If you could only preach one more message, what would you preach?

[Whosoever Will]

Assuming that God gave you the liberty to choose your last message, what would you preach?

I think I'd preach God's great love for mankind, and just how tragic it would be to die lost and go to hell. I'd find a way to close in Acts 2:38. That would make it an official pentecostal message.;)

What would you preach?

(I know that we should be led by the spirit, but tell me what you think desperately needs to be preached to our generation.)

[servant]

I would preach that God doesn't want you to be lost.

Serv :)

[truemessianic]

My final message...
Show Jesus from Genesis to Revelation, and then work in Acts 2:38 as the primary theme of the whole thing.

[ddc101]

I would preach that we have the power through Jesus Christ to overcome sin in the flesh and therefore don't have to be enslaved to it anymore.....Amen...we are set free from the law of sin and death..set free from death,hell and the grave through Christ Jesus...lv sis.c

[BroRutledge]

I think I would stop preaching and listen to a good message by someone else. On second thought... Maybe i would preach acts 2:38 one more time but I would wait about 40 years before I preach it since it would be my last.
God bless
BroRutledge:p

[Sandy]

first I would pray for God to open eyes and ears of understanding. Then I would go into a the biggest Trinitarian Church I could find, and stand up the first chance I got and tell them what Acts 2:38 really is saying, and why they must obey it before it was to late, so that God could accomplish in their life what He did in mine as a result of my obeying, and many others as well. Then explain to them the difference between our being obedient so the Lord could accomplish His works of righteousness under grace compared to our trying to accomplish our own works under the law.

And since this would be the last time I was able to share this, It would undoubtedly happen because God would open the doors miraclously for it to take place. Just as He did with those early disciples and apostles in the synogogues.

[pastorb]

Brother Price I preached a message just like that last year.

"Can You See Jesus" and I show Jesus in everybook in the bible.

We've got to be able to see Jesus and to preach so that others can see Jesus and come to him.

[Adoniyah]

When I was just a little lad, brother W.E. Gamblin came to our little cotton farming community in N. Louisiana. One night he announced, "I want everyone to be sure to be here tomorrow night. I am going to sing a song with one word in it." He talked much about that song that had only one word in it.

We finished our picking that day rather early, got weighed and tallied. We took our baths early and started out for the big tent in the cotton field near the edge of town driving a surplus WWII jeep. I owned no shoes, but I did have a good clean pair of overalls. We could not wait to hear the song with only one word in it. The tent started filling up as people came from miles around. Soon there was only standing room around the outside, but we had a near front row seat. We could not afford to miss a word of that "one word song."

That night, he sung his song. I'll never forget the blessing of the Lord as his glory came down. His one word song was "Jesus."

I preached a message not too long ago. I think brother Refinersfire was there that night. That message was entitled "When you say Jesus, you've said it all." My last message would be "Jesus."

[Sandy]

Bro. Adoniyah,

I will be there.

[Hnovilla]

His Name is Jesus!

Beloved, I think the first message is also good enough to be the 'last' message.
"Repent, and bebaptized..."

Brother Villa

[Thelordisone]

Bro. Adoniyah,

Nice post.

On a side note. I recall you mentioning you recieved the HG at 7. My oldest is 7 and he has been close at times. Still praying. Who or what was your influnce to seek? Then how young have you heard of folks recieving the HG?

Thinking of starting a thread on the latter. We'll see.

God Bless All!!

[Adoniyah]

Yes Sandy, you will be there. It may not be exactly proper for me to hug your sweet neck here, even I were to see you, but there, I would have no hesitation.

Thelordisone:

I think that Sister Mangun told me that she received the HOly Ghost when she was four years old. I think that is about the earliest that I can recall anyone receiving the Holy Ghost.

I don't recall any particual influence that caused me to seek the Lord. I was around people that prayed all the time, worshipped all the time, went to church all the time. We would pray for hours at home. When folks come to see us, we prayed for more hours. We never went anywhere that we did not pray.

If we were to visit someone, it was customary for us to fall upon our knees and pray before we left. I can remember such times as this that the prayer would last all night long. Heaven came down.

The strange thing about it is, no one seemed to be tired the next morning. We returned to the fields as though we all had a good nights sleep. Since I was so youing, I usually did sleep very well all night, even amid the sounds of glorious praying. What blessed memories...how they linger...sacred scenes they unfold.

I remember times when the blessing would be prayed over the food. The prayer would be so filled with the spirit that everyone would push away from the table and would only rise after the food was very cold, an hour or more later.

There was no singular influence, but it was all of it in general. Bible reading was so very important to us, also. We committed many many scriptures to memory.

[nightwatchman]

Bro. Strange,do you know Bro. James Twentier? He's coming to our church to teach about soul- winning.

[Thelordisone]

Bro. Adoniyah,

Thanks again for sharing.

It was a blessing to read.

God Bless!!

[Adoniyah]

Brother Dever:

You all will be blessed by their ministry. They are real soul winners. I've known them a long time. I was an Elder at the same time he was a Board member at LT.

Tell brotther James and Sister Marsha Twentier that brother Strange said, "hello."

Tell them that the "King of Kings" performance was spectacular. I attended last Sun. night. The building was jam packed. I cried all the way through it. I am just an ol' softie, I suppose. I am told that it was the best one ever.

[Sandy]

And I would give you a great big hug back too. Shaking hand is ok. But when I greet my brothers and sisters in the natural, I give them a big hug. And so do many spiritual families as well.

Adoniyah, you were a blessed child to be raised in that sort of environment.

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you and many others too here that have shared so many blessings for us to read and learn from too.

We have been reading that book you recommended about not "You Have Not Many Fathers, by Dr. Mark And this is really true. We are not finished reading it yet. But it has really blessed both of us tremendously so far. So thanks for telling us about it
And if there are any here that has not read it, I would also say, you need to, whether you alredy know much of what is written in there or not.

We can really relate to much of what is written in there on both sides.

[Adoniyah]

Sister Sandy:

Do you carry a turtle in your purse? You used the word "we."

Who are the "we?"

Yes, Sister, I thank God that I was blessed to be raised in such an environment. God sure put a love in my heart for him that nothing can move.

I am glad that you got the book, "Ye Have Not Many Fathers." I am convinced that if we would go back to the biblical foundations as so beautifully spelled out in that book, churches, preachers and saints would be properly aligned for the operation of God within it.

Currently, we have a bramble system. The bramble rules over the olive tree. There are no biblical offices called General Supertendents, Assistant General Supertendents, District Supertendents, Sectional Presbyters and all. Today we have God called men that occupy both offices, one biblical, the other ex-officio. One true, the other false. It becomes a hybrid ministry that rules over the olive true. It is a bramble.

We need to be realigned. But it will never happen. It cannot happen. We are too far gone. Brother Howard Goss confessed to brother Kenneth Reeves who Pastors a church in Illinois, also a lawyer, "We've made a lot of mistakes in setting this thing (orginazation) up. It is my hope that you young folks will come on in a straghten it out in succeeding generations." Brother Reeves who is now quite old, told me of that conversation, so long ago.

Thelordisone:

I am blessed that you are blessed. Praise God!

[Sandy]

Brother Adoniyah,

You have been and still are blessed. And perhaps that is why you are such a blessing to others too.

And actually, since we hug our phsical brothers and sisters and family members, I tend to believe it is ok to hug our spiritual ones as well sometimes too.

[Adoniyah]

Sister Sandy:

Well maybe a really quick hug. :)

Would you believe that I remember a time that the love of God was so real among some dear country saints back in a time that was so very innocent. In fact, it was so innocent and filled with such love, that women would kiss women on the lips, men would kiss men on the lips. It was truly a holy kiss. Those days were so very innocent. The glory of the Lord would come down in those love feasts that was truly wonderful.

I remember foot washings that were almost peformed with the tears of the one washing the feet of another beloved brother or sister.

We need to return to such love. The light of good works have gone out in our lamps. All we have left, is the lamp, but the light of love is gone. We have become the five foolish virgins.

Jesus said, "Let your light SO SHINE before men that they may see your GOOD WORKS and glorify your father which is in heaven."

So what is the light? It is the GOOD WORKS. Gotta have the oil of the Holy Ghost to produce Good Works moved by the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.

When the light goes out, there is no oil, no Holy Ghost, therefore no more GOOD WORKS moved by the love of God. We become foolish virgins.

We might have all the good doctrines. Got a great lamp of doctrine. Nobody has as great of a lamp as we Apostolics. We have the finest lamps among the fairest of them all. But are there any good works?

[Sandy]

And I just noticed I repeated somewhat my last response to you, thinking I didn't post it since I had to leave right after. :goof Oh well.

No I don't have a turtle in my purse, or at least I hope not anyway. Unless Cody has been out in the woods again, coming in and playing his boyish pranks on me that is. :) The we is Al, as we have both been reading it. Actually I made him. :yeah

Actually what this book is talking about is what the Lord has put within my husbands heart to take place, the Lord revealing some things to Him regarding it. I believe it is going to happen too before Jesus returns. Maybe not in the existing large denominations themselves. But I don't know.

Something the Lord reminded me of a long time ago along these lines too.

Consider, Abraham had only one son, yet he became the father of many nations as a result of that one son.

Just something to think about. Not that we may not have more than one son either. But the fact that often we look to the big thing, never considering that the things that appear to be small could be the one thing that turns into something gigantic when God is behind it.

[In His Service]

Bro. Adon,
Isn't it amazing that God worked back then and moved on people in thier overalls, LOL LOL!!!! There are people who would not set a foot in an apostolic church today if that is all they had to wear. Keeping up with the jones has swept the church. More money is spent on fashions in one year in some churches than some times a whole church spent to build a building and keep it running for a year.

I am all for looking nice but I think that we should remember where the Word speaks of an man in old rags coming into our midst and being set in a lowly place and a man in fine garments and and a big Ring and being set up at the front.

Let us get back to the simple times of Pentecost, when people put thier whole heart into serving God and all the extras didn't get in the way.

Prayers your way,
Bro. Timothy

[In His Service]

A great big Amen brother. Where are the people that truly have a mind to work for God. To let our love for him shine forth in all we say and do? Where are the days when serving God was ones whole life instead of our days now where church life is a side line that we put just enough into to say we are active?

Keep on speaking the truth brother,
Bro. timothy

[Sandy]

Amen in his service and Adoniyah.

Living in the Ozarks where we are at now. there are many here that do not have any money at all or very little. Yes, there are those that do too. But many do not. Yet they are wonderful people when it comes to your needing them believe me. And honestly it is usually not the affluent that are there to help either, but those that are not most of the time.

We do own shoes, but just looking at my husband and Cody walking by the computer room door just now, I have to admit we do go barefooted quite often anyway. Go figure. Not only that, but have you ever watched the ladies come to church dressed up in the finest, with beautiful shoes on, sit down, and what do they do? They take those shoes off, and they do not come back on until the end of the service when they get ready to leave. ;)

[Adoniyah]

Amen brother Timothy.

We are living in such an age of prosperity, I am afraid that we have been seduced by it. We have lost our spiritual moorings and are now adrift on a sea of cares of life and involvment of things that do not really matter.

It is a true saying, "Famine has killed its thousands, prolonged prosperity have killed its tens of thousands."

We do not have it so hard anymore that we have to pray in our own food, if we eat at all.

However, Brother Timothy, I would rather have the great poverty and hardness along with the genuine glory of God rather than this luke warm age with all of its prosperty and conviencies.

Sister Sandy:

No, I do not believe that any of the major denominations will ever return to the biblical principles written in that book, in fact, not even a small Apostolic organization will turn to it.

It will come through individuals who see the truth of proper and godly alignment the way God intended for it to be.

I would that everyone had a copy of that book.

[tufluv]

I remember foot washings that were almost peformed with the tears of the one washing the feet of another beloved brother or sister.

Hey, its not altogether gone, now! Over at my former church, which I left about a little over a year ago, we did just THIS!
It was wondrous! The first time ever I had heard of this, was coming to the Apostolic TRUTH way, my sons even were moved by this! Amazing Grace! and to think, there's people who don't even believe in doing this! (my parents) the whole world is missing out on this!
We'd do this after the LORD's Supper. Awesome! Over here, don't know why we don't, I leave it to the pastor's discernment. Its a much much smaller congregation., but growing!! :)
BUT, in neither of these churches, do we have anyone wearing expensive, fashionable clothing, thank GOD.

[Sandy]

Tufluv, I would imagine that foot washings are dependent upon the leaders of that particular church.

Even some of the Trinitarian churches do foot washings, our being very blessed even then before we were baptized in His name. It is an act of humble love. But I would imagine it is mostly those that also believe in the baptism in the Holy Ghost that does this. At least I have never heard of any of what I call the main line denominational churches having foot washings before. But then I have not been everywhere either, so just because I have never heard of it doesn't mean they do not or never have I am sure.

Sometimes we go to much by labels, I believe anyway.

Adoniyah, many believe those hard times just could come again. One thing is certain, nothing on this earth is for certain except what we have in the Lord. I have seen some go from riches to rags in a very short time even during the time that many were basically pretty affluent as well.

I agree with you on your statement about preferring hardness and poverty over the spiritual famine.

I do not believe the prosperity message that so many preach today is of the Lord, because it is unbalanced. Of course, as far as I know, it is mostly preached by certain Trinitarians. But it is unbalanced just as much as someone preaching the opposite for Christians.

Gods riches are not defined by how many dollars you have in my Bible, so therefore having His riches is not dependent on this. They are defined as being wisdom, knowledge and undertanding that comes from Him. Which do not always line up with what man thinks obviously.

My parents were denominational Trinitarians when I grew up. But we did not have much money, that is for sure. Especially during my younger years, when my Dad was in the military during WW2, and even afterwards, because of being injured, and therefore having to spend time in the hospital as well as being rehabilitated so he could go to work. So by this time I was close to being a teenager. We did not have a car until I was 13, so therefore had to walk everywhere we went. Nor could my parents afford bicycles and the like. Many today that are considered poor have some of these things. But I have always believed we were rich, because I grew up in a loving home, with parents that loved each other, and their kids, teaching us these same values toward others as well. Lessons that dealt with these issues I will never forget from not only my parents, but my grandparents as well. Which is probably where my parents got them to begin with.

These are the things along with what God has revealed to us that is valuable that we did not learn from another man, we need to pass on to our children and grandchildren, so that they can do the same. And while I have not quite finished that book by Dr. Hanby, I have an idea that much of what he has written in there, except on spiritual lines instead, deal with much the same thing too, whether in the role of child or the adult at the time. Because God meant for everyone to be both I suspect in some way or another.