“The
Holy Ghost—The Reward Of Obedience”
Acts 5:25-32
25) Then came one and told them, saying, Behold,
the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the
people.
26) Then went the captain with the officers, and
brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should
have been stoned.
27) And when they had brought them, they set
them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
28) Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?
and, behold, ye have filled
29) Then Peter and the other apostles answered
and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
30) The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom
ye slew and hanged on a tree.
31) Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be
a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to
32) And we are his witnesses of these things;
and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
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here
are many, today, who speak against the receiving of the Holy Ghost simply
because they, themselves, have not had the experience. If they would preach His
acceptance, they would also have to acknowledge their disobedience. This, of
course, they do not want to do. The fact remains that whether it is taught or
not, all who will obey the commandment to be filled,
will receive. Ever since the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost has been poured
out. Therefore, no one can say that he has obeyed the Word of God, and He then
refused to grant them His Spirit.
Being
the “perfect gentleman” that He is, the Lord doesn’t force anyone to comply to
the infilling or the life afterward. All who live saved will do so because they
are willing. He is a Helper to assist us in doing what is spiritual. We must
reiterate that this is the ultimate purpose in all He does—to help us
spiritually. His motivation is never to prosper or bless us simply to further
us in the flesh (or naturally), so neither should this be our motivation.
A
perusal of history will prove to us that where there is a great move of God in
the Spirit, there is a resultant upheaval in the church world. Why? Because
those not manifesting the power of the Spirit get upset that someone else is.
In our text, today, “church” officials wanted to stop the movement of Peter and
the other apostles to prevent the spread of the doctrine of Christ. You see,
once Jesus was crucified, men felt the offensive voice had been stilled, not
understanding that the silencing of one voice simply “births” another.
Today,
if we wish to see the manifestation of the miraculous power that should follow
those professing Christ, we must unify ourselves, stop fighting what God says
and simply agree with Him.
Never
can we afford to let popular opinion, timidity, ostracism, or anything else
keep us from promoting the truth of God. If His people would ever learn the
blessings of obeying Him rather than men, we would finally be able to fill our
role in His Kingdom.
In
that men are saved through the knowledge of what the Lord has done, His saints
can never be quiet. There is no greater testimony of the greatness of God than
that of one who has been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Despite
this, today’s church world is high on the preaching of prosperity for
prosperity’s sake because they know no better than to judge spiritually by
one’s financial state—what he has. Nevertheless, the truth is that one
“received by believing,” but is blessed by God when he receives the power of
the Holy Ghost.
All
of our blessings are enumerated in scripture. Whether peace, love, joy,
prosperity, power, health—it has been done. Perhaps health (or healing) is the
most elusive to us because long ago, Satan predicted that “… all that a man has
will he give for his life.” But, we have a Saviour of
divinity and flesh-and-blood who has beaten mercilessly and disfigured that we
might be healed for all eternity. When will the Saints of God ever step into
this blessing?
The
Holy Ghost is the focal point of it all. He has been given to us all the
“earnest” (that is, the down payment) of Jesus’ inheritance (all
that He has said He will do). This is much like the down payment on a
car. A salesman knows that if one puts up 10-15% of the cost of the automobile,
he is unlikely to walk away too quickly. This is exactly what Jesus wants us to
accept. After all He has “put up” in our behalf, He will never leave us.
Those
without the Holy Ghost need to understand that obedience will always lead
one to acceptance. If you are obedient to God (in His sight),
you should have spoken in tongues by now. Once we are obedient and
receive, we go to experience more and more obedience. Those of you who secretly
fear rejection need to understand that you must trust God to do what you could
not do—speak with tongues (meaning, “in another language”).
The only way to get the Holy Ghost is through obedience and the only way to
be saved is through obedience. Won’t you decide to make today your day of
reward?