To start off, I'm going to quote Mike Britton. I've been listening to one of his sermons, and he said this. Jenny, you're going to love this. We're looking at the outline, basically, and this is a very outline, a good way to remember what we're learning, is we're talking about Peter now. We're going to be talking about Paul here in the next few chapters. Paul's going to come right into Barnabas, and he's going to take over. And this lays the groundwork for the ministry in America. This is the beginning of the groundwork of the work that Paul did into Europe, and it funnels right into the Great Awakening, and it all connects. This is something that's ancient, that happened on some kind of other planet, that has no bearing. It all connects. It's very important. So we're looking at Peter. Peter is the first part. He's the first part of Acts, and then Paul comes in. And I want to quote. This is a quote that Pastor Britton's mother made. And this is very important because there's a lot of bad publicity that you hear over the years. If you hear theologians and pastors are always talking about Peter and the bad things he did with the nine Christ and how impetuous he was. And, you know, the end of it is always a good statement, especially at the cross later on with Peter. I mean, after the resurrection, Peter gets together, but it's what he did. What did he ultimately do? And so here's the quote. What you say is veritable play. What you think can be with pen and ink, but what you do, that's you. That was a good statement. That's what his mother, he always talked about his mom, and that was a really good statement there. And this is what Peter did. What did he do, how the Lord used him, what did he do, how did he do it, and what was the result? So let's just break it down, and you could always remember that outline for this, and this is a great way to remember it. So we're going to start off, we're going to go back to Peter's first sermon with the Jews, and we're going to connect that sermon with the Gentiles. What happened in both cases? And then we're going to hear from Jesus again, His very words. And I just love to connect all this together. So let's go back to Acts chapter 2, verses 34 to 40. You're on, Lisey, whenever you're ready. the heavens, but he stepped himself. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou in my right hand, until I make thy covenant by faith. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Read that last statement again. that this doesn't apply to what we're doing today. All of this was protection to save them, the Jews, then the Gentiles, and us here from this untoward generation. Look at what's going on. Didn't I see Mark Levine last night? Best show I've ever seen. That was great. He pulled out the 110-page manifesto of Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. I mean, it could completely parallel the communist manifesto of the USSR right now. Save us, Lord, from this untoward generation. That's our prayer. Lord, save us from this untoward generation. Lisey. Right. Right. Amen. Right. Right. Well, you know, that connects with all of this. And how does that help? It's important to talk about this because I've been reading through the book of Acts over and over and over again. I love doing that. And I got to the Bereans. And what did they do? They searched the scriptures and they talked about it. The reason why we're still in Acts 10 is we've had some of the best discussion in the last few weeks that we've had in years. We've always had good discussion. This has been good discussion. Back and forth with Lisa and Lisey, and Charlie brought some things up, and Pastor Olson, and you all, Nancy Redd, and everybody here contributed and all. And this is what it's all about. Where this connects and how I love this, it goes back, here's the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was meant as a fortress of protection for the Christian people. Remember how it was getting very hard for Jacob back in the land of Canaan and remember how He had been living for years and years and years with absolute horrible sorrow over the fact that he thought he lost Joseph. And all of a sudden, they're running out of food, and the Lord brings them. On the way, he brings an altar in Bethel, and he worships the Lord. And we just read our opening passage, and here we see how being saved from the untoward generation, what did Joseph do? What did Pharaoh allow Joseph to do? He allowed that family, even though they put them in a hole, Jacob didn't know it, but the brothers did, took them all and gave them the land of Goshen. Why? The Lord was protecting, He was protecting their reputation. He was protecting and He was giving them protection with their demeanor. He wouldn't allow them to be embarrassed and humiliated and be sent back in and be put into slavery, which would happen with them a little bit later. He was preserving their dignity. The Holy Spirit preserves our dignity. All the way through death, the Holy Spirit preserves our dignity. preserves our spirit, preserves our being, and the Holy Spirit comforts us along the way. This is why this is so important. You go back to Acts 2, verses 2-4, And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing windy wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The Holy Spirit comes to the Jews. Now the Holy Spirit comes to the Gentiles. The Holy Spirit is there always for the Gentiles. All this was was a proclamation of what the Lord had been trying to tell us in the Old Testament. Are you in the Old Testament? Do you see this? Remember Uriah the Hittite. That's a good example. He was a Gentile. He was not a Jew. And here he comes in and look at the wonderful man that he was and how humble and how faithful he was to David. There are many examples like that and we know that because Jesus got himself just about thrown off of a cliff when he brought up two Gentiles in the Old Testament. Lise. Yes. Right. Who was the other Gentile, remember? That Jesus talked about? It was the woman of Zarephath, the Seraphim woman. And he talked about Naaman. Remember Naaman? And they were furious. They knew the Old Testament quickly. So quickly they grabbed him. They're saying, why are you going back and talking about those filthy Gentiles? Why aren't you talking about Moses? We did. Why aren't you talking about Joseph? He did. But he brought that to their attention to make it very clear to them that the Gentiles, too, are coming. They're coming. They're part of the household of faith. And there's nobody that's left outside. No one. Red and yellow, black or white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves them. That'd make a good sign, you know, with all this other weird signs out there right now. He was not a Jew. No. Good point. I will bless those that bless you. I will curse those that curse you. That's a great point. No. Nope. And so here we see the Lord bringing all of us together. That's a great point. At this point, we've been led by the Sermon of Peter that declares Jesus as the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. That's so important. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Holy Spirit. He is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is Him. They're not separated like the Catholic Church believes. They're not separated. And the Catholic Church believes that they have the power to separate the Trinity. See, that's where the problem is. The Reformation made a very, very, very important manifestation of the truth, which was yesterday. Yesterday, back in 1517, is the day that Martin Luther hung the 95 Thesis in Wittenberg Chapel. Never forget that. Remember, Paul referred to the people as the people of the way. Here, Peter gives this ministry. He now brings us to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth and righteousness and knowledge, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of hope, the Spirit of our infirmities. Last week we talked about Psalm 110.1. The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. And here, this is the teaching that Peter was giving in this sermon in Acts 2, when he goes back to David, who the Messiah is. Who is the one that has the power to administer the Holy Spirit? And he's teaching that Christ taught the scribes and who God is and what delegation that he has carried for all eternity. God is omnipotent, he's omniscient, he's omnipresent. He rules over the heavens and the earth by the exaltation of his Son who is Adonai. He is Kurios, he is King. And here in the time of Peter, here in the time of the Roman conquest, where the Jews and they were all having this embargo and all of this affiliation with the Jews, To say Kyrios Kyrian would get you killed. To say Kaiser Kyrios, now that was the key. If you could do that and you could say Caesar is king, then you were fine. You had his protection. But you recanted Christ when you did that. That's the problem. So what is his name? What is the name of our Messiah? Is his ultimate name Jesus? That's his earthly name. Who's God exalted and passed all judgment to come to this world, to minister to the world, to heal this world, to die for this world, to resurrect for this world, and ascend into heaven to judge the world? That's the gospel of Jesus Christ. And you know, it's your job as Christians to fill in all the blanks, to read the word and get all the detail out of it. And that's a wonderful thing to do. That is our Lord Jesus Christ. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Lisey. No problem. Amen. Study to show thyself approved, the workman that needeth not be ashamed. You want to see things? You want them unraveled and your eyes to be opened? We've seen this last week in the news, how someone who avails over their heart and really presented a very difficult testimony. Do we want to see things? Do we want to see things with the way the Lord wants us to see them and to be careful? And I believe it's a real key to being kindly affectioned. So this morning, what are the three persons of the Trinity? What are the three persons of the Trinity? That's a question I want to ask you all. I know it's easy. Guys, everybody together. The Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Where do we first see the presence of the Holy Spirit in Scripture? Amen. Who has Genesis 126? Everything to creep it but what is the key word in that verse that we're looking at? Amen and God said let us make man in my image our image we carry all of us we carry ingredients of the Trinity. We all have that installed in us, and I think it's worked through our conscience. I think our conscience plays a real big role into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Man created in our image, God said. What could be better? We weren't just created with one part of the Trinity, we're created with all three parts. Now, if you want to see the origination of all three of these members, it's in the very beginning of the Bible. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now there's God the Father, there's the first person. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void. Darkness fell upon the face of the deep, and God said, said, who is the Word? John 1.1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning. All things were created by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. There's Jesus. There's the second person of the Godhead, okay? And God said, let there be light, and there was light, and the Holy Spirit moved over the face of the waters. There's the Holy Spirit, right there in creation, all working together, Perfect, plain form, and there they are working together. There's the Holy Spirit. And so we see the works and the persons here of the Holy Spirit of God. So we see the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is manifest here in this sermon. So what next came from the preaching of the gospel to the opening of the hearts of the Gentiles, from the Jews first, here back in Acts chapter 2, and then in Acts chapter 10, which we're going to read here in a moment, We need to get back to Acts chapter 10. And in the meantime, I'm going to ask, Jim, could you read verses Acts chapter 10 and going towards the end and read verses 42 to 48. Just give me a second and we'll get there in a minute. And so we see here the hearts of the Gentiles and the hearts of the Jews, they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and it was promised by Christ and perfectly fulfilled. John chapter 14 verses 15 to 7. Team, we read, If ye love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not. Neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. He doesn't just say, I'm going to give you a comforter and leave him with you, and you have a Holy Spirit, and if Jesus says, I'm done my work, I'm up in heaven now, I'll see you guys one day, you know, when you all die and you come up, I'll see you then, and I'm just going to outsource everything to the Holy Spirit. He says another comforter. He says, I am the Comforter and I am going to issue that physically by sending the Holy Spirit on earth in your hearts and now we as Gentiles, now, we're not living in the age of the Old Testament where God speaks to us audibly and sends down fire and all kinds of miracles and all. We're not living in, we are not living in the age of Jesus Christ physically being here. to come in and do miracles like He did in the wilderness of Judea, Galilee, Cana, and all these areas, we are living in the age of the Holy Spirit. And what could be more wonderful? I mean, the Holy Spirit is there in our hearts. You know the Holy Spirit is in you when you prefer others before yourself, when you want to read your Bible, when you want to pray, when you feel bad about your sin. Sin is a big part, that is a big part, because repentance, repentance, repentance is filtered all throughout this text. And it's very important that we understand that. The presence of the Holy Spirit. We see here how important that is. It came suddenly to the Gentiles. and the Jews as the Holy Spirit fell down just like as the Jews in Acts chapter 2. The presence of the Spirit came at the height of a powerful revival. It was a powerful arrival and it was a revival. Isn't that amazing? It was the arrival of the Holy Spirit. That's what causes a revival. And we'll talk about that in a second. Jim, go ahead when you're ready. Thank you. of the people and testify to the deed which was ordained of God to be the judgment and the quickening of the world. Through him did all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever liveth in him shall receive the remission of sins. While Peter yet spake in his words, the Holy Ghost fell upon them, which heard the word, and they in the circumcision which believed were astonished as many because that of the Gentiles also was poured out to give to the Holy Ghost. For they have heard it speak, there comes in magnified God, an unanswered Peter. And any man who bid water that needs should not be baptized, nor should he be received in the Holy Ghost as he was. And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, and to cleanse them that they They want them to stay. You see how important this is. When did they see the Holy Ghost? When did it fall upon them? It says when they were in the Word. So that brings up a big question, something we're going to be looking at extensively probably in the next week. What really happens when the Holy Ghost is outpoured on people? And is it really an outpouring of the Holy Ghost? Or is it smoke and mirrors? Is it words? Is it words from man? Because we see the Holy Spirit is always in everybody's life. Everybody has the Holy Spirit. The Roman Catholic Church, they believe that they have the power to redirect and direct the Holy Spirit. Then we see all of these neo-Pentecostal churches that every Sunday, basically, is another Pentecost. because they have to bring the Holy Spirit in to recharge their hearts, because every week they feel like they're being actually out of the faith and they're losing their salvation. So what is the real outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Well, I don't want to make it hard for everybody, because, you know, it was really hard for me. It took me years to understand this. Make it very easy. The means of grace. The means of grace are where the Holy Spirit lies. The reading of the scriptures, praying and worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth. Spirit and truth. They're two. They go right together. We saw the spirit of truth in Acts chapter two. What is truth? Pilate asked that. What is truth? Well, you know the truth. By the truth, sell it not, also wisdom, instruction, and understanding, Proverbs 23, 23. By the truth, sell it not. There are a lot of sellouts of the truth. A lot of sellouts. A lot of people that love to just basically put their beliefs on the shelf and sell out Jesus Christ for gain. We saw that this was a sound from heaven. The rushing of the Holy Spirit, there's two big parts to the physical nature of the Holy Spirit. Okay? There's two major parts. Number one, the mighty wind. We read in Acts chapter two, it was a mighty wind. And they heard it rushing. That was the significance of the Holy Spirit being sent. The Lord gave a physical, very supernatural surrounding What was on the mountain? Remember what was on the mountain with Moses? Moses said, don't touch that mountain to the Israelites. Do not touch the mountain. Do not come up the mountain. When he was up there, what had happened up on that mountain when Moses was speaking to the Lord? He came down with the tablets that he wound up getting mad at and smashing. Remember that? There was thunder. There was lightning. And there was wind. All of a sudden, this all came together. Thunder crashes down. The first part is a mighty wind not as common soft winds come but it was fierce Maybe kind of like the great tempest on the Sea of Galilee when they're putting on the disciples. So they were there They were what what are you gonna do Jesus? You're gonna let us die Jesus has control over the wind doesn't he? Well, we're going to find out here where the wind comes from. Because Jesus stands up in the boat and says, peace be still. And all of a sudden, the wind obeyed Him. What manner of man is this that the winds and the seas should obey Him? Can you imagine the winds and the seas obeying you? Can you imagine that? Can you imagine going over to that window saying, you know what? We want sun this afternoon. Please, sun, come out. And it would come out. If Jesus Christ was sitting there like that, it would happen. He had the power to do that. Even in His humanity, He had the power to do that here on this earth. What manner of man is this that the winds and the seas should obey Him? That's very important to this, what we're talking about. The wind. Peter is quoting Scripture in a praise, in singing and exaltation. He speaks about how God has control over all the wind. It was a rushing sound from heaven, no doubt like an earth-shaking thunderclap. In Revelation 6, verse 1, Noah. Can you look up Revelation 6, verse 1? And just look that up and I'll ask you in a second when you have it there We see that it's like a the wind comes and all of a sudden can you imagine the emotions and when the people heard this in Acts chapter 2 a rushing mighty wind and the Holy Spirit comes down on them and they must have been like What in worlds going on? It must have been absolutely just bewildered as what's going on and all of a sudden Something really incredible happens we're going to talk about. Go ahead Noah. Revelation chapter 6 verse 1. So we have a mighty wind, thank you Noah, and a clap of thunder. A clap of thunder will get your attention. Have you ever had that? At our house, we've had it several times. It knocked out our computers, blew one of them up years ago. We had a clap of a lightning bolt hit our backyard several years ago. Lisa and I were sitting in the back room, and I'm telling you, it shook the house. For a minute, your heart jumps. You're like, whoa. If it gets a little bit closer, we're going to have a really new sunroof in the house. And it really gets your attention. I mean, this last year. And this last year, I don't think I have ever seen more thunderbolts and lightnings this year in 2020 than I've ever seen in the state of Maryland. I mean, we were driving up and down, I don't know, several months ago during this one storm. I mean, everywhere, there was these great, Matthew calls me, we were down at Safeway, and he's like, Dad, you guys better be careful coming home. We just saw this massive thunder, lightning bolt, and they were everywhere, and they were very visual, and they seemed to be very close. That'll get your attention, won't it? Where do the winds come from? Where do they come from? I think something interesting. It's amazing when people start talking and how they kind of get, all of a sudden get so close to the Bible, but they just can't make it. In the Senate Judiciary hearings, it was Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, he's a Democrat. He starts giving his overview of what he sees on the horizon with a Trump administration, with Judge Amy Coney Barrett and her coming in, and all of these Christian beliefs. And he said, and he gets up and he grabs the hearts of everybody watching. He goes, I went out and I looked out my window this morning and he says, I saw a storm on the horizon. And the winds were coming, but I couldn't tell. I have no idea where the winds come from." He said that. I have no idea where the winds come from, but there's a storm on the horizon, and our country is about to fall because of these Christians. That's basically what he was saying, because the two issues he was speaking about was the pro-life and the LGBTQ thing, or whatever you want to call it. That's what he's talking about. But he says, I saw and the winds were coming, but I had no idea. He goes, do you understand when you see a storm, you hear the wind coming and you know something's on the horizon, but you have no idea where it comes from. And that's so sad. Well, I mean, we have here where the winds come from. John 3, 7, Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. This is the way the Holy Spirit, mysterious, transcendent, and powerful, is like that of the wind. Christ tells Nicodemus that he must be born again. John 3, 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and now hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell where it cometh. And whither it goeth, so is every one that is born of the Spirit. The wind comes from God. The rushing, mighty wind. God is said to bring the winds out of his treasuries. Psalm 135, 6 gives us a perfect idea where the winds come from. Can someone look up Psalm 135, 6, and 7? Maybe Beverly, if you could look that up. I'd love to hear you read that here. Psalm 135, 6, and 7. Imagine the sounds of the rushing winds during creation where the Spirit of God is present. Imagine that. I think that's amazing to hear those winds. Lisa? Good. Put your finger on it. That's great. And then when you read your verse, go to Psalm, go to Proverbs 30, Chapter 30, verse 4 also. Proverbs chapter 30, verse 4. If you could read that after you read your verse, okay? That would be great. Go ahead, Beverly. Psalm 135, verses 6 and 7. That's fine, that's good, that's what I have here. You can read verse 8, go ahead. What could be better? Verse 8, go for it. That was a real wind that night. Is that the rest of the verse? Okay. I mean, look at the winds that came over Egypt that night. Look at how horrifying that must have been. But the winds, we know where they come from. They come from the treasuries of God. Oh, no, we can't see them. We need scientists to be able to discover that and measure them. But without any empirical evidence, God doesn't exist. Well, that has to come from somewhere. You know, Lisa. Right, out of the whirlwind. That's it. Lisa, go ahead and read your verses. Yep. That's right. Why does he do it? Why does he hold him back? It's a merciful God. Go ahead, read Proverbs 30, verse 4. Proverbs 30, verse 4. Go to verse 5. That doesn't bring you to tears. To love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Who can tell? Who is His Son? He's asking questions, rhetorically speaking. Who is it? We need to know that. I quote this verse all the time. I just love it. I love it. In the throes... I'm going off the beaten path here, but that's too bad. In John chapter 18, in the throes of the most horrible picture of love that there ever was, which was a torture scene, there's the wonderful Jewish council. And there they are, just like the Senate Judiciary Committee, sitting there trying to corner Jesus. And they're sitting there and they're all talking back and forth. Ask him about his doctrine. Ask him about what he was teaching. He's an insurrectionist. He's going against Caiaphas and Annas. It's amazing how he wasn't going against the original Levitical priesthood with all of the mandates and the tenets that the Lord gave. He never went against them. Perfectly kept the law. And they're saying, ask him about his doctrine. And Jesus overheard him. Remember what he said? Jesus answered him. He said, I speak openly to the world. I ever speak in the synagogue and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said nothing. Then he goes back and asks him in verse 19, Why askest thou me? Ask those that heard me what things I said unto them. Behold, they know what I said. We better know what he said. I mean, I think that's very important. Behold, they know what I said. They heard him. They knew what he said, Lisa. If it's real yeah if it's real Amen I don't have that here at all. That's perfect to keep us on track. We need to test the spirits. Buy the truth and sell it not. What we're getting into is what happened next is tongues came down upon the people with the Holy Spirit. This was real. This was not all the stuff out there today where there's all these weird It's called glossolalia, tongues where people can't understand it. I equate that with some of the ritualistic babblings in the Catholic Church at Mass, where they repeat things in Latin and blah, blah, blah, and they say it over and over again. There's no scripture basically involved most of the time. It's all this stuff, it's all ancient rituals, and they speak it over and over again. Then I equate it also with what happens at some of these neo-pentecostal churches where people I've been it's been a long time Thank the Lord, but I've seen it and these people will stand up on their chairs And they'll start babbling some something that you can't even begin to understand and it's frightening. It's like demonic And we're getting we're getting towards that and you know, let's just stay on course here. I Remember when God pounded down on Ezekiel, and He said, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord, thou knowest. So what happened when the Spirit is to bring life into the valley of the dead bones? Ezekiel 37, verse 9, Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, Son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds. Lisa talked about the four angels. Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So the wind also is brought to us by God, and the wind in our lungs is our life's blood. That is our life. You don't have any wind in your body, you've been dead. You're dead. You're real dead if you don't have any wind in your body. That's life, and it's also everlasting life. Ezekiel was told to prophesy unto the wind. God's way is in the whirlwind and the storm. Here's a good one. I'll tell you what. Let's see. Jacob. Nahum chapter 1 verse 3. We don't hear from Nahum a whole lot. It's a good verse. Nahum chapter 1 verse 3. Here's a great force with a great voice to signify when they were all filled with the Holy Ghost that this was a true and living God that brought this down. This wasn't smoke and mirrors and some sorcery. This wasn't some fake television show where you have all these weird magical things like this guy David Blaine or who's the other guy, magic is illusion, illusion is mystery, what was that guy? I think so, yeah. And you have a lot of that stuff out there. Go ahead, Jacob. Nahum, chapter 1, verse 3. He has his way with the whirlwind, no matter how bad they get. You know, and so it's not easy. We're down here on this earth and there's no guarantee that we're not going to be driving up and down that road and seeing a twister coming at us or some massive hurricane of the Tuckers, the Evans down in Greenville, South Carolina. They got hit with a hurricane four days ago and they've been without power since last night. It came out of nowhere and it hit hard. A lot of lines were down. They had a live line right down on the road and it was laying there in the road for three days and people were driving right over it. And they contacted us yesterday, say our power's back on and they're very thankful for that. You never know, but isn't it comforting to know where it comes from and who controls it? Isn't it comforting? And you can pull over and bow your head. Lord, I know you control the winds. There's verses all throughout Scripture. Lord, just help us with this and you know where it comes from. I think that's great. Well, all things are from God. Romans 11, 34 through 36. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him and through him and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. This is a massive event that happened in the early Christian church here. This outpouring did not just fill the room, but it filled the assembly. This was with the Jews and with the Gentiles now. This event was confirmation of a new church foundation built on Christ alone and demanded at the outpouring of the Spirit. True biblical worship, reverence, and exaltation of God and to keep the true church on the track down through the ages, the Lord has given us the Holy Spirit to bring us through. Another comforter, we read. Another comforter. So we have comforters. We have more than one. We have a plurality of comforters. How many false gods of the world has ever offered that to their people? Did Muhammad ever offer comfort to his people as he was murdering them? Hitler? Pharaoh? I mean, look at all these... Saddam Hussein? Had they ever offered a comforter? Well, our Savior has. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit produced cloven tongues, like fire. Cloven, split or divided. This fire was immense. This fire is incredible. And we see here how, as we've been reading about the wind and we've been reading about fire, how powerful the Word of God is and how powerful the Holy Spirit is. It was a language that was given back in Acts chapter 2. And we see here now as we've been reading here in these verses here that in verse 45, "...and they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God, then answered Peter." Now here we are. Here we are, right there in the middle of one of the biggest debates there is in theology and in Christianity and in evangelicals, all over the biggest debates about tongues. Tongues, it's been a really difficult, complicated matter for many people. But where the tongues come from, that's where it's important. What were they used for? How were they supposed to be used to edify God? Well, I think the first way they have to be able to edify God is just like, it's kind of a new thing, I think, this year, when we've been seeing a lot of rallies and different things about governors coming. What do you notice about when the governors come on television now? Just about in every release and everything about, you know, state mandates, emergency alerts, and all these different things, every time they come on television, they have an interpreter for the deaf. Have you noticed that? And I think that's a good thing. Larry Hogan has one and no matter who, whatever, conservative or liberal, they always have somebody interpreting. What they're trying to do is get someone else to understand what the governor is saying. Now how can they understand that if they're speaking in an unknown tongue or they're just babbling? I mean, what if a sign language interpreter was doing it in tongues where they were just throwing all these letters out there and none of them came together as words or sentences? How would anybody understand? Well, that's what we're looking at here. Let's look at this. How many here have ever been to a church where you've heard babbling tongues or very bad preaching? How many? Beverly? Lisey? Jenny? Nancy? Anybody? Anybody else? Well, see, you have the four, five kids here, they can't say that because they've been in the perfect church for the last... Now, if it's a perfect church, don't worry, with me here, it wouldn't be anymore. But anyway, what have you seen? What have you seen, Beverly? Anything interesting? The babbling, the tongues, anything. Right. Do you understand what they're saying? Supposedly, they each understand with each other, they're all taught, right? You can't understand it. Lisey. Right. Repetitive, right? Did you even know what nationality or tongue they were speaking in? I've seen that. It's frightening. Lisey, what did you see? circumstance, but the one I remember the most was when I went to, I was a new Christian, and I went to a seminar that was in Hawaii, and it was, I had no idea that it was a pentecostal thing. To me, it was, I was excited about the Lord, and it felt so good, so I went, and we, everybody was standing in this line, all the people, and there was this girl that went down in front of everybody, and we put our hands on each person's Could you repeat that please? No, I'm just kidding. Oh, my. Oh. Bev. I was very disappointed because I had already been sort of involved here all along, and I got scared. The first time I was here, I was scared. So I went back to our previous doctor and sat next to him and said, tell me, explain to me what you're doing, why, and what's going on. Thankfully, he went through the Bible and said exactly what they're doing. See how important that is? But the thing is, is what... But what made more sense to you? The pastor said words that you can understand in your own language, right? Right. Right? And praise the Lord, all these years, since 19, you've been hearing the truth. But there are people I know of that are our ages and older, they've never come out of it. They're still thinking that they're really getting Pentecost every Sunday. They lose their salvation. Did you ever hand up Lisa again? Go ahead, I'm sorry. Right. Exactly. Right. It's not right. Anyone else? Close to me? Lisa? Was it edifying to you? I guess I don't have to ask that. Right. Right. I'm not here to make fun of people like that. I'm just bringing out what's out there. I think it's good to differentiate. I've been to the sermons, and I'm sure Bob has, and Bev has. Sermons where you have Pentecostal churches where they have speaking in tongues and things like that. I think at some point maybe, I was like 19 years old, and I was at this place with a friend, and all of a sudden people started standing on the chairs and doing it, a bunch of them. And I never saw it before. I busted out laughing. And I got, somebody came over and whacked me in the arm. I busted, I mean, I was hungover. I couldn't understand it. They were hanging off the edge of their chairs, and they were boodle boodle, and they were all saying different things. And I couldn't understand any of it. I just started laughing. That was my laughter service. I mean, it was really, really weird. And I was like, I told them, I said, this is crazy. I'm not coming back here anymore. I mean, this is what's going on. These cloven tongues of fire, these tongues were understandable. They were speaking in different languages. Glossolalia is what we don't want. That's what we don't want. That's the word we want to stay away from because it's very confusing. You can't understand what's being said. It's very much like the Tower of Babel, and we're going to look at that next week. So it's too late. But next week we're going to look at different types of the tongues and we're going to look at the baptism here in Acts chapter 10 and then we're going to go into Acts chapter 11 and we're going to see a lot of the same things that happen in chapter 10 but kind of like a different tenor to it. It's a little different situation that happens here because Peter now is going back and he's answering to He goes back into Jerusalem and he's answering to the Jewish Christians, the ones that had already been at Pentecost and all. He goes back and he explains to them what happens. And it's really important to read this and to see what's going on, because you're going to be reading these verses that are almost exactly like the verses in Acts 10, but there's a reason why they're being repeated. That's your homework. Find out why they're being repeated. I think that's very important. Why are these words being repeated? And I'll give you a hint. Peter has to account for what's going on. That's important. He's an elder, he's a pastor, he's an apostle, and he has to give an account of what's going on because people are asking him. And that's very important as a Christian. Can you give an account? Do you know what Jesus said? Can you go back and answer? It could be somebody that you're witnessing to. It could be somebody that's from another church. It's amazing how many people in my business that I talk to, as I ramble on here, but it's amazing how many people in my business I talk to, that they're deacons and they're elders, and they find out that I'm an elder and they ask me questions. There's one in particular that's a real, real Pentecostal church. He is about to be ordained as an elder, and he's been asking me questions, and I've been telling him things from the Confession, and there is nothing, nothing that they're giving him to show him the importance of what it is to be an elder. I mean, basically all it is is, when you become an elder at one of these churches, you're becoming the director of a big entertainment center, and you're just a coordinator. I mean, there's a lot more to it than that. So, this is what Peter does. He's going back and he gives in detail. And he's answering why he did what he did. What was the result of it? Even though Peter was blowing his mind that the dietary laws were changing and everything was going on, he comes back and he is answering and he says, I was with Cornelius. I saw the Holy Spirit came down, I saw a vision, and all of this happens, and then we see the conclusion of it. I think it's fascinating. So let's finish, then I want to ask Brother Jim, could you close us for prayer this morning?