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Bro. Otis Fisher
The scripture tells us, for they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after
the spirit, the things of the spirit.
The little phrase, do mind, rather interesting.
Those that are carnal cannot think of
the godly.
They just cannot think of the godly.
So you see, it is all in the mind
by the time it gets to the doing is past tense.
Mary Ann gave me a good definition of the flood.
We were speaking of that last Sunday.
She says the flood was a local flood.
We were the only planet involved.
All right.
Matthew was written to the Jew.
Mark was written to Jesus as a servant.
Luke, the son of Adam, spirit filled.
And John, Jesus, the son of God.
Joy of why do we have Acts as Acts?
Why did they call it Acts?
Well, I'll get around to that.
Roger, why is it called Acts?
Well, that's true, but we're still looking for something else.
Greg, you're
stopping short.
David?
That's right.
It's what he did and is now doing in his sheep.
It's the story of Jesus.
Now, we have different characters that are performing it.
The miracles did not prove the deity of Jesus.
Miracles did not prove the deity of Jesus the Christ.
The only proof, they only proved God was with him
and with Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Elijah.
What was the one thing that proved his deity, Roger?
The resurrection.
Greg, go to John 739, if you will, please.
Now, this is the Acts of Jesus the Christ.
It was his resurrection that proved his deity.
And when we find John 739, we'll home in on
something else.
So, he promised, the promise of God the Father was the Holy Spirit.
Now, they knew nothing of the Holy Spirit, had not
yet come.
He had not yet appeared.
Now, go to John 20, 22, Greg.
Breathe.
The word breathe, this, as it's presented to us here, is used only one other time
in the Bible.
Where do you suppose that is?
The breath of life, he breathed on Adam.
And here, he breathed on the Holy Spirit.
There must be a connection.
Just as he originated the original,
Adam, it's only fitting that he would originate the
new here, and that's the Holy Spirit.
Now, Jesus breathed on them, and they had not yet received it.
David, tell me why, it's
not a discrepancy, but
why did he breathe on them, and they still didn't receive it?
There must be some importance to it, or he wouldn't have done it.
Roger, do you know why?
All
right.
First of all, Greg, he had to do it while he was here.
Now, they don't understand anything in the future, but he does.
So he breathed on them.
If he had not breathed on them, David, what would have happened?
He chose his father so that he might get the Spirit within.
So while he was standing there with them, the Holy Spirit was within Jesus.
Yes.
So when he breathed on them, my theory is, I don't know
that we can talk about it at all, but my theory is that it was
showing David that same Spirit that would come upon him after he was gone was within him
right then and there, and as he breathed on them, it's proven then that it's the same Spirit, it's
the Spirit of Christ.
It's his own Spirit.
From the Apostle's viewpoint, he just breathed on them.
Now, how he did it, I don't know, but they understood that he breathed on them, and that's all they knew.
But we get over in Acts, and we find that the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost.
If he had not breathed on them, they could not have received the Holy Spirit when it came,
but we'll get to that.
So here, his breathing on them made it possible for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
Luke 24, 49, Greg.
So he's charged them to stay in Jerusalem.
Don't run off anyplace else.
Just stay right here until the power comes upon you.
Now, it's power that's coming at Pentecost.
In Acts 1, 8, we find, but we shall receive power after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in
Jerusalem and Judea, and in all the Samaria and the uttermost parts
of the earth.
Now, Greg, go to Matthew 3, 16
and 17.
Now, we know that the Holy Spirit is with him.
It came in visible form, and he and John saw it.
I don't know if anyone else did, but it's important to note that Jesus did no work
until after this.
I don't know whether he could have before, but this was the coming.
In John 3, 34, Greg.
So we have Jesus.
We have the Holy Spirit in him, on him, without measure.
What's that mean, David?
Fully.
Complete.
No lacking.
Now, at the same time that it proved Jesus, his baptism proved his deity,
but this is preparing him.
It gets him ready.
We don't have to attain a certain degree of holiness to receive the
Holy Spirit in our lives.
Thank goodness.
All things pertaining to life here on earth are given by the providence of
God.
Do you believe that?
How many believe that?
What is it that you believe?
Do you realize what you're saying?
What did someone say back there?
But all things pertaining to life.
Now, David, what does that mean?
Give me an example.
Do you realize, are you cognizant of the fact
that you come into Ruth teaching before the wedding?
It couldn't have been any better.
See how God works?
Now, when it comes to giving us things, we have everything that we need.
We still have to work for it, but we have it.
So stop praying for things.
All blessings are spiritual.
Things in this world are promised,
but the blessings are spiritual.
When you receive them, when you're promoted in your work, the
blessing you receive is how much closer and how much more information
did it give me concerning God?
Not that you get a bigger paycheck.
I wish we could get that turned around.
All growth is spiritual.
Everything you know about God is spiritual.
The manners of a good and godly teacher ought so to be
framed that he speak first with his life,
then with his tongue.
Otherwise, he should differ nothing from a stage player.
Now, we've come to Acts 1 .1.
The former treaties have I made, O Theopolis, of all that
Jesus began both to do and to teach.
I can't tell who's sitting on the back row.
Who?
No.
That's all right as long as I know who you are.
I take it that's Clarence with you.
What is the former treaties that he talks about here, Clarence?
Who wrote Acts?
David.
He's talking here the former treaties was the book of Luke.
And you're right, Clarence.
Two.
Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he, through the
Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles.
Now, the apostles.
Tell us again, Greg, who they are.
Not by name, but what is an apostle?
One sent forth with orders whom he had chosen.
All things that he did, he did by the power of the Holy Spirit.
He worked in his followers then and he continues to work in them now.
Turn to Philippians 2 .13, if you will.
This is a verse that I want you to remember forever.
Philippians 2 .13.
For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of his good pleasure.
You thought you did it.
You didn't did it.
He did it.
Everything.
So, David, that takes it all out of my hands.
What am I responsible for?
Because I do what I want to.
Three.
To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many
infallible truths, being seen of them forty days, and speaking
of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
Passion.
What is his passion?
Greg, what was his passion?
As it's used here.
It comes from the word patho.
That comes from the word patho, which came from the word pentho.
After his suffering on the cross.
Now, Joy, what was his suffering?
That's it.
It was not the spirit.
It wasn't the nails.
It wasn't anything that caused him to bleed.
It was his separation from the Father.
Jesus was separated from God.
Remember that.
Royal power.
Kingship.
Dominion.
Rule.
Not to be confused with the actual kingdom, but rather the right of
authority to rule over a kingdom.
Now, we see that the sum and total of the gospel is made up of these two things.
Two parts.
The doctrine of Christ and of his acts.
Here we must note that those which have only the bare
knowledge of the gospel do not have salvation.
All of those that just know about it don't have it.
Four.
And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not
depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which
saith he, ye have heard of me.
In 2 Peter.
Well, Greg, turn over to that.
2 Peter 1 .3.
Referring back to what we said a while ago, I cannot say it enough.
All things pertaining to life here on earth are given to us.
More to some, less to others.
Don't waste your time praying for things.
Seems like we get caught up in that and when it happens we just are overjoyed.
We're missing the boat.
The only growth we make is spiritual.
In Ephesians 1 .3.
Bless, be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ.
So you see, we have scripture for it.
Five.
For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Now, in the Greek it reads a little bit different.
For John truly baptized.
And in the Greek it says in water.
But you shall be baptized.
It's a passive verb.
And what does passive mean, David?
Baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
The Greek says, but ye in spirit holy not after many
days.
Now again, I want to give you and make sure that you have the definition of
baptism.
Who remembers baptism?
Baptism means placing into.
Greg says it's placing into the new environment in relation to its old environment
it has changed.
Didn't change your looks, your appearance or anything.
But something changed in you.
This act was done to you, not by you.
You can't perform it upon yourself.
In this case, it was the Holy Spirit which does the moving of us into
Jesus Christ.
While he is here on the cross.
You remember in Romans 6 and 3, No, you not that it as many of us
as were baptized in Jesus Christ were baptized
into the spirit.
Baptized spirit into his death.
Not water baptism.
There's no water in that verse.
Now there is a word.
There's two words in the Greek.
And we're not to confuse them.
The first one is bapto.
The.
They give a clear example of.
Of the meaning of baptism.
In the text of the Greek poet.
Nicander.
He lived about 200 BC.
I want to read it to you.
He gave a recipe for the making of pickles.
You never think that was going to teach us baptism, but it does.
It's helpful because he uses both bapto and baptism.
He says, let me find it.
Says that in order to make a pickle.
The vegetables should first be dipped bapto.
Into boiling water.
And then baptism.
Into the vinegar solution.
Both verbs concern the immersion of a vegetable in a solution, but the
first.
Is temporary.
The second.
The act of baptism.
That vegetable produces a.
Permanent change.
So you're not dipped.
You're baptized.
And the baptism baptized into Jesus Christ on the.
Why did we have to go into him on the cross, David?
That's the death that separated us from Satan.
When used in the New Testament, this word most often refers to our union and
identification with Christ.
Then to our water baptism.
Mark.
1616.
He that believes and is baptized.
No water.
Shall be saved.
Christ is saying that.
Mere intellectual ascent is not enough.
There must be a union with him.
A real change.
Like the vegetable to the pickle.
It was changed.
Six.
When they therefore were come together.
They ask of him saying Lord.
Will tell at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel.
Now the word ask.
Is.
April.
Tale.
And it means to address one with a request or demand.
They demanded of him.
That he establish his kingdom.
Now.
The establishment of his earthly kingdom.
Was the uppermost thing in their mind.
Now, we cannot condemn them.
They didn't have the Holy Spirit.
We have 2000 years of history behind us.
But at the same time, looks like they could have caught on.
But the Holy Spirit had not come.
Their rudeness is marvelous.
That when.
When being.
Inspired.
Constructed.
For three years.
They showed no less ignorance.
Than if they had never heard of it.
They dreamed of an earthly kingdom.
Which should follow with.
Riches.
Delicacies.
And peace.
And while they set the present time to the.
Restoring of this kingdom.
They desired to celebrate.
The battle.
So before they could work.
They'll have the payment.
That's not the way it works.
They're also greatly deceived.
In that they limit Christ's kingdom.
They limit it to the carnal.
There's another fault in this question.
Namely that.
They desire to know those things.
Which are not.
For them to know.
Now they hoped for the restoring here.
At the coming of the Messiah.
And as soon as the apostles saw their master.
Risen from the dead.
They knew it was imminent.
They knew it was coming.
They straightway began to think.
Now is the time.
Well let's take one more verse.
Acts 7.
And he said unto them.
It is not for you to know the times.
Or the seasons.
Which the father hath put in his own power.
It's interesting to see the.
The words that he used.
Has put.
What's that mean Greg?
It's already been done.
God's the only one.
God the father is the only one who knows.
It's already fixed.
It is not a subject for discussion.
At that time or now.
He hasn't revealed it to anybody.
Yet.
I would cause you to pay attention.
To the present day prophets.
They all have some sure fired method.
For showing you.
When the Lord's going to return.
Our business is to be ready.
To have all our work finished.
Each day.
Leave nothing until tomorrow.
Trust the Lord.
To guide you.
In the way.
That he has ordained for you.
You believe it's ordained Greg?
From 1611.
Thou will show me.
The path of my life.
In thy presence.
Is fullness of joy.
At the right hand.
There are.
Pleasures forevermore.
Thy word is a lamp.
Unto my feet.
And a light unto my path.
Proverbs.
The lot.
Is cast into the lap.
But the whole disposing of it.
Is of the Lord.
I want to be sure that you understand that.
Verse.
Proverbs 633.
Is your lot in life.
Is cast.
Means it's fixed.
And it's put in motion.
And into the lap.
You remember.
Grandma used to.
Go out and gather the eggs.
And fold up her apron.
And put them in a.
Giant pocket.
That's what this lap is.
Only this one is closed.
There's nothing can get in.
So your lot has been fixed.
It's been set in motion.
And it's closed.
But the disposing of it.
We're going to stop here.
Acts 1 8.
Are there any questions.
That you have thought of.
No questions.
Roger dismisses please.