doing His work within you. Galatians 5 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit, the proof that the Spirit of God is living and thriving in you is what? Love. There it is, right? Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And when we see Christians growing in those areas, then we are seeing the reality of the Spirit of God at work in a soul. Note also that the Holy Spirit is very practical. His goal is very simple. To help you glorify Christ in your life and to ensure your safe arrival home, which He will make sure that He does. He doesn't care if you feel Him. He cares that you're growing. He isn't residing in you to help you make animal noises as some would teach. He isn't residing in you to help you roll around on the floor or laugh uncontrollably through a sermon or walk around like a drunk person as some wrongfully teach today. He wants to help you be holy for the glory of God. And that's His aim and purpose in your life, and He's helping you to do that. He's very practical. And so, He fell upon these new Gentile believers, and He took up residence in their lives as their helper. Third look. Those of the circumcision were astonished. The word means to be beside oneself. It speaks of astonishment mixed with anxiety stimulated by extraordinary events that can't be explained. What in the world is going on here? Now remember, Acts 11.12 says that Peter brought six brethren. Here they're called those of the circumcision, which describes Jews who had placed their faith in Jesus. Talking about Jewish Christians. And look, these Jewish believers are beside themselves. Why? Because one, the experience of these Gentile believers was essentially the same as had been experienced by the Jews at Pentecost. And two, that obviously the church wasn't to be exclusively Jewish anymore, made up of Jewish Christians anymore. No. Salvation in Christ is now clearly opened to all, even to Gentiles. The Holy Spirit has been poured out on them, and they are clearly, clearly, unmistakably saved. Astonishment. Look, it's now several years after Pentecost, Acts 2, and the church was still almost entirely Jewish up to this point, with some half-Jewish Samaritan believers mixed in. But look, the events in Caesarea signaled a significant change in the minds of these Jewish believers. The clear message, that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, that's it. Only trusting in Christ brings forgiveness of sin. Not circumcision, not knowledge and law keeping, just true faith. And so, they're astonished at this. This truly was mind-boggling to them because Gentiles were despised by the Jews, right? We've seen that. Gentiles were considered to be dirty dogs. Gentiles went from an entirely... they were from an entirely different planet to the Jews, and the thought that they could be saved by faith alone, without first becoming Jewish, was mind-boggling to them, but it was clear now, and it's undeniable. Because look, third, these new Gentile believers spoke in tongues. See, the Spirit wants it to be clear. And just as he made it clear for the Jewish Christians in Acts 2 at Pentecost, he also wants it to be clear here for these first Gentile Christians. He, God the Spirit, has now arrived. And these people are saved and they have God the Spirit indwelling them as well. And it's undeniable because biblical tongues was a miracle, not something that could be remotely faked. See, the word tongues doesn't mean babble, but languages. Languages unknown to the person speaking them. A divine miracle that couldn't be denied by the people observing it. See, tongues is mentioned or implied four times in Acts, and every time it's mentioned or implied, it's regarding groups of people. In Acts 2, it happened to the first Christians who came from a Jewish background. Remember that? But it wasn't just tongues, but there was also this sound of a rushing wind, and then the side of what looked like divided tongues, as of fire, resting on each person. And then they all spoke in languages that they didn't know, and everyone around heard them speaking in their own language. It was an absolutely amazing miracle. God the Spirit has arrived. It happened again in Acts 8. By that time, the Gospel had spread to Samaria. Verse 14, when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet he was fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." Now, tongues isn't mentioned there, but I believe it's implied there. Remember, The Jews despised the Samaritans because the Samaritans intermarried with Gentiles, which was a despicable thing to the Jews. But look, in Acts 8, some Samaritans believed in Jesus. Now, the tendency of the Jews would have been to make the Samaritans second-class Christians, if Christians at all. But they believed, and at the moment of their conversion, they didn't receive the Holy Spirit. Why? For a very good reason. because the Holy Spirit wanted some very important Jews to be there when it happened, so that they would know that it happened to the Samaritans just like it happened to the Jewish believers in Acts 2. And so the Spirit waited until Peter and John arrived, and that's when He said, look, they are Christians too, just like you. And now Peter and John could go back and say to the Jews, you'll never believe it. The Samaritans got the same thing that we got. They are saved. They are a part of the family of God. And so God is bringing the body of Christ together, see. Here in chapter 10, it's the same kind of thing, but this time it's the Gentiles. The Gentiles believed and were saved, and look, they experienced the same thing that we did. The Holy Spirit resides in them as well. See, they too spoke with other tongues. But note that at this time, it wasn't important that they speak in languages for the sake of communicating, but rather it was important that they speak in languages so that the Jewish believers who were there would know that they got the same thing that the Jews got at Pentecost. In other words, As a church is being formed in the flow of the book of Acts, the Spirit of God wants everybody to be sure that the church is in fact one body. And He goes to great pains to make sure that everybody knows that truth. See, the reason that they received the same Holy Spirit in the same way was to tie them in with the one body that was born at Pentecost. The same thing happened again with one other group in the book of Acts. There's a little group of 12 Old Testament saints who were hangovers from John the Baptist. They didn't think that anything's happened since John the Baptist. And so in Acts 19, the Holy Spirit wants to get them in the body as well. So, Paul talked with them, shared the gospel with them, they believed, and then verse 5, when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with languages and prophesied. And so, You have the same thing happening to them in order to tie them together with that first group at Pentecost in Acts 2. And so the Holy Spirit is putting together the body of Christ and He's making it very clear. So that no one part of the body can look at another part of the body and say, we have something that you don't have. And look. Once the body included all the leftover Old Testament saints, and all of the New Testament Jews, and Samaritans, and Gentile believers, well, there wasn't any reason for this phenomenon anymore, because everybody that comes to Christ now is covered. So what happened in Acts is simply a description of what happened, and it's not to be the norm or the pattern for church life today. No reason, see? Because the purpose of tongues in Acts has been accomplished. But please note, that there's two things going on with tongues. First is what we just looked at, where these different groups spoke in unknown languages in order to prove that the Spirit was behind what was happening in saving these souls. But second, there was indeed a gift of tongues that was given by the Spirit for the early church, for a distinct purpose. Not everyone had the gift. It was indeed the gift of languages, and it was a way to get the truth out to foreigners whose language you didn't speak. Kind of like a missionary thing. That then begs the question, is the gift of tongues given to the church today? Is it meant to be the indispensable sign of spirit baptism? Now some argue that. They say that the sign of being baptized with the Spirit is speaking in tongues, and that if you haven't done that, then you're lacking in some kind of vital spiritual experience. But that is simply not true. And what took place in Acts isn't supposed to be the norm of church life today, not at all. For the evidence of being filled with the Spirit, again, is the fruit of the Spirit. For biblically, that's the real proof that we have God the Spirit living in us today. Remember, the genuine gift of tongues is the ability to speak a foreign language that you haven't studied, rather than some kind of ecstatic utterance or babble. Also, tongues was one of the signs or marks of apostleship and they were closely tied in with the apostles. What do I mean? Well, in Hebrews 2.4 it mentions signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now there, the writer of Hebrews is referring to the miracles performed by the apostles and some of their close associates as recorded in the book of Acts. The terms signs, wonders, and miracles are basically synonymous. And there, the writer isn't referring to all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but to the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit that were given to the apostles, namely tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, and miracles. And what we find is that those gifts were given for a specific time, and they were given for a specific reason, as the Word of God was being completed, and as a foundation of the church was being laid down. Note that these signs, wonders, and miracles done by the apostles, they weren't just flashy events to catch the people's attention, and they weren't teasers to try to get people to listen to what the gospel writers were going to say. Instead, They were things given by God to prove that what these men were saying was absolutely true and from God Almighty undoubtedly and clearly. For example, When Christ performed a miracle, the function of the miracle wasn't to simply dazzle or impress the crowd, no. But instead, these miracles were there to confirm that what He said was indeed the very truth of God. And it was the same way with the apostles. Those incredible and undeniable miracles were delegated by Christ to the apostles, and they were designed to attest that what the apostles were saying was true before the Word of God was completed and before the foundation of the church was fully laid down. So we believe that the sign gifts pertained to the apostolic era only and that they served a purpose that was unique to establishing the early church and that they therefore passed away once the scriptures were completed and once the apostles died off. Why do we believe this? A few reasons. One, we believe that the sign gifts have ceased because they're not around anymore. That's a deep thought, right? They're not around. What we see today is not what was going on in the book of Acts. In the New Testament, people with the gift of healing healed everyone. They drove illness out of the cities that they were in. That's not what we see today. Instead, if you're sick today, you're supposed to ask for others to pray for you, and God may heal you through prayer, and if that's His will to do so. That's worlds apart from what we see going on in Acts, and today, from what we see in the church going on today, from what was going on in Acts. Take the apostolic gift of healing, for example. Miraculous, clear, undeniable, instantaneous healing. God had granted to them the ability to give physical recovery to the sick in order to verify that they were divine messengers, for the Bible wasn't completed yet at that point. See, they were to go somewhere and preach, and they would accommodate their preaching with these miracles, which would be evidence that God was acting, clear evidence. And if God was acting, then God was speaking. Thus, their gospel became credible and believable. That was the way it was from the beginning of the church. Chapter 2 verse 43, "...and fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles." But what about healing today? Aren't there faith healers today? Aren't they on TV? I've turned the TV on, I've seen it. Don't they heal people all the time? People getting up from their wheelchairs, things like that? Note a few things. First, I believe that the gift of healing as indicated in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 was one of the gifts of an apostle and the apostles have passed from the scene. They were the foundation, the foundation has been laid down and they are gone. So whatever exists today isn't the same thing as the apostolic gift of healing. Second, note that Satan and his demons can heal and they can do it in the name of Jesus. And so just because some healer uses the name of Jesus or God, well that's no guarantee that it's in fact God who is involved. Our Lord Himself predicted these false Christs and false prophets and false apostles that they would arise. And according to Mark 13, they would perform many demonic signs and wonders. In Matthew 7, it says that some of them would even be done in the name of the Lord. And look, they come before Christ on judgment day and say, Lord, Lord, have we not done many wonderful works in your name and cast out demons in your name? And he will say to them, depart from me, I never knew you. And so there are people operating on behalf of Satan in the name of God, and that's a warning. The Bible says that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, so beware. In 2 Thessalonians 2, it says that in the latter times, the Antichrist will come according to the working of Satan with all power, signs, and lying wonders. And so it's good to know that God isn't necessarily involved in everything that comes under His name. I mean, the name of Jesus is used in all kinds of ways that have nothing to do with Him. And Satan does his best work within the church. Again, beware. See, just because somebody invokes Christ, that doesn't mean anything. The typical healing movement is based on a misinterpretation of Isaiah 53 that says, by his stripes we are healed. And so they say that in Christ, there's physical healing for everybody. But that is a terrible misinterpretation of Isaiah 53 because that has nothing to do with physical healing. Christ didn't die for the ills of the body, he died for the sin of the soul. And as a whole, those who have claimed to have the gift of healing, they have terrible doctrine. They have terrible doctrine on essential things, like the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, sanctification, and salvation. One guy from Germany named Kurt Trampler was a well-known healer, and his healings didn't seem to be fake. Some of them were even verified. He always uses the name of God and the name of Christ in his healings, but he denies a clear teaching of the Word of God. He even says that there's an angel who stands beside him who does the healing, but is clearly not an angel of God. Mary Baker Eddy, who's a founder of Christian Science, which isn't Christian or science, she healed by mental telepathy. She was by no means a true believer, and yet she healed people, look, in the name of Christ and in the name of God. So again, just because the name of God is involved, the name of Christ is involved, the name of Jesus or any other biblical term is involved, doesn't mean that God is involved. Satan loves to use the name of Christ in order to trap people into following a lie. So, John, you're saying that God doesn't heal? I didn't say that. God does indeed heal. I've seen it many times. But not like He healed when Jesus and the apostles walked the earth, but through the prayers of His people and as He sees fit. See, healing by God is in response to prayer and to His will. And sometimes it's God's will to heal people, and sometimes it's not. And so we pray that, and we trust God with that. But the apostolic gift of healing passed away from the scene once the apostles died off and the Word of God was completed. Because there's no need for it anymore. We have the Word of God. Same is true for the other signed gifts. The tongues that we see going on today wasn't what was going on in Acts. Again, the tongues recorded in the book of Acts were languages unknown to the person speaking them. As the gift was displayed, the truth of God would go out to the hearers in their own language so they could hear the good news of Christ and be saved. Babel isn't biblical tongues. Biblical tongues was a miracle that couldn't be denied, explained away, faked, or caused by mere emotion. Also, you didn't have to learn how to speak in tongues and acts. It was a divine miracle given by the Lord. Biblical tongues and tongues we primarily see today are not the same thing. The same is true for the apostles who were a gift to the early church. There are no more apostles today. One of the prerequisites for a true apostle was that they had seen the risen Lord, and clearly there are no more apostles today. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12, 12 that the sign of a true apostle are signs, wonders, and miracles, and that's exactly what the apostles were to demonstrate to show that they were truly of God. There are no more apostles today like Paul in the 12. They were indeed a gift to the early church for a specific purpose, and for a specific reason, and for a specific time in history. Therefore, just as the apostles died off, so too has a unique gifting of the apostles died off. That doesn't mean that God doesn't do miracles today, or that God doesn't work mightily through the prayers of His people. It means that normatively, normatively, God works differently than He did when the apostles walked the earth and laid the foundation of the church. So, question. Why did God give the signed gifts to the church in Acts? Because it was a world without the New Testament. The function of the signed gifts was to fulfill this purpose until the New Testament was completed. These gifts authenticated the apostles and demonstrated to the world that they were the ones Jesus left in charge of his church until the New Testament arrived. So, there was indeed a gift of tongues, languages in the early church. As time went on and the apostles died off and the Word of God was completed, that sign gift, the other sign gifts as well, faded away. Note how in the verse in Hebrews 2, the writer tells them how the word of the Lord was confirmed by the apostles through various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. And look, if these gifts were present in the church at the time that he was writing, he wouldn't have needed to refer to them as a thing of the past. Instead, their purpose has been to confirm the apostolic message, and after that purpose was fulfilled, they passed from the scene. Now, I've seen tongues many times on TV and in other places, and I've seen it personally, and it's always been Babel. It's always been Babel. That's not the biblical gift of tongues. That's not even close to the biblical gift of tongues. And note this, cults around the world babble ecstatically. Conjured up either by Satan or by mere emotionalism. There's no miracle in that The biblical gift of tongues was indeed a divine and unquestioned Miracle of God and we don't see that as a norm for the church today. Not even close again. No more need But here it was clear It was purposeful. It was an absolutely incredible miracle The Gentiles who believed are saved and God the Spirit now lives in them clearly. So what next? Peter Anybody forbid water? That these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? No? Okay then. Baptism in water it is. And so, these new believers were baptized in water. And that's the way it should be, right? That once you believe that you're saved, you respond to Him by being baptized, immersed in water, which is the outward display of what Christ does for you when He saves you. The testimony to the watching world that you're indeed a child of God. So baptism in water is important as a sign that one has been justified by faith, saved by faith, and also as a public declaration of one's faith in Christ, and also membership into the body of Christ, the Church. Note that water baptism has nothing to do with being saved, but it's a work which we do in response to our salvation. And so, if you believe in Jesus, in repentant faith, you should most certainly respond by being baptized, immersed in water. And the question is, have you done that? If not, what are you waiting for? A couple of weeks, we're going to baptize people. What are you waiting for? Note that the Bible teaches believer's baptism, a decision that you personally make on your own behalf for yourself, And the Bible also teaches immersion in water. The word in the Greek, baptized, literally means to immerse. And immersion is a perfect picture, a perfect living testimony to what Christ does for you when he saves you. You stand outside the water of baptism, and it's a picture of your life before you were saved. You're dirty. stained by sin, covered with rebellion, guilt, and sin. But then you come to saving faith in Christ, and what happens next in water baptism pictures what Jesus does for you when he saves you. You go into the water, and you get dunked underneath that water, picturing the cleansing that Jesus gives you from all your sin. He washes you clean forever. Amen? That's what he does when he saves you. And then, the dunking pictures a burial, a death to the old way of life. It is now dead and gone forever. And then you come up out of that water, and you live for the glory of Christ, a new life cleansed of all your sin, and walking in steps with Christ toward home until glory. What a picture! And water baptism pictures this, and it's a testimony to others of what Christ has done for you when He saves you. And now, Gentiles are a part of the church, the body of Christ. How cool is that? Now, note one last thing as we end this sermon. That doesn't mean I'm done. People might look at all of this and say, wow, John, after all you said about the Holy Spirit, your faith must be pretty dull and boring. You don't believe in the Holy Spirit. You don't believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You don't believe God can do great things like he did in Acts 2. Those who say that couldn't be more wrong. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe the Holy Spirit is alive and well and at work today mightily. And my faith, man, it's emotional. And it's real, and it's filled with passion, and with intense love for my amazing God. And just because I'm convinced that the sign gifts associated with the apostles have died off, I still believe God is moving, and working miracles, and doing amazing things. And I'm not putting God in a box, for God can do whatever God wants to do, whenever God wants to do it. But again, what's normative for Acts isn't to be normative for the church today in all things, and my only goal is to be biblically accurate, so that I can better follow after Jesus and glorify Him with my fading life, instead of getting all sidetracked by things that will hinder that. But again, the Holy Spirit is alive and well today. And look, the greatest miracle of all is seeing a dead, lost soul be saved from death to life. And He does it all the time, all around us, souls getting saved from hell. He is at work. And look, we're loving more. Don't you see that? And we're battling sin with more passion and we're on the front lines of the spiritual battle at hand as we speak and live out the Word of God. And as we're growing in the fruit of the Spirit, He's at work and He's doing great things. Boring! You're boring!" I got carried away. Come on, but there's nothing more exciting than being a child of God. who's focused on knowing the written Word better, that points us to Him, which the Spirit works mightily through, and then passionately, we get the privilege of living it out for His glory more and more and more and more. Spirit-filled doesn't mean that you speak in tongues and roll around on the floor. It doesn't mean that. Spirit-filled means that God is thriving in your life, and that that reality is being seen. How? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Please don't be fooled or be too easily impressed by external man-centered emotionalism. No. The Spirit of God is alive and well and thriving here as we seek to earnestly glorify God with our fading lives. And there's nothing better than that. There's nothing more exciting than that. And when God's people are pursuing that and encouraging each other in that, in Him, Him, Him, through His Word, through prayer, through fellowship, and these practical means of being Spirit-filled men and women of God, Man, God is alive and God is well in that place. And he's alive and well here. Powerfully, mightily. May God speak to our hearts today. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we love you. And we thank you for who you are and what you've done. And Spirit, thank you for working so mightily in our lives, day by day by day, content to just help us, because we need so much help. Thank you for who you are and what you're doing in us. And Lord, I pray that you would now give us clarity and deepen our love for you. May we encourage each other in your truth and may you work mightily in us, thriving and bearing your great fruit to every soul here. at Faith Community Church. We love you, Lord. Thank you for who you are and what you've done. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.