The Acts of the Apostles details the five-fold operation of the Holy Spirit, beginning with His baptism, as seen in Acts 1:5 and 11:16, which unites believers into the body of Christ. The sermon then explores the filling of the Spirit, a daily experience for believers, exemplified by Peter, Stephen, Barnabas, and Paul, enabling them for service and witness. It further discusses the Holy Spirit's call to specific ministry, as demonstrated with Barnabas and Saul in Acts 13:2, and His guidance in directing the apostles' missionary journeys, preventing them from going to Asia and Bithynia in Acts 16:6-7. Finally, the sermon highlights the Holy Spirit's role in raising up competent leadership within the church, as described in Acts 20:28, concluding that these operations provide a comprehensive understanding of the Spirit's work in the early church and for believers today.
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This morning we were looking at the teaching concerning the Holy Spirit and the Gospel by John. And tonight I want to look at a five-fold operation of the Holy Spirit and the Acts of the Apostles. I want you to notice the words as we go along. Acts chapter one. We'll read from the beginning. The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. until the day in which he was taken up, after that he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive, after his passion, by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father. Which saith he, you have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Not many days hence. The first operation of the Holy Spirit here is the baptism. The baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now notice it's in the future. Now chapter four. On verse five. And it came to pass on the morrow that the rulers and elders and scribes and Amos the high priests, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priests, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them ye rulers of the people and elders of israel if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man by what means he has made whole be it known unto you all unto all the people of israel that by the name of jesus christ of nazareth whom he crucified whom god raised from the dead even by him. So this man stand here before you fall." The second term is the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Peter filled with the Holy Ghost. Now let's look at chapter thirteen on verse one. Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers as Barnabas and Simeon with us called Niger, and Lucius of Smyrene, and Manet, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost departed unto Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salama, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. and they also had John to their minister. Here is the call of the Holy Ghost to special service. My chapter sixteen for a fourth operation. Acts chapter sixteen and verse six. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Messia, They ascended to go into Bethania, but the Spirit suffered them not.
And then passing by, Messiah came down to Troas, and a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering. that the Lord has called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore, losing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothresia on the next day to Minopolis. The fourth operation here is the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Word of the Lord. Now one final passage please in chapter twenty.
And we'll read from verse twenty eight. Paul here is speaking to the elders of the church at Ephesus. Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grieve his wolves enter in the manger, not sparing the flock. Also of your own self shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I cease not to warn every one night and day with tears.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God unto the word of his grace. which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver or gold or a pearl. Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities unto them that were with me. I have showed you all things, are the sole living. You ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, however he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Here we get the operation of the Holy Spirit in raising up leaders in the Church of God.
Read here about overseers or elders, shepherds, and we are told that the one that raises them up is the Holy Spirit. Now tonight for a little while I want to look at this red book, the Acts of the Apostles and the different mentions in it concerning the operation of the Holy Ghost. I suppose there are more references in the Acts than in any other book in the New Testament, that is to the Holy Spirit. I think if you took a concordance you would find about seventy-one times in the Acts you find the Holy Spirit of God mentioned. Now again it's obvious we haven't time tonight to look at all these references but I would like to suggest that this five-fold operation that we have read tonight these selections from the Acts of the Apostles practically cover the ground of the operation of the Holy Spirit of God at the present time in the service of God.
The Acts of the Apostles has been called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The one who used that term was Dr. A.T. Pearson many years ago. The Acts of the Apostles, of course, is a term that's put there by men. It's not a part of the book itself. But when Dr. Pearson suggests that the title of the book should be the Acts of the Holy Spirit, I think that that is a more apt title. But in any case, right throughout this history of the Church of God, during a period of approximately thirty years, the first generation of Christianity, we find the work of the Holy Spirit outlined for us in a most wonderful way.
Now before we look at this five-fold operation of the Holy Spirit, just a word or two about the book itself. The book gives us an account of how the gospel spread from the religious capital of the world, Jerusalem, until it reached the political capital, that is the city of Rome. And it covers a period of approximately thirty years. Now there are three men who are prominent in it. And along with these three men we find three great conversions that are deliberately picked up on showing us what conversion really is. And then the third thing is three great Mishmi journeys.
Now just a word or two about the three men. The first man, of course, was the Apostle Peter. And the first seven chapters of the Acts of the Apostles is occupied principally with his labors. A man that God chose. Gave him the keys of the kingdom to open the door of the Gospel both to Jew and Gentile. And so the first man in the book is the Apostle Peter. Now in chapter eight we find the Holy Spirit does a wonderful work in stretching out to a place called Samaria. Now the one who laid the foundation of the work in that area was our Lord himself. We get the historical account of that in John chapter four.
You remember that lovely story of how the Lord met the woman of the well. And then afterwards through her testimony and the testimony of others there in Samaria a wonderful work was done. Now the Holy Spirit wanted that work developed, and he raised up a man called Philip, and he takes him away from other labors, sends him down there to Samaria. It took his reputation in the times when he did that, but it was the work of the Holy Spirit and sending him there. And there was a wonderful revival in Samaria at that time. So the second great name is Philip, Philip the Evangelist. And then in chapter nine, the Lord lays his hand upon an individual stall of churches, and he's converted to God.
And the remaining part of the book, from chapter nine through to the end of the book, is principally occupied by the livers of the Apostle Paul. So there are three men. First of all, Peter, secondly, Philip, and thirdly, the Apostle Paul. And then there are three outstanding conversions. Now these conversions, I believe, are deliberately picked, deliberately selected by the Holy Spirit of God to show us what conversion is. One is a man who comes from Africa, another is a man who comes from Asia, and the third is a man who comes from Europe. One is a son of Ham, one is a son of Shem, and one is a son of Japheth.
And we get a detailed account of how these three selected individuals were brought to the Lord. Now the first one, the Ethiopian euluch, he was brought to the knowledge of salvation through personal work. You know, I do thank God today for anyone who has this tremendous gift, the table to sit around beside a person, open up the scriptures to them and point them to the Lord. I must confess that I don't have that gift. There's something about my makeup. I find it difficult to do that. After preaching now for fifty years, Well, while God knows there is a real exercise of standing up before an audience, but at the same time, for me, it's a down face to face with an individual and look them in the eye and open the Bible and point them to Christ.
I find that a little bit difficult. But I do thank God for any brother or any sister who has that gift. And my dear brother or sister tonight, if you have that gift cultivated, I believe it's the gift of the Holy Spirit of God to sit down beside an individual and point them to Christ. You know, the Gospel according to John, there's some beautiful, beautiful illustrations of this work in the ministry of our Lord Himself. Quite a number of individuals that he interviewed. and opened up the scriptures to them and led them to living faith. So in the Ethiopian eunuch we get there an example of personal dealing, a man face to face with another man on leading into Christ.
So the second case is a case of God's direct intervention without any human instrumentality. That is the Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarshish. And while he's on the way to Damascus, the Lord lays his hand upon him. direct intervention of the Lord Himself. I believe that the Apostle Paul, on his conversion, not only is it an example of God's personal intervention with the individual without any human instrumentality, but at the same time, it's a pattern on type of what God will do with the nation in the coming days. Paul says that himself. He said, my conversion was a pattern. It was a type.
He was one born out of due time, and just as God did with his servant in leading him to personal faith on the Damascus Road, it will be the same intervention of God himself when he will deal with the nation in the coming day, and he will reveal himself to them. Now the third case is the case of Cornelius, and there is the case of Congregational preaching. Simon Peter is sent for, and he comes to the house of Cornelius, and he stands up and opens his mouth and preaches. And the result is that the Holy Ghost comes down. And all those that heard the word were told that they were brought to living faith in the Lord Jesus.
So these three great outstanding cases of conversion, they're not only representative of three great sections of the human race. Africa, Asia, Europe. but they're also representative of three different kinds of conversion. It shows that God is sovereign in his working with individuals. And then there are three great missionary journeys. And I believe that any man or woman who has an interest in the spread of the gospel, either at home or abroad, should very carefully study the principles laid down in connection with these three great missionary journeys. You know, in AD forty, there was not a single New Testament church outside the land of Palestine.
AD forty. On an AD sixteenth, when Paul is bidding goodbye to the elders at Ephesus a period of approximately twenty years, every province in the Roman Empire, the four great provinces of the Roman Empire had been evangelized. And at all the strategic centers in the Roman Empire, New Testament assemblies, New Testament churches had been established. Now that is a piece of missionary work that never has been equaled in the annals of the church. And I believe that the patron is laid down here of how we should carry on the work of the Lord, on any servant of God that is anxious to learn. The method that God uses in the establishment of New Testament churches should very carefully study the three missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul.
So there are the three men. the three conversion, and then the three great missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul, and the methods that he used not only in preaching, but also in the establishment of New Testament churches, the pattern was laid down for us in the Acts. Now, as well as this, there's no book in the Bible where we find the operation of the Holy Spirit of God more detailed than in the Acts of the Apostles, opened up for us in a marvelous way. And I thought for a few minutes tonight, I want to take this five-fold operation of the Holy Spirit. And just very briefly, look at it, and I think when we do, we'll see the great broad foundations of the work of the Holy Ghost in the age in which we live.
Now, the first term that's used in connection with this operation is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And the second one is the filling of the Holy Spirit. I don't need to tell you that there are many, many in Christendom today that have these two terms. Completely confused. Since I came to this conference, the booklet that was written by our dear brother, Harold McKay, I have been reading it. And all I can say is I agree one hundred percent with a very lovely exposition of these two terms that our brother has given. And all I can do tonight is just add my Amen to what he has said. Well, just let's look at it again just for a moment or two on the difference between the baptism and the filling.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is only mentioned seven times in the New Testament, only seven times. Now, four of them are those parallel passages in the Gospels at the baptism of our Lord. You remember John the Baptist said that the one that he baptized, he said he would baptize you with the Holy Ghost on fire. And we get four parallel passages in the four Gospels where we get the baptism of the Holy Spirit historically, or at least prophetically. John is speaking about something that our Lord would do. Notice that the baptizer, the one who does the baptizing, is the Lord himself.
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire. Some people today would say that the fire there is a baptism of the day of Pentecost in the upper room. But if you look at the context, I believe there's a contrast between the baptism in water, the baptism that we get there of the Holy Ghost. And secondly, the baptism in fire. I believe baptism in fire there is a lake of fire. As a matter of fact, John makes that perfectly plain when he explains the passage. A person can be either baptized in the Holy Ghost or baptized in fire. I don't think that the baptism in fire there has anything at all to do with the baptism that took place on the day of Pentecost.
It's either one or the other. It's either being baptized by the Holy Ghost, by the Lord Himself, or else being baptized in eternal punishment in the lake of fire forever. This is what the Word of God teaches. Now we get these first four references to the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of our Lord. Now in the Acts there are two mentions of it. I read one of them in chapter one and verse five. And our Lord, before he went back to heaven, he said, We shall be baptized in the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Now what he's speaking about is the Holy Spirit coming down at Pentecost and baptizing one hundred and twenty believers into the body of Christ.
It was a historical event, the two plays on the day of Pentecost. Now the second occurrence, we find it in chapter eleven in the Acts. And again the Apostle Peter, in speaking of what happened in the heart of Cornelius, he uses the same term. And he said, he speaks about a like this. That is that what happened at Pentecost, it also happened in the heart of Cornelius when Peter was preaching. When we take these two together, I think that we find a complete fulfillment of the great type that we find in Leviticus chapter twenty three. It would be interesting to turn over to that passage tonight and occupy a little time and speaking about it.
I leave that to your own personal reading and investigation. But do you remember on the day of Pentecost, or at least the feast of Pentecost in Leviticus XXIII, we read there that two wave loaves were baked with leaven, two tenth deals of fine flour. They were taken and they were baking with leaven. And they were offered before the Lord. They were weighed before the Lord. Now it has often been pointed out by those that expand the Feast of Jehovah, that the two weighed loaves that were offered at the Feast of Pentecost, they represent the Jews and the Gentiles. And notice they were baking with leaven.
Do you remember that the Mila offering, Leviticus chapter two, there was no leaven? That was completely excluded. You remember the four different ingredients of the meal offering, representing our Blessed Lord. We eat about the fine flour. We eat about the oil and the salt and the frankincense. Oh, how beautifully these represent the holy, sinless, impeccable character of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is the meal offering of Leviticus chapter two. But the new meal offering of Leviticus twenty-three is baked in this letter. Why was the leaven excluded in chapter two and also honey? Well, leaven in scripture, it always speaks of sin.
It always speaks of weakness and failure. And as far as our Lord was concerned, that was completely excluded. But I used to think, why was it that the honey was excluded? The honey was a very, very precious thing. The land, it was a land of milk and honey, and I wondered why the honey was excluded from the meal offering in Leviticus chapter two. But you know, I heard an expression some years ago that completely cleared up the difficulty for me. And the expression was, honey is a perfect medium for the development of leaven. It works on the sugar in the honey. And the result is that both honey and leaven were excluded from the meal offering.
But in the new meal offering of Leviticus XXIII, we read it was taken with leaven. Now the new meal offering there, it speaks of Jew and Gentile that were baptized into the one body at the birthday of the church. And I believe that the Jew is Acts chapter two, and the Gentile is Acts chapter ten and eleven. And the two together is a complete fulfillment of the type that we find in Leviticus chapter twenty-three. They were baptized into the one body. You know, again, to look at the passage in Acts chapter two, a passage that very often is misconstrued and misinterpreted. Read that the day Pentecost was being fulfilled.
And a hundred and twenty believers, Eunice, were gathered together in the upper room. And there came a rushing mighty wind. And then we read the cloven tongues of the fire that abode upon them. And we read that they were baptized. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost. And then they began to speak in other languages, in other tongues, and the Spirit gave them utterance. Now notice the three things that happened on my day. First of all, there was something audible, the mighty rushing wind. Secondly, there was something visible. The cloven tongues of the fire.
And then there was something articulate that they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them the power. And when we take these things and put them together, we find something historic that took place at that time. The baptism of those of the hundred and twenty believers into the body. You know, you can't think of anything more powerful in nature than wind and fire. And you take the two of them and put them together, they're absolutely devastating. And both wind and fire, I believe, are very, very vivid, graphic types of the power of the Holy Spirit of God. The only way that I can illustrate it is, if you're ever in Pittsburgh, and went through a blast furnace.
We have relatives in that area. Sometimes I've gone along to those great steel mills along the Monongahela Valley. And in those steel mills I have large furnaces. Now the iron ore, great big lumps of iron ore that have been dug out of the quarry, dug out of the mountain, they're brought along there. And they're put in the furnace. First of all, they put a layer of coal, and then a layer of limestone, and then a layer of iron ore, and then coal, limestone, iron ore, coal, limestone, iron ore, until the whole furnace is completely filled. Then they set fire to it. And then they take a blast of air, and that air is blown up through the furnace.
And after a time, the tremendous heat that is generated, those pieces of iron ore, those great big lumps of crude iron ore in the furnace, they're first of all melted. And then secondly, they're fused. First of all, melted by tremendous heat, and then they're fused. And then the foreman, he comes along, and he opens the vent. And that steel comes out of the furnace, and it's all in one unit. It's all in one piece. Now, on the day of Pentecost, there were a hundred and twenty units, just like the crude iron ore. But the Holy Ghost came down. And through the operation of the Holy Spirit of God, instead of being our hundred and twenty units, they were baptized into one body.
And they became one body that day. It was something historic. It was something inclusive. And it was something final. Now, the only other place where we find the baptism of the Holy Spirit used in the Bible is that great doctrinal passage in First Corinthians chapter twelve and verse thirteen. And this is what it says. For by one spirit were ye all. Notice the term in Teresa. For by one spirit were ye all. but ties into one body, whether you be Jew or Greek, notice the term the Jew and the Greek, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. Now there is the only doctrinal references in the epistles to the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
And the verb tends to choose there, it points back to what happened at the birthday of the church. And for people today who would come together and pray that they might be baptized with the Holy Ghost, they're far too late. It was something historic that took place in the early days of the church. It was something inclusive by one spirit where you all baptized into one body, whether you be Jew or Gentile, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. So that it's something historic, it's something inclusive, on something final. It took place on that day at the birthday of the church, and it never will be repeated again.
And let me say this, that anybody who's not on the body of Christ, anyone who's not a member of the body of Christ is not a Christian at all. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And for anybody to say that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a subsequent experience to conversion, it is not according to the Word of God. Now we can't go into more detail about this, but I think that anyone who's interested in what the Bible has to teach about the baptism of the Holy Ghost should read carefully these seven passages that I've mentioned. The four in the Gospels, the parallel passages, and the two references in the Acts of the Apostles, and then the great doctrinal passage in First Corinthians, chapter twelve, and verse thirteen, the baptism of the Spirit.
Now, secondly, there's the filling of the Spirit. And this again is something that's confused in many, many people's minds today in Christendom. Looking at the Acts of the Apostles, there are ten references to the filling of the Holy Ghost, ten of them altogether, that are associated with four men. The first man is Simon Peter in his preaching. The second one is Stephen in his suffering as he was being martyred. The third one is Barnabas in his ministry, a man who was full of the Holy Ghost in his ministry at Antioch, and he was full of the Holy Spirit.
And the fourth one is the Apostle Paul. and we read that when he was tearing out the great commission in his first missionary journey we read that a witch doctor came on trying to thwart the work of god elements the sorcerer He tried to turn away the man that Paul was trying to bring the gospel before him, and we read that Paul, he stood against them, and he was full of the Holy Ghost. And the result was that that power that God gave to him, the work of the Holy Ghost, in filling his heart, he was able to thwart the work that this man was doing. He was doing the work of Satan. Now, just a word or two about these four different cases of filling and what they mean.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit, let me repeat again, is historical. Never will be repeated. But thank God every true believer today can be full of the Holy Ghost. What does it all mean? You know, in my heart there's an awful lot of selfishness. In my heart there's an awful lot of the flesh. In my heart there's an awful lot of materialism. And in all of our hearts we have to recognize from day to day there's an awful lot that's not according to the mind and will of God. And as I read my Bible and in communion with the Lord Jesus, and these things are pointed out to me, the more of these things that I get out, get out of my heart and life, the more the Holy Spirit is able to come in and give him elbow room.
in my heart to take possession of my whole being. And when I do, then I'm filled with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit, of course, he's a real person, as we have pointed out. But the point is, has he room to work? And these other things that we have in our minds and hearts and in our lives, the more of them that we get out, the more the Holy Spirit is able to take possession, complete possession of our hearts and lives. unable to work throughout. So that we've become the channels of blessing to the world around. Now there are four specific cases in the Acts of the Apostles of this filling of the Holy Ghost. And the first is Peter in his preaching.
Oh, we do long to see today men who can preach with the Holy Ghost send on from heaven. I was at a conference some years ago in another part of the country. There was a young man who was a PhD. He came to me and he said, you know, I think we should stop the preaching. He said, let's have a dialogue. Let's have a seminar. I said, what? I said, I have been invited here to minister the Word of God. Oh, he said, I think, he said, that is the background, Ed. He said, let's have a dialogue. I said, look, brother, the brethren have invited me to come here and minister the word. I said, you can do as you please, but I am going to open the word of God and I am going to preach.
And let me say that what is badly needed everywhere today are preachers. Men who can preach. with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. And some of these new methods, and some of the ideas that people have today, they're not according to the Word. It's through the foolishness that the way men look at it, not foolish preaching. But the foolishness of preaching, not the way men look at it, if this is the way that God works. And all we long to see preachers. Men today that can preach, that can take the Word of God full of the Holy Ghost, and see men brought to the feet of the Lord Jesus in contrition and in conviction and then brought to Christ. You know my early days we had preachers here in this country.
Their very memory is a benediction to me. many of them have passed on. And, oh, we do long to see from among our young men today, men who are able to preach. You know, sometimes in our gospel meetings, we get a little homily on how to behave yourself, on converts and that kind of thing. But, oh, we do need men that are able to preach the gospel, able to make known the good news in such a way that souls are reached by the Holy Spirit of God, and God doing His work in the hearts and minds of men and women. Peter in this preaching, And then Stephen in his suffering. Read here that just before he went to heaven, he said, I see heaven open.
And he said, I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And read that it is faced like an angel. And here's a man, the first martyr of the Christian church, going into the presence of the Lord. And we read that he was full of the Holy Ghost, Stephen in his suffering. You know, many of my dear friends in Africa, many of my children in the field, people that we led to Christ many years ago, they have gone into the presence of the Lord in this way. I hope before very long to see some of the survivors going back again in April. But you know, over the past fourteen years, there are many, many of my dear friends.
We haven't talked much about it. We can't. It's far too emotional to experience that even mentioned and talk about it. But some of my dear friends have gone into the presence of the Lord in a bath of blood. You know, we thank God for the martyrs, men who have given their lives for Christ. We thank God for them. And here's Stephen, this dear servant of God, full of the Holy Ghost. He said, I see heaven open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Someone has said, you know, when he was in Isadad. He said, Don at the right hand of God, but when this first Christian martyr was going into the presence of God, where he was standing, did he stand up to receive him?
I don't think that's imagination. He probably did. And oh, what a reception Stephen had as they went into the presence of the Lord. Stephen in his suffering. And then Barnabas in his ministry worried about him. He was a good man. And full of the Holy Ghost on the faith. And much people were added to the Lord. You know, it's a lovely thing to see a character like Barnabas. what people are looking for today are wonderful men. And you know in this country we have the habit of using great big exaggerated adjectives. And some preachers that we have never heard before would say, isn't he wonderful?
And isn't he clever? Isn't he brilliant? We've never heard anything like this before. Listen to the flood of language and the wonderful words that he's able to use and use these great big adjectives. exaggerated adjectives. But I tell you, I wouldn't want any better commendation than what it said about Barnabas. Barnabas was a good man. I think that is absolutely delightful. We don't need to add anything to that. He was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith and much people were added to the Lord. Oh, we'd love to hear a brother ministering the word, and our souls are fed. And when we go home and say, I've got something from the Lord tonight.
And we'll look at the man who gives it. Oh, we say, he's a good man. He's a good man. And full of the Holy Ghost and the faith, Barnabas and his ministry. And then the Apostle in having to stand up. to Satanic power, where he too was full of the Holy Ghost. You know, this may not be very common in this country, but many, many times we've had experiences of this kind, demon-possessed, men and women and witch doctors. But even people like that, we have seen brought to the Lord and wonderfully delivered from Satanic power. So the filling of the Holy Ghost is entirely different from the baptism. The baptism is a once-for-all experience that took place at the birthday of the church.
It will never be repeated. It's baptism into the body, into the body of Christ. But the filling is something that can take place daily under more of myself, under flesh, on the old man. And these different things that we have mentioned, the more of these that we're able to get out, the Holy Spirit is able to come in and take possession completely and fully of our hearts and lives and work through us for the blessing of mankind. Now, the third is the call of the Holy Spirit. And here again, one would love to occupy time. I'm not going to do it. For just a moment or two, to speak about the call of the Holy Spirit of God. You know, anyone who is into full-time service for the Lord, I think should carefully study this passage.
I was very much surprised a little while ago in reading the commentary of Sir William Gramsic. He was a man, I suppose, who knew more about the chronology of the Acts of the Apostles than any other living man in this day. And both he and Lightfoot. Two of the great commentators on the Acts of the Apostles, both of them said that Paul here had been a Christian for fourteen years when he went out into full-time service, when he was called by the Holy Ghost to go out on these missionary journeys. He was not a novice. He wasn't someone recently brought to the faith. And I think if you carefully examine the chronology of the Acts of the Apostles, you'll find that Barnabas and Saul These two men that were called by the Holy Ghost were experienced leaders, not only in the church but also in the proclamations of the gospel.
Paul has been eight years in Tarshish. He had been three years in the Rivia. And as well as that, he had been to Jerusalem and Damascus and possibly other places as well. And approximately, it's about fourteen years since he had become a Christian. He's a mature believer. And the Holy Ghost said, separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work under which I have called them. And they being called, they went forth. You know, again, today, as we look at our missionary work around the world, and not only that, the work of the gospel here at home, all we do long to see men being called by God. You know, to me, the call to special, specific service is just as real as conversion.
Or I pity the man or the woman or anyone who goes out into the work of the Lord that the Lord hasn't laid his hand upon and spoken to them in a very direct way and call them. It's the work of the Holy Spirit of God. It's fifty-two years now since I first of all left home with a letter of commendation to take the gospel to places in Africa that never had been evangelized. And all I can say is that after fifty-two years, If I had not been able to loop back to a time when God brought me into his presence, brought me very low, and laid his hand upon me, and gave me a work to do, many a time I'd have run away.
Oh, the dropouts that there are today in the work of the Lord, I could tell many a tragic story. Someone goes away six thousand miles away from home and suddenly realizes that God hasn't sent them. But there's a no-call. But oh, when you can look back to a moment in your life when God takes you into his presence and speaks to you. It's just as real an experience as conversion. And when you can look back to a period like that and say, Lord, I'm not here at my own expense. I'm not here on my own initiative, but I'm here because I have sent me here. Oh, what a comfort that is. The call of the Holy Ghost. Now, the fourth thing here is the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
And again, what a big subject this is. Here, these men, as they're out doing the work of the Lord, they wanted to go to Asia, first of all. Now, if you look at a map, you'll find that Asia was southwest. They were on their way here on this missionary journey, and Asia was to the southwest. But we read that the Holy Spirit suffered them now. He prohibited them from going to Asia. It wasn't the time. You know, later in Acts chapter nineteen twenty, it was then that Asia was evangelized when Paul spent three years in Ephesus. It probably was at that time that the seven churches of Asia were evangelized and churches established. But this wasn't the time. They wanted to go to Asia.
They wanted to turn to the left hand. But the Holy Spirit prohibited them. And then they wanted to go to Bithynia. That's to the northeast. But again they were prohibited by the Holy Spirit from going there. If you look at the first chapter of First Peter, you'll find that Dithynia is mentioned there. The time had not come for the evangelization of these two places, and they were led on until they came to a certain point, and God revealed his mind and will to them for to cross the strait and go over into Europe and evangelize in Philippi. You know the guidance of the Holy Spirit again is a very real sign. Again, I'm awfully thankful that again and again when we had been at the crossroads, didn't want to do what the mind of God was and want to get into the presence of God and have that guidance of the Holy Ghost through the word of God.
Because God today, he always guides through his words and by the Spirit. And not only that, but the counsel of godly man. Anytime that I'm at a crossroads and I don't know what to do or what road to take, I generally ask the advice of some good men, men that I know, men whose counsel and advice I very, very greatly appreciate. And I've always had help from them. But guidance of the Holy Spirit is a very real thing. Oh, it's so possible to take a wrong path. Maybe a path of self-will. And it always ends in tragedy. But oh, what a delightful thing it is. When the Holy Spirit guides us through his word.
And takes us into a path where we can see the blessing of God upon us. And this is the great principle we find here in Acts chapter sixteen. It's just a word in closing. Chapter twenty. Here we get the climax of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Acts. We want the time to look at it tonight, but later in looking at the Epistle to the Ephesians, we want to look at it more in detail. The Apostle here is speaking to leaders, the elders of the church on Ephesus. He has called them together and is giving them his final farewell. And if he speaks to them, he said, feed the flock of God over whom the Holy Ghost has made you overseer.
You know the only one that can make an overseer, the only one that can make an elder, the only one that can make a shepherd among God's people is the Holy Ghost. You know there's all kinds of ideas where they come from. I have the greatest respect and honor for dear Mr. John Nelson Darby. I have all his collected writings. I enjoy reading them. But I certainly do not agree with the attitude that he took to eldership and leadership among God's people. He said, seeing that we don't have apostles to ordain elders today, therefore we don't have them. Now, I don't agree with that. Do you mean to tell me that God would leave his church right down through the ages without competent leadership?
I don't believe that. And I do believe today that on any local church where you find New Testament principles practice, you will find godly men. Where does it come from? Certainly not by voting. You don't get it by voting. Where do they come from? The Holy Ghost. It's the Holy Spirit that raises them up. And, oh, we have seen it again and again and little assemblies that we have seen form in Central Africa. After they're formed, we leave them for a while. And we come back again maybe in five or ten years. And it's just as obvious as it can be. that God has raised up men among them that are competent to lead and to guide and to teach. And we say to the brethren, why don't you recognize them?
Why, brother so-and-so, brother so-and-so, brother so-and-so, they're doing the work. They're doing the work of an elder, a leader, a shepherd. Why don't you recognize them? And they do. The one that raises up competent leadership among his people to counsel and to guide among the people of God is the Holy Ghost. And thank God when he does that work, we can recognize it right away. and going into any assembly. and staying there for a little while, we don't have any problem at all in seeing the men that are doing the work. And when they're doing the work, there they are, the work of the Holy Spirit themselves in raising up these good men to carry on this great work. This is the climax, I believe, of the Holy Spirit's work in the New Testament church, in the Acts of the Apostles.
Now let me repeat the five-fold operation of the Holy Spirit again on the Acts, the baptism. Secondly, we get here the filling. Thirdly, the call. Fourthly, the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And then this great work of raising up competent leadership and guidance among the people of God. I think that this practically covers the ground of the work of the Holy Spirit in this great book, The Acts of the Apostles. Now a little word in prayer. Our God and Father, for again we thank thee as thou hast not left us in the dark, thus for thy mind and will for thy dear people at the present time.
Our Father, we thank thee that thou hast put us into the body. We thank thee that we're linked to the risen head and that we're members of that body. And by virtue of that fact, we thank thee that we're linked to every saint that loves thy name. We do praise thee for this tremendous truth. Lord and Father, we do pray that from day to day that the Holy Spirit may fill and flood our being. And we pray that we may be channels of blessing. to those with whom come in contact. And, O Lord, too, we pray that in any work that thou hast given us to do, that we may have the guidance of the Holy Ghost. And from day to day, we may realize that thou art leading and guiding and blessing.
I recommend this to thee and thy word. Let thy dear people hear tonight we pray. And we ask of thee that the blessing of the Holy Spirit of God may be upon each one. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.