I was so blessed by watching that because I know what we face. We face Islam. The word Islam means submission, but submission to who? Submission to the devil. And you and I, have no idea how much we need to unite in Holy Spirit worship, because that's the only thing that's going to stop the evil cutting heads off. You know who they say they, some of our great leaders, say Islam. is a religion of peace. That's a lie. You know what peace is to Muhammad in the Quran? You are at peace if you are one of them. If you're not, you're to die. Have your head cut off. We face an enemy, but we have a God greater than the enemy. This fits real well into the eighth chapter of the book of Acts as we study. The church has grown by the thousands in the city of Jerusalem. and they have become settled down and they have decided that they've got it made. And God says, no, I did not have my son die on the cross and pay the terrible price for sin so you could enjoy each other in Jerusalem. I'm going to send havoc upon you. And that is in the third verse of the eighth chapter. For Saul, this is the most religious man on the face of the earth that day. Remember, you do not want religion. You can lose religion, but you can't lose salvation. And there's no argument there because the Bible says that anyone with one eye and has sense can receive it. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. What he will give you, if you'll accept him, he won't give you a maybe so, hope so salvation. He'll give you an eternal salvation. Now these people have decided to settle down and just be happy among themselves in their love feast in Jerusalem. And God sends a man who is the most religious man on the face of the earth, Saul of Tarsus. Now God's gonna save him and make him the greatest evangelist that has ever lived except Jesus himself. And Saul made havoc of the church. This word havoc comes from a Greek word lumi, and it means like a pack of wolves attacks an innocent animal. If you could see a little fawn that a deer has just given birth to, and here comes this pack of wolves. and they begin to tear to pieces that little fawn that's just been born. That's havoc. And that's what they begin to do to the church. You say, well, why did God allow that? It was the only way he could get them to scatter and to move and take the message like he intended it to be to the whole world. Havoc. You know what will happen if havoc happens in your life? It's the attitude you'll have toward what has happened to you. Will you say, I will make God have glory in this. We have visited our precious brother over to the nursing home. Help me. And who is this? Yes, Max Bain, and Max is looking forward to you to come see. He wants you to. His precious wife is right here, let me tell you. She has been his health salvation. She has seen that they've taken care of him. And thank you, Anne. But when havoc comes in your life, What will your attitude be? Will you make it something that glorifies God or will you send God off somewhere and forget him and hate him because of what's happened? Well, let me tell you what these people did. Once that they found out that God wanted them to get out and go preach about Jesus all over the world, verse four tells us what happened to them when havoc came to them. Verse four. Therefore, they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. And what is the word? John 1 in the beginning was the word. And the word was with God and the word was God. And God became flesh and dwelt among us. And he was crucified that my sins and your sins and the sins of the world could be forgiven. And as old Dr. John R. Rice used to pray, and preach no reservation without salvation. Did you know you have a reservation waiting on you in heaven? Praise God. And there's nothing the devil can do about it because you have Jesus. These people went out and began to preach. They began to preach Jesus. They did not let what had happened to them destroy them. It made them. And that's what happens to all of us. I don't want to press anything very hard, but I know what habit can do for you. It can make you want to be more on fire for Jesus. It will not make you bitter. It'll make you better. And that's exactly why God allows it. You wanna know why he allows it? He wants you to find something way to say, hey, I've had victory. I've had victory in Jesus. Okay, there were 12 deacons. One of them we've already found has been martyred, Stephen. Now the second one is, He comes from being a deacon to be an evangelist. That's verse five. And Philip went down to the city of Samaria. Now just a minute, Samaria? Do you remember when Jesus went to Samaria and the woman came to the well where Jesus was sitting, waiting for his disciples to come back with some food that they had gone into town. The Samaritans and Jews hated each other. They hated each other. Now, why did the Jews hate them? Well, they said they were half-breeds. Let me tell you something. No telling what kind of a breed I am, and no count on what you are, but God loves you. And that has nothing to do with your spirit. The spirit has never been changed. No matter what may have happened in your genetics, your spirit is the spirit that God wants to save and take to heaven when this life is over. So he, Philip goes to Samaria just like the woman at the well, she found Jesus. And she went back to town and told the men that she had been sinning with to go out to find them salvation. And there was a great revival in Samaria. Now Philip goes there and a great revival takes place. Why? And he preaches politics. Condemnation, he preaches Christ to them. And that's what you and I, if you've got some kind of a bird in your saddle, get it out. and start talking about Jesus and the love of Jesus and the love of God and tell sinners they can be saved and quit letting that burr in your saddle, keep eating your lunch. It's time for us to quit that kind of junk and start doing what Philip did. Preach Christ, preach Christ, preach Jesus Christ. And what was the results? Verse six, and the people, that's the everyday common working human beings in Samaria, and the people with one accord gave heed, they listened. and they accepted, and they believed that no matter what their weaknesses were, that Jesus could make the difference. And the people with one accord gave heed unto the things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles he did. Now it's time, pastime. for us to begin to believe in the God who is still working miracles. And I would not be standing here with my big loud mouth if it were not for the fact that God had to do a miracle on this preacher. And whether you believe it or not, you may be one of these funny fundamentalist who don't believe in miracles anymore. Well, you are a miracle. And it's not through making you more in the miraculous realm. Amen? Well, let's start acting like we're really people of God and not just a bunch of socialites having a bunch of fun while the devil's going, it's taking the world to hell. Did you know while I'm speaking to you, There are believers who are facing Islam and they're telling them convert, our head of your head chopped off. And they say, chop my head off. I will not deny my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died on the cross. And you and I are going to be put to the test. And I'll tell you what, we're gonna win. We're not losers. You're not a loser. You hear me? Don't you let anybody tell you you are. For unclean spirits cried with a loud voice, came out of many that were possessed of them. How did these unclean spirits get into being? Where'd they come from? Well, back before the creation of man, back sometime in eternity, God created an innumerable number of angels. And that innumerable number of angels, one third of them, eventually followed the head Angel Lucifer. and he became Satan, the devil, the accuser. And one third of those angels followed him and they want to get in your life and possess you rather than the Spirit of Almighty God. There's only one way to get out of evil spirits and that's to have the Holy Spirit. Totally and completely. And that's a gift. Now listen carefully. There are false teachers, churches, that teach the only way you can have the fullest of the Holy Spirit is to live a sinless life. Well, then no one would ever be able. But the Holy Spirit's a gift. It's a gift to you. And I don't mean a once, I mean every day being filled. The Bible says, be not drunk with wine or in excess, but be filled, be under the influence of the Holy Spirit. And many that were taken with palsy that shook all the time, they were healed. The lame were healed. It's time for us to begin again to believe in God's healing power. You say, I see too much sickness. Well, quit looking at it and quit looking to God. Don't look at it. You say, yeah, you sound like a Christian scientist. Well, that way they're right. We're not supposed to dwell on what's wrong. We're supposed to dwell on what will make it right. Amen? Do you believe it? Well, if you don't believe it, start because you're gonna need to. I said something at a funeral the other day that I know I made some liberals very unhappy. I said, in heaven, we won't have Obamacare. I made some of you mad there, see? Well, we won't. And thank God, one day I can throw every pill away. You say you shouldn't take pills. Well, that's something that you have to decide between you and God. God made some things. For example, I know people think that I probably drink gin and tonic. I buy a lot of tonic water. Why? It has quinine in it. Quinine is good for you, and you know how they found out about it? When the English, they were building the Suez Canal, and the British didn't get malaria. Why? They drank tonic water. They probably drank the other two, but I don't recommend that. What I'm trying to tell you is that God did make some herbs and some things that are healing and we should know what they are and use them as well as using just good common sense. That's not the gospel, so let me get back to the word. What happened in that Samaritan area after they begin to accept Jesus Christ? as their personal eternal savior, verse eight. And there was great joy in that city. Let's have great joy in this church. I could go on and preach another 15 minutes, but I think we already end on joy. I'll tell you what, the greatest witness you'll have to those who are lost is that don't go around like an old sour pickle, but have some joy in your life, have some happiness. I got a laugh out of the eight o'clock, I'll tell you why. I'm losing weight. One of these days I may step out here and these things may fall off of me. I can't afford to buy new suits. If I do, just you turn your head and I'll pull them up and we'll go on and preach. Amen. Oh yeah, you laugh. Hallelujah. That's medicine. I gave you some medicine. Now, do you have Jesus as your savior? If you do, then live like it. If you don't, you're gonna die and go to hell. So let's come to Jesus. If you're not saved, any other decision you need to make, come as we stand to sing. And after we get through with that, we'll dismiss you. And if you have something you need further time with, we'll be here. Hallelujah. There was joy. in that city. Let's offer up this beautiful song. We'll sing and shout the victory. While we walk the pilgrims' path, great clouds will overspread our sky. But when traveling days are over, not a shadow, not a sigh, Gift to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory hang on me no wonder I quit preaching. I've been honored to God, to Pastor Bill, to all the members of Liberty Church. I just truly thank the Lord for being here this morning. I have ran into some issues. I have been away from the church because I had got married and the minute I married I didn't know that he wasn't a believer in Christ. And I'm It was, I've been through some trials and tribulations, but through it all, God sent me here. And, um, I just didn't know where to go. I came to Shawnee and, um, I'm homeless. I'm not ashamed to say because God sees it all. He knows what I went through. He's judging my heart, but you know, I had a, I have a good heart. You know, I share the love of God that he has given the love in me to share with everybody else. And I just praise God so much for liberty because. Liberty being here for me, and I'm being a god being here for liberty. I just thank God. It's just a blessing just to know how good God is to all of us. And who don't know God, you better learn how to love him. You better learn how to get to know him. Because he said, I would never leave you nor forsake you. That's a promise God made to me. I tell you, I didn't know one to turn to. But God, I was married to a man that didn't believe in God. Anytime I sang about the Lord, I called out the Lord's name, I might have got slapped in the face, pushed out the house, either thrown on the ground. But through it all, God gave me the strength to get up. Amen. He gave it the strength to get up and get away from it. I just praise the Lord so much because he's so good to me. And I'm asking prayer for our son. I have only one child. My child is locked up in prison. I haven't seen him in four years, talked to him in four years. But through it all, God made a way for him to come back to Pike County. I don't care if he's still in jail, but God made a way to send my son home to me. I didn't have no way to lock in Oklahoma. I have lost a lot of weight. It almost lost my mind, but God still had the wisdom for me to carry on. And I just ask for prayer for my son. I don't know the issue of what's going on, but God knows it all. Amen. I love the Lord so, because he said, I mean, this is something I live on day by day, night by night. I don't live on the word of man, OK? Because man don't have no power. The power comes from up above. And God promised me, the Lord promised me, he told me in his word, he would never leave me nor forsake me. God bless you. Thank you.