Could the Holy Ghost be the missing piece in your spiritual puzzle? Join me, JJ, as we examine the vital presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives and delve into the biblical foundation of the New Testament church. In this enlightening episode, we investigate the birth of the church as documented in the Book of Acts, providing insights into how early believers navigated the complexities of faith, fellowship, and adversity. With a focus on accurate scriptural interpretation, we lay the groundwork for future episodes that promise to deepen your understanding and strengthen your spiritual walk.
This week's discussion extends beyond the church pews, embracing the call of Acts 20:20 to carry Jesus' teachings into our homes and communities. I share compelling narratives of the early church's inaugural miracle and how such acts of faith ignited rapid church growth amidst trials. We also grapple with the importance of inclusivity in sharing the gospel and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of apostles like Peter and John. Whether you're a seasoned believer or seeking a more profound connection with the divine, our exploration offers a rich tapestry of wisdom for your spiritual journey.
Could the Holy Ghost be the missing piece in your spiritual puzzle? Join me, JJ, as we examine the vital presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives and delve into the biblical foundation of the New Testament church. In this enlightening episode, we investigate the birth of the church as documented in the Book of Acts, providing insights into how early believers navigated the complexities of faith, fellowship, and adversity. With a focus on accurate scriptural interpretation, we lay the groundwork for future episodes that promise to deepen your understanding and strengthen your spiritual walk.
This week's discussion extends beyond the church pews, embracing the call of Acts 20:20 to carry Jesus' teachings into our homes and communities. I share compelling narratives of the early church's inaugural miracle and how such acts of faith ignited rapid church growth amidst trials. We also grapple with the importance of inclusivity in sharing the gospel and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of apostles like Peter and John. Whether you're a seasoned believer or seeking a more profound connection with the divine, our exploration offers a rich tapestry of wisdom for your spiritual journey.
Hello everybody and welcome to today's episode of Walk With Me. I am your host, jj. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining us on this journey through God's Word, and we're going to talk about a lot of Bible things that should have impact on us every single day and about how the Bible is still relevant even in today's world, and how wicked everything is, and all of that. You guys can be listening to any other podcast, but you've chosen to listen to this one. I really do appreciate it. Thank you all for the likes and the shares and telling other people about it. Thank you all for even putting us to the point where iHeartRadio picked us up. Thank you so much for that. It's all you and God. None have got nothing to do with JJ here. Thank you all so much. Thank you so much, so much, so much. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:A big shout out to our sponsors, exquisite Creations, and big shout out to True Boss, lyricist, that's been helping us set up first the audio equipment, the microphone and all that stuff, but now giving us some help transitioning from just a audio podcast to an actual video podcast, which is funny because when people ask me about my podcast, the first thing they say is is there any video? So okay, and you know, at first I had to be honest with you guys. I was sort of resistant to the whole video part, because I'm like, yeah, why do you need to see my face? It's really about the Word of God and you can follow along with the Word of God, but it's not really about my face. So we're going to be putting together a video format. It's coming soon. Be patient. But in the meantime, we can still talk about the word of God. We can still talking about live for God and how to do it. So that's what we're going to continue on today.
Speaker 1:If you've been listening to the last couple episodes, it's been more along the lines of why do we need the Holy Ghost? And we have some of the questions that we've gotten. Oh, also, before I forget, if you have any questions, feel free to send them to me. Walk with me Bible study at gmailcom. Walk with me Bible study at gmailcom. If you don't want to have your name put out over the air, just leave the subject line blank. If you want your name put out over the air, so you know that this is the question that you sent, go ahead and put your name in the subject line. So I know, because if I otherwise I will keep the questions private I will still address them over the radio. I say radio over the podcast, but it'll be in a format where I'm not saying hey, so and so, from this city, wrote and said this because you know, know, some things, some things when we're trying to find God are a little private, and I understand that Some things are public, some things are private, some things you don't want to make public, but you know what we're all trying to make it to heaven, right. So again, walk with me. Biblestudy at gmailcom. Thank you for your comments, your emails, your questions. Study at gmailcom. Thank you for your comments, your emails, your questions, your encouragements. Thank you so much for all of that, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:With that being said, we're going to go ahead and get into our lesson today. Our lesson today is going to start on the New Testament church. What is the New Testament church? Why is that a thing and what happened to that church? That's going to be what we're going to be talking about for the next couple of sessions, unless I get a bunch of questions rolled in again, all right, and by questions I mean like questions. I can't say, hey, this is the scripture for that. There's a lot of questions that people have, have a lot of different bases that have to be brought out and I feel like I'm rambling, so let's go ahead and get started Now.
Speaker 1:Please understand that the book of Acts is where the New Testament church starts. Yes, jesus mentioned the church when he was talking to Peter. Jesus mentioned the church when he was talking to Peter, but he was only mentioning it in the thing, that of a sort of a short term prophecy that was to come Like, hey, I'm going to build my church on this rock, not on the rock where he was standing, but on the rock of the truth, because and we'll get into that because the Bible says that the rock was Christ. So Jesus is building the church on himself, right? So we sit there and we got to understand that the book of Acts is where the church began.
Speaker 1:Who wrote the book of Acts? Well, luke wrote the book of Acts. Now, who was Luke? Luke was an apostle that was also a doctor, so he was very well educated. He was very precise in the things that he said and what he did. He's pretty much a smart guy. He's one of the smartest apostles that they had there. Peter was the ruffian, luke was the doctor, and then you had a couple of other people who were tax collectors and so forth and so on. Now the book of Acts reveals how the church was born, how it was inaugurated and then, most importantly, it revealed the persecution of this newborn church, of this newly created church.
Speaker 1:All right, so now again, just like every other time, we kind of go with one or two scriptures just for the sake of time. But we have a saying here at Walk With Me, read a verse or two above, a verse or two below, but preferably the whole chapter. Why? Because and everybody say it with me context is key. That's right. Context is key. We don't want to be making up new false doctrines and just saying all kinds of nonsense, because that's not going to help us. You, me or anybody else. Keep everything in context and we'll get on the way to heaven, shall we? Now let's talk about. We're not actually going to start with a lot of acts. So what we're going to do is we're going to jump over to 1 Peter or 2 Peter, 1 and 16. And this actually goes back to what we were talking about, about making up false doctrines.
Speaker 1:We have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses to his majesty. In other words, they saw it, they walked it, they lived it, they breathed it. It was like no one could tell you how well that football game was, that concert was or how that experience was, if we weren't there with you. And you were there and you were experiencing it firsthand. And you may tell me a different, one account of what happened. One account of what happened is somebody who went to the exact same event standing right next to you may also have a different, slightly varying account of what happened. That's just how it is when people see things. They see things differently, but they are not going to say anything. That's overtly false. So, for example, if we both go to the baseball game, you say, hey, man, this guy had four home runs and this guy did this and that coach did that, and then there was a brawl in the seventh and then after that we won and this was the score. If I came back and said, yeah, well, it was a defensive struggle. And then somebody streaked onto the field and then I like we told a completely different scenario. Then you know that somebody ain't telling the truth, because you just thought you was talking about home runs and hits and stuff. I'm talking about strikeouts and defensive struggles. So the account can be similar and they may have some differences, but if it's contradicting each other, then you know that something's wrong.
Speaker 1:The New Testament church known for, and besides having the Holy Ghost, there were also some things that were known for, such as teaching the Bible or teaching what Jesus said the gospel, or teaching what Jesus said the gospel, fellowshipping among each other and breaking bread and going from house to house and again encouraging each other in the gospel. So here we had now the fellowship, the fellowship aspect of the church. What was that about? One, it was about teaching what the apostles were told to teach Matthew 28 and 20, acts 2 and 42. 28 and 20 from Matthew says Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever. I have commanded you and lo, I am with you all the way, even to the end of the world, amen. And Acts 2 and 42 says and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking bread and prayers. And fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles and all that were believed together and had all things in common. So they were literally like one big family, an extended family.
Speaker 1:But what was the point of that? Romans 10 and 17 puts it very succinctly. So, then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. They didn't have to go sit in the synagogue and turn on YouTube and listen to preacher, pastor, deacon, doctor, so-and-so. The apostles who were right there next to Jesus, taught exactly what Jesus wanted them to teach Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand, get baptized in Jesus' name and now get the Holy Ghost. So this is what they were basically, all that they were preaching, that's it. And then, of course, they started talking about what the Holy Ghost would do and how to live your life, and so forth and so on.
Speaker 1:So now, the other thing that that the apostles did was fellowship among each other, and it wasn't like some people that you only see in church, but you don't really see them any other time. Now, generally, that's something else going on. Either they got work or I'm not going to begin to speculate what's going on with that, but the apostles in the New Testament church fellowshiped a lot, and there was a reason for that. Remember Acts 2 and 42 and 44, but also 1 John, 1 and 3. That which we have seen and heard declare we are to you that you also have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father, which is His Son, jesus Christ. So basically, that verse is saying hey, listen, we're fellowshipping with each other, but we're also fellowshipping with the Spirit of God that dwells in us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, some people might say. And there's something else I could say too. Listen, I've got the Holy Ghost, I can fellowship with just me. That's exactly how you can end up in the spirit of error. So you got to be real careful about that. I have to be real careful about that and because naturally, jj is a little bit of an introvert, it's no secret. But here's the problem we are supposed to be fellowshipping with each other not only to talk about, you know, things going on in our lives, but to encourage each other in the Lord.
Speaker 1:Like if you see somebody going through something, the spirit of God will tell you hey, man, that guy needs encouraging. Do something. The spirit of God will tell you hey, man, that guy needs encouraging, and sometimes you would even say something you don't even know what exactly you would. You don't even be saying something that you're not even sure what type of effect is having on the other person. Let's say praise the Lord, I love you, and that person has not heard that in a week and has been feeling left out alone and who knows what. Well, who knows what kind of lie the devil's been telling that person. But now you hear that and you're thinking, oh my God, I really matter, and this is why fellowship is so important.
Speaker 1:Now there is also a thing we talk about breaking bread from house to house. Now witnesses told everyone about what God was doing in their day. There was no CNN or MSNBC or Fox or news channel dot com or anything like that. It was really, basically, people were spreading the word of God from mouth to mouth. You go over there, hey man. I saw what Simon Peter did when he told that guy to get up and walk and he went into the temple leaping and praising God. That was the social networking that we had back then. That was social media, Not like what we have now, but that was the social media of the time and it actually showed how well the truth was being spread and not being corrupted.
Speaker 1:Acts 20 and 20 Says I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and you have taught you publicly, from house to house. Yes, that's exactly right. You don't have to go to the cathedral of the church on the corner with the striped barber pole in the front. You could just go from house to house. And this is not the same thing of you know. Forsaken is something of yourselves together, so don't get it twisted. But you can go from house to house or drop somebody you know. Drop by and see somebody and say hey man, I haven't heard from you in a while. Drop him a text message. Hey man, what's going on? Are you OK? That kind of thing, that's what that? That's the kind of body that God desires, that tight-knit body.
Speaker 1:Now, that does not mean that we become exclusive, that we keep people out because they don't have the Holy Ghost. That's not true either, because, remember, our main goal is preaching the gospel. Now, if we want to be preaching the gospel, who are we going to be preaching it to? We've got to be preaching to people who don't have it, who don't have the Holy Ghost, who don't know the power of God in that way, the people who are looking for a deeper walk with God. That's exactly what this podcast is all about. You and I, we're walking together, we're breaking bread together, going from house to house. So this is what the Bible tells us to do.
Speaker 1:But the other thing that we're supposed to do and this is a common, you know, kind of a symptom of the church's prayer, after you know how, they were praying in the upper room and I've seen a lot of Christians go through this and I almost went through this, so in full disclosure so, when they were up in upper room and it was praying for seven days, it was praying for seven days and then they got the Holy Ghost. Well, a lot of people, a lot of people will say, ok, well, I got the Holy Ghost now and then stop praying. That's very dangerous, because if you stop praying, then you stop having that communication with God. Yeah, the Holy Ghost is still, you know, working inside you, but it gets harder and harder. It's like trying to drive a car and you're not checking the oil. Yeah, it runs okay for a little while and everything seems to run okay for a little bit, but eventually you start hearing the noise in the engine, it doesn't get as good gas mileage and then suddenly one day out the blue, you either throw a rod or lock the engine up. It's exactly that same way. That prayer is you checking your oil, your spiritual oil, and I know you may have heard a lot of people say this, you may have heard a lot of people say this. That really didn't live up to what being a Christian was about. But that doesn't make it not true.
Speaker 1:We have to continue to pray even after we get the Holy Ghost, because that number one that recharges our spirit, recharges our walk with God. It communicates with God, you know, and God tells us to pray for stuff. And not only are we praying for repentance, we're praying for forgiveness and we're praying for. You know an answer for whatever's going on in our lives. If you're having troubles with your relationship with your spouse or your kids, that's why you're praying. If you have a relationship not relationship on your job, but if you're having problems on your job, you're praying for that and you're just praying that you stay in the will of God. So there's a lot of reasons to pray even after you've gotten the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost just allows you that supernatural connection to get in there.
Speaker 1:Now, what was the first miracle of the church? Now, the first miracle that was actually performed after the ascension of Jesus Christ, because that in itself is a miracle, but, remember, the church hadn't been born yet. So, yeah, so that doesn't count that was the healing of the lame man. Now, this power, that miracle produced evidence that there was the power of Jesus Christ that was upon his followers, because Jesus also healed the land. That let everybody know that these guys were the real deal and they followed the real God. They followed the real God. So, as a result of this, people gathered, peter started preaching sermons and many believed and many souls were added.
Speaker 1:We'll look at Acts, chapter 3, verse 6 through 8. And this was the guy who was sitting outside the temple and basically he was asking people for donations and stuff. As he was sitting in front of the temple, peter said silver and gold have I? None, but such as I have, give I to thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength and he leapt up, stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping. And he leapt up, stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping and praising God. This is Acts chapter 3.
Speaker 1:Remember, the book of Acts, in chapter 2, shows the birth of the church. Peter had never done any healing before that Matter of fact. Peter was the one who cut off the guard's ear, who came to arrest Jesus, and it was Jesus that healed him. Now, after the initial outpouring of the Holy Ghost, 3,000 more souls got added. So the church was growing by loops and bounds and then, after the miracle of the guy With the ankle bones outside the temple, the church added like 5,000 more souls.
Speaker 1:Acts chapter 4. How be it? Many of them, which had heard the word, believed, and the number of the men are about 5,000. Now, this is 4 and 4. And we're going to talk about that because Peter and John actually stood trial because of that. That made a total of 10,000 people, 10,000 people who was converted from the day of Pentecost to that time.
Speaker 1:Now what happened? The giving spirit of the church. And now this is exactly what happened after that, after the whole novelty of, you know, people getting the Holy Ghost and people believing the church became a giving entity. Now there was a singleness of the devotion and dedication of the early church. They were God centered and they had concern for one another's needs.
Speaker 1:And this didn't mean you just went out and threw money into the hands of beggars. This is not what happened. If you had a need, you brought it, you kind of made it known and someone would take care of that need for you. But then you were also taking care of one of their needs too. It was kind of a barter system in a way. Let's say, hey, man, and I'm just going to use it for today's standards, hey, my shower doesn't work right and I don't know how to fix it and I don't have the money to go play put-in-the-bar. Well, Jeff, over here is a plumber, he's got the Holy Ghost, so he comes over and fixes your tub and in return you say, hey, what do you need me to do, man, I got to do my taxes. I hate math. Blah, blah, blah. And you sit down and you do his taxes. And so, basically, the church had its own growing sort of economy within itself.
Speaker 1:And this was these two things were the two things that actually started the persecution of the church, because this actually brought the church into a more tightly knit, cohesive unit. Tightly knit cohesive unit. The fact that everyone was breaking bread and talking and worshiping God and not relying on the government of, say, rome and the Sadducees and the Pharisees, but they were actually relying on God, and their reliance on God brought them blessings and allowed them to be blessings to other people. So blessings and allow them to be blessings to other people. So the issue other issue that was going on was that God was teaching them how to be good stewards. Neither was there any of them among them that lacked. We're still in Acts, chapter 4. Neither was there any among them that lacked. So let's stop right there, because people somehow get the idea, because we're trading things back and forth, that somehow we're all poor. No, none of them had anything that they lacked. They were all well off. So they all were well off.
Speaker 1:Well off, so they all were well off, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses, sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them down. The apostles' feet and distribution was made unto every man according to as he had need. Well, now wait a minute. If that's the case, then once you sold that property, you had no more property. But that's OK, because in that case, in that time, when you were selling property and you were voluntarily selling property, I don't understand why and I'm going to say this, I'm going to wrap it up I don't understand why people get the idea that, because the Bible says this in this particular verse, that you were not allowed to own anything, the apostles were voluntarily selling their possessions. They were voluntarily helping each other, and the reason why they had the possessions in the first place was to feed them, was to give them money and clothing. It was nothing to do with status. So when they were able to help other people, the people that they helped also helped them back Again. It was its own economy. So keep in mind too.
Speaker 1:And then this sort of and this sort of came to me when I was reading that. You know, the Levites in the Old Testament Were the priests of God, but the Levites in the Old Testament Didn't have an inheritance. They didn't have. They basically lived To preach the word of God. They literally lived to preach the law of God. They literally lived to preach the law of God, and the rest of the congregation was supporting them through their tithes and offerings, because that's what God commanded. Now, that's just a minor, microscopic. I mean. We're going to talk about the persecution of the church Next week Because it gets. This actually is what caused the persecution, and we're going to Talk about how them doing what God told them to do and volunteering to do more than what God Told them to do Actually led to the persecution and it's not going to be what you think.
Speaker 1:All right, I love you, each and every one of you, all who listen. I hope this maybe inspired some questions, sparked some questions, sparked some conversation. Thank you all who send me emails. Thank you all again. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you me emails. Thank you all again. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Tell somebody that you love them today, and you may be the only person that does it. And I'm not saying just run down the street throwing flower petals on the ground. I'm saying, like you know, maybe God may tell you to tell somebody that God loves them and that you love them. You never know, you never know the person you tell that to might get the Holy Ghost and be the next mega church pastor on fire leading a great revival. You never know. You never know what God needs us to do. All right, I love you all so much. Thank you all. God bless you all. See you next time.