The Word Made Plain

Guest (Female): Welcome to the Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bibles to Acts chapter 19, verses 4 through 10.

Tony Clark: Let's dive into the word together. Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 19, as we continue our verse-by-verse study of the book of Acts on Sunday mornings. On Wednesdays, we are in 1 Samuel and just going through the word of God. It's such an honor and a privilege to study the scriptures to see all that God has for us today.

Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit would descend upon us. Lord, give us ears to hear, and reveal the secrets of our hearts. Lord, I just pray that you would give me the words. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Lord, we pray your blessings now in Jesus' name. Amen.

Acts chapter 19, looking at verses 4 through 10. The title of this message is "Something is Missing, Part 2." In part one of this study, we saw how Paul came to the city of Ephesus and found some disciples, as the end of verse 1 says. He noticed that something was missing from their lives to the point where he asked them in verse 2, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"

They responded by saying, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." Then Paul responded back in verse 3 by saying, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism." Now Paul is about to give them further clarification on the purpose of John's baptism and how it was preparing people for Jesus Christ. Look at verses 4 and 5.

Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul gives these believers further clarification about the baptism of John the Baptist. It was a baptism of repentance to prepare people's hearts for Jesus Christ. People should believe on Him, that is, on Christ Jesus, as the end of verse 4 says.

Now I want to bring a slight technicality to your attention, but it has huge implications when you understand what I'm about to say. I love how Paul always refers to Jesus as Christ Jesus and the other disciples refer to him as Jesus Christ. Why? Because when Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he met him as the Christ, the anointed one, and realized that it was Jesus.

The Lord spoke to him from heaven in Acts 9 and in verse 4 and said, "Why are you persecuting me?" referring to Paul killing the Christians around the area. Paul responded in the next verse and said, "Well, who are you, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting." So he often refers to the Lord as Christ Jesus.

The other disciples who walked with him for three and a half years met him as Jesus and later came to realize that he was the Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. And so they call him Jesus Christ. Paul gives them further instructions about John's baptism, which was only preparing people's hearts to receive Jesus Christ or as Paul says, Christ Jesus.

When they heard what Paul had to say, they got baptized in the name of the Lord. Now let me pause here and ask you, who is Jesus to you? Just a man who lived 2,000 years ago? Is he just one of many prophets like the Muslims try to claim? Or is he the Christ, the Savior of the world, and more importantly, the Savior of your life?

This is a very important question to answer because the eternal destiny of your soul depends upon your answer. No matter what you may say sitting here, the real proof is seen in your everyday life, whether you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. You will live for Him.

When people look at your life, can they see that you're living for Jesus Christ? You've heard me say this many times: belief affects behavior. What you believe affects the way that you live. It's one thing to sit here and say, "Yeah, Jesus is my Lord and Savior, the Savior of the world." That's one thing to say it, but has it reached the point where it's changed your life?

Jesus says something incredible in Matthew. It's not on the screen for you note-takers. Matthew 15, right around verse 9. He said there are many people who draw near to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. You can easily sit here and say, "Yeah, I believe Jesus is the Lord," but your heart be far from him. What you truly believe affects the way that you live.

If Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, and you can say he's my Savior, you will live like it. You will understand Psalm 23, that famous Psalm. You won't just run through it and say, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." You will stop and identify with David who wrote the Psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd." The personal pronoun connects the Lord to himself. He's my Savior. I don't know about what he is to you, but he's mine. That's what David said. Belief affects behavior.

Look at verses 6 and 7. It says, "And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about 12 in all." These believers who needed the work of the Holy Spirit upon their lives—this is what they needed. Luke, the author, called them disciples at the end of verse 1.

Then Paul asked them had they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, so we know that they were believers, but there was something missing from their lives. They were Christians but had not known about the ministry of the Holy Spirit that Jesus said that he will send after he went back to heaven, according to John 15 and verse 26.

So Paul, like Peter and John did in Acts 8 and verse 17, laid hands on them and, according to verse 6, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Luke goes on to tell us in verse 7 that there were 12 of these men that this happened to. We can see that there are some outward signs that the Holy Spirit is in us internally.

This is one sign, not the only sign. Speaking in tongues is one sign outwardly that the Holy Spirit is in you. It is just one sign. There are certain churches that make speaking in tongues the gift of all gifts. They've even gone as far as saying if you don't speak in tongues, you're not saved. Get out of here with that mess. That's not biblical at all. It's just one gift.

Of course, those who are savvy enough will say, "Acts 2:38 says if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll be saved and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the gift is tongues." Bro, the gifts of the Holy Spirit—there are 19 to 21 gifts. Who said that it's got to be tongues? "Well, my church taught me..." Well, your church is fooling around because that's only one of many gifts.

Speaking in tongues is one. Paul confirmed it by 1 Corinthians 13:1. He said, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels." It can be a tongue known to men; it can be a language known somewhere around the world. Or it can be a tongue of angels, meaning that it can be a dialect of language that's only known in the heavenly realms.

Many people say, "That old gibberish—that's not a language known..." First of all, do you know all the languages of the world? But number two, it can be a tongue of angels that you're not known of. So that's just one sign. To me, the greatest sign that the Holy Spirit is in you is love. God's love is another sign that the Holy Spirit is in you.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "The greatest of these is love." Jesus said in John 13, verse 35—it's not on the screen—Jesus said something very critical. He said, "By this all men will know that you're my disciples if you have tongues." No, he didn't say that. He said, "All men will know you're my disciples if you have love for one another."

I just have to ask you this: do you love people? I know some of you don't. I know you. You see this crowd and you can't wait to beat feet, to get out. You say, "I don't like to be around people. The holidays are around and I don't like all these folks I'm bumping into." You don't like people. Let's just be real with you: you don't like people. That's a problem. Do you only like people who look like you?

This is the true test. Jesus said all men will know that you're my disciples, you're followers of me, you're students of me, you're disciplined ones, if you have love for one another. This is one of the things that people say about our church: they talk about the diversity of our church. Our church is a little taste of heaven, so to speak. I just wonder if you love people because love is a sign that you're truly a believer.

The Spirit of God is upon your life. You will just love people. You will look at people differently than everyone else does. I'm reminded of Jesus. When Jesus saw the multitudes—every time I read it, I always pause and say, "Oh Lord, give me that kind of heart for people." He said when he saw the multitude, was he moved with compassion because he saw them as weary and bruised like sheep without a shepherd?

I always read that and say, "Lord, let me see the multitude and let me be moved with compassion for them." The Lord said he sees them as weary and bruised by life, weary from the journey of life, wanting to give up. He said, "I see them like sheep without a shepherd, just wandering around lost, and my heart breaks for them." Give me that kind of heart.

May my heart break for people and not just people who look like me. You're cynical towards those who don't look like you, questioning them and wondering. You let the world's racism and your racism... I'm here to tell you, I'm your friend, you're racist. You are. And I'm not afraid to tell you. If you're feeling some kind of way about it, we can talk about it after church.

You're racist. That's all to it. You are a racist and you need to repent. But we need to love people. That should be a sign. That's a sign that the Spirit of God is upon our life, that Jesus is in us, that we would love people. This is one way Jesus said the world will know that we are followers of Him: if we love one another.

Another sign, which is a big one, that shows that the Holy Spirit is in us is by seeing the fruit of the Spirit in us. Galatians 5:22 and 23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love." Notice fruit, singular, of the Spirit is love. Out of God's love comes joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Can those closest to you see you growing in these areas? Do they see you more loving, exercising unconditional love, which is love with no strings attached? Do you have more joy in your life or are you still grumpy, mean, and nasty? This is key to ask because don't get it twisted: there's a difference between joy and happiness.

Happiness is dependent upon outward circumstances. "Oh, I got a surprise check in the mail! Oh, I'm happy!" But then when an IRS letter comes in the mail for the same amount as that check, you're no longer happy. You're bummed out now. Happiness is dependent upon outward circumstances. Joy is a quality of the Spirit.

You can have joy in the midst of sorrow. You can have joy when the world is collapsing all around you. You can still have joy. So the question is: do you have joy in your life? Are you more patient and longsuffering with your children and coworkers? Are you kinder today than you were last month? Are you more faithful to your spouse or to Jesus Christ?

Are you exercising—here it is—more self-control or are you still overeating and out of control with your temper? Out of control with your patience with people? Out of control with the drivers on the road? I need help in that area because some of you are terrible drivers. Terrible! And now today, even the younger generation because it's my generation too, I'm guilty of it as well, but even the younger one: you're on your phone!

You're on your phone! I see folks driving kind of weird, hitting brakes, doing kind of stuff. Then when I get up beside them and I see the light of the phone, I give them the Kermit face. What are you doing? You can't get to your place to hit like or love on something? I need help. My name is Pastor Tony, and I need help. I'm struggling in that area.

This is the gauge by which you can measure whether you're growing as a Christian. So these are just a few of the outward signs that show that the Holy Spirit is in us. As I was going over my notes last night, the Lord gave me one more. It's one more that is very obvious, it's one that we can easily overlook, but it's one that's so simple but yet packs such a powerful punch.

Another outward sign that shows that the Holy Spirit is in us is a holy life. It is called the Holy Spirit. It is to produce holiness in our lives. Please, holiness is not wearing no makeup, with your hair back in a bun and a dress down to your feet. That's not holiness. Stop! Bless America, stop. Fix yourself up. That's not holiness.

When I was growing up, that's what holiness was depicted as. And those girls who dressed like that—notice it was only the girls. Have you noticed? It's only the girls. Guys have got their come-out-of-GQ magazine and the women looking like a hot mess. Something from Little House on the Prairie time or something. That's not holiness. Holiness is a quality of the Spirit.

Fix yourself up. If you've got a husband, fix yourself up. If you want a husband, fix yourself up! I'm just trying to keep it 100 with you. Fix yourself up, for goodness' sake. Then you get mad when he looks at somebody else that's all fixed up and you say, "What are you looking at? I'm standing right here." Yeah, you're standing there looking a hot mess. Fix yourself up. That was free right there. That's free. It was not in my notes. That's free.

The Holy Spirit is to produce holiness in our lives, and holiness is seen as our lives becoming more like Jesus. That's holiness. Look at verses 8 through 10. It says, "And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks."

Here we see Paul keeping his word and returning back to the same synagogue that he left in the city of Ephesus. In Acts 18 and verses 19 through 21, he said that he would return. He told the believers in Ephesus, "I will return, God willing." Well, here we see that God made a way for him to return and he kept his word.

Let me pause here and say, as believers, we need to keep track of the promises and make sure that we fulfill them, especially when it comes to our spouse and children. My adult children constantly remind me of the one broken promise I made to them when they were young, and that was to get them a dog.

I really didn't want to get them one because I knew that the responsibility of taking care of such a dog would fall on me. Who's going to be the one taking them to the vet? To get the shots? Who's going to be going to Walmart and getting dog food? Or Sam's Club and getting some big hundred-pound bag I'm lugging on my shoulder? I didn't want to do that.

I grew up with two dogs. I knew the responsibility of taking care of the dog, and then when they're a puppy, they're chewing up everything, biting on stuff, and you've got to replace stuff. Then I'm kicking the dog because he's chewed up my favorite shoe and then I'm tired. I didn't want to give them no mutt, no dog. No!

So I told them at the time, "Look, we are renting a house. We don't want to bring a dog in here and tear up these people's house. So when we get our own house, then maybe..." I threw "maybe" in there. "Maybe I'll get you one." Well, we moved in our house and at the time, the house we used to live in, we lived in it 15 years. Fifteen years, your kids grow up and go.

I'm like, "Phew, I dodged that bullet. I'm off the hook." But every chance they get, they remind me of the broken promise to get them a dog. It even got to the point where my son—I just thought about this—my son said, "Okay, he's going to give my wife a present." And bought her a puppy!

Because he said, "Mom always wanted one and you, Dad, didn't want one, so I'm going to get her for a birthday present a puppy." I said, "Get that dog up out of this house! Get him up out of here!" "It's a present!" Now I'm old and you're going to have me take care of a dog? No! I didn't want to do it when I was young.

But they constantly remind me of my broken promise to them. So keep track of those promises that you make and be upfront and real and just say, "I don't want to do that." You may get some heat for it, but just be upfront and don't say, "Yeah, okay, all right," or like we do as Christians, "Let me pray about that."

Now you know you don't have any intentions on going. Stop telling these folks you're going to pray about it. That's the spiritual way of not wanting to say no. Just say, "You know what? I'm not going to be able to make it. I'm sorry. Maybe I'll catch the next one." "I'm just praying about it." You're just super spiritual.

Keep track of those promises. So here we see that Paul kept his promise to the believers in Ephesus. Now, continuing the thing of seeing outwardly that the Holy Spirit is in us is being able to—watch this—speak boldly in verse 8. Paul spoke boldly for, notice the time period, for three months.

The Greek word for "speak boldly" is *parrēsiazomai* and it's in the imperfect tense, which speaks of a continuous action. Or he kept speaking boldly. It wasn't that he spoke boldly one time and then all of a sudden he got timid after that. No.

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