Well, I greet you once again in our glorious Savior's name. With Thanksgiving for the privilege of being together again this evening in His kind Providence, and for the privilege of being with you for this. Did we say twelfth time? of meetings uh which is uh Hard to believe, just as it's hard to believe that a quarter of a century has passed in the process. But you know how that goes so quickly.
But it's wonderful always to be here. And once again, I have been blessed. By your fellowship in the gospel, by your very careful attention. To the preaching of the word of God. I don't always find that when I go places to preach.
And I'm sure many times they have better things to listen to, at least think they do. And I'm sure I'm good at putting people to sleep too than what they don't want to hear. But you folks want to hear, and it's very evident, abundantly evident. And it is a testimony as well to the fine teaching that you have been receiving here. throughout the ministry of the men that God has called to lead you.
And I thank God for that. And thank you for your attentiveness, your kind expressions of appreciation, your fellowship in the gospel. As Pastor Barkman was talking about sermonaudio.com and the outreach of that ministry, how blessed we are in this age that such a thing came into being. And I know you receive reports monthly, I guess, concerning how many sermons were downloaded and where they were downloaded. And when you recognize the number that are going into places that are totally Islamic countries, Uh people there are listening and hearing how we need to pray.
That God would bless and expand the reach of the testimony that you are bearing forth here. And indeed. Any funding that it takes to get it there is well spent because we have the promise. that his word will not return unto him void. You can make an investment in some um corporation on the stock market.
and it go completely under and you lose everything you put in. But you cannot. in any way ever. lose anything. that you put into The spread of the gospel.
Because God's word is going. to prosper. and the thing to which he sends it, And it will. be effectual. in bringing all of his elect in unto the fold.
He will. prevail with his word. And I think that's a word for great encouragement to all of God's people. The Word of God cannot fail, it will accomplish its purpose. And how blessed we are.
that we can be a part of that purpose. and instruments by whom that word goes forth. And it is blessed indeed to be here and to be an instrument, I trust, in the Lord's hand. for the proclamation, the publication of his word. dealing with Pentecost this week and what took place there.
And I trust there's been some. A semblance of order to the manner in which it's been presented, beginning with the Old Testament feast of weeks and then the New Testament event of Pentecost. And then the first sermon, Christian sermon preached by Peter at Pentecost, and then yesterday evening, considering things that happened there. And I repeat again. That I believe one of the evidences of the superficiality of the age.
Is that Pentecost is relegated to tongues? That's about all anyone thinks of. when the name Pentecost is mentioned.
Well, I hope for all of us we have far more to think on concerning the significance of Pentecost and what was happening there. Indeed, the miraculous gift of tongues was given for a purpose there, but that was one in a whole bundle of things that God was accomplishing. And I trust this evening we can see more of those things that were accomplished at Pentecost. Just by way of review from last night, We noted that Pentecost was a fulfillment. of the prophecy uttered by Joel.
as he had arisen under inspiration of the Spirit of God, in the face of a great disaster that had befallen his land, As a swarm, a plague of locusts had destroyed everything. And that destruction, a picture of judgment that would come for rejecting God's truth. But in the warning of judgment to come, There was also The ray of hope given. Isn't it wonderful? God never Threatens judgment.
without also extending the offer of mercy. And so it was that as judgment had befallen the prophet's homeland. And was a harbinger of other judgments that would come in history, yet there was the promise in that. that God would pour out His Spirit upon those who repented. those who turned unto him, And indeed, on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out upon the The Shall I say, unlearned and ignorant disciples, that's how they were deemed by the seminary experts of that age.
God poured out His Spirit upon His willing people who, in obedience to Christ, were waiting. For that power that Christ had promised at his ascension. And Joel is cited by Peter in his sermon as having foretold. this great day of Pentecost. It was also, therefore, the initiation of a new era in the history of God's people.
For Joel's prophecy has been Had proclaimed that whosoever would call upon the name of the Lord, they would be delivered. The Jewish people had understood that the message of truth was given exclusively to them. And that they were the chosen favored people, they would receive God's favor through the Messiah when He came. And although throughout the history of the Old Testament, there had been people here and there who were not Jewish, who were brought into the fold. Yet predominantly and overwhelmingly, it was for the Jewish people, and they knew it, and they were convinced of that.
But the prophet Joel had foretold, whosoever believeth. Whosoever shall call, And on the day of Pentecost, Peter repeated that prophecy. To a host of people in Jerusalem that included Jews and Gentiles. And it was a very clear call unto not just the seed of Abraham physically, the Jewish people, but a call to. Whosoever will.
Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And we stressed last night that that means anyone who calls upon Christ in faith. Can be saved, will be saved. It means everyone who calls upon Christ believingly will be saved. It means only one.
who calls upon Christ in faith. will be saved.
So, thereby, a new era was introduced into the history of mankind, a new era of divine. dealing with mankind. We noticed as well. that the Pentecost was a fulfillment of Christ's promise to send the Holy Spirit. Christ keeps his word.
He cannot lie nor be mistaken. When he makes a promise It is true. You can be assured it will be fulfilled. And Pentecost was the fulfillment of one of those great promises, the promise to send the Holy Spirit. We noted fourth yesterday evening that Pentecost was an affirmation.
that the apostles were the true spokesmen of God. Even as we've noted that miracles were given in the scriptures in order to confirm who the spokesmen of God were. Moses was given the power to turn a rod into a serpent, and then a serpent into a rod. And many other miraculous things that Moses was used to do in the plagues against Egypt, And thereby it was evident this man is God's man. Hear what he says.
And the authority given to the miracle workers of the scripture was an authority in order that by that authority the word of God might be recognized. Truly, such speak truth. Truth and speak the word of God. We noted too. That the event of Pentecost was the assurance.
to the apostles that God was with them. Whatever fears they had before Pentecost, seemed to have evaporated, and they go forth from that event courageous beyond description, to face the foes of Christ. and ultimately to face martyrdom Happily Ready to give their lives for For something that is so much greater. than a mere earthly life can be. And this was a transformation that they experienced.
evidently at Pentecost when they stood that day and preached, And Peter would say such things to the crowd as Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and with wicked hands have crucified. That's a courageous man. that comes out and preaches in that manner. That had not been Peter. just a few weeks before when he denied Christ.
out of the fear of the word of a servant girl. And then we recognize that Pentecost was an affirmation that Christ was now glorified. And John the Apostle. recognize this. And as he was writing the Gospel of John, And describing that day in John 7 when Jesus stood forth and cried to the multitude: If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.
Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. And John tells us in parentheses, he spake this concerning the coming of the Spirit. For Christ was not yet Glorified. In other words, When the Spirit comes, you will know that Christ has been glorified. And that's what happened at Pentecost.
And Pentecost is a testimony. to the fact. that the Lord Jesus Christ was then indeed Glorified in the presence of his Father.
Now what else happened at Pentecost? We've read from the 11th chapter of Genesis. the account of the Tower of Babel, where it begins by saying that all the earth was of one language. Think about language for a few minutes. Has it Ever in entered your thinking that Before there was anyone on earth to speak to, God gave Adam the ability to speak.
And I think there's a suggestion there that we dare not miss. That the first purpose for language was that man might commune with God. He was the only one. with whom speech could be entered into. And man was made to live in communion with God.
And so as the triune deity contemplated the creation of man, it was with the words, Let us make man in our image. and after our likeness. God is a communicator. And in the Trinity, there at the beginning of creation. As Father, Son, and Spirit, In perfect and beautiful harmony, commune together about creating.
Man It was understood, We'll make him in our image, which means man. will have the ability to communicate. This is what distinguishes Men From beast. I understand that recently Jane Goodall died. You may recognize that name.
She was a pioneer in living with chimpanzees. And researching these animals, and was completely given to the follies of evolutionary biology. that would have us labeled uh one of the chimpanzee family.
Now, there's a lot that I could say there, but I will restrain myself this evening. But you've probably all known some people that were Quite the monkey. But the fact is we aren't. The fact is we were created in the image of God. Consequently, while monkeys can screech and howl and grunt and belch, We can speak.
And what we say can be understood. The sounds that come from our mouths are symbols of ideas. Verbal symbols that can be picked up by other ears. and understood what is being communicated. We have that ability because we were created in the image of God, who is a communicator, communicating before creation with the Father, Son, and Spirit together, and creating a man in his own image so that man could have communion with God.
That's why speech was given in the beginning. And it is a convicting thought to me. Having been given the ability to speak, And speech having been given to mankind in order that he might commune with God. How much do I use my speech for that purpose? The sad fact is that under the curse of sin.
Speech has become perverted. to the point that it is our condemnation. Men speak ill and evil. We think of the modern inventions that we enjoy in our age. Father's grandfather's generation got Radio.
And then came along television. And what tremendous tools these are for proclaiming the glories of God. For the proclamation of the saving gospel of Christ. But as you well know, These gifts have been used primarily for godless purposes. for evil and anti-Christ purposes.
And while indeed Christians have been able to utilize radio. and television. and the Internet, for the spread of the gospel and the Gospel is going forth by those means, God be praised, yet those means are primarily under the control of the wicked. promoting wickedness and evil. And this is what man, under the curse of sin, does.
He takes the pure gifts of God and perverts them immediately into evil, so that the more communication there is, the greater the evil grows. And this is exactly what was happening. It's a tower of Babel. The earth was of one language. And they couldn't handle it properly.
they wouldn't handle it properly. And the use of that language was to weave a unity among men that was. excluding God Himself. And so mercifully. God intervened, To put roadblocks in the ways so that the descent into utter depravity.
and wickedness could be at least curtailed somewhat. He put the brakes on for a little while there by confusing their languages. And suddenly, there could not be the worldwide, as much as the world was there and then, communication, everybody understanding everybody else.
Now there would be confusion. And confusion is good if it delays corruption. And that's what that was about. And so God sent the confusion of languages. And mankind, as a result, was divided into various groups.
We don't know how many languages there were. But they were divided into various groups, and anybody who has studied languages recognizes that you have various language families, and from them diverse dialects develop, so that if there were 20 different languages, it doesn't take too many generations for them to develop into hundreds of different dialects, and the dialects becoming so diverse that they become a separate language in and of themselves. By this means, God put a delay in the The corruption to which man races whenever he has an opportunity.
Now Given that God is a communicator and that He communicates by. His Word And given That he has chosen Abraham and his seed. To be the instruments through whom the truth of God is revealed unto man, and through whom the Son of God is brought to man. The seed of Abraham speak one language. And how will the rest of the world Know what God has communicated through Abraham and his seed, the prophets of old.
if they don't know their language. And of course the answer to that is Pentecost. Pentecost Among the other things we've mentioned, Was a reversal for the Gospel's sake, of the judgment of the Tower of Babel. God will get His word. to his elect.
He will not fail. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. How shall they call upon him in whom they've not believed And how shall they believe on him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher in their language proclaiming that message? Pentecost.
And on the day of Pentecost, God took the breaks off of communication so that the gospel could come through. clearly and be heard. by men and women who otherwise would not hear or understand it. God desires to communicate with his creatures. That's why he's given us language.
That's why he's given us the gospel. And so. Pentecost, among other things. was a reversal for the gospel's sake. of the judgment at the Tower of Babel.
Pentecost also was a demonstration of the fact that Christ Praise for his people. In John 14, Jesus said, I will pray the Father. And he shall give you another comforter. That he may abide with you. forever.
The Spirit. of truth. Christ said he would send the Spirit, but it would be my means of praying to. The father. The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, which means Christ prayed to the Father.
As he had promised he would do. And we see there Christ's intercession. For his people. He makes intercession according to the will of God. He ever lives to intercede for us.
That is the ministry of the Lord Jesus, our great high priest, at this very hour. As he at the Father's throne prays for his people, And one of the first prayers he uttered upon being glorified was: Now send your spirit, send our spirit, send the Holy Spirit. To these lonely disciples with whom I've spent three years and promised that another comforter would come. Pentecost exhibited Christ's prayer for his people. Not only that, But it is a standing exhibition of the fact that Christ's.
Prayers are effectual. They will be heard. They will be answered. As if we needed another reminder of that, but it is given here at Pentecost in that Christ said, I will pray to the Father and he shall send another comforter. That's what happened.
He prayed to the Father, and the Spirit was sent. And the church since that day. Has had the Holy Spirit. Who continued from the day of Pentecost, having given the gift of tongues for the preaching of Christ, then to breathe through the apostles. The message of the New Testament, the word of God, so that the church might have throughout its existence this divine revelation of God to man.
The new covenant, now the sacrifices of the Old Testament can be understood for what they truly stood for, even the bloodshedding of the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin. of the world. There again you have Beyond the Jews, the sin of the world. In Pentecost. Demonstrated that Christ prays for his people.
that his prayers are effectual, And That He will be with his people forever. Recall again How Christ put it there in John chapter 14. I will pray the Father He did that. And he shall send you another comforter. That happened in answer to his prayer.
that he may abide with you forever. That has to be so. It is coupled with the other two elements of his praying and the answer to the prayer and sending the Spirit.
so that it is inseparable the Spirit of God Will be with us for Forever. As long as God's people exist. His spirit will be with them. And as long as God exists, His people will exist. And the Spirit of God is given to them.
All of this. can be traced right back to the events on that great day of Pentecost. When Jesus was leaving at the ascension. Matthew tells us he spoke these words to the disciples. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo I am with you Always. Even unto the end of the world. You see where he is saying the same thing at his ascension. as he said to his disciples there in John chapter fourteen, And with the Spirit of God present, The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ.
and the presence of Christ by His Spirit with His people. again as unto the end of the world. But that brings us to another event that I think took place at Pentecost. And that is in connection with the Great Commission. Which we've just read from Matthew chapter Uh twenty-eight.
As Jesus ascended to heaven, he left that last instruction with the disciples to go into all the world to make disciples. And he gave to the disciples a command there in the great commission.
Now, let me ask you. Would God Ever give a command that we are unable to fulfill. Would he ever give a command that we cannot? Meat.
Well I would direct you, we don't need to turn to it. but would direct you to Exodus chapter 20. where there are ten of them that none of us have been able to keep. Has anyone here kept all of the Ten Commandments? That Thou shalt not bear false witness, don't raise your hand.
Yeah. Will God give a command that we cannot keep?
Well, I have to conclude. Given that All human beings that have ever lived, save one. Have been unable to keep the Ten Commandments that indeed. God does give commands. And in our condition we are unable to keep them, but here is the blessed reality.
The Apostle Paul wrote there in Romans 8. What the law could not do in that it was weak. through the flesh God sending his own son In the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, the condemned sin In the flesh. And this is what we have. God gives us a command and we cannot keep it.
He then sends Christ to fulfill it as our substitute. and then credits us for having kept it. Because our perfect substitute did it in our place. And when my God approved substitute, has acted in my place To obey to the utmost the commands of God, then. I am accepted on the basis of that substitutes obedience and righteousness.
This is the great beauty and doctrine. of imputation. the imputation of Christ's righteousness. to every sinner who is saved.
Now, when it comes to the command to the disciples, To go into all of the world and preach the gospel to every creature. I'll say there's no way they could do that. You had how many disciples? You had the 11 apostles. If Matthias, the additional one that they chose afterward to take the place of Judas, is counted.
There's 12. There had been seventy that Christ had sent forth two by two during his ministry. But even so, the world is a big place. By the first century, The population has scattered over much of the planet. I think of the empire's of the Far East.
before the days of Christ. Perhaps you've seen the pictures of the terracotta warriors uh discovered there in China evidently built by an emperor who lived before Christ.
Well, they were all over the world. How in the world could the disciples fulfill that? They couldn't. Not only was there the lack of means for travel that distance and the limited number of the apostles But anyone who has traveled today knows it takes uh a little bit of money to do it. And it did then too.
No, they weren't buying airline tickets, but to buy a fare on a ship to go somewhere or You had to buy lodging, you had to buy food as you traveled. The means of traveling was so very, very slow that in an entire lifetime you couldn't really get that far. And then there were the difficulties as well if you travel to the uttermost parts of the earth. Of how you're going to relate to the people from the various cultures, how different cultures have developed and how misunderstandings develop there, and beyond that. How are you going to go out to all the earth and talk to them if you don't know their language?
There's no way the apostles could fulfill that. But they did. And Pentecost was the beginning of the fulfillment of the Great Commission. God brought the people from all over the known world. That's what Acts chapter 1 and 2 describe for us.
How the people were there from provinces at a great distance, and you recall the long list of names that they were from. God brought them together. They paid their own hotel bill. bought their own foo. And whatever tolls they had to pay to pass through a certain region, they did it.
And were assembled in Jerusalem. Because Over a thousand years before, God had established that the people of Israel have a feast called the Feast of Weeks And three times a year he had commanded the people of Israel, their males, to come and gather together.
So all of this was worked out in advance before anybody knew anything about what was going to happen, so that Jerusalem was filled with people from all over the known world. On that day of Pentecost, assembled by God at their own expense, at their own effort. And then He gives to the apostles the ability to preach in their language. languages they've never studied. They've never known.
And the Apostles preach to these people the word of God. And we know that they preach the word of God. We know that they preach the gospel because it's by the gospel that one is saved. And 3,000 people were saved that day. And everything that the disciples could not do because of the weaknesses.
of humanity God did through them. And we remember them as the ones by whom God did it. And they were the ones Who gets the reward for faithfulness? and would go on to get the martyr's crown as well. Pentecostal.
Was a divine intervention to fulfill the great commission. that men lacked the ability to fulfill. And it is a blessed truth. That we who cannot Keep God's law. who have broken it.
multiple times grievously sometimes ignorantly, And without repentance. Yet God In Christ has kept it perfectly and given us that perfection. and Pentecost. is another variation of that formula. of God giving a command that man cannot keep.
than keeping it for them, and giving them the joy and the pleasure. of having been a part of its keeping. Pentecost. was the initial fulfillment of the Great Commission. I would say fourth.
Pentecost. was a confirmation of the reliability of Scripture. You see the fulfillment of Joel? Huh. You can take it for what it says.
It'll all be fulfilled. Not a jot or tittle of it will fail. Pentecost proves that if nothing else does, but plenty else does. And so we learned from Pentecost how the the word of God. is reliable And though centuries may pass between prophecy and fulfillment, The time has nothing to do with it.
God's Word stands forever. It is eternal. and His word will be fulfilled. We find as well. that Pentecost was A fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy of divine judgment upon those who had rejected God.
Now follow me as we go through this. The Apostle Paul In writing to the Corinthian church in chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians, a chapter which addresses the abuses that the Corinthians suffered with regard to the use of spiritual gifts, The misuse of languages among them. And he says to them in 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 21. In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips, Will I speak into this people? And yet, for all that, Will they not hear me?
saith the LORD.
Now it's to be noted that as God spoke through Moses, Revealing his truth to his people. Through Moses, the instrument by whom the first five books of the Bible would be written. That Moses there Included divine warnings against apostasy among the people of Israel. and warn them. That if they heeded the law of God, the covenant He had made, they would be blessed.
But if they violated God's law and covenant, they would be judged. And the judgment would take the form of other nations coming in and carrying them away. If they obeyed, one of them would chase a hundred. If they disobeyed, a hundred would chase one of them. And so in Deuteronomy 48, that warning takes this form.
The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far. From the end of the earth As swift as the eagle flieth, A nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand.
Now that form of judgment. The coming of an alien hostile nation whose language would be different, they wouldn't understand the tongue, That is repeated as well by others of the Old Testament writers. Isaiah chapter 28. Verses 11 and 12. For with stammering lips and another tongue will I he speak to This is the rest wherewith he may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing, yet.
They would not. And again in Jeremiah, the fifth chapter. Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. It is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
Now what these scriptures are doing is setting down A principle of the methodology of God's judgment. Those who have refused him. will be overtaken. by a people whose language they do not understand. And while this may not be a specific prophecy concerning Pentecost, I would not argue that it is.
yet it sets forth A reality in God's dealing. that those who refuse him are judged By languages that they don't understand, and the people who speak those languages. As Peter preached his sermon on the day of Pentecost, I repeat again, he said, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and four language of God. ye have taken and by wicked hands slain. In other words, the one who gives rest to the soul.
The one who is the eternal Sabbath for his people. The one who calls those who labor and are heavy laden to come to him, and he will give them rest. who has a burden that is yo easy and a yoke that is light, He had come and they had rejected him.
So, what do the leaders of that rejection, Israel's religious leaders, get? They get the day of Pentecost. Where the very ones whom they oppose so vigorously crucifying their Lord speak in languages they cannot understand. And as they speak, we know from history and scripture. that they are the victors.
and that the religious authorities who are over them are the losers. And we find that Pentecost becomes A fulfillment of that Old Testament prophet. Principle and prophecy. Of divine judgment upon those who rejected God and his servant. and a judgment that takes the form of languages you don't understand.
And so those very ones On the day of Pentecost, When the apostles preached the gospel, No longer was it in words they could understand. God sends them Emptiness. For that's what they've chosen. God sends them the gospel, but doesn't give them ears to hear. For having sent Christ Emmanuel among them.
They had rejected him. And so how do they respond? on the day of Pentecost when they hear these languages. The same way they did to Christ. They lie.
These men are full of new wine. They're drunks. And thus Pentecost exposes their great unbelief. Yet again. Confronts them with it if they are mindful of what the Old Testament says.
These languages mean more than simply the words that are coming out and being understood by people who speak the language. the language not understood by the religious leaders, is a word of judgment upon them. Sixth. Pentecost. was the first Christian revival.
And it hasn't ended. As we noted the few days ago. There are still people being saved. We've had the great blessing. in recent weeks within the past year.
of an elderly couple coming into our congregation. A lady who was born into a Roman Catholic family. baptized as a Catholic infant and lived all of her life in the Church of Rome. prominent in the Church of Rome. Uh invited by one of the cardinals to the celebration in Rome where Mother Teresa was pronounced a saint and given a tour there of the Vatican, really into the Roman system.
And God began working in she and her husband's hearts. They moved. into our area. didn't know we were there. and decided one day to drive up the road to see what's on the other side of that main highway and They come to a church building that says Reformation Bible Church, and by that time.
There had been a work of God which had exposed to them the emptiness of Romanism, and the hollowness, and they had come to faith in Christ. And after visiting with us one Sunday, that's the only place they would come. God is working. to save souls. to bring them unto Christ.
The work of the Spirit of God, which was made so conspicuous at Pentecost. has continued through the ages. A generation of men that had no acquaintance with one another. were suddenly raised up in various countries and the Protestant Reformation came to be. And countless souls saved by the power of the Spirit of God.
Pentecost was the first Christian revival. And it hasn't ended yet. And let us pray that we might see enlargement of that revival. That there might be such visitations as the Spirit made that day when 3,000 were saved by the preaching of the Word of God. And finally, I would say that Pentecost was a heavenly affirmation.
of Sunday as the day of worship. The apostles were gathered that day, and it was the first day of the week. Other places in the book of Acts, there's reference to the fact that they gathered on the first day of the week. And their gathering on that first day of the week was affirmed. in the most blessed way we could imagine, By the Holy Spirit coming to them among them that day and empowering them.
With such power to preach and see 3,000 saved. And that was just the beginning. Those 3,000. from all over the known world. Who are in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost will now go back to their homelands.
Having heard the gospel and understood the gospel in their own language. and having received the Holy Spirit of God who came that day.
So that the great commission which the apostles could never complete is being completed as these thousands now are going back missionaries unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Isn't God good? And mighty. And so. As they met, On that Sunday morning.
Go to church. The Spirit of God was with him. And wherever his people assemble, He is there as well. Shall we bow together as we pray? Our Father and God in heaven.
We thank you. That the eternal Word of God was made flesh and dwelt among us. that we might behold his glory. and become partakers of that glory. We thank you that in the time that he was to depart, he promised that he would pray For the coming of the Holy Spirit, another comforter, even the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of Christ, we thank you that He has come.
We thank you for it. His giving us the scripture. through the Apostles and then providing through the centuries teachers anointed of God to expound the scriptures. to the understanding of your people. We thank you for his help now.
Whenever the word of God is read, whenever it is faithfully preached, as he attends to the preaching of the word. Granted, each of us might be impressed with the mighty workings of God wrought On the day of Pentecost, and might from our time together on these matters this week. to gain a greater appreciation. and a richer Gratitude. for the great work that was done there.
And will you apply the word as we've considered it to our hearts and do so effectually? to transform us And grant unto us obedience to the Spirit of God and faithfulness. and anointing. and seeking to do your bidding. We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
