Tag: Holy Ghost

Categories
Bible Preaching

Smoke on the Mountain

Volcanic eruption lighting a desert valley beside silhouetted people and tents
A towering volcanic eruption illuminates a desert valley as silhouetted figures gather beneath storm clouds.

Text: Exodus 19:17-18, “(17)  And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. (18)  And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “(19)  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20)  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Smoke on the Mountain

Our present culture is so godless. Many have lost their God consciousness, and treat God casually.

He is not a genie or a passive bystander. He is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).

If you understand the sheer weight of His glory, you must look at your life and ask:

“Am I treating a holy God with cheap grace?

-OR-

“Am I taking Him for granted?”

The terrifying fire that once stayed on top of a mountain now lives inside the Spirit-filled believer.

Today, as that first Church in Acts 2, we experience a powerful shift in the Holy Spirit: the holy, unapproachable God of the Old Testament has chosen to make your body His permanent earthly home through the infilling of the Holy Ghost.

The same holy, terrifying, consuming fire that shook and burnt on Mount Sinai, filled the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, and filled Solomon’s Temple, now lives inside the believer.

The glory of God – The Smoke on the Mountain – is available right now.

Smoke on the Mountain

Exodus, 19:17-18, “(17)  And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. (18)  And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.”

Our God is a Consuming Fire:

God descends in blazing fire, making the whole mountain smoke like a giant furnace.

In fear the people tremble and must stand at a distance because God’s raw holiness destroys sin.

The fire of God descended, but the lingering smoke – the Smoke on the Mountain – remained as visible proof of God’s heavy, enduring presence resting on the earth.

God’s glory is a consuming fire that demands absolute holiness.

At Sinai, the smoke billowed like a furnace, the mountain quaked, God’s presence was so heavy and holy that a boundary had to be set and fences erected.

In Book of Revelation, we see this same standard of justice and unapproachable holiness:

“And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”[1]

God never intended for His people to stay at the bottom of a trembling mountain, terrified and kept at a distance.

He designed a way for that fire to come down—

Not to destroy us, but to dwell within us.

The fire that would kill an Israelite at Sinai now cleanses and purifies you from the inside out.

He chose to abide and linger with us and in us.

The Old Testament parallel is the lingering smell of smoke on the skin, hair and clothes of the priests when burnt sacrifices were presented to God.

Silhouetted person surrounded by flames inside a wooden chapel

The Living Temple

1 Cor. 6:19-20, “(19)  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20)  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Today, the same holy presence that shook Mount Sinai now lives inside your physical body.

Your body is not a blank space; it is the literal temple of the Holy Ghost.

Because the Consuming Fire lives inside you, your body is sacred and must honor Him:

  • The Fire descending on the Mountain is the initial sign of speaking in tongues as God’s Spirit fills you.
  • The Smoke ascending from the Mountain is the lingering effect of the fire:
    • The Fruit of the Spirit = love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.[2]
    • The Gifts of the Spirit = But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.[3]
    • The Divine Nature = faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity.[4]

God’s lingering presence has moved from a mountain to your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

In the book of Isaiah, God promised that His smoking, fiery glory would become a protective canopy over His people:

(2) In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel….(5) And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.  (6)  And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.[5]

In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews explained the fulfillment of that promise:

(18) For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,  (19)  And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more….(22)  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,  (23)  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,  (24)  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.[6]

Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

The mountain was quarantined because it was holy, how are you treating your physical body?

What you look at, where you go, and how you live matters.

You are a living, breathing, walking sanctuary.

“Be ye holy…”[7]

Carrying this kind of fire inside a fragile, human frame sounds impossible.

We are weak, flawed, and easily broken.

How can this a corruptible human body hold an incorruptible, holy, pure burning God?

Cracked clay vessel with flames and smoke on a stone table

The Power in the Clay Jar

The Lingering Power of God’s glory gives you supernatural endurance through life’s toughest trials:

  • As Stephen was being stoned to death, He “saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God…”[8]
  • Paul wrote that we have this fiery treasure in earthen vessels (jars of clay), which proves that the power is God’s, not ours. You might be pressed, perplexed, and struck down by life, but the fire inside cannot be extinguished.[9]

The Holy Ghost inside you provides a lingering peace and power that outlasts any earthly trial.

Your temporary troubles are producing an “eternal weight of glory.”

The Sad Reality of Fading Glory

Exodus 34:29-35, “(29)  And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. (30)  And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. (31)  And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. (32)  And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. (33)  And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. (34)  But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. (35) And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Moses kept the veil on after he finished speaking so the people wouldn’t watch the glory slowly fade away.

The Law was temporary, but the Holy Ghost in you is eternal.

Sadly, we sometimes become obsessed with looking like we have been with God, rather than actually being consumed by Him.

Don’t We?

We want people to think we have the fire, but we often hide the fact that our personal altars are cold.

God’s holy fire cannot be faked, managed, or veiled.

God’s glory cannot be imitated.

Forgotten Glory

Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)

Early in the book Acts we find see believers selling land and giving the money to help the poor.

A couple named Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of property but secretly kept back a portion of the money for themselves, while publicly presenting the rest as if it were the total amount.

Peter looked at Ananias and said, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?… You have not lied to man but to God.”

Instantly, Ananias fell down dead. A few hours later, his wife lied about the same thing and met the exact same fate.

Great fear gripped the entire church.

Ananias and Sapphira forgot where the fire lived.

They thought they were just lying to Peter and the other apostles, but they forgot that the same Holy Spirit of God, the same Smoke on the Mountain, that was in them was also living inside the people in that room.

Don’t Forget – the Consuming Fire inside the church—and inside our bodies—is dangerous if we harbor deceit.

Do you live a double life?

Do you pretend to give God everything while holding back a secret piece of your heart?

God’s Spirit in you is comfortable with your suffering and He will help you,

but it is lethal to our hypocrisy.

Closing

I am closing now,

Ananias and Sapphira forgot a terrifying truth that you must remember today: The smoke has cleared from Mount Sinai, but the Fire has not changed.

The God who shook the mountain in Exodus still tracks the secret thoughts of your heart.

You cannot treat the temple of God like common ground.

Don’t bring “strange fire” into His presence, pretending to be fully surrendered on Sunday while keeping a piece of yourself locked away from Him.

You have the treasure of His glory in your fragile jar of clay.

Let His glory do what it does best.

  • Let His fire to do what fire does best.
  • Fire consumes.
  • Fire purifies.
  • Fire burns away everything that does not look like Jesus.

35 centuries ago, the children of Israel stood terrified at the bottom of a burning peak, watching the Smoke on the Mountain.

They looked at that heavy, lingering cloud in fear and said, “Keep it away from us.”

They were frightened at the glow of God’s glory on Moses’ face.

But today, through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost, that mountain has moved.

The fire has come down.

The smoke is no longer on a distant, rocky peak—

the fire is burning inside you. You are the mountain.

You are the temple.

The mountain of God had to be holy. Are you keeping your altar clean?

The altar is not a place where we come to fix ourselves.

The altar is a place where we come to catch fire.

It is the place where we stop holding back, playing games, and veiling our hidden sins.

It is where we step into the presence of the Consuming Fire and say, “Jesus, have Your way in this jar of clay.”

Every head bowed, every eye closed across this room…

  • If you are here today, and you know you have been living a double life—if you have been holding back a portion of your heart from the Holy Ghost—the fire is calling you to repentance right now.
  • If you are facing a trial that feels like it is crushing your clay jar, the fire is calling you to find your shelter and strength in Him today.

This altar is open.

Do not look to your left or your right.

Step out of your seat, come to the front, and let the holy, lingering presence of God consume your life afresh today.

Let the fire fall and the Smoke on the Mountain ascend.

[1] Rev. 15:8

[2] Gal. 5:22-23

[3] I Cor. 12:7-11

[4] 2 Peter 1:3-11

[5] Isaiah 4:2-6

[6] Heb. 12:18-24

[7] Lev. 20:7; 1 Peter 1:15-16

[8] Acts 7:55

[9] 2 Cor. 4:7-18

<<Preached on the evening of August 16, 2026 at LeSage Apostolic Church on LeSage, WV (Pastor Joe Chapman)>>

Categories
Bible Teaching

The Power of Pentecost and Apostolic Identity

Electricity pylons crossing a misty valley beneath a colorful sunset
Electricity pylons stretch across a misty valley toward a distant city at sunset.

Text: Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

The Power of Pentecost and Apostolic Identity

Have you been in a new home that is under construction?

Bare studs and the smell of pine fill the space.

Then the electricians come in and they start running electrical lines for lights, outlets, HVAC, hot tubs, etc.

However, all those lines will be useless if the Lineman does not come and connect that house to the power grid.

The potential for power is there, but that house has to receive power.

The Power Lines in your neighborhood sometimes go out.

It might be windstorm, ice on the lines, a car wreck taking out an electric pole, or a blown transformer.

The need is still the same – you need a Lineman.

The Power Lineman is a skilled line installer and repairer, who is trained to construct, maintain, and repair electrical power systems.

They work with high-voltage lines, often at great heights in varying weather conditions, to keep electricity flowing to homes and businesses.

Their main job is to make sure that all the residential and commercial buildings in the area receive the electrical power they need to operate to their full potential.

Acts 2:38-39, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  (39)  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

The late Robert Bayer, known as “The Walking Bible” said, “Bethlehem was God with us, Calvary was God for us, and Pentecost is God in us.”

Statistics regarding Pentecostals today (5/23/2026)

There are 130 million Pentecostals globally, which represents 1.63% of 8 billion.

There are 2.66 billion Christians globally, which is 32.3% of the 2025 population.

Christianity is growing at a rate of roughly 0.98% annually.

As of 2025, the global number of Oneness Pentecostals is estimated to be approximately 30 million (.375% of population).

This figure represents about 1% of total global Christianity and roughly 4% to 5% of the broader Pentecostal-Charismatic movement, which includes over 644 million people (8.05%).

If Christianity grows at .98% annually while the global population grows at a rate of .88%, it would take approximately 1,027 years for the faith to represent 90% of the world population. 

Based on current demographics and growth projections, it would take Oneness Pentecostals anywhere from 70 to over 500 years to reach 25% of the global population, depending on which growth rate persists.

While the broader Pentecostal movement already makes up about 25% of global Christianity (roughly 644 million people), Oneness Pentecostalism is a specific subset with approximately 30 million adherents.

Using a 2026 global population estimate of 8.1 billion and a world population growth rate of 0.8% annually, here is how long it would take at different sustained annual growth rates for Oneness Pentecostals to make up 25% of the global poplutation:

  • At 7.0% Growth (High Estimate): Approximately 71 years. This rate is seen in some specific high-growth regions or individual denominations but is difficult to sustain globally over decades.
  • At 4.0% Growth (Moderate Estimate): Approximately 135 years.
  • At 1.58% Growth (Conservative Estimate): Approximately 546 years. This rate is closer to the current average for the broader movement.

Before the Lord Comes for His Church/Bride There She Will Fill the Earth

Daniel 2:31-35, “(31)  Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. (32)  This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, (33)  His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. (34)  Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. (35)  Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.“

Isaiah 2:1-3, “(1)  The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. (2)  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (3)  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

Jesus speaking: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

Are You Connected?

“Who could ever forget those hours when we were hunting for the Baptism with the Holy Ghost? Days and nights were spent in seeking God and nothing else mattered. Then came that climactic day when we spoke in tongues and glory filled our soul. We had arrived-and most of us are never again so earnest in waiting on God, so the tragedy of modern Pentecostalism is that most of the saints are more spiritual just before they get the Baptism than they ever are again! One is reminded of giant powerhouses. The river of God is moving the turbines in the unseen realm, feeding the generators with prodigious potential power, but there are no lines to get the power out to a lost and needy humanity.”[1]

Apostolic Linemen

We Apostolics have done ourselves a great disservice.

Regardless of how or where it originated, we have sent the message to our people that the operation of the Spirit is limited to service times.

We have the power, but our power lines have been cut, disconnected or never installed.

We have forgotten that any believer, anywhere and anytime has the potential for miraculous and evident signs of salvation and deliverance following them.

The Old Testament was potential, but the New Testament is power.

Two Types of Power in the New Testament:

  • Dunamis = Power (energetic, explosive, demonstrative)
  • Exousia= Authority (delegated right, privilege – it’s about position)
    • His authority to exercise His power comes from His position as the Christ.
    • Our authority to exercise that same power is given to us by Jesus Christ:
      • Mark 16:14-20, “(14) Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.  (15)  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  (16)  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  (17)  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;  (18)  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  (19)  So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.  (20)  And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
        • They had humbly received the rebuke of Christ.
        • They preached every where = They Proclaimed the Gospel.
        • Propelled by a faith strengthened through the power of the Holy Ghost that they received in Acts 2.
        • Signs followed as the Lord promised they would.
      • Acts 1:7-8, “(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 [exousia = authority].  (8)  But ye shall receive power [dunamis = power], after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
      • 2 Corinthians 13:10, “Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power [exousia = authority] which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.”
        • NLT, “…I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down.”
    • I do not have the power to stop an automobile, but that police officer driving behind me in the car with the lights flashing has something that will stop me – authority.

Apostolic Authority Abandons Apathy – Pentecostal Power Perpetuates Passion

There are twin powers, two sides of one coin, are the very means through which the Church will fulfill its purpose of reaching the world as it manifests its Identity.

Some alliterative statements:

  • Apostolic Authority Abandons Apathy
  • Pentecostal Power Perpetuates Passion

What will happen to our world when Oneness Pentecostals actually become concerned for the world?

People today are obsessed with AI (Artificial Intelligence), but what this world needs is for the Church to allow the Power of the Holy Ghost to produce the real AI – Apostolic Identity.

The real AI (Apostolic Identity) that we need today is:

  • Apostolic Intercession
  • Apostolic Influence
  • Apostolic Impact

Apathy (Indifference) is the sin of our age, and for true worldwide growth, renewal and revival to occur the Church needs to reconnect to the power of its Apostolic Identity.

Elie Wiesel, holocaust survivor, author, and Nobel Laureate wrote:

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”

As a movement, we have a present day Pentecostal problem:

  • Feeling over Faith
  • Excitement over Evangelism
  • Entertainment over Introspection

We need to learn to follow the line to where it meets and connects to Jesus.

It’s a “Follow me” faith that we have. We follow Jesus.

Nowhere in the Bible does it tell you to be Apostolic, or Pentecostal.

All Jesus ever said was, “Follow me,”

Paul simply wrote, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

That’s our injunction. That’s our directive: to be born again of water and spirit and follow Jesus.”

When you follow Jesus in that fashion, you will be full of Power and you will take on that Apostlic Identity.

You first need to make sure the power lines are connected and the current of God’s Power is flowing to and through you.

You have the potential for power and authority, but are you connected?

Do you have an Apostolic Identity?

  • Apostolic Intercession – Are you burdened for the world?
  • Apostolic Influence – Are you reaching your family, friends, peers?

Apostolic Impact – Are you effecting you w

[1] Lennard Darbee. (1959?). Tongues: the Dynamite of God.

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Ever Present Ark

Stephen Kuntzman | April 20, 2025 | 6:30 PM

Jeremiah 3:15-16, “(15) And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.  (16)  And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.”

2 Timothy 3:1-5, “(1) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  (2)  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  (3)  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  (4)  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;  (5)  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Zechariah 8:3-8, “(3) Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.  (4)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.  (5)  And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.  (6)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.  (7)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;  (8)  And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.”

Exo 25:10-22, “And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”

Categories
Bible Teaching

The Cure for the Common Cold

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 10/27/2024 | 10:00 AM

Categories
Bible Teaching

One Cup of Water

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 10/13/2024 | 10:00 AM

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Power to Become

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 11/7/2024 | 6:30 PM

John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭14‬, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Joyful Sound

Apostolic Life Cathedral | July 28, 2024 | 6:30 PM

Text: Psalms 89:15-17, “(15)  Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. (16)  In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. (17)  For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.”

Psalms 1:1-6, “(1) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  (2)  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  (3)  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  (4)  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  (5)  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  (6)  For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Blessed = “Happy”[1] is the condition.[2]

Go deeper = “to be straight, level, right, to go forward, be honest, prosper.”[3]

The joyful sound is the call to celebrate, to rejoice, to continually delight in:

  1. The Name of the Lord
  2. The Righteousness of the Lord

Tonight, the Holy Ghost is calling you to respond with a joyful sound for all that Jesus did for you and all that His name brings to bear in your life.

Rejoice in all that God did for you to walk a straight, level, righteousness path of prosperity and purpose.

The Samaritans knew about that joy: “(5) Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. (6)  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. (7)  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. (8)  And there was great joy in that city.”

“There was great joy in that city.”

How many here tonight want to see that same great joy in Huntington and the Tri-State Region?

It is God’s Will for the The Joyful Sound to echo along the riverbanks, valleys, and hillsides of our community:

We have heard the joyful sound:

Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Spread the tidings all around:

Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Bear the news to ev’ry land,

Climb the steeps and cross the waves;

Onward! ’tis our Lord’s command;

Jesus saves! Jesus saves![4]

The Joyful Sound – Jesus Saves!

Every day, Jesus Saves!

God is calling for repentance…to be part of the joyful sound.

Paul was in Athens on Mars’ hill when he saw the altar written TO THE UNKNOWN GOD and he began to tell them of the one that they, in their superstition, were ignorantly worshipping.

Saying, “that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”

Repentance, led by true godly sorrow, will bring the joyful sound.

The fruit of mercy is restoration. The fruit of grace is maturity.

Unfortunately, life has a way of causing you to lose sight of what originally created the happy condition…the joyful sound.

What was once exciting and revealing, full of life and rewarding, has now become mundane and lost its vitality.

The daily life is at war with the joyful sound: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah” (Psalms 68:19).

We should come daily to His storehouse of blessing.

The problem is we have become so busy doing the work we forget the relationship with the God of the work.

Oftentimes, people fail because they have their spiritual life, their prayer life, their relationship with Jesus on autopilot.

Like a pilot in a plane, or a driver in a car, you are content to sit disengaged and apathetic.

What once drove your passion has now become drudgery.

The work that inspired is now nothing more than perspiration.

The hope that enlarged your heart and gave you faith is now a vague memory, like the beauty of nature you miss will cruising by unbothered by what is just outside your window.

You have become trapped with the thought that you just need to get the job done.

You have stopped hearing the joyful sound.

This is why you are to become renewed daily in the spirit of your mind.

Turn off the of auto pilot, disengage the cruise control,

Look around you and see all the beauty, blessing, and opportunity!

The need and possibility around you

Paul wrote, “I have fought a good fight…I have kept the faith,” but he did not stop fighting.

It is time to recapture that joy that originally caught you:

  • Is. 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
  • Is. 55:12, “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
  • 1 Peter 1:7-9, “(7)  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (8)  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (9)  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
  • Is. 9:3, “…they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.”
  • Acts2:1-4

You are going to have to press into it. To reach for it. To recapture the joyful sound: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

To press means you will have to disengage the cruise control.

Revelation 19:6-7, “(6)  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. (7)  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”

[1] Strong’s. H835.

[2] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Psalm 89:15.

[3] Strong’s. H833.

[4]  Priscilla J. Owens. (1882). We Have Heard the Joyful Sound.

Categories
Bible Preaching

Two Gardens -Melvin Kuntzman

Apostolic Life Cathedral | Sept. 29, 2024 | 6:30 PM
Categories
Bible Teaching

How are People Saved? -Harold Hoffman

“The value of truth is never diminished because of repetition.” -Harold Hoffman

Categories
Bible Teaching

12 Stones

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 5/26/2024 | 10:00 AM

Text: Joshua 4:1-9

(1)  And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,

(2)  Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

(3)  And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

(4)  Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

(5)  And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:

(6)  That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?

(7)  Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

(8)  And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

(9)  And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

A Memorial of Twelve Stones[1]:

Memorials are extremely important in our society, so that we will remember our heritage and the sacrifices we and others have made to make them possible.

Importance of spiritual memorials for our personal lives and for the church.

A Memorial for Israel, Joshua 4:1-8

  1. Commanded by God.
  2. Fulfilled by Joshua and the people.
  3. Twelve stones from Jordan.

What about the Twelve Stones?

  1. Represented all the people (twelve tribes), verse 2.
  2. Participation by the people, verse 3.
  3. Related to the miracle, verse 3.
  4. Permanence because of the durability and number of the stones.

The Purpose of the Memorial, Joshua 4:20-24

  1. A reminder that God is the one who performed the miracle of deliverance.
  2. Just as He did for previous generations.
  3. A sign to future generations.
  4. A sign to other nations of the power of God.
  5. So that Israel would fear—honor, respect—the Lord forever.

What about it?

  1. We need memorials in our lives. Example: our family’s testimony of conversion.
  2. We need visible memorials that every family and church member participates in.
  3. Not a dead memorial, but a living one, for the same reasons as in Joshua 4.
  4. Heartfelt and demonstrative worship.
  5. Personal and group prayer, including the prayer closet, the prayer room, and the altar.
  6. Praying in the Holy Ghost – Speaking in tongues.
  7. Visible standards of holiness.
  8. Personal witness.
  9. Of course, a memorial is no good without the continuing reality of a transformed life.

Continue shoring up the memorials in your life.

[1] Source: italicized parts – Bernard, David K. (2004). Preaching the Apostolic Faith. p. 83.