Christ Calls His Church to Power - by Jim Tharp

‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered, they went into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.’ (Acts 1:8-14)

The first chapter of the book of Acts is a call to the followers of Jesus to prepare for receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, which is to come upon those who will prepare for their baptism with the Holy Spirit. He wants them to know that it will be a time of waiting in prevailing prayer. Realizing their human weaknesses, Jesus instructs them that they are not to begin spreading His Gospel message until they are empowered to do so.

Jesus had been the perfect model for preparing His followers to spread His Gospel to the ends of the earth. John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the gathered crowds along the Jordan River, and at Jesus’ request, he baptized Him so that He could identify with sinners who were repenting and being baptized. Jesus Himself was filled with the Holy Spirit, even as He arose from the water. The Sinless Son of God, who had incarnately become the Son of Man, realized that He in His human role would need the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish His mission. John the Baptist had told the crowds: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11)
   

Several symbols are used for the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible to help us understand what He wants to do in and for and through us as His witnesses. But no symbol is more striking than that of fire! Jesus said, “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49) Following His resurrection, He commanded His disciples and other followers to go back into Jerusalem and prepare for receiving the Holy Spirit. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.” (Acts 2:1-6)

The Human Soul - By Jim Tharp

As a preacher of the Gospel, I want to write about an especially important subject today—THE HUMAN SOUL! I realize that this is a subject to which many people do not wish to give serious concern. In fact, the soul of man is not something that most philosophers want to discuss. And, unfortunately, it is a subject that many theologians are hesitant to address. So, as a preacher of the Gospel for 74 years, but now as an old man of 90, I feel the need to write about the importance of the human soul and its destiny. I could not afford to ignore this important subject while pastoring for 46 years and then evangelizing throughout the world for 27 more years. And now, since I am confined to printing the Gospel messages instead of preaching the Gospel, I cannot be silent on the importance of the human soul.

Please read and consider what our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered and died to save our souls, had to say about the soul of man:

Mark 8:35-38: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Matthew 10:28: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

John 3:16-21: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

I want to stress this important truth: The soul of man is an internal spiritual gift by our Divine Creator. This fact speaks clearly and loudly to the importance of human life. The soul of man is a serious subject. We can see the seriousness of the soul when we realize that God foreknew the invasion Satan would make on Adam’s race and the tragic results. He knew that His own remedy for the salvation of fallen souls would have to be His sacrifice of His one-and-only righteous Son, who would become incarnate. The Son of God would become the Son of Man and suffer and pay the debt of any lost soul who would believe in Him, repent of sin, and become a true Christian believer. From the beginning, God decreed that the wages of sin would be death. And since all have sinned, death would come to all. But what a glorious destiny awaits the soul at death who has believed in the only plan of salvation through Jesus Christ; the heart ceases to beat and the brain dies, but the human soul’s consciousness shifts immediately from the cerebral to the celestial, adapting instantly to the soul’s eternal existence in heaven.

How important it is that every human soul hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ as described by the apostle Paul in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..." 

Let us consider some of the things our Bible has to say to us who will give an account of our response to God’s loving provisions for our salvation. In Deuteronomy 4:9, Moses says: “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren.” In this Old Testament passage, Moses is being faithful to the members of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, by instructing them to take precautions concerning their never-dying souls and urging their preparation for giving a good account to God in the day of judgment as to how they have obeyed His Word.

The God of Nations - By Jim Tharp

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:24-31)

I am praying that many more Americans will join me in prayer for a greater appreciation of God’s blessings on our nation over the past two and a half centuries. In the history of nations, there has never been another country that has been more blessed. Little wonder that we once sang “God Bless America!” And, now it is high time for us to plead “God, forgive us for our sins,” so that we can then sing with conviction, “God Bless America!”

Our Bible reminds us that God is the God of all nations. For almost two centuries most Americans were free to acknowledge openly the goodness of God in helping us remain unified, secure, progressive, and safe with law and order. It appeared back in those times that we were more careful to remember that our Creator warned against the dangers when nations forget their Creator and Redeemer. Those nations that forget are rapidly ripening for judgment.

How appropriate that we once sang “God Bless America” with conviction and praise! I was privileged to express my appreciation to my friend Dr. Billy Graham for his courageous decision to bring our nation out to express more openly our gratitude to God for His blessings. Billy Graham and Pastor George MacPherson, the president’s pastor at that time, went to call on President Dwight Eisenhower. After praying with the president and for the nation, the two spiritual leaders suggested that a phrase should be added to our “Pledge of Allegiance”: “one nation under God!” President Eisenhower heartily agreed, and most people rejoiced when it was approved by Congress in 1954.

I began this message with the Apostle Paul’s message to the brilliant philosophers in Athens back in the first century. In his passion and effort to open a Christian influence in that prominent city, the apostle received a cold reception. Athens response at that time was like most of our prominent cities in America today—strong resistance to Christian faith. Paul was ridiculed. This great man of God with a giant intellect, a superb education, a mighty grasp of the truth, and a loving heart, was jeered right there in Athens as a “babbler,” a “braggart,” and “a fool!”