The Five Foundation Stones of the Early Church | thebereancall.org

The Five Foundation Stones of the Early Church

September 8, 2023
Mike Warren

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Mike is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Gold Country in Grass Valley, CA. He is a featured speaker in the apologetics documentary Wide Is the Gate 3. As one with a shepherd’s calling, Mike’s passion is to encourage believers in the love of Jesus and the truth of His Word. 

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Transcript:

Mike: Hey, let’s stand one more time and open in a word of prayer. I just never want to open God’s Word without asking Him to open our minds and our hearts, amen? 

Father, we thank You for the authority of Your Word, and just how clear it is. How inspired, inerrant, and authoritative. And Lord, we can trust–I’ve often said to our congregation that I just know enough to know that I don’t know. Thus I trust Your Word. And so this morning, from a pastoral perspective, Lord, I just challenge the body again to remain faithful to Your Word. You know, we’re living in troubled times, where, you know, everything but the Word is coming off the pulpits. And, Lord, we just–we want to remain faithful to You, to the work of Your Spirit, to the authority of Your Word. We want to be people of prayer. We just want to be people, Lord, that are salt and light in these last days to bring as many as we possibly can to Christ before You return. 

And, Lord, we believe that Your return is imminent, it is close, that we’re in the last days. Lord, we are convinced that we are the church–at least, I am–that’s gonna lock the door and turn off the lights as far as the church age goes. And I will breathe my last breath believing that. 

So, Father, help us. These are perilous times. We need to be good Bereans. And so, Lord, as we just look at Your Word this morning, don’t just speak to our heads. May it go deeper than that. May it go into our hearts, and may you give permanency to it. 

We pray in the mighty name of Jesus, and all God’s kids would say…?

Audience: Amen.

Mike: Amen, amen. You can be seated. You know, again, I often wonder why T. A. and the board of Berean Call ask me to come and speak, because I’m just a pastor. I don’t have a lot of credentials other than I’ve been in ministry for 43 years, a senior pastor for 38, and I’ve kind of weathered a lot of storms. I’ve seen a lot of things come and go in the church. And so…and some of those things are very concerning to me as a pastor. 

But I just, again, I’m so blessed to be here! I’m honored to be here. 

You know, every one of the speakers spoke to me, and I just…again, I’m enriched by having been here. How many would say “amen” that? You’ve just been enriched. You know, and then you’re around like-minded people. You’re around like-minded people. 

I mean, I follow CRI for, like, ever! And Jay, I love Jay’s presentations! There’s a number of people that we invite to come to the church, and he is on our list to come and speak. 

And there’s just, again, you connect–I connected with Carl. He does this ministry for Burning Man. It’s in our backyard! And he’s invited me to go. I don’t know that I will, but I’ll pray about it! After seeing what he showed, I just..you know? We see the aftermath of it as it comes to our town–all the dust on the cars, and all of those things. And so…but, you know, it’s just been a joy over the years to have the privilege to stand before you and open God’s Word, which I cherish with all my heart. 

You know, the Bible, all the way through the New Testament, without exception, every book has a warning. In fact, 28 times in the New Testament in the 27 books, we find this word “take heed.” And that’s more just “listen,” it’s “take note of something that’s very serious.” And I think one of the most serious warnings as we start our study this morning is found in the Book of Hebrews. And if you don’t mind turning there, I know my text will be out of Acts this morning, but I want to take a look at this warning, because I think it sets the stage for what I’m going to say. 

The title of this message will be “The Five Foundational Stones of the Early Church.” You know, I was enamored as an early Christian and then as a young pastor and now as an older pastor, I’ve always been enamored by the picture and the things that are portrayed in the Book of Acts concerning the church. And I’ve always desired as a pastor to follow the model. I want to be the church of Acts! I want to see the Holy Spirit move. I want to see the authority of God’s Word, you know, remain what it is, our foundation. I love fellowship where iron sharpens iron. We’ll talk about that this morning. And just to remind ourselves of what God has done in prayer.

And so we’re gonna look at those five things this morning. But before we do, I just want to leave you with a warning and with a challenge before we get into that. And then Hebrews, we’re going through this particular book on Sunday morning in our church. You know, it begins with a powerful statement. It says, “God [in verse 1 of chapter 1] who at sundry times and in divers manner spoke in times past unto our fathers by the prophets, but have in these last days…” The last time He’s going to speak. Can you imagine? “...he has spoken unto us by his Son.” Shouldn’t we pay the most earnest heed to that? If the message is so important that God would send His Son to communicate it to us, and in the process become the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. We should not let these things that we’re gonna see in a few moments slip from us.

So, “...hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed to be the heir of all things, by whom he made the worlds.” That’s a seminal issue for me. I know that I’m not an accidental circumstance of, you know, spontaneous, you know, bouncing together some kind of, you know, cell somewhere in a swamp. 

Audience: Amen.

Mike: No, I am wonderfully and fearfully made. And I’m made to walk in fellowship with the One who made me. He is my Father. I am His son. Jesus Christ is my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer. He’s the One who came and rescued me out of a life of sin. I am regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. I’m not reformed. 

I was talking to Randall, you know, because we have people come to our church, and they’re always asking me, “Do you have a 12-step program?” And I said, “Yes, we do, but it depends on where you sit in the congregation.” They said, “What do you mean?” “Well, if it’s 12 steps from where you’re seated to the front where you get regenerated, then yes, we have a 12-step program! But it could be 14, it could be 15, it could be 20!” Because we believe in the power of regeneration. We are a new creature in Christ Jesus. We are regenerated by that work of the Holy Spirit–not because of any goodness in us, but because he’s merciful He did that! 

And so the message should always be that He is our Creator who, “being the brightness of his glory….” Listen, Jesus is the second Person of the Godhead! He is God come in human form. He’s Immanuel, “God with us!” “He is the express image of his person, upholding all things by the word of his power, when he, by himself….” This is the theme that will flow through all of the Book of Hebrews. This is what we rely on, this is what we have faith in: “that he by himself purged our sins.” He catharized us and bled the poison of sin out of us. 

And then Paul goes through this whole litany of examples by saying that He is superior to angels, because in the rabbinical priesthood, they taught and believed that when God gave the law to Moses, He wrote it on the tablets, handed it to angels, and angels delivered it to Moses. And so we believe that Jesus was the mediator of a better covenant, so He’s superior to angels. Superior to Moses! Moses could lead you out, but couldn’t lead you in! Superior to the law, because the law can never take away sin! Paul makes that point very clear in the Book of Hebrews. The law could never take away sin. Our faith has to be in the blood of Jesus Christ, being regenerated by that work of the Holy Spirit, standing firmly upon the authority of God’s Word. He’s superior to Aaron and the Levitical priesthood, because His priesthood predates! His priesthood is of the order of Malchizedek! We have a high priest, not like Aaron, who was flawed. Aaron just months before he stands before the tabernacle in the priestly robe being anointed with blood and oil, listen, he was leading the nation of Israel into idol worship! Beautiful picture of grace, and I thank God for that! It’s more a picture of me than it is of Christ, that He would take us and make us priests who were idol worshipers before. 

You know, I’ve had people ask me many times, “What were you before you became a Calvary Chapel pastor, or even before you were saved?” I was a pagan! I didn’t have any affiliation. Jesus literally plucked me out of the fire. But He’s superior to these things. He’s superior to the Levitical priesthood. Our Priest never sinned. Our Priest didn’t offer a sacrifice first for Himself, and then go into a building here on Earth and offer it for the people. Our Priest ascended into heaven and offered one sacrifice before the throne of God. And it doesn’t just cover sin. 

What Aaron and the priesthood did to the Levitical rights covered sin. Kaphar is our Hebrew word, and it only covered it. It never removed it. But this Man, by one sacrifice, has removed our sin forever. 

“Having been justified…” Made just…if you can wrap your hands around it, you have been made just as though you never were a sinner. By the blood of Jesus Christ, by the authority of His Word, by the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the gospel message. 

And often when I get into the mountains, I remind myself–I’m 48 years in the faith, and I go to the mountains often just to pray and spend time with my Father. I learned that from Jesus. If it was important to Jesus to leave the ministry and the men and the multitude and often go up into the mountains to just spend time with the Father, then it must be important to me. It’s what’s kept me and stayed me all of these years in ministry, because it’s difficult. It is hard! Some have mentioned that. Being a pastor, especially in the time we’re living in, it’s not an easy thing. 

But often when I get up into the mountains, I just pray to my Father, because my identity’s not found in what I do. Your identity’s not found in what you do. Your identity is found in Him. And when I get alone with my Father, He reminds me that I’m His son, and that He loves me, and I’m doing okay. You know, “Well done, thou good [not perfect] and faithful servant.” 

And so it’s relational. And the reason Paul is writing, and I believe Paul to be the author of the Book of Hebrews, he’s writing because these people are drifting. They’re leaving this relationship with Christ and going back to something else–to the law, to works, for justification.

You know, we read these things, we’ll look back and say, “Shame on those people.” Well, we see that going on in the church today. We’re leaving this intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that work of the Spirit, the authority of His Word, prayer, fellowship…not “we” (I’m speaking to the choir here), not “we,” but the church at large is–I’ve watched this for years. They’re leaving and going to other things. And so Paul writes this book with an extreme warning. And we find that warning in chapter 2 verse 1, and I’ll just read through verse 1 and verse 2. It says this: “Therefore,” in light of all that we understand about this salvation, about this gospel, about God’s Word and God’s character and God’s nature and what He has done for us, in light of all of that, “we ought to give the most earnest heed.” Twenty-eight times in the New Testament we read that word “heed,” “take heed” to something. Focus in on it! Don’t let it, you know, pass you by! You know, meditate on it. Think about it. 

You know, the thing–and I’ve taught through the whole Bible, and I’ve taught through the New Testament multiple times. I’ve taught through the Old Testament a few times. But I’ll tell you what I have the hardest time wrapping my hands around as a pastor is that God loves me. Because there’s days I don’t even like me. Amen?

Audience: Amen.

Mike: But to understand that God sees me in His Son, perfect! And one day, Jesus, Jude tells us, will present us before the Father. Greek is a pictorial language. When you read Jude 24, it’s as though Jesus is putting His armor on us and He’s walking us right into the very throne room of God. And He said, “God the Father, Mike Warren! Mike Warren, God the Father!” I will be ushered in by Christ before the throne of God. And at that moment, I’m gonna look down and I’m gonna realize something that was not of my own making. That I’m perfect! And I can stand before a perfect and holy God, and He’s gonna step off that throne, He’s gonna look me in the eye, and He’s gonna wipe every tear from my eyes, and He’s gonna say, “Listen, everything else is behind you. Pull off the rearview mirror. Everything is before you now.” No more death, no more pain, no more sorrow. 

We’ve had to do three memorial services here for people in our fellowship. 

But he’s warning us not to leave something. We should take the most earnest heed, seeing what Jesus has done for us. “Take the most earnest heed, lest these things which we have heard at any time should slip from us.” The Hebrew word there for “slip” is “does that something go adrift?” It drifts from something. It becomes unmoored. And I’m looking around today as a pastor and my heart is broken because the church is becoming unmoored from the faith, becoming unmoored from biblical truth, unmoored from just that work of the Holy Spirit. 

Listen, we are born of the Spirit! We’ve been regenerated by the Spirit. We’ve been filled with the Spirit. “Having been born of the Spirit,” doesn’t Paul tell us we ought to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh?

And, you know, and I’m seeing today theology being replaced by theater and doctrine by drama and all of these things. And I’m thinking in our church, we’ve had four months that we haven’t had a new person come, because people are just tired of it. Where can I just hear the unadulterated Word of God, and not make any excuse for it?

But believe with all of your heart that the Holy Spirit will take the Word of God and penetrate people’s hearts and change them from the inside out. We’re warned here.

Let me read that again: “Therefore, we ought to give the most earnest heed.” I know I’m preaching to the choir, but I’m looking in a camera, and I’m hoping there are people out there that aren’t Bereans that will become Bereans. Amen?

Audience: Amen.

Mike: Because they shouldn’t just go with the flow, they should examine what they are hearing and what is being taught. That’s why I love the specialists–I’m just a general practitioner. I’m just a pastor, but I love coming to these conferences where there are specialists that come, and just remind me that yeah, you’re right, Mike! Yes, He is the Creator! Yes, there’s no one like Him! Yes! Yes! You’re on track! 

“So we should give the most earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them…” You have to let them slip from you! In fact, in verse 3, it says, “How shall we escape?” Now, that’s a pretty pithy warning. “How shall we escape if we neglect?” Those things slip from us because we neglect those things. “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which was at the first began to be spoken by our Lord, and then confirmed by those that heard him?”

You know, in Psalms, and somebody mentioned this, in Psalms:11:3, the Psalmist said, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Well, I’ll tell you this: don’t let them! You know, don’t wait until they’re gone to do something about it! Don’t let them. 

I want to encourage every pastor, I want to encourage every elder, every church leader: Don’t let these things slip from you! Don’t let them slip from you. Don’t neglect the things we’re gonna look at this morning. I think it’s a pattern of the early church in the Book of Acts, those five things. Don’t let them slip from you. Don’t let men and men’s wisdom lie to you. Don’t substitute the holy Scripture for the teaching of man. Don’t let this happen! 

In fact, Jude warns us about this, the uterine brother of Jesus. He warns us as He writes that pithy little short epistle warning us. He says in verse 1, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation….” I would love just to gather with you guys and just rejoice in what God has done! Remind us of His grace, of His mercy, of that work of His Spirit, and just how good God has been, and just have that kind of an interaction instead of having to warn and having to correct and having to remind, “Stay on course! Don’t get off course! Don’t let the winds of adversity blow you off course.” So Jude just wanted to write and talk about the things of the Lord, but he said, “I found it needful to write unto you and to exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith.” Epagonizomai, epi–to be enveloped in the agony of defending the faith. He says, “This faith that was once delivered unto the saints.” It’s once and for all. 

We in this generation have been entrusted with the truth, with a systematic theology, with a doctrine. But more importantly, we have been entrusted to preach a Person, the Person of Jesus Christ, the work of Jesus Christ, salvation through Jesus Christ. There’s no other name by which we can be saved given among men in heaven and earth but this name!

You know, recently I was just thinking about this, and somebody mentioned this, that, you know, I tell the staff, I tell the guys I’m discipling on Monday night–we have a men’s discipleship group called the Band of Brothers. I have three guys I’m discipling for ministry that, when you are speaking to people, I don’t want you to use God in the generic term. Now, when I use God, I’m thinking of the Trinity in one: God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. But when we’re witnessing or we’re speaking, make sure that you teach and preach in the power and the authority of the name of Jesus. There’s something about that name. Even when I was unsaved, there was something about that name. I knew that I could do a lot of things, but I could never use that name in vain. Can you imagine a pagan, an unregenerated, unsaved individual, drug-abusing, alcohol-consuming amoral knew that there was something about that name? And so recently, I thought, Well, you know, we have a cross behind us, so that when we livestream our stuff, that people can see the cross. We have a little crown of thorns on the cross. But the Lord just spoke to me, “What about My name?” And so I looked and found a company that makes these metal stamped out things: Jesus. And so I put Jesus back on the cross. Not Catholic! But we wanted people who tuned in to our church to see that name, the name that is above every name. The name that brings salvation. That name. 

So here he’s telling us, “Don’t let those things slip from you. Earnestly contend for the faith.” And then he ends this short little epistle by this exhortation of four things that we can do, that we should be in our lives in earnestly contending for the faith. He said, “Listen, beloved, build yourselves up in the most holy faith.” 

You know, I stopped attending other conferences…this is the only conference that I attend during the year. I used to go to all the pastors conferences. But you know what? This is the conference where I’m around like-minded people, and I don’t care what denomination you go to or what names over your church as long as Jesus is in it and the Holy Spirit is working. You know, we’re like-minded brothers and sisters. 

But we should build ourselves up in the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Now, that might rattle some of you, and we’re gonna talk about it in a few moments. But I believe in the power and the work of the Holy Spirit. I don’t think we can do anything apart from it. Jesus said, “Unless he builds the house, you’re laboring in vain. You can do nothing without him, but you can do all things through him.” Our reliance has to get back. 

You know, they’re doing Paul Smith’s, Chuck Smith’s brother’s memorial service this week, and Chris Quintana called me to see if I was gonna be able to be there. And I told him I was up at this conference. 

But one of the last conversations I remember having with Paul as we were leaving one of the workshops in the pastors conference, and this is right after Chuck, Pastor Chuck, went to be with the Lord. I think George Bryson was with us. So we were just walking out of this thing and we were having a conversation. And I remember Paul looking at me with tears in his eyes, and he said, “My greatest concern is that what God has begun in the Spirit will now become a work of the flesh.” Those words rattle in my head. I was so privileged a few years ago when he was here, one of the speakers, I got to spend a whole day with him. 

You know, those men are leaving the scene, but we’re still here. And I applaud these different parachurch organizations that are pointing us always back to truth. 

So we are to pray in the Holy Spirit, we are to keep ourselves in the love of God! I so appreciate what Brad had to say: Turn off the screen and open your Bible! I found it interesting that he was up here with a screen open…

[audience laughing]

…because when I go to the pulpit, I take this, and I tell our congregation, “Bring this!” I want to hear the rustling of pages when we’re together, because, you know, technology could go away tomorrow. But this won’t go away.

Oh, and by the way, hide it in your heart in case they come and confiscate these things! Put it in your heart! That’s what David said. But keep yourselves in the love of God. Don’t get sidelined…again, in Hebrews 12, “Lay aside every weight, every distraction, and every sin that doth so easily beset us.” Isn’t it interesting we get so addicted to these things? That it so easily says, “Run the race with endurance that’s been set before you. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and the finisher of your faith.” I thank God that I grew up in a time and graduated from Bible college in a time when there were no computers. 

I was sharing with Randall this morning at coffee, I was sharing with him that I bought, at a yard sale, a giant drafting table, and then I had one of my friends put another pencil rail across it so that I could put books up here and books down there. That was my computer, and it actually tilted! It was better than a desk! You know, I’m used to looking at things on pages. In fact, I didn’t even own a computer until the church I’m pastoring now, and they made me get one! And I just leave it in my office and I just use it as a tool when I need it, but I would rather open God’s Word and sit alone with the Holy Spirit and say, “Teach me. You’re the teacher.” 

I’ve read commentaries to ad nauseum, and sometimes they’re right and sometimes they’re wrong, but the Holy Spirit never is. 

Audience: Amen.

Mike: And so build yourselves up in the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking. Listen, don’t be looking out. This world’s a mess. We know it. And it’s gonna get worse. Can I say that? America’s not coming back. America’s being judged by Almighty God for the things that they have allowed to come upon this nation. But before the judgment comes, we leave. So just keep looking up for the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 

And so we have these warnings, and I think the greatest is found there in Hebrews. Listen, let us contend for the faith, like it says in Jude! Let us not let these things slip from us. Let’s not neglect these things. You know, we can’t speak for the rest of the Christian community, but we can speak for ourselves. I can’t speak for other churches, but I can speak for Gold Country Calvary Chapel, because God has made me the under-shepherd there. And my desire, my goal, the model that I want to create in that church, and I’ve been there almost 29 years, is the model we’re gonna look at here in a few moments, because I feel like I’ve been entrusted with something! I feel the responsibility and the weight of it. I feel the weight to rightly divide the Word of Truth. I feel the call all…every day of my life to “study to show myself approved, a workman who need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”

We just hired an intern out of the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Joshua Tree. And so, you know, I’m studying and studying and studying, and he’s coming in and his desk is on the outside by the secretary, and so he’s coming and asking questions. And he came in one day, he’s been there, like, two months, two and a half months, and he said to me, “Why do you still study? No, you discipled my father. You planted the church that my father pastors. You know, don’t you, like, already know everything?” I just started laughing! Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Seriously? Forty-eight years a believer, and I’m still learning. God is still speaking. He’s still dealing with the issues of my heart. I’ve not arrived. And I love His Word. 

And so, like I said, as a young Christian, enamored with the Book of Acts as a young minister, realizing there’s a model in there that the church should follow. Not the Rick Warren model…oh, and by the way, I don’t think… I KNOW that Rick Warren is not my spiritual brother, but I’m pretty sure he’s not physically related to me either. At least if he is, I want to change my last name. You know, and just the ludicrousness of the things that go on.

But turn to the Book of Acts with me, if you will. Five things I want to look at this morning. And the first is probably one you haven’t considered, because most of us start in verse 41. I start back in verse 1, because I believe the church–and you can disagree with this, and I’ve had people that have challenged me on it–but I believe the church was birthed on the day of Pentecost. I believe that. 

Now, I do know that God chose His disciples, and that after the resurrection He met with them. He breathed on them so they were filled with the Holy Spirit before they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. But I believe the birth of the church can be traced back to this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and when it was and people came to see what had happened, because they heard the sound of this rushing, mighty wind, and they heard this noise, and it drew them there, and they were thinking that these people were drunk, that something was wrong! But they were in awe that they heard these Galileans–these guys from Virginia, as my brother Brad–you know, that slaughter the king’s English, speaking in perfect dialect! The perfect [unintelligible] of their language, the wonderful works of God! And so we read there in verse 1 of chapter 2 of the Book of Acts–let me get there. I got excited about Hebrews and I didn’t turn there yet. I love Hebrews! Where am I at? Not Luke…here we are. Chapter 2, it says that, “When the day of Pentecost was fully come….” This is after Jesus is crucified, he told them–we’re gonna see in a few moments, but wait, when it was fully come, “they were in one place and one accord, and suddenly there came this sound from heaven as a rushing, mighty wind.”

If you don’t mind marking up your Bible, circle the word “wind” and put a note beside it. It can be as easily interpreted “breath.” The breath of God, breathing on these people, waiting and ministering, because they were there because Jesus told them to go wait for the promise of the Father. And it says that “They were there in one accord, and all of a sudden, there came the sound of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like unto fire. And it sat upon each one of them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. And they began to speak in tongues.”

I will say to you, if God can get ahold of your tongue, He can get ahold of everything. James tells us the problem is with the tongue. In fact, he tells us that if you don’t know how to bridle your tongue, your religion’s in vain, because the heart is what guides the tongue. And if your heart is converted, then the tongue will be right. Can I get an amen on that?

But listen, the first thing we’re gonna see, and we’ll look at it in detail in a few moments, is that they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Not just filled or regenerated unto salvation by the Holy Spirit, but there was a dunamis–there was a power given to the church. We began in that work of the Spirit. 

Then we can move down to verse 41, and it says, “And they gladly received and were baptized the same day, and was added to the church about 3,000 souls.” And so through that power of the Holy Spirit, as we’re gonna see in a few moments, the Word of God is going forth in authority, and it’s cutting! It’s cutting to the very soul and spirit of man, and it’s bringing about salvation. 

Listen, if I can talk you into being saved, or talk you to lead you into a sinner’s prayer, someone else can talk you out of it. We’re gonna see in a few moments that Paul relied on the Holy Spirit to take the Word of God and do its work! I think the church ought to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to do its work. But then it has to be based on the solid authority of God’s Word. 

So after this outpouring and baptism of the Holy Spirit, they–it says, “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.”

About eight years ago, I was just challenged going through the Book of Acts again, you know, ‘cause I taught in Bible college a doctrines course, but it was kind of heady, and I was just too prideful back then, and I should have known better. But God’s humbled me along the way. And so I wrote another doctrines course, and we had like 125 people in our church show up on a Monday night to go through Bible doctrine. You know, we went through theology and Christology; pneumatology, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit; you know, and soteriology, how we’re saved; ecclesiology, what the church is about; and eschatology, where the church is going. Because I thought doctrine to be important, to lay that foundation. And then we teach through the Bible. We don’t teach from it. Old Testament Wednesday nights, New Testament Sunday mornings. It’s just a practice, because we think it takes a whole Bible to make a whole Christian. We’re gonna see in a few moments it’s the foundation.

So “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” And you can add that “steadfastly” to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers. And I’m not gonna go any further than that, because the next thing is what those five things produce, and we’ll look at it in a few moments.

But let’s look at those five things, and if you’re a note taker, this will be a good time to get your pad and pen out, and we’ll just take a look at these five things.

The first thing that the early church experienced that kept them, as it were, moored or tied to the foundation of their faith was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now, it’s interesting to me today, that’s one of those things the church is not seeking, and for two reasons: one, they’ve either bought into the false teaching of being a cessationist, that God just kinda wound the church up with the power of the Holy Spirit in the first century and just took it away! I mean, I marvel, because I don’t know about you, but I think I need more of the Holy Spirit today in the last days than I needed in the first days! Maybe I’m wrong! But Paul tells us who lived in the first days of the church, he tells us in the last days of the church “perilous times”! And we’re gonna need a strength as the church is beyond us. 

That’s why Jesus, again, He tells us in Acts 1, if you don’t mind turning there, in verse 4 and 5, He said, “And being assembled together with them…” This is after the resurrection. He commanded them, please note, not a suggestion, He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, “You have heard from me.” Now, when did He hear that from them? Back in John 14. You remember the first opening verses of John 14? He’s telling them, “I’m going away.” They freaked out! I would freak out, too! My Messiah, my Savior, my Lord, is now going to leave me here in this messed up world to figure things out? He said, “I’m going away. I have to go away to prepare a place for you. And if I go away, I am coming back to receive you unto myself, that where I am, you might be also. But I’m not going to leave you alone. I’m not going to leave you comfortless.” And so as we work our way down through that chapter to verse 16, this is what Jesus said: “And I will pray to the Father.” Jesus said after the resurrection, “I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” Not through the 1st century and go away, but all the way through to the 21st century. I trust that. I need that. We’re gonna see why in a few moments.

“For truly, John baptised with water, but you shall be baptised,” immersed, “in the Holy Ghost not many days hence, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because they seeth him not, neither knoweth him. But you know him, because he has been with you.” Para, every person on this planet is experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit! That Holy Spirit is convicting them of sin, of righteousness, and of the judgment that is to come. That’s why I instruct our congregation, “Share God’s Word, because the Holy Spirit’s already working on them! Plant that seed!” 

You know, we’re not responsible for the soil. We just went through this in Mark’s gospel. We’re not responsible for the soil the seed lands on, but we’re responsible to sow the seed. Can I get an amen? You are seed sowers. 

Oh, and by the way, if you know anything about horticulture, everything that is necessary for life is in the seed. It just has to fall on fertile ground and be watered. 

Audience: That’s right.

Mike: The power is not in the messenger. The power is not in me, it’s not in T. A. McMahon, it wasn’t in Chuck Smith, it wasn’t in Paul Smith, it wasn’t in…it’s not in any person. The power is in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And all you have to do is sow it! He’s been with you, but He shall be in you. And that is almost the same Greek word we have, but it’s -en, it means to “indwell.”

So when you are born again, when the Holy Spirit draws you out of the world to confess Christ as your Savior, through faith you are born again. Then the Holy Spirit sets up residency in you. That’s how you are regenerated. That’s how you’re born again. But Jesus is gonna speak of a third work of the Holy Spirit. 

Now we move to verse 8 of chapter 1: “But you shall receive power,” dunamis, a strength, a strength that’s not of your own. 

I was sharing with Randall again this morning that, and people don’t believe this about me, because I’ve been a Christian for 48 years, that when the Lord found me, I was an introvert. I didn’t like people. I didn’t want to be around people. I was uncomfortable in crowds. If I didn’t get the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a Christian, I would have came late to the service and left early. I would have come to worship the Lord and hear His Word, but I didn’t want to interact with people. And I can remember as a Christian, brand new, I wanted to share my faith, and they had, you know, courses on evangelism, the church, but I just couldn’t do it! I just couldn’t do it! I was so timid and so shy and so intimidated by other people, so fearful of rejection, that I just couldn’t do it! I wanted to do it. I went to the classes. They invited me to go out, and I just couldn’t do it! 

But there was a night when they had a man come, and his ministry was laying on hands for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I was like the gang that Paul came across. And one of the guys said, “Are you gonna be in the service tonight?” And I said, “Well, I always am.” He said, “Well, they have a special guy coming tonight, and he’s gonna lay hands for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” I said, “The baptism of the Holy Spirit? I’ve not heard there was such a thing. Didn’t I get all of the Holy Spirit when I got saved?” “Well, no, there’s another work.” And that night I got the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and we’re gonna see in a few moments, I didn’t get a particular gift. What I got was boldness. Power. Strength. Not my own. 

“You shall receive dunamis.” This almost translates as a direct transliteration from that word dunamis to what we know today as dynamo, something that produces power. You see, the Lord knows that we can’t do this on our own strength. The problem is most of the church doesn’t know that. They think it’s an organization, and if you have a better program and a better man and a better method, that you can reach the world. You see, I’m convinced I can do none of that. I don't have a better program, a better method. I have the Person of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s all I have! 

“You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Epi-, overshadows you.

We have prayer meeting every Tuesday morning with the elders, and I remind them, we are nothing. We are earthen vessels. We are mud pots, and most of us are cracked. And God found us, and He washed us and He cleansed us in His blood, and He poured Himself into us. And if we allowed Him, He wouldn’t just fill us with Himself, we would want more and it would run over the top! That’s baptism! And cover the outside so there’s no more imperfections, and He would use us to be epistles read of all men! But the power is in Him, not in us! All we can do is present this earthen pot to Him, an instrument fit for the Master’s use.

Jesus told them, “Don’t go do anything until you receive this, this power of the Holy Spirit. It will come upon you, then you shall be my witnesses.” And that word for witness, as you well know, is the word for martyr. You will die to yourself, to pride, to drawing attention to yourself, and you’ll point to Jesus! 

The church is pointing to themselves far too much today. “Look what I have done!” Oh, really? You know, I remind the young guys I’m discipling, “Listen, you are nothing! You’re nothing! He is everything.” You know, and I tell them when we get to heaven, they’re not gonna sing a song “To Evan be the glory,” our new youth pastor. They’re not gonna sing that. Or to Mike, or to anybody. To God. And we are privileged to be a part of that. 

But “you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” 

Now, here’s what I want to draw your attention to in verse 14–we see the effect of that. Because we know before this, Peter wanted to do what? Run away! Peter wanted to go back to his old career. He wanted to go back to fishing. He was fearful and hiding behind locked doors, afraid of the Roman Empire. Afraid of the Sanhedrin. Afraid of everything. See, fear is not from the Lord, and I think the thing that takes away fear is the baptism of the Holy…it did for me. 

But we see in verse 14, it said, “But Peter, standing up…” He’s standing up with the other apostles, and he’s preaching, and I’m gonna tell you, it’s a pithy and hard-to-hear message, is it not? “You by your wicked hands have crucified the Son of glory, but God has raised him from the dead. You need to repent of your sins, every one of you, and confess Christ as your Savior.” And 3,000 get saved! That wasn’t Peter, that was the authority of God’s Word being spoken through Peter through the work of the Holy Spirit, and it cut men’s hearts! And they cried out, “What must we do to be saved?” Boldness! 

You see, I had the wonderful privilege about three years ago to take a tour in Turkey before the doors closed. And I got to be in Antioch, Syria, where Barnabus and Paul pastored the church there. In fact, we visited a little cave church there in the Jewish sector of Antioch, Syria. It’s still there to this day. You can go in it. And you know what? You can actually feel the presence of God still in the place. And I was just reminded when I walked in of Acts 13. What would it have been like when Paul and Barnabus and the elders are gathered together, and they are praying, and they’re ministering to the Lord, and they’re seeking His face, not His hand. They’re pouring out their hearts before the Lord, and the Holy Spirit said… Can you imagine? What does that mean to us? That the Holy Spirit should be the one who’s directing our ministries. “Separate unto me Barnabus and Paul for the work that I have called them to.” 

He’s not a force. He’s the third Person of the Godhead. He’s the Holy Spirit. 

And then I also got the wonderful privilege of being at Antioch of Pisidia. Beautiful place! It’s interesting, we followed the Tarshish Mountains up, we stopped in Tarshish where Paul was on Tarshish Mountains up over to Antioch of Pisidia, and I was shocked because if you’re familiar with California, it was like leaving Sacramento, the valley, and going to Lake Tahoe! Beautiful pine trees, snow covered mountains up there. And I got to stand on the foundation of the old 3rd century Byzantine church, but they’d excavated down to where the synagogue was down there where Paul would have stood when he ministered to the churches there. And, you know, it’s just one of those, like, Wow! I can’t believe I’m standing here! 

But then that also reminded me that when Paul left there, Paul wanted to go up to Bithynia, and the Holy Spirit said what? No. “So, well, then I’ll go down to Ephesus.” And that’s the route we did take. We went a beautiful route. You go past the lake; it looks like Lake Tahoe on the way down to Ephesus. You go through the swamps down there around Pamphilia, where he contracted malaria, and you head over to Ephesus. But the Holy Spirit said, “No. Just keep going the way you’re going.” And we know the story–that he had a vision of a man of Macedonia, and for the first time, the gospel leaves Asia Minor and moves into Europe under the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit gave them boldness. The Holy Spirit initiated ministry in the New Testament. And the Holy Spirit directed ministry in the New Testament. Even Paul says in 1 Corinthians:2:4,5, he said, “My speech and my preaching was not with the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in contrast, it was in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith….” I agree with Jay. You can’t prove faith, evidence. You can talk about those things. But if you bring them to God’s Word, which will be our next point, it will pierce their hearts. I’ve seen it! I’ve watched it! 

“...that your faith should stand not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God.”

A. W. Tozer said that if you would have took the work of the Holy Spirit out of the Book of Acts, 90 percent of what we read would have never happened. And I agree with him! But he goes on to say, “If you took the power and the work of the Holy Spirit out of the church today, present and currently, 90 percent of the work would go on unaffected.” We have to get back to the reliance on the strength and power that Jesus said, “Don’t go do anything until you get it!” 

Now, listen, I know why people don’t seek it anymore: because the devil’s done a great job of making it look like the stupidest thing on the planet! Either people have bought into what John MacArthur has to teach, that the Holy Spirit just wound the church up in the first century and it’s not here anymore, cessationism; or they’ve seen what our hyper-Pentecostal brothers have made of it, and that’s just the flesh. That’s fake, and that’s phony. 

You know, we had that Wide Is the Gate conference in our church, and we got to know Caryl Matrisciana really well. Love that gal. And so we invited her to come and do our women’s retreat. And so that morning I took Kyle and her out to breakfast. And so we were sitting there talking, and she was telling me when she came back from the retreat, that she was gonna down to Sacramento. She had rented a motel there and she had her camera crew there, and they were gonna interview a lady from Bethel Church in Redding. And she just went on to talk about how whack that whole thing of the Holy Spirit is. 

And I said, “Caryl, there is a phony and a fake. There is a man-made expression that, because they’re not willing to do what it takes to get the real, they manufacture the phony. But there’s a real power in the Holy Spirit.” 

She said, “What?” 

And I said, “Caryl, I’m baptized in the Holy Spirit. I would not dare walk to the pulpit and stand before a congregation without the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

She goes, “Can I interview you?” 

And I said, “Yeah, you can interview me.” So we met her down there where she was interviewing the lady, and she sat me in a chair, and they turned the camera on. I just suppose she turned the camera on so she could record it and go back and look at it. And at the end of it, I said, “So, if you have any questions, call me. We love you, Caryl, but we want you to understand that you can do nothing without Him.” 

Well, in the mail, I get this DVD of Wide Is the Gate 3–Mike Warren! What? I’ve never even watched it, because that was impromptu, me telling another believer that, “Listen, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” There’s a reality and there’s a power. And it’s not what you see, what the televangelists–it’s not what you see at Bethel. There’s a reality to it.

And so Paul is saying, “When I stood before you, it was in the power,” because it’s the Holy Spirit that takes God’s Word and drives it into men’s hearts! And then the Word–“They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” 

You know, when you come into our church, we have a foyer, and then as you come to the foyer, there’s a hallway, and of course we have the bathrooms and those kinds of things. And then you enter into the sanctuary. But we had this one big blank wall that bothered me! It was just blank. And I was just saying, “Lord, I’d like to put something on there. I’d like to put something on there when they’re walking into the sanctuary, they’re reminded of something.” And so the Lord just gave me Ephesians:2:20-22, and so we had this lady in the church that makes signs, and she made this beautiful strip sign of this verse. Listen to what it says: “And we are built upon a foundation…” 

Listen, I’m a fundamentalist! I have a foundation! I have a sure foundation! I have a foundation that I am so convinced is sure, that I won’t stand on any other foundation. We are built upon a foundation of the apostles, the New Testament, the prophets, the Old Testament, Jesus Christ being the cornerstone, the One who holds it all together! That’s the Bible! In whom all of us are fitly framed together. We’re growing in the holy temple unto the Lord in whom also we’re built together for a habitation of God by the Spirit! That’s what the church is! We’re built on a foundation!

And again, going back to Psalms 11, “If the foundations be destroyed, what are we going to do?” Don’t let them! Continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, and the teaching of God’s Word! 

Romans:10:17 says, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” And the indication of that particular verse is even salvation comes by the hearing of God’s Word, that faith to save. And then it builds our faith, of course, after we’re saved. But I agree with Jay. You know what? Spurgeon said, when he was asked one time by a reporter, “Do you feel the need to defend the gospel?” He said, “Do you defend a lion? No, you just let him go! You just let him out!” You just speak the words of eternal life, and it will hit the heart. 

Well, that’s what Hebrews:4:12 tells us, and 13. Listen carefully: “For the Word of God is living.” It’s alive. It’s not a dead, stale document. It’s living, and it’s powerful, and it is sharper than any two-edged sword.

Now, the sword he’s talking about here is the makhaira, the short 18-inch sword that they used for piercing. Roman soldiers would take the broad sword, three foot long, and, you know, they tell us in history that it could cut a man right in half. This is not that sword, this is the one you use for up-close, in-person, face-to-face piercing. And so it’s saying that if you take that word up close, personal, face-to-face, it will pierce their heart. Did mine! “...piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, the joint and the marrow. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” because everybody knows–I agree with Jay–there are no atheists. There are people that are trying to hang their hat on it, because they’ve rejected the gospel. But you take the Word of God and you pierce them with it. You pray that the Holy Spirit would use that. 

We were up witnessing to…we live in Nevada City, and Anton LaVey moved the Church of Satan just 13 miles down the road way back when. And we had a lot of New Age people come in, and they had the Mecca restaurant there. And we used to go up Friday nights, because there were a lot of homeless kids, and take gallons of soup and coats and sleeping bags and tents, and we would minister to them. And one time we were up there, I had a few of my pastor friends visiting, and so I said, “Let’s go up tonight. We’re gonna be witnessing.” And so I had one guy–the pastor’s not far from here, so I won’t mention his name–and we’re witnessing to this guy, and you could tell he’s being disturbed. So I turned my Bible over and I said, “Read that!” And the demon manifested itself. And the guy behind him started doing all kinds of weird things and vomiting. And my pastor friend says, “And you look so calm, and I’m trying to find a place to go!” Well, why? Why do we fear those things? God’s Word is piercing that person. Authority’s not in me. It’s in His Word. And whatever was in him knew that. 

I would like to tell you he came to salvation that night, but he didn’t. But he heard. It pierces! It opens. It makes manifest everything that is inside before the Lord, and all things are naked and open before the eyes in whom we have to do. That’s what the Word of God can do.

And I’ve had, you know, Andy Stanley–of course you guys know Andy Stanley. Well, I think you know him from afar. I hope that to be true. But he recently said that we Calvary Chapel pastors are lazy. I don’t know if you heard that statement, because we just teach the Bible. That we’re not creative! We don’t know how to put together a creative, you know, stirring, emotional sermon, and I’m glad I don’t! I’m glad I don’t. 

But he made a statement–I told our elders, I said, “If he would have studied the Bible, he’d have never made that statement!” Because he said, “Nowhere in the Bible do we have an example of expositional teaching.” Oh, really? 

Nehemiah 8, they come back out of exile. The temple’s built; the walls are reconstructed. They find the book. And from morning to night, first in worship, they bow their heads and they raise their hands. And then the priest opened the book and read distinctly from it, and gave them the sense of it. That’s expositional teaching. That’s the Word of God bringing God’s people back to sanity. Amen? The Word of God!

We’ve got to move quickly. I see that they gave me an hour and fifteen minutes, and I’m glad for that. 

But fellowship, and this…you know, our people get, on Wednesday nights, at the church around 5–the service doesn’t start till 6:30–so they can fellowship. But it’s not fellowship around cars or motorcycles or fishing or hunting, it’s fellowship around the Word. 

Our Monday night men’s discipleship class, our Band of Brothers, we’re teaching to them and we are iron sharpening iron. In fact, that’s what it says in Proverbs:27:17: “As iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friends.” We are called to do that! That’s what fellowship is about. That’s what’s been happening this weekend as you’ve been sitting [at] lunch at different times with people, it’s iron sharpening iron! “Have you looked at this verse? Have you considered that? This is what God’s doing.” The conversations center around the goodness of the Lord, His Word. That’s the kind of fellowship–it’s koinonia, it’s having everything in common. And we’re reminding ourselves of that.

Hebrews 10, you know, and I got called on this during the Covid, chapter 10 verses 23-25 says, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another and provoke one another unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and as much the more as you see the day of the Lord approaching.” Fellowship! 

You know, I just read something in Barna’s research that if someone attends your church once every six weeks, they consider them a member. We don’t even put you on the visitors roster if that’s how often you come! No, we’re a family, fitly framed together. And our fellowship should be like iron sharpening iron. We pray for one another. We exhort one another. We hold each other accountable.

When the Covid thing hit, I looked at the Constitution of California, and I realized that our governor had the authority to shut things down for two weeks if it was a pandemic. And I want to follow the laws of the land, so for two weeks, we livestreamed. We had the worship team there, and if you tuned in on our livestream, it looked like a normal service. But we livestreamed our service for two weeks. But when I studied the Constitution, I found out that on the third week, it had to reach a pandemic–we have a number of nurses that attend our church, and they said, “We’re laying staff off in the hospital. It’s not reached a pandemic. We’ve had two cases, and all of them Nevada County.” And then, you know, on the third week, when he didn’t go to Congress and make it a law, we opened back up! You know, we put the First Amendment–we plastered it on every entrance into our church. And then I gave a message that morning that, listen, we are to be lawful people. Romans 13 makes that clear. But when Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin, they said, “You discern among yourselves which is more correct: that we should obey man, or God.” And when things come into direct contradiction to God’s Word, what do we stand on?

You see, my fear wasn’t that people would get Covid and die in our congregation. My fear was that the wicked one would disrupt our fellowship and tear us apart. And I wasn’t gonna allow that to happen. 

My wife, those two weeks, went and got a bunch of puppets out of the puppet ministry and put them on the front row. I was tired of preaching to puppets! 

[audience laughs]

Sometimes people look that way, though! But so I said, “No, we’re not doing that.” And now they’re starting it up again in California, and we’re not doing that. Pound sand, kick rocks. Because the greater concern for me is your spiritual well-being. 

And so we just told them, “If you want to wear masks, wear one. If you don’t, don’t.” Same protocol we always have during the flu and cold season. We have hand sanitizer everywhere. Don’t shake hands, bump elbows, tap toes, whatever it is to greet one another, but don’t shake hands. Don’t touch your face. If you have shaken hands, use the hand sanitizer. If you’ve got a cold, stay home. But we’re not going to forsake.

And I had the little speech waiting for the sheriff’s department to come and arrest me. They park in our parking lot, so I went out and did a preemptive strike. I told the sheriff, “Listen, we’re opening up next week.” 

He said, “I figured.” 

And I said, “So, if you’re gonna arrest me, then I’ve got a little speech I want to give you right now.” 

He said, “You don’t need to.”

And I go, “Why?” 

And he says, “‘Cause you’re right! We’re not gonna bother you! I don’t know why other pastors don’t do this.”

I said, “Are you a brother?” 

He says, “Absolutely I’m a brother! You might see me on Sunday!”

[audience laughs]

Do not neglect… Oh, and by the way, it doesn’t say, “Do not neglect the livestreaming of services.” There’s something that happens when the body of Christ gets together, amen?

I’m so glad for Berean Call, because they could have just switched over to an online conference. But they didn’t, because it’s rubbing shoulders with each other. It’s powerful this weekend, amen?

Well, let me move quickly. Breaking of bread: communion. You see, we are to never forget what Jesus Christ did for us. Never. We’re to honor that, that by His sacrifice and by His blood, He took a sinner like me, condemned unclean, and washed him. By one sacrifice, not by my works. God didn’t save me because I did good works, but because He is merciful, and He regenerated me through the power of the Holy Spirit. He washed me in His precious blood. He sent Christ to take my place on Calvary’s cross, that the guilty might go free, and the innocent might [not] suffer! And by that one sacrifice, I have been made so clean and so perfect, it was as though I never were a sinner! I never want to forget that. I never want our congregation to forget that. It’s not you, it’s Him. 

Communion–and then prayer. I think prayer is the thing that least happens in churches today. I…you know, again, following the model, this is the model we follow in our church. But following the model, our elders meet for a couple hours of prayer on Tuesday morning before we take care of any business in the church. We bring our hearts before the Lord. And most of our prayer is, “God, move in our congregation. Move upon hearts. Bring the lost, you know, stab them with Your Word, Lord! Lord, may Your Word go forth, you know, on the radio and different medias. May it go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit. May it do its work!” 

We actually…it’s more–not a prayer meeting, we actually are begging the Lord, “Do what You do! Get us out of the way!” 

We do that again on Thursday with an intercessory group. My Band of Brothers meet with me–it’s a group of men that we’re discipling. They meet with me as we meet on Mondays. Wednesday night, before the service, they gather in a room and we pray for the service! Sunday morning, we have our prayer group downstairs, but the men, the Band of Brothers, are up in my office, and we are praying that God would move in our services! That “God, You would do what only You can do! That You would save, and that You would sanctify, that You would do that work of Your Spirit. We’re praying for that!” 

Now, let me just give you a few verses. Matthew:21:13: “And he said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of…” what? Prayer!

Ephesians:6:18: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

Jude:1:20: “But ye beloved, build yourself up on the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”

Philippians:4:6,7: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”

James:5:16: “The effectual, fervent prayer of righteous men does not much.” Does it say that, Bereans? 

Audience: No.

Mike: See, that’s what the church acts like. “It avails much.” When you get up in the morning, pray that God will bring people your way, that you can witness to. 

You know, the other day, I own some property down in a town not far from us, and the city called me up and said, “You’ve got to come down and weedeat the lot.” It’s just a vacant lot. And so I took two of the guys I’m discipling with me, and we get down there. I said, “Let’s pray on the way down, because a couple of the neighbors are pretty upset, I understand. And so when we get down there, we’re gonna deal with some irate neighbors!” And so we were praying on the way down, and when we got there, sure enough, one came out to the fence and she started yelling and screaming. “What are you gonna do with those trees? And what are you gonna do with this? And what are you gonna do with that?” And she was afraid because a fire had swept through Paradise, a town not…and burned the whole town. And she was just afraid. So I walked over to her, and I said, “What's your name, sister?” I always address unsaved people as though they were saved, because, you know, God sees the things that are not as though they were. And I said, “What’s your name, sister?” 

“Well, my name’s Rachel.”

And I said, “Rachel, listen, Jesus Christ commands me to be a good neighbor. Whatever it takes to satisfy you and take away your fear, we’re gonna do that. But before we do that, would you pray with us, so that when we’re doing this work and pruning these trees, and doing this so that nobody gets hurt?”

“Do what?”

And I said, “Would you pray with us?” And we just prayed, and we prayed with the other neighbor. And then we realized there’s something we couldn’t do, and so those two neighbors are out there: “Well, you said you were gonna do this today! You were gonna get rid of that branch, you were gonna do this!” 

And I said, “Well, we’re not capable, you know. We don’t have the skillset. We need a climber to climb up it. And a guy stops out front of my property and said, “Hey, you guys need any help? I’m a climber.” Seriously! And the ladies look over at him, and he comes over, and he says, “But I won’t do it until we pray.” 

[audience laughs]

And so we all gathered around and we prayed! “The effectual, fervent prayer…” Bathe your day in prayer. Divine appointments. And she told me after we left, “I’ll calm down all the other neighbors. I got your back.”

[audience laughs]

“Thank you, Rachel! Thank you, Rachel!”

Let me end with this: let me ask you a question, and I want to read something. If the Apostle Paul were here today, traveling through the churches, what kind of an epistle do you think he would write? Have you ever thought about that? If the Apostle Paul was here today, and he traveled through America, traveled through California and visited the churches in the state I live in, or Oregon, what kind of an epistle do you think he would write? 

Well Jesus wrote one, to this time. We find it in Revelation:3:14. Please turn there, and I’ll conclude with this: “Unto the messenger…” Hey, pastors. That’s what I believe it says. “Unto the angel of the church of Laodicea…” The word “Laodicea” means “man rules.” Are we not living in a time when the wisdom of man–psychology, human wisdom, technique, method, and trauma, everything is ruling in the church but Jesus Christ, His Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Would you agree with me, that we’re living in that time and in that condition? Because I think Jesus is writing it. I’m one of those kinds of people who believe that the seven letters were written to different periods of time, and I believe the church of Laodicea… 

I got the wonderful privilege of visiting the ruins of Laodicea. First we went over to Hierapolis where the hot springs are, and when I stood on the ruins of Laodicea, you could look across the way and you could see the white mineral deposits from the hot springs. And then over this way, you could look and see Colossi that’s nestled in the mountains. The Lycus River Valley is there, and you can see the snow-covered mountains where the river comes down. And so that’s why he’s saying that, listen, He’s gonna talk about hot and cold, because they had built aqueducts from Colossi to Laodicea so they could bring in the refreshing cold water, and they built aqueducts across the Lycus Valley over to Hierapolis to bring in warm water to the city of Laodicea. 

Laodicea was leveled by an earthquake, and because it was a Roman province, the Roman government said, “Hey, we’ll come and build it for you.” They said, “No, no [they were a rich community], we don’t need your help.” 

So that’s kind of the background. But listen to what it says: “Unto the messenger of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things sayeth the Amen.” That means the surely-so-be-it. Amen–that settles everything, doesn’t it? Jesus, the Word, the faithful, the trustworthy and true witness. The beginning of the creation of God. The source of all life. He is addressing this church that has gone astray that’s man-ran and not Spirit-run that–authority’s on the wisdom of man, not set upon the Word of God. 

And as He’s addressing Himself to this church, He’s saying, “I am the Amen! I am the faithful One, and I am the trustworthy One. Listen, I am the beginning of all life. That’s who I am. I know your works, that thou art neither cold nor hot.”

Now, I’ve heard this interpreted many different ways, but I choose to interpret it, “You’re not therapeutic or refreshing.”

Now, watch what He says, because He says, “I would rather you be hot or cold.” Now, Jesus doesn’t want us to be cold. But the church is called to be therapeutic, ministering, healing balm of the gospel of Jesus Christ to those that are hurting, and refreshing to the body of Christ. Can I get an amen? 

“You are neither hot nor cold. So because you are lukewarm, I will [neither hot nor cold] I will spew you out of my mouth, because thou sayest…” This is the condition of the church today. “...because you say, I am rich, I increase with goods, and I have need of nothing.” I tell our elders–one dear elder always tries to build me up afterwards. He says, “Pastor, you are doing a good job.” No, I’m not! No, I’m not! Christ through me. Just a mud pot. I need Him. I need Him every day. I tell him we’re just men, and not very good ones at those. But we are regenerated and empowered and led of the Holy Spirit. Not our work–we’re invited into it.

“But you say, I’m rich, I increase with goods, I have need of nothing! But you don’t know that you’re really wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee, buy of me gold, tried in the fire, [gold tried in the fire] that thou mayest be rich, and a white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness does not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that you might truly see. For as many as I love, I rebuke and I chasten.” That’s why all of the warnings. We’ve come full circle. That’s why Berean Call is here. “For as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Now be zealous and repent.”

Is that not the message to the church today? Turn back to One who saved you. Put away the foolishness. Understand, you are nothing, but you’re in need. And by the way, what you’re in need of, the One that you can receive it from is willing to give it to you. And He won’t chide you that you didn’t know, amen? Amen?

Let’s pray.

Father, we thank You for Your Word. We just thank You for that work of Your Spirit. We thank You for the power of prayer, the fellowship that we have. Oh, and I didn’t get to that last part–but it says, “And the awe of God was upon every soul.” Father, may we bring back the fear of God in our congregations so that You might work, as it says they’re at the end, that You added to the church daily. Why? Because You could trust the church to be what it was supposed to be, because the fear of the Lord was there. 

And so, Lord, just bring us back. And, Lord, just give me, Pastor Mike, a short leash. Don’t let me stray. Keep me on track, Lord. Keep us on track. We’ve rounded last corner, we’re sprinting to the finish line. Help us, Father. Be merciful to us, Lord. Give us the mind and the heart of Christ. Fill us with Your Spirit, we pray. In the mighty name of Jesus we ask, and all God’s kids would say amen. Amen.

Thank you, guys.

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