Acts 2:22-24, 46-47, 39

The time between the Old Testament — and the birth of Jesus —
was punctuated by a prolonged — silence by God.
There were no prophets. — No prophecies. —
They became so used to not hearing from God — the voices of the
religious majority — became their pseudo gods.

Prophecy disappeared from the earth, not to be seen again until
“the last days,” when the Messiah came.
It was not until the ministry of John the Baptist — and the
emergence of Jesus of Nazareth — did the revival of prophecy
happen. — And what you saw through the ministry of John — and
what you saw in the ministry of Jesus — is now about to be
expounded and expanded. -No wonder Jesus said — greater
works than these shall you do.
And in the book of Acts — in Acts 2 — greater things begin to
happen. Acts 2:1-21

Not everything Joel spoke of — occurred on the Day of Pentecost.
— For instance — there were no visions or dreams recorded on
that day. — Which means — what happened on Pentecost was the
BEGINNING — of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. —

Joel prophesied that in the days to come — gifts — blessings —
would be given. — Not to a select few as in the past, — but to both
sons and daughters. — Age would not be a barrier. — If you had
the capacity to understand the call of God on your life — then the
Lord can use you. — If you are above the age of 70 — God can
use you. — Your social status would not be a hindrance. — If you
got money in the bank — God can use you. — If you owe money to
the bank — God can use you.
Now to be clear — (Acts 2:17) — all flesh — as the KJV renders it —
all flesh — does not refer to every individual on the earth. — All
flesh — referred to a representative group – of humanity. — Not
every male — but males were included. — Not every woman — but
women were included. — Not every young man — but both
younger and older were representation of all flesh. — And — it did
not all happen on that day — not in its fullness — but in the future —
all flesh — would include both Jews and Gentiles.
Joel prophesied — that in the days to come — something
wonderful would take place. — And it was something so
magnificent — that people would sing — He has done marvelous —
He has done marvelous things — Praise the Lord!
What was so marvelous? — What was so amazing? — Here it is. –
God’s Spirit — would be made available — to all people.
Watch this. — Joel prophesied — and Peter explicated — that God
would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. — Your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy. — Your servants and you handmaidens
— will receive my Spirit — and they shall prophesy.

Okay — let me give it to you again. — Joel prophesied — and Peter
explained — that God would make his Spirit available to all people.
— Your sons and daughters will prophesy. — And even the slaves
shall prophesy.
Y’all got it yet? — Okay they say the third times a charm. — Joel
prophesied — and Peter made it plain. — That God is not limiting
who he’s going to use — to a certain class of people anymore. —
In the past — he used Abraham — Isaac and Jacob.
In the past — he used a particular ethnic group. — In the past –

• he tended to use the male gender. — In the past — he used
  free — men. — But I got some good news. — In this
  dispensation — the Spirit of God — is not limited to the rich
  folk. — The Spirit of God — is not limited to the older folk. —
  But you — woman from Africa — the spirit of God is for you. —
  You high school student — the Spirit of God is for you. —
  Lady on welfare — God wants to use you! — Woman going
  through a divorce — God’s spirit is available for you. —
  Momma and daddy whose child is on drugs — hold your head
  up — God is going to use you. — Single mother! Divorced
  daddy! — The man or woman who has never been married
  before. — God will pour out of his spirit upon all flesh. — And
  everybody — can have the opportunity — to tell somebody —
  about the mighty works of God!
  And the people who are legitimately qualified to proclaim the
  goodness of God — are people of faith that are within the family. —
  You got to have a faith — that ushers you into the family of God.
  When i speak of the faith-family-future — the faith that I am
  referring to now — is

1 A FAITH that Puts You Into the Family

There is little doubt — that the events on this pentecostal day —
has confounded those who were present. — People were amazed
— and marvaled. — that they were speaking in other languages. —
Others were mocking and some doubted — they could not believe
what their eyes were seeing — nor what their ears were hearing. —
Some of the people starting saying — that Peter and ‘nem were
drunk.

So Peter — standing up with the eleven — began to form their faith
— by teaching them about Jesus — who is the Christ. — And this is
what he says — starting with verse 14 — in the I. D. Nickerson
translation. — Brother Pete stood up and said — Listen -I know yall
don’t know what’s going on. — But ain’t nobody drunk around
here. — The liquor stores don’t open before 9:00am.
What’s happening — is what God said was going to happen along
time ago. — And in verse 22 — The Bible says — Hear these
words. — Jesus of Nazareth. — A man approved of God
among you by miracles and wonders and signs — which God
did by him in the midst of you — as ye yourselves also know.
— Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God — ye have taken — and by wicked
hands — have crucified and slain. — Whom God hath raised
up —- You missed your opportunity praise to God. — I said —
They crucified Jesus -but God raised him up. — Because it
was not possible that death should hold him down.

He would go on to say — in verse 36 — therefore, let all the
house of Israel know assuredly — . . . . .

He’s forming their faith – that will usher them into the family
of God.
Verse 41 – Then they that gladly received the word . . .
He’s forming their faith – that will usher them into the family
of God.

Verse 47 – Praising God and having favor with all the
people…
Acting on their faith — added them — into the family.
And wherever that gospel message is preached — and people do
what they did in the beginning. — They do what they did in Acts 2 –

• where the church that belongs to Christ first began. — When
  people hear the good news of the propituary death — burial — and
  resurrection of Jesus Christ — and when they repent — and are
  baptized — they are added to the family.

In October of 1979 — the one who we now know as Dr. Tony
Roach — came to Abilene, TX preaching that same message of
the death — burial — and resurrection. — All he had was $5 — A
chicken — and faith in God. — Others soon joined him in the work.
People like Randy and Lynthia Jackson. — People like Sam and
Mary Elliott — were added to the family of God. — People like Lyle
and Kari Leong — were added to the family. — They placed their
faith — in the resurrected Christ. — They caught a glimpse — of
what God was doing on Minda Street — and became faithful to
God — by serving at the Minda Street Church of Christ.

Here we are 40 years later — and the unadulterated truth of Jesus
Christ — is still being proclaimed. — Here we are — 40 years later
— and somebody is catching a glimpse — of what God is
doing — on the corner of Minda and T&P Lane. — Here we are
— 40 years later — and people are placing their faith — in the
one who was crucified — on an old rugged cross. — Buried —
in a borrowed grave. — This Jesus who died on Friday. — But
death could not hold him. — Jesus! — Who on that Sunday! —
Early that Sunday! — This Jesus …
And people today are still coming to be added Christ — through
his church! — And the Minda Street Church of Christ — in
particular.

And there’s still room for you to be added to the body of Christ —
right here — in this family — at the Minda Street Church of Christ!
This faith I speak of — is

1 A FAITH in the Crucified Christ– that puts you into the

family
Somebody say FAITH!

And it is

2 A FAMILY that Keeps You In the Faith

So, not only will faith — put you into the family — but you will
receive a family — that will keep you in the faith.
When the people of the Bible — actually entered into the family of
faith. — They instantly gained a support system — designed to
help nurture you — support you — encourage you — and develop
you in the faith.

Listen to your Bibles — verse 41 — Then they that gladly received
the word was baptized . . .
Who were the them? —
Verse 42 — And they Continued — how did they continue? —
How did they hold onto — what they started with? — They
continued — by the support — of their new church family.
Verse 44 — And all that believed were together — and had all
things common. — The family of faith — helps you to maintain
your faith.

So you assemble with the saints. — You study God’s word
together. — You live out your Christianity in community. — And
when — trouble comes. — When — your baby gets sick. — When
you lose your job -your spouse — your sibling — LISTEN —
because your faith has been formed and fashioned — in the midst
of your spiritual family — when the tests of life comes — your faith
will not fail. — Your finances might fail — but your faith shouldn’t
fail. — Your fake friends might fail — but your faith shouldn’t fail.
Your faith family. — This family — will support you. — This family —
Minda Street Church of Christ — has a 40 year history — of helping
our family members — hold on to their faith.

Even when your faith was fragile. — Even when your commitment
crumbled. — This congregation of believers — prayed for you.

When you were wrong. — When you were in sin. — This part of
God’s kingdom — was used by God — to uphold his word. — Not
lower the standard of God’s word. — Your church family told you –
this is right and that is sin. — And the church loved us — by staying
with the truth of God’s word.
Listen — The church of Christ — is designed — to secure your faith.
-She is designed — to shelter you in a time of storm. — And just as
our Lord intended for the church to function — for 40 years — the
Minda Street Church of Christ — has been a family that strives
to keep you in the faith.
Somebody say FAMILY!

Not only are we concerned about the faith — that puts you into
the family.
And not only are we convinced that the #2 FAMILY can help
Keep You In the Faith

But there is #3 A FUTURE that is Possible by Faith, and
Fulfilled Through the Family.
Every faithful member of the family — has been qualified — to
positively affect their own future and the future of those around
them.
Verse 17 – And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith
God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons
and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men
shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

The people present on this day of Pentecost — had no clue of
what was going on. — But God was up to something great. —
From that day forward — their communities — their neighborhoods
— would never be the same. — Their families and their families
system — would never be the same.
God — entered into their present moments — through the power of
the Holy Spirit — and altered the trajectory of their future. — He
used — educated and uneducated people — to eternally change
the future of — not just those that were present on that day. — This
was not just a spectacular event that took place one Pentecost
day. — God used this newly formed Church of Christ -to change —
everything!

Jews will soon begin to get along with Samaritans. — Slaves will
begin to sit at the same tables as masters. — Women will become
equal in value to men. — What was considered unclean — will
become clean. — Behold all things will become — NEW!
And not just then. — Not just on the day of Pentecost. — But Peter
said — The promise is unto you — yeah you today — but watch this
— the promise is unto you and to your children. — Your children
today — and your children’s children — and to all that are afar off. –

• Peter says — this is a now transaction — with residual results. —
  But wait! — These future possibilities — are possibilities —
  because of faith in Jesus Christ. — Wait! — This future promise —
  that is posed to you — and your children — are possibilities —
  because of your faithfulness — within the family of faith. . .

Your admission into the family of faith — is what makes the
promises and all the spiritual blessings of God -possible in your
life. — So what happens — if you leave the family of faith?
God adds you to the family — but will you continue? — God is
looking to use you — and your seed. — Now — and in the future.

I hear the Bible — 2 Timothy 3:14 — But continue thou in the
things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of,
knowing of whom thou hast learned them;. . .
Somebody say Future!

When you have

1 A FAITH that Puts You Into the Family

2 A FAMILY that Keeps You In the Faith

3 A FUTURE that is Possible by Faith, and Fulfilled in the

Family.

Here is what that will lead to.
We will have a

4 A Success that Amazes Society

Verse 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt,
saying one to another, What meaneth this?